Finding Love & Happiness

When my daughter was born, my dad asked me, "What do you want for her?"

At the time it seemed like such a big question. I gazed down at her and thought of all the great things she could do in life, like be a Doctor or an Olympic Gymnast. It's true, those where my first two career choices for her. Over the years the memory of that one question circled through my mind countless times and I always wondered why. Of all the things that were said to me when she was born, that one question remains so fresh in my mind. The wisdom in that one question inspires me to this day.

My dad was bigger than life to me, he was the epitome of success. A boy who grew up hanging out at fire stations, taken under the wing of a Fire Chief named Donald Key, who enrolled him in Boy Scouts and told him to put your John Henry on the line at the bottom of the form, which gave him the nick name of John Henry, because that's what he wrote on the

signature line. In his admiration of the man that would most shape his life, he did exactly what he was told and many times growing up I remember him saying, "Do as I say, not as I do". But of course, I did as he did, modeled my life after him, striving for success and excellence (when I wasn't getting into trouble - which was a lot, hence ignoring the "Do as I say" part). I had so many more advantages than he did, a home with two loving parents, security, and a Christian upbringing. It was important to me to make him proud. I think if I had the chance to ask him one question, it would not be "Did I make you proud?", it would be "When I was born, what did you want for me?"   If we are as much a like as people say we are I think I know what his answer would be.

The reason his question circled through my mind many times in the course of raising our children is because the answer changed every now and again. Of course as a basic desire I wanted our children to be healthy & happy. Hubby & I worked hard to provide things that made them happy, and for a healthy life; food, clothing, shelter, etc and we were blessed to be able to. As young children what I wanted for them was to be "well behaved" so focus went toward providing discipline balanced with love (at least I hope they feel it was balanced). During the school years I wanted for them "to learn and get good grades", but during their teenage years I wanted (prayed in fact) for them to "return from the alien planet that they had been

abducted & taken to". I say this because I can almost pinpoint the day that I went in to wake them for school and instead of finding the sweet children I had put to bed the night before, I found these alien creatures, that did not resemble my children in any way shape or form! They had bad attitudes, argumentative stances and nothing I said had any foundation of intelligence (at least to them).  I was fortunate, somewhere around the age of their mid 20's the aliens did return them to earth. One of my favorite stories about this transition took place between our daughter & I.

During her teen-age years I heard a lot from her about, "when I have my children I will do this or that and when I have my own house it will be this or that, or my husband will do or be this or that". Children rarely see how good they have it until later in life. My standard response to her rantings was, "OK, I'll make you a deal - when you have your perfect life, your perfect children, your perfect house & husband, CALL ME!! I will travel from the ends of the earth to you just so you can say, I told you so". And of course she would holler back, "I WILL!!!!"(there was always a door slam following that)  Sometime around her mid to late 20's she said, "remember when you told me to call you when I had my perfect life, children, house & husband?" Smiling I said, "yes". She then said, "uh you won't be getting that phone call". We had a good laugh & hug over that. She too will maybe one day have the same interaction with her daughter, who knows.

As young adults I wanted for them to be independent & self sustaining, in other words I wanted them to "get a job & get out of our house" and I say that in the most loving way possible!! I am profoundly proud of all of them for they all have jobs and homes of their own. I am finding when I visit them that they

acquired attributes I wasn't fully aware I had impressed on them when they were growing up. I will use the term "they" now as each have displayed one or more of the following, but not in any order, rhyme or reason. They worry about their home being clean enough when I visit or that I find what they have to be adequate and not in need of "fixing or adding to", but across the board they want me to be comfortable in their home and I always am.

Over the last few years I still see the young child in them when they are worried about telling me something that I may not approve of,  will think poorly on it or them and I have found myself telling them each at different times, "Ya know, all I have really ever wanted for you was for you to be happy and feel loved". You see, it's not a matter of finding love or happiness, it's really about letting love & happiness find you. Let's start with love.

Love finds you when you are not looking for it. When you look too hard to

find love, you may actually be missing out on the simple pleasure of it finding you. Case in point: my husband had been in love with me for a couple years, but I was so busy trying to find love I completely overlooked what was right there waiting for me. It wasn't until I "gave up" on finding love that I realized love had found me. I fell deeply in love & married my best friend and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel loved, cared for and grateful for his patience.

