Happy Nevisian Indepence Day! Today we celebrate becoming an independent nation without those pesky cash infusions from Mother England every time something breaks or gets washed out to sea. Island-wide holiday. Unlike at home, here there are no celebratory shopping opportunities. If you need a loaf of bread, buy it yesterday. Gosh, we haven't had a holiday since...oh, Monday! Monday was National Heroes Day. Hope you didn't need bread that day, either.
The pig, "Friend Pig" who is not ours but a neighbor's, got loose yesterday. I LOVE IT when the pig is loose. Well, he does terrorize our goats and sheep (if the pig is in the road ((the word "road" being used in its loosest possible sense, here)) the goats and sheep will not pass.) and the dog barks at him in a quite unfriendly sort of way, but I feel so happy for him it's worth all the extra trouble Bob has to go through.
We had Andrew and Kerrie over for dinner last night, and their 15-month-old cutie son, Oliver. They were all in the yard when the pig trotted up and asked very plainly to be admitted into the Seapasture Compound. We were all into it except Bob, so we let in the pig. The pig was so overjoyed at entering this Garden of Eden we call home, he trotted right up and bit Kerrie on the leg in gratitude. Oh, that funny pig! Pig spent a very happy night right next to the porch, and Bob let him out before the sun was up (and before any witnesses were about.)
We chatted over breakfast about how we could own the pig, who could be seen trotting around in the sunshine doing adorable piggy things in the open field next to the pasture. Bob thinks we'd have to fork over $5EC per pound for the pig, but that can't be right, since pork doesn't cost that much!! He just doesn't want to have to rake pig poo. I told him to please call it fertilizer, and to say it in a nicer way.
But, alas, the pig's freedom was short-lived. I was thinking he'd have all day to trot around before his owners came home from work and chased him down. But it's Independence Day. No work. And those spiteful neighbors, failing to see the unpoetic justice, tied their piggy back up to the tree on this, their day of freedom.
Sucks to be a pig.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
There's a dead tarantula in the front yard. I'm coming home.
Saturday, September 15th We had a fun day today. Bob took his parents to the airport first thing for their trip back to NC. They had a great time, and are already planning their next trip to Nevis. They have picked out their hotel (Oualie Beach) and think they'll be brave and rent a car. Driving on the wrong side of the road is not as weird as driving on the wrong side of the car. Three out of five approaches I go to the wrong side of the car. Once I got in while talking to the person in the backseat, and turned around to start the car and NO STEERING WHEEL! It's always comical. And that was before Happy Hour. But to complicate things we have two Suzukis right now, and one of them has the steering wheel on the right, as it should for driving on the left, and the other has the steering wheel on the left, but I still have to remember to drive it on the left. It's a really good thing that there's only one road on the island. But I digress--Bill and Jessie felt like they could drive when they come back in January. And if we don't have the extra apartment for them, they've picked out their bungalow on the beach.
So Bob took them to the airport, and after taking some time at the apartment to meet with one of his patients, came back to get ready for Kid's Club. Every Saturday kids come over to "help" with the animals. (Last weekend we helped them make and paint a puppet theater out of a huge packing crate that contained Ava's desk and chairs. It came out really nice. I have a picture of two kids and a dog putting on a puppet show.) Today two little boys came for the first time--English, kids of one of the professors at the school--and one of them is Ava's age. He and his brother took one look at the chickens in the pasture and started chasing them. It has never occurred to Ava to chase the chickens, but she joined right in the fun. Finally the chickens all flew up into the trees, and we drew the line at the kids using sticks and rocks to bring them down, the little savages. Later, Bob and I decided to have a "no chasing the chickens" rule. This is, after all, the Humane Society. Plus, we are in the process of building a chicken coop so that we can have eggs and I don't want the chickens to run away from home. One of the big kids spotted a dead tarantula in the grass, right next to the porch entrance. One of the moms remarked casually, "Oh, look how close it got to the house." Like it was trying to get to the front door when it got run over by a goat. This was the first time I had seen one, and I was APPALLED. It was a real, huge, hairy tarantula, caught in the act of trying to get in the house and suck the blood right out of my neck. I was not amused. I left it there as a warning to its kind. One of the kids said, oh, it's a tiny one. And in case I didn't mention, it was HUGE. Ugh.
One of the kids is autistic, also child of professors, and she just sat on the porch and played with Ava's ponies the whole time. And she took it upon herself to spraypaint the two baby goats that were on the porch. OK! And here I told Ava she couldn't have a pink goat. After the kids fed the pig and the goats, I let them make drop cookies (the no-bake kind) which they LOVED and then they went home. So Ava and I headed out to the beach in the middle of the day to see the beach clean-up action. We ended up having a really nice swim (I usually don't go in the middle of the day) and attended the barbecue afterwards, which was loaded with kids for Ava to run amok with. When we got home I was exhausted and Ava let me take a nap before we played ponies. Bob went to play cricket with his students, and then came home and walked the goats with Ava while I caught up on some emails. Bob cooked dinner, Ava and I had Round Two of ponies, and then I called it a day. So Ava and Bob are sacked out asleep, it's pouring rain, the frogs are peeping, and I am imagining spiders sneaking in under the door, but otherwise feeling pretty good!
Speaking of frogs, yesterday we had a little scare when Ava came running in the house screaming that a frog had stung her fingers. She had seen a large toad floating in the goat's watering pond, and decided he wanted out, so she grabs this thing and puts it in the grass, then her thumb starts hurting her. Bob called his friend who knows about these things, and he informs us that it sounds like the kind of toad that exudes a natural hallucinogen, similar to LSD, and he got right in his car and came over. I thought that was nice. Bob's mom stood out in the yard and kept an eye on the toad while we waited for him, and I kept an eye on Ava, waiting for her to start rambling about pink elephants or whatever. The frog man said, yes, it's that kind of toad but the toxin doesn't sting. So he looked at Ava's fingers and saw she had some tiny sharp splinters in them, and apparently they hadn't bothered her until she grabbed the frog. No pink elephants. A pair of tweezers and she was back in action. She borrowed a slotted spoon from the kitchen in case she sees any more toads, and I figured that was a good deal.
Anyway, hope you all are well and enjoying the last days of a very hot summer. October is just round the bend.
Stay cool!
