A Titmouse Takes a Shower

One of the (few) things we miss when living in Costa Rica are tomatillos, those husked green fruits with the tart taste so perfect for salsas, chili verde and other spicy Mexican dishes. For some reason this fruit is virtually unheard of in Costa Rica. Only our organic consultant Carmen, who hails from Guatemala where they do grow, was hip to the joys of tomatillos. Our Tico friends and feria vendors would shake their heads when we inquired about them and then ask us to describe them, which is pretty difficult, especially in my broken Spanish. Sort of like a tomato, I would say, only green and with a cáscara, which really means shell or peel, not exactly husk. "Oh! tomate verde," they might offer, a green tomato! Well, no, not exactly.

So while we're here in the US, I have been delighted to find fresh tomatillos at our local grocery. We have feasted on my semi-famous Chili Verde several times, including last night. We're keeping the leftovers - always better after a day or two in the fridge - to share with our friend Ruth who will join us for dinner tomorrow night. But when Layne suggested that I make a photo of a tomatillo to show our Tico neighbors when we return to Costa Rica, I decided to do better than that. I took photos of the unpeeled, the peeled, the chopped up ready to simmer down to tenderness and then finally of last night's finished Chili Verde and condiments.

I thought I would share my recipe with those of you who can acquire this piquant fruit as there are few better ways to enjoy it than in this delicious pork stew. Be aware, however, that free-range pork and fresh tomatillos make all the difference in the final product. Indeed, humane treatment of pigs is an important social issue for us as these animals are extremely intelligent and deserve a good life in open spaces before being sacrificed for our food. Free-range pork is all Layne and I ever buy.

KAT’S CHILI VERDE

3-4 tbsp olive oil

3 to 4 lb. organic lean pork, cut into 1” cubes (pork butt is good)

1 large onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic (or more), mashed or chopped fine

2 (or more, if you dare!) jalapeno chilis, minced (taste your jalapenos because they vary greatly in heat!)

1 – 7 oz can diced green chilis

1 cup, more or less, fresh cilantro, chopped

2-3 cans (14 oz.) tomatillos, or better yet, about 15-18 fresh tomatillos (more if small ones), stewed till tender, then pureed, with liquid from cans or from stewing

½ of a dried smoked chipotle chili (or be brave and use the whole thing!)

1 tsp salt

Lime wedges, cilantro, jalapenos and jack cheese to garnish

Heat oil to fairly hot in large heavy skillet or deep pot and add the pork in batches to brown. With the last batch, add the onion and sauté until the onion is translucent and the pork is a bit browned. Add back all the other pork and let it get acquainted.

Add the garlic, jalapenos, cilantro, tomatillos, green chilis and salt and bring to a simmer. When it is bubbling gently, drop in the chipotle chili (whole) and let it reconstitute in the simmering chili. Cover and cook over low heat for a couple of hours, stirring now and then. When the pork is very tender, remove the chipotle chili and serve the Chili Verde with the garnishes available.

Enjoy!

Yes, you read that right up above - we ARE planning to return to Costa Rica! Hurrah! After three months here in California, living on our little five-acre ranchette, we long for the Pura Vida lifestyle of Costa Rica. Each day we're reminded of just how much WORK it takes to keep this place up and how expensive it is to live in the U.S. With the improvements we've made on the house, garden and horse facilities, we're sure we can once again find a good tenant and rent the house out to someone with horses. Our plan is to return on August 1st and resume our lives in Santa Eulalia. And we can hardly wait.

The renovated pasture shelter

Still, we have enjoyed our time here and there are compensating factors for the work, such as the colorful wildlife we have enjoyed on our land. The hummingbirds have devoured the sugar water out front and the Titmouses, Grosbeaks, House Finches and California Jays love the steady supply of birdseed in the backyard feeder.

The birds also love the drip watering system Layne has repaired and expanded in the garden. One little Titmouse last night was so delirious at the dripping water, he took a shower only steps away from where we sat. And today, perhaps the same little water-lover, perched momentarily on my water hose only inches from my fingers as I watered some newly planted petunias, as if to emphasize his appreciation of the cooling liquid.

So now it's more of the exhausting job of sorting through clothes and knicknacks, books and memorabilia to decide what else we can part with. Then packing boxes and making it all fit back into the storage barn. Still, we've weeded out so much already, this process should be much less strenuous than it was two and a half years ago when we first set out for Costa Rica. And now that we know what we are looking forward to, it's really a labor of love!

Catching Up!

