Last Thursday I went to the dentist. For a simple "patch" of the gums. I've done this many times in the past two decades with no adverse effect. But this time around, life got interesting.
Faiz, my "bestest" friend, mooted the idea of utilising the services of the government clinics. He had done some pretty impressive dental works there and I was convinced. So there I sat early on a Thursday morning, totally calm and serene at a government clinic in Dato Keramat. Within an hour I was done. Great! So I thought.....
I was fine and dandy at the dentist. Fine and dandy when I first got home. Not so fine and dandy about three hours later. My tooth started throbbing. Then it got worse. I started swishing "sole" [brine solution from Himalayan rock salt]. It didn't help much. But I kept doing it all through the night.
I had a golf ball sized swelling the next day. Which made my face lopsided. Looked kinda comical really - I laughed at the sight. I couldn't eat anything that I had to chew. Not a problem with me as I'm one of the world's laziest "chewers" this side of the universe anyway.
Since I couldn't sleep [because I'm, by nature, nocturnal], I decided to prowl the net for natural remedies for toothache. Interesting! To cut a long story short, I came across a website owned by a vegan. Aaaah...this was where I got hooked on gardening. At least, the "thought" of starting a garden of sorts.
You see, I'm one of those "blessed" with "killer" hands. Where gardeners are endowed with green thumbs, mine must be red! I could get a perfectly growing plant [in a nursery] dead within 3 months of it entering my home. Sad really because I love plants. I try to give them love and attention. I actually talk to them nicely too. Given that all my life I was surrounded by beautifully maintained gardens, you would think I would at least have learnt the basics of keeping a plant alive! Alas....
Anyway, this vegan who had serious dental issues before [she turned vegan], grows her own food. I've always wanted to do that. I've always thought that people who grow their own food are so cool. My parents used to do that when I was little. And I remember the times I followed them to pick pumpkins, sweet potatoes, corn, pineapple, avocados...and the list goes on. Mum would give away the extra yield. Some she would pickle, dry, turn into jam etc. It was fun helping her. Once, mum's pumpkin got into the papers - it was so huge!
Another reason that got me hooked was the fact that I simply LOVE vegetable juice and eating raw stuff. Always had. Even when I was a kid. And this woman, Val Archer, promotes vegan diet. Which translates into raw eating of plant foods. My kind of diet! I'm not much of a meat eater. But I do like fish though. I've gone through months without meat. And I like "drinking" my food. Yea...I'm kinda weird!
So I got into thinking that it's about time I seriously put my dream into action.
Hence, right this moment, I'm an avid youtube gardener...with a rudimentary plan.... ;)
Thanks, ya Allah, for this toothache. Thanks, Val, for sharing! http://www.greensmoothie.com/eat/commit.php
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