Uncomfortable!

A small crocodile hiding in the shallows at Playa Tamarindo last February. I love to scare tourists by pointing out the crocs, but I really don't want to see anyone get bitten. They do sometimes bite a tourist or two.

Today is kind of sucking and sucking hard. The house, the guesthouse and the yard is filled with workmen. One of the realities of Costa Rica is that everyone claims to be an expert at repairs, but rarely are. Last years we had the roof fixed, the roof repainted and the one leaky spot remudded and repainted. Guess what leaked during the first hard storm of rainy season. The roof. Of course!

Because they are using latex based mud, primer and paint I'm hiding in my new temporary refuge, my sewing room. I think this was originally supposed to be a live in maid's quarters, but I put my sewing machines and mountains of quilting fabrics in here along with all my other art supplies. It's my she shed. Jim is not allowed in.

I don't quite know why, but every single time we have a pile of rapacious Tico repairmen in the house I retreat to somewhere quiet. Noise is now a big irritant to this old lady. I'm not alone. Stinky our cat has the same reaction. We're both in here, huddling away from the bangs and scraping noises.

But at least this time I was smart enough to put all of our valuables into the gringo essential for living here - The Owner's Closet. A big locked solid wood closet that most gringo houses have to put your jewelry and other valuables in to keep the repair guys from doing what the painter did last year, walk away with my wedding ring and a handful of cheap jewelry. Kind of funny he bypassed all the expensive stuff last night, going for the cheap and glittery.