Wednesday, February 6, 2013

I am typing this late tonight as we went to Wet Your Whistle Wednesday at SCC.  We didn't eat there though.  We had a fun time as there were a lot of "locals" there tonight.  When we got home I fixed a quick meal here of leftovers. 

Today was another busy day.  Richard left early with his kayak to go through the breakers into the open ocean.  He found an opening across from Lee's house.  The sea was very calm this morning so he could give it a try.  What an adventure.  He said it was quite a thrill.  His goal is to catch us some fish that we can keep and eat.  While he did that, I did a few things around here and then started moving rocks again.  I'm still taking them away from places I moved them to last year.  Sounds crazy.  I worked up a good sweat, so I took my kayak out and relaxed on the water.  I met up with Richard eventually (not in the open ocean). 

We had a hardy lunch, of course and then headed to "town".  We delivered our LP tank to the truck so the guy can fill it when he flies in from the Brac tomorrow.   It will sure be nice to have my barbecue grill again.



Richard and I worked on the path we are paving to the sand this afternoon also and then I called it quits and grabbed my kindle and headed for the hammock.  I think laying in my hammock under the coconut trees just may be my favorite thing to do.  It is just so super great!     

Richard took this shot while out in the open sea.  That is Lee's house in the distance.  The waves you see here are actually 3 feet high.

Photo of Richard "mopping" the sand with our old shirt filled with rocks.  We are collecting stickers (sand burrs).  Then we'll pitch the shirt.

Here is a picture of all the stickers collected on the old shirt.  Gross!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

I'm so excited to type on my blog tonight!  We had such a fun day.  The weather was very calm with no clouds and the breeze was hardly there.  Just gorgeous!  After a hardy breakfast, Richard went fishing and I did a few things around the house.  It didn't take but a minute and I was in my kayak.  What a day.  We got in just in time for lunch.  This water is always changing.  Your think it can't get any more beautiful and there it does!

After lunch we took the scooter over to Bloody Bay.  The waves were three feet high.  I don't know why as the winds were so calm.  We decided to head to Point of Sand and there it was calm and perfect.  It was so quick to get there with the scooter.  It would have taken forever on the bikes.  I miss the exercise though.  I loved riding those bikes.  Tomorrow I am taking mine to Wet Your Whistle at SCC. 

Snorkeling at Point of Sand was as spectacular as always.  We saw a giant barracuda and the biggest Eagle Ray ever!!  He was as big as a car.  This was the first Eagle Ray I ever saw so I was pretty excited.  He was really something!  He must have come in from the deep way out sea to eat.  We were so lucky to see him.   We didn't have our underwater camera with us to take his picture.  The batteries wouldn't take a charge so we had to leave it at home.  Tomorrow our camera will be ready.  This ray made us look tiny.  What a find!

When we got home we cleaned up at our cool outside shower.  I made an easy supper of leftover spaghetti and then we watched the sunset.  The water is so still tonight.  The open ocean slamming into the breakers is even dead still.  I have never seen it that way.  The whole sky turned brilliant red tonight after the sun went down.  We sure enjoy the sunsets.  At home we are nestled in the trees and never see the sunset. 

This is a photo of Richard and I at Point of Sand just before we got in the water to see our beautiful Eagle Ray.

This shot shows a little of Owen Island off to the side.  The sun had just gone down.  Later, the sky got redder and redder.  You notice here the waves at the breakers are calm.  The next stop looking that direction would be Panama.   

Monday, February 4, 2013

This morning Richard and I slept in a little.  We were tired after our big night watching the Super Bowl at Southern Cross Club.  What a game!  It got really good after the power came back on.  We didn't get home until 11:00 and that was late for here.  We watched it on the big screen set up outside.  Dinner was exceptional.  I tried to eat as much as I could.  He made a " to die for chili", some southern style sausage with sauerkraut, some kind of fish stew, split pea soup, salads, mixed vegges, sweet potatoes,  garlic mashed potatoes, and on an on.  Two different cheese cakes for desert.  I had mango (with real pieces of mango in it) that was yummy.  I couldn't eat the crust but it didn't matter.  What a night!

I couldn't type on my blog last night as it was just too late for me.  Sunday we talked to our kids on video chat to catch up.  Emily will arrive on the 13th.  But Brandon and Natalie are not coming this year.

This morning I finally tried out my new vacuum cleaner.  It works great.  I was cleaning away and Richard was in the bathroom when there was a knock on the door.  Here I was still in my night gown.  I usually get dressed right away but I guess I was loopy from last night or something.  Of course, the house is wide open so I had to answer.  I quickly grabbed a shirt for over my pj's.  It was Bruno from next door.  He must have thought we were really something.  I just pretended I was dressed in my Sunday best!

We did some errand running this morning on our new scooter.  We stopped at the bank and got money to pay Marc (Blossom Construction), and Frankie with Thompson Shipping (the barge).  Then we ran into some friends and visited forever.  It was so good to see Pat and Tom again.  Then we ate lunch at the Hungry Iguana.  On the way home we picked up a few items at the store. 

Richard installed our new fan in the bathroom.  Now all our ceiling fans are new.  The old one was so bad that as he was carrying it to the trash, the blades were dropping off.  I was lucky the thing didn't fall on my head while I was brushing my teeth. 

I did some bill paying on-line this afternoon.  These computers make it very easy to be far from home.  This afternoon I spent some time on the beach of course.  This afternoon every cloud in the sky disappeared and the breeze is dying down.  The temperature is very comfortable too.  Looks like another good sleeping night.  Tomorrow we hope to get in the water.  My virus is under control I hope, so look out fishies. 

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Today was a big day, we finally got our scooter.  We scooted after lunch to "Point of Sand" and relaxed on the beautiful sandy beach.  It looks kind of cloudy on this photo but it was a bright sunny day.  That cloud just wanted in on our photo.  We did a few "odd" jobs around the house today in the morning.  I moved a lot of rocks from around our little coconut trees that we are getting started.  Last year I piled them all around the trees and this year I took them away.  Talk about busy work!  I just didn't like how it looked.  I kept a few around them for protection but that is it. 

We went over to the north end to check out Bloody Bay.  The waves were coming in pretty strong.  It was beautiful.  We stopped and snooped at a new house built here also.  That was fun.  Some of these places are really awesome. 

Today our UV filter for our water started leaking.  Richard shut off the water and we took it apart.  Luckily it just needed a new light.  Turns out the other one had broken somehow and that caused the problem.  We have two extra bulbs on hand so we were ready.  They are $105 each so we are hoping this one doesn't break any time soon.

Tonight I baked a whole chicken for dinner.  He was from Jamaica.  Cost me $17.80 for one little chicken.  He didn't have any hormones though.  It was a tasty meal.  I never fix a whole chicken at home.  I guess I should. 

We took some photos yesterday of our beach after the rock clean up.  I still am amazed at what we accomplished. 

Too bad that mangrove is right in the middle of our beach.  They are protected, so we can't remove it.

Now you can walk right from our sand into the water.  No rocks!

There's my kayak again.  Sunbathing on the beach.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Oh, what a beautiful morning!  It couldn't have been more perfect.  We are so happy to be here where it is warm instead of back home where it is 4 below zero.  Today the morning was spent just doing little nonsense.  It was so much fun.  Being lazy is great!  After lunch I hung out on the beach awhile and then went for a walk on the driveway.  I met up with a young iguana.  We talked awhile but he was shy.  I then got in my hammock under the coconut tree and read my book.  I had thought ahead and brought some bread along.  The really big iguana visited my hammock.  He became a pet of the resort people next door and now they are gone.  He is lonely and wanted something to eat.  So I gave him the bread.  He will eat out of your hand and even likes to be petted.  They named him Roger or something.  He is so cute. 

Bruno, the guy at the resort next door now, gave us a ride to the barge area this afternoon.  We got all our things except the scooter.  It was impossible to get it out of the container.  Tomorrow Robin will come with some equipment to remove it.  So, another day of anticipation. 

Tonight I fixed my homemade meat sauce and spaghetti noodles for dinner.  It was yummy.  My grill is out of gas so I have to do other types of food.  The "gas guy" will come from the Brac to fill tanks on the 7th or 8th.  We take our tank with our name on it to the area where he keeps his truck.  He'll fill it and then we go pick it up.  I don't know how we pay him.  He is very elusive. 

This evening here is just beautiful.  We sat out on the porch and there were absolutely no sand fleas out.  They were bothersome as we had rain.  Thank goodness they are gone again.  For such tiny almost invisible critters, they can sure bite.  It was super unusual that it rained four days in a row here.  People who have lived here 20 plus years can't remember it happening at this time of year before.  Yesterday was the only day it rained a lot of the four days though.  The other 3 days it was at night or early morning.  The rest of those days were beautiful sunny and warm.  It is always in the 80's here. 

We are looking forward to another good sleeping night here.  I seem to have slipped into island mode and boy is it great!  

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Today we have been on Little Cayman a week already.  We got up early today as our workmen were arriving at 7:30.  They were right on time.  Luckily, it was a cloudy day today but absolutely no wind at all.  We have never been here when there was no breeze.  It was kind of eerie.  We got right to work moving rock on the beach.  I thought we would get a small area finished, but we did the whole beach.  It is so fantastic!  Boy did we work hard.  It would have been impossible to accomplish so much if the hot sun would have been on us.  At 3:30 in the afternoon it got very dark and started to rain.  It rained harder than hard!  What an experience.  We had to stop working.  After a half hour the guys finally did a little touch up work and we called it quits as it just wouldn't stop raining.  We sure appreciated Neil and Cullen.  Such nice guys and hard workers. 

Richard and I are both exhausted.  It is a good exhausted though.  Tomorrow we will relax a little.  The barge is arriving tonight at 8:00 P.M.  Our supplies, including the famous scooter, are on it.  We will find someone with a truck to help us get our things off the container and to the house.  The grocery store will also have fresh supplies so everyone on the island is excited for tomorrow. 

It is nice and cool in our house this evening.  We will sure sleep good tonight.  The temperature here today was the 80's again.  We are sure glad to miss the bitter cold and snow back home. 

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

It happened again.  Early this morning it started to rain again and rained hard for at least one hour.  Then another hour of on again, off again rain.  The rest of the day was beautiful.  Sunny and mid 80's with a nice breeze.  This rain is the talk of the island.  We are easily entertained.

Richard tried to fish at the Tarpon pond today but broke his fly rod twice.  He worked on it and with some luck it will be useful again. 

This was "Wet Your Whistle Wednesday" at Southern Cross Club.  We rode our bikes there and had a great time visiting with other locals.  Everyone is so friendly here.  We stayed for dinner also.  They had Indian buffet.  It was the best food ever!  They have a 5 star chef who rates at least 10 stars! 

Tomorrow Blossom Construction is sending two guys to help us with removal of the rocks on our beach.  They will arrive at 7:30 so it is off to bed early for us tonight.  I am loving having all this help with the work.  I will surely become lazy now. 

We worked on our driveway again today.  It is looking very sharp.  Every year we make more progress.  We do have a fixer upper!

We are wondering if they got 6 inches of snow back home today as was predicted.  Sure glad I missed that.