Ping Pong Anyone?

We got a ping pong table that was temporarily put in the dining room until the rainy season was over but it looks like permanent might be a more accurate description!  So far it's been super windy here at the start of the dry season, which ping pong balls don't like.  Plus we usually end up playing in the evenings, which are long since it gets dark at 6 pm.  Personally I'm not too keen on the idea of searching for a ping pong ball in our jungle yard in the dark.  So either we will start a new interior design fad or we will remain unique.  It could go either way at this point....

The New House

The one thing I was certain we would not do was buy a house in Costa Rica.  So of course we did.  I really have to stop declaring things, since sure enough that's what I end up doing.  We visited the property as a potential rental home since we really needed move at the end of our San Isidro house lease.  It took about 2 seconds for Dale and Jack to fall in love with the place.  We knew the current owner's were highly motivated to sell it so it seemed unlikely that we could remain long-term renters.  Plus we had already experienced the pain of trying to get repairs done by landlords (We once went 6 days without a shower).  So we made a low ball offer and, voila!, we own a house in Costa Rica! 

This is the main spring fed fish pond next to the front porch.  The waterfall makes a lovely sound. 

 

Perfect chess tables!

The front porch across from the pond makes a nice outdoor living room.

Apollo loves the yard!

The house sits low on the property.

Palm trees.

The yard is almost an acre and has all kinds of exotic plants in it.

The second spring pond.

Home is where the trampoline is!

View off the back deck.

Back view of sugar cane fields.

My first time to have granite counter tops in the kitchen!

The dining table, covered with projects as usual.

The living room.  We inherited the couch and it's super comfortable!

This is a great meditation spot.

The upper part of the property has large juniper trees.

This amazing tree is one of the cornerstones of the yard.

Some of the coffee and sugar canes fields that border us.

Our driveway is a third of a mile long and very private.

Apollo and I spend a lot of time just walking up and down the driveway.

Some of the jungle plants in the yard.

Oh yeah, there's a defunct swimming pool.

My command station.

The upstairs addition feels like a treehouse. It's Jack's main hangout.

Volcano Arenal

Dale had the great idea to take a trip to La Fortuna to see Arenal for my birthday.  Heck, compared to a volcano, I'm not even that old!

Potholes We Know and Love

If the craters on the Moon have names, why not potholes in Costa Rica? So we have a new family project. Dale was the first to christen a truly remarkable & breathtaking specimen that is on our way to town with the name "Big Bertha".

Meals Around Here

Once upon a time, we had leftovers in this house. Sometimes I had to throw leftovers outs because they had worn out their welcome. That was before a teenage boy started living here. Before he took up residence here, we lived with a very picky eater. There was a lot of mac n cheese being made. Comments like "What *is* this?" were often heard. Now I try to make extra large batches of everything in hopes of having leftovers for breakfast but it rarely works. The more I make, the more is consumed. Anyway, feeling gratitude for the changing winds. Even though my cooking skills have remained relatively constant, I suddenly feel like this amazing, magical chef.


Today was a good day.  We had Special Breakfast.  Our new groove is that most days we have leftovers, which generally are some kind of soup or stew.  However, since we have a teenage boy in the house, leftovers don't always happen.  Despite the fact that I continue to increase the batch size of everything that I cook, his appetite seems to keep pace with my production efforts.  Anyway, on days that we don't have leftovers for the next day's breakfast, sometimes something amazing happens.  I notice this the night before.  And I have potatoes in the house.  And I put them in the oven, bake them and then place them in the refrigerator to cool.  Then the next day, I can make fried potatoes to go with eggs.  It require the kind of precise alignment that creates a solar eclipse.  Except it doesn't occur quite that often around here, for obvious reasons.  But when it does, we call it Special Breakfast.  Plus, it sounds like something Hobbits would have.  

Letter to a Rooster

Dear Rooster Next Door-
 
Hi! Welcome to the neighborhood! I must compliment you on your excellent health and robust vocal projection! Thanks for bringing 4:42 am to my attention! Mornings are so awesome!
 
Sincerely,
Me

Grecia

We stopped at the Grecia mall this afternoon before the farmer's market and were looking at the movie theater there. The rating system is a little different here. There's PG-12, R-15 and TD, which stands for todo personas or all people. Also, Jack discovered that if you stand in certain spots during a monsoon storm, it's actually raining inside the mall.

Grecia means Greece in Spanish.  Here are a couple of pictures from near the center of town.  Hey Aristotle!  Fancy seeing you here!

Random Observation

When the omnipresent television is on in a public place in Costa Rica, one of three shows will be playing: a soap opera in Spanish, a soccer game, or The Dog Whisperer. Guaranteed.

Border Run - Take 2

We decided to go to Granada, Nicaragua for our second border trip before we knew how much longer the bus ride was.  How much longer you ask?  Much, much longer.  Also, it was a different bus route than the bus we had taken to San Juan del Sur.  A bus route that left much, much earlier from San Jose.  *Sigh*  Did I mention already that we are not morning people?

Since the alarm was already set ridiculously early, we decided to go ahead and wake up an hour beforehand. I hope our neighbors appreciate the rare pre-dawn siting of an Athy!
New improved travel bag includes: scarf, in case bus A/C is cranked; water supply, in case it's not; almonds, to stave off hunger in quasi-hostage situation that bus ride resembles; fully loaded Kindle, to take advantage of blessed time to read; own supply of toilet paper, rendering me invincible!

We stayed at a great place called Casa del Agua (http://www.casadelaguagranada.com/).  It is very close to the central park and is run by a cheery Irishman named Gerry.  He was very generous and forthcoming with restaurant and sightseeing advice.  From 5 pm on, he could be found at the closest pub!

Awesome husband in charge of keys and water!

Courtyard pool!

Granada gave us more of a taste of what Nicaragua is really like.  Even though it is still a big tourist spot, it is nothing like San Juan del Sur.  For starters, we got ripped off by our cab driver first thing after staggering off the bus.  The ride to the hotel was supposed to cost around $3.00 and we were charged $8.  We were too exhausted, overheated and disoriented to argue about it, so we just paid it.  For another thing, there are numerous street children, something we have never seen in Costa Rica. 

More scenes from around the city:

Restaurants we went too were El Camello (curry!!), The Garden Cafe (lovely and cool courtyard setting)  and Monna Lisa (excellent authentic Italian pizza).