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!!

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!

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.

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

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