Thursday, April 14, 2022

Wednesday

Happy New Year, Sri Lanka; good health and happiness to all!  Traditionally known as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year (because it used to be celebrated mostly by these two major ethnic groups) April 13 and 14 are when almost everyone in Sri Lanka observes Sri Lanka's cultural New Year.  This year, however, with the country undergoing an economic crisis, I don't think very many people felt like celebrating.

On Wednesday, M tried to fix the patio roof panels for me.  He hammered in more nails, but, we need longer nails and I've asked him to buy some for me if possible.  In the meantime, I am hoping that we won't have another strong wind event!  The avocado plant toppled over, pot and all, for the wind, but, the peach tree survived!  The persimmon tree had a little wind damage, but, it will recover.  Everything else was fine and it is a blessing that the winds didn't cause any more damage than loosening the roof panels!

M also pruned one of the curry leaf trees.  I picked some of the curry leaves for my daughter to take back with her.  Then, I called two of my friends and told them I had curry leaves available if they wanted to come by and collect some.  One friend came over and picked up two bags of curry leaves.  The other friend said she'd love to have some, but, her husband was not well enough to drive (my friend doesn't drive); I told her I'll try to drop of a bag of leaves at her house.

Later, I watered the front garden as M didn't have enough time to water it, today (he watered the back).  Then, after I watched the evening news, I cooked a chicken curry, because my daughter wanted to eat some of "mom's chicken curry".  I froze some of it for her to take back with her - that way, all she has to do on the first evening back is cook a pot of rice and she'll have dinner!  

I cooked scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns for brunch, today.  Daughter had leftover Thai food for dinner.  I ate stringhoppers (from the freezer) with chicken curry.  We both had some fruit salad for dessert.

Today, I am grateful for:

- No major damage from yesterday's winds
- M doing what he could to fix the patio roof panels as well as tend to the garden
- Being able to share the curry leaves with friends
- Water for the garden
- Chats with family and friends

Today's joyful activity was spending time in the garden.

Plans for tomorrow include going to visit my cousin R.

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

20 comments:

  1. I heard a story on the radio about the problems that Sri Lanka is having these days and thought about you. Do you have many relatives or friends there these days?

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    1. Yes, Sri Lanka has been in the news a bit, these days. My oldest half-brother still lives in Sri Lanka as well as several cousins and their families. Friend R's daughters and sisters and their families are in SL, too.

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  2. Happy New Year to you too Bless.. hope its a good one for us both!

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    1. Thank you, Chris. May we all have a good year! :)

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  3. Happy New Year Celebrations! This weekend we will be marking Easter, with reflective church services tonight and tomorrow and then joyful celebration on Sunday morning.

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    1. Thank you, Angela. Happy Easter to you and your family!

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  4. I am glad M was able to do a repair to the roof panels. Where exactly are the panels? On top of your original house, or the family room addition? I think I recall your showing a picture in the past but can't remember. I hope the longer nails will be the fix you need to make it all more secure. And, yes, it is always something. We keep doing the best we can keeping our homes together.

    I've read a little bit about the economic crisis in Sri Lanka (because of you!) and hope things will get better for your home country.

    I see you made some bacon. I consider bacon to be the perfect food. lol
    It is absolutely delicious and doesn't fill me up! I can eat a lot of it and don't feel full.
    And that is the reason we rarely have it. It's been a while since we had bacon. Probably last summer on a sandwich with juicy summer tomatoes.
    I do have some in the freezer bought on sale. And my husband has been requesting it. So maybe soon.
    Wouldn't it be nice if all the delicious foods we loved were actually good for us?
    ;)
    That might be one of my rub-the-bottle 3 wishes. Behind world peace and happiness for all of course. lol

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    1. Hi Debra, the panels are outside the family room addition, where I have a sort of patio area; it was built as an after-thought when I discovered that the rain beat in whenever we'd open the sliding glass door to go out or come inside, whenever it was raining. I originally meant for it to be just over the doorway, but, then, we decided to extend it to the end so that it provided a covered area in which to sit, as well. We used to have a patio table and chairs in that area, until the table broke! M keeps telling me I need a new patio table! :D

      Ah, yes, bacon! :D My daughter and I love it, too! I bought a package "on sale" for $4.97, back in February and froze it! But I thought it was only fair to share it with my daughter before she left! I keep a jar of bacon fat, saved from whenever I cook bacon, in the fridge and occasionally use a little of it when I cook eggs, etc., to add a little bacon flavor to them. :) Too funny about that wish about delicious foods! :D

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  5. Happy New Year to you and your daughter.

