Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh

Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh is still an official residence in Scotland, of her majesty the Queen(for precisely a week or so).  This is located at the end of Royal mile, the other end of this being Edinburgh castle.  The palace stands out against the spectacular backdrop of Salisbury crags, the dormant volcano.   This is the ornamental gate to enter the castle. 

 

The first view of palace from forecourt. Part of the palace on the left side are the only remains of the original palace, the brick of which is think, rough and  dark as you see. 

And here is the lovely carved royal entrance.

Some intricate carvings on the fountain in the forecourt.

The oldest part of this royal residence is 15th century, but most of what we see is 17th century as a result of the rebuilding by Charles II. Compared to Windsor and other Royal residences, this Palace is kind of more  a relaxed type.  You are allowed to freely walk in most places, although photography is not allowed inside.

Adjacent to this palace lies the ruins of Holyrood Abbey that was founded in 1128 by a scottish king.

the remains of Abbey...

 This is definitely one of the interesting places to see when you visit Edinburgh...

What's your state of mind - An Illustration

I've often co-related state of mind to a water wave!  Probably that's true.  That's why people say "Why your mind is wavering?"  

I thought I will illustrate their relation through photographs of waves!  I know, while my mind was wavering through a topic to write today, this crap was born!!  Enjoy and get enlightened ;)

This is how your mind is when you are in shanti (calm) state

Initial stages of worry and stress cause a bit of shake in your mind

Slight increase in blood pressure, not being able to concentrate, sleepless nights, and nothing-is-happening syndrome arise! And your mind starts raging!

 Increased tension, stress, getting annoyed, yelling at someone, bad moods are common in this phase.

 Verge of frustration, anger, depression, high BP, feel like slapping or kicking someone

And you are all set to explode

The actual explosion of mind happening here!  Often portrayed by the act of yelling, swearing, crying, even attempting to self harm or cause physical harm to others!!

The mind slowly tries to calm down! 

 You kind of realise your act of stupidity in this phase or even wonder why you behaved in such a way!

Getting back to normal stage!

I know what you are thinking just now!  Don't worry.  My mind is still in a shathi state only.  It's just I thought of illustrating the mind set and behavioral patterns in a nice way!  But I understand that it turned out to be a total nonsense :)

Now just erase those insane words, and enjoy those pictures. These lovely wave formations (actually high tide waves) just amazed me so much in my recent trip.  I took 100's of pictures of such rising tide and water splashing on the rock or a building!  And on a good weather condition (read non freezing cold), one can enjoy this sudden showers thrown on you!  Totally.  

To my dear neighbour!

I knew you are normally a nice boy.  I liked it when you got the parcel for me during my absense, and helped me bring that home.  I appreciated the little christmas and new year greeting card that you posted to me.  And that little invitation you threw at us to get some donation for your school and asking us to join the school day.  I totally appreciate all this.  You are a nice boy to your mum.  But I can't find solace staying as your neighbour!

Saturday Song for you!

Since a couple of you had written in this post that you have not listened to some of the songs,  I thought of sharing them with you.  

And this is my current favorite song I hymn all the time.  The bold voice of adele, tune and lyrics are so addictive!

Adele's Rolling in the deep! Listen, see and enjoy!

Frei'tag'

Honestly this is the first tag post I'm doing, and that's because Shilpa generously awarded me "Versatile Blogger Award".  Oohh that sounds posh na? Hurray!  I'm so happy :)
Thank you so much Shilpa :)

There are these rules I ought to follow in this: 

- To nominate 15 fellow bloggers (I don't even have 15 readers to my blog! )

- Inform the bloggers of their nomination 

- Share 7 random things about you 

- Thank the blogger who nominated you 

- Add the award picture in the post 

So, there we go, know 7 random things about me :)

1. I am a spendthrift.  I spend money on everything that I see, and later realise I don't even need them.  And yes, I'm an expensive wife of S. 

2.  I can play Veena (instrument) pretty well.  I started learning them when I was 5 years.  I can also play Guitar and Keyboard.  

3.  I love eating chocolates, sugar, jaggery,cake or anything that's sweet, except the indian sweets.  I know, that's weird.  I can't somehow bear the indian sweet's taste.  There are 2 exceptions though - Kaju Katli and Jamoon.  

4.  I'm probably only soul on earth that is hydromaniac and hydrophoic!  I enjoy being in water as much as being scared of them.  

