Hiatus & Blog Improvements: Your Input Sought!

Greetings, my Better Lifers!  I hope you are enjoying each and every day.

My days have been a flurry of Discovery Day celebrations, family visits to the island, my Stateside visit and requisite errands, upcoming friend visits to the island and more.  

In addition to the usual "island busy,"  I've also been working more on freelance writing projects and having fun developing some exciting possibilities in that arena.  As part of upgrading my focus on writing projects, and after 8 delightful months of blogging with you all, I want to make some improvements to this blog as well.

So . . . please excuse me while the blog goes on a temporary hiatus.  During this time, I will be transferring it to a different host, reformatting, making it more user-friendly to newcomers trying to wade through the many posts, addressing other technical details and generally retooling it to better serve you and to open us to broader possibilities in the future.  I'm very excited about this!

Plus, don't worry, we won't be disconnected during this period!  I'll still be available to you on Facebook, Twitter and email.  Especially on Facebook, we have a nice Better Life community developing, and it will be fun to have some group discussions there.

Moreover, I would REALLY LOVE to hear from each and every one of you with your feedback to the blog so far:  What do you like about it?  What bores you or turns you off?  What would you like to see more of?  Do you follow the blog because you like island details, or because you daydream about your own career/geographic change, or because you enjoy the inspirational/Better Life philosophy, or to keep up with me personally, or . . . ?  

Truly, my goal is to tailor this blog to you while remaining true to my own Better Life and writings.  Please share your thoughts with me and the Better Life community by posting a comment to our Facebook page.  If you prefer a more private medium, please offer your feedback, comments and suggestions to me by email at choosingthebetterlife@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for your comments!  I'll post status updates to Facebook and will look forward to talking to you all soon.  Meanwhile, take care, smile and have a great few weeks!

What's Up?

My dearest Better Lifers, I have missed you! 

Since launching this blog four months ago (is that all?  It feels like we've been together longer than that!), this is the longest I've been away from you.  It has been exceptionally busy lately - even for "island busy!"  Some of the reasons why will warrant individual blog posts in the future, but, in a nutshell, here's what I've been up to:

• Beau's dog, Milo, injured himself somehow and has been limping.  To keep him from running and wrestling with the other island dogs, we've been keeping him contained in the house - which means double duty for me on dog baths and tick checks!

• My beau just turned 50!  He threw a weekend-long party in the center of town, so we were busy with all kinds of party prep - and enjoying the parties!

• Lots of beau's family (and friends) came in from Nassau and other places to celebrate with us.  At one point, I had 15 people staying in the house!

• In the midst of all this, we've had some home renovation projects underway.  The morning that the first family arrived, my bedroom, bathroom and closet contents were still sitting in the living room!  The new tile dried and I scrambled to move everything back.  After family left, the renovations resumed, so the house is still a bit chaotic.

• As part of the kids program we run, we went overnight camping on another island with 17 children ages 5 to 14!  Came home, showered, slept a couple hours and then went back out to conduct the "graduation ceremony" now that the summer program is concluded.

• A storm system passed through more than a week ago, with lots of rain, thunder and lightning.  Most notable, however, was that the tower in George Town was struck by lightning, so I have been without internet service until today! 

• Today lends itself well to catching up on the internet after a two-week hiatus because I am spending most of my time lying on the couch.  To treat myself to a "Better Life" kind of day after getting through everything above, I went out with friends yesterday for a boat ride and swim on a gorgeous day.  While wading through a channel, I stepped on a sea urchin - EEEEOOOOOWWWW!  I'll explain more about that soon, but it ain't pretty.  I'm nursing 19 sticker pricks in my right foot.

Ahhh, island living.  I'm still loving it!  I look forward to catching up with you more soon.

What's So Special About French Toast?

What's so special about French Toast?  Well, nothing really.  It's delicious, but it's not particularly unique, nor is it difficult to make.  So why write about it?  

