June 2015 – Mermaid on a Raft

Walking the 3 stooges

06/30/2015 A day of leisure has managed to evade us for quite some time. For the last 2 months our lives have been sheer pandemonium with puppies. Sunday June 21st was the first time before pups, without guests from the states and without a puppy sitter that we dared to leave home together.

I got up and visited with the puppies at a decent time this morning, it was Bill’s morning to get up at 5:30 and let them off the porch, I got to sleep until 7:00. I covet sleep, not having gotten much of it in 8 weeks.

After some smooches on the 3 remaining pups and feeding them their breakfast with yogurt, I made myself breakfast. I decided to wash our bedding so I enjoyed my cup of tea on the deck looking out over the north and south shores while the washing machine did it’s thing.

The pups all went down the steps to the yard to potty so I followed, tea cup still in my hand. I was greeted by umpteen numbers of dog poop piles, 4 big dogs plus 3 pups=massive poop. I chugged the rest of my tea and grabbed the shovel. It’s funny but these boys are like a chain reaction, one poops, they all poop, sometimes in two different spots per poop. Let’s spread the poop around. I am obsessed with cleaning up the poop IMMEDIATELY. I decided against training the pups to poop on the shovel after I considered the emotional ramifications for them so I am still following their hunched over backs and puckered poopers just waiting for the next pile to be expelled.

I got the yard all cleaned up, they had played and were passed out so I came back inside to do some chores. I threw the sheets in the dryer and washed the dishes, dried them and put them away, just in time to make another mess. I had to make rum balls for a party we were going to. I realized we were running late after I got the rum balls ready so while I was making the bed, I used a depilatory on my legs. Except I forgot to time it.

I am the queen of multi-tasking. I got the bed all made, jumped in the shower to wash the stuff off my legs and use a quick razor where I missed..

I still had to feed the puppers before we left, dry my hair and brush my teeth. I got the pups fed and by then I was sweating like a chased pig. I managed to use my Sonic Care toothbrush and my hair dryer at the same time. I was semi successful with both. Do you know you can’t stand a Sonic Care toothbrush up and hover your mouth over it? It DOES NOT work. Trust me.

All of a sudden it was noon and we were leaving with our friends to go to a party, boat access only, and they have a boat!! We had our cooler with some beer and wine and rum balls and we were ready to go.

We made it there in just a few minutes from Oak Ridge, tied the boat up and walked over to the party. There are 2 couples who live in 2 pink houses on this spit of land and it is a perfectly pink paradise.

We got to see friends, ate some fabulous food, had some drinks and enjoyed the surroundings. It is absolutely gorgeous over there and I will be headed back soon with my fins and camera for some serious snorkeling..resident eel and octopus here I come.

This was a superb break from all the hectic things that have been going on in our lives and while I would like to say everyday spent on this glorious island is this tranquil and this much fun, it would be a lie. However, amongst all the pain in the butt things, the difficulty of doing somethings, we are still surrounded by beauty and calm in each direction we look. How we chose to appreciate it is up to us.

On Monday the 29th I went with Nidia and many of the ladies who will be preparing the food for the first ever Senior’s Luncheon to celebrate the residents on the East end of Roatan. It will be held in Punta Gorda, on the grounds of Spy Glass Hill, a beautiful but unused, vacant resort. We met today to have a look at the kitchen, assess what will be needed, plan the menu and figure out how much of everything they will need to buy, down to the spices, sugar and salt. One of the major things is determining if the big gas stove still works, nobody knows how long it’s been since it was last used. Cooking for 400 people is a big job for these ladies who are volunteering to help out.

Each of the different communities represented will have a prize for the oldest person in their community. I’m very confident that a room full of senior residents will have some fabulous stories to share and the amount of island history that they have stored in their heads will unfortunately never be recorded in any history books for generations to come. Many of these people don’t get to see their friends who live in other communities because of the travel involved. This will be a significant social event for all of them, and for all of us fortunate enough to be involved.

The people who built this place did it right, it must have been a fabulous retreat for the guests who stayed there. It was purchased by someone else and nothing has been done with it since.

Our main concern is, does this stove even work?

