Wednesday showers

The Internet has just come back after being out all morning. I am back to the condo, between light rain showers. The other 3 remained in the beach under the somewhat cover of the chickee.

This photo shows Janet and MM checking out the sailboat waiting for the bridge to open:



Janet found a couple of cute necklace sets at the local market up in Marigot. MM got off lucky with me not buying anything.

J and J wanted us to try out an Italian restaurant they enjoyed last week...Spiga. Food was good, but it took us an hour to get there, due to traffic. Bugger. We have too many choices nearby to do that routine again. Are we getting old? Yep...but wiser.

We will head out sightseeing in awhile. No schedule here, mon. We are on island time, having a ginger peachy time. Come on, sun!

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Hello, sunshine!

Welcome back to the island, Mr. Sun. We missed you yesterday.





Your absence made shopping a bit cooler, and the fact that there were NO cruise ships in port was good...it wasn't crowded, but also that meant lots of shops weren't open there in Philipsburg. No big deal. Janet had her eye on some bling she found earlier that got a round of approval. We both had bracelets needing some work done on them, so we will go back Thursday to pick up our stuff. Tough job, but somebody has to do it. The guys think sitting on the beach with a bottle of Carib is a tad more interesting. That makes it easy to find them when Janet and I are done.

I had some excellent conch chowder for lunch yesterday. As we pulled out of the condo we spied ribs being smoked across the street. Yep, that was dinner. Good, but good.

We will visit a different part of the island today, Marigot...part of the French side. We will also be eating on the French side tonight. Choices...we have lots!

Happy birthday today to BFF Joan! Love ya lots, gf. We can celebrate again when we get back home.

Have yourselves a ginger peachy day. We sure will. Life is good in St. Maarten, mon!

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Rain in paradise

Yuck...see, it does rain in paradise...but it won't last very long. This view is through our patio door...still not shabby, right?




We tried to go to Sunset Beach Bar and watch the planes come in over the fence. We got stopped in traffic at the hot spot, and I got a video of a plane coming in right over that I will post another day. The bar was totally full, so we went elsewhere and had an early dinner. That worked!

Some French toast is up next on the agenda.

It's just another day in paradise...on island time, mon! The rain is slowing down. Is that the sun? Yeah, baby!

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Happy Veteran's Day!

My special veteran is sitting beside me on a lounge chair under the chickee hut, reading a book. And enjoying this view.




No complaints, mon. Our next major decision is: where do we eat tonight?

Life is sa-weet in St. Maarten, y'all. WYWH!

Thank you, all veterans! And God bless our troops everywhere!

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Departure day

Good morning from ATL International concourse where we are waiting for our departure to sunny St. Maarten!



Friends Jim and Janet will be picking us up to begin our week of fun and relaxation. We are ready! Umm, I think MM has already begun that relaxing part.

Come along with us. Cheers!

Life is good, y'all, and about to get better!

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Friday fun and other stuff

Our girls had fun playing in the creek while we were camping next to it in NC last month, cold though it was.  It is 28 here this morning in Mayberry.  Brrr.  

Ansley was the apple bobbing champion.  Crazy gals.

KC enjoyed the action from his inside perch…and when the girls came inside to play with him.

What a life…for all of them!  And us.  The suitcases are out.  MM and I are heading to someplace warm.  Tomorrow.  Oh boy!!!  Another adventure.

But first…marbles (for sure) tonight.  Judy asked about that, so you long-time readers can skip this part.  It is a (wooden) board game that is two-sided;  four players on one side, six players use the other, using colored marbles, and two decks of cards.  I think it is officially called Aggravation, because it can be that, but we always simply call it marbles!  It is fun, easy to play, and doesn’t require a lot of long-range strategy because it can all change pretty rapidly.  This board was made by a guy in N Florida.  He (Glen) ships the board and everything with it, including instructions (863-255-2911).  The goal is to get all 4 of your marbles around the board into your home plate. It gets even more interesting after that, because the game isn’t over until ALL team members get “home.”  Three against three (or two against two when playing 4—but you knew that).

Enjoy your Friday fun.  We sure will.  Now it’s time to print the packing check list.  This game won’t go with us…this time.

Life is chilly but good in Mayberry, y’all! 

Confession time

I must confess to some “white lies” boldly made yesterday in the blog.  There was NO marbles game or challenge last night.  It was a challenge not to “spill the beans” and let Joan know that a birthday party was gonna happen!  She turns an important milestone next week, so what better excuse for a party, right?  That’s what I thought.  Twenty-eight folks were here!

The driveway filled with cars was a dead giveaway upon arrival that something was majorly UP.  Gotcha!  Dan and I managed to keep it quiet.

Everyone brought a munchie; I made Taco Soup (guess what’s for dinner Friday night?), and Tortellini Soup (not a morsel was left in that pot!)…mmm good:

Birthday gal Joan…with my cohort in crime Dan:

Jason and Mike in the kitchen…with two cakes (only a sliver of the Easy Lemon Cake was left.  Haley made Triple Chocolate Cake)…mmm good…and ice cream:

Hi…Bill, Bill and Haley:

And our silly son with a glass of wine, AND a “Butt Lite” spare (Ivana, we have a beer in this country called Bud Lite, so this beer in his back pocket got a new name).  Not a great photo from my iPhone, but I had to seize the moment!

Family, friends, food, beer, wine—that’s always a winning recipe for a wonderful occasion.  We had that last night.  We know how to party in Mayberry.

Am I forgiven for not telling the truth?

Laugh when you can,
apologize when you should,
and let go of what you can't change.
Life's too short to be anything...but happy.