Crucianize

Author: Lynnette LaPlace

  • New Bundaberg Ginger Beer

    J’ai eu le plaisir d’être sélectionné pour essayer la bière au gingembre de Bundaberg grâce à Bundaberg et Trnd.

    Comme la plupart de ceux qui lisent mon blog le savent, je suis née et j’ai grandi dans les Caraïbes, à Sainte-Croix, dans les îles Vierges américaines, pour être exact. Nous buvions fréquemment de la bière au gingembre, parfois fraîche, parfois achetée en magasin.

    Je n’ai pas toujours été un fan de la bière au gingembre, ni même de l’oseille, mais en vieillissant, j’ai commencé à les adorer. Ce que j’aime le plus dans la bière au gingembre, c’est cette forte brûlure qu’elle vous donne dans la poitrine, c’est comme ça que vous savez que c’est une bonne bière au gingembre.

    Certaines personnes n’aiment pas que leur Ginger Beer soit trop fort, palettes faibles, mon mari fait malheureusement partie de cette catégorie. Il peut manger des bonbons acidulés que je déteste absolument mais il ne supporte pas la brûlure d’une bonne bière au gingembre.

    Pathétique.

    J’étais donc très heureuse d’essayer la bière au gingembre de Bundaberg, mais à mon grand désarroi, ce n’était pas une bière forte, elle était très faible à mon avis, mais elle avait un très bon goût. Mon mari l’a absolument adorée et je suis heureuse pour lui. Il n’aura pas à souffrir de brûlures profondes juste pour déguster une bière au gingembre avec moi.

    On m’a dit qu’il se marie bien avec une sorte d’alcool pour une sorte de cocktail appelé Moscow Mule, mais je n’ai aucun intérêt à le faire ou à l’essayer d’ailleurs. Quand j’achète de la bière au gingembre, je la bois directement, la seule boisson que je mélange est le rhum et le coca. Que puis-je dire, je suis Caribbean to the bone.

    Aujourd’hui, j’ai donc partagé avec vous une recette de bière au gingembre authentique des Caraïbes, comme on la prépare dans ma famille.

    Photo by Jocelyn Morales on Unsplash

    Ginger Beer Recipe

    Serving Size:
    6 servings
    Time:
    20 minutes
    Difficulty:
    Easy

    Ingredients

    • 1/4 lbs ginger
    • 4 1/2 pints of water
    • 1 tsp vanilla essence
    • sugar to taste
    • A few grains of rice

    Directions

    1. Wash the ginger before scraping the skin off.
    2. Grate the ginger.
    3. Pour boiling water over the ginger and let it sit overnight.
    4. Strain using a fine strainer.
    5. Add sugar and vanilla essence.
    6. Pour into a sterilized bottle and add a few grains of rice for fermentation.
    7. Cork bottle and let it stand in the sun for one day.
    8. Chill bottle before drinking.

    J’espère que vous apprécierez cette recette de bière au gingembre !

  • Another piece to the puzzle

    At the end of October, I received from one of my sisters by way of an aunt who got them from my step-grandmother the baptism records for not only my grandfather but also two of his sisters. This was like a gift from the universe because I had pretty much given up on this side of my family tree with little to no information forthcoming. I was at a dead-end and just did not know how to move forward. I put this branch of my tree on the back burner and turned my attention elsewhere.

    I think it was last month or maybe even earlier than that Familysearch released a bunch of indexed records for several Caribbean Islands and Dominica was included, I helped with the indexing but only got records from St. Kitts so I was pleasantly surprised to see Dominica had been included. Unfortunately for me the records included seemed to only be for Saint Patrick parish which I don’t know if either one of my grandparents had family from there. I know they both were born in Roseau which is part of the Saint George parish. I did find a few Xavier in the Saint Patrick parish with a few of the names looking very familiar, one seemed to show up in my brother’s DNA relatives but of course, I have no idea how they are actually related so now I’m attempting to triangulate and group-specific people according to how they are related to my brother and each other. I really need to do my Ancestry test and send it off for that extra connection.

    If you’re interested in looking at the Saint Patrick parish records you can view them here: https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/4318340

    You will need to sign in to actually search the records, if you don’t have an account it’s very easy to sign up for a free account.

