We are in June.. it has been a month and a half since the Tamil New Year rolled in. After that trip to SLO and the knee getting all inflamed, it took me a few weeks to just get back to walking.
So the Tamil New year was a muted celebration. However we did have two potluck parties to attend and had fun chatting with friends. For once I had company from my friend and guru, when it came to wearing a dhothi.
When not in dhothi.. it was this..
Now that the number of folks coming to Tamil New Year party in a Dhothi has increased by 100% , there is a plan to double that coming April !!
Wishing one and all a belated Tamil New Year! This years name is Sobakiruthu (google says Dhunmukhi which was I think the year in 2016). Apparently a good year for me.. time will tell..
We can always check the blog post next year same time!
It has been almost two months since any blog entires. It was not intentional. We had a great summer beginning when every weekend saw a new hike, nature photos and happy smiling faces.
Then things changed, in a fraction of a second. My wife went to Windy hill hike with a friend and did the simple common mistake of not looking where she is walking. In a spilt second her shoe gets stuck in a root on the path and her ankle was twisted. She decided it was "just a sprain" and decided to go on a larger hike during memorial day weekend which made matters a lot worse.
After many X-rays, MRI, bottles of Ibuprofen,Voltaren,Icy-hot,dencorub,CBD oil, etc. etc.. (it is actually a long list), ankle braces, doctor appointments, chiropractor visits, even Bikram yoga with me and my MIL later... she is almost walking normally again within the house and on solid concrete floors.
Every week was "it will get better in three weeks" and almost three months passed. We are still happy with the progress. If the queen is not happy, the kingdom cannot be happy. Given the blog is usually positive, I just stayed away from it.
My new job also got interesting. A lot more work came up in the last 6 weeks. After being in startups for 15 years, a big company has a very different feel. Some things work more efficiently. There are systems in place for everything and that is great. Some things are incredibly slow which is to be expected and I had to significantly reduce my internal clock speed to set realistic expectations. Think I am reasonably adjusted now, we will know in a few quarters (you expected me to say "shortly" didn't you! have learned my lesson).
Then things got interesting everywhere else. We had a flying visit from the BIL's family for three days during the July 4th weekend and more sickness around the house. We are all on the mend now and that is why I decided to catch up on blogging.
First for some small things. My co-sister decided to bring us a gift when they visited. We have a lot of hummingbirds in our backyard. So asked her to get us a hummingbird feeder. I had plans to get a regular bird feeder. We recently had a bird hit our window and die right there. Wanted to give back something to our backyard birds for the hours of entertainment they provide when we drink tea on the swing and watch them.
Got a couple of shepards hooks, posted them inside flower pots and set it all up. As an added bonus set up a water fountain as a project, working with my two nieces. It was an instant success.
Here are some photos and videos..
I have never seen a baby hummingbird.. we all call it "baby hammu" and it is incredibly cute!
The rest of the sparrows, finches, crows, doves and squirrels are all gathering around this small area and I just watch the backyard as I work. Making powerpoint slides becomes easier when these critters are around!
Never even got to edit all the photos from the July 4th trip. Will spend an hour a day and get back to blogging and the photo editing! My connection to music also got stronger over the last few months. Will write about it later!
This year's birthday celebrations across the board have been muted. Given all four of us are November born, November is a very very special month for the family.. every weekend is a birthday.
The little one had a cupcake candle blowing with just the three of us and her sister joining by Facetime from college.
Jr. was alone in her dorm room the entire day on her birthday and we called her and wished her on video. We will make up for it with a celebration along with her mom's birthday.
My birthday today was a bit more active. Originally I had signed up for a 8AM yoga class in the hot room 9 days in advance.. but last Monday we got news that all indoor classes are cancelled. There was a parking lot yoga class this morning at 10 AM that was taught by Michelle.. she was so inspiring that the 10 of us who did yoga in 50F weather outside gave it all we had. we were sweating.. the jackets came off! They did sing happy birthday to me in class which made my day!
Came home to wear a new T-shirt (courtesy of mom from last Decembers India trip) and had lunch with my two walking buddies. They made it special today. We got some to go food and ate in our backyard. The family also joined in from inside the house. The Bhavikas trip has to wait...
Jr. is back from college this weekend and is in self quarantine. The very fact that she is back under the same roof makes me so happy!
They asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said "a family portrait". It was promised to me but the little one backed out last minute as she is busy with homework. So we do it next weekend on San's birthday!
We also walked 5 miles in the evening to round up the days activities.. I have been walking 8-12 miles a day this month to get some regular exercise. My walking buddies have made it fun.
There is an african proverb "if you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together!". Even though I walk during the day sometimes while on phone meetings, the same box around the block feels a long longer when walking alone.
One more trip around the sun. I am still in decent shape, thanks to Yoga! The last 10 years of my life have been what they have thanks to a regular yoga practice. Even the walking everyday, the discipline is thanks to yoga.
50F ouside, my mind is telling me to just pull that comforter up a little more and I know deep down that the right thing to do, is to go do the yoga.. and at that split second I make the right call. That is what the yoga has helped me with. When push comes to shove, when there is an internal fight in the head between taking the easy way out vs. rolling up your sleeves and getting things done.. making the right call... that is precious!
I did spend an hour in the afternoon reading Obamas latest book but dozed off. The lunch was too good!
San and kids got me a cake and a candle to celebrate just between the four of us.. Trader Joe's cake is pretty good!
Now, it is time to pull up that comforter and cozy up and read books or get back to work.. because tomorrow is back to work day!
Next weekend we celebrate Sans birthday, my star (Tamil) birthday, my moms birthday (thanks to time difference) and Karthigai deepam.. it is good that we have a long weekend coming to do all that celebrating.. even if it is going to be on zoom!
Hope next year same time, we can go out and meet people and get hugs instead of elbow bumps!
A big thanks to all of you who called or wished me on social media and a heartfelt gratitude to my yoga family!
