We used to live in Puget Sound, and while we were there my husband commuted to work in Seattle by bus. It was a long trip, over an hour and then he had to walk about a mile home. Usually he asked me to come and pick him up at the bus stop, but one day in early December he told me not to pick him up. So I waited until he would be at the end of our long block and I started to walk to meet him. Didn't see him, kept walking. Got to the end of the block and he still wasn't there. Debated waiting, going forward or going back home. Finally decided to keep going, then I heard a small "mew." He was carrying a small black kitten. I took her in my gloved hands and felt her shivering so I tucked her under my coat and carried her home.
My husband told me the story, he was walking home and at the curve in the road this little black kitten had walked up to him and said, "mew" she wasn't even big enough to say meow. He was late because he had knocked on the doors of the houses there and asked if she belonged to them, he even left our phone number in case they found the owners.
When we got home we gave her some milk, I noticed that her tongue was cherry red, didn't seem healthy to me. We kept her in a large cat carrier, because we didn't want our cats to hurt her. Later when I realized that she had fleas, I washed her with dish soap. I was only successful because she was so small, she fought like a bandit!
Back then we would close the drain of the bathtub and fill it with a bit of water, it was changed daily and the cats liked it. Shachor wouldn't drink out of there for months, especially after the second bath a couple of days later! Then I combed her out with the flea comb, over 40 fleas!! By the end I counted 200 fleas on her tiny six-week old frame.
The next day, one of the people that my husband had left our number with called. Their cat had been run over the night before and she would be happy to take the kitten if we didn't want her. I was surprised at my immediate possessiveness as I told her firmly that we would keep her. We had planned to get two kittens after our housewarming and she found us the Friday after the housewarming.
All weekend I thought I heard a cat crying outside. I would go to the window and listen and there would not be a cat there. The cries were continuous, barely stopping for breath. I remember thinking that since we had a black kitten a white one would be a nice match.
Since we had decided earlier to get two kittens, on Monday we went to the local shelter. I opened the door to the large room and could hear a cat crying, continuously, barely stopping for breath. We rounded the corned and I found a small white kitten in a cage, alone. The attendant told us that his brother had just been adopted and that was why he was crying. I checked every cage just in case there was another white kitten, he was the only one.
So I called the attendant over and told her that we wanted that one. She said okay and was going to send us to do the paperwork, when she got suspicious and said, "Did you hold him?" I said no. She said, "Did you want to?" I shrugged and said okay. I knew he was ours. So we took him home.
We named the black cat "Shachor" and the white one Fife. Shachor died today (she was 15 1/2) and we buried her in the backyard (we checked years ago and it is okay in our town) many miles from where she was born, in our hearts always. She waited for us to get home from Finland, where we were for six months. We had a week with her, pets and smiles and hugs.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
No Rise Bread in the Sun Oven
Today is hot. Sunny. and I have a craving for bread. Not the stuff from the store, which I have and is full of salt and sugar, but fresh bread from the oven. But it is hot, and sunny. I refuse to start the oven in the house when it is 98 degrees F outside and I have the air conditioner on.
This leaves me two options. No bread or use the sun oven. Earlier I cooked eggs (in the shell) and potatoes (they come out roasted) in the sun oven, but I still have sun left and the oven is already at 300 degrees F. So I needed a recipe for bread that could be ready right away, I didn't have time to wait for an hour or two (as all the recipes I looked at called for) for the dough to rise. So I went online and found this:
2 ½ C warm water
6 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp oil
6 C flour (can use white or wholemeal)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Stir water, yeast, sugar and oil together. Leave for 5 minutes until it becomes frothy on top. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Knead. Roll out if making a pizza base or shape for use as buns / bread / loaf. Paint with oil or milk (if you can be bothered). Bake at 200 degrees Celcius for 10-15 minutes.
from http://craftykin.blogspot.com/2008/10/back-as-promised-with-some-finished.html
The rolls are in the sun oven now and I have enough for a small loaf that will go in when they are cooked. Smells good!
This leaves me two options. No bread or use the sun oven. Earlier I cooked eggs (in the shell) and potatoes (they come out roasted) in the sun oven, but I still have sun left and the oven is already at 300 degrees F. So I needed a recipe for bread that could be ready right away, I didn't have time to wait for an hour or two (as all the recipes I looked at called for) for the dough to rise. So I went online and found this:
2 ½ C warm water
6 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp oil
6 C flour (can use white or wholemeal)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Stir water, yeast, sugar and oil together. Leave for 5 minutes until it becomes frothy on top. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Knead. Roll out if making a pizza base or shape for use as buns / bread / loaf. Paint with oil or milk (if you can be bothered). Bake at 200 degrees Celcius for 10-15 minutes.
from http://craftykin.blogspot.com/2008/10/back-as-promised-with-some-finished.html
The rolls are in the sun oven now and I have enough for a small loaf that will go in when they are cooked. Smells good!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Politeness Pays
Went for a walk tonight. Twilight at 11 p.m., soon it will be light most of the night. When we walk I usually carry a plastic bag and we pick up things that can be recycled. Juice boxes (tetra packs), and aluminum/plastic/glass (deposit and not.) I aim for one Euro's worth of bottles and we had not quite reached that on our wanderings by the lake, glassy and reflective of the lights. Very pretty. So we wandered near the square and made our way back home, we were less than a block from home and I remarked that I wanted, "one more." We heard one drop to the ground. I looked across the street to see an aluminum (,15 cent deposit) can rolling on the sidewalk. So we went to get it, I could tell that it came from an open window, where I knew two young men lived. This had happened before. So I called up, "Kiitos (thank you) and was rewarded with a large bottle (,40 cent deposit) we were happily amazed, so I called up again and they threw down another aluminum can. We were laughing on the way home, politeness pays!
Scrabble-tips and tricks
One of the things that keeps me sane is playing Scrabble. It is enough of a mental exercise that I can't do it when I am tired or "out of it" and that means I have to think.
It is also a challenge, can I find that bingo? that high point word? Can I filter enough letters to get the ones I need to make a certain word? Some day I will spell Quaalude, like I did in Bookworm. Got rid of all the letters that didn't help me make that word and voila, I spelled it.
Recently I asked friends to post their Scrabble tips on Facebook. It was a short conversation. So I thought that I would share some of the things that I have learned. Some are mine and some are from friends. I welcome them all. I would love it if this conversation sparked more tips and stories, tragic or funny.
First let me say that I still lose more games than I win. Partly because I play people better than I am, it makes me try harder and learn new words. Those odd short words, three and four letters are really helpful and I don't know many of them.
Studying the list of Q without U words, helped a lot because I don't always have a U when I need one. Qi was very helpful and so was Qat. I use those all the time now.
Playing online (through Facebook) helps, because if I have a difficult set of letters I can skip the game and come back to it. Since I am usually playing 50+ games at a time, it is usually not an issue for my fellow players (hmmn that is a sexist word.) since they are often playing many games at once also.
Tips:
It is also a challenge, can I find that bingo? that high point word? Can I filter enough letters to get the ones I need to make a certain word? Some day I will spell Quaalude, like I did in Bookworm. Got rid of all the letters that didn't help me make that word and voila, I spelled it.
Recently I asked friends to post their Scrabble tips on Facebook. It was a short conversation. So I thought that I would share some of the things that I have learned. Some are mine and some are from friends. I welcome them all. I would love it if this conversation sparked more tips and stories, tragic or funny.
First let me say that I still lose more games than I win. Partly because I play people better than I am, it makes me try harder and learn new words. Those odd short words, three and four letters are really helpful and I don't know many of them.
Studying the list of Q without U words, helped a lot because I don't always have a U when I need one. Qi was very helpful and so was Qat. I use those all the time now.
Playing online (through Facebook) helps, because if I have a difficult set of letters I can skip the game and come back to it. Since I am usually playing 50+ games at a time, it is usually not an issue for my fellow players (hmmn that is a sexist word.) since they are often playing many games at once also.
Tips:
- First thing I do is look for a bingo (when you use all seven letters on your rack at once,) when I started playing I had no hope of finding one so I didn't look. Therefore I didn't find any. There were rare exceptions, like when the word came up already formed on my rack. Very rare.
- Get rid of difficult letters. What do I mean? Letters that don't form two letter words (C and V) and letters that are rarely in longer words (Q, X, Z) I dump C and V as soon as I can and I use the others in triple letter or triple word spots.
- Save letters that are easy to use. Most of the rest of the letters, you will see what works with your vocabulary.
- Make -ing words. It is the way I make most of my bingos. I save the I, N, G and S for this purpose. That is three or four of the letters that make up a bingo.
- Vowels for bingo: I find that A is the easiest for this, O next, I sometimes works, U is difficult and E is very difficult. Mostly because in English we drop the E when making a -ing word.
- Second thing I do (if I don't have a Bingo) is look at the board to see which "spots" are open, and if I have any high point letters to put there (ie. using the X on a Triple letter spot, going in two directions so I get 2 x TL)
- Can't do either of these things, then dump the difficult letters and go on the the next game.
- When opening the game, you must put the word across the star in the middle of the board. When you do, line up the consonants between the double word tiles, so you make it harder to use the two dw tiles with high point consonants.
- Pay attention to making it easy for your fellow players to use the triple word spots, they can add up to as many points as a bingo.
- Look for one (or two) letters between the triple word spots. If you can make a bingo around it and hit the tw spots twice, it is easily over 100 points.
- Save your 's' tiles, there are only 4 in the whole game. They are useful for attaching your bingo to a word.
- There are two blank tiles in the game, I save mine for bingos. If I am missing any of the letters for an -ing bingo the blank can go there, or be an 's' because they can be any letter.
- If you have a rack of vowels, change some/most of them out. It can easily take you three turns to get a good rack.
- Don't use your last vowel/consonant.
- Remember that 'e' is the most used letter in the (American) English language.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Passover/Easter
The Passover Seder was on a Friday evening, with a short Seder chanted in Yiddishy Hebrew and only hitting the highlights of the service. Candles were lit, matza broken, shared and eaten. Mizrahi charoses was eaten with an overheard surprised, "It's GOOD!" to spice the conversation.
The Persian tradition of whacking your neighbor with a green onion while singing daiyanu ensued with much hilarity. New traditions and old. Wine was drunk, a nice meal was eaten while the chicken was forgotten in the oven overnight (and later thrown out.) The afikomen found and eaten while winding the arm around the head, make sure you have either a long piece or long arms!
Midnight Mass for Easter, arrive around 11:30 p.m., stand in vestibule. Watch as others cross themselves repeatedly at the appropriate place in the service, while we watch so we won't make mistakes because it is all in Finnish. Take a candle, get a light and walk out and around the church, it is a small block, while we freeze. Leave early to go home because it is -14 degrees C, too cold for dressy clothes. Bells ringing at midnight. Walk home feeling safe, because it is Finland.
Easter Sunday go for a long hike up to Puijon Tower. An hour and a half of walking uphill, snow covered path. Lots of evergreens, still get hot, because we are climbing. Get to the tower, pay to go up. Eat lunch while the restaurant rotates and shows us the city. See where we came from and marvel that we walked that far. Nice lunch, tasty if a bit too salty. Had our first ginger ale here! Went to the lookout, some of us got vertigo. Took pictures and decided to take a taxi home, no buses. Enjoyed an art gallery on the way home, prices through the roof! Too abstract for me, I like paintings that look like pictures. Nice, sunny, warmish, peaceful day.
The Persian tradition of whacking your neighbor with a green onion while singing daiyanu ensued with much hilarity. New traditions and old. Wine was drunk, a nice meal was eaten while the chicken was forgotten in the oven overnight (and later thrown out.) The afikomen found and eaten while winding the arm around the head, make sure you have either a long piece or long arms!
Midnight Mass for Easter, arrive around 11:30 p.m., stand in vestibule. Watch as others cross themselves repeatedly at the appropriate place in the service, while we watch so we won't make mistakes because it is all in Finnish. Take a candle, get a light and walk out and around the church, it is a small block, while we freeze. Leave early to go home because it is -14 degrees C, too cold for dressy clothes. Bells ringing at midnight. Walk home feeling safe, because it is Finland.
Easter Sunday go for a long hike up to Puijon Tower. An hour and a half of walking uphill, snow covered path. Lots of evergreens, still get hot, because we are climbing. Get to the tower, pay to go up. Eat lunch while the restaurant rotates and shows us the city. See where we came from and marvel that we walked that far. Nice lunch, tasty if a bit too salty. Had our first ginger ale here! Went to the lookout, some of us got vertigo. Took pictures and decided to take a taxi home, no buses. Enjoyed an art gallery on the way home, prices through the roof! Too abstract for me, I like paintings that look like pictures. Nice, sunny, warmish, peaceful day.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Found In Kuopio, Finland
When I was growing up we walked everywhere. It was a combination of things. We had one car, which was fine since my Mom didn't drive and walking saved us money. So I grew up finding things along the way. My Mom was the best at this, she could spot a coin (pen, paper money, nails you name it) from a distance and was always thrilled to pick it up. I never bought pens or pencils for myself until I was grown, I would find them in the hallways at school or on the street so I always had a motley collection in the pencil case in my binder.
Being here in Finland I am walking everywhere again, it feels familiar and I know I can do it. Some of the other skills are coming back to me, like finding things. Here are some of the things that I have found:
Handkerchief (nice blue one that I washed and am using, along with the ones a friend gave me before I left)
Umbrella (haven't used it yet)
Long sleeved black cotton sweater (works well over leggings)
Stretchy gloves (we used them as liners when it was -31 degrees C)
Hat (my daughter liked it better than the ones I brought, and would actually wear it)
Matches (at least four boxes worth, most of them full)
Cigarettes (an almost full box)
Beer (two cans, unopened)
Coins (a few)
Reflectors (we hang them from our jackets and purses for increased visibility)
Rubber bands (they are scarce)
String
Shorts (they fit my husband)
This is all in addition to the many cans/bottles that we found and returned for the deposit, and the flattened ones that we put in the recycle bin. Being good stewards of the earth can be fun.
