Chronicles Continued

If a black box was where the video of Malta Potatoes was to be, that is an issue between the site and WordPress.. But never you mind. Go to ChroniclesContinued.com, there the original is always available for viewing. Sorry about the inconvenience.

This week, the grocery store folder offers a special on Malta Potatoes. [not Maltese Potatoes, but Malta Potatoes]. How, in my on-going love-affair with the Country of Malta, had I missed the significance of the potato harvest? Malta is a small land mass, thus I was surprised to learn that this is an agricultural export. Will purchase a bag this week. After discovering the red potato last year, am curious as to the quality of this potato. Below is a link to a travel-potato-video. Such a remarkable country.

This is a first. A recipe. This has become a neighborhood favorite. It is moist – key attribute, easy to make, fail-proof and above all delicious. It is the olive oil I found so intriguing. I believe it is important to use ‘Turkish’ yogurt which is a strained yogurt which means the whey portion of the milk ( watery portion) has been removed. Therefore the yogurt is thicker in consistency.. Greek yogurt is strained, but is not as dense as Turkish strained yogurt. Also choose a tasty olive oil.

here is the recipe:

That is the length of War and Peace. In listening hours. This many hours will cover a lot of baking, ironing, painting, gardening and chores. The big question, will I be able to keep the characters separate and follow-able.

Celebration of Liberation. At 11:30 all the bells of the city chime in unison. This is a call to remember the end of WWII, when the Allied Forces marched over the border in claimed victory and German occupation of the Netherlands ended. There is no other inclusion in this celebration. There is much wrapped up in this moment. The Dutch hold the worst record of Western European countries in aiding and abetting in the deportation of Jews, Roma etc to the extermination camps in the East.* The Jewish population of Amsterdam was decimated. The story is made worse by the lack of retribution to the few survivors of the horrors when they returned to Amsterdam to reclaim their lives and property. Do the elderly Dutch think of this today? Does this make relations with their neighbor the Germans jagged for everyone, young and old? Does it have any effect on the populous as a whole? Or does it roll off their backs as water on a duck.

Learned a new fact. The capitulation of the Netherlands came after the destructive bombing of Rotterdam. The Germans threatened to destroy Den Haag, Utrecht and Amsterdam in the same manner if the government did not accept occupation.

Not new fact: there is debate about the absence of the Royal House during WWII, including visits the Queen made to the US while the subjects were under German command. Both sides of the question hold adamant positions.

*https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/netherlands-greatest-number-jewish-victims-western-europe/

May 4th is the national day of Remembrance. Initially a remembrance of those killed in WWII. At 19:58 hours 2 minutes of silence is observed. The thought being that those who died, gave up their freedom to give freedom to the living. The least the living can do is give two minutes of silent remembrance to them. Today, The Remembrance includes all who lost their lives at any time in war/conflict situations. The bells of churches, cathedrals and towers ring out prior to the observance. Then all falls silent. No cars, no movement on the streets, Still. This silence is followed by a national remembrance ceremony on the Dam Square in the center of Amsterdam. Royalty, Ministers, Military Officers, the Mayor of Amsterdam, attend and while standing at attention wreaths are mounted on frames in remembrance of specific groups. In addition, overhead TV screens broadcast the remembrances of others. The format is a youth speaking for an elder: a granddaughter telling the remembrance of a grandmother etc. While this thoughtful remembrance is taking place, war continues in various places around the world. When will we remember?

or find the cat.

waiting for me to come downstairs and let him in.

A good looking label. Who would imagine anything other than wonderful. The taste is indeed all one would hope for in a mushroom tapas spread. But the presentation….

and you know it isn’t caviar!

Riding home on one’s bike at the end of a lovely evening in which a glass of wine [or two] was had, is akin to skiing the day’s final run at Cortina d’Ampezzo fueled by a shot of grappa [or two]. The closest one comes to a sense of flying. [Unless of course one builds a plane]

Supplied by reader R: Often Wiley mirrors my thoughts: