Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

The holidays are upon us and we are feeling very blessed this year. Our adventure in Belize continues and the positives of living here absolutely outweigh the negatives. It’s been a couple of months since we’ve updated the blog and so much has happened, but at the same time things have remained simple.

My birthday was a success. Rick and I went for a scenic drive to Altun Ha Mayan Ruins, saw a 5-6’ Maribu Stork off the side of the road, hiked the ruins (until the mosquitoes won), had a picnic lunch, another scenic drive home and then dinner and games with our friends/neighbors. I’m getting older, but also better !

I’ve been baking up a storm (pies, cookies, pizza, bread, pretzels) and have been working on perfecting the variations that the flour, sugar, heat and humidity cause in the product. Still having some issues, but the pizza and bread are definitely perfected. Best pizza you’ll find in Belize is right here in Progresso Shores! Rick has been doing some cooking of his own. He’s been smoking beef, pork and poultry, has experimented with homemade ceviche and grilled lobster. As you can see we have no issue with finding enough good food to eat here.

We also started our own outdoor adventure…we built a chicken coop and bought six laying chicken babies to raise and hopefully get eggs from. We got the chicks about 3 ½ weeks ago and man do they grow fast. We should be getting eggs in a couple of months, but in the meantime they’re pretty cute to have around!

We’ve been lucky enough to be invited to some parties in the last couple of months. Scott’s birthday was in early November and he threw a huge party on the beach of Orchid Bay Inn (unfinished) in Copper Bank. There was a band, kegs, beer pong, horseshoes, lots of good food and we met a lot of very nice people. Last weekend Dove and Phil got married at ? resort, also on the beach in Copper Bank. The weather for the festivities was absolutely perfect, the bride radiant, the beverages flowing, the food yummy and the guest list was full of Gringo’s…more than we have seen in one place since our arrival in Belize 10 months ago (yesterday).

The garden is finally taking shape. We have planted peas, beans, zucchini, cilantro, basil, green onion, lettuce, tomato and carrots. So far the only thing we’ve been able to harvest has been basil…boy was it incredible. The rest of the seedlings are coming along…should have fresh veggies in a couple of months if the insects and deer don’t eat them first! Our fruit trees (dragon fruit, pineapple, banana, soursop, tamarind, coconut, sugar apple and avocado) are also looking good. Bananas will probably be the first of those to produce.

The weather through the rainy season was interesting. We were threatened by five hurricanes, but the only issue we had with any of them was some minor roof leaks, a couple of downed trees on the property and some flooding. A storm last month topped them all when it rained for 3+ days straight. The roof leaks were a little more pronounced, a tree actually fell right on the house (no damage) and the flooding was much more advanced...we even had a sink hole! To pass some time during the storm, we worked on a giraffe puzzle that I have had for years but never opened. It was quite challenging, but after 10 days it was complete. Now we are working on preserving it by gluing together and making a piece of artwork out of it. Following that storm the roof was resealed so the leaks are now under control and the sink hole was excavated and filled in. Since the beginning of November the mornings have been cool, sometimes into the 50’s, but for the most part the daytime highs remain in the 75-85 degree range. Perfect! Most days we have a nice breeze, so last week I picked up a kite at a local store and tested it out on Monday. It worked great, so on Tuesday we went back into town for supplies and picked up a couple more!

We have started bird watching and had the opportunity to see a heron up-close when he/she wandered underneath the RV coach after having been injured. Later he wandered over to the neighbor’s house and Ed, in an attempt to pick him/her up, got a beak right above his eye. Needless to say, he left the bird to fend for him/herself. A few weeks later we spied a greater blue heron standing on our beach. It was about 3-4 feet tall and pretty spectacular. Speaking of sightings, we also had a 4 foot iguana sunning on our dock…no camera handy for that, but check out the other photos!

We’re both perfecting our darts, cards, dominoes, poker and pegs and jokers. We’re enjoying each others company and falling deeper in love everyday. I miss the kids (they will be coming for a visit in late February/early March) and the holidays won’t be quite the same without family, but it can only be what we make it, so we will make it the best we can.


We hope and pray that your holidays carry only happy memories and that your stockings are filled with joy and laughter! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Fall has arrived!

Fall has arrived in Belize and with it came a tropical storm (Matthew), hundreds of dragonflies, cooler weather, a friends’ illness and recovery and a visitor to the lagoon. It’s been an eventful month…

We were supposed to have hosted 60+ people at our housewarming party on 9/26, but Mother Nature had something else in mind. TS Matthew started heading our way on the 22nd and was predicted to be in our backyard on the 26th. We cancelled the party and started preparing for the storm instead. It ended up being much less intense than we had expected, but it’s a good thing we cancelled the party because it would have been a muddy mess if people did come. We’ll be rescheduling after hurricane season and will let you all know when to make your travel plans…lol! We did have a loose battery in the bathroom water heater from all the rain and humidity and had a couple of days without hot showers. Shortly thereafter our well water pump gave out (no water!) and had to be replaced…luckily our builder took care of that for us!

Dee and I had a girls-day-out a couple of weeks ago. We went to Corozal and had our hair done (I had a cut and style for $10 BZE…$5 USD!!!) Afterwards we headed to the free-zone casino for some blackjack and slots. I won $100+ USD!!! The day ended on a low note though. When we returned home we found that Mousey, Ed and Dee’s Chihuahua, was very sick. Turns out she was in renal failure and fought through the weekend only to die late Sunday night. She will be greatly missed.

That same weekend Ed started feeling poorly. By Sunday night he and Mousey were suffering together. Ed and Dee headed to the ER in Orange Walk on Monday morning and Ed was diagnosed with appendicitis. He had surgery later that same day (appendectomy and exploratory which discovered a perforated diverticuli) and insisted on being released from the hospital on Thursday after 4 days of questionable nursing care in the hospital. He and his doctor agreed that he would recuperate better at home as long as he had a nurse to give him antibiotic shots, remove his drain and monitor his incisions (guess who?) Dee took great care of him and Rick and I helped with what we could. He had his surgical follow-up appointment yesterday and all is healing well. The total cost for ER, tests, surgery, all meds, 3 nights in the hospital and follow-up care = $6000 BZE/$3000 USD. Try that in the States!!!

Almost as if on queue, the weather cooled off and the humidity dropped on October 1st. Since then the early morning temperatures are in the 60’s and we’re averaging about 90 for daytime highs. The breezes have shifted and seem to be coming from the north and west instead of the south and east. The grasshoppers are dying off and the dragonflies are taking over…they are much preferred because the grasshoppers were munching on all of our new plants! The parrots like the cool mornings and are waking us up with their song/squawk around sunrise. They’re still really vocal and active around 5p too. We love to watch and listen to them and make up stories about what they’re saying/doing. Last night during our happy hour on the beach we had an unexpected visitor to the lagoon. I spotted a crocodile about 30 feet offshore. We had the binoculars with us, so we both got a great look at him/her. Gracie, Goldie and Diablo came over to us for a visit and the puppies jumped into the lagoon for a quick swim. We saw the crocodile turn and start swimming towards them, but they got out of the water before we had to worry. Took a couple of pictures, but they don’t do him/her justice. Needless to say we will be extra careful when we’re cooling off!!!

Last weekend we went into town for the “horse races” (see photos). Not quite what we’re used to, but interesting none the less. We ran into the guy that installed our home a/c units and chatted for a while. His cousin’s horse won the 3rd race…first race he had ever entered! That was exciting!

The RV coach is still for sale. Rick has been busy getting it all ship shape and we’ve had some inquiries. There is a possibility that someone will be coming to take a look this coming week. We’d like to sell so we can get started on the guest house before a possible visit from Rick’s brother and family over the holidays.

It’s my birthday on Monday and we’re trying to decide how to celebrate. If it’s not too hot we may go visit the Altun Ha Mayan Ruins southeast of here. Word is that the ruins there are what inspired the label on the Belikin beer bottles. If it’s too hot we’ll take a trip to one of the few white sand beaches in northern Belize, not far from here.

That wraps things up for month #8. Ready for visitors if anyone is interested! Just give us the word and we’ll make some plans.

Open For Business

Almost autumn! Not sure what that will be like here in Belize, but we’ve heard it will be beautiful. The last few weeks have been fun…we will just share a couple of the highlights.

In late August Linda was entering the lagoon for a relaxing soak and encountered a 4 ft. stingray! It was more afraid of her than she was of it, so it took off to find shelter. One of the few times Linda didn’t have her camera handy, so her memory will be the only record of that encounter, but she will remember it fondly.

