Monday, May 30, 2016

I am having so much fun!

As I have mentioned, Emilio is very talented and going to university for graphic design and website design. Since I will be bringing a lot of jelly back with me I wanted a label so they would look a little more professional. So, I went to my friend, Emilio, to see if he could print me out something since I don't yet have a printer here. I figured something simple that I could cut out and could use wide tape to attach to the jars. And, it had to be this week.
His first question was what do I want it to say. I wrote it out and sent it off to him and his answer was no, too much. So I whittled it down and I now have 4 of the loveliest stickers to attach to the jars. I told him I would pay in colones for any supplies and pay him in Kind bars for the design. I will have to have half a suitcase full of kind bars.
This morning I sent my red bag full of things with Gerardo to Dora's house and this afternoon I carried the rest with me to her house. I made a big loaf of Peasant Bread and had a jar of each of the jellies with me. I definitely need to make more of the Papaya Pineapple as it is a big hit. They questioned me if there was butter in the bread but it is just on the outside from greasing the bowl I bake it in. After coffee we started with the chocolate coconut balls. I had everyone wash their hands because once I - or Johana actually - mixed the coconut and sweetened condensed milk I gave everyone spoons and sheets of parchment to make the balls. Into the freezer they went. Next was chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a bowl into the microwave. They were very impressed with my 72 oz. bag of chocolate chips. There were just 3 cups leftover, which is what it takes for a batch of fudge so I left it for Dora to make another batch. I stirred it really good and added vanilla and chopped pecans. I had prepared a container and put that in the refrigerator after giving each person a little taste. Wash the bowl and put the melting chocolate in it over a pan of water on the stove. When the chocolate was melted I got the coconut part out and showed them to roll them into hard balls. We had a little trouble because the balls were sitting too long in the hot chocolate so I popped the finished product into the freezer again. I got out the fudge and cut each person a piece. Gerardo had his hand out the whole time so I gave him two. I asked how the pickles were and they were telling me all the different ways they were eating them. Johana brought her 12 year old son, Thomas, along and he participated in everything.
I was telling Dora to get a container for the melting chocolate when they said they were going to do marshmallows. I realized Thomas wasn't there. He went to the store to get them and even after that there was still melting chocolate left so she did put it in a container and washed my bowl. 
Gerardo was there with a big truck from the hardware store so all my bags and I got a ride home.  It really was great fun and they are all great about helping me with Spanish. Johana loves to cook so she was like a right hand, doing all the work. 
A really, really good day!





I think Gerardo was picking fruit.

Saturday, May 28, 2016

The marathon is over!

Let's start yesterday morning because yesterday was a good day too. As I mentioned, Ana picked me a bunch of guayaba as the kids weren't here. Yesterday and today I managed to add a few more so I had a really big bowl full. I went to the senior center and I took Otto with me. He had mentioned he would be interested in telling them stories so I sent him a message that I was going and if he was available I would be happy to take him along and he could talk to Janet. It turned out they knew each other and he is all set to come back one of their next gatherings. We had lots of fun with my little craft and two of my sewing ladies were there and reconfirmed we were meeting on Tuesday afternoon. I showed them the pictures Janet had posted on Facebook. After I dropped everything off at home I picked up strawberry yogurt for the Strawberry White Chocolate Cupcakes and headed all over town looking for cupcake papers. No luck, and I only have a few so I will just have to spray the pan. I also went to the pharmacy and was able to get the new drug in place of Metformin which seems to work really well.
At 3:00pm Johana showed up with a lovely thank you gift and one I declined. There is a shop in Paraiso that sells products right from the farm and she gave me a large chunk of butter. I am anxious to try it. It would be so nice not to cart it from the US. The gift I declined and told her to keep for herself was a small package of chocolate chips. I know they are very hard to find and this was about a 2oz package. Chocolate chips and coconut and butter and now bacon, Heather has kept me well stocked. Right now I have 2 72oz bags and 7 regular size bags of chocolate chips. I also have slabs or bricks of white chocolate and milk chocolate. I think I am in pretty good shape with chocolate. For the cupcakes I sliced some of the white chocolate and then cut it into little pieces. They also have chopped strawberries. I made an almond powered sugar glaze to drizzle on top and I gave her enough of the strawberries, chocolate, yogurt and frosting for another batch. We put the cupcakes in my cake carrier and she will give it back to me on Monday when she comes to Dora's for the Chocolate Coconut Balls cooking lesson.
Now today! I started with 4 loads of laundry which are still on the line as it has been raining this afternoon.
My marathon ended up being 8 fruits made into 3 different kinds of jelly. All the prep work actually took more time than the cooking. I did it on the table out on my porch. Guayaba and a couple cas because I was told I HAD to try it. So I did. Mango/strawberry with just a little lime juice and Papaya/pineapple with orange zest and juice and lime juice. Probably the worst is working with the mango. I may need to find another recipe. You steam the mango so they peel easy and come off the pit easy. But, you are working with a ball of mush. The rest are pretty easy.
Have I mentioned I had a big bowl of guayaba! It boils up a lot when you cook it so you can only fill the pot half full. I ended up with 3 pots of jelly. It takes 30 to 40 minutes once it reaches a boil and because my stove is little I can only do 2 big pots at a time. First was the papaya/pineapple and the mango/strawberry. No problem with the papaya/pineapple. I did that like the guayaba. The mango/strawberry is a little different. You start out with sugar water, bring it to 270 and then add the fruit and cook it a bit. Well, I was doing several things including trying to keep up with dishes in my little area and I looked over and it must have gone past and was now a hard crystal. Well, throw that away and try again. Thank heavens the fruit wasn't in there. This time I watched closer - yes I have a candy thermometer.  No problem this time. Next were 2 pots of guayaba and then the last pot of guayaba. Thanks to my friend, Kaye, I had lots of jars and containers which are now all full of jelly. I only got 3 jars of papaya/pineapple but it will be enough to taste and see if I should make it again. I am supposed to bring some of each to my official taste tester tonight. I told him he could be the taster if he loves everything but I was joking. I want him to be honest and if he doesn't like it I'll ask his mother.
I have to change clothes before I go out as I have jelly all over me and I'll have flies following me. Maybe even a shower! 

