A sort of jewel case

[sovay]

I saw my mother this afternoon for the first time in more than a month. She took a picture of me through the window of her car. When she got home, she sent it to me captioned "The crouching cat."



I took her to see the cherry blossoms, by which I mean that I walked down the street and she followed me driving. It is terrible not to be able to embrace people you love, but it is better that they stay alive to be hugged later.



The cherry blossoms in their full ornament.



Actually, I suspect cherry blossoms have a pretty decent grip on reality.



The sky full of blossom.



My mother's photo and caption: "The masked photographer creeping up on the wild blossoms."



And one of the rare hothouse blossoms to be found within our apartment. Note the tiny corner of soulful fang.

We skimmed the schmaltz off the soup this afternoon (and saved it to cook with, because we're not barbarians), re-simmered with the bones and vegetables, and then strained it out at last into proper soup. Everyone else I know seems to be baking all the time. I suppose this is the pesachdik equivalent.

Comments

[nineweaving]

Gorgeous. So glad you saw each other, even through glass.

*hugs*

Nine

[sovay]

Gorgeous. So glad you saw each other, even through glass.

Thank you. She looks like herself, masked.

*hugs*

[pameladean]

The cherry blossoms are so amazing. I don't think we have that kind here, though we have a plethora of lovely flowering trees, about to be delayed, should they have decided to start doing anything, which they probably haven't, by the advent of a winter storm and subsequent below-freezing temperatures.

I love your mom -- or, rather, of course, I love the image of her that you provide.

P.

[sovay]

I don't think we have that kind here, though we have a plethora of lovely flowering trees, about to be delayed, should they have decided to start doing anything, which they probably haven't, by the advent of a winter storm and subsequent below-freezing temperatures.

I hope the weather improves enough to give you flowering trees!

I love your mom -- or, rather, of course, I love the image of her that you provide.

I love her, too. I'm glad she's staying safe.

[sholio]

Oh, those are so lovely!

[sovay]

Oh, those are so lovely!

I am finding a lot of solace in these trees.

[rachelmanija]

I love the photos and your mom's caption.

Not touching people is so hard.

[sovay]

I love the photos and your mom's caption.

Thank you. I'll tell her.

Not touching people is so hard.

I've been seeing so few people in person who aren't spatch. I am lucky enough to have been raised by parents who made it clear that my brother and I were loved the same at any distance, but to see and not to touch, I still don't like it. It's too much like ghosts.

[wpadmirer]

The cherry blossoms are beautiful. I'm glad you got to see them, and your mother.

[sovay]

The cherry blossoms are beautiful. I'm glad you got to see them, and your mother.

Thank you.

[julian]

Is good. Glad y'all got to see each other.

Similarly, I took my mom out to see the Scylla.

(That is, I visited my parents, whom I miss a lot in ways that surprise me, and I dropped off some bread and milk, and we had a talk in their back lawn, which is carpeted in blue flowers that I love.)

[sovay]

Is good. Glad y'all got to see each other.

Thank you.

(That is, I visited my parents, whom I miss a lot in ways that surprise me, and I dropped off some bread and milk, and we had a talk in their back lawn, which is carpeted in blue flowers that I love.)

I'm glad you had that. (And I appreciate the exegesis, because otherwise I was trying to figure out how I could possibly have some missed some local cultural or topographical feature of that name.)

[julian]

Oh, sure, don't you know? The Scylla of the MBTA and the Charybdis of I-93.

Um. Anyway. Carpet of Scilla. (Not, mind you, my house's.)

[gwynnega]

That's nice you got to see each other and the cherry blossoms. I haven't seen my mom in almost a month. Those are great photos.

[sovay]

That's nice you got to see each other and the cherry blossoms. I haven't seen my mom in almost a month. Those are great photos.

Thank you.

I hope there is some safe way you can see each other soon.

[drwex]

I am completely a barbarian; taking fat off things makes it much more digestible to me.

I applaud your safe blossom viewing.