Soooooooooooooooooo, we still have 3 puppies and for the most part they are good dogs. Still a few accidents on the porch but not too bad considering there are 3 of them and I’m not sure that some of the puddles don’t belong to the Princess of Pee herself. Speaking of Lola, she and Frito are having “these puppies are mine” fights and it is getting out of control. I’m afraid the pups will get in the middle of them. I’m so tired of separating dogs, Lucky hates the pups, actually I think he is terrified of them because he won’t even walk past them so we have to keep him away since he previously grabbed them a few times, then Frito and Lola sparring daily; it’s a little much..and frankly, I’m ready to be done with it.

I’ve been trying to walk the pups, what a circus. These photos really need no captions, they pretty much tell their own story.

I finally have some Heliconia growing, or Lobster Claws, only one flower so far but hopefully I’ll have more soon.

That’s it for now folks, off to see Nadia @ Glam Salon and get my roots recolored to the color they should be and not the color they continually grown out as…What is up with that??

The rest of the story…..

06/28/2015 I started this on 6/24 but somehow it’s 4 days later. I have no idea what happened to those 4 days.

Wednesday night was a night from hell. OMG, the thunder and lightning shook this place. It was booming. I got up around 2 and checked on the pups and dogs and they were sleeping and not getting wet. Rain was pouring in all of the windows so we closed them and went back to bed. Around 2:49 there was a vicious rumbling crack and a flash instantaneously. That sucker was close. I fumbled my way to the door and all the dogs wanted in. YAY. That means:

1. blocking off the stairway so Lola can’t go down and eat the kitty roca, it keeps Luck downstairs and still gives Ems room to slink by and go down to potty. Close bedroom door.

2. grabbing the bathroom rug, the cord for the hair dryer and any and all shoes, baskets laying on the floor and relocating them.

3. Laying newspapers down so they may be inclined to pee on them. One did pee but then they instead decided on a night time gig of making confetti from newspapers. They are good.

4. Attempt to go back to sleep. I succeeded, Bill did not. I awoke to newspaper confetti ALL OVER THE FLOOR, some of it had been peed on. I somehow managed to take the pups outside, I do not remember doing this. I then went back to bed. Bill got up a bit later and fed the pups. When I awoke the second time the reality of the flipping mess awaiting me smacked me right in the face. I freaked immediately b/c there was a pee puddle and the inside of it was red. My immediate over the top thought was blood in one of the pups urine. Which pup? Max the one who was ill but is crazy good now. I was sick to my stomach in an instant and went to clean it up when I realized that what I assumed was blood was indeed a piece of freshly made red confetti, made flat by the copius amounts of dog urine on it. BASTARDS. The weather has been crap all day, rain, thunder, dogs in, dogs out, dogs finding gross lizard tails in the house. If you don’t want to be grossed out, scroll fast, it’s ugly.

Yep, another glorious day with dogs inside.

So, I digress. Back to our company. I realized I failed to add any photos from our sun day at Parrot tree.

Thursday we had PLANNED to go to Havana Beach club for an afternoon swim, some drinks, etc. On the way there, we stopped and got SOME MORE MANGOES from our friends!! So lucky, they were delicious!

We drove on down to Havana where we always pay the $2.50 US, [L 50] per person to get in and use a lounge chair (most of which are torn to the extent that they are useless.)

At the entrance we were told the fee to use the beach and facilities was $10.00 US per person, no way Jose, so not worth it. We left and drove 5 minute further to Turquoise Bay and they were delightful. N0 admittance charge, their lounges are new and have cushions, they have excellent drinks and they welcomed our business. I will be a repeat visitor there for sure. They also have kayaks to rent and Subway water sports is located there, should you want to dive or snorkel. Beyond beautiful.

Deserted beach, we can see the little island in front of the beach (not pictured) from our house.

We had sandwiches with us so we ate them and got drinks from the bar.

Monkey LaLa is:

1 oz Baileys 1 oz Kahlua 1/2 oz Vodka 1/2 oz Rum 2 oz cream of coconut splash of milk or cream, blend in a blender filled with ice. Add decorative squirts of chocolate syrup on the top, Viola’

Nice way to spend the afternoon. When we got home we were beat again, picked at a meal and watched a movie.

