BLUE HOLE SPIN OUTS

Hadn't slept well watching typhoon Bolaven spin across the little 7 mile wide island of Okinawa yesterday where my daughter, son in law, and grandchildren are stationed. And while riding naturally through the whole gamut of dramatic emotions while menopausing...I couldn't help but be angry with her for not leaving me an address or phone number. But she had just moved there 7 days ago and yes...there was a message from her. In Facebook :l  Which is glitchy for me and hadn't been able to check anything in there for a long time. I just threw the ocassional speed posts or link I wanted to remember in there.

And what's really odd is the year that hurricane Katrina hit on my birthday...not only did the eye go right over my beach house...but it hit 2 days before she was to close on a house in Slidell, La. Of course the house was destroyed and I believe she just stayed in California...or Hawaii...wherever she was at the time. And now this year, her move to Japan brought Bolaven. And Hurricane Isaac is expected to hit the Ms gulf coast. It will be dead overhead me for my birthday :l  I told her she leaves a wake of hurricanes in her path so she is grounded from moving to any more countries that have hurricanes/typhoons (differences are very subtle). So in all I spent the weekend with both going on and Jim down on the coast boarding up for one, Shell on Okinawa sheltered from another. Whew.

Yeah...Jim did drop down for a night before hitting the coast. Came in late Saturday night for dinner, his Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, and the dogs got him gifts before getting up and heading back off. I got a 2000 yr. old greek coin from Paros, an 1840's Indian head penny from Bayou, and Annabelle...the new comer...got him new money lol :D  The coins didn't cost a lot but were congruent to our little antique thing. Our main presents are going to be spent on lavish excursions I am booking outside of the cruise ship. The cruise itself will be our little 2cd honeymoon so I reserved a balcony room, reservations at the steak house restaurant, and looking into the Chef's table 4 hour private dinner thing :} Still lots of planning and booking and he mainly wanted this one particular excursion that covers all; repeling, zip line, and tubing at Caves Branch. Awesome excursion but done it and don't think my hand will handle the repel part of it so we will just zipline in Honduras with some caving elsewhere.  I should be able to break with my good hand and if I get stuck and can't pull myself...they will come get me (or I could just enjoy the view from the tree tops and get great shots lol!! :D). I can't wait to see the look on my doctor's face when I ask/tell him today :l

So I get to call the adventure for my birthday in Belize. Of course it will be the Great Blue Hole! I just don't know why I am fascinated by it but ever since the early 90's...I just had to go. And when National Geographic went...I am more enthused than ever now. They are my favorite channel, I buy clothes from them, magazines, magazines for the grand kids, books, etc. (I normally only put my own photos, daughters, breeders photos here but this is an exception :} It is from Nat Geo and offered as a wallpaper from one of their sites linked here...3 times so I can find all my spots :). We also subscribe to their travel magazine but la ti da...I am getting just as excited about chartering a 3 seat cessna plane from Tropic Air to view it! I thought since Astrum Helicopters weren't open doored, might as well small plane it :D They have been very curteous and helpful in the planning and it will be just about $600 for the private tour, tip, and trip to the airport and I am waiting now to see if they can just pick us up at the municipal airport instead of the international one or having to take a water taxi (Belize City, San Pedro, Caye Caulker) into Ambergris Caye (assuming they will be filled with tourists). This will be closer than running down Northern Hiway toward Ladyville too (on St. Mathew St. off of St. Thomas). Ooooo I use to run all these roads in a rental back then and well...visiting via a cruise ship is really no way to visit Belize. One country you really should hang a week or so ;) One country that always makes the vacation list :)))

PD Wikipedia/BAS

Maps. Can't forget to print my maps but got time for that. We will even have another week vacation but think we will throw most of it over into next year but will spend a couple days of it roaming around Miami or Tampa if we can. I just hate I won't be able to stop at Half Moon Caye and see the Red footed Boobies (Belize Audubon Society's sanctuary for them). It was a place I wanted to do some zoological field courses if I couldn't get time in at Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve (roads get washed out) and I think they used to have a camp on Laughing Bird Caye for marine biology field study too a long time ago (or maybe it was Blackbird on Turneffe or one of the Pelican Cayes). It seems it has become more geared to tourists now and once when Maya Center (that shut down before night came) was only a building at the foot of a partial road up towards the rangers station and victoria peak and has now become a small village with guided tours for the remote area.  I know I haven't had them on my charity list for awhile and want to wear my Belize Audubon or World Wildlife T when I go that day. They are sooo old the tourists may throw change at me :/

