Yes, they really do taste like cotton candy. The sweetest, most delectable grapes I have every tasted.

Where did I find these sugary little jewels, you ask?

Why, Central Market of course. They lured me in last year with a sample… walked around the store letting people try them. But they sold out before I could purchase a bag.

Last night I walked in to the grocery department and there they were… I grabbed one of the few remaining bags and couldn’t resist popping a few in my mouth before I got them home. I haven’t finished off the bag yet (but will soon!) and am already counting the days until next season.

They’ve only been on the market since 2011… Have you ever experienced this yumminess?

Learn more about them in this NPR story.

So now you get whatever you get…

And today you get a peek at some of the critters I met in Bali. Let the photo-fest begin…

My favorites are the frogs. I adore them. They sang me to sleep each night, and their random croaks always made break out into giggles.

We’d spot them on the steps, in pots, on leaves in the garden – and on the windows every evening. Aysia would dance and point whenever she saw one.

Ashley spotted this guy on one of the carved heads overlooking the swimming pool. Long live the frog king!

They’re just really cute. Especially this tiny guy, who joined me in the swimming pool.

This sleek skink sunned himself on a rock outside my bedroom every day.

Here are a few of the animals we saw on our trip to the zoo…

Ashley is holding a very sweet binturong (bearcat). Kennedy was a bit disappointed they didn’t bring out the baby crocodile first.

We saw a lot of monkeys in the – in Monkey Forest, as well as running alongside the road and hanging out in trees.

In town, Ashley, Kennedy and I let the little spa fish nibble all the dead skin off our legs and feet. Really, they looked and felt great afterward, but it felt really strange.

Back at the villa there were many colorful and interesting bugs.

While relaxing in the pool one afternoon, I noticed a colorful, little metallic orb in the water. Turns out it was was a Golden Tortoise Beetle. I love his little “skirt”.

A few days later I spotted another shimmering orb floating in the pool and fished it out – this one a little larger beetle. Very, very pretty, don’t you think?

And finally – the geckos. Every time Asyia would see one she’d point and say “gecko!” (which may have been her first spoken word.)

They come in many sizes and we love them because they eat lots of mosquitoes and other bugs. But we did learn to keep an eye out for these big guys and their piles of poop. I learned pretty quickly not to stand or sit under them.

Next up… some photos of the family.

They were delighted and took this charge very seriously – much to the curiosity and amusement (and sometimes amazement) of passersby… many of whom stopped to snap photos.

At the second shop, there was a small ledge outside where the girls could stand and pose above the sidewalk. Kennedy persuaded the shopkeeper to allow them to model some of her clutches.

What do you think – do they have a future in modeling or as mannequins?

A fabulous local massage therapist makes house calls and charges 150,000 Rp (about $16) per hour. I enjoyed a reflexology session last week.

For Christmas, my kids decided to treat me to a pampering spa experience, and selected Sedona Spa in Ubud.

Brandon dropped me off this morning and I was led through this flower-covered arched path to my private room – the Gardenia.

I was in heaven even before I got on the table.

While water gurgled, birds sang and meditative music played in the background, I received an incredible one hour massage. This was followed by a stimulating coconut body scrub… and then a coconut milk body mask.

Are you jealous yet?

As I showered off the scrub, my attentive Balinese therapist was preparing my flower bath (she was a little surprised when I asked for cool water, not warm) – along with fresh ginger tea and a fruit plate to enjoy.

I generally I prefer showers to bathing. I find I get bored soaking in hot water – and most tubs are rather uncomfortable for me. But this was an experience and a half, and one I’d like to have again.

The deep tub was so comfortable, the water cool and refreshing on a hot Balinese day – and the luxury of bathing with flower petals made me feel like a goddess.

I sipped my tea (and took a few photos), and swirled the flowers in the water with my toes. I wanted to stay in that tub for an hour

When my flower bath was over, I was given a sarong to wear and led to the salon where I enjoyed a hair cream bath, scalp massage, hair steam treatment and neck/shoulder massage…

And because my facial skin is so sensitive I opted out of the facial and asked for a foot massage instead… and it was a good choice. He accompanied me to the shampoo bowl and back, so my feet and legs were being nearly continually massaged for another 45 minutes. Oh happy, happy feet.

A manicure and pedicure topped off the treatment and I felt like a brand new woman. And by now, the hot sun had made way to a thunderstorm which nicely cooled things down a bit.

You’re probably asking yourself, “Wow – how much did that cost!???”

Any guesses? If you guessed $300 you’re wrong. But that would easily be what you’d pay for an equivalent treatment in the states or Europe.

$200 you say? Wrong again. $100? Nope.

The grand total was approximately $50 US for 4 hours of heaven. If you don’t count the $1800 airfare to get here, that’s a bargain. Even WITH the airfare it’s a bargain – and one I’ll take advantage of again.

Thanks Brandon, Jennifer & Ashley. I absolutely loved my gift. Next time, let’s all go together!

But today I have one less reason.

I love Xpedx in Salt Lake City.  I never pass up an opportunity to stop and shop from its cavernous offerings of paper, shipping supplies, ribbons, gift boxes & bags, bolts of wrapping paper, plastic serving ware and more – all very reasonably priced.  I’ve never been in another store like it.

Today I received the sad, sad news that Xpedx is closing its doors of the flagship store (Salt Lake) this week – Friday is their last day.  I am so sad, and now have one less reason to visit Salt Lake.    The only stores offering anything close to what Xpedx has are “me-too” paper and craft stores for scrapbookers.  

No thank you…  I’ll save time and shop online.

R.I.P  Xpedx SLC.  You will be missed (by me, anyway).

But today you get a recipe. Why? Because it’s just as quick and easy to post about as it is to prepare. I’ve taken it to two different gatherings in the past 30 days and it was so well received that I decided to share it with all of you. But I’m not going to make it for all of you…

Crunchy Romaine Salad
Serves 10 – 12

Absolutely delicious salad – easy to prepare, but sure to be a hit where ever you serve it.

I took this photo right before devouring it for lunch

Ingredients:

Sweet & Sour Dressing

1 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 tbsp Soy Sauce (or to taste – I use more)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until blended.

Salad
1 3oz package Ramen noodles
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large bunch broccoli, coarsely chopped
1 head romaine, washed, drained & torn into bite size pieces
4 green onions, chopped (I use more)

Directions:
Break the noodles into small pieces, discarding the flavor packet. I use a food processor with just a few chops to break them up. Brown the the noodles and pecans in the butter in a skillet. Drain on paper towels and let stand until cool. When cool, combine noodles & pecans with the broccoli, romaine and green onions in a salad bowl and mix gently. Right before serving, add 1 cup or more of the dressing, tossing to coat.

Number Of Servings:10 – 12 when served as a side. 4 – 6 when served as main course.

Preparation Time:15 – 20 minutes plus cooling time for noodles/pecans

Bon Appetit!

I know I’m a bit late to the game here, since the season ended a couple of weeks ago. But I recorded it on my dvr and just finished watching the last episode and wow – love this show!

Premise is about the writing, producing, casting and creating of a new Broadway musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe. Fantastic cast, interesting characters, fabulous music – heroes, villains, starlets… it’s got it all. I can’t wait til next season to begin as they take the new show to Broadway.

It got me thinking… Growing up, I loved our family game nights: Sorry, Pit, Uno and, of course, Nertz. We played Nertz pretty fast at our house, but Nertz at Michelle’s was a serious, frenzied, “take no prisoners” affair.

Then came Scrabble, Risk, Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary. And eventually computer games like the classic Kings Quest.

Loved them all…

But living alone my game life became a sad round of Solitaire… …do you hear the violins playing?

Until the invention of the iPhone, that is.

Imagine my joy and delight when Ashley introduced me to Words With Friends! I could now beat all my friends at online Scrabble from the comfort of my own home! LOL (Actually, I’ve got some very word-nerdy friends & family that give me a run for my money).

Of course I still have solo games that I enjoy (until they drive me crazy) like Angry Birds, Boggle, Tetris, Hangman and the ridiculously addictive Pocket Frogs. I love frogs in real life, and breeding these these animated amphibians has entertained me greatly!

But game playing really is more fun with friends. In Bali with Brandon & family, and when Ashley/Kennedy came to visit, we played Spot-It. An ingenious little game that is fun for all ages. No mother’s purse should be without it.

While on her recent trip here, Ashley introduced me to Draw Something. O.M.G. My life is complete.

It’s basically a game of Pictionary. Points are awarded, but they don’t really mean anything – the fun is in the drawing and the guessing. Though you can use those points to buy more colors of paint to make your drawings more interesting. I’m afraid I get a bit carried away sometimes.

Here is a picture I drew for J’Neil last week. Six letters… can you guess what it is? __ __ __ __ __ __

So then there’s gaming where the potential prize at the end isn’t a new colored pretend frog, or glares from the losers. My nephew Alex won several hundred dollars playing Bingo on our Caribbean cruise 6 years ago, and won multiple times. Apparently, Bingo is not just for old ladies anymore! If you’re not sailing away on a cruise anytime soon, you could play some online bingo with the Brits.

I’ve been to the local Indian casinos a couple of times, but tend to quarantine myself in the nickle poker slots while my companions play cards. I did spend some time at a craps table in Vegas a few years ago, but only because Craig and Kristin were there telling me what to do. I still don’t “get” craps.

Lately my “gaming” for dollars has been limited to buying an occasional Powerball or MegaMillions ticket at the grocery store. Not much “game” involved, however, especially if you’re lazy like me and don’t pick your own numbers. I did win $150 once, right before Christmas. That was quite exciting. But winning even $1 is a rare thing. Perhaps it’s time for more Bingo. Just don’t play against Alex!

Any guesses on the picture I drew? Any favorite old or new games to recommend? What games have you been playing – loving, hating, winning or losing?

Balinese practice their own unique form of Hinduism. There are over 11,000 temples and more than a million Hindu shrines on the island. My son Brandon will be writing a bit about this on his blog soon.

We expressed an interest in learning more about the rituals and meanings that are such an integral part of Balinese daily life – and so the language school arranged something very special for us.

Along with our tutor, Daniel, to translate, we were going to not only observe, but participate in the Melukat ritual. We had no idea what that was, or what we’d be doing, but we were excited.

Appropriate attire (sarong, belt and sleeved shirt) is required within the temple, and our wonderful staff shared their own sarongs, belts and a beautiful kebaya (top) for Jennifer to wear. We were told to bring a change of clothing, since we may be getting wet.

We drove to Tirta Empul Temple and were met by Mangku Putu, a priest with a light spirit and hearty laugh who had offered to take us through the Melukat. He had thoughtfully prepared offerings on our behalf (which is good, since we would not have known what we should bring/do.)

He first took us to pray before the banyan tree (which holds the spirits) to ask permission to enter the temple.

We sat before a shrine, with our offerings of incense and flowers before us. Mangku lit incense and placed some offerings on the shrine, then prayed with us and led us through the first ritual. It began with rubbing a flower in our palms to cleanse our hands. I had no idea a flower made such a great hand cleanser.

Then (I hope I’m remembering this correctly) a small piece of pink/white flower held in prayer, then placed behind the right ear. Then a mix of colored flowers, held in prayer, then placed behind the left ear. Then mixed flower colors, held in prayer and placed on our heads.

Then we cupped our hands over the incense to cleanse them with fire, then hands in prayer. Mangku repeated prayers and squirted some of the very best local alcohol on the ground for the mother god (earth). She gets mad if he uses the cheap stuff He then placed more of our offerings on the alter – and we made our way through the gates and into the temple.

