Hi guys.
I've had a bit of a mishap with my car. Accident with a bridge!.This means I'm unable to get to the market. Not sure how long I'll be out of the loop but I'll keep you posted. I must admit this only happened a week ago, before that I was somewhat busy. I'm told confessions are good for the soul. Happy shopping in the meantime or you could try your hand at a backyard garden.
LMWorks
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
June 7, 2008
Off to an even later start this morning. It's closer to 7 o'clock when I leave home but I'm not rushing, I'm taking things slow and easy. Got an okay parking spot. Bought some oranges first thing($150.00), then forgot about buying the hardier stuff first and bought julie mangoes & papayas. They cost $300/doz. & $50/lb respectively.I bought 1/2 dozen mangoes and five pounds of papayas. Makes sense.
Return of the Mango thief
Well guess what? The mango thief paid me a visit. He not only used my stick to pick my mangoes he walked out of the yard with a crate of beer bottles on top of his head.
And where were the dogs you might ask? I'm asking the same question? My car was there but no one was at home. My neighbour saw him going past from her window. But of course he pays her no mind. He never did the week before when she saw him in her mango tree. In front of her he comes down with the bag of mangoes then poceeds to climb her pear tree and pick the green fruit, then calmly walks around to the front, pulls her gate and walks through. Such audacity. She says he rested the crate on the wall and jumps over my front wall and proceeds up the road with my bottles on his head quite unconcerned. I will have to have words with my dogs. This is not acceptable. Strangers walking into your yard like they own it.
Gift of Breadfruit
My aunt in St. Thomas sent me some breadfruit with 'Mr. T' who sells the jelly coconuts. I was just about to buy one from someone nearby when he says he has a bag for me. I open it to find five breadfruits. Of course we'll have to find a few people to share them with. That won't be too hard. Most people like roast breadfruit. I had to make two trips to the car with them. That was nice of my aunt and 'Mr. T' for bringing it. It was a big bag. It's been a while since we've gotten any stuff from country. It was certainly appreciated. I bought three coconuts from him and added something for his bringing the breadfruit.
Soursop Woes
The soursop I bought the week before was not good. I had to throw it away. I told the vendor and she gave me another one. That was nice of her. I hope this one is okay. I like soursop drink with lime. I've not had it with milk since I discovered the lime version.
More Shopping
One of my regular cucumber persons had some. I had to ask, because again I never saw any, but it was at the stall next door. So I got some for $60/lb($10.00 more than last last week again). Speaking about cucumbers, I got one from a 4H boothe in Mandeville at Choices Expo on Thursday. It was about 15 inches long. I'd never seen one that large. Apparently it was grown using green house technology. This seems to be the way to go.
I bought a dozen black mangoes, this time for $80/dozen. They looked nice and firm.
I also bought chinese jimbelin (star fruit), the sweet one this time. They were $80/dozen. I bought hot peppers, the purple variety. They were $60/dozen. If you buy a pound you get a much better price, but then they spoil because I hardly use them. If I had someone to share them with I would buy the pound. I've done so in the past and given away some to friends.
I bought another dozen oranges for $100.00 this time. Sometimes if you walk around a bit you might get some better prices. This is so important these days with the price of food going through the roof.
It's almost 9 0'clock, the sun is hot and I'm tired; time to go home. I had thought about having words with the parking don but he took the $50.00 and didn't mention any increase. I didn't say anything either. I thanked him and drove off.
LMWorks
lm works ... in more ways
Return of the Mango thief
Well guess what? The mango thief paid me a visit. He not only used my stick to pick my mangoes he walked out of the yard with a crate of beer bottles on top of his head.
And where were the dogs you might ask? I'm asking the same question? My car was there but no one was at home. My neighbour saw him going past from her window. But of course he pays her no mind. He never did the week before when she saw him in her mango tree. In front of her he comes down with the bag of mangoes then poceeds to climb her pear tree and pick the green fruit, then calmly walks around to the front, pulls her gate and walks through. Such audacity. She says he rested the crate on the wall and jumps over my front wall and proceeds up the road with my bottles on his head quite unconcerned. I will have to have words with my dogs. This is not acceptable. Strangers walking into your yard like they own it.
