Hi everyone, it's been a while since I've been able to do this. December was sort of a crazy month, so I didn't get much of a chance to write. We received an offer on the house in Dallas, so I changed my already-scheduled trip home to accomodate the closing; the buyer wanted to close in 2 weeks. The offer ended up falling through (because the buyer was a jerk), so instead of closing on the house I had to list it and get it rented while I was home. I'm really excited about the renters, and believe that it's not totally a bad thing that the house didn't sell. It simply isn't the right time to sell a house. I got back just in time for New Year's Eve, and Tim was happy to have some home-cooked meals again!
Following are some posts that just haven't made it onto the blog yet. I apologize for being remiss about posting, I can't tell you how complicated it is just to respond to e-mails let alone post pictures and blog content. Lame, I know...
12/12/07
So last Saturday we went to Steve’s house to do some laundry. Steve & family are in San Jose at the moment, and we took advantage of their absence to use their washer & dryer for some of the hard-to-hand-wash items like sheets and towels. I have learned that towels end up stiff and rough if there is no breeze blowing to dry them! And washing king sized sheets in the kitchen sink is a nightmare I don’t want to repeat anytime soon… Anyway, we were hanging out at their house, enjoying the view and the cool ocean breeze while doing laundry. While we were hanging out, a group of girls and a woman cut through the property on their way to the beach (most of them are the daughters of one of Steve’s employees). One girl was holding a green bucket that contained well over a hundred baby turtles! They came from the beach at Junquillal, where there is round-the-clock protection for a turtle egg nest. The eggs are rescued from nests on secluded beaches, where they are more likely to be poached by Ticos looking to sell the eggs and taken to the protected nest until they hatch. When they hatch, they are returned to the beach they were gathered from and released into the ocean by the volunteers who collect the eggs and guard them. Tim and & asked if we could follow them to the beach and take pictures and they said sure. The volunteers measured each turtle, documented the measurements, and released them one by one onto the beach to make their way to the ocean. I think the woman with the group was a volunteer for the WWF, and the volunteers are teaching the younger generation to help protect the turtles. Turtle eggs are thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac and a delicacy, plus they provide income for many Ticos, so it’s tough to change people’s thinking. The going rate is $6 for one hundred turtle eggs.
So last Saturday we went to Steve’s house to do some laundry. Steve & family are in San Jose at the moment, and we took advantage of their absence to use their washer & dryer for some of the hard-to-hand-wash items like sheets and towels. I have learned that towels end up stiff and rough if there is no breeze blowing to dry them! And washing king sized sheets in the kitchen sink is a nightmare I don’t want to repeat anytime soon… Anyway, we were hanging out at their house, enjoying the view and the cool ocean breeze while doing laundry. While we were hanging out, a group of girls and a woman cut through the property on their way to the beach (most of them are the daughters of one of Steve’s employees). One girl was holding a green bucket that contained well over a hundred baby turtles! They came from the beach at Junquillal, where there is round-the-clock protection for a turtle egg nest. The eggs are rescued from nests on secluded beaches, where they are more likely to be poached by Ticos looking to sell the eggs and taken to the protected nest until they hatch. When they hatch, they are returned to the beach they were gathered from and released into the ocean by the volunteers who collect the eggs and guard them. Tim and & asked if we could follow them to the beach and take pictures and they said sure. The volunteers measured each turtle, documented the measurements, and released them one by one onto the beach to make their way to the ocean. I think the woman with the group was a volunteer for the WWF, and the volunteers are teaching the younger generation to help protect the turtles. Turtle eggs are thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac and a delicacy, plus they provide income for many Ticos, so it’s tough to change people’s thinking. The going rate is $6 for one hundred turtle eggs.
1/6/08
Hello and feliz ano nuevo to everyone! I realize I’ve been horrible about blogging but it’s a new year, entonces estoy empezando una nueva etapa en mi vida. Okay, okay, that was cheating…Tim’s sister bought us a Spanish calendar, and that just happened to be yesterday’s phrase. Mi espanol es muy mal!
