1. You can't get to sleep as his snoring is keeping you from having that sleep you really need, so you end up thinking of things like this!!!
2. He doesn't go out in the evening just because you don't feel well and pampers to your needs (well, within reason!).
3. He takes most of the bed while he sleeps and doesn't remember the next morning.
4. He changes the TV channel when you step out of the room for a mere 2 minutes to make a cup of tea.
5. He tells you to stay at home and not work as you don't feel very well
6. His idea of helping with the housework is doing the washing-up.
7. He offers to drive you to your favourite beach to relax for a couple of hours.
8. He leaves you to sort out all the arrangements for the wedding.
9. He gives a really nice massage that you want him to continue doing for another couple of hours.
10. You love him too much and glad that he's in your life.

:o)

Disclaimer : The above words are my own and should not be taken seriously. Any correlation to any real world instance is entirely coincidently.

well maybe not, after what happened last Friday....

If you're of a nervous disposition, don't read below...Well, maybe you could, as the pictures aren't that gory!!!

As you may have read (and if you haven't - where have you been??) my parents have chickens. Seven of them were happily clucking around the coop in the morning and by 3pm, they were all lovely and tucked up in the freezer getting cold ready to be made into Roast Chicken. Two of them we are keeping and the other five we are going to sell.

Oh and if you're wondering about the phrase "Running around like a headless chicken". I can now confirm that this is true. I won't go into the gory details, but...it's definitely true!


{Sitting pretty clucking away being happy chickens}


{All ready for the freezer}

:o)

TOH and I went to see the local priest to see if he could officiate at our wedding and he said that he could do that with no problems. We need to arrange for the marriage licence, which needs to be done via a lawyer, who we saw today and that won't take long to process at all.
Now that has been done, all the fun and the stress that goes with it can begin!

We (well, more me than TOH) haven't got much to sort out - the flowers, photographer, buy the wedding rings, sort out bridesmaids and the best man, sort out the decorations for the ceremony and the reception - which will be at my parents guesthouse, At least this will keep the day informal, which is what we are looking for as there will only be a small ensemble of guests.

My mum (bless her) is going to make the wedding cake and cook the food for the reception buffet lunch.

So, I already have my to do list sorted out and hopefully it's going to be a short one!

:o)

Like with anything, you need to speculate to accumulate..which is exactly what I did.

I had planned on having a party of some type or another at the bar. After a suggestion from a friend (you know who you are.....many thanks mate) about printing up some t-shirts, putting out posters on telegraph poles around the area within a 20 mile radius, flyers on car windscreens (don't you just hate that, when you get in the car and see something flapping in the wind tucked in your wiper and you have to get back out of the car to grab it before driving off...), telling as many friends and other people about the bash as was feasibly possible...it finally happened last night.

We gave away 20 t-shirts free to the first 20 customers, some drinks were down to half-price (just to give a bit more enticement), selection of food being cooked on the grill all night long, music playing loudly (well loud-ish, not ear-shattering loud). All the main ingredients for a good party/jump-up/whatever you want to call it - things went off without a hitch. TOH was working the bar, my mum was going good with doing the food on the grill and I was..how can I put it...a general dogs-body - serving drinks, replenishing the fridges, getting more ice sorted out, picking up the rubbish and empty bottles. Oh the joys of working in a bar.



And counting up all that lovely money the next morning was lovely.....

The next big event is Karaoke next month - or as they say over here "carry your own key" (geddit???)

:o)

Today's birthday was completely different than most.

This morning, TOH proposed to me and gave me this gorgeous Ruby & Diamond engagement ring. I'm not going to go into the details of what he said, but it was sweet, heartfelt and amusing at the same time.

We spent a gorgeous lunch at a local restaurant (Debbies for those of you in the know) along with my mum as well, and the food was as gorgeous as ever. We had birthday cake and opened the bottle of champagne that a friend brought over at the beginning of the year.


{The engaged couple}


{Close up of the ring}


{Cake & Champagne}

I feel as though I'm on cloud nine and can't stop smiling nor staring at the ring - which feels so weird and strange and surreal.

