3 countries I’d like to visit and why

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December 2010, first post, postaday2011, postaday2012, writing

I am re-posting my very first post, December 31st 2010, on WordPress because this is the second anniversary of my blog and I thought that you would be interested to see how I started my blog. It was through the use of the Daily Prompt which inspired my answer; answering a simple question is a great way to get the writing flowing.

I had stumbled onto WordPress by sheer accident. I was reading something on the internet and I clicked on a link which got me to Black Water Dog’s blog and that got me to another blog written by Kolembo who is a brilliant poet and I said to myself “why not do this for myself?” So that is how I got here.

I know the 3 countries I’d like to visit and why, I just can’t give either of the 3 any priority due to the fact these would be imagined experiences based on photos, articles and preconceived notions.
The first country that comes to mind is Thailand. What first drew me to Thailand as a destination is the cuisine. When I was 13, My parent’s friend Elizabeth introduced us to the Thai restaurant called Jaiya located at 81st Street and Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. Elizabeth commandeered the menus and ordered for the table. I remember having beef satay with a peanut sauce that was unlike any experience that I had encountered with plain old peanut butter. The slight spicy bite blended perfectly with the sweet caramelized beef on those small skewers. I also had the crispy spring rolls that were so much more delicate than any egg roll that I had ever had before. The follow up was, if you can believe it, even better. To this day, I have yet to ever eat a crab preparation as delectable as Jaiya’s crab with special sauce. The crab is the east coast blue crab, broken into pieces and stewed in this sauce that I cannot dissect not explain how all the ingredients combine to make a sauce that makes you forget where you are, who you are with, all that you can focus on is sucking the crab, sucking your fingers, dipping the crab continuously into the sauce to suck some more. When you have finally exhausted the crab source, you finish the rest of the sauce with your rice. This introduction into the complexity and refinement of Thai cuisine piqued my curiosity into the country itself. Cuisine such as this must come from a wonderful land. I do know that Thailand is divided in terms of climate by north and south. The north is more temperate and mountainous whereas the south is dominated by the jungle. This diversity in climate is also reflected in differences in cuisine, the south being spicier than the north. Now I am not 100% sure if I am correct on the geography which is an excellent reason why I have Thailand on my list.
Portugal is another destination I would love to explore. The first thought that comes to mind is Porto, the beautiful city in Portugal which is home to this magnificent fortified wine that in France, we simply adore as an aperitif and conversely the English enjoy it as a dessert wine. I actually have to confess that this is principal the reason for my infatuation with Portugal. I do want to say that the exquisite dish called paella comes to my mind when I think of Portugal, but I am not sure if I’m getting the culinary origin of paella mixed up between Portugal or Spain. But, honestly, does it really matter? All that counts is that I would very much like to spend a good amount of time visiting Portugal thoroughly.

Lastly, Turkey is my final destination. It is also part of a huge regret in my past travels. My sister and I were back packing through Europe. We were in Rome with a trio of lovely Australian girls who introduced us to the nicest 3 Canadian guys, who were on their way to Corfu, Greece. After we parted ways with the girls, my sister and I met up the boys in Corfu. The group of us got along so well and we had a fantastic time. Upon leaving Corfu, the boys invited us to accompany them to Istanbul, Turkey. Part of me really wanted to go but my sister really, really wanted to get back home to France, which we ended up doing. I don’t regret doing what my sister wanted at the time but now I do regret that opportunity. I have read so much about Turkey; the architecture, the collective history of East and West, the religious sites, and of course the cuisine.

I enjoyed writing this, I gradually realized that the only thing that mattered was why I wanted to visit. That “epiphany” was a big deal for me since I tend to get hamstrung by my desire to please people. I hope that whoever reads this piece enjoys it.

Which musical instrument?

If I could learn how to play a musical instrument, which would I choose?

I am fairly sure that this question is a repeat and I think that I had answered it with the piano. However, I had forgotten that in my little heart of hearts; I had also fantasized about being a really cool bass guitar player such as John Entwistle from The Who. His bass guitar playing was unmistakeable and Pete Townsend knew he had a genius on his hands so when he wrote My Generation he made sure to showcase John Entwistle's abilities.

Another reason why I swooned over John Entwistle and his bass guitar playing was because the man was so cool on stage. He was the very antithesis to the craziness of Pete Townsend and Keith Moon. He played his bass guitar with such calm and serenity, you could only imagine what musical world he was in. I don't think that I can imagine a piano player having the same effect on me as the bass guitar playing that John Entwistle embodied did.

I love the piano and I would love to have the ability to illicit such beautiful sound from the ivories but I can also dream about myself on stage standing with the bass guitar in my hands and strumming while just moving my head in time to that gorgeous beat.

Our last snowstorm for 2012, I think

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cold, drifts, postaday2012, snowing, snowstorm, travel, windy, writing

It finally stopped snowing this morning and I estimate that we got at least 6 inches of snow but with the insane wind, the snowdrifts are quite high. I only took Jack for his walk once today because the cold and the wind made it practically unbearable. We did our mile loop and the wind was so bad that I started jogging back to the house with Jack and I never run; I had to stop because my knees started going so I dropped back down to my habitual brisk walk, but that wind was relentless, howling and jabbing my exposed skin with snow pins. I don’t think that Jack minded; he was miserable as well.

