lambs

The neighboors sheep had twin lambs yesterday. Talk about cute tiny animals. They try to walk on their long legs and look so akward yet adorable.


















The pictures don't do them justice but they are adorable.














There are a few men that herd their sheep through our neighborhood. Caglar was talking to one yesterday and we might walk with him one day. I think my mother snapped this photo when my parents were visiting us. Thinking about sheep herding makes me want to reread "the Alchemist" by Paulo Coehlo. Currently I am reading "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. The world-famous bestseller about "man-made pollutants that threaten to destroy life on this earth." This book helped get DDT banned. This is an old book but I think still relevant to the times. I will comment more after I finish reading it. Also friends and family...when I come to MN in December please can we trade books!!!! I need English books for Turkey please!


















The Kurban Bayram, The Great Sacrifice holiday, starts December 8-11. Caglar informed me that most people buy male sheep for the festival. I think there are taboos about killing female sheep since they can be mothers but the female sheep are cheaper to buy. I am interested to find out more as the time closes in. We will probably buy two sheep, one for Ali's health(It is a miracle his cancer has shrunk) and one for the family in general. There was a suggestion to sacrifice one more for our new marriage but Caglar thinks we don't need three.

Also congrats to my little brother, L to the J and my friend, Maria on their engagement. If you were living in Turkey now we would probably buy a sheep for your prosperity also. Tebriklar- congratulations!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving...

I am thankful for so many things; my new husband, my new in-laws and their health. My own beautiful family, parents, siblings and extended family that have supported me throughout my whole life and especially these new transitional times. And I hope they feel my support through their tough times or new experinces. My homies that write me encouraging emails and make me feel like I am not a freak. That is just the beginning...I am not going to be eating Turkey this holiday in Turkey but I am still very thankful!

harvesting...

I have talked about before the community my in-laws have retired to. Where we are staying is mainly summer homes(cabins for my midwesterners). So we basically have the place to ourselves and this makes for great harvesting of the bounties around the area. Ali is still picking roses for his ladies everyday. He walks around the neighboorhood clipping every color of the rainbow roses. There are lemon trees, spicy pepper plants and now is olive time especially. We have picked many bussels of black olives for eating and some to have processed into oil. I love it...my in laws have the whole neighboorhood scoped out where the good this or that is growing.


















Tonight Ali and I sorted the good olives and the wormy ones. The bad ones can be processed into oil. The good ones are washed and placed in big containers between layers of course salt. The green ones from the previous post you change the water everyday but the black ones just get treated with the salt and after 15 or 20 days are ready to eat.


















The day was beautiful for harvesting. It had been raining the days before and there were big beautiful clouds in the sky. These trees are right on the sea. The rain had cleansed the air and the mountain across the sea was so clear. Also I had wonderful company.

































There was also a little shooting practice going on with the baby gun(mom and dad he-he) I mean bebe gun. Caglar is practicing for Minnesota. I tell him stories of all the hunting and fishing he can participate in there!(motivation!)


















Today Ali picked arugula from somewhere and yesterday he brought home some other leafy green. Birsen sauteed it up with a little onion and but some fried eggs on top. It was delicious and so very healthy! I like to think of my own grandma picking dandelion greens for dandelion salad.

I love it...I just went into the living room to see what everyone is doing and Ali and Birsen are sitting on the floor cleaning Ayva(a fruit) to make jam with.

Eline Saglik = health to your hands

This is one of my favorite sayings in Turkish. There is a line over the g to make it soft g. This means "health to your hands". It is thanking the person for cooking something for you, making something for you, anything they did with their own two hands. I just like how it personalizes the thank you so much. You are really acknowledging that person's effort. We thanked our carpenter and his three boy's today for making Tequila's new dog house. Winter has come to Didim and brought the wind and rain. She needs a warm little spot.


Eline Saglik also reminds me also of Ben Harper's song, "My own two hands"

I can change the world
With my own two hands
Make a better place
With my own two hands
Make a kinder place
With my own two hands
With my own
With my own two hands
I can make peace on earth
With my own two hands
I can clean up the earth
With my own two hands
I can reach out to you
With my own two hands
With my own
With my own two hands

Im gonna make it a brighter place
Im gonna make it a safer place
Im gonna help the human race
With my own
With my own two hands

I can hold you
With my own two hands
I can comfort you
With my own two hands
But you got to use
Use your own two hands
Use your own
Use your own two hands

With our own
With our own two hands
With my own
With my own two hands

I think people forget that they can do things themselves sometimes. They look to the government or something else to fix, save, make their life or families lives better but there is a a lot one person or a group can do. Sometimes it can seem overwhelming to start because you do only have two hands.

