“Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without.” This morning A and I were at the local ferretería buying silicone, an inner tube, and some other hardware odds and ends. I was standing at the counter waiting for our vendador, disappeared momentarily into the stacks for one of our items, when my attentionContinue reading “Everything but the Kitchen Sink”
Category Archives: Costa Rica
Moin: Are Limón Dockworkers Crazy?
I read several English-language newspapers every day to get a feeling of what is happening around the country. This past week I read about the proposed billion dollar Moin dock expansion in a publication I have mixed feelings about—the editor’s political views seem diametrically opposed to mine. Anyway, his editorial comment at the end ofContinue reading “Moin: Are Limón Dockworkers Crazy?”
Cacao, Miss Olga, and A New Beginning
I read in The Tico Times this morning that a French competition awarded first prize for Latin America to a sample of cacao grown on a farm in San Carlos, Costa Rica. This does my heart good. When my husband and I first arrived in Punta Uva in the late 1980s, the people hereContinue reading “Cacao, Miss Olga, and A New Beginning”
Things That Do Not Go Bump in the Night
Every morning before breakfast my husband dust mops the house while I cook breakfast— God, I love that man. (He also does dishes, but I don’t want to make you too jealous.) One morning on his rounds he called me outside to our wide porch. “Look,” he said, pointing at the corner of the veranda.“WhatContinue reading “Things That Do Not Go Bump in the Night”
21 Ways You Know You’ve Lived in Rural Costa Rica Longer than “A While”
This piece first appeared in The Costa Rican Times August 19, 2013. It appears to have taken on a life of its own; so far it’s had 55 shares on the CRT website and who knows how many others after that. We write and send our babies out into the world where they eitherContinue reading “21 Ways You Know You’ve Lived in Rural Costa Rica Longer than “A While””
Keeping Food Fresh in the Tropics
Tired of moldy cheese, weevil infested pasta, and soggy chips? My article about keeping food fresh in the tropics is live over at The Costa Rican Times.
“Franklin”
We have known him since he was small, maybe six or seven, I’d guess. If my husband and I were passing through Puerto Viejo, often as not we would find him on the side of the road with his oversized pants bunched up with a cord, his flip-flops coming apart, his thumb out. The firstContinue reading ““Franklin””
Cédula Renewal Wars
Last week my husband and I endeavored to renew our Costa Rican cédulas de residencia, the national ID card. I called the Banco BCR hotline, BCRCITA (900-003-4639), for an appointment. Aside from the call costing 300 colones a minute, and being immediately put on hold because, “dear customer, all available operators are busy, please beContinue reading “Cédula Renewal Wars”
This, Our Year of Renewal
Allowing official documents to lapse in Costa Rica is a nightmare, which is why I keep close tabs on them. When I saw four items pop up on my computer’s calendar this past January, I groaned. My poor husband asked what was wrong. When I explained, he wasn’t very sympathetic but he never deals withContinue reading “This, Our Year of Renewal”
Ants, and A Mild Case of Insanity
If I can get rid of ants, anyone can. As those of you who read this blog know, we live in the jungle. I’ve often said our kitchen is one inch from nature; one inch is the thickness of our single-wall constructed house and our native hardwood flooring. The One Inch precept has made me aContinue reading “Ants, and A Mild Case of Insanity”
