100 Happy Days: Day 82 New Bag

Happiness is receiving gifts.

I have never learnt to receive gifts with grace. I am always embarrassed. I get many guests from overseas, everybody brings gifts for me and my instant reaction always is “You shouldn’t have.”  Later on, I feel bad that I was rude. I realize that when people bring gifts, it signifies that the person thought of you. But, at that instant, I feel that I may not need it.

Nevertheless, it gives me great pleasure to give gifts. I study people’s taste before buying one, and am very pleased to see people happy with my choice. If I am happy giving gifts that means I am depriving others of such happiness. So, gradually, I have started accepting it as a token of love.

Today, I was very happy when I got the beautiful handbag that my cousin had picked especially for me during her shopping in New York. I love bags and this is the best gift I could ever get.

So here I am, with the project of ‘100 Happy Days’I am posting pictures each day here on my blog then sharing the link on my page on FB too. You can enjoy my work either here or on my page at FB at Pushee’s World

100 Happy Days: Day 81 Lanzarote

Happiness is relishing the happy times.

Today I am thinking about my trip to Lanzarote few months ago. I took one full day bus trip around the island visiting places of interest. It was eight hours trip, we rode through the lava soaked roads, up to the hills, winding through villages, sat on the camels to tour across the lava-sand dunes and then walked through caves that had water pools down 100 feet below. We reached a point, far end and could see another island Fuerte Ventura across the sea.

It was a good experience. The guide never stopped talking throughout the trip and he informed us of the rich history of every place. Met some farmers at the vineyards and also tasted local wine.

Today, I sit within the four walls of my home; my mind wanders the visual streets of Lanzarote, taking one more virtual walk.

So here I am, with the project of ‘100 Happy Days’I am posting pictures each day here on my blog then sharing the link on my page on FB too. You can enjoy my work either here or on my page at FB at Pushee’s World

100 Happy Days: Day 80 Favorite Dhal

Happiness is cooking to revive childhood memories.

One of my favorite meals is 'Mah ki dhal with puffed buttered chapati.' The memories of enjoying this particular dhal traces back to childhood days, when my uncle used to enter the kitchen to churn out his favorite cuisine.

The word would spread around the house that nobody should enter the kitchen on that particular day; all the women of the house could attend to the other chores of the house and let uncle rule the kitchen. There were no pressure cookers and kitchen gadgets in those days, so the dhal would take hours to simmer on low charcoal fire. Everybody would wait anxiously for this special meal, and although it was just a simple dhal, it was cooked elegantly emitting rich flavors. At the end of the meal, everybody in the house would praise uncle profusely for having cooked a masterpiece.

Today, during lunch, I missed my uncle but had made the dhal following his recipe.

So here I am, with the project of ‘100 Happy Days’I am posting pictures each day here on my blog then sharing the link on my page on FB too. You can enjoy my work either here or on my page at FB at Pushee’s World

100 Happy Days: Day 79 Sunday

Happiness is spending Sundays with family.

Every Sunday is a special day. I belong to close-knit family. I love spending time with my sister’s family, relaxing. Special meals are prepared every Sunday, everybody is in holiday mood, and we spend time eating, watching TV, chatting and playing cards. No computer, no Watsapp, no appointment with friends, its just family time, and strengthening the family ties.

So here I am, with the project of ‘100 Happy Days’I am posting pictures each day here on my blog then sharing the link on my page on FB too. You can enjoy my work either here or on my page at FB at Pushee’s World

100 Happy Days: Day 78 Friends

Happiness is spending time with close friends.

Friend says ‘Don’t cook too much, just make a simple meal, dhal and rice will do, food is not important, we will come over and spend some time with you.’ She does not want to burden me, but I enjoy cooking. I invite more friends and decide to make something special. Friends come over; each one brings something to share (no, its not Dutch party).

There are cakes, chips, chocolates, strawberry milk shake, falooda and ice cream. “We will eat later” they say. There is so much food and too much variety. I should have told them what to bring, planning helps.

Now I need to call another set of friends to finish these goodies.

So here I am, with the project of ‘100 Happy Days’I am posting pictures each day here on my blog then sharing the link on my page on FB too. You can enjoy my work either here or on my page at FB at Pushee’s World