Kas (Sounds like kaash)

This is a beautiful city to the south. It is small and intimate city. This is where we were for our honeymoon and my b-day last June. We ended up camping seaside amongst the olive trees.


















We took a boat cruise around the Mediterranean. One of Caglar's dreams is to have a big sail boat one day...ok I can get into that dream! Anyone want a ride? Come visit us!!!!


















On the boat we went to a small village that is only accessible by boat. Caglar and I thought it was great...so quaint and beautiful. Caglar told a local woman how much we loved it...that it was like heaven...she replied something like "just try living here." Meaning it is not as idyllic as we would like to think. It is hard to make a living being reliant on the sail boats packed with tourists.


















The geranium beds over the water.














These determined villagers would actually row out to the big sail boats as we stopped for swims to try to sell us their hand crocheted headscarves and jewelry. Some with children in tow.














MAVI means blue in Turkish














Yeah Ruins!(Als that one was for you...think Cozumel circa 1996? he-he) But this is Kekova Island. It was inhabited then sometimes around 100 AD(so long ago) There was a big earthquake but the ruins are still there. It is illegal to stop on the actual island so the tour boats just slowly pass by. Mom and dad...I think those are some pigeon holes on the wall there same as Capadoccia??














As we made our way back to Didim after our loverly honeymoon. We were driving on this road coming out of Fetihye and kept seeing these areas, not one but many with these strange stuffed sheep and camels all lined up in rows. Talk about a hard way to make a living. I really wondered who possibly bought these silly little animals but I had to give these men extra points for lining them up beautifully along the road. I wonder who the first man to think of this idea was and if the others just copied the first man or if they could possibly work together. It really was a bit strange but as Caglar says, "life in Turkey is hard." It is hard for many to find work. We stopped to pretend to take a photo of the view when in reality I wanted photos of these strange stuffed sheep.














I am glad we stopped because we did get some good photos!

Every Saturday...

...is Pazaar day. The Didim pazaar or farmer's market is amazing! It is in a new space since my mom and dad were here. Most of it is locally produced except the chiquita bananas. The weather is so warm here that like California there is a great selection of fruits and vegetables. Going to the pazaar is a big job though and every Saturday our little family battles over who wants to go. Birsen(Caglar's mother) and Caglar don't love the pazaar and Ali(caglar's father) LOVES it but he is too sick to go brave the crowd. Pinar(sister) and I love it but not everyday of course. Anyways this last Saturday Caglar and I went.














Here is me ready to head in...It is a bit chaotic.


















Even though this picture is blurry I wanted to add it. This cute kid helping his family sell the Mandolinas(I don't know if they are mandarin oranges or different but so delicious, little sweet and little tart together in one juicy bite). How I understand is there is a pazaar everyday in surrounding cities and these family have a circuit they sell their produce through. Sometimes it's the farmers themselves who sell it but mainly these people buy from the farmer's and then sell. All of the produce is hauled around in those wooden crates behind him.


















Look at this adorable little guy with his nuk (pasafire what ever you may call it). He was on a mission to push around that big cart. I am guessing his parents work the pazaar as well.














Here is a full view inside with it's many people, huge cabbages, beets, califlowers, radishes and celery root in this photo alone.


















This woman had carrots, huge leeks, lettuce and greens of all kinds.


















We bought some onions and potatoes from this women. The sign says 3 kilos(about 6 pounds) of onions for one lira(The exchange rate is currently $1=1.6 YTL)...wow! There is an art to the pazaar if you would like to make it into one. First you take a look around, scope out the scene if you will and check out the variety...then decide on where to buy. But Caglar usually goes to the first one he sees. Get in and get out is another way to stay sane! Most of it is good anyways.














You can buy pieces of pumpkin.


















Beautiful mandolina display.


















This is a gorgeous mix of colors...persimmons, chestnuts and pinkish raisins.


















Zucchinni, lemons,two kinds of peppers little spicy ones and green bell, broccolli, arugula


















All kinds of nuts,amazing pistachios here, salted peanuts, hazelnuts. I had some tasty peanuts covered with sweet sesame seeds.


















A Turkish coffee grinder. Turkish coffee is made in a small metal pan(like thing) and you add a spoonful of coffee for each cup as well as an espresso cup size amount of water and you boil it all together. Add sugar before you boil if needed. It has a good taste but I don't like how there are grinds in the coffee, no filter. It is served in small coffee/espresso cups.


















This is a view inside a cheese man cart...yuuuuummmmmmmmmmyyy! The cheeses here are great. They are always white but the variety of textures and flavors is delicious. We picked up several along with suzme yogurt. Yogurt is a whole other level here in Turkey as well. In America I would eat yogurt every morning for breakfast with fruit and granola(kinda miss that option) but here yogurt is savory not sweet. It is eaten with most lunches and dinners. It is thick, creamy...fabulous. Thick Suzme yogurt has an even stronger, concentrated flavor since most of the water is removed.


















