The Sea is a Salty One

 There's an old R & B song I love by the above title. I can only find a recent remake by Duke Robillard. The version I love was recorded back in the 1940s, and was on a blues compendium CD I used to have. One of the early lines in the song always makes me laugh "I'd believe you better baby if your wig wasn't on so tight" . It's a song that speaks of folks that make ridiculous lying claims and the singer knows better.   Back in the mid aughts when I worked at a large clinic across the parking lot from a hospital we got to see a lot of crazy examples of this. One regular patient showed up staggering and babbling, either having some sort of seizures or a stroke. We were so worried that one of the doctors ordered him loaded in the clinic wheelchair and he was pushed across the parking lot to the emergency room and admitted for suspected stroke. His problem? He was high on meth, and starting to have seizures. To this day he swears he didn't take drugs. Su...

  See the turquoise bird posing at the top of the wall? That's a Mot Mot, one of the rarer birds to be seen here. They are around, but they hide many times on the edges of the forest. They are frequently skirting around the edges of the property here. Notice it has no tail, just one long stick coming off with a turquoise spoon like feather. So beautiful! I need beautiful today. I didn't sleep much last night, and now this morning Jim has his new 'trainer' here. I am not amused, particularly when I was summed pre-coffee into the kitchen to make smoothies. Showed the men where the knife and cutting boards were and quickly left. I am not the smoothie maker in chief. I've always been cranky pre-coffee, but since the stroke I am now serial killer level cranky and I have no clue why. Before I was "ugh, just leave me ALONE!" and now it's "ugh, just leave me alone before I bury the machete in your stupid head" Ugh! And the trainer just tried to get m...

 So I've slept well, I've had breakfast and  enough coffee to float a panga down the estuary. Which is why I'm using a photo of the actual estuary minus the pangas for today. That boat is too big to be a simple panga. It's a tourist boat taking people out to see the crocodiles. We're going to look at two particular human crocodiles this morning here. Katie Joy and her simp Unirock. I have been utterly fascinated these past two weeks since it was announced that Tati Westbrook would be suing Katie Joy of Without a Crystal Ball for defamation. I figured eventually someone would do this. You cannot dig that hard into someone else's background, trying to obtain birth certificates and the like, and tossing about old rumors involving the death of a loved one as fact without there being some legal pushback. For the record I know exactly zilch about Tati. I don't follow the beauty bloggers in any way, shape or form. Since my diagnosis of mcas 13 years ago makeup and ...

  Scabby Bun Bun making himself at home on Jim's motorcycle So tired tonight I cannot talk about what I want to speak about, depression in the women of the church, friends with horrible problems, the coming tropical storm/hurricane Iota scheduled to make landfall here in Central America and other inanities. Instead I am reduced to talking about our strays, our many many strays we feed now. After the last few insane days in the world that is Katie Joy Paulson of Without a Crystal Ball. Last night she doxxed someone again on Unirocks Discord server. Not the first time she's done that. Her behavior is getting more and more unhinged with every day that passes, safer to enjoy my cats and hot tub. It's costing us a small fortune in dry cat food. This afternoon after I hauled a 25 pound bag of Don Gato (translation: Mr. Cat) home Stinky started licking the bag and the photo of the cat on the bag. He's hard to keep out of the dry food even if he's fed almost entirely wet fo...

  Sharing yet again my favorite photo I've taken at Playa Grande, a place known for it's very dangerous rip currents. As a life long ocean lover, swimmer and former surfer let me just say that if you find yourself in a rip current swim sideways, parallel with the shore and you'll soon find yourself out of it's grip. If you relax and don't fight it the current will push you out and soon push you towards the shore. Don't fight it. That is how people routinely die at places like Grande. I've known a few that the rips at Grande have taken out. I've not slept well this week. Because of my stupid body, asthma + asthma meds = no sleep my sleep is all screwed up. Waking up yesterday morning felt like being hard pummeled in a sudden rip current. Jim came roaring into our bedroom in a panic. Why? Stupid Gringo alarmism. You know that here in Costa Rica the government keeps extending our visas out further and further due to the 'Rona pandemic. Right now they ar...

