Universal Healthcare during COVID-19 works!

I can’t believe how impressed I am with the outreach to us from our local CCSS clinic. The CCSS is the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, commonly referred to as "la CAJA". Yesterday we received a call for John from our local CAJA health center. Since John is language challenged when it comes to understanding people speaking Spanish on the telephone, I took over the call. The caller was a staff member at the local clinic and she was just calling to make sure we are okay and did we need anything health-wise during this time of social distancing. She confirmed our ages, living situation (food, shelter, ability to cook, clean, bathe, and generally take care of ourselves), regular medications we take, and our emergency contact information.

I explained, even though we pay our quota to the CAJA each month, we have always used the medical services of our friend and doctor in town to write prescriptions we have filled at the CAJA pharmacy. Since March we have avoided contact with the public as much as possible and we haven’t wanted to go to the CAJA pharmacy to fill prescriptions. We have been ordering our medications from a local pharmacy via WhatsApp (text message). This pharmacy provides a free delivery service. The CAJA representative explained they would be more than happy to fill the prescriptions for our regular medications and deliver them to our house monthly. She took down the names of all our medications and promised to set up an appointment by telephone with one of the doctors working at the local CAJA clinic. Today, she called back to confirm a doctor will contact us today, or tomorrow, to confirm our medications and submit the prescriptions to the CAJA pharmacy to be filled and delivered. She then proceeded to provide me with the phone numbers I can call to order refills in the coming months.

Some folks complain about socialized medicine, but for us, we find the medical system so much better than what we had in the United States. Granted, elective medical services are not readily available and there is a waiting list, there are waiting periods to see some specialists, but overall healthcare and emergency services are great. Just last week we ventured out of the house long enough to get our seasonal flu vaccination at a venue set up by the local CAJA. Earlier this year, clinicians from the CAJA showed up at our door to take our temperatures, blood pressure, and administer Tetanus booster shots. The system works! ¡Pura Vida!

UPDATE 5/28: The doctor at the local clinic just called to reconfirm our regular medications. The prescriptions will be filled tomorrow and delivered to our door on Monday.
UPDATE 5/29: 30 days worth of medications were delivered at 10 AM. Each medication can be refilled twice.
UPDATE 6/1/20 Two clinicians from the local CAJA office came to check on us for symptoms of Dengue Fever (breakbone fever). They confirmed there is one reported case of Dengue in our neighborhood and she has recovered. Time to inspect the property again to eliminate any mosquito breeding grounds.

Universal Healthcare for all!

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¡Soy Tica! ... I'm Costa Rican!

I fell in love with Costa Rica more than 50 years ago. The romance began when I first arrived at the Peñas Blancas border crossing between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, thus ending what had been 10 day overland journey in a pickup truck, with a camper shell.

After living in Costa Rica for several years, circumstances required me to return to my homeland. When I left Costa Rica I left a big piece of my heart behind with the Ticos. For 35 years I dreamt of returning to Costa Rica permanently. During these years I traveled back to Costa Rica on as many of my vacations as I could. Then in 2006, John and I bought a piece of property in the mountain town of Atenas. We built a small casita to use as our vacation home for a few years, and finally, in 2011, my dream came true! We were able to quit our jobs, retire, and move to Costa Rica to live amongst the Ticos.

I am very proud to announce that Costa Rica has granted my request to become a Naturalized Citizen this week. ¡Pura Vida Costa Rica!

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Corporatists strike again

That makes 5.

When I retired, I thought that my victimhood at the hands of corporatism was finally over. Four times, I was a prime mover behind the creation of great little corporations with great people. Four times, corporatists bought out those little companies, one after another, and promptly, each time, over 40 years, they ran "our" little company into the ground or screwed it up so much that it was no longer great.

Screw 'em. I got outa there. "They'll never touch me again."

Famous last words.

In retirement, I discovered a fun crowdsourcing activity known as Tomnod. Tomnod was a place where NGO's and governments could come for help after disasters or accidents or social upheavals to get thousands of sets of volunteer's eyes to pore over highly detailed satellite images, looking for something. Downed airliners**; slave quarters; illegal forest burning; housing and infrastructure destruction; or even tagging herds or flocks of wild animals. Fun combined with doing some good.

But it's the old story: A handful of people at UC San Diego have this cool idea for sat-images combined with crowdsourcing; they form Tomnod ("Big Eye" in Mongolian) and it's a pretty impressive success; the biggest supplier of sat images, Digital Globe, acquires Tomnod and it seems like a marriage made in heaven, for years.

Then it happened. A big corporate shark, Maxar Technologies, buys Digital Globe and Tomnod starts receiving the signals of "you don't fit our profit profile."

Today, the formal news hit the streets ... Tomnod is officially "retired." (So ... that's what you call murder today, assholes?)

So there's the story. Corporatists can get you, even retired, while hiding in Costa Rica. Comes the Revolution ...

** During the MH370 search, an estimated 100,000 volunteer searchers were looking at images, EVERY hour.C

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Spanish style wrought iron bars on windows and doors

Wrought iron bars on windows and doors, a traditional element of Spanish culture and architecture, are called "Rejas", meaning grills. Rejas may well date back to the 15th century, long before the use of glass became widespread. They used to be made of wood, and provided a means to keep things in, or out. Through the years wood gave way to metal and they started to become more and more decorative. Back in a time without glass windows, the rejas were means of keeping livestock from sticking their heads through an open window and helping themselves to food, etc. Rejas allow windows to be opened in a temperate climate, providing for better air circulation, yet at the same time, offer a level of security.  Legend has it that rejas also allowed girls to be seen and courted without the need of a chaperone.