Rachel
So Bob took them to the airport, and after taking some time at the apartment to meet with one of his patients, came back to get ready for Kid's Club. Every Saturday kids come over to "help" with the animals. (Last weekend we helped them make and paint a puppet theater out of a huge packing crate that contained Ava's desk and chairs. It came out really nice. I have a picture of two kids and a dog putting on a puppet show.) Today two little boys came for the first time--English, kids of one of the professors at the school--and one of them is Ava's age. He and his brother took one look at the chickens in the pasture and started chasing them. It has never occurred to Ava to chase the chickens, but she joined right in the fun. Finally the chickens all flew up into the trees, and we drew the line at the kids using sticks and rocks to bring them down, the little savages. Later, Bob and I decided to have a "no chasing the chickens" rule. This is, after all, the Humane Society. Plus, we are in the process of building a chicken coop so that we can have eggs and I don't want the chickens to run away from home. One of the big kids spotted a dead tarantula in the grass, right next to the porch entrance. One of the moms remarked casually, "Oh, look how close it got to the house." Like it was trying to get to the front door when it got run over by a goat. This was the first time I had seen one, and I was APPALLED. It was a real, huge, hairy tarantula, caught in the act of trying to get in the house and suck the blood right out of my neck. I was not amused. I left it there as a warning to its kind. One of the kids said, oh, it's a tiny one. And in case I didn't mention, it was HUGE. Ugh.
One of the kids is autistic, also child of professors, and she just sat on the porch and played with Ava's ponies the whole time. And she took it upon herself to spraypaint the two baby goats that were on the porch. OK! And here I told Ava she couldn't have a pink goat. After the kids fed the pig and the goats, I let them make drop cookies (the no-bake kind) which they LOVED and then they went home. So Ava and I headed out to the beach in the middle of the day to see the beach clean-up action. We ended up having a really nice swim (I usually don't go in the middle of the day) and attended the barbecue afterwards, which was loaded with kids for Ava to run amok with. When we got home I was exhausted and Ava let me take a nap before we played ponies. Bob went to play cricket with his students, and then came home and walked the goats with Ava while I caught up on some emails. Bob cooked dinner, Ava and I had Round Two of ponies, and then I called it a day. So Ava and Bob are sacked out asleep, it's pouring rain, the frogs are peeping, and I am imagining spiders sneaking in under the door, but otherwise feeling pretty good!
Speaking of frogs, yesterday we had a little scare when Ava came running in the house screaming that a frog had stung her fingers. She had seen a large toad floating in the goat's watering pond, and decided he wanted out, so she grabs this thing and puts it in the grass, then her thumb starts hurting her. Bob called his friend who knows about these things, and he informs us that it sounds like the kind of toad that exudes a natural hallucinogen, similar to LSD, and he got right in his car and came over. I thought that was nice. Bob's mom stood out in the yard and kept an eye on the toad while we waited for him, and I kept an eye on Ava, waiting for her to start rambling about pink elephants or whatever. The frog man said, yes, it's that kind of toad but the toxin doesn't sting. So he looked at Ava's fingers and saw she had some tiny sharp splinters in them, and apparently they hadn't bothered her until she grabbed the frog. No pink elephants. A pair of tweezers and she was back in action. She borrowed a slotted spoon from the kitchen in case she sees any more toads, and I figured that was a good deal.
Anyway, hope you all are well and enjoying the last days of a very hot summer. October is just round the bend.
Stay cool!
Rachel
Thursday, September 6, 2007
It's Raining Bugs
We've had a nice week, seems like the routine is becoming more of a routine than an adventure, which is nice. We've added a large bowl of guppies to the menagerie. Sally and Kelly came by again for a playdate loaded with shrimp chips, pringles, barbecue chips, skittles, gum and mentos. School started on Monday (Labor Day for most people) with orientation for the new batch of med students coming in. Bob has a busier teaching schedule this semester than ever before, having to teach two classes (gasp!!) and work on a couple committees. Today is the 2nd day of classes, and the Day That The Container is Unloaded.
This is a big day. I've been waiting for the stuff that I shipped over on the container--it comes three times a year between semesters, and it also has Bob's Sam's Club order. He placed the order so long ago that he has no idea anymore what to expect, plus there are always mix ups and screw ups, so it's a bit like Christmas with bad in-laws when we see what came. And this time, big surprise, NO DUTY was charged on any of the stuff. Last semester it was 60%, this semester, zippo. So Ava's new desk and chairs are ready to be assembled, the birch drying rack (that holds a whole load of laundry!!) is on the porch ready to go, and we have a huge box of craft supplies for Ava. And enough parmesan cheese, condensed milk, olive oil, dried mushrooms, candy bars, sundried tomatoes and kraft macaroni and cheese to fortify a Mormon bomb shelter. The only thing that we have to trade or give away is a year's supply of Baked Beans with Pork. I hope to be involved in next semester's Sam's Club order.
The cats ate the fishfood like day one. The mad scientist got a volunteer job teaching chemistry and basic sciences at the private school where Bob was interim principal last year. His first day is today. He sounded so excited--and he's teaching four classes, three times a week,and I don't think they're paying him a dime. We're going over Sunday to have dinner and watch football (at least Bob will watch football while Ava and I swim in his pool) (he has a pool boy) (but no maid, so I can 't complain) (plus our pool isn't big enough to warrant a pool boy) and I have something for him to examine under his microscope.
Tuesday night I noticed that the bugs that live in the ceiling were shoveling some kind of grit (eggs? feces? chewed wood?) down onto the bed. I woke Bob up (it was only 8pm and Ava and I were watching a movie) and explained the problem. We did a quick job taping up all visible bug holes in the ceiling, and while Bob tried to go back to sleep, I watched the stuff continue to sift down onto the bed. White sheets. Easy to tell. I woke Bob up and explained the problem. We couldn't figure out where the stuff was coming from, and so I burst into tears. Ava bursts into tears and knocks a glass off the night table which shatters everywhere. Bob feeling very sorry for himself at this point. We end up moving the bed out into the middle of the room and I monitor the situation until well after 2AM before I can sleep with some assurance that when I wake up all my face holes won't be filled with god-knows-what. Next morning I swept up a sample for the mad scientist to examine, so I-will-know-what.
Wednesday I bought a bug bomb and some fish food. We got to webchat with Marya, Scott and Kaiya, and Ava just loved that! So did I. I made AWESOME falafel for dinner and Nashanti and Peaches were dumped off at our house for an unannounced play date right at bed time. Ava was thrilled. Bob went out and tied one on with his fellow faculty and I noticed that Nibbles had diarrhea, probably from Ava spending several hours earlier in the day picking flamboyant blossoms and feeding them to him. But it kept her busy.
