Fragments of a Thursday: Golf Carts, Dogs and Aloe

G'day, Better Lifers!  I'm having a delightful Thursday and thought I'd share some of it with you.  This isn't a comprehensive view of the day, but is a glimpse into some of the little snippets that are blending together to bring me joy today.

First of all, this post is a labor of love because my rapid typing skills are on a major slow-down today.  I cut my index finger, and it remains sore on the typing tip.  BUT, what led to the cut is most excellent - I was cleaning Beau's new golf cart!  Yup, Beau got a new-to-us used golf cart that I'll be able to drive in lieu of the extremely temperamental and mostly brakeless 15-year-old one I've been using!  The golf cart was shipped from Florida, so I had to wash it down really well to make sure no saltwater splash residue remained - the salt is so corrosive.  Anyway, it's well worth a temporarily sore finger.

This is how I ride.

Today is a delightful, blustery day on the island.  We're enjoying the clouds and breeze and respite from late summer heat.  With the various clouds rolling around, we've enjoyed particularly spectacular sunsets and sunrises lately.  I was still sleepily nursing my coffee during this morning's brilliant displays of reds and purples, but here is a glimpse at one of our sunsets earlier this week.

View from the back deck with a glass of sunset wine.

I'm pleased to report that Angel is healthy and happy after her recent near-death experience.  (Now that she's safe, I find myself entertained by such exaggerations.)

The only residual effect is that my lick-at-everything dog proceeded to pick the shaved area of her arm until it was red and raw.  Sigh.  In order to keep her off of it, Angel has been relegated to the green cone.

My little conehead.

While telling my neighbor and friend how pathetic she looks in this cone, he made a brilliant suggestion - put aloe on her leg!  Apparently, dogs don't like the taste, so it will keep her from licking the area.  Plus, of course, aloe has good healing properties.

So, with a pair of scissors in hand, I marched to the aloe plant in my front yard and took a little snip.

Bush medicine.

Curious as to how it tasted myself, I flicked my tongue across the cut end - blech!  Bitter.  Terrible, lingering aftertaste.  Don't let curiosity get the best of you.  Trust my neighbor.  Trust me.  It tastes bad.

After a few swigs of coffee to cleanse my palate, I squeezed the aloe and applied it to the sore spot on Angel's leg.  A sniff.  A lick.  No more.  Voila!

Meanwhile, it was time to turn my attention to Milo.  After disappearing for a few days to roam and play with the other island dogs (eating by Brooks' cousin and generous others, I suspect), he has returned home.  But before he is allowed entry . . . bath time!

Drying on the deck.

Perhaps the most exciting part of my morning was the long overdue set-up of my little office area!  For the past year and a half, I've been using my laptop, usually at the kitchen counter with a variety of papers spread around.

But, from my former life in the States with a big home office, I still had one unpacked box of goodies - all the makings for a desktop setup.  Huge monitor, keyboard, wireless mouse, battery backup, external hard drive, etc.  After laying it all out, I realized that my tech-challenged self had forgotten how it all went back together.  This, despite my Type-A post-it notes on most of the components!

So I arranged a remote service call with my favorite techie - my brother.  We made a Skype date, and I proceeded to show him all the stuff, and he talked me through how to put it all together.  I think I mostly remembered after all, but it was good to have "professional" back-up, and it's always a delight to talk to my brother.

So, now I'm ready!  Having gotten my home in order, so to speak, I'm mentally ready and inspired to focus more on my writing.  It feels fun and exciting to me!

My new "office" enjoys plenty of light and an ocean view.

Since the glare in the above photo prevents you from seeing outside, I'll give you a more direct picture of my view - the very best part of this office!

Ahhhhhh.

I mean, how can I not write my little heart out in this setting?!

I had just sat down at my new set-up to email my friend and thank him for his brilliant aloe suggestion when I realized - oh no - Angel is licking her leg!  I grabbed the aloe to reapply a fresh patch.  No matter.  My always-hungry-will-eat-anything-and-everything dog apparently acclimated herself to the bitter taste and was calmly licking away.  Sigh.  Back to the cone!