[sovay]

I am completely a barbarian; taking fat off things makes it much more digestible to me.

It's more like throwing the schmaltz away—it has to be skimmed from the chilled soup no matter what—would have felt wasteful to me since we can eat it.

I applaud your safe blossom viewing.

Thank you.

[rosefox]

I admit to having tossed out the schmaltz from our ginger scallion chicken broth, even though my mom said "save it!", because I couldn't think of anything I'd cook with a few tablespoons of ginger scallion chicken fat. But maybe I'll save it next time.

Someone in the Daf Yomi Discord asked what a Shabbat-scented bath bomb would smell like, and I suggested schmaltz. :D

[sovay]

because I couldn't think of anything I'd cook with a few tablespoons of ginger scallion chicken fat.

Ginger scallion is also a very particular flavor. Our schmaltz is full of rosemary, sage, basil, and peppercorns, so it might turn into fried potatoes or something.

Someone in the Daf Yomi Discord asked what a Shabbat-scented bath bomb would smell like, and I suggested schmaltz.

It's either that or candle wax.

[rosefox]

I suppose I could have kept it to fry dumplings in. But I never cook with schmaltz and didn't grow up with it as a thing, so I don't know anything about smoke points or whatever.

Now I want dumplings. *sob*

[sovay]

But I never cook with schmaltz and didn't grow up with it as a thing, so I don't know anything about smoke points or whatever.

I grew up with schmaltz, but only started to experiment with cooking with it as an adult. It has a higher smoke point than butter or olive oil, but nowhere near as high as canola oil or ghee.

Now I want dumplings.

I hope your future contains dumplings soon!

*hugs*

[sartorias]

So lovely!!!

[sovay]

So lovely!!!

Thank you!

[asakiyume]

You look so sweet in that picture--I can imagine you as fourteen or so. I'm glad you were in some proximity, even though not close, to your mom.

The blossoms are beautiful, and the little fang is adorable.

[sovay]

You look so sweet in that picture--I can imagine you as fourteen or so. I'm glad you were in some proximity, even though not close, to your mom.

Thank you. It was good to see her in person, not photographs. And I actually like the photo, although I would feel weird about using it for author purposes.

The blossoms are beautiful, and the little fang is adorable.

It is good to have flowering trees and cats at a time like this, but it helps especially when the cats are so cute.

[poliphilo]

That's the street where you live?

It's beautiful!

[sovay]

That's the street where you live?

It is! None of the houses pictured is our house—we live on the second floor of one side of a duplex that was rather haphazardly converted into a triple-decker from a one-family—but I feel quite familial about the trees by now.

It's beautiful!

I really like our neighborhood. It's very much like the residential part of Arlington where I grew up. I don't know if we'll be able to stay after the Green Line Extension is finally completed and the new light rail station goes in almost literally at the end of our street, but I would like to. It would be the slimmest of silver linings, but maybe the economic shutdown will finally crash the local inflated rents.

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, the masked photographer and mother! And, yeah, hopefully, there will be much safe hugging in the future. ♥

[sovay]

Aw, the masked photographer and mother! And, yeah, hopefully, there will be much safe hugging in the future.

Thank you! (Amen.)

[vass]

Thank you for sharing these.

[sovay]

Thank you for sharing these.

You're welcome!

[teenybuffalo]

I'm glad you got to see each other. Thank you for the photos.

[sovay]

I'm glad you got to see each other. Thank you for the photos.

You're welcome. And thank you. I am, too.

[thawrecka]

Very cool photos!

[sovay]

Very cool photos!

Thank you!

[mrissa]

I saw my mother through glass as well, last week. It's...well, isn't it a thing. Isn't it.

[sovay]

I saw my mother through glass as well, last week. It's...well, isn't it a thing. Isn't it.

It is that.

*hugs*

[mrissa]

and for you

[mrissa]

I went and wrote a poem about this that I don't want to post because I don't want my mother to read it, but if you email me, I would like to share it with you. My gmail is marissalingen.