It's been a while since I've blogged...mostly because I haven't been living with Yiayia for the past year and a half...until this week. Mom has come up to stay with us in Lincoln for a month...and it's as if we were never away from each other. How do I mean, you ask? Tonight I told her I'd be home at 6:30pm, thinking I was giving myself a 15 minute cushion. Alas, I was kept late at work and was going to be about 10 minutes late. So being a good daughter, I called her at 6:15 to tell her I was going to be late. "How much late?", she asked me. 10 minutes, I tell her. I pull into my driveway at 6:40, gather my stuff, and head in the house at 6:42...and she's dialing her phone to call me to see why I'm late. Yep, we're back.
So mom's right arm isn't working well and she's a little less steady when she walks which means she struggles to get dressed, is less mobile over all. This also means that she scares the crap out of me when I look out the window and see her outside in the backyard, up on the elevated planter, walking on the ground covering, pruning the trees she planted a year ago. When I go outside and say "hey, what are you doing?" she looks at me, all innocent and says "Your trees are too tall and need trimming. Your gardener is no good." "I don't think you should be up there." "Why not?". Sigh. Never mind. I walk away thinking to myself, she's a grown woman with all her faculties...I'm not going to tell her what to do....that's her job.
Sitting on the couch after doing her arm exercises, she regales me with all she did in the garden. Pulling out this plant, cutting down that plant, replanting this plant to a place I would never think it should go. And laughing about the male plant. Male? Male. Oh, she means Kale.
For some reason she can't remember Kale's name and my plant pretty much died and hers is as tall as her house.
God bless my husband.
Monday, December 3, 2018
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
I see Dad people
There are certain things that we loved about dad. He was loving, affectionate, funny, smart, smelled good and managed mom like a champ. He was the stalwart force in my life. When he died, I was left with a gaping abyss behind me with the wind blowing me backward. And then I started to see dad in different things during the day. I'd see and FJ Toyota truck with a black body and white top that looked like his black suit and color. Or I'd see his smiling face or jumping up and down excited-ness in my sleep. Or I'd be out running errands and I couldn't park my car straight in a stall to save my life (Dad NEVER could park straight in a lot), and I knew that he was "in the car messing with me". We always gave him a hard time about his driving and getting lost. So today I had an appointment with a dermatologist to look at a suspicious mole on my back. My doctor wasn't sure so she sent me to a specialist. I mostly was fine, stopping off at TJ Maxx on my way to the appointment to kill the extra 20 minutes I had thanks to Waze (buying a super cute shirt!). But there was a little bit of nagging in my head. What if? What if it was my turn to go through the trials I've seen too many others I know go through.
But I'm ahead of myself. First, I went to work this morning at a school site to supervise. With that done, I went to the office. Parking was a breeze as there were tons of spots and some in the shade. When I came out to head to my appointment, there was a jerk who parked super crooked in his spot next to me so that his trunk was really close to mine, but I could open my door. Asshole.
Then on my way to the appointment there was no traffic and I was running early. Low-and-behold, there was a TJ Maxx 0.3 miles before my destination. So I pull into a rockstar parking spot, and do some damage to the Visa. When I come out, the car now parked next to me was super crooked and not even all the way in their own space. Seriously? I had to back out super carefully. Then it hit me. Earlier in the day I had asked dad to walk by my side throughout this day. And that was what he was doing...and he was showing my by the cars parked all caddi-wampus and crooked...next to me.
The doctor looked at my 'suspicious' mole for a total of 3 nanoseconds and told me there was nothing to worry about. I skipped out of there and made my hubby a pasta dinner (his favorite meatless dinner) cuz dad loved to celebrate with food and always told us to celebrate with those who are important in our lives. And so I did. Thanks Dad. Love you too.
But I'm ahead of myself. First, I went to work this morning at a school site to supervise. With that done, I went to the office. Parking was a breeze as there were tons of spots and some in the shade. When I came out to head to my appointment, there was a jerk who parked super crooked in his spot next to me so that his trunk was really close to mine, but I could open my door. Asshole.
Then on my way to the appointment there was no traffic and I was running early. Low-and-behold, there was a TJ Maxx 0.3 miles before my destination. So I pull into a rockstar parking spot, and do some damage to the Visa. When I come out, the car now parked next to me was super crooked and not even all the way in their own space. Seriously? I had to back out super carefully. Then it hit me. Earlier in the day I had asked dad to walk by my side throughout this day. And that was what he was doing...and he was showing my by the cars parked all caddi-wampus and crooked...next to me.
