Tiki Tiki Blog » Marta

My Mother. My Inspiration.

Marta — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:15:14 +0000

Growing up Cuban, the concept of Mother’s Day was like a secular High Holy Day (Wait! Is that an oxymoron?) to celebrate the woman who cooked and cleaned and kissed skinned knees and kept the household running smoothly. So many of us remember how it was abuelita who was always available, always wearing an apron and smelling of sweet talc, always selflessly putting others before her.

This coming Sunday, I will be celebrating the woman who brought me into this world and has been such an inspiration in my life. But not for the reasons you may be thinking.

Marta and her mom, Luza

When we left Cuba, I barely knew my grandmother and my own mother has never quite fit the bill of the classic abuelita. She inspires me in that she is much more like an interesting character in a novel than just “Mami.” And someday I’m going to sit down and write that novel. Until then, let me tell you about this character named, “Luza.”

My mother turned 98 this year. I have to start with that fun fact because when I tell the rest of the story you must keep reminding yourself that she is 98, and has lived almost a century.

Her given name is Luz Aurora, but her grandchildren gave her the nickname, “Luza,” and it suits her, so she kept it. She is Luza to all friends and acquaintances, including those who now know her through my writing.

Luza was born in 1914. The same year that Babe Ruth made his debut with the Red Sox. When she was around 19 or 20 (that would be around 1934), she and her brothers started listening to the World Series when it came around every year on the family radio. She has not missed a series to this day.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made his famous solo flight non-stop from New York to Paris. She and her family listened to the news of this amazing feat on that same radio and it so captured their imagination, they named their German shepherd, “Lindbergh.” But this was Cuba, 1927, so they pronounced it “LEEN-BERR.” She still remembers him fondly.

Luza and "Leemberr."

She has been a political refugee, a green-card carrying permanent resident alien, and eventually became an American citizen when she was in her 60’s. She has voted in every presidential election since 1974.

She went from her mother’s house to being a wife and a mother.

She has never worked outside of the home.

She has never driven a car.

She has always been provided for and has always gone wherever she has needed and wanted to go.

She loves to travel.

She still wears red nail polish, dyes her hair, and wouldn’t be caught dead without red lipstick.

She loses her balance occasionally, so she uses a walker now, but she still wears heels when she dresses up.

She only wears her glasses “sometimes,” because she’s a little vain about her appearance. She does not need them to read and only puts them on when her eyes get tired. (Let me remind you again that she’s 98, people.)

She saves every single greeting card from every single occasion and works diligently to get them pasted into her scrapbook. She is on scrapbook number 34, but that’s not important right now.

She loves juicy bits of gossip, watches way too many telenovelas on tv, and describes William Levy as a “muñecon.”

She’s still very bossy. (The apple does not fall far….)

She is a voracious reader, usually juggling 3 to 4 books at a time.

She has sixteen grandchildren and will tell you that although they are all nice looking, her own six children are much, much better looking. (This makes me smile every time.)

She knows about blogging and the internet and will happily tell you how the internet search engines work. (See the iconic, “Cuco and Yayo.”)

We got her a fur coat for Christmas a few years ago because she really wanted one. Now she wants us to take her places where she can show it off.

We never tell her anymore when we’re going to Vegas because she will invariably insist on coming along. She plays roulette, and always puts her money on #22, ” el sapo” in the “Charada China.”

She spends one weekend with my family every month. This last time, she arrived in her fur coat, with her walker and the first thing she said was, “I dyed my hair red. Do you like it?”

Luza in her fur coat and rocking the red hair.

See what I mean? I seriously have to sit down and write that novel.

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Un poquito mas:

Cuban Ingenuity or Resolviendo

Marta — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:26:07 +0000

Cubans may be the original Life Hackers. So, today in a celebration of cultura we offer up examples of Cuban Ingenuity, the old-style and current. We come from a people who have kept 60-year-old cars running with gum and random parts. People who have built floating cars to carry them over the Florida Straights. Something is broken? Fix it! Come up with a “Cuban Solution.”

By Marta: My dad was an engineer. A Cuban engineer. Which made him brilliant and innovative with just a touch of Mad Scientist to him.

When we first arrived in this country, someone had given us an old, very used five foot tall refrigerator. We were grateful to have it, since we arrived here with nothing.

But sadly, it was old, and a bit fragile. It had one of those metal handles that you pull down in order to open. Having six kids in the family constantly pulling on that old handle was a bit too much for the old fridge to handle, (pun intended) and so it soon broke off.

