Chile over the years

Wow.
We are BACK in Chile for a quick visit to catch up with family, and it's like we never left!

It's funny how upon arrival, I compare things I see around me, getting on the plane, the sun coming up over the mountains, immigration stamping, customs, waste clearing on the highway from the airport, all of those little details of immediate arrival, flash before my eyes from all the previous times I've come...it's kind of like magic for me, the moment upon entering into an entirely different life.

It's kind of like when you only see a niece or nephew every other Christmas and suddenly they're twice the size?  Well, that's Chile for me, all grown'd up!  Different...but the same.

The very, very first time (back in 2005!)....

I flew by myself and Rodolfo picked me up from the airport with his father.  On the plane, there was a big group about to go on a cruise (or was it a Christian charity organization?!?) all sported up in their brand new zip off travel pants, mountain climbing shoes and super sized hats and fanny paks, ready for the '3rd world'.  They adopted me as their own on the plane, probably because I was completely terrified, and we were all uber excited together, none of us having been to Chile before and everyone seemed a bit worried for me...my first visit to meet my potential new future in laws...how romantic....and it was!

In the wee early hours shortly before arrival, the pilot gave us a special announcement and flew by one of the largest mountains in ...Chile?  OR Peru?  I don't remember...but I had a view of it from my window and took a picture of it with my old crappy camera and thought it was magical.  Everyone on the plane leaned over to see it, taking turns for everyone to get a glimpse!  (This has never happened since actually, I wish I knew why!)  I think we even gave applause when we landed, we were all so excited.

Back then the fee was a straight up $100 for US citizens..now its more like $150, my passport is just about to expire and then I'll have to pay it again...that is, if the rules don't change before my next visit and they remove the fee...fingers crossed!


Walking out of the sliding glass doors, I remember my eyes hitting the glare of the sun and my nose smelling the dry, warm and slightly cool morning air tinted with sweet fruit.  It was so dry....like a dessert.  and the sun was so bright.  and it was so deliciously warm!  I soaked it all in like a sponge...if a sponge soaked dryness.

I remember seeing a lot of delipidated, over used, very small cars and trucks on the highway, with bumpers tied on, even some horse drawn carts along the side of the road carrying garbage and debree. I was freaking out, because we were driving very fast, swirving around all of these potential accidents, and in the back seat, Chileans didn't wear seatbelts.   I remember seeing the workers in their oversized bright orange onesies, raking and watering the little plants along the side of the highway and the spray painted signs on all of the cement walls with the names of presidential candidates...I believe Bachelette was then running for office, and there was a whirl of excitement.

It was the first time I heard Rodolfo speak real Chilean spanish with his father and I remember being overwhelmed with feeling, seeing them talking together...Rodolfo in his natural habitat!  So this is what he really sounds like when he speaks his own language!  It was the first moment I'd wished I could have joined the conversation and been a part of it all...that we could be so natural together in our thoughts and feelings...and so fast!  and the first moment I realized...this learning Chilean spanish thing?  It's going to be much harder than I thought!

The dry cool air rushed in thru all the open windows and a sense of...wow...I'm alive!  Came in with it!

Shortly after arriving at his moms house, I drank my first nescafe and ate my first palta con pan and then fell asleep with the screenless window open and sunshine pouring in, with the sounds of parrot cheeps squeaking away in the tree across the street.  I felt sooooo HAPPY!

We've noticed a lot of changes this time around on the first day for better or worse...

• No more horse drawn carriages around...I saw only 1 on the outskirts of town.  I also didn't notice any delapidated shacks along the highway from the airport...perhaps they're hidden or destroyed?
• Cars are getting bigger and bigger and there's more of them.  I'm wondering if this has to do with a change in import/export laws?  There's really no room for them here and with pollution as it is, this is kind of sad to see.
• Fat people.  A LOT of obese people.  I blame this on Walmart and their entrance into the grocery stores here which sell American products...mainly of the junk food variety.  
• Along with that, I've seen a lot more bikers and runners of many different ages.  It seems as if bicycle commuting is catching on here, also potentially due to the price of buses almost doubling.
• A lot more electrical appliances everywhere, particularly in kitchens... and everyone has an iphone.  Everyone!  Apple is huge!
•  Santiago is sort of funny because it's inside out.  The streets are not pretty...they are pretty dirty and rugged looking for the most part accept for certain neighborhoods and driving around was making me a bit sad....the pretty parts are all behind locked gates and fences..there's gardens and flowers and beautiful places a plenty, but only for those who can afford it....this makes me appreciate Madisons beautiful public parks even more...perhaps it's time to volunteer!

