Friday Fragments

Yesterday, receipts, floors, and laundry called my name. My solution to conquer these wild beasts that mocked, challenged, and scorned my attempts to subdue them? Well, I started with a cool shower followed by cups of Honduran coffee. Then, I fortified my soul with a refreshing blend of Bob Dylan and Black Eyed Peas. Then, I set to work. Months of receipts were recorded. As needed, cool showers were repeated as the hot season has finally descended in earnest. As the dreaded tasks finally met their demise, I rewarded myself with cold lentils, cheese, and red wine.

The hole in the front sidewalk was fixed yesterday. That hole had trapped me three times. Once, I walked right in, two feet together, so little damage resulted to my body. Twice I sank a tire into the hole, needing a pull and push to get out. Pepe, my faithful Ford Hilux, was deeply embarrassed. But now? The hole is history. It's covered in wood and cement.

Today, we are hosting a group of gringos (i.e. residents of the United States) who will entertain our raucous bunch of children. God be with them. As the weather has warmed, so has other things, like tempers, flirtations, and appetites.

Want a taste of Irish Gumbo this weekend? Irish Gumbo may exist in someone's pot, but the Gumbo I refer to is a blog. Here's a sample of his work, a piece about good gumbo and deep love.  Mr. Gumbo is a good writer, even if he's an Irishman on the East coast of the United States.

Is anyone else hooked on Downton Abbey? I found Season One on our cable system in Honduras. It's in English! However, I had already downloaded Seasons One and Two on iTunes. Warning: This series is deeply addictive. Do not watch until you have the time to revel in the lives and events surrounding this fictional estate during the early 1900s in England. Will Mary finally marry Cousin Matthew? Sigh. You have been warned.

Source: google.com via Laurie on Pinterest

This post is linked to the absolutely fabulous Mrs. 4444, who hosts our Friday gathering.  Want more fragments? Follow the icon or the link.

6 more reasons why I love Honduras

1. The mountains. 

Honduras is mostly mountainous. In fact, it is more mountainous than any other country in Central America. Mountains mean microclimates. In a few short minutes, Pepe my faithful Toyota, can speed me away to cooler climes.  

2. The beaches. 

Roatan, the island off the north coast of Honduras, is renowned for pristine beaches and some of the world's best diving. 

3. No daylight savings time. 

Need I say more?

4. Cheap fruits and veggies.

Want to buy a hundred bananas for 4 dollars? Well, I do that all of the time. Or I can buy just a bunch. Depends on how many are going to show up for lunch.

5. Surprises around every corner.

There are good surprises, like finding a nice restaurant behind tacky walls in the middle of nowhere. Or, interesting surprises, like passing a tight corner to discover that a car is backing up on a freeway because the driver missed an exit. Or, there's always the joy sharing a freeway in the modern capital of Tegucigalpa with cars, trucks, motorbikes, pedestrians, mule teams, and the occasional oxcart (with attached oxen.) 

6. Guillermo Anderson. 

He's a national treasure. Anderson hails from La Ceiba, Honduras. His song, En Mi Pais, is considered the unofficial anthem of Honduras.  

If this list seems wanting, please visit last week's post, 60 Reasons Why I love Honduras.

This list is not to dismiss the occasional problems, such as drug wars, gangs, homicide rates rivaling any country on earth, poverty, unemployment, lack of potable water, etc. But those are stories for another day. 

A few reasons to be in Honduras

 

At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. "I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.

Luke 10:21

The Message (MSG)

Sundays In My City

Wandering mountain roads led a friend and I to a new restaurant located near Santa Lucia. From the road, the place looks unimpressive. Within the walled entrance, we were immediately enchanted. 

 La Placita d'Susy (Susy's Little Place) turned out to be a delightful place. 

The patio area had great atmosphere. 

The inner dining room featured the grill and, not seen, a beautiful bar area. 

Most of the menu items featured grilled items. It was a great dining experience. 

Friends were scattered here and there around the restaurant. 

I would award the place four our of five stars, or in this case, four odd faces.

Suzy's Little Place was not so little. It had a children's park as well. With funny trash cans.

 A hungry hippo wanted your trash.

As we waited for our meal, mist began to form over the mountains.

This photograph shows a small part of the arc that formed while we ate.
 It stretched from horizon to horizon.

This post is linked to Unknown Mami, who features Sundays in My City
from around the globe.

The refrain of my life

Source: spin.com via Laurie on Pinterest

I am listening to Allen Toussaint sing, Yes We Can, Can from the disc, Our New Orleans as I write these words. This song has become a refrain for my life.  


Now is the Time.
We can, can,
I know we can.
Great Gosh Almighty, we can, can.


