Birthdays, SAGA, Land Clearing Update and an Earthquake!

Back at it another week...

Last Thursday was Ethan's birthday, our oldest; he turned 24. Today is my mom's birthday, and also her twin's, Joyce, who we unexpectedly lost last October, so today has been fairly mopey. It's tough not being around the ones you love, especially on important dates. 

In honor of Ethan's birthday, we had dinner at a restaurant he would enjoy - Oh! Bombai! by the airport, which serves Indian and some Chinese food. This is our second visit, and while we are newer to Indian food, every meal has been outstanding, and we've had some of the most attentive service on the island here! If you haven't been, give it a try.

The red dish is Chicken Vindaloo, then Chicken Korma, and their dynamite garlic naan!

Friday I had a virtual meeting with Alex, our architect, to create the "final draft" of our home's blueprints. He added some extra lighting that may be overkill, so I dialed that back a bit, and also made our kitchen window larger - minor changes. We had some questions on products that we were unfamiliar with (desalination, rain catchment/rotoplas, etc), and he is so patient and good at explaining the hows and whys of construction and material selection. Within two weeks, we should have the final draft and be able to apply for a building permit!

Saturday we were out of the house for brunch at Sammy's, then on to SAGA Humane Society - we had donations to drop off, and since Nathan was off of work, he put in some "cat-cuddling" time with me. Here's a link to a video I filmed while there: Visiting San Pedro's Humane Society to Play with Cats and Kittens!

Nathan was immediately cornered by that flame-point Siamese mix! Rolled right over for belly pets.

With close to 40 cats and kittens in their shelter, they can use volunteers, fosters, and adoptions. When we were in the adult cat room, I realized that the very affectionate ginger kitten and some of his litter mates from my November visit were still in the shelter...they are well cared for, but would be so much happier in a home of their own!

David, who coordinated our land-cleaning crew, texted us Friday that they had returned and finished the work, so we headed out to Secret Beach after our SAGA visit. It turns out that there was a miscommunication - the crew thought we were in no rush (which honestly, we weren't) but David wanted them to wrap up so he could close that job. It's amazing how different the lot looks without the underbrush! We have a lot of gumbo limbo trees, and I hope that our home placement will retain all of them. I'm sure what is left will flourish now that they don't have to compete for sun and water! Here is a video shot from the water, if you are interested: Land Cleaned Up for Home Construction at Secret Beach

I believe this is a sapodilla tree - we have a couple of them, too! Beautiful and great for shade. I'll have to try the fruit and report back.

Feel free to e-mail me if you would like the crew's direct contact info; the foreman was very knowledgeable on the trees, what to keep/what to remove, etc.

I also found my favorite bar advertisement so far on the island:

La Cala has many signs on the road north, but the "lottery" one is my favorite!

As soon as we got home, our phones made a notification sound we had not heard before.

What was it, you ask...?

Oh, just an earthquake! Nathan received a second notification about a 7.1 earthquake a few minutes later - as well as a tsunami warning. I didn't get either of those, even though we are on the same phone plan. We didn't do anything differently; perhaps we should have been more alert! We didn't feel the earthquake presumably because we were in the golf cart at the time. 

We had 16 more yards of rock dropped at the villa - to complete the raising of our yard. Vandam, our landscaper when the villa was a rental, will be spreading this batch as Nathan was pretty sore after helping the guys with the previous round.

My dad arrives for a visit next Thursday, so we have a few more odd jobs to complete around our villa. He is considering moving here, or to Rocky Point, Mexico - which until recently, we felt would be a better fit for him regarding medical care, proximity to the US if needed, and ability to have a vehicle... With all of the new border drama, we're reconsidering that endorsement. We'll see how he feels about "island life" when he gets here. 

Have a great week!