Today our **maid** Shirley showed me how to make her famous Roti filled with Curried Vegetables. She is a wonderful cook--in season she works as a personal chef for two families (my term, not hers; she says "I cook for them, alla time") and also does parties. While we were rolling and cooking the roti she told me that last Christmas she made 100 roti and curried chicken to go in them for a party and that they were snapped up like the proverbial hotcakes. I tell you this because I about got heatstroke making 30 of them with her doing most of the work. She seems almost surprised that people like her cooking. She and her husband are from Guyana and are Hindu. Anyway, we made a HUGE batch of these things, one potato filling and one roasted eggplant filling, and kept the cats out the whole time (she agrees with me that cats do not belong on the kitchen counter, isn't that great!) She roasted the eggplants and tomatoes directly on the flame of the gas stove top. Made a huge mess, but who cares!! She'll have to clean it up when she comes back on Monday! :-) I got way overheated doing all this cooking, and ate so many of them that I had to lie down in the Cold Room until my stomach returned to its normal size/location. I put the rest of the roti in the freezer in self-defense.
Ava's watching Toy Story II for the third time today, so I'd better face the Homeschooling Facts and do something educational before dinner. Well, she and Bob get dinner. I get to walk off a half dozen roti.
Worth it!!!!!!!!!!
PS I don't know why everything is in French.
This is a big day. I've been waiting for the stuff that I shipped over on the container--it comes three times a year between semesters, and it also has Bob's Sam's Club order. He placed the order so long ago that he has no idea anymore what to expect, plus there are always mix ups and screw ups, so it's a bit like Christmas with bad in-laws when we see what came. And this time, big surprise, NO DUTY was charged on any of the stuff. Last semester it was 60%, this semester, zippo. So Ava's new desk and chairs are ready to be assembled, the birch drying rack (that holds a whole load of laundry!!) is on the porch ready to go, and we have a huge box of craft supplies for Ava. And enough parmesan cheese, condensed milk, olive oil, dried mushrooms, candy bars, sundried tomatoes and kraft macaroni and cheese to fortify a Mormon bomb shelter. The only thing that we have to trade or give away is a year's supply of Baked Beans with Pork. I hope to be involved in next semester's Sam's Club order.
The cats ate the fishfood like day one. The mad scientist got a volunteer job teaching chemistry and basic sciences at the private school where Bob was interim principal last year. His first day is today. He sounded so excited--and he's teaching four classes, three times a week,and I don't think they're paying him a dime. We're going over Sunday to have dinner and watch football (at least Bob will watch football while Ava and I swim in his pool) (he has a pool boy) (but no maid, so I can 't complain) (plus our pool isn't big enough to warrant a pool boy) and I have something for him to examine under his microscope.
Tuesday night I noticed that the bugs that live in the ceiling were shoveling some kind of grit (eggs? feces? chewed wood?) down onto the bed. I woke Bob up (it was only 8pm and Ava and I were watching a movie) and explained the problem. We did a quick job taping up all visible bug holes in the ceiling, and while Bob tried to go back to sleep, I watched the stuff continue to sift down onto the bed. White sheets. Easy to tell. I woke Bob up and explained the problem. We couldn't figure out where the stuff was coming from, and so I burst into tears. Ava bursts into tears and knocks a glass off the night table which shatters everywhere. Bob feeling very sorry for himself at this point. We end up moving the bed out into the middle of the room and I monitor the situation until well after 2AM before I can sleep with some assurance that when I wake up all my face holes won't be filled with god-knows-what. Next morning I swept up a sample for the mad scientist to examine, so I-will-know-what.
Wednesday I bought a bug bomb and some fish food. We got to webchat with Marya, Scott and Kaiya, and Ava just loved that! So did I. I made AWESOME falafel for dinner and Nashanti and Peaches were dumped off at our house for an unannounced play date right at bed time. Ava was thrilled. Bob went out and tied one on with his fellow faculty and I noticed that Nibbles had diarrhea, probably from Ava spending several hours earlier in the day picking flamboyant blossoms and feeding them to him. But it kept her busy.
Today our **maid** Shirley showed me how to make her famous Roti filled with Curried Vegetables. She is a wonderful cook--in season she works as a personal chef for two families (my term, not hers; she says "I cook for them, alla time") and also does parties. While we were rolling and cooking the roti she told me that last Christmas she made 100 roti and curried chicken to go in them for a party and that they were snapped up like the proverbial hotcakes. I tell you this because I about got heatstroke making 30 of them with her doing most of the work. She seems almost surprised that people like her cooking. She and her husband are from Guyana and are Hindu. Anyway, we made a HUGE batch of these things, one potato filling and one roasted eggplant filling, and kept the cats out the whole time (she agrees with me that cats do not belong on the kitchen counter, isn't that great!) She roasted the eggplants and tomatoes directly on the flame of the gas stove top. Made a huge mess, but who cares!! She'll have to clean it up when she comes back on Monday! :-) I got way overheated doing all this cooking, and ate so many of them that I had to lie down in the Cold Room until my stomach returned to its normal size/location. I put the rest of the roti in the freezer in self-defense.
Ava's watching Toy Story II for the third time today, so I'd better face the Homeschooling Facts and do something educational before dinner. Well, she and Bob get dinner. I get to walk off a half dozen roti.
Worth it!!!!!!!!!!
PS I don't know why everything is in French.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
A week at Seapasture
Tuesday: continued cleaning and unpacking at Seapasture. Dinner guests: Gary and Michele, Susan and Rein, Leslie, and Rick Ishmael (AKA mad scientist)..later our neighbor, Emmet joined us for a rum punch. Bob made falafel, turned out great, with pita, cucumber yogurt sauce and spinach pies. Dessert was pineapple upside down cake, warm out of the oven with local ice cream. The rum punches were just right, too. I am now happy with our recipe! Spent the night in air conditioned splendor.Wednesday: spent all day at Seapasture. Had fun watching Bob and Kenroy try to catch a goat who was due for worming. Kenroy, who believes in miracles, kept exhorting Bob to "LEAP!! LEAP!!" finally I waded in the pasture with my flipflops on, Ava by my side, to lend a hand. I was promptly put in my place by the boss goat, Cassie, who butted me right in the face when I was looking the other way. Just hurt my pride, which was what she intended. Spent the night at the old house, since Ava fell asleep there, and greedily watched three more episodes of Big Love from season one. Just two more to go!Thursday: Shanti and Peaches came by for some playtime with Ava and stayed for dinner. Bean, cheese and rice burritos, fresh avacado lettuce and tomato on the side. The girls were horrified at the lack of animal flesh on the table. Shanti, "I don't eat vegetables!" Ava was scandalized when she figured out that Shanti wasn't kidding. I was scandalized when I realized too late the refried beans were full of LARD!! Gross! I had forgotten they came that way. Partially hydrogenated lard, to add insult to injury.
