I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B.Yeats

Photograph by Serena Becroft




A GUIDED TOUR

The Puerto Rico College of Architects and Landscape
Architects has been around for 37 years promoting
professional excellence, helping to improve the
environment, and fostering the island's urban heritage.

Its latest initiative seeks to familiarize the public with
the island's urban patrimony. The group recently kicked
off a series of guided tours to each of the 12 historical
zones in Puerto Rico. During each visit, participants take
in the buildings and streets within the historical zone while
gaining valuable insights on the designation and the
history of each city in which the zone is located.

Sign up for the next guided tour on Feb. 27. It will focus
on Ponce, Puerto Rico's second largest city also romantically
known as La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South). There is a
fee of $10 that covers the written material and map
you will receive. You're on your own getting to Ponce
but once there participants meet up at a convened spot.

For more information, call the Colegio de Arquitectos
y Arquitectos Paisajistas at 787.724.1213. The
organization is based in a beautiful house in one of
San Juan's older neighborhoods at 225 Calle del
Parque. It is well worth a visit.

 "Certain memories...rise from somewhere
 in the depths of what we call memory.
Like balloons, these memories are light
and bright and irretrievable..."    Azar Nafisi


  ☞  A SIMPLE TIP

How many times have you used a public bathroom only
to discover that there are no paper towels to dry your hands
or the hand dryer machine is out service? Be prepared for
this inconvenience by always carrying a small hand towel:
it fits easily inside a bag and will always come in handy.


LUCI SOLAR LIGHT

Imagine an inflatable, super bright light that needs
no batteries: all it requires is sunlight to stay charged.

MPowerd is the New York-based company behind this product
which is marketed under the name of Luci. There are several
versions of Luci, the most inexpensive being Luci EMRG,
a collapsible lantern, flashlight and emergency light all-in-one.
It is waterproof, lightweight and, according to its maker,
extremely durable (last up to 10 years). Price: $9.99.

As a socially conscious company, MPowerd also has a program
that enables people to donate a light to people living in parts of
the world that lack electricity

www.mpowerd.com

Those afternoons that would never vanish, all ended.

James Salter, "Light Years"


© Copyright by Lorraine Blasor, all rights reserved♡

Reality could at times
be terribly unreal.

Haruki Murakami 

SAN JUAN ON THE THAMES

Live theater is probably the art form that brings
people the closest to a life experience other
than their own. Unlike a book, which requires people
to imagine what they are reading, and film, which lacks
a sense of immediacy, theater thrusts the spectator smack
in the midst of a life situation to fully experience it from
beginning to end. All in one sitting.

New York and London are famous theater meccas
and the opportunity to see fine productions in both
these cities is certainly the highlight of any trip. But if
a trip to London is not on your radar anytime soon,
there is still a way to see fine British productions and it's
through a British National Theater project in which plays
are filmed and subsequently shown in movie houses
across the world.

Almost like the real thing, if not quite.

National Theater Live is showing in San Juan thanks
to Caribbean Cinemas, a chain of movie theaters, including
Fine Arts Cinema in Hato Rey and Miramar (which is where
the plays are shown).

So far this year, the lineup of productions has included
Skylight, Of Mice and Men, and The Audience, which
received such an enthusiastic reception by San Juan
audiences that it was shown on two consecutive Sundays.
This excellent production, featuring Helen Mirren as Queen
Elizabeth II, takes a look at the queen and her interactions with
the prime ministers serving during her reign.

Next on the list is Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a play
about India written by David Hare and based on the
eponymous book by Elizabeth Boo.

 It will be shown this Sunday, August 23.

There is only one showing of the play and it begins at noon.
Tickets are available online or you can purchase them directly
at the ticket office.

Upcoming productions are: A View from the Bridge, Sept. 13;
The Hard Problem, Sept. 27; Man and Superman, Oct. 11
(featuring Ralph Fiennes); Everyman, Nov. 1 (featuring
Chiwetel Ejiofor); and completing the cycle, Hamlet on
Dec. 6. Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the title role of the
Danish Prince.

