Winsome Weekend | Birthday Month | Passion Flowers: #WordlessWednesday #WednesdayWisdom

Winsome Weekend | Birthday Month | Passion Flowers: #WordlessWednesday #WednesdayWisdom


“The rhythm of the weekend, with its birth, its planned gaieties, and its announced end, followed the rhythm of life and was a substitute for it.”

—  F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

 

Balcony- Dog and Plants
We received a bounty of rain showers this Sunday morning. Here’s Mishki-Moo, our furry girl dousing her being in the rain; while I tuned in to the rhythm of the falling rain.

 

 

Flowers- Tube Roses and Sunflower
And in case you are wondering, these are the flowers I bought myself on Friday to bring in the weekend. It’s birthday month too, but I usually need no reasons to buy myself flowers. 🙂 

 

 

Dog-Book case-Books
Laila Bear in deep, listening silence to the pitter-patter of the rain and relaxing after a nice Sunday scrub from Daddy.

 

 

Buddha Bowl- Salad-bowl
My Buddha bowl of salad that I quickly whipped up. This Buddha bowl was packed with the goodness of avocados, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, walnuts, dates and a smattering of fiery mustard. And vegan too!

 

 

Flower - Passion flower
We were greeted on Saturday morning by this dazzling, intoxicatingly fragrant Passion flower. There was another one hiding below too, amidst the creeper.

 

 

Passion flower - Purple
Just like that on Sunday two more healthy blooms appeared. The DH had lovingly changed the soil recently. These beauties also tend to thrive and bloom with the glorious monsoon showers. They are called Krishna Kamal in Hindi, and are mythologically connected to the great epic Mahabharata. Read more in my post below.

 

 

Passion Flower- Creeper plant
That’s the potted Passion flower creeper smiling with the Sunday showers.

 

 

Peanuts- Snoopy
Just like that another weekend got over, and now I’m looking forward to the upcoming weekend, as I pack my travel bags and I head out for a Himalayan Pilgrimage. It’s my little birthday gift to myself and from my thoughtful DH as well. I’ll be back just a day before my birthday, and the next #WW post goes live around 24 August, my Birthday! Yay! Image: Courtesy of Peanuts Worldwide

 

 

Snoopy birthday-comic strip
Snoopy’s birthday is on 10 August, today! Yay!
On this day in 1968, Snoopy walked into a surprise birthday party, so “Peanuts” officials give the beagle his cake-topping candles to blow out every Aug. 10.
Courtesy of Peanuts Worldwide / UFS & Universal Uclick) and Washington Post. How many of you here are August babies?

 

Winsome Weekends & Birthday Month

 

The weekend gone by was endearing, to say the least. Copious rains, gentle, come hither breeze, dappled sunshine. Even though the humidity hit the roof at times, it was a pleasant weekend with a coy charm. A winsome weekend, so to speak. 

Fifteenth Floor Green Shenanigans

Our balconies and terrace are a stunning shade of verdure, gleaming and thriving like no other time of the year; awash with the blessings of the rain. The Gardenia, Gerbera, Passion Flowers, Periwinkle, Butterfly Pea Flower, Portulacas and Jasmines are in full bloom. The Aubergines have unstintingly lent us a great yield through the summers and continue to. The Lady fingers, Bell Peppers, Bitter Gourd, Lemons and Chillies are bracing up to bestow us with their kindness. The whiff of the fragrant Curry tree, makes for an excellent tea time companion. The Thai basil, Arugula, Italian Basil, Oregano have been on a roll, lending that twist to all our salads and meals. 

The Passionate Zeal of the Passion Flowers

The Passion Flowers (Passiflora incarnata) are adding a riot of purple to our living room balcony. This weekend they enthralled us with a bonus harvest. Also called Krishna Kamal in Hindi, dedicated to Lord Krishna, the Indian deity; Passion Flower has various medicinal benefits and a heady scent. 

Here’s the detailing of the flower – its petals and sepals signify something each, as part of the legend of Mahabharata, the epic of ancient India. 

The 100 of blue petals stand for each of the Kauravas.

5 of the yellow ones in the centre stand for each of the Pandavas.

The green bulb in the centre symbolises Draupadi, the queen of Pandava,

The three filaments are for the holy trinity of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiv 

The radial in the centre is the Sudarshan chakra of Lord Krishna.

 

Wrapping up the Weekend

We ate to our hearts content over the weekend. The DH ordered famous Chola-Bhaturas (garbanzos and fried flat bread) from Pahad Ganj in Delhi, for Sunday breakfast. And then there was a double whammy of Andhra thali from Andhra Bhavan, for lunch. 

I managed a Buddha bowl of salad on Saturday, as you can see in the picture above. It was lip-smacking delicious, yes. The DH and I went on a Sunday date night, after more than a year. Pandemic times, you see. We have been avoiding restaurants, but as things seem to get better we took the opportunity to step out. It was fun catching up away from home, over Beer and Watermelon-Basil Martinis, and sushi (Vegan one for me, mind you!) and Pepperoni for the DH. 

