Yes, I talk a lot about the weather, but it dictates so much of our lives here that we all talk about it a lot. "Wow, isn't it hot today?" "We had a little rain today at our place, but not down the road 1/2 mile." Yesterday was really sticky. We had been told that a storm was on it's way and would hit Belize on Saturday. Ahead of it was hot, humid air. I watch the NOAH satellite info as well as the weatherbug site which shows the weather for San Ignacio. We try to touch base with friends to be sure that everyone's aware and prepared. I headed to town to buy a few groceries so that we could survive if it rained a lot and Paslow Falls Rd flooded. It doesn't happen often, but when it does we're cut off unless we choose to walk over the hill to the village. It's easier to have a few supplies and ride it out here. We also have to be sure to have gasoline for the generator.
Today we've seen the beginnings of this little tropical storm called "Harvey." That was my Dad's name, so I'm expecting a little disruption, just to keep us all guessing, but no real damage. Most of the afternoon it's been raining and it looked like twilight out at 2pm. We've had a couple of spurts of hard rain, but most of the time it's just dribbling. Probably most of this will hit during the night. Right now the winds are predicted to top out at 50mph, which isn't particularly disturbing. As I've said before, when we lived on the northern Oregon coast we often experienced winds up to 100mps and we rode them out in our 1893 Victorian house. Those storms didn't even warrent a name. I'm not pooh-poohing these storms, we just don't get hysterical worrying about them. If it does get severe, we button up the shutters and (sadistic things that we are) we enjoy the sounds of the storm. I did take advantage of the water to wash the truck. Besides the rain falling, I knew that the cistern was filling faster than I could use it. I also took the opportunity to dig some of the grass that's grown in our driveway and use for plugs in some of our areas of weeds. Go grass!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Update on Art
We've had notes from folks inquiring about Art's medical progress. I'm delighted to say that he's doing really well. He wasn't to go back to the Dr. for three weeks, but we were concerned about the Warfrin and if it was working propertly. He visited our family Dr. and then had blood tests. Yippee! He's doing great. He's been determined to try to get out and continue weedeating, etc., but his leg does bother him when he overdoes (duh!) and it's once again HOT outside. Weather shows that we should have thunderstorms and rain, but all is passing us by to the south and we're just getting the hot and hear some thunder. Thankfully we also get the breezes, which keep it somewhat comfortable. The thermometer that's in the sun showed 118 this am, but is now in the 90's. All in all we're doing ok. Thanks for all the good tho'ts.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Medical care
One of our big concerns about living in Belize has been, "what if one of us gets sick?" Many of us have had this conversation, along with upsetting stories of previous care. We pay insurance premiums in the States, but they don't transfer to Belize. We're on our own down here. Well, out of the blue, a problem caught us unawares and had us having to use the Belize system.
Art has been having problems with dizziness and then developed a pain in his leg, along with swelling. He tho't he had a charley horse or pulled muscle. When this didn't get better, but continued to get worse, I nagged him into seeing a Dr. I'd seen Dr. Sanchez in San Ignacio previously for a couple of very minor issues. He's a lovely, caring man, trained in Cuba. He's a family practioner. He sent us to Belmopan to the Imaging Clinic for an ultrasound as he feels they do a better, more professional job. We had to dashed there, get the ultrasound and then get back to San Ignacio before 3pm, when Dr. Sanchez closes until evening hours. As he suspected, Art had a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in the back of his leg. There was a lot of hassle finding an internist available who could admit him to the hospital, but the Dr. found Dr. Manzanero was actually at Loma Luz hospital right then. We dashed up there (it was now 7pm) where Art was examined and admitted. Now we had heard scary stories about how expensive Loma Luz was, but hey, this wasn't any time to quibble. We needed help. They immediately started him on a blood thinner and pain killers.
