Monday, April 2, 2018

What a day!  It was hot, sunny, and perfect!  We spent a lot of the day getting ready for our departure.  I did get in the water this afternoon and Richard and I took our kayaks out in the afternoon for a lovely paddle.  The water was so pretty.  I spotted a nice sized shark!  It was a Lemon Shark! 

We will return January 1, 2019 and I will be looking forward to it! 

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Happy Easter!  What a beautiful place to be on Easter Sunday.   We had a lovely Easter potluck today with all our wonderful island friends.  This is one special place.   I have to admit, I miss having all the kids with us and doing baskets and egg hunts though.  Sweet memories!

Today I was stung by a scorpion!  Ouch!  I was on my way down to the water.  I had checked my shoes really well, but he was hiding under the insole.  What a nasty bugger!  Hello benadryl!  I iced it for awhile and then went in the water.  I think it helped to soak in the salty sea. 

Tomorrow we will clean all our outside chairs and kayaks and put them away.  We have a lot to do to get ready to leave the island.  It was so much fun here this year!  So many adventures.  Looks like we will return on January 1, 2019. 

Here is my new picture on the wall.  It is a Trigger Fish.

The new platter we got at the auction. 

Saturday, March 31, 2018

It has been too long since I have been able to type on my blog.  We have been so busy enjoying our island life.  Time is just flying along.  I have been enjoying the beach a lot.  The weather is so perfect.  I have been in the water every day. 

This is Easter weekend and that means a huge celebration on the island.  Lots of people from the Brac and Grand come to Little Cayman for the Holiday.  It has been fun to be a part of the "crowds".  We have been enjoying watching kite surfers and sail boats in our waters.  This morning I discovered two tents pitched on the other side of the property next door to us.  Just tents, no people accompanied them.  Camping on the beaches is popular over Easter. 

We had dinner with friends last night under the full moon.  It was such a beautiful evening.  Tonight we went to the Little Cayman National Trust Easter Auction.  What an extravaganza!  This fundraiser topped anything in the USA!  Wow!  We bought a beautiful framed picture of a Trigger Fish, a large platter with a turtle embossed on it and a kitchen towel with a matching potholder.  My Easter basket runneth over!!

Richard has been catching fish.  This morning the guys went out and caught 17 tuna but brought in 13.  They had a fabulous time!  We are bringing fish home with us for sure.

Happy Easter!  Linda and Mike are hosting a huge Easter Potluck tomorrow.  I am looking forward to celebrating the Holiday with all our wonderful island friends.   

 

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

The week is speeding by.  I have been trying to get some projects done in the house before we have to head back to Iowa.  Today I cleaned all the ceiling fans and cleaned all the window blinds.  Actually, I still have two blinds left to do tomorrow.  Such a fun job!  Ha Ha!! 

We have been very slowly planning for our departure.  The process has become easier over time.  There is a lot to do. 

I feel bad for the tiny birds who are using the water I put out for them.  Hopefully, they will find somewhere else to bath and drink.  The green Anoli sleeps every night on our porch hammock.  He lounges on it like he owns it!  Super cute.  Every evening a little frog is on the bathroom window.  He keeps me company as I get cleaned up.  It is so cute to see his little belly and suction cup feet holding on to the glass.

Now it's time to beat Richard in a game of Sequence.

There is cute little frog.  He is at the top of the window glass.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

After a great nights sleep I woke up again in paradise!  Thank heavens!  There was a good breeze blowing today so this was an outside work day.  Richard got out the tall ladder and his pole saw and trimmed up the coconut trees.  Those fronds look light weight and breezy but they are heavy!  We did a bunch more trimming and cutting of jungle that forever grows back.  Now we are finished!  Next year it will hopefully just be trim work on our return.  I feel like I get a good amount of exercise doing this work.  I am kind of missing my weight lifting and workout routine though. 

I did a few other projects and pretty much relaxed a lot today.  I just love being here and "soaking" it all in. 

Richard climbing his tall ladder trimming the coconuts.

One of our piles of fronds.

 

Monday, March 26, 2018

Our beautiful sunset.

I just got back into the house.   The evening is so beautiful.  I sat on a beach chair and watched the sun set.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky.  A soft, gentle breeze would occasionally blow by me to make sure the no-see-ums could not find me.  There I sat under a nearly full moon, down by the water, with the temp still at 79.  With a full moon on the sand, one could stay out all night and see just fine.  This is why I call it paradise!

Yesterday was a fun day working on projects and bike rides and going in the water.  We went to Hungry Iguana for dinner with a large group of friends.  It was a ton of fun!  While there, the guys made plans for fishing the following morning.

 This morning it was another up early day to catch the elusive fish.  The guys have a competition going, of course.  The "loser" has to bow before the "winner"  and present a gift of alcohol.  Brian's boat caught 9 tuna!  Richard and Mike caught 2!  What!!  We had quite a party on the dock to clean fish and celebrate. 

After a good bike ride and an afternoon in the water I will sleep good tonight with the windows open enjoying the cool Caribbean breezes. 

Party on the dock!  Guys bowing down to Brian (the winner)!

Saturday, March 24, 2018

It's another beautiful day in Paradise!  Boy, do I love waking up here.  Today I headed outside early to start painting again.  I wanted to be finished before noon.  The sun just gets really hot then.  I finished!  Everything looks so clean and beautiful!  Our house looks brand new.  I also did some touch up painting inside the house too. 

Richard and I ate a leisurely lunch on the porch.  I love sitting there just watching the birds and the pretty water.  One could just sit there all day!  But no!!  I got my suit on and got in the water.    It is so great to get a big project finished and still have time to have fun. 

Friday, March 23, 2018

Today we awoke to a beautiful day with a bit of a wind from the northeast.  I quick did a load of laundry and it dried in no time.  This was the perfect day to paint the porch railings and everything that is painted white outside.  I had wanted to do this way back in January.  What a lot of work!  That sun is hot to work in too.  I will start again tomorrow around 6:30 - 7:00 before it gets so hot and sunny.  It's a huge project but needs to be done.  There is a lot of upkeep on property here.  We want it to look nice.  One day we will have to hire this stuff done as I am not getting younger!  Luckily, Richard seems to not get any older so he can keep working away on this stuff!  I love how new and clean it all looks. 

Needless to say, the whole day was not spent working.  We took plenty of breaks to enjoy being in our beautiful paradise. 

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Wow!  I will start my post writing about Wednesday, (yesterday).  Richard and I went fishing and took some friends along.  It was fun.  The water was flat and it was a beautiful morning.  We caught a Rainbow Runner.  What a tasty, wonderful fish!  Our friends came for dinner so we could all enjoy our fresh catch. 

After lunch the four of us also went snorkeling to Point of Sand.  We went out to the breakers and over to the east side.  This is a hidden gem of an area!  Joe had seen a lion fish there in the past so he brought his spear along and he caught that bugger!  Very exciting!  We had such a great time!  Joe cleaned the lion fish and prepared it and brought it along for dinner.  We ate it as an appetizer and it was spectacular!  Boy, Joe can cook!  We were all hungry after our busy day in and on the water.  What a wonderful day!

Today Richard went fishing and Greg went along.  They caught a Skip Jack tuna.  I enjoyed not going out.  My morning was spent on a bike ride and beach walk.  It was great to be on my bike again.  The south sound is inundated with seaweed!  Nasty stuff!  Makes for a lot of clean up for the resorts and homes in that area.  This afternoon, I went in the water here at the house.  It was fun but I got a bite or something on my left hand and it immediately swelled just huge.  I seem to have extreme reactions to anything now.  Thank heavens for Benedryl.  It is still swollen but not burning anymore.  I was lucky this happened at home and not out.  I guess I should always keep a Benedryl on my person anymore.  What a riot!!

We had fish tacos for dinner tonight and I just wanted to never stop eating!  Yummy!

I took this photo today of the side of our house today.  

Joe attacking the lion fish.

Sunny day on our beach today.

 

Our Skip Jack Tuna.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Another beautiful day in paradise!  This morning Richard and I went fishing.  We were out there before 6:00 and caught a nice big tuna right away.  He was a nice catch!  The next one we caught got half eaten by a shark on the way to the boat.  Darn!  Then we proceeded to catch a very large barracuda and another small barracuda.  Then we hit a nice tuna again.  As Richard was reeling him in a big shark swallowed the whole fish and wouldn't let go.  Richard didn't want to lose all that line so a half hour later he finally had him to the boat.  What a job!!  We cut him loose and lost the lure of course.  What a problem shark!

This afternoon we snorkeled again on the north side at bloody bay.  Every time we see different things and we were not disappointed today.  I saw the biggest parrot fish in the whole world!  He was swimming straight at me and got so close to my face.  What a sight! 

