Dreams

While making crepes one afternoon

Leo:  Mama, what did you dream last night?
Mama:  I don't remember.  Do you?
Leo:  No! You never told me.

Thanksgiving 2013

We passed this year's Thanksgiving in Budapest.  This year we kinda, sorta ignored the holiday.

I did no cooking.  At all.

Instead we were invited to a small dinner party at which a chef prepared an authentic Thanksgiving holiday dinner.  How authentic?  The sweet potatoes had a bit of orange, ginger, whiskey and were topped with toasted marshmallows.  The only thing that could have made it more authentic would have been if the marshmallows would have been ever so slightly singed.

It was a grown-ups only dinner party.  No cooking.  No kids.  No Thanksgiving according to my accounting.

The pumpkin pie, however, was a delight.  (But there is no comparison to my my brother's!)

Top Ten

turkish delight

wide-brimmed straw hats in summer

jasmine pearl tea

eyewear

outdoor fruit and vegetable markets

tepertős pogácsa

freshly ground peanut butter

baking bread

being in my body

pockets

Széchenyi Fürdő

my mother's dumplings

rocking chairs

giving books I love to people I think might love them too

The Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

diners

grandma Kelley's rice casserole

home made play dough

Le Mans Hall

midwives

baking muffins

Spencer Tunick

wool socks, knee-high, with stripes

"Coin-Operated Boy" by the Dresden Dolls

bread and butter

pumpkin

split-pea soup

church bells

Gellért Fürdő

African chicken and peanut soup from the New England Soup Factory

martini with blue cheese stuffed olives

1059 Riverside

singing the ABC's as a lullaby

gesztenyepüré

yogurt

sneaking away from a sleeping baby

sneaking back into my bed where my four and five-year-olds are tangled up, deeply breathing

bodza

Book Club

Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins

Rome

chia seeds

sunflowers

avocados

Indigo Girls

dandelions

sleep

Warren Dunes State Park

french fries

blue

the fact that baking bread is so simple

clean pressed sheets

V-Day

walking by a lilac bush in bloom

holding hands

playgrounds

NPR

Prairie Home Companion

PBS

hard wood floors

freshly squeezed ABC juice--apple, beet, carrot

handmade afghans

coffee

Jeune Homme Nu Assis au Bord de la Mer, by Jean- Hippolyte Flandrin

marching bands

roasted chestnuts

Rachel flodnija

birdie sing in the tree, woo woo woo, wee wee wee, I love you and you love me

Henszlman Imre utca, 5

cuckoo clocks

soft-boiled eggs in egg cups

Kelet Kávézó

By the numbers

Lenard
height:  41 inches, 52% (104 cm)
weight: 37.5 pounds, 56% (17 kilos)
BMI: 15.7, 54%
shoe: 29


Izabella
height:  47 inches, 92% (120 cm)
weight:  57 pounds, 95% (25.8 kilos)
BMI:  18.2, 94%
shoe:  32

Cold Apple Avocado Soup

two apples, peeled and sliced
one avocado, peeled and sliced
about 2 T diced onion
about 2 T olive oil, or less
a bit of salt
about 2 cups water
a squirt of fresh lemon juice

blend.


raw apple and avocado soup.  the best fruit soup. ever.

Kitchen

canned tomatoes
tomato paste
madagascar bourbon vanilla extract
ground cinnamon
jasmine tea
assam tea
oatmeal
peanuts
cashews
walnuts
raisins
honey
coffee
baking soda
baking powder
paprika (sweet)
chili powder
cocoa
cumin
rosemary
sea salt
dill
bay leaf
cream of tartar
garam masala
basil
ground cloves
celery salt
thyme
vegetable bouillon
apple cider vinegar
sardines
seaweed
popcorn
bodza syrup
maple syrup
coconut oil
olive oil
sunflower or canola oil
whole wheat flour
white spelt flour
corn meal
quinoa
chia seeds
table salt
poppy seeds
sugar
fresh ground black pepper
eggs
milk
kefir
yogurt
sour cream
butter
pickes in brine
cheddar cheese
parmesan cheese
apples
bananas
tomatoes
potatoes, white and sweet
peppers
avocado
kiwi
molasses
dried beans, all sorts
onion
carrots
garlic
frozen peas
brown rice
jar of spaghetti sauce
spaghetti noodles
macaroni noodes
ketchup
mustard
chicken, pork, salmon, lamb

Leo's Favorites

color:  chocolate

animal:  unicorn

drink:  bodza

video:  Olivia

person:  mama

place:  Waban

toy:  crane

shoes:  purple boots

book:  he is not saying

(almost 4-years-old, still 3)

Poo-free

It has been one week, three washes.  And no poo.

Months ago I read an article posted on Facebook about using baking soda and apple cider vinegar to wash and condition hair.  Right away this appealed to me.  I like the idea of DIY.  I like the idea of thumbing my nose at the chemical beauty industry.  I have had a series of ah-ha moments about things I have been sold.  Boxed macaroni and cheese.  Peanut butter in a jar.  This is one more in that batch.  

I mixed 1 tablespoon of baking soda with enough water to make it liquid.  Then I dumped it on my scalp and gave myself a first-rate massage.  Very granular.  Bubbles are overrated.  Then rinsed.  Then I poured a apple cider vinegar mix on my scalp and ran my fingers through my hair from roots to tips--tangles melted away.  I used 1 tablespoon vinegar and three tablespoons water.  Done.

Number of compliments on my hair from people who did not know about my my lack of poo:  2.

Someone do the math:  number of shampoo and conditioner bottles made and put into landfills.  Not to mention the chemicals produced and rubbed into your scalp.  Not to mention the cost to transport all the raw materials to the poo factories and then transport them to the store and then transport them to the landfill.  

I love DIY.  That doesn't mean I embrace the lifestyle.  I admit that I have colored my hair for around 15 years now.  The baking soda seemed to strip the color from my grey roots.  The vinegar rinse, on the other hand, seemed to brighten my colored hair.  So.  This experience has convinced me that it is time to ditch the dye and embrace the natural color of my hair, whatever that may be.  

Curtain

Saturday, 23 February, 19:00. We will perform István Örkény's In Our Time and Ernő Szép's Kávécsarnok in one piece. 

Cast:
Alajos..............Stefan Schwach
Alizka..............Serafina Anttila
Egy vendég......Nicky Burt
Fanny..............Janet Kelley
Magda..............Nina Leeke
Rozi.................Florina Illés

Directed by Anikó Kelemen

If girls can wear pants, why can't boys wear dresses?

I have been instructed by our nursery school teacher that my 3.5 year-old child, who has boy parts, should wear boy clothes and not come in dresses. I am pretty sure one teacher told me that it would cause "problems" for him later in life. (Perhaps I didn't understand the Hungarian. I could swear that she said it might even cause dyslexia!!??) The other teacher said it would cause confusion in the classroom for the other boys. Thoughts? I have LOTS of thoughts about this issue, but don't want to color your responses. I would love to hear your responses, experiences, etc.