October 23, 2010

first signs of richard

yup them clouds have rain in them!!

bob and i went to french harbour to buy a new tigo stick
and go on their plan

and we encountered some interesting weather on the way home.
heavy heavy rain!!

we have been watching richard make his way towards us

many have told him that he isn't welcome on our little island but he isn't listening

hurricane richard 

we expect him to go right over roatan around 7:00 am

at about 65 mph

we are as ready as we can be.

extra batteries, extra water, phone cards full, food in the cupboards,

outside furniture inside,

the gutters have been cleaned

my concern right now is that they are predicting between 6 -8 inches of rainfall

which will mean flooding and flash floods.

alot of people live in flimsy little homes on the sides of hills

and i pray that they will be safe

this morning we handed out food, and sheets

to some people in our immediate neighboorhood.
there weren't any blankets donated but i think the sheets will be better then nothing
this weather is getting cold.
i am grateful for the cruise ships who donate sheets, pillows and blankets

and so...
now we wait

and pray

October 22, 2010

taking it easy

as i mentioned yesterday 

my achilles tendon has a slight tear

so i have been taking it easy

i have been moving from the couch,

to a lazy chair, to my bed

trying to rest up

it is interesting what we notice when we are stationary
like the light on the arm chair
and the detail of the wicker.

today it rained heavy and as i laid on the bed

i was so grateful for the coolness that the rains bring
 the sound of heavy rain is so soothing
i dozed off  feeling so blessed

tonight we are having a games night

i had thought about canceling since i am not supposed to be 

on my feet

but bob said that i can just rest

and he will help

others have offered to help as well

so i will be lounging instead of playing hostess

i love games and look forward to having a good time tonight

happy friday!

:-)

October 21, 2010

torn but believing

the last couple of days i have experienced a lot of pain while walking

and numbness in my heel.

i went to the clinic today and was diagnosed with a torn achilles tendon.

it happened when i fell down the stairs.

it was initially very sore and painful

i am not sure why it just flared up a couple of days ago

but it did

so i will be resting.

i admit

that isn't easy for me!

so i need to get that foot elevated.

i will try to keep up this blog but it will be short as even just sitting here isn't pleasant.

thanks for any prayers on my behalf.

October 20, 2010

exotic

one day last year sometime our neighbors climbed up a tree

to get me this flower

here is a 

photo i took at the time

today while i was at the kiln with bob in french cay,

i spied it for myself

i wasn't able to get the flower but i climbed up a bit to get a piece of the branch,

to plant, of course!

but i couldn't get it to break off so i went in search for a machete

i saw a couple of spanish guys

working on a truck so 

i asked if they had a machete

yes, they looked at me strangely

it is a rather strange request!! 

haha

then i explained that i wanted a branch from a tree

one brave soul followed me back to the tree

now this guy is a pure saint

because he climbed up to get me a good thick branch!

apparently the thicker the tree (like a small trunk) the better they plant

or maybe he just wanted to show me his expert climbing skills!!!

at one point another man came over and started speaking in spanish

i heard him say,

she is crazy!

i laughed, and in spanish

i am not totally crazy just a little crazy

i really like plants!

i wish you could have seen the look on his face when he realized

i could understand him.

was priceless!!

so not only do i have a couple of big branches to plant

but we found some little seedlings near the trunk too.

i will be patient

i will be patient

and wait to have these flowers in my yard!!

imagine that!!

October 19, 2010

a gardening peril

as i was walking down the garden path i ran into this guy!
i called carlos screaming loudly.
spiders and i don't mix that well.


i asked where he found it and it was resting quietly
in amongst my plants.


oh no.
i always thought that tarantulas stayed out by the bamboo
i think i will put up a sign that says
'no tarantulas welcome!'


you don't want to know what happened to him...

October 18, 2010

Water Hyacinth

today my friend brandi called to see if i wanted to go

to her friends house to get some plants.

we both brought a couple of plastic bags

we weren't prepared for the ladies generosity!

emilia, a lovely spanish lady who lives by the sea 

in sandy bay

has the most amazing garden!!

she got a shovel and her machete and began

wacking and digging huge plants out for us.

it is overwhelming.

i counted about 40 plants that she gave me

and the same for brandi

i tried to pay her for the plants but she kept saying

it is a gift, it is a gift in spanish

i said, yes it is a gift from you,

and may this be a gift from God to YOU!

but she wouldn't hear of it.

so kind

so so so kind.

brandi and i  were both so overwhelmed

we could barely get all the plants in the car!!

 i almost cried on the way home

~~tears of joy~~

i am so grateful

for the generosity on this island

so grateful

i am going to get someone to come and help 

me to prepare the soil, and help to arrange the plants properly.

what a big job!

but one that i am thrilled to have on my plate!!

October 17, 2010

 

 

a confession

i admit

i have a bit of a problem

nothing serious really

but it is something i need to constantly deal with

i could be a potential plant thief!

it's true.

i love plants, and there are sooo many wonderful plants here

and things grow so easily so all you need to do is get a little slip,

stick it in the ground and it will grow.

do you think it is wrong to simply take a piece?

i don't really.

but if won't take the roots without asking

i got this piece from anthony's key.

i have it in water right now waiting for roots to form.

usually i just stick it in the ground but i don't want to

take a chance of it not 'catching',

or the dog running over it,

or it getting drowned in the rain

so i am babying it a little bit

yes i asked for a piece!!

what i am looking forward to!!

October, 16, 2010

 she's crafty!!

last night was our first official 

"she's crafty" night in roatan

it was hosted by laura

above me,

far right

we had a flip flop decorating party!

what fun!

we enjoyed munchies and good chatting together

and then got down to business

making the funkiest, coolest, snazziest flip flops ever!!

laura provided us with flip flops from the states

as well as many different accessories like

ribbons, beads, shiny sequins, sea trinkets,

silver leaves!!

what fun!

we just rose the bar in terms of flip flops didn't we??!

super snazzy!!!

mine are the 7th flip flop in 

(someone else modelled them as i took the photo)

the next "she's crafty" night?

i will teach them how to make stamped christmas cards!

oh yeah!!