    Here are the baptism records I received (I tried to improve them so it would be easier to view the information, they were very blurry and hard to read before, some of them still are):

    In order of age, we have the baptism record of Olive Xavier, child of Joseph Xavier and Jane Xavier née Augustus born in Roseau on the 18th day of December 1914. She was baptized in the Catholic Church on the 7th day of February 1915. The other names are really hard for me to make out but it looks like her sponsors were Ludovic Oscar and Marian S…?

    The next baptism record belongs to Mabel Xavier, child of John Xavier and Marian Xavier -Augustus born in Giraudel Dominica on the 16th day of April 1919. She was baptized in the Catholic Church on the 18th day of May 1919. Her sponsors were James Samuel and Josephine S…? I think it’s the same last name from the first record but I can’t really make it out.

    The last baptism record belongs to my grandfather, Norbert Anthony Xavier, child of John Xavier and Jane Xavier born in Roseau on the 12th day of June 1931. He was baptized in the Catholic Church on the 12th? day of July 1931. His sponsors were Michael T…? and L…? Nicholson?

    I’m left with so many questions after seeing these baptism records, Are Marian and Jane the same person? Are Joseph and John the same person? If so then John has another name to add, my grandfather told me his father was also called Roderick so here we have a John aka Joseph aka Roderick Xavier who was married to a Marian who might or might not be Jane Augustus.

    I’m hoping beyond hope that Familysearch transcribes the church records from the Saint George parish, they do have it but it’s a film and I have no way of getting to a Family History Center so the only way will be an index. Next year maybe? Possibly? Please?

  • New Naturally Good Soin De Jour A L’Huile De Chanvre Bio

    New Naturally Good Soin De Jour A L’Huile De Chanvre Bio

    Je l’utilise comme ma crème quotidienne pour le visage depuis 4 mois maintenant et j’en suis très satisfaite. Je pense que tout le monde doit savoir que je n’aime pas que mes soins pour le visage aient un parfum fort ou même une période de parfum et celui-ci n’a pas de parfum du tout. L’emballage n’est pas très hygiénique mais je l’utilise généralement après m’être lavé le visage pour avoir les mains toujours propres.

    La crème est plus légère et s’applique très bien, elle pénètre rapidement dans la peau et laisse une sensation de fraîcheur sur mon visage, sans sensation de lourdeur.

    Je n’ai pas vraiment de mauvaises choses à dire à son sujet, il n’est pas trop cher et je me vois bien le racheter une fois que celui-ci sera terminé.

    Je donne à cette crème 9,5 étoiles sur 10.

    Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

  • New Carrefour Soft Pure

    New Carrefour Soft Pure

    La question posée est : êtes-vous prêt à vivre ta Pure journée avec Carrefour Soft Pure ?

    Mise à jour ci-dessous !

    Mais qu’est-ce que Carrefour Soft Pure ?

    J’ai eu la chance de le découvrir très récemment grâce à Carrefour et Trnd. J’en ai parlé sur mon Instagram il n’y a pas si longtemps.

    J’ai enfin reçu mon colis!

    Grâce à @carrefourfrance et @trndfrance je vais découvrir 4 produits de la nouvelle gamme Carrefour Soft Pure. Malheureusement pour moi, je dois attendre le mois prochain puisque mes règles ont pris fin il y a quelques jours.

    Dans mon colis il y a :

    Un paquet de 10 Nuit + serviettes Un paquet de 24 Normal protège slip

    Un paquet de 10 Super + serviettes Un paquet de 14 Normal + serviettes

    J’ai vraiment hâte de les essayer. Non seulement ils offrent une protection complète de vos besoins hygiéniques avec 0% de blanchiment au chlore, colorant et de parfum mais ils sont très abordables à seulement 1,49€.

    #Pure0 #MaPureJournée #Carrefoursoftpure #trndfrance #trnd #carrefour #règleshygiène

    Au moment où j’écris ces lignes, je n’ai eu l’occasion d’essayer que les protège-slips. Je vais utiliser les serviettes hygiéniques très bientôt, car je suis actuellement en période de syndrome prémenstruel et je sais que mes règles ne sont pas loin. Une fois que j’aurai utilisé les serviettes hygiéniques, je mettrai à jour cet article avec mes commentaires.

