Finally! Livin' the life!!

A week ago Tuesday was surfing lesson day for me and Max. While the guys went out with another bunch of people who were surfing, Max and I stayed behind to get our “onshore” lesson first. Then off we went to try our luck in the water. Neither of us were able to stand up on the boards…we seemed to get stuck on our knees (hmmm…knee surfing – new sport??). But we kept trying until finally we were both tired and called it quits. I was sore for a couple days, plus I scraped my shin on a coral ledge as I was coming out of the water...just not a ton of fun. I can’t say that either of us loved it, so it’s not likely we’ll be trying again. I think we’ll stick to boogie boarding for now!

We had decided to take a picnic lunch that day, so after the guys were finished with their surfing, we found a spot down the beach and had a nice relaxing lunch. The guys had a good time and were already planning their next outing. Max and I weren’t sure what we would do while they were surfing, but were pretty sure we could find a way to have some fun as well.

On Wednesday, we joined a group of people for dinner at a restaurant just up the road from us. It’s called Pickerings (you may recall that where we went with Pam and Dennis for her birthday lunch). This dinner was also coordinated by Pam – and was primarily people from the UK – with a few Americans thrown in for good measure. There were a couple of people we had met before, but we got to meet and visit with several others that we didn’t know. So we’ve expanded our network here a bit more.

We also got to experience a traditional British meal – complete with Yorkshire pudding and sage & onion dressing. Just for the record, Yorkshire pudding isn’t pudding as we know it in the States. It’s actually like a bread/pastry that you eat with gravy. The meal was very good and we capped it off with a chocolate/cherry cake that Rona, the owner of Pickerings, had baked that day. It was really a fun evening - good food and good company.

I had my first experience driving to Puerto Plata on Thursday. Since I’d been driving around Sosua for a while, I decided I was ready to face the roads on a grander scale. It really wasn’t bad and all went well. Wouldn’t you know it, though, that the one time we see a new and very impressive moto load, Steve (who should have been the trip photographer as the passenger) didn’t have his camera out. We were quite bummed because this was one you really had to see to believe. This guy had what appeared to be an entertainment center/set of shelves – probably 5 or 6 feet wide and about that tall too – perched on the back of his moto! He should have had a “wide load” sign on the back of that moto. Wow!!

We decided to stop at Hidelisa, the furniture store where we bought our living room set, to see if they had any new dining room sets. They didn’t have anything new that we liked, but we went back to one that we had seen before and liked, but it was priced much higher than we had budgeted. It had 6 chairs then, but now only had 4 – and the price was lower. With a little negotiating to get a discount, based on paying cash, we got the price down to something we could live with. We, of course, don’t carry that much cash around as a rule, but I did have some and offered to put down a deposit. They said that it wasn’t necessary – we could just pay the full amount when it was delivered.

They told us they would deliver the set for us. It would be free if they could wait until another delivery to Sosua – and they didn’t know when that would be but likely in the next few days. Or we could pay for delivery if we wanted it sooner. Since we’d waited this long, we decided we would just wait until they came to Sosua next.

So after all this, we walked out of the store as the owners of the table…or at least we were pretty sure. Since we hadn’t put a deposit down or anything, we didn’t get a factura (invoice/receipt) – just a business card with the salesman’s name and phone number for the store.

We then finished up our errands in POP and headed home. Not long after we got home, we got a call from Hidelisa. They were going to be delivering in Sosua that evening and would bring our table and chairs around 5:30. So I ran to the bank to get the pesos we would need to pay for it.

Five-thirty came….and went. We weren’t too concerned as we’ve learned to accept the concept of Dominican time. Then it was 6 o’clock…then 6:15. Now we were starting to wonder if they really were going to show up. I decided to try calling the store – figuring that it would be closed – but worth a shot. And they were still there! Apparently the driver had been delayed and they were just in the process of getting the truck loaded to head our way. We were still a bit skeptical that they’d show up, but made sure our dining room was ready in case they actually did.
A little before 7, we heard a truck coming down the street. Yep – it was them. They went down and turned around…and almost drove past us before Steve hollered at them! Fortunately they heard him and stopped. Long story short – we now have a dining room table and chairs – yay!!! It’s so nice to being one step closer to having our house feel even more like our home. Now we just need a few pictures to put up on the wall above the table and we’ll be set!!






On Friday, the guys went surfing again. Max and I decided to take the dogs (Sierra, Dusty and Archie) down to the beach. This would be Dusty and Sierra’s first outing to the beach since we got here. (I know, we’re bad doggie parents. But heck, it took us almost as long to get to the beach ourselves!)

Before we went, though, we stopped by Ken and Sandy’s – one of the couples from dinner on Wed. – to get some plants from their garden since they were leaving to visit family in the States for a couple of months. We left with mint (think mojitos), rosemary and thyme (no parsley or sage…for those of you who might wonder). So far my mint plant is hanging in there, so we’ll see if it survives and hopefully spreads.

After we took our plants back home and got them tucked into some dirt, we loaded up the fur kids and headed for the beach. Here are some pictures from that outing. This one is Max with Archie and our two on the left.


Sierra and Dusty were initially a little uncertain about the waves coming in.

Mind you, until now the biggest body of water they’d ever been around was Green Mountain Reservoir in Colorado – so the Atlantic Ocean is quite a leap up in size from that!! Once they had studied the waves for a minute, they decided it would be quite fun to run in – and they did.


They had a good time playing in the water and sand as Max and I walked down toward where the guys were surfing. Next thing we knew, the dogs from the surf shop came out on the beach. We had seen them interact nicely with other dogs the last time we were down there, but I wasn’t sure how my two would do (especially Dusty, who thinks he’s a BIG dog and talks a lot of smack). Not wanting to risk a dog fight, we decided to head back to our picnic area.

