Here’s my middle of the night catch up post. Can’t sleep, so may as well update this blog since I have some news, cool new pix, and a parrot video to share.
On Sunday, July 26 at 9:32 I Wrote:
I have a new hero: HUNTER BIDEN!
God, what a magnificent human being. He has rebounded like no one else I’ve ever seen (so has my marvelous nephew, Denny M.): from a drug addict to recovery (seven years and counting) to “silent victim/prisoner” to outspoken, no-holds-barred major mouthpiece.
He’s freaking awesome!
Hunter Biden can’t be silenced, shamed, or outed anymore (his entire sordid but redeemed past is all on record!) and his father is no longer POTUS or running for any other office, so he’s 100% FREE to share what he knows — and he knows a LOT! He grew up in a political family and knows where everybody else’s skeletons are buried and how they’re compromised. He also loves and defends his father fiercely, as I do whenever I get the chance!
Thank God President Biden pardoned him as he left office
He’d be crucified by the current White House minions if he hadn’t been. Shamed. Imprisoned. Probably put in solitary confinement just for cruelty’s sake. Or silenced entirely, Epstein-style.
Watch his interviews. He’s a master! If he ever ran for POTUS, I’d be enormously tempted to support him. He’s a Mamdani/AOC fan. Good Man!
At 4:16 that day I Wrote:
8123 steps so far today.
Walked with Cindy and the dogs this morning and a little more on the back patio after getting home.
Also folded Deb’s towels and watered out front and swept the floor.
But that’s all except for social media scrolling and texting Adilio and Jon. BORING, I know, but it’s Sunday and I have a busy week ahead so a “day off” is perfectly fine!
I feel good!
My baselines are all optimal. Cindy reminded me to take pix today during our dog walk, so I sent them to her and posted them to Facebook.
DANG! I am looking so good, weight-wise, that I almost don’t recognize myself!
with Cindy’s dogs Dogi and Oliver
with Cindy’s dogs Ivy, Oreo and Lucy
On July 28 I Wrote
5926 steps as of 8:28 a.m.
Walked with Cindy again, as usual.
Yesterday had lunch with Marianela for the first time in months. Forgot to take pictures, dammit! Here are a couple older ones of us together:
We had lunch at the other Delicias Cafe. We both like it better. It’s more off the beaten path, so quieter with far fewer people.
We had a great time catching up. She drove me home to San Isidro de Grecia afterward.
Cindy and I will have lunch at the Coope Victoria today.
Tomorrow at this time with any luck at all
….Adilio and I will be on our way back from San Jose Immigration. I’m looking forward to hanging with him again during the drives in and back. He’s a joy to be with and I get to practice more Spanish with him, too! ALWAYS a good thing!
Sonia says her sweet hubby will send me $100 more in early August for some of the additional work/editing I’ll be doing on the stories that Lisa and I choose for the anthology, or as stand alone titles if we don’t have enough stories 100% ready yet for an anthology. That’s wonderful of them and super helpful to me because I have a $130 appointment with a kidney specialist on August 12th, so I’ll use that for it.
On Wednesday July 29 at 1:23 p.m. I Wrote
2671 steps so far today.
Back from San Jose immigration trip. We were in and out of the immigration facility within 20 minutes.
The trip to San Jose from San Isidro de Grecia took an hour and 45 minutes (the San Jose Costa Rica highway is ranked the second worst drive in the world; things can move at a snail’s/sloth’s pace during rush hours); the trip back took just an hour, not counting the half hour that Adilio and I spent in Alajuela having breakfast at one of his favorite places, Sabor Tipico:
The food and televised musical entertainment were top notch, as was the service. Adilio ordered gallo pinto; I ordered a sandwich con jamon y queso (ham and cheese sandwich) and a Coca Cola.
When I went to the CAJA to pay, I exclaimed to our server (who was also the cashier), “Que bueno!” She asked, “La musica o la comida?” I responded, “Todo! La musica, la comida y Usted!” (“All of it! The music, the food, and you!”) She beamed!
Fluent as f–k! LOL!
Adilio and I always have a terrific time together. He is a great driver — safe, patient — and a wonderful conversationalist. I wish you could meet him. You’d adore him every bit as much as I do!
I was back home no later than 10. I didn’t look at my watch, but that’s just about right.
I’ll Have Lunch Friday with Jon and Francisco
..,very near the bus barn that takes locals farther afield (San Jose, Sarchi’, Naranjo, San Ramon, etc.) than the bus place I usually end up at. I’ve been to that bus barn once before, but it has been a long time. Topher Benum and I went there to catch a bus to San Ramon when he was here just after we both arrived in town. I do remember where it is, fortunately! I’m becoming quite familiar with Grecia near Central Park and Iglesia Mercedes!
There’s a soda very near that bus station that Jon and Francisco are taking me to. I forget the name right now but will try to remember to get pictures of it and of my meal before I eat it, which I forgot to do when Adilio and I were at Sabor Tipico yesterday…
Rent is Due Saturday
…so I need to withdraw a little more money (the equivalent of about $20 USD) on Friday while I’m in town. I have the rest already. I had it all at one point but took 10,000 colones out at one point just to have it in my wallet. It’s still there, but I want to have a little extra in there, too!
Made $13 in Book Royalties this Month
JK Rowling I ain’t (thank God for small favors), but every extra dollar adds to my savings, so I’m grateful to those of you who buy my books, pay for my writing/editing services, etc. It all adds up to “more than I would otherwise have”!
Sure Hope My “Request for Hurry Up” Letter Works!
…the one I submitted to immigration yesterday. I wanna be an official Costa Rica pensionado temporary resident as soon as possible so I have CAJA healthcare and a DIMEX card so I can get rid of Medicare Part B (which costs $265/month now!) and pay into the CR healthcare system instead of the US one, since I never plan to return to the U.S.
The CAJA system will cost somewhere between $60/month and $120/month, most likely, so I’ll be saving more than half of what I’m paying now for Medicare Part B and will have no co-pays or deductibles. Very much looking forward to that.
And the DIMEX card will get me free bus rides, so I’ll save about $5 round trip every time I take a bus into Grecia. In a nutshell, when these two things happen, I will be saving a significant amount of money!
And Just Heard Back from Jackie
She is still planning on selling our property next year at about this time, so I feel confident about waiting out the exchange rate between the USD and CR colones without needing to worry about relocating to another Central or South American country. That’s a relief. I love Costa Rica and do not want to have to leave!
Selling our property will give me a nice nest egg for the rest of my life. My financial “peril” will be over for good! YAY! (And I’m NOT in financial peril now. I’m just playing everything super close to my vest more than I would like to, to make sure I’m good until the property sells!)
Now we just have to hope against another Great Depression
…between now and then. With T-Wrecks and his regime in office, there’s nothing they’d like better than to turn us all into serfs and slaves, with nothing to underpin our self-reliance! If housing prices go into the toilet, that would NOT be good!
But NOT gonna borrow trouble. That’s catastrophic/Kobayashi Maru thinking.
(Given who the current US leader is, sadly, it’s still a freaking awful possibility, though! And I hate that a lot!)
This pretty much catches you up to the moment, which is 3:01 a.m. Costa Rica time on July 30, 2026!
Have a great day!
VIDEO:
Huge flock of parrots in the tree at the bottom of my driveway. They are there a lot during early morning. I love watching them. Sorry for the idling tractor noise in the foreground!
https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10165572221692915/1595777465273001