Passage Interdit

My boy is full of surprises! Here he is with the Eiffel Tower in the background. How'd that happen? Why, somebody frisked off to Paris without telling his parents, first! I hope he was studying for his French Exam!

Jessie and Bill's Visit

Bob's parents came for a week to help him usher in his 2nd half-century. Bob woke up on his 50th birthday and said his joints hurt. He looked in the mirror and said he looked like hell. I'm sure it was due to having spent the night on the floor, and not his imminent descent into the grave. We had a lovely dinner at Shirley's beach bar and many friends showed up to give him hell.

The next day we took the car ferry over to St. Kitts for a little adventure. Bob's parents hit the casino at the Marriott and came out winners, much unlike their recent trip to Las Vegas. While they flexed the slot machines we got mango smoothies by the pool. Then drove over to Caribelle Batik to get a demo. I was expecting a little sweatshop filled with boiling vats of water and wax, but was astounded to find the most lush garden plantation with a VERY nice batik demonstration and shop. We came back with a dress for Ava (she can't wear it until her birthday, so no picture) and a bit of cloth that I'm supposed to sew into a dress for Ava (but I can't sew, so no picture.)...lunch on the beach and we just pulled onto the ferry right before they raised up the gate.

Ava was devastated to see Jessie and Bill leave, so we threw together an impromtu pool party to take her mind off of her grandparents. That and some homemade ice cream with chocolate syrup for breakfast the next day seemed to do the trick!

Finding Mishka

Those of you who follow the every move of Matthew McConaughey may know that he spent some time in Nevis last year getting to know a reggae recording artist named Mishka, who lives here on the island part time. They developed a friendship and are collaborating on a future album together. Anyway, I have been keeping my eyes peeled for a Matthew sighting, just in case, but ended up stumbling right into Mishka's home! We met his parents, wife and children, and spent some time drinking lemonade and letting Ava play with his kids, who are also homeschooled. It was funny, because I had no idea at the time whose house we were at, even though his mom said her son was a singer and songwriter and artist. It wasn't until I saw him and got his name when I shook his hand that the coin dropped. I thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, I've been playing his music at home for Ava, compliments of www.mishka.com/music ...peace out, doods!

Ava climbs a mountain

Last week we took Ava to White's Beach, which is near the island's racetrack. We drove past the horse stables -the dirt road ran RIGHT behind the stalls-and saw about a dozen horses peeking out. It was a battle of wills to keep Ava in the car--she wanted to go pet ALL the horses. The place looked like a ghost town, but I didn't want to trespass. The beach was deserted and we climbed up the big rocky hill at the end. (Well, Ave thinks she climbed a mountain, but she's not reading this.) She found a goat horn. Yay. There was a little hollowed out area in the rocks at the top and Ava had fun exploring her own personal cave. The view was spectacular from the top! She found a sand dollar on the way back to the car and was thrilled. I think she thinks she can spend it somewhere or something. Probably wants to save up for a sea horse. Looking at the pictures, I remembered the bracelet she is wearing. She made it out of the cardboard strip you tear off the top of a box of Kleenex. And to think I was trying to throw it away! Treasure everywhere.

A lovely bunch of coconuts...

Wow, has it been three weeks? I am the world's worst blogger. And now that I know my photos don't have to be so tiny, but don't know how to make them bigger, I am really starting to question.

Bob's at graduation this evening, so while Ava stuffs her face with popcorn and watches Underdog, I am going to steal a few minutes on the computer.

The weekend after Easter, we spent the better part of two days with our neighbor down the road, Clarastine, while she turned 40 coconuts into three bottles of coconut oil. It was quite an experience! This great-grandmother used a pick ax to open the outer shell, a hammer to open the inner shell, and she DRANK the coconut water out of all 40 coconuts. The next day she was SO pleased to tell me how many times this caused her to use the bathroom. Between bathroom breaks she had chopped all the coconut meat into little chunks, and we spent serveral hours putting this through her food processor. I tried one coconut on the pick ax and about had a heart attack before Clarastine took pity and finished the job. We poured boiling water over the shredded coconut, and then started stuffing and squeezing. Stuffing it into pillow cases and squeezing out the milk. This milk sat in a huge tub (there's Ava with it before it was full) for 8 hours, allowing the fatty "cream" to rise to the top. This was skimmed off and boiled, then strained and bottled. A lot of time and effort, but she sells the oil faster than she can make it, and that is her spending money. Her house is so tiny it reminded me of the Berenstain Bear's tree house, but in miniature. One room divided with walls into three teensy weensy rooms. There is a basement but you have to go outide to get into it, and I didn't see into it. But she has TV with cable, a landline telephone, and the internet! What I thought would be a great coconut learning adventure for Ava turned into her sitting three inches away from the TV watching Wonderpets then roaming the yard picking weird fruits. The yard is lush--coconut, avocado, tamarind, citrus trees, plenty others I didn't recognize. Clarastine eats a lot of the stuff from her yard, including a lot of coconut. I walked home exhausted and felt very lucky to have everything that we do have, and even though I can't wait to move into a larger place, I realized what a PALACE this is compared to her house!