I dunno, just because I feel like it.

Okay, but that's kind of a weak answer.  WHY do I feel like writing about it?  Perhaps because some of you are curious about what I do in the course of any given day on the island.  Others of you are interested in the concept of choosing a better life for yourselves and are searching for clues in the experience of others.  And some of you, like me, just like food!

So today's post is simply about French Toast.  And it's the "simply" part that's most important to me and part of my Better Life.

So, let's talk.

Yesterday, my beau was visiting a neighboring island after work, and one of the women sent him home with a loaf of fresh-baked bread for me - cinnamon raisin, mmmmm.

Fresh, homemade cinnamon raisin bread.

Many of the women in the islands bake their own bread.  My mother even baked bread with a bread-maker machine in years past.  My darling ex-pat neighbor, normally a fantastic cook, even called me one day to tell me not to worry if I saw smoke pouring out of her kitchen window - her bread-maker was having a bad day!

Many of the Bahamian women bake the oh-so-delicious "Bahamian Bread."  One of these days, I'd like to tackle that.  For now, I enjoy the fruits, errr breads, of their labors.  The classic Bahamian bread is white, thick, dense and sweet.  In this health era, women bake whole wheat, too.  Coconut bread is a local favorite which, as you may suspect, has grated coconut in the bread for a scrumptious flavor.  Cinnamon bread, pictured above, is the last of the four standard varieties.

Many of the women bake for their own families.  Others have turned it into a business.  Local bakeries, often selling out of their own homes, are delightful places to visit with the warm sweet scents emanating from the kitchen.  Generally, Bahamian Bread (white) sells for $5 per loaf, and the other varieties sell for $6 per loaf.

So, yesterday, I was delighted at our friend's thoughtfulness in sending bread to me, and I immediately thought how tasty the cinnamon raisin bread would be as french toast.  This morning, those thoughts were still on my mind.

It is another hot day, with a slight breeze, but it still feels like a warm damp blanket wrapped around me and everything in the house.  I do have A/C units in each room, but electricity is expensive, and I don't want to get so used to the A/C that I can no longer function in the ever-present heat!  Summer is just beginning, after all.  So most days, I sweat it out until late afternoon or early evening, then indulge in cooling off the main room for dinner and evening relaxation, and the bedroom for sleeping.

But I digress.

On this hot morning, I just felt like taking a break from the usual busy pace of cleaning, prepping lunch and dinner, running errands, dealing with online stuff, and all the usual details of the day.  Nope, today I felt like treating myself a little bit - and French Toast was the way to go.

I laid out everything I would need and threw together the egg/milk batter.  I pulled out my all-time favorite Mrs. Butterworth's syrup.  Funny the things we like.  My beau and I have friends from New England who brought us The Real Deal in the form of Vermont maple syrup.  While all-natural and absolutely delicious, sometimes I just want Mrs. Butterworth's.

Side note: the little red-topped container that lives on my counter contains pure rock salt, hand-gathered locally by a friend!

Let the cooking commence!  I won't even attempt to frame this as a "recipe" since I can tell you nothing about French Toast that you haven't already learned from your own family or the almighty internet.  Approximately one egg with 1/4 cup milk or so, sprinkles of cinnamon powder, stir together, dunk the bread on each side and plop onto a hot griddle, flipping to cook each side until done to your liking.

French toast in process.

Not having made it with cinnamon bread before, it didn't occur to me that it might brown faster or burn around the raisins.  Whatever.  I'm not claiming excellence - it tasted better than it looks!  Same goes for the egg yolk that broke when I flipped it, but it still ended up over medium, as I was hoping.

Final touch - fresh strawberries purchased on a day-run to Nassau yesterday for errands and groceries.  Occasionally, fresh strawberries will come through our local stores, but it's a treat, so I grabbed a box of pretty-looking ones in Nassau.

Breakfast is served.

As always, Angel maintained an alert post beside me while I ate, anxious for accidental droppings or not-so-accidental handouts.

