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.

Finding Giacomin Cafe...and a night of Jazz at NavCafe

If you thought you would miss too much by living in Costa Rica, you perhaps have not been out enough, or yes...there's always the grandkids. I miss them too...but what a wonderful, full life, if lived. A Jazz band, good friends, great food, and even a date... Yes, strange in a place so far away from all the normal ways singles meet.

Knit-Ins are going great...projects being worked on, friendships being made and really a lot of fun too. This is holy week, and with Costa Rica being a Catholic country, everyone seems to have come out to church or will over the next week. The tradition of atonement, for a year of complacency, or just a remembrance of the symbolism. Many places will be closed over the next week, while some rest, others will vacation. This is a busy time at all the spots of leisure.


Thursday will be a little different, the place we normally meet to knit will be closed for the holiday. So, we will figure something else out...one of our homes, the park, or maybe somewhere else. Yesterday, the gals from Heredia met in a nice cafe, Giacomin, near the mall, Paseo de Los Flores to stitch n bitch...well, mostly visit. We had such a nice time and after meeting gals I had corresponded with for a long time, to finally meet them was a rewarding day. Knitters have a connection that goes deeper than just the projects we are knitting on. Making new friends, and sharing our lives, made me want to return and connect again. It is a very comfortable Cafe also, sofas, nice chairs and great atmosphere.

Friday was the date...dinner and conversation. Singles are a rare breed in Costa Rica, well, northerners that is. Another difference from those residing in the states, is that it takes a certain amount of grit to sell everything, or pack up ones belongings and move to a foreign country, especially for a single person. The fact that most people come here as couples, is not by chance. We all require support and a kinship that is not easy to replicate in a different culture. Many men come here in hopes of finding a beautiful, younger, often sub-subservient Tica to share their life with, and many are available. If that is what one's desire is, there are plenty of opportunities. For the single women, moving here, has a totally different draw. So finding a single available man, amongst us is rare. Developing male friendships is more difficult here. There's just are not many unattached men, even including the Tico male population.

Saturday evening several of us went to NavCafe for an evening of Jazz and relaxation. There are some retired Jazz musicians who have gotten together with other Tico musicians, and have practiced enough to produce a great sound. Coffee, food, bottles of wine and a wonderful atmosphere served to make for a great evening. The gardens at NavCafe are beautiful, and serene and with the orchids blooming, it took my breath away.

When did I ever find time to work?

What a great summer this is turning into. The last two Sundays there has been a George Lundquist tour in for dinner at David and Arden's home. This past was the largest crowd. Arden is a wonderful hostess, and meeting new people who are retiring and considering Costa Rica as a possible place to live...just a delight. Several couples help out on a regular basis, and I, being single, have decided that this is a great outreach for me also. Most of the people I had first contact with here in Costa Rica, were friendships gained through CRL (Costa Rica Living, a Yahoo Group). We became fast friends, and have helped fill the void left after leaving my friends and family in the states. By continuing to meet new friends, I find I am enriched by each ones life and tales. Laurie was a delightful person! She and her husband, Jim are considering moving abroad from New Jersey. Her tales of living all over the world, as a student and child, were fascinating and most enlightening. What an interesting life she has had. Truly our lives are enriched by gaining neighbors and friends who have such wide, diverse backgrounds to bring to the mix. We are a varied bunch of risk takers, entrepreneurs, and some even, thrill seekers. To pick up and move away from all the things we have know for so long, and to a place which is a 'step back in time', takes a 'special' kind of personality. Yes, there are a few my friend likes to call the 'wanted and unwanted' (I'll let you think about that one), but for the most part, we add a new dimension to our lives by living here.

Monday, Annie and I packed up a lunch, sandwiches and Texas chocolate cake, and headed out to Parker's home. She has the ideal spot, in the woods, secluded, view of the ocean, and she has created a work of ART in her home and yard. She has the touch! Think we found a place for Annie to rent also, she needs to be closer to her building site. Parker and I had 'happy hour'...or two at 'The Poet', and caught up on things over a shrimp dish. Great by the way!

