dvi silkes

While bundled in blankets and sweaters this morning, I heard a sound that I have been straining to hear for the last few days: the trickle of hot water. With the temperatures dropping, our unheated, un-insulated apartment has been feeling pretty frosty lately, so we are relieved that the city has opened up the taps that bring hot water to our radiators. There is a steady swirl of hot water running through three of our four radiators; I’m not sure why we don’t have heat in the kitchen. To be honest, though, I’m so thankful to be a bit warmer that I don’t really care.

Still, we know that not everyone is celebrating the start of the heating season. The cost of heating has gone up, and since apartment dwellers cannot regulate the temperature, people will be forced to pay for heating whether they can afford it or not. With unemployment increasing, wages being reduced, and costs rising, it is going to be a long and difficult winter for many.

To say that our apartment is warm would be quite an overstatement. The radiators provide little more than enough heat to take the edge off the cold. But, we are immensely grateful that we have heat, and that we can afford to pay for it.

This winter, we hope and pray that the warmth in people’s homes will be accompanied by warmth of heart, and that families, friends, and neighbours will find ways to help one another through the months ahead.

It’s grey and rainy outside, and our apartment is freezing, but I’m happy. My wonderful husband bought me flowers…just because.

Several years ago, a Lithuanian friend of ours moved to the United States to attend school. When asked once what he liked about America, he replied, “corn on the cob!” Corn is used abundantly in Lithuania for things like cereal, snacks, and flour, but most of our friends tell us that cob corn is “pig food.” It’s an understandable sentiment, really. We’ve seen corn on the cob for sale in the produce section a few times, but it’s usually pretty sad looking, and would probably be more appealing to a hungry pig.

So, when we were walking through a large grocery store the other day and spotted fresh, golden-coloured corn, we couldn’t resist. I’ll admit, we were a bit skeptical; they looked beautiful, but they were covered in cellophane, so we couldn’t feel or smell them like we are used to. And at 3 Litas each, they were hardly a bargain, but we (or our stomachs) decided that it was worth it, so we bought one for each of us.

I have no idea what type of corn this was, but oh…it was tasty! It cooked up wonderfully, stayed nice and crunchy, and had much more flavour than I expected. It wasn’t a very sweet corn, but it tasted fantastic with a little butter, salt and pepper. The only thing that was missing was those little corn shaped holders that go on the ends!

* The title of this post comes from the classic Broadway production, “South Pacific” in a song called “I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy.” Which I am ☺