When last we corresponded, Layne and I were knee-deep in boxes as we sorted through all the stored "stuff" in our barn. We had a semi-successful garage sale where we sold the treadmill, our big bed and frame, my saddle and horse tack, plus a few other items taking up space in the storage barn; we gave away a lot more.

Layne and Penny by the homemade grill

On the 2nd of June we headed north to visit friends and family, starting with our very good friends Penny and Joel. Before they moved to Oregon, we used to go horseback riding and overnight horse camping with them, as well as take turns hosting outrageously delicious dinner parties. We miss them very much and really looked forward to another fun time together. Needless to say - but I will - we were not disappointed! 

First night appetizer and Green Gin

Penny, Joel and Layne over appetizers

Penny is such an amazing cook and consummate hostess and Joel a lively conversationalist, we always feel totally spoiled by their hospitality, good food and endless laughter. This trip we enjoyed grilled hamburgers (from a neighbor's cattle!) on the new grill Penny had designed and constructed with some help from a welder friend.

Penny and Paddycakes at Smith Rock

A hiker who made the summit!

Facebook facilities

The next day we took a drive to Smith Rock, a stunning basalt formation popular with rock climbers and hikers. But with threatening weather, we only stayed long enough for their little dog Paddycakes to sniff around. On the drive over Joel pointed out the new Facebook facilities, a gray monolith where, according to Joel, hundreds of servers hum away and the only employees are maintenance people, little help for the local job market.

Later that day, we were present for the official "christening" of the new pond they've built. In this case, the baptism involved the introduction of five big bass fish to the water. So far Penny is feeding them night crawlers (cut into quarters! Ugh!) but eventually they should have enough bugs visiting the pond to keep them happy. That evening we enjoyed Penny's "famous" Porcini-crusted Filet Mignon. Oh, wow! It was a great start to our trip.

Layne and Tom on penthouse balcony

On our way across the mountains, we stayed overnight with Layne's high school friend Sue and her sister Christine and visited with our beloved niece Cari and her delightful teenage children, Jordan and Phylicia. Then it was on to Portland where we lodged with our friend Tom in his penthouse apartment with fabulous views of the city. Sadly, we also learned that Layne's sister Annie has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Although she is feeling pretty good right now and has good support from her family, her husband Jim and friends, it's a difficult prognosis.

While Layne was in Portland playing golf and helping Annie, I was able to fit in a short trip to New York City to stay with my dear friend Betty and to attend my longtime friend Veronica Vera's wedding. With enough miles for a free roundtrip on Delta, I was thrilled to be able to join so many old acquaintances at this event, a magical afternoon filled with love and music and laughter and best wishes for the happy couple. 

Veronica, the beautiful bride

Veronica and Stu in their first dance

Good friends Michele and Betty

My last night in the City was spent onboard my friend Michele's boat, berthed in the 79th Street Boat Basin, with friends Gloria, Janie, Candice, Big John and a few new acquaintances. It was a splendid evening and the perfect close to a wonderful trip to the Big Apple.

Sumaya, Yours Truly, Jill, Candice, Gloria

View of Manhattan from the boat

Back to Portland and very soon on to Spokane for a visit with Layne's son Jess and to attend Jess's wife April's graduation from Eastern Washington University. This family is so special to us, with their adorable kids Sierra, herself in college now, and pre-teen Orion, a regular little monkey who climbs everything in sight.

Orion and Grandpa Layne

The big attraction in Spokane is the Riverfront Park, which runs alongside the Spokane River, and which was built back in the 1970's when Spokane hosted the World's Fair. The park is quite beautiful, offering a gondola service that spans the falls and an interesting sculpture of runners around the edge of the park. But the river itself is incredible! Never had Layne and I seen such a huge volume of water rushing over rocks and down waterfalls in the middle of a city. It is truly terrifying in its mighty force.

The wild Spokane River 

Layne joins the "runners" in the park 

April's graduation

April's graduation was great! She was so excited and her folks were so proud of her for returning to school after raising two children. Now, with her degree in Mathematics and a goal of being an elementary school teacher, we know she will do well. After all, she graduated Magna cum Laude and was nominated by her professors as an Outstanding Senior. How's that for achievement?! It was a wonderful moment to see her in cap and gown waving at us from the infield track as the graduates entered the football field.

Evelyn's takes first steps

Annie, Hazel and Gertie

Then it was back to Portland to attend the Sunday afternoon goodbye party Annie hosted in our honor, with visits from everyone from one-year-old Evelyn, just learning to walk, to family matriarch Hazel, looking forward to her 100th birthday next February. 

