One Dim Bulb

WE didn't forget a thing!

2006-09-21T03:31:00.000-07:00

Found Kempanna's baby list. Here's what we wrote down when we first travelled with him to Srirangam. We cooked our own meals there for three days... He was six months then
1. Diapers for travel
2. Velcro Nappies while we are there
3. Dettol
4. Detergent
5. Body soap
6. Baby oil
7. Baby Powder
8. Eyetex (we religiously dotted his cheek and forehead with huge black circles for one year)
9. Towel
10. Toys
11. Baby wipes
12. Changing mat
13. Rubber Sheet
14. Beds (Soft, medium and fluffy)
15. All-out mosquito repellent
16. Clips for the clothes-line
17. Brush for the nappies
18. Flasks
19. Mosquito net repair
20. Baby Bowl
21. Baby Spoon
22. Clothes
23. Cotton to clean kaka
24. Bibs
25. Ghee
26. Pressure Cooker
27. Knife
28. Ragi
29. Baby cream
30. Bananas
31. Baby shawl
32. Crocin
33. Baby bag
34. Baby wrap
35. Feeding basket
36. Disposable covers to throw away diapers
Only one word: Phew!

pitting it out with perungayam

2006-09-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

this i just heard from grandma's brother, a gourmet cook. Those of us who use 'katti perungayam' -- asafoetida -- have to mega-wrestle to pinch it out of the whole block.
He recommends: Drying it in the sun, cutting it into small bits and THEN roasting it on a dry tawa with sambar powder. So you have a month's supply in handy -- and rasam smells spicy-sour delicious!
**
off to mysore, until monday then folks!

Went to two places that I want to work for (on the same day...)

2006-09-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

~ Butterfly Books Exhibition

~ Eloor Library

~ I always wanted to be a bus-conductor. But didn't apply because I was afraid of the swear words people mutter when conductors don't tender exact change.
And Subtraction isn't my strong point :(

Newspaper cone

2006-09-20T03:59:00.000-07:00

Bangalore has a system of morning waste collection.
So we've put a newspaper cone inside our waste basket that is lined with a plastic bag.
This way all the garbage at home gets dumped into the newspaper cone, which falls neatly into the garbage carrier's cycle rickshaw.
Most importantly you don't waste a plastic bag a day.

I know that newsprint is precious too -- having worked in two papers in four years, but this method seems more environment friendly.

Sticky sticks

2006-09-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

Grandma's tip again: Because Matchboxes become damp in Bangalore, she says it's best to store matchboxes in air-tight containers instead -- tupperware/stainless steel -- anything.

another story

2006-09-18T05:16:00.000-07:00

"Where's my comb?" Forgot again. Tirupati.

what's a six word story i can write?

2006-09-18T04:39:00.000-07:00

~ Mysore next, they agreed. Only she came.

~ Oh Shit! Seven words again, she grimaced.

wipes 4 ur kitchen

2006-09-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

~ Use a soft one for your work-top
~ Use a scotch brite for washing vessels
~ Cut another scotch brite in half : to use exclusively for baby's bowls, spoons, mugs etc
~ And a round plastic one to clean the sink.

Borrowed from an article i wrote in a magazine that came out recently

2006-09-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

The ideal door in a child's room would be a quaint swinging double door – (remember the principal's room when you went to school?). When they are toddlers or babies, the top half can be closed and they can just crawl out of the bottom half.
Which means the room is still half-closed from visitors looking at a big mess. And when the children grow up you can keep the bottom half closed when you are busy (cleaning cupboards, or working on the computer) and yet keep an eye on them.

Go to England on 3,500 words

2006-09-15T23:49:00.000-07:00

yo!
Smal, Eka, my Anon reader, NG, itchin', orange jammies, artnavy, twisted DNA and and my cousin who wants to see just how long i'll keep this blog going !

Here's something all of you should enter - a writing contest organised by british council, saw it in city express today. last date oct 31.
here's the link

http://www.unisun4writers.com/

For no-one-can-reach-nooks in your car

2006-09-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

One cab driver we know uses cloth doormats over the rubber ones on the car floor.

"Five mats for Rs. 50," he said.

Best for muddy-shoed executives, grubby-sandalled kids and rainy days.

It's washable and easy to clean and the dust doesn't accumulate in no-one-can-reach-nooks.

Squeaky blue hippos

2006-09-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

If you are going to celebrate Navarathiri, why not borrow liberally from your Dimanna's collection? One 'padi' (step) could be "Welcome to Toyland" (with trains and cars and blue hippos that squeak).

You can even line it with Pattanna's books: like Lucky The Duckling, or Bouncy Bouncy Daisy

Appliances sitting on the loft

2006-09-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Actually this food processor was passed on from

Chithi ->Grandma,

Grandma ->to Amma

and Amma ->to me...

Three generations of Dim Bulbs were intimidated by the instrument. We are appliance-challenged, god help us.

"It's not that tough," protested chithi and rushed off to Los Angeles
**
Grandma wagged her aruvaamanai at no one in particular in defiance.
And gave the food processor to Amma.
Amma said "if the food processor comes in, then I go out"
And then gave it to me.
And i put it in the loft.

**
Only when I was chasing out a rat (all about rat-hunting coming to a blog close to you!) that I found the food-processor again.

As soon as you finish reading this sentence, rush to the nearest store and buy your own.

(Or if it's sitting in some loft beside the rats, wipe off dust and use!)

It's bloody easy!!

And P.S. it's useful for all kinds of doughs : seedai, thattai, and vella seedai too - don't forget good ol chappati and poori. (am recovering from the gastronomical excesses of today -- krishna jayanthi for us)

PPS: You can chop aloo, carrots, cucumber, raw bananas, puree tomatoes...

PPPS. Hopelessly consumerist post, but kindly excuse

**

One Anonymous Post,

2006-09-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

And I'm off dreaming about identities ...

What if it's a 150 IQ IIT, IIM qualified, CFO of some hi-fi-company... *blush* am so embarrassed about my typos -- eeps

Or if it's my journalism professor's wife? Then I'm EVEN MORE MORTIFIED about the typos

Or is it a person who loves Oprah, reading M and B's and believes that left-over rasam never hurt anyone! -- someone I can relate to, phew!

or is it someone who has changed 1,000 nappies, cleaned 2,000 kakas (or does it feel like it) and hasn't slept eight uninterrupted hours in 400 days and will cry bitterly if she has to read out 'Lucky, The Duckling' more than 17 times in one given hour -- Oh soulmate, speak up!

Bangalore kothamalli only

2006-09-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Don't know what's English for 'kothamalli'. My London-born friend s(m)al would know...

This is for people who live in Bangalore only: Keep kothamalli outside in a cool, dry place rather than inside the fridge -- it stays quite fresh for three days.

In the fridge (which IS a cool dry place, incidentally), it loses it's aroma n colour and becomes soggy and limp.

PS jus' remembered it's coriander!

Disclaimer

2006-09-08T04:06:00.000-07:00

I ...

figured that I come out like some ideas-goddess in this blog
am not Meenakshi Ammal's great great grand niece
am still trying to get a cockroach-free kitchen
didn't know one dal from the other 800 days ago
took 65 days to finally get the dals permanently saved in my head
made such awful rasam that I snuck out to my mom's, and only husband was the victim
once asked Eka, who's single and male, how to make chutney
was surprised that Eka knew how!
pleaded with a cousin to post effusive comments on this blog *and he didn't*
am in awe of s(m)al's mom
have some great ideas that I forget to write down
made this post "Puttanna-free":-)

toy pool

2006-09-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

The average time your "putanna" spends on a toy is only 3.3 minutes.

After which he just flings it away without any regret or remorse and proceeds to open the fridge, fall off the sofa or make susu on the bed...

So why not toy pool with the "patanna" down the street?

1. If the "same-development-milestone-age-moms" talk it over, the ignored toys can be switched -- that way both moms get a few half-hours of freedom to blog in peace.

2. And give away the out-grown ones (rattles,not your kids!) to the construction worker's kids down the street. Also give away the toys that your kid has more than one (toy trains, hard board books, teethers).

Those are two ideas in one, which lets me off for tomorrow:-)

The singing car and the loo-break

2006-09-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

It's impossible to pay a guilt-free visit to the bathroom if you have a toddler.

There's screeching
howling
banging on the door
One piercing shriek
And then silence
And you obsess about how much can go wrong in the time to answer nature's call.

Voila! I have a battery-operated car that pops out only when I need to go:
Toddler stares at it, suddenly quiet!
It's
novel
distracting
and the music is hideous

And I can run off to 118 seconds of freedom!

Hurray for Made In China!

Most Boring Chore on Earth

2006-09-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

You know these mosquito-net like bags that you use to store your veggies in the fridge? Take them along while shopping for groceries and stock up in these bags.
So:
1. you save at least two plastic bags a day that way.
2. you escape the MOST BORING CHORE ON EARTH -- sorting out the beans from the ladies finger -- when you come back.
3. And it works out to nearly 150 plastic bags used less a year.
4. And a brownie point to you for thinking green:)

Crafty tricks

2006-09-05T03:54:00.000-07:00

Not exactly an idea this one:

My point is that if you read books on art with lotsa pictures and you start feeling kinda crafty yourself.

Am looking at all these keep kids busy with art books and suddenly took a paint brush (okay, it was a sponge hooked on to a clothes-pin) and painted the Johnson's baby powder dubbas red!

And then painted the calender red,
And a photo frame red *it smudged a little and now you can't see my forehead and nose on the picture, er*

But it felt nice.

*Last time i held a paint brush was 12 years ago, in school, reluctantly. I wanted to finish my biology record instead.*

Milk moustache

2006-09-04T03:37:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to my friend who presented me with "Forever Erma" : A collection of the author's best writing:

How to make Pongal for your milk-hating 17-month-old: The trick is to boil the rice in milk so that he gets his milk moustache without knowing it!

Rice: one cup
Milk: 3 cups
Water: one cup
Pressure cook for 10 minutes. Add ghee+pepper+jeera+salt in a tawa and then add the cooked pongal.Voila!

the bit fat chappati tawa aka my dining table

2006-09-02T03:54:00.000-07:00

this is the best...estestest piece of furniture in our home

a round dining table
~ which is about one and a half feet high
~ So you sit on the floor and eat
~ And you can do your writing and homework too
~ Saves on four/six dining chairs -- so money saver
~ Saves on space too

Downside:
It's not readymade
And you need to find a friendly neighbourhood furniture maker to make it for you...
I tried to draw a pic of it on blogger to explain better -- but it didnt work,
sorry:(

Grandma's eight idlis

2006-08-31T00:39:00.000-07:00

These are my 83-year-old grandma's lil songs to my toddler:

"Idli Ettu (8) thinbane"
"Chutney Thottu thinbane"

"Adho paaru maina
Aaspathri Koyna *this line doesn't make sense to me"
Yenga appa naina
Naan Porane China"

**Another which he likes is

Shoda shoda laaaaaaaaaaambazha ................ thattu *cant figure this one out either*

But Keeping 'em coming patti

**But coming back to idlis: if your idli plate fits into your electric rice cooker then it's a cooking coup!Five minutes in the
rice cooker and you have hot, spongy idlis -- waiting to be eaten -- all eight of them:)

More on the white magic carpet....

2006-08-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

Am all fingers and thumbs when it comes to drawing kolams, and if I know people are watching then I get worse.
Here my grandma's face-saver idea: Draw out an ornate kolam with a piece of chalk --- and then use a brush and paint on it with rice paste/ or even permanent white paint.

Band Aid, Carrots and Dimanna

2006-08-28T04:40:00.000-07:00

The vegetable I hate chopping is carrots. I can't tell you how many times I've sliced into my *ahem* lovely *ahem-ahem* long veena-player fingers in an effort to provide a nutritious meal for 'Pattanna.'

Oh btw, we are in Rome so we are doing as the Romans: Since we live in Karnataka, we have a fresh Kannadiaga pet name for our son everyday:the list so far:
Pattanna
Puttanna
Thimanna
Dimanna * since, he's my relation," Ma Dim Bulb
Revanna
Somanna
Ramanna
Supanna
Subanna

*not exhaustive*
And when we get tired of "anna" ing him, we "appa" him

Pattappa
Puttappa
Thimappa
Kushalappa... you get the drift
*This is not including the seven names my family and Pattanna's Dad's foisted on the fella. *

Er ... coming back to my carrot chopping: Just learnt last week that, if you steam the whole carrots first in the cooker and then chop -- life is a whole lot less accident prone.

Carpet of dots and curves

2006-08-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is my grandma's tip:
Actually she got it from a tamil mag.
You know this maa-kolam, maavu kolam? (Wet rice paste, that spreads into a beautiful carpet of dots and curves under some wizened fingers)
My efforts are unfailing blotchy or splotchy -- and sometimes both.
But today's, Ganesha Chathurthi's special, came out neat.
Secret: Use a square off a sponge instead of a ball of cotton to dip into the rice paste. The curves come out even.

Not another walker!

2006-08-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

I am anti-walkers. All the 701 child-rearing books I've read, label walker impolite names that I can't type here.
And guess how many "walker gifts" we have at home: 2;
with the neighbourhood grandpa volunteering to give away no:3, what his grandson has outgrown
My bright idea is to remove the wheels -- and use it as a feeding seat-- before you get your high chair.

St. Warning: *This is an idea in theory only. Haven't tested it out yet*

Sore hands

2006-08-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

After two and a half years of battling with sabena, vim and pril in the kitchen and really sore hands...
am now using a washing detergent (Wheel) and guess whose hands are smoother than hema malini's cheeks?

You know you are mum to a 13- month-old when...

2006-08-24T03:52:00.000-07:00

~ All your phone calls end abruptly when his wildly curious fingers unfailingly find the DISCONNECT button
~ Your emails have letters, numbers and hypens that you have not typed ...
~ ...And your computer has not been shut down in the traditional method for last 30 days
~ His grandparents hold up an STD line cootchie-cooing to a toddler who can say only 'kaaka' - and only when the bird is around
~ After 27 days of toilet-training, he makes a susu puddle in the living room; and splashes in it (with both hands); grins; AND SUCKS HIS THUMB (Before I can get to him!!!Aaargh!)

Batter on your head!

2006-08-24T03:45:00.000-07:00

Yes!
I am a idli-batter obsessive type!
But guess what?
Apparently it adds gloss on your hair --
my aromatherapist friend tells me that the batter is great for dull hair and makes it glossy and bouncy...
So she never wastes the batter that she can't scoop out!
P.S I tried idli batter for cracked heels and that felt better --

Easy bibs

2006-08-23T03:29:00.000-07:00

Don't give away your baby's old clothes just yet. Convert your baby's spagetti strap summer dresses into two handy bibs for your growing toddler. Just cut under the armpits on both sides and voila.:)

Potterings on batter

2006-08-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

It's my current preoccupation, so sue me!
Hey! Am Mom to one,
And will be hostess to a few hungry in-laws
TIP: My idea to reduce the mess while using the wet grinder is comme ca:
1. do the urad dal first - which is half-an hour of noise.
2. NOW! instead of pouring it all out by heaving up a 40 kg ultra grinder and *risking life and limb*
Scoop out the mixture by hand instead.
That takes only seven minutes -- and it doesn't really drip.
(You don't have to clean out every centimetre of batter in this stage *you may, if you are my grandma*
Coz you are going to grind the boiled rice next anyway.)
3. Of course you'll have to lift and pour after grinding boiled rice *yes, risk life and limb* but u r halving chances of breaking a foot with this just-once-heave-ho method:)
Thank yous please!