from the free book table

I did a Cheese 101 lecture at the Fife Lake Library last week, and in their foyer was a free book table.  Here was my haul - they had so many good ones!

C U B A

tile on the front porch of the house we stayed in

view of the street from the porch

classic cars everywhere

I bought this block of cheese from this man on the side of the road out in the countryside - it cost about $5 and he gave it to me with a block of guava paste, which is how they eat the cheese in Cuba - I gave the guava paste to our tour guide

sampling cigars at a farm in the Viñales Valley

ice cream cart in Old Havana

Mom & I had coconut ice cream served in a hollowed out coconut shell - some of the tastiest ice cream I've ever had - we bought it off of the cart in the previous picture

art on the water tank at the cigar farm

in one of the many classic taxis we rode in

Plaza de la Catedral

a lovely tucked-away public garden, complete with bust of Hans Christian Andersen surrounded by bougainvillea - there were 17 friendly cats and kittens who live in the garden, and I was given a personal tour by the gardener (pictured above) who told me about every plant and tree and was glad I loved the cats

The National Museum of Fina Arts in Havana was great, and they had a show exhibiting the work of female Cuban film makers.  I had never heard of Ana Mendieta, but fell in love with her work - here is a link to some of her short films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU1lNG7-OCQ

Also loved the illustrations of Cuban artist Roberto Fabelo

Glass bottles at the beautiful Habana 1791 Perfume shop

Stained glass in the perfume shop atrium

they grow up so fast

Came back from my trip a few weeks ago and the baby bluejays were already teenagers.  They have now all flown the nest and are gone   

before & after

Over the past few years, I've been slowly out-growing my office.  I am a very organized person, but I realized the star item in my office - my desk - was just too small.  Several weeks ago Dad found a free desk on Craig's List in Clare, MI, about an hour South of Kingsley, which we went down to pick up. It needed some Mike Kurta-izing (sanding, repairing, shining up, and best of all, painting) and yesterday, we reassembled its pieces in my office.  This picture is from a few weeks ago, and there's the late Mabel!

A large, heavy oak desk with mahogany veneer, Dad said it is incredibly well made and sturdy.  I chose bright pink paint, and will be filling it back up carefully.  What a difference a good work space makes - thank you Mom & Dad!

hi Porci

A little porcupine friend has been hanging around the farm for a few days - I pulled a few quills out of Cozy's neck when she came in too close to check it out.  I read up on the North American Porcupine - here are a few facts:

- they are the second largest North American rodent after the Beaver

- they are far from endangered, as they have no enemies - slow moving, they are more likely to be hit by a car than eaten as prey.  Sadly, I see many, many dead porcupines on the roads around Northern Michigan

- Native Americans ate them

- there are some great videos on YouTube of people and their friendly pet porcupines

right around the corner

an elderly couple right around the corner from the farm are selling their home, and had a nice estate sale yesterday - here, a chartreuse cooler $2

Amazeballs vintage books - each, $0.25

Ziploc bag of vintage matches $1.00 - here are just some of the awesome designs - there are dozens more

the cheese curd bike

I have been thinking about getting a push-cart style vending bike to sell Boss Mouse cheese curds at festivals, additional farmers markets, etc. all year. Work-bikes are expensive, so it was just an idea in my head for the time being.  This past weekend however, while driving on a road I don't drive on very often, I found one for sale on the side of the road for half the price.  It needs some care and repairs, but is exactly what I was looking for.  Isn't it cute? Thank you, universe!