Summer 2022

 7 friends. 7 parties. Yummy food. Relocation to a newly renovated, surrounded by Greenery, but very noisy ( train track beyond the greenery) flat. Very difficult find as nobody willing to rent for short term with a pet. 2 sleep overs with ladies. R had a 2 days and 1 night sleep over at V's place. She went for a day long play date with Izzy. V came for a sleep  over. Had a ex colleague and good friend's 40th dinner treat at De*co lounge. Met a lot of new lovely ladies, had a great time. Fell down and hurt myself trying to hang curtains in the flat. Daily visits to the building site. New friends S and V delivered a huge batch of sambar to tide us through! :) Went to southall to see the factory of windows, bifold doors, roof lanterns etc. Did a bit of shopping.

For the bank holiday weekend, went for a 2 nights, 3 day trip to Diss. Stayed at the w*ood place. An amazingly huge bungalow with a massive front garden full of trees and shrubs. A place of full of light. Huge windows and a reading floor with a massive window. The exact break we needed from the flat. We had an absolutely smashing relaxing time. Went for nature walks and on the way back enjoyed thetford forest. 

Back to the grind now. School in a week. V Chathurthi celebrations at N's place on the 31st and sleepover with a movie, cards, antakshari and mexican snacks ( Ochatha, pitta bread, veg puffs, mexican mango salad and home made humus ) till 4 am and woke up at 7 am for a chiquilita breakfast, ginger tea and chit chat till 11 am. All good except the body mass! K picked up V for a sleep over with R - so all good on that front as well!

That was our summer '22.

P

Letter to my princess, My new teen girl!

 Dear Kannamma

You are now a brand new teenager! Can you believe it?

While you have grown drastically in height and are no longer the tiniest in class and of course you are a young lady who is now wearing my clothes, the spirited giggle, the adamant resilience, the obstinate commitment to fun first and the overcrowded teeth tell a charmingly different story altogether! :)

We had a great busy summer this time. Once back from Greece, the last term of school was not great - in the sense that somebody whom you thought was a close friend, turned out to be a huge disappointment. You took it in your stride, faced it head on and indomitably took on the head of your form staunchly defending your truth. You class teacher and the school counsellor were very clear how much they admired you for the same. You did it politely but firmly. You simply had no fear. 

The other friends were too scared to support you outright as this 'friend' had mental health issues, but you took our advice not to take it to heart but continue to be friendly with them. A very important life lesson that would serve you particularly well in corporate life. But, I must say you handled it much better than I would have. I may have done the same things you did but back at home, I would have sobbed my heart out. But you stood strong there and you stood strong at home. You were practical and better at slowly but surely regulating your emotions regarding the whole sordid but beyond silly affair.

A new update on the above. This year, despite all the drama that happened before the holidays and the rift before the holidays, you said 'hi' and initiated a conversation with the 'friend' when you met after the hols. I would have never done that and have never done it. She would have been banished from my life forever. But you said life was too short and you would rather not hold grudges but just be a bit extra careful with said girl. One more aspect where you are just like your dad.

Despite all this and more,  you prepared for your exams all by yourself, wanting to try complete independence,  had a wonderful Snowd*nia school trip and came back to sterling results. Very good for your first step towards independence.

You also managed to, for fun, memorise the periodic table in its entirely during these hols!

We have now moved to a flat while our house is being renovated and you have adjusted with coco reasonably well. 

We have raging arguments still as the more I control, the more fiercely independent you are. You give wonderful shoulder and neck and leg massages to Daddy and I, whenever we are tired.

You would not do things out of the way on your own yet, but if we ask - you will help us with anything and everything. You are slowly learning to observe and do things even when we do not ask. But given that you are an only child, I think we need to ask more of you to develop this more in you.

With all the shifting, lifting and the daily building site visits, my back pain and daddy's leg pain were stessing us out and on the eve of your birthday we went into a raging argument while decorating the place. You stepped in firmly between us, told us off , asked us to 'stop going on about silly things, while other couples have bigger reasons to fight -fighting because of chores is very silly of you two!'. We did stop as what you said made us realise, it was the stress that was affecting us and not any real reason to blame each other.