The doctor looked at my 'suspicious' mole for a total of 3 nanoseconds and told me there was nothing to worry about. I skipped out of there and made my hubby a pasta dinner (his favorite meatless dinner) cuz dad loved to celebrate with food and always told us to celebrate with those who are important in our lives. And so I did. Thanks Dad. Love you too.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Kolyva Training Time
Yiayia used to be the THE person to make Kolyva for memorials at church. She got it down to a science and was more than happy to tell you what you were doing wrong and how you SHOULD be doing it. Since "retiring" from her position, she makes Kolyva only for Dad's memorial.
This year, my sweet, dear friend Olga asked my mom to show her how to make the Kolyva. So early on a Saturday morning she came to the house and mom "showed" us how to make it. Now, mind you, she had already boiled the wheat, dried in the the sheet/towel method she uses, and I don't believe either of us touched any of the ingredients until it was completed.
We videoed the instructions and I am going to post them here (if all goes well...so that didn't happen...see the youtube link below for videos). To say that her explanations were clear and easy to follow would be a big fat lie. So, I'm going to also try and type out how to do this based on what she told us. She starts on Friday with the boiling process. Mixes on Saturday. Decorates on Sunday.
Cooking (you want to do this at least the day before so it dries):
1. You want to use Pearled Wheat. 2 cups for a smaller bowl of Kolyva, 4 cups for a tray.
2. You will want to rinse it 4-5 times until the water runs clear. To do this, fill a pot with water put the wheat in. Swish it around with a wooden spoon or you hand. Strain. Change water and repeat until water is mostly clear after stirring.
3. Fill pot with water, add wheat, and bring to a boil. Once it is at a boil, cook for 25 minutes.
4. Drain into a strainer and rinse under running water, stirring wheat, until water runs clear.
5. Lay a thick towel on the counter/table top.
6. Place a sheet on top of the towel. Spread wheat on 1/2 sheet in a layer (about the size of a cookie sheet) and fold second half of the sheet over to cover all of the wheat. Fold towel over sheet and place on a cookie sheet to transfer. COVER WITH A PLASTIC BAG.
7. Put wheat immediately into the refrigerator. (This is a MUST as the wheat will mold very quickly if not chilled)
Mixing (can be done the day before or on the morning of):
1. Remove wheat from refrigerator and carefully scrape into a large, open mouth bowl.
2. Add fine any/all of the following (by preference/to taste): raisins, dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, chopped almonds, cinnamon, 1/2-1 cup sesame seeds, and anything else you want to taste.
Presentation:
1. Put tin foil on bottom of tray and line with paper doilies. Tape all down.
2. Mound the wheat onto tray.
3. Sprinkle bread crumbs (or gram-cracker crumbs) (about 2 cups) over the mound and smooth out over the wheat.
4. Using a sifter, sift 1-2 pounds of powdered sugar (1 for 2 cups wheat, 2 lbs for 4 cups wheat) over the wheat to cover all the wheat (so you cannot see anything other than the powdered sugar).
5. Decorate with a cross using Jordan almonds, or decorated cardboard, and as desired.
See the videos at:
Good luck!
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Ahhhh...dinner at home
Tonight I had a dinner like I would have if I lived in my own home and own kitchen. Salmon with a balsamic, mustard, honey, garlic glaze, roasted cauliflower, potatoes (I wouldn't typically make the potatoes but they were darn good).
How did I manage to have this dinner, you ask? I didn't eat at Yiayias. I ate at my girl friend's place. The fish was from Whole Foods, not the freezer section of the discount box store where Yiayia shops. The salmon was soooo good. AND it wasn't overcooked!!! A killer combination.
And the roasted cauliflower had a light coating of olive oil and salt, browned just perfectly, delicious...and not swimming in butter. And the potatoes were portioned in a muffin tin and browned on the top, tender in side.
We sat. We ate. We chatted. Not once did I have to repeat myself. Not once did I have to raise my voice to be heard. Not once did anyone say 'you're drinking alcohol?'. Ahhhh....like I was back in my own home. Thanks Stacia.
How did I manage to have this dinner, you ask? I didn't eat at Yiayias. I ate at my girl friend's place. The fish was from Whole Foods, not the freezer section of the discount box store where Yiayia shops. The salmon was soooo good. AND it wasn't overcooked!!! A killer combination.
And the roasted cauliflower had a light coating of olive oil and salt, browned just perfectly, delicious...and not swimming in butter. And the potatoes were portioned in a muffin tin and browned on the top, tender in side.
We sat. We ate. We chatted. Not once did I have to repeat myself. Not once did I have to raise my voice to be heard. Not once did anyone say 'you're drinking alcohol?'. Ahhhh....like I was back in my own home. Thanks Stacia.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Careful Eating...yeah
It is a Sunday night and we are just finishing dinner when Yiayia asks about what I might want for dinner on Monday night. Before I can answer, she giggles to herself and says "Isn't it funny how we have to plan the next dinner when we aren't done with this dinner." My response "Um, Yiayia you are the ONLY one who does that...none of us do that".
Yiayia: How about ribs?
Me: No (thought bubble...too much red meat but we just had chicken)
Yiayia: How about Sloppy Joe
Me: With Turkey?!
Yiayia: Yeah, okay I have turkey in the ice box
Me: (thought bubble...score!)
Monday Night:
Yiayia: You're home. Good. Sit down.
Me: I need to change and wash my hands
Yiayia: How long?
Me: 10 min. Maybe 15.
Yiayia: That Long???
Sitting at the table:
Me: Oh my gosh, this is so good! This is really good Yiayia!
Yiayia: I have the worlds onions in it. Sliced not chopped.
Me: And...
Yiayia: And garlic
Me: And what's this at the bottom of the pan. Olive oil?
Yiayia: That's butter!
Me: (thought bubble...fail)
Yiayia: How about ribs?
Me: No (thought bubble...too much red meat but we just had chicken)
Yiayia: How about Sloppy Joe
Me: With Turkey?!
Yiayia: Yeah, okay I have turkey in the ice box
Me: (thought bubble...score!)
Monday Night:
Yiayia: You're home. Good. Sit down.
Me: I need to change and wash my hands
Yiayia: How long?
Me: 10 min. Maybe 15.
Yiayia: That Long???
Sitting at the table:
Me: Oh my gosh, this is so good! This is really good Yiayia!
Yiayia: I have the worlds onions in it. Sliced not chopped.
Me: And...
Yiayia: And garlic
Me: And what's this at the bottom of the pan. Olive oil?
Yiayia: That's butter!
Me: (thought bubble...fail)
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Baby Tomatoes
I love tomatoes in the summer. Deep red, meaty, vine ripened, fresh from the backyard, sliced thick with feta on warm fresh bread. Yep. I love tomatoes. And Yiayia is the one who makes it all possible. But don't be mistaken. There is no 'buying' of tomato plants. That would be wasteful. You don't spend money on a tomato plant. That's crazy talk. You start them from seed.
Allow for me to share with you her process. First, Yiayia takes the seeds from a tomato she enjoyed, smears them on the tiniest piece of, preferably used, paper towel or napkin. Yiayia then puts the tiny piece in an old medication bottle (one of about four hundred and eighty three), writes the name of the type of tomato (half in Greek and part in English) and puts the old, written upon bottle into the fridge for safe keeping until next season (with the other 21 old medication bottles).
Then the pots of dirt come out in February. Yiayia buries the paper towels in the dirt, waters them, talks to them, smiles at them and babies them. Every morning, Yiayia puts the pots of almost seedlings out into the sunlight. Every night, Yiayia puts the pots into the garage to keep warm. And some nights, at the late late hour of 9:00, she knocks on my bedroom door to tell me that just as she was about to fall asleep she realized she forgot to bring 'her babies' back into the garage. Then she shoots the look at me and says 'I don't want to go down'...so I...get the husband to do it.
Allow for me to share with you her process. First, Yiayia takes the seeds from a tomato she enjoyed, smears them on the tiniest piece of, preferably used, paper towel or napkin. Yiayia then puts the tiny piece in an old medication bottle (one of about four hundred and eighty three), writes the name of the type of tomato (half in Greek and part in English) and puts the old, written upon bottle into the fridge for safe keeping until next season (with the other 21 old medication bottles).
Then the pots of dirt come out in February. Yiayia buries the paper towels in the dirt, waters them, talks to them, smiles at them and babies them. Every morning, Yiayia puts the pots of almost seedlings out into the sunlight. Every night, Yiayia puts the pots into the garage to keep warm. And some nights, at the late late hour of 9:00, she knocks on my bedroom door to tell me that just as she was about to fall asleep she realized she forgot to bring 'her babies' back into the garage. Then she shoots the look at me and says 'I don't want to go down'...so I...get the husband to do it.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
WHYYYYY????
It is 4:32am. Yep. A.M. As in 'really the middle of the night but they call it morning' a.m. And I'm awake. You might wonder why I'm awake, as typically I'm a fairly sound sleeper. Well, it's Yiayia. She's downstairs. How do I know she's downstairs? Well, first of all I know she is downstairs because when she uses the stairs, and the hand rail, her ring 'knocks' on the wooden railing with every time she takes a step (step-release, hand-'knock' as hand goes back on railing, step-release, hand-'knock' step-release, hand-'knock').
But it isn't just that she went downstairs and made noise as she did. She's baking. Yes, that's not a typo, she is baking koulourakia (twisty Greek cookies) to serve at church...in two weeks. Yep. She has two weeks in which to get this done and she's up at 4:32...and so am I.
First I heard a loud single beep. Usually with the microwave it's a series of beeps. So this single beep situation has my mind wondering, rather than trying to fall asleep again, what caused the single, loud beep. It took my tired brain a while to figure out that it was the oven coming to temperature. And just as I thought I could reward my brain with some more sleep...another single, loud beep. Huh. Now what could that one be? My poor tired brain was stumped. And it dawned on me...it was the second oven coming to temp. And now I'm awake. Gone was that 'almost but not quite' grey space that could have allowed me to fall back asleep. I'm up. But it's 4:48. A.M. Roll over. Yeah, that's it. So,... did you know that when you roll over it makes every little thought in your head start to roll around in your brain? Yep. And once they start to roll around, they start to bounce. One trying to get higher than the other to garner attention. Bounce. Shhhhh. Bounce. Stop it. Bounce. Crap.
5:04 a.m. I need to be up in 36 minutes. If I fall asleep, I will wake up with a 'bad nap' hangover. If I stay up, I'll be tired, but there is coffee for that. But it is too early to actually get out of bed. Or wait, I could go walk. That's a good idea! I need to walk. I haven't been exercising at all lately. That will be good for me. Where are my tennis shoes? And my earphones? And do I have any gum? I get really dry mouth if I walk without gum in my mouth. I probably have gum...I usually do. Is today a 'don't have to wash my hair day' or a 'wash my hair day'? Let's see...no wash Sunday, yes Monday, not Tuesday...what day is it today?
5:28a.m. Now it's too late to walk. I suck. I totally could have walked. Why do I do that? I could have just gotten up, found any walking shoe, and gone. Even for 25 minutes. How hard is it to do that? I mean people work out before their day all the time! I used to be that person! And now I just blew an hour of my life, not sleeping and not exercising. I think I'll check Facebook.
5:49a.m. Crap. Now I'm late.
But it isn't just that she went downstairs and made noise as she did. She's baking. Yes, that's not a typo, she is baking koulourakia (twisty Greek cookies) to serve at church...in two weeks. Yep. She has two weeks in which to get this done and she's up at 4:32...and so am I.
First I heard a loud single beep. Usually with the microwave it's a series of beeps. So this single beep situation has my mind wondering, rather than trying to fall asleep again, what caused the single, loud beep. It took my tired brain a while to figure out that it was the oven coming to temperature. And just as I thought I could reward my brain with some more sleep...another single, loud beep. Huh. Now what could that one be? My poor tired brain was stumped. And it dawned on me...it was the second oven coming to temp. And now I'm awake. Gone was that 'almost but not quite' grey space that could have allowed me to fall back asleep. I'm up. But it's 4:48. A.M. Roll over. Yeah, that's it. So,... did you know that when you roll over it makes every little thought in your head start to roll around in your brain? Yep. And once they start to roll around, they start to bounce. One trying to get higher than the other to garner attention. Bounce. Shhhhh. Bounce. Stop it. Bounce. Crap.
5:04 a.m. I need to be up in 36 minutes. If I fall asleep, I will wake up with a 'bad nap' hangover. If I stay up, I'll be tired, but there is coffee for that. But it is too early to actually get out of bed. Or wait, I could go walk. That's a good idea! I need to walk. I haven't been exercising at all lately. That will be good for me. Where are my tennis shoes? And my earphones? And do I have any gum? I get really dry mouth if I walk without gum in my mouth. I probably have gum...I usually do. Is today a 'don't have to wash my hair day' or a 'wash my hair day'? Let's see...no wash Sunday, yes Monday, not Tuesday...what day is it today?
5:28a.m. Now it's too late to walk. I suck. I totally could have walked. Why do I do that? I could have just gotten up, found any walking shoe, and gone. Even for 25 minutes. How hard is it to do that? I mean people work out before their day all the time! I used to be that person! And now I just blew an hour of my life, not sleeping and not exercising. I think I'll check Facebook.
5:49a.m. Crap. Now I'm late.
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