I'm Bored, Come Play with Me!

Who is ever excited to go back to work on Monday morning? Well, if you are, I think you are exceptional! And, I congratulate you. I have never been that excited for Mondays. Anyway, Sandy was not ready to end the weekend and go back to Miches. Wil and I had spent that Sunday with Wil´s family. Sandy, according to his phone call, had been bored doing housework and nothing fun all day. Wil and I were pretty much set where we were at our apartment. Then Sandy called again and said they were coming over to play Canasta and eat ice cream.

I love the festive Baskin Robbins bag. More than the bag, I love that Yimmy is their marketing rock star. During the week, he has turned over their Facebook page to an outside marketing group, but on the weekends he is often still updating it. Check it out here.

Though it is pretty expensive here compared to their main competition (whom shall remain nameless), it really is delicious.  The flavor that night was strawberry ripple in vanilla with little chocolate ganache bites.  Seriously!!

I hope we helped Sandy feel a little better about going back to Miches...either way, we had a fun game of Canasta. And, Sandy and Yimmy won the game with 6 Canastas in the last hand! Wow!!

A Night of Sushi, Caracter, and See's!

After I left the D.R. in December, Sandy got adventurous and decided to make one of my favorites, sushi.  I was so disgruntled that he had made it without me that he promised to make it when I got back.  So, the first time all four of us were back in the Capital, Sandy came through on his promise.

This was the lovely table that greeted us when we arrived.  Sandy is so organized!

The color of the ginger and wasabi were perfect with the placemats!

Wil sported a new outfit for the night.  The shirt was a gift from Mom and Dad, the hat from me.  He looks good!

Sandy was excited to show me the process.  I was excited to watch.  He worked so hard to make sure everything was just right.  I think in December he had obsessed a bit watching Youtube videos about the sushi process...

One of Sandy´s sushi rolls, I believe this is a sweet one with pineapple, cucumber, crab and carrot.

Sandy makes another roll.  He is usually quite serious in photos.

A close-up of the beautiful ingredients.

An action shot of Sandy working with the sticky rice.  He advised me not to use too much.

For this roll, Sandy has put the rice on the outside of the roll.

He cut the roll perfectly in half...

Sandy then cut the halves into four equal pieces.  He showed me that he wet the knife between each slice.

Sandy then rolled the roll in sesame seeds.  Beautiful!

I really wanted to get my hands in the process.  I asked Sandy if I could make one. I´ve never made sushi before.  Sandy talked me through the process.  It was fun!  I wish more people in my family liked sushi, but I´ll have to make some with friends sometime.

This is a close-up of my first attempt.  It seemed more square at the time, ha!

I was still pretty proud of how it turned out!  And, it was definitely edible!

The sushi made it to the table...lovely!

And then, to add a little character to the evening, Yimmy (gracias, Yimmy!) offered a bottle of wine that he had been given by a friend after tasting it at a party.  It was Caracter from Argentina.  It is a Shiraz-Malbec, and it was delicious!!! And, according to some websites, it´s not terribly expensive.  Me likey!!

That is almost a smile from Sandy.  He is such a nice guy and a generous host.

We toasted to friendship! Grandes amigos!!!

I received a wonderful box of See´s chocolates for Christmas.  I know it is difficult to comprehend, but I saved it for a month so that I could bring it to the D.R. 

I wasn´t sure how the chocolates would hold up during my travels, but they did great!  And everyone, but especially Sandy, enjoyed them that night. 

Good ol´ Mrs. See, a trusted friend in chocolates!!  When you see that sweet little face, you know there´s good stuff in that box.  Our family has been faithful to See´s for at least 40 years, I was excited that See´s was mentioned on Glee the other night.

So after sushi, good wine, and chocolate--what more could one desire?  Nothing, it was really a wonderful evening.

Fiesta en la playa! More from Miches!

I cannot believe that it was only three weeks ago that I set out once again for the Dominican Republic.  Time is such a strange thing.  It is so odd to me, but I have such little connection to Montana three weeks ago.  The events that happened in January could have been months ago.  Even looking back through these pictures from my first day here in the D.R. are somehow like distant memories.

Anyway, enough about my struggle with time...

Yimmy picked me up at the airport and we headed to his house.  Then, I quickly changed, packed my backpack and we called a taxi to take us to the bus station.  We didn't make the 2:00 p.m. bus directly to Miches, so we hoofed it over to the other bus stop for El Seibo.  This is sometimes the faster way to go anyway, but it involves changing buses in El Seibo.  And, that is what we did.  We made it to Wil's office and he was with a group of friends, his Dad, and his youngest brother, Jorfree (sounds like Joel-fre).  The friends came to celebrate one of Wil's childhood best friend's birthday.

Wil and the group made it back to the office and some dinner was prepared.  It was more delicious fried fish that is so popular in the beach towns.  Then we, late in the night, made our way to the beach for a bonfire.  I had met the birthday girl only once or twice before (at the hospital when Wil's Dad was there), but she was so sweet on her birthday she kept trying to include me in the fun.  Very kind!  Speaking of Wil's Dad, he has made unbelievable progress.  He came to Miches that weekend with Jorfree because he had not seen Wil in awhile, and he did great!  Many of his memory issues are improved; it was really amazing to see him like that!

Anyway, we made it to the beach.  Wil, his brother, Imperla's (the cook/housekeeper) son, and I worked on gathering burnables and building the fire. 

I found Sandy, Imperla, and Yimmy relaxing on the dock.

With perseverance, Wil got the fire going!  Yay, Wil!!!!

Jorfree was supervising...

It ended up to be a fun night.  We even played "I Never" around the campfire.  Some people "never" did some pretty naughty things.

Sunday, Wil was taken away with some work issues once again.  Sandy, Yimmy and I made it to the beautiful hotel just up the street from Wil's work, La Loma.

The lighting was terrible...but you get the idea.

We saw an interesting trick.  The owners had procured a painting on canvas, hung it and then continued the painting on the wall...

Sandy and Yimmy on the back side of La Loma.  There is a lush valley and a different bay.

Looking toward the other bay...

The rolling hills and green valley.

Sandy and I squint for the camera :)

The hotel is lovely, and it even has a pool.

Later in the day, we made it to the beach for a little while.  On the way, I finally took a couple of pictures of the interesting cemetery in Miches.  I'm always interested in how different cultures use cemeteries.

Some of the monuments were quite lovely there.

When we returned to Wil's office, I found out that his little brother had never been in the water at the beach before. I hadn't thought of taking him with us since he was playing with some little friends when we left. So, next time I'll be sure he gets to play in the water.

Yimmy, Wil's Dad, Jorfree, and I gathered up our belongings and left for Santo Domingo at 4:00 that day. It was a long trip to the Capital. We finally got to Yimmy's apartment at almost 9:00!!! I didn't get to spend too much time with Wil, but when we were together it was nice. I'm glad I'm here!

A Fond Farewell Brunch

My last night in Portland was spent with Cookie and her hubby. When I went to find a hanger in the guest room closet, this is what I found...

Cookie's stash of home preserved goods. I love that Cookie is so into "putting up" things now.  I could not get all of the beautiful jars in one photo.

"I'd give you a nickle for a good dill pickle!"  Well, as you can see, Cookie likes her pickles (and almost everything) a little spicy...3 cloves in one jar??

We enjoyed the evening with some Canasta (it was my gift to Cookie for Christmas and ECL won't play with her) and cooking.  Part way through the game, we worked on waffle batter for Sunday morning's brunch.  An overnight, refrigerator waffle batter.....wonderful!

ECL and I pondering the day.  You can see the lovely, fluffy waffles on our plates.

Cookie and her hubby went all out for the brunch.  So many good berries and homemade whipped cream.  Sweet!!

I was able to get one more long cuddle with sleeping J that morning.  So precious!

Charbie and I wanted a photo of us together!

ECL and J taking each other in...I felt like I was intruding a bit by taking this photo.  They were both so content.

This big fluffball, however, was not so content. She kept playing with her pigtails. Cookie puts her hair in pigtails so the she can see where she is going. She sometimes walks into walls, poor thing.

Thus comes to an end my fabulous weekend in Portland.  ECL and Cookie took me to the train station via Popeyes (some of my favorite fast food fried chicken). Since the train ended up being several hours delayed, I was thankful that I had bought some extra chicken! But, I was most thankful for getting to spend time with my best friends before I returned to the Dominican Republic. It was an amazing weekend full of laughs, games, and memories.  It was really what I needed.  Again, I cannot say it enough---thanks TJ, ECL, Char, and Cookie!! I love you guys!!

Back to Portland for Day 3

Yes, this is the back part of the forward and back...there will be at least three backs before we go forward again.  Think of it as a swing that you are stuck going further and further over the head of the guy that is pushing you.  Now, you are just about to kick him in the face...just kidding.

 I'm sorry, but she is so adorable.  Scarlett embroidered the onesie.  You should visit Scarlett's Etsy Shop here.

 Sweet sisters--Abby and Bella!

 So precious in her polka dots and puppies!

 Bella likes to get dressed up a bit when going out on the town, even if it is just for a walk to the park!

Take note of the boots, purse, coat, and hat!

 I just love how light adds so much photos.  This is the Milwaukee, OR water tank.  It looms over the park and playground that we walked to that beautiful day.

 Abby looks all comfy.  I think she means, "don't disturb me.  I'm fine."

 Looking up, looking down!  This is looking up at Char and Bella through the round tube slide.

 Bella was only a little leery of this slide at first.  Once she was on it, it was just her speed!

 It was perfect because Bella could control how fast she made her descent!  And, isn't that what we all want?  A little more control--especially of our descent, ha!

 Peek-a-boo, I see you Bella!

 As some of you know, I'm not a big fan of swings until the child can get into the swing by themselves and control the swing, but Bella does look like she had a great time.  And, she wasn't in it very long...

Poor little Abby, stuck in the swing and all scrunched up!

We had to get one photo of both girls in the swings before we released Abby...

She is a little cuddle bear!  Look at those eyes!

Abby is such a smiley little pookie!

This is J and Abby in Nordstrom while the moms, aunties and uncle tested out some possible nail polish...we are hoping that someday they will get married...

Abby is a little bear among the otters on the street in Portland...all Cookie's idea.

Cookie was so proud of herself, can you tell?

ECL and I at dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  It's a good, inexpensive dinner, including salad or soup, iced tea, coffee, or milk (if you so desire, yuck), and ice cream (spumone if you choose, I always go with vanilla)! 

My good friend Maureen and her daughter, Sara, were there too!

This is Sara's daughter, M.  She is adorable.  When she got tired, I told her she could lean into my hand, so she did.  How cute is that?