I know it doesn't look like much

But, here is my first vegetable garden, that I couldn't have done without John's backbreaking help. My original thought was to plant sunflowers here and there but in the article I read, thanks to Debbie, it said not to plant them within a foot of most of the things I was planting so I put them across one end. I then have onions, celery, an empty spot for what Heather is bringing like squash and cucumbers, the lettuce planter in the front and another empty spot for John's tomatoes, chilies, parsley, dill and chives. I watered it all really good and even mounded the dirt in rows before I planted. Grandpa Perlinger would be so proud of me. I found that if I attached my hose to the laundry sink hose I could easily reach the whole garden. I can't wait for things to start coming up!

I have news!

Had a massage this morning. It wasn't just a relaxing massage but it really helped to loosen things up. I feel pretty good.

Got the call that my glasses were ready so this afternoon Debbie and I went to Paraiso to get them. Here is a picture of them along with my new haircut. There isn't a major difference in the prescription but it seems like my eyes don't have to work as hard. 

We stopped in the fabric shop and since I don't know where the local bus leaves from, we took a taxi to the nursery. The driver was so great. He didn't speak English and you all know my Spanish. He only knew he was heading on the road to Wal Mart and Econo and the place has flowers. Once we got started he called someone who spoke English and had me talk to them. They then told him where I wanted to go. Got there with no problem. I think though that is the problem. People make it too easy for me. We now have seeds for celery, peppers, lettuce and parsley. I also couldn't resist 3 flower plants. I love them!

I knew where we needed to catch the bus, about a block down and across the street. The first green bus I motioned my arm and he kept on going so we knew it would be a half hour. Debbie said there was no way he was not stopping next time because she would be standing out in the road. We decided if he didn't stop we would have to take the local bus to Paraiso and then the Orosi bus. The locals between Cartago and Paraiso go about every 5 minutes. He did stop so we didn't have to resort to that.

And, the big news is Heather and Kent are rebooked for Feb. 15-25 so, everyone mark it on your calendar for Feb. 14 to pray like mad that there isn't any bad weather to delay them. On the way back I got off the bus at the church stop so I could walk by the hardware store and check if Gerardo was there. He was, so I was able to give him Heather's new dates - or Heidi as he calls her. I showed him my plants and he loved the hydrangea, or hortensia as it is called here. He called two other guys over to see it.

That's it, that is all my news. We plan to plant on Saturday so I will send pictures then.

Let me tell you about today.

Angela left the little apartment a little after 10:00 this morning. Ana started cleaning and stripping the bed and I started carrying things over including food, towels, bed linens, a memory foam mattress topper and my coffee maker. I know lots of cities are having snow storm problems but Madison and Atlanta were not on the list. Heather called me from the airport saying their flight was 2 hours late and they would miss their connection. She asked me to check from Atlanta to San Jose tomorrow morning. I emailed back that it was full Sunday and Monday. She said the line at the airport was horribly long and remember they are carting 200 pounds of luggage for me besides their carry on. When they finally got to the counter they found there was nothing until Tuesday and Delta was suggesting they  wait a week. They contacted their animal sitter who wasn't available from the 2nd until the 14th of Feb. so they asked for a refund and cancelled. While they were waiting for that to be processed a man came to the counter saying my flight was at 1:40 and delayed to 3:48 and now it is leaving at 2:00. That was their flight too. Sure enough, they had moved the flight back up but they were cancelled off it, it was too late to check any luggage and the flight was already completely full. Apparently it had to do with some bad weather in Atlanta and getting landing slots.

So, they went home to see if they could book anything from Chicago tomorrow. Heather found space on  United using miles but she had to call to book. When she finally got thru it turned out to be incorrect availability and wasn't actually available. They checked Southwest from Midway but they would have had to spend 2 nights in San Jose. So, they aren't coming for now. They will try later. What a mess.

Tomorrow I will bring everything back from the little apartment. Not a good day for any of us, although I did win 3 out of 5 games of Quiddler tonight.

Seems like forever since I have written.

I do have a good reason, but let me say it has been a week!

Monday I went to Cartago and had a long visit with Ziomara and got my hair cut, finally. I do like it.

Tuesday my glasses broke and the battery on my blood sugar tester went dead.

