It’s another summer’s day in England. It’s a bit overcast and breezy, but warm. The dog has had his walk and is now eating his breakfast. The blackbirds are kicking off, so I’d better feed them and then decide what I’m going to do with my day.
Oh, I know what I’ll do, I’ll go and participate in today’s Daily Prompt on WordPress. I shall write about any medical procedures I may have had and then go read about everyone else’s.
Ah, but before I do that, there is a wall of wet paint I must watch dry.
*You cannot be serious ‘. In 1981, tennis player John McEnroe shouted this at the.umpire during a dispute, and for some reason, we have not forgotten it.
What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten?
There is nothing on this Earth which beats a South Indian breakfast. Forget the toast and cereals, what they offer is an absolute feast.
Idli, dosa, samba and pongal. Pongal my most favourite ever!
I shall post a picture of it now in it’s cooking form, but what is then added to that totally rocks. I have some great photos of the whole shebang, but before I head off to find some, there are things I need to do…..
Oh, my beloved pongal. A dish made with rice and lentils cooked in boiling milk. Tempered with ghee, black pepper, ginger,curry leaves, cumin, and hing. Then topped with cashew nuts. Oh my goodness. Heaven sent!
You could also have a dosa. A thin savoury crepe, made with a fermented batter of ground black gram and rice.
There are also Idlis. A kind of savoury rice cake.
To accompany these dishes, there is Sambar. A thin lentil and vegetable soup, consisting of what is available; okra, tomatoes, egg plant, carrots. There is a wide choice of what it can be made of. Plus, the addition of Tamarind gives it an amazing zing!
Added to the feast can be coriander and/or coconut chutney.
And should you feel a bit peckish mid-morning, there will always be someone on the street to provide you with Vardi ( a savoury lentil doughnut) and a glass of chai.
A digression…Written yesterday
I dropped my phone today and totally wrecked it. Nothing, nada, a digital life completely wiped ( luckily, I have a tablet with some stuff on, which helps. But I need to now get my new device up and running. It’s my own fault. Until recently I had one of those black shockproof cases on it….but the other day I decided to take that off and enjoy the beautiful pale green back of it. Big mistake!… Anyways, because the device is destroyed I can’t transfer the data. ( Yes, I’ve lost some lovely photos, those I’ve taken and some sent to me) Sooo, I have to sort it manually. It may take a while. However, I didn’t want to miss today’s prompt. What I will do is come back and fill in the details of this amazing banquet offered at breakfast time in Chennai.
I’ve not eaten this in 20 years, but my goodness, I will never forget it!
I don’t expect you to come back to the edited version, later..but I want to honour this food with at least a little write-up.
P.S. I’ve not had time to read what you guys have written today, but I’ll get there. When the sun goes down and the birds are saying goodnight, the hood will be quiet and peaceful…and then you will have my full attention x
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?
There is at least one advantage to being ‘ of a certain age’, that if you’re lucky you have a vast back catalogue of stuff to recall.
WordPress, what a joy this has been. I originally picked up blogging again as free time allowed me the luxury.
I felt I was becoming keen to start unpacking dusty memories, thoughts and beliefs which had been firmly put behind closed doors in my mind, for the longest time.
Decluttering is cathartic. Empowering. Nature fills a void, they say, so I’m curious to know what will come along to begin filling those spaces becoming vacant in my head. Mustn’t leave them vacant for too long 🥳
These are Daily Prompts not assignments so we do have a licence to digress ..
However I will say potatoes. Jersey Mids, Lily used to call them. Royals. Jersey Royals. She cooked them to perfection every single time. How can that be so difficult?I hear you remark. Last night I boiled some and they ended up water-logged, so easy to do. The house smelt of mint for a while though, so all was not lost.
Thank you Lily. I loved your rock cakes too.
In fact I have many memories of eating at your house. Stories for another time ❤️
William Morris, without a shadow of a doubt! English textile designer, artist, writer, poet, social activist/political figure.
This wonderful man was the founding force behind the Arts & Crafts Movement.
He grew up with a deep love of story telling and nature and his whole creative life was dedicated to honest materials and visible craftsmanship He believed beauty wasn’t’t just a luxury for the elite, but for all.
He was quietly radical and was deeply opposed to the soullessness of mass-production coming out of the Industrial Revolution. He was keen to return to handmade, beautiful and meaningful.