Anything for me?

And this pic just because she's so doggone cute.

I wasn't giving her any handouts, but - with the camera taking her picture and all - she knew I was still paying attention to her.  So she diligently held her "sit" position to show me what a good girl deserving of treats she must be.  In fact, she was so intent on holding her pose that her back legs were slowly sliding out from underneath her!  Cracks me up . . .

Still waiting - and slowly spread-eagling.

Eventually, she gave up on the pose, got more comfortable, but still stayed right beside me - just in case.

I'm right here if you change your mind.

I didn't change my mind, and I polished off the whole plate.

Mmmmmmm.

So, that's been my morning so far.  Well, that plus the dishes and blogging about it all.

It just made me HAPPY this morning to make French Toast.  Temporary, fleeting, minor, low-key, whatever.  But every little bit of happiness must surely be a good thing.  Today, for me, I found happiness in "treating" myself to postpone laundry and computer errands.  I found happiness in a friend's generosity of gifting me bread.  I found happiness in the fresh homemade goodness itself.  I found happiness in satisfying a craving for French Toast.  I found happiness in a childhood favorite syrup.  I found happiness in fresh berries.  I found happiness in Angel's antics.  I found happiness in the view of the sea as I cooked.  I found happiness in the contentment of a full belly.  

Realizing that I couldn't remember a single day of making mid-week French Toast for myself in more than a decade of lawyering, I found appreciation and happiness in simply having the time to putter with all of this today.

The "big" things in life are momentous, important and sometimes life-changing.  But it's the little things in every single day that give shape to how we feel on that particular day.  Those little moments accumulate into the whole of the day.  Mine is off to a good start!  I hope you find some little pleasures in your day, too.  Cheers, friends!

California Dreamin'

Hello, Better Lifers!  Well, I've been globe-trotting again.  This time, it was out to southern California for a bit of a vacation.  The 3,000 mile flight from Miami to Los Angeles is the longest flight to date for my Beau, and I'm pleased to announce it went well on both the outbound and the return.  Each trip, we seem to stretch further, and I'm interested to see if he's up for an overseas jaunt at some point.  I keep telling him, "it's just another movie!" in terms of additional flight time.  :)

But I digress.  We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed seeing new and different places.  Our whirlwind itinerary included Los Angeles, Ventura, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Long Beach, Venice Beach and Malibu.  In addition to enjoying the expansion of our horizons, traveling always gives us renewed appreciation for the beautiful island we call home.

One odd little tidbit . . . I found myself noticing American flags flying proudly as we drove around California.  Frequently, my kneejerk reaction was, "Oh look!  An American flag!"  After a second's delay, I would realize my surprise was unwarranted since I was, in fact, back in America.  I just hadn't realized how accustomed to NOT being in the States I've become!

Our journey began by turning over Angel and the house to a friend's good keeping.  We hopped the charter flight from the island to a small airport in south Florida.  From there, we took a car service to Miami.  Lo and behold, for a variety of reasons which entertained me, the car service sent a stretch limo to pick up just me and my beau!  It was a delightful way to start the trip - and the best way to travel in Miami rush hour!

Kicking back en route to MIA airport.

After a long travel day - and a three hour time change - we reached our California destination in the wee hours of the morn.  After a quick sleep, we set off to explore.  

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the Pacific Ocean.  It was the first time for my beau, and I'd only seen it briefly years ago.

Beau's first view of the Pacific Ocean.

As with our ocean at home, and all of them across the world, the vast expanse of water was magnificent.  However - and I'm so sorry to sound like a beach snob here - I couldn't help noticing the striking differences between this beach and home.

At home yesterday - soft, white, clean sand.

Ventura - dark, coarse, dirty sand with litter.

Having traveled so far, I wanted to put my toes in the Pacific.  It was c-c-c-cold!

Ventura wading.

At home yesterday - crystal clear water.

