This Elf was Serenely Rapt

It's nearly Christmas and Santa's little elves are busy checking the lists, packing up gifts. The North Pole is buzzing with activity.

Then Santa sent an SOS for a little help with a different kind of present: The Indiblogeshwari's That Tuesday Thingy Christmas Edition. And so these special elves enthusiastically volunteered to help Santa make these dreams come true.

I waited excitedly for my secret envelope to arrive and then got to work ...

It's my pleasure to introduce Dagny's blog "Serenely Rapt" which is a collection of many penned thoughts in a wide array of genres including stories (fiction and non-fiction), insights and inspiration, tributes and life. In short, Serenely Rapt is a versatile blog that provides something for everyone.

Dagny writes with such passion, be it a political viewpoint or taking a political stand, or an introduction to another blogger or a story, or a poem or just some inspiration. Each post is cleverly woven together and culminates in a pearl of wisdom.

And now and then there is an injection of humour that is very appealing. Humour used well, is very effective in telling a story, used badly is a put off. Dagny uses humour in just the right doses to describe a situation or convey a point of view.

With a mastery over vocabulary, posts portray an array of emotions and each one took me on an interesting and vivid journey, leaving me with some food for thought.

The blog is visually appealing. Clean, clear and crisp with a beautiful header that complements the name of this blog. Posts are nicely catalogued and easy to find and each post contains a well thought out picture that visually portrays the essence of the post.

I was ... serenely rapt.

This elf made it just in time. One special gift signed, sealed and delivered. But many more wishes to send off to the world ...

Wish you all Peace, Joy and Love this Christmas and always. Have a Blessed one.

Like my facebook page Suzy's Ilation and if any of your posts needs some tlc, add it to the goodwill thread there and I'll drop by and give it some love.

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Warm Regards

ABC Wednesday - D is for ...

GBE2's prompt "Dream" lines up very nicely with ABC Wednesday.

Hence,  D is for ... Dreams 

And my post today leads on quite nicely from my previous post What's your song?

Picture taken from google search

I believe that dreams that are persistent, that give us great joy and uplift us are good indicators of our destiny. I also believe that thoughts or our dreams have the power to create. They are essentially our constant requests to the Universe.

But things just don't seem to happen quick enough for us. We want everything to happen instantly.

This poem is a nice reminder to me that once we send our request out to the Universe - through our thoughts, our words, our dreams - we need to step back, let go and be patient, as all things happen in their own time and in their own way.

Things and people will come to us if and when the time is right for them to appear in our lives. Often these appear in ways we least expect them to appear and hence feel that our dreams haven't come true.

I truly believe that all our requests are heard by the Universe when our thoughts and dreams are constant and have the potential to bring good to ourselves and to others. But as we are impatient, we try to force things and become our own blocks.  Or we fail to recognise that our dreams have materialised because they come to us in different ways than what we had imagined.

A lot of my dreams haven't materialised as yet (at least not in the way I imagine them to be) but I know that every opportunity that comes my way are stepping stones to my big dreams. In the meantime, I keep dreaming (big of course) and believing that they will come true.

Enjoy this song "Don't dream it's over" by Crowded House, one of my favourite songs.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjBwAYIxUso


Enjoy your day and I hope it's the day your dreams come true.

Warm Regards

UBC Day 14 - GBE2 15 Minute free write

Day 14 of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge 

GBE2's prompt this week is a 15 minute free write - You sit down and write whatever comes into your mind for 15 straight minutes. The goal is not to write a story, article, or even anything coherent. It's a word purge. A stream of consciousness babble-fest and it's a wonderful way to unleash your creativity.

So here goes ...

Chicken salad, it seemed to go around and around in my head. So finally I had to get up and make it. I look forward to tomorrow's lunch.

Watched a few episodes of "I Love Lucy" - it is so therapeutic. They say laughter is the best medicine. It certainly puts you in a wonderful and relaxed mood. Lucy and Desi are great to watch.

I love cherries. Picked up a few at the supermarket yesterday. Cherries and Lucy - just perfect.

What a dreadful day today - it rained all day and doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon. I don't mind the rain so much but when it's accompanied by gusty winds, it starts to get very weary.

Woke up a little late this morning but still made it in time for the bus. Must go to bed soon as I am starting to get a bit tired.

I've done this whole post chronologically backwards. Today is a topsy turvy day.

I am really running out of things to say.  And I've achieved the goal of not writing anything coherent.

I am most uncreative today and this post reminds me of the Jabberwocky song from Alice in Wonderland - a complete jumble of nonsense.

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.

All mimsey were the borogroves

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjubb bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

picture taken from Wikipedia

And on that note I shall end this post - times up anyway!

Warm Regards

UBC Day 9 - Oh No, Not Again

Day 9 of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge and the GBE2 prompt.

Oh no, not again - not another prompt when nothing comes  to mind was my first thought when I saw this prompt and then a post suddenly took shape.

About 10 years ago I used to travel quite often to Auckland for work. I rarely had to stay overnight as it was usually a days work.

So after finishing up in Auckland I caught the 6pm flight back to Wellington.

The flight time is usually 45 minutes so it's a very quick journey. By the time you buckle up and have a cuppa, it's time to land. If the weather is good, it's a very scenic flight too. I never tire of seeing Mt Ruapehu or Mt Taranaki - depending on which side of the plane you are seated.

45 minutes later we were supposed to land in Wellington when the pilot announced that as there was heavy fog in Wellington, our flight was asked to circle until the control tower gave us the all clear to land.

So we started circling - flying over the Marlborough Sounds. Absolutely spectacular but after about the 7th round of the Sounds, they started to lose their appeal.

Marlborough Sounds, NZ. pic taken from wikipedia

3.5 hours later (we could've flown to Sydney in that time), the pilot finally announced that Wellington airport was closed and we would be heading back to Auckland.

So I stayed overnight - I had no luggage and finding a hotel at 10pm was not easy but it is amazing how many people in the same situation rally around and help each other.

Wellington was still in fog the next day. But finally after waiting at Auckland airport from 8am (and being evacuated once for a fire alarm - oh yes drama all the way), I finally got a flight at 2.00pm.

As we approached Wellington, the pilot announced, that the flight before us was asked to turn back to Auckland and that it was very likely we would too.

"Oh No, Not Again" screamed through my mind. I had words with the Lord above - land this plane please, I want to go home.

10 minutes later my flight was cleared to land - the fog lifted as if by magic, just long enough for my plane to land. Then it closed in again. Ours was the only flight that landed that day!

Is there a God above - oh yes. We all looked above and thanked Him with all our heart.

Have an awesome day.

Warm Regards

 

UBC Jan 1 GBE2 - Wish - Happy New Year

It's nearly 5.30 pm on Jan 1 2013 so time to post the first post of 2013 and for January's Ultimate Blogging Challenge.

Also posting to GBE2's topic - Wish

Do you make new year resolutions? Do you set an intention for your wishes at the start of each year?

When I was younger, I made a list each year of things I wanted to do and achieve, places I wanted to go. I rarely did or achieved everything or visited each place. Sometimes that was okay and sometimes I felt like I had failed in some way.

At the start of 2012 I decided this was going to be my year - the year I meet my soulmate, the year I finally move into my life's work, the year when I achieve great heights in fitness - this was going to be the most awesome year ever, all my wishes were going to come true.

And so 2012 came and went. No, I didn't meet my soulmate, I did not move into my life's work and I did not achieve great height in fitness. So actually none of my wishes came true.

That should make me immensely sad. But instead of achieving all that I planned to do,  I had the most amazing experience of my life - a moment when I truly connected with Spirit - heart as wide as the world (read my post on that here). That was a moment of bliss, when the Lord sent his love down to me at a time when I totally surrendered to Him.

So this year I will make no resolution and set no intentional wishes, I will simply go with the flow, I will hope that I will have many moments of bliss with Him, I will enjoy life as much as I can.

One of my mantras for 2013 will be:

"Everything comes to you in the right moment, be patient" 

from the Mankind Project

But I will make a wish for all of you.