FINE ARTS CINEMA,  #654 PONCE DE LEON AVE.
STOP 11, MIRAMAR  TEL. 787.721.4288
Tickets: $16.


A SIMPLE TIP

This fabulous
bench idea is
 a winner.
It pairs
cement blocks
 with wood
beams to create
a smart, modern
design that will
enhance any
patio area. You
can make the
bench as long
or short as
you want by
varying the
length of the
beams. The
final touch:
colorful
cushions
give the
bench a pop
of color and
comfortable
seating.




FREE BOOKS ON LOIZA STREET

They keep saying that books -- the ones printed on sheets of
paper -- are dead and yet, you're likely to find them in the least
expected places.

Like the hanging shelves recently put up on the wall of an
abandoned building on Ponce de León Ave., near Stop 20.

More recently, another set of shelving went up, this time

near the corner of Loiza St. and Parque St. The young people
behind the endeavor used colorful bins and paint to create a
very attractive nook that invites passersby to stop and take a look.

The books on display span old and new titles but anyone
is sure to find something worth reading. So if you happen
to be in the area, bring a book, take a book.

It can be contagious.

Photography by Denise Blasor

Our lives are always
in someone else's hands.


James Salter

Copyright  ©2015 By Lorraine Blasor, all rights reserved☂

The present is powerful.
Memories fade.

James Salter
"Light Years" 

LU/CA: THE CURATED SHOP

San Juan -- Lu/ca is so small you could easily pass by and
miss it which would be a shame as it is easily one of the
best new additions to old San Juan.

Lu/ca reimagines the boutique and transforms it into a showcase
of good design in fashion and jewelry with a few handbags, books
and decorative items thrown into the mix to add interest and enrich
a person's home or work environment.

Given its small size, the emphasis is on quality rather than
quantity with each item showed off to maximum effect on
a rack, a small table or the beautiful blonde wood shelving
lining the wall. Everything in this store looks carefully
considered and everything seems designed to beguile the
senses, specifically sight and touch.

"We handpick every single piece," says owner Laura Lugo,
a young and affable landscape architect who is also a talented
jewelry designer. In choosing the name of her store, she
combined the first two letters of her paternal and maternal
surnames.

Lugo's curating sensibility veers towards clean, spare design
with a dash of theatricality and wit. This can be seen in
her choice of jewelry by Luis Vidal, creator of wildly
exuberant, one-of-a-kind handmade necklaces featuring
recycled materials (Vidal also exhibits his creations at Walter
Otero Contemporary Art Gallery in Puerta de Tierra).

Recent fashion designers featured at the store include Sally
Torres Vega whose breezy, delicate white and black cotton
blouses are printed with small ovals in the same color as the
blouse.

Another item that caught the eye during a recent visit were
lovely silk tunic dresses, in solid colors or printed with geometric
designs, by the label Elk, a women's wear line from Australia.
Understated and elegant, the line included sets of pants and tops.
Soon Lugo will be bringing clothing made by Agnes Anna Szabo,
a Hungarian designer based in Puerto Rico who prints her
own fabrics and creates clothing that glows in the dark.

Jewelry includes Lugo's own minimalist necklaces, delicate
chains enhanced by a small ornament consisting of a
geometric shape cast out of metal (like a square, a thin bar, or a
half moon) or a blown glass detail (Nico Flores executes her blown
glass accessories). Other jewelry on display included bracelets
made out out of different materials such as pottery or bronze
and earrings like the simple but intriguing metal clay disks
decorated with astrological signs by Cristina Rodriguez.

Mindful of women's need for embellishment, Lugo also
brings in a sprinkling of decorative items to enhance the personal
environment such as a globe (from Japan) that one fits together
like a jigsaw puzzle and attractive small storage bags shaped like
paper bags and made out of washable paper (produced in Italy,
they come in different sizes).

Everything in this small business speaks of the owner's attention
to detail and appreciation for beauty as reflected in the decor,
a collaboration between Lugo and her husband Roberto Sanchez
who created the poplar wood shelving and mahogany/concrete
tables that serve to show off the store's collection. A landscape
architect by training and furniture designer,  Sanchez runs
Taller 2x4, a workshop in Santurce which Lugo shares.

Equally eye-catching is the cash register area, a wood and concrete
counter whose front is ingeniously decorated with multiple strips
of wood left over from the rest of construction.

Lu/ca is the kind of store where you can lose yourself for
a brief while and take in the best that different designers
have to offer. To her credit, Lugo makes sure to include
something for all different budgets. But even if you don't
buy anything, visitors are sure to leave this store in an inspired
mood.

LU/CA #255 Cruz Street   787.725.3512
Monday - Friday 10 to 6; Saturday 11-6; Sunday 11-5

Photography by Juliette Blasor



"Do you hear the dead talk?"
"The dead don't talk."
"Oh, yes they do, they say
Live Live Live Live."

"Orpheus Descending"
Tennessee William

A SIMPLE TIP

A pantry filled with food jars and containers waiting

to be opened is a welcome niche for pesky moths.
 No need for chemicals, though, to get rid of these 

uninvited guests: lavender-filled sachets or a small 

bowl filled with this sweet smelling herb is an 

effective repellent against the little buggers. 

©Marisel Herbal Bath & Body

For lavender sachets, go to Marisel Herbal Bath &

Body in old San Juan. This lovely store carries

beauty and personal care products like sweetly
fragrant soaps and lotions handmade by

store owner Marisel Cardona.

Marisel Herbal Bath & Body #306 Calle Fortaleza

Tue - Sat: 10 am - 6 pm; Sun 11 am - 6 pm

787.678.9988

Photography by Denise Blasor

"What I'll need to be happy
in my old age is flowers, dogs,
music, gardening, painting.
Two pairs of pants and two
blouses."

Linda St. John

©2014 Lorraine Blasor all rights reserved

It happens in an instant.
It is all one long day,
one endless afternoon,
friends leave,
we stand on the shore.

James Salter
"Light Years"

Photography by Denise Blasor

FAHRENHEIT PIZZA

© Fahrenheit Pizza

SAN JUAN-- In Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel "Fahrenheit
451" books are considered dangerous and burned by squads of
firemen. At Fahrenheit Pizza the only thing exposed to fire is the
pizza and the result is very tasty.

This is the latest addition to Loiza Street's lineup of pizza outlets.
And what a lineup: there's Pizzology, Si No Corro Me Pizza,
Piola Pizza Artesanal & Rum Bar, Plan B, even Domino's
Pizza.

Fahrenheit is on the ground floor of Gallery Plaza in the space
vacated by Under the Trees (one of the best hamburger
joints in town which unfortunately closed down because of
management problems).

As the brand new place it is, Fahrenheit positively shines with
newness. The decor is hip and bright with a color scheme --
red, orange, black and white -- that is sensorially dynamic.

There are comfortable booths, large tables made out of broad
planks of glossed wood on legs outfitted with casters, red
chairs, black wrought iron tables with round marble tops and
black stools, fire engine red chairs and the open kitchen that is
the heart of the enterprise right in the center of the restaurant.
It consists of an expensive looking black brick oven and a long
counter with open containers displaying the many different
toppings to complement the basic pizza pie.

© Fahrenheit Pizza

The hand tossed pizzas are made with "certified Neapolitan '00'
Flour, hand crushed San Marzano tomatoes and the freshest
mozzarella in the market. Our toppings are sourced very carefully,"
says the menu card. You can chose between white flour or whole
wheat.

Toppings fall under three categories: Cheeses, proteins, and
vegetables. Under cheeses there is extra fresh mozzarella, goat
cheese, gorgonzola and feta; proteins include bacon, ham, egg,
anchovies, chicken, prosciutto, shrimp, etc.; vegetable choices
span tomatoes, kalamata olives, eggplant, roasted mushrooms
pineapple, basil and more.

Once the perfectly thin pizza comes out of the oven it is served
on a dish and olive oil generously drizzled around the crust.

While you wait for the pizza, you can munch on appetizers or
sip a beer or a wine. The restaurant stocks up 20 wine selections
and 50 different beers. The menu also includes salads and dessert.

All pizzas come in one individual size that serves four generous
slices, enough to please one person or even two. Prices fluctuate
between $5.50 and $8.50 for the six pizza pies on the menu to
which can be added the extra toppings (priced between $1 and $3).

Affordable prices. Great ambience. A young and affable staff.
This is a great place for lunch or an informal, week-night dinner
with friends or hubby, or both.

FAHRENHEIT PIZZA GALLERY PLAZA
corner of Loiza Street and De Diego Avenue 
787.724.4444

www.fpizzapr.com

Photography by Denise Blasor

Our lives are always in someone else's hands.

James Salter,
"Light Years"

ONLY MALE CATS NEED SHOW UP

World Spay Day

Spay Day USA was initiated by
actress Doris Day and her Animal 
League in 1995. This annual
event is now worldwide.

Spaying cats and dogs can be a costly proposition so here's a
worthwhile deal for San Juan cat owners. On February 26, and in
conjunction with World Spay Day, the San Juan Center for the
Protection and Adoption of Animals will sterilize male cats for
$15. The fee also covers a rabies shot.

Pets must be brought inside a carrier and left at the center between
8 am and 8:30 am. Pick up is in the afternoon, between 1 pm
and 3 pm.

For more information, call 787.480.3435 or 787.480.3434.
The center is located on the Kennedy Avenue marginal.

The cure for loneliness is solitude

Marianne Moore 

 Copyright © 2015 by Lorraine Blasor all rights reserved

We live in the attention of others.
We turn to it as flowers to the sun.
James Salter
" Light Years"

Photography by Denise Blasor

HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED

Buy, buy, buy. That is the first commandment we observe
each day.

No sooner do we wake up in the morning, that we are
bombarded by advertisements: from the radio, from the TV,
from the newspapers.

Advertising follows in our footsteps every day of our lives.
Everywhere we go, ads for every imaginable good are a
vivid and constant reminder that life on Earth is based on
consumption and the more the merrier.

But as should be well known by now, this profligate
consumption of ours is leading to environmental disaster
so instead of buying endless consumer goods, we might
do better, at least occasionally, to put our hard-earned
dollars towards more helpful uses.

Like subsidizing museums and theaters and organizations that
do good all around. You would still be making a contribution
to the economy while at the same time enriching your life or
helping people in serious need.

Here is one suggestion.

The International Rescue Committee is a formidable aid,
relief and development non-government organization that
comes to the aid of survivors of the world's worst humanitarian
crises, helping them pull through adversity and rebuild their lives.



With a presence in more than 40 countries (and 22
American cities), IRC is usually found where disaster -- either
of the natural or the man made kind, like war or persecution --
strikes. This organization helps refugees in countless
ways, providing food and shelter and hope. And it does
this through the contributions of concerned people.

Besides straight donations to the organization, you might consider
donating a specific sum to fund a specific project. If you go to
the IRC website, you will find a "catalogue" offering a whole
list of fundable choices.

For example, for $56 you can supply the tuition, books and supplies
that a young woman in Afghanistan, Congo or Ethiopia needs for one
year of schooling. Imagine: for less than the typical amount many
people splurge on a night on the town, you could help fund a girl's
education and contribute in a fundamental way to an underdeveloped
country.

An $18 gift helps pay for a mosquito net, a necessity in countries
with high levels of malaria, which kills 660,000 people each year;
$54 helps fund a temporary shelter for a family; $110 helps provide
clean water for three people for one year.

Next time you feel the urge to squander money, put your money
where it can make a difference. Help people in need.

www.rescue.org

Photography by Denise Blasor

"There is no lie in her fire."

Charles Bukowski
"An almost Made Up Poem"

☛  A SIMPLE TIP  

An old, worn, discolored lamp shade can be made new again
with little effort. All it takes is some acrylic medium gloss from
your nearest art store, a paint brush, and torn bits of paper
courtesy of your favorite magazine. The New Yorker was used
in this case.

