We have been in the process of refinancing our house for the past 6 months or so. This must be some kind of record. No big deal, we weren’t in a tremendous hurry and we were hoping the rates would continue to go down.

Well, they didn’t but it was good to have a new appraisal done on the house, and updated paperwork with Michael’s name on it rather than my ex’s, and increased insurance coverage just in time for the height of hurricane season.

We went in on Friday for an hour of signing our names on the many forms and papers included in our packet. But our banker forgot to include flood insurance, so he had to make changes and we had to re-sign a few of them on Monday.

Yesterday, we receive word from him that, since we’d wanted to put the house in trust, we’d have to re-sign all of the papers and add the words “as co trustee for the ************ trust”. So this morning we sat and hand wrote our signatures and “as co trustee for the ************* trust” on papers we had already signed, even though it was typed beneath the signature line. There were twenty-six pages!!

I just kept giggling thinking of the absurdity of this. But at least it’s done (we hope) !

Tonight at the Caravelle Hotel conference room, there will be a public hearing to address the minimum sizes of imported spiny lobsters. It will begin at 7:00 pm, and it should be interesting. If nothing else, with everything being so expensive these days, it’ll provide free entertainment during a less exciting time of year.

Also, I’m very excited because I’m on Donna’s list. We got an e-mail from the office of the Delegate to Congress, Donna M. Christian-Christensen about a “St. Croix National Heritage Areas Study Meeting”. This is being run in conjunction with the National Park Service. Meetings will be held from 6:30-7:30pm, the first one on Thursday evening, July 24th, at the American Legion Hall, Hospital Street, C’sted; and also on Friday, July 25th at Pier 69’s courtyard, F’sted. After the F’sted meeting, there will be a cultural presentation from 7:30 until. Another meeting will be held at UVI’s Great Hall on Monday, July 28th. again at 6:30.

They invite the entire community to participate. “Please come out and share your ideas, concerns, suggestions, and visions for the future of a possible National Heritage Area on St. Croix.”

For more information on the public meetings, contact delegate Christensen’s office at 778-5900. For additional information on the cultural presentation, contact Frandelle Girard at 719-5455, or chantvi@viaccess.net.

Friday night, the yacht club had a “full moon sail”. Members were invited to the usual Friday night Happy Hour, but also to sail around Teague Bay in by the light of the full moon. Those with sailing certification could use one of the yc small boats. There are Rhodes 19s and Sunfish available. The use of light sticks and other objects of illumination were encouraged. We got there early hoping to eat and get out to the dock to watch the brave sailors dodge each other and moored vessels with variable breezes and limited visibility.

By the time our food arrived, however, the sailors were all safely back in the club house. It was a fun idea. We just don’t know why the kitchen took over 1/2 hour to get 2 bacon cheeseburgers and an order of sushi out to us. All in all, we had a nice time with good company .

Anyway, Saturday night, we went to a party in Judith’s Fancy. This was such a large affair that guests would need to park at the gate and be shuttled by taxi van to the villa.

There were plenty of people we knew waiting in the parking area with us, and fortunately there was a bit of a breeze, so we didn’t melt. Three the taxi vans had been hired, and when two finally got to us, we did not fit in the larger one. We got the 7 passenger model. It would have been fine except that the driver had some sort of death wish for us or something. There are numerous speed bumps in this neighborhood. But rather than driving at a sane speed between the bumps, this guy sped up. He’d gun the vehicle from one bump to the next and have to slam on the brakes when we got to the next one. We felt as if we’d go flying through the windshield! It was absurd!

At one point there were kids on bicycles and a dog walking on the side of the road. Do you think this guy slowed down? Hell no! He wasn’t right on top of the next speed bump yet!

The strangest thing was, when we got to the top of the driveway leading down to the villa, he stopped and left the van to make sure there was no other van waiting to come up. We were left to wait for him. So….what was his great hurry, we wondered?

We’re not in the driving business per se, but we do know that you use up more gasoline with that type of driving. This taxi driver should know that, and he should take better care of his passengers, the neighborhood kids and his gasoline buying dollars. Duh!

Anyway, the party was great. Lots of smart, successful people, great food and wine, music and dancing, and folks jumping in the pool with their clothes on. Fabulous!

After all that fun, Sunday was a work day. I had a couple of clients and Michael worked on the pool and the Pumpkin. I got a little painting done and managed to get more paint on the wood than in may hair. Not too bad for an after-party attempt!!

There’s a new little breakfast/lunch place in C’sted on Queen Cross Street. I had seen an ad for it somewhere, but we were in town for a meeting this morning and stumbled upon it.