 So far though, wonderful visit and a very much needed catch up with family!  We've/I'VE missed them so much.  Just being around his parents and aunts/uncles/brother/cousins....it's a whirlwind of feelings and happiness.   Family is a different concept in Chile and it's hard to explain the feeling when they get together..it's a sort of tightness or closeness of extreme happiness and everyone gets a sense of contentment just being together...like eating a delicious piece of cake....which also happens when everyone is together!

All right!  Time for my daily morning run routine and a stroll thru the fruit and veggie market down the road!
BESOS!

public scrutiny

Anyone who writes publicly considers their audience and also what people might think of them when they post something in public view.  I am fully aware that what I write is public for the world to see.  I don't expect everyone to agree with me....granted....I know there's not a whole lot of public interest in what I have to say.  It's not like I'm Elizabeth Gilbert or anything.

For a while, I thought about writing a separate blog under an anonymous name just to get more writing and thoughts out of my mind and into the world, because I do enjoy writing and sharing what I write, and being anonymous could give a bit more freedom to really say what I mean and not offend others.  That it would be good for me to give myself that freedom.

I've been told I'm a good writer from many different angles...that I should write more and that I'm funny and have an interesting view on life and food and travel...not just by my mother or my lover or even friends...and that feels really good to hear!  Those positive voices give me a greater push to write more, think more, share more and believe that what I have to say is sometimes (but not always) clever, funny, witty and worth reading.  In that same way, I never considered that a bad review could push me in the opposite direction...shut me up and fizzle me out....but that is exactly how I'm feeling right now....silenced.

Just last night, for the first time (believe it or not) I was publicly slammed for my statement made in a private video made public about Gringos talking about their experiences in Chile...., it was something I was proud to take part in to help promote Chile and all the eccentricities I love about my "other" country...a place I love so much I honestly feel part Chilena....I guess I feel since I'm around the culture so much, I'm a bit at liberty to make fun of it a little....actually, Chileans have such a dark sense of humor, I'm often told by Chilean friends and family that I need to ease up a bit and not be so "politically correct" in my comments and jokes....what's the big deal?

 Well, I got good and bashed...just by 2 individuals, but 2 was enough to give me a hard time sleeping/thinking/being....it was really weird!

The things I said about bike paths and undies in the video weren't meant to embarress or hurt, they were said with love, and would be very similar to things I would say about myself or even Americans if I were asked about my own culture....as I often do in this very blog......pretty regularly....I say funny things...sometimes slightly inappropriate...I don't wear white gloves or beat about the bush, that's just my personality.

I was called "dumb" and specifically "UNLIKE" 'd as the 'girl in the orange shirt' particularly for my comments with a request that I be cut out of the video if it's to be shown in public.  They even called me a liar.

I've never felt put to the test/analyzed/evaluated/found faulty by an anonymous reader/reviewer/watcher until last night and it hurt.  I never considered the possibility that someone would find my thoughts anything less than funny/silly/ridiculous...cuz, that's how I roll...that I frustrated someone by what I said in a random comment meant to cause a smile....enough for them to want to silence me.

So....I cry out to the haters of the world...
why you gotta be like that?!?
To quote my super bad ass awesome boss....
Sometimes, haters are just gonna hate.

I believe it's much more difficult to put yourself and your thoughts out there than it is to bash someone else for what they think or say....anyone can give out put downs, it's much more difficult to go ahead and create!  Share and be yourself!  (Very American ideals, btw, which make me proud and a little patriotic) I applaud any and all who choose the more difficult path or creativity and sharing and finding the humor in life, even when it's lost by others.

I WILL continue to speak my mind, about myself and my views on the world, knowing full well that sometimes people won't always agree and I'll be misunderstood, sometimes jerks are jerks and nice people can have bad days and can be jerks too, and that's ok.

and yes....this is a therapeutic pep talk blog....to myself....totally selfish....in public view.  Enjoy!  and feel free to think whatever you like!  you can even hate it....write a comment that what I'm saying is dumb...it's ok!  I've been there now, I can take it!

