November 2014 – Mermaid on a Raft

Iceberg floating

11/23/2014 We have fire ants. In our house. I’ve publicly said it. OMG. I was refilling the hummingbird feeder today and unscrewed the bottom to clean it out at the kitchen sink and there were lots of bugs. Normal. BUT, they weren’t winged bugs, nope, they are red and big and mean as shit looking. They be FIRE ANTS. I naturally freaked and Bill came over to the sink to help me, but the little shits were running all over the counter. I grabbed my stainless steel measuring cup and was beating them with it. Bill yelled at me and said I was acting like there was a lion loose. He said I PUSHED him out of the way, I didn’t touch him, I was too busy beating the little bastards to death. A lion at least you can see, these, not so much. They all met their match with the garbage disposal, or so I thought. I found one crawling on the counter, knocked it to the floor and sprayed it with Deet and squished it in a paper towel. Ants will be the bane of my existence. Aaaah, life in paradise.

I am still car less, maybe because we are dumb gringos, maybe. We have been taking our vehicles to Nelson behind the chicken (Pollo Rey) store in Las Fuertes. My car has a crappy rear end and we want to get the bushings replaced. He quoted us a price and said a week and it would be done. PREVIOUSLY, we have given him a down payment but this time he didn’t ask. We, being dumb gringos assumed it was because he knew we would pay, no problem. Dropped my car off and left. After a week Bill called to see how it was going and he HAD NOT TORN MY CAR APART YET, HE NEEDED A DOWN PAYMENT. WTF? We would have gladly paid him, he never asked and my car has been sitting there 1 week now. We took him the $$ the next morning and he said he would get the parts on the ferry to the mainland the next day. Now, almost a week later, the people on the mainland have not replaced the bushings yet. I want my car, DAMMIT!

We had some crazy weather on Wednesday, the wind was howling, it was raining sideways, we had 3″ of rain between midnight and 7 AM Wednesday morning. It kept right on blowing until Thursday late morning when it cleared and the sun came out. Wednesday afternoon Nancy and Chuck were stopping by. Chuck has yet to see the house and was really anxious to see all the concrete work and the staining Bill did. Bill helped Chuck with a garage door issue and Chuck, artist that he is, painted this for Bill.

Really cool painting, we need to find a frame for it. Chuck and Nancy visited for a few hours and when they left it was starting to pour again and the wind was picking up a LOT! Another stormy night, another cistern filling to overflowing night. We’ll take it.

Bill is working on the storage unit and window seat he is building for the bedroom, I can’t wait until it’s done and I can clean out my closet. There will actually be room in there soon.

Thursday we ran to the store and bought all of our Thanksgiving needs, we got the biggest turkey there and it’s small compared to what we usually have, but it will do. Our neighbors Craig and Cleo are coming and bringing a friend, along with John, the guy we rented from (and they are now renting from) and we invited Stefi also. Thinking about some Planes Trains and Automobiles for dessert, along with coconut carrot pineapple walnut cake.

Ah, Stefi. This is another story and a sad one. Stef and Jurgen live one driveway away from us, they are one of the original couples in the HOOD, they have been on the island a long time. I met them in 2012 when I was living down here and then Bill and I met them again soon after we moved permanently in 2013. They are the neatest couple, so easy going and lots of fun to be around. Their island stories would make a great book. We got to know them much better over the past 13 months and always looked forward to spending time with them. Now they are leaving due to some health issues, and going back to Germany. Seriously sad about this. On Friday night there was a going away party for Jurgen because he was leaving on Sunday. The party started at Cal’s and moved down to the Palapa. We were going to that but we also went over on Friday morning for coffee and to see him before he leaves. Jurgen and I are Facebook buddies, we chat all the time, for long periods of time. He is also the guy I rode with to the Cattleya School, they are the kind of people you feel lucky to have for friends. Stefi is still here and leaving mid December. Yes, there is still Facebook but it’s not near as good as spending time with someone, that beats everything hands down. Stef and Jurgen, you will be greatly missed!

The party at the Palapa was fun, they have Karaoke on Friday nights and there were lots of people there.

Part of the crowd, Craig, Kevin and Jurgen. No clue what Craig is doing. We usually don’t ask,

Bill and Ronnie (HOOD members also) singing.

I believe Craig thought Jurgen was Santa

Maybe I’m supposed to stop taking photos!

Craig, Bill, Ian standing; Patricia (Ian’s mom) Jurgen and Bill K

I was quizzing him, he MAY have been Santa

Just for Jurgen, I re-organized my pantry. He is always giving me crap about it, needs alphabetized, it’s messy, whatever. Jurgen, it’s not alphabetized but it’s organized.

Saturday was a TOWN HALL meeting for Santos Guardiolas, which is the half of the island that we live on. They were dedicating the land they purchased to build a station for the Bomberos, the Fire Department.

It was funny, the ex-pats all sat on one side. We weren’t the smart ones though because the sun was frying those of us sitting on the west. I felt like I was melting and there was no air moving at all.

Craig and Cleo, our partners in crime and our friend Liz.

The Mayor has some good ideas but all during his talk I heard the non spoken words of, your taxes will be going up. No biggie, they are very low as it is. They have to get $$ somewhere. It just amazes me how this country is run, it’s no wonder corruption and political greed is the name of the game. You pay, you play.

Today, Sunday, was gorgeous, I washed all the towels and hung them over the wooden deck railings to dry. {I don’t have enough line space for them and sheets.} First I had to clean all the lizard poop off the railings, that’s usually the high point of my day. Around 1:30 I went down to John’s pool with my raft. The pool looked great, the water was cold but I’ve been in colder, Rock Run in PA and Lake Whatcom and the N. fork of the Nooksack River in WA. The sun hadn’t yet made it up over the trees because this time of year it’s low in the sky. Cleo came down and hung out with me and soon Craig came down too. We sadly waved goodbye to our buddie Jurgen as the United plane flew past on the way to Houston. A little after 2 there was a small speck of sun on the pool so we stuck our feet in and soon after that there was S U N! We got on our rafts and floated. I got out of the pool once to call Bill and ask him to bring me a bottle of ice water from the house. We floated until around 4:30, what a nice lazy way to spend a November Sunday afternoon.

IMG_20141123_152541 — Two of the Sirens, missing Jeanie or JV as she is so affectionately known.

IMG_20141123_125233 — We broke up the icebergs to get in on this 84 degree day. You can see our house in this picture too.

Before I forget, I am a guinea pig, well, I am offering myself as one for my KNEE. The GARM clinic here on the island has an Orthopedic specialist who likes to try new stuff. That’s why he is opening a regenerative medicine clinic here on Roa. He has me on some stuff called Neoplasnet. I put a drop under my tongue 4 times a day. Yep, that’s the truth. It comes in a clear vial with a dropper, if the dropper touches anything, you have to throw out the whole bottle. From a knee doc appointment I went to see Dr. Rafael at the Chamber (hyperbaric chamber for divers with the bends.) I figured he saw enough people with ear problems, being the doc for Anthonys Key Resort, that maybe he could figure out my ear thing. He says there is no glaring issue but it still pops every time I swallow. He did say I can snorkel, but no diving down under water while snorkeling. He put me back on Cephalexin and an inhaler. It’s been almost a week, no change. UGH.

If you haven’t noticed, I changed the name of my blog to Mermaid on a Raft. I thought it was more appropriate, more fitting. I will also be writing for Women Who Live on Rocks, yay, so excited about this new part of blogging. Stay tuned..

I’m off to the shower and then going to bed. It’s tough living in Paradise but someone has to do it.

I do it so well.

