Before and after knee surgery today!

Yes, the med tech is shaving Dick's leg! There were actually two pieces of cartilage that had to be fixed, plus a bit of arthritis was found and scraped. Yuck. Dick has to be on crutches for a week just for stability (he is weight bearing), then he goes back to the doc for a check up and hopefully a gold star:-) He stayed beached on the couch all afternoon, with Parker checking out the web surfing. Yes, Parker is wearing a baby tee shirt to prevent him from licking an almost healed skin rash. Don't laugh at him...it is working and the shirt comes off soon! And Dick only has to keep his leg elevated and iced for 24 hours. That is a loooong time...he is bored already. Sigh. It could be worse.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! We'll actually celebrate on Saturday, and that is OK. Turkey day is a 'movable feast,' and feast we'll have with all the kids, grandkids, and new friends from Denmark here. And a ton of food. Yummmm...wish y'all could join us. Blessings to all!

Old fort in Marigot

Finally---Blogger got its bytes out of a wad and let me upload some more pictures! I have been trying for days to get some posted...urrgghhh.

This fort way up on that hill is overlooking a beautiful harbor (should have taken a picture of that), which is to the L behind the vendors. There were literally dozens of these displays, and it was fun wandering through them after enjoying pastries at the French bakery nearby. Yummm....

Marigot street vendors

Lots of colorful item are for sale from mostly friendly vendors. This market is on the French side of the island.

Griswolds in St. Maarten

Here we are at the famous Sunset Beach Bar. The end of the runway is just behind the surfboard. Notice the car in the road on the R, and the guy on the beach on the left. The fine print on the surfboard states that "Topless Women Drink 4 Free." That is true, although I didn't try it out. I paid the $4 for the Carib (beer)!

Goodbye St. Maarten...hello home!

Here SHOULD BE some shots of the street vendors in Marigot, on the French side of the island. I have been trying to upload some pictures for the past couple of days, but Blogger won't let me:-) Later on those!

There were a variety of items for sale: tees (of course), flowered shirts for the guys and colorful outfits for the ladies, jewelry, wooden toys, spices, bags, table runners and more...from mostly very friendly vendors. It was fun seeing the displays and hearing all the accents. On Thursday, the cruise ships were in and the traffic was horrible, so after one last shopping outting, we decided to load up, go back to Mary's Boon for a leisure lunch and then head to the airport for our departure. New airport, BTW.

I will also post some pics from the Sunset Beach Bar, which is just at the end of the major runway. Planes literally fly right over the beach and the road over to where the bar is (cars have to wait for the planes to clear the road!), and there are frequent 'idiots' fence surfing. Yep, they hang on to the fence and let the jet wake lift them up (hopefully these idiots don't procreate). And we learned something new at SB Bar--topless ladies drink FREE! I'll post a picture--of the sign, not the topless young thing we saw:-) There are speakers on the deck that broadcast the chatter from the airport tower, which Dick and I particularly enjoyed.

It was 29 when we got to ATL at about midnight...brrr, chilly chilly after being at the beach. But it is great to be home, except for the knee surgery Dick w/be facing. Oh well...later y'all!

Sun, shopping and eating

Yesterday we spent the day at the beach, only to discover that Ms. B’s is no longer in business (she had delicious BBQ ribs). Dick is briefly enjoying the lounge chair, which is where this white body stayed while everyone else went swimming.



We enjoyed the street vendors in Marigot and the local scenery today. Dinner tonight was back at L’Escapade, where we celebrated Jim & Janet’s 14th anniversary. The grouper was divine. A young couple from Columbus sat next to us (small world), and ordered grouper at our recommendation. So many restaurants, so little time. Sigh. We are doing our best to keep the restaurant economy going, however.

Anniversary dinner at L'Escapade

St. Maarten

What a life...villa on the beach, complete with our own private pool...sun/surf...what’s not to love? Come on down! Enjoy the view from Mary’s Boon, where we had a leisurely two hour champagne brunch, followed by the needed nap, a little reading. Food down here is DIVINE. The view isn’t bad either, but the sunset wasn't quite as pretty today.