45under45: Lay Day(s) at Lantana

Lay day

Nautical: a day in which a vessel is delayed in port.

We've had a few lay days here at Lantana Cottage. Rain and tummy troubles were the causes. 😞

Agenda Item #1: Cookies From Scratch

Summer decided that she wanted to make cookies from scratch. She doesn't even know what "scratch" means. Kids in the U.S. think cookies come from a roll or a break apart package in the refrigerator section of the supermarket. But, Summer is old enough now understand these things and venture out for some level of independence...especially on a tiny island where life feels so safe. I allowed her walk to the store. Which store she chose was up to her. There are only two stores, both are basically equidistant from our house. Harbourview Grocery is on Bay Street, two buildings down. Vernon's is on Back Street, three buildings down.

Summer wasn't sure where to start with her baking extravaganza. So, I told her to find a package of chocolate chips and get the ingredients that were part of the recipe on the back. Off she went... money tucked into her top. She came back with flour, "something called cane sugar because they didn't have any other kinds", a metric equivalent of about two sticks of butter, a box of baking soda, and a package of "something called morsels but they look like chocolate chips". I explained to her that cane sugar was just regular white sugar and that she probably wouldn't notice if she didn't use the brown sugar. (But, I did have to have a little chemistry lesson to let her know that the brown sugar couldn't just be left out, it needed to be substituted with another sugar.) And then I went on to tell her that chocolate chips are also called morsels.

The house had almond extract in the pantry. Summer didn't buy any vanilla extract because she thought that there was already some here. We had to have a little discussion about the fact that these are two very different flavors, and, in this situation, no substitution would really work. So, back to the store she went. I guessed that she'd be gone less than two minutes: in, out, done, home. Nope. The poor kid didn't know that vanilla extract would be found in the spice section. Once she figured that out, it still took her a long time to find it...she was looking for a bottle, not a box. (This was honestly a really great life experience! And, as a teacher, this pass/fail "applied reading" test was so fun to watch!)

She sipped her iced coffee drink and be-bopped around the kitchen looking for utensils and other ingredients. From the photo you can see that she found a bowl, an ice cream scoop, and a rubber muffin tray.

The coffee was kicking in.
"Ooo! I'm going to use these!"

After some adjustment of temperature and time, the "cookies" came out just fine! Fully cooked. Not burned. Chocolate chip cookies in a muffin pan... Cooffins? Muffkies? Mookie-ins? Regardless. They were adorable and so what Summer.

So proud!

Artfully arranged.

Summer decided that since she had left over morsels, she would melt them and pour that mixture over the "cookies". So, on her own, she added milk to the chocolate chips, melted that in the microwave, stirred it up, and used a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the tray of muffin/cookies.

Pro-level!

We had our fill of cookies and enjoyed the sound of the rain (and the filling of the cisterns).

Next Up: Fix Nicholas' New Bracelet.

In my previous life as a globe trotting cruiser, I learned from the chief aboriginal elder of Vero Beach how to do a whip stitch to secure the end of a line. Lucky for Nicholas, I came to this island prepared with said skill set and a sewing kit. I sat out on the lower porch and made quick work of that frayed end!

"JUNK-TO-DO" List Item #3: Play with Millie.

Millie darn near came unglued when some friendly pot-cakes wandered around in our backyard. She wanted so much to romp and play with them in the ~~grass~~ burrs and stickers...be lawless...hang with the cool kids. But, nope. Millie is my own personal loyalist; I am her sovereign. I don't want to: lose her, have to deal with a possible injury (no doctors on this island), bathe her (if not absolutely necessary), brush her (if not absolutely necessary), pick hundreds of thousands of sand spurs from her ratty fur, etc... So, I just took a picture of her looking longingly at the dogs outside.

She's been sooooo good this trip!

She found great comfort in a snugly nap with her sister.

"Awww...Daddy! Be quiet. Millie's sleeping."

Another fun fact about Millie is that she has one toe that is a different color than the rest. We call it her "peach toe". Since she's been here and has become a bit of a grit, it's basically disappeared!

Gone!

Picture of the peach toe when she WAS clean (long ago).

#4 Exercise

Since we are staying in town now, it only made sense to do the north end loop again. Ho hum...dullsville. (Ha!) This trip brought with it an exciting new set of challenges: dodging puddles and traversing loose rocks.

Although I have been on every road in this section of the island, I decided that I'd like to check out the tiny paths and possible driveways to see what kind of discoveries could be made. Also, knowing that we'd just had some pretty significant rain, I figured that the spider webs may have been knocked down and that I would be more "safe" from their terrifying wrath.

So, up I went.

EIGHT GIGANTIC GOLDEN SILK SPIDERS! And I didn't even have to take one step forward. All of these lovely ladies were photographed as I just "spun" around 360 (and then carefully extracted myself). We have these critters in Florida. They have golden/yellow bodies, and jet black legs with furry, feathery tufts on their joints. Although I am scared of spiders, I do like to learn more about them. This spider is one that I had researched long ago when I came literally face to face with one in the backyard of our first home. The large spider (about 3 inches from leg tip to leg tip) in the center of the web is the female; the male (only about the size of a half-dollar) is usually hanging around off to the side. Hello and good-bye, girls! Message received loud and clear...I shan't be going up that trail.

Needless to say, I decided to amend my previous jogging plan...no more woody paths! Pavement and/or the recently trodden was my new mantra!

The photo doesn't do this driveway justice.
I think they walled in and curved the pavement only to stop it from sliding down the steep slope!
Not surprising, there was a house at the top.

Another photo that doesn't show the perspective...
And, another interesting way to keep the pavement from sliding off the steep slope!
And...another house at the top.

This path looked a little more groomed.
I couldn't resist!
I had my spidey senses on high alert.

I jogged to the end of the road, reached the house, and looked around at their property and view. (After Googling "Harkin Elbow Cay", I found out that this is the home of Senator Tom Harkin and his wife.)

Seeing what I thought was a poison wood tree, I gave it a wide berth!

Almond shaped green leaves, berries, black sap...

But then, I saw this tiny black sign:

Guana Berry?
Doesn't guana/guanno mean poo?
Is this a joke?

Picture of the whole tree, still minding the wide berth rule.

And then, I noticed all of these little black signs sprinkled through the grounds and along the paths. So, I took myself on a tour! I just couldn't believe it! So much time and effort went in to identifying, labeling, cultivating... Although I was technically trespassing, I was just so honored to be able to have found this person's hobby and to be a silent witness to their passion. The following photos are just SOME of the plants and labels.

Path leading away from the home.

Sour Orange

The fruit

Whole tree

And then I found this! No, not a pot plant. A hummingbird nest! I could NOT believe it! (I was proud of myself for know what that tangle of brown junk was.) I held my breath and cautiously peered inside. (Hummingbird eggs are the size of Tic-Tacs!) None found, but then again, I was holding my breath and slightly scared to even look. The possibility of finding hummingbird babies made me feel half sick, something like as if I had actually found a tiny fairy in the woods. In a way, I was relieved that there weren't any visible eggs or babies.

Hummingbird nest.

My spidey senses were still on alert. I'd just had an otherworldly experience. My head was on over-load! And just to really sock it to me...this wooden cardinal came into view.

Supposedly, a cardinal means a loved one is trying to let you know that they are around.
"Hi, Cindy! I miss you too."

Inhale. Exhale. Gather yourself, Jennifer. Jog, woman. Be present. Hurdle that puddle!

I love this sign! "Very exclusive" marina.

I love the shades of the sea and how the sun peeks through the clouds to act like a spotlight.

Hello!

Ooo. Cover yourself, man.

After a few days, the rain eventually stopped. Shawn's tummy was back to feeling fine. Next up, Summer with the bad belly.

Last photograph of Summer before her Bahamian barfapalooza.

As I have said previously in several blog posts, there is no doctor on this island. That's true. There is, however, a clinic with a nurse. Except, the the nurse was on leave. Ahahaha!