Friday BOAT Cat Blogging - More boxes

Continuing with cats in boxes...

Willow surprised us by sleeping in Buffy's Box. This was a first...

Buffy took it OK and didn't seem to mind. She good and shares her toys with her sister.

Buffy finds the box very handy as it keeps her from rolling around when the anchorage is so swelly as it has been lately.  Might put out a stern anchor...

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Check out our Nautical Greeting Cards and More store We only make a few pennies on purchases but everything helps and we appreciate it!

Another basket cat... Charter Yacht Marolanga

Gus and Marcella, owner-operators of the charter catamaran Marolanga, sent us this picture of ship's cat Sasha who also loves a good basket.

Sasha is a beautiful Persian.  Charter guests love him.

Marcella had bought this basket with the intention of it being her new fruit basket but Sasha got first dibs on it.  He's so cute... how could you take it away from him?

 Sasha's home, Charter Yacht Catamaran Marolanga, Virgin Islands

The charter yacht Marolanga is a fully air conditioned, 43-foot Catana catamaran which accommodates up to 6 guests in 3 cabins, plus they have an additional single cabin for kid's use. They love having families aboard and have toys for all ages and an assortment of sizes for life jackets and snorkel gear.

Marolanga is currently available for Christmas and New Years in the Virgin Islands!

Visit Paradise Connections to see more about Marolanga.

You can read a recent post about Marolanga on our Yacht Charter blog.

We have blue sky this morning... doesn't look like rain.  Maybe the weather is improving :)

So It Goes...

Friday / Saturday Cat Blogging: Cats and Boxes

This was on BoingBoing.net yesterday but maybe you didn't see it. If you have a cat that has a thing about boxes, you'll love it :)

Many to small boxes and Maru

Of course, there's the classic Simon's Cat...

Simon's Cat in 'The Box'

Buffy loves boxes...

So did Bullwinkle...

Paper bags are great fun, too :)

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Check out our Nautical Greeting Cards and More store We only make a few pennies on purchases but everything helps and we appreciate it!

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Reminder: Eastern Mountain Sports big sale this weekend

Sorry, no Friday Cat Blogging today except to say that Buffy and Willow are such good girls.  We went shopping up at Kmart & CostULess and waited for a bus forever and didn't get back to the boat until almost 4 hours late for their lunch and they didn't give us a bad time... Wonderful puss cats :)

But, I'd like to remind you that this weekend is EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) BIG SALE!! Don't you hate it when a friend tells you about an event like this on Tuesday after the fact? Bummer....

No excuses... You've been told !!!

 -The sale is over. Hope you got some good deals-

For their online sale, they are having "power deals" every three hours.  For example, right now they are taking an extra 10% off of EMS tents between 6-9pm EST. (Is it Standard Time now? Doesn't it change on Sunday at 2am?  Living in the Caribbean makes it easy... there is only Island Time... no daylight time... just AST.)

So check out the EMS sale... Maybe there's a Christmas present there for YOU or a loved one :)

They handle just about everything: Clothing & Footwear for men, women, and kids; Camping; Hiking; Bikes, Climbing; Kayaking, Water sports; Snow sports; Travel bags, packs, luggage; Yoga; Cookware; etc. They've got lots of helpful advice on their site such as "How to Choose Socks" and "Winter Cycling Tips".

Enjoy!

More Friday Foolishness... Cat Blogging too!

Wow, just when I thought conditions were improving, we got severely dumped on.  The cats took it in stride and decided to play with their crackling tube. They like the noise it makes.

 Willow went inside...

 and then Buffy pounced on her through the other end :)

Bob found this interesting web page on StormCarib.com which shows hurricane rankings for  Caribbean & Atlantic islands... SEE HERE

The rain has stopped and Buffy is outside meowing for someone to come out and be with her... Bob made some hot chocolate so I'm going to savor that right now and Willow dozing is in her kitty condo. I couldn't resist... I stuck my head out (rain IS still pitter pattering) and talked to Buffy.  Maybe she wants the bees to come back and play... She just came back inside. Oh, her dish is empty and it's 3 hours before their dinner. Poor puss!

I'd like to thank Broadband VI, our internet service provider. We've been having periods of S.L.O.W.N.E.S.S and timing out, etc. I called a technician who I've spoken to in the past and left a voicemail. Can you believe that he RETURNED MY CALL!  How cool is that. Definite Brownie Points.

So much to do... I was hoping to work a bit on my new Amazon store for Pirate Party Supplies. It's fun and I hope will be helpful to some of you. We make a small pittance which we can then use to buy a DVD sometime down the line.

