Hi Everyone!!  Gosh…can you believe it…in Belize, I can’t find a simple desk lamp.  I am just looking for one of those normal lamps with the bendy neck and on-off push button.  Yeah one of those cheap (C&G…Cheap and Good) lamps that you can buy anywhere else but Belize.  How frustrating…

The reason why I need one is because I have started hand-sewing out of sheer necessity and I need a desk lamp for better lighting. I am in desperate need of good fitting clothes so I have resorted to buying second-hand clothes and altering them to fit my size and shape.

I think this is a good enough time to talk to you about clothes shopping in Toledo.  Any brand new clothes that you buy here are usually really bad quality and made of material like viscose or polyester.  In the Tropics, these are horrible to wear because your skin can not breathe through them.  On top of this, the fashion is really trashy (yes, call me a prude) with see-through stuff and blouses with too many holes in the wrong places.  Also, all trousers (or pants) are low riders and there is no other choice.  Personally, the only people who suit these type of trousers are the skinny waif types.  5 foot 2 inch  Munchkins, like me, need trousers that actually come up to the waist or else we look like fat squashed-up pears.  In short, the clothes that you buy here are for flirting, showing off flesh and accentuating the size of your bottom (they like voluptuous bottoms here) and I am not into that at all!

And so I have resorted to the used clothes stalls.  The clothes sold here are usually from the Goodwill stores from the States.  So, all you guys out there who are giving away your lovely clothes, in the name of charity, note they are getting sold to us poor buggers in Belize.  Tops, shirts and trousers usually go for about $10Bz ($5US) in the seconds market.  Mens’ second hand trousers can fetch as high as $20Bz ($10US) and they look like they have been worn to death.  I noticed that for a while there was a spate of seconds with sewn on “Dickie’s” labels (but were clearly not Dickies stuff) and because they had that label, they were all being sold at premium prices.  And we won’t even mention shoes…not a single pair of decent leather shoes to be found in the whole country of Belize!!  Wahhhh!!

Anyway, at least you can find some cotton stuff at the seconds stalls.  Oh, and when I find linen, I grab it!  Also, there is some classical, elegant stuff so I can at least dress like a doctor if need be.  It is pretty embarrassing wearing  tarty clothes on a medical house call!!  It is certainly not the image that I want to get across…but the funny thing is that it is actually perfectly acceptable to wear a hot little number, whilst doctoring, and so the problem actually lies with me!!

There you are…I have  had my little rant and I feel much better for it!  Alas, if only I could find a desk lamp…