Heard melodies are sweet,
but those unheard are sweeter.

Keats

Photography by Denise Blasor

HELPING REFUGEES AT CHRISTMAS

 Za'atari is a refugee camp that was built in Jordania in July
2012. Today it is home to 120,000 refugees escaping the
mayhem taking place in their homeland, Syria.

"In Za'atari, the dispossession is absolute. Everyone has lost his
country, his home, his equilibrium," wrote New Yorker Magazine
Editor David Remnick in a story published in August 2013.

His harrowing piece describes what it's like to live in a refugee
camp and the horrors experienced by its residents. At one point,
Remnick mentions a couple with three children.

"They had come from Homs, where their house had been shelled.
 'The mother had just given birth,  and two of the kids, their faces
were completely deformed - and the father's arms, too, as he tried
 to save them from the fire. These children are disfigured and their
 lives are scarred forever. The mother refuses to let them go near
 any mirrors.'"

To be a refugee is surely a brutal experience and unfortunately
it is one that is becoming increasingly familiar in our current
troubled times as people escape the vicious violence and
political turbulence engulfing many countries.

The International Rescue Committee is a global humanitarian aid
and relief organization devoted to helping refugees around the world.
As with most charitable groups it depends on the financial kindness
of people to fund the amazing work it carries out with such dedication.

This Christmas, as you enjoy the pleasures of the season
and shop for family and friends, consider sharing your good fortune
with those who don't have it as good as you. Making a donation
that can help alleviate somebody else's hard life takes no effort and
you don't even have to spend a whole lot of money.

IRC has a whole list of "lifesaving, life-changing gifts" that one
can choose to make. They range from emergency care for a child
($23), mosquito nets ($18 for one) and a solar lamp & charger
($25) children ($68), a safe delivery ($24), a new classroom ($240),
lifesaving cholera treatment ($190) and women's small business
training ($192).

The most popular gift costs $58: one year of school for a child.
An education is a wonderful gift. In the stirring words of Nobel
Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, "One child, one teacher, one
book, and one pen, can change the world. "

Ninety two percent of all funds raised by IRC go to programs,
with only 5% going to covering administrative costs and 3% to
fundraising, a high benchmark for a charity.

Donate online at Rescue.org/gifts or call 1.855.9RESCUE
to make a donation by phone.

Photography by Denise Blasor

A heart in love beats the same at 14
as at 80.

Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart,
18th Duchess of Alba

TIMBIRICHE  WEEK-END

San Juan: The Timbiriche Fair brings artists
and craftsmen together in a celebration of creativity and it's
back again at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico
in the historic Rafael M. de Labra  building at stop 18 in Santurce.

If you are looking for special gifts to give this holiday season,
this is definitely the place to come. Last year's edition of the
crafts fair offered a wide array of gift options and this year is
sure to be no exception. Areas covered include jewelry,
furnishings, clothing, books and more.

The fair runs from Dec. 19 through 21.

This is a wonderful opportunity to support local artists.
Don't miss it!

In three words I can sum up
everything I've learned
 about life:
it goes on.

Robert Frost

A SIMPLE TIP

Baby powder comes in handy when grease gets on your
cotton clothes. Dab the spot generously with powder, leave
overnight, and by next morning the spot should be gone.

Photography by Denise Blasor

I adore simple pleasures,
they are the refuge of the complex.


Oscar Wilde
"The Portrait of Dorian Gray"

    ☛ EYE ON PRODUCTS:
 Hilary's Eat Well Veggie Burger

The best foods are those made from scratch, of course, but
sometimes, either because you are in a hurry or maybe you
are curious to try something new, you turn to a packaged
product.

Hilary's Eat Well Veggie Burger touts itself as the "world's
best" veggie burger and hyperbole aside, this product is
not only tasty but all the ingredients in it are real and organic.
Here is the list: millet, quinoa, expeller pressed coconut oil,
sweet potato, greens, onion, psyllium husk powder,
arrowroot powder, apple code vinegar, garlic, salt and water.

The package includes two patties that are easily cooked in a
pan on a stove top. The burgers are free of corn, gluten, yeast,
dairy, egg, soy and nut. They are non GMO verified and are
available in San Juan at Freshmart stores.

