Romanian Tango during the Interwar Era

Preparation

When one receives a parcel from home for the garden on the balcony. 

San Marzano tomatoes

Bell pepper

For those unfamiliarized with the vocabulary used in Tulcea, chushka means hot pepper.

Vlad lives on!

And so another year has passed and I was thinking about what paragraph to prepare for you to read from Vlad Musatescu, when, searching on the internet, a picture I have never seen before of Vlad drew my attention. Then, I read the title and I was very happy. Vlad lives on because some people refuse to let him be forgotten.

Today, the book arrived, and I browsed through it very thrilled. I cannot wait to read it!

If you want to read it as well, you can find here more information.

 

Congratulations, Mr. Dodo Nita! And many thanks.

The Circus in front of the House – Adrian Sângeorzan

One is convinced of the true art of writing when one feels right in the middle of the action described in the book, when one smells, tastes, sighs, laughs, cries, hopes, and waits together with the characters in the book. This book entails a sort of mysticism, a special scenery where the reader enters, being at the same time free and a prisioner of the magic of words. And the magic continues for the reader with the moment of riding the elephant. Actually, I am still there, in that particular moment, and I am writing to you, enchanted by the things that were, are and continue to be, regardless if the space allows them to exist all at the same time.

And below, a couple of paragraphs to give you the crave of reading this book:

“… Wrappings were, in those times, more important than the contents... “

“I went back to the vineyard, and I laid down next to grandpa, who was sound asleep, as it’s usually the case with peasants. Some people go to sleep at dusk and wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning or when God taps on their shoulders. I dreamed the most colored dreams and in my sleep I could hear the grapes ripen.”

 

“… he had been a pantomime professor in Paris, before the war. A slightly odd art that entails people playing the game of make belief, moving about so convincingly that one believes they are truly doing it. If I think about it, he should have been a hero in the current work environment... “

The Time Issue

On my street, there’s an old lady who daily walks from one side to the other. She walks slowly, making short stops any time there’s a gate opening or if there’s a passer-by. Then, she utters the question: ‘what’s the time, dear?’. When she receives the reply, she nods or gives thanks and then she carries on, making sure to repeat the question to the next one.

When she first stopped me, I thought she really needed to know the time. Now, I know better. She needs the interaction we so desperately need as well. And maybe she arrived at the conclusion that no one is bothered if asked about the time.

Today, I saw her again. She stopped and asked the neighbor about the time. The neighbor replied with the swiftness of one that is accustomed to such a question, especially since they always have their gate open and thus are subjected daily to the question. But nevertheless, the neighbor replies because sometimes we understand without actually realizing that an answer is more than that, it’s helping the other keep carrying on and it shows kindness, which we all need.

Always

Joy

The greatest joy of a writer is to be read.

The ‘Sewing Club’ novel has been mentioned in Alexandra’s most recent video.

The writer dearly waits Alexandra’s impressions after having read the novel.