    I'm glad M was able to do a bit more to fix the roofing for you. Will you go ahead and get it replaced or just leave it for now?

    I wish I lived close enough to have some fresh curry leaves from you. One of the local supermarkets occasionally has some for sale (though I'm not sure how fresh they are!) but I always think they are quite pricey. Better than using dried though.

    In the Indian cookery classes I follow M, the tutor, often mentions the use of pressure cookers in Indian homes and how things are timed by the number of whistles instead of minutes. Is this the same for you or aren't pressure cookers used that much in Sri Lanka?

    I've just had another quiet day at home and am enjoying plenty of naps!

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. :)
      You know me - I'll probably just leave it for now! :D But, seriously, I shall get it replaced. I just have to find someone to do the work; that's always my problem! I don't think M can do it (he doesn't see himself as a handyman). Time to talk to a couple of my neighbors to see if they know of someone.

      The Sri Lankan store sells curry leaves and they are pricey! I sometimes dry my own curry leaves (air dry them) and use them; they are good to have on hand.

      My mother had a pressure cooker when I was growing up, but, it was not that common to use one, back then. I don't know how it is, now, though. I don't have a pressure cooker and I doubt if I'll buy one.

      I'm glad you've had a quiet, restful day at home. Take care of yourself. :)

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  6. I hope M can find longer nails to make the patio roof more secure for you. Your daughter will appreciate her meal made by you on her return to her home, it'll take her some getting used to being back on her own again I expect.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. I think the poor patio roof is just about ready to be replaced!
      My daughter will definitely appreciate having at least part of her first-day-back meal ready for her. Her apartment has been shut up for almost 1 year and 4 months, so she will be busy cleaning and freshening up the place that first evening at home. She might not have time (or the energy) to go grocery shopping that first day back (although, there are a couple of fast food places - a sandwich shop and a pizza place - across the street from her apartment and a Thai restaurant a couple of blocks down, if she wants to buy a meal). Once she gets some groceries in, she will go back to her regular weekly meal prepping and cooking. :)

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  7. Happy New Year! It is windy here today. When does your daughter have to go back? I hope the chicken curry you made for her first evening in her apartment helps her feel more at home. I think you will miss one another! My brother is doing very well, thank you for asking. Yes, this is his daughter who is getting married. I have only one brother. Celie

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    1. Thank you, Celie. Hope the winds aren't too strong and do any damage over there! My daughter is leaving this Sunday - Easter Sunday. She will be busy cleaning her apartment when she goes back - after more than a year of being closed up, I expect there will have to be some major scrubbing of the toilet, etc. She might not feel like going grocery shopping, too, and cooking on the first evening back (although, she could buy something from one of the fast food places across the street). Still, having some mom-cooked curry will be nice, I think. :) Oh, yes, we are going to miss each other! But, she'll be able to get about a bit more when she's on her own as she won't have to worry about exposing me to the virus.
      Glad to hear that your brother is doing well, Celie. Hope all is well with you, too, and your late sister's daughter. :)

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  8. Happy New Year, and I hope things will improve for Sri Lanka. I'm sure your chicken curry surpasses all other chicken curries and your daughter enjoys it because she knows the magic ingredient is love!
    We have been having the weirdest weather today - cold and raining heavily when we woke up, then "mizzle" that coated the windshield with fine droplets, then the blackest clouds that felt like the end of the world, followed by bright sunshine this afternoon and warmer temperature. I did some grocery shopping for the Easter weekend but will still go out on Saturday for some milk and vegetables.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. As one of my uncles used to say, my chicken curry is the "best in the west"! LOL.
      You are having some interesting weather, aren't you? I've heard on the news that some weather front or the other is making its way across North America. Sounds like you are well prepared for the Easter weekend. :)

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  9. Happy Sri Lankan New Year to you and your daughter. Haven't the spring winds been annoying? That's the one thing about spring that I don't like. Some days they are relentless. Glad they didn't do any damage to your roof panels. Denise

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    1. Thank you, Denise. I was afraid the panels would go flying, but, luckily, they didn't!

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  10. Fingers crossed for your roof. I've seen stuff on the news here about Sri Lanka and I always think of you. It looks heartbreaking.

    I am always impressed at the wonderful variety of food you cook and eat - Thai, Sri Lankan and America in this post alone!

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    1. Thank you, Lyssa; this is the patio roof, so, not quite as serious a matter as the house roof, but, still, I don't want any of the panels to go flying around during a wind storm!
      News from Sri Lanka these days tends to be very sad.

      You know, until you pointed it out, I didn't even think about the variety of food I eat! But, yes, you are right! :D I think I need to be more aware of what I am eating! :D

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