Friday: Shopping and the beach. Went on the goatwalk with Bob and it was very enjoyable. We trail along the herd: goats, sheep and one donkey, plus the housecat. Bob takes along a small power saw and brings down branches for the flock to devour. Cedar is their favorite. Strolling through the fields we can still see the ocean below. Beautiful!
Saturday: More of the same around Seapasture. Bob took the animals on their afternoon walk and came back without the donkey. We had our neighbor, Emmet, over for dinner. He's from Ireland, and a med student. There are very few picky eaters on this island--and everybody seems so grateful to have somebody else cook for them! It's kind of nice. When I pulled a pan of garlic bread out of the oven Emmet swooned like he'd seen the face of the Virgin Mary appear in his bowl of Rice Krispies. After dinner Ava and I took a flashlight and walked over to give the pig some treats. Almost a full moon, and we stood in the road calling for the donkey. And she appeared! Poor thing was soaking wet, had lost her collar, and her face and rump were scratched up. And she was limping. Who knows what happened. I wish she could talk!
Sunday: No Kenroy today. So the herd got an abbreviated walk in the afternoon. The poor donkey stayed right with us, didn't stray more than ten feet from us. Ava found a dog skull--completely bleached--with three teeth left in it. TREASURE!!
Monday: Nice day at Seapasture. Swam in the ocean with Ava early in the morning then in the afternoon shopped downtown, and visited the new Chinese general store. Ava made friends at the store. Had Rick (mad scientist) and Leslie over for dinner...Leslie flies out tomorrow back to the states. She owns a HUGE house with pool up on the mountain, and flies in to stay in it during the semester breaks. Between breaks she rents it to Professor Gordon Avery and his wife, Penny, our friends, who fly back to their native England during the breaks. Gordon has got to be pushing 80--used to be the chief medical officer on Montserrat--and he is a triathelete here on Nevis. And an avid cricket player/fan. Anyway, Bob made curried eggplant and rice, and it was very good. I made madeleines for dessert, using the organic lemons I had picked earlier in the day. Yum!
And that brings us to today! One full week in the Animal House. We've been brought one litter of newborn puppies, and one injured dog, all of which we were able to shunt off elsewhere, although the puppies will probably come back. Sally and Kelly, two daughters of the Chinese store owners, came for a playdate today. They kept us busy!! They were soooo glad to be out of the store, and came with a bag crammed full of junk food treats from the store. Three hours of pool, ponies, finger painting and barbie, with crumbs flying everywhere the whole time: cheez chips, mini ritz crackers with cheez, marshmallow lollipops, tea cookies, ginger snaps, mentos, chocolate chip cookies, gum, I lost track of it all, more crap than Ava's seen in a lifetime, down the hatch in one afternoon. Next time--and they worked very hard to set up a next time for tomorrow, but I barely slowed the car down when I dropped them back off--next time, no snacks from the store!
And now Ava and Bob are back from the goat walk, and we're off to Shirley's Beach Bar to welcome some incoming faculty. I'd better go do something with my hair, cuz it looks like I've already at the beach bar for an all-nighter. I remember being welcomed by the faculty on my first visit to the island. I've come to enjoy the glazed look that the newcomers have. Yes, it's this hot all the time, yes, people drive on the wrong side of the road, yes, you will feel like you've been robbed at gunpoint every time you leave the grocery store, no, you're not allowed to run over the sheep in the road even if they don't move out of the way, and YES, isn't it just beautiful here! Cheers!!
Friday: Shopping and the beach. Went on the goatwalk with Bob and it was very enjoyable. We trail along the herd: goats, sheep and one donkey, plus the housecat. Bob takes along a small power saw and brings down branches for the flock to devour. Cedar is their favorite. Strolling through the fields we can still see the ocean below. Beautiful!
Saturday: More of the same around Seapasture. Bob took the animals on their afternoon walk and came back without the donkey. We had our neighbor, Emmet, over for dinner. He's from Ireland, and a med student. There are very few picky eaters on this island--and everybody seems so grateful to have somebody else cook for them! It's kind of nice. When I pulled a pan of garlic bread out of the oven Emmet swooned like he'd seen the face of the Virgin Mary appear in his bowl of Rice Krispies. After dinner Ava and I took a flashlight and walked over to give the pig some treats. Almost a full moon, and we stood in the road calling for the donkey. And she appeared! Poor thing was soaking wet, had lost her collar, and her face and rump were scratched up. And she was limping. Who knows what happened. I wish she could talk!
Sunday: No Kenroy today. So the herd got an abbreviated walk in the afternoon. The poor donkey stayed right with us, didn't stray more than ten feet from us. Ava found a dog skull--completely bleached--with three teeth left in it. TREASURE!!
Monday: Nice day at Seapasture. Swam in the ocean with Ava early in the morning then in the afternoon shopped downtown, and visited the new Chinese general store. Ava made friends at the store. Had Rick (mad scientist) and Leslie over for dinner...Leslie flies out tomorrow back to the states. She owns a HUGE house with pool up on the mountain, and flies in to stay in it during the semester breaks. Between breaks she rents it to Professor Gordon Avery and his wife, Penny, our friends, who fly back to their native England during the breaks. Gordon has got to be pushing 80--used to be the chief medical officer on Montserrat--and he is a triathelete here on Nevis. And an avid cricket player/fan. Anyway, Bob made curried eggplant and rice, and it was very good. I made madeleines for dessert, using the organic lemons I had picked earlier in the day. Yum!
And that brings us to today! One full week in the Animal House. We've been brought one litter of newborn puppies, and one injured dog, all of which we were able to shunt off elsewhere, although the puppies will probably come back. Sally and Kelly, two daughters of the Chinese store owners, came for a playdate today. They kept us busy!! They were soooo glad to be out of the store, and came with a bag crammed full of junk food treats from the store. Three hours of pool, ponies, finger painting and barbie, with crumbs flying everywhere the whole time: cheez chips, mini ritz crackers with cheez, marshmallow lollipops, tea cookies, ginger snaps, mentos, chocolate chip cookies, gum, I lost track of it all, more crap than Ava's seen in a lifetime, down the hatch in one afternoon. Next time--and they worked very hard to set up a next time for tomorrow, but I barely slowed the car down when I dropped them back off--next time, no snacks from the store!
