Aye Matey, Dem Pirates are Here

The Pirate Billy Bowlegs has arrived and declared a week of frivolity and merriment in our small town. Maybe the mayor can throw him and his Krewe out in a weeks time, but for now.....the town parties!

The single largest party on the Emerald Coast is in it's 53rd year. We do love our parties, and our Pirates!

We decided this year, since we were attending the party with people we work with, and on the boat with lots of nutty drunks out on the water, the girls should stay home. They will likely go to the Torchlight Parade with us, but the party on the water was just not an appropriate place for them to be.

There was much Merriment aboard the Roach Approach! Just look at the Hotties I got to spend the day with!

YUM!


No matter where you looked, people were having a big time:



I had one moment with a twinge of "I want that", "Why can't I have that"? when I saw this:

Oh Baby!

The waters were seriously patrolled by our Sheriff's Dept, Fish and Wildlife the Marine Patrol AND the Coast Guard.




They did a Wonderful job protecting us (and themselves) from the idiots who don't know when enough is enough. It's a great party, but some will always overdo it.

If you want to see a video, go HERE.


Also, this last week, Ashley graduated from Middle School. She is now officially (ugh) a High Schooler,
Boy did I cry. I remembered her first day of school. She was so little and so cute, and now she's grown up.

Talk about stupid, the middle school she went to has it's own theater, but for some reason the powers that be decided their graduation should be in the library. They crammed all of us in there, the kids couldn't even sit down and there was NO A/C!

Our next big party will be at Crab Island for the 4th.
Imagine that with ..................oh about 4000 more boats.

Remember I showed all of you that ugly building at the Destin Harbor? Here are pictures of the Harbor and the East Pass:
(Click to enlarge)




I love love love where I live.

There is a reason they call this the Emerald Coast.

I hope all of you had a lovely weekend.

Billy Bowlegs and The Imminent Loss of our Town

Wikipedia tells us that Billy Bowlegs is this guy:

William Augustus Bowles (1763-1805), also known as Estajoca, was a Maryland-born English adventurer and organizer of Native American attempts to create their own state outside of Euro-American control.

Some sources give his date of birth as 1764.^[1] Bowles was born in Frederick County, Maryland. He joined the British Army as a foot solider at 13 and served with the Maryland Loyalists Battalion as an ensign during the American Revolution. After the Battle of Monmouth he went to Jamaica. He was officer in Royal Navy by age 15, but was cashiered for dereliction of duty for returning too late to his ship. This occurred at Pensacola, Florida.

Here in Fort Walton, Billy Bowlegs is this guy:

The year is 1779. Adventurer, wanderer, scoundrel, pirate extraordinaire, and notorious bad boy, William Augustus Bowles, affectionately known as Billy Bowlegs, bursts on the scene. A charismatic leader of men uses his egotistical ambition and superior strength of will for self gain.

Bowles originally came to Pensacola with British forces to hold Pensacola from the Spanish. When the effort failed, he developed an undying hatred for the Spanish visitors. At this time, three countries were vying with the new Americans for control of the sea lanes and trade with Europe. Pursuing his idea of an American Indian state after the end of the American Revolution, Bowles managed to get himself received by King George III as 'Chief of the Embassy for Creek and Cherokee Nations' and it was with British backing that he returned to the Bahamas to train Creek Braves as pirates to attack Spanish ships.

Motley crews in the area were a force to be reckoned with and pirating became a very lucrative business on the high seas. As Bowles' popularity rose, his opponents became more distrustful and vowed to stop at nothing to get him under their control. Resistance came form all sides: the English became afraid Bowles was an agent for the Spanish, the Spanish offered him a Maj. General commission to “change sides” (and later offered $6000 and 1500 kegs of rum for his capture when he refused) and the Americans considered murder to be rid of his devilish activities.

He was briefly captured by the Spaniards. He managed to escape, commandeering a ship and returning to the Gulf of Mexico. In 1795, along with the Seminoles, he formed a short-lived state in northern Florida known as the "State of Muskogee", with himself as its president, and in 1800 declared war on Spain.

In 1803, not long after having declared himself 'Chief of all Indians’ at a trial council, he was betrayed by disenchanted Indians. They led him into a trap and turned him over to the Spanish authorities. He was imprisoned in Havana where he would neither speak to his captors nor eat their food and subsequently starved to death at the age of 42. This obscure episode in American history has given rise to a festival which is now an integral part of the Fort Walton Beach Community, the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival.

..........the year is 2008. Very soon local residents will batten down the hatches in preparation for the invasion of the infamous yet ever popular, Captain Billy Bowlegs. Captain Billy Bowlegs, along with his Queen, has been spotted at several local schools trying to persuade local youngsters to join his Motley Krewe. Captain Billy and his Krewe plan to invade Fort Walton Beach at the 53rd Annual Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival in June at Fort Walton Landing. Although Captain Billy's record stands at 52 wins and 0 losses, nothing is a sure thing when it comes to the city militia. The Fort Walton Beach Mayor and his brave Militia are not about to give up control of the city without a fight. Reports also say the militia has a secret weapon in store for those spineless thieves."

