The time has gone so fast even though we haven't done anything really exciting - until today that is.
Thursday morning I got a message from Otto that he had an accident on his bike and couldn't come for our massages. I sent a message to Jose and by 10:00am we had new ones scheduled with Rebecca. She came here and since she didn't know, brought a portable table. I showed her my set-up and she said it would be fine. We didn't do it outside because the sun was shining very bright and we were afraid it would be too hot. Kaye gets massages all over the world and she felt this was one of the best she had ever had. I finished making jelly just in time for mine and in the afternoon I made bread to take to the craft ladies. I made mango bread with pieces of figs soaked in a rum/brandy mixture. It is very good. We didn't get to the craft ladies until after 3:00pm but had a great time. They loved the things Kaye brought - old pattern books and embroidery needles. She brought 12 packages of needles and sold all of them right there. I showed them fabric I have ordered and have at Heather's and they love it. I will bring it back in June. Coffee with them was a great spread of so many good things. They are all invited to Kaye's lake home.
Friday was a big day with coffee and bread at my house at 3:00pm. I spent the rest of the day cooking and baking and sent Kaye to pick up the last minute grocery items. Part way thru getting ready, just as I was ready to bake bread, the gas ran out. I took the empty tank to the Super and the nice man in the back, I think Carlos, helped me. I went and paid for a new tank and one of the guys brought the new tank and hooked it up. Baking continued. There were 15 here for the party and we had chicken salad, avocado egg salad, peasant bread, refrigerator pickles, mango fig bread, coconut macaroons, mango strawberry jelly, mora strawberry jelly, a plate of cheese and chocolate crockpot candy. We also had some wonderful bread products from the ladies and cookies and bread pudding. A real feast! Coffee and several kinds of pop. I set up a table and chairs on the porch. It was fun listening to the ladies figure out the different ingredients in the various foods and they asked that I teach them how to make the refrigerator pickles. We are going to do that at Dora's house. Joana wants to learn how to make the jellies. She loved them on the peasant bread.
At the end of the party Dora brought out the Tupperware book and Kaye ended up buying some things that I will bring with me in June. It was a really fun, great time. No dinner needed tonight
Saturday we decided to skip the feria in Paraiso and late morning we headed for Cartago and Ziomara. I found out she has already sold most of what Heather brought so we are ordering more for me to bring back in June. We went over to the Market for Olla de carne, which I love. Next was the coffee and candy store where Kaye got 6 bags of coffee to take home with her. The young man felt so bad it took a long time that he threw in 3 bags of peanuts as an apology.
Back to Orosi for dessert at the Orosi Lodge but they aren't open on Saturday so we stopped at the Swiss Shop for coffee and a treat. I figured I would stop at the bank ATM for some cash and then home with the idea of coming back for pizza later. The line was long at the ATM and it was raining so we decided we would go wait in the pizza shop. Kaye wanted to walk to Gerardo's store to get me more plastic tubs but that is a whole other story. It started raining so hard while we were in the pizza shop that I said there was no way I was going for the tubs, or even to the ATM. We decided we would have pizza right then so we ordered bread sticks and a small pizza. It was soooo good. The garlic bread sticks are especially wonderful with the dipping sauce. The rain let up and I made my trip to the ATM and we got the tubs and carried them home.
Back to the tubs. As you know I have pretty much no storage in my house. Kaye decided to give me a tall shelving unit and 5 plastic tubs to store things on the shelves. She went to the appliance store and worked it all out with Gerardo. He delivered them. Then she decided I needed more tubs for my craft things but they were out of what she got to start so we got 2 larger ones and carried them home. We looked really cute heading down the street carrying big tubs. They will make quite a difference and will be in the guest bedroom. Tomorrow Jose is coming to get all the suitcases so the guest room will look much better. Oh, by the way, I have another guest coming Saturday. Another story.
Now it is Sunday. Gerardo shows up about 12:30 and questions me about my phone. Turns out he was trying to call me but I didn't have my phone with me. He said we should be ready to leave at 1:00pm. I packed up some breads and water and headed out. I figured we were going to the B and B and the mountain home. That is the usual tour. Well was I in for a surprise. We headed for the cemetery! It seems he owns another property in town, right across from the cemetery. It was started and never finished but has tons of potential. Close in but very private and quiet. Good size property with the river or creek running thru it. The house has potential of being quite large with a seperate house also. Very large parking garage. Great views. Very interesting!
The B and B is next with tons of ripe mora. Lots of people enjoying the beautiful river spot. Next is the mountain home where we took the time for coffee and bread and Kaye got a lesson in drinking Patron. That is an extremely high quality tequila and this one is coffee/chocolate flavored. It is great for stomach and gas problems. She says it works!
We thought we were heading home but Gerardo had a surprise for us and it involved a trip to the top of the mountain. All the way up, which was a very steep trail barely wider than the car, he would laugh and say Heidi no. That is what he calls Heather and he knows she would have hated the trip. We came past a large beautiful home and I asked if it was his and he said no. We stopped and talked with a man with a beautiful German Shepard who spoke some English and kept going up. At one point he said this is my farm and it begins here. From there on up we were on his property. Coffee, bananas, grapefruit, tobacco, lemons, tomatoes, oranges, cilantro, mora, chayote. Those are the things I can remember, but there are more. The views were unbelievable. It was a very slow and careful trip down with bananas and chayote and grapefruit in the back as well as orange Bougainville and a branch of yellow flowers. I'll see if they grow just sticking them in the ground.
When we got back to La Quinta Janet came and greated us and I explained to her about the sewing machines and fabric. I think 2 ladies will be coming Wednesday at 2:00pm and I think I am going to a special coffee at the church on Friday at 2:00pm and to the Senior Center next Friday at 10:00am. I get into trouble with Janet because I agree to all kinds of things.
Now to my last story. On her last trip down here, Heather met a couple women on the plane that she really liked. One of them I met at the San Jose airport, the other one I didn't meet. The one I didn't meet, Kat, was heading to Jaco Beach and is in Costa Rica until May 10th. We have been in contact with each other and she is going to come and stay with me for a couple days before she heads back to the states. She has been reading this blog so she knows the crazy things I do and the wonderful people I have met here. It will be fun to have another new person to show around.
Tomorrow morning at 9:00am Kaye has another massage and I think we are having lunch with Emilio and then we head for Kaye's hotel in San Jose. She has an early flight on Tuesday. Who knows, tomorrow we may have more events pop up. It has been great fun even though she won more games of Quiddler than I did. I think she will be taking home some great stories of the wonderful people in Costa Rica!
Our pizza and breadsticks
I finally won a game. Kaye blamed it on low blood sugar.
Kaye and Gerardo on top of the world.
Me on top of the world.
Some of my tubs and shelving unit. After I took this we realized the shelving unit was upside down and we fixed it.