A-Z 2013 the letter "B"

It was pretty much a no brain-er  for me when it came to choosing my "B" word. Those of you who know
me or regularly read this blog know...

I love the beach; so naturally beach is my "B" word.

I thought right off the bat in this blogging challenge I'd mix it up a bit by adding photographs in my posts if appropriate. I have personally visited all of these beaches and taken all of these photographs.

Lets visit some of my favorite beaches together shall we?

This first beach is a lovely beach in St Maarten. 

Hawaii

And what would beach pictures be without at least one beach story?

Halieiwa, Hawaii

Back in the late 1970's my brother lived in a house right beside this very beach in Haleiwa, Hawaii. When I arrived on the island the first thing I did was put on my suit and jump in the water right in this very spot. I dove into the beautiful clear water  being careful of the large rocks that dot the bottom of the oceans floor in this area. 

When I came up for air I remember being surprised at the power of the waves and how quickly the next wave approached. Then all of the sudden with the next wave came a surprise I would never forget. A school of slim green fish about six inches long jumped out of the wave and literally slapped against my body one after the other. I stood there waist deep in a hail of live fish and I was one horrified teenager!

Shocked by the fish pelting I ran from the water like gangbusters. My brother was in stitches as he watched this all play out from the safety of the shoreline.  Thirty plus years later he still gets a kick out of my reaction which was and I quote....

"I'm never swimming in here again there are fish in there!"

O.K don't laugh to hard I was a teenager remember!

Waimea Bay, Hawaii

Barbados has great beaches and even better rum, if you like that kind of thing!

Long Beach NY, recently hit very badly by the hurricane. 

This picture is pre Sandy

Sandbridge, Virginia Beach

So tell me folks what's your favorite place?

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I can't wait to give them this gift...

When Bill and I were in Barbados we spent our last evening at a street fair of sorts, there were some VERY talented artisans there.  As we strolled up and down looking through the shacks and the tents we came upon a man was selling art on canvas; just the type of art my son in law and daughter collect. With Christmas coming it was perfect!

They particularly love that Afro-Caribbean- Jazz vibe smokey room- art; it's usually has one or more people, musical instruments and vibrant colors.  Bill and I were both drawn to many of the pieces that the man had in his booth but one in particular spoke to us as perfect for our daughter and her hubby. Luckily for us it was the perfect size to put in our luggage so we made a deal for a price and we had a perfect Christmas gift.... almost!

We then made our way to the framer when we returned. How can I describe picking the perfect frame? The process is in itself an art and here is where the professionals are really helpful. It was a quite difficult process plus there was the fact that we were fending off offers from other patrons to buy the art piece, we could have made a hefty profit! There wasn't a person on line who wasn't oooh-ing and aaah-ing at this painting. Anyhoo, we found the PERFECT frame!

I sure hope Heather and Bo like this gift as much as we do.

My Mom says if this picture was fruit she'd want to eat it!

What do you think? You like?

Barbados vacation Part 2 the good and the not so good!

The weather in Virginia since returning from Barbados has been cool to cold to say the least; you know where I'd rather be right? Writing about Barbados is fun, being in Barbados...more fun.

Here's a bit of what I thought about our vacation experience.

The Food:
I found the food at the Almond resort to be good. Breakfast and lunch were buffet and dinner was off the menu, there were three restaurants on the resort but I suspect it all came from the same kitchen. There was mainly Caribbean fare, there was fish and lamb, chicken and lots of curry and sweet potatoes.I had lots of fun ordering dinner each night choosing all the things I'd never heard of or couldn't pronounce. To be honest I liked it all, really I did! And who can complain when they bring lunch to you by doing an occasional barbecue on the beach. And there was the rum and the beer!  It was just to much of the same type food over and over again that kind of got to me after a number of days. And that number would be four!!

By the forth day we were craving a little variety soooo, we did what any self respecting foodie would do. Ran to the Italian place to hang out with Luigi at his Italian Restaurant; it was across the street from the resort. I was dying for some pasta; really my craving was bad. Luigi even made me two different kinds of pasta when he saw I was having difficulty making a choice! I inhaled that pasta, ate desert, had espresso and even had some grappa, it was heaven!

