Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Pierogi Party - Part 2 - Everything Else

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 2:25 PM Posted by Mimi and Joe

After the filling is chilled, it's time to make the dough and assemble the pierogis.  I strongly advise recruiting as many people as possible to help with the process.... turn it into a family tradition, invite people over and call it a party.... whatever you decide to go with, just know that this is not a one person job.

I would like to thank the 9 other people who tramped over to my house to offer support (the men) and help me (the women)!!  It was a day long process with pauses for a pizza lunch and a reward dinner of kielbasa and pierogis.  Much beer and wine was consumed of course as you can't have a party in Australia without that! We all walked away from the day richer by several dozen pierogis each, deeper friendships with each other and lurking hangovers... 

I'd also like to thank Cristin for coming over and being my own personal photog for the day so that you could all see the step by step process.  Didn't she do a lovely job?  Also thanks to Ellen for a picture of hers that I used and to Jon for a few photos of his that I used here as well - one of which perfectly captures the joy you should have while making these little beauties...  Enjoy!  

Mimi's Pierogi Dough
-Adapted from pretty much every pasta dough recipe out there

1 cup flour
1 egg
1 T canola oil
1 T cold water
Pinch salt







Combine all ingredients in a bowl until a flaky ball of dough forms - I use my hands because I'm not fancy it's easier to help the ingredients come together.  It doesn't matter if the dough seems quite messy and uncombined.  It will come together while it is resting.  If the dough is very very dry and you cannot get all the little floury bits to come together than you can add a 2nd tablespoon of cold water.


Cover the dough and let it rest for at least a half hour so the gluten can relax.  Cut the dough ball into 4 pieces. 



Roll out each piece by pushing it through a pasta machine on the highest (thickest) setting.  Fold it in half and run through the machine again several times, folding each time.  This is called "laminating" the dough.  As you proceed though this process you will notice the dough goes from feeling sticky to feeling very smooth and glossy.  Once the dough has become smooth and glossy and you have it in a nice square shape than you can begin running it through progressively smaller settings on your pasta machine.  Do not fold the dough once you start this process.  I use an Atlas pata maker, I laminate on setting 1 and then run the dough through to setting 5.



Cut circles out of the dough.  Now, you can do this with whatever utensil you would like; but here is my 2 cents.  I have made hundreds and hundreds of pierogis throughout my life and I can't recommend this little silver tool that you see in the above photo highly enough...  it's by Pampered Chef and it's called a Cut-N-Seal.  If you follow this link than you will see that it's under $10.00 - totally worth it!  If you don't have one than you can use a circular cookie cutter or something else like it.


Place a small spoonful of filling in the middle of each dough circle.


Hopefully, look this happy and excited about doing all this work cause you know it will be worth it at the end of the day!




Fold the dough over the filling while pressing the edges lightly together.  Place flat on cutting surface, ensure all air bubbles are pushed out and then press down in the centre of your Cut-N-Seal to trim the excess dough from the edges and achieve a uniformed seal.  If you don't have this beautiful tool than you can seal your pierogis with a swipe of water, edge of a fork, and quite a bit of pressure.  Again, I can't recommend this tool from Pampered Chef enough.  In this batch of about 15 dozen, there were only about 3 pierogis that opened up while boiling - with more traditional methods of sealing, your rate of pierogi death will be significantly higher.  Plus they just won't look as pretty!





Once the pierogis are sealed and ready to go, drop them in salted, lightly boiling water for about 3 minutes per batch.  You don't want to crowd them in the pot so only do about 6-8 at once.  Drain and cool the pierogis on a cooling rack placed over something to catch excess water.  Be prepared to change your water at least once and possibly twice when you are doing a large amount.  Once the water starts looking thick and cloudy it's time to start a clean pot to boil.  After the pierogis have cooled, I pack them in Ziplock Quart Freezer bags by the half dozen.  They freeze quite nicely and will keep for up to 3 months.



