Category: You Asked

Share Your World September 27, 2021

Melanie is the host of SYW

QUESTIONS;

1. What’s your favorite way to exercise? (if you do or don’t. Exercising one’s mind is a valid answer IMHO, because that’s my favorite).

To exercise my body, I walk daily. Recently the duration has decreased a bit as we were busy shifting from one city to another and there was a lot of work to do. And working, unfortunately, doesn’t give you steps.

For my mind, I do puzzles, play card games and do a ton of reading and writing when I blog. I think this should keep my brain active and healthy.

2. What’s more important to you – family or friends?

Both are equally important. Family, especially your intrinsic family is obviously very important. We would do anything for them. But we need friends too as they are the family we choose for ourselves.

3. (a segue of sorts from last week’s SYW)..Have you ever voted for someone (in whatever venue – politics, contests, school elections) based solely on how they looked?

Looks aren’t important if you’re electing someone for a public office. It’s the character and the ability that counts. So the answer to this question is no!

4.  (silly one)  How could carousels be spiced up so they are more exciting?

Carousel

Carousels are already very exciting so in my opinion, there is no need to add anything extra there.

GRATITUDE SECTION  (as always optional)

Please feel free to share something you’ve enjoyed about this September.

September saw us relocating to another city. Thankfully the move went smoothly and we are now settled well in our new home. The only thing that went wrong was that our Kitty couldn’t come with us and during our absence, he has decided to opt for a life as a free cat. We are still hoping that he decides to come home but there’s no sign yet. Perhaps with us, especially my grandson gone from his life, he was too lonely. 😿

Missing you Dinky!

Thank you Melanie for these interesting questions.

#Keepitalive

#SYW

Blogging Insights # 11 -Who do I write for?

Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights

Today’s quote is from celebrated author Margaret Atwood. 

writing quote margaret atwood - write for no one

“Perhaps I write for no one. Perhaps the same person children are writing for when they scrawl their names in the snow.” — Margaret Atwood

Who do you write for? Yourself, your readers, or posterity? I would love to know. 

🌀🌀🌀

Who do I write for?

When I started writing for my blog, it was just to see if I could write. I started by writing on health-related topics because I knew that field. It was only later that I ventured into poetry and short stories, inspired by daily and weekly prompts.

Now my point of view has changed. Now I feel that I write for my readers as well as myself. It IS like scrawling my name in a random place so that some passerby would read it, the same principle does apply here. We don’t know when we put out our writing and views on the vast platform of WordPress, and through that, the WWW, who might read it and who might benefit from it.

Whoever is the target audience, writing is an exercise in self-expression and also a form of catharsis. Sometimes, when we are worried or irritated by something in life, writing about it helps us to see the problem more clearly and we can also see our way out of it.

Many thanks to Tanya for keeping this conversation going.

What or who do you write for?

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#BloggingInsights

Throwback Thursday- Music memories

Maggie and Lauren are hosting this prompt


Welcome back to Throwback Thursday Memory Blog Hop. Lauren and I rotate publishing this challenge every Thursday.

You can use the photo above in your post and tag it with #TBTMemory or #IRememberWhen to make it easier for others to find.

Music Memories

Maybe it’s a song that brings back good memories. Maybe it was your first radio or record player – or iPod depending on your age. Maybe it is the song that always moves you to tears. What song was played at your wedding? Did you have band posters hanging on your bedroom walls? What are your music-connected memories?

🌀🌀🌀

As you said, music plays a great role in our lives. We start by listening to what our parents listen to, and then gradually we develop our own taste. And for me the next step was adopting the music my children were listening to as my own.

Growing up, I have memories of the tape recorder playing Beatles songs as my father loved English songs. At the same time, he would listen to oldies like Saigol, Lata, Mukash, and Rafi, great Indian singers. His generation grew up in India before Pakistan came into existence. He went for his master’s degree in public administration to Harvard, Boston in 1969. On his return, he brought back a record player and many LPs. “The Graduate” was his favorite, and to this day I love those songs.

During the time I was growing up, we listened to Indian songs a lot. They were what our generation was listening to in those days. My older brother was into Boney-M, Bee Gees, Abba, etc and I also started listening to them.

Whenever I hear any of these songs playing, I’m taken back to those teenage years.

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#TBTMEMORY

Truthful Tuesday – Careers

Frank is the host of Truthful Tuesday

The Question

When you were in grade school, what did you want to be when you grew up? Were you right, or did you end up doing something else?