The variety of olives and some sausages. There is amazing honey available.


















All for a little para!!!

create...

I need to start making things again.

This is a piece I did while at Mimar Sinan Universitesi in Istanbul. Our material was denim.


















Who will I make these things for? More things to store in boxes as I have been a vagabond for the past few years. I am ready to settle in our own real house...with a studio, Insallah(if it is god's will)

Zeytin=olives

First off...Hero(Our poisened neighborhood dog, see the below post) is feeling a little better! I think he is going to make it! He was still in the bushes this morning but I fed him some beef broth. Also later in the day he ate some chicken. He moves a little. He tried to play with shero and tequila today as they wrestled but it's too early for that. Anyways slowly he is coming back!!!














But olive trees are all over Turkey especially by our house. Birsen and Ali picked some HUGE ones today. The would taste awful if you ate them as is so...


















Birsen washed them up and Ali got to work! Thank goodness he has been feeling great lately!


















You slice every olive in two or more places(depending on who you ask of course). Ali went with two. Then you place them in a container and fill it with water. You change the water everyday. You must be careful because the gas builds up inside the container and when you open it...boom...like a little bomb! Anyways change the water everyday for a few weeks or so and the olives soften and get rid of their bitter taste. Olives are eaten every morning for breakfast by most Turkish people. Healthy but took me a while to get into. Also olive oil is reserved for salads and times when you really taste the oil. They don't cook with it, heat it that they use less expensive oils. For having tons of beautiful olive trees olive oil is still quite pricey. Anyways I am eager to see how our olive curing goes.

I made chicken soup today and it turned out pretty yummy! The weather here is still great during the day but quite chilly at night so the soup tasted great!

kopek community...

Kopek(there are two dots over the o) is dog in Turkish. In Turkey there are ALOT of stray cats and dogs. They seem to mainly stick to their areas and communities they rely on for food(or garbage if it is all that is available). This is our house community but there are a whole other pack of characters that live by the cafe.


















In our little community there is our crazy Tequila, our 6 month year old who is learning about life, who never goes hungry and has a family who loves her. She looks beautiful and calm in this photo but don't be deceived...she's a puppy!! In Turkish maniac has just a little different pronunciation, our Manyak! She is learning and we do love her!


















In our community the next character I would like to introduce you to is Fred. Fred is the Loner. He is the cool, tough guy unless you mess with his food then he is scary! This photo doesn't do his size justice...this is a big dog. He is up to my waist and his head is huge! He is part Kangal, sheep dog. He is old and has scars on his face to prove it. He doesn't just stay next to one house but wonders around the neighborhood for his next meal. Fred's old mom was adopted by a neighbor, partially because she is old and partially they want protection for their house and possessions. The neighbors are currently out of town for a month and the workman are looking after this crazy old barker. Sometimes Fred goes and sits by her house, everyone loves their mom. She is crazy but doesn't bark at Fred. He wants food and trys to rub up against you for some loving but you feel like you need to wash your hand immediately after. Times get hard for these street dogs in the winter because this is a summer home community by the sea. Few families are here in the winter and that is less extra food for the dogs(and kitties). They get really hungry!


















This is Shero. His name is a mix of Seker(sugar in Turkish) and hero. He has a family. I am not sure if he was a stray originally and they adopted him or how he came to live on our neighbors lawn. But he is feed at least once a day but free to come and go as he pleases. He loves being pet that is why our neighbor added sugar to his name. He is sweet to humans but not Tequila. It took him a long time to warm up to her. I think because she always wants to play. He is coming around. His best buddy's name is Hero. He is so cute!!!! He is in the below photo. When I first came back to Turkey in August he was always wondering around looking scared like he had been abused before. Our neighbor nursed him, fed him and loved him and now he is ok around humans. He is so freaking fast! Tequila tries to run after him but can't catch him. It is good for her to learn from him. He can't be more than a year and is always eager to run and play with Tequila. His best buddy, shero might be jealous of that too! He always wages his little tail but is still a bit shy. He has had the worst luck this adorable little dog. As I said before he was probably abused before our lives crossed paths, then last week he was shot with a be be gun(baby gun...he he inside joke for mom and dad) in the leg. So he limped around for a while but our neighbor nursed him back to health. We thought he was fine until 3 days ago. I was walking tequila and he was lying down obviously ill, he growled at both of us which he had never done before. Later that day...


















