Answered Prayers

Or is it a combination of that and a lot of care and attention that finally, my bougainvillea has proudly produced a single bract after 5 years of keeping me waiting? Believe me, many times I have come to the verge of cutting it down but then just left it there for aesthetic reasons. (The real reason is that I am a softie and live in eternal hope that it will flower). So this time I decided that I will put a rockery over my heart and cut it down to the base and wait for it to throw out new branches and in the process probably it will be nudged to flower. And look what I found...

One of the challenges of growing plants in a garden which gets hardly a couple of hours of sunlight is to coax the plants to thrive and flower. While my dream is to grow all the flowers of my childhood in my tiny garden like gulmoher, frangipani, jasmine, all colors of bougainvillea, hibiscus, roses, daisy, lily, crotons, dahliya and marigold...I know that most of them will just thrive as greenery and not flower like what they do in full sunlight.

So while I lust at them common garden bougainvilleas (yes, I have small wishes in life) and roses and even jasmines that were rampant in my childhood garden, I cannot bring them all home.

5 years ago, I was fooled into believing that any damn plant can grow in any damn soil. I had bought exotic hibiscus, jasmines, roses and so on and planted them all over on the front and rear patches and watched them die on me or worse still thrive without flowering even once- reason- lack of full day of direct sunlight.

I have learnt from my mistakes. Instead of spending hard earned money on nursery bought plants, I am always on the lookout. I am experimenting. So if you find a crazy looking woman with windblown unkempt hair tugging at a plant near a vacant plot, don't get scared.. that would be me trying to propagate a piece of vegetation.

This white periwinkle is an example of a tugged out branch sprouting roots finally...I mean who BUYS periwinkles? Unless they are of colors other than the common white & purple!

And what do you think is a huge sigh of relief for an experimentative gardener?

When the adenium that was dormant for 4 years on 5 leaves was cut off after assurance that it will thrive after a cutting and will also branch out in a beautiful shape.

Why do I get stuck with slow growing plants?

Can I Fault Their Logic

When they reply to my questions in the following manner?
Babies, who gives Milk?
Ojas & Tejas - in unison, without a second thought- Mamma
Who gives eggs?
O/T- Mamma
Who gives Wool?
O/T- Sheep
But then Milady has a different thought- she says- because I am one hot chick!
(I wish!)

Shoemaker's Elves

As good friend Deej puts in so precisely - one must suffer for the sake of art...
I give you this....
For the sake of art (blog fodder) hubby suffers getting his black shoes polished with brown polish & brush and also the socks being polished black .

I blame this on the visit to the shoemaker in school.

How to Give an Impression of Being a Smart Homemaker

Ah well, if one were to drop in unannounced in my mom's home, she could always dish out a quick halwa or yummy pakauras or sometimes even some sinful maalpua...
But alas, self has no such talents and if some one were to drop in unannounced at my home, I would be calling my grocer for juice and biscuits and snacks.
Until I discovered that I could do some tricks that could save face and project that I am a great homemaker.
I list down my quick & not-so-quick, face saving ideas...

1. Weekends are for preparing for face saving during the weekend. I mean there are only so many number of times that you can pretend that since you are working you have absolutely no time and therefore no snack to serve at home (read, whatever was bought has been eaten up already)
2. I usually bake cake, caramel pudding (believe me both are very quick to do), make some kheer and retain it to ride over for the next few days. What is good about a kheer is that it can be cooked while you are cooking other stuff. The jaggery and rice kheer stays even longer and according to my taste buds- they get better as they age in the fridge.
3. Anther good idea is to stock some icecream at times. Add fruits and voila- frut salad can be unleashed on that unsuspecting guest
4. Did you make some dhokla using the aashirwaad or the MTR mix this morning? Keep a few aside and add curd, mixture, chutney, pickles etc to serve dhokla chaat.
5. Popcorns anyone? Get your ActII ready...Quick and voluminous...
6. It helps to have some watermelon deseeded and stored in the weekend. Nothing as jazzy as serving a watermelon juice. Or for someone who wants to do more labour- fresh lime soda, mousambi juice or mango/ banana shake. *ah i can hear them saying wow...such a talented homemaker*
7. Make your chutneys in the weekend... tomato/ coriander/mint/ raw mango...nothing like serving them as sides if your husband gallantly offers dinner/ lunch without consulting you first.
8. Keep peanuts handy... very quick to fry and serve
9. I ensure I have bread handy on weekends. Simple logic...weekends, I make chicken so if someone comes over the weekend I can easily serve an awesome chicken sandwich naa.
10. Finally have a trusted grocer's number who will send stuff at 5 minutes notice.