Happiness ......., it finds you too. It creeps up on you when you least expect it. It's the warmth you feel deep down when you know what you are doing is the right thing, it's the contentment of peace when you know you don't have it all but you are grateful for what you have. It's the beauty you see that the rest of the world misses because they are not looking at the simplest forms of beauty: a star filled sky, clouds that take on shape in your imagination, a child playing without knowledge of the pressures in the world and the smile on the face of someone you love. It's the comfort you bring another who is hurting. It's the joy you bring to someone by just being you. 

Here's to love & happiness finding you because it sure has found me!
 

Shopping Adventures in Mexico

Before Papi arrived I had the fantastic opportunity to "set up house". This included the purchase of a new stove, refrigerator, sofa (which we have not owned one since leaving the states) & a bed (yes I know we own a bed but now we have 2 bedrooms). Of course Papi & I had looked & priced the kitchen appliances so I knew what he wanted & in what price range.

So off I go, Yee Haw! Chedraui (pronounced Ched-ra-we) is a like an upscale Walmart. They have everything from groceries (including a fantastic selection of wines & cheeses), to hardware, housewares, appliances & furniture. I found the stove & refrigerator I wanted and with my Spanish dictionary in hand approached a store clerk to help me. He had no problem understanding what I wanted. "Neccesito esta y esta" (pointing works well too). Now the hard part, I need it delivered today. "Neccesito es entragar hoy" (not the best grammer but he got the gist). I gave him the address & cross street, made the purchase & nervously left the store. Low & behold, as promised a truck pulled up at 1pm and in came the new stove & refrigerator!! BUENO!!

Now here is the other end of the spectrum. A week or so later I go shopping for a sofa & bed. A store in the same Mall (YES we have a MALL!!!) named Coppel has a fairly large selection of furniture. I looked through there and thought I found what I wanted but just to be sure I had seen all that was available I asked a friend here (Rosa) to take me to where she would shop for a sofa & bed. Turns out we went to the same places. The advantage is that she could communicate the details for me. We find a clerk, show her what I want, she tells us it can be delivered in 2-3 days. (Note: I can't give you the Spanish because they said way to much for my comprehension) OK not as good as the first purchase but ok. When I went to pay for it, the clerk punches it in to the computer and then says, "oh, .., this can not be delivered for 10-14 days. Rosa says, that's no good, we will arrange someone to come in a truck & pick it up. (This is on a friday) Clerk says, OK - Tuesday, it will be in the store Tuesday, but call first and make sure it arrived from the main warehouse. Bueno!

On Saturday I ran into one of the restaurant owners & his wife that we have become friends with and I explain (in my broken Spanish way) that I have bought a sofa & bed at Coppels and need a truck to pick it up on Tuesday. Jose says, "Sure, I can help you with that".  Papi came for a visit on Sunday and his Spanish is much better than mine, so we stop in at Lauva and he speaks to Jose's wife Teresita to explain that I will come to the restaurant Tuesday morning and if she would make the call to Coppels to be sure the stuff is in fact at the store it would be very helpful. (the only thing harder than communicating in Spanish in person is communicating over the phone - no sign language assistance).

Tuesday comes, I go to the restaurant & Jose is there also, so I show him the receipt with the invoice number & phone number - he calls, no answer. Jose, Teresita & I have breakfast together and try a few more times, ....no answer. OK,.......... maybe the people in that dept don't start work until later so they agreed to call again later and I would come back around 4pm (Jose finishes work at 5 and the store is open til 9). I return at 4 and Teresita explains that they have called all day and no answer, DANG, this is not going as planned. So, I go see Rosa and explain whats going on. She says she needs to go near there to pick up her daughter, that I should come with her and we will stop in at Coppels and find out what the problem is. At Coppels the clerk can not explain why nobody answered the phone but after looking in the computer says that it is there and we can pick it up tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm. Bueno!!

Papi arrived on Wednesday morning (for good - YAY), so this is even better, he will be with us when we pick it up (it's a manly job). So we went to Lauva and when Jose finished work we went to Coppels to pick up the furniture. Now remember, the day before we were also set to do this but I was told to call & make sure the furniture was there, so called & called & called all day, but nobody ever answered the phone so finally Rosa took me to Coppels and they looked it up in the computer & said, "Oh yeah, its here" so arrangements were made to pick it up at 5pm Wednesday.
 

