Our annual Christmas letter to our friends and family is now in a new format! I decided to make it our "blog". Sending out Christmas cards in the Dominican is a no-no. We do not have a true mail system here.
To get a complete recap of our past year, please feel free to read my old blogs posted. I'd give you a recap, but that might put you to sleep!! LOL
We want to wish all of our family and friends the very best Christmas and and a very happy New Year. You all know where we hang our hats and if you are going to be in our neck of the woods, give us a holler!
Feliz Navidad!
P.S. Is it to late to be good? I want Santa to arrive on a motoconcho this year that doesn't spew black smoke from the muffler!
Ross and Colleen
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
One year is complete now!
Well, one year ago, I was sitting in a hotel room in Winfield with our dogs, six suitcases, two laptop cases, two carry on bags and Ross. Shelby was wearing his little plaid sweater because he was SO cold. Now, we are sitting in the tropics...freezing our butts off..It's only 20C and has been raining for over a week now. It is damp and cold at night and we are wearing PANTS...yes, pants and I have a hoodie on!
It is crazy how fast the year has gone.
What have I learned in the past year?
1. Patience
2. Rice is good
3. Puppies will eat anything
4. Dominican drivers are the worst drivers on the face of the earth (yes, worse than Calgary drivers!) There are no real rules of the road here...biggest tires win...ok, that's kinda like Alberta! LOL
5. You can make alot of things with 200 lbs of bananas.
6. Ross is grouchy when he wakes up from a nap
7. Beer is best frosty cold
8. Frogs can lay thousands of eggs in a freshly cleaned pool through the course of a night
9. Puppies will eat anything
10. Laughter is completely necessary
11. Hurricanes are not fun
12. Grass grows quickest when the lawnmower is out of gas
13. Gringos throw some mighty fine potluck dinners
14. Don't light fires when the grass is brown and dry and it's windy
15. Ross can change a lightbulb on a 20' ceiling without a ladder or chair..can you say broom handle, tongs, and rubber gloves?
16. Driving a quad in the rain isn't that bad
17. Puppies will eat anything
18. Four dogs and one cat poop lots
So, you might have noticed I said "four" dogs. Yes, in a blind moment of stupidity, we got another puppy. "Boss" is the newest member of our family. He is a Belgium shepard and is now seven weeks old. Boss is a "man" dog. He is showing very strong personality traits and is going to get some obdience training/guard dog training when he gets older. Since we got him he has almost doubled in size. He loves to play tug-o-war with Jack. He torments the cat endlessly but I think the cat secretly loves it.
The dogs are getting along really well and have accepted Boss into the pack. Here is a favorite pass time:
We are into the "rainy season". In the last week or so we have had at least 12 inches of rain. Ross is waiting for someone to come and fix the leak in our pool so he had drained about half the water out of the pool. He is going to have to re-drain the pool as it is almost full again.
So, what will Year 2 bring? Probably lots of the craziness that Year 1 brought except, we are a little wiser (notice I didn't say older??).
To all our friends in the motherland, ENJOY THE WINTER!!! Keep warm, happy, and healthy!
It is crazy how fast the year has gone.
What have I learned in the past year?
1. Patience
2. Rice is good
3. Puppies will eat anything
4. Dominican drivers are the worst drivers on the face of the earth (yes, worse than Calgary drivers!) There are no real rules of the road here...biggest tires win...ok, that's kinda like Alberta! LOL
5. You can make alot of things with 200 lbs of bananas.
6. Ross is grouchy when he wakes up from a nap
7. Beer is best frosty cold
8. Frogs can lay thousands of eggs in a freshly cleaned pool through the course of a night
9. Puppies will eat anything
10. Laughter is completely necessary
11. Hurricanes are not fun
12. Grass grows quickest when the lawnmower is out of gas
13. Gringos throw some mighty fine potluck dinners
14. Don't light fires when the grass is brown and dry and it's windy
15. Ross can change a lightbulb on a 20' ceiling without a ladder or chair..can you say broom handle, tongs, and rubber gloves?
16. Driving a quad in the rain isn't that bad
17. Puppies will eat anything
18. Four dogs and one cat poop lots
So, you might have noticed I said "four" dogs. Yes, in a blind moment of stupidity, we got another puppy. "Boss" is the newest member of our family. He is a Belgium shepard and is now seven weeks old. Boss is a "man" dog. He is showing very strong personality traits and is going to get some obdience training/guard dog training when he gets older. Since we got him he has almost doubled in size. He loves to play tug-o-war with Jack. He torments the cat endlessly but I think the cat secretly loves it.
The dogs are getting along really well and have accepted Boss into the pack. Here is a favorite pass time:
We are into the "rainy season". In the last week or so we have had at least 12 inches of rain. Ross is waiting for someone to come and fix the leak in our pool so he had drained about half the water out of the pool. He is going to have to re-drain the pool as it is almost full again.
So, what will Year 2 bring? Probably lots of the craziness that Year 1 brought except, we are a little wiser (notice I didn't say older??).
To all our friends in the motherland, ENJOY THE WINTER!!! Keep warm, happy, and healthy!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Another month in Paradise
We are well into month #11!
When we moved to the DR, we thought there would be lots of time for fun, sun and cervesa...were we wrong!
I have a part-time job now. I'm working as a breakfast cook at the Jolly Roger. Great hours, great employers and I am having lots of fun with it. I have never had a job quite like this before and it sure beats sitting at a desk for nine hours a day!
We are busy looking after our two neighbour's yards and pools as well as our own yard and pool. Did you know that frogs can lay thousands of eggs in a very short period of time and the little suckers hatch really quickly? Now, the cat seems to take care of quite a few frogs (we hear them screaming when she kills them - sounds like a small child crying) but clearly the cat isn't doing her job well enough!
I am becoming more and more "Dominicanized" as time passes. My primary mode of transportation now is our quad. I'm ripping around everywhere on it. I can drive for about two weeks back and forth to work on about $10 worth the gas. Can't complain about that. Now, the "winter" rains haven't started yet but I am sure I can figure out how to hold an umbrella when I drive it...I will truly look "Dominican" if I can manage to do that. Either that or I will just wear a black garbage back with holes cut for my head and arms...lol Ross put a little red basket on the front so I can stop on my way home everyday with the few groceries I pick up. I even pick up one of the neighbours and give her a ride into work one day a week as we are going to the same place.
Ross is spending some time at the golf course every week or two. He complains about having to use my golf clubs because his are still in Canada. Now seriously, do we think that is just an excuse for his bad games? LOL In any event, for less than $20, he can golf and have a couple of beer, have a caddy and cart. How can you complain about that?
Devil Dog: Ok, devil dog is STILL chewing. Actually, I have decided that it is separation anxioty. He only seems to eat things when we aren't home. I no longer have any bed linens with out small holes eaten in them. So, if anyone wants to bring us a house warming gift when they visit...we have queen size beds...
The wicker couch must be particularly tasty...
Last night the cat's plastic dish went missing. Not sure were it ended up but no great loss, there wasn't much left of it anyway. I'll probably find little red plastic pieces deposited around the yard when I next do poop duty! That's how we found Ross's brand new white leather golf glove...but we won't talk about that anymore.
And...sigh....the dog pulled the six month old laptop onto the concrete/tile floor...smashed the hard drive. Ok, laptop is working with a new hard drive but I don't think the keyboard will ever be quite the same. Yes, the dog is still alive.....for now.
My middle daughter, Kaylen has been working very, very hard the last year on an excersize and diet plan. She's lost an incredible amount of weight and inches and has recently competed in a fitness competition. She looked wonderful and if you want to see pictures, check out my facebook! She is an inspiration as now my other two daughters (Krista and Hailey) are using the same personal trainer that Kaylen used. I think it would be very cool if all three of them were in the same competition next year in May!
Did you know that Ross is a retired Chippendale dancer? LOL Actually, that was his Hallowe'en costume this year. He sure charmed the ladies...great time was had by all at the Hallowe'en party.
On another note: CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE NOW IN THE STORES HERE. I thought it was just North America that was retarded but clearly the shopping bug is here too. Mind you, the prices for mini lights are REDICULOUS...Over $20 for a small string of lights...NOT!! There is even one hotel downtown that has had their Christmas tree up for almost a month already.
So as our first year winds down, we are looking back and thinking...'what a great move!'
If you are going to be down our way this winter, please let us know so we can show you our little piece of paradise and have a cervesa or three!
Cheers!
When we moved to the DR, we thought there would be lots of time for fun, sun and cervesa...were we wrong!
I have a part-time job now. I'm working as a breakfast cook at the Jolly Roger. Great hours, great employers and I am having lots of fun with it. I have never had a job quite like this before and it sure beats sitting at a desk for nine hours a day!
We are busy looking after our two neighbour's yards and pools as well as our own yard and pool. Did you know that frogs can lay thousands of eggs in a very short period of time and the little suckers hatch really quickly? Now, the cat seems to take care of quite a few frogs (we hear them screaming when she kills them - sounds like a small child crying) but clearly the cat isn't doing her job well enough!
I am becoming more and more "Dominicanized" as time passes. My primary mode of transportation now is our quad. I'm ripping around everywhere on it. I can drive for about two weeks back and forth to work on about $10 worth the gas. Can't complain about that. Now, the "winter" rains haven't started yet but I am sure I can figure out how to hold an umbrella when I drive it...I will truly look "Dominican" if I can manage to do that. Either that or I will just wear a black garbage back with holes cut for my head and arms...lol Ross put a little red basket on the front so I can stop on my way home everyday with the few groceries I pick up. I even pick up one of the neighbours and give her a ride into work one day a week as we are going to the same place.
Ross is spending some time at the golf course every week or two. He complains about having to use my golf clubs because his are still in Canada. Now seriously, do we think that is just an excuse for his bad games? LOL In any event, for less than $20, he can golf and have a couple of beer, have a caddy and cart. How can you complain about that?
Devil Dog: Ok, devil dog is STILL chewing. Actually, I have decided that it is separation anxioty. He only seems to eat things when we aren't home. I no longer have any bed linens with out small holes eaten in them. So, if anyone wants to bring us a house warming gift when they visit...we have queen size beds...
The wicker couch must be particularly tasty...
Last night the cat's plastic dish went missing. Not sure were it ended up but no great loss, there wasn't much left of it anyway. I'll probably find little red plastic pieces deposited around the yard when I next do poop duty! That's how we found Ross's brand new white leather golf glove...but we won't talk about that anymore.
And...sigh....the dog pulled the six month old laptop onto the concrete/tile floor...smashed the hard drive. Ok, laptop is working with a new hard drive but I don't think the keyboard will ever be quite the same. Yes, the dog is still alive.....for now.
My middle daughter, Kaylen has been working very, very hard the last year on an excersize and diet plan. She's lost an incredible amount of weight and inches and has recently competed in a fitness competition. She looked wonderful and if you want to see pictures, check out my facebook! She is an inspiration as now my other two daughters (Krista and Hailey) are using the same personal trainer that Kaylen used. I think it would be very cool if all three of them were in the same competition next year in May!
Did you know that Ross is a retired Chippendale dancer? LOL Actually, that was his Hallowe'en costume this year. He sure charmed the ladies...great time was had by all at the Hallowe'en party.
On another note: CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE NOW IN THE STORES HERE. I thought it was just North America that was retarded but clearly the shopping bug is here too. Mind you, the prices for mini lights are REDICULOUS...Over $20 for a small string of lights...NOT!! There is even one hotel downtown that has had their Christmas tree up for almost a month already.
So as our first year winds down, we are looking back and thinking...'what a great move!'
If you are going to be down our way this winter, please let us know so we can show you our little piece of paradise and have a cervesa or three!
Cheers!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Good Times!
Time flies when you are having a good time!
Where to begin?
Our neighbours from Pennsylvania have been here twice. They had such a good time, they came back for another week! Unfortunately, they had to leave this morning.
We have had a few great dinner parties with friends. Great food and great friends and the odd hangover.
Our friends, Patty and Kelly (owners of the Jolly Roger Bar), took a short vacation and left the bar under the care and control of us....what a lot of hard work running a bar. We had some long days, but with the help of our friends, Bruce and Mary, the days passed quickly.
This past weekend, Patty and Kelly threw another one of their fast becoming famous parties. This was a theme party...Cross Dressing. Well, the women had it easy this time...we threw on some shorts, tank tops, and ball caps and we were ready to go. The men had a little more work involved. Ross went as a ballerina...If you really want to see the entire event, check out my facebook page and find the pictures.
I'm starting a job next week...morning breakfast cook at the Jolly Roger. It will give us a little extra pesos and me something to do. Living in paradise, not to mention having a good supply of cervesa and rum, costs pesos.
Well, fall is upon us here. The trees are shedding a few leaves and the grass is brown. The nights are starting to cool down to 25 C which is a welcome break. The swimming pool is cooling down as well. We are told we are entering the "rainy" season. The rain would be welcome at this point as things have started to dry out again.
Last night we had a really wicked thunder/lightening storm roll through at about 2:30 am. There was a crack of thunder so loud that we though someone shot a gun inside the house. Car alarms and house alarms everywhere were going off. The dogs were barking. Ross jumped out of bed screaming, "WTF!" Scared the crap out of us. The rain was coming down like cats and dogs.
I love a good thunderstorm!
So, now that fall is here, we are looking forward to having friends returning for the winter and lots more social occasions.
It's hard to believe that we have been here for 10 months already!
PS Chip has eaten another bedsheet and another plastic bowl. Said bowl contained an entire can of peanuts. On the upside, he now has his adult teeth so hopefully his chewing will start to slow down. We are going to get him a cocoanut for a chew toy.
Where to begin?
Our neighbours from Pennsylvania have been here twice. They had such a good time, they came back for another week! Unfortunately, they had to leave this morning.
We have had a few great dinner parties with friends. Great food and great friends and the odd hangover.
Our friends, Patty and Kelly (owners of the Jolly Roger Bar), took a short vacation and left the bar under the care and control of us....what a lot of hard work running a bar. We had some long days, but with the help of our friends, Bruce and Mary, the days passed quickly.
This past weekend, Patty and Kelly threw another one of their fast becoming famous parties. This was a theme party...Cross Dressing. Well, the women had it easy this time...we threw on some shorts, tank tops, and ball caps and we were ready to go. The men had a little more work involved. Ross went as a ballerina...If you really want to see the entire event, check out my facebook page and find the pictures.
I'm starting a job next week...morning breakfast cook at the Jolly Roger. It will give us a little extra pesos and me something to do. Living in paradise, not to mention having a good supply of cervesa and rum, costs pesos.
Well, fall is upon us here. The trees are shedding a few leaves and the grass is brown. The nights are starting to cool down to 25 C which is a welcome break. The swimming pool is cooling down as well. We are told we are entering the "rainy" season. The rain would be welcome at this point as things have started to dry out again.
Last night we had a really wicked thunder/lightening storm roll through at about 2:30 am. There was a crack of thunder so loud that we though someone shot a gun inside the house. Car alarms and house alarms everywhere were going off. The dogs were barking. Ross jumped out of bed screaming, "WTF!" Scared the crap out of us. The rain was coming down like cats and dogs.
I love a good thunderstorm!
So, now that fall is here, we are looking forward to having friends returning for the winter and lots more social occasions.
It's hard to believe that we have been here for 10 months already!
PS Chip has eaten another bedsheet and another plastic bowl. Said bowl contained an entire can of peanuts. On the upside, he now has his adult teeth so hopefully his chewing will start to slow down. We are going to get him a cocoanut for a chew toy.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Quadding
Chip...aka Devil Dog
On Aug 11, we took our first official quad trip with some friends, Patty and Kelly.
We headed out on the highway for about a half mile until we turned onto El Choco Road. This is the road closest to us that goes up into the mountains. Our first beverage stop was about half way to the Monkey Jungle. When we stopped, there was nothing but jungle, birds, and really, really loud tree frogs. No traffic, no people…we were one with nature.
We continued on because nature was calling to Patty so we made our way up the road (aka rocky path) to the Monkey Jungle. We took a short break for a beverage and a snack.
All I can say about the day, was absolutely fabulous scenery. Once we crossed the top of the mountain on the rocky path we were following, the view was absolutely amazing. Pristine jungle, no logging roads and messes made by industry. It was stunningly beautiful to see.
We encountered a couple of young Dominican men moving a herd of cattle/horses/goats. We had to stop by the side of the road. Brahma bulls are quite large when they are up close and personal with you. One was getting really, really up close and personal with a cow. I don’t think she was in the mood.
We were really sorry that we didn’t take our camera. It is a good thing we didn’t (I’ll explain in a bit). There were a few small villages that we encountered where the Dominican’s lived. One particular old gentleman was sitting in a beautiful old mahogany rocking chair on the front step of a typical Dominican home. He was grey and weathered but had a huge toothless smile and wave for us as we went past. He would have made an amazing picture.
At the same time we were really sorry we didn’t take our camera, I was glad we didn’t. Because we weren’t in the “tourist” areas, I didn’t want to offend anyone by taking pictures and disturbing anyone. We saw little boys and girls, naked as the day they were born, playing in the street. Everyone was smiling and waving at us.
We stopped at a small colmado (corner store type place) and grabbed another beverage. That is when we discovered the present that the herd of cattle left us. Can you say shit all over the quads, our legs and Kelly even found some on his helmet. More about the shit later.
We were invited into a small Dominican bar…there was music playing, people drinking cervesa and dancing. Because we were so far into the mountains, we weren’t sure how long it would take us to get out, we didn’t stop. I’m sure if we had, it (singing) would have been a party.
My butt is SO sore today. Ross built a seat out of lumber for me to sit on. I bounced on lumber for about six hours. I can’t sit down. My legs are stiff and sore but still am so glad we went.
Shit dries in the heat.
We finally made it back to the highway and ended up on the other side of Cabarete. The highway was such a god send because my butt was getting so sore. Patty and Kelly took us through the back side of west of Cabarete to a place on the beach where a river empties into the ocean. We rode the quads on the beach and on the sandbars. Get this: we found a place to have another beverage! The bar had a sand floor, dogs running around, music, food…it was awesome.
After the beverage, it was time to get going as the sun was getting low in the sky. Back over the sandbars in the river….Ross turned the quad into a seado. I saw the patch of dark water coming and before I could say what I was thinking…it happened. The water was about 2 ½ feet deep. Down we went into sand, sea water and muck. The seado stalled. I was absolutely soaked. My brand new running shoes with the cow shit were soaked and sandy. Patty and Kelly were laughing hysterically at the huge splash that we made. Kelly helped Ross get the quad running and out of the muck. Good thing we didn’t have the camera with us…would have been nice and wet!
We continued on our way to Perla Marina to visit with friends and have a beverage. After sunset, we finally headed home. Quadding on the highway in the dark is a little nerve racking but we made it in one piece. We got home at about 8:30 and I had a shower to remove the sand and remains of the cow shit from my legs. Didn’t take long and I was sleeping.
So, while we were gone, the dogs had a party. We came home to a huge mess. Chip discovered how to pull the table cloth off the table to get everything off to chew up. He broke a beer bottle, pulled stuffing out of the chair cushions that were piled on top of the table. He got the basket of clothes pins scattered all over the floor, chewed a bunch of them up too. So, we got to vacuum up glass and do a clean-up. Our guard must have heard the commotion because when we got home, he knew that the place was trashed! Must have heard the beer bottle break!!
It was an absolutely fabulous day. If you ever have the opportunity to travel to a foreign country, don’t stay exclusively in an all-inclusive hotel. Find a way to leave the resort and really experience the country. I am so moved by everything that I encountered yesterday and can’t wait to explore another part of the countryside.
Monday, August 1, 2011
I'm so bad!
June 10, 2011 is the last time I wrote??? Holy but I didn't realize that it was THAT long....
Chip is still a brat, albiet a much larger brat. He is now officially taller than Shelby.
Chip has eaten part of my wicker couch, four cushions for the kitchen chairs, an assortment of towels, one placemat, one pair of flip flops, a plastic bowl....
He is very, very sneaky...too smart for his own good! He constantly torments Shelby and Saleen. He mimicks everything Jack does. Today, Jack decided it would be a good idea to take a swim in the pool cause he was SO hot...so, Jack is swimming around the pool...Chip comes charging across the patio and jumps into the pool doing a spectacular belly flop...swims around a bit with Jack and climbs out on the stairs. Ross and I were in the pool at the time just watching in utter disbelief! One of the funniest things I have seen in quite some time!
Saleen had a close up and personal meeting with the neighbour's Rottie last week. Didn't think a dog could throw a cat that high in the air. Saleen didn't win this battle although I think the Rottie is sporting a few good scratches on it's nose. Saleen has been very, very slowly recovering from her injuries which included a couple of puncture wounds and a very sore back and hip joints. We've been giving her steriods to help the healing process, she's now eating again but we are still reluctant to let her venture outside yet as she can't jump and climb very well yet. Poor kitty!!
We had some bad news a few weeks ago. Ross's oldest daughter, Dianne, was on her way home from work in Kamloops, driving to Vernon, and was in a head on car crash. She was seriously injured and had to be air lifted from the crash site to the hospital in Kamloops. She suffered a number of broken bones that required surgery, the most serious being a shattered hip. She is sporting a number of stainless steel rods but as of July 30, she is now recovering at home.
So, as I write this note, we are closely watching Tropical Storm Emily approaching our island. We are preparing the house and yard, just in case. At this time, the storm looks like it will stay on the south side of the island, however, we decided to prepare to be on the safe side. If/when we do meet Emily, we will be sure to snap some pictures (only if safe to do so) and I will most certainly blog about the experience. Now, I like thunder and lightening storms (and boy do we get some gooders here!!!), however, a tropical storm will be a new experience for me.
We haven't had any visitors in a long, long time however our neighbours from the US were here for eight days. Had a fabulous time with them and are sure looking forward to their next trip to Sosua. Jack stayed with Richard and Tierra for the week they were here so they wouldn't be lonely...Jack had a great time on vacation...he didn't want to come home and was very depressed the day they left.
Ross recently committed a murder...can you say tarantula?? Not an itty bitty spider coming down the water spout...big creepy thing...Now, normally we don't kill these gentle, but creepy things, but we were quite concerned that the dogs might decide to play with it. He also took out a large black scorpion that was crawling across the patio. Didn't think they had scorpions here but apparently they do.
Our next crop of bananas is well on its way to being a bumper crop. We're hoping we don't get any really strong winds that take the trees down. My chinola (passion fruit) vines are growing like crazy. No blossoms yet. I have tomatoes growing in pots and the first flowers are starting to form. Pineapple plants are growing well to but they grow so very slowly. We've been feasting on the neighbour's avacados that their security guard throws over our fence for us. Usually they come at us like missles and land in the pool.
So, we have been here eight months now and boy has time passed quickly. We've settled into a routine. We are tolerating the heat. We spend lots of time in the swimming pool, we read lots and lots of books.
We absolutely love it here and at this point in time, just couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
As us that question again on Thursday morning...if we experience Tropical Storm Emily....
Chip is still a brat, albiet a much larger brat. He is now officially taller than Shelby.
Chip has eaten part of my wicker couch, four cushions for the kitchen chairs, an assortment of towels, one placemat, one pair of flip flops, a plastic bowl....
He is very, very sneaky...too smart for his own good! He constantly torments Shelby and Saleen. He mimicks everything Jack does. Today, Jack decided it would be a good idea to take a swim in the pool cause he was SO hot...so, Jack is swimming around the pool...Chip comes charging across the patio and jumps into the pool doing a spectacular belly flop...swims around a bit with Jack and climbs out on the stairs. Ross and I were in the pool at the time just watching in utter disbelief! One of the funniest things I have seen in quite some time!
Saleen had a close up and personal meeting with the neighbour's Rottie last week. Didn't think a dog could throw a cat that high in the air. Saleen didn't win this battle although I think the Rottie is sporting a few good scratches on it's nose. Saleen has been very, very slowly recovering from her injuries which included a couple of puncture wounds and a very sore back and hip joints. We've been giving her steriods to help the healing process, she's now eating again but we are still reluctant to let her venture outside yet as she can't jump and climb very well yet. Poor kitty!!
We had some bad news a few weeks ago. Ross's oldest daughter, Dianne, was on her way home from work in Kamloops, driving to Vernon, and was in a head on car crash. She was seriously injured and had to be air lifted from the crash site to the hospital in Kamloops. She suffered a number of broken bones that required surgery, the most serious being a shattered hip. She is sporting a number of stainless steel rods but as of July 30, she is now recovering at home.
So, as I write this note, we are closely watching Tropical Storm Emily approaching our island. We are preparing the house and yard, just in case. At this time, the storm looks like it will stay on the south side of the island, however, we decided to prepare to be on the safe side. If/when we do meet Emily, we will be sure to snap some pictures (only if safe to do so) and I will most certainly blog about the experience. Now, I like thunder and lightening storms (and boy do we get some gooders here!!!), however, a tropical storm will be a new experience for me.
We haven't had any visitors in a long, long time however our neighbours from the US were here for eight days. Had a fabulous time with them and are sure looking forward to their next trip to Sosua. Jack stayed with Richard and Tierra for the week they were here so they wouldn't be lonely...Jack had a great time on vacation...he didn't want to come home and was very depressed the day they left.
Ross recently committed a murder...can you say tarantula?? Not an itty bitty spider coming down the water spout...big creepy thing...Now, normally we don't kill these gentle, but creepy things, but we were quite concerned that the dogs might decide to play with it. He also took out a large black scorpion that was crawling across the patio. Didn't think they had scorpions here but apparently they do.
Our next crop of bananas is well on its way to being a bumper crop. We're hoping we don't get any really strong winds that take the trees down. My chinola (passion fruit) vines are growing like crazy. No blossoms yet. I have tomatoes growing in pots and the first flowers are starting to form. Pineapple plants are growing well to but they grow so very slowly. We've been feasting on the neighbour's avacados that their security guard throws over our fence for us. Usually they come at us like missles and land in the pool.
So, we have been here eight months now and boy has time passed quickly. We've settled into a routine. We are tolerating the heat. We spend lots of time in the swimming pool, we read lots and lots of books.
We absolutely love it here and at this point in time, just couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
As us that question again on Thursday morning...if we experience Tropical Storm Emily....
Friday, June 10, 2011
HOT HOT HOT
It’s hot…really frickin hot. It’s hot and it’s humid. It’s hot, humid and we have been getting some great thunderstorms.
So, with the humidity, heat and rain, things are really starting to grow quickly. I’ve planted tomato seeds, papaya seeds and the passion fruit vines are literally growing inches every day! If it wasn’t so hot and humid, I could probably cut the grass every couple of days. Like I said, I could probably cut the grass but I’m not…it’s too hot.
I like to sit in the swimming pool.
Honey. Apparently we have lots of beehives around here. The gardener was by last week to cut trees and grass. Well, that’s what he was supposed to be doing. NOT! He was harvesting honey. I thought he was cooking his lunch over an open fire but he was smoking out the bees. He gave me some of the honeycomb in a container. I strained the liquid honey and ended up with a small container of fresh honey. It’s quite dark but man is it good.
So, poor Judy had to go back to the animal shelter. She developed some rather gross looking wart like things in her mouth. They are highly contagious to both pets and humans. They were starting to bleed when she would eat and was getting quite sore. We felt terrible but she will do much better where she is the only dog. She just wasn’t settling in here and was scared of everything.
Our friends, Craig and Lindsy, had three puppies dumped into their garage last week. Poor little things were covered with fleas and were full of worms. We took the puppies to the shelter for a flea and worm treatment to get them healthy and happy. We helped get the word out about these three adorable puppies, Chocolate, Chip and Cookie.
Chip lives at our house now. Chip is a brat.
Chip looks a great deal like Jack did when he was a puppy except he has a little brown nose and green eyes. He has similar markings but is more chocolate brown than golden brown. He’s about seven or eight weeks old.
Chip likes to get up at about 4 am to go outside for a pee and then wants to play. I don't.
Chip is a brat.
Life in general has been very quiet. We have been going into the Jolly Roger for cold beverages on Monday nights. They have been playing comedy DVDs. Some great laughs! Even the Brits have a sense of humour when it comes to Russell Peters!
Hockey. Ross was very happy at the beginning of the finals. He’s not so happy right now. He doesn’t want Boston to win. He doesn’t want to have to kick American Ass at the bar. I don’t think Kelly would be too happy if Ross broke tables and chairs over other customer heads.
Did I mention, Chip is a brat?
So, with the humidity, heat and rain, things are really starting to grow quickly. I’ve planted tomato seeds, papaya seeds and the passion fruit vines are literally growing inches every day! If it wasn’t so hot and humid, I could probably cut the grass every couple of days. Like I said, I could probably cut the grass but I’m not…it’s too hot.
I like to sit in the swimming pool.
Honey. Apparently we have lots of beehives around here. The gardener was by last week to cut trees and grass. Well, that’s what he was supposed to be doing. NOT! He was harvesting honey. I thought he was cooking his lunch over an open fire but he was smoking out the bees. He gave me some of the honeycomb in a container. I strained the liquid honey and ended up with a small container of fresh honey. It’s quite dark but man is it good.
So, poor Judy had to go back to the animal shelter. She developed some rather gross looking wart like things in her mouth. They are highly contagious to both pets and humans. They were starting to bleed when she would eat and was getting quite sore. We felt terrible but she will do much better where she is the only dog. She just wasn’t settling in here and was scared of everything.
Our friends, Craig and Lindsy, had three puppies dumped into their garage last week. Poor little things were covered with fleas and were full of worms. We took the puppies to the shelter for a flea and worm treatment to get them healthy and happy. We helped get the word out about these three adorable puppies, Chocolate, Chip and Cookie.
Chip lives at our house now. Chip is a brat.
Chip looks a great deal like Jack did when he was a puppy except he has a little brown nose and green eyes. He has similar markings but is more chocolate brown than golden brown. He’s about seven or eight weeks old.
Chip likes to get up at about 4 am to go outside for a pee and then wants to play. I don't.
Chip is a brat.
Life in general has been very quiet. We have been going into the Jolly Roger for cold beverages on Monday nights. They have been playing comedy DVDs. Some great laughs! Even the Brits have a sense of humour when it comes to Russell Peters!
Hockey. Ross was very happy at the beginning of the finals. He’s not so happy right now. He doesn’t want Boston to win. He doesn’t want to have to kick American Ass at the bar. I don’t think Kelly would be too happy if Ross broke tables and chairs over other customer heads.
Did I mention, Chip is a brat?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Wheels of Justice and Bingo
As everyone probably knows by now, our home was broken into on April 16.
We have been working with friends, acquaintances and the police…and I use the term police very, very loosely.
In most first world countries, when you encounter crime, you expect certain investigative processes. Those include formal statements, finger printing, maybe some pictures and some follow up. The wheels of justice move backwards here.
So, through on-lines news articles and a website we follow, we found out that three individuals had been arrested pawning a large number of computers, cameras, electronic equipment etc. So, because we hadn’t heard back from the Policia, we took it upon ourselves to do the follow up ourselves.
Last week, Ross went to the Polica (equivalent to a security guard at a private parking lot except these guys are carrying an assortment of weapons). The Policia advised that the arrests occurred in Santiago but many of the confiscated items were in Puerto Plata and that we should go to Puerto Plata today to see if anything was there.
This is where the story gets really interesting…..
So, first stop, the Justice Palace in Puerto Plata. We march up to the entrance to be denied access. Why you ask…well, our friend Trevor, Ross and myself were wearing shorts and sandels. Okay, so when you go to an “official” government building or church, men must be wearing long pants and closed toe shoes. Women can wear pants or skirts, dress sandels (not hooker type shoes) and women’s shoulder’s must be covered.
Okay, it was about 30 C today…..probably more like 40C with the humidity….I had sweat running where I have never had sweat run before…..
So, off we went to La Serena and purchased what we thought was “appropriate” clothing. Ross is now sporting a new pair of jeans and some strange looking dress shoes that the bottoms look like a slice off a slightly used tire. He did not wear socks in these shoes that I am pretty sure weren’t leather. The same was true for our friend Trevor…but the best part….THEY GOT THE SAME SHITTY SHOES!!! I got a lovely tropical looking sundress and some dressy type sandels. Now, they didn’t tell us about the cover your shoulders thing so after getting my new outfit, I still couldn’t go into the court house. When we made our second trip to the Justice Place, a young security guard had a good laugh at our shopping expenditures….little bugger could have warned us. But that didn’t really matter, they sent us off to the central police station.
So, we arrived at the police station. No formal clothing required here as this is the “lockup” place. So, we have to pass through a security gate where this guy who looks like he was about 17 was holding an impressive looking rifle.
So, the wheels of justice are still turning. We presented all of our documentation (compliments of the internet and a colour printer). Trevor did a great job of being our translator….we are almost done with the pleasantries of retelling our story for the third time and we are told that everything is still in Santiago. But, they will make some phone calls and get back to us
I feel another trip to Puerto Plata coming in about a week or so…just in case they lost our phone number…
Ross and I played bingo today…it’s a charity fundraiser…I think the only reason the guys go is to have some male bonding time…and an excuse to drink beer in the middle of the day! Nope, didn’t win a thing but, Ross got to use Mary’s “dabber”…
I think that made his day….
We have been working with friends, acquaintances and the police…and I use the term police very, very loosely.
In most first world countries, when you encounter crime, you expect certain investigative processes. Those include formal statements, finger printing, maybe some pictures and some follow up. The wheels of justice move backwards here.
So, through on-lines news articles and a website we follow, we found out that three individuals had been arrested pawning a large number of computers, cameras, electronic equipment etc. So, because we hadn’t heard back from the Policia, we took it upon ourselves to do the follow up ourselves.
Last week, Ross went to the Polica (equivalent to a security guard at a private parking lot except these guys are carrying an assortment of weapons). The Policia advised that the arrests occurred in Santiago but many of the confiscated items were in Puerto Plata and that we should go to Puerto Plata today to see if anything was there.
This is where the story gets really interesting…..
So, first stop, the Justice Palace in Puerto Plata. We march up to the entrance to be denied access. Why you ask…well, our friend Trevor, Ross and myself were wearing shorts and sandels. Okay, so when you go to an “official” government building or church, men must be wearing long pants and closed toe shoes. Women can wear pants or skirts, dress sandels (not hooker type shoes) and women’s shoulder’s must be covered.
Okay, it was about 30 C today…..probably more like 40C with the humidity….I had sweat running where I have never had sweat run before…..
So, off we went to La Serena and purchased what we thought was “appropriate” clothing. Ross is now sporting a new pair of jeans and some strange looking dress shoes that the bottoms look like a slice off a slightly used tire. He did not wear socks in these shoes that I am pretty sure weren’t leather. The same was true for our friend Trevor…but the best part….THEY GOT THE SAME SHITTY SHOES!!! I got a lovely tropical looking sundress and some dressy type sandels. Now, they didn’t tell us about the cover your shoulders thing so after getting my new outfit, I still couldn’t go into the court house. When we made our second trip to the Justice Place, a young security guard had a good laugh at our shopping expenditures….little bugger could have warned us. But that didn’t really matter, they sent us off to the central police station.
So, we arrived at the police station. No formal clothing required here as this is the “lockup” place. So, we have to pass through a security gate where this guy who looks like he was about 17 was holding an impressive looking rifle.
So, the wheels of justice are still turning. We presented all of our documentation (compliments of the internet and a colour printer). Trevor did a great job of being our translator….we are almost done with the pleasantries of retelling our story for the third time and we are told that everything is still in Santiago. But, they will make some phone calls and get back to us
I feel another trip to Puerto Plata coming in about a week or so…just in case they lost our phone number…
Ross and I played bingo today…it’s a charity fundraiser…I think the only reason the guys go is to have some male bonding time…and an excuse to drink beer in the middle of the day! Nope, didn’t win a thing but, Ross got to use Mary’s “dabber”…
I think that made his day….
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Update
It's been a couple of weeks since I last updated everyone so here goes.....
Well, we thought Fort Knox Casa was secure, but how wrong we were! Two weeks ago our home was broken into when we were out for a couple of hours. We were royally pissed off as we had all three laptops, two cameras, and our Ipod taken. This literally cut us off from the outside world. You don't realize how dependant you get on something but boy did we miss our computers.
We had great support here from many friends including Patty and Kelly (Jolly Roger Pub), Lindsy and Craig (offered tons of support), Vic (dealt with the police for us as we don't speak enough spanish), friends from the AAAS, neighbours and I'm sure more that I'm missing.
We would be very grateful if anyone has any pictures that we may have sent to them over the years to please email them to us so we can rebuild our photo libraries as we lost almost all of our memories from the last five years.
So while we didn't get anything back (and we really didn't expect to), Patty put it all into perspective for me...at least the dogs weren't hurt and you are here to tell us about it and most important, "you can't change what happened, only how you feel about it". These were very true words and I was very grateful for them.
Now, Fort Knox is even further secured thanks to the fast response we had from Trevor and his welder, Franklin. We are keeping our new laptop with us at all times along with the camera that the creep missed taking with him.
We also adopted a new German Shepard/Dominican dog about a week ago for extra early warning. "Judy" is now seven months old (same age as Saleen). I had forgotten how much work a puppy is. Well, for a puppy, she is bigger than Jack and weighs more than Jack!
Judy has a very sweet tempermant at this time although as she is coming out of her shell and getting used to Jack, Shelby and Saleen, she is becoming very loyal to us. She has a HUGE bark! She's been quite good as far as house training...the little darling wakes me up during the night when she wants outside. I love getting up at 3 am and unlocking all the deadbolts.......
Yesterday Judy got stung in the paw by a wasp...wow did her paw swell up! Today she is back to normal and running and playing with Saleen.
We had company for the last week. Craig, Laura and Layla came from Vancouver. We had a great visit and were able to show them a small piece of our paradise. Layla absolutely loved the swimming pool and the animals. Shelby took a special interest in Layla: I don't think I have ever seen him wag his tail as much as he did. He was particularly concerned when Layla was in the pool with Craig and Laura.
Ross taught Layla a few nasty little tricks while she was here and I'm sure that Mom and Dad will be thrilled when she starts to spit food all over them! We had lots of photo ops and both Ross and Craig were taking pictures which will make their way onto Facebook.
Craig, Laura and Layla left early this morning on the long treck home...we wish them safe travels!
I got a new tattoo! Our friend Vic added to my hummingbird. Pictures on Facebook to follow. Ross is pretty firm that this is the last one I can get...we'll see....lol
That's all for now folks....
That's some bad hat!
Well, we thought Fort Knox Casa was secure, but how wrong we were! Two weeks ago our home was broken into when we were out for a couple of hours. We were royally pissed off as we had all three laptops, two cameras, and our Ipod taken. This literally cut us off from the outside world. You don't realize how dependant you get on something but boy did we miss our computers.
We had great support here from many friends including Patty and Kelly (Jolly Roger Pub), Lindsy and Craig (offered tons of support), Vic (dealt with the police for us as we don't speak enough spanish), friends from the AAAS, neighbours and I'm sure more that I'm missing.
We would be very grateful if anyone has any pictures that we may have sent to them over the years to please email them to us so we can rebuild our photo libraries as we lost almost all of our memories from the last five years.
So while we didn't get anything back (and we really didn't expect to), Patty put it all into perspective for me...at least the dogs weren't hurt and you are here to tell us about it and most important, "you can't change what happened, only how you feel about it". These were very true words and I was very grateful for them.
Now, Fort Knox is even further secured thanks to the fast response we had from Trevor and his welder, Franklin. We are keeping our new laptop with us at all times along with the camera that the creep missed taking with him.
We also adopted a new German Shepard/Dominican dog about a week ago for extra early warning. "Judy" is now seven months old (same age as Saleen). I had forgotten how much work a puppy is. Well, for a puppy, she is bigger than Jack and weighs more than Jack!
Judy has a very sweet tempermant at this time although as she is coming out of her shell and getting used to Jack, Shelby and Saleen, she is becoming very loyal to us. She has a HUGE bark! She's been quite good as far as house training...the little darling wakes me up during the night when she wants outside. I love getting up at 3 am and unlocking all the deadbolts.......
Yesterday Judy got stung in the paw by a wasp...wow did her paw swell up! Today she is back to normal and running and playing with Saleen.
We had company for the last week. Craig, Laura and Layla came from Vancouver. We had a great visit and were able to show them a small piece of our paradise. Layla absolutely loved the swimming pool and the animals. Shelby took a special interest in Layla: I don't think I have ever seen him wag his tail as much as he did. He was particularly concerned when Layla was in the pool with Craig and Laura.
Ross taught Layla a few nasty little tricks while she was here and I'm sure that Mom and Dad will be thrilled when she starts to spit food all over them! We had lots of photo ops and both Ross and Craig were taking pictures which will make their way onto Facebook.
Craig, Laura and Layla left early this morning on the long treck home...we wish them safe travels!
I got a new tattoo! Our friend Vic added to my hummingbird. Pictures on Facebook to follow. Ross is pretty firm that this is the last one I can get...we'll see....lol
That's all for now folks....
That's some bad hat!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Snakes and Frogs
Hola
Another beautiful day in paradise...well, I lie. The cat, that cute little grey kitten, hauled in another frog this morning, and a snake this afternoon. The snake pushed me over the edge. I came unglued at Ross and demanded he do something. Naturally he didn't take very kindly to me telling him what to do, so...off to the hardware store I went to purchase some 3/4" chicken wire.
Now, the nice old dude at the hardware store was being kinda friendly and spoke English...he wants to know what I want the wire for...I tell him to keep the cat from hauling in snakes...he is now laughing hysterically and tells the young men working in the hardware store what I am up to...now they are all laughing at the silly gringa....I laughed with them as their reaction was priceless!
A few dozen zip ties later, the entire front security gate is now covered with wire...NO MORE SNAKES, NO MORE FROGS, NO MORE GEKOS...or anything else for that matter. The cat can't get through with ANYTHING.
I hate snakes.....
So Ross and I went out to the JR (Jolly Roger) on Thursday night. A group of 30 women were in town for a stagette. Now, originally we were told that the women were from New Brunswick so we ASSUMED they meant Canada...had security lined up and everything because we all know how those New Brunswick girls like to party...
Kelly and Patti (owners of the JR) installed a dancing pole for the event. (Patti was apposed to this but I'll just bet at some point she gives the pole a little workout...lmao) So, there was a little alcohol fueled dancing...So, it turned out they were from New Brunswick, New Jersey so while they were pretty well lit, and fun, it was an overall safe event...Ross worked part of the security and I cleared up some of the mess they left behind.
We are getting more company. Ross's niece, her husband and their daughter are set to arrive on Apr 21 which is Ross's birthday. So, we are getting ready for their arrival and baby-proofing the house..well, that took minutes...we don't have anything a baby can destroy unless she decides to take out a concrete wall...But seriously, we are really looking forward to sharing our little piece of paradise with them!
Did I tell you how much I hate snakes????
Another beautiful day in paradise...well, I lie. The cat, that cute little grey kitten, hauled in another frog this morning, and a snake this afternoon. The snake pushed me over the edge. I came unglued at Ross and demanded he do something. Naturally he didn't take very kindly to me telling him what to do, so...off to the hardware store I went to purchase some 3/4" chicken wire.
Now, the nice old dude at the hardware store was being kinda friendly and spoke English...he wants to know what I want the wire for...I tell him to keep the cat from hauling in snakes...he is now laughing hysterically and tells the young men working in the hardware store what I am up to...now they are all laughing at the silly gringa....I laughed with them as their reaction was priceless!
A few dozen zip ties later, the entire front security gate is now covered with wire...NO MORE SNAKES, NO MORE FROGS, NO MORE GEKOS...or anything else for that matter. The cat can't get through with ANYTHING.
I hate snakes.....
So Ross and I went out to the JR (Jolly Roger) on Thursday night. A group of 30 women were in town for a stagette. Now, originally we were told that the women were from New Brunswick so we ASSUMED they meant Canada...had security lined up and everything because we all know how those New Brunswick girls like to party...
Kelly and Patti (owners of the JR) installed a dancing pole for the event. (Patti was apposed to this but I'll just bet at some point she gives the pole a little workout...lmao) So, there was a little alcohol fueled dancing...So, it turned out they were from New Brunswick, New Jersey so while they were pretty well lit, and fun, it was an overall safe event...Ross worked part of the security and I cleared up some of the mess they left behind.
We are getting more company. Ross's niece, her husband and their daughter are set to arrive on Apr 21 which is Ross's birthday. So, we are getting ready for their arrival and baby-proofing the house..well, that took minutes...we don't have anything a baby can destroy unless she decides to take out a concrete wall...But seriously, we are really looking forward to sharing our little piece of paradise with them!
Did I tell you how much I hate snakes????
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Time for an Update
Hola!
Scott and Donna have arrived...and have left. We had a fantastic visit with them and kept incredibly busy.
We spent our time walking Sosua Beach, drinking cold beverages on Cabarete Beach, sitting on the beach (with cold beverages) at Playa Grande, feeding the monkeys at the Monkey Jungle, dinners out, time at the Jolly Roger, and a day trip to Santiago.
So, Santiago was an awesome trip. We had a great Dominican driver (Wilson)who took us to some great shopping spots. I would NEVER drive in Santiago...those people are friggin nuts on the road! What should be a two lane road is usually a minimum of four lanes...and sometimes that is going in both directions.
Thank you to the young man who stripped in front of the tire store to change his pants after work. Not sure why he couldn't do it inside but found it necessary to show the world what his mamma gave him. We certainly didn't enjoy your show.
THEY HAVE MCDONALDS IN SANTIAGO!!!!! Although I didn't get a chance to have a Big Mac (but I can if I want to!!!!!!), I now know that I will be okay in the Dominican Republic. Life is good!
As usual, it has been hot and dry. We are almost ready to do the native rain dance. We have noticed that the grass everywhere is turning brown. We've seen the Sosua Fire Department putting out grass fires so I guess that means I can't light any fires until we get some rain. I don't want them blaming me for anything...hehe
So, we are nearing the end of our fourth month...as they say, time flies when you are having fun. The days are rushing by so quickly. Do we regret leaving Canada...NO...we do miss our family and friends but unless circumstances would dictate otherwise, I can't see us returning to Canada. We have been fortunate to have three of our six children visit and look forward to the day when the other three can come and see us.
Adios until my next blog.
Scott and Donna have arrived...and have left. We had a fantastic visit with them and kept incredibly busy.
We spent our time walking Sosua Beach, drinking cold beverages on Cabarete Beach, sitting on the beach (with cold beverages) at Playa Grande, feeding the monkeys at the Monkey Jungle, dinners out, time at the Jolly Roger, and a day trip to Santiago.
So, Santiago was an awesome trip. We had a great Dominican driver (Wilson)who took us to some great shopping spots. I would NEVER drive in Santiago...those people are friggin nuts on the road! What should be a two lane road is usually a minimum of four lanes...and sometimes that is going in both directions.
Thank you to the young man who stripped in front of the tire store to change his pants after work. Not sure why he couldn't do it inside but found it necessary to show the world what his mamma gave him. We certainly didn't enjoy your show.
THEY HAVE MCDONALDS IN SANTIAGO!!!!! Although I didn't get a chance to have a Big Mac (but I can if I want to!!!!!!), I now know that I will be okay in the Dominican Republic. Life is good!
As usual, it has been hot and dry. We are almost ready to do the native rain dance. We have noticed that the grass everywhere is turning brown. We've seen the Sosua Fire Department putting out grass fires so I guess that means I can't light any fires until we get some rain. I don't want them blaming me for anything...hehe
So, we are nearing the end of our fourth month...as they say, time flies when you are having fun. The days are rushing by so quickly. Do we regret leaving Canada...NO...we do miss our family and friends but unless circumstances would dictate otherwise, I can't see us returning to Canada. We have been fortunate to have three of our six children visit and look forward to the day when the other three can come and see us.
Adios until my next blog.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Poker Run (Exercise in Beer Drinking and Walking at the Same Time)
Hot and dry...that's about all I can say about the weather. Trees are getting stressed...grass is turning very brown...and NO, I have not started any fires lately although I have looked once or twice at the fire pit I have built. However, until we get some significant rain, I won't play with matches.
We have been painting, painting, and painting some more. Just two bedrooms and two bathrooms to go and the entire inside of the house is finished! I am quite pleased with the results but my shoulders and knees are protesting somewhat violently. We have some lovely colours...mango, light olive green, dark olive green and a burned orange (no, not as a result of fire).
I stopped by the tree nursery last week and picked up a couple of new items...some DR type of fruit tree...don't know what it is but it is quite an interesting plant...and another shrub type thing. We're working on a privacy fence of plants. I'm having an urge to wander through some vacant areas and see what I can forage for free.
Anyone want some bananas? I have frozen bananas, banana bread, banana muffins and more bananas hanging in the carport until I can either give them away, feed them to the dogs, or make something else with them. The really sad part is I have another stalk of bananas almost ready to cut down. After those ones are done, it will be a good six months before we start all over again. Like an idiot, I planted two more banana trees..now those have a very long way to go before I have to worry about fruit!
On Saturday, we attended a charity event in town. What a riot! It was a poker run. Well, actually it was a polker walk to eight different bars in town. Good thing it was hot out...helped burn off some of the alcohol we consumed.
At each bar, we had an activity to complete before we received our card. There was pole dancing (well actually you had to climb a pole and ring a bell but it sounds funnier when you say pole dancing). Most people enjoyed that activity to its fullest.
At the Burrito Hut, you had a choice of activities..you could do a mexican hat dance or strap on a rather large carrot and dip it into a water bottle. Needless to say, all the women dipped the carrot while for some reason, the men danced.
There was a hard boiled egg race, a card game, golf putting (which facinated most of the locals on the beach), and beer pong. The best one to watch was an activity that I can't come up with a good name. You had to squeeze a 25 peso coin in the cheeks of your butt and shuffle about five feet, turn around and drop the coin into a small silver bucket. The funniest one I watched was one of our team members stuff toilet paper first and then the coin.
Ross also participated in the kareoke. He was actually pretty good at it.
No, we didn't take any pictures as what happens during an event like this remains burned in our memories...
We didn't win any of the major prizes but did win one...a show pass at dolphin world. So, some night when we are bored, we will head to Puerto Plata and take in that show.
So, Saleen (previously the un-named cat) went to be spayed on Friday. There were some volunteer vets in town and for a donation, they were spaying and neutering cats and dogs. I watched the entire proceedure which was quite interesting. Poor kitty didn't have such a good evening. She was pretty doped up. Do you know how funny it is to watch a cat try and walk leaning to one side? And, they shouldn't try and jump...they just face plant into the floor. The method that was used allowed for a very quick recovery and she is back to normal.
Saleen brought a live snake into the house. Ross killed it with a machete. I can handle the frogs and lizards but I friggin HATE snakes. Enough said.
Scott and Donna arrive next week for a much anticipated visit. We will have to make sure all the spiders and other creepy things are out of the house before their arrival. I hear tell that Scott doesn't like spiders...neither do I!!
We have been painting, painting, and painting some more. Just two bedrooms and two bathrooms to go and the entire inside of the house is finished! I am quite pleased with the results but my shoulders and knees are protesting somewhat violently. We have some lovely colours...mango, light olive green, dark olive green and a burned orange (no, not as a result of fire).
I stopped by the tree nursery last week and picked up a couple of new items...some DR type of fruit tree...don't know what it is but it is quite an interesting plant...and another shrub type thing. We're working on a privacy fence of plants. I'm having an urge to wander through some vacant areas and see what I can forage for free.
Anyone want some bananas? I have frozen bananas, banana bread, banana muffins and more bananas hanging in the carport until I can either give them away, feed them to the dogs, or make something else with them. The really sad part is I have another stalk of bananas almost ready to cut down. After those ones are done, it will be a good six months before we start all over again. Like an idiot, I planted two more banana trees..now those have a very long way to go before I have to worry about fruit!
On Saturday, we attended a charity event in town. What a riot! It was a poker run. Well, actually it was a polker walk to eight different bars in town. Good thing it was hot out...helped burn off some of the alcohol we consumed.
At each bar, we had an activity to complete before we received our card. There was pole dancing (well actually you had to climb a pole and ring a bell but it sounds funnier when you say pole dancing). Most people enjoyed that activity to its fullest.
At the Burrito Hut, you had a choice of activities..you could do a mexican hat dance or strap on a rather large carrot and dip it into a water bottle. Needless to say, all the women dipped the carrot while for some reason, the men danced.
There was a hard boiled egg race, a card game, golf putting (which facinated most of the locals on the beach), and beer pong. The best one to watch was an activity that I can't come up with a good name. You had to squeeze a 25 peso coin in the cheeks of your butt and shuffle about five feet, turn around and drop the coin into a small silver bucket. The funniest one I watched was one of our team members stuff toilet paper first and then the coin.
Ross also participated in the kareoke. He was actually pretty good at it.
No, we didn't take any pictures as what happens during an event like this remains burned in our memories...
We didn't win any of the major prizes but did win one...a show pass at dolphin world. So, some night when we are bored, we will head to Puerto Plata and take in that show.
So, Saleen (previously the un-named cat) went to be spayed on Friday. There were some volunteer vets in town and for a donation, they were spaying and neutering cats and dogs. I watched the entire proceedure which was quite interesting. Poor kitty didn't have such a good evening. She was pretty doped up. Do you know how funny it is to watch a cat try and walk leaning to one side? And, they shouldn't try and jump...they just face plant into the floor. The method that was used allowed for a very quick recovery and she is back to normal.
Saleen brought a live snake into the house. Ross killed it with a machete. I can handle the frogs and lizards but I friggin HATE snakes. Enough said.
Scott and Donna arrive next week for a much anticipated visit. We will have to make sure all the spiders and other creepy things are out of the house before their arrival. I hear tell that Scott doesn't like spiders...neither do I!!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Painting
Wow - we had a fantastic visit with Hailey. Unfortunately, the week went SO quick and she's gone home already.
We did some touring of the North Coast with Hailey and drove east along the coast. Stopped in Rio San Juan and went as far as Cabrera. Found some fantastic beaches. Ross also found a giant pot hole which just about ripped off the front tire of the car. We were a little nervous to see if it would still hold air...LOL We also stopped in Gaspar Hernandez where Ross found a cute little jean shop and Hailey picked up some nice jeans for about $18 US a pair...thought it was a steal! Ross is becoming a shopping guru!
So, we have been very, very busy painting. We decided the sterile white of our house was a little more than we could stand. Way too institutional looking. Mango has been our colour of choice thus far. Has a very warm, tropical look to it. We painted Hailey's room mango and blue. Hung the curtains that A'Mayra made and they look great. Hailey also found a fantastic painting to match her room. Now all she needs is furniture!
We decided to keep the mango theme going and painted the kitchen mango as well. Wow - what a dramatic difference in the feeling of the kitchen. It works well with the woodwork as well as the stainless steel.
Then, we decided mango would be a good start to the diningroom/family room. Ross decided that highlights of rust would give it a warm feeling. I was a little unsure at the beginning but now that the room is finished, I absolutely love it. Pictures have been posted on Facebook for anyone who cares to take a peek.
Our next major painting will be in the "formal" livingroom. We haven't decided on the final colours but are tossing around orange/sand.
Jack and Shelby have both had recent haircuts. Jack looks a little odd as I had the wrong blade on the razer when I started. He may need a little sunscreen on his neck or at least a small sombrero for a few weeks.
Had some sad news this week. An uncle passed away after having a heart attack. Sure would have been nice to visit with some of my dad's family that I haven't seen in many years.
Looking forward to Donna and Scott arriving in late March for a one week visit. Can't wait to show them around!
So, to all our "northern" friends...hi and we miss you...suck it up and shovel. Spring should arrive in May.
We did some touring of the North Coast with Hailey and drove east along the coast. Stopped in Rio San Juan and went as far as Cabrera. Found some fantastic beaches. Ross also found a giant pot hole which just about ripped off the front tire of the car. We were a little nervous to see if it would still hold air...LOL We also stopped in Gaspar Hernandez where Ross found a cute little jean shop and Hailey picked up some nice jeans for about $18 US a pair...thought it was a steal! Ross is becoming a shopping guru!
So, we have been very, very busy painting. We decided the sterile white of our house was a little more than we could stand. Way too institutional looking. Mango has been our colour of choice thus far. Has a very warm, tropical look to it. We painted Hailey's room mango and blue. Hung the curtains that A'Mayra made and they look great. Hailey also found a fantastic painting to match her room. Now all she needs is furniture!
We decided to keep the mango theme going and painted the kitchen mango as well. Wow - what a dramatic difference in the feeling of the kitchen. It works well with the woodwork as well as the stainless steel.
Then, we decided mango would be a good start to the diningroom/family room. Ross decided that highlights of rust would give it a warm feeling. I was a little unsure at the beginning but now that the room is finished, I absolutely love it. Pictures have been posted on Facebook for anyone who cares to take a peek.
Our next major painting will be in the "formal" livingroom. We haven't decided on the final colours but are tossing around orange/sand.
Jack and Shelby have both had recent haircuts. Jack looks a little odd as I had the wrong blade on the razer when I started. He may need a little sunscreen on his neck or at least a small sombrero for a few weeks.
Had some sad news this week. An uncle passed away after having a heart attack. Sure would have been nice to visit with some of my dad's family that I haven't seen in many years.
Looking forward to Donna and Scott arriving in late March for a one week visit. Can't wait to show them around!
So, to all our "northern" friends...hi and we miss you...suck it up and shovel. Spring should arrive in May.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Big Mac Sauce
Hailey has arrived! She came on Friday night - we picked her up at the airport and she was wearing sweat pants and uggs...LOL Didn't take her very long to strip in the car into shorts and a tank top. We stopped at the Jolly Roger for a quick, cold beer before heading home.
On Sunday, we decided to take Hailey for a drive down the east coast as the weather really wasn't the best for hanging at the pool and suntanning. We drove almost all the way to Nagua. We stopped in various little towns along the way, took lots of pictures. We discovered a few awesome beaches that were really worth the trip. We also stopped in Gaspare Hernadez at a little jean shop and Hailey found a couple of pairs of jeans.
Today we took Hailey to Puerto Plata shopping at La Serena (dominican walmart). Found a cute bathing suite, daisy dukes in white and a shirt. Found Christopher Columbas's fort at the end of the Malecon. Pretty cool except we forgot the camera!!
Ross's only complaint thus far is we forgot to pick up ice cream today for his cantelope (from the fruit truck on the side of the highway). We got a couple of pineapples, cantelope, and the sweetest oranges. Tough beans for Ross!
Now, for the very best part of my day.......I have two of the bestest daughters in the world...well, truth be told, I have three of the best daughters in the world BUT...can you say BIG MAC SAUCE????? Hailey and Kaylen arranged for me to have a WHOLE tube of big mac sauce...guess what we had for dinner tonight....oh, you guessed and are SO smart....we had home made BIG MACS...did I tell you how much I LOVE BIG MAC SAUCE?????
I think I have died and gone to heaven....
mmmmmmmm....BIG MAC SAUCE
On Sunday, we decided to take Hailey for a drive down the east coast as the weather really wasn't the best for hanging at the pool and suntanning. We drove almost all the way to Nagua. We stopped in various little towns along the way, took lots of pictures. We discovered a few awesome beaches that were really worth the trip. We also stopped in Gaspare Hernadez at a little jean shop and Hailey found a couple of pairs of jeans.
Today we took Hailey to Puerto Plata shopping at La Serena (dominican walmart). Found a cute bathing suite, daisy dukes in white and a shirt. Found Christopher Columbas's fort at the end of the Malecon. Pretty cool except we forgot the camera!!
Ross's only complaint thus far is we forgot to pick up ice cream today for his cantelope (from the fruit truck on the side of the highway). We got a couple of pineapples, cantelope, and the sweetest oranges. Tough beans for Ross!
Now, for the very best part of my day.......I have two of the bestest daughters in the world...well, truth be told, I have three of the best daughters in the world BUT...can you say BIG MAC SAUCE????? Hailey and Kaylen arranged for me to have a WHOLE tube of big mac sauce...guess what we had for dinner tonight....oh, you guessed and are SO smart....we had home made BIG MACS...did I tell you how much I LOVE BIG MAC SAUCE?????
I think I have died and gone to heaven....
mmmmmmmm....BIG MAC SAUCE
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sparky
Well, this last week has been relatively quiet. Our neighbours in Casa 6 were getting settled and we spent some time showing them around and giving them a few pointers. Went to Cabarete on Sunday for a couple of beverages and a snack on the beach. Ross did some sightseeing. Got a couple of good slaps.
Our pool repair is almost complete. Just a little finishing work and it should be good to go. Just have to vacuum it and get the water filled and chemicals added. I was a little concerned when the plumber had a hammer and a chisel and there were some very large chunks of concrete flying, a huge hole in my hard...but I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with the results.
It's been very, very hot and dry here. No rain to speak of in about six weeks now. Everyone you talk to says how unusual it is for this time of year. We did have some angry thunder yesterday but it didn't pan out into anything.
So, today I had a complete mental fart. Okay, I really screwed up. No, I didn't smash the car up.
I decided that today would be a good day to burn some dead branches and trees. Looking back on that decision...it really wasn't a very good one to make.
I started our subdivision on fire. Not just a small smoking fire but a raging inferno. I burned almost everything in site on one lot. It took five of us with buckets and garden hoses to put it out.
Ross asked me as I struck the match and started the paper burning if I had the garden hose ready "just in case". No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the inevitible happened...the wind picked up. Needless to say, we had a few frightening moments but all was well.
We now know the lay of the landscape in that lot. Not pretty I might add. There were empty paint cans, beer bottles, wood, dead tree branches and even an old pair of shoes!
It actually turned out to be a good thing...no one can sneak through that long grass anymore!
Just call me Sparky!
Our pool repair is almost complete. Just a little finishing work and it should be good to go. Just have to vacuum it and get the water filled and chemicals added. I was a little concerned when the plumber had a hammer and a chisel and there were some very large chunks of concrete flying, a huge hole in my hard...but I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with the results.
It's been very, very hot and dry here. No rain to speak of in about six weeks now. Everyone you talk to says how unusual it is for this time of year. We did have some angry thunder yesterday but it didn't pan out into anything.
So, today I had a complete mental fart. Okay, I really screwed up. No, I didn't smash the car up.
I decided that today would be a good day to burn some dead branches and trees. Looking back on that decision...it really wasn't a very good one to make.
I started our subdivision on fire. Not just a small smoking fire but a raging inferno. I burned almost everything in site on one lot. It took five of us with buckets and garden hoses to put it out.
Ross asked me as I struck the match and started the paper burning if I had the garden hose ready "just in case". No sooner were the words out of his mouth when the inevitible happened...the wind picked up. Needless to say, we had a few frightening moments but all was well.
We now know the lay of the landscape in that lot. Not pretty I might add. There were empty paint cans, beer bottles, wood, dead tree branches and even an old pair of shoes!
It actually turned out to be a good thing...no one can sneak through that long grass anymore!
Just call me Sparky!
Monday, February 7, 2011
hmmm
I went to Puerto Plata last Thursday with a lovely Dominican lady, A'Myra. She is a seamstress. She knows Puerto Plata.....and where the really good fabric store is...YEAH FOR ME! Now don't get too excited for me. Without her, I'd never find the place again!! LOL Old Puerto Plata was so very interesting...very old wooden buildings painted like a rainbow...very, very narrow streets, in fact some were so narrow the SUV was squeezing it's way through! I'm hoping to make another trip with her soon so I can start learning my way around.
Now you are probably wondering why I would have a seamstress sew for me, but alas...I don't have my sewing machines here so I have to pay someone to sew for me. We picked out some lovely fabric for bedroom basement curtains. When Hailey arrives (in 12 days) we will pick out paint and get that room finished. Ross has hung ceiling fixtures so just needs a few homey touches yet.
Tomorrow is the "big" day. We will officially harvest our first banana hand (that's the whole stock thingy). I'll be the cutter...Ross will be the catcher. We guestimate that the "hand" will weigh about 60 - 70 lbs. Once the bananas are off, we will then cut down the remaining tree as it will die anyway. No fear though...I have two more hands growing and five more trees that are well on their way.
We have met our new neighbours that bought Casa Numero 6 across the road from us. Absolutely lovely Polish immigrants, accent and all...good salt of the earth type of people. We have been offering them all sorts of advice and think we maybe overwhelmed them the first two days. We had them here for dinner and they reciprocated the next day by cooking dinner for us - fantastic meal was prepared. They hope to live here full time in the next five years or so.
We celebrated (oh yeah...NOT) Superbowl Sunday at our local watering hole. Ross enjoyed the game and taunting the Montreal contingency. I wish I had brought a laptop or pencil to stab myself in the ear with as I was so bored (anyone who knows me well knows that I hate football).
We have finally had some monsoon rains the last day or two. I don't have to water the trees. It rains for about 10 minutes...the sun comes out for an hour....it rains for about 10 minutes...You get the picture.
BUT I DON'T HAVE TO SHOVEL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now you are probably wondering why I would have a seamstress sew for me, but alas...I don't have my sewing machines here so I have to pay someone to sew for me. We picked out some lovely fabric for bedroom basement curtains. When Hailey arrives (in 12 days) we will pick out paint and get that room finished. Ross has hung ceiling fixtures so just needs a few homey touches yet.
Tomorrow is the "big" day. We will officially harvest our first banana hand (that's the whole stock thingy). I'll be the cutter...Ross will be the catcher. We guestimate that the "hand" will weigh about 60 - 70 lbs. Once the bananas are off, we will then cut down the remaining tree as it will die anyway. No fear though...I have two more hands growing and five more trees that are well on their way.
We have met our new neighbours that bought Casa Numero 6 across the road from us. Absolutely lovely Polish immigrants, accent and all...good salt of the earth type of people. We have been offering them all sorts of advice and think we maybe overwhelmed them the first two days. We had them here for dinner and they reciprocated the next day by cooking dinner for us - fantastic meal was prepared. They hope to live here full time in the next five years or so.
We celebrated (oh yeah...NOT) Superbowl Sunday at our local watering hole. Ross enjoyed the game and taunting the Montreal contingency. I wish I had brought a laptop or pencil to stab myself in the ear with as I was so bored (anyone who knows me well knows that I hate football).
We have finally had some monsoon rains the last day or two. I don't have to water the trees. It rains for about 10 minutes...the sun comes out for an hour....it rains for about 10 minutes...You get the picture.
BUT I DON'T HAVE TO SHOVEL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Two Months Now
WOW!
Almost two months now since we left Canada...you know the saying...time flies when you're having a good time...it's very, very true!
I can't believe it's over a week now since I last blogged. We have been so busy.
The carport is now officially complete.
Our handrails have been fabricated, installed and painted.
We are still painting the inside of our security bars...very tedious job.
We have begun to paint the outside of the house. This is no small feat. We didn't think we had a very big house until we started painting. I want a hut I decided. Less work!
Ross cleaned the basement bedroom. No living insects anymore. Light fixtures are hung. Windows are clean. And, the bathroom door now closes thanks to a machete that was used to plane the door so it fit into the frame. (Ross thinks he's becoming Dominican...well at least he's starting to think like one - gotta be innovative when you don't have tools which I hear about daily.)
We're still working on the neighbour's yard. Our current project is draining the pool with a garden hose...been at it for three days now...probably another two at least. Now that's a tough job.
I now have another job - a part-time job. Doing some paperwork for (get this)...Rent A Gringo. Ross is their "new" mechanical guy. We have a welder, a roofer/painter and a carpenter/plumber. What a team of misfits!! LOL
I'm still going to the animal shelter every Wednesday morning for a few hours.
Last job: suntan which is getting wicked by the way!
Still no sign of rain and we could desparately use one day at least. We have had to start watering plants every night...not good!
Still counting the sleeps till Hailey's arrival.
Almost two months now since we left Canada...you know the saying...time flies when you're having a good time...it's very, very true!
I can't believe it's over a week now since I last blogged. We have been so busy.
The carport is now officially complete.
Our handrails have been fabricated, installed and painted.
We are still painting the inside of our security bars...very tedious job.
We have begun to paint the outside of the house. This is no small feat. We didn't think we had a very big house until we started painting. I want a hut I decided. Less work!
Ross cleaned the basement bedroom. No living insects anymore. Light fixtures are hung. Windows are clean. And, the bathroom door now closes thanks to a machete that was used to plane the door so it fit into the frame. (Ross thinks he's becoming Dominican...well at least he's starting to think like one - gotta be innovative when you don't have tools which I hear about daily.)
We're still working on the neighbour's yard. Our current project is draining the pool with a garden hose...been at it for three days now...probably another two at least. Now that's a tough job.
I now have another job - a part-time job. Doing some paperwork for (get this)...Rent A Gringo. Ross is their "new" mechanical guy. We have a welder, a roofer/painter and a carpenter/plumber. What a team of misfits!! LOL
I'm still going to the animal shelter every Wednesday morning for a few hours.
