rain – Mermaid on a Raft

Stuck in limbo.

10/4/2021 It was one month on October 1 that Walt and the family pulled into our little slice of paradise. It is gorgeous here, I love the location, not super impressed by the grocery and shopping options but I knew that before moving here. It is what it is.

The guy we hooked up with before arriving has proven to be amazing. There is nothing Aaron doesn’t know how to do. He did the concrete floor for the shop (with Bill’s help) and he and Bill recently completed putting on the metal roof. He actually used a chalk line on the roof to get the nails in a straight line. Both sides of the roof are finished and it looks amazing. They framed in the opening and he has ordered the metal for the gables of the roof. Aaron has a regular door for the shop, we need to order a garage door yet. Timing was everything since my new washer and dryer and freezer arrived the 29th and the roof was completed on the 28th.

Both sides are complete. Yes, it is sort of underground. The original owner of the land was using it for a basement/garage and building on top. The side you see is the entrance.

I already ordered my stove, dishwasher and fridge (got the French door type) but decided to order an extra fridge for the closed-in back porch. We had an extra in Everson and it was awesome to keep drinks in and to use when we ate outdoors. I was going to get a white one and cover it in self-adhesive wallpaper but decided on a black one. The fridge was delivered yesterday. Once we get the electricity hooked up, I’ll be able to stock up on some groceries. All of our household things got delivered on Tuesday. The boys were excited to see their chairs.

Their chairs are something they recognize as home.

Bill hadn’t gotten the arm pillows put back in on this chair. We took them out to make them easier to ship. I bought these leather chairs from the guy who I bought the AZ home from. I knew they would be perfect chairs for the boys. They never even tried to get on the new couch, they knew these were their chairs. Bill actually talked about not taking them and I said NO WAY. They are going, they belong to the dogs.

This is one of the trucks, he had 2 crates, the other had one. He had a tough time backing down the narrow drive to the shop. but he made it.

Bowling Green is only an hour away, we spent 2 nights in an RV park there while hurricane Ida passed through. That’s also where Bill took my car for the 60K service. There is a Sam’s Club there, I’ll need to join, there is also a Target, Home Depot, Aldi’s, TJ Maxx and a lot of furniture stores. I’m looking forward to some shopping trips there.

I’ve decided I don’t like Walt. In fact, Walt is pitiful. I FREAKING HATE him. I hate the shower most of all, especially since we have been invaded by stink bugs, (these are the non stink if you squash them but smell awful after being in the vac a day dying) variety but a pest nonetheless. I think I preferred the paper wasps we previously had problems with. Yesterday I sucked up well over 150 of the stink bugs with the vacuum. This morning when I was showering 2 swooped in on me. I had a screaming fit, knocked the damn shower accordion door off the track and had all 3 boys trying to protect me. I also hate the bathroom sink. It has a screen in the drain and that freaks me way the hell out. As do the 2 screens in the double kitchen sink. I hate to empty things like that when tiny pieces of food get in there, that’s the reason I insist on a garbage disposal. I throw all the big pieces of stuff away but the small particles, down the garbage disposal. I can’t tell you what it is that freaks me out so badly but I have to wear rubber gloves to clean the screen drains out and I am internally shrieking the whole time. I would have died in a week if I lived in the Little House on the Prairie.

UPS brought some spray Bill ordered to kill the stink bugs and I do think it’s working. I’ve cleaned up only 20 or so since the boys and I came inside. The boys are all terrified of the vac for some reason. It’s not so bad in a house where they can go to a different room but they don’t have that option here.

It rained for almost a week and we were surrounded by 30 muddy wet acres and 16 muddy wet dog paws. They were getting tired of having their feet washed several times a day. I contemplated boots for them but they’ll lose them and I will spend all of my time looking for them. They were some mighty bored dogs. They put stone on the whole driveway EXCEPT where they were running the dozer back and forth. That meant I had to traverse 50′ of deep slippery mud to get the boys to the stone driveway. That has since been remedied.

