random thoughts – Day 2,207 (Thursday) – game day

It was cold, cloudy, and raw with sporadic showers and even snow flurries. This made it the perfect day for a one-hour webinar on estate planning I had signed up for a week ago. It certainly didn’t feel like I was missing out on any nice weather activities while at the desk. The webinar featured three talking heads from a bank wealth management group.

Scrawling notes.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best presentation I’ve ever witnessed, but to its credit it also wasn't the worst. There was a decent amount of helpful information and not a single slide featuring a graphic or bullet list. Just three heads against a corporate logo Zoom background, talking in rotation in a manner that suggested they either forgot to practice their sections or it was their first time presenting. Then there was me, cramping my hand scribbling notes like there would be an exam because I don't retain info just hearing it while sitting passively. If this was an actual exam situation, there would be a follow up with much color coded highlighting, so at least I’m spared that. 

Presentations I’ve seen on all manner of topics had a slides displaying key points and which was shared after the event and greatly minimized the need for note taking. And to think I declined a lunch invitation from Mom and Sis because I was registered for the webinar and encouraged them to go off to lunch without me. I could have been in a restaurant instead of scrawling notes. 

Playing Yahtzee.

After they returned from lunch, Sis called to tell me they were about to play Yahtzee next door at Mom's and I was out the door and walking across the damp lawn to join. 

We played three games of Yahtzee with Mom’s vintage Yahtzee cup and dice. The dice led each of us to a win and Mom and I each had a game with two Yahtzees. I made a dumb mistake that led to a really crappy score in my worst game. Before we knew it, a couple hours had passed on a cold, damp day. It was perfect.

random thoughts – Day 2,206 (Wednesday) – market treasures

A couple weeks ago, friends and I went to a belly dance show and I got to try Turkish Delight. Ever since, I have been collecting Turkish Delight items in my A-Z shopping cart, and particularly the flavor my friend said she liked.

Online searches for local sellers of Turkish Delight weren’t super fruitful, but I stuck gold recently with another search term. “Mediterranean market near me” produced a list of locations which were mostly in Worcester and what I expected. But in the list was a new surprise entrant with Yaya Mediterranean Halal Market in Fitchburg. Through their Facebook page, I sent a message and received a response that they had what I was looking for.

I hit the road for a quick drive with a box of rose flavor Turkish Delight envisioned at the end of the journey. The front of the building is an unassuming brown brick wall of boredom but a sign on the side of the building at the parking area confirmed it was the correct place. Across the threshold was not only Turkish Delight, but a world of delights.

Treasures from Yaya's.

The bright and tidy shop had shelves loaded with colorful packaging and hundreds of products. There were grains and lentils, sweets, tea, coffee, canned goods, fresh pita bread, snacks, frozen foods, coffee sets, cookware and a very nice shopkeeper. She offered me coffee and poured it into a beautiful small cup. It was dark, rich, and delicious and I ended up buying a bag.

In addition to the target item of a gift box of rose flavor Turkish Delight, I got a second box of rose flavor and a box of pistachio flavor, toasted chickpea snacks, cans of hummus and baba ghanoush, two bags of the largest pita breads I’ve ever seen, and Turkish coffee. I can’t wait to go back. The next visit, I will be armed with a shopping list.

Once home, I opened the can of baba ghanoush, cut up a giant pita, and halved some grape tomatoes for lunch. Eating the lunchtime snack gave me a chance to wonder what I would do with enough giant pita bread for an army. Recipes for pita chips were reviewed. 

Freshly baked pita chips.

After checking a couple sources for time and oven temperature guidance, olive oil, garlic salt, sea salt, were lined up on the counter. Pita bread was halved and sliced and brushed with oil and several cooking sheets of it were baked. 

The pita was very thin and it turned out five minutes was too long, but four minutes was better, but chips cooked at both times came out delicious. There is still a lot of pita left for additional chip making sessions. The next time I’ll use a lower oven temperature and experiment with some more seasonings.