De New Year Be Happy, Mon.

     Here we are at Reef Bay, New Year's Eve afternoon. Today Jim played tennis at The Westin Resort with a banker from Manhattan. He says he prefers playing on this island to Roosevelt Island. Bob went for a long hike peaking into the mountainside villas and made a trip into town for supplies. The supermarket was cleaned out, so we are re-thinking dinner. It looks like it will be shrimp ceviche and plantains on the barbie. Can you believe we are not bored or tired of the sun? Spending even a small amount of time on the beach everyday keeps us smiling. Perhaps we will watch The Rose Parade tomorrow. However, we have yet to turn on the television. Is that amazing or what?
Hope you are enjoying our blog as much as we are posting it. Be happy in de New Year!

More food? I'm stuffed already.

So it was time to take a break after the fish course. Left is the Granita that we had to cleanse our palette. Aren't we grand? Whatever.
Then it was on to the main event: Beef Wellington. Shown whole and cut to serve. Pared with a California cabernet for Bob. Didn't you just finish a bottle of white?
Finally, the finale, the Chocolate Pave. Yummy. Low cal? Not. We had two slices each.  Have we gained any weight in the caribbean? That's for you to guess. Check out our Xmas sunset. Bet you didn't have one like this where you are! Jealous? Now to wash the dishes. Any volunteers? Jim, Jim? Where did he go?

 

The Best Laid Plans...

Gruyere Cheese Puffs

We had the best intentions. Plans were laid to cover a 6-course meal with blog posts after each one. However, the weather was perfect today and the water a particularly beautiful shade of turquoise. That's when island fever struck with all the usual symptoms. We felt hot, restless, an inability to concentrate and a compulsion to walk on white sand. We had no choice but to flee the kitchen immediately and rush directly to the nearest  beach—Reef Bay. There, while listening to the soothing sounds of ocean waves, sipping iced ginger ale and resting in beach chairs, we recovered. Consequently, it was early evening when we took on the task of Christmas dinner. Here are a few pictures of the results. The rest we'll have to share tomorrow. It appears as though the Beef Wellington course and the flourless Pavé Chocolate cake have brought on another medical emergency: coma.

Chilled Tomato Soup with Sour Cream and Scallions

Grilled Salmon, Sweet Potato with Lime & Cilantro, Squash with Garlic & Parsley

 

Join us for Christmas Dinner.

Ho, ho, ho, mon, it's Christmas in de islands.
How do you like our Caribbean Christmas tree? It goes with the plumeria tree in the yard, which is adorned with little white lights. You're invited to join us for Christmas dinner. The menu: Gruyere Cheese Puffs, Chilled Tomato Soup with Sour Cream and Scallions, Grilled Salmon, Baked Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro, Sauteed Squashes with Garlic and Parsley, Tangerine Granita, Beef Wellington, Shallot Flan, Peas with Spring Onions Lettuce and Chervil, Green Salad with Herbs, and Flourless Chocolate Cake. Our coaches for this attempt at gourmet dining are Alice Waters and Gordon Ramsay. Hope we don't ruin their Christmas. Just check in when you're inspired to join in as the courses will be spread out all day long. You may find us laying on the floor moaning from gout, or in Bob's case just passed out in general! Xmas Eve was spend at ZoZo's, a roof-top restaurant overlooking Cruz Bay with views to St. Thomas. As we dined a large cruise ship glided by. The sunset was wonderful as expected. Anyway, so on with the cooking!
To all our friends and family across the states: Have a wonderful holiday!

Who turned out de lights?

     We've been waiting for it to happen and it finally did. Last night at around 6PM the lights went out. We were sitting on the roof watching the last rays of the sunset when everything went dark. So here is Jim making dinner by the light of our trusty candelabra. Since the stove is all gas, we had no problem cooking. I grilled some fish outside. We found a ton of votive candles under the sink and turned them into good use around the living room. Actually it was kind of fun! This mornings news tells us that there was a power failure on St. Thomas that effected both islands. But everything was back on by midnight. On a lighter note (bad pun), here is a picture of the St. John All-Island Party that we attended last Saturday evening. This event was held at the local shopping center called Mongoose Junction. There were stations serving rum punches and oysters. Lots of people and lots of music. The steel band was awesome. We ran into our friends Mares and Rob Crane. Rob is a local architect and Mares is a caterer. We ordered some food and wine from Mares since she gets great prices from her purveyor. We love her! Well, it's time to head to the beach. I need to cook my backside!

