I had breakfast at Cafe Delicias with Jon and Francisco this morning at 9:15.

Before that happened, I stopped at Clinica Sanchez for an INR check.  My INR is higher than it ever has been before (4.07) but not dangerously so.

I did a little research and discovered that Vitamin D3 (which I’ve been taking for several weeks now) can cause INR to spike upward, so I’m holding (not taking) my 2.5 mg doses three days this week (every other day, including tonight) to bring it down to between 2.0 and 3.0 again.

My INR was slightly low last time (1.70), so it was quite the swing in only four weeks.

I haven’t been eating very many greens, though, and that can cause the INR to rise, too, so I’m back on that regimen again.  Both of these tweaks should reliably lower the INR level to its proper range.

After I got the bloodwork taken

… I walked to Pali for milk, cat food pouches, white vinegar, bread and a few more items that have left my memory.

Next, I went to the bank to get 30K colones (I was 20K colones short on the rent at my place, which is due on October 1st) and then to Farmacia Central to pick up the kidney drug and more Calcium + Vitamin D3 tablets.  (I just ran out of those.)

(I got warfarin and levothyroxine the last time I was in, and Charli’s flea and tick drops, so we’re all squared away in the medicine cabinet for a  while!)

By this time, it was about 8:45

…so I stopped at Mercado Municipal to get a couple pieces of sailfish, a couple of sliced chicken breasts, 16 creamy treats for Charli, and a small bunch of celery.

Just as I was finishing the final purchase, the phone rang. It was Jon, saying he and Francisco had reached Cafe Delicias early. He wanted to know where I was. I responded, “I’m just finishing up here at Mercado Municipal; I’ll see you in four minutes!”

And four minutes later I was hugging my Costa Rica brothers

They both looked great, and … dammit! … I forgot to take pictures again!  I have a mental block when it comes to taking selfies with people!

We ordered our meals. While we waited to have them delivered, two people entered the cafe who knew Jon: a female attorney who lives near San Jose; and a lady pastor, both of whom enthusiastically greeted Jon and met Francisco and me.

When I ordered my meal

… Francisco marveled, “You ordered perfectly in Spanish!”

I chuckled and said, “I always order the same thing here, so it’s memorized now!”  (Although it really isn’t.  I’m just completely able to order off any menu these days without sounding like a total newbie en espanol anymore! HA!)

I was able to understand MOST of what Jon and Francisco talked about in Spanish, too, without needing Jon to translate.  That is a definite step forward.  It felt great!

I let Jon and Francisco know that I speak to ticos every chance I get — on the bus, walking around, eating out — and that I keep up with lessons on the flatscreen.  Jon says being proactive in that way is what it takes and that I’m doing well for someone who has only been “immersed”/embedded for a year.

Jon and Francisco are good for my soul!  They’re great encouragers and awesome human beings.

Jon says he’s hoping I’ll get approved soon and said that, when I am, he will take me to the three places here in Grecia where I’ll need to go to apply for CAJA, pay my resolution fees, and get my photo taken. I can’t wait!  I hope it’s soon!

Jon also asked me to create a meme with his image and services on it so he can pin it to his Facebook page and anywhere else it will do the most good, so I’ll do that tomorrow morning first thing after Cindy and I walk the dogs.

Jon drove me home after breakfast

…even though Francisco was experiencing a substantial headache which he was commendably hiding from me. In fact, I learned that they, too, had just come from Clinica Sanchez, where Francisco got bloodwork to try to identify the reason for the headache. (Dengue fever, perhaps, they posited?  He had the same symptoms a couple months ago and it had been dengue then.)

(Update: NOT dengue! WOO HOO! BIG RELIEF!!!)

Jon told Francisco at Sanchez that he could drive him home before he came to have breakfast with me, but Francisco said, “No, I want to see Kris!”  (which truly made my day) so he came along, even all the way to San Isidro afterward.  Now, THAT’S dedication (above and beyond!) to fostering/maintaining a friendship!!! God bless that man for being such a blessing!

When we got to my place and unloaded my grocery cart and freezer bag, I gave Francisco a quick tour of my apartment (he hadn’t been inside it before) and we picked about six or eight avocados off the tree here for them to take home.  I also gave them a bunch of almost-ripe bananas.

Jon and Francisco are keepers. 

I love them so, so much!

After they departed, I put everything away and then started a crockpot soup using some of the ingredients I bought today. I also made more rice.

Then I walked on the patio until I reached the daily 7500-step routine. (I put in only about 4300 steps in Grecia during the meander across town to the various establishments: Pali, bank, pharmacy, MM, Cafe Delicias. NOT ENOUGH TO SATISFY MY MARTINET TENDENCIES!)

So, that was my day.  I’m happily bushed and adequately hugged now.

Life is good!

My Costa Rica hermanos

Francisco and Jon

Sept 11, 2025

(one year ago at Grecia’s dia de la independencia event)