photo tour :: old city farmer's market

Maria's bread stand • fresh coffee tastings • a morning cannolo
Continuing in the pattern of taking photos of St. Augustine, I dutifully took my camera along for our weekly visit to the Saturday morning Old City Farmer's Market. Taking place on the grounds of the St. Augustine Amphitheatre and the Anastasia State Park, the line of vendor tents has grown over the years to include fresh produce, homemade quilts, bonsai plants, driftwood art, homemade soaps, freshly-baked breads, pottery, locally grown meats and seafood, and even massage therapy. When we first arrived back in St. Augustine in June, I wrote about the smaller Wednesday morning market at the beach pier, but this one on Saturday is our favorite.

We've enjoyed frequenting this market over the years and tend to have an idea of what we will buy before we go, but often find something new to bring home as well. Today, we started at the east end of the line of stalls, and made a bee-line for the baker, Maria who is Albanian and is one of the more popular vendors with her unending variety of fresh breads from loaves of multi-grain, garlic and rosemary bread sticks, and rye rolls, to apple strudel wrap-ups, cinnamon breakfast loaves, and (what we headed for) cannoli.

We bought two cannoli and sat for a couple of minutes on the sidelines watching the people stroll along as we ate our late breakfast. We then passed the very nice lady who sells fresh coffee from Kenya where she used to live on a coffee farm. We met her last week and she let us try some and told us all about the environmentally-friendly, and fair trade ways in which this coffee makes it to our area through the Growers Alliance company, which gives Kenyan growers about 10 times the profit of larger chain companies. Read more about their efforts on their website or the local write-ups about them here and here. We bought a bag last week, and can't stop raving at how distinctly different and wonderful it is. Chris made sure to tell her today how much we like it and would be back for more.

market row • bluegrass band • between the stalls
Next, we headed down the market passed the local bluegrass band, which has anywhere from 4 to a dozen people playing at any given time. They are here every week playing and selling their CDs and taking donations in their open guitar case. Complete with banjos, guitars, fiddles, stand up bass, and slide guitar, this colorful band of men and women create a very 'down-home-Florida' atmosphere at the market...and a feeling that would be sorely missed by the patrons if they weren't there. It's nice to hear traditional tunes being played as we stroll under the huge oak trees which drip with spanish moss. Here is a short video from my camera where you can hear a bit of the sounds.

produce stand • olives in buckets • homemade lotions and soaps
Eggplant, peaches, a cucumber, and an avocado were added to our canvas shopping bag as we shopped at the produce stands, although this week we passed on the "extras" such as marinated olives and dried organic fruit and granola mixes.

If you already have finished your grocery shopping for the week, and don't need to buy any of the locally-grown produce here, don't worry...there are plenty more things that you can fill your bag with.

Like wooden mermaids with seashell coverings and mossy hair.

Or, watercolor paintings of palm trees, Florida marshes, sail boats, or seagulls.

How about long driftwood sculptures of carved egrets, herons, or large-necked pelicans?

There's rows and rows of homemade soaps, lotions, and face scrubs with any scent you prefer. Sandalwood, lavender, rose, or tropical mango.

Then before you head home, stop by and get a 5-minute chair massage, palm reading, or even a temporary tattoo.

mermaid carvings • local artist stand • our new FLORIDA piece
One thing we noticed is that even though we like to collect one piece of local art from places that we've visited, we didn't have a unique piece from St. Augustine, or any place in Florida for that matter...so since we've moved back, we've kept our eyes open for anything that caught our attention. It's a little tricky to find a happy medium between the tacky 'beach-retiree-vacation-condo' pieces, and pieces that wouldn't show any hint of Florida or St. Augustine. It's just so easy to associate palm trees, seagulls, shells, and sunsets with the cheesy "Florida" art, even-though that's somewhat how Florida is known, so a bit of this was allowed in our quest for a work that fit our style.

Alas, today we found an adorable and unique print from a local artist, Elenor. We chatted with her as we browsed her drawings, sketches, and collages from the "Sunshine State" and also, from (our second home, and one of her favorite vacation spots) Italy. We got to talking with her about Italy and then decided on a collage piece which combines several aspects of both our homes. There is an orange tree, alligator, and the tropical lime-green parrots that live in town, plus after looking closely, the alligator is made from an Italian street map. It's quirky, symbolic, and perfect for our wall.

This concludes the tour of the Saturday market. You are invited back next Saturday (but only if you can find your own transportation to St. Augustine).

OLD CITY FARMER'S MARKET
Every Saturday, rain or shine, from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
St. Augustine Amphitheatre
1340 A1A South
St. Augustine, FL 32080

where, oh where...

Good news! On Thursday, in the middle of Tropical Storm Fay's extended stay in our town, the FedEx guy arrived in the pouring rain to deliver my passport, complete with a newly affixed visa on one of its pages.

Now, since the plane tickets have been purchased, and my visa is in hand, I feel like I'm officially on my way next month. Ok, ok...so "where, oh where" you ask, am I going?

...to a country relatively the size of Illinois, but with a population of about 1/2 of the entire US, and a larger count than all of Russia (which is 120 times its size), making it the most densely populated country in the world
...to a country where most people live at extreme poverty, averaging GDP around $1,800/yr
...to a place which houses the world's largest mangrove forest, and even endangered species like the Bengal Tiger
...to a country that is constantly threatened by floods, monsoons, and cyclones
...to a country that is encapsulated by an extensive system of rivers and deltas

I'm headed to Bangladesh.

This will be my first time into this section of the globe, and I'm very much looking forward to it, albeit a bit nervous. I'm meeting a group of people there who have been doing humanitarian/missions work there for a few years now in a very tangible way. I will be helping with food/clothes distribution, refugee work at camps from the Myanmar typoon back in May, helping with basic medical tasks, and teaching English as a second language. Basically, getting to know some of the beautiful people who live in the coastal regions of southern Bangladesh, and helping out and showing love in whatever way I can.

Another friend of ours, who lived in St. Augustine for a while, and his fiance are living in the capital city of Dhaka, and are working on international studies, addressing the poverty situation in many of the rural areas of the country. So, I'm getting to meet up with them as soon as I fly in, which will be a great welcome to an unknown place for me. They're going to take me shopping for proper clothing when I get there, as well as serve as a translator and also accompany me the next day down the coast to where I'll meet the rest of the group.

...oh, and if you want to confirm my statement about the people in Bangladesh being "beautiful", take a look at my friend's Flickr page!

In doing research about the country, and people, I came across the website of a project called UnCultered. It's mainly the work of a grad-student, Shawn, who heard a presentation about poverty at Notre Dame, and decided that he could do something about it, so he moved to Bangladesh and has been there a year now doing great work. He posts a lot of videos on YouTube as well.

The friend I mentioned earlier, also connected us from RosaLoves to a couple stories of need in Bangladesh, including the The Sharkar Family and the Child Development Center in Baje Amli. Go visit the site to read the stories (and even buy a shirt to help the cause).

Since I'm traveling alone, I thought it would be nice to split it up, so by fanagling the plane ticket situation, I got a couple days stop-over in Italy both going and coming for the same price as a straight ticket. It will be nice to regroup half way around the globe. :) I'll definitely be writing more as the time approaches for departure...but for now, I'm doing a lot of praying and preparing of my heart, mind, and spirit.

fay. the storm that won't go away

photos from staugustine.com
So we're STILL experiencing the effects Tropical Storm Fay. On Friday, the day they originally predicted would be the first day back to normal, a day I'd planned to have lunch with a friend who I hadn't seen in over a year, and a day I figured would be spent picking up all the broken limbs in the yard, I'm still sitting here "hunkering down" as they say. Actually, I really hate that phrase "hunkerin' down" - it just sounds ridiculous.

On Tuesday we all got prepared for what was to be a hurricane, and on Wednesday most offices, schools, etc were closed...but the storm wasn't so scary. Only we did have mild flooding. Then yesterday, the eye of the storm passed right over us, and during the calm, Chris and I took a walk to the beach. Unfortunately, I didn't wear pants, so my legs got sand-blasted and turned a bit pink. Some branches broke off in the yard, but other than steady winds, the rain wasn't too bad.

To fight cabin-fever, we allow ourselves to be easily entertained by small things. Yesterday I saw a squirrel continuously going between a tree across the street and our house. Most of the time he'd have some fluffy pink stuff in his mouth. I couldn't figure out what it was or what he was doing...but quickly figured out that he was definitely on a mission of some sort. He'd even climb up to our balcony and look in the sliding class doors, then head down the deck stairs, all the while, being quite inquisitive.

About half an hour later, Chris heard a visitor in our dryer exhaust tube that leads outside. We've known that the small exhaust crate leading from our laundry room (2nd floor) to the outside stucco/shelldash exterior wall was missing a small slat, leaving about a 1.5" opening. This has been wide enough for toads to crawl inside and hark loud croaks which echo out of our metal clothes dryer in the past. Yesterday though, it was big enough for our squirrel friend to shimmy through. Our cats immediately knew that something was up, and sat anxiously on the dryer looking down at the moving vent tube.

Chris went outside to look up at the vent opening, and sure enough, there was the squirrel poking his head out, then quickly emerging unashamed....WITH A MOUTHFUL OF FLUFFY PINK STUFF! It seems that our leftover, unfiltered dryer lent has become a favorite building material for a new nest in the tree across the street.

And that was the highlight of our entertainment for the day.

Today is the worst yet in terms of weather conditions. It's pretty nasty outside right now. The wind gusts are up to 90 mph (which is hurricane strength again), and we've lost many large tree limbs, as well as 2 of our biggest (FRUIT-PRODUCING) banana trees. :(

Hopefully by tomorrow things can start to get back to normal and this slow moving storm will finally have passed.

photo tour :: evening downtown st. augustine

It's been about 6 weeks since our return to St. Augustine, and I'm finally coming through on some promises I made to post photo tours of our town. Yesterday evening, Chris and I headed to the historic downtown for a lovely sunset passeggiata. After living in Europe, saying something here is "historic" or "old" sounds a bit funny and exaggerative, but in terms of the good ol' U S of A, our city has interesting and very "historic" (and European) roots.
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Quick History of St. Augustine
• Spainish explorer Ponce de Leon landed near St. Augustine coast on Easter of 1513 and named the area La Florida (Land of Flowers)
• Spain then launched several expeditions to the new land, and on August 28, 1565, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles arrived off the coast of our town, and founded it under the name St. Augustine, as it was the Feast Day of this patron saint.
• St. Augustine was founded forty-two years before the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts - making it the oldest permanent European settlement on the North American continent. taken from OldCity.com
• Spain continued reign against French and English attacks over the next 200 years, and was finally made a part of the US in 1845.
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Now, on with the tour. We parked behind the Lightner Museum and headed towards the waterfront...

statue behind Lightner Museum • street sign • Palm RowThis statue behind the museum sent us away with a raise of her arms, saying "Go. Explore. Take lots of photos before the sun goes down. And watchout for the horse carriages without waste-catching bags behind them."

No, just kidding. I don't know what she was saying, or even who she is. But we did head out and quickly turned down the quaint alley, Palm Row. Aptly named after the tall skinny palm trees lining the small cobblestone street. We passed the wooden homes with flags flying and some faint music escaped out of a frosted-glass front door.

tiled signs • window box • wooden balconiesNext, we made it to the neighborhood near the marina, where the "Nation's Oldest House" is located, as well as tiny streets with doors emptying directly onto the concrete. We walked past Spanish-themed bed-&-breakfasts, and under blooming window boxes and small wooden balconies. There were flags gently blowing in the breeze, including America, Spain, St. Augustine, and others.

Aviles Street • cute door • church gateRemember Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles from the history above? Well, we walked down the street under his namesake, which is filled with bookstores, pastry shops, cobblestones, and cute vine covered doorways. Now in the main plaza of downtown, we pass the oldest Protestant church in Florida, which overlooks the very lawn where a different type of history was made: that of the Civil Rights movement. Martin Luther King, Jr and his supporters walked this road in protest to segregation and discrimination, where decades earlier African slaves were sold under an open market building in the plaza, which still stands today.

Lightner Museum • Flagler College • Henry Flagler statue in frontNow, back to the front of the Lightner Museum where we started, this building was built as a luxury spa resort with the world's largest indoor swimming pool. Now, this empty pool, holds events in the deep end, like the concert we attended last year.

Turning around, we see Flagler College (where I attended), housed in the old Ponce de Leon hotel, which was built in 1887. Another luxury hotel built by the oil and railway mogul Henry Flagler. I will save more details of this landmark for another day (but get ready for Tiffany stained glass, ghost stories, and lots and lots of fireplaces).

