This morning we saw dolphins- well I only saw the spray from one, Everardo & Polo saw them ore than me. Then we saw something floating and it was our morning mystery. Polo is 13 and came over to help with painting again today. He said what if it's something scary? What if it's something we never saw before! I saw it first...oooh what is it? Then I guessed a net, wrapped onto something. At first I thought maybe a dead whale but then we reasoned there's be birds and stuff around it. Then Everardo said maybe a big tree trunk. Then we saw somebody swimming out to it. It was Gencho who was out fishing, we watched him get closer & closer- me thinking wow how'd he get out there so far past the breakers, but Polo and hubby thought nothing of it. Finally he made it to the thing- it was a huge tree! Or else a really long piece of wood- off a boat maybe, but probly the tree. He climbed up and sat on it. We had to use the telescope to see him. I SO want to invest in a nice pair of binoculars! I can't really even hold the telescope still. It was my Dad's a long time ago. It's cool to be using it, but I have a feeling that now there are binoculars that see further more clearly. Let's see, he died in 1980, so they are at least 30 years old, but I remember them when we went on vacation, always camping and he had them then. I stopped going camping with them probably in high school, so early 70's...Well they're most likely around 40+ yrs old- I'll have to show them to my sisters & brother- whoever comes to visit first.

The painting is almost done for the main part of the house- the living room and bedroom is mainky the inside living space. The colors are so amazing- for the bedroom, yellow, orange, red, purple. For the living room, which needs a small can of purple & small can of red to finish- so tomorrow, is orange, purple, red, green ( the 4 walls are actually 8 sections cause this room was added- there was just an upstairs big bedroom, 20x20, and underneath was to be a garage altho' apparently they never used it as a garage. So these round pillars held up the building. There are nine of them; three sets of three- which go down each side- except for one right in the middle of the room. That one I want to put small shelves around, maybe 3 high, edges rounded for knick knacks. Anyway it divided 4 walls into 8: 4 purple (lavender), 2 red, 1 orange, 1 green. 3 of the purples are in a row, then the rest are separated. The the pillars are also painted- a different color than the two they connect. Sound crazy- looks totally cool!

The kitchen is next, probly orange & yellow, and the bathroom in our bedroom- which ever color is left over- the room is mostly tile so it's just 5-6 inches around the top of the wall. We have to paint the outside cause the ocean air- salty- everybody paints at least every 2 years. The top half will stay green since people call us Casa Verde, next to the light house (El Faro), but the bottom will probly be yellow, or again, whatever's left....Most people wait to paint the outside until Oct after the rains, but it just hasn't been raining so Everardo will decide what he wants to do after we finish the inside. Funny I posted on FB a photo of the bedroom because at first, where the bed is, along one side was orange, the back wall red, and the other side wall yellow. (Then the rest of the room was orange and yellow and looks great. But he yellow wall just didn't look right next to red. I said as much and got about 15 comments on what I should do- oh and I had painted a line of green & a line of purple on the yellow next to the red to see how it looked. Lots of comments- mostly voting for purple, which ended up being what we chose- again- looks great. Once we're finished I'm gonna post photos of both rooms because I'm so happy with them.

Now I would be in the hammock, Everado's napping inside, but the workers building the road have been right outside our house since yesterday so I'm hiding inside. We had English class today, the girl I think who really wants to learn wasn't here again even tho' she told me the time was fine. She may be answering what she thinks I want to hear. So with hubby or someone else who speaks Spanish better than me I'm gonna figure out what's happening- I know she has to help her mom with the other kids, and maybe I can teach her by herself if we can figure out a time we can both make consistently. The other 4, they come, but I teach them the same stuff over & over. They don't practice at home -obviously, cause they can't remember anything and do not get the concept of words like "where" means "donde", so it works for "where do you live" and "where is your nose" . They are actually starting to remember the first two sentences, where do you live & what is your name, but that's it. They don't remember the numbers past 10 (which they already knew) and we count to 30. They don't remember the days of the week even though we say them over and over. I added pointing to eyes, ears, nose, mouth, butt, hair, head. The only one they remember- of course is butt. I try to make it fun, or funny so they remember, but they only remember for about 5 minutes. When we say and point 5 times in a row and then I ask where is your nose- blank stares. I think I understand- I mean they have nowhere to use English, nobody else in their families speak English and they has to come down it has to come down. Anyway we could use the tiles to repair/replace any form the roof and I think we already need some on the kitchen roof. Wow some other huge machne has started up ohe whole time.

So Polo gave me an idea- prizes- candy.At first I thoguht no, if they don;t want to learn I can just keep teaching the same things every day. They are getting the colors pretty good. They love the flash cards & the dictionaries with pictures & the words in Spanish & English- but they retain zero.
But I gave it a try today- I said (in Spanish) who likes candy? me me me me me!!!!! So I said ok when you can tell me the days of the week, you may have a candy, and then so on & so on as we did the next things. They were paying pretty good attention when we did the alphabet, so maybe they will learn a little something ha ha. So this wknd I gotta pick up some candy. I will keep doing it as long as they come. It's an hour and it actually helps my Spanish.

I sure hope they finish the road before the big rains!! Otherwise we may have a rivier of mud- they have been bulldozing, and breaking rocks down into sand. We have a gate that has a top- decorative like the roof of the house with the same tiles. Everardo thinks the way they will do the sidewalks may end up making our driveway too tall and the top of the truck will hit the top of the gate. Wellif it has to come down it has to come down. Anyway we could use the tiles to repair/replace any form the roof and I think we already need some on the kitchen roof. Wow some other huge machne has started up out there, I hope hubby doesn't wake up. He worked hard today & deserves a nice nap. Well I sleep like shit always waking up and tossing & turning, going to the bathroom, and he says I never wake him up so maybe he'll be fine. It's funny, the ocean is so loud all the time. At nite I close the window closest to us & the tv so we don't have to turn it up to high. When we leave Playa Ventura is when I notice the quiet. hmmm a nap looks pretty good right now.