Reenu Mathew's Blog: Reenued, page 3

Walk the miles with your bestie, for your bestie!

One of my besties told me that she was going to walk to Siddhivinayak Temple in Dadar from her place in Orlem, Malad, Mumbai – a distance of 25 km. My first thought which unfortunately came out loud was “Are you crazy?” She told me that it was not that difficult; she had done the walk before. In fact, when she told her husband who was in Bangalore at the time he actually said “Oh, that is ok. Thank God, you did not promise to walk to Bangalore”. Besides, it is just about the same distance that the runners of Mumbai Half Marathon had run just the week before. Easy to say! We have neither the same fitness level nor the preparation that these runners do. Of course, as a friend, I could not let my bestie do it alone either!
So, there I was, swathed in cotton clothing from head to toe with canvas shoes ready bright and early at 6:30 a.m. My backpack had everything from water to jacket and medicines; she was sceptical because she felt that walking with heavy object on your back can be strenuous. I just wanted to be prepared for any eventuality. She said it was cold though I did not feel it. We were on Link Road for most of the time. passed by Mahim church where I prayed that my legs would hold up through Cadell Road at the end of which was the temple. I felt this sense of accomplishment as soon as I reached the heavily guarded temple; check out our selfie.As we were queuing up to enter the temple after passing the metal scanners and frisking, I looked back to this walk. I realized that
We had talked like we used to when we were collegians – unabashed and non-stop with absolutely no distractions except of course the traffic;We had walked 25 km which had sent my Fitbit into overdrive; I love it when my Fitbit buzzes saying I have aced my challenges;I just felt spiritually advanced now that I had kept up my promise to God; translating to begging him to keep up his promise of always watching out for me. 
So, even though my feet fell asleep, my back hurt, my head was spinning because of the sun and my nose was running from the dust allergy, I still felt happy, content and at peace.Yes, I am not kidding but you have to try it to feel the same way I did. So much so, that I told my bestie that we should do this once a month which had her going “Are you crazy?”

Baby bloomers to increase the 'cute' quotient on the sailor dress

Ever since I saw my niece looking oh-so-cute in her white bloomers at her baptism, I was obsessed with making one. And when I heard that one of my friends was coming to India with her new-born daughter, I thought ‘here is my chance’. I made her a cute sailor dress, customized to the initial of her beautiful name – Mihira. Then, I started work on her bloomers. See bloomers are perfect sassy cover for diapers and it adds so much of ‘cute’ quotient to the ensemble.
This was the first time, I was making bloomers and I wanted it to be perfect. So, I started scanning online for tips on getting it right the first time around.Anyone who wants to make bloomers after looking at this picture, here is the link to the pattern that a beginner can print http://sewing.craftgossip.com/free-pattern-baby-bloomers-2/2015/08/04/
Some visual instructions and inspirations to create your own masterpiece may be found on youtube, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-0p3ZuOkMA
That is when I saw this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v95Z8DOzXpk
Note to self: My next project – Bloomers for yours truly. Watch this space for more updates.

Christmas Special!

