out of the haze...

I don't know where the month of February went.  While our friends and family have been digging out of one snow storm after another (and another one still is coming through this weekend), we have been digging out of the haze down here. It started with a scary incident with Paps, that led to an emergency trip to the hospital, followed by a five day stay.  Then there was three weeks of family and friends visiting on the boat, interspersed with no less than a dozen doctor's appointments and tests for Paps.  While Donnie has furiously been attending to his family's needs, I continued to play chief cook, hostess and recreation coordinator to those who were vacationing.  Please hear me, I am not complaining.  I was thankful for the diversion, really.  However, in a month, the Cap'n and I have been meeting ourselves coming and going. We have literally been like two ships passing in the night.  Even those times when we'd usually get to unwind, listen to music, and dance our flip flops off were taken from me as my Cap'n was playing in the band!  I do not make the best groupie; I miss my favorite dance partner.  It was good, however, to see him having some much needed fun, and playing music always does that for him.

In the fog of company and family concerns, Marquesa has been rather neglected.  It's been all I can do to keep her reasonably picked up and the larder full to prepare the next meal, and we have eaten out more than usual.  The reality of it all is that tomorrow is March 1st, our time here is now half over, and the plans to sail to the Abacos for a month or so are most likely slipping by us.  Agnes our autopilot is toast, we have maintenance concerns on the boat that need attended to, the dinghy does not yet have her numbers, we have some stress cracks that need addressed, a water leak issue has worsened, etc., etc., etc.  Marquesa is a prime example of what happens when she is not lovingly tended to or taken care of- she begins to fall apart.  What appears to be little fixes that we tend to ignore or put on the back burner, will eventually sneak up on you, and you now have bigger problems demanding and commanding your attention.

So is the story of Paps.  Tending to our health, physically and otherwise, is so essential to having a good quality of life for as long as possible.  We have to respect our doctors.  They do know more than we do; they've spent the better part of their life in school to do what they are trained to do.  We have to educate ourselves regarding our health.  We have to follow protocol for our health.  If we don't, a perfect storm of ailments can lead to an emergency trip to the hospital, or worse.  It's just that simple, and yet that difficult.  We all have choices to make in life.  We can't ignore the obvious.  The most difficult lesson of all is realizing that personally, neither Donnie or I, or anybody, has control over the situation.  The control lies with the individual, and free will is a tricky thing.  For both the Cap'n and I, who are both Type A "take charge" kind of people, it is frustrating to see your loved ones not "take charge" and do what we perceive to be the 'right' thing- no matter the situation.  You could insert addiction here, or not living within your financial means, not attending to your children's needs, whatever the circumstances.  It's hard to not allow yourself to be hurt or effected by the actions of others. In the creases between the folds is where we rely upon our faith in God to see us safely through.

Even though we are living in paradise, this last month has brought dark circles and worry lines to my Cap'n's face.  He is wearing the stress.  In the midst of all this, remember we had the blue piglet wreck for which we still have bruised ribs that are giving us fits every time we go to lay down at night. So, there's a nagging injury we both still have.  And while I continue to hold the ship (fort) down, and entertain our friends and family (with sore ribs), I have managed to catch a nasty head cold, and in the last two days have now either broken out in hives, have got into some poisonwood, or I am at the cusp of another shingles outbreak. My skin is crawling with itchiness, and I am breaking out all over.  I think it is the 'letting down' of all the company finally being gone.  (To all of my psyc nerds out there, yes, the lecture from Chapter 11 has been replaying in my mind0 on stress and health!)  Stressing in paradise is such an oxymoron.  I sound like a whiny butt, and I don't like it one bit.

Where do we go from here?   We stopped at several places on our way back from taking Stephanie to the airport in Key West, hoping to find some electronics to fix Agnes. We came up empty handed yet again. (If you ask me, we need to chuck Agnes to Davy Jones' locker and buy a new one- which is at least two B.O.A.T.S)  Having no desire to tackle laundry or any one of a number of neglected boat projects,  we left a messy, cluttered Marquesa and escaped to the pool late this afternoon.  Donnie has been on the same book for over a month that he has yet to finish.  I fell fast asleep in the lounge chair in no time.  Simply relaxing by the pool for a bit was much needed by both of us. 

