647 - cold snap breaks

Day 647 began cool but by mid day it was -2! It was nice to wake up to a nice ground cover of snow, it makes the fields looks so crisp and clean. Since he did not get the gate plowed Sheldon called suggesting I take the truck to avoid cracking the guard under the enclave. I took the truck only to have the 4 high bounce me off the trail and get stuck for a few seconds until I put in 4 low and plowed out.

Work went fast, Martin my boss is moving to Australia at the end of February so he has many things to share. I worked thru lunch and headed to my long awaited massage at quarter to one. It was fantastic even though it was painful. It was the quirky feel the pain to feel better massage.

I stopped to grab groceries since the weather by now was bearable at -3. Once back at the ranch I found Britt in the TV room of course. Today is her last free vacation day, tomorrow is back to school and the start of her second semester. I enjoyed catching up on the blogs I have not followed for the last few weeks. I also continued to search for a dining table and other furniture pieces I can pick up and maybe work on them as a creative outlet.

 yes that is frozen drool

 as he guards the door enjoying -3, OK it did not take long for him to whine to go back in the garage

Sheldon worked late and arrived home at 7 to have supper with Britt and I. It was a most delicious supper, seafood stuffed salmon and rice with a spinach salad. I found a new cranberry dressing recipe that is really delicious. It is fairly sweet but I did only use a tsp of sugar and dried craisins instead of the fresh cranberries.

After the late supper Sheldon started up the skid steer and plowed the gate area and around the island to guide the bus driver in the morning. Kaylin was excited as she worked yesterday,today and Sunday at Sephora and next week she has 5 shifts, some even 6-8 hours. She is even going to cover 2 shifts at the station booking Lexi in to the Kuhn doggy day care. I am very excited for her, it sure gets depressing when jobs take so long to come to fruition. She drove to Edmonton Tuesday to pick up Aaron after his 28ish days in a row work schedule. Although he only has 6 days off they are both happy to have him back. I am going to bet he noticed a huge change in Lexi as I sure did when we got back from St Lucia.

646 - BRRRR cold

Day 646 was unbelievably cold day. Although the temperatures were up a bit.. now -19 once I got past the drifted in gate and turned on the highway going to work it was terrible! It was white out in many areas with horrible blowing snow. The temperatures did get back down to -24 with more snow blowing in but continue wind! YUCK!! Take me back to St Lucia.

 seconds later.. a bus

Sheldon actually went into a first aid course at our office today not having to leave till just before 8. He visited in my office during his breaks as the storm continued to blow outside. Their administrative gal was kind enough to buy Sharon and I lunch from EDO along with the guys, thanks Carolyn!

I worked until about quarter after two then ran to the bank, post office, grabbed groceries for Britt's supper creation and tried to change the girls phone numbers so Britt could use data with no luck. When I got home at 3 Sheldon had just been dropped off enjoying a short work day.

He plugged in the skid steer but found the cold was just to biting to go push snow. Brittany got busy making us enchilada casserole for supper which turned out really good. I threw together a sweet kale salad, Costco salad in a bag which was really tasty as well. Once supper was done she was back in the TV room.

Sheldon worked on agricultural papers not quite having all the data the government needed last time he submitted then relaxed with sports. I tried to find answers for Shaina and skyped with her a bit to sort the Thai visa issue. Not sure we have a plan in action but did research it as best we could.

After a warm relaxing shower I hit the sheets to read but fell asleep just after 9:30. I feel like I may be catching up on my missing sleep :-)

645 - blusterry day in the city

Day 645 was cold, -23 at 8:30 and blowing snow. Sheldon says the wind has bite, yuck! Today of course I have 3 appointments in the city. Britt has asked Brooke to come along and they will go shopping and to the movies.

When we ventured out in the cold at 9:30 the sun was out but my car registeres -27 with blowing snow across the roads/ We Stopped to pickup Brooke and were on our way. I dropped the girls at Chinook about 10:20 and then made my way to downtown for my first stop, psychic Pat Gomez.

This was a very interesting hour. She suggested I quit my "boring" job and follow my creative energies and write children's books or anything journalistic and fun as well as do anything artsy. This is the area I am not fulfilling. She also said I could do presentations or lectures with my soothing voice. I did not mention I have tried various lectures with the girls but they don't seem responsive :-) She thought Sheldon and I should try Latin dance classes mainly tango and this will lead to a romantic trip to Spain! She said our girls are on good paths and doing well. Amazingly she was right on about many things and the hour passed quickly.

I planned all my appointments in a nice square and well timed, next stop was lunch at 1600 Bier Haus right close to the vein clinic. I had the most yummy quinoa wrap with spinach salad started with home made mushroom soup all washed down with a Bel beer and clam. The vein appointment well well with about 75 injections.

Back in the car I was off to my laser appointment. I first had a few acne injections followed by 16 minutes in the blue acne laser booth. I jumped in the car again only stopping to grab a chai tea before grabbing the girls at the mall at 3:30. This was not the last stop though, a quick stop at Costco to do a couple returns and grab a few items then we were on our way home arriving back at 5:30.

The gate area was blown in good this am but the enclave plowed thru as it did again on our arrival. Brooke did need a ride to town but by now my legs were achy so I put them up on the couch while Sheldon kindly unloaded the costco goodies. He had cancelled a blood donor appointment due to miserable cold so was not going in so Brooke's dad was coming to get her.

Just before 6 we saw lights at the gate and before I could suggest she call to let him know we would run her to the gate he tried to get thru and was high centered. No amount of shoveling, rocking or pushing would budge it and there were no safe area to attach a chain to, finally Craig called on star to have a tow truck sent out. They gave him a minimum 2 hour wait so they loaded up and came back to the house for hot coffee and baileys and a good visit. At nine they finally arrived and pulled it to safety getting them on the road and home.

644 - back to work :-(

Day 644 was back to work for Sheldon and I. My work is still not very busy so only worked the morning. At lunch I stopped to pickup another treasure I bought online thanks to Kaylin's keen eye, a lovely 3Qt blue glass cracker barrel jar.

At the ranch Britt had just got mobile at 11 she said. She only wrote 3 final tests last week (Mon, Tues and Wed) and has had the rest off till this Friday. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed outside into the -3 sunshine. She rode bird bareback trying to help me catch Hawk. In the middle of this I stopped to trim Pepper's back feet, he is such a good guy. Finally we caught the naughty boy and her and I rode bareback with halters around the field thru the glistening snow. They both were acting silly but Diego was no help bouncing in front of their faces annoying them too. If I thought my legs hurt before, riding a prancing 50 gallon oil barrel added to it.

After our ride I trimmed him all the way around and also did Bird's back feet. Britt had made up food for her and wanted to give the rest to Julio so I started her a skidoo to run out. I decided to start the other one too and her and I skidooed around here and thru the neighbors field chasing a fox even.

goodies from ST Lucia, banana ketchup which started to be marketed about 4 years ago and it is yum, west indie hot sauce Sheldon loves, guava jelly that reminded us of crab apple jelly and the makings for coco tea on the right. Star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pure coco are mixed with milk and water to make a traditional morning tea they enjoy there.