When we built our home seven years ago, it was understood that we would have rejas on our home, along with glass and screens on the windows. This was one of the best decisions we made. We haven't closed our windows since we moved in and the flow of fresh air, day and night, is wonderful.

Many folks complain about bars on windows and doors, stating they feel like they are in jail and fear they couldn't get out in an emergency. In our case, during the construction of the house we made sure there would always be at least two ways out of any room. We installed hinged rejas for the second exit on rooms with only one door. I can assure you, once you live in a home with rejas, you will get to a point that you don't even "see" them. I could never go back to opening and closing windows everyday. Just thinking about having to close up the house to run errands would make me crazy. If your home doesn't have rejas, think about investing in them. Decorative rejas can enhance the beauty of your home and offer the added security we all want.
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Hand ground and fresh brewed coffee

The last time we visited the States we purchased this little gizmo to satisfy our craving for that early morning cup of coffee when we are without electricity. Today was that day. Just as we got out of bed this morning, the power went out and stayed off. After about an hour, it was well past time to make coffee and breakfast.

We know many folks keep ground coffee beans on hand, but we don't. We buy small quantities of freshly roasted coffee and grind just the amount we need to get us through the day. This works perfectly when one has electricity.

This little hand burr grinder is just the size needed to produce enough ground coffee for a full pot of Joe. I am pleased to report that between John and me, we have enough grinding stamina to get the job done in short order. The glass jar on the base of this unit broke during shipping, but it is properly threaded for a regular Mason jar. I attached the top of the grinder to a ½ pint jar and it works perfectly.

After we ground the coffee, we boiled a kettle of water on our gas stove and brewed our coffee with our Chorreador de Café, just like we do everyday. The coffee was delicious and needless to say, 15 minutes after we poured the first cup, the electricity was restored.

¡Pura Vida!
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Happy 6th Retirement Anniversary to us!

Hard to believe that today is the sixth anniversary of our retirement and relocation to Costa Rica. Wow, looking back so much has happened in these 6 years. We are busier now than we have ever been. Our social life is so much fuller here than it ever could be in Texas. All through our working careers we were too busy to develop many relationships. Don't get me wrong, we have some amazing friends in the States that will always be there for us, as we will for them.

Then we have our beautiful family with 7 children, plus their spouses, 13 grandchildren, and one great granddaughter, plus all of our brothers and sisters. They are spread out among California, Illinois, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. We love them all and miss them, but living in Costa Rica means that most of them are not much further from us than when we lived in Texas.

Looking back, this is a recap of just the highlights of the past 6 years.

We moved into our 300 square foot casita (vacation cottage) and quickly adopted our street dog, Gustavo as a companion for our Jack Russell Terrorist, Randy. Gus is a mini-pin/terrier mix and just a little love machine.

We built our Rancho to give us some outdoor living space and quickly followed with the construction of the main house.

My Costa Rican “Permanent Residency” was re-instated on September 19, 2011 and John immediately dove-tailed in behind me to get his. He was approved in June, 2012.

We moved into our new casa grande, about 60 meters from the casita, on May 30, 2012.

On September 3rd, 2012, we experienced our first major earthquake since our relocation from the States. It measured 7.6 on the Richter scales, with the epicenter about 70 miles from us. The entire house swayed, but we didn't find a single crack in the new construction. It's a testament to the building codes here in Costa Rica.

After we moved to Casa Wegner, we made our Casita Limón available to family and friends. We found there were too many months that the casita sat empty gathering dust and dead bugs. So, in April, 2013, we started offering it as a vacation rental. Since then we have had over 100 guests stay with us. In addition to family and friends, we have met folks from all over the world. Some have become dear friends, and you know who you are.

We have become involved in the community and social media. We manage a couple of Facebook groups for our town, Atenas. One FB group is for general info, and the other is for the local classifieds. We have also helped with fund raising for the local animal rescue group, Animales Atenas. Through them we found another street dog, Yoli, and she became an addition to our fur-family.

I started teaching an informal Spanish language learning class for a limited number of friends about a year ago. It has been fun watching their language skills progress, especially John's. I had to suspend classes in June when John broke his ankle, but I'll probably start them up again after our next big trip.

We have been stashing pennies for about 3 years now for our dream trip to Spain this October. We have arranged for friends to stay at Casa Wegner to care for our fur-kids while we are away. The plan is to meet our close friends, David and Norma Jean, in Madrid, rent a vehicle, and then travel around Spain for a couple of weeks. When we get to Barcelona, we'll take in the sights and cuisine, and then our friends will take a train back to Madrid to fly back home to the States. A couple of days later we will catch a transatlantic ocean cruise to Ft. Lauderdale. The ship stops in Cadiz, Tenerife, and one other stop in the Canary Island. We'll have a few relaxing days at sea and be back home in early November. We've talked about doing this for years and we're not getting any younger, so we just have to do it now, while we have the energy to get up and go.

Happy 6th Retirement Anniversary to us and to this "Pura Vida" lifestyle.
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WATER! Never take for granted life's basic necessities..

