Down a Peg (or Two)

We will leave it to Emily to regale you all with tales (and photos) of her birthday in her blog tonight, but suffice it to say she had a good one.

Mark and Lisa went to Emily's Parent/Teacher conference yesterday and, as is the norm, left feeling very proud of Emily. Her teacher said that after two or three days it was as though she had always been there. She was immediately accepted socially, her behaviour was excellent and her academics are in the top of the class. She said she is very happy to have her. After Spring Break they are going to include her in an advanced "pull-out" program. She will join the 3 other kids in her class who spend about three class periods a week working on advanced, more challenging projects.

So...they are currently studying Economics and Emily came home last week with a note asking for Parents who have experience "starting and operating a successful business". She asked if Lisa would come in and talk about Emily Rose. Lisa was feeling quite proud of herself and was really looking forward to spending some time in Emily's classroom. That is until yesterday.

We discovered that the Grandfather of one of Emily's classmates will also be coming in to talk about starting and operating his succesful business - it's only Sol Kerzner the owner of the Atlantis and countless other real estate ventures that "blow away the customer". We told Emily what an amazing experience that would be for her and how lucky she was to get to hear him speak. Then Lisa jokingly said, "don't you feel sorry for me that I have to follow that with Emily Rose?" Emily's response? "A little bit."

Ouch!

Happy Birthday Emily!

First of all thanks to everyone who took the time to post a message to Emily's blog. She was absolutely thrilled when she got up this morning and saw all those comments. She kept checking back to see if there were more... so there is still time :-) She read every one very carefully and giggled her way through it.

This is my favorite picture of her. It was taken at Alan's (my brother's) wedding after she had gotten fed up with the fancy hairstyle and let her hair down (figuratively and literally as she was quite serious during the ceremony). We were out on the balcony at the reception and Mark was swinging her around in the air. Mark is actually in the original picture but I had cut him out so I could use the photo on Emily Rose and now I can't find the original. This photo captures her personality and spirit perfectly.

My sister put it best when she said in her birthday wishes to Emily, "All our lives changed the day you were born Em...We all were so happy. And you continue to amaze us every day, only now you are a young lady, not a baby." Young lady... scary!

And now Alan and Diane are bringing us one (or maybe two) new members to the club.

Happy Birthday Emily! You are the best!

Brazil

OK so it has nothing to do with Nassau, Bahamas - Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He rocks!



For more Wordless Wednesday - visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Emily the Brave

Here is Em relaxing on the hammock that Mark just installed. She loves it and likes to lounge there for a few minutes in the morning before she goes to school.

Speaking of school...When we lived in Reston we worried that Em would grow up thinking that life was incredibly easy and everyone gets exactly what they always want. Why wouldn't she think that. Fairfax County is one of the wealthiest counties in the entire United States. We knew that bringing her to the Bahamas would expose her to some tough issues. She would witness 3rd world poverty first hand which we knew would be a good thing in the long run. It is important to know about the world outside the insular United States. She would learn how difficult life is for some,feel gratitude for what she was lucky enough to have and continue to develop her incredibly generous spirit. We would also have the opportunity to send her to private school (St Andrews) - and not just any private school but a world renowned IB school that would give her an amazing education and open up a world of opportunity to her when it came time to graduate.

Last weekend Emily went to a birthday party in the Atlantis Resort. The little girl was 10 years old and had arrived at the party with her inner circle in a stretch limosine. After the few thousand dollar 3 hours at Atlantis she was taking her inner circle for a sleep-over at the British Colonial Hilton. Oh dear. This is a little more excessive than Fairfax County.

Last week Emily brought home the permission slip for her 3 day school trip to a neighbouring island. Without spending money the price was $800. Ouch! This is a transition year for us and although we could scrape the funds together, that is a lot of money for a trip she won't remember two years from now. But it isn't really about the money (Mark even offered to give up our vacation so that she could go if Lisa was that upset about it), it is about understanding that you have to work for things. They aren't just given to you. When you are an adult and living in the real world you don't get to jaunt off to a neighbouring island for a couple of days without planning for it.