The Clocks:
There weren't any clocks on the resort, nor were there any in our room. Now call me crazy but if I have to be at dinner for a reservation, and it is required then why no clocks? I now have $250.00 in roaming charges on my cell phone bill because I kept on checking the darn phone so we wouldn't be late for dinner every night. Which then led to our shopping trip to buy the turtle clock and our encounter with the Aloe Vera guy! (l'll explain about him next)

St Lawrence Gap:
This is an area outside the resort which I had imagined was a beautiful area filled with shops, restaurants, clubs a casino or two. When I researched it on line I saw this stretch along the beach that was touted as an area tourists want to visit. So here's me, the foolish American thinking it's like Port Jeff in NY or maybe even like Duck NC; a quaint area to stroll in and out the shops. Yeh sure! What we got was the creepy Aloe Vera guy who spotted the dumb scar on the back of my leg and hounded us every time he saw us walk up that dumb street, trying to sell me Aloe Vera for my healing.  And the Gap was seedy in my opinion to say the least, but we did visit the Casino there.

The Casino:
It was about the size of a bathroom stall in a Trump Casino. One neon sign in the window said "Slot Machine" so unbelievable to me that I actually went back to the resort to confirm that it was a legitimate casino. The perimeter of the room had an assortment of poker machines and slot machines maybe 18 in all. I thought to myself I can't believe they call this place a Casino. Then I heard a ringing in my head! Mr lucky, my husband won $1,200.00 Barbados that's $600.00 American in the slots, somehow then that little casino didn't seem so bad after all! We took our winnings and left. You got it Mr Aloe Vera guy was waiting outside wanting to sell us his Aloe and he wanted beer money too!

The Staff and The Other Tourists:
My favorite staff personnel was our housekeeper/maid, she was adorable and liked to chat. Honestly maybe it had it little to do with the fact she put the most fabulous fresh smelling sheets on our big and comfortable bed every day! All the other staff were very nice, but it seemed to me that the wait staff at the restaurants might have been slightly understaffed, and sometimes the bar was out of supplies and under stocked.

I have some observations about the other tourists too. British men are very friendly, more friendly then most other men. Canadian men love to talk about sports especially hockey. We met a German man who could barely speak English but loved to laugh, had a infectious smile and enjoyed beer.  And  not that I'm prejudiced  (my grandmothers were Irish off the boat ) Irish woman are very lovely and like to chat and the older Irish ladies I met also liked to tell jokes too!

Canadian women ROCK!! We met two younger both coincidentally from Toronto (in early 30's ) traveling alone....how cool is that? I have always fantasized about that, going someplace alone! I was green with envy.

Shopping: 
One day when rain was the full day forecast we took a taxi to Bridgetown to shop for things to bring home for our loved ones. Duty free is pretty neat, we purchased perfume, rum, Tommy Hilfiger clothes and liquor for a fraction of what we would pay here. Then we went to some of the stores that line Broad Street and the discount markets that line Swan Street. We literally had to buy and extra piece of carry on luggage to get all our stuff home.

Entertainment: 
The resort had a lot of different activities that you could sign up for(for a fee), tours of the island, of churches and so on. We didn't do any of these, but we did sign up for one thing and that was for transportation to go to Oisten's Fish Fry.All the locals open up these shacks and tents and cook local food on Friday night and it's a chance for the tourist to mingle with them. They have a big stage where they play music and you can dance and socialize. There are tents set up in one section where local crafts people show and sell their wares. I could easily say this was our favorite thing that we did while we were here. We strolled up and down endless rows of food, crafts, art and the like listening to the music sipping cold beer soaking in the aromas of freshly cooked local food and the local vibe.

This place was so cool, I loved loved loved it.

I hope you've enjoyed hearing about our vacation.

Barbados vacation part 1- do you have a vacation type?

There's so much to tell about our vacation that I've decided to break it down into a few different posts. The first one will be about the resort where we stayed, and the all inclusive experience and I'll share a few pictures I took.

Did I mention my camera really sucks? Santa are you listening?

The second one will be about the people we met and some of the things we did; my lips are sealed!

I am finally learning that I actually have a particular "vacation type" and I should probably stick to it.

