It's Palo Verde Time.

Substitute It's Palo Verde Time for It's Howdy Doody Time.  That's the jingle that's been running through my mind all weekend long. 

Unfortunately, Craig wishes it was Miller Time instead!  The palo verde trees are in bloom.  I love the look of them, but the tiny little yellow petals that litter the pool, Saby, and everything in our backyard drive Craig insane.   The trees are actually on the other side of our back wall in the park/greenspace behind us, so at least he doesn't have to trim them.
 

We gardened this weekend, whacking back the tropical plants that we planted all over our yard.  Every time we do that job, we suffer from buyers' remorse.  What were we thinking when we landscaped this house?

If we'd planted these all over our yard, we could set the irrigation taps to water once a week and forget the gardening.  Maybe next house? 

 

Tranquility

I thought I'd end the week with a tranquil scene.  Life's been a series of minor debacles lately, from the supposedly fixed brakes that still squeak and groan after two trips to the repair shop to the multiple trips to the optometrist to try and troubleshoot my new prescription sunglasses that blurrrrrrrrr my vision.  (And now I get to wait three more weeks for glasses that took three weeks to get the first time.  Aaargh!)  Yesterday the big-ass fridge in the kitchen whimsically quit dispensing ice.  Craig and I both fiddled with it for hours trying to kick start the thing.  Just as I was about to call the repairman this morning, it started spewing crushed ice again.  I think my life's infected with gremlins!

In addition, we've spent the last few weeks car shopping.  If that's not enough to scramble one's brain, I'm not sure what is!  (Fortunately, I think we're done with that deal.)

Wish I could sit on this dock tonight and gaze at the tropical scenery!  Maybe swill down a rum punch and float in the warm seawater?

Happy Weekend!

The Dog Ate My Homework

Sorry I haven't been a very faithful blogger lately.  I have a new addiction.  It's call Pinterest!  Friends told me it was trouble, but I didn't listen.  Now I'm pinning, categorizing, browsing, and repinning all day.  It's almost as bad as Farmville, but fortunately, I have no agrarian tendencies and never got into that!

Actually, I had a long post prepared yesterday about finding a rhythm in retirement.  After a year, we're finally into a groove.  We get up when we wake up in the morning, take a long bike ride, do a few chores, forage for food, read books, watch movies, and do whatever we want with no guilt.  Just as I was loading photos to my long post, it went poof!  So I don't have the heart to try and piece it together again.

I'll just make it short and sweet.  Here are a few photos I took last night as we were taking our nightly dip.  The water is now bathtub warm due to the solar cover, so our favorite time of day is evening.  We turn on the outdoor speakers and relax in the pool to music, watching the sunset and moonrise.

The pool at dusk.

I can fully understand how that pilot mistook Venus for another airplane.  It's bright!

Saby chillin' while we're swimmin'.

Saby on the prowl after dark.  Maybe we should give her an ultraviolet flashlight so she can hunt for scorpions!

Shades of Caye Caulker Blue

Happy Birthday Craig!

Happy Birthday Craig!  I won't disclose which birthday it is, but here's to many more exciting tropical travels.

I noticed a 2011 Isla Mujeres video of mine in a Facebook feed this morning, so thought I'd repost.  It's one of my favorites!  Only 41 more days until we're back on our favorite island!

A Taste of Caye Caulker

Mix bright blue skies, clapboard buildings coated in intense Caribbean shades of blue, pink, green, yellow, and lavendar with a stroll in flip flops down the sand streets.

Browse shops selling everything from espresso to sushi and art.

Lick a  tropical flavored ice cream cone.

 While watching some black, yellow, green, and red Rasta hues cruise by.

Toss in some chow mein and chop souy from the Far East.

And a rum-flavored drink at the Lazy Lizard.

Baste with sun and a cool dip at the Cut.

Browse some gorgeous Belizean art in a white shed by the turquoise sea.

And then you've tasted some of the flavas of Caye Caulker!

Caye Caulker Village Scenes

I rediscovered my photos from our day trip to Caye Caulker, so I'll be editing and posting them for the next week or so.  Caye Caulker's just a 30-minute water taxi ride from Ambergris Caye, and a very laid back location to spend a day exploring up and down the sand streets.  Originally, we planned on renting bikes, but quickly realized it wasn't really necessary since the village area is very small. 

No advance water taxi reservations are necessary.  Just show up at the dock on Ambergris at the last minute, buy a ticket, and board the next boat.  Our timing was perfect.  The next boat to Caye Caulker was loading as we bought the tickets, and the same thing happened on the return trip.  I think that's called dumb luck because we didn't have a schedule or a watch! 

 

 Backpacker arriving on Caye Caulker dock. 

 Loaded Caye Caulker trike.

Shopping mall Caye Caulker style.

 

I'm fairly certain shoppers don't pay less since grocery prices on Ambergris and Caye Caulker are steep in relation to what we pay here in the U.S.  For example, a regular size bag of Lay's potato chips could run $10.95 B.Z.   Local staples are reasonable, but anything imported is expensive!  Looks like Payless is popular with the local kids!

 The flip flop shop.

Typical Belizean clapboard construction.

 Palm trees substitute for street signs.

Dock in need of repair.  Notice the sticks in the water for tying up?  The boat captain on the way to Lamanai told us with the consistency of the mucky sand, locals can plant sticks and they'll stay in the same place for years.   His tour operator had placed sticks as markers in the water to guide tour boats on the way to Belize City.

 

 We didn't try the shrimp sticks, but $5.00 B.Z. translates to $2.50 U.S.

 Local sports bar!

The hammock store.

All day Happy Hour!  What's not to love!

One of many places on Caye Caulker to get quick grub.

 A woman on Ambergris told me that Caye Caulker's cheaper on pricing for snorkeling tours, fishing trips, trips to the mainland, rentals, etc....   I didn't check while we were there, but I do remember reading that in guide books.  Caye Caulker might be a convenient place to stay for a few nights!

Colorful little beach grill!

 

Island Gardens

Before we head outdoors to start whacking back the tropical plants in our yard today, I thought I'd post some Friday fotos of the lush Belizean flora taken on Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker in February.