I could tell you my life has been very quiet and boring.

But, I would not be telling the truth. I have so much fun and have so much going on for an old lady. I have to write about it or I will forget everything.

Since my trip to PriceSmart I have made two big trips to WalMart. I go on the bus and have just a half block walk. The first trip was the non perishables and today was everything else on my list. My refrigerator is full with 2 turkeys and the table is covered with all the fruits and vegetables. When you come down the ramp there is a lineup of taxis. I met a new driver, Edwin. He is working hard to learn English because it will be good for his business. We chatted all the way here and he complimented me on my Spanish. He added his telephone number to my phone for future trips. As soon as I finished checking out today I called him and explained who I was and he said he would be at WalMart in 2 minutes. I went down to the taxi area and an older man came over to me. I said I am waiting for Edwin and he said that is my son and you must be the beautiful lady from Rio Macho. Talk about making me feel good! Edwin came and loaded everything up and again we chatted all the way home. I had given him a jar of jelly last time and he told me how much he enjoyed it. So, tomorrow the cooking starts and Monday Emilio is coming to help.

Jose and Victor were here Thursday to get the yard in order for the party Friday and he and Victor also put up my mosquito netting so now bugs have to fight to get in. I also now have an address and a utility bill. Well, kinda. It seems I don't have one so we are using Grandpa's. I am 500 meters south of the church but it is really more then that. As soon as all my parties are over I will take care of getting a bank account and going to immigration for my ID card.

The first party, with the senior citizens, was yesterday and it went so well. Everyone had a great time. I think there were 38 here but it wasn't a problem. They spent most of the time on the deck and that gave us the house to do all the food prep. The music was great and I have hired him to come back for my dinners. All the food and drinks were wonderful too.They planned to leave about 1:00 but it was 2:15. As they left, Adrien was here with a backhoe and dug out all the deadish trees and brush between the driveway and the creek. I am not sure what they plan to do but I think something with rocks. I also learned the roof panel is ordered but hasn't come yet. That is why the work hasn't been done on the house.

I did have a little trouble with an animal in the house. I know it was bigger than a mouse because of the holes it was making in food and wrappers but I never saw it. That was the reason they put the mosquito netting up and there have been no signs for the last 3 nights so I think it is working. They are going to put up more permanent screening but for now this works. Either that or the fact I have been leaving the kitchen light on at night.

I think that is about it. I will see if I can add a few pictures. I forgot to tell you my salad greens story.

The greens

How the front looks now

The backhoe 

Jeanette and lunch

Jose and Victor 

I asked them to cut a bamboo tree for Ziomara 

How it looks now

Courtney drew me a picture of my dog.

Jose  has told me the greens growing in the water in the concrete area by the house are good and extremely healthy. When the group was here yesterday, Ligia and Janette noticed them and Ligia took her shoes off and climbed down and picked lots. Jeanette said she buys them in the market in Cartago and they were very happy to get them so fresh. It is a form of culantro I think. It is also used in various cooked dishes. I also got the ladder out and picked Jeanette grapefruit to take for drinks. They made a wonderful drink with the guayaba I had and brought a mora drink with them. Mora is like blackberry.

When Jose was here we talked about more chairs and of course there is a cousin who rents. This time it wasn't Jose's cousin but I think Adrien's and he is also Victor's nephew and maybe Glorian's cousin. So I rented a long table and 10 chairs which really helps. I will have them thru the 26th.

Life doesn't get much better than this.

Most of my thoughts lately have been about the upcoming four events. Inviting new people since some of the ones I invited can't come. There is a fundraiser for the seniors that got scheduled for the 23rd - remember thanksgiving isn't a holiday here. The crochet ladies won't be able to make it and I have 24 for Sunday so I can't include them that day. There will be a lot of craft ladies from Paraiso and Emilio will be here both days. Jose will miss again this year but I will package up lots for him as he will be going to San Jose to get Heather and Kent.

Things are moving a little slow. Nothing was done on my house this week and I don't have an address or bank account yet. I think I read in the paperwork that I have 90 days so I won't panic yet.

My beautiful orchid is in bloom

My ham, my ham, my ham

Under the ham are some of the fabrics I am using for Katherine's baby snuggle sack or nap mat. I will use memory foam in the bottom so it is like a portable bed. 

 

 

Emilio said we needed a good sound system for the parties.