Back in at 4 I made us hot chocolate, yum! Sheldon and I enjoyed a cold beer once he got home to celebrate back to work. (or not :-)) Sheldon then ran the quads into the garage as both batteries were dead and they are threatening storm rolling in tonight and temperatures to drop to -24 as a high the next few days! NOOOOOO

Britt busied herself back in the TV room for rest of her day and after eating supper watching all the Vampire Diaries seasons. She loves her TV that girl. I had a chance to chat with Shaina who took the 8 am bus from Watson's where she has been staying in New Zealand to the airport for a 4 pm flight to Australia. Once there Terri has so graciously offered to pick her up and keep her until she leaves for Thailand on Feb 8th.

She amazed me having spent all of her $460 NZ ($402 CND) budget with $15 left. Her bus ticket was $45 so she used her credit card for that and efficiently used her remaining cash for food at the airport including a $10 chocolate bar!! Well in her defense she said a regular Mars bar is $3.50 and this was a jumbo! HAHAHAHA perhaps that would stop me from ever having a chocolate bar at that price.

After the yummy pork chop supper I cooked up I showered off the skidoo fumes before relaxing for the evening. Sheldon continues to watch his new basketball fetish and hockey :-)

Just before 8, Craig, Amanda, Asher and Travis came out for a visit and to pick up reverse osmosis machines. We enjoyed a nice 2 hour visit and they left just as the snow started to blow in and the temperature continued to drop.

Asher loves Coco, caught just before the big kiss :-)

643 - last day of winter vacation

Day 643 was sadly the last day of our winter vacation. Even though it was the last possible sleep in day, that did not happen, both of us were up at 8 am :-) I bet tomorrow we both want to sleep in!

It was a lovely sunny day. Time to finish unpacking and putting suitcases away with a hot coffee and baileys. OK Sheldon did not but I did, put suitcase away that is) Sheldon spent most of the day relaxing in front of his fire watching basketball, a new found sport interest. I spent most of the day doing dreaded accounting, bill payments and such as well as updating the blog and doing many small tasks on my list.

Britt was forced awake just after 12:30, encouraged to ride in the sunshine. This did not happen but rather a slow lazy rising only preparing for work at 3. At 2, Sheldon headed out to take down the exterior Christmas lights. About quarter to 3 Britt backed the truck out and chauffeured herself to work with Sheldon as co pilot. I headed out to refill the horses salt and mineral mix then trimmed Julio, Daisy picked out ice from a few others. Diego assisted keeping the trimmings cleared up while Jenkins washed horses faces that dared to get near him. It was very entertaining. He also decided to ride on Baby's back for a bit too shown below

Sheldon brought home a chai tea and said Candace Dwayne and the boys were on their way. I scurried in and gussied up a wee bit and at just before 4 they arrived. We enjoyed a nice visit with a house tour for Dwayne as it was his first time. They headed back tot he hat about quarter after 5 and Sheldon began supper. He has been craving kraft dinner so made it to go with chicken wings, corn and leftover salad.

I caught up with Shaina via facebook while continuing to find salvaged wood to make our dining table. After supper I updated the blog quick before hitting a nice hot bath. After riding and trimming my muscles are aching.. looks like I best start an exercise program again :-)

Sheldon did not feel well so went to bed after picking Britt up from work at 8. I spent the evening reading and trying to find more table plans.

642 - first day home and riding :-)

Day 642 had me up by 8. Although I went to bed early and was asleep after 8, I awoke when Kaylin came home just before 12. I got up about half hour later as she left the office light on so grabbed a ryvita cracker too. At 3 am Diego had something bothering him and finally Sheldon let him out to patrol. He was very boisterous in his duty and carried on for about half hour before he was let back in the garage. At 5 I woke up again due to some drunk calling t6he wrong number not once but twice!! UGH this was not the deep sleep I anticipated but at least I could go back to sleep until just before 8.

I did read a bit before getting up but decided time was up. I started to unpack my suitcase then Sheldon got up and worked on his. I heard noise in Britt's room earlier but disregarded. She was up at 9 ready to roll! We had just poured a coffee and baileys when a text from Lesley came thru and in it said ok see you soon! Pardon, is practice not tomorrow?? Nope Britt was up by 9 and ready to catch horses! Holy.change of plans it was with practice starting at 11. Sheldon and Kaylin who was up by now but not happy about it asking what time zone we thought we were in, chowed down a homemade cinnamon bun for breaky. I quickly dressed and went to tack up horses with Britt who had them brushed. As we were mounting up to go Lesley text we needed Sheldon for numbers so he quickly caught a horse and off we went.

 Britt jumps on KD for a test ride, look at the mountains

 says she is good to go

 Lexi ventures out to see the horses.. she is clueless

 no idea large feet can squish her

 Britt and I ready to go, Sheldon joins us

We left about 10:30, Walking to practice in the crusty snow. Diego came along needing exercise but unlike the past when he would head home at the gate when asked this time he hid unbeknownst to us. As we continued to ride I would text Kaylin to see if he was back to the house. Finally I called her but my phone then died but once we arrived at RJ Ranch Britt called her. He did not return the bugger so Kaylin came over and Sheldon jumped in, Diego had crossed the highway and field and was at Matt's sidetracked by Oscar. They loaded him in my car!!! and took him back home.

At practice KD and Bird were full of vinegar carrying on like spring chickens that was until we had to work then KD became the slug of the year :-). Practice was fun, only 8 of us participated but it was fun to be back in the saddle. Practice finished at 1 and we headed home. The walk was faster for some like Bird and slower for others like KD.

Back home Britt made some food while I trimmed all 3 horses front feet. It was then time for a cold refreshment and for me a cinnamon bun for me and B. Sheldon wolfed down a jumbo bowl of soup and more left overs claiming so hungry.

By now it was about 2:40 and I had to get Britt to town stopping to get Diego's cartrophen before they closed at 3 then dropped her at work. Next stop was the mail which was piled high after 2 weeks and drop garbage at the dump before heading home. I gave Diego his shot once I was home.

At home, Sheldon and I opened mail which then found me doing accounting for a bit online until Kaylin got home from her tea house tour with Gail. We enjoyed nice visiting and relax time in front of a fire I started. Sheldon started the barbecue and potatoes then ran a bale out to the horses before returning to throw the steaks on. I made a fresh garden salad to go with it and the scrumptious supper was enjoyed while the TV blared the first hockey game of the season Sheldon has seen.

Kaylin headed for her apartment just after 7. By now I was bushed and after updating the blog in front of the fire I retired to my cozy bed to read. A second hockey game followed to Sheldon's enjoyment as he watched sitting by the fire. Sheldon ran to pick Britt up from work at 10:45 and was home by 11 crawling into bed  and asleep by 11:30. I read parts of a few of my books and searched the internet for farmhouse table photos for ideas until midnight.

641 - last day of travel and home!

Day 641 was the final leg of our journey back home. It was another early morning with us up at 6:30, packed up and down to the shuttle by 7:10. The Best western bed was very comfy with cozy duvet and 4 fluffy pillows,our kind of bed! The shuttle was very full dropping us at the airport just after 7:30. This is were the congestion started. We loaded our bags and then had to wait about 20 minutes in the security line up. Once thru it finally we had the very lengthy Tims line up. :-)

The flight was delayed which was ok as it gave us time to eat and visit with Stouts who were there earlier  as their shuttle ran on the hour. We boarded and again waited finally taking off late at 9:40 EST. The flight was fine and uneventful as we snacked on a few more bags of bits and bites! I caught up on lots of HGTV shows while Sheldon enjoyed TSN.

We landed 4 hours later and was at the baggage claim by 12. We were pleased to find the temperature plus 3 just for our arrival. After grabbing luggage we jumped the parking shuttle, loaded in the truck and headed for home. We had planned a stop to pick up our horse trailer which has been at the repair shop since October. However when we arrived we found the prat was sent yet again and again arrived damaged so it was NOT ready! How frustrating it is, we grabbed tack for Sunday's practice and guess we will have to ride to it, grrrrr EXISS you stink. 

We dropped Stouts off just before 2 and arrived home soon after. It was a nice warm reception from Grama, Papa, Britt, and even Kaylin. Diego was the most excited to see us though I think We also had a big hello from Coco and Lexi as well.

 our greeting crew

 all this rum for under $53 including the forgotten cask, details below

We enjoyed a nice visit sharing our trip details while we shoveled in some left overs over a cold beer. Grama and Papa headed home at 4 and Kaylin headed to cover a shift at the Station soon after. Thanks again Grama and Papa for taking great care of the girls, critters and the hacienda.

bedraggled travellers

Time to unwind, check emails, enjoy a few cold beers before making supper. Some things are always good to come home to.. family, home cooking and your own house. I downloaded my pictures, was fairly light this trip with only 749. Sheldon enjoyed TV time for the evening. After supper it was a hot bath and crawl into the most comfy bed ever!!! The best thing to come home to after lots of travel and strange beds! Another fantastic trip in the memory bank, thanks Darren and Sharon for sharing it with us. :-)

640 - last day in St Lucia

Day 640 is sadly our last day on the island and it is only a partial day. I took a semi sunrise photo at 6:45 am then crawled back into bed until 8. Once up we packed a wee bit then everyone meandered to Rituals for our morning beverages. Sheldon enjoyed another grande cafe au lait in a cup the size of his head. This was a great energy start to the day. We also tried the mini jam croissants which were warm and delightful.

Our morning walk on beach was beautiful and sunny. The water was crystal clear and turquoise blue. It is going to be sad to have to trudge thru snow if we want to walk :-). Back at the condo Sheldon took a refreshing dip after the warm walk then it was time to get serious about packing up our bags. It is going to be interesting when they weigh them at the airport.

Lamie our first cabbie picked us up at 12:30. It was a fairly fast paced drive south cutting to the east coast taking  less than hour and half. We checked in just before 2, went thru security then enjoyed a snack in the air terminal. Sheldon and I tried local fare called roti, he beef, me chicken as well as a fruit smoothie for $31 US. It was then time to sit and wait. Our flight ended up running late but once we finally were loaded and in the air, we did arrive in Toronto 5 1/2 hours later on time at 9:10 pm EST. The flight was very good. We watched Taken 2 and Trouble with the Curve then other TV (HGTV for me, sports for Sheldon) while enjoying a frosty cold coors light and clam! with the bits and bites snacks they serve.

Toronto airport was very efficient getting us thru customs, baggage and on the shuttle to our Best Western hotel arrived checked in by 10:15, impressive to me. The weather was not nice however at -15. There was a mix up in our room but they soon managed to find us our king room even though they said all were sold out. A hot shower was most enjoyable. I caught up with Kaylin who got the job at Sephora starting Monday!! and Britt who was in Calgary with Grama and Papa and Kaylin enjoying supper and a movie. Sheldon continued to catch up on news and TV shows. Tomorrow will be another early morning as our shuttle back to the airport leaves at 7:20.

639 - last full day on St Lucia

Day 639 is our last full day in St Lucia. I was awake at 7 but managed to relax until after 8 to get out of bed. Stouts were just leaving for a jog. Sheldon and I walked to Rituals, our favorite coffee place grabbing a cafe au lait and spicy chai for our beach walk. It was so lovely as the beach was again not busy yet. I found more beach glass for my ever growing collection. It was so sunny and warm it even required me to get in the ocean to cool off.

We came back to the condo around 10. Sheldon went for a swim at the pool while I updated the blog and checked in on Dad who is doing amazingly well Mom says. A quick bowl of cereal for Sheldon and a glass of orange juice for each in the sun was breakfast. Sheldon laid out in the sun while I updated my blog in the shade. It was another humid hot morning after another night of rain. It has rained every night here in Rodney bay but never at Soufrieire. It does make for a cleaner town with the nightly rain.

Sharon and Darren were back and we all relaxed watching TV laughing as Darren researched Dengue fever.  By now it was lunchtime so we trudged to our local IGA grabbing mini pita bread and cheese as well as a bottle of rum and went back to make grilled tuna melts. There was an issue with the stove not working but Kristine our housekeeper let us in to another unit to broil them. They were very good especially served with our favorite dorito chips. That and Sheldon's bananarama cocktail!

Once we finished and cleaned up we readied to head to the beach only to find the rain coming in from all directions. We reversed our plan back to the condo to play smear until the rain passed. Once the sun was back out we loaded up and headed to the beach. I stayed with the bags as photographer and baggage mover while the other 3 snorkeled a bit then we all bobbed in the ocean enjoying the intermittent sunshine.

On the way back to the condo we checked menus as to where to have supper. We took a tour down a road that had a few restaurants called The Red Snapper, The Hairy Clam, The Back door and La Terrasse! HAHAHAHA  WTH It was decided we would try the Lime which was middle of the road pricing and seemed local. Back at the condo it was shower and cocktail time as well as a quick blog addition for me. After a couple quick photos and a few more  cocktails it was time to head out to supper. We all enjoyed The Lime, all of us had the fresh catch of the day.. mahimahi and it was all delicious.

After our last night of fine dining under the stars with birds tweeting and warm air blowing we ventured back to the condo to play out the smear game. The boys took the first game and the girls the 2nd coming down to the rubber match. This caused allot of googling to try and find why it is called that to real no avail. Think this was our latest night up, played cards till 11! However I read and finished my book till 12:30.

638 - east coast tour

Day 638 was an early start for our big east coast tour day. Up at 7, Sheldon and I prepared breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with bananas mango and coffee/tea for me (without baileys I cannot do coffee) While we all got ready Sheldon finished Merry Christmas Alex Cross, he only started it sunday night!

 Greg loaded us up and our cooler of Piton and tomato juice and we set out just after 8:30. We finally were up in time to get a coco tea. It was an interesting breakfast meal in a cup flavored with chocolate.

