It is time for me to take a brief respite. I will be out on the high seas gathering energy from the wind and salty air.I’ll be listening to the music of the waves.
I wanted to leave you with a peaceful image of the ocean. I think in one of my previous lives I must have been a sailor. I love being out on the water.
Perhaps, it’s because of my astrology sign. I’m a cancer which is a water sign and is represented by the crab. I’m renewed while receiving abundant energy from the ocean.
I’ll be without technology of any kind. I’ll be writing, reading and contemplating on expanding my knowledge of how to create a more peaceful journey for my life.
Your posts brighten my day. I look forward to them. I believe you’re exceptional bodies of work will be the greatest loss while I’m away. Many, many of you are very talented and post the most incredibly meaningful stories and photographs I delight in seeing and reading.
Please feel free to make me aware of your extraordinary posts so I can read them.
In my absence, if you’d like to catch up on my stories or poetry feel free to visit and enjoy. If you leave your insightful and thoughtful comments, I can assure you I will get to each and every one of them.
While on vacation in Grenada, we decided to drive around downtown which could be quite a challenge. Suddenly, I was overcome by the sight of a man sitting on the sidewalk.
“Stop,” I shouted.
Startled, my husband stopped the car assuming he was about to hit something or someone he hadn’t seen.
I said, “Look,” while pointing to this man. “Please!” “You’ve got to find a place to park.”
He drove a bit and found a parking spot.
Since we were unfamiliar with the downtown area, we had to walk several streets in search of where the man had been.
I thought I should purchase one of those shells he was selling since he looked like he was in need of a sale.
Eventually, we found him.
He was unaware I was standing next to him until I said, “Hello, I see you have some shells for sale.”
Tear filled hazy eyes glared at my me. I felt sucked in by his sadness. He was dirty with a profound odor of the unsanitary kind. It was the type of odor you knew was from a lack of any type of facilities. Yet, I felt compelled to talk to him. In one hand he had a cup of rum; the other hand held a blunt, doobie, marijuana joint. Drugs!
After briefly talking about his shells, I told him, “I noticed he was drinking and smoking marijuana at such an early morning hour.” It was 10:00 a.m.
He said, “There’s no set time for me to kill my pain.”
I didn’t dare ask what his sorrow was.
I asked, “Does it help your pain?”
No words were said. Just a tilt of the head in my direction with a curved smile that led me to believe he didn’t think I’d understand.
We spoke for a short time.
I handed him the money for the shell with a little extra. I recommended he use it for food or shelter. I told him to keep the shell so he could sell it to someone else.
As I began to walk away, he took another puff from his big sweet scented herb and shouted, “Pretty Lady” …
I turned.
He continued, “Someday, when you get to heaven, say hello to my angel. I know you’ll meet her there. Tell her, I’ll be with her before long.”
Coquito is a traditional drink served during Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Fiesta de los Tres Reyes celebrations. The drink is similar to eggnog except with rum. In many households, it’s prepared days ahead in order to allow the flavors to blend well. This particular recipe does not call for raw eggs. Nor does it call for you to crack open a fresh coconut. It’s a very simple mixed drink. There’s another recipe below that is made with eggs. It depends on your family tradition as to which way you make it. No matter which way you decide to make it, remember that it is a lot more powerful than you think.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes – tastes best if left in the fridge overnight
Ingredients:
2 15-ounce cans cream of coconut
2 14-ounce cans condensed milk
1 can coconut milk
6 ounces Puerto Rica Bacardi white rum (use less or more if you like)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh grated coconut (coco rallado) for garnish
and/or cinnamon sprinkled on top
Preparation: 1. Mix all ingredients in a blender.
Refrigerate for about an hour before serving.
Coquito must be kept refrigerated until served.
Serve as a cocktail in a shot glass.
Enjoy … !!! Serves: This recipe makes about 36 ounces.
Exitos Navideños De Puerto Rico: La Gran Trulla
This is a traditional song sung by the carolers.
Another recipe for this traditional drink:
Coquito is gluten-free. To make it dairy-free substitute the milks (except coconut) with rice, soy, hemp, , or almond milk and double the sugar. If you want to lower the sugar content; substitute all of the sugar for agave nectar or brown rice syrup.
1 can coconut milk
1 can coconut cream
2 cans evaporated milk
2 cans condensed milk
fresh grated coconut (coco rallado)
1 liter white Puerto Rican Rum (Bacardi)
cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
In a bowl add egg yolks, sugar, milk, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and mix well. Add evaporated and condensed milks, rum, and coconut cream and coconut milk. Add grated coconut and mix well. You can mix all of the ingredients in a blender. Pour coquito into bottles with sealable tops and add the cinnamon sticks to each bottle. Refrigerate and serve cold.
As soon as we approached the marina in St. Thomas, I could see his face turning red.
“Do you see this Laura Lee?”
“Yes, I do Max.”
“Things are changing. I used to love this little marina. Now, it’s always under construction and overcrowded with boats in every little space. It won’t be long before we won’t have a dock for our sailboat. I can recall when we’d be the eye candy for all who loved a good looking sailboat. Now, we can barely navigate around these obstacles.”
“Max, lookout. There’s a cruise ship coming; starboard side.”
The great and beloved clarinetist Pete Fountain’s died Saturday, August 6, 2016 of heart failure, according to his son-in-law/manager Benny Harrell. He was 86.
Pete Fountain – Basin Street Blues
I met Pete Fountain when I took my husband to New Orleans for his birthday in 1966. Jazz was, is and will always been a big part of his life. Fountain was his clarinet idol since the day he picked up the instrument.
We were visiting many, many night clubs while vacationing. We came across Pete Fountain’s club on Bourbon Street called ‘Pete’s Place’. We made reservations for that evening.
From my Scrapbook – Pete’s Place
There was no fee to get in but there was a drink minimum of $4.50 per person. This was in 1966. As non-drinkers, we had to consume a lot of soda to meet that fee.
He was exceptional as a showman. During his 20 minute intermission, he came over to our table. You can imagine how awestruck my husband was. We thought he was coming over to us because of all the cheering during his performance.
Instead, he came over to us and said, “Hey kids, how would you like to come back stage after the show and take lots of pictures.”
It’s should be no surprise that we said, “Yes, at the same time”.
“Great! Because your flash is blinding me,” he said with a chuckle as he walked away.
From my Scrapbook – Me & Pete Fountain
Pete Fountain brought the New Orleans Jazz style to mainstream music through his many solo appearances on the Lawrence Welk and Johnny Carson shows.
I added a little inside information from my memoir to make it fresh for those who’ve seen this recipe before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coquito is a traditional drink served during Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Fiesta de los Tres Reyes celebrations. The drink is similar to eggnog except with rum. In many households, it’s prepared days ahead in order to allow the flavors to blend well. This particular recipe does not call for raw eggs. Nor does it call for you to crack open a fresh coconut. It’s a very simple mixed drink. There’s another recipe below that is made with eggs. It depends on your family tradition as to which way you make it. No matter which way you decide to make it, remember that it is a lot more powerful than you think.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes – tastes best if left in the fridge overnight
Ingredients:
2 15-ounce cans cream of coconut
2 14-ounce cans condensed milk
1 can coconut milk
6 ounces Puerto Rica Bacardi white rum (use less or more if you like)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh grated coconut (coco rallado) for garnish
Preparation: 1. Mix all ingredients in a blender.
Refrigerate for about an hour before serving.
Coquito must be kept refrigerated until served.
Serve as a cocktail in a shot glass.
Enjoy … !!! Serves: This recipe makes about 36 ounces.
Exitos Navideños De Puerto Rico: La Gran Trulla
This is a traditional song sung by the carolers.
Another recipe for this traditional drink:
Coquito is gluten-free. To make it dairy-free substitute the milks (except coconut) with rice, soy, hemp, , or almond milk and double the sugar. If you want to lower the sugar content; substitute all of the sugar for agave nectar or brown rice syrup.
1 can coconut milk
1 can coconut cream
2 cans evaporated milk
2 cans condensed milk
fresh grated coconut (coco rallado)
1 liter white Puerto Rican Rum (Bacardi)
cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
In a bowl add egg yolks, sugar, milk, salt, cinnamon, vanilla and mix well. Add evaporated and condensed milks, rum, and coconut cream and coconut milk. Add grated coconut and mix well. You can mix all of the ingredients in a blender. Pour coquito into bottles with sealable tops and add the cinnamon sticks to each bottle. Refrigerate and serve cold.
This life is heartless and it’s rarely just
Full of sad betrayals and misplaced trust
And it can suck your spirit just as dry as dust
And steal your soul if you let it
Oo every life contains its sorrows and pains
Its stormy weather and its rough terrains
You watch me wrestle with my length of chain
And smile so bravely as you tell me
Don’t lose heart, Don’t Lose Heart
Though it feels like yours will fall apart
Just remember when the road gets dark
I will always be beside you
Well I spent my life pursuing fortune and fame
Chasing rainbows in a shadow game
And I’m not sure what I’ve lost is worth the gain
Or why my soul remains so restless
You’ve seen me stumble, Lord you’ve seen me fall
You shared my trials and you’ve seen me crawl
And when I think that I could lose it all
You give me courage and you tell me
Don’t lose heart, Don’t Lose Heart
Though it feels like yours will fall apart
Just remember when the road gets dark
I will always be beside you
When the road gets rocky and the ride gets rough
And the best you’ve got to give ain’t good enough
There will always be a place inside my love
Where you can find shelter, where you can find shelter
Oo every life contains it’s sorrows and pains
It’s stormy weather and it’s rough terrains
You watch me wrestle with my length of chain
And smile so bravely as you tell me
Don’t lose heart, Oh Don’t Lose Heart
Though it feels like yours will fall apart
Just remember when the road gets dark
I will always be beside you
Well I will always be beside, beside you
*********
aFrank @ A Frank Angle hosts musicals. The present one is called “Sky: The Musical“. If you haven’t participated you might want to click here to pop over and see what it’s all about. It’s a fun way to get those old songs out of your head while spreading a little cheer. aFrank reminded me of a singer I used to hear a (little) while ago called Dan Fogelberg. It was the inspiration for today’s song. Enjoy ….!!!!
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Inside the Mind of Isadora 