Last job: suntan which is getting wicked by the way!
Still no sign of rain and we could desparately use one day at least. We have had to start watering plants every night...not good!
Still counting the sleeps till Hailey's arrival.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Thieves Market
Ross and I went out this morning to the Thieves Market at the Jolly Roger Bar. Kinda like a farmer's market only lots of second hand stuff, new stuff, burned movies, food and lots of other stuff.
Got some new "used" books to read and had breakfast.
I picked up my new, handcrafted shoe rack. Perfect fit by the front door. Just have to train Ross to put his shoes on it now!! LOL
So we stopped at the local minimart on our road on our way home this morning. I wanted to pick up a fresh chicken, a bottle of water and some fresh pork chops (from the German butcher next door). The minimart has a little bit of everything there...cold beer, rum, fresh veggies, rice...and VIAGRA...holy but did I laugh...just imagine...stop for a quick beer, a bbq chicken half, a little blue pill and off to see your woman...only thing missing from this little scenario is a remote control!
Ross had a little project. He decided to see if he still had his high school carpentry skills. He built a seat for the back of the quad. He used up some of the left over lumber from the carport. I must admit, it turned out quite nicely. He sat Jack on the back of the quad today and took him for a short ride. Jack only fell off once but clearly enjoyed his ride with Dad. I guess the next ride will have to be mine although I'm hoping that Ross will put some padding on the bottom to save my delicate butt from slivers...
Weather has been so friggin HOT. We haven't had rain in eight days now and we are starting to feel its affect. We had to water all the plants last night as everything is starting to dry out. We go into town and it feels like we are in an oven. Good thing we almost always have a breeze on our little patch of paradise. I actually ventured into the pool today as I was so hot.
So the carport is almost finished. We are waiting on one last roll of roofing material and it is finished. It has been re-enforced with cross beams...something for me to back into!
Life is good...relaxing and fast all at the same time. The days seem to fly by so quickly. It's a busy day when you do a load of laundry, check your facebook, make dinner and fall into bed at 9:30 pm because you're exhausted.
27 more days and Hailey arrives for a much anticpated visit!!!!!
Got some new "used" books to read and had breakfast.
I picked up my new, handcrafted shoe rack. Perfect fit by the front door. Just have to train Ross to put his shoes on it now!! LOL
So we stopped at the local minimart on our road on our way home this morning. I wanted to pick up a fresh chicken, a bottle of water and some fresh pork chops (from the German butcher next door). The minimart has a little bit of everything there...cold beer, rum, fresh veggies, rice...and VIAGRA...holy but did I laugh...just imagine...stop for a quick beer, a bbq chicken half, a little blue pill and off to see your woman...only thing missing from this little scenario is a remote control!
Ross had a little project. He decided to see if he still had his high school carpentry skills. He built a seat for the back of the quad. He used up some of the left over lumber from the carport. I must admit, it turned out quite nicely. He sat Jack on the back of the quad today and took him for a short ride. Jack only fell off once but clearly enjoyed his ride with Dad. I guess the next ride will have to be mine although I'm hoping that Ross will put some padding on the bottom to save my delicate butt from slivers...
Weather has been so friggin HOT. We haven't had rain in eight days now and we are starting to feel its affect. We had to water all the plants last night as everything is starting to dry out. We go into town and it feels like we are in an oven. Good thing we almost always have a breeze on our little patch of paradise. I actually ventured into the pool today as I was so hot.
So the carport is almost finished. We are waiting on one last roll of roofing material and it is finished. It has been re-enforced with cross beams...something for me to back into!
Life is good...relaxing and fast all at the same time. The days seem to fly by so quickly. It's a busy day when you do a load of laundry, check your facebook, make dinner and fall into bed at 9:30 pm because you're exhausted.
27 more days and Hailey arrives for a much anticpated visit!!!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Some rambling.....
Yesterday, I hired a local boy (Manuel) to do some painting for me. He's 13 years old and is one of the few remaining local shoe-shine boys in Sosua. He's basically a good kid but does require supervision. I have to give him credit, he took his task very seriously and worked hard in the hot sun.
I had him painting the fence, some window trim and apparently part of the house along with his jet black hair. His trimming skills are not that good yet...LOL
By this time this nice young man finished up a whole gallon of paint, he looked like a gringo. He was covered with paint! Ross and I decided the poor kid should take a shower to wash some of the paint off before sending him home. Ross got the basement bathroom cleaned up for him to use. There are a few things I should have pointed out to Manuel BEFORE leaving him alone in the bathroom.
1. Closing the shower curtain when showering. Aparently, Manuel has never had to close a shower curtain (probably has never showered in an actual shower stall before). The bathroom floor was completely soaked with about a 1/2" of water on the floor. No harm done...its tiled and has a drain on the floor.
2. Shutting the water off after taking a shower. After Manuel came out of the shower and dressed in his painted clothes, he joined us on the patio. I thought I could hear water running so went to check the bathroom...yes, water was still running...towel on the floor..typical teenager.
Manuel didn't know how to put a seatbelt on either. When I drove him back to town, I had to show him how to put a seatbelt on.
This gives me some great insight into how much we take for granted. We have to re-teach our way of thinking in this country. There are so many people in this country that have not been exposed to what we consider daily acts in life. Many people have told us not to expect much from the Dominicians and Haitians when getting them to work for us. I will probably get burned for my efforts but I want to be optimistic and try and help someone everyday in some small manner. It left me with a good feeling to pay this young man for his labour and it left him with a huge smile on his face to put some pesos in his pocket.
I am going to have him come and work for me on Thursday as well.
So, now for the good part.....
Ross and I were invited out for beer and pizza last night by a couple of guys we have working on our carport. We went to the local mini-market about a km from our house...middle of nowhere...you can pick up some staples, water, etc...they bbq chicken, make pizza...it's quite a busy establishment.
We sat at the picnic tables for about three hours. Good food...cold beer and met lots of people. So, now it's dark, the guys on the bike had no headlight..."not to worry," says Blaine..."it's all downhill into town." We were all pretty gooned. Three beer (an not little beer bottles either) for RD$100 (about $3.65)I for one was glad we didn't have far to go to get home.
God Bless the Dominican Republic!
I had him painting the fence, some window trim and apparently part of the house along with his jet black hair. His trimming skills are not that good yet...LOL
By this time this nice young man finished up a whole gallon of paint, he looked like a gringo. He was covered with paint! Ross and I decided the poor kid should take a shower to wash some of the paint off before sending him home. Ross got the basement bathroom cleaned up for him to use. There are a few things I should have pointed out to Manuel BEFORE leaving him alone in the bathroom.
1. Closing the shower curtain when showering. Aparently, Manuel has never had to close a shower curtain (probably has never showered in an actual shower stall before). The bathroom floor was completely soaked with about a 1/2" of water on the floor. No harm done...its tiled and has a drain on the floor.
2. Shutting the water off after taking a shower. After Manuel came out of the shower and dressed in his painted clothes, he joined us on the patio. I thought I could hear water running so went to check the bathroom...yes, water was still running...towel on the floor..typical teenager.
Manuel didn't know how to put a seatbelt on either. When I drove him back to town, I had to show him how to put a seatbelt on.
This gives me some great insight into how much we take for granted. We have to re-teach our way of thinking in this country. There are so many people in this country that have not been exposed to what we consider daily acts in life. Many people have told us not to expect much from the Dominicians and Haitians when getting them to work for us. I will probably get burned for my efforts but I want to be optimistic and try and help someone everyday in some small manner. It left me with a good feeling to pay this young man for his labour and it left him with a huge smile on his face to put some pesos in his pocket.
I am going to have him come and work for me on Thursday as well.
So, now for the good part.....
Ross and I were invited out for beer and pizza last night by a couple of guys we have working on our carport. We went to the local mini-market about a km from our house...middle of nowhere...you can pick up some staples, water, etc...they bbq chicken, make pizza...it's quite a busy establishment.
We sat at the picnic tables for about three hours. Good food...cold beer and met lots of people. So, now it's dark, the guys on the bike had no headlight..."not to worry," says Blaine..."it's all downhill into town." We were all pretty gooned. Three beer (an not little beer bottles either) for RD$100 (about $3.65)I for one was glad we didn't have far to go to get home.
God Bless the Dominican Republic!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Ants
Ross and I have been discussing the dramatic amounts of snow that home has been receiving. We only have access to American news (New York/Boston) and are amazed at the amount of snow the northwest states have been receiving. We can't say enough how glad we are that we don't have to shovel snow, wear gloves and boots, and be cold.
That being said, we have our own problems.
1. We are dealing with constant sediment in our pool. Try and try as we might, we just can't seem to get it under control. We have hard water and I think there are large amounts of calcium in our water and I think this is part of our problem.
2. Vines and weeds. Not only do the plants grow quickly, so do the weeds. I pull weeds everyday and they appear to grow in front of my eyes.
and.......
ANTS!
Note to self, when Ross drops food on the floor between the stove and cupboard, pick it up IMMEDIATELY. Before we went to bed last night, Ross commented that there were a couple of ants on the cupboard. Upon further investgation, I found a piece of meat on the floor between the cupboard and stove COVERED in sugar ants. Got out the handy can of toxic bug spray and took care of that problem.
But, our problem didn't end there. When I got up this morning, my countertops were literaly moving. I forgot to put a few crackers away in a plastic bag and the ants were having a feeding frenzy.
Unfortunately, I used up the last of the industrial strength bug spray last night and didn't have any left. Thus, at 8 am I was at the Supermarcado buying the biggest can of spray I could find.
Ants are gone and my kitchen is now spotless and insect free!
And the carport saga continues.....
We have three guys: a business major (from England), a welder (from Saskatchewan) and some Swedish dude who breathes too many paint fumes. All nice guys who are trying...
Ross stands and shakes his head...their construction work will pass however, they argue constantly. Maybe by May they will be done...rotflmaopmp
You can't help but laugh at them. Even they say that they work "Dominican" style...which means VERY slowly. To their credit, they do analyze everything to death and do measure twice!
That being said, we have our own problems.
1. We are dealing with constant sediment in our pool. Try and try as we might, we just can't seem to get it under control. We have hard water and I think there are large amounts of calcium in our water and I think this is part of our problem.
2. Vines and weeds. Not only do the plants grow quickly, so do the weeds. I pull weeds everyday and they appear to grow in front of my eyes.
and.......
ANTS!
Note to self, when Ross drops food on the floor between the stove and cupboard, pick it up IMMEDIATELY. Before we went to bed last night, Ross commented that there were a couple of ants on the cupboard. Upon further investgation, I found a piece of meat on the floor between the cupboard and stove COVERED in sugar ants. Got out the handy can of toxic bug spray and took care of that problem.
But, our problem didn't end there. When I got up this morning, my countertops were literaly moving. I forgot to put a few crackers away in a plastic bag and the ants were having a feeding frenzy.
Unfortunately, I used up the last of the industrial strength bug spray last night and didn't have any left. Thus, at 8 am I was at the Supermarcado buying the biggest can of spray I could find.
Ants are gone and my kitchen is now spotless and insect free!
And the carport saga continues.....
We have three guys: a business major (from England), a welder (from Saskatchewan) and some Swedish dude who breathes too many paint fumes. All nice guys who are trying...
