I have lots of Melothria scabra

 

08/11/2017  A few of you will understand the above quote. A lesson learned.

Today around 1 PM my friend Kelly messaged me a photo of her electric bill. Obviously to make me feel better, however she lives where it’s really damn hot, Arizona and has to run A/C 24/7, 100 KW a day. We use 400 KW a month. We started messaging, by 3:30PM she had agreed to purchase a lot in an area she and I looked at (that is 15 min from me) when she was here (she brought all the flip flops). By 5 PM we had a builder and a project manager and by 5:30 a design, plus I introduced her to 2 of her neighbors via FB. That’s what I accomplished today.

AND I found out I have:

Melothria scabra growing. Don’t panic, it’s not contagious. It’s an incredible, small cucumber-like fruit that’s shaped like baby watermelons. They are good added to salads or can be pickled. They have a cucumber-like taste with a touch of lemon. Some people call them sour gherkin cucumbers. The ornamental vines have tiny leaves and flowers and are perfect for the cottage garden. (mine don’t have flowers, though they may have and we now have fruit, only an observation, don’t hold me to it). YAY.

We already have people coming up trying to grab some of our coconuts, seems our one tree is special. They have to go through Lola to get a coconut. That’s NOT going to happen. Now they will be coming for miniature watermelons. Wonderfreakingful. I’ll set up a stand at the bottom of the driveway. Bite sized watermelons that taste like cucumbers. That’s what my sign will say. Oh and I have not rushed to taste one because two islanders said they were poisonous.

Josh says they are not poisonous so I’ll soon be wealthy and able to afford $6.00 a bottle wine, the good shit. Sorry for the crappy photos of the cukes, it was with my phone. And, I’m lazy.

I’ve been looking at my recent Pinterest saves and you guys, I really scare myself. I’ve determined I want different color and style of hair, indicated by my Pinterest saves. I would need a total hair transplant to achieve this hairdo that I so desire. Such a quandry.

Bill spotted this guy in the tree last week. I took over 200 shots in 3 days. He was so beautiful.

Then a few days later Lola was sitting at our huge window at the tops of the stairs and she started barking like crazy. There was another iguana inside of the fence. I got a few shots of her, (a pregnant female) before she crawled through the fence.

I know this was a preggo female because I asked Sam Arch and he said, yes. He’s never wrong.
This is a male anole. Pretty thing, they are everywhere. I even found one sitting on my soap dish in the bathroom.

Then I saw a baby iguana in the papaya tree but by the time I got my camera, it was gone.

Today I was speaking with the Duchess’s husband on the phone and spied the iguana in the tree. I said good-bye and ran for the camera. This guy didn’t like me around at first and tried to get far away. He was standing on 2 papaya branches, balancing in the breeze. I managed to get some good shots. This was a different one, not as large as the other male in the tree.

Fabulous creature, I’m so intrigued by them.
On the top of the papaya tree.
Smaller but just as detailed.

It’s been a lizardly week for me, I can’t seem to stay away from the papaya tree and all the awesome things I find in it.

My dog’s favorite food, Cicadas.

Nidia and I did one last day of TOM’S at the public schools yesterday. We met at Politilly at 8:30 and fit the kinder and then the older students from Pedro Nufio came over and we fit them. Alexi’s nephew, Osman goes to the kinder and his brother Ephrain goes to Pedro Nufio. When I got there, Osman wasn’t there. I asked the teacher where he was and she didn’t know but sent a girl to go find him. Soon after he whizzed past me and into the school. I was in the doorway listening to them singing a song, I had my sunglasses on. Click HERE to see and hear the kids singing.

Osman kept looking at me so I took my glasses off and his eyes got really big! Just about that time I felt a tugging on my shirt and there was Ephrain, not in school clothes. His mother Shelly and sister Juliana were with him. I asked why he wasn’t in school and his mom said the teacher didn’t like his haircut. There was not a damn thing wrong with his haircut.

This is Ephrain. You tell me what part of his hair the teacher could complain about? It’s not like they are at a magna cum laude school either. Come on.

He wanted to take photos while we did shoes, so I gave him my camera. He’s played with mine before when he came over swimming and also played with Julie’s, same cameras, he knew how to operate it.

Right before I gave him the camera.
Selfie.

I hugged and kissed Ephrain and Osman so many times that the other kids were asking for hugs and kisses, no idea how many kids I kissed, but they were all adorable.

