It was 7:30 or so by the time we got out of bed. It was “coffee time”. We are at the end of our 5 lb. bag of Mexican organic (we finished the French Vanilla a couple of weeks ago) and need to order more in the next few days (www.deansbeans.com). We also still have some mango puree in the freezer that we move to the fridge to thaw overnight. Mmmm, organic coffee and mango smoothies….and fistfuls of vitamins, since we got that shipment in from Swanson during the week. They have great prices on everything and they have some stuff (like a full-spectrum vitamin E) that I’ve never seen anywhere else.

We are trying to get even more healthy for baby-making and for our up coming extremely busy busy season. I AM the eternal optimist! And, for our new business venture, which will be blogged about as we get it rolling…..

After a yummy cup o’ joe, etc., we hauled ourselves into the green rover (my first time since the surgery, and ooops!, it was a little ouchy getting my leg and then the rest of me up into the monster) and headed to (my favorite) the Cotton Valley dumpster! Then we’d go to Chenay Bay where I would lounge in a shaded chaise while Michael and Goliath scoured the beach for turtle tracks and activities. Then, we’d hopefully meet up with Nikki and Peter for brunch.

I had called and left a message before we left to let them know where we’d be and that we’d love to hang out with them for a while. As we walked back to the parking lot after Michael’s patrol, he asked if I’d heard from them, and I said that I hadn’t. But when we were nearly back at the rover, who would come driving right up to us but, Nikki and Peter! They had swimsuits and towels and wanted to go for a swim. He wasn’t hungry, but she might have some fruit. We decided to stay put and patronize the Island House Restaurant, so we found a table for four and got comfortable. Good thing, because it took FOREVER to get food despite the fact that there was only one table of two ahead of us and they had ordered quite a bit earlier. It was good when it finally came, though. Peter (who wasn’t going to eat), had the same thing Nikki had - a fruit salad with granola and yogurt. He had a couple of Papis with that and she had a bloody Mary. Michael had a breakfast plate of scrambled eggs, ham and homefries with rye toast and coffee. I had pancakes and scrambled eggs. The food prices were not cheap, but it cost $7.00 for each dark and diet!!! Ouch!!

We had a nice visit telling stories about “the turtle ladies” and the Pickled Greek, and laughing about everyone’s antics. Then we paid our two part bill (the waitress brought two separate sheets of paper, one with food, one with drinks, that we had to add up ourselves - strange) and said farewell. They headed toward the sea, but quickly turned back deciding that they’d just rather go home to Peter’s and hang at the pool (they’d go broke if they had a couple more drinks there), and we headed for Schooner Bay Market to get fruits and veggies and cheese and a couple of bottles of wine to help us get through the rest of our lazy Sunday.

Well, MY lazy Sunday, anyway. Michael’s got one massage appointment this afternoon and he’ll probably work a little on trying to get the winch off the junk rover to get it ready for engine removal as soon as all the parts come in. Then the orange rover will get the engine and I’ll have my own little safari vehicle :).

It was great to be able to spend time with our friends while they were here, but as usual, the time went by too quickly.

In the brief hours that we had together, there are a few insights that I was able to glean about them as a couple. Reggie and Gigi are similar in ways to Michael and Terry. It’s pretty funny.

Gigi is a talker (with a capital “T”). The last morning they were here, we were having breakfast, and I noticed, for the first time that she was talking so much she did not have time to finish her breakfast. A similar thing happens to Michael whenever we dine with others. Michael starts conversing and has no time to put food into his flapping jaws. Consequently, everyone finishes and Michael still has food on his plate. Often, when this is pointed out, or when the busser comes to remove plates, he’ll shovel what’s left down the gullet. Sometimes, though, he’ll continue gabbing, but pause to chew while giving others a chance to get a word in edgewise. Anyway, Gigi and Michael are great verbal communicators and they are vastly knowledgeable about innumerable subjects and about the ways of the world. Sometimes they make my head spin. Bless their hearts…..

Reggie and I are listeners and observers. I watched Reggie a few times just sitting back, taking it all in. Every once in a while, though, just at the right time, Reggie will come out with a gut-busting zinger. Something that’ll make you spit out your rum as you’re just beginning to swallow it. He could choke you to death with just a phrase.

The day we were coming home from Buck Island with him, there were some pelicans and frigate birds high in the sky over the east end. Reggie, with a straight face commented, “Uh oh, buzzards are circling the Contessa’s!” I just about fell out of the boat. For those who are unaware, we have quite a few eccentric people on St. Croix (we’re all here because we’re not all there), and the “Contessa” is a wealthy old woman who dresses like and octogenarian Zsa Zsa Gabor and lives part of the year in a castle on the east end. Anyway, you never really know if she’s going to collapse during dinner or whenever, so it was funny (in a warped sort of way) to imagine vultures preparing to swoop in and dine on her carcass.

Reggie expresses many of his thoughts in his blog. We always look forward to reading Reggie’s latest ruminations. I’m the same way, but my blogs are not neccesarily about my thoughts. I’m usually too busy doing things, then writing about them, to actually think anymore. But when I do, you may find a bizarre idea or two within these paragraphs……

I actually spent all of Friday out of bed. I got up, made breakfast, checked my e-mail, and got ready to visit Dr. Briscoe. This would be the second time I’d left the house since I got back from the hospital last Thursday :)! Michael and I went to the Greek and then the Deep End Thursday night to visit with Nikki, Peter and a bunch of friends. The car ride is always an adventure, because our driveway is so ridiculously bumpy. Michael apologiizes for not being able to keep the car stable. I can actually laugh without pain, now, so this twisting and jarring in the seat is not a huge problem any more, but I can feel it stretching those tender muscles.

Dr. Briscoe is the coolest. He took my tape off my incision and it didn’t hurt a bit. Now I have this long, smiley-face scar on my lower abdomen. He poked around a bit, said things were looking good, but that there was still a LOT of healing going on in there (the surgery was pretty extensive), and that I still needed to take it easy. He asked me what I use for scars and I said “Vitamin E”. He gave me the impression that that was not enough, so I said, “Is there something better?” And he suggested something called “Mederma” which you can get over the counter at the pharmacy. He said, “It’s expensive, but you’re worth it! Start using it now, and when your scar heals, it’ll be hardly visable.” A few weeks back, I saw some scar lotions and things at our regular drug store back counter and figured we could get some there on our way home. So we went in and looked, but did not see that particular product. I asked the lady behind the counter and she said they keep it up front. Kind of strange for certain ones to be back here, but others to be up front, but oh, well. Sure enough, I asked the lady up front and she produced two different sizes. I didn’t see the prices, but chose the smaller one anyway. It was $19.99 for 0.5 oz. Okay, we’ll give it a shot.