Gift of Breadfruit
My aunt in St. Thomas sent me some breadfruit with 'Mr. T' who sells the jelly coconuts. I was just about to buy one from someone nearby when he says he has a bag for me. I open it to find five breadfruits. Of course we'll have to find a few people to share them with. That won't be too hard. Most people like roast breadfruit. I had to make two trips to the car with them. That was nice of my aunt and 'Mr. T' for bringing it. It was a big bag. It's been a while since we've gotten any stuff from country. It was certainly appreciated. I bought three coconuts from him and added something for his bringing the breadfruit.
Soursop Woes
The soursop I bought the week before was not good. I had to throw it away. I told the vendor and she gave me another one. That was nice of her. I hope this one is okay. I like soursop drink with lime. I've not had it with milk since I discovered the lime version.
More Shopping
One of my regular cucumber persons had some. I had to ask, because again I never saw any, but it was at the stall next door. So I got some for $60/lb($10.00 more than last last week again). Speaking about cucumbers, I got one from a 4H boothe in Mandeville at Choices Expo on Thursday. It was about 15 inches long. I'd never seen one that large. Apparently it was grown using green house technology. This seems to be the way to go.
I bought a dozen black mangoes, this time for $80/dozen. They looked nice and firm.
I also bought chinese jimbelin (star fruit), the sweet one this time. They were $80/dozen. I bought hot peppers, the purple variety. They were $60/dozen. If you buy a pound you get a much better price, but then they spoil because I hardly use them. If I had someone to share them with I would buy the pound. I've done so in the past and given away some to friends.
I bought another dozen oranges for $100.00 this time. Sometimes if you walk around a bit you might get some better prices. This is so important these days with the price of food going through the roof.
It's almost 9 0'clock, the sun is hot and I'm tired; time to go home. I had thought about having words with the parking don but he took the $50.00 and didn't mention any increase. I didn't say anything either. I thanked him and drove off.
LMWorks
lm works ... in more ways
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
I got off to an even later start this week. I went to a fundraiser for the Sunshine Girls (Jamaican Netballers) on Friday night and didn't get home until very late . Going to bed at 12 Midnight is late for me so when I awoke sometime after five I was still groggy and tired. I dragged myself out of bed and set about getting ready to go to the market. At 6:21 am I drove through my gate and headed for downtown. It was overcast, thanks to the remnants of the weather we had been having the last few days. Overcast is good sometimes;hopefully it means cooler. However I was expecting the market to be muddy and messy thanks to the days of rain.
I got a fairly close parking spot that someone vacated as I was arriving. I was hoping not to spend as much time this week as I felt so tired and didn't really feel up to it. Also I wasn't going to buy as much as the week before because I didn't need as much stuff nor did I have as much cash on hand. You need hard cash to shop in the market. They don't take debit or credit cards (and they dont trust(sell & collect later)). I always thought this cash only system was a drawback because you have to plan ahead in order to have enough money on hand to shop and these days people don't like to walk around with too much cash. You not only need cash, you need change (50 & 100 bills, as well as coins) as most of the sellers don't have any at the start of the day. It would certainly be a great opportunity for someone to have a stall that accepted cards, not to mention safer.
Back to Saturday
It was wet and muddy as I suspected. The vendors had put banana trash on the ground in some places to sop up some of the water. In other places there were pools of dirty water. I stepped gingerly in some areas and turned back in others. I changed my routine slightly as I started outside instead of going straight into the building itself. I decided it was best to buy the hardier stuff like the carrots & cucumbers first and buy things like papaya and bananas later so that they wouldn't sit in the hot car for too long.
