July 10, 2010

bye buddy

today all the color left my world when i took buddy

to kathy, the infamous 'birdlady'

sigh

i think buddy will be happy there
i am grateful she is willing to take care of him while we are away in canada

it is like he is going to a birdie retreat centre.

she has 5 birds

3 small parrots, a cockatoo, and a miniature macaw

i know he is only a bird and you'd think i wouldn't miss him

but i do.

it's crazy.

the house is so quiet even as i write this

he isn't a loud bird

but he chirps and sings all day

it is such a lovely sound

and we chatter back and forth

many times throughout the course of the day

bob will say,

are you talking to me?

i say, no i am talking to buddy

except if say.. 'hi handsome'

that goes to both of them!

so we are leaving tomorrow

flying through the night on sunday

overnight in vegas

and will be landing in canada on tues.

we could have flown direct but it costs small fortune

so this way we have many stopovers but that's okay

we will get there eventually.

i hope buddy doesn't forget me while i am gone.

i thought about recording my voice but thought that would be 

a little 'much'.

adios mi budquito

xo

July 9, 2010

we do sign...here

i meandered to the back of a parking lot in coxen hole

to see if i could get a shot of the big storm clouds that

were gathering over the sea.

as i was walking back i saw this sign.

it made me laugh

we do sign.. here

just come to the window!!

no don't come to the door

:-)

perhaps it is roatan's first driveby window!
they must specialize in small signs that fit through the window....

i know i know.. stop it...
okay.

July 8, 2010

true joy

bob and i snorkel a few times a week
i usually don't handle the camera because truthfully
i can't see very well to see if i get any decent shots.

but i wanted to try to get a shot of the turtle
who graciously swam with us for quite awhile.
this is the best of what i got.
most of them are 'misses' and all you get is the blue of the sea

i tell you there is true joy for me when i see a turtle
i enjoy the fish, i am thrilled to see a sting ray, i am scared to see a barracuda
but the turtle.. he makes my heart sing!

we actually saw two turtles while we were out today
swimming with melissa.
double joy!

bob is able to dive down and swim with the turtles.

so cool!
i was happy that i managed to get them both in the photo!

i didn't realize bob had the camera set on macro 

but i actually like the way this turned out

there were about 65 seastars in one large sandy area.

amazing to see!

 

sting rays are such awesome creatures

this guy is pretty small.

one time we swam with an eagle ray with was about 5 feet across

so graceful and beautiful

bob took this photo.

i just wanted you to see it

don't you love the detail in this angel fish???

bob took this too.

we had such a wonderful day out snorkeling 

alot of fun

and with my new mask and fins it made the experience

even better!

July 7, 2010

calm

what keeps your water's calm?

not literally of course, 

but what keeps you calm.

i find i lose my calm when things don't go the way i think they should

that's pretty typical i guess.

we are in the process of getting ready to go to canada 

so we have been busy trying to find warm clothes to wear

yes yes i know there is a heat wave happening 

right now but that could change in a week

and last time we went to florida i 

froze

that doesn't make me lose my calm

so what has been stressing me out lately?

ok don't laugh

my bird.

now listen, i told you not to laugh

i had found a lady who would take care of him

while we are away and i somehow managed to lose her number.

and i was stressing about what to do with him.

buddy is a special little guy.. he can't just stay with 'anyone'

i looked and looked and looked.

the problem here on the island is that we don't have a phone directory

everyone has cell phones here so if you lose a number it is 

hard to get a hold of them.

i thought i had left it in my drawer beside our bed

but i looked and looked and couldn't find it

i looked through every bag 

i looked through my wallet

i admit i had prayed about it since i believe that the Lord

knows everything... even where i lose things

the only sense i got was 'look beside your bed'

so i looked and looked to no avail.

i thought i must have my wires crossed with Him

this morning again i said

"okay please Lord i need to get ahold of 'the bird lady' today.

You know everything.  can You help me? please"

again

"it is in the drawer beside your bed"

sigh.

been there done that.

but today i decide to try it again

and sure enough there was her business card.

i called

she is more then willing to take care of Buddy

and for such a reasonable rate!!

the calm inside is restored.

i wonder why i couldn't see it the first two times

i looked in that drawer??

i don't know

but I do know this:

calm is directly related to listening

and being moored safely within His hand.

try it.

you might be surprised.

xo

July 6, 2010

morning light

today was laundry day

here is something you may not know but most houses

here in roatan have their washer and dryers 

outside the house in a botaga

that is really like a big shed under the house

so

that means that when i do laundry

i have to go outside to do it

i don't mind at all except at night

i never do laundry at night in case there 

might be a tarantula, a scorpian or a rat in the botaga.

um no thanks!

anyways, this morning as i was walking 

back towards the house

i saw my hibiscus bathed in morning light

and i thought

it is a good thing i have to come outside

to do my laundry or i would have missed it

i am pretty convinced that life consists of

small joys

and this flower

was one of them for me

i did alot of housework today getting ready to leave

for canada on monday

i had stephanie come and she did all the windows.

it was such a hot afternoon

i know it is hot in canada and the states right now

so you can relate to it

sweating has become a normal past time for me

yup

i admit

but on the flip side

we have the sea closeby 

so we went for such a delightful snorkel to cool down

the fish were out in plenty feeding off the coral

it was remarkably clear too so the visualibility

was awesome

the highlight?

ummm seeing a pair of french angelfish

seeing a huge huge parrotfish

a trunk fish (my all time favorite)

a large trigger fish

and last but not least

we got to swim with a beautiful hawksbill sea turtle

amazing time!

joys...

big and small

i am grateful for this experience.

July 5, 2010

got attitude??

she's got attitude alright!

my heart stopped when i saw this little girl

sauntering across the parking lot in French Harbour.

what spunk!

i love the black islanders here.

they exude coolness without even trying.

she has her school uniform on but somewhere

between school and this photo she

took off her blouse and is cruising in her undershirt.

and those orange plastic barretts were just waving back and forth

as she walked along.

makes me smile!

today bob and i spent the day running errands

around the island:

banking, going to the municipality to see about meeting with the mayor

(the tax on the made in roatan shop is ridiculous because

they think we are making alot of money when in reality

we aren't.. the money goes back to the islanders)

paying bills,

making friends over lunch.

(some rich texans who are interested in coming into the shop

on wednesday.. hallelujah!)

today was one of those days when i really 'saw everything'

it is hard to explain but i had that butterfly feeling in my gut

 just looking at all the people and the sites.

 i kept thinking.. wow.. i am living in a foreign country.

i took alot of photos today

but this is the one i chose because it capsulizes

one of the people groups here.

the cool islanders!

and the motor cycle in the corner just made it even 

better 

since we have so many motorcycles zooming around the island

weaving in and out of traffic,

passing cars on a hill or a corner.

caught this as we were driving by.

they look natural riding double don't they?

it's the way it is..

if you have a bike you usually have someone on the

back

no helmet.

today i saw a man on a motorcycle, baby in front, 

wife in back.

craziness!

it's nuts.

it's island.

i love it all.

July 4, 2010

li

a lily for lily

today at church i met a young woman and we were chatting

when a beautiful little girl came up and the mom said,

meet my daughter lily

i was impressed with her open smile

her confidence 

and candidness

and she looked to be only around 8 years old

i told her that i love lilies.

that i think maybe
they are one of the most beautiful flowers

ever.

when i asked her if she knew what  a lily looked like she shook her head no

what a shame

so today i went out and found a picture

of a lily for lily.

both of them are beautiful

isn't it wonderful to think that hours later

after meeting someone that i am still thinking about her

i wonder what impact we have to those we meet.

i hope the memory lingers in a loving and positive way

and they find themselves fondly thinking of us.

and maybe smiling

or even taking a photo to remember us by.

imagine...  

:-)