Day ~ 22 The new normal?

There really isn’t anything normal about this… business meetings …happy hours…family reunions .. bad internet connections.. broken and dropped calls..  #2020.. good riddance!!!

Infused

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.  ~Dorothy Parker

My entire life has been filled with lessons on finding ways to amuse myself.  Entertaining others. Practicing random and useless skill sets.  Finally, killing cats with curiosity.

Working in some countries has involved bringing all of the above modalities of defeating boredom to an entirely new height.  My newest projects will involve intermixing all of my weakest abilities with my strongest personality trait …. cooking, coordination, chemicals, combining, creating, counting ….. with curiosity!

Project 1 – Infusions

To be sure, I am following the instructions exactly.  Winging it will surely follow at some point.  However, to start, I want to practice patience.  In order for me to slow down and be patient, I need to start more than one project at a time.  My practice in patience will involve only talking about one project at a time.

I present to you…. Roasted Pineapple Mezcal!

 

 

To be sure, these are super simple recipes and super tasty as well!  It was interesting, time consuming, and actually quite beautiful.  If you don’t want to drink it yourself, find a pretty bottle or a good, old-fashioned mason jar, and get ready Christmas presents..office parties..uh..or whatever..

“…You can do something extraordinary, and something that a lot of people can’t do. And if you have the opportunity to work on your gifts, it seems like a crime not to. I mean, it’s just weakness to quit because something becomes too hard…”
― Morgan Matson, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

I am also working on building up my confidence to start on oil and vinegar infusions.. fermentacion experiments, etc… but that’s later.  Back to tequila and pineapple.  I’m actually not a fan of hard alcohol but in the end, this was a success AND delicious.

So, some tricks I learned during the process was if you cannot clear out all of the fruit or other ingredients..you can freeze the concoction for a few hours, or even overnight, and the alcohol will seperate from everything else easier when you strain it. With pineapple though.. it’s just fine to have chunks.

I have seen recommendations to toss the infused fruit, but I hate wasting it, so into the freezer you go to await your frozen margarita fate.. but for now..

Yummy!

Cheers!

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

Best way to start the day. Coffee in Prague

I think the biggest misconception about me is people really don’t know who I really am. They see the party side of me, they see the crazy side of me. But I also have a laid-back side. You know, I’m chill, down to earth. If you want to grab a cup of coffee and just talk about life, I can do that. Nicole Polizzi

Coffee, tea, mimosas, roasted cinnamon bread = breakfast in Prague.

Best way to start the day. Coffee in Prague

The thing about coffee is…

It is everywhere, you can have it with anyone, there are many different ways of having it, it can start a day, end a meal, start a conversation, and fill in any and every blank.

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee. Abraham Lincoln

If you don’t like coffee?  Well, there is tea. 24 days in Croatia brought us coffee and tea experiences (and sometimes mimosas for a wake up call).  Best way to start the day and sometimes, the best way to end the day.

Coffee is a language in itself. Jackie Chan

With coffee you can…

Talk, listen, think, rest, feel, taste, smell.

What goes best with a cup of coffee? Another cup. ~Henry Rollins

Random wake up calls from Washington State to Washington DC.

This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightway there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army of the battlefield, and the battle takes place. Things remembered arrive at full gallop, ensuing to the wind. The light cavalry of comparisons deliver a magnificent deploying charge, the artillery of logic hurry up with their train and ammunition, the shafts of with start up like sharpshooters. Similes arise, the paper is covered with ink; for the struggle commences and is concluded with torrents of black water, just as a battle with powder. ~Honoré de Balzac, “The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee”

You know I love coffee

A Simple Cup o’ Joe – Venezuela; A Simple Cup o’ Joe – Nigeria  I have a confession to make – Venezuela; Morning Reflections – Everywhere ; Definitely a first world problem – Costa Rica; Costa Rica – Land of... – Costa Rica; Fantastic Kids – Nepal:  Coffee Break – Turkey; I’m sensing a trend – Amsterdam;  Another Cup O’Joe – Nigeria

Fellow coffee talkers

parttimemonster; zenandpi; catsnchocolate; leavesetlivres; scribbleandscran; truenorthbricks; trentsworld; caroljforrester; whatrhymeswithstanza

 

Two days on, One day off – Accra, Ghana

I was lucky to have an opportunity to participate in a very quick trip to Accra, Ghana for work with a short half day to tour a few markets.  It was interesting to compare Accra to Lagos in the area of food, style, art and living.  So much was familiar with just enough differences to make it quite interesting.  I’m hoping to be able to go back and see some of the people and places outside of the city.  I hope you enjoy.

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust

I don’t like landscapes. I like cities. Lots of cities. I like buildings. I like streets. Dario Argento

Posts I liked

Landscapes; Mostly Monochrome Whitby ; stenoodie; From Hiding to Blogging The Sunrise on Early Spring at Minnesota; Doublewhirler New Zealand’s Landscape; Mittened Hands Winter Desert; Offbeat and Quirky by Henri Bauhaus; Alpine Village – Through the Lens ; ….on pets and prisoners; Cee’s Photography; Steve Says… The Kelpies: Never Look A Mythical Water Horse In The Mouth Unless You Are Taking A Photo… ; Inherently Adventurous Halfway ; de Wets Wild Landscape ; {mary’s chaoticwhitespace}; Landscape – Cinematography; Somewhere In Between – Life Confusions;  Jackobo’s Photoblog Mirror Waters; Reflections for my Soul; scillagrace; the15thday the landscape of my youth; Lost in Translation; la parole a été donnée à l´homme pour cacher sa pensée landscape; HX Report; THE ICONOPHILE The detail is in the devil

Nature and People and Places

Just a few photos from my recent travels that I felt aligned with Sally D’s  Challenge from January 2016.  I hope you enjoy.

Nigeria

Prague or Croatia ??

 

Other  Nature, People, Places Posts I enjoyed

Naturebitch; Sustainability; Patchwork ; Roamingurbangypsy; Piecesofstarlight; Poetry; Naomi; Plants; Still-life; Butterflies; Nowathome