Of the more than 800,000 species of insects on the earth, Costa Rica is home to over 34,000 of them. Let me introduce you to a few that I’ve met while here. You’ll want to click on the images to enlarge them for detail.
I spotted this gorgeous blue/purple beetle on the rug on Brandon’s deck. He was about the size of a small ladybug. Sadly he was dead… but on the bright side, he held still while I photographed him : )
Yes, I still have one more Costa Rica post for you. But not yet.
You may, or may not, be aware that I’ve had a rough week. Schizophrenia is such a cruel disease – one that has robbed me of my father – and dealing with its repercussions and impact is emotionally draining. And very frustrating when decisions need to be made and there are no good solutions to be had. My siblings and I just keep going around in circles trying to determine what action, if any, we should be taking for our father’s emotional, mental and physical well-being since he is refusing any treatment…
But through it all I’ve felt very supported by family and friends and appreciate the concerned calls and emails and messages. Thank you.
And, I’ve taken comfort in the simple joys of my spring garden. Like the tiny tête-à -tête daffodils blooming among the bright green moss.
And the sweet little bushtits that swarm my suet feeder several times a day. And the cute chickadees, juncos and and other birds at the seed feeder.
And the fat squirrel that won’t give up on trying to find a way to reach the suet feeder. I felt kind of bad moving it where he can’t reach it so tossed him some raw almonds… I think I’ve made a friend for life. (See video)
And discovering this cute garter snake warming himself in the sun. I’m so happy to see him – because it means I have a healthy ecosystem in my garden…. plus, he’ll eat the slugs!
Simple joys are simply the best.
So, how are you doing?
Day 5 of my trip to Costa Rica I worked a 10 hour day. Not much else to say there….
But on Day 6, we ventured out beyond Grecia and visited a bird zoo.
Saw many beautiful, colorful and cute birds.
And assorted other animals.
And a clump of really big bamboo. I love bamboo…
On the way back, the girls played at a park.
And we stopped by a streetside vendor to purchase fresh pineapple and watermelon – plus some tomatoes, cilantro and onions to make fresh pico de gallo.
Then on to Cafe Delicious in Grecia for a smoothie and the world’s best sweet roll. The sauce on that thing is AMAZING.
That night when I took a shower, about 1am, the power went out. Pitch black. Kind of scary. Especially since we have an unidentified creature tromping around in the jungle like garden outside my cabina late at night… it sounds big…
The power company had to come out and fix it the next day – which meant that….
On Day 7, Brandon and I had to go into town in the morning so I could do some work. I’d committed to a couple of hours work, but we had no internet access because the power was out. So back to Cafe Delicious for breakfast, a smoothie and another sweetroll (and work) 🙂
Fortunately the power was back on when we went back home.
While in town, we saw a man in a suit wearing these bright yellow shoes.
I love the purple wall behind him. Lots of colorful, brightly painted homes and walls here.
Brandon loves this road lined with palm trees.
That night I watched the girls so Brandon & Jennifer could go out on a date. We were silly and had lots of fun, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset together.
So that sums up my first week in Costa Rica. More to come!
Ahhhh, Costa Rica.
I left this scene on Wednesday morning.
After a very full day of travel involving 6 hour layovers, conversations with interesting strangers (now friends), and very little sleep, I arrived at 6:30am CT on Thursday to this:
I’m here for a three week visit with my son, Brandon, and his family who have lived here for a year. I’ll have to do a little work while here, but I plan on enjoying a lot of vacation and relaxation time. If you’d like to know how and why they moved to Costa Rica, visit his blog.
Ashley & family will be coming down for a week vacation and be here the last 4 days of mine. Really looking forward to having all of us together again – and in such a beautiful place.
Brandon met me at the airport and we made our way through the lovely countryside to their home in Grecia. They actually live about 15 minutes outside of town on the side of a volcano. The drive was lovely. I’ve arrived about a month after the end of the rainy season so it’s still pretty green, but not too hot. Though we did enjoy a light rainfall while in town late afternoon.
Here are Brandon & Emily on their front porch.
Marie is looking so much like her mom. I love her sun-kissed freckles.
After taking a long tour of the beautiful gardens (photos later) we all enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican breakfast – gallo pinto with eggs, fruit and juice.
Can I mention here how delightful it is to have someone cooking for me? I’m going to eat more nutritiously in the next three weeks than I have in a long time, I’m sure. And it’s so delicious!
Thanks, Jen – you’re a fabulous cook!
