Sugar And Spice... Among Other Things

The Bucket List

Posted on December 16, 2018October 25, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

The 2007 movie “The Bucket List”, a comedy-drama film revolves around two terminally ill men on their road trip with a wish list of things to do before they “kick the bucket”. The screenplay was written by Justin Zackham with the word “bucket list” and had started off the trend of listing down what one wants to do before they die.

At first dreams seem impossible, then improbable, then inevitable. Christopher Reeve

Although the concept of “bucket list” was officially there since 2006, the wish-list has been there before. Though not documented, many have had their list of wishes and desires to do, especially when faced with crippling uncertainty of their existence. Yet as the movie brought this to a highlight, many had began to jot down their list and started to cross off what they wanted to achieve in their short span of time. Eventually the trend shifted to university and college, where the list began with as long as fifty to hundred things to do before one meet their eventual end.

“Don’t worry, I plan on living a long time.”
“Why are you making a bucket list, then?”
“Because if you wait until you’re really dying, it’s too late.” Gayle Forman

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“What is the purpose ? Do we need it ? I am still young and I have time”. While these questions used to churn around in the mind, the best answer would be “yes”. Everyone needs something to look forward to, especially when they are in the dumps or caught in the mundane chaos of life. When we list down what we want to do, not the daily or weekly “to-do’s” but the desires and events we want to do so as to experience the fun and beauty of living; it makes every drab day more interesting. Besides helping us to look forward, “listing our favourite things to do” helps to retain a sense of positivism, balance, feeling of lightness and being alive. Unknown to us, jotting down our bucket list helps to battle the depressive mentality that takes root in us at times.

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss, but that it is too low and we reach it.” Michelangelo

Is there a limit ? There is no limit or confinement to the “n” number of things you can do. It can be simple, weird, quiet or adventurous; it doesn’t really matter as “your bucket list” is for you, about you and what you would like. Despite the “busy days”, find time to make one soon, before time snatches you away. For those of us who have a list and never got to do anything about it, find few minutes daily to make it happen. Out of the 86400 seconds allotted to us, 1800 seconds doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. When we start the small steps, we realize that we are slowly crossing off the items off our wish list and soon will find time for the bigger ones. Let the bucket list happen, as the feeling of elation and completion can be better felt than explained.

“I wanna go on a road trip someday. Alone or with someone I love. I wanna get away. Explore places. Sleep in the car. Stop a lot just to admire the view. Visit museums and try out coffee shops. Listen to my favorite albums while driving. Have a Polaroid camera. Take pretty pictures of the sunrise. Take pictures of myself. Run through a forest. Chase fog. Chase the sun. Spend hours on a field making flower crowns. Feel the wind in my hair. Buy souvenirs. Meet people. Take time to observe. I wanna make memories. I wanna feel alive.” — Things on my bucket list

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Daily, Food, Random Thoughts

Cover with Chocolate

Posted on December 15, 2018October 24, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare…neither knew chocolate. – Sandra Boynton

On my evening shopping spree, as I running through the aisles, the poster announcing a discount on the chocolate syrup on the event of Chocolate Covered Anything Day (December 16th) caught my eye. With a toddler in tow and it being the Christmas season, I couldn’t resist the offer. Usually when I use chocolate in cooking, I lavishly blend it with the desserts and shakes. For simply dipping food in chocolate and just having a bite, leaves the taste buds still craving. Yet for the fun of covering chocolate over variety of foods, I have planned on a chocolate dipped fruit salad, chocolate rice pudding as well as chocolate covered banana fritters (to be on the safe side). Even though the chances are high that no one can resist chocolate, simply rice with choclate is still a weird combination although wheat (roti) and chocolate spread works well. But there is no harm in a little bit of experimentation. With all the fun, personally I feel that the celebration of “Chocolate Covered Anything Day” is simply another reason to justify the need to indulge in chocolate, without triggering the guilty feel.

