mosquito-o-o-o

Yesterday was too windy for the beach, so we didn’t do much. Today we’re headed around the small town to find information about boats to Gramvousa, the pirate island. Maybe we can book a trip tomorrow. Yesterday they cancelled the trip because of the “bad weather”, meaning that the wind and surf was about par for the California coast but too rough here. The surf was a whopping 3-4 feet, but still that’s too high for swimming and the wind makes the sandy beaches unbearable, so I suppose going to a sandy island doesn’t make much sense if the wind picks up to more than 10 knots.

Last night was the first night we all slept in the upstairs apartment. We have been splitting it, mostly with me downstairs where the kitchen is (with the girls sharing a twin bed) and the guys upstairs. The upstairs apartment will be nice once it’s finished. But for now there are no doors on inside and the kitchen consists of some live wires poking out of the wall. Because there’s no furniture and the floor is tile, the place echoes. Devin said it’s really cool to hear his farts echo. Just like a twelve-year-old, eh?

But the drunks got too noisy the other night, so I said we should all sleep upstairs. I was writing on my laptop while everyone was asleep. Somewhere around 12:30 the electricity went out. I wasn’t sure if it was just our building, so I went out on the porch and saw that a wide block was powerless. The good news is that all of the tavernas lost power, so people immediately starting leaving. Unfortunately, I left my flashlight in the downstairs apartment, right next to my bed. (After hearing Steve’s story of bears in the night, I make sure the light is next to me—except for last night.) So I used the light from my computer screen to navigate two floors down the marble staircase and retrieved my light. We had a full moon, or nearly full, so once outside, I didn’t need the computer to light my way. By the time I got back upstairs and in bed, most of the partiers had left and the town was starting to get quiet.

However, I forgot to spray myself with deet last night, so I tossed and turned as the bugs came to bite me—even through the sheets. I was too lazy to walk back downstairs…or is it bullheadedness?...to get the Off! spray. The problem here is that the mosquitoes are not like the squadron fliers you get in Minnesota, buzzing like Spitfires as they launch attack waves on your body. The one’s here are like noseeums and nohearums, but them’s bitums. Stealth bugs, they are. So now I’m itchy. The kids room had some pellet thing to ward off the bugs, and it apparently worked.

We have laundry to do and errands to run, so I’d better go. Hopefully we’ll make it to the beach this afternoon.


Things kids say and do

Devin’s book of the day from his joke book: “Effective Scratching, by Miss Kyto Byte”

Teagan and Erin keep replaying the scene from Shrek where Donkey is singing:

  SHREK: Why are you following me? 
  DONKEY: Cause I'm all alone. There's no one
          here beside me. My problems have all gone,
          there's no one to deride me. But you
          gotta have friends - 
  SHREK: Stop singing! Why that's no wonder
         why you don't have friends. 
  DONKEY: Wow! Only a true friend would be that truly honest.

They do this, except they don’t know the word is deride, and it being Donkey singing, they replace it with “there’s no one here to ride me!” Ah, you gotta have kids…