As usual, you and Coco have made friends with neighbours here as well and you have them cake and all of them very sweetly gave you gifts and cards. 

Y uncle came as is his usual practice and the wishes from so many people made us realise how social you are and how very much the grown ups are fond of you. Most of your friends changed their status to 'Rrulez' which was kind of sweet!

You topped in religious studies, English, history and maths. Very good scores in science and Spanish but can do with topping :) Especially given your passion is science. It is the graphs that always seem to trip you up!

Grade 5 in singing is what you are working towards. Keyboard classes only to supplement the singing. Still fascinated with Katniss and very interested in medical dramas. Still Social, still cheery, still funny and for me, mind bogglingly still marching to your  and only your  own beat. 

But you still give us a lot of hugs and kisses, call out 'love you' ten times a day and still get thrilled with Pizza, pasta and chocolate milkshake! Some things never change da kuttyma!

Love you kannamma and may you have the very best in life and may you give the very best to life!

Love you to the moon and back

Amma

Summary update 2

 From here we drove to Monolithos caves. Once again the climb was ok and the cafe downstairs was a decent stop for Yoghurt with honey and nuts and some milk shake. I also bought some gifts of olive oil, honey and sweets for N and S. They had been taking loving care of our Coco boy, sweetly sharing video and photo updates - to the delight of the young one. They also let her have a video chat with him one day - and it was very sweet to see Coco getting happy and excited,  licking the phone screen thinking we were in front of him.

Anyway, we went up the monolithos caves to yet another gorgeous view and the church on top. I took care not to pray specifically for anything! ( given the disastrous follow up prayer by R in the previous church!)

Like we were on some mission, we drove next to Kritinia** castle. Went up to the top of this medieval wonder ( of course no cataloguing here either!),  feasted on yet another stupdendous view and finally took the picturesque journey back to the hotel.

 K  wanted to go to a beach, but I and R wanted to rest. So we all rested and K and I watched Kai&&dhi in preparation for our watching the movie Vik*ram once back home. R rested with her book, kindle and tab.

Dad and daughter sprinted off for dinner while I took a nice long shower and rested with a book,.

Day 6- I love long nature walks and hikes - so this day was dedicated to the Seven springs (Epta pi*ges). Having parked next to the cafe as researched earlier, we spotted some beautiful peacocks and made our wa to the nature forest. Dad and daughter went through the dark unlit tunnel , with water flowing on their bare feet, to make it to the lake fed by the springs. I happily took the overhead path and let them enjoy the adventure. R was on her first day of troubles and was being a trooper. We then moved further inward from the green late to the waterfall and had a lovely time fooling around.

We then went back to the cafe where there was a 1 year celebration was going on. Enjoyed the local tradition and went to the verdant outside seating area for our usual milkshakes and fruit juice.

Took some pics and went back.

R rested , while K and I went for some shopping and to get some chocolates for R. 

We also went to have an early dinner by the beach. A lovely hut with an eccentric owner who sang greek songs , lamented the taste of tomatoes and potatoes in England and was generally very funny

Day 7 - R wanted to rest. So, K and I went for a swim and snorkel at La?diko beach. We had lunch at the hotel and started packing. All packed and ready, the three of us checked out and went to the Anthony Qu**inn bay, took some pics and made our way to the airport for a 11.30 flight

We had a nightmare 3 hour delay and a further 40 minutes wait on the plan to be cleared for take off. After a disturbed and restles flight, we finally landed around 5.30 am. We cleared security, collected our luggage and drove from East midlands to our place and reach home by around 6.20am.

7 am K and R (brushed, showered and dressed in uniform) collected Coco and came home.After a quick reunion with our wonderful boy, R was dropped at school and K went to work downstairs and I upstairs.