We brought our portable dog yard with us – got it set up and settled the dogs in. Sierra enjoyed digging in the sand – getting it nice and cool to lay in for a siesta.










After lunch, we headed up to Lomas Mironas – which is where Max and Richard’s villa is. They bought it 3 years ago but haven’t lived in it yet! They’ve hopefully found a renter for their ocean front condo and will be able to enjoy their villa now. They’ve also been house-sitting for our neighbors as well as one of their neighbors. They took us to see that villa as well. Wow was it nice! Sitting up on a hill, it has a gorgeous view of the ocean. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the breeze while watching the dogs – now including two more – Ziggy and Simone, who live at this villa – run around and play. Unfortunately we all had things we needed to do still that afternoon, so we called it a day and headed home.

Saturday was another “work our butts off” day. First I had to do some trimming so I could get back behind the casita to paint the back two walls. Since I was already in the trimming mode, I continued along the back of the yard where the hibiscus and palms were starting to get out of control. As I was tossing the trimmings into a pile, I got thinking…hmmm…wonder if I just stick the hibiscus in the ground, would they grow? I figured I’d give it a try – nothing to lose, right?

So I took three of them and planted them outside our fence back by the cistern where there isn’t much foliage. Keep your fingers crossed…we’ll see how this experiment goes!

While I painted the casita, Steve mowed the lawn and worked on a list of honey-do’s I’d given him. I also got the wall where the batteries used to hang painted…then decided to “touch up” a couple more walls that had faded pretty badly due to the sun. Steve jokingly suggested that I just keep going – and I’d have the whole house done. But since it was already almost 6, we decided it probably wasn’t going to happen – and we were both pooped! But it felt good to get some more of the items marked off our list of to-dos.

We awoke Sunday to a cloudy, grey, rainy day…which was just fine with us. I wasn’t feeling great anyway, so it was a good excuse to have a laze around the house day.

It’s nice that our days have started to settle into more of a “typical” routine and we don’t have the daily drama we had to contend with for the last several months. To that end, it feels like this is a good time to transition this blog…from a weekly recap to a more random “you’ll never guess what happened now” or “check out this wild moto picture”.

I hope you have enjoyed our stories – and will continue to follow the blog (yes, I’ll email when there’s an update). Please do stay in touch (sandkadventure@gmail.com) as we do enjoy hearing about what’s going on back stateside as well!

Signing off for now…Steve and Kelli – your Caribbean connection!!

Hurricane Earl – Fortunately a No Show!

We were very glad that Hurricane Earl passed by with only a whisper of impact on us…a little bit of rain, some wind, and that’s about it. Whew – dodged that one! Thanks to all who sent emails to check on us. It was a good “practice” run and we feel pretty confident that we’re prepared should another storm come by our area soon. Of course we check the NOAA site daily to keep apprised of any new developments!

Early in the week, we had stopped by the puertos y ventanas shop (doors and windows) to ask Senor Rodriquez about having a screen door made for the door in the back bedroom, which also serves as our home office. He came out Tuesday to measure and give us a price. Again – very reasonable and he told us he’d be back later in the day to install it – but called later to reschedule for Wednesday. (Heck, we were impressed that he called…that seems to be a problem here – just don’t show up when you say you will and then show up when it’s convenient).

Wednesday was another sunny, warm day, so we were glad to have the new screen door. Now we can open it and get more air and light into our work area. Sierra likes to be able to lay by the door and survey the backyard from the office as well!

We also found a workbench on what is the DR equivalent of craigslist (on a very small scale!). Since we had planned on building one anyway, we were happy to find one that was priced reasonably in the area. We’d talked about getting some pegboard to hang on the wall – and this tool bench actually had that too! So we went and bought it…one more step closer to getting the casita organized.


On Thursday, we headed to Encuentro Beach with Max and Richard. The guys were scheduled to take a surfing lesson. That's Max standing in front of the surf school – a bunch of fun little shacks in the trees right on the beach.













We watched the guys take their “land lesson” and took a few pictures, then walked along the beach and visited.

I spotted this little sand crab as we were walking. In the first picture, if you look to the left, that is a dog’s paw print – which gives you a perspective of the crab’s size.


He let me take a couple of pictures, then decided to make a run for it. Isn’t he cute?!






And yes, both Steve and Richard got up on their boards – several times. See – even pictures to prove it! I’m guessing that with more practice, their form will get better and we can give them more style points…but for only the 2nd time out ever for both of them, I’m impressed that they are even standing up!










Antonio, the instructor, said they did great - even for a couple of “old” guys (not sure that thrilled either of them) and remarked that they were both in great shape which made a big difference (that made them feel better). They agreed that they were hooked and wanted to come back again. Antonio told them about a “locals” deal that they offer – a fixed price that includes 30 days of surfing with use of all of the equipment plus 5 or 6 lessons. It’s basically like a punch card and they can use the days over any period of time – they don’t expire.

Then Max and I asked Antonio why it seemed like the women in the class had easier time. He wasn’t sure why, but said that it’s very typical. He asked us if we had surfed – which neither of us have. He told us if the guys decided to do the package deal, he’d throw in a free lesson for both of us. Then we could try it – and if we didn’t like it, no worries…and if we did, then we could decide if we wanted to do more. We decided we couldn’t pass up that offer – and of course the guys are psyched about doing more surfing as well. So we’re set to go again next Tuesday!

The guys took their boards back and Max and I grabbed the boogie boards. We played around in the waves for a while, then we decided it was time for lunch! We headed to a place called Arsenio’s at Hideaway Beach and had a nice lunch and enjoyed visiting with Max and Richard some more. We’re glad to have found another couple around our ages who are interested in doing many of the same things we are. And we’re set to go surfing again – next Tuesday.

Unfortunately we had to get home and get cleaned up so we could meet a potential client that afternoon. When we got home, the power was out…which means our water pump doesn’t work. So we had to make do with what I affectionately call “bucket showers”…where we bring buckets of water in from the cistern and use a cup to rinse off. Amazing how creative you can get down here!!

The client we were meeting was looking for an apartment to rent in Sosua – for 6 to 12 months. I had done some research and found a few options for him – but none of the property owners wanted to pay a commission. Carl, the client, agreed that if we would make arrangements to see the places and he rented one, he would pay us a flat rate fee – and since the places I had found were renting for considerably less than what he said his maximum budget was, it wasn’t a bad deal for him. We told him we’d try to get things set up for 2 p.m. on Saturday and we’d confirm as soon as everything was set.

On Friday, we had made plans to go volunteer at AAA Sosua – which is the local animal shelter. It’s run by an American woman, Judy, who also runs Judy’s Pet Lodge – which offers pet boarding and grooming. She is the one who helped us get Sierra and Dusty through customs when we arrived – and delivered them right to our door. Judy is a US-trained vet tech who has dedicated her life to helping the 4-legged residents of the DR lead better lives.

She is always looking for vets from other countries who are interested in volunteering some time (perhaps while on vacation?) to assist with spay and neuter clinics. She will even provide or make arrangements for low or no-cost living quarters for the vets while they are here. If you know of any veterinarians who might be interested in donating some time, please spread the word. Of course, they can always use donations for supplies, food, vaccines, etc. as well. Check out their website if you get a chance: http://www.aaasosua.com/index.html.

We arrived a little after 10:30 and Judy quickly put us to “work” – playing with a bunch of puppies! Making sure the dogs get socialized is very important to helping get them adopted, so we settled in and had a great time petting, tussling and loving all of them. At times we had 4 or 5 of them vying for our attention. They also had 6 little kittens – but they were sleeping, so we didn’t play with them. But we did get a picture of 4 of the 6:


She had told us that the shelter was in need of publicity – so we offered to take pictures of the puppies and work on getting some ads out on the local websites as well as assist with fliers and anything else that might help them find good homes. Here are just a few of the pictures we took:














There were also two very small puppies who had been rescued just that morning from a dumpster. A woman had heard them crying, got them out and brought them to AAA. They were in pretty good health although one of them had several bites on its tummy – presumably from ants. Hopefully with some nursing and support, they will survive and be ready for adoption in the next few weeks. It’s very sad to think that anyone could dump two sweet babies who look like this:

And for those of you who are wondering…no, we did not bring any of them home – although it was tempting! Of course our two puppies were very curious about who we had been to see when we did get home full of “other dog” smells. We tried to explain that we were trying to help puppies who aren’t nearly as lucky as them – not sure they understood, but they didn’t seem too upset!

Friday afternoon, I confirmed the arrangements with Carl. We were set to meet him on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the local grocery store and he would follow us to the apartment to take a look. So we were set…or so we thought!

Friday evening – cows again! Sierra and Dusty were having a fit on the front porch, so we went to investigate. There were about 10 cows in the lot across from us – just munching away at the grass – and down past Tony and Linda’s, another 20 or so. We grabbed some dried palm branches (they get brown and drop off regularly) and started herding them down toward where they had broken in the last time. Richard and Max came out to help as well. We sure didn’t want them eating or trampling our newly planted shrubs in the front yard!!

We got them down to the end of the development, but this time they stopped rather than heading for any opening in the fence. Steve walked along the fence where they’d gotten in before, but it was intact. So we were at a loss as to where they had come in. About that time, two guys who we assume are the “farmers” that take care of the cows came to the fence in another area – and magically found the opening (we think they intentionally let them in, then pulled the barbed wire back across). They brought their dog and got them herded back into the pasture where they belonged. We walked back up to the house – and saw that there were 3 escapees – who must have been hiding behind some of the taller grass. I ran back down to the end of the street and got the farmer’s attention. He came back with me and with the assistance of the dog, got the stragglers out too. If the darn things wouldn’t eat our flowers and shrubs, none of us would mind them being in here to get the grass in the empty lots mowed down, but they aren’t that well-behaved.
That was our excitement for Friday night.

We had planned to do some work on the casita Saturday – me painting and Steve cutting a hole in the wall for an air intake for the generator. But it rained Friday night (after the cattle drive) and was wet enough Saturday a.m. still that I was able to make a good excuse not to paint. I really have to be in the right frame of mind to paint…and wasn’t…so I was happy that the rain took care of that for me! I WILL get the painting finished – someday!

Steve had set to work on cutting an 8” x 8” hole through the concrete wall. The casita was built with cinder block – but we weren’t sure if Raphael had filled in the blocks and how much rebar was used, so we didn’t know exactly what we were up against. Also, the only power tools we had that we could use to do the job were a 4” angle grinder and a drill with a 12” masonry bit. We also had our masonry chisel and hammers. It took some doing, with both of us taking turns running the grinder and pounding away with the hammer, but we got it done! Of course we needed about 20 minutes more to finish up when it was time to get cleaned up to go meet Carl & see the apartment. Luckily this time the electricity WAS on because we both had so much cement dust on us that it would have taken about 10 buckets each to get it all off – and we didn’t have that much time!

We got to Playero, the grocery store, with about 3 minutes to spare. We waited, and waited, and finally about 5 minutes before 2, we headed for the apartment. Just because Carl stood us up, we weren’t going to do the same with the apartment owner! It’s too bad he didn’t show (or call!) because the place was very nice – clean, roomy, and well within his budget and had almost everything he was looking for. Needless to say, if Carl even has the guts to call us at this point, he’s been officially fired as our client. We can’t afford to spend any more time to have him flake out on us again.

Since we were at Playero already, we went in and did our shopping, then headed back home to finish up the casita project. We got the vent installed and all of the dust and chunks of concrete cleaned up – then got busy organizing. The workbench fits perfectly between the two ventanas and the shelves we bought in Santiago provide great storage. We emptied out the spare bedroom closet and the dining room – which to this point had served as our tool shed! Finally at about 6:45, we decided we would call it a day. We were both starving since we hadn’t stopped for lunch – eating only a snack after we returned from the store. Steve cooked a nice dinner and we relaxed on the patio for what was left of the evening.

Today we slept in – until rumbles of thunder and rain woke us up around 8. It was a cool, cloudy morning. We hadn’t planned to do much other than putting a few more things out in the casita, but had talked about swimming. We were glad when the sun started peeking out later. But about the time we were ready to swim, the clouds had moved in again, so we canceled our swimming plans. We were also wondering if the BBQ we Pam and Dennis invited us to would be rained out.

Fortunately the weather held for the BBQ. Pam and Dennis had asked if we could come a little early to help set up – so we did. We moved furniture, helped prepare food, etc. We had a nice time – meeting several people we hadn’t met before and visiting with a few we did know already. The crowd was dwindling around 6:30, so we helped with some of the clean up and headed home. Al and Glenda were out for a walk when we got home so we visited with them for a few minutes. And now it’s about time to call it a day!

And the good news…it doesn’t look like we need to worry about any hurricanes – for the next few days at least! Hopefully everyone is having a nice, safe Labor Day weekend. Take care and enjoy the rest of it!

Yep – it’s hurricane season in the Caribbean!

In case you’re wondering (and even if you aren’t), I thought I’d start off by letting everyone know that we ARE keeping a close eye on the storms developing in the Caribbean. Fortunately Hurricane Danielle went well north of us – but it’s not yet clear how or if Hurricane Earl is going impact us. It’s truly a hour-by-hour watch. NOAA updates their site quite often and we are prepared for whatever Earl may bring.

It’s kind of like getting ready for a winter storm back home…make sure you have plenty of provisions (water, food, batteries, candles, etc.) in case there is no electricity for an extended period. We’re quite happy that we have the generator and feel comfortable that we could go several days, if needed, without power.

The one thing that we’re not sure about is how a storm might impact our internet connectivity – which is our link to the rest of the world. So for those of you who stay in touch on a more frequent basis – if you don’t hear from us for a bit, don’t worry…it’s likely that our internet has gone down and we’ll touch base as soon as possible.

Ok – on to more enjoyable topics from the tropics. (Sorry – couldn’t resist that one!)

We had another busy week (didn’t we come here to relax??)…but luckily no major setbacks or issues to deal with – yay! On Wednesday evening, we went to check out the “Sosua Residents Club”…another group of expats who get together monthly – similar the “Nice People’s Network” group, but different in that this group is more geared toward doing things for and around town – like helping build the tourist traffic, supporting a local children’s shelter, etc. while also being a network for the other expats in the area to find resources. It was a small group (8 including us) and it was interesting to meet a few new people.

On Thursday, we headed to Santiago with our lists for Ochoa (the DR version of Lowe’s) and PriceSmart (the DR Costco). As always, lots of interesting sights along the way:

Gotta hope they don't hit any bumps on this ride....









This is a traffic circle in Santiago...gives you an idea of what the traffic looks like down there - crazy!!







Many of the small villages have fruit stands set up along the roadside. No reason you can't get your daily 5 servings here.











This is a typical Domincan schoolhouse. The kids all wear uniforms - from the very youngest clear into the older grades - which is the next picture.








And finally, this may be one of the worst cases of moto overload that we've seen - of the human kind. I'm not sure that moto truly has a seat that is built for 4 butts. And doesn't the guy on the back look cute with his pink backpack? Makes you wonder if the gal with the cast got that injury sticking her foot too far out into traffic - yikes!!

Back to Santiago....one of the “must haves” on our list for the trip was a lawnmower. We had already been to Ochoa but we did not get one there (wanted to check prices at PriceSmart), but had shelves for the casita and storage drawers, a 6 and a 1 gallon gas can in addition to several other items – plus a cooler! We did get the lawn mower at PriceSmart…and were HOPING it would fit in Zuki with everything we already had – and had gotten at PriceSmart. Before we went to pay, we checked to be sure we could buy tie-down straps…just in case we had to put it on the roof (hey – when in Rome….!). Fortunately they had them…more than we would need, but they had them!

We proceeded to check out and go through the exit process. Unlike in the States where they do a cursory look at the receipt, here when you buy something like a lawn mower, they take you over to the side, open the box, unpack the whole thing to show you that all the pieces and parts are there, and you sign that you got everything. So while Steve was going through that process, I went out to Zuki and quickly started rearranging and trying to take strategic advantage of every square inch of space! I filled the storage drawers with the items we’d bought from Ochoa, stuffed things under the seats, etc.

