Aye, Captain!

“Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.” -William Shakespeare from Cymbeline

         I’ll never forget the time I was able to translate a portion of Twelfth Night into “Korean English” for a group of Korean middle school students to act out. My Shakespeare professor enjoyed it thoroughly. She also enjoyed my final paper about how the so-called tragedy, Titus Andronicus, was actually meant to be a comedy. Entirely too many heads and limbs chopped off for Shakespeare to be serious in that one. Anyway, as much as I adore the late playwright, I disagree with him sometimes. In this case, all boats are steered. 

We have a gracious Father; amen? Although human plans change more often than Louisiana and Puerto Rico weather, they do not change because no one is directing them. Our Captain just chooses not to give warning.

To begin, I mentioned previously that John would be partnering with a fellow Parker alumni. Although that chiropractor and his wife have been (and I hope they will continue to be!) LIFESAVERS, plans changed. John will be opening in the same space, but he will be doing so alone. We live an hour or so away from our friends, so the drive would have been long for them. They were blessed with an offer to open another clinic closer to their home, and we respect that completely. John’s clinic will be in a small hospital. The hospital has an emergency room, a laboratory, radiology, a gynecologist, a psychiatrist, and soon, a chiropractor. The entire interior has been, or is in the process of being, remodeled. John’s space is in a hall that was previously labor and delivery.

John's main office in the beginning of the remodel

The old delivery prep room before remodel

Little waiting room he'll share with any other new doctors who rent space

The front of the hospital

John's main office yesterday...almost finished!

After three trips to San Juan, John is a LICENSED CHIROPRACTOR in Puerto Rico! That last trip was quite something. We had to leave the office several times to seek out money orders, signatures, and proof…once again…that he owes no child support—they sure are serious about that one! Know how we did that? There was a tiny building with a dinosaur computer in the corner. I mean big, white monitor and everything. He typed his social security number in, and it printed out his “proof”. Scary, huh?

So far, he has purchased all of the toys that he wants to start out with, completed several applications to become a provider for many insurance companies, purchased a new phone with a local phone number, and sought out a business account at the bank. He jumped a little too quickly, however, on the business cards. Thinking he was going to share a phone line, he put phone and fax numbers on the cards that will no longer link to him. So, we are fixing it manually. Because that’s how we roll. 

 

Aside from working on the clinic, getting a driver’s license here was an interesting experience. We went to the DMV one day, completed all of the paper, and, at the very moment we thought they were going to take our picture and let us be, they told us the test was starting in 30 minutes. Test?! It was terrible. I was seriously so angry that I think smoke might have really come out of my ears. We were told we could find an English version of the law book at Walgreens, but after stopping at three different ones and never finding it, we just bought it in Spanish. With our small grasp of the language and the help of grandparents and Google Translate, we managed. Before we took the test several days later, we had to get the DMV medical examiner to sign off that we were able to drive. We went to a FOTO booth (I couldn’t make this up if I tried), paid the women $22, told her that we both wore glasses or contacts, got her signature, and went on our way. Seriously, a foto booth. I went on to make the lowest possible passing score! We celebrated with Pollo Tropical like two sixteen-year-olds getting a license for the first time!

 

       Later that night, one of my best friends gave birth to her first child. We feel blessed and assured that Puerto Rico is where we are supposed to be right now, but missing that time there ranks top five in the hardest things we have faced here so far. Love and miss you, Whitney!

So grateful for our Captain. Keep steering, Lord, keep steering.

In the Garden

I come to the garden alone. While the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. 

       There was a cute saying on Pinterest the other day that people who work are only people that don’t know how to garden. Amen. I have learned so much in this short time, but I know my learning is not, by any means, over.

In February, I came to Puerto Rico with my dad and big brother. At that time, I took some pictures of the back of the front and back of my grandparents’ house. Their “yards”, if you will. Now, I need to preface this with a few key points. Some have said that I make it sound like we live in a third world country. I do not mean to do that. We do not live in anything like that at all. However, it must be remembered that we live with two eighty-year-olds who have lived in the same house, with few changes, for decades. Some of our circumstances, like no agua caliente in our casita are not circumstances of the island; they are circumstances of this property. It would be completely different if we came and built a casa y jardín from scratch, but we didn’t. In my opinion, what we have is much more challenging. We must bring back to life that which has been neglected for muchos años. And, we must get permission from two “change-is-bad” personalities before we do any of it!

Years ago, my grandfather decided to keep certain parts of the soil contained and pour concrete over the rest of the yard. That decision has made my dream of a relaxing haven muy difícil. It’s hard to make concrete and old tires look lively.

John and I began with an old raised bed that housed blocks of cement from the builders of our bano and a hurting avocado tree. I hand-picked and John shoveled until the majority of the rocky mess was gone. We were so excited to see dirt that we didn’t read a word of instruction or change a bit of soil before we planted. We planted herbs, eggplant, pepper, and marigolds. Eh, you live and you learn.

