Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Jan.29, 2015



     Howdy to all my readers. It's a gorgeous Tuesday morning with hoarfrost and fog creating a mystical feeling. Very often it makes me feel depressed but for some strange reason today is different. I feel like singing and doing the two-step if only I knew how. My feet could never figure out that dance. Dorothy, my sister-in-law, tried to teach it to me in Mexico one year and I had the locals who were sitting on the plaza, in stiches. It's sort of like when Carol Schroeder tried teaching me to knit and the group of ladies from my English class laughed so hard they lost stiches on their needles. So now you know, I'm a bit klutzy. I think of it as a gift because it makes people laugh and in this day and age we need laughter to ease the stress of the worlds' news.

     I received my first seed order which was made up entirely of heritage flower seeds. As of now, the table in the basement is my puzzling table and I have a stack of four puzzles left to do this winter but I might have to cut that short. Some of the seeds need to be in the dirt at the end of February or the beginning of March.

School news
     February is I Love to Read Month and the students will be busy hitting the books. The school also invites guests to read at morning assembly and I have been approached to participate and am looking forward to meeting and entertaining the students. I miss going to school; I used to drop in at least once a week.
     Jackie Nickel, a staff member at Rosenfeld School, has organized a Breakfast Club for the students which began on Jan. 16. All the children are welcome to have a snack before school begins each morning.

Belize vacation

     David and Manda Zacharias along with their children, Jeslyn, Branson, Ryelle and Avy, left for a warmer country on Dec. 30. They landed in Cancun where friends picked them up and headed off for their destination. It was a five hour ride to the border of Belize and another two hours to family and friends.
     The first four days were spent in Shipyard which is an Old Colony area. The residents still adhere to no rubber tires and the family was entertained with a buggy ride.
     The next two weeks were enjoyed in Blue Creek where they also attended a wedding. The weather was hot and humid: it rained often but dried fast, so they were outside most of the time. Everything was lush and green and Manda says that this is the best time of year to visit.
     There were very few mosquitoes but lots of geckos, iguanas, lizards and big grasshoppers. they heard monkeys at night but never did get to see any. It was very wet so they didn't venture far into the jungle; they made a visit to a park where they walked a hiking trail. They splashed in an uncle's spring-fed pool which had concrete walls but the bottom was gravel. It was designed to be partially drained after every swimming day and then allowed to refill. I was told that the water was warmer than most of our swimming pools here in summer. The family enjoyed private lodging during their stay in Blue Creek.
     Then on to Consejo Shores and Manda's aunt's beach house. Here they enjoyed feeding Charles, the iguana, who had decided to make this his home years ago. He acted as though the yard was his and the family fed him like a pet. They spent most of the lazy days at the beach playing in the white sand. They learned how to tie an orchid plant to a tree where it grows roots and blooms without damaging the tree.
     The Zacharias family spent the last three days in Cancun in a condo. They played in the ocean enjoying the warm water. They arrived back home on Jan. 22 sporting a nice tan.
     This was their first visit back to Belize in nine years when David and Manda went as newly weds. The food was very good, a cross between Mexican and Mennonite with lots of fresh fruit and peanuts. They enjoyed picking fresh coconuts and roasting them. Manda came to live in Canada when she was nine years old and thoroughly enjoyed showing the children the country where she had been born.

No comments:

Post a Comment