Building In Costa Rica, cont.

The building of my house has gone faster than I ever could have imagined. First of all, I sold new home builds for nine years. I watched and worked with a lot of really good builders. Not one could have done what this group of men have done so brilliantly and in such a short time. When I was originally told 4 months to build my house I knew from experience in the business that was not going to happen. Well, it appears I am being proven wrong.

My builder, Leonardo Quiros, and his workmen started my house the end of June. It is now September 2 and they are laying my floors! Everything is done by manual labor. They bent rebar to make the strong braces to pour the cement through to form my foundation. Hand dug all trenches and borders including septic tanks. Not to mention, not one time have I been out there that not everyone was working. No one just stands around, and all with a smile on their face. They are genuinely happy to be working.

The differences from building in the states and building in Costa Rica is the order in which they do things. The block walls went up before there was a slab floor. Just dirt. They ran the electricity and plumbing on the ground through PVC pipes and chipped into the block to place plugs and switches. After everything was in place they then poured the concrete for the flooring. I still do not have windows or doors, but they started putting the tile floors down today and will begin to paint this week. The windows and doors will be installed in approximately two weeks. Everything they have done has been to perfection.

I did not expect to be at this point in the build this soon, so I have not made final decisions on tiles, sinks and faucets. In this country if you find something you like you need to buy it then. Even in the big box stores they have it today and gone tomorrow. Last week I had to go into high gear when Leo told me they would be laying my tiles in the next two weeks. Luckily, I had already chosen and purchased my porcelain tile floors.

This past weekend my builder told me I will be moving into my new house in November. He expects to finish the end of October. I believe him!

They have done so much in just a little over two months that it is easier for me to post photos rather than to try to describe it step by step. All I can say is AMAZING!!!!

Pura Vida!

My Heart Break

My friend in Puriscal, Tressa Hofos, sent me these pictures that were taken of the inside of the Catholic Church years after the earthquake. I cannot believe they let this magnificent heart of Puriscal just go to ruin.

I have been haunted by this building ever since the first time I saw it six years ago. It is in my heart that this should never be taken down, but it is in such disrepair I can't imagine what it would cost to save it. To me it is worth it, but this is not a wealthy nation. Because of the building having a historical designation it is also very hard for the Catholic church to have any control over it. Makes no sense to me, but that seems to be the way it is.

I still have not found one single photo of the church before the earthquake. It's like the Twilight Zone! I will continue to search. I think it will completely break my heart when I do.

Pura Vida!

Continued Aftermath of Nate

As I write this I still have friends without water in their homes and roads they cannot get across. It is a week since all these things happened. Luckily my friends do have a rough back way they are able to get out to get water and groceries. I freak when I get up in the morning and my electricity is out...COFFEE!!!

I drove down the opposite direction from my street yesterday to see how my neighbors down that way fared during the storm. From what I could see there were no major problems. There was one home that got as close as a home can get without going over the side with the mud slide. Also, the bridge I took photos from a few weeks ago was under repair. There was already a hole in it when I was there, so I guess it was made much worse by the storm. I did not go down and see. I used my head and decided to turn around.

This morning I was watching all the butterflies and hummingbirds around my plants outside my living room window and it occurred to me; the things that went terribly wrong during the storms were man made. Not nature made. Yes, rivers overflowed their banks, but it will go back by itself. There were mudslides, but in nature it doesn't care. It will just grow more grass on the new area. After all the horrible rain and wind my banana tree is still producing, my lime tree is ready to be picked and my papaya tree now has papayas growing on it. My Morning Glories are blooming and there was a really big gecko in my bedroom this morning. Nature survived. The sun came back out the skies turned blue as though nothing ever happened. I'm thinking we do not have the power. That belongs to Nature through God.

Please continue to pray for Costa Rica. This is going to cost more money than this country has to repair everything that has happened. The country is in need of wisdom.

Pura Vida!

The Feria

I went to the Feria for the second time this weekend. The Feria is what we call the Farmer's Market in the US.

As a lot of you know, cooking has never been my thing. I stored my paint in my oven. When I worked I had a good lunch then would just eat a bowl of cereal in the evening. Easy breezy! The last thing I wanted to do was drive home in traffic for an hour after working 9 hours then try to cook for one. Susie Homemaker I am not. Well, not the cooking part. The decorating my home and keeping it looking great, yes.

The first time I went to the Feria about 50% of what I bought went bad before I ever used it. I have not caught the cooking bug yet. There are not many choices. There is not one single fast food drive through in all of Puriscal or the surrounding area. This I take as a good thing. Most people do their own cooking which makes for much healthier happier people and families. I have friends that make everything from scratch. I mean EVERYTHING! Bread, yogurt, jams, jellies, pizza dough and pizza sauce. I admire all these people so much, and I am hoping some day it will rub off on me, but so far no go.

I am going to have to get really strict with myself, and realize how good it will be for me to cook healthy meals. In the mean time it bores me to death to even think about it. Maybe if I make a to-do list of what to cook each day will work....probably not!

Three days ago I stopped at one of my local Sodas and bought a bowl of soup for lunch. Oh my gosh! I don't know exactly what was in it, but it creeped me out. I asked in my terrible Spanish what it was, and they told me vaca (cow). Next, with horror on my face, I grabbed my tongue and asked if it was cow tongue. They said no, thank goodness, but then pointed to their stomach area. I just stopped right there! I don't want to know. With that in mind I'm thinking I really do need to at least make my own soup. So, yesterday at the Feria I did actually buy some beautiful vegetables to make soup, salad and good servings of fruit. I honestly would prefer to just eat fruit, but I'm working on it!

How many kilos of beans would you like?

How about some fresh coconut water? It was delicious!

The Feria is wonderful. Emmaculately clean, organized and fresh! It is also a place to run into so many people you know on Saturday morning.

Pura Vida!

Go Exploring

I had the best time yesterday. I have lived here for 3 1/2 months and had never taken a left turn out of my street. I've always turned right because that way takes me to town. I have wondered what was down that way. Other towns? Beautiful views? Neat houses? What? I turned left and went exploring.

I do not think I drove over 5 miles total before I came to the end of the paved portion of the road. It did continue, but it looked really rough with just rocks, so I decided not to try it on my first trip.

I was shocked and thrilled with what I found! It was wonderful and only a few miles from my house. No one had ever mentioned this area to me. I wonder if they know? First the area was beautiful with views that go forever like where I live. Then I found a tiny little village with a couple of stores and an elementary school and church. Everything had lush vegetation and huge palm trees. Then it started. I found a creek running straight across the road and down into a larger creek. I was so thrilled and thought I had been so blessed with such a view. Little did I know there was more to come.

As a side note. I only saw a total of 4 cars the whole time I was in this area, but they all waved and smiled at me.

I was driving with the windows down in my car, and I started hearing rushing water. Then there it was. A one lane bridge with a creek, huge rocks and rushing water. I parked my car and got out. If you ever want to totally relax find a creek with rushing water. That or the waves of the ocean coming in. I just went to mush! It was beautiful. Now the little bridge could use some work. As you can see in the picture, it is missing some concrete. Not to worry in this country though. I've never seen roads repaired so fast in my life. There are always crews out fixing pot holes!

This country has the cutest happiest Tico houses. They all have fabulous iron work around them, bright colors and incredible landscaping. Only most of the landscaping is natural. How lucky is that? What we pay a fortune for in the States is just growing wild here. I passed so many. I wish I had taken pictures of them. But I did come upon the most intriguing gate with pillars, tall palms and very old planters on top of them. I am so curious what is on the other side of that gate. Is it a mansion, a coffee plantation or just a darling Tico house with someone with great taste.

The moral of this story is be curious, be interested and do not be intimidated or scared. Get out there no matter where you live, and go look for interesting and beautiful surprises. You will find them.

Pura Vida!

My Banana Tree

I am having so much fun watching the changes in my banana tree daily. I was going to wait and post everything once it was over, but I can't wait!

There are so many things I did not know about growing bananas, and there was no reason for me to know either. I just go to the grocery store, and they are magically there.

A few facts....Did you know bananas cannot ripen on the tree? When the heart drops off the huge bunches it is time to remove them from the tree by the stalk they are hanging from. You then hang them somewhere to ripen. I hung the bunch my neighbor gave me on the clothes line on my back porch. It took about 4 days and they were ripe. ( I will continue to take pictures to show the heart and when it drops, so you can see what I am talking about.)

Did you know when the bananas are removed from the tree the entire tree is chopped down? YES! It will not produce again, but it sends out shoots that next season will grow into new trees, and it all starts over again. Who knew????? The only sad part about this, to me, is I love looking at the banana trees. Their big green leaves are so pretty. The side yard will be bare until they come up again.

The pictures I am posting are from the first 5 days of the evolution. It is a miracle to see how this soft purple heart that just looked like a pod starts opening one petal at a time, and bananas are there. I want to plant an orchard!

Now, for your treat! You will not believe this, but it is 100% true. For those of you who cannot tolerate flour or dairy you can still have pancakes. A friend told me about this. I made them, and they were delicious. I promise...try it you will love it.

Banana Pancakes

1 large banana (or two small)
2 eggs
Mash the banana up well
Wisk the 2 eggs and add to the banana

I can eat dairy, so I put butter in the frying pan (If you cannot use butter use what you normally would)
Pour the batter into the pan as you would pancakes. When they are nice and brown on both sides they are ready.

To me they did not need syrup. The bananas were already sweet. I did add more butter to the top. You cannot believe how delicious this is and easy!

Pura Vida!