puppies & beer, Vieques tri club inauguration, bomba

Gosh, where do I start? Getting on the computer is a challenge since the Me Time I have here is pretty minimal and when I do get it, lately I've been doing a lot of swimming, biking & running, & consuming all the calories I've burned, in the company of several new, but already very good friends. Plus there's the housekeeping. Since we still have 3 puppies in our custody (this is the last week), I have to spend more time on housework. Not because they soil the floors (they don't, as long as a door is open). But because every day people want to come by and visit with the puppies. I suddenly feel very popular and love the fact people come over to relieve the stress they've accumulated as the W is now 4 days away from Opening Day. I am in denial about the fact that they come to see the puppies, not me. Of course, once these puppies are gone I may go get the other ones someone found, just to still have a draw. I love the Puppies & Beer Happy Hours.

Yesterday at Red Beach we met up with a bunch of friends, and I also met a couple of women I'd never met before who I immediately pegged as triathletes since they each had children, they're in their early 40s, and they had physiques that would make Dara Torres insecure. The funny thing is that one of them, Marie, asked me what part of CT we live in, and when I replied Southbury, she said, oh I know Southbury! Turns out her brother-in-law lives there (I was expecting her to say her grandmother lives in Heritage Village, our humungous retirement community, which is usually how people know Southbury). It also turns out that her brother-in-law's father is Bill's eye doctor and his sister was Willo's preschool teacher. Just goes to show you should always mind your p's & q's since we do indeed inhabit a small world! Anyway, now I had enough people interested in my little tri scheme, we agreed to meet up at the W at 8am today for a mock tri. Five of us congregated and we did a swim/bike/run workout. We swam at the W/Gringo Beach, biked to Mosquito Pier and back again, and ran to the cockfighting arena in town and back. Loosely a sprint tri. At Pablo's suggestion (one of the participants; head bartender at W), we called it Try Gringo Tri. And I decided we are now the Vieques Tri Club. We plan to do this every weekend, and hopefully more people will join us. As Beth pointed out (she's visiting Marie; Beth lives in Ohio), having an active triathlon club here will be an added draw for the well-heeled crowd who come to the W.

Last night was really relaxing since after a great afternoon at Red Beach I went to Esperanza and picked up Bridget, the scallops fisherwoman/massage therapist I'd met at the Humane Society (if you'll recall, I gave her and her friends, the reggae band, rides round the island). Bridget had agreed to come to our house to give massages. So we set up the table in the bedroom, lit candles, put on my massage playlist, and each took turns getting massages while the others waited in the great room, playing with puppies, drinking wine & eating pizza. It was awesome. Too bad Bridget leaves for home on Tuesday - but I have a feeling she'll be back, as a massage therapist at the W. She really was great.

On Thursday the kids had a little thing for us parents. They'd been learning about slavery etc, and along with that were learning about the cultural influences we see today in Puerto Rico, eg the Bomba dance. They performed a little skit, where my kids and Annabel were Spanish plantation snobs and the others were slaves, and they pretended to be really bossy and whip their slaves, and suddenly the slaves were freed (slavery was abolished in 1873 in PR) and then they erupted in a bomba party. Followed by food - typical African dishes prepared by Erica, the center's director. I enjoyed the performance, it was nice to see my kids getting into the dancing, but I admit I was a bit annoyed still from the fact that it was Rona's birthday, and I had wanted to treat her to a pedicure. So I had found a place seemed somewhat decent and made appointments for us. Rona had a sitter for Baby Dagan, I dropped the kids off at Oasis, and we met at the salon. Which was closed. There was a hand-written sign on the door that said they were closed for the day. No reason. "That's Vieques" Rona muttered. So we went to Roy's for coffee across the street, my first time there, and I was really impressed. Way better and more charming than Starbucks. But still, I really wanted to have pretty toenails and treat Rona. Oh well. And then, when the bomba was done, I was surprised to find out that the kids were to be dismissed when it was done. School here is definitely too laid-back, and Oasis is no different, with all the early dismissals and days off. Oh well. I didn't get to do my work that day, but at least I got to go to Happy Hour with a few other girls, to celebrate Rona's birthday. It was my first time using a babysitter here. Jeni was recommended by Rona and she was great. So for 3 hours we women got to sip cold drinks and chat in peace. We were on the rooftop terrace of Cantina, a Mexican place, and we had it all to ourselves. I know this will strike many of you as strange as it does me, but I actually had to hold a gun to a few of these women's heads so that they would leave their tykes home with a sitter for a few hours. Well, not really, I don't own a gun, but you get the point. I don't know if I'm more evolved, or callous, or selfish, or what - but I will tell you straight out, that if I don't periodically get time without my or others' whiny, needy, clingy kids interrupting my conversation and my thoughts - then trust me, anyone short of a convinced pedophile is a better parent than I am. I admit I was the over-protective, control-freak mom when Jackie was 1 or so, but I've now swung closer to the other side of the spectrum. Anyway, Happy Hour was way too brief.

The next night we had another sitter (LUXURY!!) since we had a reservation at the W restaurant. They're doing a few days of testing, where employees and their spouses can make a reservation to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, room service... To put the kitchen & wait staff to the test. Our dinner was very good. Can't wait to try lunch! After dinner we tried out the pool table which was really fun - it's a great table, unlike the ones we're used to at bars. Bill beat me in the first 2 games, I won the 3rd.

OK, must go now. My dad and Janet are arriving soon!!!!!

puppies, tampons & heaven

Yesterday the kids didn't have school (at Oasis) so I decided that rather than tackle fractions, multiplication tables, phonics and the like, we would have a swim lesson followed by an Exercise in Patience, Charity & Good Samaritanism, and Going With The Flow 101. The swim lesson was great, as Willo now swims as well as Jackie, and yesterday we worked more on their breathing technique (in freestyle). And I got to cool off from my extremely hot run. After breakfast I finally got through to the Humane Society, who told me to go right on over with my 2 puppies who are traveling to CT on the 26th, for their examination. We rushed out the door with Negrita & Feisty (who has been named Janessa by Lili, the 6 yr old girl who is waiting for her in Torrington, CT, who with her mom looked up popular names for Puerto Rican girls and that was Lili's favorite). Although we were the 1st ones there, we had to wait an hour because the vet didn't arrive for another half hour or so, and the dog that arrived after us with what looked like a humongous tumor in her side got priority (fine with me). While we waited (the Exercise in Patience, a very tough one for Willo), I discovered 5 more little puppies. Apparently they also had been abandoned. They look just like Negrita & Janessa ("Jess")! There are 2 males and 3 females in the batch. The kids of course begged me to take them home but the staffers at the Humane Society agreed to keep them alive and not euthanize them before letting me know (I guess they realize I'm serious about this puppy saving thing). Anyway, the vet checked out our 2 jet setting pups and gave them the thumbs up so I left with my certificates, as well as a list of the vaccines they were given, so I could give this list to the new owners of Daisy & Honey. We drove over to Esperanza to give Emily (Daisy's new owner) the list, and the instruction to bring her back for round 2 of shots on 3/25, as well as a flea collar Saint Stephanie had brought from New Haven. We found Daisy taking a peaceful nap in between 2 mountain bikes at the Black Beard store while Emily tended to customers. All seemed perfect with them. Since we had 2 pups with us I suggested we walk along the Malecon for a bit, to see if anyone else would be interested in a pup. At this point, Jess & Negrita are merely for advertising purposes, since they've got their flights booked. Several gringos here on vacation stopped us but it soon became clear to me that the Humane Society has completely missed the mark on something. These people would have happily taken a puppy home with them but the problem is they're leaving this weekend - not enough time since they need the paperwork to be completed exactly 10 days before their flight, according to some stupid PR law. Last night, while having dinner with a friend of ours who works at the W and is on the board of directors for the HS, I asked her why the heck this isn't advertised? If it were up to me, I'd do some guerilla campaign, well, first about the whole sterilizing thing (for locals) but also, for visitors, about how easy it is for them to help these animals simply by taking them back to the US with them, where they have a much better chance to get adopted. After all, anyone coming to Vieques goes online to do some research - the HS should put a photo of one of these puppies with the caption "HELP ME" and then talk about how you can make a difference without having to make any long term commitments. Anyway, she didn't have anything really to say about my question, since she says that the HS claims to be doing its job with marketing. Um, I beg to differ. Proof: I just posted an announcement on Craigslist, and this was the only one from Vieques. *SIGH* As Bill would say, "well, it is all volunteer-based..."

