Getting Old (er) Part I

So I am on a three-day medical leave. The bones are weary. The shoulders achy. The back tired. Knees buckling. And I was popping pills again.

I went to see the orthopaedic surgeon again (who is the most nicest doctor), who said the ailment is due to wear and tear. Over-used muscles. And who am I to argue with the specialist?

But secretly I also like translate it as penyakit orang tua (only the doctor's too nice to say it like that in my face). Let's be pragmatic about it.

And now my mom's words of caution came back to me. She had said, simpan sama tenaga tu untuk tua besok.. And if you havent discovered it yet, let me tell you that mothers are always right.

So today the doctor jabbed me in the tendons at the side of the kness. He said those muscles are all bunched and swollen (no wonder I had developed a nightly ritual of minyak gamat on the legs. Now I know why). I seriously didnt think I need any jabs actually, I thought those are normal sakit urat. How naive am I about health?

My back, shoulders and neck are old stories to the doctor. We had xrays and scans and mri's done on that during my last visit early in the year (come to think of it I should be grateful for small mercies - I havent been to the specialist for almost a year after all).

The funny thing is, I felt worse once I am home and took the medication prescribed. And lay down to rest like the doctor said I should. How's that? I am thinking that maybe after the consultation it finally hit home that this is more serious than I originally thought it was.

Earlier, as the doctor wrote notes in my personal file, I mused loudly to him and the nurse. I said, I think it is time to re-learn about yourself and your habits. What your body can take. How much you can do. When to stop. He said yes, you have to adjust with age (like I said, it is penyakit orang tua).

And all in all, in the mean time I am appreciating my boss more as there is no call / text messages from him about work or due dates although I know (through the grapevine) that he was asking about things; but only from people who are actually in the office.

ps - I hope to write some more about getting older. Soon. Thus the title.

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Busy, Indulgent (Words That Could Never Go Hand In Hand)

Hello darlings. Yes I know, it has been almost two weeks since the last update.

I've been busy - challenging myself. Every time I show myself up to the new day, I want to be certain that I will be significant that day. That I will prove a point whatever that point is. That I will be relevant. That I have achieved my goal come evening. It is not easy. Sometimes the day becomes long as you keep stretching yourself. A few times I failed, because I failed to connect with whatever I wanted to achieve. But enough said.

On other days I took things easy. I have also been idle and indulged myself in frivolous stuff (I like that word. Frivolous).

Still, at other times days could be so urgh.. bitchy I suppose. Nothing goes right. You are so aggravated (or equally aggravating? Maybe). Anything and everything infuriates you. You can feel there's a storm brewing somewhere but cant name the reasons why.

You think you might change your clothes. Your hair. Your FACE (?!!). And man, for sure you are getting nowhere **.

OTHER than that I've been seriously busy (mostly in the kitchen). We had loads of cookies made for Eidul Adha orders. I half finished my current beading project. Will show the photos once that is ready. For now I have photos of older beading stuffs I had made.

And I tried the new Briani & Ayam Goreng Rempah recipe I had gotten some time back. It tastes good, but much better when cooked by my sister.. (I'll never win any competition with my sisters, that's for sure). The children like anything other than nasi putih, which too often showed up at our table anyway. And the chicken is fried with lots of spicy 'debris' (orang Kedah panggil serdak, or maybe I should spell that 'seghdak').

And I tried the granola recipe that I found (it was seriously yum) . Follow through the recipe, but you can turn it into bars - or not (make sure they dont stick together too much and you'd have delish healthy home made cereal). The kids love the bars but I prefer the loose version with milk for breakfast. It's full of oats and nuts and fruits. And of goodness. The next time I make this maybe I'll omit the sugar altogether.

I also did the chicken and mushroom party pies that I said I would. And yes they turned out almost as nice as the ones I bought. Practice would surely make them perfect. Recipe of this later when I have photos to go along.

And I made popiah goreng too, with lots extra in the freezer. It's filled with vege and chicken, cooked chinese style. I'll share that with you another time too (I feel like I am overloading this post already. And I hate information overloads anyways).

And it is already well into ZulHijjah. Next week is going to be short; with Eidul Adha on Wed. Selamat beribadah. As usual we will have the qurban done here. With superb sup gearbox and tulang for lunch with the neighbors. I'll share pictures too on that.

** If you dont already know, this is taken from Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The dark actually (that's the part of being indulgent and frivolous). And while on the subject, let me leave you with Bono's / U2's One video. Frivolous.. and yet not.

Have a blessed eidul adha wherever you may be reading this from.

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Books, Books And More Books Part 24

Would 'reading' a recipe book be considered as reading? I did go through all the recipes on all the pages from the front cover to the back. I even read what's written on the insides of the cover.

That's how I know that zucchini (what we always see in the States) is also called courgette (what I always see in Jamie At Home - he's British after all.) For a time I've wondered whatever is a courgette. I think they are somewhat between the labu and the timun family. Anyway. This is what zucchini and a zucchini flower look like and you can actually fry the flowers like you would any tempura (I am imagining the maybe we can do the same with the bunga labu..)

And I also found out what a microplane is. No darlings, it is not a tiny airplane.. It is actually a grater or a zester (for you to grate the zest of a lemon, orange etc); alaf baru. Like so.

See? I learned something from the recipe book after all. And oh yeah, the book contains recipes - obviously - of dreamy pies and tartlets and muffins and quiches that I always dreamed of making. Let's hope I not continue to only dream of making them all.. I think as a start I will try the chicken and mushroom party pies (sounds delish, dont you think? Entah dah masak nanti jadi apa.. muah-ha-ha..)

And talking about food somehow reminded me of a request I had for the brownies recipe I have always make. It's yummy and gooey and has a whopping amount of calories I suppose; but so irresistable. I've been making this for years; for birthdays and school parties, canteen days and raya. Trust me, it is that easy.

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