I am wanting to save for that Mediterranean cruise with is only $600 to cover Venice, Greece, and Egypt but the flights have gone up to about a grand pp. Then more for the cruise if you stay 2 weeks but adding all excursions, extra cruise fees, and stuff...ow. But I won't be disappointed at all on a revisit to St. Lucia or Belize. I'm still wanting to whip Jim on down into San Pedro Sula from Belize to see Copan and maybe we if we are budgeting and have to do another caribbean cruise...Progresso off New Orleans is good for Chichen Itza :)

For now I'm jumping with excitement to spin off around the Great Blue Hole! Must be a bucket list thing :}

Special Note: To someone I hold dear...who has endured me through this mess:  If I should ever say I was moving to the mountains by her again...she would SEEK OUT a hurricane or typhoon, run head on to greet it, make it to the other side and dive down into that blue hole screaming :l

AMERICAN PICKIN' BIKERS

So this is what you get when you cross a biker with the show 'American Pickers'. In answer to those with old chevy pick ups in their yard...antique biker yard art :D  Great shot, honey. Happy birthday!

Your evilness wishes you then same ;)

Oh...and uh...chartering us a flight on a cessna 3 passenger plane with Tropic air to fly over the atolls and the Great Blue hole in Belize for part of my birthday/Christmas present :} They say I will get good shots!

ZOOM ZOOM!

Will show them on masks later ;)

ATT scheduled to come out on Saturday so we couldn't leave to buy a wet saw to finish the master bath floor but what was worse...they didn't show. Jim and I were soooo mad we started looking at houses to move from here. Found a couple we really liked and looked at the excursions for our upcoming vacation. Half hour into them being late with no call....we are talking attorneys so I called them MAD AS HELL but apologizing to the tech KNOWING it wasn't his fault personally...just the company and higher ups he worked for that has screwed us over for almost 3 yrs now (and I have NEVER sued anyone in my life but definitely ready for a battle in court!). And this is all after installing yet another modem (although this one will work ;)) and yet no speed.

Xunantunich Ruins, Belize

They said they would come out today (Monday) so I called my hand therapist and had to cancel...again...and waited. Finally came out and man am I flying fast now! He clocked a 6.2 or something and I am clocking 5.55 but that is with a video streaming simultaneously :D Plus I know HP still has to deal with the framework in here (new puter). Seems to have been an open line (one of the lines on the road side was cut/frayed or not connecting 100%) but that I am over 3 miles to the call office in town and something about 'loops' so I may not always get this speed but shouldn't expect anymore death crawls at .2 to .7 ...not even a 1.0! Zoom Zoom! :D (Worth not mentioning how appalled I was that he was spitting in my driveway and not to throw anymore candy bar wrappers on the ground :l).

'Tika' Carolyn Carr's Jaguar

Nuff tech talk! Looks like I can move forward with dream weaver, web site, leather, etc!!! And I've been working on sea life themes in my arts, making molds, my own fabric of angelina fibers, silk roving, other scrap fibers for embellishments, molds for metal embellishments, bleaching shells and looking forward to purchasing more when we are in Florida before we cruise to the western caribbean this time :) It's going to be hard for awhile trying to pay off the doc bills, play catch up on regular bills so I probably won't have my site or dreamweaver up till after christmas.

And lord knows with Annabelle finally going into heat that will be an extra expense for her spay. At first I didn't know why the heck she just jumped up onto the grooming table and laid beside Paros! She hates the table and baths! They stayed their side by side for 15 minutes till I decided to go get the camera...then P decided to hop his butt on down lol! Then the humping and howling started the next day :l Never again will I question when a female goes into heat! And I rescheduled her spay 3 times afraid she may have been in heat and didn't want to jeapordize her life with the heavy blood flow. Well Miss "My Cooter is the size of a Watermellon" will definitely be liked by Mr. P now lol :D

And now I maybe can make more than $4200 lol once I get a site up and busy again :))))) I've been making molds from dried sea life (sea horses, puffer fish, shells) to pour metals, metal clays, mortar etc. in. They main thing is that we don't have to move but I was getting excited about it and finding cheaper houses than what we are in now was getting exciting. That would have left us more money to travel on and have Paros shown so who knows...maybe that is still an option.

PS CS5 2 rust texture clip

So it's zoom zoom again with me too! No more 'grounded' time and lots to catch up on (and I don't mean TV...which I did enough of this past week but do like the show 'American Pickers' and 'Pawn Stars' :)). And it may be road closed on my ongoing 3 yrs of troubles. I'm sure I will take this off eventually if speeds keep up and put it on a back page but this blog will be dedicated to tutorials, real and photoshop, my websites, and perhaps another blog or another site on travel stuff :)

At Carolyn Carr's, Belize 94

After 3 years of a death crawl, several tech visits and tests from afar, hundreds of calls, supervisors, engineers, electric company with new transformer pool, electricians testing wires, new computers and modems....all it took was a Johnny :}  He stayed on the phone with me and ran 4 15 minute tests to detect a tap in the line...told the spitting litter bug tech where to look and damn! No more monkey business. I'm done so I'm outta here for now! How I wish to send Johnny an awesome leather mask embellished with metal ;)  Biker on bayouroads :} He just made this upcoming vacation incredible already and I know the supplies, experiences, inspiration I gather from it will be successful :}

Zoom zoom ;)

HAND OF TIME

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With time on my hand (yes...that is singular; hand :/) I've been doing the floor by myself. Since I couldn't get someone to do it a few months ago with the slate I purchased before last cruise and the accident, I took the slate back and they gave me store credit since it was purchased before the April 15th bone shatter (and found that is the date of Divinci's bday, Great Mississippi flood, Jackie Robinson 1st black Major League BB player but hitless, 30 million starving in China, Titanic sank and invention of the bottle opener. Dun't know whether to celebrate or drown sorrows with that opener :l). I got some italian porcelain textured 18 x 18 for floor on sale with 6 x 6 for tub surround, and still have over a hundred in store credit :D Sub floor is done and cement backboard over it. I've been playing around with it and thinking about incorporating a design element or something. Better than waiting for the computer to load a page (still not working right but will give it another week and try to see if things improve with new modem ~sigh~).

This morning I thought I'd strip and stain the cabinetry a walnut brown but our universal master knows I'd rather have another tooth extraction! I may wait until after the Christmas cruise to Belize and Honduras and just buy some RTA replacements for a grand stained here or unstained for only $450 at lowes (and then kitchen later here?). I'll stain a bit and play with these while I have some time :/ I'm just soooo broke with all the rip offs and doctor bills right now I can't even afford gas to go to hand therapy half hour away this week :(

Tallest falls in CA, Belize

And yep...couldn't even afford to go see a free concert this past weekend. Robert Plant missed again. I am beginning to believe more in fate than destiny :/  I can't even THINK of what I was doing in New Orleans during the early eighties when he spent his birthday there and a friend collegue of mine, Carol, got to go :((((( I think of her a lot lately. She went to Memphis state for fine art before moving to NO where we both attended classes for graphics. She was wanting to do menus for her restaraunt bars, Port of Call on Esplanade and Snug Harbor. We were both vegetarian Virgos from Memphis living in New Orleans under a graphics program and adoring Robert Plant. Ho hum. Just not in the cards for me :l

 

 

Native boy Inland Blue Hole Belize

So I find myself rennovating again but NOT going to same places in Belize! I've done about everything there except copter or boat trip out to the Great Blue Hole. Seen the inland one, been to Copela's place, Banana bank holding Carolyn Carr's monkey and rolling on the ground outside of Tika's pen getting her to roll and bought some art, broke down in Coxcomb having to hitch a ride with native loggers after passing Fer de Lance off of Jaguar reserve to radio for help in Dangriga and sit all night eaten alive by mosquito birds ALONE, seen all the ruins (except Lamanai), etc. I'm assuming the ship willl be docked around Ambergis Caye where all the dive, fishing, and snorkel shops are and the Blue hole is only a few miles out so it is Great Blue Hole or bust! I did think on the inland one since back then there were no cruise ships to visit Belize and the locals played there so I was afraid to go deeper into the cave back then.

Well I just found out my daughter landed safely in Japan. Last message I checked today in FB (only lets me check one message at a time since the ATT thing) was dated the 6th but my grandson called me a few moments ago so I got this photo. Yes. I would love to go to Asia and have cocktails with my wing nut lol :D  I'm not alone :l There is another little improved cloned mini me out there :} I'm trying to get Mana behave and sit still for me so I can take a snapshot of her roaming butt for them this week. I know she has just been crazy busy with the flights for them all, shots, dentals, passports, etc. Says Dustin has drug this case throughout the terminal like when we went on the big, big boat lol. He's a rider and traveler ;)

My baby boy/best friend has been chipper still and flips his bone around, runs about, gets excited with his walkabouts, and still sleeps in in the mornings. He used to get us up at 5 am to go outside but now waits a couple of hours more. Annabelle and Bayou are still the Siamese Twins. His head is attached to her ass. He panicks if she is in another room and they are separated.

