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….

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!

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????

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.

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!!

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.

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