Weekend Warriors

Yellow Moon and Radiant Red.

Those were the colors I chose on a whim.

And those were the colors we painted our family room this Sunday.

Our very first paint job ever.

It was backbreaking work.

Took us a full day almost.

One thick coat of primer, followed by one thick coat of paint.
The painting was the easy part, however.

The prep work prior to painting was time consuming.

Moving furniture, removing wall paintings, getting the drop cloths in place, patching the wall, masking off the
moldings, scraping old clotted paint, wiping the walls down with a vinegar-water solution...you get the picture.

And then the cleanup of the floors, our brushes and tools, and rearranging things back in place after the painting was over – took ages!

The guys on HGTV could have fooled us.

They make it look so easy!

At first I was scared we had gone too bold.

I mean, the colors looked so much more muted when we saw the samples in the store!

However once they dried, they looked really nice - very vibrant and interesting.

And truth be told, we are kinda enjoying our
new “bold” colors, for the reason we wanted bright colors in the first place, was because its a dark room, with no windows and not the greatest of lighting.

We still have to paint the moldings white (they used to be a brick red before!), but we’ve decided to keep that for another weekend.

Now if only my body wouldn’t ache so much...

Who knew that painting could be such good exercise? :)

Losing our mind!

While the trip was wonderful, it also tested us like no other vacation we’ve ever taken before. For we managed to lose Nanu’s passport and a whole bunch of vital documents the moment we stepped out of Bombay airport.

If you had asked me before this vacation, “Is it possible to lose your passport?” I would have laughed and said, “Impossible! Unless you’re an utterly careless fool!”

But this trip has taught me that you can be as careful as the most tightfisted investor, but things happen and you may end up without a passport.

Is that just fate stepping in? The God’s playing with us? Or as someone said, us leaving on an inauspicious day according to the Hindu calendar. Or just plain old bad luck? Who knows?

Looking back it’s easier to forget about all the little inconveniences, the trials and crazy negative experiences we had and celebrate the positive.

Below you will find a video I took from City Center Mall to my parents home in Madras. To ease traffic woes, the city has gone and built a mini flyover smack in the middle of a two lane road!! The result is a really narrow flyover that is simply bizarre!

Monster plant!

I won a monster plant at the office auction this week. It's a powerful plant, since it sat for years and years in the office of the Editor-in-Chief of the Southern, no less! Ha ha.

Since the newspaper is in the process of renovating and remodelling its offices, a whole bunch of "office plants" were auctioned off to employees and the proceeds given to charity.

There were several bids on the plant, but it seems mine was the winning bid - $7 - a pretty good deal for a mature plant this size.

A friend kindly helped me load the monster plant into her pickup truck this morning and helped me bring the plant home.

Unfortunately the ride home was a bit rough on the plant (no bungee cord to secure it in place, highway driving, lots of wind...) and it lost a lot of its leaves!

Now it sits outside my front door, still recovering from the shock therapy I put it through.

The plant is really pretty. But I still don't know what kind of plant it is.

Does anyone want to hazard a guess?

What I do know is its an indoor, creeper-type plant that has grown and grown into what it is today. I will probably need to repot it before taking it indoors.

New Flooring!

We spent the weekend on our hands and knees – literally!

Nanu and I retiled our entire kitchen floor. This was our first major DIY project and we are so proud of the end result.

We spent almost two whole days (Saturday and Sunday) removing the old, ugly, white floor tile in our kitchen and replacing it with a lovely new terracotta-ish, natural looking tile.

The photographs really don’t do it justice.

We borrowed some “tools” from our ever-helpful and super handy neighbors and were down on our hands and knees for most of the weekend after that, toiling away.

It took hours and hours to get the old tile off the floor. More hours to prepare the floor. And many more solid hours to put the new flooring in. But we did it.

And we can’t believe how lovely our kitchen looks now!

This project has given us a huge confidence boost now. In the future we plan to retile the flooring in the family room, bathroom, hallways; and repaint several rooms.

But not just right now. My back is so sore, it needs like a two-month break!

The Elusive Kitty

I got home from work about an hour ago and went to the backyard. I heard the little, homeless kitty mewing non-stop and made my way towards the fence where its all overgrown - like a little jungle in the making.

The little survivor was sitting on top of some dead branches and shouting at us! He looked hungry. So Nanu and I got some milk and kitty treats and went as close to him as possible and left it there.

Within five minutes, there he was scrambling through the thick, overgrown brush making his way to the food. He happily ate all the kitty treats and started lapping the milk.

I tried to get closer, hoping I could grab him and take him indoors to safety, but it was a no-go. He ran away.