  Approaching the first checkpoint at the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border at Penas Blancas. Shot last March during my hurried border run trip to keep my drivers license valid. This currently is a thing of the past. At least for now during the pandemic. Last night I came to a decision about where my personal borders are. My boundaries. For the past ten days we've all been chuckling over the graphically bizarre hot mess that is Katie Joy versus Tati Westbrook. I willingly admit, I've joined in on the delicious schadenfreude nature of the lawsuit and the paperwork, and the speculations. But I am stopping right here, right now. Why? Easy. I think, after viewing her live streams of the past week, especially last night, we're all just poking the deranged badger with the sharp spoon. It's just making the badger even more crazed. In my humble opinion. Not saying this is all 100% factual, this is just my view from the mean girls squad. My opinion only. Just like what is below is jus...

  OOur walk yesterday morning on the beach at Tama right after picking up that missing Ipad. The weird bad thing about the Ipad is that it's not my Ipad. It's some replacement Ipad he scared up and tried to say was mine. It's a newer model, lacking the personalized inscription on the back of mine and without the dinged up metal bits. He swore it was mine, I know it's not, but at this point I believe he's accidentally broken the video card in mine and maybe more. I took it. This one has a broken sound card, so it's going to function as a Kindle backup only and I'm buying a new one the next time I'm in Price Smart. This is a perfect illustration of the issues trying to get something sophisticated fixed here. I have since found the official Apple approved repair shop here, and it's not this joker in the middle of Tama. It's the stereo store next the Auto Mercado.  Asked him to order a sound card. He does not think he'll be able to get it for a c...

  No he does not. He has no chill either, which is what I've had to have a lot of lately. I guess by now you guys are wondering why I took down all social media but Facebook, and my Facebook page is locked up tighter than the Pope's underwear. I also got rid of all of my public email addresses, stopped most ways for people to contact me out of the blue after leaving NLQ. My friends know my phone number, my real genuine email and have Facebook. A couple of reasons. Biggest one. I got tired of the physical threats from lunatic Christian men. Some quite harrowing. It was upon the advice of my lawyer here, in the States and law enforcement. One of the groups of guys has been known to do scary things, and have passports. They routinely go "Soul Winning" in Central America. What scary things? Recently a bunch of them showed up at a pastor's house that has criticized their cult leader. With guns. Twenty guys with guns going up to try and frighten an elderly man. Luckily ...

  After the tension of yesterday and my tossing and turning all night mixed with Jim's nightmares what I did today was nap. I napped through the work crew replacing our glass doors. I napped through lunch and dinner. I napped hard. Now I'm sleepy again. Stinky napped on top of me much of the day. So relieved to get up this morning and see that counting the mailed in votes is starting to turn some of the red states blue, and that Joe Biden currently stands at 263 electoral votes with more than a few states still counting those mail ins.  Also relieved we've had no real violence yet. I've seen footage of a few rallies around counting centers, but no gunfire yet. I was so worried about the violence at this time. Worried that they would have voter intimidation at the polls. Our long national nightmare is easing for now. I got up a few minutes ago to take a shower and get ready for bed, chuckle, chuckle, I don't know how I slept all day and now am as sleepy as if I worke...

 Waiting to see who wins tonight. I'm concerned. Talking to one of my elderly relatives today she told me that she voted for Trump. I had to question why, since I know she will not financially benefit from Trump's financial policies, like Jim and I have. She told me the strangest reason --- because Trump buys his lumpen ill fitting suits off the rack instead of having expensive suits tailored like Biden does. She says this shows that Trump is a man of the people.  Very weird logic! Jim has a friend, uneducated, poor, living in an assisted living facility for impoverish Vietnam vets. He owns literally nothing, not that proverbial pot, the pee, or anything else. Yet he voted from Trump. The why? Because he's a successful business man. I overheard Jim gently remind him of the many business failures and bankruptcies of the president and it just could not crack this man's insistence that Trump was two steps away from Jesus. Here's the thing for me. I didn't vote from...

