Cruise

As you all know, I work part-time for my friend Bonnie in her travel agency. My job is mostly clerical.  Yesterday a client called and she decided to get a cabin to bring her nanny along.  Only problem is, the nanny is only 19 and in order to have a cabin on Norwegian Cruise Lines, one must be, or have a roommate that is 21.  All the 21 year old friends the nanny knows are busy and can't go.  So I offered to be the old person in the girl's room.  I am happy to go, take care of little junior here and there, and enjoy a week on a cruise ship scott-free!  Nanny will be doing most of the childcare.  She gets to be free in Tortola, and I'll be free in Samana, and we'll both be free in St. Thomas.  When the 2-year old is on the ship, one of us has to keep checking into the childcare room to see if he needs a diaper change.  Oh, that's all?  For a free cruise??  Okay...We leave Halloween Saturday, Oct. 31, and return the following Saturday.
Cruise is Norwegian Cruise Lines, Pearl.  Mark and I went on this same ship a couple of years ago.  It's nice.
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Snake In The Livingroom!

      David saw a snake slither under a chair in the living room!  I put the dog in her family room crate and David, Audrey, Mark, and I armed ourselves with brooms in an attempt to coax the snake to find freedom and go out the open front door.  After several attempts, the snake insisted on hiding under/behind the couch, so we had to take things to the next level and get the shovels out.  We couldn't tell what type of snake we had, so trying to catch him humanely wasn't an option.  It was almost dusk and having a snake slithering around the house at night was not a comforting thought!
      Mark pulled the couch out, saw the snake, screamed like a girl, then ran to Audrey's side, a safe distance from the snake.  David trapped the snake under the big flat head shovel, I pinned it under my pointy shovel, and then David gave the snake a neck chop with his shovel.  Not bleeding on our carpet (whew), but injured enough to be able to shove into a garbage can, the snake was taken outside and Mark - the only person with shoes on, went ahead and stepped on the shovel and severed the snake's head.  After a couple of pictures, David gathered the dead snake on the shovel and tossed it into the woods.
      Comparing pictures of the snake with online pictures, I find that it was a harmless garter snake.  How sad that we killed it, but our bedroom is just off the livingroom and I didn't want it hiding under our bed!

Mark's Birthday

Yesterday was Mark's 53rd birthday, a beautiful 90 degree day, not very much like fall at all.  Mark wanted me to join him for breakfast at Bubbalou's BBQ, justifying his huge sausage and chees-laden omelette with the quick morning walk he took.  I am not wild about eggs (especially restaurant cooked eggs), and had a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich on wheat toast and a glass of water.  I got the mayonaisse on the side so I could control the amount they slathered on my toast.  I'm not on a diet, but I don't want to be any fatter.  I should be on a diet!  We got home and looked at the many yard sales, as our neighborhood was hosting the semi-annual event.  Having just returned from NC and spending a catch-up week working, the date was once again inconvenient for us.  I'm glad.  I don't like doing garage sales!

        We went to the big hardware store and Mark got a new  weedeater gas string trimmer.  We looked at Christmas decorations in the store, and were happy to not want/need anything, but it sure was pretty.  Next, we went to the mall, specifically JC Penney's, where they have a tall man department.  Momma and daddy sent Mark a check, and he bought a new belt (it's an annual birthday purchase) and two shirts.  Finally, we swung into Costco for some groceries.  $75 later, we went home with meat, fruit, vegetables, and a pumpkin cheese cake for Mark's birthday.  I am glad we have enough groceries on the shelf to sustain the minimal purchase we made, but I still need cream cheese.  Sure, Costco sells that, but who wants a wholesale club-sized vat of cream cheese when you just need an 8-ounce block?

        Last night our sons Robert and David, girlfriend Audrey, and Mark's good friend Kevin and his wife joined us for dinner at Olive Garden for dinner.  I had shrimp mezzalunas, the first thing you see in that link.  Yummy.  The kids left and Kevin, Marisa, Mark, and I went to Congo River Golf to play miniature golf and feed the alligators.  It was so fun.  Guess who won?  Yep, me.  I was so much fun, but the most interesting of all was feeding the alligators.  You get a little wooden fishing pole with a thick string and a plastic point on the end, which a slice of a hot dog is pierced on.  Oh the gators come alive when they see that!  Don't get excited, they were all small; about 2 to 3 feet long. When we got home, we all had a slice of birthday cheesecake and reminisced a nice day.