Psycho babble

11/16/2014 I had the pleasure of riding with my buddy Jurgen a week ago Friday. He drives the bus for the Cattleya school, which is a school for physically and mentally challenged children. The regular schools on the island can barely educate a child with normal needs let alone one with special needs. Once all the students were picked up he dropped them off at their school in French Cay. I spent the afternoon at the school with their sweet teacher Erica. There were 7 kids and 2 of them were the younger siblings of the special needs students and only were there for something to do. The one little girl was a huge helper with her older sister. These kids are awesome, I fell in love. They are so happy to be there and to have things to do. My only issue is the huge handicap I HAVE. I don’t speak Spanish and I really need to work on that ASAP if I want to be a part of this. I planned to go back this past week but Scarlett (my wretched poor white trash car) is in the shop AGAIN. This time it’s her rear end. Hopefully next week.

I learned another new lesson this week, fresh coconut is not always the best thing to bake with. I mean FRESH, cut from the coconut that fell off the tree and shredded finely. I planned to take some coconut macaroons to Chuck and Nancy’s for a get together on Sunday. Yeah, well, not going to happen. I did not drain or bake the coconut and that was stupid on my part. I should have GOOGLED, “How to bake with fresh coconut” first. I did not. I got the cookies made and in the oven and all the coconut milk cooked out and all over the pans and it turned into a congealed mess. I needed a machete to get the freaking things off the pan. They were not cooked but were a gooey expensive mess (full of almonds) that I threw in the garbage and vowed never to make them again, especially NOT with fresh coconut.

The coconut thing kind of pissed me off so I went to Parrot Tree pool to while away the afternoon. I was the only person there until the silence was broken by a screaming child. I don’t mean crying, I mean full on screaming because her damn flip flop came off while she was sitting by the side of the pool. It didn’t piss me off that she was crying, what did piss me off is that the 2 older girls with her ignored her and just LET HER SCREAM. Annoying. Finally they put her damn shoe on her. I noticed as they were entering one of the condos that they left their trash floating in the pool. First a screaming child, then litterers. I got back in the pool and got their cups and water bottles out and threw them in the trash cans. Man, I hate people who expect others to clean up after them. It seems to be the mentality around this island and it infuriates me. Every day I see people throw shit out of their car, RECO (electric company) trucks, cabbies, tourist vans, you name it, just toss it. Someone else will pick it up for you. PMO, BT. (piss me off, big time!)

After 4 hours at the pool I decided to go home and think of something else to bake. On the way I swung by Walter’s to say hello. He and QuiQay were there, Walter was making stew and QuiQay was cleaning out the fridge. I sat and chatted with them for a bit and Walter invited us to dinner that evening. I came home, showered and made a salad and dressing for the meal at Walter’s. We got there around 6 and were surprised to see 2 other vehicles there. I hoped I had enough salad! Nancy and Chuck were there and Myrt and his wife Edith. We had a great dinner and sat around the table talking for quite awhile. Myrt and Edith were telling us some stories about the crocodiles on the island. Edith was pretty hysterical to listen to and their stories are right out of the “you can’t make this shit up” book. All in all, a very fun evening.

10710274_809367365787806_5133960461299437761_o — Walter took this photo celebrating his official “housewarming” dinner party.

Sunday morning I decided to bake apple nut bread so Bill ran to the store for me to get what I was lacking for the recipe. It turned out yummy so I took a few slices down to John while it was still warm. At 4:00 we rode over to Chuck and Nancy’s with Craig and Cleo and a plate of apple nut bread. Nancy was making her killer Margaritas and Pina Coladas and had a variety of yummy snack items for us. We sat out on their deck overlooking Milton Bight and talked for several hours.

Chuck, one of the hosts, on the left, Craig on the right.

Bill kind of unknowingly photobombed this one.

My favorite chairs from Umbul Umbul, I wish they were mine.

A view of Milton Bight and my friend Annie’s home.

Have I mentioned that I stopped drinking alcoholic beverages? Contrary to popular belief, I never drank that much. I am too much of a control freak and I don’t like not remembering the night before. (Yes, I have experienced those things in a previous life and once at Parrot Tree pool recently.) I usually only have one vodka per night, on a rare occasion I would have 2 and never finish the second. If I’m drinking wine, I drink more. This, I believe, is because it’s easy. Just pour, or in the case of me being lucky and having some Bandit, just sip out of the carton. Anyhow, the night Stef and Jurgen came for dinner was the last I drank and that was 10/30. It doesn’t bother me not to drink and I like that. I have been chugging copious amounts of water though, which is not a bad thing. Despite the fact Walter had wine for me and I love Nancy’s Margaritas, I stuck with water. I don’t plan to never drink again, just not nightly.

Since it is the rainy season it has been kind of cool, like in the upper 70’s. Don’t laugh and make fun of me. If you are used to 88 degree days and then have the temp drop 15 degrees, it’s cold. We went to the store to get stuff to make a crock pot of chicken stew, some French onion soup and I wanted to bake pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing. I actually put on a pair of capris and a cotton sweater. By the time we got out of the grocery store the sun was out and it was hot. So much for chilly soup weather. We made the onion soup and the pot of stew anyhow and I was back in a sleeveless dress in a heartbeat.

My legs were almost covered, a real rarity on the island.

The baking bug has bitten me in the ass recently. When my boys were young I baked all the time. I was skinny then, it didn’t matter. Then I stopped baking because if I bake it, I eat it. Not a good thing. The other day I decided to bake an old favorite, a recipe Cathy Hurvitz gave me years ago, pumpkin bread. I made cupcakes instead and also made a from scratch cream cheese frosting. I’ve since gained 7.5#’s in each butt cheek. But, OMG, they are yummy.

I drug some of my scrapbooking stuff upstairs the other day. I’m not sure why but I ended up making a few things; however I no longer have the overwhelming desire to do it. I think it’s possibly the lack of available supplies here and if I use what I have, I won’t have any more. It is the reason there is still one box of Bandit still in the pantry. If I drink it I won’t have any more. I know, it’s a mental issue thingie. Just another to add to the sordid list that are my brain malfunctions.

We took the boy dogs to the vets for their shots. The Doc was not there yet so we had to wait for quite awhile. Lucky of course, was polite and well mannered. Then there was Highway who is such a blundering idiot that I am embarrassed he is mine. See the little red spot under his eye? He gets these pustule sores every now and then and we have to put him on Cephalexin for 5 days and they go away. This is also something that the vets in the US couldn’t figure out, even after we spent $5000.00. So he gets sores, he gets meds and they go away. Most expensive pot licker dog in the universe, and he’s mine. Yippee shit. Lucky has been chewing his paw and he has a sore there. The vet gave me a scrip for a spray for it. That one is healing but now he has one on his butt. I’m not sure if they are hot spots or what. I’ll keep treating this one too and if it’s not better he goes back to the vet on Wed. We have to go anyhow because Dooce and Emmy need their shots too. Three dogs and a cat is too much for one trip. It took 2 people to hold Lucky on the table for his shots and his heart worm test. I could barely contain Highway who couldn’t understand why Luck was on the table getting attention and he was on the floor. He had already had his shots but he kept trying to get back on the table with Luck. I had to take him outside.

Both of the boys, Highway has fits when he sees another dog and barks and growls and slobbers. Luck is all, so what, it’s a dog..

I took half a dozen cupcakes to the vet too. Kevin, the one assistant wasn’t there so it was just Bethany and Dr. Calderone who got the treats. She said they were “finger licking.” I need to do that more often because I really appreciate the fact that he comes over here weekly to doctor our animals. He’s a great guy! Kevin, his assistant is trying to raise the money to attend veterinary school on the mainland. It will cost him around $6000.00 a year for room and board, he also has a partial scholarship. He is from Roatan and his family does not have the means to send him to school. The Roatan Humane Society is trying to help him as much as possible. His dream is to come back to the island and be a full time vet and it is so needed. Kevin has a heart of gold and will do an excellent job, here’s hoping he can raise the money!