It’s where”Mango Court” used to be. Alas the huge mango tree is gone, but the courtyard has been transformed into a welcoming space. This is good to know, since Christine’s, Café Fresco and the Pickled Greek are not open for lunch for the next few weeks.

Clayton offers a half-dozen or so coffees ranging from extreme in caffeine content, to something I can drink without bouncing off the walls (French Vanilla…Mmmmm!). Bagels with salmon and cream cheese, quiches and yummy muffins round out the breakfast options. Check for daily specials.

Sandwiches and salads to go with your midday Java are served until around 3pm. After that, you can have a coffee at tea time. Frozen cappucino frappé-type thingies swirl around in freezey blending machines. Stop by and give one a try for your afternoon kick before happy hour!

Hours are 7am - 4pm Monday through Saturday. Namasté!

I just heard a news report about the pope’s speech in Australia and looked it up. Here is a direct quote out of The Sydney Morning Herald:

“We need to rediscover our earth in the face of our God and creator and to re-find our responsibilities in front of our maker and the creatures of the earth he has placed in our hands in trust,” he said.

“We need to reawaken our conscience … I want to give impulse to rediscovering our responsibilities and to finding an ethical way to change our way of life and ways to respond to these great challenges.”

Believers in the “God” the pope speaks of, should pay heed. I imagine they also believe in hell and do not want to spend eternity there for ignoring the problems caused by excessive development and consumption.

We need to “change our way of life….”, he says.

Well, this is not news to us. There are numerous reasons we left the “American lifestyle” of develop and consume with no regard to the finite and beautiful planet we all inhabit. We want something better for all, and St. Croix can be a shining example of conservation and environmentally responsible development and tourism.

Too many people here are trying to follow the examples of too many others who have made grave mistakes in the stewardship of our environment. Why can’t we be world leaders in forward thinking rather than blind followers of outdated methods?

Go Pontiff!!!

I think I’ll officially nominate Harry Potter for “god of the world”.

He does miraculous things and always wins against Voldemort. The “god” in the bible often seems to act like an agent of evil. He smites people. Even innocent people. Ever been smote? Sounds like it might hurt.

Harry Potter would never smite any one except if they were trying to kill him or cause harm to someone else.

He rarely, if ever does harm to animals, no matter how big or mean or ugly they are (unless, again, if it’s totally in self-defense). In the bible, “god” makes people sacrifice animals, and their own children!

Harry Potter respects the women in his life as well as those who look nothing like him, like Hagrid.

He’s young and energetic. I think those are good qualities to have in a “god”. He’s also cute, and I like his accent. Sounds like the perfect “god of the world”!

After eight years of seeing NOTHING come to St. Croix from the turnbull administration, we are happy to see our current governor out in public, talking to the people, all the while, working to secure a better future for the USVI.

However, since deJongh took office, we have seen the Christiansted by-pass begin. We have also seen more activity on the south shore from the “Golden Gaming” aka “Wyndham St. Croix” project.

We KNOW that this project cannot even begin, since the “permits” Golden and his proposed project has procured are ILLEGAL!!! [Point #1…the CZM board which originally voted to grant Golden a permit did not have a quorum (this means there were not enough voting members present to conduct business that day)].

They should have just gone home…or put off the question to a later date. But the local CZM board proceeded. Ignoring the law. There are many more complicated legal issues that this proposed project has, but we continue to see illegal activity in this area of particular concern (APC).

It seems to be an ongoing problem with this project. Currently, there is a gigantic sign, of billboard proportions, being erected at the entrance to the property Golden/Wyndham purports to be theirs. After repeated calls to government agencies, it appears that there has been no permit issued for this sign.

Everyone I have spoken to this morning has “passed the buck” . My latest written and spoken contacts with agencies involved (including the governor), speak about my concerns regarding federal funding for the territory. I would hate to see federal funding (which lends these agencies credibility) be suspended due to impropriety.

Temporary jobs for the people do not solve the entrenched problems that keep our island oppressed (downpressed) in the long run.

Let’s hope the deJongh administration sees the errors of the ways of the previous administrations and rises toward making St. Croix into the unique and precious gem of the Caribbean that it truly is…

This picture was taken by Peach Pod last month when Wreggie and Co. were here. Since then, our little boy has a had a visit to the dentist. He had a couple of his front teeth removed! Now he really looks like a little kid. We’ll have to teach him how to sing, “All I want for christmas is my two front teeth”!

