Phish had their 8th Festival this weekend in Indio, CA yes AFTER I move away! I have been following online and living through the pics. Words can't even describe how badly I wish we could have come back for this one. 3.0 won't be around forever, here's hoping the PTBM will smile upon us for NYE!

basically I have been a pain in the ass, depressed pouty girl as this is the weekend all of our friends have gathered together and we have missed it. to top if off we have had NOTH ING to do this weekend here on Cat at all, even more frustrating.

rant is done, Phish still has 2 more sets to play tonight and I will watch via twitter, lame

Yes as of Oct 16th we obtained tv and Cable TV!!!!! it has been 6 1/2 months since we had tv at home. WE have spent many many nights watching movies, old movies, and 6 count them 6! seasons of the X Files!! not that I mind watching XF, and I do believe Chris has gotten into the series as well.

The weekend was filled with flipping between, college ball, hgtv, travel, discovery and of course all the 'toon shows. I mean we got to watch the freakin Smurf's and The Snorks....very exciting time here on Cat. I actually watched an ep of the damn Golden Girls this morning over coffee! go me

Now watching broncs and chargers....Chris is in football heaven right now. So fastforward to this morning. After a very early wake up call by Jerry, he and Chris got the internet satellite lined up and we have lift off! However we spent many tries trying to get the wireless modem to work and it's still not. So I am sitting on the floor next to tv with lappy on a cooler, ice chest for all you texans. We have to be plugged in to modem old school style for time being.

This is SO great to be online again. The drought has ended. So, I hope to be more consistent with blogging, uploading pics, checking emails, message boards, FB, even the 'space. We still have the same restrictions on download limit per day, 470 MB, uploading takes FOREVER!!!! been uploading a work file, 94 MB for, oh.....8 hours now!

More to come.

not sure of my last post but without the net at home it's almost impossible to set and crank out a blog.

So much has gone on.

In June we had the Annual Cat Island Rake n Scrape festival that was way up north took us 1.5 hours to drive up there. Took lots of pics and will be posting them later this week.

The next day we left Cat and made our way to Charlotte, NC for a weeks vaca!! we went to ASheville for most the week, got to see my cousin Jaime, ate a ton of great food, lots of tasty brews and had a kickass good time!! Asheville is an awesome town in the mountains, will def be going back again. We made the treck over to Knoxville, TN for a night of PHISH!!! the venue was packed, it was the TN titans bball arena, such a great show. Then over to a diff place for some late night Pnuma trio. Saw a buddy photog from SF while there and got to chat for a drink.

It was the best to have a whole week to explore and just take it easy. On another note, we had found a puppy in our front yard the week before our NC trip. Some friends on CAt watched her for us, and we had to stock up on puppy suplies for the next 3 months. I have posted some pics of her on our Google Picassa page, we named her Zoe. She is growing so fast went from 5 pds to 15 in about 7 weeks.

Last week my dad and his wife Nancy came to Cat, they got here with no bags. however, we have the best group of friends here and in no time they had clothes, suits, and shower gear. The guys went out fishing on friday and the catching was slow but they came home with 2 or 3 tuna. We had a big dinner that night with lots of laughs.

Sat we cruised around the island, checking things out went out to the property beach and hung in the pool. Sunday was snorkle day and we made it to 3 diff spots, even found some sand dollars, hope they made it home ok. We had dinner at another friends house that night and got to watch a huge t-storm blow in, which my dad loves.

Monday we hung in the pool, snorkled off Flamingo Bay, hung in the ocean, then the pool. Then, Jerry brought down his infamous potent Rum Punch. I gave plenty of full warnings to DAnny bout how it sneaks up on ya and he paid no attention to warnings. After 4 or 5 cups, I forget, Danny was swimming in punch and conch fritters that he bailed on us at 8pm. That did not stop us from partying and hanging out till midnight. We went back to villa with Nancy, cooked dinner made cocktails using a blender, and played a card game called Pluck till almost 12pm, when Danny finally wakes up. Was too funny!! I even got some pics of him passed out in bed!

Things have gotten back to the same ole same ole. Work is picking up again, Zoe keeps us busy as always, altho she is sleeping till 9am!!! Been coming to Jerry's every afternoon to cool off in the pool, which is a MUST as its so hot at our house.

We are SUPPOSED to have our net equipment and modem at the dock this week, hope to have it hooked up very soon. I will be much better bout posts once I have time to sit.

