Nigel

Great pix, Bubba! btw, I talked to Dave yesterday, he sez hi.

*WHEW* what a relief!!! Fer a minute, I thought that the first pic was yer arm! Fine work, indeed, lass. What a talented bunch o' pirates we have in the pub!

Me deepest sympathies fer yer loss, Olaf. I wish yer Gran a safe voyage.

"Be careful, senorita. There are dangerous men about." -The Mask of Zorro

Is "straw coat" a period term, slang, or other term I am unfamiliar with, or are you actually talking about a coat made of straw? You are a crazy lad.

Kendra, that is simply beautiful.

Single? Lady? Pirate? My three favorite qualities. Welcome, lass. An' if ye has rum, yer doubly welcome in my estimation, an' there's a space right here fer ye to sit and share a swig whilst we exchange tall tales, small talk and furtive glances.

Ro- First of all, relax. Flirt, tease a little. See if there's any real chemistry there. Most of all, take your time. "Baby steps..." Enjoy the 'tension' between the two of you. The anticipation can be one of the most exhilarating facets of the initial affair. Don't worry, and don't get yourself anxious. You'll do just fine.

Signing articles? Of clothing? If that be the case, I got dibs on the bra, fer me e'er growing trophy case. Bring on the rum! Welcome aboard, Scupper. Our lil' crewe is growing. *snif* I'm so proud. Just one thing tho- WE NEED MORE WENCHES. The ratio of Pyrates to wenches is unbalanced. I needs counterparts with which to work the room. Them big ol' burly boyfriends ain't so uppity-huffy-puffy once they been 'wenched' real good. Keeps them in happy and their place, and me in the safe zone. "But I have a boyfriend." 'I'm not interested in him. I'm only interested in you, my dear.'

Welcome aboard, Billy Bones! Glad t'have ye as an official member of the crewe! We had a fine time at St Andrews last night. We arrived to find the pub darkened by power outage. In me usual fashion, I was lagging behind the crewe a bit. Must be the Colorado cowboy in me, always wantin' to round up stragglers. I was expectin' to be finding a dark room full of peoples who needed entertaining, as there would be no TV or radio. Funny thing, I opened the door to enter, and the lights came back on! I guess I really can light up a room with me presence! Deadly Aim lived up to her name in the dart game. We always has fun pirating together. We treated the crowd to an Acapulco...er...Francis Ford Copolla...er...Academia...er, um... ...vocal song before we exited for the night. Much fun indeed. Oh yes, and rum. Can't forget the rum. Anyone who goes insulting Billy will have t'walk the plank at the pointy end o' my sabre. And let us not forget, our own Olaf is a Viking too. Ivan, however, can just be Russhin' on by to the west an' skip Florida, that would suit me just fine.

Indeed we shall have a most raucous caucous tonight, Mon Capitan. Heh heh... he said 'blow', 'skirts' and 'head' all in the same sentence. lol

I have made it my personal quest to appear in as many photos, in as many places, as possible. So far, so good. That was a particularly fun day in Key west. We had a great time jamming with the Rusty Cutlasses, Bawdy Be, and the rest of the scurvy pirate gang. Charity, luv, my heart goes out to ya. Hang in there, lass.

Wherever the wind blows me, my dear. Which, with the weather lately, could be quite far away. lol

Aye lass. Send rum. ...Lots o' rum.

Thank ye kindly, Cap'n T. The support o' our fellow pirates helps us through the diffcult times. I may appear to only point out the fascinating, engaging aspects of the hurricanes, but there is adversity as well. I am fortunate that it has been primarily inconvenience for me, whilst others here have not fared so well. The Crewe of the Blackheart has been fortunate to date, all acounted for, and no major damage.

so does that mean we are the entree? Well then, entree vous, my dear.

Florida's Treasured Pirates? Why, I thought ye be talkin' about us, lass! How would one go about acquiring a copy of such an article? Not bein' an AAA member, I haveno idea how they distribute, or where they be sold. Singing group at Pirates in Paradise, ye say? Anybody we know? Charity, why wait to come into money to follow yer heart?