And now Ava and Bob are back from the goat walk, and we're off to Shirley's Beach Bar to welcome some incoming faculty. I'd better go do something with my hair, cuz it looks like I've already at the beach bar for an all-nighter. I remember being welcomed by the faculty on my first visit to the island. I've come to enjoy the glazed look that the newcomers have. Yes, it's this hot all the time, yes, people drive on the wrong side of the road, yes, you will feel like you've been robbed at gunpoint every time you leave the grocery store, no, you're not allowed to run over the sheep in the road even if they don't move out of the way, and YES, isn't it just beautiful here! Cheers!!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Seapasture, here we don't come!
Well, that didn't work out. Spent a very hot afternoon getting kitchen cabinets and countertop organized, bedroom closets and drawers organized. Only one fan in the house--I have seen it working but neither Bob nor I could get it to turn on--and no breeze through the windows. I got so overheated I got in the pool with Ava while Bob was walking the goats. I couldn't even get into a bathing suit I was soooo sticky.
All day we aired out Bedroom 1, which reeked of cigarette smoke. Bob said it wasn't like that before, so we figure Marty must have spent the whole night in there chain-smoking and packing. I could tell that by bedtime it would still be unbearable. Smells bother me--once over here the smell of detergent on the sheets woke me up and kept me awake until I figured out what it was!
Bedroom 2 has a rip in the screen on the window right at the head of the bed. The cats use it to enter and exit the house. They hunt lizards. Say no more.
Ava and I packed our prissy selves up and came back here, where there is a strong breeze ripping through the house, lotsa fans, and a barrier between us and the great outdoors all night long. AND I got to watch another three episodes of BIG LOVE that Bob has downloaded for me.
Bob will fix the screen today while I swiffer the walls and wash the curtains of Bedroom 1. We have invited two other couples over for dinner tonight so there will also be shopping and cooking. Ava's been out in the yard stalking a small family of cattle --not often we find cows lolling and grazing inside our fence--and climbing on top of the jeep, which she is NOT supposed to do but by ignoring that I bought a few minutes on the computer.
Happy Tuesday, all!
All day we aired out Bedroom 1, which reeked of cigarette smoke. Bob said it wasn't like that before, so we figure Marty must have spent the whole night in there chain-smoking and packing. I could tell that by bedtime it would still be unbearable. Smells bother me--once over here the smell of detergent on the sheets woke me up and kept me awake until I figured out what it was!
Bedroom 2 has a rip in the screen on the window right at the head of the bed. The cats use it to enter and exit the house. They hunt lizards. Say no more.
Ava and I packed our prissy selves up and came back here, where there is a strong breeze ripping through the house, lotsa fans, and a barrier between us and the great outdoors all night long. AND I got to watch another three episodes of BIG LOVE that Bob has downloaded for me.
Bob will fix the screen today while I swiffer the walls and wash the curtains of Bedroom 1. We have invited two other couples over for dinner tonight so there will also be shopping and cooking. Ava's been out in the yard stalking a small family of cattle --not often we find cows lolling and grazing inside our fence--and climbing on top of the jeep, which she is NOT supposed to do but by ignoring that I bought a few minutes on the computer.
Happy Tuesday, all!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Seapasture, here we come!
Monday, August 20th
Today we say good bye to Marty, who is following her husband to Grenada where he will teach medicine and study veterinary medicine. We officially begin our care of the animals at Seapasture, home of the Nevis Humane Society, as well as the two that we bring with us, Bob's cat, Sidecar, and the puppy we are keeping for a student during the break, Vinny. Vinny follows me everywhere, and is asleep right now with his head draped over my foot. They come with these cute tricks built in, so we don't pull their ears off for peeing on the floor. So far it has worked for Vinny, but I'm making no promises.
Each month we get $450EC from the Society account to buy grain, condensed milk, cat food and the like for the animals. The pig belongs to a neighbor, so we just give him our food scraps for free! Last week we unloaded seven goats at the very impressive estate of the mad scientist (whose lab finally passed through customs, yeah! except for the chemicals! awww.) and four went to market, presumably to end up on the table. We have one employee, a 14-year-old named Kenroy, who helps walk the remaining goats/sheep/donkey and keeps the yard cleaned up.
First things to change: no sheep or donkey living in the front yard (although we'll ALWAYS have to wear shoes outside) and no cats on the kitchen counter. Marty showed me the watering bowl that stays on the kitchen counter, and I thought, "nooooooo!". However, even after I lower the feline feeding station to the ground, the cats won't feel the least bit obligated to stay on or near the floor. They nap on top of the kitchen cabinets, and on the shelves of all the closets that have curtains instead of doors. It's weird, because unless you hunt for them, you don't see ANY cats anywhere, except Sakopuss (sp?) who came with the house. He lounges around on the furniture like a proper cat. He has the HUGEST underbite--both of his lower canines (felines?) are visible ALL THE TIME. They're like tusks. Upside-down tusks.
There's a tiny pool, hot-tub sized, at Seapasture, attached to the porch. Ava adores it. She wanted to swim in it every day until she discovered the pool at the Mad Scientist's house. His pool is much larger, and she can't touch the bottom anywhere, but adding to the charm is the FREE MONKEY SHOW every afternoon at 5pm. The island monkeys frequent the yard on their daily outing to the mango trees around the pool area. They are amazing to watch up close, and they watch us, too. We watch them watching us, and so on. So far it hasn't gotten old. But Rick (the Mad Scientist) isn't as crazy about them because of....MONKEY POOP!
But that's the way of Nevis. Lotsa animals. Lotsa poop.
Well, gotta pack my bag for our first overnight at Animal House. We're not doing any extensive moving since we'll have both houses until the end of the year. Speaking of moving, did I mention Alden moved into his dorm on Saturday? I wasn't there but he had plenty of help from Robert and my mom and sister, Emily. They even made a run to the SuperK for a wok and a fan.
Also, thanks to all who wrote to ask about Hurricane Dean. We just got wind and rain from that event, so a good warm up for the hurricane season. Other highlights of the past few days: dinner at Nisbett Plantation (very swanky, thank you, Mad Scientist!) and cocktails at home with Gary and Michele, married, he a teacher, she a student at the medical school, both nudists. We ALWAYS honk as we drive up! Great rum punch with a gorgeous view of St. Kitts across the water.
Have a great week!
Love,
Rachel
Today we say good bye to Marty, who is following her husband to Grenada where he will teach medicine and study veterinary medicine. We officially begin our care of the animals at Seapasture, home of the Nevis Humane Society, as well as the two that we bring with us, Bob's cat, Sidecar, and the puppy we are keeping for a student during the break, Vinny. Vinny follows me everywhere, and is asleep right now with his head draped over my foot. They come with these cute tricks built in, so we don't pull their ears off for peeing on the floor. So far it has worked for Vinny, but I'm making no promises.
Each month we get $450EC from the Society account to buy grain, condensed milk, cat food and the like for the animals. The pig belongs to a neighbor, so we just give him our food scraps for free! Last week we unloaded seven goats at the very impressive estate of the mad scientist (whose lab finally passed through customs, yeah! except for the chemicals! awww.) and four went to market, presumably to end up on the table. We have one employee, a 14-year-old named Kenroy, who helps walk the remaining goats/sheep/donkey and keeps the yard cleaned up.
First things to change: no sheep or donkey living in the front yard (although we'll ALWAYS have to wear shoes outside) and no cats on the kitchen counter. Marty showed me the watering bowl that stays on the kitchen counter, and I thought, "nooooooo!". However, even after I lower the feline feeding station to the ground, the cats won't feel the least bit obligated to stay on or near the floor. They nap on top of the kitchen cabinets, and on the shelves of all the closets that have curtains instead of doors. It's weird, because unless you hunt for them, you don't see ANY cats anywhere, except Sakopuss (sp?) who came with the house. He lounges around on the furniture like a proper cat. He has the HUGEST underbite--both of his lower canines (felines?) are visible ALL THE TIME. They're like tusks. Upside-down tusks.
There's a tiny pool, hot-tub sized, at Seapasture, attached to the porch. Ava adores it. She wanted to swim in it every day until she discovered the pool at the Mad Scientist's house. His pool is much larger, and she can't touch the bottom anywhere, but adding to the charm is the FREE MONKEY SHOW every afternoon at 5pm. The island monkeys frequent the yard on their daily outing to the mango trees around the pool area. They are amazing to watch up close, and they watch us, too. We watch them watching us, and so on. So far it hasn't gotten old. But Rick (the Mad Scientist) isn't as crazy about them because of....MONKEY POOP!
But that's the way of Nevis. Lotsa animals. Lotsa poop.
Well, gotta pack my bag for our first overnight at Animal House. We're not doing any extensive moving since we'll have both houses until the end of the year. Speaking of moving, did I mention Alden moved into his dorm on Saturday? I wasn't there but he had plenty of help from Robert and my mom and sister, Emily. They even made a run to the SuperK for a wok and a fan.
Also, thanks to all who wrote to ask about Hurricane Dean. We just got wind and rain from that event, so a good warm up for the hurricane season. Other highlights of the past few days: dinner at Nisbett Plantation (very swanky, thank you, Mad Scientist!) and cocktails at home with Gary and Michele, married, he a teacher, she a student at the medical school, both nudists. We ALWAYS honk as we drive up! Great rum punch with a gorgeous view of St. Kitts across the water.
Have a great week!
Love,
Rachel
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Macaroni and Hurricane Watch
Well, another sunny day here in Nevis. I must be getting used to the heat, because several times I have found myself doing something without first having pointed one or more fans directly at me. Ava continues to be blissfully ignorant of the heat, and complains if the fan blows right on her because it, as she says, "moves my hair around."
This last week: No swimming for Ava due to an ear ache. She's been rock climbing (4-year old version: horizontal rock pile) and goat walking, and met another local girl her age, Nashanti. Ava calls her Shanti, because that's easy for her to remember. One of Nashanti's sister's names is Peaches :-) Her dad is our car mechanic, Surpriser.
We had our book club meeting (over two hours long! Almost 5 minutes of which was devoted to the book I didn't read! no prob!) --10 white ladies sitting around eating snacks and talking! I picked up some good info on island living. I borrowed and read A Thousand Splendid Suns which was awesome!
We had a potluck dinner for the faculty--we and our neighbor, Pat, doing most of the cooking, although just about everybody brought something. Winner of the Grossest Dish Award: Dr. Susan K. with her Sweet Macaroni Salad with pasta, sweetened condensed milk, raisins, canned fruit cocktail and cheese cubes. Said the recipe was from the Philippines!
Also went to the graduation ceremony for the Summer '07 class of the medical school. Well, they're not finished, but they were awarded their white lab coats and they will be heading to the States for their residencies. The graduation was held at the Four Seasons and the hors d'oeuvres afterwards were wonderful!
So I guess we might get some weather this weekend from Tropical Storm Dean:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/083540.shtml?5day#contents
At the Animal House they are laying in grain, canned milk (for the bottle-fed babies) (goats) and batteries. Over here we'll just pull in the stuff from the porch and close the windows. I wonder if the chickens will blow away!
Oh, and a quick shout out to my sister, Amanda, who was able to touch the hand of her idol, Michael Buble, without causing too much embarrassment to the family, and to my mother who successfully published her first book! Congrats, you two!!
Today Ava and I will go check on our seedlings and hit the beach again. We miss you all!
Rachel
This last week: No swimming for Ava due to an ear ache. She's been rock climbing (4-year old version: horizontal rock pile) and goat walking, and met another local girl her age, Nashanti. Ava calls her Shanti, because that's easy for her to remember. One of Nashanti's sister's names is Peaches :-) Her dad is our car mechanic, Surpriser.
We had our book club meeting (over two hours long! Almost 5 minutes of which was devoted to the book I didn't read! no prob!) --10 white ladies sitting around eating snacks and talking! I picked up some good info on island living. I borrowed and read A Thousand Splendid Suns which was awesome!
We had a potluck dinner for the faculty--we and our neighbor, Pat, doing most of the cooking, although just about everybody brought something. Winner of the Grossest Dish Award: Dr. Susan K. with her Sweet Macaroni Salad with pasta, sweetened condensed milk, raisins, canned fruit cocktail and cheese cubes. Said the recipe was from the Philippines!
Also went to the graduation ceremony for the Summer '07 class of the medical school. Well, they're not finished, but they were awarded their white lab coats and they will be heading to the States for their residencies. The graduation was held at the Four Seasons and the hors d'oeuvres afterwards were wonderful!
So I guess we might get some weather this weekend from Tropical Storm Dean:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/083540.shtml?5day#contents
At the Animal House they are laying in grain, canned milk (for the bottle-fed babies) (goats) and batteries. Over here we'll just pull in the stuff from the porch and close the windows. I wonder if the chickens will blow away!
Oh, and a quick shout out to my sister, Amanda, who was able to touch the hand of her idol, Michael Buble, without causing too much embarrassment to the family, and to my mother who successfully published her first book! Congrats, you two!!
Today Ava and I will go check on our seedlings and hit the beach again. We miss you all!
Rachel
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Cooking Lessons
Well, let's see. I have finished several books but threw in the towel on the military history of Anguilla. I'll do a quick session on Wikipedia before the book club meeting, and FAKE IT!! I'll wear my tee-shirt that says, "I'm here for the booze." That way nobody will expect too much in the way of literary criticism.
I turned 43 on Tuesday! I think I'll celebrate with a facial at the Four Seasons next time I have the chance. Try to undo some of the damage from all the sun, salt and sand. Bob's teaching break starts next week, so that should be a good time to get out of the house.
We'll be moving into the Animal House in 10 days --mostly it's known as Seapasture--and Ava and I are excited about the pig. We've made friends with it (not sure if it's a boy or girl) by bringing it treats every day. He's sooo cute! And it will eat anything and LOVE it, even raw onions. Ava and I have had fun putting together barfy bags of scraps and leftovers and wondering if there's anything the pig might reject. So far, no. It's so satisfying. Like cooking a wonderful meal for an adoring husband who appreciates your culinary skills, except without all the cooking. Toss some crap in a bag and bingo! New best friend. Watch out, Bob! Speaking of cooking lessons, the maid that comes with Seapasture is an excellent cook and is going to teach me how to make vegetarian roti! I Am So Excited About That. (And about having a maid, too)
My seeds have sprouted--a couple weeks and I'll start the process of transplanting the seedlings to larger pots and slowly killing them. Very exciting.
I'm posting a picture of Ava rinsing off yesterday at Herbert's Beach, clutching her treasures to her chest. They're rocks--is anybody surprised?
Hope you are surviving the HEAT WAVE and are thankful for every moment of Air Condititioning that graces your lives.
See y'all soon,
Rachel
I turned 43 on Tuesday! I think I'll celebrate with a facial at the Four Seasons next time I have the chance. Try to undo some of the damage from all the sun, salt and sand. Bob's teaching break starts next week, so that should be a good time to get out of the house.
We'll be moving into the Animal House in 10 days --mostly it's known as Seapasture--and Ava and I are excited about the pig. We've made friends with it (not sure if it's a boy or girl) by bringing it treats every day. He's sooo cute! And it will eat anything and LOVE it, even raw onions. Ava and I have had fun putting together barfy bags of scraps and leftovers and wondering if there's anything the pig might reject. So far, no. It's so satisfying. Like cooking a wonderful meal for an adoring husband who appreciates your culinary skills, except without all the cooking. Toss some crap in a bag and bingo! New best friend. Watch out, Bob! Speaking of cooking lessons, the maid that comes with Seapasture is an excellent cook and is going to teach me how to make vegetarian roti! I Am So Excited About That. (And about having a maid, too)
My seeds have sprouted--a couple weeks and I'll start the process of transplanting the seedlings to larger pots and slowly killing them. Very exciting.
I'm posting a picture of Ava rinsing off yesterday at Herbert's Beach, clutching her treasures to her chest. They're rocks--is anybody surprised?
Hope you are surviving the HEAT WAVE and are thankful for every moment of Air Condititioning that graces your lives.
See y'all soon,
Rachel
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Squids, Bingo and Anguillans in Rowboats
Well. here we are. Another day in paradise, right? Alden and Mary leave tomorrow morning. I think they have had a very good visit. They went to the beach just about every day, and went on various hikes to ruins, historical homes, bat cave, etc. They've gotten to see a great deal of the flora and fauna Nevis has to offer: bats, humming birds, crabs, fish, pelicans, doves, frigate birds, cattle egrets, a school of squid, monkeys, donkeys, goats, sheep, cattle, cats, dogs, all kinds of exotic tropical plants and Alden's favorite tree, the coconut palm. They even had a midnight excursion to watch a sea turtle laying her eggs, right up close. Not bad! Oh, and let's not forget the buhzillion ants that march shamelessly through this house day and night. We've all learned not to lean on the walls. Alden shot a piece of video of a three-legged goat to amuse his friends with, and happened to catch this goat drinking the urine of another goat! You'd think he'd won the lottery! He and Mary burned a path to the computer to get this piece of pure gold onto YouTube. Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL3pnb6XRM0
This last week I set out about 400 seeds to sprout, lots of tomatoes, peppers, lettuces and greens, herbs and watermelon. We'll see what grows. No, this doesn't represent any new horticultural interests, just a desire to eat food that hasn't been sprayed with chemicals or shipped from the opposite corner of the earth. I'm lucky to be able to use the greenhouse at the medical school for this project, and the groundskeeper is even watering everything for me until the time comes to start transplanting! His name is Mike, and I can understand about every other word he says, but I imagine and hope this is the uphill of a learning curve.
Ava's had one playdate since we've been here, certainly not up to her standards! So she's been driving us all a little nuts, and we've all put in a turn playing ponies with her (pure torture) and have had several family ZINGO BINGO tournaments (thanks, Brenda and Solomon!!) that were fairly competitive.
Also slightly challenging has been the loss of water (one whole day) then the sudden emptying of our propane tank before a four-day weekend (they have lots of weird holidays here) which means no cooking on the stove or in the oven (oooh, goodie, rice cooker surprise again!) and to top it all off, loss of electricity COMBINED with no propane. Which means no microwave, toaster oven, rice cooker or the usual appliances. You can or maybe cannot imagine what dinner was like that night.
What else...I made the mistake of joining a book club without prescreening it. Who knew?? The current book isn't in print, and there are only two copies circulating amongst the members. I was given one of the copies a little too enthusiastically by one of the members who hasn't even read it, and now I know why. Because of the short supply of books, and only 6 more days until the meeting, I have only two nights to read it, and I fall asleep every time I try. Crap!! It's a, sigh, it's a military history of Anguilla. It was written in the early '70's. Wake up, I won't tell you any more. I've never been in a book club before but sheesh!! Aren't they supposed to be...fun??
So, the competition for the computer has been fierce, even with Alden having his laptop It should get better. I miss you all! And now, for a flashback to highschool history, I must away to my veryfun reading assignment. Sleep is not far away.
Rachel
PS, Alden informs me that the cat brought a rat into the house and ate only the top half of it. I have to get rid of the bottom half of it (gulp) which has a seven inch tail, I swear-to-god. Sleep now very far away.