I can be the woman of God that lives from my heart. I am listening to a set of teachings, Released from Christian Prison, The Truth About the Heart, by John Smeltzer. I am being challenged to live courageously, trusting God to release me from religion and guilt. 


I know we can make it
I know damn well we can work it out
Oh yes we can, I know we can can
Yes we can can, why can't we?


I enjoyed my week. Ministering, working, and playing. I enjoyed playing tourist with a friend this week. I know God is pleased when we take time to live life to the fullest. We took time for scenic views, funky little hideaways, as well as church and staff gatherings. 


Take care of the children
The children of the world
They're our strongest hope for the future
The little bitty boys and girls

Today, my friend and I will buy supplies for needy children. We will visit and pray with friends. We will talk to the children about living an authentic life. A life Jesus modeled. Jesus was fully human, too. We forget that. He walked in sandals, and he lived day to day, taking it each day at a time. And his model is our model. 

And make this land a better land
In the world in which we live
And help each man be a better man
With the kindness that you give
And I know we can make it (I know that we can)


It's been cool and rainy this week. Unusual weather for this time of year in Tegucigalpa. And last night, as we dined in a restaurant in a mountain hamlet, we watched the mist from the mountains form a complete arc across the sky, horizon to horizon. A kaleidoscope of colors. And that's what life should be like. Full. Abundant. With a bit of everything. Time for feeding hungry people. Time for touching hurting hearts. Time for laughter. Time for a glass of red wine and great food. 

Note: My apologies. I have written another post with Toussaint's lyrics and my comments before. But, a refrain can be repeated. 


Drop by Mrs. 4444's blog  if you want to read a few more fragments from other bloggers. 

Madame Gumbeaux's thoughts on Rush Limbaugh

Actually, I don't have the words to express how I feel about Limbaugh's utterance about Susan Fluke.  But Sarah Held Evans did an admirable job of expressing the disappointment I feel over the evangelical response to his crass comments.

Here's a brief excerpt from a post by Evans:

To me, this is whole situation is a no-brainer:  What Rush Limbaugh said was wrong.  No woman, under any circumstances should be spoken of in those terms.  Limbaugh’s ugly rant against law student and activist Sandra Fluke was misogynistic, vitriolic, and far beyond any definition of civil discourse. It should be categorically condemned, and sponsors are right to pull their advertisements in response. Yes, two liberal commentators have used similar language in the past, but as David Frum wisely points out, the indecencies of others in the past do not excuse those of Limbaugh in the present, nor should they prevent us from speaking out about the situation at hand. 

It’s hard to believe that any Christian would support a man who leveled such a crass and hateful rant against someone created in the image of God, but over the weekend, I encountered several who did just that...and passionately. Most were part of my own evangelical community. 

Want to read more? The Gumbo Lady is grieved over the reaction in the Christian community to such nonsense.

Rachel's blog post is here.

Update. Happy International Women's Day to all. The post by Evans is particularly apropos considering today's commemoration. 

Hammock Love

I discovered hammocks in the Smokies in the late seventies. When I was fifteen years old, I announced to my parents that I was going to North Carolina for the summer. They wrote the check. I said goodbye.

Most of the summer was spent trekking through mountains with everything we needed on our backs. We toted food, cooking supplies, bedding. Bedding was a hammock, a rope and a tarp in case of rain. I fell in love that summer. A boy? Yes. He was my first love. But he eventually married a devout Catholic girl, and they proceeded to have seven children. We are glad he chose another.

However, I feel deeply in love with hammocks, too. Every night under the starlit skies, I sank into my home above the ground, tied between two pines. The hammock was owned by the lodge, so I left it behind along with the Catholic boy.

Since then, I have owned a few hammocks. My first hammock was a Costa Rican model, but it lived in New Orleans. Most of the time it stayed on my spacious front porch, where I laid in mummy-like repose often, in the humidity and heat under an ancient ceiling fan. Here's a picture of it in the backyard.

When I moved to Honduras, I inherited this hammock while living in a rented house. It was a great hammock, fully broken in, and perfect for tropical days or nights.

I have lived without a hammock far too long. This year I will buy one. It will be hung on the bottom level, in a semi-open terraza that has stone walls, a brick floor, and a cool breeze all year. Even now, in our hottest season, this spot has a whisper of coolness. I spotted this model below at the zoo, near the serpentarium. I will check it thoroughly for stray serpents beforehand, then buy, sink in, and enjoy.

(Note: my hair stylist is determined to discover a proper boyfriend for me. We are unsure of the beautician's mission. One requirement that I insist is that he must love hammocks. This spinster has been without for sometime, now. The hammock is easier, I think. This is a Catholic country, but thankfully, I am no longer capable of bearing seven children. Of course, I can't entirely rule out a hammock and an hombre! )

Source: modernhepburn.tumblr.com via Laurie on Pinterest