Geez!!! I know, I know, I know! I haven't written anything for a dog-gone long time but I just haven't been inspired. I should be because we are in our favourite place and life is good. Perhaps too good. The air is cool, low humidity, lots of places to explore and, most importantly, regularity in my habits.... so to speak. Much better than when we are sailing and I have to suck it up (as she says.) Yes, I must repeat, life is good here.

As the picture shows, we had a visit from one of my favourite caretakers and also my favourite play pal. As you can see, I have him in the palm of my hands. :)

When I was in Canada I stayed at his pad for a week on my own. Dog paradise! Jason let me sleep ON THE COUCH! I got walked and played with and fed (copiously, by normal standards) and taken for drives and groomed. During the day I got to loll around all I wanted and had the place to myself while he toiled away at more mundane activities. I really was glad to see him again and wanted to show him a good time. So, he got to walk me and feed me and throw sticks for me, but NO SLEEPING ON THE COUCH! She was here.

When we don't have guests, we kind of have a routine. I like to laze around until 9 or 10 before deciding what the crew should be up to. Generally, I make a weekly list of activities and chores to be done and hope that the crew follows through. That hasn't been the case however. Then the next week I reenter the same chores and add to the list. The chores keep expanding as the weeks go on and the book is almost full. Few tasks have been completed however. There's still all the stainless to polish, the boat to wax, the barnacles to scrape, etc., etc., etc. If I took a picture of the swim ladder and posted it, maybe embarassment would work. Or else I need a whip! hmmm. Maybe I should treat-train them...

She likes to get away on her own in the morning to do some mysterious activity involving "dumb bells and weights and machines?" Then "GOD" (Guy) and I share some private time at the beach, or the grocery store, or the chandlery, or the boat. Wherever. It is heaven.

Eventually we have to pick her up somewhere and then the day settles into the uninspiring part. This involves them eating. Not me for some reason, although I do my best coaxing and tricks to change that. It doesn't seem to work however. For some reason every islander thinks that I'm FAT! She gets really upset and clarifies that I am wearing my winter coat! "It is pretty cool here after Grenada and she has to bulk up!" She stresses about everything, so somehow I seem to be on something that limits my food intake? I think it's called a diet?

Anyhow, I don't get to eat at lunchtime. Then they have a board game involving letters and rows and columns. She wins and then he goes off in a huff. The afternoon wears on and then we or "God" and I go to shore. Then Happy Hour, supper and to bed. Not all that quickly, but just to keep it brief.

Here is a bit of interesting news. It is supposed to be a surprise for me, but they forget that I am a master of linguistics and understand all that garble they make. It seems we will be going to live on land for a while and visit the Great White North. Apparently they have some kind of residence that travels on land and we will move from place to place, much as we do at sea. A few weeks here, a few there and no hurricanes to worry about. It sounds good, but I will have to do my inspection of it first. I sure hope they have a couch! Funny me, huh?

Arf, arf, arf in real lingo,
Princess

Hello all.

As I promised, "she" has included some pictures or (just one it seems) of my friends here in St. Lucia. At least, I hope they are friends, but I am not so sure! There are 4 strapping lads and one scrappy little terrier or something. The latter is the warning or siren dog. He alerts the other 4 big guys to come pay attention and also, that there will be some fun ahead!

In the picture, they are welcoming me to the island. I'm not so sure about that however. "She" tried to get a photo of their foaming mouths, but as I mentioned, "she" is not so competent and we were in some big hurry.

This is my strategy. I play it cool. I get out of the dinghy and prance up the walkway knowing they will be waiting at the back of the property. Then I pause....., and let them anticipate my arrival. We manage to clear the area and depart but I know my friends will be eagerly waiting for my return.

I keep them waiting. It would be ever so nice if we could pull one over on them and depart while they were asleep at the switch. Such has not been the case.

So, strategy #2: I saunter down the walkway, with minions in tow. I wait while they prepare the dinghy for departure. They are so slow. Once we are all aboard and untethered and the motor starts to HUM, I give my "friends" some very strong departing barks. I know I am on top of things now, so we have some lively repartee which is always so pleasant from a distance!

I have a few other issues to air, but really do need some beauty sleep.

Arf, ARf, ARF!!

Ah, St. Lucia! What can a dog say? Pretty great!

The officials here are always so nice to me. I travel with a passport now and am officially European via the Netherlands. It is so nice to be treated well and fairly, instead of being threatened with death as on some of the other islands we've been too. I will refrain from naming names, because I, being regal, am above that. My faithful minions always come to my rescue when situations arrive and they vow never to return to those "#X##" places.

As you can see, my passport picture is the proverbial "terrible" picture. The photographer didn't give me a moment to compose myself and just snapped it off. One try. You can see I look a little startled. I usually prefer my ears to be upright and a little more symmetrical. But, you should see "Her" picture. I would not like to travel around with that one for sure. "She" says there is nothing to be done and you get only one try: no makeup, no adornments. "Suck it up", she says. "You are just a DOG! And we are getting you a ##x@ passport!"