I have been allowing Emmy to get into the routine of jumping out the window in the morning and exploring the porch. That is until the other day when I forgot she was out there. When I went to look in her normal spot, she wasn’t there. Luck and Dooce were on the porch but Highway wasn’t. That meant one thing, Emmy was where he was. Sure enough she was down in the grass laying and he was jumping, like the fool that he is, around her. The look on her face was kill me now. Or better yet, KILL THIS IDIOT. I don’t want her down there because she can get out through the gate and she would take off and in no time at all be Vulture food. Plus, she doesn’t have fleas or ticks or bugs and she sleeps with me, I would kind of like to keep her pest free. Now she is not allowed out and she is pissed. I could put a collar on her and leash her out but the last time I did that (in the early 70’s) friends came to our second floor apartment and asked why my cat was hanging from her neck off the porch. Well, I guess it’s because she jumped. No leash for Emmy.

On Thursday I went to another lunch at Cal’s, the restaurant that is right down the road from us. I thought it was going to be a small affair, half a dozen women, but it wasn’t. There were at least 15 women there, too many to have a conversation with. I had eaten a few pumpkin cupcakes in the morning and by the time I got there, I wasn’t hungry in the least. I wasn’t going to eat anything but decided on a salad so I didn’t sit there with nothing to eat while everyone else was eating. I did get to chat with a few people I don’t get to see often, so that made me happy!

On Friday I banished the dogs from ever setting foot in the house again (this lasted about 36 hours) and I cleaned the huge amounts of dog hair from the shelves, floor, upholstered couch that it sticks to like glue, OMG, it was everywhere. Add to that the filthy screens and windows and this place was a pig sty. I busted my butt cleaning and once again, hurt my back. I hurt it enough that at 4 PM I went to bed with my laptop and stayed there the remainder of the night. I didn’t even get up to eat anything. (Lie, I ate another cupcake) AND, I missed the damn safety meeting about proper safety head wear. I can just imagine my punishment for this infraction. This is the email I received due to my non-appearance.

Following are the minutes from yesterday’s safety meeting.

1. Attendance SUCKED!

2. There were no presentations on Safety helmets. Members are at great risk with no protective head gear.

3. Meeting was adjourned due to dark clouds.

4. Several members drank to much and had to go to Cal’s for dinner.

Next meeting agenda item will include but not be limited to Safety Footwear. Locally made here on Roatan, the discussion will center on whether to endorse this product line with the SCM Stamp of Approval.

These minutes are hereby approved for distribution.

This is the kind of shit you have to put up with to live in a PWT hood.

I bought this skirt when I was in the states. I really liked it but it was too long. I bought it anyhow. I decided to remove the bottom ruffle and then hem it, Viola’, a short skirt. I know, don’t tell me, I’m not 14. I’m too old for short skirts, blah blah blah. I don’t care. I will not lie, I like short skirts and I will wear them until I die. WOW, a rhyme..

I then hemmed the ruffle’s raw edge and made an infinity scarf.

I saw this truck when I was with Jurgen in Coxen Hole. It’s a fruit truck and to advertise their wares they have random bags of fruit tied ALL AROUND THE TRUCK. Only on Roatan.

Yesterday Jeanie and Roger came over for brunch. We decided to eat dinner early because they have a long drive back to their house in Camp Bay. Bill once again made his semi famous pizza on the grill and I made a salad. While at the ladies lunch the other day Jeanie, Annie and I were talking about sewing and I said I had one needle left for my machine and that Susan was going to bring me some when she comes down. Jeanie shows up with needles, chocolate and this cute metal sandals wall hanging.

I have the perfect place for the sandals, the needles will be on my sewing machine and well, the chocolate will be in my mouth.

