Update for January and February

We are getting very close to the arrival of our new little person, and as a consequence my energy for making internet treks and blog updates has abated. So, at last, here´s a picture rundown of what´s been going on these past couple of months and where we´re at now:


Here is Heuris with his nephew Yeron who had his 2nd birthday party on January 18th. The Sponge Bob cake was very special (and sugary!).












Yeron´s mom Cristina (on right) and neighbor Narini (with the curlers) spent the day cooking various forms of fried or stewed carbohydrate (including fried bread and spaghetti) for the party.










The fried carbohydrate and festivities were a big hit with the little invitees from the neighborhood. Here they´re indicating the number two for Yeron´s birthday, not the peace sign.










Other big news is that on Feb. 6th Heuris and I bought a little piece of land in the center of Paraiso. It´s on a little hill up the street from the town market, on a dead end road. The photo to the right shows the shack that came with the land, but will be torn down before we begin building our new abode.







This is a view down our street, Calle John F. Kennedy. See the ocean?? At night when the motorcycles stop, you can hear the waves. From the roof of our future house we´ll have a great view.









View from the interior of the property. You have to imagine it sans the scary shack.












We bought the land from a nice old lady, Doña Maura, who lives next door with her handicapped brother Bolo, a new kitten, and a burro. To the left is the burro. Sometimes he gets upset and makes a lot of noise.









Heuris and I have already moved all our house plants onto the land, with varying results thus far. I wouldn´t call it a "garden" yet. It´s more of a gathering of withered greens amid stones. Heuris is the official waterer. On the right side of this photo you can see Bolo, Doña Maura´s brother, observing the new additions to the rubble.













We have a great view from the back of our land, looking out through banana trees and over the roof of a small chicken farm at the foot of the hill, across to the mountains to the southwest.


















Meanwhile, as you can see, the belly has continued to expand! Here I am at 38 weeks on the waterfront in Santo Domingo, in the colonial district where we´re staying temporarily until our peanut´s arrival.

Heuris has been taking excellent care of me as we go waddling about the city very, very slowly.























We remain, as always, quite fond of each other.