House MD*

*muy dreamy

Bob says he's an ASS, but (eyeroll) why state the obvious? He's tall. talented and soul-tortured just enough to give those jelly-blue eyes gravitas. That's really HIM playing the piano (Netflix all three seasons of Jeeves & Wooster if you don't believe me) (but read the books first as God Intended) and probably the other instruments as well. Plus he can sing.

I've been power watching my way through Seasons 1-3. ("Power watching" sounds so much better than sitting on my butt watching up to four episodes a day while Ava plays outside in the debris pile, right? But seriously, she has made some cool stuff out there. You should see the sculpture she made out of an old carburetor and a feed bag. But it was blocking traffic so I had to get her to remove her installation (PUT THAT CRAP BACK! ALL OF IT!!! STAT!) before it could be photographed. Driveway traffic! No, she was not playing in the street. You were wondering.) I used to let Ava watch with me on my lap. But now she can drop to the floor and fake a grand mal seizure. VERY COOL! And once at dinner she covered both eyes and screamed, "I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!!!" omg that was hilarious. Bob would have thought so too if only he had seen that episode. But it was when she suggested an LP* for the cat that I decided that the debris pile might be more better.

*LP is a Lumbar Puncture for the uninitiated. Everybody gets one and they are SOOO GROSS! But I think I can do one now in case there is ever an emergency. Yay! Also I'm your man for a breathing tube, or in case that fails, a field tracheotomy or in case both of those fail, a shock with the paddles. Time well spent, neh?

Wind and Waves

Wow! a super windy day with lots of huge waves crashing onto every beach. We are going shell hunting this afternoon, see what washed up. I bet our friend Andrew has his surf board out.

Bob got a wild hair and took us to the Jamaican Bakery this morning and literally ordered one of everything. Maybe he is bi-polar? We came out with a dozen little brown paper bags showing grease stains. Everything was baked this morning, and won't be any good tomorrow. Pressure's on! Literally, I can't button my pants.

Ava tried to hack up a lung last night in addition to the sea water she inhaled. No swimming again today, and we might just break down and take her to the pediatrician. Bob thinks I'm crazy (but not bi-polar, just "crackers" ) but I swear her breath still smells like sea water. I finally got up in the middle of the night and gave Ava a dose of Robitussin so I could sleep :) She never woke up while taking her medicine, and she didn't drink quite all the syrup out of that little plastic cup so I set it on the bureau-- and this morning, it was clean and dry. Those crazy ants! Punch-flavored Robitussin.

Got to catch up with Dr. Rick Ishmael, our mad scientist friend. He's teaching now at the medical school while working on starting a cancer clinic using his very own cancer drug. He has investors and everything. Sometimes they fly in and he takes them out to dinner and will bring us along. His wife and son haven't moved here, so he has this huge house up on the mountain all to himself with a fenced in Jurassic-park-like garden that you can get lost in. Ava loves going exploring in his yard and came up to the house dragging an impressive a 30-foot length of bamboo that Rick had cut and left on the ground. So he made us all walking sticks out of it. The monkeys were all over his yard. The mangos aren't ripe yet but there are two other things in his yard the monkeys will eat so he never gets a break from them. Of course, we think they are great!

More on Wind and Clouds in homeschool, then it's on to lambs, eggs and birds & Easter. I brought a bunch of empty eggs to fill and hide. The Nevisians fly kites to celebrate easter, which is kind of cool. Will now bring Ava in for some learnin'. She's outside playing in a pile of construction debris. She can spend hours out there. Third World Charm!

(YES, she is current on her tetanus. I know you were thinking it.)

Our first week...

Well, we start the week of course with the traditional freak-out over the ants, my refusal to eat or drink anything I didn't bring in my suitcase until the refrigerator and counter tops were cleaned...but that's all to be expected.

Ava has been getting lots of attention from her dad, conning him into all kinds of play time, heaploads of books at night, and a trip to the beach every afternoon for a swim. Today, in fact, I have to keep her in for the first time. At the beach yesterday she apparently BREATHED in enough ocean water to make her breath smell like the sea all night long, and her chest is all congested. With salt water. I guess this happened while Bob was getting her to stand on his shoulders and jump into the water. Once she came up and gagged so loudly it echoed off the restaurant/bar...that must have been how the ocean got into her lungs. Hindsight. As usual she hasn't even noticed but let me tell you: the breath thing is WEIRD. What would Dr. House say.

We had our book club meeting the day after I arrived, so I sat down and read some of the book and skimmed the rest. Was able to fake it well enough. The woman who hosted the meeting this time (Linda B) lives part-time on Nevis and her home is just breathtaking. She and her husband built it and have been in it for 7 years. It's like being in a very small resort. I found out she has housekeeping AND landscaping people come 5 days a week, whether they are on the island or not. Imagine! Saturday I went on the annual "Home and Gardens Tour" which is a fund-raiser for the Historical Society. The tickets were about $20 US and I rode with two other women. Seven houses on display--a different bunch every year--and they were spectacular, but none more so than Linda's, and she's never even been asked to participate in the tour. Makes you wonder how many ultra-luxury homes are tucked around the island unnoticed.

The island hosted another triathlon Sunday which always bring Olympic-shaped ("HOT") athletes to the area. I was splashing around Oualie beach on Friday watching some of them do laps and jog up and down the beach. Nice scenery! http://www.nevisblog.com/?p=957

The school hosted a barbecue for the students Saturday and they rented a Dora the Explorer bouncy house thing. I don't know why, but Bob always goes to the student functions and we had a very good time hanging around the pool and letting Ava bounce to her heart's content with the few children that were there. There were even veggie burgers!

Well, those are the jumbled up highlights of our week. Ava and I have been talking about clouds and wind in "home school" and making shamrocks. I have also watched almost the entire Season 2 of House, MD, and am trying to make the remaining few episodes last. He's so dreamy.

We're Baaaaack!

Well, well, here almost six months since my last entry, and we are back in Nevis. The month after my last post was spent in Nevis, but with all the excitement of Bob's infected spider bite that sent him to the emergency room twice, and the frequent changing of the wet dressing (puss! blood! gore!) I just didn't make time to write. Then five wonderful months spent in Raleigh surrounded by friends, family and the luxuries of modern life. Ah, good times.

We had smooth sailing all the way, and not a single suitcase was opened at the Customs stop. That always makes me wish I had packed something more interesting than 200 pounds of books, toys and games. We flew through Saint Maarten this time, a wonderful way to avoid the lovely San Juan airport. However, the only planes that go from SXM to Nevis are super tiny. I'm sure there's an aviation designation for the little insect that flew us over to the island. In my seat, I could easily reach my hands out and touch both walls of the plane, then by raising one arm and lowering the other, touch the floor and the ceiling. No beverage service. No cocktail peanuts. Oh, but the view! We flew low (the cabin wasn't pressurized, which REALLY bothered Ava's ears--she burst into tears as we descended) and the sunset was lighting up the clouds and the water and the islands we passed. I saw fish frolicking in the water! I did! I did!!!

Le porc est libre!

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.

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

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.