About Me

Friday, February 21, 2020

2020 Vacation Plans

Yesterday I was talking to my friends in the US and one of them asked me my vacation plans for 2020. I told him that I did not know yet.

Then I started thinking about it. My country is being dragged into war in Syria by our incompetent government and allegedly it's allies. The incompetent government keeps pressuring the Central Bank of Turkey to lower the interest rates and nowadays the interest rate for TL is negative. This makes foreign currencies leap so, it is a de-facto devaluation. The Central Bank of Turkey is no longer an independent organization which is not only wrong but very scary. The economy is in real bad shape and I do not see any major steps taken to improve it. I think, the current president is a very bad person and intentionally dragging the country towards doom. I see no way to stop him. He has control over everything.

I believe my country is headed towards more hardship and very dark days. This means we should do our best to protect ourselves and our belongings as best as we can.

So, I have no vacation plans this year. My sister and BIL live in Izmir which is a beach city. My uncle spends most of his time in Antalya which is another beach city. So, I can get my swimming and beach fix utilizing places we already own. If I plan my visits to these places carefully and spend enough time, I can optimize my gas consumption which is a major expense.

My BFF may want to visit me in Turkey but, she does not think she can make it more than 10 days. If she comes for a visit, then I will modify my current plan. After all, it will be her 2nd visit in 30 years.

Staycation is not a bad idea either.




Thursday, February 20, 2020

Dad

Today is a sad day. My dad passed away today in 1994. I was 27 and SIS was only 20, still at College. It was due to an unexpected aortic aneurism so, it could not be avoided.

He would be turning 80 this year. My heart still aches and my eyes still well up after 26 years.

However, as a family we almost always remember him with smiles. He had a great sense of humor.

Dad, we love you and miss you very much.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Missing my Home

I left my apartment on October 22nd for my vacation and came back home on January 8th. I unpacked, did tons of laundry, packed again and came to Ankara on January 13th. The first two weeks, I had been taking mom to the hospital mostly. After she recovered, we had been organizing her new apartment.

So far, I have helped mom organize the kitchen cabinets, her closet and drawers, the bathroom drawers, the closet at the entrance and the closet in the room that I stay. I donated all that she wanted to get rid of. She wanted new ottomans and some other smallish things. I found them online and upon her approval, I have ordered them. There are two closets/cupboards in the balcony to be organized but since, it is too cold, she wants to organize them when it warms up possibly in early April.

I am thinking of organizing all hand tools because, there are multiples of some of them and the extras can be set aside for my SIS and BIL for the new apartment they intend to buy over here.

So, since January 12th, I have been here and I am very homesick.

Uncle is coming tomorrow and my mom's control appointment is on February 28th. Depending on the test results etc., I am hoping to go back home right after that. Uncle can take her to the doctor's too but, I go in with her and talk to her doctors myself. So, I will wait.

Mom thinks and expects me to be back quickly but, I think I will stay in Istanbul for at least a month. There is so much to do at home and many friends to see.  Needless to say, having lived on my own for all my life, I need my space and time. I was alone only for about 10-12 days when I was on my road trip in November.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family and my friends and I feel truly blessed by having so many who do care about me. On the other hand, I need my "me" time doing things I want to do and not having to think about things for others at least for a while.

I also need to talk to my friend about the new business prospect and that requires at least 2-3 meetings.

We were preparing to sell mom's apartment and buy my SIS and BIL a new one closer to where she now lives which is their apartment. However, it looks like the apartment will not be sold for the amount we were hoping for so, I suggested that we could replace the kitchen and other things to their liking and they can use that apartment till they retire and come back to Ankara which is at least 7,5 years away. We will see which course of action we will take.

My sister says if the apartment is sold, half of it should be mine. My lovely stupid little baby sister! When will she get that she is the world to me and what I have is hers? I love her to the moon and back!


Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Love of Fish

Mom and I had grilled seabream for dinner tonight from the fishmonger downstairs. Commercial fishing season will be over by the start of April till September. So, it is time to eat lots of fresh fish and stock up.

I am going out for dinner with babyhood friends tomorrow night. Guess what we are having? Fish! I do not mind eating fish two days in a row.  Depending on what the restaurant has, I will probably go for smaller fish like grilled anchovies or sardines. They are very fishy and I love fishy fish.

While traveling abroad, I have seen that mostly the fish is served as a filet or in pieces. In my country seabram, seabass, bluefish, and such are served whole with the head and tail. They clean the insides of the fish and throw it on charcoal grill or in hot oil. It is a bit tricky to eat at a restaurant using your fork and knife trying to get rid of the bones and still being a civilized person. Lol! At home, I do use my hands, just do not tell anyone, OK? They will filet the fish if you like but, the norm is to serve it as a whole.

I also love smoked fish. Nothing beats a a piece of toast, cream cheese, few slices of an avocado and smoked salmon for breakfast. Avocados are pricey so, I only buy them when they are on sale.