~K

Hello blogger fans---yes it has been over 7 weeks since last post. can't control any business methods in the bahamas and we are still without net or tv at home. We are still running to Jerry's 15 miles away for a daily and quick email check. hence no blog post in forever.

April was crazy as always, we moved, went to parties, birthday parties, got ready for the ground breaking worked insane hours. Had all the partners here for a few days and the PGA president and his crew, a very exciting time on Cat for the locals. The Prime Minister gets as much tout and fanfare as our US pres. (to be expected)

After the GB, we had a nice long week at Jerry's house and dog sitting for 8 days, how I love HGtv, we watched it for days on end. Cooked some really great dinners, bbq chicken pizza, cheese chick caserrole dish and 2 nights of chicken parmagian. not to mention daily walks on the beach with the pusp, yes! Chris did walk the beach with us most nights! however the net was done here for 3 days of our stay and really put us behind on what we needed to get done. But it is always a real treat to stay at Flamingo. Told Donna she will have to hold Jerry hostage in FL for longer next time.

So far in May we have been out fishing, working the Hawk's Nest Bill Fish tournament, helping with the nightly dinners, there were 5 nights! Chris got to go out for a quick wall dive with Roy and Lucille, I stayed on boat and then we went snorkeling. The weather has been gorgeous, getting a bit hot and humid and I hear the worst is yet to arrive.

I start my dive lessons with Lucille on Wed. in Jerry's pool. Shoudl be a lot of fun and the fact they have a boat and are huge in diving the summer will be awesome. Got a party tonight at Bily and Dari's as a thank you to all that helped with the tournament.

We cleaned the Kubota tractor monday, had to grease all the joints for the front loader, that was a task. We ran out of cleaner and bought the last can on the island. Getting the oil changed for it tmrw.

Fingers crossed we get the net at home before the end of the month, I am going crazy without it.

So the monday Bruce and Joan were here we were on the Cow Hunter. The big talk most of the day was about a Russian guy who was in distress 10 miles off shore on the east side of the island. The Coast Guard made the trip out there to rescue him, aparently there was lots of radio chatter tyring to find a guy on the island who speaks russian. Turns out there are about 4 people here who CAN speak russian, crazy!

his boat was taking on water was about all anyone could gather. he was dropped off at Hawk;s Nest and locked up in a room to wait for customs to come visit him. The story was strange as he said he left FL a few days ago, but he lived there for 2 years and didn't learn any english. He had no passport and he never cleared customs anywhere. Have no idea what the Bahamian customs agents decided to do with him.

so the boat was left out at sea to make it's way in on it's own. That monday guys on the property said they could see the boat coming in. there is a large reef that protects that side of the island and the reef did it's job. The boat came up in pieces. jerry and crew were out on the beach all day the friday we were at the airport. They came home with all kinds of stuff, tons of wood from the interior, even the toilet seat, don't ask.

The saturday after Bruce & Joan left we went to work then into Old Bight for food, we ended up at Grammy's. The cheeseburgers were so good. We hung out with her for 2 hours, taking shots and telling stories. On the way home Chris pulls off the road onto the side road that takes you to the ocean. This road is so terrible it takes 30 mins to get out and I bet it's only 3 miles. the brush is so over grown and the road is mostly exposed rock bed. the beach was litered with debris from the boat. a portion of it came up along side the old dead tree on the shore. We got a few pieces of wood for ourselves, but most had been scavanged the day before.

There was the red dingy that was full of holes that was almost on shore, wish I had the camera, I tried to pull it in, to no avail, did manage to get pretty wet though.

Fastforward to the following monday, a crew of us at Jerry and Donna's to watch Wheel of Fortune. his daughter Sandy was on and she was the winner. There had to be 5 diff conversations going on at once, then all of a sudden there is agreement all around the room and I am clueless as I was in the bathroom. They have decided to go back to the wreak site to look for the chain and anchor. This means getting into the water.

Newsflash low tide starts at 6am tuesday, I am still tired from the week before and desperately want to sleep in. Wake up call is 7am!!! to get wet....we leave at 730, make to beach by 8. I have pics to post of the guys getting the dingy into the water, still on camera. So, Roy, Chris, Jerry and Ali all take off for the reef. Donna and her dogs walk south with Virginia (a guest) and Lucille and her dogs walk north. While I go back to truck get my book, blanket, and towel. I set up and promptly fall asleep, that is till I hear teh boat motor.

jerry comes flying in to get Roy's backpack full of tools. They found the chain and anchor. Now I am fully awake and watching Jerry to see where he goes. They were so far out on the reef you almost couldn't see them. after about 2 hours they all come back in. When Jerry was going back out he had 3 dolphins, as in Flipper, follow him out. They guys all got to swim with them, wish I couldhave been out there but the water looked rough on the reef. Chris came in winded and excited. Said there was tons of stuff down there but no real reson to bring it up. the chain was the focus as Roy needed one fro his boat. the had to drag the chain about 30 feet across the reef to get it to the boat.

