May 2015 – Mermaid on a Raft

They weren’t tears of joy

05/30/2015 Three of the babies have left us, moved to their furr-ever homes and I cried. It was hard to say good-bye to these sweet furry babies that I have loved and cared for and spoiled the last 6 weeks. They have been A LOT of work, I have had many sleepless nights, up before it’s light out mornings, I’ve done laundry every day, scrubbed floors and kennels everyday, made formula daily, washed puppy food dishes and toys and bedding and spent untold numbers of hours just sitting and watching them while the dust collects on my furniture, the dirt thickens on my window screens and the sweat runs down my back. Not to mention the kazillion steps up and down to the back yard. WHY AM I NOT SKINNY DAMMIT?? Do I regret them being born? HELL NO!! I love these babies so much.

Two of the new homes for the pups have fallen through. One was to go to a friend but on Thursday her older dog viciously went after a 2 month old puppy, not once but twice and her other dog snarled and snapped. She felt since she is not home much she would be afraid to leave the pup alone with the other 2 dogs. The other people were planning to have the 6 week old pup alone all night in a fenced area outside. We didn’t feel comfortable with this arrangement at all. He is a dog, I’m well aware of that, but he is a baby, not ready to be alone all night outside. Some of you will think I’m crazy and go ahead, I don’t care. I’m type A and just like I was with my kids, I need to know where my dogs are and that they are safe. It is what it is.

The 3 that went to new homes are doing well. One has a 2 year old rottie sibling and they are fast friends, playing all day, pottying together and sleeping together, inside. The other 2 are together and will be spoiled I’m sure. They have a nice crate inside and toys and lots of love. My heart is OK with these 3 being gone, they will be loved and cared for.

That brings us to the 4 at home. One we are keeping for sure and the others we hope to find homes for. They are still young so there is no huge hurry, except for the fact I get more and more attached everyday. We still have my boy Barrio, Tank, Brindle and Max. They are wild and crazy puppies and they are madly in love with Lola. We are trying to wean them from Frito and to do this we have to keep her out front away from them, otherwise her milk will never dry up. Hell, she’s almost dragging on the ground, of course I probably would be too if I crawled on all 4’s. She only comes around if she thinks there is food for her. The other day she snuck in the house, came upstairs looking for cat food and instead found a bag of dog treats in the pantry on the shelf in a ziploc bag. She managed to drag the bag off of the shelf and a jar of salsa came with it, obviously smashing to smithereens once it hit the concrete floor, I do not know if she licked the salsa up, glass and all, or not, Bill cleaned it up while I was downstairs attending to puppy bedlam. She is obsessed and it’s getting obnoxious. She has been wormed and her poops aren’t worm infested, I think it’s her street beggar mentality shining through.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Frito trying to crawl through the gate so she can sneak upstairs and get cat food.

My sweet girl Sable, gone to her new home

The day before the three of them left was traumatic for me, to say the least. The anticipation of saying goodbye was killing me, every time the thought crossed my mind, tears rolled down my cheeks. My friend Kathy came over that day to give the pups their first shots and re-worm them. Doing all 7 pups was easy but she also brought a muzzle so we could trim Lucky’s nails. He does not like it, he HATES it. Hate isn’t even a strong enough word. Now Luck is a big strong boy and a muzzle makes them feel helpless, usually. It turned him into 65#’s of fury. It was all Kathy and I could do to hold him and all we were doing was his front paws, the backs get worn down on the pavement when they go for walks. Luckily Cleo had come up too, we needed her because Frito was going nutty and Lola and Highway were freaking out because they thought we were hurting Luck. Cleo managed to keep the three of them at bay. Add to that 7 puppies running around, holy shit, it was crazy. When we were done Kathy just looked at me like, “well, that was interesting.” It’s my life.

