Purse Snatching in the Big Apple

When Marash Girl was living in New York City, she heard that purse snatching had become a big problem, so she asked a local policeman what she should do. Without hesitation, he answered, "No problem at all. Simple! Just don’t carry a purse!"

October in Auburndale

"GRAB HIM BY THE BALLOT!"

Photo by Marash Girl

A Toss In The Hay?

In discussing the political climate of the day, a long-time acquaintance of Marash Girl soundly approved the President's latest appointment to the United States Supreme Court. "Why should we help kids who have just had a night of it?" she asked . . . or as she put it, "Why support kids who have just had a toss in the hay??!!!!" And that from a woman who had tossed around "in the hay" plenty during her youth!

Stretch your feet to the end of your quilt!

Ayağını yorganına göre uzat. According to Marash Girl's Turkish friend Murat, this expression means for you to 'Stretch your legs far enough so that your feet remain covered." Implying, one should know their limits and act accordingly: particularly for financial decisions, like spending. But according to Marash Girl's father, born in Marash, Ottoman Empire, survivor of the Genocide of the Armenian people, Ayağını yorganına göre uzat means rather than knowing your limits, you should to try as hard as you can to go as far as you can!!!

Armenian Red Pepper On A Halloween Pumpkin ?

Do you know why Marash Girl sprinkled Armenian Red Pepper on her Halloween Pumpkin? Any guesses? Give up? The squirrels know why!!! From the lower limbs of the local Maple Trees, those squirrels eyed Marash Girl as she set out her newly acquired pumpkin, (see October 9, 2020, Marash Girl blogpost on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin...) liberally sprinkling Armenian Red Pepper on the pumpkin as well as on the stair at the top of the porch on which the pumpkin sat. To Marash Girl's knowledge (fingers crossed), no squirrel has attempted to take a bite out of her Halloween pumpkin yet. Perhaps they have already experienced the effect of Armenian Red Pepper on their squirrel tongues. Photo Credit: Marash Girl

"NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY . . . SAVE YOURSELF!!!"

So advised a sign prominently posted on a beautiful Cape Cod beach last summer! Could this sign have religious ramifications? Political ramifications as well? Photo Credit: Marash Girl

Thank You, Mike!

A Photo From Marash Girl's Blog!!!

Feeling a bit under the weather last week, Marash Girl was lazing around the house, until, out of a clear blue sky, as they say, (and there was a clear blue sky that day), came a phone call from a publisher who wants to use a photograph from the Marash Girl blog, the very blog you are following, in a book he is about to publish. "It was the best photo on the internet of . . ." Wow! That sure perked Marash Girl up . . . Thank you, Mr. Publisher! Marash Girl will write more on the title of the book and the photo the publisher has selected after the book is published!

On the Bus: Commuting to Yonkers, NY

In the days when women wore skirts, and that was not so long ago, (or was it?) Marash Girl commuted to work daily by bus from the Bronx to Yonkers, New York. On one such morning, she felt a hand under her skirt. Reaching down, Marash Girl grabbed the hand, a large, rough hand, clearly attached to the man standing next to her, held the hand up high, and shouted, "What is your hand doing under my skirt?" The man attached to the hand shouted out, "That's not my hand!!!" And that, as they say, was that!!!

Boris Johnson’s Ancestor was an Ottoman Turkish journalist who tried to defend the Armenians!

Email from my Anoushig!!!

 I saw this on Facebook today.  Didn’t know that Boris Johnson’s ancestor was an Ottoman Turkish journalist who tried to defend the Armenians!