I think I'm living the good life!

A good shot of the nasty shark!

Another photo of our famous shark!

Our parrot fish.

Monday, March 19, 2018

Who would think weather conditions could be so perfect!  Well, this is paradise!  I just love seeing the open sea so calm.  So pretty!  Richard and I had another beautiful snorkel this afternoon.  The water is warm and comfy.  We finally saw a turtle today.  He was way out in the super deep water. 

This morning Richard took a couple guys out fishing and they came home empty handed.  I imagine no one talked to the fish when they were out there.  I always try to sing song them in when I go out there.  I guess that's my secret! Shhh!

It might seem like we are spending a lot of time in the water and it's true.  When conditions are like this, live in the water!

Here is a pretty angel trigger fish

Check out this cute grouper and that's a brain coral next to him.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Today was a great fishing day!  We brought home 3 nice tuna.  We had 6 on but there are sharks in the water that like tuna also.  They stole our fish!!  Twice we had two poles go off.  I had to reel also.  It was fun but these fish are strong and I pretty much just kept them busy until Richard got to them.  The water was flat today.  The conditions are amazing.  I think I could get good at this reeling thing if I did it more often. 

We were out through the cut before 6:00.  Turns out, fish eat early!  This is fine except at 4:00 this morning the power went out.  I woke up immediately as the fans quit running and there was absolutely no breeze outside.  Good luck going back to sleep.  I just went to sleep minutes before it was time to wake up.  I took a glorious nap in the hammock after I was finished cleaning up fish mess. 

After a lunch of tacos we headed to Bloody Bay to snorkel.  I never imagined the sea could be so smooth and clear.  Boy, was it nice!  No turtle again today though.  Where are these elusive turtles?

Needless to say, we ate fresh tuna for dinner tonight.

Here is one of the tuna.  The sun will come up soon!

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Happy St. Patrick Day!  I'm still loving this island life.  It was sunny, hot, and a dew point of 73 again today.  Perfect day to spend in the water.  We have been having really mild breezes.  When we first got here on January 10, it was windy for a couple of weeks.  That was fine as we had work to do. 

Richard and I are in relaxation mode now.  The boat has been working great with its new motor and he is catching fish.  We will not starve.  We have been enjoying our friends here on the island and looking forward to a few more weeks yet.

I'm off to bed early tonight as I am going fishing tomorrow morning.  Hoping for a Wahoo or Mahi.  No card playing for us tonight.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Last night we woke to the sound of rain.  We made a made dash to close windows.  It had been a long time since it had rained at our spot on the island.  They had a lot of rain the day before on the east end but we missed out on that one.  For such a tiny dot of an island in the middle of the vast sea, one would think if it rained we would all get wet.  But no!  This island is 10 miles long and 1 mile wide!  Conditions were perfect to sleep with the windows open last night.  It was a treat!  Lately, we had been closing up at night and running the air while we sleep.  The tiny bugs that get through the screens just got to be annoying. 

Today was very relaxing.  We hung out on the beach and took it easy.  In the afternoon we took the kayaks out.  The water was very smooth so we really enjoyed out time out.  We saw stingrays and the cutest porcupine fish.  He held very still trying to "hide" from us.  So adorable! 

We got back from our excursion just in time to make yummy tacos for dinner and enjoy the most beautiful sunset ever!

Our pretty sunset.

Another shot of sunset.

And there she goes.  How pretty is that!

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Yesterday was an exciting day in Paradise!  We snorkeled at Point of Sand.  Susan wanted to go with us to her favorite area of coral out by the breakers.  The waves were very high and the tide was coming in.  We thought the conditions were good.  We all loved the snorkel.  We saw a lobster that I could have ridden to shore!  He was a giant!  We saw a black grouper, which I had never seen before.  It was all great.  One does not want to go to the area we were in if the current is strong.  It was strong!!  Today would have been the perfect day to be in that area.  But we were there yesterday!  I got very tired on the swim back in.  Somehow, I managed to swim against the current.  I finally changed direction and made it in.  Boy, was I tired. 

Luckily, friends invited us for dinner last night.  I didn't have to cook!  We celebrated the fact I was alive after my big swim to shore!  We played Pictionary after dinner but were all very tired and declared a winner early.  We are all trying to use every minute of every day the best we can.  It is so special here!  The weather, the people, the activities, the critters, the scenery.  It is beyond words!

Today Richard and I went back to Point of Sand to snorkel.  Conditions  were very calm.  No current!  We saw a Flying Gurnard!  They are uncommon and rarely observed by divers because of the habitats and shy behavior.  He was pretty large.  16 -18 inches.  When foraging, they "walk" about on ventral fins, while using finger-like spines of pectoral fins like hands to turn over rubble.  He looked like a freak of nature.  A cross between a lobster and a fish with wings.  Incredible! We feel pretty lucky to have discovered him.  How fun!  We saw a large flounder too.  As soon as he discovered us he swam away down to the sand bottom and hid.  They are totally invisible on the bottom sand.  Wow! What a day!

Good luck finding this Flounder!  He can really hide!

Our Flying Gurnard.

Another shot of our Flying Gurnard.

 

Giant lobster!  On the photo he is dwarfed by his surroundings.

Monday, March 12, 2018

What a fun day in paradise!  It was hot and sunny and perfect.  Four of us ladies got together for an afternoon of snorkeling and boarding.  We had a fun lunch afterward at Marcia's.  We saw lots of cute fish and some rays and the coral is always so beautiful by Mary's Cut.  What a day!

When I got back home I took my book and a drink and landed on a beach chair under an umbrella.  What a life!!

Tomorrow, we are all heading to Point of Sand.  This time we will include the men.  Everyday is a vacation around here.  I love it! 

Sunday, March 11, 2018

Today the dew point was 73 and the humidity was high.  Winds were very low.  It felt like a sauna and I was loving it!  Not a cloud in the sky.  I went on my bike ride and beach walk and was sweating like crazy afterward.  I sat down on the beach and tried to catch a little breeze.  That was still hot, so I walked in the water.  The tide was high and our water was crystal clear. 

After lunch Richard and I went to the north side and had the most spectacular snorkel.  The water was flat and super clear.  The fish were all very active and we saw lots of really huge things.   We are so lucky to be here.  It was great!!  I had leftovers for supper tonight so that was the icing on the cake!

Last night we had people over for dinner.  That was why I had leftovers for dinner tonight.  We have had the busiest time on the island this year.  Seems like there is so much going on all the time.  Sure is fun!  Tomorrow, we are having a "ladies lunch" at a friends place on the North side.  Four of us are getting together to snorkel, kayak, paddle board and have fun.  Just the girls!  We are all bringing food, so we will eat well!  I might bring a bag of potato chips along too.  They are the best thing ever here.  It may be the salt!

Here is a huge fish and he was down super deep.  Notice how clear the water is.

 

Look at all the fish!  The water was 45 feet deep here.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

This morning Richard and I headed out to the open sea to do some fishing.  The sunrise coming up over the flat water was beautiful.  I will only go out if the waves and swells are not huge.  We caught a smaller fish that we put back and then we had a big one, but it suddenly let go.  So, Richard will have to try again tomorrow.  We both took naps when we got back home. 

After lunch, we went to Point of Sand to snorkel.  Boy!  Am I glad we did!  We saw the most adorable huge turtle.  He was sleeping under a big coral and all we could see was his back end.  Richard dove down and woke him up.  He just stayed there and watched us looking at him.  Pictures don't do him justice!  He was so huge!  The cutest face you ever saw! 

Tonight I made fish tacos for supper that were just as good as LCBR's.  I had called them for their recipe. 

We had the prettiest sunset I have ever seen here tonight.  I didn't take a photo as I didn't want to leave to get the camera.  I will just forever remember it. 

Last night we had friends come for dinner.   We had fresh fish the guys had caught yesterday.  They tasted extra good because we were together to enjoy.

I need more hours in my days.  There are just too many fun things to do here.

This guy is so cute!

Here is the turtle sleeping under the coral.  Only the back end of him is showing. 

Hello!

Our beautiful sunrise!

 

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Our totally perfect weather here in paradise continues.  I went on my bike ride and beach walk at 7:30.  When I walked out the door, I noticed movement in the water.  It was a tiny stingray swimming very close to the waters edge.  I walked right to it.  So very special.  One day I was walking into the water and almost stepped on a box fish.  He was right there where we put the kayaks in.  I startled him somehow and he stayed with me for a bit.  How fun is this place! 

