My attractive husband and other musings

My husband is one attractive man.  Unfortunately for him, what he has a propensity for attracting is bugs (or "bichos"as we call them in Costa Rica).  Specifically, in the last six months he has been stung by a scorpion in bed, a centipede on his toe while in bed, and then last night by a bee while showering!  It is a good thing we have Google to quickly search for remedies to alleviate pain and other nasty side effects of stings.
The centipede, ironically, had been in our bed the night before the hubby was stung crawling around on my leg.  I felt the critter and at first thought it was my imagination.  After a second I felt the crawling again so I turned on the light to see the critter headed at full speed toward my hubby's side of the bed.  I quickly woke him and advised him to get out of bed.  We then shook all the linens, but there was no sign of the centipede so we went back to bed.  The following night my poor hubby woke to chomping on his little toe under the covers.  I had removed my contact lenses so I was half blind, but I managed to spot the culprit and perform a quick assassination with the edge of the flashlight.
Saturday we decided to venture out and explore a couple of new stores nearby.  We ended up at the fancy MultiPlaza mall and made a beeline to the new Dairy Queen.  In Texas, DQ's are affectionately known as "Texas Road Stops."  Every little town has a Dairy Queen and during a long drive a stop for a dipped cone is always a welcome respite.  The dipped cones at the mall tasted just like the ones from our former homeland and allowed us a touch of nostalgia.
We then ventured to the Pequeño Mundo store which is kind of like a Dollar General store.  We were very pleasantly surprised to find salt and vinegar potato chips, a cersion of Rotel tomatoes (another sorely missed staple canned item for southern cooking) and some other items not found elsewhere.
Last week I made my first attempt at making homemade cinnamon rolls.  I discovered that yeast is a tricky ingredient and decided to only use imported Fleishmann's quick rising yeast, which can be easily acquires at the nearby upscale grocery store, Auto Mercado.  I am happy to have time to try new recipes that I would have never tried in my former life due to time constraints.
We also made another stop at anothee specialty store known as Saretto and bought some guaba beans.  The big green beans hardly looked appetizing to me, but my friend Jessenia was with us and assured us we would not regret our purchase.  The beans were cracked open to reveal fluffly white balls that were sweet and vanilla tasting....melt in your mouth good!  Apparently, the trees grow profusely in our town and the beans are often available at the local farmer's markets.  In Costa Rica, the bean is known as the "ice cream bean."  To read more about this wonderful bean and see a picture of it, go to http://costarica.com/blog/fruit-of-the-month-guaba/.
Finally, Costa Rica has a new president,  Luis Guillermo Solis, elected yesterday by a landslide.  He captured 77% of the vote in the  bizarre runoff election where the other candidate dropped out of the race about a month ago due to a lack of money to campaign.  The election process was fascinating to watch and read about over the last few months.  He is the first president to be elected from the PAC party, ousting the PLN party, which has long been considered the party of power in Costa Rica.  Hopefully, the president will bring an administration of transparency and integrity ...the Ticos deserve a great leader.

Dodging Mother Nature

The summer or dry months are coming to an end which brings also signals potential for dangerous fires.  Last week our neighborhood had a "too close for comfort" experience with a nearby fire.  Adjacent to our home is a nature reserve which also has a deep draw that provides us with a lot of privacy and views of different critters during the year.  However, the same beautiful reserve is a potential fire hazard every year because of the inaccessibility of the area.  This year a fire started a couple of hills over and burned for three days before the winds picked up substantially pushing the fire toward our neighborhood.

Last Friday we saw the fire come over the hills near the reserve.  The flames were shooting up very high and we experienced smoke and the sounds of the fires crackling as the wind blew the flames down the hills and closer to our area.  We decided, like our neighbors, to pack up the valuables and a few personal items just in case we had to evacuate.  The fires continued to rage all night, but fortunately Mother Nature granted us a reprieve early Saturday when the winds died down completely.  Later that same afternoon, the winds shifted and the fire was trying to go back from the direction where it had already scorched the mountain side.

By Saturday afternoon we were all feeling very grateful and relieved to see the smoke completely dissipated. We all understood that due to the small size of the country and limited resources, the firemen could do very little to eradicate the fire while it was burning down the side of the mountain.  We drove over to the area where the fire had raged to assess the damage and take a few pictures.  The adventure may have involved a bit of trespassing, but it was interesting and fun to venture out after the danger had passed.

During the same period our fire was raging, the local newspaper reported that over 70 families had lost all of their belongings in a horrible fire near the airport.  We empathized with their loss and realized how fortunate my family and my neighbors were that the fire had not made it to our area.  Seeing a fire of the magnitude that occurred made me quickly realize how little control we often have over events in our lives.

