Saturday, August 28, 2010

August 28, 2010


sitting pretty

 would you look at that sweet little bird??
oh my goodness!
every morning
i wake up with the dawn, 
make myself strong dark roast coffee,
quietly of course, so as not to wake up bob

then once it is light enough i head outside on the deck
with a stack of devotional books, my bible and my journal
i grab buddy, my budgie because it is a highlight for him too
and we head outside just as the sky has turned from pink to light blue

peaceful
refreshing
inspiring
beautiful

just a few adjectives
the hummingbirds are always awake and feasting by the time we arrive

oh and yeah i sometimes bring my camera
to capture the beauty
not everyday though because truthfully i get soooo distracted
and that defeats the purpose of my time alone with God
it's true i get distracted very easily

but it is a beautiful way to start the day
i used to go on the computer to answer emails,
check facebook and flickr
but i have decided that the outside alone with birds and God
is more important

not that facebook and flickr aren't important:
they are my lifelines too
but i just do that later in the morning not right away

our deck is my sanctuary
where is your favorite quiet spot?
i hope you have a place to reflect and be still
it is so important to make time alone with Him a priority

i come away stronger,
i know my prayers have been heard,
i feel peace about leaving my kids so far away
i feel connected to my friends
and my soul is enlarged through praise

and yes
the hummingbirds bless me too!

buddy sideways checking out my camera lens


this is the view from the table where we sit..lovely isn't it?
lovely light in the background!
not every day you get to see their tongues out!!

Friday, August 27, 2010

August 27, 2010

congratulations!!

mrs. traveler's palm had a baby!
this is the first flower we have seen on her so 
there was quite a bit of excitement 
in the yard this afternoon...
well it was exciting for me and my camera.
no one else was around!!

an interesting bitbit about the seeds of these flowers:
inside the white pods are the most brilliant
lapis-lazuli blue colored seeds!

it was quite the exciting discovery today for me
things have grown sooo much in the month that we were gone
some of the plants and palms grew over 2 feet in just one month
amazing what a little rain will do!!!




August 26, 2010

breakfast of champions

one of the first things i did upon arriving in roatan
(other then get groceries and unpack of course)
was make sugar water and fill the feeder

the hummingbirds came back readily and happily
i like to sit out on the deck in the morning
and spend some time quietly with the Lord
i often bring buddy out with me

 

at one point one of the hummers came and flew
right up to buddy's cage and scared the living daylights out of him
 they are curious about each other i think
there is something about hummingbirds that i really admire
not only do they seek the sweetness out of life
but when the day is done they find a branch,
fall into a semi comatose state   until the morning

 why do i admire that?
i think it is so important to be able to shut out the 'world'
at night and just sleep
many times we hustle and bustle about during the day
and then toss and turn at night

i like the image of this high speed little bird
falling into a deep deep sleep at the end of a productive day

i think it is that way for us too
i know since we got back to roatan we have hit the ground running
we have visited many people, opened the gift shop to tourists,
did two tours, sold things at the Roatan Hospital Fundraiser.

it's been busy.
at the end of the day i am happy to just 'crash'
i don't have energy for anything else!

being productive is important
but so is the ability to stop
i am writing this on friday since i was gone all day
yesterday
from 8:30 am til 9:30 pm and i didn't have time to write
so today 
i am resting, reading, sorting through my clothes
and recuperating
it feels great.

later on we are going to our friends to make homemade pizza
and catch up
it is afterall.. friday night and that is cowan pizza night!

have a good weekend!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

August 25, 2010

fanny and buddy

today carlos' sister  candy came over
and brought this little girl named
fanny to see me
although neither of them speak
any english we were able to 
communicate together 
with my limited spanish

i decided to ask candy
if she would help me make
my photo cards
basically i just needed them in the
plastic archival bags and sealed
we have a big sale tomorrow and i had
about 75 more to do so i was very grateful
for her help!

she was thrilled to help 
and ohhh'ed and ahhh'ed over the photos
of roatan
many of the places she has never seen
alot of the spanish people only see the colonia
and possibly coxen hole
it's kind of sad.

the whole time we were together working
little fanny didn't say a word to me
she was very shy
i decided to bring buddy outside in his cage
and while we worked out on the deck
she watched the bird
and smiled when he came near her

after we were done working i brought buddy inside
and asked if she wanted to hold him
at first she grabbed at him
(which of course birds hate!)
so i taught her to simply put out her finger
and he happily went on

she was so delighted to have a little bird
sit on her hand
and he is very chatty and happy to be with her too

i doubt if she will ever have another experience
like today
once again i am reminded to continue to spread
small moments of joy

it isn't hard to do when we try.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