Lisa struggled and didn't sleep, she spoke to both Mark and Tom and finally decided she could not be a good Mother and say "Yes". It was too important a lesson - if not a tough one. Lisa sat Emily down and explained it all carefully and gave Emily all the reasons. She told her that we will reconsider for next year, and if we do it she will have to work to contribute towards it. She cried - a lot - and said she didn't care about understanding she just wanted to go (I know Em, I know)but we sat and cuddled and talked until she calmed down. When she did Lisa read her this blog post that she had read that just that morning in the midst of her anxiety. What a coincidence. Emily said she was sadder than both the girls in the story - but she did stop crying.

We have an amazing child. She pulled herself together last night and got right down to creating her own blog (sniffling the whole time). This morning she was as sunny as our patio. We adore her!

A small note

Hi, Emily here! NEWS!!! I am starting my own blog! Come visit me at http://www.emilywithcoconutmilk.blogspot.com! See you there!

Emily's First Catch, Marks' First Goal!

Sometimes you have to listen to the words of a nine year-old who told Lisa last week that she never pays any attention because she works too much... time for a break. This morning was gorgeous and hot and sunny and the ocean was still. Lisa and Emily went snorkeling (well Lisa is still getting the hang of it with no floaty so she went almost snorkeling) and Emily brought in her first catch. She dove down to the bottom of the ocean and brought up this conch. He wasn't big enough to eat though so we had to throw him back. The afternoon was spent on the Rugby Club field at Mark's first Bahama's League game where he scored his first goal in the Bahamas! In the words of the Bahamanian youth on the sidelines - "that old man is da best playa on da field - you teach 'dem Pops!"

Review of Cafe Matisse, Nassau

Last night Emily had a sleep-over date. In fact she still isn't home having begged to continue the date by attending Serena's dance classes with her. Anyway - since Emily seems to have more of a social life than both Mark and Lisa do lately, we decided to go out for dinner at one of the most recommended fine-dining restaurants in Nassau. It's called Cafe Matisse.

The restaurant is downtown, up a side alley just off of Parliament Square. It is in a gorgeous old classic Bahamian house - stone archways, deeply polished wood window frames, staircase and window beams. We were thrilled with the ambiance and energy as the place was humming. It didn't seem to have many tourists but was filled with Native Bahamians (although pre-dominantly the white ones) which we took as a good sign. There were fleets of waiters (all black men for some reason) in crisp white shirts and aprons bustling around the place. Because we didn't have a reservation we didn't get our preferred seating (out on the green, tropical patio surrounded by fairy lights) but scored an inside table for two which was very charming.

The waiter was at our table in seconds offering drinks, in fact we hadn't even looked at the wine list so Lisa ordered a chardonnay (only to be disappointed when the wine list revealed her favorite Pinot Grigio) and Mark a beer. The menu was exciting, if expensive (which is why we skipped the appetizers). Mark was thrilled to discover they had home made pasta, one of the owners is Italian) and ordered Tagliatelle with a Lamb Ragu and Sun-dried tomatoes - $22 for pasta - Ouch! Lisa pondered the duck with balsamic fig dressing, but settled on the Pink Trout with Lemon Grass over artichokes, shallots and portobello mushrooms - $34.

Order placed - this was where the trouble started. We were quite hungry having not had any lunch and we sat and sat and sat and sat. It was over an hour before our food came. When it finally did come the presentation certainly left a lot to be desired. Mark's pasta wasn't too bad, but Lisa's fish came on a very industrial looking white plate, with very droopy shallots piled in droves over a tasty looking piece of fish. The artichokes and mushrooms proved more difficult to find. There were maybe two artichokes suffocating under all those shallots and the mushroom were initially mistaken for potatoes. They were a funny brown color and cut in to chunks like home fries.

Now for the taste. At $22 that had better be darn good pasta. Although the taste and texture of the actual noodles were good the sauce was tasteless - except for a mild taste of lamb whose flavor did not match anything else on the plate. The fish truly did look tasty. The first bite was immensely promising as Lisa chose the crispy, juice infused edge of the fish (mostly the fatty skin), but hope was quickly crushed. The trout was "chokeably" dry and overdone. Lisa was particularly excited about the lemon grass since it is one of her favorite ingredients but there wasn't a lemongrass taste in sight. The shallots tasted just how they looked, overcooked and slimy and the mushrooms were bland. What a shame.