After the guys got in, we all cracked a beer thinking nothing of it till someone said it was only 1045! We loaded up and had lunch at the Pilot Harbor. always something exciting going on here.

pics to come later

I am a week behind on posting this but here goes....


Sunday we got to the airport early and had to wait for bout an hour and half, as it usually goes with any trip to the airport. Turns out they were on the same flight with people we know on the island, so they got to chat with folks who know us a bit. After getting through customs, we started the senic drive to the south end. We stopped at the Old Bight Beach and had some drinks and cheese and crackers. The day was a bit overcast and was actually not too hot. Lots of catching up to do before we loaded up to Flamingo Bay.

Soon as we got back, clothes were changed and cocktails were made for a trip to the beach. The guys decided to make a mad dash to the property to do some flagging and the ladies stayed on the beach drinkin G&T's. Cedell, our neighbor up the road, came over for a quick visit. While she was here, Joan decided to unpack all the 'gifts' they brought to us, it was like Christmas!!! More GT's consumed and before we knew it we had to be next door for spaghetti dinner. The day ended up so great, Jerry and Donna made a great dinner.

Monday was a day on the Cow Hunter with Billy and Dari. The weather was about the same, overcast till bout 1pm. Not much catching happened that day, a few dolphin and a tuna. The Wahoo were not biting off Columbus Point. I got a few pics as my camera battery was dying, I did not get a pic of poor Joan wretching, as she later called it, over the side of the boat. The motion pill didn't help with the hangover of gin from the night before. We came back tot he dock earlier than usual and Jerry and Donna met us at the Cat House, for dinner. Dari made dinner with the day's catch and I got to see thier house in the day light for the first time. They have amazing views of the ocean from every room!

Tuesday we all went out to the property for a short while. Checked out the fresh water that was hit the day before and showed them around a bit. It was during this time the tractor was down for bolt tightening. We had lunch at Bluebird before Chris went back to work. i got some paperwork done as the headed to the beach. i joined them a few hours later after Chris got home. They fell in love with the beach at Flamingo. We spent a while down there drinking wine and beers. jerry turned on the hot tub for us once we got back. We ended up in the hot tub fairly late and then decided to make dinner. The guys cooked some fish while Joan and I drank and looked at pictures on the computer. Dinner was good, peas and rice, potato salad and some other stuff. I swear Bruce and Joan were not affected by the double time change, diff time zone and time change happened the day they got to Cat.

Wed. Chris went to work for while and I drove us back out to Hawk's Nest to the gift shop. It's one of the very few places on the island to purchase any kind of gifts. We made the long trek up to the north for lunch at Sammy T's. A resort that Chris and I had yet to visit. The place was beautiful. Lots of landscaping and the water view was amazing. lunch was pretty good tooo. Turns out they have a pretty stocked gift shop also. another night at Jerry and Donna's for drinks and apps. Got to show them the dvd's on Cat Island, even a new one I had not seen before. We spent the remainder of the night out on the deck watching the full moon rise, once again time does not affect them. chris and I were exhausted and they showed no signs of tired.

Thurs we got up early and had a day planned of site visits. we hit up the bourbon Plantation first, not what I was expecting, well I was expecting more i guess. Took lots of photos of the remains of the buildings. The Deveaux house was next, then the Port Howe Church. I think I took about 300 wed and thurs. The old Catholic church in old Bight was really cool to shoot. Lots of great old stone images and doors. After our daily stop at 2 corners for more wine we headed to the fry shacks to see if anyone was there, only Frank was to be found. he did have some beers that were cold tho. Another trip to Flamingo beach, this time everyone came down, jerry, donna and all the dogs. The tide was extremely low due to full moon phase and we were able to walk out a ways and look for shells.


We had dinner at Roy & Lucille's that night, the food was so good and the conversations were hillarious. more picture taking on my part, I wanted Joan to have pics of every thing. got home and headed to our villas for more drinks ;) We ended up chating, drinking, playing farkle and eating popcorn till 2am!!!!!! they are troopers I tell ya, however it was thier last night on the island.

not sure about everyone else but I had a touch of a hangover friday morning. It was another wonderful airport excursion as always. Everyone tells you how difficult it is to get to Cat, what they don't tell ya is how damn hard it is to leave. OK, here's the story.

flight is at 1:30 they want you there 2 hours before. no problem, we left a little early as it takes about 30 to get there. So we get there at 1030. no one that works at the airport has a damn clue what is going on. You ask a question to 3 diff people you get 3 totally diff answers. customs spent 30 mins going through their luggage and just talking. so now we are at 11am, not that big a deal we hang at the bar Double D's across the street waiting till 12 so we can go eat at Fernandez bay. so we are just sitting around watching bad Bahamian tv and watching the clock go by. Fernandez Bay had a few guests but we still got a table outside facing the bay. It was gorgeous that day with a nice breeze. Lunch was pretty good, most resorts have good food. As we were leaving we discover that FB has a gift shop also. a Nice gift shop with clothes and such. Bruce & joan bought us this awesome jellyfish made out of tiny beads on wire, it's green, blue and yellow, for our new digs. As we are at the front desk to pay out, the manager tells us the airport called and the plane is not leaving FL till 3:45!!!!!

no remember that the luggage is at customs, already inspected, so no bathing suits or change of clothes. So we head back to Flamingo Bay, as we have 2 1/2 hours to kill. Joan and I take a short nap while Bruce and Chris try to get a hold of Continental about the next flight. I still have no idea how they made that flight but kudos to them. Get to the airport and the plane has still not left FL, it takes 1 1/2 hours to get to Cat IF if flies directly here. So we head back across the street to bar. I have about gotten over the hangover and am now drinking beer. We get a call from a girl we know working at the airport, she tells us they need to get there now, WTH we were just over there and didn't see a plane land. Rush over there they jump out say good bye, hugs and all....it's the DAMN wrong plane!! told you no one knows what they hell is going on there.

So back to bar, more sitting around, did get to watch Seasame Street ;) Not 10 mins later we get a call that the plane has to touch down in Eluthera first and everyone has to go through customs. Great more time lost. The plane finally lands at 4:50, for the original 1:30 flight, no clue as to why they left FL late, we will never know. It was the big Lynx plane and by big I mean it holds 19 people. I think Bruce & Joan were the only ones on with the pilot. The plane then sat on the runway for another 20 mins. We gave up and left the airport at 510. Funny how doing nothing makes you so exhausted.

all in all it was such agreat time, I wish it had been a few days longer as there was actually some things on the island we didn't get to show you guys. hope you and everyone in TX is enjoying the pics.

PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH PHISH
is on my mind!!!!! I am bouncing around the room listening to a sick ass YEM from 94. btw how the hell can they paly YEM this weekend, they gave the tramps away at shitty Coventry. Oh how I WISH I could be in the mothership aka Hampton these next 3 days!

where is my teleporter....to all my phriends making the trek have a mind blowing time, I can't even imagine what the electric energy will feel like in the room as the lights go down, arugh why oh why am I not there...oh right venue is only round 9K seats THAT's WHY!!! people are willing to give up thier first born for a tix for the next 3 days. alas I had to walk the beach today and listen to the Best of PT compliation and dance in the sand, where was Kuroda.

Can't wait to see the live set list updates and even more excited for the FREE (!) downloads for all nights.

ps. family I appologize as you have no idea what I am talking about.

Carini

The past week was a blur, the tractor was down tuesday and part of wed, so nothing got done. But we still had work to do on another location of the property. We have this silt fence that must be installed 100' off the salt pond all the way around. We are talking over a mile folks. and most of this mile is on a damn sand dune. We had a crew of guys come out and cut a path in the vegetation about 2' wide all the way around. the lake side didn't take them long at all the dune was another story. Friday we started to haul this fence that is wrapped in bundles with 8-12 stakes up this freakin dune along the path. It was pretty hot that day and hard to walk in loose sand with a bundle in your arms or on you shoulders. The plan was to hammer in the stakes and 2 other guys will come behind and dig the trench for the actual fence.

Well, where ever the fence came from it had obviously been sitting out in the elements for a very long time. More than 3/4's of the post were rotten and molded. One hit and they would explode into moist shards. Great. so most of the fence is lying on it's side waiting for new post to be attached. And how do we accomplish this, well we call the guy in Nassau who is getting a hose for the broke down tractor and have him pick up many bags of zip ties. Which we will use with the stakes that were brought over for marking the road, reminds me we need to order more of those. We came home and Jerry had turned on the hot tub for us, which was grand. We were both exhausted and sore. New guests had come in, Kristen and Sam from Boston I think.