Chocolate comes from cocoa, which is a tree, that makes it a plant. Chocolate is salad. – Unknown

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Daily, Family and Society, Stories Around the World

Love the Dandelions

Posted on December 14, 2018October 25, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“I was a dandelion puff…Some saw the beauty in me and stooped quietly to admire my innocence. Others saw the potential of what I could do for them, so they uprooted me, seeking to shape me around their needs. They blew at my head, scattering my hair from the roots, changing me to suit them. Yet still others saw me as something that was unworthy and needed to be erased.” Nicole Bailey-Williams

A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. He tried every method he knew to get rid of them. Still they plagued him. Finally he wrote to the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: “What shall I do now?” In due course, the reply came: “We suggest you learn to love them.” ( adapted from Anthony de Mello’s The Song of the Bird)

We all have our own set of “dandelions” like a difficult boss, hectic work load, nosy neighbours, gossipy community member who we encounter on a daily basis, a disorderly household or even the unruly hair that refuses to settle down; the list is endless. While we would be able to change few of them them, the others would be in the category that we can’t change despite countless efforts, manoeuvres and attempts. What we can’t change, we shouldn’t fight. When we learn to accept and find a way to work around our “dandelions”, we achieve happiness in all the other good parts of life. There is a whole wide green lawn out there, yet only when we kick off our shoes, step into the green blades (scattered with the dandelions or not), we learn to enjoy the sense of beauty that nature offers us.

“Dandelions, like all things in nature are beautiful when you take the time to pay attention to them.” June Stoyer

In our lives, at work, in the neighbourhood and community and even among our extended families; there would be “dandelions” cropping every now and then. Yet these “dandelions” have their own beauty. As seen through nature and in various places, dandelions are not always considered as weeds. From being a medicinal herb to being cultivated as a crop for dandelion wine or tea, their uses vary on occasion, place, purpose and requirement. Likewise, when we learn to enjoy every “dandelion”, their beauty and abilities will be appreciated. Remember the fun memories with dandelions in our childhood. Be like a child with the “dandelions” we find in our life, curl the stems in water, blow out the seeds, paint them and above all, make cherished memories having fun.

“Dandelions are just friendly little weeds who only want to be loved like flowers.” Heather Babcock

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Family and Society, Life, Reflections, Stories Around the World

Aim of Schooling

Posted on December 13, 2018October 23, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” Martin Luther King Jr.

As an infant grows up into a toddler entering childhood, one of the first things parents do, is to rush them into pre-school or centers for education to foster their growth of knowledge, skills and learning. Then the next stage is to ensure their admission into the best schools of the locality with high marks performance of marks and grades. Schooling is an extensive way of learning whereby understanding and ability of students are passed on from one initiation to the next by guidance and examinations. The primary purpose of schooling is not just to impart knowledge, but to enable the children of today to be productive for the distant tomorrow of society and to lead the future.

Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought. Napoleon Hill

School doesn’t pave the way only to be literate, get jobs, vote or to be a professional. Instead it broadens the horizons, helps to find the inner talents and gifts, putting them to good use. School initiates children for the basics of life, finding self confidence and ability to stand on their own feet, rooting for the right ideals and strong principles. Unfortunately the current scenario of schools and education is to stereotype each child and mould them into a particular profession, whether it is by their choice is irrelevant. The fault lies not only with them alone, but also with parents and society who classify children based on their professional qualifications and job capacities.

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“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” Plato

The catch to all the school based learning is whether it prepares our children for the realities of life. As they mature into young adults, children and adolescents get trapped in the social structure of thoughts, patterns and needs of the society foregoing their own likes, talents and gifts. Just like the eagles which soars the skies and cheetah the land, substitute their places or confine them in boxes, they lose their ability to fight, survive and appreciate life. This scenario could be metaphorically extended to children who are being moulded into the schools for grades and marks alone. Instead we, society as a whole, lose out on special talents, skills and art. There is more to life than jobs, grades, marks and examinations. Though they are indeed necessary, they are not what life is all about. For the most successful person that we know with the best grades making good money can be the unhappiest, dissatisfied or mentally disturbed on the inside. Let each child look beyond the exams and do what they love and excel in. The rest will follow.

This letter to the parents of students was written by the director of the Singapore school. But what do you want to be read by all parents in all schools in the world.
“Dear Parents. Your children will begin examinations soon. I know that you are all very worried that they should pass them well. But please remember: among the students in this exam there will be an artist who does not need to understand mathematics thoroughly. There will be an entrepreneur for whom history or English literature is not so important. A musician who does not need chemistry. An athlete for whom physical education is more important than physics. Great if your child gets good grades. But please do not deprive them of their self-confidence and dignity, if this does not happen. Tell them that this is normal, that this is just an exam. They are created for much more significant things in life. Tell them that whatever their assessment, you love them and you will not judge them. Please do it – and just watch how they will then conquer the world. One exam or a bad mark will not take away their dreams and talent. And please, do not consider doctors and engineers the only happy people on the planet. With best regards, the director of the school “

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Family and Society, Quotes, Stories Around the World

Seeking the Truth

Posted on December 12, 2018October 22, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Truth is never a straight line; it is a circle that will take you back to what you know, in order to challenge your belief in what is fair, what is real, what is forgivable, what is not and what type of person will you become today now that you know.” Shannon L. Alder

Many a time we are in a state of wondering what are the criterion of declaring the truth. Is it as per the majority or is it based on logical,factual or ethical understanding. In reality, the existence of the truth to self is an abstract measure of perspective of one person that another person might disagree with. What might true at one point of time might be wrong when scrutinized at another point along the time frame. Why do we seek the truth so badly ? Is it to put to rest the rising doubts and questions in the mind? Or is it to seek a code of conduct or rules to live by ? Whatever may the reason be, unless the truth resonates with our thinking and mind frame, we are always in doubt of it.

“It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.” Max Planck

In our search for the identity of self and finding the certainty of our existence, being true to oneself matters the most. While one piece may not make sense, the jigsaw puzzles put together make the picture whole and complete as well as the concept clear. For time had made truth both objective and subjective as well as relative to absolute, but as long it sets the mind free it is worth the search.

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The seeker of truth

After years of searching, the seeker was told to go to a cave, in which he would find a well. ‘Ask the well what is truth’, he was advised, ‘and the well will reveal it to you’. Having found the well, the seeker asked that most fundamental question. And from the depths came the answer, ‘Go to the village crossroad: there you shall find what you are seeking’.Full of hope and anticipation the man ran to the crossroad to find only three rather uninteresting shops. One shop was selling pieces of metal, another sold wood, and thin wires were for sale in the third. Nothing and no one there seemed to have much to do with the revelation of truth.

Disappointed, the seeker returned to the well to demand an explanation, but he was told only, ‘You will understand in the future.’ When the man protested, all he got in return were the echoes of his own shouts. Indignant for having been made a fool of – or so he thought at the time – the seeker continued his wanderings in search of truth. As years went by, the memory of his experience at the well gradually faded until one night, while he was walking in the moonlight, the sound of sitar music caught his attention. It was wonderful music and it was played with great mastery and inspiration. Profoundly moved, the truth seeker felt drawn towards the player. He looked at the fingers dancing over the strings. He became aware of the sitar itself. And then suddenly he exploded in a cry of joyous recognition: the sitar was made out of wires and pieces of metal and wood just like those he had once seen in the three stores and had thought it to be without any particular significance.

At last he understood the message of the well: we have already been given everything we need: our task is to assemble and use it in the appropriate way. Nothing is meaningful so long as we perceive only separate fragments. But as soon as the fragments come together into a synthesis, a new entity emerges, whose nature we could not have foreseen by considering the fragments alone.

