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!

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?