Ross stands and shakes his head...their construction work will pass however, they argue constantly. Maybe by May they will be done...rotflmaopmp
You can't help but laugh at them. Even they say that they work "Dominican" style...which means VERY slowly. To their credit, they do analyze everything to death and do measure twice!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Volunteer Work
I started some volunteer work today at the local animal shelter. They are a not for profit society similar to the SPCA in Canada excepte they are extremely under funded and unorganized. Their intentions are absolutely fantastic, however, without more volunteers and sponsors it will remain so. They have some wonderful dogs and absolutely adorable puppies. Ross almost came home with a little brown, black and white lab cross. I had to drag him away. I met some really great people today as well and got a bunch more insight into living in the DR.
The most important lesson I learned today: never kill a Dominican's chicken. They will kill you. It's like it's their national bird or something so you don't touch. We joke about killing the rooster that lives not far away that starts crowing about 5 am but I was cautioned to not even think about touching it. Dammit! I hate that rooster!
I'm going back on Friday to the shelter to help organize and clean the office and whatever else they throw my way. Ross is going to come and walk the dogs and play with the puppies.
We've been busy working in the yard. I mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday. Thank god for the neighbour's lawnmower that had an automatic drive on it. Even so, I have muscles that are sore that I didn't know that I had. All this outdoor work is making for one awesome tan. No tanning bed required here!!
I bought a rake today. I am so excited to be able to gather up all the crap from along the fences and I won't have to step in the fire ants. I have been searching for a rake for six weeks now and finally found one at Freddie's Hardware Store. Another trick I've learned: fire ants don't like baking soda. You feed it to them, they take it home to the family, feed them and they DIE. Tough life.
Cure for mosquito bites: organic molasses (another tidbit I picked up today). One tablespoon, once per day will supposedly stop the itching. Takes about two weeks to be effective. So, my plumbing will be cleaned out, my iron levels boosted and hopefully, no more itching! Probably have to stick close to home for the first couple of days.
The quad and chain hasn't come out yet to move the tree that Ross cut down. This means I haven't been able to play with gasoline and fire yet. Maybe tomorrow when the construction crew is here we can get that tree moved and burned! Ross was working on chopping down another tree today but it's a biggie so it may take awhile.
So, I was reading about all the snow that BC has been getting as well as other parts of western Canada. I'd really like to say I miss that weather but I'd be lying. We had not a cloud in the sky all afternoon with a lovely breeze blowing. Just leaves us wondering when visitors will begin to arrive :)
The most important lesson I learned today: never kill a Dominican's chicken. They will kill you. It's like it's their national bird or something so you don't touch. We joke about killing the rooster that lives not far away that starts crowing about 5 am but I was cautioned to not even think about touching it. Dammit! I hate that rooster!
I'm going back on Friday to the shelter to help organize and clean the office and whatever else they throw my way. Ross is going to come and walk the dogs and play with the puppies.
We've been busy working in the yard. I mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday. Thank god for the neighbour's lawnmower that had an automatic drive on it. Even so, I have muscles that are sore that I didn't know that I had. All this outdoor work is making for one awesome tan. No tanning bed required here!!
I bought a rake today. I am so excited to be able to gather up all the crap from along the fences and I won't have to step in the fire ants. I have been searching for a rake for six weeks now and finally found one at Freddie's Hardware Store. Another trick I've learned: fire ants don't like baking soda. You feed it to them, they take it home to the family, feed them and they DIE. Tough life.
Cure for mosquito bites: organic molasses (another tidbit I picked up today). One tablespoon, once per day will supposedly stop the itching. Takes about two weeks to be effective. So, my plumbing will be cleaned out, my iron levels boosted and hopefully, no more itching! Probably have to stick close to home for the first couple of days.
The quad and chain hasn't come out yet to move the tree that Ross cut down. This means I haven't been able to play with gasoline and fire yet. Maybe tomorrow when the construction crew is here we can get that tree moved and burned! Ross was working on chopping down another tree today but it's a biggie so it may take awhile.
So, I was reading about all the snow that BC has been getting as well as other parts of western Canada. I'd really like to say I miss that weather but I'd be lying. We had not a cloud in the sky all afternoon with a lovely breeze blowing. Just leaves us wondering when visitors will begin to arrive :)
Friday, January 7, 2011
Swimming Pool Maintenance
I learned a lesson today - CAREFULLY READ THE LABELS ON YOUR POOL CHEMICALS.
I committed a major screw-up over the last two days. I've been faithfully testing the pool water to check for proper PH and Chlorine levels. For the past couple of weeks, the PH level has been slowly creeping up. I know that the PH needs to be lowered cause I'm starting to get a lovely green carpet on the walls of the pool and the chlorine just isn't cutting it anymore. So, I get out the 3.5 lb tub of what I think is "PH reducer" and start dumping this soft white, expensive powder into my pool yesterday. The water was a little cloudy but after consulting with Ross (aka non-pool expert either), we agree to leave it "settle" overnight to see what happens.
This morning, the pool looks no better so around 9 am, I decide to turn the pump on and give it a healthy dose of "PH reducer". By now there is about 1/2 lb left in this huge tub. My water is so cloudy it looks like fluffy white clouds in the sky. And, as the pool pump circulates the "PH reducer", I am watching the clouds becoming thicker and thicker. I'm thinking...WTH is wrong?
It is at that point I decide to re-read the label for further instructions.......not good...I've just put 3 lbs of PH BOOSTER into my pool.....
So, now what? I google "how to reduce the PH in your pool". Muratic acid...about a $1 a gallon.....I dump two gallons into my pool. PH is now approaching a normal reading. Probably only need one more gallon....
I'm becoming a pool expert....
Ross's new name is "Paul Bunyon".
He chopped down a tree today with a little, itty bitty hatchet (a boyscout sized one) and hand saw (the kind finishing carpenters use)...
Nasty large thing that was more of a weed. You can cut off the new growth and within days the damn thing is sprouting new leaves. We have a small problem...the damn thing is too heavy to drag. We have no idea what we are going to do but there was something mentioned about "quad and chain". My instincts say that this isn't going to turn out well.
I'll keep the dogs in the house with me.
I committed a major screw-up over the last two days. I've been faithfully testing the pool water to check for proper PH and Chlorine levels. For the past couple of weeks, the PH level has been slowly creeping up. I know that the PH needs to be lowered cause I'm starting to get a lovely green carpet on the walls of the pool and the chlorine just isn't cutting it anymore. So, I get out the 3.5 lb tub of what I think is "PH reducer" and start dumping this soft white, expensive powder into my pool yesterday. The water was a little cloudy but after consulting with Ross (aka non-pool expert either), we agree to leave it "settle" overnight to see what happens.
This morning, the pool looks no better so around 9 am, I decide to turn the pump on and give it a healthy dose of "PH reducer". By now there is about 1/2 lb left in this huge tub. My water is so cloudy it looks like fluffy white clouds in the sky. And, as the pool pump circulates the "PH reducer", I am watching the clouds becoming thicker and thicker. I'm thinking...WTH is wrong?
It is at that point I decide to re-read the label for further instructions.......not good...I've just put 3 lbs of PH BOOSTER into my pool.....
So, now what? I google "how to reduce the PH in your pool". Muratic acid...about a $1 a gallon.....I dump two gallons into my pool. PH is now approaching a normal reading. Probably only need one more gallon....
I'm becoming a pool expert....
Ross's new name is "Paul Bunyon".
He chopped down a tree today with a little, itty bitty hatchet (a boyscout sized one) and hand saw (the kind finishing carpenters use)...
Nasty large thing that was more of a weed. You can cut off the new growth and within days the damn thing is sprouting new leaves. We have a small problem...the damn thing is too heavy to drag. We have no idea what we are going to do but there was something mentioned about "quad and chain". My instincts say that this isn't going to turn out well.
I'll keep the dogs in the house with me.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Beach Day
Yesterday, Kaylen and I made a trip to Puerto Plata. My first solo trip without Ross. I didn't get lost, made all the appropriate turns, made it through the horrific traffic circle that is more like a triangle than a circle, and successfully missed all the potholes in the road! We shopped at La Serena (Dominican Walmart) and I found hair colour! Kaylen picked up a few goodies. We then drove to Cabarete and Kaylen finished her gift shopping.
We hit the beach today! Well, not literally, but we packed up the dogs, some cold beer, towels, water and went to the beach. The dogs ran their doggie butts off. We had an encounter with people riding some horses on the beach. Not the kind of encounter you are probably thinking of...the dogs were leashed when the horses passed..the horses left a small gift behind...the dogs had a vegetarian snack...yes, THEY ATE THE HORSE POOP! Little less kibble in the doggie dishes tonight...LMAO
Stopped at the grocery store on our way home. Ross sincerely loves the DR. You pick up groceries, grab a couple of cold beer from the cooler and the cashier actually opens them for you at the till so you can enjoy your cold beverage on your drive home!
What a great country!
We hit the beach today! Well, not literally, but we packed up the dogs, some cold beer, towels, water and went to the beach. The dogs ran their doggie butts off. We had an encounter with people riding some horses on the beach. Not the kind of encounter you are probably thinking of...the dogs were leashed when the horses passed..the horses left a small gift behind...the dogs had a vegetarian snack...yes, THEY ATE THE HORSE POOP! Little less kibble in the doggie dishes tonight...LMAO
Stopped at the grocery store on our way home. Ross sincerely loves the DR. You pick up groceries, grab a couple of cold beer from the cooler and the cashier actually opens them for you at the till so you can enjoy your cold beverage on your drive home!
What a great country!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year
Saw Mimi (from Drew Carey) in the bar last night. Well, at least she was a look alike. Just missing the blue eyeshadow! LOL
Drank lots of cranberry juice last night, well okay, there was a bit of vodka involved.
Lots of policia action on the streets last night trying to keep the hookers (male and female) under control. Never mind the tourist and locals. Great night to people watch and the more cranberry juice we drank, the more interesting it got.
I got two numbers last night...from old English broads...we are invited to play bingo on Tuesday. Kaylen and I will go and make an appearance. The "godmother" of the bar took us under her wing as well so we are officially accepted in Sosua!
The weather has been cold, rainy and generally crappy at best. We are wearing long pants in the evenings with hoodies. Good thing for a fluffy comforter on the bed - we would freeze otherwise. Not nice enough to hit the beach. Maybe tomorrow.
Put enough chlorine in the neighbour's pool yesterday to kill all the tadpoles in it. Nasty mess. Ross is going to fix their pump this coming week so we can get it all cleaned up for them. I have been busy pruning trees and hedges. Next all the grass will have to be mowed as well. Either that or we will have to consider a couple of goats. Jack could herd them.
So, off for a nice afternoon nap. Gonna sleep off the lovely little hangover from all the celebrating we did last night.
Happy New Year to all our friends (old and new alike) and family!
Drank lots of cranberry juice last night, well okay, there was a bit of vodka involved.
Lots of policia action on the streets last night trying to keep the hookers (male and female) under control. Never mind the tourist and locals. Great night to people watch and the more cranberry juice we drank, the more interesting it got.
I got two numbers last night...from old English broads...we are invited to play bingo on Tuesday. Kaylen and I will go and make an appearance. The "godmother" of the bar took us under her wing as well so we are officially accepted in Sosua!
The weather has been cold, rainy and generally crappy at best. We are wearing long pants in the evenings with hoodies. Good thing for a fluffy comforter on the bed - we would freeze otherwise. Not nice enough to hit the beach. Maybe tomorrow.
Put enough chlorine in the neighbour's pool yesterday to kill all the tadpoles in it. Nasty mess. Ross is going to fix their pump this coming week so we can get it all cleaned up for them. I have been busy pruning trees and hedges. Next all the grass will have to be mowed as well. Either that or we will have to consider a couple of goats. Jack could herd them.
So, off for a nice afternoon nap. Gonna sleep off the lovely little hangover from all the celebrating we did last night.
Happy New Year to all our friends (old and new alike) and family!
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