The craft was sun catchers. Wire with beads.



This is what a marathon looks like.
By the way I have been getting a few little tomatoes everyday. 

Friday, May 27, 2016

I got it, I got it, I got I!

 It may not look like much to you but it is treasure to me.
Ana went out with me this morning with the picker and I now have a big pan of guayaba to make jelly tomorrow. The kids aren't here today so they don't need fruit drinks for them and no one else was here to pick them. She took a couple for herself also. This will be enough for probably 2 pans cooking and many jars so I will have plenty to bring back with me and to give away here. I'll have to get another bag of sugar so I am all ready. Tomorrow will be a marathon day of jelly making in old clothes as it splatters.
Last night, on my Facebook page, was a posting about our sewing day. Here are the pictures they posted.




They were learning how to make the microwave bowl potholders.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

I had a super day

Otto was here at 10:00am and as he walked behind me he could tell I was having trouble with my right shoulder area so he concentrated on that. It was really the only area bothering me and I felt for the first time that I didn't desperately need the massage, I could just enjoy it. He said too he could tell the muscles in my lower back area had loosened up. My sciatica is not bothering me. It has taken a year. I will not be here in two weeks so he is coming on the Tuesday before I leave and I will be in good shape for my trip, which will be a busy one.
I made changes in my afternoon and let the craft ladies know I would see them next week. I confirmed Ziomara would be in the yarn shop and invited Emilio to join me and headed to Cartago on the 1:15pm bus. Emilio was already at the yarn shop so I headed right there. We had a good visit. I am concerned with Ziomara. She has so much worry and stress in her life right now she is going to make herself sick. I delivered the guayaba jelly for her husband, Douglas, and some Papaya Raisin bread for her. 
The timing worked out great because I really need berries, hopefully strawberries, for tomorrow's cooking lesson and the markets are about the only place to get them. The cupcakes tomorrow are Strawberry White Chocolate where you use yogurt instead of oil or butter. I go with flavored and it really adds flavor to the cupcakes.  Anyway, I was able to get strawberries, mora, tangerines, an orange for the zest and some of the biggest grapes I have seen. We stopped and had lunch at the usual place in the market. I had chicken Casado and Emilio had Tripe Soup to which he added juice from pickled vegetables to spice it up. No, I didn't try it.
From the market he headed to the train to San Jose and class and I headed to the bus with a stop in a really great looking bakery. I bought two small loaves of bread. One is crusty and plain and the other is frosted and fruit topped. So often the baked goods are a disappointment but these are really good.
When I was sick the doctor gave me a different med to help with my diabetes and it seems to work really well. I called and left a message for him because I wanted to know if that was something just for while I was on the antibiotics or if it is something I can switch to for all the time. He called tonight and said I could definitely switch to it and he thought it would do a better job for me. Tomorrow I will go to the pharmacy and see if I can get more. In between the senior center craft event in the morning and the cooking lesson in the afternoon. Now that I don't need to go to the feria on Saturday I will spend that day making jelly. I need to pick up more mango but they are too heavy to cart from Paraiso. I will just get them here. The best would be if I can also pick enough guayaba for another batch. Right now I am having toast with mango/strawberry jelly. That is pretty good also. To think I had never made jelly before moving here and now I make all kinds!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Lesson number 2 is done

