We're at the beach still. Not leaving until the last possible second. They'll probably have to drag me kicking and screaming, with a death-grip on my lounge chair, screaming hysterically - "not ready. not ready." That's not exactly true. I'm ready to go home. I miss Eric. I need to be with my other kids - Adam, Lucy, and Jonathan. I ...
Lifestyle
Posts about everything going on in my life. Enjoy!
It’s my face, isn’t it?
Amy says I just have one of those faces. The kind that makes people comfortable and feel like we are old friends. (I think she means it as a complement.=D) We celebrated my birthday at Lario's on the Beach in South Beach tonight. Yes, of course it's Cuban food. I'm still in Miami and I took a vow. (but that's not important right now.) So we have ...
The Spin Doctor
This face and bio were on display this past weekend at Cuba Nostalgia. I stopped and stared at the familiar face and quickly called Amy over to take a picture. Our relationship began exactly 52 years ago today when he spanked my bottom and announced to my parents that it was another girl. Agustin Castellanos, M.D. was our pediatrician back in Cuba ...
Restrictions? What restrictions?
It starts.Amy and my mom and I are leaving today for Miami. "I always make a bread pudding for Fernando." Fernando is her BIG brother. He's going to be 96 this week. So Amy and I try to dissuade her, in this time of travel restrictions, from bringing the 2 lb. bread pudding for Fernando. But she is undeterred. She ...
Family Tree
I need to warn you that I'm feeling all nostalgic and Cuban this week. Preparing to leave on Wednesday for Miami. There are certain things that are on my mind now that I'd like to share. This is one of them. My grandmother had a "brag book" which included all her 20 grandchildren. One of my aunts brought it from Cuba and gave ...
Cuban Americans. versions 2.0 and 3.0
Mother's Day at Alina's house. I'll save you the trouble of counting. There are nineteen people in this picture. My big, fat Cuban-American nieces and nephews, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews (phew).The oldest (my mom) in the center, is ninety-three. The youngest on her lap, is three months old.Eleven out of sixteen cousins ranging in ages from ...
Leaving a Legacy
My mom taught me how to cook when I was about 8 years old. She taught me how to read a recipe, measure ingredients, grease a pan, boil water - stuff like that. As I got older, the process became a little more complicated. During the summers, my sisters, Miriam and Alina, and I would take turns cooking. We rotated between table setting, ...
Apio Verde
Today is my sister's birthday. Hi, Alina! Happy Birthday! She shares this day with our cousin Ricardo, who still lives in Havana. Sometimes their birthdays coincided with Mother's Day and the frenzy of celebration was mind-boggling. In this picture, Alina and Ricardo get center stage, although being older, he was quick to understand and act ...
Worth a thousand words…
I don't have a picture to post today which kind of weirds me out. And I don't have wireless access, so I'm sitting in a public lobby typing away. And they have me on a 15 minute timer - can you believe it?? This is so not my life! Ah, but it is today and for the next couple of days. Let me paint a picture. The temperature is a balmy 80-ish. ...
Salvador y Coca-Cola
This was how we celebrated birthdays back in Cuba. These are my sisters and me at different ages. (If you're really curious, just count the candles on the cakes) There was always a big, beautiful, almost-too-perfect cake from a fabulous bakery.We always got a fancy new dress (think linen, satin, ruffles). By the time I turned four (in the last ...
