tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65849186740334943882024-03-13T04:03:55.779-06:00The View From La Puerta TraseraThe adventures of living on Roatan.Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.comBlogger406125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-35675759379700322502020-09-18T14:34:00.000-06:002020-09-18T14:34:39.992-06:00Sun by Day - Moon by Night<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cnpev3n44Mk/Sak3gCZD6YI/AAAAAAAABdI/Hgk-5GWIFi4/s1600-h/P1010498-760427.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_cnpev3n44Mk/Sak3gCZD6YI/AAAAAAAABdI/Hgk-5GWIFi4/s320/P1010498-760427.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307834659370166658" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cnpev3n44Mk/Sak3gPJV8dI/AAAAAAAABdQ/x6lpXhLiec8/s1600-h/P1010508-760667.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cnpev3n44Mk/Sak3gPJV8dI/AAAAAAAABdQ/x6lpXhLiec8/s320/P1010508-760667.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307834662793900498" /></a></p>P1010498.JPGJeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-56919866354205841582018-02-21T08:49:00.000-06:002018-02-21T08:51:13.020-06:002018 School Preparations<br /><!--[if !mso]>
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Shortly before we returned to Roatan, before I had even made
our plane reservations, I was chatting with my friend, Susan Campbell who was
already on the island, and she mentioned that she knew at least 50 children
from the colonia in Sandy Bay who would not be able to attend school this year
for lack of a sponsor. Work has been scarce for many families, they struggle
just to put food on the table, and the cost of outfitting each child for public
school (approx. $75.) is just beyond them. (It seems ludicrous that such a poor
country would insist that children cannot attend public school unless they have
the proper uniform, black shoes, and school supplies.) Susan, a retired school
teacher, was saddened by this as was I. We both believe that educating the
Honduran children gives them a better chance of improving their lives. I
offered to “shake the bushes” back home and see if I could raise any donations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I posted on Facebook and sent a message out to old high
school friends and family and the next day I had 4 donations. Each day, more
donations rolled in. The interesting thing about this was that Susan and Larry
would meet a family who had x number of kids unable to attend school who were
asking for help, and the very next day I would receive that exact number of
donations to cover those kids!!! This happened over and over again. God was
clearly doing a good work here, meeting needs daily. It was beautiful to watch.
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Bayron, Leti and family</div>
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Larry and Susan took many of the kids shopping to outfit
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Susan took plenty of photos of the children and gave me
permission to share them with you. In addition she also sent this thank you
note from one of the mothers:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">And lastly, a note from
Arezzi for you.... Estamos muy agradesidos con Dios y con usted y su amiga no
la conocemos pero eya tiene buen corazón Gracias a dios! </span><span style="background: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">We are very grateful to God and with you and your friend we
do not know her but she has a good heart Thank God</span><span style="background: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> Arezzi and family</span></div>
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<span style="background: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">And another:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Keira’s mom, Rosa broke
down in tears when Keira’s school needs were met. Her husband has been out of
work, and they didn’t know how they could send Keira to school.</span></div>
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<span style="background: #f1f0f0; color: #4b4f56; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.0pt; letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> Keira</span></div>
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We were thrilled to learn that Travis and Tish’s ministry provided for 25 of these 50 kids. We were humbled to realize that another 26 children were ready for school on the first day thanks to the generosity of people I knew – old high school friends, church friends, family, and friends and work colleagues of my daughter.</div>
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Along the way – a boy needed a pair of pants, 2 boys needed
P.E. uniforms and shoes, another needed only bus money. Every need was met as
it came up!<o:p></o:p></div>
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A huge THANK YOU to all who responded to the needs of the
children. Their families are so very grateful; they praise God for sending you
to help them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-76825337093537965622018-02-19T16:25:00.000-06:002018-02-19T16:25:01.826-06:00More Adventures From The Traveling Gartners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the longest we have been away from our island home, and we certainly did miss it. Apparently we also missed one of the longest, rainiest rainy seasons in many years. We've only been back one week and it has rained several days, including right now, but no gully washers anyway.<br />
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While the island was enduring much rain, mudslides, flooding and general sogginess, we experienced our first winter in several years, and wouldn't you know it, it was the coldest winter Missouri has had in awhile. Really made us appreciate coming back to tropical warmth.<br />
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Our good friends, the Campbell's, picked us up at the airport in our car. We were pleased to find Eldon's grocery store pretty well stocked. During the heavy rains, the ferry was not able to make the trip from the mainland, often for days, and the stores ran out of food. We got what we needed for a few days and headed up to our house. Our excellent cleaning crew (Suyapa, Karla, Maria, Jessie) had been in the day before and cleaned from top to bottom. The jungle had been recently trimmed, the concrete steps scrubbed free of mold, and the deck had also been scrubbed. Ready to move in!<br />
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We found a note from our friend and neighbor (who looks after our property while we are away). He said that the guest toilet had been running all night and had emptied our 250 gallon storage tank at the top of the hill. Don't use it until you fix it!! Thankful that he discovered it that morning! The ballcock will have to be replaced.<br />
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We did notice that while the refrigerator had been plugged in, it had not been turned on, so I left the few cold items from the store inside the insulated shopping bag. We unpacked a few things and went down to Blue Bahia Beach Grill for an early dinner. When we returned, I checked the fridge and it was not cooling at all. Don took the on/off switch/thermostat apart and fiddled with the wiring and found a loose connection. He fixed that and it started cooling but took another 36 hours before it was really cold enough.<br />
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We drove to West Bay the next morning for church. All the roads are indeed in terrible shape and it is necessary to drive slowly in order to avoid the worst of them. Some of the potholes had been filled in with mud and tamped down by some industrious guys hoping to get a few tips. We were very happy to see that the federal government of Honduras has finally taken pity on us and has sent road paving machinery and work crews to the island!! They are beginning at Infinity Bay in West Bay, paving one side of the road for a short section and allowing proper drying time which means a one-lane road for driving and paying close attention to avoiding the rebar sticking out of the new pavement. They seem to be doing a good job.<br />
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Church was wonderful. So good to always be warmly welcomed back. Afterwards we enjoyed yummy coconut shrimp dinners at Beacher's and the company of the Campbell's and Susan's sister and brother-in-law, as well as Peggy Stranges, Dee Haisten and the infamous Juan Meijia! Such fun!! Some of them went snorkeling after lunch, but the water was a bit rough so Susan and I opted to swim....that is, until I realized that the water temp was only about 78º. I stopped at waist deep.<br />
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Photo credit: Susan Campbell<br />
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Sleeping has been the best! The nights are in the low 70s, often with just a little breeze. Love having the windows open while sleeping. Several nights, the rain began in the wee hours and the windows had to be mostly closed.<br />
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During the night, I awoke to an odd beeping noise. I finally tracked it down to the microwave which was displaying this message "the keypad has shorted." Well, that can't be good. I unplugged it. Don didn't think he could fix that. His old "hit it with a hammer" method of fixing some things wouldn't work on this due to the over-the-stove and fitting snuggly between cabinets location. Later, I plugged it in again, reset the clock and it was fine for a few hours, then began beeping again. I unplugged it. The next time I replugged, it worked fine all day. The keypad functions all worked and no beeping. I still unplug it at night, just in case. I like appliances that self-heal<br />
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The next appliance to go was our fan (portable, on a stand). Apparently no hope there.<br />
I washed clothes mid-week. The next day, I threw another load in and walked away, then turned back around because something didn't sound right. It was leaking water out the bottom as fast as it was trying to fill. Don pulled it out of the laundry closet and discovered the drain pipe had split. Another trip to Ace Hardware which is about 14 miles away over very, very bad roads. Yippee!!<br />
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We also had to make two trips to the bank, which is also 14 miles away over very, very bad roads. We may need to find a different bank! We had to reactivate our lempira account. Accounts which haven't been used in 3 or more months are inactivated. Our dollar account was still active as Don had recently transferred money down to fulfill our residency requirement. We also had to get a letter from the bank stating that we had met that requirement for the year; as retirees, we are required to deposit $18,000.00 every year. They've decided that is the necessary amount for gringos to live on for a year.<br />
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We went next to reactivate our phones. Same deal. My poor old, old Blackberry finally gave up the ghost and I had to buy a new phone. My US phone doesn't hold dual SIM cards, and I can't do without it due to having the Kardia device on that phone (portable EKG device and app, which I need). So, while Don was reactivating his phone at the Claro store, I picked out a new smartphone at the Tigo store and had them set it up. We also borrowed a Tigo stick modem and router from the Campbell's to use while we are here instead of reactivating our Maxx (cable/internet) service. We're only here for a few weeks this trip.<br />
