Cafe Cubano & Little June Bits

What about this quote?

Chew on this, and consider washing it down with Bustelo, the coffee preferred among Cubans. To make Bustelo, you will need a can of the stuff (purchased at Walmart or any decent grocery!), some sugar, a little water, and a Cuban coffee pot, or cafetera. 

Remove the top from the cafetera, and fill the bottom with water, almost to the top, but not quite. Take the filter and pack it with Bustelo. Fill a small cup (shown above, known as a jarrito) with one or two spoonfuls of sugar. Most people use two, but I like my coffee bitter. Put the cafetera onto the stove burner on med/high heat, and as soon as it produces liquid, take it off and drop a little into the sugar. Stir vigorously to produce espumita, or that nice, cloudy look. The cafetera will continue to fill; pour all contents into the jarrito and stir. You will have enough strong, rich Bustelo to fill about four tazitas like the little one pictured above. Enjoy! Remember...this isn't supposed to taste like American coffee. It's a shot, made to instantly recharge your batteries!

My grandmother, 96 years young, preparing Bustelo in my kitchen. 

Little June Bits:

What a blessing it was to be at the tennis house earlier this month and witness these babies in a high-up nest! The mother flew up and away so fast, I barely had time to see that she might have been a robin. You can tell they were waiting for her return!

Speaking of robins, here's a sweet selection from Edwin A. Mason's book, Robins, Follett Publishing Company, 1966. The girls and I love snuggling on the sofa and reading books like this:

Another work we've enjoyed is Elizabeth Kinsey's book, This Cat Came to Stay! (Franklin Watts, Inc., 1955). What made it extra special is that it belonged to my Dad as a boy, and then I read it as a child. What fun my girls and I had, reading about Patsy, William, Mrs. McGinis (the cat), and the hurdy-gurdy man!

And while we're on the topic of reading, it's important that we keep up our reading practice this summer. My children and I have worked too hard to slack completely off. Fortunately, there is a wealth of resources available that makes it easy to keep moving ahead each day. Here are two that I'm using with my girls:

If you're looking for an ideal, standard school reader, I highly recommend The Headway Program, originally published in 1979 by Open Court. This is the same reader I used in third grade (I ordered this particular copy from Amazon), and the stories are rich and interesting, complete with vocabulary lists and other activities. The Place Called Morning keeps my daughter's interest, and we are having fun poring through it several times a week during summer.

Do you remember SRA kits from elementary school? This one is from 1990, a treasure found by my mother at Goodwill, for which she paid $2 (on eBay, some go for $400!). Students read a booklet with a short story, and there are corresponding questions. I've been having my daughter read, then just narrate back what she recalls. Worth a few bucks, even if only used here and there during these summer weeks! I also have her practicing with books like Arnold Lobel's Frog And Toad Together, a family favorite. 

Here are some things growing in the yard:

Purple and yellow lantana, hearty and sweet-smelling!

A bush of red roses that my daughter selected and cares for.

Lettuce that my daughter planted last year! So fresh, crisp...and uneaten by critters!

Incidentally, I think Aldi is a fabulous place to shop: no frills, one brand, no runaway shopping carts, and perfect flowers! Every bouquet that I buy at Aldi (for $3.99, by the way) lasts at least two weeks, sometimes longer! Here is an orange one that I got there, to which I added some red roses from the bush mentioned above: 

Small things like this cost little, but add a lot!

Here are a few "goofies" I've come across lately:

I guess it wouldn't be June without my obligatory itching from Poison Ivy. This year, my husband insisted I douse my trouble with this lotion.

Only after a few days did I notice how special this particular kind is:
"Elegant," it says! The superfluous dots after "Thicker" baffled me a bit, and I confess I was feeling anything but elegant with this pink paste all over my arm! In its defense, I did stop itching...(dots)...eventually.

And what's this?! Only what you find on the floor of the teachers' bathroom when your church meets in an elementary school! Every Sunday, this little guy is greeting me when I stop by...and every Sunday, I feel sorry for the teacher who has to use it! Remember, back in the day, when the janitor would sprinkle some special kind of powder over "the mess" when a kid got sick at school? I guess this is that same "powder"! The name makes no bones about it.

