A Recipe All The Way From Lebanon! Blog for October 1

‘Marashi ich’ Ingredients 2 cups fine white cracked wheat 2-3 red firm tomatoes, diced small ½ cup sesame paste ½ teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon salt ¼ cup lemon juice 1 bunch parsley, chopped 3 green onions, chopped 2 medium onions, chopped Preparation 1. Wash and drain the cracked wheat and put it on a large dish or on a tray. 2. Add the salt, cumin, diced tomatoes, all the onions and the parsley. Mix thoroughly then put to one side. 3. Thin the sesame paste with the lemon juice and spread it over the mixture, and mix once more. Spread the whole evenly and thinly over the bottom of the dish and serve. Note: This delicious and satisfying dish made with uncooked cracked wheat and served cold, cool, or at room temperature, is more usually prepared by the people of Kilis and is called by that town’s name: Kilis ichi (Kilis içi). In Marash, this dish is prepared with sesame oil without tomatoes or pepper. Thanks to the plentiful supply of sesame oil in Marash, a new version of it has been created. Thanks to Garo Derounian for forwarding the recipe originally published at the following website - https://www.houshamadyan.org/mapottomanempire/vilayetaleppo/sandjakofmarash/local-characteristics/cuisine.html

"Faith, Above All . . . "

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Lottery Tickets?

Marash Boy's mother (born in Marash, a survivor of the genocide of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire) used to love to buy lottery tickets whenever she went to the supermarket. She told Marash Girl, "If I win, I promised God that I'll give half the money to the church!" Marash Girl advised with a chuckle, "When you promise God that you'll give all the money to the church, you may win the lottery!"

Rush Hour on Centre Street . . .

At rush hour, this past Friday, Marash Girl and Marash Boy were walking North on Centre Street, the traffic from the South stopped and backed up for miles ... the perfect moment for Marash Girl to play "Old Country Lady" . . . and so she did. She dutifully walked several feet behind Marash Boy all the way home!

Somewhere Over The Rainbow . . .

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

The Yellow Rose of . . . Church Street!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Do You Knit?

Do you knit? Have you ever run out of yarn, in that you have a little of this and a little of that, but not enough of any one color for a scarf? Well, here's a possible solution. If you have two (or three) balls of yarn, each ball a different color, colors that blend well together, each ball by itself insufficient to make a scarf, simply knit the first row with both (or all three) colors of yarn, then two rows of the first color, then two rows of the second color, (then two rows of the third color, if you have a third color), then two rows of the first color, then two rows of the second color . . . well, you get the picture! It works, and there you'll have an original scarf that most folks wouldn't think to create! Congratulations!

THE ULTIMATE IN COLOR COORDINATION . . .

Photo by MarashGirl©2021 And these folks are even obeying the speed limit!!!

"You have great taste!"

Recently, seeing an advertisement which began with the words, "You have great taste . . . ", Marash Girl was reminded of her father Peter's rejoinder whenever he heard a colleague commenting, "He has great taste!" Peter would quip, "He sure does! His taste is in his mouth!"

Overheard . . .

Recently, while Marash Girl and Marash Boy were dining in the outdoor garden area of a local restaurant, the waitress reached across their table in order to turn on the outdoor lights. (For some reason, the table and chairs at which they were seated were placed against, i.e., in front of, the light switch.) Excusing herself, the young woman commented brightly, "I’m a short person, so whenever I can reach something, I feel a great sense of accomplishment!"

14 . . . Flowers?

Looks like a lot more than 14 flowers!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Remembering . . .

On Thursday, June 14, 2018, Marash Girl wrote a blog (reprinted here) entitled, "Chocolate Chips and Herald Sulahian" "One of the fondest childhood memories for Marash Girl was the visits made to our home by our cousins, the Sulahian family. Why? Aside from the fun, it was the chocolate chips. Chocolate chips, you ask? Yes! Chocolate chips. Because all of the kids in the family loved chocolate chips, Mother Jennie could not keep them in the house unless she placed them on the very top shelf of the kitchen cabinet (or the chocolate chips would disappear within 24 hours after the candies entered the house). That worked. It worked, that is, until Marash Girl's cousin Herald visited. Cousin Herald was very tall and he, too, loved chocolate chips . . . " We all loved our cousin, Herald Sulahian . . . ! Sister Martha writes the following: "Remembering Chief Mahogany, and I remember the particularly hilarious moments when his family visited us, we would play Cowboys and Indians. As you may recall, we would chase Herald around the house up and down the stairs yelling his code name “Chief Mahogany” . . . usually after he had grabbed Mommy’s bag of Nestles Chocolate Chips from the upper most cabinet in the kitchen adjacent to the back hall. Those were my silliest but fun memories of Herald!" Marash Girl and her Sunday School mates would love to sing the chorus to one of our favorite Sunday School hymns: When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, We'll sing and SHOUT the victory!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021 Comment from Sarah: Sad about your cousin .. what a dear memory of the chocolate chip chase. Cousins are wonderful - I am close with several, and have mourned some, too.

