Indian Cooking Class

Oooh weee! Can Corinne cook!

Corinne is part of my Thursday lunch group, the Bruhos. Usually we have lunch at Robin's Kitchen in Escazu, but once in a while we branch out and do something different for lunch.

Last Thursday we went to Corinne's for lunch and instruction on making her yummy Indian food. Corinne is married to an Indian from India and has learned over the years to make great dishes.

She cooked ahead of time so that while we were eating, she demonstrated how to make the different items. Corinne brings her show on the road, too, and recently did an Indian cooking demonstration for many people.

Corinne is the friend who has a karaoke machine, so after dessert, we all took turns sounding our very worst to American songs. I never thought I would sing karaoke, but with this forgiving group, it's a lot of fun to belt out songs with gusto.


Corinne sets a beautiful table

Goodbye, Ellen

It was hard to say goodbye to my good friend, Ellen. After 3.5 years in Costa Rica, she moved back to Florida where she bought a condo in Tamarac with her cousin from California. I hope she will be very happy in Florida.

Ellen and I met a few years ago. Our mutual friends, Jenny and Tony, who have since moved to Belgium, introduced us at a Halloween party that Ellen threw. Ellen lived in Cariari, two towns over from me, and introduced me to all of her Cariari friends, who have played a big part in my social life here.

She is a big football fan, and loves the Miami Dolphins. We have watched many games together, and as I write this on SuperBowl Sunday, I will miss her being with me and talking about the teams.

Ellen is a wonderful hostess and threw many parties for New Year's Eve, my birthday and other birthdays, Rosh Hashanah, Passover seder, Chanukah - any reason for a party, and Ellen got us together. She loves to talk politics and play games and dance. She is just one fun person to be around.

So there were a few going away parties for Ellen that she didn't have to plan. We hold her in such high esteem.

We all miss Ellen. Have a great life!

Scrapbooking

Lisa, Corinne and Marilyn



Monday mornings a group of us get together to make memory albums. I learned this creative craft in 2000 when my close friend, Susan, from Massachusetts introduced me to Creative Memories. She was a consultant for that scrapbook product company for two years, wearing me down with her pleas to start "cropping" with her because it was so much fun. I finally succumbed, spent a small fortune on supplies, and made my first album: Friends in Warm Places. With this theme, I made a scrapbook of all the warm places Jim and I went - to Safety Harbor, Florida, to visit Jeff and his family; to DisneyWorld for a learning vacation, and many trips to our Aruban timeshare.

Susan was right - it was a lot of fun! I felt great when I finished a particularly artistic page. In addition to pictures, I added comments, stickers, and other accoutrements to make the book visually appealing and to tell stories from my life. I went on to make a heritage album of my family, a small scrapbook about my beloved cat, Schmutz, a big album about our move from Massachusetts to Florida where we built a house, and now I'm working on a two-volume (or more) album of my life.

When I moved to Costa Rica, I brought my scrapbooking supplies with me, but they sat untouched until last year when I made a 50th birthday scrapbook for Lisa. She liked the album and expressed an interest in learning to scrapbook. Corinne jumped on the bandwagon, too, so there were three of us who started to get together. I taught them what I knew, and they are adding their own style of creativity to their projects. Marilyn is a quilter, but wanted to hang out with us on scrapbooking mornings, so she makes the fourth in our core group. When she has time, Rosemary joins us.

Our time together is developing rituals. We start with a scrumptious breakfast. After an hour or so, we start working. A theme song that has developed, whether Lisa likes it or not, is Gotta Be Startin' Something. We have a lot of fun, we get work done, and we are getting to know each other better.


Margie, Corinne celebrating her birthday, Marilyn

Margaritaville Party

Most of the women at the Margaritaville party
I'm in the front row, third from the left



We all dressed up in our most colorful tropical clothes and had a Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville party at Diane's. She looked adorable in her grass skirt. Patty and I went shopping at Ropa Americana (used and seconds clothing) stores in Alajuela to find her a suitable flowery blouse to wear. I wore a pair of colorful striped pants that were so old that they smelled moldy from the closet.

A few of us paired up and played a game like horseshoes, but we had to pitch heavy metal washers into holes in the ground. I got a washer into the hole = a hole in one! My team won the first game, but lost a second round.

But that was okay because Mark was in charge of mixing and pouring the margaritas, and were they yummy! The recipe called for tequila, a little triple sec, beer (yes, beer!), limonada and water. Ooh, they went down very quickly and smoothly.

We all brought something to share, and with 40-50 of us, there was a lot of food. Diane grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, but not until later. After the bocas (snacks), I was hungry, so I perused the dessert table and cut myself a piece of key lime pie. As I was eating it, a bunch of people exclaimed that I was eating dessert before the main event. Life is short, I said, so eat dessert first. So they did.

Jimmy Buffett CDs were playing in the background, but people were talking so loudly we couldn't hear the music. So there was no dancing.

But it was a Saturday night, and what's a Saturday night without dancing? So I left the party and went to Coyunda's, where the band was playing and my friends were sitting at a table with some new people from Alajuela, another city about 25 minutes away. Carlos asked me to dance, and we ended up dancing all night. He's a good dancer, and he made me look good on the dance floor. No, there's nothing brewing there between him and me - he's a heavy smoker and I have trouble breathing around smoke. But it was a fun night.

New Year's 2010

The full blue moon was the backdrop for Lisa's New Year's Eve party. Her house is high up in the mountains of Escazu, with a spectacular view of the glittering lights down below in the Central Valley.

There were 60-70 people there, most of whom I knew. Lisa put out a great spread of sandwiches, salads and desserts. I brought my yummy ginger snaps and was offered a proposal of marriage if I gave him the recipe.

Just before midnight we all gathered outside on the patio. My friends who live way up there had warned me to wear a jacket, scarf, gloves and earmuffs. Yes, earmuffs in Costa Rica! So I was prepared for the cold weather.

At 12:00 we saw a spectacular display of fireworks all over the valley, and Lisa's husband, Tom, set off some, too. Fireworks are sold everywhere in Costa Rica, even though they're illegal. Hired help passed around flutes of champagne, and we all toasted the new year.

The next day there was another party. Rosemary throws a Hair of the Dog party late in the afternoon of New Year's Day, and this was the first year I was invited. In fact, I made the A list at both parties. Lisa and Rosemary are sister Brujas, the Thursday ladies lunch group that I was invited to join last February.

My friend Patty and I went to Rosemary's about 4:30pm and yakked it up with more friends. The expat network is very big in this area of Costa Rica. The spread included ribs, salads, and of course, more yummy desserts.

Once everyone had eaten, Barry, Rosemary's husband, led a Yankee Swap, or as he called it, a Chinese auction. It was great fun. I thought I was going to go home with a crystal bowl, but someone took that away from me, and I ended up with a kit for reading men's palms. That should come in hand the next time I hang out at a bar.

The party ended about 7:00, but Patty and I stayed and talked with Lisa, Rosemary, Barry, and their houseguests. We had a merry old time, talking about everything under the sun, and telling jokes. We were amazed to learn that a couple of their friends live in Lexington, Massachusetts, and went to the same Unitarian Universalist church that I went to. Finally at 11:00 we said our goodbyes and left.

May 2010 be the start of a joyous, healthy and prosperous decade for you all!


Fran and I at Lisa's party

Holiday Parties

Me, eating

When I decided to stay put for Christmas this year, I wondered what the season would be like. Would I feel all alone? Would I be invited to parties? Having been sick with one thing or another for two months, I didn't feel like throwing a party of my own.

My first three Christmases living in Costa Rica, I went back to Florida and spent them with Jim. Then last year he came here. So this is my first year in five that I am spending Christmas in my home.

Well, I needn't have worried about feeling all alone. There are so many parties to go to that I have to say no sometimes, and just stay home to recuperate. I feel blessed to be included in so many festivities.

I kicked off the party season on December 11 by going to Ellen's Chanukah party. That brought back memories as we sang the blessings and lit the menorah. The next day was the PC Club party way up in the mountains of Heredia. Everyone brought delicious food (everyone always brings delicious food to every party I attend), and I led a Yankee Swap of nicely-wrapped white elephant items.


That's me leading the Yankee Swap

The day after that (it was a full weekend) was the CostaRicaLiving (Yahoo group) party in Grecia at La Galeria restaurant, followed by a chocolate fondue party at Debora Shapiro's house. I made new Grecia friends at both parties. The night after that, I was invited to dinner at Barb & Richie's house. The night after that I was happy to stay home and rest my stomach.

Then the following weekend circuit started on Friday with a potluck turkey-dinner meal with my Brujas group (aka my Thursday lunch ladies). Carol Marianne entertained us with pictures of her trip to Nepal and Bhutan, and handed out gifts to us all.


The Brujas

That night I went to Joy's party in Cariari where about 25 of us played games. Saturday I stayed home all day and night, and worked in the kitchen. I made turkey soup (I got to take home the carcass from Friday's meal), and baked cookies and banana/chocolate bread. Sunday I went to Sima's house, where we played charades and laughed til we cried. Then I went to Coco's here in Santa Ana, where I hadn't been for weeks, and watched a tope (horse parade).

Yesterday, a Tuesday, was the office party for two small companies I've done some work for the last few months, then seven of us headed over to Abi's house for her Tamalada, a party where people eat the hundreds of tamales that were made over a two- or three-day period. Abi had a DJ and a dance floor, and we danced and had a great time. Tonight I'm going to another party. Tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, I'll be at Laurie's party in Cariari, and Christmas day I'm going to yet another party. And I think that's it until the New Year's Eve party and then the Hair of the Dog party on New Year's Day.


A pot of tamales, tied up in little packages

Geez, what a life I lead here. One party after another. And, of course, every party features food, desserts and alcohol. I've gotten some great recipes, and I am becoming somewhat of a baker.

It's comforting and fun to spend time with friends, together in a foreign country where most of us don't have family here.

Aruba 2009

For the last 20 years I've been visiting Aruba, give or take a year. It's a lovely vacation paradise with steady trade winds that keep temps around 82 degrees. Aruba is part of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) that are located north of Venezuela.

When Jim and I were married, we owned two weeks of timeshare at La Cabana on Eagle Beach in Aruba. Over the years of staying there, we became friends with Tom and Peggy from Racine, Wisconsin, who owned a timeshare the same time we did. We sold our timeshare when we got divorced, but because Jim and I have remained good friends with each other and with Tom and Peggy, Tom and Peggy have invited us to vacation with them and to stay on their pullout sofabed. This was the third year (I think) since our divorce that we joined Tom and Peggy.

On Thanksgiving day, we were all supposed to fly into Miami first. Tom and Peggy's flights were delayed, and Jim and I were worried that our friends wouldn't make it on time, but they arrived at the gate, breathless, just as our Aruba-bound plane was boarding. We got into Aruba around midnight, tired from a long day of traveling, but not too tired to walk around the resort and breathe in the humid air.

As one of my Costa Rican friends said, I was going from one paradise to another. It's true. I live in the mountains of Costa Rica, almost 3000 up, where the air is relatively dry except for the rainy season. Still, it was a nice and relaxing change, having a gorgeous beach with sparkling turquoise water just steps away.

Most days we went to the beach and sat under thatched cabanas, reading, napping, going into the water, reading, napping, etc. This would be the last hurrah for my Wisconsin friends who would have to return to a cold and snowy winter.

The second day we were there, we went to one of the pools instead of the beach, the pool where we met years ago. I was seated on the side of my chaise lounge, talking to Jim on his chaise lounge about a foot away from mine, when a maid came up behind me, pushing her cart, not watching where she was going. She rammed her cart into my chaise, which jammed my right foot into Jim's chaise, breaking one of my toes. I know from past experience that there's not much to do for a broken toe. This was my 7th broken toe. It's not that I'm a klutz, I don't think. I have been known to have poor depth perception, but this broken toe was not my fault. Jim and Tom immediately got me ice, which helped keep the swelling down. The toe and foot turned a lovely shades of purple over the next few days. I found a way to walk on the foot by not putting any pressure on my toe. But today, after 2.5 weeks, the toe hurts even more. My friend and chiropractor told me to tape a small cotton ball under the break to relieve the pressure, and that is helping. Not only can't I go salsa dancing for another 3-4 weeks, I can't even wear my dancing shoes.

The highlight of every day in Aruba is always Happy Hour. This year we had a guest join us most days at 4:30. A sweet, friendly tuxedo cat came by, and all of us being cat lovers, we fed her tuna salad from the delicatessen and water. She let us pet her, and when she was ready, she sauntered off. The four of us also had fun playing Pass the Pigs and answering soul-searching questions from a conversation book that I always bring. Jim made incredibly strong rum-and-Cokes for Tom, Jim mostly drank Balashi beer, Peggy and I favored vodka - hers mostly with tonic, and mine mostly with bloody mary mix and a Claussen dill pickle. Yummy! And of course snacks!

Going out to dinner each night was sort of unnecessary because we filled up with snacks at Happy Hour, but we didn't want to miss out on some great meals. Our favorite restaurant this trip was Passions, next door at the Amsterdam Manor. The food and service (that's our waitress Diana in the picture above) were so good, I wrote a glowing review on TripAdvisor. My favorite meal was roast lamb, but the grouper, snapper and steaks were also delicious. Bingo was also a serious contender for best restaurant.

The ten days came to a quick end. We all flew back to Miami, then went our separate ways.