For those of you who don’t know, I went back to Texas for 11 days to close on my house; ultimately the offer fell through but I was able to rent it so everything worked out in the end. Tim leaves on Wednesday to spend a week at home so expect to hear lots from me in the near future! J It was cold in Texas the whole time I was there, and I couldn’t wait to get back to the beach (and where people drive very, very slow). It was nice to spend the holidays with family, albeit unexpectedly, but it was a different kind of Christmas. Since I hadn’t planned on seeing family for the holidays, I didn’t have any gifts for anyone. While everyone ran around spending money and shopping like mad, I relaxed and made the most of my time with my family. As corny as it sounds, it was nice because it was the way Christmas is supposed to be – my focus was on spending time with folks I won’t see again for several months and not on gift-giving and receiving. By the time I got back, Tim had been cooking for himself long enough that his shorts were falling off!
We spent New Year’s Eve with the McKnight family (our friends who moved here a couple of years ago). While I was gone, Tim and Steve had a grate made and built a barbecue pit on Steve’s property, and bought half of a freshly slaughtered pig. On NYE, we cooked the pig all day long while enjoying the beach, the scenery, the company, and lots and lots of ping pong. We left their house around 10, but couldn’t stay awake long enough to ring in the new year. I’m pretty sure that means we’re old.
I was able to talk lots of friends into sending me back with their DVDs, so it’s almost like we have television now! I scored the first season of Lost and we are hooked. I’ve heard it turned all kinds of hokey in the second season so I’m glad we don’t have it! I also brought back my bike, which didn’t quite make it here without incident. I drove myself to the airport because I had a rental car, and the bike was in a box in the backseat. I had a full backpack on my back and one on my front, and was pulling a Roxy suitcase that was stuffed the point of exploding, as well as maneuvering a 37-pound bike in a box. I got the rental car returned and managed to make it from the shuttle bus to the terminal with all my gear (it wasn’t easy or pretty, mind you). When I went to check in I was told I needed to go to the excess baggage line. I got up to the counter and the Continental employee checking me in told me there was an embargo on excess baggage at the Liberia airport until January 15th, so I wouldn’t be able to bring my bike. I’m sure I looked like I was about to spontaneously combust when I asked, “Why do you suppose the person I talked to on the phone about flying with my bike wouldn’t have told me this information?” He said, “We need a supervisor.” After explaining my situation, the supervisor agreed to override the embargo for me, and the guy checking me in said, “Thank you for not yelling at me.” When I arrived I loaded all my luggage onto a cart at the airport and sailed through customs and found Tim outside waiting for me, with Zac in the truck! My bike doesn’t exactly shift the way that it did before the trip, so we are now trying to find information about rear derailleur repair online. I hope Tim’s bike fares better!
On Friday morning, I was gathering up towels that had been scattered around outside and I opened the back door. I went to open the latch on the burglar bars (our doors and windows all have bars, but the doors have locking latches on them) and saw a snake coiled all around the latch on the inside of the bars. I closed the door and made a sound that was a lot like something Curly from the 3 Stooges would make, and Tim asked me what was the matter. I told him there was a snake on the latch, so he grabbed a stick and we went around from the front. Sure enough, there was a baby boa constrictor! Tim poked at it until it dropped down onto the tile, and then picked it up on the end of a stick and took it across the street to the estuary and let it go. Now I’m on the lookout for snakes everywhere!!!
Hello and feliz ano nuevo to everyone! I realize I’ve been horrible about blogging but it’s a new year, entonces estoy empezando una nueva etapa en mi vida. Okay, okay, that was cheating…Tim’s sister bought us a Spanish calendar, and that just happened to be yesterday’s phrase. Mi espanol es muy mal!
