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31 August, 2011

Dies Solis Oriens Carpo Pera (Or something like that)

Thanks to Google Language Services, 'Dies Solis Oriens Carpo Pera' very roughly translates to 'Sunday Morning Grab Bag'. The fact that this is Saturday, now Wednesday, doesn't mean anything. It's just an excuse to clear out the in-box and move on. Well, that, and putting the title up in latin just sounds so official and, umm, pretentious.
So, what is first out of the bag?

Wow! This one is really old. I took this picture of Terence Leslie, small engine repair wizard, on May 31 - just in time for the start of hurricane season. My generator, a DEK 6.5kV gas generator had been on the blink some time ago, so I called Terence to take a look at it.
Terence Leslie At Work
Turns out it was really a minor problem. The spark plug had gone bad. An easy fix.

He's also fixed my gas-powered weed whacker a couple of times, and, here's the really cool thing, he's an absolute wizard with swimming pool pump motors. I burned out the bearings on mine and he was able to find the correct sized bearings, get them pressed on, and now the pump motor really works better than new.

I don't know why it took me so long to get this one posted - well, for that matter, why it takes so long with any of these. Oh, yes. I do too know. We had some sad times to work through for the past little bit. I guess we're past that now, so time for me to get caught up.
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 Early in June, as we were walking the dogs, which we do just about every day, starting at 5:30 AM, to beat the heat (that's the theory, anyway), just as we passed the Social Security building, a large group of bicyclists were getting ready for the start of one of several major road races that are held at various locations around Belize.

This was the first time either Twyla or I had seen the BERT ambulance. That's the Belize Emergency Response Team. Makes a nice acronym. I have no idea where they're from or anything. Like I said, neither of us had heard of them before.
Belize Emergency Response Team Ambulance
 A necessary part of these events always seems to be the need to pass through several dozens of cyclists and officials and other folks gathered for the start of the race. Of course the dogs tend to get a little excited while we're doing that, so we try to shepherd them through without them gnawing on somebody's bare leg.
Twyla Running the Gauntlet
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This photo, while not exactly a prime shot by any means, does show a few inches of water in our parking area shortly after a late June rainfall.
Just a Little Rain
I still have a couple drains that I need to put in to encourage water to make its way to the canal. Still, even with all that water, within about 15 minutes or so, our parking area is pretty much dry.
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Hurricane damage? No, it's the Corozal Town Council in action. After several ;years of decay, the old Corozal Museum is being rehabbed to become the Corozal Visitor's Center. It's nice to see something finally happening with this building.
Corozal Visitor's Center
If you're not familiar with it, it's located right in front of the Thunderbolt pier.

Now, if they just add a Customs booth and build a small visitor's marina to go with the Visitor's Center, I think you'd really begin to see a change in the way downtown Corozal looks.
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So, what's next?

Well, there's this one. A while back, Jim Voris, a published author (http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/voris) and former resident of Corozal, more especially, our neck of the woods, came back to visit and to have some dental work done at Dr. Glenda Major's office, which is just up the road from us.

Jim stayed with us and took frequent advantage of the pool being just outside his door. Here, you can see Jim (on the left), Dianna, myself, and Stan (on the right). Stan's wife, Regina, took the photo. I'm glad she let me use it.
Pool Life and Jim Voris - by Regina Allen
It was nice having Jim here. We've kind of picked up one or two of the things he and Melanie used to do - hosting happy hour and the lady's pool exercise sessions. It almost felt like old times while he was around.

While Jim was here, he was able to take part in another activity that he was instrumental in forming, the Corozal Men's Group. The photo below shows the group in fine form at Charles' house.
Proposing a Toast
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Now, for a bit of a change of pace. Stan, who until today, lived with his wife Regina, just across the street from us. They've now moved to a house in town. Still a short walk or bike ride away.
Stan Fishing On Our Dock
Stan's an ardent fisherman and appreciates fine whiskey. This day he caught a smallish barracuda, which made a nice meal for the two of them.
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And now, the last bit for this edition...

The patio project continues. Carlos, who works for us on Fridays, is doing an excellent job with this project. The seating bench is pretty much done. He's now started on the BBQ area (on the left, where the rebar is sticking up. Fairly soon, now that too will be done and then he'll start on the small palapa in the middle - roughly where the umbrella is now. Then comes pavers in the central area, a foot or so of black dirt in the planting bed, and lots of plants. Then it's done.
Patio Progress
By then, it'll be time for the next project. Hopefully, for a while, just maintenance of the homestead.

Now, you're up to date, except where I'm behind. That'll have to wait for a future posting. Enjoy!

5 comments:

Corozal Dave said...

Your place just keeps getting better and better. I've not had the chance to "pop" bye on my recent trips to see for myself, but will on my next trip in September. My house has been robbedsema
I too have used Terence, great guy and honest as well. He's fixed my riding lawnmower and weed wacker. He's even made a house call for me. Hope all goes well, Dave

Vivien said...

Gracias por la actualización, Dave. Estoy tan feliz de ver que algo se está haciendo con ese edificio histórico en Corozal.
102 días más hasta que podamos salir de Corozal

Dave Rider said...

Hi Vivien,
Thanks again to Google I know what you said. You're almost down to the double digits before the return.
Dyna beth rwy'n siarad amdano! Something for you in Welsh.

Cheers,
Dave

Hi Dave,
I couldn't find a translation for that word. Sounds bad.
Terence doesn't mind house calls at all. Thankfully, as my generator weighs a bit. See you in September.

Cheers,
Dave

JRinSC said...

Wow... loved the picture of Lake Rider! That's a lot of rain!

Good post and nice to hear of several things at one time. I always wondered what that building was there by the pier downtown. I never saw anyone enter or leave the place but then that is true of some other buildings in Corozal - like the Hurricane's Bar that was a closed, deserted looking place when we were last down there.

Julian

Dave Rider said...

Hi Julian,
The Visitor's Center only looked unused to the casual observer and those coming by at more sedate hours. For those of us passing by at, oh, say 6:00 AM or so, there were a few homeless folks who used to call it home. Sometime back, they moved out of the place and at least a couple of them started sleeping at the post office under the covers for the post boxes. That I don't mind so much. I just wish they'd go somewhere a little farther afield to urinate. My dogs don't even want to check the mail. Although, like Satch in 'Get Fuzzy', they'd probably roll in it given half a chance.
Hurricane's is now 'Corozo Blues', an up-scale, nice looking joint. I've heard it's expensive.
Cheers,
Dave