This year's craft  project for the seniors. I have the cinnamon sticks and greenery. Heather will bring the buttons. 

Emilio and I haven't done much for a long time. School and his internship were keeping him so busy. We made up for it on Friday. I left Rio Macho at 9:30 am and it was 3:00 or 4:00 by the time we got back here. I took the bus to Paraiso and then the bus to San Jose, getting off at PriceSmart. He hadn't done that before and realized how easy it is. I have never taken the bus back because I always have too much. I told him I wanted to checkout everything, and we did. The things I found. As the cart kept getting fuller I kept saying to myself - Thanksgiving is only once a year. And now I won't have to buy paper towels or toilet paper for about that long. When we finished and I renewed my membership for another year we stopped for chicken in their food area. It was very good. We packed up the bags I brought with the smaller things and he called Uber. We filled the trunk and half of the back seat and headed home. I asked Emilio to ask the driver if we could make a 5 minute stop at Mayca in Cartago. I promised it would be only 5 minutes and I only needed 1 thing. It is the only place I have found frozen cranberries for my cranberry sauce.We did and it was 5 minutes!

When we got here I opened the gate and he backed to the door and we unloaded everything.  All of that cost 13,000 colones which is about $23.00 -the Uber I mean, not my purchases.  When Emilio got ready to leave he checked with Uber and there was a car in Cachi and they came and got him to go to Paraiso.

So, why life is so good today. I just had bacon - yes, yes, yes, real bacon and fried eggs and toast with guayaba jelly AND coffee with hazelnut flavored coffee creamer! I have Van Camps pork and beans in the cupboard and a spiral cut ham in the refrigerator. Yes Gerry, Spam too! The only sad part is it is not mango season so if you find them, they are expensive. It is citrus season so lots of oranges and mandarinas.

Then, yesterday, after the big day Friday, I headed for Cartago. So did everyone else in this whole area. It took an hour and we weren't even to WalMart. Slow moving and people waiting at every stop. I made it to Ziomara's yarn shop, spent a good amount of time at the market including a fish lunch at my usual place, got a hose at the garden shop as well as some cucumber, carrot and green onion seeds. Then to the old grocery store for lots of things. I could just carry everything - my purse strapped over me, my red bag over my shoulder and a big heavy duty white bag - I love them. Turned out it was the same bus driver that brought me from Rio Macho. I only went to Orosi this time, spent some time at the pizza shop and with Katherine and had Luis bring me home. I could have gone on the bus but it is the climb up the hill carrying all that stuff.

My back has been bothering me a lot and I expected problems from the last few days, but no. Guess I will have to walk more.

I still have to get turkeys but not till Saturday at the earliest. I also haven't found canned pumpkin. I am going to make a trip to WalMart early this week. I still have lots of groceries to get, but most are
perishable so it is too early. I think I have decided on serving food. We will dish up the turkey and ham and have everything set out with ladies serving. My problem is I love family style and hate to give that up. It also means I need an extra table for serving. As everyone is bringing something I will do turkey, ham, dressing, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. Desserts are cherry cheesecake, something pumpkin and something lemon and whatever others bring. I love lemon meringue pie and it should be pumpkin pie but I have never done much with pie crust. We will see. Sangria from Rosita, Hibiscus punch and after dinner drinks. Coffee, bread and desserts will be later.

It seems I have no history.

My iPad was filling up and running out of space so I decided to see what I could do to clean it out. I decided to go thru email and delete the patterns I hadn't made and the recipes I hadn't made and all the emails older than 1 year. Well, apparently my fingers worked faster than my brain because the next morning I was checking and it seems I deleted everything in most folders. I have no family, I have no friends, I have no birthday, I have nothing. Talk about being isolated. I even have no Roz or Kaye. At least I didn't mess with taxes. I do still have that. And Heather.

And, after all of that it didnt even give me much more space. It's my photo program. 3 years of pictures I have taken takes up too much space. I have to figure out what to do. I need a geek!

This week should be exciting. Hopefully I will open a bank account. Two years from now I will have to produce a statement from the bank that I have deposited $1000.00 a month. I can take it out and use it to live but I have to have deposited it. I need an address and a utility bill for here. Then I will authorize my first 3 month payment for Caja. Usually you have to pay every month but thru the group I am joining you can do it on your credit card and pay for longer periods. In case you are interested, their monthly rate for me for CAJA is $89.00. That covers doctor, hospital and meds. My attorney will set up an appointment for Immigration and Jose will take me so I can get my ID card. There are a few more funds to pay. They hold money for a one way ticket to leave in case they have to kick you out. And the ID card fee and whatever else.  Also, Adrien and a worker were here yesterday and this week they are coming to put in my skylight and screening to keep as many flying things out as possible.

I have added another event for November. The craft ladies are coming on the 30th for a fiesta to celebrate my residency and see what Heather brought with her. With 4 suitcases full, everyone should find something they like. Even after saying the suitcases are full, she has managed to add a bunch of books. Very popular with María José and her friends are the American Girl books and Katherine reads to Courtney every evening so there are some for her. The beads we ordered arrived but the buttons aren't there yet. I hope they come in time.

Yup, I am in the creek. With my phone in one hand and my walking stick in the other hand and being very careful.

Some of the books they found.

I have written about the craft lady who works at the hospital and got me the pass to the chemo room. This is Flory.

My residency application has been approved

It has taken exactly a year. Now I must register for the national health insurance, CAJA, and when I fly into Costa Rica I won't have to have a ticket to leave. I also don't need to leave to get a new visa.  I am still a US citizen and travel on a US passport which by the way I have to renew early next year.

I'll tell you more when I have met with the attorney and know more. A trip to San Jose soon.

Timber

Jose and a helper were here today and I had a list of things for them to do to get ready for the 17th when the seniors are coming. I don't know how adventuresome they will be but I wanted to be prepared and have everything as safe as possible. Jose said I want to cut this other branch off the cas tree and that is where they started after I took them around to show them what I wanted done. I went back in the house to get the pound cake in the oven and when I heard a branch breaking, I headed out with the camera. It looks much better in one way. The fungus and another great big bees nest are gone. But, it looks like half a tree. Lots of new leaves after the other branch was cut off so hopefully that will happen again. Jose used his vehicle to haul off the big pieces and the rest were picked up and hauled away. At one point I did see him jumping and waving to get rid of the bees. I did lose a couple flowers but a small price to pay for getting the tree cleaned up. I had also asked them to pick up all my piles around the yard and they did. I had thrown a bunch of rocks from the field to the front yard and they carried them to the planters. Now another big job.

I mentioned the growth along the creek had been cut down and I found a beautiful spot that is like a pool. There were some things that needed to be cleared out and I wanted to know how deep it is and if the bottom is safe and if it will be safe for the girls. It is about knee deep with a good bottom. He checked it all out and cleared away the stuff that was caught there. He created some openings so sticks can float thru. He declared it safe. I plan to try it myself, but not alone. He also put my bamboo frame back up by my meditation rock. Then in the house he put in a stronger bulb in the living room and new light covers that Ziomara had given me. It really does make a difference. You should have seen this! They brought the ladder from Jose's vehicle. A straight ladder! His helper held it as Jose climbed up and worked with the light. I have high, high ceilings with bulbs dangling down. In case you are wondering, there have been several different helpers and I am so awful with names that are different from those I have known all my life. I think today it was Lalo. I know Victor who is older and has been here several times. He is so strong and works so hard. But none of them sluff off. Jose doesn't allow it.

I have been told that soon Adrien will have some extra time to work here and is going to put in a little gate so I don't have to use the big one to go in and out. He is also going to put in the skylight and screening in the open areas to cut down the bug population in here. We were going to put mosquito netting in those areas today but he said no because he has it on his list.

I did make a trip to Cartago this week and tomorrow is craft ladies. Ziomara plans to come Sunday. After that I start concentrating on everything I have going on the rest of the month.

Besides the pound cake in a bundt pan I made a batch of Spritz cookies. Some I added peppermint extract and green food coloring and they have a chocolate chip in the middle. Others are white and some are red. Others are multicolored. The green and white went thru the cookie press just fine but not the red even though I had refrigerated them so I rolled them into balls. Next batch I will try a different recipe. I want to get things baked and in the freezer for all the events. I am going to ask Adrien for as much fruit as possible for the seniors. Hopefully there are bananas and grapefruit and lemons and guayabas. I found a mandarina tree with lots of fruit, if it is ripe by then.

My pool area.

My new light covers

Finished product

What it took to get there

Lots came off

This was when I heard the crack