Wednesday I went back to Cartago and met Emilio and he took me to an optical place to have my glasses fixed. We had a great lunch in the Mercado and went to all kinds of places to pick up things he needs for school. Our little boy started university this week. We are so proud of him. He is so busy and making new friends. I have been waiting for a picture of him at school to write.  I did discover a couple new fabric shops and bought a couple pieces to make placemats.

Wednesday evening my glasses broke again. One of the lens kept falling out and now the screw won't stay in the hole.

Today I went to Paraiso and got my glasses fixed again, had an eye exam, ordered new glasses that will be ready in about 4 days, got the battery for my meter and discovered a nice fabric store right by the square. I bought more fabric. All in all a good day. To give you an idea, exam, fixing my old glasses, frames and progressive bifocal lens was $293.00. A good price I think.

Jose delivered the dirt for the garden today and John spread it out. We are now ready to plant.

Tomorrow will be gather and stock up day to get ready for Heather and Kent. Saturday we leave about 7:30pm to get them.

 A busy week. Monday I made Scalloped Potatoes and pork chops and since it was quite cool on Tuesday I used the leftover potatoes and vegetables and made a creamy potato soup. I also made some of my peasant bread into garlic bread. Warmed us up. 

We have had a couple long sleeve days this week but that is supposed to change.

That's it except for the excitement over the zorro falling thru the roof of the kitchen in the little apt and getting caught in there for hours. The trap is out so hopefully it will be gone tomorrow. Life is never boring here in Orosi!

Emilio and friend.

We had a great day on the mountain.

Gerardo came and got us about 11:00am. I did a platter with 2 sliced loaves of the fruit bread and a big tin of guayaba jelly and a container of refrigerator pickles. Debbie and John did a platter of raw vegetables and dip. Shortly after we arrived Marta started the cooking lesson. It is a cup of milk and a big hunk of something called dulce. I will have to do research and tell you later exactly what it is. It starts out as a good size brown circle that is broken into chunks.  That and the milk go in a pan on high heat until it is pretty much gone. We added a package of coconut and some nuts and cooked it until it would stick together. At the same time Ana had a burner on medium and was running banana leaves over it. I think it was to soften them. She cut them up and the cajeta was put on them. Lots of people helped. They were definitely a big hit. Lunch was Cas and Guayaba juice, chicken and beef rice, tuna pasta salad, a potato chayote dish, another pasta salad and the things we brought. The bread and jelly were saved for with coffee later in the afternoon. It was all so good.

Gerardo brought out dominoes and several members of the family played for hours. John played for most of the time and was finally declared champion and kicked out. Normally you leave when you lose but he never lost.

Marta asked me if I wanted to go outside and we admired the flowers. I realized there was an orchard on the property loaded with lemon and orange trees. I went back and got several sacks I carry and we filled them all up with fruit. Tomorrow I will see if Janet wants them for the senior center on Friday.

On the way home we spent some time enjoying the views from Gerardo's other mountain home.

What a great day spent with a great family. At one point I stood up and put my hand on Sylvia's head and looked at Gerardo and said usted meaning she is yours. Then I matched up all the younger people there with their parents so I could figure out who belonged to whom. Ana had 3 sons there,  Flor had one, Dora had two daughters and Marta had a daughter and either a son or grandson. At least it was a start.

We have 3 or 4 cats entertaining us with a concert tonight and I think we just had an earthquake. Life is definitely exciting in Orosi!

And I stirred and I stirred and I stirred with Marta and Ana's help.

Lots of hands helping. Gerardo and Marta and Debbie.

Marta trying to break one off for me.

So many beautiful flowers.

Today broomsticks, Lunes bamboo

Gerardo came today with the curtain rod holders all painted and nice to install over my doors. He gave me broomsticks to use -well, I used one and I used one of my guayaba branches. He said Monday he would bring the bamboo rods. I love the look!

Today is a baking day. I started a batch of Peasant Bread and I have 4 loaves of papaya, mango, drunk raisin bread in the oven for tomorrow. I also learned I am getting a cajeta making lesson tomorrow.  

Yesterday I mad Cinnamon Roll Ups. I like them even better cold and they stay really crispy. You take the crust off bread and use a rolling pin to flatten it. You spread a mixture of cream cheese and powered sugar. Roll it up, roll it in melted butter and then in cinnamon sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Really good. I also made Orange Pie Bars. The filling is good but I am not happy with the crust. If I make them again I will use the crust recipe from the Lemon Bars I make.

