2/27/2014
Dear Mishka

It's Matt's first day and he opened his suitcase to find Loki and Merlin had apparently both rolled in his clothes, fur all over them! Though I suppose that's better than the first time.... on our very last day of packing he did a “test pack” of the suitcases to see what would actually fit, and then he left the room. Suitcase open. The cats knew something was up, and they peed IN his suitcase. All over his work clothes. I did the fastest load of laundry in my life while he tossed a cat across the room. Now tossed gently mind you but still, he was THAT mad and THAT stressed.

So this also means it is my first day alone. I'm not sure how to keep myself busy. Type a few letters to you, eat an espresso brownie cookie, iron some shirts, and perhaps I'll laze by the pool. Yup, tiny housing but it's got a pool with a view of (wait for it) the ocean. Around 1 I think we are setting up the bank account and signing the lease.

List of the things I forgot to bring. Ausssie 3-Minute Miracle conditioner is one of the ones I'm gonna miss most. I didn't think about my hair and salt water. Whups. Forgot all about salt. I'm a great lakes girl, with a chlorine-free pool no less.

I also realize a whole shitload of stuff that I DON'T need is on the way. No basement to store it. Like Matt's router table and power tools. We didn't consider that. Whups.

Did a minute bit of shopping for groceries. The cost of living is high but from what we can tell it's about Disney pricing. And since we were just at Disney we weren't suffering sticker shock. Like the $19.50 box of Cheerios. Now now.... remember, everything is brought in by boat and it's EC (East Caribbean Currency). That 2.67 on the dollar. So it's $7.30 for a full size box of honey Nut Cheerios., $5.85 for a bottle of Herbal Essence Conditioner (the only kind in stock at the moment), and $5.48 for bottle of aerosol hair spray. Disney pricing. Matt is about to start losing weight. Glad for the jump in his income. Food is definitely more expensive because of it's limited availability. Except of course bananas, sweet potatoes, and avocados the size of a small grapefruit.

Nifty fact, our new place is about a 30 minute walk up the beach to campus. And we sent our fencing gear exclusively to fence on the beach.

Just a little mental picture for you Loki is flopped out next to me looking for all the world like a 15 lb fur covered whale asking for a belly rub. If he can ever manage to roll his fat ass over on the first try I just might give it to him.

Merlin however is living under the bed unless it's time to demand a meal.

Love
The Blonde