Grenada first week

Grenada
The Spice of the Caribbean

Spring 2008

Bougainvillea at La Sagesse.

March was a very challenging month for us. Heather took what was planned to be a brief trip to the States to follow up on some tests and complete the family taxes in Colorado. However, the day before I was scheduled to leave for my next stop in New York, one of our non-human family members experienced a health crisis which kept me in Colorado for an extra three weeks.

Gatsby enjoying a very warm day outside (75 degrees!) and Ollie taking a bath in his fountain.

Within twelve hours of our fun in the sun, the outdoors was transformed into a winter wonderland.

Taxes, as usual, were a bear to get through and complete. Thankfully, I have NO photos depicting my various levels of bureaucratic frustration!

Peter sends his support:

After slogging through quite a bit of paperwork, I was able to take a break and got treated to a home cooked meal complements of Kate and Jon. We were sad to have missed them at Christmas time, but I had a great time catching up in March!

Heather and Kate. Jon takes off for his bowling tournament.

Tom and Brenda returned home the next day, concluding their road trip to Indiana.

Then, the night before I was scheduled to leave for a brief visit to New York, Gatsby became extremely ill, which required me to cancel my travel plans. My poor wonderbun spent a terrible twelve hours in intractable pain. The next morning, as I should have been boarding a plane, I was relieved to be told that Gatsby appeared to be structurally sound, but he suffered from GI stasis of unknown origin. We started two medications, which involved unpleasant wrestling for each of us 5 times a day. Slowly through the weekend, things started looking better. I re-booked my plane tickets and we checked in with Gatsby's regular doctor. Just then, things slid back downhill. A new medication and another round of canceled plane tickets...and that's when the despair set in as we realized that I might not make it back to Grenada at all.

Gatsby, below left, miserably flopped out in his safety-renovated house, and Ollie, upper right, trying his best to encourage Gatsby to take a bite of hay.

Janette and Mark are wonderfully supportive and have me over for dinner. I get to meet the newest member of Janette's family: a gorgeously red-hued corn snake.

For nearly two weeks, Tom and Brenda tolerate my depression and frustration and worry over Gatsby's health...and my taking over their entire living room with taxes and sewing projects. After two weeks of intense observation, medication wrassling, diet changes, and quantitative analyses, I again reschedule the resumption of my trip to New York and then Grenada after four days of Gatsby doing well with no medications. Tom and Brenda have already left for their ten day vacation with Peter in Grenada.

Meanwhile, I get out of the house a bit for a little socializing.
First, I am very glad to see our wonderful friend Amin off to new adventures in California. I am sad he is moving away, but grateful to see him before he leaves! And...I learn how to make vegetarian sushi! Mmmmm!

Amin, Heather, and Galas.

Galas readies himself to down a huge chunk of very hot wasabi (yes, he was successful!); Kelda outdoes herself with a pink cake!

Next, I couldn't believe it, but I found out our dear friends Joanne and Rusty had become engaged...and were having an engagement party while I was still in town! I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of their celebration!

The happy couple.

Just as I was getting ready to hit the road, once again, Gatsby showed new signs of health problems. After five days off any medication, things again took a turn for the worse. I dropped everything and called on all the rabbit experts at my disposal. They were wonderful in their responses. I went through a period of intense stress - worried about my little bun and trying to get myself together to go, just in case. As advised, I re-started Gatsby's motility medication and consulted Gatsby's care providers. All were ready to take on the challenge of caring for Gatsby, administering his medication, and reporting daily on his quantitative and qualitative daily experiences. With extreme hesitation, I boarded a plane to New York for a brief, three day visit.

Gametime with Mom!

Julia Child is at it again...this time making fresh fruit for dessert. We drove to Connecticut to visit with my wonderful grandparents for the day on Saturday.

Dad, Mom, Me, Marian (Grammy) and Don (Buddy.)

The next day, Sunday, we got up early and drove all the way out to JFK. After consulting with Janette that things were still "OK" with Gatsby, I collected my boarding pass and finally boarded a plane back to Grenada.