Dust off the shade before beginning, then take a piece of paper
and brush the gloss over it to affix to the shade. Continue doing
this until the whole shade is covered, making sure to use gloss
sparingly. Brush more gloss to the completed shade and
voilá, a new lamp. In the case of the illustration, the shade
was trimmed with a a vertical lineup of acrylic paint colors.

Photography by Ulrike Blasor

One cannot think well, love well, 
sleep well, if one has not dined well.

Virginia Woolf
"A Room of One's Own"




ⓒ2014 Lorraine Blasor All Rights Reserved❉

View of Old San Juan

Think of the world
that you carry inside you

RAINER MARIA WILKE

PAPER BAG

All images courtesy of Ale Roman

OUT of the humblest materials, like newspaper, Ale Roman
fashions handbags that charm with their good design, smart looks,
and attractive graphics.

Not to mention craftmanship.
  
These fashionable bags are so skillfully made they renew your
appreciation of quality. A well-made object, no matter how
humble or simple its component materials, has a way of standing
out and Roman's bags reflect the pleasure she obviously takes in
fashioning an appealing product that users will enjoy wearing and
people will enjoy looking at.

Roman, who loves the environment and recycling, says she is
an avid reader.

 "I always thought, for example, that newspapers publish
spectacular pictures and articles and unfortunately this media,
newspapers, is so ephemeral that by the next day the news is
old. I wanted to preserve some images by doing something related
to fashion and what better than a handbag.

"Besides, by using recycled materials I am making my small
contribution to conserving our Planet."

Her raw material comes from magazines, catalogs, old calendars
 "but I confess that my favorite is newspaper. I like it because of
its size and because I can handle it much better."

Roman uses up to six sheets of paper to confection one bag which
then gets covered with a laminate sheet for a waterproof finish.

Roman said she is in conversation with Echo Verde, the
environmental store in Hato Rey, to carry her bags. In the
meantime, you can get acquainted with her work, which
also includes jewelry, through her Facebook page and her
blog, Moda Eco by Ale Roman.

http://modaecobyaleroman.blogspot.com 

Little Italy, New York City
Photography by Juanita Colombani

The city is a cathedral of possessions;
its scent is dreams.

James Salter,  "Light Years"

➨EYE ON PRODUCTS:
Alvarado St. Bakery's sprouted wheat tortillas

You can't go wrong with a product that has ingredients you can
actually recognize like sprouted organic whole wheat berries,
organic wheat flour, filtered water, unrefined safflower oil, and
sea salt.

On top of having healthy ingredients, Alvarado's wheat tortillas
are very tasty. Once tortilla is pan toasted, add your favorite
filling. One easy filling is a mixture of finely chopped onions,
cabbage, tomatoes, carrots marinaded in olive oil and apple
cider vinegar  (throw in a few morself of cooked chicken for
added protein) and voilá, a simple and appetizing lunch or
dinner.

For more ideas on fillings, check out "10 Ways to Eat a Tortilla"
at Maria's Farm Country Kitchen's website.

Alvarado's tortillas are available in San Juan at Freshmart stores like
the recently opened outlet in Condado. The product retails for $3.89,
and you get six tortillas per package.

(www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com/10-ways-to-eat-a-whole-
grain-tortilla/)

Freshmart Condado Store
#1310 Ave. Ashford Condado
787.999.7800

Photography by Juliette Blasor

How gloriously special
getting through the day
ought to be.

Thornton Wilder

A SIMPLE TIP

Say you have cats and a garden and you wanted to save water...

Washing cat food cans consumes quite a bit of water but here
is a full proof method to clean cans without turning on the faucet.

Just leave the cans out in the garden and those busy ant colonies
that are all over the place will take care of cleaning up your cans,
leaving them spotlessly clean and tidy.

You help out mother nature and mother nature helps you out, an
unbeatable partnership! And it saves a lot of water…


ⓒ 2014 Lorraine Blasor  ✤ all rights reserved ✿