Dec 20 - The Supreme Court Of Canada Does The Right Thing And Strikes Down Bad Prostitution Law

This could be the day
That will someday remind us
Of foolish years past

Dec 19 - The Christmas Party, During Which I See That Daisy And I Are Really Falling Out

Daisy's at her worst
Off-tune songs, endless begging
Still, the kids have fun

Dec 18 - The Fire Monkey's Big Day

Explosions and cakes

200 birthday greetings

I feel well-feted

Dec 17 - An Offensive Comment On Facebook Makes Me Suspect I've Been Catfished

Is Jill Hurley real?
Something in her mean comments
Just doesn't ring true

Dec 16 - The Rainbow Bridge Monday Night Candle Ceremony (10 p.m. EST)

We light 3 candles
For poor Coquetta, sending
love to Dog Heaven

Dec 15 - Don't Hire Us To Staple Your Dog

Sometime in the night
Beagley popped one more staple
It's clear we're no vets

Dec 14 - It Turns Out A Week's Notice Is A Little Tight For Finding Belize Hotels at Christmas

Can't count the hotels
That told us they had no space
But then it worked out

Dec 13 - Trying To Make Owen A Multi-Media Book

This video book
Is much tougher than I thought
Why sasquatches, Paul?

Dec 12 - I Don't Want To Mother The New Volunteers, But Good Grief

They're almost 30
But they're so disorganized
I end up clucking

Dec 11 - This Dog Craziness May Be Giving Me A Reputation As An Odd Duck

My co-workers act
kindly toward me, but I
fear they find me strange

Dec 10 - In Which We Wake Up To Discover Beagley Has Bitten Out All Her Stitches

I stapled the dog
Then hunted for wire-cutters
To fix my mistakes

Dec 9 - Mourning Coquetta While Beagley Lies Stoned On The Floor

Two dogs: One murdered,
the other spayed in our yard
Life flows hot and cold

Dec 8 - And It's Back To Copan, This Time With A Good Ham Sandwich

Our picnic lunches
Go well with double rom-coms
On the long bus home

Dec 7 - A Tegus Shopping Day

Julie drives to Wow
To buy six perfect white chairs
Sangria at lunch

Dec 6 - All Aboard To Valle De Angeles Before We Think Too Much About The Things We Just Said

The feedback session
Gets a bit ugly, but we're
Spared by a field trip

Dec 5 - A Flashy Dinner Amid Fine Company

Thai food, jazz music
Is this Tegucigalpa?
Charmed by the World Bank

Dec 4 - In Which A Happy Trip To The Mall Leaves Me Stranded Outside The Gate Of The Fancy Subdivision

Bags strewn on the road
I'll have to walk this last leg
The cab's too seedy

Dec 3 - The Meeting Goes Off The Rails

Funny how quickly
You go from open to closed
One more Advil day

Dec 2 - Day 1 And I'm Digging For My Advil

I have grown too old
To fall for fuzzy thinking
Give me a real plan

Dec 1 - Off To Tegus To Stay With Our Well-Placed New Friend

Yup, a long bus ride
But a mansion awaits us
And margaritas

Nov 30 - The New Cement Patio Makes A Surprising Difference

It's not quite a yard
Still, it marks street's end, the space
that belongs to them

Nov 29 - Not So Tropical Today

My open-air desk
Leaves me chilled and shivering
The year's first cold front

Nov 28 - San Rafael Night With Carin And The Overly Loving Brian (Dog)

Red wine and cheese plates
Go down well on chilly nights
Planning for Belize

Nov 27 - The Optimist's Take: 10 More Feet Of Wall Height At Angelitos Really Brightens The Place Up

In other lands, you'd
just fix the water leak, but
here you raise the roof

Nov 26 - Drive Often Enough On These Long, Crazy Roads And It All Feels Commonplace

Off to Guarumal
Which I used to think was far
It's all perspective

Nov 25 - Really? The Country Wants These Guys For A Second Term?

Alas, the blues win
Why? Everything's been worse since
they came to power

Nov 24 - Election Day in Honduras

The street to the school
Is packed with voters wearing
Proof on their fingers

Nov 23 - A Cloudy Day Brings Out The Beastly Jejenes

An early pool day
To avoid the election
Insects chomp our legs

Nov 22 - How I Long For The Days Of Retail Therapy

Shopping in Copan
Nothing but new shirts too small
Or old shirts too old

Nov 21 - 'Tis The Season To Get The Order In

Christmas calendar
Takes hours, but I like it
Puzzling through our lives

Nov 20 - CASM Wins A Prize In Guatemala And Nobody's Got A Car

It takes five buses
To get to Esquipulas
A long way for lunch

Nov 19 - Off Goes The Cocoa Book, The Calendar And My Resume

Big projects finished
Year-end is coming up fast
The job search begins

Nov 18 - My Well Of Tolerance Appears To Be Running Dry, Or Maybe It's Because I Skipped Yoga

The devotionals
Can really get on my nerves
Must avoid Mondays

Nov 17 - Daisy Shuts The Door On Me Because I Challenged Her

The other shoe drops
Daisy says the kids can't leave
It's my punishment

Nov 16 - Even A 7-Hour Bus Ride Ends Early If You Start At 5:30

One bus, then two more
I let the touts hand me off
And am home for lunch

Nov 15 - Sometimes I Work Too Much When Alone In My Hotel Room

Head down and working
First with the mayor, then cacao
I want to go home

Nov 14 - Building A Biodigestor In Aceituno

I should be helping
But ankle deep in cow shit?
Got to draw the line

Nov 13 - The Tough Sell Of Pitching Civic-Mindedness To Young Lempirans

These blank young faces
Don't yet get democracy
They need to learn fast

Nov 12 - The Tomala Video Shoot Gets Off To A Good Start

Off to make movies
Bumping between the fincas
Eating mandarins

Nov 11 - Aboard The Amarillo On The Long, Long Ride To Tomala

Poor school bus, struggling
up long hills, dodging potholes
Not made for this life

Nov 10 - Lunch Treat At The Market For Seven Of The Wee Ones

Too cool for the pool
So we go for pupusas
And bakery treats

Nov 9 - My Wheedling, Threats And Bribes Go Nowhere

Daisy squeezes soy
She won't consider a truce
The kids lose again

Nov 8 - When All The Demands Of The Regions Collide

The pace is fevered
I put haste to projects so
More can take their place

Nov 7 - The Canadians Come And Fetch Us For A Very Good Meal

A finca dinner
Smoked chicken and apple crisp
First whipped cream in months

Nov 6 - I Could Use A Margarita At The Beach Right About Now

Stiff neck, itchy breast
The tropical life can't thwart
Tension and bug bites

Nov. 5 - Sisyphus Comes To Mind

I take Anil up
to the hogar, and wonder
if anything's changed

Nov 4 - You Think You Know A Dog Until You Catch Her Cheating

Across the river
I spot Beagley with two men
Who claim they own her

Nov. 3 - I Always Hated The Day When The Clocks Turned Back

This day was so bleak
back in Canada; symbol
of the dark to come

Nov 2 - In Any Other Land I Would Find It Weird To See Vegetables Drifting Downstream

Green peppers float past
Like nutritious offerings
From the veggie gods

Nov 1 - Day Of The Dead At Copan Cemetery

The graves look spiffy
The lime-green is great; it could
rock the afterlife