Well…it looks like the e-mail notification is working, it just takes a while to get it, I’m assuming because the posts are so long. Hopefully as posts are made (with any luck, daily again) the e-mail notifications will get sent quicker!
Monday, April 04, 2011:
Up early today so that we can go over to the Cost-U-Less store and do some grocery and supply shopping. We can’t afford to go out to eat every night! Plus we have to pick up a few other things like a crock pot, hot pads, plastic bowls etc that the apartment could use to make it comfortable and easier to live in for the next month.
Later, we will head to the beach and then go over to Paul and Debbie’s place to have ribs for diner!
We got in the car and headed down the road toward Cost-U-Less. The traffic in this area is always a little snarled so as we were sitting there I noticed a store called Kitchen & Bath Gadget Store so I told Gerald to pull off so we could take a look in there and see what they have to price compare. It was on the way, and we wouldn’t have to cross traffic so it was convenient. We parked and went in. It was basically a kitchen/bath supply store and my eyes were BIG! They have LOTS of stuff! There were pots, pans, appliances, gadgets (which I love) bedding supplies and decorations. It’s difficult for me to see it all and not want to buy something! But we just noted some prices of things, because for now I’m pricing since we want to see what they have at Cost-U-Less. So back on the road we went to Cost-U-Less.
Cost-U-Less is a smaller version of a Sam’s or Costco. Selling some items in bulk, but you can also get individual items as well. That’s nice for a long time stay here. They even have a bakery, produce and fresh meat section with a butcher and kitchen you can see behind the coolers! Nice! We got a few items including an iron and a mattress pad (the sheets are very thin in the apartment and you can see the pattern of the mattress – it’s clean but not so comfortable). Gerald even found a pair of sunglasses that he can wear over his other glasses for $5! We also got some canned chicken (where was that last week!?), chips guacamole and salsa, Rice Krispies treats and a big bag of Famous Amos cookies! (priorities!) We’ll have to get the rest of the stuff another time, because it’s getting late and we want to get out to the beach! We got back to the apartment, unloaded and put away our bootie for the day, Gerald ate a sandwich and we loaded up the beach stuff and headed out.
We got to beach, and looked around for the gang but they weren’t there. It was a little windy today and I really didn’t want to stay and get pelted by sand on the beach, so we decided to head over to Mt. Vernon – where they were staying. We didn’t know what unit Paul and Debbie were in but we did remember where Mark and Bonnie’s unit was, so we went there and knocked on the door. Luckily Paul was there minding the ribs he was cooking for dinner. He told us that everyone was at the pool today so we went and joined them until it was time for dinner.
We headed up to Paul and Debbie’s place and visited until it was time to eat. We had ribs, rice, steamed veggies and corn on the cob – with yummy chocolate tart cookies for desert. It was DEEE-licious! Of course, after dinner the “Smart Juice” came out again, this time in the form of Sambuco. Discussions of history, politics, religion, philosophy, the beach (mostly about Ken & Barbie and their daily fashion show of matching swimsuits) and all kinds of things! We decided that Mark would start a hair cutting business and we even came up with a name for it! Once again my throat is sore and side hurting from laughing so hard!
Soon the wind picked up, it started to rain and it was getting late so it was time to get back to the apartment. We got back to the apartment safely and put the new mattress pad on before we went to bed. That felt much better! We were going to open the windows and door to catch the breeze, but the winds were gusting at times and was tossing everything on the deck, and inside the apartment. We had to bring everything inside and shut the door. Unfortunately the winds made such a noise all night that I didn’t get much sleep. I woke up at 3am and had to stack the chairs in the corner of the deck to keep them from flying off. All night the wind whistled and howled through the window and cracks where the air conditioner was. It was bizarre! At times it would be relatively quiet and you would only hear the slight rustling of the palms, but then a gale-force gust of wind would come and you would think it was taking down the building! Hope this doesn’t last long!
Tuesday, April 05*, 2011:
This morning the rain and gale-force gusts of wind continue. It’s a good day not to go to the beach, but stay home! I might take a nap today since I didn’t get much sleep last night. Gerald is missing his nap time anyway – he hasn’t had one in weeks!
We need to take advantage of the down time too and finish our shopping. Plus I want to try to head over to Scarlet to see if I can get some sort of internet service here because this random internet connection at restaurants and bars is killing me and not reliable! But I’ll try to get a posting done before this afternoon anyway!
I’m working on my post, and Gerald is napping…that is until there is a knock at the door. I’ve seen someone climbing up the side of the building and banging around downstairs. Now he’s knocking at the door. After the 15 minutes it took me to unlock the lock and get the darned door open, he just wanted to let us know he would be climbing on the roof. At least no one will easily be getting in! But now the sleeping crab is awake…and I have to deal with him! Curses!
We get ready to head out for supply shopping again, to get stuff that we didn’t get done yesterday. You know how Gerald hates to spend money…and it was a stellar day in that regard! 6+ places to go, to either do something or pick up stuff and after that, he had just about enough shopping and running around!
First we went to Scarlet so I could get an internet router. Not having internet easily accessible down here has been an issue and I don’t like the piece-meal of checking my mail on my iPhone if we happen to be someplace with wi-fi. And going to restaurants with unsecure lines has not worked out at all. It’s too much of a pain to gather everything and sit somewhere else. This will work out better I hope!
Then we go to Flamingo so that we can make our reservations for next year. That’s always a slow grueling process, but they were very nice this year and our reservations are made. Check that off the list.
Next we head to Kooeyman. It’s a hardware store and we wanted to check it out and pick up a few things. We got a sink stopper for the kitchen sink, an umbrella holder for the sand (Gerald told Bob to take his home), electrical power strips, but no ant killer (we have typical Caribbean ants - not as bad as in San Pedro Belize, but I don’t even want them to get worse!). On to the next store.
Ace hardware! What we didn’t get at Kooeyman, we got here. Terro ant killer, spatula, looked at knifes, weights for shower curtain, got a table cloth and clips, looked for small umbrella, got a crock pot and an oven mitt/pot holder.
Next to Kwik Bargains, the kitchen and bath gadget store! I got a couple of knifes, coasters, suction cups, cup holders for the lawn chairs, spatulas and tongs. I would liked to have gone to Cost-U-Less again, but the traffic in this area is brutal and Gerald is reaching his limit! I better not push it for today.
Finally, the last stop on the way back to the apartment is Sang’s grocery store to get a few things for supper. Lettuce, soup, sour cream, Kleenex.
After that, we’re done. Back to the apartment to unload and unpack. I wash all the new utensils and appliances, lay out the ant killer and make dinner – salad and mushroom ravioli.
Dinner finished and dishes done, I sit down and hook up my router and see if I can get it to work. Finally, with not too much trouble, I get it hooked up and working. It’s not as fast as I would like it to be, but it works and I won’t complain! (too much!) I get busy catching up on my e-mails, uploading the blog and pictures and hopefully will get on a normal schedule again (blame it on Bob!).
Gerald has gone to bed, and I’m hanging on with everything I have to get this done and something posted tonight! I’m so tired the screen is getting blurry! But I will persevere so that I can post again in the morning! It’s starting to feel a little normal…sort of. Maybe it will get better once we get more settled in. At least my bed feels better since I put the mattress pad on. Now I have to work on getting better pillows! …Gerald…what are we doing tomorrow?
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