Thursday morning Dennis, my friend Marcia’s husband came over to pick out a pup, we thought at that point his only choices were Tank and Buddha, he chose Buddha. I would have cried no matter which he picked but the tears were mixed with joy because I know he will have a superb home. Marcia messaged me later saying he was buddies already with their dog Shay and they were doing well together. Happy heart. Later that day Rob and Lisa came to get Bandit and Sable. I knew from the third day of the pups lives that Rob and Lisa would be taking these two when they were ready to go so it wasn’t as difficult for me. Lisa and Rob will spoil those 2 pups and they will have a great home. Lisa has already sent me a few photos.

11353858_10153545182444796_1736655949_o (1) — Sable and Bandit chilling in their new home. I love that Sable has a pink collar and Bandit a blue.

Last night the puppies were inside in their kennel and I looked out the window to see what Lola was doing…this is what I saw, right outside from where the puppies were inside. She is very protective..she was sleeping on the table.

The other day Nidia asked me if I would like to meet one of the big shots from TOMS shoes, he was coming to the island to see what it is we are doing. I jumped at the chance. I was going to meet them at the school in Juticalpa but that didn’t ever happen. The plane was late so I met them at the school in Brick Bay. Vivian Chahin and her daughter Stephanie and son Elias and Justin who is the executive director of Giving for TOMS came over from SPS. (Nidia says Justin is the son of the owner and founder of TOMS but I’m not positive that is correct. However, he is a big shot with the company and he was thrilled to see what we were doing.) Vivian’s other daughter Andrea is the one who wrote a letter to TOMS several years ago asking them to do their One for One program in Honduras. Vivian is the Volunteer Executive Director of Hogar de Ninos, a home to more than 80 at-risk children in San Pedro Sula, on the mainland. Hogar gives children the opportunity to go to school, participate in sports and leadership development programs that teach children how to run small businesses and give back to their communities. TOMS Ticket to Give winners joined Hogar in giving new shoes to children in public schools throughout Honduras, helping provide the black shoes required as part of their school uniforms. We met some of the students that have graduated from Hogar de Ninos when they came with Vivian and her 2 daughters for a week to do the TOMS shoe drive with us here on Roatan. Here is an inside peek at some of the people who made this possible on Roatan and throughout mainland Honduras. Click here. These photos below are at the school in Brick Bay, we did TOMS there and also school supplies a few weeks ago.

I came home from there and picked up Cleo and we went looking for a nice used pack n play baby playpen/bassinette /crib type of thing for Miguel. After traipsing all over town we found a really nice one. We tried to barter with the non-English speaking girl but gave up and paid her price.

I opened it up and scrubbed it out really good today, it is on the porch drying and airing out in the sun. We plan to deliver it tomorrow. Miguel is the guy who helped build our house and he became a good friend. (He is working for Craig and Cleo at their place now in Calabash.) They had a baby girl a month ago and they have nothing, no crib, playpen, bouncy chair, swing, nothing…the baby is sleeping between them in their bed. I’m going to keep looking for things and buy them some other stuff as I find it.

When I go back to Maryland to see my folks in July I plan to hit up some Goodwill and Value Village stores and buy them some baby clothes, I know Miguel and Estefany will appreciate it.

I finally bathed all 4 puppies today, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. I spent most of the day soaked, I scrubbed the baby thing, 2 big waste cans and 2 dog beds, might as well throw in a few puppies too. Right now they are all crashed out on the back porch with Lola, I think I may go take a quick nap too..

My nap was short, as usual, the damn dogs were barking because Eddy came up to see what was going on. His 3 brothers were hitch-hiking home from school today, Arbor Day celebration and Bill gave them a ride here so I could measure them for TOMS shoes. They did not get any when we were at their school. It’s weird, they have to hitch a ride to school because it’s so far away, if they don’t get a ride in time, they go home. Sad. These boys are 6, 8 and 9. They hitch hike to school. Alexi was here for the day helping do stuff so they cut up some coconuts from our tree. I wanted to see if the pups liked the fresh coconut milk and oh yes they do!! They drank it all. I then broke some small pieces of coconut meat up and they ate that too. This will be part of their new diet for sure, can’t be anything wrong with them eating this, fresh from the tree.

Needless to say I’ve added a big 32 oz. one to my Amazon cart, a few days before I leave for the states I’ll ship it all to my parents. Shopping is so easy with Amazon, where would I be without it?

