07/18//13

These trees were my FAVORITE in St. Lucia.  They are called "Flamboyant" trees and I can so understand why.  

I could have photographed them forever.

Their color popped out of everywhere on the island.

I was able to get some up close pics of it on Pigeon Island, our last day in St. Lucia.  The wind was blowing so hard I was afraid I wouldn't get a great pic, but I did manage a couple.

So... sad to say, but my summer is flying by...

What have I been doing?

I haven't been on here much, that is for sure.  A complete difference from years past when I never wanted to miss a day.

I have been:

.... enjoying being with my sweet ones.  I never mind being home with them.

...... had some fun lunch dates with friends.  It is nice to get out and chat without worrying that you have been sitting in the same booth for 3... or 4 hours.  :)

....working on the St. Lucia pics as you can see.  Got them done and have ordered many prints from them.

..... taking an online class for school.  We are beginning the use of Mimio's in our classrooms this fall.  It turns your regular white board into an interactive board.  I have been in school almost a month and will start another class with it in the fall.  It is neat to see what can be created for the kids.

..... finishing up my Powerpoints of the countries.  I also re-did the states because they needed some pepping.  :)  With re-doing the 50 states, I also did the 53 African countries.  (With the help of my wonderful brother..).  In the last two years I have done 249 Powerpoints just on countries/states.  I am glad I could put the check in THAT box.

.... cleaning this house.  DEEP.  
I could not believe how bad this house had gotten.............. but, wait... yes, I could.  It had been neglected far too long.  We pulled out furniture and moved things around.  I'll be showing some of that on here soon.  The kids even did their rooms themselves.  I was quite proud of them.  The office is the only room that didn't get touched... and it will..... eventually..... maybe next summer....

..... reading books!  I have read around 8 books already this summer!  I made a choice to read more and it has been great.  Having the Kindle has also been wonderful because I can find different books so quickly from the comfort of my couch or bed.  haha.

.... doing my Bible study.  This may be last but it certainly does not mean to be... just where it landed.  I will be talking more on this in the coming days, too.


I truly have had many thoughts swirling around in my head to write.  I honestly have not had the brain time to get it all sorted so that it would make sense.  I have missed it and hope to be getting back into more writing soon. 

What have YOU been doing this summer?

07/10/13

I can't believe today marks a month since we returned from our trip.

Sorry it has taken me so long to get these blogs finished.  I have been knee-deep in cleaning my house as well as an online class for school.

On Thursday of that week we went to see the volcano in Soufriere.  On the way, we got to see the Pitons.... their very popular mountains on the coast, although not the highest.

While viewing the Pitons from here we were "attacked" (ha!) by a woman selling her wares.  We got five mahogany necklaces and a bracelet for $20.  She said she needed money for her kids to go to school.  She also "cussed out" our tour guide in Creole because she was showing us something from another guy selling necklaces.  All our tour guide was doing was showing me things that interested me because she knew I was a teacher.  Not sure what I am going to do with five of those necklaces, but it surely makes a great story.

The volcano.... the town of Soufriere is actually IN the volcano.  It hasn't erupted since the 1700's.  Soufriere means "Sulphur in the air."  They say as long as you smell rotten eggs you are good.  Well, we were good because we smelled some serious rotten eggs.

The people in St. Lucia have a saying "No pressure, No problem"... it means if you don't have pressure under the earth from the volcano you have no problem of it erupting.  Just know, I would hate to be around if it did.... Talk about Pompei all over again!

The teacher in me was so excited to be there and experience it even though it wasn't that much there.  We were not allowed to walk down among the magma spewing forth and bubbling.  I didn't think I wanted to die that day.

On the way back to the resort I asked if we could stop in a small fishing village so I could photograph some things up close.  They obliged, kindly, but were nervous the whole time.  haha.  This too trusting teacher who is writing this blog started walking about as if I was in Apex, NC.  They soon trailed after me.  Oh the things I take for granted...

Here is my chicken picture.  I tried to get more close and a better shot, but its owner came out of nowhere, drunk, and began to fuss at me for taking at picture of his chicken.  Apparently, the locals think that you should pay them if you take their picture.  Thank goodness I just got the chicken!

That night we had the best sunset for the entire week.  It was breathtaking.

Me and Sweet Man after supper that night.

On Friday we went shopping downtown.  I would have liked to have spent more time in this market but we only had about 15 minutes.  If I had it to do all over again I would have told Steve for us to stay here longer and catch a cab back to the resort.  Still a great time, though.

 

This is definitely not something you see in our area!

 

Here is the calabash.  This is a gourd that was used for pottery before they started using clay.  They look like huge apples.  I was able to get some earrings made out of it to take home.  Neat stuff.

While we were there we met this couple and another couple who were getting married that week. They both were married on Friday.  We got to see this couple get married as we hung out on the beach.

Another nice sunset, but it wasn't nearly as beautiful as the night before.

On Saturday we went Ziplining.  

I. LOVED. IT.

I was determined to LIVE while on this trip so this was definitely living!  The course had twelve lines so it was great to be able to do it over and over.

Don't mess with the pro newby.

This smile on my face was there the whole time.  It was a wonderful experience and I enjoyed every minute.

Sweet Man had moments of not being as sure, but overall he loved it, too!

Coming in for a landing.

Off I go again!

We are surviving!

On the way back our tour guide showed us the inside of cacao.  In case you don't know what that is, it is where we get our chocolate!  I knew what it was when  he asked and kept being the annoying student.  Others thought it was squash or something. haha.  We got to put the cocoa bean in our mouth to taste the covering.  It was interesting, but I must say I love the CHOCOLATE best.

We also got to try fresh coconut.  It was delectable!

Me and Sweet Man again... yes, I took a lot of pictures of us together.