Adventures in Gigi

SXM Photo of the week

2012-01-13T06:42:00.009-04:00

St Martin/St Maarten - Playground of the rich and famous

At the airport the private jets were wing to wing and the yachts were hull to hull in the Marinas.

We had some celeb sigthings recently, Bon Jovi, Shaq, Michael Jordan, Rihanna.

I saw none of them as they we don't move around in the same circles, lol!

There Baaaaack!!! Harmony Nights in Grand Case

2012-01-11T13:40:00.001-04:00

Yes Harmony Nights are back with a bang! (click on pics for larger view)

The festivities were launched with a fireworks display this year.

Harmony Nights are as popular as ever, it's key to get there early if you want a chance at parking nearby or if you want to eat at your favorite restaurant or Lolo. And in my opinion if you want to purchase from any of the crafts people, the opening and closing nights aren't ideal as there is just too many people. I couldn't see what was offered the crowd was so thick. I'd be curious to know if those are good sales nights for them.

A little something for the kids

For an opening night i found the parade to be 'poor' I expected more groups to participate. There were the usual Brazilian girls and their musicians and a few people from a carnival troupe (the crowd walking along was too thick for a good picture)

So after the fireworks and Parade it was time to eat! There was tables available at our usual eateries on the Boulevard itself so we opted patronize Scooby's

The lolo's employ extra staff for Harmony nights to handle the rush, our orders were taken promptly. Here i am waiting for my food.

Blogosphere say Hi to my mom!

All the tables were full

Our food came quickly. I had the ribs Cole slaw and Johnny cakes

My mom opted for the Conch brochette (and ordered two so we could share, we traded ribs for conch!), with Rice ans peas, potato salad and Cole Slaw. The conch was so goooooood!

After eating we strolled down the boulevard to see the 'wares' sold and find a palette cleanser.

There are Several Bands along the Boulevard, Here is my cousin Johnny doing his thing!!!!

Vendors all along the boulevard...

By this time the Parade was heading back up the boulevard

And finally we came upon the best pallet cleanser / dessert! Homemade coconut ice cream

made by the ice cream lady (i must really ask her name). We seek her out at Harmony nights / Fish day / Rastafarian garden fair / carnival etc.... She truly makes the best soft serve ice cream. Love her soursop and her coconut ice creams. Yumm... Find her and try some!

I made a few short videos for you guys. Enjoy!

Fireworks

Parade

Ice Cream - the video ends when i get my ice cream!

The "Mardis de Grand Case' (Harmony Nights) Are baaaaaaaaack!

2012-01-10T08:15:00.009-04:00

Tonight Harmony nights start up again. Harmony Nights (or Les Mardis de Grand Case) are 14 tuesday nights of food, music and arts and crafts in the village of Grand Case.
It was started by the restauranteurs of Grand Case to offer entertainement during the high season and it has lasted 10 years. Marigot waterfront and Marigot Marina have tried this on wenesday and thursday but it wasn't as succesful. Grand Case knows how to throw a party.

There's a parade for the opening and the close each year. Last year i participated in the Flash mob for the opening, I felt i was part of something epic! I miss the exitement and build up to it. This year i'll be a mere onlooker

Here are some pics from last year's opening. I had a blast!

Unadultered joy people!!!!

Foodie Mondays= Spring Rolls

2012-01-09T05:53:00.002-04:00

So I'm supposed to stay away from fatty/greasy foods and i've been very good about staying away from the gazillion Chinese restaurants on the island. However i do miss wontons and egg rolls.

While shopping at Grand Marche I came across egg roll wrappers (Is there anything they don't carry?!?!?) and decided to make my own

I didn't measure anything so bare with me

I spent way to much time julienne-ing carrots, celery and peppers. I also chopped cabbage, onion and broccoli that i sauteed in a little butter

I also sauteed some Shrimp seasoned with garlic and soy sauce - somehow i don't have a pic of the shrimp.

Then it was time to assemble

The wrappers where thicker than i expected, i was concerned they wouldn't fry right, that the inner part of the wrapper wouldn't cook.

But they turned out super well

They were more like spring rolls than shrimp rolls. Next time I'll add more shrimp.

SXM Photo of the Week

2012-01-06T06:28:00.008-04:00

Today's Photo is of Petit Plage in Grand Case seen from the GCBC (Grand Case Beach Club).

I hadn't been to Petit Plage in forever! I remember the last time was more than 10 years ago.

Funy how are a 37sq mile island there is just some places i don't get to anymore.

Got to work on that.

Foodie Monday's= Birthday Dinner at Sol e Luna!

2012-01-02T05:03:00.001-04:00

Happy New year everyone!!!! Is there still anyone one still out there reading? I hope you stuck with me through my computer woes.

Well here we are again at another Foodie Monday! The first for 2012! As i look over all the Foodie Monday posts here for 2011 and my Bon Appetit Album on Facebook, I realize that not only do i cook a lot, I also eat out A LOT! I just love food! A good thing i also love hiking or I'd be in a lot of trouble!

Last year's Birthday dinner was at La Cigale, this year I opted for fine dinning again but this time Italian! Ienjoyed dinner with my mom at Sol e Luna. I'd tried dinning there once already but without a reservation that was impossible. Make a reservation you won't regret it!

Sol e Luna is off the beaten path but by no means a hidden treasure. Reservations are a must, the restaurant was bustling all night!

We were promptly seated and our drink orders were taken. Along with the usual bread basket we received a potato and creme fraiche soup, served 'Iron Chef' style in a little glass with a straw! For this food network junkie this was just over the top awesome!

I used flash this time! (last year i didn't). The bread was so fresh, we had to remind ourselves several times not to fill up on bread as a 3 course meal was to follow.

I ordered a cocktail with dinner, the wine list was pretty extensive ,but the waitress had me at "champagne Mojito" I'd had a mojito at lunch so this turned out to be a very Mojito Birthday.

We ordered from the specials, they sounded sooo good. Although the menu was pretty great! Decisions.... decisions......

As Appetizer I had the Foie Gras it was served with a glass of sweet white wine. You can't see the slices of peach at the bottom. After the first bite i wanted to kiss the chef!!!! This was the best Foie Gras, delicate..... there are no words to describe this, i was in heaven. The only other place I've had Foie Gras this good was at C le Restaurant at the Radisson

My mom had the Mussels, the sauce was delicious she said. Now by this time we are reminding each other that we haven't gotten to the Main course yet. We are starting to 'fill up'. But it's all so gooooood!

We both had the lobster special. The dish was delicious, but i did find the tails tinny (under a certain size they should be throw back into the ocean to mature so i was a bit put off by this). And mine tasted frozen. I've eaten many a lobster (and cooked a couple) in my time and there is a distinct texture difference between fresh (live) lobster and those that were frozen prior to cooking.

I was Still delicious and I didn't finish all my veggies. Right about now I'm thinking that having a rather large and tasty birthday lunch just a few hours prior probably wasn't a good idea.

And then there was Dessert! I hopped my mom would share the dessert sampler platter for two with me, but she didn't :-(

So I opted for the Banane Flambe. In lieu of candles why not fire!?!?

And my mom opted for the Creme brule hopping it would be served in a little ramekin no such luck it was rather large!

We were offered Coffee and liquor as a 'digestif' but declined.

In the end i was stuffed and happy! It was a great dinner.

Happy New Year! Resolutions time

2012-01-01T00:05:00.002-04:00

Happy New Year's Everyone!!!!! New year, new beginnings, new resolutions time!

I'm so looking forward to what this new year will bring and I'm so happy to shed the medical un-certainty of the last few months.

From my 2011 Resolutions post:
"And here we are in 2011, a brand spanking new year full of opportunities...... and a new challenge for myself. This year i vow to learn how to swim at long last!"

Despite my best efforts i did not learn to swim this year. After not getting back to me for months (literally months no exaggeration!) I did get in touch with an instructor and had one class but never went back as he mostly concentrated on snorkeling! The class just 'wasn't working for me'!

So here I am again with the same resolution a second year in a row. Wish me luck!!

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year 2012!

2011-12-24T19:38:00.006-04:00

I got my laptop fixed then it broke again. The first time was the hard drive, i had to wait for them to order a 500GB replacement and copy the over 300GB of information from the old drive to the new. I have it a couple of days then down it goes again! This time all the hardware is fine but all by info is gone! even windows is gone! An electrical problem wiped the new hard drive clean. So back it goes to the computer shop where they have problems transferring all the data from the old drive. At this point I'm at the brink of a breakdown!

I now have it back (finally!!!) I have stopped my procrastination and back up my info to two separate locations. I'm now busy Reinstalling all my programs as well as enjoying family time. I'll be back to posting regularly in the new year!

In the interim here are a few of my Digital holiday cards:

For GigiPhotoSxm, my Photography venture to be officially launched in 2012

For my Hiking group SXM Trails. I can't wait to get back to hiking in 2012

And my personal card. Blue skys and blue waters for Christmas, why are you shoveling snow?

Ooooh and my tropical Christmas 'tree'
Happy Holidays!!! Have a blessed Christmas and a safe New Years! Thank you for reading in 2011, tune in for m0re adventures in 2012!

My computer died

2011-11-18T19:57:00.002-04:00

So my laptop up and died, well the hard drive did. With all my info and almost 500gigs of pictures ( I know they should be backed up on a separate drive but my 1 TB drive is full and i never got around to getting another one.

Well it's at Keijzer, and they are hopeful all the info can be retrieved.

Here's crossing my fingers!!

