Home Away From Home




A female Howler Monkey eating the leaves of her
 favorite food source, the Cecropia tree.

   Early morning bird song filled the air. The Howler monkeys took it upon themselves to play alarm clock...their howl could wake the dead! With all the sound effects, this was no leisurely stay in bed kind of vacation. But the veranda on the back of our friends house outside of Tilaran, Costa Rica, was beckoning to me by first light anyway, so who really wants to sleep in? As soon as it was light enough to see, I would go sit on the veranda and let a rich cup of Costa Rican coffee bring me to life. The tile floor was cool under my bare feet and there was a fresh moist breeze coming up from the river at the bottom of the slope behind the house. What a great way to start the day!

 There was nest of little royal blue swallows in the eaves where the veranda roof meets the house. They were taking their flying lessons under the cover of the roof, just inches above my head. Swooping and diving their mother would take them through the paces one by one. As the week progressed, we saw less and less of mom and then she was gone altogether. The babies flew back to the nest repeatedly looking for mom and breakfast to no avail. It was kind of sad watching the three of them sitting there outside their nest all bunched up together, looking so forlorn... but eventually they took off to find their own breakfast.


  I love many things about Costa Rica, but I think one of my favorite things is the pace of life. It seems unthinkable to be in a hurry... there is always plenty of time to get things done. No need to dash here or there, where would you go in a hurry anyway? The roads are terrible, even in the dry season, there are sharp switch backs and hair pin curves, and pot holes that would swallow a car, so you definitely won't be speeding.... Getting out of third gear was often something that we commented on while driving, "Wow, I just hit forth...uh, never mind... had to downshift for the curve". But more than that there is just nothing to get in a hurry about. There is no movie theater to worry about missing a showtime, very few restaurants, no work to go to, ("gringos" can't work in Costa Rica, so if you are there you must have another way to support yourself), so there is no reason to worry about where you have to be, or what is on your "to-do" list. If you don't get it all done today, there is always tomorrow. It is really very liberating not to have too many choices about what a day will hold. It really allows you to experience what you are doing rather than working through things in rapid succession trying to get done.

Plants grow on everthing that will hold still,
even on the clothesline!

  Laundry is an all day affair. Wash and then hang to dry, (which may never happen, it is after all the rain forest...). There is no sense in starting another load until you are very sure that the one you are putting on the line is actually going to get dry. So, with the wind blowing the clothes and your hair into tangles as you try to hang them out, you find yourself physically slowing. You hear the birds, feel the warmth of the sun on your neck. With a contented sigh you sit down to read while you watch for the moment in time when the clothes are dry and you can take them off the line and start another load.

Mangoes are in season and
growing everywhere.

  Shopping takes forever as well, since you have to visit every shop in town to get what you need. There isn't a one stop shopping mentality in Costa Rica... Veggies at the open air market, meat at the carniceria, dried beans and butter at the "Super", hairspray at the beauty supply shop, Tylenol by the individual pill at the pharmacia, the ferreteria will have your dog food and seeds for the garden and knee high rubber boots. Of course at each of these places you are going to chat with the counter help or the proprieter and probably run into at least one other person at each location that you will stop and share news with. So shopping is going to take up another day... and so goes all of life, no way to hurry, so you just have relax and allow "Tico time" to have its way.

  With no place to go and nothing to do by stateside standards, one might ask, "What is the attraction?". For some people probably very little, unless you are at the beach or in San Jose where it is pretty much like living in the states. But for others, myself included, it is the sweet fresh newly made oxygen from the rainforest, the lush green of everything, dotted with vibrant colored flowers and birds, the rolling hills, and constantly changing weather, sunny and 75 degrees one minute, a deluge the next. I am happy to be able to enjoy the simple tasks of daily living while taking in the wonderment of a place that is literally teeming with life. I like the idea that I am just one of many living things that share this place, and that in the scope of things people play only a small part in the overall scene.