Friday, February 14, 2020

Cauliflower Patties

Today, I have tried a new recipe. I made cauliflower patties. They were really yummy. If anyone is interested, here is a rough recipe:

1 Small Cauliflower
1 egg
1/cup bread crumbs
1 medium onion
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional)

Boil or steam the cauliflower till it is really cooked. Should be easy to mash. Let it cool and mash it up. Shred the onion and mix everything together real well. You may add 1/2 cup grated cheese if you like but, I did not. If the mixture cannot be shaped since it is watery, you may add more breadcrumbs or flour. I did not have to.

I oiled the baking paper on a baking sheet and shaped the mixture into egg-sized patties. I brushed them with olive oil and baked them till their color turned goldish. They were pretty tasty. I dipped them in hot sauce and sweet and sour sauce while I was eating them. Yum!

Mom and I like to eat only veggies for one meal and meat and salad for the other.







Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Nice Day, Interesting Opportunity

Today, I met another BFF (yes, I have more than one, what can I say? I am lucky) and her younger daughter for lunch. The daughter is going to University in Germany and she is fluent in both English and German. Pretty smart kid.

We had a nice time chatting away and it was a very good day.

I called my friend who owns the consulting company and asked her if there is any opportunity in the near future. She said, things were not looking good and she did not think there would be business coming our way any time soon. Bummer! I am ready to work since spending my days doing nothing does not make any sense at my age. Also bringing some extra income would not hurt, would it?

Tonight, I decided to call another friend who was very sick last week. Thankfully, she is feeling better yet, still needing lots of rest. I have found out that she is very upset and overwhelmed over having to break her business partnership. She is buying the business from her partner. She had asked me in the past whether I would be interested in working with them and knowing that her partner was a difficult person, I had bowed out.

She sounded like she would be drowning under her workload to the point that she was going to reject  new work. I decided to offer her my help. I told her that, I would help her initially without expecting anything in return to decide whether this job will be suitable for me. If I decide that, it is something I would like to do and can do, we would then sit down to figure out how I will be paid. I also told her that, I would have to spend more time in Ankara but, she assured me most of the work can be done remotely.

She thanked me several times and said our phone call must have had some divine intervention. Lol!

So, we shall see how this will work out. I need work, I need flexibility and time for myself. If we can make this work, I will be happy.




Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Crazy Weather

These days, the weather is so weird. Last week, we had many sunny days and it was rather warm. The last three days, it is below freezing even in the middle of the day. Today, we woke up to snow and although it snowed for a while notheing more than two inches stayed on the ground.

Some days we wake up to a glorious sunny day and by noon time, the sky gets very dark and we get rain showers.

It doesn't get very dark before well after 6 p.m. so, that is a welcome sign for Spring. Sometimes March is the coldest month with lots of rain and snow. We shall see how this March is going to be.

Today, I finally donated the clothing items and sheets and what not. My trunk was full. It is nice to claim that space back.

I like to keep my trunk clean and nice so, I have a plastic cover in there. Knowing how sloppy my uncle can be, I had covered that before I went on my vacation.

After dropping the stuff, I took mom to get her prescription, exchange some yarn she had previously bought and to get some lunch. We then went grocery shopping and had tea at a small cafe at the Grocery Store. I think, she is over her cabin fever somewhat and exhausted a bit. Tomorrow, I will meet a very old friend and her daughter for lunch and make some time just for myself.

Tonight, we are having soft tacos and some veggies.

I have earth apples (also known as Jersulaem Artichokes or sunroots), cauliflower, Swiss Chard, celery roots and spinach to cook and serve this week.

Monday, February 10, 2020

Nice Weekend

My SIS and BIL were here over the weekend. I have seen her for the first time in over 4 months so, it was a happy and nice weekend for me.

SIS had some overdue doctor appointments and BIL needed to check up on his parents.  He cannot bear to see his mom as an invalid so, every visit is very painful. His dad is a stubborn old man and he drives poor BIL crazy. They have a live-in caregiver but his dad meddles with everything. He is a bit of a penny pincher. However, I also feel sorry for him too because I am sure he is very bored. He is 81 and he probably did not envision this for his retirement life. His wife has become an invalid about 8 years ago due to a stroke and ever since, life has been very difficult for them. BIL is an only child so, whenever he needs help my uncle and I step up but, if he had siblings, it would have been different.

Anyway, I picked up SIS from her last appointment Saturday afternoon and went out for lunch. Afterwards, we ran some errands for her. BIL called as we were getting ready to go home and told us that his father wanted to visit my mom since she was so sick a few weeks ago because of the RA. I guess the poor man gets very bored as well. We told him to bring him for dinner.