John and Debbie went to the feria this morning but I stayed home. As you can see I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

I had to go check what I had told you already and what I hadn't. Besides all the baking, I was given a pan full of guayaba. You know what that means. More jelly! I ended up with 11 cups of pulp and that turned into 2 1/2 big tin cups and 4 small jars of jelly. I gave Tia one of the tin cups full today. She looks so cute with her short haircut. She said she will be going to the mountain tomorrow unless I misunderstood. She already brought me the cup back, and kept the jelly.

Our garden is coming along. John has been working very hard. There are tons of rocks and he uncovered a sewer cover. He has been adding dirt from the compost area and working it in. I also have a big bag of rich volcanic dirt to add if we need it. I used some to plant the cactus but I have 2 bags. Once we get the lower level worked we will have Jose deliver a couple inches of topsoil. John says we will be ready when Heather gets here.

The broomstick door.

The guayaba branch door. 

The latest planter

We figure we will put a big planter of dirt on the sewer cover for any root vegetables as we haven't been able to dig down very deep. Maybe another big planter as a raised bed for lettuce.

We are getting closer to being farmers

I took out the vegetation and the tree and this morning John carted all the stuff away and put it by similar stuff. This afternoon I will do more to rake the rocks into a pile at the end. We may want to use them so I don't want to cart them away. We left a green plant at the end in case it is banana which would fit right in. 

I made Chocolate Chip cookies this morning. They all turn out flat. I don't know what the problem is or what ingredient isn't doing its job. They taste good. 

We are definitely seeing less rain. I have been watering all my plants. 

There are now 3 cats hanging around here and the noise they make is unbelievable, especially at night. I think they have decided my porch is a good place to hang out and howl. 

Just 10 days till Heather and Kent get here. That is why we have been playing so much Quiddler. To practice up so we can beat Kent at least once.

I have a new refrigerator!

Last night Gerardo stopped by while we were playing Quiddler and I showed him a picture of a wooden branch and holders used as a curtain rod. I brought him over and showed him my guayaba branches and he was saying no, no, no. He wanted it to look pretty. He went over and got the broom handle and I am saying no, no, no. We agreed on bamboo so I am waiting for him to have time to cut me bamboo. 

This morning was moving day for John and Debbie and they are pretty much settled upstairs. Ann left about 9:00 this morning. Ana let us know the lady would be staying in the little apt for 1 night. This afternoon Gerardo and a helper moved the newer refrigerator to my house and my old one to the little apt. It isn't any bigger but has an ice maker and water in the door and doesn't need defrosting. It is great!

After lunch of fish and chips by the gas station I decided to start on the garden area. I raked most of it, getting rid of all the growth. I gathered my tools including a hack saw and hedge clippers and decided to try removing the little pepper tree growing in the middle of the area. I used the saw on it once and it tipped over with the root coming out of the ground. Not a hard job. Jose and Ana were both here today giving us advice on what to do. Jose is bringing me dirt for my planters and when we are ready he suggests a couple inches of topsoil for the garden area. We also have composted soil from the area across the way. Jose told us about a place that sells seeds so we will go looking for that soon.

Cartago tomorrow is cancelled because Emilio is too busy but we will have lunch together. He got all set up today and he starts classes at the university on Monday. Quite exciting!

Thursday will be massages for both Debbie and me. After moving and working in the garden, we will need it.

It is construction week, could get interesting.

John and I have ideas. I spoke with Gerardo this morning and got his OK on both of them. I want to put sheers up over my doorways to act as a screen door. Thanks to Heather and the Dig and Save I have a bunch and I have guayaba branches to use as rods. All I need now are brackets and mounting. John is willing if we can come up with tools and supplies. The other idea is we want to plant a vegetable garden in a small area. Again, thanks to Heather, we have seeds coming and John has started tomatoes. The area will take some work to get it in shape, and again, John is willing. He says he either needs jobs or he will have to start exercising. Starting now, once the area is ready we can start with the tomatoes and I have dill and chives and green onions. Then when Heather comes we can plant the snap peas, lettuce, squash and purple carrots. And whatever else we come up with and have room for.   It will be easy to water it, if necessary, as there are sink and hose nearby.  Jose makes and sells organic fertilizer and Gerardo's compost pile is right across the walkway so we should be able to have some rich soil. This should be interesting!

