Stranglish

...what happens to a language when an English speaker married to a Cuban Spanish speaker determines to learn SOME Spanish, ANY Spanish, no matter how little natural language ability is knocking around the ol' DNA.

I'm looking at it as "free language immersion," or "the tutor who cannot escape"...hahaha

Yes, after failed attempts at becoming proficiently illiterate in both French and Russian in my younger years, I realize this is a missed opportunity...why not actually learn a language in my lifetime, or if not actually learning it, why not drive others totally to distraction trying to learn one, when I'm so good at doing that?  Because I'm all about fulfilling my real potential at creating international incidents.

So I've asked Jack to only speak to me in Spanish, unless he's complaining to the management about something related to survival or locating his clean clothes in a timely fashion.  So far, we've done ok because the first phrase I've written down (and carry in a notebook with other phrases, everywhere I go) is "how do you say_____?"  and  "I have no idea what cotton pickin' word you just said...please repeat."

Today I expanded my horizons and visited the library in hopes of perusing their vast Spanish language selection.  Then I found out that although I live in Florida, my library stocks about as many Spanish language materials and books as I'd guess some outpost in Wisconsin might.  Truly.  The children's book section was not much better.  But I did get the Spanish language version of Curious George.  That will be a real relief for all those real life situations in which I'll need to point to a monkey on a bicycle or say "the man in the yellow hat."

But it's truly a fun experiment!  I've decided to be fearless and not worry about grammar up front, and just learn like a little kid by putting words together in ways I hope gets the point across, and letting Mi Esposo help me polish it to some level of understandability.

I'm already really getting good, after just one day.  I tuned in to an AM band radio station while driving today, and in some broadcast from Cuba, understood the words "Frank Sinatra" and "Clark Gable."  I sure have an ear for those Spanish words...ha!

Got any war stories about learning another language...any advice?  I'm all orejas!

Happy Sukkot!!

Tonight marked the beginning of the Feast of Ingathering, or Sukkot (sue-KOTE), named after the temporary shelters we camp out in to commemorate the dependence of the Israelites on the Almighty, specifically remembering the 40 years He sheltered them while in the desert after delivering them out of Egypt before bringing them into the Promised Land.

It's a reminder of how fragile our lives are and how every day we're dependent on Him...it's also timed with the ingathering of the harvest yearly and is a time to gather, be happy, camp out as a community, and celebrate for several days!  We've wanted so much to join in one of these gatherings since we were married in 2004, and each year we've been unable to.  But it's always in our hearts.  Hopefully next year!

A life dream would be to be in The Land (Israel) during one or more of the special feasts/holy days...Passover, Shavuot, or the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot).   I cannot explain this desire other than to say that it's fueled by the verses I read, something probably foundationally laid from the time I was a really young child and could picture the stories read to me as if I were right there in the middle of the narratives.  I want to see Jerusalem in person, and I pray for the day the temple will be rebuilt.

What this has to do with the rest of our lives is hard to explain.  Sometimes I hesitate to write these things here on the blog, and yet they're inseparably a part of me and a part of Jack.  I've been led to this point through a set of circumstances I participated in, and yet it has come at a cost, so I value it all the more.  I feel lonely sometimes in this spiritual place, but at the same time would not choose to undo any part of the journey.  It's in fact something I'm putting into a journal, perhaps even book form.  I was an avid student of the time period of pre-christianity where there was seemingly a gap of silence between the obvious diverse Judaism of the first century and the later advent of an entirely separate religion (christianity) directly linked to it foundationally, yet declaring itself removed from its tenets.  This subject has fascinated me since my late youth, and in the last couple of decades has been one of the most hotly and avidly discussed/debated/studied subjects in many circles of students and scholars.

Anyway...that's beyond the scope of this blog.  Just noting the side current that parallels our other life interests.  It provides the ever present theme around which the other notes dance in variation... la la la, as usual, I wax Off Topic  ;-)


Happy Sukkot to all who celebrate it, and blessings to all our friends out here...may your harvest be overflowing!

Hey! What Are Some of Your Favorite Songs?

Little known fact about me --
when I was growing up, I was not allowed to listen to the radio or buy popular music that had lyrics.  The very few exceptions were a couple of John Denver albums, a Chuck Mangione or Wynton Marsalis, and Barry Manilow.

Yeah, I completely missed the entire decade of the 70s and much of the 80s.

I'm THAT person who can recognize a melody but has no idea of the lyrics past the first three words.  Or gets them wrong because I never saw the lyrics in print, and got the lyrics NEARLY right (but oh so wrong).

