Recently I took our two black female kittens to Gringo Perdido to provide company for the big black male, and to help him with the mousing. He adopted them immediately, and has been both a mother and a father to them ever since.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Happy Halowe'en or The Black Cats of Gringo Perdido
Recently I took our two black female kittens to Gringo Perdido to provide company for the big black male, and to help him with the mousing. He adopted them immediately, and has been both a mother and a father to them ever since.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
The Women's Center of El Remate
Dona Juana went with me yesterday to see the final steps of the process of building the thatched roof that will be the new Women's Center of El Remate.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Waiting for the Hurricane
Like kids in all countries, the minute the breeze picks up the kites appear. Here are Meri and her brother playing down on the futbal field in front of the Cerro Cahui (Crocodile Hill) while the wind picks up as one of the many recent hurricanes went up the coast. Of course, there was no damage here ... we hardly even got any rain!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Saturday, October 15, 2005
A Natural Pesticide
The women lost most of their last crop from their Square Foot Gardens in this last season from the caterpillars and crickets. We tried several different natural pesticides like tobacco and garlic, with no success. Just recently, we discovered that the chiltepes (tiny wild hot peppers) can be boiled for 10 minutes and let to stand for 3 days to produce a very smelly but very effective natural pesticide.
Celebration and House Blessings
On Sunday, October 9th, the Women's Group gathered around the circle they have created in a grove of trees on their property at the top of the hill to celebrate the immanent construction of a thatched roof on their land
Talks were concluded with the building contractor, Santos Melendez, who will commence construction on Friday. Rose and Martha Luz sign the contract on behalf of Global Coalition for Peace.
When the formalities of the contract signing were over, Doña Blanca began serving the tamales for our celebratory dinner. The women had made this delicious batch of tamales from hearts of palm with a bit of potato. The children were lined up first to be served ... each one with a leaf to use as a plate.
As the short twilight becomes night, we gather around the incense-filled sacred fire in ceremony to ask blessings on the site that has been chosen, on the construction of the new building, the activities that will take place within it, and the women who will be its occupants and caretakers.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Mayan Temple Activation Tour
For the last two days, Gringo Perdido has been home for a fantastic group of people, 12 of them, "The Companions of Destiny", who were on a Mayan Temple Activation Tour led by Shaun Martinz (right front). This was the first of what I hope to be many Spiritual Groups to discover the magic of doing ceremony over a grid of quartz and alabaster, located exactly in the center of the pinwheel of the American continent. 
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Doña Nikolasa and Janet
Here are two of the beautiful women of the Women's Group as we gathered tonight to participate in a "Ground-Breaking Ceremony" for their new Women's Center. They have just received the financing (part grant, part loan) to build the round, thatched roof from Global Coalition for Peace and Rose and Martha Luz. This roof will give them the protection they need from the weather for their meetings.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Building and Teaching Gardening in Jobem Piche
Today, once again, Lino from Pro-Peten came in his pick-up truck to pick up Rose, Martha Luz, and about a dozen of the women of the women's group, to go to Jobem Piche, a small indigenous village just around the lakeside from us, to teach and construct some square-foot gardens.
Weeding the Garden
We are in a period of "goat exploration" in these days ... today I learned (amongst other things) that they don't like marigolds ... or maybe it is just not their first choice. From what I have seen so far, she could eat her way through my ornamental plants in no time if I let her free in the yard.
A Goat's-Eye View
SnowFlake looks over Project Ix-canaan while out for her luncheon walk. The clinic building is straight ahead, and the almost-finished library/computer center is on the right.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
GuateVision Films Women's Group Meeting
Rose and Martha Luz have been sitting with the Women's Group for the last couple of days to discuss the contents of a set of by-laws that meets their needs. This afternoon, we were visited by 2 men from GuateVision who have been in the area filming a documentary of Peten. They interviewed us and took lots of footage of various things happening around Project Ix-canaan.
The Polia Fly Again
Last night the polia flew. This happens every so often, I haven't figured out if there is a pattern, but I presume there is. They take to the air in millions ... and fly around bumping into each other and everything else in sight (particularly if there is a light in the room), until they bump off their wings ... at which point they crawl away looking for more wood to call home. Last night was a mild night ... the invasion only lasted less than an hour, and the cats were able to eat them as fast as they hit the ground, but I remember a night during my first year here that they came in such numbers that there were piles of wings 6 inches deep in some corners in the morning. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, they are also called termites!
Monday, October 03, 2005
Snowflake
I couldn't resist the opportunity. A woman here in the village sent word that she had a pregnant goat for sale. For ages, I have thought how handy a goat would be in a self-sufficient world, and have given a lot of thought to owning one. And once I saw her, I was hooked! She came home with me and is now residing on the property behind the house.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Stopping Time in the Jungle
What strange thing do you notice about these clocks? Except for the one at the top (which is still going), they are all stopped at a different time. And all during the same week or so (which you have to be very perceptive to pick up from this photo! lol). The large round one is from Gringo Perdido, and it is brand new ... I bought it to replace the one that has been there for years and years ... it stopped and there was no way we could get it going again ... so I bought the new one. Three sets of batteries later, and we have given up. Same with the one on the right ... it has been in my kitchen for 5 years. It stopped and after trying 3 different batteries and lots of other "clock-starting tecniques", we have relagated it to the center of "The Spiral". The watch was hanging in the bathroom ... and it stopped, as did the blue clock that was here in the office. The blue clock DID start again ... both mornings that I found it stopped ... as did the clock on the computer, which ALSO showed a different time 2 mornings when I turned it on. What could be causing all this? Do you remember those "stopping time" excercises that we learned during the 11:11 Ceremonies? Well, I found time zipping by SO fast, that I decided to "stop time" around here for awhile so that everything would get done, and did the ceremony. I guess it is working!! Here is the center of "The Spiral", from which all life springs and returns ...
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Gardens for Goats
On Thursday, the entire group of women jammed themselves into the double cab pick-up truck of the manager of ProPeten's local initiatives program, and they all headed to Socotzal, another lakeside community, to teach and help build Square Foot Gardens for the women there. The women from Socotzal are involved in a program through Heifer International that supplies pregnant goats. After our group had finished building the first two gardens, the other group offered to include them in the "livestock program" ... 4 women here are each given a pregnant goat and the training to properly care for it ... and within a certain number of months, they must pass on a pregnant goat to another woman. Yesterday, the first 2 goats were delivered to our village ... and here we see Cyra, accompanied by Rose and Martha Luz, leading her goat home.
This afternoon, Lino, the manager of this project through ProPeten, will be coming here to begin the training program in caring for goats.
Tzolkin Wants Out
Tzolkin looks out between the slats of the fence at all the comings and goings of the neighborhood.
The Women's Land
The Women's Group has cleaned and fenced their property and, using several old planks balanced on rocks, have created their "meeting circle" in the middle of a grove of trees.
Using rocks and plants, they are gradually creating paths to the top of the knoll, where they plan to build their "Meeting House".
Friday, September 30, 2005
Volunteers Work with Women's Group
I have a ton of things to blog about ... which means that I have NO TIME TO BLOG!! It is one of those Catch 22's ... the more things that are happening, the less time I have to write about it!
Two volunteers, Rose Lord and Martha Luz Atkinson, from Global Coalition for Peace, (Washington, D.C.) arrived on Monday, Sept. 26th to continue the work with the women's group that they began in January of this year.
Their work began by teaching the women how to build Square Foot Gardens,
and the program has since expanded to include many aspects of "group development" to help the women organize. Rose and Martha Luz have committed to coming to El Remate for 2 weeks, 3 or 4 times per year (this is their third trip ... see http://home.earthlink.net/~coalition4peace/globalapplicationsforselfreliance.htm for Rose's diary and lots of photos).
Rose and Martha Luz were really impressed on this trip to see how hard the women are working to earn some money to begin developing their land (Project Ix-canaan has over one full manzana of land that is solely for development by and for the women's group). Twice a week, the women are meeting at Doña Blanca's house 
to make tamales.
It takes them until about 3pm to finish cooking them ...
Here we see Doña Juana (President of the Women´s Group) and Doña Beti (Officer) covering the tamales in preparation for about 3 hours of steaming over the fire in the wood stove. Cyra (Vice President) is in the background, preparing maza for the tortillas they will eat for lunch ... 
which she is shown cooking in this next photo ...
Doña Beti, Doña Juana, Doña Blanca, Janeth, Cyra and Alba, waiting for the 300 tamales to cook so they can pair up and go door to door selling them for Q2.00 each (about $0.25), thus earning about Q125.00 ($16.00) for the group each sales day.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Seeking Larynx
On top of the main temple of Topoxte, we met 3 workers doing restoration work. One of them, Rudy Arias (shown here with Enrique), had had his larynx removed about 8 years ago for cancer. He is now unable to talk. Is anyone out there able to give information or advice about how this man may be able to get an artificial larynx?
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Topoxte
A couple of days ago we went to Topoxte ... the Post Classic Mayan site just across the lake from Yaxha. I will be posting some photos and info over the next few days ... but this photo of the tiny sun-dappled steps ascending the front of the main pyramid, was one of my favorites.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Friday, September 16, 2005
Isaac
Our new godson, Isaac brought his dad over last night so we could all watch the first episode of Survivor Guatemala, which we had seen advertised to be shown here in the country. We picked up a couple of big delicious, totally loaded pizzas at Las Orchidias (Don Angelos place) and settled in for an entertaining evening. Unfortunately, Survivor didn't come on here, and we ended up putting on a movie instead.
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