Free Range Friday - A Puerto Rican Surprise in California

From deMilked

I woke up last night thinking about a subject that won't really leave my mind, in the tedious way some thoughts do, for years, until you come to a satisfactory action or at least a 'so sick of it you give up' sort of resolution and move on to whatever comes next. I was thinking about how these days, people just expect there to be bugs in new products, especially of the electronic sort. How marketers have us serving them instead of them serving us. We're expected to pay big bucks and then report the problems they know have not been addressed, so they can fix them and add them into the next model which will be bought immediately and the round of madness will carry on. And it's considered normal now. As in, the norm. The par. The...ok, you get it.

When did we stop expecting to get service that was serviceable? In our large and small possessions, how many are really made to keep working, long after the successive models come out? When did we stop being satisfied with something that actually really just met our needs, with a little extra bit more to keep us smiling and touting the company?

I hope when you wake up in the night it's just for a glass of water.

If you've never seen mistletoe before, here you go, that big green ball is it.
(and this time I'm pretty sure I'm right...if not, let me know)

I love the roof of the cabin

Afternoon light

Hello, little mushroom in pretty leaves
I wish I knew if you were edible

Ferns still thriving

Just as we were getting ready to do the final seasonings and serve dinner last night - 

oh! Here's a little Free Range Friday for you. Anyone who has read this blog much knows I love lamb. But I have never had ground lamb before. Maybe once in a tri-ground meat meatloaf but I don't think it was lamb...Anyway, my whole thing about ground lamb, that it wouldn't be 'lamby' enough, was absolutely proven wrong last night. 

Garlic and onion sautéed in a bit of bacon fat, the lamb went in after both, browning beautifully and of course, adding its own fat, but really not much at all, just enough. With it we had black beans and rice and yes, those little round cabbage things, Brussel sprouts, that I just might as well admit I now like when they are cooked the way I've been lucky enough to have them cooked and served (no bugs included). 

Ok, back to the rest of the story. Just as we were...caught up now? Nesta barks and The Girl says someone is here but it's dark. It's cold. It's dinner time. Who could it be?

It's Dave!
 (and Elijah, but he was already here)

And his merry band!

If these folks look familiar it is because they, as students, Occupied Culebra over Christmas a few years ago at Jorge's Arte Fango, saving it from the bulldozer - well the lovely studio and home were torn down but no 'underground parking lot and 3 story hotel' was built - along with all the hard work behind the scenes of dealing with legalities (and mainly, illegalities - that work continues as more people show up happy to throw Culebra under the 'wreck it for tourism' bus).

Dave and The Girl weren't there but the other three were. There are all sorts of permutations to why they are out here but the high part is that they are here and we got to talk a lot about home, the things that stay the same and the things that don't. We talked as we shivered, talked and laughed and shivered some more. It was a great surprise!

And that's all I know about that.

Have a fortunate Friday the 13th. Do something with finesse.