Jeanie knew I hadn’t been drinking but she informed me I would have a glass of wine with her, and I did. In fact, I had 2 glasses, 1/4 full each so not really even a full glass. We had a super time hanging out with them. I sure am happy we met Jeanie in 2012 while we were planking at Camp Bay. It was destiny.

One last “you can’t make this shit up picture” and I’m going to go fold laundry. I know, the excitement of it all. Going home the other day we followed this truck. It had a huge box that was tied with a rope in the lower 1/20th of the box. Like it would stop it from toppling out of the back of the truck.

Nothing over the top, nothing higher up on the box, just this little old rope and the Incredible Hulk laying his strong hand on the box to steady it. Only on Roatan.

I’ll leave you with this cuteness. Emmy was laying alongside of me on the bed, kneading. She did it for about 10 minutes, but in this clip, if you turn your sound up, you can hear her purring really loud! She still loves me.

Life in the ‘HOOD.

11/6/2014 After a rainy rainy week we finally are getting some sunshine. Normally I could tell you how much rain we got but our weather station reset itself the beginning of November. Who knew? Speaking of November. How the hell did that happen? It was just July wasn’t it? Of course, here on the rock, seasons are insignificant. December, May, August, February, all interchangeable. Well, in certain respects. We do have a rainy season, enter November; however that is not to say we don’t have rainy spells during the year. This is NOT a desert island, it’s a veritable jungle. It’s green for as far as the eye can see and from our house, that’s pretty far. GREEN GREEN and BLUE. I’ll take it. This is my breakfast view.

Our residency cards must be renewed yearly and to do this you have to go to Tegucigalpa. It is a ridiculous pain in the ass so I contacted Cristiana (our lawyer) to see if she could do it for us. She planned to go there on Wed. so on Monday Bill and I drove down to her house and dropped off our cards and the fee. This has to be done yearly for 5 years and after that once every 5 years. It’s so much easier and cheaper to have her do it that it’s insane to even bother to attempt to do it ourselves. We got our new cards yesterday, good for another year.

This house needed cleaned, not downstairs since Bill is using that once again as a workshop (constant UGH) but upstairs was dirty and dusty. With the rains the dogs were inside and 3 good sized shedding dogs make a huge hair mess. Add to that the sawdust that blows upstairs and comes firmly attached to Bill’s clothes and socks and shoes and you have a pig sty. I dusted, swept and mopped. All clean but it doesn’t last long. It is incredibly dusty down here, the screens and window tracks are covered with dust at all times. Oh well, I really try not to let it bother me and I am 50% successful 50% of the time.

On Tuesday Jeanie stopped by. I haven’t seen her since our trip to La Sirena. She and her husband were back at their home in Atlanta for a few months and just returned. Always enjoy her company. Later on that evening Cleo came over to visit us, so nice having them as neighbors, I just wish they were permanently our neighbors and not moving out to the other end of the world. It will be OK though because I like boat rides and we’ll find out soon enough if all 3 dogs do too. Craig is getting a special boat that is dog friendly so we can come out and stay for extended periods of time at the ranch. Thanks Craig, what a guy you are when not wearing garbage bags.

I met a new friend on Facebook and she finally moved to the island. Welcome to the island Jen, so nice to finally meet you! As luck would have it, a malnourished little kitten found her in Coxen Hole. Animals know who to go to, like Highway getting hit by the truck in front of me..She was taking the cat to Dr. Calderone on Wednesday so I said I would meet her at the vet office. The little kitty was adorable but she couldn’t keep it, she can’t have pets where she is temporarily living. She was lucky enough to find a good home for it. I took her to Carniagro and then to the mall to go to Tigo. Tigo was closed just like the banks were, for the rest of the week. Nice way they decide to change holidays and group them all together, on a whim. Nice vacation for the Hondurans. We went in to Roatan Motorsports, what a great store. The first time I was in they didn’t have much stuff, now they do! Lots of fishing and snorkeling gear and rafts!! Many different types of rafts, nice rafts too!! Anybody looking for a raft, check there.