Sat was more of the same. Hauling this damn fence up the dune from the trucks. it was SUPER hot this day and you lose the sea breeze at different points of the dune and it gets stifling hot and humid. I think I had over 4 pounds of sand in my shoes by noon. Of course we ran out of said damn silt fence and need about another 10 bundles to complete the dune. We left the guys digging the trench for what they could and using the few road stakes we gave them. after a quick shower we headed to the Sailing Club/Regatta site/Fry shacks for some beers, food and domino's. Well, they were out of most food including rice!?!?! and most of the whole menu, ran out of Heineken's, and the domino's were no where to be found....ahhh the island.

Beers are delivered and put into freezer, domino's were found but alas we didn't' get a chance to play. Hung around for a last minute improv rake and scrape session. Pumpy on his accordion, Cedell using a screwdriver on a saw blade and an old oil drum with leather for the beat. Wish I had my camera. We made a mad dash back to Flamingo for the night of heavy apps. Roy and Lucille came over and we had some wonderful homemade pepperoni pizza!!! Good evening with all, lots of talking going around. I was excited for bed tho I have to say cause we had the next 3 days off, IN A ROW!!!!

Sunday was lazy day, slept in watched some b-ball. I layed out for a hour or so then headed to pick up Sheila for a massage. My legs have been killing me with all the hiking around over and over again. She was asleep when I got there at 145pm! We got a late start but it was nice. Now this is the Bahamas and not a posh spa in CA, it was different but she uses Young Living which is a co out of Chicago that has amazing oils. Coriander, lemon grass and oregano (i smelled like pizza all day)

The rest of the day was spent trying to get supplies ordered and put into list form for the new apartment. Not as easy as it sounds, net shopping is for the birds when you have to do a purchase this large and extensive. How am I supposed to pick out towels and not be able to touch them to check the plushness ;) but really, waiting for the pages and all the images to download is so boring and time consuming. I am still waiting with crossed fingers that we will be able to go to FL and get the stuff ourselves. but our work schedule may not allow it.

So the next 2 days off!!! but we have major rains coming our way, bummer for pool time, great for getting dust down on property. Some laundry to do and that's about it. Billy and Dari are back and having a party on friday! I missed them stopping by the house as I was with Sheila, but they have invited us to FL to stay at their house during the SunFest festival in West Palm Beach. Dari is the head honcho organizer and wants us to come check it out for free and stay in their Love Shack (guest house at their home) that is in late April 1st of May. Damn I can't believe it's already March.

Time change next sunday and Joan and Bruce will be here. Fingers crossed for sunshine.

~K&C

I promise one of these days I will get better at maintaining this blog. ok, here goes. The day after the last blog we had a party at Billy and Dari's Cat House, lots of fun and lots of people as folks were coming in for the Wahoo Tournament the next week. I volunteered to help Dari serve food for the 4 days, not knowing what i was getting myself into.

Over the weekend Chris and I had to move out of our yellow villa and into Jerry and donna's house due to the Two Cats pilots in for the tournament. They always stay here for every tourny and have been for years. So, it was a task to pack up all our personal items and move our food and clothes across the yard for a week. (Jerrys house has spiral stairs that are not easy to navigate, esp with a suitcase) Sunday was the Captain's meeting for the tourny and I went over with Jerry and Roy & Lucille to help serve apps, Jerry was cooking hooter's chicken wings and I was working the floor in Sharkey's trying to balance a tray of chicken wings and a roll of paper towels. Met a lof of great people and got to see some amazing huge boats/semi yachts.

Monday night was more of the same, serving chicken wings and getting free beers. It also happened to be Billy's birthday and there was lots of cheers and toasts going on. Some how at the end of the night, I got invited to go out fishing the next day. I agreed knowing how bad the weather was. Heavy winds from the south and the swells had been in the 15' range that day. I had to be at the dock ready to go at 730am. Not to bad but the drive to Hawk's Nest takes about 30-40 minutes. Got there, took my seasick pill and was ready to go. sidenote- there was a bet going on that one, I would not show up at the dock and two, that I get violently seasick and woudl not make it all day. I have not gotten the winnings from this bet yet as I was early to the dock, and have NEVER been seasick while on a boat. The rumors on this island are enough to remind me of high school. Anyblab, we had 20' swells that day, our 1st mate was green most of the morning and it was wet. Everyone had on rain gear. We did not catch any wahoo that day, only a few baraccuda's. We did consume a lot of beer as the Cow Hunter and IceMan had a side calcutta going for most beer consumed during the tourny. We made it back early and I bounced out for home exhausted and a bit tipsy due to not eating any lunch, prolly wouldn't have kept it down anyway. A quick shower and I was in bed before 6pm and slept all night.

