Category Archives: Pets and Animals

Guess What I Found?!

“Guess what I found?” has been our newest game. It is kind of like the chance card on Monopoly. This could be something beneficial or not so much.

For instance, one of our first “guess what I found” moments was when I found the passionfruit flowers and fruit. Then another one was finding this creepy centipede in the palm trees.

We have heard that Puerto Rico has no venomous snakes or spiders, but that you do have to watch out for these guys! Also, the ants are intense! Tiny little ants that feel like someone just threw a bunch of needles at your feet. We have been having a hard time feeding Kitty because only about 5 minutes after we set his food down the ants swarm his dish like a petri dish. And if you try to move it they start biting you! We are definitely going to have to find a solution for that!

As for Kitty himself, he spends almost his entire day as a lump under the covers of the bed.

He’s lump, he’s lump, he’s lump, he’s in our bed.

Kitty is definitely still freaked out. He comes out for a couple of hours a day, but if he hears the leaves rustle or any loud sound, he scurries back under the covers to hide. I took him out with me up on top of the cabana just to show him that there really is nothing to be afraid of, but I don’t think he believed me.

Kitty and me under the big mango tree

We are still doing quite a bit of work on the landscaping and have finally been able to drive the car into the courtyard after clearing away some massive weed trees that grew about three inches thick in just those past nine months. Britton bought a bow saw (thanks Matt for the recommendation) and hacked those things down.

I am bringing out a lot of Spanish vocabulary I haven’t had to use much in an office setting. Saw=Sierra, Wire=Alambre, Piedra de afilar= Sharpening stone, etc. Good practice using Spanish in our new daily life when we say “guess what I found” in the hardware stores.

A lot of you are worried we are working too much. Don’t worry. We also know how to play! We have gotten out and met some people too. We visited a few friends and played a little poker. We are planning on going to a concert event in Aguadilla this Saturday and we have taken lots of naps and eaten lots of “guest-what-I-found” delicious fruits from our property, the Econo or Edwards Grocery Stores or from the fruit vendors parked on the side of the road.

Not sure what these are…quenepas? They are from the property but mostly a huge seed inside

We have had a couple of other “guess what I found” moments. Britton was up on the top of the cabana with the laptop to transfer some pictures. He yelled down to me, “guess what I found?!” and I yelled back, “Um, cat poop?” and we laughed because apparently the roof of the cabana had been used by the local cats as a poop hot spot…but it turned out to be an ACTUAL hot spot. We found open WIFI on our roof! So great! I am standing here on top of the roof overlooking the wooden house and ocean writing this!

The not-so-great thing is what we did NOT find in our bags….our camera battery charger. I think we left it plugged into the wall in our kitchen in Greeley! Ugh. Once our battery runs out we won’t be able to take more pictures or videos, so we are going on a quest to try and find one (Mom if you read this can you check in our Greeley house?).

So daily we have little wins and little challenges. It has been the perfect balance. We still have a few things we need to sort out like the zafacones for the Rincon trash pick up are apparently all out, so we have to haul out any trash we make.

All in all, every day has been an adventure with new finds around every corner.

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Doctor Visit (well…ok….veterinarian)

Kitty Bought His Ticket to Rincón!

Freefall

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Everyone talks about making the jump. The big change. But what is often missed in these stories is the freefall, that period of limbo between making the decision to do something and landing in your new world. The freefall after a parachute jump (I have heard) is actually the most ecstasy-inducing experience. The fear of the jump is over and for those blissful few moments, you float in another world between one and the next.

For lease!

That’s sort of where we are right now. On Tuesday I gathered up the courage to approach my supervisor and tell him that we are moving. That my last day at work will be September 20. Like climbing the ladder to the jump off the high dive, I noticed that my fear was in the build-up. Once I had done it, I was falling into a whole new experience. One where I know I will be safe and the fun is still to come.

Kitty knows how to relax 🙂

In just this first week that Britton has been off work we have accomplished a lot! Britton took Kitty in for his check-up and shots (the first time in about 9 years!!). We have thoroughly cleaned out the whole house, signed the paperwork to get it placed for rent, and had our first showing! And we have begun looking at airfare to buy our tickets. As for “stuff”, we are down to just two chairs and the TV. We have dropped off two more large trash bags full of clothes and things to Goodwill. And our folks have graciously held on to some of our sentimental items like photo albums. We have even sold our kitchen table and are using a card table to eat.

Bye kitchen table of 10 years!

It is a strange place, the freefall. The transition. At work, they are already talking about hiring my position and it makes me feel strange. I think it must be that for eight years, this job has been tied up in my identity. It is how I have introduced myself many times. My little niche in the world. And just like that I can be replaced. It also brings up feelings of loss and loss-aversion. I am going to miss all my co-workers, friends and family. And we are basically taking a 90% paycut to live our dream. But when you put it into perspective, when you have what you need, when you have ENOUGH, it is by far more expensive to continue to just wish you were living the dream instead of actually doing it.

Britton said he felt this way too his last few weeks at work, but that once he was done and had walked away, the world has now opened up into this new space of creation. He feels anything is possible. It is pretty cool and weird to have a nearly empty house, and an empty yard now that the chickens have a new home as well.

Chickens loaded up to go to their new home

But every time there is emptiness or vacancy, every time there is a blank canvas, there is the power to fill, the power to create. No void or vacuum ever stays that way for long. And so when we land from this freefall, we will look around and say: What a trip!

And where do we start.