The Sea is a Salty One

  The wall at Playa Grande in the parking lot that used to read "Let There Be Peace on the Land and in the Water" I was sad that they recently painted over this sweet sentiment. Sadly this wasn't the day for peace. My messenger on Facebook blew up today, and it wasn't all people wanting to steer me towards that religious group, or this bad behavior by a high demand organization. What happened on my messenger was people I barely know, or rarely talk to spamming me conspiracy theory videos about the Covid vaccine, and the pandemic. How it's merely a government plot to inject us all with mind control computer chips and stranger things. I've been pretty open about it on Patheos, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. I am pro scientific thought and evidence. Pro lengthy group studies and very anti fear mongering junk science. Masking works. Washing your hands and keeping a nearby box of Kleenex is always a great plan. Vaccines work, in fact they've always been require...

  From our time in Copey de Dota looking through the back window of the coffee shop and out into the coffee coops bagging floor. That's all coffee beans, including in the enormous silo. I feel like I need that much coffee right now. Wednesday is always a crazy day around here. So it has been. Jim planning his classes in the morning and dealing with people contacting him. We had one of his students from Copey contact us and ask if they could stay at our house, thinking we were still at Casa Madera with the lovely little cottages and the big house. Last time a Copey friend came to visit it was an awful shitshow. Over fifteen people crammed in our house and in four cottages. I was on edge the entire time and our German landlord was upset over some of their behaviors. Jim started asking questions and this time they needed accommodation for 19 people. No effing way! Our house is big, but I don't even have beds in all the bedrooms, there's not one in my sewing room, just a faux s...

 Yep, these gates! Yesterday morn I went to take a shower after my husband went to church. In the shower I heard a sudden loud MOOOOOOOO! I went outside to see what the heck was happening, just in time to see a beautiful healthy looking black and white cow in my yard. I think when Jim opened the gate and left the cow slipped in there before the gate closed. I was able to get the spare remote and open the gate. The cow rushed out to rejoin her herd. There's someone that once in a while runs his herd down our street. This morning Jim left to help out Cissy get her cars to the shop. She's taking about running out of narcotics and having to get more plus having no working cars, just three broken down ones. I made my views on the helping plain to Jim again, and he told her he'd help get the car to the shop, but that's for today. We will see. Turns out the car was out of antifreeze/coolant AND oil. When Jim pointed that out to her she shrugged and said some ignoramus shit abo...

  Okay, I am going to rant. Why? My Mast Cell, and I ran up on a situation yesterday that is a repeat over and over again. Yesterday Jim and I went in the morning to pick up t-shirts ordered for the church. We walked in and I had an immediate reaction to the screen printing inks being used on the tee shirt printing machine. Not an immediate anaphylaxis reaction, but my lungs tightened down. I got out of there quickly. I've been there before a number of times and never reacted, but they were actively printing this time. The smell was overwhelming. Get out, get home and medicate. The reaction starts building, getting worse as the day moves on. My lips and tongue started tingling, my face started swelling, my eye lids started to swell shut. Push a second and then a third round of meds. Go with Jim to run an essential errand that cannot be put off, and I start reacting to dust on the road, exhaust, the smell of road tar, you name it. Skedaddle on home, take round four of meds. Ju...

  No lovely view of Costa Rica today, just Jesus tinged bbq flavored political confusion. It's been quite the few days, and no, Cissy is not involved. She's only spamming us about some games party we're all supposed to attend tonight. I'm still undecided if I will even attend because its being thrown by someone I don't know and I'm unsure how many people will be there from the plague ratting church of non maskers in a country marked Level Four - Do Not Travel by the U.S. State Dept. Decisions, decisions! No, on Thursday Jim and Buddy slammed up against a cold hard reality at our old church. They attended that circle jerk of end times paranoia known as the men's Bible study. I figured something hadn't gone well when Jim and Buddy arrived back at the house within about a half hour. Boy, did something not go well! What? Joe Biden and Covid vaccinations. Add in that day's announcement by the Costa Rican government. Just that morning the CR government ann...

  This is what happens when you go to take a panoramic photo of Playa Grande and you lose your balance and start to fall. A good illustration of life right now. More days, more requests. A lengthy one appeared on Monday with our silly neighbor messaging us that her lawnmower was broken. At the end she tried for the gaslighting guilt button pushing by reminding us anew that her husband had left her. Jim is no mechanic and he's damn near all thumbs doing practical things. He finally messaged back that:  - He knows nothing about mechanical things  - He has never worked on a lawnmower  - There's a mower repair shop less than a block away Tuesday night. We're at a special Canadian Thanksgiving dinner at Playa Flamingo, at a restaurant when the requests for various things start. We tell her we're busy. This noon the messages start again, demanding Jim go pickup the daughter from karate classes, and other requests. Jim says no, we're busy. But I'm beyond annoyed now be...

  This morning during low tide in Tama. Finally, blessed peace, even if Jim did have to run around and make the Velma/Dave/Cissy Jim's taxi run. I went to the beach to walk. I meant it when I said I wasn't going back to church until infection rates drop significantly. I am foolish about huge piles things, but not about the 'Rona. Vaccinated or not. I went to the beach, Jim went to church. Square deal. Yesterday was lovely and peaceful with zero things that had to happen. We caught up on tv. Jim watched LSU get their butt stomped by a team that they usually beat handily.  Jim came back from an errand in the afternoon. He returned very puzzled. He ran into Jonathan Banks again, and apparently fan boyed up to him and said "Hey are you Mike?" Banks replied to Jim that nope, he gets told all the time that he looks like Mike but he's not Mike. I had to point out to Jim that the guy likely does not want to be bothered by fans, but yes, it is the actor that plays Mike...

    The last two and a half days. Blissful beautiful silence. Even Buddy settled down and was doing well. Right up until we were to the beach this morn, and Cissy called around noon. I was feeling relaxed. Cissy had started driving again. They changed internet companies and all was well. The beach was wonderful.. It always is, but I need to walk in the ocean waves to feel right. Something about the salt water on my feet and the surf breaking about my shins ...  ...and right as I was writing this my messenger blew up. While we were out at the beach, enjoying grilled zucchini, shrimp and rice the first message arrived. It was Cissy wanting us to do a grocery run. We said okay, sometime this afternoon or evening. We finished our errands and moseyed back home about 2:30 pm. Jim took a nap, I was busy with a fascinating book by a former Trump administration member, and looking at the books I reviewed for NLQ for my next YouTube book review. While I was reading and as I started...

  The fruit stand near the house. So our silly neighbor and her daughter are here. Right now. Why? Well, like I said previously, a pile of problems. There's no internet at their house. Poor girl has to study somewhere. Again Jim and I keep having conversations about boundaries and saying no, and yet again he's not saying no, not all the time. Sunday and part of Monday we were left alone thankfully, but it's started up again. Last night she spammed him about a million messages about a million favors she needed. When he gets tired he doesn't always understand things right, so he put her off. What did she want? She wanted him to drive her in the middle of the night to the Caja hospital in Punta Arenas, around three and a half hours away. She wanted to get back x rays and iv meds. He finally said wait and see how she was doing in the morning. This morning he checked with her and she'd driven herself to the private clinic last night for the x rays and got stronger meds. ...

  Traffic jam around 3 pm today on the road between Huacas and Villareal Costa Rica Today was the great car turn over and PriceSmart/Costco run. Jim must have his gross peanutbutter. He has to eat that in another room away from me I'm so peanut allergic. Our Canadian buddy asked to store his old purple rattletrap jeep-esque 30 year old tenement on wheels at our house. For free. Starting in early March 2020. Today marks the first day he could be back during the Pandemic. He wanted us to bring his old jalopy to the airport, park it, put the keys under the floor mat and stick a ten mil note in the visor. We did. I freely admit I've been saltier than the ocean about this situation. Why? Because we somehow went from keeping it on our property for free and starting it every now and then to keep the engine from seizing up to (in his mind) renting the car from him.  When the riteve came due three months later it took multiple repairs and trips to get it to pass. Buddy said he'd pay...