First view of Mt. Shasta on the way home

With a short stop at Penny and Joel's again to retrieve the camera battery and charger I had left behind (any excuse for a return visit!), we made it back to California yesterday, tired but happy to be home. 

Livin' It Up at the Hotel California

Yours Truly doing shovel duty

Washing windows, selling "stuff," having garage sales, cleaning out the barn, dumping old files, sorting through photographs for scanning, moving boxes out of the barn, moving boxes back into the barn, shoveling dirt from rotten planter boxes -- oh, and long walks on Cronan Ranch trails. Welcome to life in California! Other than some nice dinners with our good friend Ruth, our social life is just about non-existent here, at least compared to the busy schedule of dinner parties around Marcial and Seidy's outdoor firepit, philosophical discussions with Marc, trips to the beach with Sally and Leonard, breakfasts with Mark and Nancy, chili cook-offs, dances at Kay's Cafe and such that we enjoy in Costa Rica. Quite a change!

Of course, we do enjoy wildlife sightings here, such as deer on the front and back acres and a wild turkey wandering around the front yard now and then. The neighborhood dog Abby pays regular visits to demand some petting and we enjoy having her come around.

A busy location for a nest

One delightful little wildlife vignette involves a bird that had foolishly built its nest, apparently while the house was empty, right in the jumble of jasmine vines along our back patio next to the gate. It took me a while to realize it because the nest is virtually invisible unless you move the vines aside. But when we first moved back in, whenever I would walk toward the gate, a bird would suddenly fly out of the foliage up into a nearby tree. Finally, I pushed the jasmine leaves out of the way and found the nest with four small eggs in it. Since then we've tried to be sensitive to her need to stay with her little ones but it's tough since we have to walk through that gate frequently. My curiosity prompted me to look in the nest occasionally and I soon saw little fuzzy heads in there, meaning the eggs had hatched. The other day when I looked in, I came face to face with momma-bird, who looked at me with a frightened eye, then zoomed out of the nest. How she'll teach the little ones to fly I'm not sure, but we await that development with great interest.

Images of the eclipse on our wall

The solar eclipse yesterday offered us a unique vision when we went outside to watch the oddly dimming light from the setting sun. Naturally, we couldn't look directly at the sun but what a surprise we had when we turned away from the western skies and noticed the shadows being cast on the wall of our house. Somehow - and I certainly don't understand this - as the sunlight filtered through the trees, it created multiple images of the eclipse on the wall. What an eerie effect and quite amazing to us.

Dinner out to celebrate!

Our really big news of the last month is that Layne finished his novel, I completed the formatting for electronic publishing and it has been published on Smashwords.com. It is available for downloading and can be read on computers or electronic readers such as the Kindle or Nook; there is no print version. It's been about two weeks now and we anxiously await approval for inclusion in their Premium Catalog so the book can be sold through Amazon, Apple and other major retailers. Entitled "Moral Turpitude," it's quite an adventure story, a real page-turner, I think. (No I'm not prejudiced!) Here's a description:

Davis Sheffield, formerly Robert Davis Jones, is the billionaire majority shareholder of Sheffield Industries, a private defense contractor. When Sheffield family members accuse Davis of “moral turpitude,” based on kinky exploits from his past, he faces a civil suit to remove him from management. Warned by Ange Parker, a young, idealistic attorney, he must go into hiding to avoid being served even as he sends Ange, armed with proxies and powers of attorney, into the corporate lion's den to represent his interests. Enjoying his sudden freedom and anonymity, playboy Davis heads for San Francisco where he indulges in fanciful and erotic adventures involving street people, city officials and a beautiful Pagan dominatrix. Meanwhile, Ange has learned she must face far greater dangers than she bargained for as she maneuvers between corporate intrigues, the ruthlessness of a drug cartel and a paranoid arms dealer, all while struggling with inner demons that threaten her confidence. Only the protection of her female Zulu bodyguard and unlimited financial resources from Davis help her avoid disaster. Under desperate circumstances in far-flung corners of the world from Costa Rica to the jungles of Borneo, Ange and Davis fight for survival against a sadistic killer, hungry tigers and corrupt CIA agents. Finding unexpected strength in their growing love while devising creative strategies to survive, Ange and Davis learn how precious life and love can be.

I hope my readers will take a moment to visit his page: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/159570 and download a free sample - or just buy the book! It's only $2.99 and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

So as the days heat up here in the foothills and the dry air begins to turn the grasses golden brown, we fill our time working on the house and clearing out the barn. Although we enjoy seeing the yellow flowers open up each day, the smell of the jasmine and the majesty of the blue oaks, we still miss the world we came to love in Costa Rica. One of these days.... 

