Roatan – Mermaid on a Raft

Hit the road Walt.

08/12/2021 I thought I would hop on here and do a quick update since I’m not sure I’ll be able to post when we get to Kentucky, at least until we get internet on the property.

Things are moving right along. Today was the bittersweet closing of our island home, La Casa de las Olas. The wave house. I’ll never regret moving to Roatan and experiencing that kind of life. I honestly thought I would live there forever but it just was not meant to be. While there, I met some fabulous island people, ones I feel blessed to know and call friends. They are the epitome of the island, they showed me and taught me things most gringos don’t get to experience. My week-long trip to La Moskitia was the most impactful week of my whole life. Being with the people in La Moskitia taught me something I could never learn in any school. I am forever grateful to my BFF on the island, Nidia, for taking me along with her. It will always be the highlight of my years living on the island. I also made gringo friends there, friends I will have for a lifetime. It was a good choice to move there, I’m happy we did it. Our house wasn’t fancy schmancy but it had killer views, a 24/7 strong breeze and it was so peaceful being in the jungle. I’ll miss that, and moving to the damn desert was sure a stark contrast to the dense jungle. I knew the desert house was not a permanent move but I enjoyed living here for the most part. I like sunshine and warm temps but 112 degrees for days on end is too much.

La Casa de las Olas. We lived upstairs, the downstairs was for guests, it was a full apartment. The house was purchased by 2 couples from Texas. They have 6 dogs. It’s the perfect house to live if you have 6 (or 11) dogs.

We have been packing for about a month. It’s almost done. It’s so stressful trying to figure out what we’ll need for the month it takes our stuff to arrive. I’ve pretty much got the pantry empty, next will be to clean out the chest freezer, put it in the fridge freezer and pack stuff in the freezer that we are taking. Not having to deal with furniture is a huge bonus but also daunting, because we’ll have to buy all new furniture, ceiling fans, lighting, plus all appliances. UGH. Yes, it’s fun buying new but it’s also a chore. The closest store will be 45 min away. I know that sounds like not much but here in AZ everything is within 30 min. So easy it’s made me incredibly lazy.

We had boxes in the closet, office, and 3 corners of the halls. Bill moved them to one place to see how much of the U-Haul trailer it would take up. The visual difference of them all in one place makes the whole move seem less overwhelming.

Now Bill wishes we had boxes that were all the same size. TOO LATE. I actually have one box that I wrote, I have no clue what is in here.

The house is still a flipping disaster. This too shall pass.

We got the exhaust fixed on Walt, he is so much quieter now. Currently he is getting all new tires. The tires on it had a lot of tread left, but they were 10+ years old, sitting in the AZ sun. I am so thrilled we got new tires, it will be much safer to travel cross country with. A blowout on an RV can cause structural damage to the RV. We do not need that. Plus he’ll be pulling a trailer with tools and his motorcycle {that I hate} on it.

We took the boys for a ride in Walt. They all wanted to sit up front. NO WAY, too unsafe for dog and driver. Bill bought a cargo net to keep the dogs back.

This should work, more than likely Highway will have his nose stuck in it at some point.

Once I told Gringo he could, he got up and laid on the couch. Max insisted on sitting by Bill and I kept pushing him back. Barrio was terrified and panted heavily and Highway. Damn Highway. He howled and cried, a very high-pitched consistent whine. It’s like having 7-grade school teaches right behind your head, scratching chalk on the chalkboard. If I were capable of removing a voice box, his would be long gone and donated to dog science.

Barrio and Gringo, who is being chill. Isn’t the upholstery lovely? It’s already covered with a sheet.

The brothers. This photo pretty accurately depicts them. Max is leaving, Barrio is strung out and Gringo is cool. I love these boys so damn much.

I’ve been cleaning up the mess from my gorgeous cactus. When the flowers die and dry up, they fall off. It was a lot to clean up this year because the flowers were so plentiful. If I don’t clean it up it looks like dog poop on the fake grass, and that’s where they all end up. I just noticed today that it is getting more buds so I imagine another flowering session will occur soon. There was a huge mess, I had to take my vacuum out there again. I’m over cleaning the fake grass.

We’re leaving soon to go visit our friend Nick at the rehab center. He’s still trying to regain muscle after his fall and getting second-degree burns. It’s been a long road for him, he’s been in a wheelchair since 1979 but has always been active and very social. Now he can’t do any of that. Heartwrenching. We go every Thursday to visit with him.

UPDATE:Nick is now home and not doing that well. Physically he is unable to do much of anything for himself, like get in and out of bed, cooking a meal, not sure he can shower alone. Mike goes 3 times a day, gets him up and has breakfast with him, he takes him his dinner and eats with him and he goes back later to get him in bed. I just can’t stop thinking about Nick and how his life has changed and it’s not a welcome change.

Ever since 2012, I have worn sandals. I wear sneakers when I walk the dogs, otherwise, it’s usually flip-flops. I’m pretty sure the pair I’m currently wearing are more than 4 years old. I just bought a pair of boots and I am soooo excited. This is what I got.

I can’t believe how excited I am about these boots. We went to Tractor Supply to see what they had, only one pair in my size and they were knee highs, didn’t want that high.

I had a pair of muck boots in WA. but gave them to Kailey before we left for the island. I look forward to wearing them again, while traipsing through the woods with the dogs.

Today after we walked the dogs and kind of woke up (I swear sometimes I am sleepwalking the dogs) we worked in the RV. I finished cleaning the drawers and lined them with cheap-o contact paper. Remember, we are not keeping Walt. We managed to get 95% of the art in the storage under the bed. The freezer in the RV is Lilliputian. That will be interesting, getting all of my many bags of shredded cheese in the freezer.

UPDATE: 08/20/2021 Walt has new tires and probably will get new batteries this week, Bill has not been successful charging the ones in there. I have a lot of stuff moved into the RV.

The U-Haul crates were delivered this morning and Bill and I completely packed one. I’m dead and I’m sure he is too.

They dropped off 4 crates, we’ll only need 3. They pick the full ones up on the 25th and also take the empty. It will take 3-4 weeks for them to get to Kentucky. By then the shop should be finished and we can unload and store stuff in there.

We packed this clear full, hardly room for a broom.

Of course, he had to buy a trailer to haul it. UGH.

Max has an affinity for tables. Maybe it’s the food.

Our plan is to leave the day after the closing, hopefully, that is the 25th. We should know by now but we don’t. We’ll drive a longer day the first day because it’s fresh and new. By day 2 we should both be tired of driving and will take shorter days. A lot will depend on how the dogs are doing also. We’re allowing 5 days but may make it in 4. I called the Post Office and asked them to hold our mail until we can get a mailbox up. I asked if Ace was right in town. Arlene’s response was, “oh honey, it’s right at the intersection of the only traffic light in town.” I’m thinking I won’t need GPS in Burkesville.

I’m done for the night, going to chill before I crash. Bill has help loading his tools tomorrow so I can try to organize what’s left in the kitchen.

We plan to leave Thursday morning.

Next time you hear from me I’ll be saying “you all” and have a twang to my dialect.

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.

A year in the desert.

12/27/2020 One year ago today I was a stressed mess. I was leaving Roatan the next day with 3 big dogs and my cat, moving to Arizona. It was a tough decision to leave the island, somewhere I thought I would be forever, but, it just didn’t fulfill me like I thought it would. I was bored and unhappy. There is more to life than going out to eat and Mega Paca. I helped Nidia and Because We Care for several years and enjoyed every minute of it but I needed more.

I traveled to the states over Halloween, 2019. I spent a week in Pennsylvania with friends and family, then flew back to Phoenix. I met with a realtor there, I think we looked at 20+ houses in 1 day. I didn’t like any of them. Then I drove to Tucson and rented an Air BnB and looked at properties there for 2 days. I saw one I really liked but it was at the tip-top of our budget and needed soooo much work. I knew I would not be happy there because things needing to be done is a constant mental battle for me. I would have been crazy there in two months. I wanted someplace that was one level and had a pool and a fence for the dogs. I found nothing in Tucson. I stayed in Tucson and drove to Casa Grande, about 90 miles N of Tucson, and looked for 2 days at houses there. The first day I saw a house that I liked a lot. It checked all the boxes, beautiful pool, one floor, move-in ready. I looked at several more that day, nothing. I met the realtor the second day and we looked at some more, but I didn’t find what I was looking for. I asked if we could go back to the house on Castle Dr again. One more look and I knew that was the place. I talked to Bill, made an offer (I had already been pre-approved before I even went house hunting), we went back and forth over the price and mutually settled on an offer. It was happening.

I flew back to Roatan and started packing. That was pretty crazy. I went through stuff for the next month and a half, packing everything into boxes and plastic tubs to be shipped by Hyde. The plan was Bill would fly with me to get me situated, plus only 2 animals per person, he would stay for a week, then he would go back to Roatan and start fixing up the house to get it on the market. In the week he was here we bought a car, new living room furniture, 3 new bedrooms sets with mattresses, a computer and a TV. We didn’t have internet yet when Bill left to go home, nor did I have any furniture. The furniture came the day after he left, as did the internet.

After that I started ordering pots and pans, raised dog food dishes, patio furniture, rafts, anything I could think of that I knew I didn’t ship. It was starting to come together. The dogs were loving the pool and I was walking them daily, sometimes twice a day, 7 miles total. All the walking in improper shoes killed my foot and ended up rupturing a tendon, that I still have not had surgically repaired. And it still hurts, a LOT. Since Bill arrived I got a cortisone shot and took a few weeks off from walking to give my foot time to rest. The tendonitis has settled down, but I still have the ruptured tendon to deal with.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I do NOT know if I would have made it almost a year alone without the dogs. Yes, they are a lot of work and expensive to properly care for but I would not change one minute of my life spent with them. They totally own my heart.

Bill came again in March and we got some things taken care of, he fixed things, put a bed together and lots of other little jobs that were awaiting his expertise. He left on March 12th, arriving back on the island the 13th. Two days later the island shut down and remained closed until October. Thank you COVID. No tourism at all, totally killing the economy of Roatan. The people mainly work in tourism and they had nothing. There was no government help for them, no welfare, nothing. And Covid rapidly spread through the island. Mid October the island opened up to flights from the mainland and some small flights from Miami on American. Bill was still stuck there, with a dog.

In the meantime my kids came to visit, it was great seeing them. My dogs were not thrilled with Chance’s pup Kylo, but the rest of us loved him. We were a little crowded but we made it work and it was fun.

The boys eagerly awaiting their nightly treats, a Pedigree dental stick. Max does circles and jumps he gets so excited. Amazingly, they have really helped clean the dog’s teeth.

Blow up Christmas decorations are something I struggle to wrap my brain around. Especially when the whole neighborhood looks like a mass murder took place.

Max always makes sure there is not a speck of food left in the bag.

I was laying in bed reading. Highway got a little close.

Bill found some great people to rent our house until it sells so he started cleaning out his stuff for his move to Arizona. We were planning on him being here by Thanksgiving but that came and went. I had Thanksgiving with my friends. Bill was busy crating his tools and the remainder of the stuff we didn’t ship when I moved, all the while the island was getting hammered by rain and the poor mainland was flooded by the two super hurricanes that both hit close to the same spot. Villages washed away there, they will never know how many people perished.

The plan was for him to leave December 5th with Highway in tow. The big problem was, none of the airlines were transporting dogs in cargo. We had no choice but to make him a service dog and bring him that way. There was no other option. It worked out well but it was a hard trip for Highway. He’s 8 years old and is missing a hip joint. When I saw him get hit by a truck on the island on Jan 19, 2013, (and picked him off the road and took him home) it obviously destroyed his hip joint. We moved him back to the states in March of 2013 and had him neutered. They did blood work, knowing they would need it for his soon to happen hip surgery. However, his white blood cell count was so high they had never seen anything like it. They did it again and also tested him for Leishmaniasis, Ehrlichia, Cushings disease. Negative for all diseases but the WBC count was still off the charts. They sent his results to a vet school in Spokane, one in Texas and Florida and I sent them to my niece who was studying to be a vet at Virginia Tech. Nobody had any answers, they were shocked just like us. Our Vet referred us to Seattle. It was a specialty vet clinic. They did more tests on him, nothing showed. The next option was a bone biopsy. They said it was a very painful experience for the dog, it was not definitive and it was over $2000.00. If we had done that, we were close to spending 5 grand on him. He could walk and run like the wind, he limped occasionally but when he was tearing in circles he was not hurting. We decided he had been through enough, we were getting ready to leave the US and decided to let him live the rest of his life in peace. Eight years later, he is still an idiot but can run, spin in circles and walk a mile with no problem. We made the right decision and there was no way he was staying behind.

I picked Highway and Bill up at Phoenix at 10:30 PM on Dec 5th. Bill had a nasty Honduran cold. Believe me, they are different than a regular cold. I don’t know why but they are, maybe the mold and mildew, the jungle atmosphere, who knows but they are a badass cold. Bill slept in the guest room because I did not want to get sick. Our oldest granddaughter was supposed to come Dec. 14th for a week. That didn’t work out because our youngest granddaughter, Chloee, got covid, so no traveling for Alexah. I was really bummed out, I had so many things planned for Alexah and I to do. But as usual, things happen for a reason. I got Bill’s crud. After a week of feeling nasty I started myself on some cephalexin and prednisone. I am finally getting over it, a few more days of weaning off the prednisone and I’ll be good to go. Thankful you can buy all kinds of meds OTC on Roatan.

I had my dogs in crates when Highway arrived, not knowing how any of them would react. They had not seen each other for almost a year. Highway smelled each crate, not very excited but the boys were. Their tails were slapping the crates and they were crying. I let them out one at a time. Highway was snarly and snippy with them but he had just endured a very long day. The next day things were much better, he even started humping poor Barrio again. Luckily, that has stopped.

So here we are, Christmas has come and gone, the dogs made out like bandits, as usual. I went way overboard with dog toys, because I could. They’re still dragging them all over the house.

I baked 3 different kinds of cookies and yesterday Bill and I cooked a huge turkey with all the fixings. We took a plate of cookies to my friend Nick, he’s a disabled Vietnam vet, confined to a wheelchair so I am always taking him cookies, bread, soups and salads. We invited him to dinner but he was going with some other neighbors. He’s a super nice guy.

The day we arrived in Casa Grande, Dec 28th, 2019, the realtor brought a bottle of Champagne. We’re not champagne drinkers by any means but I was tired of it being in the fridge so we had pineapple pancakes and champagne Christmas morning.

Max doesn’t know what to play with first.

An abundance of toys. Highway on the ottoman, Max, Barrio and Gringo (L-R)

Barrio and his bone. He sat here like this for 20 minutes because I yelled at him for carrying my hand weights around. Barrio does not like it if I raise my voice or scold him at all. He’s a total Mommas boy.

His favorite thing is to carry a toy. When I let them out back he grabs a toy before he goes out the door. EVERY TIME.

The dogs are still swimming, which drives me crazy because they stand outside the glass door and shake. Our water is so hard that the door is always covered with water spots. Bill plans to put in a water softener and a reverse osmosis. I’m sick of buying bottled water, I drink a gallon a day and hate the tap water. And yes, I pee a LOT.

Arizona is not our final resting spot. It’s too hot here and we want more land for the dogs. We plan to buy a motorhome and go check out some areas, dogs in tow. Once the house in Roatan sells, we’ll get rid of this place and move on. Places to go, things to see.

We wish you all a happy healthy and less panic-driven, non-restricted 2021.

P.S. If you want to continue to read my blog, please subscribe. If you’re not sure how to do that send me a private message with your email and I’ll email you a link. I plan to stop posting on FAKEBOOK very very soon.

Half a year bites the dust.

06/25/2020 By the time I get this posted it will be 6 months that I’ve lived in Arizona. I never thought I would feel stranded in my new hometown, but I do. Not to the extent that Bill and my friends on the island are feeling, only allowed out one day every 2 weeks, but stranded nonetheless. I can go to the stores when I want to, mask-wearing is required, but I am allowed out.

The idyllic, previously non-covid infected island of Roatan has more cases than they can currently handle, Honduras as a country, is a shit show. The country is/was very unprepared for a virus like this to hit an already besieged, impoverished place. My heart aches for everyone there, ex-pats and islanders alike, they’re all living in a strange new time, cut off from the rest of the world. The Governor and the congressman, Dino and Ron, have been working nonstop dealing with a very unstable main government, very trying times.

Nobody knew in January that mid-March would become a house of horrors for the world. Bill was here visiting for a week and left the 12th of March, the island, and the world as we knew it shut down soon after his return to Roatan. We are all hoping and praying that the virus can be contained and that the people living there can soon start making some money. Remember, there is no unemployment or welfare. If you’re out of money, you’re out of money. Nidia (BECAUSE WE CARE, SOL, ROARESCUE, LIVE AGAIN MINISTRIES) and MANY MANY other organizations have been supplying food as fast as they can get money to buy it. Food is a continual need, it’s gone in 5 days. If anyone is interested in donating please email me at ledfutt@gmail.com.

So, it’s been the boys, me and my sucky injured ankle. My ankle has not healed so I went to a new foot doc. He took Xrays, nothing broken (good) but he thinks I may have torn a tendon(s) so I had an MRI on Saturday. I see the doc again on Thursday. I’m still walking the dogs 3 miles a day and many days end up with 5 or 6 miles a day after cleaning or going shopping.

I got my sewing machine out to do some alterations to the waterproof covers I got for the chairs the dogs sleep on and the tension was all screwed up. I posted online and was given a name so I called and got their address and took my machine over.

I figured I was at the right place when I saw this by the mailbox. The man was so sweet, he fixed my machine and got it running great again.

The day after I got it back, I decided to fix my swim skirt and the chair covers. I did the swim skirt, tried it on, it was ok, then started on the chair covers but ran out of elastic. I put the dogs in their kennels and ran to Joann’s and then to Michaels to get elastic and some other stuff. I also stopped at the grocery store. After I got home I realized I had gone all of those places in my SWIM SKIRT. OMG.

The last time I took the dogs to the vet my A/C stopped working on the way home. I called a local garage and scheduled an appointment. They said my condenser had a leak and I needed it replaced, $500.00. I knew we got an extended warranty on my car so I called the dealer and they said it if was indeed a bad condenser, it was covered. I drove it up there and dropped it off. They gave me a 2020 Honda Civic loaner car. Nice car but it was so low I practically had to get on my hands and knees to get out of it.

That was a Tuesday. They called the same day and said it was covered. PHEW!! The following Monday they called and said the car was ready. I was so grateful to have my car back. For Honda to do the work it was double what the local shop would have charged. When the warranty expires, I will not be going to the Honda dealer for repairs.

I’ve been cooking/baking a lot more than I did the last 7 years. I made 2 pans of 5 cheese lasagna (no meat), almond biscotti dipped in chocolate, blueberry zucchini muffins. Problem is, I’m eating it too.

My friend Laura gave me 2 pork sirloin roasts so I cooked them and made pulled pork. I have a lot of it in the freezer, it will last for awhile and is so good. Yes, I eat pork, it’s white meat.

I’ve also been cooking for the dogs. Beef liver is cooked in the crock pot in the garage because I can’t stomach the smell. Then I cook spinach, peas and carrots, beans, lentils and zucchini in a huge pot and add the liver when it’s cooked. They love it and all of their skin issues are clearing up.

Olivia thought it was Italian wedding soup, whatever the hell that is. This will last 3 weeks maybe. I made it June 14th and I only have the big container left in the freezer.

I have a huge cactus in front of my bedroom window. I was not particularly fond of it until it did this:

It’s a Cereus hildmannianus QUEEN OF THE NIGHT. Below the flower you can see the bird nest that has been there for several months. No eggs, no babies. However, it has a resident evil bird.

This bird sat there while I took flash photos.

I get all Alfred Hitchcockish with this bird and it’s spooky eyes. I make sure to have glasses of some sort on so this bird doesn’t peck my eyeballs out.

Then last night there were two, just glaring at me. They’re ganging up, I know one night there will be a flock of Angry Birds attacking me.

This only bloomed once, no birds either.

Beautiful sky, too bad I’m way too lazy to use my real camera.

The deserts’ answer to bubble wrap. I have so much fun cracking all of the seed pods on the sidewalks and roads. I’m 7 years old again. This is Max on his morning walk.

Max is so obnoxious. When he wants something, he wants it NOW. He wanted inside and I was ignoring him. He hits me too, full-on hauls off and cracks me with his paw. He is so spoiled, I’ve started grabbing his paw and telling him no but he’s persistent.

My friend Lowanna saw this card and sent it to me, I love it, can’t wait until she can come visit!

Another friend Paula made these 2 bracelets and sent them to me. I love them because the colors resemble the desert colors. I don’t know how she can do something so intricate. I love them.

They like the ledge on the pool. We’re having a guy come and run the pool water through a reverse osmosis system to get some of the calcium out and make the water better. The water here is so hard and so much calcium in it that everything gets marked. Especially my skin.

The photo isn’t hung crooked, I was too lame to stand up to take the photo. I ordered this “Pulp Fiction” print off of Red Bubble. I love it!! (I listen to a radio station broadcast from a prison here in AZ, KCDX. Best station I’ve ever listened to, NO talking, just music. They just played the song John Travolta and Uma Thurman danced to in the scene in my picture ^^^, The song is You Never Can Tell by Chuck Berry.)

I want to give a special shout out to my friend Cole. Cole was working at Blue Island Divers on Roatan when I did my refresher course. I got to dive with him several times, he is an absolute fish and has a great love for the ocean. He is now in Boca Raton, Florida running a camp for kids called Bubble Blowers Kids Camp. They are learning all about snorkeling, diving and caring for the underwater environment and making sure the beaches are kept in a pristine condition. If you’re in the area and have kids, this is a great thing for them to do. Cole is a PADI certified dive instructor and will instill in your kids his love for the ocean. Check him out HERE

So, here we are 6 months out, not a damn thing has changed. I have done nothing really exciting at all and I’m bored. My only guilty pleasure is Amazon and I have really cut down on that because I don’t NEED anything. I’m hoping Chance and his girls will be able to come visit this month, that will at least be some company. Things aren’t looking good for Bill getting off the island anytime soon, which really sucks, especially for him. One day out every two weeks is pretty damn sucky and there is nothing he can do about it. Keeping fingers crossed the island can get a grip on this virus and figure things out so the people can get back to their lives and welcome visitors again.

Stay safe everyone.

What the world needs now is P E A C E.

May 2, 2020. (let me start by apologizing, this blog makes no sense, just like everything else right now. If you manage to read the whole thing, thank you)

It’s been Arizona hot for a while now and my drip irrigation isn’t working, I had a new drip control meter installed but now there is no water coming out and with these temps, the trees need to be watered. I have been watering everything myself for the last few days and it’s a pain in the butt with this boot on my foot. My friend Cindy hooked me up with her guy Manny quite a while ago. Manny came out and looked at the yard and suggested some things but said to wait until the end of March to do anything. He came last week and gave me an estimate and will put in an all-new sprinkler system next weekend. I want to get more plants but can’t until they are properly being watered.

I can’t believe I’m having foot issues again. Too much walking for an old lady. I did not ease into it, just went full throttle as always. (don’t have boot on yet)

And the BOOT: I have severe tendonitis in my right foot and some tendonitis in my left. The right foot has a nice lump below my ankle that is bigger than my ankle bone, AND IT’S ALL MY OWN FAULT. My feet were crying, no matter what shoes I wore, less so with the cheap Skechers because they don’t lace up over the high part of my foot above my instep, so I wore them and kept walking. Until I could barely walk anymore. I just could not stand the dogs staring at me wanting to go for their walks. The guilt was awful. I limped them on short walks on Thursday morning before I went to the Doctor. She said no walking for 2 weeks, then I go back. Hopefully, the swelling is down so she can re Xray the right foot. I still have my lovely boot from when I broke my ankle zip-lining in Roatan in 2011. I went over to my neighbors after the foot doc appt because he goes to the same Doctor. George, my awesome neighbor, gave me his electric scooter to use for however long I need it. So, now I walk the dogs as I ride along on a scooter. They hate it, it’s tough for Barrio the Bloodhound to sniff everywhere he goes, Max, the public pooper is on the road next to me so no scoping out perfect poop spots and Gringo, the Venus Flytrap gets yanked along if he stops too long to snap at flies (or else my shoulder gets dislocated). Me? Crazy scooter lady. Hey, it works, I can still walk the dogs.

This morning we left the house at 6:30 AM, late start. I get so many smells walking through the hood. This morning I smelled BACON, French toast and fabric softener. The boys were all dragging tongue on the last leg of the walk. I got Max to sit between my feet and I moved the scooter a little, freaked him out, he jumped off. Same with Barrio, not into riding on it at all. Pretty much all of the people I see every morning walking have asked me what I did. Damn Damn Damn. At least I can appreciate all the beautiful flowering trees.

Palo Verde, gorgeous but really a messy dirty tree.

And here we are, a week later. Still hot as hell here, 104-106, grateful for the pool and air conditioning. I’m still scootering the dogs and they are NOT fond of it at all. It’s obviously too hot for Max to even go swimming, he’s figured out if he gets in the pool he must dry off before he can come inside so he refuses to go in. Next week there is a cold front coming in, temps will be in the 90’s. Maybe he’ll go in then.

I got a new TV in January but Bill was gone before the internet was hooked up. I programmed the TV myself and in the process cultivated several new curse words and shed some tears, but I did it. Recently I started having streaming issues. Since my phone could stream I decided it was the TV. After an hour plus online I finally figured out how to put in a service call with Samsung. They were to come a certain day at a certain time. I planned around their visit. Then I started getting calls from a service guy who I could not understand what he was saying, wanting to come different days. I said no. They kept calling and I kept saying NO. Their scheduled date to arrive was here and they showed up a few hours early. They put booties on their feet, gloves and a mask before they came in. They took the TV down, laid it on the carpet and took it apart. I felt like I was in a sci-fi/alien abduction show. I could hardly understand a word they said. They fixed it and said I needed a wi fi booster, actually, he wrote it on a sheet of paper. I figured they were wrong because my cell gets full signal but at that point I wanted them to leave. What they did, they claim, was put a new brain in the TV.

I still had streaming issues so I bought a Roku and hooked it up. It’s much better now. Well, most of the time.

I’ve been reading a lot. I get free books via Amazon Prime that I buy to read electronically. For some reason I bought a real book, and I loved it.

Olivia told me to read All the Light We Can Not See. I started it and was having a hard time getting into it but it’s getting much better now.

Bill is still STUCK on the damn island. They just decided the island residents could only go out 1 day EVERY TWO WEEKS, which is ridiculous. Bill’s day out was Tuesday and this is what he found at the grocery store. He did go back later in the day and they had a better selection but not as much as normal.

He is so ready to leave there but he can’t. No flights out, at this time the island is still closed for business. The people on the island have no income, they depend on tourism and there is NONE. They have no money to eat, robberies are up, home invasions are up, all this is happening despite the fact there is a curfew and police are doing roadblocks checking ID’s to see if it is your allotted day out. Monday Bill helped Nidia distribute food down in the colonia below our house. He said so many people were waiting for food, it was heartbreaking. We bought enough chickens for all the families in El Higuero.

Bill with two of my friends, Kirsty in the blue shirt and Cindy with the pink mask.

I so wish I were there to help Nidia, she has been working non-stop since the island shut down. I believe she has raised over 75K to buy food. The thing is, the food doesn’t last, it’s enough for a family for 5-6 days, then they are out. No food, no income. Such a crappy life situation.

UPDATE on the Roatan situation: The island has been under lockdown. No ships allowed to dock on Roatan. Well, the other night 9 people snuck in on a boat, landed in Jonesville in The Santos Guardiola municipal, where we live. It’s still unclear how they were caught. They were placed in quarantine for 14 days. One of the guys snuck out, got a motorcycle and was headed to his home mid-island. There was a huge manhunt. No clue if they caught him or not but the brilliant minds that run the country decided to place the whole east end of the island in lockdown for another 2 weeks. Previously people were allowed out one time every two weeks, Bill’s day out was May 5th. The whole lockdown on the island was to end tomorrow and people would again be free to move around the island.

{Island update: 5/25/20 They allowed the people on the east end to circulate freely last week after there was a major protest, which was great. They could go to the beach, visit friends, shop any day they wanted, until one of the guys who came from the mainland tested positive for the virus. He had been on the run for a week I believe, who knows how many he infected. Now the island is locked down again. The government is so screwed up. If they had handled the people trying to get back to the island properly, this would not have happened. Now people have to sanitize their shoes before entering a store and in some gated communities they are sanitizing car tires.} The past week saw many changes for the island. The authorities built spray booths that people had to walk through to cross the line into the other municipal and also to enter the hospital and grocery stores. What they were spraying people with nobody knows. They also were spraying cars and the tires with the thought process that people who may be infected spit on the ground, cars drive over it and their tires are infected. I guess that means there are a lot of tire lickers on the island because that’s the only way Covid could be spread from a tire. The booths lasted a day or two. Another waste of money by the people making decisions. The island is still on a number system, Bill is allowed out Tues this week, first in a few weeks. It really sucks that he is stuck there, trying to sell the house and confined to it. No tourists allowed on the island still, who knows when it will open up again.

After I scootered (new word) the dogs last night we all went out back so I could water the Queen Palms. It’s 7:20 and Max jumps in the pool, then the other 2 do also. I know it felt good and they wanted to swim but it was time to go inside and relax and they were soaking wet. I sat down on the chair and dried each of them as well as I could. I have to keep big beach towels on the leather chairs and stool in the living room because they are always damp even after I dry them. (Just ordered some waterproof covers for the two chairs)

Added bonus of the scooter, no carrying the poop bag.