I went on a cruise with my family in 2007. Pretty fresh after the kids death I didn't really expect to have a good time but being with 15 of my cousins and my Aunts and Uncles and my Mom was what the doctor ordered, so away we went. Cruising was nice, I didn't not enjoy it;  but I knew when it was over I probably wouldn't ever do it again. The problem, there wasn't enough time on the beach for me when we got to each port.

We went to St Marten a year after that, stayed at a resort where we had a small kitchen. We'd have coffee and breakfast there every day. We rented a small car and did our own thing which consisted of going to a different beach every day, we would choose daily. Eating a very late lunch on the way home from the beach, restaurants were dotted all over the island. Nap time after the beach was a daily ritual, then we'd go to the French side of the island for a late dinner and drinks. Heineken was pretty free flowing on the island, have I mentioned how much I like that beer?

We decided for this vacation in Barbados to try an all inclusive resort. The resort we stayed at was an Almond Resort and it was lovely. It was roughly ten acres on the beach with beautiful foliage lined paths leading to different pools, bars and restaurants which are all out doors. The rooms are spacious and air conditioned and house keeping changes the sheets every day, that I have to say is really a treat.

There were several buildings  all four levels high arranged over the property, ours was building four and of course as luck would have it we were on the forth floor. Did I mention the balcony? Pretty nice place to sit and watch the birds or the other tourists pass by on the paths below.

Dinning was usually by reservation for dinner. As you can see in the picture above the chairs are outside on a deck, this restaurant was called The Dover Restaurant, right on the beach their specialty was fish dishes. Tucked in between the pool and the beach we dined here to delicious fish dinners under the moonlight as the surf crashed just feet away. Pretty nice stuff!

There are many British tourists and as you know Barbados shares many British customs so there is afternoon tea at four. Many tourists would congregate for tea, sandwiches and biscuits and the place in the picture above and below. Many others would just be there because of the bar. Bill and I would hang out to socialize and to catch the afternoon breeze and you can see the bar towards the back of the picture which for some is a good enough reason to be there! We however being American's did afternoon tea and sandwiches with a twist we would have Rum and sandwiches. We were on vacation after all!

After hours on the beach and a nice lunch we'd sit here under the fan and chat with other tourists sometimes for hours. Drinking rum drinks or cold beer; it should be said that Barbados has a really great beer called Banks beer, yummy. We'd snuggle up on one of those upholstered couches and read or play cards while enjoying said Banks beer!

Of course every single picture I took of the amazing beach turned out blurry and not fit for posting, ya hear that Santa?  The place looks nice right? The food was pretty good too, but I'll get into that in my next post.

Remember when I started I mentioned about a "vacation type"? 

All inclusive was nice and I enjoyed it, but like the cruise I'd probably never do it again. Nothing against the resort because it was really nice and I don't regret going, but I'm not the "vacation type" for all inclusive, it's just to structured.

What about you? Do you have a vacation type?

trying to get back in the grove of blogging

Hi everyone!

I'm back from vacation; actually I've been back for almost a week. When I left for New York and then Barbados my husband and I agreed that I would leave my computer and there would be no blogging. Vacation would be for relaxing and alone time, not for me writing and socializing with my blog friends. I have to be honest as much as I needed a vacation and time alone with hubby,  I kinda worried about how being away from my blog would feel. How was I going to survive without my laptop without the interaction. I think I was really heading towards a bit of an addiction problem. It was time to step away from the computer!

Getting back to this blog has been a lot harder than I though it would be and I am really surprised. Maybe it's just that things have been busy here. Driving back from NY is tiring, then there's the unpacking, grocery shopping, social obligations- I had a Christmas dinner party this Friday night for my  girl-friends. (you'll be able to read about it soon in a guest post I'm doing for Melissa over at MaMe Musings)

We headed up to NY for Thanksgiving and had a very nice time there with my family, my brother and my sister in law do such a wonderful Thanksgiving. The night after some of our cousins and my Aunts Gen and Marie and Uncle Doug came over for a little get together since we hardly ever get to see them no that we live out of NY.

My camera was acting really crazy for some reason and I didn't get many pictures; Santa needs to bring me a new one especially since I put pictures on my blog on a regular basis. But here are a few pictures of us hanging around my cousin Mickey at the kitchen table. (This picture is some cousins a few friends who are like cousins, my Mom and my aunt Marie towards the back.) He's been doing a genealogical search on our grandfather who died when I was about seven. Frankly we didn't know very much about him other than he was from PEI Canada and French. My cousin has now traced the family back to the 1600's. We were all really fascinated by what he found, I just wonder WHO we'll find when we take this further!