5. It's very easy to make me cry.  Husband says that I store glycerine tank in tonnes!  I cry when I see movies, serials, and even when someone gets eliminated in the reality shows :)

6. It took me 2 years to make a proper chapathi (that said, don't underestimate my cooking talent!)

7. I'm over obsessed with Photography - you know that by now :)

I'm tagging this award to :-

RS
Alka
Raji
Amity
Ruchi
Amrit
Rama 
The Era
Kala
Rachna


Note: I'm sorry if you've already been tagged.  And 'Freitag' in German means Friday!  

Photography Gyan # 4

I hope by now, you got a bit familiar with what I was attempting to tell in previous gyan about Aperture!  And did you all had enough time to try them out.  Now give me honest answer folks?  Were you really able to understand?

Wordless Wednesday - 2

Ten on Tuesday - 7

10 on tuesday's special - My faourite 10 songs from 2011 (English all genres)

The magic continues!

20 years before there was this wonderful movie taken, and then came to limelight this Music God!  Are you are still wondering who or what it is??  Roja is that mesmerizing movie!  If Sachin is for Cricket, who else can it be for music other than ARR??  

The movie released in 1992.  After 20 years, this still stands out to be the best movie I've ever seen in the last 2 decades.  I was probably in my 5th or 6th standard then, and Roja was the first audio casette that I asked my father to buy me!  And that's probably the first audio that I listened so many times since then.  And the songs "Roja Jaaneman (Kadhal Rojave) and Ye Haseen Vadiyaan (Pudhu Vellai Mazhai) still top my favourite song list.  Even after hearing 1000's and 1000's of music from all genres/ languages,  these 2 are the most soul stirring songs till date (according to me)!  

Oats Dosa

I tried out Oats Dosa yesterday and it came out really well.  It's pretty simple to do, and doesn't take a lot of time at all.  Plus, it's healthy.  
Ingredients Required:
Oats - 1 cup
Semolina - 1/4 cup
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Green Chillies - 1 (finely chopped)
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes

Method:
1. Dry roast oats for few minutes (until you see a slight color change in oats)
2. Add Semolina and Rice flour to the roasted oats, and grind them to powder.  If you wish, you can add water and make them as batter.  
3.  Make the paste / powder that you blended into a batter.  
4. Add salt, cumin and green chillies.  You can add onions if you like.  
5. Mix the contents well and make it a thin batter (like the rava dosa batter)
6.  Now, making dosa with this thin batter is a bit difficult and different.  If you know how to make rava dosa, use the same method.  
7. In a hot dosa tawa, pour one laddle of batter from outside to inside, and fill up open spaces.  
8. Pour a tsp of oil on the corners of dosa.  Allow it to cook.  Flip the other side for few minutes.
And the oats dosa is ready. 

Note:  Instead of dry roasting oats, you can simply mix all the above said ingredients and set them aside for about 10-15 minutes and then make your dosa.  Both the results end in a finger licking healthy dosa!

When I tried this, I was so eager to taste them, and completely forgot to take pictures.  So bear with a recipe without photo!  And these dosas can be enjoyed over breakfast or dinner.  Compliment it with chutney / sambar or simply yogurt.  

Photography Gyan # 3

Many of them say Photography is art!  It's true, but it's not just art.  To me, it is a combination of science and art!  You need both of these elements to take a good photograph.  Without any delay, here we go!

The most essential principle in Photography is Exposure - the amount of LIGHT that hits the lens to form a picture.  If there's too much of light it will wash out the picture, similarly less light will black out them.  So, it's obvious we need to have the right lighting! How do we control this lighting???  

Exposure is controlled jointly by 3 pillars - Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO - Each of which determines how much light should a picture have.  3 pillars of photography cannot be explained in 1 single post at all - they are the essence; they are everything.  Just to give you a heads up on all these concepts, I'm ATTEMPTING to give you a rough idea about all these.  

Aperture is an opening / hole/ gap - a space in the lens through which the light passes and hits the sensor. 

The larger the hole - increase in aperture ---> more lights gets in (more exposure)

The smaller the hole - less aperture ---> less light (less exposure)

These apertures are measured in f-stops.  Look at the below diagram to know examples of aperture count.  If you read the picture, you will definitely be confused.  It's not just you - but every other photographer who tries to understand aperture in the first place.  Large apertures are given small f/stop numbers, while the smaller apertures have large f/stop numbers?? Confused???

f/1.4 is the largest aperture than f/16 or f/22.  You'll get the hang of it! Don't worry!

image courtesy: google

If you can master aperture, you have a creative control on your camera! Aperture can be controlled/changed in DSLR camera only. If you are wondering how to change the aperture numbers, refer the user manual.  And the best way to get your head around aperture is by experimenting them.  Use different f/stops (without changing any other features) and see the result.  

I know this isn't interesting or easy to learn.  But you are interested in photography, you have to swim through this.  So, I will not complicate your learning process by explaining the next pillar right away.  Try this out and share your experience here.  

The day that went

I know you all are already getting freaked out with my daily posts, but thanks for supporting me in this journey by reading these never so ending nonsense.

Albeit it being Friday, my day hasn't been that great. It's a bit of work pressure, dragging and boring. On top of that I was feeling so sleepy.

Yesterday I uploaded this picture in flickr and thought it was completely meant for this friday. And I completely feel positive about it!! A day should have its little nice things here and there. And its weekend.

And I can get extra hours of sleep tomorrow. Can't wait for that. I think I am kind of rambling over lying on my bed with my half eyes closed. And eventually this is my first post typed from my phone. Thanks to S!!

Yawn yawn!!! I am going now. Good night or have a good day or whatever!!

Thursday Challenge - TOYS

Look at the way that stuffy thing is eyeing me!  He he!
This week's TC is TOYS - as in Stuffed animals, sports equipment, dolls, video games, Board games, Lego!  I went through my archives and found only this one suitable.  What a shame.  Then I realised that I've never pictured any board games, lego or sport equipments!  Will target them sometime soon.  

For now, enjoy this stuffed bear.  He hasn't stopped his staring yet!

Wordless Wednesday - 1

Photography Gyan # 2

Today has been a long disgusting, stressful day at work.  Did not really bother to write down.  But I don't want to give up - definitely not at this early stage of my project.  What - I've just written for a full 10 days now!  

Shoo away the Monday moods

Warning: Here again! I hate saying monday blues! Coz I love blue in any form - blue skies, blue water, and R&B (rhythm and blues genre of music) and the boy band BLUE and blue eyes!  So the word "Monday morning blues" is strictly prohibited here!!

Today's Special :)

Hope you all had a great Pongal / Sankranthi!  As I said yesterday, it was a silent day, but S got a bit better.  Glad!
Today I did not manage to get up early, so everything turned out to be messy and happened a bit late.  But that said, I did cook all that I had in mind.  S thoroughly enjoyed them!
Here's a quick catch of what I did :)

That's sweet pongal, salt pongal, vada and tomato chutney! 

Randoms on Saturday

Saturday just flew by at the wink of the eye!  I wanted to write something else, but could not manage them. Wanted to do shopping today as tomorrow is Pongal.  But nothing happened.   S is not keeping very well, so had to be a nice wify to take care of him. Prepared pepper and cumin Rasam to keep his throat soothing.  Just sat next to him and we were going through the recent photo albums.  Saw 2 movies in the TV.  And now the time is already 10.45pm.    I had to get up a bit early to prepare Ven Pongal (boiled rice and moong dhal seasoned with pepper,cashew and salt) and Chakkara Pongal (rice and dhal boiled along with Jaggery).  So, I sign off now and let you listen to this melody. 


I'm currently addicted listening to this lovely song from a tamil movie.  It's totally romantic and soothing!  Here's the link to hear the song, if you are interested. 


 Vizhigalil Oru Vaanavil by Deiva

Photography Gyan # 1

I was looking at writing tips on Bokeh photography, but it sounded a bit complicated to explain.  So thought that it's better to start with simple basic rules as they are really important to understand photography!

Thursday Challenge - BEST OF 2011

This week's Thursday Challenge is Best or Favourite picture of 2011.  I should say that 2011 has been a photographic year for me!  I started exploring my Nikon in a great depth, took some great pictures (can't deny that myself, coz I can't be modest here).

Do you like Chocolates?

I do!  I can live with them, infact!! Here are some of the mouth watering, finger licking chocolates for you!  I found these artistic ones in Belgium which is a heaven for chocolates.  

This was christmas special!

I particularly liked the way the've put the tag as scarf!  Ain't that cute?

The expressive ducks with snow hats

Mr.Chocolate - - All eagerly popping his eyes out when he meets his girl ;)

And sweet and cute Ms.Chocolate blushes away :)

Have you enjoyed your share??

Know about Project 365!

I decided to take up Project 365..oops it's actually 366 this year!  

Some eye spoilers!

I'm getting addicted to what is called as Bokeh.

A day in Ilford

Ilford is a large town in London.  Apart from this all I know about Ilford is that it has lot of asian community, 2 temples, and lots of indian restaurants around (south indian to be precise).

Yesterday and Today

Life changes so fast, and how often do we take notice of these changes and appreciate them?

Bygone year

The year that went had been a superfast rollercoaster ride isn't it!  It feels like 2011 just now started, but we already welcomed 2012 with a beaming smile.   The year 2011 had been such a memorable year for me - had some accomplishments, bad times, did some silly things, made great friends.