I am sure you may have had your suspicions when you wonder how to two doctors can maintain a farm, do all the wiring, plumbing and mechanics, make apothecary products and also see patients. Surely, there must be The Brains behind the operation that is co-ordinating Da Gnome and Munchkin? Yes, today we reveal el jefe in his full glory:
Waiting to be chauffeur driven:
Cat Bossie.
Bossie supervising soap-making:
Cat Bossie.
El jefe deep in comtemplation over the structure and organisation of Casa Mascia:
Cat Bossie.
Do Not Disturb The Brains:
Da Boss.
Just a bit of fun and humour for a Tuesday night…
On a different note, here is something for a special friend of ours who is going through a difficult time.
Munchkin has chosen this heart-wrenching song for you and will cry along with you:
And Gnome has chosen this song for you. He will sing along with you too:
Today we were in Punta Gorda doing our delivering, “hailing” and the usual town stuff. In Punta Gorda, everyone knows you so you have to go through the custom of “hailing.” Ignore this at your peril! Basically, you need to say “Hello, how are you?” to everyone that you know…who happens to be crossing the street, sitting in their shop, driving in their car or standing in the queue in front of you. If you can handle a bit of small talk then that is an added bonus because every-one loves to stop and chat. If you ignore anyone who knows you, you are considered an “ignorant outsider” or just plain rude. These are the unspoken rules of a small community.
We delivered our Pet Products to The Farm Store in Punta Gorda. This particular shop is owned by Mennonites (Anabaptist Christian Group who emigrated originally from Germany and now settled in Belize) and run by local Mayans who have converted into this particular faith. The Farm Store sells anything to do with farming, hardware and pet supplies, basically, anything that is useful to man or beast! We delivered the following:
Jackass Bitters and Neem Pet Soap.
This is not the same as our same-name soap for people. This one has a higher percentage of active ingredients so that it is extra strong for the treatment of fleas, ticks and mites in pets (usually dogs and cats). Gentle but effective, without the use of strong chemicals.
We also took this opportunity to launch our new pet product: Lime Sulphur Pet Dip for Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm.
Lime Sulphur Pet Dip Label.
This is the label with the instructions. We used recycled beer bottles for this product because they are the cheapest thing to use so that we could sell the product at a rock-bottom price. Gnome created a tag to go with the product with regards to the philosophy of recycling; unfortunately, the network connection to the printer wouldn’t work so we didn’t get this part printed in time. So, this tag will be on the next order:
Lime Sulphur Pet Dip Wrap.
…Gnome Philosophy stuff in small writing for anyone who cares to read Gnome humour.
We use all our stuff on our own pets; they are very healthy and have the reassuring smell of sulphur to them:
Washing Dog with Sulphur Dip.Clean Cat.
This is a picture of the very friendly bossie of the Farm Store. He is a lovely young man:
Mr. Brian Cho at The Farm Store.
So, you can now get our pet stuff at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda. The products will be posted up in the Apothecary soon for those of you living outside Toledo or outside of Belize.
Here are some pictures of “animals in action” on our farm. First of all, I would like to say that our cat is back on track after his traumatic event. He rather enjoyed being fed three times a day and the intensive heavy petting. No more nightmares for Kitty and by the way, he is sleeping well. This is the cat “not in action.”
Doing Well.
Tarantula in the house…this one might actually be a resident but we don’t mind because he does the night shift so only comes out after dark. I used to be terrified of spiders when I lived in Scotland (and they were tiny compared to the ones here). Anyway, I actually think that the furriness makes the tarantula look cute and cuddly.
And, of course, our beloved piggies residing at the famous gated community of Paradise Pastures are doing their piggie thing…eating. The population is now 15 with 4 expecting mothers. The maternity wing is ready to receive them! A few days ago, Mayor Gnome presented each of them with a gift of a personal wax apple. They were very happy but somewhat confused over personal ownership and so they ended up playing a popular piggie game called “snatch and grab.”
Three Piggies Eating One Apple.
Doing a photo shoot with guinea pigs is actually really difficult because they tend to be camera-shy. As soon as they see a camera pointing at them they usually scurry off into the corners. So, you have to realise that I took about 30 camera clicks to get these photos. I have to say that Stumpy (the Grandmother of all the piggies so-called because she has one stumped leg due to an unfortunate accident in the past) is a real champion with photos because she has bilateral cataracts so she can’t spot the camera. She’s a real natural, very photogenic:
Grandma Stumpy on the right. What a Cutey!
Another piggie picture:
Guinea Pigs Eating Wax Apples.
This is a huge caterpillar (the size of a finger) feasting on our fig plant. We eventually had to flick it off because it ate up all the foliage.
Bird Shit Caterpillar.
And, last but not least. This frog jumped onto Gnome’s shoulder and promptly fell asleep.
Froggie on Shoulder.
Gnome is much loved by the frog community for continuing the breeding program in various buckets of water on the farm.
Now that the rains have come, the humidity has shot up to 100%. It is muggy and wet and it feels like you are inhaling wet air. Every movement on the farm causes profuse sweating. Yes, I know I was complaining about dry season…but this is even worse because nothing ever dries up and we are wading in puddles. The up side is that the duckies are very happy splashing about in water and incessantly quacking. Poor Gnome attempted to clean up some coconuts and over-heated; he actually had to lie down under the shade of the coconuts from heat exhaustion.
Poor Gnome!
To add to our list of worries, the cat has been severely traumatised. He did not appear all day yesterday and finally turned up in the evening looking very scared and bewildered. He was not physically injured but he was obviously shaken up. So, we carried him into the house and it took him an hour to get settled down. He was hyper-alert and kept on surveying his surroundings as if, at any moment, a giant monster would pounce on him. At night, I tried the usual routine with him and turfed him out of the front door. He would have none of it and started walking backwards (he actually moon-walked!) back into the house slowly and deliberately.
We are not sure what happened to our cat but from our observations, it looks like he might have been chased and he probably spent a night and day up on a tree.
We need to get our cat back on track. Meanwhile Doctor’s orders are plenty of TLC until he starts behaving normally again…like this:
This morning (Thursday), we woke up to the distant rumbling of thunder. I suddenly remembered that I had written in the previous evening’s blog that I wanted it to rain. Well, what I should have said was that I intended it to rain at night to fill up our water tanks and that I wanted it to be dry and breezy in the morning for Gnome to fix the water pump. Since our plans were thwarted by the elements, we both agreed whole-heartedly to try to sleep in a bit more and managed to fall asleep again. “Sleeping in” is an extremely rare event for us but we felt the duress of the water shortage and needed a bit more time to come to terms with the situation. All morning wake-up calls were ignored as mad doggie “bow-wowed” and goosie honked to try to get our attention. We finally got up as the orchestra of animals and birds elevated to a crashing crescendo.
I opened up the back door to let the breeze in the house and saw the cat frolicking about in the back-yard eating and playing with a dead frog. He was the only one that did not make any noise. Since we were late he decided to do his own cat thing. As soon as he saw me, he casually walked into the house licking his chops and paws. He brushed passed me and went into the kitchen to chew on a piece of lemongrass to, presumably, freshen his breath after eating dead frog.
Meanwhile the rumbling of thunder sounded a lot nearer and the sky lit up with a lightning strike. The clouds were a dark, slate grey looming over our house. The plans of Munchkin and Gnome aften go astray….we were most upset with the whole situation. I bleated and lamented shaking my finger like a mad Chinese woman. Gnome gesticulated wildly in a well, hot Latino way. If you were a fly on the wall, you would have thought we were doing the “Hokey Cokey” at each other.
Meanwhile…the cat sprang up on a chair and started kneading the cushion in preparation for a whole day of relaxation…ahhh time to sleep.
More madness ensued as I complained about washing clothes with buckets filled with tadpoles. The tadpoles actually stuck to the clothes. I was most vexed with this tadpole-sticking situation…
Meanwhile…the cat finally noticed the commotion and mildly looked in our direction as if to “lend a kind ear” but then shrugged his shoulders and decided he didn’t want the cushion and settled down on the floor.
Cat Settling Down.
The rain clouds gathered and we knew all the yelling in the world would not change the inevitable. After the morning cup of tea, we hauled buckets of water (tadpole free) into the house.
Meanwhile…the cat was doing this:
More Sleeping.
The rain started with a gust of wind, a mild pitter patter and then it was a deluge. Gnome looked at me with a winning smile and told me that it wasn’t all bad. The water tank would be filled up with the heavy rains and he promised me that he would fix the pump problem. It was just not going to be Today! I smiled back at him and realised that everything was alright. These are the challenges of life and we have to get through it together.
I pondered over getting a hand-held vacuum cleaner for a long time. The main reason is because I live in Belize and it isn’t a matter of going down to the shopping mall or going online and ordering it on 24 hour delivery. Making a decision to buy something which can’t be bought in Belize entails ordering it on-line, sending it to a shipping company which transports to Belize, sending the invoice to the shippers, waiting anywhere from 2 to 6 months to get it shipped here, paying duty and transportation and then driving to the final collection point which is a 2 to 3 hours away.
And so I cogitated, procrastinated and then did some more thinking and finally told Gnome that I really, really wanted a Eureka hand-held vacuum cleaner. I went on-line to Amazon and noted that in some of the reviews, many people mentioned that it was very heavy for a hand-held machine. And so I told Gnome that the vacuum cleaner was 5lbs in weight but I wasn’t sure if this was too much for me to handle. With a glint in his eye he mentioned that the Cat was 5lbs in weight (at that time). He said rather nonchalantly, “Try the cat.”
The Cat.
I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that comment so he further explained that I should lift up the cat with one arm and shugle him about like I would a vacuum cleaner. And so I did, with the kind permission of our pet cat, Ewan. He didn’t seem too heavy to handle and he didn’t seem that bothered by my man-handling. And so Gnome concluded from my cat-vacuum cleaner emulation experiment that the Eureka was to be bought and I should go on-line immediately to purchase it and fulfill my cleaning requirements.
Six months later we collected it and brought it home. I was beaming with hope, pleasure and excitement as I unwrapped the box like a Christmas present (a belated one at that). It didn’t turn out to be heavy at all…Munchkin power can handle a measly 5lbs in weight and it worked like a charm.
Now the funny thing is that it is a running joke that the Eureka and the Cat are both sucking up all the crumbs on the kitchen floor and under the dining room table. We have a good old laugh about it…which is which? We have even started calling the cat “Eureka!”
Which Eureka?!Eureka and Ewan Lounging.
HaHa…we know how to entertain ourselves out here in the middle of nowhere!
A couple of months ago, Gnome made Lime Sulphur as a Bored-in-Belize project. One of the many uses of it is a dip for dogs and cats. It can be applied for mange, fleas and ringworm. We tested our formula on the two dogs and the cat today (not the guinea pigs!!). We poured out a quantity of the concentrated lime sulphur and diluted it with water in a bucket:
Measuring Lime Sulphur.2 Gallons of Diluted Lime Sulphur.
A rag was dipped into the bucket of solution and the dogs and cat were soaked with it. Prior to this, they all got a wash with our sulphur soap. There were no complaints from any any animals concerned as we sponged them copiuosly with this bright yellow fluid. They seemed to like the smell of rotten eggs!!
Sulfuring Doggie.
Sorry, no picture of the other doggie because we both had to hold her down because she is the mad one that likes to lick toads.
Sulfuring The Cat.
The cat actually stayed still and did not seem to mind the extremely pungent smell. After all that, we were both smelling of sulphur; Gnome said that he felt spiritually cleansed…I think he was referring to fire and brimstone and all that stuff!!
I am sure you may have had your suspicions when you wonder how to two doctors can maintain a farm, do all the wiring, plumbing and mechanics, make apothecary products and also see patients. Surely, there must be The Brains behind the operation that is co-ordinating Da Gnome and Munchkin? Yes, today we reveal el jefe in his full glory:
Munchkin has chosen this heart-wrenching song for you and will cry along with you:
And Gnome has chosen this song for you. He will sing along with you too:
