My Newest Venture

I decided  I wasn’t busy enough this year and that I needed to undertake another housing project.   But its more than just one house!!!   This picture shows the main residence.  It was built in the 60’s by the previous owner who is now 92 year old.   He was quite the builder and never stopped repairing things on his own.  He was also a collector of everything imaginable (particularly things like tools, car parts, junk, and more junk).   Fortunately, a 86 year old collector friend of his wanted most of the “stuff” in the house.  But there is still lots of cleaning to do. 

This area pictured encompasses a garage, a huge workshop, and a shed.  I think it is about as large as the house.  

One of the first things to address was this problem:  TERMITES.  Today, the main house was “tented.”    It truly looks like a haunted house which is so appropriate for the upcoming weekend. 

A sneak peak to the inside of the main house.  Sadly, the deer was removed from the house so no need to be jealous. 

I cleaned out two small closets and filled 3 1/2 black Huskie garbage bags with clothing.   The Hospital thrift shop now has a variety of leisure suits and polyester pants galore.   But you might be jealous of this next find…..TIES! All sorts and all kinds of interesting colors.   Let me know if any of them interest you or might fit with your Halloween costume this year.

Tomorrow-----I will post pictures of the duplex on the back of the property.  Yes, there are three possible residences eventually.  

Lobster Hunting AND Feasting

Monday………………..

The lobster lasso has been a hit.  Zach and Emily have been keeping our stomachs happy with lobster.  One night we had surf and turf for dinner and another night we had lobster fettuccini alfredo.  Everyone in the group has loved the food.  Nicole would be jealous!    A smaller group went diving today because the rest were zip-lining.   I’ve been a bit disappointed in the diving this time.  It seems the larger life has gone missing.  But in their defense, the corals and fauna are gorgeous and very much alive. 

A group of eight went deep sea fishing in the afternoon.  Sadly, they only came back with one fish.   I think they still enjoyed the experience and no one got sick on the four hour boat ride.   

Tuesday……………

Last day of diving was great.  Unfortunately I am didn’t bring my extra battery and twenty minutes into the first dive I was out of charge.  Of course, we saw an octopus and a puffer fish inflated the size of a football.  Oh well!  

I spent the afternoon napping with Elle while a group went snorkeling.  Michelle survived her first experience and even came back with some pictures too.  Hopefully we can get her diving with us one of these days. 

Tonight is the “Dive in Movie”.  The kids loved this last year but it was too cold to swim.  We will wait and see who is brave enough tonight. 

A slideshow will follow of some of the better pictures from the last few days.  Enjoy!

What else do you do on Sunday?

 

Twenty-something of us attended church at the local branch on St. Kitts.  I think between us and another tourist family we doubled their attendance.  But the spirit is strong in their meetings.   If you look closely at the picture, you will see the little boy we adopted.   He wanted to be Elle’s best friend! 

The afternoon was spent relaxing in bed, by the beach, and in the pool.  Sybil Tucker, Krissy’s mother-in-law made a delicious pork loin dinner for our group.    Elle helped me make brownies as evidenced by the following picture.

The evening was rounded out with a game of Chicken Foot in which Emily beat Michelle and I.    Tomorrow I am hoping to get some reading done…since I have only read 30 pages thus far. 

Isn’t John a Lucky Man!

Today was a busy day filled with nonstop fun.   We began the day with a two tank dive trip.   Both dives were beautiful but I am just still not happy with the results my camera is getting.  Here’s a few:

But the highlight of the day was an afternoon trip to the rain forest for zip-lining!  Our group of ten piled into the van for a crowded ride.  About twenty minutes later we arrived at an old sugar mill overlooking the ocean.  The sights were beautiful.   We  got our gear together and did four different lines.   Its was extremely hot and we were dripping in sweat by the time we reached the last zip line.   Everyone had a great time and no accidents were had.  Our guides Conner and Renaldo were very helpful and with my father’s help kept everyone laughing.   At the conclusion of the adventure, one of the employees asked Michelle is she was married.  She answered and his response has kept everyone giggling all night.  “John is very lucky man.”  We all agreed!  

 

Lobster Lasso, Sprat Net, and Fire Man

 

Today was the first real day of our vacation.  We started off the morning with a two tank dive trip.  The first dive was a beautiful wreck dive but unfortunately I had camera malfunction issues.  So no pictures to record but the visibility wasn’t that great either. 

The second dive was chosen because of my Dad’s recent purchase: a lobster lasso.   It is a tool that helps you trap lobsters.  Between the three Emily and Howard got and the two Zach and Kenny got, we ended up with three that were male.  Two of them were female and full of eggs so we had to throw them back in the water.   Zach loved lobster hunting and is looking forward to getting more tomorrow.   Hopefully we will get another three or four to supplement our steak dinner tomorrow. 

Here’s a few pictures from the second dive.

 

As you can tell, I am still struggling to get the proper underwater settings and the flash working together.  I am wondering if I would be better off  without the strobe. 

Two vans full of people went to the Brimstone Hill Fortress.   My mom and I stayed behind with Kent and  Elle so they could get an afternoon nap in.  For dinner we took a taxi to Sprat Net and met the rest of the group.   Unfortunately, the sunset was covered by clouds but the lightening storm made up for it.   Dinner and the company was great.  Some had fresh lobster, some had ribs, some had shrimp, some had freshly caught Snapper, and some had pizza.   I know I ate too much!

Then we piled 4 children and 10 adults into an 8 passenger van for the 30 minute ride home.  The kids loved sitting in the back storage area.  Too bad there wasn’t a trunk to put them in! 

We stopped at Mr. X’s Shiggity Shack to watch the Fire Man on the beach.  Elle was very intrigued by the man and wouldn’t take her eyes off him. 

To finish off the night, Michelle, Emily, my Mom and I played a game of Chicken Foot.  Now we are off to bed for a early morning dive at Monkey Shoals…..aka shark dive hopefully.