Overall, one of the most relaxing and wonderful holidays we had ever had.

Very grateful.

Summary update of trip

 Due to the freedom of the rental car, we covered loads more than we intended to, so just jotting down the order and main points.

Day 1 Butterfly garden. Just the young one and I. Loved the hike between the lush trees, lakes, waterfalls. Visited the Kalopetra monastery at the top. Had milkshake and fresh orange juice in the Cafe inbetween. The climb to the monastery - the steps garlanded by flowery shrubs on both sides was fantastic. Took beautiful pics of the young one. Took a taxi back as K was in a call.

Reached the hotel, freshened up and post K's work wrap up, went to the Ladiko beach just for a look-see. 

Had dinner at the best restaurant in Faliraki -Something Differ*ent - it was really the best. 

Day 2 - Visited Tsa,mbika beach. The best beach I have ever gone to. Golden sand, Emerald water and a gentle breeze. The changing facilities in all these beaches were a shack but with a bottom board that keeps your stuff out of sand as well as lots of hooks to hang wet clothes. This made a huge difference and made changing very easy and comfortable. Had a whale of a time swimming and enjoying the fabulous view and feeling very blessed. The sun beds are usually around 8 euros each but are clean and comfortable.  Came back, freshened up and went to Rhodes Old* town. Thoroughly enjoyed the drive, where the road sometimes was just along the beach. Parked just outside the old town and walk along the Marina. Loved the beach and the cruise ships docked there.

Went to the centre of Rhodes town and there was an absolutely heavenly tree covered - and I mean literally covered like a canopy, central square full of restaurants. Went to George's cafe or some such. Food was ok. Walked all around the town enjoying the medieval architecture. Also went to the Monaster of K*nights. This was a complete dud and our first realisation that Rhodes is very weak in cataloguing artefacts and providing info about the ancient artefacts. Throughout Europe, all such places have wonderful cataloguing and the history and story of each artefact takes you back to those times. Here, there were not even basic labels, forget about history of origin. Such rich artefacts throughout Rhodes and not a single one was catalogued properly. Such a shame!

Had some lovely icecream on th eway back, window shopped in loads more shops and came back home happy tired to a piping hot shower from the solar panels in the hotel!

Day 3 - As per our friend P's recommendation - went to K'alithea springs. It was a wonderful place with a sea view wedding venue simply but stunningly decorated in the hellenic style. Took loads of pics and post some deliberation, decided to swim in the springs (though we were told, the thermal springs do not get warm till peak summer). The water was still relatively warm and a welcome respite. The young one and K snokelled for quite a while , while I enjoyed a safe swim nearer to the shore. They went quite far to explore the underwater scenery. 

After a good time, we drove to Lindos town. Though this was a very very pretty beach, we had finished swimming for the day, so we opted to dine at the hill top My**thos restaurant which was at the very start of the plant canopied, winding, very toy like, narrow laned Lindos town with its picturesque white houses. The view was breathtaking - of both Lindos bay and the acropolis. It was very expensive and while K enjoyed his non veg fare, the young one and I had a touch time with the veg fare.

We finished that and decided to brave the climb to the acropolis. It was not too bad. As usual, very little useful cataloguing of such an ancient structure. We took in the views neverthless and came back down to some milkshakes and icecream. The people were very sweet all over Rhodes and this was no exception. The shops had very pretty fare that we window shopped to our hearts content. K's internal radar was perfect  as usual and even in that maze of a town, he took us wherever we wanted to go - only after one glance on our way up to the Acropolis.

Day 4 - We had booked a trip to the beautiful Symi island. Got picked up by shuttle to Rhodes* town. Boarded a cruise ship at the Mand%raki harbour. 1 hour trip to Symi via the fast boat. Very pretty island but because of location, very hot. Thankfully we took the liitle train for the 45 minute tour, absolutely enjoyed the picturesque island and hopped off at the Nos beach bay for a quick snorkel and swim. K did say that the bay was a bit dangerous in that while snorkelling he suddenly found himself above a crate atleast 21 metres deep! But both of them snorkelled and swam to their hearts content.