I sent Mr. Lawson an email to thank him for the article.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Delegates Charkoudian and W. Fisher: Honoring All Americans By Guest Commentary -October 12, 2020 Image from a Change.org petition. 2020 has been a year of moral reckoning. The Black Lives Matter protests of this summer raised awareness of structural racism in the United States and saw monuments to a fabled past brought down. While the history of inequality for African-Americans can be traced to 1619 when the first enslaved Africans were brought to what is now the United States, another landing made six score and seven years earlier in 1492 — by Christopher Columbus — and the holiday that celebrates it, must also now be reconsidered and, in our view, reframed and renamed. The myth of Columbus Since our founding, our nation has celebrated Christopher Columbus discovering North America without him ever having stepped a foot on our continent. The United States’ Founding Fathers claimed him as a non-English discoverer of a new land and honored his legacy by placing our capital in the newly-established District of Columbia. In time, a larger mythology developed around Columbus and it became an important part of the country’s idea of Manifest Destiny and the Doctrine of Discovery, which still provides the legal underpinnings of the United States of America’s sovereignty over indigenous peoples. But what we rarely learned in school is the depth and breadth of the genocide Columbus and other “discoverers” wrought in the “West Indies” — the misnamed islands which were, in fact, inhabited by Taino people with their own culture, language and way of life. Felled by battles with Spanish soldiers, smallpox, and slavery, more than 85% of the indigenous populace was wiped out a few decades after the first contact with European invaders. Columbus’ own cruelty towards the indigenous people led many of his contemporaries to speak out against his inhumanity. Although he arrived as a brave explorer, he returned to Spain in chains. In spite of this cruelty — and the centuries of violence and injustice that followed — the impact of Indigenous Peoples’ resilience is evident throughout American history, and their history and contributions are worthy of commemoration. Some have argued that celebrating Columbus Day is a way to celebrate Italian-American heritage. We believe there is value in lifting up the many Italians and Italian-Americans who have contributed to our country’s leadership in civil rights, arts, medicine, academics, journalism, and labor organizing, among other areas. Columbus Day does not do that and we encourage and support new ways of honoring these contributions. Why Maryland should honor Indigenous Peoples Day As Marylanders, we find ourselves at a crossroads: as we look back on our difficult past, how do we carve a pathway to greater inclusion and equity? How do we reconcile both the myths and accomplishments of our past with the reality of a history of imperialism and colonialism grounded in oppression and exploitation? Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery) We believe that reconciliation begins with a fuller understanding and requires truth-telling about our history. We must now create new ways to celebrate the varied peoples and cultures in our state, while resisting the glorification of historical figures whose legacy of murder, discrimination, and degradation should be analyzed and understood for the centuries of oppression that they began. Recently, Maryland began the necessary reframing of symbols of the past to reflect more accurately our current beliefs and values. We took down the statue of Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney, who drafted the majority opinion in the infamous Dred Scott case, and removed the Confederate soldiers plaque from the State House. We honored the great legacies of Harriett Tubman and Frederick Douglass with bold statues in the State House. We are also hopeful that the state will adopt a new song to replace our current racist one. Del. Wanika B. Fisher (D-Prince George’s) We can take another important step along this path and celebrate the vibrant culture and history of the three tribes officially recognized by the State of Maryland — the Piscataway Indian Nation, the Piscataway Conoy Tribe, and the Accohannock Indian Tribe — and the many other indigenous people who have been here in the past and continue to live in our state. Pledge for a new America We call on fellow Marylanders to take this Monday, Oct. 12, to reflect on Columbus’ legacy as part of a brutal beginning of 500 years of oppression and the plight — and resilience — of Indigenous Peoples throughout the Western Hemisphere. Our work to dismantle structural racism and address this legacy must also take the form of substantive policy changes. One concrete symbol of our commitment to this path is to change the name of this holiday. Please support us in the 2021 Legislative Session as we bring forward legislation, as many other states and localities have already done, to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. — LORIG CHARKOUDIAN AND WANIKA B. FISHER The writers are Democratic members of the House of Delegates representing Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, respectively. Share this: FacebookTwitter Avatar

KAMALA FOR PRESIDENT ON MAPLE AVENUE

 

       
Sign proclaiming KAMALA FOR PRESIDENT decorates a front lawn on Maple Avenue in Newton Corner

Save the Tower at Newton's Grace Church!!!

 

TO MAYOR OF NEWTON RUTHANN FULLER: Please Use An Alternative Approach to Protect Historic Bullough's Pond Dam and the Laundry Brook Forest

          Dear Mayor Fuller, 

          I am writing to you as a long time resident of Newton, Massachusetts.  