I've never really caught up, but am having fun now going back and listening to ohhhh DECADES of music I've missed out on.  I did sing in choirs, play an instrument all the way through early childhood to early adulthood and love to sing.  But I'm still musically deficient..

Which leads me to this question...I very curious...

What are some of your favorite songs?  I've discovered I have favorites now in nearly every genre, but I'd so love to know yours, no matter what genres or how popular/unpopular (or any other term), or even quirky.  I'm having fun collecting favorites now, and they're all over the page.

So I'd love to know some of yours, to expand my repertoire!   It seems my "inner child" is somewhat of a barefoot centrist-libertarian hippie redneck classical lyrical percussionist gypsy celtic world folk blues soul zeideco operatic israeli aussieoutback honkytonk chant symphonic R&B rockabilly gospel liturgical bluegrass mountain music person rolled all together.  

More recommendations, please!  :)

The Goodness of God

We are so grateful to God for so many things, and at the top of the list are our friends near and far, in person and on the internet.  It's been a really big encouragement to be a part of praying for specifics goals, dreams, and concerns alongside such wonderful people (you know who you are!)

This week we received a really big answer to one of our longterm prayers, the details of which need to remain private for the time being, but the acknowledgement of our gratefulness does not need to wait!  So YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY to the realization of things Waited For and for special friends who have encouraged us and prayed with us about not only our requests, but theirs as well.  We rejoice with you at your every success, too!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all who have lent an encouraging word here and for your prayers from afar...they have been heard and answered in wonderful ways!!

We, too, continue to pray for blessings for those we know here on the internet and closer to home as well. 

Tonight ushers in Yom Kippur, and we don't have time right now to write about its significance for those who keep its observance.  But it's a season of gratefulness and renewal and heart-searching.

YOU are our special blessing from His hand...thank you for coming here and making our lives richer for sharing yours with us.  We genuinely care and are very very blessed as a result.

We have such a wonderful God.  He delights in goodness, justice, renewal, mercy.

We THANK Him for His blessings.  They are too numerous to list.  May they extend to all the wonderful people we have come to know (you!) through this website and your own websites and comments shared.
Shavuah tov from our family to yours...



Jack and Robbyn

Your steadfast love, O LORD

is in the heavens

and Your faithfulness

reaches the clouds...

from Psalm 36

Chaya as an Edible Hedge

This week we ate our very first chaya leaves. Here's a brief introduction to Chaya.   Our chaya plant was ordered from a nursery and planted about a year ago, melted down in this spring's freezes, and came back  from the roots when the weather warmed.

Chaya loves hot weather and can tolerate some drought and some very wet conditions as long as the roots are not constantly waterlogged.  The plant is now more like a small bush.  The leaves are broad and remind me a little of the shape of papaya leaves.  There are small white flowers, nothing stunning from a landscaping standpoing, BUT...from a butterfly's, a true magnet.  This small bush is constantly visited by butterflies, moreso than any other  plant we have.

Chaya leaves washed and put into pot with sea salt before cooking

There are a couple things to bear in mind with the Chaya plant before I emphasize the ease with which it's grown and harvested.  First, some varieties of Chaya have stinging properties similar to stinging nettles.  I found this out with my bare hands (ha!)...the feel is not unbearable but would have been if I had continued collecting the leaves barehanded.  The rash is immediate and feels like ant stings.  I went inside and immediately rinsed my hand with lemon dish detergent (my downhome remedy for stopping certain types of irritants) and only had slight irritation after that.

With that said, if you have a choice, plant the non-stinging variety.  The stinging variety is just as edible as the non-stinging variety...there is no sting after cooking.  ECHO carries the non-stinging variety, and we'll try getting some starts from them next spring if all goes well.

I didn't find much in the way of YouTube vids for this plant, but this one shows the irritation the stinging variety can produce when touching it:

The second important thing to remember with Chaya is that in order to be eaten, IT MUST BE FULLY COOKED...in a non-aluminum pan.  Cooking it in aluminum cookware produces an irritating effect when eaten. The leaves need to be boiled/simmered for 20 minutes and then are deliciously edible (and the cooking liquid by then is safe, too.) It's compared to spinach in taste, but I think the taste is unlike spinach and is tastier ...and I do love spinach!

 This is NOT a plant that is safe to eat raw.  There are cyanides present that boiling a few minutes immediately removes and renders the leaves safe while remaining nutritious and making the nutrients available to our bodies.  The nutrient count far exceeds nearly all in-ground greens commonly found in the garden...amazing.  But the leaves MUST be cooked.

...and when they ARE cooked (here is tried our first batch with chopped onions and a pinch of sea salt), they are mild, hearty, and delicious.  We now mix these with our moringa leaves for a powerpacked pot of greens and serve them with a mix of cooked black beans and small red beans seasoned with Creole seasoning.  The beans, the greens...are unbelievably satisfying.  Jack does not feel the need to eat red meat after eating those, and I never thought I'd see that day!  It energizes him with strength for his physically-demanding job in a way he seldom feels otherwise.  We're SO thankful we've tried this.  Chaya is packed with superb nutrition and is great mixed with other favorite greens.

Here's what the small bush looks like.  When we get the non-stinging type, we'd like to grow enough of them for a hedge...and edible hedge...that doesn't need weeding, oh Yeah!!

The plant can be propagated from cuttings.  We'll be sure to include this anywhere we want to enjoy watching those colorful pollinators.  The plant is not invasive since it doesn't spread easily by seeding.  The plant is amazingly disease-free and isn't bothered by pests or fungus.  The plant is very clean and harvesting is as simple as cutting the leaves (with gloves on, if it's the stinging variety), rinsing them, and cooking them.

A closeup of the small white blossoms...

...a bud?  I don't know the plant well enough to know yet.  I know this is a great plant for some of the hotter areas of the South.  Contacting an organization like ECHO would be great for learning to customize it to the South's growing conditions.

Picking super-nutritious leaves from a hedge and having them for dinner...is the BEST :)

Moringa/Molunggay: Part Two

(all pics can be enlarged by clicking on)

Here is a harvest of some fresh  moringa branches.  With about a dozen or so trees, we can pick some daily rather than have to try to preserve them, although we still want to learn to dry them and pulverize them into powder to store for winter use in foods.

They are easily snapped right off the trunks, or cut with a small knife.  The fibrous stems are inedible, but are a nutritious mulch.  We discard them by placing them around the bases of other plants needing fertilization.

A closer look at the branches.  We discard  yellowed leaves.  The foliage is remarkably insect and disease-free...very, very clean leaves need only minimal washing before eating.  The leaves have to be stripped by hand.  The scent is pungent and "green."  The leaves are good eaten fresh, and have a very peppery bite.  We prefer them mixed into other fresh greens rather than by themselves.  The taste is akin to watercress.

This is a picture we took a couple years back when we toured the ECHO global test farm in Ft. Myers, Florida.  This is one of their Moringa patches, showing how closely they can be planted and kept  cut back for harvesting multiple crops of fresh stems/leaves throughout the year.  The  nutritional content of the leaves is remarkable, and all parts of the trees have constructive uses.

Here is part of our wild and woolly patch, obviously doing well despite the naturalized conditions (not kept cultivated around the bases) and left pretty much to their own devices.  They have performed well in drought and monsoon as long as their roots are not in standing water for long periods of time, or kept soggy.  The water drains well from this area where they are planted, so we've had no problem other than keeping up with their fast growth!  We've intended to keep them cut back, and every time they shoot on up really quickly!  They are to about 12 plus feet in height at this time.  They are thin and fairly bendable, and not a good wood for building things.  But they withstand all sorts of weater extremes.  In the freezes they died back all the way to the ground and then returned by sending up shoots from the roots when it warmed back up.  These plants are the results of two such freezes and full die-backs.

Here is a batch of leaves stripped from the stems.  From here they can either be used fresh, cooked, frozen, or dried.

At first, we tried freezing them after stripping the leaves from the stems, and of course washing them well.  We drained them to get them as dry as  possible and then froze them in freezer bags.  I'm not sure how well we prefer the frozen yet.  I do  know they do not keep long in the refrigerator when bagged...some of them basically melt into mush, resulting in being dumped around outdoor plants needing fertilizer.  We have had success so far more in using them fresh, but still have yet to try drying them.

The taste?

Our FAVORITE green so far.  They are one green my husband actually likes and feels so full after eating that he said they satisfy him like meat usually does, and he's a true carnivore.  I've made black beans/Mexican red beans from scratch with a little Creole seasoning and served it with cooked Moringa leaves, seasoned only with sea salt and chopped onion (cooked along with)...simply delicious, and when I say simply, it truly doesnt get much simpler than that!

Moringa experiments continue...

And I leave you now with some more great YouTube videos.  This first is about how the Peace Corps grows moringa for easy harvests:

More on Moringa as worldwide malnutrition preventive:


And this video shows the ease with which the branches are stripped of leaves by hand: