Here I am, playing catch up again. Transferring the worthwhile stuff from my written notes to this blog for archival purposes — and your enjoyment, if you’re following along!
On Monday Jan 12, 2026 I wrote:
Swept the casita although there was very little to sweep. You could just about perform surgery in here it’s so freaking pristine. I like that.
C’mon, prospective renters! Come take a look! You’ll like it. You’ll really like it!
University of Costa Rica Comms
I emailed the University of Costa Rica inquiring about when I’ll get my stickers/decals/whatever to put on my fridge and in my wallet to inform emergency services and hospitals (if I’m aunable to do so) that I’ve donated my body to medical science. I cc’d Jon, too.
I have a copy of the donation application on the wall in the meantime and Jon is listed as my emergency contact (so are a few others), so I’m pretty well covered. Still, it would be nice to have something in my wallet so I could show Clinica Sanchez. I’ll get copies of the form and emergency contacts so the clinic can have copies in my file there, too, in the meantime.
Daytime is only about 12 1/2 hours here year-’round
In Seattle, there are 7 1/2 to eight hours of daylight difference between the summer and winter solstices, so it’s quite a change to have nighfall be as constant as it is here. There’s only about a half hour difference between daybreak and sunset here during the summer and winter. Costa Rica has just two seasons, too: summer (verano) and winter (invierno); aka the wet season and the dry season.
We live on a mind-blowing planet!
In-house wee beasties
I wonder if I’ll encounter more in-house wee beasties in the new rental in San Isidro since I’ll be on the ground floor. I’ll ask Dale and Crystal what their experiences have been. They’re just a few blocks away from where I’ll be and their home is on one level.
I sure haven’t encountered many here in this casita! Heck, I even have to go looking for them to find them outside here!
This is a far cry from what I was expecting
This altitude (and San Isidro) is pretty darned perfect in this regard. I see an occasional spider. No scorpions. In fact, I see fewer wee beasties here than I did in Tacoma or anywhere else I’ve lived.
Charli’s Treasures
I found Charli’s three favorite small balls and fished them out from their hiding places under the beds and couch. I’m glad I found them during the casita cleaning venture because they need to move when we do. She gets a big kick out of them when she’s in whackadoodle mode.
Charli sometimes forgets that her tail belongs to her
She’ll spin in circles trying to catch it. It’s hysterical! I’ve tried capturing it on video to post on Facebook, but haven’t had enough luck yet to make it a decent length, so I’ll keep trying.
She did it again last night but I was in bed and my phone was in another room. She would’ve stopped had I gone after it,
Dale’s Surgery
I haven’t heard an update on Dale’s surgery yet but my phone is charging, so I won’t go look right now. I heard a couple of incoming sounds; one of those might be from Crystal, Jon or Dale. I’ll find out before too much longer.
(Update: Dale’s surgery went splendidly well. They gave him an epidural and relaxing his lower body so much gave his hip enough “down time/relaxation time” that even the pinched nerve in his hip has stopped giving him as much trouble as it was before, five days later! I’m delighted for him. The spot in his bladder was only the size of an eraser on a pencil and they got it all, so he’s good again! Hallelujah! He looks and feels wonderful.)
Lisa Texted WendyYesterday
… from both of us to wish her a happy birthday. She also gave her my CR phone number, so maybe I’ll hear from her on WhatsApp for the first time since I left the States. NOT holding my breath, though. It’s a long shot. Wendy is the one who told Lisa that Blanche (aka Crip Chick) got taken by a coyote. That’s how I found out. Lisa and she are in sporadic communication.
Tomorrow I’m staying OFF social media
I over-indulged today, mostly on a single heartbreaking topic: the murder of Renee Nicole Good. May she rest in peace and may her killer and this murderous T-Wrecks regime be brought down and to JUSTICE! Amen and amen!
