a sunday of thoughts, memories of sadness.

it is sunday, another rainy day and a day for contemplation for me. and what does one crafty girl do on rainy contemplative day? sew of course! i knew i needed a small project as i did not have a lot of time... i had a party to attend in the afternoon... so i came up with this small applique project to keep my hands busy while my mind wandered... last night there was a serious car accident on the island involving, of course, young adults and drinking. everyone turned out ok, this time. but it brought me back to a dreadful night 10 years ago when on this island we were not so lucky, and the victims were my friends. i could not help to reflect on that dreadful accident, the loss of life and visiting my friend in jail for driving the car that killed his girlfriend. why does history have to repeat itself? why can't we learn from our past? i don't have the answers. so instead of dwelling, i create. and this is what i created today while i grieved for the loss of brooke, the time lost to jeff and scott while they were in jail, and rejoiced that these kids did not suffer the same fate. no one died. no one will be spending years in jail. but i hoped and wished with every stitch that those kids and their friends understand just how lucky they are on this rainy, gray sunday. i hope they realize that this day is the first day of the rest of their days. a lucky day to be alive, a day to be thankful.

rainy rainy days and delish soup!

it's been a rainy few days on the island and the recipe for rain is a good book and some yummy soup. i excitedly indugled in making my soup of choice, a recipe made up years ago with my old lover, parnter and best friend Nick (oh, how i miss this man some days). we somehow named it Cuban Black Bean Soup. i do not know what makes it Cuban, but in our tummies, Cuban it is. we adapted it from a cookbook Nick had and made it our own ~ by adding fattening goodness! no measureing cups necessary just throw it all together. my friend Katie called in the midst of my making and her response was "yuuuuummm"
here is the gist~ give it a whirl!

2 good sized sweet potatoes~ cut up
2 cans of black beans ~ rinsed
onions ~ chopped
garlic ~ chopped ~ a good amount
ginger ~ chopped ~ a good amount

throw all of this in a good sized pot with 6-8 cups of water.
boil for an hour
let cool
puree in a blender or other such kitchen appliance
place back in pot and return to burner
add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon or 2 of brown sugar
heat up!
add shredded cheddar to bowl when served.
enjoy!
seriously good stuff.