Tuesday, I made lunch, a delicious lettuce wrap and fresh fruit/jello salad, for my Tica neighbors. Lunch was terrific and as I am still learning Spanish, they bare with me as I look up words to explain things. I am still amazed at how much I am understanding. Found out that the road construction is underway again, not far from here. The road will take the traffic going to Arenal, away from the road near us, and place it on the far side of the valley. Not only will it be less noise for us, (which is a minimum to start with) it will make our trips to town safer also. No more large trucks taking their side of the road, and mine, on the narrow hairpin curves. Another plus will be that it will be a better, straighter road to the hot springs we love so much! Hurrah! I guess Costa Rica has come up with the funding from China now that they offended Taiwan. Does everything have to be about politics?....yes, pretty much. Money and politics are so closely woven, that you can't have one without the other. It is a two-headed animal.

Today is a birthday party for several of the neighbors, and we will have a feast together to celebrate another year and still kicking!!! Tai food, and great conversation is my bet. Plus, Ines will come over for another English/Spanish lesson. This is my best platform for learning, getting right in there and trying to say things the way she does, and teaching her the English words also. Conversation is my best modem.

Tomorrow is the Knit-In...and I am really looking forward to it! Isn't that what keeps all of us going anyway? Being able to look forward to the events in our lives, and the expectation of the great time we will have. My friends (whom I have not yet met) in Heredia have scheduled a Stitch and Bitch time for Sunday March 16th, so I am going to to test the bus schedule to get there for that. There has got to be an easier way to get to Heredia than through San Jose, but it may take longer, will have to check it out. What else do I have to do anyway? It is great not to have to fit working, baseball, soccer, and college homework into the picture any longer!!! Yes, this is retirement!

Yes! I finished the slippers! Knitted and Felted Slippers

I finished these beautiful clog/slippers a few weeks ago, but had not had time to felt them yet. I used the Fiber Trends Felted Clog pattern. It was fast and easy. The fiber is Plymouth, Outback 100% Wool, and they are made all in one piece. Doesn't look possible, but...there you have it. Today, I decided was the day to felt them. I had to carry hot water from the kitchen sink, and heated 4 tea kettles of water also. I must get a hot water connection to my washer! I love to felt projects I have knitted, and I also make projects from slightly worn wool sweaters found at thrift stores. If you've never tried them before, you don't know what you're missing. I have a couple sweaters waiting to be processed and I have some ideas for them. Are you asking, "Why would anyone knit with wool in the
tropics?"? We do have some very cool weather, having no heat, unless you count space heaters, it is nice to curl up under a throw, with knitted socks, a sweater, and slippers on, and read a good book or watch a movie. It saves on electricity too, green wise, both money and environment. They are drying now, stuffed with a pair of shoes and wash cloths to stretch them even. I will take them to a small shoe repair shop in San Ramon to have soles added. Ceramic tile floors would mean a sure fall, and I can't chance that.

Fearless Knitters! Well, it started out that way...

Yes, I am one of "them". I had a store for a couple of years, before I moved to Costa Rica. I sold yarns, beads and all the things one needs to make anything from them. Needless to say, I came here with some of my "stash". I am often asked what I do to keep from going crazy, now that I am retired, and usually two things I usually list are knitting and reading. I also have many books I never had the time to read when I was working full time. I keep adding books to my shelves, and recently I made the comment, that perhaps I like books more than I like reading. When I made that comment, I was remembering the first book I ever had as a child. It was "The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore", and I loved that book. I read it so many times, and sometimes, I will admit, that I did not even read it cover to cover, because I knew what it said, I would just open it up, and read words from the pages, or read it backwards. One of the reasons I loved that book so much, was because, we were so poor, and it was the only book I ever received as a gift while I was a child. I read many books from the public library, and loved touching the rows of books. I still will run my hands along the book backs in the shelves at the book store. It reminds me of the days, when I was a child, I would do that at the public library, on my way to the section of books I was going to pick one from.

I started this, wanting to talk about knitting, and I took a turn in my mental drive about the second sentence. So I guess, I really didn't want to talk about my knitting today...well, another day perhaps.