Rest in peace Iggy

Iggy passed away on Friday, Nov. 2, after about 3 weeks of an unexplained illness that results in him not eating nor being able to walk. He was in a lot of pain, so together with the veterinarian, we decided to stop his suffering. Ramzi and I were with him at the time and I was petting him until the very end. The veterinarian later did an autopsy and Iggy had more calcification on his lungs than he had ever seen before. Dr. Scotland suspects that this was the result of a metastasized tumor. I am very sad that Iggy isn't with us any more (I had him for about 8 yrs!), but am very glad that he isn't in pain any more. You can click below to see some photos of Iggy over time.

Iggy

Halloween 2007

Click below to see photos of Halloween 2007. Isabel was thrilled to be dressed up as Wonder Woman! We went trick-or-treating with a bunch of kids in the Rodney Bay neighborhood.

Halloween '07

Isabel and Sasha at Coconut Bay

On Saturday, Isabel and I took off for a "Girl's Weekend" and spent the night at an all-inclusive resort in the south of the island (coconut bay). Attached are some photos from the "beach party" we attended, complete with pirates! Generally Isabel found the pirates scary, with the exception of the one she posed with in one of these photos. She loved the waterslides and swimming pools and had a fantastic time. Sunday we spent with a friend of my parents (Gail), roaming around the Soufriere area - swimming in a waterfall, going to the beach, etc.

Although we were only aware from our house for less than 1 1/2 days, it felt like so much more. A great escape!

Click below -

Coconut Bay

Isabel and her Thingamabobbin

Click below for some photos of Isabel playing with her Thingamabobbin. It is a great VT-made toy (translation - good labor practices and no lead paint) that literally amused her for over one hour. She made rocketships, trucks, etc. You can find more of their stuff at http://www.learningmaterialswork.com/ . And... Learning Materials Workshop was founded by the mother of a close friend from VT and... I worked there in high school.

Isabel and the Thingamabobbin

We had an earthquake last night!

According to the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Unit (http://www.uwiseismic.com/), on Thursday morning 13th September at 2:37 a.m. local time, an earthquake occurred northeast of Saint Lucia. The preliminary location for the event is 14.28°N 60.41°W. The focal depth was approximately 57 km. The magnitude is 4.9.

The funny thing is, I don't remember it at all. When I got to work, it was all the buzz and people all felt it. I called Ramzi and he said that he didn't remember until I mentioned it, but apparently we both woke about when our room was shaking and talked about it... and then fell back asleep. Isabel slept through the whole thing.

Isabel's 1st day at her new school (Montesorri Centre)

Isabel had her first day of "pre-primary" at the Montesorri Centre. This album has photos of her and some of her friends (Sky and Kadir) at the school.

Isabel's 1st day of school - 2007

Isabel's Trip to VT (August 2007)

Isabel spent close to 3 weeks in VT with her grandparents this summer (1 with Sasha and 2 on her own). She did lots of sailing, hiking, and splashing around with her friends the ducks in Lake Champlain. And... she caught her first fish ever (a bass that had to be tossed back because it was too small), while wearing a tiara!

Isabel's VT Visit

Pachelbel's Bedtime Rant

Ok, so not related to our life in Saint Lucia, but this hit close to home and had me in stitches.

Sailing with Nana and Grandpa

Isabel is becoming quite a talented "first mate!"

Weathering Hurricane Dean

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from Saint Lucia. Ramzi and I have weathered our first “Caribbean Hurricane” without a problem. Hurricane Dean was a Category Two when it hit Saint Lucia on Friday morning. The eye of the hurricane was located just north of Saint Lucia, in between us and the island of Martinique. We live at the very north of the island, so our area got the worst of the storm. Basically, this translated into really intense winds (90 mph) and a lot of rain. The electric utility (LUCELEC) shut the electricity down island-wide around 2 am on Friday morning and much of the island had its electricity restored last night. We just got it back in our neighborhood about 30 minutes ago (about 34 hours later). We lost a rain gutter and a lot of branches, but really no serious damage. Unfortunately, one person did die in Saint Lucia. On Friday morning, a 62 year old man in a rural area went into a river to save a cow. The cow survived, but he did not. Some homes were destroyed and roofs taken off, but it is not as bad as it could have been (or as it appears might be in Jamaica in the Gulf of Mexico).

So, Ramzi, Iggy and I hunkered down inside the house from Thursday night through Saturday morning, with the exception of an invigorating walk in the rain on Friday afternoon, and actually slept through a lot of the worst of it. Isabel, luckily, is still visiting her grandparents in Vermont and was happily oblivious to the storm in her country of residence. We spoke with her a few times over the past couple of days (as we do normally when she is away from home) and she was having a blast at summer camp (ironically, the theme of the camp this week was “weather) and feeding the ducks near her grandparents summer home.

We hope that you all are well, and thank you for your calls and concern.