I found out he had been poisoned! Yes some idiot had fed him poisoned meat. There was this other little white dog that our neighbor found dead along with four kitties... all dead! Poisoned! Our neighbors, Attila and Nurtan are the ones that feed and love all these animals. Nurtan went to Istanbul to see her daughter the night before and then Attila found the dead dog and kitties in the morning and found out hero was so ill. So Attila called the vet. The vet said if he wasn't dead in 6 hours he would be ok. For two days we all checked on this little sick dog who just laid there trying to hide in the bushes because he was in pain, barely eating or drinking just lying there suffering. Enough was enough this little dog needs the vet or to die because this was just awful to watch. Finally after Caglar's mom and I talked to Attila he called the vet again. The vet just came to the bushes and gave him 6 different shots. Hopefully this little guy will be better by morning...at least not suffering!

Attila thinks the handy man for the neighboring housing site feed them the poison. The man has chickens and maybe these hungry dogs got into them? I don't know but they don't deserve to be poisoned. The man has kids...how can he feel good about himself poisoning poor animals whether they got into his chickens or not. He free ranges his chickens...get a bigger fence or something buddy! I am so angry and it was so hard to see this sweet dog that has had such a hard life lie there so sick he couldn't even stand up!

Unfortunately this sort of mentality is not a singular case in Turkey. The stray animals is a huge problem that in most cases is poorly dealt with. I have heard other cases of feeding animals poisoned meat, what poison do they use? Also stories of rounding up the animals and dropping them in remote locations, out of site out of mind- NO!!!! They just starve out there. They are reliant on us for food. Some dogs get spayed or neutered but not enough and not cats! pray for this little dog, Hero tonight!

The Sad State of Strays is an article from the Turkish Daily News about strays from last August.

One more article about a woman, Perhihan Agnelli who has been doing something about this issue.

chocolate chip cookies

I decided to make cookies today. Caglar loves those Pepperidge farm boxed cookies. They are really expensive here in Turkey so I decided to make him some fresh cookies. So I started shopping for the ingredients and had to make quite a few substitutions; No chocolate chips so I bought bars and chopped those up. I had to whip out my dictionary(a really good friend of mine here!) several times to figure out which was baking soda and which was baking powder. What is the difference anyways(mother?)? I haven't found any brown sugar ever, which I researched on the Internet is sugar with molasses in it. What does the molasses do?(mother?) I couldn't find any vanilla extract but I found this powder vanilla...ok go for it? Also in Turkey, as the rest of the world except America, the system is metric. Everything is in grams. My great American cookbook(thanks mom) The New Basics cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins is where I got the recipe but everything is in cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. So thank goodness I have the Internet and am using the conversion websites to get everything to grams. For your information 1 cup equals about 220 grams, I think. As my cookie making continues... his mother is a great cook but she just guestimates everything. She makes good food and just knows how much to put in but me no! I need a little guidance. My husband is like... just feel it, use your hands...ok...there are no measuring devices to be found so I just winged it. I found a glass we thought was about 200 grams and I guessed from that alot. The oven temps are also in Celsius. My converter said 275F is about 190C. The oven's here are tiny so I am doing one batch at a time. I burned the second batch but the rest have been a success. Really how can you go wrong with cookies though, flour, BUTTER, sugar and CHOCOLATE are all yummy things.


















Everything is a little harder here for me lately, language and culture are different on top of my major life changes. I freaked out today and was balling uncontrollably. As my mother so beautifully pointed out,"Every one has had so many life changing things happen in just such a short time really. Marriages, moving, illness, starting businesses, new pets, loving , dying, adjusting, missing family, etc......." The cookie making was quite therapeutic actually. To make something quietly and see the fruits of my labor. Cry and then just wing it...Love is the butter and chocolate of life. If you've got it your life/cookies can't ever be so bad.


















I'm a nerd but feel much better now!

Life...

My grandma always said when she got older she thought life would slow down but it just keeps going faster and faster. Oh gram(miss u)!

If you had terminal cancer would you want to know? Or would it douse your spirits so badly to find out that you would just give up? Every person is different and fortunately and/or hopefully (depending on who we are talking about) there are people around you that love you and know what is right for you.

Today we all took a nice walk together, all six plus Tequila. Caglar ran in and pulled the covers off his father and rallied everyone to come outside and enjoy the summer like weather. As we walked around the neighborhood Ali, Caglar's father was picking multi colored roses and sweetly presenting them to all of us girls. Baron, the nephew joined in after his grandfather presenting us with flowers all while being extremely aware of where the dog was(he is really scared of her). I must say that is a great thing to learn from grandpa...how to be sweet to the ladies.

It is interesting where life takes us.
(Wished I could have gotten a second walk in with my mama and aunties as well)