I wish you all an awesome and safe 2013, filled with good health, prosperity and abundance, kindness, peace, happiness and love.

Warm Regards

GBE2 - Déjà Vu

The year was 1987, the place was Mumbai, India. 

I had a strange dream.

I dreamt that one morning when I woke up I saw an entire street covered in snow - the roofs of the houses all white.

This was a very strange dream as there were no little houses in my street in Mumbai and it never snows there. In fact it's never cold there - I am of course comparing the cold to New Zealand for cold is quite subjective  And the little houses or the street that I saw certainly didn't exist anywhere in Mumbai.

And so the dream was stored away in the tiny compartments of my brain and forgotten.


The year was 2011, the place was Wellington, New Zealand and a bitterly cold winter. 

It snowed all over New Zealand right down to sea level. I moved to Wellington in 1988 and in my 24 years here the 2011 snowfall was the first ever. In fact it was the first down to sea level in 50 years.

I stood in my garden ready to click the pictures when I had this strange sensation come over me and my mind went zooming back to that dream in Mumbai.

For the scene before me was just like that dream back then.

Was this Déjà Vu?  Or was that Déjà Vu as well? 

Here's the picture I took that day that was just like the scene in my dream.

It was but yesterday we met in a dream.

If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, 

We shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.

~ Khalil Gibran, The Prophet (my favourite book of all time)

Linking to the GBE2 prompt "Déjà Vu"


Have a dreamy day.

Warm Regards

Six Word Saturday Sept 1 GBE2 Peace

Peace? definitely not the way today

Today is the first day of Spring in New Zealand and the day started out absolutely beautiful and serenely quiet.  Peace was the way, or so I thought.

Obviously my neighbours have other ideas.

I have one blasting out his music so loud that even though he's 3 houses away and all my doors and windows are shut, I can still hear the dreadful stuff loud and clear.

Another one has just started up his lawn mower and the planes are flying above as it's the Southerlies blowing today.

Even the birds are protesting with loud chirping.

Here's hoping all of you are having a peaceful day and let's hope soon peace will be the way today for me too.

Check out some other entries at Six Word Saturday and some Peace at GBE2

GBE2 - Snapshot

This week's prompt at GBE2 is Snapshot


So here is a snapshot into my past ....

This is one of my favourite pictures - my dad taking a picture of my brother and me. A very simple picture, really nothing in it except for the memories. This was taken in Bangalore, India at my aunt's place.

My dad was an avid and very good photographer. He had this old Rolleiflex camera that he tried to teach me how to use, but I had no patience for the myriad settings one had to go through.  Point and shoot is more my style.

I think I was about 6 years old when I first held his Rolleiflex in my hand and I've loved photography ever since.

He also taught me how to compose my picture. We would sit together looking at the photo proofs and he would show me how best to crop for maximum effect. Digital photography has made this so simple now. But back then there was no trial and error and no undo button.

This photograph brings back those lovely childhood memories of dad, his photography and us as kids.
Those were good times. I miss my dad.

Have a lovely day.

Warm Regards

UBC 29 - GBE2 - Unexpected

Post 29 for the Ultimate Blogging Challenge is GBE2's prompt "Unexpected"

The Universe inevitably propels us forward to our next step whatever that may be.

So when things unexpectedly occur I take them as signs that I am meant to walk that path.

Each morning and evening I listen to devotional music on the way to and from work on the bus.
This helps me relax and puts me into a calm state of mind - ready to tackle anything at work - and then ready to leave it all behind and spend a happy and relaxed evening with my family at home.

But for the last week as I've been off work (in between jobs) I haven't adhered to my usual practice.

So this morning the Universe gives me a prod in the form of a youtube video posted by Jessica at Ascending the hills on her facebook wall. A quiet reminder from the Universe, to carry on that practice at home. Thanks Jessica for the nice reminder and for posting a beautiful video.

Here is the video. The pronunciation isn't perfect, but it has a lovely melody and is beautifully sung with heart and soul.


Youtube - Kashi Vishwanath Gange

The bhajan (devotional song) is very nicely translated here

And then I went onto research the singer Krishna Das, an American born Jeffrey Kagal. I love the blend of West and East that he brings into his music as I believe God is Universal and also because my scriptures are both Eastern and Christian; Eastern from birth, Christian from school (I went to an Anglican school).


Youtube - Jesus on that mainline


Wish you a day of unexpected miracles. Mine was a joyous one today.


Warm Regards

UBC 20 - GBE2 - Breathless

This is post 20 for the Ultimate Blogging Challenge on  GBE2's prompt  "Breathless"

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away ~ Unknown

So here are some of the moments of my life that took my breath away (in no particular order)

The birth of my kids - they were the sweetest babies I ever saw and they brought and still bring joy to my heart

Paris at Christmas - oh my, that was magical - nearly 20 years ago and I can still hear myself say "OMG this is so beautiful"

The Sistine Chappel - absolutely amazing - I was completely lost for words

Statue of David in Florence - the sheer size of it was astounding 

Inside the Colosseum in Rome - I think I just stood there and stared. Wow what can I say – in it’s time this must have been something magnificent.

Under the Niagara Falls in the maid of the mist – Actually it’s quite scary to hear the thunder of the falls but the ride was so worth it.

First glimpse of the majestic Himalayas – that is a sight to behold. I would love to go back and see them again.

Manali in the Himalayas – I think this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  I can close my eyes and see the place in my mind – it was so beautiful, it’s imprinted in my mind. 

The Houseboat on Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir, India – I was 11 at the time and it was just so different. To my 11 year old mind this was just amazing. And the shikara (boat) ride across the lake with the mountains all around was breathtaking.

Taj Mahal at Agra – one of the 7 wonders of the world – to be experienced as one can’t describe it in words.

Fatehpur Sikri near Agra– Now this was a place that truly amazed me – I enjoyed every moment of it. Our guide was so awesome, one could actually transport oneself to the time of Akbar the Great. If ever you visit India, don’t miss this one.

Marlborough Sounds, South Island, New Zealand – New Zealand has many places that take your breath away including my beautiful city of Wellington, but I chose this one as this was my first view of the South Island from the Interislander ferry and I was just blown away by the views.

Pohutu geyser, mud pools and Waiotapu in Rotorua – the thermal activity in Rotorua is also something one has to see. The Pohutu geyser erupts approximately every 1-1.5 hours so we were lucky to see one eruption that was quite spectacular.

The snow in the freak snowfall we had all over New Zealand. I had so much fun in the snow, I was like a little kid and the views from my house were astounding.

And then there was Donny Osmond … he held my hand for a moment or two while singing Puppy Love at the Wellington concert in 2006 – oh what can I say – my heart stopped beating for that moment.

I’m sure if I spent some more time on this post I would come up with many more breath-taking moments but will have to leave those for another post another day.

Wish you all many awesome moments.

Here are pics of the snow on the hills around Wellington that truly took my breath away.

Warm Regards

UBC 5 - GBE2 - The Seven Deadlies

The Seven Deadlies - This week's prompt at GBE2


and Post 5 of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge

I've been wondering how to tackle this prompt and I almost flagged this as nothing came to mind.

And then I thought of all the things I love and one of them are quotes. So quotes it is ...


Pride

            Pride juggle with her toppling towers
            They strike the sun and cease
            But the firm feet of humility
            They grip the ground like trees
                             
                            ~ G K Chesteron, The Ballad of the White Horse
               

Envy

            Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own          
                         
                                                                                                ~ Harold Coffin


Wrath
           
            The sharpest sword is a word spoken in wrath

                              ~ Gautama Buddha, the Gospel of Buddha


Gluttony

            Gluttony is the lust of the mind

                              ~ Thomas Hobbes




Sloth


           Diligence overcomes difficulties, sloth makes them


                                                      ~ Benjamin Franklin
             



Greed

          Love gives beauty to everything it touches. Not greed and utility; they produce offices,
          but not dwelling houses. To be able to love material things, to clothe them with tender grace,
          and yet not be attached to them, this is a great service.
                                                                                                        ~ Rabindranath Tagore

Lust

          He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed

          breakfast with it in his heart

                                                                                                                  ~ CS Lewis

    

Enjoy your day - some days we can take this philosophically, some days we can take them in jest. It really all depends on your point of view.

