Nuestra nueva lavadora

Our first Christmas in Costa Rica was wonderful, spending time with friends & Tico family.  Tamales, turkey, roast pork ... the works!  It was 2 days of pretty much non-stop party.  But then, boxing day brought back reality.

You all may, or may not, remember the trauma of last February where we paid way too much for a load of laundry so went out and bought a washer.  Well, it WAS old, and of course had its problems, like bladder control (at least it lived outside).  It finally gave up the proverbial ghost the beginning of this week, so it was either wear dirty clothes, pay for some exhorbitantly priced laundry service or go out and find a washer.  Having already experienced the joys of a used washer, I, in my (sometimes less than) infinite wisdom, started pricing washers.  Check Craigslist ... nope, Check Encuentra24 ... nope, Check MercadoLibre ... nope.  Hummm ... trip to Grecia is in the offing, I see.

So, yesterday, I hop in the car with my buddy, Brenda, and off we go.  Hit 5 or 6 appliance stores to check pricing and any other perks that might be germane.  Sheesh ... I have to buy a new washer?  So, went to the repair shop, where they thought it might be the solenoid (at $50 + a $40 housecall), but it might not be.  Hummm ... out of desperation, paid $165 (too much) 10 months ago for a machine with a bent shaft ... do I want to put another $100 in it?  Nope!  Do we have the $$ for a new machine?  Not so much.  Just paid Marchamo (registration & insurance for the car for the year), have Property Taxes and Insurance coming up, annual garbage bill, not to mention that we just had not one, but two new motherboards put in our TVs due to lightning issues with cable!

Then I remembered the stash of 500 colones coins that I'd been working on for months (Thanks to Brenda for the idea) for something fun.  These coins are HUGE and weigh a ton, so better to stash them than to carry around in one's purse or pocket.  There were enough to pay for over 2/3 of a new washer.  What is more fun than clean clothes, I rationalize?  So thanks to Dickie, our friend from Chinook, WA who lives just below Grecia, for the transportation:

Instead of this:

We now have this:  

It works very well, is quiet and sorta cute!  Now I need to go find an old sheet to use as a cover to keep it nice and pretty!  Merry Christmas to us!  

The Twelve Days of Christmas (or Thirteen, depending on how you count)

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 

12 motorcycles revving, 

11 more meters of flat space, 

10 empty 

wine bottles (to put in recycling, of course), 


9 Tractors chugging 

(very slowly up the mountain hauling coffee),

8 roosters crowing 

(at around 6, which is OK, because the coffee pickers were already 

partying down), 

7 doggies barking, 

6 coffee pickers picking (at

5:30 

am), 

5 .. trips .. to .. the .. lumberyard, 

4 conflicting parties, 

3 neighbors calling, 

2 happy kitties, 

1 almost finished guestroom and 

a flock of parrots in a banana tree!



OK, so it needs a little work!

Felíz Navidad!

Busy, busy, busy!

I have to begin by saying I.AM.TIRED.OF.DRIVING.TO.TOWN!  It seems to always be something ... food, wine, building materials, Marchamo (more on that later), wine, food, building materials ... something!   Needless to reiterate, but I will nonetheless; Busy, busy, busy!

Marchamo

This is the annual combination vehicle registration/insurance that must be paid each December. Basic insurance + registration (which theoretically includes "road maintenance") for around $127/year.  Obviously, this has yet to be "installed" on the windshield.  (Picture intentionally blurred)

"Easy" to pay ... unless you bought the car this year and the INS (federal insurance program) didn't bother to input the change in ownership, in which case you:

• Go to Banco XXXXXXXX (libal laws and all that)
• Go to the back area where they take care of Marchamo
• Go to the office marked "Marchamo Aqui"
• Get told to wait in the lobby and go to a different place to pay
• Wait in line to pay
• Get to the desk, only to be told that you will need to go to the office "last door on the right" to get the registration changed into your name (had the paperwork stamped by Registro National in hand)
• Give over said paperwork + passport for copies
• Be told to wait "5 minutes"
• Return to line in lobby and wait 15 minutes
• Go back to desk and wait a little more because, apparently, the computers don't talk to one another in the same language
• Pay & get receipt
• Return to original office marked "Marchamo Aqui"
• Watch clerk sort stubs numerically for about 10 minutes without acknowledging your existence.
• Hand over receipt
• Wait till 5 other certifications are printed out
• Get your certificate & sticker

I will, for sure, pay online next year.  Just print your own receipt, go to "office" and wait for the clerk to sort stubs for a while.  

