The list, my 30s and the Stuff

I did try to work on this particular entry on a Word document, you know, it would be easier and error-proof, I am a graduate student after all, and turning 30 in the process, I should have been able to do this in Word but I couldn't. I didn't know what to write. So I started over, here in Blogger's interface, to see what comes out of this one. And I still don't know if anything will. But bear with me. I, who has been writing things since, like, forever, should have something to say on my birthday of all days. But then I have stuff to do. Stuff always gets in the way. It's a classic.
But today, stuff may not get in the way. True, I had to wake up today, of all days, before 6 a.m. to register for a class. True, I couldn't register fully since I had to take a placement test. True, I did take the test -- I wrote an essay on a topic on which I didn't have much to say. What a responsible act to say hello to your 30s.
The rest of the day though, is mine.

How do you wrap up your 20s? How do you leave behind the only decade of your life that is A- not childish and highly dependent (birth to age 9), B- not overcome with growing pains (age 10 to 19) C- mostly fun and carefree, mostly lived to cross as many items as possible on the 'things to do before I turn 30' list? And the list is there for a reason. The list has a timeline. The list wants you to realize that 30 is the limit. My list, it didn't have any items to check off. It was more like a list you make as you go along: Meeting many great people- check. Speaking one foreign language well- check (Unchecked: more foreign languages). Singing, musical activities- check. Finding love of life- check. Getting married- check. Living in a foreign country- check. Seeing New York- check. Running a 15k race- check. Starting to acquire quality furniture- check. Starting grad school- check. There may even be more to my list. Or negative items can be added, boxes that I couldn't check off, and maybe that could be the stuff of a list of the 'things to do before I die.' As (believe it or not) there are only two lists and my time on the first one is up. Today, if stuff doesn't get in the way, I'm starting my second list, and as my birthday wish, I want plenty of time to work on that one.

The Secret Life of Printers

Today I had to 'regionalize' our printer. An hp rep walked me through the steps online, over a chat window. I discovered many functions that the regular buttons that we use for regular purposes perform when they are pressed in different combinations. He even made me double-click an HP logo while I held the ctrl key down to bring up a completely unique window where I entered secret numeric combinations that he gave me - a window that I had never seen before in my entire life. I just realized that there is a whole another world of key combinations and single- and double-clicks out there (or rather, in there in our computers) that serve purposes we don't even become aware of unless we bring a printer from Turkey and buy cartridges for it in the US. It's the secret life of printers and their secret affairs with computers.

everyone told me about the winter but it's still nice, and i still here cicadas loud and clear. i know i don't belong here in the way i belonged bogazici, but that feels like another lifetime anyway. i'm thinking of shiny fingers and successful people and what you leave behind and what you take with you. i can wear anything i want now. i would love to be a part of things. i just ate a really good cookie. i want to cook for my husband. i want to buy kilos of tomatoes and every fruit and vegetable that is in season and put them in my fridge, just to have them, just like we had them back home. seems like people are counting everything here. there's too much calculation, the tips, the taxes, the coupons, how many cans come out of this package? too bad the metric system is not employed here with all its decimal perks. the fall, the parks, the golden trees. they are 'winter trees'. i learned so much in primary school.
what's mine is yours.
so he came here and he talked about the writer and the reader and schiller and mann and kafka. these things would happen somewhere out there and i would watch them from my corner and i would think, wow. this is actually happening, though. this time, to me. but for the record, i would feel the same if he didn't have a nobel prize. the black book did it for me.

Here -and- now

Here's that day. I won't say here's that rainy day, because it's not a rainy day, but it's certainly a cozy day. This is the day when everything seems complete, I finally have a home base again that I can call my own and take care of, clean, decorate, enjoy. I have my honey tea and candle burning beside me, it's grey outside but warm to the eye and mind in here. I love those moments when the dust settles, you take a breath, look around and find that you are home. So here's to this cozy day.

kedi-balik

balıklara neden kedi adlari vermisiz? mesela tekir, mırmır, ya da pisi balığı... bu balık çeşidini ozel olarak seven kedilerin adlari mi onlara verilmis? yoksa evde kedisi olan balikcilar yeni isim bulmaya usenip ha kedi ha balik mi demisler?

Turkish food

The Turkish food (lahmacun, cacik, ezme, mercimek kofte, kisir, pide, yogurt) that Tom surprised us with at the end of our first meeting at work made me feel as giddy as a child. Eating Turkish food in Turkey is one thing, which I recently did, but finding yourself feasting on these Turkish flavors, in Boston, at work, was a wonderful shift from my everyday reality. I felt so lucky.
Tonight we were expecting a visit from a Turkish people and I got some tahini and pita bread earlier, thinking we had to present either dessert or fruit to our guests. I figured, if I spread some tahini on a pita bread, sprinkle it with some sugar and put it in the oven for a while, I might be able to imitate a certain Turkish dessert, namely tahinli pide. Turns out I was right. Doug didn't like it at all, but I had two portions of my mock tahini flat bread. It really did remind me of the ones we ordered on some Sunday mornings to have after breakfast... I guess some flavors will never remain just flavors. At this point in my life, Turkish food is the one thing that makes me feel completely at home and I feel home wherever I'm cooking it.

blame it on facebook

I think facebook is crippling my motivation to blog. You can say what you have to say in an instant and get it out of your system so quickly and easily. Who's going to sit down and articulate thoughts and feelings now? I guess I'll have to make more of an effort to create more than single sentences that start with my full name.

Think think think...

Gergedan: var mi hatirlayan?

Cincinnati'deki hayvanat bahcesinde gezerken Doug bana Rhinosaurus'un (aslinda Rhinoceros diye yaziliyormus, ve ben kelimeyi yazmasini bile bilmiyorum o kadar cahilim) Turkcesini sordu. Hayvancigi hicbir seye benzetemedim, daha once oyle bir yaratik gordugumu de hatirlamadim, ve dedim ki, 'bizde boyle bir hayvan yok, biz buna isim koymadik o yuzden'. Sonra baliklara bakilan yerde soluklanirken bir sozluge danisayim dedim, bir de ne goreyim, bizim bildigimiz (daha dogrusu bir zamanlar lafi gecmis olan, ama kafamda tam da bir imgesi bulunmayan) gergedan Amerikalilarin rhino'su degil miymis? Kucuk bir saskinlik gecirdim. Bize butun hayvanlar ogretildi mi? Cocuklar hayvanat bahcesine goturuluyor mu? Gulhane Parki'ndaki yasli aslanlarin yerine yenileri geldi mi? Bu yasima gelmis ve gergedan'dan habersiz bir Turk olarak, kimi suclayacagimi bilemiyorum.

I can move the world this morning

I'm on a coffee high.

As with every coffee high of every morning, thoughts come and go, leaving me very confident of my potential, of the things I can say, of my ideas - but like I said, I'm on a coffee high. Anything can happen, but what actually happens is the clearing up of the trivial items on my to-do list. The one I made yesterday morning, when I was on a coffee high.

We finally arrived at our destination, and I study maps every day to get a feel for the place. If I don't, I know that I will have to spend hours on the road, changing 5 buses everytime I attempt to go somewhere. Until I learn to drive on American highways, maybe learn is not the right word, until I venture out there, I will have to be dependent on husbands, bus drivers, etc.

I'm disappointed once again that I still can't have my life around places in walking distance. One should be able to wake up on a Sunday morning and walk to the nearby bakery to get fresh bread (One should also be able to be tempted by an almond-dark chocolate croissant while there). Even if you only need 1 single clove of garlic, you should be able to get it by walking to the store. Did I just describe my life in Turkey? Quite so, and I would very much like to get that part back.

Az gittik uz gittik...

Az gittik, uz gittik. Dere tepe duz gittik.
Bir de baktik ki, bir arpa boyu yol gitmisiz.

Su anda icinde oldugumuz durumu baska hicbir soz daha iyi aciklayamaz herhalde, o yuzden Ingilizce birseyler yazmaya yeltenmedim bile. Amerika'nin batisindan dogusuna gecerken, saatlerce dere tepe duz gittikten sonra, elimizdeki GPS aletinden bir de bakiyoruz ki, ekran uzerinde astigimiz yol yalnizca bir arpa tanesinin boyutuna denk.