Warm Regards

Dance with me

Oh no, I was late for an important meeting. I gathered up my notebook and my papers, grabbed my handbag and ran. Running in high-heels is an art form that I haven't quite mastered yet so I know I should've slowed down.

Around the corner I went and then crashed into a human wall. My papers went flying everywhere. I quietly muttered "So sorry" and heard the same come back at me.  He gathered up the papers and handed them to me. I looked up with a "Thank you" about to leave my lips when my eyes met his and I froze. I know that face I thought, I know those eyes. But how could I? I had never seen him before. He smiled and walked on.

The meeting was so boring, I couldn't wait to get out. Each face I looked at morphed into his. "Concentrate," I told myself, but my mind started to wander and I suddenly found my thoughts drifting back to 39 years ago ...

My first high school dance was coming up. There was so much excitement everywhere. I was a shy, quiet girl, chubby, awkward and timid. I wanted to go but I didn't want to be the one who no one danced with. Tickets were selling fast and I still hadn't bought mine.

We were lining up for assembly, supervised by school prefects. Each class had 2 allocated. They were both standing near me. All was quiet, then I heard the dreaded, "Suzy, I hope you bought a ticket 'cos I've sold all of mine." Relief, tickets were sold out, I had an excuse not to go. I shook my head. "Oh, he'll be sad if you don't come," she said, looking at him cheekily. I glanced at him quickly and caught his eye. "I've kept one for you," he said quietly. Then a ticket shot out at me. How could I refuse? I took it slowly and muttered that I would pay for it the next day. He wouldn't take the money.

We were all lined up in the school hall, nervous 13 year olds, excited and scared. I hid behind the girls in my class hoping no one would see me. And then I saw him, making his way towards us. I slowly inched behind the pillar praying, "Not me, please not me". He wove his way through the throng of my classmates and then he stood in front of me. "Would you like to dance with me?" he asked softly.

My heart was beating so fast. We danced quietly, not a word was said. And then a slow number came on. We stood looking at each other for a few minutes. I had no idea what to do. Did he want me to stay or did he want me to go? Questions went around and around in my head and then my little 13 year old brain panicked. So I turned and walked off the dance floor. He never asked me again. I watched him dance with one girl after another and I felt the sadness wash over me.

The meeting was finally over. I walked back to my desk and saw the message light flashing on my phone. One missed call was the message showing on the screen. I checked the missed calls and saw his name come up. I looked at it for what seemed an eternity and then I picked up the receiver. I pressed the message button. "Enter your password," came the command. Tap tap tap tap, I entered the password. My heart was beating wildly. "You have one message, press 1 to hear your message," the voice said again. My finger hovered over the number 1 and then slowly I pressed it. "Hello," said a deep quiet voice, "Would you like to dance with me?".

It's Saturday morning and I'm having breakfast out on my patio. The sun is shining, the skies are blue and the hills look so serene. My cup of tea in hand, I savour every sip as I watch him read the paper. Now and then he reads out a snippet that makes me laugh. I love the sound of his voice. My thoughts drift once again to that day in high school and a smile creeps over my face.

He puts the paper down, and looks at me with those beautiful, warm eyes. I'm sure he can read my thoughts. He stands up, walks to my side and takes my hand. "Would you like to dance with me," he says, with a twinkle in his eye.


Warm Regards


Linking to:

GBE2 = High School

BFF = Full Circle

Sandra's Writing Workshop Blog Hop = Write in the close first person

GBE2 - Pick a line from a book

The prompt this week at GBE2 is - pick a line from a book and write from there.

I thought this would be quite easy - how wrong was I. Finding a line was easy, writing from there - major mental block!

Each nifty line that I picked, drew a complete blank. So eventually I just opened a page from one of my favourite books - The Tao of Pooh - and found this line:

So quite often, the easiest way to get rid of a minus is to change it into a plus

How apt was that!