Vestby bus santa

The place:  The bus stop at the gas station near Vestby Norway, in the middle of nowhere really!
The day:  One lovely chilly fall day in 2010
The time:  About 2 hours before our Ryan Air flight left for the Vatry Paris airport
Money in my pocket:  About $30US worth of Norwegian Kronos, however much that is!


After one week in Scandinavia, we felt poor after having blown twice our allotted budget we'd planned per week for Europe!  Everything in Norway is expensive, down to the $5 candy bar at the 7-11, and to be honest, we couldn't wait to get away!  As beautiful as it was, we were running on stale cookies and stale undies and tired of walking everywhere (we'd even walked 5 miles with paks on the day before because we couldn't afford a BMW taxi from the bus station to the train station!)

So, it all came down to one final bus ride to the airport.  I'd carefully set aside the exact amount it would take for us to board the bus, but when I reached into my pocket at the bus stop, I discovered I was about $1 short!

Where we then both FREAKED THE $%^& OUT!  There was yelling....accusations, insinuations....some stomping, sighing, eye rolling and general flailing of limbs and finger pointings in all directions!

At this point, R man and I had been traveling together 24/7 for just about a year, the one thing we'd really gotten good at was letting the other person know when they'd messed up BIG TIME!, the thing we'd gotten even better at was letting out our true feelings when something went wrong!  And they ALWAYS DID!

With 5 minutes before the bus arrived and the nearest ATM being 2 miles away requiring a minimum to be taken out in Kronos that was guaranteed to bankrupt the rest of our travels thru Europe... we had no choice but to wing it!  ('winging it' is not something people 'do' in Norway!)

Something people might not realize...R man being the 3rd world big city representative and me being the middle class red neck white girl from U.S. suburbia, just guess at which of us has the higher ethical and moral standards?!?

My plan?  Grovel and beg.  Full force!  I've been known to cut corners when necessary every once in a while.  This time, R man couldn't argue.

With Rodolfo boarding first walking directly to his seat arms folded in anger and frustration, ready not to budge or make eye contact with another living soul during his remaining hours spent in Norway, I could sense the completeness of his disgruntlement at the immorality of what was about to 'go down' from 10 feet away, where then, to his great dismay and disapproval, the groveling commenced!

Thank god it was an older gentleman driver with a heart of gold!

Eyes pouty looking down at the floor.  check.
Lips pursed.  check.
Sad puppy face. check.
bowed head.  check.

I say nothing (because I don't speak Norwegian, this actually helps things a bit) and hold out all the money I have in my open hands....

He counts the bills and coins.

"Not enough!"...or it must be something like that, because he speaks only Norwegian and it sounds like a deep bull dog bark from the gut...

I smile with a look of desperation and a plea on my face with my hands out filled with our random crumpled bills, as if it were some great offering from the towns people, to his great eminence, lord of the buses.

Silence....

There's a great pause....a look of impatience, and a bit of that face my dad used to give me when I was being a pain, and then a sigh...

(HOPE!)

"Student?"  The bus driver asks.
"What?  Umm...uh...."
I'm a bit slow sometimes when I'm nervous and an airport is involved.
"STUDENT?!?" He states again with some impatience and a small almost invisible wink from the corner of his eye.
"OH!  WHY...UH.  YES!!!!  STUDENT!"

He picks thru the bills I have laid out in my palms, and takes about half of them, leaving us enough for a yogurt and a bottle of water at the airport...really!  Did I mention how pricey it is there?!?

Then...he grunts a little, nods his head, and starts up the bus, leaving me with a look of wonder and a state of awww as I grab on to a railing not to fall down the stairs as he speeds off!  Everything in Norway runs correctly and ON TIME!

As I sit down next to R man, he looks at me with disapproval, but he's secretly grateful, I know it!

This is the closest I'll ever get to meeting Santa Clause.

bakery wake up

It's always hard to wake up in the pitch black to a buzzing alarm and a cold floor.  Always.  No matter who you are!

Luckily for me, I work at a bakery!

Walking in from the cold and pitch black darkness, the bakery is all lit up from the inside.  Sometimes, there's a baker already setting up the mornings bread on the front shelves and a delivery van pulling up preparing to send out another shipment.