:oD

We've done a few improvements to the Bar over the past couple of weeks or so. We've now got some nice flood lights up. The original point was that they were supposed to light the road outside of the bar and the path leading back up to the house - except it's not having the desired effect, but it's better and less bleak than it was.


Plus, my step-dad made a nice seat that goes round the trunk of the tree by the bar. Nobody's used it as yet, but it looks pretty. He's also been busy making a picnic table as well, that sits nicely out the front of the bar - and it only took him two hours to put it all together! Then my mum painted it. My parents brought over a teak garden table and chairs, which for the past two years has sat under the house not doing alot - but now the table and chairs are in the bar and looks good..and a few of my customers have even sat at the table!



So, with these additions, the bar is looking more like a proper bar now and, in my opinion, more welcoming...


:o)

Well, it looks as though we've got our first Tropical Depression over here. It's raining like anything along with lightening and a spot of thunder. I had a look on the stormcarib.com website under the St Lucia section and it looks as though a Severe Weather Warning was issued for the island at lunchtime today.
"
A strong Tropical Wave is currently approaching the Windward Island.
This wave is moving quickly and is expected to start affecting Saint
Lucia and the other Windward Islands this afternoon into tomorrow.
Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and gusty winds are expected over the
affected areas. Residents should take all necessary precautions
against flooding and land-slides in areas prone to those hazards.
Small craft operations, especially local fishermen are advised against
venturing far from port this afternoon and tonight.

Weather conditions should improve during the day tomorrow.
"

{The bleary, bleak and rain soaked view from my house}

At the moment, I don't know whether this is down to Invest 94L which is getting pretty close to Barbados, but from the report on StormCarib, and I quote "it hasn't got it's act together", so hopefully it won't turn into anything too major.

This year the hurricane season seems to have started pretty early this season....and I haven't been prepared this year and got all my hurricane provisions sorted out - well, I got some sleeping bags from the UK.....but no bottled water.....think I need to change my priorities somewhat. Plus, at least I get a night off from work!! whoo-hoo!

And I bet Francie is basking is bright sunshine with blue skies...grrrrr.... ;o)

:o)

After all the Carnival frivilities yesterday and working the stall, TOH and I, along with the dog, spent a couple of hours down at the beach in Laborie. The water was so clear, it looked typically Caribbean (well, it was the Caribbean Sea after all).
Kira loved sniffing around at all the new smells and barking at me as I ran along the surf - except she wouldn't come into the water as she's scared of it - well, until I carried her into the water and she swam back.
TOH decided to try and get a nap, but Kira had other ideas.

It was just so nice being down the beach, with hardly anyone there, enjoying the pleasant and hot weather we've got at the moment and having a swim in the water that was gloriously warm and clear.

We would have stayed longer, but I got nipped on my thumb by a crab that was hiding in the sand and it really really hurt!





:o)

Carnival fever has taken off again in St Lucia.

The start of Vieux Fort carnival (each area on the island has it's own mini-carnival) started on Sunday and we had a stall on the local sports grounds selling cakes and biscuits. With the vibes of the music blaring (and I mean really blaring) out of massive speakers, people jumping-up to their hearts content enjoying the live singing from a number of the local soca and calypso stars and the atmosphere of a great evening. Plus, I even saw a few people that I knew - unfortunately they didn't buy any cakes.

We did well with the cakes, albeit we didn't make as many as we did for the Food Fair back in February.


{Now that's a big bottle of beer!!!}


{All those gorgeous cakes}


{My mum and I in matching t-shirts!!}

:o)

One of my neighbours got a Rooster a number of weeks ago. I know that roosters crow in the morning at sunrise

...what I didn't know was that they crow at other times of the day - most noteably around midnight and right outside my bedroom window, just at the moment when i've just settled down to sleep after working at the bar and need to go to sleep.

So after I got back from walking Kira, lo and behold I notice he's (meaning both the neighbour and the rooster) got a female chicken



I'm going to choke that rooster one of these days (I would say choke that chicken...but that has too much innuendo surrounding it)

:o/