Two of the ladies came back today and first I showed them how to finish the last 2 steps of the potholders and then we did some concentrating on areas they were having trouble. By the end of the second potholder they were doing much better. I really need to learn their names. One of the ladies wanted to know if these were all for me. I explained we could sell them and she was quite excited. We agreed 2000 colones (about $4.00) would be a good price. They have a ways to go with top stitching to have them look good enough to sell but they will get there. We also finished the one for the 3rd lady who wasn't able to come today. 
This morning the kids were out by the pool and screeching was at a high level. Once they had enough water in the pool the teacher turned it off. I went over and attached the sprayer to the end and turned the water back on and gave it to her. You should have heard the screeching then!
When I was out front waiting for the ladies a bunch of the kids came near me and just chattered away to me. The teacher was nearby and keeping an eye on them but allowed them to chat with me. I can live with the screeching for the time I will be here but what really bothers me is by the end of their time here half of them are crying. Probably need a nap or are taking a nap and don't want to. I hate the crying. 
I have added a few events in the next week. I agreed to teach Johana how to make cupcakes on Friday afternoon and the sewing will be again next Tuesday. Senior Center craft is Friday morning. Monday is the cookie lesson at Dora's. Saturday is the feria for fruit for jelly and maybe Cartago to see Ziomara and deliver Douglas's jar of jelly. I now have 8 packages of coffee to take as gifts and the jars of jelly. I have also made arrangements to have lunch in Moorhead with 2 of my former employees and friends. We are meeting at Speak Easy. I always loved their Minestrone Soup and Baked Rigatoni. It will be fun to see them both again - the people, not the food.
I made guacamole for our snack this afternoon and used my little tomatoes from my pot. I also added some chopped up mango and it was really good. I served tortillas and chips with it and served the papaya raisin bread and chocolate crinkle cookies. They seemed to enjoy it all.
Turrialba volcano went off again last night with heavy ash and rocks and gases. Some of the airlines, especially United and American have delayed or cancelled flights but nothing mandated. Very little ash at the airport. 
Tomorrow is massage in the morning and the craft ladies in the afternoon. I am going to make a hot artichoke dip to take along. It will be something a little different and I can bake it here and heat it up in the microwave. 

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Let me tell you what it is like

To teach 4 ladies, most of whom have never used a sewing machine. And I only have two machines and we don't speak the same language. All in all it went quite well. We started with scrap fabric so they could get a little used to the machines. These are all older women, some of whom have done a lot of hand work. In fact I got an appliqué and embroidered pillow case as a thank you. I let them pick the 2 fabrics they wanted to use and I had some I had done that were in different stages so I could show them. We got through all the steps where we are working on both pieces separately with varying degrees of success and I suggested they come back tomorrow to finish. Two of the ladies shared one machine and the other lady had a terrible time with breaking her thread. Janet just kind of helped out all over. It is questionable how these will turn out but I will invite them back next Tuesday to make another one. I had Te Frio and water and Banana Nutella bread, Papaya Raisin bread and Chocolate Crinkle cookies. I also talked to Dora today and she wants me to come to her house to teach everyone how to make the Chocolate Coconut Balls. I plan to do that on Monday. I gave her and Ana a taste of the guayaba jelly and gave Ana the jar to give to Tia.
Janet did ask me if I would consider teaching a class on the sewing. I'm just not sure how I would do a whole class with only 2 machines but maybe we can figure something out.
I have changed my air tickets so when I leave Heather I will fly into and out of San Antonio instead of Houston. Adriana has accepted a job in a new school for next year so she will be busy moving soon. I also confirmed that I will be visiting the convent where Sister Cesira is living on June 30th. The Sister in charge has been writing to me and said she spoke with Sister Cesira about my coming and she remembered me as if I was standing in front of her. To think I first met her 54 years ago. I am looking forward to the visit. We have been invited to spend the day and have lunch and even dinner with the Sisters. I had even been invited to stay at the convent if I wanted.
La Quinta is quiet for the night. The kids are gone and I am the only one around. It will all start up at 7:00am. Hopefully Oscar will come soon. The grass in the soccer field is so long I am afraid of getting lost.


The lettuce in the pineapple plantation is doing so well.


I have lots of tomatoes.


I have flowers!

Monday, May 23, 2016

It was a good day!

About 9:00am I called Janet. Emilio had put her number in my phone. She really doesn't speak English so I hoped I could use enough Spanish to have her understand. I said who I was - Gay Lee and she got that. I said tomorrow at 2:00pm in the afternoon, two ladies ok and she got that and I said Friday at 10:00am and she got that. BUT I said it all in Spanish. So, I am finally set for the sewing lesson tomorrow afternoon and the craft lesson at the Senior Center on Friday morning. Then I soaked raisins in rum for an hour and made 2 loaves of Papaya Raisin Bread. One will be for tomorrow and one I sliced up to take to Dora's today. I took a few more things with me today. They were very impressed with my metal measuring cup and spoons. We waited till after coffee for the lesson. I got salt and sugar from Dora as well as a cutting board and pot for the liquid and jars to put the finished product. My students were Ana, Dora, Marta, Flora, Johana, Mario and Dora's daughter who did a great job of writing everything down. She understands enough English and so does Johana and I used as much Spanish as I could so we really didn't have any problems. I sliced up 2 cucumbers on my mandoline, part of an onion and part of a red pepper. The recipe is very forgiving and the amounts don't need to be exact. I told them 2 or 3 cucumbers, 1 or 2 onions, 1 or 2 peppers. The liquid is 1 or 2 cups white vinegar depending on how much vegetable you have, 2 or 4 cups of sugar depending on the amount of vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon celery seed for each cup of vinegar. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. In the meantime I put the vegetables in the glass jars and when ready poured the liquid over them. I explained they needed to put it in the refrigerator with the covers on and wait 3 days to eat it. If the liquid doesn't cover the vegetables then each day turn it upside down a couple times to make sure it all gets juice on it. They are so simple but really very good. Gerardo came late and missed the lesson but read the recipe and they all talked about it.
Now the exciting news. I forgot yesterday to tell you about Turrialba volcano. Friday the eruption was the biggest in 6 years and the ash is affecting the flights at San Jose airport. Lot of delayed or cancelled flights. Some people are having to use Liberia airport in Guanacaste, several hours away. Dora's front porch has a direct view of the volcano and it went off several times this afternoon with high plumes of ash and smoke.
Tomorrow morning should be Katherine and the girls and another cassava flour experiment and then the sewing lesson in the afternoon. Still don't know about Wednesday.
I gave Ana and Gerardo tomatoes from my pot this morning. I know, they must have been really filled up with one tomato each but it was quite exciting. 
I do love my life!