Feeling refreshed by the sunshine, pool, and hot tub, we had dinner plans with our friends, Peter and Rita.  The only requirements for the evening were good food, a table by the water, and to be in no hurry for the evening.  We have met ourselves coming and going for weeks now, and we simply wanted to share in the company in the moment.

Momma K was ready for a date with her Cap'n :)

We were treated to a most excellent dinner by Peter and Rita.  Donnie had
prime rib, potatoes, veggies and conch chowder, and I had the mango
crab stuffed shrimp, veggies, black beans and rice.  In the words of my
100 year old grandma, "We took our time" and simply enjoyed our
meal and the good company.  We ate ourselves silly. I don't know how
 the Cap'n and I had not discovered the Island Fish Company before tonight.

After dinner we went back to Peter and Rita's
condo, and were treated to a home made strudel baked
by Rita, our little Swiss-German friend.  Strudel,
champagne, and hours of conversation
were such a pleasurable way to spend the evening.
Thank you, Peter and Rita, for everything.
G'nite, y'all!

Perfect in Paradise :)

Kenny, Cap'n, Stephanie, and I left the dock at 8:30am
for the reef.  Armed with Cuban coffee and guava
pasteles, we were ready to start the day!



Pulling up to the reef is always gorgeous- the water is beautiful.

 

The water was crystal clear; I was looking over the boat at sergeant majors
and yellowtail snappers.  Cool.

We hooked a mooring ball, and the boat next to us was
our neighbors from Banana Bay, Jenna Star. Also cool.

I stayed on Marquesa to make sure everyone got situated in the water with
what they all needed.  I then fed the hose and kept an eye on how many
pounds of air we had left to use on the tank.  Donnie hovered on snorkel...



While Stephanie dove the reef!

Look at her go! This girl needs to get certified...
And buy a 40lb weight belt to keep her "flotation devices" under water, lol.

'cuda

Then it was Adolph's turn to scuba :)

He was looking for lobsters.

All of the yellowtail around him made him a wee bit nervous.

 

Actually, the reef was pretty cool, if it weren't for the fish. 
Chickens don't like fish much at all.

Before long, Adolph was signaling with his eyes that it was time to go up.

Being underwater for so long scared the pee out of him.

Next we sailed over by Vaca cut where Donnie could do some spear fishing.
He popped a spade fish.

Donnie had to free dive and work and work and work to get the anchor
free.  Kenny was pulling on the chain, and I was at the helm.  It was
a little dicey there for a few minutes.  The anchor was up under a ledge,
and the wind and waves were beginning to build.  This was another island
home we passed near Sombrero Beach.  It has solar panels and a wind
generator, unlike Pretty Joe Rock near us.  I'll bet it costs a pretty
penny to stay there.

We motor sailed up through Sister's Creek to Burdine's for
dinner.  I had a burger, but the rest of the group had a
Three Cheese Keys Ribeye Steak sandwich.  It's
Donnie and Kenny's new favorite sammich.

Adolph fell into a sugar coma over the deep fried key lime pie- yummy.

Stephanie loves Burdine's, it's one of her favorite places :)

Marquesa was sitting pretty at the dock.

The sun was just setting as we left Sister's Creek and
headed for the Seven Mile Bridge.

The beautiful evening sky was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

The wind laid down after the sunset, so we had to motor sail the Gulf back to Banana Bay.  Stephanie sat with the spotlight on the bow to keep Cap'n from hitting any lobster pots.  That worked out great.

Once Marquesa was docked, we all dashed to the pool for a dip, and then a hot tub.  This whole day- sailing, scuba diving, fishing, good food, good friends, and key lime pie- is what living in the Keys is all about.  I'm one happy girl :)  G'nite, y'all!

Dolphins!

It was Stephanie's last full day in the Keys, so we went
to the Dolphin Research Center.  We hadn't seen any
dolphins when we went sailing, or when we've walked
the seven mile bride this week.

I mean, who could resist that sweet face, really?

We watched an encounter with the two mommas and their babies, so cute.

Though they are nursing around the clock, they were still doing tricks!
I would have to take a nap; who has the energy for tricks?!