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On our second trip of the week to Ace Hardware, I found a great table and chairs patio set to replace our old one. They delivered it that night...at 7 pm.<br />
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We ended the week on a high note. We went to the migration office to renew our residency. Now, you never know what to expect there. The office on the island has only been in place a little over a year. Before that, we had to go to the mainland of Honduras to renew and hope that we could get it accomplished in one trip, which usually wasn't the case. This local office is so handy! Last year it was still rather unorganized with stacks of files piled up here and there and everything still filled out by hand. This year, the office has expanded, everything is neatly filed and organized AND computerized!! Yes!! We had printed and filled in the renewal forms ahead of time and had them stamped at the bank when we paid our renewal fee. We presented them with our passports, old residency cards, constancia from the bank, and filled in one more form each and then were electronically fingerprinted and photographed and a few minutes later, handed our brand new residency cards!! Woo hoo!!!! In and out in less than 30 minutes!<br />
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Photo credit: Susan Campbell<br />
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We discovered a great new restaurant on our way home, Ellen's Place, located in Pirate's Den. They were having a soft opening, sort of word-of-mouth, while they prepare for their official opening in a few weeks. We had delicious meals, generous servings and very reasonable prices.<br />
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It really was a very good week. We ended it with another trip to the beach.<br />
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<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-43202419348010508752016-01-20T06:24:00.000-06:002016-01-20T06:30:55.872-06:00The Continued Shaming of RoatanI haven't posted any follow-ups on the battle between the tax enforcers, DEI, who wreaked havoc upon Roatan businesses in December. First, DEI agents were called off of their witch hunt on Roatan. The head of DEI was called to appear before the Honduran Congress. Congress demanded certain changes be made such changes in the tax code, training for these DEI agents (who work under contract), forbidding the shutting down of businesses over minor details, such a lack of email address on the receipt - the business will be given a set amount of time to correct the problem, and DEI will pay another visit to insure that this is done.<br />
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This was not enough to save our businesses here on the island. Here is the link to an article published in the Panampost recently about how the changes in the tax law will affect businesses.<br />
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<a href="https://panampost.com/jorge-colindres/2016/01/18/you-better-pray-the-honduran-taxman-likes-you/#.Vp5d_rXWVVI.facebook">https://panampost.com/jorge-colindres/2016/01/18/you-better-pray-the-honduran-taxman-likes-you/#.Vp5d_rXWVVI.facebook</a><br />
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Apparently the tax code and list of increased tax rates on particular businesses amounts to about 150 pages of not-so-fun reading. Even schools will be taxed. Really? The schools don't always pay their teachers who may have up to 90 kids in their class and no assistant (teachers may hire someone to help but are responsible for paying that person out of their own pocket), nor do they always supply textbooks or other necessary supplies for the teachers. Perhaps they are learning from the U.S. how to bury the brutal truth within pages of babble?<br />
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Business are not going down without a fight. They met with DEI and other government officials last month (the mayor did not bother to attend), and they have planned a peaceful march to the municipal building for this coming Saturday.<br />
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We'll see how this turns out.<br />
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<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-67744635917195335292015-12-31T12:45:00.000-06:002015-12-31T12:46:08.742-06:00Wrapping Up Another Year <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKaqvSl_nxM/VoUgcY67VGI/AAAAAAAAIpQ/-sA0jdCxPIQ/s1600/2015-12-13%2B14.44.17.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKaqvSl_nxM/VoUgcY67VGI/AAAAAAAAIpQ/-sA0jdCxPIQ/s320/2015-12-13%2B14.44.17.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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It's been a busy month in a laid back island sort of way, not like a U.S. busy month. We were very blessed to have a week long visit from Rachel and Jason who arrived with suitcases full of gifts for the island kids.<br />
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We had our annual Christmas party for our group of sponsored kids. We do something different every year (just to keep them guessing!), and this year we took them all to Guava Grove for lunch, swimming, and gifting. The kids are always excited to see Rachel. We missed having our co-sponsor coordinators, Larry and Susan Campbell with us.<br />
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Of course we snorkeled!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_iepGIbbGIE/VoU7d3LAJ8I/AAAAAAAAIqU/sA0e7vcBqq4/s1600/Sunset%2Bcruise%2BDec.%2B16.jpg" imageanchor="1"> </a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yCOgHNcANds/VoU7ljChXVI/AAAAAAAAIqg/nSmnjAVtFDA/s1600/Small%2Btuna.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yCOgHNcANds/VoU7ljChXVI/AAAAAAAAIqg/nSmnjAVtFDA/s320/Small%2Btuna.jpg" width="176" /></a><br />
And fished.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--DYd_H8Yfu4/VoU7voj5M9I/AAAAAAAAIqs/3lPpMj3i288/s1600/Sunset%2Bcruise%2BDec.%2B16.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--DYd_H8Yfu4/VoU7voj5M9I/AAAAAAAAIqs/3lPpMj3i288/s320/Sunset%2Bcruise%2BDec.%2B16.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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And enjoyed a sunset cruise and fresh sashimi (tuna caught by Jason).<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLgpIfzFcg0/VoU8WwRyEaI/AAAAAAAAIq4/11xZSw55_pE/s1600/Naughty%2Band%2BNice%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bdump.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLgpIfzFcg0/VoU8WwRyEaI/AAAAAAAAIq4/11xZSw55_pE/s320/Naughty%2Band%2BNice%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bdump.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
We served lunch to the hardworking people who live and work in the dump.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LxcWyMpGJ8/VoU8rEf-HyI/AAAAAAAAIrE/1VQ6ie_Il24/s1600/Gospel%2Bteaching%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bdump.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LxcWyMpGJ8/VoU8rEf-HyI/AAAAAAAAIrE/1VQ6ie_Il24/s320/Gospel%2Bteaching%2Bat%2Bthe%2Bdump.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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One of the visiting team members delivered the gospel message and Oscar translated. So very proud of this young man! This is part of the value of a bilingual education.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yHnS-RhV87U/VoU9E_Jg9QI/AAAAAAAAIrQ/7h50hs0CvTw/s1600/Unicorn.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yHnS-RhV87U/VoU9E_Jg9QI/AAAAAAAAIrQ/7h50hs0CvTw/s320/Unicorn.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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We had plenty of gifts for the children. This sweet girl is clutching a stuffed unicorn (sent down by one of Rachel's co-workers) in one hand and her cup of chicken rice soup in the other.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qk4pjFBpfiI/VoU9oLWFrtI/AAAAAAAAIrc/byVw40V2kU0/s1600/Fairy%2Bprincess%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qk4pjFBpfiI/VoU9oLWFrtI/AAAAAAAAIrc/byVw40V2kU0/s320/Fairy%2Bprincess%2521.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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So excited over her fairy princess doll!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3TgxFwhwS6U/VoVtCaUmouI/AAAAAAAAIrs/LAKCg-b25xY/s1600/Lunch%2Btable%2Bset%2Bup.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3TgxFwhwS6U/VoVtCaUmouI/AAAAAAAAIrs/LAKCg-b25xY/s320/Lunch%2Btable%2Bset%2Bup.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Lunch on the beach? Tables set in the water on Pigeon Cay.<br />
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Jason and Rachel awaiting their steak and lobster lunch.<br />
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Always comes too quickly. Time to say goodbye.<br />
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The next day began the series of island Christmas parties which took the place of the food and toy drives. We headed east to Punta Gorda for the first party. This little cutie had no idea what was going on.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJjZvxALTS4/VoVvH0pv9cI/AAAAAAAAIsc/IFIttLHESQk/s1600/Colorful%2Bgirl.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJjZvxALTS4/VoVvH0pv9cI/AAAAAAAAIsc/IFIttLHESQk/s320/Colorful%2Bgirl.jpg" width="211" /></a><br />
Perfectly color-coordinated.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xXnAcMtBOa4/VoVvh0svJSI/AAAAAAAAIso/x5xnW0CbVzQ/s1600/Santa%2527s%2Bbig%2Bentrance.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xXnAcMtBOa4/VoVvh0svJSI/AAAAAAAAIso/x5xnW0CbVzQ/s320/Santa%2527s%2Bbig%2Bentrance.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Santa makes his grand entrance to the cheers of happy children.<br />
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The next Christmas party for us was held in Pensacola (no, not Florida - community nestled in between Flowers Bay and Gravel Bay.) Right on the beach with fabulous breezes. Both clowns showed up this day. This is the balloon clown.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ELP5BdceYAg/VoVxGNmaA8I/AAAAAAAAItA/7CrP02LPmpM/s1600/Happy%2Bballoons.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ELP5BdceYAg/VoVxGNmaA8I/AAAAAAAAItA/7CrP02LPmpM/s320/Happy%2Bballoons.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
They were very happy with their balloon creations.<br />
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The face painting clown. Why so serious? We're having fun here!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-998FKAyhZcw/VoVxfiRilmI/AAAAAAAAItM/w87sJdYZ9cU/s1600/Stuffed%2Banimals.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-998FKAyhZcw/VoVxfiRilmI/AAAAAAAAItM/w87sJdYZ9cU/s320/Stuffed%2Banimals.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
We had so many toys this year including these tables full of stuffed animals brought to us by the Carnival ship crew. We also had toys and new shoes from a number of cruise ship passengers. This is the first time that we did not run out of toys before every child had been given one. Nidia had a lot of leftovers with she sent to the children on Helene.<br />
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A wild and crazy game of musical chairs. Extremely competitive, these kids would dive for a chair, sometimes 3 of them on one chair. We had 2 minor injuries and one broken chair.<br />
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Fellow elf Debbie-Leigh Crofutt and I taking a very short break in the madness.<br />
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Christmas Eve in the lobby of Infinity Bay Resort. R-church meets here on the top floor. We had a beautiful candlelight service. This is Oscar who I was bragging about earlier.<br />
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After a delightful and delicious Christmas dinner at the Cowen's, I mentioned that our family always played charades. Everyone thought that was a great idea. Debi is taking her turn. There were about 12 of us which made for a good game.<br />
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Another Christmas is over, another year gone by. Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year.<br />
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<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-66662612478000712772015-11-30T12:43:00.000-06:002015-11-30T12:44:37.855-06:00The Shaming of Roatan<br />
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In light of all the crazy things going on in the United States lately, I thought I would share some of the bizarre happenings on Roatan.<br />
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About a week ago, 60 DEI agents arrived on the island. They seem to be comparable to IRS agents in the U.S. They have been inspecting businesses, not only to insure that taxes have been paid, but to look for any other possible error or omission such as failure to have an email address on their customer receipts or using a logo on their receipts which has not been copyrighted with the DEI(?). The receipts are very strangely issued a range of effective dates. If a company is using a receipt with an expired effective date, they are fined and/or closed down, even if they have already applied for new dates but have not received them. This really makes no sense.<br />
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They began their inspection tours with one of the biggest businesses on the island, Sun Corporation, which owns Eldon's grocery stores, gas stations, Bojangles chicken stores and Pizza Inn stores. They promptly shut down Bojangles because they did not have an L (for lempiras - the currency here) before the amount owed on the receipt. They also did not have an email address on their receipt. Their next move was to close the big Eldon's grocery store just up the hill. They went into the store, wearing bullet proof vests and carrying automatic rifles, and ordered everyone out! Eldon was able to quickly show his compliance with everything else and that all taxes had been paid and reopen his stores.<br />
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Other businesses were not so fortunate and 40 businesses were quickly closed. Another big business, a lumber/hardware business was shut down for 5 days for not having the L on their receipts and even though they told the agents that they could have that corrected on their servers within an hour, they were still forced to close. They were told that they were being shut down to "shame" them! Even though they were in full compliance with everything else. They stuck big signs to the door and windows saying the store was closed. They are not even fining them, just "shaming" them.<br />
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A small souvenir shop was closed and fined heavily. Do you think a small souvenir shop has an email address? Some of the smaller businesses have preemptively closed shop, hoping the DEI would go away. That so angered the agents that they sought a court order to force the shops to reopen just so they could close them again.<br />
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Some businesses have printed out the receipt requirements from the DEI's own website and shown it to the agents to prove that they are in compliance with what they know to be required. It seems that these agents are enjoying their power and have been throwing their weight around. They were initially scheduled to be on island for 2 weeks; that has now been extended with 40 agents remaining through Christmas.<br />
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What this means for the island is that many, many workers are now out of work. No work, no pay. Many of these workers only earn $10 - $15. per day and live hand to mouth. And Christmas is coming. Missed income will make it just that much more difficult to provide any kind of Christmas for their families.<br />
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This is also high season on the island. Does it makes any sense to close businesses thus limiting services to tourists as well as decreasing the amount of taxes that could be collected? Just read that of the 3000 businesses on Roatan only 830 are registered as being in compliance with the new invoicing system the DEI requires.<br />
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Business owners are so upset with the high-handed tactics being used that they have appealed to the Chamber of Commerce who has scheduled a meeting of shop owners, and DEI agents for today. Hopefully, something will be worked out.<br />
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In the meantime, is it safe here? Yes. Can you still buy what you need? Yes, grocery stores and gas stations are open.<br />
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Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-46544967929426208932015-11-24T16:52:00.002-06:002015-11-24T16:52:53.737-06:00Spectacular Sundays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Occasionally, the morning will be so crystal clear that we can see the mountains on the mainland 40 miles away during our drive to church. This photo was taken with my phone through the windshield of our car. It is dangerous to stop on the road to West Bay with all its hills, curves and lack of shoulders, otherwise, I would have hopped out of the car for a better shot. </div>
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This is our spectacular view from the 3rd floor conference room at Infinity Bay where our church meets. Yes, we have to keep the drapes drawn to prevent our minds from wandering during worship! This spot is where we often have lunch after church and always where we head out for our snorkel. There is a nice cut in the reef straight ahead that affords a trail of sorts meandering through the reef allowing good viewing of all the beautiful fish and sea creatures. And if you swim out far enough to where the water is deep blue, the floor of the ocean drops away. It's breathtaking and a trifle scary!<br />
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Our women's Bible study group meets on Wednesday mornings at 11:00 at a new Peruvian restaurant, Machu Pichu. They generally open to the public only for dinner. They have graciously allowed us to meet here and serve us a delicious lunch in a quiet, air-conditioned, and otherwise empty restaurant. The men's Bible study also meets here for breakfast once a week (at 6:45 a.m.!). It has been wonderful having this nice place to meet, to study the Bible with friends, and to enjoy a time of fellowship over lunch followed by a time of praying for each other. Our group size varies as people come and go from the island. We miss Heather (3rd person on left) who just returned home to Indiana after 3 months here.<br />
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I need to be taking more beach pictures! More to come....Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-39505121297291092062015-11-16T13:50:00.000-06:002015-11-16T13:54:58.394-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Settling In</div>
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Returning to the island after a 6 month absence is always an adventure. Things can change quickly here making settling back in a bit more of a challenge. For example: we had suspended our cable service while away. The cable office had moved last spring to the second floor of Plaza Mar, above the grocery store. We were told that we could stop in there on our way home from the airport and have our service reinstated. Sounded so convenient since we would be stopping at the grocery store for essentials on the way home, BUT the office moved while we were away. Thankfully, our friend Lynne, who had picked us up, is also a cable subscriber and knew were the new office was located. So she drove us down to Main street in Coxen Hole only to find that the office was not open on Saturday - or maybe it was only open in the morning. We rarely watch tv so that part didn’t bother us, but we get our internet via cable, and that did bother us.</div>
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Monday morning found us back at the cable office where we reactivated our account and, of course, we expected that it would instantly be turned back on. Nope, it would take 3-4 days. Groan. Actually, the cable guy came by late Tuesday afternoon and let us know that we were up and running. </div>
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We have in the past had to re-register our cell phones upon every return, which requires a drive to French Harbor to the Claro store and is a minor nuisance. This year we left our phones with friends, Larry and Susan, and had them keep the phones active by using them once in awhile and also, the big factor, adding more saldo (balance) to the phones every 3 months, otherwise the minutes expire and the phone will need to be reregistered which also results in getting a new phone number with the added hassle of letting Roatan friends know the new number. Our strategy worked beautifully; the phones were in good order. I did require an intervention from our young friend, Juan. My Blackberry was receiving 10-12 pop-up messages from Claro everyday, and I was being charged for each one. They were all ads for services that never interested me and annoyed the heck out of me, as well as draining my balance more quickly. Juan called the main office on the mainland and got it stopped. Thank you, Juan!!!! </div>
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Our car, which we bought shortly before we left in the spring, had to have the registration renewed in July. Nope, they would not change the renewal date even though we bought the car in March. Friends to the rescue again - Franklin took our old registration to the bank, paid the $200. fee and received the unofficial new registration. Apparently, the bank was out of the correct color of paper needed, and their laminator was broken. They stamped the registration as paid but said a return visit would be necessary, so Don took the paper into a branch of our bank. They had the necessary supplies but were reluctant to print it for us because the renewal had been paid at another bank. Don played dumb, and they finally relented, charging him just a couple of bucks.</div>
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The car battery was completely dead. Dennis had charged it a few times, but it finally would not hold the charge. So, we borrowed our old car back from Larry, and went to town for a new battery ($130.). The a/c was also not working, but it is legal to buy cans of freon (or whatever they call it now), so Don was able to recharge the a/c himself. Ahhhhh! Blessed relief! Thankful for a husband who can do all these things. And thankful for all our Roatan friends who made our reentry more pleasant!</div>
Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-63032515898125846512015-11-15T18:03:00.001-06:002015-11-15T18:03:45.751-06:00Return to Island Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has been a long time since I have blogged, partly because the newness of island life has worn off and many oddities have become sort of normal to us, and partly for other reasons. While back in the US this summer, some people asked why I stopped, so this is for them.</div>
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We’ve been back for one month. So nice to be settled back into our own place after 6 months of constant traveling, staying with family or friends, and sacrificing the privacy to just BE. Still, we don’t really complain. We chose this lifestyle, and we realize how blessed we are.</div>
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Here are some random thoughts and comparisons of our life in both countries:</div>
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<li>It is so quiet here on the island. So quiet up on our hill. Very little traffic noise from down the hill, rarely noise from a plane. No construction noise. We do have a lot of noisy roosters early in the morning, an occasional cow mooing down the hill, a weed eater running now and then. So quiet that you can hear the rain approaching through the trees or across the ocean, getting louder as it draws closer. So quiet that you can hear the chorus of birds all around you: parrots, grackles, woodpeckers, vultures, hummingbirds and others that I don’t recognize. </li>
<li>The airports, so vastly different. The Roatan airport is small, crowded and noisy on Saturdays, not so much on other days. It’s almost like a social gathering, you see so many people you know there to pick up or drop off someone, you stop for hugs and a bit of conversation. Being greeted by airport volunteer greeters whom we know is so welcoming. </li>
<li>Immigration - much improved in the past few years on the island. We now have agents who speak English! as well as Spanish. The volunteers greet and direct new arrivals, answer questions, keep traffic moving through the immigration lines and they are friendly! Yes, they smile! Residents (that’s us) have their own line which is much shorter than the visitor line. Everyone coming in has their photo taken, compared to their passport or residency card, and are fingerprinted by placing their fingertips against a small screen which is connected to the computer system; I’m not sure why, perhaps checking for criminals? I doubt that most criminals would enter that way. And the computers! Big improvement from even a couple of years ago when no computers were used and it took an hour or more to pass through. And the airport is now air-conditioned throughout!</li>
<li>The price of electricity on the island has dropped by 25% since 2013. We still pay 30¢ per kWh as compared to about 8¢ per kWh in St. Louis. Air-conditioning, clothes dryers, etc. are used sparingly. It has been so hot here since our return that we did use the a/c every afternoon and at night for sleeping. Thankful that it has finally cooled off, although nighttime lows are still in the upper 70s and daytime temps in the mid-80s. Not much variation.</li>
<li>Grocery prices have really jumped here. I’ll write more about this another time, but I was surprised to see the cost of ground beef (Honduran beef) had increased from about $3 per pound this past spring to $4.17 per pound. Interestingly, I paid not much more for a package of stew meat. Prices on chicken feet remain very low at about $1.00 per pound and gizzards are comparably priced…not that I intend to buy either one. </li>
<li>Comprehensive car insurance is cheaper ($278) than liability which runs $300 per year for ANY vehicle and has a maximum benefit of $14,750. Comprehensive is not available for a vehicle older than 15 years. </li>
<li>Shocked and appalled to see a bag of frozen tilapia from China on the island. Don learned that because the US is now buying much of its seafood from China that the fishing fleet here on Roatan has dropped from around 500 boats to less than 100!!! </li>
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<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-84758771690302129572014-02-24T11:23:00.002-06:002014-02-24T11:23:41.220-06:00Medical Care on RoatanMany of you have asked us what kind of medical care is available here on this island. Thankfully, we have not had any serious health issues, but we are learning the ropes from friends who have had some life-threatening issues and came through safely.<br />
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Don and I have both been battling lung congestion this past week (no doubt caused by too much fun with daughter Rachel and niece Crystal and quite probably some germs that Rachel generously shared with us). Don has recovered, but I have been getting progressively worse. Last night's efforts to sleep induced a 4 hour coughing marathon which may have left me turned inside out.<br />
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This morning, I set out for the clinic at Anthony's Key Resort. (We sent Rachel there during her visit.) The doctor spoke only a little English and I speak only a little Spanish, but we were able to understand each other beautifully. Bottom line: I have bronchitis.She gave me two nebulizer treatments and a small bag containing 5 days of prednisone, a cough medicine, and an antibiotic - Cipro. I told her I was allergic to Cipro. (Apparently that is the drug of choice.) Next she pulled a box of Azo------- something. I shook my head and told her that I take Amiodorone and believe that Azo-----------was contraindicated. She quickly nodded her agreement. Searching the shelves again (AKR has their own little in-house pharmacy, as does Ms. Peggy's clinic), she selected a box of erithromycin. Yes, I said, I can take that. Unfortunately, there weren't enough pills remaining in the box, so after apologizing, she wrote a prescription to take to the pharmacy in Coxen Hole. She told me to come back tomorrow for another nebulizer treatment.<br />
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And what do you imagine the cost of this care to be?? $24.00!!! for the office visit, 2 nebulizer treatments, 2 drugs. I sent Don off to the pharmacy to get the antibiotic but expect that it will be quite cheap also.<br />
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Now I just have to get well.Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-79129407308079603672014-02-18T18:00:00.003-06:002014-02-18T18:00:23.482-06:00The Reluctant Birthday Girl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday was Leidy's 14th birthday. She's growing up! I asked her if she would like to have a birthday party at Ms. Susan's with all the kids. She said no. I said "really? No party?" She nodded her head. She is so shy and hates to draw any attention to herself. She said "I don't go to Ms. Susan's on Monday." Well, I said, "we could just have the party on Tuesday" which is one of her days to come for English lessons and homework help. Nope. How about just a cake? No. </div>
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I had already bought the cake mix and frosting, enough for all the kids. So Susan and I decided that we would just bring out the cake on Tuesday and not make a big fuss. Don and I arrived to find only the two 9th grade boys, Oscar and Victor, and one 7th grader, Nelson. No Leidy. Susan said the 7th graders must not have any homework or they would be there. Nelson had not been to school this morning, so he didn't know.</div>
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I was a little disappointed. I had 24 cupcakes, vanilla ice cream (her favorite), and a gift bag waiting for her.</div>
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We went ahead and fed cupcakes to the boys and adults. Susan called Concepcion to see if Leidy was coming. A little while later, we heard kids coming up the driveway. Leidy, her little cousin Alexander, Jessie, Jacee, and their little sister, Jeslee. Yay!! Susan was not thrilled that they had brought along the little kids, but the kids were thrilled with the cupcakes. All except Leidy. She finally said she would have one later. I asked if she would like some ice cream ."Yes", so out came the ice cream for one and all. I told her she had a gift bag. She glanced down at it but did not grab it to look inside. Can you imagine any kid you know being that reserved? She did thank me. </div>
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Kids kept arriving. Apparently, word had spread that we were having a party for Leidy. And more little siblings also came along with their big sister or brother. Karla and Carlos were the last to arrive. They were too late for the ice cream and there were only 2 cupcakes left, but I wasn't going to serve them because we had more people than cupcakes by that point. There are 2 older girls, 18 and 20 years old, who come for English lessons, and one of them had brought along a little sister.Sigh. It was quickly becoming a madhouse! So, I quietly wrapped up the last 2 cupcakes and told Karla she and Carlos could eat them on the way home. Karla could not resist sticking her finger inside the foil wrapping and licking the icing! I do hope she gave one to Carlos on the way home, but I wouldn't count on it.</div>
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Meantime, the 9th graders have to have some kind of round, white object for their science class. After much discussion and internet searching, we finally decided that they need something like large styrofoam balls. I suggested they ask their teacher where we might find such an item on Roatan.(We have no Michael's, no Hobby Lobby or anything of the kind.) Oscar said they have a new teacher (the first one lasted only 4 days) and she is new to the island so she would not know. Great. I can't think of any place on the island that sells styrofoam balls or anything similar.</div>
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Also, we learned that the entire school is going to the beach on Friday and each child needs 100 lempiras ($5.) for the bus and food. Oscar said he and his siblings did not want to go, they would just stay home. I asked "don't want to go or your family doesn't have the money to go?" He sheepishly said "no money". I said "if we give you the money, would you want to go?" He smiled and nodded his head. Ok, then. We will provide the money. Susan and I decided to share the cost for all the kids to go. These are very poor families; they don't have extra money for things like this.</div>
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So, the reluctant birthday girl had a party after all. Susan and I both thought that, while a bit rowdy, it was a success, and Leidy was quietly pleased. And so was I. </div>
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Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-13452473852553111342014-01-31T17:30:00.001-06:002014-01-31T17:30:44.978-06:00Paperwork Slow Down<br />
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Julissa sporting her new glasses</div>
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We had only 3 things on our to-do-list for today: get Julissa's transcript, grocery shop, Spanish lessons. Thought there was no need to leave before 10 (the school principal is often not in before that when school is not in session) and surely we would be finished and back home in time for our 12:30 Spanish class. I had talked to the principal yesterday and she assured me that the transcript would be ready for me. I really should have known better.<br />
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Our first stop was the school. The principal was there, the transcript was "ready" and just needed to be copied, but the power was out. Did we want to wait? We decided to run do the grocery shopping. It turned out to be "missionary day" as so many of our missionary friends were also grocery shopping. We enjoyed visiting with them until Don heard the air-conditioner kick back on. We knew the power had been restored.<br />