We walked back, drank some fresh Pomegranate juice and boarded our return boat in the nick of time. Got down at the harbour and took the shuttle back.

Day 5 - Drove to yet another beautiful corner of Lindos to board our yellow s%ubmarine boat. Having done this in Mauritius in 2006 and Maldives in 2007, it was depressing to see how much the fish and sealife have been depleted. As usual, K and the young one jumped off the boat anchored for the same pprpose  in the middle of the sea for some snorkelling and swmming. Am very glad the young one is so comfortable swimming in the sea as this was one skill I really wanted her to have and enjoy.

We came back to Lindos and K wanted to drive all around the island and see all key landmarks. So we did just that ( the drive, once again was breathtakingly beautiful). We first stopped at a super market and bought some pastries, cakes, chocolates, cookies, Kefir and juice for our trip. There was a very cute orthodox xristian workshipping enclave. I prayed sincerely for the young one to take sensible decisions regarding her GCSEs, do well in her A levels and settle down well in life. She went in. I asked her what she prayed for and she cheekily replies ' Please make mummy give me permission to have cup noodles!'. Grrrr!

Our first step was the gorgeous Parsinisi % beach where the the Ionian Sea meets the Aegean sea . This beach had a lot of waves unlike the others we had seen till now. THe air was moist as well and reminded me a lot of Marina beach and the Mumbai coastline.

..To be continued

June 2022

 Just back from a fabulous trip to Rhodes, Greece. This is our first trip abroad after two and a half years. Also, given the pressure on finances, due to the raising cost of living and our huge commitment to renovate the recently bought home, the trip was very touch and go. We booked a relatively less costlier hotel and our friends N and S took care of Coco except for a couple of days when Frank took charge as usual.

Sunday was the flight and Friday was her last exam and we were invited to sweet N baby's house for dinner. Had a great time with the parents N and M - but R was so knackered after her exams that she slept around midnight. So, we had to come home in the middle of a wonderful time.

The day before the trip, as a treat, I took the young one to a hair dresser. The young one had always refused bangs and I always thought wispy bangs looked great on her. We were still discussing this, when the hairdresser, while saysing ' I will just show you how the bangs option will loop' snipped her hair off! (The day before, our dear friend H did the young one's eyebrows and she was very happy with how she looked and was in a ' am feeling pretty' mood!). The tears started falling fast and furious. As always, her tears are very rare, silent and heart breaking. And even more upsetting is that, she sometimes smiles through her tears trying to reassure me she is not actually very sad. 

For the next 3 hours, there were tears, tears and more tears. She did NOT want or like bangs. I thought she looked really good and so did her dad, but she did not like them at all. She went to stagecach still teary eyed. Her teacher said she looked good but two of her friends thought it was not that great. So, more sadness ensued. This frustrated me and I berated her for being spoilt . There were more arguments, much more upset and the packing and getting ready was not great - to say the least. She had just wrapped up her exams, studying and planning her revisions independent of us for the first time and she was very pleased with how she did in her exams and was feeling very grown up. She was looking forward to the holiday and somehow these ' bangs' ruined her life and turned it into a tragedy! Grrrr!

We handed Coco to our friends, gave him lots of hugs and cuddles and left for East Midlands airport. As usual, the young one could not be sad for too long and before long we were happily chatting away. She was now a lot of help with the luggages, check in etc. We successfully boarded the plan and after a very slight delay, took off. (This was a miracle in itself as we were hearing many flights being cancelled etc).

We landed in Rhodes and throughout th eweather was 26 to 27 degrees. Perfect beach weather. Looked like we lucked out as we came at the end of May/beginning of June. Earlier would have been rainy and later would have been unbearably hot. There was always a gentle breeze which made is all the more pleasant.

