Story I hesitate to tell…

A few nights back I was laying in bed with the dogs watching a movie on Netflix. Brandon was on the couch listening to the baseball game. It was a nice quiet night until…it felt like something fell into my shirt. I didn’t really think much of it until a few seconds later the creature started moving. I jumped up out of bed, looked in my shirt to find a 3-4 inch scorpion in my shirt! I screamed for Brandon who by this time was asleep on the couch. By the time he reached me I had shaken the creepy crawler out of my shirt onto the floor. Startled Brandon did not know what to do. I yelled, “Kill it!” He struggled to find a shoe but eventually did as I kept the thing corned with my kindle. It took a few good smacks to put him down. There were guts all over the floor.

I am not generally afraid of insects but there is just something about the primitive look of a scorpion that freaks me out! They are not poisonous here but if I were to have been stung they say it hurts like hell! They compare them to bees or wasps. We think he crawled out of the ceiling light above our bed. We are told that they usually stay outdoors but during the rainy season they can find their way in…it is the rainy season! For those who want to visit please do not let this deter you!

We did meet LindaBlue for breakfast this past Friday, a midwife from Kentucky who has been living on the lake for 8 years. We spent a few hours getting to know her and how she practices. Brandon and I both really liked and felt comfortable with her. We also really like the idea of having the baby at home and not having to travel a long distance.  I did inquire about her access to medication for bleeding should I need it. She said, “Oh darling, you just eat some of your placenta. It is full of Oxytocin.” I smiled and then asked, “and if I don’t want to eat the placenta do you have access to drugs?” She assured me yes, yes she does. She seems like a very colorful woman. 

After our breakfast she showed us around from her point of view. She really is knowledgeable about the community and we look forward to picking her brain as we get to spend more time with her. She is off to Uruguay this week to assist one of her friends with her birth. We will meet again sometime during the first week of October for the prenatal visits to begin!

 Brandon has been picking up unripe lemons from the yard because he doesn’t want them to go to waste…how sweet.                                                                                 

For the past two weeks Brandon and I have been trying to find basil in the market. I had been looking for the sweet basil variety that I was used to. We couldn’t find any and I was bummed because I want to make pesto and pasta sauce. Buying fresh produce here is very inexpensive but anything that is pre-made, processed, canned, or jarred is pricey. Cruz, the Guardia of the property that we live on showed us around the first day we were here making sure to show us the lettuce patch, the tomato plants, and the little patch of herbs. All he said about the herbs was “they are for cooking.” Well, Jodi Annis helped me to figure out that growing in abundance in our yard is Thai Basil! I made some delicious pesto!

We also have been playing lots of cards to keep busy in the afternoon hours.  I was on a winning streak but I think that streak has come to an end. I’m ok with this because Brandon was starting to throw fits when he lost.

It has been two weeks now and there are days that I think to myself “what have we done.” It is a challenge for me to have no responsibility or places to be.  I have said this a few times to some of you but I do feel as though I am detoxing from many different things all at once. I’m trying to stay present focused and to be patient with myself.

I just asked Brandon how he feels about our new life right now…he said “Fine.”  He went on to share that he does wish he could go play disc golf or stop at Walgreens and pick me up some chocolate. For him, he knew the sacrifices coming into this he says.  I knew them too…the feeling part of the sacrifices are stronger for me I guess. I also do have these crazy hormones rushing through my body.

XOXO,

Katie and Brandon