Being here in Finland I am walking everywhere again, it feels familiar and I know I can do it. Some of the other skills are coming back to me, like finding things. Here are some of the things that I have found:
Handkerchief (nice blue one that I washed and am using, along with the ones a friend gave me before I left)
Umbrella (haven't used it yet)
Long sleeved black cotton sweater (works well over leggings)
Stretchy gloves (we used them as liners when it was -31 degrees C)
Hat (my daughter liked it better than the ones I brought, and would actually wear it)
Matches (at least four boxes worth, most of them full)
Cigarettes (an almost full box)
Beer (two cans, unopened)
Coins (a few)
Reflectors (we hang them from our jackets and purses for increased visibility)
Rubber bands (they are scarce)
String
Shorts (they fit my husband)
This is all in addition to the many cans/bottles that we found and returned for the deposit, and the flattened ones that we put in the recycle bin. Being good stewards of the earth can be fun.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Bidet/Douchette
This is a delicate subject, and I will be sensitive to people's feelings. For those that don't know what a bidet is, it is a place to wash your private parts after using the restroom. It looks like a cross between a toilet and a water fountain. More on the douchette in a bit.
My first encounter with a bidet was in Italy. I was backpacking across Europe with my sister and we went to stay with a former foreign exchange student that has stayed with our family. When we arrived she offered us a bath towel and a hand towel. We refused the hand towel saying that we didn't need it. She paused, looked a bit uncomfortable, then explained that it was for use with the bidet. We looked on in fascination as she showed us the gentle liquid soap that we could use and she demonstrated how to straddle the bidet and adjust the water temperature to our liking. I couldn't do it. Refused outright with a firm shake of my head. This was about 15 years ago.
Over time I regretted my unwillingness to try it. Knowing we were coming to Finland I looked forward to trying it. It turned out to be even easier than I thought. Especially because we are using a douchette instead. It is a sprayer that is mounted near the toilet. Usually you don't even need to leave the seat to start the water, set the temperature and use the wand to wash the parts in question. Then, at home, you use your own bidet towel to dry. I love it, and took to it immediately. Mental preparation is so important when doing something new. I am so happy to have saved so many trees since we have arrived.
Recently we took the train north to Rovaniemi (the arctic circle) and on the way I pointed to the beautiful evergreen trees that we could see most of the way there, and reminded my daughter that if she would use the douchette, the trees could stay there. Food for thought.
My first encounter with a bidet was in Italy. I was backpacking across Europe with my sister and we went to stay with a former foreign exchange student that has stayed with our family. When we arrived she offered us a bath towel and a hand towel. We refused the hand towel saying that we didn't need it. She paused, looked a bit uncomfortable, then explained that it was for use with the bidet. We looked on in fascination as she showed us the gentle liquid soap that we could use and she demonstrated how to straddle the bidet and adjust the water temperature to our liking. I couldn't do it. Refused outright with a firm shake of my head. This was about 15 years ago.
Over time I regretted my unwillingness to try it. Knowing we were coming to Finland I looked forward to trying it. It turned out to be even easier than I thought. Especially because we are using a douchette instead. It is a sprayer that is mounted near the toilet. Usually you don't even need to leave the seat to start the water, set the temperature and use the wand to wash the parts in question. Then, at home, you use your own bidet towel to dry. I love it, and took to it immediately. Mental preparation is so important when doing something new. I am so happy to have saved so many trees since we have arrived.
Recently we took the train north to Rovaniemi (the arctic circle) and on the way I pointed to the beautiful evergreen trees that we could see most of the way there, and reminded my daughter that if she would use the douchette, the trees could stay there. Food for thought.
Recycling/garbage/composting
One of the things I like very much here is the fact that they make composting and recycling very easy. Garbage is easy too, but that is of less value to me. Tonight I learned from my guests that the garbage is sorted, my husband heard the opposite.
At our apt. there is a pail for compost, we found an abandoned bucket that we use to collect the bio-waste on the counter before we take it downstairs. If it gets too smelly we set it out on the enclosed porch. Apparently people sleep out there in the summer, there is no air conditioning in the apt.
We are diligent about sorting and recycling whatever we use. One thing that has a been bothering us is all the plastic refuse we have and we couldn't find a place to recycle it so we threw it in the garbage. When we were in Tampere we spoke with a very knowledgeable man Touku, who sent us information on a pilot program that is happening here. We can now take plastics 1, 2, 4, 5 to be recycled. The bins are in parking lots around the city. We will take ours to the one by the bus station, about a 25-30 minute walk from our house. Makes me glad. All the soda and beer cans are already taken in at the grocery store.