  Since we lived in the area we were staying in, we basically just moved in and started living. Our dear friends the Hemmingway's made us feel right at home and we so much enjoyed being in their company again! We spent time in Tilaran, (the nearest town), and in Sabalito, (the pueblo where we used to live). We visited friends and spent long periods of time laughing and talking. Sometimes things seemed so "normal" that I had to remind myself that as comfortable and content as I felt, I wasn't at home. I was going to have to leave and go back to the states. Sigh...

   We visited Volcan Arenal with friends, endulged ourselves at our favorite restaurant on that side of the lake, and took leisurely drive through the backcountry, but for most the first week and a half we just hung out and enjoyed the simple life.

   A few days before I had to come home, I hugged everyone good-bye, wiped the tears from my eyes and my husband and I climbed on the 7 a.m. bus to San Jose. In all the time I lived in Costa Rica, I never spent more than an hour in San Jose. Just long enough to get off the plane and catch the bus to Tilaran.So we decided to spend my last few days seeing some things in that area. We stayed in Hotel Cristina in downtown San Jose, near Parque Sabana (the Costa Rican version of Central Park). The hotel is very nice, and as we found out during our stay, is frequented by Americans who travel down to Costa Rica for elective surgery and dental work. The private sector medical practice in Costa Rica has very good doctors and dental specialists from all over the world who practice medicine there and cater to Americans who are looking for affordable elective surgery. Interesting...

A careta that was on display in the showroom
at the cartea factory in Sarchi.

   We took a day trip one day, got a taxi to the bus terminal, took a bus to Grecia, took another bus to Sarchi, where we strolled through town taking pictures and touring the careta factory. A careta is a colorful wooden cart that, not too many years ago, would have been seen bumping along behind an ox and driver as it carried produce from the field or families to church. Today, in most places they are primarily used in parades and for other festive occasions. Although where we lived in the mountains, there were still many people who use them daily for farm work, since their wobbly metal banded wheels easily cover rugged terrain. At the factory we got to see the artisans painting the traditional kaleidoscopic patterns on wagons, plates and other souvenir type items that would later be fore sale in the shop.



A little waterfall in the
 botanical garden



  From there we took a taxi to the Else Kientzler Botanical Gardens. The gardens were lovely, with tall stands of Eucalyptus and teak trees and flora and fauna that represents a good cross section of plant life from Costa Rica and othe parts of Central America. There were also plants from places as far away as Brasil and Mexico. Then it was time reverse the process; taxi, bus,bus, taxi to end up at hotel Cristina in time for dinner. All in all an interesting and happy day!

   The next day was Saturday, which is our Sabbath, so we spent it resting and strolling around Parque Sabana. In the afternoon we went for a walk to Mercado Central, which is the central marketplace in downtown San Jose. It has hundreds of little shops, lining the brick pedestrian walks. This place is not for the faint hearted or directionally challenged, since it is a virtual maze of indoor venders and shops selling everything from herbal remedies straight from the rainforest to bootlegged first run movies. There are many dark little rabbit trails that will take you who knows where, and curious little restaurants that are so small that only three or four people at a time can be served. The curious part was that the floor of the restaurant was furnished with rickety little tables and a very tiny service area, then above our heads in what had to be very hot and dark conditions was the kitchen. The food was delivered via a make shift dumbwaiter that literally dropped the food from the ceiling!

  The walk from the hotel to the Mercado and back was about 7 kilometers, I had worn flip flops, not realizing how far it was, so by the time we got back to the hotel I had blisters. It was quite an experience and except for a blister or two we made it back to the hotel without incident.

  The next day was a taxi ride to the airport and the flight back to the states. I was leaving my husband in Costa Rica to spend another week visiting and hiking, while I return to the states to care for our homestead. It has been a wonderful and peaceful trip, I'm just sad it is over...