We took a taxi to Zo-e's hotel in Faliraki. K was working the first 3 days, so the plan was for the young one and I to bond the first 3 days and to spend the next 4 days as a family/. The place was also 2 hours ahead of the UK, so it was easy from that angle as well.

The game changer this time was that we rented a car and K drove us everywhere. This gave us the freedom to take whatever we wanted (one set of dry swim clothes were always in the boot), change our plans as needed, cover loads more places and for the young one to lie down and take rest during the journey.

...To be continued

Contact lens

 Also, while in our previous house, every day morning was a hassle, with me having to put her contacts in, I grew sick and tired and said if she wanted contacts she had to wear them by herself in her new house.

And lo and behold, from day 1 of the end of Feb, at 12,, the contacts went in all by herself, no help needed and now I am the one missing the time spent with her, even in the morning rush!

So, what was all that display of helplessness before about?

Hmmm...

2022 Part 3

 The clashes between the young one and I are achieving legendary proportions now. I understand she is approaching her teens but it is her swing between ' most mature and zen like' to ' as silly as I can be' flips that I am unable to handle! She always had strong opinions, preferences and choices and so do I - a recipe for disaster! One day, I completely broke down and said that I never imagined my relationship with her would be like this - given that she is the one person I have completely and absolutely loved, without any ego whatsoever.  And I did not like the numher of conflicts we were having.

Her reply, and trust me, I quote ' Amma, we have a lovely relationship. You have to lay down the rules for me - as otherwise I may grow up into a spoilt brat. I have to keep doing naughty things  as otherwise I would not enjoy my childhood. This is the normal process for both of us and we are both doing a good job. So, don't worry'. And what do you say to that???

She is clear that her career would only be something that she enjoys doing. She is not going to be competitive or ambitious. She will do what she wants every day only if she enjoys the process. And she would like to speak to as many people as she can, during the course of the day, in her job. And she would like to work in a team. But she would like to make a decent amount of money and be independent financially. This is her view of her future as of 12 years old.

True to her word, for the Chithirai Thiruvizha function, she , with her friends V and Vid practiced a few songs , went on stage and gave a phenomenal performance. Vid's mum kept saying how positive she was and for me it was clear that she completely enjoyed the practices, the time spent with her friends and most of all her spectacularly confident and cool performance on stage. No nervousness whatsoever.

She also read the Tamil thaai vazthu - the pronunciation of which she got pat down within an hour. It is not the easiest poem to conquer especially if you do not understand the language. 

Her maths teacher said she was way above her grade, she received her second commendation ( commendations being rarely given out) for her presentation on who inspired her - Katnys Everden from hunger games - it used to be 'my mum' :() which apparently was brilliant in individuality and Clarity. Frustratingly, though she is the class topper in computers and coding and her teacher thinks she is a natural - she refused to take coding and is taking classical studies instead!

Given her health is slowly bouncing back, I asked her if she wanted to get back to Badminton and she said she would love to, but no tournaments, just playing for fun. Fair enough! (Though she did win Gold in her last county tournament - sigh!)

She checks on Wikepedia and Tiktok on anything ranging from history to politics - especially if it affects/involves Women, Children or Animals. She hates prejudice and challenges adults on any prejudicial statement anybody makes - including her dad and I. She is well liked by all her teachers and respected by quite a few.

She still hates time pressure and would slow even further , if rushed. Everything on her terms -which she assures me, are usually reasonable. 

She is friends mostly with the non academic children at school and to be frank- she seems to  prefer the absolute rule breakers. This baffles me. She herself does not break any rules (apparently everybody knows her mum is very strict!) but is very patient, understanding and kind with these rule breakers ( as they seem to be with her!) - who mostly seem to have very good skills in non academic areas (interior designing, sports, tik tok shorts) -  not at all short money wise,  but  unconventional homes/home arrangements.  She helps them with their homework, joins in their fun and is proud to be the 'nerd' in the group. She seems clear that her path is different to theirs but enjoys spending time with them. 

In all, still the loveable, twinkle eyed, fun loving, spirited R that I think (and hope)she always will be!

