Hi everyone. I thought that I was only going to use this blog to share the good and fun aspects of my new life in St. Kitts. I will tell you that my first Christmas here was a new experience. Javin and I cooked up the ham and “Sam, the Christmas Snapper” (warning the photo is of a body double as Javin had already ‘dismembered’ the real Sam before I was able to take a picture of him. I do have a photo of his head – but that somehow seemed too morbid for my blog…lol!)
Javin and I cooked for hours on Christmas morning for our expected guests. The menu was a mix of traditional foods from both of our cultures. I prepared an 11-pound spiral ham, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, potato salad, stuffing and I baked a cake and made jello. Javin was in charge of preparing Sam, and also made a pot of rice & peas, stewed peas, macaroni pie and a wonderful gravy in which Sam was served.
The preparations were fun – but time consuming. So at about 1:30 I decided I needed a short break. So I put on my bathing suit and headed to the pool. Timidly walked in as the water was COLD and took about a 20-minute swim. That was all I needed to feel revived and good. I came back in, finished cooking and then got ready for our guests. The meal was delicious. We all had fun while enjoying the food and company.
The next day was J’ourvet Morning. J’ourvet is the kickoff even for Carnival season. Carnival is a week and a half (ish) long celebration of parades, shows and colorful activities featuring great music, food and amazing costumes. J’ourvet is a street party that starts around midnight and goes straight into the next afternoon, ending around noon.
All of the big bands from the island: Nu-Vybes, Grand Masters, Collision, etc get on huge flat bed trucks each equipped with an enormous generator and about 25 giant speakers and blast their music on the streets of town while troupes of people dance behind the truck. The atmosphere is festive and fun, but above all safe. There is lots of security and police presence to make sure that everyone has a fun and safe time. I joined the festivities around 8:30 in the morning and left at noon when it was done. I don’t know how some of these people party for 12 hours. There is NO WAY I could do that. There was even a wet down (pictured) where they turned a fire house on the crowd. I stayed clear of that - minus taking a few pictures.
The fun part about J'ourvet is that you can expect the unexpected. People are dressed in weird costumes, spooky masks, goofy animal costumes, feather masks, you name it they have it. Paint covering their entire head and hair. Things you'd just never expect. So part of the fun for me was photographing some of the interesting things I was seeing.
Anyhow, after J’ourvet was over, and Christmas behind me I decided to spend a few days of quiet time getting some much needed rest and relaxation. So that was what I’ve been doing when I got some very sad news today. The news being that Boomer, my beloved dog, that I’d left with my parents had to be put to sleep today. She’d been very sick, not eating, not enjoying the company of people, losing lots of weight, and her back legs which she’d had surgery on years ago were starting to ail her again. My parents have been taking her to the vet and getting all sorts of medicine for her, but Boomer has stopped taking the medications and there was very little left to do for her and it was felt by all that it was best to put her to sleep while she still had some dignity left. I’m heart broken over it all. That is where I had the tough choice of deciding to share other parts of my life here on the blog.
About a month and a half ago, Drew had called to tell me that Sasha, one of our three cats, had not been doing well. She had not been acting herself. Within a matter of days, while I was on the phone with him, Drew found Sasha dead on the floor in our old house. I didn’t post this on the blog – but now feel a sense of guilt because there should have been a tribute to her. She was a loving pet, a cat who overcame a lot in her short life. We believe she had been abused by her previous owner and it took a long time for Sasha to warm up and come around. She did however, turn into one of the most loving cats to ever walk the earth. The same could be said about Boomer.
Boomer had a tough life, she’d moved in with us after the Moeller’s (the family with the triplets) could not care for her due to the medical needs of the boys. The one thing Boomer did have was a lot of people who loved her, my parents, me, Drew, Dawn & Mike (her first parents). Boomer bounced back and became a loving member of our household. Our biggest fear at the time was getting Boomer and the cats to be friends, and we thought Sasha, because she was so timid, was going to be the hardest sell. As it turns out, Sasha was the first to become Boomer’s friend and it gives me great comfort to know that they are together somewhere, playing together. Ya see, by moving Boomer into a house with all cats she sort of started thinking she was a cat too. Boomer always wanted to play when they played but didn’t realize her size. It was actually kind of cute. So in either case, I dedicate this blog entry to Sasha and Boomer! They were both excellent pets and friends. Sasha used to sleep in bed with me every night and Boomer would sleep at the side of my bed. If she had her way, she would have joined Sasha and I, but let’s face it, Boomer needs her own bed she is so big! I love them both and miss them both terribly. I never thought I’d move to St. Kitts and not see two of my beloved “fur-babies” again. It is truly hard to swallow.
Just use this as an opportunity to love the people and animals in your life. Time is short and you never know when your time on this earth will be up. So remember to show your love and express your love on a daily basis. That way you will not live with the regret of not having told someone that you love them! Remember that this holiday season!
Until next time….
Krista (Ms. Vics)
