D-WORDSLAYER

My thoughts are on Christmas... I love the Christmas season. Actually, one of the most important and best parts of the season is our food. We have fantastic food which most homes will prepare to serve families and friends as they visit - from house to house. This season is about the richness of relationships and how we connect annually. There is a lot of love being shared, either through gift giving or hugs , kisses, and time spent. The poor and displaced are not left out as people dig deep to give everyone some Christmas cheer. I do wish Christmas was every day. Here is a post I shared last year on one of my blogs, to show you just how much fun my Christmas past was, and my present is in Trinidad & Tobago. Christmas Nostalgia - A Lime aka Informal Hangout! Its a 'Trini thing' with a Trini meaning - Lime! Growing up we learnt the value of togetherness through celebrations. A lime is simply the coming together of persons to share a few drinks and 'shoot so...

        My Favorite Place Yesterday I went to the beach, and this is meant to relax and inspire! I like the journey to my favorite beach on the island. It can take two hours or a little more based on traffic and road-works. To visualize my journey here is a map of Trinidad. I left Chaguanas and headed to Galera Point in Toco! Hope you can find it… A long way to go This beach is unlike any other . There are trees, forested areas, and a winding road which runs parallel to the coast line. Here are some photos taken with my LG Nexus mobile phone.             This beach is very sandy and grainy with lots of coral and pebbles, and for the first time I saw quite a bit of seaweed on the shore and in the water. There were people enjoying their sea-bath and quite a few children around, having a last minute frolic before school reopens next week. For me though it was just the sky and the water ...

Culture & Religion Trinidad & Tobago is considered  a multi-cultural and multi-religious state.  I grew up with the understanding that we are not all the same but we are the same, and need to respect each other. As a child, I went to school with children of different races, religions and social status. We were all different shades of color, and different textures of hair. We all wore the same uniform, and combed our hair with two white ribbons ( a girl school). As children we played together and most importantly celebrated and learnt about each other’s religions. There was a religious instruction  class which shared on Christianity (Roman Catholicism), Islam, Hinduism, the three major religions in our society. There were other religions, like the Pentecostal / Evangelical, Orisha Baptists, Baha’i, which we were informed about based on the children in the class. The best thing about religious practices, as a child were the holidays. We were given a day off f...

Cooling Down! Carnival always ends with tired feet. Those feet which never walked a mile, will do many miles dancing, walking and even running to the rhythm of soca music. It makes me laugh just thinking about the physical preparation for carnival, and its ultimate end in a ‘cool down! Baywatch  is the name of the beach party this year. For many revelers taking the day off from work is expected. The feet and body need the ‘salt water’ and even more music to cool down! It’s beach party time and the roads going to the major beaches are packed with bumper to bumper traffic. Swimsuits, music, drinks, sun and sand….imagine! Ash Wednesday As a child we would head out to school on Ash Wednesday and line up to go to church. It was important to become clean again by acknowledging our sins and receiving our ashes on the forehead. To my little mind, it was okay to have fun, and then ask for forgiveness. It was expected, and even ritualistic. This was our way of life, our Trini wa...

Carnival Mas…. Carnival in Trinidad&Tobago is different now from when I was growing up. I have been around during the evolution and revolution of our culture, our mas. Evolution is about change. A revolution is the taking over of something which exists, making it different. Getting ready to ‘play mas’ for J’ouvert starts on Carnival Sunday night, most times after a party. Arriving at the meeting point for 2:00am Monday morning and partying in the streets. The costumes for this event are covered in paint, mud or signs describing our local political or social controversies. As the band , comprising ten to one thousand or more persons parade the streets, the steel-bands and DJ’s play music to ‘chip or trot/jump’ dance. The Monday road party  changes around noon as masqueraders return home and change into a part of their costume for Tuesday masquerade! The party continues until very late, sometimes stopping after 10pm. Tuesday comes and the city  comes alive. Ever...

Carnival… There is no other carnival  anywhere in the world like Trinidad&Tobago! Its about a total release of  music, rhythms, masquerading, showmanship, freedom of expression and culture! Just that word in passing can conjure up dancing in the streets. The total abandonment of social conformity takes over as men, women and children dance to the sounds of the steel-pan and soca artists & calysonians! Ahhh, there is that music… this how it feels! Masqueraders are in costumes  which are gaily colored. Some are fully clothed but many are two piece swimsuits with glitter, feathers and beads adorning the bodies of the actors..’all players of the mas’. I have been there and the feeling is exhilarating, unlike any you will ever feel unless you are in Trinidad for Carnival. Anyone can ‘play mas’, by registering with a ‘band’ and approximately nine hundred USD! Music flows  at the highest frequency. The beat moves and everyone synchronizes movement. ...

Going for breakfast this morning.... It was beautiful. Have a wonderful weekend! © Donna-Luisa Eversley and D-WORDSLAYER, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Donna-Luisa Eversley and D-WORDSLAYER with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Its a 'Trini thing' with a Trini meaning - Lime! Growing up we learnt the value of togetherness through celebrations. A lime is simply the coming together of persons to share a few drinks and 'shoot some breeze' (talk)! At Christmas time its a bigger occasion, which tends to turn an 'informal hangout' aka 'lime' into party with family and friends, neighbors and children. There is music, talk, even card games and dancing. Everything is done in the home,in the backyard, or in front on the porch or stairways! As kids we were always given a piece of cake, sweetbread, ham & turkey slices and if lucky a 'pastelle'! The 'pastelle' is a cornmeal patty cooked in banana leaves. Its a tradition to stuff this corn-cake with a meat filling and wrap in the banana leaf and boiled. Its then frozen for use throughout the season. Its served warm with a special mustard sauce called 'chow chow'. We were given the tasks of washing the leaves ...

The entire Christmas season as I remember it from childhood was filled with noise. There were squeals of laughter, and lots of shouting and some tears.Overall, the house -my home was warm with love and cheer. Even in times when there was little money for much, my mom somehow made the home warm especially at Christmas. She was and is an amazing woman - my mom - Maricita Moreno Eversley. "It is what is in the heart and not the material things which bring joy" , this is what I remember from her. It is what I practice today. It is the tradition of sharing and enjoying what you have, and not thinking about what you don't have. It is living with the warmth within you and not seeking what others may have on the outside. On Christmas day I felt that warmth in my home. The fires keep burning, as the laughter of my children (grown -up), friends and 'borrowed' grand-kids  fill the air! How wonderful this season of love! Happy Christmas Season! Dwordslayer!

Growing up I looked forward to Christmas Eve. This is when in Trinidad everything happened. The homes which were scrubbed clean and painted would be decorated and outfitted in the very best available. The neighbors all had their doors open and Christmas music blasted loudly as the baking began. Ooh I loved the smell of the black fruit cake being made and the homemade sweetbread. The sorrel & ginger beer were outside in bottles in the sun soaking in flavors known only to us. Many a Christmas tree were now being decorated with baubles and candy canes. The air changed scents and love was played in the backyard of my senses. Christmas is soon to come... nostalgia is on a high! Daily Chronicles from my past will be shared to the new year from that time ago! Happy Christmas Eve 2015 from Dwordslayer!