My supplies for the screens

From our hotel in Puerto Viego.

The area we want to create a garden.

Adventure postponed

We haven't been on our adventure yet. There is talk of early this week. We did go for pizza Friday evening. Emilio asked if I had any fudge when I said I would bring chocolate. I made a pan quick and brought the whole thing along. We also brought the Quiddler game and played while we were waiting for the pizza to come. I cut up the fudge and he served it to all the customers. We continued the game until closing and came home to finish. John was on a roll, winning all the games. Pizza was great as well as the garlic bread. Their two thirds was ham and pineapple and peppers and tomato slices and my third was pepperoni and tomatoes and onion and peppers and tomato slices.

Saturday morning we went to Paraiso for the feria and met up with Emilio. After the feria we went to the store with the sewing machines and I bought one for $116.00. It is a Brothers, quite basic but works great. Heather will be bringing mine in a couple weeks so I will have 2 for a class or to get one or two ladies started on projects. Heather and Kent will also be bringing lots of fabric and yarn and batting. John and Debbie left while I was waiting to pay and Emilio and I came on a later bus. We went to the restaurant by the gas station for a great Casado lunch and then brought my stuff home. In the meantime John had been meeting the buses to help me carry the sewing machine. When we got here he was coming back from meeting another bus. He is so nice.

Today was church and the music was 6 or 7 guys on guitars and a woman on tambourine and another man on drums. They all sang also. 

I gave Debbie a dreamcatcher lesson this afternoon and her's turned out really cute. We had a light supper and played 3 games of Quiddler. We each won a game. Some of the words we try to sneak in, people would think we were really looney. We agreed not to use the online dictionary so if we aren't sure, we don't allow it.

Wednesday Emilio and I are going to the restaurant supply place in Cartago to pick up supplies so we can make chocolate chip cookies for him to keep at the pizza shop.

This is moving week. Ann is going back to the states and John and Debbie are moving up to the upstairs apt. When Heather and Kent come on the 23rd they will stay in the little apt. Word is that the new refrigerator from the little apt. is coming to my house as mine is old and has problems.

We also are going to ask Gerardo if we can turn a nice little area between the laundry area and the fence to the back yard into a vegetable garden. Heather is bringing seeds for peas and lettuce and squash and purple carrots (those were free). I have green onions and chives and dill and John has started tomato plants. Should be interesting! 

It is definitely getting to the end of the rainy season and we have had some warmer weather. It is just lovely. 

Debbie and her dreamcatcher.

I am falling down on the job.

It seems life has been busy here but I can't think of anything I have done that you might want to hear about. 

Here is a recap of the last week. Saturday I went to Cartago for craft supplies but none of the places I usually go to were open because of the long holiday weekend. Even the beauty shop was closed so I still need a haircut. I went through my things when I got home and decided I had enough to make do. Just no bright colors for the dreamcatcher webs.

Sunday was Mass and the female singer had an absolutely beautiful voice. I picked up all the supplies for snack during the class tomorrow. We stopped and had coffee and pastry at the Swiss shop.

Monday morning Oscar let me know his Senora would not be able to make the class so it was cancelled. Dora is back and I gave her the Christmas stocking I had for her and she invited us to coffee at 3:00pm. John wasn't feeling up to it so Debbie and Emilio and I went and had a great time. It was Flor, Ana, Dora, Marta, Papa and Gerardo. They explained they do this every day and share what is brought. Ana made tortillas and there was bread with cheese and a kind of a mini tamale with a bean filling and frosted cake. With Emilio there we were able to understand lots more and he enjoyed the stories they were telling. We know Gerardo is 1, Flor is 2, Ana is 4, Marta is 8 and Dora is 10 in the lineup of 10 siblings.

Tuesday was the pools and then lunch by the gas station. The pools were still very busy with families. We went for a walk after lunch and headed for the bakery by the pharmacy where we bought some great things. Walking home by the back street I asked if they had been to Monster Shake and they said no. We headed in and let me tell you, a waffle bowl with 4 scoops of ice cream and fruit and caramel sauce is just too much! But I loved it. It was my first ice cream in a long time. They had more sense. A smaller waffle bowl with 2 scoops but they had nuts and M & M's on theirs. We waddled home and I haven't eaten since - well, maybe a little.

Yesterday they were off on an excursion to Cartago for the beauty shop for Debbie and wandering around town for John. I stayed home because I am on a campaign to get rid of the ants in my house. They are tiny and a common feature of Costa Rica but I am still trying. Debbie told me they hate cinnamon and I happened to bring a big bottle with me from Heather's so I have it sprinkled all around the kitchen and the bathroom. It really does work. It doesn't kill them but they won't cross it. I will see how long an application lasts.

I did go out yesterday with my cookie container and made several stops handing out chocolate but I stayed away from Monster Shake. I love running into people on the street that I know and that know and greet me. Today it was Ana and one of the ladies from the Senior Center. They waved at me from a block away.

This morning - Thursday - I am meeting Jose at the bank at 9:00am and then John and Debbie and I are hoping to make the 9:45am bus to Paraiso and on to the ruins of the oldest church in Costa Rica. It is near Cachi. John has been doing the research and is in charge of the excursion. We may get lost but we don't care. We are just off on an adventure.

We have been playing 2 or 3 games of Quiddler each evening. It is a card game with letters on each card. You start with 3 then 4 and on up to 10. You have to spell words and can't lay your cards down until you can use all of the cards. We are having lots of fun and seem to take turns winning although Debbie seems to be ahead. They have been hunting for a cribbage board as they forgot theirs and usually play everyday.

That's it folks. I will report on our adventure later.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

I don't know about Costa Ricans in general, but Gerardo's family doesn't give you much notice when something is happening. Yesterday afternoon Gerardo and Ana stopped at the Canadians apartment and called me over. I understood we were invited to Ana's house at 8:00pm. I had just finished making batter so I gave Gerardo a Tom and Jerry and he really liked it. I said I would bring it with me that evening. We thought we knew how to find Ana's house as they had dropped her off after the visit to the mountain house. Gerardo went over the directions using the tiles on the floor. We left here at 7:30 and swung by the pizza shop to drop off a Tom and Jerry for Emilio's father in a cup big enough so they could all have some. When we got in front of the hardware store we saw Gerardo parked in front and he gave us a ride the rest of the way. I was told he had tried explaining something to them the last time but none of them understood. It turns out Ana lives right by the old hardware store and that is what he was trying to tell them.

Ana has a lovely house with a great outdoor area. Part of it is covered and that is where we were all evening. There were about 30 family members from several generations. The food was plentiful and served all evening. Chicken and beef on the grill. 

We could hear fireworks all evening, but nothing elaborate. We left about 11:00pm and walked home. A few minutes before 12:00 the heavy fireworks started and lasted for about a half hour.

I slept late this morning and had a lazy morning. My New Years resolution is to spend less time checking the iPad and more time living here in the moment. I also decided to spend the day like I want to spend the year so I started by making the banana sandwiches and freezing them. Then I made Nutella Banana bread and mixed the coconut and sweetened condensed milk for coconut balls. Gerardo stopped over and invited us to go with him to the mountain where the family was gathered. I said I needed 32 minutes for the bread to finish and John and Debbie offered to help. I finished melting the chocolate while they rolled the coconut balls. Then I got out the bananas and they dipped them for me. We took the bread and the bananas with us and away we went.

We stopped at the mountain home to get the Costa Rican coffee maker and continued up the mountain to a park at the top. What a beautiful spot. Chicken on the grill and all kinds of things to eat. I added mine to the table but it wasn't until I passed out the chocolate covered bananas and sliced the bread that anyone took them. The music was playing and Papa was dancing and a bonfire was going.

On the way down Gerardo put the car in 4 wheel drive and we headed down what was barely a trail. What beautiful views. We could see all the way to Cartago. 

John, Debbie and I sat and enjoyed a Tom and Jerry. It really was a wonderful New Years Day and a great way to start the year.

Tomorrow I will do a quick run to Cartago for supplies for the class on Monday and in the afternoon we will finish dipping the coconut balls in chocolate.

My visitor during the party last night.

John and Debbie enjoying the music.

Papa and Debbie