On My Own

I grew up with Les Miserables.  I watched my father paint our house in Cape Cod as he sang "Drink with me."  "Master of the House" filled our frequent five-hour drives to Brooklyn.  When the CD broke, my mother replaced it with the Broadway version.  Our ears, so attuned to the West End lyrics and voices, rebelled.   She quickly returned it for the original London cast.

My Aunt Linda promised tickets for my twelfth birthday - my first Broadway play.  I dressed up in a black ruffle skirt, and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe with Joyce, her best friend.  In my excitement, I soaked my blouse with Italian dressing.  We smelled it through Marius's rescue.

I belted out "On my own" with my first year roommate Alison as we drove back to UVA after fall break.  Lost in the music, she failed to see the ever-present Green County police.  Her dad always said if she got a speeding ticket, it would be due to the Les Mis distraction.

Kelly, Lauren and I began our post college backpacking trip watching Cozet wish for her castle in a small theater in the West End.  We ate ice cream during intermission - a seemingly odd treat for a play.

I saw the "last show" at the Kennedy Center with my family shortly after I married Dave though I am positive it will never stop playing.

I have now seen dozens of Broadway plays - each sound track tighly knit with a memory.   Driving to our New Year's Eve party in 1999 six months post college graduation, singing "We're dying in America at the the end of the millinium to come into our own" from Rent.  Watching Rosie drop her earing in the Bye Bye Birdie revival with Tommy Tune.  Sprinting to meet Grandma and Grandpa for How to Succeed in Buiseness without Really Trying with Aunt Linda.   A surprise trip to Manhatten for our first annierversy to see The Producers.  Walking 30 blocks with Dave to my Aunt's apartment after Jersey Boys - a Christmas gift the year Emily turned one.  Being asked, "Who goes to plays alone?" when I sat down in an aisle seat at American Idiot  (a mother of two whose aunt and uncle are kind enough to watch the kids).

On my own for the second week, I deciced to escape from "Mommy can I have..." into my favorite play-turned movie Les Mis.  What a disappointment.  My ears could barely tolerate Russel Crowe's voice.  The extreme close ups and odd angles felt like a Tim Burton movie.  The songs seemed to be missing notes.  Yet, the music connected me with home and reminded me I am not so far away.

Energy

Three shoots of espresso in my coffee yet I still lack energy.   Six months without sun zapped my typical manic mentality.  (It couldn't be my up-at-5:30-and-in-motion-until-8:30 schedule with periodic wake up calls from Owen peering at me at 1:00 am, "I wet my bed.")  So I visited the Apotheke.  Unlike in the US where chain pharmacies like Rite Aid sell aspirin over the counter and zoloft at the pharmacy, in Germany, all medications must be obtained by the pharmacist.  Further, most Apothekes are independently owned and one can be found in almost every neighborhood.  You explain your ailment and the pharmacist suggests a remedy.  While it seems very Middle Ages with a witch doctor recommending three toad hairs and a unicorn tear,  the trained German pharmacist prescribes western medicines and is much faster then at home as it can cut out the extra trip to the doctor.

At lunch, I visited an Apotheke around the corner and explained my situation, "Usually I bounce off walls and now I can barely get off the couch."  He provided a 30 day liquid vitamin with an omega 6 pill.   I think it is working......"I believe.  I believe.  I believe."


(I decided to supplement with daily green juice.   I now drink an entire bag of spinach each morning.  This vitamin boost helps too.)

Working for a Living

Emily and Owen earn allowances each week.  They each have three responsibilities.  Put away their toys, bring their plates to the sink, and one "parent's choice" assigned each day.  I stole this idea from my colleague and his wife.  These allowances prevent emotional battles in which I inevitably threaten to throw all the toys into a large black hefty bag and dump them into the ocean.  (In complete desperation, I even invoke Santa's name.)

Emily now saves every euro in hope of buying an American Girl Doll.  Each week she asks, "Do I have enough?" ("No honey, at 5 euro a week you will be 16 before you can afford those outrageously priced dolls - and forget about the matching outfits and accessories.")   The other morning, before school, she explained to Owen the benefits of these dolls.  Aunt Jenny would be proud.

Creating New Comfort Zones

Allison, Suzanne, Julie - you will be shocked.  We ate dinner, attended parties, and hung out at your houses for well over a decade and each time we came over,  you kindly put Daisy and Gibbs in their crates.  Dave slowly adjusted to the furry member of your family, but he always hesitated.  The Thursday before I left for Istanbul, I enterd our apartment, and Hadly, our neighbor's yellow lab greeted me.  Surprised, I looked at Dave he said he invited her to spend the weekend with him and the kids.  What??  After one day of walking and feeding Hadly, she attached herself to Dave.  Friday morning, she seemed to look for him when he went to the mechanics and perked up when he returned.  When I left for Istanbul, I thought my how things change.

Plus, for my birthday, Dave insisted on making me cake - a feat for someone who hates to cook.

In other news, Emily started baseball.  She practices twice a week on her all-boys team and now wears her baseball hat everywhere.  After a soccer season begging her to focus, her enthusiasm for this sport is refreshing.  She also had her first golf lesson this morning and learned how to tip her hat after she putted into the hole.

