So, Mi, I am going to start every conversation we have saying it is so warm. Really warm. The fan is sometimes useless. But yes, the sweaty areas do feel cooler with the inadequate air.
I keep thinking that if you had been around you would have made good use of the sunshine – making vadaams and vatrals. (things to fry and eat). Then there would be produce drying in the sun to make pickles or to just eat them sun-dried. Sigh. I have no inclination to do it as I already think my schedule is overflowing.
There is not a day when I marvel at how you were always cheerful about doing things in the kitchen. And I am sorry I did not think of placing the pedestal fan there for you. But yes, I have placed you on a pedestal!
News…let me start with the silliest thing.
I bought an apple cutter. Yes, you heard that right. Have been enamored with it for years now and resisted…then a month ago I finally gave in and bought it. Rs.40. Big discount. And i find it hilarious to use it. Looks so cute though. One press and I have an apple cut into 8 pieces like a flower!
Then, I looked for the buttermilk churner and didn’t find it. So i got one of those hand blenders that don’t need electricity. You just hold the handle and press-release-press-release for the blade to rotate. It churns buttermilk quite nicely. If the liquid is thicker, no. Because I tried to mix some flours and water to make a batter and that didn’t work. Anyway, I am happy with this. You will be surprised to hear I enjoy buttermilk more than curds these days. Funny, no? I feel sheepish thinking of how I would diss the buttermilk. Ah well. We evolve, don’t we?
Also, I just love making rotis. Very therapeutic and yet another thing you were right about. I love the roti-subzi-fruit-curd menu very much. Besides fewer dishes to wash, it also ensures that any leftovers are treasured.
One problem these days is the idli dosa batter getting sour in spite of keeping in the fridge. The bag just bloats. Like the curd sachets. Ugh. I must look for that appa chatty and try some unni appams.
Talking about appa chatti, I have to clean the puja-storeroom. It is stocked haphazardly. I keep doing it from time to time but it gets messed up quickly. These days I write down what I’ve bought for fear of forgetting we already have it.
Also, these days I only light the lamp in the morning. No dhoop. Don’t want to trigger any respiratory discomfort at this time when going to the doctor is iffy. And you know how these things start in our house!
In other news, I got a tulsi plant when I went shopping with Uma… seems like years ago when it was only months ago… and it wilted away when we traveled. I was a bit sad. Every time I go into the balcony I think of the time you had nurtured all those lovely plants – cream colored hibiscus, blue changu pushpam, the big crop of turmeric and ajwain (carom seeds) until the villainish pigeons destroyed everything.
And in kan ponapram suryanamaskaram style, we put a net afterwards. Not that it keeps them away. They are desperately trying to build a next in the ventilator in the study room. And my almost daily duty is to dismantle it before they lay an egg in it. In the meantime, they hang on to the net and shit on it. Ugh.
Bright spot in the meantime? Our kindly neighbor gave me a tulsi plant that I am nurturing fondly. Let us see how that goes.
To be continued tomorrow.
Coffee time now.
*kan ponapram suryanamaskaram = doing the suryanamaskaram after losing eyesight = like doing something futile = similar to bolting the stable after the horse has escaped.