A few more puppy photos and I’m out of here. Dinner is salad with grilled chicken and eggs and fried potatoes with basil and rosemary. Don’t get excited, it’s all leftovers..

A drink or two, some Bloodline on Netflix and it’s bedtime for me. The puppers have been sleeping from about 10 to 5 AM..and then it’s gangbusters all day long..

Frito, the OCD dog.

05/23/2015 A person my age can not exist on 5 hours of sleep a night. NO CAN DO. Every freaking morning between 4 and 5 the pups start howling, since they are in the living room and I know they are peeing up a storm we get up and take them outside. It takes us 4 trips to get them all out, downstairs. Then I have to come back upstairs (Bill is playground supervisor), make them breakfast, go back down and feed them, watch them all play and poop (have to clean that up) pee and pass out. Then they all go in the big area downstairs and sleep. I come back upstairs, pick up the peed papers and any bedding that is peed on, scrub the tarp off with vinegar, wipe it dry, put more papers in for the night, and wash the soiled bedding. I also crawl back in bed several times throughout this performance, begging my mind for a few more minutes of sleep. At some point I get up and eat, do the dishes and try to sleep again, many times. Saying goodbye to these little furballs will be so BITTERSWEET, I tear up just thinking about it.

We are spending a fortune feeding them.

Frito is totally obsessed with food and its becoming annoying. she knew there was food inside and actually tried to fit her pear shaped body out through the puppy proofed gate. She will probably end up stuck in there and we’ll have to call for the Jaws of Life to extricate her.

A temporary babysitter. Lola stays in there with the pups until the dogs bark or she thinks it’s time to eat.

We plan to let the pups go to their homes next week, once they have their first shots. I will more than likely be a mess saying good bye to them. Despite the sleepless nights and constant laundry and food prep (you all know I hate to cook) I love these 7 small creatures like I never thought I could. My first and last litter of pups EVER. I only hope and pray that they are as loved and well taken care of in their new homes.

Other than running to the grocery store this past week I haven’t done much at all except try to nap when I can and I must say, the afternoon naps I sneak in are marvelous, just ask Emmy, she’ll tell you, she is always curled up right along side of me. Last night it rained and we had to bring the 4 big dogs in off the porch, we had ELEVEN DOGS IN OUR LIVING ROOM. 11 freaking hairy creatures.. Lucky tried to hide, he prefers to be under the bed when it’s raining. Sneaky boy that he is.

Last Monday Nidia told me she had most of the supplies needed to fill the backpacks and school supply bags but was short some writing books, scissors and rulers. I met her at Super Isleno, a store in Coxen Hole and we got the rest of what we needed using most of the balance of the money my friends Walt and Judy Kaiser so kindly sent to me.

While we were there Nidia was talking about a group that was doing a water system in downtown Coxen Hole. She had invited them to go to Helene with us on Friday. I said that I had met them at the airport last week and was talking to several of them for awhile. She took me to where they were working and I walked over and said hello and they all remembered me, even my name!! We chatted for a few minutes and found out what it is they are doing. I’m sure the people who live in that area will be very appreciative, having a water supply right there is going to be wonderful!

I told them I would see them on Friday, dropped Nidia off at her store with the supplies and came home.

Also want to do a quick shout out to Beth and Aaron Fox for their donation to Because We Care. I haven’t spent their money yet, still have some of Walt’s money left. Once we start spending yours (Beth), I’ll let you know what we bought with it. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I could do this in 2 posts but I don’t have the energy so here goes..

We met at the landing in Oak Ridge for a Because We Care last trip to Saint Helene to deliver the balance of the desks and school supplies and some back packs for the students. The group from Live Again Ministry was with us, as was Carly White from Sandy Bay (she and her husband have Blue Island Divers) and Brian and Sherri Visker.

We loaded 25 desks for Saint Helene and 4 for Pandytown. We had to wait until the boat got gas and it took awhile. Granted it was a big boat, biggest panga I’ve ever been in, but also the gas was dispensed from jugs and buckets, no gas pump there…

Once filled, we set off for Helene with a quick stop at Pandytown to drop off 4 left handed desks. I never really thought about it but the way these desks are made, they really are specific to your hand writing prominence, left or right. They would make it hard for a leftie to use a right handed desk.

Once we left Pandytown we were in open water and bouncing across the waves. I think it was a little rough and wild for a few people but I was loving every minute of it. There were some kite surfers on the south shore, never seen them here before, only out at Camp Bay. The photo sucks because we were going 700MPH on a choppy sea into the wind but you get the idea.

This little girl was a dusty mess and she had no shoes.

After we were done passing out school things several of the mothers made lunch for us, a conch stew. Needless to say, I passed on that as did Carly. When everyone was done eating we decided to hike over the mountain again so the group from the ministry could see the need for a water system over there.

It was a really hot, tiring, sweaty wonderful day, filled with smiling faces and lots of children who were excited about receiving bags with scissors and pencils and erasers in them. Such small things mean so much to so many and the things we take for granted are a big deal to others.

Today we have a young boy named Eddy from the village below us up here weeding. He has been coming here for a long time because Bill gives him wood for his mother to cook with. A while ago we got him some school things. He goes to a bi-lingual school and the soccer team there is in the playoffs. Bill took him to town for a baleada and I got the idea to buy him a soccer ball with some of Walt’s money. I called Bill and told him to go get Eddy a new soccer ball. Eddy could not believe we were buying him a soccer ball, Bill said he thanked him at least 20 times. They went to Molineros and the balls were 30% off, of course, it took them 25 minutes to figure out how to ring it up, but Eddy has a new soccer ball. Thanks again Walt, this young boy is extremely happy!

Many thanks to all who make this possible and most of all to Nidia, for having this vision and the passion to help the needy here on the island we call home.

Life in the nut house

05/15/2015 My life has changed in a way I never dreamed it would. I rescued a dog with a bad leg that had to be amputated and a month ago yesterday she gave me 7 gorgeous babies. I guess they were my gift. For the first two weeks they were pretty easy but that has changed exponentially. Frito is not too into these little milk suckers now that they have teeth and I have been designated the surrogate mom. They are eating a formula made up of evaporated milk, egg yolk, water, yogurt and Karo syrup. I mix powdered baby rice cereal and a dog food gruel of a good puppy chow. The gruel is tiny little puppy chow nuggets softened to mush in water. They go through one whole can of evap. milk mix a day. All I do is make puppy food, seriously. Well, that and clean up puppy pee and torn up newspapers and wash their bedding.

These guys and girl are big healthy puppies and they are active and OMG, they are so loud. The loudness proof follows, and if you think to yourself, “oh that is so cute” imagine it at 1 AM and again at 4 AM. NOT CUTE. Click HERE. We have a huge pen for them on the covered and protected downstairs concrete porch. They love it down there. They also spend a lot of time in the grass chasing each other and climbing on Lola but they are only in the grass if we are there to watch them. I wish I weren’t such an anal dog owner, but I am. I’m afraid to have them downstairs after dark because of the Boa Constrictors. Granted we have never seen one at the house but one is all it takes and I could never live with myself if something like that happened. This may no longer be paradise. When it gets dark we bring them upstairs and they run and pee all over the living room. I may as well just keep my steam vac out here and filled. We have a wooden pen for them up here too but they hate it and howl when we put them in there. Hence, the sleepless nights and I can’t stand to let them howl because #1. They are loud (have I mentioned how loud they are?) #2. They get so upset from crying I’m afraid it will hurt them. No sleep sucks.

Last Friday evening a new friend and her husband came over. We had never met except on Facebook. She and her CHIROPRACTOR husband are considering moving here. YAY for a chiropractor! They came to the island for a week and drove down to our house Friday afternoon. The 4 of us went to Cal’s for dinner and then came back here and hung out for a bit. Michael was kind enough to give me a treatment for my upper arm that has been bothering me for almost a year. He did acupuncture, cracked my neck and taped me again.