March Cooking Classes

Perfecting Tartes

pâte bri·sée   noun    (\¦pätbrēˈzā, ¦pȧt-\): a rich pastry dough used esp. to make flaky tart shells

quiche lor·raine   noun   (often capitalized L \-lə-ˈrān, -lȯ-\ ): French, quiche of Lorraine

creme patissiere a la vanille  noun : vanilla custard

Savoring a French Date Night

pâte à choux  noun  (pronounced: [pɑt a ʃu]):  a light pastry dough

Steak au poivre   noun  (French pronunciation: ​[stɛk‿o pwavʁ]): a French dish that consists of a steak, traditionally a filet mignon, coated with loosely cracked peppercorns and then cooked.

Pot de crème  noun   (pron.: /ˈpoʊdəˈkrɛm/ poh-də-krem):  French dessert custard dating to the 17th century

Istanbul Day 4: One Last Mosque

On the last day, Bev lead us through winding streets and back alleys to find the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent.  This Mosque earned three stars from Rick Steves and was designed by an artist equivalent to Leonardo da Vinci.  The Ottomans commenced construction in 1550 and completed it a mere decade later.  Picture the Metro area government completing the Beltway project in ten days.   Although the size and design competes with the Blue Mosque, the simple interior stands in stark contrast.  The quiet design called for contemplation.

We ended the trip shopping for ceramics.  Ice cream bowels - something never change.

Istanbul Day 3: Turkish Cooking

We limited our Sunday adventures to Topkapi Palace, a Turkish cooking class, and istiklal Street.  On our way to the Palace, we happened upon a beautiful park where I actually saw tulips.  The tour guide had ademitly insisted the day before that tulips were not from Holland.  Instead, they originated in Turkey - the true tulip capital.

When the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet captured Constantinople in the 1400's, he built Topkapi Palace - a large complex with offices, military barracks, family residence, and a reception hall.  Through the following decades each sultan added his own architectural changes creating a hodgepodge of styles.

We started in the harem which refers to the sultan's wives, favorites, and concubines and their section of the Palace.  Although they could have up to four wives, most sultans chose only one.  The concubines were the female slaves who kept the house.  The sultan's wives and mother could select up to four "favorites" with whom the Sultan could "sleep."  A very interesting arrangement.  The women of the Ottoman empire actually possessed a great deal of power.  I learned  the 16th and 17th centuries are known as the "reign of the ladies" when the sultans' mother and wives essentially ran the Empire.

Again, the sheer opulence astounded me.  The mosaic tiles, gold mirrors, marble baths, and stone walkways make Mount Vernon look like a shack.  This palace alone illustrates the difference between a country where the leaders held much of the wealth and the beginning of our country where the leaders - while not quite "everyperson" - were not kings.

We took a break to try "Turkish coffee" at the cafe.  Tukish coffee is not a type of coffee, but it is a way coffee is prepared.  The grounds float freely in the brew leaving behind a layer of thick mud and requiring frequent stirring.  Although the strong coffee provide a well needed jolt, I will stick to cappuccinos. 

We returned to the hotel for a private Turkish cooking class with their chef.  We made karniyarik -  stuffed eggplant, Muhallebi - pudding, and sebzeli domates corbasi - vegtable soup.   For measuring ingredients,  he used drinking glasses and soup spoons.  A cup meant a literal cup.

In the evening, we squeezed in a trip to istikal Street, a pedestrian boulevard that is said to represent today's Turkey and houses one of the few Catholic Churches.  We walked up San Fransisco size city hills and arrived in a flood of people.  I felt like I was leaving RFK after DMB played their last song.   For three three hours, I kept repeating, "Where are all these people going?"

The day ended with a kabob and a very wet walk home.

Another delicious day.

Istanbul Day 2: A Whirl Wind Tour

Our hotel offered us a free half day private tour guide.  While we expected him to "tour" us through his cronies' shops, we hoped he would at least orient us.

In four hours, Baris, a state certified tour guide, provided a semester Early European History course, took us through Istanbul's most significant Church, Mosque, and Byzantine ruins, and still squeezed his friend's rug shop.

We started at the Hippodrome, Constantinople's primary venues for Chariot races during the fourth century.  The area includes an Egyptian Obelisk, carved 1, 500 years before Christ, a Column of Constantine, and a Column of the Serpent.  I squeezed through a dozen tour groups to get my pictures.

Baris snuck us around the flood of tourists into the Blue Mosque where we took our shoes off, covered our heads, and entered one of the world's most gorgeous mosques.  In just seven years the architect completed this impressive site.  The opulent interior speaks immediately upon entering.

We again skipped the line at Hagia Sophia, the patriarchal church of Constantinople - turned mosque by the Ottomans, then turned museum.

Next, the underground Cistern, a vast underground reservoir consisting of 336 columns that dates back to the sixth century.

Baris insisted we learn about Turkish rugs from a local dealer.  We drank apple tea and watched his friend conduct a symphony of color.  The dealer would describe a type of yarn and three men would walk into the room with four rugs which they would proceed to toss on the floor.

We quickly walked through the Grand Bazaar and ended tour at the Spice Market.  At this point, we were ready to bid farewell to Baris.   We relaxed at a small local restaurant and headed to the docks for a Bosporus Cruise Tour.  This 19-mile-long waterway separates Asia from Europe and allowed us to see just how massive Istanbul really is.  I think I passed all 15 million Istanbul residents in the tunnel leading to the boat.

After the tour, we bought spices and belts.  We ended the day atone of Rick Steves' favorite restaurants.