Day: July 23, 2020

Singing like a swallow
Laughing like a drain,
World was full of mellow
Since it started to rain.

Only some resources over supplied
And humans lost their brain,
A thunder blew all men inside
Animals were happily insane.

It seemed like the life paused
But halt was all for good,
The mother earth healed
The living beings understood.

Water was as clean as a whistle
The sky too seemed clear,
We are not ready for dismissal
The human end is not that near

• 

God made us humans is a blessing in itself. We all must appreciate the fact of us being a human. We all know that human being is the most important resource. However, many of us are not utilising this felicity. They are realising that being a part of this society they must contribute some or the other thing to the world.Come let us unite and aware all the humans, let us open their eyes and tell them aloud that “Dear humans, we are citizens of globe, this citizenship is not free. We have to contribute some love and peace to the Earth.”Making life a better place to live, fulfilling it with love, affection, melody, music and creativity. Adding a bit a fashion, style and complications in life make it interesting. But these complications must be taken in a dose that it could be handled.

He was dark and brooding
She was stolid and light
They sat in a quiet disquiet
As the night tram cut through
A snow covered Prague
Nothing mattered anymore
He didn’t say a word
And yet –
She knew.

Photograph curated from internet, unable to locate the copyright owner, no infringement intended.

 

I like trams
There is something strangely romantic about them
As if those moving boxes on metal wheels
Take you to nostalgia by default

I lived many lives in trams
From the days when they were pulled by horses
To the joyrides in Vienna before sunrise
From the rainflooded streets of Kolkata
To Prague castle in the night
I have witnessed moments of freedom
When walls came down and people hugged
I have been many faces

Trams
They are magical places
Where love blooms
And ailing hearts find solace in entangled kisses

Featured artwork: New Orleans byPompo Bresciani

Heavy snowflakes lash on my face
My breath is heavy
It mushrooms a dense fog around my head
I trudge through the snow
Slowly dragging myself against this rogue wind;
Trails of my footsteps follow me like a ghost
No men…no mice…no moon
No signs of life.
Even the trams, the cars, the old houses
Have gone quiet in a deep slumber —
It’s a cold frosty Polish night.

At a distance
A factory chimney spews white venom in the sky,
Like a giant cigar of an ancient pagan god
Dismal, abysmal — my Polish night
Watches me as I walk alone,
Like the distant nights of Babylon watched me
When I walked the stony lanes of medieval bazaars
In silence, in defiance.
Kingdoms went by,
Wars tore the earth,
I still walk the road
In summer, in winter, in rain.
In search of love. In love.

A tiny goldfish…

We were in Cozumel for a week, so there was a week’s worth of good eats.  I only got you through the first half of the week, and stopped when Larry got his bout of whatever bug was going around.  I did not want to overwhelm everyone with all the great foods; I wanted to give you some time to savor the flavors, and hopefully keep you hungering for more.

Casa del Mar is further south from where we stayed.  Larry wanted something relatively light, since this was his first real meal after his bout with the bug.  Casa del Mar is down towards the southern cruise terminals.  Their specialty is seafood, and very good seafood at that, though they offer other delicious dishes as well.

Pan-fried grouper with a garlic-butter sauce.  YUM!

Chicken and spinach with mashed potatoes.  Very tasty.

A trip to Cozumel would not be complete without…

This is the last of Cozumel series for now.  And of course, I saved the best for last.  🙂  We dive all over the world, but mostly in the Caribbean.  Hands down, the diving in Cozumel is the best!  It has everything we look for when diving – beautiful clear blue/turquoise  warm water; a very healthy reef system; lots of marine life, both large and small; beautiful corals; gorgeous swim throughs and topography and oh so much more.  We encounter divers all the time, and everywhere we go, everyone agrees, Cozumel is the best.

Diving with Julio.  Julio, along with his partner Ishi, are the best divemasters in Cozumel.  They know the water like no one else.   They are so passionate about their diving and it comes through with everything they do.  Julio and Ishi are the ONLY divemasters  we dive with while diving in Cozumel.

Cozumel is located in…

Good Evening Everyone!  I’m BAAAAAACK!!!!!  Did you miss me?  We were diving in Cozumel, Mexico.  Cozumel is small island about 25 miles southeast from the shores of Cancun.  Cozumel is our absolute favorite place to dive (dive pictures will come later.  I still have to download them).  It is the northern part of the same reef system as Belize and Roatan, Honduras.  The name Cozumel derives from the Mayan word Cuzamil, meaning land of the swallows.  Rumor has it that both Isla Mujueres (Women’s Island) and Cozumel were the first part of Mexico discovered by the Spanish Conquistadores, back in the 16th Century.  Back when the Mayans ruled supreme in Central America, Cozumel became an important seaport for Mayan trade because it was well positioned in the middle of routes to and from Honduras and Veracruz.  In the 17th century, Cozumel became the land of the pirates due to its…

Life is an evolution.  In order to grow, we need to branch out, take some risks and get out of our comfort zones.  I have always said I am forever a work in progress.  I am constantly in motion.  My life before COVID-19 was pretty busy, but all that changed when the world was shut down.  My life as a swim coach and water aerobics instructor is on hold, indefinitely.  None of the pools are opening up, so not only can I not swim for myself, but I can’t teach or coach either.  No one is swimming at the moment, and a lot of schools and colleges are cancelling their sports programs, which means it is time to re-evaluate things and come up with anther plan of action, at least temporarily.

The other day, our friend Jonathon came over for a short visit and we were talking about this and…

Thank you all so much for your FABULOUS submissions to the 2020 Great Blogger’s Bake-Off and Summer Picnic.  We had over 60 submissions, from bakers and chefs of all ages.  WOW!!!!!!  You all did such an AMAZING job.  In fact, you all did so well that not only did you make me VERY hungry, but you also made my job as judge, very, very difficult.  We had a very international picnic this year, with recipes and photos coming in from all over the world.  We had everything from beverages, to desserts and cakes, to breads, to savory dishes.  Our picnic basket was definitely very full, with so many fantastic foods.  This is one great picnic.

Because we had so many submissions and so many categories, I am only going to show the winners for this year’s contest.  But in reality, YOU ARE ALL WINNERS!

And the Winners Are:

1.  Best…