Birthday Month and all that Jazz

It’s birthday month for me. Yes, my 49th on 24 August! I feel 29 though, to be honest. 😉

I’m so glad to share my birthday month with my favourite, Snoopy. 🙂

The Himalayas beckon

As I tip into another year, I realise life needs to be celebrated every moment, ever day; come what may. Along with the DH I have gifted myself a Himalayan Pilgrimage to the stunning Kashmir and Leh/Ladakh. I head out this weekend for ten days for am interfaith pilgrimage. This spiritual sojourn will cover sacred sites of Kashmir Shaivism-Sufism-Buddhism-Sikhism.

I’m really excited about this unique spiritual journey, as I’ve never undertaken one before. I am excited to savour the beauty of Kashmir and Ladakh, places I have been very keen to explore for years now, while experiencing spiritual bliss.

I shall be back on 23 August, just a day before my birthday. Since #WW goes live on Tuesday, the day of my birthday, this month, please bear with me if I’m a bit late to post the next linky. I shall also respond to all your comments and posts upon my return. 

I look forward to returning; armed with stories of valour, fun, healing and adventure. I hope to share some with you on my birthday #WordlessWednesday post.

Take care, stay safe, and keep shining your wonderful light.

I’ll say a prayer for all of you as I visit the sacred sites.

 

Signing off with a new video version of CCR’s, “Have you ever Seen the Rain.” (one of my favourite rain songs)

Infinite love, light, laughter. Gratitude for all your love. <3 <3

Natasha

 

 

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#WordlessWednesday #WednesdayWisdom

Here’s how you can join:

  1. #WW is an alternate week linky party and goes live alternate Tuesday evenings, IST, each month.
  2. Post pictures on your blog from life’s wondrous or wicked moments. Plug in the lessons (#WednesdayWisdom) and humour. Share your wanderlust moments, or simple random shots that caught your fancy, or not!
  3. Make your post as wordless, or wordy as you wish to. Yes, we are rule breakers! 😉
  4. There is a linky widget below where you can drop in your links. The linky is open for 2 weeks.
  5. Link up multiple posts if you please.
  6. Add the badge to your post and don’t forget to add a backlink to my post.
  7. Don’t miss the opportunity of connecting with a fascinating bunch of bloggers/creators from across the globe.

You  have ample time to hop in and link up right up till Tuesday, 24th August, 12 PM IST

Get ready to be deliciously framed!

The next edition goes live on Tuesday, 24th August, evening IST, or maybe a little later. It’s Birth-day, after all…:)

Have a fabulous #WW. <3

 

logo-wordlesswednesday-natashamusing

 

 

Linking up with a bunch of fantastic peeps from the blogosphere who host #WW

Betty, Steve, Sue NC,  Zina, SandeeCathyTina, Brian,  Keith and Xmas Dolly

Also linking up with Trent  for his weekly Smiles

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


31 thoughts on “Winsome Weekend | Birthday Month | Passion Flowers: #WordlessWednesday #WednesdayWisdom

    1. Hi
      Thanks for stopping by.
      What advice are you looking for?
      I’m not a coach just a spiritual being trying to live authentically. Like most of us.

      But happy to lend my ears.
      After all as Rumi says,
      “We are all walking each other home.”

      Be well. God bless.

  1. You must be on the last leg of your journey now, Nats. I hope it’s all you want it to be. Wishing you well. Thank you for sharing these beautiful flowers in one of my favourite colours!

  2. In the real life I did not see this flower. It looks grate!
    You are lucky to have this kind of flower in a flowerpot!
    I wish you Happy Birthday, dear Natasha! Health and a life full of joy together
    with the loved ones!
    Happy WW, my friend! “Love, light and laughter”!

  3. I have never grown passion flowers, but when I lived in the United States state of Arkansas on rural land, we had a wildflower that was related to them, a native very similar flower, which we called Maypop. I never got to eat their fruit, some wild animals always got to them first. I hope your Himalayan Pilgrimage goes well, and that you have lots of stories to tell when you return. (And, I love that CCR song – one of my favorites of theirs.)

  4. As always, reading your lines and seeing the photos I feel in harmony with the Universe.
    Mishki and Laila are adorable!
    I like very much this song, very much! 🙂
    The flower of passion is gorgeous – thank you for the symbolism.
    I forgot about Snoopy! Thank you for the reminder!
    I’m not from August. I wish you today Happy birthday, but I will be here on 24. 🙂
    Pilgrimage to the Himalayas! Wow! Wonderful! I wish you all the best, dear Natasha!
    Big hugs!

    I am not participating this week because I will not be online until Sunday and I will not be able to publish the messages and I will not be able to return the visits.

  5. Flowers are always a welcomed sights. I’ve never seen a passion flower before. Beautiful.

    The pups are adorable and that salad looks so good. It’s good to eat healthy.

    Thank you for hosting the fun.

    Have a fabulous day and rest of the week, Natasha. Big hugs. ♥

  6. Happy birthday, Natasha! Passion flowers are one of the beauties of the earth where the maker went way over the top. Stunning. I love seeing all your other photos, too. We are semi-tropical here along the Texas Gulf Coast, but it often feels like monsoon season has begun in August.

  7. I really like the passion flower, it is a special flower.
    Dear Natasha, please excuse me but, by mistake, I deleted your comment on my post. If possible, please write it again. Once again, I’m sorry!

    Happy Wordless Wednesday and Have a fine week!

  8. I hope your Himalayan Pilgrimage goes well! Sounds great! And since you may not see this until then, happy birthday!

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