They tried to bury us;
They did not know
 we were seeds.

Mexican proverb 

PUNTO MEDIO: SWELL PLACE ON LOIZA ST.

SAN JUAN: There are neighborhood venues so congenial that the
moment you step inside you feel at home, the kind of place that
embraces you and you want to embrace back and tell everyone
about it.

It's easy to feel that way about Punto Medio, the casual café/wine
bar that opened its doors eight and a half months ago on Loiza St.
and has become a favorite spot for breakfast, especially on Sundays
when you might very possibly have to stand in a line of people
waiting to get in.

Punto Medio is only 10 tables big, a small but comfortable
restaurant that is neither chic nor pretentious but has a clean,
feel-good vibe. You immediately sense that everything in it
was selected with care and attention to detail, from the quaint
ornaments and artwork on the walls to the handmade wood
and metal tables in different sizes and shapes. The commanding
element in the restaurant is a handsome bar counter decorated with
a stylized mosaic about Puerto Rico in which mountains, land
and sea are interwoven against a bright white sky ruled by a
golden sun.

True to its name, Punto Medio aims to bring together two
alternate concepts: the daytime café and the evening pub.
As a result, its menu offers different eating options at different
points of the day.

The morning menu includes fried or scrambled eggs, pancakes,
fruits and sandwiches on croissant or baguette bread while the
afternoon and evening menu leans towards artisanal beers, white
and red wines from Spain, Chile and Argentina you can couple
with an intriguing selection of tapas featuring mussels in garlic,
wine-infused chorizo sausage, blood-sausage pate, smoked
salmon or a sampler of these options followed with a couple
of dessert choices.

Co-owner Jayleen Babilonia said the business is a family affair
in which everyone, including her brother and sister and father,
have been involved with additional support from friends and artists
who worked on the mosaic.

Now that it has established itself as a breakfast hangout, Punto
Medio is ready to boost its pub credentials. Jayleen said plans are
underway to expand the tapas menu and to bring in more wines,
this time around barrel wine from Portland, Oregon. The first barrels,
which are coming in by ship, will arrive at the end of this month.

"From the beginning people have responded (to Punto Medio),"
said Jayleen with obvious satisfaction.

And with good reason. This cosy nook along ever changing Loiza St.,
in the heart of San Juan, is a great place to hang out by yourself or
with friends. The service is friendly, the venue inviting and the prices
won't drain your pocketbook.

Let's drink to that!

PUNTO MEDIO, #1762 Calle Loiza
787. 230.0230
Operating hours:
8 am to 8 pm Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
8 am to 10 pm Thursday & Friday
9 am to 3 pm Saturday
10 am to 3 pm Sunday

  ☛  A GOOD PRODUCT

A cup of tea is comforting at all times of day, a hot drink that has a
soothing and calming effect on the spirit. And what better way to
heat up water than in this inexpensive yet totally delightful clear
glass kettle that lets you enjoy the process of boiling water thanks
to its transparent glass surface.

The Medelco 12-cup glass stovetop whistling kettle costs under $10
and is one of the best products around. With appropriate care, it
should last you a very long time.

Photography by Juliette Blasor


Today is the
tomorrow 
we worried about
yesterday.

UNKNOWN

© 2017  Lorraine Blasor all rights reserved

SPRING RECYCLING

 IN THE SPRING a young man's, or woman's, fancy turns to thoughts of love. Or maybe, recycling. Springtime is as good a time as any to do a little housecleaning but rather than throw everything away consider donating cast offs that are still usable and in good condition to a charitable organization like the Salvation Army, with more than 2,300 donation drop-off locations throughout the U.S., or to a charity-run thrift store in your city or community. For large items like furnishings and appliances, you can arrange a free pick up by calling the Salvation Army at 1-800-SA-TRUCK (1-800-728-7825).

AND WHAT ABOUT electronics, whose toxic components make them a hazardous waste? One reliable recycling option is Best Buy, the specialty retailer of consumer electronics which in addition to recycling also allows trade-ins for some items. With more than 1,000 stores nationwide, the company has a broad reach. The Best Buy store in San Juan is located at 230 Calle Federico Costa, practically around the corner from Plaza Las Americas shopping center (787.764.4900). Business hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

PRODUCTS accepted by most Best Buy stores span nearly everything electronic, including TVs (as long as they don't exceed 32"), DVD players, monitors and mobile phones, desktop and laptop computers with the hard drive removed.  Consumers may drop off two items per day for free with the exception of small TVs, monitors and laptops, for which the company charges a $10 fee. In return, however, you get a $10 Best Buy gift card.