As a little girl, I learned to skate on Bullough’s Pond.  

As an adult, I learned to appreciate the beauty of Bullough’s Pond and the Laundry Brook Forest. 

As a former voting member of Newton Parks and Recreation, I am writing to ask the powers that be to consider using an alternative approach that will protect Bullough’s Pond Dam and the Laundry Brook Forest. 

PLEASE DO NOT clear cut the banks of Bullough’s Pond  and put in gravel on the side of Dexter Road!!! '

          Sincerely,

          Bethel Bilezikian Charkoudian 

Go West, Young Man: Hunting The Perfect Pumpkin

 

URGE SPEAKER PELOSI TO VOTE TO SANCTION TURKEY & AZERBAIJAN

Please call Speaker Nancy Pelosi by telephoning 1-202-225-4965, press 1165, with the following message:

"Speaker Pelosi, I urge you to vote to sanction Turkey and Azerbaijan and to cut United States military aide to these two dictatorships."

Marash Girl Extends Get Well Wishes to President Trump and His Wife Melania

 Marash Girl and her family extend get well wishes to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, 

and his wife, Melania.  May the Lord bring you both back to good health.

Happy Birthday, Meghan!!!

Have a beautiful day, Anoushig!!! 

I'm a no rushin'

 Grandpa Peter used to love to imitate accents, as he learned English as a 10 year old and grew up with family members who, if they spoke English, spoke with heavy accents.  One of his favorite phrases?  

"I'm a no rushin'  (Russian) . . . I'm a just takin' my time!"

Stockingless in the Early 1960's!

A bright young man from MIT,

(Armenian he, oh, glory be!) 

Begged Marash Girl, “Go out with me!" 

But when no stockings he did see, 

He fled right back to MIT!

N.B.  Mary Auntie would have commented, "Abris, dghas!"

Composting a la Adrian!

 The most brilliant compost "piles" Marash Girl ever did see , , ,  (Can compost piles be brilliant?  Oh, I guess she meant the one who might have done the piling!) were not compost piles but rather compost-filled declivities!!! Adrian of Troy, New York, clued Marash Girl in on the secret.  It's not a pile that you want, but rather, the opposite!  Does it take an MIT mind to come up with that one? Adrian would simply dig a deep hole in his back yard, a hole with the circumference a bit smaller than the circumference of a garbage pail (remember those from the old days?); he then covered the hole with a garbage pail cover.  Whenever he had vegetable peelings or the like, he would lift that garbage pail cover with his shod foot and drop the vegetable leavings into the hole, the garbage pail cover covering the hole as soon as he removed his foot.  When that compost hole was filled nearly to the top, he would remove the garbage pail cover, cover the compost-nearly-filled hole with about 6 inches of soil, and dig another hole, covering that with the newly available garbage pail cover.  And so it went.  Thank you, Adrian, for your simple but brilliant solution to composting.

The Old Chestnut Tree

On Wednesday, Marash Girl woke up remembering the big old chestnut tree that stood proudly on the corner of Otis Street and Kimball Terrace, in the corner of Mr. Parker's yard.  (Mr. Parker was the orchestra leader in the elementary schools of Newton, Massachusetts, when Marash Girl was in elementary school.  For 7 years, Marash Girl had walked home from the Old Claflin School in Newtonville Square, walking up Otis Street, past that big old chestnut tree.  She loved to pause in the fall and fill her pockets with the beautiful, shiny smooth (though inedible) brightly brown chestnuts that the tree offered to the world around it. This tree was even more significant in Marash Girl's life because of the the poem that Marash Girl's father had her memorize  in third grade (scroll down to see the full text of THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH).  So first thing Wednesday afternoon, Marash Boy and Marash Girl drove over to Newtonville Square, to see if the tree was still there, and as they took a right onto Otis Street, Marash Girl held her breath.  Where was that old chestnut tree?  Marash Girl can't even type the answer, she's so sad about its loss!!!!  A piece of her childhood has gone missing.