Santa Spotted on St. John

Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI - Today reports were received that Santa made an unscheduled pre-holiday appearance in the U. S. Virgin Islands on St. John. Bob Phillips a winter resident from Stamford Connecticut snapped a photo showing Mr. Claus decorating a plumeria tree with strings of white lights. The photo shows he was not in his usual attire—the white fur-trimmed red suit and hat with black belt and matching boots. It appears he was passing for an islander in shorts and ironically a red shirt. "I have no doubt it was Santa. At first I didn't recognize him, because he looked so fit and has lost some weight—probably has a personal trainer now and a good nutritionist." reported Bob Phillips. Mr. Phillips tried to engage Santa, but the jolly fellow simply touched the side of his nose, replied "Ho,Ho,Ho!" and dashed around the corner of the house. The jingling of bells were heard and a rushing sound. By the time Mr. Phillips ran into the open to look for signs of a flying sleigh, Santa was gone. "I'm so grateful he made this stop at our house on Fish Bay." stated Bob Phillips. "Because we were stumped as to how we'd be able to decorate a Christmas tree this year. We inquired in town about trees, but they had all been reserved. I'm guessing this happened because Jim and I have been good boys all year long."

So now I'm in my blue/green period.

     These paintings are not finished. But as you can see I've finally gotten off my butt and started to work. I'm enjoying the process. First I run around the island taking photos. Then I go to the beach for a swim. Then I go home and paint. Then I go to the beach for a swim. Then I have a drink and admire the progress. Then I go to the beach for a swim. Tough life, but somebody has to do it!
     Jim has been on the phone non-stop since we arrived. He is working too hard. Would somebody tell him to stop and smell the roses? Or maybe the orchids and plumeria. But at least he is working in a swimming suit instead of the ol' Prada get up! Now that the house is 'decorated' we can sit back and enjoy it. We are way out on the southwest end of the island. It's very quiet and secluded. Here's a shot of the living room. It's small but well appointed. Cable television, ipod port, the works. Last night Jim saw a couple of shooting stars. We are living outdoors most of the time.  Jim wants to decorate for Xmas. I'm not sure what he has in mind. We have no chimney for Santa. Maybe we'll leave out some cookies and coconut milk for Mr. Nicholas. A 'painkiller' would be better! Yum!

What cookin' in de islands?

     Jim has been doing his gourmet magic in this small, but well equipped kitchen. We've had mahi, tilapia, salmon, chicken and steak dinners. After my trip to St. Thomas the cupboard is bursting. My issue is that there is no dishwasher. Which means I am the dishwasher. Which means I have dish-pans hands. Which means we use as few dished as possible! Whatever. At least there is Riedel crystal!
     You'll notice that there are ceiling fans everywhere. Now I understand why they are so ubiquitous down here. They swoosh the mosquitoes around. We are slathering on repellent like crazy. I'm thinking of eating a ton of garlic to ward them off. Does anyone know if that will work? It has rained a little every day. But it's tropical rain that comes and goes very quickly. It's just enough to cool you down. The rain keeps the garden blooming. We have added a few extra plants for more color. Why am I turning red?
     Yesterday we went beach exploring. Here's Jim at Leinster Bay on the north shore. This is supposed to be one of the best places for snorkeling. We didn't have our gear so we'll have to go back another day. Let's see, we have over one hundred to choose from.  Now, about chartering a sailboat...

Adventures with 'Butch'.

     Since my art supplies have yet to arrive, I decided to take the car ferry over to St. Thomas in search of stuff. What stuff? Any stuff. I was planning to go Saturday, but couldn't wait. And as Jim was working all day I decided that Friday might be less crowded at 'the mall' and might be less stress for me. 

     Meet 'Butch' the trusty Jeep Wrangler. He is only a  few years old with only 18,000 miles on him. But he looks like he's been driven hard and put away wet. Literally. Anyway off I went to the car ferry and backed on. It's a twenty minute ride to St Thomas. Because I went early there wasn't much traffic. I got to the art supply store with no problems. Then it was off to Kmart, Cost-U-Less (like Costco) and finally The Home Depot. Can you believe I shopped at Kmart? Let's just say that the selection was limited. Cost-U-Less was great for food. But it's the ol' buying-in-bulk thing. They had Xmas trees for sale but all were reserved. What are we going to do with pounds of flour and sugar? Glad to see lots of Nabisco brands there. I went to The Home Depot last. Purchased an umbrella, stand and a couple of plastic chairs for our upstairs lounge. Plastic? Whatever. Check out the sheer curtains I got to add a bit of shade on the patio. Very Ian Schrager. So we are pretending that we have a suite at the Delano or maybe one of his spots in Manhattan. Anyone for room service? I ran into a bit of traffic getting back to the ferry dock. Plus I made a couple of wrong turns. All in all it was a fun experience. Saw an amazing rainbow on the ferry. I wish Jim had come along. Maybe next trip. 

 

Our New Friends: Flora and Fauna

When we arrived at our winter home we were greeted by a lovely friendly native. She doesn't have much to say and prefers to stay in the shadows rather than out in the sunny spot light. Her sister lives in a tree on the other side of the drive way. Our landlord told us he first met her sister a year ago and with the aid of a bungee cord provided her a secure nest so that the two girls can see each other and keep watch on everyone who comes and goes. A local gardener was here just before we took up residence to clear the jungle what had grown up to block our view. He must have used a chain saw, a hack saw, machette, even his toe nail clippers, 'cause the plants have all had major hair cuts. However, the tropical weather and our daily little rain clouds have encouraged the hibiscus hedge, plumeria tree and bromeliad to start blooming within our first week. Wonder what we'll decorate for a Christmas tree?

It's the water and sky stupid.

     So here I am, in St. John again. And I have my paint brushes at the ready. But what will I paint? Today I am running around the island in our funky jeep looking for venues to capture. I had my camera by my side and took a bunch of images for consideration. When I got back to the house I downloaded all the photos to the computer. After pouring through them the answer to the question above was obvious. Paint the sea and the clouds. The landscape possibilities here are amazing and change by the minute. Saturday I will hop over to St Thomas to buy canvas. The ones sent from home haven't arrived. So much for the Postal Service. Whatever.
      Here I am at the end of the day. People who know me will recognize the glass!

Paradise Lounge

We arrived at our winter residence to discover the house is under construction. Surprise! The bottom floor is completed, however, the upper floor does not exist, yet. It is a concrete slab with steel rebar, plastic plumbing pipe and electrical conduit poking up all about. From the deck at our front door we have a lovely view of Fish Bay (see masthead on this blog) but the view from the roof is...well, check out the photo on the left. Sunset. Day 3. After standing there mouths agape with evening beverage in hand we decided what we needed was a rooftop cocktail lounge. We're now shopping via the web for cheap furnishings to create the Paradise Lounge. Since the only stores on this island are little local mom and pop affairs (yep, no Starbuck's allowed, no big brands, no franchises—a McDonald's Free Zone) you have to take the ferry to St. Thomas to find home decor. We'll report in after our first island-hopping shopping adventure this Saturday.

We've Arrived!

Watch Out St. John

Oh, ya mon! We landed. At de dock in Cruz Bay. Last Thursday, December 1.

It was a long trip that started in the spring of 2010. After sharing our mutual fantasy of living on a tropical island (mine started watching episodes of Gilligan's Island) we debated the possibility for about a year. Then one day Bob came into the kitchen of his home in Stamford and declared, "Okay, here's the deal. We go to the Virgin Islands, rent a sail boat for 10 days, then a house for 3 weeks to find out if this idea of island living can work. We did. It did. The next 7 months were spent trying to figure out how to spend the winter here. It took a house-hunting trip in October and a lot of fretting and fussing, but we kept pushing and finally, the pieces fell into place and we fell into paradise. 
So here we are, on our deck overlooking Fish Bay and the Caribbean Sea. 
Join us on our adventure. Post whatever you like. 
JimBob