Till then we are really still in the wind. We like Charleston but get mad at bigger companies when they try to play the dumb card or rip off roulette not to mention they are still playing with the water around here but at least it's not a trickle :) We are still not members of any one church here either and Jim still prefers the Baptist one (wait till I get a chapel viel and take him into a catholic one lol! I need a little one on one time on my knees anyway :l). And I don't know why I listened to other dummies on claiming the accident to home owners. Our mother would've with her falls from rennovating if it were possible but I'm cutting back on some things to regroup and come out swinging.

Cade's 'Plan to Japan' lol ;)

With the hand of time giving me this time on my hand around here...I'm doing a lot of research and will come out stronger and stuff looking alright in the end ;)

PILE UPS

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I remember a friend of mine down in Louisiana that was in something like a 20 car pile up on the twin span. He had stopped in time but an 18 wheeler side swiped his truck and it got stuck to it while it drug them right on into the pile up. It feels about like what I'm going through. It takes just one idiot to drag you into a mess and while you are cleaning it up...another is created from it or another idiot comes along creating more :(  The electric company did replace the transformer, but in picking up the extension cords and also the ATT phone lines, I have an accident shattering my bones. And it's not like they care to help pay for any of it.

And ATT's fast internet they said was fixed and hooked me back up on Monday is not working out so good so far. It drug on at a 2.0 the first day but they sent me another new modem so when I have time we'll see. I am only keeping my old modem because it can be bridged to a secondary router so the signals will reach across the house to the other computers. I think they still win when it comes to who cost me more money in screw ups though but adding that to the power surge that caused me to throw the candle at the mirror in the dark when my hair caught fire and blowing out entertainment center lighting, sockets, HD in the HD TV, (not even discussing duo core computer)  and renewing a termite contract because they folded starts to pile up and deplete my finances. For now, I'm missing hand therapy to discuss odd charges in my bank and talk to homeowners :((((

The 3 trees hit by lightning from the storm aren't worth mentioning. It's just a matter of time when Jim has off and can drop them before they fall on the lawn guy. I already miss my old lawn service but he would submit a bill that was from 2 and 3 months ago so when he went up on price...surprise! I had asked him not to do this 8 months or so ago in case we got caught up in renovations, vehicle, or trip (which no South America now but Belize and cheap New Orleans excursion if we are lucky :((( ). Who saw the idiots coming or accident to come from that?!? At least the mirror is gone and to be replaced. I was brushing my teeth last week when it slipped down so blessings are that I'm not in the hospital with shards of glass sticking out of my back :l

And the beautiful slate I bought the week before the incident was taken back. I only got store credit so I opted for some cheaper but beautiful italian textured tile in 18 x 18 with matching tub surround in 6 x 6 so some things are working out nicely. I really love the rough stones but can't afford to trip on anything so keeping it smooth sailing in that area ;) Seas may get a little rough because the first thing I budgeted on was tithing :l  Next is hand therapy :/  Also is this weekend's Clarksdale excursion to see Robert Plant :(  (really blows). Who knows where I may find another expense to cut down on till I play catch up and manage these messes. Till then...more photos of the messes piling up :P

Could be worse. I keep thinking about Jim and I spending 3 years gutting the pool at the beach house because the pool companies were swamped with work for the casinos. I think they just didn't want to mess with the 10 yrs of abandoned debris we dug out in order to repair, patch,  paint and oh! Did I forget to mention pull the tree roots that grew through the skimmer out?!? Lol...it was a beautiful reno after we were done though :))) And heaven knows it was just as big of a gut mess doing the restaurant bar at the same time :l So yeah...it could be worse. We've come through bigger heaps of trouble and mess and came through gleaming so I retain a grateful heart :}

Till we play again, St. Lucia :(

I think things happen for a reason so better things will ensue. Maybe some friends will come this fall for the New Orleans excursion (and the broken mirror in the guest room will be gone and won't deflect their visit lol). Maybe next year I can get to see my daughter in Japan (who hasn't called yet but scheduled to fly out soon here) or I can do my 'holy land' tour.  The mediteranean cruises that have Venice, Greece, and Egypt for ports of call but he still has 2 weeks remaining for this year and somehow I will make sure I deflect these messy pile ups from him enjoying his time off :}

Till then...it's the bank, reno's for safety (Jim doing trees right now so they won't flatten the lawn man who is a police officer :l), bone scan results, and looks like no booth for my leathers this Sept. at the Charleston festival :/ So I'm outta here to go video Jim downing trees :l

And OMG!!! I just found out the Robert Plant tickets are free (8/11 10 pm)!! :D 

HUMAN GLITCHES

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Well...other than my bones are literally eroding and shattering, going through tons of doctors and tests, in hand therapy...I love my new doctor who is also a missionary. His office is full of antiques and crosses from various artisans. He suggested I write down my near death experience and I have been meaning to add it here and in my journal but asked why. I can't write and only blog while waiting for fast internet (which should be on by monday, so we will see but I'm not holding my breath :/). He said so I can put down as much as I can remember before I forget. I guess alzheimers next so here goes some of it anyway.