In order to keep the city clean and encourage recycling they have a bottle deposit law. We jumped right on that and started taking any can or bottle we found to the store across the street. They have a machine in the back of the store where we put the bottles/cans in and then get a ticket to be redeemed at the counter.
We were thrilled to be "making money." Glass is 10 cents, aluminum 15 cents and plastic 20 cents (times these times 1.4 to get dollars/cents) so it is a substantial amount. Some of the cans/bottles do not pay out and I finally found out why. Those not purchased in Finland do not pay, some are from the ships others I don't know. We find more of those than any others, but we still pick them up and recycle them. The machine still accepts them.
We quickly found out that some items are not accepted by the machine, and the nice clerk told us that items purchased at the state run liquor store, Alko, had to be recycled there. Alko is the only place to get wine or hard liquor. Had to run up there yesterday before they closed to get wine for Purim. Beer is available at the grocery stores.
They just passed a law that cigarettes have to be covered up. Every store now has them in a fortress looking machine, you have to know what you want before they will open it.
The city is quite clean, there are garbage receptacles on almost every block. The downtown square has about 30 all around it, and people use them.
At our apt. there is a pail for compost, we found an abandoned bucket that we use to collect the bio-waste on the counter before we take it downstairs. If it gets too smelly we set it out on the enclosed porch. Apparently people sleep out there in the summer, there is no air conditioning in the apt.
We are diligent about sorting and recycling whatever we use. One thing that has a been bothering us is all the plastic refuse we have and we couldn't find a place to recycle it so we threw it in the garbage. When we were in Tampere we spoke with a very knowledgeable man Touku, who sent us information on a pilot program that is happening here. We can now take plastics 1, 2, 4, 5 to be recycled. The bins are in parking lots around the city. We will take ours to the one by the bus station, about a 25-30 minute walk from our house. Makes me glad. All the soda and beer cans are already taken in at the grocery store.
In order to keep the city clean and encourage recycling they have a bottle deposit law. We jumped right on that and started taking any can or bottle we found to the store across the street. They have a machine in the back of the store where we put the bottles/cans in and then get a ticket to be redeemed at the counter.
We were thrilled to be "making money." Glass is 10 cents, aluminum 15 cents and plastic 20 cents (times these times 1.4 to get dollars/cents) so it is a substantial amount. Some of the cans/bottles do not pay out and I finally found out why. Those not purchased in Finland do not pay, some are from the ships others I don't know. We find more of those than any others, but we still pick them up and recycle them. The machine still accepts them.
We quickly found out that some items are not accepted by the machine, and the nice clerk told us that items purchased at the state run liquor store, Alko, had to be recycled there. Alko is the only place to get wine or hard liquor. Had to run up there yesterday before they closed to get wine for Purim. Beer is available at the grocery stores.
They just passed a law that cigarettes have to be covered up. Every store now has them in a fortress looking machine, you have to know what you want before they will open it.
The city is quite clean, there are garbage receptacles on almost every block. The downtown square has about 30 all around it, and people use them.
A day in Kuopio Finland
Today we had guests for Purim, so to get ready this is what I did today:
Washed a load of laundry
Emptied dishwasher
Made chicken soup
Filled dishwasher
Hand washed the rest of the dishes
Ran dishwasher (needed clean dishes to serve dinner)
Made melted chocolate and salty peanut candy and put on outside porch to cool
Emptied dishwasher again
Hung laundry
Played Scrabble (needed a break)
Vacuumed the apt. (thought my daughter would do it, because we talked compensation but...)
Washed the kitchen floor (not in the plan, but I spilled the bowl of soapy water on the floor while vacuuming)
Played Scrabble (really needed a break)
Scrubbed the bathroom
Showered
Dressed funny for Purim
Had guests over, nice dinner, good conversation , ate the new candy my daughter and I made)
Laundry (yes more)
Cleaned up
Playing Scrabble and watching TV.
This is not a normal day!!
Washed a load of laundry
Emptied dishwasher
Made chicken soup
Filled dishwasher
Hand washed the rest of the dishes
Ran dishwasher (needed clean dishes to serve dinner)
Made melted chocolate and salty peanut candy and put on outside porch to cool
Emptied dishwasher again
Hung laundry
Played Scrabble (needed a break)
Vacuumed the apt. (thought my daughter would do it, because we talked compensation but...)
Washed the kitchen floor (not in the plan, but I spilled the bowl of soapy water on the floor while vacuuming)
Played Scrabble (really needed a break)
Scrubbed the bathroom
Showered
Dressed funny for Purim
Had guests over, nice dinner, good conversation , ate the new candy my daughter and I made)
Laundry (yes more)
Cleaned up
Playing Scrabble and watching TV.