Non-Sequitor:  Angel helping me take comparative photos yesterday.

Water and sand comparisons aside, it was fun to see a different type of beach.  To me, used to flat scrubby islands, the hills and mountains right alongside the ocean was quite striking.

A hazy day but the mountains still loom in the distance.

Another difference I noticed was that this particular beach was full of smooth stones, but I didn't see any seashells.  In contrast, our Bahamian beaches are replete with shells and rough coral, but few ocean stones.  I'm sure there's a scientific explanation for the distinction, but we simply enjoyed picking up the stones!

Smooth ocean stones.

And no matter the water source or location, we enjoy being in its very presence.

Beau gazing at the Pacific, something we did for long stretches of time.

As most avid travelers find, we learn so much through identifying our differences but also the many similarities that unite us throughout the world.  For instance, it seems that every geographic location battles natural disasters in one form or another.  For us, of course, it is the annual threat of hurricanes every June through October.  (Here we go again!)  For California, it's earthquakes and tsunamis!

Sign posted at the beach.

It was fun to travel to different areas of California and experience the unique vibe at each.  We enjoyed the carnival-like atmosphere at Santa Monica's pier.

Santa Monica Pier.

Although I'm certainly spoiled by my sunsets at home, it was a pretty afternoon in Santa Monica as the sun lowered itself onto the sea.

Santa Monica Beach.

For sunset in Santa Monica, we left the beach and joined friends at a rooftop bar at one of the "in" spots along the main strip.  It was a pretty view and fun to do.  However, I was reminded how much I like my own life and how thankful I am to know myself and be happy in my own skin.  We were in a young, hip, trendy bar full of beautiful people in the coolest styles.  In contrast, I was in my kick-around tourist clothes, with a sweater to ward off the chill.  I felt so old, frumpy, unhip and unattractive!  

Luckily, I knew enough to be aware that it was the environment having this effect on me, so I didn't let it get to me.  I was also glad to be paired with someone who still wanted to hold my hand in the midst of models and who was equally cold and ready to go somewhere where they actually served domestic beer!  I remembered having those feelings of mild discomfort and like I didn't fit in during my City years - even when I was younger and in more stylish clothes with money to burn.  It wasn't me then (though I was glad for the experience of that scene) and it isn't me now!

Just because I'm a sap!

Nonetheless, when it came time to explore the ritzier areas of Beverly Hills the next day, I confess I did have fun putting on heels and dressing the part a bit more to wander the shops.  :)  But I kept my flip flops readily available in the car!

This beautiful area lives up to its reputation.

Even the police station is beautiful!  (We kept thinking of Eddie Murphy and Beverly Hills Cop!)

Rodeo Drive, baby!  Straight out of Pretty Woman, one of my favorite movies.  This was a beautiful, fascinating area and lots of fun to see.  I was there on a Sunday morning, so most shops were closed.  Not able to afford most anything there anyway, I was glad not to be tempted.  I know I recently posted about not being much of a shopper, but Rodeo Drive was impressive and made me feel like a girly girl who just wanted to shop!

Yes, those are sparkly stones in the street sign!

It was also fun to cruise the chaos of Hollywood, Walk of Fame and see the Hollywood sign perched hillside in the distance.

Just the street sign - the big white Hollywood sign was too distant, especially with haze (smog?!) and from a moving car!

Another day took us to Long Beach.  We attempted to tour the Queen Mary but a tattoo festival had the place so packed that we couldn't get in!  Too bad, but the ship was impressive even at a distance.

For a sense of scale, that's a Carnival cruise ship next to the Queen Mary.

After a morning in Long Beach, we headed to Venice Beach.  Images of roller-skaters, bicyclists, body-builders and volleyball players danced in my head.  After we eventually found parking in this super-crowded area, we strolled toward the beach and saw some of those visions along the beach and pathway.

Venice Beach.

We turned from the beach back toward the main drag of shops, intending to stop for a beer and take in the sights.