  Now that I'm home and feeling some better, I have caught up on some of my mail backlog and have been planning my next mail art mail out while I try to tame the weeds in the garden and harvest the remaining spring garden produce. Until next time I'll see you in the mail!

Lobster Claw flowers





A banana flower being pollenated
by bees.

A red passion flower. I had never seen red ones before!

A local "soda" and internet cafe

A mural on the front wall of a tienda
(a Tico style stop and shop)

The Tilaran post office










Home Again!

I am home safe and sound from Costa Rica. I started getting sick my last day or two there with a kidney infection and haven't really felt well enough to post since returning to the States. But I have been thinking about what stories I might tell and getting photos ready to go into my post .
  It was a lovely time away with my husband and it was great getting to see my dear friends down there. We tried to make sure we visited our old haunts and saw some new places as well. Those stories are for another time... for now "hi" to everyone! I will begin catching up on my mail outs and blogging once I get the gardens back under control.

Blackberries from our garden

It seems impossible that things could grow so much in just a few weeks! I had a beautiful and delicious surprise waiting for me when I walked through the garden my first time... my blackberries are hanging thick on the brambles, ripe and juicy... I grazed on some with relish while walking around checking out the gardens. There is much work to be done and I am still feeling under the weather, but I do intend to get something posted in a day or two. Until then... I hope that everyone is having a good mail day and enjoying the outdoors!

A Day at Arenal

  Ah-h... to breathe deeply of the pure rain forest air! It feels so good to be on the mountain treading the ground I walked every day while we lived on the farm, seeing my friends and filling my senses with the sights and sounds that have filled my dreams since we left Costa Rica in the summer of 2010. It almost doesn't seem real.
  We took a drive around Lake Arenal and spent the day at the volcano. Volcan Arenal is the tenth most active volcano on earth. It erupts almost every day and lava flows constantly down its crusty sides. Today though it was unusually quiet, not a single fiery stone crashed down the sides, the venting steam was a faint mist instead of the billowing plumes that usually wreath the cone and shoulders in clouds of vapor. The view of the volcano was wonderfully clear all the way to the cone, but it made me wonder if this is the calm before the storm... this area had a 6 magnitude earthquake the day before we landed, it seems unlikely that the volcano would be so quiet. But for today we enjoyed the clear view we had of the volcano and strolled the lovely trails and meticulously tended gardens of the Arenal Lodge and Observatory.
  Several varieties of hummingbirds zipped around our heads and teased us into thinking we might catch a photo or two of them... not! The other birds that normally flock to the feeders and fill the air with their songs and chatter were as absent from the scene as the volcano's daily grumblings. But I did get some nice photos of some other creatures and lots of photos of the gardens and tropical flowers.
  On the way back around the lake we stopped at the Lucky Bug Gallery and ate a delicious dinner on the veranda overlooking the gardens and tilapia pond. Tiny purple and green Wood Nymphs and White Bellied hummingbirds battled for ownership of the feeders at the end of our table while we ate. A large Kingfisher flew past at eye level before swooping down on an unsuspecting tilapia in the pond. He barely disturbed the water as he snatched his dinner up and flew to a nearby tree to enjoy it. Wow...
  We made it back around the lake to the Sabalito, (the pueblo where we used to live), just as the sun was setting. We  spent the early evening hours chatting with friends and allowed ourselved to be swallowed up by the deep dark of the rain forest. The air was cool and fresh and the peace in my heart was as thick as the darkness. Life is good.
  The jungle insects have tuned up for their nightly serenade...I think I will let them sing me to sleep... So good night to all and Pura Vida!

*note: I am on a borrowed computer and don't have access to my usual tools so there probably won't be any photos posted until I return home. 
           

Costa Rica Bound



Keel-billed Toucan on
 the farm in Costa Rica 2009

  Things have changed a couple of times back and forth but it looks like I am going to be making a trip to Costa Rica after all. If all goes well,  my husband and I will be flying out on the 15th of May. I am very excited!

  I am afraid that all the garden chores and preparations for our trip have kept me away from my art desk and letter writing. I have received a lot of mail from my pen friends and I am woefully behind on returns. If you have written me and haven't received a return, please forgive my tardiness...I am trying to get at least a postcard off to each of you before I leave, but I probably won't get many letters posted until I return from my trip. I haven't forgotten any of you and I want you to know how much I appreciate the letters and mail art that you take time out of your life to send to me. I will be gone two weeks and upon my return I will make letter writing a top priority.

For the moment, I will share some of the photos I have taken of life around Heart's Ease Cottage and I hope that you are enjoying life and making the most of the beautiful May weather.I'll see you in the mail!

Well, once Patrick's rose found a home in my yard other roses kind of found their way to the cottage as well. The roses on the arbor give us a huge display during the month of May, the border roses bloom in profusion all summer and fall.

 

Our border roses have masses of blooms which the bees love!

Trimming the limbs of our old oaks and planting 90 azalea bushes has been our big spring project this year. Can you imagine digging 90 holes to 2x the size of a 3 gallon plant bucket?   

Our cultivated blackberries plants are just laden with fruit this year.

This handsome gentleman lives in the "Pond Garden" next to our front porch. 
He is a stout fellow about the size of both my hands put together and has lived in the pond for years.

Bok Choi seedlings just waiting to be tucked into their garden bed.

My pen friend Sirpa commented on the cardinal in one of the postcards I sent her from our snow day in January. I have been trying to get a good shot of him ever since so I could send her a photo postcard featuring him. This one shows his colors well but I would really like it if he would oblidge and give me a nice pose in the profile...

The cabbage are heading up and soon it will be time to make saurkraut.

When the fava beans are ready, I will make Egyptian Felafels and Tabouli. Yum!

Sweet Charlie  strawberries

Tagg is the only dog I've ever seen that sniffs flowers...

The scent of Jasmine wafts in through the open windows and fills the house with its sweet scent.

Patrick's Rose

  Most everyone has a best friend  at some time in their life. Someone who knew you better than anyone else, who loved you even though they saw your flaws, who knew what to say when you were down or could tell you without regret when you were making a fool of yourself. Of course this is true within the bonds of marriage, but I am not referring to the marital relationship, since it is so different in many aspects from friendship.
  For me, my best friend was my brother. He and I grew up as Army brats. We moved so often that making friends was difficult and leaving them painful, so we were often to each  other more friends than siblings. I was the oldest by four years, so when I got married, he was still in high school. During a few years when we were seperated by miles and stages of life, we went different directions, but that is often so with life long friends, they are woven in and out of the fabric of our lives. 
  After my husband and I returned from our tour of duty in the Philippines, we seperated from the military and settled down to raise our kids in North Carolina. Patrick and I were able to reconnect and it wasn't long before he moved to N.C. to be close to me. We had such fun, laughing and telling stories, playing with the kids and just hanging out. He owned his own business and worked his own hours, so many times during the day, when my husband was off at work, Patrick would come to help me with the kids and chat over garden chores.

  Patrick had a green thumb, he grew all kinds of indoor plants and collected roses for his garden. Being the "practical" one I grew food, herbs and fruits, I salted in flowers for color and if they were functional, as in  they could be used medicinally or for crafting, I felt free to use my precious garden space for them, but roses were fussy and thorny and took up room where I could plant food, so I didn't have any roses. When we went plant shopping Patrick would buy a new rose and I would say "they are pretty but you can't eat them", and head for the herbs and veggie starts. It became a standing joke over they years and the more he chided me about not having roses the more determined I was not to have them!

  Then Patrick fell ill and was too weak to garden. I would go over to keep his beloved roses pruned and fed so that they would stay lovely and bring him some cheer. We would walk around his property chatting and observing the microcosm of his yard , pausing often to rest. The scent of damask and moss roses filled the air and I would marvel at his hair shimmering like a new copper penny as we rested on the bench in the rose garden. I tried to take it all in, to etch those moments into my mind to draw from in the lonely years after his death.