The hoodlums in the hood set fire to the trash can.

I’m bored enough that, even though I gave 95% of my scrapbook supply to Kirsty @ SOL on Roatan, I’ve decided to start scrapbooking again. Let the Amazon orders begin. I got a Cinch machine to make little books. I got chipboard to make the covers and the wire that goes in the holes that the machine punches in the pages. Then you use the machine again to close the wires and make a wire-bound scrapbook. Looking forward to using it, in fact, I’m going to go play around with it today. When I shipped stuff back to the US I only shipped one of two containers of scrapbook stuff. Of course, the one I didn’t ship has all my pens and ink pads and stamps in it. Hopefully Bill can fill a suitcase with it if he ever can leave the island.

I saw the Doc after 2 weeks and she said I could walk the dogs wearing the boot. Well, I did 2 miles the first evening and was hurting. (My neighbor wanted his scooter back so it could sit in his garage and absorb cigarette smoke, they don’t use it.) Whatever, it’s theirs and I’m grateful I could use it for two weeks but one more week would have been super. I walked them again the next morning, only 2 miles total for all 3 and my left hip started hurting.The third time walking them and my hip started hurting more than my foot so I’m down to one walk a day for now and they are not happy dogs at all. They stare at me and make me feel like a wretched pet owner. I’m not wearing the boot anymore and I have a whole new appreciation for people with a peg leg. The unevenness walking did me in. I’m just going slow and not doing 7 miles a day. (I only skipped evening walks one night, my guilt was too much for me). I am back walking 3 miles in the morning and 1.5 in the evening. My foot still hurts but I can walk and the boys are happy. Lord knows, that’s ALL that matters here.

Boredom is a thing. Some stores have been open, we have the freedom to go where we want when we want, but many things are still closed. Tomorrow I’m venturing out to the scrapbook/craft stores and then stopping at the grocery store for more fruit. That will probably be the highlight of my week. If I can find enough scrap stuff that I want, I’ll start working on a new book, if not, I’ll be poolside, chugging 60-90oz of water a day and vodka or wine at night.

We are in the triple digits here. My weather app said it was so hot that the birds were using oven mitts to pull worms from the ground. I walk the dogs around 5:30 and am home around 7:15. They still are walked separately. My poor ankle.

I’m wrapping this up, I started it May 2nd, it’s like a damn albatross. So over it. I’m ready for company but my state has not fully opened, in fact, they just imposed an 8PM curfew. No worries for me, I am never out after 8, unless it’s in my own back yard.

My wish for all of you is P E A C E. It’s what the world needs now. XOXO

Social distancing is my uber skill

03/20/2020 I am not going to say I’m practicing social distancing because I have it mastered already. I do not like crowds or large groups of people. This is not new, it’s my normal. The older I get the more I realize I don’t have a need to be with a lot of people, I chose who I want to be with rather than be thrust in a group of 20-30 or more people that I really don’t know or care to know. I have a few years left in my life and only want to spend it with the people I like, not once a week or once a month friends. I have no need for that.

Bill was here for 10 days, I told the dogs he was coming but all they heard was blah blah blah. I took Max to pick him up in Phoenix. Max was super excited. When we got home I had Bill let the other two out of their crates and they went batshit crazy. He sat down on the chair and was totally mauled. Gringo even added the special loving touch and humped his shoe.

Bill is the tan pants under 200# of dogs.

He got all of the Honey-Do list done which was fabulous. He: put the dresser together, put the trundle bed together, fixed the lights, took down the saltwater pool box, hung 2 huge Cool-a-roo curtains, figured out the accent night lights in the yard, added new timers to them and to the filter. Moved the desk which weighs 11 tons, hooked up the batteries for the electric couch since we have no outlet close by. He moved the washer and dryer out so I could scrub under them and replaced the guts in the master bath toilet and added some RAM to my slow laptop.

This made my computer so much better, it was booting up so slow I hardly used it.

I found a local nursery online that wasn’t far from the house so we went one afternoon. It was huge but it was also a mess. There was trash everywhere, broken pots floating in with the koi, totally overgrown with weeds, buildings falling down, I was not impressed. Most of the cactus looked good but the other stuff was pretty much dead. They did have some interesting things laying around but I didn’t buy anything. Doubt I will return, I can’t stand places like that.

This was the cleanest building that we saw.

Cholla, these things can stick in a dog so easily.

This is the same type of cactus we have. Ours is huge and a bird is nesting in it.

I almost bought some Rosemary but didn’t feel like dealing with it.

While he was here I decided I needed some houseplants so I bought 2 nice pottery pots at Lowe’s and got a Dracena and a Sansevieria (snake plant). Bill helped me pot them and bring them inside. I would like a few more indoor plants. At one time when I lived in a cabin on the Loyalsock Creek in PA, I had over 80 indoor plants. I spent all my time at greenhouses, I was obsessed.

Bill took a LYFT back to the Phoenix airport. His flight was at 12:40AM and I detest driving in the dark. He got home just in time to be on a small island that has shut down. Many tourists are stranded there, the Canadian flights came empty to take the Canadians home but the US carriers haven’t done that yet, I read that they will soon begin to pick up US travelers that are stranded. People think being stranded on a tropical island would be the shits. Well, it’s not. Granted they have not run out of toilet paper and eggs like in the US but they have the island on lockdown right now. People are to stay at home. It amazes me how many people don’t pay attention to the rules and have their own little pool parties. Stupid. The craziest thing to me is the government saying there are no reported cases on the island. REPORTED is the keyword here. A few weeks ago, when this was just getting to the US but was all over Europe, 20,000 people (from all over the world) came on cruise ships in one day. They shopped in local stores, they were picked up by locals who do tours, they went to the beach and bought from locals working there. You tell me none of those 20000 people were asymptomatic. HAH. The virus was more than likely passed on to a local and then taken back to the colonias where the majority of the homes have no running water and rarely have soap and never have hot water or hand sanitizer. These are the people who don’t have rolls of toilet paper stacked in their pantry. The colonias are where many elderly people live and Roatan also has a very high number of diabetics on the island, they are more prone to this disease. The Corona Virus is there and anyone who thinks it isn’t is just kidding themselves. No cases and no reported cases are two entirely different things. I hope for the best for the island, I have many gringo and island friends there and Bill is there too. I am constantly telling him to stay home as I watch on FB the gringos having parties and ignoring the orders to close their businesses down. I hope I’m wrong about the virus but realistically, I find it so hard to believe it’s not on the island.

I’m still walking the dogs daily, my tendinitis is pretty much healed. I swear using the kinesiology tape helped me, YouTube videos showed me how to apply it. YouTube is amazing. I couldn’t get the front mats out of my car (kind of dark in the garage) so I YouTubed how to get them out, duh. It was so easy, even in the semi-dark when I realized what to do.

I alternate which dog goes first on our walks and figured out the easiest way to remember. When I walk one, the other 2 go in their crates. When I return I put the leash in the front, middle or back of the crate so the next morning I can figure out the order.

Gringos crate, he was first this morning. He’ll be last tomorrow.

Max was second, he’ll be first tomorrow. He always poops on his walk, just love carrying that steaming bag around.

Barrio was last today. He’ll be second tomorrow. See, there is a method to my madness.

Being my OCD self, I decided to change from all the colored scrapbooks I have to plain black binders. This was more of a task than I thought it would be as I had to punch holes in all of the page protectors so they would fit in the new 3 ring albums.

I had 17 12X12 scrapbooks full of memories.

Now I have them in 7 new books. I just ordered one more because one is overly full. I also ordered some binders for my 8.5X11 books and my 8X8 scrapbooks. All black, all the same except the 8X8 isn’t available in a 3 ring so I just ordered black. I posted on one of the local pages that I had 17 scrapbooks free for the taking. They were gone in 15 minutes.

I saw my first Arizona scorpion on the wall above the dog food dishes. It was dead as soon as I squashed it. I called the pest control right away and they came and sprayed.

Things are beginning to bloom, spring is on the way. I can’t wait to be able to get into the pool, it’s still 64 degrees.

Growth all the way up the tree, can’t wait to see what it looks like in a month.

My oldest granddaughter Alexah was to come and stay with me for 2 weeks but I doubt that is going to happen. She was coming on April 1st. I had all sorts of things planned to do with her, even bought tickets for an event in Scottsdale but I’m pretty sure it will all be canceled.

The boys were all in dog training classes. Max went Saturday, Gringo Friday eve and Barrio on Not helping much at all. The classes have been postponed but at the last class, Max sat with his back to the room and stared at the wall for the full hour. The teacher cracked up every time she looked over at him. Maybe he was social distancing, who knows?

And there you have it. I’m going to take the dogs outside for a while then curl up and read.

If you know anyone interested, here’s a link to our house. It’s a really crappy time to be trying to sell a house! https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mx1HH2FLC3I

The difference between living and existing

04/28/2019 I’ve struggled with the thoughts rumbling in my brain, putting them down for others to read is difficult. I was recently back in the states visiting with my 98 year old Father. I’m so happy that I went, despite the fact he may not even remember I was there. He does not remember that I moved out of the country 6 years ago, he does not remember that my Mother, his wife of almost 70 years has passed away. He does not remember going flying with Bill in his plane, he does not remember time spent with the boys in the Outer Banks. The only thing he seems able to recall is WWII. Something he never spoke of when we were young.

My Dad was always a strong, intelligent hard working, well respected business man. He taught the 3 of us to be responsible, to be honest and kind and to always work hard. He (and Mom) taught us to be good parents, they led by example. To see him like this is so hard, my proud Father reduced to this man who doesn’t remember if he ate breakfast. What a horrid disease dementia is.

My trip there was uneventful, I got bumped to first class on the way to Houston.