BEST BUY'S trade-in program, according to the company's website, lets you trade in "gently used electronics for Best Buy gift cards," either in-store or online. For in-store trade ins, bring Apple laptop, Apple iPod, mobile phones and PC laptops purchased at Best Buy and get a Best Buy gift card instantly.  There are three requirements: be at least 18 years old, have a valid Best Buy receipt, and bring along a government-issued photo ID. Online trade-ins cover a wider range of articles. For more information on Best Buy's recycling program, including a full list of all items accepted, go to the company website and look up the recycling section under product support. 

RECYCLING gives new life to materials otherwise headed to the local dump. The idea that something unwanted can be turned into something valuable is awesome, particularly in view of the fact that landfills are a limited resource. To find out more about recycling and to locate recycling centers in your area consult Earth911.com for its comprehensive recycling directory covering over 300 materials, plus news and tips. The company also runs a toll-free, bilingual environmental hot line at 1-800 CLEANUP®.

EQUALLY HELPFUL is 1800recycling.com,  a recycling location search engine. The site includes a blog with very interesting stories. One recent piece under the headline of "Holiday E-Waste? Beware Fake Recyclers!" highlighted the growing problem of unscrupulous e-recyclers selling their toxic scrap to brokers who, in turn, dump these materials in Asia and Africa where this waste is broken down in a dangerous way, creating dangerous toxic areas.

©2009 Basel Action Network (BAN)

Accra, Ghana, among the 
 most toxic places on Earth

How to differentiate between good and 

bad e-cyclers? The answer is the e-Stewards® 

Recycler Certification Program that certifies

 responsible e-recyclers and was developed

 by a leading environmental watchdog, the 

Basel Action Network (BAN). "Only

 Certified e-Stewards Recyclers ensure your 

e-waste will not be exported to developing

 countries but rather recycled by the most

 secure practices in the world," said the story.

Best Buy, by the way, is a good recycler. 

The company, according to e-Stewards, 

uses legitimate recyclers.           

                                    

Artwork by Lorraine Blasor

TEA TIME: Everything about tea is perfect. It is soothing, relaxing and drinking it makes you feel like the heroine, or hero, of a British novel (in Barbara Pym's novels, everyone seems to be drinking tea all the time!). One especially delightful brand is Rishi Organic Green Tea Mint, a harmonious blend of full-bodied, roasted loose leaf green tea and aromatic peppermint. At vitamin shoppe.com, the 1.94 oz tin sells for $9.99. 

Photograph by Denise Blasor
Artwork outside shuttered business in San Juan, P.R.

"I can't go on. 
 I'll go on."  

     -- Samuel Beckett

Copyright©2012 Lorraine Blasor All Rights Reserved

                     THRIFTING IN NEW YORK 

photograph courtesy of maps.google.com
Housing Works Thrift Shop, 10th St. New York City

Thrift stores, while seeming to operate at the periphery of the commercial world, have always been a staple for seekers of lost treasure, unusual finds or simply affordable used items. And now it seems they are enjoying a renaissance in New York, probably a reflection of the distressed economy but also proof of their enduring charm as an alternative shopping experience and useful recycling option. Still, even thrift stores need to change with the times and enhance their appeal, which is why the people that run them now pay closer attention to making them attractive retail spaces filled with salable inventory culled from donations which, these days, often include brand new or hardly used items and even one-of-a-kind designer clothes.  While consumers are looking for bargains, they certainly don't want to spend money on hopeless junk.

Take the Goodwill Store that opened last year on 8th St., between Sixth Ave. and Fifth Ave. Its presence, a welcome addition to this popular Greenwich Village corner, more than makes up for the closing of a Salvation Army store that operated up the street out of a run-down, dingy locale where, alas, everything seemed perennially coated with a mantle of dust. The Goodwill Store occupies a roomy bright space that is pleasant to shop in. Inside, everything looks neat and well organized: Clothing hangs on racks at the front of the store (during a recent visit all t-shirts were sorted out by color like a rainbow); household goods, neatly arrayed on white shelves, and furnishings can be found in the back. The store is operated by Goodwill Industries of Greater New York & New Jersey, Inc., a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization serving people with mental and physical disabilities, the unemployed, new immigrants, ex-offenders, mature workers and underserved youth.