Immediately upon entering the building, I feel warmer, happier, and the cafe's pre opening dimness gives a bit of a transition to the fully awake squadron of busy bakers already scampering around here and there in the bakery.  There is a hum of life and the smell of bread in the air, unable to be contained with a steady thump of a catchy rhythmic song.  The bakery is in full force with music blaring, mixers whirling, and the oven in the corner alight with loaves of bread steaming and bubbling away deep inside its belly. 

Someones pulling fresh baked bread out of the oven while another is putting the finishing touch of confectioners sugar on the morning cheese danishes.  As I walk thru and yell a dreamy and sleepy 'good morning', I'm greeted with a full force of enthusiasm from all directions I'm never quite prepared for at that time of the day..."SARAH'S HERE!"  "HEY SARAH!"  "SARAAAAAAAH!",  smiles and hello's, quick nods of the head as they continue on in their delicate tasks of measuring, mixing, steaming, pulling, kneading and counting. 

I may have just woken up, but these guys are at their wide eyed rush hour pace putting their peddle to the metal for deliveries to be shipped out and the cafe doors to open.

As I quickly down my first coffee of the day, I throw on an apron and join in to the controlled chaos of the bakery world.   I'm no longer sleepy and rearing to go with the high energy all around me.  IT'S GO TIME!  What a great way to start a work day!  How lucky am I!

things to remember about Turkey

• Ataturk is a big deal!   His picture is everwhere!  On buses, in the streets, in restaurants.
• Butt washers are on toilets!  You turn a knob next to the toilet and a small pressurized stream of water comes out directly for that certain region that needs washing.  I think this is genius and should be used universally!  Genius!  Don't knock it til you've tried it!
• Feta cheese comes in all shapes and sizes, but is generally a white color.  Stringy, grainy, rich, plain, creamy, crumbly, aged, fresh, all delicious!
• Turkish coffee is finely ground beans with hot water poured over them in a little cup....I'm not such a fan as I always end up with a mouthful of grounds in the last swig when I should just leave the last drag of liquid alone!
• Turks love desserts!  Puddings, cookies, cake, bars, sweet nuts, etc, etc, all with nuts (pistachios and walnuts particularly), cream, caramels, fruits such as quince and pomegranite, currants, cinnamon, rice, saffron and oh so many other distinct aromatic spices that aren't extreme in flavor but delicate...like little shadows of ballerinas dancing on your tongue, all sweets are strong but small, carrying a big punch and perfect with a tea!
• "Salad" is tomato and cucumbers with olive oil and salt, but there is usually some variety of pickled vegetables included with your meal that you can nibble on.  There's also lettuce salads, but we tended to eat the latter more often.  We were delighted with arugula included with meals on the western coast as well!!!
• When you eat at a restaurant, you order everything first, and they bring the food out in courses, beginning with your olive oil marinated vegetables (cooked earlier in the day, or pickled, but always served cold!), than the meat course (all accompanied with unending amounts of fresh baked bread) and ending with a tea and a sweet thing. 
• Old statues, buildings domes and pillars are strewn about every which way, around every corner in every city.  Old and new are intermingled everywhere and old places are continually being reinvented into new...no matter where you stand, there is history all around you, especially beneath!
• Sour cherry juice, jam, soda....it's a thing!
• Fresh pomegranite juice...you pick the fruit, he squeezes it and puts it in a little cup for about $1.  Sour....fresh...sweet....pungent....delicious!
• 1 lyra = .60 cents
• tea = cai - "chai"..and is served black in a little cup with a spoon and 2 sugar cubes.  It's strong, warm, and drunk all day long!  Particularly after meals.  When helping yourself it's important to dilute the tea in your cup with hot water...always available together...with the tea pot sitting on top of the boiling water pot!  about 1/3 cai to 2/3 hot water!
• Beer  = Efes (tastes like Miller Lite) and costs 7-8 Lyra in a restaurant - $4-5, around 3-4 Lyra in a grocery store.  Wine is $8-10/glass, but local and delicious in many regions!
• Tomatoes are bright red, fresh and delicious.  We never met a single tomato we didn't like
• Freshly made creamy white butter!  WOW!  
• Leather jackets are very popular.  Along with some white dyed trendy jeans and an ironed collared shirt and nice leather shoes.  People dress, look and smell nice!
• There is a men's barber shop on every street and every time we pass one, it's occupied with a metal clothes hanger outside the door full of multi colored towels drying.  Men keep there hair short.  What we didn't see were beauty salons!  Where do the women go?
• Wet wipes!  After every meal, even sometimes at tourist attractions, you receive an individual wet wipe in a small packet with advertisements of the restaurant on it with your bill.  It's kind of nice and refreshing, but not exactly environmentally friendly.
• condiments on the table = smokey dried red pepper flakes, oregano, mint, olive oil, salt and pepper, and sometimes a pomegranite syrup...not so sure how we were supposed to use it though.
• Tea shops are a man only hang out spot where alcohol is not permitted, but t.v.'s showing popular soccer games and are and old men gather on rickety pop up tables playing Rummikub, dominoes and backgammon.  Women do not hang out here, because if they do, men are not permitted to swear around them....now that would just ruin a soccer match, now wouldn't it!
• I found it extremely frustrating that a waiter would take R man's order, leave and return with two of whatever he ordered.  I didn't realize throughout most of the trip that it's extremely rude in their culture to speak to me in my husbands presence and they were just trying their best to make the most of the difficult situation without offending us.  Oops! R man was apparently supposed to order on my behalf!  Jerk!  =)  Our friend explained that these rules change if the size of your party is a group of 3 or more with more women attending.
• We found it interesting when buying bus tickets online that you have to enter your gender.  Women traveling alone must be sat next to other women only.  (For a Turkish Airlines flight, I was sat between two very large built Turkish men.  They were well dressed gentlemen on business, but seemed a bit uncomfortable with the seat placements being very careful not to speak, accidentally touch or make eye contact for the entire flight with me...than again, that's common protocol in the States as well!  So who knows!)
• I don't know if this is because I'm young, white, female, a tourist or odd looking, but if I dared to turn around at any moment in any public place, and looked into a mans face, that man was looking right back at me with a wink and a smile to boot.  Of course, R man never noticed these things, cuz they're quick to turn away to his glimpse, but I did!  I'm not sure how this would be or feel to women traveling alone, and how fast a wink would actually lead to  unwanted attention or conversation, but it was enough to catch me slightly off guard at random moments, always with a sense I was 'being watched'.  Don't get me wrong!  Everyone we met in hotels, on the street, in restaurants or waiting for the bus was EXTREMELY KIND AND FRIENDLY!  We received so many kindnessness!  I'm just sayin'....interesting culture! 
• I can't wait to go back!  The mix of people, the history, the mix of religiouns, the brightly colored houses, the incredible flavor and richness of the food!  The warmth all around you, even when it's cold.   AMAZING!

Pics of Turkey!

Here are a few shots from the trip!
Ephesus, Cappadocia and Istanbul are the main go to's we had the pleasure to see!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Istanbul, important projects and impossible pie crusts

First off!  We bought tickets for Istanbul!  Hoorah!!

So!  Two weeks of pure backpacking.  We've made a deal to not obsess/plan/purchase too much ahead of time to avoid getting stuck and keep our options open on arrival.  Yes....it's always a fear of potentially getting screwed by not planning ahead, but we both miss the feeling of freedom we used to feel with absolutely nothing weighing us down.  No shoulds or woulds, just the potential of the moment!!!   So, to that, we read and read and read and stare at maps and look at photos to our hearts contents, but besides the plane tickets and perhaps the first few nights, we leave the trip up to fate with not even a lonely planet in hand upon arrival!

It's something to look forward to!  Something to keep my internal furnace running as the skies grow darker longer and something to inspire my cooking!

Second off!  I've gotten the baking bug once again!
Every day is slightly different.  I was planning to attack Julia Childs cookbook...but reading thru has made me realize...if I do this, I'm going to become very very fat!  So instead, I started pilates and have been cruising allrecipes.com and my pantry for inspiration!  My last day off I delved into a delicious fennel squash soup, a spot on hummus and made my first ever homemade crackers!  and Lastly, my first ever...embaressingly enough....pie crust!