Pierogis are best served fried up in a pan with butter and onions; but the above method is nice with kielbasa and good for a crowd.  Throw a bunch of the pierogis and kielbasa in a baking dish, top with melted butter and carmelised onions and then into a 350 degree oven until everything looks all toasty and delicious.  When using fresh (uncooked) kielbasa (as in the bottom photo) just cut into one of the pieces so you can make sure not to serve your guests undercooked pork.

So, that's basically it.  Lots of hard work; but, I promise, worth it in the end....
Labels: , , , 8 comments

Pierogi Party Part1 - The Filling

1:17 PM Posted by Mimi and Joe


Welcome to my step by step primer on making the most delicious pierogis that you have ever tasted!

One of the places that pierogi's can go wrong is in the filling.  The number one rule is that the filling has to made in advance and left to chill in the fridge at least over night...  I procrastinated horribly and didn't start my filling until 10pm on the night before the pierogi party... Why?  I don't even remember...  

Anyway, here is the "ish" recipe for the pierogi filling.  I say "ish" because you may decide to add more or less of something - you will need to taste as you go and adjust accordingly.  I've never actually written my recipe down so this time when I made the filling I wrote down the amounts as I went.  I started with 2 cups of onions, made it all the way to the end and realised it was not enough... I had to fry off 2 more cups to make the filling taste right... So, go with your gut here (literally and figuratively) - you are looking for really thick, salty, cheesy oniony mashed potatoes....

Mimi's Pierogi Filling
 - Adapted from my mother's recipe who adapted it from my Grandmother's recipe

5 lbs potatoes
4 cups diced onion
150 grams butter
2 T salt 
(I use flaked sea salt-use less if you are using table salt)
325 gram sharp cheddar cheese cubed 
(preferably white)




Peel, dice and boil the potatoes as though you are making mashed potatoes. 




 Saute the butter and onions over medium high heat until carmelised and almost burnt.  Add 1 teaspoon of the sea salt as you are cooking down the onions.



When potatoes are soft, drain the water off of them and put them in your mixer bowl.  Use the wisk attachment so that the potatoes get to mashed consistency.  Add the cooked onion (making sure you scrape all of the butter and browned bits out of the pan) and add the cheese several cubes at a time, followed by the salt. 


Mix until the consistency is smooth and the cheese is melted.  The mixture should be fairly thick and glossy from the cheese.  Taste at this point and add more salt, onions or cheese as needed until the mixture is very flavourful.




 Chill filling for at least 4 hours – preferably overnight…
The consistency should be quite similar to cookie dough.

Labels: , , 0 comments

Going "Home"?

Monday, June 27, 2011 2:53 PM Posted by Mimi and Joe
Now that we've been back in Sydney for a couple of weeks, it almost feels like our holiday to the States never even happened.  The build-up to the trip was intense - creating packing lists, buying souvenirs and generally worrying too much about what it would be like being back.  I've heard a lot of ex-pats talk about their first trip back and there seems to be an almost unanimous agreement that it is a very big deal.  There are a lot of emotional issues inside of that first visit - do you still fit in, are you homesick for your original home, are you homesick for your ex-pat home etc....

I can't lie - I was so nervous...  I was excited to see my family again; but I was mostly afraid of going back, realising that I missed it too much and then coming back to Australia completely miserable and homesick.  I have been lucky up to this point on the homesickness front - not that it hasn't happened; but that it seems to happen infrequently and be very low-grade when it does.

Anyway, the visit was great... There was lots that felt weird and lots that we seemed to just fall right back in to.  Being back in the States did make me realise how much I had been missing; but hadn't admitted to myself.  I really miss driving...  I love that we use public transport here; but I miss the ease of getting places easily, quickly and on my own timetable.  I also miss the ease of driving - I've driven here; but it has not been a fun experience...  Being on the wrong side of the car throws off what little spatial understanding I have and both of my driving experiences here have left me shaken and teary as I narrowly avoid being side swiped the whole time. So, while we were back on our holiday, I was finding any excuse possible to drive - it just was so effortless and enjoyable.