My dad, the Cuban Engineer to the rescue!

He found the largest screwdriver he could find. Then he attached some bolts to the bottom to attach it where the old handle had been and voila! New refrigerator handle! We have no photos of this amazing thing. We barely have photos of ourselves during this time, but that’s not important right now.

Check out the sketch I’ve drawn from my very vivid memory of the thing. I always found it in turns amazing and hideous.

Damn Cubans!

DIY iPad holder, made from a clothes hanger.

By Carrie: On my first visit to Havana, my aunt and her friends hired a car to take us all to the beach. It was a huge green wagon from the 1940s. I sat behind the driver, and every time he honked at someone, he didn’t hit the steering wheel, he pulled on a chord that ran the length of the car ceiling’s left side – right above my head. Sparks flew each and every time. Right over my head. Did you get that? I thought we were going to explode.

That guy and his horn was one of many examples of “inventando” that I saw during my visits to Cuba. And, as someone who had Cuban grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles and everything else, I was no stranger to this ingenuity, this making due.

I inherited a little bit of it.

A few months ago I received an iPad from a client and quickly went out and bought a cover and a wireless keyboard. Not cheap, but necessary And then I realized I needed a stand. I priced them in local stores and online. $40 for a stand? No way.

The gene that tells me to “arreglatelas,” sent me to YouTube. Because, well, the people who upload DIY stuff over there are as genius and insane as la gente I love.

And witness my food processor. A couple of years ago, at Thanksgiving, when I was mixing up my famous pumpkin flan, the liquids started flying out at me, via a small crack in the container. The quick fix — duct tape — worked so well, I haven’t bothered to replace the thing.

Duct tape saves the flan.

And, my flan is extra good — served with a dose of Cuban ingenuity!

Here are some great Cuban ingenuity links from around the Web.

Learn more and see photos about the Floating Cubans, or Truck-o-Nauts.

Read this story about what Cuban girls used as hair bands, and more “inventando.”

Also on Cuban designer and artist Ernesto Oroza’s YouTube page look at videos listed as Desobediencia Tecnologica.

Check out this great video starring Oroza talking about the strange, interesting, smart things the people of Cuba have “invented” to survive.

Now, what are some of your examples of Cuban or Latino inventando? I know you have stories.

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Un poquito mas:

Key to Successful Decluttering: Surrender

Marta — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:11:52 +0000

At the end of last year (was that really only 6 weeks ago?) I had some physical problems that I had been ignoring. Yes, ignoring. Don’t lecture me. I know.

You know where this is going don’t you?

The more I ignored, the worse things got until January 1st arrived and all I could think of was making an appointment with my doctor to maybe get some help.

So, there’s good news and bad news: My bloodwork and “numbers” are all where they should be, but there is something that will require a minor surgery in order to clear it up. Something I never would have known if the pain hadn’t gotten so bad that I finally surrendered and gave it the attention it deserved.

I’ll just have to endure some temporary discomfort in order to get to where I want to be.

My recent health concerns have become a metaphor for my life lately.

I’ve ignored the growing piles of papers and books on every flat surface in the house. I have open shelves in my kitchen and they became a catch-all for every bowl and pan and small appliance I’ve ever owned. I couldn’t see the top of my desk. In our bedroom, I had to wade through piles of towels that were clean and folded, but I had been too lazy to walk the 12 feet to the over-flowing linen closet. On our coffee table sat every video we’ve watched in the last month.

The pain and discomfort of living this chaotic lifestyle made me stop dead in my tracks. Who am I? How did I get to this point? Again I found myself raising the white flag of surrender. I give up!

And so the past month I have made it a point (between doctor visits) to remove the visible clutter from my home and life. The tops of desks and tables and kitchen cabinets. Not that I was ignoring the jumbled drawers and cupboards. But I needed a few victories before I could tackle the bigger, deeper stuff.

I would walk around the park in the morning and come home with a fresh attitude and clean off a shelf in the afternoon. I didn’t have the physical or mental energy to do much more.

And then a funny thing happened.

I started to lighten up. My mood improved. My body started dropping pounds. I started sleeping better. As I gave my body fresh air and sunshine, I also made breathing room in my home.

I’m not at 100%. I am still facing surgery. My house is not at 100% either. But we’re moving in the right direction.

There are still closets that need decluttering. But I’m starting from a better place. And because I completely missed January 1st, I’m stating my intention today, February 1st.

