Ravelympics are over, and these were my events!

I was right down to the wire with the Cables & Bits for Sunni! (The Lime & Lemon one) I had made Ginger's Cables & Bits (Orange & Lemon), last month. I do not do well in competitions, and on time lines, with Knitting. I am a process Knitter, and do it for the shear 'JOY' of knitting. I like to really relax and will take out any little mistake and even larger ones, numerous times, until I get it right. So having a died line just killed me. But at least I know now, not to over-commit with a challenge in Knitting. I did the Monkey pattern Socks also, and I loved them. The pattern was fun, and I love the effect the color combo had when they were finished too. Merino wool is my favorite yarn to knit socks from, and they feel so nice on too.



Our Knitting S&B is going so well! We usually have 6 to 10 ladies each week now, and some just come to visit while we stitch. Everyone brings whatever they are stitching that week, and we have such fun, oooowwwing and ahhhhhing over each others work. Some gals are 'regulars', and some come when they can, as well as the ones who are not 'officially' living here yet. They come for a few weeks, and then we will see them again when they return for their next visit. And we share tips and information about living in Costa Rica, as well as what we want from the states when the next person visits. What a wonderful group of friends to share our lives with!

August has been absolutely beautiful! We have had such clear, crisp mornings, sunshine all day, and the rain seems to fall later in the evenings now. This was my favorite month last year too. The temperature has been perfect, 70's-80's in the day, and high 60's at night. Perfect sleeping weather too. As we move into September, we know the rain will increase, and so I am enjoying the sun each day. It is great sitting out on the patio, and breathing in the fresh, gorgeous days. My pups soak up the sun, and nap away, while I knit. The B&B is slow now, so I am enjoying the rest, before it starts to pick up again. The hens are laying more and more eggs, 17 yesterday, and I am cooking with with the freshest eggs. NavCafe is carrying my cakes now, and I hope to be able to put them in the souvenir shop near here soon too. It gives me something fun to do, and gets me out with new people also.

Sundays at NavCafe are always great too. Joe's Jazz band is most enjoyable, listening and visiting with friends, and having a great salad lunch, what more could I ask for. If you have not come out for the mid-day Jazz session, do join us. The Jazz band had been in San Ramon for several months now, but will be moving over to Palmares, Sunday, August 31st. Daniel will not longer be servicing the NavCafe in San Ramon, though it will still be open, under a different manager, so Daniel asked Joe's band to move over to the NavCafe in Palmares. I'm sure it will be just as great there, and many have started coming from the Heredia are now too, so this will make it a little closer for them also. Only a couple miles farther east for the regulars from here to go.

Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting a film crew at the B&B, and they were such a delight. They shot the B&B, and a coffee farm located in Berlin, near here. They were with the online women's travel magazine, Galavanting! They filmed a group of us, women living in Costa Rica. It was a fun interview, and after checking out the website, I was very impressed with the quality and vast concept of this new venture. The gals are young, vivacious entrepreneurs with a desire to see the world through a 'women's perspicuous'. The website has so much to offer, from tips, to blogs, to a community forum. If you have not checked out the site, you will be pleasantly surprised at the information available.

It's a Beautiful Morning....sunshine.... (or something like that, the song)

It is so nice to see the sun shine in the mornings again, after the 6 days of constant rain. I think everyone feels better now. The sun gives me hope, and makes me want to do things that I just don't find the energy for when it is raining. I am sure it is giving the road crews time to get out and do some repairs to the roads which have collapsed during this last rainy spell. I'm glad I do not live to the west of San Ramon where the roads under perfect conditions are not the greatest, and with all the rain, landslides and heavy traffic, some are not even able to go home.

Romie and Rob are able to stay in their home tonight, and how happy they are! It has been nice having them "camp in" here, and we enjoyed many DVD movies during the rain storms. I made notes and posted the DVDs on the side display. Amazon.com had some cool displays for movie rentals, DVDs, music and books for personal web pages now.

Now, when I miss seeing them, I only have to drive over the hill, and I'll be at their house. The cleaning, polishing and putting things away were accomplished today, so they can feel they are home now. Happy Days!

This was written on Oct 10th, so the count now is 6 days of constant rain...

Three Days of Constant Rain Closes Three Roads, Costa Rica and the Central Valley for the most part, has woken up to the third consecutive day of rain, causing mudslides responsible for the closure of three major roads according to the Minsterio de Obras Pública y Transportes (MO{T).A portion of the road connecting San José to Pérez Zeledón in the southern zone is blocked. The road connecting Tabarca, south of San José, with Rio Conejo permits only restricted movement, allowing only vehicles narrower than 2 metres (6.5) to pass through.And mud and rocks converting the better part of a lane on the Inter-American highway along the Cerro de La Muerte has restricted traffic through the area.The Conesjo Vial (Conevi) says that it has mobilized heavy equipment to clear the roads and restore full transit through the affected areas, though they could not give a definite timetable for when the work will be completed.

October is the worst month of the rainy season for rain falling on most of the country except for the Caribbean coast, which gets theirs in January.The reason for the constant rain is being blamed by a low pressure system stalled over the Central Valley and the northern region.

Typically during the rainy season, the mornings are filled with sunshine, clouding over and heavy rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon. However, during the past three days, there has been little of any sunshine and then only for short periods in the afternoon, as the constant rain has continue to fall during the night and well into the day.The Instituto Meteriologico Nacional (IMN) - national weatherman - is predicting that the rainy season will extend into November. Typically the season ends by the end of October.