This morning, due to heavy rains, the maternity wing of the Paradise Pastures guinea-pig gated community was not inspected. Early afternoon, the maternity ward was found wet and sodden due to a leakage from a faulty water bottle.
All bedding was wet and most importantly, one baby was lying in the wet grass suffering from hypothermia. The piggie was found by Dr. Munchkin (DRCOG), who had come to the facility to conduct a ward round.
Dr. Munchkin
Baby Rogelio was rushed to SCPU (Special Care Piggie Unit) for intensive care.
Hypothermic Piggie in Douglas (SCPU) Suite.
Despite all due care and attention, the baby was not able to be resuscitated and died at 3pm this afternoon. Mother Matilda must now be brave and strong to give her best to her remaining two babes.
Matilda Piggie with Babies.
When asked to comment, Mayor Gnome declined. Apparently, he was out of office and is currently on the road starting his re-election campaign.
Mayor Gnome Declined To Comment.
This sad event brings ominous dark tones to the beginnings of the Mayor Election Campaign.
Grandma Stumpy on the right.
What does Grandma Stumpy have to say about all this?
Stumpy: We’ll get through this…we always have. Since I was knee-high to a grass-hopper Mayor Gnome has always pulled us through. He won’t let us down this time…
We hope for her sake and the community of Paradise Pastures, that she is right.
New Look Gnome. New Look Campaign.
The Paradise Piggies must soldier on despite the unbearable loss…what does the future hold for Paradise Pastures?
On Wednesday morning of this week, Mayor Gnome called an urgent meeting to discuss a serious maternity issue. After the last blunder with the homeless baby piggies, he has been extra cautious with decision making for the gated guinea-pig community of Paradise Pastures.
Mayor Gnome: Unsure.
The problem was this mother piggie…look at the size of her! A young teenager, in her first pregnancy, 10 days past her estimated delivery date.
Post Dates Matilda Piggie.
Mayor Gnome called in the Dr. Munchkin DRCOG (member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) for her expert opinion on the matter.
Dr. Munchkin
This is what Dr. Munchkin said:
Here in Toledo, Belize there are no facilities available for induction of labour simply because of the small population of this area. The council would have insufficient funds to maintain such a facility. I have examined the young mother and she has an unfavourable, unripe cervix and three foetuses can be felt high up in the uterus and at present, there are no signs of her going into labour. Since this is the first pregnancy for this mother, she would be categorised at high risk so I would recommend an urgent elective c-section.
Mother Matilda was admitted into the Susan B Anthony Maternity wing for observation with a view to a c-section scheduled for Thursday morning.
I tell you what…Mayor Gnome must have been praying ALL night for a miracle because…
This morning, Matilda had a normal labour and gave birth to three sprightly new babies. Cor Blimey…it’s a Piggie Miracle!! As soon as the babies’ bums were licked, Mayor Gnome whisked the babes off into the Paisley Suite for a photo shoot:
Three Little Piggies.
Dr. Munchkin was seen shaking her fist at Mayor Gnome! How dare he snatch these babies away from the mother at such a critical bonding time!
She marched into the middle of the photo shoot to take the babies back to their mother! What a scene…angry Dr. Munchkin with her bulging eyes and Mayor Gnome with his “Devil-May-Care” attitude!
Mum Reunited with Babies.
What’s Mayor Gnome up to? Swiping these babies so quickly to get a picture?
TRYING TO WIN VOTES FOR….
THE MAYOR ELECTION 21st SEPTEMBER 2015!!! BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.
We have a sneaky suspicion that Mayor Gnome would rather not be square…
This morning, we got up a tad later than usual at 6am. We sat down to have a hot honey drink whilst drunken baymen (black stingless bees that buzz and bumble in a swaying motion) swarmed around us trying to steal honey from our mugs. It wasn’t that comfortable because every-time I took a sip, the bees would make a mad swoop for the mug and I would cough and splutter trying not to swallow a single bee! What a way to start the morning!
This is a typical day in the life of Munchkin and Gnome.
We mixed up a batch of soap; this time we made Chocolate Vanilla Cookie which is fragranced with a blend of essentail oils to give off the smell of oven-baked cookies. They appear marbled at first but with time, they assume a uniformity with a light chocolate brown colour.
Fresh Chocolate Vanilla Cookie Soap.
Gnome then went off to procure a large stick…wahooo!! The Big Stick is coming out so coconut products will be available soon!
Giant Green Bamboo.
I went off to wash the dogs…they were actually really well-behaved today as I soaped them and then doused them thoroughly with Sulphur-Lime Dip (a Gnome Bored-in-Belize concoction) which is used against fleas, tics, mange and ringworm. It is great stuff and works well…however, we all end up smelling of rotten eggs. Afterwards, I had a shower and doused myself in lavender oil.
Washing Dog with Sulphur Dip.
Next, we both donned our respectable clothes to go into town to assume our identities of Doctors Munchkin and Gnome (or “The Doctors” as we are known in Punta Gorda). We had an appointed patient review.
So, we did our doctoring stuff and as Gnome was walking down the path, he spotted a decaying tree with a whole load of oyster mushrooms growing on them. You have to be on the look-out at all times for mushrooms to pop up! They were such beautiful clean specimens. We picked the whole lot of them and I was so pleased with our find that I let Gnome store them in my town hat.
Oyster Mushrooms.
We also spotted White Goods on a Pick-up! Our Pick-up game that we like playing where we spot white goods on trucks for points.
Munchkin: Sloooow down! What do you think it is…a washing machine? Or a mini freez…
Gnome: Quit blabbering! Take a picture now!! We’re turning left now!! Pronto!
Mystery White Goods on Pick up!
As we were leaving Punta Gorda, we stopped off by the sea to have a hot drink together (yes, I brought my food bag with the thermos flask…no biscuits this time). We stared out at the choppy sea and marvelled at the enormous amounts of seaweed on the shore. This will be a Munchkin and Gnome project for the future…this particular seaweed is called “sargassum.” It is of particular interest to us because it is actually used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is named Hai Zao and it is used to dissolve phlegm, act as a diuretic and relieve oedema.
Sargassum Seaweed.
Homeward bound back to the farm where I cooked up curried ripe jackfruit and lentils for lunch:
Curried Jackfruit with Lentils.
Will post recipe this week! Too much to write about…
And that was just the morning of a typical day with Munchkin and Gnome!
Hello Everyone! Just something short and sweet because I am knackered. I have been doing some spring cleaning and I am gutting out the house. It is absolutely amazing how much stuff accumulates because we keep everything in the vain hope that one day it might come in useful. In my opinion, it never does because you always forget about it or you can’t find it! Chaos reigns…
I have to pull this face again because the day started thus:
The day began with Gnome trying to make “Secret Gnome Stuff” and he chucked a maddy when he couldn’t find his ¼ inch chisel. He was doing his “Hokey-Cokey” again with his left foot in and his right foot in and shaking it all about! I thought he was going to explode.
At this point, I need to point out an important house rule that we have. We can “ chuck a maddy” but the cardinal rule is, only one person at a time. That way, we don’t get into too much trouble with one offering kind support. So, it was his turn this time so I proposed to remedy the situation by buying a chisel.
So off we ran into town.
How mad is that?? By that time we reached town, Gnome had claimed back most of his faculties (although his hair was a bit boofy and his eyes were bulging somewhat) and was starting to speak a bit more coherently. We went into the Farm Store to buy the chisel; they only had a 3/8 inch chisel which Gnome promptly bought because I shot the Chinese woman look of “we came all the way into town…you better damn well buy it!” The main bossie of the store hailed me and said that our Pet Soap was sold out and he placed an order with me. That was a bonus at least.
So, left to his own devices, Gnome made his secret stuff. He won’t tell me what it is. He thinks that it keeps the romance alive to have mystery between us!! I am sure he will write a post on this one.
Other mystery Gnome stuff…some kind of mound with smelly fermented stuff and cardboard. Gnome won’t allow me near it…I will let you know once I figure it out.
Secret Gnome Business.
Anyway, since we can’t find anything and we are literally tripping over buckets everywhere, I have decided to do a big clean up. I am chucking out lots of stuff to get some space around here! It feels somewhat liberating…
Gnome: Is there any “Shepherd’s Pie” to this meal?
(Gnome is referring to the well-known dish of baked minced beef topped with mashed potato).
Munchkin: Yes, the mashed potato on top.
Gnome: Well, there you go. One can not go against the word of a Munchkin! Shepherd’s Pie, it is…a la Munchkin!
(Gnome distinctly dislikes using French terms…I think he was being facetious, if you ask me).
So, here we go: This dish is made with minced (ground) pork (instead of beef) and mango (instead of the tomatoes in Shepherd’s Pie) and shiitake mushrooms (instead of button mushrooms). This gives it a sweet, tangy exotic taste. It is baked and topped with mashed potato with coconut cream (instead of butter).
The authentic part of the recipe is the potato!
I used these little wild mangoes for this recipe; as they say here in Belize they are Sweet Sweet Sweet!
Today we planned a day out to a plant nursery in Stann Creek and set out about 9am for our two hour leisurely cruise. Gnome laughed at me when I packed our “food bag” which consisted of a thermos flask of milky tea and some digestive biscuits. I just shrugged and said that there was simply no place to stop for refreshments (except for supermarkets and bars) on the way to Stann Creek. I didn’t want a beer, I wanted a cuppa tea!
Anyway, as we trundled along in our pick-up truck, we couldn’t help but notice that it kept on making a screechy, high pitched noise every-time he went over 100kph. So, Gnome spent the whole drive trying to keep the noise at bay. The sound was aggravating and we spent the entire drive worrying about ball joints and universal joints and God-knows-what-joints! Gnome is not skilled in fixing mechanised vehicles so if the truck happened to break down, we would be stuck in the middle of nowhere!
After an hour’s drive up the Southern Highway, we finally reached the first civilisation stop: “Tommy’s Superstore” in Bella Vista. This Chinese supermarket is the size of a K-mart and looks like a regular supermarket (this is a big deal in Belize because most of them don’t…not that I care).
Tommy’s Superstore, Bella Vista, Toledo.
We stopped at the car-park and I suggested having a cup of tea with a biscuit. If in doubt…bring out the hot beverage to calm the nerves! We romantically sipped our tea in front of the Chinese supermarket laughing and making light of our harrowing journey. We both agreed that it was best to turn back home in case anything happened. Before we left the car-park, a local farmer on a bike laden with pineapples approached us. You should have seen him…he strung the pineapples in lots of three and hung them from the handle-bars of the bike. He must have had at least thirty of them hanging like Christmas bobble decoration. We bought 15 pineapples just because we were so impressed by his superior co-ordination with the bike-load! And, they looked so sweet and tasty. Gnome was thinking about fermentation whilst I was thinking about dessert!
Pineapples on Strings.
On the way back home, we saw a fridge on a pick-up…1000 points!! Here are two views of our auspicious find.
Munchkin: Slam on the breaks Gnome. I think we got us one here!
Fridge on Pick-up Truck. Back View.
Munchkin: Slowly…slowly….
Gnome: Hurry, hurry before you miss it!
Fridge on a Pick-up. Side View.
For anyone out there who has the vaguest interest in this crazy game that we play, we like to spot “white goods” and various paraphernalia on the back of trucks and we award a points system according to the item. This is our idea of fun (I like to write about it in the vain hope that other people would consider playing the game with us…but alas, nobody seems to get the “fun” part). Anyway, a fridge is awarded the highest score hence the reason why I make Gnome sloooowww down to get a drive-by picture for the blog. Very auspicious!
We got home in one piece, thankfully…
Most of the pineapples have been pared, cut into pieces and frozen. Weather permitting, I will try to dehydrate the rest. I made pineapple cobbler today..I am going to pour some of our wonderful elixir (liqueur) onto it before serving!
We have our first big baby weighing in at a formidable 28lbs (14 kgs).
Jackfruit Baby.
We have had our eyes on this little one for quite a few months and have affectionately called them our jackfruit “babies” because they resemble giant pods that look like they will burst open at any moment and something alive will pop out of them!
This is the first year that our jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) trees have produced so we are very pleased. Jackfruit can weigh up to about 40 kgs so they give you a lot to eat. We picked this one when it started emitting its characteristic musky fragrance and when the outer shell was pressed, the flesh behind it felt softer.
A word of warning…if you ever get a hold one of these babies, be prepared to spend at least one hour preparing it. Use plenty of newspaper and coat your knives in oil to stop the latex from sticking onto the utensils. Also, wearing rubber gloves (and goggles!) helps so that you are not too immersed in goo and latex. Don’t let any of this worry you…it is definitely worth it!
To prepare, cut the jackfruit into quarters lengthwise. Then cut out the mid-line pith, like so:
Opened Jackfruit.
The jackfruit is mostly eaten for its delectable arils. Take these out and pop out the seeds. All parts of the jackfruit are edible so do not throw anything out except for the shell. So this is what you get:
The Fruit:
Jackfruit Arils.
The fruit can be eaten fresh. Our variety is a firm type which we prefer. There are softer varieties which tend to be moist and sweet and have the consistency of snot (still good, though). You can freeze the fruit and eat in the frozen form. They can be used to make desserts such as ice-cream or fruit pie. I really like my fruit savoury, so I am going to stuff some of these with minced pork. Yum! There are plenty of recipes to be found on the Internet; just look up Malaysian, Indian, Ethiopian and Cambodian cuisine to name but a few.
The Seeds:
Jackfruit Seeds.
These can be boiled and eaten as a snack or used as a carbohydrate accompaniment to a meal. They taste like breadnut (also Artocarpus sp.) or chestnuts (if you are from the temperate region). The seeds just need to be boiled for about 20 to 30 minutes until tender and the shell comes off easily.
The Rest:
Jackfruit Shavings.
Don’t throw out the rest of the fruit! A great deal of it is composed of unformed arils which are edible. They tend to be less mature and may have more latex on them. I use this part for cooking in stews, stir-frys and curries. You can also dip them in batter and fry them in oil (like onion rings). Again, this part of the fruit can be stored in the freezer.
It’s not all paradise for the piggies at Paradise Pastures presently. Mayor Gnome has found himself in the piggie line-of-fire as a rogue guinea-pig mother gave birth to babies outside of the maternity suite in the late hours of Monday night. In his defence, Gnome says that this mother has had a poor attendance record and had failed to book into the ante-natal clinic. As a result of this, two shivering little piggies were found wandering the streets of Paradise Pastures this morning.
Two New Girls: Addy and Issy.
In attempt to quell trouble and potential piggie up-rising, Mayor Gnome improvised immediately by putting the two homeless babies in a quickly constructed Special Care Piggie Unit (SCPU).The Douglas Suite:
Baby Piggies in SCPU.
Upon release from SCPU, the babies were re-united with their mother in the The Susan B Anthony Maternity Wing:
Piggies in Maternity Ward.
Mayor Gnome acted quickly. But was it quick enough? There is trouble brewing and this could be the start of something bigger. Mayor Gnome better watch out…there’s a condo shortage and we have an exclusive picture right here:
Condo Shortage!!
Not enough condos to house the piggies!! What does Mayor Gnome have to say about this? Destitution in Paradise Pastures…what next??
Not Looking Good for Mayor Gnome!Mayor Gnome: The End of The Road??