Together with his close friend Edward Burne-Jones and the Pre-Raphaelite movement, they shaped the landscape of Victorian Britain.
WordPress, had you asked this question twenty plus years ago the answer would have been Syria and/or Lebanon. Today it’s Iceland.
Despite being a tad freaked out by extreme weather conditions/ natural disasters and that volcanoes and earthquakes are not uncommon in this region, I think the pluses will outweigh the negatives…she says…nervously.
Fjords and waterfalls, mossy cliffs and black sand beaches. Thermal springs and glaciers, Puffin colonies and the Arctic Fox. Oh did I mention the light is pretty spectacular? – itself considered a muse by artists and photographers.
A two and a half hour skip and jump from the UK. 850ish miles. So near and yet so far. So far from anything I have witnessed in my life before.
Not sure about the cuisine though; fish stew, lamb soup, dried fish…Mmm…May need to pack my own lunch?
This man has a lot to answer for…but he did utilise the phrase ‘ Be Prepared’….. Someone else, I cannot pinpoint whom, chose ‘ Be ready’ a variant of the idea, somehow sounds, to me more modern. But there are times in your life you do need to be prepared. A shock factor on top of anything else only adds to the weight of grief.
I’m talking to you today about my old dog Patches. My sole/soul companion. I’m his 4th mom and he has sometimes repaid me with agression. A time I ended up in hospital being stitched back together, when his frustration had nowhere to go..but towards the hand that feeds him.
Sure I threatened him with all manner of alternative living arrangements, but both he and I knew it was just talk. It was never going to happen.
But he’s more frail now. Eleven years old is not always considered a ‘ good age’. But it’s the only data I have about him. He could be older, for sure. He’s feisty when he wants to be. He can climb the stairs ( albeit slowly) and get onto the bed ( with the help of a step-up) He knows what he wants and when he wants it. But I love that about him. His spirit. Eons ago I cared for kids, rose through the ranks and became really good at it. I have/had the same sentiment, I relished my charges being ‘ spirited’. Harder work, but the product ended up a treat!
So here we are. I’ve arranged to take Patches down to Cornwall for what may be his last beach holiday. A very dear and lovely friend has given up many days of a rent free Airbnb break, to accommodate us.I thank you Trish, soo much. Your Shepherds Hut ‘ The Sheppy’, is fabulous! ( Dear readers, should you want somewhere easy going to stay during a trip to Cornwall, get in touch and I’ll give you the details)
I’ve researched mobile vets for euthanasia at home and will use a close by pet cremation services for his final send off.
I had no help or support when I lost my Tony( which happened really fast) and the pain was unbelievable. I used prescribed drugs to get through the loss of Joe and Mia. This time I will have simply preparation when the time comes to lose my companion. So, being prepared..being ready, I can only hope will support my fragile mental state when I lose my ‘ best boy’….
Firstly, I need to make this clear, if you use AI to enhance your content here…. it’s your business, not mine. I’m not here to judge. Ok? Good!
I’m of the generation which is really quite alarmed at the pace of today. Having said that I do keep one ear to the ground and am interested in what’s going on in the world around me.
Technology-wise I can only dream of having the ability to navigate the computer sciences and be able to manage every tool which is out there, waiting for me to utilise. How amazing would that be. And yet the kids are growing up now with that knowledge. How fabulous. But they don’t see the fabulousness about it it, do they? Why should they? It’s a given.
Soo, back to AI. It’s been on the periphery of my mind for a while now. At one point I thought I could give it a wide berth, as it wouldn’t kick in until I was pushing up the daisies. But bam! Here it is, happening.
I’m really not a happy bunny with our present Labour government. I voted for them and then in an instant they stabbed us in the back – but that’s a story for another time. However Sir Keir,, has spoken a lot about AI this week, so I began thinking I can no longer ignore this…..this….what is it? Artificial Intelligence and all that goes with it.
The youngsters amongst you will no doubt mock. Laughing and wanting to inform me it’s been around for ever and to get real. ( Oh, the irony!)
The pic is a wood mouse…..
So, for the first time last night I dipped my toes into the surf and asked AI to generate a short story for me about a dormouse. What it came up with was extraordinary. It gave life to a beautiful creature named Poppy and told me a story of one of her adventures. It was lovely………..Now what?
IN THE BOOMER PIGEON HOLE? 
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