Lake Placid, New York State

Why do  I like to visit Lake Placid so much?

Beautiful waterfall!

Adinrondack chair made of used ski, this is call recycling.

They still get the newspaper deliver to their door!!!!! 

Anyone remember these old fashion snow shoes?...

Reminiscence of cycling training

 I took this picture in a place where I used to go practice racing bicycling technique (this is a part of the Experimental Farm in Ottawa). I did a lot of time trials there because it's just downtown Ottawa, but it looks like you are right int he middle of nature. And you don't have to stress about fast cars there too much because the limit there is 30 km/hour. it was such a great feeling to be physically there again even with my brace on...

Papaya Tree in Ottawa

I went to visit the Experimental Farm in Ottawa, Canada the other day and I was extremely surprised to see Papaya tree in there as it's not their growing environment at all. But after looking down I realized it was in a huge container that can be transported outside during summer. That Papaya Tree must be growing in their green house.

Lime Fruit

One of the profound memories I have about Puerto Rico is picking fresh limes from a lime tree. It was a tree, which was around 15 ft high and in my evaluation it was around 25-30 years old.
The interesting thing was that every time I went to pick up a lime for some recipe I always forgot about the humongous thick needles the tree had. So as I got my hand out of the tree with lime fruits in it, all my hand was scratched and bleeding, which looked like a cat just scratched me.
Unfortunately in 1997 we had 3 major hurricanes in one season and they really damaged the root system of the tree, which consequently died few month later.
The lime that I ate there was not as sour as we know it in North America. It had a very different flavor of a strong mint and it was sweeter.
Lime has many health benefits. It is famous as a cure for scurvy as it is very rich with Vitamin-C. Lime juice and its oil are very beneficial for skin when consumed orally or applied externally. It also helps with digestion, and many other things as well.

One of my favorite inspiring videos

This video is truly one of my favorite inspiring movies. The part I relate to the most is when they say that you see things that others don't. I have experienced countless times in my life being in that situation.
Indeed, we are all the same... We are One.

Sugar apple

Sugar apple is a delicious fruit made up of numerous prominent knobs which, when ripe, can be pulled apart and eaten.

The sugar apple tree ranges from 10 to 20 ft (3-6 m) in height and they have open crown of irregular branches.
The fruit itself is a size of a small apple and has soft, creamy white flesh, sometimes with a minty or custardy flavor. The sugar apple is extremely popular throughout the tropics.
Very often this fruit is confused with the custard apple and I got into this trap as well with my earlier post (I wasn’t being attentive enough and for my post on custard apple I’ve put the pictures of a sugar apple). They look similar, but there’s a difference in their shape. Custard apple looks like a heart, whereas sugar apple looks more like a bunch of small grape-like fruits stuck together in a shape of an apple. There’s another difference, which is a texture of a skin – the ripe custard apple has extremely thin and weak skin, which is a bit yellowish; sugar apple, on the other side, has very thick and strong skin.

My top 10 movie list

These movies changed my life! They are totally worth watching!
Click on them to see the trailers.
1. The Matrix
2. Avatar
3. The Truman show
4. What dreams may come
5. The Game
6. Illusion
7. What the bleep do we know
8. The thirteen floor
9. The Celestine Prophecy
10. The Legends of the Fall

Rooster mascot? Hmm?

I love creative people! Look at this - someone put a cement rooster on top of the portable basketball post to keep it from not falling! This rooster can be a really good mascot for the basketball team that plays there:)

Another few flowers from my Daily Walk

OMG! I am so fascinated by all these beautiful flowers! I just want to share them with everyone!

Fast-motion growing fruit plant

This is an amazing video of how a tomato grows from seed to a plant! This video is like a reminder for me of how amazing and miraculous this is! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

You don't need to be perfect to be attractive

Today when I was at the gym, something interesting happened. It was the end of my workout and I was biking in the area where bicycle and treadmill equipment overlooks the weight lifting area, so I could see everyone working out there almost as if I was watching TV. And as I was watching them I've noticed to my surprise that all those weightlifting muscular men were gathered in the same area. I started wondering why and all of a sudden I saw this really attractive woman exercising there. That really made sense - these guys were trying to get closer to her and that's why there were all there!
All of a sudden this young handicap man walks in the gym. He is around 20 years old or, perhaps, even younger. His legs are not proportional to the rest of his body and also crooked. He walks with great difficulty. And although he has that handicap, he works out diligently pushing himself as I witnessed him working out there many times before. You can tell that he is very dedicated to his weightlifting training.
Next thing, I noticed these big guys looking in his direction; unconsciously, I did the same thing and what we saw was: as soon as this young man came in, this gorgeous woman left all her equipment behind to go and greet him, after which she invited him to exercise together flirting with him like a coquette. At the same time it was very apparent that she was physically attracted to him!
And immediately inside myself I felt this feeling of victory - here is this woman that could choose any man that she wanted, but she choose one that was physically handicap… isn't that great!?! All our lives we think of ourselves as not perfect - we are too fat, too slim, to this, too that..., but there's no such thing as perfection and that's the life lesson this experience gave me: you do not need to be perfect for people to love you, they love you because of who you are and it is ok to have weaknesses and flaws.

Two-month blogging anniversary

Today is two-month anniversary of me blogging. I really proved to myself from last time - I moved from 500 pageviews for the first month to over 2000 for the second one.
I am getting addicted to this thing!!!

Yummy apples

Another picture from my daily walks. It's a wild apple tree with these yummy apples getting ripe very soon!

Another golfing memory...

Reminiscence of good old days in Lake Placid, NY. Summer 2009.
I am there right now and image report is coming in later posts, but I just could not hold myself from posting this picture that brings back good memories.

With my dear friends at Merrickville

The trip to Merrickville that I talked about in my previous posts was actually to spend some time with my two really good friends. These two women were the ones who brought me back to life from my accident - they brought food for me, they held my hand when I found out about my blood clot, they comforted me when I needed someone's support so much, they were beside me all the way.
Louise and Suzanne, thank you for being in my life. You are amazing and I love you!

This was the view from the restaurant we had lunch at that day. I found it interesting that instead of having a regular sign on the side of the building, they put it across the restaurant and used an upside-down canoe to advertise themselves. 

And this was a bench where we spent a significant time of that day. There is nothing special about it, but it caught my eye as somehow to me it seemed to represent a place to share your life with your closest and dearest friends.

"Shop"-seeing in Merrickville

While in Merrickville, I couldn't pass the opportunity to do a little bit of sight-seeing/shopping.
This image below is a beautiful antique leather rocking chair.

These are wooden sculptures. I took this picture at a sculpture school and many of those are still in progress.

These are canoe paddles (which can be also used as disciplinary instrument for your misbehaving husband... heh)

This is my future house downsizing (joking!)

This is hand-made wooden furniture, which I love so much.

Blooming Merickville!

I am coming back with my image report on my daily walks, that happen to be at Merrickville this time.

Sapodilla Fruit Tree

This is exactly how the sapodilla sap is being harvested from the tree. They make a cut on the bark in diagonal, so the sap would go down the tree to be collected in a container.

After, the sap is boiled until it thickens to be able to be rolled and cut into pieces. Those pieces are ready-made chewing gums with a natural long-lasting flavor. (Ah, I wish those times were back...)

Sapodilla fruit

Do you know where chewing gum comes from? Well, it's exactly from the sap of the tree that I am introducing to you today. It's called Sapodilla.
Its fruit has an exceptionally sweet, malty flavor. Many believe the flavor bears a striking resemblance to caramel or a candied pear with brown sugar, or a sweet mix of brown sugar and root beer. But! only when it’s ripe; green sapodilla fruit literally tastes like crap.

The fruit is served as it is - raw and not peeled. You just cut it in half and scoop out the flesh just like a ice-cream.
People call the plant a chewing gum tree, because, as I mentioned earlier, sapodilla tree is also the source of chicle, a chewing gum component. Chicle is derived from the milky juice (latex) of the sapodilla tree. This tree is found mainly in the areas of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, which lie within the Yucatan Peninsula. And I'll talk about harvesting the tree sap in my next post.

Junk art or Junk yard?

This is a picture of a backyard in my area. The owner has proclaimed himself an artist and this is supposed to be one of his art compositions (that he watches for days sometimes changing the position of his chair to get a better view!). Would you ever guess that this image below depicts an art display???

Merrickville trip

Last Saturday (Aug. 6) I went to Merrickville for a day trip with my very close friends. I've been there before quite few times, but I always found it such an inviting, friendly, homey town that is a pleasure to come back to any time. Here is what it looks like:

 

Guava Fruit

When I was in Puerto Rico I used to work outside a lot, either cutting grass or working in my green house. And one thing I remember very clearly is the aroma of a ripe Guava fruit that I would smell. I have to admit I have a very acute capability of smelling things even from a long distance. So, this smell would lead me to the ripe Guava.

The taste of this fruit is very peculiar. It’s a combination of pear, kiwi, and strawberry with a texture of a green pear.
There is nothing better after a long day under the sun than to pick a ripe guava from a tree, wash and eat it with its skin. It is absolutely delicious and filling, and can easily satisfy your hunger.
Studies suggest that lycopene in pink guavas prevents skin damage from UV rays and offers protection from prostate cancer. It has many other health advantages as well.

Soursop indulgence

It is challenging for me to think or refer to this fruit as soursop, because I am used to calling it "guanabana", which is a Spanish word for it.

I have discovered and cultivated this tree in Puerto Rico. The tree is called guyabano, obviously derived from the Spanish guanabana, and is eaten ripe. It is also used for juices, smoothies, or ice cream.
Unusual kidney-shaped prickly fruits weigh up to 6 pounds. A sweet and sour juice is extracted from the fruit white pulp, which makes a fabulous cool drink. And this drink literally melts in your mouth!
This fruit is also an incredible remedy, that treats cancer, liver ailments, and its root bark can be used as an antidote for poisoning. There are plenty of other benefits this fruit has.
The "Soursop Tree" grows on almost every Caribbean island and throughout Central and South America. In addition to the pleasant tasting fruit, the leaves can be "steeped" in hot water to make a pleasant tasting tea. Be careful with the strength of the tea, i.e. the number of leaves used and the time allowed to remain in hot water.