Tulips in the Garden, Rats in the Barby!

If we had to return to California, at least we arrived in a good season. Although we did need a fire in the woodstove the first few nights to keep down the chill, the weather has actually been quite pleasant and today is warming up nicely. The blue oaks are bursting out in that fabulous neon green of a Sierra foothill spring, my red tulips are in bloom and there was a big gray rat living in the barbeque unit. Say what?? Yes, I'm afraid California has its unsavory creatures just as much as Costa Rica with it's Fer-de-lance and poison frogs.

We decided to pull out the rather dilapidated barbeque unit last night to check its condition in hopes of grilling hamburgers. The thing has been sitting outside, sheltered by its plastic cover, for some two years but we were still surprised to find a big gray rodent nested inside. Rather than confront the little bugger (you know what they say about a cornered rat!), we opted to leave the lid open in hopes he/she would voluntarily vacate the premises.

But in some ways it is nice to be back here in our old house. As we open the dozens of boxes and plastic tubs from the storage barn, we are dropped off in Memory Lane -- from familiar pots and pans to favorite clothing to sentimental artwork and other keepsakes. It's going to be hard to weed out, once again, what to keep and what to toss. Already we have ads on Craigslist for file cabinets, complete with hanging folders, bowling balls, office supplies and more. The work ahead is daunting. There are the garden planter boxes, which are rotting and needing work, some painting to do in the bathrooms, plus repairs to the pasture shelter and fencing. With a small ranchette like this, the work never seems to end.

The backyard chimenea

Cronan Ranch Trail

After a few frantic days of looking for a car to buy - we found a good 2002 Subaru Outback - and schlepping futons and sleeping bags down from the storage barn for our first few nights, we are finding time to go for long walks on our favorite old trails. At least we aren't in the mad rush we were two years ago when we had just over a month to pack and move out of this house that we had lived in for over fourteen years. So for now, we cut off work most evenings by 5:00 p.m. or so, sit out on the patio with a cocktail and enjoy the late afternoon sunshine. We stayed out there all evening a few nights ago with a small fire in the chimenea, just enjoying the tranquility of our back acreage.

But we miss Costa Rica and still hope to return one day. Although we have great memories of our old lives here in California and so enjoy seeing our friends, the new life we found in Costa Rica continues to broadcast its seductive allure. To paraphrase the old song from South Pacific, "Costa Rica will whisper/ on the wind of the sea/... Come to me, come to me." 

Oh, the Days Dwindle Down....

As the day nears when Layne and I must leave Costa Rica for California, we find it harder and harder to say goodbye. Every day brings another reminder of just what a wonderful life we have found here in the land of Pura Vida. As Layne puts it: Our dance card is always full!

Our Costa Rican home

Yesterday we joined a group of some fifteen friends at Antaño's Restaurant in downtown Atenas for brunch. Organized by Nancy and Mark Van Patten, the event was designed to cheer Nancy up after the last few days of unseasonable rain. Relative newcomers to Atenas, Nancy and Mark suffered through a pretty rough October last year, when they had only recently arrived and were still in the midst of construction on their home when the worst of the rains came. With most of their goods still in boxes and their house incomplete, it was a rough introduction to Costa Rica for Nancy. Like Ticos, most of us who have been here awhile take the rains in stride and appreciate the way they freshen the air, bring out the flowers and turn the hillsides emerald green.

This being Holy Week, or Semana Santa, as it's known here, the weekly feria was held on Wednesday instead of today, which is Good Friday. The week before Easter is about the biggest festival in Costa Rica, with most shops closed all week long, buses on a holiday schedule (or not running at all, as is the case here in Santa Eulalia) and no alcohol sold on Thursday and Friday. On our morning walk today, Layne and I happened upon a typical community observance of the season: a small parade of local people in costumes re-enacting the Christ story, including children dressed as angels and one man carrying a white cross. Preceded by a loud speaker on a van playing religious music, the group slowly traveled down the road, gathering neighbors as they went along, to a spot where the priest offered prayers and blessings on the group. 

Purple-draped crosses are on display in most front yards and families gather before hand-made altars to offer up homage to their God. Ticos seem to enjoy the holiday as much for the family celebrations as for the religious intent.

The grand Ficus tree next door

When we got home from brunch yesterday, we had a call from Marcial inviting us to come over to our neighbor's backyard just across our street to pass some time under a huge Ficus tree, sipping beer or whiskey. The host was Juan, brother of our landlord and long-time resident of Santa Eulalia. Juan told us his family had owned this land for over sixty-five years. The old estate is quite large, encompassing the sugarcane field and cornfield below us as well as our house, the landlord's house and several adjacent homes where his sisters live.

Pejibaye fruits

Marcial's wife Seidy soon joined us, bringing delicious homemade empañadas filled with a sweet jam that she and her sisters had made from a gigantic squash-type fruit using traditional methods. This meant roasting the whole squash over an open wood fire until the outer shell was darkened, making the inner pulp easily removed. Juan talked to us - with Marcial translating - of some of the other old ways of feeding a family off the land, as we nibbled on pejibaye that he offered, a first for us. This is an odd fruit from a certain type of palm tree with a taste, Layne and I decided, similar to garbanzo beans. It was quite pleasant. One recollection Juan shared was of another old tradition, practiced only before Easter, of going deep into the jungle to find a particular huge palm tree, which they would cut down to harvest a four or five foot length of heart of palm hidden inside. He recalled what a massive crash the tree would make as it fell. These days it's illegal to cut down such old trees to obtain heart of palm, another nod by Ticos to conservation of their natural resources.

Today our social life continues unabated, as we expect a couple of friends to come over later to play some music, with me on keyboards and Layne and the others on guitar. Just a light-hearted jam session. Then tomorrow we are hosting the first meeting of the Santa Eulalia Tiger Woods Fan Club, as a big group of neighbors joins us to watch Tiger play in the Masters.

Our life in California, rich as it was, was never so busy with entertaining activities as our life has been here. It will be a sad departure on Wednesday as we head back to the States. One thing is certain: We will return.

Don't Cry for Me, Costa Rica!

Our Santa Eulalia neighborhood

Just as we are feeling comfortably settled into our Santa Eulalia neighborhood, we've been hit with a wild pitch: We must return to our home in California! It has been a stressful two weeks since we got the news that the tenant renting our house had broken the lease. On top of that, our property manager said we probably needed to reduce the rent in order to lease it again. Given the small margins we have had between the mortgage and the rental income, we've decided our best course of action is to return to our Pilot Hill ranchette to live for a while as we look for ways to cut our expenses there. If we manage to do that, hopefully we will be able to return to Costa Rica one of these days.

At least it's springtime there so we won't be heading from tropical balmy days to frigid wintry weather. But it's also "springtime" here with many fruits and vegetables coming into season. Our avocado tree in front has bulbous green fruit all over it but they probably won't ripen before we depart on April 11th. Likewise, our mango tree in the backyard has fruit ripening but still too green to pick. 

Avocados about to ripen

Still-green mangos

We have so many mandarinas (like a tangerine), they are falling on the ground in abundance. Even our landlords came over recently to ask if they could pick a few. They filled two big bags and we still have so many I'm beginning to add them to salads just to try and use them.

Sadly, my brand new orchids, which I just bought a few weeks ago, cannot travel with me. I plan to offer them to Seidy (finally, this IS the correct spelling of her name!). She has a yard full of wild orchids of all kinds so I'm sure they''ll have a good home. Likewise, my "kitchen garden" of herbs will be parceled out to friends nearby. Bonnie wants the basil and I'm sure Jackie will take the oregano and rosemary. Hopefully, someone will take the big Aloe Vera plant. Sigh.

Goodbye to my herb garden

Of course, we had planned to go back to the States later this year to see family and friends, as we have every year, so this just pushed those plans forward a bit. We will now have time to deal with some of the "stuff" still in the barn. I worry that between the heat and the moisture that some things of value are being ruined. Long-time readers will recall what a hectic dash out of our home we had to make in December of 2009 when we decided to rent the house and head for Costa Rica. The prospective renters were being pushed out of their home due to a foreclosure. To paraphrase an old saying: Manure rolls downhill, so we had to get out of our house of over 14 years in less than six weeks. A lot of our stuff just ended up in our large storage barn. This return to residency there will give us a chance to clear it out.

We also look forward with joy to the opportunity to spend time with old friends again. Dinner parties with Ruth, chats over the fence with our neighbor Susan, time to drive into San Francisco to see our son Damian and grandson Kai and other friends there. We will make our pilgrimage to Portland to visit family there this summer and on to Spokane to see Layne's son Jess and his family. I will have a chance to fly to Texas and spend some time with my mom.

Still it's a bittersweet pill to have to leave Costa Rica, our adopted homeland that has welcomed us so warmly. As time allows, I'll continue to post reports on our activities as we settle back into life in California. And as circumstances allow, we hope to return to Costa Rica, at least for visits if not for good. Pura Vida!!