Another difference here…a PriceSmart employee brings your stuff to your car and helps unload it (in this case, we had two). You should have seen their eyes when they got to the car! But with a little poking and prodding – and putting things in places I wouldn’t normally think of, we got everything in. Steve couldn’t use the rearview mirror – but heck, who needs that mirror, right? Here’s what Zuki looked like when we got home:



Friday afternoon we headed to the vivera (plant nursery) to buy some shrubs and plants for the yard. When we walked into the vivera, we were met by a huge, but very friendly, Rottweiler. The owner of the vivera greeted us and took us around to look at all of the different choices. We had an idea of what we wanted this time, but he gave us some great ideas for the next time – and they deliver, which is good because we can’t get very tall plants in Zuki! He showed us a beautiful tree that has flowers that are very fragrant, but not overpowering. We’re trying to think of a place we could put it so the breeze would blow the scent into the casa. We also want to get a fan palm, a lime tree, and an avocado tree. The only bad thing about the fruit trees is that they take about 5 years before they bear fruit, so we won’t get to enjoy our own crop for a while.


So in the meantime, we’re trying our hand at some other things – tomatoes and jalapenos. We planted our “crop” a week ago Saturday. Here’s what the tomato sprouts look like now. Still waiting for the jalapenos to pop up…maybe in the next few days.

We also got to play with a little Rottweiler puppy – about 3 months old and as cute and sweet as could be! She loved the water and the vivera owner showed us how she would put her head under the faucet and play. He really seemed to like the dogs – but I’m guessing if we had inquired about buying the puppy, she would have been ours. Good thing we aren’t in the puppy market right now – but if we were – we’d have taken her in a heartbeat. What a cutie (and wouldn’t you know, I didn’t have my camera – darn it)!

On Friday night, we joined Pam and Dennis and 5 other people for pizza at a restaurant which is right next to the military base – which is about half way to Puerto Plata. Pam and Dennis had heard good things about it – but we were a little leery when Steve and Dennis each ordered a Sprite and they had one (actually a 7-Up) – for them to split between them! Another guy, Bill, ordered a cuba libre (coke & rum) and they didn’t have any rum – in the Dominican Republic (rum is the national drink here, people!!)!! Pam half jokingly asked if they had pizza. The waitress assured us they did. So we ordered and kept our fingers crossed.

Pretty soon, the waitress showed up with a small bottle of rum and two more bottles of 7-Up for Dennis and Steve. Apparently they sent their delivery moto to the store to get some! And the pizza was very good – probably the best we’ve had since we got here. We were also pleasantly surprised when the bill came. It was about $9 per person – and several of us had beer with our pizza (ok, more than one) plus we all took pizza home! So it was definitely worth the trip! We got to meet a few more people and enjoyed visiting with Pam and Dennis too.

Saturday was another work on the yard day. We had Jean Claude come to help us. While he cleared the weeds in the empty lot next to our fence, we went to work on building forms to pour a concrete pad in front of the casita. We also had him plant our new colorful bushes outside our fence and the little shrubs in the front of the house (that’s the picture at the top of this post).


We were really glad we had Jean Claude to help with the concrete. It took 4 large wheelbarrows full, all mixed by hand, which is HARD, HOT work! We did get a picture of him – busy at work.

We finished up the concrete and sent Jean Claude home…but we kept working. Steve put up the blinds in the casita and I started moving things in that we had, up until now, stored on the back patio. We finally called it quits a little after 5. We were pooped – but isn’t the casita looking nice? The one bad thing…the concrete splashed on my nice paint job, so I need to give it another coat. That’s ok, because I still need to paint the back sides – they are still white!!




Sunday morning we went to Cabarete and had breakfast with Al and Glenda again. We had a relaxing morning – watched the waves that were much stronger than when we’d been there last Sunday…I think they were remnants of Danielle who had passed well north of us a day or so before.




We got home around 1 and ran to Playero (our grocery store) to get groceries – and a few more provisions. When we got home, I gave Dusty a haircut while Steve gave the grass one – testing out the new mower! We also tested out our generator…made sure everything was working as it should be and did a few more odds and ends around the house. At one point Steve looked out the front door and caught Bamboo, the ladron, carrying a toy we had given to Archie down the street – just as proud as could be! Steve was able to convince Bamboo to drop the toy and come into our house…with a promise of peanut butter (one of his favorite treats). So while I distracted him with his reward for listening and coming to us when we called him, Steve went out and retrieved Archie’s toy - which Steve put on the iron work...just out of Bamboo's reach. Check out this picture…looks like Sierra is giving him a talking to, doesn’t it?


Today (Monday) we’ve been keeping an eye on Earl. It was sunny and hot – with a couple of hit and run rainstorms, but tonight it’s been very, very still. The outside temperature has dropped, so we can tell the storm is getting closer. We aren’t under any watches or warnings as of the last NOAA update, so that’s good. We’ve battened down the hatches and brought in anything that we don’t want ending up in the neighbor’s yard. So hopefully we’ve done everything we needed to in preparation for anything Earl might hurl at us! We’ll let you know how it goes!

And hopefully Earl (and Fiona – the tropical storm lining up right behind him) will be long gone and leaving only good waves by Thursday when we plan to go try DR surfing with Max and Richard! Hang ten!!

Take care – and we’ll be in touch again soon!

What’s a honeydipper?

We’ve enjoyed another quiet week (relative to many of them since we’ve been here)! I took these pictures of some wildflowers growing in one of the empty lots down the street from our casa. Steve says they are weeds – but I thought they were pretty. I may have to go dig them up and try that “plant them and they will grow” theory!!












Oh – and here’s one of the plants we did just plop in the ground a few weeks ago…they are doing great and getting lots of pink and white blooms on them.

Monday was a holiday in the DR –they seem to have a lot more holidays here than even we do in the States. Here’s a little history lesson for everyone. 16 August (they put the day first…still getting used to that too!) was Restoration Day. Apparently the DR won its independence the first time on 27 February 1844, but then lost it again in 1861. The War of Restoration was a fight against Spain and the war ended in 1863 – on…you guessed it…16 August. Interestingly, this year (not sure if it’s every election year), the 2010-2016 Congress and municipal governments were sworn in on the same day. So that gave the Dominicans two reasons for big parties all across the country – and for a 3 day weekend!

On Tuesday, we thought that Jumbo, the septic pumping company, was coming to take care of our septic tank. They told us they’d be at the casa at 10. We had also contacted the plumber to let him know they’d be there Tuesday a.m. so he could come do the repair work the tank needed (which, if you recall, was never completed when it was built!). Well, Peter the plumber showed up around 10:30…but still no Jumbo! Peter had a couple other things he could do, so he left and told us he’d come back later.

After making a phone call, the Jumbo owner said they’d be out shortly after noon – and he was. But they didn’t bring the truck to do the work – he came to see what it would entail and make sure their pipes would reach. He then scheduled them to come back on Wednesday at 9 to actually do the work. We let Peter know the new plan.

And Jumbo showed up Wednesday a.m. – a few minutes early even– with the “honeydipper” truck (Steve tells me that’s what they call them in the States??) and they went to work. Here’s a picture of the huge pipe they run from the truck back to the tank. It only took them about an hour to get the work done and they were on their way. We called Peter to let them know they were done and he came a short time later. We asked him what the best way would be to reseal the lids on the tanks and we were very pleased when he told us he would do it for us. And the best news of the day – it only cost us $30! Honestly, I don’t know how those guys do what they do! Both the Jumbo guy and Peter had to get down into the tank (yucko!!) to work on it. Man – they earn every penny they make, for sure!!

We made a quick run into Puerto Plata on Thursday to pick up some packages that had arrived. As always, some interesting sights:



This poor kid has a backpack as big as he is…and he’s almost as big as the guy (we think…it was hard to tell) that is driving the moto.
And we spotted yet another “don’t try this at home” shot - no safety equipment at all! Even the work truck - parked on the wrong side of the road - has no cones or anything to warn oncoming drivers. For my friends at OSHA, let me know if you want this one to use in any of your training sessions! It continually amazes us how these people work – and seemingly have absolutely no fear or concern for their own safety. It’s really very sad!

Friday was a busy work day…I had a couple of hot projects and so most of the day was spent in front of the computer. Bamboo came over – as he usually does – and was happy to take a little siesta. Our two were of course doing the same.

We had hoped that Carlos, our gardener, would show up this week. But he didn’t. Last time he came, it had been almost 4 weeks between mowings and we were afraid we might lose Bamboo in the grass. Carlos was very contrite and apologized many times and I asked him nicely to be sure and come 2 times per month – every 15 days. Well, 15 days was on Monday, but since it was a holiday, we cut him some slack. Tuesday was kind of a rainy day on and off, so again…we get it. But by Friday night when he hadn’t come, we decided it is time to take matters into our own hands. I don’t feel too badly this time since we hadn’t paid him yet for the next month!

Fortunately, Tony had told us before they left for the UK that if we needed to borrow anything, including their mower, we could. So we did just that! We spent a good portion of the morning on Saturday doing yard work and I must say, the yard looks better than it has any time after Carlos had been there! You can also see that the plants we got from Glenda and “stuck in the ground” have, by and large, done quite well. (You can view a larger version of this picture-or any of them-just by clicking on them if you want to see more detail.) A couple of them are still struggling along, but overall, I’m pretty happy with our landscape at the back of the yard. Next on tap – color! We want to get some more flowering plants/bushes, to add some color to our landscape. Fortunately we should be able to get a lot of that from cuttings from our neighbors, which is a good thing since we now will be buying a lawnmower…sigh…

Next we tackled the casita. We wanted to give the seals on the septic covers some time to cure before we started messing around in there too much. Steve got the shop vac out and got the floor swept, then we moved the generator out there. We set to work on getting the threshold under the door built. We wanted it to be high so we won’t get water in there.


You can see how nicely it’s coming together. A few finishing touches, a coat of paint, and we’ll be able to check that one off our list – whoo hoo!! Oh – and move the rest of the garage-type stuff out there – double whoo hoo!!

We were both pretty tired after doing all that work, so we decided to run into town and get a roasted chicken and yucca from our roadside stand guy. Much easier than cooking and it was yummy too! I snapped this picture of Bamboo wandering around back in the rock garden while we were eating out on the back patio.



On Sunday, we headed to Cabarete for breakfast and the beach. Yep – FINALLY – we actually spent some time on the beach and swam in the ocean! There are a lot of, shall we say, enterprising individuals on the beaches – especially the more popular ones like Cabarete. If you don’t have your own lounge chair and umbrella, you can rent them. The first guy we talked to wanted 400 pesos (about $15!). Since we were only planning to be there for a couple hours, we decided that was too much. He offered to come down to 300 pesos, but that was still demasiado (too much). Oh – and we didn’t have that much cash with us anyway! We had intentionally brought very little with us and after paying for breakfast, we had less than 200 pesos left.

So we wandered down the beach a ways and in very short order, we were approached by another guy. He started at 300 pesos. I told him we didn’t have that much – so he asked how much we would pay. I offered 150 and he gladly took it. We spent the next couple of hours relaxing on our chairs and swimming. It was a delightful morning! There weren’t too many people on the beach, although it was getting busier and busier the longer we stayed. We headed home shortly after noon.

After getting a few groceries, ice and filling up Tony’s gas can (for his lawnmower), we took the lawnmower and full gas can back over to Tony and Linda’s. We sat and visited with Max and Richard, the couple who are housesitting for Tony & Linda. They have been here since October of last year, so it was fun to swap stories about our adventures. And what’s really cool? Apparently Richard has been wanting to check out the surfing here, but they just haven’t gotten around to it (and Max isn’t terribly keen on trying it herself). Steve also wants to go and me, I could take it or leave it, so we’ve decided we’re going to go together – the guys can surf while Max and I either boogie board or maybe just hang out on the beach and take videos! We’re very excited to have found another couple that we can do some things like that with. Now we just need to get it on our calendars!!