Evliya Celebi'den daha iyi sartlarda yolculuk yaptigimiz kesin. 2 gece kamyonetimizin arkasinda uyumus olsak da (biz bunu kamp yapma -camping- kategorisinde degerlendiriyoruz) kendimizi bir sekilde bir otele motele atiyoruz gunun sonunda. Bu gece sabaha kadar yol tepmeye kararliydik. Ohio'ya varip, emin ellerde rahat bir hafta gecirip, sonra Boston'a -yeni hayatimiza- olan yolculugumuza devam edecektik. Fakat once masum bir gokkusagi ve goz alabildigine uzanan duzluklerin muhtesem renklere burunmesiyle baslayan yagmurlu-bulutlu hava, dort yanimizda cakan simseklere donusunce, "kekligi duz ovada avlarlar" turkusunun baska bir versiyonu olmamak icin bir Holiday Inn'e sigindik. God bless Holiday Inn diyesim geliyor bu noktada. Kavram kargasasi yasayan bir metin oldu bu. Yol yorgunluguma verin.

Su ana kadar bana tamamiyle yepyeni ama bir yandan da filmlerden ve cizgi romanlardan cok tanidik olan birsuru sey yaptik. Evet beni sasirtan, bambaska bir kitada bambaska kavramlarla yasiyor olmam ama bunlarin hala tanidik gelebiliyor olmasi. Yellowstone parkinda gordugumuz bizonlar, kamp yaparken dal parcasina taktigimiz "marshmallow"lari agir agir dondurerek pisirip afiyetle yememiz (bu kadar sekerli bir seyin bu kadar guzel olabilecegini dusunemezdim), dayanamayip ingilizce yazicam, roadside motel'ler, gece kampimizi ziyaret etmesinden korktugumuz ayilar, dag yollarina tirmanirken gordugumuz camla kapli zirveler, bunlar aslinda cok tanidik.

Sonra, Mount Rushmore'a oyulmus Amerikan baskanlarinin bustleri - hep televizyonda orda burda gormedik mi bu eseri? Hic aklima gelmezdi ki birgun gidip onu ziyaret edeyim, hatta onu New York'tan once goreyim. Ama oyle oldu. Hayat, ozellikle de benim hayatim, tuhaf tesaduflerle dolu.

Yolculugumuzun naifligini, vahsi bati tadini ve macera yanini iyi yansittigini dusundugum birkac fotografla bu yazima burada son vermek isterim.

cross-stitching

I have been out of touch these days -my usual excuse for ignoring my blog-. I'm in my hometown, fairly busy, heavily uninspired. I know my readers trust in my ability to glean writing topics out of everyday situations. And I'd like to trust in myself too, but maybe not this time.

I've been doing cross-stitch work. It calms me down. Not that I'm not calm -because I really am-, but it allows me to stay calm and out of the daily flurry that takes over everyone. People seem to worry about the smallest issues and I see them as petty concerns when I look from the outside, but do I worry about the same petty things in my own life, which is on hold for now?

But then who am I to say anything? I spend my time pouring over an Aida cloth, pricking my needle from one tiny hole to the other, working my way X by X to a cute bird figure.

back

I'm at House Cafe Bebek waiting for friends to get out of work to meet me, and I'm watching five guys who have a dog that keeps barking at passers-by, who laugh and talk loudly about things that won't fill a fig's seed (turkish idiom meaning trivial) and I'm getting annoyed at their attitude. Some of the people here are very spoiled. 

It's awfully hot outside, and I'm tired of wandering around.  Was this the Istanbul that I left? Was it always this chaotic with speeding cabs (I still hate cabs), bad traffic, cigarette smoke everywhere, and loud streets? I know I was missing certain parts of it (correct, Bosphorus) but I think enjoying this city is highly correlated with having a home to go back to - in other words, feeling anchored in all this turbulence. When I don't have a door to close and leave what bothers me outside, the city gets to me. At least, this time it did. Let's hope for a better impression next time. 

Setting negativity aside, it was so nice seeing my friends. Online communication is great but you can't beat the real thing.

Washington Park Arboretum

Before I proceed to give an account of the rest of our Seattle trip, I'd like to take this moment to thank the blue dot of the maps feature on my iphone, without whose help we would still be going in circles around this city. Even though we took many detours and had to drive miles to get back on track, the blue dot has guided us in the right direction a lot of the time. Not being used to the highway/exit/intersection mentality of Americans, I've struggled so much on this trip to be a good co-pilot and steer my husband in the right direction. Driving here a lot of stress, and I don't know how people do it.
To get back to our subject, we reached the Washington Park Arboretum after a pretty drive along the water. The beauty of the houses that face the water are beyond description. People were running along the shore, walking with their strollers, or just hanging out enjoying the sun. The spring blossoms were so beautiful that we had to stop and take pictures in front of strangers' houses. I was embarrassed, a little, but then we did the same thing with my family so many times. We just love nature. And I'm very lucky to have a husband that loves nature as much as I do.
The arboretum was just so spectacular. Imagine looking around and seeing only green grass, spring blossoms, ducks swimming around in ponds, and trees. And hearing only the birds chirping away. See, words do not do justice to the beauty, serenity, and happiness of that place. I will have to move on and talk about a shopping district or something, as that is something I am capable of doing. In fact we loved it so much at the arboretum that tomorrow we will go running there.
Check out these VRs that give 360-degree views of the place: Glen at Springtime, Springtime on Azalea Way, Woodland Garden & Pond. And more at vrseattle.com.

Pioneer Square

We've been exploring Seattle for the past 3 days. We wanted to take a little trip for our 1st year wedding anniversary, and instead of Oregon Coast which might have been fun too, I wanted to tour Seattle - I miss being in the city and I thought this could be the right fix. I was right! Seattle is full of nice surprises and beautiful sights. We started out by stopping at Pioneer Square on our way to our hotel. I loved the big brick buildings and the entry-level shops.We went into a glass shop where they also had a furnace and people who made things out of glass while you watch, we walked around, visited an underground shopping area with brick walls, went down to the water and took some pictures at the pier, walked back up to the square, and then had coffee at Cafe Umbria, a really neat European-feel cafe. All this time I wasn't feeling too safe as I had seen more homeless and weird people than I have for a long, long time. Throughout our visit, the number of weird people we walked by was to increase. But it was good coffee, and sitting outside in the sun enjoying the Square made it all the more worthwhile. I felt so much better and refreshed to have stepped into a city square again.

am feeling a little nostalgic that's all... remembered the 'package deal' we were. remembered all the package deals this girl been a part of. some goodbyes, some days prior to them and some, subsequent.
it was fun to come as a package deal, after all. even though i've always believed in the 'yalnizlik omur boyu'. some pools we swam in. some beaches we've been to. summer dresses and winter coats. the ones sewn by talented grandmas with green eyes, who wipe your mouth with a freshly soaped hot towel.
and even though i've always believed in the 'yalnizlik omur boyu', i've always wanted to believe in 'alone, together', too.

VW

Dear Leonard,
To look life in the face, always, to look life in the face, and to know it for what it is. At last to know it, to love it, for what it is, and then, to put it away. Leonard, always the years between us, always the years, always the love, always...

Heisey

A famous handmade glassware company, Heisey went out of business in the 1950s but still sends passionate collectors hunting the Holy Grail of their own: the perfect piece, the dream Heisey of each individual collector. I am lucky enough to conduct an interview with a very knowledgeable and long-time collector, as well as lucky enough to be around her rich and beautiful collection every day, as she is my grandmother-in-law. Joyce Rohde was kind enough to answer all my questions. You'll see some pictures as well, although I'm saving the real photo shoot for a sunnier day.

- Can you tell us a little about the Heisey brand?

Heisey was a handmade glass factory located in Newark, Ohio, started in 1896 and closed in 1956. And the reason it was closed, and which has been the fate of most of the other handmade glass companies, is that it was too expensive – the cost of labor was just too much to keep producing the glassware. And it was hard to compete with factory made glassware. It wasn’t the first and the last to close, like Fostoria, Cambridge, Seneca, Imperial, all have since closed. It is a very sad thing though because it is such beautiful glassware. They do still make handmade glass in other countries like Ireland by Waterford, and Austria by Bohemia, but then labor is so much cheaper there.

- How did you start collecting Heisey?