After lunch, I dragged my content-to-be-at-home-in-the-air conditioning kids out to the Humane Society again, this time with no pups in tow, just my Canon 40D (I rarely take it out these days, since it's a mental burden compared to my iPhone & waterproof point-&-shoot). We went into the pen where the 5 new orphans are kept, and took pictures of them. Then we went into the main part of the HS to take a few pictures of some older dogs, and there we met Gretchen, who was there with 3 friends, looking to adopt dogs. Gretchen came over and asked me if I wasn't the one looking for a home for some puppies? I said yes, I am, but there are 5 more right there, pointing in the direction of their pen. Her friend had picked a year-old shephard mix, but Gretchen was leaning towards a puppy. Their other friends, Anthony & Katrina, were just along for support. They ended up deciding to come back to my house to meet Negrita, but being Bohemian youngsters from Martha's Vineyard, with no set itinerary of any sort, they didn't have a car. So all 6 of us piled into the Jeep (2 squeezed in the back with all my beach paraphernalia) and we came to our place. Anthony told me that he and Katrina are the reggae band that plays at Lazy Jack's on Friday & Monday nights. Their manager back home promised them several gigs here, decent money, and they were jipped and got neither. So they're living on $100/week. Yikes. Anyway, Gretchen fell in love with Negrita (who wouldn't) but decided not to jump into anything as her future is a bit unstable. I reminded her that while it's wise to not let ourselves be carried away by our emotions, when it comes to having children or adopting animals, if you go by rational thought alone no one would do either. I then gave them a ride back to the other side of the island so they wouldn't have to shell out the $10 cab fare. Gretchen is coming back on Saturday, as it turns out she's a licensed masseuse, but hasn't done it here in Vieques as she didn't bring a table. Suddenly I remembered there's a massage table in our closet, so I'm going to get her some customers. The W is scheduled to open in 8 days and there are a lot of very stressed out people round here (including/especially Bill)!

This morning, when not brainstorming about solving the Puppy Problem, or how to make $$ while over here, I was thinking about what I consider one of the best things about our time over here. Because our days are so unstructured, and I don't spend endless hours doing errands (there's nowhere to errand here) and shuttling round kids (activities are limited to Oasis and beach), I get to spend a lot of time just Being With Them. Sure, this has its definite downside in the form of sibling warfare and - well, that's pretty much it - but one of the many plus sides is that I've gotten to know the kids even more, through their conversation and questions. Just in the last day, these are the types of questions/comments I've had to field:

"why do women need tampons?"

"can you explain stocks to me?"

"why is Microsoft Word so stupid?"

"what's asthma?"

"what animal does bacon come from?"

"what did you study in college, and what did you want to do with it?"

"I'm going to adopt babies when I grow up, because 1) it hurts too much to give birth and 2) I want to do something good. And they will be either from China or from India"

"I hope the Humane Society workers are married to men who make good money, because they probably don't make much money themselves even though what they do is so important"

"why can't we have heaven here, why do we have to die first?"

Etc... As you can imagine, some interesting conversations! Alright, must go fix some lunch and feed the 3 puppies still in my custody. Please be an angel and forward the link to my blog to everyone you know, to spread the word about the Puppy Situation. People do not have to commit to taking in a puppy, they can simply find out if their local shelter would take one, if it's no-kill. Thank you!!!!!

moving towards an empty nest (puppy-speaking)

Today the kids went back to Oasis Educational Center for the first time in over a week, now that their paternal grandparents have left and things are back to normal. Well, as normal as they can be with 4 puppies + Juana Mata Iguanas/Mata Pollos (Juana Iguana/Chicken Killer) in our custody, and Bill working every day, till all hours, on getting the W ready for its March 25th opening date. The puppies have been with us since Thursday, so that's 5 days now, and as expected, their cheerful, cuddly little souls have taken up residence in my formerly dog-apathetic little heart. For the past 4 nights I have awakened without an alarm clock at 2am and have taken them out to relieve themselves; the first 2 nights I took them out one-by-one, the last 2 nights two-by-two. I did it this way as I didn't want them to get it in their heads that 2am is Frolick on the Horse-Poop-fertilized lawn. Generally, they've been really good at then settling back down to sleep, in their cardboard box in the laundry room. They don't cry at night and I don't know if it's because of my calm, assertive energy (unlikely) or because of the fact they're all together (most likely).