Michael paid for that and a couple of boxes of herbal tea (the pharmacy has the best prices on island for Celestial Seasonings teas), since I had parted with $97.00 at K-Mart just a few minutes before. Then we went to town. We were on a roll. His parents had given him a gift card for the SCUBA store, and he’d been wanting/needing a diveskin for winter swimming/snorkeling for quite a while, so while they were still having their “September ‘S’ Sale”
(everything in the store with an “s” in it’s name - except SCUBA the dog - is on sale), we’d take a look. He found something he liked and some sunblock and we were outta there. Next stop - Centipede, to look for flip flops. Emmy has been gnawing on a couple of Michael’s pairs and she bit through the strap on my favorite cute little ones while I was in the hospital. Way to go, Em (BAD DOG!!!). They had some nice ones for MD and some cute Cobian’s for me. I had some like this a couple of years ago and don’t remember what happened to them, but we’ll have to be vigilant about hiding them from Eminem fer sure.

After that, well, we were in town, and shopping can be a VERY thirsty job. So we dragged ourselves kicking and screaming (riiight) to the brewpub. They didn’t have my favorite Hammerhead pale ale again, but the waiter suggested that the czech pilsner was similar, so I gave it a shot. Michael had the ESB (extra special bitter). Both were YUMMMMY! And, we got to have some fried pickles this time :)!! The breeze felt great and it was awesome to be up and out and about again, like a normal person. Doctor Briscoe said, though, and I DO agree, that it’s boring to be like normal people. I guess I’m just looking forward to being MY normal self, which is far from anyone else’s normal.

We headed home after sipping, slurping and munching, and Michael went outside to do some tree trimming. This stupid orange parasitic vine has begun to attack one of the mango trees. I’ve got to call the tree doctor on Monday. We REALLY need a lot of help now. It’s getting way out of control. While he was out there, I heated up some dinner and after we ate, we watched a really weird, awful movie. My belly started hurting at this point and I had to get horizontal. But that was the first time since I had gotten up in the morning. Yay!! Soon, I’ll be back to my version of normal!!

Nikki with Goliath
on our wedding day

Peter’s daughter, Nikki, arrives this afternoon for a couple of weeks. Yay!! We haven’t seen Nikki since we went to Arkansas in March for Allie’s wedding. I think, rather than going to the airport, we’ll meet them at the Pickled Greek and hang out for as long as my still recovering body allows.

Nikki’s a wonderful person. She’s fun to be around and very thoughtful and caring. Peter says he’ll put her to work on the restaurant while she’s here. Good! With a woman around, a LOT more will get done. Despite the fact that however many stooges have been “working” on it for months, it has taken much longer to reach this stage than if someone responsible were overseeing the project.

Crack that whip, Nik! Get those guys in shape!

Well, here it is, Wednesday. I’ve been home for about 6 days. In the house. Not going anywhere. Not really DOing anything. And I’m not even bored out of my skull.

Today I wrote a thank-you note and started the hospital survey questionnaire (I’ll finish it in a minute), unpacked and organized the vitamin shipment, read another issue of Caribbean Travel and Life in search of future island destinations (found Montserrat and Bonaire to be VERY interesting), emptied the bathroom and kitchen trash and garbage cans and I still have more to do (and of course, there’s TONS of stuff I WISH I could do. Like sweep and clean the dog puke off the front porch, pooper scoop front and back yards and weed-whack that little yard). But for now I’ll be content with finishing up the few miniscule tasks that I can do.

It’s so different from last week when I was in and out of sleep for the first two days. Just staring out the window at the clouds and making pictures out of them. There were clown clouds and dog clouds (of course) and even a waltzing couple floated by our window. It’s also nice to be able to watch the birds. The hummingbirds are cool when they stop atop a vertical branch of a mango or neem. And last week, Michael and I watched a Kestrel who was perched on top of a telephone pole soar over to our gutter, grab something from it and return to his/her pole. S/he proceeded to tear whatever prize into shreds and devour it. Today the cloud cover is thick and gloomy. There is occasional thunder and lightening, but no rain as yet. I guess the 80% chance was for other parts of the island….

Let’s see, I can read more of what I missed in last night’s book episode. I can start on our business plan. I can play word games, read more C T & L. Oooooh, and I can listen to another Spanish CD. Osmosis Amoebas!

The phone rang at 8:30 Thursday night. Michael answered even though it was right there by my side of the bed. I had been home for a few hours and Michael had been moving furniture around so things were handy right there for me and so I could see my flowers at the foot of the bed. He’d been making me tea and making sure I was comfy in every way.

The phone call was for me. It was my doctor. I had already seen him 3 or 4 times that day.
“Passing gas?” he asked. I could hear the dinner plates being cleared in the background. Good thing his wife is a doctor too. “Yes, and more!” I exclaimed, like a little kid trying to impress. He asked how I felt and I said, “Surprisingly comfortable”. Which was true. I expected to be miserable in our flat bed after being able to control my position on the hospital bed with the touch of a button. But Michael had collected extra pillows of various sizes to tuck here and there to ensure maximum comfort. After a little more small talk, Doctor Briscoe made sure to remind me to TAKE IT EASY and he’d see me next week. “Okay”, I said.

Friday Michael spent the ENTIRE day with me. He read to me, he made me tea, brought me juice and water, he helped me out of bed and cleaned up after me when I made a mess. He cooked me breakfast, lunch and dinner and never complained one bit. Michael doesn’t really complain anyway, but he was doing so much and I was so grateful.

Saturday and Sunday were different and there were a thousand things that needed to be attended to around the house. So Michael did his chores and started a new project. He also did my chores and took care of me. Now my “Birthday Antenna” is installed. We can get PBS! Maybe Sesame Street is on. Let me go check…….

I had mixed emotions about coming home from the hospital. Well, until the last couple of hours in there when the nurses couldn’t get me my pain medication (but that’s another subject for another time).

My home is nice, but, believe it or not, it’s not very comfortable for me. Before the surgery, I NEVER sat still around here. There’s just ALWAYS some darned thing that needs to be done. And our furniture is not that comfortable, either. Besides, the place is full of dogs! They’re hairy. They get fur everywhere. They drool, they pee on the furniture. They want to go out. They want to come in. They need water. They need to be brushed. They need their nails clipped or their ears cleaned out. Not relaxing.

Then, there are the plants. It hasn’t really rained in months, so they ALWAYS need water. I hate to nag Michael, but the plants need water again and I can’t carry buckets and watering cans around.

Laundry is piling up. Maybe I can fold some and put it away today. That’ll be my big project. Michael has an extra long day at work today. Yesterday I changed the bed sheets. That was huge!