The Village Blacksmith by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man. 

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low. 

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor. 

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice. 

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes. 

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose. 

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.

Thank you, Amin!

Thank you, Amin, for your friendship and for sharing your expertise in a time of need! As folks have said for centuries, "A friend in need is a friend, indeed!" N.B. This from the internet: a Roman poet named Quintus Ennius who lived in the Second Century B.C.E. wrote (when translated from Latin): “A sure friend is known in unsure times.”

Remembering With Thanks The Poem That Dad Made Marash Girl Learn In 3rd Grade

The message still as clear as day!  How this poem shaped Marash Girl's philosophy of life.

 For a' That and a' That

BY ROBERT BURNS

Is there, for honest poverty,

         That hings his head, an' a' that?

The coward slave, we pass him by,

         We dare be poor for a' that!

                For a' that, an' a' that,

                        Our toils obscure, an' a' that;

                The rank is but the guinea's stamp;

                        The man's the gowd for a' that,

What tho' on hamely fare we dine,

         Wear hoddin-gray, an' a' that;

Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,

         A man's a man for a' that.

                For a' that, an' a' that,

                        Their tinsel show an' a' that;

                The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,

                        Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord

         Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;

Tho' hundreds worship at his word,

         He's but a coof for a' that:

                For a' that, an' a' that,

                        His riband, star, an' a' that,

                The man o' independent mind,

                        He looks and laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,

         A marquis, duke, an' a' that;

But an honest man's aboon his might,

         Guid faith he mauna fa' that!

                For a' that, an' a' that,

                        Their dignities, an' a' that,

                The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,

                        Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,

         As come it will for a' that,

That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth,

         May bear the gree, an' a' that.

                For a' that, an' a' that,

                        It's coming yet, for a' that,

                That man to man, the warld o'er,

                        Shall brothers be for a' that.

Being Unable To Share

 These days, one of the hardest things about social distancing is being unable to share. . .  Being unable to share anything --- hugs, kisses, treasures, or baked goods!!!!

Missing My Anoushigner Already!!!

 

Mystery in Cold Springs Park

 

How long has this been there?  What is it?  One day left from the very old days? Or a recent planting?

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, Armenian style!

 

"AMEN OR GER MEG KHUNTSOR, YEV MEG OR BEDK CHE DOCTOR!"

"Every day, eat one apple. and one day, you won't need a doctor!"

                                                                                                   Translation by Marash Girl

Thank You, Healthcare Workers!

 

How one digit can make all the difference!!!!

Yesterday morning, Marash Girl found a bouquet of flowers on her front porch, a bouquet of flowers with a card that read, "From your favorite jerk!"  Wondering who that might be, Marash Girl enjoyed a half hour of fun trying to figure out who the jerk was.   Well, as it turned out, the flowers were delivered to the wrong address.  The flowers were meant for 19 and not 18 M Street.  

Thank you to Lisa's favorite jerk for a few minutes of floral joy!

Refrigerator Soup (Named by Joan Scully Metz)

Don't have anything but leftovers -- a little of this, a little of that -- in the refrigerator?   Then you've got the makings of a delicious soup.  Simply take a frozen block of chicken broth from the freezer, broth that you've made by boiling the remnants of the last chicken or turkey that you roasted -- or open a can of all natural chicken broth, bring to a boil, add a little of this, a little of that -- one peeled and chopped carrot, one peeled and chopped onion, and one celery stalk (washed & chopped, of course), a cup of leftover rice, boulghour, pasta, or a peeled and chopped potato, a cup of leftover veggies, some bits of chicken left from the roast chicken you just served . . . heat it all together, simmer until veggies are tender, add some hot sauce, if you like hot sauce, or some tamari, if you like tamari, some garlic, if you like garlic . . . and there you have it!  Taste before serving to adjust the flavor exactly to your liking, perhaps by adding a small can of tomato paste or some wine vinegar . . . be creative!!!

Cold Compress?

Going online to look up an all-natural, "non-medicinal" relief for itchy eyes, Marash Girl found a suggestion for using a cold compress.  The only problem was that the person posting the suggestion stated that the cold compress would cause the reader to relive (rather than relieve) itchy eyes.  What a difference one letter makes!!!

Lorig's Recipe for Beet Hummus

 Beet Hummus - Lorig's version - "Very Simple"

1 ¾ cups Chickpeas (about one 15 oz can, or cooked, drained)

3 Tbsp Tahini

2-3 cloves Peeled Garlic (more or less to taste)

¾ cup Cooked Peeled Beets (roasted or boiled) cut into pieces

4-5 Tbsp Freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

4 Tbsp cup Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Chop garlic. Drain chickpeas. Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and add more garlic, lemon juice, or olive oil, to adjust to your palate. Add salt and pepper to taste

What's going on? asks Peter Rabbit

 

    Peter Rabbit visits Maple Avenue   

 Photo by Marash Girl

                                                                                                     

Jesus Saves!

 

                                                                   Photo by Marash Girl

       Moving van driving down Maple Avenue yesterday shouts the good news:  JESUS SAVES!!!!

Grieving the Passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Asdvadz hoki lousavoreh.  May the Lord welcome Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg . . .

What would you say then, Mr. Twain?

 Mark Twain used to quip, "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a minute!"  But what should we do if we do like the weather in New England, Mr. Twain?

Prayers for Healing

 Please pray for the healing of sister Arax who is presently and hopefully recovering in the hospital.

Madame LaFarge?

On these beautiful September afternoons, as the sun begins to set, Marash Girl sits on her front porch, watching the world go by, and knitting scarves to gift her family at Christmas.  She has been accused of using her knitting as a ruse to register exactly what is going on in the neighborhood.  Were her neighbors accusing her of being Madame LaFarge? 

Dirty Copper

 Every time Marash Girl finds a penny on the sidewalk, it reminds her of her elementary school classmate, David S., who used to throw pennies at police cars and shout, "Dirty copper!"  And guess who joined the police force of the City of Newton!

3 Eggplant Recipes, 3 Generations

3 Eggplant Recipes, 3 Generations by Karoun

Last Friday when I picked up my farm box downtown, the Hadley farmer gifted me a large round eggplant on top of my full box of local veggies. My mother shared eggplant recipes from her mother, with my siblings and I. Here are the three recipes, in my mother's words. I made the first one. It is delicious and a great hangover cure too, nice and fatty and salty, but not too heavy.

Fried Eggplant with Egg

Wash the eggplant chop off the stem. Sliced Into thin Round slices. Dip both sides into a dish that has beaten egg in it. Put into hot oil fry for a minute on one side and then flip and fry on the other side. Serve immediately with salt and fresh sliced tomatoes

Eggplant Salad

Another grandma recipe: broil the egg plant until it is soft and squishy inside. Remove carefully from oven. When slightly cold cut the egg plant in half and remove the flesh from the skin. Mash with a fork. Add chopped fresh tomatoes and chopped fresh scallions. Served cold as a salad. Add salt and pepper and red pepper to taste before serving

Eggplant Dolma

You can also make dolma by picking baby egg plants chopping the stem off and digging out carefully the energies leaving the thin out a thin outer shell. Then continue as you would when you make Dolma.

One Sunday Morning in Watertown, Massachusetts

One Sunday morning, Marash Girl and her family attended the United Armenian Brethren Evangelical Church of Watertown, Massachusetts, as they did every Sunday morning.  Marash Girl's dad, Peter, was sitting next to Mrs. C., a woman who was moneyed, but known to be parsimonious.  When the velvet lined plate came around for the offering, she put a dollar bill into the offering plate and started scrounging around for change.  Peter asked her what she was doing . . . Her answer: "I'm looking for change. I need 75 cents back."  Peter answered, "In this church, we don't take change away from the church . . . we give our change to the church!"

How To Lie And Not Feel Guilty About It!!!

In elementary school, Marash Girl and her classmates bought into the theory that, as long as you kept your fingers crossed behind your back, you could tell a lie and you wouldn't have to feel guilty because fingers crossed meant that the lie you were telling wouldn't count as a lie!

Do you remember where you were on THE 9/11?

Marash Girl still thanks the Lord that her son, who was living  and working in New York City in full view of the Twin Towers on that fatal 9/11,  and at that fatal hour, in full view of the crash, lived to tell the tale.  To this day, Marash Girl thanks the Lord for her son's life.

Dropped A Stitch?

The easiest way to knit a fancy scarf is to drop a stitch or two.  Drop a stitch or two, you ask?  Yes, ma'am (sir)!!!  Most fancy knitting stitches were originally the result of "mistakes". Here's how this mistake makes for a beautiful scarf.

Knit your scarf as you would, using the typical knit/purl or knit/knit, and when your scarf is as long as you would like, simply drop a stitch or two, preferably in an orderly manner . . . i.e., if you have 30 stitches on your needle, drop the 11th stitch and the 20th stitch.  Or play around with the patterns, and perhaps drop every fifth stitch.  In any case, when you have dropped the stitches you want dropped, simply pull them all the way through the scarf, and you will have created a lovely pattern for your scarf with very little effort.  

Marash Girl suggests that you experiment a bit with a small length of knitted scarf . . . i.e., knit about 6 rows and and drop a few stitches to see what pattern/s you prefer!!!  For sure, you'll be able to knit a  simple scarf that will appear quite fancy and complicated to all who see it and any one who is lucky enough to wear it!

Keep Them Guessing!!!

Whenever Marash Girl prepares batter for banana cake or white cake of any kind, she loves to add a "secret ingredient" . . . an ingredient that will keep her guests guessing.  (Isn't that what your guests are supposed to do?) So how does Marash Girl keep her friends guessing?  Here's the secret . . . and don't you dare tell!!!  Add a tablespoon or two of rum or any sweet liqueur to the liquid ingredients before stirring the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.  That will do it!!! 

Try it, you'll like it . . . and so will your guests!

Beautiful weather today!

Beautiful weather today!!!  Reminds Marash Girl of the famous "re-mark" by Mark Twain: "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a minute!"  He never, to Marash Girl's knowledge, said anything about what to do if you DO like the weather in New England . . . which Marash Girl does today!!!

Grandma Jennie, Cinnamon, and Sugar!

Grandma Jennie was, herself, as sweet as cinnamon and sugar.  And she loved to serve her children cinnamon and sugar on buttered toast.  Preparing that treat today for breakfast reminded Marash Girl of how sweet her mother was . . . and how feisty!!!! Grandma Jennie was, in fact, cinnamon and sugar personified. 

Sad Farewell to Rug Store in Newton Corner

 

Achku Chap!

 Medzmama never cooked or baked using a cookbook; when her daughters complained, she would answer, "What?  Did God make the recipe?"  She only measured "by the eye", or, as she put it, "Achku chap!"  She baked and cooked intricate Armenian meals and pastries by her sixth, seventh and eighth sense!!!    And what sense she had.  Folks would come from all over to watch her and record what and how she baked, but no matter how carefully they watched, no one was ever able to replicate many of her dishes, and certainly not her paklava which she made from scratch, rolling out ten layers of paklava dough at once, using cornstarch to separate the layers.   The flavor of her dishes was unbeatable!!!! 

                                                                      Thank you, Medzmama!

"Bir yumuşağ var mı?"

In the old days, whenever Armenian guests came visiting to her family home in Newtonville,  they would always bring a box of chocolates -- usually Whitman's Chocolates.  As Marash Girl has written elsewhere, we kids loved the nuts and would seek them out; thus, we were delighted when an elderly Armenian visitor would ask, ""Bir yumuşağ var mı?"  (Is there a soft one?). Were guests to look underneath each chocolate, they would clearly see if there was a soft one, for the bottoms of the soft ones would have been broken in and left for them by us kids!!!

Sidewalk Art: Dylan=Frida Kahlo at 5 Years Old?

 

One day left from the old days . . . Pudd's great grandchild!!!