I’m committed to making lots of space for many wonderful things in 2011.

I know it’s a little late, but that’s my new mantra: Tarde pero seguro.

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Decluttering: Inside and Out

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Marta — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:27:06 +0000

My non-Hispanic friends dress up and go to parties on New Year’s Eve.

They make lovely adult conversation and a few minutes before midnight they turn the TV on and watch the ball drop in Times Square in New York. They yell “Happy New Year!” in unison and air kiss each other.

It’s all very sweet and civilized.

We Cubans turn up the Crazy Dial and take New Year’s Superstitions Traditions to another level.

Our friend, Christina F. Gomez-Pina of the inspiring La Cocina de Christina (who also happens to be Cuban, but that’s not important right now) was gracious enough to collect some of these Midnight Must-do’s for us to share.

Carrie, Christina, & Marta. Palacio de Los Jugos, Miami.

Read Walter Mercado’s predictions in El Nuevo Herald and do what he says for your sign. Color, flower, scent, etc. Just do it.
Eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the year.
Drink a glass of champagne (or cidra) as you toast the new year.
Throw a cazuela of water out the front door – bye bye old year.
Grab the following items and head out the front door:
a) Suitcase: Get your suitcase and walk around the block – for travel in the new year. b) An egg: Throw an egg over your right shoulder in an intersection – for good luck.
Bells: Ring the bell as you walk around the block to ring in the new year.
Have someone give you 3 garbanzo beans to keep in your wallet all year – for more money in the new year.
I (Marta) have heard that you should wear different color underwear – yellow for fortune, red for love.
Mop the house and save the dirty water to throw out at midnight. (Throwing out any bad juju with it – see item #4.)

Marta's gringo husband throwing water out the front door, Cuban-style.

Here are some more suggestions from our readers:

No matter what you do when the clock strikes twelve, we hope you will be busy celebrating and ringing in 2011 with those you love best.

But maybe you really should consider the red underwear….por si las moscas.

Happy New Year!

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Un poquito mas:

Looking Back at 2010 – A Quiz

Marta — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 15:38:49 +0000

I am already looking towards the new year and all the hope and promise a Happy, Shiny New Year brings. But before I start making resolutions, I think it’s important to look back and evaluate this past year. Here are a few thoughtful questions that I’ve answered. I invite you to get a little introspective and do the same.

1. How is your life different today compared to a year ago? How is it the same? Different: My youngest are teenagers and are not home as much as they used to be. I’m feeling a little empty-nestish, and I have much more time to myself. The same: I still spend way too much time online.

2. What do you wish would have been different this past year? I felt like I spent a lot of time reacting to situations thrown in my direction. I wish I had been more personally pro-active.

3. How did 2010 live up to your expectations? I had hoped to travel in 2010 and I did a lot of that.

4. If you could go back in time to January of 2010 and live this year over again, would you? Yes. I went through many changes and many emotions, not all were positive. But I would still embrace the experiences.

5. What are your top favorite memories from the past year?

I helped put together my daughter’s production of Fiddler on the Roof and I got to design costumes and paint sets and backdrops of my own design. It was quite stretching and a very affirming way of using my talents.
We spent a glorious week on vacation at the beach. It was pretty much perfection all around.
Getting to bake in the Betty Crocker Kitchens was a big highlight for me.

6. What is on your “wish list” for the coming year? I am looking forward to doing some home improvements this year as well as some personal improvements. I hope to be doing much more writing and experimenting with new versions of old recipes. I know just enough film editing to be dangerous, I plan to learn to edit more professionally – to that end, I’m taking an editing class. I have neglected my garden because I’ve had such an outward focus, so I plan to spend much more time digging in the dirt.

And of course, I have high hopes that there will be a lot more dulce de leche in the coming year.

Now it’s your turn: Answer all or just a few of the questions. Just copy and paste into the comment section with your own answers. Don’t be shy. We want to know.

Let’s get the Tiki Tiki started!

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Feliz Navidad from Us To You

Marta — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 20:35:22 +0000

Carrie is in Miami preparing to celebrate a fabulous Nochebuena with her family. I am in Mission Viejo preparing to host dozens of noisy Cubans for our traditional Cuban Nochebuena feast.

We both want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas y Feliz Navidad y Un Prospero Año Nuevo. Thanks so much for sharing the Tiki Tiki with us this year.

You are our most precious gift.

Feliz Navidad!

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My First Great Love

Marta — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:13:40 +0000

Christmas, 1964. My family was living in Miami and still struggling to assimilate to life in the states. My two oldest sisters had moved to California to get married and it was the first Christmas my nuclear family would be separated.

My parents didn’t have much to provide us with Christmas presents and we knew it. We could count on a new board game and maybe some books or a new baby doll. We still celebrated our Nochebuena with the roasted pig. But I remember, even as an 8 year old, that I should not have too many expectations for gifts.

The Package arrived on Christmas Eve.

My two married sisters who were living in California had sent us a giant box full of treasures. They were both working and had no children and so they spent their money on gifts for US.

One of my gifts was Skipper, Barbie’s Little Sister and I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Long mahogany hair and Japan flats. (They said Japan on the bottom and so they are still called that by collectors, but that’s not important right now.)

Back then, you would get ONE doll and she would have a multitude of beautiful outfits and accessories. And Skipper had the most wonderful things! A bowl of tiny yarn and a mini princess telephone. Real tin baking pans and perfectly carved wooden croquet mallets. She even had her own Barbie.

It was love at first sight.

Skipper. Barbie's Little Sister.

I obviously kept her all these years, along with her accessories. I had her carefully stashed in a box with tissue. And her little outfits I kept in ziplock bags. And no, I never let my own daughters play with her. She was just too precious to me and I never thought they would understand or enjoy her like I did. And so she lived in the box and occasionally I would bring her out and just look at her and smile.

Christmas, 2004. Forty years after I first received Skipper as a Christmas present, my husband surprised me by having her beautifully framed in a large shadow box with all of her outfits. It was a wonderfully thoughtful gift. Almost as good as getting her the first time.

She sits now at the top of the stairs and I get to enjoy her every single day. It’s a wonderful reminder of my happy childhood and I confess that there are times I still think it would be fun to dress her up for a day of baking, or skating or ballet class. Or tuck her into her pj’s after a hard day of playing pretend.

I still love her.

Detailed outfits. Notice the mini Barbie doll in the pocket.

For me, Skipper was The Best Christmas Present Ever. Twice.

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Even Our Gift Tags Speak Spanglish! – Free Download

Marta — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:15:32 +0000

I get so inspired at this time of the year. Seriously. I want to make everything myself.

My current reality is that I can’t do it all (so much for the Bionic Woman fantasy. *sigh*), but I can do a lot.

Today I created some Gift Tags you can print on sticker paper and cut out the images and tag your packages. The simplicity of it makes me smile.

So, from Me to You, here are some FREE Spanglish Gift Tags to Download. They’re in English and Spanish, because many of us, like these tags, are bilingual and we don’t just say Merry Christmas! We also say, Feliz Navidad!

We give both Gifts and Regalos. Not only For You, but also Para Ti. Enjoy!

Click on this link to download your FREE Gift Tags pdf MMD Spanish English Gift Tags.pdf

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For You: Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas and Dulce de Leche

Marta — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:03:32 +0000

Giving Dulce de Leche and Crema de Vie

I’ve been busy cooking up Christmas gifts in my kitchen. Cookies? No. I like to give gifts with a little more flair (and lots of leche condensada).

I usually make Creme de Vie, which is a Cuban egg nog. (Best receta cubana de Crema de Vie recipe here. Oh si!).

Or Dulce de Leche (Of course! Easy Dulce de Leche in a Crock Pot recipe here).

The cool thing about making either or both of those is that they’re both very easy to make and I just add a bit of creative packaging to add to the Wow(!) Factor.

And because it’s Christmas and I’m a giver, here are some free downloads of my own personal designs so you can amaze your friends and family.

Dulce de Leche and Crema de Vie are perfect gifts for the party hostess, a neighbor, the nice lady from church, the babysitter, the friend who has it all, the foodie — you name it. Everyone loves homemade dulce de leche and crema de vie. These labels make the gift extra personal.

1. Crema de Vie ~ Feliz Navidad! Labels in Red. MMDCrema de Vie Labels RED

2. Crema de Vie ~ Feliz Navidad! Labels in Green. MMD Crema de vie labels GREEN

3. Creme de Vie ~ Merry Christmas! Labels in Red. MMD Creme de Vie MERRY Labels RED

4. Creme de Vie ~ Merry Christmas! Labels in Green. MMD Creme de Vie MERRY Labels GREEN

5. Creme de Vie ~ Merry Christmas! Tags. MMD Creme de Vie Tags RED.pdf

6. Dulce de Leche Label in Red. MMD Dulce de Leche Labels RED

7. Dulce de Leche Label in Green. MMD Dulce de Leche Labels GREEN

I found these cute little jars at Pier I Imports. And I created the labels about 2 inches round and printed them on photo paper. I used my Fiskars 2 inch punch and stuck the new “sticker” I had just created onto the top of the Dulce de Leche jar. You can also most certainly trim them out with scissors. Aren’t they adorable? Just wait for those inevitable “oohs and aahs.” Plus the gift inside is SWEET!