On Wednesday afternoon Don and Janice came by for some wine and a visit. Always a pleasure visiting with these two.

afternoon snacks, cheese, grapes, almonds and starfruit

Thursday Bill and I did some running around, had to get groceries and wine because Stef and Jurgen were coming over for dinner. We have seen Jurgen recently but not Stefi since she had been sick, so it was fabulous to see her once again. After dinner Craig and Cleo came up and joined us for drinks. The pleasures of ‘Hood living.

It was a stormy night off and on so we hung out inside.

Yes, I use a plastic wine glass. Crappy hand grip, nice glasses and concrete do not mix well.

Bill was making pizza, his new specialty. He makes the dough from scratch and cooks it on the grill.

Friday we were planning to go to BJ’s with Craig and Cleo but the weather was so nasty we decided against it. For our dose of Halloween we were going to watch Beetlejuice and Craig and Cleo were going to join us, except only Cleo came. We sat down to watch the movie and were half way through it when we heard Craig at the door. Bill went down to let him in and when Craig walked up the steps I lost it. We have a standing joke that our neighborhood is PWT, Poor White Trash. We have gone back and forth with ordinances, safety meetings, steering committee, rules and regulations for living in a PWT hood. Well, I’ll spare you the photos since I haven’t asked for or gotten permission to post them and I’m not even sure they are acceptable to be posted online; BUT, picture this. A man in his undies and white trash bags with trash stuffed in the bags. BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUME EVER. I’m still snorting over it.

Saturday was a soul drenching day. It POURED and then some all freaking day. You couldn’t see the horizon, let alone the water on the south side!

South side of island looking towards the mainland of Central America. You can’t even see Neverstain Bight.

So misty, foggy, whatever you want to call it, it felt good. The air was cool and crisp and the sound of the rain was soothing. I loved it. This is the eastern view of the north shore.

Raining men, women, children AND cats and dogs.. Our 3 were inside sleeping soundly all day. Since it was such a cool day I baked. FOR THE DOGS. I made doggie cookies. I always double the recipe but this time I doubled the doubled recipe and made a crap load of dog treats. I also made some pill pockets things for Dooce’s daily pills, sure beats dirtying a knife everyday to get peanut butter to cover her pill. I’m lazy, I know.

These are human grade but rather bland and cardboard tasting. The dogs LOVE them though & that’s all that matters!

Using my fancy peanut butter jar lid cookie cutter.

Sunday was a gorgeous day. It was sunny and only semi cloudy. We hung around here, I sat on the patio with the boys and read and actually got some sun. My tan is fading..

IMG_20141102_114001 — I got my bag out again on Sunday. It is my favorite thing ever and I have used it constantly since my BFF Andee sent it to me.

It is made by a company called thirty one. They have lots of cute stuff. I have my Contigo water bottle, my tablet, my phone and my camera along with my sun hat all tucked neatly into the bags and it’s myriad pockets. I love this bag.

Along with the stormy weather came some pretty strong wind. It was so strong it blew the toilet paper off the stand, out of the bathroom and off of the roll on to the floor. Notice the caps for the bolts on the toilet have not been put on yet. I guess the bolts are too long and need cut so the caps will fit. I had to order the caps on Amazon, toilets here don’t always come with them.

We had a hatch of these damn bugs the other night. They were everywhere. In the morning there were wings inside and out. Bill took the shop vac to all the window tracks in the house. I have yet to go through and clean them. I don’t think this is a wise time of year to waste my energy doing that. I mean, I don’t want to be hasty.

IMG_20141105_093628 — Emmy has been sitting on the table looking out the window the past few mornings so I slid the screen back to see what she would do. She jumped out the window onto the patio table

IMG_20141105_093744 — She likes to go out and lay under the steps but she doesn’t like when Highway nips her in the butt. You can see Neverstain Bight in this photo, it’s the tiny body of water to the right of Emmy’s ears.