  The Marbella Beach Resort in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua from our lone trip into the heart of Nicaragua three years ago before this latest round of political violence. I loved the place, but it is the poorest place I've been, right up there with Haiti and parts of Africa.  I thought today I would be more worried about the U.S. Presidential elections but there is a more pressing need today. Hurricane Eta is hitting Nicaragua right now, projected to be a cat 5 with an 18 to 21 foot storm surge. I'm so scared for those people. People in Nica have almost nothing. Even before COVID started many crossed the borders to work here, going back to Nica to see family and bring their wages. Yes, the incredibly scanty wages paid in Costa Rica are riches compared to what one can earn in Nica. Farming is a big source of income, but as you can see from the photos below it's not exactly high tech or prosperous.   I've been watching the skirmishes at the Fronteras because of the COVID l...

  I wish I had mournful tombstones and statuary to post today instead of this bright crisp statue involving bullfighting from the town square in Santa Cruz. Took the photo last February when my youngest child was visiting.  Today being All Souls Day is already one of those days when I miss my father, miss him so badly it's nearly a physical ache. He loved Halloween and the day after. From the time I was a small child even November 1st found he and I at the family tombs in New Orleans. We cleaned them thoroughly on All Souls Day. Stopping only for a picnic lunch we brought with ourselves. I feel somewhat guilty now that once I married and moved first to Europe, and later up north in the States that I abandoned that duty. After reading Kristina Kuzmic's story of her children's Halloween one year when she was an impoverished single mother I could not help but reflect on mine from 1983, mere days before I met my husband. I was a struggling single mother raising my daughter alo...

    Just sitting around in my teak Tico leather rocker enjoying some sweet, sweet, sweet delicious schadenfreude!  I bounced around today between bouts of joy while dealing with talking to friends with some pretty severe issues today. I talked to three of my best friends, trying not to giggle while listening to some dilemmas. Today was my last piece for No Longer Quivering. I was happy, peaceful and content over it, feeling like the circle has come around and I've done what I need for my health and writing my book. So happy I took the step, but that's not why I laughed all day after discovering something yesterday. Why am I laughing? Karma, baby, sweet karmic realignment to someone that surely deserves it mixed with some vindication.  One Katie Joy of Without a Crystal Ball, former friend through work at Patheos. She's being sued by Tati Westbrook, another YouTuber. I haven't followed the entire Tati and Katie story. I do know that Katie has been 'reporting' on ...

  A newer stray, Pork. She's so sweet. She loves to hang out in front of my bedroom window and roll and purr outside the window. She's just now starting to let me pet her. By cutting off most of my social media, about three email boxes closed, and by stopping the hammer and tongs writing for Patheos I'm starting to finally regain a bit of time. This afternoon I spent one very long stint in the garden, something that fell by the wayside as I was sick this summer, and as my time was eaten up with YouTube, comment moderation, Patheos and everywhere else. Since June I have been on a daily time crunch. I did an enormous amount of weeding this afternoon, happy to see I was able to rescue the vegetable garden where most of the plants were doing well. I have kept them picked, but not well wedded. I resurrected my herb garden, harvesting the herbs about to go to seed, and replanting some of the containers. Cleaned up the areas around the hammock and guesthouse.  I got filthy dirty, ...

  Bananas in our banana tree when we first moved in. Putting in the pool upset the tree and it died. Since we've finally had a new banana tree grow from the old stump. Hoping for those delicious fingerling bananas this year. I've been quiet this week. The dizziness is back, and the vertigo is back, so it's been a week of books, naps and resting. Better today. Ran about cleaning, cooking and getting everything done. I don't trust tomorrow. While I'm not trusting tomorrow and falling down it's been a rough week in a couple of ways. Church and people. We lost someone we know to suicide this week here. The shut down of tourism killed his business, and I guess he just lost hope. I was sad to hear it.  Lots going down that has not been so pleasant to hear. Most of our American friends are back in the States, and we got word of another set going back. A couple we know well from church. Got here just about the same time we did. I don't know what the husband did in t...

