Nifty things

I'm thankful for our Bakkal. A bakkal is a small store, smaller than the average American convenience store, that sells a random assortment of grocery items. There are bakkals everywhere, so no matter where you live, you can get to one and back in five minutes--walking. Ours is in the apartment building right next to our building. The other night we needed some garlic, so I grabbed my keys and a few lira (money) and walked over. I picked out the garlic and lemon, had a nice little "how are you" conversation with the owner, paid, and was back in a jiffy. We've picked up all sorts of stuff there--cheese, powdered sugar, milk, pepper paste, lemons, strawberries, napkins, Coke. And if time permits stopping in includes drinking a glass of tea with the owner.

The other nifty thing is what I call my "balcony squeegie." Think of a mop stick with a squeegie on the end. It's dusty here in summer, but the concrete and tile balcony has a faucet and a drain hole. So rather than clogging your mop wiht mud or creating a small dust storm, you run some water on the balcony and squeegie it down the hole--presto, clean balcony!