  This is my rocking chair, mahogany and tooled leather. I sure would like the opportunity to sit it in every now and then. Brace  yourself. I'm going to rant. I'm going to rant long and hard about my husband's inability to say no. We were still in the States a few weeks ago and the pinging of help requests didn't stop. From the pastor of the new church and from our neighbor, the hapless abandoned wife of Jim's scampered off BFF here. As much as the requests for help veered into pita (pain in the ass for all  you non acronyming folks), it was good to be able to say "Sorry, no. Not in country now" This week has been a doozy of calls. First from the pastor, right down to wanting us to allow a member we know with 'marital problems' to camp out in our guesthouse indefinitely until he decides what to do.  Jim, lovely pastor pleasing people pleasing Jim, told the pastor he'd have to talk to me, and the pastor thought it was a done deal, telling the g...

  Playa Grande on a not so nice day. Overcast during the rainy season. I had an epiphany this evening. What was it? That, finally, this is home.  Still decompressing from family trip from hell, and with the assorted stupid body highjinks this afternoon came and I had to just simply go to bed. There's a lot going on, Jim trying to get assorted parts for the motorcycle, schedule a car repair since the ac died, the pool guys were coming to change out a burned out light in the pool. Add in that the pastor of the new church Jim attends asked us if we'd put up a member with marital issues in our guesthouse for a few days. Jim wanted to go into the guest house, schedule this, do that, but I had to tell him I was sick, wrecked on the rocks sick and just had to lay down. I think some is definitely decompressing from the trip. I just fell apart and went to bed, sleeping for four hours When I awoke I remember feeling happy and safe, mostly very safe, listening to the distant thunder and ...

   The concrete lady wearing a bikini at the JSM gas station near Filadelpha. Lot has happened. We traveled. There was family dramaz. We traveled back to the no drama zone where it's always Tuesday afternoon, and the worst drama one can have is running out of Corona, or that bougie bubble water I drink since I cannot drink. I like drinking, it does not like me so I avoid it. A couple of funny moments. Jim discovering he forgot to pack underwear just as he went to take a shower and demanding to know why I let him not pack undies. I had to point out anew he's a grown ass man.... He finally bought new ones and we managed to shift him out of the old man tighty whitys, the Walter White of underwear, to knit boxers, which immediately made him sigh happily that now he had more room for his junk.  Today I pulled my own doozy stupidity that more than rivals forgetting to pack drawers.I drank bug spray. Didn't mean to. Cleaned the kitchen. Washed the dishes, just like people are wo...

On the beach in Tama four years ago when we arrived here. We're preparing to fly back to the States for a few days to see family. Going to be a challenge because we'll be a full house where we're going. One of my kids ran away from Hurricane Ida and has to start over... again. I suspect it's going to be heavy going when I get there. Lots of folks in the house. One of the big problems is that Jim has a crazy ex coworker at his old position in the government that wants to schedule a party for us with former coworkers. Sounds nice, right? It's been a cluster you know what. First he invited himself and all the others over to one of my children's home for a BBQ. I gently pointed out to him several times I would have to talk to her about it, and told him to come up with an alternate plan.  I talked to her, knowing she would be against this because, hello who invites themselves over with a pile of friends during Covid? Also her house isn't big, there's only one...

  A local IFB church near my old house that had beaucoup of trouble too bizarre to detail involving a child molesting pastor. I am sitting here in all amusement watching Jim rush about madly trying to make everyone involved with his new church happy. I'm not dressed for church, I'm sitting here in my old cotton granny nightgown drinking coffee and listening to the phone conversations. He just said to me that perhaps he's too nice of a guy. You think? All this started earlier in the week when Velma, the older lady who likes to use our hot tub but has no idea how it gets hot , visited for another hot tub bout. Jim mentioned something about picking up Dave for church too, and she lost it on him, screeching she WOULD NOT ride into town, with Jim driving of course, to pick up Dave. Did I mention it's only about six minutes out of their way? Now I'm not as nice as Jim and that same afternoon I had an unfriendly exchange with Velma who started bemoaning that the virus is a...

The last month has been struggle, and I've not wanted to dump that on any readers. Why? Me coming to terms with the fact that I was told I probably had MS and it was thalamic stroke instead and I wasn't referred  to the neuro in time enough to recover lost function. It was a dishearteningly hard pill to swallow along with the news that I had old thalamus damage likely from a stroke in utero.  Lots of hard ugly crying mixed with self pity there for the last month. Plus it took me awhile to get okay enough with this to tell family members. Processing takes time. I won't bore you with the physical details. I've had issues my entire life that relate to the first thalamus damage, now I have more. Big effing deal, I'm still very fortunate compared to others, I have access to great healthcare and have the gold standard health insurance. They've switched around my medications and I'm doing better now. Jim is Jim and he's enmeshed with his fantasy football prepar...

 I've been silent while I've been mentally processing the fact that I was denied medical care because little Dr. Bitch thinks I'm a hysterical woman. The one doctor at the clinic I dislike. I've spoken now with the clinic director and wheels are turning, just slowly at a sloths pace. Recently I flew to the States to get my Covid vaccination since Costa Rica hasn't been able to get enough vaccines to protect their citizens much less people in various stages of residency. Plus I needed the Johnson and Johnson per my lung doctor. I had a hard time in Maryland finding the vaccine. D.C. was a wash, they didn't have it either. Plenty of the other two. Turns out I finally found it in Virginia and drove several hours to get vaccinated. The trip was a shit show. Not seeing my kids. That was wonderful. But traveling without the ability to walk well was awful. But I'm not going to rehash the lack of wheelchairs even when you make your reservations months before. Let...

  View from our hotel room. We just got back from a dizzying trip to San Jose for me to see my once and future neurologist I'm going to call Dr. Freddie. Well, it is his name, his nickname anyway. It did not go well. Why? Lots of reasons. What went well? The hotel. It was the most beautiful lavish thing in the heart of the downtown next door to a casino and overlooking the park. Most pleased with our cheap luxurious night's stay. Not ready to talk about my diagnosis yet. I am waiting test results. Yes, I did get a CT scan of my head and a spinal. Yes, the doctor thinks he knows what it is. It's not MS. I am LIVID, simply livid that Dr. Stupid at the clinic told me it was likely MS, that he'd touched base with Dr. Freddie and that I should just be monitored for 5 or 6 months. All lies. I am very unlikely to regain function in my left side because I did not receive hospitalization and proper treatment at the onset.  Costa Rica being what it is I cannot sue for malpractice...

  Propped up electrical line in Costa Rica. We see a ton of sawed through and hanging posts here. It makes no sense and fits with the rainy season's flicking electric. This is normally where I moan about my body's utter and complete betrayal via mast cell, but I'm weary of it. The day to day reality of not walking without an assistive device, and lets see what triggers crazy asthma is too much. Tonight's depressed mood mixed with low oxygen levels and high blood pressure spells more on the way. Dull, but I am feeling so many bad angry feels in the wake of Church Dog Gate.  Tomorrow night we are invited to a party, at someone's house where I have been told to 'med up' because there will be long haired fuzzy dogs there. If only it were a mere case of 'medding up' I declined, and now the host is acting like I am a drama queen, even after seeing how I got with the last bad long haired dog exposure. She huffed that she'd put her dog in the other room....

  I laughed when I saw this. The last time we grabbed coffee and fried eggs on English Muffin sandwiches at The Players Club at the Liberia Airport it was over 25 dollars for something that would have run four bucks at McDonalds. Picked up Jim from the Liberia Airport on Tuesday and it was a almost literal zoo.  I arrived like I always do to fetch someone, walked into the terminal and took a seat where I could view the arrivees. Like always. I hadn't been there more than five minutes when a security guard told me I must move outside. I tried to plead disability, arguing I needed to stay seated on the disabled seat until he arrived. No dice, she said that the Covid regs would not let me stay there, even if I was dying. So it was out into the brutal sunshine and hot air outside the arrivals door. With ten thousand shouting Tico drivers holding signs with the names of various tourists. After an hour I started getting most logy. And sweaty, very very sweaty. I noticed there was a ...