Tobago 2024

2 weeks of glorious sunshine in September ☀️ the few times it did rain were of no consequence!

I must have been around 9 years old, the one time I had been in Tobago. And after we moved to the Netherlands when I was 14, I had only returned to Trinidad once in 2001. So returning to Tobago was really like being there for the first time..

El Hubby was almost more excited than me.. Almost..

We arrived in the best of weather, and I was thrown into the throes of driving on the left side of the road. Why, you may ask? Well, El Husband the Viking, is obviously chickenhearted on the left side of the road. Needless to say, I succeeded and we survived 2 weeks of my driving. In the end, I could drive out alone and pick up my daily breakfast-doubles. What is a breakfast-doubles? It is a delicious DELICIOUS mouth-watering MOUTHWATERING little street foody meal that is THE thing I had to have because it is so FANTASTIC. Now you may think I am only going to mention the food we ate in Tobago, and you would be absolutely right 😂

But I will praise the other fabulous qualities that Tobago has to offer: sun, beach, friendly people and well, doubles!!

Before I continue: a doubles is made of two soft doughy fried breads with a layer of curried chickpeas. Mighty tasty in other words.

Ah yes, continuing.. When we arrived, we were picked up by the lovely Susan, we were to cat-sit Poe while she was away.

Taking in all the sights and soaking up the heat, and just enjoying hearing the Trini slang again - at the airport, the customs officer was all “but how you soundin’ Trini so?” and of course my response “because I’s from hyeh, I grew up in Trinidad”. The accent was somewhat still in place in other words 😂

We met Karen, Susan’s sister and Sue & Philip their family, and we (or rather I) became regulars at Usha’s doubles van (yeah I had to bring back the doubles into the story! If you are in Tobago, go to S.S Doubles Empire on Stumpy Compound, you will have de bess' doubles). However, the most memorable meeting was when my long time childhood and best friend in Trinidad came across to meet us up. I had not seen Tricia since our last trip in 2001. Imagine the joy!!! We had a few glorious days of catch-up ❤️

After a week we were joined by our niece and a friend, and we had a great time with the young ladies, showing them around, feeling like seasoned Tobago tourists after one week 😂 the heat was still daunting, and we had early nights - not due to old age obviously but just not being used to the warmth, thank goodness for airco!

Key words: Store Bay, Buccoo Reef, Englishman’s Bay, Corbin Wildlife, Shore Things, D Master Cobbler and so many more!

Sweet Tobago, thank you for showing us your very best side. You have stolen our hearts!

Corbin Wildlife

Shore Things

Delicious fish and callaloo

Shark and bake

A ray of sunshine in a dark world

Today I received a ray of sunshine through an old lady's smile and hug. I don't even know her name or who she is.


All I know is that I was on my way home from work and I saw an old lady carrying what looked like two heavy grocery bags (judging by the way they stretched while she was carrying them. And by the fact that she was walking slowly across the road). She seemed to be struggling.

Now, I've been in that situation where I decide to go and get the two things I need from the grocery and end up with two full bags. Because, well, I would need them soon anyway.

The thing is, I have a car that I can put the heavy bags in and then just drive home. Big difference between me and the little old lady.

I drove past the old lady and I thought "Oh the poor thing" and I wanted to stop yet a part of me thought that someone else would surely help. Don't we all usually think like that? I was less than 2 minutes away from home. Still I pulled over and stopped the car, observed the lady as she crossed the road and put down her bags. That's when I decided. I turned the car around, drove next to her and stopped the car. I rolled down the window.

"Can I help you?" I asked. 
She didn't hear me at first, I noticed her hearing aid. So I repeated a bit louder. She looked up and this was when she smiled. First piece of sunshine.

I got out and asked if I could help her. I kept thinking that this was a Norwegian, so she would most probably say no, seeing as I was a total stranger (and very clearly a foreigner).. (Sorry Norwegian friends, no harm meant, you know I love you!). But she was overwhelmed and overjoyed that someone actually asked her if she needed assistance. "Yes please" she answered, to my surprise and pleasure.

So I helped her in the car. We started driving and she said she lived in *** which is close to where I live and that she was planning on taking the bus home. My mistake then and there was not to ask for the street name, as we ended up taking a 20 minute drive to get back almost to the place we started from :-)

She told me a bit about herself and I told her a bit about myself. She told me her sight was bad, this was one of the reasons we took a "touristic route" as she did not recognize the area or the streets while we drove. So here I stopped the car and we plotted the street name into the gps. Bingo! I laughed a bit when I realized where it was.

When we arrived at her house, she turned around and gave me a huge hug. Second piece of sunshine.

As simple as that? Yes as simple as that.

I COULD have just ignored her and left her to walk to the bus and let her walk home. She would have survived and I would have been home earlier.
But I am so glad I stopped because of the happiness it gave me to do such a tiny deed for someone.

I hope that when I am old, frail and carrying way too heavy shopping bags, that someone will stop and drive me home.

In about 60 years in other words :-) So my driver isn't even born yet!

Do a good deed today. Be the helping hand.

Make a difference!!!

Moments of bonding with the munchkins

So there are moments that are easy to remember, when you look back and think "That was fun", and you refer to it as "Hey, remember when..." And there's a round of laughter/giggles/snorts/someone is embarrassed. And then there are those moments when you wonder "What HAVE I DONE WRONG?! to make these kids behave like this?"

One Tuesday, not too long ago, when lil C came home after school (lil J rang to ask if he could go play out with some classmates for a few hours, and big J was going to be working late on K's car), we decided to have some "girl time". Lil C decided to make some tea for us both and we sat down and enjoyed some Agatha Christie in the form of Miss Marple and Monsieur Poirot. Each of us in our old lazy-boys and sipping tea.

Another day, lil J and I went shopping for shoes. We snuck in a secret chocolate donut ;-) Then in the car he squished my hand (awww) and asked if he could change gears for me :-P

Little moments with the munchkins that mean so much. A hug here, a kiss there, a squish or a cuddle. These are BIG moments!

That doesn't mean the squabbles are not there.. Such is life. I am not the born referee, but I sure have gotten good at handing out yellow and red cards! ;-)

Less than 2 weeks to day of departure

And guess what?

I haven't lost the 10 KG that I was planning on losing.. Or rather: hoping would magically disappear from my hips.. (who am I fooling, OBVIOUSLY I mean my tummy) ;-)

Let me back up here.. 36  years ago.. Just kidding (well, not really as the story really starts there).. Okay, so 3 years ago we started slowly making plans of going to the beautiful country Peru, back to the roots. After all, it has been 23 years (yep, you read right!) and finally it was time to return! So I told myself I should try to slim off some of the unnecessary "luggage". Especially seeing that the last time all my relatives saw me, I weighed 35 KG (I was 13 for crying out loud!)

SO. I decided that little me was going to lose some baby fat. Yes, baby fat, I had two babies and I got some blubber (that does sound so much nicer than fat doesn't it?? HA!) left behind. Even though, in all honesty, it most probably was not the babies (who by the way are 13 and 11 by now, so "babies" is rather stretching it), but rather it must have been the one summer, about 8 years ago, of ice-cream, crisps and chocolate. But no, surely it could not be THAT. And now, there's no more "sucking it all in".. No, coz when I do that now, it just gets all sqwooshed around the middle area of my body. Niiiice ;-)

Anyway it is now 2 weeks before departure, I shake my head and think "Yeah right! I am perfect the way I am." (Well, not having lost the weight I wanted to, I had to think that, right?) But WHY should I think that I am fat? I am confident.. and padded :-) But fat?? Now why, did it cross my mind that I was fat? Here is my answer: society (and so help me, even certain friends) pressures us into setting a "standard" for beauty. Girls and women all look at a trim person and wish they were like that.

Now I know it is important to exercise, this is healthy. But it is not good to stop enjoying life, coz hey, you can eat and enjoy, healthily and within measure! I will never forget hearing someone say how "charming" another person became because she lost "so much weight". Or another who told me "Ohhh I see you got nice and fat, not like so-and-so who also had two kids and stayed sooooo thin". Excuse me?!? It must be told that it was meant as a joke. But how many people get hurt at these kinds of jokes? I am the kind that replies "Yup, more of me to love". But it still stung!

I now have two beautiful babies (yes yes, we've discussed this already, yes even at 13 and 11) who I cherish and to whom I have to teach to love their bodies the way they are, not the way other people see them and comment on them. And just HOW can I teach them you may well ask?

It's easy actually.

By loving my own body.

Exercising is fun.. I think

Yesterday I did something I have not done in years. Real exercise. Not your jog-around-for-awhile or go-for-a-brisk-walk kind of thing.

No. This was the real McCoy. The kind where the gym instructor is the 'I-will-make-you-want-to-stop-and-then-make-you-go-on-for-more' kind, while she easily flies through her sit ups, leg ups and all kinds of ups. 'Cause that is just the great trainer she is. Thank GOODNESS she is human and she is sweating. Profusely. No ladylike perspiration here.

L, the trainer, leads the group, which consists of ladies only. L is a bouncy active lady who most positively thinks we (I) can keep up. The group is called Spekk Vekk. Literally: Blubber (as in fat on whales, bears and elephants) (thank you Google, I needed that) Away. Niiice ;-) Uhh.. I almost died after 10 minutes.

It started so well "RIGHT FOOT C, RIGHT FOOT" (she said with a great big grin, to me of course. I was the only one starting off on the left foot... Of course).

