01 February 2012

three lemons


Three lemons is how it all began.

 A short while ago I had made oven-baked fish for dinner. The guests were about to arrive and as I was setting the table, it occurred to me that I had no lemons to serve with my meal. So I rushed down to the local greengrocer's, picked up three lemons and when it came to paying he just smiled at me and said “if this is all you're having I can't possibly charge you for your purchase. Have a good evening!”
I made a mental note to go back to him soon for a more substantial fruit and veg shopping excursion. Ever since, he has added a cucumber or two after weighing the bag, rounded down the final price, and given me bits and pieces as tasters whenever I went.

Today was one of those days where a fruit & veg shop was once again very overdue. I popped down to the greengrocer's on my way home from work, picked up potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, mint leaves, avocado, celery, fennel, beetroot, kiwi, bananas, ginger and an interesting looking root vegetable I had never seen or tasted before. As I dug around my bag to locate my wallet, he just smiled and said, “this time it's on me”.

I insisted.
So did he.
He won. 

As a result, my fridge is full and happy. As is my wallet.

At this rate, I'll have to become creative and think of some way of ensuring that the good-hearted man down the road does not go bankrupt; lest I'll end up having to cook for him – but with nowhere left to buy the ingredients from! 

26 January 2012

doodles


a page of notes I took during a recent workshop on strategies of dealing with trauma...

24 January 2012

how to stop people littering.....

I know it's cheap to steal other people's blog entries and repost them, but i just could't not share this initiative.....
http://www.nowlebanon.com/BlogDetails.aspx?TID=2151&FID=6

i promise i'll write an update of my own very soon!

18 January 2012

serving suggestion with a twist?

...anyone can write "eggs" on a carton of eggs. this is a much more interesting option! 

16 January 2012

the good life

fresh fruit, freshly squeezed juice, labneh and vegetable breakfast with good coffee and even better company, playing scrabble while talking about life, the universe and everything ..........ah, i love these types of rainy Saturdays! 

08 January 2012

retrospective

allow me to post one set of backward looking ramblings before i launch into future musings and observations....
during the course of the year 2011, i visited 7 countries on 3 continents; i read 11 books; spent 12 nights sleeping in a tent; [too many] hours on planes, buses, trains; successfully grew 4 plants from seeds of fruit i had eaten myself; attended 3 live concerts (really? only 3?); had countless encounters with people - brief ones to deep ones - which all had an impact on my life in one way or another......and hopefully touched the lives of a few people around me.
unlike many of my peers, i found myself at midnight of  the 31st of December not wishing the year that's gone good riddance but rather looking back at it with a smile, trying to consciously appreciate all it has brought me - happiness, trials, insecurity, hope, but above all, the feeling of a year well lived. 

here's to an equally exhilarating yet quintessentially different year to come. 
may we all rise up to new challenges, take leaps of faith and step out of our comfort zones in 2012!