Chapter 55, Pommies, crabs, and sunburn

We took the kids to the beach yesterday. We all got sunburned. I am really sun sensitive, and get second degree burns, and it looks like that is what I am going to have on the back of my arms and thighs. It is already starting to blister. sighs. Oh well, am doing better than normal. for the past three years I have had bad burns by the end of May. this is the first bad burn this year.
I had planned on stitching last night, but at the last minute, Anthony decided to by crabs. So I had my first experience steaming live crabs last night. I had gotten a crab steamer a couple of weeks ago, but we had not tried it yet. On the way home from the beach we passed a crab shack, and Anthony bought 3 dozen all you can eats-mediums. The nice man using thick gloves and long tongs put the crabs in two big paper bags for us, and off we went. We got home and the kids went to shower and change and I set about cooking crabs. I put the bags on the floor, and got the water boiling and the steamer set up. Then I dumped the crabs in the steamer (I had no gloves but I was armed with long tongs) so here is the picture. I am in the kitchen wearing my bathing suit, hair in two braids, all hot and sweaty as only a big woman can sweat, with two paper bags of crabs ready to be dumped into the steamer and Three dogs wondering what the heck is in the bags. The first bag dumped in pretty easy, just a few crabs grabbing at the tongs, but the second bag was a different story. I got it dumped in the pot, and two of the crabs climbed out and went scattering across the top of the stove, one went into the trash can (which luckily I had just emptied) and the other hit the floor moving. The two big dogs headed for the living room. they did not know what that nasty thing was and they wanted no part of it. The pommie wanted to protect me, and got between me and the crab, the poor crab was trying to get away from everything, and now he has a barking pommie on him. Well the crab quickly cornered the pommie (I had to rescue him) and was doing his best to get away from the long tongs, while I was doing my best to hold the pommie (who was scared and barking) keep my bare toes out of the crabs reach, and get him with the tongs! It would have been easier if I had not been laughing so hard. I could clearly see myself and was very glad no one else was around to see it. I finally got he crab back in the pot, pulled the other one out of the trashcan and got him in the pot when the first crab got out again. I cornered him against the microwave, tossed him in the pot and slammed the lid on the pot. It took the pommie about 10 minutes before he was willing to get down on the floor and even then he kept looking around for the nasty crab. It took a lot of cuddles and a few treats to make him feel better. LOL