So how do you change a minus into a plus?

Mathematically you can:

•       multiply by another negative number or 
•       divide by another negative number or 
•       add a higher positive number (than the negative integer) 

But how do you do it in life?

I have no idea how you do it, but here are some ways in which I do it.

When things aren't going my way and I start to despair, I simply go with the flow. I've learned over the years that the Universe has a plan all of it's own and going against that flow makes things so much harder. Eventually I end up where the Universe wants me, to not where I want to, so it's just infinitely easier to

go with the flow.

     
"This too shall pass" is one of my favourite quotes. Whenever I'm going through a rough patch, I know that eventually there will be light at the end of a dark tunnel. I can't get away from going through the tunnel, I need to travel through it and focussing on that darkness isn't productive. So I find it best to accept the situation and focus on other things while I ride the storm because I know that 

this too shall pass. 

Not saying that I can do these every time but they help to keep me sane most times.

And there are other ways too, but I think these two have been most effective for me.

Would love to know your methods, so please share. Thanks.

Wish you all an awesome day.

Warm Regards

GBE2 - Parody - Ma He's Making Eyes At Me

The topic this week at GBE2 is Parody.

 I couldn't think of a single thing to post for this prompt.

And then as I got into the shower, this song came into my head and I remembered a really cute and silly version sung by Lena Zavaroni many years ago.

Not sure if this qualifies for a "Parody" but here it is anyway.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSnNbZnCIY4


Have a fun filled day.

Warm Regards

An Opportunity to tell my story about blogging and friends

Do you believe in Synchronicity?

Well here's a classic example - three unrelated topics that will make the perfect post together.

Opportunity from  The Writers Post


Telling My Story from Blogging for Fun

Blogging and Friends from Living with Food Allergies and Celiac Disease and Bongo and Me




So here is my post, an opportunity to tell my story about blogging and friends.

An Opportunity Arises
I've always wanted to write. When I was in school, my teacher thought I was a pretty poor writer, and because of that I never tried hard at it. But years later, the web presented the perfect opportunity for creative expression. So here I am ... writing, blogging. How cool is that.


Blogging - My Story
I started blogging 2 years ago when a workmate asked me to join in a "30 days of me" challenge.

I had never blogged before so I made this a private blog and invited family and friends to join me in my 30 day journey. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to keep blogging when that was completed. Still private 'cos I wasn't comfortable in a public space.

Then a year ago, I was between jobs and a sense of panic overcame me. And one day I suddenly had an urge to write in the public arena. It was scary. But I went with the feeling and trusted that the Universe knows what I must do. And so I started and I write as I am guided by it (the Universe).

I know over the year my style of blogging has changed and I've experimented with different posts.
I've enjoyed writing each one but I think the ones I've had the most fun with are my haiku posts. In the last 5 months, I've also felt a shift in my perspective of life and my blog now reflects that - being positive, hopeful, joyful and loving, enjoying life and having fun. I hope you feel it too.

I have two blogs, this one, where I write and my Photos are Fun blog, where I post pictures from my travels. My photo blog is dedicated to my late father whose love of photography I share.

Friends 
Long before the days of the Internet, friends were "made" through social interactions - in school, at University, at work, through our friends and relatives. Friends come and go but some of them stick around with you for the long haul. These are my lovely school / university friends that I still love and cherish and feel an inexplicable bond with. When we meet, the years simply melt away.

And then I had my pen-friends or pen-pals. Much like the internet, these were friends you wrote to (via pen and paper, the old fashioned way) from around the world and shared a friendship with. I had about 100 pen-pals much to my father's dismay as postage was not cheap back then in India. But this was perfect for me. A chance to "write" and not requiring a face to face interaction, a chance to just be myself. (I was a shy quiet kid).

I still keep in touch with 4 of my pen-pals. We've been friends for nearly 40 years. And I've had the pleasure of meeting two of them. What a thrill that was!

In 1988 I moved to New Zealand and have made some lovely friends here. And then a year ago when I took up blogging, I have linked up with so many wonderful people, all of you my lovely virtual friends.