Wed was the awards night and the big party. Chris went with us this time as he had stayed at home watching cable tv. We, Roy, Lucille, Chris and I got recruited to work in the kitchen that night. Roy and Chris cracked 50' pds of stone crab, while I had to help Dari slice all the beef. OK those who know me know I DO NOT eat beef....so to have to watch slab after slab being sliced and me having to pick it up with tongs certified me for life against beef. WE had a great time that night, I got in the line to serve the stone crab and got to chat with a lof of people. After things wraped up there we went across the Marina to Skye's house boat and chatted with him and borrowed some movies.

We spent several days watching HGTV to our hearts content. Love that show, how we have missed cable tv. Started moving ourselves back to the yellow villa as the pilots left a day early. Friday we had some of our surveyors come back from TX. Jerry came back from Fl that day and Roy & Lucille came over for apps and drinks. Jerry was exhausted from the Hard Rock casino in FL and bailed so we moved the party to Roy & Lucille's house for the dinner she had cooked earlier, meatloaf, ceasar salad and mashed potatoes. Their house is amazing and the view they have is the same as the Greenwood resort on the east side of the island.

Suday we had dinner over at Peggy and Jr's house and invited the guys from TX. Lots of food and some fun as 2 of the guys from TX had not been to the island before and got a real dose of 'local' lifestyle while hanging at Peggy and Jr's.

The next day had us getting ready for the business partners coming in for a few days. Between working on getting the roads cleared we had to get the trucks clean and to the airport. Lots of walking and it was hot that week. Things are always craz and hectic when the partners come to the island. lots of people split up into different parts of the property, its hard to keep up with everyone. The trip was good, one of the golf course designers was out and they walked the whole thing in one afternoon.

They decided to leave a day early so we had to cram a lot of things into the last afternoon. Chris and I had found a set of apartments/townhouse in Old Bight that was for rent. It's a brand new unit never been lived in, two 2 bed units and a 1 bed on the end. They are very nice and have have new furniture, however that's all they have. So I now have to get a list of items together for a guy in FL to purchase for our unit and the other 2. THis is quite the task as there are no linens or kitchen supplies. We are ordering a washer/dryer, stand up deep freeze, ice maker and microwaves this week and the rest sometime next week. Fingers crossed that all the items get purchased and onto the boat before we move in April 1st.

This past weekend we had to make a mad dash to Nassau for building materials. We need to bild a generator house that's 12x12. There are no supplies on Cat to do this so we have to go buy them and get them on the boat. We were thinking we would fly out monday and come back tues. Well that didn't happen. our first day to sleep in in over 2 weeks and we get a knock on the door at 830am. Jr tells us that Bam, who flies his own plane that we used to go home for xmas, was booked doing charters and that we had to fly out that morning at 11am. So much for sleep. So we rush around shower pack a small bag and take off for the airport. As most know we don't live with cell service so we have to go several miles for the phone to turn on. AS we are doing 60 mph to the airport I check the vm and a girl we know at the counter is telling us we need to be there NOW! Of course the airport is crazy with locals trying to get to Nassau as well, we made it with only 10 mins to spare as the plane was actually leaving at 1030 and not 11.

Nassau is always the same lots of traffic, pollution and craziness. We ran around most of the day. Ate Chinese food that was actually pretty decent. went to the MALL, yes Nassau has not one but 2 malls. Different experience as the stores cater to the well locals. Several trips to many different places for wood, and doors, cement blocks etc. We stayed at Peggy's moms house in the Carmichael neighborhood. Now that was an experience very different living conditions from what we are accustomed to being in. Sunday we were pretty much stuck at the house all day long with nothing to do. Chris watched some tv and I read a book, we were going stir crazy and very bored. We did go out later that night and met Peggy's sisters and all their kids, who are super cute. We went down to Arawak Cay around 930 ish and watched a bit of the Grammy's while at a bar. Different feeling to be the white kids walking through the dense crowd, which Jr bareled right through with us in tow, Peggy and I had our arms pulled on the whole walk, with guys wanting our attention. We left the Cay and did some more driving, at this point i am drived out and really wanting to not be riding in the back seat anymore. Made it back home and in bed around 1am.

We had the pleasant 7am!!! wake up door knock the next morning. Ungh, we had to box up all the food we bought the day before and get it ready for the mail boat. We did indulge, if you can call it that, in a McDonald's breakfast and a mid day snack from Wendy's....sometimes I do miss fast food and the frosty was delicious. More driving around from 730 to 1230 riding 5 deep in the truck. At this point I have about had it, I am cramped in the middle, its hot, my legs and feet are asleep and I have not had deodorant on for 2 days due to packing in a rush and a fear of it being to oversize for a carry on, more than 2oz. and I forgot to mention we were sleeping on the WORST bed ever!!! AND it had the original plastic bag still on IT!!! noting like sweating in your sleep and hearing that plastic rustle every time you move. Oh and in the middle of the night Sat, Chris was having a dream, we were alseep facing each other all of a sudden he sucker punches me in the FACE!!! He woke up after and was very sorry but DAMN that hurt and at close range. my face is fine my cheek hurt for a while but no marks, believe me he is still paying for that and I will remind him for several days. He says in the dream that a guy was grabbing his arm and he just swung his other, thanks dude.

Made it back to Cat, thank god, around 3ish. Came home, showered!!! yay deodorant I love you, and hung out at home watching movies. Funny how actually doing so little, riding around in a truck, can make you so tired. So for now it's back to work prolly 6 or 7 days aweek. We have a list of things that need to be completed before the ground breaking ceremony on April 23rd, that is if the date sticks. They have changed it several times already. But in 11 days Bruce and Joan will be here for a week!!! Excited to see them and to take a day or two off.

The rest of the month however short it is willbe spent working and building the generator house and several other items. We start grading 1st ave this week, which will take many days and weeks to get asphalt ready. and of course we have the parties!!! Billy and Dari come back the 1st, the 8th is Donna's bday and surprise party and the day Bruce and Joan get here and the bday of JJ, Jr's little boy.

More to come later as we enjoy our last month here at Flamingo Bay and start getting ready to move into a 2 bed apt. I dread moving but having more space will be nice altho no beach or pool....I do have a standing invite to crash Jerry's pool any time.

Gotta run next door for cocktails and apps. Hope all are well.
~K&C

In the few weeks since my last post, we have been working on our Bahamian culinary skills. We talked with one of the cooks from Greenwood, Sheila, and she told us how to make the local dish peas and rice. Not that complicated at all and pretty darn tasty. We have made several pots of this stuff since. We also used the pigeon peas with coconut milk, so good. Poor Chris has been working with chicken, which most of you know that I dont' touch esp if it's on the bone. We got some wings the other day and he spent 2 hours cutting fat and stuff out....while I stay far away from the kitchen. Our diet has been better since returning to the island, more veggies and such.

Party season has arrived for February. We had a birthday party last friday at the Rainbow House in Greenwood Estates. Quite the party as the bday lady's nephew had just proposed to his girlfriend the day before out on a sailboat. Lots of stories and even some music, David played his guitar and a German visitor from Greenwood Resort had brought his harmonicas. Some times it's tough to remember all the names of the people we meet, and there were a lot that night, mostly those here on vacation.

Superbowl Sunday was quite. We hung at home for most the day. The weather has been crummy and chilly, requiring a hoody and as the locals say 'long pants', lol. They are pants people! We made the trek over to Hawk's Nest for the game, they were serving pizza!!! Good crowd, mostly those from the Marina that are coming in for the Wahoo tournament next week. Cardinals fans were in abundance. We got lucky and only last the satellite feed twice and for only short bursts. Was rooting for the Cards but we all know how that turned out.

The week has been quite for the most part. Work has been dirty, the winds have been blowing so hard that the dirt out there just swirls around in the cuts. Kinda like Lubbock....fast forward to Wed. I had been invited at the birthday party to attend the ladies lunch on Wed. Now I have heard stories and seen pics of these events, Red Hat lunches, and I also know that Donna (Flamingo Bay owner) has told me on many occasions that she is the youngest one there. OK, she got a real kick out of me going to the lunch and gave me some tips for surviving. I was the youngest by about 20 years. There were 23 ladies from all over the island. Need to point out these are all ex-pats, not locals. And the cream of the top in ex-pats, lots of talk about private planes and the new boats they are looking into. I was kinda out of place.