After a meandering drive thru Castries down government house road our first stop was Treetop ziplines arriving just after ten. Sharon conquered her acrophobia as we mastered 12 different lines. Each had different speeds and lengths as well as stunning views. The venue was very well laid out, new, secure and well marked with stories on most platforms. We were with a group of about 25 many being small kids. It took us about 2 hours to do all 12 with the last 2 in a torrential downpour. For the $65 US/person it was worth it. Time to crack a cold Piton with tomato juice for the ride. Here on St Lucia it is allowable for the passengers to drink while riding, there is no radar, no breathalyzers and speed limits sketchy.

After many more hair pin turns and lots of sights we arrived at shangrila, other wise know as la tille waterfalls, a privately owned by John. After changing we headed out, a very healthy looking dog (whom i called rusty) encouraged us to take a trail and since we had no guidance from our tour guide off we went. Apparently this was the wrong trail as the guide whistled a few times to let us know. Back at the top we followed him down to the falls. It was lovely. Sharon and I chose to photograph the place rather than jump in but the boys did. We were shown church beans which were a brilliant red and black however they are poisonous. At the top they had served us fresh tamarind seeds coated in brown sugar and fresh coconut, so yummy. A quick feeding of the greedy fish, photo with John and we were off yet again.

this time we stopped at Dennery viewpoint to quickly grab a chicken pâte, which was a ground chicken pocket for lack of better description. Sauces such as garlic and hot added to it as it was a bit dry but it filled the gap.

Greg drove like an Indy car racer to get us to the rum factory. It had closed but the gal he knew said we could make the rum tasting part. However once we got there another fellow he knew offered to give the tour if all 4 went so we obliged. It was a far better tour than Mount Gay in Barbados due to the private group :-) The $54 EC ($20 US) per couple included a taste testing at the end of any of their rums free poured yourself! Lesson learned was that all alcohol contains fusel oil which causes hangovers as well as rum and coke is the silent bomber as it is two sugars mixed. Rum is made from molasses, water and yeast. St Lucia does not grow sugar cane to make the molasses anymore but rather import it from Guyana. There were many varieties of rum and liqueurs to try, nuts and rum, 160 proof and a a forgotten cask special. VAT was 15% which is on all items but food I guess, holy!!

Back in the minivan we shot off north thru Castries again up government hill stopping to see the view overlooking Castries. We drove thru town up to Vigie Lighthouse as our last stop. By now it was about 4:30 , after a group photo we were dropped at the condo tuckered out. This tour he charged $130/couple.

I checked my iPad to get update on Dad but he was just slated for surgery. We all showered and dressed to go out and eat. A cold beer while blogging was tasty while everyone got ready. We decided on Chinese food stopping to snap a few pictures of Baywalk mall especially the MAC store. We ran into Kristine our housekeeper and she suggested the Jade Terrace right across the road from us in the mall. It was very tasty especially since we were all famished. VAT or value added tax here on the island is 8%. Most restaurants charge a 10% service charge on top of that too.

Once we got back to the condo at 7:30, Mom had updated Dad's surgery had went well and he was recovering in his room watching Mantracker. Very glad to hear that. I finished updating the blog while the others watched TV before we all retired to bed after another event filled day.

637 - market Monday

Day 637 was another lovely sunny 28 degrees, says tomorrow is going to be out of average going to 29 :-). Mom emailed it was -35 with the windchill there, something we all do not miss! A baileys and coffee started the day again. A very simple breakfast of corn flakes for Sheldon and I a banana set us up to start the day. Stouts went on a pharmacy search for anti bite remedies, after they had jogged and had a healthy breakfast.

Sheldon read a bit of yet another book he started while I unloaded dishwasher before we ventured to the bank. What a long process, the lines move like a snail as to the tellers. Two forms of ID to exchange cash.. holy. This time Sheldon stood in line, I walked to the beach to snap a few pictures. After about half hour we were back at condo. drained a quick beer and juice then headed to the high road to jump on a local bus to Castries. This bus cost $2.75 EC or $1 US dollar per person to ride and they can fit 14 passengers in like Barbados in a minivan, sometimes more :-)

The drive took about 20 minutes to get to the end of the route right at the market. The market was huge covering 2 blocks with a couple hundred vendors each selling an assortment of goods from spices to jewelry. We shopped for a bit grabbing a few things then stopped at a local diner. Sheldon and I shared a grilled tuna with macaroni and cheese, 4 types ground provision, carrot rice, tossed salad and pinto beans. All this for $6.50 US ($17 ECV) It was very good along with a piton of course. ($1.92 US WTH)

We shopped a bit more searching for earrings for Britt. Around 2:30 we jumped on another bus back to Rodney Bay. After sweating our hair off at the market it was time for a frosty fruity rum creation by Isaac our bartender. Yum. It was enjoyed over quiet time as most checked the phone, updated blogs or relaxed!

Darren attempted a nap and Sheldon and Sharon read while I updated the blog. We all decided to take a beach walk with a tea and coffee of course, Sheldon even bobbed around for a bit after we stopped under a palapa for rain delay.

Back to the condo to create supper, we called it the clean plate club. Sharon and I cooked the last of the vermicelli with fresh tomatoes added to the sauce, fried potatoes and carrots and left over salad. It was scrumptious I must say and not morsel was left. We did leave room for dessert, home made Italian ice cream across the road at the fancy mall. I chose sour sop (a local fruit) which was so yum, Sheldon had rum raisin, Stouts both had toffee carmel. This mall even has a MAC makeup store. We finally checked out the casino that Sheldon has been dying to see. It was quite fancy with lots of blown glass on the walls that interested Sharon and I more than the tables.

Back to our favourite IGA to grab more Piton beer and butter for toast in am then back to condo for drinks and social time with phones, books and iPads updating blogs. Another day in paradise. No one is looking forward to going home... to work or the weather. ;-) Darren says he will be happy to be bug free though :-) poor guy has hit my bug luck and has a few bites causing him grief.

636 - quiet Sunday, wow

Day 636 I was up at my usual 8 but no one else was. Odd to have such a quiet house but it is Sunday. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher while making a cup of chai and enjoyed it sitting in the cool breeze updating the blog and reading. No plans for today so will see what the group decides once up.

I am waiting to hear Dad's specialist results for surgery tuesday. He seems him today at 9 which is not until our noon time. Fingers crossed it will just be the pin and repair.

The rest got up soon after 9 and Darren and Sharon beetled down to Rituals for breakfast omelet and jumbo coffee to start their day. Once Sheldon had an instant coffee in him and applied his sunscreen we too ventured down. I enjoyed my spiced chai latte and he a pomegranate blueberry smoothie. We were back to the condo by 10 where Sheldon played rest, I cruised St Lucia on trip advisor and the Stouts packed up to go to Pigeon Island. We bowed out not wanting to hike in todays super humid heat.

Instead we cooked up a fried egg with piece of toast and headed out on a walk about. To the beach where 2 huge sail ships were docked out, one had 5 masts and the other 4 was first stop. Of course Sheldon had to dunk himself in the ocean then we walked the 2 mile beach heading to Happy Day bar at the marina. Sadly once we arrived it was closed like many other stores and restaurants on Sunday.

Our trek back to the condo was quite warm and required a dip in the pool before we came in for a refreshment. Reading time enjoying the breeze on the harbor side grass rounded out the next hour or so. We also enjoyed a few online games till batteries needed to be charged. The little battery operated beach dock is fun to have.

Darren and Sharon were back around 2:30. They showered up after there tour then enjoyed a nice visit. We had another yummy refreshment Sheldon blended up this one he added a fresh mango they bought from a fruit vendor in a boat. Just after 4 we skyped with Shaina where it was 9 am for her. She was having tea and cereal catching us up on her tournament weekend. She had quite a sunburn but the most obvious was her bruised nose and eye where she was hit with a racquet on the w/e. She said the swelling had gone done a ton. It is disappointing she does not get any pictures of her play but that is hard when she is there alone but I hope once she gets to Australia Terri will be able to snap a few for us to see. She enjoyed the  glow worm cave, she toured it in a black boat and said it was very neat. I think she said it was $130 but worth it. She missed a $110 trip that included a meal as it sold out just before. There is a new foal at her place but the mare is having issues, a vet is on its way. Fingers crossed it will come thru ok. She says the foal is very tiny but so cute.

Back in the cold (-17 Darren's phone said) Britt was heading to the first polocrosse indoor practice of the year. She did work last night and spent Friday night with Kaylin while Grama and Papa went to stage west.

We then went grocery shopping yet again. Sheldon had a plan for supper hoping to create pork chops in mushroom sauce with fried potatoes. Once we got to the market this plan changed as no pork on the shelves so he went with chicken. Back at the condo he started his creation adding corn on the cob to the menu. I tossed up a garden salad and supper was done. It was quite tasty Mr Kuhn.

After kitchen cleanup we all sat around very quiet each reading a book. A quick blog update and it was time for me to go shower off the humid sweat just after 8. I finished my first book, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana and started The Unwanted Wife reading till 11.It truly was a quiet Sunday in St Lucia.

635 - Sunny Saturday in St Lucia

Day 635 I slept in.. till 9 :-) After a quick shower I started laundry. Darren and Sharon had left a pot of coffee and were out for a jog, how ambitious of them. Sheldon grabbed a coffee and hit the deck to read  some travel magazines.

Once they were back we all visited with a coffee and I tried to update the blog a bit as well as google some info. There is so much to see and do you want to be sure you get it all in while you are here.

Just after 11 it was time for a quick brunch of scrambled eggs, toast and beers. After 12, we loaded up to go down to the beach for a bit. Sheldon and I enjoyed the 4 mile walk finding an almond tree with sea grape tree as well growing right in it. By the time we arrived back to our towels we needed a cold Piton.

We arrived back at the condo just before 3. A cold drink and plunge in the pool was the next plan of attack. Back to the condo the Stouts went to rest, we enjoyed the sunshine on the spongy grass with a yummy rum and my ipod. It was very enjoyable and relaxing.

Just before 5we showered and got dressed up for supper. Sheldon is talking himself into the 32 oz. steak challenge at the restaurant we are heading too. It is called the Big Chef, if you can eat it you get a free t-shirt and a free 12 oz steak too. We will see what he does choose.

Once we left after 6, we talked to the nieghbors who live here 6 months of the year. They sugested the Fire grill instrad. We ventured out and after detouring under an umbrela for rain delay we found it to be a bit pricier than the Big Chef. We had talked about trying food local to the area rather than our local steak so went to Razamataz, and Indian food place. We were lucky to hit 2 for 1 drinks and supper and it was very good.

Two hours later we headed back to the condo. TV, blog update and technical time was the evening plans.

634 - jump up Friday

Day 634 was yet another early day for me. Up at 8 getting ready for our North area tour I checked the wifi quickly with no luck. Sheldon slept in and finally at 8:45 I woke him up to get ready. Greg arrived just after 9 and our tour began. We saw local food places worthy of eating at, Reduit beach, a $40,000/2 weeks rental place, a spa where Amy Whinehouse enjoyed for months until she threw up on the buffet table, lol it was really nice, pigeon island, cap estate golf area ending at  cas en bas beach which had a rocket booster from 1994, local food and giftware and horseback riding.

We were dropped back at the local coffee shop Rituals which is similar to Starbucks just after 11.We enjoyed coffees, smoothies, paninis and burgers. Back at the condo Stouts went shopping for a watch while Sheldon and I enjoyed some sun on the front grass. Sheldon even tested out the pool a couple times.  Once they were back we headed out, did a few stops at the duty free mall then wandered back to rituals for the yummiest hot chai tea. We walked to Reduit beach enjoying the time in the sun sipping our hot beverages. We then checked out Marie's, the beach bar serving booze and food. An interesting booze bottle full of leaves and shrub we later found out was spiced rum. We walked the 2 mile beach to Spinnakers and check out their menu then walked back to our point of entry. We walked back to the condo checking menus as we went.

Back home we decided we should get groceries after a refreshment. At the IGA we loaded up on groceries, interestingly they sold Canadian potatoes and carrots which of course are out of season.
Back at the condo Sheldon whipped up frozen Bananarama rum drinks. Sharon cooked up a mean vermicelli and meat sauce while I made a fresh salad. The wifi finally worked!! Apparently it was done farther out than the condo.

Robert our condo manager showed up while we dined telling us about local tours and interests. After clean up we readied for our adventure on the local bus to Jump up, the local Friday night festival. Darren and Sharon were enamored with their first local bus ride. Like Bardabos, it is very cheap costing us $3 a couple one way, that is like a dollar or .50/person!. We  took a detour to drop a mom and her little girl off  eventually getting to the festival. it was quite the event. Vendors lined the road with food and drink as well as art and jewellery too. There were so many mongrels just hoping for a scrap of food. A few cats perused thru as well. Young boys whipped up palm frond fish and I bought a lucky rose. We enjoyed rum punch,Pitons and Sheldon tried the macaroni pie  which he quite enjoyed.

We ventured back to the condo via the local bus,this one a bit fancier than the last about 9:30. Once home Sheldon whipped up more special drinks, we all checked emails etc and played Golf. Stouts were off to bed just after 11. I updated the blog during cards and after while Sheldon watched TV then we eventually headed to bed too to read.

633 - road to Hana relived

Day 633 found us up early yet again. Today we packed up to move north to Rodney bay. We all packed our bags then enjoyed left overs from last nights feast. Time to relax and read as we enjoyed out last day viewing the Pitons.

Darren, Sharon and I hiked to the top of our hill, another viewpoint of the south end of the island. It was spectacular.  We could see all the places we had ventured to while on tour. AT11:30 Gregg arrived with Berthia who caught a ride up the hill with him, after loading up our bags we were off to the north end of the island, destination Rodney Bay.