So we get there, I hand them the receipt, they look it up in the computer & nod (yes its here) the guy goes into the store room, after a while he returns and looks it up again in the computer, gets another guy to verify, goes back to the store room (you see where this is going right??) Finally I see them pulling the mattress out & then they tell us the sofa isn't there - it SHOULD be there, but its not. we load the bed in the truck and then Jose TOTALLY rips the guy a new one (all in Spanish but there was no mistake about what he was saying LOL). It went like this:
"You tell her to call, she calls,  I call, all day we call, no answer, you NEVER answer the phone, how can you do business if you never answer your phone. You tell your customer something is ready and its not. How do you stay in business, if I did that I would starve. NOW you say it 'might' be here on Monday, and we should call. You never answer your phone and you said it was here today and its not, how are we to believe you" 

This went on a good 10 minutes. So Papi & I will probably GO there on Monday (because they never answer their phone) and if they say its there we will ask to SEE IT, then we will call Jose to come pick it up. I didnt have any issues at Chedrauri, I paid for the stove & fridge in the morning, it was delivered in the afternoon. Don't think I will be doing any more shopping at Coppels, BUT, .................. its all part of the adventure and we are blessed with  

GOOD friends here in Mexico.

The Turns & Twist of the Journey

Alas, I return to my blog for another riveting adventure in the lives of Papi & I. From my last post you should gather that we had made the decision to move from Belize to Mexico. The small fishing village we have spent a great deal of time in (Calderitas) has turned out to be the place we shall now call "home"

It's only 11 miles as the crow flies from Corozal, Belize, but is a world away, from the aspect of environment, cost and culture. We were concerned we would not be able to find a suitable abode as there is not much turn over here in the way of rentals. Calderitas is filled with long standing families (many of which are related), but score we did. Through friends we met here Papi learned of a place that would be vacant in the time frame we were looking at (March). It's a two story 3 bedroom, 3 bath home sitting on about a half acre of land with a small lot to the rear that is up for sale by the same owner.

In February, Papi arranged to have a fence put up and burglar doors put on the front, back & upstairs patio doors. The owner didn't think those were necessary as nobody has ever "messed" with their property, but we know from experience that an ounce of protection goes a long way. We really don't have much but foreign nationals (I like that term better than gringo) are always considered to be "rich".

We started the "permanent residency" visa process as soon as we had a signed rental contract, which is part of the new immigration laws in Mexico. You must have permission to live in Mexico before you can move household goods and you must apply from your country of residency. So down to Belize City we go to the Mexican Embassy with the documents we were told were required.

• Passport face page & residency stamp
• Bank statements showing income
• proof of pension
• passport size photos
• rental agreement contract

Simple enough. Now, you must also understand that Belize City is a 2 hour drive (we have no car) or a 3 hour bus ride. The Embassy is only open for this type of thing Mon-Fri from 9am-Noon. The first trip down we took the express bus that left Corozal at 5:30am. It was much more comfortable than the  "School Buses" than run throughout the day, but it is a very early wake up call to catch it. We arrived in Belize City and took a taxi to the Embassy, arriving at 7:30am, so we walked over to a nearby Hotel-Casino for coffee & tea.

When the Embassy was about to open we headed that way. We filled out the application and turned in our documentation. We were very impressed with the technology they were using. A far cry from our experience seeking permanent residency in Belize,  they scanned our application in to their computer attached a digital photo & took our finger prints, all of which became part of this electronic file that would be sent to Mexico City for interpol check & further processing. This new set of laws is so new they were not completely sure what step was next other than we would be interviewed by the Consulate, but not that day as he had been called out on "an emergency". So back to Corozal after a nice breakfast.

A week later another trip to BC, but this time we borrowed a friends car, turned in more requested documentation. We brought the inventory print out in the format their website said it had to be in, but when we got there they handed us "their form" and we had to hand write it all over, no problem. Finishing that we approached the window only to be informed the Consulate was called out on another "emergency", but that I would not be needed for the last step as long as Papi had my passport with him so back to Corozal we go. 

We had planned a luncheon with friends that day to say farewell at the Purple Toucan Restaurant and we arrived late (after our trip to BC), but in plenty of time to enjoy food, drink & fellowship. A good time was had by all. As I do everytime I leave a place or job I wrote my rendition of "Thanks for the Memories" (remember Bob Hope). It went like this:

• Thanks for the memories, four years ago we came, but we will not remain, we're off to Calderitas where things are much more tame, Hope I can learn Espanol. 
• This journey we've been traveling, has led us here & there, to many a different lair, To the average folk the moving might cause them to pull their hair, not this vagabond pair 
• Refrain: Here's to the Toucan and its following, we've shared many a good time with you. When we're gone don't be blue, we will raise a glass to you, when the Thunderbolt docks, cuz then it's 5 O'Clock. 
• So Thanks for the memories, each one of you that's here, let's raise a glass of cheer, I'm sure we'll see you once again, you are so very dear, we Thank you, soooooooooo much.

Our 2 dogs (Khan & Annie) and our cat (Simon) went to the vet for their worming and health certificates and as the end of the 10 days was approaching (having NO appt with the Consulate yet) we decided  to move me & the dogs to Calderitas. The Corozal house was all but packed and it was just one day after another sitting around waiting. Our very wonderful friends Pam & Billy Waldon agreed to transport us in their vehicle over the border and a very fine friend in Mexico Marvin agreed to pick us up on the Mexico side. All went very smoothly & the animals are very happy & comfortable in their new domain.

The list of good friends is long and we are very thankful for their kindnesses. Prior to this Gail Johnson & Libby Fitzgerald both brought me and "large suitcases containing things we would need in Calderitas" to the house and we made several trips on the bus to get as much over here as would law allow, but it's amazing how much more you can get over in a private vehicle.

I now have a new hammock, stove & refrigerator. I am quite comfortable but miss my wonderful husband!! Stay tuned for updates on the "Moving to Mexico Experience"

Calderitas, Mexico

Last year, Papi & I spent a couple weeks exploring southeast Mexico. An easy adventure as it's just over the Belize border with so many places to choose from within an hour radius of Chetumal. We prefer the coast so we explored Calderitas, Chetumal proper & Baccalar Lagoon. Of the three Calderitas was our favorite. A bayside town just northeast of Chetumal, it is known for its boardwalk stretch of Seafood Restaurants, friendly people and good traditional Mexican music. The sunrises & sunsets are spectacular!!

What is unique, to us anyway, is that during the week, by 7pm most of the restaurants close and by 8pm the only sounds you hear are children playing in the parks.  For the party people on vacation, this may not be appealing but for us old quiet folk it is quite refreshing. On weekends they stay open a bit longer, and is home to many who come to enjoy beautiful beaches, great food & a little revelry.

This year we wanted to stay an extended period of time and as fate would have it a couple we know from Hopkins were looking for a place to rent for the month of January. They were expecting their first baby and planned a home birth attended by our good friend Gail Johnson (http://www.midwifewithoutborders.com). This was a God send as it would give us a "house sitter" in exchange for rent free accommodations while they wait for their bundle of joy. BUENO!!

Part of the desire for an extended stay had to do with improving my Spanish speaking skills. I know a hand full of words but that's it. The hotel we stayed last year has apartments for rent by the month, so before we left I took a tour with the manager. The apartment in the main hotel building on the top floor with a kitchen seemed perfect. Papi came back a few months ago and paid a visit to secure the apartment only knowing the "top floor" part. The hotel also has a separate building of apartments so when he came that's where they took him. After climbing four stories of stairs (NO, there is no elevator), he viewed a two bedroom apartment with living room, a dining area and nice size kitchen. The view was great and breeze even better, so he locked in the reservation with a deposit.

I returned from my trip to the states with a meager three days with Papi before he would head to Calderitas, set up the apartment and wait for my arrival on the 5th or 6th. I delayed my departure so I could spend a day or so with Cheryl who would arrive on the 4th, get her settled in and acclimated. With her mom & sister arriving on the 7th everything was going as planned. She & her husband run a tour operation in Hopkins and with this being the "busy" season, his arrival would be closer to the due date as to not miss out on high season.