Monday was a busy work day, but Max came over late in the afternoon to spend some time with our dogs and she brought Archie over to play as well. We’ll be going to Santiago later this week and she’s going to let our dogs out for us, so we wanted them to get to know her a bit. Sierra took to her immediately and even Dusty did really well – perhaps her British accent reminds him of Linda who he adores!

I’ll close for now. Time to get back to work! Have a good week – wherever you are!!

It’s a Small, Small World

We caught this rainbow as we came out the front door of our casa - looking down the street. Yep, those are the rogue cows that came visiting a couple of weeks ago...now staying in their field thankfully!

Who knew when we went back to Cabarete on Wednesday that we would meet a guy from Colorado…and better yet, from Littleton! We were going to take a look at an apartment for rent for a client. Elke, the real estate agent we met on Monday, had made arrangements for us to see it. As we were driving to the property, she asked where in the States we were from. When we told her Colorado, she said, “Really!? Richard, the man who owns the place we’re going to see, is from Colorado, too!” We got to the apartment and started talking to Richard. Turns out he lives about 10 miles west of where we used to live! It truly is a small world as we are finding out first hand.

We took this picture of a “repair” done to one of the electric poles here. As you can see, it has quite a lean to it. But rather than put a new one up, someone has used some rope to shore it up – using a nearby palm tree as the anchor. No wonder we have problems with the electricity around here!!

On Thursday, we stayed home and were on our computers most of the day. We finally got the website up for S and K Adventures – our property management company here. Here’s the URL if you want to check it out: www.sandkadventures.com/property. It’s a work in progress – with more detail and pages to come, but at least we now have something out there if people ask!

In the afternoon, the clouds moved in and we had a good rainstorm. It cooled things off nicely, added some water to the pool – which was down a bit from evaporation in the heat – but fortunately it wasn’t the yucky brown water we’ve contended with recently. Maybe our new landscaping/drainage mitigation is working!?

Friday morning we headed to Puerto Plata to run errands. Although it’s not an uncommon sight here, we saw more than the typical number of banana trucks. Often these trucks will be loaded so high that the height of the bananas is about twice the height of the little truck and the truck will be squatted down and can barely crawl along!

Notice the speaker on right side of the top of the cab of the truck on the left (we took the picture from behind). They use that to announce to everyone that they are coming and they have bananas.

The first thing we took care of when we got to POP was to get our revista. This is that annual sticker I told you about in the last blog…the one they have sometimes, and other times, not. We had gone to the bank and paid for ours, so we took the necessary paperwork and found the little “transportacion” building. Fortunately Al and Glenda had given us the scoop on what we needed to do when we got there. Charles (our other neighbor) had recently gotten his – and apparently they had asked him to do a sort of safety check – checking the turn signals, brake lights, headlights. He was the only person they had do that “inspection” – but then again, he was the only gringo there at the time. Again, not unusual here.

So we took our papers and our factura (receipt) to the desk. Sure enough, we needed to do the safety inspection. Much to our chagrin, we discovered our brake lights didn’t work – unbeknownst to us until that moment! We wondered what would happen…this was not something we’d been prepped for. Would we be turned away and told to come back when they were fixed? Nope! Apparently brake lights aren’t that important and we got our sticker and were on our merry way in no time! Which leads us to ask…why check if it doesn’t really matter??? Around here, you can kind of assume that no ones break lights, turn signals, dimmer switches, etc. work – and you just have to drive with that assumption. Now we just fit in even better! But we were glad to know there is a problem so we CAN get them fixed.

Next we were off to the shoe repair store. A funny thing happens to leather down here (apparently this is a humidity thing – which, being from Colorado, I don’t know much about!). For quite some time, I’d been finding these weird little flecks of black on my left shoulder. It took a while for me to figure it out, but finally I realized that it always happened when we went somewhere…and I had my purse, which I carry on my left side. The leather on the strap is flaking off – and the little flecks were sticking to me. Mystery solved!

After looking at several stores around town trying to (unsuccessfully) find a purse to replace mine, I mentioned it to Pam last week when we were over getting their wheelbarrow for the rock project. She told us about this shoe repair store and thought they might be able to make a replacement – perhaps even in a different material that would hold up better here. Since I like the purse and it’s relatively new (I bought it a couple of months before we moved down here), I figured why not? So for 400 pesos (that’s about $11) I’m getting a new strap made. Yay – I’ve successfully avoided replacing my purse for a while longer.

From the shoe repair store, we headed to Viva, which is one of 3 cell phone carriers in the DR – and the only one that gets semi-decent reception at our house. This was to be our 3rd visit to the store. Why, you ask? Well, the first time we took Steve’s blackberry in to get a SIM card, they told us it was locked. So we took it to the guy in Sosua who unlocked my cell phone and had him unlock the BB. The second time we went, after waiting an hour, we get to the desk and after inserting a Viva SIM card, the clerk tells us it is still locked!

Needless to say, we were less than happy and left – vowing to take the phone back to our Sosua guy. Well, after doing a little online research, I found out how you can check to see if your phone is unlocked – and if it is locked – how to unlock it. So I get Steve’s BB and check it. Lo and behold – it IS unlocked!!! I decide to try the SIM card from my phone and guess what? Yep – it works just fine. We think the problem was that Viva clerk didn’t put the SIM card in correctly.

