Caribbean Sing-A-long

Last Tuesday morning, Julie and I went on a shopping trip to Roseau. At the end of the trip, we were exhausted and headed to the bus stop to catch a transport back to Roseau. Three buses were loading up to head north and each bus driver does their best to get you to get into their bus. It is a little intimidating, but you have to keep your cool and go for the bus that has a good seat available (no one wants to ride for an hour in the little fold-down jump seat), is running the air conditioning (a rare find, but a wonderful extravagance, especially if you are waiting in the heat for the bus to reach full capacity), and has a safe driver (okay that one is just pure luck!).

Right away Julie and I spotted a very new blue bus (it still had the new car smell!!) with the windows closed. And everyone knows that means A/C. Unfortunately it was the third bus in line which meant it would take forever to fill up, but we didn't mind. We got front row seats in the bus and enjoyed the cool air while we waited (yes, it is still hot here even though we are in the middle of November).

The driver had a great CD of all the latest radio hits. The passengers really enjoyed the songs too; as soon as we fired up the engine to start our trek north, a particularly good song started and the sing-a-long began! We probably heard the whole CD three times from the beginning to the end of the ride in Portsmouth. A little clip of our ride home with all the bumps, twists, and turns (don't forget to breathe!) is at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

It's a bird! it's a turkey! it's Thanksgiving!

I am officially a grown-up. You may be wondering what the official action was that brought me from the feeling of "pretending" to be like an adult and officially being grown-up is this right here:

My first Thanksgiving turkey. (yes, I did that)

Of course things like this don't happen without at least one small crisis situation. I had 3.

It all started with Rachel's amazing ability to procure the hottest item of the holiday season: a butterball turkey compliments of her church's pastor and his wife who shipped them in for anyone willing to take on the task. I was ready. At least I thought I was. I had already called my mom for the recipe for her rosemary lemon brine and had all the necessary equipment.

So Wednesday started off really well. Christina's father-in-law was coming in to town on a cruise ship, so she rented a car in advance (which was perfect for me) and we went to Tina's store to pick up a few odds and ends and then met Rachel on campus to pick up the turkey. Crisis #1: 24 hours before the cooking should begin, and the turkey was frozen solid.

This was a problem because it needed to be in the brine at least that long and I had to be at work in 30 minutes. So I unwrapped the turkey (despite the directions on the bag...oops), pulled out the plastic bag with the neck, slid it in a huge bag, poured the brine over it, placed it in the cooler I borrowed from Rachel, and ran up the big hill to work. I didn't have a lot of time to think about the turkey until I got home and was telling Leslie all about it (she came over to borrow a few things for the rolls and dessert she was making) and opened the cooler with a flourish only to find crisis #2: the bag had torn open and the brine was mixing with the ice (diluting!) and my turkey was bobbing hopelessly in the mess. I couldn't decide what to do, so I didn't do anything. I did flip the turkey over a during the night to even out the flavor. And I crossed my fingers that it would defrost AND taste good. So Thanksgiving morning I made a little pumpkin cheesecake to take to Kyle and Andrea's after our meal with Rachel, Christina, Leslie and spouses. While it was cooking, I decided to check the propane tank just to see how much I have. I've gone through a tank a semester, but I hadn't thought about it recently.

Crisis #3: the propane tank (that sits under my sink) was almost empty. Not that there is a gauge or anything, you can tell because it is light enough to pick up with one hand and "feels" empty. I went ahead and put the turkey in while I considered my options. I could keep crossing my fingers and hope that the gas lasted another 4 hours, or I could replace my tank. About that time I discovered my phone was nowhere to be found and realized I couldn't call for help. I turned on the computer to email Rachel and see what she could do. Luckily I checked my inbox shortly afterwards and it was a good thing I did. She had already called a taxi to come get me and the tank! As I was reading the good news, my brain registered the faint sound of car honking as my taxi. I rushed outside and waved the guy over to help me unhook the tank and carry it to the car. We rode up to James Store (Tina's was out of gas)and exchanged tanks. The driver was really nice and carried the tank back inside and hooked it up for me. I quickly lit the oven to continue cooking the turkey with a huge sigh of relief. What a crazy five minutes! The turkey continued to cook until I started making the gravy and only found a neck in the bag I thought had all the giblets. With the help of my mom on the phone, I pulled the turkey out of the oven, cut open the neck cavity and pulled out a second bag with the missing goodies. I'd like to think the neck was a little too frosty to get to the bag before it went into the oven, but we'll just settle with the fact that I got them out before the plastic fuzed to the meat and the toxins destroyed my masterpiece. Should we call that crisis #4? Nah. Because after that, things went really smoothly.

Justin finally came home from his behavioral science oral exam where he had to interview and diagnose a patient. I kept checking on the turkey, and it seemed like it was stuck at 165 degrees forever (keep in mind I was using a thermometer from the espresso machine at work so who knows how accurate it was). I turned the heat up just a little and hopped in the shower. By the time we were ready to go, it was perfect. Justin carried the turkey, and I carried the gravy up the hill to Rachel's house.

Christina, Leslie, Rachel, and me: Thanksgiving Chefs.

Everything looked perfect, from the mass array of food (mashed potatoes, corn cassrole, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce) to the beautiful table decorations (our little martha stewart made a pastry cornocopia centerpiece!) we were ready to eat.

Now I signed up to cook the turkey, but I had no idea I was also volunteered to carve it. I did my best, but I really missed my cute electric knive that is sitting in storage.

We definitely counted our blessings this Thanksgiving. We are so thankful to have had such a wonderful experience here (as hard as it is to be away from family) and our wonderful friends made celebrating this holiday so much fun.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For our first big holiday away from home, we are getting together with our island family for a potluck meal. As much as I love to cook, I've never taken on a task as important as the turkey. I was surprised at my own voice volunteering to cook the turkey that Rachel managed to get her hands on (a Butterball turkey, no less). So the pressure is on to make this a fabulous turkey to remember. Wish me luck!

And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

My endless summer

Today marks the full first week in December. While most of you are enjoying cold toes and noses, I'm stuck in an endless summer with an average high of 28 degrees. It may sound great, but it is hard to get into the Christmas spirit (18 days until Christmas!) when you are laying out at the beach. I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. The big seasonal change here is the transition from Hurricane season to rainy season (not such a great improvement, I know).

Justin has two more tests coming up next week and is keeping his nose in the books. Keep him in your thoughts as he finishes up the semester.

Last week some girlfriends and I went on a little day trip to Spanny Falls and the volcanic staircase, Tetechien.

The two waterfalls are located on private property and we all had to pay five dollars in the little shop along the side of the road. The benefit of the toll was a nicely laid out path with handrails in some places. What a luxury! Like here, where we had to cross the stream in front of the waterfall to get to the next one.
The handrails made the hike relatively easy, which almost felt like cheating after all the hikes where you forge your own path. But when we got to the part of the trail that seemed impossible, I was thankful for the help the rope provided.

Why do pictures never give the difficulty justice? This was harder than it looks!
We reached the second waterfall and rested before heading back. The pool was very small, so we didn't get in the water. It was just nice to enjoy the peace and quiet.The hike back down was a lot easier.

Then we drove to the south east coast of the island to see the volcanic staircase. It was an easy walk down to edge, where seemingly out of nowhere this ribbon of volcanic rock has poured out of the earth right into the water. The way it cooled left it looking like a huge staircase.
It was actually too steep to climb all the way down, so we had to wind back and forth slowly along the side. It is called tetechien which means snake in creole. I didn't know this until after we arrived. But I always keep my eyes peeled for snakes, so don't start worrying or anything.