It is a Saturday night and I am posting up pictures of terrapins…ha-ha…I have “tagged” this one as “Friday Night Stuck At Home Post.” As you already know, Gnome has been hard at working cleaning up the farm. The other day, whilst he was mowing, he found a big terrapin in the grass. These are so big compared to the tiny ones that I used to have as childhood pets.
Terrapin Top View.
Here are a few pictures of this lovely, cute friendly beast.
Terrapin Side View.
And, another one…
Terrapin.
Anyway, if you are also at home this evening, here is a tune to listen to whilst sipping a glass of red wine or port:
Gnome-Of-All-Trades is doing all sorts of things. You would think he was a super hero or something with all the work that he is getting on with. Super- Gnome (TM!!). Mmmmm, with all the Super Hero films that are being churned out of Hollywood maybe they would consider this as a movie…Ha-Ha!! Could be plausible…after-all, they have done an Ant-Man? What’s next…Mosquito-Man?
Anyway, excuse the rant and let us move swiftly onto the subject of Gnome-Rigging. This is what happens when something breaks and there is no 24 hour Amazon delivery to get parts needed urgently. The main switch for the brush-mower has fallen apart (from age, tropical weather, somebody else borrowing it and not using it properly, etc, etc) so now Gnome switches it on by fusing two wires together (like hot-wiring cars). Like so:
Gnome Rigging.
The main switch does not work anymore…so connections now have to be made manually. Hence the reason for the “bird’s nest” of wires attractively sticking out the back of the mower. Artistic…
Bird’s Nest Wiring.
Please be warned that Gnome-Rigging does not comply with safety standards and regulations. Yes, you better Belize it!!
More Gnome Rigging: No proper table to work on so he balances plywood on two crates:
Gnome Working.
Against all odds, he is doing it all on the farm! He is also panelling the inside of the house! Yippee!! Of course, all this work is intermittently interrupted by hissy fits from a poor frustrated Gnome trying to get things done despite all the imperfections of living in the bush!
Are you sure you want to….Follow us into THE JUNGLE??….
Oooooh!!! Munchkin was let loose in the kitchen to make a Christmas Cake! If you follow the Blog, you will know that there have been many baking disasters in the past…especially around the Festive Season when she has good intentions in baking but they never turn out! This “Christmas Stollen” was fortunately rescued and morphed into a Monster Christmas Chaos Cake!
Trying to work yeasted dough for baking in a 35C (95F) kitchen is bound to end in disaster. The sticky dough expands within seconds, doubles in bulk within minutes and if you don’t get it into the oven quick smart…it is bound to explode all over the place. Not a pretty sight to see a red-faced, hot Munchkin anxiously trying to mix dough quickly before it all splatters on the walls! Arrrgh!!!
Anyway, the Stollen was rescued and become a gorgeous Christmas Cake decorated with dried sapodilla from the farm:
Christmas Chaos Cake.
Enjoyed indulgently with vanilla glaze drizzle. Mmmmm…what a save!!
Yes, it was a town day with the usual madness of rushing about, delivering stuff, paying bills in between seeing patients and hailing passerbys. After all that, we sat by the sea with our Duckie Bag sipping coffee together.
Travel Bag With Thermos.
Who needs a coffee shop when you can sit out here?
Occasionally, we stumble across some good stuff to buy in Belize. Usually we don’t so that is why we make/grow and cook most of our food on the farm. Here are a few things:
Can you believe it…you can actually get some Italian Christmas Food at Save-U in Belize. Panettone is a treat because I haven’t summoned up enough courage to bake one of these yet…I keep on making the excuse that I don’t have a proper cake tin! Oh, and Torrone is Italian nougat which is typically eaten during the festive season. Gnome keeps on hinting that I should try making some…this one might be a project at some point. We both like the hard nougat as opposed to the soft type.
Italian Christmas Goodies.
This is 20lbs of Basmati rice from Brodies. Normally, this rice is sold in tiny ridiculous amounts of about 200g (1/2lb) for stupid prices. This bag will last us a whole year.
Basmati Rice.
This one is a surprise…Guatemalan pasta (linguini) has got the thumbs up from the Italian Gnome (he is Italian when it suits him). He says not to waste money on US imported brands because they usually contain more than just flour, water and salt and do not have the al dente texture. This stuff is really cheap and sold at every Chinese Superstore in Belize. One packet of 200g (1/2lb) costs BZ$1 and if you have a hoarding instinct (like Munchkins) you can buy a case of 24 for BZ$18. What a bargain.
Guatemalan Pasta.
Last but not least…something for the Duckie Bag. Vanilla and hazelnut coffee sachets for impromptu coffee stops by the side of the road with our trusty thermos flask.
