Music and Food ( not necessarily in that order) are a window into cultural life.
Our daughters and Laura recently returned from Greece with a pictures and tales of their adventures that kept me entertained. I have always loved Greek food starting from my youth and I have tried to seek it out in my travels with more or less success.
So I watch their slides, listen to music , drank wine (yes, quite good now-a-days and the Greeks make a nice Merlot), cooked up wonderful food and enjoy my Baklava... so I closed my eyes and I am almost there!
There is a scene in this wonderfully fun movie that… has romance, a bad guy, action and genuine sentiment. The scene pictured above is of Richard Dryfus ( Irv) kissing his wife’s hand and as corny as it might appear out of context… it was moving and sweet.
My family was very kind and sympathetic and it would be unkind if I did not take the time to thank them for their interesting gifts.
Laura picked up some Pistachios fro the Island of Aegina for me. Aegina is the home of the best Pistachios in the world… and since I make the best Baklava in the world ( according to them), then I must have the best Pistachios!!! I can hardly wait to make more!
Kristin surprised me with a number of unexpected gifts. I could never guess that she would buy me such interesting things. ‘Things’ that sent me to the internet to discover their history and left me fascinated! She found for me a signet ring used by an obviously high and mighty official in the Ottoman empire to sign his documents… very nice. I look more impressive now. Karen and Kristin bought me some great cook books… I especially want to try the Mousaka!
Laura, Kristin and Karen came together for a week in Greece and soon they will be departing for their homes and assignments. Although I would have enjoyed being with them, I felt like I was actually there by seeing and talking to them on Skype and seeing all of their fantastic pictures!
Whether it was the truth, or whether they were just trying to make me feel good… they all said my Baklava was best. Laura even brought some along to share! Laura did say she was bringing some Greek Pistachios home for me… I wonder what she wants me to do with them!
Next time, I’ll try and tag alone, in the meantime, welcome home, Laura!
Were they happy to see me or were they gloating, or both? I screen captured the picture above from our most recent ‘Skyping’ session ( video conference call … 9 am my time and 7 pm their time). By the way, Laura is brilliant … but troubled in trying to keep time zones straight in her mind… even with a helpful chart I made for all possible locations, a phone that does world time and a computer… she still gets lost. I am glad I have something I can help her with!
From what I have learned, Laura walked our two daughters around Athens everywhere! Laura also shared some of my homemade Baklava with Karen and Kristin. In fact, I think both Karen and Laura had two pieces… Jenny Craig will just have to understand! By the way, it’s over 90 degrees there right now… 36 degrees centigrade or 96.8 F. I’d say that was a bit ‘warmish.’
Tomorrow, they have to do what they came to do in the first place… they present at the 3rd International Conference in Psychology. My ladies have always embraced technology, the internet, web design, social media sites and ‘twitter.’ They know html and where their ‘executive bat file’ happens to be located, how cool is that? I do the best I can to keep up. Eventually, Laura and Karen’s interests found common ground resulting in a research project and a presentation!
Fortunately, they keep everyone updated by uploading their pictures on Facebook and blogging. Technology keeps us all in touch! Just one piece of advice, ladies:
“Take every opportunity of enjoying yourself!”–Mrs. Bennett in “Pride and Prejudice.”
"A house is not a
home unless it
contains food and
fire for the mind
as well as the body.”
Benjamin Franklin
_____________
"Without the culinary
arts, the crudeness
of reality would
be unbearable."
Kate & Leopold
_____________
"Tell me what you
eat, and I will
tell you what you
are."
Anthelme
Brillat-Savarin
_____________
"I think it is a
sad reflection on
our civilization
that while we can
and do measure the
temperature in the
atmosphere of Venus
we do not know what
goes on inside our
soufflés."
Nicholas Kurti
_____________
The truth is that
with a gentleman I
am always a gentle-
man and a half, and
when I have to deal
with a pirate, I
try to be a pirate
and a half.
Prince
Otto Eduard Leopold
von Bismarck
_____________
Honesty is not so
much a credit as an
absolute prerequisite
to efficient service
to the public. Unless
a man is honest, we
have no right to keep
him in public life; it
matters not how
brilliant his capacity
There is a scene in this wonderfully fun movie that… has romance, a bad guy, action and genuine sentiment. The scene pictured above is of Richard Dryfus ( Irv) kissing his wife’s hand and as corny as it might appear out of context… it was moving and sweet.