I also missed the prices and the ease of shopping - it's easier to drive to stores, they are bigger, it's cheaper and the customer service is unparalleled.  So yeah, I miss those things a lot...

I was really looking forward to eating certain types of food that I missed and that part was very disappointing to me.  Nothing tasted quite like I remembered and nothing tasted as good as the food here in Sydney.  Except burgers....  They were amazing and promptly reminded me why I don't order burgers here in Australia - they just can't quite seem to get them right.

Anyway, the last two nights before we left to come back to Australia, I got really really homesick.  Crying myself to sleep homesick - which is exactly what happened to me when we originally moved here.  It passed, and by the time we left for the airport on our last day, I was only looking forward to coming back here to Sydney.  Isn't that interesting?  Crying for one home and yet looking forward to returning to your other home...

I guess if I learned anything from this trip, it's that you can have two homes and you can love them both so much that you can miss each one when you are gone from it.  I learned that Sydney has become my home over this past year and that, regardless of my "ishews", I don't want to leave it.

Coming out of customs and into the Sydney airport proper are these banners.  One says, "Welcome to Sydney" and that's the one I was excited to see when we moved here.  Look more closely though, and you will see that they next one says "Gday, Welcome Home".  That's the one that I was most excited to see on this trip because I felt like it had finally come true for me.

If you look more closely, you will see a Christmas tree as well, which is a dead give-away to the fact that this is actually not my picture.  I stole it from the interwebs because I never have enough hands free to actually snap a picture at any time during a trip - let along a 26 hour, 4 layover trip.

The upshot of all this is:  I love my family, I love the US and I miss all of them all the time. I also love Sydney, I love my husband and I love our life here - so parting from one to go back to the other isn't as hard as I thought it would be.
Labels: , , , , , , 5 comments

Great Ocean Road - or - Warning! Longest Post Ever!

Friday, June 24, 2011 11:09 AM Posted by Mimi and Joe
Now that I’ve spouted off about nothing much of value over the last couple of posts, I suppose I should treat you all with some beautiful pictures from the Great Ocean Road to thank you for your patience!

We left Melbourne in the afternoon and I had hoped to arrive at our lodging in Apollo Bay before nightfall; but, considering the amount of times I had Joe pull over so I could take pictures of the incredible coastline stretching away into the distance, I am shocked that we got there before midnight.  I am always so nervous about booking accommodations here in Australia – there doesn’t seem to be the same “truth in advertising” as there is in the States.  Also, instead of chain hotel/motels where you can expect a predictable experience, mostly you find independently run places where you’re not quite sure what to expect. 

Our accommodations in Apollo Bay were really quite beautiful and I recommend them without any reservation – we stayed at “Captains at the Bay” and our room had, not only a lovely dual-headed shower, but a gigantic soaking tub (and let me tell you, there was nothing better than a glass of wine and a good book while soaking in said tub).  After we got settled, we headed down to the main drag in town for some dinner – very expensive food (a la most tourist traps) and not very good quality; but we were tired and hungry and thankful for what we got.

The next day we continued on the drive with the intent of doing some sightseeing and getting more fabulous pictures.  One of my goals was to visit the Otway light station as I had seen some beautiful pictures of it online when I was researching our trip and I was not about to miss any of the sights on this drive…  It was slow going again, as I had Joe pulling off every few turn-offs for incredible photo opportunities.  We turned down the long long drive that led to the light station and started noticing cars that had been hastily pulled over on the side of the narrow road with their occupants standing by them pointing cameras up into the trees.  It was looking like something very interesting was going on... 
This time it was Joe who wanted to stop as he wisely said “there is obviously something cool going on and I would like to see it”.  I couldn't argue with that point so over we pulled and were treated to trees full of koalas.  I've seen them at Taronga Zoo; but that was nothing compared to seeing them in the wild - just hanging out in the trees.  Before we left for the trip, I got a recommendation from a co-worker about a place on the GOR where you could go to see koalas.  We had bypassed it the night before on our drive in as it was getting late; and so I had intentions of stopping to see them on our way back to Melbourne on Tuesday - it was really cool that we no longer needed to cause we were getting our own little koala experience right here without an extra trip for it!  Most of them, predictably, were sleeping so they just looked like large bumps on the branches.  There was one very active one that was eating (see above) and I attempted to take a video of it with my camera.  I was holding the camera over my head though so it came out shaky and not very good quality...  Oh well.  They were completely adorable and it was hard to rip ourselves away.  I could have spent the whole afternoon just sitting on the car and watching them.   