We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary on September 3rd by travelling back to the Placencia peninsula for a few days. The weather, water and company were wonderful. We had a great time (check out the photos)! On our way back home we stopped at a huge nursery and Rick picked out some beautiful flowers to accent our landscape (which is coming along quite nicely). The garden is growing too…we planted some of the developing seedlings and Rick took some rose cuttings and is hoping they will take root. We’re still waiting for the rest of the seedlings in the trays and the rooting avocados to be ready for transplanting. If we can outwit the insects, this should be quite a producing piece of property when we’re through. Rick is also thinking of going into the nursery production business since there are no plant nurseries within 60 miles. The roses should prove a true test as to his abilities.

Our latest efforts have been focused on preparations for our housewarming party on September 26th. We have 60 confirmed guests and are planning a table full of food (roasted pig in the ground accompanied by some authentic Belizean dishes), a couple of kegs of Belikin and lots of fun. We’re praying for the weather to cooperate!

Speaking of weather, Tropical Storm Karl blew through this week with 40 mph winds and buckets of rain. We suffered minor flooding on our lot and a few downed trees, but overall we were really lucky…we were prepared for much worse! Since we had the downed trees already, Rick decided to do some tree work. With the help of 4 of the crew, they cut up the downed trees, cut down the dead ones and cleaned up the property. They ran out of time yesterday, so this morning Rick decided to cut the last of the dead trees (it was threatening to fall on the RV!) He thought the two of us could do it, but three-quarters of the way through the attempt we decided we weren’t strong enough. Ed and
Scott came with their ATV’s and muscles and we finally were successful in bringing it down. Besides the storm, the weather has been much more stable than in mid-summer. It’s still hot and humid, but with wonderful breezes throughout the days and cooler temperatures in the mornings and evenings. We’ve also had some incredible sunrises and sunsets (see pix)!

We have nightstands on order that are being built by the Mennonites across the lagoon in Little Belize. They were supposed to have been ready 10 days ago, but since we’re on “Belize time” we’re just hoping to have them prior to the party. We haven’t found the right bookshelf yet. If the nightstands are completed to our liking, we may design something for the Mennonites to build and then the decorating will be complete.

We have the RV coach up for sale and then we will start thinking about the guest house. We’re still waiting for our first visitors…we’re ready whenever you are!

Life remains pretty much a dream. It’s like living on a cruise ship except for having to do our own cooking. Speaking of cooking, it’s LOBSTER season in Belize, so it has become a part of our weekly menu.

Everything we do is done on our self-made schedule with plenty of time for relaxing, playing in the lagoon and falling deeper in love. You have to live it to really understand what this experience is all about. Any takers?

Until we write again, health and happiness to all…

Home Sweet Home

I have always heard the saying that "time flies when you're having fun", but this is ridiculous. Another 2 months has passed us by without an update here and so much has happened. Our container of belongings arrived at the Belize Port only 3 days later than planned and was ready for pick-up on July 16th, our 5 month anniversary in the country. Rick and a couple of the crew drove into Belize City and spent an incredibly hot/humid day dealing with customs agents, transport agents and brokers. They were forced to unload 80% of the truck for inspection and then reload. If you recall, the truck was filled to capacity in AZ, so unloading and reloading was no easy task. Rick and the guys finally arrived back home around 7:30p with the truck/container following about two hours later (after running out of gas!). A couple more of the crew guys and some friends helped us unload for the next two hours! What a job. There was some minor damage to some of the furniture and appliances (mostly cosmetic and not a big deal here) and some additional charges that we were not expecting, but we decided to put that particular day behind us and look to the future. We spent the next five weeks unpacking, decorating, cleaning and getting used to the sights, smells and sounds of our new home. The Belizean who constructed all of our solid mahogany cabinets for the house built us a beautiful custom mahogany dining room set. It arrived two weekends ago, so the only additional items we need to complete the house are night stands and a bookshelf. We celebrated our 6 month anniversary in Belize last week and are happier than ever. We spend the days in our own activities (Rick has been working all over the 2 acre property grooming, planting and beautifying. He does amazing work even though it is difficult to improve on what God has done here. His tropical fruit tree collection is slowly taking shape…he has planted custard apple, sour sop, star fruit, avocado, tamarind, coconut, banana and mango trees. His garden is dug, mulched and ready for planting. We’re going to start the seeds in planter trays due to the ants and then transplant them when they’re stronger. We’re hoping to be able to supply all of our own veges and fruits. The front landscape and walk-ways are in, so now we will dedicate a day to return to the nursery in Ladyville to purchase some plants and flowers to enhance the look. His next project is to build a sand beach above the seawall at the lagoon. He has realized that he doesn’t get as much done everyday at 55 1/2 than he did at 20, 30 or even 40 years of age …I keep telling him there is no hurry…we have the rest of our lives. I spend the days sunning/soaking at/in the lagoon, reading, internet-ing, listening to music, cleaning, laundry, groceries etc. Dee and I went into town last week and played some slots while we were there. We both won…$50 for me and $180 for her, so we splurged and bought ice cream…$22 BZ/pint! Boy was it good!!!) Our evenings are always spent together, whether alone on the patio watching the lagoon in the moonlight while listening to music (and the crickets, geckos, frogs and birds) or with friends playing dominoes, cards, pegs and jokers or a board game. Our health has been very good, except for Rick's couple of cases of Che Chen poisoning that required trips to the Dr. in Orange Walk for steroid shots. The second bout is healing now and Rick has plans to cut down the Che Chen trees that remain on our property to avoid further contact. The weather has cooled a little bit, but we're still under the threat of "hurricane season". For a few weeks in July it seemed like we would need to build an ark to survive the storms, but that, too, has calmed down. Progresso Shores definitely feels like home now and Ed, Dee and Scott, our neighbors/friends/home builders, have helped to make the transition much smoother. Now that we're settled, we're ready for visitors! Start making your plans for a little Belizean adventure! We’re living in an amazing piece of God’s handiwork…not perfect, but worth the little inconveniences that we encounter in order to appreciate the rest of what we have.

