This blog is rated G (General Audiences)

It contains no spiders, snakes or other scary creatures.

We just got back from the States for our annual doctor’s checkup and to spend some time with the family. The doctor said that we are good and healthy, and the family is doing well also.

We had a great visit in the States with the grandkids, playing cards and darts, throwing the football, helping them with a few small projects and Kelley got to spend a lot of time playing dolls with Alli. The grandkids big thing now is playing Minecraft on their tablets, and they are addicted to it. Even though we see the grandkids 2-3 times a year, it seems like they are growing up way too fast.

Like most of our trips up there, we spend a lot of time in the garage helping the kids work on different cars and stuff. We got the grandkids go-kart running and they ran that strong for a few days. We helped with a few little things on some of their other cars, but the main thing was that the 1965 Lincoln with the big block 460 finally drove after 19 years. It will still need a bunch of small stuff done to it before it’s road-ready and looking sharp, but at this point, it starts, stops, and moves… and that is a major thing.

One Saturday morning they pulled out three of their cars and we headed over to a car show that was going on. There were about 400 nice classic cars there. Some of them looked like weekend drivers and a few others looked like they just came out of a showroom. We always enjoy going to car shows when we’re up there, and it’s even more fun if we get to drive one there.

This trip, my 1977 Yamaha TT500 that I’d been working on got a new back tire and I was finally finished with it. After getting some gas in the tank, it only took two kicks for it to come to life. Not bad for a bike that hadn’t been started in probably 20 years or so.

I took it for its maiden trip around the block and it ran great. Randy also took it for a ride, and we both agreed that it was a powerful beast of a bike. I would love to keep it, but at my age I know that I can’t take a fall like I used to. So, the bike will go up for sale and I will be looking for another one to restore.

Since the last time we were in the States, my son found me another bike to work on. This one’s a 1974 Yamaha 125MX, and was one of Yamaha’s early entries into motocross bikes. It was pretty much a basket case that needed a lot of work and parts when he brought it home.

I managed to find a set of forks at a wrecking yard, some aftermarket fenders and side plates, new handlebars, levers, cables, a chain, and a few other parts. Next time up there it will have a new seat, plus I plan on stripping the gas tank, giving it a new paint job and some new graphics. I still need to find an original carburetor, some tires and a few other small parts before it’s done. Hopefully, I’ll have it running and looking good next time we’re up there. If you know anyone who has an old 70’s dirt bike that’s gathering dust, let me know, I might just be interested.

Time to head back home before the jungle takes over.

Our big wood-carved iguanas that have lived in front of the casita for over six years were in need of a little repair and paint. Over time, they had gotten a few big holes in them and the paint was really starting to fade. There was a hole in his head that was so big I could put my fist in it. So I went to work patching the holes and doing some fiberglass repair on them.

Once I got all their bodywork done, it was time to start over with the paint. They used to be a lot darker green, but after seeing real iguanas around here, I knew they had to be much brighter. After a good base coat of paint, I went to work with all the other colors to help bring them back to life. Now they are looking refreshed and ready to greet you when you visit our guest casita. On a side note, a three-foot bright green iguana just walked across the driveway. Maybe these are acting like giant decoys.

One of the local restaurants in town has a brick pizza oven (by the same guy who built ours). At the end of the evening before they close, they put chickens in pots and put them in the oven to slow cook overnight. In the morning the chickens are fully cooked and ready for that day’s recipes. We recently fired up our oven and had some friends over for a pizza party. Earlier in the day Kelley prepared a chicken and some veggies in a cast-iron pot. After our last pizza came out, the chicken went in till the next morning. The oven was still 175° in the morning when we pulled the chicken out. It looked and tasted great, although the breasts were a little dry. I think the problem was that we placed ours in around 6:30 and the restaurant probably puts theirs in after 10:00 once they close. Next time we fire up the pizza oven, we will try this again, possibly with a big pork roast for some slow-cooked pulled pork. It seems like a great way to cook some meat, since the oven stays warm all night.

If you know us, you know that we love trying different foods and don’t let anything go to waste, especially when it comes to all the fresh fruits and vegetables we have around here. So here are a few more things we’ve been doing with some of the stuff we have available.

Our Moringa tree is doing very well, and we still use the leaves in some recipes. If you are not sure what Moringa is, look it up, as it’s a superfood with many health benefits and is available in supplements. Currently, our tree has some seed pods on it, and when cooked they somewhat have the flavor of asparagus. Or the seeds can be removed from the pods and roasted, where they end up tasting like almonds or pine nuts.

We also have a local small leaf sweet basil that grows wild around the yard. And since the moringa seeds resemble pine nuts, why not make up some pesto and see how it turns out. There was only a small amount of moringa seeds, but Kelley still managed to make up a small batch of pesto. It turned out really good, and with all the health benefits of moringa and the wild basil, it must be a super healthy pesto.

We’re getting quite a few grapefruit this year and some of them are huge. Last year we left them on the tree until February, waiting for them to turn yellow (they never did) and they were dry inside. This year when they had a slight color change, we decided to pick some and give them a try. So far they are juicy and delicious. Looks like this will be our breakfast for the next month or so. Does anyone remember baking or broiling grapefruit with brown sugar on it? We will try it this weekend and see if it tastes like we remember from our younger days.

Our dragon fruit did very well this year and we have been enjoying them for breakfast for the past couple of months or so. Mostly they are purple, but this year we were also getting more of the white ones. Side by side, the purple dragon fruit looks like they would be sweeter than the white ones, but we agreed that the white ones are actually a little sweeter. Before we left for the States, we had a bunch that were ripe, so Kelley made up a batch of Dragon Fruit jam. We decided to combine the white and the purple ones together, and it turned out good. We usually don’t eat much jam around here, but now we have starfruit, raspberry, pineapple, and dragon fruit jams. This way we can still enjoy them until fresh ones are back in season.

The habaneros we planted a while back are really producing a lot of big peppers right now. We can only eat and dehydrate so many, so we decided to pickle some and make more habanero pepper sauce. After packing as many peppers as we could in the jars, we added some garlic, salt, a carrot and topped it off with vinegar. In a few weeks it will all get ground up, bottled and we will have three quarts of some very hot habanero pepper sauce.

In the past we’ve made liqueurs with all the different fruits we have around here, including cacao. Around six years ago we made some with wild grapes that were growing on our road, and it turned out great. Since then we haven’t seen any of the grapes, but this year they were all over the place. So we decided to make another batch of liqueur with grapes and add some cacao nibs for a chocolate/grape flavor. Last year we made a chocolate/raspberry liqueur that everyone loved, so why not try a chocolate/grape? If it turns out as good as I think it will, we’ll be passing this around during the holidays.

From now until April is a great time to visit Belize. The weather is mild, the rains are few, and everything is very green. December and January might have a few cool nights, but for the most part it’s usually shorts and T-shirt weather. And if you visit the coast, the beautiful turquoise waters of the Caribbean are always warm. So if you’re looking to get out of the cold and snow in the next few months, we’ve got a guest house just waiting for you.

Hope to see you soon!