Walking toward the main drag.

However, the chaos and crazy that awaited us was a definite surprise!  This stretch of pedestrian road was elbow-to-elbow full of people.  There were more tattoos, piercings, braids, general uncleanliness and people sleeping all over the place than I've ever seen in one place!  Lots of wild-eyed folks and rambling mutterers.  Not to mention the "Green Doctors" and shops advertising medical marijuana "assessments" for $40.  A whole world of crazy.

All along the strip, artisans displayed their wares for sale.  Lots of incense, henna tattoos, drug-themed art and more.  Quite a few of the sellers did not want to be memorialized on camera.  Gee, I wonder why.  Perhaps my favorite display to convey this sentiment was the artist who posted a painted wooden sign stating, "NO F**KEN PICTURES" (spelled out, of course).  Along with this were other painted signs of swearing this or that.

We decided to forego the beer - or putting anything in our mouths from this vicinity - and headed back to the car.  Along the way, we walked around a man pushing his baby in a stroller who was yelling at another man for backing up his car too close to the stroller.  After walking away, the man apparently changed his mind and started to come back to the scene of the crime.  All the while yelling about putting his baby in danger, the enraged father figure then pushed her back into the parking lot where he nearly came to blows.  Good protection, Dad.  We were outta there!

After taking a hot shower and recharging in our Beverly Hills hotel - teehee! - we were ready to go again the next day.  We still enjoyed a few more chuckles and head shakes after seeing the PR spin that the hotel guide put on its description of Venice Beach.  Beware!  We were glad to have seen it, but I doubt we'll be back!

The next day, we hit Pacific Highway 1 and headed toward Malibu.  What a fun drive along the coast!  Of course, most of the ginormous homes that appear in my celebrity magazines are well-hidden from view, but it was fun to just be in the area.

We also enjoyed a stroll through the Paul Getty Museum with its amazing works of art.

Pool and beautiful landscaping at the Paul Getty Museum.

Another pretty garden at the Paul Getty Museum.

We topped off the day with a late lunch at the Beach Cafe in Malibu.  We stumbled upon it, and it was the perfect beach scene with great food.

I'm still full, just looking at the sign!

Our trip drew to a close, and we returned home.  It was a whirlwind of different sights and sounds and tastes.  I definitely felt like a tourist in my own country since I had limited first-hand knowledge of California, but we enjoyed the trip thoroughly.  To all the California Better Lifers, thanks for sharing your state with me!

As always, I am glad to be back home now.  And, after eating our way through every spot we visited, we are happily returning to a fare of fish, veggies and fruit!

A Perfect Day (Fishing, Snorkeling, Conch Salad)

A few weekends ago, I enjoyed A Perfect Day.

It was a weekend morning and absolutely beautiful!

Morning sky.

Not Just A Pollyanna!

I've been ruminating on this post for a while.  As you can tell, I try to have an upbeat approach to most things.  Yet, sometimes, with these blog posts, I've wondered if readers ever roll their eyes or think I'm just some fluffy Pollyanna.

Although I have always been a glass-half-full optimist, I believe that I'm also grounded in reality.  I was fortunate to enjoy a stable, protected, happy childhood as a solid foundation from which to springboard into the world.  As I entered adulthood and life brought its various experiences - good, bad and otherwise - my world view and life philosophy expanded.  There's a lot of garbage out there!  But, as Anne Frank said, "I still believe that people are really good at heart."  Always, my family supported me with unconditional love and encouraged me that I could do whatever I dreamed and put my mind to do.

All of this is merely by way of background in The General Development of Dawn.  However, what is REALLY at the heart of my blog philosophy of Choosing the Better Life (and some of my potentially eyeball-rolling comments) can be pinpointed more exactly . . .

As I alluded to vaguely in my About page and background blog posts, my life turned upside down a few years ago.  I don't like to discuss it, and certainly not in such a public forum, but let's just say it involved large scale emotional trauma, deception, public humiliation, heartache and the carpet of my entire life being pulled out from underneath me from several corners at once.  Not much fun, to put it lightly.

