dry day

Hmm.
New beginnings.
I moved to another country last week. It's not a new country to me- I used to live here nearly two decades ago. Needless to say the place is completely different from what it was back then. And I have to get used to it all over again.
I have to be a better, neater, more polished version of myself here. Unironed clothes and messy hair just won't cut it.
I wonder what toll this will take on the environment. Malls, marts, McD's- I see how much more waste is generated here than back home. I suppose that will just be another challenge I grapple with while I am here: making sure I continue to do what I can, and continue to encourage others to too.
How dry it is here!
Know what's awesome though? There are mayflowers here! Gulmohur trees flowering profusely in the heat of an early Middle Eastern summer

Wish me luck in the ME!

saving sequins

  

Phewy!
I have just had my first encounter with a job search portal.
Definitely not accustomed to thinking along those lines. Guess that's something I shall have to learn, and soon!
How does one present oneself properly using another person's format?
No idea if this will work for me, but if it doesn't, I might have found another job: Rescuing sequins!
Alright, fine, it's more an avocation than a vocation.
I take the sequins off the scraps of cloth that can't be used for much  (except as stuffing), and look for ways to reuse the little bling.
Here's one possibility- jazz up plain white envelopes. Create your own gifting possibilities. Better yet- pay me to do it for you. (Nyeh heh heh!)

In other news: I gave Sputnik II away. Lopsy and Flotsam too will find a new home today.

Darn it!

a mild swear word?
nope, just something i like getting done.
too often our clothes get ripped and we set them aside, planning to repair them someday. but someday never comes. so we throw the garments out, or cut them up for rags or bags.
i can offer you a better way.
for years now, off and on, i've been going to a 'darning centre' in panjim.
a title that seems grand, right (like executive assistant)? well, it's two men, whose fingers are nimble (and I've yet to see a thimble - sorry, that rhyme just begged to be released), sitting outside Lakaki (opposite Tato's, near Panjim church).
denim. silk. cotton. lycra. these are the things i've seen them working on.
over the last couple of months, i've gotten jeans (two pairs), cargoes, t-shirts, cotton pants and a bag repaired.
i think they do a pretty darn good job (pun intended). and they aren't too pricey. Grand total for all that stuff? something like 300.

where is the darn(ed) thing? the horizontal line  close to the base of my small steps bag

jambul

Tis Jambul season. And kantam season. And Chunnam season.
Bought the jambuls in the picture on the streets of Panjim. 100/- for 80 berries. Quite nice.
Support local fruits and fruit pickers and vendors. The greater the demand for something, the more the people who make money off it are likely to fight for it (in this case, the trees)

Bird update: a coucal ate the eggs. It dropped one down- mum found some pieces.
Oh well.

One small step

The last few weeks-months-have been heavy momentous ones.
I was shown a couple of strands of white hair on my head, pressure to move to an urban location grew, and I visited one of India's prime employment destinations. Before all that, I took on the responsibility of a home coupled with a job.
I recognized a deep-seated desire to be on my own which made my dream of a farm brighter.
And through all that, I tried to live a life that would not damage the earth.
It wasn't easy.

I stumbled many times and lifting myself up became tougher.
Then I found out that a friend of mine whom I'd never thought of as having green tendencies had bought a cycle to ride to work instead of using his geared motorbike.
Not all of us can make big gestures of that sort, but the smaller ones are within our reach.

What have I done for the planet in recent weeks? I repaired a pair of tights for myself, and made repairs to clothes I no longer fit into so that they can be passed on to other people.
Total time spent: 3 hours.
BIG green plus: I would've probably spent that time in front of the TV, using more electricity and not doing anything particularly useful.

Size doesn't always matter.