But it's not all bad.  Angel in the cone provides endless chuckles for me and Beau, and she is fairly comfortable in it.

Napping, for example.

And on high alert, per usual, when anyone has food nearby.



I recognize this is a very random smattering of disjointed tidbits from my day.  But all of these little pleasures add up to one giant Better Life!

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.

Island Kids

I love our island children.

I don't have children of my own (and my beau's children are grown).  So I get my "kid fix" from spending time with the local island kids.  Due to the small size of the community and the relaxed, interactive, island lifestyle, it is my pleasure to see these children almost every day - far more often than I was able to see cousins or friend's children in the hectic, far-flung States.

Beau and I brought all the kids over for an impromptu cookout and swim one weekend afternoon last fall.

One of the benefits of living on this small island is the tight sense of community.  With fewer than 100 full-time residents, and a delightful tangle of family ties amongst all the cousins and aunts and uncles, the community knows one another well and spends lots of time together.  Of the current residents, 17 are school-aged children - including only three girls at the moment! 

The school.

The island boasts a one-room schoolhouse, with live-in government teachers, where it educates children from Kindergarten through Grade 8.  After that, children must go to Nassau or another island for high school.  Sometimes families move with their children.  More often, during those high school years, our local children live with an aunt or cousin or other family member already living in that location.

My beau also loves children, and he is especially fond of these island children since many of them are his family or god-children or simply the future of this special island.  Beau and I, along with another couple, started a local kids' camp last summer.  Well into our second summer now, we are all having a ball!  All of the local school kids participate, along with numerous volunteer adults, and we meet every Thursday and Saturday during the summer months.  

Snorkeling one Saturday.

The purpose of the camp is to pass on traditional island skills in the areas of swimming, boating, sailing, fishing, free-diving, spear-fishing and nature skills, while subtly encouraging positive character development that has made this island special:  manners, discipline, respect for elders and the community, island preservation, work ethic, etc.

Boat excursion.

These island children share many similarities with American and most other children, in my experience.  They love to laugh, play, giggle, get into innocent mischief, express wonder at new things, and they bring an energy and zest for life to everything they do.

This crew just won a champion junior sailing race.  Posing here for a "serious" picture.

And a "silly" picture.

And now the CHAMPION picture!

However, the island children also seem a little different to me than many other children - in a good way. As a whole,  island kids are unfailingly polite, demonstrate respect for their elders, answer with "yes ma'am" and the like, do not bully their peers (of course, disagreements and bickering are unavoidable), and play tirelessly outdoors during all of their free time.  

I suspect that much of this has to do with the small-town atmosphere and values and family relations, which small towns in the U.S. and other countries may still continue to enjoy.  Certainly the freedom that comes with living in a small, safe place enables our local kids to run loose for hours on end in a way that City kids just can't enjoy.

Playing on one of the beaches.

It definitely takes a village to raise a child, and our local village embraces that concept.  Any adult, including myself now, will reprimand or correct any child observed being rude or unruly or doing something unsafe.  The children are quick to respond.  They're also quick to run up to us with greetings ("Good afternoon!"), hugs and whatever news is most exciting in their day.

Gardening session in our camp - we planted watermelons and pumpkins.  Fingers crossed for a good harvest!

Unfortunately, the inevitable path of "progress" brings changes to children here, too.  Computers, video games and modern technology demand the attention of many of the children - it's not just fishing and swimming anymore.  Exposure to brand names and popular trends through television and the internet brings the focus on such material things to the island in ways we didn't see a couple decades ago.  Like elsewhere in the world, values slowly change as a result.  As much as possible (thus, the kids camp), we hope to preserve the innocence of our children and their appreciation for island life.

Meanwhile, I just enjoy them every single day.

One of the boys diving down to explore on a snorkel excursion.

