January 16, 2010

heading home

this was taken out our back yard.

the part of the beach we live on is not a touristy beach

on saturdays our dock (broken from hurricane mitch) is full of kids

jumping off it.

all the islanders come here to swim.

i love this photo since you really get the sense of the days ending.

the mother and child are so precious,

but i really love the two boys playing around.. still energetic

even after a long day in the sunshine.

we didn't spent our day at this beach
we went to west bay

with an island family

west bay is very touristy and most islanders seldom  go there

but we took them because it has very nice snorkeling

the fish are friendly and even at waist deep you can see

them swimming around.

bob took cedric to the reef
and he said he hadn't snorkeled that far in 20 years.
i stayed on the beach with cindy and her 3 delightful boys:
snorkeling in the shallows,
throwing the ball around,
and enjoying the sunshine!

it is funny because our friends live on this gorgeous island

but they rarely eat seafood and rarely go to the beach.

cindy says she works too much to do those kinds of things!

but as i hugged her goodbye

she thanked me for lunch and a lovely day at the sea

and said,

"I feel years younger!!"

Isn't that wonderful?

I believe in PLAY!

It is so important.

It does keep us young at heart.

January 15, 2010

open door

today we took maria, our cleaner, to Oakridge

to see an ophthalmologist who is on the island

doing mission work.

i am so grateful to those who volunteer their time

to help the people here.

what a blessing!

maria can't see out of one eye,

when she was 2 years old she had chicken pox

and her vision was affected.

we found out today she is totally blind in that eye.

there isn't anything they can do for her.

we are looking into getting her some brown colored contacts.

i am thankful that her right eye is 20/20.

bob says maria looks like a movie star in those glasses!

they gave the glasses to her at the clinic since her eyes were so dilated that it is

painful to go out in the sunshine.

sun .. ahhhh glorious sun!

oakridge is a wonderful area of the island,

they call it the venice of roatan since most houses

are built along the bight and so boat travel is the main

mode of transportation.

it is about an hour drive from where we live.

i love the east side of the island,

windy roads weave up along the spine of the island

to reveal marvelous views of the azure sea

and the tops of palms and jungle green.

i took lots of boat pictures today,

and wooden house pictures, and sea scenes,

but this photo of the open door to the sea

stirred

my soul

it speaks to me of hope.

of light in darkness

of color in drabness

of hope in troubled times.

blessings.

January 14, 2010

a seaside stroll


we went for a walk today to lawson rock

it is about a half hour walk from our place


i also love jumping from rock to rock and seeing the
sea urchins, tiny fish and crab in the shallow water.


i love lawson rock because it reminds me of nova scotia
i have dear friends and family who live there and often when i go there
i pretend that perhaps one of them will come strolling towards me.
i am not sure if i should admit that to you but it's too late:
now you know!

i miss my family so much!
yes i do.
so i stop and say keep them close to Your heart.

January 13, 2010

transplanted 

it is hard to find shells on the beach here in roatan.

the island is surrounded by coral reef so the

waves can't bring the shells in.

once in a while you find a nice one.

so if i want a nice shell pic on the beach

i bring my own.

b.y.o.s

(bring your own seashell)

:-)

bob and i have been collecting shells for years

we have an awesome collection from all around the world

but mostly from florida.

i did a 365(taking a photo a day) using shells.

walking on the beach

with moto, our dog is always an adventure

he is a typical island dog

that means:  crazy!

i am trying to socialize him.

he usually attacks all dogs: big and small.

today he didn't.

yay moto!

but he did chase a bunch of school kids,

jumping up on them as they ran by for PE

and nipped at their butts.

embarrassing because he won't listen.

oh well.

 but that's okay because

today the sun is shining,

the sea is shades of turquoise fading into deep blue

the wind has died down

my heart is full of gratitude.

i don't take living here for granted

i am grateful for seashell, sea breeze and soft whispers from Above

what are you grateful for?

January 12, 2010

flickr 

introducing...

mr. fluffybutt.

see why i call him that?!
he has the cutest little fluffy butt ever!

:-)

i started feeding the hummers and have about 6 of them that come regularly.

i put up that branch as a perch so i could get some good shots of them.

now you might be thinking,
how do i know that is mr. fluffybutt
maybe you think they all have fluffy little feathers like that well, not so.
plus, mr. fluffybutt is a bit fatter then the rest because he hangs
around the feeder all day.
maybe i should have called him. mr. piggywig.  :-)
anyways...

mr. fluffybutt is the only one who lets me get really close to him.

i am standing about 8 inches away from him here.

i have a trick for photographing hummers.

i am a bit ashamed to even tell you but i am not the secret keeper type.

so here goes:

i use the flash and

it kinda stuns them

and they don't move.

i just keep shooting and flashing and getting in closer and closer.

one time i was so close that i reached on a gently grabbed the little guy.

not mr. fluffybutt .. another hummer at my friend's place
the flash technique is not necessary for mr. fb because
he likes me and lets me get really close to him.

in fact he comes daily and sits

on this perch.

sometimes i go out just to talk to him.

yeah... why am i admitting that??!

and guess what he does?

NO he doesn't talk back.

come on.. he SINGS!
:-)

i bet you didn't know hummers sing but they do.

it is the sweetest thing ever!!!

almost brings tears to my eyes to hear it.

life is full of endless blessings if our heart is soft enough to see them

i would say having a little sweet fragile bird sing to me is right up there

in my 'being totally blessed' list.

thanks mr. fluffybutt
keep on singin'

January 11, 2010

bob put a caption to this one:

"i wonder if anyone will buy my papaya today?

this was taken in coxen hole this morning

we went in to go to the  bank and while i was seeking refuge under the shelter of a shop

i noticed a couple of gringo ladies so i mosied over to talk to them

they wanted to go through the mercado.

i decided to take them through
(instead of them wandering into a not so favourable area)

it was pouring rain!!!

i am thankful for umbrellas.

they wanted to see 'made in roatan' shop too
 so we opened it up just for them.

it was worth it.

such wonderful ladies from north carolina!!
we decided to have lunch together too

i will be busy at the shop tomorrow but on wednesday

i am going to take them on a tour to the east side of the island.

it is one of the things i love about being on the island:

we have time

we have time to spend with strangers driving them around the island

making new friends

hopefully being a blessing.

i sometimes think that time is the greatest gift

we can give.

i hope you have good times today with those around you

your kids, your friends, your husbands, those you work with.

blessings.

January 10, 2010

we had quite the storm last night

was supposed to be the coldest weather in roatan history

with the wind factor the temperatures going down to 40F

we lost all power in the night 

 i was grateful for warm blankets and windows that close!

 the winds were/are so fierce!!

i love storms but they sure make a mess of the beach

but a good storm cleans the reef.

i stood on the edge of the shore and allowed the wind to

blow right through me

i need cleansing too

1John 1:9

here is a slide show is you want to check it out

slideshow