Friday, August 17, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tigers and Tamarind and other things...
- Taking a cue from MIM here are some bullet points in no specific order... "Puli" or tamarind - a key ingredient to sambhar, decided to make itself scare from my pantry one fine day. It must be noted that would be the day when we have guests coming over who are eagerly anticipating "othentic" South Indian cooking. My niece finds it extremely amusing that the word "puli" also means tiger. (OK...OK... there is a variation of pronunciation but let's not get into that with a 4 year old). So I had to rush to the Grocery - and found a new brand - "Rajini". I can tell you while the tamarind did not go and make itself into sambhar with no intervention - it certainly had a tiger-worthy quality. So far all of the brands of tamarind I have been using had been quite insipid, but in this case I can claim I finally found the "asli" puli.
- Read the "Weight of Heaven" by Thrirty Umrigar. Very disappointing. She starts of very well but doesn't know how to end it properly. I always keep thinking why writers can't end books nicely - in a "happily ever after" way. Especially here, given the way Frank is portrayed one would not expect him to end up doing what he does - it absolutely does not gel.
- Was watching "Land Girls". Pretty decent series. The story and plot were predictable but what I really liked was the attention to detail in the settings. They've taken the pains to create WW2 era settings.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Summer Wildflowers Chicory
When summer starts - wild chicory is in bloom everywhere. I love the blue and I love the insouciant way they dot the roadsides.
So I picked up a brush...and this is what resulted...
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tagged
1. You must post the rules.
2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post & then create 11 new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
3. Tag 11 people and link to them on your post.
4. Let them know you’ve tagged them!
Okay - the folks I know have been tagged already. So I'll just tag Saumya and Shoefiend for this one.
And I do have a suggestion Shyam you can answer my 11 questions!! (Ha Ha).
1. Which city did you visit during your first visit abroad?
DUBAI
2. What was your first impression of it?
I visited Dubai way back in 1993 before it became the futuristic looking maze of skyscrapers. The very first thing that hit me - was the warmth of the air combined with a fragrance I can only define as being uniquely "Dubaian"- perhaps from the desert?
3. Your most favourite mode of transportation, and your least?
Most favourite would be train and least an air conditioned bus. I suffer from motion sickness and HATE travelling by bus.
4. If you could ask God one question, what would it be?
Wow! That's interesting - it has set me pondering. I'll have to get back on that one.
5. Good or bad, what memory from your childhood stands out the most in your mind?
There's not just one memory. So let me talk about some of my earliest memories - waiting at the dining table for my Mom to make raagi malt; plucking tree tomatoes (tamarillos) straight out from the tree and eating them, being given my first doll, spending cold evening painting by the fireplace...
6. Do you like soft pillows or firm ones?
Firm - firm - firm. Out here you get those darn, soft, fluffy pillows that are too high to boot! GAH!
7. Did you like school?
Pretty much I guess. Had its good and bad parts.
8. What would you tell your least favourite teacher, if you were to meet him/her now?
"Grow up!" Looking back I can see how that guy was so immature and silly- everything a teacher ought not to have been.
9. Do you like your name? If not, what name would you give yourself?
When I was a kid I always felt my name wasn't as cool as those of my classmates. Later I realized how lucky I was not to have been saddled with a fuddy-duddy old-fashioned name or an ultra-modern one either!
10. Your opinion of fund-raising balls/parties/dinners organised for/by celebrities?
Hogwash and other synonyms.
and finally
11. Got any advice for me? :)
Nope. And that comes from a person who writes instructions all day for a living!!!
1) Which is your favourite Enid Blyton book?
2) Did you ever see an UFO or see something you thought was an UFO?
3) Which was your least favourite subject in school?
4) Where did you meet your spouse/ significant other?
5) Which childhood friend have you kept in touch with?
6) Are you still good friends?
7) Who was your least favourite boss? And why?
8) If you could change jobs what would you rather be doing?
9) Which book have you read as a child that you would like to re-read but can't find a copy anywhere?
10)Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby or Daniel Craig? Which one do you consider best suited for James Bond?
11)Your favourite poet?
2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post & then create 11 new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
3. Tag 11 people and link to them on your post.
4. Let them know you’ve tagged them!
Okay - the folks I know have been tagged already. So I'll just tag Saumya and Shoefiend for this one.
And I do have a suggestion Shyam you can answer my 11 questions!! (Ha Ha).
1. Which city did you visit during your first visit abroad?
DUBAI
2. What was your first impression of it?
I visited Dubai way back in 1993 before it became the futuristic looking maze of skyscrapers. The very first thing that hit me - was the warmth of the air combined with a fragrance I can only define as being uniquely "Dubaian"- perhaps from the desert?
3. Your most favourite mode of transportation, and your least?
Most favourite would be train and least an air conditioned bus. I suffer from motion sickness and HATE travelling by bus.
4. If you could ask God one question, what would it be?
Wow! That's interesting - it has set me pondering. I'll have to get back on that one.
5. Good or bad, what memory from your childhood stands out the most in your mind?
There's not just one memory. So let me talk about some of my earliest memories - waiting at the dining table for my Mom to make raagi malt; plucking tree tomatoes (tamarillos) straight out from the tree and eating them, being given my first doll, spending cold evening painting by the fireplace...
6. Do you like soft pillows or firm ones?
Firm - firm - firm. Out here you get those darn, soft, fluffy pillows that are too high to boot! GAH!
7. Did you like school?
Pretty much I guess. Had its good and bad parts.
8. What would you tell your least favourite teacher, if you were to meet him/her now?
"Grow up!" Looking back I can see how that guy was so immature and silly- everything a teacher ought not to have been.
9. Do you like your name? If not, what name would you give yourself?
When I was a kid I always felt my name wasn't as cool as those of my classmates. Later I realized how lucky I was not to have been saddled with a fuddy-duddy old-fashioned name or an ultra-modern one either!
10. Your opinion of fund-raising balls/parties/dinners organised for/by celebrities?
Hogwash and other synonyms.
and finally
11. Got any advice for me? :)
Nope. And that comes from a person who writes instructions all day for a living!!!
1) Which is your favourite Enid Blyton book?
2) Did you ever see an UFO or see something you thought was an UFO?
3) Which was your least favourite subject in school?
4) Where did you meet your spouse/ significant other?
5) Which childhood friend have you kept in touch with?
6) Are you still good friends?
7) Who was your least favourite boss? And why?
8) If you could change jobs what would you rather be doing?
9) Which book have you read as a child that you would like to re-read but can't find a copy anywhere?
10)Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby or Daniel Craig? Which one do you consider best suited for James Bond?
11)Your favourite poet?
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Faking It...
...with my new black running shoes - that look like polished leather and my longer-than-usual trouser hems. So it looks like I am wearing formal shoes, while my feet are high-fiving for being able to wallow in comfort!
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