TAST-Bullion Stitch

Looks like I'm already sliding just when I caught up with TAST.
It feels like my whole life has turned into a whirlwind.
The good news is that R & I made it to the list of twelve shortlisted couples on The Great Driving Challenge.(Drum roll please) We are thrilled to bits.
The next round of the competition is going to be held in Mumbai, which is where we are headed at the end of the week. We have our own blog which we'd like you to bookmark and visit.
Our blog on The Great Driving Challenge site is going to be updated more frequently than this blog for the next week and a half.
Leave us a comment, tip on making home videos, must have list of things for a roadtrip or what you'd like to see on that blog as far as preparations for a roadtrip and mobile blogging go.

Family Time

Just back after two weeks of family time. It was a time for re-discovering a number of things through the eyes of an eleven year old and a seven year old.

Enormous granite boulders on the way to Chennai. Snapped this with my cellphone.

This alfresco lunch will be remembered for the charming setting ,the vanilla milkshake and the quirky plumbing in the restroom. We sat under a big old mango tree in the courtyard of a house which has been converted into a hotel in Pondicherry.
Late evening swim before dinner.Paintball which left a painful mark on one, Lemon grass, Forget-me-not and a camera shy chameleon.

Shell decor for the entryway of a crab's home. Yoga on the beach and cavorting in the surf.Salt pans, the crocodile farm, and drinking tender coconut water on the ECR (East coast road).

There was a birthday in the family and celebrations for the landmark year included a catamaran ride into the sea, beach cricket and dinner with friends and family. Jalapeno the pet dog got its first taste of chocolate cake which there was plenty of and the phone wouldn't stop ringing.

The Great Driving Challenge took up a fair portion of my time like it did R's. It seems to have paid off because we made it to the first shortlist of 100 couples. Thank-you everyone who took the time to vote for us, write testimonials and got your friends and family to vote. R & I are truly grateful. Waiting for the next phase to unfold.

What's your Interior Style

Take the Interior Style quiz by the International School of Colour and Design to discover your personal interior style. My interior style is decribed as Eastern Boho and I'd say its pretty accurate. This is my way of relaxing after a hectic two weeks of vote & testimonial gathering for The Great Driving Challenge.

The first leg of the challenge drew to an end at midnight last night and R & I are delighted with the 646 votes and 33 testimonials we recieved. Thank you everyone who made this possible. The jury is working hard this weekend to shortlist 100 applicants who go into the next round. Come back on monday to know if we've made it to the next round. Keeping our fingers.
crossed.
Thanks again and have a great weekend.

Rerouting for Biryani & The Great Driving Challenge

View Biryani quest in a larger map

We are rerouting our 3,000km trip for The great Driving Challenge so that it begins and ends in Bombay, a requirement by the organisers.

This route has been carefully chosen to include visits to a number of heritage sites which have been on my wish list for a long time as well as providing us with opportunities to sample different types of biryani.

Our Quest for Biryani and The Great driving Challenge has been noticed and we have been featured here and here.

You have until the 17th of July to vote for us if you haven't done so. ( There's a button on the side bar, you can click to vote) and we'd like to thank 412 of you who took the time to vote and passed on the request to family and friends. Some of you have had problems with the voting process and confirming your votes. All these issues are being resolved by the organisers of the challenge who have been overwhelmed by votes
which are pouring in for the participants.
I'd request you to try again after a couple of hours if you haven't been able to vote and for those who don't get a confirmation mail to complete the voting process please check your mail box in a day or two.
Thanks again, hope you have a great week ahead. Cheers!!

Journeys

3,000 km road trip
Getting up early gives me time to sip a hot cup of chai and indulge in some reflection.I've had a couple of such mornings this week and its all no doubt been prompted by The Great Driving Challenge.(TGDC)

The 3000 km road trip of a lifetime in quest of biryani got me thinking about all the other little journeys I'm making at this point.

Let's start with the Great Driving Challenge itself. Its interesting to see that the learning and experience gained from blogging over a year and a half is now connecting in a very significant manner with TGDC. Its also got me signed onto Facebook and Twitter. That's two different journeys there of reconnecting with people and discovering the journeys their lives are on.

Stitch Journeys
There are a couple of stitch journeys too.
Take a Stitch Tuesday on Stitchinfingers is starting up again after a couple of months of R&R which was also meant to be a time for tardy ones like me to catch-up and I'm happy to report I have. So TAST is a journey of creative exploration of embroidery stitches that's starting up again where it left off.If you are interested in joining in, read more about it here.

I have to complete the page for December for The Take It Further Challenge fibre book. Must complete that journey in the next two weeks.

Literary journey
I've been on a "high fibre" literary journey ever since R got back from the States with a little stack of books I had requested him to buy.I've read Knit Lit(too) and have begun on Knit Lit the Third.
My literary journey is taking a new turn with a book club that I'm trying to kick start with Priya's help.For women who are comfortable in their skin,aren't obsessive about counting calories and love the journey a good book provides. We're starting with Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert. Have you taken the Eat, Pray, Love trip? Would love to know what you have to say about it.

MiSh maSh

My journey with collages and cellphone images has been a sort of on and off thing but I've given them a more formal platform by creating Mish maSh and taking one of Shelley Klammer's online workshop's on Deepening Creativity. Thank-you Robyn.

The interlacements of the stitch journeys with blogging or Mish mash with The Great Driving Challenge or the interactions with friends and followers on Flickr, Twitter and Facebook are creating an interesting fabric of experiences and I'm loving every moment of it.You can follow me on Twitter, check it on my sidebar.
If you've read thus far you'll know that armchair travel is something I do plenty of but I am going to be taking a little trip to be with family. I'm not certain how much blogging I'll do but I'll be back in about two weeks with plenty to show and tell. Stay safe and happy journeys to you.

Take a little journey of three clicks of the mouse and vote for us on The Great Driving Challenge.Appreciate it, thanks.