bvi captains log blog

So, Lisa does remember how to blog...Funny that it took her an hour to get that up though! It better not be a ski board of ANY kind in Richie's hands there!! We pick them up in St Thomas in about ten days or so, and then they have to redo their medical's etc, so we hope to get them all work permitted and legal in a couple weeks tops.
I am an idiot. You would never know I mostly cook for a living from what i have been cooking lately. I think I have burned or ruined most everything!! Quite unusual for me...My mother had mentioned that she made stew and I thought "hmmmm, I have not had homemade stew for about 12 years, I think I will make some" . Of course, like I normally do, I have enough made for the second coming of Christ!
I thought I would do it in my pressure cooker, cut down the time. Bazza and I had scoured riteway for Turnips, and hemmed and hawed whether we actually had turnips or not. Turned out we had beets, which I did NOT want in my stew, so I sent him for parsnips. When he arrived home with them, I turned off the heat to open up the cooker to put them in, and did not let it sit enough, which means this is what happened. There was stew all the way up to the ceiling!!!

Bazza nicely cleaned it up for me once i whined about being an idiot and I merrily went back to cooking my stew and forgot about it. It looks good doesn't it?? Unfortunately I burnt the bottom like crazy and this fish got to eat my large pots of stew instead!

Hey, I know, not that interesting a story to most folks, but it is off season here!
We went to town today for my ultrasound on my abdomen. I think the machine was about the first version of an ultrasound machine that ever came out. Lets just leave it at that. I might need the medical facilities one day! i loved waiting for an hour and a half with a full bladder too....
Bazza went to do the car registration renewal. They have been changing a couple laws in here, that say that everyone who is here on work permit HAS to get a local drivers license. They cannot drive on a temp, and it means they have to take the written test. So there was about 30 people in there for that, and the other 30 were reregistering their plates as they recently stopped a lot of the businesses from having commercial plates if they were not a commercial vehicle, and it had to sit 3 or less. One girl behind the desk...You know where I am going with this scenario don't you? Bazza said the only reason it only took him an hour and a half is that someone in front of him threw up his hands in disgust and left giving Bazza his number...
We made our way back over to Salt Island this afternoon and I jumped in the water. So yes, you get more Salt Island diving pictures.
I love this fire coral head with the yellow and black little fish in it!

A couple healthy patches of coral...



This was just clams or such "bivalves" on an old sand screw in the water...

And my anemones. This one was very exposed for an anemone I thought!



This lobster was huge. He barely fit in this hole!

Another anemone...

A spotted eel...

And just a great coral head with tons of little life and fish all over it!

Came out and took a pic of the sunset with my water spattered underwater camera....

My oldest son Chad, who I mentioned is busy setting up a bar/ restaurant in Edmonton had an article and a picture in the Edmonton Journal yesterday. Congratulations guys! I hope it goes well. Make lots of money for your mother!


EDMONTON — A new 13,000-square-foot complex featuring upscale restaurant and night spot Treasury Vodka Bar and Eatery and clothing store Dress Code is set to open this December at 100th Street and Jasper Avenue.

For several weeks now, the windows of the Gariepy Block have been covered with a mysterious image of red curtains, a gold crown, and the words “Fall ‘09,” generating speculation as to what would come to the historic building.

As it turns out, Austin Tran, owner of Rayacom Inc. Print and Design, and Chad Blake, who has previously worked at local bars The Globe, Bar Wild, and Touch at the River Cree Casino, have been dreaming up a jack-of-all-trades entertainment and retail project for the last year and a half.

A restaurateur and a top city chef are also set to be involved in the venture, Tran says.

“We noticed that Edmonton didn’t really have a nightclub and bar and restaurant combined,” says Tran. “We’re trying to target a more professional demographic with a dress code and stuff.”

The vision is for less glittery T-shirts, more Armani, Tran says, which is where the clothing boutique comes in.

Instead of turning away underdressed patrons, Treasury will point customers to Dress Code, which will stay open late, carry its own custom line of business-casual wear, and offer one-night rentals.

The two-storey space is modelled after XS nightclub at the Encore hotel in Las Vegas, says Tran, who travels to Sin City about once every two months.

While he admits Jasper Avenue isn’t quite the Strip, Tran says Edmonton’s recession-sheltered economy means people have plenty of disposable income to play with.

“We did some research and Alberta seems to be the drinking capital of Canada,” Tran says with a laugh. Few bars downtown, however, cater to mature clientele.

“People that are partying downtown are tired of the other bars. There’s too much of the younger demographic,” he says.

Treasury hopes financial district suits will drop in after work or at lunch for a bite from the restaurant’s western-Asian fusion menu. Prices will be in line with those at the Cactus Club at West Edmonton Mall, and Joey Tomato’s.

When the music comes on at night and clubgoers arrive to hit the dance floor, dining tables will be used for bottle service lounging.

When asked about competition with nearby neighbour Hundred Bar and Kitchen, Blake says the difference will be like “night and day.”

“In essence, they’re just a lounge. People eat there and after, at the end of the night, they probably take off to the Bank or whatever,” Tran says. “We’ll have a dance floor, we’ll have projectors, light show, stage — that’s the big difference with us.”

An oyster bar is also in the works for Phase Two of the project.

Blake has grown up in the hospitality industry, and has worked in his parents’ family restaurant since he was a child. Between Treasury’s four partners, there are some 20 years of hospitality experience, says Tran, the one rookie who got involved with Treasury through his work with Rayacom, which does printing and marketing for many city bars and restaurants.

“We’re very excited,” says Tran. “A lot of people are calling me up asking when it’s going to open. They’re excited to have a place to go where they can hang out.”