Higher Math

I spent my long day at my 'regular' job today, knee deep in the tedium of other people's decimal points. While I'm grateful for that job, I'm even more so for the shift to more fulfilling math that happened just now, at 2:20 am, under the misshapen potato of a moon.
I spent the shank of my day, from 7am to 4pm numbering 100 named accounts.  Obviously, this was the brainchild of accountants, not me. After work I let my fuzzy dog go free ranging around the yard, brushed her until she was sure having a dog was my choice (over having kids), & met a dear friend for dinner at an outdoor, roadside Latin restaurant.  

The dinner options there proved to be limited only in number, not in flavor. She had camarones (shrimp) in butter sauce con mofongo (a mashed plantain dish molded into a dome, & I had the mahi con mofongo & brought home enough for tomorrow's dinner too.
We each had a Cruzan dark rum & Coke, & it is that I'm blaming for the hour of this post. I conked out on the sofa-loaf in my studio, in front of  'To Catch A Thief,' & slept soundly through Grace Kelly's gold lamé Costume ball dress-for-days.  So when I woke after 2am, I still had my fave task of plant watering to do before any hope of sleep.

(The pineapple crew--best reason to water I've ever had)

Not being facetious here--I love my daily watering ritual.
So Mu (fuzzy doglet) & I were out in the breezy yard by the light of the weird moon & newly installed solar landscape lights, watering pineapples, orchids & new shrubbery, listening to dogs in the distance, faint wind chimes, & the chittering of mango-munching bats nearby.
It was too beautiful to go inside, so after I recoiled the hose I sat on the stoop, skritched Mu & started scheming.
Tonight's task--plotting a pleasing & functional planting for the next set of pineapple plant 'Tweens' (outgrown their nursery trays, but no room in the 'in-ground' pineapple patch).  Combining recycling with fractions & algebra (the only known use for that combo), I decided to cut 3 holes between each of the solar lights in the 'bouncy grass' on the slope above the stone retaining wall by my driveway. I'll repot the tween pineapples in the big pots leftover from the front landscaping (14 pots) & sink them into the turf holes. You'll only see the plant, not the pot & the drainage there should be great. It should minimize weeding & be aesthetically & architecturally pleasant. Solar up lights already in place at the base of that wall should highlight the peach-to-red leaves...& give me something else to sit outside at 2am & enjoy!  Good night all.

Five Boy in the Cabinet Curry

(This is the first of a series I'm calling 'C Glass Half Full.'  I'm thinking it will be a small island of optimistic bits & pieces bobbing around in a big sea of otherwise. )

Mu & I are here today, heavily medicated & happy as clams!

I'm taking a day off today, after a run-in with a Jack Spaniard (evil & potent wasp) necessitated a run-in with Prednisone in a bit too high a dosage. So after spending 3 days making new cord necklaces, new bamboo wrap necklaces & bracelets, I'm on the porch instead of by the pier. Given the breeze & the company, you'll forgive if I'm not too broken up about this unscheduled stop.

Bamboo wrap necklaces

So Mu & I weren't the only hooky-players today. WAPA decided a day-long outage two days ago wasn't quite enough, & when I got peckish an hour or so ago, power was nowhere to be found. Not wanting to open the fridge (in case this proved to be another powerless marathon), I consulted the cabinet instead, & the resulting curry was weirdly wonderful. 

5 Boy in the Cabinet Curry

Toss 1 1/2 C uncooked Jasmine rice in 1 TBS Olive oil with at least 2 TBS curry powder, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp whole cumin seed, 1 TBS granulated garlic in large covered pot or Dutch oven over medium flame. After 2 minutes, add 2 cans drained garbanzos (mine were organic, but either way) & toss all until well combined. Cover & heat another minute before adding one can of light coconut milk, a grating (generous) of fresh nutmeg, a couple grinds of pepper, several dashes of soy sauce or Worcestershire or both, & 1/2 C of dried cranberries. Rinse the coconut milk can & add that can of water plus another 1/2 can to the mixture. Stir to combine, then cover, reduce heat & simmer just until the rice absorbs all the liquid. Remove from heat, stir off the bottom, cover & let sit for a minute before calling the 5 boys. 

Now it is time to review your power outage & make choices based on status. And time for a short aside. When I first arrived in St Croix almost 23 years ago, there was one very happening lunch spot where all the VIPs & politically connected business people dined. And dined was the appropriate term. The Comanche Restaurant sported a slightly elevated, breezy view of pool & harbor.  The more important you were, the bigger the fan back on your peacock chair. Lunch started with crudités & a basket of freshly baked corn muffins, redolent with fresh nutmeg & delicious enough to make you want to spoil the rest of your lunch by climbing right into the basket with them. After the preliminaries, most VIPs opted for the 1/2 roast chicken with rice & peas (read beans) that could have fed a small country. Moist & fall off the bone tender, it was enough food to guarantee 2-3 hours away from your desk & office, & if you were truly, 'big I important,' a mandatory, sleep-it-off coma nap after.
We were on a non-nap mission, however (eavesdropping for business opportunity crumbs being dropped from adjacent tables), so we'd opt instead for the 'Ten Boy Curry.'  The name came from the condiment cart, so full of options it allegedly took ten boys to pass them around the table. I'll no doubt miss some, but here are the ones I remember: toasted coconut, orange marmalade, chutney, sweet pickle relish, dill relish, chopped dry-roasted peanuts, Currants, chopped scallions, preserved ginger, & raisins.

So back to today's curry. My cabinet yielded peanuts, currants, raisins, & coconut & just as I was making do with those, the power returned & I added tart orange marmalade & the pickle relishes. Mu was thrilled with a couple spoonfuls of rice, & as for me...
I feel a coma nap coming on.