Saturday was my airport gig day. I got there at 10:20, first flight was due in at 11 but it came in @ 10:30. EARLY??? It was a busy day however we did get an hour break in between flights so I had some time to chill. All the other times I did the greeter thing I came home and could hardly stand up my feet hurt so bad. This time I wore my Crocs sandals and my feet and body were fine. I could have danced that night! If only. I really enjoy volunteering there, I get to talk to people from all over the world, some making their first visit to the island, some returning year after year. Once we get all the passengers in the immigration building and sorted into the proper lines we then ask them to have their passport ready, get all the papers out of it, and we talk to them about the areas they are staying. We do this because the Immigration officers are from the mainland, they don’t know the island. One of their questions is “where are you staying?” Parrot Tree Plantation or Anthony’s Key mean nothing to them, they don’t know where they are on the island. We get everyone ready in hopes we speed up the process and then we just chat with them and try to keep them from realizing how long they are waiting. Sometimes a LONG LONG time. It’s fun, I like to talk to new people and always hope I display the persona that the visitors wish to see when they get somewhere new, a friendly face. I’m filling in for someone again this coming Saturday.

Sunday the pups had been so active that Bill went and got groceries alone. I stayed home to keep them in the pen. The whole week was filled with puppy care, feeding, cleaning up, playing with, kissing holding and snuggling and that’s pretty much it. When Nidia from Because We Care messaged me to see if I was up for a school drive on Thursday I said, HELLS YEAH! Bill was home working on re-making louvered shutters for Craig and Cleo’s house so he was in charge. Unfortunately I was up until after 11 with the pups and they had me up again at 4:44 AfreakingM. I was zombified the next day.

Sherri was here at 7:30 in the morning and we met Nidia @ 8. The first stop was mid island at Santa Maria, I was there with Because We Care for the Christmas food drive and TOMs shoes deliveries.

After there we went to a school in Brick Bay, we also delivered shoes there. It is right down on the water and there are mangroves and I am sure mosquitoes in the standing water.

When we were done there we went east to Politilly. This is a school that my good friend Janice and her husband Don do so much for, it is in their ‘hood. These kids probably don’t know how lucky they are, the view from the school is absolutely amazing.

When we were finished there we headed down to Crawfish Rock. I was also there during Christmas doing the food and Santa drive. This school is situated on the water too and Sherri and I were getting eaten alive by the sand fleas or mosquitoes, they liked us, I couldn’t wait to get in my car!

After we left Crawfish Rock we traversed the mountain (hill) to the last stop of the day, Hottesparrow. I had been spelling it Hottest Sparrow but I was wrong. The road from Crawfish to there was bad to say the least, thankful for my AWD car.

We got a lot accomplished in a few hours Thursday morning. After we had handed out all the supplies we loaded all of the backpacks and supplies I had in my car into the truck Nidia was in. Next Friday we are headed to Helene with 20 more desks and LOTS of school supplies for the students there.

Sable and Bandit’s future parents came over on Friday to see their babies. It makes me feel so good to know these two will have a good home. Last night we had them all inside and they were really good, we put them in their box as soon as they woke up and had no accidents on the floor. They all slept until 5 AM when Highway barked. Then they were up, we fed them all and took them downstairs. I went back to bed for awhile because I could and I like to sleep.

I had to do my airport thing again today, I really enjoy that except I sweat like a freaking pig. I am going to invent and patent some sort of under boob deodorant, I’ll be rich in a few months, rolling in the dough with dry boobs. I mentioned earlier that we are asking people where they are staying; well today I asked a young girl and she said, “with my dad.” I asked where her dad lived but she didn’t know. I asked who her dad was. She told me and I said, “Oh, XXXXX, the Lionfish Hunter?” She said “yes, do you know him??” I told her no, only on FB and that his birthday is the same as my son’s, Sept. 17th. I also told her where her dad lived. Small island.

IMG_20150516_133159 — See, I’m official!!

We just fed the pups for the umpteenth time today and now they are running all over upstairs. I never wanted puppies, never in my life. I have owned dogs my whole life and aside from my mom breeding her toy poodles, we never had puppies, we always had our dogs fixed. This is new territory to us. We are both busy enough as it is, add in 3 dogs, then #4, who has 3 legs then 7 puppies and this house is sheer bedlam. But at the end of the day I can sleep (when they allow me to) knowing we are giving these pups the best start at life that we can. I kiss each and every one before I feed them and after, they are ALL held several times a day, they are used to people and other dogs. We are trying our best to be responsible puppy parents and can only hope and pray that the new owners of these dogs love them and give them the care that they deserve.

IMG_20150516_161452 — Barrio, chilling, not a care in the world. We love this guy and all 5 of his brothers and his sweet little sister Sable.

It’s been a busy fulfilling week and I’m fried. I’m signing off with a fresh glass of wine in my hand and am headed to the couch, that is until we have to feed the pups again.

P.S. I was messaged this morning by my friend Stephanie about a dog with mange and starving that she saw near our house. I had to leave for the airport early but told her I would go look tomorrow morning. Bill ran to Oak Ridge today and said he saw the dog also. Stephanie set some wheels in motion and some fabulous people will take this dog and rehab her. Bill and I are going to go look for her early in the morning and bring her back here until Marc can come and get her. Hopefully another dog saved by the fabulous people willing to shelter them. Thank you so much Olivia and Marc, you two are amazing!

Adiós Amigos!

Magical Saint Helene

The island of Helene is part of Roatan but is separated by a narrow mangrove channel. The only way to get there is by boat. Once on the island there are no roads or cars, only walking paths. The homes have no running water and up until a year ago there was no source of water on the island. Since then a well has been drilled giving the people a source for fresh water. There is no electricity at all, anywhere. Anything powered is run by a generator. You may wonder, what’s so special about this place; I think it is the people. They are the happiest, most grateful generous people I’ve met in a long time. The woman who requested desks for Helene is Darla and I got to meet her and her daughter on Sunday also. She is from Helene and teaches on the island but lives on Roatan. In other words, she spends weekends on Roa w/ her husband and daughter but during the week she and her daughter live with her family on the North shore of Helene. She walks over the mountain every day to teach. The other ladies we met brought us chairs to sit in, cake, drink, they hugged and kissed us and thanked us many times. It really meant something to them that we were trying to help. It is hard to believe that a government has no interest in the school system, that there is no money allotted for furniture or books or teaching materials. It’s like the teachers are told, here’s the classroom, there are no supplies or desks for the kids to sit on but make it work. Education DOES NOT MATTER IN HONDURAS. It is not a priority.

Sunday morning we were delivering the rest of the desks that were finished to Helene. I left the house @ 8 and met Nidia and Linda and Janisha at Oak Ridge. I finally got to meet my friend Linda. We have been FB friends for awhile so it was nice to meet. Linda is the awesome lady who paid for the desks that we delivered a while ago to the kindergarten near us. This trip down here Linda brought bags of school supplies! We had to wait for Kiveth to come with the boat. Once he arrived around 9:15 AM we loaded the boat, got fuel and headed to Helene. It was a nice day on the water, the seas were pretty calm.

We got to Helene, carried the desks and school supplies that Linda brought with her up to the school. Luckily there were some students to carry most of the desks, it’s a dirt path up a hill to the school.

After I took photos of all the name plates we walked down into the village and hung out. The kids were playing Dominoes and it seemed like quite a serious game! I don’t think you could go anywhere in the US and actually see a Dominoes game going on!

Oh yeah, we’re sitting there talking, Nidia is eating, of course, {she always is} and this boy walks up with a BOA CONSTRICTOR WRAPPED AROUND HIS ARM. I asked what he was going to do with it and he responded, “let it go.” I calmly said, “Please don’t get anywhere near me.”

After sitting there for a little while watching the kids play and the intense domino game, Darla and Nidia decided we would walk to the other side of the island. I honestly envisioned myself crawling up the side of a mountain on my hands and knees, blood running down my legs, scorpions in my hair, the whole drama scene. I was sure I needed a machete!

