March 13, 2010

meme

I got tagged on flickr by aunt teena

i have avoided those

why?

because i take horrible SP's

and i don't like pics of myself anyways.

but since i like teena i agreed to do it

i am not feeling too perky so it was an easy

photo of the day anyways.

i have taken it easy all day

i am good at that

some people can't stop.

i can.

oh i can GO..

i go like stink 

(so the expression goes)

but when i need to i can stop.

I hope you have a good weekend

flickr

March 12, 2010

set apart

i always have been known to go against the flow

we are all followers to some degree for sure

it is built into us

but i remember even as a young person not wanting

to be sucked into commerism and materialism.

i took that to the extreme one Christmas when i refused

to partake in the holiday because i felt we had gone so 

far from the truth of it's real message and i didn't 

want to be hypocritical.

in the 80's i loved to find vintage clothing, 

dye it myself.

i had my own look.

i began to travel when i was out of school

searching for truth.

i looked into hinduism, buddism, bahai, 

i even took a trip to israel to investigate judiasm.

i was fascinated by a race that could endure such tragedies as 

the holocaust and live to tell the tail.

my biggest and radical decision was to follow Christ.

i was very opposed to Christianity over the years:

again the hypocrisy.

so it even came as a surprise to me when i found

myself crying out for mercy to the Christ who i had

resisted for so many years.

the change was radical.

i had a host of habits:

cocaine use, alcohol, pot, extreme bad language and after i begged

for mercy and cleansing 

(after reading psalm 51 one night in my room)

i was totally released from all that had earlier bound me

from that day on He

set me apart.

I believe He sets us all apart once we chose to be His.

the biggest and most profound change was that 

He gave me an "other" focus.

I began to SEE people.. perhaps for the first time in my life.

I began to really care.

I began to want to help.

that hasn't changed over the years.

we are in roatan because we feel called to help here.

pretty sweet place to help.. i must say!

but it comes with cost.

it means leaving family behind.

it means dealing with a culture different from ours 

it means dealing with heat and bugs

today it meant taking a couple of ladies out on a tour

when i am dizzy and not feeling well.

do i regret doing it?

not at all.

am i ignoring my needs?

never.

i want to see dr. raymond last night.

my blood pressure is high.

i need to deal with that.

i have never had this problem before so

we are doing a battery of tests.

i am resting today.

whatever befalls

i will say like asaph the psalmist:

"my heart and my fail may fail but 

God

is 

the strength of my heart

and my portion

forever.

set apart.

i wouldn't have it any other way.

ever.

March 11, 2010

take it easy, will ya??

today has been a busy day.

had bible study in the morning

lunch at a friend's 

a snorkel west bay

visited with a bunch of north americans on the beach

ended up saying yes to taking 2 women out on a tour tomorrow.

heck, i love that!

on the way home i saw my friend standing on the side of the road

waving frantically

it turned out that her tire fell off her car!!

yes you read right!!

i guess the bolts either gave way or someone stole them

either way we are grateful that the vehicle didn't flip

the roads in roatan are hilly and curvy.

she managed to get it safely to the side of the road

and 3 generous men went deep into the jungle to retrieve

the tire.

so we drove her home.

i haven't been home since 10:00 and it is now 5:00

the hammock was calling my name

saying 'take it easy, will ya?'

but not for long since a bunch of us girls are having dinner

together and then an evening of rummikub

oh man, i have to make a salad.

so i better get going!

March 10, 2010

backlit and bokehfied

ever get stuck in a rut?

i sure was when it came to photography for awhile there.

i was stuck in macro land.

bokeh 

bokeh

macro

bokeh

more bokeh

close

closer

oh my

let's go a little closer

i lived for hbw.
how crazy is that?!

then, one day, one blessed day. our son david had a little 'intervention'

for me

we went for a walk and he said

'no zoom, no macro'

composition!!!

with at least 3 objects.

i almost died.

it hurt

i instinctly went in close and he kept stopping me

now i am taking more of a variety of photos:

landscapes, color combinations, groupings, portraits

BUT today I saw all that lovely green and thought
BOKEH~!

:-)

here is the full meal deal for those of you who wonder

what  is beyond all that green bokeh....

March 9, 2010

not a cloud

what a wonderful day we had today.

it started out rather disappointing since the cruise ship

wasn't able to dock at mahogney bay due to high winds.

it was a shame since my previous bosses kids were on that ship

and we had planned on touring the island and handing out shoes 

and school supplies to the kids here.

sigh.

i have mixed feelings about that new dock. 

they spent gazillions of dollars to build it

knowing that on the south side the waves are often higher 

but still they went ahead.

many people's livliehoods depend on the cruise ships coming in.

it's sad.

it wasn't a money issue for us.

we weren't charging for the tour.. just disappointed that the kids who

were expecting shoes weren't able to get any today.

BUT

it was a glorious day.

truly beautiful

we went to the shop today and a couple was interested in going on a tour

i tried to find a local person to take them out without avail

so i did it.

we had a wonderful time together.

i love showing off the island.

if you or any friends are coming to roatan please let me know

we will set up a tour or take you ourselves.

it is just too beautiful to not see

tabyana beach, west bay

bill and noreen

enjoying the  beach

March 8, 2010

happy blue monday

the view from our deck

i wake up early every morning

i'd like to sleep in but then i'd miss this

i go out on the deck to breathe deep

the morning air,

refill the hummingbird feeder and

enjoy the view.

we have had so many cloudy days 

lately

i am happy to see them scattering

tomorrow is supposed to be a clear and sunny day

i am taking 4 canadian friends on a tour so 

that will be great!

have a good day yourself

March 7, 2010

i see you

i could hear a certain rustling of the leaves

while i was  laying on the couch.

not the kind of noise from the wind blowing them on the deck

so i meandered over and saw a female lizard trapped inside the 

window ledge and she was rustling through the leaves that also had

blown in there.

we have slatted windows with levers and something critters

or leaves blow in.

this male lizard 

was outside the window waiting for his 'sweetie' to escape

she finally got out so and i managed to get a shot of 

him hanging around.

aren't they magnificent.

i actually took this looking down.  

he was hiding behind the wood on the deck but ahha

you can't hide from me 

mr. lizard!
i see you

got a hummer picture too

for your perusal.