Photo: DJ and Nicole with their cruising friends, four boys and three girls. It is hard to tell since there is a lot of hair in this photo.


First off, we would like to welcome a new member of our family, Catharine Conboy. Jeanine and Matt are the proud parents of their fifth child. They of course boast of her beauty. We can't wait to meet her!

Now for an update on Dave's Ear: Dave went to a private doctor here that we heard about from some residents here in the islands. He arrived at the doctor's practice at 7:30 a.m only to be fourth in line. The doctor arrived at 8:30 in Bahamian style. The first thing he asked Dave was weather or not the clinic dr. prescribed drops. He hoped not, since that could cause permanent nerve damage to Dave's already damaged ear drum. Luckily, Dave is unique. All of us already knew that. His ear canal goes upward instead of downward, therefore, the drops never touched his exposed nerves. The doctor said he should recover fully within five weeks. So, since he had so much free time out of the water, he volunteered to redo the public library's roof. He is heading up the project and has several volunteers including DJ and Nicole to help out. They will begin construction at the end of this week. The roof has been leaking for three years and has damaged many books. The children's room has suffered the most damage. Anyone who would like to donate to the Georgetown library, you may send donations to the Georgetown Public Library, Georgetown, Great Exuma, Bahamas. Since construction won't happen for a week, we decided to join our friends and take a vacation and go to Emerald Bay Marina. I know it sounds funny that we are taking a vacation while we are in paradise, but we went to on of those resorts that you all pay thousands of dollars to stay at. Our two nights only cost $75. We had a restaurant, pool, lounge, showers, free laundry, wifi, casino and bar. Dave watched the super bowl while I tried my luck in the casino. Thank goodness for the luck of the Irish, I was able to pay for the three days on the dock! It was a working vacation. When we left yesterday, we said our goodbye's to our new friends on Tembo who have been out for two years cruising the Caribbean and are headed back to their home on Vancover Island, Victoria in Canada. We also said goodbye or see you soon to our friends on Leo Cat who we may see again in a month or so. Parting is such sweet sorrow, we have met so many wonderful people and the kids have made so many friends from all over the world. When saying goodbye, we wish we could put each of them in our pockets and take them home with us. But, most of all, we are thankful that they have walked into our lives, if only for a short time. On a different note, I received wonderful news of a visitor to Georgetown. I don't want to put her on the spot by mentioning her name. But I can't wait! It will be so nice to share all of our many adventures with someone from home! Speaking of adventures..... last night, Dave and I were suddenly awakened by the sound of a freight train. We both sprang from bed and realized that our haunted schreecher had become unraveled at the top and the wind was blowing 25 to 30 knots. So Dave and I are out there in our night attire dropping the darn thing. Never a dull moment. Sigh.........

Happy Birthday: Alex, Donna, and Lisa. Happy belated birthday to Marie. She is a big 4 this year!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL!