Bloomin Cereus

More Changes for The Parker Family

2011-04-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

The last few years have been full of changes for our family. Most were full of positives but some caused much sadness. This month is no exception. I would say that April 2011 is a historic month for change in the Parker household!

First- April 1st my son Brennan moved into his own apartment in Des Moines. Okay- that may not sound like much to you but Brennan is thrilled to no longer be living with a brother or sister. He is on his own and ready to fly! I am so proud of how much he has grown in the last year and I know that he is discovering how much he has to offer the world. He is finding his own path.

Second- My daughter Abbie made her first "big girl" purchase. She bought living room furniture! Okay- so you are already finding this blog boring and wondering why this counts as an historic change. But have you ever gone shopping with Abbie??? Making decisions about things like this is painstaking for her! Fortunately she had the help of a special someone. Maybe that is the real news:)

Third- hold on to your hats for this one. We are moving back to Iowa. WHAT!!!! Yes, you heard correctly. We are leaving this wonderful island. I know - you are thinking we have gone absolutely mad. I have been reminded about Iowa winters and the fact that I have only 3 cold weather outfits and only two pair of shoes that cover my toes. Believe me- the decision was not an easy one. Let me try and explain.
Life on this island is not only expensive but also limited. We knew that getting into this adventure. But we did not count on the economic collapse and we were also too idealistic about our options. I have been fortunate to work in a wonderful little school that has given me an opportunity to take on a lot of responsibility. But, like many places, they are having a tough time making ends meet. Our new head of school is making hard decisions to help the school be more financially stable. One of those decisions involves health insurance. To quote her "The school needs to get out of the health insurance business." Don't get me wrong- the school will still arrange for the family health insurance but I will have to pay for it and it is VERY pricey.
I was suspicious that this might be happening back in March. So one day I started looking around for jobs. I looked locally at the public school and university but also stateside. A few jobs caught my eye. I sent off some resumes just to see what might happen. I figure that at my age there are few schools that would want to hire me. I am more expensive and just too damn old! I was pleasantly surprised. I had a nice email chat about a curriculum director position at a private school near Boston, a call from a school south of Kansas City needing a reading teacher and a lengthy conversation from a school in Eastern Iowa about a literacy coach position. I dismissed the Boston job (not that great of pay and who do I know in Boston?) as well as the Kansas City job (better pay but didn't seem very challenging). The Eastern Iowa position was intriguing. I had a wonderful discussion with the curriculum director about all that the job would entail. It was my dream job - it had all the things I have always wanted to do professionally.It made me realize how much I missed the challenges of public education. I still figured that it would not pan out. I arranged to interview with the school via skype and in less than 20 min. after the interview they offered me the position. I was very flattered but torn. Did I really want to leave this lovely little island for the Mississippi? I told them I needed to know the specifics (salary, benefits, etc.) and I also wanted to talk with my little island school. After much soul searching, tears, pleading with my friends for advice, and driving myself crazy I decided to take the position. It was just too hard to turn down. The school was willing to put me at the top of their salary scale, the family health insurance is hundreds of dollars cheaper, and I can continue to add to my Iowa retirement program. But, most importantly, it has a job description that has all the things I always wanted to do in my career. When I went to talk with my little island school I was told that they hoped to give me a raise to cover health insurance costs and hoped to work out a job description for me that would meet both our needs. Too many hopes. I guess I am a person who needs assurances. The final decision was Blake's. I told him I was chickening out on decision making and that he just needed to tell me what he thought we should do. His response was "I always wanted to live on the Mississippi." That sealed the deal. I know he has felt at loose ends here and misses being a real lawyer. Call us workaholics. One thing we discovered during this adventure is that we love our jobs and miss the challenges of our professions .
What about our house in the islands? How are you going to do this move? Where will you live? What about the fact that you gave everything away and own nothing in Iowa? Too many questions that we just aren't sure of yet. We are hoping to keep the house and rent it out for the next few years (the dream is still there - just a little different now). The U.S. Postal Service will be our friends again. We hope to rent - we are a bit reluctant to invest until we know that this is truly what will work for us! I will be scouring garage sales, second-hand stores and asking for handouts this summer when I return to Iowa.
And to answer your biggest question - yes, we are crazy.

FINALLY- the biggest change of all. And maybe this one is the news that cemented the decision to move back to Iowa. I am a grandma!!!! Judd and Stevie welcomed Emery Kathleen Parker to their family 0n April 14th. She is a perfect, beautiful, intelligent, and (most importantly) healthy baby girl. Here is a picture of our little darling:

She is the best reason of all to move back to Iowa. Even though I will still be a few hours away from her it will be so much easier to hop in a car and go get my Emery cuddles!

Speaking of cars- does anyone have one for sale???

I am going to miss island life, most of all snorkeling with the fishies. Last week I watched in awe at this octopus showing off for us:

To prepare for the move I am watching the eagle cam. I guess I will be changing from island girl to river rat.

Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.

The Highs and Lows - A Year In Review

2011-01-09T05:08:00.000-08:00

What a year.
Unfortunately this was the year when I had to say a lot of good-byes.
The lows.
It started with saying good bye to my friend Nancy who had battled with cancer for way too long. She could always make me laugh and provided me with great reading lists. She was one of my wonderful librarian friends. If you are ever looking for a great friend- check out the library. I swear librarians make the best friends.
In the spring it was time to say good-bye to our big droolly dog, Thor. I will never forget that big lug. When I went through my cancer treatments Thor was always there to snuggle with. He listened to my whines and rants and never once told me I was just a worry wart.
This fall was the worst. As soon as we came back to the island, Blake's mom's health began a steady decline. At the same time my oldest sister struggled with her own health problems. After a terrible week of non-stop rain on the island we had the worst of weekends. On a Saturday morning we received the call that Blake's mom had died. The next day we were awakened with the news that my sister had also died. I immediately headed back to Iowa but Blake waited. We had already made arrangements to go back in a couple of weeks and so Blake stuck with those plans. He would be there in time for a lovely memorial but most importantly be there to help his dad.
Just when things began to seem normal and happy again my mom fell ill. I was so fortunate that my other sister was there to help with all the day to day details. She was fabulous- getting mom the attention she needed and finding a place for mom to end her life. I can't say enough about how well the hospice house treated my mom - and God knows that wasn't an easy job! They gave her the respect she deserved and the comfort she needed. I flew back just in time for us to say our good-byes. Mom had a list of things to be done and said and I was apparently the last on her list. The first night I was there she was ailing but talkative. The next day she could say very little but was still listening. She died a few days after I arrived. The day after Christmas. She had told everyone she was going to go as soon as she saw me and she was a woman of her word.

But, thankfully, this year has many wonderful highs as well. Here is my "list" of happy times that keeps me going:
* In January we welcomed a naughty little beagle into our lives named Bailey. I am a sucker for a dog.
*In February my daughter landed her dream job. It is so wonderful to see her happy and successful. Way to go girl!
* This year was a big year for my eldest son - an engagement, a wedding and now expecting a baby. WOW! A lot in one year. We are thrilled with the man he has become and so glad to welcome his terrific wife into our family. I am so lucky to have another fabulous daughter.
*My youngest son came back with me after my sister's funeral. He kept me company while Blake was in Iowa helping his dad. I don't know if he knows how important his being here was to me. I miss him and worry so much about him. Our time together helped.
*Our daughter joined our youngest on island just before Thanksgiving. We had a fantastic 3 weeks together. I hope she can make this a yearly trip:)

There are a lot of other highs (ans lows) to the year - but I won't bore you with more. Let's just say that Blake and I have had interesting years with our careers.

So what will happen in this next year? I am thrilled to become a grandma, I am tickled that our daughter has a new special someone in her life and I am excited to see where life takes my youngest as he starts the year off with a new job and lots of possibilities. There are still many unknowns for Blake and myself. We are just taking one step at a time and keeping options open. You just never know do you? Life is messy sometimes.

Now to a funny (or not so funny) island story. This year I learned what happens when you miss the last ferry.
On this last trip back from Iowa my flight was delayed by over 2 hours thanks to a computer malfunction on the plane. This meant that I would be cutting it awfully close. You see, the last ferry to St. John is at midnight. Miss it and you are screwed. My plane landed at 11. There was hope. I was able to get off the plane and get my luggage in record time when you factor in the island time mentality. I was still hopeful. Got to the taxi stand and pleaded my case. Four others in the same predicament joined me. We were hurried into a taxi but....where was the driver? He was checking for others. Probably a nice gesture but we needed to go NOW. Unfortunately one of my taxi-mates decided that swearing and banging on windows would be the best way to get the taxi driver motivated to get going. I have never thought that this kind of behavior was effective and down here in the islands it is counter-productive. I slowly was losing hope. As soon as the taxi driver started on the road I did my best to be encouraging, polite and to let him know a big tip was in his future if he could get us there in record time. Unfortunately the rude guy just kept up the taunts, swearing and derogatory comments. Hope was quickly fading. We arrived to find the ferry dock locked up tight and the boat rounding the point. Now what. I tried calling the after hours water taxi companies but they told me they couldn't find their boat captains. The taxi driver had a small but vocal mob of angry customers. He asked what we wanted to do and I told him to just drop me off at the ferry dock - he said it was too dangerous. He did suggest that the loud mouth would be fine there. Instead he took us to the first hotel/resort and dumped us off. This guy just wanted us out of his taxi! He did tell me he was sorry and hoped I would be okay. Fortunately there was room at the resort. Unfortunately, the cost of the room was over $250 a night. The others took rooms. I looked around the lobby and noticed that it was well lit, had a nice couch and was very quiet (except for the jerk who was still bitching up a storm). I quickly calculated that this room was going to cost me about $50 an hour so I asked the clerk if he minded me just waiting until morning on his couch. He told me it didn't bother him in the least. I think the security guard felt sorry for me as well. These two wonderful gentleman made sure I had something to drink and was safe. We all pulled out our books and spent the next few hours reading in total silence. It was a long night. I know, I could have splurged for the hotel. If I had been feeling adventurous I could have found a bar and gotten plastered. I also could have ranted and raved like the idiot on the taxi making these last hours even more miserable. But, I just decided to go with the flow. Maybe the lesson I have learned this year is that some things are just out of your control. You can't always fix things and there are times you will have to learn acceptance. But, it doesn't last forever. You move on. There would be another ferry in the morning -I just needed to wait and get through this the best I could.

Off to the beach....I know there is a turtle just waiting for me to join him in a swim!

Summer recap and back to school we go!

2010-09-06T08:43:00.001-07:00

Where did the summer go?? My last post talked about upcoming summer plans and now it is already Labor Day. I guess it is time to recap the busy (and often lazy) days of summer.
I headed back to Iowa at the end of June to visit family and friends. It was fun catching up and just laughing. Abbie was busy with her new job and so I saw her for brief moments in between campfires and camp registration. That meant Brennan was stuck with me for the majority of the time:) I gave him breaks from this mother and son bonding time to visit friends in Dodge and Clear Lake. Even made a trip to the Twin Cities to hear a friend of mine from college play in a band. Blake joined me after the July 4th holidays for more family time. The highlight of the trip was our son's wedding. It was beautiful. I am so happy for him and his new bride. Good choice Judd!

We headed back to the islands shortly after the wedding. It is always bitter sweet when we come back to our new home. It is so hard to say good bye to everyone and doubts about the move tug at my heart. Don't you just wish you could package all the good times up in a nice little box and climb in - never letting anything change? Then I am reminded of this saying:

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
— Author Unknown

We arrived back on island in the midst of a raging rain storm. It took us over 5 hours to just get from the airport to our home. The next couple of weeks brought more rain so I spent a lot of time reading, preparing for my new job and tutoring a few kids in reading. Blake will tell you that I spent most of my time making honey-do lists! I was reading to get projects around the house completed. Well, mostly I was motivated to have HIM do things;)
While we were gone, one of the Iowa State students had spent some time helping us with our landscaping. He had many things started and now it was up to us to finish. I wish I could say that we can cross that task off our to-do list but I think it will be a never ending process. But, I now have the following planted:
2 limes, a grapefruit, a couple of mango trees, passion fruit, pomegranate, pineapple, hibiscus, jasmine, avocado, banana, and a variety of other things that I have borrowed from neighbors for ground cover. There is no such thing as a lawn down here and mowing is basically hacking down a jungle with a machete. Things grow very quickly and what you don't want growing can easily get out of hand. I spent one day being attacked by fire ants and entangled in catch-and-keep. My hope is to get a ground covering that will require less work. I have learned that it is easy to get plants started by stealing clippings, etc. from others. Blake laughs at me as he watches me eye neighbors landscaping and "borrow" parts of the plants I like. I just stick them into water and before you know it- they are sprouting roots! One day, after a nice swim at Maho Beach, I made Blake go back into the bush with me where I had spied some coconuts beginning to sprout. Because we have such poor and rocky soil we then had to go get "ghut soil" from an area that gets the water run-off in big rains. It is filled with a silty-sandy soil that should be good for growing palm trees. We shall see.
By mid-August our banana tree had fallen over leaving us over 100 unripe bananas. Blake hauled them inside and we waited for them to ripen - as well as scouring cookbooks for what to do with 100 bananas!

Look! a baby pineapple!

What to do with all these bananas! And this is only 1/2 of them:(

I started back to school August 23rd. I am a bit nervous about my new position and still feeling out what my role will be. I spent the first week learning about writing, meeting our new staff (I would say there are more new people than returning ones!) and testing students who are also new to our school. As always, that first week is filled with the hustle and bustle of getting classrooms ready. There just never seems to be enough time. School was to start on Monday and I spent a good chunk of the Saturday before the start trying to ready my little space. The new teachers I am working with had that panic look in their face of wondering if they will ever be ready to go. The, on Sunday, the word came- come ready your room for Hurricane Earl. All that work and now we are told to move everything from the floors and away from windows. Cover it in black garbage bags and plan on no school for a couple of days.
While I was readying my classroom - Blake was readying the house. I arrived home shortly after lunch and together we put on the hurricane shutters and moved all our furniture, etc. off the porch and into the center of the house. Next came the hardest part- waiting.
We lost internet and phone early Monday morning. All day long the electricity flickered on and off. By 2:00 the power was history. The winds howled and we watched as trees were whipped around. By 6:00 p.m. we decided we better close up a bit tighter and not risk gawking at the weather. By 10 the worst seemed to be over and we were able to open a door or two to let in much needed fresh air. The storm brought little rain but lots of wind. The morning after was spent sweeping up leaves, clearing trees from the road and checking out for damage. My school suffered little damage and we began classes on Thursday. Much of the island had power by late Tuesday but ours didn't arrive until Thursday afternoon. We have a small generator that we used to keep the fridge cold and provide us with morning coffee! The worst was not having water for showers. The island now looks like fall- dead leaves line the roads. It even has that autumn smell. The beaches are lined with browned trees and we can now see places we have never seen before because of the lush canopy. But, we survived and are spending the weekend putting our house back together. Here are some scenes from the road leading to our house:

Now to end with the best news of all- just before Earl hit we received a call from Judd and Stevie letting us know that they are expecting their first child. Yep- Blake and I are going to be grandparents! I have been looking through my knitting books for projects and secretly making plans to spend next summer teaching a little one how to say "grammy."
Until then, we are hoping that the parents-to-be will be able to visit us in January and Abbie and Brennan are trying to make plans for spending a long break with us over the holidays. These trips mean a lot to us. Our hope was always to share this island with family and friends- not keep it to ourselves! So---come on down!! We miss you all!
Time to head to the beach- until next time....

Ready for summer!

2010-06-20T13:03:00.001-07:00

School's out for summer! The last day of school my little Maya did her best Alice Cooper impression for me. I countered with a little Pink Floyd and Teachers...leave those kids alone! Maya wanted me to find the songs on youtube so we could really rock out! Here is a picture of this little cutie at Family Beach Day:

Yes, as is the custom at my school, the last day is spent at the beach. For awhile it looked as though beach day may be cancelled - a storm cell hit the island with a nice show of lightening and thunder. But, in the nick of time, the sun cam out and a rainbow appeared. Family Beach day was on! Here are a few pictures of the day:

Here are some of my lovely co-workers as
well as my principal:

This ending to the school year was a bit bitter sweet for me. I will be returning to the school not as a classroom teacher but as their new literacy coach/learning strategist. My role will be to help improve reading instruction for pre-school through 5th grade, mentor new teachers, and work with classroom teachers to create learning goals for all the students. I will miss having my own classroom but look forward to the new challenges. My school also has a new Head of School (superintendent) so it should be an exciting year!

Our school has also started a horticulture/sustainable agriculture program with Iowa State University. Yep. Moved all this way only to be surrounded by Cyclones! Blake and I have had a great time going hiking and snorkeling with the 3 ISU students and their prof who have been working at the school the past 6 weeks. A new group of students will arrive in August. This is a 5 year commitment and Blake and I are happy to be surrogate parents to a great group of kids.

Speaking of kids- I head back to Iowa on Tuesday to spend a month with family and friends. The big event is Judd and Stevie's wedding! Blake will join me in July and I know it will be a special time.

I had high hopes to spend my first free weekend lazing on the beach. Unfortunately it has rained non-stop for the past two days. I should count my blessings- this front started as a potential hurricane. The first of the season. While June is the start of the season, most hurricanes develop in August and September. It has been predicted that this should be a very active season. The water has been unbelievably warm - about 4-5 degrees hotter than usual. That is not a good sign! Thankfully we will have a house sitter while we are gone so someone will be here in case hurricane shutters need to be put up!

I am off to pack- next time I post will more than likely be at the end of the summer. I hope all of you have a wonderful time enjoying family, friends, nature and a good book or two this summer. Take care!

Good Bye Thor

2010-05-09T16:30:00.001-07:00

Sad week for the Parker clan. We had to say good-bye to Thor. He had been failing and it was time. I wish I could have been their to help Abbie and Brennan through it all. It is never easy.
The upside was that I was back in Iowa last weekend and was able to give him one last snuggle and share a little snack with him. He was a great dog. We will all miss him.

I spent the last week in April stateside. I spent the first half at the International Reading Association conference in Chicago. I felt fortunate to listen to experts on reading as well as meet tons of authors. I couldn't believe the amount of free stuff that I accumulated. I had to get a box at the post office so I could get it all back! The conference took up the majority of time so I didn't get much chance to enjoy Chicago - except for the pizza! My first night I bought a medium Chicago deep dish pizza from Gino's and it became my nightly meal for the next 3 nights. I never tired of it:)
After the conference ended I hopped over to Iowa to do a little mother-of-the-groom dress shopping with my future daughter-in-law. Abbie had prepared her on what to expect - I am not the easiest person to dress shop with. Stevie was wonderful and patient and by the end of the weekend I had bought 2 dresses - still can't decide which to wear. Abbie has reminded me that I also have to buy shoes and that I can't wear my comfy sandals. Do you think she will let me wear my new Crocs?
I also had a chance to see Abbie and Brennan's new place. It is charming with lots of space and has a lovely backyard. Abbie and I hosted a bridal shower on Friday night and were so pleased (and surprised) that so many made the trip to her little house in the woods. It was great seeing friends and family. I sure miss them all. I hope they come to visit me soon!!! (hint, hint)
The best part of the trip was dinner with all my kids. We went out for a belated birthday dinner for Abbie and Brennan and had a great time. My kids have become wonderful adults. I sure enjoyed being with them and hope we can all get together in the islands (another hint, hint).
So what about Blake? Poor guy had to stay back and work. He surprised me with a new railing and a completed dog fence for Baily. Things at the house are coming along ...slowly. For example, we bought a t.v. in January. Our plan was to put it in the living room but have it connected to the Internet. Our t.v. watching is thanks to HULU and T.V. Shack and so far has been on a small computer screen. Well, we now finally have it all set up. It only took 4 months!
So life goes on the island.

Spring Break!

2010-03-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

Today is the start of Spring Break. My plans? Not much. Blake is working so I don't have a snorkel buddy to play with. I am hoping to use this time to get lots of projects done at school and at home. But mostly I intend to be lazy:) I asked one of my students what she would be doing over spring break and she said that her family was just taking the boat out. I asked here where she liked to go and she listed many places. She was shocked when I told her I had never been to them and told me how easy it was to get there. I responded by telling her that I didn't have a boat so I couldn't go. She looked at me and said "Oh, Ms. Terri. You just need to find friends!" Maybe that will be my spring break goal - find friends with boats!

It has been a very busy month. Blake's parents and brother surprised us with a visit at the end of February. We were delighted to have them but worried. This island is not easy - especially for people in their late 80's! Alas, we were correct. It was hard for Blake's parents to negotiate stairs, beach, etc. There were a couple of spills that fortunately were not too serious but did make for a less pleasurable stay. We did have some fabulous meals and the weather was beautiful - better than the cold and snow they left behind. Thanks Byron for helping bring the 'rents to the islands! Hope you can come back next winter and experience more of our island!
Here are a few pictures to share:

The beginning of March started off with the celebration of Sr. Seuss's birthday! Here is a picture of my class in their Cat in the Hat hats (Thanks Candy!):

Every week this month has been busy with all sorts of events. Most have surrounded my school. We are hiring a new Head of School so there have been meetings, dinners and interviews. There were also two big fund raisers beginning with the school dinner/auction. Blake and I were spotters for the auctioneer - there were lots of bottles of champagne being sold at $125 a bottle! A little out of my price range! More my speed was the Blues Festival. Our school sold burgers, hot dogs and gyros all night long. Blake grilled and I took orders. Best of all- great music to listen to as we worked! The month ended with our furniture (that we ordered in January) FINALLY being delivered. We now have a real "living room" rather than Blake's wood working area or what I called the dance floor. Here is a picture of the new stuff:

When we ordered the furniture we also bought a t.v. Our plan was to use it with the internet/computer. Judd had set us up with all the gizmos but because we had no furniture in the room we were in no hurry to set it up. So, the tv sat in a box for 6 weeks. I finally suggested to Blake that we should go ahead and set it up and just pull in chairs to watch. Blake wanted to run the cables under the house which meant that we needed to drill holes in the floor. Drilling through concrete is not an easy task. Blake talked with our wonderful neighbor -Driveway Dan- and borrowed the tools needed. Two weeks later the holes were drilled. Then the furniture arrived and it seemed only right to set things up. Unfortunately, we are missing one small plug or something. Guess we can wait a little longer. Want to place bets on how long before this tv ever gets up and running???

Our next project is putting up a fence area for our dog Bailey. Bailey is all beagle and loves to explore the bush. Most of our neighbors love her visits. She knows to go to the folks above us for bites of bologna and likes to snoop around Pirate Bill's non-conforming home. When Blake's parents were visiting she took every advantage of a door opening to escape and explore. Unfortunately we have one neighbor who is not so happy. It seems that Baily is chasing here chickens. Our island has lots of wandering chickens. They are everywhere. Our neighborhood has a rule that there are to be no chickens but this women has a few that she "rescued" and allows to run loose. Beagle Baily has enjoyed visiting these chickens and chasing them through the bush. She hasn't hurt them- just playful! Most of the neighbors find this pretty comical- but to keep peace we are building a fence area to corral our little girl. Building this fence is no easy project. I spent most of yesterday hauling wood up a hill side to clear an area. Our land just has NO FLAT area what so ever! Another project - how long will this take us?

In between all the projects we have tried to make sure to snorkel a few times a week. This weekend was BEAUTIFUL! It was also very busy. The Spring Break crowd is here! On Saturday we were snorkeling at Maho and had to dodge the tourists as we swam. We had to chuckle as we listened to the comments. Here are a few:

"This water is way too salty today. I don't think it was this salty yesterday!"

1st person: "When we were on our cruise they took us to a place where there were lots of rays swimming. "
2nd person: "Yeah, maybe we will see some rays on this trip."
1st person" "We should ask someone where the cruise ship people go to see rays."
My response: "Look down." At that moment there were 5 big rays swimming.

"I didn't expect fish to be swimming so close to the beach!"

And so life goes on the island.

Paradise isn't always easy!

2010-02-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

My friends back home have been battling the weather. Snow days have piled up and school will be going a bit longer. They have had a rough winter. I have had many any email or txt complaining about the snow (except from my friend Laurel- she still loves a snow day!) and wishing they were here. I completely understand- the weather is beautiful and the ocean soothing. But life in paradise isn't always easy. Take this weekend for example...

My weekend started off okay...went to a nice party up the road. The neighborhood I live in has an eclectic bunch. Some live here year round where others come for just the winter. Some live in basically shacks where others live in extremely nice homes. Regardless of your circumstance, the neighbors are very nice and welcoming.

The problems of the weekend started when we got home. Our new little beagle -Bailey- must have decided we had not been giving her enough attention. When we got home I found that she had taken a nice bite out of my cell phone. It was ruined. This being Valentine's Day AND President's Day weekend I wasn't sure if I would be able to get a new phone. They love their holidays down here! I figured if I couldn't get one on St. John I could on St. Thomas. Blake needed to go over to look for a car part anyways. So, Saturday we headed to Cruz Bay. We had about 45 min. until the next car barge and there was no line so we decided to first check the cell phone place in town. It was due to open at 9:00. We waited for about 10 min. then left- I have decided that signs stating store hours are just a suggestion. It is like the stores are saying "We know we should be open these hours and we will try...but we just can't help it if something else comes up now can we?" So back to the barge. Oops. Now there is a HUGE line. We crossed our fingers and almost made it. Guess we will just sit and wait an hour until the next one. No reason to get upset. Nothing you can do. GRRRRRR....

Finally get on the barge and it is very crowded. Hmmm....what is up? Well, it seems that everyone is heading over to St. Thomas because St. John is completely OUT OF GAS. Yep, bone dry. With the long weekend it probably means that the gas stations will be closed until Tuesday. God help the tourists who take these things for granted. I add "buy a gas can" to our shopping list.

First stop in St. Thomas is the cell phone place. Hallelujah- it IS open, no line and looks like this is going to work out just fine. I don't have many cell phone options but settle for the cheapest replacement. If you call me, please be patient. I am either a complete idiot or this cell phone is the quirkiest one ever. Don't answer that.

Onto the auto parts store. Did get the gas tank but they didn't have the part. Onto the next auto parts store. Nope. Not there. They direct us to a third. Not open. This island is FULL of island Suzukis yet no one seems to have the right part. Guess we will have to have Judd go get one to ship down to us. Hopefully the car will hang in there a bit longer. Blake is frustrated.

Next stop...or should I say stops...furniture shopping. I ordered furniture a month ago for the living room but we are looking for a dresser for the bedroom. This is mostly so we have something tall to put things like cell phones and watches on. You see, not only did Bailey eat the cell phone but she also took a bite out of my watch! Went to 3 places and nothing that will work. I can of course order something. And wait another 6-8 weeks. AARRRGGHHHHH!

Alright. Calm down. Nothing to worry about.

Now onto K-Mart. Need basics like pet food, cleaning supplies, etc. And, of course, a new watch:) The worst part about K-Mart is the check out line. You can easily wait 45 min to an hour. I am not kidding. What will often happen is that the person in front of you is actually buying for 3 or 4 people. They have to ring up each of their friends or family items separately. So you can feel so close yet be so far away. Made it in and out of K-Mart in 1 hr. and 15 min.

Better fill up the gas tank. WOW!!! Gas has gone up. Guess with our little gas shortage people are taking a bit of an advantage. Paid $3.60 a gallon. Fortunately we live on a little island so a tank will last me a bit longer than back in Iowa. Although it is all "city driving" - I don't think I have had the car go over 30mph yet! Today is no exception...the traffic is terrible. It takes us forever to get just a couple of miles. Lots of people in the "big city" today. And, every corner has people hawking valentine presents. Need a big heart balloon or a stuffed animal? Look no further! About every 15 feet someone is trying to sell you one. I tell Blake that I am low maintenance and he can pass on the ugly valentine presents.

After a relatively quick stop at Home Depot we were onto Cost-u-less. The big box store. It is definitely cheaper but you have to buy in bulk. It is also hit or miss as to what will be there. After this stop it is the smaller grocery store. We have found that we need to do both. We hate it but we have learned that we save so much more this way. For example, an 8 pack case of green beans averages a $1.20 per can at Cost-u-less and one can of green beans at the regular grocery is $2.25. If we buy that same can on St. John it is probably $4.00! Blake went to buy a can of sauerkraut on St. John one day and it was $6 for one can! We could buy two bottles of rum for that! So- canned foods, cheeses, booze, beer, etc. buy in bulk at one place and then produce and things you don't want in bulk at another place.

We look at our watches (including my new, $5.00 K-mart special watch) and decide to bag the rest of our shopping list. If we left now we could get the next barge. If we didn't- it would be another hour. And, we knew with all the cars that came over with us that we didn't want to risk getting stranded. You see, the last car barge is around 6:00. I say around because sometimes a barge is down or they change their times. The last barge is supposed to be at 7:00 but it hasn't ran in sometime. USUALLY there is a 6:30. But, not always. With the load we have I don't want to get stuck. You see, if we miss that car barge we have two options-one is to spend the night in St. Thomas (and it being high season the hotel costs will be $$$$- that is if there is an open hotel room!). The other option is to leave the car in St. Thomas, take the people ferry over to St. John and then hitch a ride across the island, take a bus or hope for a taxi. With the island being out of gas I doubt if the bus is running or if a taxi would take us. So..the lesson is :Don't miss the barge!!!"

As we were heading across our little island we noticed a haze and our windshield began to get spotted. Yep- Montserrat blew again. So to finish the day we have a coating of volcanic ash on the windshield!

http://www.montserratvolcanoobservatory.info/

After a long and tiring day we make it home. As we pull into the road leading to our neighborhood we spy an elderly couple waiting by the side of the road. We recognize them as neighbors. We ask if they are okay and they announce- with big grins- that the island is out of gas and they are waiting for friends to pick them up. They are car pooling to a local bar/restaurant. They seem to love the adventure. I, on the other hand, just want to go home and have a nice cold beer. I have had enough adventure for the day.

So, next time you envy me remember that paradise isn't always easy. But, it is warm and the ocean is so soothing.

Until next time...

It's Been Awhile.

2010-02-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I last posted- and lots has happened. Where do I begin?

Last I reported we were on our way to Iowa for Blake's cataract surgery. I am happy to report that it went smoothly and Blake is happy to see again! Before the surgery, all I heard was "Wow! You can see that? Boy, I can't!" Now it is "Wow! I can REALLY see that!" It has made a big difference!

We also survived all the snow and cold Iowa had to offer. It was wonderful to see family and friends and I even loved the snow - a little. If it could just stay off the roads!! Those icy roads get me nervous. I need to send out a few big thank yous- first to Judd and Stevie for putting us up and putting up with us. We loved staying at their new place and had a wonderful time with them. Blake is still crowing about winning Risk! Also- thank you to my sister Candy. She is always there for me and my family.

Blake headed back a couple days before me to begin his new job. He is managing a grant project for Coral Bay. The project entails trying to keep storm water run off from destroying the bay. The island has had a real building boom and that has meant many roads being cut into the land. When the storms hit- that dirt just runs off into the bay. Blake has been enjoying discovering the out-0f-the-way places in Coral Bay. He has driven on road that would scare the be-jesus out of me! He has hiked ghuts that bring the water down. I hear more about storm water run off than I would like:) He loves being busy and being part of a cause:)

I came back on New Year's Eve- after spending a day with my great-nephew who had to have emergency surgery. Fortunately he is fine and back on the hockey ice. But it was a long and nerve wracking day! This was my second New Year's Eve on the island and in our new house. Blake and I did go to the neighborhood party and enjoyed time with our new community. Last year I had a neighbor apologize to me because her policy was to not make friends with new-comers until they had been here a full year. She was tired of getting to know someone and then have them leave. This seems to be a typical island attitude. Now that people know we are actually staying- they are so much friendlier and open to friendships. I don't really blame them- so many people come and go or are just here part time. Us full timers are rare. Our neighbors who had the New Year's Eve party have been an exception. They have reached out often. Blake gave them some tomato plants he had started and Jane's green thumb has turned them into tomatoes any Iowa farmer would be proud of! Our tomatoes are still pretty sad looking. I am hoping Jane will share:)

On New Year's Day Blake and I were able to pick up Blake's Christmas present. Before leaving, I had a parent at my school alert me to a new little beagle being dropped off at the animal shelter. I went down and checked it out and fell in love. Her name was originally "Hailey" but Blake had texted me wrong and accidentally called her "Bailey." That name was much more appropriate because she can certainly "bay" at the moon! Here is a picture of our new addition:
Bailey Parker

She has been a delight! She does love to escape every now and then but fortunately no one in the neighborhood minds. This island is very dog friendly!

I headed back to school on January 11th- we have an extra long break because the islands celebrate Three Kings Day. We love our holidays down here! The big news was that our Headmaster resigned over the holiday break. I will avoid commenting but let's just say I am not crying. So- the school is in need of a new head of school. Any takers??? Mr. Harbaugh- I see a wonderful future down here for you!! The school is in a whirl wind of change. Lots of support and people who are trying to help the school and its direction. This past week a board member (who also had been a graduate of Iowa State ) invited many members of the ISU Horticulture Department to come for a visit to help set up a horticulture class for the school The idea is to help both the students of our island learn about gardening/farming/landscaping as well as give the ISU students a chance to learn about something other than Iowa soil! It was fun meeting with these folks from home! It is a small world.

But- I have save the biggest and best news for last. It has been a HUGE weekend for my kids. Abbie and Brennan moved back to Iowa. Abbie was hired to be the program specialist at the 4H camp in Madrid, Iowa. This has been a dream of hers. She worked there in college and has always wanted this position. She interviewed in early January and was on pins and needles for two weeks. They finally told her she had the position but could not say anything to anyone until the paper work was complete. It was hard keeping it quiet! Especially when you need to make arrangements to move! Yesterday, Brennan and Abbie loaded up a u-haul truck and headed to Iowa. They will be living at a house provided at the camp. As we speak, they are busy unloading and moving in. I wish I were there to help! Abbie is excited to start and Brennan is ready to begin his next life chapter.

And finally, I got a call just a couple of hours ago from Judd and Stevie. They announced their engagement. We couldn't be happier! Welcome to the family:)
Here is a picture of the beautiful ring:

Until Next time.....

Happy Holidays- Winter Here I Come!

2009-12-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

The weather is beautiful. It is a lovely 80 degrees with the Christmas winds blowing. But this time next week I will be in Iowa- I don't think the weather will be the same, do you? Thankfully, I missed last weeks blizzard. I will be glad to see a white Christmas but ...please, NO MORE SNOW (until Christmas Day that is). It may be colder but I know my heart will be kept toasty warm with all the hugs from family and friends. I can't wait to see everyone! Hope my sister has extra clothes for me to borrow!

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Last Friday I took my class on a treasure hunting field trip at a local beach. We learned to use a compass, follow a map and have just some fun in the sun. Here are a couple of pictures:

Needless to say - field trips on the island are a BLAST!

This week we chased the gingerbread boy around the school and finally found him- along with several of his friends to decorate. Another good time!

Another big event this week was the MAD HOT BALLROOM DANCING competition. The 5th graders at the schools on the island have been learning the waltz, foxtrot, swing, merengue, tango, etc. Watching these young kids dance in front of a cheering crowd was amazing. I wish I could dance like that! Unfortunately our school came in 3rd (out of 3) but we won the school spirit award (a school pizza party!).

Last week I also decided it was time to decorate a Christmas tree. Of course, we don't have one. But, Blake brought in a potted soursop tree to do the honors. Here is the picture of our island Christmas tree:

Well that was the week that was. Full of holiday excitement. We also had some great snorkeling days- saw a family of 6 Queen Angel Fish, a good sized nurse shark laying in the rocks and a school of about 100 blue tang. Today I hope to go visit the turtles at Francis Bay and wish them a Happy Holidays.
Iowa ...here I come!

Happy Tanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

2009-12-02T22:25:00.001-08:00

Had a wonderful Tanksgiving and gearing up for Christmas. Yes, I did say Tanksgiving. Down here the "th" sound is almost not heard of. It is a challenge to get my students to use a "th" in their reading and writing. Instead of "That thing" it will be "dat ting."
But back to Tanksgiving. Abbie came for the holidays. She was supposed to arrive on the Monday before but ended up stuck in Miami for the night. Not a great way to start a quick holiday vacation. The good news was that Blake was able to go get her on the car barge the next day and this meant he could pick up a turkey too! I am sure we could have gotten one on our little island but it would have cost a lot more than getting one in St. Thomas. We had other options than doing our own turkey- we could have gone to Skinny Legs for Thankspigging. They roast a pig instead of a turkey.
Our time with Abbie was mostly spent on the beach. Just snorkeling, relaxing and reading. It was wonderful to just hang out with her. We went to take her back on the Sunday after Thanksgiving but she just wouldn't go! The planes were overbooked (naturally) and she was to be on standby for her last leg from Chicago to Madison. When they offered $400 to stay an extra day she jumped at the opportunity. Guess this made up for the lost day at the beginning of the trip.
Airline travel is always a problem this time of the year. Blake and I are heading back to Iowa for Christmas. Blake is leaving earlier because he is having cataract surgery. We had intended to do it down here but we were troubled by the business practices of the ophthalmologist office. Let's just say we know how he is making money:) Blake will have one eye done on the 17th and then next on the 21st. I am fortunate that my school is pretty easy going about taking time off. I will be able to be there for the surgeries- leaving a couple days after he does. Besides being glad to have Blake see again it will be great to spend time with family. Let's hope the airlines and weather are cooperative!
Speaking of Christmas- I did drag out my one box of holiday ornaments, etc. It just seemed a bit weird to be putting them up - plus, no tree!. Abbie laughed at what I brought down here. It is mostly things that the kids made through the years. Needless to say they are a bit primitive - but full of warm memories. Blake dragged in a little potted lime tree to serve as our Christmas tree. I plan on decorating it this weekend - it won't be exactly the same but life is full of changes and if you don't embrace them you will drive yourself crazy! So, instead of the smell of pine I will enjoy the aroma of limes. Instead of starting a fire in the fireplace and listening to classic Christmas songs I will listen to those same songs while sunning myself on the beach. And whether I am in Iowa of St. John, I still am fortunate to see the excitement of Christmas in the eyes of my students. They are excited about Santa! My little Arthur explained to me today that Santa goes down chimneys "up north" but here he just walks in the door. I told him that maybe he came on his surf board and Arthur announced "just like a tourist!" Even Santa needs a holiday:)

MORE RAIN!

2009-11-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

The sky to the south was a bright red this morning. The clouds quickly turned black and the rain began to pour. When I arrived at school at 7:30 there wasn't a soul. Around 8:00 people started to straggle in. I had only one student for the first 20 min. of school. Pretty soon a few more braved the elements. My associate commented that she had never seen it so black so early in the morning. You see, most of the time when it rains here, the sun is also shining:) By 9:00 I had 6 of my 11 students. I was very surprised to see my little guy named Tristan show up. You see, he lives on a sail boat and has to dinghy in. I was sure they would stay home! Around 10:00 the Governor of the islands announced that everyone should go home. Schools would be closed, government offices shut down. I know this may sound absurd to you but the island just doesn't know what to do when it rains. God forbid it would ever snow! There are some real dangers though- mud and rock slides as well as curvy roads can make driving a challenge. I headed home around 12:30 and there were few cars on the road. I did see a family of pigs having a grand old time rolling in the mud! There was a HUGE mama sow and about 7 or 8 little ones enjoying the rain. The radio announced that everyone should just go home. There is talk of a curfew. The rain is expected to continue into the night and folks are worried about flooding. They also warned people that it would be rather chilly tonight- low may even hit 70. I had to chuckle as I listened to the song that followed this announcement - Winter Wonderland. Ah, island life.

A Rainy Weekend

2009-11-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

This has been the first weekend where I haven't gone snorkeling since I arrived on island a year and a half ago! Yesterday I worked at school helping to prepare for their big accreditation. The plan was to work until about 2 and then go for a swim on the way home. But, it was a bit rainy and we had some lightening in the distance. Blake and I decided to just head home and get ready to watch the Iowa -Ohio State game. We watched the first half at home on our computer while we waited out a storm that passed through then headed down to Skinny Legs for a burger and the 2nd half of the game. The hamburger was delicious, the game wasn't quite so good.

The plan for today was to do a bit of housework and gardening before heading to the beach. The weather forecast said there was a slight chance of rain. Well, we had another downpour followed by a very gray day. We certainly could have gone snorkeling in the afternoon but we knew the water quality wouldn't be very good after two days of good, hard rains. Instead we opted to explore our little neighborhood. Remember- we you have to go through two switchbacks to get to our place so this stroll was more of a mountain climb! The walk down was easy but the walk back up had us both gasping a bit. We did discover houses we did not know even existed. Some are just shacks. It is amazing what people will construct to live in down here. I feel like we are roughing it without a t.v. and our composting toilet but these folks have no plumbing and use generators when they decide to have electricity. Their houses are very open to the elements - and the critters. I can only imagine what it was like after two days of rain! Earlier in the week we had quite the storm- the lightening on Bordeaux Mountain looked like a strobe light. The thunder rocked our little concrete house. I sure would have hated to have been in one of these non-conforming houses that dot the island!

So what else is new? Not much. We have had a couple of pot lucks this past week that Blake found very disappointing. Just not like a good old Iowa church potluck! Blake has been working on perfecting his Green Papaya Slaw - our standard contribution. He has also been working like crazy on the gardens. He has several tomato and pepper plants as well as eggplant and squash. We also have sweet potatoes ready to go. On Veteran's Day (yes- another holiday off for us!) we went to a mini ag fair and picked up passion fruit plants and some limes that we can use the seeds to start our own citrus crop. It is amazing how fast things grow. Blake stuck some avocado pits into a pot last January and they are already 3 feet tall! Our two banana trees are growing and we should hopefully have bananas in a year. Now that the majority of the house is done it is time to go to work on the landscaping.

Speaking of work- it looks as though Blake now has a job. He has been hired to coordinate a grant that is working on protecting the bay. Not sure what it will all entail but he is glad to have something to keep him busy as well as a paycheck! He has also agreed to be on the board of the school I work for. I think he is going to become very busy quite quickly! With the new schedule we decided to buy another car. This car actually has all of its windows! AND a radio:) The locals call it an "es-cop-ay" but you may know it as a Ford Escape. It is nice to have a second car that is a bit more presentable than the proud Suzuki.

Time to get ready for bed - Blake is in watching Hawkeye basketball thanks to a computer link Brennan sent. The internet has been our lifeline. It lets us keep in touch with friends and family as well as provide entertainment. Thank goodness for Pandora, Hulu, NPR, etc. I can even get Iowa radio stations! As far away as we are - we can still stay connected.
Until next time...

What no longer suprises me...and what still has me in awe!

2009-11-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

I was driving home from school the other day and stopped to wait for the big cow to get out of my way. I suddenly realized that it didn't even phase me. Isn't it typical to have to stop for a cow on the main "highway" in your town?? I started musing about the things that no longer surprise me after a full year of being an islander.

First- animals. I don't even notice the geckos darting about as I go here or there. One even road on my windshield to work a couple of days ago. The pigs, cows and chickens that meander across the road are just inconveniences. The donkeys still give me a chuckle- especially when I see a safari taxi full of tourists who just have to get out to take a picture. These guys know exactly where to stand at what time of day to become photo-ops (and maybe get a little snack). At our house we have the usual- a big iguana, geckos, bugs/spiders, cats, and frogs that roam about the property. Fortunately they stay outside. Once in a while a little critter will get in but our cat Tigger is great at hunting them down. My school is much more open so I get up close and personal with more fauna. I am used to shooing iguanas and chickens off the playground. Every now and then I may have to assist a tarantula to a new home. I did have a huge scorpion in my room last week. I thought it was a plastic one someone had brought for Halloween and I was about to pick it up when it moved. My associate (who has lived here all her life) hates them. She wouldn't go near it. She asked if we had bugs in Iowa. I told her about how my son and daughter have a problem with centipedes in their apartment. That freaked her out. I guess you get used to what you grow up with. I must say that I was taken aback when a goat tried to get into my classroom one day. I quickly got up and shut the door only to hear it ram into the door. One of the kids calmly said "Someone must have lost their goat." Just another day in the island.

Next- the people. I have met some very interesting folks this past year. I have certainly learned to not judge a book by its cover. There are so many people living different lifestyles down here. From well to do to dirt poor. From highly educated to, well, not so much. The thing is- you can't always tell who is who. I think that is why people like it here. They can blend. One thing I am amazed at is the readers. People love their books. Blake and I often check out the "library" at Skinny Legs where people leave books when they are done. I have found several of these informal libraries all around the island. Now, many of the books are a bit moldy and dated and Blake has found that at times the print seems to move but when you want a book to read you can't be picky. I am also amazed at how many people listen to National Public Radio. Maybe it is because it is the only station that we get clearly??

Finally- the life style. I have adjusted to not needing lots of things. Don't get me wrong- it would sure be nice to have lots more stuff, but it can be so hard or inconvenient to get. So, I have learned to need less. It is amazing how much money you can save by not having a place you can just run to to pick this or that up. Blake and I do our big shopping on St. Thomas every 4-6 weeks and in between times we just do with out. Of course, there are those wonderful boxes from home that are such delightful treats! My friend Mandy sent me a HUGE box of candy corn. It seems that the islands had a short supply of Halloween candy this year. Folks went crazy when they saw my box. I think I could have started my own black market ring! My class is sure it is real IOWA candy corn and therefore very special. They nibbled each piece slowly-savoring every bite. I did wonder exactly what must be in candy corn to make it travel so well. Some things I get don't really make the journey. Abbie sent me a bag of peanut m & m's that looked more like a coagulated blob when it arrived. I still ate it - and loved it. We got some Little Debbie oatmeal cookies once that looked like they had been flattened into crepes. But the candy corn- it was in perfect shape. I wonder how Jolly Ranchers travel? Maybe I can start my own study? Any takers?

The bottom line is- I am adjusting. I have acclimated to the geckos, traveling donkeys, head-butting goats, island bums and lack of holiday candy. Even though I have gotten used to all of this- there is still so much that continues to amaze me. I am still in awe of the beauty of the ocean. As I drive home I have a wonderful view of Coral Bay and all the islands dotting the horizon. It is just drop dead gorgeous. The site of a double rainbow after a brief rain still delights me. I am never tired of watching fish, sea turtles and other ocean life while snorkeling. And you should have seen the full moon last night! The list goes on- a Blooming Cereus out for its one night stand; the little bananaquits and hummingbirds flittering about; the sound of tree frogs after a rain....
Until next time.

This time last year...

2009-10-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am listening to the gentle rain and songs of the tree frogs. The weather has been a bit rainy the last few weeks but nothing to really complain about. I actually like the rain. The best part is that I know with each passing rain shower my cistern is a little fuller. You see- all our water comes from the sky. It comes off our roof and is stored in the two huge cisterns that are the base of the house. We use this water for showering, washing and cleaning. We do have a filter on it and could use it for drinking but I feel better buying bottled water for that purpose. So, every time it rains I am reassured that I will have enough water for my next shower! People here are very conscientious about saving water. Back in the states I never thought much about where my water came from and definitely never worried about whether or not I would have it. It was a given. But that is just not true all over the world. Water is a pretty precious resource that too many of us take for granted.

I have learned and experienced a lot this past year. Blake and I celebrated our first full year of island life this month. This time last year we had experienced an earthquake and lived through our first hurricane. Omar wasn't much of a storm and I am hoping that it will be our worst but I am sure that it won't. This has been a quiet year for storms. We have only hit the letter "H" so far. But there is another month of hurricane season left and my principal reminded me that one of the worst storms happened in December. I reminded her that Iowans are used to storms. Snow storms. Electrical storms. Ice storms. Tornadoes. Isn't it funny how we get used to our storms? When I tell my associate about the storms in Iowa she shudders. She wonders why anyone would live there! While a hurricane is scary the thought of so many storms is unbelievable to her!

I have also learned that even though we are a long ways away from Iowa we can stay well connected with "home." Today Blake and I had an "Iowa" day. We watched the Hawkeyes beat Wisconsin in football (thanks to the Internet!) and enjoyed an Iowa dinner. We had the two last Iowa chops from the stash of meat I brought back with me at the end of August. We also had huge potatoes and a lovely apple crisp thanks to my friend Kathy. I love her surprise boxes in the mail. The last one had apples from the apple orchard back home and potatoes from her sister's garden. We may live a long ways away but thanks to the post office and that set of invisible tubes called the Internet- it can be just like back home. Of course, the big difference is- today was 82 degrees and I was able to go snorkel after the game.

Until next time...

The driveway is done!! Well, almost.

2009-09-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

I now have a driveway to go down. And I do mean go down! Blake made the first venture down it yesterday- slid a bit on the yellow plums that had fallen from the tree above but made it! It still needs a few things such as grates for where the water drains and walls along the side so we don't drive over the edge. It will be interesting getting used to it!

Right now Blake is attempting to put up closet shelving. This is our second attempt at completing the project. The first time we went to Home Depot in St. Thomas to get the materials. When we got back we discovered we didn't get enough of the little brackets. So...just had to postpone the installation until we had a reason to go back to St. Thomas. That is one of the challenges to living here- there is no just running back to the store if you forgot something. It is a whole day event. Hopefully we have all the parts now- yeah, right.

School is going well. I am trying to add a video of some of my little cherubs singing - we will see if it works!! Blake is working on creating an office. Bought legal pads yesterday - guess that is the first need of a lawyer.

Hope all is well with you. The weather has been hot but fortunately not too buggy. Although, I did have my first experience with rain flies. It seems that once a year - in the fall- after a big rain- the rain flies come out. They only are out for one or two nights. They swarm toward the light and number in the hundreds. Blake asked our builder what you do about them and his response was - turn off the lights and go to bed. I found out that rain flies are actually termites- this is their mating ritual. They have wings for just this night- they fly out to mate, drop their wings and look for a hole to build a nest. I hope this doesn't mean that we will now have termite nests in the house! Thank goodness it is 90% concrete!

Here is a link to that video - I hope it works!

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=99931ed4bd4c6847d26fcc&skin_id=601&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Summer is over...onto a new school year!

2009-09-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the first day of school for my 12 K/1st Grade students. I bet they are as anxious as I am! But first an update about the summer....

I took my wonderful nephew, Spencer, back to Iowa after his month long stay with us. He was a delight. We made it back just in time for my mom's 85th birthday as well as my birthday (I won't mention MY age!). I spent the first week with my Des Moines family. Judd and Stevie came from Iowa City to take me out for my birthday and presented me with my gift- a new underwater camera! I will post pictures at the end. Abbie and Brennan came for the weekend then took me back with them to Madison for a week. I was then "handed off" to Judd again for a bit then off to visit friends in Dodge. It was so great to see everyone and get caught up on what has happened to them in the past year. I also had a chance to have a long visit with my old college friend Ken. I last saw him right before I got married - 27 years ago! The highlight of my Dodge stay was Joy. I especially loved playing, cuddling, holding (but avoided cleaning up) my friend Mandy's one year old daughter. Her name truly fits her - she is a Joy!

Blake arrived during my 3rd week stateside and we enjoyed time with his folks, took a trip to Madison to see Abbie and Brennan (and Thor and Murphy - we miss the big lugs!) and ended his stay by helping Judd and Stevie move from Iowa City to Des Moines for Judd's new adventure- law school. They have a lovely place and are excited to be fixing things up to make it all their own. My last day stateside was spent painting Judd's "office" a deep red and brown.
The trip was wonderful but I missed Blake and it was a bit weird being handed off from child to child to friend to family. I think my kids were secretly making phone calls where they were insisting it was the next siblings turn to "take mom." Thank goodness for my sister- she always had a bed for me whenever I seemed to be homeless.

Blake's trip back to the islands was smooth and easy. Mine was anything but. First flight canceled; new flight gave me no time between flights to even go to the bathroom!; got into Miami on time but all flights there had been grounded for a couple of hours due to a storm so I sat in the plane waiting for a gate. Fortunately, my flight to St. Thomas was delayed so I made it in - late. Naturally, my bag was the LAST off and the taxi to the ferry got behind the SLOWEST driver but I made it to the ferry in the nick of time- in fact the ferry had started to pull away when they threw my bags on and hoisted me aboard - with the ferry actually moving away from the dock! It was good to be home- it really hit me that I no longer had a home in Iowa, this island was now really my home.

Back on island I felt confident that I would have plenty of time to get my classroom ready. I went in to look around- needless to say I had my work cut out for me. They had taken down a wall so now my room was twice the size. But, the fix-it man had been using my room as his shop and there were projects all about. Plus, it had not been painted yet. So- no worry, just go to the beach!! I was able to try out my new camera! It worked well - except for the problem of those darn little fish not sitting still! I did manage to capture a picture of the nurse shark sleeping in the rocks- it was so nice of him to cooperate and just lie there for me! Another day we saw 18 beautiful angelfish! They were gorgeous- and all sizes. From little tiny ones to ones the size of platters. My favorite are the blue Queen Angel fish. Here are a few pictures:

Nurse Shark School of Blue Tang

Me- diving with the fishies. A ray.