We set off for the “other side of the island.” They CLAIMED it would only take 15-20 minutes, taking into consideration that everything runs on island time, 3 days to get there. We walked back up the hill to the school, I was out of breath already but I persevered. It was either that or hang with the kid and his BOA. Onward.

Before leaving the village we passed a mango tree, absolutely laden with fruit. Nidia asked for permission (always ask, it is not your tree and since you asked, they will say yes) to pick a mango. Janisha went in the restaurant and got salt and pepper on a piece of foil to dip it in and she and Nidia ate the mango while walking over the ~~Himalayas~~ hill. Next we came upon a cashew tree, it had so much fruit and they smelled so good. Once they get over ripe the smell is not that pleasant. The fruit of the cashew can be eaten but the nut on the end must first be processed before you can eat it. It is quite a time consuming process, hence the cost of cashews.

The above photo is why I live here. I love the colors of the sea, they just make me happy. I’ve always wanted to live on an island and being surrounded by this water all day every day is a dream come true.

After we walked around and looked at the stunningly gorgeous waterfront we decided to head back OVER THE MOUNTAIN. It seemed shorter on the way back, but just as hilly. On the way we saw several pineapple plants, one had fruit.

We hung around in the village awhile longer. When Kiveth came he was talking to some guys who were fishing and they had lobster and lion fish for sale. The lion fish looked pretty good size. But, eww, fish.

It was a long day with wonderful people, I’m so glad I went along. Meeting the people of Helene and seeing how grateful they are for everything you do for them makes this all more than worthwhile. I went home that day, hot and sweaty, my hair was a tangled rats nest and my skin was parched from the sun and the salt air.

What a wonderful way to spend a day, I love this island life!

And they called it puppy love….

05/04/2015 Click here if you want to listen to Paul Anka croon Puppy Love while you read. Thanks Marilyn for the blog title.

We are living in Puppy Central. It’s a special kind of neighborhood, one where you don’t get shit done all day long because all you do is PUPPY STARE. Yes, we sit for hours and watch these little creatures develop before our very eyes. Their eyes opened and they are all a milky blue color, they really can’t see very well yet but that is coming. Cuteness abounds in this household, so does puppy pee and poop. We have lots of both!

My friend KP arrived on Sunday, she had been bumped to first class so she was off the plane immediately and in line. It only took her about 5 minutes in immigration, a record for anyone I’ve picked up at the airport! We haven’t seen each other for at least 20 years but once together, there was no time space. We went to our house, unloaded suitcases, visited puppies then went to Parrot Tree to float in the lagoon and drink some beer.

It was an oppressively hot few days with the “real feel” temp well over 100 degrees. The sweat was abundant on every square inch of the body. We didn’t get out of the water except to get more beers. Bill had dinner ready when we got home and we had drinks on the roof.

The next morning we got up early and waited for Nidia’s call. We were headed to Pandy Town to deliver desks and school supplies. We met the crew at 8 and followed them down into Pandy Town. School wasn’t in session but they had the students from Pandy Town and Calabash Bight waiting for us to arrive. This is the school we went to the first day I helped with the TOM’s shoe delivery. The classrooms are in bad shape, there were desks with sharp pieces of rusted metal sticking up in the air still being used! Desks were very needed here. There were only 6 in a room that has 23 students.

This was the last time I was going to see Addy, Brian and Nancy before they headed back to Canada after being here 3 months working in the schools and the clinic. Actually those 3 worked almost every day of their 3 months here. So happy we became friends, hope to see them again!

Later on Monday, KP and I went to Lady Lee and bought some toys to take to the kinder. We got a set of big Lego blocks, a few puzzles and a small interactive toy set. That evening we made cupcakes for the students in El Higuero, we were going there Tuesday afternoon.

On Tuesday we went to Big French Key for a few hours. There were several cruise ship people there but it wasn’t too crowded. We spent the majority of our time there on rafts in the water. It was just too dam hot to get out.