TV & Thunderstorms

During the "rainy-season" (i.e. May - November) we get a LOT of electrical storms in Costa Rica.  The areas most prone are those up here in the mountains.  

We came knowing that, when electrical storms approach, you unplug EVERYTHING.  No brainer!  Also no problems ... till we got cable.  Duh!  Whodathunkit, but you also have to pull the cable or the electricity will still come ZAP your TV.  So, in one month, we went from 40" to 32" to 21" and back to 40" ... after huge repair bills on both the 40" & 32".  Both are back and we now know to be uber diligent about unplugging the cable too. Also, managed to lose the HDMI in my laptop, but we get by.

Christmas

Christmas is HUGE here.  Every house has some kind of decoration and most people seem to put their Christmas Trees on the front porch.  I like that!  Tamales everywhere (except our house, where we've eaten the whole batch already), shoppers in flip flops, lights up the palms, Poinsettias growing wild, hotels full, incredible sunsets, hardly any rain at all.  Most everything comes to a screeching halt around ... well ... today!  Businesses tend to close a bit early on the 23rd and Christmas Eve seems to be when the big celebrations happen.  Starting out partying in the afternoon, dinner near (or at) midnight, THEN kids and presents.  Not so much "Santa", but a little.  

The preparation of  "Goodies" for friends and neighbors is slightly problematic without an oven or an actual kitchen, but I managed.  

There be Rum balls, Rum-flavored balls (for the kiddies), no bake chocolate/oatmeal/peanut butter cookies & chocolate dipped pretzels in there.  

Fun, but a lot of work without a truly functional kitchen yet.  

Mas Christmas

Tomorrow, we will go to our friends Dickie & Ofelia's house for a fairly traditional CR Christmas.  Starting around 3 or so (don't forget to bring the swim suit) we will gather for an afternoon of fun & frolic, followed by a Turkey dinner, followed by ... followed by ... followed by.  Update after the event.

Un poco mas Christmas

On Christmas Morning, heading to Fraijanes to our family's "farm".  Can't wait to hang with Marco & Mari and whichever of their children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews/cousins, etc. make it up.  It is always a great time! Will also update on that one as well.

That's it for now, I guess.  Big couple of days of driving ahead ... not far, but long!  Felíz Navidad!

Me Amo,  Kathleen

It's been all too long (or "Ha pasado demasiado tiempo")

Life in a construction zone seems to get in the way of posting.  Flog 'mi con una hoja de plantain!'  (Use "TAH GOOGLES" if you don't know what an 'hoja de plantain' is).  Some updates, not necessarily in chronological order are:

  Building out the Carport

AND

Having Thanksgiving with friends and neighbors in our (almost finished) "Bodega", which will REALLY be the guest room.

AND

Making Mexican flavor Tamales, in the Tico Style.  (Have you ANY idea of how labor intensive this is?)

In a  Kitchen that looks like this, only worse:

AND

Taking Spanish Language classes

AND

Buying Pineapples, Wine, Pork Chops, Concrete, Tomatoes, Ciggies, Cucumbers, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Burger, Wine, Avocados, Steel & Wood, Wine, Chicken breasts, Tomatoes, Beer, GingerAle, Christmas stocking for the dog, Dog Treats, Cat Treats, paint, Screws, Rice, Wine, Ciggies, steel cutting blades, chips, black beans, red beans, white beans, cream cheese, Wine, paint, cement (not to be confused with concrete), ciggies, Cement, rock, gravel, Wine, (Just to name a FEW ...  I think you might get the picture.) As one of my favorite authors once said:  "And so it goes!"  (guess the author of that quote for a free week at "La casa de Noah/Thompson"  (No, we haven't come up with a catchy name, as of yet!)  (Some restrictions may apply)

AND 

Another Visa Run to Nicaragua

AND

Practically LIVING at Ferreteria Los Angeles.  

Yeah, yeah, nothing to do at all.  Can't wait till I win the Yaris tomorrow in the drawing @SuperRosville (my FAVE Supermarket!)  Shut up, Branda Luisa!

More Pics later, Love to you all!

Tenga Paz,

Kat

Happy Fourth of July, Wiley Update and Progress Report

We wish all of you in the states a happy holiday ... and our Expat friends here, too!  Today is just another day in CR, however.  There are a few celebrations, but we've got too much to do to participate.

Tuesday morning, Roy, Wiley & I hopped in the "bounce-zuki" and headed into Grecia for Wiley's check up and next round of shots.  Mr. Wiley is a VERY good dog in the car, laying on a pillow with his head between the seats, totally relaxed.  Got to the vet, he went in on his leash and into the exam room with no problems.  First, the weigh in ... he went from 3 kilos on June 11 to 6 kilos on July 2!  He is no more just all ribs and backbone.  Roy has him trained to sit with either voice or hand command and he LOVES his leash. He is afraid of balls at this point ... we are strongly suspecting that he has had things hurled at him in the past and hoping he gets over it.  For now, he is content to play with "ducky" ... inside, outside, on the lawn, in the dirt.  Wonder what will happen when I toss dirty ducky in the wash?  Guess we'll find out soon!

Wiley doesn't always look this sad ... he is sad because Ducky is here:

On another note, we're headed to Granada Nicaragua Monday morning.  Can't believe we are making our second visa run already!  Granada is a colonial city on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, with a population of over 100K, so it will be a very different trip from the one to San Juan del Sur.  There is a Coco Museum ... samples?  Got a room at a highly recommended small hotel with a pool for $34/night.  Will post photos upon our return.

Still waiting on the permit for the "bodega" ... due by today, but this IS Costa Rica.  I guess it was too much to hope for that it would come as quickly as the cochera permit!  Roy has a giant hole in the wall of the existing garage, in order to install a door into the cochera ... so we can finally get rid of the "carbuncle".

THIS: 

GOES HERE:

SO WE CAN GET RID OF THIS:

Our new septic system is pretty much ready to hook up and fill in

Got clothes on the line, another load in the washer, need to do dishes & mop the floors ... more later!

Tenga Paz,

Kathleen

Army Ants, Lazy Cats, Clean Dogs & Tico Bingo

Today was a little different ... Roy, fixing to work on the new septic system, calls to me "baby, you need to look at this" ... as you know, I hear this alot!  Slipped on some sandals and walked out back to see what.  ARMY ANTS!  They are known in these parts as "cleaner" ants, as they swarm over the property, consuming all the stuff we DON'T want around ... dead bugs, live bugs if they can catch them, bug eggs, scorpions, ect.  These photos don't really show how MANY of them there were because they also bite and I didn't want that to happen twice!  Suffice it to say that the back of the house was BLACK!

Not really wanting to stick around to see if they swarmed INSIDE, we grabbed the dog  ... more on him later ... hopped in the "jumpzuki" and headed to Steve & Brenda's house.  Got as far as Soda San Luis and remembered that we needed to be home for Ferreteria Los Angeles to deliver materials, so, sigh, turned around and went back home.  By this time, the ants were all.over.the.place ... but it didn't last long, thankfully.  

When the army moved on, Roy decided that he could do a little septic excavation, and then discovered that he needed a few more plumbing parts, so off to Ferreteria I went, bought parts and came back home to bathe the (rather) stinky dog.  It was a "two man job", so I don't have photos, but we, together, got 'er done.  Wiley smells sooooo much better now and behaved better than expected!

Kiki, however, was totally underwhelmed by the whole thing.

The other day, our new acquaintance, Hymie, stopped by to sell us tickets to the local church fundraiser bingo game.  Now, I am NOT a bingo person, but WTF, so Brenda & I decided to go (the guys were TOTALLY not going to go with).  Grabbed a quick, post dog bath shower and off to la iglesia for fun & games.  

Bingo is a little different here as:  a) you had better know your numbers in spanish and b) they don't EVER say "B - 12", just doce (12).  Then, of course, when it is "4 corners", or whatever and you don't understand ... still fun and we were the only gringos (gringas) there!  I hear there is a really HOT game in San Juan from time to time which we will probably hit when it next happens.  

So, that's life "en el campo" today ... exciting, no?

Tenga Paz,

K

Frontline Spray

Due to a comment on last night's post, I thought I would post a link to assure everyone that I am not abusing the dog!

http://www.frontlineplus.com.au/media/pdf/fl_spray_app_guide.pdf

Where is this coming from? And doggie update

I am so glad that my our friends are following our "journey", but a girl has to wonder ... what the hell is UP with these 'stats'?!  In the last month, I seem to have had the following viewers :

Pageviews by Countries Entry Pageviews United States 365 Costa Rica 29 Pakistan 28 Russia 20 Germany 19 Nigeria 11 Indonesia 9 Ukraine 6 Czech Republic 5 Italy 5

Since I started this blog, the stats are:

United States	2672
Costa Rica	230
Germany	125
Canada	82
Russia	72
United Kingdom	50
Pakistan	28
Japan	14
Indonesia	11
Mexico	11

Really?  I mean, lots of US, CA & CR, which is to be expected, but  the rest of them ... WTF?????  Do they somehow think they have wandered onto a porn site or what?  I have a friend in Japan, OK!  Some in the UK ...  OK, Italy ... maybe, it's a gaming thing, but the others?  Pakistan?  Nigeria?  Russia?  Indonesia?  Really?  How do they get here ... are they really here ... I don't know enough about this "blog thingie" to know.  Anybody got a clue?

The Dog

The puppy is doing well.  Eat, shit, sleep!  Pretty much like any 4 month old baby!  Or, perhaps like all of us who don't work outside the home anymore!  We still haven't settled on a name, but that is forthcoming ... Thanks for your feedback!  Stay tuned.

Spent yet another bunch of $$ today for:  a) leash;  b) a squeaky ball;  c) a brush ("easy clean") and best of all ... an aerosol  bottle of "Frontline" for around $30 ... now, compare that with the single dose @ $15!  Don't know exactly why this product is clearly labeled " NOT REGISTERED FOR USE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", but it is.

Is this a typical product of our "nanny state", where some many most people can't read, therefore can't follow instructions on packaging, or just another symptom of our (US) kowtowing to big Pharma or what?  Six pumps of the bottle every TWO months ... three on the neck, three on the belly ... duh?!?!?!  Just sayin'.

Rambling and ranting , past my bedtime ... Tenga Paz

K

Our newest addition, a vote & progress.

Saturday morning, early, I am just waking up when Roy calls to me "Baby, you've got to take a look at this". Now, this is not an uncommon thing to hear and I always look ... but this was really something to see.  This little guy was foraging in our compost pile for any little edible morsel.

Dirty dog

He could barely stand, was totally flea ridden & filthy, starving to death and we couldn't stand it.  We, of course, are NOT set up for a dog, but we fed him some leftover chicken & rice (it was supposed to be Roy's lunch), hauled out a cat bed (our cats prefer our bed, our chair or anything except a bona fide pet bed) and made him a nest.  I ran to the pulperia and bought some puppy food, although we didn't know at that point if he was a puppy or just small.  Couldn't let him in the house because a) fleas; b) possibility of heartworm and c) he had a real STANK goin' on.  By the next morning, he was walking a little better & eating more, but still we didn't know if the poor little guy would make it.

Monday I had a trip to Alajuela planned with some girlfriends and we had put it off way too many times (for one reason or another ... more on that later), so I went ahead, instead of cancelling, yet again, to take the waif to the vet.