Now, I do love my body. But now, at the age of 36, it jiggles and juggles as never before. I figure that my body, in order to love me back, must have some more of that real exercise. Otherwise some parts will start complaining or malfunctioning in about 10 years.

However, I think my body hated me after those aforesaid first 10 minutes. But after I caught my breath, and swallowed back down my lungs, liver, heart (you name it), with a swish of cold water, then I found I could go on!

I fuddled up lots of the exercises, skipped over a few of the high knees and leg lifts. L saw me of course. No hiding from her eye. I think she felt pity on me, there were pauses. For two seconds.

Today however, I can proclaim to the world that I have LEG MUSCLES. And THIGH MUSCLES. And all kinds of muscles that I'd almost forgotten I had. And also I cannot climb stairs without hobbling the first few steps (ok, ok, all of them) (thank goodness there is also an elevator at work hey!).

Next week, my sis-in-law K is planning on coming along to give me moral support. And maybe catch me if I faint (ha!).

Yes you read correctly. I am going next week and the week after and the week after. Like I said, it was FUN :-) and THAT my friends is the most important part of my story!

The day I did NOT vote

My day in a nutshell: I DID NOT VOTE!!

This post is meant mainly for the Norwegians who excitedly await the outcome of the elections today, I woulda voted if I'd been Norwegian but seein' as I ain't, I didn't (hey, it's my blog, I can woulda and ain't all I want! :-) )

Not that my day was otherwise uneventful!

Superhero efforts:
07:25 Performed bread producing magic (no, seriously!) after freaking out because of lack of said bread.

08:30 Lil J calls in desperation to say I forgot (me or him?) his class was going out fishing and he had not packed his stuff. This produced a round of calls, all in vain as the driver-dad saved lil J's day by driving home first to pick up said forgotten stuff.

09:30 Saved a (luggageless) person (colleague/guest) by providing transportation to buy necessities at a nearby shopping centre.

12:30 Stopped a fire (I kid you not) by pulling a napkin away from a flame.

16:15 Sat outside on our new veranda for 5 mins for a 5-min-chat with lil J. Went inside to make myself a sandwich before rounding up the kids (yeah, "ALL" two of them :-P ) and making sure they took music sheets, guitar and tabletennis racket along. Before rushing off with the munchkins for their lessons.

16:50 Dropped of lil J at the table tennis club
16:57 Arrived at the music school. Hanging with lil C until her singing lesson. We run thru her homework song with YouTube help ;-)

17:20 Lil C dashes off to her lesson. I sit and wait.
17:40 Lil C is back.

18:15 I dash off to pick up lil J so he can make it on time to his guitar lesson. I remind lil C of her piano lesson at 18:20
18:23 I'm trying to make eye contact with lil J.. "Time to go" I try to mouth the words across the roomful of little boys and the swish of rackets and "tock tock" of balls hitting the tables.

18:26 We're back at the music school, but of course MY nice parking spot is taken. So I have to park a whole 10 meters further away ;-)
18:30 Lil J saunters off to his guitar lesson, while momma looks for a different good spot.

18:33 Sitting down and in my happy place when suddenly I realise I don't have leftovers at home and even worse, I have no idea what to make for dinner today...

Anyway, Happy Election Day, Norway! 

The joys of book papering aka the first day of school

On Monday, lil C and I had a  bookpaper moment. Yes bookpaper. As it was the first day of school after the summer holidays, the munchkins came home with new books. Lil C came home with a bagful. And when I say bagful and I really really MEAN a BAG FULL of books.

Lil C's first words were literally "I got a TON of books ma". And that was her reply to how her day at junior secondary school had been. Curious as I am, I wondered what her class was like, what her teacher was like, did she have a nice classroom, and a hundred other questions. To which my munchkin answered "Ok" and "Fine". What had made the hugest impression on her was that she brought home 12 kilos of books. She had actually weighed them on the scale (yup, I know because the scale was still in the middle of the hall... of COURSE).

So for the first time since lil C started school, she offered to help. Well, I asked.. Ok ok, I said (nicely) "If you fold the corners and tape them, I can cut the paper" :-) and she agreed :-) We had a great time, I showed her the accuracies of laying the corners flat and carefully folding so that the paper would not bubble when she put the tape on. Showed her how to cut the paper and fold it down so that the book can open and close neatly.

I admit it PROUDLY. I am a bookpapering nerd. It seems my girl has inherited a bit of that gene. Not as yet sure if this is a GOOD thing ;-) She placed and replaced tape, wrote the labels out and re-wrote a few as they were not as perfect as she wanted.

When my lil J came home with his bag of books, he said "Mum, I got new books today. Not all though, just half of them. You don't have to have them done until Friday", before running outside to play with his friends.

No one saw my lil happy dance (thank goodness!) as I mentally clapped my hands in glee, HOORAY!! MORE BOOKS TO PAPER!! :-)