Happiness Is... (Pt 1 of 2)

"Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed."

-Storm Jameson

I probably should have made this my entry for last week's Monday Photo Shoot assignment, but I was to busy... ahem... eating! Ok, here's what happened. A LONG time ago, way way back in the stone age, known as the 1980's, there was this cute little place to get delicious food, most often on my lunch hour, called Olga's Kitchen. They had these amazing Greek-inspired Gyro type sandwiches on the best tasting flat bread I had ever had. I was instantly hooked on the Ham & Cheese Olga, with Curly fries. It was an obsession. My friends and I ate there probably 3 times a week, because of it's proximity to where I worked, afford ability, and of course... the food!

Well, a few years down the road, the Olga's near my job closed. POUT. God how I missed them, but all was not lost, as they opened a new Olga's in the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton, a short time later. It was a bit of a jaunt, but because it was one of my favorite places to go on the weekends, and it gave me a nice excuse to walk the mall after lunch, I was happy to do the traveling. Bliss, bliss, bliss, bliss, bliss, bliss! LOL. Life was good, until the day... wait for it... they closed the only Olga's Kitchen in Northern California! OMG... we are talking serious withdrawals!

Ok, time went by, and I healed. But one day, I decided to to see if by any chance there might have been a GRAND OPENING of an Olga's anywhere nearby. No, no re-openings, but there was... SHOCK... an Olga's Kitchen in a mall in Thousand Oak's California. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Ok, it would take a bit of planning, but I could do that. It would be a matter of a simple drive down the coast. Oh, and maybe some gas money. Well, in another move I will never forgive George Bush for, gas prices went up to over $5 a gallon here in California. Thanks a lot, George! It would have meant that it would cost a little over $200 to make the trip to Thousand Oaks, just to have lunch. Sigh.

Ok, so finally gas prices came down to a reasonable rate, and I could make the case to Alan, that we needed a day trip. Things had been rough, Alan's brother had passed away, Elvis had passed away, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Type 2 diabetes. It was a yucky time. Ok, he loved the idea of a long drive, and I went to get the address of the Olga's Kitchen in Thousand Oaks and... wait for it... they had closed down. Now there was NO Olga's Kitchen in California, and the closest one was in Michigan!

Sigh. Weep.

Oh but all was not lost. I googled the restaurant and learned that they sold the Olga bread... on the Internet! Bliss, again!. I wouldn't have the full Olga experience of sitting in the restaurant, but I could do my best to duplicate it at home. I was all set... but wait for it... Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger decided it would be a good idea to steal 3 days pay from Alan's paycheck each month, equaling a loss of $700 a month! Sheesh... REPUBLICANS! As you might imagine, ordering flat bread was no longer a priority. Getting from paycheck to paycheck was.

Boo Hiss. Schwarzenegger... you THIEF! You FIEND!

Ok, the furloughs go on, but the sun is shining, at least a little. We got a nice tax return, and we have been able to deal with the necessary things, and pick up a few "luxuries" along the way. Like... wait for it... a case of Olga bread! 50 individual breads in all. I have frozen some, and eaten some, no make that, ENJOYED THE HELL OUT OF SOME! Honestly, I can't tell you how nice it's been just having a simple treat like this. I even got creative and made an originial special Greek sauce recipe.Plus, I made a lamb roast the other night, and of course we had it served in a flat bread. I made a version of their Peasant soup, not quite as good as theirs, but close, and we did some reminiscing about friends long gone, and all those lunches at Olga's Kitchen.



Happiness is a case of KICK ASS Greek flat bread from Olga's Kitchen!

Olga's Kitchen (Home of some really delicious flat bread!)

-Carly

PS... Later this week, I will share PT2 of my Happiness Is... series.