Higher Education

I've been learning many new things while at Athabasca. That Mission Schools were a good thing. That education across Canada has been relatively equal throughout history. Perhaps most interestingly, I've been learning how amazingly fantastic MTA was.

The food of my childhood

Meals That Were in Heavy Rotation: Soups- a lot of soups- Boarscht (not beet, the much better cabbage, beef, onion & tomato one) Bean Soup, Chicken Soup with Krepplach, Roast Chicken, Roast Beef, Pasta and Homemade tomato sauce, stews, schnitzel, chili.

When My Mom was "Phoning that Shit in": Thai (Pad woon sen- no eggs, no shrimp, basil chicken & rice, Indian (saag aloo, lamb dish, goat dish, rice, roast chicken from the grocery store, Chinese (Shanghai noodles, beef & broccoli).

Popular Side Dishes: Rice, Salad, some sort of potato- mashed or roasted. Sometimes Potato pizza

Foods My Mom Made When We Were Sick: Chicken Soup

Memorable Mentions: Tacos, guacamole, artichokes... I loved artichokes. still do. with lemon and butter to dip. mmmmmmmmmm

Weird Snacks: Nothing really weird I don't think. Apples & cheese, celery & peanut butter, cut up veggies, tofu, salami , actually, salami wrapped around cheese & pickles was pretty weird I think.

Food We Had at Our Grandparents' House: Chicken soup & Krepplach at my Bubbies. She was a fantastic cook, sadly, I remember very little of it- except the chicken soup and krepplach. She would home make the chicken broth- just a chicken and the perfect mix of veggies, cooked together and made perfectly clear. Then she'd take all of them out and put in krepplach. To this DAY I can't make it as well as she can- it's basically a homemade noodle dough, stuffed with beef, onions & salt and pepper. Then a bunch of them in a bowl of chicken broth. God it was good. ... it also resulted in my being disowned, but that's another story. A lot of pesant food. At my Grandma's it was a lot of english food... beef, onions, tomatos & peppers cooked to death, chicken cooked to death... but MAN she could bake like nobody's business. She was fantstic. I will always miss her rice pudding, apple pie, lemon squares, date squares, pecan tarts, butter tarts, lemon merangue pie. She loved baking

What I Want My Mom To Make For Me Now - I'll take anything she makes when she tries. She makes this fantastic veal, carrot & wine stew, roast chicken I still love, Chicken soup

Best Thing I Ate as a Child By Far : Tie between Bubbies Chicken soup & krepplach & Grandma's apple pie.

Sippin on Gin'n' Juice

I don't remember what's happened recently. It must have been fascinating. New Years was awesome. We remembered why we can't have nice things. As shown by the picture. It was absolute wildness.

Febuary... showers?

In other news, I'm taking courses from Athabasca so I can go to grad school (maybe hopefully). This should prove endlessly entertaining.

Festival of Lights

I feel I should mention my other Holiday- the one not about presents. I'm Jewish- or Jew(ish) as the saying goes. My mom was born in Europe, in a refugee camp after the war, and both her parents were interned in Russia. Most of their many siblings died in various camps, and the survivours, no matter the cliche, were never the same. My Bubbie never got over not being able to save all of her siblings, and carried that lifelong guilt with her. Her 6 year old nephew escaped the Nazi's, but at the cost of being a 6 year old alone and scared in Israel until several years after the war ended.

I grew up in a small town, where we were one of two Jewish families, far away from all of my Jewish family in NYC. And we never were overly Jewish. My Bubbie and Zadie denied Judaism as a religion soon after the war ended, both feeling that no god could truly do this to them, and so my mom, and later me grew up vested in Judaism as a Culture and a History, but never as a religion. We went to synagogue on the High Holidays and Hanukkah only- rarely on the Sabbath. But being Jewish was always an identifying part of me. Remembering the history, and what my family had gone through were important to me, and to me, Hanukkah was a representation of that history. I grew up always having Christmas- it was (sort of) important to dad and other then a 1 year stint with the "Hanukkah Bush" even mom accepted that Christmas was just going to happen. But it was always different for me. Christmas had nothing to do with the idea of Jesus- early on I adopted my dad's view of the cult of Santa. Spiritually, Christmas meant nothing to me. Hanukkah, with the idea of family, and the peace of the candles, that was where to me, any spirituality happened. Christmas was about gifts, Hanukkah was about Peace.

Christmas

Not that Christmas is about presents. it's about family, friends, food... and apparently presents.

This is our tree.

















This was Beau's mom's tree. She was upset about slacking for Christmas presents this year.

Snapshots

This is our Christmas Tree

















I bought a box of Peaches for $10 this summer

















My Elevator at Work has been expired for a ...while. Safety First!

My Cats

I love my cats. I have had them since I was 8- they are old, old spoiled cats. I named the Cream one Sullivan (after the composers Gilbert & Sullivan) when I was 8. I named the black one Felix (after the cat) when I was 9.

















Apparently Felix has been preparing to Eat Our Souls.

I love this City more then I should

I love living in Toronto. I know I shouldn't. Maybe it's the comfort of the familiar, the resturants, the grocery stores that aren't the big chains, the theatre, the music, the life... maybe it's finally being back close to family.

















And I love it.

We went to Canada's wonderland

We went to Canada's Wonderland. It's something of a tradition. We go every year, for halloween haunt- basically, we go during the day, and leave when it gets busy. It's FANTASTIC. Cause I hate people.

Anyways, apparently, not all my friends love rollercoasters as much as I do.

















Also, it hasn't really snowed yet. That is awesome