After the opening of the Christmas gifts, I took a much needed 3 hour nap in the guest cottage. I drifted off to sleep to lovely birdsong.
Speaking of birds… Costa Rica is known as a bird watcher’s paradise. I’ve seen quite a few interesting varieties – but was especially thrilled to have seen the beautiful and exotic Blue Crowned Motmot – on my first day here! Isn’t he gorgeous?
We headed into town to do a little shopping, stopped for an ice cream cone, and were treated to this beautiful purple sky as we headed back to the car.
The drive back up the mountain was very foggy – we could hardly see the road. I love fog, but it was a tad scary…
Brandon was disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to see the city lights from the veranda. But an hour later, the fog had all lifted, and this was the view (one direction).
These are the lights of San Jose. Simply stunning.
All in all, a fabulous first day. I was exhausted again by 7:30pm. But after a good night’s sleep, and enjoying the company, hospitality, food and incredible view – I think I can say I’m really going to enjoy this vacation.
As my final treat for you today, here is a video I shot just before I started writing this. Same veranda from where I took the city nights photo.
I really should learn to not talk while I’m shooting video. Next video you can look forward to a musical background.
It’s been awhile since my last post. Much has happened since then, including a visit from Ashley & family, as well as a computer and software saga which has resulted in my purchasing a Mac – which I’m still trying to figure out.
In lieu of a real update, I’ll leave you with this brief video of the sweet young sparrows who enjoy the birdbath in the garden out my window. I promise a more thorough blog entry is coming soon.
As promised, here is a recap of the exciting adventures I enjoyed with Paul & Craig in California last month.
Paul took time off work to show me around… in his ‘baby’. She was a very comfortable ride 🙂
First stop, Armstrong Woods – a redwood forest just 3 miles up the road. Very peaceful and beautiful. Except for the two mosquitoes that dined on my arm….
A giant tree stump with markers showing it’s age – was around long before the Aztecs in 1300.
We stopped at the beach (it was a bit chilly)…
And saw beautiful wildflowers on the hillside…
Paused to marvel at the misty trees…
We stopped in Bodega Bay to get up close and personal with stars of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Tippy Hedron wasn’t there that day to sign autographs, but someone recorded her July 4th visit. Enjoy.
Drove past many vineyards (it was Sonoma County, after all).  Sometimes I wish I liked wine.
We stopped by Powell’s Sweet Shop in Windsor where Craig gave me run of the candy store – anything I wanted. I highly recommend the Amaretto Truffles.
Sometimes I wish I didn’t like chocolate.
I was well fed.
Very well fed.
I gained over 5 lbs, but it was worth it.
Paul fixed several gourmet meals. My offering was a turkey havarti sandwich on sourdough (delicious, but not gourmet!).
And Craig treated me to the best ribs I’ve ever had. I also loved sharing in the traditional Sunday cheese/cracker and prociutto lunch. Yum.
We played a little Cribbage.
Craig and I tortured Paul by making him sit through the entire movie Avatar. We all agreed we want our gardens to glow like that at night.
Paul (the best blogger ever) worked on his blog.
We planted a few flowers, watched a little Design Star and RuPaul’s Drag Race, and all in all had a lovely time.
Thanks, guys, for being such gracious and entertaining hosts. It was so fun to spend time with you! Now, when are you coming to the northwest?
I’ve been such a slacker. I’ve taken tons of photos and have lots of things I could be writing about but I just haven’t. No excuses. Just haven’t done it.
No promises, but I will try to rectify that – starting with this entry about a wonderful visit from Ashley & Kennedy in April.
Since their flight arrived at 7pm, our first stop was dinner at Machiavelli’s, where Kennedy ate a huge plate of pasta..
The next day, Kristin joined us as we made the short trek to Mt. Vernon for the tulip festival.
The tulips were beautiful, as usual, but it the weather wasn’t. We faced what felt like freezing cold gale force winds.
Kennedy tried to be brave.
She managed a smile while cuddling with mom.
More soon. Or at least sometime…
Well, January is nearing an end. It’s been an eventful month filled with dozens of things to blog about, and yet… no blogging has occurred.
So here is a summary of all the things I considered blogging about but didn’t.
1. My son, Brandon, and his family became “location independent” and moved to Costa Rica this month. It’s been fun reading about their adventures on Brandon’s blog. And my 6 1/2 year old granddaughter just started her own blog this week – EmilyInTheJungle.com.
2. Crazy Sarah Palin’s *shocking* (sarcasm) announcement that she’ll be a political commentator on Fox News. I burst out laughing when I heard her say how proud she is to be with the network that is ‘fair and balanced.’ Actually, hearing anyone refer to Fox that way makes me laugh. The not funny thing about this is how many Americans will actually tune in an listen to this idiot. WHY????
3. The earthquake in Haiti. Make a donation to the humanitarian organization of your choice.
I gave to Save The Children.
4. Pat Roberston’s idiotic comments about Haiti – Kristin handled this one quite nicely.
5. I still love living in the northwest.
In the middle of January I was outside doing gardening. Primrose in bloom, daffodils and tulips several inches tall, and buds forming on many of my spring and summer plants.
6. Both Project Runway and Psych are back!
7. The Supreme Court’s radical decision to throw out 100 years of precedent and allow corporations to spend as much as they want on political ads really made me mad. Go ahead, hand America’s elections over to the drug companies, insurance companies, big banks and other wealthy corporations. Certainly they’ll have the public’s best interests at heart. Morons. Something else to thank GWBush for.
8. Ashley introduced me to my latest addiction – iPhone app Words With Friends. If you have an iPhone and like to play scrabble, look me up and let’s play. My game name is allihays.
9. My trusty old 1996 Camry had a melt down. Heater broke, then engine light came on… running very hot. Thought I’d have to replace her. But happily found a good mechanic who replaced her broken radiator and thermostat without trying to sell me on a single unneeded repair.
10. Obama’s State of the Union address. He inspired me again. You can watch it here.
So, how has your January been?
Michelle arrived on Thursday. Yeah!
There’s just nothing like spending time with a friend of 30 years. It’s been pretty much non-stop giggling, intermingled with some tears and a lot of oohing and aaahing over the beauty of the northwest.  Here are some highlights from Friday.
We toured Chateau Ste. Michelle winery and explored the lovely grounds.  Michelle found herself moved by some of the local art and attempted to become one with the art. How do you think she did?
She also fondled any hydrangea shrub in her path. Â She mentioned she wished she’d named Erica Hydrangea, and I suggested she begin calling her that right away. Maybe it will stick as her new name.
As we wandered the grounds, we were serenaded by John Legend’s band – they were warming up for the concert being held at the winery that night.  We also observed an interesting fashion trend, which I’m hoping Michelle will blog about soon.
We spent a little time at the Farmers Market at Country Village, where I picked up another fabulous $5 bouquet of fresh flowers.
We enjoyed some good Chinese food at the Zen Garden restaurant in Mill Creek.
Then returned home, hung up my cool orange lights, lit a few candles and spent a couple of hours on the patio listening to 70’s music, reminiscing, laughing, crying and sharing a bottle of 2007 Muscat Canelli we picked up from the winery.  Â
Of course, the spent the first 30 minutes setting up the tripod and posing in attempt to capture the mood of the evening…. LOL…
All in all, a fabulous day. So glad you’re here Michelle!
Every night I take a little stroll through my little garden, listening to the crickets, frogs and bubbling fountain. Keeping an eye out for slime trails so I can dispose of the giant slugs that invade my plants, and curse the obnoxiously bright “safety light” on the back of the building that illuminates the rock wall and my garden with an unnatural peach colored glow. Safety, schmafety. It’s nearly as bright as day in the areas where it shines. I hate light pollution – and it seems to follow me wherever I go. I like night to feel like night!
“Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself.” -Verlyn Klinkenborg, “Our Vanishing Night,” National Geographic magazine, November 2008
The horrible light was off for the first year and a half I lived here – and then, all of a sudden there it was. No amount of objecting or begging moved the property manager to turn it off.. Since then I’ve been plotting ways I could destroy it, but it’s simply been out of my reach. if I had access to a 15 foot ladder I’d have climbed up and pulled out the bulb long ago. I’ve also been petitioning the condo manager to turn it off…. going so far as to get signatures from other residents in my building that they wouldn’t object to it being dark out there.
Well. as I opened the door to take my nightly stroll this evening I was greeting by the most wonderful sight. DARKNESS. It’s so dark that I can barely see anything but the stars! I’m so happy I could cry.
Next week I’m going to hang up my orange twinkle lights on my patio – which I haven’t used for almost two years (useless with that bright light shining). So drop by and sit out on my patio with me at night… it’s going to be great!
And keep your fingers crossed that the darkness is permanent!
How do you feel about the lighting in your area?