Ice Cream Buffet!

Defeating cancer gave me the courage to follow a dream I've had for many years: to publish a novel. This week Fury of the Storm Wizard will be available for sale at online booksellers in various e-book formats. The paperback will soon follow.

The book is written for children between the ages of 9 and 13, although it can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. A mash up of fantasy and the old west, Fury of the Storm Wizard takes place in Silver Valley, where an unusual string of mining accidents has locals whispering of dark magic. When the marshal sent to investigate goes missing, his young assistant Boone turns to Jesse and Eliza for help. But Jesse is a new mage with raw magic, and Eliza is hiding a secret. The three must learn to trust each other before the valley is destroyed and they are ripped away from everything they hold dear.

To help launch Fury of the Storm Wizard, I have organized a small "ice cream buffet" in honor of Boone, the dragon who absolutely loves ice cream. You'll find a delicious ice cream recipe below, and if you follow the links to the other blogs, you'll find more ice cream recipes to try. 

Be sure and visit the book's website for an opportunity to enter a drawing for some fun prizes, video chat with me through Shindig, download some freebies, and do other fun things!

Easy-Peasy Peachy Ice Cream

1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream

4 cups fresh crushed peaches, skins and pits removed

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 quart (4 cups) milk

2 cans evaporated milk (or less if your freezer won't hold it all)

Slightly whip cream and combine with other ingredients. Add evaporated milk to within 2 1/2 inches of the top of your ice cream freezer. Process as directed in your freezer's instructions. Makes about 4 quarts of ice cream.

Find other ice cream recipes at the following blogs!

MONIQUE'S MUSINGS

LIFE AS I KNOW IT

AN AUTHOR IN PROGRESS

Recovering and Looking to the Future

Recovering from surgery is a frustratingly slow process. When I got home from "up north" last week, I itched to get back to my normal routine. On Wednesday, I spent all morning doing some mild house cleaning, and by afternoon realized I had overdone it. I spent the next day or two recovering from my enthusiasm.

So, now I'm trying to force myself to take it easy and let the incisions heal. My wonderful mother-in-law and Relief Society sisters are bringing us meals, Steve has become Mr. Mom with the laundry and household chores, and my kids are pitching in like troopers. I'm so grateful for all the help!

It's been just over 2 weeks now since the surgery. I should be fully recovered in about 4 more weeks. My stay in the hospital was pleasant (as much as a hospital stay can be, anyway). I love the menu up there! It's like ordering from a 5 star restaurant for each meal, and I'm afraid I often went overboard in my choices.  Steve had to finish at least half the food for me.

He stuck it out with me, the whole 5 days, sleeping on the couch and putting up with nurses waking us both up around the clock to check my vitals and so forth. (Not that I didn't totally love my nurses: they were all awesome! And I'm absolutely amazed at what doctors in this day and age can accomplish.)

Just a little bit of gushing now about my husband. Steve really has been my rock, throughout this whole experience. I don't know what I would have done without him! He has stuck by me through the thick and thin of it, never leaving my side and always making sure I'm well cared for. I could never find a better forever companion!When people talk about my strength in surviving this ordeal, I point to him, because I would not have been strong if he hadn't been there, propping me up the whole time.

After getting an "honorable release" from the hospital, I spent a week at my parent's house, lounging around all the time and not doing much of anything. I did find some great shows on Netflix, if you want any tips. ;-)

Then, I was finally well enough to come home last Monday. Today, we're headed up again for a follow-up appointment, but it will be a short, overnight trip.

The girls started school last Thursday, and I sent my "baby" to kindergarten. We thought she would be clingy, but she marched right into class like the big girl she's become. All the girls absolutely loved their first two days of school! They're thrilled with their teachers and excited for a new year.

I'm excited for a new year, too. I feel like I have a new lease on life, now that I can finally say I have overcome cancer. My biggest news is that I am achieving my lifetime dream to be a published author. My first novel will be released this fall or winter. (And you're all invited to the launch party!)

But, of course, the biggest joy is to have my family and friends around me, and to be able to take a turn serving them, for a change, as I stick around on earth a little longer. I am so very blessed!

And with that, dear reader, I will close this blog. I don't expect to have much more news to relate in regards to cancer. I hope that my experience has inspired you to overcome your own life challenges. We can be stronger than we think we are when we have God on our side and loving friends and family around us.

I have neglected my regular blog in recent years, but I may now return to it and occasionally post what my family and I are up to, if you want to hop over to: sandsblack.blogspot.com. Watch there for news of my upcoming novel!

The Final Hurdle

This week, I round the bend and make a dash down the home stretch in my race with cancer. There's only one hurdle left to block the way. My reconstruction surgery is scheduled for this Wednesday, July 31st. It will be a doozy. The doctor said I would be in the hospital for 5 or 6 days. Then, I'll probably spend another week "up north" until I'm well enough to travel home. I hope I don't miss my baby's first day of kindergarten!

In recent months, my life has been so crazily normal, that it will be a shock to be down-and-out once again. But I look to the big picture. After this surgery, I will be done with cancer related procedures (not counting check-ups) for the foreseeable future.  Life will truly be normal again . . .  at least until the next challenge presents itself. In life, we are never free from trouble for very long.

But in spite of the discomfort and anxiety, dealing with trouble helps us learn and grow and become stronger people than we were before. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: my fight with cancer has made me a stronger person, and I'm grateful for that. I have courage to do things now that I never would have considered before. For example, did you know that I am starting a publishing company? Soon, Steve won't be the only entrepreneur in our family.

I spent last week with some extended family I haven't seen in years. It was so good to be around them again and get re-acquainted! One of my brothers hasn't seen me since last summer, when I was going through the worst of my cancer treatments. He commented on how much better I look now: healthier and happier. Apparently, having hair makes a positive difference. ;-)  I heard similar comments from others who had seen me at my worst and compared it to now. It reminded me that no matter what trials we might go through, we can be strong enough to make it to the end of them.

Several years ago, I sang a song at a dear friend's funeral, that I have now proven to be true in my own life:


When you walk through a storm
Keep your chin up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone!

 --Rodgers & Hammerstein

Here's hoping we all make it to the golden sky at the end of our storms!

Summer Highlights

Some of our summer highlights:

After lush Puerto Rico, we came home to this. Yes. That is--or WAS--our lawn.

Enjoying the 4th of July parade.

Pie eating contest at the first reunion of the summer.

We installed new (to us) playground equipment at the family cabin during one reunion. It has been much enjoyed ever since!

Birthday Girl!

The older girls enjoyed drama camp . . .

for the brief time we were home this summer.

Celebrating July birthdays at the 2nd family reunion of the summer.

Enjoying a pioneer village with cousins.

The Last Day Trip

Yesterday, we went on our last day trip tour. We made our way along a narrow, winding road to an indigenous park. We saw some of what remains of the natives of this island, called Tainos. As near as I can figure, they were contemporaries of our Anasazi back home.

Because it had rained so much the day before, the park was on the muddy side, so we got in for free! The fee would have been less than $10 anyway for all of us, but we were glad to get in free, as it proved to be a little boring. There wasn't a whole lot to see. I guess there's not much left of this ancient culture. It was wiped out when the Spaniards took over the place. Plus, I don't think the humid climate is as good for preserving things as our arid climate back home. 

 Anyway, the park did have a tiny one-room museum, and we saw some rock-lined fields where the Tainos played games and held ceremonies. There was a huge yucca plant we just had to photograph, and a cute little frog in the grass.

 Because of the mud, we decided to find someplace else to eat our lunch, so we drove on down the road and explored a couple of side roads until we found a little town park. We had fresh bread and doughnuts from a panaderia in the area, completing our tour of panaderias. This bread came in a close second to the loaves we got in Ponce. Yummy!

 After lunch, we decided to try the funky ice cream shop in Lares again (the one that closed 5 minutes before we arrived, last time). The downtown streets were super crowded when we got there. In many places, the cars were parallel parked 2 deep! We drove a couple of blocks away from downtown and found a place to park, then hiked back to the shop. We were sure ready for ice cream after that walk!

They had a lot of odd flavors, just like the other place, although I thought the other place was more creative in their flavor combinations. Still, I was grossed out by rice and beans ice cream and aho, or garlic. Yuck! I didn't taste those. The first one I tasted, I found out a little too late, had rum in it. Oops. I ended up getting some kind of cheese ice cream that tasted like a really rich vanilla. Steve got dulce de leche, Katie and Rachel got parcha--or passion fruit--Megan got pistachio, and Jessie stuck with good-old vanilla. 

Like the streets, the shop was super crowded, but we found a place to sit in the back and enjoy our treat. Then, we walked around downtown a little before we headed back to the car.

On the drive back to the condo, we stopped at a fruit stand to get some local fruit. We've had some pretty good eating from the roadside fruit stands! This time, I was able to talk to the guy behind the counter myself and communicate what I wanted. I was proud of my Spanish--that I was understood and could understand what he said in return! We got some luscious pineapple, mangos, guineos (bananas), and a huge avocado! I sure will miss the tropical fruit when we go home.

 I have mixed feelings about coming to the end of this vacation. We sure have enjoyed it! I will miss the ocean, the frequent rain, the green plants, the flowering trees, and the food. But, it will be good to go home, too, and see family again and sleep in my own bed (at least, for 1 night, until we start reunioning!). 

In spite of their love of the beach, the kids are ready to go home too. They've told us a few times lately that they're homesick.  Monday, we will bid a fond farewell to paradise, then on Tuesday head to the airport for our return flights. We'll see you all soon!

A Light on a Hill

We've had a pretty slow week so far, for the most part. We're running out of things to do, and money to do them with. ;-)

On Sunday, we attended another ward where Steve had served as a missionary. He was happy to find an older couple that remembered him! They had fed Steve and the other missionaries every Sunday with what Steve described as the best rice and beans on the island. What was even more amazing than their reunion was the timing: this couple moved to Florida several years ago, and was also here visiting. In fact, last Sunday was the only Sunday they were going to attend that ward. So, Steve was very blessed to be able to reconnect with his friends.

Monday and Tuesday were pretty lazy days for us. It was really rainy on Monday again, so we didn't even get to swim, but made up for it on Tuesday. We even got Katie into the water . . . briefly!

Megan and Rachel are getting good at snorkeling!

Even Katie got in on the fun.

 Yesterday, we had a long day tour. We drove down to the southwest tip of the island. There is no freeway on that side of the island, so we were on highways most of the time, slowing our drive. (Although "freeway" is a misnomer, since the autopista, as they call it, is a toll road.)

We stopped for lunch at one of the two towns who claim to be located where Christopher Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493. They have a really cool park there, dedicated to Christopher Columbus, with a nice boardwalk along the beach. They even had picnic tables!

Monument to Christopher Columbus

The park had several different areas, with different themes, for the kids to play. There was a cool treehouse, built around a huge ancient-looking tree (maybe it was there when Columbus landed?).  As the branches spread out like an umbrella, the tree puts down roots from the branches, so that they're supported by root "pillars." The kids didn't stay in the treehouse too long, because there were a couple of stray dogs roaming around up there. (The younger girls are absolutely terrified of dogs.)

Before the dogs chased them away.

Looking at some of the roots growing straight down from a branch.

 Then, we took them to a kiddie area for younger kids where there were several ride-on spring toys, statues of mushrooms and candy canes, and cartoon characters painted on the fence. The equipment was a little old fashioned, but that's the kind I like the best!

Steve bought us all an ice cream cone from a nearby ice cream truck, and we ate them on the boardwalk overlooking the beach. It was hard to imagine what that beach looked like in Columbus' day: now there is so much development and so many people. But the beach itself was still as beautiful as it must have been to Columbus' eyes.

 After the park, we drove down to the very southwest tip of Puerto Rico, to a little peninsula where there is an old lighthouse built in the late 1800s. Steve has been there twice before, so he knew the way. The road is in better repair than it was 20 some years ago, and more people have discovered this hidden gem, but there's plenty of room for the groups of visitors to spread out and explore, so we didn't feel crowded.

