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Meh!
I’ve been wanting to post but then I haven’t been able to be bothered. I seem to be endlessly having too many thoughts and not enough focus lately. It’s a feast or famine when it comes to writing here. Was going to try to do a whole month of writing every day but that’s obviously not going to happen. :)
We are having flashbacks to winter with wet and windy days lately. I think we’re getting a break and it’s going to warm up over the weekend. I was sitting on the sofa in a short sleeve t-shirt while playing a game on the Wii and I was literally shivering. I’ve taken to wearing slippers and and my warm robe again. It kind of reminds me of when Game Fanatic was a few weeks old and his crying seemed to go on and on no matter what we did. Came to find that he was cold. Usually November is pretty warm but there are some days that are chilly, of course. Felt so stupid at the time for not realising he was cold but probably shouldn’t have since I was so new to taking care of babies and all.
The homeschool moderator is coming out in two weeks and I still don’t know what I will show her. Nothing ever seems to go to plan, even the more viable ideas. I will come up with something and it will just have to do. Will have to go out and buy the workbooks for Lego Lover for next year. Won’t buy too much because we didn’t end up using very many of them this year. As he gets older, I am sure we will move away from the book work completely.
The Scientist and I went to see Augie March on Monday night. I enjoyed it very much but I found the crowd way too silent. It was so quiet you could hear the rain on the roof of the theater in-between songs. The crowd became a bit more livelier around the time of the encore but it was still pretty quiet. Musically I thought it was great aside from one song that really sounded too much like the recording. While I really enjoyed myself, I must admit it wasn’t that awe and wonder I’ve felt at other shows. It’s been suggested it was the Monday night show problem. Just not a good day for concerts in Perth. As it was we were feeling rushed to leave by the end to pick up the boys from my friend’s house.
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Sri Lankan food treats
Yesterday I did my usual trip to the pool with our family friend for his aqua aerobics class. When I arrived to pick him up, his mum brought out a tray with four foil wrapped cylinders to give to me. She had made some pittu, which is a specialty of Sri Lanka. It’s basically a rice flour and coconut mixture shaped into a cylinder mould then steamed. Here‘s a photo of the modern pittu steamer. We were given one but haven’t tried it out as yet. We very rarely have them so this was a nice treat. They are usually served with kiri hodi, a sort of curry soup made from coconut milk, turmeric, chillies and other spices. I made some kiri hodi today to serve with the pittu and also made a meat curry. Both came out quite well although I’m sure Game Fanatic would never consider my versions as good as his Nana’s. Kiri hodi is also served over stringhoppers, which are thin rice noodles formed into disc shapes. Here‘s a decent photo of some stringhoppers. Game Fanatic and the Scientist just finished off a big batch of the stringhoppers made by the same lady for Game Fanatic’s birthday. We never made any of the kiri hodi, which I really like on the stringhoppers, so I gave up my share to the two guys.
I also found this photo which shows stringhoppers with the kiri hodi on it. There’s also what looks like the pancake roll made by my mother-in-law and some pol sambol (coconut mixed with chillies and spices and served as an accompaniment to curries). The only non-Sri Lankan item is the samosa but Sri Lankans eat quite a few of those too!
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New foods
Lego Lover had the pleasure of trying a green curry recently and he liked it! It was a reasonably hot one, too! He has been willing to eat chicken that’s been cooked in the curry before but it had to be rinsed off so that most of the taste was gone. This time, he ate it with the sauce and rice. And he really, really liked it…so much that he had a second helping. Too bad there wasn’t very much available on this particular occasion.
Game Fanatic also decided he liked a food he hasn’t previously enjoyed too. We had bought some takeout food from a Portuguese-Malaysian food outlet and I had gotten a Malaysian noodle dish. Game Fanatic has never cared much for noodles or pasta but he tried a bit of my very generous serving and he liked it. It was quite tasty although it was a bit on the oily side so it’s not something I would get very often.
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When things started happening
I should be going to sleep but I’m feeling rather contemplative at the moment. Around this time fourteen years ago to the day (or should I say night), I started active and full on labor with my first-born child, Game Fanatic. I had been induced over twelve hours earlier and nothing much had happened. The Scientist had been with me all day but had gone home due to lack of activity. No sooner had he gotten to sleep when the hospital called him to return. There would be no rest for the next ten hours…Of course that was the beginning of little rest for many years.
Game Fanatic tried very hard to go to sleep early so that he could wake up early for his birthday. Unfortunately he’s become such a night owl that he’s still tossing and turning. Hopefully sleep will provide the rest he needs to take full advantage of the day. He’s planning on being quite busy.
I spent much of the evening making vegetable chickpea patties for tomorrow. I made them especially for Game Fanatic on his last birthday to fulfill his craving for chickpeas. They were a hit with several family members and have become often requested. I wasn’t going to make them this time, though, because they require so much time and are incredibly messy. Apparently it’s as expected that I make them as it is that my MIL will make special pancake rolls (crepes wrapped around savoury filling, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, then fried) for him. I started the preparations about seven hours ago and have just taken the second batch from the oven to cool, which means I can go to bed soon.
Since Game Fanatic isn’t all that keen on birthday cake, he requested that I make brownies instead. The recipe I used was a chocolate malt brownie, made with a store version of Malteasers and chocolate chips. As my niece is allergic to dairy, I also made butterscotch blondies as an alternative. Either way, dessert will be quite unhealthy although I think the blondies will be less so.
I must say I am feeling incredulous to have a fourteen year old now and as we creep year to year, I can feel his adulthood becoming closer and closer. It’s very strange to think of my children as adults but it’s only a few years away now! Wow!
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Dragging along
It’s been rather a chilly start to spring around here and I’ve been lacking energy lately. I’m not getting much exercise and I’m struggling to keep from going overboard on carbohydrates (my big weakness, food-wise). I can’t help feeling that if it warms up and turns into spring proper, I might come back alive.
Meanwhile, I’ve been battling a blocked left ear for a couple weeks now. I had a reprieve for a few days but it’s back now. I’m also having regular stomach pains and haven’t been able to figure out the reason. The Scientist keeps saying I need to see the doctor but I figure it will suddenly disappear about the time I do that. I think the ear problem is likely related to reflux…maybe the stomach problem is also related.
Slightly-related, I’ve been considering going dairy-free for a while to see if it helps with some of the troublesome symptoms I have. While most don’t keep me in bed, they are rather disruptive to everyday life. I’ve not done this as yet because I’ve not been able to find a satisfactory alternative to milk. My previous attempts to drink soy milk have not gone very well. I just haven’t liked the taste at all. But I did try some with chocolate flavoring added this weekend and it was actually pretty decent. So maybe I should revisit soy milk as an alternative.
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Strawberries and other food thoughts
We’re in the midst of a wonderful season for strawberries at the moment. Apparently it’s been the best growing season we’ve had in years. I’ve been buying large punnets lately and I’m nearing the end of the last one. I’ll probably have to buy more tomorrow and only hope I can get the same good price I’ve had on the last few. I also planted four strawberry plants in pots outside our kitchen. I’m determined to have a decent homegrown crop this year.
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Strange lettuce
A couple days ago, I was visiting a friend and she was showing me the lettuce she is growing. She gave me a bit to taste and it’s quite different. It’s called brown romaine and starts off tasting like ordinary lettuce. But once you get to the stem, it turns quite hot, like horseradish or something. Her family doesn’t like it so she has given me the seeds and a bag with some of the lettuce leaves. I rather suspect this is not the usual taste for this lettuce because I can find no mention of such a strong flavor for any sort of lettuce (aside from bitterness). We are going to plant seeds in pots and see how it turns out.
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