Ugh.
This last week I set out about 400 seeds to sprout, lots of tomatoes, peppers, lettuces and greens, herbs and watermelon. We'll see what grows. No, this doesn't represent any new horticultural interests, just a desire to eat food that hasn't been sprayed with chemicals or shipped from the opposite corner of the earth. I'm lucky to be able to use the greenhouse at the medical school for this project, and the groundskeeper is even watering everything for me until the time comes to start transplanting! His name is Mike, and I can understand about every other word he says, but I imagine and hope this is the uphill of a learning curve.
Ava's had one playdate since we've been here, certainly not up to her standards! So she's been driving us all a little nuts, and we've all put in a turn playing ponies with her (pure torture) and have had several family ZINGO BINGO tournaments (thanks, Brenda and Solomon!!) that were fairly competitive.
Also slightly challenging has been the loss of water (one whole day) then the sudden emptying of our propane tank before a four-day weekend (they have lots of weird holidays here) which means no cooking on the stove or in the oven (oooh, goodie, rice cooker surprise again!) and to top it all off, loss of electricity COMBINED with no propane. Which means no microwave, toaster oven, rice cooker or the usual appliances. You can or maybe cannot imagine what dinner was like that night.
What else...I made the mistake of joining a book club without prescreening it. Who knew?? The current book isn't in print, and there are only two copies circulating amongst the members. I was given one of the copies a little too enthusiastically by one of the members who hasn't even read it, and now I know why. Because of the short supply of books, and only 6 more days until the meeting, I have only two nights to read it, and I fall asleep every time I try. Crap!! It's a, sigh, it's a military history of Anguilla. It was written in the early '70's. Wake up, I won't tell you any more. I've never been in a book club before but sheesh!! Aren't they supposed to be...fun??
So, the competition for the computer has been fierce, even with Alden having his laptop It should get better. I miss you all! And now, for a flashback to highschool history, I must away to my veryfun reading assignment. Sleep is not far away.
Rachel
PS, Alden informs me that the cat brought a rat into the house and ate only the top half of it. I have to get rid of the bottom half of it (gulp) which has a seven inch tail, I swear-to-god. Sleep now very far away.
Ugh.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Just like we left it
Great day of travel yesterday with Ava. We got up at 3:15 AM to get to the airport, but Ava slept on two out of three of the flights. No turbulence, no delays...two out of seven bags selected for inspection at customs and nothing embarrassing in either bag. As good as it gets! Coming in the runway at Nevis at 5:30pm, we saw goats grazing in the grass on one side, then the plane does a u-turn to come back to the airport, and the beach runs down the other side. Nice!
Today I unpacked, bleached all the cutting boards in the kitchen (omigod!) and we paid a long visit to Marti and Danny Burns, who currently run the island's home for orphaned goats, sheep, donkeys and cats. They are leaving the island in a couple weeks and we are moving into their house to take over care of the animals. Twenty cats, did I mention them? But no litter boxes in the house.
While putting two baby goats back into their pen, I noticed the remains of M&D's recently deceased prize goat, Big Boy, swinging in a hammock. Air-drying, I guess. I asked Danny how the hide was coming along (right now it looks more like a very flat goat than a nice hide) and he said he was waiting to finish the curing process with the brain paste. Brain paste, says I??? Yes, he says, chuckling, you need brain paste to finish the process. What kind of brains do you need? I ask, who knows why. I can't remember what he said, though, because I was too busy wondering if he could get the whole process finished before he leaves the island, or if that would be added to our to-do list. There is a Limit.
We had dinner tonight at Golden Rock Plantation Inn with Bob's friend Rick Ishmael. He's some kind of mad scientist, but his entire laboratory is in a container that didn't pass through customs successfully (they probably don't know what to make of all that stuff) so he's at loose ends until that's all straightened out. Beautiful property, nice food, truly horrible service that's more of a tradition than a nuisance. Oh, and a couple of large bats flew around the dome of the room we were dining in during dinner, eating bugs. Very cool! http://www.golden-rock.com/
Alden and Mary get here tomorrow!
Today I unpacked, bleached all the cutting boards in the kitchen (omigod!) and we paid a long visit to Marti and Danny Burns, who currently run the island's home for orphaned goats, sheep, donkeys and cats. They are leaving the island in a couple weeks and we are moving into their house to take over care of the animals. Twenty cats, did I mention them? But no litter boxes in the house.
While putting two baby goats back into their pen, I noticed the remains of M&D's recently deceased prize goat, Big Boy, swinging in a hammock. Air-drying, I guess. I asked Danny how the hide was coming along (right now it looks more like a very flat goat than a nice hide) and he said he was waiting to finish the curing process with the brain paste. Brain paste, says I??? Yes, he says, chuckling, you need brain paste to finish the process. What kind of brains do you need? I ask, who knows why. I can't remember what he said, though, because I was too busy wondering if he could get the whole process finished before he leaves the island, or if that would be added to our to-do list. There is a Limit.
We had dinner tonight at Golden Rock Plantation Inn with Bob's friend Rick Ishmael. He's some kind of mad scientist, but his entire laboratory is in a container that didn't pass through customs successfully (they probably don't know what to make of all that stuff) so he's at loose ends until that's all straightened out. Beautiful property, nice food, truly horrible service that's more of a tradition than a nuisance. Oh, and a couple of large bats flew around the dome of the room we were dining in during dinner, eating bugs. Very cool! http://www.golden-rock.com/
Alden and Mary get here tomorrow!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Almost Packed
Six 50-pounds suitcases are taking up most of the space in the living room. Alden wants to have Hannah over for a movie this afternoon so I have to find some place to hide them (they block the view of the TV.) The dogs and cat weave around them without comment. But they know something is up.
I've shipped some things to Nevis (before Bob told me not to because of new duty rates that will kill us) and will also probably beg space in the bags of those who will be visiting us this summer (namely Bob's parents, Bill & Jessie) as I keep adding stuff to my list.
If You and Your 4-year old Daughter Were Going to Be Stranded on an Undeveloped Carribean Island for Three Months What Couldn't You Live Without?
I've shipped some things to Nevis (before Bob told me not to because of new duty rates that will kill us) and will also probably beg space in the bags of those who will be visiting us this summer (namely Bob's parents, Bill & Jessie) as I keep adding stuff to my list.
If You and Your 4-year old Daughter Were Going to Be Stranded on an Undeveloped Carribean Island for Three Months What Couldn't You Live Without?
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