It was in 1980 I had a C section in Tucson, Arizona. My husband at the time was in surgery with me to take photos of our daughter and I am under but in this 'in and out' phase. Seems I already forgot what came first but I remember him asking "What is wrong with her e..." something or other. I also recall them taking Michelle and then what I can only refer to as 'subtle chaos'; a concerned shuffling about. Next I recall is scared out of my wits trying to crawl back into my body that was laying on the table. It's as if I could see the over view of a transparent me trying to do this when it hit me that it was my spirit that was separated from my body.

Don't waive tickets at me

I do know I didn't see a tunnel and it took a decade when near deaths were becoming numerous and more common (something over a million at the time but want to say 11) when I realized why. I didn't know anyone close to me to pass other than my grandmother who was agnostic. I just remember being suspended in this warm, loving, white light of energy. My body...or spirit, was one with it...like a small atom or ion attached and in unison with a larger, positive molecule but this was 'energy'. Totally positive and it was a bit ambiguous or 'veiled' like anything and everything could be revealed whenever showing whatever. Then there as this voice that said "Choose".

laughing AND crying

I'm not sure of 'choose what' but think sometimes whether it was to stay or come back down to earth, my body, and/or life. I know I thought about my daughter, Lindsay, and somewhere after that things went black...as hell literally. And there was this tunnel I spiriled down with negative, dark events and images of what appeared to be the highlights of 'life bits'. Then BAM! I was slapped back into my body and the left side jerked twice. I became a bit aware that my arms were strapped out to the side then I was just out, or blank again.

After all of that I remember a doctor asking me where I was and I struggled to lift my head and open my eyes to enthusiastically yell out "Tucson!!!" And the funny thing is that being in that light was the most euphoric experience I have yet to know. No fear, pain, chaos, drama...just peace, love, and 'all knowing'. It was like we each have this job, no matter how menial or grandiose...we each play a part...causing an action that carries like a wave of energy to the things surrounding us.

Lord only knows if I chose the right thing or not though. I have one daughter that thanks the fairies in the universe and the other plays vile music and is predominately agnostic. I love them both dearly, pray for, worry about, cry over, and miss. I may have failed but whether my experience was an NDE (near death experience I call 'flatline' or 'died') or just an out of body experience, I do know my spirit was on it's own journey, I changed into a VERY talkitive person, had more odd experiences but the other surgeries were ok other than one took 3 days for me to awaken and this last one...well...it was a bit strange but no out of body stuff ;) (I kept waking up over and over again only when my eyes would start to open...they would roll back into my head. It took an extra shot of something or other after all day and half the night :/).

My doctor was right when he said I'd forget, change the story to add more etc. because other instances flooded through like going up on Mount Lemon the night the photos were developed and my ex husband told me of the events from his view. I already forgot what he said other than he didn't want to talk about it again and I felt like I was telling everyone I was abducted by aliens or something. It just wasn't too common back then but I'm past caring if anyone thinks I'm crazy or not. I like the company I keep and you are either a believer or you are not. One day you have to come off the fence post but I hope it's with an open mind because you can get a glimpse into the metaphysical or unknown world if you are open to it ;)

Lifting Spirits :)

It continues to change me today and is a part of my testimony. The best thing I learned from it is to keep faith, hope, have no anger in your heart, keep loving and positive, live right (and the bible is our guide...especially Sirach from the Catholic bible), refrain from maliciousness or lewd acts, help when you can, and just grow, grow, grow. It's in growth you learn and are not spiritually dead.

Human Glitches? Experience usually comes from them. It makes us a bit more wise and able to make good decisions from them with time. I feel I bought some :)

*My treasures are my daughters, dogs, and spouse. Thanks to my husband, Jim, for giving his harley up again and booking to take me to South America from the 8th to the 23rd (not this month). We will also get to see his grandson in Miami before we sail. I'm just so tired all the time and feel it's really precious these days. Not to mention he works a lot so we really need to embrace it. I've always felt like an old soul and I want to make a special memory with my best friend, companion, and love during our life here together :}