puff puff pass

 

fun things

pretty bouganvillas

the ducky

delicious brightly colored mushrooms

gorgeous orchids

fun door knockers

 

If I were your boyfriend

If I were your boyfriend, I would

• make you these and serve them to you for breakfast in bed.
• take you to every new movie opening you wanted to go to.
• never open doors for you.
• gift you a bouquet of these delectable roses.
• kill all the cockroaches, ants, and other pests in your house.
• learn all about Mac and become friends with him.
• show up at your door with a green tea milkshake from Purity's.
• give you these valentines day cards.
• have family pictures taken at the annual cat show together.

An Update in Pictures

So a while ago i went to WalMart (if i could avoid this store all together I would, but it is the cheapest place on the island...le sigh) and checked out their fabric selection. I wanted to make curtains for my bedroom. I came away with this gem:

The monkey on a turtle with an eyepatch is what got me.

PERFECT for curtains, right? Yeah, i thought so too. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Des actually had some spare curtains just hanging around (haha!) and i didnt need to use this amazing fabric. Time passed. Meanwhile I started a quilt for my bed. I finished the quilt top, but had no backing...or DID I??

I didn't have quite enough for the whole back, so I had to piece it together with some other fabric. If you look at traditional quilts, oftentimes the backs are a mishmash of all kinds of fabric. It doesnt matter since its the back!

I havent finished my quilt yet, but soon enough I will have it on my bed, where it belongs. Now and then I will turn it over and admire Mr. Eyepatch and his turtle. 

Meanwhile I housesat again this past weekend. Not at the yurt, but in an actual house. It was great to be able to watch TV. I havent watched crappy television in AGES. It was nice to catch up with shows, but i sure do like the yurt.

Housesitting means that I don't get my exercise. Although, I have been slacking a little in the exercise department recently. Im just so tired! I usually go to paddle practice and then come home and run. 

Salt literally coats me when I'm done exercising. And no, it's not from the ocean. It's gross.

But I am having a hard time working up the motivation to get into my workout gear and jump on the treadmill. I just need to suck it up and do it already!! Ugh.

I have some exciting news: I got a new camera!! I saved up the moolah and bought myself a real camera, not a point-and-shoot. I was frustrated with the quality of the camera I have been using. I would take hundreds of pictures and maybe a 1/4 of them would be usable. I have been wandering around with my fancy camera taking pictures and trying to figure out all the features, of which there are a TON.

I am still learning to focus, but the quality is so much better!! 

I made Strawberry Mango jam yesterday and wish you were here to try it. For my first jam, I think it came out really well. But boy, is jam making a messy business! I will be better prepared next time (I hope). 

I miss you. I can't wait until these posts reflect experiences we have had together. Love from the Garden Isle,

M.

Welcome



Welcome to the world, little guy.

Happiness

Happiness is a cute baby bunny.

Happiness

Happiness is finding a turtle in the steet and knocking on someone's door to find out that it is their turtle and that it had washed away out a drain pipe with the rain.

Happiness

Happiness is a bunny in your shirt, cutting up onions,
and a bunch of fresh bananas.

Happiness

If this picture doesn't make you smile I don't know what will.

Rememdios

Rememdios. Cures. To help you when you are sick, down and out, or angry.

Here I have been given much advice on what to do for various problems. Have a crik in your neck? Just have a prgenant woman bite you there. Hack yourself with a macehete? Stuff cobwebs in the wound. Have your period? Don't shower, and don't eat meat or avocados. Having a bad hairday? It's because you didn't cut your hair under a full moon. Have stomach issues? Fix some really bitter root tea. Have baka presion? Shoot yourself up with a Vitamin B cocktail.

How do I solve my bad hair day? With a straightner. How do I solve a bad day in the pueblo? Or when I get lost in the pueblo? A licuado. Or a Snickers bar. How do I solve digestive issues? Eat lots of oatmeal or a salad. How do I deal with back issues from riding in tuks and sitting on uncomfortable things almost always? Yoga. How do I cope with PMS? Again, a Snickers bar. Or cheeseburgers. How do I cope with boredeom. My site mate, and cheeseburgers.





But cross culturally, I feel like this is true in all cases.

Satisfying Things

• Acai Bowls for breakfast
• Slowly but surely appreciating island music, such as this song
• Getting enough vitamin D, and feeling the difference
• The sense of accomplishment after an incredibly tiring day of paddling
• Going to the library
• Nice motorists who wave at you when you let them merge
• Ms. Dragonwagon and her recipes (I just made her Thai Green Curry with Eggplant, Beans, and Garbanzo...mmm!!)
• Reading on the beach
• Whale watching and actually seeing a whale
• Meeting new people
• Singing. I just joined a community choir...what a fun bunch!
• Art
• Seeing the little boy and his pet goat at the river
• Visiting the buddhist shrines at the Lawai International Center
• Plantain Lumpia
• Watching my plants grow, and using my fresh herbs for the first time
• Finishing projects at work
• Australian singers
• The sound of chickens beating their wings and pecking around in the woods
• Driving with the windows down, all the time