I remember the very day I started – I heard about it before, but after that day, I immediately got books to study it. I used to go to an antique fair called the Treasure Mart in Pendleton at the Catholic Church and they always displayed furniture on the ground floor, and in the basement they had houseware, and I had never been there, because I wasn’t interested in any houseware. This one year I went, in 1969, I looked around, but there was absolutely nothing I could find, and so I went down to the housewares section in the basement. There was tables and tables of stuff, for which I would go wild if it was today, and I saw this little creamer and sugar for 25 cents, and after playing some bridge, visiting with the people, etc. I took them to the cashier. The cashier said, “What in the world, they priced it 25 cents? It should be much more, this is Heisey,” and I didn’t’ even know what it meant. I asked, “What is Heisey?” And I got them for the sheer utilitarian purpose. But then I decided to find out about Heisey, and I did, and shortly after that, I became an avid Heisey collector.

- What, in your opinion, makes Heisey special?

Well, I don’t suppose it is any more special in quality then Imperial or Fostoria, for the most part, but I did limit myself to one brand and didn’t want to collect a whole bunch of glassware. Instead I concentrated on Heisey.
Also, in 1973 or 74, the Heisey Collectors of America bought all the Heisey molds from Imperial glassware, who had bought the factory when it was closed. The reason was to prevent any other company from making glassware in the Heisey molds and then calling it another name. So when you’re collecting Heisey, you can be sure that it’s Heisey.

- How about the social perks of collecting Heisey; have you made new friends who are collectors over the years, or have you reinforced friendships?

Actually, I would say that it’s the biggest reward of collecting Heisey - the relationships we built and the friends we have made. As an example, we started the Caraways, our friends in Texas, collecting Heisey. We used to take our mobile home to the Heisey convention in Newark, OH, and this man approached us when we were in one of the social gatherings there. He was Percy Moore, the director of Heisey Collectors of America. We visited for a while, we talked about glassware, and then Glenn said, “Well, enough about Heisey, are there any old cars?” That started a long and rewarding friendship, and we bought 3 antique cars through him. The following year, the Moores invited us to stay at their house, and we did every subsequent year thereafter, and I can’t tell you how we loved that! One of Percy’s favorite quotes was, “Gosh, I wish I’d known you wanted that,” indicating that he would have found us the piece, after we found things in the yard sales in the area. All the people in Newark knew about the convention, and we would go a few days earlier to the convention, and look at the yard sales that people organized knowing that the town would be populated at that time, and every time we found something we would go back to the Moores, go through our stuff, and he would say the same thing.
And we made so, so many friends collecting Heisey and going to conventions.
And the Caraways - even though we have been lifelong friends, now we had a common purpose; it made our collecting so much more fun. Calling each other and talking about our finds and interests, because we each had our concentration – Dale collected candlesticks, and Barbara liked old-sandwich and empress and crystolite – and it made us closer and we had more in common, and more things to do together.

- What are your best sources in finding new pieces?

It’s a great question. I have to say that ebay is where I find most of my stuff in the last 10 years. Previous to that, it was estate sales, yard sales, and antique shows. And then I also became known in this area for collecting Heisey, and I was always asked to do programs for different organizations, and it wasn’t uncommon for someone to come up to me and say they know of someone who had Heisey, or they have some Heisey, etc. and I found quite a bit that way.

- Do you wish that Heisey was still being produced, or would you rather have it this way?

I’d rather have it this way. It wouldn’t be any fun if anyone sold Heisey it wouldn’t be hard to find, there would be no challenge.

- What is your favorite piece of all times, and do you have a dream piece, one you have been looking for but can’t get or find?

I do have a piece that I have been looking for in years - and it’s the favor vase in tangerine color. Heisey indicated that there were some of these made, but as far as I know, there is no one in the US that has the favor vase. But if I found it, the hunt would be completed.
And I have numerous favorite pieces, it’s in the flamingo color, it’s a cologne bottle and I love it so much that I can’t resist buying it. I already have 3, and there’s one on ebay right now and I’m watching it with anxious expectation.


This is one of her favorite cuts from Heisey.

Her favorite piece, the one she cannot resist buying over and over again even though she already has 4.


A capturing display of her favorite color, 'zircon'. Her favorite zircon piece is the mustard bowl with the little paddle. She even remembers the day she got it.

Milkman

There are some memories that are so deeply entrenched in me and so dear even though they seem so random. Like the milkmen that came to our door to deliver daily milk. I still remember two of those guys very clearly - one of them had really blue eyes and a girlie voice, and this other one had a beard. But this is not the memory itself. The memory is him putting the metal pitcher into the bigger metal thing, filling it up with clinking sounds here and there, and in one big move, pouring it over to the yellow enamel pot in my hand - the milk looking like a solid white thing for a moment, and the pot getting surprisingly heavy, even though it's expected.
(sutcu, teneke masrapa, tencere are the Turkish words you are looking for)
Then you thank him, and he goes away, and you put start boiling the milk, and then there's the "cream", Sunday breakfasts, honey and cream, dad's pjs.
These memories are so much easier to come back to me here for some reason. It's like, whenever I see a gallon of milk, I remember the milkman and the memory of the milk-pouring ceremony ("bi dakka tencere getireyim"). Whenever I see the boys having breakfast, I remember my grandmother feeding me breakfast, the butter, the sourcherries on the butter (soldiers in the snow). And the sound of pigeons.
And my other memories with my grandmother, which are basically the only things I remember from my childhood? They keep coming back to me these days and accumulating in the back of my mind. That will be a whole another post.

Hint hint

Hello, beautiful potential wedding rings. After looking at some jewelry today, I checked out the Conroy & Wilcox store at Erie Basin and then in their own website. I found some really charming rings. Some are reasonably priced. Some are not. And that's OK. Because I'm not about to get anything right now, but it's good to know good design is out there.

Random thoughts

It's so sweet how a bird singing in the nearest tree can add so much to a moment. I'm tired. We're going scrapbooking Saturday. How can I feel so tired when I was perfectly OK not long ago? I love the sun here and how clear the air is. Feels like crystal clear waters. I want to be on a school trip. To Saklikent. To Hillside. To Didim. To Kalkan.


picture: encyclopedia britannica

Princesses

It was a busy day of going to meetings and then coming home to type up the analyses. Nothing feels better than feeling useful and productive, plus the learning experience. And now on tv there is a show about moms making their 3 to 6 year-olds compete in 'pageant's - honestly I hadn't really heard about them before. This one they're talking about is 'Miss Georgia'. The categories go on like 'best hair', 'best dress', 'best smile', etc. They put make up on the baby girls, even fake tans on (some of) them! They practice for days with coaches and all. The moms are apparently preparing the girls as the 'Miss America's of tomorrow. It's so weird. But I'm watching it. It's a cultural observation project for me. I am guessing their argument is that it's a good way for girls to build confidence and learn how to present themselves, which looks good on paper (or the screen) but seeing the heavy make-up on a 3-year-old to make her look like the mother of the bride at a wedding party or a little girl not wanting to go out on the stage, it gives me mixed feelings. What's funny is, I've known people who would have loved to be on a competition like that as a little girl.
And now they're changing into swimsuits. Oh God.

Kindness of Strangers

There was this Aimee Mann song, that said, 'I keep going round and round on the same old circuit' and then went on to say, 'and here i'm sitting in my car at the same old stoplight' and I felt I could relate to the lyrics until now that I think about it... well I don't go round and round on the same old circuit or sit in my car at the same old stoplight, because nothing is the same anymore. I enter a building and the smell is different. The size of cucumbers is different. The way people pronounce my name, the speed they drive on the highway, the jokes on the tv, the prices on the tags, the objects decorating shelves are different. I realized recently that since I moved to the US, I haven't walked on the street or gone anywhere on my own for that matter, certainly my basic independence levels are different (working on that driver's license). I'll admit once and for all that I really, really miss home. I miss the little streets that are crooked and disorganized. I miss my cellphone and my ringtone, and how happy I could be when a friend called out of the blue. I miss cooking in my kitchen and being absolutely obsessive about keeping it clean. And our little songs at work. Hey, I didn't complain publicly since I got here and today, I just am.
The restaurants are hopeless, by the way (except Farmer's Kitchen, but then I'm never a customer there).