This is not a normal day!!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Visiting Santa's Village, The North Pole (Finland)
Last weekend we went north to the arctic circle. It is very beautiful there, pristine wilderness, interesting bridges, good local food, nice people and Santa.
My husband was in a very happy place, here was Santa in his own village. Everything dedicated to, "The Big Guy" including seeing him in person. Santa originated in Finland as far as I know. American's have changed Santa into something else. We spent Saturday there, walking around, taking pictures in front of the one story tall snowman, sliding on the ice slides-with and without sleds, and enjoying eating reindeer meat. My daughter picked out some souvenirs and we hung out with friends. We perused the offerings, reindeer hides and many items made of reindeer antler. The softest buttery leather that I have ever touched was made into purses and wallets and cute chatchkies. There is even a post office there, open every day, that has a special post box for letters to be sent at Christmas time. You can write a letter and leave it there and it will be mailed in time for Christmas 2012. They have Christmas stamps all year round and they will hand cancel your letter before sending it. There is no extra charge for this, just regular postage. Heavenly.
On the other hand, as a Jewish girl, I don't like Christmas. It is one big party that I am not, and will never be, invited to. I was always different, daughter of immigrants, olive skin and so on. So I was always on the edge of society and Christmas made it all worse, emphasizing how left out I was. As a result, in my life I include everyone. A positive from a negative.
Shabbat (Saturday for Jews) is my day off, I spent it in Santa's Village. Looking at Christmas stuff. While it was -33 degrees Celsius with a windchill of -40 degrees C (-40 is the same at Celsius and Fahrenheit) which irritates my lungs. Looking at the one story tall plastic snowman. While listening to Christmas music, which I don't allow in my house. Debating whether or not I would send Christmas cards to my nieces and nephews, which might aid and abet their view of Santa being real. In the end it was Shabbat and I cannot write on that day so I didn't send anything. So my husband's idea of Heaven was just the opposite for me. Same place, same people, same setting, different reactions. It was all good, we enjoyed being together even though we didn't go on the reindeer ride.
My husband was in a very happy place, here was Santa in his own village. Everything dedicated to, "The Big Guy" including seeing him in person. Santa originated in Finland as far as I know. American's have changed Santa into something else. We spent Saturday there, walking around, taking pictures in front of the one story tall snowman, sliding on the ice slides-with and without sleds, and enjoying eating reindeer meat. My daughter picked out some souvenirs and we hung out with friends. We perused the offerings, reindeer hides and many items made of reindeer antler. The softest buttery leather that I have ever touched was made into purses and wallets and cute chatchkies. There is even a post office there, open every day, that has a special post box for letters to be sent at Christmas time. You can write a letter and leave it there and it will be mailed in time for Christmas 2012. They have Christmas stamps all year round and they will hand cancel your letter before sending it. There is no extra charge for this, just regular postage. Heavenly.
On the other hand, as a Jewish girl, I don't like Christmas. It is one big party that I am not, and will never be, invited to. I was always different, daughter of immigrants, olive skin and so on. So I was always on the edge of society and Christmas made it all worse, emphasizing how left out I was. As a result, in my life I include everyone. A positive from a negative.
Shabbat (Saturday for Jews) is my day off, I spent it in Santa's Village. Looking at Christmas stuff. While it was -33 degrees Celsius with a windchill of -40 degrees C (-40 is the same at Celsius and Fahrenheit) which irritates my lungs. Looking at the one story tall plastic snowman. While listening to Christmas music, which I don't allow in my house. Debating whether or not I would send Christmas cards to my nieces and nephews, which might aid and abet their view of Santa being real. In the end it was Shabbat and I cannot write on that day so I didn't send anything. So my husband's idea of Heaven was just the opposite for me. Same place, same people, same setting, different reactions. It was all good, we enjoyed being together even though we didn't go on the reindeer ride.
Snow
We have experienced some different snow conditions since we moved here. There was one week where it snowed every day and night on and off. I loved walking to school to get my daughter and dancing with the snowflakes.
At home I look out the large picture window, and watch the schools of small flakes swim up, down and around before dropping out of sight. A few perch on the window sill and watch what we are doing.
Looking south last week, into the sun I watched as the heavens showered us with grated diamonds. There were a few clouds above us sending miniscule flakes our way and the sun picked them up and the sky was full of diamond shards. Will always remember that.
At home I look out the large picture window, and watch the schools of small flakes swim up, down and around before dropping out of sight. A few perch on the window sill and watch what we are doing.
Looking south last week, into the sun I watched as the heavens showered us with grated diamonds. There were a few clouds above us sending miniscule flakes our way and the sun picked them up and the sky was full of diamond shards. Will always remember that.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Entertaining
Tonight we celebrated my birthday. Having guests made my week because I had stuff to do to get ready. It kept my mind occupied with thoughts of decorations, necessities like wine and cloth napkins and all the myriad other things that one does when having guests. The menu was the easy part because I only know how to make a certain number of dishes, so I made the "company" dishes. Thankfully we have been here long enough that I have been able to find (or have sent to me) all the ingredients for the dishes tonight.
The menu consisted of Persian Rice, my famous coleslaw, and salmon (found it on sale) in orange juice, along with the pound cake recipe that I found in metric. Plus I made a green salad that I put a homemade vinaigrette over. Plus ice cream and tea to go with the cake.
It was a long day, I started with cleaning the whole apt., got some help from my family. Then I started cooking, baked the cake first (7 eggs!!) and realized while it was cooling that I would need the same Pyrex dish to marinate and poach the fish.
Managed to get it all done and on the table an hour after the guests arrived!
It was a lovely evening, the host family is helping us to learn Finnish and they have a daughter the same age as ours so the two girls would slip away to play cards (thanks Jenna!) and talk in English. I am looking forward to the day that we can go back and forth from English to Finnish easily. Classes start next week at the University and I will be there!
At some point in the evening I realized that time was passing and that we were so immersed in the conversation and the food that it was a delight just to be there. Even my husband, an introvert, stayed and chatted the whole time. It is very nice to have someone to ask about all these little things that are on our minds. Like what does "oy" mean? It stands for company or corporation, which is what I had figured out but wasn't sure of. Of course it means something else in Yiddish!!
My one gaff of the evening turned out okay in the end. The middle of the pound cake was wet, as in batter wet. So I cut those pieces out and put them back in the oven, They cooked so that the outside is crunchy and the inside soft and now finally cooked. Twice baked pound cake-Yum!!
We are learning to light candles, it helps to dispel the night. I guess our caveman days are not so far behind us. Fire represents warmth and security and hot food. We had those tonight and it was lovely.
The menu consisted of Persian Rice, my famous coleslaw, and salmon (found it on sale) in orange juice, along with the pound cake recipe that I found in metric. Plus I made a green salad that I put a homemade vinaigrette over. Plus ice cream and tea to go with the cake.
It was a long day, I started with cleaning the whole apt., got some help from my family. Then I started cooking, baked the cake first (7 eggs!!) and realized while it was cooling that I would need the same Pyrex dish to marinate and poach the fish.
Managed to get it all done and on the table an hour after the guests arrived!
It was a lovely evening, the host family is helping us to learn Finnish and they have a daughter the same age as ours so the two girls would slip away to play cards (thanks Jenna!) and talk in English. I am looking forward to the day that we can go back and forth from English to Finnish easily. Classes start next week at the University and I will be there!
At some point in the evening I realized that time was passing and that we were so immersed in the conversation and the food that it was a delight just to be there. Even my husband, an introvert, stayed and chatted the whole time. It is very nice to have someone to ask about all these little things that are on our minds. Like what does "oy" mean? It stands for company or corporation, which is what I had figured out but wasn't sure of. Of course it means something else in Yiddish!!
My one gaff of the evening turned out okay in the end. The middle of the pound cake was wet, as in batter wet. So I cut those pieces out and put them back in the oven, They cooked so that the outside is crunchy and the inside soft and now finally cooked. Twice baked pound cake-Yum!!
We are learning to light candles, it helps to dispel the night. I guess our caveman days are not so far behind us. Fire represents warmth and security and hot food. We had those tonight and it was lovely.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Rapeseed Oil
Since we arrived I have been using one bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, tasty and useful. This oil is good for eating raw and is less useful for cooking. So I went to the store to get a bottle of Canola or other cooking oil. What did I find? Rapeseed oil! I have heard of it but didn't know anything about it. Wikipedia here I come!
So what did I find out? That Canola oil is a form of rapeseed oil, one bred to be less bitter for us to use. So now I can go back and get some. Interesting the things we learn!!
When I was at the supermarket the other day I noticed some fresh herbs and since I couldn't find the price I asked a gentleman that came by and grabbed one of them how much they cost. He said, most of them are 1,55 Euros (about $2.15) and I could see that the sign for oregano was 4.99 Euros. So I was able to buy fresh (hothouse I am sure) basil and thyme--I could smell the thyme all the way home...
In addition, Finland grows it's own lettuce, all of these come with a bit of dirt in a small cup so they stay fresh longer. Learning!!
So what did I find out? That Canola oil is a form of rapeseed oil, one bred to be less bitter for us to use. So now I can go back and get some. Interesting the things we learn!!