You can just barely see his teeth in this shot, but often when he’s looking at us, we can see the gap where his upper incisors used to be. Poor Biggie! I hope the other dogs don’t start calling him redneck names !

Our kayak is great. I’m starting to think that I prefer kayaking to sailing. It’s cheaper and easier to buy and maintain a kayak, and it gets us where we’re going in a decent amount of time.

Yesterday, we had business to do in the early AM in Frederiksted. We stopped for breakfast on the way, met with a realtor friend in F’sted, and on the way back, stopped to help another friend load her kayak onto her sports car, so she could come to Buck with us. She hadn’t been kayaking in a year and a half!

When we got to the yacht club, there was a guy there getting his kayak loaded up. He had a “one person” pedal kayak, but his was equipped with small pontoons on either side. I wondered why, but quickly found out. He would be taking his two young sons with him! It’s kind of funny to try to imagine one kid on each pontoon, but in actuality, he sat one in front of him, facing him, and one right behind his seat, with the boy’s back against his. Very clever!

They started out a minute or two before we did, but we stopped to take pictures of a large wooden ketch anchored off the west end of the yacht club’s bay. It looked like a pirate ship because of it’s dark coloration and seems to be in great condition. We searched for a name on it, but only saw a golden eagle on the transom.

Anyway, the kayaker with the kids aboard was not ahead of us, but had gone toward Duggans, perhaps to adjust some gear or rigging. We pedaled away, down to the cut in the reef waving to Llewellyn as he passed on his way back to the yacht club ! He had a small group on board and we were thrilled to see him back at the helm of Charis+ where he belongs…

We got through the cut and the swells got bigger. Certainly not as big as we’ve seen, but it was a nice rolling ride through the deep blue. Since it is the height of sea turtle mating season, we were sure we’d spot at least one pair. And as we approached Buck Island, about half-way between the park boundary and the beach, we did see a pair of very large green turtles trying to situate themselves for mating. Well, he was trying, anyway. She seemed to want to keep facing him. Maybe she just wanted to chat a little before the big event . We got to within 20 yards of them and watched them struggle for a good 5-7 minutes until they saw us and dove down. We hope they were able to complete their mission!

The day was gorgeous, so there were a few boats already there. We pulled the kayaks up onto the south-facing side of the beach, had a little Monkey Bay Sauvignon blanc, and Michael and I went for a little snorkel. Here we are in pristine national park land, but some jerks are water-ski-boarding! We went into the water, and they (not paying attention, of course) almost plowed us over! We’ve noticed no jet skis out there (thank goodness!), so now I’ll have to call Joel Tutein and ask if water skiing is legal there. If it is not, I’ll let him know that they’ll need to get the word out or patrol the waters better. Or else, we will be calling in any violators we see. If it is actually allowed out there, they need to change the rules. A park is not for the sole entertainment of a few (I’m trying to word things without being offensive, so I’ll just call them idiots rather than assholes) in (and being dragged by) a motor boat.

Anyway, from where we were, the sand drops off steeply from the beach into the seagrass beds. Even though this is not considered a “primo” snorkeling spot, we saw lots of great stuff. Three active stingrays, a large black barracuda with a little french angel fish, and some uniquely camouflaged conchs. I could feel the energy of seagrass beds, knowing how much life is nourished and protected by them.

We got back on shore and had a bit of lunch. The guy with his kids had arrived and they were having a jolly good time on the beach and in the water. When we were finished solving all of the world’s problems, we packed up and pedaled back to the big island.

We did meet another turtle on the journey home and wished it well in it’s mating attempts. Even though it was Saturday, we could still say, “Happy ‘Hump Day’!”

Yesterday I got an e-mail from “The Spiritual Cinema Circle”. We joined this movie club in February when I was searching for something to get Michael for Valentine’s Day. We both enjoy watching movies. I especially like having no TV channels, since we don’t have cable. It gives us a complete control over our lives in the matter of this particular medium. Unless, of course, we’re at the bank or post office, or most bars, many restaurants, in airports, or other places people get bombarded with misinformation and advertising (oh, isn’t that the same thing?). Anyway, we get on DVD per month which contains a few short (5-30 minute) movies and a longer one (60-90 minutes or so).

The independent films are thought provoking and have important messages that can be discussed at the end of each selection.

Anyway, the e-mail was about a movie that is out in the regular world now, not just the spiritual cinema circle. And it has many important messages. The movie is Wall-E.

I don’t usually pay attention to what’s in the theaters since most of it is loud, obnoxious, violent, exploding, destructive crap all over the screen, so I may have seen previews or posters for this one, but paid no attention.

But after reading the e-mail, I thought this would be a good one to check out, so after a quick trip to the beach when Michael got home from work, we got dressed and headed to Pizza Mare, and then to the movie theater.

This quote from the Spiritual cinema circle is what prompted me to suggest to Michael that we go.

“Wall-E is a robot, living alone (almost) on earth, cleaning up the trillions of pounds of trash left behind when humanity departed its uninhabitable planet. Wall-E’s earth wasn’t ravaged by either a war or a meteor. No, it was decimated by consumerism, greed, gluttony, and environmental neglect. Wall-E isn’t living on a post-apocalyptic planet. He’s living on a post-stupidity planet.”

It is a fun movie (even though it has a bit of loud, obnoxious, violent, exploding, destructive crap) that looks to be right on as far as the evolution of the human species is concerned.

“….the good news is that we are pampered from morning to night by every automated convenience that we could possibly imagine. We don’t work. We don’t need money. We have no conflicts. We have everything we want to eat and drink at any time we want it and are whisked everywhere on cushy recliners. The bad news? We have all become so fat that we literally can’t even walk!”

Fortunately, there is a happy ending. An alert leader realizes what is needed to save the planet and humanity and we are left with hope for the future.

Five STX “senators” voted against the Diageo deal. This “fab five” may have taken the advice of their constituents.

The sentiment I’ve been hearing on the talks shows is that they “needed more time”. Oh pahleez! Give these people more time to screw something up that the governor and delegate to congress have been working on for a year!

From what I’ve seen, Governor deJongh has not done anything selfish while in office. ALL of the “senators” have. They’ve been sitting on their hands, collecting their inflated salaries while their constituents struggle daily to pay their food and energy bills. They have had PLENTY of time to work toward rescinding the parts of act 6905 that waste more tax-payers monies and mortgage the futures of our children.

DeJongh is a successful business man who understands finance. Why would he try to strike a bad deal for the VI? It would make him look bad. He doesn’t need the money. But the ridiculous debt that past wasteful administrations have incurred can begin to be paid off with proper financial management of the $100 MILLION a year the territory will see from this deal!

I think many people don’t really understand how much money that is.

A caller who is now on the radio spouts, “Haste makes waste.” And the comment back is, “You snooze, you lose.”

Thank goodness the STT “senators” have a clue and voted for the deal.

The bananquits keep trying. But they will not succeed. Unfortunately for them. Either way it’s messy for me.

We have a wind chime on the front porch that the birds are trying to build a nest on. We used to have a hanging philodendron out there, and they frequently nested in it. They’d carry their nesting material over, and during construction, much of it would fall onto the tiles. And I’d have to sweep it up, every day. To keep the porch clean on a regular basis is difficult enough with all the dogs out there. But the birds made even more of a mess than the dogs do.

It was worth it though to have them right outside. We could hear the babies in the nest, and watch the parents coming in to feed them frequently. Once, the nest actually fell out of the plant (with babies in it) while we were having breakfast. We heard a loud “chirp” from the babies and were able to grab the nest before the dogs got to it. The last time the birds nested out there though, I found pieces of a dead baby bird on the steps. It had fallen out of the nest when we weren’t home, and the dogs had killed it. They can’t help it, they’re dogs, but this incident made me take that plant out of there.

The other day I noticed nesting material on the tiles again. I couldn’t figure out where they were trying to build a nest at first. After a while, a bird came back and brought a piece of nesting material to the top of one of the wind chimes we have out there.

This is not a good idea. The chime moves around a lot, and most of what they’re bringing is just falling off. This has been going on for days. I’m hoping they get tired and move soon because I’m getting tired of sweeping.

Bird brains!

Between Temecula and Falbrook (Avocado capital of the world….mmmm!) lies a little town called Rainbow. The valley has many nurseries where flowers and ornamental plants are grown. It’s a nice small community, but still pretty close to the freeway, so you can hear the roaring traffic from there.

The Rainbow Inn Bed and Breakfast is an adorable little cottage that was originally a horse stable on a hill overlooking Rainbow valley. Dona and Scott, the owners are a very sweet couple who have lovingly created a welcoming, cozy, and very private little hideaway.

When we arrived there on Monday afternoon, after driving from Brea, stopping at a couple of biodiesel places along the way, and having lunch at a Mexican restaurant called “The Bank” in Old Town Temecula, we were greeted with a sign in the driveway which read, “Welcome Terry and Michael!” How sweet!

