And before know it, it’s already the third day of July.

What did I do in the month of June? How did they go by so fast?

Well, to use a trite phrase, life happened as it always does and perhaps it’s time for me to recall what I did during the past month.

The Lunch at Cake & Brunch

Ms Papaya always has her birthday during het Summer holidays so we always celebrate with her school friends before the actual birthday.

This year she wanted a two tier party because she has two sets on friends with differing interests.

In the first week of June Ms. Papaya had a birthday so Prima Donna treated all of us to lunch at Brunch & Cake, a popular casual dining place at Worli. On the ground floor of Altimus, a newish office tower opposite the fuddy, duddy TV Tower or Doordarshan, housing financial and legal offices is almost always filled with smart, young and trendy professionals making this restaurant a vibrant and lively place.

As we sat around the table, I couldn’t get over how we’d all changed so much! The Little People were no longer little. Wow Dinga was already a teen and we had to mind our p’s and q’s around him. The Twiblings had graduated from Middle School and were no longer babies.

It won’t be long before they ban us from their birthday parties .

Here comes the rain

May was HOT and June was hotter despite the brief showers that showed up on 21st June.

All through the month, we had scattered rain, but were infrequent and so short that even before you could put your hand out to catch the rain drops, it had stopped!

However by the last day of June I was blessed with a faint rainbow I spotted during my morning walk .

MONSOON SUNSETS

As always, the sunsets during the monsoon are brilliant. If the sky is clear of clouds as it was the large part of this month, you can literally see the freshness in the air. I love the wide expanse of sky with flecks of clouds gathering up.

Even though the sun blazed through most of June, the quiet sunsets were a sight to behold.

CATS : An Unexpected treat

For several years ( remember the days of the BOSE music systems), when we could play music at will without the complications of an App on a Smartphone, our house used to resonate with the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

At any given time, the strains of Evita, Cats and Phantom of the Opera would flow through the house and for the longest time , I wished I could see the originals!

It was a long wait till finally the “Phantom of the Opera” came last year to NMACC, i was thrilled and came home thinking that it was my first and last!

But fate had another ALW treat in store for me . Anna Shetty offered me her tickets for the show on 19th June as she was unable to go.

And better still she was going to be at NMACC at the same time for a piano recital, so she offered Hubby and me a ride there as well!

Hubby and I were most excited at this unexpected treat and readily agreed . But things are never simple are they ?

Luckily or unluckily ( depending on how you look at it) I discovered that the time and place was clashing with a high society Bombay wedding. This would mean hours of crawling in the normally painfully torturous last mile traffic which is already painful

So we decided to go by Metro. This was in itself an adventure especially the post-metro ride where we clung on for dear life as the potential F1 racing driver zoomed his little rickshaw through the traffic.

The show itself was outstanding with its magnificent music, costumes, and brilliant stagecraft. And who wouldn’t be enchanted by the individual performances of Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer, Mr. Mistoffelees, Macavity and the undoubted star performer Grizabella.

Till today I get goosebumps ‘hearing’ the haunting melody of “Memory” playing in my head.

Dress Watches with no where to go.

Sadly, dress watches of yore have been replaced by mobile phones or other digital timekeepers.

I love my mobile phone that is my lifeline. But like calendars, photo albums and radios it has made watches obsolete. Once upon a time, watches were prized gifts for special occasions and over the years, I have collected several which are now considered DRESS WATCHES,

What bliss it is to have Wellknown Watches to Service them so promptly. I do hope they are around for many more years.

A New TV

We already have three tvs at home but Hubby dear got his OWN TV! I am indeed happy that he can now watch his own programs when he wants to, leaving me free to watch mine .

Sari Shopping

Saris are timeless. Saris are flattering. But a sari blouses are another thing.

With blouses getting tighter by the wash, I find myself wearing saris only when I HAVE to. And with fewer occasions to wear them, I don’t need to buy as many saris as my mother did. So I have no reason to go shopping for them .

Paithani saris are typical of Maharshtra my home state and a friend of Prima Donna wanted one for her collection of Traditional Indian Saris. So I had to go to the shop to choose one.

Normally, shopping for a sari is a unique experience. After seating you comfortably on a fat mattress or a plump cushioned chair, the salesman will show you an array of saris in the style, fabric, colour and price range of your choice.

And then, patiently he will display them one by one , draping it around himself if required !

Tidying Up

Tidying up never seems to end and with Prima Donna and Ms Papaya away for the summer, I decided to put the ‘free’ time to good use.

I got all the photos from the 95th birthday printed and almost in place. While digital albums keep memories intact, there’s nothing like an album to flick through.

And my kitchen ! Finally I managed to find time to bring everything from the cupboards where they were just stuffed into for the past 2 years .

I finally managed to organise pantry ingredients into safe storage and will now be able to find things quickly.

A trip to Pune

And the month was rounded off with a short trip to Pune. I drove up with my cousins and got to use the ‘Missing Link ‘ the tunnel that goes under Lonavala .

Pune had typical Pune weather – cool and grey with the occasion showers . Talk, eat sleep – the best kind of break before July begins in earnest .

Ciao,