First my 18-55mm lens dies now my laptop.....hmmm is the universe trying to tell me something?

Until it's fixed blogging will be at a minimal.
Be back soon.... I hope

SXM Trails fundraising Walk-a-ton November 13th 2011

2011-11-03T19:09:00.001-04:00

My hiking club is having a fundraising walk-a-ton. It's a Unity walk with a bit of a hike at the end. The unity part is in honor of St Martin's day and the fact that we hike on both sides of the island. We start on the Dutch side and end on the French side. The theme is 'United for our environment'. Funds raised will go to our project of marking the trail heads clearly as well as the trails so that everyone can enjoy them unguided.

Here's the full press release and information on where to get tickets:

Cripple Gate:--- St. Martin Trails hiking club will be hosting its First Annual Unity Walk-a-ton on November 13th 2011 under the theme United for our Environment.

The Club hikes trails on both sides of the island every Sunday morning and feels that there is a need on both sides to maintain the trails and protect the environment. Thus the idea for a unity Walk-a-ton was born.

The Walk-a-ton will start at the Entrance of the Festival Village in Philipsburg and end at the parking lot next to Home and Tools in Bellevue, with a twist at the end. Just across from the Entrance of Port the Plaissance the walk goes off road! There will be a small hike at the end of this walk where participants can discover one of the trails of the island.

Proceeds from this walk will go to maintaining and the marking of the trails for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike. 'We have a wealth of beauty and nature left on this island, just waiting to be explored. Very often we encounter people who would like to discover the trails but not necessarily early on a Sunday morning' says Gisele Jermin Public relations Officer for the club.

Tickets are $10/10Euros and include a t-shirt and breakfast. Tickets can be purchased from members of St. Martin Trails and from the following businesses: Blue Point Gas Station, General Tire Center, Change Caraibes and Grillades Antillaise on the waterfront for the French Side as well as Tri-Sports and Napa Auto parts (Cole Bay and Illidge Road locations) on the Dutch Side. Walkers will have the opportunity to win prizes 'raffle style' at the end of the walk.

For more information and tickets call 0690 67 83 or email sxmtrails971@gmail.com .

For weekly hiking schedule visit www.stmartintrails.com and SXM Trails on Facebook.

Do come out discover a new trail and support a worthy cause.

Foody Mondays= Eating out at Enoch's

2011-10-24T07:58:00.002-04:00

Is eating 3 times in one week at the same time excessive? Not when the food is excellent and by doctor's orders I'm not to over-exert myself. SO while I heal I'll just take you guys along with me as i eat out.

I'm not driving yet, so my mom get's to chauffeur me to my various appointments and we always seem to be in Marigot around meal time.

So this week it was breakfast and two lunches at Enoch's, 3 separate visits/days. Are we regulars now? Ever since when i worked in Marigot (which seems like ages ago) it has been a favorite of mine. I only end up trying the other local restaurants on the Marigot market when Enoch's is closed, or closing.

So we had Johnny cakes and bush tea for breakfast, yumm! My johnny cake had shredded chicken, mom's the saltfish as fillings
My mom (the carnivore?) had Steak and Oxtails

Me (the seafood lover) I had the Stewed conchs and Fried red snapper. I just love seafood!!!

Every one of those meals were delicious!

Out and About

2011-10-22T04:51:00.002-04:00

Posted on my Life After Pancreatic Cancer Blog.

I've been in a serious funk since my latest surgery. a funk i didn't experience with the other two surgeries.

The first Operation (2005) I was ill for a long time and when finally the tumor was discovered it was 'all hands on deck' time. I was relieved we'd finally located the problem and it was 'go' time! Let's get it out as quick as possible and explore treatments. I'm a 'do-er' put me in any situation, i find a solution and get working on it. Same thing with this tumor/cancer. Once I was told what it was, it was research mode, decisions and execution. I wasn't scared, i had a plan and it was being executed with my doctors. I was comfortable with the team and felt heard as far as treatment was concerned. A Whipple was done within a month of finding the tumor. Along with my team of oncologist it was decided to forgo Chemo therapy and radiation.

Second surgery (2010) Just a short year ago. For one year i was experiencing pain, something was wrong only the doctors and technology here could not located it. My surgeon from the 2005 surgery wanted to go back in and remove the rest of my Pancreas, bare in mind all test done showed the little that was left of my pancreas was healthy. I decided to go to the best for a second opinion. Within a matter of days the problem was located and surgery was scheduled and i'd be able to keep my battered and bruised yet healthy pancreas.

Surgery number three, No warning! one instant I'm good albeit in a bit of pain (that i thought was gas) the next I'm being rushed to the hospital by ambulance, where a multitude of tests were performed yet it took them a week to locate the cause of my excruciating pain. It took 3 days to determine that my stomach was no longer emptying into my intestines. I was only being medicated for the pain. My stomach was at the point of rupturing. And that scared me! They installed a gastric tube and started to pump the excess fluid built up in my stomach. It took another 4 days for them to determine the cause and location of the blockage. Once it was found things moved quickly and surgery was performed.

With the discovery of the tumor i came face to face with my mortality and came to terms with it. With the first two surgeries i was sick for a period and it took time to determine the problem and fix it. There was no urgency, it was caught in time, I got to move forward. This time around however, it was sudden, it was drastic, and i could have died! Right there and then! There was no warning, nothing i (the 'do-er') could do.

My next meal could literally be my last if the same thing happens again and i don't get the medical attention i need in time. It was so random and the lack of warning is what has me in this funk I'm in. Every ache and pain is analyzed to adnauseum. I hold my breath and hope and pray that the stenosis doesn't collapse again.

I know that time will lessen my anxiety, but the funk i never anticipated. I didn't feel up to blogging, or chatting on the phone, or gardening, or taking pictures of beautiful things (my passion) or even creating delicious meals! Or even reading a good book! Nothing sounded good to me, nothing moved me. I wasn't myself for a while.

Today i went out to lunch with my mom, I saw some people who were genuinely happy to see me well and out and about. Then i ran into the ambulance attendant who rode with me in the back of the ambulance to the hospital. I was the first time we'd run into each other since that horrible night. He was glad to see me well and I was just glad to be seen! And realized how far I'd come. Today (22nd) will mark 1 month since my last surgery and i can't live in fear anymore. It's not me, I'm neither fearful or negative.
I'll just have to come to terms that there is nothing i can 'do' to prevent it from happening again and move forward.

SXM Photo of the Week

2011-10-21T06:04:00.002-04:00

I was planning on giving one more clue to this before I gave the answer, then life happened in a big way so here's the answer:
These pictures were taken from the old La Belle Creole property, that is slated for development by new owners.
I sadly never visited the property before it closed. I've been told it was gorgeous and "the" flagship resort of the frenchside
---------
Since no one guessed it last week the same guess where is back.

I'll give a hint:

This is located on the French side well this you already knew from the spelling of St Martin

that building in the center is a huge clue!!

l'm standing with my back to the original quarantine/entrance point to the French side way back when leprosy was 'all the rage' (a little history added in there)

Guess where?

Who can name this place in St Martin?

Have fun!! i'm off to make johnny cakes and wait for the rain TS Maria is supposed to dump on us, up to 6inches according to the weatherman

Foodie Mondays= Lunch at Pineaple Pete's

2011-10-17T11:00:00.001-04:00

When I worked in Cole bay i'd eat at Pineapple Pete's at minimum once a week. Now that I'm all the way in Oyster Pond and with the insane traffic situation these days it's a rarity. I was headed to the airport last Monday with my mom as I'm not driving yet and we decided to have lunch there.

There's some new stuff at the Pineaple, there is Petes'zza

And a Souvenir shop right next to the ESPN Cafe

When we were through with lunch the Jeep wouldn't start, i took this pictures with my phone while waiting to be rescued sitting right in front of the store, It was like a 1000 degrees out so i didn't go out front to take a picture of the store front.

Even when not stopping i always check out the Specials board - a hard habit to break. Monday's special where Seafood Scampi and steak. I love their scampi but they made it with Penne this time and I'm not a fan of penne so i went with the steak.

Mom had the pasta, a huge bowl of pasta! When she was done there was half of it left.

I'm not a fan of over saucing food, and i was surprised to get my steak smothered in this Parmesan sauce. It tasted good but I'd much rather the sauce on the side. I would have asked for the sauce on the side but don't remember the waiter mentioning any sauce.

The car trouble delayed us about an hour but soon we were on our way to the airport to buy tickets to.......

Foodie Mondays= Captain Oliver's Restaurant

2011-10-03T08:21:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone, I'll be doing an update in a seperate post, but for now Foodie Mondays are back!!!!!!

As i recuperate I'll be on leave from work for a while so I thought i'd post about the Marina.

I usualy just take my lunch to work or grab a quick bite at the Dinghy Dock, but as they are closed for lunch in September we (my collegues) and I were forced to either leave the Marina or take a long lunch at Captain Oliver's. I persuaded the Manager and Asst Manager to have lunch at Captain Oliver's with me this particular day. How can one get in trouble for taking a long lunch when the boss' are on said same long lunch? There is a method to the madness

I hadn't eaten there in a while although i'm on the docks every day. They've changed the chairs since my last meal there. Although it's been a year since his passing i Still expect to see The Captain having lunch with Maggie. The Docks aren't the same without him.

The specials that day were Chicken salad

and Seafood a la parilla (yumm!!) I had the grilled seafood special. The seafood was fresh and perfectly cook and delicious!!

At this point in the meal the manager desapears in search of a capacino. I opt to have desert and the asst Manager decides to follow suit and searches for the 'less' caloric option. Personaly i think desert should ALWAYS be selected based on decadence.... but that's just me. She opted for this chocolate mouse type cake thingy.

I however knew what i'd have for desert before we even got to the restaurant. Profiteroles!!!

Can you say decadence!? I enjoyed every whip-creamed-chocalot-pastry-ice cream spoon full

yummm!

On the mend

2011-09-23T11:25:00.000-04:00

After being hospitalized for 7 days with still no answer as to what was ailing me, my doctors finally ordered the correct test, the blockage found and the next day I was on an operatin table, being cut open once again. That's 3 in the past 6 years.

I just saw my surgeon and it's good news all around. It wasn't a tumor or cancer -Thank God- but rather some scar tissue that blocking the entrance to my intestines from my stomach. The surgery turned out to be a bit less invasive than what everyone expected.
I'm in a considerable amount of pain from the incision (and yet another scar) but as soon as I'm aloud to eat and my digestion's back on track they'll let me outta here.

Thank you all for all the well wishes and prayers both near and far.

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from UTS

Empty medicine bottles

2011-09-19T15:51:00.000-04:00

Empty medical bottles, it's 3:30pm one ran out at two.

The business of getting well isn't an easy one.

After 4 days I finally see the specialist. 4 days!! A word to the wise don't get sick anywhere close to the weekend
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from UTS

It's not easy being green

2011-09-19T04:36:00.000-04:00

It's 4 in the morning as I lay wide awake in what I wish was a hotel room at some exotic location, instead I'm in a hospital room. I've been here since thursday, I went to my GP with pain and vomitting when there was nothing he could do to help with the pain he called an ambullance. As it often is with small communities my cousin was one of the attendants and rode with me in the back and allowed my mom to ride along.
It wasn't until late saturday that it was determined what was causing the pain (dialated stomach). Still need to figure out why that happened.

Now my stomach is being pumped of excess fluid build up, for two days I couldn't see straight or think. The pain has subsided considerably but not gone entirely. I just called for more pain meds. The pain woke me up.

Oh the stories I could tell about patient care... It's hard work getting the care you need and not one an ill person should have to undertake. Anyhow it took some work but I'm finally getting the care I need.

I'm posting this on both blogs. The adventuresInGigi readers: I hadn't pre-published anything so there won't be any new postings until I'm out of here.

More updates as this develops
Gigi
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from UTS

Foodie Monday's= Grilling

2011-09-12T12:00:00.001-04:00

Who says summer says grilling right? I got a bag of charcoal with lighter fluid already included and hence needed (more of a want than a need really) to use it. So I took out some shrimp and steak from the freezer. The only steak I had on hand was a cut of Fillet Mignon (sooooooooooooo NOT the cut of steak to be grilling on skewers by the way... you live an learn)

I got my skewers ready

lit the grill
and soon we were in business, in the foil are corn and garlic butter

oh and I threw on one of the pieces of tuna from my fishing trip
and soon....
....it was all done

And it was time to chow down. While i grilled i boiled a couple plantains . The corn was still on the grill so it didn't make it to the plate.

I learned the hard way that Fillet Mignon isn't the cut to skewer. I really felt like it's tenderness was wasted cubed up like this. I'll know better for next time.

As for my grill, I didn't think I'd miss the option of having a lid when i bought this one, but i did miss having the lid.

And the charcoal: It might be just me, but i thought that they didn't give off as much heat as the regular ones (the corn was frozen and took forever) and they burned out quicker.

Hurricane Luis 09/5/1995

2011-09-05T11:04:00.008-04:00

Google image (Luis, Iris, Marilyn)

September 5th will forever spark memories of the most devastating hurricane to hit the island in modern times. September 5th 1995 Hurricane Luis basically 'sat' on the island and destroyed everything, i don't think anyone was spared. My mom brother and I left on the 3rd for Guadeloupe for back to school. There was 'some' talk on the airport about some 'weather' coming. But nothing in the media, no warnings, nothing.....

When we landed in Guadeloupe, the island was shut down, in preparation for the upcoming storm. You see they'd been hit by a big one in 1989 (Hugo), not a store or supermarket was open for us to get food stuff. In St Martin it was ages since we'd gotten a direct hit from a bad storm. My parents generation hadn't experienced a bad storm. There was this sense that it will miss us like all the others... Guadeloupe was different, it was more of a let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst now sense of urgency. Guadeloupe was spared. My island nation of St Maarten/St Martin wasn't....

We sat helplessly in Guadeloupe and listened to Anguilla radio stations update on the situation in St Martin, until the Anguilla station went off the air itself. We listed to reports of devistation, of the impossible to image, off cinder blocks and zink flying, We watched in terror as Marilyn approached not a strong storm but carried a lot of water. Can St Martin take anymore? Will there be anything left?

We worried about family and friends, and thanked God we 3 were together.

When we were finally able to get through to St Martin and when mom was finally able to return on a commercial flight, we realized just how bad it was and how long the road to recovery would be.

My mom's work place (Club Orient) simply no longer existed, there was nothing there! Our Roof was gone all the contents of our house were destroyed. Anything we owned pre-1995 no longer existed. No photos survived, or diplomas, or academic prizes. It's true that in these circumstances you don't really care about the material stuff, it's the memories.... The house was inhabitable for months.

Nothing that was told to me could prepare me for what i saw in December 1995 when i came home for Christmas break. All though much (not all) was cleaned up what i noticed was what was missing, what simply wasn't anymore.. structures that simply no longer stood where they used to, others badly damaged, what struck me the most was the lack of vegetation. I was still one of the lucky ones, I didn't experience the storm first hand or the days, weeks, months after of lining up for supplies of cleaning up, or rustic living.

16 years later the scares still remain... Mullet bay, the partially sunken vessels in the Simpson bay lagoon. And St Martiners no longer take oncoming storms for granted, not those of my generation or the one before me. The ones born after 1995 have no idea.

Here are some Pictures post storm
Hurricane Luis aftermath

and some videos i found online

Foodie Mondays= Entertaining

2011-09-05T10:00:00.005-04:00

So I had my first ever diner party.... I cooked up a storm and invited 6 friends over

I'd initially planed a tapas menu and it got way outta hand as i continued to add food items to the menu.
The theme was Spanish as I'd planed to show a slideshow of my impromptu trip to Spain last year.

Being the planner that i am, i agonized for days over the menu finally i settled on:
Sangria (it was delish!)
Olive tapenade dip and Tomato and Basil Brushetta on french bread
Cheese, sausage onion and olive skewers
Chicken wings served with blue cheese and parsley dips
Seafood Paela
Garlic Mushrooms
Crabcakes
Saltfish Accras
Mango, strawberry and kiwi tart

All homemade by me!!

See what i mean when i said the menu go outta hand???? At one point i was so busy cooking i forgot to take pictures of the finished products.

I downloaded some spanish music, made a couple more slide shows of my trip to Trinidad for Carnival, good food and good company and the entertainment part of the evening was set.

I'm particularly proud of the sangria as it was my first time making it.
1 bottle red wine
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice.
Mix together and add orange and lemon slices as garnish.
I doubled the recipe! One guest asked for alcohol to be added all the others loved it as is and we finished it all.

Here are the few pictures i did take before my guest arrived

Olive tapenade dip (olives, capers, garlic)

I'd bought mushrooms earlier in the week and cut them in quarters and stored them in the freezer. they'd reduced considerably in the freezer (unexpectedly!!) so i made a quick trip to the supermarket to get some more. I added garlic and butter to them and popped them in the oven. These were a surprise hit. I was looking forward to the left overs from this dish but my friends really love mushrooms! Who knew?

When i took them out of the oven I added parsley to them

I roasted the mushrooms while i baked the chicken wings. I'd bought them the day before, defrosted, cleaned, cut in half and marinaded them.
Maranade: Badia complete green seasoning
Soy sauce (just a dash)
Ketjap Manis
Ginger, Garlic, Chives
I let them marinade over night and baked them in the marined. They came out delish! Another hit with my guest and a last minute addition to the menu (added 2 days prior to party, the menu I'd been working on for weeks!!) as I had a real fear of not having enough food at my party!

To go along with the chicken i made a blue cheese dip (blue cheese, garlic, cream- quick zip in my magic bullet) and a parsley dip (parsley, garlic, olive oil - i can't get enough of this stuff in eggs, on pizza... everywhere)

At some point during the dinner as everyone was asking 'what's in this?' did i realize how garlic heavy my menu was. I can't help it i love the stuff! Next time i would reconsider this.

I made mini Crabcakes, i didn't make a tartar sauce instead i made a creole sauce
The Paela is the only thing not made from scratch. I used a Goya boxed Paela mix. Rice and seasonings come in a packet and seafood in a can. I added more rice and fresh shrimp to it.
I also made a fruit tart, mangoes were still in season and i had one that was perfect for this recipe. I followed the same recipe as the tarte aux fraise but used different fruits.
Since i only have a 4 seat dinner table i set it up buffet style. I decided we'd eat in the livingroom where the slide show would be shown and where the music was playing. This is before laying out the food.

I picked some flamboyants blooms from outside

All in all it was a great diner party if i do say so myself. Guest were greeted with sangria as a welcome cocktail. And since I'd made so much (!!!) we just drank that and some fruit punch for the non drinkers during dinner.

Some came late, others very late (sigh) . But all in all it was an evening enjoyed by all with lots of laughter.

Needless to say i had tons of left overs. I didn't have to cook for 2 days!

I was exhausted after it was all said and done. There are a few things I'd do differently (not make so much food, not stress out for days about everything being perfect - I'm anal like that)

What i wouldn't change: The relaxed atmosphere of it, I sat back relaxed and enjoyed the evening with my friends. The buffet style was perfect as people went back for more as they desired.

Ziplining at Loterie Farm again

2011-08-31T14:04:00.000-04:00

One year ago yesterday hurricane Earl passed through here and destroyed one of my favorite places in St Martin: Loterie Farm

Well they are back up and running again and I've been back Ziplinning again, this time one of the kids from my Church leaving to further his studies in France. Ryan (on the right) will be an engineer!

This is Otis! He imposed a stiff penalty of €20 for every rule we broke.

We did the Xtreem course my favorite of the two. I went first! and kept the pace quick! I only got a few pictures before my battery died.

These are father and son new yorkers that did the course along with us.

Otis did quite a good job pointing out great views on particular lines, but actually getting a pic while i zipped by was impossible. Instead you will see views from the platforms.

With the recent rains, it's so nice and lush and the broke the passes through the property is flowing.
whoooooohoooooo fun!!!
Loterie farm closes for one month and reopens in October. I think I'll aim for every other month on the ziplines ;-)

Foodie Mondays= Stuffed mushrooms

2011-08-29T03:36:00.002-04:00

Since I bought the slipper lobster, I figure I should do something with it, right? I put it in the freezer Tuesday night and went to rehearsals. Wednesday evening i had a game plan.

Now I'd researched the thing and not only is it edible but it's lobster and supposed to taste just like lobster.

It doesn't look like anything I'm used to so there was a degree of psyching myself up. I'd decided to steam it. That's as far as I'd gotten in the master plan... How I'll actually eat it, I'll cross that bridge when i get there....

My pressure cooker came with a steamer basket, so I put a 3rd of a bottle of white wine ( that's what remained in an open bottle in the fridge), parsley, onions, garlic

In the lobster went and I put the put the lid on and left the steam release valve on open
20mns later it was done (it was probably done in 10 but i didn't want to go through the hastily of waiting for the lock to release on the cooker if it wasn't quite steamed yet) . Cracking it open was weird as the shell was fuzzy/fury. The smell and taste was lobster-y. Not exactly like it's cousin the spiny lobster, but definitely in the family and good.

Ok... so now what??? It doesn't have as much meat as a regular lobster and this one was small so i decided to make make a stuffing with it. But what do i stuff? Chicken? Fish? Mushrooms!!!
That's the lobster meat second bowl from the right, not much so i decided on a shrimp and lobster stuffing.

I used 3/4 cups plain bread crumbs i then seasoned with dry green seasoning, chilli flakes, black pepper and salt.

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Chive stalk, chopped

1/2 tbsp Parsley, chopped

1 Season pepper, chopped

a dozen shrimp (med sized), cubed

American cheese, Guyere cheese and Parmesan

butter

I cooked the shrimp in a little butter, when they were done i added the lobster and 1 1/2 tbsp more butter (to melt it) and poured it all into the crumb, cheese, chive, parsley garlic mixture

Mixed it all together
And the stuffing is ready to be stuffed, I popped the stems off the mushrooms, put some butter in a no stick dish

And stuff the caps

Beautiful. And the stuffing smells good enough to eat as is.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes at 250

They started to brown so I took them out a little early
I cut one open not quite done yet so i popped them back in with the oven turned down on lowThese were delicious!

SXM Photo of the Week

2011-08-26T07:21:00.002-04:00

East facing beaches have been plagued with Algae for the past couple months. Beaches like Dawn beach and Orient beach get cleaned regularly by the businesses in the area. This one - Coralita Beach - is not so lucky.

The adventure continues....

2011-08-23T15:40:00.006-04:00

I love Crab, mangrove crab..........
Sea Crab.....
So it was my love for crab that led me to the fisherman's boat this afternoon. They were just back from long hours of fishing and about to head out to the local restaurants with fresh seafood to delight diners with this evening.

I bought Sea crab from them just once and haven't been as lucky since.... They don't catch many, just a few that wander into their lobster traps, they don't really have a market for them so the instances are very rare when they do have.

So I left my desk and moseyed on over to the boat....

fingers crossed.... they didn't have any *huge sad face* but the Fisherman asked if i wanted to try a 'cigale'

'what's that?' I asked

He showed it to me, told me it taste like lobster (pretty much in the same way people tell you it taste like chicken)

Had no idea what it was, how it's cooked, what it would taste like, or even if it was comestible! I had visions of my body being found and my family wondering what killed me (you'd be surprised how often this comes up, too much Law and Order, CSI etc...).

He said it's just like Lobster and I said 'OK' (didn't take much convincing did it?)

And off I went with my 'Cigale de mer', back to my office. My first Google search was to find out what it was and if it was indeed comestible, the second to find recipes, the third was to find the English name for it (slipper lobster)

According to Wikipedia :
Slipper lobsters are a family of decapod crustaceans found in all warm oceans and seas. Despite their name, they are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to spiny lobsters and furry lobsters. Slipper lobsters are instantly recognisable by their enlarged antennae, which project forward from the head as wide plates. All the species are edible, and some, such as the Moreton Bay bug and the "Balmain bug" (Ibacus peronii) are of commercial importance.

So I went looking for crab and came away with a Slipper Lobster and a Spiny Lobster... coming soon to a Foodie Monday's near you ;-)

Google image

The fishermen return with their catch to the Oyster Pond Marina:
Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday around 3pm.
They have a variety of fresh fish and lobster.
If you do buy fish from them you'd have to clean/scale it yourself
I buy my fresh fish pre-cleaned on the market in Marigot. I wake up early and drive the distance for the convenience.

Foodie Mondays = Shrimp Roti

2011-08-22T09:34:00.004-04:00

Foodie Monday is a little late today, yesterday during the storm I chose to procrastinate. I watched Season 1 of Flashpoint and vegged on the couch all day.

I have an obsession with Roti, ever since the first time this food touched my lips at the tender age of 10 i've been hooked. The first time my mom took us kids to Trinidad it was for a sad occasion it was for my grand father's funeral. My brother and I ate like there was no tomorrow. Everything was new and delicious and I ate until i threw up. My mom was so embarrassed 'don't you feed those kids in St Martin?'. I was in heaven.

Every time my mom goes to Trinidad I ask that she bring me back Roti skins. Which is the wrapper, that is what makes and authentic Roti. When I see recipes where people say to use soft tortillas or corn wraps i just tune out. If it not Dahl Puri it's not authentic and just defeats the purpose. Anyone can make a curry sauce, the key is in the wrapper.

During the trip to Trinidad this year for carnival you know I had to have my fix of Roti, buss up shot, Calaloo all 'southy' foods.... I put in my order early for my Roti skins to take back with me so I can recreate my favorite meal at home. I keep them in the freezer and just thaw one by one as needed.

I made my curry sauce. I love chicken Roti with potatoes but I was hungry and thus in a hurry so shrimp it was.
I used 1/2lb of Schrimp
Chopped: onions (small white onion) , chives (2 stalks), parsley (1tbsp), tomatoes (1 med.), seasoned pepper (1), celery (1/2 stalk)
Seasonings: Caribbean green seasoning (1tbsp) , Soy sauce (splash), Curry (1tbsp), Geera (1tsp)

In 1 tbsp butter, I sautee the veggies then add the shrimp and seasonings and a bit of water and let simmer until the shrimp are cooked. I let stand so the flavors combine and to let the sauce thicken up a bit. It would have thickened more with potatoes but I was hungry thus in a hurry ;-)

Then it was time to Assemble and eat. I put some sauce on the side for dipping as the wrapper adsorbs a lot of the sauce
I was eating within 15mns of taking the Shrimp out of the freezer!

SXM Photo of the week

2011-08-19T07:22:00.000-04:00

I've been MIA lately, just taking a little stay-cation. I'll be back to posting regularly shortly.

Here's another Guess where?

Who can tell me where this sign is located in St Martin/St Maarten.

(If you are my friend on Facebook you can't answer!)

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device available from UTS

Foodie Monday's = Crockpot Corn on the cob

2011-08-15T06:22:00.001-04:00

I hadn't used my Crockpot in a while and I got my hands on some fresh corn and suddenly an idea was born: crockpot corn on the cob.

I got some use out of another kitchen gadget with this recipe as well, i made the garlic butter with my magic bullet.
I used a ton of garlic (just love the stuff). The tiny green one was one i grew myself!
Chucking the corn i realized just how small the cobs were, a little disappointed by this.
Just some more cleaning up to do and we are almost ready to start

I made the garlic butter (ingredients: garlic, parsley, butter)
So i decided to 'grill' them in the crockpot (no water) as opposed to the boiling method
I covered them with the garlic butter wrapped in foil

And let them cook over night, The next day I had corn on the cob for my packed lunch

Foodie Mondays= Garlic Oven Roasted mushrooms

2011-08-08T09:12:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I was in Anguilla 'partying hard' so there was no Foodie Monday. I could have scheduled a post but i was (and still am) in vacation mode so I plain forgot.

Today however i'll share my new 'go-to' veggie side. I love vegetables and love fresh mushrooms, so this recipe i found somewhere on the net is just up my alley. I plan on serving it at my next get together.

It's so simple and combines some of my favorite things: mushrooms, Butter, Garlic and parsley

Either use smaller mushrooms or quarter larger ones.