For those of you who don’t know, I went back to Texas for 11 days to close on my house; ultimately the offer fell through but I was able to rent it so everything worked out in the end. Tim leaves on Wednesday to spend a week at home so expect to hear lots from me in the near future! J It was cold in Texas the whole time I was there, and I couldn’t wait to get back to the beach (and where people drive very, very slow). It was nice to spend the holidays with family, albeit unexpectedly, but it was a different kind of Christmas. Since I hadn’t planned on seeing family for the holidays, I didn’t have any gifts for anyone. While everyone ran around spending money and shopping like mad, I relaxed and made the most of my time with my family. As corny as it sounds, it was nice because it was the way Christmas is supposed to be – my focus was on spending time with folks I won’t see again for several months and not on gift-giving and receiving. By the time I got back, Tim had been cooking for himself long enough that his shorts were falling off!
We spent New Year’s Eve with the McKnight family (our friends who moved here a couple of years ago). While I was gone, Tim and Steve had a grate made and built a barbecue pit on Steve’s property, and bought half of a freshly slaughtered pig. On NYE, we cooked the pig all day long while enjoying the beach, the scenery, the company, and lots and lots of ping pong. We left their house around 10, but couldn’t stay awake long enough to ring in the new year. I’m pretty sure that means we’re old.
I was able to talk lots of friends into sending me back with their DVDs, so it’s almost like we have television now! I scored the first season of Lost and we are hooked. I’ve heard it turned all kinds of hokey in the second season so I’m glad we don’t have it! I also brought back my bike, which didn’t quite make it here without incident. I drove myself to the airport because I had a rental car, and the bike was in a box in the backseat. I had a full backpack on my back and one on my front, and was pulling a Roxy suitcase that was stuffed the point of exploding, as well as maneuvering a 37-pound bike in a box. I got the rental car returned and managed to make it from the shuttle bus to the terminal with all my gear (it wasn’t easy or pretty, mind you). When I went to check in I was told I needed to go to the excess baggage line. I got up to the counter and the Continental employee checking me in told me there was an embargo on excess baggage at the Liberia airport until January 15th, so I wouldn’t be able to bring my bike. I’m sure I looked like I was about to spontaneously combust when I asked, “Why do you suppose the person I talked to on the phone about flying with my bike wouldn’t have told me this information?” He said, “We need a supervisor.” After explaining my situation, the supervisor agreed to override the embargo for me, and the guy checking me in said, “Thank you for not yelling at me.” When I arrived I loaded all my luggage onto a cart at the airport and sailed through customs and found Tim outside waiting for me, with Zac in the truck! My bike doesn’t exactly shift the way that it did before the trip, so we are now trying to find information about rear derailleur repair online. I hope Tim’s bike fares better!
On Friday morning, I was gathering up towels that had been scattered around outside and I opened the back door. I went to open the latch on the burglar bars (our doors and windows all have bars, but the doors have locking latches on them) and saw a snake coiled all around the latch on the inside of the bars. I closed the door and made a sound that was a lot like something Curly from the 3 Stooges would make, and Tim asked me what was the matter. I told him there was a snake on the latch, so he grabbed a stick and we went around from the front. Sure enough, there was a baby boa constrictor! Tim poked at it until it dropped down onto the tile, and then picked it up on the end of a stick and took it across the street to the estuary and let it go. Now I’m on the lookout for snakes everywhere!!!
We also found a scorpion in the bathroom this week, so I’m afraid to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without shoes! Also this week, Tim was on the front porch when Zac went after something on the side of the house. Whatever it was made a horrible screeching noise, then I hear the next-door neighbor say, “He’s friendly, don’t worry!” Tim yelled at me to get Zac in the house, and when I went outside there was a little monkey on the side porch with a rope trailing behind him. He turned out to be our neighbor Wayne’s monkey (Wayne’s pet youngun’, anyone?), and so Tim took the rope and led him down the road to Wayne’s house. Always an adventure here at the end of the road.
That’s about it for now, I’ll try to get this posted with some pictures ASAP. Thanks for tuning in.
1/11/08
Day #4 on my own. Tim left on Tuesday to go to San Jose, and then flew home on Wednesday, so it’s just me and los perros until next Wednesday. Our next door neighbors have finally moved into their house, but they still have no kitchen cabinets or countertops, and workers are still finishing up the outside of the house. Bruce and Sheila invited me out to dinner on Wednesday, and also took their general contractor and one of the workers. It was a nice evening. Yesterday, Sheila came over and invited me over for chili. I said OK, and THEN she said, “Well, I don’t know where my crock pot is, so I was thinking I could come over here and cook, and we could eat over here.” At the time she invited me, I had already cooked some chicken breasts with the intention of making chicken enchiladas later in the day; I said, “Since I’ve already started cooking, why don’t I make chicken enchiladas, and you can come over and eat them with me.” Sheila said, “OK, that sounds great. By the way, we are feeding Diego and Leonardo for one more night.” So I spent the day cleaning and cooking, and ended up hosting dinner for 5. Sheila and Bruce have invited me over for chili tonight (they bought a new crock pot), and then to go with them to Santa Cruz tomorrow. I am going to have to find a way out of this. I think they don’t want me to be alone, when I actually like it. They even offered to set up an inflatable mattress for me in their office, in the event that I get scared here by myself. It really is a nice gesture, but I don’t spook easily.
I went to Santa Cruz today for gas, my biggest outing on the roads alone. It is 45 miles round trip to the nearest gas station, so we can’t wait until we’re on empty to fill up. Since I will have to drive to Liberia next week to pick Tim up (about 50 or 60 miles one way), I wanted to make sure I didn’t get too low over the weekend. Like everything here, even getting gas requires planning and patience. On the way to Santa Cruz I saw a girl who had just been hit by a car, lying on the side of the road, unconscious. She looked about 10 or 12, and her bike was crunched between the car that hit her and a guardrail on a small bridge. I passed an ambulance heading in the direction of the ambulance a few minutes later, and a few minutes after that I saw the ambulance heading back to town with its sirens and lights on. Very sobering.
For those of you who wonder what has happened to my blog, I am in the internet café writing this, but once again, there is no internet access.
That’s about it for now, I’ll try to get this posted with some pictures ASAP. Thanks for tuning in.
1/11/08
Day #4 on my own. Tim left on Tuesday to go to San Jose, and then flew home on Wednesday, so it’s just me and los perros until next Wednesday. Our next door neighbors have finally moved into their house, but they still have no kitchen cabinets or countertops, and workers are still finishing up the outside of the house. Bruce and Sheila invited me out to dinner on Wednesday, and also took their general contractor and one of the workers. It was a nice evening. Yesterday, Sheila came over and invited me over for chili. I said OK, and THEN she said, “Well, I don’t know where my crock pot is, so I was thinking I could come over here and cook, and we could eat over here.” At the time she invited me, I had already cooked some chicken breasts with the intention of making chicken enchiladas later in the day; I said, “Since I’ve already started cooking, why don’t I make chicken enchiladas, and you can come over and eat them with me.” Sheila said, “OK, that sounds great. By the way, we are feeding Diego and Leonardo for one more night.” So I spent the day cleaning and cooking, and ended up hosting dinner for 5. Sheila and Bruce have invited me over for chili tonight (they bought a new crock pot), and then to go with them to Santa Cruz tomorrow. I am going to have to find a way out of this. I think they don’t want me to be alone, when I actually like it. They even offered to set up an inflatable mattress for me in their office, in the event that I get scared here by myself. It really is a nice gesture, but I don’t spook easily.
I went to Santa Cruz today for gas, my biggest outing on the roads alone. It is 45 miles round trip to the nearest gas station, so we can’t wait until we’re on empty to fill up. Since I will have to drive to Liberia next week to pick Tim up (about 50 or 60 miles one way), I wanted to make sure I didn’t get too low over the weekend. Like everything here, even getting gas requires planning and patience. On the way to Santa Cruz I saw a girl who had just been hit by a car, lying on the side of the road, unconscious. She looked about 10 or 12, and her bike was crunched between the car that hit her and a guardrail on a small bridge. I passed an ambulance heading in the direction of the ambulance a few minutes later, and a few minutes after that I saw the ambulance heading back to town with its sirens and lights on. Very sobering.
For those of you who wonder what has happened to my blog, I am in the internet café writing this, but once again, there is no internet access.
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