Normally, I am well-prepared for Christmas lunches where a battalion of friends of family descend upon you and it is a time to experiment and impress and this Christmas was no different. So, I had an elaborate menu planned with the theme as ‘Homemade’ which looked as follows –
Starters: Spice-n-salt potato canapes on fenugreek bread, Potato chips, Chicken cutletsMain Course: Tapioca and Fish curry, Multi-layered, multi-colored butter rice, Mutton Chukka, Potato and Paneer chops curryAccompaniments: Prawns Pickle, Tomato raitaDessert: Cake, Pudding and Chocolates
Please do not attempt to do all this in one day. I started about 2 days ago i.e. on 23rd December 2015. Day 1: Shopping for the ingredients is easy if you have the list of items required for each dish and need to be bought. So, I went to the local market to procure must-have item and battled the crowds to successfully bring in all of them about 2 hours later. Cleaning the fish, prawns, chicken and lamb took a better part of the afternoon.I started with the prawns pickle because the taste is better with a bit of ageing. I have already provided the recipe in this blog - http://reenued.blogspot.in/2015/11/what-condiment-for-my-sea-food-guests.htmlGuess what I did with the tamarind slice I pulled out of the pickle? I put it into the fish curry which I made exactly as I have seen my Mom making. When the fish was cooking, I started marinating the chicken and the mutton for chicken cutlets and mutton chukka respectively.After about an hour or so, the fish curry was cooling, and I prepared the mutton chukka and chicken cutlets in parallel. By the time I was done, I was pleased with the result but I was so bone-tired that I decided to put up my apron for the day.Day 2: Baking Day is what I like to call this since all I did was bake – starting with the cake, pudding and ending with bread and chocolates. Christmas Day: I went for mass and by this time, the tapioca that I had cut the previous night and frozen had completely defrosted. To start with I made the tapioca and put the potatoes to boil for the topping on the fenugreek bread. Then the multi-layered, multi-coloured butter rice which surprisingly took me a lot of time to prepare, layer and then cook in ‘dum’ (steam) mode.The time was already 12 and I was wondering how I was going to make the potato and paneer chops curry and the remaining items – Canapes, potato chips, chicken cutlets and Tomato raita.It may have been good organizing or time-capsuling but somehow I was ready by 1:30 p.m. to serve out the starters and the main course was being warmed up.
When the lunch was spread out, it seemed like quite a lot and my guests wondered whether they would be able to justice to all the dishes. They spent the next four hours sampling, taking breaks and then sampling again till the net result was that the only leftover that I had was a plate-full of rice. My nephews suggested that I should undertake the MasterChef challenge; so pleased were they with the appeal of their senses. I was literally preening like a peacock hearing all these compliments and that euphoria continued through the day till I went to sleep.
& I realized how every pore of my body was aching. I called my friend and told… literally ordered her to cook all my meals for the next two days. She was happy to oblige thankfully since she was still in the throes of my X’mas special dishes. Good for me!
No Pain no gain! So, if you want to really plan something spectacular but are dithering because of the effort, take that leap... Totally worth it!Watch this blog for the various recipes and tips.

X'Mas giving continues with my book "Those 16-30 Years of Undiluted Melodrama" now FREE on Amazon Kindle!

I had a busy yet fun-filled X'Mas.
But even today my thoughts are still where we left off yesterday. So, I offer you my book “Those 16-30 Years of Undiluted Melodrama” available exclusively on Amazon Kindle FREE for download. This offer continues right through to Boxing day tomorrow. US: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/179-0240595-2106836?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=those+16-30+years+of+undiluted+melodrama India: http://www.amazon.in/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/279-5739695-0331264?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=those+16-30+years+of+undiluted+melodrama UK:http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/277-8318415-9320457?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=those+16-30+years+of+undiluted+melodramaAustralia:http://www.amazon.com.au/Those-16-30-Years-Undiluted-Melodrama-ebook/dp/B010OD584K/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1450943472&sr=1-1&keywords=those+16-30+years+of+undiluted+melodrama
Christmas was often devastating for Jennu but she ploughed on with her optimism and determination. Besides, hope and love was what Jesus had to offer to all his disciples, right?
Merry X’Mas!!!

Merry X'Mas! My book ‘Where is my Kaddu?’ is FREE on Amazon Kindle today!

My preparations are in full swing for Christmas tomorrow. I am going to be surrounded by family and friends with them coming over all through the day just to make my day special.
I happened to read today that some people will be celebrating Christmas alone; that made me pensive indeed. One of the ideas suggested was to curl up in front of the Christmas tree and read a good book. That gave me an idea to at least attempt to fill your life with characters from my book. So, surround yourself with Kaddu and all the people in her life and I bet that you would not feel alone at least.
This Christmas eve, I am giving away my book ‘Where is my Kaddu?’ on Amazon Kindle absolutely free to download . The links are as follows –India: http://www.amazon.in/Where-my-Kaddu-Reenu-Mathew-ebook/dp/B016ZVJRDS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445527757&sr=1-1&keywords=where+is+my+kaddu%3FUS:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016ZVJRDSUK:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Where-my-Kaddu-Reenu-Mathew-ebook/dp/B016ZVJRDS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445526876&sr=1-1&keywords=where+is+my+kaddu%3FAustralia:http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B016ZVJRDS?keywords=where%20is%20my%20kaddu&qid=1450942469&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Wish you all a very happy Christmas. May your life be lighted with hope, love and peace which Jesus exemplified and symbolized!

