Simple Pleasures - A bit of DIY art

DIY - Do It Yourself. 

That is quite a catchy abbreviation and I wasn't aware of it until my college life. Then I came across many blogs that present beautiful DIY projects and every time I read these blogs, I wanted to be one of those creative, stylish, 'always having the right stationery' kind of people. I am totally impressed when I see colourful beads, ribbons, classic paper prints, acrylic paints and artsy tidbits getting transformed into something creative and beautiful. The world of DIYers is too huge to establish myself into but nevertheless, trying my hand at random painting attempts or a bit of origami gives the same satisfaction.

Even if the creation is a bit naive and unsophisticated, it always shares a special connection with our mind. Perhaps the act of making something on your own imbues the object with some additional value beyond its inherent quality. 

Also, it makes us pay more attention when we buy ready made things. That is because we discover how challenging and time consuming it is to make them. We become more observant and care more about how things are made. 

The extra work that might not seem worth it puts a smile on your face when the painting or craft or piece of furniture is ready. Saving yourself the effort could just cost you some happiness.

So cheers to doing it yourself, always learning, trying, failing and enjoying the small stuff. Life is better when it is a bit messy.

Sofa So good

On Sunday, we said goodbye to our sofa.

Here is a picture of it, spaciously sitting in our living room just days before being dumped into the back of a tempo, destined to a dingy workshop somewhere.

The emotional bond between you and your sofa is real. 

You get teary eyed when you lean against an empty wall watching your sofa go out. 

The feeling of discarding a sofa is almost like tossing a pet out.

 It sets up a never-ending stream of questions in your head. Who had sat there, what stories had the sofa heard, or what grand life events was the sofa witness to? 

What did it feel like, sound like or smell like when you sat on it?

I remember the day our sofa was first brought in the living room. 

The upholsterer had stitched the fabric all wrong. The beautiful flower motifs were all looking like a string of right directed pointers instead of looking their usual self. 

We were so disappointed! But this fact somehow lost its impact as time passed. 

What became more important were the memories that we built around that sofa. 

My siblings used to bounce from one end of the sofa to other, giggling and toppling on each other. My Dad used to sleep on it while watching TV. 

My mom used to sit in that comfortable corner where the two arms of 'L' met. 

One of my favourite childhood memory is falling asleep on that sofa & waking up on my bed. Happiness was to find the lost TV remote, coins, books or combs in the nooks and corners of sofa.

It was a tangible connection to the past.

Funny how a piece of furniture owns us instead of the other way round.

Love and peace to you, old brown sofa, wherever you are!