On the Brink of Summer.......

As I write, I am currently 37,000 miles in the air on my way South.  I cannot wait to see my family and my friends, new and old.  This was an early morning flight and I don't "DO" early-anything well.  I need to take this moment to praise JETBLUE.  I'm not sure how many of you are brand loyal.  I find the older I get the more I realize that I am very brand loyal.  If you win me over with your product, I will be a faithful consumer until the day you decide to discontinue your product and forget to tell me. (grin)  This has happened to me SO many times now, especially with cosmetics, that I just have to laugh.  It's a very ZEN thing.  You can be angry but ultimately you are forced, by the circumstances out of your control and the Universe, to just "Let go".  When a product gets discontinued there's is nothing you can do.  I would say if you LOVE a product and can afford to buy multiples, then you should do it while it is available and popular.  Trust me. You will thank me for this tip.  In fact, as I type I realize I am giving myself the same valuable advice.  
Oh APT. 5 Lip Gloss how I mourn your demise.  Maybelline Cover Stick, you perfected my flaws and when you decided to leave, you were gone.  I have also found that the "new/improved" product usually pales in comparison.  Example, Maybelline changed their liquid foundation to mineral foundation.  The new foundation is runny.  So I have to use more for the same coverage AND it costs more.  The new products usually do.  They give you less and charge you more.  I suppose that is beneficial to the corporation but as a loyal consumer, I would LOVE a "heads-up" if a product is on the fast track to certain death.  Save yourself the shock and loss and stock up on the things you love when you can.  The Universal truth "Nothing lasts" or as my mom always says (usually about something negative but it goes for the positive too)  "This to Shall Pass" always holds true.  So enjoy everything.... every minute..... because change is always on the horizon.  I plan on taking my own advice and buying several tubes of my new favorite shade of covergirl lipstick...
#215 impassion passionnee'. Done and done. 

37,000 feet in the air once again, four days later.....Florida was a delightful escape and also a joyous visit.   On Saturday, I went to “my” beach.  I say mine because I have been going to this particular spot since as far back as I can remember being allowed to go to the beach alone.  It is my sanctuary and my salvation. I tune-out the stress of Life and plug-in to the Universe.  It allows me to re-charge my “batteries”, re-boot and degauze all things negative.       
                                                
This day was an amazing day.  Very few beachcombers & sunbathers, random and far away.  When I say the water looked the Bahamas, it did.  Turquoise blue and azure green... a sandbar about 20 to 30 yrds off shore. A light breeze and no real wave action.  In chest high water you could see the bottom without a mask.  I waded out until I waist high in the water.  I was enjoying the sun and surf, huge pieces of orange lettuce leaf-looking seaweed floated by me.  It was around 4pm, dinner time in the animal kingdom so I was very aware of the sea life around me.  I was standing with my feet firmly planted in the sand because there was a little bit of a undertoe running North to South.  I glanced down between my legs and I saw a large zebra-striped Angelfish.  I found it odd that it was alone.  I have never seen one without their school.  It was angeled head down like a bonefish feeding.  I thought perhaps it was dining on plankton and other microorganisms and that my legs were funneling the food to it.  I noticed that the fish was swimming in and out and around my legs coming ever so close to hitting me with it’s fins but not even slightly grazing me.  It stayed in the shadow of my body.  I thought, “I wonder if it thinks it's hiding from a larger predator” and I started scanning the waters around me for any other large fish and God-forbid, a shark. After a few minutes I went back to communing with my new friend.  Yes, crazy as it sounds, I did talk to him-out loud.  (No, he didn’t answer.) You can laugh.
I just could not believe this was happening.  About 15 minutes had passed and this Angelfish just kept gently swimming under me.  I fanned my arms in the water above him to hold my balance and it didn’t flinch.  Fish are skiddish. Super skiddish. An this Angel was an anamoly of grace, alone and calm.  I decided to test my bond with my new found friend.  I started walking backward slowly and “Angel” followed me like a puppy dog.  No matter where I went, it just swam right along between my legs.  The I decided to run actually more like a jog in the water, still travelling backwards and it just sped up with me.  Twice it got ahead of me and I ran into it and I was startled and jumped.  But even though I had hit it, the fish stayed with me.  Finally it swam out to my left slowly, paused and then swam away.  I’m not sure how you would interpret this, but Life has been testing my family as of late and I am a STRONG believer in signs.  This trip was not so much a vacation as a much needed respite and family reunion.  I think an Angelfish is a very auspicious omen.  I think it was not by accident that it was an “Angel” fish. An Angel for sure.  I communed with an Angel for 20 minutes and in the end I KNEW everything would be OK.  IT WILL. BE. OK.