    En ce qui concerne le protège-slip, il a très bien fonctionné pour moi. Selon l’étape de mon cycle, en particulier autour de l’ovulation, je constate une augmentation des sécrétions, ce qui est tout à fait normal. J’aime utiliser des protège-slips pour que mes sous-vêtements restent secs et frais. Certains des autres protège-slips que j’ai utilisés dans le passé étaient très fins et pas du tout confortables, les protège-slips Soft Pure étaient comme du coton et je n’ai eu aucune irritation après les avoir utilisés.

    Pour vous montrer un peu ce que je veux dire, j’ai comparé mes protège-slips actuels aux protège-slips Soft Pure et vous voyez sans doute pourquoi je préfère les Soft Pure !

    mon protège-slip actuel
    Soft Pure

    Si les serviettes hygiéniques sont comme les protège-slips, je pense que j’aurai de très bonnes règles et j’ai hâte de les essayer cette semaine.

    Cela fait maintenant deux mois que j’essaie les serviettes Soft Pure. Voici ce que j’en pense.

    Bien que ces serviettes soient effectivement douces, je les trouve très petites. Je devais souvent en utiliser deux à la fois parce que j’avais des fuites à l’arrière ou sur le côté. C’était encore pire quand je dormais, la serviette de nuit était parfaite pour les journées normales mais inutile pour dormir. Mais à ce prix-là, comment ne pas en acheter pour ne pas avoir à s’en soucier ?

  • New Nivea Naturally Good Hydratant & Rafraîchissant Masque Tissu

    New Nivea Naturally Good Hydratant & Rafraîchissant Masque Tissu

    J’ai récemment eu la chance de tester un nouveau masque en tissu de Nivea.

    J’ai reçu le masque en tissu Naturally Good Hydratant et rafraîchissant.

    Il s’agit d’un article à usage unique, je n’ai donc pu l’utiliser qu’une seule fois. J’ai beaucoup apprécié ce masque, il était assez facile à appliquer, mais un peu trop grand pour mon visage. Le retrait du masque a également été facile, ma peau a été laissée très hydratée et j’ai pu masser le produit restant dans ma peau.

    Pour un rafraîchissement supplémentaire, je vous suggère de placer votre masque au réfrigérateur avant de l’utiliser.

    Pour le prix, je me vois bien acheter des masques supplémentaires à utiliser au moins une fois par semaine.

    Je lui donne 9,5 étoiles sur 10 uniquement parce qu’il était un peu trop grand pour mon visage.

    Rating: 8.5 out of 10.
  • Comment être en forme en famille

    Comment être en forme en famille

    Cela fait un moment que je n’ai pas écrit un article sur nos aventures en tant que famille, mais pour être honnête cela fait un moment que nous ne sommes pas actifs grâce à covid.

    J’ai récemment été sélectionnée comme ambassadrice d’Explore Terre de Jeux 2024, ce qui a encouragé ma famille à être plus active. Nous avons choisi des activités qui peuvent être appréciées par tous les membres de notre famille, y compris les plus jeunes !

    Pour notre première aventure, nous avons visité le lac de la Rosière, à Bourgoin-Jailleu. Les enfants ont pu faire de l’exercice en jouant sur le petit terrain de jeu suivi d’une promenade autour du lac.

    La petite a vraiment aimé cette activité, même si elle a eu des vertiges.

    Ce fut une aventure réussie !

    Pour notre prochaine aventure, nous nous sommes aventurés un peu plus loin et avons visité la Cascade de la Roche à Saint-Baudille-de-la-Tour. Nous avons marché pendant une heure, en admirant les paysages et en faisant bouger nos corps, nous avons vu la magnifique cascade et profité de l’air frais.

    (En tant que photographe de la famille, je ne suis pas toujours sur les photos mais j’en ai pris quelques-unes cette fois-ci).

    Je pense que nous allons vivre d’autres aventures tout en restant en forme.

  • New Givenchy- Le Rouge Sheer Velvet

    New Givenchy- Le Rouge Sheer Velvet

    J’ai eu la chance d’essayer le nouveau rouge à lèvres Le Rouge Sheer Velvet de Givenchy.