I hated to leave Art in the hospital, but it was really late, we'd had pouring rains and we hadn't been prepared for him to enter the hospital. I dashed home, in the dark, and I have to tell you, when it's dark here it's really DARK! The road up to our place was about a 1/2 mile of slippery, gooey, muck. It was the worst I had ever seen and I was alone and it was pitch dark out. Hey, I'm a tough old, ex truck driving, broad, so I plunged up the hill. I made a real mess of the road, but our trusty Toyota truck got me thru again. I was home and able to take care of Bailey and get ready to head back to the hospital the next day.
Tuesday was long and tiring. It rained gently all night, which is worse than a driving rain because it just creates goo instead of washing it away down to the base rock. I was able to get down the hill, going sideways at one point, but trudged on. I was worried that Paslow Falls Rd would be flooded, but thankfully, was just giant puddles.
I won't bore you with the details of our day, but will just say that it was really long. The nursing care at Loma Luz was terrific. The nurses were caring and cheerful. Art told me they took enough samples to drain half his blood, which meant that they were doing every test immaginable to get all his levels. I don't think he minds my saying he is also diabetic, which might be a causing factor for the clot. Art felt better than he had in days. The medications he was given seem to have an immediate effect, reversing most of his symptoms. The really difficult thing was that the Dr. doesn't come in until 6pm and it turned out that they had emergencies, so he didn't come in to see Art until about 9pm. By that time, I was about asleep and Art was ready to run screaming into the street. Finally the Dr. came in, gave us the reports, all of which were very encouraging, prescribed medication and sent us on our way. We went down to the pharmacy, which is part of the hospital, got the meds, at which time she presented us with the bill. Take a deep breath! This is where it gets scary and they have to admit me with a heart attack! We had to give them a $500bz deposit when he first checked in. Ok, give us the worst. What? We now owed a total of $7.89bz. My gosh. Are you sure? There was an amount there for the Dr. Do we owe that separately? No, that's included. That covered the stay, the Dr., the meds and the lab work. We could have cried tears of relief.
Our trip home, now at 10pm turned out to be even worse than mine the night before, but we made it! I made a huge mess of the road, just putting the peddle to the metal and grinding my way up, but who cares? It was so good to be home, together and know that, for now, we're ok.
We discussed having to fly back to Oregon to get medical help and still might have to resort to that for more serious concerns, but for now, we have much more faith in the Belize level of care. I guess that's the clue. We felt genuine care for Art's problem, how we were and what needed to be done. All along the way we only saw kindness and concern. I have to add that Loma Luz is by far the cleanest hospital in our part of Belize, but by U.S. standards, it would be horrible. Everything looked as tho' it was a garage sale find, but the walls were freshly painted and things seemed relatively clean. There isn't a lot of shiny stainless steel or machines going beep, but we did find compassion and knowledgeable help. It's not the U.S., but that's not all bad. Blessings.
Art has been having problems with dizziness and then developed a pain in his leg, along with swelling. He tho't he had a charley horse or pulled muscle. When this didn't get better, but continued to get worse, I nagged him into seeing a Dr. I'd seen Dr. Sanchez in San Ignacio previously for a couple of very minor issues. He's a lovely, caring man, trained in Cuba. He's a family practioner. He sent us to Belmopan to the Imaging Clinic for an ultrasound as he feels they do a better, more professional job. We had to dashed there, get the ultrasound and then get back to San Ignacio before 3pm, when Dr. Sanchez closes until evening hours. As he suspected, Art had a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in the back of his leg. There was a lot of hassle finding an internist available who could admit him to the hospital, but the Dr. found Dr. Manzanero was actually at Loma Luz hospital right then. We dashed up there (it was now 7pm) where Art was examined and admitted. Now we had heard scary stories about how expensive Loma Luz was, but hey, this wasn't any time to quibble. We needed help. They immediately started him on a blood thinner and pain killers.
I hated to leave Art in the hospital, but it was really late, we'd had pouring rains and we hadn't been prepared for him to enter the hospital. I dashed home, in the dark, and I have to tell you, when it's dark here it's really DARK! The road up to our place was about a 1/2 mile of slippery, gooey, muck. It was the worst I had ever seen and I was alone and it was pitch dark out. Hey, I'm a tough old, ex truck driving, broad, so I plunged up the hill. I made a real mess of the road, but our trusty Toyota truck got me thru again. I was home and able to take care of Bailey and get ready to head back to the hospital the next day.