For now, we pray that the rains will arrive soon.  We have also planted a variety of wonderful fruit trees so the rains will additionally help spurt some growth for the trees that include icacos, pomegranates, mamey, zapote, mamon verde, and nances.

We have also had lots of big projects going on to improve our little piece of paradise.  We are converting our "man cave" to a guest bedroom with a full bath, adding a pergola for our two hammocks, and have expanded our driveway.

The orchids are back in bloom!

After a wonderful getaway to Cancun with the hubby, we are back to our lives in Atenas.  The orchids are in full bloom around the Central Valley as are the Sabana Roble and Cortez Amarillo trees.

Last weekend we had the opportunity to visit a beautiful orchid "forest" in the neighborhood of Cocaleca in nearby Palmares.  The national orchid, Guaria Morada, was in full bloom throughout the gardens with some other beautiful orchids such as the Lluvia de Oro (Rain of Gold) and the vanilla bean orchid.

We have had multiple projects going on at our home as well.  We decided to expand our driveway, which was the best idea ever since anytime we had more than one vehicle at our home it was a challenge maneuvering in and out of the lot.  We are also remodeling our "man cave" into a spare bedroom for my dad.  The other project that we had done and are glad we invested in is a sprinkler system.  The dry months and wind can be brutal on our beautiful plants.

The runoff election for the new president of Costa Rica took an unusual and unexpected turn last week when one of the two candidates, Johnny Araya, withdrew from the election.  From what I understand, he cannot legally drop out of the election,  but he can stop campaigning.  The election will still take place on April 6th so it should be interesting to see how the process materializes.

One of the products I miss for cooking is Rotel Tomatoes, which are a staple in cooking in South Texas for casseroles, beans, queso, and other yummy recipes.  Since tomatoes are so cheap here and jalapenos are readily available, I have decided to try to learn to make a copycat version of Rotel by canning some tomatoes.  My dad has a lot of experience canning, but I am a novice so I am going to enlist his help and see if we can replicate the item.  I was able to find canning jars today at our local upscale grocer, the Automercado.

I am really enjoying learning to be resourceful and innovative with cooking.  The lack of processed foods and spare time allow me to research great recipes on the Internet and then experiment in the kitchen.  With the abundance of fresh veggies and fruits, it is easy not to miss all the foods of our former life.

Loving Life's Adventures Again!

A week or so ago I had my last follow up appointment with my doctors since being hospitalized in December.  I was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to hear the doctor tell me I should be able to resume my life now and try not to look back at the last couple of months.

In honor of the great news and in the spirit of celebrating good health, the hubby and I are going to go off to Cancun, Mexico, for four days of rest, relaxation, and of course some badly missed spicy Mexican food.

My sister and my dad arrive the night before we leave so we will have only a brief visit before we abandon them for a few days.  My sister has offered to come and stay with our elderly family members, including our thirteen year old Chihuahua.  Wow, what a great win-win situation since she gets to spend quality time with our dad and we get to have some "alone time" as a couple.

My brother, my favorite "mule" for bringing me products from the USA that we cannot buy here, flew into Acapulco yesterday to spend a few days with my dad.  When I asked my brother how his trip went last night he told me all went well except for the Mexican customs agent scrutinizing some of the goods he was bringing in (so my dad can "mule" them back to Costa Rica next week) for me such as Velveeta, chili powder, and taco mix.  The customs officer first questioned him about the Velveeta.  "What is Velveeta?"  My brother replied, "well, it is supposed to be cheese, but I think it is chemicals in a processed food form made to look and taste like cheese."  The officer replied, "okay, since the product is coming from the US and noth South America, we will approve it."  Next, the chili powder, which came in a clear plastic bag was pierced on suspicion of containing cocaine (who knew cocaine was a product being smuggled INTO Mexico from the USA...I always thought it was a major export from Mexico to the USA!). After one or two officers sniffed it and started uncontrollably sneezing, they allowed it to pass as well.  Finally, the customs officer asked what kind of tourist going to Mexico brings in taco mix, fake cheese, and chili powder?  The nerve of this brother of mine.  My brother explained that he was simply a mule for his crazy sister, who lives in Costa Rica, and orders these oddball products to deliver to her on his trips.  Of all the things my brother delivered for me, who knew Velveeta, chili powder, and taco mix, would stir up contoversy at the airport?

The other fun event of the last couple of weeks is that we had a great visit with my cousin from Canada and his wife.  They had never been to Costa Rica so it was a treat to host them.  I have always enjoyed my cousin's wry sense of humor and quick wit.  I had not seen him in years so it was great fun to catch up with each other's lives and reminisce about old times.

Bugs....I always forget how people who are not accustomed to "communal living" with the variety of bugs here in Costa Rica can easily be freaked out and fascinated at the same time by some of the odd critters we see around the house.  My poor cousin's wife was traumatized by a large tarantula one evening that returned to haunt her, despite being thrown over the hill three times in a single hour!

Since I had a couple of doctor appointments while they were here, they accompanied us to see how the medical system works here.  I believe they were both as equally impressed as we have been.

It has been so nice to be able to resume outings to visit friends such as our friends that live in the Esterillos Este beach area.  We always enjoy catching up with them and stopping at my favorite bakery in Jaco.

Yesterday afternoon I accompanied our friends to purchase some irrigation supplies for our new sprinkler system.  As is customary with Julio, our handyman, we took an unplanned, but great detour on the way home.  He pulled into a very pretty property and within minutes we were taking a fascinating tour with the proprietor, Juan Carlos.  He and his family have a wide array of fruit trees, so many rarely seen around here, including mamey, breadfruit, anona, starfruit, guavas, cas, mango, zapote Colombiano, mangosteen, noni, and so many others that I cannot recall.  The abundance of fruit trees attract a myriad of birds, including the aracari toucan.  We had the pleasure of seeing one of the toucans eating a ripe anona.  Large parakeets abound as well, and the icing on the proverbial cake was seeing all of national flowers, the guaria orchids in full bloom, both white and brilliantly hued purple ones.

Today, Julio surprised us again with a bounty of one of his detours.  He brought us some freshly picked vanilla beans and a large piece of the orchid plant that produces the intoxicatingly scented beans.  I was so happy to be gifted the beans and the plant.  We carefully planted the piece of orchid in what we hope is a prime location and then I researched how to optimally store my bounty of vanilla beans.


Yes, life is definitely good and I am the most blessed person on earth!

A Christmas to Forget and Renewed Hope in 2014

Almost three months have passed since I initially injured my back.  After the injury, a series of events, way beyond my control led to what would end up being the Christmas from he!! Fortunately, the new year brought renewed joy and hope for good health.

On December 18th, after having a recurring low grade fever for a couple of weeks, which then turned to a higher fever and really bad back pain, I was admitted back into CIMA hospital.  After a series of tests, I was diagnosed with a rare infection.  Eleven days later of hospitalization and surgery,  I was released to come home.  Being hospitalized, even in a great hospital that even serves decent food, and care from wonderful doctors does not compensate for feeling weak, helpless, and enduring pain from what seemed like too many needles being stuck into my old body.  The worst pain though came from watching my poor husband trying to balance home life and taking care of his ailing wife in the hospital.  Thanks to some great friends we were able to have help on the homefront, which allowed some of the stress to be diminished during the first few days when I was not doing well and had to undergo surgery.

I was released on December 29th and admit to being overwhelmed with joy when. I arrived home to my family and beloved pooch.  I cried like a baby and promised to never, ever take a day of good health for granted.  There have been a couple of scares and setbacks, but I am feeling much better and hoping to be back to my mean old self very soon.

I did miss taking a trip to Mexico with my dad, but am grateful he was able to go on his own and that his health too seems to be improving after he was hospitalized right after my initial hospital stay in mid November.

On a separate topic, Costa Ricans will be electing a new president on February 2nd.  The electoral process has been fascinating for me to learn about since it is quite different from the US elections.  Thirteen candidates and only one four year term for politicians here.  Hopefully, the candidate will be the best for the Ticos, who have some similar issues facing other economies such as high unemployment, deteriorating healthcare, higher prices for basic products, and domestic security.

One Year Anniversary in Costa Rica

Life has definitely not been dull the last month.  In fact, I long for a few non eventful days!
After being released from the hospital, my infection returned so I was ordered to receive a daily shot of antibiotics for five days.  The second night the Red Cross doc in training came up to the house, we even managed to get a "group consult" since my brother-in-law, who was visiting from a recent stint on the beach, had ears full of sand and a sinus infection, and a couple of other friends who were visiting had ailments.  The doc lined us up, assessed each one and after three of us received shots, and the other a pill, the doc was on his merry way.  I wonder what the doc must of thought of the crazy gringa with all the sick guests?

On December 3rd, my husband went to the Nicaraguan border to reset his 90 day visa for driving privileges.  I was unable to go because I was still suffering back pain.

As my husband and his companions arrived at the border they noticed an extraordinary large crowd of people waiting to cross.  They soon discovered that a new road exit tax had been implemented just a few days earlier by the Costa Rican government that had to be paid at a certain bank.  However, the nearest "certain bank" was at least an hour and a half away.

The government eventually plans to install machines at the border that will be able to accept payment for the tax, but in the meantime, the staff at the border have no way of accepting the payment.

One of my husband's friends called to tell us about the problem and suggested we send someone to San Jose to make the payment and then fax proof to the border so they could get across the border.  We quickly dispatched someone to the big city to make the payment, however, before the payment was made, we received another call from the group at the border telling us that a border official, upon realizing a potential riot was about to ensue at the border, announced to everyone that the tax was being temporarily suspended!

The group managed to get home with all the passport stamps in hand and some of their sense of humor still intact.  The next day, I also found out that three hours into the trip one of our friends told the friend driving the car to pull off the road immediately.  Apparently, an uninvited passenger, a large scorpion had joined the group en route to Nicaragua, and was on the headrest of the sear near my husband's head!  Fortunately, the scorpion was tossed out the window and aside from the near riot at the border, the trip went off without a hitch.

Since both my dad and I managed to land in the hospital and were grounded from flying, my sister and her husband rerouted their trip to visit us.  We had intended to fly to Acapulco to meet my sister and her husband there for a few days.  In the end, we all managed to be together and enjoy a nice Thanksgiving here in Costa Rica.

On December 9th, we celebrated our one year anniversary here in Costa Rica.  While the last couple of months have been filled with challenges, we do not regret our decision to move here.  We have learned to appreciate the blessings of our new lives here.

I especially have learned to appreciate my health.  Being hospitalized for the first time in my life was a difficult experience, but at least the medical attention and service I received was first class.

Could this be the end of our bad luck?

It is Thanksgiving in the USA, and while we no longer live there, we are honoring the day to be thankful for all our blessings.  My dad finally got released from the hospital and is happy to be home one day before my sister and brother-in-law arrive for a 10 day visit.
However, before all of the good things like dad's release happened, we had to have just a few more instances of drama..as if we needed any more at this point.  Two nights ago,  I developed a fever again.  Fortunately, a couple of Tylenols managed to bring my temperature back down to normal.  Because of my recent infection, we decided to notify the doctors of the fever and see what course of action we should take.  Urine sample and more blood were the order of the day.  So, while I was in the middle of my physical therapy session, the lab technician showed up to draw blood and I did my best to provide the urine sample, despite the fact that my plumbing has not been up to par lately.  Even the soumds of waterfalls does not seem to help things get flowing.
In fhe afternoon the doctor called and said I would require 5 more shots of heavy duty antibiotics.  I naively thought I could wait to get the first shot in the morning.  My friends picked up the shots and delivered them to the house around 7:00 pm.  My husband was staying at the hospital with my father so I did not want to let him know that around the same time I developed a fever.  This time, though, the fever would not go down, but rather was increasing that made me think I could end up in the hospital room next to my father. Since my friends were spending the night, I asked if they knew someone who could come to the house immediately to give me the first antibiotic shot.  Sure enough, in less than 10 minutes a wonderful young man who works for the local Red Cross was here giving me a shot.  In less than 20 minutes, the fever was gone and I was able to sleep.
Thursday morning, I decided to recruit my good friend and another young lady to help me get the house all cleaned up since I have not been able to do any housework for almost a month and thought it would be nice to surprise my husband with a clean house and also have the home presentable for my sister's visit.
An hour after the ladies got started with the cleaning we had a major disaster.  I was in the master bed typing emails to update family, and friends when I heard a loud loud crash.  I look up and my friend's
friend had just accidentally tried to walk through a big glass wimdow.  Two thirds of the glass had
fallen and shattered all over the place.  My friend started yelling, and I asked her to calm down as I quickly got up to assess the girl's wounds. She was sitting st the end of our bed, sheer fear written all over her face.  I realized she did not have any cuts on her face, neck, or arms.  She ended up only having three minor cuts on her left hand,  I got the first aid kit and stuck three bandaids on the cuts and then we all three looked at each other in amazement of what had just happened.  I was in complete disbelief of the odds of having this happen on top of everything else. But more importantly completely grateful Alejandra was just fine.  Dad is home, the glass is getting replaced, I am on my way to getting better, my sister and her husband arrive tomorrow, and I get my antibiotic shot tonight.  We do have many blessings to be thankful for, most especially the absolutely wonderful friends who supported us through this whole ordeal.