L
From Dora's porch.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Hey kids, I'm back!

It is so good to be feeling better and have some energy again. Although I have some things like high blood pressure and diabetes, I am basically healthy and make a very poor patient. I have been watched very closely the last 2 weeks and I think I have them all convinced now that I am better. I know diabetics heal very slowly but my forehead is doing great. I don't know if it is the cream the doctor gave me or the miracle cream Gerardo gave me or the cocoa butter oil or a combination of everything. And, my hair is getting long enough to cover up the little that is left.
It's been 4 days since I wrote anything so let's see if I can remember. Thursday I went to the craft ladies in Paraiso and took Banana Hazelnut bread. There were quite a few ladies there and Rosa had Emilio's cousin with her. I had met him at their house. He is 4 and cute as can be. He remembered me and seemed to like me. He was either at my side or watching me. I was making a dream catcher and I told him I would give it to him when I finish it. Friday was a stay home day and I made Chocolate Crinkle cookies so I would have something to give away besides the candy. I did make a trip around town and gave out cookies. I also made a crock pot of beef, potatoes and carrots that turned out really good. I have had trouble with the beef here but the guys in the meat market at the Chinese super are really great and they cut a piece just for me.
I have made a couple trips to the pharmacy and received a couple calls. Seems the test strips I use are no longer available in Costa Rica. The pharmacy here told me the company will replace my meter for free but it would take 2-3 weeks. I didn't want to wait that long to be able to test my blood sugar so I said I would make other arrangements.
Saturday I started out at the feria in Paraiso for my empanada fix. I do love them. In fact I got 2 - a potato and a chicken along with coffee con leche. I went to a bench outside and thoroughly enjoyed 1 1/2. I had not had breakfast and it really hit the spot. I went back in, to the plant stand and bought 2 plants. I have 5 to plant now. My flower garden has tons in bloom and I picked some tomatoes from the pot. I gave a couple to Tia when she came to visit yesterday. I didn't buy any fruit or vegetables as I didn't want to have to carry them all over Cartago. Emilio wasn't feeling well so he didn't come to meet me.
From the feria I took the bus to Cartago and got off at the Basicila. I knew the place I was looking for - Fischel's was on the street in front of the Basicila, I just didn't know how many blocks. With a little help I found it and the doctor spoke enough English we were able to get everything taken care of. She agreed it would take a week or two for a new meter so what I did was buy one they had in stock and gave her mine to get a replacement. That way I will have a back up. I bought two boxes of strips so I am all set. I told them I am the Orosi Cookie Lady and gave them all cookies. I left and got a block away and realized I couldn't find my big sunglasses. I went back and asked and they pointed to my hat. I have been wearing one to protect my forehead from the sun and I absolutely shouldn't put my sunglasses up on the hat because then I forget. We all laughed and off I went again. Ziomara wasn't working so I headed back. I was so tempted to stop at the nursery but I decided it would wait till I get back in July.
When I got back I started gathering guayaba and I found enough for a batch of jelly. During the week they use them for drinks for the kids but it was the weekend and no one had picked them. I ended up with 8 1/2 jars of jelly. I was a bit concerned because I used up every bit of sugar in the house and it was less than I usually use but it turned out really good. Even Gerardo gave his seal of approval this morning. I plan on having a checked bag since I am on Southwest and it doesn't cost so I will bring them back as gifts.
I was invited to Dora's house at 3:00pm but I wasn't sure if something besides coffee was going on. I put a dozen cookies in a container and decided to make refrigerator pickles as I know they like them. I had to explain they weren't for today, that they couldn't eat them until Wednesday. I also put together a kit so I could show them how to make them. Well, it turned out to be a prayer service, a very intense one. There must have been 40 people there, all family except me. With Sylvia's help I figured out it was for the young nephew who had been in a serious motorcycle accident a few months back. Part was to thank God he made it through. Part was to ask God's help because he is having a serious operation tomorrow. After the prayer service breads and beverages and then chicken rice and chips were served. I left a little after 5:00pm so there may have been desserts. I worked out with Dora that I will come back tomorrow at 3:00pm for the pickle making lesson. It was just too busy a time to think about it today.
So my week is Monday pickle making lesson and find Janet to let her know Tuesday's sewing lesson and Friday's senior craft are back on, Thursday will be a massage and craft ladies and we will see if Wednesday is an outing with Emilio and his new friend, Brittney. A busy week and I am happy to be able to do it.



The dream catcher I made.


See, I am all better.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

It may be a calm, peaceful day in Orosi but not so at Turrialba.

First off, I am doing good. Gerardo gave me a wonder cream for my forehead and you can barely see the mark. I am sure it will be completely gone soon. I did have Katherine and the girls here yesterday and made some really good cassava flour pancakes with shaved chocolate in them. It takes a bit of work to get the liquid/flour ratio right. I went by the recipe but I had to add more flour to have them be good consistency. I depend on recipes so this is a new challenge. I didn't have the sewing lesson in the afternoon.
I have a bunch of little tomatoes turning orange. I also told Ana she could have the vegetables from my mystery plant and she was pleased. I tried a carrot but it was still little. I don't know how long it takes for carrots. The lettuce in the pineapple plantation is looking really good.
I made Banana Nutella Bread today and tomorrow afternoon it will be the craft ladies in Paraiso.
I have also been invited to coffee at Dora's on Sunday at 3:00pm.
Tuesday morning there were no kids so I had Katherine ask Gerardo and it turns out the teacher's brother died so there will be no classes all week. The ladies still come early morning and start making lunch and the kids come for lunch but that is it.
Gerardo just took me upstairs on the balcony to show me Turrialba volcano was going off. The ash goes high in the sky and then heads for San Jose and Alejeula and Heredia. LIttle bit in Cartago but none in Turrialba or Orosi or Paraiso. When I first was looking at coming here, the airport was closed because of ash from Turrialba. Sometimes there are little eruptions but the ones lately have been quite big. If it actually erupts with lava, more of the valley could be affected. 
I have been having a bit of trouble getting test strips for my blood sugar meter so I will make another trip to the pharmacy this afternoon. I may end up having to change meters so I can get a test strip that is easy to find here. The doctor told me this is the kind he uses but I am being told the company made a change. Jose even checked for me in Paraiso and a large pharmacy in Cartago. I did have to change the brand of insulin also because mine was not available here. It is however less expensive than in the States which is good.
I do need to pick up flour on my outing as I want to make Chocolate Crinkle cookies so I have something besides candy to give out on my walks.
That's it, that's my week. I hope yours is good.


Over the big white cloud on the right you can see darker. That is ash from Turrialba. It then moves along to the left to San Jose.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Don't have much to say

But I did want to let you know I am definitely feeling better. I finally did my dishes from Tuesday and brought in some of the laundry. Now it is raining so they will be out there another day.
I went out on my farthest outing this week - to the pizza shop. Emilio set me up on a stool in the back and made me an order of breadsticks cooked extra crispy which is how I like them. Usually they get put in a bag to go but I got mine in a box along with dipping sauce. His mother came and we chatted for a bit and I headed home. I haven't been eating much but they tasted so good. I have enough left for a couple more meals and I can heat them up in the cast iron frypan. I am still having trouble from the antibiotics with a bad taste in my mouth and water tasting bad. So did the dipping sauce. Nothing wrong with it, just from the meds. My lime jello today was really bad!
I have been working on my trip to the states next month, coordinating all the people and places and dates. I have only one night I am not sure of and I am sure that will work out. I will be visiting Kaye at the lake, my cousins in Brainerd area, my sister in law in Little Falls and some friends, my friends in Hutch, my Aunt in St. Paul, maybe my childhood friend, Bernadette, and then back to Heather for a few days before I fly to Texas for 6 days before heading back to Costa Rica. Adriana says the dates work perfectly even though she is in the process of job interviews for a new school for next year and will also have to be moving. For all I know we will be sleeping in cardboard boxes out on the street.
The other person I want to see is Sister Cesira. When I was 15 and went to convent school, she was one of my teachers. We stayed in touch and I saw her once when I went to San Antonio for a business meeting. Even that was almost 30 years ago. She is now in her 90's and in the convent retirement home. I am really looking forward to our visit and I will take Adriana to meet her. I will be gone from June 8th until late on July 4th.
My lovely sunflower has three flowers on it now. The bugs in the tomatoes are ants. I have totally ignored all the flowers and vegetable garden all this week. I am hoping they will forgive me. Ana mentioned this morning that Gerardo was bringing concrete blocks for just beyond my house so I can create planters for my cactus and succulents and little flowers. I still do need to do the senior center craft and the sewing lessons before I leave. 
That's about it. Not a lot of exciting things happen when you are spending all your time on the couch on the porch. I will see if I can't change that for the next post but no sickness and nothing terrible. Heather can't handle 2 crisis in a month!