I was not nearly so optimistic in those dark days.  I really was in more of a survival mode.  A dear friend, who had suffered extreme personal tragedy in her past, thoughtfully passed on wonderful words of advice - just live your life in 15 minute increments until you can face more.  Don't worry about the rest of your life, or next year, or next month, or next week, or tomorrow, or even the next hour.  Just get through the next 15 minutes.  Brush your teeth.  Take the dog out.  Just get through the next 15 minutes.

Eventually, I came out of the fog and found peace within myself again.  With renewed Faith (having leaned on my spiritual beliefs harder during those dark days than I had in quite some time), I determined to find and follow my inner nudgings.  As I did so, I began to wonder about the next phase of my life.

Well, now I'm in that next phase, and it is WONDERFUL!  But it's NOT because I live on an island (though that helps).  It's NOT because I'm spared the office grind (though that helps, too).  It's NOT because I'm in a good relationship (yup, another helper).  It IS because I am just so very thankful for all the good in my life, down to even the smallest of things, and I try not to take anything for granted.  It IS because I remember the sting of so many negative feelings, emotions and experiences and am so thankful to be in a better place in my life.  It IS because I'm aware that it is those very experiences that pointed me toward the happy path I now travel.  Having experienced such "dark days," I am oh-so-appreciative of these much lighter days.  Even a "bad day" now is a good one!

I still have plenty of everyday problems just like the rest of the population.  Things break.  Friends disappoint.  Family annoys.  (Mother, of course I'm not talking about you!)  Relationships pose misunderstandings or differences to work through.  Dogs get ticks.  Finances have to be treated carefully.  Loved ones encounter health and other challenging issues.  I experience sadness, frustration, anger, resentment, loss, grief, hurt, stress, etc.  It's just that I remain - at all times - thankful for the good in my life, even in the face of whatever the issue of the day is.  And I make a conscious effort - although I have to remind myself some days - to Choose the Better Life, take the higher road, don't sweat the small stuff, and all the other cliches that have nuggets of wisdom in them.

So, I'm not a Pollyanna.  It's just that I've experienced awful stuff - like so many of you - so I don't let the regular crapola of life weigh me down.  I'm grounded in myself, centered in Spirit, at peace and comfortable in my own skin.  When things go awry, I remind myself to hold steady on that even keel and not get caught in the swirl.

This Choosing the Better Life blog is about all of that for me, conveniently packaged in an island setting.  I'm not here to tell anyone else how to do it - only you can figure that out.  It's also not to promote island living for everyone!  Plenty of people would not enjoy days without electricity or water, a complete absence of shopping and big box store convenience, or the small town everyone-knows-everything communal living.  For me, however, it is bliss (well, most days).

While I was working up this blog post, I "happened" to come across another blog along those lines.  Written in a more cavalier tone than is my personal style, the blog post by Jonesy entertained me immensely and captured many of my thoughts about it all.  Check out "Hey Everyone!  Come see how great my life is!  How NOT to be a Douche Bag Blogger"

Also during this time, I came across a lovely blog post by Jodi Chapman of Soul Speak about how we define the "story" of our lives - and how it influences how we feel about it.  (By the way, one of the best benefits of having started a blog is that I've "met" so many wonderful, interesting, clever, like-minded bloggers!)  On her blog, and as she'd love for any of you to do, I shared the "old" story of my life and contrasted it to my "new" story:

OLD: I’m tired. I’m overworked. I’m stressed. I don’t have time for friends and fun. I live too far from family. I hate winter. I’m sick – again. I’ve had nothing but heartache in relationships. I’m reeling from emotional trauma. I let others determine how I feel. I’m lonely. My beloved dog is the brightest spot in my day. I’m Type A to the max. Life doesn’t feel as fulfilling as it should. I feel like I’m just marking time.

