Rainy day musings

It has been seriously raining for three days now. I mean tropical storm weather where it pours constantly. At this moment it has stopped but the sky is still threatening. Brigit and I did manage to get in a walk earlier without getting completely soaked, only sprinkled on, so that is an improvement from yesterday when it did not let up all day.

Grenadians don't like rain. Which is funny since it rains half the year here. I was doing some apartment hunting and got in touch with a landlord on a rainy day to see if I could look at her property. Her response was "not today because it is raining." So, is it raining inside the apartment?? I mean, that's what umbrella's are for, right? That made me laugh.

I've noticed a slight change in the weather over the past week - it is more windy. I hear these are the trade winds that start blowing around Christmas and signify a cooler season starting - the dry season (as opposed to the wet season). So it's actually been a little more pleasant of late, not so blazing hot.

We did get an apartment. In fact, the one with the landlord that doesn't like rain. We found this place through a classmate of C.J.'s. He and his wife and child live in the building as well as several other couples with children. So this apartment begins our transition into parent land.

Actually it signifies our transition back to adulthood. Just the thought of a door separating our bedroom from the living area makes us both want to jump for joy. And we'll have two bedrooms - two!! And a really big kitchen counter that fits a microwave AND a toaster. And an oven! And a kitchen table with a circumference bigger than a quarter. And a couch to sit on. Oh, it is exciting.

We get the keys on December 1 so we can be all moved in before we leave for the holiday. I spend lots of time now on the SGU Post which as an online site where people list things for sale. All the students leaving this semester are desperately selling off everything they own - hangers, kitchen utensils, towels, books, shelves, binders, electronics, bedding, toys, cars, you name it.

So far I've picked up a whole new bed set for our second bedroom (second bedroom!), a fan, a desk lamp, a stand-up lamp, a toaster, a closet organizer, two more beach towels, an egg crate mattress pad and the game Cranium (oops, impulse buy).

In addition, I think I'll be buying my first baby things soon. I've been in touch with a mom selling a rocking chair, a bouncer and an infant bathtub. And that's just the beginning. Next Saturday there is an actual outdoor sale, like a big garage sale. I'm planning on going although I probably don't need much else at the moment. I mean, we are trying to live with less here after all. But good used stuff is hard to pass up!

We're also in the market for a car. We've looked at four so far. All of the owners say things like "it runs great" and "I haven't had any problems" but all the cars are about 10 to 15 years old with well over 100,000 miles. But they don't really lose their value because we're on an island, so these old cars are going for $4-$6K.

So far every car we've looked at has had an oil leak except for the first car which had a bad transmission. And a CV joint was squeaking on one and some radiator fluid was leaking on another and these are just the problems under the hood. That doesn't include the scratches and dents and missing hub caps and windows that don't work and other little blemishes.

We haven't been impressed with anything we've seen so far, so we're still looking. I should actually say, C.J. has been unimpressed. When I try to say something nice about these poor cars like "that one was pretty clean" he just says "oil leak." So he's kind of tough to shop with. We may have to lower our standards a bit but there is still time. We have a month left and more people will be trying to get rid of their cars as December gets closer.

Speaking of December, it's real hard to get in the mood for holidays when you live on a tropical island. Seasons really do make a difference. And I'm talking about Texas seasons so you know it's got to be bad here. The year round beach weather just throws me off. I can't really accept that it is November.

Grenadians don't celebrate Thanksgiving either so that's not helping. They do go nuts for Christmas though. They are already playing Christmas music. That ought to put me in the mood but it just feels like a joke. I guess it won't feel real until I'm back in the states and can see all the familiar holiday decorations and feel a little winter weather.