It’s Thursday already, so time to catch you up on my doings, for those of you who remain interested in my Costa Rica “adventures” large and small. Because you need to know I’m still alive!

On Monday June 22nd I wrote

429 steps as of 6:24 a.m.

Not walking today as much. I put in 14K steps yesterday by day’s end, twice the daily goal.

Just took a shower and applied sunscreen and insect repellent to arms and neck (exposed areas) because Cindy and I are going to Grecia (Saba and Peri) this morning for prescriptions and other stuff. When we get back, we’re gonna do some drumming at her place to see if I can start to master what she wants to accomplish as a duo. Should be fun!

2:53 p.m.  9826 steps

(so much for “not walking as much today”! HAH!)

Back from Grecia and Cindy’s. Have been for about two hours. We went first to Banco Nacional where I withdrew 10K colones (about $22); then to Farmacia SABA, where I bought a box of thyroid meds for $30 and priced two other prescription drugs (warfarin, a box for $15 and kidney med, a box for $77). I’ll compare those prices with Farmacia Central and see what difference there is in price.

Then we got yummy omelets  at a soda.

I got a new strap for my cellphone. Cindy got her phone working again after visiting two phone repair tiendas; we’re not sure what got fixed, but it got fixed and she can phone her second phone again and send me text and phone messages again.

I also bought a small tambourine for the equivalent of about $16. I hope to find a set of maracas while I’m out and about sometime, too.

Then we stopped at Peri to get her a dehumidifying setup and I got a small jar of peanut butter since I forgot to get a big jar when we shopped at MXM and Compre Bien a few days ago. (Peanut butter is insanely expensive in small jars. That’s because only foreign companies like JIF are available in small jars.)

We were back at Cindy’s by noon

She showed me the kettle drum lesson that she wants me to commit to muscle memory and then she surprised the stuffing out of me by loaning me one of her precious kettle drums so I can practice at home!

When I Got Home I Tried the Drum

…and at first, Charli thought it was thunder coming to get her. She hunkered down in place and looked at me as if thinking, “WHY would you bring THUNDER into our sanctuary?!!!”

I tapped it very lightly after that until she figured out it’s not thunder. She’s okay with it now.

Charly also thought the new tambourine might be a snake

…because I rattled it a little, but she quickly figured out that her Pop-Cat has become a musician for the first time in her life.  She’s coping.  No longer hunkering down…

Sat Shirtless on the Back Patio This Afternoon

..for ten  minutes to get some sunshine on my chest. First time I’ve done that since moving here. The UV isn’t intense today, so it was safe to do that without sunscreen.

Subway Wednesday

I plan to take the bus to Grecia to have a Subway sandwich on Wednesday. Also expect to get a confirmation from Mao about the English class Wednesday evening.

It Took Cindy 3 Years to Achieve Pensionado Status — YIKES!

…but she had issues pop up and had to re-apply at one point, which meant getting the three apostilled docs again. UGH!  Sure hope that won’t happen to me.  I think I’d throw a fit and move to Panama or Ecuador if that happened to me.  They’re both cheaper and apparently easier to get into than CR is, but CR is pretty darned easy as long as everything goes smoothly; it just takes at least a year, since so many folks are immigrating here from the U.S., Canada and Europe these days.

CR is No Longer Going to Accept Low-Value Colones Starting July 1st

…so 5, 10 and 25 denomination coins won’t be accepted as bus fare or anywhere else after that date. So, I gave the 1100 colones I had in small change to a family (Nicaraguan or Tico) this morning so they can use it between now and then to help get them by. I’m sure other folks are doing the same if they don’t have tons of small coins worth taking to a bank.  (Banking here can take hours.)

There are a great many refugees and low-income ticos in Costa Rica

They eke out their survival offering lollipops, rugs, sewing needles, handmade, woven grasshoppers, by offering to carry people’s shopping bags, and even doing acrobatic acts while traffic lights stop drivers and pedestrians.

They’re doing whatever they can to earn a little something extra to help make ends meet. They’re proud people; no one looks down on them  for doing whatever they can (honorably) to survive. (“There, but for the grace of God, go I.”)

On Tuesday, June 23 I Wrote

Saturday I’ll be hitching a ride to Rainbow Refuge with the G’s to attend a Transgender Awareness forum that is being presented for the entire community. Mel and Laurie are hosting it to help the community at large get their questions answered so they can become better, more knowledgeable allies.  C. will be a speaker and presenter but there may be others as well.

Ate peanut butter toast for breakfast and prepared spaghetti for lunch. Ate a wee bit of that, too, before I porch-walked so I could burn off some of the carbs in it right away.

I’m Supposed to Chat with Hannah and Lisa Today

I hope they both happen before sunset so I don’t get Christmas Tree Brain at bedtime. I like to have all chats complete no later than 5 p.m. so my brain has a chance to settle back and relax by nightfall at 6.

Update: Spoke to both of them earlier in the day. YAY!

Hannah’s and my chat was about 20 minutes long; Lisa’s and mine was about 50 minutes in length.

