stx today,comments

trade some of those yachts are just so nice, i was on STT for 2 months until Jan 1st and i saw them everyday and some of them just make a person envious. Hey Trade one of my best STT memories goes like this, you know the laundry mat across from the old dirty pueblo at havensight, it's kinda behind the movie place. i was doing laundry one day with about 25 west indian women watching soaps and talk shows, well you hav'nt truly lived intil you've had that experience, but anyway this woman came in with 2 little girls and started doing her clothes, i was trying to read my book amidst the noise and i gave up on that and went to pueblo and bought bags of candy and came back and started feeding all the women candy lol,that was fun, i happened to glance over at the women with the little girls, she was tall, thin and dressed for evening you know the long skirt with the slit, but everything about her was just alittle faded, her beauty had just reached past her prime, she seemed tired and resigned to a life of doing laundry in a laundromat, she was washing a load of whites and she had a little cup of clorox and a little cup of powder on the edge of the machine and she was reaching in and pulling out socks one at a time and she'd dip the sock into the bleach and then the powder and then bunch the sock up and rub it and then toss it back in the machine and then do it again with another sock, she repeated this process for about 10 minutes all the while talking and showing the 2 girls what she was doing and why, it was just one of those make you think moments here that we stumble across sometimes, it was humbling because it was such a simple thing to see.

Wow, you've gotten a taste of it all 'eh? Albert Lea, thats in southern Mn isn't it? I was born in Two Harbors, (near Duluth) then we moved to ND ( age 5 ) when my parents divorced, been here ever since.

I'm a Twins fan as well but I have never been to a game. Traffic in the cities is a nightmare. My granddaughter was born at the Childrens Hospital in Minneapolis so I have spent alot of time there.

Was wondering...Trade, are you a sailor?

I know the laundry you mean. Teri, not a sailor at all.

well i'm off for a 14 hour day at the 18 mile benefit job, hey Alexandra if you read this, i could use some of your business cards to give out when people ask about living here and buying property, you seem to be one of the few relators here that actually work for a living .

trw: Okay, why was she dipping the toe into bleach and then powder, etc. ??? Inquiring minds....

Wouldn't the socks rot pretty quickly dipping them into bleach?

lol Trade yes, but i was commenting on the ritual and the teaching of the ritual, i do the same with baking soda and peroxide, my 1st stepmother does it with electrosal, i ask a lady i work with from st lucia about it and she said alot of the women use the bleach because it kills the bacteria and fungus that tends to grow here and because the water never gets hot enough to do anything at the laundromats and the rubbing causes friction and releases stains, she said alot of women still wash clothes by hand in st lucia in the rivers with their washboards. I'm at my 18 mile benefit job halfway through my 14 hour shift on break eating blackened snapper, the beach here is full and today is one of those days that remind you weatherwise why you moved here in the first place.

Oh no!!!!!!!! Overheard my house guests talking today. "Honey I had that shower running for 15 minutes and the water never got hot. Finally I just got in anyway." Oh no #2. Came home late this afternoon. All the house guest were out but every light and ceiling fan in the house was on. Oh no #3. Waiting for the 3rd load of towels to get dry.

Dougtamjj,
Your house guests sound like mine. They have no clue about island living. Then when you get them trained its time for them to leave, only to do the exact same thing the next visit.LOL

LOL trying having renters share your house, now thats a treat and i'll write about the dozen or so island strays from the states we've rented rooms to over the years.

I totally understand about being "green" Lizard, (no pun intended) but can you be more specific about being trained for island living? Does lack of fresh water have anything to do with your concern for waste?

trw, are you in the business of renting to tourist? Do you own/operate a hotel or resort? Or are you a landlord to residents on the island?

And as far as dirty socks go, may I suggest Tide with bleach?

teri,i'm just a waiter/bartender, i've mentioned that throughout this posting, i own my house which is 4bdrms, and at times over the years i've rented rooms out in the house to stateside island strays which i think is 12 at last count and 1 of the 12 was NOT a pain in the ass. As far as waitering goes i generally work from 5am until 11pm 6 days a week, i have 2 am shifts off per week and 1 pm shift off as well,i work at 2 of the island resorts, i work these hours so i can pay a 30 year mortgage off in 10 years and like i said it was her tiredness and fading beauty and the ritual of her doing laundry that i was commenting on, not the products, she could have been using sand for all i care, anyway off to work to feed the tourists and pay down the principle.

Teri,
Its not lack of water, its waste of water and the cost of water if you run out. There is no oil or natural gas used by consumers on the islands. Some use propane gas to heat their water and cook. the majority use electric as their only utility source and its expensive. Conservation is key, if you don't conserve your utility bill could be higher than your rent or mortgage payment. You don't let water run until it gets hot, you set your hot water tank to its lowest setting, your turn off lights, fans, AC, and TV when your not at home or not in the room, you use your electric cloths dryer sparingly, you wash only with a full load. This becomes routine when you live here in paradise.

Dougtamjj, you didn't kill them?

Years ago, we had relatives come for a 10 day visit. They stayed in a condo that had a jazuzzi tub. We got a $250. water bill from the condo assn--and the rate was .03 cents per gallon at the time. They used almost TWO water trucks worth in that 10 days...I've never forgotten...luckily, they were hubby's relatives....but they are coming to visit us in our house this winter....

It's like living aboard a boat. You just use the same common sense that you would on the boat. Water on, water off, soap up, water on, water off...now that's a shower. Usually takes about 3 to 4 minutes. Same with brushing teeth, same with doing dishes, same with anything that needs washing except washing machine, then you do only a full load. Waste not, want not. Educate your guest the day they arrive, IMHO...

Charlotte

I've told people who visited me & they still don't have a clue - like flipping a cigarette butt in the toilet & flushing it. 🙁

Checked the cruise ship schedule for February today & there are effectively 3-4 no ship days on STT. Some of them are Sea Dream days which don't count since there are so few people on those boats. Unheard of in February.

No Trade, I didn't kill them but the same thing occured this morning. I was talking to my brother n law and he said well I better go see if the water is hot yet. I said what? He said I have the water running for my shower. I said get your as#%& in there and turn off that water. Then get into the tub get wet, turn off water, soap up, turn on the water and wash off. We do not wait until the water is warm and if you do it again you will just have to use the hose to wash. Everybody said Oh and I said yes, OH.

Maybe we should type up a "to do" and "not to do" list and hand it to visitors when they arrive or frame it and hang it in the guest bedrooms!!

Explaining about how we get our water and ways to conserve it.
Explaining that fans can't keep you cool if you are not there.
Explaining that WAPA bills are very expensive here and to turn off lights and fans when leaving the room

Good idea Cody K. I did explain it but they didn't get it. Everyone is laughing now walking around saying OH. They are all at the rum factory right now having a great time getting drunk. Hubby is the DD thank God.

dougtamjj,
While there all out go take a shower, when your done turn the water main off to the house, when they come home, tell them you ran out of water and the truck will make the delivery tomorrow for about $700.00. Wait till they all go out tomorrow and turn it back on. When fear doesn't work sometimes guilt does.

When my mother visited we gave her the bedroom. I kept going in there to find the a/c on and no one in the room. So I started turning it off during the day and hiding the remote for it. She would wander around the house looking for the remote, but it would only reappear at night on the bedside table...

I like Lizards idea!!!!

Great idea Lizard. Tomorrow 4 of them will be gone and the 2 left are dream guest. However, I have another group of 10 arriving on Feb. 20th so I will keep that idea in mind.

just home from the 12 mile job, these women just "god" you to death all day long with the "lord have mercy"bit and the incessant singing of hymns, just got a new group of Danes in 2 days ago as well to explore a part of their heritage, so thats cool, a week here and then a week on STT, one of the ladies i waited on is in her 80's and told me her grandfather lived here back in the day and they came to find the estate he lived on, my mango tree is covered in baby mango's.
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