St. George Street • Uncle Sam • ZeldaAlmost dark now, we head down the city's most adored pedestrian-only lanes: St. George Street. This street is the beginnings of the first colony with some original buildings, as the "Oldest Wooden School House" and even the city gates. Now it is lined with shops and restaurants...and even a couple small 'indoor mall' types of enclaves. One of these hallways is quite scary to me, and has always been filed under "freaky side-show". As soon as we enter, Uncle Sam greets us and announces that for only 25cents he can tell us the "strength of our personality". We politely decline the aged mannequin and continue down the corridor so we can document Zelda, the Fortune Teller. Her fare is a little more steep at $1.00 for a reading, but with her animatronic hands on a crystal ball and deck of Tarot cards, she promises to give us an accurate reading. Again, we smile, but pass up the opportunity and instead grab a Mojito-flavored slushy and head back to our car.

Next weekend is the city's 443rd Birthday complete with rebuilt Native American reservation tours, reenactments of Pedro Menendez’s landing in 1565 followed by a celebration of Mass; a special interactive exhibit of the city’s historic timeline; and a city-wide birthday party. Maybe if we get to join in any of the fun, I'll share the happenings with you.

moving right along

Things are moving right along. I finally got my plane tickets yesterday for my trip next month...and a couple more *painful* vaccination shots today into my biceps. (I mean all the way in to the muscle tissue... It still hurts to shift gears when I drive...so I was driving a bit slower as to avoid the 4th & 5th movement).

With tickets in hand, the visa application submitted, and more details coming into view - I feel like it's official now. I'm beginning to prepare my soul, mind, heart, and body for what I will experience, and how I can best be used.

Yes, I know many of you are asking "Where?"...and I promise I'll reveal more details little by little.

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Now for an inspirational video(s) to kick off the weekend. Those readers who were around about 1.5 years ago, you may remember that I wrote about a guy named Matt, who at the time, was know by the internet community (but this group mainly fell into a quite narrow demographic), as "the crazy guy on the internet who dances all over the world". Well, now that he's on his THIRD dancing (or, "hopping-up-and-down-and-swinging-his-arms-around") video, he's becoming quite a phenom. It's crazy how a silly video has become so inspirational and (even in such a strange way) an instrument of peace and community building around the world.

Read more about his story and see Videos 1 & 2 at his website: www.wherethehellismatt.com.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the latest dancing video (where for the first time, groups around the globe join in).

Dancing 2008


Gives me tingles. Everytime.

I also read Matt's blog, and he recently posted this other video (not his own). Enjoy:

Music & Life

..."it was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played". - Alan Watts

Have a great weekend...bidai!

sunflowers and contemplations

this week's flowers (girasoli) • red phone • countertop
Well, our kitchen was finished last week, so the house is almost done for now, but we're taking a break from the dust and will finish the last little bit in the weeks to come. It was beginning to wear on us though, because thinking about house stuff and living in a construction zone began to take away from time with friends, each other, and life in general. Now it's nice to put down the paint brush and spackle knife, relax a bit, and get back to a normal schedule again.

jars a top the cabinets • drawer pulls • tea towels • kitchen corner
Other than the house, I know that I've hinted in past posts about trying to figure out what my future holds since we've returned to the States. I've been weighed with the every-present question of "What do I really want to do with my life?" even more so since our move to Italy. I'm not sure if it's because of our move there, our move back, or just a normal progression of life - but I think that in some way a combination of all those things have made me look at what I do each day and ask myself "Is this what I enjoy doing?" and, more importantly, "Am I being used in a meaningful way on this earth?"

The answer to the second question is, "Not in a deep sense" and to the third, "Not as much as feel like I could be". So this leads to the main question #1: "What should I do with my life?".

After pondering over this extensively in the past several months (although it's the question that rings true throughout most people's entire lives), I decided that the best way to figure this out was to narrow down what I liked to do (what came naturally, what I was good at, what I did on my free time, what I was passionate about). I came up with 3 main ideas:
• travel
• helping others
• environmental awareness

*remember my post about the fortune cookie?*

Luckily, these three things can fit together quite nicely, and I've been researching others who have combined 2 or 3 of these components together to make a difference in the world. ...eco-tourism, volunteer travel, etc... Everyday now is just a clean slate to begin to have something unfold...I'm not exactly sure where to start, but I'm trying take at least a small step each day...writing an email, contacting those who have combined these things, researching, talking, praying, and making idea lists for the next day. Fortunately, I've always been surrounded by encouragement - from my parents growing up, a tight group of friends, and now being married to my best friend who always supports my dreams.

