Category Archives: Amusing

Amusing, Belize, Fermentation, Medical Related, Our Products, Soap

Rorscharch Soap Test and Gnome Messing Around.

Munchkin.Feeling.RightousThe Rorschach Test is an Inkblot test created by a Swiss Psychologist called Hermann Rorscharch.  This test involves the psychological analysis of a subject’s perception of inkblot images.

We have transferred this same concept into our soaps since the swirls and blotches can form distinct images.  Have a look at the following picture…I see mirror images of a toucan.  What do you think…have I just got “Belize” in the brain!!

Chocolate Swirl Artisan Soaps.
Chocolate Swirl Artisan Soaps.

What do you see in the next Rorscharch Soap?  How many birds do you see?!

Artisan Soap.
Artisan Soap.

On a different note, I just wanted to tell you that Gnome hasn’t got round to writing anything this week because he has been messing around with well, gnome stuff.

Gnome.EmbarassedHere are some pictures; maybe he will explain them to you at some point.

Fermenting Bananas.
Fermenting Bananas.
Squeezing something into a bucket.
Squeezing something into a bucket.

As I write this, he is still messing around!  And by the way, that was my nice lilac pillow case!

Gnome says this is a Gravity Press.
Gnome says this is a Gravity Press.

Munchkin.ConfusedGnome now refuses to explain what he is doing!!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

The Joys of Brimstone and Lime.

Gnome.Looking.Serious

Today was a good day to make some lime sulphur, a smelly concoction that has multiple uses as a fruit tree anti-fungal and as a pet dip for things like mange and ringworm.

One of my friends is trying to grow grapes, which in this climate are very susceptible to a plethora of fungal diseases; he asked me to make some lime sulphur for him since I am a Gnome and Gnomes like messing around with smelly stuff.  Also, I am a Catholic Gnome, and obviously Brimstone, Smelliness, Catholic and Gnome are a match made in Heaven (hee, hee, hee…)!

Anyway, you need sulphur or brimstone…

Flowers of Sulphur.
Flowers of Sulphur.

And you need white lime…

White Lime.
White Lime.

And you boil them together…

Boiling Sulphur and Lime together.
Boiling Sulphur and Lime together.

…to get Lime Sulphur.

It is dirty, smelly work and you need to be careful as it is quite poisonous and caustic though the sulphurous fumes of brimstone are very soul-cleansing!!

After boiling for a while it looks like this…

Lime Sulphur Transformation Complete.
Lime Sulphur Transformation Complete.

…a dark red-brown-rotten-egg-smelling liquid…

If you want to make your own…look at my recipe in Bored-In-Belize:  Making Lime Sulphur.

Until later, take care!

Amusing, Belize

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Audio

Dancing

To All of Our Friends, Our Enemies, Our Families, Our Readers and All of Humanity:

May we all have a year filled with wonder, success, prosperity and awe.  May all our wishes and dreams come true.  May we all discover freedom and brotherhood.  May the Fates smile upon all of our endeavours.

Please join us in welcoming the New Year by singing along with us with a good old Scottish favourite from Rabbie Burns (take your pick according to your inclination) while we share a wee nip of Scotch together:

Here are the Words:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup!
and surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae run about the braes,
and pou’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit,
sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn,
frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar’d
sin’ auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere!
and gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak’ a right gude-willie waught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

The Traditional Burns Auld Lang Syne:

Gregorian Auld Lang Syne:

And if you prefer Trance Auld Lang Syne:

Happy New Year from The Munchkin and The Gnome!!

Amusing, Belize, Food

Two Baking Disasters in 1 day!!

Full.Face.Munchkin.DarkThis was a foolish and cavalier attempt to ‘fast-track’ my baking skills to an appreciative level.

Disaster No.1: Sesame Cookie Mess!
Disaster No.1: Sesame Cookie Mess!
Disaster No.2: Big Hole in Spice Cake! How embarrassing!
Disaster No.2: Big Hole in Spice Cake! How embarrassing!