Friday was a no cruise ship day so we were off to West Bay Beach again for some sun and fun. Instead of going to Banarama we were going to Grand Roatan. On the way we made a stop at South Shore Canopy. It was the first zip-line I did on the island with Olivia in 2010 and it was Jen’s first zip-line ever! If was just as fun, we had 2 young guys, were the only people on the lines, no waiting. Jen won’t forget this one, zipping though the trees upside down, pretty euphoric feeling. They bounced us too which an unusual experience. I much prefer going like hell, with the wind at my face, hoping they can body check me on the platform if I’m coming in too fast. It’s been done. It was a fun zip, enjoyed being the one to accompany Jen on her second “first”. I failed to mention, that when Jen and I snorkeled on Monday it was her first time snorkeling, she was a pro right away. No hesitation, just lets go!

I love this girl, she is ready for anything you want to do. No fear!!

IMG_5993-001 — Before flight, Jen and Kathy

IMG_5992-001 — Yes, I knew we were coming yet still wore a dress (beach cover-up w/ suit under)

it really is fun to fly across the top of the jungle..wish I could do it for hours.

Jen loved zip-lining!! After that we were off to the beach. I won’t mention the stupid tiny cone @ Grand Roatan that was in the middle of the entrance and maybe 6″ high. The security guard found no humor in the fact that I drove over it. Of course I did, you can’t see it. I asked if it was a trick. duh. He didn’t think that was funny either.

So we’re hanging at Grand Roatan for the afternoon, the waiters there are always really polite and chill if you say you’re going to snorkel and then eat,no worries..NO $10.00 FEE TO ENTER EITHER. We all got some H2O to drink then Jen and I went to snorkel a bit. We were going to attempt to go along Black Rock. Yeah, right, I always drift east of it and end up out there. We were pretty far out there snorkeling around for some time and were a good distance from shore so we started swimming back. We experienced quite a few changes in the water temperature, nice and warm at 80+ then it felt like 60 for a minute or two, then warm again. Different currents. I love the ocean.

We got out and had lunch at Grand Roatan (part of the deal to be allowed to use their tables but not the chaise lounges. Said I wasn’t going there again but did..easy entrance to where I want to be on the reef. ) After lunch we went out again and swam through their designated channel out to the reef. MY GAWD it was fabulously beautiful. We had a great snorkel and saw an abundance of fish. This makes me happy because the coral in this particular area has been hit hard from over tourism, it’s sad, ..good there are fish, wish people would STOP FEEDING THEM. They’re NOT YOUR PETS. DAMMIT! STOP WITH THE FOOD. Anyhow, here are some shots.

It was a great day snorkeling, I know Jen really enjoyed herself and even mentioned she may want to get certified to dive. We meandered on home and Bill had dinner almost ready. By the time we had all showered the meal was waiting to be eaten.

Kathy and Jen had some packing to do and we just kind of hung out with the pups for the evening. There is no more putting them in their super huge crate in the living room, they crawl right out.

Saturday morning before we left for the airport I noticed Kathy’s Vera Bradley beach tote laying on the counter, didn’t think too much about it, they were packing and all.

My beach bag looks like this:

We ran a few errands in Coxen Hole on Saturday morning before we took them to the airport. When we got there we found out their flight was late arriving, in fact, it left Atlanta very late. We got them checked in and hung around talking to people that we knew. While there Kevin called to see if we were home, they wanted to come get Tank. Bill told him we would call when we got home. Finally, at the time their flight was scheduled to depart it landed. This meant an hour turn around at least. At that point, we decided to say our good byes and headed home. We called Kevin and Claire and they came right over. I was crying before they got here and cried when they were leaving.

I know Tank has a good home with them but he was such a special boy, we loved him so. After spending pretty much every minute with a pup for 9 weeks, it creates an unbelievable bond. These pups were {and still are} a lot of work but I wouldn’t trade them for anything..

Kathy and Jen brought us down some stuff we had ordered on Amazon, YAY, the truck windows all work again!!! Now if I could get headlights for my car I would be very happy! Kathy bought me a gorgeous Mermaid lamp, in fact, the story is, they had one in the store where she works and when she saw it she thought of me and my love for mermaids, but someone bought it. Quite some time later another employee found another one they didn’t even know they had. Kathy felt it was an omen for her to come visit.

It’s really gorgeous. I am keeping it safe until Bill builds the entertainment center and it will have it’s own special protected spot to be. Love love love this..I’m thinking about asking Trace to paint it, I think it would be magical…What do you guys think??

Bill’s Mother used to make me these dishcloths and extra thick pot holders. They are my favorites, there are no better. Several friends have made or bought me the handmade dishcloths and I cherish them, as I do these!

So this post, yeah, I’m done, burned out on it. It’s been a rainy shitty weekend and I don’t remember much of the past week except Sunday, which I will post about later.

Trace said it was going to be 100 in Washington this weekend, he went climbing, alone… It was cool out, actually comfortable and thundering and lightning here. I’ll take 100. And a beach.

Movies I have recently watched, some older, some new.

Cake, Wild, The Theory of Everything, Big Eyes, Birdman, The Age of Adaline, Still Alice, The Hundred Foot Journey, Gone Girl

Recent TV (Netflix) binge: BLOODLINE

It’s been awhile

06/22/2015 Our much anticipated guests have come and gone, we wish they had stayed longer than a week. We had semi decent weather while they were here so that was a bonus. Their flight was delayed arriving, then all 3 flights landed {American, Delta and United} within minutes of each other which turns the small immigration room into a virtual circus. Luckily Kathy was old enough to get in the resident line and she took Jen with her; then my friends at the airport grabbed them and put them in the front of the line. Perks…

We, unfortunately had to take a puppy with us to the airport. Max was sick all day Friday with a variety of symptoms. I managed to get in touch with some vets who came from Tegus for a weekend to set up shop here. We had an 11:30 appointment. Max was sick beyond sick on Friday all day and into the night but we gave him a little Pepto Bismol and in about 45 minutes he rallied. We still planned to go to the vet to get to the bottom of this. They were busy and behind schedule and with the plane being late and 3 planes arriving at once we made it to the airport in time to see them get taken to the front of the line. Our friends Kevin and Claire were there. Claire has wanted to see the pups for weeks but Kevin kept saying no more dogs. He saw me with Max, grabbed him and went down to where Claire was standing. When he came back he asked if Max was the biggest, we said no Tank is at home. He said we’ll probably take him. Happy, but so sad.

We came back here and got Jen and Kathy situated then went up on the roof for awhile. After dinner it was early to bed for everyone.

Sunday morning looked ugly, it rained, then cleared then rained some more. We had planned to have Alexi dog sit while we were entertaining our company so Bill went to get him. I’m not sure what good it is even having him here because all he does is surf the web on the Kindle I gave him. This too confuses me because he barely can read or write..

We left for Camp Bay around noon, final destination La Sirena. Right before we left we got a call from a friend who wanted to give us some mangoes. We stopped by on the way and got a BOX of yummy fragrant delicious fresh picked mangoes.

After that we made a detour through Punta Gorda and then to Oak Ridge where we pointed out the highlights on the way. We then headed to Heaven. Well, that’s what the sign says and I think we’ve been there many times.

Jen and Kathy could not believe the condition of “the road” to get to Camp Bay. I guess I’m just used to deplorable roads. We had a great time at La Sirena, had some lunch and the waiter thought I ordered a Port Royal AND a rum punch so I didn’t want to hurt his feelings and drank both.

Jimmy was there so we talked to him for quite awhile, always interesting conversation. By the time we got home everyone was tired and not hungry for a big dinner. We picked at food, ate some mangoes and went to bed.

Monday was a semi sunny day and I thought we should head west, all the way west, to West Bay beach. We took the scenic route through Coxen Hole and made it to West Bay in under 40 minutes, not bad. We settled ourselves at Banarama and went in the water to float on the rafts. It felt so good and has been too long. DAMMIT, I live here…

Jen and I walked down past Infinity Bay to snorkel. She said she was cool with deep water so we went for a swim and saw some pretty cool stuff.

After lunch we floated for a bit more, then headed home. Bill was making pizza tonight so I had to get veggies cut up. That night we gorged ourselves on grilled pizzas. It was (and has been) so windy it blew the pepperoni right off the pizza into the waiting mouths of 8 dogs. Luckily we had more pepperoni, damn wind.

The pizza was yummy as usual and we were stuffed. Being at the beach in the fresh air, water and wind PLUS snorkeling for awhile is tiring stuff. I think we watched some “Whose Line is it Anyway” and went to bed.

