'Old age is tough. Checkout should be 65, max," texted a bitter friend. Having celebrated her 70th with her in happier times, I know her view is temporarily eclipsed. She's suffered some hard knocks lately, but all things must pass. Our relationship is one of many things in my life that have grown richer with time, such as traditional balsamic vinegar or my beloved Santa Fe home, which turns 65 this year.
My house is just a small square thing the colour of dirt, ordinary to look at from the outside, although it can be difficult to see through the juniper coyote fencing, trumpet vines and mature poplars. Inside, it's warm and bright, as something the size of a jewel box should be. But I bought the house for the kitchen, which is the epicentre of activity, both positionally and magnetically.
I can find anything in that kitchen blindfolded. It takes me one hot second to slide an omelette on to a plate (right hand), turn off the burner (right hip), open the fridge (left foot), return the stick of butter to its rightful place (left hand), close the fridge door (left foot) and shovel in a bite. My kitchen is the only place in the world where I can multitask with maximum efficiency. It's a kitchen for a person who's taller and clumsier than average, and it's an extension of me.
A few days ago, in the middle of a starless Liwa night, I got a text. "Call me as soon as you get this. It's about your house." Twelve thousand kilometres away from Santa Fe, I made the call. My hot water supply line, installed incorrectly before I had bought the house, had burst, not due to the -15°C temperatures outside but because of a kink in the line itself. My insurance company was already on board but the corrosion and damage caused by the hot water was extensive. The kitchen would need to be demolished immediately, before I'd be able to get a flight back. Would I authorise that? Yes, of course. Do whatever needs to be done.
The situation with my house could have been a lot worse, I know. There was no tsunami, no hurricane; nobody got hurt or died. Still, I feel simultaneously lucky and stupid. It's hard not to dwell on the implications of coming "home" to a home that is uninhabitable for the foreseeable future and the realisation that my primary source of sanity is, well, off the menu. I don't think I know how to eat in Santa Fe unless I'm doing the cooking.
I read the fashion consultant Yasmin Sewell's advice on how to build a closet and found it similar to the guidelines I apply to pantries: quality over quantity; discard delusions about what items get the heaviest use; reserve 10 to 15 per cent of your space for special ingredients used rarely; and toss anything else you haven't touched in a year.
When I talk about food traditions, I try to be cautious about sentimentality because I think it needlessly warps perspective. Not everything improves with age, and some things go rotten with it, such as memory and cucumbers. I've never been one to hold on to something special, especially when it's edible, caving instead to the urge to tear things open, taste and share.
Nouf Al-Qasimi is an Emirati food analyst who cooks and writes in New Mexico
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The%20specs
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