Angel Street Thrift Shop, located on 17th street, has spruced up in recent times enough to look almost like a boutique. Inside, the bright lights of the store allow customers to size up the mix of goods typical of most thrift shops, from clothing and house ware to books and furnishings; here, however, the focus seems to be on apparel and accessories, both for men and women.  Quality of merchandise has improved and it's not unusual for the store to receive large caches of unsold designer goods such as the large collection of beautiful and well-made hair ornaments it sold out during the past holiday season. Proceeds from sales at Angel Street benefit programs for individuals and families affected by substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and mental illness.

And then there is Housing Works, one of the most stylish thrift store operations in New York city and among the most visible thanks to its growing number of locations. Out of 12 shops manned by volunteers, 11 are located in Manhattan with one lone bastion in Brooklyn. Housing Works, which is devoted to helping people with HIV/AIDS, seems to have a knack for finding terrific locales. Its stores have a homey and casual vibe.  The store in Chelsea, for example, occupies a ground floor loft space with beautiful wooden floors and handsome furnishings which are for sale but double as decorative props while awaiting for discerning customers to snap them up. The store at West 10th St., in Greenwich Village, is small and inviting: going in is like stepping into someone's cozy apartment.

Merchandise sold at Housing Works stores is a standout: The high quality and quantity of donations make shopping an ever changing feast for customers on the look out for bargains and special finds. To be sure, not everything sold in Housing Work stores is cheap but it is rare not to find a steal, whether it be regular or designer clothing, accessories such as bags and shoes, house ware or furnishings. Open seven days a week, stores feature regular discounts: one day it might be 50 percent off of everything while another day it may be a percentage off for particular items, such as books or household goods. Turnover is fast, which can sometimes lead to amazing offers at the end of the day when store staff need to get rid of particularly bulky but fabulous pieces of furniture in order to make room for new donations. (As part of a busy fundraising agenda, Housing Works holds regular online and store auctions featuring top of the line donations. Check out the organization's website to participate in upcoming auctions.)

The Goodwill Store  44 West 8th St.   212.472.7024
Angel Thrift Store  118 West 17th St.  212.229.0546
Housing Works   housingworks.org
       143 West 17th St.  718.838.5050
                            245 West 10th St.  212.352.1618
(Caveat Emptor: There are plenty of things to buy in thrift stores but certain items pose lurking dangers as noted in a recent post at sammydvintage.com/thrifting/thrift-store-shopping-not-buy-used/)

"Be yourself and the world is your oyster."
Emerson

DavidsTea 
or Starbucks turned coffee into a must drink and now it's DavidsTea time....
Tea a boring drink?  No way! And it's not just the available varieties of this ancient soothing brew, beloved by so many cultures: think black tea, and white, green, red (rooibos), oolong, pu'erh, maté, not to mention all kinds of herbal teas. Nowadays, tea purveyors sell teas infused with unique flavors or floral essences and one company that seems bent on popularizing tea in the same way Starbucks advocated coffee is DavidsTea, a Canada-based chain that recently opened two outposts in Manhattan, one in the Upper East Side and the other on Bleeker St., in Greenwich Village.

The Bleeker St. outlet is a candy-colored shop with shelves lined up with chic-looking silver tins sporting color-coded labels for easy identification. There are plenty of tables to sit at, unless you prefer standing at the long counter to sample any of the profuse selection of teas with tantalizing names and ingredients such as: some velvet morning, coco chai rooibos, jungle ju ju, midsummer night's dream, chicory dickory dock, la la lemon, and so on. Have a cuppa or buy a 2 ounce packet of loose tea to enjoy at home. Tea for sale, packaged in loose leaf form, is priced between $4.50 and $13 though there are also more expensive blends.

davidstea.com

275 Bleecker, between Jones St. & Morton St.  212.414.8599
1124 Third Ave., Upper East Side 212.717.1116

Photograph by Denise Blasor

“I've got nothing to do today but smile.”
--Simon & Garfunkel

Copyright 2012 © Lorraine Blasor All Rights Reserved










davidstea.com