Weekend activity

My weekend activity - repotting the plants :)

Gardening is indeed a therapy !

My balcony buddies

Spring blossom in my balcony !

Among the many things that my little girl has started to help, watering the plants is her favourite and she helps me everyday ! She even has her own little water jug :-)

Agros - The Rose Village

Agros is one of the many beautiful villages of Cyprus. Situated in the Troodos mountain range, the village is built amphitheatrically among high mountains making it picturesque and a popular tourist destination.

Agros is well known for rose plantation and rose-derived products. A wide range of rose products include rosewater, rose liqueur, rose brandy, rose perfumes and aromatic rose candles — all made using traditional methods from the locally grown flowers.

True to its specialty, one would see every house adorned with rose plants!

Rose lovers will thoroughly enjoy a visit to Agros during May for the annual rose festival, also the peak of rose blossom.

The festival is full of activities, exhibitions and demonstrations, celebrating nature’s beauty and local traditions.

...and for someone visiting for the first time, it surely looks like the village is so gorgeously decorated with roses on this occasion :)

Cherry Time !

Have a cherry cheerry weekend :-)

Images shot at the Agros Village. More in the coming post :-)

Paper Art - Quilling

'Quilling', a.k.a 'paper filigree', is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs.
The paper is wound around a quill to create a basic coil shape. The paper is glued at the tip and the coil shaped. These shaped coils are arranged to form flowers, leaves, and various ornamental patterns.

The craft has gone through many transformations and changes through the ages using new techniques, styles and materials.
A brilliant example is this link which I saw on my friend's blog. I was in complete awe looking at this work by 'Yulia Brodskaya'.

Inspired by this beautiful paper art, I made this simple birthday card for my pottery teacher who is also a very dear friend of mine ! (Courtesy - Inna's Creations)

For this work, I used things at my disposal - colored paper, glue stick, paper knife and tooth pick (for coiling). Ikea’s deep frame was just apt for presenting it!

My first guest post ever on this topic on eshgheman ! Thank you eshgheman for inviting me to do this post :-)

Information courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilling

On Mother's Day .....

This is a beautiful card which my little girl coloured all by herself .... just for me :-)

Her teacher at school helped her in making this !

Inside.... a greek poem on Mother !

The teacher however had to translate it for me :-D

Joy is in Simple things ...

~ Playing with my child

~ Watching her sing and dance to the tune

~ A hot cup of filter kappi :)

~ Watering the plants

~ Bird watching

~ Feeling the cool breeze

~ Feeling the waves kiss your feet

~ beautiful spring flowers at every corner

~ my pottery classes

~ watching a nice movie

~ waiting for the weekend ;)

~ waiting for the next vacation ;)

~ a mail or a scrap from a friend

~ a call from a dear one

~ to just sit back and relax :)

What are the simple things that brings you joy ? :)

Saturday routine ....

In Cyprus all stores are closed on Sundays. With weekdays being really busy, leaves me with just Saturday for all the shopping !
Visiting the 'Saturday Market' is my routine ....to buy some fresh fresh veggies & fruits :-)

This place which is otherwise a huge parking area, transforms into a big fruit and vegetable market on saturday mornings.

The farmers from near by villages come here to directly sell their crops.

The prices are at its highest in the early morning and as the hour goes by, the prices keep falling ;-)

Just can't say "no" to these mouthwatering delicious strawberries :)

Mango madness !!! .... but it's really no match to our desi mangoes :(

~Harini, fresh veggies and fruits....all the way from Cyprus...just for you :-)

Akki Rotti

Akki Rotti meaning Rice flour roti (flat bread) is a unique specialty of Karnataka.
It is a very popular breakfast item and my all-time favorite. I particularly love it with godda-khara or type of tamarind chutney which mom makes the best :-)

There are many variations of Akki Rotti. The recipe that I would like to share here is pretty simple and quick....courtesy my mother-in-law :)

Ingredients :

(Measurements are approximate)

Rice flour - 2 cups (If you are buying this from non-Indian store, make sure its a little coarse and not fine powder.)

Semolina/Rava - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 medium - finely chopped

Green chilies - 2 finely chopped
Cilantro - finely chopped
Salt to taste
Water to mix the dough

Optional : Jeera, grated carrot, ground nuts, grated coconut

Method :

Mix gently the finely chopped onions, green chilies and coriander. Then add the rice flour, rava and salt. Add little water at a time and mix into dough similar to chapathi/roti.

To roll the rotti:
Take a thick plastic sheet and smear little oil on it.
Take small ball size dough and gently press with your fingers to make rotti shape. Make sure not to press too hard.

Gently remove the rotti from the plastic sheet onto hot tava/griddle.
Add half tsp of oil around the corners of the rotti. Cook on either side.

Akki rotti tastes best with wide variety of chutney. I tried this recipe of Eggplant chutney.

If you do try this recipe, I would love to hear how it turned out :)
Bon Appetite !

Neuschwanstein Castle - King Ludwig II

Referred in German as 'Schloss Neuschwanstein' meaning 'New Swan Stone Castle', is one of the most beautiful and famous castles of Germany.
More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer.  The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle !

This famous German castle is located near the Pöllat Gorge overlooking the picturesque Hohenschwangau valley and is located only a short distance from the popular tourist town, Fussen.

The palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II as a retreat and an homage to Richard Wagner. The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king.
Ludwig himself called this new palace as 'New Hohenschwangau Castle'...but only after his death it was renamed 'Neuschwanstein'

The King took keen personal interest in the design and decoration of the castle.

This is pretty much how the castle looks on a snowy day!

From the town of Hohenschwangau, the castle can be reached in bus, horse carriage or by walk. The walk would have been great fun, but owing to the weather, we opted for the horse carriage :)

This is the view of the Marien Bruck (Marie's Bridge ... named after King's mother), as seen from the castle. This steel bridge was constructed by the King in 1886 over the Polat Gorge for the spectacular view of the castle.
As you may see, the bridge is often crowded with tourists. The first picture on this post is shot from there !

Don't be disappointed when the view of the castle isn't the same as seen in most popular postcard pictures. Those are shot from a hot air ballon or may be even by adventurous paragliders like the ones above :-)

Very close to the 'Neuschwanstein Castle' is an older castle where King Ludwig is believed to have spent a large part of his childhood. This is the 'Hohenschwangau Castle' named after the small town where it is situated. This once used to be the royal family's summer residence.

Linderhof palace is another small castle built by the same king near to city of Oberammergau.

By now you must have realised King Ludwig's love for castles.
Linderhof however was the only castle of which he lived to see the completion !

If you are one of those who loves visiting castles and palaces, you will surely not be disappointed on your visit to south Germany :-)

(All images by Anupama Puneeth. Information courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/)