August 24, 2010




  
jonesville point

a walk way to the sea and sky
this little bridge is at the end of the point
and charlie, our guide, who took us
through the mangroves
told us
'dis is where we's goes swimmin'
da wada she be real clear here'

oh i should tell you!
while i was flying home 
to roatan 
a couple of ladies overheard that i lived
in roatan and one of them
joanna
came over and asked if i'd take them on a tour

of course!

we had a great day together




isabel and joanna
two wonderful chicks 
from new york

made my day!

we went to miss peggy's clinic where
joanna gave a donation of medical supplies
then we went to jonesville
through the mangroves



enjoyed a nice visit with flora at 
punta gorda and the serene quiet of 
the simple  life there



went through coxen hole
visited the 'made in roatan' shop
where we picked up bob

then they wanted to go up in the colonia
so i took them there
we ran into roberto (not literally)
from channel 4 
and he introduced us to a family
so poor
yet so happy.
a young girl was there happily washing clothes outside
by hand
when he told us that the 8 year old girl
hadn't gone to school yet
both isabel (a teacher)
and i (a softie)
both started to cry.

there are so many needs on this island.
we need wisdom to know what to do
i gave them some money to help with food
but i think i will go back there with more for them

or perhaps you'd like to sponsor
the girl to go to school??
it costs about 500L (35.00) a year
for school supplies, fees
and the uniform to go to school.

let me know.
xo

Monday, August 23, 2010

August 23, 2010

the boys are back

early mornings
sun blushed clouds
hungry hummingbirds
stillness inside and out

beautiful way to start a day
there were about 4 birds enjoying my feeder this morning
i am hoping that they will once again grow accustomed
to my presence 
so i can take photos with my rebel 50mm lens
i like to get in close
this morning i used my zoom

one bird, 
my fluffybutt was so friendly 
that i could get within inches of him
and he would fly and touch my finger
but the highlight of all was when 
he started to sing to me
sweetness


today is going to be a clean the house
do some laundry day
and go grocery shopping with melissa 

having snapper for dinner
wanna come over?

August 22, 2010

sunday at the beach

i awoke this morning to the sound
of roosters crowing and dogs barking
and woodpeckers pecking 
and i sighed.

home.
i love sundays
i think it may be the best day of the week for me

we made our way over to the eastside of the island
to go to church
we go to an island church
we are the only regular gringos that attend there
let me tell you there is nothing like a big hug 
from those warm hearted people
good to be missed
good to be back
home

after church carlos our gardener came over
for lunch
uninvited, unexpected...
that's the way we roll here
i gave him the gifts i got for him in canada
he was sooo surprised when he saw
that i bought him an mp3 player
i thought he was going to cry for a second there
it isn't a big fancy one or anything 
but i know that he loves music and it will
be great for him to work and be able to listen 
to some tunes

after lunch we headed to west bay
my cheek was kissed too many times to count
good to see everyone again
sunday is beach day for many people 
we love to go and connect
and sit in the shade
and snorkel

yes the sea was a lovely temperature 
was good to see the underworld again
although my mask is leaking and fogging up
a highlight:
we saw an enormous sting ray
it was about 5 feet across:  HUGE!
and lots of fish
no turtle but that was because i didn't go out 
to the wall where they like to dwell.

it's all good though.
then we picked up buddy, my budgie, from laura's.
great to see her again
great to hold little buddy and get yet again, 
more kisses.

such a sweet bird.
the best bird ever.
truly.

i went to bed to the sounds
of geckos, and frogs
and enjoyed the cool breeze that caressed me while
i slept

August 21, 2010

almost home

sorry for being so late in posting to flickr and my blog
i am 3 days behind 
i took this on saturday as we were flying over the island
i got some amazing aerial shots because,
for some reason, 
the pilot circled the island several times before landing
 when i asked why we weren't landing,
bob the rascal,
said
maybe the wheels of the plane can't come down to land
not funny bob!!!!!


anyways i was happy to get this wonderful shot
of the west bay,  and west end
you can see half moon bay at the bottom
left

at this point in our journey
my heart was soaring for joy
h.o.m.e.

yes that is true
we don't see ourselves leaving any time soon
 unless the Lord takes us somewhere else
(which could very well happen)
but while in Canada i realized that
i am not made for north american living 
anymore

i have grown to love a slower pace
i don't enjoy consuming 
whether that be shopping or
eating enormous amounts of fast food
i don't enjoy traffic
i don't enjoy being busy
 or rushing around getting 'things' done
i am made for island life
the pace
the peace
the people
the pleasure of eating simply,
talking to my bird,
feeding the hummers
have a cold drink with friends by the sea
letting the cool sea cleanse my soul

yeah
almost home