   A couple of months before he died, he rallied and was feeling pretty good. We went out plant shopping and he bought a yellow rose called Graham Thomas. It was lovely,  it's yellow frills scented like citrus and rose combined. When we got back to his house with his purchase I asked where he wanted me to plant it, he smiled and told me that this rose wasn't going in his garden it was going in mine... His impish grin told me there would be no arguing the point this time, and I didn't want to anyway. So we made a garden in a sunny spot in the backyard at my house, with the Graham Thomas rose as a centerpiece. I filled the garden with herbs and flowers that were blue, yellow or white, to set off the rose. Over the years I trained it to trail along a fence and every year in late April, the same time of year that we planted it together, it gives me it's first lemony blooms. This morning I went out on the deck and there they were in all their glory, their tissue thin petals shimmering in the morning light. A reminder that those we love live on in our memories and the stories we tell about them and that even though petals fade and fall the cycle of life continues.

  I know this story has nothing to do with letter writing, but I just had to share it with you, because that is what letters are all about, sharing pieces of your story with others. Until next time, I'll see you in the mail!

OutGoing Mail

I am such a scatter brain sometimes.I wanted to make sure that I got my letters posted in a timely fashion, so I dashed off to the P.O. with a stack, mailed them and then realised I hadn't photographed them. Sigh... I am posting a couple that I have recently worked on and did remember to photograph. I have more that I am working on and I will post them when I'm finished.

I used one of Patty's handmade envelopes, made from Laura Ashley wallpaper for this letter.

The envelope for this letter was originally sent to me by Hester in Boston. When I saw the envelope it made me think about the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are". I happened to have an old beat up copy of the book that I got from Goodwill some time ago, so I decided to use some of the elements from the book to decorate the envelope and send it on.

This is the back of the envelope. This "Wild Thing" is one of my favorites from the book.

This postcard is made from one of my original collages. I added some 3-D elements to a print of the collage and made it into a postcard.

I thought it would be fun to add my most recent artistamp and some other "Steampunky"  elements.

There are more coming... and if you are fond of chocolate, leave me a comment and I will send you an Ode to Chocolate postcard. See you in the mail!

Incoming Mail March 2011

Here are photos of the goodies I have received in the mail during the month of March. It has been such fun to look in my POB and find these treasures in there! I opened them to discover well wishes, seeds, vintage stamps, add and passes to play with and pass on, handmade envelopes, photos, Marjolien Bastin calendar pages that are pretty enough to frame... It was really warmed my heart to receive such lovely gifts from my mailart and pen friends! Thank you all!






 



This envie brimming with goodness comes from Sirpa in Finland. Enclosed were several of Sirpa's fine photographs, a letter written on a Marjolien Basten Calendar and other goodies to bring cheer to the dreary March weather.

Hester in Boston, makes lovely cards and envelopes. She sent me a newsy letter and a card set. She mailed it all in a handmade envelope. I have restasked added to and sent to another pen friend. You will see her envie reborn in my outgoing mail post. The same day I received a second envelope with a recipe she meant to include with her letter. I haven't tried the recipe yet, but it sounds great!  

Wanda from British Columbia wrote me a wonderful letter and filled the envie with vintage stamps and some tomatoe seeds from Seedy Saturday, an early Spring Horticultural event in her area. I am starting some of the seed today!

Samuel Montalvetti from Argentina sent me  an"Add and Pass"booklet, a very interesting MailArt folded booklet and other goodies. He is a member of I.U.O.M.A

A package stuffed with handmade envelopes, from Patty in Virginia. She made them from Laura Ashley wall paper and offered them on her blog as a gift to anyone who wanted them.  http://www.justletterrip.blogspot.com/ She sent Five and I have already used a couple of them in my mailings.