Weevils....the other white meat.....

Hey friends,

I apologize for not getting to my blog in awhile....I am sure that you are all just on the edge of your seat wondering how things are going down here in Nevis...Lol.....well things are fantastic and quite busy so I rarely get much time these days to blog! We are all having a wonderful time here in Nevis, really enjoying it! The weather has been absolutely beautiful, albeit slightly hotter than i would like (yes I said it!) It has been 34 most days and about 40 with the humidex! I have sort of gotten used to sweating all the time....ahhh...nothing like sweat rolling down your back or into your eyes and blinding you....Lol.....so subsequently we have been spending alot of time at the beach. Nevis has some great beaches! Our favorite is Oualie Beach (you can google it http://www.oualiebeach.com/) It is a great place to go swimming and build sand castles, very calm and they have nice beach chairs to sit on as well as a little beach pub that you can order fries, drinks and other good grub. I have gotten to know the owners a bit, the woman is Christian's spanish teacher, she is a lovely woman. The daughter, Rachel is in grade 11 at Christians school, a very nice girl. Anyway we love Oualie! We also like to go to Paradise beach, it is close by and has a great spot for snorkelling (for an amateur like me) There is a sunken cannon, which the boys love. We went for a snorkel after school today and Joe and Monty saw a moray eel, which apparenlty was quite exciting to them! According to Joe, it was about 3 feet long.....according to Monty it was about 6 feet long...(hmm could he be related to me??) It was lots of fun and a great way to cool off after a hard day of.....oh ...who am I kidding......after a day in the sun! Lol....I am telling you people, I am so loving this not working for a living thing. I told Joe the other day that I was staying here forever, he could go off and be a doctor or whatever, but this is where I belong! Of course then the reality of 1) I have no money and so cant stay and 2)I am not allowed to work here (officially anyway) so again money will be an issue longterm! (esp with the cost of living, can we say a $400 US electricity bill for september....GULP)

So we are all very busy and doing great. Joe is doing very well in school, he is busy and he doesnt get to enjoy the island quite as much as the rest of us do, but he is happy and content overall and working his butt off!! Christian is happy in school and doing great...he is learning spanish, and he can still remember how to count in Dutch from Saba! He is also enjoying riding a few days a week, is becoming a master snorkeler and swimmer and is now taking Tae Kwon Do. (and loving it) Monty is doing quite well now, we moved him to St Kitts to the Montessori school as he was not doing so well in the little school here and we were also afraid he would get behind. He likes the school in St Kitts, but the downside is that he has to travel back and forth every day on the ferry (45 minute ride) then catch a cab (same fella everyday) then school and back home. There are 5 kids coming from here so at least he has company. He finds the day long but he loves the school and he has a fantastic teacher. Monty is still in survivor camp and marine bio camp and he and I have been out riding alot. He is becoming quite the horseman....getting braver all the time. It is really nice that we can get out and share this together, I hope that we are creating many lasting memories! And I couldnt be better, really, I am so loving it here in Nevis! I am riding almost every day now, starting to get in shape and tomorrow going to be running to the beach with my friend Stacey.....we are going to run the 2 miles to the beach (ha ha) and then swim for 15 minutes then run back......(so she thinks....lol) I am thinking alot of walking is going to be happening since I havent run since my failed attempts at running the last few summers!! I really want to get in shape though......So the riding on the beach is awesome.....really.....loving it.....I feed and water the horses every day for the fellow, and I also take tourists out on beach rides....probably about 3 rides a week for now....busy season starts next month.....I love it, what a job to have. I dont get paid but I get to ride as much as I want and take the kids riding too so that is definitely payment enough for me......being around the horses every day is so soothing, good for the soul.......I am loving it. So what else am I doing? well, I have made some great friends through SOS and I am on the executive so i spend alot of time helping with planning and organizing activities for our organization. It is alot of fun and we do get to enjoy each others company quite often. If you are curious you could check out our website at http://www.muaspousesofstudentsandfamilieso.shutterfly.com/

So you are probably wondering by now where I got this entries title......or maybe not.....well people, shall I say the bug population is abundant down here? We have ants, ants and still more ants.....I hate ants.....little nasty biting fireants....I want to kill them all......we have the biggest cockroach/beetle thing i have ever seen (the size of a hamster!) and oh yes, we have tarantulas...christian and I saw our first one up close last week....and I am still shivering.....big hairy ugly spider....yuck......one of my questions when I get to Heaven....ummm God, about the bugs? " Anyway, I have seen all kinds of ugly, bizarre, crazy bugs these past few months.....including recently while making Christians birthday cake. I open the packaging of my Duncan Hines mix ( or was it Betty Crocker? ) feeling very domestic to be making a cake instead of buying one at superstore like I usually do.....our friends Joka and Jim were here visiting from Saba.....(she is a physician) anyway I digress......so I pour the packaging into the bowl and start to add the other ingredients and I look in and I think what is in the cake mix? is it moving? is it a bug?? Lo and Behold, it is a bug! Several to be precise......uck....I choke back a gag......and I stare in horror at Joka, my friend......she laughs.....says this is quite normal. I ask her how did the bugs get inside the bag of mix and manage to stay alive????? Apparently this is not uncommon all over the world AND she announces that the bugs are called Weevils (hang on a second while I retch again) Anyway, I am horrified but also in a bit of a conundrum.......cake mixes are not always easy to come by here and we bought one of the only ones......sooooo....if we throw it out.....what kind of birthday is it without a cake????? You see where I am going with this dont you??? I had decisions to make.......lol......lmao actually.....(this is one of those times where I am down on my knees thanking God for celiac disease.....) anyway, Joka says "Dawn, they are just weevils, no big deal really, I mean if you have another cake mix, use it but if not just PICK THE BUGS OUT" (again the gag reflex) So I get the sifter thingy out of the cupboard and I start sifting weevils out of the cake mix....I know, I know,......I am horrible......we got alot of them out, probably most, but definitely not all........there were body parts that went through the sifter and a few weevils that managed to as well (no idea how) Bottom line is I made the cake, weevils and all......and no one was the wiser.....well except for Joka and Joe and I......and they both ate a piece...can you imagine?? I wanted to vomit as I watched them all shoving cake in their mouths.....and usually I want to grab the cake and stog it down......anyway I am happy to report that Christian had a great birthday AND he loved the cake!

Well folks, I can barely see the screen now from laughing/crying over that story, so I better sign off....I will try so so hard to be more diligent in writing regularly....I do love writing this blog!

I hope that you are all happy and well, we certainly are....we do miss you all! Take care and have a great week.....God Bless......