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Post by lagatta on May 3, 2020 16:02:59 GMT
Yes, especially for an entrepreneur (?) in the hospitality business. And I'm sure he'd prefer conglomorates rather than local restaurant café and restaurant owners, and related businesses, involved in their communities. Several restaurant owners nearby here have a sock drive for homeless people before winter sets in (and get monetary donations and other garments as well as socks); one of them has held benefits for a community centre, others mentor youth.
We can also clearly see how Trump views this crisis as an opportunity (for him). Like Katrina.
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Post by lagatta on May 3, 2020 11:35:16 GMT
Also died in Paris...
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Post by lagatta on May 3, 2020 1:32:52 GMT
Looks good. Where's the beer? Do you need a fat guy and a skinny guy?
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Post by lagatta on May 2, 2020 22:30:07 GMT
Whatagain, no he prayed to Jeebus. Jeebus actually yelled at Pence to use his powers to heal the sick and drive the moneychangers out of the Temple, but neither Trump nor Pence would listen.
And don't get me started on Bolsonaro. The stats are terrifying.
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Post by lagatta on May 2, 2020 22:18:09 GMT
Horrors, the same thing could happen in Montréal. Many of my favourite restaurants have closed, often permanently, at all price levels.
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Post by lagatta on May 2, 2020 20:11:41 GMT
Yes, when in Amsterdam, the Turkish restaurants were great value, and I was glad that the NGO I was working for moved farther east where there were more "ethnic" restaurants. The local market is cheaper too. I'm really not very concerned about food safety or sanitation in the Netherlands. I've seen householders cleaning their doors and "stoops" (a Dutch word for outdoor steps below a front door, which became common in NYC) on a Saturday.
The Moroccan shop where I bought the goat labneh had a lot of Ramadam promotions, including lamb neck (obviously bony but delicious) and different cuts of local duck.
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Post by lagatta on May 2, 2020 19:58:28 GMT
Yes, I want Southeast Asian food! I'm just hoping that those modest family restaurants in my hood survive.
Other than them, there is a local restaurant of good standing that has shut down and is being incorporated into an overpriced Greek-origin chain. I love Greek food, but this restaurant charges twice what similar ones do and isn't really any better. Just better branded. Hope our favourite one survives!
I am experiencing bizarre taste changes. I bought a little tub of goat-milk labneh today and it tastes terribly acid (it is utterly fresh and I've always loved it).
I refuse to buy large shops for a week, as I loathe wasting food.
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Post by lagatta on May 2, 2020 16:02:19 GMT
I'd love to read Naples '44, but in Italian. Can't seem to find the original title; I did read the wiki articles in English and in Italian. Naples '44 wasn't simply fascism, but much worse; the Nazi-German occupation of much of Italy, the former fascist ally.
His sport writings look interesting too. I'm not the greatest sport fan, but sport writing can be wonderful. Like watching a vintage Maradona match with Neapolitans and Argentinians.
Edited to add: By the way, that stuff is also known as chick lit. Because of feminism, so many younger people in Québec have both parents' names (though it isn't a rule, as in Spanish), that I wouldn't even notice one given name and two family names.
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Post by lagatta on May 1, 2020 11:39:52 GMT
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Post by lagatta on May 1, 2020 11:24:51 GMT
I have slanty floors as well. A challenge, especially in the kitchen, as I have to prevent water from accumulating under the fridge when I wash the floor. Other than the kitchen and bathroom, it is hardwood floors that are only damp-mopped.
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Post by lagatta on May 1, 2020 11:18:19 GMT
I hope Mac doesn't miss rides too much, horses need exercise!
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Post by lagatta on May 1, 2020 1:19:04 GMT
Kerouac, still no railing by the stairwell? I have an utter terror of falling and breaking my neck. A cousin here has a house the same age as yours, and she has put in rails.
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Post by lagatta on May 1, 2020 0:56:51 GMT
It has also been overwhelmingly male here in terms of elected officials, which is strange here, especially in Québec, France's annoying little feminist cousin. Except for the scientists, including a friend who is an immunologist and epidemiologist. The coverage here has been saner than in many other countries (not even counting the madness and necrophilia from the US and Brazil) but it is hard to stake out a road forward.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 30, 2020 13:25:57 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Apr 30, 2020 0:59:06 GMT
I'm just overwhelmed by these. Would be pretty much the same, except that full spring is just getting underwar up here. Obviously, seeing my friends, near and far. Saving graces are Livia and my plants.
I wrote much more here, but my internet connection is very screwy!
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 21:01:07 GMT
If you have a copy of that photo, it should go into your scrapbook.
This can be a useful visual record for future historians.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 17:01:18 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 16:06:34 GMT
Romans were very loud in the local café where I was staying there (not in a tourist zone), having an espresso in the early morning. No wine there at that hour.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 15:36:11 GMT
Catalans?
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 15:29:32 GMT
Because 100 years ago, ladies would not wear something akin to modern scrubs in public. Sometimes laundresses did strip down to undergarments when they were boiling clothing, but polite society viewed them as "dissolute" for that reason at the turn of the previous century. Nurses wore full skirts and blouses under their aprons. That would be hell to care for when working with patients who were bloodied at the least.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 15:21:57 GMT
I found a recipe in French, with English subtitles: There are many variations but this will provide a general idea.