Since we returned, and in the midst of my inspection and contemplations, I was asked to accompany a group going to a developing, over-populated country (on the other side of the globe) in grave need of help in many ways. Some of you know a little about this, but for now, I'll hold off telling further details on here until things are nailed down a bit more. I'm excited, anxious, and a tad nervous about going, but I feel it's a wonderful opportunity to combine my newly-narrowed-down passions to make a difference.

6 vaccinations (3 to go), 1 visa application, 2 flight booking codes, and only about 6 weeks from leaving...

girasole: the italian word for "sunflower", meaning "turn towards the sun".
It's one of my most favorite Italian words and since it's the season for these blooms, it's fitting that I feel like doing the same thing...turning towards the sun and my future

guest blogger day

Instead of writing a new post, I'll pass you over to Cherrye's blog My Bella Vita. She so kindly asked me to be a guest blogger for her and I submitted a post, What I Learned By Blogging.

I wrote this as soon as we arrived back in the States in June, and since then we've even made even more connections through 'The Olive Notes'.

Thank you to all my fellow bloggers and readers for your support and kind encouragement. I'm so thankful to have 'met' so many of you.

Thanks again to Cherrye for the invitation to write as well :) So now, what are you waiting for?! Go and check it out!

supper club #2

in dresses • fun flowered high heels • Italian book on the coffee table
This past Friday was the second Supper Club meeting of our newly formed group. It was hosted by our friend, who just came back from her honeymoon in Italy...and so was appropriately Tuscan-themed. Since our first meeting a month ago, we decided that since the night was filled with things so quintessentially girly, we'd add tea dresses and high heels to this next get-together.

Although most feet came doned in cute fittings, bare toes mostly won out over the hours in stillettos. But, since I rarely get to wear the fun pairs of shoes in my closet, I kept my fuscia, flowered, spun silk 4" wedges on the entire night. (My calves reminded me of this the next day).

limoncello martini • green onions in a vase • set table
We began the night with a cocktail hour of Limoncello martinis, and quickly continued on to the mouth-watering appetizers of Spinach & Feta Stuffed Pastry Wedges. For primi we enjoyed a type of Tuscan dumpling called Strozzapreti alla Fiorentina filled with cheeses and spinach and baked in a tomato sauce. This served as my main dish as well, while the others ate Lemon-Herbed Chicken.

My assignment this go-round was a side/vegetable dish, so I made a risotto with one of my favorite summer veggies.

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Creamy Asparagus & Leek Risotto

One handful fresh asparagus (cut into 1" pieces)
1/3 c sliced leek
1/2 c cream
1/4 c fresh parmesan
2 c Arborio rice
1/4 tsp curry powder
Olive oil
Vegetable Broth
Salt/Pepper

Lightly steam asparagus for a couple of minutes. Saute leek in olive oil, add asparagus and saute for a few more minutes. Add cream and lower heat to medium. Add curry powder and simmer for a few minutes. Stir in rice and add vegetable broth until rice is covered. Add parmesan cheese and continue to stir and add broth as necessary until rice is fully cooked. Add salt/pepper to taste.
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olive plate • spinach & feta appetizer • cappuccino cheesecake
For dessert we savored individual cappuccino cheesecakes with chocolate shavings as wine from the Puglia region of Italy (so it wasn't Tuscan, but it was good anyway, and it may have been my first time trying something from that area of the country). The dessert was so good, and we all finished every bite, as we kept moaning and saying that we were already too full and couldn't fit one more things in our mouths...but all the plates were licked clean despite our constant objections.

I'm scheduled to be next month's host (and thus, the theme-picker-outter and main-dish-maker). I'll have to think about a fun subject matter where we can all find new recipes to try and discover. (And hopefully it will be just in time to enjoy a meal in our newly finished kitchen).

*I'm contemplating creating a Supper Club sub-blog to post the full recipes and photos of the meetings, so others could be encouraged to start a Supper Club too!