On Tuesday, Jan 13 I wrote:
Walked 8015 steps so far today (9:15 a.m.) including two trips to Calle Los Angeles — once to deposit wet trash in the canasta, and once to the J3 Market for eggs, Lizano Salsa, ice cream, chicken burritos, and two small bottles of root beer. Most of the walking was in front of Eileen’s again.
I also helped a neighbor carry some of her groceries from Calle LA to halfway down Calle Esteban Salas.
Sweated Under My Sombrero
I worked up a sweat under my sombrero during the walk back from the market although it didn’t feel like I was over-exerting in the least. But the sun was out full force even though I felt fine temperature-wise. It was only a five-minute walk one way.
Until I discovered it was sweat, it felt like a bug was crawling up there in my hair. Nope! Just droplets of perspiration! I took a shower after I got back.
Been Feeling Mighty Fine the Past Few Days
That UTI must have affected me more than I realized. They can do that, for sure!
Still Staying off Social Media Today
I need to de-louse myself occasionally from social media to maintain my equilibrium. I don’t live in the States anymore (thank Destiny!) and I need to stay present HERE! THIS nation is sane, kind, decent, and devoted to the general welfare of all of its citizens, residents and guests. Which is a far cry from what’s happening in the States right now.
I just worry about and deeply grieve for the people I left there — known and unknown to me — who MUST live with the daily barrage of democracy-breaking protocols being put into action by the federal government. It’s truly unprecedented in the United States of America (and the USA has never been a angel to its marginalized people, but THIS exceeds even those deeply disturbing times). Now, all one has to do to be deemed a terrorist and expendable is to disagree with the Terrorist in Chief and he and his minions will endeavor to make your life a living hell.
That’s why I decided to get out when I did
The human nervous system is not designed to withstand chronic, unmitigated distress.
I’m SOOOO proud of the millions of citizens and others who are standing up, interfering with ICE agents, getting in their faces and shaming/humiliating them, chasing them away.
And of the hotels and restaurants and fast food chains that are refusing to serve ICE agents. THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE! PROACTIVE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND PUSHBACK! People standing up for their immigrant neighbors, service workers, laborers and families, PEACEFULLY facing fascist thugs and sending them packing.
Our founding fathers expected this degree of public participation in the nation’s affairs. Resisting, protesting and stymying scoundrels is part and parcel of the USA’s DNA.
No Kings. No Fascists.
“DON’T TREAD ON ME” INDEED!
The American people are fed up with T-Wrecks/Steven Miller/Project 2025/White Male Supremacy/Christian Nationalism. Social media has blown up with anti-fascist sentiments. Outrage is the right response. Pushback is the right response. Impeachment and investigations are the right response when the government turns tyrannical.
Walked 8512 steps so far today (1:34 p,m,)
…including taking Blanco for a walk, and then took a shower and ate brunch.
4:15 p.m.
Another day is on the wane. I’m okay with it because every day that passes gets me closer to the move AND to Lisa’s arrival. WHEEE!!! WOO HOO!
I’ll have new adventures with my bestest buddy
We’ll make every day count. It’s gonna be such FUN!
MASTER BEDROOM RUNNERS
Cat says I can carry the master bedroom runner rugs to her this weekend and she’ll have Bernal pressure wash them. I’ll take the half moon kitchen mats down and have them done, too. And maybe I’ll have them keep them all until Charli and I leave here so they stay pristine. That’s a good idea!
UPDATE ON MY LEFT FOOT
I’ve been super good about doing PT on my left foot and ankle. I rise from flat-footed to tip toes, 50 reps once or twice a day, plus all the dedicated, careful walking. It’s slowly improving things. I think by the time Lisa gets here, it should be pretty much back to normal.
I just have to keep remembering to walk normally on that side. I adjusted my gait to compensate and I’m having a hard time remembering to stop doing that these days. But I’m getting better at that, too. It just takes conscious effort.
I feel super stable and well balanced. I can balance on my right leg without holding onto a chair or another support item for more than 30 seconds without any problem, and on my problematic left leg for almost that long.