Got some time for a little bit of fun? Halloween is coming up soon. Check out Amazon's Halloween Storenow and avoid the last-minute panic.

They have some marvelous stuff... costumes, of course, but also costumes for your pets!

Lots of neat decorations, lighting (Halloween lava lamps!), crafts (including pumpkin carving), candy, tableware for your festivities, baking accessories (cookie cutters, cake pans, spooky cake decorations), makeup, music, movies, books, even stuff to trick out your ride :)

Enjoy!

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging - Tubular cats - Igor slop

Today I have some photos of Buffy & Willow.  Cat toys come in and out of favor.  This week they have really enjoyed playing with their tube.  It is about 4 feet long and it crackles when they walk in it.

The swell has been steadily building since last night.  The surf on the reef has been pretty amazing at times, but we are quite sheltered where we are.  We definitely have a bit of a storm surge as the water at the dock is about 2 feet higher than normal.

Not going to complain because conditions could have been much worse if we had a close call with Igor as a Category 5 minus 1-MPH hurricane :)

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging - Buffy in a Box - Hurricane Igor coming

Ever since Hurricane Earl blew by us in St Croix, we've had a bit of rolliness out here in Gallows Bay. At least it is caused by natural sea conditions and not by the powerboats.  Most of the motorboats were hauled out for the storm and have been on the hard for two weeks. Yesterday it has started back up though...  The worst are the huge wakes from the sportfisherman boats.  By the time their wake hits (and rockets the waffle mix accross the cabin) they are a mile away.  Our 6am waker is also back in business :) So It Goes...

This is how Buffy deals with the roll.

She gets a good night's sleep with this close-fitting box. It holds her solid and keeps her from rocking back and forth.  Smart kitten...

Last night we watched a couple of episodes of Mad Men and now Telstar is running through my head... Do you know which song I mean?  Click here and play sample at your own risk
:)

Oh, I almost forgot.... Start pushing soon-to-be Hurricane Igor to the North. He's heading dead west and they keep postponing his curve to the northwest so we need to give him a little PUSH!  He's forecast to be at 17.5N / 52.5W at 0600GMT on Tuesday morning which is pretty much still straight across from us (17.45N / 64.42W) although 800 miles due east as a category 3 storm. They say he's going to be a large one, but with a name like Igor, that's pretty much expected.

I think I'll listen to Telstar again to get thoughts of Igor out of my head... Must close hatches.... it's raining.

Popcorn Kittens Video

Bob showed me this YouTube.com video because he knew it would make me laugh & smile.  So right he was!

So, now I'd like to share it with you folks.



Hope this gets your weekend off to a good start. Enjoy!

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging

Just had to post this photo... It is Friday after all and we haven't had a Friday Cat Blog in a bit...

Willow says HI !!!

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging - Baby Pictures... Ahhhhh

I was looking through iPhoto and came across some baby pictures.... Ahhhhh..... Ohhhhhh..... Mmmmmm.... So Cute!

Willow

 Buffy

The bed used to be a much larger playing field when they were small

Have a good weekend!

It's Cat Blogging Friday Again Already?

Wow, where did the week go?  It is Cat Blogging Friday again. Already!

Cats are a great excuse for not making the bed...

Sisters

They both like their new cat toy...

Willow

This spot on the shelf is a favorite spot...

Buffy

So, TGIF, and it's time for a G&T on the foredeck.

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging - Surf's Up!

I heard a bit of suspicious cat noise coming from the salon last night, but I was too lazy to get out of bed to investigate.

Buffy & Willow must have been surfing the net as they left this photo on my desktop.

 

Looks like they were checking out the Surfy Surfy website!

Heard there's supposed to be some good surfing this weekend in St Croix, so maybe this is a hint :)

TGIF and COWABUNGA !!!

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging

Yesterday evening, after sundown but while still light out, the bird that we've been seeing in the early evening went and perched on the spreaders in the boat in front of us.  It looked like some sort of hawk.

Buffy saw it and was doing her "bird thing"...

While Willow was more interested in what was happening in the water over the side...

It's almost 6pm and past the time to go outside with the cats... especially since we've been hearing the bird chirping away! Maybe we'll see a turtle, or a jumping ray...

Have a good one!

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging - Fish

Last week Bob & a friend went fishing. They had an enjoyable time, but there wasn't a fish to be found... So It Goes...

Unfortunately, Buffy & Willow still don't know the proper definition of TUNA...

This is their perception of a tuna fish. We hope to rectify this soon :)

Friday BOAT Cat Blogging

It's Friday Cat Blogging time again...