Enough of that. I am generally a pretty happy and pampered entity. Here in St. Lucia, I get to go to the beach and swim and cool down. I get to see my friends guarding the dinghy dock (see prev. photos..... oops. She says perhaps they are not posted. I will get her to check...) Life is good.

The only thing I can complain about is my food. One night when we were having a little vacation from the boat they cooked up a filet mignon for me because they had forgotten my food! Since then, well what could any dog say? Filet mignon or dry dog food? Gee doggy, it isn't even a choice. "She" tries to disguise the dry kibble with a few grains of dog treats, or a slice of bacon (crumbled very small), or if I am very lucky, a bit (very, very small) of filet mignon. I turn up my nose at just plain kibble and think "she" should start seriously thinking about who is going to win this contest. My name is Princess, after all.

Well enough of that for now. Dinner time is approaching and I do have some coaxing to do....

Princess.

Hi all.

I can't believe we have been here since Dec. 22 or so! The old adage, time flies!

We are preparing for our trip south to Grenada and hope for a good weather window Wednesday. Keeping our fingers crossed for a good passage because we are a little late leaving. It can't be that bad, right?

Yesterday we crashed a memorial service by accident. They were very nice to us and directed us to where we should have been...the Dog Meet and Greet. Did we feel a little dumb....Princess came in third in the Sit and Stay competition. (I think it was fixed.). We missed the Best Trick event and didn't try out for Frisbee fetching. But there were lots of dogs there for Princess to play with and it was a great event!

We lose Internet midnight. One of those weird things happens, if you don't have it, then you really, really want to do things like blogging and downloading, etc. As you can see we haven't been doing too much writing since we arrived here.

Nick and Chris, expect a smallish parcel in the next 2 months. I will mail it tomorrow.

Princess will write more once she has finished her beauty sleep. All those dog s rough-housing!!!

Hello Everyone!!!

Oh my Dog!! It's been a long time since I wrote! All of you must be waiting with panting breathe to hear of my adventures!

We arrived in St. Maarten just before Christmas last year and had absolutely no time for shopping. It was great however, because we had a nice dinner aboard with my best friends, Bill and BB. Lots of leftovers.....

Since the new year, we have just been working on the boat and fixing things. NOT ME, of course. I just lounge around while the crew get their act together. It seems to take them a lot of time though, and I think they need a little prodding. Only this morning, I had to wait an interminable time while they dealt with "head" issues. Personally, I don't have any of those problems as my head has always been just fine, thank you. They have been a little stretched though. There have been no end of things (minor, in my estimation) going south and it seems to cause a lot of running around to Island Waterworld, Budget Marine, Electec, ... Sometimes several times a day! For me those are good days because I get to land a lot and meet new friends. Everyone is glad to meet me, afterall I AM A PRINCESS.

Unfortunately, I was very sick for a while with something called "Tick Fever". I take my medications every month to prevent something like that but somehow got it anyway. Don't worry, I am fine now after the 3 wks. of antibiotics. During that time we had some Cdn. friends for a visit and they did much to relieve my distress. It was so nice to have good friends aboard! I think I'll include some pictures of our happy visit (see Gallery). They were great people to have aboard and I hope they come again soon.

The dinghy is still not my friend. Sat. evening we all went tumbling overboard in the lagoon, kind of fast, like dominoes. Apparently it was my fault that She tripped over me and then I fell in and then She tried to catch me and then fell in and then He tried to catch Her and fell in. Plonk, plonk, plonk. Getting back into the dinghy was a bit of a problem for all of us but fortunately the staff at Simpson Bay Marina are alert and very strong! It took many showers to get rid of the lagoon flotsam and jetsam afterward and still it gives me the quivers.

THEN, 2 days later, She had some more injuries leaving the dinghy. Imagine, at the same place that the dinghy motor ravaged Her leg, She almost got done again! What a KLUTZ!! Honestly. I need to replace her and get someone more agile.

So that's about it in a nut shell. Next week we head to land for a 14 day stint and I am looking forward to long walks, lots of beach time and swimming, and air conditioned comfort. OH MY! Heaven!

We were having a little post carnival fun when this picture was taken and I'm pretty certain you can see who is the cutest and most admired? I am in the front and I am the Princess after all!

People have been wondering what I've been up to since Carnival and my hospital experience! We were only supposed to remain at dock for a month, but I pressed my crew to stay longer and we ended up on land for almost 2 and a half months. It was dog-gone fabulous!

Land, walks, and good Dog!, a swimmimg pool!... We went there every day around sunset to meet with all the other canines and their cruising buddies. It was a very nice way to end the day.

Every morning one of my crew would bring me for a walk in a beautiful field that ended up with a great beach! I didn't even have to get on a dinghy to get there. So I ask you, why would I ever want to leave?

Occasionally, I let the crew have a night off and then I would stealthily slip off the boat to follow them and see what mischief they were up to. They always acted very surprised to see me, but not always happy! Go figure.

But as with all things, it came that we had to leave. It was a sad day for me but I had work for the crew to do. My boat was been hauled out for yearly maintenance and hull painting. It was a busy week for them and I think they were very happy to have the boat put back in the water. For me, it was another fascinating time on land to explore and meet new dogs.

A life of Riley is what I have, you must admit.

Woof, woof for now.