Country Cottage Arts

Wednesday ,  11 January 2012


I know, I know, I'm behind times but that's because I have had a very very long and tiring year end and  2012 didn't exactly start with a bang !

First, on my Christmas..................

Well, for starters, my first 'hands on ' Christmas 2011  was a tiring affair.  I was not in the best of health and my son was  down with fever for several days after which, on the 4th day, he was diagnosed with dengue positive upon having his blood test at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre  ( SJMC). We had to trudge to SJMC every day to check his blood platelet count and although it was going down, we were advised to keep him at home.   Numerous home remedies were given to us by family members, relatives and friends, one  of which was to eat raw young papaya. Another remedy was to boil papaya leaves in water and drink it.  Quite desperate by now and at wits end , for I didn't want to have my son admitted in SJMC, I gave him ( more like forced him ) both the young papaya to eat and also the boiled papaya leaf water, which was quite bitter, by the way -  sort of a double dosage in the hope that it would speed up his blood count.  Miracle of all miracles !  The next day, when  he was told by the resident doctor at SJMC to be admitted after his fever showed no signs of lowering,   we  insisted for a blood test to be done and asked  for a second opinion from one the the specialist doctors . Would you believe it ? His blood platelet count was slightly up and the specialist told us that it was not necessary for my son to be admitted. Holy Mother of God ! I hugged my son unashamedly and almost cried.  And this happened on Boxing Day, one day after Christmas.   So, now you know when I said it was a real trying and tiring time.


Remember, if anyone of you or your family/friends have  the dreaded dengue fever, make them eat  raw papaya and drink the water of boiled papaya leaves pronto ... very effective and save expensive medical costs .

As for Christmas lunch itself, since we were bogged down by my  son's health , I  was not in my roaring self exactly but since it was  already decided  earlier that Christmas celebrations  was to be in our home,  we placed an order for the roast turkey with its trimmings from the Dorset Regency Hotel in Subang Jaya and also picked up the pre-ordered food from several well known restaurants and food outlets.          The turkey came with the trimmings but without the filling   !            I had only time to  make a  Waldorf Salad and  oven basted chicken wings. The extra fruit cake that  I had baked for Deepavali  and stashed away in the ice-box came in handy and became the  Christmas cake !  Of course, one desert is  not enough, so I also baked bread pudding and served it with ice-cream instead of the customary custard sauce. 



Two days before my son fell sick ( which was 4 days before Christmas), I had told my children that each should bake whatever cookie/ biscuit  they liked - me included .  My gangly son made  chocolate chip cookies ( which  recipe he found in the net and which he made the size of  saucers, my daughter made ground peanut cookies which only she liked and I baked my yearly gingerbread man cookies, complete with eyes, nose,mouth and sugar beads for buttons.   

It was a real hodgy podgy Christmas and to cap it all, Christmas lunch  was served on paper plates and wine in paper cups !   

Urrggghhhh,  the irony of it all  !


Now for the New Year celebrations ......

New Year had and is always celebrated in my eldest sister-in-law's house.  Since she ( Professor Dr Helen Nair )  had taken up the post as Dean of Biotechnology at the  private Quest  International University in Ipoh,  Perak , we  drove to Ipoh a day ahead, stayed at the Ipoh  Royal Club and celebrated new year's eve at the Club's new year eve's  party .  The party was one of the most boring and dullest one ever organised , I think. Imagine having only 10 tables for a party  bash and only  8  tables were taken up  for a new year's eve party ! Imagine having to eat tuna with mayonnaise, followed by a tasteless chicken with boiled potatoes and half cooked cauliflower and ending with a half frozen shop bought fruitcake slice with a dripping of icing camouflaging as sauce !  It was simply terrible and awful and to think that  this was our first  ever  family outing for a new year's party   !   The band performers looked  half dead and their  zombie like singing sent my son's temperature up the roof.  My son looked at me and rolled his eyes, my daughter looked at me and rolled her eyes and I looked at my husband and well, rolled my eyes too ...................


So we officially started the year 2012  with all our eyes rolling round with each other !  Great start to 2012.... here we come !


Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi