October 9, 2010

a green jewel

this morning while out walking with brandi she pointed

out these little green squishy balls

that were all along the edge of the sea,

nestled in the seaweed.

i was quite curious as to what they were

i went out again in the afternoon to get a better photo of them

and  i asked a number of local people

what the squishy green balls were

most didn't have a clue

but some ventured a guess:

a flower from the coral reef,

or maybe planktin,

i had to go online to find out what they were

i had never seen them before so after doing a bit of research

i found out that they are called codium bursa,

which is a type of algae

the one i found is quite small but apparently they can

grow to be the size of coconuts

they typically grow at about 11 metres deep 

 here is an  underwater photo of them in their natural habitat
(the algae is the second photo in the gallery, just click on it to see it large)

i guess with all the high winds churning up the sea 

that these little bits of algae have broken off and are

now littering the shore.

there is so much to learn everyday about life isn't there?

i find it fascinating to learn new things.

it is a wonderful world we live in

absolutely incredible

i hope you continue to enjoy small wonders

in your corner of the world!

glory glory glory
hallelujah
all around me
i am blessed

October 8, 2010

windswept seaweed

i love the rainy season here!

we don't have snow to shovel but the beach does

get awfully messy with seaweed, driftwood, and tons of garbage.

i am trying to recondition carlos because he was told he 

didn't need to clean the beach except when the owners come down

but i say...

yes you DO need to clean the beach

it is part of our property and it needs to be cleaned

so i guess there is some shovelling but at least it isn't cold!

 today is a lovely day for us in the rainy season

ahhh blue sky, mild temperatures, and a vigorous wind blowing

if you look at the photo you will see the waves in the background

usually the sea is very calm but i love the fringe of white caps

that are roaring over the reef these days

so picturesque 

before coming here i was concerned about the rainy season

since i read on the internet that it is from october to february

and i imagined days and days 

and months and months of rain

with dreary grey skies and depressing weather

we do get alot of rain

but often the sky breaks, the sun comes out,

and it is just a beautiful day with wonderful moderate temps

in fact i love the rainy season!!

it is a time for drinking tea,

reading books,

and turning on the oven without turning the house into a sauna.

an adjustment to the rainy season is learning to drive in the pouring rain

many of the taxi drivers don't slow down, and with their balled tires 

they are more accidents due to slippery roads.

driving in the rain is like learning to drive in the snow

you need to slow down and be a bit more cautious

one of the highlights for me 

(other then the cooler temperatures)

is gardening!

everything grows at a phenomenal rate in the rainy season

carlos and i have been planting like crazy.

this is how you do it here:

you take a branch of a plant 

(hibiscus, plumeria, ginger.. whatever!)

you prune it back,

you stick in the ground,

and within a week it starts to sprout!

amazing!

i know alot of people put their tender plants in plastic bags 

and transplant them

but we just put them right in the garden and hope the dog doesn't

run them down.

it is a joyous time for me!!

this weekend is canadian thanksgiving

we are having carlos and his family over for dinner on sunday.

that ought to be interesting since none of his family speaks a lick of english!!

haha..

oh the joys of living cross culturally!  

i am thankful for this wonderful opportunity to blend, and love and learn here 

on this island

the only thing that would make it better:

  YOU!

October 7, 2010

white caps!

today i went to see laura

at turtle crossing, west bay

i had to stop when i got a glimpse of this view

out the corner of my eye.

amazing isn't it?!

the winds are picking up

normally the sea is calm here but lately it has been rough

i think it looks so majestic!

had a wonderful visit with laura

 she is the type of person

 who makes everyone she meets feel special

when i got out of the car she told me my hair

looked like i just got out of the hairdresser!!

i had to laugh because we all know that one of the drawbacks

of living in the caribbean is that our hair is dry, and very windblown

but i did blow dry it and she noticed my 'attempt'

we had a wonderful time together catching up,

laughing, sharing, eating salad together.

as we were cleaning up i asked if she used compost

and she told me she didn't but sometimes they throw it out in the yard

for the turkey vultures

she told me to toss it far

okay!

well i tossed it alright but forgot to take in the wind factor

and the next thing i know all the bits of salad were

sailing through the air  and landed in her pool!!

it was hilarious.

i then imagined her having a pool party and the surprise it would 

have been for her guests to have a 'spray' of wilty salad in their hair

and stuck on their expensive sunglasses!

it is good for the soul to laugh

and...

you should see my toes!

she gave me a french pedicure.

yes i was spoiled rotten!

it was a belated birthday present

was a wonderful way to spend the day.

so thankful to be able to spend unhurried beautiful time together.

blessings to you laura

xo

October 6, 2010

a posie

anyone know what these are called?

i am not sure

i love them!

they also come in yellow too

so cheery

i am doing a week of autumn colors 

through
flickr 

todays color is orange

i am keeping this short because my back and elbow is still

really sore and typing irritates it alot.

i think tomorrow i will get an xray of my elbow just to 

make sure i haven't fractured it

the pain is unbearable!

October 5, 2010

sold!!

we spent the day at the shop today

and it was slow due to all the rain

yes it poured almost all day!!!

i had just said to bob,

"honey let's go home"

when a couple came in from australia

i showed her around the shop.

i showed her this piece.

it wasn't cheap

cost 35.00

i told her the artist, yourgin, had said that it was really a show piece

and he couldn't budge on the price 

just wanted people to see how beautiful it was.

she said,

it is lovely 

so lovely

in fact 

i want it!

sold!!!

the proud new owner!

it is lovely isn't it?

to be honest i am sad to see it leave the shop as i would often

walk to the window, hold it up to the light

and admire the colors of the blue and the streaks of iron pyrite

weaving its way through the stone

this was handcarved and polished by yourgin..

one of the many beautiful pieces of work 

in the made in roatan shop.

on a personal note,

i slipped and fell down zenola's wooden steps today

they were sooo slippery

as i was going down

i just prayed

'oh Lord please help me not to break anything'

i am happy to say i didn't break anything

but i have a big bruise on my back, elbow and i basically feel

like i was run over by a truck.

i wish i had a bathtub

because i would soak all the aches away.

so tonight if you have a bathtub (which is highly likely)

i hope you will give thanks for it

there are so many conveniences in north america that it 

makes it easy to forget that they are luxuries in most places of the world.

a tub...

a hot sudsy tub...

ahhhh.. i wish!

October 4, 2010

from the top

this morning brandi and i hiked up to the top of lawson rock

she hiked,

i huffed and puffed!

the view was soooooo worth it!!

can you imagine waking up to that view?

wow!

hey have lots that are for sale up there.

what a nice place to build a house ...

i wore shoes for the first time in months 

and i got blisters so decided to hike up in bare feet
i am becoming more and more and more

'island' every day

brandi and i had such a good time

sharing together, laughing, and as i stood

there looking at that view i had to stop

and just thank GOD!

so blessed

i am heading to coxen hole to get my sandals fixed

since my feet are rebelling against shoes.

there is a man in the market who can fix any type of shoe

and he is cheap.

it is hard to get good sandals here so i am happy if they can be fixed.

i hope you have a beautiful day

beautiful inside and out.

xo

October 3, 2010

house on a hill

i went for a beach walk this evening

it had rained literally all day

no, not rained:  poured!

but i am not complaining

i love rain

and we need rain so badly here

but it was delightful to see the sun come out 

just as it was time to set

so i took the dog and headed to the beach

i loved the light on the house

such a warm hue

so i thought i would show you where we live

we are renting this place

and are blessed to live on 2 1/2 acres

with every imaginable tropical flower and

fruit trees like quava, avocado, plaintain, lime,

orange, papaya, bread fruit, and mango

plus coconuts and bananas in abundance

we enjoy sharing it with our island friends

this rain has been wonderful

things are growing so rapidly

i can literally see the growth from day to day

no, i am not joking!

and to top it all off

we get to enjoy this view

as you can see.. there was ALOT of rain earlier as we were coming home from church!!

church, by the way, was awesome!!!!!