Leading to my last experiment/announcement in my blog title of I's!
The impossible pie crust...
Pie crust is baking 101.  It's the very first thing a professional baker needs to do right.
You don't know this yet, but I ...this very week....have decided to give myself that extra little push in the baking world, not to only work my tookus off in the field, but to grow and learn at home!  I need to learn this stuff and pronto!  I have all of these incredible bakers all around me willing to answer questions, try my experiments, and give great advice from their years in the field!  Now is the time!  If I want to truly grow in my education of how/what/why and make really gooooood stuff! True learning will happen in my kitchen..yes...in those hours in the evening when I'm exhausted and tired and all I want to do is cuddle up on the sofa and watch a movie....after baking/cleaning/wiping/flouring/washing/beathing/scooping all day, if I want to grow, I need to do it all night as well!

Soooo.....
Pie crust!
3 parts flour
2 parts butter
1 part water
a pinch of salt...

rubbed all together until a ball and then thrown into the freeezer with multiple layers of plastic wrap.

I have this accomplished.  Now, all I need to do is roll it flat lay it out and make a pie!

Up to now, I've cheated making pat in the pan, vegetable oil based pie crusts believing it didn't matter...but people...it does!  Really good baked goods taste good because there's A SHIT LOAD OF BUTTER!!!!  I hate to admit, but it's the truth.

My butter purchasing this coming winter is about to sky rocket!

Let me know if you'd be a willing volunteer to adopt any of my creations as I'm sure R man and I will be at our limit soon enough!

dorkster

Biking home from the bakery, I was passed by a hipster. 

Down to the curly mullet, tight skinny black jeans, uber skinny physique like he hadn't eaten in a week, fixie bike, black leather shoes and a tshirt with the arms ripped off, carrying a willy street coop paper grocery bag in his arms while biking, because of course his back pack was purse sized.  I mean....he was hipster verging on white trash, that said, I have to respect any dude who spends that much time on his appearance!  He filled the stereotype to a T!  Amazing! 

It got me thinking about style and culture and trends....

I'm not one who should really talk at all on this subject as I have NO style, but that in itself IS my style...which makes me wonder... where do we discover our "thang"?  The look that makes us feel like us?!?  That makes us cool/trendy/hip or just plain happy in our own skins walking down the street?

I grew up with dorky parents...and when I say this, I don't mean it as a diss.  They were and are proud of their Eddie Bauer-esque dorkdom, which is probably where I picked it up and once again proves that yes, we do eventually somewhat become like our parents!  They wore clothes for function/weather/comfort, not style.  Big brimmed hats in summer and sorel boots in winter.  Tube socks with shorts and ankle socks with sandals and enough sunscreen to make skin turn white.  Whatever worked, who cares how it looks!  That's how I was raised, and it's rubbed off permanently!

I still remember the embarrassment I felt at the fact that my parents drove an old school SAAB.  Years later when I told them this, they surprised me with the fact that they felt very sophisticated and special driving a Swedish car....yet proving how very Minnesotan we really are, and now looking back, if I could afford a safe, reliable boxy vehicle like a SAAB for my little family, dude, I'd jump at the chance!

When I was dating in college, to Rodolfo's great horror, I've never ever been attracted to the pretty good looking boys.  I think perhaps the R man was actually the first man I'd dated that had the ability to match his outfits.  The boy really does have a classy style with a very limited wardrobe and I don't know how he does it.  He's able to travel for two weeks out of a suitcase and everyday have that fresh classy suave look to him, plus he always smells good.  I really don't know how he does it!  I myself resort to exercise clothes for traveling...once again having comfort come first....which led to R man being horrified to be seen with me while we were traveling in some of the larger more trendy cities of Paris, London and Madrid, with comments like..."Oh Sarah, when will you learn."

So...when will I learn?  Right now, I think....NEVER!
Aren't people just supposed to get more stubborn as they get older?

I've come to accept before the fact, my children will probably observe me to be the most dorkster parent on the planet, and really, I'm pretty ok with that!  Thank GOD they'll have some Rodolfo style in their veins so they won't wear the all purple matching outfits down to puffy purple headband and pull on cotton purple shoes that I did in grade school.  From there  I moved onto overalls and over sized sweaters in high school and college held its own special obsession with black penny loafers which I would wear thru and replace one after another....to the point where a boyfriend complained about them saying he wouldn't kiss me until I threw them away and my parents paraded them to the trash can singing and dancing during a summer break....true story.