I had expected to be able to go into the lighthouse and get a tour, but we discovered it in a state of disrepair. The gate around the grounds was rusted and falling apart, the windows were boarded up, and the door locked. There's no sign of catering to tourists at all. But the light in the window turned constantly, so I guess the lighthouse still functions. At any rate, it was a very picturesque spot. I morphed into my avid shutterbug state and took tons of photos!

The lighthouse is located on some cliffs above the ocean, so we walked out to see the views. As there are no safety measures of any kind, we were super cautious with ourselves and the kids (don't worry, Mom!), and stayed back from the edge. It was a gorgeous view, in all directions!

 Then, we found a path that wound along the coast going north. It went down, off the cliffs, and to some really pretty rocky beaches. We also found a natural arch that we'd read about in an online guide, and a big ocean cave. (We didn't go in--just looked at it from above through a hole in the ceiling.) We took lots of pictures and got nice portraits of everyone that we plan to print and hang up at home, plus a really nice family photo.

On the walk down from the lighthouse, back to our car, we went by a gorgeous beach. I wished so much that we could go swimming! But there were no facilities to change into swimming suits or clean up afterwards, so we refrained from getting in the water. Instead, we just took more pictures! (Surprise, surprise)

The Caribbean is a pale turquoise blue, which beautifully compliments the white sandy beaches.

In our guidebook, Steve had read about a nice family restaurant in a nearby coastal city, so we drove east to try and find it. Just as it was getting fully dark, we finally found the place, and it was closed. This time, I don't mean the "we-missed-closing-time-by 5-minutes" closed: I mean the "no-longer-in-business" closed. It was very disappointing.

Luckily, along the dock were several little eating establishments. This is the town where they launch the tours of the other bio bay located on the main island, so we got solicited several times. I was tempted, since they have a glass bottom boat there. But then I remembered that bay is reported to be anemic of the little creatures that cause the glow, so the effect is less than impressive. I didn't want another disappointing experience!

We found a place to get some food that had a covered eating area and some ride-on toys for the kids to play on. The food was overpriced and not very good, but Steve got the rice and beans he's been craving. They also had a gift shop where we found some cute little coqui frogs, and Katie and I bought conch shells to cram into our suitcases for the trip home. I used my threadbare Spanish in this place, as they didn't seem to speak English, but in the end I had to rope Steve into helping me. I would ask them a question in hesitant Spanish, and they'd reply in rapid gun-fire Spanish that I couldn't understand!

We got away kind of late and had a long drive home, so we didn't get back to our condo until 1:00am. I guess we're trying to change our body clocks back to the time at home so it won't be such a shock when we get back next week!

Catching Up

I'm a little behind. I skipped writing about our activities on Monday in my emotional duress from the events on Tuesday, so I'll try to catch up.

On Monday, we drove down to the southern side of the island again, to the second biggest city in Puerto Rico--Ponce. It's named for Ponce de Leon, and the city really plays up its name. We went to the central town square where they have lion statues everywhere. Each lion has been decorated by a different artist. We took pictures by several of them, but didn't get them all, by any means.

 

At the town square, they also have an old firehouse called El Parque de Bombas. It's just a little building, but it's full of character. We saw an old fire engine and several old helmets and tools.

Looking down into the old well the firefighters used for their water supply. It's full of coins, now!

We're making it a habit to tour the panaderias of Puerto Rico, buy their fresh bread (or sometimes, not so fresh), and get a pastry or doughnut for the kids. So, we found a place in Ponce to get bread for our lunch. It was the best bakery so far! We had to walk about 5 blocks to get there, and in the humidity it almost did us in. We were all dragging by the time we got to the store. After making our purchases, Steve left to go fetch the car and give us chauffeur service while the kids ate their goodies. There was a funny little ride there ofTom and Jerry that the three younger girls all wanted to try.

 

We had our picnic lunch on the Carribean Sea again. We found a public beach this time with a little spot in the shade where the kids waded in the water (we didn't bring swim suits). We've found it difficult to find picnic tables in Puerto Rico. Even at the parks and public beaches, where you'd expect them, they are conspicuously absent. So, Steve held out his hands to be my table while I fixed sandwiches for everyone with the fresh bread. Delicioso!