Just in case you were vacillating between potato chips and biscuits and gravy, but simply can't decide...here's the product for you! 

I'm not sure whether to make a face, or salivate! 

When I spotted this at a downtown store, I asked the cashier if I could photograph it, because I knew I needed it for the blog! 

If you ever spy anything silly like this, or like the stuff I've posted above, please send it to me. Things like this keep me smiling! 









Last week, I crossed the threshold from thirties to a new decade!!!!!! My dear husband presented me with the perfect, most beautiful, luscious, rich, decadent CAKE on the planet. The flavor: COFFEE!!!! (The blog has come full circle!). 

All I want to do is smell it, taste its coffee fragrance, and literally stick my face in it! Those fortunate enough to try it can attest to its being on a practically unachievable level of cake-dom. I also want to acknowledge the lovely roses, still beautiful on the kitchen table:

Roses are lovely, as you and I are to God...He created us beautiful, in His image. Every day I come to truly understand a little better what that means. He doesn't see me as I do; His Son's blood has washed me clean, making my sin as far as the east is from the west. We don't just "know" this; it's a lifetime of learning, of painfully allowing Christ to show us who He is, how almighty, and who we are in light of that. 

I love Dr. Rosaria Butterfield's book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Crown & Covenant, 2012). She challenges the way in which many Christians present their testimonies, cleverly claiming to have "made a decision for Christ." Rosaria's own testimony is racy, real, and the kind that makes the self-righteous shudder. She says, "I'm proof of the pudding. I didn't choose Christ. Nobody chooses Christ. Christ chooses you or you're dead. After Christ chooses you, you respond because you must" (p. 81).

Like Rosaria, my own story isn't "pretty." Jesus takes our ashes and makes them into beauty (Isaiah 61:3). He takes my mess (yours, too) and sprinkles his own mess-be-gone over it in the form of His blood! I, too, know the ugliness that lies behind the mask, but am seeing the newness that comes from crying out to Christ in the midst of the muck. I think most "believers" aren't real because we haven't been taught how to be, but we need only look to Jesus. He doesn't condone our sin, but convicts us by lovingly pointing us to the cross. He enables the wounded parts of our hearts to heal if only we ask Him. 

As I have come under enemy attack through doubt and reminders of my past, this has become one of my favorite passages. Read it closely, and often:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments [KJV: "imaginations"] and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

The final part of this passage is often taken out of context, putting a burden on ourselves that we can't bear: It's not my job to take captive every thought; it's Christ's job, by the mighty power that He has for pulling down strongholds. No amount of faking it, making do, or positive thinking on my part will grow me to be more Christlike; only relying on Him will make me more like Him! We try so hard to do, do, do...and never simply say, "Lord, there's a piece of my heart that's still believing lies. Please take that piece and heal it, making it obedient to You. Let me believe Your truth, not the world's lies." 

It seems like not much, but that's the point...God is the One who fixes our hearts, messes, minds, and lives. He made you and me, and knows who He designed us to be. Allow Him to bring you back to who you are in Him, the real you.

A Little Miami

I was laughed at for ordering this for dinner at a Cuban restaurant in Miami last month:

It did seem strange, but it was my third Cuban meal in one and a half days, and I was ready for some good ole cafe con leche and pan con mantequilla (Cuban cappuccino and bread and butter, but oh, so good!). I've been spoiled eating Cuban food all my life, and I really miss it. I had stuffed myself with more bistecito, platanitos, and congri than I eat in practically a year. When I saw this meal on the menu (which, by the way, included scrambled eggs!), I knew it would hit the spot. I was served a cup of frothy milk with the coffee where creamer usually is, and that bread was so crunchy and buttery, I know the others wished they'd ordered it, too. 

My mom, my 96-year-old Abue, and I had journeyed to Miami for my aunt's surprise 70th birthday party. I hadn't visited my family there in thirteen years, but the feeling came right back. The sad part was the absence of many aunts and uncles who have passed away, who were fixtures there my whole life. I now make up the generation that was my mom's thirty years ago, and her generation now has become what all those beloved grandparents, great-aunts, and uncles were. Time marches on, but the good times still rolled. 

Someone dear to our family is Jose. He is married to my mom's cousin, Maggie, who we call Cusi. Cusi and Jose have shown hospitality to us more times than I can count, and they are special to me. They enjoy meeting all kinds of people, and appreciate food and culture. Here is a photo I snapped of Jose holding a Cuban beer, something you don't see in the Ingles in North Carolina:

I miss my grandfather, Papi, tremendously, as well as one of his buddies, Cusi's father. Antonio Genova, known to us as "Chi Chi," was married to Abue's sister, Nilda. He and Papi were the salt of the earth and two peas in a pod: they lived simple, rich lives, quietly enjoying the little things and making others feel comfortable. I pointed out something I realized on this Miami trip: Papi and Chi Chi may be gone, but Jose has taken their place: a gentle, caring man who puts others before himself. He will drive anywhere for anyone, always wants to pay the bill, and never (ever) accepts praise for his actions. It's just how he is: humble, happy to serve others. 

There's a special reason I took this photo of Jose:

It completely captures the essence of this man! By the time others in the house awaken in the morning, Jose has already been out and purchased savory breakfast treats. He enjoys laying a smorgasbord of goodies before guests; it's his ministry. Another reason I had to take this photo is that I have memories of being eight years old and even back then, Jose was doing the same thing. 

When I was twelve, my friend Jennie and I spent several weeks in south Florida, and part of our time was with Cusi and Jose. In those days, I had no idea what a bagel was; only people in places like New York and Miami ate them. I recall that during our entire stay, at every lunch and dinner, Jose set two bags of bagel chips on the table...and no one touched them. Meal after meal, we'd sit down, and there came Jose, bags in hand, slightly grinning. This is classic Jose: the nice guy who wants to feed everyone well. Thanks for taking care of us, Primo.

Incidentally, Jose has always enjoyed food and celebration. As I've stated before, Cubans love to pose with food! Here he is, celebrating a boyhood birthday with his family:

Cusi, too, has the gift of hospitality, and a vibrant flair for whatever's fun. She loves to take tourists around Miami, and have a cafecito to "recharge her batteries," as she once put it. Cusi and Jose remind me why being Cuban is such a thrill!  If you ever have a chance to view the artwork of Maggie Cordovi (or, if I may brag...actually own a piece of it), don't miss out! I just had to pose with two of Cusi's lovelies, named "Esther" and "Nilda" for Abue and her sister, Cusi's mother:

Ahem...I must say, these beauties would look outstanding in my dining room. Can't you tell I'm about to burst just from standing beside them?

Here I am with my mom and Tia at the grand event:

Can you believe that we hid with Cusi and Jose for an entire weekend? What's harder to believe is that Tia had no clue at all about the party; she was so surprised! Cousin Silvia came farther than we did, all the way from New York! Tia's friends did a fabulous job of organizing everything. We partied in true Cuban style...for six hours! By the time we arrived back to Cusi and Jose's neighborhood, all the Cuban restaurants were closed, so we settled for Wendy's.

I was surprised to discover what I think is a "century plant" at Cusi's house. The girls and I had just read a story about one! They grow and grow for about thirty years, finally becoming about eight feet tall. When a century plant blooms, it soon dies. I think this is one (at least, it looks like one):

Where else but Miami would you find this regularly growing in a yard? It's so different from the mountains of North Carolina, but I grew up exposed to the Miami flair, and it's still special to me. 

Speaking of that, Cusi's house is very "Miami." Check out these photos!

How about these chairs, this lamp, that floor...and Cusi's artwork? It's so mod, so Cusi, so Miami! And here she and I are in front of this lovely, comfortable residence:

This short chronicle of my trip wouldn't be complete without showing you what I read on airplane fold-out table: 

"Whilst"...how can you not love it?! This was not wasted on me (obviously...probably no one else saw it and took a picture, thinking, "I just have  to put this on the blog!"). I had just been immersed in three days of all things Cuban, and it was funny to board a plane in south Florida and see this. 

Until next time...Hasta la proxima!