field trip

So I have a few observations about field trips in St. Thomas. First; we get to go to cool destinations. Post office and hospital. I have never been behind the counter at the post office unless you count following along with Mr. Speedy Delivery on Mr. Rogers. We visited the main postal hub for the islands and it was huge and busy with organization. Everyone was thrilled to see the kids and the kids were thrilled to see the postal workers in action. Bins, slots, packages, roller-lines, postal vehicles with loud horns! Later, at the hospital we visited the cafeteria, ambulances (loud horns again!) and occupational therapy center. In both places the kids interacted with the staff and equipment making it more memorable than listening to an EMT or PT talk about their job.

Second observation: carseats are not required if you are transporting kids! No one in my car brought one, no one told me to provide them. No one in the class was using them. I have noticed the loose-interpretation of car seat laws on the island; they aren't always used. Which on the one hand makes sense as the top speed we reach is maybe 40 mph, and most of the time it is around 20mph. But there are plenty of scary intersections around and with the left-side-of-the-road driving, potholes, tourists, no shoulders, open container laws, car seats are a very good idea.

Third observation: directions are not required to the Hospital or Post Office because they are the only one of their type to be found on the island, therefore landmarks in-and-of themselves. That is, unless you are new in town. Never fear, I know where the hospital is (B's broken arm on the first day) and I was lucky enough to have a six-year old in the backseat who could un-cluster me and get me to the Post Office . Her family has a PO Box there. We use a mom-n-pop mail services business closer to our home for mail delivery.

Last observation: Six-year olds are a little crazy. Place four in your back seat and listen to what they talk about. Hamsters, babies, potty-talk, commentary on the music in the CD player (Paul Simon), aliens, who is stronger and faster...

Fun days.

after school

A quick stop at the playground before we go home. The trees are amazing. Tall, spindley perfect shade for the sand and play structures. Some wildlife to look at too.

shell collecting

Our small shell collection is growing. The hurricane brought up some beauties that might not have been found otherwise. Conches, coweries and cones. B is most interested of the kids and she occasionally takes out our collection and sorts through them. In the past few days we've been aided but a super shell identification guide given to us as a gift. Now we have names for shells that were previously called: shiney, stripey, smooth and pointy.

laundry

Laundry, island style. We use a sturdy, but lightweight metal vinyl-coated rack that has enough tines to hold a whole load of laundry. We have a dryer but it makes total sense to set clothes out to dry in this heat. On more humid days we place the rack inside as the clothes seem to dry faster inside than outside where the humidity can interfere with the evaporation of water. I don't dry sheets this way and this method also requires doing only one load of laundry a day (takes most of the day to dry) so if I get behind then the dryer gets used instead. As the days are growing shorter and sun sits lower on the horizon, our south-facing balcony is getting more and more sunshine every day meaning the laundry might dry faster in the new direct sunlight. This also means in the next few months we can start some vegetable pots.

Field Trip: walk to work

::road to work::

::lookout hill::

::walk along Vessups Beach::

::entering Latitude 18::

::rained last night::

::into the National Park::

::past the termite nest::

::past the mother hen::

::and the horses training at the beach::
::neva nv, alwayz n'vd::

Sahara Dust

We have really strong tradewinds blowing from the east and it is also blowing in some dust from the Sahara.  To see the dust look at St. John in the far background on the left. Only seven miles distant but is has been obsured from view because of the haze. The NASA Earth Observatory has a good summary on the Sahara Dust and its importance to the Amazon and the harm scientists believe it does to the Caribbean coral reefs. Basically the dust fallout replenishes some nutrients lost in the Amazon rainforest but the dust also carries pathogens which are believed to cause some organism die-off in the Caribbean. An amazing Earth system. What is so strange about the dust is that even though we can see it, it doesn't seem to settle on anything. We don't notice a film of sediment on our horizontal surfaces or on the windshields of our car.

beach finds

 

Hot, muggy afternoon. Best wind on the island? Yacht club. Best bargin on cold beer or a stiff rum and coke? Yacht club. So that is where we went and this is what we found.

Yacht club sounds fancy. Its not. Its perfectly simple.

girls night out

Eating out down here is an exercise in keeping your expectations in check. Expectations in quality and price. Fresh wilts pretty quickly in the heat and fresh has also spent a week or so on a barge transiting the ocean to get here. For example, I purchased english cucumbers on a Friday and by Sunday they were moldy. So when we heard about restaurant with a noodle bar; fare different from pizza, chicken fingers, fries and hamburgers, we thought we'd give it a try. B loved the noodles - ate an adult size serving and more. M, not so much. She preferred chasing the kitties (and rats!) on the sidewalk, after she knocked over the hurricane lantern and spilled her water. Dinner with a 2-year old! September, being the slowest tourist month of the year down, meant we had the outdoor seating area to ourselves and the full attention of the wait staff (for better or worse) and free ice-cream at the end. A nice evening, with the moon just rising over St. John and rainbows in the sky.

long paddle

Hurricane Igor passed our island way out to sea, so we did not get much in the way of wind or rain. However, the winds did shift from their usual direction allowing for longer than usual paddles on the paddle board. Paddle boarding is best done on a calm sea with little winds. Its easier to balance and your body is less of a sail when there less breeze. E and C took the board out this weekend (shown above - C is laying down inbetween E's legs) leaving Cowpet Bay and paddling a mile or so over to Christmas Cove, while I watched from our balcony. Once at Christmas cove they played survivor man; two sailors washed up on the shore with nothing to eat, drink or keep them warm.

this moment

cool treats

A package arrive in the mail a few weeks ago with a lovely gift: star popsicle molds. It has been a wonderful addition to our cool treat repertoire given that popsicles do not always make it from the grocery store to the condo without melting, unless I have remembered to bring the cooler along which sometimes I forget to do. I usually use a pre-made juice (Bolthouse Farms is a popular brand here with a variety of good-for-you ingredients) We have had blueberry-banana, lemon-mango, pomegranate-lime, lemonade and right now there is a berry mixture in the mold. Some flavors (yellow in color) are more popular, less so the "purple colored" flavors. I have some mint in the fridge at the moment and I might try a mint tea popsicle for myself once the molds are empty.

Afternoon shade

Our southeast facing beach is best visited in the afternoon. The sun has traveled west across the sky and sits shining behind the palms which provide us shade to play in. To get to our place in the shade, we walk down 98 steep steps and then a little on a flat sidewalk. Along the way there are lizards, lizards and more lizards. They see us coming and flee, jump, scramble, freeze. Lately we have seen many tiny lizards and C is getting really really good at catching them with his hands. No more lizard traps. We also have a little lizard in our condo who provides us with freakout moments until we realize it is just a little lizard. The crab below is super fast and blends in with the sand. When fleeing from small children it quickly buries itself in the sand in hopes to remain unseen. Here is was trying to show me his super strong claws. Don't mess with me.

The water is finally clear of debris after the hurricane and the following windy days. We all went in to cool off.

king size bed

There is enough room for everyone to cuddle on this bed and in moments of sibling harmony it is a good place to play. The kids go in and out of this closeness minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, depending on the context of the moment. Has everyone had sleep, eaten well, are they feeling honored and respected, the list goes on: what age, personality, milestones, interests? With this daunting list of variables it is easy to see that it is impossible to get it (sibling rapport) right everytime, and even thinking that it will be right most of the time might be work left for the parents with wills of steel. But often settling for good enough and a little guidance when needed from us it works and at time works very well.

::M shhhing the big kids to sleep::

some summer projects

A few yards of fabric, some fat quarters and a recycled bed sheet supplied my sewing projects pretty well this summer. Only one project was planned and started before the move (the green, purple and gold picnic blanket at the bottom). Two others (rest blankets for the girls) shown here were made last minute with what I had on hand. I brought down to the VI a hardy, lighter-weight and less sentimental machine without electronic parts (a Riccor) in the event it might break during the move or I needed a repair made. As it turned out I pulled out the machine in June and it wasn't working well and had to find a repair technician on the island to fix it. All the calls I made led to one man who indeed once ran a sewing machine shop but was now an accountant fixing machines on the side. At first I was a bit worried about the part of town I would have to venture into to get it fixed and wondered how long it would take to get it fixed. This is the VI where the sun shines everyday, and the motto may be why do today what can be done tomorrow Mon. Anyway, while the part of town was questionable by stateside standards it was regular old St. Thomas neighborhood with, brightly painted, weathered and overgrown buildings. I was humbly reminded that appearances aren't everything and was so surprised to receive a call two days later with a message that my machine had been fixed.

 

 

Happy Day

Having her birthday fall on a school day didn't seem to bother B one bit. I love that about her. She told everyone "It's my birthday - I am 4. This is my crown, this is my new necklace." and the more people she could tell the better. That is the nice part about school year birthdays I guess - you can tell everyone and there are alot of everyone, that its your birthday!

::big brother putting on the tinkerbell slippers::

Though it must be hard to wait for your presents. She opened a couple of presents in the morning (one was a necklace that she could wear to school). Then she brought rice krispie treats to school. Later the beach and cupcakes: princess cupcakes.  

This image is my favorite: her shy gesture that says I really like this birthday stuff.