Rincon Art Walk

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Laura

Art Walk in Rincon every Thursday night? Sounds like a great date night idea! So I spotted my trendy albeit impractical high heel shoes and headed there with Trevor.  

 

The Rincon square was packed with vendors selling jewelry, art from up cycled/recycled/found material, handsewn crafts, paintings and a Latter Day Saints table.  

very cool wooden lamp with gears

 And a lady attempting to be a human statue. But kinda a boring one. Have you seen the transformer guy in New Orleans? He was cool. Do that for more tips.  

lady statue near the bottom of the pic

 I was the only in heels. Rincon is different crowd. 

After seeing one of the teachers from D’s school (we’ve lived here long enough to run into people we know out and about. That’s fun) we ate at En Boca, a nice Italian creole mix. Order the quesadilla con pollo. Trust me.  

I was dressed up. Someone asked if we came from a wedding. yep. Different crowd

 Fun night. 

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Faro – Lighthouse en Rincon

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Laura

Staycations rock on a tropical island! Especially when there’s new stuff to explore.

 

Enter the Rincon lighthouse. Easy to get to. Free. Only slightly creepy bathrooms.

    

Overlooks a nice beach that surfers love. But it’s RIGHT next to a failed nuclear power plant. Wha? I don’t think I could relax on a beach with that thing lingering behind me.

see those little people down there?

 

We then drove down the road to get ice cream. Fun day!

 

Outside a surf shop after ice cream

 

P is sad the lookout tower was closed

 

OK, i wanted to show my hair. haha

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Old blog. New life

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Laura

My previous blog has been sorely neglected, just like my photography. Well, I posted a few photos on that old blog leading any straggling readers this way.

Here’s the link to a couple of photos I posted there: http://ladylauram.blogspot.com/2015/06/new-life.html

I don’t think I ever got around to posting there here.  Maybe I did?

IMG_0547-adjusted IMG_0552-adjusted

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A non-rainy rainforest 

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Laura

Puerto Rico is having a drought.   When I think of drought I think of Iowa.  I don’t know why.  Maybe all those fields of crops. But we have a bad drought here in the Caribbean.

San Juan has really been hit hard.  They have been rationing water, turning it off for the residents for a day or two at a time.  Most people have water tanks on their homes, apartments and hotels (we have one). So I guess they are living off those when the water is off?

This article above is from the newspaper that arrives on our doorstep every morning.  We’re totally not paying for it. But above it shows a waterfall now compared to the same one a couple years ago. Below, I translated another part of the article.

And that’s all I translated so don’t ask me for more details  (haha)

We, however, live in the wettest and muggiest part of the island! No problem here.

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TRAIN display score

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Laura

 

It had been a while since we made a train expedition for my son. Penuelas is a little town between Ponce and Mayaguez, and next to the plaza (by the Iglesia Catolica San Juan for those of you looking on Google maps) there is an old train engine on display!IMG_0353

He was kinda worried at first that is would start or move, but that’s why we taught him the term “static display”IMG_0361 IMG_0346 IMG_0344Yeah, I didn’t post process these photos at all.  Please imagine them with boosted shadows.  tee-hee

IMG_0349No water actually came out of the pump 🙁

The plaza itself was ok.  Not many places to eat. But pretty statues, memorials, and mosaic on the ground.

IMG_0364 IMG_0390 IMG_0385 IMG_0371 IMG_0369

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Pics and giggles

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Laura

Here’s some funny pics while I wrap up my summer vacation…which I’ll post about once I get my head on straight.

Trevor by my cousin’s van

 

I have fun loading my friends dishwasher. We don’t have one

 

My Banana hook fail

 

Edit

Google speaks improper southern English. Thanks for nothing.

 

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Learning a Puerto Rican pastime

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Laura

Our neighbors invited us over to learn/play dominoes. We knew basically how to play it but not any sort of strategy.

Dominoes is all over. Plazas, playas and cocktail bars. (The beaches are especially fun because people put the dominos table right en el agua)

After we gorged ourselves on yummy food, it was time to turn on Thomas for the kiddos and the adults to get down to business.

  

On their newly acquired table, we were brought up to speed on the game (NOT they way they play it in Ponce mind you. No no. We were certainly anti “Ponce dominoes” for some reason.)

Gotta learn the lingo:

“La guagua” (= bus) is the double six. Because it looks like people on a bus. Aw.

La chucha is the double blank. ‘Cause, um, I forgot.

Learning the strategy

“Us vs. Them” Trevor and I were “Them” and we kicked butt!

 

I couldn’t resist

 

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This kids craft will not work in Puerto Rico apparently

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Laura

Well, as summer begins I wanted to engage my kids with activities that they would find fun, would pass the time, keep them from killing each other, and frankly make me feel like I’m being a good Mom (I keep it honest here).

I LOVE Pinterest. And I actually do the activities I pin. My attempt this time: Rock Candy! Craftiness and candy? Score.

I followed the recipe to a T.
I covered up my glasses because you know, those mimes,  

Nothing.
I received advice from my chemistry teacher friend who said I need to uncover them so they can evaporate. Okey dokey.
Nada.
Except this:

they liked the purple dye

Yeah. ew. I know I put enough sugar in this water. When I dumped them out it looked like rainbow NyQuil going down the drain. Is it just too humid out?

94% humidity

Ok…onto the next project.

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Missed the boat to Guilligans Island

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Laura

My sister visited last weekend and we had the casual idea of taking the ferry to Guilligans Island which is south of Ponce. Well, after 11am seems to be too late to catch the boat. So we had a snack at the restaurant whose name is wholly unmemorable.

A zero hour tour

Cute decor. Lousy food. Fun ambiance. Scary baños. Ew.

  

And the all the signs. Everywhere.  Blocking up the scenery breaking my mind. Do this, don’t do that can’t you read the signs???

signs!

 

dont sit on the table!

Someday we’ll get there early enough to go to Guilligans Island.

kiddos

 

to the dock

 

puppies were sleeping under the tables

 

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Veins, socks, sand, and grunting pigs

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Laura

Venas varicosas. Vericose veins. Boo…

But yay for finding a nice doctor in Mayaguez that will treat them.

Ok, I’m drafting this post as I sit in the waiting room. And this father and son are both plugged into their electronics. And one of them (the father I think) IS PLAYING ANGRY BIRDS WITH THE VOLUME AT FULL BLAST!!!!!!!!! It’s annoying and kinda funny and the same time. It’s better than the soap opera on the TV.

weeee! Angry Birds! snort snort crash crash

Anyway, thankfully I only had to get one leg treated. One secretary spoke English and the main doctor Trina did as well. She says 99.9% of her patients speak Spanish. She’d never had to give her ‘vein spiel’ in English before. haha

buzz to get let in

I declined the Xanax and numbing cream and opted for my iPod as a distraction instead. Ella Fitzgerald don’t fail me now.

waiting for the nurses to lay out all the sterilized sheets and equipment

The procedure was ok. Took many jabs to enter into my young vein. But I found out the doctor is Canadian, studied in the States, and moved to Puerto Rico seven years ago as a professional salsa dancer. Cool! I didn’t get any tips on where the best dancing was around here though. 🙁

I have a thigh high silk nylon to wear now. Lacy. With a garter. Haha. I’m kidding. It would be a lot more fun if that were the case. But I have to wear my thigh high compression sock 48 solid hours. Which is why I sat at the beach watching everyone else swim during a birthday party 2 days later. Ugh. I’m hot again just remembering it.

So not cool. Sweltering actually

 

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