Sixty years ago

Every year the Christmas tree is put up. 

In the night it gives a better glow.

As I look at the picture, I realise that there are two things in it that are really old and valuable.
One is the crib which is placed under the tree. This crib has a special significance as it was bought 59 years ago.  As the years went by the colours faded and my Dad repainted them. I remember how he used a strand of coconut fibre (as a brush) to paint the eyes and the eyelashes of the statues. Somewhere along the way we lost one of the sheep but the rest are still intact.

I had a black and white picture of these very statues clicked by my Agfa Click-III, about 40 years ago in a wonderful crib made by my Dad. I am still trying to locate that picture. (I am sure its somewhere in the attic)

The other thing is the big lamp that is hanging above the tree. It is a German Lamp and was bought in 1953 by my mother-in-law with her first salary. That makes the lamp 60 years old.

Its good to have and preserve such old things which brings back memories.

I like this angel. It is a part of the decoration of our tree and its from Africa.

This is a new addition to the tree and I like the wordings on it “when I count my blessings, I count you twice”

That brings us to today’s Xmas menu for lunch.

This picture gives a fairly good idea of the table spread.

To list them out, (from bottom left clockwise) its Chicken roast, Beans, Moor curry, Meen Peera, Salad (cherry tomatoes, lime basil and dressing), Pork Vindaloo and Lime Basil Rice.

The Meen peera is a south Indian delicacy. Its made with Veloori (white sardine) and grated coconut.

I had to click the Chicken Roast once again to show how yummy it was.

It was signed off by Crème Caramel.

 Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all. 

Scraps and Scribbles

Had been to this Christmas Bazaar last weekend. This was something different from what I attended a few years ago.

As I had been there early I could catch them setting up the shop, or rather the table. The best I liked about this place was the ambience. Surrounded by trees and the sun just coming up, it was a perfect place (and time) for me to take some snaps.

Liked the way the light fell on these bottles and the lamp shade.

On closer examination I found that they were ordinary bottles wound up with some colourful threads.

This guy here had some lovely paintings. I liked that one of the vintage car.

This couple had some interesting items

Few of the stalls were put up by some NGOs

 As it neared 10 am (opening time) the stall owners were all ready and waiting for the customers.

This Bhoole Bisre counter had some old stuff repainted which looked attractive. I liked that perforated tea kettle used as a lamp shade (that blue one hanging there)

Some other tables befitting the season:

One lady was selling hand painted cards and frames.

I noticed that while she waited for the customers she was busy painting new ones.

There was this stall by the name of Green Tokri.  I was surprised that it was manned and run by Europeans. I heard one of them speak and asked her "Are you Dutch?" To which she replied, "No, I am German, she is French, her husband is British . . . . we are a mixed lot" 
Well so much for my knowledge of Dutch.

This was started by Dr Marc about a decade ago in Pune.

It seems when they started farming, there was no market for Lettuce in Pune. So they sold them to their friends around Pune.

 Now they have expanded and have an efficient home delivery system. They have some fixed areas of delivery in Pune.

It was 10 am and the customers started trickling in.

I found that the customers were picky and selective about what they buy.

This old book’s stall had brisk business. It was heartening to see that children were still interested in books and made their parents buy quite a few .

Noticed this table at the corner by the name of Scraps and Scribbles.

There were many frames for sale and what was interesting was that almost all of them were made from scrap material.

The picture above has the tree and the grass made from paper torn from old magazines. The leaves are some dried leaves (I think those leaves have a seed in the middle and come under the category of seed dispersal by spin and flutter). The people under the tree is a collage of broken egg shells.

Many were appreciative about the effort and the idea. Some wanted to write in the comment book.

Some more of her creations

Diamay, the young lady who created all this

Her definition of scraps and scribbles

She said that if people placed orders, she was ready to deliver as per their requirement, and that included overseas orders too.

She can be reached at  scraps.scribbles@gmail.com

Before I sign off a few more of her work

Painted Ladies

They said that the Painted Ladies is one of the “must see” sites in San Francisco. So we thought why should we miss it when we were so close to it.

These Victorian era structures got their nickname because of the number of colours used to decorate their exteriors. Frankly speaking I was not taken in by what I saw.

I found the surroundings more interesting. Like the park in front of it. Liked this water fountain with spouts at different levels to suit all age groups.

This guy in the park was engrossed in his creative work.

He chose this spot as he had a good view of the city.

There were these dog walkers who were enjoying a sun bath while the dogs basked and frolicked with each other.

One of them decided to take a stroll all by himself. He too (like me) was not impressed by the “painted Ladies” as he was walking in the opposite direction.

We were back on the main road.

While we waited for the “Big Bus”, the change over conductor (who was also waiting for the bus) gave us some tips about how to travel in the Hop on Hop off Bus.

Graffities on the wall break the monotony of the plain walls.

Some 45 RPM records in a shop window. About four decades ago this area thrived when the Hippie culture was in full swing.

Noticed this eating joint

And a few shops next to it was another one.

Lombardia Street had some lovely houses.

The tiles on the roof of the house. Even though they were decorative, they reflected the light well to give a good contrast against the green leaves.

I found these combination standpipes at the entrance of many buildings. These standpipe systems are designed to deliver a prescribed amount of water at a prescribed pressure to the top most outlet. This one was well polished.

Ending this post with this lovely house which I managed to frame and click when the vehicle stopped momentorily.