Busy, busy!

I have not posted lately, been incredibly busy!  My trip to the mainland was amazing and I knew I had a lot to say about it, but as soon as I returned, the re-entry into life has been a whirlwind!  The house needed attention, as well as the dogs. As soon as I took care of them, there was our "wine group" meeting!  Then the "wine group" dinner the following day :) and the next day we had unexpected guests.  All of these are "Good Things", as Martha would say.  Staying busy, meeting new people, making new friends and seeing the world around us, are what make life interesting!  I enjoy all these activities, yet finding a balance is key!

I would love to sleep in for a day or two, but not possible!  The dogs are up with sunrise and I would miss our beach walk!  The sea air and breeze create enough dust to choke anyone with allergies and I have a long list of these and seem to acquire more everyday!   So, housework is a daily activity.  Guests usually enjoy conversation, food and drink, and suggested activities; this takes time too!  Sleeping in would mean I would miss my beloved "wine group" meeting later today!  No, no, no!  There is a limit to being too exhausted!  This group re-energizes me and makes me feel wanted and informed!  (I believe this is the whole purpose of group therapy?!)  Of course, I would really enjoy relaxing over errands!  Just the thought of hot, dusty roads and a list a mile long of "to-do's" leaves me tired.  But, that too needs to be done; we like to eat and the dogs look forward to that all day!  I could never disappoint them!  Those adorable furry faces continue to make me smile through any thoughts of giving in to a nap or hiding from the world!

My company is now awake, I have had 3 cups of coffee, the electrician is here and this day is well on it's way!  Cheers and enjoy this gift of life and look around you; you may be surprised at what you are missing!  

d  :)

The dock, again!

This morning's calm seas.
Mr. Barracuda!
Yesterday, west,
south,
north,
and east.
I have taken my own advice and have taken my camera with me as much as I can! (Still forgetful at times!) Back on the island, I still love sitting out on the dock! It is always a good time to be out there. It is cooler, the bugs are fewer and there is always something new and exciting to see. Yesterday, a storm began rolling in, so, I took pictures from the east, south, west and north. Amazing, that storm blew on by!

Today, the seas were so calm, it was eerie! No wind and crystal clear water. I was able to see my friendly barracudas and sardines, and the pictures actually came out! Wow! Glad I had my glasses adjusted while in the states, I am sure they would have fallen in and there was no way I would have jumped in for them today. Too much wild life for a dip. But, that is the good news! The wild life is abundant and my little mangrove crop is growing! (Do not tell the greedy developers this; I am also staging a protest against those guys as soon as there is someone else going with me!)

Enjoy and enjoy some more! There is always something to see and love outside!
d :)

Back on the island

Okay, ready to get busy again and post! Back on the island Sunday and hit the ground running! Unpacking, reorganizing, cleaning and list making!! My usual. My trip to the states was hectic and packed with seeing family, friends and old neighbors. As hard as I try, I never seem to have enough time to visit with everyone! Between the drive to Virginia and back, seeing only some family, the drive back to Chicago suburbs, doctor appointments and the shopping, I cannot believe I made it back without an event! Two days later, it feels like weeks ago. Only a few days ago, I was shivering with cold! My dear friends had a wonderful dinner party for me and we drank wine around the campfire like the good old days! But it was cold, easily 50 degrees! I had on jeans, a sweater and was wrapped in a blanket next to that fire! It's August, (well, now September)! What's going on?

This morning, back to the routine I have with the dogs, (they are very happy to have me back!), we had our usual walk out to the pier. It was 6:30 am., and it was so dang hot, the sun was beating down like it was noon and no breeze! I thought, once more, what's going on? From one extreme to another, here I am! I still love it here and am happy to be home. It is an adjustment, but one I will happily make. The humidity, bugs and heat will soon pass and the hurricane season is looking like the one they predicted; quiet! And boy, is it quiet! The tourists have left, my flights were almost empty! Driving into town for errands is a breeze and the parking issues are none. No lines in the stores and time to catch up with my friends! Time to relax, enjoy these moments and plan for the next influx of tourists and busy season!

Driving and driving some more...

Sitting in a hotel lobby waiting for my dad and my son to get out of bed so we can continue our journey to my son's school, I realize, the tables have turned! I used to be the one holding everyone up! I still have the tendency to stall and find a million and one things to do before leaving the house, (and I am with my teacher, mentor, official staller of the universe, my dad!). This morning, here I am; watching the news, reading the paper, 3 or 4 cups of coffee and I'm ready to get going! The "breakfast bar" is officially closed, the cleaning staff wants me out of the way to do what they do for the next wave of tourists! Oh well...

Eventually, sometime today, hopefully! We will repack the car and start the last leg of the drive to Virginia to the Blue Ridge School! Unpacking, reorganizing and some last minute shopping to do before I kiss my boy goodbye! A senior in high school and I still cannot believe it! I am so glad to have my dad with me on this trip, as I cannot imagine the trip back to Chicago alone with my thoughts! Positive there will be tears, but soon the laughs and stories will begin again and the hours of driving will fly on by!

My boy

I woke up at my usual time; the dogs are my alarm clock! Pippi jumps up on the bed to lick my face and greet me! She is always the first one up and the first one bounding down the steps to get outside! Too cute! Anyway, this morning, it is raining! The thunder and lightning have passed and now it is the beautiful steady rain! I love the sound! Mother nature singing her song! Dogs outside, I unlock the gates, turn off lights and head back inside to finish my morning routine. While the coffee is brewing, I check the internet to see what is going on in the world. This is confusing to the dogs, as they are waiting at the beach gate to go about the daily routine! It's raining and I really do not feel like sitting out on the dock to get soaked. Confused, they head back to the house and happily take their treats. The internet says rain and there is a tropical depression forming to the east. From what I can tell, Colin should be able to get off the island without a problem tomorrow; my flight is Saturday; we shall see!

Colin is heading back earlier to get ready for a mini-triathlon he is doing with his uncle and cousins back in the states. He has worked hard and has stayed focused! He has impressed me immensely! (I would have given up a while ago! The heat, humidity, etc., would have done me in!) He has pressed forward, riding his borrowed bike to the gym, working out twice a day. Then, he has been swimming in the sea between our dock and my neighbor's, (the nice one!) Amazing; the sea creatures only fascinate him! I would have sprouted wings to fly out of the water upon seeing a spotted sting ray or barracuda! He shouts up to me, (I'm on the dock with the time clock), "wow, mom, a huge barracuda ! right there!" as he points to the direction! Yikes, I love the sea animals, from the dock, that is, not in there with them! (I dangle my feet and toes off this dock and they, the fish, come over and start nibbling immediately! What's to stop that barracuda?)

Anyway, on to the race and getting Colin ready for that and for his senior year of high school. We have had our usual doctor's appointments for the school physical, did a little shopping for some of the clothes he needs and his hair is cut. I am struggling this morning with the fact that my little boy is a man! When did he grow up? When did he become so determined? What happened to the days when he was the one jumping on the bed telling me, "mommy wake up, it's a new day!" I know why parents get weepy! I could cry, but I have too much to do this morning! I have to finish his packing, laundry and get him organized. I have made a dozen calls this morning, talking to the airlines, (to be sure his exit taxes were paid), his uncle, (picking him up Friday morning and taking him where he needs to go), leaving messages all over the place for other little things. Keeping myself busy to avoid the plain truth! My son still needs me, but it is not the same! I will be driving him back to Virginia to prep school in another week and I will have to leave him. He will get up and get himself dressed and ready for school alone without me. (The school will not let parents stay in the rooms with their sons; I know I could sleep in that lower bunk! I could secretly check his homework or help him with it! I could cook him all his favorite dishes; maybe that is what I should do? Work at the school!) These were choices we made and I am still not used to it! Our daughter turns 21 in another week and it seems like yesterday, Colin and I, were waiting for her at the bus stop to come home from kindergarten, holding his little hand! Where does the time go?

Okay, enough! No time to head down memory lane, do not want to get myself upset. Push forward, love him, squeeze him, hold him and continue to do! I will make him whatever he wants for breakfast, and lunch! I will sit out there in the rain to time his swim. I will drive in the rain to take him to the gym, if that is what he wants! He is my boy, the best Christmas present I have ever had! I love you Colin and you will do well in the race, I know it! mom :)

The Dock

I love the morning! Nothing makes me happier than awaking to sunshine, my dogs furry faces and a cup of coffee to start the day! I love tiptoeing out of bed to let Steve sleep a little longer, to make the daily brew, empty the dishwasher and gather up my morning tools to head outside! I love watching the fishermen heading out either with tourists or going to work! I love watching the construction guys bicycle by on their way to their jobs. Most of all, I love walking out to the dock with the dogs, coffee cup and camera!

The dock is really my favorite place! It is so peaceful and so beautiful, and, the best part is, each day there is something new to see! I have referred to this place as "my science lab"! It truly is a living science laboratory! So amazing each day, I could sit there for hours. I have had the pleasure of seeing, dolphins, moray eels, spotted rays, lemon rays, millions of sardines, barracuda, bonefish, starfish, needlenose fish, batfish and on and on! Not to mention the birds! Nothing more spectacular than a flock of roseate spoonbills flying overhead! These huge birds are so graceful and quiet, true poetry in motion! I have learned so much and many times have run into the house to grab Steve or a guest to come out and see something I have just discovered! It is marvelous and it brings out the true conservationist in me! I have posted, "no fishing" signs all over our dock. I baby my mangroves and plant new seedlings. I walk with a bag in my pocket always as to pick up litter from the road and beach. I have taught my children to love, enjoy and respect mother nature.

These pictures are of my little furry entourage. Mojo, our cartoon character cat accompanied us this morning! He freaks at the water motion and bright sunlight, but loves going with us. Nothing really exciting this morning except the laughing and pointing from the renters next door watching Mojo tag along behind Tobykeith, Pippi and Pickle! Most people do not believe me when I tell them this cat goes for walks with us!

So, happy Costa Maya to my Belize neighbors and enjoy your weekend! You never know what's waiting for you outside! :)

The Sky and Views of the Sea

Woohoo! The weather the last few days has made for some conversation! It has been everything from calm, humid, windy, rainy, dark, sunny and everything in between! I love this stuff! I could sit on the veranda and watch the clouds roll by all day, (I think that's what Steve thinks I do, do all day!). I am most fortunate to have water views from every vista, this morning the lagoon and sea were dead calm, sheets of glass! Heading out the door, I had the usual: coffee, keys, camera (!), doggy doo bags and bug spray. Juggling this, the dogs and I bound down the steps to unlock the gates and out to the beach. (They're so cute, Pippi and Tobykeith run along side each other almost attached at the hips; Pickle tries to keep up!) I join the anxious group to venture to the end of the dock to see what's going on up close.

The science lab is full of fish this morning; the local fishermen are out as well as the new tourists from next door. The locals know to be out further in a boat, the tourists look frustrated, I know it's too clear right now, the fish can see for miles, they're all under the docks or out in the rocks and reef. The locals in their boats are reeling them in, the tourists roam the beach in frustration! The dogs take up their posts to chase every bird, big and small away from their dock. I cannot keep my eyes off the skies! It's spectacular! The lightning, thunder and clouds are wonderful. I head back to the house only because the dogs know my coffee is gone and now the bugs are really becoming a nuisance.

Inside, doggy treats all around, refill of coffee, a check to the internet weather websites my friends have turned me on to and now settled in to watch how the day plays out. Scuba Steve asks for my opinion of the weather, I give it, (not in the Tommy Skilling professional manner, I do not have his technical training and admitting, am still trying to figure this place out!) Off Scuba Steve goes to work in his boat. I go about my morning chores and will decide as the morning goes on, to alter my tasks or plow ahead. I will more than likely, take the big Bertha Polaris golf cart, (it has a wind shield and cloth top; you still get soaked, but at least flying objects are deflected), and deal with the noise, the parking and the stalling, this monster truck does at every intersection. Not to mention the things I run over and back into making normal turns! (OMG! Ask Christine, yesterday, I took off the fence post to a gate! It WAS lovely, had pretty flowers growing on it too! We put it back to the best of our abilities! No one was around and you do not leave "notes" here when you plow into something like in the states; one nice thing, for me!)

Okay, typical Belize weather; wait 5 minutes, it will change! And, indeed, it has. Still grey, breezy and that pending nasty storm has blown south and west toward Guatemala. Being the novice weathergirl, I will more than likely be completely wrong and find myself later in the storm of the year; or not! I cannot figure this out! All I know for certain, it is humid, hot and hurricane season. I need to do some errands and restock the pantry and water supply. As soon as boy wonder awakes, off we will go, of course, after his 5 course breakfast, and hope for the best!

To the "Weather Channel"! :) D