St. Patricks Day 2012

Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Crazy as ever!

Spring Training 2012

Spring training is in full swing and I survived a trip to the Yankee's Steinbrenner field! There were a few comments of course - one guy told us we had one heck of a friendship to go to a Yankee/Red Sox game together! We did have fun and the Red Sox WON!!!!!

Kiva

My cousins Molly and Chris gave me a Kiva donation for Christmas and I've been looking through hundreds of requests before selecting the one I wanted to make the loan to. I finally found it! It's a woman who is part of a group of women trying to earn a living and support their families in the DRC, formerly my home of Zaire. Knowing exactly what challenges these women face I am so happy to have found them and to be able to made the loan. I had never heard of Kiva so for those of you who are also not familiar, here is a brief explanation:

Kiva a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world.

Here is my recipient and her story:

Odia is a member of the business group Abigaël. A young entrepreneur, she is 44 years old and married with six young children. Her husband is a police officer. She sells food products and other items, and has been practicing this income-generating activity for three years.

She has been granted her 4th loan from Hekima. She will use this new credit to buy fish, one carton of cigarettes, etc. for resale.

She wants to see her children grow up comfortably, and she would also like to buy a plot of land. She wishes to thank Hekima for its efforts to help poor women who don’t have access to traditional banking.

THANK YOU MOLLY AND CHRIS!

Gumbo throw-down

4 entries into the Gumbo throw down this weekend. All were very different. #1 combined some pasta into the Gumbo, #2 was a chicken and andouille sausage Gumbo, #3 was shrimp and crab Gumbo, and #4 was crawfish and okra Gumbo. They were all delicious but #3 was the winner.

Presentation of the trophy!

COPIA visits AMI

Great week on Anna Maria with my friends from Washington! My friends Susana, Meredith, Susan and Terry (who own a consulting company together) came to the island for a "working vacation" and we all had a wonderful visit. Aside from getting some work done, we had some good meals, a fun shopping trip to Sarasota, many beach walks and even a "spa" day by the pool! They went home rested and in great spirits! Come back soon!

24 hours on AMI

The sun setting to the west over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday evening 7 Feb

The moon rising to the east over Anna Maria Island on Tuesday evening 7 Feb

The moon setting to the west over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday morning 8 Feb

The sun rising to the east over Anna Maria Island on Wednesday morning of 8 Feb

The sun setting behind the clouds to the west over the Gulf of Mexico evening of 8 Feb

The glass tree

I've seen these in various catalogues but have never seen one in someone's yard! During a leisurely pontoon boat ride through the canals of Anna Maria, what did I see but glass everywhere!