YOU GO, GIRL!!!!

Anoushig Dylan, yesterday, after completing her second soccer match, happily smiles for the camera!

"Patiently Awaiting. . . . "

Photo by MarashGirl©2021 "Patiently awaiting her treats. . . . "

"Oh, no! Who lost (or tossed) this cuddly pink bear cub?"

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

KEEPING NEWTON CORNER SAFE . . .

Photo by MarashGirl©2021 N.B. With special thanks to the courageous members of the Newton Fire Department for all they have done and continue to do to keep our city safe!

BMB LOVES BMB!

Yesterday's blog picturing love memorialized in stone, as it were, or more precisely inscribed in cement, brought to mind an incident from Marash Girl's childhood . . . Once the young 'uns in the family and the neighborhood learned that the boy next door had the same intials as Marash Girl, it was all over for both the boy and Marash Girl . . . the chants of "BMB loves BMB" haunted the two for months, thus ensuring that both the boy and Marash Girl would rarely look at each other again, much less greet each other! N.B. Barry, should you be reading this blog, Marash Girl is sending her "love"!!!

Carved In Stone . . .

A love carved in stone . . . (or cement, to be more precise!)

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

On Being Armenian . . .

It is said that Armenians pray in Armenian and swear in Turkish. The question is, in what language do Armenians make love?

More Daisies To Brighten Your Day!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Remembering 9/11 . . .

Below is reprinted Marash Girl's blog post on the day following 9/11. Marash Girl was at the Newtonville Post Office, shipping books from OldCornerBooks.com to her customers, when her postal worker friend walked out from the back room, face ashen. "Hey, Ann, what's up?" Marash Girl quipped, hoping to urge a smile onto her friend's face. "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center," Ann's shaking voice answered. "My son -- he works in Tribeca, just a few blocks north of the World Trade Center in New York City. I have to get home and try to reach him," thought Marash Girl. Which of course, try as she might, she could not. All telephone lines were inoperative. In a panic, she kept trying to call, to no avail. Alone with only her books for company, Marash Girl silently prayed and in answer to those prayers, her son called to report that he had witnessed the crash of the second airplane, but was alive, and walking northward out of New York's Financial District with thousands of other New Yorkers. Marash Girl tried to call her father, but there was no answer. "Let me drive over there . . ." she thought, and she did. Hugging her dad, she told him of the Twin Towers. Once Peter, this Armenian-American man, born in Marash in 1912, a survivor of the Armenian genocide, understood exactly what had transpired that morning, he knew what he must do. They went together, Marash Girl and her father, to the house next door; they sat in silence, side by side with Mohammud and his family . . . they sat in solidarity throughout that day and the next, without speaking, "sitting shiva", as it were, with their Muslim neighbors in Newtonville, Massachusetts.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Rallying The Crowd!

Photo by Raffi©2021

Finally. . . An Avocado Pit That Has Begun To Root!!!

Although she purchases fresh avocados weekly, it's been years, literally, since Marash Girl has found an avocado with a pit that has begun to root . . . She had all but given up until last week, when she cut open an avocado to make her favorite avocado dip (ripe fresh avocado with skin and pit removed, mashed and then mixed with a tablespoon or two of tomato salsa) . . . there it was! An avocado pit that had begun to sprout roots! Hooray! Marash Girl immediately rinsed that pit in cool water, wiping it gently to remove whatever of the avocado vegetable was left on the pit, being careful not to injure the root. She pierced the pit half way up from its base three times, each time with a toothpick spaced equidistantly apart from the others, then hung the beloved avocado pit by its newly acquired toothpicks in a glass of water ... Fingers crossed that months from now, Marash Girl will be able to report that a baby avocado plant has begun to grow up out of the avocado pit in the glass on her kitchen windowsill.

Reflections at the Charles River

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Karoun On the Connecticut River. . .

"We were on a team building trip. We went north on the Connecticut River from Brunelles Marina to Northampton and back again." Photo credit: Tia Altman

And One Daisy Offers A Special Welcome To Our New Neighbors . . .

Let's join the daisy in welcoming our new neighbors into the neighborhood!!!!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

Daisies Welcome A New Tree Into The Neighborhood!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

His First Name . . .

Chatting with a fellow who had recently arrived in Massachusetts from the Middle East, Marash Girl asked about some of the issues the young man had had to face and how folks "identified" him. When Marash Girl wondered how folks knew if he was Christian, Jewish, or Muslim (as that seemed to be of importance in that faroff land) and treated him accordingly, he answered, "They know who I am by my first name which is on my identity card." And that, apparently, made all the difference . . .

"STAND TOGETHER AGAINST RACISM!"

Photo by MarashGirl©2021

LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING IN WATERTOWN!

Photo by MarashGirl©2021