Juvenile Grey Angelfish Queen Angelfish

While patiently -no, impatiently- waiting for the work in my classroom to finish so I could start I was able to admire the projects Blake had worked on while I was away. He built a new desk, hurricane shutters and lots of boxes. The boxes are storage areas around the deck. Places to stow a vacuum, jugs of water, etc. He also made a door for my pantry! No more canned goods to stare at. The "guys" were also busy with the drive. It is now half way completed. I won't let Blake go down it until it is finished because it is a steep down with no way to turn around. Soon there will be another end where we will drive out. Think of your basic U shape - steep down then steep back up. Should be another adventure- more on that when it is finished. Yes.. the house is not finished but the end looks to be in sight.

Back to my classroom- I finally was able to get into the room last Sunday. This is what it looked like:

My work was cut out for me! Blake was fantastic- he helped with installing my projector for my smart board; laying tile; moving furniture; the list goes on. I had several days of meetings so my time was pretty precious. Because we were combining two rooms there were a lot of things to go through. The kindergarten teacher had been quite a pack rat- and pretty forgetful. My assistant (yes, 12 students AND an assistant) (oh, her name is Lois) uncovered 14 staple removers. We filled almost as many trash bags as well! Much of what I had ordered had been delayed by Tropical Storm Erica- oh, yes, in the midst of all this we had a storm trying to organize itself. There was much worry about whether or not to cancel open house (we did) and whether we need to rearrange our work hours (decision - come in when it stops raining). I found myself a true islander - as I was getting ready to go to work it began pouring so I sat down and had another cup of coffee. Last year I would have just braved the rain- but, as an islander I knew to just sit down and wait it out. Nobody goes out in the rain!

Fortunately -or unfortunately - the shipment arrived at 5 pm Friday night. So- I have spent Labor Day weekend unpacking materials and rearranging the class once again. But it looks awesome! Here is a picture of it now:

Now if I only knew what I was teaching tomorrow? I am sure the excitement of the kids will dictate it all.

This post has gone on long enough...you are probably tired of my tales. SO until next time!

One final thing...September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Please take a look at my friend Peggy's video and this article about her journey.

Neva Div Up! - TwistandShout.net | Entertaiment news for the Fort Dodge area - Twist and Shout

Source: www.twistandshout.net

sept childhood cancer month 0001

Source: www.youtube.com

Love ya Pegs-and I am always thinking of you!

Long Time No Post

2009-07-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

Just realized that it has been almost a month since I last posted. In that time we have had a week long visit from my sister as well as another week with my good friend Jane. At the same time, we have been enjoying my 11 year old great nephew, Spencer. He has been here for a month. What a vacation he has had! He has enjoyed time with the donkeys that hike our road and has helped us remind the two babies to stay out of the road. Spencer has also chased numerous geckos as well as our resident iguana. He tried adopting a gecko- Fred- but after a few days we found Fred stiff and quite dead next to Tigger's litter box. Spencer has had an eyeful of the life on St. John. He has swam with turtles, stingrays, parrot fish and more. He has spotted a nurse shark and just missed an octopus. He has also - much to his dismay- seen thong man and abruptly disturbed a couple who thought they had found their own private piece of paradise. Spencer has become quite adept at diving. He loves being able to dive to the bottom of the ocean to collect shells. He spent quite a bit of time the other day collecting rocks to create a HELLO sign under water. We have played numerous games of UNO, tossed around a foobtall (thanks Jane) and become an expert horse shoe player at Skinny Legs (thanks again, Jane). Today Spencer got to watch his Uncle Blake become a Virgin Island's Lawyer. Blake (finally) was sworn in. It was a very nice ceremony honoring the six new members of the VI bar. Blake is ready to begin being a lawyer again.
On Monday Spencer and I will head back to the states. Blake is staying back to finish things with the house (a never ending process it seems) and to concentrate on lawyering. I will be gone for a month. A long time to be apart. Hopefully, Blake will be able to join me for awhile. I am looking forward to seeing family and friends but going to miss him terribly.
Here are a few scenes from the past month:
A trip to the British VI with Jane
Turtle sculpturing

baby donkey

Thong man

Spencer petting Stingrays at Coral World

Blake becoming a VI lawyer

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T07:21:00.001-07:00

A beautiful morning here on the island. Blake slept in- something he rarely does. He deserves it - after all it is Father's Day. I know he misses the kids on days like today.

I was up at my usual 6 a.m. time. Tried to make myself sleep another hour. But so much to do! I got up and looked around making a mental list of things that needed to get done. My sister and great nephew are arriving on Wednesday. My sister will stay a week and my nephew will be here until July 20th. I will take him back with me when I go back for my month long stay. So, here is my list of things to do:
1. Wash bedding- freshen up the rooms.
2. Sweep and wash floors
3. Organize the kitchen cupboard (We have just been shoving things in there!)
4. Clean bath room
5. Clean out the litter box
6. Finish curriculum work for school
etc. etc. etc. You get the idea. So what did I start with? Well, it felt so nice out on our porch that I ended up curling up with a book and reading for a couple of hours. So much for house work! It will get done...hopefully,

This was an interesting week for us. Blake had an interview with a law firm- no news yet. One of the partners is in a trial and so it will be a couple of weeks. Blake is hopeful.
I got a call from the public school telling me they were ready to give me a contract. It would be for a literacy coach position at the little school on my side of the island. The principal had told me she wanted me for this position when I talked with her in March but that there were some problems to be ironed out first. She was sure I could have one of the 1st or 2nd grade teaching positions but just didn't know when they could give me a real contract. But, now they were ready. When could I sign?? I had pretty much decided to stay with the school I had been with but now was having second thoughts. I went to my current principal and told her of the offer. She wants me to stay. She REALLY wants me to stay. In fact, she has offered me several incentives to stay. There are so many crazy things about employment with the public schools down here. For example, they told me that I needed an affidavit from my former school verifying my years of teaching experience. The way they do it down here is that they start everyone on the base schedule and after they get the verification processed they adjust your pay. This can take a few MONTHS! I couldn't believe what she was saying so I had her explain it to me again. I asked if I got the affidavit to her before signing the contract could they then give me a contract with the correct pay scale on it - her response was: "doubtful." But she assured me they could probably have it squared away by the time I got my first paycheck - which would be in October. I again asked her to repeat herself - I was confused. Why would it take so long to get my first pay check? She said it just takes awhile to get new teachers into the system so even though I would start in August it wouldn't be until the first pay period in October before they had things all worked out. They pay bi-weekly so I basically would not get paid for the first two pay periods. Needless to say, this made me VERY nervous. I know that they have had a history of messing up pay with teachers and now owe some teachers thousands of dollars. I was still struggling with what to do when my current principal called up with more incentives. My pay is slightly higher than what I would get with the public schools and I would have full family health insurance coverage, a stipend for literacy coaching, an all expense paid trip to the International Reading Conference in Chicago in April and a few other bits and pieces. How could I say no now? Guess the school just bought another year of me:)
Other news- we are having a driveway built. The "guys" have been busy digging a trench for the retaining wall. Yes- they have been hand digging it. The drive has me very worried because it is awfully steep. We have had a number of opinions on this driveway idea. Everyone of them different. I am trusting Blake on this one. We will see. The "guys" are also finishing up the little things for the house- such as hurricane shutters. Good idea since June is the start of hurricane season! The goal is to have the house finished by the end of July- with a certificate of occupancy verified! Then- onto landscaping, gardening, etc. The best part of living here is that you can start planting at just about anytime. No waiting for the danger of frost to be over. Of course that also means no excuses for not getting the work done! Which brings me back to my list...better get started on getting the house spiffed up for company!

Overnight Field Trip Ramblings

2009-05-25T13:42:00.001-07:00

Last week my class of 1st graders joined the kindergarten class for an overnight field trip. Yes, they are awfully young. But, it seems that taking a group of nineteen 5-7 yr olds on an overnight camping trip is just not that big of a deal down here. We went to VIERS which is the Virgin Islands Environmental Research Station- (http://www.islands.org/viers/). My first impression when we arrived was "wow! this looks like a typical camp in Iowa!" Well, except for the palm trees, geckos and the hermit crabs scurrying about. Oh, and instead of taking a hike through the woods to a lake you hike to a lovely ocean beach. But ... there were deer (just like in Iowa) and the land was FLAT (just like in Iowa).
The trip started with a shore hike with Ranger Laurel. We gathered sea stars, urchins, whelks, etc. I even got to hold a sea hare and watch it squirt purple ink. Then it was off to the beach for a swim.

Back at the camp the class earned their Junior Park Ranger badges and it was time for dinner, a camp fire and the cooking of s'mores. Once the little darlings were snuggled into bed the parent chaperones all gathered by the campfire. Here we drank wine/beer/rum, ate brie and crab dip and had a wonderful quiet evening. My first reaction was WHAT!!! You can't drink on a school field trip! But... then again....this is a whole other world! There were about as many parents as kids so the trip was more like a bunch of good friends getting together than a school field trip. These families are close. They rely on each other. I enjoyed getting to know them.

The next morning I was awakened (at 5 am) by one of the little girls in my cabin with the need for the bathroom. The next thing I knew, everyone was up and needing to go. SO, we quietly tip-toed out of the cabin only to be greeted by two deer. See, I told you it was just like Iowa!
After breakfast, we had a scavenger hunt, sand castle building and more beach time. Needless to say- we were all tired when we got back to school that afternoon.

Next week... a hike on the Reef Bay Trail followed by a quick swim and a boat ride back to school.

By the way, today I snorkeled with this beauty. It is a Queen Angelfish. It was about the size of a platter. Very colorful!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to sunshine and a cool breeze. Last week we had quite a bit of rain. In fact, it rained so hard on Monday that 3 of my students did not come to school. I find it a bit comical that rain can cause such a panic. It did rain. The streets of Cruz Bay were flooded (for a few hours). It thundered (never saw lightening). We couldn't have outside recess(had to have an inside dance party instead). Blake and his sister didn't go to the beach. But in terms of storms- it was nothing like a good old fashioned Iowa thunderstorm. But don't tell the folks down here- they were sure that it was just too bad of weather to do anything. I was even told to listen to the radio because if it rained like that again they would cancel school for a day. Well, it never rained enough to cancel school but we did have our share of cloudbursts during the week. Fortunately, it didn't mean an end to going to the beach- you just had to go between showers. I love the sound of the rain at night because it is always followed by a chorus of tree frogs. I also love the sound of the rain filling our cistern! If we don't get enough rain we have to buy water and have it trucked to us. So far we have only had to buy one load of water - when we first moved in. This year will be a learning experience in terms of water usage. So - each time it rains, I can't help but be grateful that we don't need to buy water yet.

But today was beautiful. The rain is making things greener. I am beginning to learn about the seasons- dry season/wet season; high season (tourists)/low season(tourists go home). The changes are slight but I am beginning to notice them. For the most part- each day is about the same. Sunrise at 6 sunset at 6; high of 85 low of 75. A 30% chance of rain everyday.

So this morning was spent making Mother's Day calls and catching up with family. This afternoon- a nice long swim at Maho. I never tire of swimming in the ocean and looking at the amazing life. Saw a beautiful angel fish and a school of blue tang. The sea fans waved and the parrot fish munched on the coral. Just too beautiful.

Blake's goal this week is to find employment. He was quite surprised to see his name listed in the local paper (http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17635628) as having passed the bar. He knew he had- but now it is in print so it seems more official. It also means it is time to do something. He is getting a bit antsy. He loves puttering in his garden and doing things for the house but he misses work. Yes, the two of us are just work-a-holics. I don't thing we will ever truly retire. I hope he is able to find something that satisfies his need to work but doesn't mean he is back to high stress and long hours. Wish him luck.

Speaking of Blake's garden- he is faced with a new challenge. How to keep the big old iguana from eating his plants! When I say iguana- I don't mean those cute little geckos like in the t.v. commercial (and the ones that our cat Tigger proudly hunts down if they happen to get in the house). This iguana is HUGE. It climbs up in a tree and eyes the garden- just waiting for us to leave. Blake is wishing he had a pellet gun! We have some gorgeous tomato and bean plants growing- but no tomatoes or beans! Just beautiful, green plants! We are enjoying lettuce and "greens" as well as basil and chives. The papaya tree is full of papayas so now I need to learn what to do with them. The banana tree is growing but it will be another year before we see fruit. Things do grow quickly down here. Blake started spinach just a bit ago and it won't be long before it is ready. That is, if the iguana doesn't get it first.

Such is life on the islands....until next time.

Settling In

2009-04-27T16:57:00.001-07:00

I guess I must be settling into island life because I don't have much to report. My life is kept busy with work and trips to the beach. The weather has been wonderful and the ocean warm. Yesterday I was able to go sailing with a neighbor. It was delightful to soar through the water and have the cool ocean breeze offset the hot sun.
Blake's sister is here visiting us so we have been busy sharing the island with her. She has been a wonderful help as well. She has worked on getting paint splatters off the tile, made us a delicious meal and (best of all) got the hammock arranged on our porch. I initiated it with a little nap after work today:)
The best news of the past week is that Blake got his bar exam results - and (drum roll please) HE PASSED! He was very relieved and quite surprised. I had confidence in him but I also know how tricky these things are. He really studied for it and I am glad it paid off. He won't be officially sworn in for a while so in the mean time he is looking at all his possibilities.
That's all for now...I will try and have more exciting news for you next time.

What I Did Over Spring Break

2009-03-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I head back to school after a 10 day break. I had a whole list of things to do- and, of course, only finished about half.
The first thing on my list was to paint. Our house is pretty much one color- white. Sylvester (our contractor) got tired of my indecisiveness so he picked the color. There is a mint green band around the roof on the exterior and some cobalt blue tile accents in the kitchen but, other than that, the house is white. So, I felt we should add a little color. My first task was the stairs down to the house. I painted the banister the same mint green as was on the house. And then the rungs are - white. Okay, so I don't have a whole lot of imagination! My next chore was our hurricane doors. There are 3 big sets or barn door style doors that can close off the house from the porch in case of a hurricane. I got very ambitious- I was going to paint them 3 colors! The back panel is yellow, the cross boards that same mint green but...my touch of excitement...I wanted to paint the trim a deep green. This project took me 3 days!!! I must say ... it looks very amateurish! I think I will have to get people completely drunk before I let them see the doors. It sounded like such a good idea! From now on I am going to stick with white. Sylvester was right. You can't go wrong with white. Blake did use the leftover yellow to paint the bathroom. So- there is our splash of color!
My other to do list item was to look for furniture for the living room. Looked, didn't buy. Either too pricey, not what I wanted or ... We can live with out for a while longer:(
My final to do list was to organize - my classroom as well as our bedroom. Well, I did buy a file cabinet. Haven't put anything in it yet!
So far, my list is in pretty sorry shape. But... on the positive side:

I read 3 books
I enjoyed the beach and the fishies almost every day!
I slept in - until 7:30. Can't help it, I am a morning person.

Blake accomplished more- he started his garden and made dirt. He has several tomato plants going, avocados growing like crazy, a mango tree that he is babying and a squash that may have a squash! We have had lettuce and fresh basil from our planters that line the inside of the porch but the birds got the two little tomatoes that were trying to ripen. On our to get list is netting- the birds are terrible thieves!
Here are some pictures of things - but, it was mostly a quiet week. Oh, there was some drama but I am just going to save that for another time.
Until later...
Fresh basil for pesto! lettuce!

Blake making dirt! And my doors- no comment.

Spring Break!

2009-03-21T05:48:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day of our school's spring break. I don't go back until April 1st! We had thought about a trip back to the states but decided we had too much to do here and thought we would save for another time. Besides- Iowa in March or the Virgin Islands???

Last week Abbie was here for her birthday. It was a short but wonderful time. She is such a confident and delightful young lady. I am very proud of her. I miss her terribly but it is so much fun to hear her talk about her life and her goals. She is ready to soar. And, I know she will be coming down as often as she can! While she was here we mostly lazed around on beaches and read. We celebrated her 25th birthday a day early because our school's auction was the night of her actual birthday. She was a real sport helping us out- and she looked drop dead gorgeous! While here she fed the donkeys that roam our road and we were lucky enough to see a spotted ray and several turtles when snorkeling. I kept wishing she could stay just one more day but the day she left it just poured rain!! I guess it was a sign that she needed to go back to her life.

So, now we are back to just the two of us. Blake is busy creating gardens. We have lined our screened in porch with planters and have been enjoying fresh basil and chives. The lettuce has taken off so I see salads in the very near future. Our new neighbors left us a variety of plants- aloe, orchids, etc. They live in the makeshift house to our right that is totally off the grid. Our neighborhood is quite interesting. On two sides of us we have gorgeous houses that have beautiful ocean views and all the amenities you would expect of a multi-million dollar island home. Then, on our right, is a little homemade structure that I am sure doesn't meet any building code anywhere! For the past few years "Pirate Bill" has been living in the "house." We have heard stories from the neighbors but he has been very nice to us. Except for his old man coughing spells in the morning, he keeps pretty much to himself. Here is a picture of him - can you guess which one is him?

Now Bill has roommates- Max and T-Bird. I have not met them but Blake has become good friends with Max. He has been sharing plants and gardening tips with Blake. T-Bird is a local singer. She is described as a cross between Etta James and Bonnie Raitt. I have yet to hear her sing. I am sure we will be hearing more from them.

This week I plan on getting a lot done! The electrician is almost finished so the ladders may be able to leave my living room now. Of course- we still do not have actual living room furniture yet but maybe soon. I am hoping to get the inside of our house in order and I want to get our outside cleaned up as well. At the end of the week I am meeting with the Public Schools about a job as a literacy coach. I am very torn as to what to do when it comes to a job for next year. I am flattered to be "wanted" and so now it is a question of pay and getting me the actual contract. Blake has been busy with landscaping (he now knows why the rock around here is called blue bitch rock). He has also been working with the head of the Coral Bay Community something-or-other as they have been working on getting grants to deal with keeping this side of the island from becoming eroded away into the bay. Blake is redy to work- now that the bar exam is behind him he is eager to find his niche on the island. I am confident that he will find some sort of community activism to throw his energy into. I just don't see him being a lazy bum on the beach. I, on the other hand, hope to spend several afternoons reading, snorkeling and just plain enjoying the island!
Time to go get some of those "work" items checked off my Spring Break list so I can enjoy a good dose of beach time!
Until next time...

Brrr!!

2009-03-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? It is only 78 degrees today! It is supposed to get down to 62!! I will have to get out a sweatshirt. There is a northern swell so the waves are high and my class was excited about surfing. Last week we started our new unit on weather. Let me tell you that teaching weather to a bunch of island kids is very challenging! We were creating a word web of weather terms and we ended up teaching each other a lot of new words. One little girl had no idea of what a blizzard was. Another asked me if it was really true that you could freeze your nose off. It is hard explaining to them what cold really is when 62 degrees is the coldest day they have had in years! I am learning new terms as well - swells, squalls, tidal surges, etc. They are enjoying teaching me as much as I am them.
Speaking of school, I have a new toy in my classroom. It is a huge interactive white board (or smart board). It is so cool!!! The class thought it was so neat to have a big screen, movie theater screen in the classroom. When they discovered that they could write on it and play a whole host of games they were goner's. It is amazing to see the students so engaged. Those kids who would lay on the ground at the back of the pack or completely on task. I tutor a young man a couple of times a week who has some needs (I think he is a classic case of high level autism but we don't say that out loud for some reason) - he loves the board. I can get him to read, work, pay attention, etc. now. I am still learning how to use it. I have a lot of resources on line but I am still looking for more. When we were studying maps we went onto google earth and zeroed in on our island and school - then we traveled to Iowa and zoomed in on "Ms. Terri's old school." I have scanned in worksheets that we do as a whole class instead of wasting paper and time doing it the old fashioned way. I have watched as kids are able to become completely absorbed into practicing spelling words on a huge screen wielding the "pen" to write and erase and edit with ease. I hope that this isn't just a novelty stage and that the board will quickly disappear from favor. I also wonder about how technology will shape the future of learners. Will we still curl up with under the covers reading a good book or will we instead opt for a thousand titles on our Kindle that can read it to us? Blake is becoming used to reading the newspaper online. He still misses the ability to take it in with him to the bathroom to read while he, um, takes care of business but I have no doubts that technology will respond to that need soon. I know that technology has made this move so much easier. I can communicate with family and friends easily. I can keep up with what is going on in the world with a press of a button. I can still watch my favorite tv shows - all be it a day later - without having cable or even a tv! Thank you Internet God on High.
Other news- Blake is finally done with all the bar exam tests. Yesterday was a 2 hour ethics test. He was laughing because one of the other test takers gave him his business card. This guy has been practicing law for awhile now in the islands. When he was with the public defenders office he really didn't need a license. He told Blake that he wasn't worried about passing the bar because that was just a formality. Blake still thinks having a license to practice law is somewhat improtant- he is pretty sure it was one of the questions on the ethics test:)
Abbie comes on Wednesday and will be here a short time. I can't wait to share some beach time and girl talk with her.
As for today- we are cleaning and trying to get the house/yard to be more like a home. We have planted window boxes with herbs, lettuce, etc. We have two avocado plants growing like crazy- all from the pits of avocado we enjoyed for a lunch at one time. Blake has a gorgeous squash plant that gives the most beautiful blooms but bears no fruit. The tomato plant has two sad looking tomatoes attempting to mature. The guys who worked on our place have brought us a banana to add to the papaya trees. They have also shown us where the lime and mango trees are hiding. We still have much to do. We have a lot of construction stuff to get rid of. I keep telling myself it just takes time. I can get pretty impatient. This move has taught me a lot about myself. Everyday I wonder if this was the right move- and each day I have the same answer: who the hell knows! I know that I am stretching myself as a person, learning a host of new things and much more reflective about what really matters in the world. I know I would not have discovered these things had I continued my safe and predictable existence. So -to all of you reading this- take some chances in life! You might be surprised what you will learn:)

A looonnngggg week!

2009-03-01T09:17:00.000-08:00

Blake safely arrived last Saturday. He was on the last plane in and so the last ferry to St. John. There are two basic ways to get to St. John from St. Thomas. One is by car on the "car barge." This barge runs from 6 am to 6 pm. It costs about $50 for a round trip ticket but is well worth it if there is more than one of you and you are picking up supplies. The cost of food, etc. is much cheaper on St. Thomas so we try and get over there every few weeks to stock up. But, if you miss that 6 pm ferry you are screwed! The other way is on the people ferry. It goes about every hour until midnight. Again- if you miss that last ferry, you are spending the night and waiting until morn. Fortunately, Blake made the midnight ferry. Unfortunately, I had to stay awake to go get him! It takes about 10-15 min. by people ferry to go from St. Thomas to St. John and it takes about that same amount of time for me to drive from our house to the ferry dock.
This might have been my late night out but it was just the start of many early mornings for me this week. This was the week for the bar exam. Blake needed to be at the University on St. Thomas by 8 am. Not wanting to be late- he wanted to make sure he gave himself plenty of time. That meant he wanted to be on the 6 am ferry. We have only one car so that also meant I was at school VERY EARLY! It is amazing how much you can get done when you get up early:) Mr. Sutton (our groundskeeper) told me I worked too hard and told my principal that I was going to get wore out if I kept up these hours. The first day of the bar exam I was at school from 5:45 am to 6:45 pm. Loooooonnnnnggggg day! Hopefully it will be worth it when Blake passes the exam. I am confident- he is not. He said he was pretty sure he did okay on half the test and not so well on the other half. He said that the Virgin Island part was interesting. Everyone taking the test agreed that it was not what they expected. It must have had questions similar to the drivers license test. One of the questions to get your driver's license is "How long can two cars stop to talk in the road?" A. 1 minute B. 5 minutes C. 10 minutes or D. Awhile. The answer is: D. Awhile. Yes, life down here is different!
It will take about 10 weeks before Blake knows anything. Until then, he is looking at other possibilities for work. He may even get to use his Masters of Library Science degree. There is lots to finish up around the house so that will keep him busy as well.
This morning we sat down to get all our tax stuff together. Every year we go through the same agonizing hell of trying to figure out where we put this or that. You would think we would learn! This year is a bit worse because we are missing several things. We are pretty sure that some of the stuff is in one of the 3 boxes that never seemed to make it down here. They left Iowa about Oct. 1st and they have never been seen again. Before leaving, I had trained Blake on my moving strategy. I had numbered all the boxes and kept a list of what box had what in it. Blake did the same but he thinks he may have put the list inside one of the boxes. Yep, probably in one of the boxes that didn't make it. We have been trying to deal with the postal service on it but we have been getting a bit of a run around. The person we need to talk to is never in or we need to call this number or..... you get the idea. We did insure our boxes but we have found that doesn't mean much. One of the boxes had several broken items. We took it in only to be told that we hadn't packed it well enough so it was our fault. Blake asked them why buy insurance if you are never going to accept a claim? The guy said he had no idea why anyone would spend the extra money for insurance. Live and learn. So, after a very grumpy morning of tax work- Blake and I headed into our separate corners to sulk and secretly blame each other. I finally put on some loud music and suggested we do rock -paper -scissors for who would get to do a Martha Stewart stint in tax jail. Hey- maybe we could get a job with the government? Seems like those guys owe big time on their taxes!
Other news- Abbie is heading down for her 25th birthday. I can't believe she is that old already! I can't wait to share some beach time with her. I have also volunteered her to help with our school's big fund raising auction. You can check out items at their web site if you feel a need to bid:)
http://www.pinepeaceauction.com/
As for the boys- Brennan is temporarily living with Judd as he figures out what he wants to do in life and Judd just announced that he has been accepted into law school at Drake. Big decisions and moves for both boys.
The rest of our family is well and we miss them and wish they would come down for a visit. We love sharing our little island with folks. So, if you are looking for a get-away- give me a call!
Until next week...

Sometimes you need to dance.

