Stir it all together Sunday

Yesterday after cart time (and thanks to all of you who made it a great day there!), I was in town doing some errands when I came across Benjamin making new murals on his wall.  For me, this little stretch of town is so much what Culebra is about, Don Perez carving his boats or doing his word puzzles, Benjamin's wall advertising Dinghy Dock, Milka's, his book, New Year, or whatever strikes his fancy. Here are these wonderful paintings and then one day they are something else entirely, inventive, filled with details of Culebra's history and present. He kindly gave me permission to take a photo or two...

There is a big blank space next to this one that I'm looking forward to seeing filled in. Gracias, mi companero!

I had to go to the library to return some of the books I've borrowed - I got a letter from the library and I was afraid to open it, thinking guiltily of my overdue books, even though Lawrence tells me he knows my heart is in the right place if I've actually gotten them into bags and almost made it out the door with them, no worries.

After I returned the books, I opened the letter and it wasn't about bad me after all. Instead it told about the new structure that is being built (thanks, Rotary Club of San Juan for providing the funds!), a report on the summer reading program being a big hit, a graph of the huge increase in patrons from last year to this and a request for those of any talents to bring them forward to share with the community. Some of the ideas were CPR, water safety, gardening, island secrets (not THOSE kind, more like shopping tips), writing, kayaking...you get the idea. Got a skill, a talent, a passion you'd like to share? Let them know at the library!

Billy Thomas and crew are making great progress on the pavilion. The new decking does make one think of dancing, but no line dancing for me, Lori!

Later in the evening, while in the kitchen at Susie's, I saw this Christmas special she was making. A kind of Puerto Rican holiday tapas dish, with tastes of lechon, rice and beans gussied up, plantains, blood sausage and pasteles. What are pasteles? I found a neat web site from Hawaii called Mahalo (thanks/respect/esteem etc. in Hawaiian) on the various types of this dish made in many places, but "...Puerto Rico pasteles are a cherished culinary recipe. Puerto Rican pasteles are much more labor intensive than any other."

 

The plate  looked so pretty, we decided it needed a photo.

The night was cool, the breeze was blowing, the moon is starting to look gigantic as we near Winter Solstice and its fullness. Sleep, only interrupted in dream like fashion with the paranda music, was good. And suddenly, it was morning, the sound of a boat motor far out on the bay, darkness giving way to light. As it should.

Have a salty Sunday! Do something splashy.