As mentioned, Peter had his own challenges this month; I'll do my best to provide a recap as I understand it. School and academics presented their own issues. Worse than the academic situation were all the distractions keeping him away from the studying. One of the foremost distractions included me...all the hours we spent lamenting to one another via Skype webcam calls.

While we enjoyed a period of weeks when Crapzilla could be taken on short trips (so long as one went well prepared with a gallon of water,) this state of affairs came to an abrupt end. Crapzilla quickly got worse and worse. Peter needed to research options, try to sell Crapzilla, and rent a car for his last two months in Grenada. Selling anything is not easy, and a car with issues is a particular challenge. First, you have to give directions to your house which doesn't have an address. Next, you have to be around when people on "island time" arrive for a look. Finally, you have to refrain from hitting yourself on the head when people show up and want to buy it..."if there are no engine problems" when your ad specifically points out a number of engine problems. Details, details. Clearly, however, the most interesting would-be buyer was the seemingly motivated gentleman who phoned to tell Peter he was "comin' right over," which prompted Peter to rush home on the bus for the guy's arrival. After Peter phoned to find out where he was, the man stated that something came up, and he'd come tomorrow instead, but could Peter hold the car for him? (Not.) Next day, he calls and says he's "comin' right over!" Again, Peter waits and finally phones to figure out why the man hasn't shown up. Turns out, the guy was still on Carriacou - the next island over and several hours away by ferry. At best. He never actually showed up to view the car. Perhaps he's still trying to make the ferry before the darn thing leaves dock.

The automobile fiasco wasn't nearly as bad as the apartment issues that came up. Rats moved into a hole high up in the outside wall of our bedroom, where the air conditioner connects the inside portion to the outside unit through a thick concrete wall. Peter tried to discourage them from staying...when one ended up expiring inside the hole, a situation which he soon discovered by the unbearable stench. As it was discovered on a Friday afternoon, Peter was told he'd have to wait until Monday to get anyone to come out and do something about the situation. Few people work on the weekend. By the next morning, he could stand it no longer. The house was uninhabitable. Instead of moving out, he moved in for a closer inspection. After a few trips to the hardware stores, and an absolutely unimaginable sensory experience, Peter concocted some way to extract the unseen horror from the hole in the wall. Another trip to the store for concrete, and any prospective tenants were prevented from moving in. I have no idea how anyone could find the gumption to complete such a tremendously awful task.

Fortunately, Peter was treated to pleasant distractions when his parents and two friends of the family, Uriel and Jeanie, came down to Grenada for a visit.

Uriel, Peter, Tom, Jeanie, and Brenda.

Uriel and Brenda at Savvy's.

The group enjoy La Sagesse:

An evening at the Rex:

La Belle Creole:

Brenda and Jeanie; Uriel.

I missed the family visit by just one day. They left Saturday morning, and I arrived Sunday night.

Sunset as seen at 25,000 feet from the plane on my way to Grenada.

What a great feeling to have my loving husband, whom I have missed SO much over the last month back in my arms! Ahhhhh.

Friends reunited:

Noga, Ave, Britney, Josh, Heather, and Peter
Wow! Peter arranged a very warm welcome for me at the airport with what he calls a "welcome parade!" I was incredibly touched by Peter's efforts and the effort of everyone coming along to say hello.

Not only was there a welcome parade, but everyone was invited back to our apartment for an ice cream social. Peter had already made the arrangements and gathered every kind of sundae fixins imaginable. Cookies and cream ice cream, oreos, chocolate syrup, cream whipped right in front of us...the works! I added some homemade cookies - complements of Mom and Dad - to the mix. What a delight!

It's the simple things that matter...togetherness over yummy sundaes!
It was great to be able to sit down and chat for a bit, and then to clean myself up and get right to the business of resting up.

Peter snapped this photo of a very large and rather jaunty creature on my Big Thyme plant as everyone made their way home from the ice cream social.