Anguilla part four

It has been wet and cold since we have returned home, so I am going to continue posting from our vacation on sunny Anguilla last week!

The climate in Anguilla is a bit arid, but like any place it is amazing what happens when you add a bit of water.

I sure did enjoy the blooming flowers

I use to grow pretty Hibiscus when I lived in Houston, this one seems to be  happy on Anguilla.

This splash of red sure did stand out against this white wall,

as did the purple.

These were new to me. They are called sea grapes. Someone told me to eat one of the ripe ones. So I did! The seed inside is very large so there is not a lot of pulp. What was there was very tart!

Nothing flowering here, but this was one of my favorite scenes. This arch is at one far end of the island. 

Another favorite thing was watching the beautiful sunsets.....

Anguilla part three

One thing I noticed in Anguilla was how polite and friendly the locals were. I spotted this pretty lady down the beach where, come to find out, they were photographing an advertisement. I walked down hoping to get a picture, but by the time I got there, they were packing up. She smiled at me and said "hello". I told her I was hoping to get a picture. She said" no problem" and put the basket of fruit back on her head.

There were several gift and souvenir shops around the island. We visited this brightly colored one.

This restored little house is typical of the historic homes of the locals.

You will see folks everywhere playing dominoes, actually you hear the slamming of the tiles as you drive down the road.. There was a competition going on here. Notice they can see what has been played, but they can't see their opponents.

We visited an art gallery where there were several paintings of the the locals playing dominoes.

A tour of the local museum  explained a lot about the history of this self governing oversea territory of Great Britain.

The front of the catholic church

and inside

There is no shortage of gourmet restaurants with amazing chefs, but

one night we stopped on the strip. A street with food stands where  locals are selling their specialties.. Meet Ken.  We picked up some of his delicious ribs and barbecued chicken.

We not only enjoyed the abundant white sandy beaches, but we sure ate our share of the delicious food.

Hello From Texas

No, these are not pictures of Texas, but to let you know that we have returned from our wonderful island adventure.

As some of you know, we have been visiting friends of the eastern Caribbean island of Anguilla.

We met our friends in the small mountain town of Colorado, where we spend our summers. Donna and Ed who actually live in Tennessee, have been going to Anguilla for two months in the winter for over twenty years now. Above shows their two balconies overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

This rather hazy early morning view (that we never tired of) shows how close they are to the north shore of St. Martin.

 Anguilla does have a small airport, but we arrived by plane in St. Martin and took the public ferry for  a bit of a wild ride (depending on how large the waves are) arriving in less than 30 min. at a place called Blowing Point.

Four of our relaxing days there were spent on the beach. The shore out in front of their condo is all coral, so they took us to just a few of the thirty three amazing beaches on the island.

There is no charge for the comfortable lounge chairs with umbrellas, but you are ask to have lunch in their casual beach side restaurant

which we were more than happy to do.

Not only did we enjoy the blue water, white sands and gentle breezes, but gazing at the enormous yachts. Our friend Ed has an app on his phone where you can tell where the ship is registered, where is sailed from and it's specs. This one was flying a flag from Malta.

I will post more pictures of our trip and explain a little about this hidden gem of an island later in the week.

The Beach

Hello from Anguilla in the eastern Caribbean. I had every intention of blogging while here but my iPad is not cooperating and will only let me post two pictures.So this is just a sample of the place that has the prettiest beaches I have ever seen

I will save the best for when I return....

The Cookie Caper

A friend called this week to say she had a guest in town and would I go to a nearby museum with them? I have been to this museum so many times, that I have almost memorized the permanent collection, but I am always pleased to be included in a day out and of course I said yes.

Betty and her friend seemed to be really enjoying themselves, and I was able to tell them about the works of art without  them having to even read the plaques.

We also enjoyed a very nice lunch at the museum. On the way to take me home, we passed a little bakery where they make cookie bouquets. The idea is that instead of sending someone flowers, you send them an arrangement of fresh baked cookies.

Betty's friend Helen was eager to stop and have a look inside. They had several sample bouquets made up for all types of occasions.

I especially liked the one for a baby shower.

The shop was quite busy as we are nearing Valentines Day.

As you can see in this display lit by the glare of the sun. Hearts were bursting out all over!

But, these gals were really interested and wanted to know if we could stroll back into the kitchen. I was very surprised when you owner said yes! That is Sue who does all of the baking.

She has several mixers including this huge one,

and more than just a few cookie cutters!

The secret to delicious cookies and scrumptious icing is course the heavy use of butter!

The real magic however is preformed by Raul, who was hard at work doing all of the decorating.

It was a very nice day but I must say I may have enjoyed the cookie caper over the museum!

I hope you have a Sweet Valentines Day!

Next post...you may very likely find my toes in the sand!

The Lost Generation

The term" the lost generation" was coined by the late Gertrude Stein to describe the lost directionless generation following World War One, especially the 1920'S crowd of artists and writers living in Paris.

I am using it to describe the children of today.....and the lack of their very images. When I was a young mother I took as many photos of my children as parents do today. The difference is, I took them  when we had film in our cameras and had to take them to be developed to even see them. Not only did I get a copy, good or bad since there was no deleting, but I got an extra copy to send to grandma. Today the images of children are stuck on cell phones or embedded in social media....some to never be seen again, especially if someone loses their phone, or their computer crashes.

So I have started a memory box of sorts for my three little granddaughters.

 I bought these large boxes (online) constructed of heavy cardboard. They measure 13x15 inches.

I then went back and ordered pictures of all of the good snapshots that I could find of each grandchild. I used a photo service that only charges 9 cents a copy for a 4x6" print. I made sure the boxes were larger so if I wanted to put larger photos in there, and also have room for their artwork and any other treasure I wanted to save for them.

 There is even bracket on the end where you can slide a card with their name on it. You notice that I bought an extra.....since you never know if at least one more comes along. Fingers crossed :)

Someday I hope that they will be pleasantly surprised to find their very own treasure box.



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It's A Dog's World

Dog parks are not new to me. I remember when my daughter lived in Chicago. She lived in a condo and was happy that there was a city dog park only a block away. The dog park was a fenced area for dogs to run free and play with other dogs, while the owners visited with each other on comfortable benches .

  Click on any photo to enlarge

Well, a new business has opened in our town. An outdoor restaurant, with a large playground behind just for your dog.

Apparently you can buy a day pass for your dog to run around and play for $6.00 or if you want a monthly membership it is only $16.00 better yet a yearly membership is  $120.00

You can have dinner or just grab a beer, wine etc. (extra charge) and visit with the other canine owners while you dogs run free. The attendants even pick up after the dogs (you get the idea) and also give them treats.

To enter the doggie section of this establishment, you scan your phone for proof of purchase or membership in this little cut out. Me oh my...It's a new world!Do you have a Mutts Cantina in your town?