Welcome to our Veranda!
Up top day of happiness and sunshine to all.
Life is the greatest. We hope you find a spot of sunshine and a smile here to help make today your best.
Junction Jamaica
We should have a high temperature of about 30°C(86° F) and a Low of 21°C (70°F). It’s the wind that makes this place so pleasurable. Wind is ESE 11Km/h with gusts of 30Km/h.
Of course, we must stay out of the sun. It’s super strong this time of year.
My good neighbor told me this is the season of heavy winds. The rainy season doesn’t come until September and October.
She also reported that she has never seen it this dry. She has lost 15 plants in her backyard. That’s even with her gardener watering!
My seed tray is empty. I won't waste my precious seeds. I’ve emptied the tray, placing some seedlings in flower pots. I can’t water seedlings in the ground enough to keep them alive!
Veranda vibe
Our Veranda had a quiet vibe this morning. I recently published a story on Medium about our beloved cat Felix. Started a year ago, it has taken me lots of courage to face his story. My publisher has often told me she loved to follow Felix's stories. When I opened her acceptance email, she said his story brought tears to her eyes. I’m not a crier, but writing his story was hard for me. You can read about Felix here. This is a friend link to his story on Medium.
A favorite recipe
Marshall was horrified to find that we Americans use big, beautiful pumpkins at Halloween and then throw them away!
He exclaimed, “We eat them!”
This is a beautiful presentation on your dining table. It looks very professional and is super easy.
I like to leave you with a recipe we’ve made this week. I haven’t made this yet, this week, so I don’t have a photo. :-( Here we go anyway.
This recipe originated from the cookbook, The Real Taste of Jamaica, by Enid Donaldson. I rarely stick to a recipe for long, but here are the bones that can be varied with your creative touch.
Stuffed Pumpkin
1 4-pound pumpkin
2 lbs of fish
1 C chopped onions
2 T oil
1 Medium Sweet Pepper
1/4 Scotch Bonnet Pepper
1 Cup chopped tomatoes
2 Beaten Eggs
Bread Crumbs for topping
Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin to remove the stem, seeds, and membrane. Submerge the pumpkin in boiling water with salt for 10-15 minutes. Remove to let cool. Scrape out the inside of the pumpkin, being careful to leave a thin but strong wall.
Sauté the seasonings (onions, sweet pepper, scotch bonnet, tomato) in the oil. Let cool. Add the pumpkin meat and the beaten eggs.
Top with breadcrumbs
Bake 350˚ oven for 45 to 60 minutes
Tips
I use Panko Breadcrumbs (if you have Rice Crispies, you can crush those up instead), I chop up any vegetables I need to use up. Just be careful not to use too many, as you can overstuff your pumpkin.
I layer the fish between the vegetables.
Cut the pumpkin into wedges to serve. Yes, you eat the pumpkin skin and all! I was surprised to discover Jamaicans eat the pumpkin skin. In a soup, small chunks provide a thickener with the skin on.
Last time I used sardines since I didn’t have fresh fish. We’ve found a good source for fresh shrimp now.
This time, it’s shrimp for the fish called for!
Enjoy!
Life with a puppy
Our quiet vibe is also related to Buff the bulldog puppy. Some things you safely erase from your mind.
I forgot that puppies get up with the first light of day!
Hurry, hurry, hurry out the front door. Ahhhhhh, All important business handled. Let’s get back to bed. What!? No way! You’re awake now. What, your food bowl’s empty!? No! Too early for breakfast. Go outside and play. The front door’s open. What!? Your toys are boring? Scheech!! Life with a puppy’s not easy.
But so very entertaining. His funny personality is evolving. It’s a joy to see.
He’s been quietly observing the feral kittens through the screen on the kitchen door. When their thiefing father boldly walked in the front door, Buff took off after him like a lightning bolt. Of course, the rude cat escaped scaling our tall garden wall.
He rarely barks. Mostly only when he locks himself in the bathroom.
I swear I’m going to catch his happy dinner dance on video soon.
He doesn’t complain about a weekly bath.
Happy to report that diluted white vinegar effectively removes puppy smells from our white tile floors.
He’s a hoot!
The space in between
I get impatient with “the space in between”. By “the space in between,” I mean the time while you are waiting for projects to complete. Suddenly, unexpected walls appear. Progress stops or slows to an imperceptible pace. This is the worst when you have multiple projects stopped.
I have to seriously ratchet myself down. Monitor my thought processes. Shake myself to recognize how lucky I am. Settle myself into the reality that it’s not time yet.
I love four-letter words. One syllable can be so expressive.
One of my favorites is “done”.
Right now, I have to accept several projects just can’t be “done” yet.
Just have to cool my jets. Keep on, keepin’ on.
I guess the good news is…
I’m not done yet!
Here’s a quick listen to what I wrote about “The Space in Between” in May of 2016. I guess I wrestle with this often.
Thanks for reading and listening until the end.
I have so many more stories to tell! Come sit a spell
Subscribe each time I publish a new piece on Medium. Medium is a deep resource for excellent writers.
Join us for our new Newsletter, Writing in Your Ear. I’m reading a series of curated stories I plan to use as the bones for a book about my life as a marshmallow in a cup of hot chocolate in the rough and tumble paradise, Jamaica.
It was a pleasure to publish Felix's story - that little Tuxedo gentleman has a piece of my heart, I tell you! 😻 I miss him a lot. Welcome Buff!