Sasha and Ramzi

Hanging out with Tim and Becca

A couple of photos of Tim, Becca, and Isabel hanging out in McLean. Click below.

Viisit to Grandpa Abe and Grandma Lee

We visited Isabel's Great Grandparents on her 4th b-day and had yet another celebration. Click below to see photos.

Viisit to Grandpa Abe and Grandma Lee

Photos from Isabel's 4th B-day Party in Puerto Rico

The lucky girl got 2 b-day parties - one in Saint Lucia and one in Puerto Rico. And, the Puerto Rico party was a joint celebration of her 4th b-day and her Baba Jidu's 75th b-day. The party theme was Princess (quite appropriate for a 4 yr old girl or a 75 yr old man) and saw Isabel wearing a tiara and a dress with petticoats. Click on the photo below to see more pictures from the party.

Isabel's 4th b-day party in Puerto Rico

Superhero Isabel!

Behold Superhero Isabel! She can fly ("you run really fast in place and then jump, this is flying") and she helps "people who are sick or hurt or need help." The key element of being a superhero is not the cape, but instead the glasses! She choose all of the clothes that make-up the superhero costume (including superhero undies and socks).

GB - Note the t-shirt. It remains a true favorite.
NC/MC - She is a real "boho" superhero with the snazzy peasant skirt from you all!

 

Photos from Isabel's 4th B-day Party

Click on the photo to see our "album."

Isabel's 4th B-day Party in Saint Lucia

Dennery Fish Saturday with Peter W., Perena, Paul, Brisfert, Sasha, Ramzi, and Isabel

Below are some photos to a Fish Festival we went to in Dennery when our friend Peter Weinberger was visiting in June (it took me a while to get the photos up!).

Fond D'Or in Saint Lucia with Peter Weinberger

Here are photos of Peter W. and Ramzi at the Fond D'Or Nature Reserve and Heritage Park.

A couple of updates…

• Isabel finished the year at her preschool at Bonne Terre last week and has since started summer day camp at the Montessori Centre, where she will be attending pre-kindergarten next year. We had her end-of-year parent teach conference which went quite well. Apparently she is polite, plays nicely with the other kids, can count to 39, etc. She has been enjoying day camp a lot, bringing home art project regularly, and playing with new friends.
• We just finished a wonderful visit from our friend Rachel Mickenberg and her friend Lisa. They thoroughly enjoyed the beaches and people of Saint Lucia and we loved having them here!
• I (Sasha) was in Dominica in early July for a meeting. It is really a beautiful island. I encourage folks who are exploring Caribbean island vacation possibilities to consider Dominica. While it doesn’t have the beaches of other islands, the flora and fauna is just breath-taking and the people are great. You can find out more about Dominica at www.dominica.dm/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominica, and http://www.avirtualdominica.com/home.cfm.

Another Whirlwind Trip to the US

All three of us are headed back to the US for a visit in late July – August. We will start our trip off with some time in Puerto Rico where we will have an early celebration of Isabel’s 4^th b-day and a late celebration of her Baba Jidu’s (Grandpa’s) 75^th b-day. From there we will visit friends in DC and Isabel’s great grandparents in Harrisburg, PA. Sasha and Isabel will then head up to Vermont, with Ramzi staying a little longer in DC and then returning to Saint Lucia to chip away at the dissertation. Isabel will be remaining in VT for a while with Sasha heading south for a couple more days in DC and then work in Saint Lucia. And then, after a nice visit with her Nana and Grampy-pa, Isabel will then bring them back with her to Saint Lucia. We hope to see many of you during our trip and will definitely be posting photos upon our return!

Calling us...

Hey everyone! We just wanted to remind you all that thanks to the wonder of the Internet, we have a US phone number that you can call us at - 202-558-7153. If you call that number, it will ring one a phone on the second floor of our house, attached to the modem. And... another great way to reach us is through "instant-messaging" via Skype. I encourage you to find out more about Skype at www.skype.com.

Ramzi's Father's Day Slide Show

Reunited and it feels so good!

After several long months apart, our dog Iggy has finally joined us in Saint Lucia. While the trip down wasn't the most enjoyable for him, he is definitely having fun in our huge fenced yard. Isabel and Sasha are pleased that our family is complete again and Ramzi is happy that we have a big yard so that Iggy is an outdoor dog (for the most part) now.

Isabel and Iggy!

Isabel and some friends

Isabel has been enjoying playing with friends at her house. This batch of photos includes a picture of Danielle (Danielle is one of Isabel's best friends at school), Brisfert (a friend from swim class), and Layla (the daughter of a colleague of Sasha's, and an aspiring princess, like Isabel).

Isabel, Layla, Brisfert, and Danielle

Sasha's Work Trip to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Union Island and Saint Vincent)

From Saint Vincent...

Jen and Michael's Visit to Saint Lucia

From Jen and Micha...

Princess Isabel

Princess Isabel

Isabel Drawing and Baking

Isabel Drawing and Baking