There it is. I’ve given you all I have to give for today. I do have a few more tricks up my sleeves. I’m designing my own Christmas gift tags. Yes, of course I’ll share. (I’m cool that way.)

Dulce de Leche and Crema de Vie are perfect gifts for the party hostess, a neighbor, the nice lady from church, the babysitter, the friend who has it all, the foodie — you name it. Everyone loves homemade dulce de leche and crema de vie.

Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad! Go create something! If you decide to use my labels, please take photos and share on our Tiki Tiki Facebook page.

And, careful with the crema de vie!

Besos,

Marta

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We say “Merry Christmas” – A Giveaway

Marta — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:22:26 +0000

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the exchange of greetings. Yes, I’m the one who loves to get Christmas cards and letters detailing my friends’ lives over the past year.

It’s that social-Cuban-connector part of me that always smiles when I see the return address on an envelope with the name of an old friend.

For my part, I’ve been sending out photo greetings for the past 30+ years. (Yes, I’m that old.) It’s become an important part of our Christmas tradition.

I like to think that people are happy to see our smiling faces and are maybe curious to see what my family (of which I’m extremely proud!) looks like.

So, here, for your viewing pleasure are the Darby Family Christmas Photo Greetings from the past few years.

In 2007, we had attended a family wedding and I thought we’d get a great shot of the six of us together all dressed up. My favorite ended up being the one where Eric grabbed the camera and extended his arm. Go figure!

Darby Christmas Card 2007

[Creative Note: The photo frame and wreath "sticker" are from Designer Digitals - I apologize for not remembering the name of the kit. The typeface I used for our names is appropriately called "Santa's Sleigh."]

In 2008, we had had a Toga Party for my son, Adam’s birthday and I was particularly fond of how this photo captured us in all our uber-geek glory.

Darbys in togas. 2008

Again, I created the design myself with the help of Designer Digitals.

Last year, we had our photo taken by the photographer from the Orange County Register who was photographing our family for my Coming to America story. I used Shutterfly to design the card. All I had to do was upload to their site and follow directions. I received the card just a few days later with envelopes all shiny and ready to mail.

We say "Merry Christmas." 2009

This past year, Adam has moved to Northern California and was only in town for a few days. Our next door neighbor happens to be a professional photographer and I was delighted that he was willing to work with me when I insisted we haul one of our red leather chairs out into the street. (I had a vision. Details here.)

Merry Christmas from the Darbys!

For this one I just added a strip of digital paper to the top and wrote Merry Christmas in Scriptina and our names in Helvetica. I printed them two to a page on photo paper using my color printer. They needed to be trimmed, but I was quite pleased with how they turned out.

Now it’s your turn. We’d like to invite you to share your holiday greetings with us. Please send us a copy of your photo cards (vintage or current day) to info at TikiTiki blog dot com. If you give us permission, we’d love to publish them for all the world to see.

GIVEAWAY! If you’re looking for a great place to get your holiday cards done, the generous folks at Snapfish.com have offered a $50 gift certificate to one lucky Tiki Tiki reader. Actually, they have a wide variety of photo gifts, like books and mugs, as well as greeting cards and various photo print sizes to choose from.

In order to enter the drawing for the $50 gift certificate to Snapfish, please answer one or all of the following questions:

Do you send out photo greetings?
Do you typically send out photos of just the kids or of the entire family?
Do you ever dress up in crazy ways?
Don’t we look fabulous in our red leather chair in the middle of the street? (Actually, this is a trick question. You don’t really get any extra points for answering, I just want to make sure you’re paying attention, but that’s not important right now.)

Leave your answers in the comment section of this post. Just to sweeten the pot, if you leave a comment AND send us your card (via email) it will count as an extra entry. We’ll choose the gift certificate winner on Thursday, December 10, 2010 at 11 am Pacific Time.

We just learned that our blog friend, Dariela has quite a few great designs at Snapfish. Take a look:

In the meantime, send us your photo greetings!

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

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