Bill has been busy making these wooden lounge chairs. He made them many years ago when we lived in Pa and thought they would be nice to have down here, hoping also that he can sell a few of them. He was given a chair pad from a friend, makes a nice comfy place to lay in the sun.

IMG_20141106_123337 — He also hung the last light in the kitchen. I recently brought it home with me. Thanks so much Teri B for getting it for me.

I was out on the deck with Lucky the other day and he was laying under the corner table. I watched this lizard run under my chair, under the bench and jump on Lucky’s paw, his leg, his shoulder and then onto the wood post behind Luck. It all happened so fast I couldn’t get a pic and Luck couldn’t even react.

This guy is not afraid of dogs or he didn’t even realize Luck was alive.

Luck is either under my chair or in the corner in the shade. OR, out in the bright sunshine working on his tan.

IMG_20141105_130313 — They all love yogurt. Lucky licked this container clean. I think he looks so funny with it on his lips and nose.

IMG_20141105_131335 — This is where Highway spends his days. He rests his head in the same opening and watches the driveway and the yard, waiting for something to bark at. Car, bird, lizard, leaf…

Tuesday I went to my first ladies lunch. I’ve been invited for a long time but really didn’t have the desire to go. Jeanie messaged me a day after she was here and asked me to go with her. I didn’t know if it was just a small group or the big ladies lunch and I must have been off kilter at the moment, because I said yes. I was going. Crap. I am not much for lunch or for large groups of people, I much prefer small groups. It was being held at Blue Bahia, where Olivia and I stayed in 2010 and also where we ate Thanksgiving last year with some friends. Tuesday was a nasty day, raining buckets and blowing. Jeanie was coming from the far east end of the island, picking up Nancy and coming here. Then we were leaving from here with Cleo driving. It stopped raining once we headed west, not such a bad day except for the huge pools of water laying all over the roads. We stopped at Lawson Rock and picked up Judy and set off for Blue Bahia. They had a good turn out, lots of people I’ve not met and many that I know. It was a nice time, I got to talk to Connie from Cattleya School and plan to go there with Jurgen. It is a school for mentally and physically handicapped island children. Such a cool thing they do, I want to see if it’s somewhere I would like to volunteer.

Bill got an email that was sent to 2 different email addresses of mine and 3 of his. It was from the realtor we bought this property from in 2007. The last we saw him was 2008 when we were on vaca here. Jim’s Mother passed away while we were here and he ended up going back to Wisconsin to sell her house and never returned. He emailed us because he is on the island until Sat and is hoping to see us. He came back down to sell some property he owned. We’re kind of sticking around here hoping to hear that he is able to make it down to this end of the island. The last time he saw our land it was a grown up, jungly piece of property with a cistern and that’s it. Things have changed.

Since I had walking pneumonia a month ago I’ve had trouble with my ear. The same ear that I perforated the eardrum when I couldn’t equalize on a dive in Akumal. I saw my friend Andrea when I met Jen @ the vet’s and she told me not to go in the ocean until my ear is healed. She said when I think it’s healed she wants to check it (she is a nurse) because if the hole in the eardrum hasn’t closed I ~~can~~ will get an infection. I planned to go snorkeling with Jen and get more water in my ear with the hopes the remaining water would leave with the new water, Andrea said not a good plan. It’s been a month now and it’s still not better, it feels like that ear is underwater every time I swallow. It’s a marvelous sensation. I am ordering special earplugs on Amazon, sending them to my friend Susan who I will be picking up at the airport when she arrives in December. Maybe then I can get my diving refresher course with Kristi and can start diving again! Keeping fingers crossed.. Speaking of diving if you have never seen a frog fish here is a fantastic video of one curiously going after a diver. I DID NOT film this, found it online. Talk about a creature of the deep. I will be looking for these guys once I get back underwater.

I’m headed back outside in the sun for a little while longer. It’s so freaking intense it felt like my boobs were getting crispy through my black dress. Hmm, maybe that’s what the burning smell was..