#Dream last night was so real, it’s uncanny!

Haagen Daz, carrot cake, chocolate cake, groundnut cake…..they all must have contributed to the very vivid dream I had last night.

Vignettte 1

Happened to pass by outside of a media personality’s house. She was dressed up and so was her daughter (Right before I had gone to bed, I had strolled through my Instagram feed and saw a picture of her at NDTC). Although in real life, I don’t know her except on Social Media, we had a nice chat. Then I had somewhere to get to, so I left after a few minutes.

Vignette 2

Saw a girl who was a year above me at secondary school. In real life she is married. In the dream, she introduced me to her husband and a son. I don’t know if she has a son in real life. When she was introducing me, she said “this is my son….we have two helpers, one for him and one for us.” She said it again during the conversation, which took place at a dining table. I got the impression that the teen was messy (like….duh….weren’t we all?). I left her because I had somewhere to go. (“I have things to do!”)

Vignette 3

This was the scariest part, but in a way, I knew it was going to be ok in the end (just like how I think about things in life..so me doh worry.).  So I am driving and I see two roads. I take the one I think will get me there without traffic. I thought I had hit a gold mine when after passing some houses and no car, there was nice smooth Obama-like roads!  Then the road turned into dirt. What that????? It was descending, I was driving fast, and it appeared that there was nowhere on either side for me to run off to. i.e. either precipice or water on either side. Me doh remember.

When the road descended into a dark place like a cave, still on a dirt road, I had to stop and did. I got out and went to the edge and looked down. There was Dr Carolyn Gomes in a yellow hard hat with a lot of other peeps down below. Looked like they were excavating. Maybe they were in a gold mine??? 🙂 They were about to help me with ropes and such the like, when I woke up.

(Don’t ask. Story of my dreams. Very vivid. Very colourful.)

Photos: Out And About In Rural Grenada

Saturday was Road Trip Day. I tossed my Samsung phone, iPad and Fuji Fine Pix camera into the bag. In the end, I only used the Samsung. I went from St George to the town of Gouyave in the parish of St John where I bought a delicious fish roti. Saw where Kirani James grew up. Man you gotta lift your hats off to his mother. Next it was on to Diamond in St Mark.

Grenada is a lovely island and exploring as a single female is very safe. I ended up in dead ends in Mount Granby and elsewhere. Check out all the photos on my Flickr page. At some point I will put captions.

 

View of the Carenage and beyond from Cemetery Hill.

View of the Carenage and beyond from Cemetery Hill.

12 reasons to tempt you to drop everything and move to Grenada

I agree with everything Michelle Peterson had to say in this article. Having lived here mostly for the better part of 17 years though, there are somethings she mentions which I have not yet experienced. Better get a move on it!

Paradise Beach, Carriacou (one of the 3 islands which make up the state of Grenada)

Paradise Beach, Carriacou (one of the 3 islands which make up the state of Grenada)

What Can I Give Up For Lent?

I wouldn’t call myself religious, however, having grown up in Sunday School and Youth Church, I would like to think I still have some modicum of spirituality in me (that is another blog post sometime). I can’t recall if I have ever given up anything for Lent, however, as this year is the second one where I am trying to discover and try new experiences, I was seriously  thinking about what I could bear to give up.

Coffee? Continue reading

Happy Independence Grenada!

Bleh that the holiday fell on a weekend, but anyway, Happy 41st Independence Grenada!

Went to the Stadium to see the crafts and food on display in the Made In Grenada expo. Some good quality products….if only they had a larger market, or the capacity to export.  But what I REALLY went for, was to find some Oil Down.

First, some photos of the products being sold.

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Not only does it smell delicious…it also has healing properties

 

Pieces for the Kitchen, very neatly made

Pieces for the Kitchen, very neatly made

Hand painted coral is at the bottom of this jewellery piece.

Hand painted coral is at the bottom of this jewellery piece.