Planning on stocking this with fish. not

My friend said it looks like I drove through peanut better then cat litter. She’s right.

Every morning I walk the dogs down the driveway and into the upper field. It’s so beautiful there, I wish we had known about that spot before. That’s what we get for buying property sight unseen. It’s a huge hilly field surrounded by trees. Many of the trees are Osage orange trees and they have the most horrible thorns I have ever seen in my life. I was really worried about the boys stepping on them but so far we’ve been lucky.

Why in the world are there trees like this?

They run all over up there, so much to smell. I recall someone telling me that when you walk your dog don’t allow them to stop and sniff things. That’s not a nice thing to do to a dog. They get so much mental stimulation from sniffing, it’s really important for them to do. These guys must be having a blast. They’re also eating grass, never really had that option before, it’s new to them. I noticed Max had a poop hanging from his butt by a blade of grass. I used a stick and removed it. The things I do for these dogs. They are getting in at least 3 miles a day, probably more. After we return from a walk they are exhausted. A tired dog is a good dog.

All I have to say is, “want to go on the hill?” They know exactly what I mean.

This is the curve of our driveway down to the road.

This is just past the curve headed up. A little over 1/4 mile.

I think the dogs love it too. It’s the first real freedom they have had.

This has been my view for 6 years. BUTTS,

We were told there used to be a pond on our land. Well, there still is. I found it one day while walking the boys. Aaron said we need to get some trees away from it so the sun can get rid of some of the algae.

We had a full week plus of nice days, then the rain returned. So did the mud. It’s been brutal. Yesterday we noticed a leak in the RV, not sure where the water was coming from. Bill moved the RV from being level to leaning to the side the water was coming in and that seems to have stopped it. It poured last night, thundered and all and no water leaks this morning.

Yesterday the boys were laying on the bed looking out the window and all of a sudden Gringo went crazy. I looked out the window and there was a deer in the lower field. Between the deer and the cows, Gringo may need an intervention. Saturday night Bill was outside talking to his sister on the phone. I had, just minutes before, taken the boys inside. The day had just gone from dusk to dark. He noticed something and looked down and there was a 4′ S N A K E. I am terrified of snakes but still had to go look. It was a big old King snake.

Earlier that night I moved the cooler and there was a frog under it. Highway went after it and it jumped in a dog crate. After I got Highway out of the crate, I got the frog out. I keep telling myself the only reason the snake came up to our area is he smelled the frog. Yeah right.

There are copperheads in the area and they are something I do not want to come across with the dogs. If the dogs had been outside, Highway or Barrio would have killed the snake in seconds. Barrio is all meek and mild but he is a killer. I’ve seen him in action on Roatan with rats and lizards.

Last night it poured, thunder and lightning had the dogs all freaky. Max was squished between the bed and the closet and would not budge. We woke this morning to semi sunny skies so as soon as I drank my cup of tea the boys and I set off for the hill. Afterwards we sat outside, Bill put the other 2 coolaroo beds together for the boys. They will be great to use on the screened in porch, much better than laying on concrete.

I just picked things up that were outside because it looked like rain and sure enough, it’s pouring again. I heard there was a tornado in Northern Cumberland County late night, flipped a few cars. UGH. Over the rain and all the crap weather.

This is Colt, the 7 year old son of Aaron, the guy we hired to do all the work around here. Colt can drive the skid steer and the excavator, at 7 YEARS OLD. He is a really cool kid.

Coyote poop, most mornings they let a pile in the driveway. The boys each sniff it, then pee on it. BOYS.

Found these 2 lovebirds on the hill, not far from the pond.

No shame in their game, doing some Dirty Dancing. They’re Eastern Box turtles.

I had to shame Bill into taking a pic of me and the boys. Not really the photo I wanted but…

The 3 boys follow me where ever I go, Highway, not so much. He is so stubborn.

