Another morning in the islands - no water! Steve has the patience that I don't. He just sat on the porch watching the cruise ships piloted in as he waited for the owner to get up and not get his shower either. The cistern system requires large pumps and the "new and improved" version the owner put in does not seem to work as well as the old one. And service on anything down here is spotty at best. They work on their own hours and then some. We had no water when we got home on Saturday afternoon either. Sophie is wandering around the apartment "talking" to whoever will listen - at the moment, no one. We are both grumpy and tired from the trip, 2 hour time change, and having to get up so early. We slept in the last couple of days.

We did get out to lunch at Jack's in Tutu yesterday. The most people we have ever seen sitting around the bar. Everyone was watching the bobsled racing on TV. The USVI actually has an older woman who qualified for the Olympics in the luge, but she broke her wrist before her race. They call her Granny Luge down here. I love to watch the couples skating. Lots of falls this year - we were watching during dinner when we got back to Chicago to fly home.

I had started reading Kevin Brooks' The Road of the Dead before I left for NC and finished it this weekend. I loved Lucas, liked Candy, and absolutely love The Road of the Dead. Ruben, at 14, is the youngest in his family. His father is a gypsy, often called Travelers, and is in prison for killing a guy during a fight. His older brother Cole has the same quiet "deadliness" that his father has. When something has to be done Cole can turn off his heart and do it. And now is the time Cole must do that as their older sister Rachel has been raped, beaten, and murdered in the in the moors as she is walking back to her friend's house in the rain. The only way the police will release her body is for the murderer to be found and in the small village where Rachel was visiting her friend, no one is talking. That is until Cole and Ruben arrive and start asking questions. Ruben has the sight and was there with Rachel on the moors when she died. He can still hear her talking to him, as he can the Dead Man - the man who killed her. This is not a pretty story, but it is a story of love - the deep and undying love of two brothers for their older sister and the need to put things right so her body can be released and taken home for burial. As with Lucas, Ruben is a character who is not going to let me go for a very long time. Brooks is one stunning author and has given us yet again a true gritty YA novel, filled with characters you love, hate, and sometimes even understand. I can close my eyes and see both Ruben and Cole.

All for now. Need to find a pair of sandals for my feet. I had been in boots the whole time we were up north. Found a comfy Tommy Bahamas polo type dress at Ross in Greenville for $7 - now that is my kind of sale! :-) I made the mistake of wearing jeans and a short sleeved turtleneck to Montessori the last time I was there. I was fine in the morning but by afternoon I was miserably hot. My legs may be chilly now, but I will appreciate this dress later this afternoon.