Author: Archana

Once a Physiotherapist now a Wordsmith. Field Botanist. Bonsai. Proud Indian. Fauji Wife. Doting Mother and Mother-in-law. Devoted Grandmother. Reluctant Cook. Happiest on a road less travelled. 60s are the new 40s ;-)
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Ticking off a bucket list

Its been a hectic start to June with series of back to back out bound training programs which gave me a good excuse to delay my posts here. I always wonder how I got 26 posts up without a hitch in April and find umpteen excuses at all other times of the year…
Sigh…


Once back to civilization, I came across this bucket list posted by Denise and it seemed a good idea to check out on what I have been doing in my life other than work/work/worry/homework etc… I do have a travel wish list but nothing of this kind.. Apparently this is a version of a list that has been circulating on Facebook for a while but I have not seen that one.. 


So here goes… I have put a cross before whichever item I have completed…


( ) Shot a gun
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Visited Canada
( ) Visited Hawaii
( ) Visited Cuba
(X)Visited Europe
( ) Visited South America
( ) Visited Las Vegas
( ) Visited Central America
(X) Visited Asia
( )Visited Africa
( ) Visited Florida
( ) Visited Mexico
(X) Seen the Grand Canyon in person
( ) Flown in a helicopter
( ) Served on a jury
( ) Been lost
( X) Traveled to the opposite side of the country
(x) Visited Washington, DC
( ) Swam in the Ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Played cowboys and Indians (Indians in my youth, now Native Americans).
( ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang karaoke
( ) Sang a solo or duet in church
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some beverage came out of your nose
( ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X )Had children
( ) Had a pet
( ) Been skinny-dipping
( ) Been fishing
(X) Been boating
( ) Been Downhill Skiing
( )Been water skiing
( ) Been camping in a trailer/RV
(X) Been camping in a tent
( ) Driven a motorcycle
( ) Been bungee-jumping
(X) Gone to a drive-in movie
(X) Done something that could have killed you
(X)Done something that you will regret for the rest of your life
(X) Rode an elephant
(X)Rode a camel
(X) Eaten just cookies or cake or ice cream for dinner
( ) Been on TV
( ) Stolen any traffic signs
(X)Been in a car accident
( ) Been in the Hospital in past 24 months
( ) Donated blood
( ) Gotten a (speeding) or any other type of ticket in the past 12 months
(X) Gotten a piercing (ears count)
( ) Gotten a Tattoo
(X) Driven a manual transmission vehicle
( ) Ever owned your dream car
(X)Been Married
( ) Been divorced
(X )Fell in love
( ) Fell out of love
( ) Paid for a strangers meal
( ) Driven over 120 mph
( ) Been scuba diving
(X ) Written a published book/story/poetry
( ) Eaten snails


Go on.. Its your turn now..
🙂
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Another Recognition!

Yay!! 
Recognition for a blog is always a great moment for a blogger and I am no exception. I was nominated a while ago for the first time and recently Seena nominated me for the Liebster Award! I met Seena in the blogworld via the April AtoZ Blogging Challenge in 2016. 
Thank you Seena 🙂 




These are the rules of the award:

  • Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog in your post
  • Display the award on your blog – by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a ‘widget’ or a ‘gadget’
  • Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you
  • Provide 11 random facts about yourself
  • Nominate 5-11 blogs that you feel deserve the blog, and have less than 1000 followers
  • Create a new list of 11 questions for the nominees to answer

Here are the answers to the questions that Seena has posed:


1. Sunny Days or the Rains?
Rains
2. Morning person or Night Owl
Morning person- always!!
3. Do you have a morning routine
Yes. Almost since I can remember!
4. Are you a planner? How far ahead do you plan?
Not really. Nothing more than the essentials…
5. Do you experience envy? How do you deal with it?
Ofcourse! I have no claims to being an evolved soul, so envy does make a rare unwelcome appearance. In that case, I end up looking at what I do have and that helps a lot.
6. Can you do without desert?
Nope! I love sweets and its tough to say no as they do nothing to help my proclaimed and unsuccessful attempts at weight loss..
7. Something you absolutely need on your pizza?
Cheese
8. Something you are afraid of?
Sickness
9. How handicapped do you feel without your phone?
Actually, I have realised, its a state of mind. If I am enjoying whatever activity/situation I am attending without a phone then the absence of the phone doesnt matter. The moment I am bored or lose interest, I start missing my phone!
10. If you could, would your be an employee or entrepreneur?
That’s a tough one.. I guess employee… 
11. Do you enjoy audio books?
To tell you the truth,  I havent ‘heard’ any as yet..


As per the rules of the award, here are 11 random facts about myself:


1. Reluctant cook
2. Keen to try out different forms of exercise
3. Want to keep up with news from around the world
4. Want to travel to non touristy destinations
5. Like to read fiction
6. Enjoy Dhrupad 
7. Favourite past time in public places is to watch peoples expressions’
8. Love continental food
9. Enjoy Hollywood movies
10. Hope to identify all trees on my exercise route 
11. Stitching clothes has never been my skill


That was quite difficult! 


Accepting this award means I  have to nominate five blogs. And here they are (in no particular order)…


Chocolate Coffee Cream
The Era I Lived In
Direct Dil Se
Herb Thyme
The Solitary Writer


Now the final part… 11 random questions for my nominees..


1. Why did you start blogging?
2. Given another chance, which career would you choose?
3. What is your favourite food?
4. Do you exercise daily?
5. Can you read and write your mother tongue (if its not English)?
6. Have you gone out of your way to help a needy person?
7. What is your idea of a perfect holiday?
8. Can you cook? 
9. Do you know about composting? 
10. Do you recycle?
11. Given a choice, would you use your own vehicle or public transport?


Happy Blogging everyone!
🙂

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Reflections on the April 2016 Blogging Challenge




The month of April takes a toll of sorts on bloggers due to the furious pace of posting, reading and commenting on blogs in the April AtoZ Blogging Challenge. This was my fourth attempt and I had planned the theme a while ago.. 


Of course this early planning did not really make my task easy but only lightened my work. You see, I had chosen to write about herbs. Herbs are things that we add to food right? So what is the issue? Well, instead of getting into the nitty-gritty, suffice to say that all spices are not herbs though some herbs can be spices… 


Confused? 
That’s exactly what I did not want my readers to be. This meant I had to keep botanical terminology to the minimum yet try to keep my blog visitors interested. That was tough. Really tough. I do feel that fiction writers, food bloggers have it quite easy.. Talk about trees, plants, and people tend to be disinterested! 


Yet, I got lucky and I had few dedicated and interested visitors to my blog, who made it a point to comment. Thank you My Era, Seena, Kala, Dixita, Reema, Denise, Trisha for your unstinting support! (Before I forget, they have awesome posts for the challenge so make it a point to visit their blogs) 


My blog stats show many more visitors from around the globe and a huge Thank You to all of them as well! I do understand that its not always possible to comment – something that I have faced as well.. I tried to visit as many blogs as I could everyday, but I admit, I could have done much better. Commitments in the real world meant long periods away from the internet and I plan to catch up over the upcoming days.



Getting back to my series… I had to shortlist the herbs from my observations and go hunting for those I did not have. I am happy to report that except the alphabet Q and Y, I have collected all the images. While they are not of professional  quality, I was able to identify all the listed herbs – something that I am proud of. Identification was not always easy as many flowers were the size of a finger nail and a precise id was not always possible. If only plant could talk! Sigh… 


Of the 26 herbs (includes only the first herb mentioned in the post), 3 are Exotic and naturalised, 3 are Exotic and rest (20) are Native species. Besides the plant names, I managed to learn more botanical info about herbs, something that I intend to continue. 


I also came across some bloggers who wrote about plants which meant my theme was not an odd one out! 
Yay!!! 


In addition to web resources like Flowers of India, here are some of the books that  I referred to…



The AtoZ team had several posts with important tips and I found the one about creating signatures very useful! When on the PC, it was easy to comment on most blogs was easy except some that only permitted commenting via Google Plus- a platform that I do not use. However, commenting on some blogs (especially Word Press) was difficult when I was travelling as I had to use my phone for this purpose. 


A huge thanks to my family for their unquestioned support in ferrying me to strange places in search of herbs, patiently listening to botanical terms which may sound gibberish to them, sending me images and most importantly tech help! 


I leave you with some of the herbs that did not make the cut! 

Is it Alysicarpus sp or Indigofera sp?
Dipcadi
Urena lobata
Seen on banks of the River Chushul in Ladakh. Possibly Cardus edelberghii 

I plan to post more regularly in the days to come, so do come over as often as you can. Better still, follow me on Twitter or follow the blog (check out the bar to the right of this post) to stay updated. 
Stay happy! Stay safe!
Happy blogging everyone!
🙂

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Z is for Zingiber

Welcome! 
I am writing about herbs in the 2016 April AtoZ blogging challenge. Most of the herbs written in this series are those I have seen or used. Its been a roller coaster ride all through the month, reading some wonderful blogs, making new friends and ofcourse learning many new things. 


Hey this is not the reflections post, so I better get on with the topic of the day! The last letter, my final post for this year’s challenge is Zingiber officinale of the Zingiberaceae family. We know it better as Adrak (in Hindi), Ginger, Ale (in marathi)! Is that a big Aha I hear!!!
🙂


Truly, just recognising a particular plant gives a feeling of meeting a friend does it not? So if botanical names put you off, not to worry, go with the local names. The former have the advantage of being universally accepted so you can discuss the plant with anyone anywhere in the world being sure of what you refer to.


Getting back to Z. The edible part that is commonly used is the root. However its inflorescence is quite pretty as well but its quite rarely seen I am told. I have it planted in a pot but here are an image of ginger leaves from a friend. Mine is still an infant!!

Image courtesy Supriya Shelar
Ginger root

The root is used to flavour curries in Indian, Eastern and even Western cuisine. Adding crushed ginger to tea takes the beverage to a totally new level! Try it especially on a rainy day…Yet another winter specialty in Maharashtra is Ginger Squares also known as Alyachee wadi.. It is basically grated ginger cooked in sugar syrup and set into squares. It is a unique combination of hot and sweet. Via the 2016 April AtoZ I have discovered Ginger oil which seems to have immense medicinal effects.  


Getting back to the ginger blossoms, I have seen a variety called Champagne Ginger being used as part of flower decorations.

Champagne Ginger in a flower arrangement

 Here is an image of the blossoms of Torch Ginger. Isn’t amazing?


Obviously there is more to ginger than meets the eye!


That’s it from me! I hope you enjoyed this herbal journey as much I enjoyed putting it together. This is not the end of the road, as we will keep meeting in the blogsphere! 
Keep revisiting dear readers, I will be honoured. 


Thank you for your comments all through the month, they made were most encouraging.


Till we meet again, take care and happy blogging!
🙂

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