Before I could even get used to saying 2020, January is already over. And it’s February – my birthday month, one I always look forward to.
Now you may ask, what’s the big deal about a birthday? Well for one, I actually enjoy the feeling of being special. My mum always made a big deal about birthdays and I still remember the plain vanilla sponge she’d make with buttercream stars in pink and green.
Those were the days before chocolate cake when the maximum colour was streaks of chocolate that marbled the vanilla sponge .
So while I look forward to the looming birthday, I’d like to recap the month gone by. I do have a lot to be grateful for.
Food and fun
The market filled with nature’s bounty meant freshly made Undhya
December’s festive mood carried on to January. The New Year began with a cozy cousins’ meet where the food and wine flowed as smoothly as the wine .
Nutcracker at Palladium turned out to be a gem! A delightful lunch of quesadillas and spaghetti rounded off with the signature dessert of the house vanilla ice cream with a slice of cake layered with biscuit crumbs, gooey chocolate, butterscotch and slivered almonds . Celebrating a friend’s birthday was never such fun!
In mid January the family got together on a windswept terrace to welcome the newest member of the family. All of just four months old, she looked bemused as the rest of us went goo goo gaga over her.
Enjoyed a cappuccino with a cousin at the quaint Blue Tokai tucked away in an erstwhile industrial compound behind the leafy bylanes of Parel.
Upcoming project
Asa, an old childhood friend with whom I reconnected last year has asked to collaborate on a project close to my heart – FOOD.
I was thrilled to be asked to join in a unique, creative venture. Thanks Asa for your faith in me and reaching out to me .
Physio
Sticks and stones will break my bones but these new instruments of torture have definitely improved my movements
With my external rotation just about 10 degrees, my physiotherapist felt I needed more work. So with almost daily stretching and some strength building work, my shoulder is now feeling freer and lighter.
Today I can actually reach out to my lower back and turn on the light switch.
There’s something to be said for waking up sleeping muscles – magic that only a physiotherapist can do.
Books
Finally, after years of being a lapsed reader, I finally managed to rediscover the joy of reading. I read several books this month.
Strangely enough, the books I landed up reading had women protagonists with very bad relationships with their mothers.
I hope February sees me reading a different kind of book.