We watched the sea lions get fed their breakfast.

They put on quite a show, too!

Even this guy looked hungry this morning.

But not this one; he was feeling a little green...

And of course, all the tropical plants and flowers looked gorgeous :)

Later in the afternoon, Stephanie pedal, pedal, pedaled my clown bike
down to the Turtle Hospital. She got to meet all sorts of turtles, which
she totally loved. She even bought a turtle lamp for herself.

I stayed behind this afternoon, while she went to the Turtle Hospital. I have been before, and really needed some time with Cap'n.  He's been dealing with Pap's health issues nearly daily, and this morning they were given some not so surprising news regarding his health.  I don't want to say anything more just yet, until we know for certain what we are having to deal with.  Suffice it to say, your prayers are much needed and appreciated.  My honey has been under a great deal of stress. I hate it for him as he works so hard the other eight months out of the year, that this is the time and place he should really get to relax and unwind. :/  He hasn't had as much of that as of late, and he's very concerned for both his mom and dad.  Keep him in your prayers, too...

Knowing he's been taking it tough lately, I fixed him his
favorite meal this evening- chicken parmesan.  He took
one look at his dinner when I served him and said, "Aww,
did you make me my favorite dinner because you knew
I've been stressed and feeling badly?"  Yeah, I did.
He knows me well.  But I know him well, too.
We just take care of each other like that.
G'nite, y'all!

dive lessons, dink, and dinner

I keep plugging along with this stupid head cold.  I can't remember the last time I caught a cold.  Geesh. 

Donnie got a new quick release for our 60' hose.  Now it's super easy for him to set up a tank and leave it on the boat if he's doing a shallow dive, or working on the boat under the waterline.  He brought the gear up to the pool to give Stephanie a dive lesson.  She wanted to learn how to breathe on a regulator.

After Stephanie's lesson was over, much of the gang came over to hang out
at the pool for the afternoon.  It was Alexa's last chance to win Adolph
outright before she flies home tomorrow.  She was curious about the
dive equipment and wanted to give the regulator a try.  The girl
immediately took to scuba!  She was clearing her ears, giving the
"OK" signal, and diving like a fish.  Before long, she was going to the
bottom to pick up her Grandpa's loose change he threw in the pool.
I know what she's going to want for her 12th birthday- scuba lessons!

The bougainvillea colors are gorgeous here...

Spring has definitely arrived!

We played chickenfoot, sunbathed and swam the afternoon away.  I tried my best to sweat out some germs, and Alexa tried her best to win Adolph back.  It was not meant to be; Donnie won him again, so the bird stays.  He was happy because he heard everyone talking about scuba diving tomorrow and he wanted to go again :)

After the pool party broke up, we hopped in the dingy for a ride to Jurassic Park.  This is the haunted lighthouse at Faro Blanco.  If you remember, the marina was taken out in Hurricane Wilma years ago, and it was left in ruin.  As a result, the iguanas have taken over the place, and some of them are huge.  Stephanie loves a good lizard, so we took a dink ride over there to see what we could see.

Marriott has bought the property, and a hotel is going up on land.  It looks
as if they are restoring the marina, too.  The busted up docks have all been
taken out, and what iguanas are left are all huddled up around the lighthouse.

In the marina all that remains are the pilings, and this
floating orange net that has been installed around the lighthouse.

The great big iguanas are all gone.  I wonder if they became someone's dinner?

We also dinked into Keys Fisheries to see if we could catch any lobster boats
off loading their catch of the day.  All the boats were already in for the day
It's not surprising since their workday begins at 4am.  The pelicans were
being fed the leftover bait for dinner as the workers cleaned the deck.

 

As we turned out of the fisheries, the pilings were being taken up by
pelicans and seagulls waiting their turn for their free dinner.

Me and my honey :)  Man, the Cap'n is looking like a crusty old salt! LOL

We stayed out to watch the sunset, but the low lying clouds on the horizon
blocked the view.  It was still a gorgeous evening.
 