I donned a life jacket to help a nervous swimmer snorkel an underwater cave.  A great accomplishment for him!

Our tiny James Bond.

Beau returning with older boys from a spear-fishing excursion.

Beach picnic lunch last weekend, younger kids are still swimming in the background.

Kids cleaning their fish after a successful mission.

Moment of Zen with the sharks by the fish-cleaning bench.

Tired twins heading home with their spears, snorkel gear and bag of freshly caught and cleaned fish!

Choosing To Be Unbusy

I've joked about being "island busy."  That is, my days stay full of activity, but I'm cognizant that it's not the same stressful levels as when I lived in the States.  

Lately, however, I've been feeling the press of those old "hectic" feelings creeping into my island bliss.  You know the ones I mean:

• I'm so busy.
• I can't get through everything on my To Do List.
• I can't seem to get caught up.
• There's not enough time to do the things I want to do. 
• I'm turning down fun offers for the tasks I feel I "should" be doing.

IT'S TIME TO PRESS THE PAUSE BUTTON.

I live on an island for heaven's sake!  I walked away from a "big career" and left the City so I could enjoy the things in life that were more important to me.  I made a conscious choice to Better my Life in big and small ways every day.  I don't even have a freakin' job - how can I be too busy?!

How did this happen?  Slowly, over time, I've allowed my commitments and my own tendencies to crowd the relaxed island pace I'd been enjoying.

Some of it is an increase in responsibilities:  running a summer kids' program, house issues popping up that need addressed, spending more time developing blog and writing opportunities, etc.

Some of it stems from my own personality traits:  conscientious list-maker with a strong work ethic.  Even my 86-year-old grandmother rarely sits down - though she certainly should! - in the course of any given day.  Always busy, busy, busy.  In the work world, those traits masquerade as ambition and reliability and good things to help us advance.  But we just get busier.

Part of my Better Life has been letting go of Type A tendencies and being more flexible.  While I've managed to sustain that, I've let my penchant for being busy accumulate into a way that I'm no longer liking.

Perhaps that's why I relished that French Toast and my pseduo "day off" earlier this week.  It was my first attempt at slowing things back down, relieving myself of the drive to be "productive," and a reclaiming of some simple happiness.

After reading that post, my mother emailed me a link to an article about being too busy.  (Mom suffers from this malady as well - we are a direct line of descendents from the aforementioned busy grandmother!)  I promptly emailed her back, but said - no kidding - that I was too busy to read it until later!  Well, I finally read this wonderful article, and it gave me great pause.

On the New York Times Opinion Pages, Tim Kreider posted "The 'Busy' Trap."
I thought he was spot-on in his descriptions of, and musings about, the busy-ness that pervades our lives.  And what wonderful timing for me to be reading his article!

I've decided that, before I slide down that busy slope any more, I'm calling a halt and making some little changes.  I'm choosing to be less busy!  It means a shift in priorities.  It means giving myself permission (again) to not be "productive" every minute of the day, or even every day.  It means saying yes to fun offers and letting other things wait.  

In law school, and then later in law firm life, my best friend and I had a mantra that we would use to remind each other and ourselves not to freak out in trying to manage a seemingly impossible amount of work on tight deadlines  - IT ALL GETS DONE.  IT ALL ALWAYS GETS DONE.

While I am thankfully no longer working or living at that pace, I can apply the same mantra to my "island busy."  How have I implemented this specifically so far?

• For the past two mornings, I've spent over an hour exercising with friends.  Now, if you know me or if you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll recall that I am a morning person.  I'm most productive in the early hours of the day and I get lots done then!  Moreover, if I don't get a jump on it then, I tend to lose momentum and it takes me longer - or not at all - to get to certain things.  HOWEVER, morning is when my friends exercise.  Morning is when it's less sweltering on the island so it makes sense to exercise then.  So I've been exercising in the morning, instead of not at all!

