Oh Yeah.

I got my first reminder of things that aggravate me about island living. We had no water for a few hours. This happens to me every single time I stay in this area to pet sit. Every...single...time. Normally I just go to my own apartment and clean up and do what I need to do, but I don't have my own apartment anymore - whaaa. So after a jog with the pooch, I sat in my own stink, knowing I had to meet someone, and willing the water department to get the flow back on. Luckily, right before I had to take off, I tried the faucets and water came out. Wahoo! I took the quickest shower ever and was out the door. I'm glad I didn't have to implement the plan I had been contemplating: bringing Betsy with me and blaming the foul odor on her (sorry Betsy).

My second reminder scurried past my bare feet just outside the front door. The thing was 7 inches long and pretty thick.



I've been walloped three times by these things, none that big, and I'm pretty sure the fourth time would not be a charm either. I got a broom and swept it away (I try not to kill things unless they're on my turf or have bitten/stung me first), but I have to admit I have the heebie jeebies now. Luckily no one was there to see me when the thing grabbed onto the bristles and
I threw the broom like a javeline in true Olympian form. I might have also screamed, cursed like the NY Italian I am (partly), or gurgled; I'm not sure. I absolutely do not miss those. Our cats always alerted us if a centipede got into the house and kept corralling it until we took care of it. I'm not sure if Flush or Betsy would sound the alarms or not. We had lots of nasty critters in Arizona, so I'm not overly sensitive to this stuff, but I'd be more than happy to avoid any future encounters with these aggressive creepy crawlies.

Other than that, we welcome hurricane season yet again (not necessarily in a friendly way). There's already some activity (it usually starts in the western Caribbean, which is why we, in St. Kitts, don't start paying attention until around late July/early August) with some predictions to douse the Keys, so Michael might get wet next weekend.

NHC

The things I've missed in Key West are the Schooner Wharf Minimal Regatta (photos) and the Tutu Relay Run (if you buy a tutu in Key West, you can get a surprising amount of wear out of it), and I'm about to miss events related to Key West Pride.  Instead, I've been plodding up and down every hill in the area, reconnecting with friends, and looking forward to Sunday's beach day. It seems weird to live on an island of beaches and still limit it to a day, but in the past, we were working. Saturday was usually chore/shopping day, and that left Sunday. I'm sort of still honoring that since I may not be working but everyone else I know is. I run Betsy on an empty beach every once in awhile, but it's not the same thing. I seem to have lucked into some decent weather (it was pretty crappy for weeks before my visit) so will enjoy it as much as I can while I have it. Tomorrow will be rainforest hiking and then beach plopping. Nifty.