The light station was also worth it – it was so beautiful that it almost hurt.  Up against that crazy deep blue sky, the white of the lighthouse was blinding; but still set off by the red railing at the top.  I could have sat and taken pictures of it all day.  There was a little snack hut attached to a visitor's centre; and, outside of it, shielded from the wind by a lean-to made of tarps and sticks, was a grizzled old man singing old sea shanties.  Yep.  As if the experience was not cool enough by itself, the soundtrack of sea songs being sung in the background took this to a whole new level.  Joe and I walked down to the lighthouse itself and climbed up to the top.  I don’t feel like I can even describe the experience well enough to do it justice.  The view was crazy – water forever, cliffs below and waves smashing into foam far far below us.  The wind was so strong that it felt like you actually needed to hold on the railing for fear of being blown away.  We stayed up there far longer than was prudent and came down chilled and hungry.  Luckily, the car had been parked in the sun so we settled into the warmth with a snack and away we went again….




We knew that we wanted to see the 12 Apostles and considering that we were about half-way there, we decided to press on and see them that same day (Really, in this sentence, the 4 times I say "we" - I mean "I").  

We had gone to the store before embarking on our journey that morning and had gotten the provisions for a picnic lunch so we had supplies to last us through the rest of the afternoon.  We drove and drove, again through a landscape that was incredible in its beauty and reached the vicinity of the 12 Apostles hungry and worried about the increasing lateness of the hour.  We couldn’t find a place with picnic tables etc… for us to have our late lunch so we pressed on – finally stopping at a look-out for something called The Gorge…   We walked out to it, hoping to find picnic tables; but instead found some beautiful angry ocean, rain and a squall blowing in.  We ran back to the car, popped open the food and had an excellent picnic dinner in the car while the storm passed quickly overhead.  

After that we drove around a bit, trying in vain to see the 12 Apostles – little did I know that we needed to go to the visitor centre, park and then take a stroll out to the lookout point.  We finally figured it out after much turning around and frustration – mostly on the part of Joe who was the poor driver for the entire trip.  We got there, got settled, got some coffees and started down the path to the lookout.  We purposefully tried not to look at the rock formations till we got to the very end of the lookout point and then turned around together to take them in.  I can’t decide which was better – seeing them for myself or watching Joe see them.  I had been talking about them for days and he really didn't understand what the draw was.  When I started researching the trip, I saw picture after picture of them and so knew what we were in for.  He hadn't actually seen them yet even in picture form so getting to see his face while he took in the view was pretty amazing. 

While we were on the furthest lookout point, I happened to glance down and see that there was an echidna right on the other side of the fence from me.  Of course at the time, I thought it was a porcupine or hedgehog – I had to Google it later that night to find out what I had actually taken a picture of!  We slowly moved along the paths leading from lookout area to lookout area, taking pictures of these rock beauties from every angle imaginable.  We realised as we neared the end of the viewing area that if we waited for 15 minutes or so we would get to see the sun set on them.  There wasn’t even a decision to be made – we found a good viewing spot and settled in with about a thousand other people. 