And the birds have devoured their sugar water. Maybe I can make more for them and fill their feeders today. That would be TWO big projects! Wow!

Before the surgery, I cleaned the bedroom from top to bottom because I knew I’d be spending a lot of time in there and it would drive me insane to see cobwebs in the corners and bugs on the ceiling, dust all over the furniture, etc. But the stuff is already back. We’ve had another “invasion of the moths” and their carcasses and pink oozings are all over the place. But I can’t get the vacuum cleaner and suck them up and out of sight. I’ve just got to focus on the computer or a good book, a game of scrabble with myself, or something. Maybe I’ll put in one of those “Learn to Speak Spanish” CD’s today and try to habla myself to distraction….

A friend who is a nurse and used to work at Juan Luis, called while I was there and asked how the food was. She said that it used to be pretty good, for hospital food. I could not agree that it was respectable, even for hospital food.

My first “meal” the evening after my surgery was called “clear broth” and consisted of a cup of broth, some orange jello and some apple juice. Probably the most unappetizing things I could think of. But I wasn’t that hungry anyway. Still just groggy from the drugs. The broth was too salty. Michael, who was still with me had to dilute it to make it palatable. I think I may have consumed half of it. I think I ate two bites of jello. I DESPISE jello. Jello is a non-food and why they would serve something so ridiculous in a hospital is so beyond me that it makes me irate.
I just ate the two bites to placate the “powers that be” who were in charge of overseeing my food consumption. I also hate apple juice. It’s too sweet. So Michael diluted that for me and I drank most of it (I was still so thirsty I could have drunk a river - and then they give you salty broth - brilliant!).

The next morning when breakfast time came around I was famished. I happily greeted the nice lady from “dietary” but faced another tray of “clear broth”. The same crap I’d had the night before. UGH!! My doctor came and listened to my heart, lungs and belly. “Have you been passing gas?” he asked, as I complained about the food. Oh! So THAT was the magical thing to placate the food gods. If I pass gas, I pass, and can move on to the next phase of hospital food (it HAD to be better than broth, jello and apple juice). I compliantly said, “Yes, I’ve been farting like a trucker.” He said, “Good, you can have something besides clear broth for lunch.”

But, I was raised to believe that girls and women were NOT supposed to pass gas. And even though gas was coming out, it wasn’t making a lot of noise or commotion. It was just very subdued. But he liked the belly noises. So I was ready to be fed.

Lunch was spaghetti and meatballs with wilted frozen green peas. And a piece of wheat bread with margarine. I think a small salad with french dressing was with that, too. And apple juice (have I mentioned my disdain for apple juice?). The spaghetti was stuck together and the meatballs were tasteless. The peas were the best thing on the plate. I ate about half of it with my piece of bread and saved the salad for a snack later. I didn’t want to inundate my digestive system.

Peter came to visit and brought a lovely vase of birds of paradise with a huge yellow lily and some lush greenery. Thanks, Petey! A while after he left, Nikki came with some beautiful white irises in a cool vase that looks like it’s cracked. Thanks, Pook! My dinner came while she was there. A chicken breast (skin on) with rice pilaf and overcooked broccoli. And finally, something drinkable - cranberry juice!

I ate most of the rice and a couple of bites of chicken (no skin). I love broccoli, even well done, so I devoured that, and drank my juice. Michael arrived, shortly thereafter with a huge slice of Napoleon’s veggie pizza. I would’ve killed for that before I filled up on my institutional meal, but now I was too full, and he had already eaten a large slice of meaty pizza before coming. So it sat and he ate it for breakfast the next morning. I had a couple of bites. It was still better than the hospital food. My breakfast arrived while he was still there. A hard-boiled egg, some oatmeal, melon, orange juice (hallelujah), a big plate of corned beef hash and some white bread. I wished I had eaten more of the pizza. I ate some of the melon, the egg and the soupy oatmeal and thoroughly enjoyed the juice, but the rest just pissed me off. How are people supposed to get well eating crap like that? Isn’t that the stuff doctors are always telling people to avoid?

My doctor arrived after Michael left to feed dogs/cats and go to work for a couple of hours. He listened again to my belly with the BIG question. And yes, FYI, I had been passing gas…… and more! Success! My digestive system was back in full swing. I could go home whenever I wanted, he said. But not really, because Michael was at work and I had to wait for him to pick me up. So, I got to have lunch.

It was by far the best meal yet. A nice piece of white fish (with fungi*, which I didn’t eat) and buttered spinach (yum), a slice of wheat bread with margarine and German Chocolate Cake (my reward for all that slop I had eaten for the past couple of days). Mmmm mmmm, good!

*Fungi, pronounced “foon-jee” is the local version of polenta, cooked cornmeal, another of my non-favorites.

I don’t remember the recovery room. I think my doctor talked to me and explained how the surgery went, but I don’t remember a thing. I remember being very thirsty and Michael hand-feeding me little pieces of ice. Yum! I remember opening my eyes every now and then and seeing him through the bars on my bed reading his heavy red tome of a book. And then he’d feed me more ice chips. Sooo good!

And there was a gigantic bouquet of my favorite tropical flowers. Birds-of-Paradise, Dendrobium orchids, ginger flowers, anthuriums, etc. from my loving hubby.

The day before my surgery I had to go in to the hospital to answer questionnaires and have lab work done. In pre-op on surgery day, the really fun anaesthesiologist, Dr. Dawaskiba wanted to know about my lab results. I told him they had been done the previous day, so he went to find them. My doctor came back with the bad news. My blood count was way down and I’d need a transfusion before I could go through surgery. Okay. Margo had already put in my IV (it was my first ever IV, too, a little ouchy, but not too bad), so they just brought a bag of blood and hooked it up to the IV to start dripping it into my vein, too.

I had always thought the words “blood transfusion” so daunting. Like something strange and complicated that people only near death experience. It was a piece of cake. Michael and I sat there (me in my stylish pre-op hat, shoes and johnnie) watching the rich, red blood drip into the line that went into my vein. It was cold. So now I’d be cold-blooded. I’ve been called that and worse. Margo came in to check on us and said the aneasthesia team would probably come and warm it up for me. Sure enough, five minutes later, Dr. Dawaskiba was there with a handy dandy little blood warming machine so the blood would be nice and warm before it entered my arm. Very spiffy. Michael kept adjusting the drip. We joked that he could do that despite the fact that he hadn’t stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

I asked Dr. D if he could arrange the anaesthesia drugs to make me have nice dreams about snorkeling and swimming with dolphins. He said “sure”, and that he had some really good stuff for me. Cool! I still remember the dream I had 40 years ago when I was under having my tonsils out. Finally, after two units of blood I was ready to go in. My color was much better and I felt like I could run a marathon. But they had other plans for me….I smooched with my hubby and took off into the wild blue operating room (it really did have blue tiles on the walls). It felt strange being wheeled around on a gurney like a sick person. When I got in there, a bunch of people started doing things to me. Putting monitor thingies on my chest, strapping me to the table spreading my arms out onto warm armrests (or whatever they were). Then I just slipped off into La La Land……

I feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Fat, puffy, bloated. But not cute like him. And don’t even THINK about going near my belly with your finger. When I walk I feel like my guts are going to spill out of my incision. But today’s a good day. I made it to the computer. The pain is a lot less, too. It feels like I may get back to normal someday.