My travel diary entry: Memorable times in Seattle, United States

This time of the year…. Thanksgiving and most importantly my darling nephew’s birthday reminds me of my trips to Seattle over the years.
One of my earliest trips to Seattle was during Thanksgiving of 2004. The airport was packed; it was Thanksgiving eve; everybody seemed to be in a hurry to get to their families to celebrate Thanksgiving. A packed flight with some delays at the two stopover airports later, I emerged out of SeaTac airport with my brother to find our youngest sibling waiting for us. We exchanged hugs and I saw that action was being replicated all across that airport. Everyone was happy to be with their family during Thanksgiving.We decided to drive to Mt. Rainier for Thanksgiving. Mt. Rainier has so much beauty that a word of thanks comes automatically to your lips. Best Thanksgiving ever!The Nisqually entrance to the Paradise side was streaming with visitors; guess many people got the same idea for my best thanksgiving ever…. I heard that the day after Thanksgiving is now fee free day; if any of you are planning a visit in 2016.The road from Nisqually entrance to Longmire is so beautiful. The backdrop is so scenic that you are mesmerized. Mt. Rainier is an active volcano (first one I ever visited) and coupled with glaciers, and the volcanic soils and the dense vegetation and you can imagine why! There are 3 trails that you can do if you want to soak in the surroundings while on foot – Kautz Creek Trail, Trail of the Shadows and the strenuous Rampart Ridge Trail. We did a bit of trekking but it was so chilly that we bundled right back into the car and drove to the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center. The Nisqually Vista Trail beckoned; it is supposed to be the sight for ‘hungry-for-more-scenery’ eyes with beautiful views of the Nisqually Glacier. We were a little early for seeing the mountain elk coming to feed as well as the Santa Express train. Too bad!I have yet to visit the Sunrise side of Mt. Rainier even though I have visited Seattle many times during summer, so I will put that up on the top of my to-do list while visiting Seattle next time. In fact, after seeing those awesome photos of my cousin doing a climb of Mt. Rainier, that should also be on my list. Tick!
Approaching Space NeedleThe effect of Mount Rainier was high upon me even on the next day. Instead of shopping as a crazy woman like I did on Black Friday last year, this year I decided to soak in a little more of Seattle. Upbeat was my mood as we reached the Space Needle ; an icon of Seattle. The view from the observation deck at over 500 ft is just mind blowing. I could see Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Olympic Mountains and islands around. The rotating SkyCity restaurant has decent food which I think came back into my mouth as we descended by that speedy elevator in under a minute…. My stomach felt odd and I hoped that I would not throw up… luckily I didn’t.
Pike Place Market Pike Place market situated on Elliot Bay waterfront is not just another Farmers’ Market; it has so much culture and color to it. From vegetables, fruits, dairy products to handicrafts… this place has it all. And, there is the fish which is touted to be the best in Seattle. And I must not forget the original ‘Starbucks’ housed here. We drove around Redmond where many of the Microsoft employees stay in beautiful houses surrounded by well-tended lawns. My sister-in-law talked about her awesome experience at Microsoft during that entire ride.
Recent snap with Seattle Great WheelThe next day we took the Washington State Ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge island and spent the good part of the day there. The ferry trip is really cool and well-organised but we had to wait a bit for us to get on the ferry. As we left Seattle, we could see the area near the waterfront and Seattle Center with the Space Needle looming above. Bainbridge Island is one of the best places to live in the United States. From the sparkling waters of Puget Sound and scenic waterfront to the various green parks, this island is truly a place of great beauty. The ferry entered Eagle Harbor through Winslow. Armed with a map of Bainbridge Island, we decided to follow Eagle Harbor Dr. through to Rockaway beach onto Pleasant Beach and finally onto Crystal Springs. We stopped awhile to just enjoy the route and caught the ferry back to Seattle in the evening.