CHARLES SCHWAB
I’ll probably go with Charles Schwab for the 401K swap from Axos. That’s because if BECU has the same rules and policies re US citizens living overseas, they may insist that I move my accounts to an international company, and Charles Schwab comes highly recommended. And CS doesn’t have international bank transfer fees, which would result in huge savings over time.
CAJA MAY REQUIRE A CR BANK ACCOUNT
When I’m approved as a pensionado resident, the required social security health plan here (CAJA) may require a Costa Rica bank account but if it does, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I’ve already chosen the bank here that I’ll get an account at: Davidienda.
On Wed Jan 14 I wrote
Back from Grecia. Got everything I went for except US dollars. I was directed to the wrong ATM, I think. I’ll ask Brooke or Jon to show me which ATM at which banks will dispense USDs upon request. I DO NOT want to have to go inside a bank for service every time I need to pay my rent.
I’ve put in only 4037 steps today, but it’s still early. I may add 2K steps more during the day. No biggy if I don’t, though. Doing under 6K steps for one day is hardly cause for self-flagellation. It happens! Not very darned often (maybe once a month!) but it happens.
2:17 pm.
Just put on pajamas because it’s cool here today — probably 62 to 65 degrees F. Never thought I’d feel chilly at 65 degrees, but I do! Probably mostly because I just had a root beer float! LOL!
Friday afternoon I’ll be having lunch with Jon, Francisco, Dale and one of Jon’s friends from Texas (a liberal). Brooke will take me ATM hunting for USDs.
Saturday afternoon I’ll be having lunch with Jon, Francisco, Marilyn and Guido at Marilyn’s home in Upper El Cajon. I will get to see Oliver again (their goat), too. WOO HOO!
Next week is wide open
No appointments or plans other than to ride back into Grecia and get some more USDs since I’m only allowed to withdraw $250/day, I think.
I’m going to see is Marianela is available to drive me to San Isidro on January 30th to pay the rent, see the studio, sign the rental agreement, and get the gate opener and keys for the official move two days later. (Update: Jon might also be willing to take me from Grecia up and back, as he says he’d be happy to go with me to read the lease and make sure it’s going to protect us both).
I’m getting antsy…
Just biding my time here now.
In a holding pattern…
New Adventures Ahead — just not RIGHT NOW!
I told Ann I’m not making any changes to my financial institutions until after Lisa flies back home. She’s okay with that. I don’t need any hiccups that could kneecap me down here while Lisa is visiting. She agreed.
Got Q-tips (called hisopos de algodon here), hongos (mushrooms), lechuga (lettuce), three aguacates (avocados) and cat food in Grecia and then ate brunch there for under $8 USD. Had gallo pescado (with three pieces of fish!) and limonada (limeade) inside Mercado Municipal while I waited for the bus to El Cajon to take on passengers for the trip home.
I spotted the San Isidro bus in the same lot, too, so I know where to hop on that when the time comes.
4:45 p.m.
Had plain yogurt for dinner with three strawberries mixed in. It was plenty!
US NEWS SUCKS, AS USUAL
Gotta divorce myself from it. It’s affecting my mental wellbeing. I can’t change it so I have to compartmentalize it and not give it much of my waking hours and energy reserves.
I don’t know how people in the US do it. But if I was still there, I’d HAVE TO be in the fray actively opposing what’s going on. As a retiree, sitting at home and feeling impotent would destroy me. I’d be up and out every day doing something, standing in the gap and representing the additional millions of people who would also be in the streets if they didn’t have fulltime jobs, or weren’t disabled, or too young or too old to put their own bodies on the line. It’s the only way I could live with myself.
Sitting on the sidelines would NOT be an option.
DEPARTED LOVED ONES
If consciousness survives what we call death, I wonder if any of my departed loved ones (human or animal) ever get the urge to check in on me. Many cultures believe they do. And I’ve had several what I’ll call “visitations” from Deaken, Alpha, De, Mom and Puddles. These have been very vivid sleeping and waking experiences during which I fet (vibrationally) their presence.
