Happiness is… waking up

Good morning, sabaho, bonjour... Looking out of my window

“Sharing is caring,” are three words I hear a lot, especially in the world of children. Is it because some have so much? Or is it to counter the mounting greediness and consumerism we see today? Whatever…

But sharing is the name of the game at Mich Café – sharing what I see, feel, read about, experience, where I venture or travel and what interests me.

It was fun taking random pictures with my gifted Nokia N8 and posting them on my Twitter timeline or Facebook page. Unfortunately, it fell in a swimming pool, forcing me to revert to my antiquated mobile. So, I’ll be posting these random pictures and my thoughts on what makes me happy every day here in Dubai.

This takes me back to the first post at Mich Café on July 16, 2010. I wrote then: “Looking out of the window is the way I start my morning. And over the years, I have been lucky to live in flats with great views that set a happy tone for the rest of the day.”

A kiss to start the day from the tireless lovebirds

Happiness is waking up in the morning. Waking up to the sun -- the “best friend” I came looking for in Dubai. Awakening to look out onto a beautiful garden, teeming with a palm tree starting to bear fruit in time for the Holy Month of Ramadan due to start on July 21; blackberry trees you can nibble on in March and April each year, colorful bougainvilleas and fragrant frangipani, fil and gardenia; four aviaries housing tireless lovebirds; and two dogs.

It’s difficult to walk out of the door without a smile on my face. What better way to start the day!

What makes your morning?

Related posts:

Feathered housemates -- December 22, 2010

Windows... mirrors to my days – July 16, 2010

Flaming Mimosas

The Mimosas on Al Wasl Road

I drive by these eight flaming trees every day. One is on Jumeirah Beach Road (in front of the Enoc petrol station) and the seven others are on Al Wasl Road (just before Park and Shop). They look so lonely and out of place in Dubai's desert heat that I have adopted them as my own --  if that's allowed!

I say lonely, because I haven't spotted any others like them yet; out of place because they are Mimosa trees, and very characteristic of the Mediterranean and the French Riviera (where they were imported from Australia by non other than Captain James Cook in the 18th century).

You can take me away from the Mediterranean, but you can't take the Mediterranean away from me. There is something magical about the Med -- its people, food, fauna, flora... And Mimosa trees are part of that luminous magic. They spring at you with their golden blossoms, evoking a thousand suns. And if there's a breeze, you can only fall under the spell of the Mimosa's sweet and delicate scent.

If you spot "my" Mimosas next time you're driving down Beach Road or Al Wasel, give them a little honk and let me know what you think.

This week's Haiku is dedicated to:

My Mimosas

Lonely in the heat

Fluffy golden blossoms flame...

A Mimosa route.

Windows... mirrors to my days

 

My first gardenia, earlier this spring

Looking out of the window is the way I start my morning. And over the years, I have been lucky to live in flats with great views that set a happy tone for the rest of the day.

My first memories of looking out of a window are of sitting on my mother’s lap watching the rain. She found it very relaxing, but I developed an allergy to rainy days!

I then got the habit of checking for the sun, like looking for a best friend. This was more difficult during my years of living in London. But still, I had a magnificent view. My flat in Chelsea overlooked the Pagoda in Battersea Park on the other side of the Thames. Being high up, I didn’t need curtains and would wake up to that beautiful sight and the sound of the birds. The best were the blackbirds, because when they started charming with their chants, you knew spring wasn’t far away. What was missing on most days, however, was the sun! And so I dreamed of looking for my “best friend” and landed in Dubai.

While looking for a flat here, the most important feature was, of course, The Window. And I fell on the ideal one! I begged the landlord not to get curtains and compromised on blinds. And now, every morning, or 99.9 percent of mornings, I open my blinds to sunshine and look out onto a beautiful garden filled with a palm tree currently bearing the most delicious Omani dates, blackberry trees, gardenias, fil, frangipani and three aviaries filled with the most crazy and noisy love birds. This pretty much sets the tone for another amazing day.

Do you look out of your window first thing? What makes your morning? I’d love to know.

(P.S.: A big thank you goes to @PascalAssaf for helping set up this blog... merci toi!)