Giving thanks🙏.

 On the last Thursday of November each year, Americans make a big hullabaloo about giving thanks.

 But it's something we Jamaicans were taught to do daily.

The thing I give thanks for none stop is good health.

I usually try to get some exercise  before going off to stuff myself😁.

Having a bicycle sure helps in that quest.😁

Anyway since I am unapologetic food lover, I head to Michelle's mom, Miss Norma, one of the greatest cooks on earth, on that American holiday.

Miss. Norms

But we don't do turkey as it looks too much like a creature that flies very high and nuh work pon Sunday, that we have at home.😁

That's mine😁

Michele birthday was the 22nd and her loving sister Melissa bought her a cake.

We had lots of fun as usual.

Yup, I got a stomach full and had lots of fun on America's Thanksgiving Day. 

So did DJ Shaddy, as he wrote the hilarious lyrics below and used AI to create this song about the day.

 It's on you tube at:

https://youtu.be/QMFQBtKuIVM?si=grq_PNg4db5wunBs

On Friday it was on to Sebring for more food and camaraderie with my best friend Sunshine and family 😁.

Sebring is a small, quiet city of around 11,000 people, where black bears roam at night. Yup they see them on their cameras but I have never seen one although I would love to. All I ever see are deers 😡

It's some 3 hours away in the northwest of Florida and on Friday morning before I got there it was 48 Degrees.  Luckily it warmed up before I arrived.

Houses are far apart in Sebring 

It's peaceful there.

Since I was in no hurry, I took a longer and more scenic route which I had discovered years before, while going to nearby Lake Placid to a caladium festival. :JOAN, MY VIEWS.: Caladiums galore https://share.google/d4UTWkhQucCSMI44O.

That area is a Trump red neck country and as if to remind me, there was a huge billboard with his picture on the road. Anyway that reminded me to keep within the speed limit as the last thing I need in life is to be stopped by a red neck police.

This route took me through area with campgrounds, fishing attractions and  huge ranches with thousands of cattle grazing peacefully.

It was nice to see them getting stung by the Trump economic policies they voted for as at least one third of the farms  had " for sale" signs out front.

Ribs by Cardiff.

It was a pleasant, quiet weekend with friends and although Cardiff is not a pork eater, he did ribs for me♥️.

That made the long journey even more than worthwhile.😋

OMG, I'm allergic😩.

 I have always maintained that if I don't learn something new every day of life, it means I am dead!

L-r. Sharlene, "Captain" (the owner), Damith, Joan.

Well it took almost eight decades for me to learn that I have a food allergy.

 That's humbling as I have always boasted how I have a stomach of steel as I listened to my friends list the things they can't eat. 

Let me clarify that a bit because for over thirty years, I have not been able to eat ackee, the most important ingredient in Jamaica national dish.

 But that's not an allergy, for before having my beautiful daughter, I could enjoy that fare three or four times per day, especially if roasted breadfruit or pear was around. 

After she arrived on this earth, I got the message "you have had enough ackee," so even after tasting a little amount, I would end up with a severe stomach ache and retch like hell. 

But that was not an allergy, just something to do with my body's evolution (revolution?) I guess, and since I had already eaten enough ackee and saltfish to last me through three or four reincarnations, I never let it bother my pretty little head.

 I just stopped eating the national dish. 

Well I have news for you, (and me), I now know I am allergic to pepper. But the sad news is though, if I stop eating during pepper during the three weeks I am here in Sri Lanka, I am going to starve to death, for everything they cook here is teeming with pepper.🥴

Seeing my reaction to a little pepper from day one here, my poor host Sharlene has tried her best to "tone it down," but there does not seem to be any prepared seasoning or additive here that does no have an overwhelming amount of pepper! So, while I will be able to cope reasonably well with home cooked food, eating outside will be a struggle as everything fulla peppa🥴.

  I shall overcome however.

My hosts took me to dinner last night at the popular Madara Restaurant and that's when I came to accept that I do indeed have an allergy. Anyway, since since knowledge is power I will overcome.💪. 

I guess somewhere on this sign it says Madara Restaurant. Their alphabet has 62 letters!

Yes I know I am rambling so let me clarify.

This is referred to as a bite of pork!

I hear that for a proper meal, you must spend several hours nibbling on various bites.

Now, in case you never knew, I admit I am I am a pork fanatic. I can eat pork in the morning, pork in the evening and pork at suppertime.

As my favorite dish arrived last night, naturally I jumped right in. And it was absolutely delicious but hot as hell.

It was so nice otherwise that I just could not stop eating.😭.

 But with each bite, my nose started running, I started coughing and sneezing and ended up having to drink four glasses of water and four glasses of red wine just to tackle my lovely pork and get a belly full!

Within minutes of finishing my dear, sweet pork, all the above effects immediately disappeared!

 I have eaten food with pepper all my life, but normally I have other non-peppery stuff to choose from as well, so I have never ended up having to eat straight unadulterated pepper!

But here, there is no such thing as non-peppery stuff, just the degree of pepperness.  

So I guess I will just have to finally accept that I have a food allergy, learn how to face my demons, and overcome🤔.

Nb. We have a lot of fruits and foods in common with Sri Lanka but they consume/prepare them differently.

 For example, I love jackfruits and they have it all over this island. Problem for me? They curry the green jackfruit (with tons of pepper I suspect), whereas I love to eat the ripened fruit. Can't find any ripe ones on sale here though.

But I have found something we call blue draws or duckuno and love it. Can't pronounce  what they call it here though.😊

It's really a kind of cornmeal pudding cooked with lots of coconut milk and steamed in banana leaves.

 I couldn't get enough of that.😋

Day 1 -Lusaka

 It’s quite chilly here  in Lusaka, but sunny at the same time. Then it gradually warmed up to my kind of temperature (the 80’s).

Today we headed out to Lilayi, about 45 minutes drive outside Lusaka city, 

This is somewhere Wendy says she likes to hide out at when she needs some ‘quiet time,’ great food and an inspiring work environment 

Lilayi Lodge is a lovely game-reserve/hotel, on 650 acres of land where antelopes, giraffes, zebras etc roam and hundreds of birds prosper in a safe environment.

Beautiful little cottages hidden among the trees

The neat cottages have roofs made from a type of dried grass which is prolific all over Zambia. We have been seeing these really delightful roofs everywhere we go in both Zambia and Botswana, and they are on buildings that range from commercial to residential.

This roof did suffer fire damage but was neatly repaired 

They are extremely attractive and neat, but I thought they might not be too strong. I was however told they can withstand hurricanes but fire is the danger.

I never went inside any of the cottages, but they appear charming from the outside. 

For outdoor lovers, there are three trails of varying lengths, 3k, 5k and 10 k.

While Wendy worked, we decided to take on the 3k challenge to see what animals were around. But alas, none were in sight.

We saw and heard dozens of birds engaged in singing and play and saw lots of animal hoof marks and dung, but not one in sight.

In fact, by the time we realized that we had missed the turning point for the 3k trail and we’re on the 10k one, the only moving creature were encountered was this one below.  Don’t know exactly what it was but had to take a picture of it😂.

Don’t know exactly what it is but it was a bit aggressive.

The lunch sure compensated for the lack of animals though.

I was tempted to try the crocodile Thermidor which Wendy recommend (had sweet and sour croc one before and it was delicious) but when I heard they had pork, there was no competition 😊. And boy was that crispy pork delicious.

Another section of Lilayi

As I keep saying, Zambia reminds so much of home (just on a much more humongous scale) and on the drive to and from Lilayi, there were hundreds of vendors lining the street sides with every fruit and vegetables you could imagine,. 

I got one of the sweetest melons ever🍉 from them (although the raw peanuts I bought on the first day, were reaped before they were full.)

Yup, loving this place more and more each day.❤️