So yes, it's been more work than I had before, of course, but honestly, I never thought caring for 4 puppies would be so easy. I have the almost ideal set up here, since I can be home most of the day, so the puppies are free to roam around the house (which is one story, and has no rugs) and the yard. The biggest hassle has been the fact our yard isn't fenced in, so not only do we have to make sure the puppies aren't eating the horse poop (horses mow our lawn on a daily basis), but we have to make sure they neither go too far, nor fall in the pool. Negrita fell in the pool on day 2, and Bill fortunately realized it immediately and went to her rescue; she could swim, but probably would not have been able to climb out. They have hardly had any accidents, and I'm thinking that they could almost be considered housebroken at this point. Stephanie, Bill's colleague who will be the Puppy Mule next week and take Feisty (now renamed Jess by her new owner, Lily, a 6 yr old girl in CT), was kind enough to bring flea collars for all the puppies, and I check them for ticks several times a day.

Today I decided to bring Daisy (the blonde dog with the cut on her face) into town, and after dropping off the kids at Oasis I would walk around town and hopefully find her a new master. I walked into Black Beard's, the local dive/bike shop, where they fixed my awful bike for $8. I figured that would be a great place to hook Daisy up with a gringo who would be an animal-lover, and would have enough discretionary income to take on an extra pet. As I was chatting with Glady's, the owner, about Vieques' first official triathlon (late June), a girl (late teens) came over and said something like "omigosh I want one like that" referring to Daisy. We chatted for a bit as I told her how I came upon the puppies, why I can't keep them, etc., and she said "I'll take them all." Turns out she's been her for a month now, moved here from Morristown, NJ ("you're kidding!!!!!" I exclaimed, "I graduated from Madison High School!!" - the adjacent town), and was hoping to get a puppy. She works at Black Beard's, which btw is very dog-friendly as the other employees bring their dogs to work. Anyway she and Daisy were soon fast friends, as Emily sat on the floor and Daisy fell asleep next to her. Emily assured me she has a fenced-in yard, and has grown up with dogs so knows what to do with them - and I told her she was welcome to keep her from that moment on. And that was that. I admit that while I was relieved I now only had 2 puppies to farm out, I was very sad. I loved Daisy for being a trouble maker and was sad to separate the 2 blonde sisters. Alas, she and Emily will be very happy.

I then went, empty-handed :( to the local grocery store, the one downtown. The parking situation there is difficult but I managed to score the spot right in front of the store. I saw a gringo in his 50s or so standing in front with a full shopping cart and a perplexed look on his face. So I went over and asked if he needed help getting his groceries to his car? I figured he hadn't realized that he wouldn't be able to take the cart to his car, thanks to the narrow sidewalk and lack of ramps. He told me he was parked 2 blocks away, hadn't planned on buying so much, and was going to leave his stuff while he got his car. I said BAD IDEA and told him to go get his car, I'd watch his stuff. He returned about 5 minutes later and then we chatted for a bit (he and his wife are visiting from Texas for a week). After I picked up some stuff, I went home and then got a call that Bill's colleague Jorge (Juana's owner) has a friend in San Juan, a chef, who wants to adopt Honey. So that leaves just Negrita, and sssshhhhhhh I have to admit I may want to keep her. She's the smallest, the most reserved, and just so freakin cute. I wonder what she would be like with Penny?

After doing some work, and making some calls, I went to get the kids from school. They are preparing for a show they're putting on on Thursday, about Puerto Rican history. I watched the last 15 minutes of their rehearsal, amused that Jackie and Willo were playing Spanish plantation owners, mistreating their slaves, while their classmates were either slaves or Taino Indians. After school we went straight to Blue Beach to meet up with 3 of our friends and their kids. It was beautiful and I couldn't help but think, this sure beats doing homework and then driving to Jackie's acting/singing lesson and running errands with an annoyed/annoying Willo for 1.5 hours.

OK, I've gotta get to bed. All of these photos are from the weekend (not today) - I'm too tired after yesterday's bout of dehydration, and must go to bed now. It's 9:40 pm and Bill just got home from work. Hasta pronto!