Snail mail

This time our mail really did come on the back of snail. In fact, I think the snail - packages in tow - floated across the ocean on a leaf. Today we received 2 packages via "Priority Mail", one postmarked Oct. 3 and the other Nov. 17 (Today is Feb. 7). We think that the pony express was faster than this!

In other interesting news, strawberries were on sale at Amigo (the local grocery store owned by Wal-Mart) for the very low price of $3.97 per pound (US dollars) - cheapest I've seen since we've been here. Regular price: $5.97 per pound. I bought some and we are having strawberry shortcake for an early Valentine's Day treat sometime soon! Red and yellow peppers also came down to a mere $2.97 pound, as compared to the regular $5.97/lb. The cost of food (though these are extra high prices) is one of the down-sides of living on an island; most of our groceries are shipped in. Milk, which is locally processed, must be regulated by the government or something, because it is always $4/gal, and the price has varied by nothing more than $0.25 (even with "sales") since we've been here.

Mariah is taking lots of steps now - 5, 6, or 7 or more together. She does still crawl or cruise along the furniture most of the time, but she is getting more confident in her walking.