Look How We Have Grown

When K's mom came to Chennai last year, we had our first ever blogmeet. And we have come so far now more than a year later.
So this time it was at Coffee Day with K's mom, crazymum, Art, Lavs, DC and Timepass.
I took the tough decision to go without the kids and immediately regretted the same. Felt totally out-of-place without them and useless when I saw the rest of the moms handling their kids and carrying on the conversation.
Well, and the best part of all was meeting Plane Papa at last!

Just a Phone Call Away

I have never been a big one in making phone calls to home to check on the kids from workplace. Except while travelling.
While the kids have always been communicating on the phone.
From the time they were born.
The first communication was with Nana- sis held the phone while they were being taken in the lift to the neonatal ward - screaming for whatever it was worth
There on Sis woud call from office just to speak to them...right from the time they were a few days old.
I was always discouraged from calling home to "talk" to them as it would set off a scream fest for Mamma/ to Hold the phone and all.
Though I have always encouraged them to talk on phone to their grandparents and uncles!
Cut to present they hold proper conversations on their own and even demand at random to talk to mamu or mausa or nani...
Methinks it could be a good idea to now talk to them from work every afternoon...especially since now they don't really make great noise after I keep the phone down.

For Masks

and Other Artefacts from South East Asia ....
Visit on ECR road after Spencer's in Axis Bank building as we move Southwards from Chennai
Keep looking at your left lest you miss it.

Sleepy Mom Tells Bedtime Story

Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
a sticker book published by Kiddz Book- c4ci.com
So Goldilocks tries to reach Daddy Bear's bed..
Then she tries to settle on Mamma Bear's bed...
Sleepy Mamma continues...
And then she goes off to Mausi House...
Mamma wakes up to Ojas and Tejas questioning Goldilocks slept in Mausi house?
tum mausi house kyon bola?
Baby bear ke bed mein soya naa?
(Why did you say Mausi house? She slept on baby bear's bed na? )

On a different note, the sticker books are now being effectively used as story books as I originally intended. Joy!

Smart Homemaker Tips

Someone asked me how I manage the morning rush...
So here's my list
1. Prepare prepare the night before itself-
- wash the daal/ rice etc and keep in the fridge
-mix the veggies that go into the rice in a bowl and keep aside in the fridge
- morning just dump them into the cooker
-if the morning menu is to be toaster sandwiches- prepare the sandwiches and leave in the fridge- morning just put them into the sandwich toaster
-I even keep the aataa ready to make rotis for the morning
- if the snack box has to have fry items- I pack them the night before- cake, fried snacks, grapes, papaya.
-water bottle filled night before
-kids' & my clothes ironed, shoes ready & bags packed- leave the clothes ready in the bathroom if you wish
2. Have the quickest menu options for the morning - sandwiches, pasta, curry cooked in pressure cooker, dosa, idly, upma, poha
3. Ready to mix items- always available in the fridge-
- ginger/ garlic paste
-cut onions
-cut and frozen vegetables (I do them all the time, dunno what the nutrition people say)
-washed green chillies/ coriander leaves
-pre roasted sooji/ vermicelli
4. Easily make-able stuff- always available for those days when you are slow and the minutes are whooshing past you-
-eggs
-bread
-jam
-beaten rice for poha
-sooji
-pasta/ noodles
- frozen peas
-may be even sprouts if you are a regular eater
- dosa batter off course
-boiled potatoes - just put in a few extra for next morning incase you are using them today
5. breakfast for kids- have to be such that they can be easily pushed down the throat with minimum chewing- all soft and gooey, fed by spoon

Basically- a minute invested the night before saves more than a minute the next morning!

Magnetic Board with a Book

Check out phidal site the learning series magnetic board which comes with a book that tells you a tale along with teaching you how to draw step by step. Really helps a mom like me whose drawing skills are the pits.

Infact they have 2 types of board 1 is the type in which the board is made up of tiny dots and the one shown above is like a plastic sheet- this as per me is much more conducive for children.