Monkton Mondays!

This will be my last Monkton Monday post for a while. The next one, with any luck will be on the 3rd of June, since I’m away for the whole of May! YAY Me 😀 Am rather busy getting all the last minute stuff organized at the moment. Closing house for a month at a time is no joke! And although I have great plans of updating the blog regularly, at least with pictures, while on Vacation – I know myself too well to believe I will 😛

So, I thought I would leave you guys with a rather sweet thought from Monkton to brighten up your day and in deed your Summer 🙂

I have no idea if indeed Elephants find Joy and Wonder in each little thing they do…but I’m not about to argue with Mr. Monkton?! 😉 Are you? 😛 Especially, when he does look rather Joyful doesn’t he 😉

Have a Wonderful Summer People and Happy Holidays 😀

Monkton Mondays!

As the 2nd of May approaches, Travel is taking over my Life 😉 Are you like that too?

I LOVE traveling and so spend many happy hours dreaming of the journey ahead – the sights I’ll see, the food I’ll eat, the pictures I’ll take, the long hours of relaxation with a book and a drink 🙂 It’s a dream – so I skip over the longs lines at immigration, the hyperactive 5-yr-old boy traveling with, the jet lag, the exhaustion from sight-seeing, the one toy forgotten, which is the only one that will do…you get the picture? 😛

The key word here is ‘dream’! I’m not a very organized person (which is why I married one ;)), and packing is usually a last minute frantic exercise in gathering everything I think I need and piling it into the suitcase! I’ve gotten better at it over the years and this time I’m determined to be calm and collected and so have started getting stuff together and making piles well in advance 😛 I’ve made list of the medicines we need to take along, although of course I cannot now find it 😉 Still, I know we’ll be OK!! We always are in the end – and sometimes I think all my chaos just adds to the spirit of adventure! I’m sure Hubby doesn’t share my feelings but it’s not like he has a choice 😛

And now lets see what the inimitable Mr. Monkton has to say on the subject of Travel shall we?!

 

LOL…that sounds so familiar 😉

Happy a Happy Week ahead People 😀 Use Maps 😉

Monkton Mondays!

Well, Well, Well!! Whaddya know! I almost forgot today was Monkton Monday! You know how it gets when you’re just back from a short trip and trying to get back into routine 😛 If you have a 5-yr-old of your own then you already know what I’m saying 😉 Just goes to show, how quickly things slide if you lose focus. Me, faster than most because my focus at best is fuzzy from looking at a million things that interest me at once!

Well, thankfully almost and completely are two different things 😉 And so here I am to trouble you with yet another Monkton gem 🙂 This one is dedicated to all the senior citizens in my Life – there are so many!! They  are all Ninjas in their own right albeit now more in Spirit than anything else! Which may not be such a bad thing coz these are some POWERFUL Spirits we’re talking about 😉 And although Time has reduced some parts to crumbs – they are by no means DEFEATED!

Hip Hip Hurrah to the Senior ‘Ninja’ Brigade 😀 

Have a Happy week ahead People 😀 Channel that inner Ninja 😉

Monkton Mondays!

Here we go again! A quiet weekend during which I had one conversation with Mom, which as always reminded me about the loneliness that often accompanies old age. Even in the presence of well- intentioned and loving family and friends, we are, all of us, in essence, truly alone. It’s hard for Mom, living as she has chosen to do in a large house (much too large for 3 senior citizens), with two people of dwindling speech, to find ways to amuse herself. She’s a text-book introvert too which does nothing to help her cause! And it pains me that I don’t seem to be able to help. I have solutions of course – just none that are acceptable to her! 

As you can see, the conversation wasn’t a very happy one, but miraculously we didn’t get into an argument 😛 In any event – what I need desperately and what she does too (although she’s not going to see this post) is some good old Monkton magic to lighten the mood and perk up our spirits 🙂 So here goes…

See?! I feel so much better after that Mooing session 😉

Have a great week ahead People, and anytime you feel overwhelmed – just find a spot and MOO 😛

Monkton Mondays!

Here we are again…another Beginning! Aren’t we lucky? 😉

The weekend has been one of spring cleaning and planning ahead…getting ready for a new school year, a new financial year and very soon on Gudi Padva – the Hindu New Year! And with Easter being a symbol of rebirth – there’s no escaping a fresh start it seems! It is of course also April Fool 😛 although I’m not sure how that ties in with new beginnings. Perhaps it means we are fools for believing in them 😉 Or perhaps it means we would be fools not to!

I believe in the latter…I love a new beginning, who doesnt? I like the way it smells and tastes and feels…ephemeral like snowflakes on the tongue yet ethereal like the stars. And although I’ve stopped making resolutions (coz I never can seem to stick to them :P), I found one from Mr. Monkton that is rather perfect for the solemn occasion 😉

 

I hope you find countless opportunities to be Silly this week! It’s a wonderful way to live – Trust Me 😉 Or don’t! Trust Mr. Monkton 😛

Happiness always People 😀 May you find what you need!

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Monkton Mondays!

Have had a lovely weekend 🙂 Friday night at the Jehan Numan Palace Hotel in Bhopal…a wonderful place to rest your head after a tiring day! Saturday evening at Van Vihar, Bhopal watching a couple of lazy tigers and busy birds (this time I carried my zoom!) and back home on Sunday, spent the entire day having a ball with the family 😀 Oh! And as I type – the doorbell rings and my driver is back from a week-long vacation that turned into a month-long sojourn!! It’s nothing short of a Miracle! Hallelujah!!

Life is good except of course for the heat that is worsening and makes me want to hurt someone, anyone 😛 Perhaps I’m overreacting but I think not! I blame it on The Hitman’s Guide to Housecleaning – my 4th e-book (Go Figure ;)), a darkly hilarious, brilliant book that I’m having a hard time putting down – digitally speaking 😛

And so since the heat still continues to set the tone for my week…I’m satisfying my need for the cooler climes vicariously as always through the excellent Mr. Monkton. 

Uh huh!! And that’s where I’ll be ending up soon, if the heat continues 😉

Happy Monday People! May it be cooler than mine and remember there are worse places than the Bonkers House 😉 So if counting snowflakes is your thing – don’t let anything stop you 😛

Have a wonderful week ahead 🙂

Monkton Mondays!

I’ve had a fun weekend – Saturday I attended my first Bookclub and met a lovely set of women and Sunday was restful – lounging at home, trying to cool down, escaping from the muggy, oppressive heat that has taken over Bombay 😦 I shudder to think of April & May – still to come, before the Monsoons (if they are on time!), bring us some much needed relief. If all goes well, won’t be here in May 😀

Weather like this makes me lazy, as in lazier than I already am 😉 I feel rather British now, seeing as this post is going to be almost all about the weather 😛 Well, “In for a penny, In for a pound!” so why stop now? Anyways, it makes me lazy and languid and somnolent – the perfect combination for thinking deep thoughts! No?! You sure?! I can imagine Mr. Monkton being in just such a state when he wrote this little pearl of wisdom 😛 What do you think?

I’m feeling rather like a chicken myself right now! One that’s being rotisseried to a golden crisp for others to enjoy 😉

I hope the weather’s better where you’re at!!

Have a cool week ahead People!

Monkton Mondays!

What with Women’s Day just gone and Mahashivaratri celebrated yesterday, I thought I would keep the whole Man/Woman theme going for another day 😉 It’s always an interesting…mmmm, lets see…is ‘battle’ the word I’m looking for? 😛 Maybe I should be polite and say ‘encounter’ 😉 Oh whatever! Who cares?! It’s yet another Monday and time to roll up our sleeves and deal with the week ahead!

Here’s a little Monkton Magic to set you off on a great start 😀

To all the ‘silly little men’ & ‘magnificent women’ out there…Have a good week People 😉

Monkton Mondays!

This last weekend was so typical of how my days tend to be – a peculiar mix of chaos and quiet. Saturday was busy and chaotic – culminating in Ishaan’s Annual Day, at the Iskon Auditorium. It was a wonderful celebration entitled ‘Choo Mantar’, which is loosely the equivalent of ‘Abracadabra’ 🙂 and which focused on the things fast disappearing from the lives of our children today – healthy food, healthy habits, playing outdoors, family interactions. Through little skits, the children showed us guilty parents what they really valued and what is truly precious! From the mouth of babes 😛

There were dances too and Ishaan’s class danced to one of my favorite kiddie songs of all time, ‘Ladki Ki Kaathi’ from Masoom, one of my favorite movies of all time 🙂 They were so perfectly angelic and their innocence so palpable – how could I not cry? 😉 So I did and enjoyed the therapeutics 😉 That was Saturday. In contrast Sunday was quiet and except for a bit of grocery shopping and finally placing an order for an iPad (notice how I slid that in there so smoothly? ;)), we just relaxed at home. Hubby left late afternoon on a business trip, while Ishaan took a much needed nap and I lost myself in Wild by Cheryl Strayed – an excellent book to be lost in! The review will follow shortly on The Reading Habit.

And so that brings me neatly back to Monday and another encounter with Mr. Monkton. This week I was inspired by ‘Wild’ and I thought this gem from Mr. Monkton captured the essence of the book perfectly! The theme of the book is indeed ‘Anything is Possible!’

Have a wonderful week ahead, pondering those possibilities People! 😉

Monkton Mondays!

This weekend has quite literally been ‘tornado-like’! My ‘Mommy Gang’ from Goa descended onto Mumbai with a gusto and conquered the city in a whirlwind of shopping, dining and dancing, while Dads babysitted petulant children!! I was along for the ride and consumed prodigious amounts of the ‘good stuff’ 😛 and danced until my knees gave way 😀 No shopping though…not for myself…although I enjoyed watching them go about theirs in a very efficient, almost clinical manner! So exhilarating for the most part, although exhausting!! Visited places I’ve never been to before…Yauatcha, Royalty, China House, F-Bar, and revisited old favorites Olive and Bungalow 9! So a very HAPPY weekend but hopefully a quiet week ahead – I need my R & R 🙂

Is it any wonder that this one from Mr. Monkton seemed an utterly appropriate way to describe my Girly Weekend capers?!! Especially when I spent most of the weekend in Delicious Dippiness? 😉 Cheers to the worlds of Happy Chaos 😉

Have a great week ahead People 🙂