Hello Everyone!! Thank-you to the people who responded to my question Who is/was Jonas? Where they any good? It appears that I have not missed anything on our 10 year Internet hiatus in the jungles of Belize. For all those people who did not respond, I don’t think that you actually realised that it was a real question!
It appears that our cat has taken a special interest in our Jonas bags…or is it the black bin liner? Isn’t it funny that we post pictures of our cat much like the way people post pictures of their babies?
Can anybody tell us Who Jonas Are? Have we missed out on anything good? Somehow the last 10 years of Belize has acted as a time warp and we have no knowledge of current trends and popular fads. We have no idea.. are these guys old or new? Are they a Christian Pop Band? We have ended up with hundreds of Jonas Gift Bags and this is how it happened…
Just last week, our old missionary friend phoned me up and asked if I had ordered gift bags to be sent to his States address. I recalled that a long time ago (2 years to be exact) I had ordered some golden organza bags via Amazon, from China, to be sent to his address. They never appeared and so I had given them up for being lost in the post somewhere out there! So, when he mentioned Gift Bags, I immediately thought that they had at long last arrived. When our friend came to deliver the stuff he literally chucked a huge bin bag liner over the gate, a few token papayas and scurried quick smart back into his truck. He made a hurried excuse about needing a hair-cut, pushed the gas pedal down and was gone before I could even utter a word of thanks.
I opened up the bag and this is what I got. Hundreds of these in all shapes and sizes.
Jonas Gift Bags.More Jonas.And More Jonas.
I have the sneaky suspicion that my missionary friend has happily off-loaded these bags onto me regardless of whether I have true ownership. I think they probably came from some church bazaar along with woolly jumpers and coffee mugs. Anyway, since I continue to receive gifts under the auspices of Jesus, I would like to extend this gesture by giving away a free Jonas bag with every International order from our website. Yay!! Start Shopping!!
Here is another Munchkin and Gnome Game which might become famous once we are minor celebrities. So, even although it seems like we are the only ones that find this game humourous, it is our hope that this might catch on at some point…”go viral” so-to-speak. However, I would like to give a Big Thank-you to Ginja Bwai for playing this game with us once.
Last week, we spotted a Fridge On A Pickup at Tommy’s Superstore in Bella Vista.
Gnome:
“Quick, quick, get a picture before you miss it!”
Munchkin:
“Yeah but…how can I miss it? It’s not moving!”
Fridge On A Pickup.
Gnome:
“Sorry Babes, but you do have a habit of missing them!”
Spotting a Fridge On A Pickup means 1000 points!!
And we have had close calls in the past as I fumbled around for the camera as the truck and fridge came whizzing by. Look! It’s speeding away!! There have been a few fast and furious car chases in Belize with Munchkin and Gnome!
White Goods On A Pickup.
Anyway here are the Point Allocations for the spotting of Goods (and assorted paraphernilia) on a Pickup (with a picture):
Fridge 1000pts.
Washing Machine 900pts.
Freezer 850pts.
Estufa (Spanish for Stove) 800pts.
Boca (Central American Chip Packets) 750pts.
Pig 500pts.
Tractor Wheels 500pts.
Large Ruminant 350pts.
Small Ruminants 250pts each.
When you spot the Fridge on a Pickup, the rule is to jiggle your bottom on the car seat and shout out,
“Fridge On A Pickup!!”
with whistles, loud expressive whooping and hand gesticulating.
Add up all your points and come to the sober realisation that none of this means anything and try to have More Fun!!
Before I start on another hilarious story with Munchkin and Gnome (Ha-Ha), I would like to mention that you can find us on FaceBook under Mandy Tsang. We have removed the Casa Mascia Apothecary page because it has only served to confuse everyone or maybe it’s because I don’t know how to use FaceBook properly! Anyway…back to The Brain…
Every-time we harvest one of these beauties, we call out “The Brain!!” in unison. Well, it is because we think that this root resembles a brain and also, we have been living in the bush for so many years, we have developed a sense of humour to offset some of the boredom (Ha-Ha).
Hmmm…I suppose you could say that it also looked like an elephant’s foot…
The Brain!!
“The Brain!!” is also known as elephant foot yam, white-spot giant arum and its latin name is Amorphophallus paeoniifolis. Anyone who knows a bit of latin will be wondering why this is called a misshapen (amorpho) penis (phallus). This plant actually produces a spectacular flower which is the reason for the name; unfortunately, we have not been privy to the flowering of this plant. If you do a quick Internet search, you will find pictures easily…the flowers are truly amazing.
If you look at the stem of this plant, you can see the tell-tale white-spots which lends them their popular name.
White -spot Yam.
This plant is related to A. konjac which is consumed in South-East Asia and Japan. According to a Straits Chinese Gnome, this is used, amongst other things, to make Jello in Asian countries because it can remain solid in the Tropics.
The Brain!!
The preparation and cooking will be for another post!! Watch out for the dissection of The Brain!!