It’s hard to discount or explain them away, especially since I waasn’t even consciously thinking about these indididuals when the events happened. I wasn’t trying to conjure them up.
It was the same feeling I had when I received the “you need to be baptized” invitation from the Universe/Source/God (described in my book Purposeful Christianity: The Verve and Value of the Prince of Peace). I hadn’t gone to church in decades and wasn’t thinking of anything religious or spiritual when this repeated message occurred over the course of about two weeks. So I obeyed, gladly! With pleasure and gratitude, because it didn’t feel at all like a COMMAND so much as a “gathering” of chicks after being called back by a mother hen. It was a concerned, loving call back.
That experience — as others like it — have all felt like “call backs” (Calls back?); “Come here; return; get warm and protected beneath my wings.”
They’ve been calls to return to love.
Recall. Remember. Don’t wander too far afield that you can no longer hear the call to return.
It’s entirely LOVE-LY!
On Thursday Jan 15 I wrote:
I’m listening to Sascha Riley’s interviews. They’re DEVASTATING! If these memories of his can be corroborated (which he says can if/when the Epstein Files are released unredacted) No T-Wrecks fanatic could possibly continue to support him.
Riley reported that T-Wrecks killed puppies in front of him to terrorise him, and that he murdered (or had murdered) many underage victims. So, not only is the man in the Oval Office an alleged pedophile, he might also be a mass murderer akin to John Wayne Gacy and other monsters like that.
I’m absolutely sickened. Caligula had nothing on T-Wrecks, if this is true. And Riley names other well-known pols and even a sitting Supreme Court Justice.
Many commentators say that the math doesn’t math, that some of the names Riley brings up weren’t well known at the time he says these incidents (including snuff videos of underage girls) occurred . But if he recognized them later as people he saw there, he would be able to name names in retrospect.
To be clear: no one is calling Riley a liar; they’re just being very careful to say that what he says he was witness to has not been corroborated in a court of law and so it’s “unreliable.”
I HATED learning this!
It’s worse than I ever could have imagined. It’s beyond a sane person’s imagination, period.
I’m horrified.
Gotta do something else to divert me from this new information. I wanna throw up. It’s ALMOST unbelievable. But wherever T-Wrecks inserts himself and his twisted views, the unbelievable becomes commonplace, “normalized,” so I can believe it.
As Riley said, “Everything he touches turns to shit.” He got THAT right. There’s definitely proof of THAT!
I walked to J3 Market again
Got pasta, tuna, ice cream, soda and cat food. I’ll have the pasta mixed with the tuna for dinner.
Charli is asleep on the couch
This morning she crawled into my arms for a snuggle/cuddle and I was able to capture it on video, which I posted to Facebook. Got lots of LIKES and LOVES on those!
Met a Wonderful Couple This Morning
During my walk, I ran across Hillary (Hilary?) and Amy (or Jan? ACK! Can’t remember now. I will find out and correct this later!) from the east coast of the US. They will be moving here within a year so I gave Hillary my contact info. She will pass it along to her wife’s phone.
Hillary is a psychologist who works wirth marginalized individuals (she retires March 20th).I have forgotten what her wife does, but it’s also something inspiring and I’ll fill you in on those details later.
They are both birders. They are both salt of the earth people. I think we chatted for a good 45 minutes.
Saw Luz and Noelia Briefly and Spoke with Diane, too
I walked Blanco for one lap before returnign to Eileen’s to round out my walking routine.
Diane twisted her ankle yesterday so she’s taking a break from walking.
She may be buying the rental that she and her husband Miguel have been staying in. That would be soooo cool. I hope it all works out for them!
1:54 p.m.
Just reviewed Spanish terminology. Gotta keep that up until the terms and tenses become second nature. I’m getting better every time I do a review. I need to do it daily or every other day. I certainly have the time!
3:43 p.m.
Just cleaned the casita again and put some more “immediate non-essentials” in Charli’s room. Washed the floor, swept the carpets in the master bedroom and put clothes in the washer to wash.
This place is looking more “vacant” by the day. Whatever made it feel like “mine” — except for what’s still on the fridge — is no longer on display. So, talk about “minimalist living” — this casita is pretty much a sterling example of it.
The laptop is still out, the couch cover is still on, my emergency contact names and numbers are still on the wall, and the few clothes, shoes, boots and slippers I’ll be wearing are still on shelves.
My meds and body care items are still in the bathroom.
My knives, forks and crock pot are still in use.
And Charli’s short cat tree and two cat scrathing posts are still available to her. Her carrier is the only thing still in the loft.
If I do this right, it will take 10 to 15 minutes to load Marianela’s vehicle on Feb 1st and 5 to 10 minutes to unload it at the new place. Putting everything where it will go in the new place will probably take a couple hours.
But they will be FUN hours. I love setting up a new household.
Charli is remaining as laid back as cats can be
She has kittenish zoomie episodes still, which confirms to me that she still doesn’t have a clue that we’re on the verge of moving again. That’s just the way I like it! Keeping her in the dark is a good thing. No stress for my cat until the very last minute when I load her into the vehicle. That’s the plan!
She’s gonna love the new place as much as I will. No dogs, gated for security, acres and acres of lawn and surrounding foliage — a cat’s paradise!
On Friday Jan 16 I wrote
Brooke took me to three banks to find us one that dispenses US dollars from its ATM. Turns out Bank of Costa Rica does but that ATM was out of order today so we went to Davidienda. Theirs dispensed USDs upon request so I got $240. But they charged me $10 for the transaction, so I will see if I can get more than $250 next time. It’s possible that BECU will allow larger withdrawals using my debit card than my credit card. I’ll find out.
Brooke says if I get an account there they might waive the transaction fee. I’ll look into that. But I may wait until the Charles Schwab changeover happens so I can announce that to them at the same time.
LUNCH AT THE GRECIA FUTBOL CLUB
At 12:30 Jon, Francisco, Dale and Michael (M is from Texas) arrived from the feria, where they had just shopped for two hours or so. I ordered the club’s lunch time executive plate (fish, rice, salad, an egg, plantain and a limonada) all for under $10.
I also used the men’s room for the first time over the objection/helpful suggestion from one of its occupants that I was inadvertently entering the “wrong” restroom. I didn’t take his suggestion, just shook my head no and kept going in. When I got back out and told Jon what happened and that I had indicated to the man that I belonged in there, he said he was very proud of me and shook my hand.
I was wearing a woman’s sleeveless top with a macaw on the lower left side. Had I been wearing a man’s sleeveless shirt, I think I would have “passed” fine as a dude. (The Mercado Municipal restroom attendant keeps directing me to the men’s room!) So, I need to get a couple men’s sleeveless shirts and get rid (sadly!) of my macaw shirts. They’re just too girly.
Tomorrow at 1 I’ll ride with Jon and Francisco to Upper El Cajon for lunch with Marilyn and Guido. Very much looking forward to that!
Jon will pick me up at 12:50 on Calle Los Angeles to save his vehicle from the rutted Calle Esteban Salas. I did that with Brooke at 9:30 today, too. I’m ever mindful of the wear and tear that rutted roads can inflict on people’s precious vehicles!
Jon Texted This Afternoon
Jon texted me saying he had “a delightful time” with me at lunch today, which means the world to me. I adore him and Francisco.
I’m crazy about Dale and Crystal, too.
People who don’t know these individuals are really missing out.
And the people they know and surround themselves with are complete treasures and gems, too. I feel sooo fortunate to be considered their friend!
Fitting in down here feels so natural
I can be ME — no facade, fear or trepidation. I don’t have to “make like a chameleon” to feel safe and loved. We’re all real, present, alive and vital. Living our best lives.
It’s so struggle-free! I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this SAFE, except with a few close friends, just being me. It’s heaven on earth.
That’s all for now!