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!