Gutting my first fish and coconuts

December 12 2009

A few days ago I was sitting in my sunporch watching 3 fisherman as I do every morning,I call them Peter, James and John because it's a scene that just seems to come right out of the Bible, it seems so surreal. One of them comes over to my little abode here and I reconized him as my landlady's cousin, he offers me a fish, I try to pay him but he would not take any money telling me it was a gift. So I accept the fish and anticipate my delicious supper I will have all the while thinking of how I can repay or regift this man, I know it was a true gift and he does not exspect anything in return but at the same time I would love to do something for him as well. I wish I would have brought some manly looking yarn I could knit them all mittlets. They knit up so quickly and I imagine it is cold on the water so early in the morning. All I brought was girly looking yarn....I'll keep my eye open. If I would have thought of this earlier, (I just thought of this now) I have a friend that flew in today from Canada, she could have brought me some. oh well...anyway...the man assumed I knew what to do with a whole fish, I do know what to do with it in the pan but have never been apart of the pre-pan prep, have stood by and watched but have never participated. So I did what everybody else does when they get stuck...google it, yup I found a perfect little video that showed me step by step how to gut, clean and fillet a fish. Not really all that hard either. I fried it up with some potatoes and onions and it was so good. I will not shy away from the fish market anymore, I will have fish on a regular basis now. But now I have a message for you all....Teach your children how to gut and fillet a fish, don't let them end up like me and have to find a video, it was only by luck and chance that I had internet working that day, there isn't always internet (I know....hard to believe that that could happen) so, if you have no children teach someone else's children....teach somebody. It's an important skill to have. If you are a teacher teach your students this, have fish gutting day in school.
By the way, these pictures are starting to make me mad....they won't go where I want them.

I worked hard all year so that I could be here and not work and even though I have now been here for 2 weeks and haven't been doing anything I still haven't relaxed just yet. I'm not doing anything but I am walking around feeling like I should and almost feeling guilty that I am not being "productive". I sit here and read and see all the other people going back and forth to work and I know they see me sitting here reading everyday and not doing much of anything and I wonder what they are thinking of me. I want to explain to them how hard I worked to justify being lazy but I know that is just silly, and not like they haven't worked hard all their life. One of my landlady's cousins (she has many) drives by here 21 times a day doing 21 different things, one day he is building his house and it driving by gathering wood from the plantation, the next day he is building steps for the people at the trailer park, the next day he is driving the brick delivery truck and one day him and a friend (maybe he was a cousin too) are climbing the palm trees along the road picking coconuts. If a coconut falls on a car it can do a bit of damage, can certainly smash a windshield. He deminstrated how to climb a coconut tree, he made it look so easy I even tried and it seems I really really need to practice before I will get to any coconuts. Today as he was driving by he stopped by my house and quickly climbed a tree and picked about 5 coconuts and of course offered me one (as a gift) he pulled a machetti out and cracked it open for me right away, (everyone has a machetti in their back pocket here) I love coconut water, I put some in my fruit juice very morning. I feel bad for him that he has to work so hard and I am swinging in a hammock all day reading a book. I have to get over this. Next week I am going to the mainland (for sure) and buying a canvas and start painting, I did bring my paints. At least that way I can be productive and relax at the same time, making me not look so lazy.

Oh...today my shower worked, there was hot water and there was lights, all at the same time.....a truely great day.