Halloweeny Matzah Ball Soup

 

Today L had a hankering for some matzah ball soup, and found some fantastic purple carrots at the supermarket for the vegetable broth. When I went into the kitchen she tried to prepare me for what I would see. The soup was the colour of blooooooood. I told her it was very Halloweeny. It was also DEE-LISH-US (said in best Craig Revel Horwood voice)!

A Second Yahrzeit for Evelyn

Tomorrow marks the secular anniversary of my mother's death. The pandemic has really twisted my sense of time - 2 years ago seems so far away and yet so recent. Many who know me will remember the difficult relationship the two of us had had. I am, however, blessed that in the last 10 years of her life we faced that past together, and began to build something better. We each said what we needed to say, and worked things through. It wasn't easy, but we did begin a process of healing, and I will be glad about that for the rest of my life.

Thus today I can say that I am sad, especially that we haven't been able to share the quotidian events of our lives; small things such as who she'd seen recently, my adventures in jam-making, the latest Strictly news. I wonder what she would have said when I baked a cake for the very first time! She would have enjoyed the rise of Emma Raducanu, another season of the Proms, a trip to the Artemisia Gentileschi exhibit. But I am also grateful that she doesn't have to suffer any more, from the pain of her illness, the threat of Covid-19, and the mess in which her beloved homeland appears to be.

Nu, her memory should be for a blessing. So please do something enjoyable in her name! Eat Chinese food and/or some Cadbury's chocolate (a Caramel for example). Listen to your favourite music (she rather liked this). Watch a favourite movie (Preston Sturges was a screenwriter and director she loved). Let us make the most of what we have!

RIP Cloris Leachman

Cloris Leachman lived a long and productive life. When her death was announced today, her son said (according to TMZ) that "she had the best life from beginning to end that you could wish for someone," and "she left everyone with a lot of love." Who would not wish for an epitaph like that?

Leachman had a long and storied career on stage, screen and TV. She won an Oscar, and a record-setting 8 Emmy awards. She also holds the record for Emmy nominations with 22 of them. And she is currently the oldest person to have competed on Dancing With the Stars (the US version of our beloved Strictly), placing 7th in 2008 when in her early 80's.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show is one of my all-time favourites, so I certainly appreciated Leachman's portrayal of Phyllis, Mary's landlady. However, like so many others, the first memory that always comes to mind is of the magnificent Frau Blücher in "Young Frankenstein". When searching for a clip to illustrate this character, I found the Italian version above. I've never seen it before, and had a good laugh, especially at Marty Feldman's final line. Enjoy.

[ok ok, a slightly different collection of clips, but in English!]