There are little trails and cute signs all around the property. The first one I saw said, “Watch for Freddys”. I couldn’t wait to ask what it meant. Dona told me that when her granddaughter was little, she couldn’t say the word “lizard”, so she decided to call a lizard a “Freddy”, since she could say that word! Adorable!

Unfortunately, we never saw any lizards, or Freddys .

We had a fabulous view from a deck overlooking the valley and could see the fog blanket in the mornings between the hilltops. The private pool was nice and warm, and the first time we went in we heard a strange sounding “bird” in a nearby tree. Michael said it sounded like rusty clippers, so we called it a “rusty clipper” - a new species we discovered! It kept chirping and chirping but we couldn’t see it in the tree, so I moved as far over on the other end of the pool as possible, and there it was on a rock behind the tree…..but it was a ground squirrel. It just sat there yelling for something that we couldn’t figure out. Maybe sometimes Dona and Scott feed him? Who knows. He was cute though, and we saw a few more of them as we wandered around the property where signs said things like “this way to secret hiding place”, and “live your dreams”, and “never mind stopping to smell the roses, look at the birds flying around!” My favorite, though was, “Age improves with wine!”

At one point, we saw some large raptors on a utility pole very close to the main house. There were two of them sitting there and two more arrived later. Michael thought they were California condors, but I thought they were vultures. The info in the cottage confirmed my suspicions, I used to see turkey vultures frequently in New England, but wasn’t sure if they were found on the west coast, too. Now we know.

As we traveled in the woods on foot, with Biggie, we’d check the skies periodically to make sure no big birds of prey were eying him as a tasty morsel. He survived! And we didn’t see any rattlesnakes, either, that would have been scary.

We loved the Rainbow Inn and highly recommend it for anyone traveling through this area. There is no minimum stay and it is comfortable and clean. Oh, and it has a HUGE library of books. Most of the walls of the living area are bookshelves stuffed with novels, historical accounts, dictionaries, you name it. I couldn’t even begin to delve in, I know I would never have gotten out. Well, except for one, called, “The Joy of Lex”, which is an amusing compilation of sayings and language intricacies that make up modern English. A lot of fun!

I was massaging a cute little couple from LA on the beach today. It was a gorgeous day with a stiff breeze that kept me from having my usual “perfect hair day” (LOL). Oh well, life in “paradise”!  The mature palms, however,  were looking very suave with their neatly trimmed fronds standing up all green and tall. None of them have any nuts, but I didn’t hear any complaints about that.

The funny thing about the tree I set up under, is that it is a large sea grape with a huge termite nest in it! I didn’t see the nest until I was in the middle of the first massage, though, and I chuckled to myself, thinking, “If this woman looks up at that thing and realizes what it is, she’ll probably go flying off the table.” Well, thank goodness she didn’t open her eyes until the end, when she was distracted enough to just take her sunglasses from me as she once again became vertical.

After that hour, I moved the table a bit, and when the next session was done, I pointed it out to her husband. He thought it was pretty amazing and then when the woman finally saw it, she found it incredible as well.

It was refreshing out there and I’m reminded of how truly fortunate I am that all my hard work over the years has paid off and I have a thriving business doing something helpful and fun for many people.

I often say that I have done just about everything one can do on this island, but despite the fact that I have taught in the local schools, worked on the Buck Island boats, delivered magazines, managed a bookstore, sold dresses in a boutique, waited tables and tended bar, cleaned houses, done construction work, I KNOW I haven’t done it all. Because I’ve found what works for me.

Being self-employed works for me. And even though I don’t have ANY benefits. No paid sick days, no paid vacation days, no paid health insurance, no paid holidays (unless I work them, of course), it is a fine trade-off.

As I was packing up, I spoke to the woman about the LA area, since we’re just back from visiting there. She said she’s lived there all her life, and she hates it. She doesn’t understand why so many people want to move there.

She spends most of her time at home when she’s not at work, because it’s too crazy. I can definitely see her point. Even just a few days up there made me dizzy…..

…when The St. Croix Avis (I like to call it “the Abyss”) printed a FRONT PAGE story about a certain local George who was dealing in stolen antiques? And the Abyss printed a picture of George Tyson, fine upstanding local historian!

Did Mr. Tyson’s friends and associates come out of the woodwork threatening the newspaper? No, they’re probably just too classy for that. The “Abyss” apologized for the error and that was that.

More fun with the “Abyss” (gosh, I hope they don’t start threatening me for calling them that):

Front page headline after Emancipation Day in th USVI said: EMANICPATION! in huge letters.

Most recently, that I’ve seen anyway, since I don’t buy the rag that often (there I go, slandering the newspaper again, just can’t help myself…), was on the editorial page. It was an actual editorial about Rev. Wright. I’m having trouble typing because this is so funny….

Rev. Wright was referred to multiple times in this editorial. He was called, “Rev. Write” and ” Rev. White”, along with his true name, so they got it a couple of times, and wrote “Wright” right!

We could have sooo much fun with that one!

Also a few years back, I wrote a letter to the editor which was printed, but it did not say what I wrote. My friends looked at me like I had two heads and said things like, “what the heck were you saying?” The “newspaper” had completely changed my letter.

When I called the editor, he blamed it on the typist! And then he said the fax I sent didn’t come out very clear, and that’s why it didn’t say what I meant it to!

First of all, he’s the editor, he should proofread things before they go in (isn’t that the editor’s job…to edit? well, maybe that’s just not the way it’s done around here - maybe it’s one of those “cultural things” that I, as a white continental will never understand and why don’t I just go back to RI or the BVI…).

Secondly, if the material was unreadable, shouldn’t he have contacted me to clarify. Why else would they insist that you give your phone number, address, birth certificate number, names of all your close friends and associates (oh sorry, I exaggerate again) ?

It’s why I rarely write to that newspaper any more. It can be very entertaining though, like misspellings on menus and reading peoples’ blog comments….

Just like when we went to FL a few years ago for my Lasik surgery. We drove to visit my cousin, some friends of Michael’s family, and Joey. But everyone was spread throughout the state, so we spent a lot of time driving on highways and through urban sprawl with strip mall after strip mall.

So this trip was only partially a vacation. At least we did get to do a couple of fun things. The balloon ride over Temecula wine country at sunrise was spectacular. Michael took a ton of pictures. One of the other couples got engaged on their private balloon. We shared ours with an older couple. It was kind of tight in there with 5 people. I was in “the back” of the basket, so didn’t get to see as much until after we had passed over it. I tried to deny my fear of heights, and was successful unless I looked straight down, so I didn’t do that. But it was very special anyway.

And the drive up Palomar Mountain was exhilarating. The slow 7 miles up a winding dirt road with no guardrail made me queasy, again my fear of heights and “steeps” as Michael calls them. But at the top it was beautiful parkland with 400 year-old cedars and Native American archaeological specimens. We walked down a trail for a bit, among remnants of a fire from a couple of years ago. It’s frightening to think of those incredible trees going up in flames.

The Hale observatory is huge with a very interesting history. You can see the magnificent telescope and the big large wheels that turn it. Amazing!

The wineries were okay, except that I was allergic to something around there. So I sneezed and dripped until we got some drugs after which I was dried out and stuffed up.

So I couldn’t taste the wine!!!

And the wineries were only okay. We are so used to our friendly, welcoming wine clubs here on STX that appropriately pair wines with food. None of the Temecula wineries served food with the wine! You stood up at the bar, and just got 4 or 5 sips of wine for $8-$12 (with a complimentary glass at a few of them).

I wish we’d have had more time to visit more of them rather than spending so much time driving, though. Maybe we’d have found some fun, funky ones. The one I liked best wasn’t even in Temecula, it was on the way back from Palomar Mountain, in the higher country. A very small, family-run place which used only their own grapes in all of their wines. It’s called Shadow Mountain Vineyards and it was the only place from which we bought wine. We tasted 3 reds: a merlot; a 2005 “variation”, (which consisted of 50% merlot and 25% each of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes” that grow on the northern slopes of Palomar Mountain at an elevation of 3400′”); a 2005 carignane and a 2006 viognier. They had tiny crackers and bits of cheese so you could get a better feel for the way the wine would taste when served properly, like with food. We bought a bottle each of the viognier, the variation, and the carignane, along with a half-bottle of 2005 old vine zinfandel. It was so cute we couldn’t resist! Can’t wait to have a chance to buy some nice food to drink it with.

The four wineries we visited in Temecula were: Wilson Creek (no food, but free glasses); Ponte (they have a restaurant, where we had lunch - good food, but none with the wine tasting, AND no free glasses either); Bella Vista (the oldest winery in Temecula, a cute older Romanian couple own it, no food, but free glasses); and Callaway (crackers, a restaurant that closes at 5pm, and free glasses). We got there late and were looking for food, so we asked the workers for restaurant suggestions. They told us about the chains in the shopping centers! “Claim Jumper” and “Olive Garden”….Ugh!

I just couldn’t get over the fact that the restaurants all CLOSE at 5pm. Just when they could be opening and making a bunch of money from late afternoon visitors. And they don’t give you a morsel with the wine tasting. I get much less drunk if I have some food to absorb the wine. Remember, this is America with very strict rules about drunk driving. It felt sort of “slam bam, thank you ma’am”-ish. I might be more inclined, if I had a nice taste of food with each sip, to buy something in the gift shop, stay for a nice dinner, purchase more wine…..

If I say “I don’t like judgmental people”, am I being judgmental?

I don’t dislike judgmental people. I think passing judgment is being real. We’re all imperfect human beings and we will always do things that others don’t agree with. And some people have the need to let others know that they disagree. That’s why we are all entitled to our own opinions.

As Peter would say, “That’s why they make Chevys”. Because, as much as Michael and I (and Dave and Michelle) find it abominable, not everybody likes old Land Rovers.

I recently had an e-mail “conversation” with someone, and the subject of being judgmental came up. And I said I thought that if people are close enough friends, they should be able to deal with each others’ judgment. If I disagree with something one of my friends is doing, I feel like I should be able to say, “I think that really stinks.” Otherwise, the relationship is uncomfortable and I feel like I’m walking on eggshells. The other person disagreed with me. Was s/he being judgmental about my opinion on judgment?

An example of me with my friends: I have a friend who enjoys rum to the extent that he starts to annoy me after a while, putting his feet on the table and/or grabbing people in inappropriate places. I let him know, in no uncertain terms, that my opinion of his behavior is that it really stinks. Usually I’ll say something like, “Stop being a f***ing jerk!” He doesn’t necessarily stop, but he knows my opinion, and we are still friends. Am I being judgmental?

Mostly, I think of judgmental people as those who want you to live your life differently, you know, the way THEY think you should. But don’t we ALL do this to some extent?

A couple of examples: 1.) Family members who try to convince you (subtly or not so much), that other career paths would be better for you than your chosen one; 2.) People who read others’ opinions (blogs)and make inferences about their lifestyle without actually knowing the blogger.

Another friend has said over and over again, “I’m old enough that I don’t care what people think anymore.” And that’s pretty much where I’m at.

In the book, “The Four Agreements“, Don Miguel Ruiz says, “Be impeccable with your word”, “Don’t take anything personally”, “Don’t make assumptions”, and “Always do your best”.

The “Don’t take anything personally” part is what I’m trying to get at here. The truth is out there. Someone’s opinion may or may not have anything to do with the truth. If someone says something to you or about you that is not the truth, you don’t have to take it personally.

I’m still working on it….

Driving, driving, and more driving. Not my idea of the ideal vacation. But it got me off the rock for a week.

And it’s nice to be home. America is big and there are roads all over the place. All of the roads have cars on them. And big trucks. Lots of cars and big trucks going fast.

Scary. And the usual strip malls all over. Oh joy! Soon we’ll have one here on the South Shore! The muddy mongoose has begun.

I read recently on a site about balancing our hormones, that there are certain things going on in my body and with my attitude that actually should be happening.

What a relief! Especially the part about being bitchy. I’ve been horrendously bitchy now for a few weeks. It’s not my favorite state of mind. After all, I live in paradise. The weather is warm, I have a wonderful relationship, nice house, lots of fabulous furry kids, friends who are family, a great job, etc. etc. I feel like a total ingrate when I’m bitchy.

But, according to this article (which I actually read a while back and can’t find this minute), women at my age really have a right to be bitchy. We are allowed to get irritated at people who interrupt us when we’re trying to do things….family members or whomever. Because we have given of ourselves for soooo many years, that we need this time to settle into our space. Our own space. And the kids should be out of the nest, and there should be time for rest and reflection. And when there isn’t…..guess who shows up and sticks around? The bitch!

Well, this bitch is officially on vacation for a week…. Hopefully…. We’ll see how I feel when I get back.

Maybe I’ll need a solo spa vacation after this one ……

Consistency of food and service are key to a restaurant achieving the status of “great” in my world. Last week I felt like eating lobster and I didn’t feel like going into town, so we went to Duggans. It was the night of the full moon and we wanted to sit outside on their new deck. So we called ahead and reserved a spot.

We each had a bowl of soup to start, their conch chowder and a seafood bisque, shared a bottle of Gnarly Head Zinfandel, and Michael had the sashimi appetizer as his entree. I had the baked lobster “in the buff”. It was tender and juicy and fantastic.

The moon was beautiful and after our lovely dinner, served by Judy , we walked on the beach until we found a hammock to recline in. We swung in the breeze until it was time to go home. Then we had to change a flat tire on the car before getting home , but the dining and moonlight were outstanding.