I took some pictures of our winter wonderland, I took them at 5:30 so it was dark but I am hoping that the lights twinkling in the windows and on the hedges will show up despite the darkness.

2012 in review

Tags

blogs, postaday2012, WordPress, writing

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 13,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 3 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

 

Which animal would you be?

If I could be any type of animal, what animal would I choose to become?

I don't know about that one, it's a dangerous world out there between poachers, hunters and habitat loss. Perhaps becoming one of the sleek big cats; because they are so very beautiful such as the Snow Leopard, the Jaguar, the Tiger or the Lioness. Or, I could be a bird and soar in the skies such as a Peregrine Falcon or a Hawk or an Eagle.

According to Greek myth, the god Dionysus turned a ship load of hapless Greek sailors into dolphins when they panicked at the sight of his real form and jumped overboard without knowing how to swim and that's why dolphins seem so human like, so that might be a good shape to adopt.

If I were lucky enough to find a good pet owner; perhaps being a dog like a German Shepard would be a nice change of pace; being taken care of all day long, fed and given water, paid attention to and walked and loved. That could be the way to go.

However, I think that I will stick with being human and taking care of little Jack. I will also continue signing as many petitions as I need to; to help with the plight of all of our endangered species. That's what I'll do.

Home sweet home

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exhaustion, Home, icy roads, postaday2012, snowstorms, travel

We are finally home and Jack is so happy to be home, he ran out in back and did all of his business and ran around the whole house once or twice and now he is curled up on my lower legs while I type this in the living room, sitting on the couch with a roaring fire that my hubby built for me. I have to say that my hubby was the champion today; he got us home safe and sound during another snowstorm. Can you imagine it? He drove us down during a snowstorm and treacherous roads and today he drove us back home with the roads getting more treacherous as we got closer to home. My hubby, my hero.

We are all tired. My hubby for all of his driving under horrible conditions, the babies, being the young adults that they are, seem to be always tired and I, who gets exhausted quickly just at home by myself taking care of Jack, I am exhausted because since we all descend on my mommy like a tornado and she gets tired easily. I make sure that I do as much as possible so that she doesn’t get tired at all by our stay. My mommy has a very set way of doing things which I am used to and I never mind doing things her way, it brings me back to my childhood and really nice memories. We also get the chance to talk about everything under the sun and I ask questions; all kinds of questions about my mommy’s childhood, what she might have grown up to be if she had made other choices, questions that I can ask as an adult. I treasure our talks together.

Back to the exhaustion, it is stressful to visit someone’s house who doesn’t have dogs and who is very used to having their house just so. My mommy knows Jack from coming up here and visiting with us and she of course thinks that he is extremely cute because he is. It’s another thing to have a dog in your house with nice area rugs and Jack is known for being sneaky when he doesn’t want to go outside. He will hide his business if he doesn’t want to go outside. So part of my mission and I chose to accept, it was to anticipate when little Jack had to go outside. So I was dragging his backside very often outside and speed walking him to Astoria Park because that is the only patch of greenery that met his standards. So in between helping with cooking, setting the table, clearing the table, bringing the dishes up and down the stairs, setting the house back to rights and walking Jack back and forth from my mommy’s house to the park. I’m beat.

I had a very nice time as did my hubby and the babies. Jack I’m not too sure.

Your superpower

If I could have a superpower I am leaning towards flight because flying nowadays is not the exciting adventurous fun thing that it used be. I could simply leap into the air and visit my family in France when I wanted and I could also pop in to visit all of my friends on WordPress. That would be stupendous.

I briefly flirted with the idea of mind control but that is truly a dangerous superpower and it should be something that you have to be very careful with and as the saying goes; be careful of what you wish for.

I am feeling good about my pick of flying because having the freedom of flitting here and there and back again is just too alluring, imagine having the capability of going anywhere you wished? How grand that would be.

Walking around New York City

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fast pace, New York City, postaday2012, subway, travel, walking

This morning the hubby, my mommy, Jack and I got into the Subaru to go pick up the babies from my sister’s house. Last night right before my sister’s clan left; my niece and nephew both begged my babies to go over their house for a sleep over. Even though there is a fairly large age difference between my two and my sister’s two; my oldest was born in 1991 and my youngest 1994 whereas my niece was born in 2003 and my nephew born in 2007, a solid 40 years between us. They get along really well and I know that my two love how excited my niece and nephew get when they see them.

Afterwards we came back to my mommy’s house and left Jack in my old room with all of his toys, his bed, his special papers and his food. I promise you, when I was packing up for Jack for our trip to my mommy’s, I felt as if I was experiencing deja-vu from the time the babies were toddlers. We took the subway into the city. My mommy’s house by subway is only fifteen minutes away from 59th Street and Lexington Ave. That is the only thing that I miss about living in New York City; the freedom that the subway gives you to go large distances without being dependent on a car. We walked near Radio City Music Hall, we stopped at Rockefeller Center and walked along Madison Ave for a bit and headed East to Third Ave. My mommy left us to go to Citerella, a specialty food store and we were looking for somewhere special to eat. My hubby directed us to Grand Central Station which is a landmark in and of itself and within the terminal if the Oyster Bar & Restaurant. We had a nice late lunch there and afterwards I rushed home to release Jack from my room and give him a proper walk.

While I was walking back to the subway, I realized once again that I don’t really miss the city like my hubby does, I find it too hectic for the most part, but at the holiday’s, it is magical. The lights and the architectural aspects to so many of the light montages really takes the Christmas spectacle to another level. Fifth Ave with the ultra chic boutiques such as Cartier, Tiffany’s Henri Bendel, Harry WInston and leading down to Saks is resplendent during this time of year. The only negative is the hordes of shoppers still overwhelming the streets where you constantly experience pedestrian traffic jams, especially along Fifth Avenue. Aside from that, the city for a nice part revels in the Christmas pageantry and holiday spirit.

Once I got back to my mommy’s, Jack was more than ready for a proper walk. I took him ten blocks down to Astoria park where he gratefully sniffed around piles of leaves and huge swaths of grass. He was a relieved little baby Jack, poor lamb. He has been very well behaved these two days, only one small accident and it wasn’t on a rug, phew! However I am fairly sure that he will be ecstatic when he gets back to his house, his smells and the peace and quiet of Blandford.

I will be happy to be home as well, I love my mommy but now that I have my own home, I am happy to get back there. So Jack and I will be happy to get back to walking paths away from traffic.

Which one?

I would never want to lose any of my five senses but if I were forced to lose one, which one would it be?

This is a tough one. I wouldn't want to lose my eyesight because it would make my reading and writing life so much more difficult. I realize that I could learn braille but it would be hard so not something that I would look forward to especially since braille could never replace the sight of a sunset or a sunrise.

I love hearing the sounds of the world and listening to people speak. I suppose that cochlear implants would make the point of this exercise useless so this is another sense that I would rather keep.

My sense of smell is vital to my cooking so that is not an option, my sense of touch is also vital to my cooking so there you have it. These two are keepers.

That leaves the last sense, the sense of taste. I would give that one up because I'm sure that you are thinking, hey what about your cooking? I get away without tasting because I have tasters at the ready at my house, the babies. Moreover, I would be less tempted to eat ice cream and other sweet delights because if you can't taste it and revel in its deliciousness, then what is the point of eating it?

I don't know if my choice is logical but there you have it. I know that it is informed by my challenges with food and eating it, so this is another window into my psyche and what propels me through life.

Belated Christmas in New York

Tags

Christmas, family, festivities, food, pets, postaday2012, presents

We arrived at my mommy’s house to celebrate Christmas with her, my sister and her family. My niece and nephew are still of the age that Santa is more real than not and the world of toys is still their oyster. We left early this morning because not only were we coming to New York to celebrate but also to see that dear dentist of ours, so that he can finish the work he had started on my hubby and myself back in November. Late last night Massachusetts got hit by a Nor’easter and this morning the roads were fairly treacherous but my hubby is a very good driver and he got us here safe and sound.

Guess who came with us to New York? Jack did and he is all discombobulated. He doesn’t like to go when there isn’t large expanses of greenery to sniff at and sniff some more. I think that there are way too many cars and people for the poor dear. He is happy on my lap and under the dining room table where, while we were eating there was a guaranteed drizzle of morsels and crumbs coming from the table and onto the floor, perfect for a little snout to ferret out to lick up and swallow.

The kids both big and small were spoiled and the grownups were as well. We were equally spoiled by gifts and food. My mommy made a wonderful gratin of sea scallops with a sauce so good that you couldn’t help but eat two more pieces of bread just to sop the sauce up, it was that delicious. My baby boy who apparently doesn’t like scallops wiped his plate cleaned with his second piece of bread. The main course was an eye opener for me. My mommy asked me if I would pick up a pork roast and to try to get the butt, not the shoulder, the actual backside of the pig as a roast cut. I wasn’t aware of it, but what my mommy wanted was a fresh ham that according to some research I did, is the best cut for a spectacular roast pork and after eating the fantastic pork roast I can attest to that fact. I had never purchased a fresh ham before and on the ticket it said “fresh ham, rump part of the leg”. I got it yesterday and last night, I had cut slits into the meat, all over and at least twenty, to insert half cloves of garlic rubbed in salt and pepper and then I rubbed salt and paper all over it and wrapped it in aluminum foil and put it into the refrigerator until this morning when we left. My husband also brought the lobster bisque that he had made last night so that my mommy could taste his latest culinary creation.

My mommy served string beans and roasted potatoes and we ate like kings and queens. It was that good, we went through two large baguettes of French bread; that is when you know that a meal is fantastic, when the bread is almost all gone.

I am tired now so I am bidding everyone a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow.