My Favorite Books of 2020: 2020 was A LOT of things but one of the highlights for me (if you look, you can definitely find highlights) was reading. Extra time…time granted to read. An escape from too much thinking and what-ifs… I love fiction. There is enough “real-world” in our lives right now and aKeep reading »
My Life
My Five in San Pedro: 3rd Week of Sept, 2020
My world is a much smaller place these days. Not in the way we’ve been hearing about for the last decade – how technology and social media have made the world so much more accessible… My world is really our house – and the very small area around us. I’m still getting to town toKeep reading »
This & That: Errands and Construction on my Way To San Pedro Town
Yesterday I masked up, hopped in the golf cart, and headed to town to run most of our weekly errands. (I really am starting to think I look my best in a mask.) Despite the Atlantic swirling with Tropical storms and depressions (it looks like TS Sally is going to form very soon), it isKeep reading »
2019 Is Almost Over! What I’ve Been Doing Other Than Blogging: Favorite Books, Shows, Podcasts
What It’s REALLY Like To Be Self-Employed on Ambergris Caye (For Me) Or, perhaps more fitting- FAIL: How NOT to Stay Focused While Working From Home Ahhh to be self-employed on an island in the Caribbean…sounds like heaven, right? Yes. It is. Very much so. And I am eternally grateful and totally surprised to beKeep reading »
Running Errands in Belize City – Necessary? Easy? Safe?
Last week, I headed from San Pedro to Belize City for a few hours of errands. To head to some bigger stores, some stores with more selection and some spots with lower prices than we have in San Pedro. To buy things I need and then to look at things I don’t need…exactly. Sometimes it’sKeep reading »
A March Tuesday on Ambergris Caye
It’s breezy, warm, humid March on Ambergris Caye. The “March Blow” is blowing (just one of the seasons that we have on the island) – and the sargasso is coming in. Instead of dwelling on that, I’ll show you some pictures I took in town yesterday. As I waited for the water taxi to takeKeep reading »
Little Things In My House in Belize That Spark Joy, Lemons and Green Beans
I’ve been watching Marie Kondo’s new Netflix show and well…I’m hooked. If you don’t know Marie she has become quite the phenomena over the last few years – with her international best selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Tidy? Decluttering and organizing? SNOOZE. I know! The bookKeep reading »
Saturday Afternoon Photos on North Ambergris Caye
Nothing monumental to report. A day spent at home working on SEO for my blog…or thinking about working on SEO for my blog. (SEO, I learned yesterday, is Search Engine Optimization, trying to make it easier for Google to find your blogs. And 7 years into this blogging thing, something I should learn about.) FrannieKeep reading »
Never What You Expect: My Life in Belize
A while ago I wrote a post called 15 Things No One Told You About Living in Belize – and then I updated it again a year or so later. It’s a list of ideas that keep growing. Because the thing that I didn’t really GET when I moved down here in 2007 – just toKeep reading »
November Begins with Gorgeous Weather and Lots More On Ambergris Caye
I am probably not the only one thinking this but…HOW DID NOVEMBER CREEP UP ON ME? The telling signs are certainly here… …the wind is blowing from the north bringing slightly cooler temperatures. (On Ambergris Caye Belize that means low to mid 80s and weather that looks like this…) This morning at our neighbors, XtanKeep reading »
October Holiday Weekend Around Ambergris Caye
Yesterday was a holiday – Pan-American Day here in Belize. One of those long holiday weekends that creeps up on you…so much so that you don’t realize its a 3 day weekend until you find the gas station closed…or you see all the kids, uniformless, and playing at the beach. Saturday morning we boated upKeep reading »
My Life in Belize August Wrap-Up: Highs, Lows, Books, Shows and Eats
I really liked doing my July wrap-up – a month spent with visitors meant trips, crazy croc captures and lots and lots of good food. August was relatively quiet as things slow down on the Caye and in Belize. Here’s my August wrap-up brought to you a bit late – my first full month ofKeep reading »
5 Things that Make Me Happy to Be Home On Ambergris Caye
Saturday morning at 3:45am, my alarm went off. I threw off my big down comforter (it was in the 60s at night!) – time to head back home after 9 days in Barrington Rhode Island visiting my family. 6am Delta flight from tiny Providence airport to Atlanta (where everyone is SO important – in suchKeep reading »
SanPedroScoop: An Opinionated Guide to Belize Turns 6 Years Old
6 years ago this week I started a blog without much of a plan. I had moved to Ambergris Caye 4 years before – managed a bar for 3 and a half of those years – and was ready to get out and experience Belize. I’d barely been off this rock… Note to allKeep reading »
The Very BEST Flip Flops for Belize
Flip flops are an absolute necessity here on Ambergris Caye. When I moved down here full time with my bag of 2 for $5US Old Navy flops, I realized quickly that I was going to need more. The cheap sandals are great – lots of different colors, not a big deal if you lose oneKeep reading »
My Summer Aspiration List: Slow Season Do’s in Belize, Part Two
Part One started: …Summer in Belize. The weather gets warmer, we start to have rain showers now and again (though mostly at night), tourism slows AND travel prices drop. It’s also the time when people that live here generally have some time off to enjoy our island a bit more. I ran through some ofKeep reading »
My Internet & The Possibility of Being a Digital Nomad in Belize
Last year, I wrote a post titled: How To Get A Job In Belize. It’s the #1 question that I receive from readers and look, I totally get it. MAN do I get it. You visit Belize – everyone is so friendly, everyone speaks English, it’s gorgeous warm and inviting, there seem to be quiteKeep reading »
2016: You’ve Been Good To Me So Far
There are only a few more days left in 2016…and for me, this last holiday week often seems to be a blur. All the planning, my seemingly countless posts about Christmas in Belize and events…POOF. Blink and it will be the New Year. So before that happens I thought I’d say THANK YOU. For reading,Keep reading »
The Best Swimming Dock in Belize is ALMOST Back & Our December Heat Wave
It’s surprising how a shift of winds, a 10% rise in humidity and a slight rise in temperature can really crank up the heat around here. Just a few weeks ago, we were all wearing sweatshirts at night (and being laughed at by visitors) as the temperature plummeted into the high 70s and the windKeep reading »
How I Fell into One of the Best Jobs Ever
The whole world was a bit shocked as we watched the US elect a new President. As I imagined the stress, the sleepless days and nights, the pressure, the isolation, the unbearable stress, all to win what I would consider to be the very worst job in the world, I can’t help but be gratefulKeep reading »