A temporary calm - Surviving Tropical Storm Fay and preparing for Hurricane Gonzalo.

This past weekend, the island got hit with Tropical Storm Fay. They keep calling it a storm, but the wind gusts of over 100+ miles an hour did some major damage. This storm caught most of us completely off guard.

These are just some scenes from my neighborhood.



Debris along our walking route.



Palmettos hanging dangerously from electical wires.



Tree branches scattered everywhere.



Our neighbor's Poinciana tree completely uprooted.



What neighbors do.

This tree landed across the road, and as soon as it was safe to be outside, neighbors came out with buzzsaws and hacked it up. They moved the limbs out of the road to await cleanup when the storm was finally over.

Across the island, it was reported that more than 27,000 people lost power. That's about half the population, including us. Many got it restored the same day, but unfortunately we had to wait till Monday. Not too bad - about a day and a half.

However, because we weren't prepared, we didn't do the usual things like fill up the tubs with water, move outdoor furniture or shut the hurricane shutters. It wasn't as bad as it could have been; and we were lucky to live close to town where we can take advantage of showers at the company gym which relies on major generators.

 But it wasn't fun.

Well, maybe for the kids it was.  School was closed Monday and Tuesday.  At the time of this writing, I'm still waiting to see if it will be open on Wednesday.  Saltus had some damage, including some of the roof being ripped off.  Yikes.

What's even scarier is that another one is on the way.  Hurricane Gonzalo is scheduled to make a direct hit on Bermuda either Thursday night or Friday.  Very worried about this one.  Going without power for a day or two is manageable .. going a week or more with three kids is something else. 

We have been very lucky in that during our four years on the island, we've avoided any major storms.  This one might be our first taste of it. 

Wish us luck!



Breakfast by candlelight during Tropical Storm Fay.

Turning 9

Birthday planning starts early in this house, mainly because I know that if there's some sort of theme  to the party, it will take forever to get the supplies.  Nothing is ever all in one place in BDA, and you can be sure some stuff will have to be ordered from abroad. 

That's a whole other story.

"I want my party at the gymnastics center."  Jordan said. 

"Really?"  I asked. 

We spend so much time there during the week, why would you want to be there one more minute?  Isn't 8 hours of training a week there enough?  But, after several weeks of repeating this desire, I decided the drive out to St. David's would be worth if it meant the mess was not in my house.

But we needed a theme.



Taa-daa!!  Minecrafting galore!  Jordan's main obsession these past months.

I don't pretend to understand ANY of it.  It's a complete mystery.  All I know is that in the limited amount of electronic time the boy has - he's Minecrafting.... or on YouTube watching someone named "Stampy Longnose" highlight all his Minecrafting worlds.



Suprisingly, there are other Minecrafting geeks out there who have done Minecrafting themed birthday parties.  Just look on Pinterest.  That's pretty much where I got all the ideas.  The table tops, the Creeper goodie bags, the ideas for the cake.

Speaking of cake though - if you want to make a Minecrafting cake, you must watch this woman's video.  Yoyomax makes a minecraft cake.



Some Potion of Healing to wash it all down.



And lots of exercise to burn off the calories!  The staff at the Bermuda Gymnastics Association could not have been better.  They led the whole crew through warm up exercises, obstacle courses, trampoline bounces, pit jumps and rope climbing. 

I just stood to the side laughing and taking pictures.



Even on the mat, you can't stop these jazz hands!



That evening we celebrated at Jordan's favorite restaurant in Bermuda - Portofino.



But the birthday celebrating wasn't limited to one day.  On his actual birthday, we spent the night in Connecticut for Jordan's first gymnastics meet.  There, we went out with the cousins!



More pasta and more ice cream!  And that pretty much describes Jordan's favorite meal.  Nine years old and a smile that lights up the room.  Happy Birthday, little man.

Adventures in misdiagnoses - otherwise known as the state of health care in Bermuda.

My dog and I have something in common, apart from the fact that we are getting crotchety in our old age.

Both of us have had shitty luck with health care on this island.

In Oscar's case, he was repeatedly diagnosed with swollen anal glands, instead of a popped knee joint.  

You can imagine how the two might be confused.

And in my case, I've been blithely waking around thinking I had "an allergic reaction," when in fact I've got a lovely staph infection..

 Oh, and guess what? It's MRSA! (methicillin resistant, to you and me..)

It started as a series of red bumps on my lower legs, I noticed the day after I got a massage at a local place.

I went to the doctor  because they itched. There were also a lot of them.

Week one - "It's an allergic reaction!  Try some Benadryl and some prednisone for the swelling."

Week two - Doctor makes a face.  "Hmm.. looks like an abscess.  Try this lotion, and here's some antibiotics.  Let's make an urgent referral to a dermatologist."

(Urgent means over a month from the date of the appointment.  Urgent meant October 14th!)

Fast forward to week three when Jeff dragged me to the emergency room.  I was in pain.  The top part of my leg had swollen up from the abscess that had formed.

It looked like the world's ugliest pimple about to erupt.

This is what it looked like after the doctor did surgery on it to open it up and drain it.



Brace yourself.

I hesitated to show this but thought maybe it might help some poor soul out there.

Very gruesome picture to follow of a wound packed with gauze following a cleaning.

I've warned you...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last warning. I'm serious.


Ok.


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This is what it looked like immediately after he took a scalpel, incised my leg, and massaged it for 15 minutes to get the blood and pus out.

When I say "massage," I'm using the term loosely. He took both hands and used his fingers to push down hard and outward. I lay on the table, gripping the sides and biting my lip to keep from screaming.

That didn't work. I screamed.

As tears flowed from the corners of my eyes, I could feel hot, wet liquid pour down the side of my thigh.

I was stupid enough to look up and saw a two inch hole in my leg, open and bleeding.  It looked like a red mouth.

He continued to massage and use sterilized q-tips to dig into the hole and pull things out.

He felt the need to show me. I don't know why.

This is what it looked like after the surgery.



The leg itself is swollen and red. The bit sticking out of the top of my thigh is about 6 inches of iodine-soaked gauze that he stuffed back into the open hole that was once my quad.

This all occurred almost three weeks to the date I first went to my doctor.

It was in the Bermuda ER, that the doctor first mentioned the word, "MRSA."

 As in, "you have an abscess on your leg. Let's test it for MRSA, just to be sure.  This is the third case of this I have seen this week!"

The positive test came back two days later.

At that point, Jeff said I was going to the US.

I didn't argue.

An emergency room visit to the ER in Mt. Sinai (awesome doctors. So awesome.) A visit to an infectious disease specialist, just to reassure myself ... and armed with a new antibiotic... I think I am on the mend. No new lesions. Wound is healing. And docs seem confident it should be ok.

Bottom line... don't get sick in Bermuda.

I was lucky enough to be able to get off the island and get some health care with doctors who know how to be diagnose and reassure and provide the hands on useful information you need with an infection like this. 

But, that does little to make me feel better about the future.  I keep thinking about Jordan and what if, God forbid, something really serious happens to him?  What if we have to fly him off the island on a minute's notice for urgent health care? 

Jeff and I talked about this when we first moved here.  Jordan's health care is that important.  I guess it just seemed so theoretical at that point, especially since he is generally so healthy.  We still get his major cardiac check ups in NYC.  He sees a regular pediatrician here in Bermuda, but all his labs and heart work is done back home.  I guess we think we are home often enough that were something to happen, his regular transplant team would catch it.  I think.

However, going through three weeks of uncertainty here...because doctors didn't test for infectious strains at the outset worries me.  A lot.

 It also worried me when I found out a colleague was going through the same exact thing after visiting the same spa and doctors here were giving here the same run around.

Someone suggested I look at this as a "test run" in the event that we do have to get off the island for Jordan. 

Now we know exactly what we have to do since I've been the guinea pig.

From sea to shining sea.

Happy Independence Day!

The Americans land in Hamilton Harbour.

The flag from the US Coastguard ship, "Eagle," which was docked in Bermuda this past weekend.



Mina captured my ex-pat nostalgia on camera, during dinner at Flanagan's pub.  The Eagle is a beautiful ship. 



Although we intend to celebrate the 4th of July here in Bermuda, times like this make miss the USA. 



I still remember the last 4th of July celebration we had in NJ.



I remember all our friends hanging out in the backyard.  I remember the kids splashing on the slip and slide.  I remember the food!  And I remember that night being the start of us saying good bye.


















As I recall, that was the night we announced formally that we were moving to Bermuda. Some people thought we were joking!

Almost three years later, we are well entrenched into ex-pat life on "the rock."  Contrary to belief, it isn't a perpetual vacation.  However, I can say that after some rough patches, I do love it. 

This year, I'll be celebrating our country's freedom with good friends, on the beach.  We will be watching the crystal blue waters crash on pink beaches and awaiting the fireworks.

 I'll be wishing my dear friends back home a safe and happy celebration as well!  I miss you!

 

Father's Day Festivities

This past weekend, we celebrated Father's Day in our uniquely social media sort of way:

First, I posted some of my favorite pictures of my own father, on Facebook.  These are from my wedding.  Doesn't he clean up nicely?

I also admired all the pictures my friends put up of their dads. Great minds think alike.



And then, I actually went old school and picked up the phone to call him and wish him a great day.  That's a rare thing for me as I am notoriously bad at calling.  Email, text and FB are my go to sources for most communication.  I should probably work on that.

Except, that I love how my parents have adopted to FB and use it regularly.



Although sometimes, my mom prefers I not post so much information there. And sometimes she blocks me.

That's ok, it's all part of the fun.

Back on the home front, I decided to do a pre- Father's Day celebration on Saturday night. 

We had steak, which Jeff loves.. and home made chocolate cake... which everyone must love or be considered barbaric in my book.  This recipe is an adaptation of the Barefoot Contessa's double chocolate layer cake. 

It rocked.



I unilaterally decided Jeff needs some real Bermuda shorts to wear to work (yes, that is perfectly acceptable work wear here.) 