Ahoy, mates! I be born and raised in Colorado, lived there until 1998, when I moved to Seattle. I am currently residing in the weather-blown state of Florida. People look at me strange when they ask me why I moved to Florida. My reply? "To be a pirate." Marona, where will you be going to school, and what are you studying? Broadside, whereabouts do you live? Have I asked you that before? Do you ever get Deja Vu? Have I asked you that before? I used to work the Colo Ren Fest as well. If'n ye go, stop by Pendragon Bodices and say hi to Dave. And post a report. I'd be curious to know things go down there these days.

Now that's the lass I know and adore.

Aye, Frances was an interesting ride. Fortunately for us, no damage. I must admit to enjoying the antics of the crewe. We sat at the windows as the hurricane approached, singing songs and drinking rum. And yes, the Captain was indeed the grumpy Romanian judge - always scoring low. A pirate ship kite? We just had to do it. I ask you: how often does one get the opportunity to fly a kite in a hurricane? (Okay, yeah I know - twice so far this summer and possibly a third - but I am speaking rhetorically. You catch my drift.) A lively gust of wind nearly blew the kite - and your truly - into the lake. Had it succeeded, our resident alligator would surely have enjoyed a tasty, if a bit lean and stringy, meal. The light show was not as spectacular as Charley, but still interesting. What a sight, to see St. Elmo's Fire, the stuff of legend, first hand! "ooOOoo...pretty...." We lost power very early on, but the power company was fairly prompt in restoring power, considering they were probably still putting things back together after Charley. We were only without power for four days or so. Some folks had it much worse. The two drawbacks were: 1. no lights or electricity - I tried drawing by candlelight; I don't see how the masters managed to do such beautiful work by candlelight. This meant that after dusk, there was not much to do. 2. no air conditioning. The heat, even at night, was dreadful. Sleep came with great difficulty, and only after exhaustion from the heat. I will say with certainty that, yet again, it sucks to throw away food. However, all in all, the experience was a gift. And thanks to Hurricane for bringing out the juvenile funster in both of us. It made the difference between 'enduring a disater' and enjoying a rare and unique moment. Thanks also to Diosa for acquiring a hotel room for the last night without power. *whew* Thanks to all for your support, kind thoughts and well wishes. It is a comfort to know that we have compadres around the globe rootin' for us. Billy, we will miss ya at PiP. Next time I get up to Washington, we will have to plan another Pyrates of the (West) Coast wing-ding!

***** indeed! And the Cuban Coffee, made by the darling Anna at her cafe just around the corner, is the best coffee I have EVER tasted! And that is coming from a Seattle-ite. Duval Street is one crazy place, and the center of a lot of activity. And it's stumbling distance to (or more accurately, from)Captain Tony's!!! Woo HOO!!!

I apologize for the delay in my reply. I have been cathing up after Hurricane Frances. Well... funny you should mention it, Silver Steele - 'Tis my very own design and illustration! It was how I occupied the time after Charley, before the electricity was restored. I have it available on several products at my online store: http://www.cafepress.com/mk_creative I also have a small but growing assortment of pirate-related items: http://www.cafepress.com/nigelworks C'mon - you really need an official "Nigelworks" thong! Every lass does! Coming in the next couple days: Hurricane Frances items! I just have to finish the illustration(which I was working on when the power went out), and what with the storm, I was unable to use my computer for several days, so I am playing ketchup. Perhaps there will be some Hurricane Ivan items in the near future. It just depends on how he behaves. I am attempting to recoup my losses, to replace the food that had to be thrown out after both of the last two hurricanes! I also have a store for my illustrations: http://www.cafepress.com/mk_illustration These stores are in their infancy. Any suggestions are welcome. ...and I must say, you have a refreshingly healthy outlook on singledom, and on life in general. A toast to you, lass! Nigel

Great pix, you guys! Yee-haw!!!

E'en though I did enjoy flying the Pyrate Ship kite in Hurricane Frances (I ask you, how often do you get the opportunity to do that?), and the wondrous spectacle which the sailors of old referred to as "St. Elmo's Fire" with both Charley and Frances, I must admit that all this hurricance business is wearing on my resources as well as my patience. No offense, Ivan, but isn't there someone else you'd like to visit?We've had enough 'company' dropping in lately.