Saturday, July 21, 2012

Day 60: All the wealth that I need



Today’s insight: I've acquired all the wealth that I need. And I have done it with only one thing I wish I’d done differently, really. I should have seen to it to have raised children. I’m not blue-eyed of course and know that it’s quite the challenge. Still, I think I could have been myself in a completely different way if I’d raised children. What I've noticed over the years of my contact with children and their families, is how difficult it is to give them the support they need, rather than always helping, correcting, improving. Not to mention the challenge of being a good role model!

There’s a lot to share on this topic. For now, suffice it to say that, next to massage, children are my favorite  things in the world!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Day 59: Shabbat Shalom

It's Friday night and Rabbi Chaim and his wife Mina have invited me to dinner. I'm not particularly observant, though I like many of our traditions, but I do very much appreciate having some Yiddishkite introduced into my life from time to time. And no one does it better than they. To my great good fortune, Chaim and Mina live only a couple of blocks from my house. It's an opportunity to speak Hebrew, connect with my religion and, not least, partake of Mina's fabulous cooking.

To mark the occasion, I am lighting Shabbat candles, using the candlesticks handed down through my mom by my Aunt Giza, many years gone now but still warm in my heart.



Shabbat Shalom everyone. Chicken soup...here I come :-)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Day 57: What's cooking?

I opened the fridge earlier today and this is what I saw:

  • corn (1 cup or so)
  • black beans (half a cup)
  • half a zucchini
  • three medium potatoes
  • one egg
  • an almost empty carton of milk
  • shredded cheese


Mmmm...nothing exciting and nothing at all that just springs to mind. People have this impression that I am a good cook, an assessment I do not wholly agree with. To me, a good cook is someone who can whip something up without referencing a recipe. The first great love of my life was (still is for that matter) a fabulous cook. His is still the best Mexican food I've ever eaten, including all restaurants. On our first date, he cooked me a scrumptious meal...veal cutlets as I recall...and impressed me endlessly by brewing ice tea from scratch. He always said that anyone can be a good cook, if they follow three simple rules:


  1. Buy the best ingredients
  2. Follow the recipe
  3. Don't take any shortcuts
Who am I to argue with the gourmet? 


But I digress...
The stomach was growling and the ingredients were few. My solution was to chop the potatoes and zucchini (in the Cuisinart of course) and then mix in the beans and corn; add cumin, curry, salt, garlic and milk to the egg and beat until combined; grease a casserole and layer half the vegetables, half the cheese, more vegetables, pour the egg mixture over and top off with the remaining cheese. Bake in a 200 degree (Celsius) oven for about 40 minutes. Voilà:




 
By my own definition, perhaps I was a cook today after all :-)
My stomach was happy in any event...and there are leftovers to look forward to.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Day 56: Songs of my friendships

I love planning events. Big ones, small ones. My own, other people's. I love settling on all the details, putting them into motion. Breathing life into an occasion.

One such occasion comes up in August when two of my friends come for a visit, one from NY and one from Israel. The three of us went to high school together and, with the exception of a birthday party several years back, this will be the first time that the three of us will be in the same place at the same time since I moved to Sweden. Now that's cause for celebration. And an opportunity to introduce people who are near and dear to me to each other. And so the birth of Wine Women and Song.

Soon, I will have to set focus on practicalities such as the menu and seating arrangements and the form the evening will take. For now, though, to get into the mood, I've started on a playlist. Which has got me thinking about songs I associate with different people in my life. Either because we've sung them together, or listened to them together, or danced to them together. Or because they carry a certain energy (and often a message...I am after all such a word person :-)).

This particular gathering of women with, to quote one of them, "indomitable spirit," lends itself nicely to Not Ready to Make Nice (Dixie Chicks). Each of us in her own way has make her mark on the world, lived an active engaged life, and has on more than one occasion been "mad as hell and can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should." It's carried me back to my years in JHS and HS when singing was such a central part of my life. In those days our idea of a fun afternoon or evening was to gather in someone's living room and sing. Our repertoire covered a lot of ground, from Broadway musicals to modern folk to pop and rock and Motown and standards. 

Here's what's on the list so far. What makes you happy singing along to, then and now?



Monday, July 16, 2012

Day 55: Elegant solutions

OK, I admit it. I am a closet Wordfeud fanatic. I could say Scrabble or even Words With Friends, but Wordfeud Fanatic has a kind of alliteration I like.

But I digress...
A feature I really like in WF is the option to play on a random board. This means that the positions of all the bonus squares (DL, DW, TL, TW, etc.) are randomized and you play each game on a different layout. One consequence is that a word someone places can be worth an inordinate number of points. My record is 468 points but I have heard reports of even higher scores. Naturally, this is not too problematic when you happen to be that someone, although it can be discouraging to your opponent. I've had more than one opponent resign after I place a particularly high scoring word.

The other day, someone started a new game with a word scoring 226 points. He actually thanked me for not giving up. I figure it isn't over till it's over, though I admitted I had quite a bit of catching up to do. (And, yes, I lost that game!).

Every once in a while, I manage to place a word in a particularly satisfying way. Player "John's_Wife" had been lagging behind for most of our match but in the last three rounds had managed to close the gap. Our scores stood 437 (me) to 413 (her) with no tiles left. Dangerously close, as I had the high scoring Q to get rid of before the end of the game.

Suddenly, I saw it. An opportunity to score more than 20 points, which would pretty much secure my victory.


It's her turn now so the board will change again. But what would your next move be if you were me? So far, I can see a way to score 24 points. Any better suggestion? :-)



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Day 54: Behöver du hjälp?

Decided to walk to the Language Exchange MeetUps in Gamla Stan today. On my way, I made a point of stopping every time I saw people with a map and asking them if they needed help. Every person I asked said no, which was kind of disappointing. Here I was, ready willing and able, only to be met with such utter confidence :-) I consoled myself in the knowledge that there were now half-a-dozen or so travelers who will have had friendly contact with (what I hope they would consider, in any event,) a local. It's my personal investment in making Stockholm an even friendlier place. 

My reward...for walking if not for being friendly...was this store in Gamla Stan that is just a sight to behold. Anyone who knows me understands why. I just had to capture it visually (remember the days we used to say "capture it on film?").