Calming My Pain

Inspired by my friend's words ......

My friend Bart wrote this :

Distraction to help cope with pain: Creating a September afternoon on a lake. Not going to go into every detail here but you create the boat. You feel the texture of the seat. The gentle rocking. The lake holding you up. The surface tension of the water and the coolness underneath. The singing of the birds and bugs. The soft rustle of leaves. The wind with whispers of summer and clarity of fall. You can taste the metal in the air from the seats of the boat along with the brine of the lake. You take these static images, memories and a million more then you start to animate them. For me it's a good technique to help with pain.

When the pain hits you

Retreat into a weird world you do

Pain can be different and off the scale

Unbearable but I still live to tell the tale

So the world you retreat to is in your mind

Helps to relive peaceful memories from your mind

So have some lined

So to self you can be kind

Today’s choice is a September afternoon on a lake

You can take memory and a universe create

A boat is bobbing in the water

Seated in there listening to the lapping of water

Feel the texture of the seat

Gentle rocking of the water you cannot beat

The water cradles the boat

Leaving you happily to float

The birds are chirping and singing

The flies and insects are also buzzing

The sun is gentle as the afternoon advances

Sparkle of light on water slowly fades

The wind with whispers of summer and clarity of fall

The soft rustle of leaves that I clearly recall

The smell of moist earth and fading flowers

Will remain into the small hours

My mind is calm

The memory a soothing balm

Relationships

There are so many relationships

Blood ties and friendships

One would expect that blood ties will be stronger

The proverb is blood is thicker than water

But in reality nothing is further than that

The changed society has seen to that

Friendships are the basis of family today

The affection and care has to be mixed with liking today

Liking is very different from loving

For I can love without liking

The relationships get complex over time

Some fade and some strengthen over time

I try to maintain contact, keep in touch

Expecting reciprocation, is it much?

Eventually one realises that people are busy

And letting go becomes easy

Maybe your karma with them is over

Relationship with them is then over

Struggling to keep it going is useless

The throes of dying relationship grow less and less

Friendships can also go that way

But they can also get stronger and deeper along the way

Friend is one you can rely on and lean on

Always on his mind even when you are gone

With the friend there is often a connection

A weird and wonderful same wavelength kind of connection

You kind of know when the other is looking for you

The meeting of minds that is a joy for him and you

There is no effort in keeping in touch

To support the friend is never too much

Friends are now my family

Just as much if not more than my family

Life is enriched by relationships

Blood ties and friendships

My Wednesday

It is a nice sunny spring day

So why do I feel this way?

The breeze rustling through the trees

To me feels cold enough to freeze

But of course today is chemo day

Leaving my head in a mess, what can I say?

All senses are more intense

The taste is dulled but hearing intense

Mood swings from cheery to sad

Perceived slight making me feel bad

This depressed feeling I am aware of

Active social contact can soon see it off

But lethargy of thought and intent rules

Positive and negative thinking duels

Effort has to be made for everything today

Everything feels too much today

The fever and chills that will creep up by the end of the day

The odd nausea often makes itself known on this day

Some days sleep is hard to come by

On other days the fatigue helps the shut eye

This is my Wednesday every week

Am thankful for the medicine every week

Pudla with a Twist (Chickpea Pancakes)

I finally mastered the art of making pudla (pancakes made with chickpea flour, also called besan ka chilla). I had got the spicing wrong and also adding soda bicarbonate was not right if you wanted a crispy pancake. In fact I was told to add some rice flour to get the crispiness. But I digress as I started out to make the courgette/zucchini fritters in the manner of corn fritters. I followed the recipe but realised that it would take time to cook it and I was hungry. So I popped more water into the mixture and got it down to pancake consistency. It worked well and a new version of pudla took shape.

Ingredients

• 1½ cup of chickpea flour
• 1 medium sized courgette/zucchini grated
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 small chillies finely chopped (you can add more if you wish)
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a cup
• Water to make a pancake consistency batter – you should be able to pour the batter with a ladle and spread by moving the frying pan.

Method

• Sieve the flour into a bowl so air is introduced and it is easier to get a smooth batter.
• Add grated courgette / zucchini, onions, chillies and mix it with the flour.
• Then add water little at a time, mixing the batter so that you can reach the required consistency.
• Then add the spices – turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. Give it another stir and rest the batter for a few minutes.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan and then add ¼ teaspoon of olive oil. You can use less oil after the first pudla is done. I tend to just drizzle a few drops on the pan only.
• Using a ladle or a large serving spoon pour the batter into the pan – about 1 to 1½ spoonful. You can spread the batter using the back of the spoon or by tilting the pan. Then drizzle a few drops of oil over the spread batter.
• Wait till the edges begin to lift off the pan just like you would a pancake and flip the pudla over to continue cooking. You can press down on the pancake with your spatula if you want to ensure even cooking.
• Check when it is done and serve it on a plate.

You will get about 6 – 8 pudlas depending on the size. The thickness of the pudla should be about ½ cm so it cooks evenly and quickly.

Mix and match ingredients for different version of the pudla –

I have made them with just finely chopped onions, chillies and tomatoes.

I have also made them with courgettes / zucchini, onions, chillies and kale. You can substitute kale with spinach.

It ensures a fair portion of vegetables in your meal and tastes good.

Tips for Serving

You can serve it with the green chilli and coriander chutney or tomato ketchup or even some raita.

Raita can be of different styles:

• Sometimes it is plain yogurt with just some salt and pepper to taste.
• Also you can have plain yogurt with finely chopped onions, tomatoes and chillies to make it spicy.
• Sometimes it is easy to make a milder version of green chilli and coriander chutney by mixing with a few tablespoons of plain yogurt.

Nature's Power

It is so dark and gray

No sight of even a ray,

It’s thundering

Is it going to rain? We are wondering

At last, down the rain pours,

And the clouds roar,

Harsh winds are blowing

And the leaves are rustling.

The sun then shines later in the day

Children come out to play

While the trees sway.

It is such a beautiful day!!!

There are raindrops on flowers

It is amazing to see Nature’s Powers

Sometimes lightening…

Sometimes shinning….