Only 1 more week

Brian leaves next Monday, Labor Day. He is busy finishing projects for me and buying groceries so I don't have to worry. This weekend my parents will be up to watch the kids when we go see our umpteenth (I think it's 14 - I've started to lose count) Jimmy Buffett concert. This time it is at Wrigley Field! So, for those of us who are Cub Fans and Parrotheads, it is the best of both worlds!

Lincoln Balloon and Art Festival

This weekend we went to my mom and dad's in Lincoln, IL. Lincoln was named for and dedicated by Abraham Lincoln before he even became President. This weekend they had a balloon and art festival, which my dad was very involved in helping plan since he is the county administrator. It's really nice they live there now because they are only 2 1/2 hours away from here so it is a much easier drive.


Friday night we arrived and went to eat at a local Mexican restaurant. Brian was in heaven since he hasn't had Mexican food in a lonnnnnnnnng time. I ordered a jumbo margarita and they weren't kidding about jumbo. I couldn't finish it all!

Saturday we walked to downtown Lincoln and looked at all the neat art for sale. We ate lunch at the Blue Dog Inn, which was very good. The only dog not on the wall was a Saluki, so we will have to get a picture of the dog's DAWG and take it to the owner. Later that night, we went to see the balloons launch and then set up for a "glow". It was really pretty too.


Today we went down to the old Postville courthouse for some heritage activities. They had all kinds of people explaining the old way to do things like spin and dye wool or make barrels, etc. There was even a blacksmith, a guy who marbelized paper, and Brian's favorite - a phrenologist. If you don't know what that is it's the old "science" of analyzing your skull to see your strengths and weaknesses. Oh, Abraham Lincoln was also there, and I took his picture but it refuses to upload.

Our Boring Life

Well, things around here are things. The past few days I had to go to teacher's institutes. For those of you who think those are "free days" - think again. We are stuck in meetings for most of the day and then we are given about an hour to work on lesssons and room prep. It can be really frustrating. So, Thursday and Friday were institute days. This year a man named DeWayne Street (yep, real name) did a presentation on poverty that was actually quite good. This is his second time presenting to Harlem teachers. Last June he presented on diversity. This is honestly the first inservice I have attended in all these years teaching that was worth my time. On Friday, Brian and the kids came in to the school to help me out a bit. Brian set up a wireless router so I can use my laptop online and project images for my students off the Internet. Nolan and Michaila helped rehang posters that had fallen off the wall over the summer. I am still missing one poster and the corresponding quote sheet, which really ticks me off - it was my favourite. It was Gandhi sitting at his spinning wheel! Of all the ones to disappear!

Yesterday we ran to Rockford for a few odds and ends we needed around here. I went for a facial (Yes!) while Brian took the kids for the rest of the errands. I love having facials. There is nothing like a good scrub to make your skin look so much better. Plus, they give you a little massage while the masks, etc. sit on your face! Very relaxing.

After that we grabbed a bite to eat at Fifth Alarm and headed off to church. We hadn't been to mass at all on Nevis, so it was nice to go. The church has been redoecorated too. They were in the process of doing this when we left, but we got to see the finished product without the mess! New carpet, paint, pew covers, etc. Looks nice. So, for those who had seen the old style red shag carpet, etc. - be ready!

Today Brian is packing up kids (hopefully Cleo too) and taking off for his parent's house. I am going to stay behind so I can work on lessons and curriculum. It will be hard though as it is very nice outside right now! (Oh, almost forgot - I am thinking about starting my Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction this fall. More details later.)

Michaila's 10th Birthday

Michaila turned 10 on August 15. Our cousins, Riley and Delaney came over for much of the day and had cake with us. Michaila got a few outfits from her grandparents, a few toys from the cousins, and a Zen from mom and dad. A Zen is like an iPod, but has an FM radio on it as well. Of course, she received a lot of cards with green stuff inside!!!


In the afternoon, our long-time friends, The Leonatti's came to visit. Brian and Greg have been friends since they were 5 and 7 years old! So, it is always nice to see them. We went to eat at our favorite local haunt, The Fifth Alarm. Since she was the birthday girl, Michaila was treated to a brownie sundae.

On August 16, Michaila had all that money burning her pocket so we took her to Limited Too for some new clothes. We also did a lot of shopping for school. I return to work tomorrow and the kids go back to school next Wednesday so I don't know how much time I will have to blog. As my sister pointed out, they will probably read something like this......"it's been a long day and my students are driving me insane" Ha Ha Ha!!!!

Adios Nevis

Well, as you know, travel by airplane is often a hassle and yesterday proves the point. We checked in at noon without any problems at the Vance Amory International Airport. Sounds fancy doesn't it? Well, the Nevis airport is basically a check-in, pay your get-out-of-dodge fees, a waiting room, and one runway. Anyway, we cleared emigration without a hitch, which was good because the kids and I had expired visas. Then, we sat to wait. The plane landed and the bags were loaded. It looked like we would actually leave on time! Well, a little cloud burst pops up and they ask for 8 passengers to volunteer to stay behind and take the 6:15 a.m. flight the next day. As you can imagine most people there were students and like "heck no" get me out of here. We probably could have stayed behind, but the look on Brian's face was one of total horror. No one volunteered to stay behind so they took off the luggage. All of it! So, we get to Puerto Rico and they tell us they "created a special flight" for the morning (as if they are doing us a favor and note - not same day!) to pick up our luggage and then forward it to our final destination. Of course, we would have to file a lost luggage claim in order to get it. On top of it, the flight was only half full!

When we arrive in Puerto Rico we clear customs and immigration pretty easily and then we pick up a few bottles of duty-free liquor, have a beer/soda and snack, and then board our flight to Chicago. We take off 30 minutes late, again, but arrive pretty much on time at O'Hare. Lucky us though, we stand in line at the baggage service area for 30 minutes to tell the lady the story, describe our luggage, etc. She tells us they will deliver it to the house for the inconvenience and gives us a claim number and phone number (they are going to regret giving us a phone number). So, Brian is excited about not having to drive back to O'Hare for our luggage, but we have no summer clothes or personal items. Lucky you guys though - all of your souveniers are in our carry-on bag!

We walk like mad-people down to the bus terminal to see a VanGalder bus leave. So, we were disappointed that we would have to wait another hour for a bus. Brian went looking for drinks and snacks because it is nearly 11 p.m. at this point and we're tired and hungry, but then a bus pulls up. So, I tell Nolan, "Run, get your dad - it's a bus!" Lo and behold, this bus is the one that goes to Madison via Rockford, South Beloit and Janesville. We arrived in Rockford just after midnight and take off for the nearest McDonald's, which has never tasted so good. When we get home the house is clean and Sharon has bought us some groceries (Corona included!). Nolan and Michaila took off to their rooms right away, but Brian and I popped open the champagne I had left in the fridge!

A Fond Farewell

Well, this is it - our last night on Nevis for the year. Today we spent much of the day recovering from last night, which was really fun! Then, we cleaned a bit and headed down to Oualie for some Carib and a sunset. The sunset was mild tonight but still enjoyable. Michaila drew some scenes on a napkin, and Moi honored her by hanging it on the glass rack. He even asked her to autograph it! We had a few rounds bought for us since we were leaving. Nolan and Moi played tricks with quarters, which was actually quite fun. And Vedan, the manager, gave us a lot of bumper stickers and pens. We were taken care of quite well. But alas, I was able to walk on the sand a bit and put my toes in the Caribbean Sea. It was really hard not to break down crying because, despite all the inconveniences, I will miss this place terribly.

T -2 and counting

Hello all of you Americanized people! Brian has finished exams, and it appears he passed with flying colors!!!! To celebrate we went to Rumours with our friends Kerrie and Andrew. Andrew is new faculty here. For the past few years they have lived in France where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship.

Alvin , the owner of Rumours, has wonderful conch chowder (and also a lot of Carib, Ting, etc!). Many MUA students and some faculty showed up so we talked, danced and drank, but after a bit we left for the beach party at Herbert's Beach a few pre-med students were having. Nolan decided not to tag along for that, but Micha did. It was nice being on the beach with a bonfire, listening to the waves and looking at the stars. After a bit we drove Kerrie and Andrew home and dropped Michaila off. Brian and I headed back to Rumours where the party was in full tilt.

We ran in to a lot of friendly faces there, and many of those faces bought us drinks! I had to give our friend Jaime a big hug---he is going back to the states for break and will be with his family, Danielle and Julian, whom we miss SOOOO much here. They are wonderful people. Many of the students are flying out in the morning. Some, like us, will leave Saturday. Everyone is looking forward to a relaxing three weeks. As for me, I have to go back to work!

Oualie Bay

....there's this one particular harbour, so far but yet so near where I see the days as they fade away and finally disappear...--J.B.


Well, we are at T -3 and counting. Brian has his exams tomorrow and is busy studying. He managed to go with us down to our favorite beach, Oualie, today and did some reading while the kids and I enjoyed our waning days of summer. Oualie Bay is a quiet bay on the northern Caribbean side of the island and overlooks St. Kitts to the west. To the north lies Hurricane Hill, which is very picturesque with its small bungalows that hang on its rocks. To the east is the Oualie Hotel and Restaurant with Mount Nevis as the backdrop. To the south is Tamarind Bay, which is framed by an area of larger vacation homes known as Cliffdwellers. Oualie also has a dock at which several fishing boats port, and many sailboats also anchor off Oualie regularly, including The Caona. Oualie also has the most beautiful sunsets. Of all the places on Nevis I will miss most over the winter, it will be Oualie.

A few people have told me they wish I would have started my blog when I first arrived on Nevis. I did buy a journal to keep track of events, but that went by the wayside after a few weeks. So, I am postdating entries from the journal along with the corresponding pictures if I have them. To read the posts you will have to look in the archives. So far I have entered through the end of June. Enjoy!

Funny Signs - St. Kitts

We drove around the island of St. Kitts and spied this lovely signage on a local snackette. We also saw a funny little red one that said P.H.D. - No Dumping! I got a kick out of that!

Sugar Cane - St. Kitts

St. Kitts is covered in sugar cane fields. This year's crop will be the last planted. The government has decided to invest more in tourism. Sugar cane takes 5 years to mature, so once the last fields are cut that will the the end of sugar cane on the island.

Brimstone Hill Fort - St. Kitts

Brimstone Hill Fortress was started in 1690 and was a sight of many conflicts between the French and British during the colonial era. Slave labor was used to build the various quarters, bastions and the citadel. The citadel is in the shape of a pentagon! (I thought that was rather funny.) The rampart up to the citadel is very steep and I just about turned around due to a weird sense of vertigo and my general fear of heights! Off the northern edge you can see St. Eustatius and Saba.

Romney Manor - St. Kitts

Romney Manor is an old plantation once owned by Thomas Jefferson's great great great grandfather. The grounds are beautiful. Above are travelers palms and below is the old bell tower that was used to signal time to slaves in the field. It also had a row of pointsettias over 5 feet tall! Can you grow them that tall Mom?

Shiggidy Shack - St. Kitts

Friday night we had dinner at Monkey Bar and then met our friend Lennox at the Shiggidy Shack. It is literally a little shack with prop-up windows. Lennox finally convinced Michaila to dance with him.

Aerial View of Marriott

I put this up to give you a better idea of the size of this place.

The Marriott on St. Kitts

Well, this is a view of the Marriott from our room. Friday afternoon we were able to catch the 1pm ferry instead of the 3pm because Brian was allowed to take his exam early. So, we took off like crazy people. We had to wait about 30 minutes before we got on the boat, so we had a few Caribs. We rode over on the CaribSurf, which is the newer and much nicer ferry. Once we arrived in Basseterre Brian was immediately hit up by some kids on the dock for a dollar! You just have to tell them no or they pester you for more money. It's kind of pathetic really.

We walked over to TDC to pick up our car and were accosted by about five taxi drivers along the way. We waited for our car for nearly an hour! But we were given a newer red jeep with a soft top, which came in handy. So, off to the Marriott. We drove along the peninsula, and I was like "Oh my God!" - the place is huge. We pulled up and were immediately helped out of the car and whisked off to registration. While you wait they offer you cold wash-cloths and fruit punch. Then, they call over a bell-hop who shows you to your room and carries your bags. We stayed in Westbury House which is near the South Pool. There are three pools at the Marriott: North, South and Main. The Main Pool is where all the action is (and the pool bar) so we went there a lot. Well, as soon as the kids could get their suits on we were off to the pool and pool bar!

Island, I see you in the distance--J.B.

This afternoon we are heading over to stay at the Marriott on St. Kitts for a few nights! My friend Danielle tells me that it is sooooooo nice! We are looking forward to it.

To get there we have to take a ferry over. The ferry ride is about 45 minutes long. We rented a car so we can drive around tomorrow so hopefully the company won't rent it out behind our backs, which is what they did last time we were on St. Kitts. I am taking my camera so I will get a lot of pictures for everyone to look at. I have to tote my laptop too because my camera card only holds 20 pics so hopefully the fat kid that hangs around the dock asking for money won't try to steal it off me. (I think I can take him ;)

Family Beach Day was at Cades Bay, which we hadn't been to yet. Its a pretty nice beach with a bit more wave than some, and the water gets deeper quicker so you don't have to go real far out to cool off. The Moreno's are gone and the LaPrays didn't come, so it was pretty quiet. I forgot the camera so no pics - sorry.

Michaila the Artist

Brian has nothing on these lovely orange walls so Micha has decided to create original pieces to decorate. This is her first masterpiece made especially for her daddy.

Yesterday we bustled off to Oualie Beach earlier than normal. The kids and I spent a few hours there. Michaila made a new friend named Cassie and they snorkeled together for awhile. Cassie is from Maryland and said they like Nevis enough they may buy a house here! Nolan spent a lot of time looking for sea grapes. He was in that tree for a long time and only found 6 ripe ones. (That's the tree he's sitting in.) Our friend and Oualie Chef Jason told Nolan that the staff combed out all the sea grapes to put in to dishes and drinks at the restaurant.

Jason also asked if I would be headlining the entertainment - LOL! He even claimed he put it in the paper. That's when I asked if the title was "Crazy Lady that Sings Like a Dead Cat"! Brian and I did end up going to Oualie last night for music and drinks, and I am glad we did because we ran into our friend Lennox, who owns the catamaran Caona on which we sailed a few times. I was afraid we wouldn't see him before flying out since the Caona is now on St. Kitts for repairs and repainting, which Lennox does himself. We are going to St. Kitts for the weekend and plan on meeting "Nox" at either the Monkey Bar or the Shikity-Shak. He is really fond of Nolan and Michaila and is looking forward to saying good-bye to them.

Jason and his wife Sarah also stayed for a night out, which is nice because they have small kids and Jason works a lot so they don't get out alone very often. Moi made a new drink called a B-52, which Jason gave to me - not sure what was in it, but if anyone ever goes to the Oualie Beach Bar and wants a rum and kaluha tasting drink order one! It was REALLY good. Just be sure Moi is tending bar (Tuesday or Friday nights) because it's only made by him.

Last Saturday (July 30) I forgot to post pictures from Dr. Allerton's pre-med pizza party that he throws every term for former and current pre-med students. The home they live in is beautiful. They actually house sit for friends. It overlooks the Caribbean Sea and St. Kitts and has an infinity pool, beautiful hardwood floors and furnishings, two HUGE suites, wonderful gardens, and two wrap-around porches. I told Brian he needed to find a house like that to sit! We arrived and it started to rain about 30 minutes later so I caught not even a portion of the rainbow that formed over the mountain. Very beautiful.

The past few days have been pretty uneventful. Sunday morning we got up and cleaned the apartment. We decided to go down to Nisbet but were only there for about an hour when storms came in. So, home we went to pull down the laundry. The rest of the day was icky so we hung out, listened to Harry Potter 6 on our iPods, had some dinner, and watched TV. In all, a fairly boring day. The Turners came over around 6:30 with a no-bake cheesecake and blueberry topping. It was pretty good. Michaila left with them to spend the night with Hannah.

Yesterday I drove Brian in to campus and came home to workout. Michaila arrived at 9:30 from her sleepover acting goofy. We hung around here for awhile and then headed off to Oualie for a few hours. The stingray that hangs around the pier at Oualie came in real close to the shore. He's big! I had the kids get out of the water just in case as the stingray was swimming directly at them. They are generally friendly, but I didn't want them to come in contact with the back end! When he arrived home, Brian opened up the 6 coconuts Nolan has managed to collect. You have to cut the husk off first with a machete. If you use a plain old knife you will destroy your hands. Then, you can either freeze them overnight or bake them for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. We froze half and baked half. It was interesting because the ones we baked actually split during the process. Once you open up the coconut, the meat comes out easily. Fresh coconut will keep for up to a year frozen, so Brian will have a lot of nice treats over the coming year. I think they taste a lot like almonds! Yum!!!!