This is day five without water in our little town of Atenas!

Last Friday night high winds knocked over a tree that broke the water main and the support below. The break is located over a local river and the only access is through a couple of farms on either side of the river. We currently have about 16,000 residents without water.

The national water company, AyA, has been delivering potable water to the various neighborhoods via tanker trucks with 4 or 5 spigots on the back end of the truck to fill multiple containers at once. Folks are toting water in every conceivable container they can find. I've seen 2 liter Coke bottles, buckets, pitchers, barrels and even trash cans lined with plastic bags.

There is also a new well in the central park where folks can go to get fresh water from 7 AM until 10 PM.

We are one of the lucky ones. We don’t have a well, but we decided to install a 660 gallon water storage tank when we built our house back in 2011. City water feeds our storage tank so we are always circulating fresh water through the tank. We’ve had a few water shortages over the past few years, but never anything that lasted more than a day, so we’ve hardly ever needed to ration water. This time, however, the situation is severe.

In 2014, we installed a saltwater pool, without knowing how handy it would become in an emergency like the one we face today. We have been able to use pool water for flushing toilets, washing dishes, and even bathing (without soap of course). On the bright side, we are in the middle of our rainy season, so the pool is getting re-filled with rainwater daily. The water is circulated through the pool’s filtration system every day, so it is always fresh. We’ve invited some of our neighbors over to fill buckets with pool water for their toilets, and they are getting their fresh drinking water from the daily tanker truck deliveries.

In spite of the dark clouds above us, there is one silver lining... The affected schools are closed due to sanitation issues and the kids are on an unexpected holiday.

There was an article in today’s paper quoting our local mayor, and he said we may not have city water until Thursday of next week. That's 8 days from now, so it looks like we will be rationing water in the coming days, until this situation is resolved.

Never take water, one of life's most basic necessities, for granted!

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Nobody's Talking For A Reason

A member of the Facebook group Atenas Costa Rica Info asked about the veracity of an old book The Costa Rica Nobody Talks About.  I bought it online for $3.99 and read it today.  My thoughts about the book follow (I wasn't impressed).

Note: If you don't have this book, much of the following won't make much sense but I wouldn't recommend that anyone pay for this book.  

At the beginning of the book the author says:

"So I ask myself, how can I help the Ticos ... the answer is to write about the things I didn't like ... to help Ticos learn those behaviors and attitudes that are counterproductive." 

Is this guy a ghost writer for Donald Trump?

Chapter 2 Summary - I know exactly what those stupid Ticos need to do to make their country great.

God what an arrogant first-world-centric person. (trying to keep this G-rated)

Chapter 4 Summary - all the cops are crooked and prey on tourists.

Transito mgmt has really cracked down on tourist shakedowns. Re: the Transito vehicle being stolen and stuff disappearing: Don't leave any vehicle with the keys in the ignition; and, don't leave anything of any value in a car.

Local cops are a varied lot. Maybe some are dishonest. Some are just trying to get through another day, for meager pay, without getting hurt doing any stupid cop stuff.

Chapter 5 & 6 Summary - Customs is very corrupt. All (or most) of the government's Ministers are just taking the jobs to enrich themselves.

Neither we (40' container with car) nor anybody we know has lost anything of consequence, for certain, during shipping. 

The author's bribery "review" of the customs process and alleged extreme bribery is based on a single story by a single agent and the rest is total speculation.

The "you have 4 years to enrich yourself" claim is pretty thinly documented too. My wife was once married to one of these senior cabinet ministers and she will assure you that, at least back in those even more corrupt days, not everyone was goring the bull.

Potholes probably cause some accidents but locals know to slow down and stay alert. Horrid drivers and motos are responsible for way way more accidents.

Not driving at night, if possible, is a good idea. Not so much for potholes but because of the numerous pedestrians with no clue and no understanding of due care.

Chapter 7 Summary - You probably need something like a jacked up (high clearance) Toyota 4x4 pickup to survive the roads of CR. Importing will result in thefts. Insurance sucks.

If you stick to gravel or paved roads, you never need a high clearance vehicle or 4x4. Crappy old taxis go everywhere and almost none of them are 4x4. 

Our 2003 Subaru has now been on the roads here for 5 years and the only repairs have been tires (used when we got here), front brake pads (60k miles) and an air conditioner part.

We imported the Subaru, stuffed full of goods. Only a very very attractive hunting knife was missing. (Left in there by my stupidity.)

Yeah, the car insurance and accidents and locals having more luck in the courts than foreigners (surprised?) can all happen -- but the vast majority of gringos don't have many episodes.

Chapter 8 Summary - Honey attracts more bees than vinegar -- especially when dealing with bureaucrats.

Yes, chatting up the locals is almost mandatory in order to get things to go smoothly in bureaucracy transactions. Yes, doing anything with any part of government takes a long time. Bring your Kindle.

Chapter 9 Summary - Buying real estate is easy. Selling it is extremely hard

Unless you have lived in CR for at least two years and unless you're fluent in Spanish, NEVER BUY PROPERTY. Also "Realtor" means nothing in CR. It's not a trademarked "thing" here with requirements and ethics, etc.

Chapter 10 Summary - Everybody has one price for locals and a much higher price for gringos and retailers live and breath to rip off gringos.