A truly authentic ensemble would include the knee length socks in another bright color, and proper polish-able shoes.  But I didn't think Jeff would wear the socks.. so I will bide my time.

The kids made him special hand crafted items in school - messages in a bottle and cards to show their appreciation. They also assisted in the shopping and picking out a tie.  Jordan wanted one with cows on it, and Mina was opting for the pink one with the whales.  They both agreed on a very satiny lime green one, which oddly enough matched our Kia Soul perfectly. 

Again, I opted for a conservative look.  Royal Blue shorts and diagonal striped blue tie with golden accents.  We got the hat because it's cute.

We got the Twizzlers because Jeff has a sweet tooth.

On Father's Day, proper, Jeff spent the morning playing golf with other husbands liberated from the home front.  Oddly enough.. Jeff tends to do this most Sundays, but that's ok.  Everyone needs some down time.

Having the morning to himself must have relaxed him. 



Here we are at Tucker's restaurant for their annual Father's Day Barbecue. 

Normally, we tend to avoid the member events here because it's hard to get your money's worth with our kids.  They don't eat that much, and events here can get expensive.  It's another one of those things one has to consider about visiting (or living) in BDA.  While there are inexpensive restaurant options, compared to most of the US... it's pricey. 

But we splurged this year!  The staff did a great job.  The food was wonderful, and the table service for the sides and desserts was showman worthy.



It was also fun seeing good friends to share the day with.  Miss Mina cracks me up.  She has the photo-bomb look on her face, even though she is seriously taking this picture.
    

Cousins in Bermuda.

My nephews came to visit recently and soak up the summer sun on the beaches of Bermuda. I did not drag out the camera as much as I should have, mainly because I was just awed.



I mean, look at this face!!



My kids had a blast. Especially since Arman has reached the critical phase of being old enough to play with them, but still young enough to let them boss him around. They were in heaven. The perfect audience to all their craziness.



OMG. There's the face again...



A day into it, my poor nephew will never be the same. He came here content with organic lollipops as his special treat. He left scarred for life - Keebler fudge stripe cookies, M&M ice cream cones, sundaes with chocolate sauce and a choice of four different kinds of sprinkles.... ah well. What happens in Bermuda, stays in Bermuda.



They got along so well!



Bonding over chocolate shakes at the pool helped.



We can only hope they come back soon!!

Birdwatching in Bermuda.

Jordan's class has spent a considerable amount of time these past few weeks learning about the native birds of Bermuda. There are several quite unique to the island, including some that were once thought extinct. Among the birds we see regularly, include the Great Kiskadee, Starlings, Sparrows, White-eyed Vireos, Long-tails, etc. Some are rarer - including the Eastern Bluebird. That little guy has faced some major problems with predators. It's making something of a comeback, in part through bird enthusiasts who build special blue bird houses.

Jordan takes bird watching very seriously. We've had several adventures over the past few weeks, including trips to Spittal Pond, the Botanical Gardens, and the Arboretum. I'd like to plan a trip to Nonsuch Island, where great effort has been done to help revive Bermuda Petrel (Cahows) colonies. These birds were thought extinct until a small colony of 16 birds was found residing in Bermuda.



Jordan really likes to become one with the environment, so he can study his subjects up close.



I'm not sure the birds are quite ready to accept him as one of their own yet.



Even when he tries to fly like them.



On Friday, we spotted some Eastern Blue birds..



Grey Catbirds..



And of course, the ever-present feral chickens.



Bird watching is pretty tiring.



Look how worn out we are.

Over the weekend, we had a rainy morning, so we made our own bird mobile. The template is here; we printed it in black and white and the kids colored it as they wanted. What I loved best was Jordan colored his birds to match the actual colors of a Great Kiskadee, a Long-tail, a cardinal, and an Eastern Bluebird. And he did it from memory.



Jordan's interest in birds had me curious to find other ways to learn more about the topic. One afternoon, I had an hour to kill before picking up the kid's from art class, so I stopped by the video store to see if they had any documentaries that were bird-related. I couldn't find anything on my own, but the clerk suggested this series produced by the BBC called "Life."

First, I was floored by the extremely helpful and knowledgeable advice I had just gotten. I'm pretty much used to being ignored here when I walk into a store. Thumbs Up for Phase One Video!

But after viewing the segment on birds on the DVD, I was really impressed. It's a great series. Particularly if you're like me - sort of a closet nature geek and love the shows on the National Geographic (hello, Shark Week!) or History channels. The kids enjoyed it, but I think Jeff and I were mesmerized. It just amazed me to see birds thriving in such extreme environments, each adapting to its surroundings as it had to.

And the photographic detail with which each segment was filmed was astonishing. These birds were amazing. Of course, a lot of their astonishing behavior was done in part to lure the females of the species. And like so many nature specials, what starts out as a G-rated movie quickly degenerates into the kind of behavior reserved for what "only married people should be doing," as my mother used to put it so eloquently.

Thankfully, all that bird flapping feather stuff went right over our kids heads. I think.