Combine ingredients and roast in oven for about 20 minutes
They reduced so much i should have made more!
Transfer everything, juices and all to a serving dish
Add more parsley
And serve
I'd made chicken locrey that day
Simply delicious

Unplanned Adventure, the best kind

2011-08-07T08:40:00.003-04:00

I had the opportunity, a couple weekends ago, to go on an impromptu trip to St Kitts for the day. We needed to send a technician to do an emergency repair on one of the yachts and I signed up to go along. When i told my mom here response was 'but you are not a technician' then she rolled her eyes and said 'my adventurous daughter'

So I got up early on what was supposed to be my day off and headed to the Grand Case Airport. As we headed out on the tarmac, led by the pilot, I started to think about just what size plane i'd be taking off in....

Please be the white one on the right .... was my silent hope
As it turned out it wasn't, this here 'bird' is hardly bigger than my jeep, this should be interesting.....That's our Pilot Christophe
I kept looking at the larger planes and started getting nervous... Adventure adventure adventure became my mantra. I sent my mom a message asking for prayers and telling her I loved her (for possibly the last time)
As you can see in the picture above weather was a concern, it had rained all night and most of the morning, only rain would stop our little expedition. As soon as the rain held up we took off.
This is Pat, the technician and co-pilot on this leg of the trip, i'd be the co-pilot coming back home.

Orient Beach

Les Salines d'Orient Bay

Club Orient from above

French Quarter

Oyster Pond - Captain Oliver's Marina and Oyster Bay Resort

Dawn Beach and Westin Hotel

Dawn Beach Residential Area

Point Blanche

The Great Salt Pond and Philipsburg Area

Instruments... Is that an out of order sign??? Hmmmm not the time to be thinking of this....

Then we started to turn back, I'd been busy taking photos of SXM and wasn't looking at the sky
That huge cloud curtain in the picture above was the problem, in such a small craft line of sight with land of sea is to be maintained at all times. Flying through that would mean a loss of visibility.

Tintammare

Sanitary dump on the french side

Grand Case

Runway

Then we were back on the tarmac, we waited out the weather but it never cleared... St Kitts will not be today

SXM photo of the week

2011-08-05T05:17:00.000-04:00

Today's Photo wasn't taken in St Martin but actually just off the coast of Anguilla.

SXM photo of the week

2011-07-29T06:22:00.000-04:00

From Sunday's hike. Cacti can truly grow anywhere. From stone they emerge!

Foodie Monday's: An Ode to my crockpot

2011-07-25T10:41:00.000-04:00

Back in February I bought the most delicious organic produce at the Agricultural fair. I bought 2 kilos of tomatoes, more than I could possible consume before they start going bad, so I blended half the tomatoes i bought with some garlic and parsley and froze them for use at a later time.

That time has finally come...... I felt like making my own pasta sauce. Spaghetti and meat balls it would be with the sauce slowcooked over night while I slept. A thing of beauty really, how much easier can it get. I sleep, it cooks!

I placed the tomatoe mixture in the crockpot, covered it and turned it on.

While that melted I pan fried my home made meat balls. Ground beef, dry seasoning, onions and parsley.

I added:
cubed onions and green peppers to the sauce,
chopped chives and oregano.
I added the meat balls along with the drippings from the pan,
a little salt and pepper to taste
a squeeze of ketchup.

I covered, left on high cleaned the kitchen and went to bed. This is what it looked like the next day:

The next morning I had the most delicious pasta sauce! The color was not the deep red of the commercial sauces (do they use coloring??) but the taste was out of this world. I will never do commercial pasta sauce again.

The only problem: since i have an open floor plan, the kitchen doesn't have a door. The delightful smells made their way under the bedroom door, into the bedroom and kept me up all night! So much for the perfect plan right. The little sleep i did get was filled with dreams of eating Italian food in Italy!

Fishing trip

2011-07-23T09:53:00.002-04:00

I've been bugging my co-worker Pat for the better part of last year for us to go fishing. We finally pined down a date, i made arrangements with work to get a boat and invited a few friends along for the ride.

So on a thundering Bastille Day we set sail.... Here I am motoring the 46foot cat out of the marina, while the muscles of the operation hoists the sail.

Chart plotter, charting a course to St Barths

Pat reeling in the first catch of the day
Whoohoo!!!!In the fridge we go (are fish supposed to bleed??? really?)
We caught two fish that day, the second one i posted here

So here was the plan, take breakfast with us and catch our lunch... somehow no one was on board with this plan.... yeah they all humored me, but no one had the faith that I had. I also prayed for good weather, we all woke up to thunder and lightening and we had sunshine by noon. And calm waters..... that's just how I roll... In faith! So we cleaned and cooked up one when we moored at Tintamarre

We made a 'blaff' which is a stapple of island such as Dominica and St Lucia. As luck (or perfect organizing on my part) would have it we had 2 Dominicans and a St Lucian on bard. When it came time to cook I was asked how do you want to do this? My response: 'with 2 Dominicans, a St Lucian and a Martinican on board, you guys figure it out, we don't make that in St Martin' And I promptly left the galley lol!!!
I made two quiches by the time i got to the table this is all that was left.
hmmmmm fresh caught fish in there
After lunch we headed all got into the dinghy and headed to shore.
By this time the other catamarans had left and we had the beach almost to ourselves

All in all it was a good day, we shared the other fish and here's my take home. I've yet to cook them. I want to grill them....

SXM photo of the week

2011-07-22T06:29:00.000-04:00

Guess Where?

Grand Case Fete

2011-07-21T09:01:00.005-04:00

Looking for some entertainment with local flair? Today is the Grand Case fete, It's the village's cultural commemoration of Victor Schoelcher's Birthday. He was the author of the decree ending slavery in the french colonies.

Link to translated decree

Here is the program of activities

St Martin History/Culture= I Love My Ram (goat beauty contest!)

2011-07-20T06:19:00.001-04:00

The I love My RAM (goat) beauty contest is in it's 11th year. Suffice to say it's firmly planted in the island cultural calendar. It's held every year on the first Sunday in July in the Village of Colombier.

This was my first year attending. and it almost didn't go off as they were having trouble lining up sponsors, then the rain cats and dogs and billy goats the first Sunday in July. Organizers weren't deterred however and just postponed it to July 10th

By the time i got there, after my morning hike and a quick catnap, all competitors had already been on stage once and people where hanging out socializing and waiting for the winners to be announced.
Final passage before the judges
My coworker Melvin with 'Torchie' his 3 time champion Nubian Ram. With this 3rd win Torchie can no longer compete. So he was sold, he will live on through his offspring
MC from year 1 to present. This is pretty serious business. During the afternoon an announcement was made for a RAM and former competitor that passed on the day before. HE died of natural causes... not the butchers knife.

Our Honorable Prime Minister Sarah Wescott Williams. Before his passing her husband was a fervent participant/supporter of the contest. His prize winning Ram has passed on as well.

Hazards of such a contest.... clean up on isle 4!

I'm so pretty I could kiss myself!
Judges
Friendly competition
It was an interesting afternoon. I had the crab and rice for lunch... couldn't bring myself to eat the curry goat in the presence of goats.... just ain't right!

The winners:
BOER: FRANCIS JACOBS with the KID
2nd place FRANCIS with CHALK DUST,
3rd place GITO withCHUP CHUP

NUBIAN: MELVIN JACOBS with TORCHIE,
2nd place FRANCIS with BALLAK
3rd place RAMBO with JEFF (rambo is the owner and jeff the goat!!)

YOUNG GENERATION: MAKY with BRANCO
2nd place GITO with SABA
3rd place FREDERICK with PRESIDENTE

New this year most popular RAM (by fan vote) MARCI COOKE with........ I didn't get her goat's name.

Next year they are taking it 'International' opening the competition to the surrounding islands. I'll try and make the parade next year, should be fun.

Check out my Stewed conch post at Out Krazy Kitchen

2011-07-19T15:07:00.005-04:00

I made conch last week as well. They say it's an aphrodisiac and since i'm not currently dating maybe i should be eating so much conch.....

Check out my stewed conch recipe at Our Krazy Kitchen

I had steak kebabs today to counter all the seafood i've been having lately.

Foodie Mondays= Conch/Whelks and dumplings

2011-07-18T07:33:00.011-04:00

New kitchen gadget, new recipes!!!!! So I bought myself a pressure cooker and I have to admit i've always been afraid of these things. Pressure= risk of explosion. Explosion= not good. So i put it off as long as i could but to many of my favorite foods need to be pressure cooked: Conch, whelks, goat, oxtail....
So I bit the bullet and got one. The open/close mechanism is push button and it has a pressure indicator. A far cry from the one i saw my mom use growing up. And the only reason I felt confident enough to get one, confident i wouldn't accidentally blow myself up that is.

So of course now that i have a pressure cooker, i went out and bought food goat meat and Oxtail, but could not find conchs anywhere. Well i did find some freezer burned ones at the supermarket and as much as i wanted conchs there was no way i was going to buy that mess. I found a place in Cole Bay that sells fresh fish and frozen fish caught in our waters as well as lobster, conch and whelks!!! I felt like I found the Holy Grail! I can't remember the name of the place off my head (but i can give directions to anyone that's interested, they sell cleaned seafood vacuum sealed perfect for taking a taste of St Martin back home with you)

I still have red snapper in my freezer from my last trip to the Marigot fish market so I bought Conchs and Whelks.

Conch and Whelk in shell photos courtesy Google images

Given the similar textures I decided to make a Conch, Whelk and dumplings. Once defrosted I washed them with lime and continued cleaning them (gutting etc...)

Conch (i forgot to take a before photo - this is already pressurized)
Whelk

Here they are cleaned cut and ready to go into the pressure cooker
I added some fresh thyme, garlic and water and cooked for 30-45mns in the pressure cooker
and here is the result, cubed
While they cooked i made the dough for the dumplings
in a tbsp of butter i sautéed:
1 med onion, chopped
2 season peppers, chopped
hand full of thyme, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced (yes that many, trust me)
1 med tomato, cubed
2 sprigs of chives, chopped
some fresh celery leaves, chopped
parsley, chopped

sautéed until soft
then added the conch and whelk
added a Tbsp of Curry powder
a dash of Soy sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
half a hot pepper and let simmer, now you can stop here and have stewed conchs and whelks perfect served with brown rice. Doesn't it look delicious??? Right about now the kitchen smells divine...
then I added the dumplings and let simmer for 20mns more
First the dumplings expand, then tighten up after about 15-20mns of boiling.
The benefit of making this at home is that the ration of 'meat' to dumplings can be exactly what you wanted it to be. Here the ratio is about 3 to 1.

SXM photo of the week

2011-07-16T13:32:00.001-04:00

Nothing beats a private beach in my opinion. We had the Tintamare beach to ourselves after we were done fishing.

Gone fishing

2011-07-14T13:18:00.000-04:00

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It's summer in St Martin!

2011-07-13T09:05:00.002-04:00

Summer entertainment becomes more geared towards the locals and the youth who are now out of school.

Porto Cupecoy is hosting a free summer concert series. The first one last Wednesday was Cuban Jazz. Muy bueno!

Starting tonight the poets of the island will be showcased at the now annual Summer Speaks. Which will run for 3 weeks on a Wednesday evening.

Now tell me what's a girl to do? Why should I have to chose? What's with all these activities on a Wednesday night? What's wrong with a Monday, tuesday or Thursday people? Decisions... Decisions.....

Tomorrow's Bastille day and the French side will be celebrating. Here's the program of activities:

13/07/2011, Front de Mer de Marigot Marigot Waterfront

19H30-00H00 Animations musicales et spectacles sur le podium, (Programme est organisé par l’Association des Lolos du Front de Mer)

Musical acts on the stage (program organized the waterfront Lolos association)

14/07/2011 – Programme de la manifestation officielle program of the official celebration

Thème : La place des Outre-mer dans l’Europe Theme: The place of the overseas territories with Europe

9H00 CEREMONIE RELIGIEUSE, Église Catholique de Marigot Religious Ceremony
10H30 CÉRÉMONIE COMMÉMORATIVE, Monument aux Morts, Collectivité Memorial Ceremony

- Dépôt de gerbes par les officiels wreath laying by the officials

11H00 DÉFILÉ DU 14 JUILLET July 14th Parade

11H30 GARDEN PARTY, Hôtel de la Collectivité

- Allocutions officielles, parvis de l’Hôtel de la Collectivité Official speeches

- Vin d’honneur toast

14H00 Clôture de la manifestation officielle close of the official ceremonies

PROGRAMME DE L’APRES-MIDI, Front de Mer de Marigot Afternoon program

15H00 – 17H00 Courses de canaux classe A et B (départ de Grand-Case, arrivée Baie de Marigot) Boat race (start in Grand Case- finish in Marigot)

15H00 Jeux divers, Podium, Front de Mer Games (should be traditional games) on the waterfront

18H30 – 19H30 Animations musicales et spectacles sur le podium, Front de Mer musical acts on the stage

22H00 Spectacle de Feux d’Artifice du 14 juillet, Baie de Marigot Fireworks

00H00 Clôture des manifestations close of the events

Foodie Mondays= My baked chicken

2011-07-11T10:07:00.000-04:00

Nothing against supermarket Rotisserie chicken but i really rather make my own baked chicken. And i prefer using the whole bird. I let it slow roast in the oven, basting it in it's own juices. The skin at the top gets nice and crispy and the meat just falls of the bone.

The recipe for the rub always changes depending on what spices i have on hand. I usually do:
Badia complete seasoning
Caribbean green seasoning
Garlic
Dash of soy sauce
Here i had some fresh sage and I also added some minced ginger

I Rubbed the chicken with the above mixture and let it marinate usually over night. In this instance i got busy and didn't bake it until a couple days later.

I bake to an hour, basting frequently in it's own juices and the result: pure deliciousness!

SXM Photo of the week

2011-07-08T09:47:00.001-04:00

Here's hoping for beach weather this weekend.

Weather

2011-07-07T08:48:00.005-04:00

Is it just me or is our weather man just phoning it in. Everyday the weather forecast is as follows
sunrise: x am
sunset: x pm
temp: low and high
Partly cloudy (or sunny) with a chance of showers.

Everyday: partly cloudy (or sunny) with a chance of showers.

Sunday it rained cats and dogs and a few frogs and guess what the weather man forecasted: partly cloudy with a chance of showers.

Today we seem to be in for quite a bit of rain again and guess what I heard on the radio this morning? partly cloudy with a chance of showers. We have more than a *chance* of rain in my opinion. Especially since it's raining hard right now *sigh* and satellite images show a huge blob of rain right over us.

I have some sites that I go to for weather forecasts especially when a storm is coming, but can I know if it's gonna rain/storm while getting ready in the morning? Can I have an accurate weather forecast on the radio from the local Meteorologist office? Is that too much to ask?

Yes you can celebrate July 4th like an american in SXM

2011-07-05T12:30:00.000-04:00

I was so busy chowing down I must Admit I forgot to take any pictures of the actual meal! The apple pie was warm and deliscious!
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Foodie Mondays= Steak and potatoes my way

2011-07-04T06:35:00.000-04:00

So i'd didn't feel like cooking this particular Sunday, I'd just completed a pretty grueling hike and just wasn't up to fixing myself lunch. So I decided on a shower and a visit to my mom's house. Moms are contractually obligated to feed even their adult kids, especially caribbean moms right? Only things is I forgot my mom never has Sunday lunch ready early. So here I am at her house at noon and she hasn't even started lunch yet. I'm the early bird in the family, well, where food is concerned at least.

My mom being the typical Caribbean mom, gives me one of the steaks she was planning to cook and sends me on my way
On the drive home an idea hatches for a quick lunch steak and potatoes, in and out, quick! And a great excuse to use my newest kitchen gadget.....
The steak was already seasoned, so i tenderized it and decided to stick it in the oven.

The potatoes are cleaned, peeled cut and boiling. I decided on creamy garlic parsley mashed potatoes

Just an excuse to use my magic bullet!!!! Lurve gadgets!!!
Potatoes are done, I smashed them with cream and the mixture of parsley and garlic from the bullet and salt.

And voila! lunch was ready in no time

That one steak was enough for lunch on Sunday (above) and leftovers on Monday (bellow)!

Thanks for the steak mom

Happy Ending

2011-07-03T16:47:00.002-04:00

The Zoo Got their monkey back! Great news. See story here

Emancipation Day

2011-07-01T07:11:00.000-04:00

Today, July 1st the south (dutch) side commemorates Emancipation day. Freedom for the enslaved population of the southern part of the island was proclaimed

Freedom for the enslaved population of the southern part of the island was proclaimed July 1st 1863. In the North (french side) it was proclaimed May 27th 1848 some fifteen years earlier!! So naturally when word got to the south that freedom had come to the frenchside, southern slaves escaped to the north.

Happy Emancipation Day St Maarten

Stollen Monkey at the Zoo

2011-06-30T06:14:00.002-04:00

Have you seen this Monkey?
He is a Common Marmoset and someone stole him from the Zoo a couple nights ago and THEY WANT HIM BACK

Please call the Zoo at 543 2030 if you have any information

Another food post!

2011-06-29T06:55:00.000-04:00

No wonder I've put on a couple of pounds in the last 15 days! I got food on the mind 24/7 it seems.

I was editing some of the pictures from my trip to Trinidad in March (I know long overdue!!) and on my was to see the bands and colorful costumes I snapped a couple pictures of what one food vendor had to offer

Look closely there are Johnny cakes (called bakes in the southern Caribbean), curried crab and fried chicken.

Oooh and check out the drink selection. Sorrel Shandy is my favorite. A sorrel flavored 'beer'.

The complete tale of my visit to Trinidad for carnival is forthcoming! I promise.

Impromtu lunch with my mom at Enochs yesterday

2011-06-28T08:52:00.001-04:00

I had lunch at one of my favorite lunch spots with my mom yesterday. Enoch's on the waterfront. I wanted conch and conch is only on the menu tuesdays, fridays and saturdays (noted for future reference!!)

So i settled for the fried snapper. Absolutely delicious!

Mom had the garlic shrimp

By the end of our lunch i was stuffed!!
Pics taken with my phone.

Foodie Mondays= Saltfish

2011-06-27T06:12:00.002-04:00

Salt fish can be prepared in many different ways throughout the Caribbean. In stews, eggs and even soup. The following is pretty common and can be consumed with Johnny cakes . This is another variation of fish for breakfast.
You will need 1 pound of saltfish, desalted. Salt fish is sallted cod fish. To desalt, i let soak for a couple hours, then boil in water.

Drain and let cool
Use fork to flake

Then add seasonings: White onion, season peppers (which are not hot), parsley, chives, black paper and olive oil. Now this is how I make the base.

To which i add cubed tomatoes and cucumbers sometimes. you can also add habinero for some heat
Now no measurements for the seasonings, just add to your taste. But as a guide half a small onion, 2 stalks of chive, here i used two season peppers and a hand full of parsley (here i didn't have a lot of yield from the garden)
black pepper
and the olive oil is to bind it all and add some moister to the mixture, see the difference between the above and bellow pictures?
Serve with warm johnny cakes, yumm

Ziplining at Loterie Farm with SxmTrails

2011-06-26T14:41:00.006-04:00

Today we completed the last hike of the first semester of 2011, with an activity I've been wanting to do with the group for a while: Ziplining at Loterie Farm!!!

I somehow managed to the the only person stung by a wasp so i didn't complete the mini hike up to Chebacca Rock, But our group of almost 40 enjoyed it. I wasn't about to let the wasp spoil all the fun. Given that we are early birds we made special arrangements to start the flyzone course at 7:30am

When one of our members showed up in his costume from the previous night's costume party, we should have known we'd be in for some shenanigans

He went as buck from Ice age and thought the costume was too good for just one showing
I got stung on the way to loterie farm (1 wasp 40 people, only i get stung what are the odds?? should i be buying a lottery ticket?) So I waited near the pool for the others to complete the hike

They did a really awesome job with the pool. Pool parties coming soon. There's a 20euro fee to use the pool. 145 or 175 euro packages for the cabanas that can hold max 10 of your closest friends
I enjoyed being surrounded by nature and quiet for as long as it lasted. A green heron even hung out with me a while, wonder if he uses the pool?

Then it was time to get down to business. We got our briefing and off we went

With recent rains loterie farm was lush and green and full of forbidden fruit
The stream was flowing

Here's a fellow hiker demonstrating the wrong way to cross this obstacle

Another with the proper wayAnd the total buffoonery we were subjected to all morning

At the end there were still smiles

and more buffoonery
After we returned the harnesses, we were granted special permission to use the grounds to consume our customary breakfast. Then the skies opened up and it rained hard with lightening and thunder.

Here is the schedule of hikes for the month of July, join in the fun, will ya?

Hiking levels:
level 1: easy
level 2: moderate
level 3: difficult (anything involving Paradise peak!)

JULY 2011
SUNDAY 3
"Moho
Level 3"

SUNDAY 10
"Simpson Bay
Mullet Bay
Level 1"

SUNDAY 17
"Bel Air Fort Wilhem
Level 2"

SUNDAY 24
"Anse Marcel via
Cul de Sac
Level 2"

SUNDAY 31
"Belle Creole
Level 1"

Hope to see you on the trails soon

Photo contest

2011-06-25T11:41:00.001-04:00

Caribbean travel and leisure is holding a photo contest. None of the photos i submitted made their Top Five. But I thought I'd share them with you anyway.

There's a Caribbean vacation and a Kodak photo book at stake. I love the wedding picture.

Here are the pics , I submitted

Sunset In St Maarten
The Pond a Lucas bay St Martin
Friar's Bay St Martin
Me in St Lucia, the Pitons in the Backgroun
Indian River Dominica
Pedestrian in Saba
Guadeloupe Fisherman with homemade fish scaler and Pelicans - Guadeloupe fish market
The Pitons St Lucia

I wonder which pic will win....

SXM Photo of the week

2011-06-24T07:07:00.002-04:00

Early morning arrival

On my way to work this morning

2011-06-23T08:48:00.002-04:00

This scene always reminds me of the St Martin Song Specifically of this verse:
How pretty between all green
Flamboyants beaming gleam
Of flowers red by sunlight set
Thy cows and sheep and goats
In meadows or on roads
Thy donkeys keen can't I forget

And of course of the chorus
O sweet Saint Martin's Land
So bright by beach and strand
With sailors on the sea and harbors free
Where the chains of mountains green
Variously in sunlight sheen

Iguanas

2011-06-22T10:42:00.002-04:00

I hated these critters with a passion when they were first 'introduced'. They didn't belong and I wanted no part of them. It is said they were released by a cargo worker from an unclaimed shipment after hurricane Luis in 1995. They were released into the nearby pond, and when it was filled for the airport expansion they were relocated and now they are all over the island.

I still don't like them, they are still 'the intruders' to me...... but they have grown on me some

Things that make you go hmmmm

2011-06-21T07:43:00.001-04:00

Sign at the Pizza Galley's ladies room
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Foodie Mondays= Crab 'n' dumplings

2011-06-20T05:06:00.002-04:00

I love to eat! Really I do. And I love to create dishes that I love to eat. I don't really cook for the love of cooking, I cook for the love of eating.

I love crab and dumplings and got some blue crab from a coworker, I'd made crab and rice a few weeks before so it was time to try something new. I went into it without a recipe, I knew what it was supposed to taste like at the end and just added the ingredients that would get me to the finished product.

Here's the crab I got. They are Dominican mangrove crab. They were fresh, raw and frozen.Time to get to work

I cleaned, halved and washed themRaw crab doesn't smell like cooked crab. Keeping my eyes on the prize.... At least i didn't have to kill them, right?
Season with Caribbean Green Seasoning
Sautee Crab in oil, stiring frequently
Add tomato, onion, parsley, season pepper (not pictured)
to the crab
Add white wine, water, curry, habinero, lemon juice, soy sauce, let simmer for 10mns while flavors blend. By now the smells coming out of the kitchen are simply divine.
While the sauce simmers into golden deliciousness, I prepare the dumplings. I made cornmeal dumplings
I used half the dough, i should have used more, they were good! They tend to swell when they hit the water. I always put less than I intended when i see this. Don't do like me, press forward and add those bad boys, you won't regret it.
15mns later..... golden deliciousness
liquid gold! I was so exited to make this that lunch was ready by 10am!
But I waited until noon. Finally it was time to eat! yummmmm. I was dancing as I ate this. Oh so gooooooood.

Here's my recipe
-4 large mangrove crab, cleaned and halved. Raw
-Juice of 1 lime
-dash of soy sauce
-1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
-water to cover,
-1 small onion
-1 season pepper
-1 tbsp green seasoning
-1/2 or 1 hot pepper depending on how hot you want it
-1 med tomato
-1 tbsp parsley
- Splash of White wine
-1 tbsp cooking oil
- cornmeal dumplings

Now I've tried many a cornmeal dumpling recipe and some have flopped. I wasn't willing to risk this recipe on any old dumpling recipe. So I used Yvette's recipe:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cornmeal
2 tbsp sugar (really! i was shocked too)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold water
mix all ingredients adding water gradually. knead into a stiff dough. (I didn't need all the water)

------

Check out Our Krazy Kitchen tomorrow for my Caribbean Crab and Rice Recipe. I know, I've been eating a lot of seafood lately.

This is why I love Saba

2011-06-19T06:58:00.001-04:00

The following pictures illustrate perfectly why i love Saba

Nature just have a way of jumping out and smacking you!

For pictures of the actual hike we did on June 12th go here

Dutch Group to burn the Book of Negroes

2011-06-18T12:05:00.003-04:00

click for larger view

I got so upset when i read that article in the paper yesterday. I'm all for pretests, but only if you know what you are protesting against. If they'd read it first they'd never want to burn it.

It's obvious that no one in this group has actually read the book in question. The Book of Negroes was published under the name 'Someone knows my name' in the US and that's the edition I have. But honestly i would much rather have the Book of Negroes on my bookshelf.

This book is simply the most compelling novel I've ever read on the slave trade/walk to freedom.

The middle passage was made real to me in a way nothing else has in the past or since. I only wish I'd read it before my performance in Black Voices. I couldn't help thinking back to the play as I read it.

My piece from Black voices. click for larger view

The characters were so real, i missed them when i finished the book. The writing was so good, I found myself standing in the middle of the scenes, walking side by side with the characters. The story was so compelling, the story became a part of me. I cried, I laughed, I loved, I shivered in the cold. It was not just a story, it was history. I highly recommend it, whether your a black history buff or not. It should be required reading as far as I'm concerned.

SXM Photo of the Week

2011-06-17T05:39:00.001-04:00

Caribbean lingo

2011-06-16T07:59:00.002-04:00

Today, as I'm out at the book fair, no doubt buying more books (this post was written a week ago), I just wanted to share with you something that is part of the Caribbean culture and I took for granted was widely used.

If you've spent anytime around locals in any of the Caribbean islands you've no doubt heard 'Steups!' (or Stewpse!, Stupes! Stupse! or cheups! Chupes! Chupse!) it's more of a sound than a word. Made when air is inhaled through clenched teeth, more commonly known as 'sucking the teeth'.

It can mean a myriad of things are related to discontent, dissatisfaction, annoyance, displeasure, incredulity......

I first realized it was a regional thing when an American friend i was visiting with a group of locals asked what was that unusual sound one of us had made. We had no idea what she was talking about. It comes so naturally that we are not even conscious of it.

It reminds me a bit of African languages that use sounds.

Now let's use it in a sentence: "Stu-upse! Man why it so hot?"

Have you ever noticed the 'stupse!'? What did you think it meant?

My to-be-read- pile

2011-06-15T06:50:00.002-04:00

I bought another 2 books last night. I vaguely remember attempting to diminish my reading list, by vowing not to purchase anymore books until i made a dent in my to-be-read list. Yeah that didn't last!

I found new tricks, when I buy new books the ones on the to be read pile go onto the bookshelf un-read.

I just can't help it, I love books.

My latest purchases

Mosera's is my first coffee table book, only i don't have a coffee table!

I won't show you my kindle.... I had to delete some books to add some classics I got on Amazon last week. 387 books... when will I ever read them all? It's an illness I know, one that I enjoy!

Blooming Flamboyant trees make me smile

2011-06-14T06:55:00.002-04:00

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Foodie Mondays= Mango Laasi

2011-06-13T07:49:00.001-04:00

So a year and a half ago I took an Indian cooking class. And only now got around to making anything that I learned that day. It's mango season! My favorite season of all and I've been consuming mangoes in many forms. So it's was time to try making a Mango Laasi

Here's the recipe:
1 cp mango pulp (fresh or frozen)
3 cups yogurt (plain)
1/2 cup sugar
cardamom powder
safron
mint
Blend and Serve chilled, Easy!

I used fromage frais which is more like a cottage cheese and milk to liquify it a bit and I didn't have any safron but it was still delish! I also used some fresh mint which made it so..... refreshing!

And here it is in all it's golden deliciousness
Try it, you'll like it.

Anse Marcel Hike

2011-06-12T07:41:00.001-04:00

As you read this i will be hiking the lush green forest of Saba, simply one the my favorites places on planet earth. While i do that I'll share with you pictures of another of my favorite hikes: Anse Marcel via Bell Hill

For this hike we leave at the food van at the end of the Grand Case runway and make our way through Grand Case and up Bell hill

Creole Rock at sunrise, it's said the snorkeling is awesome here, when i learn to swim, this will be my first stop

Here we are the sun has barely risen

Regrouping before we head out together, this is also the point from where we always get lost if the land owner (third from the left) isn't with us to lead the way. Land owners tolerated us, knowing our group do not disturb or destroy, this particular land owner likes to hike his property with us. It's give him the opertunity to survey his property and it helps us to find our way. A win-win if you ask me.

Gorgeous views

Bay that's not often frequented

but not unknown

Making our way back headed towards the telecom antennas overlooking Cul De Sac

Love these huge trees

a warning? for whom?

And just about here my battery died! Yeah that still happens to me *sigh*
Click here for more hiking adventures

The heat is on!

2011-06-11T07:15:00.002-04:00

It's hotter than hell here in St Martin. I'm one Caribbean girl that can't stand the heat, literally! This kind of heat gives me migraines. Sunday i didn't want to get dressed, got to thinking the people at Club O have the right idea and by Thursday the migraines came. It's going to be one long summer.

This is my idea of heaven

And this is where I'll be for the next 3 months - beach chair location will vary

SXM Photo of the week

2011-06-10T06:32:00.002-04:00

Pod of Brown Pelicans at Baie Lucas

Guess where?

2011-06-09T07:48:00.003-04:00

Can anyone tell me where this little known boarder point is?

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St Martin History/Culture= HNP 9th Annual Bookfair

2011-06-08T05:50:00.003-04:00

In today's blog post I'd like to highlight the preserving and passing down of our history and culture. This past weekend I attended the 9th Annual St Martin Book fair organized by the local publishing house House Of Nehesi publishers (HNP).

I've mentioned my love of books before all sorts of books, from dictionaries to cookbooks and everything in between. The collection I'm presently working on are African and Caribbean books. And the bulk of those were either purchased when traveling (I always hit up a bookstore in my travels) or at the annual book fair. I spend hundreds each year at the book fair adding books to my Caribbean authors collection.

In the past 6 months I've been proud to add 3 local treasures to my collection, all published by HNP

The Frock and Other Poems by the late Laurelle 'Yaya' Richards- some of which was written on our trip to South AfricaFrom Yvette's Kitchen to Your Table by the late Yvette Hyman, my newest and favorite cookbook

and St Martin Talk by Robert Romney - which needs to be expanded ASAP! I'm looking for the new expanded edition

I commend HNP and the Book Fair for the work they are doing documenting, preserving and passing down our History and Culture.

Another Facet of the book fair are the Saturday workshops. This has always been my favorite part of the annual fair: Getting to interact with the authors. This year they opted to have all the workshops in one place instead of splitting them up between the two capitals. I don't know who came up with that bright idea (to split them up) but they had a sista driving back and fort between the two capitals in Saturday traffic! Not cool! So everything was under one roof again and all was well with the world once more.

I attended Jay Haviser's excellent workshop on the Great Salt Pond

He brought us through the Salt Pans throughout the years to it's present state and highlighted once more the need to preserve the little that's left. If it's the people's will to preserve and the officials are elected by the people to do the people's bidding then why isn't our will being done? hmmmm???
Then after a short break and refreshments it was on to the Spiritual motivational workshop by author Stephanie Stokes Oliver. Who inspired me to finally get out of my own way and write. My story needs to be told as well. She now lives in Anguilla with her husband and is writing about that experience. Can't wait to read it.

Another Author, Photographer, Poet, Artist who inspired me to tell my story as well but in pictures is Drisana Deborah Jack She highlighted the need for us to tell our stories in pictures and illustrated with some fantastic pictures of African Americans during the depression. Her presentation was entitled the Poetry of Photography.

The key note speaker and president's award recipient was Nobel Laureate Derck Walcott. His books did not arrive to the island in time for the fair (will they ever get here??? who knows...) Fortunately I'd picked up a collection of his poems during my recent trip to Trinidad and asked him to sign it for me!!! This was huge for me, I'm a pretty shy person but I was determined to get my book signed by THE Mr Derek Walcott!!

I took along several books purchased over the years and had them signed by the authors that were present. This made the fair even more memorable for me.

All in all it was a most enjoyable book fair.

Brown Pelicans

2011-06-07T05:43:00.001-04:00

The Brown Pelican is the National bird of St Martin. It's not a bird one would consider 'cute and cuddly' or particularly graceful when not in flight, but it does have this majestic presence to me. They stop me in my tracks literally. Pelicans are my favorite birds and there just seems to be so many of them around the island lately. A few weeks ago when we had all the rain a pod of Pelicans hung out at the marina and that was a special treat for me. I love nature all it has to do is show up and I'm happy!

A few days last week another pod, or maybe the same one, spent a few days in Bay Lucas fishing

Anytime I see pelicans I just have to stop and look. I can spend hours observing them fishing

Just swimming along.....
On the move.....
looking for schools of fish.........

Ok this is may favorite part! They actually apply the brakes in flight!

Then dive!Yes I can easily spend hours observing them feeding.

Foodie Mondays= Peas soup - in the crockpot!

2011-06-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

This was the first time I would leave my crockpot on all day un-guarded, while i went to work. Would the soup burn? Would I burn down the entire complex. Would electricity go out? So many things to worry about, yet on a more positive note i will have a delicious local soup waiting for me when i got home.

I started with the basics Pigeon peas (The 'real deal' is made with Red beans but i don't like red beans) Pigtail (desalted), onion, cloves, celery and garlic
As you'll see i love lots of veggies in my soups. Carrots, potatos, sweet potato
Christophine, season pepper, pumpkin
mmmmm veggies, I just cut them up in 2 inch pieces and dumped them all into the crockpot,
covered, placed it on low and walked away.I went to work, then proceeded to happy hour and then to dinner, all the time the crockpot was on my mind. When i finaled got home more than 12 hours after having started this meal, made some cornmeal dumplings
added them, and let them cook for another hours before i turned off the crockpot.
This was lunch the following day!

Natural Pools - Back Bay St Maarten

2011-06-05T09:01:00.001-04:00

Lat Sunday, French Mother's day, instead of our usual hike we decided on a swim and breakfast in an absolutely beautiful spot.

We headed out at 5:45am to Back Bay

About a 20mn easy trek

Then we arrive at a little clearing

Lots of goats around

The island is my favorite shade of green since all the rains

Then it was time to head down to the pools

After the swim we had breakfast and as 10am rolled around we reluctantly left our special spot

St Martin Talk

2011-06-04T05:57:00.004-04:00

How can such treasure come in such a small package?? What's contained between these pages is simply priceless.

I mentioned in an earlier post how much I anticipated this book but it's not until now, after flipping through it's pages, did I really understand what this treasure means to me and the people of St Martin. Seeing in print, defined and translated words that i grew up using .... I'm speechless!

Growing up i was told that St Martin English is not a language, i was told it was 'bad' English.

I sincerely think, hope, wish, dream that this is just the first step to having it officially recognized as a language.

I remember Guadeloupe's struggle to have creole (Kreyol) recognized, now books are published in Creole, it's taught, a dictionary was published. It went from being a language parents forbade their kids from speaking. (I've had several personal accounts of this) To a prized part of the culture, spoken even on radio and TV. I learned Kreyol while in school in Guadeloupe. I could understand it long before i was brave enough to try speaking it, today a Kreyol-French dictionary sits on my bookshelf.

My hope is that we can follow suit.

I almost cried when i saw Becausin and Cunu Munu in print.

For those of you not familiar with those terms i won't tell you what they mean, you need to get yourself a copy here

And if like me you've used those terms, get yourself to the closest book store and GET IT!

SXM Photo of the week

2011-06-03T05:11:00.002-04:00

Blue - one of my favorite colors and this is why

Huricane Season and NaBloPoMo

2011-06-02T07:45:00.000-04:00

August 31st 1995 Iris, Luis and Marilyn

Here we go again!
So yesterday marked the first day of Hurricane season and any local will tell you that this heat and humidity we have been experiencing is not a good sign at all.

NOAA forcasts: Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the six-month season, which begins June 1,

12 to 18 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which:
6 to 10 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including:
3 to 6 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher)

Time to watch and hope and pray. I need to get started on my stock pile of drinking water, I need a flash light and batteries for the radio.

Yesterday also marked the first day of NaBloPoMo. A month of daily blogging. This year I'm trying this. Let's see how I do, Shall we?