Firstly, the sesame cookie thing all coalesced into one big cookie in the oven.  Furthermore, it got stuck in the baking tray and I had to scrape it off (with a paint scraper of all things!).  Then I concentrated all my efforts into making a spice cake and it rose beautifully in the oven with the yummy whiff of baked cinnamon, all-spice and clove.  But, then when I tried to bang it out of the tin disaster struck and the centre flopped out of the tin leaving a crater in my cake!

I have never been much of a baker especially of cakes and biscuits and now I have two very important tasks to fulfill!

Firstly, as a follow-up from yesterday’s post on cassava, we did finally get 4 cups of farm fresh home-made tapioca flour from 10lbs of fresh cassava.

Our Very Own Blessed Tapioca Flour! We are so proud!
Our Very Own Blessed Tapioca Flour! We are so proud!

I want to bake a tapioca bread(Argentinean or Korean!) made from this but I have only one chance since I only have 4 cups.  I really don’t want to mess it up since we went through such a labourious process to get it.  Hence the reason why I was trying to bake other things to get a bit more experience.

Secondly, Gnome has made a special request for home-baked Panettone(traditional Italian Christmas cake).  I have looked at the recipe and it involves a long drawn and complicated procedure with yeasting, letting it rise 4 times through-out the day over about 8 hours and the kneading of tacky, gloopy dough.  This is a real challenge and I have 7 days to make the perfect Christmas cake for him which will hopefully remind him of cold winter nights in Italy by the fire hearth waiting for Santa! Aaaarghhh!!! I hope I can do this!

 

Amusing, Belize

Fridge on a Pick-em Up!

cropped-cropped-rainbow1.jpg

Fridge on a pick-em up is a game we play when we decide to take the long arduous drive to the Big City (Belize City).  Now, both Gnome and I have been very seasoned travelers in the past having travelled the length and breadth of bigger places like Australia, Europe and the UK.  But, somehow this meagre 200 mile journey from Toledo to Belize City seems to test our stamina to the limits!  It might be due to all the speed bumps on the village roads, some with no advance warning signs (until you actually go flying up in the air and then come crashing down with a loud thud-dunk!).

A while ago, we developed a Pick-em up Game on the road, just to keep things a bit more novel for us.  Basically, the majority of vehicles on the Belizean roads are pick-up trucks and as you drive, you can usually spot a whole variety of interesting things on the back of people’s trucks.  As a result of this, we developed a points game where the contents of a pick-up truck is equivalent to specific bonus points.

Our highest bonus points allocation (1000 points) goes to the Fridge on a Pick-em up!

This one was actually 2 Fridges on a Pick-em up! Double Bonus Points!
This one was actually 2 Fridges on a Pick-em up! Double Bonus Points!

The above sighting of 2 fridges was most auspicious.  A bit further up the Highway, we came across another Fridge on a Pick-em up but I couldn’t get a drive-by picture because Gnome was driving too fast.

Other high bonus points include:  Estufa (Spanish name for ‘Stove’) on a Pick-em up = 800 Bonus Points, Boca (Central American Chip Packets) on a Pick-em up = 750 Bonus Points and Pig on a Pick-em up = 500 Bonus Points.

Whenever we come across the infamous Fridge, we do a bit of a jiggle on the car seat and shout out ” Fridge on a Pick-em up!”

This game has its value in keeping us amused and also in keeping our eyes on the road!

 

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

The Wart of Evil Part II.

Gnome.SmilingIts been a few days now since we tied off the Wart of Evil.  As we predicted, it has dried up and our Gander can see from that side of his face a lot better…

The Wart of Evil Has Been Removed!!
The Wart of Evil Has Been Removed!!

We think that he is a lot happier because he cooperated fully without honking or biting while we cut it off…

The Wart of Evil.
The Wart of Evil.

It is all supposed to be a bit of a joke but I swear to you that our goosie has had a personality transformation and has turned into a happy-go-lucky, loveble sort of fellow.  He now hangs out with our duckies and acts as a body guard to them, there is no more pecking and bossing around.

I’ve put the Wart of Evil into a vial and am in the process of pickling it in alcohol.  The transformation into the Wart Against Evil (TM) has begun.  I will update you once it is ready and make it available for your personal use (probably in the New Year, once I get the Shop finally going)!

In the mean time, be safe from Evil!!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

The Wart of Evil.

Gnome.Straight.Smile

Our pet Gander has, over the past year, been growing a pedunculated polyp from the side of its face, just above its beak.  It looks like so…

Our Gander Growing a Wart of Evil.
Our Gander Growing a Wart of Evil.

Over this period, we have found him to have become more bossy, angry and violent, pecking and honking at the dogs, the cat, the ducks, stray children…everybody actually!  As a result, we affectionately called his growing protrusion the “Wart of Evil,” and invented a little ritual where we would rub the wart three times with our left thumb and then with our right thumb whenever we had one of those days that didn’t seem to go right (you know, those crappy days when no matter what you try and do everything goes to pot!).

Well, today we decided to start the process of removal for this evil emanation and with one of us holding the gander, the other used some dental floss to tie it off so that it will dry up and drop off in a few days.  We used the same technique which is used to castrate animals with a strong rubber band.  It is much nicer and less painful than trying to snip it off with scissors or a knife as once the circulation is cut off it goes numb and starts to drop off.

In a few days the “Wart of Evil” should be in such a condition that we should be able to cut it off without hurting the goose.  Our plan is to pickle it in rum and turn it into the well known protective charm called “The Wart Against Evil (TM)!”   It will be available for purchase in the Talismonger section of our shop once it has been tested and we are sure of its effectiveness.

Be safe from Evil!

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Pets

Can The Piggies Do It?

Avatar.GnomeIt has been forty-eight hours since the piggies took up residence in their new home and it doesn’t seem like any of them have figured out how to get to the delicious food that is growing just under their feet!  I had promised myself that I would give them a week before doing anything more but I just was not able to resist…

So, this morning, I started by making the hole to the ramp bigger…like so…

Ramp With Enlarged Hole.
Ramp With Enlarged Hole.

Next, I tried to tempt the piggies with a bit of juicy produce to give them some incentive…

Tempting Piggies to Go Down the Ramp.
Tempting Piggies to Go Down the Ramp.

And here is one of them almost getting the idea…

Almost there...you can do it!
Almost there…you can do it!

That particular piggie managed to get all the way down and is now chomping away in paradise.  Unfortunately, none of the others managed to figure it out.  Both Munchkin and I have decided that I will have to make more ramps, say like five more…

Cheers…

Amusing, Belize

Waiting in Belize.

Upsidedown

Belize can really put the breaks on you if you live here.  Today was a “waiting day” as are most days!  I am not sure if it is something about Belize, or just something about life.  Here in this teeny weeny town of Punta Gorda, people can have the habit of  just stopping in the middle of a road to jump into a shop to buy something oblivious of the car that they are blocking behind.   I was behind such a car today…and, I just had to wait!

You see this mostly at the market in Punta Gorda where there is a procession of cars and somebody just stops to buy a pound of onions or a papaya.  If you are the unfortunate person caught behind that car, you have no choice but to wait.  And you have to be patient whilst the person is haggling for the best price with the market lady!

Whenever you queue up to pay a bill, the rule of thumb is to count to number of people in front of you and multiply this by 15 minutes and this will give you the average waiting time.  So, if there are 4 people in front of you, expect to wait one hour.  That’s just the way it is here.  I was in a couple of these queues today with eight people in front of me!  It can be a whole social event in a queue when you start talking to Mrs. W. in front of you complaining about the waiting time and you then turn to talk to the lady behind to talk about the weather.  Everybody else seems to have a jolly good time!

Punta Gorda makes you wait for everything.  Belize makes you wait!Sometimes it gets to me.  But, then I have to remind myself that I came here to Belize so that I didn’t need to rush head-long through life in a mad panic.