I realized on the way to Houston that my AT&T sim card did not fit in my new phone which meant I had no internet when I arrived at Reagan International airport near DC, my final destination. This posed a problem because this was the first time I ever flew into there AND I had to find my way to my sisters house in the dark with no GPS. I was stressing. I tried to find somewhere to get my sim card cut at Houston but had no luck. They called my flight and had us waiting to board when someone (thank you whoever you are) noticed that the plane had a flat tire. We had to wait until they changed it. Fine with me, it would really suck to take off in a plane with a flat tire.

Finally, @ 10:30PM we landed at DCA in Washington DC, well, really Arlington Va. My foot was throbbing in my always super comfy Skechers that I wear to travel. I could not find where I was to go to get the rental car and walked the length of the empty airport looking for someone to ask. Finally, I was told I had to go outside and get a bus to the rental facility. When I got there I was number 9 in line with 2 agents and it was 11 PM. I was a little stressed. When it was my turn I poured my heart out to the agent and he said he would fix me up with a car with a nav system in it for 11 million dollars more. At that point, after paying for insurance (because I no longer have insurance in the US) I didn’t care if it was 15 million dollars. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. I found the car in the deserted parking garage, the kind you see on movies that muggers and rapists lurk about in. I didn’t see any keys for the car but noticed a push button start, which didn’t work. I had no clue, I’ve never driven a key less car, remember, my car is 13 years old. I found an attendant who reached to the very front of the dash, over the lip, grabbed the key fob and told me; hold this in your hand, step on the brake and push the button. I’ll be damned, it started. Then I had to program the route to my sisters. Once I was on the road I was OK but still really stressed. I was driving on the poorly lit, riddled with potholes, George Washington Memorial Parkway, then I was on I 495 and I saw signs for Rte 200, which I know is a toll road. I’ve driven on it before and ended up being charged $45.00 each time because I don’t have one of those pass things. I pulled off the road and figured out how to set the GPS for no toll roads and was back on the highway again. I don’t know what time I made it to my sisters but I was frazzled.

FRED, my Ford Flex. I actually liked this car a lot. It reminds me of something Fred Flinstone and Barney would cruise around in, hence the name.

I went over to see Dad the next day. He was sleeping and I tried to wake him but he didn’t stir. I decided to go take care of my phone and buy a new sim card for it. Once I had that I felt a whole lot better. I realized that on my drive from the airport to my sisters, I couldn’t even call anyone if I needed to, it was like 1970 with no cell phones.

I had a foot doctor appointment at noon that day so I did a few things then went to see the podiatrist. The unusual thing was, my foot has been so much better since I went snorkeling a few times, I was barely limping. The Doc was very nice, read my list from the 5 previous orthopedic surgeons and their thoughts on my ailment. He said he wanted to take his own X-Rays, I said OK. He took the X-Rays and came back in to see me. His opinion was I had severe arthritis in my big toe. The one that was operated on Dec 3rd. He gave me 3 choices: a cortisone shot, orthopedics to wear in my shoes (flip flops 24/7) or surgery. I told him I would think about it and call him back. When I checked out they said my medicare number was not correct so I told them I would follow up on that.

I left there and went back to see Dad and decided to wake him up. He was so surprised to see me, he recognized me right away and sat up. His socks were tucked into the nightstand drawer, far be it for my Dad to ever throw anything on the floor. His shirt was hung up and his dress pants were over the chair. He got up and dressed and we went out to the main room where people congregate. He is on the top (3rd) floor in a memory care center. None of the residents can operate the elevator, for their own safety. They have a key pad by the elevators for the workers to use. There is a lady named Shirley who thinks it’s a phone and uses it to call her Mother every day. She also tries to get on the elevator to go downstairs and escape to freedom, so you need to tell her it is going up.

That afternoon they had a nice man come in to play some music. I recognized a few of the tunes, obviously Dad did not and quite loudly said, many times, “well, he’s trying but he’s not very good.” I could have crawled under a chair.

Dad and I sat for 3 hours in this room and as happy as I was to be with him, it was heart wrenching to see my strong intelligent Father sitting there wondering what was going on around him. I saw a younger man who seemed very with it, I assumed he was a visitor but he was a resident. There were a few couples where the one partner was mentally fine but their spouse was not. One couple in particular, I really admired the man who was there because of his wife. The sacrifices he made to be with her. I wondered if he would leave and move out if and when she passed. My sister said there are many people who she never sees anyone visiting and she would know as she is there almost daily. She and her husband Mark are my Father’s angels, and sometimes he is a very difficult man to deal with. They know it’s not him, it’s the disease, it was something I had to learn again. Despite the fact of knowing that, it still hurts.

When I got back to my sister’s I got online to the Medicare website, turns out I never got the “new” medicare card. I didn’t know because I’ve never used it. I called Medicare and of course, they could not give the number to me over the phone. I decided to go to the Medicare office that was close by and get the number. I waited almost 2 hours in the most confusingly numbered system I’ve ever experienced. When I finally got up to the window the girl said she could NOT give me a new Medicare card. I assured her that I knew that but could she give me the correct number pretty please? Yes, she could and did. I was in there so long the weather went from cool and sunny to cold and rainy. I think I may have gone shopping to ease my pain. The following morning I went back to the Dr and got a cortisone shot in my big toe. It didn’t hurt but by the next day I had developed a new pain in my foot and I had a hard time walking. Great. From bad to pretty darn good to a new kind of bad.

This was my first trip to TJ Maxx where I believe I set a world record for filling a cart the fastest. Don’t even ask me what I bought, I know there were dog toys and a pair of shoes. ONLY 1 PAIR OF SHOES THOUGH.

I went back there a few times with my sister. We share the same shopping skills, inherited, passed down from our Mother. Our wallets thank her.

My sweet adorable nephew’s wife came over to see me and she and Missy and I went to Target in Gaithersburg. O M G. I miss that store. I wanted one of everything. Missy, Sofie and I did a substantial amount of shopping, I was feeling good, I love to buy new stuff. We got back to Missy’s and Eric, Sofie’s hubs and my favorite (only but still favorite) nephew came over to see me. He made some kick ass guacamole and we had another amazing meal.

I’m sure I’m getting my days mixed up but I’m allowed to, I’m not on a schedule. My BFF Olivia lives in Bel Air, MD and we have not seen each other for too damn long. She took a sick day and met me at TJ MAXX in Columbia, MD. We did some shopping and then went to a fabulous place for lunch. We were debating going in when a cop walked by us and said, “have you eaten here?” We said no, he said, “try it, it’s fabulous”, so in we went. My BFF Olivia is a foodie, she lives to eat. I eat to live but we have found common ground and it works for us.

Everything was fresh, made to order right in front of you. It was delicious.

I made sure my nephew Eric and his wife knew about this place since they just bought a new home in Columbia.

I called Dad late one morning to see if he wanted to go to McDonald’s. He has always loved a plain cheeseburger with fries. He said he didn’t know what I was talking about. So I repeated myself. He started shouting that he didn’t know what I was saying and why was I bothering him with this. He didn’t know what I was talking about and didn’t want to go. I said, “Dad, why are you yelling at me?” He said you are talking crazy talk and he hung up on me. My brother in law heard the conversation and came out and said, give him an hour, he won’t remember a thing. I waited until after lunch and went over. Mark gave me a can of Coke for him and a straw. He did not remember talking to me and he guzzled that Coke down so fast. I got him to go out and walk around a little bit. Not for long though, he wanted to go nap. He came to Missy’s one night for spaghetti and meatballs. He ate a good meal but was ready to go home before we even ate.

Missy, Dad and I. Sorry these are smaller, can’t make them any larger.

Dad taste testing the spaghetti to see if it’s done.

Missy had some cards made for him with photos of family and flowers and other things. Two cards of each photo and he tries to match the cards. He really enjoys playing it but can not, for the life of him, remember where the matching cards are.

Mark, Eric, Missy and I went out for dinner one evening to Cava. It looks very nondescript from the outside, it is in a strip mall, but once inside, OMG.

More bar seating but we were at the actual bar, of course we were.

My first ever Moscow Mule made with Vodka, Ginger Beer, crystallized ginger and lime juice. These things are dangerous.

Eric and his dad Mark. So much fun to hang out with them. I love that Eric wanted to spend time with me.

They serve Naan bread and some hot spicy dip and oil and tzatziki dip, we got chicken skewers, fries, grilled brussel sprouts and lamb sliders. I did not eat Mary’s Little Lamb. The rest was delicious.

The next day my brother and his daughter Devon came down for Easter. They came a little early so they could see me too. We all went over to see Dad one afternoon. Missy and Devon found a puzzle so we helped Dad put it together in the dining room. He was very upset because we were in the dining room and people didn’t usually hang out in there.

Dad had a difficult time with the puzzle but Devon helped him.

PJ and Devon. She is such a happy girl, always smiling, unless PJ is making her do something she really doesn’t want to do, like turn off the computer. I’m so glad they came down and I got to see both of them.

We were sitting out on Missy’s deck when I got an alert from United saying they were expecting severe thunderstorms in the afternoon on the day I was leaving. I called Bill and he said to call them and reschedule. They put me on a 10:10 AM flight, which meant I had to leave at 7 to return the car and find my way. I went over to the memory care center at 4:20 that afternoon to say good bye to Dad. He was in bed and would not get up. I wanted him to go eat dinner but he said he wasn’t hungry. I gave up, didn’t want to upset him so I hugged him, kissed him good-bye and left with tears in my eyes. It sucks to leave, you don’t know if that’s going to be the last time you see him or not. He still doesn’t understand that I am not close and can’t pop over for lunch on a whim.

That night we all (minus Dad, he doesn’t do trips more than 10 minutes very well) went to Eric and Sofie’s new house for dinner. They just moved in a few weeks ago and were excited for us all to see it. It’s a great house, lots of room and a beautiful back yard. They made parmesan chicken and stuffed shells. Missy made a salad and I took wine. It was delicious.

Sofie has hit the ultimate coolness factor with me. She has a T-Rex sippy cup. I was in love.

Devon took this of Missy and I. The first one she took was hysterical, it was of her thumb. This is a picture off of a phone.

Eric, Sofie, PJ and Mark, waiting to dive into a fabulous meal.