Last night we went to the Galleon. We sat in the bar area looking over the marina and started with a creamy mushroom and spinach soup and a tuna ceviche in a nori cone (I forget what it’s called on the menu) with wasabi. Both were delicious! We had a Norton Privada Merlot/Malbec, which was also excellent. Our entrees consisted of the mixed greens salad with toasted pine nuts and shaved parmesan, and the fresh grilled yellowfin tuna with cilantro citrus butter. Mmmmm! We couldn’t help but have the chocolate fondant for dessert with more wine.

And after that, Cass brought us an unnecessary, but yummy new concoction she calls “cheesecake”. It had vanilla Cruzan rum in it and we’re going to make some for the family while we’re in CA.

No, I’m not going to reveal the rest of the ingredients……

The other day I went to Napoleon’s Pizza for a slice. It was a late lunch, so there was only one other car in the lot. There are around 20 spaces in this lot, with lines perpendicular to the buildings, like in any strip mall, USA.

However, this was too much for one woman to handle. Just before I finished my slice (I was looking out the window and could see my parked car), she pulled up behind my car and parked parallel to the building, blocking me in. (!!!!!!!)

I have seen similar antics in other empty parking lots on this island. People just drive right in and park across three or four spots. (!!!!!!)

I’m looking for the right word for this inconsiderate behavior………I can’t come up with anything right now, so I’ll make something up: I’mthebithchwhothinkstheuniverserevolvesaroundmeism.

Anyway, I walked out of Napoleons, calmly entered my car and turned the key, all the while staring at this I’mthebitchwhothinkstheuniverserevolvesaroundmeist.

She fortunately started her vehicle, but with a huffy attitude, and moved it out of my way.

It’s that time of year again. We see brilliant splashes of scarlet on our hillsides among the greens and browns.

The flamboyant trees are in bloom! We have three in our yard. When I first moved into this neighborhood, there was one that the chickens used to roost in. We’d watch them fly up into the tree at night. It was lovely! Then our brilliant neighbors cut the tree down and burned the stump with some noxious chemicals or something. The wind carried the fumes to my little house for DAYS. It was disgusting!

But we have planted the neighborhood, once again with these beautiful, useful trees and we see scores of hummingbirds flitting about enjoying the nectar. One of them came from Michael’s house in tide village. And it’s one of the gold-colored ones! This is the first year that it’s bloomed and it’s gorgeous! We also have “Poor Man’s” orchid (Bauhinia monandra), lots of hibiscus, bougainvillea, and frangiapani. The birds are loving it!

But the sugar birds still come to the window asking for food every day. And I feed them a couple of times each week. They go through an entire feeder (2 cups of sugar water) in 8-10 hours. If I fill the feeders in the morning, by late afternoon they are almost empty. But I love watching them drink and I especially love watching them splash around in the bird baths.

Obviously, I’m not listening to the radio today …La la la, lala la la….

This will not be a restaurant review, even though I have seen this word associated with places to eat twice in the past couple of weeks.

I saw it in the yacht club newsletter in reference to dogs on yc property. “Absolutely NO DOGS allowed in the dinning room.” (Have some of the huffy yc members been complaining about Biggie?) I sure hope not! Because  he’s feeling hungry for some of that “Wild West Catering” grub! Maybe we’ll have to “dinn” out there one of these Wednesday nights. We’d love to take some guests to add to the fun and festivities!

Today I saw it on TWO DIFFERENT SIGNS for the same new “restaurant” at five corners. The signs said something about it being a dinning place.

It makes my blood boil (and you can see why I stopped trying to teach in the schools here - I might have gone postal) for two reasons: 1.) Someone who has started a food related business cannot spell a word related to food; and 2.) A person with a sign making business cannot spell a word properly on a sign.

I do not purport to being an English expert, but this is a basic spelling issue here. And many of the people we hear on the talk shows whine and moan that they can’t get a good job. Well, maybe if they got themselves an education…..

Helllllooo! People in many other countries would die to have access to an education. EVERYONE who lives in the VI has access to an education. There is NO EXCUSE for this inane crap! Except complete and utter LAZINESS!!!

I need a vacation from this place! Big time!

Well, the rotary luncheon at which he spoke was boring. He spoke for around 10 minutes and said the same things he’s said over and over again, and the people asked the same questions we’ve heard before, but for only about 15 minutes, rather than the hours and hours we’ve experienced at public hearings and such.

I didn’t notice how bedraggled he looked, but someone else commented on it, and come to think of it he had more of a weary-weasel look than his usual wary-weasel look. It m