NEW: Endless sunshine and water views buoy my spirit daily. I enjoy seeing my family more often. I love having time to be happily domestic at home and social with many friends. Deep, steady, solid love fills my heart. I am healthy and rested. I’m content within myself. I’m still highly organized and detail-oriented, but I can go with the flow, too. I take each day as it comes and am open to how the future will unfold. I am thankful for the abundance of good and Grace in my life. I still love my dog but we’re no longer co-dependent. :)

I believe it is an internal mental/emotional/spiritual shift that matters as much as, if not more than, any external factors in determining how we feel about the lives we are living.  So, the next time you read one of my life-is-great blog posts, please pause to notice where maybe life isn't totally great but I'm choosing to focus on the good and appreciate that.  And then feel free to continue rolling your eyes at me!  Cheers to your new story for your own life and to Choosing The Better Life for yourself in small ways every day!

But What Do You DO All Day?

People often express their curiosity about island living and ask me, “But what do you DO all day?”  (In fact, this is the question I get asked the most, after “How did you end up on an island?” and “Do you work?”)  I understand why the question comes to mind.  For the askers, their island experiences have either been the stuff of daydreams or vacations:  sleeping in, reading all day, going to the beach for hours, taking naps.  Delightful as that is, it does not seem like real life to them.

And, in fact, it’s not.  I joke with friends and family about being “island busy.”  Most days, I am on the go from 6:30am until the evening.  I do enjoy playtime on weekends:  going out on the boat, reading a book, taking Angel for a swim, snorkeling.  But weekdays are as busy as always.  Granted, it’s not the stress of my prior office life, but it is by no means slow or dull.  Also, things just TAKE longer on the island!  Certainly laundry is a slower process without a supersize washer and with no dryer other than Mother Nature.  Going to the store takes a while, too.  Thankfully, it’s not because of long drives and bad traffic and crowded stores.  Rather, it’s because I stop the golf cart as I drive along to talk to friends and neighbors passing by, then chat with the store owners and any other shoppers – all of them either friends and neighbors or friendly visitors.

So what do I do all day that keeps me island busy?  I run the household for myself, my beau and dog Angel.  I cook 2-3 meals almost every day.  I hand-wash dishes after every meal.  I clean house.  I wash, hang and fold clothes.  I walk and bathe dogs and check for ticks.  I blog.  I use email and social media to stay connected with friends and family and Better Lifers.  I help my beau with the office end of his business.  I am stepping into the world of freelance writing and spend time on that. I pay my bills and handle finances online.  I work on home improvement projects, large and small.  I fill the golf cart with gas.  I deal with the usual hassles of health insurance, taxes, doctors, etc. 

Want an example of A Day In The Island Life of Dawn?  Here’s how my day went yesterday:

6:15am – Beau had already let the dog out as I slowly awake.  No alarm, just daylight and the sounds of Beau and Angel moving about.  I get up, make the bed, throw on sweatable day clothes, tie my hair up and brush my teeth.  Heading into the living room, I join Angel in wishing Beau a great morning as he leaves for work.  Opening up a multitude of windows, I give thanks for the sunshine (but wish for more breeze).  Feed the dog, start coffee, put away dishes that dried overnight, sort laundry, check email, read the morning’s Daily Word over coffee.  Wish I could work on blog and blog-related social media, but just no time for that today.  Sorry Better Lifers!

7:30am – Initiate email business that will continue throughout the day:  travel logistics with multiple friends for upcoming trip to the States, travel logistics with other friends for their visit to the island, doctor’s offices for medical records and follow-up appointments, island airlines for various flight availability, suppliers for Beau’s business order, shipper for personal and Beau’s business deliveries, mother to say g’morning and about home improvements, planning emails for children’s summer program, etc.  Angel takes her first of many naps.

Zzzzzzzzz.