So we go back again – armed with the knowledge that the phone IS unlocked and that it WILL work with a Viva SIM card. Oh – a little side note here…as we’re parking about ½ block away from the Viva store, a guy walks up to the driver’s side window, which Steve rolls down a bit. He asks if we speak Spanish or English. Steve tells him English. The man proceeds to explain that he’s the parking attendant for those spaces and he will be looking after our property, making sure that nothing happens to it. He nicely asked Steve to back up a little more to ensure that one more car could park in the space in front of us – which he did.

As we walked away from Zuki, we noticed that all of the cars along that block had pieces of cardboard over the front windows (and the motos had cardboard on the seats). Steve said, “I’ll bet we need to pay him for the use of his cardboard when we get back.” Sure enough – when we got back, there was the cardboard, which provided a nice sun shade – and our friend the parking attendant was ready to collect whatever pesos we would pass his way. After giving him a few coins, he retrieved his cardboard and we were on our way. Interesting way to make a living, but here, you see just about everything!

Back to Viva…fortunately this time we only had to wait about 10 minutes – and we got a different clerk who spoke a little more English than the last one. We’re thinking SWEET – we’re actually going to leave with Steve having a phone. The SIM card worked and the clerk asked for Steve’s ID. Steve hands him his cedula (DR ID) and the clerk types in the number…not in the system (this is the second time this has happened – apparently it can take 2 or 3 months to get in the system after they’ve issued it)! Passport? We carry copies with us, so I hand him Steve’s copy. He goes to the back and when he returns, he asks if we have the original with us because apparently he can’t scan a copy?? Needless to say, we don’t carry our original passports with us, so without ID, we once again leave the Viva store empty handed.

Steve is thinking that perhaps this is a sign that he is just not meant to have his own cell phone here! And honestly, 99% of the time, he doesn’t need it since we are together and I have mine. It’s that rare occasion that I run into town by myself and take the phone with me. Guess if I needed to call someone for help, it just wouldn’t be Steve! Good thing I have the numbers for all of our neighbors and friends in my cell!!


We did get a couple of fun moto pictures on this trip. First – is this moto air conditioning DR-style?? Check out the block of ice on the back of this moto. Hope he gets to his destination before it all melts! Oh – and that’s one of the fire pumper (bomba) trucks in front of him.





And who knew that Pizza Hut delivered – even here in the Dominican Republic? Heck, who knew they had Pizza Hut in the DR?? We did a double-take when we saw this moto! Not sure if they’d come as far as Sosua to deliver, but you wouldn’t have to worry about your pizza getting cold!!

On Saturday, Michael (the electrician) showed up around 11. He had been unable to find the plug we needed to connect our generator to our house, but had come up with an alternative and was ready to install it. Ironically he has the same exact generator at his house and the same problem. So he bought two parts and was going to fix his the same way he did ours. Makes me feel pretty good when the electrician we trust bought the same generator…hopefully that means it’s a good one!

After a couple of hours, he was done – and we are now ready to rock and roll if the power goes out for an extended period of time. We’ll even have running water – whoo hoo!!! We’re hoping we don’t have to use it any time soon, but it’s good to know it’s there just in case.

We spent the rest of the day doing odds and ends around the house. We’ve had clouds, thunder, lightening and rain move in every afternoon for the last several days. It’s kind of like it used to be in Colorado – cools it off nicely and makes for a comfortable evening.

Sunday was a really nice day – not as hot as it has been lately, which was a nice change. After cleaning the house and giving Sierra a trim, we decided to go for a swim. And for another nice change – the water in the pool was actually cool! Many times after it’s been hot for a stretch, the water will feel like bath water – not terribly refreshing, but today it was just perfect – not too hot, not too cold. Sierra decided to take a dip and we convinced Dusty to go wading on the top step in the shallow end. Even Bamboo let us dip his toes in the water!

Later we gave Sierra the last of her beauty treatments for the day – a shampoo with a vinegar rinse. Yep – she smelled like a wet pickle dog (until her hair dried). Why vinegar? We have very hard water here, which makes your hair feel very coarse. I had read online that vinegar helps strip the calcium deposits and softens your hair – so I have been using it (and yes, it works). Steve was skeptical, but he tried it too…and decided I wasn’t making it up.

Since Sierra’s fur was not as soft as it used to be so I thought, hmmm, if it works for me, it just work for her too – and it sure wasn’t going to hurt her. And it really did make her coat a lot softer, so vinegar is going to be part of the routine for all of us going forward. By the way, it also works to remove the calcium deposits from sinks, toilets, tubs, etc.

Speaking of toilets, we stopped by Jumbo, the company that pumps out septic tanks. They are coming next week – then Peter can actually finish our tank – and we can reseal it and hopefully that will be the last of our sewer repairs for a good long time. After that we can start moving things into the casita. We might actually have a dining room soon! No table and chairs, but at least it won’t look like a garage any more!!

I’ve told you about our neighbor dog, Bamboo. Well he has adopted us as his second (or first?) family. He spends most of his time with us - either playing with Dusty (Sierra kinda scares him with her size although he is quite intrigued with her), playing with their toys (he’s not stealing them as frequently now since he’s over here playing with them more), or taking a siesta - often on my lap!

He was at the door both Saturday and Sunday around 6:45 a.m. – which was well before we were ready to be up. Our two dogs were running back and forth - to the front door then back to the bedroom to let us know he was there! We got them to settle down so we could sleep for a little longer and as soon as we opened the door, here comes the little squirt. I've been working with him on his manners and teaching him how to sit, lay down and now we've move on to shake. He's a smart guy - watches what our two dogs do then he does the same.



I’ll close with a picture of them waiting to get their daily peanut butter (in exchange for a trick – or in Sierra’s case, to take her daily skin pill!).

Hope all is well, wherever this blog may find you. Adios for now!!