2018 Secondary 3 Week 43 Update

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School’s out officially for the year and both have been promoted to Secondary 4. Since next year is their O level year, they have to go back to school for one more week where their teachers will start the Sec 4 syllabus and complete any sec 3 portion that was undone.

We also got the results this week and BB has done atrociously. I am very appalled with his marks and he got a real talking to from both me and his form teachers. I fact, because his school does not have a formal parent teacher meeting for the end of the year, I emailed all of his teachers for either a face-to-face meeting or a phone call to see what I can do to work with him over the holidays. During the face-to-face meetings, I also requested he be pulled out of class to meet with the teachers so he knows what we discussed. BB has promised to do better in sec 4, so let’s see.

GG on the other hand, did better, though not with stellar results. But she is the more dedicated and diligent child, so I am not that as concerned about her as I am about BB.

Happy Sunday folks

In My Hands Today…

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The Scent of Sake – Joyce Lebra

4702464She was taught to submit, to obey . . . but she dreamed of an empire.

The sole heir to the House of Omura, a venerable family of Kobe sake brewers, nineteen-year-old Rie hears but cannot heed her mother’s advice: that in nineteenth-century Japan, a woman must “kill the self” or her life will be too difficult to bear. In this strict, male-dominated society, women may not even enter the brewery and repressive tradition demands that Rie turn over her family’s business to the inept philanderer she’s been forced to marry. She is even expected to raise her husband’s children by another woman a geisha so that they can eventually run the Omura enterprise.

But Rie’s pride will not allow her to relinquish what is rightfully hers. With courage, cunning, brilliance, and skill, she is ready to confront every threat that arises before her, from prejudice to treachery to shipwrecks to the insidious schemes of relentless rivals in her bold determination to forge a magnificent dynasty…and to, impossibly, succeed.

Navratri Recipes: Sweet Corn Sundal

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Another Navratri sundal recipe. This one came about serendipitously. I actually wanted to make something sweet that day but became late to make the offering so thought of making something with sweet corn. I made it like any sundal, but changed it up a bit. It also makes a very healthy salad or as a side for your main meal. S loved it so much that he made me make it again the next day.

Sweet Corn Sundal

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups frozen sweet corn
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp broken urad dal
  • 1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup grated coconut
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 3-4 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp green chilli paste
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Boil the sweet corn in a microwave for 5-10 minutes seasoned with some salt until the corn is soft and cooked.
  • Heat the oil in a pan and when it warms up, add the mustard seeds and let it crackle. Then add the urad dal and sesame seeds and stir for a while till the urad dal turns a golden brown colour and the sesame seeds start to pop. Don’t let them turn black.
  • Add the asafoetida and curry leaves and let the curry leaves become crisp.
  • Now add the green chilli paste and stir for a few minutes. Then pour in the cooked corn and let it stir for 2-3 minutes.
  • Check for seasoning at this point. If you are making this as an offering, then no tasting, please.
  • Drizzle the lemon juice and the grated coconut and switch off the flame.
  • Serve hot as a side dish or cold as a salad.

In My Hands Today…

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To Have and to Kill – Mary Jane Clark

8527018Piper Donovan, an actress who has been having a hard time of it living in Manhattan, has returned home to her parents’ small town in New Jersey. She’s been helping out at her mother’s bakery, which makes it perfect that Piper’s close friend, Glenna Brooks, has asked her to prepare the cake for her upcoming wedding. However, things aren’t as perfect as they seem, and when there is a murder, Piper is determined to figure out what happened and protect her friend.

Poetry: Growing Old

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Growing Old

I look into the mirror and see the evidence
That probably I wish I didn’t have to but force myself to see

The strands of white mixing with the browns in my hair
Making me ever so often want to stop and stare

Is this is what growing old is all about, I mull?
Is it the physical changes or it is more mental?

Because while my body ages
My mind is still agile, still flexes and fizzles

So what is the definition of old?
The worldly definition keeps changing all the time

Is it what’s inside of you or what the world sees?
I don’t know the answers, do you?