Willow & Buffy take the night watch

Have a good weekend & Happy holidays!

Cat Blogging Friday: Buffy & Willow in St Croix

Last Saturday about an hour into our sail from St. Thomas towards Antigua, we heard a cat meowing.  I popped open the companionway hatch and peeked in to see Buffy looking up at me.

I thought she wanted to come outside to be with us but we always keep the cats below decks when we are sailing, so I explained this to her and sat back in the cockpit to enjoy the sailing.  A few minutes later I heard Buffy again. We did have a bit of a big roll earlier and I wondered if she was OK so I went inside to check...

What a good girl! Buffy was telling me that a can of 3-in-One oil had fallen and the nozzle had broken causing the oil to leak.

I'm not sure why, but Buffy wants sooooooooooo much attention this morning. She's been quite playful and she has also been up on the salon table (a no-no but she's so sweet) a lot.

They were very well behaved when we were dismasted. I put Buffy into her cat carrier and I had to find Willow. She pawed at me from under the bed to let me know where she was, but she wouldn't come out on her own, so I had to pull her out and put her into her box.  This way I could leave the hatch open and run in and out with necessary tools, etc.  They patiently stayed in their boxes for about 2 hours... such wonderful pusscats!

and So It Goes...

Cat Blogging Friday: St Thomas Disney Cruiseship

On Wednesday, the Disney cruiseship Magic was in port at Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

The Disney cruise ship leaving St. Thomas, USVI

Our cats, Buffy & Willow, don't like it when the megayachts sound their horns when they pass through the bridge in St. Maarten. Car & truck horns don't phase them, but boats make them go below.

I wondered what their reaction would be to the Disney's annoying "When You Wish Upon A Star" horn... sort of like mine... run below :)

Willow & Buffy hiding

Poor things... Hopefully we'll be gone before Disney comes back to St Thomas.

Friday CAT BLOGGING ... Friday again?

Can't believe it's Friday already/again and that we've been in St. Thomas USVI for 8 days (although my feet know it!)

Here's a picture of Buffy trying on her Halloween costume.

Willow had one, also, but was too excited to hold still for a sister picture.

My brother sent me this photo today of Edgar the Basket Case :)

He loves sleeping in baskets and he barely fits in this one.  Edgar is a Ragdoll.  He sleeps there just about every night now.  Too cute.  One of their other cats, Aquila who is larger than Edgar, likes to sleep in it during the day, but Edgar sleeps there at night.

Cat Blogging Friday: Wacka

Thank you Derek, for scanning and sending us photos from the Black Moon era. We really, really appreciate it... they're priceless!

This is Wacka. We found her through an ad at the American Church in Paris (France). She came from the Paris suburb of Sceaux.

These photos are when Bob & I lived on the River Seine aboard the barge Black Moon in Le Port Marly, downstream and to the west of Paris.  We used to see the actor Jean Reno when we went shopping at the Monoprix in Saint-Germain-En-Laye where we'd catch the train into Paris :)

Here's me and Wacka at the kitchen window watching the ducks.

This is Wacka sitting on the ledge of our bedroom window.

Fond memories... Has it been 25 years?

Shopping in St Martin - Cat Blogging Friday

The US Import supermarket (Sandy Ground near Time Out Boat Yard & the French bridge) seafood display was really pretty today so I took a couple of pictures.

The salmon is on sale for 17€90/kg

 Click photos to enlarge

Gasoline is still 0.85 euros/litre on the French side.

I must do a proper post on prices in St. Maarten / St Martin.  When we were at the Grand Marche the other day, I was really surprised to see that their regular, plain, young Gouda cheese was three times more expensive than it was a couple of years ago. I used to buy a chunk for about 9.50NAF per kilo (guilders) and now it is 29.95NAF/kg.  1.80 guilders = $1.00... it is always the same rate, unlike euros. A 300% increase in 3 years for cheese seems a bit steep to me... but it is what it is... so it goes...

I'll have to go through and price the staples like rice, sugar, eggs, Bounty paper towels, toilet paper, cat litter, etc. Must make a list.

Our friend Kerry, owner of the charter trimaran Promenade, told us that in St. Thomas USVI they paid almost $8/gallon of milk and about $4 for a loaf of white bread.

Buffy & Willow say butterflies are free (doesn't Elton John say something about that, too?) and plentiful.

Willow brought the butterfly inside and Buffy is there providing backup in case it gets away :)

Going to take laundy over to Yvonne's at Bobby's Boatyard (Lagoon) this afternoon.  That's $9/load for wash, dry & fold.

TGIF