Skip to main content

Over the river and through the woods




A stunning display of Costa Rican coffee/(tea?)-making technology
Image hosted by Photobucket.com


My grandma invited us (me, Mom and Robbyn) out to her place for pre-knee-replacement surgery pizza and beer on Saturday night. Ok, well the knee-replacement isn't happening until next month and is, for the most part, unrelated to the pizza and beer that were consumed.

Sometimes I forget that my grandma is so old and I often have to stop myself from telling her about certain things that I do. She's just so chill -- I mean, for an 81-year-old. Definitely my favorite person related to my father.

She sprang for two large pizzas for 5 people (my Great Aunt Lois was there as well). If you've known me for awhile, then you know...I'm not even that into pizza, but Grandma told me and Robbyn, "Ok girls, I hope this pizza is gonna be enough for y'all, because that's all there is...until the coffee, cookies and ice cream later...oh well I guess if y'all are still hungry I could whip up some ham sandwiches. Oh and I have caramels, too."

You so crazy, Gram. We ended up leaving a few hours later with almost an entire pizza leftover.

One of these days, I think I'm gonna make a video of a gathering of my dad's relatives and another video of a gathering of my mom's family -- it'd be bonkers. I mean, my dad is related to people who have names like "Jimmy-Wayne" and who think that a pizza with ham and pineapple is "exotic", while my mom's side has never really fully grasped the concepts of "inside voice" and "personal space". I almost fear the day when both sides will finally be forced to meet face-to-face, as the universe may just collapse in on itself.

Anyhow, my Uncle George (Papa Brooks' brother-in-law) travels to Costa Rica on a regular basis. He brings back Costa Rican woodwork. I got a kick out of the little souvenir pictured above, which, I've been told, is used to make coffee -- but mostly just resembles a pain in the ass.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Taco Bell in Germany

 Last weekend, I crossed off a major item on my bucket list. I went to Taco Bell in Germany. "But Raven, shouldn't you aspire to better, healthier things that have a measurable positive impact on society?" I know that's what you're thinking, but I don't really give a crap... because you are not the boss of me.  I wanted Taco Bell, because it's probably the one thing from back at home that I crave the most. Say what you want about it (again, I don't give a crap), but get at me when you've spent years away from your homeland and are unable to acquire whatever nasty-ass comfort food is available wherever you're from. For me, my nasty-ass comfort food of choice is Taco Bell...with Sonic a close second. However, you can't even find Sonic all over the U.S. and I don't find myself craving burgers and hot dogs all the time (plus, those urges are a lot easier to satisfy than a craving for Mexican or Tex-mex).

The One Who Got Away (Part 6): PLOT TWIST

Quick Translation: This confirms that German citizenship will not be opposed, if within two years it can be verified that the aforementioned person no longer possesses citizenship for Trinidad and Tobago e   and/or has fulfilled the requirements for the loss of this citizenship and that nothing has happened in the meantime, which would forbid naturalization.  I almost forgot what it felt like to receive a industrial size dose of 100% homegrown German bureaucratic pedantry. Luckily, the German authorities will never leave you too long without a fix. You can count on that. As you can see from the picture above (and from my previous posts), Trinidad and Tobago e  had only been mentioned once in passing up until now, when I finalized my application and paid the fee. Mr. S: Your mother was naturalized in the U.S. after you were born? Me: Yes, but she never applied for Trinidadian citizenship for me, which would have had to have been done by my 18th birthday....
I’ve been fighting a huge craving for Taco Bell all day long. I don’t know how the idea got in my head, but I can’t seem to shake it. It’s not even so much that I want tacos or Mexican(-ish) food. In fact, I think if someone were to make a taco and put it right in front of me (ok, admittedly, I would eat it). However, there would be a part of my soul that would be entirely disappointed that it wasn’t Taco Bell. I found the Unofficial Taco Bell Blog this afternoon. I highly recommend it, especially if you (in their words) want to know more about the "seemingly endless wonders of Taco Bell". If you are jonesing for the Bell, however, this site will do nothing but compound the problem. Maybe part of the reason that I can’t stop thinking about it, is because Tunde is coming to Hamburg next Tuesday. And when I think Tunde , I think about the Air Force. When I think of the Air Force, I think about how the only Taco Bells in Germany are located on Air Force bases. These location...