Top o’ the morning!  It’s time to catch you up on the latest including today’s windstorm that brought down a big tree branch in my yard and yesterday’s event at Rainbow Refuge

On Thursday, June 25th, I made a wonderful crockpot soup.

It’s one of my all-time favorites. I still need to choke down the balance of my least-favorite homemade soup, but it will be gone by Sunday and I found a way to improve it before eating it: by draining off the liquid and heating it in mixed fruit nectar. That takes the cilantro and Swiss chard tastes down several notches, which is what’s needed to be more enjoyable.

By 1:50 p.m. I had walked 7997 steps.

I sent some final instructions to Sonia on the Bella Ballerina story so she can make a few changes that will make the story even more compelling than it already is.

I dosed Charli with her flea and tick goop so she’ll be protected for another month.

Ate celery sticks with peanut butter for lunch. The leaves and some of the stems went into the crockpot. Gotta add sweet corn to the mix about an hour before the cook time expires at around 5:30.

Walked around the property to pick up the wind-fallen twigs and branches and the construction detritus that blew in from next door. Walked a bag of trash to the canasta on Calle San Isidro.

There’s a short, toppled banana tree in the orchard.

Told Deb about it and volunteered to take a machete down and cut off the bunch of bananas that are now laying on the ground so the critters won’t get them before we do, but she shook her head no.  They’re still very green and hard so maybe they need more time attached to ripen sufficiently.  I’ll keep my eye on them.

Won’t be attending the feria or the lunch afterward tomorrow

…because my neighbors and I may go to a restaurant after tomorrow’s Transgender Awareness Event at Rainbow Refuge tomorrow and I want to be able to pay for my food without putting it on my credit card.

Next week I’ll need to buy two more chicken breasts, potatoes, celery and mixed fruit nectar so I can make another crockpot concoction before this one gets eaten completely. I always freeze a lot of the soup so it lasts days and days. I never get tired of it.  I add rice and refried black beans to it and it’s heavenly.

By 3:08 I had put in 8098 steps.

Cindy Winder sent me an adorable video of Harper

…spinning her way into her Petco carrier so she could receive her afternoon meal.  Adorable! MUST share it with you! Click the link above! Cindy’s pets are so well behaved!  They wait patiently while she prepares them meals three times a day.

Sure am glad I’m only allowed one pet here

…because I’d get a puppy if I could. But I know I’m a better cat parent than a dog parent, by far, so it wouldn’t be fair to the dog!

As much as I love dogs (most animals, actually), having to take them potty several times a day and endure their almost constant quest for attention wouldn’t be a plus for me. Cats are so much easier to cohabit with.

But DAMN — puppies are nearly irresistible. It’s hard not to fall “victim” to their effervescent charm and delightful spirits! They’re bewitching; (I’m using the term properly!  They cast spells!)

“OH, THE FUN WE’LL HAVE TOGETHER! 

COME ON!

LET’S GO!”

Nope, nope, nope! No can do. Not allowed.

And Charli would hate having to share me with another critter.

Charli is my darling for as long as we both shall live!

I’ve been trying to memorize DESIDERATA from the first word to the last…

I know it all but not in the right order, so I’ve written down the first word of every sentence to help me recall the order:

Go…As…Speak…Avoid…If… Enjoy… Keep…Exercise….But…Be….Especially…

Neither….Take….Nurture….But….Many….

Beyond….You….And….Therefore…And….With…Be…Strive…

I can do it when I have those cues in front of me! No sweat!

On Friday June 27

… I walked to three corners in SI to the panaderia for chocolate cake. I was in a blue funk for the first time since coming to Costa Rica. There was no specific/particular reason: I just wasn’t feeling necessary, needed, or even remotely sociable. I felt angry and dispirited.

But then I turned on the radio to bring some liveliness into the apartment and I did another run through of Sonia’s children’s story about Bella Ballerina this morning to make about a dozen more nips and tucks.

And then I noticed a spot where Bella makes too quick a transition between several states of mind after being impacted by a particular incident, and I filled in the blanks and sent it to Sonia to review and finesse if she sees something that could be improved.

Being creative and useful gives my life meaning

and if I go too long without doing one or the other,

I can get down and a bit depressed.