Tuesday was long and tiring. It rained gently all night, which is worse than a driving rain because it just creates goo instead of washing it away down to the base rock. I was able to get down the hill, going sideways at one point, but trudged on. I was worried that Paslow Falls Rd would be flooded, but thankfully, was just giant puddles.
I won't bore you with the details of our day, but will just say that it was really long. The nursing care at Loma Luz was terrific. The nurses were caring and cheerful. Art told me they took enough samples to drain half his blood, which meant that they were doing every test immaginable to get all his levels. I don't think he minds my saying he is also diabetic, which might be a causing factor for the clot. Art felt better than he had in days. The medications he was given seem to have an immediate effect, reversing most of his symptoms. The really difficult thing was that the Dr. doesn't come in until 6pm and it turned out that they had emergencies, so he didn't come in to see Art until about 9pm. By that time, I was about asleep and Art was ready to run screaming into the street. Finally the Dr. came in, gave us the reports, all of which were very encouraging, prescribed medication and sent us on our way. We went down to the pharmacy, which is part of the hospital, got the meds, at which time she presented us with the bill. Take a deep breath! This is where it gets scary and they have to admit me with a heart attack! We had to give them a $500bz deposit when he first checked in. Ok, give us the worst. What? We now owed a total of $7.89bz. My gosh. Are you sure? There was an amount there for the Dr. Do we owe that separately? No, that's included. That covered the stay, the Dr., the meds and the lab work. We could have cried tears of relief.
Our trip home, now at 10pm turned out to be even worse than mine the night before, but we made it! I made a huge mess of the road, just putting the peddle to the metal and grinding my way up, but who cares? It was so good to be home, together and know that, for now, we're ok.
We discussed having to fly back to Oregon to get medical help and still might have to resort to that for more serious concerns, but for now, we have much more faith in the Belize level of care. I guess that's the clue. We felt genuine care for Art's problem, how we were and what needed to be done. All along the way we only saw kindness and concern. I have to add that Loma Luz is by far the cleanest hospital in our part of Belize, but by U.S. standards, it would be horrible. Everything looked as tho' it was a garage sale find, but the walls were freshly painted and things seemed relatively clean. There isn't a lot of shiny stainless steel or machines going beep, but we did find compassion and knowledgeable help. It's not the U.S., but that's not all bad. Blessings.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
cacao grafting
We've made two trips to Marco's this week to collect cacao buds. This is a tricky job as we're trying to match the size of the buds to the size of our little seedlings. Marco's trees aren't labeled, which surprised me, but he says they're a mix, so we'll just go with that. When (& if) we finally get grafted plants into the ground, we don't want to plant all of one variety in one area. They need to cross pollinate. Since our first round of grafting was unsuccessful, we did a second graft on those seedlings. It was a little hard on some to find enough room for the graft, but we managed. All together we grafted 184 plants. This time we followed Marco's advice and cut the branches, then trimed the leaves off and placed the bud stem in newspaper, which we wet before transporting. The leaves need to be trimmed to stop the photo synthesis. (Wow, I'm learning a tiny bit of the terminology). We looked for trees that had lots of flowers and small pods because we're actually cloning the most productive trees.
We've been asked, "why grafting." According to Marco, if we plant the seedlings directly in the ground, it will take 5 - 7 years to start getting pods. By grafting we should cut the time down to 2 1/2 - 3 years. I accepted this, but still didn't understand why. As Rene and I were grafting, of course we talked a lot. This question came up and he finally put the answer in terms that made sense to me. He's wise in Mayan medicine and has worked in several fields, is smart and inquisitive. Anyway, he told me that the bud comes from a fruiting tree so once it takes hold on the rootstock it takes off from the point of the parent tree. It no longer has to wait to reach maturity, it will start producing as soon as the plant reaches a strength to support the fruit. Not technical, but makes sense to me.
