gratitude sunday

another gorgeous day in paradise here and i have so much to be grateful for. our week has been filled with fun with our new friends that arrived to the island. you can check out their blog here. i am extremely grateful for these new friends of ours because we are having such an easygoing time together doing what we love - exploring this beautiful island. it feels like we've known each other a long time already, our conversations flow effortlessly, and there is laughter and love. ezra is enamored with the two older boys and they are playful and patient with him. cheyenne feels like a kindred soul to me. after spending time with them, ezra and i feel recharged.

this week i am grateful for:

days like these

rainy days

a shopping trip to marigot to spend some of my birthday money on new clothes and a purse for me

here i am with some of my new clothes and my new longchamp mom-carry-all tote (i can fit my wallet, camera, phone, lip gloss, face wipes, a coloring book and crayons, hats, an umbrella, a knitting project, water, snacks and sunglasses in there!)

and a new table and chairs for ezra - here he is eating his broccoli

ezra picking out an apple to eat at the store today and taking bites out of each slice when we got home

and sunsets like these...

wishing you all love and light.

wedding wash cloths, a penguin, and a summer dress

in case you wanted to know what my knitting needles have been up to as of late, i just finished the set of 6 wedding washcloths i made for an island girlfriend who was married over the summer.

these were so fun and easy to make from a purlbee pattern in mercerized cotton. i love the colors and simple stitch pattern. the french lavender shower gel is one of my favorite french finds on the island and even matched the colors of the washcloths.

ezra has a deep love for penguins and was more delighted than i expected with this little penguin i knit up for him. he has been bringing him into bed every night since with him and this morning when he woke up he wondered where he was - i was up early and stole him from his pillow to take this picture. i have knit a few rabbits and gnomes for him that he never bonded with, so maybe it's the fact that this is a penguin or it could be it's very cute design from susan b. anderson's book "itty bitty toys."

i am also having the pleasure of knitting up this adorable sundress in blue sky cotton for my friend's daughter.

the weather here never cools off to make proper knitting weather. nor does it ever seem appropriate to wear anything knit as it is far too warm and humid all year round. but, lately we've had little storms swirling in and out of our atmosphere before and after earl's arrival, and the gray skies and white caps out at sea always make me feel like there should be a fire crackling in the fire place while my knitting needles are clicking. i'm looking forward to it getting so cold in the apartment that i have to wear some knit wool socks. as soon as i go outside though, it's sandals or flip flops all day and night.

you can take the seasons away from a knitter, but you can't take the knitter away from ... well i guess that doesn't make sense here, but you know what i mean, right?

running with the boys

this was our day at orient bay yesterday. ezra and i have made some new friends. it was so nice to get to know cheyenne while watching ezra run around with her sons ronan and dillon. i couldn't have asked for cooler, kinder boys for my little big boy to play with. and it is always nice to hang out with a like-minded mom. that is not always easy to find... i'm excited about these new treasures that have come to our shores!

gratitude sunday

this week was eventful. i had my 34th birthday on the same day that hurricane earl came to st. maarten. michael started his fourth semester of medical school and my brother left after a 5 day stay with us. the loss of the trees' leaves all around our little side of the island look a lot like the dismally barren trees after the roaring hillside fires i'm used to coming from southern california. i saw three bright green iguanas crossing the road yesterday while i was going to and from the grocery store. are they looking for a new tree to live in? life goes on.

this week i am grateful that:

i celebrated my 34th birthday! it's good to be alive here on earth! i love life and am grateful for it and who i share it with each and every day.

my brother came for a visit, brought me a big package full of yummy yarn, shared his joyous singing and guitar playing self with us during hurricane earl, and spoiled me with birthday presents.

my family back home loaded me up with birthday money - thanks guys!

michael is starting his 4th semester in medical school, continuing to work hard and strive for a worthy goal for himself and our family.

new auc families arrived with children for ezra to play with and mothers for me to visit with.

the change of the seasons - even if it is hurricane season here and not a continental type fall season. i am enjoying the rain we've been having and the earlier nightfall.

this moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

inspired by Amanda Soule of www.soulemama.com

hurricane earl was here

hurricane earl has come and gone. my last post was the eve before when we knew it was going to be a category 2 hurricane. it just seemed like a whistly windy storm in the morning when we woke up but when the eye of the storm crossed over us around 1:00 we knew we must be in a hurricane. michael even said this has to be a category 3, which indeed it was, whirling up wind speeds of up to 120 mph. during the height of the storm the rain began to fly straight into our windows and through the cracks onto our living room floors. the howl of the wind grew louder and the pressure of the wind on our sliding glass doors had us eating the salad i made for lunch on the floor of our bedroom.

i didn't get many pictures during the height of the storm because all you could see out the windows was a blur of gray. we lost our internet access first thing in the morning and our power was intermittent throughout. when the power came on i worked as fast as i could before it would go out again to use all of the kitchen appliances i needed to make a raw birthday cake for myself and bake some cupcakes for ezra. yes it was my birthday. and yes hurricane earl rained on my parade. after the second power outage i raced to blend up a soup for dinner, boil some hot water on the stove, run a load of dishes, and keep the laundry going. meanwhile my husband and brother were opening windows and doors that we were warned to keep shut and i would find them and start to panic a little, tell them to hurry up and shut them and then catch a breath of the fresh air myself and begin to relax. everyone felt cooped up...except ezra the little homebody.

we played guitar, sang, beat on drums, played flutes, kazoos and harmonicas. steve napped throughout the day between reading his book. michael tried to study. ezra played trains on the bed. i tried to feed everyone and maintain some order in the household and not get too irritated that this was how i was spending my birthday with my brother here who had flown all the way for a visit just in time for a hurricane. i had so many other better plans in mind. finally after i was too sweaty to be comfortable in my own skin i took a shower after which i did a very necessary realigning of my chakras. during the course of my chakra work one of the affirmations i was repeating was "i am able to gracefully weather life's unexpected storms." this along with a few others helped me to release some of the stress that was induced by the hurricane and go with the flow a little better.

michael and steve took two outings out of the apartment and down to the lobby where they found people smoking in the stairwell but there was no one in the lobby. they insisted they were bored and wanted to drive around the island much to my horror. we did see a couple of people driving around and pull up to the bluffs next to our hotel. thankfully, the boys stayed inside the rest of the day. however we did go out onto the balcony after the storm died down and it was heavenly feeling the negative ions blow on us. steve said it was like experiencing the thrill of riding a motorcycle without the danger. ezra laughed and played with the swirling water spray that was splashing out of the jacuzzi onto his face. it was a relief the storm was coming to an end and that night we all slept deeply.

these pictures were taken off our balcony toward the end of the storm

the next day michael's school resumed and he had to be there for registration. on our way out we noticed the immediate impact on our hotel's landscape. the palm trees and other plants were ravaged and there was debris lying everywhere.

we drove to our nearest beach, mullet bay, where we saw surfers enjoying the day after hurricane waves, and an unbelievable amount of seagrass washed upon the shore. these are two things you never see at mullet - surfers or mounds of seagrass. within 10 minutes of driving we saw several trees ripped out of the ground, a couple of lamp posts blown over, signs fallen onto the street, and a few walls ripped apart. even though that may sound bad, the island's infrastructure seemed to hold up pretty well considering we still see the unsightly devastation left behind from hurricane luis that hit in 1995.

mounds of seagrass or seaweed at mullet beach

today we went to plum bay and saw lots of coral and sea sponges washed upon the shore.

the coral was still soft when i touched it.

the sky hasn't completely turned back to normal since the hurricane. we've also had tropical storm fiona come through, but she brought just a bucket of rain. that dark slant in the center of the picture is some kind of damage to my lens on my designated beach camera.

i have no idea what this little clear pearl was, but there were many of them as well.

each time i go out of the hotel now i see more signs that we had a hurricane - mostly by the sight of the withered down vegetation. i haven't yet driven around the island, but will hopefully find the time to do so before tropical storm gaston comes, if he does. meanwhile i will be realigning my chakras again so i can weather any more storms a little more gracefully.