Let me restart this adventure, Gilli is a German woman how has lived on the island for 30+ years, she is 89! and still driving, although she should not. She called up tues and asked me if I wanted her to pick me up on Wed. I had already made plans with another woman down the beach from us, but Gilli insisted and said that she was also picking up last week's bday girl. Basically I got swindled into her driving me. Jerry thought he could fix it the next morning but to no avail, at 1115, Gilli and 2 others pull into the drive. This is where I actualy start to pray. She drives a stick but is unable to really shift gears. She also drives like a bat out of hell. She is known on the island to run people off the road and all know to stay clear of her truck. Between the round-a-bout and Old Bight, which is a straight shot, we hit 100 mph!!!! I was holding on for life and of course there are no seat belts in the back.

Lunch was fine, the girls at the Pilot Harbor were overwhelmed with the crowd. The poor girl behind the bar looked like she was about to cry. They didn't have half of the mixers they should and no diet coke, which is a sin with all these older ladies. The food was good and I sat with 2 ladies I have known for a while. They discussed their kids (who are older than me) and their grandkids. See I told ya I was a bit out of place. I did get a few inquires to the project and how things were going out there. Most are still in disbelief that it will actually happen, hello we are here and working folks. The trip home was about the same but this time we stopped for ice cream. We were only 200' from our house around the hill and I am thinking I should just walk home as Gilli has come out with an ice cream cone....how do you drive stick with a cone. Thankfully she passed it to another. Home safe and sound.

There is a party on Friday at Billy and Dari's, which is always tons of fun....and several more the next week for the tournament. I have offered to help cook on mon and wed if Dari needs the help as she is taking charge of the dinners since Hawks Nest is short on staff. Should be many more stories to come next week.

I know it has been well over a month since my last post so here goes. The trip home was crazy and too short as always. Our first trip to Nassau was, well, uneventful which is fine but we have no reason to really ever go back. Just not a place we want to spend any time in. Crowded, dirty, smelly, annoying tourists from the cruise ships all in all a cross between, French Quarter and Fishermans warf=narsty.

Several delayed flights getting to TX and we didn't get home till after 1am. We saw lots of friends and family while in tejas, only wish we had more time to spend with everyone. The trip in TX was fast paced, lots of driving, delayed flights, missed flights, spending a whole day in the Houston airport on standby, and finally making it to CO the next day around noon.

CO was beautiful, great weather, got some snow flurries in Boulder the first day, saw some great music. Saw some crappy music, didn't see as many friends as we had hoped to. Katy,Josh and Kali have a great house and opened their doors to all that came to CO for NYE events. The night of NYE we went to visit some old friends mostly from Lbk that were in downtown Denver. That was real fun, I love walking up to people that haven't seen me in several years and who are not expecting to see either Chris or I at all. Of course we didnt' take ANY pics of this night, too crazy to keep up with a camera and not loose it. (which I hear that several cameras were lost at the condo)

We had a semi early flight out on Sunday back to the narsty. We got in the car round 4am ish and it was 12 freakin' degrees outside. I swear my nose felt like it fell off my face. more airport fun, actually this round went really smooth. Got to Atlanta, which I have always called Hotlanta and HOT it was. I bet the heat in the airport was at 80 degrees. I was shedding layers of clothes as soon as we got off the plane.

Made it back to Cat on that monday and waited round for a while for some business partners to fly in. Spent the afternoon, relishing the fact that less than 24 hours ago I had on, 2 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of socks, 2 shirts and a hoodie, gloves and a beanie, and was now sporting a tank top, shorts and flops.....I love the Bahama weather. (side note, I am now wearing pants, shirt and Hoodie as it's bout 68 out here which feels chilly;)

The rest of that week was crazy of course. With so many people on the island for 4 days trying to get an immense amount of work done, we didn't' even get our bags unpacked till the next week. The week after was a lot more quite of course. We got the work done that we could complete and are now waiting on the tractor to be done before we walk all the golf holes.

So our spare time in the evenings has been spent playing Jerry and Donna's Wii!!!!! I love it! and SO glad they got one as we had talked about bringing one back with us but there was NO room in our luggage for anything else. The guys have been racing trucks. Donna and I did some Mario Cart races and then the ever popular Guitar Hero. Which btw is very fun!!! Jerry got a new GH game disc last night and I played for bout an hour. Such the rockstar....named my band Glitterati!

Other than catching up on island life, things have been nice and slow. We went down to the fry shacks for Cat's small Junkanoo parade. Lots of whistle blowing and colorful costumes. The next day we went out fishing on the Cow Hunter with some friends. Gorgeous day and Chris did most the reeling in of all the fish.

All in all a great start to the new year. more to come later. Love you all
http://picasaweb.google.com/kricky37/DayOnTheCowHunter
http://picasaweb.google.com/kricky37/Junkanoo

copy and paste, sorry