Dogs & Mangoes
I bought carrots from my regular lady at $50/lb. but again there was no cucumber in sight. I had to go look for the lady I had bought from last week. They weren't as nice as before but they were $10.00 more, but I didn't really have a choice as it seems to be quite scarce. She's the same person from whom I'd gotten the beef mangoes, but I cut my eyes at those and bought black mangoes, which she had as well. Both were the same price, $100/dozen. Some people would think I'm crazy buying common mangoes and at that price. What to do; We like them but we don't have a tree and no one's offered me any lately. I'm not going to steal them like the man stealing the East Indian mangoes from my neighbours tree yesterday. I heard her ordering him out of the tree. I looked through my window and there he was in the middle of the day with a big bag in hand climbing out of the tree. I guess the only reason why they haven't visited us yet is because of the dogs, But they didn't even bark until the neighbour made an alarm. Hopefully they'll be a little more vigilant with ours especially since they're the ones eating most of them. Did you know that dogs ate mangoes? Well we discovered to our detriment when we had several trees at the last house. They had so much that they would hide some for later. We would find mangoes buried all over the yard. We were in direct competition for the mangoes that fell off the trees. If you thought you heard one fall you had to rush out to get it before one of them did; I didn't mind them eating a few, but the more they ate the more stuff they excreted and they don't clean up after themselves.
But to the market
I tried to be quick so I could go home and sleep. I bought a soursop for $160.00 ($80/lb); a breadfruit from St. Thomas for $70.00 (you have to choose the breadfruit and then they'll give it a price); a hand of bananas for less then $150.00 (these were not the pretty yellow ones, but my stomach does not discriminate); papayas for $50/lb (they seem to have settled at that price); large salad tomatoes at about $40/lb and onions at $40.00 also. The market was noisy and some people were quarrelling as I made my way at the far end. I was ready to fall asleep. It was time to go.
The shocker came as I was driving off and gave a junior parking person(I've decided to be nice) my $50.00; he tells me that come next week the parking fee would be $70.00. I now had something to think about before my next market trip.
LMWorks
lm works ... in more ways
I got a fairly close parking spot that someone vacated as I was arriving. I was hoping not to spend as much time this week as I felt so tired and didn't really feel up to it. Also I wasn't going to buy as much as the week before because I didn't need as much stuff nor did I have as much cash on hand. You need hard cash to shop in the market. They don't take debit or credit cards (and they dont trust(sell & collect later)). I always thought this cash only system was a drawback because you have to plan ahead in order to have enough money on hand to shop and these days people don't like to walk around with too much cash. You not only need cash, you need change (50 & 100 bills, as well as coins) as most of the sellers don't have any at the start of the day. It would certainly be a great opportunity for someone to have a stall that accepted cards, not to mention safer.
Back to Saturday
It was wet and muddy as I suspected. The vendors had put banana trash on the ground in some places to sop up some of the water. In other places there were pools of dirty water. I stepped gingerly in some areas and turned back in others. I changed my routine slightly as I started outside instead of going straight into the building itself. I decided it was best to buy the hardier stuff like the carrots & cucumbers first and buy things like papaya and bananas later so that they wouldn't sit in the hot car for too long.
Dogs & Mangoes
I bought carrots from my regular lady at $50/lb. but again there was no cucumber in sight. I had to go look for the lady I had bought from last week. They weren't as nice as before but they were $10.00 more, but I didn't really have a choice as it seems to be quite scarce. She's the same person from whom I'd gotten the beef mangoes, but I cut my eyes at those and bought black mangoes, which she had as well. Both were the same price, $100/dozen. Some people would think I'm crazy buying common mangoes and at that price. What to do; We like them but we don't have a tree and no one's offered me any lately. I'm not going to steal them like the man stealing the East Indian mangoes from my neighbours tree yesterday. I heard her ordering him out of the tree. I looked through my window and there he was in the middle of the day with a big bag in hand climbing out of the tree. I guess the only reason why they haven't visited us yet is because of the dogs, But they didn't even bark until the neighbour made an alarm. Hopefully they'll be a little more vigilant with ours especially since they're the ones eating most of them. Did you know that dogs ate mangoes? Well we discovered to our detriment when we had several trees at the last house. They had so much that they would hide some for later. We would find mangoes buried all over the yard. We were in direct competition for the mangoes that fell off the trees. If you thought you heard one fall you had to rush out to get it before one of them did; I didn't mind them eating a few, but the more they ate the more stuff they excreted and they don't clean up after themselves.
