The Workings of an Overactive Mind

        Growing up I hated the smell of coffee powder mixed with milk & the making of tea actually made me sick. So I didn't care for them both. But it all changed when I started reading novels(I swear!!!) Some books made black coffee sound so delicious & after trying I too liked it. Same with black tea. Judgement was still out on adding milk to them.     PV is tea lover through & through. But my tea making skills drove him to drink black coffee/black tea at home & he enjoyed his regular chai at tea shops near our place. One fine day years back we went to Cafe Coffee Day & I tried Cappuccino. It was love at first sip(Blush!!!). And this exception is still only for Cappuccino.     Over the years I tried different instant coffees & they never tasted good. Then I tried the filter coffee grounds & the coffee started tasting better. Now finding the correct equipment for filter coffee is very important. I tried the traditional filter, French Press &

       I have taken up a challenge to read 52 books this year one book every week. And yes its a mountain of a challenge. My saturdays are whole lot of reading & less of other life. Book 1 : True Believer by Nicholas Spark     The book is about a how a guy from New York city falls in love with a woman in a small county in North Carolina. Sorry to say but the book was boring. I thought i could not go wrong with Nicholas Sparks!!! Had to force myself to finish. Too many unwanted things clubbed together to form a very flat book. I would give this book 2/5. Book 2: The Wedding Tamasha by Sudha Nair    Few years back PV gifted me a Kindle & though i love reading I was never a fan of ebooks. Physical books especially Hardcovers are my favorite. So I read books by authors who i have never read before in my kindle. There has been times when i loved the ebook & got the physical book to add to my collection. Now coming to this book, I have to say i liked it. The book is about

        Jampaica/Rose Apple/Water Apple/Malay Apple/Paneer Koiya these are the different names of the same fruit and these are my absolute favorite. Its sweet, a bit tangy & juicy. Usually we eat with some rock salt & chilly powder.     In my native, this tree used to grow in my Aunt Padma Athai's home. I used to go there & eat all the fruit!!! When my father planted some fruit trees in our farm my only request was for these fruits & the plant that he had never bore any fruit till the end. Every time i used to go, i literally searched the plant with a fine tooth comb for any sight of fruit. When I was pregnant with Varun my craving for this fruit was at its peak & I used to cry wanting them. Appa got me huge bunch when we went to native & I happily munched on them and didn't share even a small piece with anybody(Crazy!!!!!)     When Appa shifted to Yelagiri, I again asked him for this plant & he planted 4 to 5 plants knowing how crazy mad I am f

        It was time for us to have a mini vacation & as Appa is in Yelagiri hills we decided to go spend some time there. Arrived on Saturday that too so late because of all the traffic in the highway & one quick question. Who blocks a four/six lane Highway By-pass with barricades? My god the highway from Chennai to Yelagiri is filled with barricades at all unlikely places & I am sure that they cause more accidents than before.     Anyhoo after a chilly Chennai we reached a freezing Yelagiri. Spent the whole of Sunday on the swing in the porch, reading a book. On Monday, I spent the day reading & sleeping to prepare for the New Year night!!!My niece got pissed of at me for reading books all the time & asked "Are you gonna be like this all day?"(In a sarcastic & accusatory tone)      This year with my brother's family, my dad, my uncle, niece, PV & Varun we set up a camp fire in the garden & barbecued some chicken & welcomed the ye

   One of the main reason for choosing this restaurant was the image of their 'Chilly Fries' in Zomato. So before going we decided on the Starter & the Main course. But after reaching we learned that they didn't have Steak or the Bolognese Pasta which we wanted order for our Mains. So we settled for 'Fish & Chips' and 'Chicken Milanese' for the Mains.    The food took a little time to arrive but the Starter was really awesome & was really appealing served in a wide coffee mug. It was spicy & yum!!! The Mains arrived soon after & you cant go wrong with the 'Fish & Chips'. They tasted perfect with the correct amount of crispiness & a side of Mayo. The 'Chicken Milanese' was breaded chicken with a side of spaghetti, vegetables & a sweet sauce. The sauce was a let down & we asked for a spicy one but they only had Chilly Mayo but that too tasted good with the food.     Overall it was good & the setting

     It's Christmas vacations for Varun & he had gone to my dad's place to have a much needed break with his cousins Eashwar & Rini. And at home its just PV & me back from work on Friday with Salary in hand(Yay!!!)Also Petta trailer was trending in Youtube & PV contributed to atleast 200 views. He played it in home theatre & in car.(Huff!!!)    We decided to go out for dinner & after much planning for atleast 1 hour we zeroed on 'Bistro 100' in Velachery. We started from home & reached in 20 minutes!!!Thanks to long weekend & vacations, Chennai roads were officially not congested anymore. We decided on the menu from home so didn't waste any time in ordering. Since it was a 'Date Night' PV pulled all stops & didnot use his mobile(Gasp & Faint!!!). We talked, laughed, had calm conversations(Very rare) & finally food arrived. We had only ordered Starters & Main course since i had made 'Microwave Chocolate

   One fine weeknight, I took my journal to jot down some ideas for this blog & my husband PV walks in & is curious about what I'm doing. I go ahead & share my blog interest. His first request, "Do a blog but don't share in Instagram, Facebook/What's App because our friends will read!!!!!" So folks who know both of us, STOP!!!DO NOT PROCEED FURTHER!!!    PV is literally shaking when i say I'm gonna share not just recipes & reviews but my rant, my opinions, my ideas etc etc. Now he's seriously thinking of quitting all social media & social interactions with other fellow humans!!!PV I'll try & keep you out. But no guarantees!!!!    I always loved reading books. But once one of PV's uncle asked me, "Since you read so many books, why don't you try writing too?" I immediately rejected the idea saying that i have no patience/ not talented or no time. But i found myself often writing essays in my mind!!! Also my