After we got back to Marquesa, I worked up a feast fit for kings...we had marinated mangrove snapper fillets, fried potatoes, and bacon wrapped lobster bites on the grill!  Donnie had five lobsters that he caught from a few weeks ago in the freezer.  I took the meat out of the tail, cut it into chunks, wrapped them in bacon, and stuck a tooth pick in it.  I used up a pound of bacon, cut in half- so there were over 30 bites.  I'd like to say I have a picture of the finished product, but we devoured them all.
Oh. Em. Gee.  You couldn't eat any better than the best restaurants on the island.   They were DELICIOUS! 

So, what did you have for dinner tonight?  G'nite, y'all!

 

Blazin' hot!

These last two days have felt like southern Florida bypassed spring and jumped full on in to summer.  The humidity has skyrocketed, and with the temps, the heat index was over 91 degrees today.  Whew!  Though Agnes (the auto pilot) has taken a crap, thank God the AC is working.  Seriously. Donnie left at 7am for a morning of fishing with the boys before he had to meet up with his parents for a doctor's appt. for Pops this afternoon.  He said they were sweltering out on the water, too. There wasn't a breath of wind to be found all day.  As I lay in bed and type this, it is still 76 degrees- at midnight!  Thankfully, a breeze has picked up in the last two hours.  It's from the N/NW which has yet to effect the air temperature.  We're feeling just a little motion on Marquesa from the wind and waves.  It should be perfect for sleeping, just a gentle rock :)

While Donnie was fishing, I got a pump out, then scrubbed down the topsides and cockpit with soapy water and the hose.  It was desperately needed.  Stephanie worked down below, doing the dishes and sweeping the floor.  That's my kind of houseguest!  With boat chores done, in our infinite wisdom, we decided to go walk the Seven Mile Bridge.  At 11:30am.  in. the. hot. sun.  Oh my goodness, was it ever HOT.  The heat was rolling off the pavement, and there still was not a breath of a breeze. at all.  I had to have sweat off a pound or two.



The water was crystal clear today, which is great for diving, but not for fishing.
Looking out to Sombrero reef, there were boats galore. 

We were only about 1/4 mile out, and a HUGE spotted eagle ray came
up out of the water, flapped his 'wings' twice, and landed with a splash.
Stephanie and I both saw it, but it happened so fast, we couldn't snap a
pic of it.  That was a first for me- so cool!  The next wildlife we saw
was this cormorant, but if you look closely, there's another ray to the left.

We saw a trunkfish in the water just before we made it the 2.2 miles to the end.
Doesn't it just look HOT?  The heat index was 91 degrees at the time.

Then we had to turn around for the 2.2 mile trek back.  The heat seemed to
be radiating off the pavement.  Lord Almighty, it was HOT on that bridge.

Our efforts were rewarded when we saw a 6' black tipped reef shark!

We watched him cruise the shallows for several minutes while we attempted
to catch our breath.  Sadly, there was not a speck of breeze to be found.

As soon as we got done, I cranked the AC in the car, and we went to McDonald's for lunch.  I never sucked down a sweet tea so fast in my life!  Nothing like undoing that long, hard walk we had just taken.  Oh well.  Hopefully the walk in the heat and the fast food lunch cancelled each other out, lol. Stephanie and I then went to Winn Dixie to get the ingredients for her to make lasagna tonight for dinner with the in-laws.

While she went to the pool, I opted to wash the car.  It desperately needed
a bath, and it felt good to play in the hose.  Have I told you it was hot today?!

After dinner, Fran and Alexa joined the rest of us in a game of chickenfoot.  Alexa and Donnie were close the whole game.  At one point Fran, Donnie and Alexa were within five points of each other with only three rounds to go.  In the end, Donnie won the bird fair and square.

HOWEVER....

Donnie left, while we all stayed to watch The Bachelor.  After our show was over, and we were saying our goodbyes, we found Adolph- abused and neglected.  Cap'n Donnie forgot to take his winning prize bird home.  Only one thing could be done in circumstances such as these.  Animal Control was called, and charges of neglect were filed.  The judge relinquished parental rights, and demanded that Adolph be placed in foster care with Alexa for the next two weeks.  He gets to go to Long Island, afterall!  He's so excited to have found a loving, temporary home.  Bad Donnie.

G'nite, y'all!