We realized on Tuesday that Max was sick again, same symptoms but getting worse. He was throwing up but there was nothing there, just stomach bile. I messaged my friend to see if Doc was coming on the ferry that evening. She said he was and I said we would pick him up at the ferry for an emergency visit Tuesday eve. Normally he doesn’t start work here until Wed. morn.

Earlier in the day Kathy, Jen and I went to Parrot Tree to float in the pool for awhile. It was empty, we were the only people there. I came home a few times to check on Max so Bill went and picked up Kathy and Jen around 4.

We left for the ferry terminal at 5:30 to pick Doc up and take him to his clinic. Bethany was there waiting to help and translate for us. Max was so dehydrated they couldn’t find a vein for the IV. After about half a dozen times I was pleading saying I could make him drink, don’t stick him anymore. Just about that time they got a vein, they taped it to keep it in place and then administered some shots via the IV. We let him get a good bit of the fluid and then left to take Doc to Brick Bay where he stays while on island. After we dropped him off we had to get gas and realized that Max had gotten the full amount so we took the IV needle out at the gas station.

Only in Honduras. We took Bethany home and got back to the house around 8. Kathy and Jen had to fend for themselves but made out just fine. Max seemed lively and he was hungry again so we fed him a light meal. He had to be on Metronidazol for 2 more days.

Wednesday was deemed a West End shopping day. We got a good start on the day and sauntered around West End, checking all my usual haunts. When we were done there we were off to Umbul Umbul, it’s just somewhere I always take company. For lunch we were going to the Beach Grill to see Lisa and Rob and of course my babies, Sable and Bandit. When Lisa and Rob pulled up I couldn’t wait, I had to go see the pups. Lisa said they are doing really good, they are spoiled and sleep on the couch and they even get in the shower on their own when Lisa is in there.

After we left there we went to the Iguana Farm to see all of the iguana’s. They were surprised that there were so many running loose..

We were going to Cal’s that night for dinner and we were hungry!! Cal’s wasn’t too busy, food was fabulous as always.

I’ll finish this post another day, too many more photos to post and my mind is fried. I drove into Coxen Hole today to inquire about my NON EXISTANT license plate for my car. Three weeks ago I was told 2 weeks and THEY WOULD CALL ME. hahahahahahaha! Today they told me to “keep checking back.” Sure I will, it’s real convenient to drive all the way to Coxen Hole and try to find a spot to park, just makes my day. So, no license plate yet, it was made May 19th, why the hell it hasn’t gotten here yet from the mainland 36 miles away I’ll never know.

One thing I do know is that come hell or high water I am going to go to the beach at least once a week from now on, I NEED IT..It does wonders for my soul..

Vitamin Sea, I love you….

I milked my dog….

06/06/2015 I am a puppy mother, Lola is the babysitter from hell. SHEER HELL. Holy sheepshit, these pups are getting big and W I L D. And OMG, we love them so darn much it’s scary. Never before have I had this many puppies. Highway was this small but there was only 1, and Lola was small too and thank all the stars in the sky, there is only 1 of her. She is showing them how to dig holes, eat rocks, pee on the porch and chew on anything and everything. The digging holes is the worst, well, that and the fact she is peeing on the porch again. Death becomes her.

529583_10151337457598533_1562466932_n — Highway 6 weeks old Jan. 2013, Roatan

1604875_10152766076218533_7947708875549484009_n — Lola, 7 weeks old, Dec 2014, Roatan

We still have 4 almost 8 week old puppies to care for and let me tell you, this is a game changer. Four is easier than 7, much easier, but. UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS 3,978,645 TIMES A DAY. omgomgomg. Sometimes coming up the steps I actually think I am going to pass out and face plant on the ground, puppies in hands (pretty sure my boobs would envelope them and protect their heads from traumas.) But still. They are heavy. They eat a lot. And they shit a lot too. Add to that 4 BIG dogs. That’s a shitload of dog shit. And we try to clean it up immediately. I usually stand, shovel in hand behind a squatted puppy butt. I actually thought today that I should just train them to shit on the shovel and I wouldn’t even have to scoop. Oh the places my mind goes. I won’t take you there, I promise.

The pups are weaned. Frito still has milk. I read conflicting info and was told conflicting info re the milk still in Fritos’ boobs. I know that with nursing, supply=demand; no pups nursing, no milk being made. However, she was HUGE. Bill made the comment he was afraid they (boobs) were going to self destruct. I assured him it wouldn’t happen but went down to check. Umm, Dolly Parton X’s 8. I milked her. Yes, I damn did. What else could I do? Watch them explode?? Milk was even squirting out of boobs I wasn’t touching. Frito is still in her food obsessed mind set and was bound and determined to lap up all that milk. I tried like hell to stop her but you try and milk a dog AND keep her from drinking the milk. Go ahead. Try it. Hence, there are no photos of this. I didn’t want her to get the milk because it has lots of protein in it and that encourages more milk. I have stopped giving her yogurt during this drying up stage for that very reason. So we are 12 days into it and she still has some milk. I made the HUMONGO mistake of taking her with me for a few quick errands the other day. Well, now my car smells like sour freaking spoiled rotten dog boob milk. The back trunk area where she was now looks like this:

IMG_20150606_150436 — No, it’s not cocaine, it’s baking soda..to absorb the gross milk smell.

So, TERMITES. Yes, we recently had an abnormally insane infestation. This is what a termite nest looks like. Photo courtesy of the Australian Museum.

I have seen termite nests while walking the dogs, I thought they were, well, I don’t know what I thought they were. We have had termite hatches before, a few hundred wings, call it good, go to bed. This time they started early and got progressively worse. Worse to the point I was ready to lock myself in my car to get away from them. Obviously our windows are not sealed well or we would not have had 11 zillion of these things. INSIDE.

So they hatch, swarm, drop their wings, (each have 4) find a mate and nest. Hopefully not in our furniture!

I took the crib/playpen to Miguel last Sunday, he and Estefany were thrilled with it.

Last post I mentioned Eddy and his brothers, they are really sweet boys who have such a grim future. They live with their grandparents who are quite poor, their mother works in Coxen Hole and is gone during the week. They don’t know who their father(s) are. Eddy, the oldest said most mornings they go to school hungry because there is no food until their grandfather gets paid again. The boys didn’t get TOMS shoes when they were distributed at their school because Eddy was ill and since he’s the oldest, if he doesn’t go to school the younger ones don’t either. They have to hitch a ride in the mornings and if they don’t get a ride in time, they go home. Sad state of affairs in the school system here. I talked to Nidia about them and she said we could give them shoes. I measured them and she and I went and got shoes. When I got home today from my volunteer airport greeter gig (beats WalMart greeter hands down) they were here at the house. Bill got them to try on their shoes but he was afraid David’s were too small. David is the one who comes up through the jungle in his bare feet to get wood for his grandmother to cook with, he is 8. Eddy says his grandparents don’t like David. When I got out of my car Eddy came over and hugged me and said thank you for everything. He is the boy we bought a soccer ball for with the money Walt and Judy Kaiser sent to me. I checked David’s shoes and they are fine, tight but room for his toes and they stretch. Each of the boys came over and hugged me and said thank you.

Eddy fell at school and scraped his face on the concrete, looked nasty so we gave him Vitamin E. Today Marcus took a chunk out of his finger cutting a papaya, they had wrapped a piece of cloth around it. Bill put antibacterial creme and a band aid on it and I taped the band aid on. Poor kids. The new TOMS shoes made them extremely happy boys!!

We have both been exhausted, me so tired that food is meaningless. Food is never meaningless to Bill though. He lives to eat, I eat to live. Friday night we had home made potato chips, last night Bill made corn bread, That was dinner. I’m thinking we need to get our act together since next week at this time we will have guests, Bill’s sister Kathy and her granddaughter Jen. We are really looking forward to them visiting so we can show them our island and help them to understand the variety of reasons that we love it here.

We can see the mainland quite clearly today, this doesn’t happen very often.

Boob update: They all seem to be milk free finally. We’re still going to keep her separated from the pups for a few more days in case they try to nurse, give them time to really dry up. YAY for no more milk.

I’m off to puppy sit downstairs, hope your Sunday is half as exciting as mine.

P.S.S. It wasn’t boob milk in my car that smelled, it was urine. She PEED in my car. Damn Damn Damn. Think I got the smell out using Nature’s Miracle Pet Odor Remover. Last ride for the 3 legged dog..