OMG! What is that dreadful screeching noise? It is only seven o’clock and I had intended to have a lie-in – after all, it is Sunday and Mothers’ Day. Oh, I see. Half a dozen mowers and blowers are out there giving the greens the gold star ‘manicured lawns’ treatment. Can anyone explain to me what is the benefit of spending fuel and energy blowing leaves across the grass? Where are they supposed to go? I could see some logic in sucking the leaves up but I see absolutely no point in polluting the peaceful Sunday air to very noisily disturb the leaves then leave them to settle silently a couple of metres away.

Right: DelRay Beach was our destination on Saturday, encouraged by an ad in the Cultural Times for an exhibit called ‘fabrication’ or something. No! The building was closed for re-furbishment with no sign of any exhibition. So we wandered over the “Green Market” instead. Lots of fascinating food stalls were set up in the open around the town square. See here. My friend and I eyed the stalls of exposed foodstuffs and wondered about the hygiene aspect. I definately would eat the paella because it is cooked and hot. And I would buy produce from the stalls that were protected with screens. Maybe I am getting paranoid in my old age – but I avoid buying doughnuts in my local supermarket because they are on an open shelf for customers to breathe all over before they help themselves.
DelRay has a sea breeze which provides some relief from the humid heat. The day was very hot. We wandered down the streets window-shopping and people-watching. When we reached Racks restaurant we decided to go inside to have some lunch. I chose the “fish roll”, an interesting take on “fish and chips”. Strips of battered, deep fried fish were squashed between the two halves of a roll with a side order of French fries and a garnish of tomato and lettuce. Tasty. Oh yes, there was also a dipping sauce which I ignored because I prefer my food plain. My friend and I were so thirsty from the heat that she drank gallons of iced tea while I downed several glasses of sparkling mineral water.
On the way back we called in at a vegetable market. It was an aladdin’s cave of every type of vegetable I recognise plus more. I was intrigued by the green tomatillos – they reminded me of the golden Physallis we get in the UK. Yes, when I looked on ‘Google’ I discovered that the two are related. More intriguing still, they are types of ‘nightshade’ – hopefully not the ‘deadly’ bit.

Back to Sunday. Mothers’ Day is fully commercialised nowadays, but that does not prevent individual families enjoying their own celebrations in their own ways. My friend had invited her sister plus her family together with her two daughters to join us for dinner. It was a delicious repas of salmon tacos with a mango/ bean/ edamame and tomato salad washed down with Sangria and followed by ice-cream cake. I was so touched because the two girls had bought me a gift because “you are a mom too.” I felt very special

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