Tonight is Rosh Hashanah and holidays make me miss my mom. At the beginning of this week, I threw together my mom’s signature simple purple plum torte. And then on Wednesday night at 2 am I made my mom’s pickled salmon and this year I pickled the symbolic fish head to make it tasty. Being that we’re still in masks and doing Corona, and all the feelings are extra intense, I had an urge to make my mom’s absolutely favorite cake – a true Hungarian chocolate nut torte that takes hours and so many steps and details to prepare. I never bake. But I miss my mom and I’m craving all the things she loved. It’s weird how holidays and holiday food are really about people and memories.
Our seller at 840 S Cloverdale sent me beautiful pictures of her last year’s Rosh Hashanah dinner in her spacious backyard. The string lights over the tables are festive and the place settings are themed, and everything is just right – with so much care and attention paid to every last detail. This year there’s no Rosh Hashanah party because of Corona and like everyone else, she’s missing and craving the people and the connections,
I mentioned to a seller at a listing appointment last week that it feels like people linger just a little bit longer at every appointment these days. Without pausing or missing a beat, she said that everyone’s lonely. This morning a seller said he feels so isolated. Masks cover our faces and our smiles and they make our words hard to hear. Social distancing and staying at home is by definition lonely and isolating. So many of of us are craving people and connections we took for granted in our old world.
I’m excited for our new listings.
461 N Highland feels like so much great house for the price and such a great value. The owners added on a really large dining room in 2005, right in between their spectacular living room with an extra high beamed ceiling + architectural fireplace, and their spacious backyard with string lights. You stand in that space and you just know that so many great parties happened there and will continue to happen in that space because the set-up is just right! Every one of the 4 bedrooms in that house is en-suite and parking is easy because the entrance to the garage is off of Rosewood.
319 S Sycamore has such a great permitted ADU with a full wall of glass looking out to the backyard, fiber optic wiring for WIFI, and so much space – perfect for a home office or guest unit. The house is hedged and gated so private + secure. With all new appliances and so many upgrades including Milgard energy efficient windows throughout the house, there’s something rich and special about the offering.
I drive around Hancock Park and I see signs in so many lawns that say “please be kind” at the top and “wear a mask” at the bottom. While it feels like we’ll probably be wearing masks forever, and at this point there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know they need to wear a mask, I love the message to “please be kind” and that message feels more profound than the message to wear a mask. I wish the masks could carry with them the deeper message of “please be kind” and for all mask wearers to take that kindness one step further than just putting on a mask. Putting on a mask is habit now; I wish kindness becomes the same.
My mom loved to do kind things for others. Before the holiday, she’d bake goodies and arrange fresh cut flowers from her garden in vases, and she’d load her car and drive to deliver treats and bring cheer to those who were needing a smile for all different reasons. I vividly remember the clever ways my mom masterminded arranging the flower vases filled with some water, and the delicacies that were sometimes delicate, wedged between the seats and strapped into seat belts in the back seat of her car, and all the various creative household items like laundry baskets and large soup pots she set up in the trunk of her car, so all the gifts would arrive at their destination intact. My mom tried so hard to match the gift to the recipient in a way that would hit the spot. I miss experiencing all the ways my mom liked to be kind to others, and also how she enjoyed thinking through every detail of everything she did and how much joy and satisfaction she got both in doing kind things for other people and also in getting the details of her whole endeavor just right.
May this coming year hit the spot for all of us in new creative ways. May we open our eyes and our awareness to appreciate all the things we always took for granted before they were taken away. And may we all endeavor together to make the world a softer, gentler, kinder, more compassionate space so that even when we stop wearing masks, our mindset by habit is to be kind and to consider and respect our fellow humans around us.
Wishing all a sweet new year and a meaningful holiday,
Sheri