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Back to the school where we waited 30-40 minutes for the copies to be made and signed. We drove to the Department of Education; it was just a few minutes past noon, we can probably still make it! Nope. The doors were locked. Lunch break until 1 p.m. Nothing to do but go on home with the groceries. Don said we'll never make the Spanish class in time. I said we would if we skipped lunch. We stopped by church and I ran in to tell Esmerelda that we would be a bit late, don't wait for us. We live just about a mile from the church. We quickly put the groceries away, got a cold drink and our Spanish notebooks and returned to church in time for most of the class.<br />
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Time to return to the Department of Education. No waiting! Wow, this is great, I thought. Until the two women checking the multi-page transcript began scrutinizing every page, back and forth, back and forth. Finally they told us (in Spanish) that her first name was misspelled on one of the pages. I asked (in English) can't you just stick an extra "i" in there? One of the women then led us into another office where she found another employee who spoke English and could explain to us what needed to be done. We were to return to the school, have them write a note on that page in the official transcript book, copy it, sign it, and we were to then return with the correction duly noted.<br />
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Back to school. The principal was busy, but Julissa's teacher was there and was able to take care of it in short order. Back to the Department of Education where the first woman looked it over and then took it in to someone else for the official signature and department seal. We were excited to finally have this task completed.<br />
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We have missionary friends going to San Pedro Sula next week. They will take the transcript and mail it from there. Hopefully that will make delivery quicker. The English-speaking woman at the Dept. of Education advised that we make copies of the original and send only a copy to the school. We already know that the school will only accept the original document with the official seal, but keeping copies is a good idea. I sure hope the original doesn't get lost in the mail. Now we just need to get the tuition money to the school. Julissa is getting the bank account information so we can just transfer money into the school's account, then she'll be all set for the year.<br />
<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-10990385360429594222014-01-29T15:20:00.000-06:002014-01-29T15:20:13.419-06:00Catch-up, part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just exactly what<i> have </i>we been doing? The kids are still out of school on their long winter break. Karla and Leidy are always wanting to come up to our house. On one of those times, I taught them how to make cookies. Neither one of them has an oven at home, so they have never baked. Karla's mom has a gas stove, but the oven doesn't work. Leidy's mom still cooks on an outdoor mud stove (think glorified campfire). I sent them home with cookies to share with their families, after they tasted every batch that came out of the oven. Quality control is important!</div>
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I've been helping out with the twice monthly Girls' Group at church. We have a time of worship, a lesson, an activity and lunch. Susan came back from Canada with bags of yarn and crochet hooks, so I've been teaching the girls to crochet. Most of them had never crocheted. So funny how some caught on quickly and others were all thumbs. </div>
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I had taught some of the girls to crochet last year, so I had them help me. Leidy is an accomplished crocheter and is showing one of the new girls what to do.</div>
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The kids will be returning to school in February so it is officially back-to-school time. Don and I continue to sponsor Leidy who is going into the 7th grade. I just noticed that she is now taller than her mom! She's also sporting new bangs. </div>
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Jacee, a 4th grader, is joining the ranks of sponsored kids, thanks to the generosity of our daughter. </div>
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His mom is holding an envelope with his startup money.</div>
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Karla continues to be sponsored by Rachel's former husband, and we continue to mentor her. </div>
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Susan (in the yellow) oversees the remaining sponsored kids. We have a total of 12 going to the private bilingual school this year and maybe as many as 50 kids attending public schools who receive some assistance from generous donors in Canada. Thanks, Susan for the above 3 photos.</div>
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Don is continuing to tutor Nick, the son of missionaries, in algebra. Susan has begun reviewing with some of the kids and English lessons for Jacee and some other young boys. We've gotten all the kids registered for school, paid their tuition for the year and done some back-to-school shopping.</div>
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Leidy, a vision in purple (her favorite color, can you tell?), trying on shoes in the market. I asked if she wanted to go shopping with just her mom or if she wanted us to take them again. She very excitedly said she wanted to go with us. She got measured by the tailor for her uniform skirt and pants for physical education. Then we hit the street and went from vendor to vendor buying shoes, shirts, undershirts, socks, backpacks, notebooks, etc. We like to spread the money around.</div>
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Shopping made everyone hungry, so our next stop was Bojangles for chicken (Leidy's favorite). The little boy is her cousin. Concepción carefully wrapped up everything that was left and took it home for their supper. </div>
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You may have noticed that Julissa is not in any of the photos. She has moved back to the mainland to live with her mom. We are trying to make arrangements to continue to support her education but are running into difficulties in getting the necessary documents and money to her. Julissa's command of English is not great nor is mine of Spanish, so we have been using a bilingual friend to help us. We all hope we can work out the details soon. Her new school will only accept the original transcript from her school here and it must have the official Department of Education seal (which I doubt that it has). The school won't accept a faxed or emailed copy. They want the real deal hand delivered. The problem: she is living high up in the mountains of Honduras. To get there requires taking the ferry to the coast, a taxi to the bus station, and two long bus rides (about 6 hours) to reach her town. So, we are still puzzling this out. We are trying to see if they will accept the transcript via snail mail. I have no idea how long that would take. </div>
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Don and I are taking Spanish lessons again with 6 other people from our church. I practiced today when Suyapa was here cleaning for us. She is taking English lessons and loves to practice with me. It's a good trade.</div>
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Now that rainy season appears to be over, I must figure out how to get 12 sponsored kids to the beach!</div>
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Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-31704001125365594762014-01-29T14:12:00.000-06:002014-01-29T14:12:42.119-06:00Feeling Lazy<br />
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The sunsets have been spectacular!</div>
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I think I may have settled into deep relaxation mode, that or laziness, given the lack of blogging this year. I think about it; I just don't do it. Perhaps because the newness has worn off living on this island and all the things that once seemed so unique or even crazy now seem normal. Whatever the excuse, I've had a touch of guilt about it so here is a quick recap of the last few weeks.<br />
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Our beautiful daughter came to visit in December and spread some Christmas cheer.</div>
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We had a Christmas party at church for our sponsored kids. We played silly games, like in the photo above where Oscar's teammates are turning him into a Christmas tree.</div>
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Rachel and I spent a couple of days baking Christmas cookies for the party. We had the kids decorate cookies for their families. They also ate a LOT of cookies!</div>
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Even our boys enjoyed the cookie decorating.</div>
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Of course Santa refilled their stockings! They were so excited!! And look at all the plates of cookies they've wrapped up to take home.</div>
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Happy kids suffering from sugar overload. </div>
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We were delighted to help again with the food drive. We quickly realized that we did not have many toys to give the kids this year, so Bob sent Rachel and I and a family from Canada who came to help out, into Coxen Hole to buy as many toys as we could with the money that had been donated. What fun that was!! We still ran out of toys, but we also had tubs full of candy that we passed out. Everyone got something. </div>
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Loading the trucks with bags of food.</div>
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First stop, the dump. Note the newly paved road to the dump.</div>
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This is a home across the road from the dump where a family lives and makes a living from sorting through garbage for recyclables. I am always humbled when I come here.</div>
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A family from Canada donated a tub filled with stuffed animals. It sure made this baby happy!</div>
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Some of the kids on Mud Hole Road. Santa came to the island specifically to help us and make a few other appearances.</div>
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The food drive is about so much more than just handing out bags of food to needy families as the following pictures show.</div>
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Greg comes from Hilton Head Island every year to help. He loves playing with the kids!</div>
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One of Santa's elves enjoyed lovin' on the babies.</div>
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Visiting is an important part of the experience. Debi (in middle) visiting with some of the people.</div>
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Even big girls like to sit on Santa's lap. He didn't seem to mind either!</div>
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David playing with one of the kids. Piggy-back rides were a big hit. It's so much fun to bring a little joy into the lives of these kids.</div>
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I've procrastinated so long that I'm going to have to have this a multi-part catch-up. More to come!</div>
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Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-20128965739945071922013-12-09T06:32:00.000-06:002013-12-09T06:32:48.703-06:00Some Thoughts On Christmas in Roatan<br />
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This morning, as I stood out on our deck in the early morning gazing up at the multitude of stars, being overwhelmed by God's greatness and mercy, my thoughts wandered from how very blessed we are to comparing our circumstances with many of those around us.<br />
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Our daughter is coming at the end of the week, and we are busy planning another Christmas party for our 10 sponsored kids...and let me tell you, they are plenty excited! I asked them to bring their Christmas stockings back to me this week and was met with puzzled looks until I explained that Santa just might fill them again, then 10 little faces lit up with joy! They may not sleep all this week!!<br />
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As I pondered their excitement and the joy I have in our being able to give them something special this Christmas, I also reflected on the many other children in our church and community who will have nothing this Christmas. Nothing. Sobering thought.<br />
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We have had major changes at our church here - loss of leadership, loss of funding. Long story, but the bottom line is this: there is no money for anything. We have 40 families who have been receiving a food bag once a month which will feed their families for one week. There is no more money for that.<br />
In the past couple of years, the church has tried to do something special for them for Christmas - a basket of food beyond the essential beans and rice, maybe a chicken for their Christmas dinner, or a bag of homemade cookies. There is no money for that either, and that makes me profoundly sad.<br />
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We have so many people out of work on this island and in our church body. Every single week there is a request from some struggling mom or dad for money to buy food or pay a bill. My heart just breaks for them. A little boy of maybe 8 years came up to me after church yesterday and asked for work!! Imagine. And I had to turn him away. We cannot help everyone. We employ a part-time housekeeper whom I do not need simply to help provide for her family.<br />
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So, as I make plans to bring some joy to 10 children and to their families, I fight back the tears for those who will receive nothing.<br />
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<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-32300460392382880012013-11-20T14:40:00.000-06:002013-11-20T14:47:21.330-06:00November CelebrationsI'm celebrating the fact that we have working internet and phones right now! It has been a struggle to stay connected back home. We were on the verge of giving up on Hughes Net and finding another internet provider when they suddenly improved our service. So, for right now, it's good.<br />
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We have had other things to celebrate this month. Our sponsored kids finished their school year and are now enjoying winter vacation until sometime in February. Four of our kids finished 6th grade and in Honduras that has always marked the end of their compulsory attendance and thus merited a graduation ceremony, at least in the public schools. The private schools were free to observe or not and our school chose to do so last year and this year, but this should be the last one. Honduras has raised the compulsory attendance requirement through 9th grade.<br />
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Our kids have been excited this entire school term, just waiting for their graduation. Both Karla and Leidy asked Don and I to be their padrino and madrina (godparents). This is a very special honor in Honduras. The godparents escort their graduating person up to receive their diploma, pose for photos and then walk them back to their seats.<br />
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Karla, Jessie and Leidy pose in caps and gowns. Oh, yes. They go all out here!<br />
We were especially proud of Jessie who was selected highest honor student of her grade.<br />
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Our pastor's wife, Tia, was madrina for Nelson. His mama is looking on proudly.<br />
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Our friend and fellow sponsor/tutor/problem resolution expert, Susan was the madrina for Jessie.</div>
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We are so proud of these girls, and as you can see from their big smiles, they're pretty pleased, too! After graduation, Leidy's mom, Concepción treated us to a chicken dinner at Bojangles. This, too, was a big honor for us. As many of you know, Concepción, is a very poor single mom raising Leidy (who is actually her grand-daughter). Don was a bit uncomfortable in letting her pay for the meal, but it was important to her to be able to show her gratitude for all we've done for Leidy.<br />
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The next day, all the graduates were recognized during worship. Susan and I had baked cakes and Tia had frosted them the day before. After church we served cake and coffee to everyone.<br />
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On Monday, we had a private party at Susan and Larry's for our sponsored kids. We served ice cream floats, played games (Uno, Yahtzee and Smack a Mole) and passed out gifts.<br />
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They loved their bejeweled journals (Nelson's had no jewels...no girly stuff for him!) and an assortment of colored ink pens.<br />
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They were obviously very thrilled with their new Bibles and Bible cases.<br />
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And thus ends the 3-day graduation event. But wait! We're not finished yet! Juan (Susan and Larry's sponsored and nearly adopted son) is graduating from 12th grade with his electrical certificate. That is indeed a cause for celebration...and he's turning 20 years old. There will be another party on Friday.<br />
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Next year we will have four more kids graduating from the 9th grade. They are already looking forward to that!!Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-6436279517449456872013-10-23T15:47:00.000-06:002013-10-23T15:47:41.813-06:00Settling In <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are slowly settling in. It is still very hot here, and we haven't yet acclimated to that. Thankful to have air-conditioning in one bedroom. Actually, with the kitchen/guest quarters closed up and the a/c running, it stays pretty nice. Not cool, except in the bedroom, but certainly makes cooking more pleasant. We're all waiting for rainy season to set in and cool things down. Rumors have it that rain is on the way for the weekend. I hope so. My jungle garden is looking a bit droopy.<br />
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We returned on Saturday to a car with a dead battery, or so Dennis told us. The car has just been sitting for 6 months. In past years, we have loaned it to a single mom, but she's moved off island and no one else seemed to want it. Dennis started it once and drove it down and back up the hill, but he couldn't get it started again after that. We were just sure we were housebound until we could get into town on Monday to buy a new battery. But then we both got to thinking about how we have had difficulty with the car starting in the past due to a loose battery cable. What if.......? Don went up to test it and, sure enough, it started right up! Whew.<br />
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With the car running, we were able to go the church where we nearly had the stuffing hugged out of us! Our girls were sooooo happy to see us. All "our" kids were glad to see us back. We got plenty of hugs from the adults, too. This was our first Sunday to worship in the new church that was being built when we left in March. It is certainly much larger and cooler with big screened windows on all four sides. The two huge fans kept the air moving so it was not uncomfortable despite the heat of the day.<br />
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After church, with the car continuing to start each time we tried, we decided to go ahead and go to Infinity Bay for the afternoon. Sunday was apparently the hottest day so far in October - a good day to be at the beach. We had a nice lunch, great visit with friends, a refreshing swim in the very clear ocean and a stroll on the beach. We had a big enough lunch that we really weren't hungry for dinner, so I didn't have to cook in that heat. We snacked on cheese and crackers and called it good.<br />
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We were also pleasantly surprised to find that our Hughes Net internet was on. Of course, we have been paying for it while off island, despite twice requesting that they suspend our service while we were gone (they would then only charge us half as much for the summer!). Nope, they never did. I still expected to have to call them and asked to have it reactivated or something and was happy to find that all was in working order. That meant that I could use my U.S. phone on wifi and call my parents to tell them that we had arrived. Wifi calls on my U.S. phone are free in both directions. My parents love this! They know they can reach me if need be.<br />
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Our Honduran phones needed to be reactivated before we could use them which necessitated a trip to French Harbor to the Claro store. That was fine as I also had a dentist appointment in French Harbor, I thought. My appointment had been cancelled because they weren't able to reach me by phone to confirm. Duh. I must make sure I don't repeat that scheduling mistake again.<br />
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We took our phones to the Claro store in that same mall as the dentist. I asked if they could put a Honduran sim card in my U.S. Blackberry which was unlocked. Yes, they could. Good that saved us from having to buy another phone to replace the one Don lost in March. I gave Don my old Honduran phone, both phones were activated, along with our emergency internet modem, and minutes were purchased. When we got home with them, we initially thought something was wrong, that they weren't properly registered into the system, but I was able to finally get the minutes loaded onto them and they work just fine.<br />
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Monday was supposedly a Honduran holiday and we were told that the banks would be closed, so we didn't even bring our bank book along. The bank was indeed open and lots of people were lined up waiting to get inside. We owed the bus driver money for the month of October for transporting our sponsored kids back and forth to school, but we couldn't pay him until we visited the bank, we thought. Turned out that we had enough money tucked away to be able to pay him.<br />
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Made our second trip to the grocery store. Always shocked by grocery prices wherever I go. It takes a lot to restock a kitchen every year. I have to get rid of everything when we leave in the spring because of the intense heat that builds up inside our closed up house. And then I have to replace all those things in the fall. Takes several trips and too much money. And, of course, I have to get used to the grocery stores being out of things, like celery. Actually, they were pretty low on all produce, crackers, limited meat items, no pretzels. One store had no dishwasher detergent. Laundry soaps had really increased in price. Shopping here always requires going to at least two grocery stores to get the things needed, and often a trip back a few days later, still searching for those items.<br />
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I just have to remind myself how very blessed we are to be able to afford groceries and the gas to get to the store. So very many people here struggle everyday. Within one day, we were getting approached by people who needed help. There just isn't enough work for all the people who live here. The cruise ships are returning this month (one port closes for summer and fall and the other has fewer ships coming), so that should bring more money into the island and put some people back to work. There still aren't many construction type jobs though, and that's what so many of the "Spanish" (mainland Hondurans) men came here to do.<br />
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And that is a capsule of our first five days back on the island.Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-935570217218599522013-10-22T17:36:00.001-06:002013-10-22T17:36:43.449-06:00Return to the IslandWe are back on the island after a six month absence, and it sure is good to be home. We had a busy summer back in the States with traveling, visiting family and friends, and helping my parents. Here are a few photos from our summer:<br />
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We celebrated our birthdays at Lulu's in Gulf Shores, AL with good friends Helen and Roger.<br />
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Attended my cousins' reunion in Troy, MO. Some of these cousins had not seen each other in years. Lots of catching up and laughing. We do that well.<br />
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We took my mom to Missouri to the cousins' reunion and to visit her family. She had not seen her sister or sister-in-law in several years. My dad's health did not allow him to make the trip, so my sister (from California) came and stayed with him.<br />
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Crazy cousins hiking through the woods looking for a very neglected cemetery. Found it...and the ticks found us!<br />
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We managed to pass through Missouri several times during the summer and stayed at our favorite B&B: the Winships. Don loved spending time in the man-cave with Carl while Pat and I yakked.<br />
We were never there long enough - just long enough to visit our doctor or dentist or passing through on the way to somewhere else. We didn't want to wear out our welcome!<br />
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Several trips to Wisconsin to visit and to help Dave with his basement project. And of course, to play with Simon!<br />
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Spent a fabulous week on the beach in Gulf Shores with our family. Even my dad ventured out for an evening walk on the beach.<br />
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We took lots of crazy family photos. My parents loved having the whole family around for a week, but I know it wore them out.<br />
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We had a girls only lunch at Tacky Jacks.<br />
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The Greatful Dead Tour...10 days of traveling through Virginia researching our family history. Had so much fun with my cousin and sister. Virginia is a beautiful state; our ancestors live in some breath-taking places. </div>
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Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah Valley</div>
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What a view our ancestors had!!</div>
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Watched my precious grandson be a ring bearer for his aunt. His daddy had to carry him down the aisle. The flowergirl was also carried down the aisle by her daddy. Weddings during naptime are not a good idea.<br />
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Aunt Rachel and I were the official wedding weekend babysitters. Tough job, but someone had to do it! Extra fun to have another visit with Rachel since we never made it to California.<br />
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We were happy to have so much time to spend with my parents, helping out with whatever they needed, but a little nervous about leaving them to come back to Roatan. Problem solved: My sister is coming to take the winter shift, helping out our parents. That's a relief for all of us, and a blessing!<br />
<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-66617188540288552162013-03-30T06:12:00.000-06:002013-03-30T06:12:29.062-06:00Some Last Minute ThoughtsIt is hard to believe that half a year can go by so quickly. It's time to return to the States for a few months. We've had such a great time here on Roatan; it has truly become our second home. Here are a few last photos.<br />
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We so love watching the sun set from our deck and seeing the cruise ships leave for distant ports.<br />
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Carlos has my jungle garden in good shape. I love the riot of color that surrounds our house.<br />
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Closing up the house for an extended period is always a big job. Don is putting up the hurricane shutters.<br />
In the meantime, I cleaned out the cabinets and refrigerator of foods that will not keep and delivered gift bags to several friends. We also cleaned out our closet and donated a bag of clothes. I also stopped by Britteny's art studio to pick up a painting she did for our daughter. That is now safely (I hope!) packed inside our suitcase.<br />
We have our bags packed...not a bad job when you don't have much to take back!<br />
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So, we celebrated our last night here with dinner on the beach at Blue Bahia with good friends, Larry, Susan and Juan. Larry and Susan are also leaving the island for awhile.<br />
Larry and I had the fresh grilled Wahoo. Excellent!!!! If you've never had it and get the chance, try it!<br />
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Last sunset for awhile.<br />
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Clowning around while watching the sun go down. Thanks to Juan for taking this shot.<br />
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The three amigos.<br />
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And now, we're off for some state-side adventures! Adios!!Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-89034263014300765682013-03-28T15:15:00.001-06:002013-03-28T15:15:57.127-06:00Saying Goodbye For NowEvery year it gets harder to say goodbye to our friends and church family on Roatan. It's also difficult to say goodbye to our sponsored kids. It is equally as hard for them.<br />
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The kids were all on vacation from school this week because it's Semana Santa (Holy Week). Susan and I had decided to skip tutoring, too. Susan met only with the 8th graders who are working on a big social studies power-point project and needed to use computers. Once we and Larry and Susan leave on Saturday, the kids will not have access to computers outside of school, so they needed to try to finish up their projects this week. I asked some of the kids to come to the classroom anyway to say goodbye and take some pictures.<br />
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Leidy, Carlos, Jeicy and Karla - goofing around.<br />
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Susan and I laughed at this pose - a year ago, Jeicy would NEVER have posed like this...too shy. She's obviously feeling more confident these days.<br />
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Jeicy and Karla, sending some love.<br />
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Some funny shots. Some of us just weren't ready yet and Susan was quick with the shutter!<br />
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Oh well, they never all smile at the same time.<br />
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Leidy and I<br />
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I got the nicest goodbye gift today. Leidy called me on the phone! Two years ago she spoke NO English and now she can call and chat with me!! So exciting! She called to tell us "goodbye and have a good trip" from her mom, Concepción. Isn't that sweet? I thought so, too. She asked if we would be back before her graduation (6th grade - a big deal here), and I said "yes, we would". Her mom asked if we would be Leidy's madrina (I think that's right), and walk with Leidy when she goes up to get her certificate. Karla has already asked us as well. What an honor!! Love these girls!Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-85752326581151005282013-03-25T13:01:00.001-06:002013-03-25T13:01:32.041-06:00Mouse 0 - Don 1Yes, that's right, Don has emerged the victor in the Mouse Wars. He decided to move the glue trap into the bathroom because we have seen him in there a few times. He put it in the corner behind the toilet. The next morning, there was the mouse, stuck tight in the glue and frantically trying to pull free. Don became concerned that he might actually succeed, so he bonked him with a 2x4 which seemed to do the job, but just for good measure, he threw the trap and mouse into a bucket of water. That is determination!<br />
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We are just hoping that the mouse didn't bring family or friends into the house with him. So far, we've seen no evidence.Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-91943714351297026012013-03-23T15:31:00.003-06:002013-03-23T15:31:57.163-06:00We're Off To The BeachThe day finally arrived. The kids had been so excited ever since we announced that we would take all 10 of them to the beach in West Bay to celebrate the end of exams. We had six adults and three vehicles to transport them. We met at the church the afternoon of their last day of exams. Oh, how they love going to West Bay to Infinity Bay! It is such a treat for them. Their families are not able to take them 5 1/2 miles away to swim. They don't have cars, and they don't have extra money for transportation, especially not for leisure.<br />
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We pretty much had the beach and water to ourselves! It was a Friday afternoon - no cruise ships were in. The Semana Santa crowds had not yet arrived. It was wonderful!! The kids were able to use the beach chairs (usually rented for a few dollars) for free. I only had to chase away one teenage boy who was buzzing around Julissa like a bee to honey. Whew! Watching 10 kids is a big job. I was so glad to have 6 sets of eyeballs on duty - well, actually 5 sets. Snider was holding down a table for us in the shade and watching all the bags. The rest of the adults took to the water and spread out. Don took the deeper water and was the outer boundary.<br />
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Greicy is blowing up the new green air mattress while Susan adjusts one of the masks for Jeicy.<br />
We had four masks, two snorkels and three air mattresses. The kids were under orders to share. That had to be repeated often. Look at that empty beach!!<br />
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Our two youngest kids, Jeicy and Carlos, are swimming between Lynne and I. They do much better when they have the masks and snorkels.<br />
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Victor begged to bring the blue soccer ball along, and while they didn't play soccer on the beach, they managed to have fun with it in the water, as Victor is demonstrating above. They threw it, kicked it, floated on it and even remembered to bring it home! Honduras was playing in the soccer tournament and had just beaten Mexico, so the boys were excited.<br />
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The water was crystal clear and the nice little breeze had blown away the sea lice that had been spotted earlier in the week, so no bites!<br />
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Jeicy, enjoying the green mattress, which had a small hole and leaked like crazy.<br />
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Jessie and Nelson preparing to take their turns on the mats.<br />
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Jessie (I think) swimming to Lynne.<br />
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It sure was easier to keep track of the kids with so few people around - like when Karla left the water for the beach. She was pouting about something, didn't get the mat of her choice or whatever. Such drama!<br />
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I discovered that the sunscreen I applied was way past its expiration date and got a bit red. The kids all wanted to use the sunscreen, too, and they had the newer bottle. A Honduran woman noticed that and commented that they didn't need sunscreen with their nice brown bodies. I should have traded them.<br />
<br />Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-18762741407060967082013-03-23T14:48:00.000-06:002013-03-23T14:48:07.931-06:00Outsmarted By A MouseOur efforts to catch the mouse in our house have been thwarted repeatedly. We set out the D-Con and when he wouldn't touch it, we tucked little bits of cheese in with the pellets. He picked out the cheese, scattered some of the D-Con on the floor and probably didn't eat any of the poison. We tried again, and this time he may have eaten some of the D-Con, but not enough to kill him. Don set out a good-sized trap and baited it with cheese. The next day the cheese was gone and so was the mouse. Don put out a smaller piece of cheese and the mouse made off with it. Don modified the trap to make it super sensitive (he got his finger pinched in the process), but the mouse won again. This mouse is crafty!!<br />
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We found some glue traps in the grocery store, and our cleaning lady said those worked very well. Don put a piece of cheese in the middle of this trap and set it near the refrigerator (where we're pretty sure he's hiding). The next morning the trap had been moved over next to the futon, the cheese was gone and all that remained were some little mouse footprints in the glue. Don figures that he was able to use the metal edge of the futon to leverage himself off. The next day, I suggested that we put some soft bits of Velveeta in the trap, maybe he wouldn't be able to pull them off. Sure enough, he didn't, but the trap had no footprints; he simply ignored it. Don said "well, maybe he doesn't like Velveeta; he wants the good cheese. So we tried that again. Nope. This mouse has it all figured out.<br />
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The mouse war continues.Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-46519483558153319322013-03-17T08:25:00.002-06:002013-03-17T08:25:32.575-06:00Hot to ColdThis has been a week of extremes on Roatan. We began the week with the hottest day of the year thus far, 94 degrees on our deck. We also had a scheduled power outage that afternoon during our tutoring time with the kids. I suggested to Susan that we do our tutoring from the beach, and she thought that was a fine idea, so, after a very brief English lesson in the classroom, we headed to the beach behind the church. The kids had a great time, of course.<br />
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The next day was cooler as a storm system moved our way. By Wednesday we had probably our coolest day so far - 61 degrees and very, very windy. Brrrrrr!! The windows were closed, blankets on the bed and socks on the feet. The remainder of the week was very cool, windy, and rainy. Our jungle garden was happy to get the rain. It was raining very hard on Wednesday, so we did not have tutoring.<br />
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The girls and Concepción came up to the house on Thursday to finish their purses. Maria and Jessie were ready to finish theirs, too, so they also came to the house. I gave them the option of sitting out on the covered deck or inside. Maria and Jessie chose to work outside and the rest came inside. That made for a lot of running back and forth for me as I helped each one finish the bottoms of their purses and then add the straps.<br />
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Leidy working on the strap.<br />
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Maria and Jessie working out on the deck. That's little Jesslee leaning against her mom. She is about 4 years old. She was very good despite having no toys to play with. She amused herself by crawling behind and under furniture and 'hiding'. I would pretend to not know where she was and then suddenly 'find' her. Great fun!<br />
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A close-up look and Jessie's colorful purse.<br />
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Concepción chose to work inside at the kitchen table.<br />
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Julissa finished first, followed closely by Maria and Jessie.<br />
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They were so proud, and I was proud of them!! Maria and Jessie wanted to make black purses next, so I sent them home with the black yarn. Oscar has already collected 100 tab tops for them, enough to make two more purses.<br />
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Only Karla did not finish her purse. She was the only one who did not take their materials home last week, so she fell behind. I sent her home with what she needed to finish.<br />
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We worked longer than usual because so many of them were just about finished and didn't want to stop. At 4:15 we wrapped it up and were ready to go when Karla gave me a handwritten list. I asked "what is this?" She said it was homework that they needed for the next day. It was in Spanish. I asked what it said, and she didn't know. I pulled up the Google translator and entered the list. Domestic abuse, child abuse, violence from freedom of expression, etc. I asked "ok, so what do you need?" They needed to find five examples, photos, of each category on that list, then to print them out and hand them in the next day. That did not go over well. I asked Karla why she waited until 4:15 to tell me this. She shrugged. I asked Jessie if she also needed this. Yes, and so did Leidy. I called to Don, who was sitting in the other room writing, and enlisted his help. He was also not happy. He thought we would be working on that until 8:00. We began finding images, saving them to a flashdrive while Don figured out how to print them using as little paper as possible. I also called Susan for moral support. She agreed that the assignment was ridiculous, given that none of the kids have computers or printers at home. She had already talked to their teachers once about this, and said that another visit seemed in order. What will they do when we are all gone for several months? We asked them that. They shrugged. After about an hour of frantic (on my part) work, we had four sets of five pages of photos (Nelson also needed a set) and I was able to drive them back to the colonia. I felt bad for Maria and Concepción who still had to go home and make dinner.Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6584918674033494388.post-63255276317138116942013-03-13T13:56:00.000-06:002013-03-13T13:56:24.494-06:00Not Again!!We had a bit of excitement here this morning. We had the husband/wife team of Carlos and Suyapa working here, as they have been doing every Wednesday since December when I hurt my back and needed help with housework, and when our former gardener, Oscar, disappeared. Suyapa is a wonderful housekeeper, and her husband has proved to be a very hard-working yardman. They needed the income, so we kept Suyapa coming every week even after my back had healed up.<br />
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This morning, Suyapa was sweeping the concrete stairs and moved the small bag of trash that she had placed at the base of the steps. As she did so, she saw a rat!! Carlos was thinning out a bed of heliconia where the rat had been hiding, and the rat ran towards the stairs and ducked into a hole under the first step. Don jumped into action, ran into the house, grabbed the can of Mace (police grade, no less!), ran back out and sprayed into the hole. Unfortunately, both he and Carlos made the mistake of breathing and immediately began coughing. I ran to the kitchen door to see what was going on and caught a little whiff which caused me to cough. Don's hoping he sprayed enough of it to kill the rat. I hope so, too!<br />
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I did remind Don that he had sworn to not spray that again unless an actual intruder (human) was threatening us, after that unfortunate incident last year involving the howling cat and the pepper spray. He felt this was justified. For good measure, he tossed a handful of D-Con rat poison into the hole.<br />
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And, as if that isn't enough excitement, we still have a mouse in our house. It ate a hole in a corner of our screen door and got into the guest quarters/kitchen part of the house. We put out the tray of D-Con but cannot tell that he has eaten any. I haven't found any evidence that he has eaten anything in the kitchen either. Then Suyapa discovered lots of mouse poopoo behind the futon when she was sweeping. She suggested that I put the D-Con there and add some bits of cheese to the tray. She also told me how a mouse/rat had gotten into her house and had eaten the insulation in her stove. Her oven no longer works. Her mouse also had five babies in the walls of the oven. Suyapa took care of that by pouring boiling water on them and then got a cat who killed the mama mouse/rat.<br />
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I cannot tell you how wonderful it has been to have Suyapa working here one morning a week. I am so spoiled! She will clean anything I ask her to - windows, screens, cabinets, wood doors - all in addition to the regular dusting, sweeping, mopping, bathroom and kitchen cleaning. I don't ask her to clean all of these things each week, of course, usually just one extra thing. Whatever seems most in need. She will also clean things that she observes are in need of a cleaning - like the ceiling fans, without my asking. She generally works four hours; Carlos works eight. We pay them both more than the minimum wage here, which is about $15 for a day's labor. Can you imagine getting a maid in the United States to clean, even the most basic cleaning, for $15? I once had to have a cleaning lady in the U.S. and I think I paid her $50. for two hours work.<br />
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As an added bonus, Suyapa gets to practice her English and I learn more Spanish. She helps me communicate with Carlos who understand some English but doesn't speak it. It's been win/win for us.<br />
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Now I just need to be rodent-free.Jeanette Gartnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01260101109607367027noreply@blogger.com0