Tuesday morning, shoved the pup in a cat carrier, hopped in the car and took off for the vet (who is great, but looks like he is about 20, or 12).  He checked out the dog, around 4 months old, no heartworm, but plenty of the other kind and, of course, fleas and malnutrition.  He kept the dog, bathed him, gave him his shots, wormed him and he was ready in a couple of hours.  Cost?  8,000 colones (around $16).  We then bought him special high protein food, vitamins, flea shampoo, treats, chew sticks & a collar.  Cost?  21,500 colones (around $43 ... sigh).  He looks SO much better & smells good too!  All he does at this point is eat, sleep and follow Roy around ... like a puppy!  Here is a shot from this morning.

Clean dog

Cute little guy, yes?  Coati nose, gremlin ears, overbite and VERY long legs.  Not at all aggressive toward "the girls", although he does growl a little bit when Kiki steals his food ... for now, we will fix that!  He certainly has added a new kink to our life ... did we want a dog?  No.  Could we help it?  No.  Can we wait till he gets a little meat on his bones?  No.  Me with a dog?  Really?  

Still haven't named him, which is where you all come in.  We've come up with a list of possible names, but can't decide.  Want to weigh in?  Please do!

Bandito - because of the mask
Mojito - because I LIKE them a LOT
Chewey (short for Chewbaca) - Just because
Astro - remember the Jetsons?
Einstein - because he is really smart
Farley - because he sorta looks like a Farley
Neo - because he is new ... also the Matrix
Indy - because he is independant ... also Indiana Jones
Obie - Wan Kenobi?
Lucky - because is is ... he survived alone & found suckers to adopt him
Mylo - don't know ... just like it
Navi - you know ... Avatar ... big ears
Radar - because he can zone in on food in a hurry
Dexter - because Roy likes it ... even tho that IS a fictional serial killer!
Paz - because it is Spanish for Peace

Help us out here in the comments.  All opinions will be considered, but no promises.  Other suggestions welcome, as well.

OK, reasons for cancelling trips to Alajuela?  Well, first, check engine and battery lights on ... hummm.  New belt, yes, but no change; rebuild alternator ... no new ones out there.  Then, on the WAY to Alajuela (a week ago) much shuddering, clanking, turning around and limping back to the mechanic for new U-joints!  All seems to be well at the moment, but it does always seem to be something!

The Project
Here is where we are so far.

The green board will get stucco, the post on the left is dual purpose:  support for gate rail and corner post for the "bodega" (storage space).  We are calling the guest quarters the bodega for permitting purposes ... much easier!  We are almost ready for concrete.  Roy built the gates (this shot doesn't show the back ones, which swing as opposed to roll).  Oh, and there is Roy's butt!  He is working on the guide and lock system for said gates as I type.

Roy is REALLY good at digging holes.  This is what he did in a couple of hours on Saturday morning.  Here is a shot of 1/2 of our new septic system

There will be two tanks, the other one hasn't been dug in yet ... 

Gotta do housework now ... ick!  When I am rich, I WILL hire a housekeeper!

Tenga Paz!

Kathleen

I think it MIGHT be the "rainy season"!

Just sayin, if I had a fireplace, I would be curled up in front of it with my kitties and my Kindle!  Not cold, but damp.  Not that it rains all the time, mind you ... but almost every day, we get some of what looks like this:

See that river between our driveway and the road?  That is a LOT of water!  Sure keeps things clean though:-)

Work on the "cochera" continues.  Nice that there is a roof, so Roy can weld when it is raining and stay dry!  Here is a shot of the (not yet completed) gate and the stem wall that Roy has already accomplished today:

It started raining early (like 11:30) today, so he covered his fresh stem wall with a couple of pieces of tin roofing ... THAT works!

I can't really plant any sort of garden or landscaping yet, given that the property is a construction zone, but I haven't been able to help myself.  So, small containers are what it has to be for now.

Our new garden consists of, left to right:  An unidentified plant that we saved from the cochera excavation ... might be a baby plantain, might be a weed ... who knows yet;  a Lily that a neighbor dropped by with the other night ... bloomed right away;  a Tomato plant that was also rescued from the excavation, which has quadrupled in size and has blooms after only a week & 1/2;  a pot of Chives ... only a couple showing so far; a pot of Marjoram and one of Rosemary, neither of which have popped up yet;  a pot of little bulbs from the same neighbor, which have pretty pink flowers when they are in bloom;  yerba buena (aka Mint) that I started in water from some I bought at Feria;  Basil, from the same source;  a starter tray of garlic ... why buy it?;  a tray of Sweet Peas, couldn't resist;  and a pot of Cilantro, which isn't doing so well, I think it may have root rot because I planted whole plant, not seeds.  Not pictured are the Hydrangea starts that the same neighbor gave us.  They are along the hedge.  Not starts exactly, just sticks ... but just about anything you stick in the ground will grow here.  

Roy put up that wire fencing for the Sweet Peas to climb and almost immediately, we got a new pet!!

I had never seen a stick bug before!  Roy stuck his (really large) hand up for scale.  It stuck around for about a day and a half and then, sadly, it was gone.  Sigh ... I guess we'll just stick with kitties!

A few weeks ago (back when Roy actually got to leave the property occasionally, before I chained him to the cochera), we were shopping and he found some of these (we think).

Bigger than a pinto, but smaller than a baby lima; here they call them Frijoles Cubanó ... I tried researching them with that name and got nothing, but Bolita Beans are the closest I could come.  Anyway, cooked 'em up with some smoked pork chops, onion, garlic, etc.  and YUM!  Smoked pork chops are the closest thing you can get to a fresh ham around these parts, so they just have to do.  Should have taken a photo of the finished product before we devoured them all!  I will post the "recipe" on that page.

Today is Black Bean Soup ... sensing a trend here?  Beans & Rice are the staples of the Costa Rican diet, so in an attempt to fit in (and save money), I have been trying to use them both ... a lot!  Wish I had my oven functional so I could make cornbread or drop biscuits, but oh well!  Will try to remember to snap a shot of the BBS with Avocado & Sour Cream before it gets inhaled tonight!

You may remember the saga of the 11K colones + that I was double charged by a grocer months ago.  Got a call from Banco National yesterday saying my money was finally back in my account!  Gee, only 2 months later, but $22 bucks is $22 bucks!  Still, I don't plan to shop there anymore, at least not with my debit card.

More later,  Katalina

I know, I know ... It has been a while

I just realized that it has been a full two months since I updated y'all!  Highly unlike me to be quiet, huh?  Anyway, here is a quick update on the past two months.

Our "stuff" finally arrived on Wednesday, March 27 at nearly dark.  Bear in mind, that is in the middle of Semana Santa ... Easter Week.  Hardly anyone works, everyone is on vacation!  Everything is closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, so while we were told that it was coming, we held little hope.  BUT, the truck arrives w/a driver & two guys to unload.  It was fast and furious, even with Roy helping.  We just tried to get garage stuff in the garage and house stuff in the house ... not entirely successfully, I might add.  Everything arrived, but damage to china and glassware won't be determined until we are ready to unpack such things.

The next two weeks (mas o menos) were spent shuffling boxes, unpacking the bare minimum and wondering why we brought so much "stuff".  If you remember the original photos of the three bedrooms all in a row, well, there are now only two, Roy having removed one wall and moved another.  So, there is now a bedroom and a "storage" room ... for the time being.

Oh, yeah, so Easter Sunday was the third birthday of our friend, Alberto's son.  Took a road trip to Frijanies to participate.  So much fun to hang with Marco, Mari & Family!!

In the middle of all this, we had to make our first "visa run" to Nicaragua.  Ill timed, but necessary.  Took "Tica Bus" and they took care of getting us into Nicaragua (and out again), although it is a bit disconcerting to hand over your passport to someone you don't know.  San Juan del Sur is a really quaint town ... muy barata, tambien!

We love how when the concrete sidewalks need repair, the people take things into their own hands and take care of the problem.  Just a couple of examples, but there are MANY more!  So much fun to explore.  Looks like we might have to return there before our trip back to the states for paperwork in August!

