July was Just J….

Just being…that is all which was done in the last month.

There was travel…Travel on roads which were flanked by sudden waterfalls, green foliage and bright flowers…roads with stones and rubble sliding down fresh slopes of road blasting. Travel to hot and humid and rain-drenched city streets in my Dad’s smooth Amaze. After 30 years of watching me drive well, my father hands over the keys of his beloved car without me even asking for it, and I am grateful and touched.  Travel by train to the green fields of Punjab and the busy humming city of Ludhiana.

I had an “Alice-in-Wonderland” experience in the innards of the warehouses of GangaAcrowools… saw colours, felt textures, fondled hanks of softness, collected sample cards and got loads of encouragement from their key managers. Spent a restful day at my friend’s house, while he and his family worked through the entire day to keep that lovely, efficient mansion going…the story of so many lovely homes!

There were rainy monsoon days and misty cloudy nights. The rains begin to come down and the tourists begin to go down. As hills and glades get covered by busy green plants, the golf course and the gardens become empty spaces for us locals. We walk on wet roads ( never water logged!), through cloudy paths and over soaked pine leaves which hide little leeches. I had my first leech experience which left me with a blood soaked pair of jeans, an intense desire to keep scratching my leg and a big red ball of pain . I didn’t see the villain though. Hema just looked at my jeans, tutted away and proclaimed that it was a “Jong” attack. These days, walks end with a thorough scanning of the paws–Biskit and Pepper are wondering at my strange way of expressing love….

There were weekend friends…Friends who loved the dogs and their games, Hema and her Kumaoni cuisine, Ranikhet and its softy ice-cream and soft spoken shopkeepers, stories and tales of hill living, and yes, the knitting. No one can leave our home without succumbing to the desire to take home some knitted stuff! the socks, mufflers, shawls and throws are admired and tried on…some orders are placed, some suggestions and ideas given and the knitting energy comes flowing back into my heart.

There has been a lot of knitting too…have a look at my personal knitting adventures, all aimed at reducing my stash of wool. A new favourite from old yarn picked up at Ranchi decades ago, completed grey mohair cowl from an old yarn misadventure, progress on the Icelandic sweater and some baby blankets with attitude.

More about them later!

There was the thick grey Guru Poornima full moon last night.Clouds can obscure the grandeur of a rising full moon, but there is nothing which can blot out the wisdom and skills which have been poured into me by teachers and Gurus aplenty.

I keep learning, I keep forgetting and falling, I keep picking up the bits and I keep putting them together with the glue of gratitude.