They made me take a shower in the hospital 48 hours after the surgery. They told me to get my bandage all wet and soapy so it would be easier to pull off. And it was. Now I just have a couple of pieces of really sticky tape holding my incision closed. No staples, no sutures. The doctor said that after a couple of weeks the tape would start getting ragged and would just eventually come off. Oh boy!

But for now, I’m just fat, puffy and bloated.

Meredith is back on island for a week! She is one of our favorite people, interested in many of the same organizations and events as we are. She spends much of the fall and winter (and some of the spring) here on STX and is very active in many ways. She has, almost single-handedly been trapping and neutering cats around her condo. She then lets most of them go back into the bush, but keeps food out for those who like to stick around.

We were fortunate enough to be able to have dinner with her on Sunday after our short trip to Buck Island aboard Origami. I had wanted to go to Cafe Kaleidoscope to enjoy their Coquilles St. Jacques before heading into the hospital. So we did. I started out with Pat’s pepper soup (again) and Michael tried the gazpacho. Both were delicious. Meredith ordered no appetizer, but decided on the Chicken Francese for her entree. Michael had a mixed seafood plate with mussels, scallops and flounder. It was yummy! And my Coquilles was excellent as always.

Michael and I brought our own wine, since they didn’t have much of a selection last week when we were there. I had chosen a bottle of Argentinian Pinot Noir and it was a bit tart for my taste, but definitely drinkable, especially since it would be my last wine (but not “whine”) before surgery.

Still no tiramisu for dessert, but they had a mocha-cappucino cheesecake which we decided to share. THAT was fabulous, too. So, another lovely evening at Kaleidoscope with our friend, Meredith. You can’t do much better than good food and good company. And best of all……this time…….no annoying drunk guy!!!

In just 15 hours, I’ll be getting prepped for surgery. I went in this morning for pre-admission, pre-op questions and lab work. It was like being on a wild goose chase. (This was after I made breakfast, did the dishes, did laundry and vacuumed the house, but before I went for acupressure and a consultation with another doctor. After that I came home, watered plants, scooped dog poop and started packing for my hospital stay.) Now, I’ll have some soup and rest up for tomorrow’s adventure.

I am soooo ready for this surgery even though I’m scared to death. I’m tired of pain every day and constant cramping and oozing. I want this fibroid out of my body!! It’s like I’ve been letting an alien live inside my uterus. Not a nice alien either. I’m ready to have a nice healthy belly for Michael and I to put a new healthy baby into.

Margo at pre-op was great. We used to talk alot at the brew pub when her husband, Bob, was “biplane Bob” (Bob had a WWII-type double winged plane that he’d give island tours in. He even did scary looking dives and rolls! Now I think he works at the refinery.) and they had an Old English Sheepdog. It was nice to see a friendly face and she did a great job making me feel better about what would happen in the morning.

So now, time for some soup and tea and relaxation. I’m hoping to be home by Friday. And I’ll blog about my adventures at Juan F. Luis Hospital…….

…With our favorite people…. Jody, Shera, Jacqueline and Zack were there on Thursday night. Josh was in the kitchen, but came out to say “Hi”. It was quiet. Apparently everyone went the night before. They said it was packed for the re-opening night. We got to meet the new owners, Natalie and Tim. The menu was fun, as always, to read and to choose from. If they retain the successful Bacchus formula, it will be a winning acquisition for them. And they seem to want to do that.

Reggie brought in a bottle of Hunnicutt Cabernet, which Jody gladly corked and decanted. It was fabulous. We had the fried calamari and a scallops with mango cilantro sauce dish for appetizers.

We wanted a little of everything from the menu and the specials menu too, so we agreed to each order something different and share. Reggie ordered the “Seafood Bowl” with clams, lobster, fish, scallops, shrimp, etc in a lobster broth over a bit of pasta. Gigi had a surf and turf with lobster and filet mignon. Michael ordered the lamb chops special and I the salmon with red pepper tapenade off the regular menu. Rather than having another starch with mine, I asked for the sauteed spinach and steamed asparagus sides.

Absolutely EVERYTHING was fabulous! When we were done with the Hunnicutt Cab, Reggie ordered the Rosenblum Zin and it also was perfect. Awesome!!

For dessert, I wanted the creme brulee and Gigi ordered the cheesecake with oreo cookie crust. We shared with the guys and all agreed afterward, that we were just full enough, but nor stuffed to the gills despite the fact that we shared a lot of food.

I think this marked the end of my “bad restaurant karma” streak. But we all know that you simply can’t have a bad meal at Bacchus. I wish it would have reopened sooner to put an end to my streak earlier.

The story of my life.

When Reg and Gigi were here we did not have enough time to…..sit around our pool and have hors d’ouevres and cocktails, hike to the tide pools, eat at Savant or Kendrick’s or Luncheria or the Deck Bar or Dashi….etc.

We did dine at Bacchus, though. And that will be the subject of my next entry. Stay tuned……

After our big day at Buck, I wasn’t about to cook, so Reggie picked us up and we went to Tutto. We met Jody (from Bacchus) on the way in and asked him if he’d be back to work this week. His response was affirmative. Yay!!!

We sat to the right of the entrance where the accoustics seem less annoying, and ordered bottled water, since Jessica said the tap water was kinda “off”. Anna and Baldy came in. Bob White and a couple of wine club ladies came in as did Isabel Brady and friends. My back was to the door, so I got all this information second-hand. It was hard to be discreet craning my neck to look behind myself to ascertain identities of the incoming diners, but I tried.

Reggie is not too familiar with Italian wines, but suggested we try a merlot-cab blend. It looked good to us and was very rich and flavorful.

We all started with some of the special lobster bisque. It had nice big, chewy chunks of lobster, but the broth was too salty for my taste. Reggie and Michael both opted for the fresh tuna special which the waiter said would arrive rare unless otherwise specified. Cool! We love it that way!! I asked for the organic, St. Croix grown tilapia on a bed of fresh veggies and Southgate Farm organic greens. They were out of it……go figure…..just look at my luck lately…. My second choice was the marinated barbecued tofu kabobs. It is generally served over rice, but I asked for (and received) them over the veggies the tilapia should have :).