Along the twisty journey we saw government issued boa constrictors, Bounty/Chairmans rum factory, Hess crude oil storage facility, banana plantations, tethered cows and goats, cruised thru the capital city, Castries, which had 2 cruise ships docked and one farther out, Marigot bay where we did consider staying, many small villages and roadside bars and tons of flora and fauna. It is amazing to see the huge cedar trees mixed with the palm trees. The near 2 hour twisty 33 mile road reminded Sheldon and I of the road to Hana, even the bamboo and foliage and roads are very similar.

We arrived at the Harbor around 1:30, dropped our bags and ventured out to get some cold refreshments after the dry spell. Where Soufrieire was very cultural and laid back, Rodney bay is a bustling  city. Right next to us is the huge mall with a casino and many shops as well as Domino's, Subway, Burger King. We got 2 more Chairmans rum at the next door liquor store then continued to IGA to grab chips, coke and tomato juice.

Back at the condo it was happy hour. We met Kristine our housekeeper who chatted us up giving us tips and places to see. Our next venture was a walk to find the Triangle Club, a local restaurant recommended by  Greg saying it was the most affordable and delicious meal in town. Sure enough after a few wrong turns and local assistance we found it. Indeed it was a little hole in the wall, it was affordable   at $15 EC  ($5.70 US) for 4 sides and a meat and it was delicious. Sheldon and I chose the tuna and Stouts the chicken. The sides included green fig salad which is green banana but it tasted like potato salad, chow mein, mixed veggies, fresh salad, a rice mix as well as potato wedges. A water and a piton cost $10, that is fairly cheap although the beers varied from $4-7 in Soufriere.

Back home we all headed to our designated rooms, we each enjoyed a jacuzzi tub in our own suites. Sheldon watched the goofy American Idol while trying to read his book, hahaha, I read for a bit too.

632 - relaxing day

Day 632, hooray I got sleep, at least until 7 so at 8 I got up to find Darren up as well. We each made a hot beverage and read. Simple toast breakfast and local coffee for the rest, tea for me was enjoyed when Sharon and Sheldon got up. Mom sent an email that Dad had an accident, injuring his finger in an end gate at work. He will require surgery next Tuesday :( Hope you are doing OK Dad, hugs from us in St Lucia, love you.

Mid morning, we loaded up our beach bags and ventured down to Anse Chastanet beach. And by ventured I mean...walked down the goat trail in the lovely yet again 28 degrees!! The beach was a lovely but busy beach as many snorkel and scuba tours came in and out. Sheldon went out alone to snorkel then Darren joined him. He saw a few very colourful fish he has never saw before! Sharon and I waded in the warm ocean and we all walked the beach to check it out.

We decided to eat at the restaurant there, surprisingly it was as pricey as New Zealand, our tab came to 260 EC which was $100. for 3 beer, a water and 4 burgers, no side only the burger!! fries were another 5 and to top it off they add 10% gratuity and 8% tax.. yikes. Needless to say we just had a drink and burger there. Anse Chastanet however is owned by Nick, a German fellow who also owns Jade Mountain right above it too. Lowest price room is 1075/night US or 2950 highest, with the same views as our place. Apparently the Biebs was there not long ago as was Kanye and Kim,no wonder the prices are high! LOL

We checked the art shop and toured the grounds before making our way up the hill. The security fellow thought it might take us an hour to get back up after the 15 minute walk down but we got lucky and a van of locals offered us a ride for 1/3 of way cutting it to 20 minutes.

Back at the villa, our housekeeper Berthia was starting our local supper and did it smell good. We were hot and dusty and all hit the pool, my first time actually in! I grabbed us the last of the cold Piton beers then mixed us up the last of the spiced rum. It was white and coconut rums left for the night. It worked out not bad as tomorrow am we checkout and move north.

I skyped with Asher and Amanda, showing him the fish in our moat and the boats at see. Amanda enjoyed the island views I am sure.

The traditional supper feast we had around 4:30 was fantastic!! She made chicken in curry and turmeric sauce, spinach rice, garden salad with cucumber tomatoes and corn, lentils in a sauce, fresh green figs (which is actually green bananas) and tari root (ground provision), mixed vegetables which included carrots, cabbage, crystal finn and string beans as well as a plate of fried plantain with sugar. what a meal!!

After a quick cleanup, Berthia was headed home. I skyped with Kaylin checking in our her job interview at Sephora today and finding out about her snow boarding day at Lake Louise Yesterday. I gave her a video tour of the place as well which is fun. Technology is an amazing thing.

This am Shaina posted her bungy jump, whew that was a big jump! In the evening we chatted, she said it was fairly scary! check it out on Facebook if you can. She is busy fitting in fun with riding and this weekend has a big polocrosse tournament including a fancy intermediate tourny. I believe it is the youth nationals or something like that.

We spent the evening playing cards heading to bed to read and me update the blog about 9:30.The days are dark early but seem so long with so much action packed into a day. It is now 10:30 pm, over and out, time for me to read too. :-)

631 - so many sights

Day 631 was a busy day. I again had a rather sleepless night but was up by 8 to shower and eat before our tour guide showed at 9 am. Gregg from Canada was out guy. First stop was Tete Paul, a community ran agricultural tour with stunning views. It was just under and hour hike with tons of information.

Next stop was the mud baths. This natural hot springs has healing mud you rub all over your body, let dry then wash off in the natural springs followed by a fresh water shower. It was good to have advice to take our old suits as the mud never quite came off even after that, a snorkel and a shower :-) It was quite entertaining to be covered in mud but as promised our skin felt baby soft once done. We enjoyed salt fish, a local deep fried fish fritter which we all enjoyed. Sheldon grabbed 4 beers which were double the price due to location I assume but were refreshing after the hike and bath. We next tried dahl, a deep fried  vegetable empanada like snack. We had it with a hot sauce/ketchup combo.

Gregg took us to a "secret" beach that was not so secret once we arrived but it did clear out before we left. The snorkeling was lovely, the water blue and the sand pretty however it was marred by allot of trash left by locals and yacht people tossing crap overboard. How sad for such a beautiful place. Sharon picked up a hand crafted gourd like item before we continued our adventure.

The next stop was the Morne Coubaril Cocoa plantation. Again it was an hour tour of the plantation with emphasis on the coconut and cocoa trees along with coffee and sugar cane. We stopped quick at the heritage site for the Pitons then made our last stop at the Maranatha prayer garden.

Gregg dropped us back at Cashew by 3:30 but we saw and did a whole lot in that time. It was now time to relax with a cold beverage before trying to shower the mud of with not much success.

Sheldon cooked supper tonight making sausage, potato/onion/carrot mix with actual garlic toast. I spent time updating the blog but was frustrated to find that an entire day was not saved when the internet went down which it does intermittently all the time!

After supper the other 3 played cards by candlelight while I continued to update the blog and get a skype in with Shaina. It was 7pm here and only noon the next day for her. She was going to bungy jumping. with some friends. Popcorn and games for them; frustrated blogging for me rounded out the days events but at least it is 24 degree weather sitting on the balcony with a rum and coke kind of evening with crickets chirping. :-) I took a sleeping pill and donning a spare pair of ear plugs from Sharon headed to bed to read at 9 hoping for a good nights sleep,  the other played cards a bit longer before they too retired.

630 - 1st day in paradise

Day 630 was a slow start. I did not sleep well and was up at 12:30 till 5 ish but managed to chat with two of the girls since they are 3 hours behind. When I did fall asleep finally I slept till 10, Sheldon slept all the way thru so had a relaxing sleep. Darren and Sharon slept well so were up by 7:30. They had left over breakfast potatoes and I cooked a couple eggs. It was great.

At 12:30 we ventured down the goat trail to town. It took us a half hour to go down in the heat. We met Berthia and toured the town checking out the area. We exchanged money at the bank while the boys enjoys more piton on the beach, shopped for coco, coffee and banana ketchup then stopped for lunch. This turned into over 2 hours to get some wraps and a couple beers. We loaded up on bread, groceries and beers before catching a taxi back up the hill at 4:30.

Back at cashew villa we enjoyed some cold refreshments. The rest swam. For supper we enjoyed corn on the cob and sausage Darren prepared. Alvin our security guard joined us as well and stayed visiting late into the evening. We managed to Skype Britt, Shaina and the Paetz family who had Travis there too. Apparently it is very cold and snowy back home, Kaylin even stayed an extra night, heading home today but said could hardly see the road edges out of our yard. They did say a chinook was coming in tomorrow. plus 28 here is fine with me. :-)

Bedtime was a bit later although Sharon and Darren headed in sooner as tuckered out from another full day.

629 - arrive in St Lucia

Day we spent on planes and automobiles for many hours. We arrived at the airport just before 10, Sheldon dropped us then ran vehicle to parking. Our flight left late as we had to de-ice but finally we took off about quarter to one arriving in Toronto at 4:30 am our time, 6:30 theirs. It was raining and plus 9.

We had a Tim's beverage and breakfast before waiting for our next flight to our destination, St Lucia leaving at 9:30 am. The 4 plus hours flight had us landing at about 4:30 local time, we lost another hour crossing the ocean. Lamie our driver picked us up after getting thru customs and began our island touring heading to our first home called Cashew Villa.

Actually the first stop was at a gas station to grab snacks and a bottle of the local rum called Chairmans reserve. He introduced us to a cold Piton beer. On the windy but scenic drive to Soufriere he stopped at another hole in the wall to get us another ice cold piton. The road up to our villa was more like a goat trail with narrow switchbacks and pothole dirt.

We arrived at Cashew at about 4:30, our housekeeper Berthia (pronounced Buff-ee-a) gave us the tour. The boys swam and we all enjoyed more chairmans and pitons :-) The rental included breakfast material but since we just came up and saw it was quite a hike we decided not to walk to town to eat. Darren whipped us up an onion and potato omelet which filled the void perfectly. We met the neighbors in the lower suite from Ohio and they gave us many tips since this was year 13 for them in St Lucia. They also loaned us bug spray saying there was lots of mozzies but in actuality we never saw many but thank them for the spray.

We all were fairly tired after a day of travel with little sleep for most. After a shower, we all retired early at around 9 pm.

628 - leave the frozen tundra for sandy beaches

Day 628 is the final day of packing. Of course the list continued in my head and on the notepad by the bed. Britt was up early and Sheldon ran her to work for 8:30. He then got the truck tire fixed as we will take it and leave at the airport parking, bought himself an air tool kit he needs so bad and of course is 75% off at Canadian Tire with birthday money (thinking ahead), bought cat food and grabbed teas to bring home.

I checked us into our flight and found this cool live flight tracker for our flight from Toronto to St Lucia. and to toronto.. cool!

I ran to town quick to have Amanda tint my eyelashes and de fuzz eyebrows followed by a quick tan then home. Back at home it was chores like change sheets, continue packing and last minute details.

Sheldon put out two bales for the chubby ponies, this is definitely not a Jenny Craig pony camp :-). He plowed the road as well.

Grama and Papa arrived  around 1:30 so I helped try and get her laptop to allow Skype to work but it has bigger issues. So I hooked her up with Words with Friends :-) Sheldon picked Britt up from work at 3. We enjoyed a nice visit and supper before picking Darren and Sharon up just after nine and head to the airport. I will try and update the blog via the St Lucia beaches.

627 - packing with Asher and Lexi

Day 627 had Britt riding the bus after a very long break of sleeping in. She was even ready early and ate cereal!! I spent the day doing many random chores..

dog and cat care, cleaning the fridge and kitchen, finishing laundry, cleaning the ashes out of the fireplace.. holy there was a pile! updating the blog, sorting out accounting errors (yes me putting a US check in our CND account via the ATM) getting final details on the Thailand tour and booking it for Shaina, making our favorite hamburger soup for supper, Kaylin text she was lonely and would like to join us.

by two I still in my pj's and have not even got the suitcase out!! Just after two Amanda dropped Asher off while she ran to the city to shop for a dress. She managed to keep him sleeping and tucked into bed after the car ride out. Kaylin arrived just after to drop Lexi off while she went to town to visit friends.

After a good sleep Asher enjoyed checking out all his animal buddies. Kaylin was back in time for Sheldon and I to go to town at 5 to tan and run a few errands. Amanda picked him up just before 6 and we were back home just after to enjoy the hamburger soup.

Asher telling me Lexi just kissed him

Kaylin ventured home after 7 leaving us to pack our bags.. finally! Yes Sheldon had not packed anything yet either. I made parking reservations, downloaded photos off my camera and reformatted it. We loaded ipods with more music, washed shoes to go and stuffed our bags to the brim continuing to remember just one more thing. Just before ten I went to town to pick up Britt from work, temperature was -24!! Hello St Lucia!!

626 - storm continues

Day 626 the blowing snow and cold temperatures continue. Brrrr it sure makes leaving this tundra on Saturday that much more appealing. Driving Britt to school thru the drifting road conditions

After lunch, Sharon and I had lovely pedicures, Thanks Shaina!! Will do the mother daughter day when  you return with the other one!

I also stopped to get our travel cash and power adapters to pack before venturing home thru the blustery storm. Back at the ranch I spent much time skyping and helping Shaina and Emily plan their Thailand adventure. As I mentioned in previous blog they are going to do a tour group one month deal and then stay on for a bit on their own checking out Phukett. She was also packing up for their first tournament weekend. I also got to have a quick chat with the dad, Steve which was nice to put a face with a name. I am enjoying Skye and will use on our trip a few times I am sure. To call us, search my name or crazy0ne1.

Britt worked after school till nine so Sheldon and I had a quick simple supper before he took out a bale for the ponies to keep them warm during the storm. Just before 8 we headed to town and were surprised that the wind had finally died down allowing the huge fluffy snowflakes to fall in what to me seems like a great ski snow fall. We enjoyed a nice hot infared sauna then a chai tea before picking her up from work and heading back home.