Papi mentioned he was having a few issues with the apartment getting the gas hooked up, but when I arrived 5 days later and it still had not been hooked up, plus being the "woman of the house" I saw some other issues that most definately need to be addressed. Not that he had not been diligently reminding them daily about the gas, but by the time I arrived, enough was enough, so off to the office I go with my limited Spanish skills. Lina had a favorite word, "Horrible" (pronounced har-eb-lee) when describing something terrible or completely unsatisfactory.

By the time I left the office, the girl at the desk knew I found the apartment horrible with no gas to cook, but since the details were "lost in translation" I indicated I would come back with "mi amiga" to help translate. As it turned out a friend named Elizabeth from Peru with perfect Spanish and an understanding of the culture and customer service skills went back with me to talk to the office staff a couple days later. After a tour of the apartment and notepad in hand, the office receptionist understood clearly that there were many maintenance issues and indicated she would talk to the general manager about moving us. She also came to the knowledge that I had expected to be in the main building, but said those apartments were a great deal more and she wasn't even sure there was a "monthly rental price".

The next day we stopped at the office and the General Manager generously offered us an apartment in the main building at no extra cost. The fridge was a small one and the open floor plan meant if we had visitors that wanted to stay overnite it would be more like a pajama party (a second bed but not in a separate room), but the furnishings much nicer, a TV, better internet, a private balcony, ... well let's just say we smiled, said "mucho gracias" more than once and planned a raving review on Trip Adviser.

Mean while, back in Corozal, Cheryl went into labor within hours of her mom & sister arriving and a "hurry up & get here papa" call made to her husband. The birth went very well and these two diver parents delivered their 6lb 14oz baby girl underwater in a pool birth, .... in our living room. How awesome is that?!!!! Now they have a leisurely 3 weeks to bond as a family before returning to Hopkins were it will be non stop visitors as they have many friends & associates that will be anxious to meet Khaya.


Stay tuned for my next post which will describe more of our adventures in Calderitas!

Ahh the holidays!

Goodness gracious, has it really been three months since I posted a blog? Well, there is much to catch up on. I left Belize mid November to spend the holidays with family. I arrived in Atlanta and was met by Sonia and beautiful little Mady Lu! What a site for sore eyes!  The next day we embarked on Mady's first long car ride. I didn't even have to unpack my suitcase just throw it in the car. Sonia on the other hand had to take half the house with her. I had forgotten how much you need to carry when you have a small child, but goodness me, we had a toy box full of toys, a high chair, playpen, gads of diapers, bottles formula, etc etc etc: you get the picture.

We knew the trip usually takes 8.5 hours and figured more time would be needed for extra & more lengthy stops. Mady did really well, .......... until the sun went down and there was nothing to look at outside the window. We were 8 hours into the trip and the "fussies" began, so as the intelligent people that we are we pulled into the nearest department store and purchased a portable DVD player & a Bubble Guppies CD. The last 4 hours whizzed by hardly needing a stop. We arrived in Portsmouth at the Great Grandma Powell's. Sonia unloaded the car while the grandma's played with Mady Lu.

Thanksgiving brought me another blessing, the "younger" Charles brought our other two grand daughters from Maryland to Portsmouth to see grandma!! My how they had grown! This was the first time they met their new cousin Mady Lu. We made a trip to City Park to feed the "Ducks" (actually they are geese but we have always called it feeding the ducks, go figure). This is a time honored activity Great Grandpa Powell enjoyed with Sonia from the time she was old enough to to tear bread into pieces, so it was time to introduce the next generation. It was so much fun. Lexi now 9 and Laci 4, they had both recently had birthdays. With Mady's first birthday coming up we decided to have a "Cousins Birthday Party" We all made birthday cards and had a wonderful time celebrating all three birthdays. Grandma enjoying it the most I think! Having all three together was "Grandma Heaven" I know Pop Powell looked down on it all and was smiling from ear to ear.  The visit with Charles, Lexi & Laci was short but oh so wonderful. Papi and I are so thankful for the wonderful children and grand children that we have.

After returning to Atlanta, it was time to go visit our youngest son Sean. Sean picked me up at the airport and took me back to school with him. What an outstanding opportunity to see him in action as a teacher. Yep, he definitely has the gift, made me quite proud. I was thrilled to meet his students and they all seemed to be interested in meeting Mr. Thomas' mom. Wow, how weird did that sound,...... Mr. Thomas. Of course he is, but I had not heard that before and as much as I recognize intellectually he's a grown man, it kinda made me feel old. Well of course I am old, not decrepit, but not the young chick I used to be. Sean was very good to his momma, and we had a great time, we walked hundreds of miles (or so it felt) and we did some interesting things. 

We went to Night at the Zoo, all lit up for Christmas, we went to a college basketball game, I don't think Sean expected me to "cheer so much" for the home team and we went to" Christmas in the Heights"

Christmas in the Heights started as a neighborhood event to encourage meeting each other and going house to house to see decorations and share treats. Over the years it grew to include people providing entertainment on their porches. The phrase, "if you build it they will come" held true here as the years passed, it got bigger and bigger, people from all over would come to enjoy it. It got "too big", so this year they scaled it back a bit, but to me it was like Mardi Gras in New Orleans!! People walking around all dressed crazy, pulling their wagons of children, beer or both, but it was GREAT!! Two different houses had hand-bell choirs performing, now you know how much I like hand-bell choirs, I was thrilled! I saw one decorated yard I had to get a picture of, they must be affiliated with the local Sail Club!
I helped Sean finish decorating his tree, made drop cookies with him, did his laundry, cooked for him and he took his momma shopping. It was a perfect visit!!

Back to Atlanta for Mady Lu's first birthday! Sonia & Scooter did it up right for their little girl!! She had a good time (probably had no clue what it was all about, but when shes older she will see the pictures). A good time was had by the adults too!! Mady doesn't like gushy things on her hands so the whole cake smashing thing was a struggle for her, momma had to show her how to do it LOL!! But she was a good sport about it all!! Wow, hard to believe its been a whole year but alas, time holds still for no one, not even grandmas!

And finally CHRISTMAS!! We decorated, Sonia baked cookies, we shopped, we wrapped, we hid the presents (like Mady was going to go looking for them LOL). Mady went to see Santa for the first time,...... she wasn't impressed, LOL! Christmas morning Mady came downstairs with her momma to find that Santa had come! Oh Boy!!! She learned how to rip paper and pull bows and for the most part mom, papa & grandma had the most fun seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child again. Scooter & Sonia put on a Christmas dinner spread that was scrumptious!! What a wonderful holiday; filled with love and joy!!  Mady went from crawling to full fledge walking and has discovered the tupperware cabinet in the kitchen!! Get your running shoes on Momma & Papa, Mady's on the move!!!

Made it back to Belize in time to celebrate New Year with Papi, but you'll have to wait for the next post to hear all about that!!!!!!  

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to All

Our Little Zoo

 
But it's such a lively little zoo,

and always something to do.

The entertainment is fierce, 

and the barking can pierce.

What was I thinking , my dear!!!

Yes, it's true. We are up to 3 dogs, a cat and some strays that hang nearby for sympathy feedings. How did this happen? Well let me introduce them while I explain.

ANNIE, a Black Mouth Cur was adopted in Florida and has been a faithful companion. She is currently 9 years old with a reported life span of 12-16 years. Rescued at age 1, Annie had a rough start in life. It's obvious she was either shot at, lived through a hurricane on the street or just treated badly by humans, but our loving home has healed her heart for humans, ... storms, fireworks and gun fire, ... not so much. She is in fact a fierce opponent to animals that run. She is fond of chasing anything that will climb a tree and she will sit at the bottom until the cows come home. 

We didn't know she was a Black Mouth Cur until a couple years ago, when a visiting Floridian identified her breed. After researching the characteristics of that breed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackmouth_Cur) it all began to make sense. 

Bless her heart, all this time, she has been treeing prey and waiting for her hunter to come & kill it for her, but since we didn't know that's what she was doing she has lived a very frustrating life. 

She has learned not to attack "select" indoor cats. Wifi taught her that. No, Wifi belongs to a friend of ours in Hopkins and she has her own story, but we'll save that for another time.