This is really just filler. I didn't want to put my picture first.



Now that I have a little color back I thought I would give you an idea. It feels like sandpaper and is just a scrape, an abrasion. Nothing deep.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

It's Thursday and it looks like life will continue in the jungle.

Kids started arriving about 7:00 this morning and they were a lively, noisy group. Or, maybe it was because they were doing their thing in the new apartment area and the courtyard so they were closer and I could hear them better.  
I got up and showered, no falls this time and swept and scrubbed the floors. Brought in the clothes from the line, then I took a nap.
Otto was here at 10:00. He took extra time so we weren't done when Ziomara came. I got dressed and remade the massage table for her. I sat outside and she really enjoyed her massage. She said it was a wonderful gift and really helped her problem areas. She brought me a lovely essential oil burner.
We chatted for a while about the changes in her life and then I sent her off to Paraiso with little chocolates for the ladies and the big chocolate for Senor. She also had 5 bags of products for the ladies to see and I sent a bag of chocolates for her to take home.
The craft ladies seem to have a whatsApp site and I have been getting messages from them most of the afternoon. It is so fun.
Ziomara called her husband, Douglas, while she was here and he insisted if I need to recover from something I must come stay at their house. She insisted I must call her. I hated to bother them because I know how busy they are. They are the nicest people. 
Ziomara has a degree and is an engineer but it is difficult to find a job in an area close to Cartago. She has been offered one where she will be doing a lot of traveling but they will pay the gas. The salary isn't near what she used to make in San Jose but it will be fulltime and she would still own half the yarn shop. Her mother will work in the yarn shop and Ziomara has even thought of having a small shop at her home. She will continue doing the ordering. It all sounds very interesting and exciting but I will miss stopping in and visiting her. The company is in Heredia so she will be spending time commuting. There is a company in Cartago that wants her but they haven't given her specifics and she can't keep waiting. Although she is married, they each have a house - next door - and she pays for her daughter's private school in Tres Rios.
Ana told me today I have bugs in my pot of tomatoes so I will have to get Gerardo on that tomorrow.
Tia is better but Gerardo has been sick. I thought at first it was the same thing I had but it turns out he ate a bunch of spaghetti with bad shrimp. He said it smelled a little bad but he ate lots of it anyway. He is better today.
I had 2 slices of leftover pizza and I am going to have a mango. I also had some little crunchy cookies so I am eating a bit and drinking lots of liquids.
I am so sad I missed the craft ladies but I will make up for it when I feel better.
Emilio came over yesterday afternoon and brought me food so he could make me eat - per Heather's instructions to make me eat. He did several jobs for me while he was here and stayed several hours. Jose took me in the morning to get the insulin I needed. It is better priced than in the US, thank heavens. I have to go back in a day or two to get the test strips I need. They have the same kind I use so I don't have to change meters. In fact my doctor said those are the best. That is the same one he uses.
Joanna and several of the family were here to check on me today. I really feel loved and cared for.

Chicken, macaroni salad and beans and a vegetable, chayote mix. Very good and he has them leave off the rice. It will probably last me 3 days. Such a good boy!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Let me tell you about my day. It was a doozey!

As I mentioned I haven't been feeling well for several days. Among other things I get the chills and sleep a lot. This morning I got up to go to the bathroom and I was very light headed and wobbly. When I got to the bathroom I fell and banged my head on the shower floor. Lovely bump and abrasion over my left eye. My arms were so weak it took me a half hour to manage to get up off the floor. 
I went back to bed and managed to empty most of the green water in the pool. It doesn't work to let it sit from one week to the next. I also made some cassava flour tortillas for the girls. While I was making the tortillas, Marta stopped by to deliver Kaye's purchases and spread the news. The next thing I knew there were 3 sisters and Gerardo here. Gerardo put ice on it. I also sent an email to Heather along with a picture so she would find out from me. She went into panic mode and offered to fly down tomorrow. She contacted Emilio, who called me and sent a message to Jose. I think having that network is the only thing that kept her home.
Turned out Katherine and the girls couldn't come because she had to take her husband to the dentist. Gerardo came back and took me over to the school so I now have a better idea. There are different kids in the morning and afternoon. Here are about 20 in each group. The morning kids are the younger 3-4 and the afternoon kids are 5-6. I don't know if it is the same kids each day or different ones. When I was there several of the kids brought the boxes of colored pencils over and said thank you. Kaye brought them and colored chalk.
So Emilio called again and I decided I better call Jose since I had not heard back from him. That was all it took to get things moving. He set me up with a doctor who spoke very good English and was very thorough. I showed him my meds and he took my temperature and said oh, this is not good. It was 38 here which is 104. The first thing was a shot to bring the fever down, which he said would make me sweat. That's sure true! He gave me a list of things to get at the pharmacy including electrolytes since I haven't been eating. My blood pressure was good. Tomorrow I start on the antibiotics as I had the shot today.
Jose was great taking care of me and arranging everything. He always held my arm to make sure I didn't fall. While we were in the pharmacy Dora and Ana came in so he was able to give them an update. 
Heather called tonight and she isn't coming tomorrow but I can't say anything for the next day. Kaye also offered to fly back down. I have such a great support system here and in the States. 
No pictures.

Monday, May 9, 2016

I know my two followers are wondering about my first day of school.

First I have to report I have been sick for a couple days. I have been sleeping most of the time, had chills and stomach problems. I have taken peppermint tea, eaten very little, had Bepto Bismal and Patron. This afternoon my nose stared dripping so I took Alka Seltzer Plus. It seemed to help the chills but it could also be I am in fleece. I don't have time this week for this. Katherine and the girls are coming tomorrow morning. I have to make something with the cassava flour as Courtney has gluten problems.
Ok, so now the day. There definitely aren't 100 kids. I never saw any of them but I could hear them yelling and crying. I think they spend a lot of time in front of the party room, in Tia's front yards. I think this is maybe a day care center, not a school. I have been told there is one the government pays for. This may be it. If it stays the size it was today, I can live with it. We will see what the other days bring.
Speaking of Tia, Ana told me today she is bad and going to another doctor.
This afternoon I got a text message from Gerado saying thank you. I messaged back asking what for but did not get a response. I am going to ask how old the kids are and how many each day.
I had 4 birds as the fear his morning. I love it.
That's about it. We will se how the week goes.

Saturday, May 7, 2016

There may be hope for me as a farmer

Tengo un pepino! I have a cucumber or two.
From the shape I am guessing it is the English cucumbers I planted. I have learned a little. You absolutely can't leave things down on the ground because of the rain or they die. We have an assortment of branches holding things up.
I also have vegetables on my mystery plant that they now know what it is.


Ana says they are very good in scrambled eggs.
And I finally have something in my flower patch besides morning glory. It is beautiful and hopefully will drop lots of seeds to cover the area.


From what I can tell there are several more and there is a second bloom on this stock. It is a beautiful colored sunflower. I do have lots of Cosmos, which I love, coming along really well. I have a couple little ones that have bloomed but I am hoping the rest will grow taller. I planted them on both ends of the flower patch.
The lettuce in the pineapple plantation is standing up good and I have lots of carrots that seem to be doing good. The dill in the pot died again but what is in the garden seems to be ok. Not so much the beets. Not sure about the spinach. Papaya is doing good and now there is a second one. I will have to move them because they get to be big trees. I have lots of tomatoes in the pot but not many in the garden although the plants are really big. I still have a couple pea plants and I have more peas and golden tomatoes to plant. I may wait until I return late June. I want to bring back really good sweet corn seeds and plant it on the other end of the soccer field. The corn here is field corn. I think they would be surprised with really good sweet corn. 
Back to work. I have some cassava flour recipes to try and a sun catcher to make to show Janet. I have supplies to bring to the senior center for them to make them. I also have to think about what goodies I will make for the craft ladies group on Thursday. I made a trip to WalMart yesterday so I am stocked up again. I have peanut butter and cocoa and Nutella and I bought cans of artichokes for a dip. I could barely carry everything and thank heavens Joana was on the last part of the ride and helped me carry everything home. She was coming to La Quinta anyway. She is with the school that is coming on Monday. I gave her slices of cinnamon bread to thank her. She is very nice, interested in English and making some of the things I make.
Emilio is making a bread pudding and asked for some of my hazelnut flavored syrup so I will take that over this afternoon. 
A note of good news. My friend, Adriana, who I met my first week in Costa Rica when I stayed in Atenas, had been told her cancer may have returned. She had been cancer free for 15 years. That is one of the things she was celebrating when she came here. I just received a message that it has not. A great relief. She lives in Texas and has been near San Antonio for the last year. She is busy applying for a teaching job in the area she lived for 20 years. She has invited me to visit and I have invited her to visit so we will see what happens.
The bush at the end of my porch, including the roots, has been removed. It took Oscar and Gerardo a couple days. That is where I want to use concrete blocks to create planters for a variety of cactus and succulents and flowers. That too may have to wait until I return. Kaye loved my black planters made from tires but when we asked Gerardo it didn't sound like they were easily available. She took lots of pictures of them to see if she could have a company in North Dakota make them.
We have been getting more rain so we are definitely into the rainy season. The mornings are still nice and the rain comes in the afternoon or night. We are one of the lucky areas that stay green all year, crops grow all year and we do not have water shortages or rationing.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

A new development and a new challenge

Life here can change in a minute. On Sunday Gerardo explained about Monday and lots of kids and eating here and about them not being by my house. I figured I can handle almost anything for a day. Katherine and the girls were here today and when Ana came over I asked Katherine to ask Ana about the kids so I had a little more information and was a little better prepared.
WELL, it turns out that starting Monday there will be 100 little kids here every school day from 7:00am until 3:00pm. For two months at least. Their school is being remodeled. Yup, the first thing I did was go into panic mode because I knew that wouldn't work for me. There went my tranquil life up in smoke. I went thru leaving for the states next week to moving someplace else. And any of that may happen. But I love it here. And even though I am a gypsy, I don't want to go anyplace else. So, after hiding away all day, I decided I am going to take one day at a time and see if I can stand it and if I can't I will ask Gerardo to find me another place to live. I will have to make some changes and cancel the craft ladies coming here next week because there wouldn't be enough room in my house. I may talk to him about that and maybe we can work something out at one of his other places. I really want them to come to Orosi. I am not feeling quite so depressed this evening. I am sure he is doing this to help the school. And, at the most, it will only be until I leave on June 8th.



Monday, May 2, 2016

I am alone again.

Just got back from taking Kaye to the airport hotel. She needs to be at the airport about 4:30am so now she is just a couple minutes away, not 11/2 to 2 hours away depending on the traffic. It was great having here here, even if she did win the last 5 games of Quiddler in a row.
Correction from the blog yesterday. Cat spells her name Cat not Kat. 
I have moved back into my bedroom and sheets are washed and dried and the beds remade. Tomorrow I will work on getting Cat's room ready. The only other thing I have scheduled is Katherine and the girls will be here to swim at 9:00am. Lexi is now walking so we will probably be chasing her all over the soccer field.
Remember the plant in my garden I thought was marijuana? Well, it now has produce on it. The cucumbers are still doing well, the dill is looking good, lots of tomatoes on the plants in the pot and I have two more pineapple tops to plant. I have some carrots that are looking pretty good also. Gerardo's camote is coming along, the papaya tree is getting big, lots of morning glory, sunflowers and cosmos are doing great, both bougainvillea are in bloom and the butterflies love the flowers in my planters.
I haven't told you about the bugs. Some kind of beetle I think. Apparently this only happens in May. For about the last 4 nights, when you turn the lights on after dark, the bugs come out and fly or crawl around. They are about an inch long. They have taken over the living room and the kitchen. They don't seem to come in the bedroom. We tried to sweep them outside the first couple nights, also spraying , all over everything but then we gave up and as soon as they appeared we turned all the lights off and moved to the bedroom to play Quiddler on Kaye's bed. I waited until the end of our excursion with Gerardo Sunday to tell him I had a problem and showed him one of the bugs. All I got was a laugh and a comment that it is May. No sympathy at all. I am going to pretend they are like box elder bugs and will be gone soon. 
I am very tired so I am off to bed.
It is morning - 6:23am and Oscar is outside the door removing the stump from the bush he cut down. This is the bush to the left of my house where we are going to put the concrete block planter. There is also a big old metal frame like a big headboard along the long wall that Kaye and I moved. We now have it standing up against the wall behind where the bush was. I think this area is going to turn into a really neat landscaped area. I am hoping to plant things to grow up the headboard and the wall and have my concrete block planter there also. Gerardo showed me some really neat concrete blocks at the finka that would give it lots of character.
So much has been going on. I think I have mentioned Heather spends some time at Dig and Save and one of the things she gets me are suitcases for $2.00. She checks them over very carefully to make sure the zippers work and the wheels work. They may have little problems like the front pouch not closing but anything necessary is in good working order. My idea was to bring them here and give them away to store things as most Tico houses don't have much storage. I made arrangements with Jose that yesterday he could pick up 8 suitcases to give to the poor people he helps. One of the suitcases was full of clothes, colored chalk and colored pencils, little bottles of shampoo and conditioner and body lotion. When Gerardo came over he got quite excited. It happened I was on FaceTime with Emilio and I asked him to tell Gerardo what they were for. Gerardo explained he and his family would take everything and pay me for it and I could use the money for the poor people, for food or whatever was needed most and that would be better. It was very interesting how it all worked. Before long Ana and Dora and Papa and Marta were here. They were on the phone and sending pictures to Flora. Ana found things she took for Tia. Gerardo wanted the bags of products for the bed and breakfast, the chalk and colored pencils would be great for the children who are coming next Monday. When Ana's daughter moved to Nicaragua she needed suitcases but Ana didn't have any to give her. Now she does.
I hadn't planned to sell things so I had no idea what to charge so I wrote down 25,000 colones which is about $50.00 and showed it to Gerardo and said for everything. He said no, mas, mas which means more. It is for the children. Jose and I talked on the trip back last night and he says this works even better for him because it can be used for whatever is most important. Medicine or food or doors. Rebecca was here for Kaye's massage and said she is going on a trip in August and do I have more suitcases. I explained I didn't but I would be bringing two more in June and I would save one for her. It was such an eye opener for me. I didn't realize the value of some of the things I have brought. I was just looking to clear out the bedroom and hoped they could be put to some use. I am so happy they will be used by one group and the payment will be used to help another group. 
Maybe this afternoon I will get back to working on my big dreamcatcher again. Or not. I may just do nothing. 


Tupperware products are different here. These are my new canisters. Marta sells them. They are so happy. These are for flour, sugar, coffee and you got it - cookies.


A few of the cases.


Papa is helping.


Sunday, May 1, 2016

I can't believe it is almost over.

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.