Today has been an interesting day. At 8:00 this morning, I was startled by voices outside the door. It was some workers coming to put in a new fence and they needed to plug in their extension cord. I opened up the laundry room so they could plug in at that outlet. Their next step was to begin grinding off the gate and the top of the concrete posts. Soon a dump truck of sand arrived and was dumped in the driveway and then a load of stone. In the meantime, the TWR workers arrived with a pallet of bags of cement. They told me that the sand and gravel was supposed to have been unloaded next door where no one was staying, but since the sand and gravel was in our driveway, the bags of cement would be unloaded in our carport. They have been busy grinding down the concrete posts for the new fence and raising a bit of dust.

I usually wash on Monday, but had not started it as early as usual, waiting to see how or if Hurricane Thomas ( It changed course and was down-graded to a tropical storm.) would affect our weather. We were supposed to have a 60% chance of showers. Well, since it looked good, I

decided to do a load of laundry.

While the clothes were washing, Benny, one of the TWR workers showed up with the lawn mower to cut the grass, which was knee high. What a dust storm! It took an hour and half to cut the little patch of grass because it was so long. I couldn’t hang out clothes because of all the dust and a lot of the back yard is under the

clothes line. It is now finished, but he may be back with a weed whacker to finish off, so I have not yet hung out the laundry. I think the end of the work day is 4:00, so I can clean off the lines and hang out the clothes. As long as the breeze continues, they will probably dry before the sun drops into the ocean around 6:00.

I will also need to do a little dusting again today. I have already wiped the table down three times today.

Louvered windows are just not particularly dust proof and one does not want them all closed in this heat. Every breath of breeze is appreciated!

We have been taking some pictures of a few of the colorful houses around town. These are not the exception, but rather the rule. Some have been freshly painted and are so bright and pretty. Hope you enjoy them.

Today, I helped begin to clean out of one of the TWR houses. They are preparing to make this house handicapped accessible for a new family who has a child with spinal bifida. TWR will be adding a handicapped accessible bathroom and another bedroom. So, Rhonda Barker and I were removing the linens, dishes, etc. We were checking them over for stains, tears, cracks, etc. We ended up with several bags of discards. If you ever come to visit Bonaire, be sure to bring towels, small rugs, and sheets. They are more expensive and of lessor quality than those from the States. I wish I had realized the need and I would have been sure to pack some in my luggage.

I was warned that there were scorpions in that house, so I tried to be careful when I pulled things out of the cupboards, etc. We didn’t see any live ones, but did find a dead one.

I brought home some of the sheets to wash and they came out nicely. Only one set will probably have to become a rag. It was rather tattered.

Larry was supposed to come home a little ‘early’ (before 6:00) so we could find a place to swim. Unfortunately, the transmitter was not working properly, so we will not be going swimming tonight. It is too busy across the street where we usually swim. ‘Happy hour’ is well under way and payday was today.

NOTE — To see a bigger (and in some cases, expanded) version of any of the images in this blog, just click on the one you want to see.

Today was laundry day again. I was afraid it was going to rain, so didn’t get it out as early as usual. It didn’t rain here, but it did a couple of miles up the road. I managed to get a picture of a cute green lizard, probably iguana, hanging on the screened-in porch. He just hung there watching me.

This afternoon, I had Larry drop me at the corner in town and I went shop-seeing. I found a fabric shop that was so neat and pretty. They sell the fabric and will do some sewing there. I also visited some other shops that I had not been in before.

I took a picture of Zeezicht’s where we used to eat on a regular basis. We have eaten there once this time, for old time’s sake. It is now air conditioned and very comfortable.

I also stopped by the fruit market and bought a papaya. The papaya here are different from the ones in Swaziland. The ones we knew in Africa were yellow inside and outside — about the color a cantaloupe is on the inside.

The ones we get here are red inside and outside. They are as red as a watermelon and taste a little like guava.

After my two hour walk in town, I am ready for a swim in the ocean. It didn’t look too busy as I walked through the beach area. I did see a big tour bus pull out earlier, so they may be back for some time on the beach and ‘happy hour’. It’s not as enjoyable when the bar area is crowded as we have to walk by it to swim. Everything is outside so the bar is not contained in a small area, it kind of spills all over.

NOTE — To see a bigger (and in some cases, expanded) version of any of the images in this blog, just click on the one you want to see.

In the morning we were in the office. I worked on pictures for the archives a little. After lunch, I went with Larry to the transmitter site where I wiped a few things down and then worked on my quilt and read a book. I also tried to take a picture of the egret that resides at the Transmitter site. The reflection from the water may be to bright for him to show up very well.

I am reading a book, Coffee On the Terrace, by Bruce Grayden. It is a very interesting book about their work with

Wycliffe in the Philippines. It clearly shows how God works in hearts and lives in spite of us and our human frailty.

For dinner, I fixed Indian Mystery Steak, rice and green beans. The mystery steak was nicely seasoned and quite good.

We were unable to go for our usual evening swim as the dock was busy with a party and it was too late to actually drive to a beach. Maybe tomorrow we’ll get our swim in.

NOTE — To see a bigger (and in some cases, expanded)

version of any of the images in this blog, just click on the one you want to see.

I have noticed that often we hear squealing brakes in front of or near our house. The other day I discovered that people drive really fast up the road and then when they get to the drempel, they slam on their brakes! The drempels are well marked, but for some reason, if you drive fast enough, I guess the sign disappears.

Today we had three rain storms come through. The first one was this morning shortly around 8:30, while I my clothes were in the washing machine. It was a short lived storm, and I hung my clothes outside. Around 10:30, I decided to bring in the dry clothes. I had not had them in long before the second rain came through. It was a little longer than the first one. The third rain came through just before our evening swim. The sea was a little rougher than usual (the waves where we swam this evening were huge — 18 inches at most!) probably because of the storms in the area.

I took some unique pictures today. I took a picture of the sign of probably the only Donkey Safari Park in the world! Evidently, the wild donkeys were becoming a nuisance, causing accidents and getting into people’s yards, etc.. The ancestors to these donkeys were used in the salt fields long ago, and when equipment took their place, they were left to fend for themselves and, of course, multiplied. Someone decided that the donkeys should be protected, so started the Donkey Refuge. Unfortunately, the donkeys on the outside of the refuge are fairing much better. The refuge is struggling to feed the donkeys and the ones that are still free are fat and healthy.

NOTE — To see a bigger (and in some cases, expanded) version of any of the images in this blog, just click on the one you want to see.