So my friends are all over the world. Each one brings a new dimension to my life. Some uplift me with fun and laughter, others nourish my spiritual needs and others provide a sympathetic ear and support when I need it. But above all I feel the love, virtual or real, it's always there.

Thank you my wonderful friends. This world of mine is a happier, lovelier place because you are in it.

Sending you all a virtual hug and tons of love.

Warm Regards

   

ABC Wednesday - Round 10 - P is for ..

Pretty Little Baby

This was an easy choice this week as this song brings back a whole lot of memories.

Many moons ago just after I finished University, I worked in a travel agency that belonged to a friend.


One of the overseas clients who visited Bombay on his many business trips would drop by the agency and on each of his visits, he would sing this song to me. A most embarrassing moment back then, but it brings a smile to my face now.

A stranger tucked away in the far recesses of my mind, suddenly surfaces to provide a moment of happy thoughts.

Flashback to that day when the stranger first walked into that agency. He sat in front of me, a smile on his face. Then he leaned forward, looked into my eyes and crooned this number.

But back to the song ...

Pretty little baby was released in 1962 by Connie Francis and was subsequently sung by her in Italian and Japanese.

Here is the english version that takes me back to 1980 and makes me giggle.


Youtube - Pretty Little Baby


 But I think the Japanese version is just too cute, even though I don't understand a word of it.

And perhaps if the stranger had sung Kawaii baby instead, I might have followed him. (oh lol).


Youtube - Kawaii baby

Lyrics
kawaii baby hai hai, kawaii baby hai hai 
kawaii baby to yobuno wa aishiiteru kara ka shira 
pretty little baby kawaii baby . 
kotoritachino utau koe aino uta ni kikoeru no 
pretty little baby suteki na baby 
koi wo suru tte suteki janai wakai ko no hi wo 
futaride sugoshimashou itsu itsu made mo
ima sugu atte, soshite itte 
wasurerarenu ano kotoba
pretty little baby watashino baby 
pretty little baby hai hai watashino baby hai hai

(lyrics copied from the youtube page so  I have no idea if they are correct - update - my Japanese friend tells me the lyrics are correct.)


To all you pretty little babies, have the most perfect day.

Check out some other P entries at ABC Wednesday  and some "Strangers" at GBE2


Warm Regards

GBE2 - Haiku - Home

The topic this week at GBE2 is "Home"

My brain just went zooming into Haiku for this prompt and the words just seemed to flow so Haiku it is for Home.





Wander far and wide
Across the oceans and seas;
My heart longs for home

Ponder in silence
Reflections of days gone by;
Memories of home

Joyful laughter rings
Running free in green meadows;
Enjoy earthly home

Peaceful Solitude
Dreaming of my Shangrila;
That eternal home

Live free and easy
Spirits soar swirl, dance and fly;
In my soul's true home


Have an awesome day.

Warm Regards

Blogging for Fun - Patience

P = Patience pays great dividends. Good things come to those who wait. In India we have a saying
      that roughly translates to "the fruits of patience are sweet".

A = Patience does not mean we stop and stand still. Act while you wait. Carry on living as counting
       the hours, minutes and days won't bring it to you any faster.

T = Patience has no concept of time. Things will happen when they are meant to.

I = Patience is at odds with instantaneous. We want everything to occur now. Sometimes this is
     not a good thing. Patience gives us time to think and be sure or make tweaks.

E = Patience is a test of endurance. We often give up and fall back into old patterns or abandon
      the road we're on because it takes too long. Most times the "gift" is just around the corner if
      only we had the patience to take the next turn.

N = Patience can be learned by taking a lesson from nature. The caterpillar must rest in it's cocoon
       for a period of time until it is ready to emerge as a butterfly. Transformations take time.

C = Patience teaches us to have courage. Courage to walk alone while we wait for love to arrive or
      to endure hardship while we search for a job.

E = Patience is a cultivated virtue, it is learned over the course of time through experience. It is
       probably one of the hardest to master.

Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy. ~ Saadi

Warm Regards