But to the market
I tried to be quick so I could go home and sleep. I bought a soursop for $160.00 ($80/lb); a breadfruit from St. Thomas for $70.00 (you have to choose the breadfruit and then they'll give it a price); a hand of bananas for less then $150.00 (these were not the pretty yellow ones, but my stomach does not discriminate); papayas for $50/lb (they seem to have settled at that price); large salad tomatoes at about $40/lb and onions at $40.00 also. The market was noisy and some people were quarrelling as I made my way at the far end. I was ready to fall asleep. It was time to go.
The shocker came as I was driving off and gave a junior parking person(I've decided to be nice) my $50.00; he tells me that come next week the parking fee would be $70.00. I now had something to think about before my next market trip.
LMWorks
lm works ... in more ways
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
I got off to a late start once again. Since I moved house and no longer have my two male neighbours also going to the market, 5:00 am seems a little daunting, but hey 6 o’clocks not too bad. It’s just that everybody and their mother is there already. It’s nice driving on the empty roads in the early morning listening to oldies on RJR. I’ve even developed options for getting to Coronation Market now; I can drive via Marcus Garvey which is under some major work or Waltham Park Road onto Spanish Town Road among others.
Okay, by the time I arrive it’s seriously crowded; not many near parking options but the ‘parking don’ steers me into a space on the side of the road across from the entrance or the back gate. I have no idea which. By the way we’re on Darling Street. I discovered this at Christmas when he gave me a calendar compliments of the Darling Street Parking ______; I forgot. It wasn't quite the thing I would put up, so I'll let you know the rest if I find it. Actually it only had a photo of a fast, fancy car at night. Not too bad if you think about it.
Buying Fruit
So I park the car and come out with one of my market bags। I decide to leave the basket in the car. I go first to the section inside of the building where I normally buy oranges and papayas (papaws). I saw some oranges that were not so hot and said yes to the large ones @ $150 per dozen; big mistake listening to the lady tell me how sweet they were and not to watch the colour.
I stayed clear of the papaya lady as I had bought some in MegaMart the day before and the ones in the market are sometimes not as good since the last hurricane, but they’ve been selling at about $50/lb। You just need to choose them carefully. I guess I haven't been choosing the right ones.
Back on the outside I move up the entry section to my carrot and cucumber ladies. I was looking for cucumbers for juicing. I still had carrots in my fridge from some weeks ago. They didn’t have any cucumbers so I moved on. When I eventually found some I paid $30/lb. Not bad.
In Search of Jimbelin
After going back to the car to get rid of my first set of purchases I enter through the second gateway। I’m looking for the lady who I bougt jimbelin from about three weeks ago. It was a long shot but I found her. Of course she didn’t have any more. This is old time jimbelin, not chinese jimbelin which the Americans call star fruit. It’s a small green fruit, the size of a cherry that is very sour. My helper called it ‘barge’. I made drink with it and everybody loved it so I was hoping to get some more. That’s one of the things I do, make natural juice and drink with local fruits and vegetables.
I didn’t find any jimbelin but I did buy some chinese jimbelin. It’s apparently just coming in so only a few people had at $60/dozen. These were the sour ones to make juice. No one had any sweet ones. Based on what the people in the market tell me I assume there is a sour type and a sweet type that grows on two different trees. Let me know if you know otherwise.
I also bought passion fruit. These were $100/dozen because again only a few people had them but it was worth it। The juice is very potent so a little goes a long way and you can freeze it for months. I managed to get some small otaheite apples @ $100/dozen. This was not bad. The large ones sometimes sell for $300/dozen.
Plums Galore
There were quite a few plums in the market; you know the ones that the guys sell on Trafalgar & Waterlooo Roads. They’re mostly red and you have the larger yellow ones which can be very juicy. I went a little overboard, everytime I saw some I’d buy a dozen or two especially if the price was less than the previous seller. I ended up with three bags ranging in price from $30/dozen - $50/dozen.
Mangoes & More Mangoes
Mangoes were in season, from small black mangoes to large Tommy Atkins and lots of others in between. Last time I bought some 'Julies' (julie mango) which are probably my favourite but this week I decided to purchase some beef mangoes. For some reason I always think in terms of dozens at the market so they’re fast getting soft as I can eat so much and no more. My sister says she doesn’t like them, that I should have bought black mangoes for her. Next time!
Yam & Vegetables
You might think I only buy fruit, but no, I bought some yellow yam @ $70/lb. I thought this was high but this is because sometimes it’s so plentiful that they’re literally giving it away at $20. This was clearly not one of those days. I bought a piece for my neighbour and hopefully I’ll make some soup with my piece along with the pumpkin that I also bought. I bought lettuce, tomatoes and sweet peppers for my sister who is supposedly going vegetarian; emphasis on suppose. The small 'salad' tomatoes were $50/lb. and the others I don't remember. My brain is like a seive.
Avocado Pear
Guess what. I bought a pear, an avocado pear that is. I saw this one lady with some. They were mostly already ripe but I got a not so ripe one for $100. I didn't mind as this was a bonus (brawta) as I didn't even know they were available yet. I love pear. Wish I could eat it at every meal. I actually had a tree at my last house. I felt very sad about leaving it behind but I've planted one in my new yard. Hopefully I'll be around to see it bloom.
Time To Go Home
I’ve been here a while and the sun is getting hot not to mention it also rained. I hate it when it rains at the market; it gets muddy and I hate walking in mud. You have to wear your old shoes if you want to try it. I braved a bit of the mud and the rain to finish my shopping. Of course I had to get some coconut water. I brought my containers so I wouldn’t have to try cutting off the tops at home. You can imagine I’m not very handy with a machete. These days I buy coconut from a gentleman from St. Thomas. He usually treats me very well. I would buy three for $90.00 This time I paid $160.00 for four. I wont complain, maybe it was time to increase his prices. I didn’t ask. Everyday is not Christmas.
Of course I had to buy some more oranges to supplement the ugly dozen.
This time I made sure to get orange ones at $100.00 /dozen. A hand of ripe bananas later at the same price and I was ready to go. I’d made many trips to the car and I was tired. All in all it had been a fruitful morning. The parking don was down the road and didn’t see as I drove off with my $50 parking fee. Maybe I’ll pay him next week; we’ll see. I just don’t think I should be paying to park on the side of the road, so if I can dodge it sometimes I don’t feel so bad. Of course they have occasionally asissted me with a heavy bag, so I wont complain too much. Chivalry is not totally dead. I really want to ask him if the money goes to some worthwhile community project, but I haven’t gotten up the courage.
Next week we’ll do it again all being well.
LMWorks
lm works ... in more ways
Okay, by the time I arrive it’s seriously crowded; not many near parking options but the ‘parking don’ steers me into a space on the side of the road across from the entrance or the back gate. I have no idea which. By the way we’re on Darling Street. I discovered this at Christmas when he gave me a calendar compliments of the Darling Street Parking ______; I forgot. It wasn't quite the thing I would put up, so I'll let you know the rest if I find it. Actually it only had a photo of a fast, fancy car at night. Not too bad if you think about it.
Buying Fruit
So I park the car and come out with one of my market bags। I decide to leave the basket in the car. I go first to the section inside of the building where I normally buy oranges and papayas (papaws). I saw some oranges that were not so hot and said yes to the large ones @ $150 per dozen; big mistake listening to the lady tell me how sweet they were and not to watch the colour.
I stayed clear of the papaya lady as I had bought some in MegaMart the day before and the ones in the market are sometimes not as good since the last hurricane, but they’ve been selling at about $50/lb। You just need to choose them carefully. I guess I haven't been choosing the right ones.
Back on the outside I move up the entry section to my carrot and cucumber ladies. I was looking for cucumbers for juicing. I still had carrots in my fridge from some weeks ago. They didn’t have any cucumbers so I moved on. When I eventually found some I paid $30/lb. Not bad.
In Search of Jimbelin
After going back to the car to get rid of my first set of purchases I enter through the second gateway। I’m looking for the lady who I bougt jimbelin from about three weeks ago. It was a long shot but I found her. Of course she didn’t have any more. This is old time jimbelin, not chinese jimbelin which the Americans call star fruit. It’s a small green fruit, the size of a cherry that is very sour. My helper called it ‘barge’. I made drink with it and everybody loved it so I was hoping to get some more. That’s one of the things I do, make natural juice and drink with local fruits and vegetables.
I didn’t find any jimbelin but I did buy some chinese jimbelin. It’s apparently just coming in so only a few people had at $60/dozen. These were the sour ones to make juice. No one had any sweet ones. Based on what the people in the market tell me I assume there is a sour type and a sweet type that grows on two different trees. Let me know if you know otherwise.
I also bought passion fruit. These were $100/dozen because again only a few people had them but it was worth it। The juice is very potent so a little goes a long way and you can freeze it for months. I managed to get some small otaheite apples @ $100/dozen. This was not bad. The large ones sometimes sell for $300/dozen.
Plums Galore
There were quite a few plums in the market; you know the ones that the guys sell on Trafalgar & Waterlooo Roads. They’re mostly red and you have the larger yellow ones which can be very juicy. I went a little overboard, everytime I saw some I’d buy a dozen or two especially if the price was less than the previous seller. I ended up with three bags ranging in price from $30/dozen - $50/dozen.
Mangoes & More Mangoes
Mangoes were in season, from small black mangoes to large Tommy Atkins and lots of others in between. Last time I bought some 'Julies' (julie mango) which are probably my favourite but this week I decided to purchase some beef mangoes. For some reason I always think in terms of dozens at the market so they’re fast getting soft as I can eat so much and no more. My sister says she doesn’t like them, that I should have bought black mangoes for her. Next time!
Yam & Vegetables
You might think I only buy fruit, but no, I bought some yellow yam @ $70/lb. I thought this was high but this is because sometimes it’s so plentiful that they’re literally giving it away at $20. This was clearly not one of those days. I bought a piece for my neighbour and hopefully I’ll make some soup with my piece along with the pumpkin that I also bought. I bought lettuce, tomatoes and sweet peppers for my sister who is supposedly going vegetarian; emphasis on suppose. The small 'salad' tomatoes were $50/lb. and the others I don't remember. My brain is like a seive.
Avocado Pear
Guess what. I bought a pear, an avocado pear that is. I saw this one lady with some. They were mostly already ripe but I got a not so ripe one for $100. I didn't mind as this was a bonus (brawta) as I didn't even know they were available yet. I love pear. Wish I could eat it at every meal. I actually had a tree at my last house. I felt very sad about leaving it behind but I've planted one in my new yard. Hopefully I'll be around to see it bloom.
Time To Go Home
I’ve been here a while and the sun is getting hot not to mention it also rained. I hate it when it rains at the market; it gets muddy and I hate walking in mud. You have to wear your old shoes if you want to try it. I braved a bit of the mud and the rain to finish my shopping. Of course I had to get some coconut water. I brought my containers so I wouldn’t have to try cutting off the tops at home. You can imagine I’m not very handy with a machete. These days I buy coconut from a gentleman from St. Thomas. He usually treats me very well. I would buy three for $90.00 This time I paid $160.00 for four. I wont complain, maybe it was time to increase his prices. I didn’t ask. Everyday is not Christmas.
Of course I had to buy some more oranges to supplement the ugly dozen.
This time I made sure to get orange ones at $100.00 /dozen. A hand of ripe bananas later at the same price and I was ready to go. I’d made many trips to the car and I was tired. All in all it had been a fruitful morning. The parking don was down the road and didn’t see as I drove off with my $50 parking fee. Maybe I’ll pay him next week; we’ll see. I just don’t think I should be paying to park on the side of the road, so if I can dodge it sometimes I don’t feel so bad. Of course they have occasionally asissted me with a heavy bag, so I wont complain too much. Chivalry is not totally dead. I really want to ask him if the money goes to some worthwhile community project, but I haven’t gotten up the courage.
Next week we’ll do it again all being well.
LMWorks
lm works ... in more ways
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