We got home about 2 PM and Bill and Alexi loaded the desk and the whiteboard up, we grabbed the cupcakes and the juice packs KP bought, the school supplies and toys and TOMs shoes and went down in the valley. The teacher was in the midst of a lesson but was very happy to be interrupted by us. The students were excited to get new shoes. One of the little boys needed a smaller shoe and we didn’t have any but luckily I had a pack of new socks and put a pair on him and the shoes were fine. There was no way we could leave one little boy without new shoes. KP brought little Koala pins from Australia for all of the students, They loved them and were excited when she clipped them onto their shirts. We had Alexi tell the teacher about the donations, (she doesn’t speak any English) who paid for the whiteboard and toys and they showed the teacher which markers to use on the whiteboard and how to flip it over. When we left the kids were digging into the cupcakes and juice. These students are so sweet and it felt really good to give something to this (pregnant) teacher who volunteers her time. Thank you again Walt and Judy Kaiser, I still have lots of $$ left to spend, just finding the biggest needs.

When we got home we rushed around getting showers before Dave and Lynda came for dinner. They were leaving on Thursday and we wanted to get together one more time. I’m so happy we finally got to meet them!

On Tuesday afternoon I got a FB message from a friend. She and her husband have the Free Radical catamaran that I’ve been on a few times. They had 28 backpacks and several bags stuffed full of school supplies and needed to get it out of their boat. I said I would come and get it so Wednesday morning KP and I met them at BJ’s. They were not kidding when the said they had A LOT OF STUFF. OMG!! It’s like an office supply store in the downstairs living room.

That was a hot sweaty job that required wine and lots of fans. It’s so exciting to get all of this stuff for the kids. Thanks so much to all the teachers who took the time to buy and transport this to Roatan and thanks to Ed and Julie for storing it.

Wednesday eve we went to Cal’s for dinner. Fabulous meal as always, never disappointed there!

On Thursday it was raining and gray, not much to do outside so we headed to Camp Bay for lunch. It was drizzling on and off, not pouring by any means. There were 6 people there when we arrived, Joe and his brother were 2 of them. We had a good lunch, talked to the other people and Joe and Pete. We always run in to interesting people at La Sirena.

Friday KP and I were beach bound, gloomy or not. It was Labor Day here on the island which meant that a lot of places were closed and there was a big ~~riot~~ parade in Los Fuertes. We knew before we left that traffic would be ugly and that we would have to take the Bahia road. It was ugly on the Bahia road but we really didn’t have to wait all that long.

KP wanted to do some shopping so we went to West End, hoping that the stores would be open. There weren’t many people in West End, not like there usually are. We wandered around, went in a few stores. I bought some things for the house (downstairs.)

When Cis and Cheryl were here we were looking for a place called Eataly in West End to grab lunch. We walked way down the road, but not far enough. Today KP and I found it and we fell in love. Their pasta is home made, sauce is too and it was a delicious and filling lunch!

After our stomachs were full we went to West Bay beach and parked our butts on chairs at Banarama and drank beer while watching people on the Jet Boards. Looks like fun but extremely hard work to actually stand up. We made a quick grocery stop on the way home. KP had to pack tonight as she was leaving on Saturday.

Saturday I took KP to the airport for her 1 PM flight on United to Houston. I left the airport and went home to get Bill, we were doing free skin cancer checks at Barefoot Key. We got there @ 1, left around 2:30, got groceries and came home. I started making my breakfast for the week, got that all cleaned up, washed all the dishes and decided to sit down and relax. Just as I did I noticed a message from KP, she was STILL at the airport, flight canceled. I put my bra back on and drove as fast as I could to the airport. We left there at 5:30 after realizing it would be easier and faster to call United from the house and get the flight re-booked. Plus, it was going to get dark soon and I have NO HEADLIGHTS still. She got booked on Avianca, leaving Roa @ 11AM on Sunday. Bill was going to have to take her to the airport because I was headed to Helene with Nidia and Because We Care.

The Helene trip will be another post because this is too long and I don’t even have any puppy photos, so here we go. PUPPY CENTRAL! You may want to play Puppy Love again, just saying…