Hilary's World Best Veggie Burger made its debut at Hilary
Brown's restaurant Local Burger in Lawrence, Kansas.

Photography by Denise Blasor

"He wanted to pack his heart with gunpowder
and blow it up."

E. L. Doctorow, "Ragtime"

   © 2014 Lorraine Blasor all rights reserved

Happiness makes up in height
what it lacks in length.

-- Robert Frost


Photography by Denise Blasor

A stick called Kishu

A Brita filter is a handy way to filter water and while it
beats buying endless supplies of bottled waters in the end it
is just another product using plastic that will end up cluttering
landfills for a gazillion years.

Now there is an alternative worth trying out and it's in the form
of an eco-friendly, small stick of activated charcoal that
when placed in a pitcher of water absorbs toxins commonly
found in tap water, like lead, mercury, cadmium, copper and
chlorine.

On top of that, this little stick of charcoal releases healthy minerals
like calcium and potassium. It even enhances the quality of the
water, with users commending how fresh and pure the water tastes.

Kishu filters are made from the branches of holm oak trees from
the forests of Japan's Wakayama region (once known as Kishu).
Turns out the Japanese have been using charcoal filters for
centuries and now U.S. consumers  are discovering the benefits
of this natural product.

A Kishu charcoal stick is good for four months, purifying
approximately 2 quarts of water per day. Once a month you need
to boil the stick in a shallow pan of water for 10 minutes to keep
exterior pores open and then let it dry for 30 minutes before
replacing it in the water pitcher. The charcoal starts absorbing
impurities right away but it is best to let it sit five hours for
optimal effect.

Some might consider the wait period and the need for periodic
boostups a bit of an inconvenience but consider the stick's
virtues: it is made from a sustainable resource and it is
compostable.  Brita casings, alas, are not bio-degradable though
the company in 2009 began a recycling program in Canada
under which used pitcher filter casings are recycled by another
company, Preserve, into such household items as toobrushes,
cups and cutting boards.

Amazon offers several kinds of Kishu sticks with prices ranging
from $5.99 for a stick to be used in a water bottle to $18 for two sticks.

Disappointingly, this is one more product that Amazon does not ship
to Puerto Rico which leaves island consumers with no recourse but
to order from the company through stateside relatives or friends.

Martin Travieso Street Mural, San Juan

I promise I shall never give up,
and that I'll die yelling and laughing.

Jack Kerouac

BUEN PROVECHO


Puerto Rico Restaurant Week kicks off May 14
(through May 20), an opportunity for locals and tourists
alike to try out some of the best restaurants on the island
through pre-fixe menus at lower prices.

More than 40 restaurants are participating in the event
which is not limited to dinner but, in the case of some
restaurants, also includes lunch.

Pre-fixe dinner menus are priced at $28 and $38, while
lunch menus are $14 and $19, tax and gratuity not
included.

Check out participating restaurants and their offerings at
www.prrestaurantweek.com and as Puerto
Ricans like to say, "Buen provecho," or "Enjoy your meal."




☛ A simple recipe: Red-Bean Burgers

Folks seeking a tasty, non-meat alternative to the common
burger should try this fabulously simple and appetizing recipe
recently published in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. The
recipe calls for shredded carrot, as one of the ingredients,
but onions work just as well. And for dried breadcrumbs,
use crumbled Mestemacher Three Grain Bread to give
the burger a richer taste.

Ingredients: 2 cans of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained;
1/2 a cup of shredded carrot (or onion); 1 teaspoon of chili
powder; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs;
2 large eggs, lightly beaten; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive
oil; salt and pepper.

1. Lightly mash beans in a bowl.
2. Add carrot, chili powder, oregano, breadcrumbs, eggs.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Mix together with a spoon or fork.
5. Shape into four patties.
6. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, add patties and cook
over medium heat until bottom is browned, about 10 to 12 minutes.
7. Flip over and cook until browned.

Serve on a bun with condiments.

Artwork by Lorraine Blasor

There is a happiness which is perfect
and real as long as it lasts;
it is transient, but its end
does not negate its past existence
and prevent he who has experienced it
from remembering it.

Casanova 
"Story of My Life" 

ⓒ 2014 Lorraine Blasor all rights reserved☂