Now on to the more important topic. You recall that I have been experimenting with meat since Christmas, after being on a vegetarian diet since 2005. The return to meat was timely. Pig tail is one of the most delicious things in the Oil Down. What exactly is Oil Down? A non-Grenadian did a detailed explanation with picture. Take a look here.

Went to the food stall immediately on arrival. It done! This was 1:30!!!!! Had a bake with smoked herring instead. Then a friend with whom I had shared my disappointment, came and told me there was a lady selling Oil Down. Happy like  a pig in swill. So prepared was I that I had carried a food container and a food bag. Oil Down is carb loaded and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to eat off all of the EC$12 version. Dug in, had half, then packaged the rest.

Then, to top off today, another friend called to ask if I wanted Oil Down. Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss! That’s going to be the Sunday Dinner. Had to take a taste though. It’s THAT good.

Grenada's National Dish - Oil Down

Grenada’s National Dish – Oil Down

Since I’m starting to eat meat….

…better know the different cuts, shouldn’t It?

Know your cuts of meat! But, where's the chicken????

Know your cuts of meat! But, where’s the chicken????

Chicken….little

I’ve been off meat, including chicken, since 2005. I ate only fish and other seafood. That decision was fueled by concerns over what the flesh of the pig, goat, cow and chicken might be doing to my health. Later, it was because I felt sorry for the animals. Mind you, when we were kids, we used to go to a pig farm and inevitably, pigs would be killed while we were there. Their throat would be cut, all the blood would come rushing out, then they’d pour hot water on the dying animals so the hair would come off easily. And before 2005, pork was my favourite meat. Go figure.

Whether it’s coincidental or not, I’ve had muscular issues from around 2005. Could there be a connection, I wondered? I’d read a few stories about vegetarians who returned to meat, because of the negative effects on their health. B-12 deficiency was usually one of the issues. It made me contemplate whether these injuries to my muscles were as a result of not enough animal protein. The pro-vegetarians would say “hog wash!” 🙂 Continue reading

27 Diagrams That Make Cooking So Much Easier

Too good. Had to share.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/cooking-charts?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpg4&s=mobile#4ldqpg4

Halfway there….may I wasn’t so toxic

It’s the morning of Day 6. I don’t own a scale so borrowed one the day before Day 1 of this 10-day cleanse I am on. Recorded the starting weight (too high!) and also measured and recorded my bust, waist, hips, 1 thigh and 1 arm. The plan has been very manageable. I thought I would have been comatose, unable to get out of bed and function, but that has not been the case. Only the first day in the evening I felt a headache and that I think was because I stayed up too late.

Back to the scale.  scale2

Continue reading

Weight Off My Shoulders?

Weight has been an issue with me ever since I knew myself as a kid. I enjoyed food, so much so that once my sister started to say she didn’t want the rest of her food, in one fell swoop, I was there. Maybe I shouldn’t have been assigned the seat right next to her. Easy access.

Later on I learnt that we get the number of fat cells we are to have for life, by our teenage years. Yes, I got the lot….lots, lots and lots. Depending on what happens with our metabolism, the fat cells fill up or empty out. I’ve not been on ‘E’ ever. The one period in my life that I felt slim, I was still not in a size 12 or less (my mental image of what is slim).

Being fiercely independent, I have resisted getting any ‘help’ over the past 3 or so decades this has been a weight on my shoulders. I felt that persons who could not do it on their own were weak. Cowards. Unable to sacrifice for a goal. Well, despite all my good intentions (“I swear, this Kiss cake will be the last, then I’m going on a no sugar diet”), I have turned into the weak coward, unable to sacrifice for a goal type of person.

What’s that goal? To be able to wear all the clothes I folded up and put away in the suitcase under the bed – what my sister has dubbed “the future clothes.” They are probably all moldy by now.

In comes a friend who tried a 10 day cleanse, and voila, the possibility of a 5 – 20 lbs weight loss seems bright. I had to time it right. Not too far from when I would be going home for Christmas. Not too close either. Continue reading