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Please Shut Thy Beak

I've often wondered why giant cockroaches and invasive weeds were created.  Then, I learned they serve a purpose.  Roaches aid in the breakdown of waste. Weeds prevent erosion.  But what is the story behind chickens?  What useful purpose do they serve?

Okay, so I woke up tired and grumpy.   The neighborhood roosters had been at it again...crowing (off-key) thru the whole night.  Then at an hour that would get us human beings arrested for disturbing the peace, along came the hens, clucking furiously outside the bedroom window.  And today is Sunday!  Hrumph!

To commemorate these blessed events, I am urging you to come by the house, capture a bird by its scrawny little neck, and use it to prepare the following delicious meal.  Don't feel bad...they're free-range.

SEAN's ARROZ CON POLLO ESTÚPIDO (RICE with STUPID CHICKEN)

2 1/2- 3 lbs of stoopid chicken (roaster cut into bite pieces.  You can also use tenders or drummettes)

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp minced garlic

Few dashes black pepper

Juice of 1 lime

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large tomato, diced

1 small bell pepper, diced

olive oil

1 Farmer John spicy breakfast chorizo

1 c. uncooked white rice

3 c. chicken broth

Season the chicken with paprika, garlic and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil, add lime juice and mix until well coated with spices.  Fry chicken pieces in oil until nicely browned.  Remove and set aside.  Add celery, bell pepper and onions to pan.  Saute until onions begin to wilt.  Add chorizo breaking it apart, then add tomatoes and raw rice.  Saute for 3 minutes.  Add broth to pan and stir.  Tuck chicken pieces into rice, cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes on low heat or until rice is done.

Oh, you may have noticed I've filed this blog entry under "theocratic".   That's because on a happy note,  I found myself a few hours post chicken rage, in the company of my brothers and sisters in Kona Spanish where I gave the public talk.

 

today's smiling crowd...without a chicken in sight!

My taste is all in my Mouth

Mom and I don't usually agree on what constitutes "good taste".  This is especially true when it comes to interior decorating.  Mumsy feels great rooms are a sum of whites and airy pastels, colors like baby blue, seafoam green and peach.  She sings praises of immaculately slipcovered sofas pushed up against the walls.  You know, practicality.  Yawn.

And me?  I like furniture placed at weird angles.  I live for bold, rich colors. 

Mom has been amazingly patient with my decorating whims and has been busily helping to finish up our guest room and my room.  The sudden rush is due to the fact that both rooms will see company very soon.  One room will house a couple from Mexico Bethel, the other a couple in Circuit work. I'm not quite sure if the decor will freak them out, but then again, I don't decorate for guests. Cough.

First up is our guest room.  The walls are painted lime-green with crisp white trim.  Accents are zebra-print and gold.  A few foreign street maps I had lying around became art work simply by framing them.  The headboard is made of old pressed wood, sprayed with adhesive and wrapped with fake fur.  The desk was a freebie, given to us and simply covered on the top and front with white contact paper.  I still haven't figured out if this room is "cool" or "tacky", but I know I like it.

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I had dreamed up the middle-eastern theme for my room sometime ago and had only half-finished the room.  Here it is now, just about complete.  Walls are painted in Pumpkin Patch, moulding in Poppy Glow.  Middle -eastern gate motifs in deep pink were done free hand above the windows, trimmed in the same pink.  Closet doors were done in a peacock blue.  A mirrored throw from the Rastro market in Madrid and multi colored glass-paned lanterns add sparkle.  Bedding is a deep blue. Art work are old Egyptian movie posters.   Like the guest-room, I haven't quite decided whether this room says "jewel box" or "opium den", but again, I know I like it.

  

 Well, that's it for now. I'll update pics later.  

Dead Carcasses and Duct Tape

I detected the odor of an old, dead carcass after I got home from work today.  It took some sniffing around before I figured out it was the Stapelia variegata in bloom on my desk.  They don't call it "carrion flower" for nothing.  Looks creepy and smells even creepier. Don't you just love it?

Speaking of old carcasses, my back had been starting to hurt as of late.  After some deep pensive moments, I've come to the conclusion that the culprit behind all the pain and suffering must be my desk at work.  Lemmie 'splain.

SPLAINATION:  For the past few months, I've been working on a laptop with a short power cord and an Ethernet cable which is stretched to the limit from across the room.  The only way to avoid some detrimental cable yankage was to position my laptop somewhat to the right and kinda toward the back of the desk.  Five to seven hours of daily twisting and turning while attempting to type on the blasted thing, does wonders for the spine. But I'm not one to complain.

 
Instead, I've taken the liberty to make some changes around my work area. I've repositioned my "in" and "out" trays.  I've also installed an outlet splitter so I don't keep backing my chair up into the power cord.  Today, I got a 25 foot ethernet cable and a power strip which has allowed me to move the laptop forward and center.   Add to the mix my decidedly greener than thou accents (in fact, the only 6 plants in the entire office are all crammed in my corner) and you'd expect a few raised eyebrows from the superiors, but no. So far, the boss hasn't said a word.   