Yesterday we worked hard on removing more jungle on the side of our property.  I'm pretty excited about how beautiful it now looks.  It is hard to believe we can keep improving things around here.  It is fun to make progress.  Last night we had friends over for dinner and then played Pictionary.  What a fun thing to do! 

Today was Super Tuesday at our tiny grocery store.  I bought a ton of stuff and saved $13.00 CI with my 15% discount.  Now I am rich!  I can't believe they had supplies.  I was there yesterday and they had absolutely no produce.  Today, walla!  Produce!  There was no broccoli though.  The barge should be in tomorrow so hopefully some broccoli is on it.  We are having people over for dinner tomorrow so it is nice to be able to buy food supplies.

I spent my day today spending time on my bike, walking the beach, enjoying our beach, laying in my beach hammock, doing laundry, paying on line bills, reading my book on the beach, eating meals on the porch, sitting on the beach this evening under the stars and just being in awe of this wonderful place.  Thank heavens I will be here tomorrow!

Here are the kids heading out on a little kayak adventure last week.  

Getting ready to snorkel on the north side with the kids last week.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

What a beautiful day in Paradise we had today.  I was missing the kids a lot though.  It is so hard when our children leave.  Our time together was very busy.  We had so much fun! 

Wednesday they went rock climbing and loved it.  They are talking about doing it again next time they visit.  Their photos were great.  I have to get them to put on my blog.  We went to dinner at SCC as planned.  It was very special.  We sat outside under the gazebo near the water.  The moon was full and totally spectacular!

Thursday the four of us all went fishing.  Sadly, we didn't catch any fish.  Mike heard about our lot and generously gave us some sympathy fish.  We had fish for dinner!  The kids had a quick nap when we got in from fishing and then Emily, Sheldon and I headed out on the kayaks for tiny Owen Island.  When we got there, we snorkeled out at the reef.  We saw some rays, and great fish and then rushed back home.  We had to eat lunch in a hurry as the kids and Richard were going diving and needed to be there by 1:30.  What a busy day.  In the evening, we all went to LCBR and had drinks at their outside bar.  Boy, did we sleep good that night!

Friday was another full day.  Richard and I went fishing as the water was flat.  It was unbelievable!  We caught about a 20# tuna.  Pretty exciting.  A shark got the very back end of him, but not bad.  While we were fishing, the kids took the scooter to SCC and went on a two tank scuba dive.  They came back pretty excited!  They had a lot of fun with a grouper.  He let them pet him and did everything but speak to them.  What a morning!  In the afternoon, we visited the LC Museum and the LC Trust House.  For dinner we had fish!  Of course, we played Euchre on our last night together. 

Saturday we woke up early.  Emily and Sheldon were packed and ready to head back to DC.  The four of us took an early flight to Grand.  Richard and I took a giant empty suitcase along.  We rented a car and did some serious shopping and had lunch on the beach at Seven Mile Beach.  After lunch we walked in the sand and water to a great bar on the sand and I had a mud slide, Richard a beer, and Emily and Sheldon an Arnold Palmer!  Eventually, we headed to the airport.  We had to say goodbye.

Now we are alone again.  Richard worked on getting the boat gassed up and I did some laundry.  We ate lunch on the porch by ourselves.  I went in the water this afternoon and we played bean bag toss on the beach.  I won both games!  How was that possible? 

It is so fun to sit back and remember all the fun times we had this past week with Emily and Sheldon.  They are happy to be back home with their fur babies and looking forward to visiting us again next year. 

I am overwhelmed by how wonderful this island life is. It was a peaceful, beautiful, warm and sunny day.

Having lunch on Seven Mile Beach.

Waiting for our plane to Grand at our tiny LC airport.  

Richard and his fish with tail bitten off by the shark!

 

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

It is another beautiful day in paradise!  I haven't had a chance to type on my blog since the kids arrived.  We have been busy every second having fun! 

Sunday morning Sheldon and Richard went out fishing and Emily and I rode our bikes to SCC and then did a fun beach walk.  She caught Sheldon's cold so we needed to take it easy.  I fixed tacos for lunch and after lunch the four of us went to the north side (Bloody Bay) and went snorkeling.  It was fabulous!  The water was clear and the conditions were great!  We ate dinner at the Hungry Iguana and sat outside to enjoy the beautiful view.  Boy, did we sleep good that night!