Sonia will send me her next story soon and I can get busy editing that. And she has ten more coming after it, so I should be feeling great for at least as long as this editing project lasts!  That’s a good thing!

The 4th of July is going to be decidedly BITTERsweet this year.

I’m super glad I’m NOT in the U.S. to have to ENDURE it. Sure am not feeling celebratory these days. The current administration (er, regime!) turns my stomach. He’s gonna make it all about him, as usual. We need an INTERVENTION, not a T-WRECKS CELEBRATION!

Costa Rica is my cradle of liberty these days.

God bless this nation now and forevermore!

Tomorrow is the Transgender Awareness Event at Rainbow Refuge

I texted Melaney to ask if the pool will be open. It will — yay! — so I will take a few laps after the event while the speakers respond to additional questions and comments after it officially ends. (I was an otter or dolphin in another life, I swear.  LOVE being in the water!)

The chachalacas are out in force this afternoon. NOISY birds!

I wonder how boring I am to other people

I don’t talk a lot unless spoken to and asked questions of, and even then I keep the answers brief and kinda vague. I mostly listen.

I guess I’m pretty talked out!  The polar opposite of braggart, it’s hard to say much about myself or my life and interests without coming across as “outside the norm of common accomplishments” in some way, so I pretty much just smile and listen a lot!

The only things that I consider interesting or noteworthy about me are that I’m an animal lover and advocate, a civil rights advocate, I have written a lot of books and nearly 300 volumes of journals, was lucky enough to become a mentee and friend of DeForest Kelley’s, worked in the entertainment industry for almost 15 years in Hollywood, and am transgender.  Any ONE of those things could get me pegged as a freaking show-off, unless someone gets to know me first and realizes I am not a spotlight-seeker.  I’ve just lived an interesting, out-of-the-ordinary life. And that doesn’t take any special talent or gift. It takes grit, goals and a lot of luck or fickle fate, but that’s about all!

So, if it isn’t already available for public consumption in my books or blogs, it simply doesn’t seem worth yapping about! (Again, my mantra is “Writing is show business for shy people!”)

My life is, to all intents and purposes, pretty much over

… except for mundane stuff not worth yapping about — and I’m okay with that. I’m mostly just waiting it out and hoping it ends peacefully and painlessly.

I’m not depressed or suicidal, just weary!

I don’t have sufficient disposable income to do much out of the ordinary except survive. My CR adventures all happen on the rare occasions when someone flies in to visit from afar, and that has only happened once in the nine months that I’ve been here. And I do my darndest to save up for those times so I can afford to go along to wherever they want to go!

I’m NOT complaining!

I’ve never been much of a traveler.

Home has always been my favorite place! Being in this apartment is lovely and serene. Going to Grecia once or twice a week is sublime.

In fact, I’m going to start spending time in the park there by the church instead of just going for groceries and coming right back home. I want to see more ticos, speak more Spanish, watch the squirrels and passersby. I want to absorb more, observe more, engage more when I’m there.

So I’ll probably start taking the bus even earlier into town so I can do that without running up against the heat of the day, which usually gets pretty intense down there starting at around 10 a.m.

I might get a coloring book and gel pens

…next time I go there to keep me occupied.  I can also turn on the radio and drum and tambourine to the rhythms that emanate from it. That would be a super fun way to practice!

Swept the apartment, opened the blinds on the shady sides so I can see all around. That helps me feel better every time! And I’m very much looking forward to the trip to Rainbow Refuge tomorrow for their event.

Sure wish I’d see a coati/pizote family out and about soon

They’re common here. I’ve seen one male, months ago, but it was moving too fast to capture in an image.  The moms and babies should be out and about now, but I haven’t seen any yet.

I can understand quite a lot of what the Spanish DJs are saying

…on the radio when I turn it on. Some of them talk far too fast, but many of them don’t, so I can understand probably 50% of the words, but may still miss context.

I also hear and recognize words that I know but have no yet committed their meaning to memory yet. Words like ademas, which can mean a variety of things depending on context:

besides, farther/further/furthermore, and, again, etc.