We have about 500 more seedlings nearly ready to graft. We'll probably wait a week or two for them to gain a little size and then start again. Our goal is to plant an acre or two, which would be about 600 plants, and then possibly be a nursery to sell to others who don't want to mess with the grafting. Don't blame them as it's a tedious task and the loss along the way is very frustrating. The thing is, Rene and I seem to do fine and enjoy the challenge. Art is frustrated that he isn't able to help with this stage as he has a little tremble in his hand, so he gets to do the toting and fetching. We're all a team.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Shipping into Belize
The things I shipped from Oregon to Belize finally arrived. 7 boxes, 2 plastic tubs and one suitcase, at least that's what they were when they started. By the time they got here, they were barely recognizeable. The shipments started with UPS from Bend, OR to Houston. From there the shipper put in a container to Belize. Not sure of the route, but went thru the hands of the Guatemalans, who took everything apart and threw them back again. The end result of all of this is that the boxes and tubs were crushed and the hard-side suitcase was only holding together because I had shrinkwrapped it. The sadness for me is that most of the things most precious to me were broken. I'm used to packing and have rarely lost items, but this trip was upsetting. I have to admit that I didn't identify everything as "Fragile". I just filled boxes as things demanded, never thinking that they'd be so carelessly handled. One of the wonderful things tho' is that the photo albums that I did ship are here and ok. Memories of building our log house and our grandkids. The bulk of our photos remain in storage with our son. I have to say that the true treasures are our memories. In spite of hurts that have made us sad, the memories of family and friends are still there to make us smile. No careless "lumper" can shatter those.
We've gone from rain to sunshine and humidity. It's so lovely, here on our hill, as we usually have a breeze. Art and Rene worked really hard this week to mow the yard. It really looks like a park. This next week we're hoping to get some budwood to be able to graft our cacao. More about that learning process in my next post.
We're off to visit friends and share some of those unshattered memories. Blessings!
We've gone from rain to sunshine and humidity. It's so lovely, here on our hill, as we usually have a breeze. Art and Rene worked really hard this week to mow the yard. It really looks like a park. This next week we're hoping to get some budwood to be able to graft our cacao. More about that learning process in my next post.
We're off to visit friends and share some of those unshattered memories. Blessings!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Rumination
I'm in a strange frame of mind. Probably just getting old, but right now I'm just tired. When I was in Oregon I really missed Belize (of course Art was here), and now that I'm in Belize, I can't seem to settle. I enjoyed having Jane here, altho' we both really wore our selves out, packing her life here. I now seem to be waffling between wanting to be alone and just sit and do nothing but read and being so lonesome for family that I could, and often do, cry.
We have several wonderful friends here who are always ready to help, but I sense that we're all in a similar frame of mind. I think what's got me most upset is missing our grandchildren. Wish we had the money to bring a couple of them down for a visit. Maybe next summer.
We've had torrential rains the last few days which have kept us housebound, here on our hill. Our "road" down the hill is a slippery slide. We can usually slide our way down, but are more worried about getting back up. I guess I was in a sort of coma last weekend as I didn't do the shopping, so we found ourselves facing a real Belizean life of making do with the odds & ends that were here. Since I'm not much of a cook (I really don't care for it) the reality was very upsetting. Yesterday afternoon the rain had let up and we decided to take a chance and head down. On the worst part of the road down a tree had fallen across the road. I took a chance and backed up, turned around and went back to the house to get some tools. The machette did the best job and we finally were able to make it down. We stocked up on groceries at 3 Flags (icky, but best prices) and stopped in at Cayo Cargo to check on my shipment from Oregon. It had arrived over the weekend, but there wasn't anyone there to help load in our truck so we just paid the bill and left the things there. I honestly can't remember what all's in the 10 boxes I shipped, but it had all better be good stuff as it cost a mint to ship. Actually, it's just little pieces of our life that I tho't would do better here. I had to get rid of so much, but wanted to keep bits that were memories or that I tho't would help us here. Whatever! It's a done deal. The shipment from Houston took a little longer than usual because they've decided to forego driving across Mexico for the near future because of all the violence. They're now filling containers and sending via ship. One of the things I'm looking forward to finding is a bunch of books I bo't on eBay. I've read most of my books at least twice, so new fluff is exciting stuff. My sweet cousin sent me books from Amazon, but he expects me to be a little deeper than I am. Right now just give me a good escape.
We have several wonderful friends here who are always ready to help, but I sense that we're all in a similar frame of mind. I think what's got me most upset is missing our grandchildren. Wish we had the money to bring a couple of them down for a visit. Maybe next summer.
We've had torrential rains the last few days which have kept us housebound, here on our hill. Our "road" down the hill is a slippery slide. We can usually slide our way down, but are more worried about getting back up. I guess I was in a sort of coma last weekend as I didn't do the shopping, so we found ourselves facing a real Belizean life of making do with the odds & ends that were here. Since I'm not much of a cook (I really don't care for it) the reality was very upsetting. Yesterday afternoon the rain had let up and we decided to take a chance and head down. On the worst part of the road down a tree had fallen across the road. I took a chance and backed up, turned around and went back to the house to get some tools. The machette did the best job and we finally were able to make it down. We stocked up on groceries at 3 Flags (icky, but best prices) and stopped in at Cayo Cargo to check on my shipment from Oregon. It had arrived over the weekend, but there wasn't anyone there to help load in our truck so we just paid the bill and left the things there. I honestly can't remember what all's in the 10 boxes I shipped, but it had all better be good stuff as it cost a mint to ship. Actually, it's just little pieces of our life that I tho't would do better here. I had to get rid of so much, but wanted to keep bits that were memories or that I tho't would help us here. Whatever! It's a done deal. The shipment from Houston took a little longer than usual because they've decided to forego driving across Mexico for the near future because of all the violence. They're now filling containers and sending via ship. One of the things I'm looking forward to finding is a bunch of books I bo't on eBay. I've read most of my books at least twice, so new fluff is exciting stuff. My sweet cousin sent me books from Amazon, but he expects me to be a little deeper than I am. Right now just give me a good escape.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Jane's back in the UK
We sorted, packed, taped toted and haul boxes for two weeks. Most of Jane's Belize life is now stored at our place. Actually, most of it is boxes that she shipped to Belize, but never did get the rooms finished to be able to unpack. Now most of the books, etc. may find their way back to England.
After much searching, I found two large kennels in San Pedro and with the help of some friends who were spending a couple of days there, we finally got the kennels to Cayo in the nick of time. (There's a whole story there, but I won't bore you with it now). We got the kennels put together the night before, loaded the animals in their kennels and drove to the airport the next day. Jane had done the paperwork ahead of time, but it still took over two hours to get it all handled. The two dogs and a cat flew to Houston and then straight to England. I was concerned about Honey, to old dog, that the trip would be hard on her, but she's pretty mellow and made it just fine. They're now in England in a quarantine kennel. The dogs are together and are living in the lap of luxury. Magic, the cat is staying pretty hidden until Jane comes to visit and then she comes out of hiding, purring and settles in her lap. The animals flew out on Thursday and Jane flew home on Monday, so they were there and settled by the time she arrived. England doesn't approve of the shots given in Belize so all the animals had to get the shots again. Belize is definitely viewed as a third world country in the rest of the world. A weird twist of fate is that, Jane just found out that the UK will abandon the quarantine period as of January 1. Instead you will have to have the animals tested three months ahead of traveling to prove that they don't have rabies, etc. They'll spend 48 hrs in holding and then can travel with you. Jane is having to spend a lot of money to keep them in quarantine, but she's happy that she can go see them every week or so and know that they're safe. This is all new to me, but I understand that all these requirements are only if your bringing animals in from a country that is not part of the pet passport program. I don't think you have to go thru the quarantine if you're traveling from the U.S.
We were concerned about Max, the dog who chose to stay here and live with Elan at Jane's old house. He now seems happy to be alone and the main man. What a relief.