2009-02-19T15:01:00.000-08:00

This has been a very stressful week. Blake went back to the states to help our youngest figure out what he wanted to do in life. It is a long and emotional story - I wish there was a handbook of how to help your adult children. It was much easier when they were little and you got to make the big decisions. I just want to fix all problems and make things perfect- and I can't. Maybe more importantly I shouldn't. Some things in life you have to do for yourself. I just hope all our children know how much we love and care and that we are there for them in the best way we can. Lots of tears and worries this week. This morning I had to drag myself out of bed to go to work. I told myself I had to put on my happy teacher face even though I was aching inside. It isn't fair to the kids in my class to have a basket case for a teacher. And, today was a field trip day. The whole school was going to Annaberg for the Folk Life Festival
http://www.onepaper.com/stjohnvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=1223615047
I knew it would be a crazy day. This was to be my 4th field trip with my class and each one had a glitch. Nothing major- lost lunches, sick kid, rain... so I was holding my breath about today. I had no idea of what to expect. The sky was cloudy, the wind blustery and I knew the kids would be wild!! Well, this trip proved to be another one of those crazy field trips that could put you over the edge. The safari taxis arrived on island time - an hour late. The lunches that were to be provided for us were coming from St. Thomas and had missed the barge- they had no idea when they were to come. The sky threatened rain. And- this was the first day of the festival and so it was a bit disorganized - to put it mildly. After about 20 min. at the festival I decided I was tired of waiting around to be given some direction for what to do so I just took my class and we went exploring. We had a blast. We danced. We sang. We watched broom making, ate sugar cane, and then we danced some more. The highlight was the mocko jumbies. The lunches finally arrived from St. Thomas around 1:30 and the clouds never let loose. At the end of the day we were exhausted. As I drove home from school today I was reflecting on the day. There was every reason for this trip to be a disaster. Things were happening that were so out of my control. I could have sat and complained and waited for someone to fix things or I could just accept it and do the best I could and find some joy. Hmmm. Maybe a bit of a metaphor for life. Especially after this week. I was lucky today. I was surrounded by 6year olds who reminded me how good it can feel to dance and be goofy. To learn, laugh and live. Here are some pictures from the day- I hope you will be able to see these ones!! I know some of you had problems last time. But don't worry mon!! Just go dancing!

Dancing away!

Watching the dancers from St. Croix. They also taught us some Dutch Creoole words like bamboshay - which is to dance lively. And my favorite mumu- a person who is just being stupid!

This man was demonstrating palm leaf broom making. Notice that he is wearing a down winter jacket. He was complaing about how cold it was because it was so blustery!

Getting Some sugar cane!

Yum! This little girl gave me a piece to try and I quickly ate it. She then looked at me with big eyes and said "you didn't swallow it did you? You are supposed to suck on it and then spit it out. Oh, Ms. Terri- you are going to have one stomach ache tonight!" I felt like a "mumu"

And the highlight- the mocko jumbies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moko_jumbies

And here is the view I got to look at when I wasn't dancing!

WIldlife experiences on my little island

2009-02-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

I had several people email me to ask about the spotted ray and turtle sighting I mentioned last week. Well, yes, it is pretty easy to see turtles. The spotted rays are not as common but I have seen them on several different occasions. We see lots of other rays, though. The undersea life is pretty amazing here. I do love snorkeling. Each time we go I see something just a bit different. I am sure it was always there but now that I have more experience, my eyes are seeing more and more. When our friends from Vermont were here, one of their daughters spied a small octopus ambling along the bottom. It is so much fun to see the incredible world under the sea! I feel a bit like the Little Mermaid!
But it isn't just underwater that I get to have close encounters with some very interesting wildlife! On my way to work each morning I am greeted by a family of donkeys. They tend to munch their way along our road heading to the "highway" where they become photo ops. for all the tourists. Blake and I get a kick at the cars and safari taxis that make sudden stops in front of us so someone can get out to take a picture of the donkeys. We smile at each other and silently remember that was us not too long ago! Besides the donkeys on the way to work, I often have to dodge the goats, pigs, and cows that appear in the road. To get to my school you have to go by the island dump. Often I will see a mamma sow and her piglets or a bunch of goats being chased out of the dump. There also happens to be a very large cow that I have to look out for!
At the beginning of the year I frequently had to chase a pesky rooster out of my classroom. But, the roosters haven't been bothering us much lately. However, my class has become enchanted with the hen and her baby chicks that now parade through the schoolyard. I have had some interesting encounters while at recess- I have had to help the kids relocate a tarantula from the playground equipment box to the nearby woods; solve an argument between two students as to whether the dead bug they found was or was not a scorpion (it was); marvel at the bananaquits (little yellow birds) that were feasting on spilled juice; and I have spoke these words that I never thought I would say as a teacher "leave the iguana alone!" I have become very used to the little geckos that scurry up the steps in front of me as I climb to and from my house. I have tried to befriended the millions of cats that wander about and they no longer wake me with their fighting in the middle of the night. I have fallen in love with the lullabye of the tree frogs after a brief rain at night and am fascinated with the fishing skills of the pelicans at the beach. I have seen the white tailed deer that hide in the National Park, spied the mongoose (or is it mongeese?) that scurry across the road and today saw a little rat sitting in the middle of the street. He was quite cute but I told Blake he had my permission to run over him. Now- to all of you nervous Nellies- I have seen all these things OUTSIDE not inside the house. Yes, I have had to dispose of some bugs. But I never see them alive- just dead. Yes, we did have an issue with some sugar ants, but that was solved with some nifty little ant traps. Haven't seen them since. Our cat, Tigger, even caught the one brave gecko that made it inside.
SO, instead of bunnies and squirrels I have geckos and the mongoose.
Instead of centipedes I have gungalos (millipedes- the kids say that if they pee in your eye you will go blind- I never get that close).
Instead of puppies and kitties I see cows, goats, donkeys and feral cats!
And best of all - there is the beauty and life under the sea.
Come on down- I would be happy to show you it all!

PICTURES!

2009-02-01T06:03:00.000-08:00

Okay- what you have all been waiting for- PICTURES! Here are some pictures of the house that Judd took while he was here. The one on the left is the view I see each morning and on the right is a picture of the house from the road below.

Here is a picture of the steps to get down to the house. There are 30 in all. I am getting my daily exercise here! Hopefully, there will be less once we have a drive!

Here is a picture of the kitchen area.

Here is a view of the porch area looking into the living room area (that has no furniture yet!)

And here we are sitting on the porch!

And this is the view of Coral Bay from the top of the mountain I drive over to get to work each day.

I don't have pics of the bedrooms or bathroom - but they are just what you imagine. It is hard to take pics of the house because you just can't back up enough to get it all in! It is pretty small but very efficient. The size of house is just right- I am enjoying having less to clean. Blake is attempting to start our garden- we have a squash plant and tomatoes right now. He planted basil yesterday and has it growing inside on our window ledge. Our builders have shown Blake the mango and lime trees and brought us a banana tree. Should have bananas in about 18 months! Things do grow fast down here.

This week has been busy and so much fun. Our friends the Rosmus family from Vermont were here. They stayed at cabins in Cinnamon Bay and treated us to some wonderful meals! My principal told me to take a day off to go play and so on Thursday Blake and I went with them snorkeling. We shared with them one of our favorite spots and it didn't dissapoint. The snorkeling was amazing as usual. It was so much fun sharing the island with them! They left us quite an assortment of food, a couple of beach chairs and a blender!! It was very much appreciated. They also left behind all the fixings for pina coladas and so last night Blake and I christened the new blender with some delicious beverages:)

Blake is busy studying for the bar. He is nervous but I also thing a bit excited. I did manage to drag him away for awhile yesterday afternoon for our daily swim. We went to a beach we hadn't been to for awhile. I swam with the turtles, saw a beautiful spotted ray and just enjoyed the ocean water. I do live in an amazing place. I am in awe by the beauty I am privileged to see each and every day. Life here isn't easy but it is spectacular! Here are a couple pictures of the ray and turtle I followed around yesterday.
Until next time.

Quiet Day on the Island

2009-01-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

I thought I better update before I got another email wondering if I was going off the deep end. Yes, my last post was a bit gloomy. Sorry about that. It was just a bit of seasonal blues I guess.
I also apologize for not having pictures yet. Judd has promised to take some for me before he leaves on Wednesday and then I will post plenty- I promise.
Update on the house: seems that our work crew has taken an extra long holiday break. The electrician shows up on occasion to do a little here and there. We still do not have our ceiling fans or our outdoor lights installed. I am not worried- I like Marsha the Electrician. She is a hoot. And, I know she will get it done. Just on island time:)
The plumber has finished so we have water. He has nothing to do with the composting toilet. That is Blake's job. I am getting used to it but we are waiting on a very important part- a fan. It will help to blow the stink up through the roof rather than permeate through the house. Generally speaking - you don't smell it. But once in awhile.... Did I mention what a good sport I am?
The construction crew is busy building their next house. We see them when they need something that they forgot here. They promise to show "soon." Fortunately they have only little jobs but they need to be done before we can get to the next step. Our next big project is the driveway. Blake has been spending a lot of time discussing it. He loves these projects and trying to figure things out. It will all happen - it just takes a long time to get things done around here,
So, I sit and wait.
Our big challenge has been storage. We have plenty of it but it just hasn't been usable yet. Judd and Brennan were great helps making closets and shelves. I have unpacked almost all the boxes. It is beginning to become a home and not just a house.
So - we are taking things sort of easy. So much is just out of our control so we have to go with the flow. Brennan is back in South Dakota- late. His car was not fixed on time so he wasn't able to get back until this past Saturday. Hopefully he has school things in control. If not, he may be back here for a semester! Judd and Stevie are here until Wednesday. Yesterday we slept in late, had a big breakfast and then headed to the beach for the day. It was beautiful. Each night we play a competitive game of Gin and enjoy the screened in deck. Blake and I sent them off to the beach today for some alone time. They will head back on Wednesday. We have good friends coming on Friday so we are not lacking for company! I am trying to make arrangements for Abbie to come over her birthday in March. Anyone else want to head down? The weather is gorgeous, the water refreshing and the beaches are beautiful! We would love to have the company!
I do not have school today because of MLK and the public school decided at the last minute to cancel school for tomorrow. The folks down here are excited about the inauguration. In fact- lots of places are shutting down! The mall in St. Thomas is setting up a big screeen to show it. Our school is working to have the ceremony shown in the classrooms. I don't think I can recall a time in my life when people were so excited. I hope it is the sign of good things to come- heaven knows we need it!
Well, that's about it on my little island. Highs in the 80's lows in the 70's. We have had some rainy moments but for the most part it is sunny and beautiful each day. It is so unbeleivably peaceful here. I can't wait for Blake to get the hammock set up so I can curl up and read with the soft breezes cooling me off. More later...

Happy New Year!

2009-01-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

This is the view out my window this morning- a double rainbow across Bordeaux Mountain. It was beautiful! That is one of the perks of living down here- just about every time it rains, you get to see a rainbow. Maybe there is some deep meaning in that- a lesson for me. That when I get frustrated or down about this move I just need to wait a few minutes to be reminded about the positive. Maybe it is a lesson for all of us.

Yes, the holidays brought quite a few tears from me. I went back to the states to see my kids and left Blake to deal with the house. It was the first Christmas we had ever been apart. That was tough. While stateside I realized just how much I missed my family and friends. But, I also found out how much I did NOT miss the weather in the midwest this time of year! While I love the beauty of the snow I do not miss driving in it. I arrived in a snowstorm and had a week of pretty miserable weather. On Christmas Eve day I was walking out the door of Abbie's apartment at the exact same moment that a 17year old girl slammed into the back of Brennan's parked car. Fortunately no one was hurt but it added an unneeded hassle to the week. Just try and deal with a wrecked car out of state over the holidays! Brennan and I spent a great deal of time on the phone trying to explain that yes- he is from Iowa but he goes to school in South Dakota but the accident is in Wisconsin where his sister lives and he needs the car to get back to college but he won't be around for a couple of weeks because he is going to visit his parents who live in the Virgin Islands. Hopefully the car will be ready for him tomorrow when he returns to go back to school! Abbie has had to take the brunt of things this Christmas. She housed Brennan and I along with the two big mastiffs and a couple of cats in her tiny one bedoom apartment. Because of Brennan's disabled car, we were down to only one vehicle. I know what an inconvenience it was to her to have to share her car and also to take care of the logisitics of getting Brennan's car fixed. She was wonderful - and I realized just how much I miss her.

Christmas Day morning was just not the same. People were missing. We dragged our selves out of bed and climbed into the car for the trek to Fort Dodge to see Judd. He had invited us to have dinner with him at his girlfriend Stevie's home. I was worried about weather so we had waited until the last second to decide. Fortunately, the weather that morning was fine- cold, but fine for driving. We had a fantastic prime rib dinner with the Kestersons who were delightful hosts. But, the weather reared its ugly head again and we had to leave earlier than we wanted. We had decided to drive on to Des Moines to surprise my mom. It took us twice as long to get to Des Moines as usual but it was worth it to see the look on her face when we showed up- with the two big dogs in tow along with our cat Tigger who I had collected in Fort Dodge from a friend who had been caring for her these past months. ( Thanks Mandy!) More tears from me as I realized how much I missed family and friends.

The hardest part of the holidays was seeing my friend Peggy and her son Coleman. They had been lifeflighted to Des Moines on Christmas Day. When I walked into that hospital room and saw Peggy curled up alongside Coleman I was reminded of going to her side the first day she had found out about Coleman's cancer. That day I was there to offer hope and encouragement that her two year old son would beat this damn disease. But today was a different story. I was there to comfort her as she was preparing to say goodbye to her now 5 year old. I feel fortunate that I got to see them. Some force must have been working to allow me this opportunity. Peggy buried her son yesterday and I wish I could have been there. More tears.