The vacation was over before we knew it but with family time in such beautiful places, it was most memorable.
The subsequent trips to Seattle over the next 10 years to visit my brother or more accurately my darling nephews had us exploring a lot more. When we visited Bainbridge island later, we went through from Fletcher Bay all the way to Port Madison. Agate Pass off SR 305 which connects Bainbridge Island to the Kitsap peninsula is something beautiful too that we missed… I think it was heavy traffic though I am not entirely sure.
In downtown Seattle overlooking Elliot Bay waterfront, there is Pioneer Square which was once upon a time the heart of the city since the founders settled there. But with the great Seattle fire of 1889 burning down the earlier wooden structures, the now Romanesque architecture replaced it instead. Not to miss (but often does get missed) is the Seattle Waterfall Gardendedicated to the USPS workers; this houses an artificial yet beautiful waterfall. It is a great place to just hang out, click pictures / selfies and to have a quick bite to eat on the go. Then there is Milepost 31 which gives an inside look to the Tunnel project to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct and connect downtown to the waterfront; free guided tours are available for an up-close and personal look.
The Seattle Underground touris for history buffs like me. Once the Great Seattle fire destroyed the wooden buildings, the newer buildings were made of stone and the streets were elevated to almost 12 – 30 ft to avert another disaster and so the older pavements and structures fell into disuse and created the Seattle Underground. We also learnt about the gravity-assisted flush toilets funnelling into Elliot Bay made in such a way that the waste did not back up during high tide.
Stroll or bike around Myrtle Edwards Park overlooking Elliot Bay (yes, the sea gulls, eagles and herons will be around) and then onto the Olympic Structure Park, a really unique place which offers free admission to see some beautiful sculptures. This is part of the Seattle Art Museum and you can continue your tour that way if you are heavily into art. If you are accompanied by children, then a better idea is to go to the Seattle Aquarium and now the new Seattle Great Wheel at Pier 57.

Chihuly Garden & Glass In Seattle City Center, other than the obvious Space Needle, I found the following places that I would recommend to everyone. Chihuly Garden and Glass houses glass works which is simply so spectacular that must be personally experienced. 
EMP MuseumExperience Music Project (EMP) Museum founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen houses exhibits of pop culture from fantasy or horror to video games to sci-fi even the costumes and there are interactive activities too. Fans of Nirvana & Jimi Hendrix love this especially because here lays original lyrics, photos and instruments of these musicians. You can also see the Seattle Monorail tracks going through the building. Children would probably love the Seattle Children’ museum and Pacific Science Center because of such interactive and creative programs of discovery; you should check what programs are on that your children can enrol into.Other places that children love… I say this from our experience with my darling nephews – Museum of Flight: This air and space museum in Southern Seattle has such a host of educational programs and besides there are so many aircraft exhibits… it is like you are in another world altogether. Not to miss are NASA’ FFT and the Dreamliner which has been on display since last year (surely on my must-visit list for next time). Future of Flight and Boeing Tour: This museum is about 25 miles north of Seattle; you need to plan well for the tour tickets. But if you are interested in aviation dynamics and engineering or wanting to get your children interested, then this is a must-go because you can see first-hand the planes being assembled and there are some interesting programs for kids. There is a Boeing Store where you can buy artifacts for your home.



Wildlife: Woodland Park zoospanning 92 acres with a variety of animals and plants, the much smaller yet really cool Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium and the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park which boasts of a tram that will take you through 400 acres where you can see wildlife in their natural habitat or you can do a Walking Tour and some Nature trail walks.
Nature Parks and Falls: Seattle and the area around are abound with nature parks. If there are no rains and there is a bit of sun, go to some park and walk around. It is the best form of relaxation that I know.






Suppose you don't want to drive around Seattle and the adjoining islands, take the Grayline and / or the Duck Tours. .. all you then need to concentrate on is absorbing the scenic beauty and taking some great pictures. 
Happy Travelling!
There is still more of Seattle and around that I plan on seeing during my next trip to visit my darlings. It is more of their enthusiasm in going to these places and doing activities that makes Seattle indeed very special and close to my heart.
At the close of your birthday my dearest Rahul, I just wish for more such moments in the future. Love you loads!!

Quick & Easy to sew kurti for Xmasy wedding!

The Christmas season is upon us. Time to spruce up every aspect of your physical life as well as your spiritual one. One of my thoughts was about the dress I want to sport this Xmas.
Then I remembered that there was a wedding also that I needed to attend. Typically, weddings are the best time to pull out those dressy sarees from your cupboard and wear them… otherwise they just occupy a lot of space in the cupboard and almost never see the light of the day after one wear. Unfortunately, that cupboard with my dressy sarees was sitting in Kerala. Drat!!!Then I chanced to see this beautiful dressy material that my aunt had gifted me for my birthday. I never had a chance to stitch it yet. Problem solved!!!
Having been influenced by all those dresses I had designed and sewn up till date, I went a bit mashup on this one. The heaviest influence I felt was that of the ruffled / gathered hem on the sleeves. I wondered whether I am too old for this but then again, my inner voice quelled my fear by repeating to me what I believe – “You live only once!”


Cheers!

Victorian with an Indian twist

A few weeks ago, I was at my friends’ house when her sister showed me this piece of material which was pristine white and self-printed. Now that I was crafting kids’ stuff, she wanted me to extend it to this piece of material. She had several nice-to-have requirements too – wearable with any of her cotton leggings, salwars and any of her stoles / duppattas, high possibility of wearing on Independence / Republic day and so on. Also, she wanted something similar yet different (how is that possible, I wondered…) for her sister, my friend who BTW is very picky when it comes to design and colors – simple and not too colorful, acceptable colors – white, black, maroon, green and golden / saffron.
Ideas swirled around my head. Since my friend hated too many colors, I thought I would play with lace and ruffles for her kurta and since her sister had these requirements, I thought of colored lace and trims so that she could wear it with any type and color of pajama bottoms and even stoles or duppattas. The result: What you see in the picture!

We asked my friend to try it out and do like a catwalk for us and when she did, the rest of our friends gushed on how she looked like a Victorian doll. White lace and ruffles and just a dash of colors from the Indian flag... the effect was just as intended.

A salute to your spirit, Chennai!

The last couple of days have been heavy on Chennai. Even though the plight of the people in Chennai has not grabbed national headlines, social media has been very active with almost live updates. As I was seeing some of those horrendous images, I remember travelling through those areas while visiting Chennai on multiple occasions in the last few years. Where earlier, it was a traffic nightmare, today it has become an island with all modes of transport except maybe boats, disrupted.
But what overwhelmed me was the spirit of the people. Innovative methods to offer the use of their homes, and all their resources to help people in need no matter what their caste, creed or religion was. I even read about a little boy who asked that his food packet be given to another boy who he felt was in more need since the other boy was not used to hunger like this boy was.
It took a dire calamity yet again to unite people and fight to survive… TOGETHER.
What a volte-face from days before where religion, media and politics had started dividing Indians into Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and started hysterical debates on intolerance and attrition.
If a country or even a family divides itself into groups and fight each other, the country / family will fall apart and make itself vulnerable to other groups who can then easily take over. India is not alien to this concept but we still insist on making the same mistakes again.This time our Mother Nature is teaching us a valuable lesson of “Unity is Strength” like any mother who admonishes an errant child. The question is “Are we willing to listen and change?” How many more such calamities – natural or man-made, will it take for us to learn our lesson?

Meanwhile, for the people in Chennai, I salute your spirit, your will to survive and your generosity . Together, you will get past this; I say this from my own experience on and after the July 26th 2005 floods in Mumbai. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am recollecting my first Thanksgiving in the US.
One of my neighbors was experimenting with roasting turkey in the oven. Suffice to say, that was an unmitigated disaster; luckily the vegetarians among us saved the lunch with some mouth-watering Indian vegetarian dishes with choice of breads that we got from the local supermarket. I didn't have the habit of saying grace or thanking the good lord for the food on the table, but if memory serves me right, I did thank the Lord that day for saving us all from that turkey.

I was invited to my then boss' house for Thanksgiving dinner. My roommates and I went there armed with the thought that since we were vegetarians, we would not have to worry if the turkey turned out to be another disaster. It wasn't... I am judging by the ooh's and aah's from the guests and it was such a full house.

After that full-fledged dinner with a mixture of Indian and traditional American Thanksgiving dishes, we were relaxing in the drawing room when one of the guys started distributing pamphlets. Soon the whole space on the floor between us was strewn with pamphlets... from different retail outlets.
Preparation for the Black Friday sale.
Since we were new to this entire concept of the Black Friday sale, it was explained very briefly to us. The concept was simple... the early birds got the best deals. You had to plan starting from as early as 4:00 a.m. and devising a way so that you could get all the deals that you had been eyeing.
Being an avid and compulsive shopper, I was in before my friend finished the first sentence; you see 'DEALS' have that effect on me...

By the end of that night, we had distributed among ourselves where we were to go and what we were to get for ourselves and our friends; our friends were buying some of our stuff too. We promised to meet in the evening next day to exchange each other' stuff. I was armed with the additional knowledge of mail-in rebates and coupons and the like.

Things did not go exactly as planned; we got a little late, then there was the massive queues and things being in the wrong places or sold out. But the experience was so different that I tried my luck in the evening too. Ok so, I did not get the BEST deal, but I got some great deals anyway. I bought my very first diamond then and then I had to buy for my Mom too.

At the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, I was several hundred dollars lighter; mail-in rebates and coupons notwithstanding but I was happy.

Happy Thanksgiving holidays; have a great one like I had!