Lots of changes

Wow! I can’t believe another month has flown by. It was a busy one with travel back to AZ to visit and pack up the house there. We left Belize City on 6/9 and flew to Phoenix with a brief stop in Houston. Janessa met us at the airport (it was wonderful to see you, babe!) We saw some other family and friends while in town…sorry if we missed you, it was a whirlwind! We shopped for appliances and other necessities that either are not available in Belize or are not the quality we desire (thanks for letting us borrow your car, mom and dad). After 10 days of shopping and packing up the house, the 20 foot container arrived on 6/21 for loading. With the help of 2 great friends (thanks Bobby and John) we loaded the container solid and it was back on the road. We tried to sell our bedroom and dining room sets and some dishes and lamps on craigslist without success. Janessa will have to have a garage sale when the house sells (unless anyone knows anyone who needs any of these items).
We left AZ on 6/25, flew to Cancun and took a bus to Playa del Carmen. We had a lovely dinner, walked on the beach in the full moonlight and saw a little bit of the town. We slept like logs that night and in the morning headed back to the bus station for our return to Belize. It rained most of the 5 hour bus ride, but the towns we passed through were quite quaint. Scott met us at the border for the final leg of our journey.
We arrived back in Progresso to a wonderful surprise…while we were back in the USA, Ed, Dee and the crew worked feverishly to complete as much of the house as they could. We couldn’t believe the progress they had made (see photos!) The house is almost move-in ready…just awaiting the arrival of the container with our appliances, furniture and some items we purchased to complete our new home (we just found out that the container may not arrive until mid-late July!). Everything is beautiful!
On that first day back in Belize we discovered that the power had gone out in the RV while we were gone, we had a flat tire on the car and that tropical storm Alex was headed straight for us. We opened the refrigerator and freezer to find everything spoiled and very stinky. After emptying both and washing with a series of bleach, orange cleanser and a Mexican-style Lysol, we still have an odor. Have had baking soda in there for a few days without much luck, so today I’m trying coffee grounds. I’m awaiting an e-mail response from the “Queen of Clean” for any other suggestions. The tropical storm was a threat, so we spent the first night back in the guest house instead of the RV. We got some wind, a little rain and some downed trees, but otherwise the threat was bigger than the storm. The tire was easily repaired with “fix-a-flat” and Dee and I went shopping on Monday to replenish our supplies. Yesterday was laundry, lagoon, relaxing and dominoes for me, but Rick is back at it full speed ahead with assisting on the front porch tile and planting some banana and coconut palms and more pineapples.
We’re back into a comfortable routine and looking forward to many happy years here.

planning a visit to the U.S.

another couple of weeks have flown by and, despite some rainy days, the house construction continues running smoothly. we are estimating completion and move in during the first week of july. to prepare for that, rick and i will be returning to the U.S. to pack up some of our "necessities" to ship back down to belize. we will be flying into AZ (via Houston) on june 9th and then returning to belize via cancun on 6/25. hopefully we can see as many of our AZ friends while we're there...check your calendars for those dates and let us know. other than that, nothing major to report, except that i am trying to convince rick to take a trip back down south to see the whale sharks that migrate to that area this time of year. we'll let you know what happens with that!

Wow...the last 4 weeks have flown by so fast! I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun. It doesn't even seem possible that it is May already and May is half over. We’ve been in Belize for 3 months now and it’s feeling pretty comfortable!
Things here have been moving along nicely with home construction and continuing to get settled into our new routine. We usually travel into town (Orange Walk or Corozal) at least once a week and have been to Belize City a couple of times in the last month, too. We have chosen paint colors, tile samples, light fixtures, fans and bathroom faucets and sinks. The inside walls are up, the slabs are poured and the next step will be the plastering and the ceiling. Hope you have been able to follow the progress with our photos! No work today due to rain off and on for the last 15 hours (the parrots are partying this morning in the cool damp air).
We applied for and have been accepted to the QRP (qualified retired persons) incentive program. This required dealing with red tape here in Belize as well as over the phone/internet to AZ, but finally, with a lot of people's help, things were accomplished. Now we can return to the U.S. to pick up some more of our "stuff" to bring back to our new home duty/tax-free. We will fly to AZ sometime in the next 2 weeks, buy a truck, trailer and appliances and drive back to Belize through Mexico in the middle to end of next month. Scott, the guy who sold us our lot, has agreed to meet us in Brownsville, TX to show us the ropes through Mexico. We've heard some borderline horror stories about gringos in that country, so his experience will be invaluable. I’m sure there will be more adventure to report!
Our house in AZ is currently on the market, but Janessa will continue to live there and care for it for the time being (she will be starting her new job as a cake decorator in Phoenix sometime in the next couple of weeks. Yeah!)
Rick has been working right along with the crew or on odd jobs around the lot. He continues to drop weight (maybe 30 pounds now) and will need new clothes or at least a new belt soon. Linda suffered a rib injury a couple of weeks ago, so exercise has been limited, but things are starting to heal now and her clothes are starting to hang differently, too. We moved from Ed and Dee's guest house to our RV about 10 days ago thereby giving up Dee's excellent Italian cooking for dinner every night. That, in and of itself, will help encourage our weight loss!
There have been a couple of incidents that have kept us on our toes lately. A few days ago while the crew was pouring the patio slab for the house the electricity went off ( a common occurrence). Because the well water pump doesn't function without electricity, Ed decided to connect to the water tank on the RV. They were able to finish the slab with the water from the tank and shortly after completion the electricity came back on. Only then did we realize that the buttons that were pushed to change the water flow also affected our toilet. OMG! What a mess!!! That was definitely an adventure I could have lived without! Then, this morning I was making breakfast (french toast) and opened the kitchen drawer to retrieve the pot holders only to come face to face with a tennis-ball-sized mouse. I actually screamed! Rick is headed into the village now to see if there are any traps available. Ewwwwwwww! Other than those two episodes, the only negatives have been the heat/humidity (unusually high for this time of year) and the mosquitoes (in the early am and late afternoon we have to be vigilant with monitoring our outdoor activities). We purchased a couple of tire inner tubes recently and when we get a chance we're going to use them to float around on the lagoon...the water is perfect temperature for cooling off on all of these hot days.
Dee and I spent a couple of hours last week in the “Entertainment Center” in Orange Walk. This is basically a small establishment with slot machines. I found out I am no more lucky in Belize on slot machines than I am in the United States…lol! It was a fun way to spend some time though. Yesterday Ed and Dee threw another poker game and this time Rick and I both came out ahead. A few of the players were people that we met at the last game and a couple of people were new friends. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Besides poker and slot machines, we also have been spending a lot of time playing cards and/or dominoes. There were a couple of days last week where my luck was incredible and nobody could beat me at anything. I often wonder how that works…nevertheless, my luck has returned to normal now.
Gracie’s puppies are 7 weeks old today and are as cute as ever. Not sure if I already mentioned it, but I named one of the puppies that Ed and Dee are keeping...“Diablo” because she is a little devil. She is the runt of the litter but thinks that she is in charge. The other puppy that they are keeping has been named “Goldie” in remembrance of another dog that they had in the past. The puppies and Gracie will be in charge of security on the property as the lots continue to sell and the boundaries are extended. A guy arrived last night from Hawaii to survey the lots that are available and to report back to friends/family at home for possible future purchase. Our community may be growing! Will keep you posted. Thanks for following our adventures!