I never tasted a pecan pie in my life let alone know what a pecan was until I was sixteen years old. In Turkey walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts and peanuts are very common. In fact, they were our school snacks as we hadn't heard of potato chips or candy bars. In… Read full post »

Dear LL2, may your new age bring all the happiness and peace you deserve so richly.

Please click here before you continue.

Now some advice

The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat healthy, and lie about your age.

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Early this morning a  34 year old man attempted to steal some paintings from the Louvre  in Paris.  Allegedly, after months of careful planning, he managed to get past the security, stole the paintings, and made it safely back to his van parked at the corner.

He was only&… Read full post »

                                                … Read full post »

Dear Salonistas and Salonistos – OSers as we more commonly call ourselves:

Let us gather together to wish one of us – a charming, darling, down to earth, straightforward, witty, defender of the underdog, and a real writer – who has stole… Read full post »

He doesn't sleep in my bed like my first love did. I do wait for a while anticipating his warm body jump in and snuggle next to mine. Sometimes he comes by and we exchange affection in the late hours of the quiet night. When he feels he is satisfied, he/… Read full post »

Last night I spoke to my mother again. As I do twice weekly. I'd love to call her everyday – in fact I used to, but that was a long time ago when we had conversations. Mind you they would still not qualify as conversations in the regular sense of/… Read full post »

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My Father and I, each being a language enthusiast and lover of diction in our own right, used to have long and memorable conversations spanning their merits from the logic in spelling to the simplicity in phonetics of English versus Turkish. Perhaps, calling them conversati… Read full post »

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My parents sometimes argued. Usually about dumb things like which end of a cucumber one should cut first. Babacim insisted that the proper way was to cut off the stem end; Annecim never budged from her own way. As I got older, I resigned myself to suffering a youth/… Read full post »

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Personally, I prefer consuming fresh oranges and tangerines when they're in season. Sweet and juicy, the are full of vitamin C and redolent of the sunshine we miss so much during long winter months.  But that doesn't prevent me from using citrus year round on a daily basis, fr/… Read full post »

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♥   Valentine Humor  ♥

"I'm a practicing heterosexual, but bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night."  ~ Woody Allen

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men c… Read full post »

It has been a month since I made the big decision to look for a companion and started searching the ads on the Internet. On one hand I was torn between my loneliness since last November, on the other hand questioning if I were being hasty by seeking another relationship. Yet,/… Read full post »

By now my readers know that although I left my country as a child, I'm a product of Turkish culture as well as its well established cuisine. Being raised by two parents who ensured that I forgot neither my roots nor my language and culture has been the greatest/… Read full post »

According to legend, many many years ago - well not that many ! - somewhere in the vast Midwest a cherubic infant was born today. At the time, his adoring parents had no idea that this baby would grow up to be a great man and a loving father and husband/… Read full post »

Myriad's post is here 

As some of you already know and are expecting the story, Myriad and I met yesterday for a cup of coffee and a little chat.  Our designated place of meeting was the Boulangerie Premiere Moisson at Atwater Market - a convenient spot for both of us.  OS/… Read full post »

I was going to post pictures of Osman and write about our bonding since he's become part of my life three weeks ago today. I changed my mind.  Perhaps next week's GNS will be devoted to him.  Instead, I'd like to share the following light hearted trivia with you before I  leave/… Read full post »

This is my version of Yogurtlu Kebab in which I used lamb cubes served in a piquant tomato sauce on pita, and topped with plain yogurt. You can find another version with the recipe here .

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Yogurt has been the soul food in my family ever since I can remember,/… Read full post »

Ever since I saw the Marilyn Monroe movie "Niagara",  in 1962 when I was in Turkey, I had a longing to see the impressive falls in real life. My childhood desires were fulfilled many times over in life. Niagara is a magnificent place, a wonder of nature. With its Botanical/… Read full post »

 An Unexpected Gift

 CONCLUSION

Previous Segment

Yet each man kills the thing he loves,

By each let this be heard,

Some do it with a bitter look,

Some with a flattering word,

The coward does it with a kiss,

The brave man with a sword.… Read full post »

Previous Parts    1    2    3    4    5    6

~ Seeking Light on the Darkest Night ~

~ Part Seven ~

Before long, the dawn of a new day began defining objects in the room. I left him where he was and took my shower.… Read full post »

Previous Parts   1    2    3    4   5

Writing on the Wall

~ Part Six ~

Following day, B drove to Toronto to see his brother and sister-in-law and close his late father's estate matters. I phoned T to tell her that I really… Read full post »

Part 4 is here 

Scorpion Bites

~ Part Five ~

 ~ Little did I know then that this would be my farewell not only to Newfoundland, but to my life as I had known it -  August 2005 ~

Finally I got the call that he landed safely and drove… Read full post »

Part 3 is here

Agony in Motion

~ Part Four ~

~ Secenes from Atlantic Canada - pictures from my album ~

I had been feeling dizzy for a while, as if the world was turning around me. I was familiar with vertigo – a condition related to the inner… Read full post »

Pebbles on Rocky Roads

~ Part Three ~

Part 1 is here
Part 2 is here

My first visit to Newfoundland Sept-Nov 1999 - on sabbatical leave

I must fast-forward a lot to avoid a novel, or another memoir. What you've read so far is but a little background information
… Read full post »