My 7 Dollar Fix

This is what $7 can give you in Costa Rica! We were at the feria when I saw these beauties and had to have them! The flower guy is always so nice. One of the luxuries I have here is fresh flowers. We buy a bunch whenever we go to the feria, well, that would be weekly. Usually I get daisies, he has beautiful yellow and white daisies that last for at least 2 weeks.

This week he had these lilies. They smell wonderful too! Funny thing is in the states I would have paid a ton for these and here it was $3500 colones or $7. Still I hemmed and hawed since I usually only shell out $800 colones for the daisies. But these look incredible in the dining room and have stayed fresh for about a week now so I am glad I splurged!

Here is our other splurge. Diego's new sister Dora. She is a Peke/Maltese mix. Diego loves her (mostly). She has stolen all of his beds and toys. They are playing together nicely, he is sooo gentle. She will stay about 10 lbs so she won't add much to the patas sucias (dirty feet). Mario has nicknamed Diego Patas Sucias since he has a habit of sleeping in the drainage channel in the yard and then coming in to the house. We are constantly mopping up his footprints. Luckily summer is coming so I hear the yard will dry. Thank goodness because the grass here is like a sponge and it squishes as you walk over it!

Last night I was sitting on the balcony when I noticed these wasps near the light. I thought how odd there is a ticket or something there that I hadn't noticed before. Upon closer inspection I realized they had built a nest that covered the whole side of the light! When it got dark Mario broke out the Mata Todo (Kill Everything) and sprayed them. He said there was no other way since these wasps were bravo (angry) and they would bite if we left them there.

Finally here are some of the flowers in bloom in the yard.

There and Back

I just got back from the states again, well on Monday, but it feels like just. It was great to see my friends and family but I really missed my life here. The most interesting part of the journey as far as blog material goes was the company I kept on the plane ride to and from. On the way down I met a guy who lives in Escazu. We had a wonderful time talking about our lives in Costa Rica. He told me that there are tons of American places in Escazu, and that you can get most everything that you would want there. Except apparently good lunch meat since he brought back a slicer and a backpack full of meat on his last trip. He said he caused quite a stir in customs lol. He also shared his story of a failed marriage to a Colombian woman and warned me to take precautions when entering a relationship with a person from another country. On the way home I met a woman who had lived in Costa Rica for 18 years. She also loved the country, but had decided to move back to the states to be near her grandkids. She had been married to a Costa Rican man and gave the same warning. She had many stories of people who had married here and then had to pay alimony when they divorced. She said that one man could not leave the country because of the alimony payments. Very scarey stuff. It's sad to think that love needs a lawyers help, but I think it is the same where ever you live. Just here I am in the dark about the laws. Better study up.