Weekly Smile 41 #weeklysmile

*three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy*

Hello everyone! Hope you’re all fine. A lovely autumnal day here, I worked this morning and this afternoon is blogging time, that’s my first smile.

My sister sent me some beads from Canada and they got me working. I’ve made some stuff to hang our Christmas tree (not too long now hehehe).

I made chicken with sweet corn, carrots and spring onion soup – delicious!

What made you smile this week?

For: Weekly Smile 41 #weeklysmile. Also for: Sail With Me – Echoes of My Neighbourhood, Three Things Thursday: October 13, 2016

Weekly Smile 39 #weeklysmile

*three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy*

Hello everyone! Hope you are all fine. Allow me to share my weekly smile – as Trent said in his post, they are not just big smiles that require travel and so on. I’m smiling because the weather here in Bavaria is lovely, our Indian summer! We have just been swimming this morning and it was brilliant. I’ve hanged clothes outside to dry and the tortoises are happy in the garden. We’re also happy sitting in the garden, drinking our fizzy drinks and admiring the flowers. I have taken lots of photo, as usual, of the flowers, of the leaves changing colours, of the falling leaves, of shadows and other stuff. This morning I’ve video-called my mother. She’s getting better in using the tablet and she rang me herself, how cool is that! In social media, I’ve greeted my cousin, who celebrated their 25 years wedding anniversary and they have renewed their vows in the same church where they were married. It was nice to see them, together with their 6 children and they were all lovely in their white dresses and suits. My friend from Iran is now back from her holidays and we agreed to see each other next week. And tomorrow, Him Indoors and I are going out for a Chinese, the one where we used to eat when we first arrived here. We’ll be cycling there tomorrow evening. So that’s my smile this week. Cheers everyone!

P.S. the sky tonight’s so heavenly!

What made you smile this week?

How Happy is the Little Stone
by Emily Dickinson

How happy is the little Stone
That rambles in the Road alone,
And doesn’t care about Careers
And Exigencies never fears —
Whose Coat of elemental Brown
A passing Universe put on,
And independent as the Sun
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute Decree
In casual simplicity —

For: Weekly Smile 39 #weeklysmile, Nurturing Thurs – Hello Fear!, Three Things Thursday: September 29, 2016, Riding at the front of the Train – Echoes of my neighbourhood

Ten Things of Thankful 165 (Inspiration) #10Thankful – The Indian Wedding

Hello everyone! Hope you’re all fine. We’ve just got back from India to celebrate HRH the son and his beautiful bride their Indian wedding. We had a great time. Beautiful K’s parents hosted the wedding and everything was organised, from when we arrived in the city, to the henna evening with all the food (chicken, prawns, squids, curries, papadoms, etc.) and Kathakali and other Indian dances and martial art and fire performances. Not to mention we all had henna art work. We finished the night with dancing.

Him Indoors’ brothers and their families were able to join us and we were all happy that they could join us. HRH the son was happy to see all his cousins. The wedding started with the chanting and the first ritual is welcoming the groom by the bride’s family. Beautiful K’s brother washed his feet, dried them and greeted him with a garland. He then held his hand and guided him to the Mandapam or the stage. Beautiful K is brought to the Mandapam by her parents, along with young girls (their friends and cousins) carrying Deepam (symbolic to casting light along the way). She then took her place next to the groom on the Mandapam.

HRH the son and his beautiful K seek our blessings and all the elders. The Thaali or the wedding necklace is blessed by the priest and handed to HRH the son. The Thaali is a leaf shaped locket strung on a yellow thread which he tied around the beautiful K’s neck. The Nadaswaram is played loud and the couple exchanged garlands accepting each other as husband and wife.

HRH the son and his beautiful K took seven steps representing nourishment, strength, prosperity, happiness, progeny, long life and harmony and understanding.

He then showed his bride the double stars of Arundhati and Vashishta, symbolic of marital fulfillment and loyalty.

The wedding feast followed, known as Sadhya (banquet in Malayalam). It is a variety of pure vegetarian dishes traditionally served on a banana leaf in Kerala, India.

I’m really grateful that we can share with you our happiness. Here’s to the bride and groom, may their future be as bright as the ceremony, and be blessed forever. Have a great week everyone!

What made you smile this week?

For: Ten Things of Thankful 165 (Inspiration) #10Thankful, Weekly Smile 32 #weeklysmile, Three Things Thursday: August 11, 2016, Circus at Mercato Mall – Echoes of my neighbourhood, #MySundayPhoto – Blenheim Palace /August 14, 2016, Hello Kitty Bike (Sundays In My City), Tell Me Something Good #18

Ripples of Thankfulness

Hello everyone! Just got back from the UK where I visited my Mum, brother and family and of course, HRH the son and his beautiful bride. My friend N came with me and she also enjoyed her visit. We had some grill in the garden, sang, ate, drank and messed around.

We visited Coventry Cathedral, Lady Godiva, St. Mary’s Guild Hall and the City Centre.

Coventry Cathedral

We went to the Transport Museum, where we saw old cars, bikes, sportcars, etc and we went on a simulated ride on the fastest car (Thrust 2). That was cool!

We went to see Packwood House and Gardens in Solihull. It was lovely! The famous Yew Garden must be one of the largest collections of yew trees in the world.In the Carolean Garden visitors can admire the stunning herbaceous borders and enjoy views across the gardens and parkland from the seventeenth century brick gazebos. Away from the formal gardens visitors can discover Packwood’s lake, which features a circular stroll through a wooded glade.

We went to see two films – Tarzan and Json Bourne. They were great!

We went to see Stowe House, which has one of the most beautiful landscape gardens in the country. Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust. It was a long walk but all worth it!

We met HRH the son and his beautiful bride and had Chinese. Nice to see them again.

Went to Birmingham with my Mum and my brother with his kids. We walked around the City Centre, did some shopping and had some ramen soup.

For a real bonding time, my Mum and I stayed in Chester for three days. Chester is a city in northwest England, founded as a Roman fortress in the 1st century A.D. It’s known for its extensive, well-preserved Roman walls made of local red sandstone. In the old city, the Rows is a shopping district distinguished by 2-level covered arcades and Tudor-style half-timbre buildings. A Roman amphitheatre, with ongoing excavations, lies just outside the old city’s walls.

I think that’s about it, my ripples of thankfulness! I have to unpack now, do some laundry, then pack my bags again. This time is for India, for the son’s wedding, Indian version. Him Indoors and I are flying in two days’ time for a couple of weeks’ holiday. Have a great week everyone!

What made you smile this week?

For: Ripples of Thankfulness by Lizzi, Weekly Smile 30 #weeklysmile, Three Things Thursday: July 28, 2016, Ski Dubai and Two Birthdays – Echoes of my neighbourhood 29, Thankful Thursday: Cherry on Top

My Weekly Smile in the Neighbourhood

Hello everyone! Hope you’re all fine. It has been raining here for quite some time and quite cold, but never mind. I’m sure the flowers in the garden need some water.

Not to mention, some herbs, our grape and apple trees

And the bees and butterflies who come and visit our flowers

Which reminds me, we’ve got an insect hotel for the little ones

And last weekend, it was children summer fest at the park

What made you smile this week?

For: Weekly Smile #28 #weeklysmile, Three Things Thursday: July 14, 2016, City Walk – Echoes of my neighbourhood 27, Thankful Thursday: My Job, FFF243 – SPEAR THISTLE

Berlin Wall Museum – Echoes of the Past

Berlin Wall Museum exhibition dates back to the museum’s first days, just after the building of the Berlin Wall, and charts the lifespan of the world’s supposedly most secure border system. For over 50 years the Wall Museum, founded in 1962 as a bastion of peace in freedom, has stood at the legendary Checkpoint Charlie border crossing, the geographical focal point of the Cold War, where the West-East divide began and ended.

Wandering through different rooms one can also examine original artefacts used during many of the infamous escapes from East Germany – from escape cars, to hot air balloons, from homemade mini-submarines to deceptively hollow surfboards, the permanent exhibition is a testament to the ingenuity of the human mind when faced with perilous circumstances. Alongside the information boards and escape objects, there was also showcase work by artists, whose only means of dealing with the existence of this cruel divide was to turn to their art.

I’m very grateful that we went to this museum and saw its exhibition. I’m hoping that the world would really know the value of freedom. Let there be peace and love!

