Vet Visit, Work Permit?, City Trip, Power Problems

I saw a Facebook post Wednesday morning that Dr. Baptist was at SAGA on Wednesday and Thursday for consultations and surgeries. I wasn't sure if the regular staff could do x-rays on Selene's mouth or not, so I went down to ask as I didn't want to take up one of Dr. Baptist's slots unless necessary. (Selene has been losing weight and favoring one side of her mouth when she chews). They told me ...

Nationwide Outage; Plans Approved; Pregnant Cat; House Pricing...

As you may surmise from the main photo, sargasso is back with a vengeance. It is really piling up on the reef side of the island, faster than most businesses can dispatch it. Depending on the wind strength, it is getting pushed into the river - last Tuesday it nearly covered the entire surface, and was flying by! We also saw an unexpected, nationwide power outage last week - for over two hou ...

Puncture Wounds, Cold Showers, A Trip South, CBA Approval!

Rough re-entry into "real life" after living in "vacation mode" with all of our guests. Vandam fixed our water leak as planned...but we weren't getting hot water. Nathan tinkered with the tank, checked the outlets, troubleshot everything he could think of - and then realized, we had a HOT water line leak - meaning, water emptied from the tank. The heating element burned up. Guess what's not ...

Mainland Trip, Cart Problems, Power and Water Outages, House Update, Timber!

Very, very hectic few weeks for us here! I totally jinxed our "good luck" with the rental carts when we first broke down while my dad was visiting. I swapped out carts when headlights or parking breaks went out, but up until my dad's visit, we had not experienced a total breakdown. On one of his last days here, it died by the high school and we had to call to be rescued/have a new cart deliv ...

Last Lobster, Casino, Vet Update!

Last week I took Dad back to Secret Beach to go fishing; I "supervised" from a shady beach chair - what I referred to as, "Daddy Daycare".  That blur in the water is my dad He was unsuccessful in his fishing that day, so we headed to town for dinner, and then to the casino for entertainment. Thursday brought some good news: Dr. Williams, the current Veterinarian at San Pedro Veterinarian H ...
Posted in General ,Moving Abroad ,

Dinner Date, Our First Visitor, Fishing, and Food...

Last week was a race to get things done before our first guest, my dad, arrived on Thursday. The villa needed a deep cleaning, we wanted to set up the bed back in the third bedroom (mostly because the mattress was leaned up against the sliding glass door in the "guest bedroom"/Nathan's office) and general decluttering. We have an unholy amount of linens as we need 18 towel sets and 9 bedding ...

Tomahawks, Interviews, Power's Out, Casino!

First off, if you are curious about the sargasso season, it is most definitely upon us. Crews are on many beaches each morning scooping it up, but the reprieve is only temporary. Vandam and a friend swiftly moved two truckloads of gravel after working their "day jobs" for us last Wednesday and Thursday - they did a fantastic job and are grateful for extra cash. Our yard is now high and cle ...
Posted in General ,Moving Abroad ,

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 ai ...

Six Months As An Island Immigrant: A Review Of Our US Expatriation

If the code is still showing in the below article, my deepest apologies. I have reached out to my web host to resolve the issue. You may read the same article for free on my Medium blog by following this link: We Expatriated the US Six Months Ago - Here's How It's Going   <p>&lt;p&gt;&lt;code&gt;&lt;/code&gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;Today m ...

New Friends, Epic Hangovers, Build Updates...

Last Wednesday I made arrangements to walk a home constructed by the new builder I met with, directly with the client - he (Ed) had offered as much on the builder's Facebook page. His home is WAAAAY south by Playa de Sala, about a 40-minute drive. If you have been following our adventure, the builders we have met with to date have been at least one of the below:1. Astronomically expensive - o ...