The tuna was exquisite. Perfectly rare and the roasted potatoes and veggies yummy as well.
My tofu was over-marinated, as were the veggies on the kabobs. I could only eat a couple of bites. Ugh!!!! We decided to get dessert because our trusty little coupon book allowed us two free ones! Besides, my two bites of tofu didn’t nearly fill me up.

Reggie chose the flourless chocolate cake and some rum cream to pour on top of it (the man is becoming a true rum connoisseur), and I the apple & pineapple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Finally(!) we were all happy with our choices (even me!).

Our waiter brought us black sambuca with dessert so that helped my enjoyment of the meal a bit. But just a bit. I can’t figure out why I’m getting all this crummy restaurant karma lately. I’m a good tipper and I love supporting our local establishments. I’m hoping I can get a break in the next few days, especially since my surgery is Tuesday and I might not be dining out for a long while after that. We shall see……..

Well, for us, anyway. Michael is taking a couple of vacation days this week so we can spend more quality time with Reggie (and now Gigi, since she arrives this afternoon!). Monday, we decided to take the luxury yacht, Origami, to Buck Island. Reggie had not been out there in years, and certainly not in such an illustrious watercraft. We just had to share another of our fairly typical week-end activities with him.

But first, we had to walk the Southgate Beach in search of turtle nesting activities. Rather than doing our usual Sunday patrol, Michael did one on Saturday and we did another two days later. We had one activity. It was a green turtle who had come up the berm into the tall grass dug around a little, and probably laid a nest of eggs. So we took our measurements, recorded them, and went back to Chenay Bay Beach Resort, where we had breakfast. It was good and the service wasn’t bad either.

Despite the iffy weather forecast, we started out on our Buck Island adventure thinking that we could come back if it was horrible. The water was choppy and we got splashed more than usual on the way out there, but it was pleasantly refreshing and we enjoyed the trip out to the east end where the snorkeling has been great. We moored at our favorite dive buoy, had a beer while slathering up with sunscreen, and jumped in. It was surprisingly clear. Much better visibility than the day before at Tamarind. We immediately saw a line of about a dozen squid and a large grouper that we see in that area frequently. We headed south against the current first, to make our return to the boat easier.

We saw large schools of blue tang, many different types of parrot fish and damsel fish, and it wasn’t long before we came upon a small hawksbill turtle. He was so adorable and soooo mellow. He was just floating around, not in any hurry to get anywhere. Not even nearly spooked by us. We were able to stick around him for a good 15 minutes or so before he drifted off in a direction different from where we were headed. When we got to the marked trail, Michael headed toward the grottoes while Reggie and I watched another little hawksbill. This guy was headed towards the space between the top of the reef and the surface of the water. He was getting tossed around a bit, but seemed to have a destination in mind, so he took off.

We went to the grotto outside the reef after Michael. Usually I tell him he’ll have to hold my hand out there, but I didn’t get a chance to before we were out. The swells were big and even though the visibility was okay, I still hate not being able to see if something large is lurking just beyond my range of vision. I decided to go back in and told him that he and Reggie were welcome to NOT join me, and that I’d meet them at the boat. He didn’t hear me, so he followed me back in. I asked him what he was doing and explained that I really didn’t want to hold him back, so he should go explore the outer reef if he wanted to. Reggie decided to stay inside with me where it’s calmer and shallower and you can actually see more. We saw another HUGE school of about 40 squid! That was amazing….

The yacht Orimagi pulls up on Buck Island

At one point both Reggie and I were looking for the boat and couldn’t see it. It was still quite far away, and we both thought, “uh oh……” but then it appeared and we breathed a sigh of relief. We were headed back when Michael came swimming through a large gap in the reef to tell us he saw a nurse shark sleeping a ways out by a big pile of reef and didn’t we want to see her. Reggie and I both did, so this time I told Michael he’d have to hold my hand and he did.

She was still there when we arrived. Just resting in the sand about 25-30 feet down. We could see one side of her and her tail gently swaying with the passing currents. Cool!! A sleeping shark is a good shark. We all then traveled down the outside of the reef together until we got close to the boat where we saw the big grouper and original pack o’ squid again. We climbed aboard (a VERY ungraceful thing for anyone to attempt) and all made it intact, untied from the mooring and headed around to the beach.

There was ONE other boat there. We walked north to check out that shore after having a bit more to drink and some cheese and cracker snacks. The boat was Kingfischer and Charlie and Mieke were not aboard they must have been exploring too. We ran into them and talked about what a perfect day it was. It was nice to see them out there enjoying each other’s company in such a special place.

We also got to see 4 or 5 good sized young sharks hunting near the shore. They have black tips on their fins, but I think they’re called “lemon sharks”. It was neat to see them gracefully sweeping around in the shallows in search of their own little snacks. And we were really happy not to be on their menu that day.

We walked back around to where Origami awaited us and took a quick little snorkel just off the beach. Saw schools of little fish, some peacock flounders and a stingray almost totally covered with sand. The flounders were fun to watch, especially when they buried themselves under the sand. They’re so quick!

We took a tired Mr. Hunnicutt back to Peter’s and planned on meeting at our house shortly thereafter for dinner.

Sunday morning we had brunch at the Deep End. We wanted to show Reggie the great snorkeling right off the beach there. The power had gone out that morning and we soon discovered why when we drove to the entrance of Green Cay Marina, where the Deep End is located. Someone must have hit a pole earlier in the morning and really destroyed it. It looked like the WAPA (Water and Power Authority) crews had to replace TWO poles, actually.

Fortunately, the restaurant has a large generator. Unfortunately, it was not large enough to allow the toilets to be flushed and there was all manner of stuff in all of the toilets I tried to use. I informed the surprised bartender of this fact and hoped that Troy (the restaurant manager) was able to correct the problem. Anyway, brunch was good, but there were a few other tables ahead of us and the poor waitress seemed to be in over her head (”in the weeds” is the saying used in the industry), so it took a while. Reggie and I each had a veggie omelet and Michael had the eggs benedict.

When we were done, we walked just a few yards over to the entrance of the water. The beach is not one of those long sandy stretches that you think of when you think “Caribbean” and I have described it as being “nothing to write home about”, but there’s a little sheltered dipping area protected by a breakwater composed of huge boulders, and a narrow entrance to the right, by the jetty which separates the beach from the boat entrance to the marina. There are lovely coconut palms and cabanas and chairs for rent by non-hotel guests.

We got our snorkeling gear on and swam out a short way and took a left. It was cloudy at that point and the water was murky. We hoped it would clear up once we got farther out. It did, a little, and we got to see a lot of fish. We even saw and followed for quite a ways, a little hawksbill turtle. To the west, in front of the Tamarind Reef Hotel, there’s a very cool spot with beautiful swaying sea fans and soft corals. The multicolored fish darting in and out of openings in the reef remind you of a thriving aquarium. But it’s so much nicer to see the fish in their natural habitat. There were so many fish, I couldn’t name them all.

We ventured farther west, beyond the rocky point which separates Tamarind Reef area from Shoys. The sea fans are usually gorgeous there, but it was pretty rough and the current was strong and we didn’t go far enough to see them. It was Reggie’s first time out and we didn’t want to have him overdo so soon. So we turned back and had to work pretty hard to get to calmer waters where we didn’t have to fight so much. I saw a large coral rock which seemed to have a coat of fur. We could see the “hairs” moving with the currents, especially when we dove down for a closer look. Reggie saw a trumpet fish and thought it was some sort of sea snake. We have seen a lot of them in this area in the past.

I started getting cold, so swam back in and the guys followed me as well. I think we had been out there for close to an hour. There’s just so much to see in a small area. Gotta love this place!

We dried off, the guys got drinks, and then we walked around to see if we could find some iguanas. Sure enough, on the other side of the watersports shack, there were three of them. One was older and extremely colorful. He had all sorts of crests and flaps and things decorating his prehistoric-looking body.

After Michael took a few pictures, it was close to time for Reggie’s Panthers to play their first game of the season, so we went our separate ways for a few hours. We would meet later in the afternoon to get the Pickled Greek ready for our “Welcome Reggie” party that evening.

Our dear friend from Midland, NC, Reggie Hunnicutt has finally arrived once again on our shores.
Unfortunately, his lovely bride, our dear friend, Gigi, was not able to come along on this trip. Gigi just wasn’t feeling up the a journey involving changing planes three times. Totally understandable. They’re use to just hopping on the direct flight from Charlotte. So it would not have been fun for her.

But Reggie’s here! And he brought doilies! I always have trouble finding doilies for party food, so our hero saved our next gathering by bringing paper doilies!

We picked Reggie up at the airport yesterday afternoon (with Peter). Reggie had been so looking forward to seeing Peter again. And Goliath. And us too, I guess. But mostly Peter. So we met him with rum drinks and beers to welcome him back to our happy, dysfunctional family. After he picked up his rental jeep and we dropped off his luggage at Peter’s apartment, where he’s be staying, we went to dinner at Cafe Kaleidoscope. Reggie had not been before, and they have his favorite (and mine), Coquilles St. Jacques. Mmmmmmm.

It was kind of funny, I had been thinking of going there for a few days, and that afternoon, my daughter called to find out their phone number. We go by it multiple times each day and I can recall the number from the sign out front. She and Ian and some friends wanted to go to dinner that night as well. I gave her the number and told her we might see her there.

Ella was our waitress, and, as far as I’m concerned, one of the most patient people on earth to put up with Peter’s very annoying antics. When she’d come to the table, he’d try to nibble on her breasts. We ordered a few appetizers. I love the pepper soup, so we got that. We also got panko crusted crab cakes and a steamed artichoke. All were delicious. For entrees, Reggie got the scallops, Peter got a big plate of mussels (which he carried over to Nikki and Ian’s table to share with them, but spilled the broth all over the floor), Michael got the asian salmon with wasabi mashed potatoes, and I got two appetizers for my entree. All their appetizers are to die for, so I like to try as much as possible instead of having just one meal. My appetizers were the tempura vegetables (couldn’t have it the other night at the Chinese place, but they had them here!) and the eggplant rollatini. Another of my favorites. We all shared and enjoyed everything we ordered. Then came time for dessert. None of us were very hungry, but I LOVE their tiramisu. Even Michael, not a fan of it, really enjoyed it on the occasions we’d previously had it.

They had a ton of choices, but no tiramisu. Michael liked the sound of the cheesecakes, but I thought that would be too heavy. So we just had more drinks. Nikki and Ian were at the next table and had one of the cheesecakes, which they graciously shared with us. It was yummy, too!

After that, Nikki and Ian joined us for after dinner drinks and Peter continued to annoy people by putting his fat, crusty, Fred Flinstone feet on the table. When we finally gave Sasha and the gang some peace, Peter wanted to go to Cheeseburgers. I had already had enough of his ridiculousness, so opted out. Reggie is here to party, so went with him.

After talking with Reggie a few minutes ago (I was very relieved to find him still alive), he told me that they only stayed for a couple of drinks and went up the hill to Peter’s apartment where Peter passed out on his own couch. Peter was supposed to be staying at a house where he’s pet sitting. I hope Sahara was okay when he finally arrived back there this morning some time.

Reggie’s here! Now we’re going to show him some new (to him) snorkeling sites…..

Last evening, after spending all day recovering from our overnight turtle watch, we didn’t feel like cooking, so we went to the Golden Rail. It’s another place that I never quite understood the popularity of, because although there is a view of palm trees and Christiansted harbor, you have to look through the industrial-ness of the boatyard to see it. But I guess the view is still better than that at Cheeseburgers, the Case Place, the Bombay Club, or the Pickled Greek.

It’s still our slow season, so we’re not rakin’ in the bucks and the budget for dining out sometimes requires us to use our little “Tastes and Treats of St. Croix” coupon booklet. There’s a coupon in there for $10 off a one-hour massage from Ambrosia Body Care and there are a few other good ones as well. Gems Direct has one in there for 20% off any non-sale item and a free gift besides! But I think, as far as food deals go (most of them are soooo cheap, like a “free rum punch with the purchase of an entree”…..wow!, or a “free dessert with the purchase of TWO entrees”……big deal!), The Golden Rail is tops! Their coupon is “buy one entree, get one free”, a value up to $25! That REALLY is a deal!

So, their specials were things like Lobster Thermidore, Seafood Pasta, a Surf and Turf which included a half lobster and an 8-oz steak. Mmmmmm. They also had some nice wines on their wine list to go with the yummy food selections. I ordered the Thermidore and Michael the Surf and Turf. We chose a bottle of Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel to go with our meal. This would be great. However, the waitress came back saying that they were out of that wine. Okay, our second choice was one we’d had at wine club last week. It was Gallo Sonoma Pinot Noir, (hard to get, according to our wine gurus, and STX is the only island in the USVI to have any!) Our waitress brought us out a chilled bottle of Louis Jadot Pinot Noir. No no no no no no, we said, but, according to her, that was the only red they had. They had all the whites on the list, but we had our hearts set on a red.

I said to the waitress (she really was very sweet and mostly competent), “Someone could just run over to Schooner Bay Market and get us the Rancho Zabaco, I know they have it there”. She giggled, so I said, “Okay, how much of a corkage fee would you charge if I went to get it myself and brought it in?” She said, “It’s up to you”. So I took off to get us an appropriate bottle of wine for such a lovely dinner.

Oh, I forgot to mention Dr. Roy. He was playing and is usually not my favorite. But he played mostly decent stuff while we were there, and it wasn’t TOO loud. It bugs the crap out of me when you go to a nice restaurant to try to enjoy a nice dinner, but the live entertainment (even if it’s nice flamenco guitar, or piano - like at the Galleon) is too loud (like at the Galleon).

Anyway, I whipped over to Schooner Bay and had a choice of many wines. We had Rancho Zabaco on the brain, but I debated with myself whether or not to get the Gallo Reserve Merlot, which we’d had at wine club as well and enjoyed, but went with the original choice. As I got out of the car at the marina with our bottle of wine, I could see Michael smiling (smirking) in the restaurant as he waited for me.

The waitress (we should have gotten her name) came back and opened our bottle for us and we sipped while we waited for our dinners. We kept sipping as we kept waiting for our dinners. Good thing we were just sipping. Otherwise, the wine might have been gone before they came.
At one point, our waitress was resting at a table next to ours. Our food was not ready. After a while, she looked over at us and decided that maybe she needed to urge the kitchen staff on a bit.

After her goading, our food arrived. There was a LOT of food. Each dinner came with a baked potato and veggies. Since I am still a vegetarian at heart, I ate my cauliflower first, and alternated bites of squash with my lobster and potato. Michael stuck strictly with the lobster and steak. I shared a couple of bites of mine with him and he reciprocated. It didn’t take long before I was full. I had eaten most of my veggies and potato and lobster. But there was still some of each left. Michael kept plugging along and finished his proteins. As he did this, I nibbled on, and finished my potato (sort of like dessert - carbs and fat). Now Michael had no room left for starches or veggies. Well, I’m not his mother, what could I say? I could say, “No dessert for you!”, but I didn’t have to because he was too full anyway.

So we asked our nice waitress to wrap the rest of my lobster along with Michael’s potato and veggies, and we’d take our check as well. She was happy to oblige, had no attitude about the coupon (we told her we’d tip appropriately anyway) and our dining experience was complete.
All in all a pleasant evening. And….it can’t be bad when “tightening your belt” includes Lobster Thermidore…..ahhhh, paradise!

Our island was once mainly agricultural and is divided into sections called “estates”. They were plantations on which sugarcane and cotton, among other things were grown. The estate names still remain in use today. For example, we live in “Sally’s Fancy”. Other fun ones are “William’s Delight”, “Whim”, “Betsy’s Jewel” and “Rust Op Twist”. Just west of Christiansted town, is one called “Golden Rock”. There is a shopping area which includes a Pueblo Supermarket, a Blockbuster video, Golden Rock Pharmacy, Domino’s Pizza, etc. There has been a large new building across the street from Pueblo for a good while, which once had a sign announcing the opening of the “Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant”. It was there for a long time, the grass kept growing and no work was being done on the property. Until just a few weeks ago. Signs of life! It’s always exciting!

There was a really fun change, too. Instead of Golden Dragon, the name on the building which appeared in large letters was “Golden Wok”! Right there in Golden Rock! We thought that was very clever and couldn’t wait until they opened so we could eat there. It’s a big building. Maybe we could finally have something like a stateside Chinese Restaurant (can you say “oxymoron”?) But we had great expectations….

They opened last week. The parking lot was finally paved and the neon “Open” sign flashed invitingly. Last night Michael and I worked in town, and thought it might be nice to give them a try. It was either that or the new Cajun place, “Zizzler’s”. I felt like nice Chinese veggies, so we went out to Golden Wok. Hee hee hee.

We arrived around 7 and the lot was jammed! It looked like the whole island was there! We saw some folks we’d hiked with a few weeks ago just getting there as well. They were part of a large group. We walked in and saw Kristin from Rumrunners dining with Anna from GoToStCroix, Anna’s husband Carl and their daughter Savannah. On the other side of the room our friend, Captain Al was seated in the crowd. Laura and John Ballard arrived with Casey Willard and a guy from wine club the other night.

We had to wait a minute for our table to be ready, so ordered drinks at the bar. I asked for an Amstel. They didn’t have it. How about a MaiTai? Nope. Michael wanted his usual FatPapi (rum and coke) which they had. I ended up with an O’Doul’s. Once we got to our table and opened the menu, we saw that the drink prices were more than we should pay for cheap stuff and switched to tea. Michael wanted his iced. I wanted hot. My tea arrived lukewarm. I sent it beck to be heated. It came back the same temperature, but with an extra teabag. I didn’t drink it. I gave up on anything to drink.

Ah, the food…..They had one of my favorites, eggplant in garlic sauce on the menu. Michael wanted to know if any of the dishes had cashews or peanuts since the menu didn’t specify. I guess he was feeling particularly nutty. Our waitress did not know. She went to ask. Oh, yes, the Kung Pao Chicken (they spelled it Kung Bo) had peanuts. So Michael ordered that. I ordered my eggplant. They didn’t have it. Okay, I’d need another minute to decide on something else. Okay, how about the curried tofu, and why don’t we start with tempura vegetables? Our waitress took the order and came back 10 minutes later to tell us they didn’t have the tempura veggies. Fine! Just bring our regular food! I was getting a bit irritated. When our food arrived, my tofu looked kind of lumpy. When she set it down, I said, “This is curried tofu?” She said it was. There was some nice fresh broccoli with it, which I devoured, then took a bite of the “tofu”. It was chewy. I gave some to Michael. It was pork or chicken! We called our waitress back and I said “This is NOT tofu!” She said, “Uh, oh, right, it’s chicken. You ordered the curried tofu?” “Yes, I did….”
She took my plate. Michael had a large dish of chicken and veggies with peanuts and was nice enough to share with me while I waited FOREVER for my tofu to arrive.

Meanwhile, the guy sitting alone at the table behind me was also having trouble getting what he ordered. He kept sending stuff back. It really became comical. Finally, my lukewarm food appeared. It was passable. The hostess/owner came over to refill Michael’s tea. “Is everything okay?” I said, “It’s JUST okay”. She giggled.

Michael kept saying, “Well, they just opened, you’ve gotta cut them some slack”. Maybe. Maybe they should train their staff better. How about a serving spoon to scoop your veggies over your rice? How about soy sauce on the tables? We had to ask for soy sauce.

We were able to get our bill in a timely manner. On the way out, I stopped at the ladies room. I thought, “Okay, new facility, the restroom should at least be nice.” HA! Hahahahahaha! The room was HUGE, but the water pressure was very low, so both toilets still had stuff in them. It stunk in there. There were two stalls. One “handicapped”. The handicapped stall had no rails and just a regular toilet (which was difficult to flush since the water pressure was pathetic). There was a small counter with one sink. With all that space and two stalls, you would think there could be a larger counter so more than one person could wash hands at a time. And, you know how women like to reapply lipstick and check their make-up? Impossible if just one other person was in there! Especially, since the lack of water pressure would cause one to take 50 million years to rinse the soap off their hands!

All in all, it was an annoying culinary experience. It will be a loooooong time before we go back there. We’ll just stick with our sweet little neighborhood Chinese restaurants that we know and love. Or maybe we’ll just eat Cajun.

Michael’s Dolphin Rating:

Golden Wok, Golden Rock, St. Croix

Name -
Location -
Service -
Food -
——————
Overall Experience -

After laboring around the house for most of the holiday week-end, we decided to go to Buck Island on Monday. The weather reports said the seas would be rough on the other days, but would calm down by then. It was a gorgeous week-end, all in all, with clear blue skies and cooling breezes. I spoke to a couple of folks who had gone to Buck over the week-end, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. All agreed, it was fabulous. Of course, they went on bigger boats than ours so big swells and high seas were not a problem to them.

The kayak was the vessel of choice for our trip. We’d discussed the fact that the times we saw dolphins were times we took the kayak. We’d see if that streak might continue. I wasn’t sure I’d be strong enough to make it all the way to Buck, but Michael said it’d be fine to just anchor inside the reef somewhere and snorkel for a bit if I wasn’t feeling up to the longer journey.

Michael also wanted to check on an area of the reef where he thought we could get through with the kayak on a calm day. So we pedaled out from the Yacht Club and saw surprisingly few boats besides us around there. But it was still before noon. The freshness of the air when we’re on the water is so rejuvenating. I always feel better when I’m out there. We anchored in a spot by the reef that Michael thought might let us through sometime when the tide was high. It was actually pretty high then, too. So we put on our gear and jumped in. We headed east first and didn’t see any particularly clear areas. But we did see a bunch of cool fish and it felt great to be frolicking in the sea once more. After about 30-45 minutes I got cold and swam back to the kayak. Michael swam out a bit more to the west, but again to no avail. He did see a little stingray on that trip, though. We pulled up anchor and headed toward the official cut in the reef that all the boaters use. Two sailboats were heading our way. One of them was “Bilinda”, captained by our friend, Dee. Peter was actually her crew that day, but we didn’t realize it was them until they’d passed by. The other sloop tacking eastward looked familiar and it took me a while to realize it was “Cruzan Time” owned by dear friends Carl and Christine. Carl was at the helm only had the mainsail up, so was not traveling very quickly. We were able to come up beside and ask about his “crew”. Christine and their little boy, Dylan were down below, but came up to wave and say “Hi”. I asked if they’d seen any dolphins out beyond the reef and he replied that they hadn’t. We agreed that it was a perfect day and we were glad to be out enjoying it.

I was feeling good, so once we made the cut, we continued on toward the national park. At one point Bryan and Darcy flew by us in his Hobie-Cat. They were just zoom zoom zooming!
We saw a large hawksbill turtle surface for quite a while filling up with air before taking off.
And finally we got to Buck. There were a gazillion boats there, mostly power and most not from the yacht club, since the only ones from there that we’d seen were “Cruzan Time” and Bryan’s Hobie. It looked like there might have been a big crowd over from Puerto Rico for the holiday. We stuck to the south side of the beach where there was only one other kayak, a powerboat farther down at the dock, and a small dinghy at anchor. We realized just before they left that the other kayakers were Frank and Katherine, former owners of Bacchus, with their son, Dominic. But we didn’t figure it out soon enough to go over to say “Hey”. As they took off, we sat and had cheese and crackers looking back at St. Croix and marveling at the beauty of the day. On the way back we saw another hawksbill and a yacht club boat pulling kids on an inflatable raft. They were having a blast. We had a slow, leisurely pedal back, but had major fanny fatigue before long. We need to use extra seat pads next time. Well, no dolphins, but it was definitely worth the trip out there to look for them.

They’ve been a problem throughout history. It is because of them, that mongoose were imported to the islands to control the rat population which was destroying the sugarcane crops.
Unfortunately, rats are nocturnal and mongoose are diurnal. So now we have an overabundance of both.

A few years ago, some neighbors moved away and the rats that had been eating their dogs’ food started looking for other things. They thought the wiring in one of our cars was delicious and caused damages that needed extensive repairs. Fortunately, parts for our vehicle didn’t cost that much. I was at the hardware store looking for rat traps, etc. when I fan into a friend in the rat trap department. He lives in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods on island and was having the same problem. Too bad for him, the parts for his Mercedes cost hundreds of dollars each.

For a while, we trapped rats in hav-a-hart traps and kept them out of the car engines with moth balls. The problem abated and eventually disappeared.

But now that we’ve been storing large amounts of used vegetable oil to fuel our landrovers, the rats are back. We tried hav-a hart traps again, but were not successful. So Michael decided to get the electructing ones. I would have preferred we try a larger hav-a-hart, but it’s his area.
So far he’s caught two dead rats. But he had a bad dream the other night about the process. Bad rat karma if you ask me. So now he’s thinking he should use the bigger hav-a-hart trap.
We’ll see…….

All those technical cliches this morning got us on a roll. We spent most of the morning at the hardware store/lumber yard getting fence parts to construct gates and reinforce existing fencing so Michael can have his workshop out in the carport and it will be a “dog-free” area. We don’t have too many of those around here.

Dogs are always around and usually IN THE WAY. For example, Michael was working outside and I was in the house for a minute. I was getting hungry and thought he might be as well, so I decided to make him a PB&J sandwich. I cut it into bite-sized pieces to make it easier for him to snack a bit while he worked, picked up a paper napkin and a glass of water and attempted to carry this out to him.

Since our dogs think we are some sort of gods, whenever one of us steps foot outside the door, they all get really excited, wagging their tails and trying to get as close to us as possible. Unfortunately, when our hands are full and we are attempting to get somewhere the results can be disastrous. And they were. I tripped in Wiley and many of Michael’s bite-sized sandwich pieces went flying through the air. I screamed and cussed, spilling water and snack bits, some of which landed on the brand-new dog bed cover I bought yesterday. I figured that was pretty clean so salvaged the pieces that landed there. Two of them, however, were lost for good to the vulture dogs who are always waiting for just such a fortuitous occasion.

So Michael got 2/3 of a sandwich and 2/3 of a glass of water for “lunch” today. And we even got almost 1/2 of a gate built. Yippeee!!