When I retreated to a respectful distance, he made his way back and started drinking the milk again. Well, I guess he will be our fourth pet (after Motu, Billu and Pico) - except he'll live outdoors.

We cant catch him, but if we dont feed him, he won't survive. So it looks like we'll just have to leave some milk and food for him every day, until he's old enough to make it on his own. He's so small that he's not as yet able to eat regular, cat food. But he does seem to enjoy the moist kitty treats we left for him. Hmmmpppfff! A cat with expensive tastes!

I told Nanu that we need to name him, seeing that we seem to be spending so much time in our backyard, trying to bond with him. So Nanu came up a silly little poem, just as I was typing this.

Here it is:
"His name is Dracula
He has a dark coat
Raises hell in the night
And he bites and draws blood"

If you don't know what I'm talking about, maybe you missed my previous kitty post. You can catch up on that here.

Of course I'm assuming the kitty is a "he". Isn't that sexist of me? It could be a "she" for all I know.

I just think he's a survivor, tough, smart and very brave. In tamil, my mother tongue, I'd say the cat's got a lot of - which is pronounced "Adhistam" - translation? LUCK.

For he is one lucky kitty, isn't he?

Roomy Rooms

I'm back. And everyone I know is safe and accounted for in India, despite what happenned recently in Bombay.

The house is looking lovelier every day. Thats our living room, with Project Runway, Season 3 playing on the TV screen at night!

Is anyone planning to visit us soon or what? We have the guest bedroom all ready - awaiting you!

Here's what it looks like: We call it "The Blue Room".

Now you know why!

New House News!

Its been more than a week since I posted last. Boy, thats a long time!

The good news is we're all unpacked and mostly settled into our new home. Unpacking those cardboard boxes filled with stuff seemed to take forever. But the house looks lovely now and all that needs to be done is hang up all the paintings and wall hangings.

I finally have a massive closet, which is big enough to fit all my stuff. And Nanu has his own massive closet - its so wonderful not to have to share closet space anymore! Yay! The new washer and dryer work marvellously well and are so quiet in comparison to what we had at the rental property. The kitchen is quite sunny during the day - since it faces East and thats another thing I like about the house - lots of natural sunlight filtering in.

The cats were scared the first day we moved and refused to come out from under the sofa for most of that day. But later that evening they started to explore and now seem to be having a blast chasing each other all over the house and finding all the sunny spots to sleep in.

Oh and Pico's enjoying himself with a new pass-time. Its called Dog-Skating!

Since we have bare floors covering most of the house, what he does is run at top speed from one corner of the family room to the other and since there's no carpet to stop his momentum, he skids and skates all over the floor. He seems to like it enormously and we love watching him do that. Its quite hilarious!

Also he managed to find two weak spots in the fenced-in backyard and wriggled into our neighbor's compound through the fence. Smart dog that!

The sucky news is we're on dialup. Our DSL was supposed to come through a few days ago - but for some reason, there's been a delay. So until we get DSL we're stuck with dial-up, which really is so frustrating. Every page takes ages to download and any internet surfing is painful right now, due to the slow speed of the connection.

Hopefully we'll get our hi-speed internet soon and then I can post some pictures!

Packing Madness

Our house is a mess.
There are a ton of boxes spread out all over the place.
The walls look bare. All the wall hangings and paintings and figurines have been taken down from the walls and are in various stages of being packed with bubble wrap or newspaper.

The cats know something is up and seem a little concerned.
Pico is up to no good as usual.
He's having a ball poking his face into half filled boxes and pulling out whatever he sees.
He's already rescued a stuffed Giraffe from a cardboard box three times so far...
Nanu is busy on the phone activating and deactivating water supply and electricity, choosing direct TV, phone lines and DSL. We cant wait to move into our new place.
But at the slow rate our packing is going, it would be a surprise if we can move in by this weekend!

Interesting Yard Sale Finds!

Saw this kitty cat and had to pick it up. Its apparently a bird feeder. Pretty funny if you ask me!

Saw this handmade birdhouse. Its a pink pig and the bird can fly in through his eyes or from the other side where there is a small round hole. Will hang this on a tree in the backyard of the new house. Hope many birds will come and nest!

Lovely terracota container (empty of course). Maybe I will store my chai in it.

Yard sales are so fun! You never know what quirky thing you are going to find amidst all the junk!

Our New House!

Nanu and I just closed on a house in Carbondale! Yes, we just signed all the numerous bank papers and legal documents and are now the proud owners of a home. Yippeee!

It's been this top secret thing ever since we saw it and fell in love with it sometime ago. Since we havent had much luck with houses as you know from my previous posts - here and here - we decided to keep a lid on our excitement levels, until we were sure we were indeed buying the place.

