Lizards….Why did it have to be Lizards?!?!

I’m with Indy on this one, after all, lizards are just snakes with feet!

 

You may have heard about my troubles in Italy with lizards.  Pretty literally scared the Devil out of me!  Worked me up enough to make me convert to Catholicism!

 

I thought I was safe.  I thought I had appeased St Francis.  I thought wrong!

 

We recently spent two weeks on the lovely island of St Maarten.  It is a beautiful, peaceful island.  It is part Dutch and part French.  The two sides live together like siblings…lots of joking and teasing, but overall, they get along.

 

There really isn’t too much blog material from a trip to St Maarten.  They days go like this…wake up, eat a croissant, sit on a beach chair, have dinner, go to bed and repeat.  Throw in a couple of jewelry shopping excursions and a dinner or two out, and you pretty much have the idea.

 

So I was lulled into a sense of false security.  It was going to be a relaxing vacation and I was going to go home refreshed.  The sun was hot, the water was refreshing and the beers were cold.

 

But then, the lizards in Assisi got wind of my plans.  Since they are in the same Union as the lizards in St Maarten, or is it the same Religious Order, they contacted each other, just to make sure I was still toeing the line.

 

I noticed an increase in scurrying every time I left our condo.  I thought I heard strains of horror movie music playing.  I ignored the signs.

 

And then one night….I awoke and wandered into the bathroom.  And there he was….Don Guido Lizardo!  He was sitting right there in the bathroom, eyeing me.  I’m pretty sure he was one of those Komodo Dragons.  I had never seen a lizard so big!

 

 

(NOTE:  The Blog Fodder assures me I am exaggerating and his total length was maybe, maybe, 2 inches….but who are you going to believe?)

 

 

After several minutes of screaming on my part, and wrestling on the BF’s part, we got that monster out the door.  We were safe….for now.

 

After a few days, I began to relax again.  We had defeated the Leader of the Lizards.  But apparently, I had not learned my lesson.

 

We were out to lunch, enjoying a nice burger and beer with a lovely view of the blue Caribbean waters, when suddenly the peace was shattered by screaming.  Those screams were coming from me!  The others at the table looked at me like I had lost my mind.  But really, I am not prone to random fits of screaming, no really!

 

A rather large lizard had taken that opportunity to crawl over my foot.  This time even the BF admitted he was a big one.  I noticed my friends slowly moving their seats away from me.  They certainly didn’t want to be associated with someone who has a Lizard Vendetta against her.  And who could blame them!

 

I spent the rest of the time declaring loudly, that I thought lizards were very handsome and quite intelligent and that I would never do anything to upset or harm them.  They seem to be appeased and I was left in peace the rest of the trip.

 

Actual, real live lizards from our trip!

 

But is it every really safe?  Isn’t this when Attack of the Killer Lizards 3 is in the works.

 

Our next vacation….I thought Iceland, in January…just let those lizards find me there!

 

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Just for the Halibut!

I’ve been accused of being a crazy woman…I just love to travel.  I think I just want to run away from home, without really cutting any ties.

 And, yes, I do miss the cat and my dear hubby when I am gone (not necessarily in that order.)

 

 

But, thinking over this past year, I have been to some of the most bustling, cosmopolitan, exciting airports in the country.

 Like…

 

Rochester, NY

Erie, PA

Spokane, WA

 

And now….Boise, ID

 

Honestly, these are airports that usually have a café/gift shop….and sometimes it is even open.

They know who you are when you walk up to the Rental Car Counter, because you are their only client for the day.

They have no direct flights from anywhere.

They may, or may not, have TSA PreCheck…and it may, or may not be open.

 

(Have I mentioned how much I LOVE TSA PreCheck?  I’d marry it, if I were a single woman!)

 

I am now assigned to a client in Boise, which I will have to admit is a beautiful little city.  The area is know as “High Desert” so is relatively dry.  It is surrounded by hills.  There are rivers that run through town, making for a nice green belt.  And all the restaurants feature beef.

 

Lots and lots of beef!

(Have I mentioned that I don’t eat red meat?)

One thing I have figured out since starting a somewhat vegetarian lifestyle is that there is something I can (will?) eat at most places.

Restaurants in Boise can be a little challenging at times.

But while searching for dinner last night, I found a place called “Fresh Off the Hook.”  That sounds promising.  And it was within walking distance to my hotel.

 

I strolled over.  While it was in a strip mall, it was a nice place with real silverware and table service.  I perused the menu and ordered the fish and chips…and made it clear I wanted the cod fish and chips….

I got the Halibut!

Now, I don’t know much, but I can tell the difference between halibut and cod!  Especially in fish in chips. 

 

As one I love (cod)

 

 

and one I do not (halibut)

 

Just look at that ugly mug!

Don’t get me wrong, Halibut is a lovely fish, when cooked properly, but the deep frying of fish and chips is too hot for halibut and makes the fish tough.

So I will continue my venture to find a good, non-beef meal in Idaho.

 
(To give the Idahoans and Boiseans credit, I had a wonderful chicken the other night at a BBQ place)

The Drunken Dromedary Dilemma

So, I continue my pursuit for the Perfect Nativity Set….

I’m fairly convinced it will take a trip to Italy…The Blog Fodder feels I can accomplish my goals local or on the internet.

But I have found a third set (on Sale! 70% off!) this year.  It is a slightly larger size, so now we have small, medium and large!

We are getting ever closer to our goal!  The new set has a removable Jesus!  So I can have an empty Manger during Advent!

The B.F. has a fear of Wise Men marching all over the living room during Advent!

 

But looking around at my three sets, I noticed a decided lack of camels!

What to do, what to do?

I found a site on the internet that sells whole sets, but also parts of sets.  And they had a camel!  And he was on sale!

So I ordered a camel for the middle sized set.  It was from a “famous” Italian nativity set maker.

Hmmmm….

Let’s say, I was less than impressed when the camel arrived.  He was made of plastic, not ceramic…okay, I missed that in the description.

He was too big for the middle set and a little too small for the big set. 

And worse of all, he doesn’t stand up.

 

Here he is, propped against the wall.

I don’t know if he is sea-sick from the UPS ride, or was out partying with the shepherds.  All I know is that I have a drunken dromedary, a sloppy ship of the desert, a clobbered camel….

I was going to send him back, but he is too funny not to keep.