Mornings? Oh, my favorite time of my day.

Also the trickiest… because I want calm for at least the first 30 minutes.

No loading of the dishwasher. No sudden noises. I enjoy the chirping birds, or I play rain sounds while making a pleasant breakfast. These are what you’ll find me doing during my mornings lately.

Since I stay home, I feel like I’ve got all the time in the world to curate my mornings.

I am mostly indoors during the day, so I conceptualize projects that make my immediate surroundings pleasant. This Pinterest DIY has been in mind for a while.

(My inspiration was from the classic shishi-odoshi, but without wanting to chase any deer away😊 Where we live, we hardly see one or two near the forest border when we drive around the corner. They come there to demand treats.. )

I purchased this special antique copper water storage bowl months ago partly for my fascination with Indian antiques but also because I wanted to fuse that liking into my initial ‘Odoshi’ idea. Except for the base (the copper bowl), everything else is a DIY project that came to life in one Saturday.

The day I found the copper bowl at the store, I knew it would become my indoor fountain one day..

For the execution, I took my time, though. Nevertheless, the joy when I first had this running in my living room was like a feast for my senses. The sound of water blurs out background noise to a great extent, helping me focus on whatever I’m doing at that moment. Or just nap on the recliner.

But yet, there is something that effortlessly makes me happier than the sight or sound of this fountain..

The fresh flowers my dad picks for me every day.. (My parents live a street away. He usually leaves the flowers in my mailbox.)

Today, I was out for my morning drive, playing music and also observing the pleasant weather. On the way, I found my dad near this tree and stopped the car. He was picking flowers for me, placing them neatly in this disposable container he probably took from my mother’s fridge after she used up the herbs that came in it.

The very sight of my dad picking flowers for me made my morning feel like the rest of my day was going to be wonderful.

I forgot the fountain and flowers for a moment.. (Infact, all his flowers go into my odishi inspired copper fountain. They look beautiful in it. In upcoming blogs, I’ll show you more of it.)

All I could see was my dad at that moment. Him smiling at me, handing over the box of flowers to me. A simple sight, a simple gesture, could change my entire course of the day.

How wonderful is it to be loved!

(On my way back home, I was listening to Mrs.Susheela’s playlist. If the sight of my dad picking flowers is to my senses like the first minute of entering a French bakery where the chef just baked huge pans of milk bread to brown perfection, where the buttery aroma spreads across the entire room, her voice is like honey drizzled on top of that loaf.)

நிலவே உன்னை அறிவேன்
அங்கே நேரே ஓர் நாள் வருவேன்
மலர்ந்தால் அங்கு மலர்வேன்
இல்லை பனி போல் நானும் மறைவேன்

இன்னும் நான் என்பதா?
உன்னை நீ என்பதா?
இல்லை நாம் என்று பேர் சொல்வதா? 🤍

If you could pick just one sight or one sound that happens in your morning that instantly lifts your mood and makes your whole day better, what would that be? I'd love to hear your favorite morning moments below.