On the way home from San Juan del Sur, we had a couple of hours to kill, waiting for the bus in Rivas, so we took a pedi-cab to el Parque Central ... quite lovely.  Hot, but lovely!

Tica Bus is the only way to travel, even though there was a bit of a misunderstanding (gee, can you say language barrier?) about getting off on the Autopista in Grecia (we didn't even come CLOSE to Grecia on the way back) ... ended up going all the way into San Jose and taking a bus to Grecia, then a cab to our friends' house to pick up our car ... didn't know if we would even make the last bus, but we did.

Building in Costa Rica 

In talking with vecinos (neighbors) up here on the "hill", we decided that we could build the carport (cochera) without a permit ... NOT!  Well, that opens up yet another can of bureaucratic worms for Katalina!  So, someone ratted us out and we got a visit from the local building inspector ... OK, easier to ask forgiveness than permission, right?  He was VERY nice and told me to go to Municipalidad to get a permit ... this is on a Thursday afternoon ... late.  I went to town on Friday to take care of it all ... hah!  

Found out that a)  there is a stamp that needs to be on our original Plat map, called Visado, before any permits can be issued.  b) to GET Visado stamp you have to have all sorts of weird shit, like a "note" from the water department stating that you have potable water there ... duh ... a paid water bill won't do it?  Nope!  

Every time I went back to Municipalidad, thinking I had all the "boxes checked off" ... hah!  Nope, you have to go to Seguro Social to get a "note" saying you don't owe them money, and, you have to go to the Officina de Correos (Post Office) and pay a bunch of colones to get a CERTIFIED copy of the paper you already have ... sigh.  OH, yes, and you HAVE to have an architect signed plan of the carport!  (Side note ... you should SEE some of the "carports" in this neighborhood" ... just sayin!)  OK, fine, I can do this.   After seeking the assistance of a young neighbor, Michael ( who speaks both English & Spanish incredibly well and without whose help I would have jumped off a ridge), I found an Architect, Luis Nuñez (who, by the way, rocks) and let him do up the "plans" for the 3/4 built cochera ... he charged us (mas o menos) $100.  Had plans in hand early Tuesday morning, did all the requisite "running around getting other paperwork" and turned in the completed package Tuesday "noon-ish" ... OK, so Roy can't work, it is going to take 6 months (from all the horror stories we've heard).  

On Thursday at 3:00 PM local time, got a call from Geoffery (my English speaking buddy at Municipalidad), saying that my Permit is READY!  What?  Two days?  Really?  !!!!!  Went to town the next morning, picked up permit, brought it home, taped that sucker to the wall and we are LEGAL!  

My TWO new homes

So, yes, we have a new home:  1 km Norte de la Escuela San Luis.  I, however have yet another new home:  Ferreteria Los Angeles.  It is about 15 minutes from here, on the way down to Grecia and I am there so often I can't even begin to say!  My new friend, Jonathan, is pretty much the only guy there who speaks any English, so he is totally mi amigo (cute young thing, too!)  Anyway, I am there at LEAST every other day ... sometimes every day.  Square steel tubing, redi-mix, screws, roofing, blades, paint, rebar, steel studs, hinges, wheels for the gate (also the track for same) etc., AND I have most of the words in Spanish!!  

Due to my trips to FLA (as I so fondly refer to the lumber yard), and Roy's HARD work, we have this to show, so far (Please forgive laundry on the line, but at least it isn't DIRTY laundry :-) )

See the rebar running there?  That is for the stem wall for the cochera and the new "bodega" that is coming next ... it isn't REALLY going to be a bodega, but the guest quarters for y'all so you can come visit!  Also for us to live in when we tear into the house.  

Kitties are well ... I know that is what you REALLY want to know!  

When Roy reads this, I am SURE he will have additional information that I have omitted for whatever reason ... age, too much stuff going on, etc.  So, expect an update/edit soon.  I will try to do better in the future ... been so busy!  

Pura Vida, Katalina!