The only thing left to do now, is to figure out a way to keep my chair from hitting the corner of the file cabinet and peeling the fake-woodgrain-laminate off the pressed wood drawers.  Jimmy, my decidedly "helpful"  manager attempted to fix it last week with some hideous silver duct tape.  It did the job but you know I'm sorta fussy and I unconsciously kept making ugly faces at it everytime I looked.  I finally couldn't take it anymore and RRRRRIPPED the sucker off in a triumphant blaze of glory.  Unfortunately, along with it came a 2 foot strip of laminate.  I'm pretty sure destroying office furniture isn't considered to be very Witness-like behavior (no matter how tacky the piece might be),  but I assure you it wasn't done out of wrath.  Thankfully, the boss hasn't mentioned anything about that little incident either.  In fact, he came in smiling today and gave my Fittonia verschaffeltii a happy pat on the head. Wonder if he'd pet my Stapelia carcass flower?  My back feels better already.

It happened on the way to the Registers....

Um, someone or something has eaten all the koi food I have stored in the casita.  Birds?   Cats?  The Coquis?  Whatever the case, I was forced to go to WalMart in the pouring rain the other night for some fish-nibbles. 

Unfortunately, I am also forced to enter the Garden Center en-route to the registers.  And for you doubters, the Garden Center IS indeed en-route (if you take the long way).  So I'm standing there trying  to decide between three plants that have caught my eye.  The decision making goes something like this in my head:

My right brain: -"That Aloe is nice, but DUDE!  it has no label so you probably don't want it."

My left brain: -"You're right, forget the Aloe.  And that Ficus is such a common plant, you're probably better off just getting the Stapelia"

My right brain: "Yes, yes, good choice."

My left brain:" Or maybe you could just get all three."

My right brain: "Alrighty."

So other than the slightly unnerving fact that my right frontal lobe calls me "Dude", I am beginning to see what happens when a plant hobbyist runs out of room in the greenhouse. I am currently rearranging the contents of my desk at home to make room for the new tennys.  Think they were worth it?

My three newbies: an unidentified Aloe, Stapelia variegata in bud and Ficus elastica 'Ruby', along with Aloe humilis

I guess the Camera adds Ten Pounds...

This is the famous Boogie, from the front, peering down at me from the table.  Cute!

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This is me peering down upon the famous Boogie, from the rear........

 

Round-the World between work and dinnertime

Those alien pods stuck to the side of this tree are just one of the wonders you city-rats will see if you come with me to see Eugenio on Tuedays after work.  Imagine Steven Slater getting bopped on the head with one of those babys!  Yipe.

It's an Artocarpus heterophyllus or "Jackfruit Tree", and yes, the fruits really do grow that way.

It's hard to describe where Eugenio lives.  Basically, you drive out to the middle of nowhere, turn left on an unpaved road, and drive some more.  When you feel as if you've somehow entered another country, you're getting warm. 

One week, that foreign country could be Argentina.  Like the time we stop and chat with a Spanish speaking woman walking through the brush with her parrot.   Another week brings us to India as we come face to face with a group of brilliantly colored peacocks.  This afternoon, we pass a hippie, flower tucked behind his ear.  Justin and I wave, but he is too busy gazing contentedly at the setting sun through his dredlocks.  Don't know what country/planet he's from. 

We normally cross over into Eastern Europe once we reach the property where Eugenio lives and Josef comes out and greets us in Hungarian.  He's nowhere to be found today, however.  

We reach rural El-Salvador a few seconds later when Eugenio's smiling face comes into view.  Today, before our study, we take some time to visit with the animals.  First Yoyo the sausage dog, then some horses, and then....

the goats come-a-runnin!

City-boy meets hungry country goat

Justin is surrounded

Guacamole anyone?

 
Eugenio always has a bowl of fresh fruit to snack on after our study but this afternoon, we get to pick and eat fresh lychee from the tree.

Justin, Eugenio and I conclude our study as the sun sets

 

Headed back to civilization...and dinner!
 

Welcome to the Jungle!

Research shows that people who have plants around their workspace are happier, more productive and more satisfied with their job and life in general.  That would in theory, make me an overjoyed, top-producing, hard-working, laughing fool. 

The question remains:

Do the plants themselves make the employee happier, or are happy people just more inclined to buy plants for their work-space? 

Then again, it just may be the color of the walls...

 

 Here's my actual desk at work where I spend about 27 hours a week.  I'm currently surrounded by: Spathiphyllum Domino, Calathea leopardina, Fittonia verschaffeltii, Asparagus plumosus, Chlorophytum comosum, Spathiphyllum Silver Streak, and an unidentified Saintpaulia.  Makes me happy!  And I have plans for the area you see behind me on my left, which I'm sure will make me even happier! 

Pizza a la Playa

Hemos estado orando por un dia soleado.  Los queridos Ramirez, (unos de los primeros testigos de habla español en Kona y entre los originales que formaron la congregación alla) se van a mudar a Arizona, (alias America) y hoy será la última vez que nos veremos.   Pues, no debo estar tan dramático.  No es la última, última vez (espero) pero la última vez hasta que decidimos ir un dia a Arizona (alias EEUU). 

Hubo un poco de confusión en cuanto a la fecha que Moises iba a dar su discurso...asi que no habiamos planeado nada de antemano.  Decidimos reunirnos al parque...lo cual salió muy bien debido a la tarde perfecta...temperaturas cómodas, una brisa suave, un mar azul, un sol brillante y vistas hasta la pasta. Tenerlo todo es un milagro para Hilo, aparte de la pasta que siempre tenemos.  Creo que haya sido mucho mejor que estar dentro de una casa! 

Una tarde con buenos amigos y una familia muy especial.    FOTOS AQUI