2025 :Year of big changes and a loss

Year 2025 was a year full of changes ...some changes which I have been working for quite some time and some which took me by surprise.

To start , 2025 was the year I finally made a come back to crafting and blogging. With the long gap of 4+ years, I always felt guilty of abandoning my hobbies and blog. 

The year started with a professional change when I moved to a Management Role after working in Engineering for 19 years. The new role involved something I love-interacting with people, understanding their challenges and help them find a solution.

January was busy with a wedding , hosting a hobby friend at home and attending Stamp exhibition in Mumbai.

February being birthday month meant mandatory Starbucks Frappuccino and birthday dinner with hubby and brother.

For my new role, I traveled to USA and was able to meet my lovely colleagues and find some crafty stuff at Joann's and thrift shops. I wrote it about here .

Knitting at Dubai airport in transit to Kansas city, USA

By the time I came back from my work trip in mid March, my husband had started conversations around moving out of India for work. It was a happy surprise as I have got bored of living in the same city for 6 years and have been asking him to move. We had some opportunities in the past however some didn't work out due to professional reasons and some due to laws regarding pet import.

Things started to shape up in May when we got Scotland as the country we would probably move. I have always loved Scotland- from the pictures husband's cousin would share and our trip in 2015. So it was a dream come true...

I'm grateful that our move went smooth as the challenges we had were how do I resign from a job I started few months back, that I loved so much and how will my 22 year old cat Twitch travel.

With months of planning, packing, selling stuff, sealing the house, we finally moved in the last week of July.

My babies started exploring the house the moment they got out of the carrier, Gabru on left, Twitch on right

My major concern during these months was will Twitch survive the long journey in cargo. Sometimes it felt selfish to make such an elderly cat travel but then leaving her behind was unimaginable.

When I moved here, I took a conscious decision of taking a break from my job to settle in, set up the house, learn about the new place and culture, dedicate time to my hobbies.

5 months flew by - during these we took some short trips around the city, I attended events related to my hobbies, celebrated our first Diwali in Glasgow.

An old phone booth converted to a library in Dunkeld

Postbox topper at Isle of Cumbrae

In December, we travelled to Morocco and that's when the saddest thing happened.

The Sahara

Golden sunset at the Sahara

While we were away, my most beautiful, resilient and intelligent Twitch got sick. She had age related issues but she was a fighter so I never thought this time would come.

Always the Queen of the house

On 14th of December we had to take the hardest decision of our life-to let her go over a phone call. Its been very difficult for me to accept that my bubba is not with us anymore- she blessed us with her love for 8.5 years, travelled two countries with us and lived in 5 houses in 3 countries.

Twitch the explorer, at in-law's house

My husband has been telling me that she was very old, lived a beautiful life and I should accept that she is not with us physically but the fact that we were not with her in her last time makes it very difficult.

My baby Twitch
1-Jun-2003 to 14-Dec-2025

I have been trying to keep myself busy in hobbies but the grief hits now and then.

During the holidays , we went to the city centre to see the Christmas decorations , our first Christmas in Glasgow. 

It was a nice distraction and I'm thankful to the guest who visited us and helped us get out of the house.

Its been a long post, I think I need a separate post for my crafty finishes.

Hope my friends had good time during the holidays.

Happy New Year.

Trust the magic of New Beginnings

Hi Friends,

Do you like changes? I do, I believe change is the only constant ! I feel stagnant when I stay in one place for long .

Husband and I have taken a decision that we want to explore the world ...so we are moving .

Many people asked us that you bought a home recently (2.5 yrs back), how can you move? What will happen to the house? ...Well , I don't believe buying a house should hold one back from looking for better opportunities. Some wondered how can we move in our 40s ...well

I'm excited for this new chapter of my life , I plan to spend more time on my hobbies , participate in  craft swaps and focus on health and well being.

Please pray for me and my cats as we start the new journey. 

I also want to share this fully finished piece with you, which is so appropriate for the occasion

I stitched this piece in May 2016, gifted to my friend in Dec 2016 and it took her 8.5 years to get this framed after constant reminders 😉. I met her last week and she brought the framed piece to show me in person. Why is it so difficult to get a decent pic with framed pieces? I always get reflection in pics.

This is the only Mystery SAL I have participated in , you can read about it here .

I love the color she chose for the frame.

Husband commented that its us with our cats, funny we didn't have any pets when I stitched this.

My next post will be from windy and wet Scotland . Till then , take care.

I'm moving

Hello Friends,

Today I want to share some big news with you...

Yes, I will be leaving Kuwait in one month ....

If you ask why ...here is the answer

I LOVE CHANGE (S) ...

Over the years I have realised that if I stay in one place or environment, I become resentful. I crave change ...

As many of you know , I'm an expat in Kuwait which means I live here on a work visa. My husband & I moved here for getting exposure of working outside my home country India and also some personal reasons. Since last few months, work has been stressful. Though I haven't written much about how living in Kuwait is like (mostly shared the good part) , I can sum it up in few words -Kuwait is one of the most expat unfriendly country . As work is major reason of us staying here, stress at work meant unhappy life here.

So in December 2018 , we started thinking of moving out, explored our options and resigned in January end .

I truly believe that if things are not so good at some point of one's life  , it is an indication that a change is required. After we have made the change and are happier , we realise that it was God's way up of telling us -get up and make a change . It can be a change in life style, job, attitude , physical location..it can be anything.

We are moving out of Kuwait for growth in professional as well as personal life...As much as I enjoyed my time in Kuwait, I'm ready for new adventures.

Now if you are curious where I'm moving ..I'm moving to India.

Most of the people I know here are saying "Oh you are moving back to India ?"

Well physically I'm moving to my home country but I personally believe -In life you never move back ..life only moves forward.

I can't describe how excited I'm about this new innings of my life. I know life in Kuwait was too comfortable, I may not be able to have some of the comforts in India but I want to challenge myself.

Most of the people I have shared the news with, have been supportive and understand my desire to move but there are people who have passed judgmental remarks on why they think it's so easy for me to move.So for the people who think its easy for me to move from one country to another because I don't have a kid or have enough bank balance...here is what I feel.

I know you may be thinking , what is this whole fuss about challenges, she is moving to her home country.. I will share about this in my post when I settle down in my new house 😉.

I understand that things are not gonna change between my blog friends and me as we met thru blog which is a virtual land . But I'm sure you are gonna miss my life updates in Kuwait ..aren't you?

Well I'm not going anywhere, I will keep posting, just the desk, chair and laptop from where I post will change.

So wish me luck friends ...