Gringo pricing is very rare now with most prices published and automatic bar code checkout at almost all stores. Not sure but I don't think we've ever been charged gringo pricing, except at parks, and only until we got permanent residency.

Chapter 11 Summary - Ticos will screw you all the time.

Doesn't this guy watch his receipts and checkout clerks in Canada? Everywhere has people who will screw with oblivious customers.

Chapter 12 & 13 Summary - Bad guys are going to break into your house and take all your stuff.

Oh, yes, bad guys WILL break into an occupied home. Making your home unattractive to thieves and self-protection are the only solutions. Also the author's precious Nicoya area has recently had daylight armed robbery of tourists in their cars as they stopped to examine water fords on remote roads.

"It is very difficult to ... (be) going out (from your house) as you please and not having your house broken into in Costa Rica. Your house becomes your prison." 

 ABSOLUTE BULL SHIT.

"Purchase or rent in a gated community..." 

That makes you a target. Are the bad guys going to some poor little Tico-looking house or to that target-rich gringo enclave? All rashes of burglaries and home invasions that we know of have been in gated communities.

By U.S. or Canadian standards domestic help might be "inexpensive" but live-ins will cost you about $350 per month plus medical plus bonus (mandatory) plus food plus the room. Also, some live-in that you get "off the street" could very well be a relative of a crook or someone who talks to crooks.

The best recommendation (not very clearly stated) is to make friends with your neighbors; become an active part of the neighborhood. Then there are many eyes watching out for you.

Chapter 14 Summary - Tico justice for gringos sucks

Basic info is good, except for the story about the Kimberly Blackwell murder story. The author mentions that "She had frequent clashes with poachers" That's true. What was skipped by the author but mentioned in the local news is that she shot at them with a BB or pellet gun. Poachers. Armed guys. Angry at you for interfering with their source of income. 

And, the Jairo Mora accused are being re-tried (no double jeopardy immunity in CR). 

NOT to say that the police and courts are very good at putting away bad guys. They're not. 

Bottom line: Living in CR is a bit like the wild west days of the USA -- just with the internet and cell phones.

Chapter 15 Summary - A bunch of blather about Ticos wanting free stuff from gringos because, um, you won't believe the author's logic.

The leap of logic that U.S. international monetary policy and financial aid to Costa Rica's government resulted in teaching the average people on the street to expect gringos to give them money is astounding. All of the author's thoughts about the country's debt and suspicious stuff is simply speculation. Again, see remarks in about Chap 9. Don't buy or invest your fortune here unless you've been in-country for years, are good with Spanish and know the culture.

Chapter 16 Summary - There are a LOT of fraudsters in Costa Rica

Pretty much all true, which is yet another reason to wait years, until you build up a network of trusted Tico friends, before you buy real estate or a business.

Chapter 17 Summary - The author's grand theory of everything that everyone should do to make CR just like he wants it to be.

Peeing in the ocean. Nobody is listening (hopefully).

DAMN!  Why did I waste that $3.99?
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Spanish Classes in the Barrio

About a year ago, John started taking Spanish classes with a group of about 20 expats. They met once a week and their instructor, a local Tica, who is a native Spanish speaker. Wouldn't you know it, this past February, just as everyone was getting in the grove, their teacher up and quits because she accepted a job out of town.

We were at FUF one afternoon, enjoying a beer, and several of John's classmates and friends were bemoaning the loss of their teacher. Everyone was disappointed and they weren't sure what to do to continue taking lessons. Before I knew it, I opened my mouth and volunteered to step up to try to fill their learning gap.

Mind you, I am NOT a teacher, I never studied Spanish, but I am pretty fluent, with a strong grasp of the language. I picked up my Spanish back in my 20's via the school of hard knocks. Consequently, my Spanish is full of colloquialisms, or "dichos," as we say in Costa Rica.

In March, I started teaching Spanish to a small group of 6 students in our Rancho, on Tuesday afternoons. The group has now grown to 12 students, and I've limited the class size due to table & chair space, and the size of my PC's monitor. The class is informal and everyone brings their beverage of choice, and sometimes snacks to share.

I'm spending several hours a week preparing lessons and finding new material to teach. The stuff available online is amazing. I've found some terrific websites, some with downloadable PowerPoint presentations, and games to help reinforce the lessons.

Folks appear to be learning and the feedback has been good. No matter how hard I try to keep it interesting, not everyone is into homework. My goal is not to get them to speak perfect Spanish. I just want them to understand what they hear and be able to participate in the conversation. Half the battle at our age is just not being afraid to speak. It doesn't matter if it's wrong. It's the effort that counts.

We have a 22" PC monitor that hadn't been used in the 5 years we've been here. We figured out how to use a number of connectors to attach the monitor's 9-pin VGA port to the HDMI port on my laptop. It works pretty well, but it's still hard for everyone to see from a distance. We've talked about getting a true video projector, but they are so expensive. Anything decent will run a least $400-$500.

Several folks have heard about my class and have asked to join, but there just isn't any room. I've started a waiting list for a second class and we'll see if there is enough interest in the community to make it worth my time.

On Wednesdays, when I'm not teaching Spanish, I switch gears and help a local doctor with her English pronunciation. Wow, is that an eye opener. I never realized how many English sounds simply do not exist in a native Spanish speaker's diction. Trying to explain how to use the muscles of the tongue to produce English sounds has been an interesting challenge.

I kid you not, being retired is hard work and we are busy all the time. I use my appointment calendar more now than I ever did in my working career, and maybe part of that is because my memory isn't what it used to be.

¡Pura vida, mae!
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"Socks-n-Sandals Man" strikes back

There are plenty of jokes on social media about "the socks and sandals set," generally disparagingly referring to what the writers think are wrong-headed funny old people who wear socks with sandals.  News flash Buford:  If you're not immediately headed for the sand on the beach, it is you that maybe should buy a clue.  Socks have been worn with sandals for millennia and if I have my way, they will be forever more.

First, socks have been around since the times of the Egyptian pharaohs.  The ones that have been found in tombs have a big ol' division right in the middle of the toe box, stuffing half the toes on one side and the others to the opposite side.  Why?  To better engage the sandal!  Socks.  With sandals.

But, alas ... socks were expensive so only the elite or royalty typically ran around in socks & sandals -- and armies.  It seems that a fair number of centurions were equipped with socks to protect their feet on the long marches.

That's one of the main reasons for socks now, with sandals.  So you don't get those hot spots just before getting blisters; so you don't get those raw spots where the straps have been rubbing dirt and abrasives into your skin; and, so you can quit stankin!

That's right, oh great sockless society.  Ever notice that green cloud down around your feet?  Stank!  Your nasty sweat has soaked into all of the sandal components and provided the moisture to grow all of that gross foot bacteria.  I hope you're parking those nasty things out on your porch at night.

Another benefit of the enlightened use of socks is that they give decent protection from mosquitos, ants and the bites of those spawn of satan -- noseeums.

Lastly, socks can be a fashion statement for you mavens of sartorial splendor.

I would address the deviants who run around in leather shoes with no socks but I figure they'll catch something from the breeding ground inside their shoes or the smell will get 'em sooner or later.

So, I decree that anyone (away from a beach) who is not wearing socks with their sandals shall be cited for their offense and may be sentenced to public shunning.



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Rancho Improvement Project - Update #2

The new ceiling in the Rancho is coming along nicely. I took this picture a few minutes ago and the guys are down to the last 3 pieces that need to be fitted into a small triangular space.

Once they finish the ceiling, they will re-hang the ceiling fan and finish up by installing fascia boards between the roof line and the new ceiling. This will prevent critters (bats, geckos, birds, and iguanas) from nesting in the small space between the two.

So far it looks beautiful and the temperature drop is incredible with the new radiant barrier. Best guess, it is now at least 10°F cooler than before. Here are a couple of photos I took this past Sunday showing the work in progress. Can't wait to enjoy our outdoor living room again!

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Rancho Improvement Project

We enjoy our outdoor living space in the Rancho all year long, but there are days when our spacious Rancho can get pretty warm in the afternoons.


On hot days we turn up the fans, and John sprays the roof for several minutes with cold water from the garden hose. This technique drops the temperature for an hour or two.

The roof is constructed with steel beams and color-coated corrugated metal roofing sheets that are made to resemble clay tile. During a rainstorm it sounds just like rain on a tin roof, and when the storm is intense, it is almost impossible to hear a conversation at the dinner table.

We decided to insulate the Rancho's ceiling with an infrared barrier using reflective polyethylene insulation. This should reduce the temperature and the sound of the rain significantly. Once this is in place we will install the pvc laminated ceiling panels pictured here.

The work will begin tomorrow and the contractor expects the job will be finished in a week. We'll post an update with photos of the finished project soon.
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Social Media and Politics

I find the current political scene on social media somewhat fascinating.

Sure, Facebook.com has been around for years now, but it wasn’t really available to the general public until 2006. Most folks were slow to embrace social media. The teen set and 20-somethings were already using MySpace.com from back in 2003, but with the introduction of Facebook in 2006, membership in MySpace started a gradual decline as everyone started moving over to Facebook.

At first, just the younger generations made the move, but I quickly saw how cell phones, text messaging, and social networking were going to become the primary means of communication. If I had any hope of staying up to date with the lives of my children and grandchildren I had to adapt. So, just to keep in touch, I joined Facebook in 2009. My hunch was right about keeping informed. Most folks now turn to Facebook or Text Messaging before they even think about making a personal phone call. It even happened to me once. I found out about a health issues one my grandkids was facing through a Facebook status update.

Excuse me as I digress…

Nowadays, everyone, at every age beyond 12, is on Facebook. Facebook did not have the political impact it had back in the 2008 campaign for President, because I don’t think a lot of campaign managers and candidates really understood the power or social networking. They did a much better job campaigning in social media by 2012, but this year it’s phenomenal. Between the Facebook users sharing videos, memes (yes kids and grandkids, I actually know what a meme is… this old lady still can learn a thing or two), Presidential campaigning, news coverage, and focus groups, it is hard now to not be informed.

I am fascinated to see some of my Facebook friends and acquaintances are actually obsessed with election campaign rhetoric, poll results and news snippets. Some folks are making it a career of re-posting and sharing every single meme and news media article they can find that helps them re-enforce their views on the issues. I wonder if these posts are meant to make them feel better about their choice of a candidate, or if they really believe they are influencing the decisions of their Facebook followers.

I admit, I am following the polls and the political news coverage, but it is not an obsession. I read some of the Facebook posts by friends I follow, and other posts in some Facebook groups. It’s all interesting, but these posts will not influence my vote one way, or another.

Twitter is also in the mix, and 3 of the candidates, Clinton, Sanders, and Trump are tearing it up with their 140 character tweets. Just how much platform information can a candidate present in a tweet? It makes me wonder. I’d rather listen to a debate than read tweets.

The bottom line folks… stay informed about all sides of the issues and the candidates. Carefully weigh the words of the candidates and see if you believe their promises are even a possibility in today’s world. Look at their experience in this political landscape, and do what you can to prevent history from repeating itself.

The world is watching.

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Meet my beautiful Aguacate tree I grew from a seed

Almost 5 years ago, our gardener gave me a couple of avocados from an old tree in his yard. At the time he told me he feared it would be the last harvest from this old tree since the annual yield had been diminishing over the past few years. Lucky for me, John doesn't like avocado, so I didn't have to share these two delicious avocados with anyone. I decided to try my hand at raising a tree from seed.

I let the seed dry for a couple of weeks and then carefully removed the brown paper-like skin from the seed, inserted 4 toothpicks and propped in over a glass of water so the water covered about ½ the seed. I changed the water frequently and was finally rewarded with a thin stem poking it's head up from the top of the seed. I continued to nurse it until the roots were nice and long the and stem was about 6 inches high and had started to leaf out. We planted the seed in rich soil in a small pot. It wasn't long before it outgrew the pot and we moved it to a larger pot. When my baby tree was about a meter tall, we decided it was time to plant it in the ground.

We picked a sunny spot in the garden, directly across from our terraza and bedroom window, and planted my baby avocado tree where I could watch it grow. The December winds of 2011 almost ripped my tree out of the ground, so John had to rig up some rope anchors just to keep it vertical.

My beautiful avocado tree has been growing for several years. It must be close to 8 meters tall (25 feet) now, and so healthy it can withstands any wind mother nature wants to whip up. I wasn't sure it would ever produce any actual fruit, but I never gave up hope. This month I was rewarded with hundreds of blossoms. If we get some help from mother nature, these blossoms will get pollinated, and we just might have some avocado fruit to share in a few months.

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The Great Atenas Wed-In

Never in my wildest imagination did I ever envision being the wedding planner for more than 70 couples!

This all started as a way to work around the discriminatory practices of CAJA (Costa Rica's socialized medical system) toward foreign residents. First of all, it important to state that all resident expats are required by law to belong to the CAJA and pay a monthly affiliation fee. Every time an expat couple has to renew their residency, they also have renew their affiliation with the CAJA, and the dependent spouse has to prove once again they are still married. The proof has to be in the form and a new certified copy of the original Marriage Certificate and this certificate has to be sent to the Secretary of State where they were married to obtain the Apostille guaranteeing it's authenticity. When the certificate is presented as proof, it can't be more than 30 days since it's certification. This is very difficult for U.S. Citizens to pull it off in a 30 day window, and it is almost impossible for many expats from other countries around the world. The cost of this document and courier fees could easily exceed $100 USD,

Citizens of Costa Rica, also have to prove to the CAJA that they are married and eligible for dependent benefits. The difference for a Costa Rican is that they can order a certified copy of their marriage certificate online, and then they can pick it up at a convenient government office for the cost of about $0.10 USD.

So, it was time to find a permanent solution to this problem. We contacted an attorney here that has always been an advocate for the expat community. He researched the problem and confirmed the discriminatory practices. He agreed to accept the case pro bono, and he will be filing law suits with the equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court to get the CAJA policy changed for the expats' benefit.

But before we can get a ruling, we decided to go ahead and re-marry each other so we can get the marriage registered here in Costa Rica's national registry. We had no idea when we invited a few friends to join us in renewing our vows, that so many couples would jump on this bandwagon. We now have more than 70 couples registered to get re-married in our Central Park, this Sunday, St. Valentine's Day, February 14, 2016.

If you're not doing anything, come out to the park and watch. It promises to be an historic event with a party at our place afterward.
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When you stop looking, you'll find it!

Yesterday, we were all set to to finish the Canadian Bacon we had put in a brine last Saturday. We just needed to smoke it for an hour, or two.

Guess what?

All 4 of the chrome plated grates for the smoker had disappeared, and I mean vanished...

No where to be found!

We both searched every cabinet, pantry, utility room, Rancho, bodega, inside and outside.

I called our housekeeper to see if she had a clue as to where they could be.... Nope, no, nada.

We are talking GONE!

The missing grates belong to this wonderful little electric smoker we've had for more years than I can remember. We use it all the time for smoking meat, drying chili peppers, making Canadian Bacon, etc. The small investment in this device has paid for itself many times over.

After we abandoned our exhaustive search for the grates, we discussed alternative options for making some 10.5" grates. Today, John remembered he had stored some leftover expanded metal mesh from another project in the garage, and he could probably cut it to size. So, off he went to gather the mesh and the cutting tools.

I went out to the Rancho to give him a hand. We got the mesh rolled out and John was just about ready to start measuring.

Suddenly, I looked up and what did I see.... 4 chrome plated grates, perched on the counter, just below the sign that reads, "A little bit crazys all right!"

Isn't that always the case? When you stop looking, you'll find it.
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Don't chum the waters when swimming with sharks

Gringos -- Swallow your pride and make your cameras, smart phones, tablets and luggage gear look like crap if you want to radically lower the risk of having them stolen.  I might also observe that cargo pants, hiking boots, fishing vests, boonie hats and walking sticks scream RICH GRINGO TOURIST and enhance your likelihood of being a target.  I've learned from some of the best "guys on the street".

Many years ago, I was assistant art director on a very high end P.R. brochure being put together.  At the time, I had been a pretty fair news photographer but knew that the artsy qualities that I wanted for this brochure were beyond my skill set and the capabilities of my equipment.

I made inquiries and arranged for a shoot with a guy who was touted as the "best industrial photographer in Chicago".  His fee was almost as much per day as I made in a month.

On the intense day of the Big Shoot the photographer showed up and unloaded three of the most beat up, falling apart, cheap-ass gear cases that I'd ever seen.  I was thinking, "Uh-oh."

He opened the cases and inside were neatly arranged ranks of equipment that look suspiciously like junk; except, because I had held one every day in years past, I recognized several top of the line Nikon camera bodies by their shape -- but these looked like hell with scratches and worn spots and black electrical tape all over them.

I had to ask.  "What's with all of the tape and how'd those Nikons get so beat up?"  The photographer replied that one of them was brand new and none of the others were more than 2 years old.  "I used to lose a camera or lens about once a month back when everything looked nice.  Now I tape over all brand names and roughen everything so it looks like junk.  Haven't lost a thing since I started doing this."  I then realized that even the man himself was down-dressed.  Nothing about him or his "stuff" would attract anybody's attention.  He could work undisturbed all day and passersby would simply think, "Some guy taking snapshots."

I went home that night and did the same treatment to my equipment.  I now also make sure to always take my crappiest looking travel pack and bag if I'm ever going to have it out of my control or especially if I were traveling to the sketchier parts of the world.  Never lost a camera and only lost one bag -- probably an airline screw up.

Making your bags look like crap also is a big help on airport carousels.  Put tape on them so they look like they're falling apart.  I put dingy straps around mine so that they look like the closures don't work.  When the "all look alike" clean and new bags come rolling around the corner on the carousel it is really hard to tell your bag from any other.  Not my bag.  It's that piece of junk that nobody would steal on a bet.  Now ... that new Louis Vuitton bag over there ...
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Our Thunbergia Blue and White Sky Vines

In 2008, we finished the construction on our little casita and this became our vacation home until we retired in 2011. For the first couple of years our property was protected from the neighborhood livestock by a barbed wire fence. I made a trip from Texas to Costa Rica to see about building a proper perimeter wall around our property, installing a lawn and sprinkler system, and doing a little landscaping. John joined me for the latter half of this trip and we finished the landscaping together.

While enjoying our frequent mini vacations here, we had noticed the inside of the casita would heat up considerably during the day simply because there was no protection from the sun on our east side.

Looking for a remedy, we went to one of the local nurseries to see what was available for a sun block. One of their employees recommended a fast growing vine with flowers. So we decided to buy 10 starter plants, 5 blue and 5 white. Without a clue as to what we had purchased, John set about planting the vines all along the east side of the casita. The young vines needed something to attach to, so John nailed horizontal strings to the property wall about 12” & 18” above the ground. This was all that was needed for the vines to grab a hold and take off.

Within 5 months the vines had completely taken over the fence, completely covering it with vibrant green leaves and beautiful blue and white flowers.

The best part of all is the temperature in the casita dropped at least 10° F. The fragile little tendrils we planted in 2010 have now grown into the size of tree stumps and the vines throw daily runners so fast you can almost see them growing.

Today we know these vines are actually Thunbergia Blue and White Sky Vines. We have been amazed at how hearty they have been, especially with the dry, windy season we just endured.  They never slowed growing, whereas all of the other plantings around the property went dormant or turned brown.

A couple of weeks ago our housekeeper discovered the ground along side of the casita was very damp and she suspected a leak – right in the middle of those green green vines. John confirmed there was indeed a leak, but he couldn’t get to the leaking spot because it was half buried in concrete. So, he called a local plumber. The plumber came out to determine the cause and find out what parts it would take to fix it. Two days later, the plumber resolved the leak and we expect our water bill will drop substantially.

No telling how long the pipe had been leaking. Clearly our vines certainly enjoyed all the extra moisture. They have been in full bloom throughout the dry season and they are gorgeous. Their extra “water supply” has been cut off now, but the rainy season is just starting, so they will continue to flourish.

Anybody need some cuttings from our Thunbergia Blue and White Sky Vines? They are yours for the taking.





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I feel like Ralph Kramden's sidekick Ed Norton

I just love doing home maintenance -- NOT!  I get a really special "attitude" toward home ownership when the maintenance involves plumbing problems on the, ummm, odiferous side of the system.  Thus was my situation this week.

We have had a somewhat slow drain in the kitchen sink, forever, and just figured it was some of that there Pura Vida plumbing.  The other day, it got snail-slow and even backed up.  Couldn't figure out the problem.  Tried the nasty acid drain opener chemical.  Nope.  Opened the outside grease trap and cleaned that out (quite full after 4 years.)  Nope.  (Ack!! What a disgusting job.)

Day two.

O.K. -- this is getting to be a headache.  Got a plumber's snake.  Went in from the sink-side and figured that I had hit a 90-bend at about 6-feet in.  (Yes, they put 90's in drain and sewer piping here.  "Those pesky wye's are just too hard to figure out.")

Went outside to the grease-trap side.  Went in with the snake ... waaay in ... hit a kind of soft spot but after spinning the "roto rooter" head of the snake a bit figured it was the same 90.  Still not very good flow.

Using several small batches, I got a whole can of drain opener and boiling water into the pipe.  Over time and with a little addition of hot water, lots of little chunks kept coming down the line and falling into the trap.  Still not much flow.

Filled the sink half way with hot water and let it rip down the pipe.  Better.  More chunks.  Still crappy (pun!) flow.

Three more sink dumps ... and then there was a burping noise, the flow stopped dead and then s-l-o-w-l-y a long brown "something" oozed out of the pipe, dropped into the grease trap sump and disappeared.  Instantly we had full flow.  I put on my long rubber glove and went fishing.  Got it.

The long brown thing was ...

-- wait for it --


... a large wadded up piece of portland cement paper sack (with the cement company logo still intact.)

!!!!!!

How?   How did the drain system EVER work with that blockage in there?

My guess that it has been there since the early stages of the house construction, when they put in the drain stubs before pouring the floor.  Normally, those stubs are stuffed with a rag or something to keep animals and concrete splatters out of the piping.  Somebody missed removing one when they did the final hookups.

So the mystery of a slow drain and blockage is solved, only to generate another mystery as to how in the world that drain ever worked.  Wow.

I hope they didn't miss removing another paper pipe plug somewhere else in the "castle."
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My handcrafted sisal rope bowl

A few months ago I jumped in to participate in a "Pay it Forward" initiative on Facebook. I posted the information about the initiative on my Facebook status, and the first five people who commented were promised a surprise from me during the year.  The whole purpose of the surprise is just to make someone happy and they, in turn, must "Pay it Forward" to five other people, and so on, and so on, forming a web connection of kindness! My dilemma, what could I give as a surprise.

I tossed around a few ideas in my head, did some searching on Pinterest, and finally decided to try my hand at making sisal rope bowls for everyone. Most of the handcraft sites on the web recommended using hot glue guns, but I decided to use nothing but plain old Elmers glue, you know, the stuff we all used in school for all those projects. I bought 50 meters of ¼" sisal rope at the local hardware store and loaded up with lots of glue. After a few trials and errors, I finally mastered a technique that worked very well for me. Here are the materials you need for one bowl:

• 10 meters, or 11 yard of ¼" sisal rope
• 8-10 ounces of non-toxic white glue (Elmers or equivalent)
• box of straight pins
• scissors
• needle nose pliers
• medium sized bowl to use for a mold
• 2 pieces of ribbon to help release the sisal from the bowl
• 1" wide paint brush

The first thing you need to do is trim up the starting end of the rope, so that you can start to roll a disk for the bottom of the bowl. The easiest way is to fold the end of the rope back on itself and use straight pins to hold the rope in place. Keep rolling the rope into a flat disk until it is about 2" in diameter. Use the straight pins as needed to prevent any gaps. Then spread a layer of glue on just one side of the disk. Allow it to dry for about 45 minutes.

While the bottom disk it drying, tape a ribbon to the bottom of the bowl you are using as your mold. The ribbon needs to be long enough to reach all the way to the top of both sides of the bowl with about 3" excess on each side. Now, tape the second ribbon on the bottom of the bowl so that it forms a cross with the other ribbon and again make sure it is long enough to reach to top of both sides of the bowl with 3" to spare.

When the disk is dry, use the pliers to remove the straight pins. Turn the bowl upside down and lay the dry side of the disk centered on the bottom of the bowl. Now start to wrap and coil the rope using the bowl as your guide. I found it worked best when I only did 3 wraps (just an inch) at a time, using the straight pins to prevent any gaps. Once I had completed the 3 wraps, I would coat them on the outside with glue, using my fingers to make sure it was well spread. You need to be careful not to get glue on the bowl, or the rope will stick. Let the section dry and the glue will turn clear when it's dry so you'll know when you can continue.

Pull out all of the straight pins with the pliers, and start coiling and pinning the next section. Apply the glue. Let it dry, and remove the pins. Continue this process until you reach the top of the bowl. When you get to the top of the bowl, leave a tail end of rope about 6" long.

Remove any remaining straight pins from the rope. Remove your sisal bowl from the bowl you used as your mold using the ribbons to pull it free. Flip the sisal bowl right side up and generously coat the inside of the bowl with glue. Use the paint brush to evenly spread the glue and let the bowl thoroughly dry.

Now decide how you want to finish off the end piece. I decided to make a loop so that the bowl can actually be hung on a hook. I folded the end piece back on itself, trimmed the frayed end and tucked it under the last wrap. I used lots of glue and pins to lock it place. When the bowl was completely dry, I looked for any sharp strings poking out and trimmed them off with the scissors.

The last part of my "Pay It Forward" initiative was to put something in the bowl, so I made some Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies this morning. One of my Canadian friends received her bowl in January without the cookies, but I'll make it up to her when she returns to Costa Rica. This afternoon John and I went calling to drop off the remaining 4 baskets and put smiles on faces.

If you are looking for a fun family project for a rainy day, or a snow day, this just might be it.

Important Note: The sisal rope bowls are NOT waterproof!
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