Aunt Gen & Uncle Doug

My Uncle Doug and my Aunt Marie who was sitting on the other side of the table are preparing to celebrate their 5oth wedding anniversary next year, isn't that great? Marie is my fathers (he passed almost 20 years ago) and my Aunt Gen's youngest sister. I was informed by my cousin Barbara that there's a party in the works. The two options for the happy couple are a small intimate party and a large one, part of me hopes the kids choose to have a large celebration so that we can travel up and share in their special day. Scratch that; as much as I'd love to spend the day with them since I was only three when they had their first wedding and didn't get to go, I hope the kids give them a perfect day- whatever they want.

After a late night hanging with the family Bill and I got up at the crack of dawn and headed to Barbados. My brother Gerard it should be said was a real sport and drove us up at JFK at the crack of dawn!

What to hear about my Barbados vacation? Check back in a day or two,OK!

I missed reading all your blogs while I was gone. I promise to try to catch up. Let me know if I missed anything important or earth shattering. Glad to be back!

decorating, shopping and packing oh my!

I'm going to NY for Thanksgiving and after that a weeks vacation so there's a ton of stuff to be done before or there won't be time when I get back.


Needless to say.....

My house is currently littered with boxes of Christmas decorations, crazy right? I have never in my life put up Christmas decorations before the tenth of December. Doing it before Thanksgiving is something department stores do! There getting out of hand by the way have you noticed? Christmas was up before Halloween this year in some stores, really they need to get a grip.

We did last minute thing today like refilling our prescriptions; you know your getting old when that's on your to do list before a trip. Gift card for the cat sitter, cat food so our roommates get fed while we're gone, extension cords for decorating- they seem to disappear like socks in the dryer in this house, and buying sun tan lotion for our Barbados trip. I will not even go into how much I need this vacation after the long summer I had with my leg wound. 

But we do what we have to do and I'm running out of days before I leave to be with my New York family on Tuesday. Of course there are sacrifices, I can't spend Thanksgiving with my children, but work schedules don't allow that anyway.

And my Godson and nieces are expecting my for some good ole fashioned baking! Isn't it great when kids enjoy the simple pleasures?

There will be pies, pumpkin, and most likely apple and pumpkin roll and on Thanksgiving Day home made rolls. These rolls from scratch only take and hour and are yummy. Believe me when I tell you, roll making is  an art form here in the south.   I got the recipe below from my friend Susan whose family has been here in the south forever. They've simplified another family recipe so that it's easier for those days when you're in a rush or you just would rather be with your loved ones and not in the kitchen.

Why not try it out this Thanksgiving? They have never failed for me!

SIXTY MINUTE ROLLS

2 pkg of yeast

1 tbsp sugar to 4 tbsp (depending on the level of sweetness you like, I like the least amount)

1 1/2 c. milk (warm)

1/4 c. butter, melted

4 c. flour 

1tsp. salt 

In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and sugar to warm milk, to dissolve yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes. Mix the dry ingredients together to the milk mixture along with the melted butter. Mix well. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes in a warm place. Form 24 rolls, each the size of an egg ( you can make them bigger if you want).Place them on a greased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

I'll be checking in after Tuesday and thru Friday and might squeeze in one more post by Thanksgiving  but I'll  be taking a break from blogging while I'm in Barbados, ya think!

So, just in case I don't get another chance to say it, I hope everyone of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving;  may it be filled with Gods blessings, bounties of food and wine and plenty of togetherness with those you love.

Gotta go pack!

in the sand and water

I do not have a single memory that does not include the beach; always the beach. Two days ago my sister-in -law and brother called to tell me a huge professional surfing contest was being held on the beach where I grew up. And here I was hundreds of miles away wishing I was feeling the familiar breeze  and the warm sand of the beach an wishing I was there so I could go.

Boy was I bummed, I missed the surfing stars the bands playing all types of music the people from near and far getting together to enjoy the waves and each other. I missed chance to see the people I grew up with I missed the chance catch up to laugh and of course to hang out with my family.