The rest of the night was spent spray protecting Britt's all new boots and

playing words with friends (Sheldon too) and reading. I finished The 17 Day Plan to Stop Aging and starting Beyond Snapshots and Happier at Home.

625 - snow is back

Day 625 was a warm but windy chinook day. Britt and I were off as usual. I only worked the morning today as I had more at home to do to prepare for our trip and less at work. Before I came home I gave the enclave a nice auto bath!

Once home, I booked hotel room for our sleepover on way home from St Lucia in Toronto, ordered more supplements, did laundry, put a roast in the oven, updated the blog, organized some tours in St Lucia via phone, cleaned the kitchen and so much more. I do work better under pressure apparently

Travis said he named the puppy.. Diesel is his name. very cute! Shaina's 4-H book finally found its way home along with her cash prize $20 from districts. It went all the way to provincials

We enjoyed the rib roast and fixings for supper before finishing off PVR shows. No word form Shaina today, guess they are preparing for the tournament as it is Thursday there. They are forecasting snow for tonight and as the temperature drops from plus 5 when I came home to minus 6 at 7 pm they may be right.

The snow did arrive around 10 along with the days wind still in full force! yuck However it did not accumulate much just blew around and drifted.

Here is Shaina's update of her day today (her Thursday) I received early our Thursday morning.
"
woo yay 20 bucks for my acct :) today went over to girls more my age house it was lots of fun. the ones who cody is staying with and a guy whos is sam darmondys friend, his name is wayne he's hilarious. so it was lots of fun riding 14 of their 20 some horses!!! thye have a fun house. all three sister ride and play polocrosse. oldest is 17, then 13, then 11. we wentout for lunch in town and i had a yummy wrap. for like 15 bucks... then unfortunately had to go back to satans childrens house where i rode 2 more of the 3. thats five horses today for about an hour each, my bums sore"

624 - stories from down under

Day 624 I awoke with such a sore neck and headache, guess I slept wrong. It ailed me all day even with drugs. After dropping Britt at school I grabbed tea and off to work. Today at lunch was my first workout in ages, thanks Coreena however no hope for fit body for this weekend vacation departure!

After work I dropped eggs off with Travis stopping for a quick visit with Asher and the puppy too . Then it was to the bank, pick up packages, booze restock and a quick tan, grabbing the mail on the way home.

another ipad case I ordered to try, like the keyboard better on this one but it is thicker

It was so much better changing into my cozy pj's and grabbing a snack and drinks and crawling into bed. I am sure the headache is from the bad sleeping position. Luckily I have pork tenderloin marinating for supper.
Shaina and I skyped again and Britt and Sheldon had turns once they got home too.

She had more funny stories of her adventures down under. The boys continue their harassment but today she did not watch them, thought perhaps Donna the mom gave her a break. She did have another story of the boys, while jumping on the trampoline with the two rowdy boys, one yelled kick her in the nuts, the younger one said she doesn't have nuts she is a girl, she has a pagina.. the older one yells, well kick her in the pagina! Needless to say she decided playtime was over and vacated. Poor Shaina never had wild brothers to contend with, this is a learning and patience curve for sure.

She also switched up horses trying a younger mare named Clock, like a ticking time bomb clock she said :-) Even with the challenges she thinks she will play this one for the weekend tournament. The family (Cory 7 Ryan 5 Joel 3 and Chelsie 1, parents Donna and Steve) will travel the 3 hours to Auckland for the tournament in their horse caravan. It is a large truck trailer combination that has sleeping and kitchen living as well as 5 horse hauling all within the unit. Her sleeping area is behind the seats where they ride while driving. She says there will be 500 at the tournament.. wow that is amazing. I am excited to see photos.

I spent time on the phone with a tour guy in St Lucia then Craig stopped for a couple hours to set up a new financial account but we decided to wait so we just visited over some Helle's Bock beers. He left at 7 and we barbequed pork medallions and a potato pack, fresh salad, and veggies.

After supper Sheldon and I watched PVR Mob Doctor and Britt whatever she had PVR in the theater room. She coughed late into the night and just before 1 I took her vitamin c to suck on to help ease the cough to get some sleep. I guess it worked.

623 - dreaded back to work and school

Day 623 was back to school and work, me included as I will be taking a few weeks off, need to catch up at work. Since Britt was still feeling under the weather I drove her to school as well. Kaylin slept in (enjoying her sleep in Shaina's bed) and took Lexi to her shot appointment.

Work was super busy for me. After work I ran for a quick 5 minute tan, picked up 4 "new to me" glass balls and made a quick stop at pharmacy and mail before venturing home. Kaylin was still here so we skyped Shaina quick before she headed to town for supper with her friend Gail.

Shaina had gone out boating last night with a crowd of people and had a great time even meeting one of the Aussie girls that was here a couple years back on exchange named Codi. The weather is hot (29) but windy today in NZ. She is currently riding a pony named Spook aptly named she says. Here is her message
"they're horses are so skittish and small. like i cant pet them without them jumping away. hes like no we don't pat them or nothin, just get on and ride. and they don't walk at all. right when u get on they trot" Of course they are fresh coming out of winter so with some more rides she will see a change I think. It also seems the 2 older boys are a handful, they like to pester her by throwing things at her (no longer funny she says) and try to go thru her stuff. She says the food is fairly normal compared to ours but tastes different, for example the milk tastes like melted ice cream which she defines as gross, odd since she LOVES ice cream :-) She has found a tour group for Thailand they hope to get on with. It sure looks fun. I have found her a few flights which work best for Terri to kindly drop her at airport and with the tour so hope they can join it.

It was an early night for Sheldon and I after a nice warm bath, hit the sheets early at 9 but played on my iPad till after 11!

622 - last day of vacation

Day 622 is Sunday, and I cannot believe it will be one week and we will be gone to tropical St Lucia!! It is also the last day of vacation for us all. Back to school and work for us tomorrow.

I spent the day tidying esp my laundry room where I found many things. A lady stopped to pick up our Bose dock and I posted more items to move.

we moved the new coffee table into the house, it looks lovely, great job Sheldon, just have to find a way to seal it.. oil, wax or other finish

bright sunny day but with chinook winds.. and the pyro is at it again after taking out another bale to the poor starving horses :-)

back in the house, naughty puppy Lexi peed on my couch yet again when she saw Britt, so I took apart to wash. As Sheldon sat by playing games on my ipod, she decided to dismantle the cushion! Oh MY!

In the afternoon Kaylin arrived home from her Edmonton trip just before Travis stopped out with his new puppy. Shaina was on Skype so got to visit with us all and see the new puppy too. Kaylin stayed the night as Lexi has her shots tomorrow.

 puppy with no name arrives

 Kaylin skyping with Shaina

 family skype

cute little no name, we suggested many including Draco, Max, Gunnar to name a few.. soon he shall have a name

After a most delicious supper, we all watched The Lucky One before retiring to our rooms to ready for the next day. Sheldon Skyped Blair the night before as they were in Chamonix France skiing. It is a fun app to have.