  We've had a lot of four legged and winged visitors here lately. From the yellow naped green amazon parrots, through iguanas in all shades. This guy lives under our pool and is over five feet long. He hangs out in the starfruit tree every day. The golden iguanas with red spikes are rarer than the other varieties. It's a good thing it always feels like a Tuesday afternoon here, even this morning when we went out for breakfast at a charming cafe overlooking the beach. My mast cell symptoms have gotten so insane. I'm having more issues than ever before, and I wonder how much stress plays into it. We went out for breakfast and a grocery run before coming home and I crawled straight back into bed.  Hallelujah anyway. At least I can view the critters from the bed, I am not dealing with the debilitating dizziness I was and can walk without people pointing and saying I am drunk. The mrsa is back, the mast cell is the most active, and I'm almost a shut in by now., an exhausted ...

  Playa Grande recently near the big rock. Jim tried to get me to go to the beach today, but I was just too under the weather to make that happen. One very interesting thing happened. A set of friends just made it back from the States. They originally said they were staying here and going nowhere. But pretty quickly into the Covid lockdown someone in their family had an emergency and away they went back to the States.  As I've said before Tama is a ghost town, most of the rich millionaire types have departed. They are the first to return I know of. After listening to their tale of how hard it was to return and the costs of having to find a rental home, and everything else their little sojourn it ran a good twenty thousand dollars more than staying put would have. Wow!  I knew the airline tickets are now astronomical if you can even find a flight, but didn't consider the other costs. I'm glad we stayed put. They're even five hundred bucks out of pocket for the rapid Covi...

  The frutus and vegetals stand near our house. One of my favorite places in the area, and a weekly stop for fruits and vegetables.  Been exactly six weeks since Jim's surgery and now I have a mrsa spot on my nose. It never fails. I cannot go near a hospital without picking up a hospital infection, even if I'm not the patient. I had to fish out my tube of ointment and grit my teeth. It's way more painful that a regular skin infection. Stupid body, stupid immunio suppression therapy for the mast cell. But I've learned, to deal with things quickly. First throbbing this afternoon I'm slathering it with my prescription cream instead of of waiting. I'm getting better to figuring out needs and taking immediate action. Knowing when I need to let go and rest happen now that never happened in the past. I was thinking about that on Monday when the dizziness was insanely bad, I never even bothered to get dressed. I had coffee, did the minimum and lay in the bed listening t...

  That time Jim got a monkey on his back. I'm trying to get one off mine. The internet one. I have to say I will welcome the day when I get online and don't find nasty messages on every place threatening to shave my head and worse. They are still coming in, but per usual I'm just blocking and removing. But I have seen a down tic in them since announcing I am retiring. The idea that I can go online, or not go online and it does not matter is a marvelous one now. I feel completely free.  There were always things I was uncomfortable with during the last ten years, most especially when folks started complimenting me. I have always struggled to accept compliments, or people saying nice things. I was raised to not seek praise.  People being ugly rolls off my back. Always has because I'm a veteran of IRC chat, Usenet and other early internet interactions. You don't take that stuff seriously! Unless its a large angry mob like the NIFB. One big plus is that I no longer have ...

  Taken from a mountain overlooking Playa Pinellas here. One of my absolute earliest memories was the death of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. I remember it well because of seeing how much it affected the adults around me. It felt like a very unsafe transitional time. Our house staff was greatly affected, our housekeeper,  and our gardener most of all. I remember my mother holing up in her bedroom in front of the television with bon bons and her favorite adult beverage, crying for days on end. It marked a time of uncertainty for me. I have had a number of transitional times in my life that have felt unsettling, even if some were happy, like getting married and moving to Europe. Our last one involving moving here to the English language school in the mountain town for a semester. Buying our home on the outskirts of Las Baulas and Playa Grande. Selling our house in the States. For the past year I keep telling my friend Cindy and others that I sense I'm coming up on another ca...