I miss Lisa like crazy. The feeling is mutual. We got a little misty over it.

Her 16 year old kitty Harmony isn’t doing well despite being given IV liquids on a daily basis, which she will have to keep getting for as long as she lives. She’s losing weight and looks a little “depressed” to me. Probably just not feeling her best!

I feel for her and for Lisa. We just lost “our” Patches about a month ago…

I wonder if Lisa and I Will Ever Live in the Same Country Again

I sure do hope so. No matter how many friendships I develop here, there will never be one dearer to me than Lisa is. I miss her every day, several times a day.

The “something that’s missing” in Costa Rica is LISA!. This country fills me almost to overflowing, but it would take adding Lisa to the cup to make it reach the rim. Being this far away from her SUCKS!

On Wed. June 24th I Wrote

Ch-ch-ch-changes to plans!

Mao won’t be using me this evening for the English class because the location they’re at doesn’t have remote capabilities.  But I will be recruited to help him again whenever they are in  locations that allows for remote access.  So, that’s good!

And I won’t be dog-sitting after all.  My neighbors found a dog-sitting couple who can be there at least 16 hours a day, which is twice as long as I could commit to being there. Charli wouldn’t do well if I were to disappear for that long every day for two weeks.

I’m super happy for this result because the dog has separation anxiety and I know her “parents” are very much relieved that they found a better solution, too.  All’s well that ends well!

Rode the Bus to Grecia This Morning

… to get milk, cat food, vinegar, celery and an onion and to eat a Subway sandwich. The bus station is being repaved, so the driver let us off along a street at another location, but I recognized the area, so getting where I needed to go and back again for the return trip was a cinch.

It’s Super Windy Today

…like the Christmas Winds (aka Vientos de Navidad in Spanish ). The good news about this is that I get to hear my windchimes occasionally. But it takes super gusts of wind to come far enough inside the apartment to ring them. They are soooo  soothing to hear!

Charli appears to be the perfect weight now

She no longer has a draping tummy. It took almost nine months but she looks splendid now!

I’m Relieved that I Won’t Be Dog-sitting in July

I didn’t realize how much the idea was weighing me down until it was gone. I love my neighbors and adore their dog but caring for someone else’s pet for more than a few hours feels super MAJOR to me these days, and I don’t do major things all that comfortably anymore.

At 75, ya never know how you’re going to feel from day to day. Walking is a pleasure except when it isn’t, and I would have been walking every day for two weeks to get there and back.

And foul weather can and does pop up regularly in the afternoons this time of year.

And the neighborhood dog could bite me again and really lay me up this time.

Anything could happen to throw a monkey wrench into an extended commitment. I’m not normally a worrier, but that commitment had me fretting, so I’m glad it’s off my plate. The $200 would have come in mighty handy, but at the cost of my peace of mind. So, I’m glad they found a better option.

Men Have No Idea How to Organize and Operate a Country for Sustainable Life

Only women know what it takes to create a society that benefits every child and adult.

Matrifocal societies create, nurture, sustain and encourage goodwill, mutual interdependence, and civil discourse and engagement. It truly takes a village ethos to keep observational eyes on what’s happening and where beloved neighbors are struggling or suffering, etc.

Hearts, empathy, and service to others

…are apparent in matrifocal societies.

I think Costa Rica is a pretty good example. It has numerous high-profile female saints; matrifocal cultures cherish the divine feminine spirit in whomever it manifests, regardless of gender: Jesus, Mary, etc.

The U.S. Could Fall Off the World Stage

without unduly handicapping the rest of the world at this point in its history. All it’s delivering now is discord, disillusionment and despondency.

Sad but true.

ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES — devastating global consequences, at times!

ENOUGH OF THAT!

Life is too short and precious to me now to dwell on downer diatribes.

BUT it Looks Like PERHAPS

…enough voters are waking up and will be coming to the rescue. If THAT happens during the upcoming midterms, the U.S. will still have a fighting chance to survive beyond its 250th anniversary.

I’m NOT holding my breath, but I am seriously HOPEFUL.

If I ever lose HOPE, I hope I croak within minutes of losing it.

Life without hope is not just hope-less but solution-less. It’s NOT a place I ever want to end up!

I Need to Research the Immigration Processes in Panama and Ecuador

I ruled them out earlier in favor of Costa Rica (which has always been my first choice). BUT IF the cost of living here goes up and the exchange rate doesn’t recover, I may need to jump the extra hurdles necessary to relocate elsewhere.

Both Panama and Ecuador are cheaper to live in than Costa Rica, and they both use the USD, so the exchange rate isn’t a thing there…

It’s worth a little more research as a backup plan in case CR becomes too expensive to stay in and my sister doesn’t sell our property soon enough to put me in higher clover than I’m presently in.

Jaguar painting courtesy of Jose Francisco Hernandez Solano.

Copyright 2026 by artist.

DO NOT DISSEMINATE WITHOUT HIS EXPRESS PERMISSION.