We helped them clean up and then headed for home. I still had to pack. UGH. We sat around and talked for a short time after we got home but I had to get up early and get on the road so I said good night.

I was out the door at 7 AM, stopped to fill up the tank and then got lost in VA trying to return the rental car. I was pulled off the road cursing at the Nav system because it just stopped and I was clearly nowhere near the rental return. Just then a cop pulled up and asked me how I was. I was stressed and lost. He was so nice, he told me exactly where I needed to go, repeated it several times and said, don’t take this turn…I finally found it, dropped off the car and made my way to the airport. Once I was checked in I got something awful to eat (donuts) and went to my gate. My foot was hurting so much I could hardly walk. Once I got on the plane to Houston I was able to sit back and relax. I arrived in Houston much earlier than scheduled due to my flight change times. I was spending the night at the Marriott at the airport. You have to get your luggage then go down a level and catch the subterranean subway to the hotel. I made it to the hotel a few hours before check in, they said no problem. I got checked into my room, took my shoes off and opened my suitcase only to realize they had ruined my suitcase, the zipper pulls and the TSA lock were missing. Now that it was opened there was no way to close it. I called United and she told me to take it back to Terminal C and they would replace it for me. My foot hurt so bad I asked if there was anyway they could deliver it. She said no, but she had just been in Roatan on vacation and loved it. YAY. I emptied everything out of it and trudged back over to Terminal C. I spoke to a man at the United luggage desk. I expected it to be a lot more difficult than it was. He got some info then walked me over to these glass door closets filled with NEW suitcases. He asked if I wanted a hard or soft side, I said hard please. He gave me a brand new 28″ suitcase and sent me on my way. As I got on the subway to go back to the Marriott a girl said, “you must have come from somewhere warm.” I said, not really, I’m going home, I live on Roatan. She said, OMG, I just got back from there and am going again in August. Then she proceeded to pick my brain for the short 4 minute ride to the hotel. I got back to the room, re packed, took a bath, called room service and ordered a chicken ceasar and opened my box of wine.

Brand spanking new and I adore new suitcases for some odd reason.

Cracked open the box before I even got home!

I couldn’t figure out how to work the remote in the hotel room, (it had 300 buttons on it and was more than likely handled by very germ laden people) so I went to sleep. I was up by 7 and at the airport by 7:30 and checked in. 10 minutes later I was at my gate for the almost uneventful trip to Roatan. All was fine until we got ready to land and the pilot could not see the runway. He was way too high to even bring it in if he could see it. We flew over the ocean for awhile and he came in for another landing. This time I could see the runway, phew. I just wanted to be home. I was waiting for Bill when he walked up behind me. He had Max with him, once Max saw me he went crazy. He missed his momma. We came home and when I unpacked I realized the TSA agents stole my damn Skechers. I couldn’t wear them because my foot hurt so much, so I hid each in a separate travel cube. My cubes were open, clothes strewn all over and my shoes gone. Another call to United, they are taking care of it.

The dogs were so happy to see me and to get their new toys. When I got home my foot was way worse than it was when I left and I didn’t know what to do. I called the podiatrist in Maryland and he said it didn’t sound like a cortisone flare (I had googled that and it was not the issue), he suggested I see an ortho doc. Thing is, I’ve seen 5 and none of them helped me at all. Wonderfreakingful. I was talking to my friend about her results from seeing Mary Mason, a chiropractor from Austin TX who has a practice here. She suggested I go see her about my foot. So I did. My friend Steph and I went together, she is having neck/back issues. Dr Mary has a much different approach to chiropractic work than I am used to, I’ve seen chiropractors for 50 years. She worked on some bones behind my ears, the backs of my legs and my hips. She had me go out for a walk while she worked on Steph. Then she gave me another adjustment before I left. I was really sore (and still am) but I can walk without a limp. I’m going back to see her again tomorrow, hoping that one more treatment is all I will need.

I wanted Dra Diana, the vet from Tegus who gave us the miracle cream for Max’s wounds, to check Max’s ear, he seems to be shaking his head a lot and we wanted to get both he and Highway tested for heartworm and erlichia. Max and Highway were in the back of the truck, Max sat there perfectly quiet and Highway howled the whole damn trip (25 min) to the vet. I was losing it to the point that Bill threatened to turn around or let me out. I had him drop me at the vet and he went to the plumbing store. After they were tested and Dra Diana tested the goop in Max’s ear, we were ready to go. Bill suggested I sit in the back with Max and allow Highway up front. UGH. Fine, whatever. Can you believe this idiot dog didn’t howl once on the way home? He must have called SHOTGUN in dog speak and I didn’t catch it. He was howling BECAUSE I WAS IN THE FRONT SEAT. He really pushes my buttons..

Highway, the howler. This dog is lucky he didn’t get thrown out of the car when we went to the vets.

I have company coming on Thursday and I can’t wait!! I haven’t seen Tammy since 2013, looking forward to catching up with her and showing her around the island. I have a zillion things to do so I should probably post this thing and get moving.

It’s hot and humid, my weather app says: OMG, It’s so hot and humid. Who the frak even needs clothes today. Forget clothes. It’s 9:45 AM and already 86 but feels like 97. Luckily, we’re up on the hill top so we have a nice strong breeze blowing through the house.

Happy Monday everyone!

Back to blogging

Dec 2, 2018 Long time, no type. I’ve been so bored with my lack of a life that I had no words to put on a blog. To say I’ve been home all the time is not an exaggeration. I have been out to eat a few times but that’s it. I’ve been to the grocery store once in 2 months. That itself speaks volumes.

As I sit here on a Saturday afternoon, staring out at the water, some words slipped in to my head so here I am.

Quick update: my foot is still swollen, I was in a cast for 3 weeks, supposed to take it easy for a week and then be good to go. Nope, was no better. I went to an orthopedic Doc from the US (he lives here), he said Celebrex for 2 weeks, no improvement. I plan to go see a specialist on the mainland as soon as I can get in. Enough of this crap, it pisses me off big time. It will be 3 months Dec. 6th.

I have been spending a lot of time by the pool or in bed, resting the foot, so I’ve been reading. I read a book based on a true story called The Radium Girls. It’s unbelievable because it’s true. I just finished Flowers for Algernon and am starting one called Magnolia about Chip and Joanna Gaines. I’ve also been binge watching House Hunters International, Fixer Upper and Caribbean Life, along with my favorite TV show, Modern Family. Although my TV watching is always in the evening, unless it’s raining. Of course, when it rains our internet has not been working so I couldn’t watch anything. The internet company has been here 4 times in one month because we have been without internet for 24 hours each time. So ridiculous. I know, first world problems but dammit, WIFI is not too much to ask for is it? The internet provider blames it on the electric company but I can’t complain about the electric company, they’re not that bad. We’re on an island, I’m amazed we even have electricity.

We finally got the house painted. The old paint is the dull green on the left. It’s now fresh and bright green and I love it. The guys who painted it did a really nice job.

You can see the rain falling out of the sky.

A few weeks ago the power went out at 8:30 PM or so, I went to the window and looked out to see if the colonia below us was out. It was dark down there but there was a huge ball of red further east. It was a BIG fire. I posted on Roatan 911 that there were big flames coming from Politilly, several others had posted also. Bill walked into the bedroom when the power went out and we just stood there and watched the flames grow until there was a red trail floating skyward. It was awful watching it. We were told the fire may have been intentionally set by a woman mad at her daughter. Regardless of the reason, 3 houses were destroyed 2 more severely damaged. Many people are homeless. They will rebuild the homes ASAP.

The dogs are a lot of company as they follow me everywhere I go and beg for any speck of food I put in my mouth. Highway has been spending most of the time downstairs if Bill is out of the house. I get too exhausted telling him to be quiet all day long. He’s a whiner and a yapper and he is an instigator. With him downstairs it’s really quiet up here. When he gets all wound up he sounds like the 3 Stooges making their weird noises all at the same time. He does this over emergencies (a watusa or an armadillo in the yard) that do not warrant that reaction. In a nano second I have 5 hysterical dogs. Downstairs for the win.

This duo of Armadillos was moved to an area far away from us.

They allow me a small space to sleep. I’ll never own nice bedding again. They so own me.

Barrio is my Zen dog. He gets out of the pool and STOPS. He just stands still for 10-15 seconds, sometimes his eyes go closed. He totally experiences the feeling of the water running off of his body, he digs it. Lola, in the background, HATES the pool with a PASSION. To her it’s a large water bowl.

Cone head again. He seems to have grown what looks like a second butt hole. No clue what it is, not exactly like Gringo’s tail hole. Island dogs…He’s been on meds, it looks much better. Let me say, I don’t look, that’s Bill’s job. We took his cone off today, keeping an eye on Barrio. He seems to have a Highway butt fetish. Dogs are really gross.

They were looking for turkeys. I especially like their reflections in the pool.

Bill was slamming doors the morning I took this. There were dogs running and jumping on the bed. I was all, WTH is going on, it’s not time for me to get up, but I did, mainly to find out what was going on. Bill wanted to take a shower and the RATS/ mice? had once again chewed the hot water heater wires. Bastards. They have invaded my car again too and there is no food in my car at all. They are eating the rug floor mats in my car.

Click HERE for a video about the Founder of TOMS shoes, he was on Jimmy Fallon. It’s quite a powerful video considering gun violence is on the rise. Please watch the video.

I signed on to FB the other morning and there was a post from my friend Julie in Alabama. Julie and her husband and kids have been to the island, stayed here a few times and I know the kids too. Julie’s Mom had her two daughters at the mall shopping holiday sales. They were walking in the mall when a fight broke out between 2 boys. One had a gun and started shooting, a bullet struck my friends daughter Molly in the back. Thankfully, she is physically OK, no major damage, just that she will have a bullet in her back forever. I hope that she and her sister (and grandmother) can recover from this horrific accident emotionally. The fact that you can’t be in the mall, doing yoga, at a dance or a concert and be safe says a lot about the state of the US. Something needs to be done about these crazy shootings. Sign the TOMS petition, easy and free and doing something is better than doing nothing.