KHAN, as in Genghis Khan. Yes this big boy is a Rotterman (Rottweiler- Doberman Mix). A local boy brought him to us when he was 4 mos old. He couldn't afford to feed him. We indeed had been looking for a large breed guard dog so Charles became his master. He is currently almost 3 years old. The first year he grew in height & length, the second year in girth and this coming year is when his head will widen and more closely match the size of the rest of him. WHAT A POWERHOUSE!! He is still a puppy and has no idea how big & powerful he is. 

He loves the water and if allowed will spend hours stalking and chasing fish. Our front gate is 5 feet tall and from a standing position he can jump straight up til his head and part of his chest clears the the top of the gate. Needless to say, we don't have trouble with strangers approaching the gate.Good thing he can't get a running start!! His musculature is massive and I wouldn't want to be caught in the grip of his jaws. 

As protective and loyal as he is, he has his loving side. Every night he wants his "puppy massage". It starts with the muscle on top of his head and the back of his neck (we spend a lot of time there), then down his spine. By the time I get to his hips, his knees get weak and he slithers to the floor. He has the softest most expressive eyes. He's a talker too, in a variety of sounds he will carry on full sentences. Usually pertaining to, "But why can't I come on the porch?" and "I just need one minute alone with the white fur ball, just one minute, P-L-E-A-S-E!!!"

BRUCE LEE - Yeah, he's just a big dog in a little Toy Poodle body!! Bruce belongs to some friends of ours that left Belize (but promise to come back for him). We consider him our canine house guest. His papers say he's a Toy Poodle, but I think he's got a wee bit of Terrier in him. OH, & he speaks Spanish. That's right, his female human owner taught him all his commands in Spanish, so to stop his barking, jumping, licking & pestering, the command is "THAT"S ENOUGH" In Spanish it's "YA" (pronounced JA)!! Works most of the time. "AFUERA" means OUT. That's about all you need really. We taught the others SIT, STAY & DOWN. Bruce doesn't know any of those commands, but he's only a house guest, right??  

He does get his biweekly bath and grooming, courtesy of moi. Such a tolerant dog, it really is a pleasure and he smells so nice afterward. I wish there was a real groomer around here. I would love to see him trimmed like a REAL POODLE.  Bruce thinks he can take on Khan, which is hysterical, growling & showing teeth, running to hide or getting caught by Khan and being bulldozed into the bushes. Khan doesn't hurt him, just puts him in his place from time to time. Annie has no patience with Bruce, he's way to high energy of a dog and she's an old broad that doesn't like to be disturbed!!

SIMON - Our most recent acquisition. Simon is a stray, Siamese mix Belizean kitten, probably no more than about 3 months old. He was rescued by Charles from the bushes outside our gate where he was starving and scared. In the week that we have had him, he has doubled his weight and looks like he will survive, so off to the vet we will go to get shots, etc next week.We have needed a mouser for a while now and Simon will serve well in that respect.

In the mean time he has Charles & I perfectly trained already. His cries usually mean, "feed me" or "help me find my litter pan because you moved it again, stupid human!!" Well, in my own defense it's usually only in one of two places. On the porch or inside the sliding glass door (because Khan is on the porch). Simon's advantage is being small enough to fit into a mouse hole, or other similar small space and his ability to jump to high places. This is particularly helpful when Simon is tired of playing with Bruce Lee. It's true!! 

Bruce Lee & Simon have a great ol time playing Chase, Stalk & Pounce. Most of the time Simon has the upper hand. It's quite entertaining! None of this escapes Khan's watchful eye though. Through the screen doors he watches as they run through the house and just doesn't understand why he can't join the fun. 

Actually, he did on one occasion and I thought he was going to devour poor Simon. It was all I could do to pull him off and drag him out the door with a stern punishment for attacking what is mine. I told him, "NO Khan this is MINE! Of course since then he has made it his life mission to "EAT THE FUR BALL" the first chance he gets.

The others,..... well there have been several stray and locally owned (but not well cared for) dogs that know they can find safe harbor and a cup of food from time to time. In gratitude they assist with guarding the outside of the gate. 

Two at the moment have started collecting frequent visitor points. Red (the local hotel dog) and Lela (don't know who's dog she is these days). They are not any trouble but we will certainly be happy when the pack of 10 dogs hanging out with a female in heat breaks up. It's loud and upsetting to everyone, including Our Little Zoo!!