It's been a busy 48 hrs in this household. As you can see in part by the photographic evidence of the pig roasters having their supper the Moncada Day pig roast was a great success. It was also our Cuban friend's birthday so we made sure to have a cake and some small gifts. The last stragglers left at 10:30 p.m. and you can be sure I didn't want to get up for work today. Even more than usual it was tough after a week off and all that fun.The sleep deprivation actually began on Saturday night when daughter # 3 and boyfriend did not arrive home at midnight as required by her graduated license. Meaning that she had no insurance in place after 12 and if she were stopped would lose her driving priviledges. By 12:45 I was beginning to get a bit concerned as she had left her cell phone home, I had no idea where she was or how to reach her. By 1 a.m. I started out on a search mission which meant I crept along at 80 km - the maximum possible in zero visibility due to fog - looking in the ditches along the way, assuming the car had broken down or run out of gas. By the time I made it to town I was frantic, located the apartment where her friend lives, crept up the dark stairs with a flashlight and desperately hoped that a neighbour wouldn't call 911 on the crazy woman knocking on doors at 1:45 a.m. while I called out the friend's name. She came to the door looking surprised and said "oh they left about 10 minutes ago, didn't you know where she was? we decided to go the 9 p.m. movie" The relief flooded over me, quickly followed by the urge to kick some teenaged butts. I made it home in record time with the gas light coming on 1/2 way back. When I pulled in the driveway on the tail of the car bearing the two truants the adrenalin was pumping. A (loud) altercation followed on the back steps. Memo to self - remember we have summer neighbours near us now as the yelling woke them - I learned later at the pig roast. The conclusion wrapped up with a grounding (I let you guess who that was) and my disappearance into the house too angry to get to sleep right away. If ever there was a night when I required more than 6 hrs of sleep...this was it. Only one more month and then no worries about where that car and it's occupants are because the occupant we are responsible for will be in a residence and the car will not be.
Up at 8 a.m. to assist with pig preparations and get started on the rest of the meal. The rest of the day is a (fun) blur. Thank goodness that daughter # 2 and her boyfriend had stayed to assist they know how to prepare for entertaining as well. Guests started arriving after lunch and pitched in. As my friend said later "it was just like being in the Caribbean with everyone helping out and having a great time". And yes if you're wondering, the weather did cooperate very nicely - the showers stopped in the morning and it cleared but wasn't too hot - so the gnashing of teeth from the life partner was unnecessary. There were about 40 of us and we had roast pork, fried plantains (tostones) congris (rice & beans) yucca (cassava) and fruit for dessert. Our Cuban friend (who is a bartender) made wonderful mojitos and rum punches. The salsa lessons took place on the front steps and you would have thought you were on the south coast of Cuba not NS. A great way to celebrate the National Day of Rebelliousness.
There were some positives over the weekend where the old house was shown by the real estate agent and she recommended that we wait to reduce the price as she says at least we're getting folks looking. There are some listings that haven't even been viewed. The real estate agent was telling me that they would feature the place on cable this month so maybe someone will notice.Our friends down from the city couldn't believe that properties weren't selling here and they decided when they win the lottery this will be their vacation home.
It was a bit of slog getting back into the work routine today not enhanced by the fact that I was the only one out of four in my district work team NOT on vacation. So there was the catch up, covering for others and general usual craziness. Nice to head home and leave it all behind.
