My Garden

Dr.Stuart (the dentist that i work with) was telling me ,last week, that a few weeks ago he had sprinkled the seeds from a canteloupe alongside his house and now he had approx 100 seedlings come up.  He offerred me as many as I would like so I decided to buy a couple pots and see if I could get some fruit out of them. Then, last week, Kris and I finished eating a watermelon and he asked if we could do the same with the watermelon.  Why not, right?  Anyways, within 3 days I had seedlings and today has been 1 week since they were planted and they are approx 3 inches tall...unbelievable! I can't wait to see if they will really produce. 

BUGS!

Today I am waging war on the insects in my house.  Any crumbs on the floor attract them and all food in the house has to be sealed completely or else the ants, roaches and/or aphids get into it.  Kris has graciously taken responsibilty for the roaches(thank goodness) because I can't handle them! But it is still a constant battle with the ants.  Today is not their day because I finally found ant and roach traps that hold poison that they carry back to their nests and it should leave me without these pests for awhile(here's hoping).  I guess time will tell.

They have brunch on Nevis!!!

 Brunch exists on Nevis!! Today Jill and I took Katie and her mother-in-law (Melinda) to the Golden Rock Plantation for brunch.  Amidst all the craziness on this island I do get to have brief vacations when I get to do something like this.  I pulled out my camera and it felt good to act like a tourist for a day.  We had coffee and tea, fresh fruit and french toast! It was an amazing treat and I can`t wait to share this place with our visitors when they come. (Only 3 weeks till Ken & Carol get here) Now, if only I could find somewhere to get Dim Sum!!

SOS-Spouses of Students

 The University has started and organization called SOS, which stands for Spouses of Students.  It has been implented to help the families of students relocate to the island.  The lady(Jenn) that is running the organization now is leaving the island in April and they wanted someone to take it over so naturally they asked Jill and I because our 28 month stint on the island has just begun.  We have planned a couple events so far, including a kids party which we collectively celebrate birthdays for anyone during the current semester.  This semester we rented a giant bouncy castle for the kids and had a pizza party.

This is Anna, Me, Katie and Layla

Homes on Nevis

These are a couple examples of typical Nevis homes. The green house is of newer construction but you can see the sistern tank in front where they collect fresh rain water that supplies the house with water for bathing, cooking and even drinking.  A lot of the locals here don`t trust the tap water and they prefer to boil the rain water for drinking.

This house is one of my favorites that I have seen so far.  It is more typical of Nevisian construction.  The color comes from the African tradition and the architecture is an amalgamation of African and European styles.  These houses were designed to be easily dismantled and moved as the plantation workers moved around often.  There is typically no foundation, just the home set on stones or conrete pillars to allow ventilation and protect against humidity and pests.  Later, the French and English brought in the ideas of balconies and veranda`s and also the lattice work.  No matter the size or state that these houses are in, most of the locals take pride in the homes.

Our First Family Visit

Today was the best day we have had here so far and we spent it in St.Kitts.  I have only met Darcy & Nicole Poliakiwski once before(at our wedding) and today was the first time I met their beautiful daughters(Brette, Sydney, Jordan & Alexandra).  They landed in St.Kitts this morning and Kris and I watched the Cruise ship pull into the harbor, anxiously awaiting the time we would get to spend with them.  It was amazing day. It was a great feeling being able to share a little bit of our world here with someone from our world back home.  We are mssing them already and wishing them a safe journey home!!!!

Golfing

Kris and I golfed a full 18 holes of golf at the end of February! The course at the Four Seasons is amazing and we had an even better time, only having to spend 10 EC dollars each for the round(which is approx $3.70 US).  Our neighbor is the tennis pro at the Four Seasons and offerred to take us as his guests.  It was a great treat for Kris as he has been studying so hard.  The hard work is paying off though; he got 100% on his Organic Chemistry and 102% on Anatomy & Physiology!

Only on Nevis

This is how they transport hazardous materials in Nevis.  They tied a rope around these PROPANE bottles and then had someone riding in the back of the truck, holding them! I can do nothing but laugh at these type of things everday.