family - Antigua... arrived first week in Cassada Gardens

chronicaling what i experience from entry-to-entry is new to me. I have never been a blogger. but my close friends may know me as someone who occasionally fires off a (political) rant. my first week here, i made the greatest of efforts to send individual emails.
i decided to use a couple excerpts from outgoing emails to people, since each one captures a perspective, unique at a certain time...

the set-up
my residence: in Cassada Gardens; a small village in the hills, just north of St. John's, Antigua's capital. my place (father-in-law's) is an unfurnished, fixer-upper. presently, a cistern is being put in the ground. water is not cheap & can be periodically shut down for hours at a time. the cistern will store captured rain from the home's roof to supply the household water, year 'round.
my neighbourhood: the house has a wonderful view (pics top & bottom). lots of flora. this part of the island is very green (this time of year). i see 3 horses, staked in the nearby empty lots. a famliy of goats comes down from the rugged hills, to mow the lawn. they return to the hills by night. my indoor, adopted anole pet keeps mosquitoes at a minimum. birds chirp all day; frogs all night.
the weather: this is hurricane season (june to november). i have seen some rain. but here, it can be sunny, cloudy & raining all at once. when it rains, it rains hard; briefly. today's temperature was a cool 35•C in the shade; a little hotter than usual. what takes the edge off, is the constant breeze & lack of humidity.
the people: i confess, i'm shy, but always very friendly. so far, i've been treated very well by just abut everyone. the people i've met fall into one of 3 categories.1st: shop keepers & retail clerks, 2nd: all the people i greet on my 7am runs, 3rd: lois' family, which i have discovered is huge.

after a week from the date i landed at the antiguan airport, i think things have gone swimmingly. lester was good enough to pick me up and take me directly to the poiice station to acquire my temp. antiguan driver's license. finally, my driving style has a home. some people in canada think i am bit ummm... aggressive. here, my driving fits right in. my father-on-law's toyota camry navigates quite well over antiguan roads. like most tropical countries i've been & driven in, potholes - i mean serious ones - are everyday life. they are the only reason antiguans drive slowly. and if you think about it, potholes are pretty efficient. in canada we obsess about smooth roads, then put speed bumps (& speed traps) on them. hmmm...

my lifestyle has seen a fairly major overhaul. gone are the late nights & late starts.
i've taken on a very zen & consistent schedule:
6:30 am - rise 'n shine. the sun is my alarm clock.
7:00 am - stretch & hit the road for a morning run, now every other day since they are 6+ kms.
8:00 am - showered & make big breakfast. the noon heat keeps lunches small.
9:00 am - work on computer, for clients + rebuilding company or personal website content.
noon-ish - lite lunch, then out to run various errands from picking up groceries to getting hair cut.
3:30 pm - drop by airport to check email & correspond with clients, friends & family.
5:00 pm - make dinner. chat w/ roomie: felix (friend of father-in-law, downtown shop keeper.)
6:30 pm - get back to computer.
8:30 pm - do a little clean-up then get ready for sleep.

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