Monday morning Richard and Sheldon went fishing and they caught fish!  Boy, was that exciting! That night we had fish for dinner and loved every bite!  We went snorkeling to Point of Sand in the afternoon.  It was so calm and perfect.  We had so much fun!  Emily was a trooper, as she still had a cold.  She napped every chance she got. 

Tuesday Emily was feeling better so the morning was spent diving with Southern Cross Clubs dive crew.  Many a nap was taken in the early afternoon.  Emily and Sheldon took the double kayak out and enjoyed themselves.  I prepared potato salad in the afternoon.  It was pretty tasty with our fish that night for dinner.  The guys had caught enough fish for two meals! 

Tonight the kids want to eat at Southern Cross Club.  They will be hungry as bright and early today they took the plane to Brac.  They are going rock climbing and rappelling on Brac.  The Rock Iguana Ltd.  has a customized tour for the day.  They pick them up at the Brac airport and their adventure begins.  The Brac has bluffs that are 150 feet tall and drop right into the sea.  They will climb up and rappel into a cave and go hiking.  Should be fun.

 We are really enjoying having the kids here.  In the evenings we have been playing Euchre.  We have been eating dinner on the porch under the Tiki lights and the full moon.  On the beach, we play bean bag toss and just relax.  So far, we are not wasting a minute of our special time together.

On the North side.  Emily and Sheldon

Couple of cuties!

.

Getting ready to snorkel at point of sand.

Sheldon the fisherman!

Emily and Sheldon arriving!

Saturday, February 24, 2018

It was a happy day in Paradise!  Emily and Sheldon arrived at 2:00 and we met them at the airport with coconuts decked out in flowers and straws!  We started having fun immediately.  Our conversation was non-stop and after an iced tea we headed for the beach.  Emily and I took "floaties" out and enjoyed the water.  Richard and Sheldon and waded on the edge and enjoyed the view. 

I fixed stir-fry for dinner and we ate on the porch to enjoy the sunset.  The kids were tired as they had about two hours of sleep so they went to bed super early.  They were snoring away as I cleaned up the kitchen.  So here I am at 8:00 PM typing on my blog and ready for bed too!  Crazy!  Maybe I can get Richard to play cards here on the bedroom floor.  We will have to be quiet.  Tomorrow will be busy for sure.  I will get some pictures posted soon too. 

Thursday, February 22, 2018

I had a beautiful bike ride and beach walk this morning.  That is one of my favorite things to do on our paradise island.  The wind was against me on the ride home, so I had some exercise.  Boy, do I sweat when finished!  I sat on the beach to cool off. 

Richard and I went to the north side to check out the snorkel conditions and then headed to the grocery store.  I wanted to get supplies for the arrival of Emily and Sheldon.  The store shelves were empty!  Our store has been disappointing this year.  Normally, I would be planning my menu and getting things bought.  I just have to wing it!  A barge comes in tomorrow.  I'm crossing my fingers.  Kevin said he doesn't know what will be on it.  Good grief! 

This afternoon, we hung our new mirror in the master bathroom.  It is huge!  Very nice.  Now we hope to find a nice new light for above it while on Grand.  We could keep our old one, but no!

Today I was in the water at the house and a huge stingray came right up to me to check me out.  At the last minute he turned!  I worried his tail would get me!  That was some excitement! 

After dinner tonight, Richard and I sat down on the beach.  The moon is almost half now.  It is so pretty.  There was just a light breeze and I could have stayed there forever! 

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Another beautiful day in paradise!  We are so happy to be in the sunny, warm/hot weather and not the frigid cold of Iowa.  I did not type on my blog for awhile again!  Monday we had friends over for dinner, so I didn't have time to type.  We played Sequence after we ate and it was a lot of fun.  Tuesday, last night, was ladies night and I didn't get home until 10:00.  We had a lot of fun.   So here I am on Wednesday and finally typing!

This morning I saw Cutie Pie. He was stalking a crab and it is so fun to watch him hard at work.  All our critters keep us entertained.  Richard has a Mocking Bird that stays close to him while he works cutting jungle.  He is gobbling up bugs that get disturbed.  Our cute, tiniest iguana visited us today. Yesterday, Mr big boy, Lionel, came up to visit us while we were sitting on the porch eating lunch!  What fun! 

Yesterday, the manager from Beach Resort brought his bobcat to our property and pushed our jungle across the road back.  What would have taken us weeks to do was finished in about a half hour!  We are going to plant coconut trees there and make it look nice.  It will probably take awhile to get it groomed to how we want it to look.  Another project!

Today we had some wind, so it was a work day.  We cleared out some jungle and got rid of tons of Sea Grape leaves.  The area looks fabulous now. 

Here is a picture of our hard work!

Sunday, February 18, 2018

I am still in paradise!  It is a very busy paradise this year!  Last I posted was Tuesday, so here goes.  I'm sure I will forget a lot of what is happening when I skip so many posting days.  Wednesday we went out with friends for Valentines Day.  It was tons of fun!  We have met so many fun, nice couples here on the island.  I had fish tacos.  One of my favorites!  I had to cook supper on Thursday.  Luckily I remembered how to cook! 

Friday, we went to friends for a super delicious dinner.  There was nine of us and we ate outside on their patio.  It is on the water, of course!  Afterward, we walked down on their dock and lay down to better stare up at the stars.  Joe had his laser pointer with so we could find all the constellations.  Their beach furniture is so comfy, we all lingered down on the beach until after 10:00!  The serious fishermen still got up early the next morning to get after those tuna! 

Saturday there was a fundraiser at the LC Museum.  A couple years ago they built a brand new museum on the island.  I liked the old one, but this one is pretty fancy.  They had a silent and live auction.  Hors d'oeuvres and wine were served and boy were they fancy!  There was even an ice sculpture.  Everyone was dressed up too. 

Saturday was a pretty monumental day!  Richard finally got his new motor installed on the boat!  The technician arrived from Grand and Robin brought his backhoe to lift the motor on.  They finished just in time for the tech to make his flight back to Grand.  Last night, Richard and I took it for a sunset cruise before rushing off to the Museum event.  The motor needs to be "broke in"  before he can take it to a high speed to go through the cut.  Tomorrow morning it will be ready.  Ian is going with him on the maiden voyage.  Hopefully, they will return with tons of fish, (or at least one)!! 

I made some bean bags and we filled them with sand from Point of Sand.  Richard constructed  platforms using our old countertops.  Now we have a bean bag toss game to use on our beach.  We are ready for some fun! 

Our fun group for Valentines Day dinner.

Here is cute Marcia showing off the ice sculpture!

Here are my bean bags being filled and sewn up.

Our beautiful sunset on our sunset cruise using our brand new motor.

Richard driving his boat with the brand new motor.  

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Here we go!  Finally a blog post!  I have been gone too much lately, I guess.  Tonight I go again...it is ladies night on the island.   Don't feel sorry for Richard while I am off with the ladies.  He is going lobstering with Mike.  Last night Richard and I went to get lobsters.  We started just as it was getting dark.  We had a flash light and walked out from shore to the reef and walked the reef.  They must have seen us coming as we didn't see a single lobster.   We didn't see any sharks either.  Thank goodness!  It was weird being in the water when it was dark out with the stars up above! The waves were crashing, so it was quite an adventure.  Why can't we get a lobster!  It is so annoying! 

Tomorrow is Valentines Day.  There are ten of us going out for dinner together (five couples).  I guess that's romantic!  We are going to Beach Resort and will sit outside under the stars.  Yes!

Sunday night we had a huge surprise birthday party for Linda.  I think she was surprised.  There were at least 20-25 people.  I was fixing food and had the oven and micro and dishwasher going just one hour before when the power suddenly went out!  Bujoe's wife was coming to the party so I was sure he would get the power started.  Luckily, it was only off for about 10 minutes.  What a scare!  Everyone had a great time celebrating Linda!

Today, we worked outside for the morning.  It was hot.  We wanted to spiff things up a little as Emily and Sheldon will be arriving on the 24th.  Then the good times will roll!

Friday, February 9,2018

Today is my big reveal of the new kitchen.  It is finally finished.  I think I was the "squeaky wheel" and got some attention to finish my project.  They did a great job on the project and I am happy.

We have been enjoying fabulous weather here on the island.  Back home in Iowa it is entirely the opposite.  There it has been very cold, snowing and windy.  I sure am lucky to be here.  My bike ride and beach walk was so enjoyable.  I relaxed on the beach afterward.  We went to the north side after lunch today.  What a life! 

The new motor has arrived on island and is waiting to be unloaded from the barge.  Now the trick is to get it off the barge container.  The thing weighs like 500 pounds!  Another adventure!

Here it is!  Notice the dishwasher!

Love, love, love it!!!

We rearranged the living, dining area.

Another shot!