It’s almost Summer.  I know it’s been hot enough to be Summer for a month and a half now.  Florida has been hot since February.  NYC had been hotter than Florida.  Sounds crazy right? It was 100 degrees last Thursday in New Jersey and 97 in NYC.  Florida was upper 80’s to low 90’s with a constant sea breeze... really lovely. So we’re 6 days from Summer 3 days at the time of this publishing) and I’ve had one thing on my mind....Ice Cream.  I FINALLY bought an ice cream maker.  I gave up the ghost when I turned thirty.  There are certain appliances that were the quintessential wedding gifts.  The Blender. The Waffle Iron. The Ice Cream Maker.  Well, I bought a blender and waffle iron over a decade ago.  But finally I got an ice cream maker.  My Sicilian ancestors would be proud! A Cuisinart Stainless Steel colored, 2 quart, freezes in 25 mintues Beauty !!!!  I made my first homemade ice cream last Sunday.  I misread the recipe. Distracted at the very moment the milk and cream BOILED, I ran to the stove and removed the pot from the burner.  
The recipe distinctly said, "DO NOT LET the MILK BOIL!!!!"  ~ CRIPES!!!!! Then.... well apparently, I was supposed to add the heavy cream LAST after the mixture cooled down.  I missed that part too and heated the cream and the milk.  Oh well, I cooled the mixture overnight in the refrigerator and poured it into the maker and in just 25 minutes I had ice cream Nirvana.  My father, who is THEE ice cream connisseur, said that it was the BEST homemade ice cream he ever tasted.  He said it tasted like it was bought. 
My heart smiled.

Here’s my recipe:

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks

1/2 pint (250ml) milk  (* I use Whole Organic Milk)

1/2 pint (250ml) double/heavy cream 
(*I used Heavy Whipping Cream)

4 oz (100g) sugar or caster sugar
(*I used granulated sugar)

1 vanilla pod (scored down the middle)  
(* I substitute 2 tsp of PURE Vanilla extract)

Pour the milk & cream into a saucepan and bring slowly up to boiling point but DO NOT LET IT BOIL.  ONLY w pod: ((Place the vanilla pod into it and leave to infuse for about 20 minutes.))

In a bowl, beat and mix together the egg yolks and sugar until thick. Carefully remove the vanilla pod from the pan of milk and scrape out the seeds into the milk. Pour the milk into the mixture of egg yolks and sugar whilst stirring. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens - DO NOT BRING TO THE BOIL OR IT WILL PROBABLY CURDLE.  When you can see a film form over the back of your spoon it's time to remove the saucepan from the heat. Leave to cool. (* I put in frig overnight)  Transfer the whole mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.  My cuisinart takes 25 minutes to freeze.  Ice cream will be thick....transfer to a container and place in freezer until ready to serve.

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Just in time for Father's Day ....Do I have an Amazing invention for you!

                                The Bug Kwik Zap Racket. 

I was in Maine last Summer for a family reunion and my cousin had these bug zappers and boy, did they work.  So I bought a package of them for my parents in Florida.  Mosquitoes LOVE my mother. No matter how much my dad sprays and keeps the standing water from accumulating around their home, the mosquitoes thrive.  A nusance for sure, mosquitoes are also a carrier of not only malaria, dengue fever but also west nile virus and many others.  This can be very dangerous for the young, elderly and immune compromised.  I figured this would be a perfect way to personalize the mosquito eradication without harmful pesticides.  Both of my parents have been blessing me for sending them their rackets.  They are fun AND useful !!! ZAP! SIZZLE! ZAP!
It's awesome!  My brother phoned me about them and I just bought some for myself.  They come 2 to a pack, take 2 AA batteries and can be found on Amazon.com for $14.99 + shipping.  Well worth EVERY penny !!! Give'em to the kids at a BBQ and they will have fun for hours and keep the bug population down !  I get NO kick-back for turning you on to these.  I just feel they are worthy of singing their praise!


~Namaste
  Kelly =)