                                                                                                   Photo by Marash Girl 

SIX FEET APART?

Survivor of the Armenian Genocide, Grandpa Peter, were he living today, would quip, 

                                        "Better six feet apart than six feet under!"

A NEW DOG?

Yesterday, sitting on the front porch watching folks passing by with their puppies on leash, Marash Boy quipped,  "Can't teach a new dog old tricks!!!"

Bunny Rabbit Hides in a Front Yard on Maple Avenue

                                                          Photo by Marash Girl  -  2020

Crossing your legs in church?

Crossing your legs in church?  That's a no-no that young Marash Girl learned years ago when she visited the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Paris, France.

Young Marash Girl was sitting in a pew a ways back from the altar, entranced by the service and the music, when all of a sudden she felt a slap across her knee.  She looked up to see an old Armenian woman, all dressed in black,  shaking her head and shaking her finger at Marash Girl, pointing to the crossed leg.  

"Whoops," thought young Marash Girl, and never again has Marash Girl crossed her legs in church.  She can still feel the sting of that slap! 

Praying for the Healing of Jacob Blake

Marash Boy holds up the hawk's feather he found yesterday on the lawn of the 

Newton Presbyterian Church.

In the tradition of the Native Americans from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Marash Boy and Marash Girl herewith pray for healing for Jacob Blake.

THREE EGGPLANT RECIPES, THREE GENERATIONS!

3 Eggplant Recipes, 3 Generations

Last Friday when I picked up my farm box downtown, the Hadley farmer gifted me a large round eggplant on top of my full box of local veggies. My mother shared eggplant recipes from her mother, with my siblings and I. Here are the three recipes, in my mother's words. I made the first one. It is delicious and a great hangover cure too, nice and fatty and salty, but not too heavy.

Fried Eggplant with Egg

Wash the eggplant chop off the stem. Sliced Into thin Round slices. Dip both sides into a dish that has beaten egg in it. Put into hot oil fry for a minute on one side and then flip and fry on the other side. Serve immediately with salt and fresh sliced tomatoes

Eggplant Salad

Another grandma recipe: broil the egg plant until it is soft and squishy inside. Remove carefully from oven. When slightly cold cut the egg plant in half and remove the flesh from the skin. Mash with a fork. Add chopped fresh tomatoes and chopped fresh scallions. Served cold as a salad. Add salt and pepper and red pepper to taste before serving

Eggplant Dolma

You can also make dolma by picking baby egg plants chopping the stem off and digging out carefully the energies leaving the thin out a thin outer shell. Then continue as you would when you make Dolma.

THANK YOU,  KAROUN, FOR THE PHOTO AND THE RECIPES!!!

Scraping the Bowl!

 Visiting cousins in Troy, New York, Marash Girl sat with her auntie and her cousin while her auntie prepared a special cake for the family.  Removing the cake batter from the mixing bowl, and placing the batter into the oiled cake pan, her auntie continued to scrape the bowl until every drop of cake batter had been removed from the mixing bowl and was in the cake pan.  Auntie's daughter began to rant:  "How cheap can you be?  You have to scrape every bit of batter out of the bowl?"  Auntie did not answer her daughter.  Auntie knew better.  Auntie's daughter had never been hungry, had not survived a genocide, and had no appreciation for her mother, nor for the ageless advice:  "Waste not, want not."  Auntie was wise enough not to say a word.  She simply placed the cake pan filled with batter into the preheated oven, and began to clean up the kitchen, 45 minutes later serving the cake, just out of the oven, to her guests.

Marash Girl thinks of that incident every time she prepares batter for a cake, muffins, pancakes, or scones.  Hopefully, by now, that Troy cousin has learned to respect her elders, and to "Waste Not!"

Love your neighbor!

                                Marash Girl's dad used to always love to give sayings a twist.  

                                        Here's one he would jokingly advise to his pals!

                                        "Love your neighbor, but leave his wife alone!"

Social Distancing in the 21st Century!

                              Were Marash Girl's father still living, he would comment, 

                                    "Six feet apart is a lot better than six feet under!"