We had been considering desert as the menu looked quite yummy but decided to cut our losses and go home. This is where we do have to give "props" to Cafe Matisse and apologize for giving them such a bad food review. The credit card we had specifically signed up for to use in the Bahamas (no foreign transaction fee) and that we have only used once, was inexplicably turned off. The owner and manager of the restaurant were very kind. They let us call a US 800# (a cost to them) and even offered to let us just come back and pay another day. We are debt phobic of course and when Capital One wouldn't turn our card back on we paid with another card, but it was very kind anyway.

We had a little chat with the owner about Northern Italy, he welcomed us to the island and we left. The owner said "see you soon" as we walked out the door but unfortunately I don't think he will. We are mostly open to giving second chances but with a $104 receipt burning in our pocket we are afraid this second chance just might be too expensive.

Stinky Photography

Wish we had a photographer in the house - it's obvious we are no Keith Barraclough. Last night the moon was absolutely amazing! The clouds were creeping across it's face and casting shadows in the moon path that led across the ocean right to our patio door. OK so Mark had to point out to Lisa that it was only a matter of perspective - but it felt like the moon was blessing us.

Shakin' in Der Boots!

Most countries would be shaking in their boots with the news that a ruthless dictator is coming to power. Not the Bahamas. As read in the local rag this morning the Bahamas is terrified of a weak, 81 year-old, retiring dictator. Why? Well when Castro took over, Cuba ceased to be, as it had been for many years, the playground of America. Once the tourists were shut out of Cuba they had to find another place to party so now Americans hop on over to the Bahamas. Since tourism (directly or indirectly) accounts for 60% of the Bahamas GDP it seems Bahamians owe a great big "Thanks" to Fidel.

Here is the big question... When Cuba tourism possibilities legally open up to Americans will they fly right over Nassau on their way to Havana? The local rag seems to think so. After all Cuba has gorgeous beaches, tons of history, amazing architecture, fabulous music, cigars, mojitos and most of all - really lovely people. The Bahamas has "sour-faced" employees and sky-high prices.

In any case we don't think the Bahamas should hold their breath. Nothing will change in Cuba for a while. One Castro out and one Castro in.

Em is Swimming!

Emily started her official swimming lessons yesterday at school. Lisa went to watch. She has to pass 10 steps until she can go in to the next level class and in her first half hour lesson she got to step 5! Lisa was very proud of her little fishy. Here she is this past weekend at Cabbage Beach.

Sweet Moments

This has been a rough move. Yes - we are living our well-planned, hard-earned dream and we are extremely thankful for that, but as Lisa and her sister Michelle always say - "everything is relative". You can't feel guilty for feeling anxious about life even though people are starving in Africa. You can only deal with how you feel in any particular moment within your only life context. Just because you aren't starving in Africa doesn't mean you can never be depressed.

Not that we have been depressed since we have been here (well Lisa hasn't, but Mark is always depressed so that doesn't count) but there have been moments where we worried about what we doing and how things were going.

Yesterday Tom took the car to take out his Parents and Emily which left us with the problem of getting downtown for Mark's football game. We hitched and got picked up by the first people that passed us. They were a young Bahamian couple (one black, one white) who went out of their way to drop us where we wanted to go - all during rush hour traffic. It was a sweet moment as were quietly driving in to town with the windows down, the sea air blowing in and the sun setting over the buildings and busy streets of Nassau. Then a great evening of football under lights and a drink in an outdoor bar (shack) overlooking the water.

How can you not love living in a country where you get picked up by the first car that passes with complete confidence that you are safe and secure in the hands of generous people?

Emily's Day

Emily saw more of the tourist parts of the Bahamas today than she has since we arrived. She must feel like she is on vacation. Tom and Emily went to Ardastra Gardens where they watched the flamingo parade and fed the parrots and then spent the afternoon at Cabbage Beach. Mark and Lisa spent the day relaxing at home - Lisa trying to keep her foot up.

Here are some photos of their adventures.

Aching Ankle!

