Seriously, I'm not going to skip heading out to my favorite beach as soon as I step foot back on the island! The smells, the air, the breezes are like no other: it feeds the soul. Even with the little no-see-ums going nuts on my arms and legs, it was still splendid to be back.

"Home for the holidays" takes on fresh meaning when you live a thousand miles from home. I traveled back to WV for 2 full weeks, to enjoy the holiday traditions and family I miss most during that time of year. Holy schnikes, it was cold! Then it warmed up to a balmy 55 degrees for a day...then back to 15. Amazing how 24 degrees can feel decent after getting used to it. The 2 weeks were filled with visiting, movies, shopping, sneezing and savoring the down time with family. However, within 2 hours of returning to St. John, I was at the beach to warm up in the sunshine!

To "get away from it all" on the weekends, locals often jump on boats and head off to neighboring islands for the day or weekend. We headed to Jost Van Dyke (B.V.I) this weekend, about 30 minute boat ride away from St. John. Jost is tiny, quiet and even more laid back than STJ. We spent the day in the water, on the beach and at the Soggy Dollar Bar. A holiday weekend, it was pretty busy with boats from Tortola, St. John, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. Jost is great for getting lost in the crystal clear Caribbean beauty and simply forgetting about your life for a day.

I'm in love! A new sport! Learning from only the best--a South African surfer with over 15 years experience--I've started playing around with a windsurf board. Not an easy sport. One must learn about wind and sailing as well as balance and ease on the board. I like it for that reason--it's technically challenging and also exhilerating once you get going! I have a habit of dropping the sail every few seconds. Hence the blisters, from pulling it back up with a rope over and over again. Makes me tough!

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing my first Harvest Service here on St. John. At the local United Methodist Church, a special afternoon service brought a crowd of people. Kids performed, singing and dancing, and a light service took place. I went to see one of my friends dance and perform. One thing that caught my eye was the girls dancing barefoot. They all removed and piled up their shoes outside the church before going in to dance. They were splendid, enthusiastic and graceful.

When you encounter an eagle ray, gently skimming over the ocean floor, your catch your breath--no matter how many times you experience it. They are forever stunning, with their wingspan, impressive and gently flapping, and with their long tails. They are fun to watch, because they dilly-dally along the bottom, chewing and sniffing around in the sand. If you get close, you can see their mouth and eyes, much like a dolphin. I wonder if they give live birth? I've yet to see a baby one.

This barracuda decided to befriend me this week while I was out swimming at sunrise. Or, at least, I'd like to think he was looking for friendly companionship rather than to take a bite of my earrings. He followed by my side for about 45 minutes, joining just after I started. At first it freaks you out, because cudas stay rather close for comfort--and they aren't afraid to hang with you. He stayed within 4-5 feet of me, to my side. He'd even stay when I'd turn around to face him. He'd simply look at me. I wonder what he was thinking?

To the casual eye, this doesn't seem like anything big. But to our company, completing this job was huge. There's a fantastic roundabout area at the end of Ditleff point, a secluded peninsula here on St. John (ditleffpoint.com). The area is lined in stonework and tastefully landscaped. The roundabout even has brick and stonework details, making it similar to a sundial or compass. The last part of our 2 1/2 year job here was to pour concrete and finish the roundabout. Which happened...but happened badly. The pour was awful--bumpy, uneven, rumpled. We had to bust it out with the excavator and re-do it. Which we did--section by section, slowly, taking care down to the last detail. Finally, it's complete and it looks good. Just in time, thankfully, for a couple of the owners to come and view the progress. Whew! As long as no one goes driving over it or picking at it for a week, it'll be good as gold. Now to move onto building villas at Ditleff...

Fall and winter bring the Tradewinds to the Caribbean. The waters are clear and the sealife is active! I tried wind surfing for the first time this past weekend. Yahoo! I found a new sport I want to get into! With instructions from a South African surfer with over 15 years experience, I managed to stay on the board and get the sail up. From there, I kept flipping off backwards before I could get the sail into the wind. It will take a lot of practice. But what a great diversion from the work week!

Brent and Loren have a seemingly serious discussion as Building G progresses to the second level. Our boys are hustling, working on 3 or 4 buildings at a time, finishing a level every 5-7 days on average. We're getting our rhythm now, figuring out our pace and who works best where. I've even been on the jobsite 3-4 days a week lately, helping with building layouts and keeping the tempers from escalating. It doesn't matter how upbeat you are, you get b*tchy in the hot afternoon sun after being on the concrete slabs for 6 hours!

