Crazy Urges

I have a new crazy urge, I wanna learn how to sew. My mom is an excellent seamstress (in my humble opinion) she's been making all sorts of dresses since I was a baby. Even now, she's sending me some summer suits, JazakAllahu Khairun Mamma. When living at home, I never bothered to learn this important skill from her. She would sew, I would take care of the housework and study. Enjoying a brand new suit (much to my dad's chagrin  and later, my hubby-ji's : "you already have so many, why are you wasting?" they say-true... but they clearly don't understand the female mind (luv you Pa-Jaani..please continue reading my blog in spite of this new post...please!) in exchange for washing some dishes and brooming...not a bad trade off!

Now, I have this urge to sew. I wanna make these really nice designer, modest outfits and present them to the world. My new attempt at expressing my creativity (or lack there of). This comes after my urge to crochet (I've sort of mastered the chain thanks Umm Humza!), knit (still trying to figure out how to hold the needles ) and bake designer cakes (don't even bother to ask how I mutilated the brownies today!). But, Insha'Allah, over the summer, I'm going to make a special effort to learn something from Mama. Even if it's how to put a thread in a needle...


P.S. I over exaggerate, I can do that  the thread into a needle thing...err..most of the time

My Cup of Tea

Recently (like in the past two days), my love for tea has renewed. I used to be a big tea person before marriage. Thanks to Mama, I would drink at least three, steaming mugs a day. However, after the wedding, the addiction just sort of faded away. S. isn't big on tea, he's more the cappuccino type. A Medium french vanilla from Timmies.

The other day, I had some friends over for a potluck and decided to make some tea. Right after having asked everyone if they would like some, I realized I didn't have any milk (real smart, huh?). I did what any good hostess would do, I improvised. I had some evaporated milk on hand so I decided to use that instead. And boy, did that tea taste good. The next day, I found myself making a cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon, rationalizing that I had to use up the left over milk. But when I added "evaporated milk" to the grocery list, I knew I was hooked.

So here I am, my third cup of tea for the day in hand and am thoroughly enjoying it. It's just not the drinking, I enjoy making the tea as well. Heating up the water to a light boil, adding a cracked cardamom, then the tea bag. As the bag releases it's colour and the water comes to full boil the smell of the tea is so tantalizing. And then you add the milk to get that beautiful creamy colour, and let the mixture come to a slow simmer. It's such a soothing task. But as I take that first sip, I'm reminded of those moments of sharing a cup of tea with Mama and Aunty (after the wedding). It would be just our time, to sit and chit-chat. The last 8 months or so, I spent with my husbands parents, Aunty and I would have our cup of tea in the late afternoon. It was downtime after the morning chores and before the dinner rush. We would enjoy some chocolate chip cookies or whatever sweet snack was at hand with the tea.

Reflecting on it, I don't think that it's the actual tea (although the caffeine kick does help the grogginess), so much as the memories it brings back. The wonderful times spent with the two most important women in my life. A remembrance of all the conversations and discussions we would have. And a deep longing to return and make some more memories with them while indulging in a cup of tea. (Insha'Allah)