🌀🌀🌀

I think I always wanted to be a doctor. There was a brief time when in high school I realized that being very good in mathematics, I could easily opt for a career in engineering, but my paternal grandmother opposed the idea. Girls could be doctors or teachers but not engineers!

I did get into medical school, or college as we call it here, and studied there for four years. Then the story changed and I decided to get married and start a family!

I was right in that that I had an aptitude for the medical profession. I was good at diagnosing diseases, at putting the patients at ease and most importantly, I had a good grasp of my subjects. But life had other plans for me. I could have continued my studies after marriage, but then other factors played a role in this game called life and I finally thought that since I cannot continue with my medical career, I should withdraw from college. I later gave an exam to get a bachelor’s degree in science.

I ended up being a wife and a mother. As careers go, this is the most difficult and most rewarding career. But I think the least appreciated.

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#TruthfulTuesday

Fandango Provocative Question- Internet or heating/ cooling

Fandango is the host of Fandango Provocative Question

FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question.

My provocative question for you this week is fairly lightweight and as bloggers all, I think I know how most of you will answer it. But be sure to focus on the “why” part in your response.

If you were forced to chose, would you rather live without the internet or live without air conditioning and heating? Why?

~*~*~*~

I have read many responses to this question, and the majority of bloggers that I follow, opted to have a temperature-controlled environment in lieu of no internet.

My view is slightly different. I live in a warm country. The winters aren’t that long or that cold. The summers are very hot and quite long. We use air conditioning for at least six-seven months a year. So having air conditioning is a big blessing.

But having access to the world of information is essential too. Blogging, watching Netflix, seeking answers to everyday problems and puzzles: the internet is essential for it all.

My solution is to get a house with a lot of ventilation, big windows where the air can move freely, and have full internet access!

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#FPQ

5 Things for Tuesday- Rainy days favorite activities

Tanya is the host of 5 Things Tuesday

5 Things Tuesday: Favourite Rainy Day Activities

🌀🌀🌀

• Staying indoors and watching rain;

This s the best way to enjoy rainy days. I stay near a window or a veranda and listen to the rain and thunder.

• Eating samosas and pakoras;

It’s a tradition that one gets together with family too enjoy these deep fried treats with a cup of tea.

• Reading;

Since one doesn’t want to venture out, staying home and reading something interesting is the best way to enjoy this time.

• Blogging;

Another lovely way to spend free time. I am always looking for a few spare moments to read posts from the blogs I follow and to answer the comments.

• Going for a aimless drive and enjoying my favorite music;

When I was younger this used to be my favorite activity on a rainy day. Now I am a bit cautious and don’t indulge in it often because driving in rain isn’t that easy at my age.

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#5Things

Blogging Insights -Bad grammar

Tanya is the host of Blogging Insights

I saw this on Instagram the other day and thought it would be interesting to discuss it on Blogging Insights:

” What I mind in modern society very much is the awful lack of grammar. ” — Ruth Rendell

🌀🌀🌀

I think that bad grammar, used in any written document is very off-putting.

In literature, it is unforgivable. Badly written stories are so irritating and off-putting that people usually give up in the middle. The same goes for any inspirational article. If the usage of words, tenses, and grammar is not accurate, the meaning gets distorted and the purpose of writing that particular piece is wasted.

For people like me, whose first language is not English, we have to make more effort to see that when we finish writing, it all makes sense and is easily understandable. So I do make mistakes and try to proofread my posts before posting them.

Using bad grammar in talking is even more horrendous. I’ve seen teenagers using the word “like” ten times in one sentence when they are searching for the appropriate word to use. It was amazing for me when I first came to America to hear the youth here talking like that.

In social media, people use abbreviated text like grT or U or 4, and I don’t like that either. But we can ignore it because they may be in a hurry. But when they start using this form of writing in school essays, it becomes ridiculous.

“Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation” by Lynne Truss is a fantastic book about the usage of punctuation. I think everyone, specially the young people should read it.

One such example lent the book its title:

A panda walks into a bar. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

“Why? Why are you behaving in this strange, un-panda-like fashion?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda walks towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

“I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.”

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

“Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

I rest my case!

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#BloggingInsights

Share Your World – Squirrelly World

Melanie is the host of SYW

This week is Evil Squirrel’s critter cavalcade of questions.  And a blatant, non-solicited plug for Evil Squirrel and his nest, which marked ten years this year of Nest-y goodness.   You might wish to saunter over to his blog and congratulate him!  So without further ado:

Welcome to Share Your World! 