 And I miss this beach.....

I just love this picture of my niece and my godson jumping in the surf; don't you? I actually was able to catch Alex while she was in the air, I always liked that about this picture.

I can't tell you how many life guards that sat on that very life guard stand that I had terrible crushes on when I was a  girl. Every summer they were just cuter and cuter, boys working lifeguard jobs way to wise to do anything but be nice and steal a few kisses with this girl; can anyone say.... *jail bait*.

When I was pregnant I used to come to the beach and dig a hole in the sand so that I could lay on my stomach, it was the only time I could I was soooo big. To my surprise when Matthew was born he didn't like the beach very much- he hated the sand! Hard to believe! Now he loves it just like me. Here we are walking together onto the first beach he ever went to, long before he was born.

And although Dr Evil wasn't staying with us that summer at our rented beach house, he did stop by even if in spirit to pose us for a picture! I know we're lame.

Wet and sun drenched sandy and hot four cousins digging in the sand, the love of the beach runs in the family I think.

My mom may be getting older but she's still up for jumping...well maybe not jumping but if we get a house at the beach, she's in.

And our favorite people to go to the beach with is my brother his wife and the kids, we swim, we listen to music, we play in the sand. We drink beer and wine and my brother and I cook in the kitchen while my husband mans the grill. And we play games do puzzles, bad words have been spewed and tears have been shed over games of Pictionary not to mention that puzzle piece nobody can place! 

Now this is the guy I really like to spend my time with at the beach! Even though he sunburns thru his clothes; my husband Bill!  It will be Barbados for two in November, I can't wait!

Every day on the beach is a magic moment. An opportunity for memories for pictures shared with my blog friends like Shell at things i can't say. Thank for thinking of this fabulous idea. I'm happy to link up with you and others today.            

         Capture those... Magic Moments.

before my leg goes to barbados it needs IV drugs

Since I was released from the hospital a week ago Wednesday I have met with a home health nurse twice and she has taught me how to administer my own antibiotics for my MRSA. I've been thru with a ton of stuff with this leg and, if you've somehow missed it you can read it here.  I'm taking this leg on vacation eventually.....

It's the newest thing in home IV's it's called infusion therapy. There are no needles involved all the connections screw on so it makes it easy for the patient to learn how to do it themselves; safer too. They say it keeps down the cost and makes the need for prolonged hospital stays unnecessary.


my IV ball

This hooks into my picc line which they put into my arm before leaving the hospital. That stands for (peripherally inserted central catheter), the IV can go into the line that is on my right arm or blood can be drawn when the cap is taken off different tips are connected to the end. My picc line is for two weeks of antibiotics however if need be it could stay implanted in my arm for up to a year. It is threaded up my arm and into my chest in the direction of my heart by a specially trained nurse. 

Like everything else I didn't have much luck with the insertion of this line. There are three veins she failed to get the line in the first two, the first vein the line kept bending, the second the vein ran to close to a nerve and was to painful, then finally she was successful with the third. My arm however looks like it got beat the shreds by Muhammad Ali it's so black and blue. I even have two blisters; I know I know! That's how this whole wound in my leg started right?

my arm's to black and blue

to show!



So I push thru a little injection tube of clear fluid (sodium chloride)to clear the IV line,  then I attach the ball of antibiotic. The ball shrinks as the antibiotic is transferred into my body thru the picc line and when it will shrink down which indicates it's empty. Then I disconnect it and flush a second (sodium chloride)clear fluid followed by another tube which is yellow and contains (Heparin) a drug that keeps the blood in line from clotting; all done until the next day when I repeat the process.

My husband and I are taking a leap of faith that my wound drama will be all over by Thanksgiving when we go to visit my brother Gerard and sister-in -law Denise for Thanksgiving. We've decided to book a week at an all-inclusive in Barbados the Saturday after; boy do I need a vacation. It's in Christ Church so not only will we be able to be at the beach and eat and drink until our hearts content but we'll be able to walk the streets of what I've heard is a beautiful and picturesque city as well.

our resort pool area

our resort beach area

My leg can't wait; like me it needs a vaca!

We've never been to Barbados or stayed at an all inculsive, has anyone had any experience they'd like to share?