We are indeed lucky that our lives are touched by her :) And I am not exaggerating - her teachers say how they look forward to seeing her bright smile and cheery greeting, as they walk into class. As the youngest in her class, while the others have moved on to become surly teens, this is the only 12 year old still not self conscious to say hi and chat with her teachers! :)

2022 Part 2

 So, we were knackered after having moved home and still finding our things when our now 'a street away' S called us over for dinner. What a relief it was to go for some yummy fare when you are absolutely knackered and relieved that after a 3 year search and a 6 month process, you have finally moved in!

We moved in on the Friday and on Sunday was sweet R's 13th birthday celebration. Thanks to my PM skills, I had already organised school clothes, weekend class clothes and the 13th birthday celebration clothes all ready and we were good to go.

It was an unseasonably glorious day and us 8 families had a whale of a time at T and H's home. Photo shoots, elaborate home made fare, dumb charades ( Gents vs Ladies) etc was super fun. Half way through K and I had to step out as a very good friend of ours V and a builder he was hoping to go into partnership with wanted to check out our property and discuss what we needed doing. The visit went well as well. We came back again to join R  and the celebrations. Coco was with his favourite care taker Frank and playmate Mark - so he had a good time as well.

In the weeks following, we had each of these couples and others visiting us every week to check out the house. The standard fare we would serve them was pongal, one pot sambar, coconut and mint chutney. We were wondering if we might as well have had a gathering and introduced them to the house all at once!

A few weeks later, the oldest couple in our group, N and S had their 50th anniversary homam and celebration. Once again, it was a lovely day and we had a great time. The best part was the late night chat where each couple, starting with them reliving the first time they met and how the marriage came about. One of the best times we ever had as a group!

K landed his next contract with his interview the day after - so , all was well.

The week after, we were invited to the house warming function of A and R and their lovely daughter V. It was the last day of R's term - she had a half day out and fun with her friends at the local mall and was too knackered to come. So, we left her and Coco at home and went and had a good time with the usual gang plus some more.

On the tamil new year's day bank holiday, we went once again to Lake district. This time around it was with 7 other families. The first day was great fun with just the ladies in a cottage playing cards and chit chatting The rest of the days were good but there were hiccups due to coordinating with such a large group and some small misunderstanding amongst the ladies.

However, R had a great time as one of our relatively new friends' daughter V got along very well with R. So, she came for a sleep over during the hols and they had a blast. So, throughout the trip as well, this child stayed with us and it was a pleasure for R, her , Coco and us!

Back from the trip, during the hols, R also had first a visit and then a sleep over with her school friend Izzy.  They had a fantastic time and I felt really bad that our home was still so messy that we could not invite her over in return ( V's family is closer to us, so she did not mind the mess!)

How did I forget My blog! 2022 update Part -1

 So, though new year went well, R's health continued to be a concern. Went to a private consultant on the 4th . The unexpected side effect of that visit was that the consultant was very impressed by R's use of specific medical terminology to describe her symptoms and was very vocal about it. This in turn made R suddenly develop an interest in gynaecology and the medical field!

That aside, the very smart and charismatic lady doc reassured me that it was just a matter of time before her health settled and she could not see anything worrisome. I think this is the first time I saw really personally inspired by somebody. Strange how things work!

While we learned to manage and live with R's health, K's current contract was not going so well. Strangely, though K finds it easy to listen to me - he always clashes with female peers to whom he delivers his services. Once again, for the second time in his career, this lead to him walking out before his contract ended. 

But this worked out in our favour, because after looking at around 45 plus houses since October 2002 and having sold our own house twice ( buyers from the first time had to pull out as they had waited long enough for us to find a house!) we had made an offer on a 'to be done up' property in september2002. But the agent was so bad that twice in the journey we pulled out and once they pulled out. We even made an offer on another property but having slept on it, we felt we were just losing patience and that was not the right way to decide on our forever home. So, we pulled out the next morning.