QUESTIONS

8-19-2021  “Chip the Dignified if Species Confused Squirrel/Chipmonk”  

If you were to be cast as part of a comedy double act, which part would you play…. the straight man or the funny one, and why?

I’ve very rarely seen these comedy acts. But if I have to be in, I would prefer to be the audience. I would get to enjoy the humor without the stress of trying to create it!

8-26-2021  “Buster “Auuughhh I’m HIT!” , the Indestructible Possum”

If you were to be reincarnated on Earth as any non-living/inanimate object of your choosing, what would you come back as and why?

I think nowadays, I’d like to be a smartphone. Anyone who has a smartphone values it more than any other possession they have. It’s looked after very well and is always kept close.

Fleabag, the Canine.

A SYW question themed around Fleabag…

We all know how dogs mark their territory. How do you mark your territory?

I read Lauren’s response to this one and mine is the same, a paper trail. Used napkins, post-it notes, shopping lists etc is a herald that it’s my territory.

A Share Your World question inspired by Shadow (The Supercilious Creature from the Pokemon ‘empire)

If you were on a trivia show and had to correctly answer ten questions in one subject to win a million dollars (or whatever currency is used in your locale), what would you hope the category would be?

Perhaps questions about the medical field. I know most of the answers!

Unca Sam asks (A rare serious and thought-provoking SYW question inspired by Uncle Sam…)

In democratic societies, do you believe that the right to vote is merely a privilege or a duty for all citizens? This should not be thought of as an “Americans only” question. ANY ONE is welcome to answer.

This is one tricky question. Ideally, everyone eligible to vote should use their right and privilege to elect their representatives. It should be our civic duty to do so. But unfortunately, often the choice of candidates is such that you don’t feel like voting for anyone. And the flaws in the system often make the process so defective that it doesn’t make much of a difference anyway.

🌀🌀🌀

Thanks Melanie for these fantastic questions.

#Keepitalive

#SYW

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Preserving Food

Sue W and GC are the hosts of Weekly Prompts

“I feel blessed to have had such a background, where animals, food raising, harvesting and canning were a natural part of life.” – — Trina Paulus

Wednesday Challenge – Preserving Food From GC and SueW.

This week, my partner Susan and I invite you to write about PRESERVING FOOD.

🌀🌀🌀

When I was growing up, my paternal grandmother was around a lot. She was a woman who never wasted anything, least of all food. So whatever food was in excess at home or cheaply available in the market, she would preserve it to be used later.

Her forte was jams and jellies. Apple, apricot, and guava were made into jams and distributed among the family. She was a wonderful cook and anything she made, tasted great. I would assist her as all of that chopping had to be done by hand. And she was obsessed with cleanliness so either she did it herself or I was allowed to do it. I remember my fingers getting discolored when I would cut apples.

I learned the process by watching her. She wasn’t a very literate woman so she followed her own recipes. And they always turned out so well. When tomatoes were cheap we would make tomato ketchup and at the beginning of summer, we would pickle green mangoes with limes and chilies in mustard oil. This pickle, known locally as “achar” is such a yummy treat that it makes the blandest of food heavenly.

When I was a young mom, I made lots of jams and jellies. Strawberry jam was the easiest and the yummiest one. Now I am either too lazy or too old to do it.

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#WeeklyPrompts

Fandango Provocative Question # 135

Fandango is the host of Fandango Provocative Question

FPQ

Welcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question.

My provocative question for you this week is this…

Regardless of how you feel about a woman’s right to get an abortion, do you believe that, in cases of incest or rape, women should be denied the ability to have legal abortions if they wish to terminate their pregnancies?

🌀🌀🌀

I don’t think that any woman would say no in answer to this question. Even the Republicans, if they can think.

Rape and incest are the ultimate violations of a woman. Her mind and body reject this so vehemently that sometimes the resulting fetus aborts automatically. But whatever the scenario, the decision should lie with the woman herself.

How can someone else force them to keep a child when it is conceived out of a hateful act? And why would anyone want to?

I can perhaps write a very long post in response to this question, but I feel one line is enough.

In case of rape or incest, no one should deny or deprive the woman of the option of terminating that pregnancy!

🌀🌀🌀

#Keepitalive

#FPQ