Simple pleasure #9

Seattle, Washington
Friday, December 26, 2014

I had another wonderful swim at Medgar Evers Pool this afternoon. This is a simple pleasure that I missed during our five years abroad. In Mongolia, there was only one public pool--and it required swimmers to produce a lung x-ray to rule out tuberculosis. I never made it there. In addition to the x-ray hassle, swimming is not that enticing when it's -30F outside. And in Jordan there was always the consideration of "women's swimming times" vs "men's"... The wonderful pleasure of a clean, accessible pool! And, of course, the lockers are the SAME ones we used in high school--more than 30 years ago. The locker fee? It's still a quarter...

8 other simple pleasures...

Happy Yalda!

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, December 20, 2014

Tonight we celebrated Yalda, the Persian Solstice. Not sure how traditional the meal or activities were, but we had lots of candles to light up the long night and a plate full of traditional Persian treats. And Frank's ghormeh sabzi was delicious!

More Christmas baking

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, December 20, 2014

Once again the house fills with the smell of Virginia's Greek Bread--the family tradition continues...

The (approximate) recipe is here...

I think my saffron "expired"

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, December 13, 2014

Today is Luciadagen and yesterday I made luciakatter once again. This year things didn't seem quite right in the taste and color departments. I think that's what you get when your saffron travels too much between continents...

Beary Christmas!

Seattle, Washington
Wednesday, December 10, 2014

This afternoon A and a friend decorated gingerbread bears to share with their classmates. I decorated a few, too, but theirs standout as the ones groaning under the weight of excessive frosting, sprinkles, and more left-over Halloween candy...

Gingerbread Zoo

The final product...

Seattle, Washington
Sunday, December 7, 2014

Several hours and numerous artistic disputes later, A and I finished our Gingerbread Zoo. Next year, I will measure and cut more carefully--but frosting and candy can cure almost anything...

From Halloween to Christmas

Next up: gingerbread houses!

Seattle, Washington
Saturday, December 6, 2014

A dressed as a "recycling center" for Halloween--see below for her candy collecting/sorting apparatus. This morning, in anticipation of making a gingerbread house, she sorted out all her uneaten Halloween candy. It's somehow fitting that A should chose to "recycle" her candy in this way. After all, the gingerbread house won't care if the candy is stale...

A "closed system": from Halloween to Christmas...

Satisfaction guaranteed

Seattle, Washington
Tuesday, December 2, 2014

In truth, I am not one for fixing mechanical things. If it involves any kind of fabric, I can mend it. No problem. But two of our locks were not working properly, and it has long been time to deal with them. First, I got a primer from my (very patient) uncle on how to get the things OUT of the door. The next day I removed them, took them to the locksmith for fixing, brought them home, AND re-installed them correctly. It was incredibly satisfying to put the keys in and find that they all work...

And he's here at last!

Seattle, Washington
Monday, December 1, 2014

After much anticipation and preparation, Santa Rabbit arrived at last.  There were concerns that he might go back to Jordan, instead, to look for us. But, hooray, he found us!