Expat Magazine

A Week on Instagram

By Tasneem Rajkotwala @tasu0704

Last week had been wonderful. In few words it kept me busy and very happy. My phone had some battery problems so I had to send it for repair, which took more than a week! When I finally had my phone with me I was clicking pictures like crazy and sharing some of them on Instagram (@thoughtsoverchai). Let me share pictures from my instagram feed taken last week and stories in brief behind every  photograph-

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What better than a hot tea and samosa to enjoy the rains?

It isn’t everyday that it rains in Dubai. So when it poured on 26th March whole day it reminded me of monsoon days I spent in Bombay. My facebook news-feed was full of beautiful photographs from the downpour from people all over United Arab Emirates (UAE). When hubby came back from work in the evening, we picked up some samosas (fried pastry with savory and spiced filling) and tea and headed over to Al Mamzar corniche. We sat there on a bench and had a good chat while Little A played with other kids.

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An Ostrich posing for us!

We took Little A to Posh Paws in the afternoon on a weekend which is quite close to our house because we are making most of this beautiful weather before summer hit us. Posh paws is an open animal sanctuary and a small farm. I am in the process of writing a post from this visit. I never knew editing and water marking the photos  will take so much time, keeping in mind I only work on my laptop when Little A sleeps – that is early morning and in the afternoon. We fed ostrich, cow, horse,  donkey, monkeys, deers, goats, ducks, hens, rabbits, tortoise and parrots. Little A enjoyed it as much as his parents did! I shared this picture of an ostrich because I loved the way it posed for the camera.

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It isn’t everyday I get to witness something like this.

 While we were returning it was sunset time. Sometimes, it feels good to hold back and rejoice what nature has to offer us. Thank God hubby was driving and Little A in his car seat. I opened the windows, closed my eyes, felt the warmth of beauty and let go of all my worries for the moment. It rejuvenated me completely!

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Cheese garlic bread with hint of parsley. An inspired recipe.

On the same day that we visited Posh Paws, we had a guest at home – a friend whose wife is away on a vacation to her maternal home. We called him over for a lunch. I prepared Little A’s favorite pasta (recipe can be found here) and cheese garlic bread with a  hint of parsley. When Preeti shared her recipe for garlic bread on facebook, I knew I had to try this on a weekend! This was the first time I experimented with baking a cheese garlic bread from a scratch and it turned out much better than I expected.  Recipe for cheese garlic bread by Preeti can be found here.

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Mosque captured in the setting sun.

This mosque is just a few steps away from where I live. To get to the main road we always pass through the mosque and I am always amazed by the peace I feel within. So much serene and beautiful. This picture was clicked while we were returning home from Posh Paws.

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The most delicious pomfret masala fry.

And yes on the same day that we had a guest at home and visited Posh Paws, we headed over to a small Manglorean restaurant for dinner. Woodside is a small seafood restaurant located in the lanes of Rolla, Sharjah. We relish fish prepared in a spicy red masala and prawns ghee roast with Neer Dosa (a crepe made from rice batter) cooked by a chef over there.

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Little A on a slide.

On Sunday I took Little A again to to Sparky’s (play area in Al  Ghurair Centre). If we have to go somewhere on a weekday and hubby cannot travel with us everywhere, we mostly prefer taking a public transport. A ride in a bus and metro excite Little A beyond the words I can use to describe it here. While we were in the ball house, Little A amused me totally by climbing the slide from bottom to top. We all have done this at one point or umpteen times in our childhood but I had no idea he would start so early, at 2 years! Little A is growing way too fast, I can’t help but rejoice every moment. He is making me evolve, both physically and mentally!

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We love getting messy!

This photo is from yesterday’s messy play. Last time we tried the paint, Little A wasn’t very keen. I thought of giving it a try once more last evening when I couldn’t come up with any new play idea. He loved it this time! We first tried stamping hearts made from a waste tissue paper roll which he later ditched and let his fingers into the paint. And yes that is my most loved muffin pan. I actually don’t mind sacrificing it for Little A as long as he is happy, satisfied and busy.

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Puzzle play with dad’s painting.

This picture is the most recent one – taken today morning. Tarana’s idea of shapes puzzle inspired me so much that I couldn’t wait to try it with Little A! We used his dad’s painting from yesterday’s messy play and got down to matching mountains, sun, clouds, house, trees, fruits and birds.  Such a simple game but so much to learn and enjoy. We will be definitely doing this again very soon.

This post is linked to What’s the Story?


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