See? It's actually really fun to work for us! Down from Michigan, Brad joined SMI for about two months while waiting for his job to pick up back at home. What a trooper! He jumped in and did whatever was asked of him, from laying block to pouring concrete to driving equipment. Coming from MI weather to working 8 and 10-hour days in the Caribbean sun couldn't have been easy. Maybe that's really why he's heading back home...no, I think he's bittersweet about having to leave. We're sad to see him go, he worked his tail off. He's definitely going home with a good tan.

We now have roofs going up on three buildings. With the project under construction for less than one year, having three buildings under roofs is impressive. With the project at this point, it's exciting to see it developing. The possibility of it actually getting completed is seeming more realistic. One year from now it will be much different, and hopefully still exciting. With Sirenusa and Grande Bay appearing to be lost causes, fingers are crossed that Pond Bay will fare better. They have the man power, they have the expertise, they have the energy. Looks like they have the funding, too, which is the critical factor. Looking at the project now, you see all of SMI's work. Our guys are working very hard, quickly and skillfully. They plug away day after day--come mosquitos, rain and scalding sunshine--and they do a fine job at it.

Starting the mornings swiming over sting rays, starfish, sharks (see below), turtles and coral has a way of setting my whole day on the right track. Like going for a run and seeing the ocean horizon blazing orange and blues with the sunrise, I can get lost in those moments. That simple yet awesome beauty, natural and perfect, can be taken for granted seeing it on a daily basis. But when you take that moment to appreciate it...you can find inspiration and reassurance. Reassurance that beauty is everywhere, if you stop to look and recognize it.
I know for sure when the next car passes me on the road, a driver waves and grins with a friendly smile. That, too, is as beautiful in its own way--especially when it's the same people, every day. And every day, they smile and wave. Every day that beauty is out there, when you stop to appreciate it.

I couldn't be happier that Brent and Felix don't mind me tagging along to check out new job sites. We recently trucked over to St. Thomas to look at work on a new office building. With the economy in a downturn, being unsure of how it will affect us on STJ, jobs on the other island look more inviting. Since half our guys live there anyway, it works out well for them. The building is big, with most of the exterior in a stonework finish. As the months progress I can finally start to see differences in stonework and finishwork. Now all I need to be able to do is correctly identify heavy equipment.

This photo is already St. John history. I snapped it at the beginning of the month as we had started 4 buildings, laying CMU. Now we're at 7 buildings and plugging away at full speed. There's a sailboat washed ashore in this photo as well, from a swell we had that week. It's rainy season now. We're getting loads of it--which is wonderful. The island is so green. Lots of mud! Lots and lots of mud at Pond Bay. You should see the equipment and trucks when they come out after driving around the property all day.

No joke, biggest black tip I've ever seen! I was in a deeper area, maybe 15-18 ft., at Klein Bay. I saw him in the corner of my eye and wandered over. Once I realized what he was, I grabbed my camera fast and snapped--but then noticed his tail started switching. Sooo, thinking that could be like a cat and mean to GO AWAY, I took off. And so, my photo isn't very good. But you can still make out the shape. It's like a Loch Ness monster photo.

Recommended by Eric and Brent, I bought a new Olympus underwater camera that also shoots video. Taking it out into the water first thing seems wrong, like I shouldn't actually put it underwater and start pushing buttons. But, by God, it worked! Trying to stay still while swimming above the fish to snap photos is hard. I've taken umpteen photos of myself underwater, call me self-absorbed. Snapping as many as I can when I'm out there usually gives me one or two good ones when I come back in and look at them. Fun stuff.

May 2008: What's It Worth?

March 2008: Independence

January 2008: Lessons to Learn

August 2007: Genuine Authenticity

June 2007: Finding True Love

March 2007: Letting Go

January 2007: Forget Be Not.

December 2006: Time.

July 2006: Contentment

June 2006: Authenticity

May 2006: Inside Out

April 2006: Getting a Grip

March 2006: In the Now

February 2006: Cultivating High Energy

January 2006: Where Are You Now?

December 2005: Just Do It

November 2005: Your Wish, Your Command

October 2005: Knowledge verses Experience