What made you smile this week?

For: Weekly Smile 27 #weeklysmile, Photo Workshop and bits of my week – Echoes Of My Neighbourhood 26, Three Things Thursday: July 7, 2016

Lake Vyrnwy

Lake Vyrnwy is a reservoir in Powys, Wales. Its stone-built dam, built in the 1880s, was the first of its kind in the world. It was built for the purpose of supplying Liverpool and the districts later designated as Merseyside with fresh water. (Wikipedia)

What made you smile this week?

For: Nurt Thurs – Serenity Prayer, Night scenes of a sleepless city – Echoes of my neighbourhood 25, WW #66 rocky arch… , Weekly Smile 26 #weeklysmile, Three Things Thursday: June 30, 2016

Weekly Smile – Caravan, Cabins and a Tree House

*three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy*

Hello everyone! During our road trip in Wales, we stayed in caravans and cabins. All 8 of us in one caravan is such a squeeze – 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, a terrace, a shower and a toilet. As my sister said, she felt she was on a boat – floating! We had fun, though, it was a big caravan site, with supermarket, gym, swimming pool, playground and bars. We stayed there for 2 nights while we visited Lllandudno, Beddgelert, Colwyn Bay and Llanberis.

And for something really adventurous, we stayed in cabins in the middle of a forest. It’s got a tree house, 3 cabins, a sauna, outside bath, shower, creek at the bottom and the whole forest to ourselves. It was quite hard to find it, like looking for a treasure hunt, we followed the instructions, complete with never-ending mountains in the middle of Wales, one-lane gravel lanes and nature galore to our delights. It was really a wonderful place for our road trip. We were able to visit Snowdon, Lake Vyrnwy and Pistyll Rhaeadr.

As part of our forest adventure, we also enjoyed the tree house there. It has two beds (but because there was no heater, no one wanted to sleep there, but we just hanged around the next morning), got a lovely view of the the forest, some weird stuff around, a sink, radio and an electric kettle.

What made you smile this week?

For: Weekly Smile 25 #weeklysmile, Creek side and pit stop at Al Ghurair Mall…Echoes of my neighbourhood # 24, Three Things Thursday: June 16, 2016, Thankful Thursday: Summer at Last, Skywatch Friday – 23 June 2016 , Ten Things of Thankful 158 (Current Affairs) #10Thankful by Lizzi and SEASONS – BEGINNINGS OF SUMMER June 24, 2016 | jesh stg

Echoes of my Neighbourhood – Penrhyn Castle

*three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy*

As part of our roadtrip in the north and middle Wales, we’ve visited Penrhyn Castle. It is a country house in Llandegai, Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, in the form of a Norman castle. It was originally a medieval fortified manor house, founded by Ednyfed Fychan.

Rob and the face on the wall.

My Mum and Zoe showing you the lovely landscape. We walked there, too. It was a good exercise.

and here’s the longest place name in Wales

So, what made you smile this week?

For: Classic Vintage, a night out with beautiful people…Echoes of my neighbourhood 23, Three Things Thursday: June 16, 2016, Weekly Smile Week 24 – #weeklysmile, Skywatch Friday,- 16 August 2016

Tale Weaver #71 June 9 – Behind Closed Doors

We have good and bad neighbours and we’ve learned to live in close proximity with each other. We’ve moved here 20 years ago, when they first started building our estate. It used to be farm lands. We were the first 50 houses and we’ve seen our children grew up here. Soon the streets were built, more houses and flats, as well as nursery, school, shops and other buildings were constructed.

We used to attend summer parties, where we bring food to grill, salads, drinks and children play on the streets. On New Year’s Eve we all watched the fireworks in the park with sekt or sparkling wines to greet the New Year. When we go on holidays, we tell our neighbours and they look after our house, as well as water our plants and take our letters out of our post-box. We do the same with them.

Our next door neighbour with three kids told us they’ve just sold their house and move to the next village. I guess the children are all grown up and they would like to down size. They said some Italian family will be moving in next month. They were good neighbours, saying hello, not parking their cars in front of our house and sometimes we all cycle to the park. We’ll surely miss them.

For: Tale Weaver #71 June 9 – Behind Closed Doors