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.
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