This blog has taken way too long to do. We still have no wifi so I have to use my phone as a hotspot and I have limited hotspot data per month. As I told my friend Susan, this blog sometimes feels like a giant albatross hanging around my neck. I sure hope that once we get into the house I’ll have more interesting info to post. As of right now, the only excitement I have is sucking the stink bugs up in my vacuum, swearing at each and every one as I hear the satisfying plunk of them getting sucked up. The joys are endless.

The time we bought land for the dogs.

Just in case you are so inclined, you can sing along with Neil. Click HERE

June 27, 2021 I’m sitting here thinking of everything I have to get done in the next 60 days. August 27th is the last day in the Arizona house. I’ll more than likely begin making to-do lists for the next several weeks.

Let me first say, it’s not that I don’t like neighbors, I just don’t like the fact that they live next to my house, on both sides, in front, and in back. I never feel alone at my pool because there are 3~ 2 story homes towering over me. I can see them, so they’re close. I prefer to not see another house, I just want to see woods and green and sky. Our neighbors are very nice as are the friends we have made here, we will miss them. It was a great easy place for me to live alone for a few months, that turned into a year. It just was not the best for the dogs, not at all.

I am looking forward to being able to walk the dogs in the woods. They won’t know what to think. I am so excited for them to see snow too, Barrio will probably be afraid of it. Change is good. It helps that these dogs are so chill when it comes to change, it will all be for the best.

Land starts to the left of the white route sign at the top and follows the road and goes west. Burkesville, KY.

Almost 40X60. Close enough to the size the shop was in Everson.

I can not wait to be in the woods again. We left 28 acres in Everson for the jungle in Roatan. The jungle was gorgeous, simply an amazing place to live. If you have not seen the video of our island house, click HERE. It was a very secluded home, despite the fact there was a house down the hill from the entrance to our driveway, we couldn’t see them and they couldn’t see us. Leaving there and moving here, I feel like I’m in a fishbowl. I don’t like it. Nor do I like the fact that my dogs can’t bark here, I try to keep them quiet because “neighbors.”

We really lucked out with the selling of the AZ house. Bill met a lady at the gym and after a few weeks they started talking. She’s a realtor and he mentioned that we were hoping to sell our place. She was interested in knowing more so Bill asked if she would give us a suggested selling price for the house. She said sure, she was happy to do it. In 2 days she came back with a price and we were shocked. THEN, she messaged Bill and said she had a buyer for our place. Her husband is a broker and he is working with the guy who will be managing the Texas Roadhouse restaurant here in Casa Grande. He’s been trying to buy and kept getting in a bidding war with all of the properties. The market here is on fire. He was excited to get the opportunity to make an offer and have it accepted without it getting on the market. We were thrilled because we didn’t have to deal with making the dogs vanish when people were viewing the house. He came and looked, (after he made the offer that we accepted) and 2 hours after he left we had the full price offer and he bought ALL of our furniture. I just bought all of the furniture new in Jan 2020. This will be the 3rd time since Oct 2013 that I have moved to a different house with zero furniture. I’m sort of looking forward to buying ALL new furniture again, sort of. Not really.

Finding the land in Kentucky was a fluke. I was haphazardly looking on Realtor.com and came across this land in Kentucky. Originally we were looking in Tennesee but as soon as we saw something we liked, it was already sold. I decided to see what Ky. had to offer. I saw this listing and thought it was too good to be true. I called Bill in to look, he was very interested and called the listing agent immediately. Even though we have never been to Kentucky, we made an offer on the property and the next morning found out it was accepted. It’s out in the boonies, sort of, not nearly as many conveniences as there are here, but it’s also not 110+ degrees every damn day. The dogs will be much happier.