We learned that not only were we going to be getting wet, we would practically be bathing – and should have brought a second sarong and shirt to wear into the water. Oops. Fortunately, they had sarong and belt to rent at the temple. We (women) were a bit more bare than most devotees, but were not about to let that hold us back

Don’t we look lovely in our improvised sarong styling for entering the pool?

As if we didn’t stand out enough with our whiter than white and barer than everyone else skin, I just had to make a grand entrance. The step into the pool was quite far – Brandon held my hand from in the pool and Daniel, our tutor, helped me from the top.

Unfortunately, I didn’t notice that the step didn’t extend all the way to the wall and my foot slipped into the narrow opening…. and I fell backwards into the pool, pulling Daniel with me. It was a bit embarrassing, but everyone was very kind – we weren’t hurt, and I was just grateful my sarong stayed on!

Melukat ceremony is a ritual to cleanse the body – both spiritually and physically, from our present life as well as past lives – from negative elements by washing the body in holy water that flows from a beautiful fresh water spring inside the temple. Devotees are supposed to do this twice monthly – once at the spring, and once at the ocean. (Being Balinese Hindu takes a great deal of time, money and commitment!)

There are many fountains pouring from the spring into the pool (which also contains koi), and each one has a different purpose/meaning.

We proceeded to make our way to the first of 15 fountains from which we would cleanse ourselves that day.

Mangku went first to make our offering, and then explained that the first fountain is to cleanse the mind. When it was my turn, I paused before it and offered up an intention for mental purification, then proceeded to place my head completely in the fountain 3 times – and then moved to the end of the line for the next fountain.

As we went from fountain to fountain, I came to understand that we were working our way through cleansing each chakra. At the fountain for the heart and solar plexus (digestive area) fountains, Mangku encouraged us to drink deeply from the water as well. Many people brought jugs to collect water from these two particular fountains, as they are not only holy, but are believed to have healing powers for the heart and body.

Two of the fountains were for universal healing of the planet. And I’m unable to recall the purpose of a couple some of the others. There were some fountains that we skipped, as their purpose was for those preparing the dead for cremation, or for the priests.

There were quite a few foreign tourists at the temple taking photos that day, but we were the only ones who entered the pool and experienced this beautiful Balinese Hindu tradition.

This was something that Mangku lamented to us at lunch later in the day – that people come to Bali and take yoga classes and do a little meditation and think they know Bali.

No! He says you can’t fully understand and appreciate Bali unless you come to the temple and partake in the cleansing ritual! You do not need to be Balinese or Hindu to participate… if you come to Bali, do NOT miss out on this opportunity!

After the water purification portion of the ritual, we changed back into dry sarongs, and proceeded further into the temple.

Mangku made more offerings on our behalf, and then led us to an area where another Mangku was leading devotees in prayer.

We sat on the ground, offerings before us, and went through the same ritual we performed at the banyon tree.

Afterward, the priests blessed us with holy water and rice – which we ate and which was applied to our foreheads and base of the throat.

Although I do not claim to begin to understand the deeper meanings behind the rituals, I found that they created a wonderful sense of connectedness in me. It was a very spiritual experience and a perfect way to begin a new year after my birthday.

Mangku Putu then joined us for lunch, where he answered more of our questions and shared a bit about his life and philosophies.

Afterward, he invited us to his personal residence, to enter his “special room” where he would make a protection bracelet for each of us out of black, red and white yarn. This was quite an honor and a very special experience. Mangku invited me to visit his special room anytime I come to Bali.

We met his wife and daughter, mother and other family members. The contrast of our lovely villa to the simple family compounds where most Balinese live was stark.

This photo slide show will give you a good feel for what we experienced on this very memorable day in Bali… and I’d love to hear your thoughts. (A few if these shots were taken by Brandon)