When I was at the supermarket the other day I noticed some fresh herbs and since I couldn't find the price I asked a gentleman that came by and grabbed one of them how much they cost. He said, most of them are 1,55 Euros (about $2.15) and I could see that the sign for oregano was 4.99 Euros. So I was able to buy fresh (hothouse I am sure) basil and thyme--I could smell the thyme all the way home...
In addition, Finland grows it's own lettuce, all of these come with a bit of dirt in a small cup so they stay fresh longer. Learning!!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Cooking
My whole apartment smells like Caraway seeds! I just received the package in the mail (mail and seeds) and opened it and everywhere I go in this smallish space is redolent with the spice. Now I will have to make some of my famous coleslaw!
One of the things that we are getting used to here is the fact that the grocery store does not have everything that they have in the US. Things like rubbing alcohol, I finally figured out, are available at the pharmacy but not the grocery store. Basmati rice was no where to be found on the regular grocery shelves, thankfully I found a middle eastern (Iraqi owned) store last week and got dried beans (also not available) there along with the dill I needed for Persian Rice. Timing is everything with Persian Rice, so you must have everything ready (potatoes scrubbed and sliced, colander read to drain the rice, lima beans out to mix into the rice) you can end up with a result that you don't want to eat!
As you may have realized we are cooking at home a lot. Eating out is expensive and even eating at home can be too. So I will have to learn to expand my repertoire or we are going to be bored very soon. I think I "cheat" more at home, sandwiches, leftovers, canned foods stuff like that. Here even the canned foods can be expensive so I am cooking more from scratch. Also, we have more time here, no friends, no volunteer activities, no religious commitments--I am however writing more letters! In exactly two weeks I will turn 48, I plan to make a cake and have our one friend or maybe two over. First I will have to figure out how to make my favorite cake, butter is very expensive so I will probably use some of that and some margarine. Forgot to get vanilla today, maybe at the spice store tomorrow...
Today I stood in the store with my translator in my hand trying to figure out what I was looking at. Mostly I use it to figure out what kind of meat it is, wanting to avoid pork since we don't eat that. Thankfully they use pictures on some items (ie. pig) so I can tell at a glance. Saw a hotdog in a bun pre-wrapped in plastic at the store today!!
I am trying hard to stick to my routines back home. For example, I usually shop about once every three weeks and get most of what I need. Filling in with fresh stuff from Just Local. Here I have been shopping about 3-5 times a week! Granted the medium store is only 2 1/2 blocks away but it is difficult without a car. So today, I took our small wheeled suitcase (looks like a backpack, but on wheels, and filled it up (and two canvas bags, bring your own because they charge 20 cents a bag here--love it!) and dragged it all home. Still didn't get all that I need!
Working on doing it my way.
One of the things that we are getting used to here is the fact that the grocery store does not have everything that they have in the US. Things like rubbing alcohol, I finally figured out, are available at the pharmacy but not the grocery store. Basmati rice was no where to be found on the regular grocery shelves, thankfully I found a middle eastern (Iraqi owned) store last week and got dried beans (also not available) there along with the dill I needed for Persian Rice. Timing is everything with Persian Rice, so you must have everything ready (potatoes scrubbed and sliced, colander read to drain the rice, lima beans out to mix into the rice) you can end up with a result that you don't want to eat!
As you may have realized we are cooking at home a lot. Eating out is expensive and even eating at home can be too. So I will have to learn to expand my repertoire or we are going to be bored very soon. I think I "cheat" more at home, sandwiches, leftovers, canned foods stuff like that. Here even the canned foods can be expensive so I am cooking more from scratch. Also, we have more time here, no friends, no volunteer activities, no religious commitments--I am however writing more letters! In exactly two weeks I will turn 48, I plan to make a cake and have our one friend or maybe two over. First I will have to figure out how to make my favorite cake, butter is very expensive so I will probably use some of that and some margarine. Forgot to get vanilla today, maybe at the spice store tomorrow...
Today I stood in the store with my translator in my hand trying to figure out what I was looking at. Mostly I use it to figure out what kind of meat it is, wanting to avoid pork since we don't eat that. Thankfully they use pictures on some items (ie. pig) so I can tell at a glance. Saw a hotdog in a bun pre-wrapped in plastic at the store today!!
I am trying hard to stick to my routines back home. For example, I usually shop about once every three weeks and get most of what I need. Filling in with fresh stuff from Just Local. Here I have been shopping about 3-5 times a week! Granted the medium store is only 2 1/2 blocks away but it is difficult without a car. So today, I took our small wheeled suitcase (looks like a backpack, but on wheels, and filled it up (and two canvas bags, bring your own because they charge 20 cents a bag here--love it!) and dragged it all home. Still didn't get all that I need!
Working on doing it my way.
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