THIS is a mighty Pirate Bounty Ye Mateys!

This weekend we will be welcoming Billy Bowlegs to our town. He will arrive by ship, fight the Mayor and his minions for control of our town. His Krewe will make merry all week. There is a ball and a parade (all events raise money for different charities) and who can forget his imminent arrival!

I will regale you all with pictures as he arrives (or I will try through the throngs of people).

Pray for our small town as we are invaded!

Iraq from an Iraqi.

For those of you that do not check out my blogroll, you may never have met Sunshine or read her blog.

Mosul, Iraq is the last bastion of violence in Iraq and Sunshine tells it best when she talks about her hometown. I encorage you to visit her blog, for 15, she is very savvy!

Today I read her blog and almost cried with relief. Things are so much better.

From Sunshine's Blog:

"In these nights I sleep comfortably, at least I can’t hear my heart beat ! time I hopefully night bruxism will stop, I still suffer from killing cramp in my jaw, now I spend more time in my room and even change my clothes there !!
There are a lot of things I want to do in the coming days, not now, but within a month or so to make sure the situation will remain good, I want to fix my room, and hide the places that were damaged because of the fights I am excited.
May god bless Iraq, and National guards ,and save everyone"



If the news tells you one thing, question it, remember......they get paid to sell! Read!

We are in a flux right now, we are electing another president. Compare what the candidates tell you is happening in Iraq, with what Iraqi's tell you.


I DARE YOU.

Sea Bugs and Friends!

You wouldn't think these very ugly sea bugs would eat well, but you have no idea.

When cooked, these scrumptious creatures make for a fun evening.



This past Friday, my girlfriends daddy and her husband went crabbing and fishing. Then.......INVITED US TO DINNER!

Those pesky little suckers are a mess to eat.......a lot of work for just a little meat, but OH SO MUCH FUN when everyone is just having a good time (did I mention yummy?)


So, for those of you that have never eaten steamed blue crab, a recipe!

For each dozen crabs use:

2 1/2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning

Cayenne pepper to taste

3 tablespoon salt

water and vinegar

Use a large pot (we use a turkey fryer, outside), such as a canner, with a raised rack in the bottom at least 2 inches above bottom of the pot (a round barbecue grill sitting on bricks or stones works well). Fill pot with equal quantities of vinegar and water to just below the level of the rack. Add craps to pot in layers, sprinkling each layer of live crabs^*** with the mixture of Old Bay Seasoning and salt. Cover and steam until crabs or red, about 20 to 30 minutes. Serve crabs immediately. Because seafood spoils quickly, keep crabs warm in steamer or promptly refrigerate.

Serve steamed crab on a table covered with paper for easy cleanup and with plenty of cold beer. Melted butter seasoned with a little Old Bay Seasoning is often served on the side. Have plenty of paper towels handy.

^***When adding crabs to pot, make sure the crab is alive. Crabs spoil quickly and any dead crabs should be discarded


The rest is easy....make sure you have claw crackers on hand for everyone and MUNCH!

For those of you that heard the myth that crabs scream, it is just steam that builds up under the shell. It isn't really a scream, it's more of a pppphhhhhhhhhhhhhtttttttt.


Serve with corn on the cob (leave the husk on, butter them inside the husk and throw them on the grill), fried zucchini and yellow squash (sliced and battered in corn meal).

Invite your friends and pass out the bibs!

Thoughtful Thursday: Mistakes

Some rocket scientist thought this horrid looking monstrosity would be gorgeous if it was built at the entrance of beautiful Destin Harbor (where no other building is tall).

It isn't.

I guess some mistakes you just cannot fix.....but living in Hurricane Alley, maybe a Higher Power will think it's as ugly as I do.

That's mean....people have homes there. I am sorry.

Memorial Day and Exhalted Voices

Nancy over at Nancy's Nonsense is already posting to me as to my Memorial Day Post. Ok Nancy.....only because you asked so sweetly:

If you want to know how the Redneck Riviera, and home to our finest Air Force fleet, celebrates Memorial Day.......let me show you:

Click to Enlarge

If you can see this picture, it is only a small segment of the two THOUSAND boats that gather on our local sand bar (Crab Island) for the ULTIMATE summer holiday party.

The boats range from this size:


To this size:


And EVERYTHING in between.

Our Ever present F-16's performed the Missing Man Formation in honor of our fallen troops:



If you have never been directly under 4 F16's when they perform this, you are missing something. It truly stirs your soul.

Of course, there is TONS of Fun, Sun and play time.


Mommy's favorite place during the summer is right here:



A good time was had by all, even Harley.




But, since all good things need to be continued........Ashley had her Spring Concert tonight. It is her last concert as a middle schooler. But, as you all know, my Ashley has to have the last word...........or last song if you will.