His mom is on the closest end in the blue shirt and no I won’t capitalize the word mom for her. I’m amazed she helped. I should be grateful, I am. Almost. I know too much.
He must have liked this fence, he took so many photos of it.
I had control of the camera for the next few. This is Osman, Ephrain’s nephew. I adore him.
Cute little girls.
So pretty, I love her eyes.
This is most of the Pedro Nufio crowd.

After we were done I approached Ephrain’s teacher. I told her who I was but she said wait, and called in a translator. Miss Kendra came in to translate. Turns out Ephrain couldn’t go to school because his mother didn’t turn in paperwork. I pleaded with the teacher not to punish Ephrain for his mother’s lack of interest in his education, it’s not his fault. He loves school and it’s the only break he gets from his miserable home life, he wants to learn, he’s a smart little boy. When I was done begging, with tears in my eyes, the teacher relented and said Ephrain could return to school. I went out to find him to tell him he could go to school and he was holding on to my car door, convinced he was leaving with me.

I couldn’t take him, we were going to the Instituto Honduras, a big school in Jonesville.

The building at the top of the steps going up to the school. It says Sat’s See Gym.
Unusual chairs. When we were finished and packing to leave, there was a large group of students milling around here. I realized they were waiting for their boat rides home and could see the boats approaching from there.
The first time I ever helped with TOM’S shoes (2015) we fit the kids in Pandytown. This little boy, Derek, was my first and he hugged me before he even sat down. I have since learned he is also a favorite of my friend Francie (she helped teach English at his school and does other work around the island teaching, she’s a lady of many skills). I’ve seen him at Christmas parties in Fiddler’s Bight but not again for shoes. I spoke with him today and actually got to fit him with shoes. Derek is an adorable young man, good parenting. He, Osman and Ephrain made my day.
There was an unending number of students and they were not very co-operative.
The stilt master. This dude was good!
One of the 3 could actually walk on them.

We fit almost 460 kids with new shoes in one day.

As I was leaving I snapped a pic of this boat. I see it often when we take a boat through the mangroves. It’s called Twitter.
Barrio, one of the 3 brothers we kept.
Gringo, my hunka hunka burning love. Brother # 2
And Max. Maximillion, Maxillicious, Maxie the bad boy of the group. The expensive one. Brother #3.
From Cal’s Cantina last Friday night. The food was excellent, as always. Going there again tomorrow night with the gang.

We have had some dark stormy nights here this last week. Almost every night the sky is lighting up around us. A few dogs and I sat on the roof tonight, I was enthralled with the light show surrounding me. On the roof we have an approximate 320 degree view, it was phenomenal. I felt so freaking tiny, like just a speck. The 2 dogs went down, there weren’t enough of them up there to carry on. It was just me and the lightning. Kind of surreal and I felt vulnerable.

The moon the other night. I often wonder what moon people are like? Do they wear bras?
Well, it’s a marvelous night for a moondance…..
Perfect night for a dip.
Hanging on the roof
The dogs love it up here.
All of the boys. Barrio usually has a toy in hs mouth. He sticks it in Highway’s face, whines and shakes his butt. Highway gets so mad he bares ALL of his teeth, then he snaps at him. It’s really annoying because Barrio is loud.
Barrio
Butts and tails

Last few pics then I’m off to sleep. Have to be at a school at 1 for the Microenterprise dedication, {at Froylan school} they are doing the dedication of the new ice chest and thermos and reusable cups, donated by Julie (AZCK). When I leave there I’ll go size the children at Cattleya for shoes. Saturday I am picking our friends up at the airport, along with their two new puppies. And on Sunday we are having a family who lives below us and their 3 kids up for a pool day and lunch. I’ve met Aida a few times at the airport and although I feel like I know her husband, I don’t.

If you are from Williamsport (my hometown) and happened to see the magazine, West Branch Life, that comes out with the paper 4 times a year, there was a story about the Summer of Love. If you read that story (came out beginning of August with the Sun Gazette) and wondered if you might know who “Carol” really was.

You do.

By Ledfutt

Living on an island was a life long dream of mine. In 2012 I moved to Roatan and lived there for 4 months, went back to the US, packed up our belongings and sold our house. In Oct of 2013 we moved there permanently. Our house was completed in July of 2014 and we moved in. After 6+ years, I was ready to go back to the US. I made the move in Dec of 2019 and my husband came a year later. Here we are in Arizona, waiting for our island house to sell so we can sell this place and move on. I guess I'm more like a traveling mermaid.

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