Life in Costa Rica: I hate powdered sugar!

Or maybe I should say I hate working with powered sugar. Now I try to be a positive person and some even call me a Pollyanna. And maybe that is true. But one thing I am sure of is I hate powered sugar.

And wouldn’t you know of all the goodies I make the favorite and the one I make the most is Chocolate Crinkle cookies.

It is a chocolate dough that you make into balls and roll in -yup - powdered sugar! I made a batch Saturday to take to Douglas’s birthday party and this afternoon I made a double batch. Tomorrow will be another double batch to take for our two days of selling in San Jose. It is 6 cookies for 1000 colones. I have gotten pretty good at getting them all the same size. But by the time I am done the house and I are covered with powdered sugar. It has to be sifted and that is where the problem starts. I think maybe I need an old fashioned flour sifter.

So much has been going on. I made about 40 jars of jelly. Guayaba, papaya pineapple, mango strawberry and mixed fruit. The crocheted things are priced and packed. We have a cafe in Orosi that is selling some of our smaller things. Katherine has done up the history of Chicas Buenas in Spanish for us to display. After Tuesday and Wednesday in San Jose, we will have a booth at the feria by the church on Sept. 30.

Last Friday I went to the Independence Day party at the Senior Center. I took fudge for everyone and donated 2 jars of jelly. Since they were priced, Jeannette decided to sell them and keep the money for the senior center. Father bought one and another man bought the other. Everyone was dressed in traditional clothes and I loved seeing the old people teaching the young the traditions.

Heather is coming October 10 for a week. Right now there is a countrywide strike but hopefully it will be resolved by then. All the unions are protesting because the government is trying to raise taxes that will affect those who have little. There is much dissatisfaction with the rulers who have so much. Sound familiar? Enough, I don’t do politics.

Michael, who is a transplanted New Yorker brought a bunch of yarn with him. When he heard our story he donated it to us. It isn’t cotton so we can’t make hats for the cancer ladies but it is lovely so the ladies will make things and sell them and use the money to buy cotton yarn. Something great happening everyday.

Today I went into Orosi to get eggs for the cookies. I took with me some gluten free bars I made. I wasn’t sure how they would go over but how bad could they be with peanut butter, chocolate chips and coconut? Well, they were a big hit with everyone. The people in the meat market couldn’t get enough. I saw Jose and he said 3 are enough, well maybe 4. Katherine’s girls, even Tesla, loved them.

Yesterday I went to Cartago for Douglas’s 50th Birthday party. That is Ziomara’s husband. I took the bus and it was dark when I arrived. The taxis are lined up around the corner so I got in the first one and told the driver - in Spanish - I want to go to Tejar but I don’t know where. When it is time I will telephone my friend in Tejar and she will give you directions. He said yes and off we went. He told me when to call her and I ended up right at her door with no problems. I have the best luck with taxi drivers. Ziomara has friends from Orosi who were at the party and they kindly brought me home. She has been wanting the recipe for the chocolate crinkle cookies so I had it written out and gave her that and measuring cups and spoons. Back to the party. It was great to watch. Lots to eat and drink. Something new to eat is brought out every little while. There was music and dancing and karaoke. And as I have said before, Ticos live life out loud. It was very loud! From what I could tell everyone was having a great time. Part of my gift for Douglas was a joke. They have told me Douglas hides my jelly so I used a coffee canister and put a small bag of coffee in it. Under the coffee was a jar of jelly. I think it was almost midnight when I got home.