• For the past two days, I have, in fact, felt the gap in productivity since I'm using my mornings differently.  BUT, I feel good about exercising.  I like how I feel physically.  I enjoy the time with friends.  I'm not missing any deadlines or postponing important stuff TOO long, so I just let any potential angst about not being as productive as I could/should be roll right off.

• After this morning's exercise, I was on my way home when I saw a few friends hanging out on their front porch.  Normally, I'd wave and head on home to get to work.  This morning, I stopped.  We chatted about last night's fireworks and festivities.  We traded tips on gardening and recipes related to the pumpkins and watermelons that our kids' camp children have planted.  We laughed. It was worth every minute.

• Eventually, I headed home.  However, along the way, I noticed some of the children sailing just offshore in small Sunfish as part of a sailing lesson by one of my friends.  Again, I decided to make time and stop.  I walked out to the dock and cheered each of the kids by name as they rounded the buoy on a successful tack.  I called out to my friend and traded quick pleasantries.  I chatted with one of the boys who was still ashore.  I smiled, inhaled the fresh air, enjoyed the pretty view, and just breathed a little easier.

• Now, instead of tackling house projects, I am drafting this blog.  I confess, partly it's because of those old "shoulds" creeping in.  Bloggers must post regularly to keep readers interested, blah, blah, blah.  But also, I just felt like it, and I wanted to share this mini-revelation and The 'Busy' Trap article with you all.

• I haven't been carrying my camera around and thinking about blog shots at every opportunity.  No worries, I'll get back to pictures because they are fun.  But, for now, this is one little nod to just going about my day in a slower, simpler, just-for-me kind of way.

And there you have it!  I'm back to Choosing a Better Life by choosing to be unbusy!  Or, well, at least LESS busy.  Baby steps, people.  :)  How are you going to extricate yourself from your own busy trap?

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!

Do You Miss It? (Island Living)

Sometimes, people will ask me, "Do you miss it?"  The specifics they're ascribing to that question depend on the context of whatever we've just been discussing.  However, it usually falls into one of two scenarios:  (1) Island Living - the micro view of the challenges inherent in living on a tiny island, or (2) Big Life Change - the macro view of how dramatically I've changed my life.  Let's tackle the first one here today.

Island Living

I've described before just how very small this island actually is.  When talking about life here, which necessarily involves limited shopping and entertainment and other resources, people will sometimes ask "Do you miss it?" with regard to a host of things.  I suppose my general answer is that I miss some things, but far fewer than you'd expect, and certainly not enough to make me anything less than enthusiastic about living here.  

So, let's talk specifics . . .  Do I miss the following?

• Friends - Yes and No.  I miss those City friends with whom I can no longer get together for a quick lunch or leisurely dinner.  But, let's face it.  In our jammed schedules, we just didn't get together THAT often.  Also, I'm blessed with friendships that stand the test of time and distance.  My very best friends remain my very best friends, no matter where they or I live.  That said, I don't have to miss the enjoyment of friendship interactions just because I live on a tiny island.  Here, I've reconnected with old friends and made many new friends.  This small island is a hub of social activity and, given the community living, I see far more friends in any given week here than I ever did in the States.  Plus, I keep up with friends, old and new, through email and social media.  God Bless the Internet to keep far-flung folks connected.

• Grocery Stores - Yes and No.  I miss being able to read a new recipe and run to the store to buy every obscure item listed, at any hour of the day or night.  Food stores here are far more limited in size, selection and hours.  However, unless the freight boat is delayed (which happens all too frequently), I can almost always get the basics:  butter, eggs, cheese, apples, oranges, onions, potatoes, lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, lime, basic canned food and condiments.  During tourist season, the stores stock more and I can even pick up mushrooms, occasional strawberries, feta cheese and tortilla chips!  Specialty items, don't ya know.  :)  Of course, please also remember the benefits of island living - my beau brings home fresh fish, lobster and conch!  And I stock several months of meat in my deep freezer.  So, our grocery options are just fine.  Actually, when I go to the big grocery stores in the States now, I find the selection positively overwhelming and quite daunting!