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Daily, Food, Photography Art

Waffles off the Griddle

Posted on December 11, 2018October 21, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

My first exposure to waffles came when I was invited over to my friends’ place for a weekend during my sophomore years. As we ate through buttery waffles with sliced bananas, honey and chocolate syrup that morning, it was like an answer for sugar cravings in the morning. Ever since then, I try not to pass on an opportunity to indulge in this decadent breakfast treat.

Ideally waffles are made from leavened batter or dough cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. Something similar to pancakes, though distinct in its’ style. And over the years from its’ initial medieval origins, there are over a dozen different varieties of waffles around the world, with different batters and toppings. They range from being big or small, crispy or chewy, sugared or spiced to becoming side dishes like as ice-cream cones or simply as waffle burritos.

Source: Westfield Bites Place, Besant Nagar, Chennai https://www.pinterest.com/pin/450782243933298358/

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Source: http://www.hormel.com/Recipes/Monte-Cristo-Waffle-Sandwiches

Source: Waffle sandwich from Waffle & Wolf from https://www.thrillist.com/eat/new-york/50-american-eats-nyc-restaurants-things-to-do-in-new-york

Source: https://www.archanaskitchen.com/onion-tomato-dosa-savoury-waffles-recipe

Contrary to popular belief, waffles aren’t restricted to being served for breakfast. It can grace the table for lunch or dinner, depending on the mood of the day. Besides the savoury combination of chicken and waffles, other combinations like chili and waffles? Use your favorite cornbread mix and cook the batter in your waffle iron, then top with chili, sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onions or can be had with eggs and veggies, or we can have a bit of both with bacon and maple syrup. The great thing about waffles is that they can be tailored to personal choices and make great desserts too. With the availability of the waffle iron, the ease of making waffles gives flight to fanciful combinations. Yet there are two rules to live by, warm the milk for the waffles and never stack the waffles while making else we’ll lose out on the crispiness.

The incredible simplicity of making waffles has resulted in it being blended with the local cuisine for instance waffles on stick with kulfi or as savoury waffle dosa. Although in the regular Indian households waffles have are still on the once-in-a-while menu list, trends are changing with more interesting recipes being experimented on. Additionally with waffle mix available and as waffles have excellent freeze options, they have become popular in the rush hour especially in the fast paced mornings. To quote Lauren Myracle, “You should eat a waffle! You can’t be sad if you eat a waffle!”

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Christian, Daily, Life, Personal Musings

Deprived by Doubts

Posted on December 10, 2018October 24, 2018 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

One of the most common ways that we deprive ourselves of happiness are “the doubts” that continuously provoke the mind. For instance, when we buy any expensive gadget or any item like a car, cell phone, dresses, cruise tickets or the latest laptops, we continuously skim and look for offers, plan on the pros and cons as well as try to budget and pray about it. Yet once we receive it, we often have a mixed response. Initially the thrill is there of the brand “new”thing and we try to explore it, use it and show other as well. Yet after sometime, when something else new comes up or we see something better, we then wonder if we should have bought “it” later or had waited for some more time for something better to come up or a larger discount on what we had wanted. The joy and happiness of the “acquisition” becomes negated by anxiety, worry, sadness and disappointment all because of our doubts.

“Give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

Instead of turning onto the track of frivolous doubts and dissatisfaction, it would be better if we prayed about our choices, made our decisions wisely and first thank for the events that have happened. Each time the doubts creep into our mind, think of the days and the “whys” of our need. As long as what we have attained serves the purpose, neither the brand, model or whether scores of people have it really matters.

“Don’t ever doubt yourselves or waste a second of your life. It’s too short, and you’re too special.” Ariana Grande

If we indulge in every niggling doubt that lurks in the mind based on what we see, hear or assume; then we would never find time to be happy with anything. Instead if we learn to grow our trust and faith in His Grace that all things happen for a reason, even though we often assume it is only based on chance and circumstances. When we try to rejoice and find joy in the smallest things that we had wished for or had happened just like that, the good moments in the timeline of our memories increases and prepares us for the journey ahead.