Christmas Weather Report for Caye Caulker

Just taking a break from Theservingofthecoffee to let you enjoy what today is like here on Caye Caulker.Santa came last night and brought UNBaby a unicorn head on a sitck so she can have her own pony to ride up and down the beach, new school shoes, a plastic golf set to whop all the boys over the head with, the game Candyland to practice counting, a baby carriage for all the nekkid babydolls (where...

One More Day 'til Christmas

I am the DJ today.I AM the DJ TODAY.Today, I make all the music decisions.I have decided that if I have to listen to another freakin Christmas carol, I'm going to poke my eyes out with an ice pick, and you KNOW how important eyes are to a painter, so with no more ado,(drum roll please)We're back to our old roations.Cafe Del MarGotan ProjectSt. Germainetc. etc.andAMENSupergirl: But it reminds people its Christmas and they might buy more gifts.Me:...

What's in Store for Christmas in Belize

Contrary to many local businesses in Belize and on Caye Caulker, we WILL be open Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. I'm not sure when we're opening presents yet, its kinda hectic Christmas morning because we're up early and getting ready to open the cafe at 7 a.m., Supergirl and I have already exchanged, each of our presents wrapped lavishly in the black plastic shopping bag it came in, but I'll get to that later.We're playing the James...

Mr. Badlucky

With my head wrapped in toilet paper to keep the hair dye from running down my face, I’m sitting here writing this post. I’m still having a little trouble with the correlation between what the box says in Spanish and the picture of the girl on the front cover. Either that or the box is lying to me again. You choose. Today Mr. Badlucky visited us, three times. We woke up to a newly rebuilt fence sneaked back up after midnight by Cousin Rage. Like...

Photo Friday - Dec 8 - Fresh

A bride's boquet with hibiscus, fragrent frangiopanni, bird of paradise and sweet plumeria on the edge of a Caye Caulker dock at a sunset beach wedding.Check out more Photo Friday submissio...

Illustration Friday - Dec 8 - Mask

Hand-painted silk inspired by an antique Benin mask. I painted this several years ago for the fashion empress of Detroit, Sharrone Mitchell. This painting became the back of a man's coat.A photo illustration using a clay mask by Belizean artist Felipe Zetina, a grass mat and habanero peppers and various photoshop filters.Check out more Illustration Friday submissio...

Photo Friday - Dec 1 - Stillness

The breeze drops and the water turns glass flat, palm shadows freeze their movements on the sand. The sun is hot and singing on the top of my head.Check this out for more Photo Friday submissio...

Mars & Venus

A motorized garage sale came to town on this quiet day in November. Click on any image to enlarge, the viewing is much funnier full size.. The Thanksgiving tourist rush is over and we’re getting ready for the Christmas season which starts in mid December. Business has slowed down, we’re taking a little breather, but, times like these make me wish I had my camera strapped to my back at all times....

Positive Feedback

BLAM! High season is on! And not a moment too soon. The big 3-bedroom Alamina Beach House is 80% booked up until Easter (woohooyeah!). The little efficiency apartment is still available though, but I'm confident that it will book up as I'm hearing positive feedback from the other hotels that this is going to be a bang up year. For the past 2 years our Village Council has actively worked on marketing...

Weather Report

Its coldIts supposed to get down to 61 degrees F tonight after midnight and a high tomorrow of 72 degrees F.Thanks.Thanks a lot you frozen northerners.Uh huh.Yup.Bigness is excited. He calls it free air conditioning. (He said we'll HAVE to snuggle tonight)I'm wearing my hoodie sweatshirt to bed, and the only pair of socks I own (pink sweat sock)Oh, way sexy, I know!I'm not complaining though, these "cold" days make us sell about 4x the amount of...

Question for the Cosmos

Why oh why is it, that out of the 10,000 hairbrushes we have in this here house, the only one in MY bathroom is the Bob Marley Dreadlock Rasta Ripper brush? You know it... its the one with the tiny stiff pirannah teeth bristles meant only for short hair or brain torture. The one that you THINK you can use if you're real careful, cuz you're in a hurry and can't find the 10,000 other hair brushes or wide tooth combs. But alas, you can't use it, because...

Garifuna Settlement Day

"Iunraha Wamei Irisini Higiru Wayunagu Waba" means "Lets Uphold the Values left to us by our Ancestors" in the language of the Garifuna. Its BRUKOUT time on Caye Caulker and in all of Belize on November 19. This commemorates the 174th anniversary of the Garifuna people landing in Belize. Garifuna Settlement Day started as a national and bank holiday in 1943 with big celebrations, drumming, traditional...

The Story of My Life

I was bornThen I had computer problems--- to be continued ...

Oh, So That Explains It...

Full Moon... the next dayJuanita: Did you hear de joke bout de hit and run?Me: No, what?Juanita: Miss Puneesha stone Cousin Rageo with her slipper, on de street, lasss night pon midnight.Me: What?Juanita: That's the joke.Me: What joke.Juanita: She call he chancey beca he live with he wife AND sweetheart.Me: She took up for her daughter.Juanita: That's the other jokeMe: Tell me...Juanita: Dey say wife no noh bout de sweetheart. Hmp! Must be he like...

Illustration Friday - Nov 3 - Smoke

I painted this original on silk a few years ago and it is based on a Mayan glyph of a female rul...

Domestic Goddess

As high season approaches in a few weeks, we also celebrate the American Thanksgiving here in Belize. No, really we do. Maybe its the fact that the American Thanksgiving week is the first really busy tourist week we have in the new season, or its just fun to have an excuse to eat turkey. Its not quite the same, take a plate of turkey and mashed potatoes and gray, add plenty of rice-n-beans and stovetop stuffing and canned cranberry relish, and voila!...