I ordered fish from the downstairs fishmonger. They cooked the fish for us and delivered, so, all I had to do was to fix a salad and set the table. I had a grilled salmon whereas, the rest of them had fried whiting. My sister bought some banana and strawberry rolls as dessert, which we served with tea after dinner

We had breakfast yesterday morning and then SIS and BIL went to see his parents. They came home around 5 p.m. and we took care of some things around the apartment for my mom. Then we took them to the airport because it was too cold. It was well below freezing and the wind made it even colder.

SIS and BIL want to buy a small apartment here because, they still have their master bedroom here in the apartment which my mom is now occupying. It is a huge space that mom will eventually need to use. I told them not to rush and look for reasonable places and not spend too much money on a small apartment.

I am still very confused about whether I should move back to Ankara or stay put in Istanbul. I need to go home and be on my own for a while. My uncle will come back in a few days and depending on the road conditions, I will either go to Istanbul right away and come back for mom's control appointment on the 28th or, go after the 28th and spend most of March in Istanbul. Need to think.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Not a great day

Yesterday I felt the right side of my throat was aching slightly. I ran my errands and did not think much of anything else. Last night, I woke up not only with the sore throat but also, my stomach and esopaghus on fire. It felt like I had swallowed acid.

Luckily, the medicine drawer is in my room and I found a bottle of Gaviscon. I took a table spoonful and the burn gradually went away. I attribute that to eating too much spicy hot food lately. Today I ate very bland food and my stomach feels completely normal. The throat soreness is also fading away too.

So, I am taking it easy today. Tomorrow I need to drop off extra clothing items, sheets and things like that at a charity place and also go grocery shopping. It looks like snow is on our way so, I must stock up on certain items so that we do not have to go out next week if we do not have to.

Today started as a sunny and bright day but it quickly changed and now it is raining and snowing at the same time. The temperature has dropped significantly as well.

Then there are sad news affecting the nation; an avalance that took 33 lives, a plane crash during a bad landing which killed 3 passengers so far. Feeling very down.

Hoping for something uplifting. Soon, please...


Monday, February 3, 2020

A Mango Brings Back Memories

Today, mom and I walked into the grocery store and saw a guy peeling mangoes. He offered us a piece and we bought one to bring home. I do not normally buy mangoes because, I cannot be sure of the ripeness. When they are cleaned, it is easier to pick one that is really yummy.

As for the memory; it is really kind of both stupid and funny. Many years ago, when I was working for  a large international company, my boss at the time was very keen on participative management. One day, he decided that all senior and middle management should get together on a weekend every 6 months or may be every quarter to talk about the status of zompany goals, new opportunities and play some games to encourage team work and such. He also said that, we should name these meetings and offered a poll for suggestions. Most people rolled their eyes and did not make a suggestion or made suggestions like "Quarterly Management Meetings" etc. Knowing that he would be upset about not enough people participating, at the last hour before the poll closing time, I  came up with: MANGO meaning Management Goes Off-Site.

Lo and behold, my boss loved it and found it very creative ?!?! Really? They were going to give me the gift of staying at a nice hotel over the weekend but, the place was too far away from where I lived and to me, it wasn't worth the effort. So, I suggested a gift card to my favorite bookstore instead. My boss was beyond pleased with that suggestion. I guess, most people would have liked the hotel stay better. I got my gift card and bought 6-7 books with it.

I am as creative as a fireplace log but hey, I won, didn't I?


Saturday, February 1, 2020

Apple Cobbler and This and That

Mom is on a cortizone treatment and she is basically on a no-salt diet. I am trying to make meals taste edible without using any salt. I cut back on salt consumption significantly too.

We usually have tea in the afternoon. So, I decided to make an apple cobber with the three huge Granny Smith apples I had. Never made it before, so I found a recipe online and it turned out pretty good. I cut back on the sugar by half but, it still tasted fine. I do not like very sweet things.

My BFF says the Turkish Delight, Baklava and the rest of the variations of it are so sweeet and rich and how come I say I do not like sweet stuff? The answer is; I do not eat them. I may have a piece or two of Turkish Delight if I am offered but I never buy it. I am very picky about Baklava and there are just a couple of places that make it absolutely divine and I will have that may be once or twice a year. I buy boxes and boxes of Turkish Delight only when going to the US. Lol!

I need to attend a funeral tomorrow. I had a Physical Ed teacher at HS and her husband just passed. She was my sister's volleyball coach and they are still very close. Mom knows her well too. So, I will represent the family since Sis lives 500 Km away and mom cannot handle standing up so long. I need to go to the Mosque, pay my respects and offer our condolences and come back. I do not intend to go to the cemetery. Unlike Christian ceremonies, the whole thing happens outside the Mosque and is pretty fast.

After that, I will come and pick my mom to go grocery shopping. She has cabin fever and although, I despise going to the grocery store on a weekend, I have decided to do it for her.

As I type this, mom is watching a volleyball game. She is very much into it. My sister quit playing during College but, mom never quit watching. Our Women's National Volleyball Team is pretty succesful and will be participating in the Olympics this summer.