And ademas can be conveyed in different ways. For example, besides can be conveyed using the words ademas, tambien/also; furthermore can be conveyed with ademas, mas lejos, or mas alla; moreover can be conveyed with ademas, por orta parte, or es mas; too can be conveyed with tambien, demasiado, muy, and por otra parte; and again can be conveyed with otra vez, de nuevo, ademas, and por otra parte (again depending on context).

Rainbow Refuge Transgender Awareness Event Report

Melaney Phillips

(co-owner of Rainbow Refuge and delightful human being!)

Lookin’ fabulous and super happy

She has lost 20 pounds since I saw her several months ago

(on purpose, just so you know she’s healthy

and accomplished it!)

CONGRATS!!!

Laurie Barron

(co-owner of Rainbow Refuge and delightful human being!)

Lookin’ bemused and equally fabulous

…a slide from the PPT presentation

(Will reach out to get the PDF of it

so I can send it to anyone

who wants to see and/or share it.)

On Saturday, June 27th I rode with neighbors to the Trans Awareness event at Rainbow Refuge, as mentioned above. The event was a smashing success. Although the event was  assembled and advertised at warp speed (in under a week!) the turnout was impressive. I’m thinking that at least 15 people were there, not counting the two presenters.

I recognized at least six of the attendees (one of the presenters and her husband; the event hosts Melaney and Laurie; a lovely couple from PA; a DEMS FROM ABROAD principal and promoter and her husband (I had met her previously at a No Kings Rally in San Jose), and Cindy Thomas (I met her at the drumming circle a couple weeks ago).

All came there to support the event because they were curious to learn more and how to become good allies or because they knew loved ones who are transgender (or who themselves may or may not belong to the LGBTQIA+ community).

The ambiance was one of complete accord and affection

I was introduced to the additional folks that I didn’t know and spent several minutes with each of them learning more about them.

I met another transman whom you’d never guess, in a million years, was trans. We connected on WhatsApp so we can stay in touch, get together whenever mutually available and desired (he lives part of the year in Idaho), and compare notes.

He’s on T and would be called a “bear” within the gay community: lots of hair grew on his arms, legs, and shoulders not long after he started taking T years ago. He’s a delightul human being and I look forward to getting to know him better.

The presentation itself was terrific

Because the PPT  was written in 2025, some of the stats and other details were a little out of date, but the fellow in charge said he would make sure they are updated and added to for future presentations. What was in it was accurate, but there are additional things that have been discovered or learned and documented since it was created, and they want to be sure to update it with those changes.

One of the presenters was a gay man; the other was a clinical psychologist (a transgender woman) with two pertinent degrees on her CV, so every question that was posed by the audience received an answer, and many of the comments from the audience members who were trans themselves or the parents or loved ones of a trans individual were equally insightful and revelatory, so that everyone got their questions and concerns addressed. Few stones were left unturned!  People wanted to know about the legal, political, emotional, psychological and medical applications and implications.  It was a wide-ranging conversation, not a one-sided presentation.  It felt fabulous! The place was electric with love, appreciation, and support.

As planned, I popped myself into the pool and took a few laps after the presentation while the presenters were being inundated with follow up questions and comments.

NEXT STOP: NORTHERN ROOTS BAR AND RESTAURANT

Not long after  I got out, the couple I rode in with said they and another couple wanted to go to Northern Roots Bar and Restaurant on the way home and asked if I wanted to go or to be taken home instead. (Northern Roots is very close to home.) I said I’d love to go with them, so we all piled into a vehicle and had lunch there.

I had a Philly cheesesteak and a pineapple drink. We were there over an hour because everyone got to chatting, laughing and having a wonderful time, so we lingered quite a while.  The server, a woman named Carolina, was wonderful. Everyone but I knew her, so they all hugged her and I did, too.

The other couple drove us home afterward.  It was a truly wonderful day with wonderful people and in wonderful company.

This Morning

…I walked around the futbol field six times with my neighbor. It has been super windy all day so we had to wear hats with strings through them to keep them from being flown off our heads and sailing away in gusts!

I took some pictures of the large fallen branch and a video of the strength of the wind.  You’ll find them below.

Close up of the broken  branch…

It looks and sounds like Vientos de Navidad (The Christmas Winds) outside today:

https://www.facebook.com/674337914/videos/pcb.10165419659412915/1015858518073645

And now you’re all caught up!!!

Have a great rest of your day!