8:00am – Cook up egg sandwiches, pour more coffee and Beau stops back home for breakfast.  Talk with him about a few business items and play with the dog, then Angel and I wish him well as he's off again.  Start a load of laundry, thaw chicken for dinner, continue email business, sort mail, organize a pile of paperwork into folders, spray down with bug spray then go outside to hang laundry on the line to dry while Angel explores the yard.

9:00am – Hop in my golf cart and cruise to the airport to meet an arriving plane carrying a friend passing through to a boat for a week-long diving excursion.  Visit and help them get luggage to the dock.  Stop at a neighbor’s house to help her with a project.  Drive over to the ridge to drop something off at another neighbor’s home.

10:00am – Home to happy dog.  Notice that I haven’t walked Angel yet or done our daily tick check, but decide that has to wait.  Continue on with email errands.  Start in on phone errands:  Stateside doctor offices, Nassau property tax office, etc.

11:00am – Begin fixing lunch of grilled tuna melts, fresh veggies and dip, and sliced strawberries.  Oh, and, by the way, the tuna was freshly caught by my beau on Saturday, then turned into tuna salad on Sunday and finished off with grilled tuna melts on Monday.  Yum!

12:00pm – Start another load of laundry just as Beau arrives home for lunch.  Eat and talk a little business.  Angel, up to her usual antics, provides a laugh-filled break time for us both.

12:30pm – Clean up lunch, wash dishes, more email errands and follow-up from lunchtime business discussion.  Dice vegetables and grill chicken as prep for dinner (a chopped salad with grilled chicken).  Pull in dry laundry from line, hang up next round of wet laundry, fold and put away clean clothes.  Notice my guitar and think in passing that I really need to play that one of these days.

1:30pm – I really can’t emphasize how long it takes to follow up on all the email errands and logistics!  Doing more of that.  Another nap for Angel.  Update some planning documents for the summer youth program.  Look in dismay at my “to do” list, realizing that, despite the work, many items remain in process – grrrrr – and I can’t quite cross them off yet!

2:30pm – Start to draft this list of what I’m up to today for a blog post.  Notice that my sunny sky is darkening.  Hmmm.  Walk outside to check for squall lines, while Angel races around chasing lizards.  Feel laundry and pull in anything that is dry.  Can’t bring in damp clothes – I’m not running A/C yet and in this humidity clothes won’t dry inside!  Thank new Twitter followers and check Facebook.  Occurs to me that, now that my day is turning into a blog post, I should take pictures!

Darkening Sky

3:00pm – Still drafting blog, alternating with responding to incoming emails.  Now some friends are writing, so it’s fun to catch up with them in the midst of the logistics.  Chop up the cooled-off chicken for the salad.  Angel taking yet another nap.  Fold laundry.  Listen to thunder grumble in the distance.  Thinking of my family.  Read a funny note from Mom.  Email brother to say howdy.  Send silent well wishes to my traveling Dad.

Central work station, with grilled chicken waiting to be chopped.

3:30pm – Count down hours until my end-of-day shower – particularly hot and sweaty today, not even summer yet!  Print various emails and tickets and file everything away in travel/medical/Beau files.  Start grocery list – stores will restock on Wednesday when freight boat arrives.  Try to call Nassau again to follow up on property taxes, but phone line is down.  Sky is looking ominous.  Decide to squeeze in a dog walk before rain lets loose.

Stopping at a favorite beach area along the way.

4:30pm – Beau finished work and calls to say he’s hanging out with the guys cleaning their catch of the day if I want to come down.  I stay put to finish up:  emails with my mother about a Memorial Day project she's working on, wrap up supplier orders, email about sponsorship of a summer event, respond to a Facebook blog inquiry and send a document to a doctor’s office.

5:30pm – Finally, a shower!  Feed the dog, Beau stops by to shower and pick me up in the truck since it’s raining.  Off to a local bar for drinks with friends and to snag some lobster chowder to bring home to accompany our dinner salad that evening.

Day is done!  Another good day of island busy.