The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green earth,
dwelling deeply in the present moment
and feeling truly alive.

Thich Nhat Hanh

LOIZA ST. WELCOMES CUPCAKE BIZ
P.S. now there are two of them on the same street.

Fairy Cakes: good lunch options and
scrumptious cupcakes

SAN JUAN -- "Spectacular food," "great service, "a movie-like
setting," these are the sort of compliments Fairy Cakes is getting
on TripAdvisor nowthat the coffee shop, formerly based in Hato
Rey, has settled into its new cosy locale on Loiza St..

Cupcakes made with organic ingredients are the heart of this small
business but not its only offering. Unlike Double Cake, the first
bakery to set up shop on Calle Loiza, Fairy Cakes serves up a daily
lunch with a menu that changes weekly.

(At Double Cake, it's strictly cupcakes and refreshments which can be
enjoyed in the store's pleasant back lounge.)

Fairy Cake's tasty and varied lunch options include a soup plus
different sandwiches and salads. Everything is made with fresh
and organic ingredients by owner Carmen Vega and her help.

This week's options included a black bean and a pumpkin soup; a BLT meatless bacon sandwich with lettuce and tomato; a gemelli pasta salad with spinach, onions and tomatoes and a quinoa bowl with garbanzos and cherry tomatoes. For an extra couple of dollars you can add
chicken to the salad.

For dessert, there's sweets, cookies and cupcakes. There's
three different kinds of cupcakes (regular, gluten-free or vegan) and they come in three different sizes (mini,
small, large) in a tantalizing variety of tropical flavors.

Good food tastes better amid pleasant surroundings and
Fairy Cakes is a lovely setting. Faux wood floors, pastel walls
decorated with the owner's personal art collection, round
marble tables with metal bases and an old-fashioned glass
display for the cupcakes. Next to the large bay window
facing Calle Loiza, an upholstered sofa is an open invitation
to sit down, wait for a table or enjoy a cup of tea or Puerto
Rican coffee.

Even kids have their own special place, a little pink table at
which they can sit down to eat or draw.

For the little ones, a small pink table

Small and cosy, Fairy Cakes reflects the owner's good taste and her
wish to make clients feel at home. They do and since opening, Vega
said she has been attracting residents from the neighborhood and
tourists in addition to long-standing clients eager to continue
enjoying her sweet, organic delights.


FAIRY CAKES, 1603 Loiza Street
Tue - Th, 10:30 am to 6 pm; 
Fri, 11 am to 6:30 pm; Sat, 11 am to 5 pm
787. 200. 8388

It is better to look at the sky than live there.
Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country
where the thunder goes and things disappear.

Truman Capote

Breakfast At Tiffany

 ☛   A SIMPLE TIP

Leaky faucet and the plumber is not available right away?
Then don't let the water trickle go to waste but collect
it in a large plastic container placed under the dripping
faucet. You can use it to water the plants or to mop the floors!

Photography by Ulrike Blasor

To be alive at all
is to have scars.

John Steinbeck

    ©opyright 2017 Lorraine Blasor All Rights Reserved ✍

GUARDIAN ANGEL TO THE RESCUE

Photo by Denise Blasor

SLIP-FALLS are more prevalent than you think. In fact, they are the second leading cause of accidental death and disability in the U.S., accounting for close to 15,000 deaths each year, according to The Post Chronicle in Denville, New Jersey.

A SOBERING fact. And while slipping or falling can happen to anyone, the elderly are more prone to such accidents (17 percent of the population of Puerto Rico is 65 years and over). If living alone, a serious fall could leave the person unconscious or unable to move and seek help. For elderly people anxious to maintain their independence but aware that the unexpected can happen, a medical alert system may be just the kind of protection to have in the event of an emergency, such as a fall, or a sudden medical situation, such as a heart attack.

SEVERAL services of this kind are available in Puerto Rico, including the one that CareGivers of Puerto Rico, a home care provider, launched in the year 2005 under the name of Electronic Guardian Angel (Angel Guardián Eletrónico). A new option, recently made available to clients, is a wireless system which incorporates a cell phone and can easily be transferred to another location.

THE CONCEPT behind Guardian Angel is simple and revolves around a small button that the person wears on a chain around the neck. In the event of an emergency at home, a press of the transmitter button immediately activates an electronic console connected to the phone line, automatically sending off a signal to a monitoring center where personnel stand by 24/7 ready to move into action (Jaime Tous, manager of CareGivers' technical Tele Care division, said that at least six of the calls the center receives daily are real emergencies). The console's built in, high-frequency microphone allows the monitoring center to "listen in" on what's happening in the room and speak with the person in distress to assess the emergency and dispatch the appropriate help. The protocol includes calling a relative or neighbor to notify the accident and quickly get them to the scene or, in the event the caller is unable to speak, sending an ambulance to the site. 

SERVICE REP Erick Parrilla said that the monitoring center, based in Rio Piedras, stays in contact until the end of the emergency, keeping the line open so as to make sure the relative or neighbor is on hand to provide access to paramedics. Or, if an ambulance is not needed, the relative or neighbor can notify the center through the open line that they are taking control of the situation. 

CURRENTLY, some 3,000 Puerto Rico residents island wide have signed up with Guardian Angel, according to Parrilla. The cost of the service includes a $50 fee for the installation of the console, approximately 12" by 4" in size, and a monthly fee of $39.50, based on a one year-contract; or $29.50, on a two-year contract. Installing the console is a simple procedure that takes between 30 to 40 minutes. Additionally, users need to fill out a form with information on their state of health, prescribed medications, primary physician, and the hospital of their preference. They also must refer the names of six neighbors and relatives as potential contacts in the event of an emergency. Available 24/7, the service covers the entire island.

GUARDIAN ANGEL 787.726.2272

DOWNRIVER IN ENGLAND ON A SUMMER DAY

Photo  by JACK BIERSCHENK

"Of all things this was the saddest, that life goes on: if one leaves one's lover, life should stop for him, and if one disappears from the world, then the world should stop, too; and it never did."

Truman Capote, "Master Misery"  

New York: Best Kept Secret

Courtesy of Raffetto's Corp.

There are many best kept secrets in New York, here is one of them: Raffetto's, makers of fresh pasta since 1906. Inside this homey, well-stocked store that seems plucked right out of a small Italian town, you will find all kinds of pasta, from dry spaghetti and tortellini to freshly made ravioli stuffed with wild mushrooms, goat cheese, lobster, ground meat and pumpkin. But the most popular variety has got to be the cheese and spinach ravioli which are so delicious that once you start eating them you will certainly insist on a second portion, and maybe even a third! At $5.75 for a box of 48 cheese and spinach ravioli, you are not just purchasing a memorable meal but are getting one of the best deals in town. Other varieties of ravioli are a little more expensive. Top the pasta with one of Raffetto's delicious homemade sauces; the selection includes arabbiata, pink vodka, meat and pesto. But for the cheese and spinach ravioli, the best complement is Raffetto's simple, honest and true marinara. Try it. You will be returning to the store for more.

Raffetto's Corp.

144 West Houston St., New York, NY 10012 Between Mac Dougal St. and Sullivan St.

Business Hours: Tues-Fri from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m 

Sat from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. 

Tel. (212) 777.1261

NEW AT SUPERMAX

A new line of organic products under the brand name of Brad's Organics debuted recently at Supermax supermarkets. The line spans several dried, whole grain pasta varieties; sauces for pasta; salad dressings; and beans. The whole wheat linguine proved excellent: the dried pasta is fresh and, when cooked, it has a delicate, nutty taste. But the marinara sauce was quite disappointing: basically, not enough substance and too watery for one's liking. Also, a bit too sweet.

By Carl Blasor

The sea sings and pounds, it's not in its right mind. Don't tie it down. Don't lock it up.
It is still being born.
Pablo Neruda

CLASSIFIEDS

Small feline foundling needs loving

home.  Mixed breed with a dash of 

persian. Very confident and cuddly. 

Call 787.723.4651.

Copyright 2011© Lorraine Blasor All Rights Reserved