 

Our last stop of the day was at an art museum in Ponce. It was a little sophisticated for the kids, but we told them we had taken them to the children's museum, and now it was their turn to "take us" to a grown-up museum. I don't think they were TOO bored. They found some art that they liked, and we took lots of pictures. I discovered that this museum is the home of one of my favorite paintings: Flaming June. I had no idea when we planned our trip there! So, that was a fun discovery to make.

The statue is holding a tooth in pliers. The artistic dentist?

The original Flaming June!

Now, I'm going to use my time machine ;-) and skip ahead to Thursday. We didn't do much beside laundry on Wednesday, and that's boring, so I'll spare you the details. Actually, on Thursday, we didn't do a lot either. It had rained all day on Wednesday, so we couldn't take the kids swimming as we'd promised to do. (By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed the rain! It was so great to see so much water falling from the sky!) So, on Thursday we took another "down day" and went to a swimming pool at the nearby hotel. The pool in our condo complex is being remodeled, so our condo owner got us passes to the pool at the hotel next door.

 

It was a really nice pool, with 4 separate swimming areas, 2 of them specifically for little kids. We parked next to the kiddie pool and let the kids enjoy themselves until they got hungry for lunch, about 2 1/2 hours.

I'm almost up to speed now.

We had to get a picture by the coqui frog!

Yesterday, we drove west to see Camuy Caves. I really enjoy caves, and Steve missed this site when he lived here before, so this was a must-see. When we arrived, we missed a tour by about 5 minutes and had to wait around for 45 minutes before another started. We sorely regretted our tardiness, as we ended up on a tour with a large group of school kids who were boisterous and noisy and made the tour very difficult, even for the guide. The guide said school groups and tourists are supposed to be separated, and only about 30 people are supposed to be on a tour at a time: we had around 60. So, it was just a little hectic, as you can imagine. They also gave us electronic players, like a self guided tour, that we had to balance with the live tour guide's explanations. I have a handicap, in that I cannot concentrate on more than one thing at a time (don't ever ask me to multi-task!), so the situation ended up being rather stressful for me.

But, in spite of that, I enjoyed the beauty of the cave. It was different from other caves I've visited because there were several large openings to the outdoors where plants and water dripped down. That was a gorgeous sight! The third largest underground river in the world runs through this cave system, although the rains from a couple of days before had swollen the river and knocked out the lights, so we didn't get a very good view of the river itself. But we could hear it! Steve had expected a large rushing river, but it was fairly small and calm. 

My camera gave me grief that day, so the photos aren't the best. They certainly don't do it justice!

At one point, we came to an area open to the sky above where several long tree roots hung down like vines and water dripped from the edge. (The guide said the limestone rock of the cave soaks up water like a sponge, so it's constantly dripping.) Leaves falling from the trees drifted lazily down into the cave to the underground river, exposed at this point, far below. It was the kind of thing I've seen in video games or movies, but never in real life. It was so beautiful! 

 

After the cave, we went to the Arecibo Observatory. This is a humongous dish that receives and transmits radio waves from and to space for scientists to analyze. It was featured in one of the James Bond movies (with Pearce Brosnan) and in the movie Contact. It was really neat to see this huge structure in person!

Unfortunately, by this point in the day, the kids were getting pretty tired. Jessie actually fell asleep in the museum while we waited for our tour of the dish. Megan wasn't far behind. She was like a wet noodle, hanging on me. But, she perked up when we got back to the car.

Our last stop was going to be another funky ice cream shop, located in a town south of the caves. But, we arrived 6 minutes after they closed! I guess we were just running a little bit late all day.

Today is another down day. We cleaned house and did laundry. The tide is super low today: the lowest we've seen. The "pencil" out in the water is completely exposed. But, it's the weekend, so there's a party going on down the beach and lots of people out walking the sand. Maybe we'll throw on our bathing suits and join them!

El lapiz - the pencil. We could walk all the way out there today in shallow water.