CR Update 2007

March 2007

Hi everyone. I am planning my 3 month job-trip back to the states which will depend on where I find a job. There are several possibilities but nothing certain. NY is still my first choice and I have a temporary place to stay on Long Island while I get situated. There is nothing in Boston (I have asked) and so far nothing in NY--going back to San Leandro, CA may be a possibility. It is all timing.

Here in Nosara, we just had our St Patrick’s Day party which surpassed previous parties—200 people. It lasted from 5pm to 2am. We ran out of food, (not beer this time) the band was very good and at midnight three French guys and a real estate agent began playing their drums and people danced and it rocked for over an hour. Joe called it a pagan ritual. Last St. Patrick’s Day our core group was the Europeans and we only had 13 patrons—so far the growth of the pub has been exponential. Our friend Andy, the taxi driver who went to MIT, showed up with minimal notice and was our cook which helped Joe refrain from going completely over the edge with stress from the party preparations. We were in between phone numbers when Andy contacted us, my blog had disappeared from cyberspace and it is a miracle he found his way here.

We have a new phone number. We had to give back our borrowed cell phone and after much searching we bought another cell phone line. It is still in someone else’s name but he signed an agreement to sell it to us. We do not have land lines because we are in a private community with a private road and our developer has applied to purchase the lines. Our other infrastructure adventure was declaring our property so we can pay taxes. We were able to fill out the paperwork correctly, we think, and next year we will start paying property taxes.

We are still leaning toward selling the Galloper and putting the money toward an ATV. We got an estimate to have it fixed but it seems like there is always something needing fixing. Our other car, the Pathfinder, is so far doing well. Our cats and dogs are fine. Ainsley left for 3 days and Joe was beside himself preparing himself for the worst. At 5 am we heard the scratching on the door and there was Ainsley.

My woman’s health group is coming along. We are doing a health survey, planning a career day for the girls of Nosara, and planning for a monthly visit from a gynecologist. It is a volunteer group so the attendance is sporadic which makes it hard to progress. With more Ticas attending, my Spanish is improving. My overall goal is to do some fundraising and write the grant proposal and we will. These projects are the building blocks and will make it easier to get money to develop some programs.

And where is my blog. It disappeared. No record of it anywhere, Buck Shaw says. I am hoping it is a Google problem and it will be fixed. In the meantime I am starting a new blog. I write to google regularly to find my old blog but no luck. Anyway, it is still beautiful here, fresh air, good water, being outside all the time and swimming daily. The good life is a wonderful thing. Write back when you can. Love Joe and Helena