I now categorize my outfits by the hour of the day...
work clothes (jeans and t shirt)...after work clothes (my favorite patagonia cotton dress or a pair of sweat pants and a tank top)...evening going out clothes (some kind of cuterish dress someone with actual style has given me at some point)...and of course pajamas.  Done!  That's it!  Nothing more!


So what's worse really..who looked more ridiculous earlier this afternoon on the intersection of East Washington and Ingersoll?  The hipster or the dorkster?!?

a bone to pick with "American" fruit

I am about to sound extremely pretentious.

It's hard to find good fruit in the States and if you've never eaten fruit in another country/a locale close to where the produce was actually picked and vine/tree ripened...dude, you are missing out!

I grew up on iceburg lettuce as a staple.  Cheap.  Easy.  Done.  Rodolfo won't touch the stuff...he grew up on locally grown, happy, healthy, hippy, fancy schmancy greens without even knowing it and for less cost than a round cabbage-esque head of iceburg with 5 times the flavor....because he was in Chile.  Lucky, lucky man.  It's from him that I've gained my pretentiousness with foods.  He's ruined me!

Let's face it, the grocery fruits here are all from Chile as well, they are just picked under ripe and sent on an airplane/truck/boat to get here...I don't smell very good either coming from Chile!

Rodolfo refuses to eat peaches in the midwest.  He tries once a year and then gets disappointed when it doesn't taste of pure sugar..he's frustrated when he doesn't have to eat it over a sink...because it doesn't ooze down his arm with every bite.  It ruins his day.  Yes.  He's a peach snob!***  And a tomato snob, etc. etc...he can go without, but when he finds the good stuff, it makes him so so happy!  Like he's won the lottery!

Like I said, this is all very pretentious!However, I have backup!

She's called Julia Child!  And thanks to Candace for letting me borrow "My life in France" she's got my back!!!

page 25:  "In America, grapes bored me, but the Parisian grapes were exquisite, with a delicate, fugitive, sweet, ambrosial, and irresistible flavor"  (Happy 100th Julia, rest in peace dear heart)

What a description!!!  Delicate, fugitive!!!  Ambrosial....damn girl....you've got it!
A description I would never use for a grape purchased in the mid west!  She's right!  They're boring!

Now...granted, the farmers markets are getting better and better!  Thank god!  So now, at least half the year, we have access to local tomatoes,  zuc's, cuc's, herbs, melons, corn, eggplant, etc.. but when it comes to winter, our hearts get heavy and our palettes get depressed.

Perhaps this is just what we get for living in an area of the world that becomes inhabitable half the year, but isn't that the same for France and all those other lovely countries in Europe that turn out incredible produce and food experiences year in and year out?!?   What's our excuse?

My point?  If you haven't traveled out of the country at least once, do it!  Not necessarily just for the culture, the traditions, or how good it is to get outside of your comfy zone, do it for your PALETTE!!!!  To appreciate life to its fullest, it's important to try one grape..a single grape you could describe as "fugitive"  I mean...seriously!  

Your palette will thank you a hundred times over when you bite into a peach and it's the best peach of your life!!!  The next trip we take...it's not about the place (or it is, but that's secondary), it's about the FOOD!

 ***The one exception to this rule was when we went to California and we bought some peaches from a stand the morning after we arrived.  Let's just say he pulled a Julia in experience, but without the beautiful words...only noises..."mmm...oh!....mmmm...wooooow!!!!  Shlurp."  Now, he's definitely not willing to buy a peach in the mid west!  California should not count as part of the States in this scenario....it's some happy hippy utopia...why aren't we all there?

week day weekends

There are pros and cons to food service depending how you look at it.

The busiest part of my work week is the weekend....this can be a big bummer for spending time hanging out with friends and making night time plans, especially when I need to wake up at 6am on a Sunday morning.  Something I used to love about working at the credit union was getting a full two days off Saturday and Sunday to cavorts and saunter around with the R man...farmers market plus brunch on a Saturday morning, partying til the wee hours on a Saturday night, recuperate on a Sunday and be fresh and ready for Monday...

well...

that doesn't happen anymore.  But!  This does mean I get a full fabulous day off during the week!

Of course this leads to activities and fun of the individual variety as R man is usually off industrializing himself, but honestly, I kind of like to have a full day to myself....for errands!  A full stress free day to get stuff done!  The Minnesotan in me is beaming!

• bike rides as long or short as I'd like
• laundry day
• my credit union is actually open!
• two hours in the grocery store wandering about  *btw, who the heck are all of these other people shopping on a week day at 3pm?  Are there that many of us with a week day off?!?
• time to sort out paper work and organize the house
• cooking for the week
• mowing the lawn
• catching up on emails and facebook and blogs!

I really feel like everyone needs a day like this to get stuff done.  The weekend just isn't enough!  Well....it could be, but when do normal people get to go to the bank?  Or shop?  Or....cook?!?

Btw, here's some pics from my last week day off:

Some friends of ours recently moved and she happened to be my size and just last week the rules were changed at work where we can wear whatever we want...and I didn't really have any clothes that weren't for traveling or for a wedding!
I know!  What luck!!!

 

I also made a salad for lunch from the basil and cucumbers from our garden!  (the bread is from my bakery)  Our herb plants of Basil, Oregano, Mint and Sage are doing great!  We're getting about a cucumber or two every few days and the tomatoes are beginning to change to a lovely orange!  I managed to kill off most of my zucchini plants by adding espresso grounds to the dirt, thinking I was aiding in their growth...nope....not so much.

R man just returned from a Bachelor's weekend in Chicago for Lollapalooza.  Many a beer was drunk, a grunt was made, a concert was experienced and a video game played.  He was very happy to come home and eat one of his famous "mega salads". 

Just like how I very much enjoy my week day weekends....the man is very much allowed to go off and explore the world and enjoy his weekends!  The joys of marriage...interdependence and all that good stuff!  

Well, it's my day off today!  Time to start some laundry!

***30 minutes later***....upon further intensive thought on the unfairness of doing laundry on my day off verses R man partying for 3 days straight for his days off and the conversing of this fact between us....I will not be washing his dirty underwear today!  He'll do it later.  Time for pilates!

bad juju

I'm a pretty positive happy person...I think.
At least I try to be.

But recently, there's been a lot on my mind..
As positive and happy and bubbly as I can be with the sun shining and babies googoo'ing, sometimes the badness in others sinks into my bones....
Sometimes the bad guys win...
and you you know what? 
That sucks!

I've had a pretty tough last week and I'm handling it great really, but it's been a shocker to the system...

If you've been reading, you already know I'm questioning all kinds of things, the meaning of life, the meaning of my life, the center of all things, what to do, where to go, how to feel and see the world and be a good person...blah blah blah....well! 

Thanks to.....the higher powers that be I guess..... my new sentiment of personal positive karma and trying to find some deeper, healthier happiness in the world is being put to the test!

I feel the need that guidelines are in order to get my good juju back...to believe in the good in people and know that the world is not out to get me....some rules....for appropriate good juju etiquette...small..big...it all has done its part to make me feel wibbly wobbly.

• caterpillars who eat people's much loved tomato plants deserve the death penalty...but no, I can't find the heart to splatter your gigantic tomato plant fed body into the pavement and instead have delicately placed you in my neighbors compost 100 feet away from my tomato plant in the hopes that your obesity keeps you far, far away.....bad caterpillar!  Bad!

the evil culprit caught in action!

• if a store closes at 5pm....and you read on the front of the store the hours of business....leave at 5pm....ok....5:10pm at the latest.
•  In entering a bakery...selling bread....expect there to be some gluten involved!
• People who are hypocrites are the worst kind of scoundrels, and deserve bad karma for life.  I can handle people doing bad things, it's when they're doing bad things and lying about it that freaks me out.  If you are a hypocrite with me and I find you out....know that I am 50% Chilean...I will not forgive you for what harm you've done to me or mine...you are dead to me...adieu.
  
• If you borrow from someone, specifically in the form of money, pay them back  in an agreed upon time if you don't want to be a douche bag forever in my eyes.
• Don't ever, ever steal from me.  Ever.  The Hypocrite guideline comes into effect here as well.
• pick up after yourself if you've made a mess
• If you know you are doing something bad or mean that could deeply hurt someone else, stop doing it!

So there you go.
Don't eat my tomato plants.
Don't lie.
Don't steal.
Don't be a jack ass.
Short and sweet words to live by.