Not to drag this otherwise upbeat post down - But I have to say, holidays are hard for me…  They became really difficult after my dad died, got even harder after my mom died and, now that we are on the other side of the world from our families, they start to feel like looming black clouds when they begin approaching.  I especially struggle with holidays that my parents really loved – Easter, Memorial Day and Christmas.  I was struggling a little on this trip because I was missing Easter back in the States - it's such a huge holiday in my family that it is hard to even explain without doing it an injustice.  So here we were - we happened to be standing on the edge of this huge country, in another hemisphere, all by ourselves watching the sun set on the most beautiful thing I had ever seen – On Easter Sunday….  It was perfect, it was sad, it was inspiring and incredible.  I only wish that I were able to share these experiences with my Mom and Dad.  My Dad especially would have loved that sight...  I know it was beautiful enough to make me cry and I think it would have done the same for him.



We shook off the deep emotion that that sunset had laid on us (much as recounting the story has laid some deep emotion on this post) and headed back to the car.

I was nervous about the long drive back to Apollo Bay in the dark; but Joe handled the night driving with ease.  There were hardly any other cars on the road so the journey was quick and painless.  Back to our room to change and then out again for dinner.  Again, lots of money for so-so food; but who the heck cares when you spent your day looking at the things we saw.  We went back to our room for coffee, tea, Jack Daniels and some cookies to round out the day on an upswing.  Joe turned on the TV and we stumbled across a program on ANZAC Day.  It was sad and sobering so it maybe wasn't the best end for an emotional day; but it was incredible interesting and I'm glad we saw it.

ANZAC day was the next day and we decided to spend the whole of it in Apollo Bay.  We read, sat on the beach for hours, ate fish and chips, napped and generally had the first “non-running around day” of the whole vacation.  It was perfect and I’m glad we decided to rest up a bit.  Tuesday morning it was up and out the door so that we could get back to Melbourne in time to return the car and head to the airport for our flight home.

It was a great holiday and my feeling is that, if you are living in Australia, you should go do this drive. Absolutely.
Labels: , , , 3 comments

Our First Visitors!!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 9:59 AM Posted by Mimi and Joe
Sunday was Father’s Day in America but not in Australia – a fact that I had forgotten until I went to the newsagent to buy a card for my Father in Law and realised that they didn’t have any…. Oops!  Needless to say, I felt a bit stupid considering we had just returned home from the States where I easily could have purchased a card and even left it at my in-laws house to be opened on the appropriate day.  Obviously, I spent far too much time in the States shopping and not enough time strategising for Father’s Day.   Sunday was a quiet day for us since we had just had a group of people over the night before and stayed up really late.  It’s full on winter here now so we snuggled up on the couch and watched some movies.  I’m working on a counted cross stitch and I’ve just realised that I’m actually getting very close to being finished with it…  Sunday I took the opportunity to knock a huge bit of it out.  I’m hoping to finish it in the next couple of months and so have it ready to give to my Mother in Law for Christmas.  Then it is on to the next project!  I used to know how to knit and crochet quite well so I am thinking about starting that back up?  Or perhaps I will finish the other unfinished cross stitch projects I have on the go at the moment…

Speaking of Christmas and my in-laws – I just booked plan tickets for Joe’s parents to com visit us for 5 weeks over Christmas!!!  I am so excited!!  They will be our first visitors here and we have decided to do a New Zealand cruise with them while they are here.  I found a great deal on a 12 day cruise that departs from Aukland and gets us back into Sydney on Christmas Eve.  There are so many things that I want to show them – the NYE fireworks from our windows, picnics on the reserve, the Botanical gardens etc….  December should be a very full month!  In early January they are going to go up to the Great Barrier Reef for a few days and then they will be headed back for the States on the 11th.  Have I mentioned that I can’t wait??
Labels: , , , 2 comments

Bad Habit

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 10:14 AM Posted by Mimi and Joe
I wanted to blog a couple of days ago about something and I didn't...  I didn't because I told myself that I didn't have enough news or photos for a "real" blog post.  I have gotten myself into the mindset that a blog entry has to be very very long with at least 4 bajillion (yes, it's a real word - look it up) photos to match.

So, I need to get myself out of this habit.  I will begin by now posting the post that I wanted to post the other day- Ha!

So, Monday morning I had an absolutely incredible dream about my Dad.  I have dreams about my parents all the time; but, in those dreams, they are more like ideas or shadows.  Hard to grab on to and even harder to hold on to long enough to try to see their faces in the dreams.  Not this one....  I dreamed we were having some sort of family reunion.  My Uncle Ray was there rocking a fantastic pin striped suit.  My Dad showed up and the two of them started talking about clothes (in the dream, my Dad was claiming to have lost weight and wanted to buy new clothes - even though he looked the same to me) and where to buy them - especially the suit which my Dad was quite impressed with.  I remember being conscious enough to realise that I could see Dad's face and that it really felt like he was there.  At this point, I didn't feel like a player in the dream; but I was more than content to sit and watch - this was the most I had seen of my Dad's face in a dream for years!

Then my Dad saw me.  His face lit up like someone turned a spotlight on behind it.  He rushed over to me and started talking a mile a minute.  At one point he grabbed my hands and held them.  I just remember everything slowing down - I couldn't even pay attention to what he was saying because I couldn't stop looking at his face.  He was laughing and making all those little facial expressions that you are afraid you will forget as time slips by. I remember reaching up and putting my hand on his face - I could smell his shaving soap and feel his stubble.  I was, in that moment, a little kid again; but somehow not.

And then I woke up - just like that....

It was weird - I woke up and Joe had already left for work.  He never leaves without waking me up to say goodbye and kiss me. I called him to make sure everything was ok and he told me that he hadn't woke me because I seemed to be having such a good sleep.  I'm so glad he decided to let me sleep that morning...


If my Dad were alive, it would be his 77th birthday tomorrow.  I would probably be buying him a nice pair of courderouy pants.  Except, I think what he really would have wanted was a pin striped suit...


Labels: , , 2 comments

Good and Bad

Monday, September 27, 2010 2:41 PM Posted by Mimi and Joe
So, Ive had this post rolling around inside my head ever since we got our stuff (man, that makes it sound like there is a whole lot of empty hollowness in my noggin).  I've been wanting to write about my Mom and Dad - not just about them; but about a few of the things of theirs that I was lucky enough to inherit...  Some possessions that mean so much to me that they are almost a tangible thread that I could follow back to my Mom and Dad if I tried hard enough.  Ok, I know that sounds fanciful.  I'm hoping to explain it here though so maybe by the end you won't think I'm so crazy.

So, like I said, I've been thinking about this post; but I wasn't really in a huge hurry to write it.  Friday evening at work someone gave a talk about eating organic (explanation, if you want to give a short talk about something than you can while everyone is drinking - I know right?) and it seemed to push a lot of buttons in the office.... including my own.  It wasn't the subject matter that bothered me - I think that if you can afford to eat organic than you should.  It was more of the way the subject was presented - lots of blanket statements and not a whole lot of objectivity.  Anyway, you know me with the big mouth - first I chimed in to give some examples of how crazy expensive organic food is here.  Then, as the talk devolved into a discussion, I was trying to get across the point that eating organic won't save your life just as not eating healthy your whole life will necessarily condemn you to cancer.  So, I used my parents as an example - one who ate very healthy and died of cancer.  One who ate badly and died of cancer.

Ugh!  What was I thinking?  Now I am the girl with the dead parents.  I try really hard to just not ever mention that my parents have died - so hard in fact that, when I was leaving my old job to move to Australia, several people asked me how my parents felt about it.  See?  I am usually very very careful.  So, we went out to the bars on Friday night after all that and I ended up having a couple drinks too many - which means that I spent Saturday morning lying in bed thinking.  Oh no - thinking...

