I know, where are the photos? I am inept at getting photos from my phone to the blog and thus that will continue to be a lapse for the foreseeable future. For all the months of planning and weeks of prep for this trip, there are certain things one cannot control. The downturn in weather (which seems to be shifting back) has been manageable, although did cut yesterday’s wandering short and we barely avoided a problem today. Being very well organized and getting our Metro passes ahead of time for today through Thursday did not of course take into account the nearby Metro station (and who knows how many others) would be closed today due to the on-going “Yellow Vest” protests. Sigh! I finally decided to treat it as an unexpected “tour” since we did have to go by a number of notable landmarks in the taxi. There was also the interaction with the cab drivers as they muttered at closed streets, re-routing and impatient drivers who were equally frustrated. So, yes, I tipped a bit more than I ordinarily would.

Anyway, I did not tell my sister about the feature exhibit at the Middle Ages Museum because I wanted it to be a complete surprise. As we ascended to the top floor and entered the specially lit room with the five very large Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries, she was in fact delighted. The proverbial “icing on the cake” is they still allow photographs without flash. They are as lovely as ever. The other displays are enjoyable and the ruins of the building that date to Roman times are well showcased.

We stopped for a coffee and Coke Light for sis, and then strolled to the Luxemburg Gardens. They are in fact more park than garden with lots of trees and wide paths for waling and the perimeter with joggers. The wind was still up although that was nice for the miniature sailboats in the fountain/pond. Lunch was a lovely, lengthy event with a table by the window at a nearby café. A proper croque monsieur, frites and green salad. The weather shifted again and with the Metro still closed, we managed to grab a taxi with only a little rain hitting the umbrella I had brought. We wandered a bit when we returned to the hotel and discovered a couple of cool things. That included a pause for ice cream and sorbet. We popped into a bistro to make dinner reservations, then back to the hotel for a bit. Sis didn’t want a full meal so had onion soup, some of my salad and she saved room for a chocolate crepe. My beef with mustard was underdone despite a discussion with the waiter which is not unusual as their definition of “medium” is subject to interpretation. I managed most of it though. Back to the hotel and more adventures lined up for today.

I’m going with “Third time’s a charm” on this particular project. A few years ago I did a post about the Verde Garden Market in Homestead close to Homestead Air Reserve Base. There are 22 acres and a farmers’ market adjoins it. They had completely refurbished the market to add a commercially approved kitchen and an area where they could serve food, put in a number of picnic tables and display area for art as well as places for the fruits, produce, and a couple of refrigerator cabinets. I was so excited when I toured and told as many people as I could. Unfortunately, things never took off, nor did the next try at it.

Last week, I was back with the group that is now in charge, which is a combined program. Redland Ahead (I have posted about then before, too) is a non-profit with goals to:

• Work in unison with FIU to provide support to the FIU’s Agro-Ecology program in South Florida in expansion of the newly awarded FIU Hispanic Land Grant University status.
• Support the training of underserved populations and Veterans to become farmers & explore careers in Agri-business in programs offered by FIU and UF (TREC).
• Support training to improve the profitability from existing or future crops through university and private development of incubators, commercial kitchens and other ventures in the Redland community.

The main farming program provides up to a year of training and then the opportunity of a low-cost lease on acreage to begin farming. In general, the individual starts with approximately one-quarter acre and can expand up to four acres. The products can then be sold at the Redland Community Farm and Market at Verde Garden and other venues.

The commercial kitchen option is available for someone who may not be interested in farming, but may have a talent for, and desire to be in, a culinary career. Small batch producers who create baked goods, candies, jellies, and so forth can use the kitchen at the market and sell there. Perhaps someone wants to develop their own line of sandwiches, soups, or other hot items, and operating a food truck or opening a café is not feasible. A part time arrangement at the market is a workable way to begin. Currently, Tuesday through Thursday 12:00-4:00 p.m., is when Phillip Bryant and Veronica Valdivia are on-site with Johnnie’s Pit BBQ. Since the market is open seven days a week, other food vendors will be welcome.

Redland Community Farm and Market is open 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., seven days a week. Twice monthly Friday night events are also held with extra art, music, and food choices. The purpose of the Friday night events is to extend the regular hours from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m. and help spread the word about the market. A special note, as of this post, is road construction at 127^th which was the most direct route. The detour is from 288^th onto 132d through a residential area to SW 280^th St. Detour signs are posted.

http://www.redlandahead.org

No, there’s not a punchline here; merely one of those odd events that occurred when we were in Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Hubby and I were assigned to the same very large organization that provided logistical support, to include water production and distribution. That actually is another subject, but when people think of what it takes to equip and support a large fighting force, ammunition, fuel, food, and maybe medical support come to mind, rather than something like water. Each country, however, can have different foodstuff requirements for their personnel. Americans for example, include pork products in rations, whereas Muslim units obviously do not.

Anyway, French troops were part of the Coalition put together to defeat Saddam Hussein. Our unit was set up out in the desert about 150 miles toward Kuwait, although not very close to the border. After the “Lightning Victory”, forces were drawn down as quickly as they could be and redeployed back to their respective countries. That, too, is a massive effort and in some cases, items needed during the war were left behind for different reasons. Now, I wasn’t in the location where this particular event took place although the individual who told me about it was generally accurate. Large metal shipping containers that get loaded on trains and ships come in two standard sizes of 20 feet and 40 feet long. They are about 5 feet high – maybe 6. Apparently, part of the French logistics support was Perrier in the small green glass bottles and for whatever reason, they had two 40 foot containers packed full they decided not to ship back. (It was probably a matter of available transport.) They simply turned the containers over to our guys and next thing we know, little bottles of Perrier are being distributed among a number of our units. Now, it so happens as we relocated out of the desert and into the edge of a major Saudi Arabia military complex, an ice plant was part of the complex. Not surprisingly, shipping ice out to our units was greatly appreciated and for the remaining several weeks, we had a pretty steady supply of ice. I will admit, swigging iced-down Perrier while winding up desert operations wasn’t something I expected to do. On the other hand, it is a memory that’s stayed with us.

First, Happy New Year. Today is the last day for the kids to be here and I am hoping for a little more sunshine and less wind for our final pool time. Ah well, hot coffee and cocoa are to be had.

For our annual New Year’s Eve party, we invite a limited number of people because we don’t want anyone to drive far. The one set of friends lives about two miles away with only a few turns in between. The others are even closer. We also started a new tradition last year. We begin the party at 7:00 and at 9:00 we toast New Year’s in Brazil; at 10:00 in Argentina; at 11:00 St Croix, and midnight here, of course. That way if anyone wants to leave early, they have already raised a glass in toast. I wanted to include Iceland or Greenland, just because, but they’re too far ahead of us. It works well and by the same token, if someone wants to come later, we’ll have the festivities going until midnight.

Hubby had to work today and tomorrow, so there wasn’t much sleeping in although he did have a slightly later start. Granddaughter tried to stay awake last night, but did get a bit wired so she finally gave in and got into her nightgown. She did sleep in a bit this morning, too although not very late.

I am slowly recovering the house and one of the rules I have for the party is nice paper plates and high end disposable cutlery which includes no food that requires cutting so you don’t get into the issue of that. Even though there is still quite a bit to clean and rearrange, big garbage bags take care of much of it.

Closing again with Happy New Year and hope it is a good one for all.