Sprechen zie Deutsch?

"Sprechen zie Deutsch?" asked Hubby to our French Sabbath dinner guest.

"Jeezus, you don't ask the French that!" I explained to Hubby. He thinks all Europeans are alike. He also has a fixation with anything German. I don't know why at all. He's like 7th generation Canadian. He loves Greta van Susteren from Fox News, maybe because "Greta" sounds German, even though "van Susteren" sounds Dutch to me.

I really didn't care about his crushes. I have mine, after all. Also, I was elated because I had made Mulligawtany soup, and my French guest was giving me his critique.

"Aaahhh! Ze flavor ees just right,with just ze right amoont of zeazonings, nothing overpowering"

It was like getting 2 Michelin stars from a famous French food connosieur.

"Merci, dahling"

I had more stuff to put on my grateful list. We had gone out earlier in the day to buy dishes for special occasions (Sabbath, holidays, guests) - they weren't expensive but were beautiful and I hadn't seen a new set in 20 years. We had been using paper plates all this time. These dishes were just plain white but were shaped square instead of round and looked elegant nevertheless. My kids loved them -even the Complainer. She "ooohhed and ahhhed" over them that I thought either I was hallucinating or the Messiah was coming. She even did the dishes that evening - a site I hadn't seen from her in years.

Of coure we argued about the color of the tablecloth I'll have to buy.

"I think I'd like a dark purple or dark orange tablecloth" I mused.

"You're hanging out with Arabs so much you want your house to look like an Arab house!!" - her face was turning red. "You should get a brown tablecloth"

"Brown?? Brown is dull. I'm not getting brown. And who are you telling me about hanging out with Arabs like it's a bad thing, when you've invited YOUR Arab friends to our Sukkah (a temporary outside hut/booth with a thatched roof for eating in during the holiday of Succot)"

She had no answer.

"And besides" I wasn't finished with her yet. "Don't think Arab homes are all decorated in oranges and purples. For your information, Ibrahim's home is decorated in brown! Ha."

Argument over.