Usually when I think about my parents (which is all the time), I think of happy things - I try very very hard to not think about the sickness part of their lives.   So, when I was a little hungover, missing them and had the morning to lay in bed with my fuzzy head and think, I thought about all of the horrible things about the actual sickness and dying part of the time I had with them.  It didn't make for a good morning; but it did make me realize that I needed to shake all of those feeling off and write a wonderful celebratory post about my parents and the things they left for me.  I am going to rise above and make this happy!

First up - the spice rack...  This hung in our dining room/kitchen for as long as I can remember.  It was full of Spice Island Spices (the nice expensive ones) so it didn't get used very often.  Mostly, it was a place to stash bills and paperwork.  When we sorted through all of the stuff in my parents house before it was sold, I was lucky enough to get the spice rack.  I immediately hung it on my kitchen wall, full of the same dusty old Spice Island spices that were too old to use.  It was a bit like a shrine really - I didn't use it at all.  When we decided to move to Australia, I had to really think about what to do with it - Leave it in the States in storage?  Bring it with? Buy new spices and send them over? 

The main problem was the old jars of spices - you can bring spices into Australia; but they have to be new and unopened.  I wondered if I should save all of the old bottles and try to clean them out; but the assortment wasn't very good.  In the end, I decided that if Mom were here she would want me to use it - not just look at it on the wall like a painting.  So, I threw away the old bottles of spices, I bought new bottles and labels and I brought all of it to Australia with me.  I've been slowly building up my collection... each time I go to the grocery store I buy a bottle or two of spices and herbs and then I repackage it when I get home. I'm so glad I made the decisions I did - I use it almost every day and it reminds me of Mom's cooking. it's like having her in my kitchen with me every time I make a meal. 

So, the next bit of this story is somewhat of a confession.  I didn't come by this next piece of property through any sort of division of property - I took it.  Granted, I was about 16 or 17 at the time and my parents were still alive so it wasn't like I knew it would be worth something more to me one day.  It was just an old book that was down in the basement and I wanted to have it; because I thought that reading Shakespeare would make me seem really cool.  In reality, none of my friends ever really cared; but I had this book and also a collected works of Edger Allen Poe so in my mind I thought I was a young literary genius.  I've carted this book around with me for the last 10 years - it went through my house fire with me and it moved a bazillion times with me.  I'm honestly quite shocked that it's made it this far.  I decided to bring it to Australia with me because it is one of my oldest possessions (and I use the term possessions loosely) and I've just always had it with me.  I had never looked inside of it before we got here.  I'm not sure what made me open it up when I was unpacking our stuff; but seeing that the book was one of my Dad's college textbooks was like a little gift from him - A little message saying "I'm here with you". 

I started turning some pages and I found his notes.  His writing - such a wonderfully familiar sight - scribbled in the margins of the plays he studied in college.  He was exactly the same age in 1960 that I am now.  I made a mental note of the notes in the book and decided to blog about it.  So, this past Saturday, after I spent the morning in dark thoughts, Joe and I went down to the reserve to read.  I brought this book and my camera to take pictures of it for this entry.  I had such fun reading the little notes and reading the passages that my Dad underlined when he was 27.  I was careful not to look at every page - these sorts of discoveries are best when you can dole them out to your self in small increments over time. 

If I were to leaf through every page and read every notation - it would be too much.  I would feel cheated that there was nothing left to discover.  It was obvious that they hadn't covered every play in the book; and it's not like the pages were littered with notes.  They were few and far between - always judicious - so that makes them all the more precious.  I figure that I will know the next time I need to get  a message from this book.  This particular Saturday, I needed a really big message. 



I was really low, really missing them - feeling sorry for myself... sick of hearing people say "but you are so young!" when they find out that my parents are gone. 
I was sitting on the blanket next to Joe, taking my artsy pictures for this blog entry when I ran across not just a message; but a gift. 

An absolutely amazing gift.

So, now I am restored - back to thinking my happy thoughts!







Labels: , , , 11 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
abcs