A Last-Minute Birthday Bash

Perhaps it's in bad taste to brag about one's own birthday party, but I must. Besides, my friends here in Santa Eulalia organized the thing in about 24 hours so that has to be some kind of record right there and worthy of note for that reason alone. But since it turned into such a splendid party, I really must share the photos and a bit of the story.

It all came about, I suppose, because I kept gloating that I was able to keep up on the "hike from hell" despite it being the last day of my 67th year. So everyone knew my birthday was the next day. After our relaxing afternoon on Marcial and Seidy's patio, I made the short walk home (somewhat surprised I could still walk at all!) and not long after, I found an email from Sue saying, unless I objected, they were all coming to my house the next evening to celebrate my birthday. I was instructed to do nothing to prepare, assured that they would bring all food and drink.

Eroca and her outrageously delicious carrot cake!

For a natural-born hostess like me, these were difficult orders to follow but I did my best, heading to the gym early Monday morning for a workout then taking the 10:00 a.m. bus back to Santa Eulalia, where I spent most of the afternoon writing a blog on the previous day's strenuous hike. Marc and Eroca arrived around 5:15 p.m. with two cakes in hand and that seemed to signal the start of the party. Never short of anything to talk about, we entertained each other until a taxi arrived with Bonnie and Stephen and Chris and Sue, carrying plates of food and bottles of drink. When Marcial and Seidy showed up a little later, things were in full swing.

Sous-chef Stephen at work

Both Chris and Stephen are accomplished chefs who enjoy nothing more than whipping up something scrumptious in the kitchen. Chris had already prepared a special cabbage lasagna (I know it sounds strange but trust me, it was delicious!) and just needed an oven to bake it for an hour. Unbeknownst to him, my oven was awaiting a new lower element to replace a broken one so we had to resort to using the Broil setting on Lo. Chris must have felt like he was on Chopped on the Food Channel and had just been handed a pork roast with marshmallows to cook without a working oven! But he soldiered on and by using aluminum foil over the pan and setting it on a lower shelf, somehow it worked.

Meanwhile, Stephen was serving as sous-chef, cutting up the broccoli for the side dish and working his magic on a big salad with yummy chunks of mango mixed in. Seidy got in the act with her fantastic homemade tortillas while Eroca added candles to the cakes. Bonnie found a way to be helpful by tasting the icing!

The best tortillas you ever tasted

Bonnie shares icing with Eroca

Eroca, Bonnie & Seidy dish up!

Through the magic of the Internet, we even had virtual Layne at the party. Using Skype to Skype with video, he was displayed on the TV screen and we took turns saying Hi to him, giving him a running commentary on the evening's fun. It would have been wonderful to have him here in person but with his face on the big screen, we were able to share some of the pleasure by long distance at least.

Marcial and Seidy talk with "Virtual Layne"

Dinner is served!

Eventually, dinner was ready and we all helped our plates, ready to retire to the back patio. But not before Marcial took a moment to address the group, expressing for everyone our joy at being together and humbling me with very sweet comments about how much I am loved and appreciated by this great group of people.

Make a wish, Kat! 

When the cake was brought out - happily, a few candles short of my age! - I made my wish and blew out the candles as everyone sang the birthday serenade. It was a very special birthday, made even richer by all the Facebook birthday wishes I received, one I shall long remember as a perfect example of the Pura Vida world I've come to love.

Muchas gracias, mis amigos!!

Halloween Costa Rica Style

The last dinner with Chris & Sue

So the Santa Eulalia Sunday party gang punked out on us today, can you believe it? We were all scheduled to take the 8:20 a.m. bus into Atenas and then hike down to Barrio Los Angeles to the soccer field on the off chance that we might catch a "futbol" game there. But at 8:05 this morning Marcial called to say that Bonnie and Stephen had decided not to go and that in fact, he and Seidy were still in bed as well. With Chris and Sue back in the States for a couple of months gathering the paperwork for their residency application, our Sunday hiking plans were off.

After a pretty strenuous evening for both couples last night I suppose a more generous hearted correspondent might say one could hardly blame them. Bonnie and Stephen had spent last night watching the third game of the World Series, rooting with great enthusiasm for the Giants. (Of course, we know how exhausting that can be!) Marcial and Seidy had gone with us to the Halloween party at Kay's Gringo Postre, where we danced the night away in our imaginative costumes: a Rasta couple for them and Ernest Hemingway and Mae West for Layne and me.

Ernest and Mae make a lovely couple! 

But since I am not such a generous hearted journalist, I hereby officially shame them for their slovenly ways. Layne and I are obviously the hardcore couple in this neighborhood. Since we were up and dressed, ready to catch the bus, we decided to get our exercise alone. So off we went, arriving in town to find that the Fiesta Patronales (see last week's post for more on Fiestas Patronales) was still going on in the Parque Central and along the street in front of the Catholic Church. As we wandered by the food booths we listened to the melodious sounds of some sort of xylophone, as Ticas prepared tortillas on an open burner for people waiting in line. Had it not seemed so "touristy," I would have taken a video of the scene because it was a classic look at Tico life.

Monumento de Boyero

But onward we hiked down the familiar route we used to take when we lived in Barrio Los Angeles, remembering the noisy traffic along the main road before taking the turn off at the Monumento de Boyero, which commemorates the historical route of the oxcarts and marks the entrance to the community of Los Angeles. (See this post for more on oxcart history.) After stopping for short rests at a couple of bus benches, we eventually arrived at the soccer field. A worker was mowing the grass and coach-types were just starting to put up the game paraphernalia but when we asked what time the game would start, we learned that it was still more than an hour away. So after a pleasant break, Layne and I headed back toward Atenas, stopping off for a few groceries before calling a taxi for the ride back up to Santa Eulalia.

So here we are with a Sunday afternoon to ourselves. But alas! We have no Internet! So who knows when I'll be able to post this blog? We have suffered intermittent problems with our broadband the last few days. On Thursday we thought it had been fixed after our landlord went to ICE (the electric company that handles our Internet service) to report the problem and a worker promptly came out to reprogram our modem. It seemed to be working until yesterday when once again it dropped off and we've been unable to revive it since. We're definitely experiencing withdrawal symptoms, so reliant are we on that technological connection to the world.

Of course, we feel a bit dragged out after a night of Halloween festivities ourselves. Though the crowd was much smaller than last year's event at Kay's, the zealous attendees more than made up for their low numbers with high energy as they danced to the oldies, drank wine and toasted each other's costumes. 

Seidy as da Rasta gal

Star Trek Commander Leonard and Rasta-mon Marcial

Trekkies Sally and Leonard

Hostess Kay danced every dance!

When the judges of the costume contest began their deliberations, there was little doubt of the eventual winner. Decked out in a sequined flapper dress, a lengthy strand of pearls draped round her neck and armed with a long black cigarette holder, Francis easily carried away the 10,000 colones ($20) prize. Although I missed getting a really good shot of her, this pose will give you some idea of her pizzazz. With her dedicated work rescuing animals here in Atenas, we know that prize money will be put to good use at the Lighthouse Animal Shelter. Congratulations, Francis!

Francis takes the prize!

Well, a couple of hours later and the Internet is magically alive again so I'll try to get this posted before it fades away. Pura Vida!
 

Turtle-speed Internet and Goat Cheese Goodies

Despite our love of the country, Layne and I would likely not be in Costa Rica if it weren't for the Internet. "How's the Internet?" has been one of the first questions we ask when looking for housing over the last two and a half years. Speed and reliability are critically important to us both. Thanks to the plethora of news websites, we stay in touch with world events, United States politics and other news. With email we communicate with friends and family around the world. Signed up now with USTVNow, we can watch U.S. programming such as the presidential debates, baseball playoffs or just the Food Network. With Google and other search engines, we are able to look up virtually anything, offering us a far broader range of research sources than even the largest public library. With Skype or Magic Jack I can call my mom every week just as I have for many years and we can chat with friends by video or voice. All in all, it's a mainstay of our happiness and contentment here.

The other day I had occasion to feel like I was ON the Food Network as I faced a basket of disparate items and a goal of making a dinner out of them, a la the cooking program "Chopped." Somehow we had ended up with way too many beets in our organic order for our normal consumption as well as some goat cheese that was close to going bad. In town that day thinking of hamburgers as a backup plan for dinner, we had picked up some ground beef. So there I was with three ingredients in a less than  obvious combination for a meal. How was I to use all that?

Off I went to the computer, entered "hamburger, goat cheese, beet recipe" in Google and up came a predictably weird recipe but one that now, having made it, I would count as a new favorite. The subtle goat cheese flavors in the ivory-colored garlic cream sauce along with the addition of fresh herbs in the meatballs, both topping the crazy red spaghetti, makes for a colorful and tasty dish. I didn't think to take a photo of my version of "Goat Cheese Meatballs, Beets and Spaghetti" but I'm sure Diane, the author of Created By Diane, the blog where I found it, won't mind my use of her shot. I encourage you to give it a try if you like beets and goat cheese and if you need a vegetarian version, just omit the meatballs! The cream sauce is a sure winner.

And speaking of food, there's a nice new restaurant in town -- Cafe Cultura. Well, it's not actually new, just under new management and the changes are welcome. The earlier effort at Cafe Cultura could claim some good food but the service was marginal. Once Layne ordered French toast and it was delivered to the table sans butter or syrup! Plus, there was no whole wheat bread and the food was sometimes served cold, among a few other limitations. The new and improved Cafe Cultura still offers delicious Eggs Benedict and the standard Tico breakfast of Gallo Pinto and eggs but also lists Smoothies, croissant sandwiches and lots of other goodies on the menu. Pleasant outdoor seating provides a lovely fresh-air dining experience. 

The new owner is putting in gardens in the back where he plans to grow his own organic veggies and herbs. Apparently the ambiance suits one shelled reptile that surprised us with a stroll across the lawn. It made an entertaining video and I'm sure he was going at top speed as he eyed the dangerous humans nearby, but let's hope we never have Internet as slow as this turtle!