Green iguanas wander around our property – we usually see at least one a day, climbing the giant tamarind tree, hanging out by the pool, or eating morning glories. They tend to be pretty shy and skittish, and we enjoy coming up with names for them. This guy was originally named Loki because he wasn’t quite so shy, but after this little adventure, we renamed him to Stucko. He’s borderline friendly now, having learned that we definitely mean him no harm. 🙂
Happy Easter!
It’s only a few days away – here are some links to help hunt for eggs and celebrate this springtime holiday.
Mardi Gras 2021
Mardi Gras is the ultimate street party – at least in a normal year. In 2021, with travel restrictions, lockdowns, and social distancing, traditional floats and dancing are out of the question. But creative people will always find an outlet, as in these uniquely 2021 Mardi Gras celebrations.
New Orleans: House floats / Yardi Gras
Guadeloupe: TV and radio programming
If you’re feeling nostalgic, check out my photos from Nice Carnaval 2013.
And as always, I have multilingual vocabulary for my fellow language lovers:
Happy Valentine’s Day!
It’s only a few days away – here are some links to help you celebrate with your beloved.
Happy New Year!
Thank goodness that the year 2020 is finally coming to an end. May 2021 be full of joy and laughter and only the best of times. Happy New Year to one and all!
Here’s some reading material and ideas for you: Continue reading
Merry Christmas!
I hope you and your families are happy, safe, and warm this holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!
Introducing … Lawless Italian!
After many visits to Italy and years of thinking about creating an Italian site – but failing to actually, you know, learn Italian – I’ve gone ahead and created Lawless Italian. By drawing on my French and Spanish knowledge, I’m able to read over various Italian lessons and create my own.
But since this is certainly not guaranteed to be error-proof, for the first time I’m collaborating with another person, who reads everything I write to make sure that I have understood the uniquely Italian concepts and created appropriate examples. She’s also making the sound files, which is something I hate doing in any language – so that’s an extra bonus!
Anyway, enough chit chat. Interested in learning Italian? Head on over to Lawless Italian – ci vediamo!
Mourning Doves
Among the dozen or so varieties of birds we see every day in Guadeloupe, there are three kinds of doves: mourning doves, ring-neck doves, and turtle doves. The mourning doves are constant companions – they hang out on the terrace or by the pool, chasing away the ring-necks whenever possible; they perch on the roof, peck for seeds, and of course coo constantly.
And Continue reading
Green Heron, Blackbirds in Guadeloupe
We are visited by tons of birds every day: large numbers of birds and many different species. While we see blackbirds and at least two different kinds of doves every day, this green heron is only an occasional visitor, so I feel lucky to have gotten him on video, however briefly.
Rare sighting of a beautiful green heron, plus lots of blackbirds, including a youngish one squawking constantly to be fed.
A Quick Update
Hello visitors! As you can see, I’m terrible about keeping this blog up to date, but here’s a quick update …
Since I live in Guadeloupe, which is part of France, I’ve been in lockdown for over a week. But it makes no real difference to me since I work at home and rarely go out anyway. 🙂
I’m still working away on my sites (French, Spanish, English, veggie).
I do quite a bit of cooking and have a vague notion of maybe doing some videos one of these days. Still waiting for my kitchen floor to be finished before I can even consider doing that safely.
Other than that, I’ve been learning Greek (off and on) for a couple of years, and spend part of the last two summers in Athens, which was incredible. I was planning to return this summer but of course now that looks extremely unlikely.
That’s it for now. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home!