The land has a newly built concrete foundation that was going to be for a house. It’s almost 40X60. It needs a concrete floor poured, the walls made higher and a roof, it will make a great shop for Bill. There is already water and electricity there, we have to put in a septic system, it’s been perk tested and approved for one. There is a gravel road also. The land is heavily wooded, lightly wooded and cleared, a little bit of everything. The dogs will not know what to do with no fences around them. Next spring we will put in a pool.

So, now the plan is to buy a motorhome here and Bill will drive it and I’ll drive my car, each with 2 dogs. We’ll go to the property and get the shop done and the house built. And, we’ll live in the motorhome. We initially planned to buy a camper to pull with my car; however, the weight limit really made it a no-go. The trailer would be the size of a postage stamp and if it were just 2 people it would be fine, maybe, but add in 4 big dogs and it’s guaranteed to make me insane.

Blame ALL OF THIS on these guys. We could have bought 5 acres but we wanted more for their running pleasure.

They don’t appreciate me taking their photos.

I took some evening photos for the buyer. The pool lights are on in this shot.

So peaceful. Except for the houses all around.

This is on a type of prickly pear cactus (I think), second time it’s bloomed this season.

I went to get my teeth cleaned the other week. The hygenist started talking about the Water Pik flosser and how great it is. Of course, she had a captive audience, before I left the chair I had one ordered. She gave me one significant tip, lean over. Probably the 2 most important words ever spoken when having a water pik conversation. It came the next day and I was eager to try it. O M G. Seriously, O M G. And I thought the Sonic Care toothbrush was tricky to use. [I learned quickly that you can not set the Sonic Care on the counter and position your teeth over the brush (that is vibrating at 30K cycles per minute) while using your hands to apply mascara]. It doesn’t freaking work, don’t even waste your time trying it to see if you can do it. It’s a no for sure. The WaterPik is a similar challenge. The first time using it I thought I was going to drown. I had, what was surely 11 gallons of water in my mouth, drowning for sure. Then I realized I could open my mouth and just let the water run out. That seems so uncouth though. There must be a proper way to use this thing. Another thing, do not use the flosser pik on a high speed. This is important if you wish to retain the gums that are on your teeth. Do you know how hard it is to aim that damn thing at the gum line when you can’t look up because your mirror and sink area will look like they made a trip over Niagara Falls. It’s not easy, but my teeth do feel well cleansed after using it and each time is getting easier.

Gringo likes to lay next to my pillow when I’m reading in bed. If another dog gets that position before Gringo does, he sleeps alongside the bed, squashed in against the wall.

He may as well talk, he is the bossiest dog we have ever had. Max rules.

The grocery store sent free coupons, one was for this ice cream. It was excellent but $4.99 a PINT.

Right hand side of display, by green box. 107 degrees. That’s a normal here, that was at 10AM also.

We cleaned for 2 days before the buyer came to see the house he was buying. Bill is using the floor steamer. The dogs aren’t fond of any floor tools.

The sky actually dripped for less than 5 minutes. It smells so weird here when it rains, a real wet dust smell.

Every bag of dog food must be inspected by Max before we throw it away.

I did a foot doc and Costco run the other day. Bill is cutting one of their rotisserie chickens up and the boys are drooling.

My handsome lawn ornaments. Just wish they pooped in the toilet.

I have been spending my mornings in the pool. I sit on a chair on the shelf and read for 30-45 min, then I get in the pool with my hand weights and do water aerobics for 30 minutes, then I swim a few laps and get out and lay on a chaise until I’m dried off. I try to be back inside by 11:30-12. After that, it’s just too darn hot.

I am going to start packing my heavier winter clothes, things I won’t need until the end of October. We’ll probably have our stuff shipped to us, except Bill will trailer his tools that he will need with the motorhome. The motorhome we still don’t have. We’ll get one, no super hurry, we can’t park it here anyhow and will just have to pay for storage.

I think I will go in my closet and box some winter things. It will feel good to actually start packing, make it seem like it really is happening. And it is.

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..