But remember how I started this with the rainbow? Not all has been sad. Brennan and Tigger came back with me and we have had a delightful time. Tigger is settling into her new home well and I am glad to have a cat to snuggle up in my lap again. I have missed my pets so much more than I ever thought I would. Brennan has been fun to have around. He has beaten me nightly in cards, snorkeled along side a huge baraccuda with me and has helped to set up our home office/movie theater. We can now surf the net, watch The Daily Show and enjoy movies that he has downloaded for us (I am not asking any questions about legality!). He goes back to the states tomorrow and I am going to miss him so much!

Judd has also joined us- he came on Thursday and will be here for a couple of weeks. His girlfriend Stevie will join us for the last week of the stay. Our house has been brought to life! The boys have done so much to help make it a home. I think that was the touch I was missing. Now if only Abbie were here! As much as I would like to keep them all close to me I know I have to let them go and cherish these times. It is their time. Their time to spread their wings and fly. Maybe what I have been struggling with is not so much the move but a bad case of the empty nest blues!

As for the house- still lots to do but it is getting there! I now have a shower with hot water, most of the electrical outlets work and I have a completely functioning kitchen. The compost toilet is working- sort of. A fan busted and the smell is getting better. I will say now more. It isn't that bad- really. Judd is going to be my official photographer and take pictures that I hope to have posted later this week. The house is lovely and the boys have been quite impressed with it.

Well, enough for today. I want to enjoy my last full day with Brennan. He is ready to go back to school. As much as I would like to keep my kids close- I also know it is just out of selfishness. They need to move on. That is what this move is all about. Moving on and redefining yourself. It is about being thankful for all that you have and knowing that change is bound to happen. Instead of mourning and wallowing in sadness it is time to embrace and celebrate what you have.

Speaking of celebrating- Blake has a birthday this week! Yes, the "old man" turns 60 on Tuesday. If you get a chance- send him an email (baparker@mchsi.com). I have been whining a lot the past weeks but I have failed to say how happy Blake is. He is loving the move. He loves the challenges of the house. He is excited about life on the island. I think he is rejuvinated! A bit reborn. It makes this move so worth it to see him excited and ready to begin this next chapter in his life.

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.”Ralph Waldo Emerson

Home Sweet Home

2008-12-19T03:48:00.000-08:00

We are in! Well, sort of. We have some electricity (have no idea how they did that) and no plumbing. So- I am showering at Cinnamon Bay campground (brrr!) and "holding it" a lot! Hopefully this problem is very short term. It better! I am heading back to see Abbie on Monday and will be gone a week. Blake is staying back to make sure things like the plumbing get done. It will be the first time in 26 years that we have been apart on Christmas. I keep reminding myself that it is only one day but that only helps a bit.
Last night was our school holiday program/dinner. The kids were so excited! My performance was a game of letters. Each student had a letter to spell Happy Holidays! We began all out of order and told what each of our letters stands for. Then at the end we rearranged to spell Happy Holidays! It was going so well until one student dropped out. SO we became Happy Holiday. Then another student dropped out and we had to recruit a 2nd grader to be a Y. We practiced a million times and the kids were so good at quickly rearranging to spell it correctly but ....the night of the performance (of course) we spelled Happy Hloiday! Fortunately at this age everything is cute and the kids ran off the stage before too many people noticed. Next year we are just singing Rudolph!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I will post again next year!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T05:59:00.000-08:00

An interesting first Thanksgiving on St. John. We ended up cooking our turkey on Wednesday rather than Thursday because of a loss of power for 2 days. I wasn't planning on cooking anything. I had decided to ignore the holiday. Without the kids it just wasn't going to be the same. Maternal guilt got the best of me. I felt that I had abandoned my chicks and if I ignored the holiday I would be okay. But the wonderful parent teacher organization of my school generously gave each teacher their own Thanksgiving turkey. They were also having a huge Thanksgiving lunch for staff and students on the Tuesday before turkey day. Everything was going along just fine until the power company blew up a transformer on St. Thomas and sent us all into darkness for 2 days. School was dismissed early on Tuesday and the food was put into warm fridges and sent home with folks who have generators. On Wed. morning- still no power. But - we went ahead and had school for the morning so we could have our feast. At 9:30 am we had a big feast with the food that could be salvaged. By 11:00 we headed home for the day. When I arrived home on Wed. afternoon it was obvious that the gift turkey was well thawed and needed to be cooked. The rumor was that we could be without power for at least another day. SO... I wrapped the old bird in foil and began cooking it on the grill. Just about the time that the bird was done the power came on. So- 2 Thanksgiving dinners in one day. On the official holiday we had leftovers.

A note on what I call island snow days- I never expected to have so many days of school called off on such a beautiful island but we have now had more "snow days" than we usually do in Iowa. We have missed 3 days due to power outage and 3 days due to Hurricane Omar. And it is only November. Hopefully the rest of the year will be without incident! The best difference between Iowa snow days and St. John snow days is what you can do after school is let out. Instead of braving the icy roads and cuddling up under a blanket while the snow falls- here you get to go to the beach!! Even when the hurricane was looming I was able to get in a beach day!

Now to the news of the house. We are almost done!! We should be moving in about 2 weeks. It is looking wonderful. I think it will be gorgeous and a great place to live. Still lots to be done - have hardly any furniture. We did buy beds, a table and chairs, fridge, stove, and washer/dryer. But- that is it. My decorating skills are severely deficient. I think it will be awhile before we have an intact house! Hopefully the pictures I downloaded will show up for you to see.
Until later...

I almost have a home!

2008-11-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to post for a couple of weeks because of a couple of reasons.
First - we are still Internet challenged. The only way to access is at school and I have just been way to busy. Blake is so frustrated with his inability to get on-line. It is amazing how dependent we have become to the world wide web.
Second- we took a quick trip back to the states. Blake had a case he needed to deal with and I went along. We get Veteran's Day off so I just took a nice long weekend. It was so nice to see family and friends- even if it was just for a short time. I sure miss everyone but I have to admit I was glad to get back to warm weather. Hopefully I will get a chance to go back at Christmas.
Now that we are back- we are trying to get the house completed so we can move in as soon as possible. I now have a roof and walls. Blake is busy painting today and hopefully the doors and windows are being installed. Next week they hope to tile the floors, bathroom and shower area. It is really looking like a house! The view is beautiful and there is a lovely breeze. I can't wait until I can finally call someplace home:)
A final thought- I was amazed at how close the folks on the island watched the election. Most can't vote so I wrongly assumed that they wouldn't be all that interested. Boy was I wrong! There is a 1 hour time difference between us and the east coast and 2 hours different from Iowa. But that didn't stop people- they took little cat naps so they would be able to watch the final results. I was amazed at how many people watched Obama's acceptance speech (at 1:00 a.m. here!). I hope this is a sign of positive things to come for our nation.

p.s. I will try to get pictures on soon!

Surviving Omar

2008-10-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I had an unexpected vacation- thanks to hurricane Omar. What started out as a 3 day weekend (Columbus Day) turned into a week. On Saturday we had heard rumbles about a storm brewing to our west (which is unusual since most come from the east). By Monday we were beginning to get soaked. A long rainy day. Tuesday morning school was canceled - Omar was coming! But, not much happened on Tuesday except lots of talk of Omar. No school on Wednesday because - Omar is coming! Blake and I - being novices at this hurricane stuff - had no idea of what to do. We listened to the radio for instructions- save water, get candles, find those batteries, close the hurricane shutters, etc. And then wait. The rain came. We waited. Some wind. More waiting. We were told that we should move to the basement bedroom because the roof had been blown off before in a hurricane. We were told to expect to lose power - maybe for days. The radio warned of impending doom. Channel 22 (the weather channel) confirmed that it was heading right for us. The prediction- by midnight we would be pounded. Blake and I stayed upstairs watching the presidential debates until close to 10:00 when we decided maybe we should head downstairs. To get to this downstairs bedroom we have to go outside - and now the rain was coming so we figured the wind wouldn't be far behind. So-locked up in this little room with our trusty radio we listened to the end of the debates as well as the local channel warning us that - you guessed it- Omar was coming!! Huddled in that room Blake and I worried about the roof that was almost finished on the new house. This was going to set us back in time and money. We wondered what it was going to be like for the next days. We waited - Omar was coming! Well, if there was a storm- I missed it. I think I heard wind, I know it rained and rained hard. Omar came and went and left little problems for us. We did wake up to a flooded bedroom- should have stayed up stairs after all! We didn't lose power,cable,etc. On Thursday there was no school and we were under a curfew until 2:00p.m. We listened to the radio tell how Omar and made a change in direction and basically missed us. It did hit St. Croix but not much to talk about here. We had gotten very lucky. Most complaints were about how wet things were. There was a lot of rain with this storm and everyone was dreading the clean up of soggy items and the promise of mold. Friday we were back to school. My class all said that they had slept right through it. They didn't seem to bothered by the experience. The adults all had stories to tell- mostly of how lucky we were and what it was like when Marilyn or Hugo hit. Things are now back to normal. The past weekend was gorgeous. Life goes on. Omar is history. I wonder what excitement will be next!

New Blog Site

2008-10-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have had some people suggest that my former blog site was a bit tricky for posting comments, etc. So - I am trying a new site. To view the old go to:
http://tjparker.wordpress.com/

Last week was filled with frustrations for Blake. He was trying to get the Internet to work at our rental place and learned just how slow things happen on the island. He had to exchange a modem and it became more of a challenge than he expected. The first day he arrived too late- the place closed at 3:00 p.m. The next day they took the info but said they didn't have any modems there and would call when they got some in. They did call the next day and he went but he forgot a cord and they weren't sure if they could exchange it. They did. But, they kept the cord that went with the new modem. Got back home to find out that the old power cord didn't fit. I thought Blake was going to have a melt down! Back to the place the next day to deal with that issue. Finally hooked things up but it didn't work. After a few hours on the phone we were up and running! Needless to say, Blake's patience was worn a bit thin this week. He has also been working with the guys on the house. The roof is almost done. Anyone who has built a house knows how frustrating it can be. Now- quadruple that for island building!! Don't even get me started with the frustrations about banking and mail issues! Let's just say it has been a long week for old Blake:)

As for me, I have just been busy at school. This week progress reports were due. My first reporting to parents on how their little darlings are doing. The school is struggling with how to do reporting out. They tried portfolios last year but parents were not happy with them. They have gone back to letter grades. I was struggling on how to give A's and B's to first graders. It just doesn't tell what they know and can do as well as what they need to do. So, I invented my own form. Fortunately the school is very flexible and willing to let me do what I think is best. I have been given a lot of freedom and I think they trust my experience. We shall soon see if parents think the format was helpful!

A week and a half ago I also had my first "back to school night." My class put on a little skit about reading strategies. My good friend Sue had started using Beanie Babies to help her students remember reading strategies. When I was cleaning out my kids stuff this summer I found a box of stuffed animals, etc. and located almost all that I needed. I got a couple more from parents down here as well as from a few old friends. They were a big hit. We even had a little song we did for Skippy the Frog! Fortunately it was on a cd so no one had to suffer with listening to me lead the song!

The night of the Parent Night was also our 26th wedding anniversary. Blake picked me up after the event and we went for dinner. We splurged on a wonderful meal at a local fish restaurant. It really hit home that we were actually living here on this beautiful island and no longer just tourists!

Speaking of food- today I picked a sour sop from the tree outside of our rental place. I have no idea of what do with it but I think I can make it into a smoothie! I am learning a whole new way of cooking down here. The lady who is now making lunches at the school is a wonderful resource for me. I have told her I want cooking lessons from her as soon as I have my own kitchen. Next week she is making a red curry and lentil soup with coconut milk for lunch- I asked her if I could buy some to take home for dinner. I know how much Blake loves curry! I will let you know how it tastes next time!

Groceries on St. John are expensive. They have a couple of nice grocery stores but selection is limited and costs are outrageous-typical for resort communities I guess. So, once a month Blake and I head over on the car ferry to St. Thomas to stock up. It costs $40 to take the ferry but you save so much more by going. We went to a big bulk store and a regular grocery store. Between the two I figure we saved over $100.00. We should have enough basics to last us for a while.

St. Thomas is so much different than St. John. More traffic, noise, etc. But, it has the "real" shopping. There is an Office Max, Home Depot, big K-Mart, etc. It also has the typical fast food. We decided to swing through McDonald's to grab food to eat on the ferry ride back. I realized I hadn't eaten a bite of fast food since I left Dodge in August! I think it was the first fries I had had in 2 months. I kept thinking about my friend Laurel and how hearing this might make her feel faint! She does love her fast food! Good news Laurel - it tasted just the same as back home. The only thing different was the HUGE iguana that walked in front of the car while we were waiting in the drive up lane.

One final story- today we survived our first earthquake. Yes, I said earthquake. It was a 6.1. The biggest in about 20 years. I was down getting breakfast dishes cleared up when the whole house began to shake. Blake was upstairs and I asked him why in the h*** he was jumping up and down. He said - I'm not! I think we are having an earthquake. I asked if we were supposed to do something and he said he didn't know. By the time he was down the stairs it was over. Nothing fell off the walls and the island seemed to suffer no damage. Another first - hopefully it won't be a common occurrence!

Until next time...