Halloween in Durham with Eliza (the flower) and her friends Quetzal (the butterfly) and Meri (the Pig)...
Most people assume that Belize = vacation! For most, it does. Sadly, we rarely see the cayes, but we love coming here anyway. The places we go look like this:
We had a great swim in the Sibun River while David and Busta (the king fisherman) cleaned the fish that he caught in the river. David is collecting small samples of fish from the rivers in Belize to test for mercury. That didn't seem to deter Busta for cooking it up to eat later on (let's hope for a negative test in this river!). Here are a few pics from the day. Busta's kids joined us..
Belizeans are honoring the passing of MJ too. But I have to say, the tribute didn't start the day he died - here his greatest hits of the 80s never lost their luster and the man has lived large forever..or, well, at least since the first national radio station Love FM (Stereo Amor) went on the air February 14, 1993. I was actually here that day in Belize when MJ tunes were first heard across the nation..it was exciting. Thriller, Beat it...these are staple tunes on Cruisin at 5 (half-hour daily show of popular selections airing during Belize's "rush hour"). These days, his music is on the air just as frequently as it was, but I notice now it's just played a little bit louder.
Don't stop til you get enough...? Not here in Belize.
As promised, here is a mini tree frog (although it's not the red-eyed tree frog that David promised...we're still searching for one, but we may have to look beyond our cement patio and go to the jungle forest). This one was hiding in a pair of rubber boots and he jumped out when I started sweeping the patio.
And it felt appropriate to update the blog...only after 4 months. We made it through our first New England winter in New Hampshire as a family and I made it through my first year teaching at UNH...whew!
I've come down to Belize for a month to jump-start a new archaeological project in the Belize Valley and David and Eliza have joined me for a few weeks. We brought down the requisite baby pool, which has already seen a lot of use:
David and Eliza also visited the Belize Zoo:
Feeding Time:
Eliza: Green beans grow to [be] plants. In fact, green beans ARE plants. And this is food (pointing to the mashed potatoes and pork)...
Mom: Did you learn about plants in school?
Eliza: No, I just learned it. Does water grow to [be] plants?
Dad: Eliza, eat your pork with your fork. Hey, I just rhymed.
Eliza: Use the potato with the fork. Hey, I just rhymed. Does pork grow up to [be] plants?
Dad: No, but they might eats plants. Pigs like peas and green beans.
Eliza: Yeah. And I like peas and green beans.
ps - except with mac and cheese...THANK YOU Palmers.
Winter sports...a foreign concept to David prior to this year. It's called jumping in whole hog when your first experience is climbing a mountain in the snowy depths of winter in the White Mts of NH.
An awesome day - David has officially converted!
Living in Florida for so long (where there are no basements, only water tables) I forgot what it was to have a basement. My childhood basement consisted of mostly dirt and some rocks. Now, living here in NH I realize people are pretty serious about their (full) basements. I mean, they make a life for themselves in these subterranean worlds. I swear half the undergraduates at UNH rent rooms in the basement of every house in Durham.
I thought I would never spend more than a few moments in a basement, enough time to maybe turn on the dryer or fill up the water on the boiler. But now I live in NH and we HANG OUT in our basement...a lot. Frankly, it's the warmest room in our house. Yet, perpetually damp even when the wood stove is a-blazing..kind of amazing, really. Anyway, the point is that it's warm down there (despite being always wet) so we hang out in that dank dark place and call it "home" for the winter. I find the wood paneling soothing (NOT). Recently, we have made it a craft bonanza and Eliza is *loving* it (she doesn't realize it's a basement)...
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Recent Comments
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Palmer said:
Thanks a bunch! This was met with many oohs and ahhs as the boys clunked heads trying to look at... read more
on Tree Frogs for the Palmer Boys -
RawheaD said:
I'd love a basement. I'd have a table saw, a drill press, a lathe.... read more
on Craft-o-matic Basement -
AD&PG said:
Holy snow batman! Loved this video. Eliza seemed pretty comfy plopped down in the snow there....must be in the genes... read more
on Want to make a snow man? -
The Harveys said:
You need a back-up Phante....where did that one come from?Can't wait to see you!Love ANn read more
on Jamaica (yes mon) and a Misplaced Phante (no mon)
on So what do we do in Belize...?