After much searching, I found two large kennels in San Pedro and with the help of some friends who were spending a couple of days there, we finally got the kennels to Cayo in the nick of time. (There's a whole story there, but I won't bore you with it now). We got the kennels put together the night before, loaded the animals in their kennels and drove to the airport the next day. Jane had done the paperwork ahead of time, but it still took over two hours to get it all handled. The two dogs and a cat flew to Houston and then straight to England. I was concerned about Honey, to old dog, that the trip would be hard on her, but she's pretty mellow and made it just fine. They're now in England in a quarantine kennel. The dogs are together and are living in the lap of luxury. Magic, the cat is staying pretty hidden until Jane comes to visit and then she comes out of hiding, purring and settles in her lap. The animals flew out on Thursday and Jane flew home on Monday, so they were there and settled by the time she arrived. England doesn't approve of the shots given in Belize so all the animals had to get the shots again. Belize is definitely viewed as a third world country in the rest of the world. A weird twist of fate is that, Jane just found out that the UK will abandon the quarantine period as of January 1. Instead you will have to have the animals tested three months ahead of traveling to prove that they don't have rabies, etc. They'll spend 48 hrs in holding and then can travel with you. Jane is having to spend a lot of money to keep them in quarantine, but she's happy that she can go see them every week or so and know that they're safe. This is all new to me, but I understand that all these requirements are only if your bringing animals in from a country that is not part of the pet passport program. I don't think you have to go thru the quarantine if you're traveling from the U.S.
We were concerned about Max, the dog who chose to stay here and live with Elan at Jane's old house. He now seems happy to be alone and the main man. What a relief.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
We're "flush" with pride!
I know that's pretty tacky, but we're
actually pretty excited. To go from our composting toilets to two flush toilets is pretty exciting stuff here at Dreamer Farm. We've toted the doodoo and put up with the bugs so the reality of flushing is really nice. We've had them build an 8' x 8' concrete septic tank and put in a single drainfield with infiltrators. This was a new concept to us, but our friend, Robin, has installed them before and had extras which we could buy. After reading about them on the internet, we felt they were by far the best solution for us. They're designed for locations that don't perk. That's not our problem here, but the marl is close to the surface, so were concerned that, in an extreme situation, we could have a drain problem. Our friend, Jane, is still here so she was able to go thru the transition with us. We've all laughed at how we can get excited about such a basic thing.
Our cistern holds a shy 10,000 gallons of water which we collect from the two roofs. We just had a pretty severe dry season and we still had over 1/2 the tank full, so water isn't an issue. Also, we have a pump and a couple of tanks, so we can go to the Mopan for water, if necessary. Yippee!
We're still not very fancy here, but at least now I'm not embarrassed to direct visitors to the bathroom.
Our cistern holds a shy 10,000 gallons of water which we collect from the two roofs. We just had a pretty severe dry season and we still had over 1/2 the tank full, so water isn't an issue. Also, we have a pump and a couple of tanks, so we can go to the Mopan for water, if necessary. Yippee!
We're still not very fancy here, but at least now I'm not embarrassed to direct visitors to the bathroom.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Packing, packing, packing
No, we're not moving. Our dear friend, Jane Beard, has returned from England to spend a couple of weeks here, making sense out of the things she left in her house here and shipping her animals back to the UK. All this is much harder than it sounds. She has a whole room full of boxes that she'd never unpacked when she moved into her house. Burlars broke in recently and ransacked the room. It was someone who knew what was there as they seemed to have had a shopping list of items to take. Mostly Mayan books and memorabelia. Also, many of the boxes of books had become damp. We're having to sort and rebox. Ick!
Also, she has 3 dogs and a cat. Magic (cat) came from the UK, so is returning home. Max (dog), whom she's had the longest, must sense what's happening and decided he doesn't want any part of it. He's become aggressive and wouldn't let the vet near him. She's decided to leave him here and gave him to the nice young fellow who's been staying in the house. Even if Belize would let Max out of the country, she wouldn't be able to get him into the UK. I've tracked down two large kennels for her other two dogs and they should arrive here today. That search is a whole nother story. We bring the animals here Wed. and take them to the airport on Thursday am, EARLY.
Then it will be back to the sorting. Once we're done we will keep her boxes in our little Mennonite house until she can afford to ship them. It's so difficult to see her have to make decisions that I had to make just a few weeks ago. The economy all over the world is forcing so many of us to make tough decisions. She heads back to England on Monday and then it will be back to our projects.
They finished building the septic tank yesterday and will now do the drainfield and plumbing.
The nursery is doing fine with about 90% success with sprouting our seeds. We are having trouble with bugs, which is difficult as we're trying to be totally organic. Hope the soap, garlic and neem works. Trouble is, I spray and it then rains. Trying not to be discouraged, but being tired doesn't help. Getting to be a cranky old broad. Have to slap myself alongside the head for an attitude adjustment.
More later.
Also, she has 3 dogs and a cat. Magic (cat) came from the UK, so is returning home. Max (dog), whom she's had the longest, must sense what's happening and decided he doesn't want any part of it. He's become aggressive and wouldn't let the vet near him. She's decided to leave him here and gave him to the nice young fellow who's been staying in the house. Even if Belize would let Max out of the country, she wouldn't be able to get him into the UK. I've tracked down two large kennels for her other two dogs and they should arrive here today. That search is a whole nother story. We bring the animals here Wed. and take them to the airport on Thursday am, EARLY.
Then it will be back to the sorting. Once we're done we will keep her boxes in our little Mennonite house until she can afford to ship them. It's so difficult to see her have to make decisions that I had to make just a few weeks ago. The economy all over the world is forcing so many of us to make tough decisions. She heads back to England on Monday and then it will be back to our projects.
They finished building the septic tank yesterday and will now do the drainfield and plumbing.
The nursery is doing fine with about 90% success with sprouting our seeds. We are having trouble with bugs, which is difficult as we're trying to be totally organic. Hope the soap, garlic and neem works. Trouble is, I spray and it then rains. Trying not to be discouraged, but being tired doesn't help. Getting to be a cranky old broad. Have to slap myself alongside the head for an attitude adjustment.
More later.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Giving up on composting toilets!
We've had it with the composting toilet thing. We paid a lot of money for a Biolet toilet and absolutely hate it. Of course, we bo't the basic model because we were concerned about our electricity useage, which may be part of the problem. But, the whole process is just too smelly and a pain to empty. In this humidity the bugs hatch really fast, so we're emptying it a lot. Whatever the reason, when I went back to Oregon and was able to actually flush I told Art that I wanted to upgrade to a water flushing toilet. Hard to get excited about something this basic, but we are.
When our family visited recently, we had trouble with the one in the guest house as the vent odors permeated the bedrooms. Ick!
We've hired Rene's sons to dig the septic and build the system. Originally we tho't we'd have to have two septics, but upon advice of an American contractor friend of ours, we moved the site to below both buildings and will drain both into the one. We could have had someone come in with a backhoe, but did that with our cistern and it made an even worse mess than we have now and cost a lot just to get them up here. The boys dug a neat hole and they really need the work. It's money better spent. They just finished the hole and will pour the floor tomorrow. Our biggest problem is getting rid of the pile of marl that's now littering our yard. Will probably have to load it in the pickup and put it on our road.
Monday, June 13, 2011
June in Belize
I had an unevenful trip back home to Belize. Long layovers proved to be a blessing as weather was delaying flights in and out of San Francisco. No worry for me, just shortened my layover time. No problem with Belize customs as residents are allowed to bring in $200 worth of goods and I only bo't a couple of small items, so breezed thru. I did ship a few boxes of "stuff" to Belize, via Houston. Nothing important, just memory things to remind us of our previous life. I'm anxiously awaiting a few books from those boxes.
I've been home a week and am just starting to get my balance again. It was such a difficult time in Oregon and the weather was cold and when I arrived back in Belize it was hot and humid. I've had a tough time sleeping and have just felt disoriented. It was so good tho' to get back home and find my place again. One thing that helped was that Marco bro't us 700 more cacao seeds and some bags the day after I got home. It was great to have a project and to jump right in. This time we've changed our tactics. We're pre-sprouting the seeds to be sure that they're viable. We've put them under the house on screen and are keeping them wet. As they start to sprout, we put them in the bags giving us a much better success rate. We gave Rene some seeds and have about 500 in bags. We already have about 270 seedlings growing for root stock. Now we just need budwood to start grafting.
Belize's hot spell seems to have broken and it's started raining. We're getting lots of thunder during evenings and nights and then lots of rain. This is really good for the seedlings, but the trees we hoped to get budwood from have sprouted too fast, so we're left waiting, again. We made the base for our nursery from a pile of marl we had from digging our cistern. The rain makes this slippery and it splashed up on the bags. Cacao hates marl. Marco suggested we put sand on top, but it tracks and washes away. Instead we've opted for shavings. We get them either for free in bags, or they bring us a trailer load for $20 for fuel. It's really tidied up the nursery making it easier to water and much less messy. Hope we don't find that this has an adverse affect on the plants.
My brother wrote that it sounds as tho' we're working hard and getting blisters. Instead, we work a little in fits and starts and then just watch to see if something is sprouting. All this rain makes it hard to do much else outside, so we're back to reading.
I've been home a week and am just starting to get my balance again. It was such a difficult time in Oregon and the weather was cold and when I arrived back in Belize it was hot and humid. I've had a tough time sleeping and have just felt disoriented. It was so good tho' to get back home and find my place again. One thing that helped was that Marco bro't us 700 more cacao seeds and some bags the day after I got home. It was great to have a project and to jump right in. This time we've changed our tactics. We're pre-sprouting the seeds to be sure that they're viable. We've put them under the house on screen and are keeping them wet. As they start to sprout, we put them in the bags giving us a much better success rate. We gave Rene some seeds and have about 500 in bags. We already have about 270 seedlings growing for root stock. Now we just need budwood to start grafting.
Belize's hot spell seems to have broken and it's started raining. We're getting lots of thunder during evenings and nights and then lots of rain. This is really good for the seedlings, but the trees we hoped to get budwood from have sprouted too fast, so we're left waiting, again. We made the base for our nursery from a pile of marl we had from digging our cistern. The rain makes this slippery and it splashed up on the bags. Cacao hates marl. Marco suggested we put sand on top, but it tracks and washes away. Instead we've opted for shavings. We get them either for free in bags, or they bring us a trailer load for $20 for fuel. It's really tidied up the nursery making it easier to water and much less messy. Hope we don't find that this has an adverse affect on the plants.
My brother wrote that it sounds as tho' we're working hard and getting blisters. Instead, we work a little in fits and starts and then just watch to see if something is sprouting. All this rain makes it hard to do much else outside, so we're back to reading.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Out with the old, in with the new
I've been in Oregon for almost 3 weeks sorting possessions, having two garage sales, giving things away and doing a lot of crying. Art had to remain in Bullet Tree to take care of our place and our dear Bailey. It's very difficult to dismantle and discard pieces of our 50 years together. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not going away from, but to. We're definitely not alone in this struggle. So many are facing the same heartache. Leaving a home that you created, loved and now have to walk away from. We're lucky that we have our place in Belize. It's entirely different from our log home in Oregon, but it's a place of healing and new directions. We've been so blessed with good health and to have each other, along with our wonderful Bailey, which allows us to keep dreaming and facing new goals. It' s just so hard to once again, say goodbye to our beloved family.
It's also been very strange to leave Belize, where it's been over 100 every day for a couple of weeks, and have snow and freezing temps in the Oregon mountains. I've actually been so busy that I haven't had time to worry about it. I just put on a jacket and keep packing. Art tells me that it rained yesterday, so not sure what I'll find when I return.
When I get back to Belize I'll update what's happening with our Cacao nursery. I'm taking back grafting knives and tape, so will be jumping into the next phase of our growing.
I'm so grateful for the internet. It can be such a pain, but it allows us to remain connected, even in remote corners. More to come soon. Blessings!
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