Last-night we had a late medical call-out and ended up coming back home at about 10.30pm. That is late for us considering we are in bed by 8pm usually for our 4am wake-ups. Anyway, that was the adventurous part for us. When we came back home, we were still a bit hyperactive from the night’s events so I made us both a nice hot toddy (with a shot of rum). We sat on the back steps together, side by side, sipping on our drinks in the light of the moon. That was the romantic part. We were already sitting ad-mist an orchestra of incessant ribitting and it was getting louder and louder and louder. So, Gnome stumbled upon the idea of shining a light where-ever we could hear the heavy bass notes of frogs and toads. And so we did. It was amazing…we were surrounded by these tiny little jumping, squishy green creatures that could emit such loud, yet melodic and co-ordinated sounds. That was the frog spotting part.
Cheekily, in my mind I thought of all the email marketing of Rain-forest, Lodge, Romantic Get-aways and thought of the catchy marketing jargon:
Adventure, Romance and Frog Spotting Bliss!!
Come seek the Adventure of a life-time in the beautiful, unspoiled rainforests of Belize. Experience unforgettable romance with your loved one as you sit in the moon-light with the chorus of melodic frogs. Delight in an experience like no other! Share in the adventure…endless love…frog serenades…
Hi there!! Here are some more pictures from our adventures through Belize. As promised, here are some pictures from the Anime convention held by the Japanese Embassy in Belize.
Cosplay Contest:
Cosplay Contest in Belize.
The Japanese Embassy entertained with music, songs and dancing on the stage. And of course interspersed with Anime: Negadon: The Monster From Mars, SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers and Komaneko- The Curious Cat. They also had various booths to display information on Japanese culture. Here is the calligraphy booth:
Calligraphy Booth.
We stayed at the Best Western Biltmore Plaza for the night. We were pleasantly surprised and found that it had a colonial, Caribbean feel to the place despite being located in the middle of a busy city.
Biltmore Plaza.
Back in the hotel room, after a 3 hour drive to Belize City and attendance at the Anime convention for about 4 hours, Gnome took his boots off finally. Out of one boot, a frog popped out!
Tree Frog.
Gnome certainly insisted on taking part of the farm with him! He said that he thought that he felt something wet in his shoe…he did not realise that he was accommodating a frog and so was somewhat relieved to find a benign cause for his slimey foot.
Relieved Gnome.
The frog stayed in the room with us and in the middle of the night jumped onto Gnome’s face. It jumped and boinged quite happily in the dark attending to mosquito control. In the morning, we found him asleep in the toilet.
This morning, we went to the Belize City public hospital, KHMH to pay our medical licences. The Medical Board of Belize have implemented a new policy with payment whereby the money has to be paid into their bank account. Then you have to travel all the way to KHMH in Belize City to present your bank deposit slip to them. This year they have also started issuing annual licences to doctors once payment has been fulfilled. Presumably they are for framing in the doctor’s clinic. In our case, they will be hung up in the barn.
KHMH.
After the hospital visit, we stopped by the Taiwanese shop to pick up some Chinese goodies. We had some refreshments…
Drink From Taiwanese Shop.
I can not read Chinese so I don’t actually know what we drank. It tasted like soya milk with hints of strawberry. Check out the picture…it seems to suggest the promise of love? Some feminine love potion drink? I felt a bit giddy with love for my darling Gnome afterwards…so, maybe it worked!!
It was a lovely drive with blue skies:
Maya Mountains in Belize.
We even managed to squeeze in a visit to Lost Reef to meet up with friends:
Our Happy Friend…She DOES look like this!!Our Friends. And yes, he looks like that too!!Lost Reef.
Homeward bound. We took the frog back home with us too!!
This morning, due to heavy rains, the maternity wing of the Paradise Pastures guinea-pig gated community was not inspected. Early afternoon, the maternity ward was found wet and sodden due to a leakage from a faulty water bottle.