It's a darling three bedroom ranch style home with a brick facade and a fenced in garden at the back. Its so much bigger and lovelier than the rented place we currently stay at and I just cant wait to move in.

We've already picked up a washer, dryer and a fridge and they will be delivered next week to our new home. We plan to move next weekend and will get started with packing now. The house is in great condition, though we do want to do a remodel of the kitchen. But since we are broke now, that will have to wait for a couple of months!

Oh this is so exciting! We should be all settled into the new house in the next 2-3 weeks. I hope Pico, Motu and Billu like it there.

So the question of the moment is: Who wants to come for our housewarming party?

Excitement in the Air

Shhh....it's a secret!

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Staining Coffee Tables

Today was about experiments in staining woodwork.
Nanu and I have never done this before and decided it was time to take the plunge.
We took two old coffee tables, and sanded, stained and applied a semi-gloss, polyurethane sealant coat. It wasnt nearly as hard as I thought it'd be! It was nice working outside on our porch on a breezy, sunny day like this.
Since we chose a nice mahogany red stain it looks pretty rich. Of course the irritating part was waiting for the stain to dry and then reapplying it and now waiting for the semi-gloss finish to dry.
We took a much needed break from all the work. Can you see Pico on the far right? :)
Our tables are now drying outside on our porch. I plan to bring them in by tomorrow afternoon, when they will be dry and ready to use!

Not So Awesome Possum

I was taking my plants outside to get some sun, when I saw something scary, out of the corner of my eye.

It was a Possum, sitting quietly at the edge of my sofa, wedged in by a side table.

I screamed. I thought it was a strange, evil looking, massively big rat. It was half the size of my cats and seemed way bigger than any rat I’d ever seen. Nanu came running out of his study and was equally horrified.

How on earth are these critters coming into the house? Its eeeky and scary.

I grabbed the camera and took some quick photographs. Nanu thought I was crazy. What was I doing with a camera, when I should be helping him?!!

We left the front door open, moved furniture and tried to "poke" the Possum with the end of our cobweb duster, to get it to move and run out of the house. Billu, Motu and Pico didn’t even seem to care. They just watched the whole commotion with a hard-to-believe disinterest in their eyes.

Finally the Possum moved and ran behind more furniture. Nanu got the bright idea to lay a long cardboard carton on the floor and after several attempts successfully managed to "poke" the Possum into running into the box.

Then it was a race against time. He grabbed the open box and ran at top speed, outside the door and literally “threw” the box in our front yard. He was as scared as I was.

Out ran the Possum from the box! We watched in horrified awe.

But suddenly Pico transformed into a hunting dog. He started barking and out he ran at top speed. I screamed. Nanu screamed. And Pico grabbed the Possum between his teeth.

Much as we were scared by the Possum, we didn’t want him to die. So Nanu poked Pico with the same cobweb duster and I tried to pull on Pico's leash, until he dropped the Possum.

It lay still on the grass. We thought Mr. Possum was dead.

Nanu went to get a trash bag, while I scolded Pico.

And then much to our amazement, the Possum came to life. He opened his eyes, took a quick peek at me and then ran away!

I guess that’s how the term "playing Possum" originated. The Possum played dead and fooled us. I'm glad Pico didn’t kill him.

But I'm terrified Mr. Possum will come back into our house. I can’t wait to move. This is an old house and obviously there are some holes through which the Possum gets in, that are not visible to us.

We looked it up online and discovered we were dealing with a Possum and not a rat. They are apparently harmless creatures. There are even several website called possumrescue.com and opossumsocietyus.org that “promote the gentleness of possums.” Yikes!

It’s been an eventful day all right.

New Plants! New Plants!

There's glorious sunshine all around.
Summer is almost here. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and the grass is greener than ever.

So Nanu and I went yard sale shopping today and I picked up several nice flower pots for less than a dollar each.

We then stopped by a plant sale organized by the local Church nearby.

We brought home loads of plants: Some pretty flowering plants (don’t know their names, unfortunately), two tomato plants and two bell pepper (capsicum) plants.

While Nanu was away attending the SIU Commencement/Graduation ceremony, I spent an hour filling the colorful pots with fresh mud and potting my pretty plants.









My cats were curious and Billu did his level best to eat the plants when he thought I wasnt looking.

I plan to move them outdoors tomorrow, so that they get all the sun they need and are away from my destructive, plant-eating cats!

At a moving sale we went to, I spotted an interesting looking plant selling for just 75 cents. The lady told me it was called "Mother-in-law's Tongue!"

I nearly died laughing.