Rie Munoz

I came across Rie Munoz's prints at Portland Expo Antique & Collectibles Show and warmed up to it rightaway. The colors, the way daily life is portrayed and the sincerity, the humor even, impressed me so much. Like the Northwest artist Paul A. Lanquist I featured earlier on my blog, she has a day-to-day, next-door sincerity that gives joy to my heart. Just like art should. With all due respect to artists, I believe that art should be close to people's hearts and minds rather than installations of cold materials in empty rooms. But that's just me and my opinion. Enjoy Rie Munoz's warmth and colors.

Pico de Gallo

We've just got done making pico de gallo, apparently a Mexican shepherd's salad. I had tasted it back in the summer here, when our Texan relatives made a huge, and I mean huge bowl of it. I couldn't forget the taste of it, but the recipe called for cilantro, something we don't really have in Turkey except for an outrageously expensive sampling at Makro. Anyway, I knew I had to make some when I got here, and I did. My version turned out just as right as the one I tasted before. For curious ones, here are the ingredients: Tomatoes, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, hot green peppers or jalapenos, crushed garlic, salt to taste. I found a recipe on food network, but can't say I followed it to a T. My Turkish readers will know how to proportion their ingredients as they are used to making shepherd's salads.
Thanks for reading!

PS. Eat with tortilla chips.

Tarhana & Dolma

On another note, I made a Turkish dinner last night for Grandparents and Aaron and Kristen. It's hard to cook for a cook! Especially if you're making meat dolmas for the first time. But it turned out good. I also made Tarhana soup, which is such, such a great Turkish soup that I believe I should carry on to the future, so I decided to learn from my grandmother how it's actually done. Here are some pics from our "low-key but classy" dinner!

Separation, or lack thereof

I've been here for some time. I have some observations (I'm experienced in observing). I believe it's time I shared some of those observations:
In my culture, we tend to separate our spheres. Inside and outside spheres are separate. We don't step in with our shoes on. Humans and cats or dogs have their own places. The majority of Turkish people would not want an animal living inside the house, save for the occasional bird or fish, in which case they have their own space as well - cages and fish tanks. The borders of the rooms are clearcut. Women and men had separated spheres in the past, but we don't have that anymore (hoping it won't come back). Here in the US, those lines are a little blurred. They walk in with their shoes on. They live with their pets. Their homes have an open plan most of the time. Obviously they don't separate women and men.
I don't know if I can ever get used to wearing shoes inside the house or living with dogs (I don't really like cats). I think I like the separation that we have. It keeps life easier and cleaner.
The blurred lines also apply to eating habits. Some nights people will just "fix" something for themselves and there won't be a dinner table, or a sit-down dinner for that reason. Or they just get a bowl of cereal in the morning and cross out breakfast. Us Turks prepare some kind of breakfast or dinner (or lunch, if applicable), and then sit down and eat it, and spend even more time cleaning it up. It's more ceremonial, almost. I like that, too. I feel like it reminds the family members of their focus regularly. Being together, gathering around food. I'm not saying it's not present here, it definitely is. It just doesn't have to happen everyday, or all the time.
Another difference in the spheres/separation/division context is that Everyone Works. Everyone. From all ages. You see older ladies working in shops or teenagers in rollerskating rinks. There are almost no jobs reserved for a certain age group or a gender. So the divisions are lifted in the working sphere as well. In Turkey, older women belong to the house to take care of grandchildren or do their own thing, whatever that is. Here, not necessarily.
So - those were my humble observations. If I didn't have to work, I would do some research and try to find reasons or causes. Some other time.

Peacocks are rare treasures

And I love peacocks. I love how they look and how aloof they are, and the weird sounds they make at night. I also love the peacock pattern on porcelain, in black and white or original colors, it doesn't matter. I had this favorite china pattern at Watts Contemporaries of UK, and then I found another one that I liked at Anthropologie, when we were in Portland. I also found this invitation in my design ideas folder, that I was looking on etsy for wedding invitations. I can't believe just how elegant and original a pattern can be. Peacocks are my favorites in everything, really.

images from: Anthropologie, Peacock Plate and Watts Contemporaries, Crown Hill collection

Personal history, Part I

It's a matter of personal history. I am sampling some songs on iTunes. I am browsing artists and I click on Anita O'Day (Randy's recommendation and favorite), and then to an album called Verve Jazz Masters (my favorite albums in high school years). I'm hearing the songs, I have $11 credit on my iTunes. Then I start listening to A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (our jazz choir song along with Bach's Organ Fugue). Maybe no one likes this song. Maybe they'll think it's cheesy, or too slow, or too boring. But I love it, and I think I will always love it. It's personal history. It reminds me of the jazz choir days in my freshman year when we used to try to sing this song in harmony, with Burak Bedikyan on the piano. It reminds me of walking home on winter days in the dark, with this song on my mind and with loneliness in my heart. Anita O'Day's voice brings peace into the room. Brings me back the days I thought maybe, maybe I can be a full-time singer. There's just so many songs to listen, so much time to spend tracing back the memories, so far back that you start to live in that first moment you probably didn't appreciate them. But then there's so much to do in life, that's brand new, that hasn't been dipped into personal history like chocolate-covered strawberries (there is something associated with that but it has to sit in the cellar for a while until I can call it history). I will sample some more songs and then try to work some more. Here I pick another artist, Benny Golson, just because I met him and I listened to him play Whisper Not on one of those Nardis nights. Boy, do I have something for familiar territory.

life and death

We went to a funeral yesterday. It was held in the tent-shaped church that we drove by all the time on the way to Hermiston. I had actually never been to a funeral in my entire life, and I was told that this wouldn't be like a funeral but rather, a celebration of life - which it kind of was. But it was still sad at parts. At least for me. It was so different than how it would be back in Turkey, though. People got on the stage and talked about their favorite memories of him. There was a slide show of his pictures with nice songs in the background. Apparently he was a great guy, everyone said so. His granddaughter sang beautifully. Then everyone joined her in singing Amazing Grace. It was bittersweet.
A guy gave a long speech about how, according to Christian values, he is in a better place now, and he is actually better off this way. He supported his theory with arguments, used Bible quotes. I thought it was an effort in vain to try to prove that a dead person is in fact, next to God now, and in a better, healthier body. He hasn't been there. He doesn't know. And how can you be in a better place when all the people you love are on earth living their lives in their usual bodies? It escapes me.
Today I faced yet another face of death, what happens to your stuff when you die. Americans have a remedy for this too. Estate sales. We went to this lady's house, who I'm guessing passed away, and all her stuff was out on the shelves, priced, ready to be sold. I got really cute earrings for only $1. All her earthly possessions, her china, clothes, handkerchiefs, jewelry, even body lotions. For sale. I'm not denying that it's an effective way of doing it. It's just so new to me and so wouldn't work back home. But then I got really cute earrings for $1, and saved them out of the garbage. I guess it's a win-win situation.

room

equipped with the stuff i was able to bring over from turkey and some furniture grandma joyce gave us, we put together a living environment for us that will keep us happy and grounded at least until we take that road trip to Cambridge, MA to finish up D's MBA and get ourselves situated somewhere. here's what the room looks like.

Unpacking our life

Today, Kristen came over and helped me unpack our stuff. Men aren't really helpful with this kind of thing, at least my man isn't, so I can quite comfortably say that she was the first person to actually help me with packing/unpacking in the past two years that I moved to our new apartment and then to the US. I feel so much better now, though, and the room looks so beautiful with grandma's furniture and our things. When you take everything out and put them into drawers and baskets and boxes, it really doesn't look like it filled 7 suitcases, 5+ carry-on luggage, and three big boxes. Oh well. They are all here now safe and sound and we are settled into our new home - that we will live in for at least 4 months. It's also so great to have a friend here. Kristen's a great gal and we hit it off pretty quickly when I first visited here in 2007, and it's been that way ever since. I can't wait to be her little helper when she does her baking projects for the cafe section they're launching at the restaurant.

PAL

Paul A. Lanquist's art is so much along the lines of what I consider practical, beautiful, everyday art. The ones above were my fridge magnets at our apartment and they made me really happy. Now I see a lot of his prints and posters around because he is from this area, and I hope to get and frame posters of him one day. He signs his work as PAL. These retro-style drawings are just so cool!