• Shopping - No.  Granted, I wasn't really much of a shopper before anyway, at least not of the type to relish wandering through malls or boutiques.  I would, however, put that attorney paycheck to use and indulge in occasional fits of online shopping, which I've since curtailed.  I just don't need much and, now on a tighter shoestring, I just don't buy it!  If anything, I'm glad not to have stores around tempting me with pretty window displays.  Nope, I don't miss shopping.

• Big Box Stores - Yes.  I miss Target!  I miss being able to run out for those random things that come up as needed from Target, or Pet Smart, or Bed Bath & Beyond, etc.  I'm forced to economize and improvise by (a) deciding I really don't NEED it, (b) coming up with some alternative creation/solution/fix, or (c) adding it to the ever-present list of Things To Buy Stateside that will go in my purse with my passport on the next trip home.  Currently on my list, for example:  non-standard-sized light bulbs, bath mats, stove burner covers, flea/tick medicine, cooler bags, file folders.

• Movies - Yes.  I didn't go that often, but I do miss being able to head into a movie theater for an escape, weekend event, or simple change of pace whenever the mood strikes.  When we have time during trips to Nassau or the States, ducking into whatever box office hit is playing at the time is a favorite thing to do.

• Restaurants - Yes.  We have two restaurants regularly serving dinners at the moment.  Of course, by now I know the menus by heart.  So, while it's still a treat to go out to dinner here and have the night off from cooking (no other carry-out options!), it's just not the same.  I miss going out to a new (or favorite) restaurant, enjoying the ambiance, sitting down and being served, perusing a delicious-sounding menu and tasting every item in my mind as I read the menu, enjoying an array of dishes from excellent chefs, etc.  But, it is what it is.  I enjoy my nights out here, and I enjoy the restaurant dining experience as a treat when I travel.  Moreover, I'll tell you what I DON'T miss about restaurants - the expense and the extra pounds!  I definitely attribute my bikini-ready self to healthy home-cooking and an absence of tempting restaurant options.

• Services - Yes.  I miss easy access to doctors, dentists, vets, hair/nail salons and a host of repair services.  Sigh.  (Note to self:  time to remember your Choosing the Better Life principles - it's all good.)

• Garbage Disposal - Yes.  In fact, this may be the home amenity I miss most!  I can make do quite well with sea baths when the water is off, frequent electric outages, hand-washing dishes, limited A/C, etc.  But MAN do I miss having a garbage disposal.  Newer homes on the island do boast garbage disposals, but our system isn't adaptable to it.  (I'll spare you the intricacies of water/sewage/other pipe set-ups and systems.)  Yeah, I'm trying to create less waste and compost what I do make, but let's face it - I miss a handy little garbage disposal right there in my sink!

Interestingly (to me anyway), as I read over this list, it seems like I'm listing a lot of things that I miss when I feel like, overall, I don't miss much at all!  I think it's because this island life GIVES me so much more of things that I really value and didn't have before, that I don't really miss even those things outlined above.  I get to eat fresh fish, go snorkeling, see sharks and iguanas, walk down the road in flip-flops visiting friends along the way, romp on the beach with my dog, go to friends' houses for dinner, witness breath-taking sunsets, etc.  It's a great life!  

Perhaps the other reason I don't feel like I miss all that stuff is that I still have access to it.  I travel back to the States and elsewhere frequently enough that I get my "fix" of movies and restaurants and change of scenery.  I schedule doctors and hair cuts when I need them.  I stock up on groceries and big-box-store stuff.  I take advantage of the City amenities, but also get just enough of the City traffic and other hassles that I'm ready to come home to the island!  But I still miss my garbage disposal.  :)

Do you wonder if I miss other Stateside/City daily living amenities that I didn't mention?  Just tell me what you're curious about and I'll let you know!  As for Big Life Change and whether I miss things in that context, to be continued . . . !

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.