Gesundheit

Why is it the weirdest thing to me when i sneeze in a public place and a total stranger says "bless you."? I just cannot believe that this bizarre carryover from the middle ages is still a part of everyday life in 2005. I just sneezed out some more coffee dust (probably - i think that's what my problem is) and the guy next to me at the library pipes up with his blessings. Thanks, dude - i'm cool because i sneezed and i'm wearing my special garlic pendant around my neck. WHAT?

No! People don't even make small talk on an elevator going down from the 130th floor to the lobby, but people of all personality types and religious convictions are don't want to be left out of the opportunity to acknowledge that you just sneezed and that their good wishes for happiness and peace are with you. And then it's back to business as usual. People think they can just traipse in and out of my life with good tidings and peace on earth everytime they hear "aaah choo!" and i think something should be done about the insincerity of it all. Seriously.

Monochromatic Mealtime

Most people don't really seem too interested in the fabric of our marriage, an inside look at what makes it tick or how different, exactly, are we. They want to know what kind of cooking expertise I bring to our little home. How many different types of spelt bread i can make substituting olive oil for every igredient. How many times a week i open something with a can. How many varieties of basil I have growing in my window sill. Well, folks, we have windows, but we definitely don't have window sills (another blog, another time: why our apartment/townhouse resembles a 1980s beachside villa). Sorry. And i tried the basil-from-the-seedlings thing and they grew to tower just over 3 centimeters. Great.

So, I decided instead of trying to become a great cook, I'll just do what I know how to do. Incorporate food as table/room decoration instead of bodily nourishment through a failsafe method that I like to call edible monocromatimaticism. Basically, I just pick one of my favorite colors and cook four or five things of the same hue and arrange them on a white plate. Then Alex and I change into a shirt of a matching gradation and we dine. Bon colour appetite :)

Author's note:

Yes, that is a dominoes box, and yes we are avid players.