I had to buy it then. Sorry Rajima (that’s my wonderful ma-in-law) no offense to you, but that is such a hilarious name for a plant!

I did some research and it's supposed to be a tough plant that grows well both indoors and out.

It's apparently also called devil's tongue, lucky plant, good-luck plant and snake's root.

I hope it grows well in our home.

Interviews and Gardening in the Weekend

On Saturday, I had a wonderful time interviewing this amazing lady at her home in Carterville, for a story I'm writing for the magazine.

She's 92 years old and still goes to the salon every Saturday to get her hair done! "A woman's got to do what she's got to do," she chuckled to me.

Remarkably well preserved, cheerful and personable, she insisted that I tell the whole world this - "I have reached the ripe old age of 92 by living on junk food and candy!" No kidding. She was such a cutie.

A voracious reader, she apparently reads a book a day and is well informed about all the current events happening in the world around her. "I was born during World War I," she said to me. "And I see the same mistakes being repeated over and over again."

I hope I'm as bright and interesting as she was, if I live long enough to be her age, one day.

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Other than office work, Nanu and I had a very productive day today. We cleaned, vacuumed, scrubbed and "beautified" our home for most of the day and even did some gardening in the evening.

We used this new gadget he bought - it’s called a Grass Hog - and is usually used to trim and edge grass and weeds.

Since we don’t own a lawn mower as yet, we used this to mow the lawn, in addition to trimming edges. It’s a powerful, well designed tool, but it sure makes a lot of noise. Also our grass looks a bit patchy, since in some places we just cut too much or too little. I guess this means we really do need a lawn mower if we are to have uniform looking grass.

On the fun side of things, we cleared out some weeds, and sprinkled lots of grass seed in all the areas that looked a bit barren and grass-less. Since Pico kept jumping in between, he got covered with generous doses of grass seed. I wonder what he'll look like if grass starts sprouting from his head and body. That would be a funny sight!

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I took this picture of Motu and died laughing when I uploaded it on my computer and saw how eerie his eyes looked.

He looks like an alien or something. And he's sitting in what used to be our onion basket. I was cleaning it out the other day and he just jumped in and made himself comfortable. So I guess that meant it became his new nook and the onions had to find a new place to live! :)


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Not meant to be...

We lost the house.
This is such a bummer. We actually offered the seller $4,000 more than the listed price. But we got a response this afternoon - the seller chose someone who offered $5,000 more than the listed price.
We lost by a thousand dollars. This is so sad.
And here we were already making plans on what color we would paint the walls and how we'd rip up the carpets in the den and polish the wooden floor. Nanu and I are depressed.

To cheer myself up, I shall post some pictures of me in my new coat which I got at an unbelievable price.

I had posted about it a few days ago, but never got around to clicking pictures that day.

I still need to persuade Nanu to take a picture of me in my new black dress coat. Will post that when it happens.

So here goes...

House Hunting

Nanu and I have been looking at houses the past month, since we plan to buy one pretty soon. Luckily for us, the houses seem very affordable in this part of the country.

Because we are first time home buyers we've been reading up and researching big time about how the whole process works.

So today, we decided to go for this real estate auction - as we've never been to one before. Oh my, was that a unique experience or what! Our realtor, L, this really frank, knowledgeable and very 'with it' lady came with us and much to our surprise decided to bid for the house herself. So right in the middle of the auction, here she was by our side happily bidding. All she'd do was nod her head and signal with her eyes and the bid would go up by a thousand dollars. It was such a surreal experience.

A couple of people bid more and within about ten minutes the house was sold to the highest bidder who won by just bidding 500 bucks more.

After the auction, Nanu asked our realtor, "Did you really plan to buy that house?"

And she said with a twinkle in her eye, "If I had got it at the price I bid for, why not?" Yeah it would have been a great investment then, for she would have just put it on the real estate market and sold it for a lot higher than that.

"I wonder how you'd have explained it to your husband, if you'd won the auction!" laughed Nanu.

In my mind I can just picture her explaining, "Well Honey, my clients were interested in the real estate auction, but I got carried away and just decided to bid on the spur of the moment. So here we are - the proud owners of another home!" That would have been hilarious if she had won.

After all that excitement, L showed us two beautiful houses this morning. And it looks like we are in love finally. I'm talking about the houses of course.

One seems a bit overpriced but is drop dead beautiful and the other - a foreclosed home - seems totally under priced and unbelievable value for the sheer size and amenities it offers. Much to our delight it even has a great little deck in the back and a huge backyard!

We've decided to make an offer for the under priced place. Keeping our fingers crossed. The offer goes through on Monday. Who knows, in a couple of days Nanu and I could be the proud owners of a new home...