Yesterday Emily's Dad (Tom) arrived so we went out to PI. Emily and Tom went to Anthony's Grill and toured the Atlantis while Mark and Lisa went to Bimini Road (overlooking the yachts). We met up at 9:30 for the Junkanoo Rush through Marina Village. Unfortunately we forgot our camera so we have no pictures today. Emily was getting a little sleepy and grumpy so Lisa offered to pick her up (something she hardly ever does since Emily is getting too big). Emily in hand and Junkanoo moving forward Lisa stepped back to make room and stepped off the edge of the pavement and turned her ankle. Mother and daughter went crashing in to the bushes - thank goodness they were there. This morning Lisa can't walk. Ouch!

Emily and Tom have gone off to explore the zoo and the beaches for the day. Since they took the car Lisa and Mark were planning on going for a nice walk... not today!

Houston: We have a problem - Nassau

Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the pool, we have discovered a moisture problem. As can be seen from the photos below the spare bedroon has what appears like a rising damp issue. However since the walls are concrete and thus porous by nature, this does not seem an insurmountable problem. From what can be gleaned from the web, concrete will always attract a certain amount of damp and as long as proper maintenance is administered then it should stay in good shape. So what is needed is some advice and preliminary preparation work for Mark then to complete the job....there the rub! Although we have the contact details for a "good" painter, trying to get him to turn up or even answer his phone is proving problematic. The Bahamian "island" mentality of working only when the wind is blowing in a certain condition and only on any day other than the weekend or during the working week, is taking its toll. They are masters of provarication and torpidness: enough to put the Italians to shame - and that's saying something.

Anyway we have to go as we are expecting Doug any minute this morning - fat chance!

The Yachts and Yacht Nots

The Bahamas is a country of "haves" and "have nots". We notice it all the time and wonder why people are confused that there is so much crime in this country. You only need to go "over the hill" and see how people are living to understand why there is a drug problem in those neighbourhoods. When Mark worked here a few years ago he refused to use his laundry per diem to have the hotel do his laundry (good Scot that he his) and would frequently drag Lisa "over the hill" to the scary laundromat. Most Bahamians are appalled when they hear this.

We love Nassau with it's dirty downtown, rowdy bars and shifty locals - but most people who come off of the cruise ships and expect Walt Disney World type paradise are in for a huge disappointment. Kansas it ain't. It's all OK though because the Bahamas offers a pill for when Nassau ails ya... it's called Paradise Island.

Emily has this week off, and with no play date was a little restless this morning, so we took her over the bridge to breakfast on PI and followed it with a walk through the Atlantis Marina. This is how the half lives. It is quite a display of ostentatious wealth and Disney perfection. A nice place to visit but we wouldn't want to live there. Unless of course we could live on one of these yachts.

Wordless Wednesday

The Spring Break weather isn't cooperating so we're going back a week.

Emily Rose Update

...the other Emily Rose. Lisa is taking a break from work today and pondering 2007. We realize that it is February and most folks are well past 2007 pondering but unfortunately we just had no time to ponder until now.

Emily Rose was officially a success - and for those of you who are reading who have never visited Emily Rose, go now and see. Thanks to the much needed assistance of the Owens, our new and indispensable Partners, our Holiday season exceeded our forecasts by nearly doubling our expected revenues. The important point being that we were profitable in our first year of business... wow! What a year it was.

As Lisa gets back in to work-mode she is reflecting on what made 2007 so productive - the conclusion? Hard-work and creativity. When you get right down to it nothing beats getting stuck in and working your bum off when trying for success - and that is just what we did. There were too many 14 hour work days to count - going back down in to the office after Emily was fed and in bed to pack and inventory and clean up work from the hectic day. We can't tell you how many mistakes we made or how many overgrown paths of entrepreneurship we wandered down only to get stuck and have to hack our way back out. Creativity saved us. We tried everything that we thought of, sometimes it didn't work, but eventually something did.

We are still a very long way from where we want to be but we are getting there. Our confidence is boosted by finding some great people to join us in our adventure and by the fact that we think we have figured out the formula. Keep going, never stop thinking and exploring and experimenting and above all - take care of your customers as you would like someone to take care of you.

Lisa is thinking of ways to get back in to her very creative mode - she's a little out of practice. It's funny how you have to be very disciplined to be creative. It seems a little contradictory. But some early morning yoga practice, disciplined reading and research (away from the every day business operations) and quiet brainstorming must be scheduled and adhered to.

To segue - our evening drink time would be a good thinking time... if only the weather will cooperate. There was no snorkeling going on during Emily's play date yesterday and the evening drink was a bit of a challenge. We took some photos of us and the angry sea but couldn't quite capture the scene so we tried for video - hmmmmm...all you can hear is the wind.

Lizard Whisperer Returns

Emily's friend Serena is not as thrilled with her new found animal skill as Emily is...

Bahamian Cat Fest

It's Saturday! We aren't resting as we still have unpacking to do - will it never end! But don't worry there is plenty of relaxing going on around here. Colonel and Ow are masters of relaxation.



Colonel finds a charming spot to have a bath - charming for him maybe!



Five minutes later he discovers we have yet to hang the curtains in the guest room. Of course they were arranged artfully on the bed especially for him.



"Oh - it is so tiring being so adored!"



Meanwhile Ow chooses slightly more modest relaxation. See the second shelf down from the top with the plaid pants in front? You wouldn't think it possible a cat could jump up there every morning after breakfast for a nap...



well he does!

Lizard Whisperer

We don't have many squirrels around here. We actually miss the constant chatter and rustling of the industrious squirrel family that lived in the trees behind our deck in Reston. They were always there to keep us company - like the husband and wife cardinal pair (no cardinals in the Bahamas either). In fact there is not much wildlife beyond the birds, including the numerous wonderful hummingbirds. The only creatures from nature that we have had the, not so great, pleasure of spending time with are the mosquitos. There don't seem to be too many mosquitos around, but then again you only need one to ruin your night. When one manages to sneak it's way in to the house during the day - your night becomes an endless ballet of slapping, hiding and twitching all to the tune of that terrible hum (as Emily buzzes the Blue Danube beside me - she is reading while I type). Anyway - we have installed a mosquito net in Emily's room and are experimenting with doors, windows and screens to see if we can figure out how to keep out the strays.

The other creature from nature that we see a lot of, although only briefly as they dash away, are the cute little lizards that live everywhere. Last night when we went out for our evening drink on the patio, Emily made friends with this one. He hung out with her for ages. We have never seen one so calm and content before.

Pool's Open!

...and Emmy's in it every day!

A glimmer of light in the sea of darkness

or... You learn something new everyday.

When we were looking at this house and the prior owners waxed lyrically about the new generator they had just installed, we looked at them, a little bored, with polite smiles. Of course when we moved in and had no elecricity that generator was broken (as most things were) and not much use to us - justifying our blank smiles of so many months ago. But was it really broken? Turns out it just needed a new tank of gas! After several calls to the gas men we finally got them out to fill our gas tanks (another huge and unexpected expense) and didn't think much more of it.

We had read prior to arriving that prolonged power outages were part of life in the Bahamas. We ourselves had already experienced a few - during which we worried anxiously that they weren't actually power outages but some kind of problem with the house. Last night we had a couple of prolonged outages but something quite wonderful happened. The lights went out (along with my computer), there was a scream from Emily's room upstairs as she was plunged in to total darkness, a loud click, the sound of an engine, and anything electric came back on again. All of this happened within the span of 30 seconds. Oh what a fabulous thing a generator is! Mark went outside to let the cats in and looked down the shore to a row of dark houses - all except for Water's Edge.

Our neighbours have already asked us if they can head over here during the hurricanes :-)

Meanwhile - Sue Z has been experimenting with Photoshop. Here's Emmy...

Snorkel Time!

Mark and Lisa continue to unpack. We are on the guest rooms now which (considering we don't have any guests for another 2 weeks) means we are nearly at the end.

Emily's room was finished yesterday which means she got to sleep in her bed for the first time since moving. She was thrilled! Mark laid the laminate flooring and it looks great.

Emmy and Andi had a great time today snorkeling off of our back patio. Not a bad activity for February :-)

Second Episode

The Outside Tour

As requested by Sue (that's Sue Z not D) here is the tour of the outside - in two videos as we forget a bit.



Video 2 coming soon...

It's a tough life...

...but someone has to do it.