It’s been a long time now
since we had our Rotary student, Kivilcim, who lived with us for six months. Our own daughter, Mandy, was also in Rotary, but in Sweden at the time.
Kivil was bubbly like a songbird from the moment she alighted at the airport. She was full of energy, and shared many a Turkish song.
While visiting, drinking coffee, and having dessert together, she said the saying in Turkey was to “Eat Sweet, and Talk Sweet”. It reflects their desire to talk about nice, joyful things in their lives but can not do as such unless they are eating sweets!
This seems to me a solid idea on how to get through life; eating sweets and talking sweet, delicious eh? I am motivated right now!
I am reminded again about language, words, and their effect.
Since communication is not optional and but how we communicate is, it is then up to us to decide.
We can be sweet, and we can be gentle or alternatively we can be blunt and bully. All in how we choose our words and how we say them. Either will be heard and remembered.
How do we want to be remembered?
The seems a perfect segue to invite you to visit Frances Kakugawa’s blog to read her post named Eh Auntie: The Aloha Spirit. I read a couple posts, and now feel compelled to share this treasure of a blog. (Thanks for the link DawnSeeker ♥ )
Below here is the opening paragraph to encourage you to visit.
Eh Auntie
If ever you’ve been called old or elderly by the young, there is something precious awaiting you in Hawaii. If you’re lucky, a young local man or woman will address you as “Eh, Auntie.” To be called “Eh, Auntie” takes a lifetime of processing to truly understand its underlying gift.
I appreciate you visiting here, and welcome your feedback and suggestions. Today it is cloudy and the wind is from the south, I am going to think that’s a good omen as it has been from the north for awhile. Spring is coming. – Dave
Life and Random Thinking 
And those sweets are delicious! Yes, a great way to be kind. Spring is certainly here except for a colder spell but the birds and flowers carry on. Hope all going well.
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Thank you, spring has been cool so far Mother Nature teased us with a lovely day Saturday 🌻
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A lovely link to Auntie too!
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Loved it. Also loved Frances’ post as well.
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I would love to meet her.
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Me too.
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Hi Dave ! This dessert looks like delicious Turkish Baklava, am I right ?
It inspired me to look up Baklava recipes.
We Newfoundlanders also greatly appreciate wind from the south, which brings warmer weather.
Thanks for sharing this post.
🤗
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Yes that is Baklava and it was delicious. That is a picture of my friend Ben’s baking. I posted about him, amazing person, passed from ALS. He owned Walla bakery here.
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Hi Dave ! Your friend had a very special gift of baking. Newfoundlanders are great bakers. Our specialty is homemade bread, which has three small loaves pressed together to make one loaf. This bread is in honour of the Trinity. 🤗
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I love homemade bread. Share a photo
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Yes, I will plan a post. For me , also, is the pleasure of the smell of the bread as it bakes.
In rural NL, families were traditionally large. A friend has 10 siblings, while her husband is one of 15 children. I can imagine how busy traditional NL housewives were with so many hungry family members. 🤗
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When I was a youngster living in northern BC, my Mom baked fresh bread and she made her own jams from berries. Mom used to always joke how popular her kitchen was with all my friends over when the bread came out of the oven.
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Haha…Yes, for sure ! Bread baking attracts visitors ! And usually, visitors here do not knock, they just walk in.
However, this may change, as everyone is self-isolating, even though we already live in isolation.
How nice that your mom also made her own jams, from berries.
Blueberries grow plentiflly here, and gathering them in late summer is also a tradition.
Growing up in Northern B.C. must have been very beautiful. 🤗
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Wild blueberries were plentiful, and we used to swim in the creeks, have an ice rink in the front yard, fun times for a young boy.
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Sounds like a very happy childhood. 🤗
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It certainly was, my Dad often remarks how tight for money we were, but of course I never felt that. I look back and my memories were filled with fun and time with my parents.
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Those are beautiful family memories to have. 🤗
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Hi Dave. There is good, positive energy in your essay.
By the way, what sort of pastry is pictured in the photo?
Neil S.
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Baklava made by friend Ben. You may remember him from two posts I did about him.
https://dfolstad58.wordpress.com/2019/09/29/ben-bread-and-inspiration-about-living/
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What a beautiful sentiment and approach to life, thanks for sharing. This sounds like a lovely little pick me up idea for our current Illinois restrictions. I’ll encourage my daughter to bake something sweet, and then my family and I can have a little party to talk about sweet things.
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I am glad to hear you liked the post. I sent the post to Kivilcim in Ankara also and we talked today. So nice.
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Yummy looking dessert. 🙂 Thanks for the link – an enjoyable post. 🙂
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You are always welcome 🙏
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I didn’t have a sweet tooth at all until I gave up smoking (20+ years ago) and savoury tastes are still my weakness, but I do absolutely love this idea. I may go & make myself a coffee to drink with that chocolate chip cookie Himself brought home for me yesterday, then ring my mother to help me talk sweet to her 🙂
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It’ll be a long call, better grab a couple cookies. ♥ It is a nice expression and I am glad you enjoyed the post.
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Loved the Eh Auntie, post, and thanks for sharing!
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The writer touched a nostalgic nerve with me.
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We too have a similar custom where in the month of January when the sun starts its journey to the Northern hemisphere, we celebrate this day with a sweet made of jaggery, peanuts, and sesame seeds and give it to one another saying eat sweet and say sweet too!
https://mumbaionahigh.com/2012/01/sankranti-tea-party.html
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A beautiful tradition, and yummy I bet. Is jaggery something sweet that holds it together? I think it might be peanut brittle in Canada. Thank you for letting me know. 🙏
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Jaggery is a raw kind of sugar . And yes peanut brittle would be similar . Only it’s flat while our sweets are tiny balls
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Sounds sweet and delicious.
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That is surely an amazing way to lead a good life! We need positive tidbits like these to get us through such tumultuous times! 🌸
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Thank you very much. It is a wonderful philosophy
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