Today the weather has turned rainy and gloomy. I don’t have any errands to run, other than a haircut in the afternoon. I’m expecting a package to arrive from the U.S. with some shoes and other purchases I made from online retailers and forwarded via my shipping service. I also sent an early Christmas present to my friend in O. in Strasbourg, France that I’m hoping will arrive today. I give her a heads up via text, then we end up chatting over the phone. During our conversation her door buzzes, and it turns out to be the package! I’m glad it arrived on time. Unfortunately, the package that’s supposed to be delivered to me in Dublin doesn’t arrive… looks like it may have been held up in customs clearance? I was worried I might miss it while I was out getting my hair cut, but the status hasn’t been updated since this morning. Oh well, maybe tomorrow?
Instead of going back to the previous barbershop, Sam’s, I decide to try a new place one street over from mine. It’s called Beard & Barletts, a small but uncluttered space with four chairs and a motorcycle parked in the middle of the floor, so very much a masculine/punk vibe. I had booked my appointment for today sometime last week in anticipation of the holiday. They don’t have a website, so I just stopped by and spoke with an older guy named Billy who put me down in the calendar on his phone. When I arrived at 1:30pm today, Billy was already cutting someone else’s hair, but there’s a younger guy in his 20s waiting for me. This turns out to be Billy’s son Ben — fine by me. Ben has a thick Dublin accent, and given my slight hearing loss, I have to ask him to repeat himself a few times. The conversation is cordial. He of course asks where I’m from and I give him my usual spiel about moving here from SF, etc. Apparently Ben has been to San Diego and loved it. Somehow we get on the topic of video games, and I learned that he also managed to acquire a PlayStation 5, the much sought after gift of the season this year. The small talk is pleasant enough, although I’m not sure how I feel about the haircut and beard trim… I don’t think it’s quite as good as my last one. It costs the same as Sam’s, €45, although Ben only charges €40 since my beard didn’t need much work. Surprisingly, they don’t take credit cards, and I only have €10 in my wallet. I haven’t been to an ATM since arriving to Ireland; I had some leftover euros from my last trip to Europe that I’ve been slowly spending down on the rare occasion I can’t use a credit card or Apple Pay on my phone. I excuse myself to go withdrawal some cash at an ATM at a convenience store on Dame Street, then return to the shop to pay up, then wish them a Happy Christmas as I leave.
As I wait in vain for my package to be delivered back at the apartment, I pass the time by reading articles and playing games on my phone while listening to RTÉ radio. The lockdown restrictions are of course the biggest news topic, although there’s also a segment when Irish families who have loved ones around the world can call in to wish them Happy Christmas on air since they won’t be able to return home for the holidays. This is a big deal for many Irish families whose adult children move abroad for work. In fact, I received an email this morning from some of my distant Irish cousins who say they’re staying home for the first time in 30 years and not even traveling within Ireland to see other family. It was very sweet to hear from them, as they said they would have loved to meet up with me sometime during the holidays except for the pandemic, although I had no expectations whatsoever given the circumstances. Hopefully we’ll be able to see each other sometime in 2021, although it sounds like the new restrictions will be in place for 2+ months in order to bring the number of new cases down to a manageable level.
This evening I decide to prep and test the “spanakopita” spinach and cheese bites I’m planning on making tomorrow as an appetizer for Christmas Eve dinner. I haven’t tried this recipe before, and there are a couple of hiccups… the pre-rolled phyllo dough I got turns out to be single sheets of puff pastry, and not the multiple thin sheets of dough as I expected. The recipe calls for several layers of dough and butter, but all I can manage is to double the layers of dough on both the bottom and top, adding one layer of butter in between them. Also, I couldn’t find frozen spinach so I end up cooking down a couple of bags of fresh baby spinach, pressing the water out, then chopping it up with the hand blender. The filling is simple — lightly beat an egg, mix in the cottage cheese and feta, then add the spinach. I assemble the layers of dough and filling in a small foil pan, then freeze for 30-45 minutes before cutting into squares and finish by brushing the tops with butter. The bottom dough layer sticks to the pan, so they’re hard to extract and the squares turn out a little messy… I’m expecting them to go splat during the baking. They actually don’t turn out that bad, and after 30 minutes in the mini oven with the convection fan running, the top layer of puff pastry is browned and they look done. While they might not quite be the finger food I was going for, they’re still very tasty eaten with a fork. It’s hard to go wrong with butter, cheese and dough! I freeze the remainder for tomorrow… maybe they will turn out better cooked after being fully frozen.