This reminds me that I have to buy ginger as well as fresh coriander. The rest of it is finished.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 14:59:44 GMT
I'm making a version of the soup Muslims consume (usually after dates, water etc) to break the Ramadam fast. No, I'm not remotely Muslim, and the Moroccan friend who taught me the soup is only "culturally" Muslim, as I could be called "culturally" Catholic.
It includes cracked barley, a bit like pinhead oatmeal, though it isn't a porridge, far more soupey.
The version I'm making has a bit of meat (lamb mince) though it can also be vegetarian, as the main source of protein isn't the bit of lamb but a tin of chickpeas. I'm not following a specific recipe and admit to frozen mixed vegetables (though nicer than most as it also includes green beans, also frozen - but thawed and chopped - spinach.
Obviously onion, garlic and a bit of tomato paste or passata. I added sage (out of oregano) and a variety of aromatic spices: caraway, cumin and cardamom. A small spoonful of harissa; not to make it hot. Chilliheads can always add more. This is based on my concentrated poultry stock, diluted.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 29, 2020 14:37:29 GMT
I scrolled back to your Great War nurse from a century ago. Did she go on to care for Spanish Flu victims?
Covid-19 nurse does have the right to more practical clothing.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 28, 2020 21:53:01 GMT
Casimira, it is unspeakably cruel to cyber-bomb meetings of people in recovery or anyone psychologically fragile. Similar to those who target the families of murder victims.
I attended a seminar on social prospect after the pandemia, webcast from Quito (where a British friend is teaching), but this was a formal academic event where people had to sign up or raise their hands to be recognised by the moderator. About 2 1/2 hours. Good workout for my Spanish.
I very much miss hugs, cheek kisses and accolades, and it is not because I'm the kind of bear-hug person K2 has described. I just feel like a ghost in a ghost town, like the recent Stones song.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 28, 2020 16:42:26 GMT
Casimira, great antiwar song, but I don't know exactly what you are highlighting today.
Here's another:
As for Ramadan, remember that this is just a bit after Passover and Easter (both Western and Eastern); the three major monotheistic faiths happened to fall very close together this year.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 27, 2020 2:18:28 GMT
Congratulations on Canseco's! I have a similar grocery close by, Milano, though they've gone rather upscale and I wouldn't do a complete shop there anymore, though some foodstuffs remain cheaper than major chains and they always have good fresh produce at a reasonable price. The owners are from nowhere near Milano, they are Abruzzese; a high percentage of Italian immigrants here are from Abruzzo and Molise. They chose the name Milano simply as easy to pronounce for francophones, anglophones and others,
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Post by lagatta on Apr 26, 2020 22:44:57 GMT
I can cut other people's hair with no problem but am stymied by the back of my own head. I have the same kind of hair as Bixa. Actually many Afrodescendant hairdressers can cut a range of curl. My current (I only wish) is an Argentinian of Southern Italian descent. I've only been cutting the bit of split ends so they don't get worse but if not they are done up with a soft covered elastic and here it is still cool enough to wear a béret without looking like someone from a religious sect.
I am so glad I stopped colouring my hair several years ago. I do sometimes use a purple rince to eradicate yellowing. I can't bear to be called a blonde. (Nothing on earth against real blondes! - just isn't me).
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Post by lagatta on Apr 26, 2020 22:13:31 GMT
I don't blame you. Oddly, I don't feel much like baking though I should make some pizza or focaccia. I'm limited in what I can bake as I have only a countertop convection oven. By the way, do look at Rachel Roddy's piadana recipe in the Guardian (Food, obviously). I've had piadana in Italy and it looks both easy to make and a good foundation for interesting sandwiches. Since she live in Rome she suggests central-southern toppings/fillings but fine mature English and other UK cheese would be every bit as good. I do have most of 2kg of organic unbleached bread flour in my freezer.
I'm heating up my vaguely authentic Indonesian chicken curry and some basmati rice (added a bit of chicken broth to the latter, so it's not too dry. Drinking a local cidre brut pétillant, really dry, not too strong.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 26, 2020 18:04:18 GMT
Our building is MUCH younger than yours, a little over 100 years old, early 20th-century. It is also very crooked because there is an underground stream (there are many on the island of Montréal) and the whole thing had to be shored up about a decade ago and the ground floor flats actually demolished - the building was on metal stilts. Our co-op consists of two typical Montréal buildings - ours is a sixplex (twinned triplex). Unfortunately, while the neighbouring buildings including the other part of our co-op, had kept its original dark-red brick, some idiotic owner or speculator "renovated" the building with ugly orangish/yellowish brick popular in the 1960s, but at least we don't see it much inside. This area isn't very old by central Montréal standards; the oldest buildings date from 1880 or so. It grew up, like Mile-End just to the south, due to the building of the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway).
There are much older buildings at the very northern edge of the island, including a historic church, but that was a separate town.
The neighbours here are fine; one is a grump who dislikes me and many other people, but leaves others pretty much alone. However, in years past we've had some very tough characters nearby including a guy (drug dealer, think also pimp) who set his pitbull after me just for a laugh. There was also a crackhouse on the other side of the street and pitched battles with metal chairs, knived and god knows what else. The police finally clamped down at that point and all those characters are gone now.
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Post by lagatta on Apr 25, 2020 23:15:35 GMT
And you don't even have Livia bringing in live mice!
My danger foods aren't sweet, they are savoury and full of butter. In a way I was almost relieved that La fête du croissant had been cancelled this year! Not that I eat croissants often, but they are such a treat. In the Netherlands, there are savoury cheese biscuits of various forms!
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