My friend the Duchess has owned a home on the island for a long time, she spends 3 months here, then back to the states, then here again, several times a year. She’s seen a lot of stuff happen, to her and to others that are illegal in most normal places. In the past year there have been several home robberies. They have the kid on video, everyone knows who it is but nobody does anything about it. The main criminal has kids under 18 do the dirty work because there is no prosecution whatsoever if you are under 18. These kids are getting brazen and out of control. The communities got together to discuss what could be done to stop the thieves. The Duchess was sitting at the meeting with another friend, a male, who has also been here a long time. Said male is very happily married and has been for years. As they sat awaiting things to get going a young girl who is related to one of the thieves was being very boisterous. She told our male friend that she was available. He tried his best to respond with a serious face. She then noticed his wedding ring and she said, “Oh, you married?” He shook his head and said “Yes I am.” Always a gentleman. She responded by saying, “I don’t care, I’m still available.” I would have been on the floor in hysterics. As the meeting began and people were discussing the issues at hand this girl continued to yell and talk loudly, totally disrupting the whole meeting. People had enough of her and threw her out and locked the doors of the school they were in. She continued to bang on the windows, cursing and screaming so loudly that the meeting became worthless. She then managed to find a way in and came at the group leader with a pen in her hand, held like a dagger. The woman speaking saw her coming and grabbed a desk and smashed it into her. At that point people got up and started to leave, not much was sorted out at all. You can’t make this shit up. As the island turns.

We had a nice Thanksgiving with friends at the Pineapple Grill. Yvonne, who I met Christmas eve, 2013, got a group of 20 people together. Big mistake for me was they had a huge salad bar and I adore salad bars, so when the heaping plateful of food came I could eat about 1/3 of it. It was delicious and fun getting out and seeing people. Not fun having to walk to get in there though, in all reality, Bill should have carried me.

Someone in the colonia below us is setting off firecrackers. I have no clue why as Nov. 24th signifies nothing as a holiday for the islanders. Maybe they are practicing for Christmas. Nothing goes better with baby Jesus than firecrackers?? {I see no correlation whatsoever.} Barrio has decided he does not like the sound of firecrackers so he follows me around like he’s attached to my ankles. He’s laying on my feet under my desk as I type. Bigger firecrackers going off now. And I guess I missed the fireworks at the beach below us. I also missed the wedding (which I was invited to) that was held there and that was the reason for the fireworks, totally forgot about it.

My eye was bothering me the other morning and it looked a little red so I went to the doggie meds drawer and found an unopened bottle of Tobramycin eye drops. Nothing like diagnosing yourself. Hope the drops make whatever it is go away. THEN, I was out by the pool reading and got stung by a horsefly type creature. They are triangle shaped and they really hurt if they get you. The dogs chase them and try to eat them so I chase the dogs and don’t let them eat them. I killed several that landed on me and didn’t get stung but this one got me good. He’s dead now. I called Bill and asked him to stop and get me wine because my eye was infected and a bee stung me. Seemed like a logical reason to need wine. Two bottles. One for my eye and one for my knee.

I am the admin on a few FB pages for Roatan and it’s become a joke with my band of friends on the island (guys) to say, Just Ask Debbie. Not only did they make a Google page for me, nice isn’t it??

They also did this. Never a dull moment here, sometimes I feel like a referee.

Remember Alexi, the young boy we have helped? He was in the Bomberos (fire department) for 2 years but they were not paying him so he is working for Bulldog Security. Happy he has a good job, not many young men do. I’m sure Bill’s influence on him has a lot to do with his success. Alexi has a sister Juliana and she has a son, Osman, a sister Jessica and a brother Ephrain. Ephrain has become Bill’s sidekick. Ephrain is not allowed to go to the school 2 minutes from his home because the teachers hate his mother and claim he is white. He’s not. Therefore, he has to take a taxi to school that is 15 min away. Most of the time his family is to meet him to ride home but they never do, they depend on Bill to pick him up. Actually, Ephrain is flunking because he misses so much school, they are too lazy to get him up to go. The other day Jessica sent Bill a photo of Osman and said he was sick. The one side of his face is all swollen. Bill told her he needed to go to a Doctor and she said Juliana won’t take him, she doesn’t care. Bill went and got him and picked up half the damn family for the joy ride to the clinic. They saw him then we took him back again to see the pediatrician. They said it is not a dental issue, it’s in his cheek. We went to their home yesterday to check on him and it’s not any better. I contacted my friend Miss Peggy who runs Clinic Esperanza. They have a very good pediatrician there so Bill took him this morning. Peggy had notified the clinic that we were coming and Osman got immediate attention when they got there. We are still waiting to find out what is going on with him. I just don’t get it. I take better care of my dogs than some people do of their children. Juliana is afraid she may have to spend $$ on Osman and she will not do that, probably because she knows that we will take care of him.

UPDATE on Osman. Bill went to get him this morning and his Mother wanted to go because she wanted to do something fun, she didn’t care about Osman. Bill told her NO. She said he was mean. It’s a good thing I wasn’t there, I would have defined mean for her, a mother who cares nothing for her children is mean. Anyhow, Osman had blood work done and something is going on. The doctor said it is a mass in his cheek so tomorrow back to Vessels of Mercy to get an ultrasound. Poor kid.

Jefferson, he and his family just moved in with Ephrain’s family.

A new construction on the way down to Miguel’s.

This is the property that Bill is overseeing the development of, our friend Miguel is the watchie and head of the construction crew.

These guys are making charcoal. They build a metal shed and set the wood on fire, any kind works. Then they cover it with wet leaves and let it smolder until it’s charcoal. Back breaking work for sure.

I have a cleaning girl here. She started in the bathroom at 8:15, she was still in there at 10:30 and she brought me a handful of expired medicines. OMG. I want her to move in and never leave. I’ll be afraid to even walk in there it’s so clean. She’s going to be a regular here, I might even see if she’ll move in. She came back the second day and worked another 8 hours in the living room and downstairs. This girl has a permanent job!

It’s Sunday, I have a trip to Tegus early tomorrow to see a doc about my foot. Second time to the land of plenty murders and to land on one of the 10 most dangerous runways in the world. I do have more things to share but I will save them because it’s taken me about 2 weeks to get this together. I promise, it won’t be another month until I blog again. Stay tuned.

I’d rather dodge bullets than potholes

1/4/2018 First time typing or even thinking 2018. It’s here and I’m already another year older (yesterday)! I haven’t been doing much except for a few Christmas parties for the kids and a couple get togethers with friends so I thought I would share some island revelations. Instead of NY resolutions, I mean, really WTH are they? Does anyone REALLY do them? I think not.

Revelation #1. So, how many of you check the toilet before you sit down on it? We are a lid down family. Always down, I like it that way except for the one or two times in my life that I had too much to drink and forgot. I lift the lid and I check the bowl. Every. Single. Time. You ask why? Well, I’ve read about snakes coming up the pipes and being in toilets and I read about a lady that sat down to pee and a frog jumped up and hit her in the butt. I’m telling you if I ever saw a snake in my toilet or a frog touched my butt, it would be the last time I ever peed. EVERRRR. I would just blow up in a weeks time and explode all over creation. I did not make that a NY resolution. Actually I don’t think I ever in my life made one (well, one that I kept anyhow).

Revelation # 2. I hate, detest, abhor Geckos. I don’t care how cute anyone thinks they are, I hate them. Honest, given my choices and I know I’ve said this before, I would prefer a 4′ iguana in my house rather than a 4″ gecko. They give me the major creeps. They can all die or relocate to a different island and I’ll be cool with it.

Revelation # 3. I do not handle having no internet or a non or poorly functioning laptop/tablet well. It’s my boiling point. It makes me crazier than I already am.

Revelation # 4. I no longer am a shopper. Living on Roatan has put an end to that. My needs are little, my wants are nil, it’s so simple and easy. I never was one for designer handbags, personally don’t like them, just not my style. My handbag is a Keene that I got at Mega Paca for $3.00 and it’s perfect. It’s waterproof and I can wipe the mud off of it with no worries of stains.

Revelation # 5. I wear my day clothes to bed. ALL THE TIME. Usually a dress and undies, that’s my go to at home wear and many days I crawl into bed in the same clothes I wore all day. The epitome of laziness. That’s me.

and last but not least: #6. I blow dry my razor. If I don’t it’s good for one shave only. It turns into such a rust heap that it’s a definite source of lockjaw. So towel dry, blow dry, cover and store out of the shower.

OK, done with revelations, I could go on but it may get disturbing to some so I’ll quit while I’m ahead.

Nidia and I did 2 Christmas parties for the kids this year, back to back. The first was in an area we went to the very first year we helped Nidia, in 2014. It’s called Brass Hill but Bill thought she was saying Brazil so we now refer to it as Brazil. It is a very very poor part of the island. The majority of the children do not go to school, most of them don’t have shoes.

Our very own tropical flip flop wearing Santa, AKA Sully.

The Queen Bee, Nidia, getting the group organized. Sort of.

These children are so beautiful. This one loved Santa, she was beside him all day.

Checking the list..naughty or nice. Not really, we had a list of kids that would get gifts.

Our motley crew, Nidia, David, Nicola and Charlie (David’s sweet kids) Sully and me. And my antlers light up!

Me with a sweet young girl. Francie, I have on our top.

Santa going back to his sleigh, errr, truck.

This was on a Friday and the next day we were having the big party in downtown Coxen Hole. It was held at The Merry Inn Seaman Club. I had seen the signs but never been inside the building. I had to park a couple blocks away and luckily brought my rain coat, even though it was a sunny day. It was a wise move on my part. Usually I let things like that, or my umbrella in the car.

At one time this was a well known and busy establishment. They are still open, random hours though.

The inside was a museum, the artwork was amazing. I couldn’t believe it. It saddens me that it is being destroyed by the elements. It really should be preserved.

The Pirate history of Roatan was painted on some of the walls. I met the lady who’s uncle did the artwork, he has since passed.

There were 2 cruise ships painted on the walls, fantastic details on them.

The bar had all kinds of fish painted on it.

Don’t know what the hell this fish is but I don’t want to meet it.

These were some homes along the building. The far one has an outside sink, which is very common.

There was a cruise ship in port that day

We blew up balloons to make streamers and sliced all the hot dog buns, got the toys ready, waiting for the arrival of Santa. Word got out that he was there and he was mobbed before he even got in the room.

It was getting dark and was pouring buckets and I had to walk to my car. I put my raincoat on, hood up and left the party at 5. It’s an hour drive home, even more in the rain and my windshield is very tinted, making it difficult to see in the dark, I was so exhausted when I got home that I just vegetated on the couch before I went to bed.

Newly re-upholstered couch. The ottomans have covers on top of it (it looks wrinkly) to keep the dog hair off of the new upholstery, I can take the cover off to clean it.

I took my curtains down and gave them away. I hated them. I don’t want curtains but Bill does. I haven’t taken the brackets down yet but will before we paint. Once the counter tops are finished, we’ll do the tile back splash and then I’ll choose a color for the walls. One thing at a time.

On Christmas Day we went to our neighbors (a mile away) and had Christmas dinner with other friends. They had their tree decorated.

My friend Yvonne being bartender. Not really, I think she was just getting something to drink.,

Lots of excellent food, turkey and ham and every side dish imaginable.

Dessert table, chocolate rum cake, Italian Cream cake, key lime pie

And Yvonne’s decadent Reese’s bars. I think I ate 8 of them.

The parrots have been around a lot lately. Just the other night a flock of them flew overhead, so noisy. It’s the first I ever saw a flock of them around here.

These two perch in this tree often. They are wild yellow naped parrots.

These two are babies, no yellow on their necks yet.

This is why I can’t have nice bedding, the dogs and the cat. The cat has a thousand tiny holes in the spread from jumping up on the bed a zillion times a day. And the dogs, well, hair..

A friend noticed this dog down by the abandoned pirate ship, she had been feeding her. I went and fed her a few days and started looking for a home for her.

Found out the second day she has an owner and she’s not covered in fleas or ticks so maybe she is OK.

Mom and Dad with the Harry and David cookies I sent them for Christmas. It’s so hard to buy for them at 96 and 92. I just sent them 100 photos of things around the island via Walgreen’s. I type on each photo what it is so they know what they’re looking at.

Currently Chance is visiting them. He arrived last night and is staying with my sister. They are very excited that he is there.

Our eating space the other night for pizza when our friends came over. It didn’t even rain until the rum cake dessert was finished. Lucked out that night.

The other evening the power went out around 6:20. My friend Ann messaged me and said she wonders what the cruise ship people think. They are leaving the island around 6, just getting mid island and the whole island goes dark. Maybe they think we turn the island lights off after the cruise ships leave.

Life has been pretty much stay at home, I honestly do NOT want to go anywhere because the roads are so bad. I have never seen them like this and with the rain we have been having they continue to deteriorate. It’s just not worth it to even go out. Today I’m going in to town because Nidia is finally getting a vehicle and I’m going to meet her at Island Shipping when her new to her car arrives and take photos. She is 40 and has never owned a car and if anyone needs one, she does. A Go Fund Me was started by a friend and raised enough money to buy her some wheels. She is beyond excited, she said never in all of her life did she think she would own a car. I hope she can avoid the damn potholes for awhile until the new Mayor takes office and things change around here.

I’ll end this with a video of an every freaking day occurrence at our house. Barrio always takes this toy and shoves it in Highway’s face while whining, crying, singing, who knows. Watch Gringo’s face (bottom right) at about 20 sec. Highway is the one laying upside down on the dog bed. Click HERE.

Happy New Year everyone.

Getting off the rock

09/14/2017 In a day I’ll be heading north for a visit. It’s finally hit me and I’m still not prepared nor getting close to being ready to go. Denial that I have to leave the boys. I hated leaving my kids and now I hate leaving my dogs.

Not a lot has happened since my last blog so this will be short with more photos than thoughts. I’ve spent more time at home lately and I’ve really enjoyed it. Lounging by the pool reading books, listening to the damn dogs bark every time a leaf drops or a lizard moves.

We have had some gorgeous weather, hot sunny days with a slight breeze, and I’ve taken advantage of it, being in the pool and outside as much as possible.

On Thursday my friends Amy and Barb came over for the day. We hung in the pool and talked and drank wine. A lot of wine. They left at 4:00 and by 4:30 I was in bed. It was 10 PM when I woke up, starving for something to eat and dying of thirst. Bill had cooked bacon (yummy) and I got up and ate all that was left, chugged a lot of water and went back to bed.

The next day I went to my friend Marcia’s to go cruising in her gorgeous new boat. Marcia was learning to drive it so her boat guy, Christian, was with us. We left Carib Bight, headed out to the east. The boat started acting funny when we turned to go left. After a few minutes it stopped moving. Marcia was unable to get it out of neutral. We were at the mouth of Blue Rock, just bobbing along in the sea. Marcia called her boat repair guy and he said he would be coming right away. It sure didn’t take him long to arrive. He crawled onto our boat, took the cover off the engine and saw that the rubber ring on the prop was rotted and the prop wasn’t engaging. At least, that was my take on the situation, boat mechanic I’m not. He towed us to Trico and went to find a prop that would work on the boat.

The houses in Czech Village, between Carib Bight and Blue Rock.

So gorgeous here. You can see mainland Honduras in the background.

The boat repair guy testing out his repair.

Marcia and I had a few vodka and frescas and split an order of chicken nachos (which were delicious) while we waited. The boat guy came back, switched out the props and once we finished eating we were on our way to BJ’s.

Marcia’s boat is ultra sleek and fast, it’s in pristine condition and I can’t wait to go out with her again. I’m always up for an adventure, especially one on the water.

This is my boy Duke, one of Frito’s pups that Marcia and Dennis have. He is a total love.

Saturday we celebrated Dia Del Nino, Day of the Children, in Flowers Bay. I took our 3 neighbor boys. I have talked about Eddy before, these are his brothers/step brothers who live with their grandparents. All of the boys living there have been deserted by their parents, who have gone off to find better lives for themselves, not caring about the children they have left behind. The boys I took never get to do anything fun, they have never been to the other end of the island. I made sandwiches for them and took water, sprite and chips. The 3 of them were strapped into seat belts in the backseat and were super quiet the whole way there. They had no idea what to expect, parties are not something they go to. Marcos, the oldest, doesn’t swim but Milton and David sure do. The party was on the water and Marcos asked if they could go in, I said sure.

They found an old deflated ball and played for a long time with it.

My friend Layle came to do face painting, Ann was there with Abraham (a boy she sponsors at the Charmont Academy) and his sister Brishanne. My sweet young boyfriend from the Mother’s Day flower making at Cattleya was there also, Matthew, he is a doll. He has a smile that melts your heart and the sweetest demeanor. Paul went with me to help, Amy was there, Milesse, Judy and Toni came also to help. It’s usually feast or famine with the help, this day we had enough, sometimes we don’t. We were very grateful to those who came, it’s nice to have support from friends.

Layle was undoubtedly the hit of the party. She has never done face painting before but she came prepared with photos that she found online. She was excellent and the line for her skills never ended.

Milton, Marcos’s brother/step brother. David didn’t want his face painted.

To be honest, Brishanne is beautiful to begin with, as a butterfly, she was stunning.

The kids did egg races, balloon races, 3 legged races, sack races, they had a spaghetti eating contest, a roll eating contest and a coca cola guzzling contest. The spaghetti contest was better than two years ago when one of the kids threw up everything they had eaten.

Around 3:30 I packed the kids and Paul up and we headed home. The boys each left with ice cream cones and a bag of candy and toys. On the way out of Coxen Hole I stopped at Nidia’s store and picked up the TOM’s shoes that were for the Cattleya school.

When I got home Paul left and the boys ran to the swimming pool and jumped in. They swam for about 20 minutes, then headed down the valley to go home. On Saturday some friends arrived to the island for a week to stay with us. They own a home here and were filming for the TV show Caribbean Life. This is the second couple who stayed here that was filming for the same show.

We have seen a few more large iguanas here, seems like this is a safe place for them, despite the 5 dogs. As long as the iguanas stay outside of the fence they should be good to go. Currently I have a 4″ gecko living in my car. As I’ve said before, I do NOT like geckos. I honestly would prefer a 4′ iguana over this little gecko guy.

The night before last I was in bed reading and a bug flew in my ear. I totally freaked out, while Bill is sound asleep next to me. I finally got it out with a Q-tip. Now when I read I stuff my hair in my ears. Yes, we have screens but they need replaced and our window guy was stuck in Miami, hopefully he will be home soon and come take care of the screens.

As most of you know, I write for Women Who Live on Rocks and so many of the other writers have lost everything they own, their homes and businesses are destroyed, they have nothing to go back to. Their once lush tropical island is now reduced to rubble and trees with not a leaf or frond left on them. If any of you would like to contribute, here is a list of places to donate. (click on list) Remember, these people lost every single thing they own. If you are contributing to Harvey victims in TX or Irma victims in Florida or the Caribbean, please do NOT donate to the Red Cross. In Texas the Red Cross threw out 500#’s of dog food, saying they didn’t need it. Obviously they forgot about all the poor lost animals left in the aftermath who are now in crowded underfunded shelters all over the state of Texas and now in Florida and all of the islands ravaged by Irma. They threw out kennels, blankets, cat litter and food, they said “they will get more.” There are many other more worthwhile charities to donate to.

I really need to start/finish my packing, I still haven’t decided what I’m wearing to the reunion but I am really looking forward to seeing my classmates. Some of these people I haven’t seen since we graduated a few years ago. (Cathilee)

Here’s hoping we have no more hurricanes this season and that the unfortunate folks ravaged by them are able to have a semblance of normal life soon.

I’ll be blogging about my parents and my class reunion next time so check back to see what kind of trouble I got into in Williamsport. This should be an interesting visit.