Her solo this year was Danny Boy, in honor of Memorial Day, and it was truly an experience. The girl's got PIPES ya'll!



It was a happy goodbye to all those friends she has made in the last three years as she moves to High School:


My Daughter From Another Mother isn't complaining:

And, quite frankly........this weekend wore us ALL out!


Oh. I almost forgot to mention: Allen's sister and BIL joined us for a bit, as did our (almost) 5 year old nephew Ethan:



When it comes right down to it, no matter how beautiful the day is, you have to thank God for our glorious sunsets to end the days:



Have I told you all how much I love living where I do?



UPDATE UPDATE

I got an e-mail asking me how Harley goes potty if he is on the boat......by jet ski of course!



He's not afraid of the boat, the water or the ski:

Thoughtful Thursday: Envy

I don't envy, surprisingly.

But......

I sure would love to have this view every day!

Weekend Pictography

For all of you who live where it is still a bit chilly, I am sorry from the bottom of my heart for showing these to you.

This was our fantabulous weekend!
(click on photos to enlarge)

A client of Allen's let us borrow his beautiful boat:



Most Handsome had it all planned out. We were going to spend the night on the boat in Panama City (about 65 miles from home). He called in a favor, got us a great slip and off we went. Of course that made me so..........



And what did the kids think? I'll let you see for yourself.

Ashley had this to say:



Taylor, she felt this way:




And Harley.....he was First Mate!



We saw some beautiful vistas:




We found these:





We put them back after the pictures.

We had neighbors like these:





And a beautiful sunset:





We relaxed the whole weekend, some more than others:



And loved every single minute of it!

I hope your weekends were just exactly what you wanted to do!

Red?????????

I have changed hair color so many times, I don't even remember what my natural hair color is.

So, for the first time EVAH!

I am a RED HEAD!






Go on, be cruel, be kind, but let me know what you think!

Life: New Beginnings and Closure.

Dear Bloggy friends, I am going to share something very personal.

Many years ago, when I wasn't old enough to know better, I fell in love. I fell in love with a deeply flawed man who I thought I could save, simply by loving him enough. It wasn't to be.

Jimmy was a victim of childhood diabetes. He suffered with it all his life.

I married Jimmy when I was 19 and to say it was an idyllic relationship would be the worst of lies. Jimmy suffered. Every day of his life. To compliment his life, or to end it, Jimmy self medicated. Alcohol and drugs were his medication.

But, let me tell you about this man: He was so charming. He had the most beautiful green eyes and black, straight hair. He always knew what he wanted life to be, but he could never quite achieve it. He had a heart of gold and a body that refused to cooperate.

He couldn't will his life to be normal. He couldn't self medicate his life to be normal and his diabetes was resistant to most synthetic insulin. Jimmy had a very hard life.

But, he did have a way.

Jimmy died on October 19th 2004.

I just recently found out.

You see, Jimmy was a horrible abuser. Physically and emotionally. I lived with him for less than three years before I ran.

I ran (and hid) for over 20 years. I never divorced him.

Hence, I am a widow. (I will explain why I have children out of wedlock later......one thing at a time please).

Last Thursday, I got a call, out of the blue.........after 20 years, from my sister in law. She was just 8 years old when we got married. It was the worst, and best, phone call I have ever gotten in my life.

At first I was so scared..........I had hidden for years, had he found me? What about my children........I was panicked.


I demanded to know why she called me, why after all these years, why couldn't I just stay gone from that families life.

I was told that Jimmy had died four years ago, that he died from complications of diabetes. Diane (my SIL) just wanted to reconnect with me. Still incredulous, I questioned (rather aggressively) her to death.

I wasn't happy. It was a part of my life that I fought for years to escape and forget.

One week later, and many phone calls (including speaking to my mother in law) I am ok with it.

I still can't find the tears for Jimmy, but I have Diane, Eric and the twins.

I always have made my own decisions about life, this one was out of my hands. It overwhelmed me, but............something good is coming out of something really bad.


I spoke with my mother in law (after 20 years) and she forgives me for leaving. I spoke with my Sister in Law after 20 years, and she wants me as part of her children's life..........

I have a nephew and a niece..........one of each, one year old.

It is time to put the past behind us.

Jimmy suffered with diabetes every single minute of his entire life, he lost an eye and a foot. I can forgive him anything if it means I get to be an aunt to Evan and Laura, A sister to Diane.

Almost like the Phoenix, out of the ashes of failed lives comes a golden creature.

That is worth celebrating and embracing.

So, all of you that have a sip of wine this week, toast to pasts being put behind and new beginnings!

Introducing Evan and Laura

I would like all of you, my bloggy friends, to meet my newest family members Evan and Laura.

It will take a while to explain how I just came to know my 1 year old Niece and Nephew, but suffice it to say, I am very proud to be their aunt.

I am actually tickled pink!

Aren't they ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL?