Week 9 -- Just Living Life

This post is not going to be the most exciting, but we want to remember the little things about our time here, too.  There are pictures I still lack -- such as pics of the living fences the Ticos make by planting "poles" in the ground and attaching barbed wire or electrical cord or whatever line-type material may be available -- but I wanted to get these up before forgetting.

 

 

Some mornings we have a very clear view from
our side porch of Volcan Turrialba. 
As evidenced in the picture, this volcano is active. 
It has been releasing a lot of smoke lately.


I don't think it's related to the volcano, but we've had several
earthquakes since we've been here.  They've been in the
 middle of the night, and the last one was definitely strong enough to
wake us up.  Nothing fell, but our roof was shaking like crazy.

 

 

A day in the life . . .

 

Things are a lot simpler here.   While it can be a tad boring at times, it's been great in many ways.  We hope our kids learn a lot from the Costa Rican children, who are very respectful, very helpful (for example: if a child is over playing and asks for a drink of water he will express his appreciation, drink, wash his cup and put it away, and express his thanks again), and make due with very little. 

 

When I'm doing things like washing the dishes or hanging laundry on the line, I am frequently reminded of my childhood.  Even though washing dishes isn't "fun," for me it represents a time of togetherness -- I have fond memories of all my aunts and the oldest granddaughters gathering in my grandmother's kitchen to help with dishes, visiting while working and trying to be the most help they could.  In recent years, washing dishes with my sisters has been the same, and I laugh thinking about how amazing my sisters are when it comes to cleaning -- you gals are so fast and thorough, and sometimes I wish the time weren't over so quickly :).   Thinking back, I'm glad my mom and grandmother didn't "believe" in the effectiveness of dishwashers.  We have lots of good memories from those times around the kitchen sink. 

 

J has been a dishwashing machine here, too, I should add!  He's got some sanitizing skills, let me tell you.  Many times he prefers to be the dishwasher and kitchen-bleacher :).  There have been several occasions when he's witnessed "cleaning" and food prep in our kitchen.  That, coupled with the raw meat frequently left on handles, sponges, etc. and pools of blood on the counter, has spurned his desire to sanitize.  Needless to say, we also frequently pray against bacteria and illness . . .

 

Here the dishes are washed with a hard paste that is a serious miracle-worker.  This stuff cuts grease like nobody's business -- we can put a little in a jar of peanut butter and literally just rinse it out after it soaks (if you've ever cleaned peanut butter residue out of a jar, you'll understand just how powerful this stuff is!).  We swipe some paste with a sponge and apply it to the dishes.  Interesting.

 

Note the black mold in the background :)

 

 

I don't think I've hung much laundry on the line since I was in high school, and there's something special about the feel and smell of clothes that dry outside.  It makes me smile and warms my heart every time I do the laundry.  Weird, right?

 

Morning time = laundry time
(because the sun is usually comes out)

 

Afternoon = rescue time
The kids usually have to run out and help get the laundry
off the line before the afternoon rains.

 

 

On a typical weekend, the kids will entertain themselves, do their homework, or play with their friends.


E working on American work.
 

E as Harriet Tubman; she had to
do an oral presentation for us after
researching and writing a report.

H reading in our bedroom window.

Super-artist!

 

H playing "Ice Cream Shop"

 

Sometimes things are a little more exciting, like when . . .

 

 

. . . baby birds are born on our porch
(we had 5 nests with babies at one time!) . . .



. . . the neighbor, Emilio, lets the kids ride Bronco . . .

 

 

. . . we get to have friends over for dinner
(although the waiting part isn't quite as fun) . . .

 

. . . we get to eat pizza while watching a movie . . .

. . . we have our Tico friends over to try {GIANT} panqueques . . .

What fun!



A veces nosotros nos gusta caminar arriba de las montanas cerca de nuestra casa.  Estas fotos son de un paseo tres semanas pasadas:

Ellos estaban quemando su basura.
The garbage truck comes every Thursday, and we can hear him honking his horn all morning. 
Since it costs $1 per bag, many people try to cram all their basura into one humongous bag.  Others, like in this picture,
save money by burning their trash. 

Bodies are buried above the ground here.

The clouds were rolling in. 
As usual, H was not super happy about having to hike.

But, she put on a nice smile in front of these beautiful flowers. 
Thanks, H!



My fabulous hikers



L always finds things to touch, pick up, fall in, etc. while we hike.
This time, the boys decided to have a battle with some bamboo he found.



Last, but not least, here are some shots of our food.  As you can see, most of the products from the store are packaged in plastic bags.  This certainly produces a lot less waste in a country where recycling isn't a viable option. 

From left to right:  strawberry jelly, milk, black beans (a must!  Ticos eat beans and rice with EVERY meal.), rice, ranch dressing, Salsa Lizano (a vegetable sauce that goes in a lot of food -- gallopinto, on hot dogs, etc.), ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a chayote (a green vegetable in the zucchini family.  Es muy rico!)  The eggs are purchased individually -- we put them in a bag, and then they are weighed to determine the price. 

The kids weren't so sure about this when they saw it, but it was delicious.  The "shell" was mashed potatoes, and inside was a spaghetti sauce mixture with ground beef and lots of veggies.  Before we ate, Vicky put more tomato sauce on top of the boiled eggs.