We maintained the clean-up process by sweeping the leaves every few days, and checking on the plants. However, we didn’t actually know what “checking on the plants” looked like. After three book downloads on the Kindle and A LOT of websites and articles, we have created a successful compost, dug up the folks in the raised bed that didn’t make it, and helped our soil along (as that determines success!).

Tomato and Rosemary

Mosquito Fighter

Peppers

In phase two, we planted several things: tomato, rosemary, a plant to help fight mosquitoes, and peppers. We began to tend to the hurting avocado, lemon, and mango trees; although it seems we’ve missed avocado season this year.

As of this morning, we’re proud, but not finished. We have since planted some parsley, more tomato, thyme and strawberries using transplants. We have planted broccoli, dill, basil, squash, and garlic using seeds or the vegetables themselves. We finally weeded the back and treated the soil by the big tree to create a mini boxed garden, and I’m working on learning how to utilize the many containers that are out there not holding anything. In the plans, we want to paint the wall, the tires, and the old pots bright and fun colors.

Fun colors for Grandma

Strawberries are the transplants, garlics are the 4 tall strands, and squash is in the back
working it's way to the surface!

Two tomato plants and rosemary

Dill from seed

Broccoli from seed

Thyme, parsley, and moquito fighter

Basil from seed...look hard! :)

Box garden from the beginning, but revamped!

In the "before" pictures, all of the old potted plants were on that square block.
John made that bench.

The avocado tree. It's happier, so maybe next year!

Compost

 Despite the gray of the ground, it is becoming an oasis. A peaceful place to ponder. John and I have spent hours in it both together and separate. Sometimes we are shoveling, pulling, and sweating in the heat. Others we are thinking, reading, or sleeping on the swing. It may not look like much in the pictures yet, but through the rollercoaster ride of the past two months, God is there. 

And He walks with me. And He talks with me. And He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.

MMmmmmm...Food!

It’s been said, “To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” 

Oh, how I love food. My husband can attest to coming home and knowing how my day was based on the smells of the apartment. When days were stressful or days were wonderful--countless vegetables were cut, bread of some sort was baking in the oven, dessert was set to be finished with dinner, and a glass of vino was usually in my hand (only after all necessary cutting was finished, of course). After a bad day, cooking was satisfying. After a great one, it was just fun. Don’t worry, on normal days we ate too; it just wasn’t as elaborate. 

Being here has changed my cooking habits, but it hasn’t erased my love for la cocina. I’m sharing my grandmother’s kitchen, so it’s a different kind of ballgame. It’s a ballgame; however, that has taught me more than any cookbook could. The first of which my husband and grandmother alike thought important enough to share is the beautiful quenepa. This island fruit must be eaten specifically, so here it goes.

1.Take it off the limb.

2. Bite the outside just enough to crack it.

3. Look at the yummy goodness inside.

4. Eat yummy goodness on the side that you can see.

5. Put the whole thing in your mouth to finish.

Mmmmm...

Mmmmmm...

MMmmmmm... (It's a rule, you have to say that.)

6. Put the seed back in the skin.

7. Toss evidence.

You like that? We love eating quenepas!

The second most important food to share is the pástele. My words cannot actually describe the greatness of this dish. I could not believe the simplicity of this meal that I’ve respected for ages!

So, to start the pastels, you need:  pastel paper, small string, masa of some sort (mashed yucca, green banana, etc.), seasoned and cooked ground meat, Goya green olives, and the ALL PURPOSE seasoning mix

1.       Season the meat with the ALL PURPOSE seasoning! My grandmother uses this on EVERYTHING, so I’m going to call it that from here on out. It is: crushed garlic, green sofrito, adobo, bijol (an orange powder used for coloring), and…wait for it…four cheeses spaghetti sauce. She mixes about a spoonful of each in a bowl for just about everything she makes! This mix contains the taste of the island. Ridiculously amazing!!

2.       Brown the meat.

3.       If using yucca only masa, mix all of the masa with bijol until it is orange. If using any other kind, mix with the ALL PURPOSE seasoning.

4.       Lay the pastel paper on a flat surface, and wet by putting water on your fingers until the paper is damp.

**You could also put a mix of oil and coloring on the pastel paper, but it’s not a must, and I’m not sure how to explain if you’re stateside.

5.       Plop a big spoonful of masa in the middle of the paper. Plop a little spoon of carne into the middle of that. Put an olive at one end, and fold the masa over all of it.

6.       I have no pictures of folding the paper, but there’s a video attached if you actually want to do it sometime! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nlh9AIhKq0  (I don’t know the guy in it; I just thought it was a decent video.)

7.       Boil for about an hour, unfold, put a little ketchup on it (I’m serious!), and ENJOY!

I LOVE these things! They are beautiful. Although I miss my kitchen, learning my Grandmother’s ways has been remarkable, and I am so grateful. I am so glad eating is a necessity because if it wasn’t, I’d just have to find an excuse to do it!

**Don’t worry, Dad, I’m going to write about the Bacalao, soup, and ribs sometime too!