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 import...

       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 ...

        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 plan...

        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 ...

   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 ...