So, after many ups and downs, finally, our chain of 6, all aligned ( thanks in no small measure to K, who having broken his contract, focused all his efforts on getting this done) and on 22nd , we exchanged contracts. ( It was due on the 18th but the obnoxious solicitor of the seller, moved offices without bothering to inform anybody!)

We finally moved in on the 25th. It was drama lama till the last minute, and we moved out and sat with our things in the Morrison's car park, while the solicitor went off for a late lunch and deigned to come back at 3.30 pm to hand over our keys!

We were knackered after the shenanigans of the day. Only R had lots of fun , as she was on half-term and was in charge of coco. Coco was confused with all the busy goings on that he twice tried to make a break for it! I had to run to the streets to bring him back while R cheerfully commented ' He is so mischievous just like me, isn't he!' Grrrr!

Our sweet neighbour B gave a trove of gifts to R and took a pic with her. She also wrote her a very sweet note - 3 pages long - on how her move and adjustment from the US to the UK was made easy because of R's sunny smile every morning. Made me swell with pride!

(In fact, 3 days after we moved, yet another one of our neighbours, whom we have just waved at and smiled, found our number and messaged how much they would miss seeing R skipping and jumping to and fro the street from home!)

December holidays:2021

October started well..October 18 the was N’s seemandham in a hall and next day was A’s house warming at Warwick. Both were wonderful 31st was Solihull A’s grand feast and that was really good as well.

 November onwards was tough going in the K household. Our precious R fell ill with non COVID tiredness and flu and missed 25 percent of school this term. After lots of heart ache, tests and GP and consultant visits ( complicated more by the loss of  the dear 21 year old child K to cancer , the day after Diwali in November ) turned out severe vitamin D deficiency was the culprit.

The December holidays were booked for Gran Canaria for 10 days with the sole focus being on getting some Sun and a good diet for the young one. Enter Omicron and this plan too went bust.

Despite missing so much school and classes, she topped in maths and except art and games ( which she was excused from but still evaluated?) she did very well. She also finished her grade 4 singing and now in grade 5. She went to her weekend CCF camp and came back sicker but much happier. She was also selected in yet another audition for stage performance.

For the dedecember holidays, the very day her school broke up, post her mall visit with her friends, took her to her favourite A*k Italian restaurant in Oxford and from there to the fantastic Pa*k plaza/park royal  hotel for a one night stay. She loved the surprise.

She had her full English breakfast there and came with us to Saravana b* for our brunch. We left to Balaji temple, kanniga parameswari pooja  in her name , had a fantastic dharshan and came home.

In the meanwhile, she could not attend the end of term stage show, so one of our family friends Y asked after her. When we said she was unwell, the family visited with pooja and archanai in her name.This is the same friend who for every birthday , ensures a cake is sent to her.

Also, our dear friends S, H and N sent, on alternate days, healthy food that R likes to get her to gain back the weight she lost so rapidly when she was unwell. 

On our wedding day, we were invited for dinner at N and S’s place and had a great time along with H family.

Also in the holidays we invited N and N’s family home. What was touching was that Y had taken a pic of our kuladeivam, printed it, framed it and presented it to us for R.

We went to my colleague R’s home to celebrate Xmas with her family and another colleague P. The 3 single children were so well behaved, it was a sight to behold!

As usual our American neighbour delighted R with her thoughtful gifts!

She saw the spider man movie and 83 movie with her dad.

I treated R to a foot massage reflexology and later a mini facial. She loved both. We had a fantastic new year’s eve at S’s. I played cards after a long time, though I did not win!

On New Year’s Day , we visited the new baby NS and he could not smile enough for R. We then went to the Coventry Ganesh temple with Coco in tow.

Today Covo is on his play date with Max and we will pick him up tomorrow. In the meanwhile, we will have 2 days out with R to wrap up the hols.

Hopefully 2022 would be healthier for all and may be the new abode we have been after for the past 2 years, since October 2020 is meant for this year!