    Je suis vraiment impressionnée par ce rouge à lèvres, l’emballage est luxueux et écologique ! Vous pouvez retirer la cartouche de rouge à lèvres vide et la remplacer. Je trouve cela très intelligent et c’est sans aucun doute l’un de mes aspects préférés de ce rouge à lèvres. L’étui a une sensation sensuelle de velours et me rend si heureuse de le tenir. Je ne peux pas mentir, mais je me suis un peu frotté le visage avec.

    Cartouche de rouge à lèvres amovible

    J’aime aussi l’hydratation de ce rouge à lèvres, il glisse facilement et mes lèvres ne sont pas desséchées comme le sont souvent les rouges à lèvres mats. Comme je suis vendue Givenchy, prenez tous mes euros parce que je vais certainement acheter un autre de ce rouge à lèvres.

    Une autre chose à aimer de ce rouge à lèvres est le fait qu’il dure TOUTE la journée. Il promet 12 heures de tenue et il tient ses promesses. Plus besoin d’en remettre, sauf si vous avez mangé ou si vous l’avez essuyé.

    Malheureusement, il y a une petite chose que je n’aime pas dans ce rouge à lèvres. Cela me fait mal d’écrire cela, mais il y a une odeur de poudre qui ne vous dérangera peut-être pas si vous n’avez pas peur d’un peu d’odeur dans vos rouges à lèvres, mais moi, je ne l’aime pas. Je préfère que mes rouges à lèvres ne soient pas parfumés. Ce n’est pas vraiment un problème, une fois appliqué, on ne sent rien.

    En conclusion, je donne à ce rouge à lèvres 4,5 étoiles.

    Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

    Vous pouvez acheter Le Rouge Sheer Velvet chez Givenchy Beauty, Nocibé, Sephora et Marionnaud.

  • From Africa to the Caribbean: Links To Our Past

    From Africa to the Caribbean: Links To Our Past

    In June my father received a request to share DNA and this isn’t anything new or special because some people do request to share so they can compare their results with yours, I’ve done this myself so I accepted the request but the person that requested the share was surprising.

    This DNA relative was predicted to be a 5th cousin at 10cM but that wasn’t the surprising aspect, what intrigued me was the fact that they were 100% African.

    I know I shouldn’t be so surprised about this since my grandmother was Afro-Caribbean. This is a highly interesting match simply because I had hopes of finding a Ghanaian relative being that my father’s highest African percentage is Ghananian but this person was not Ghananian, they are Angolan.

    My Fathers results vs his DNA relative
    23andme DNA results of an Angolan

    Being that it is such a small match there’s probably no way I’ll ever be able to discover which ancestor was fully Angolan. I assumed that this match would be from my Grandmother’s side since she was the Afro-Caribbean but the shared matches point to my French Grandfather’s side. There are seven matches between my father and his Angolan relative. Of the seven only one is not open to sharing their ancestry composition.

    Of the six relatives open to sharing I was able to view the DNA segments my father shared with these relatives. That particular segment in my father’s chromosome painting is identified as “African Hunter-Gatherer”. Our Angolan relative only has 0.2% African Hunter-Gatherer but people from the Congo Basin are Hunter-Gatherers of South Central Africa. There’s a very good reason why Angolan and Congolese are part of the same category on 23andme, I’ll explain that below.

    Angolan relative is purple
    Photo by Thijs Boom on Unsplash

    Now for a little history on Angola, before the Portuguese colonized Angola, there was a pretty sizeable Kingdom located in central Africa. This Kingdom called Kingdon of Kongo comprised of northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the entirety of the Republic of the Congo, and the southernmost portion of Gabon.

    This Kingdom was a highly developed state and had an extensive trading center, frequently traded with neighboring kingdoms were natural resources, ivory, copperware, metal goods, raffia cloth, and pottery.

    In 1483, the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão landed in the Kingdom of Kongo when he sailed up the uncharted Congo River. Cão left the Kingdom with some Kongo nobles and brought them to Portugal. The Kongo nobles and Cão returned to the Kingdom in 1485. The ruling king, Nzinga a Nkuwu, converted to Christianity. In 1491, Nzinga a Knuwu was baptized and changed his name to João I. Christianity quickly became the religion of the Kongo nobles.

    In the decades that followed, the former traded goods were quickly replaced by human trafficking also known as slavery. The Kingdom has a long history of slavery, one that predates the arrival of Europeans. It’s my belief that this fact is what made it a favorite source for Portuguese traders and other European powers.

    With this little bit of history, we know why on my father’s DNA painting his DNA segment shows up as African Hunter-Gatherer and our Angolan relatives show simply as Angolan & Congolese.

    One of the DNA cousins my father shares with our Angolan relative has two grandparents from St. Vincent and it might mean nothing but in the mid-1700s we had French relatives living in St. Vincent and this is probably where our Angolan ancestor ended up in slavery. It’s just a theory but I know which lines were living there and I’m conducting a little experiment to see if everyone from that line carries a little bit of Angolan & Congolese in their Ancestry composition on 23andme.

  • Trying Aunt Jackie’s Hair Products For The First Time

    Trying Aunt Jackie’s Hair Products For The First Time

    *This post contains affiliate links to Amazon products.

    Recently I ran out of my conditioner, leave-in, gel, and deep conditioner and was looking around trying to decide what to buy. I could have gone back to Activilong or Garnier Ultra Doux but I felt like trying something new because I was unhappy with the amount of frizz I had and thought something else might give me better results.

    I saw Aunt Jackie’s products and decided to give them a try.

    I bought the Oh So Clean Moisturizing & Softening Shampoo, Knot On My Watch Instant Detangling Therapy, Don’t Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curling Gel, Curl La La Defining Curl Custard, and In Control Moisturizing & Softening Conditioner.

    Oh So Clean Moisturizing & Softening Shampoo

    Touted as a soft shampoo that will moisturize and soften hair without stripping it, I was intrigued since I needed a new everyday shampoo, it is enriched with Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It claims that your tresses will become super clean, soft, hydrated, and easier to comb.

    On first use I was convinced, it delivered on its promises, and an added bonus being that while I usually avoid products with Coconut oil in this one did not turn my hair dry and crunchy.

    I don’t wash my hair every day, I usually wash twice a week but I’ve been trying to stretch that to once a week, if you wash your hair every day I will venture to say that you probably won’t’ encounter any issues using this in your hair.

    I give it 4 stars.

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    In Control Moisturizing & Softening Conditioner

    Tame, nourish, and deep condition frizzy, hard-to-manage, dehydrated, brittle natural curls, coils, and waves with natural extracts and proteins.

    Aunt Jackie’s Curls & Coils

    I’m sorry to say that this product failed to deliver any of its promises. Not only did my hair not feel soft and moisturized but I had to fight with a lot of frizz as well.

    I found that I had to add a milk mask to this conditioner to get decent results. Thank you Garnier Ultra Doux Cacao Milk Masque! I shouldn’t have to add another product to get the results that this one said it could deliver. I am definitely not buying this one again.

    I give it 2 stars.

    Rating: 2 out of 5.

    Knot On My Watch Instant Detangling Therapy

    Great detangling solution for all hair types and textures.

    Aunt Jackie’s Curls & Coils

    I’m not really sure why I bought this as I don’t really have knots or need much to detangle. It was not an enjoyable experience at all. It left my hair feeling very sticky and dry and I was not impressed. I will never buy this again because I get better detangling while using a basic conditioner.

    I give it 11/2 stars

    Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

    Curl La La Defining Curl Custard

    This product is aimed at taming frizz and making your hair easier to manage and let’s just say that I still had lots and lots of frizz after using this added to that fact that this was in addition to using the conditioner that was also supposed to tame and condition frizzy hair. Who’s frizzy hair was is supposed to tame? Because it surely did not tame mine!

    I made the mistake of using this and following it up with the gel and had a horrible time when the custard turned into pink crumbles in my freshly washed hair. I immediately washed my hair again with the shampoo but they were still there which meant I had to use my stripping shampoo. Definitely watch what products you use alongside it.

    I give it 3 stars.

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

    Don’t Shrink Flaxseed Elongating Curling Gel

    This is a pretty okay gel, it has a strong hold so on day two of my wash and go I still had some crunch in my hair. I don’t scrunch the crunch because I get terrible frizz that way. I still have frizz either way but I prefer to let it release on its own.

    By day three my curls were very pouffy, I had so much volume and I did have some defined curls in the back and the very front but those on the underside lost their hold and turned to frizz.

    I give it 31/2 stars

    Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

    Conclusion

    Day 2 Wash and Go
    Day 3 Wash and Go

    After using these products for well over two weeks I can safely say that the majority of them are not for me. Not only did they not do what they were supposed to but they left my hair in a worse state and who needs that from hair products? I know I don’t. Like with everything your usage may vary so if you feel like giving it a try and seeing if you have different results Aunt Jackie’s is very affordable. I bought most of the products from Superbeaute with the exception of In Control which was Out of Stock at the time.

    Finally, I give the whole lot 3 stars because the shampoo and the gel were not too bad and if I had no other options I would use them without a second thought. The others I will never use again after I finish these.

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

  • The Reasons why I prefer 23andme over Ancestry DNA

    So many times I’ve been asked if I prefer Ancestry or 23andme and which one would be the best to buy. In answer to the first, personally, I prefer 23andme. In answer to the second, it depends.

    Ancestry is always touted as being the best but for who?

    People with ancestry that is mainly from the United States. If you have ancestry from the Caribbean or Europe you might have more matches with 23andme, MyHeritage, Geneanet, or any of the other lesser-known DNA sites.

    To show you what I mean I’m going to show you my brother’s DNA map from Ancestry.

    *Not all Relatives opt into sharing their location so there could be some from the locations I’m talking about.

    As you can no doubt see there is 1 DNA relative from Canada, 17 from the Caribbean, and 3 from the UK. All our ancestry is from the Caribbean: US Virgin Islands, Dominica, and Saint-Barthélemy. We should have way more family in the Caribbean, the UK, and France but those testers are just not here at Ancestry. I can find some who moved from those areas to the United States but the ones who never moved are unaccounted for and quite frankly they are the ones that can probably help me break my brick walls.

    As a comparison, I’m going to show you my father and my 23andme DNA maps, what I love about 23andme’s map is that it tells you exactly how many relatives did opt into sharing their locations.

    463 out of 1500 DNA Relatives
    458 out of 1501 DNA Relatives

    First, we’ll look at my map.

    Do you see the difference already? 14 DNA relatives in Canada, 40 in the Caribbean, 1 in Mexico, 1 in Central America, 3 in South America, 34 in Europe, and 1 in Australia.

    So, here’s a closer look at my European relatives. 1 from Ireland, 1 from the Isle of Man, 4 from Scotland, 23 from England, 1 from Switzerland, 1 from the Netherlands, and 3 from France.

    Now let’s look at those from the Caribbean, 1 from the Bahamas, 1 from Bermuda, 1 from the Dominican Republic, 1 from Barbados, 4 from Dominica, 5 from Anguilla, 1 from Puerto Rico, 1 from the British Virgin Islands, and 25 from the US Virgin Islands.

    Now let’s take a look at my father’s map, 10 in Canada, 1 in Central America, 1 in South America, 40 in the Caribbean, 24 in Europe, 2 in Australia, and 1 in Japan.

    Let’s zoom in on his Caribbean relatives, 1 in the Bahamas, 1 in the Dominican Republic, 1 in Trinidad and Tobago, 1 in Martinique, 3 in St. Lucia, 1 in Guadeloupe, 2 in Saint-Barthélemy, 3 in Sint Maarten, 1 in Puerto Rico, and 26 in the US Virgin Islands.

    Another aspect of 23andme that makes it much better than Ancestry is the Advanced DNA Comparison to several other DNA relatives to see what DNA segments we have in common, Ancestry doesn’t have a similar feature.

    The only issue I have with 23andme is that it doesn’t have a good family tree, there is a family tree option but it is very limited, I can’t do much with it because of all the intermarrying within my family and there is no way to indicate that in 23’s current tree. So, I will usually look at relatives on 23 and then go to Ancestry to try to place them in my tree over there.

    In conclusion test with both if you can. With those two tests, you can upload to the other Genealogical sites and cover all your bases. You will no doubt run into some of the same matches but you might be surprised with some new ones who are not on the major sites.