Tales From the Evil Waitress

I bet you're wondering where I've been. Last time I disappeared for this long I came back married. I stopped announcinng my departures a few months ago. Too many people on Caye Caulker read this blog and behave badly if they know for certain we're off the island. We never intended to be gone so long, but the check in calls went just like they did the last time I left to paint and paint and paint.Me: Sooooooooo what's goin on...Supergirl: NothingMe:...

Spanish Lesson #2

I feel lazy to do nothing. Even the dogs are sleeping in the middle of the street in the heat of the day under the shade of the palms. Its funny to see, they don't even lift their head sometimes as golf carts and bicycles swerve to avoid them.To break up the monotony of magga season we took a little trip to civilization (Chetumal Mexico) to go to the Mall Las Americanas, eat McDonalds, see a movie...

Illustration Friday - October 13 - Smitten

Acrylic on masonite board."Love is an Empress and not a Begggar"I painted this quite a few years ago after breaking up with a boyfriend that I thought was the love of my life. Hmph!Check out more Illustration Friday entri...

Photo Friday - September 13 - Destruction

Bigness to Me: Gial... your coco done bite up the seat.I call this photo "Bad Planning". I shot this in Livingston Guatemala. I have no idea if it was a hurricane or earthquake or mudslide from too much rain that caused this house to tip and slip down the hill. What's strange is that it looked like people were still trying to live in it. Imagine what your diningroom table would look like. This reminds...

Interview with a Vampexpat

By the time they edited out my vacuous crap Expat Interviews made me sound pretty good.N-JOY!Now if I could just figure out this YouTube stuff, I have a wicked video clip of a drunk Bigness slow dancing with himself in his tighty whiteys. Complete with sound track.Can we start the bidding at a doll...

Disappearing Act

This is the time of the year that I try and turn limon into limonaide. I EXPLOIT the fact that there is no one here. I REVEL in the idea that I could shoot a cannon from one end of the island to the other and not hit a single soul, except for maybe a sleeping dog laying in the middle of the sandy street. I BEGRUDGE anyone bothering me (well that's kinda true throughout the year though).September and...

House Swap Proposition

We would like to swap houses for a couple of weeks next year in May, September or October. And we're talking about the Alamina Beach House, the posh apartment, not our half renovated side of the house. No joke here, we really want to do it. Europe, America, Canada, Central America, South America, Caribbean, you name it... I'm up for the adventure.Any takers?I'm new at this... any suggestio...

What I've been doing in my spare time...

It started out as just a sideline, relaxing, fun almost like a board game and its turned into what I do in the store when I have spare time. Bigness made a cabinet for me to work on and I'm cranking out strands of beads and pearls and semi precious stones, neclaces, bracelets, earrings galore. The great thing about making jewelry is that when its finished, if you don't like it you just cut it apart!Freshwater...

Last man standing…

There’s an old Kriole saying, “Maaga dog gawn turn round and bite ya.” Loose Translation: when you try and help and skinny starving dog, you better watch your fingers because it will turn around and bite you. What to write about, what to write about… Caye Caulker is like a deserted island right now. We are in Mauger (pronounced Maaga) season, where everyone is out in the street fighting tooth...

Illustration Friday - September 29 - Quiet

So quiet the day was you could barely hear the breeze through the palm trees.Hand colored photo of The Inn at Robert's Grove, Placencia, Belize was created by making a print on acid free linen cover stock and coloring it with oil pastel & prismacolor pencils.Check out more Illustration Friday submissio...

And the Winners Are...

...for the Second Annual Caye Caulker Cool Art & TastefestEach winner was decided by popular vote. 132 ballots were cast in 3 categories. A big thank you to all the participants, tasters and prize contributions. EntréeFirst Place – Caribbean Colors-Coco Loco Café – Curry Chicken Waldorf Salad on a Whole Wheat & Herb Bun.Prize: One Night's Accommodation at Chaa CreekSecond Place – Barrier Reef Sports Bar – Vegetarian Sushi.Prize:...

Photo Friday - September 22 - Girl

Its a brave new world.More Photo Friday submissi...

Independence Day Photos

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In Ter Es Ting

In the past month I've experienced this phenomenon 3 times. But before I tell you what it is, let me first say that we hoard U.S. dollars. The Belize dollar is not an openly traded currency, we are not a part of the IMF, it does not float, it is artificially pegged 2 to 1 to the U.S. dollar, and guess what its worthless beyond our borders, hence hoarding U.S. dollars that come into the store. Needless to say, we don't give out U.S. dollars as change...

Recipe for Bamboo Chicken

Me: so how do you catch the Iguana?Bushman: with yur hand you keychit. You got to be ready dough wid de machet in de rih han kaychim wid de lef han. You see mi machet? I shawp on de tip and on de bottom. Chop he hed offn wid the bottom ah de machet.Me: Oooo Keeeyyy (he shows me his 30" machette is sharp at the tip and by the handle only)Bushman: Den you stick de nife in he belly just like wan fish yew gut he and peel de skeen offa heen.Me: Oooo KeeeyyyBushman:...

Photo Friday - September 15 - Bright

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Photo Friday - September 8 - Boy

Adam, son of MalibuMalMal (my youngest daughter). I shot this photo last year in June. Adam is the first boy grandchild in my family, so that makes him the Prince. He has the very chilled out personality of his father.Me: hey AdamAdam: mewMe: its me, GrandmafromthejungleAdam: mew mewMe: awe coochi coochi cooAdam: fffffffffffffppppppppbbbbbbbbbb mew mew mewMe: What ya doin there?Adam: grunt (you figure...