Entries by TATIANA

It is 1 26 AM and I just finished crying a little while watching the end of Ivanhoe.
I grew up watching this movie, it is a tradition to show it in Sweden on New Year's Day. A tradition since 1988 (!). I have not watched this movie in many years since I haven't been in Sweden for a New Year's day in a long time. Instead my friend Marie that lives there sent it to me and that is why I went to the post office the other day, to pick it up.
I watched it tonight. If you've never watched this movie, do it (if you can get a hold of it), I highly recommend it. Well, I like it a lot at least. The story takes place in England in 1194.
"You're about to see a story of bold knights and beautiful maidens. A story of love and hatred and prejudice. Though our story is old, the love, the hatred and the prejudice are ever now."



"It was told by all that Ivanhoe and fair Rowena lived long and happily together. Yet one can't help but wonder if fond memories of Rebecca did not reoccur to Ivanhoe's mind until the very end of his days."
The Ivanhoe I grew up watching is the third version of the movie filmed in 1982. Previous versions came out in 1913 and 1952. I would like to watch the 1952 version as well, when Elizabeth Taylor played Rebecca. The Ivanhoe films are based on a novel with the same name written by Walter Scott.
And soon it is going to be 2 AM, I can hear a train sound it's horn somewhere out there in the dark. I won't be able to sleep for a while because I will be thinking about the love triangle between Ivanhoe, Rebecca and Lady Rowena. It is a sad story in many ways. But I can watch it over and over again.

Hi! I am alive! We are a couple of days into the Stay At Home or Shelter In Place executive order here in Oregon. It was recommended prior to last Monday. Now it's a law and you can get in trouble if you violate it, it's a misdemeanor (Class C) and you could get a fine (a fine is never fun, less spending money) or do some time (could be fun maybe?). I am not sure how this will work with Portland's rather large homeless population that has basically taken over downtown.
A lot of places are closed down but I go to the grocery store and outside for long walks every day. I need food. The stores are recommending keeping a six foot distance from others and I also visited the post office and they have marked six feet separations on the ground with tape. As long as the stores have food I will be OK. I am down to four rolls of toilet paper but I have baby wipes, I have not stocked up on toilet paper and I have also not seen any in the stores. I guess I could always rinse off in the shower, cleaner and fresher like that anyways. I have been thinking about a more in depth blog about my COVID-19 thoughts from everything that I have gathered about the virus so far. Maybe tomorrow. I need to think about it some more and read the latest news tomorrow.
SO.....how are YOU? I hope well. 🙂
The other day I went to see the beautiful cherry blossoms here in Portland, they are kind of all over. I have a huge one not too far from where I live that I pass everyday, it is so pretty.
These pics are from downtown by the waterfront at the Japanese American Historical Plaza.







And the one by my house. Thank You cherry blossom trees for being so beautiful! ❤️

Finally! Today I found a coffee shop that offers Oatly, a vegan oat drink product from (guess where.....?!) Sweden! No more cow milk in my latte at the coffee shops that serve Oatly.
How did it taste? Really good! So if you order coffee somewhere and usually drink it with cow's milk I suggest that you try Oatly.
I have tried almond, soy, oat (other than Oatly) and macadamia milk in my lattes before.....Oatly is definitely the best for me. They have a special barista edition for that foamable foam. I am excited over this!
You can find places that sell or serve Oatly in your area if you search for Oatfinder.

I am a chef in the five star dining category. (Not quite). Let me take you on an extraordinary culinary experience in my kitchen - cooking with Tati!
I LOVE pierogis! My fave filling is kraut, then potato but potato & cheese will work too.
I found these, Kasia's at Costco and I was very happy when I did because I haven't been able to find any quality pierogis around here, until now. I always fry up some chopped red onion to serve with my pierogis.
Of course you can make them from scratch as well, I used to with my Mom but I don't really have patience for that now. Maybe one day.





Quinoa....there are many ways to serve this nutritious grain. I mix my quinoa with vegetables. Like white onion, red pepper and garlic fried up and then simmering with the quinoa in a vegetable broth.





Who doesn't like potatoes? I love to have my potatoes with this brown gravy (or sauce) that you can find at IKEA, best gravy ever!



That banana or two you have laying on the counter top.....you can slice it and fry it up with brown sugar and olive oil. So yummy!



See.....easy and delicious!

Hi Monday.....it's kind of cold outside.
I am sitting here reading about COVID-19 and wondering what the truth about this whole thing really is? I went to Costco the other day and I have never seen so many people in there before.....stocking up on supplies. I just wanted to look at a few things, glad I did not stand in line.
So if this virus is not that dangerous like they say (the government officials) and basically not worse than the regular flu how come there are travel restrictions? And how come a school a few miles away from where I live is closed down until Thursday for all the surfaces to get disinfected, if the virus, again is kind of like the “regular” flu?
People in the US don't go to the doctor unless it's something serious due to the cost of a doctor's visits. Most people think it is an expense and rightfully so because it is. Perhaps it is time to finally address and change the health care situation in this country because it's obviously severely flawed.
Insurance, co pays and bla bla bla bullshit capitalism. Healthcare for all. If other countries can make it work so can the US. Figure it out. All those elected officials should put their minds together and come up with something that actually works. I can think of several solutions to get things moving in the right direction but I am not getting paid to solve the problems of this country.
Also people should learn how to cough and sneeze in public. I have known this since childhood and I am not interested in random people’s droplets on me.
And it is definitely time for people all over the world to think about and RETHINK their eating habits and how they relate to animals and how animals are handled and treated before human consumption of them.
So gross and wrong to consume endangered species, kill animals for their horns, tusks, scales and fins because you have some wrongful idea that you can benefit from consuming those parts (nobody gives a fuck about your erection problems and eating rhino horn won't address the issue anyways), torturing animals for endless meat consumption.
Newsflash - it is possible to survive without chomping down on chicken, hamburger, sausage and steak every day. Humans = scum of the earth.
One of the best things I have read in a while came from Andrew Muir, CEO of Wilderness Foundation Africa, "If we do not eat wildlife they will not harm us," he said.

This evening I decided to venture out and play some bingo. There was a little troll at the table I was sitting at. Reminded me of the first time I played bingo in Portland (with Mandy) back in October 2015 when I was traveling through from Alaska to Las Vegas....and now I live here.



It's warming up here. I have daffodils in the backyard and buds on a tree that is also in my yard. Cold at night though still. And now you have gotten the local weather and botany report.
It is bedtime for me now. Goodnight.