Halloween in Costa Rica

Boo!  Halloween fun this weekend.  Costa Rica does not celebrate this scaaaary holiday but the North Americans have imported it.  So, Friday, kids dressed up for school and tried not to melt in the heat and Saturday, big block party in our neighborhood.  All the trick or treaters from the school descended on our little hood...very scary!!!  DJ Inky (our neighbor) cranked out the tunes,  kids sugared up and ran wild and adults sat on the curb with a cold one.  Mucho feliz (or something like that as we can't find the spanish word for fun!)
Carter lost a tooth (trick) but is finally walking again (treat).  Jorja asked us all night to open candies for her "friends" (trick) and changed three times during the party (treat).  Lindsay could not break into any candy (trick) but fell asleep despite the party noise (treat).  Terry still sick with ear infection/cough (trick) but got to hand out the candy (treat).  Gina being tortured by demon children (trick) but enjoyed dos cervasas a la noche (treat).  Happy Halloween had by all.

Blog by Lindsay

Da Da!  This continues to be my favorite words.  Otherwise I like to scream for what I want as I think baby sign language is for the birds!  I have however learned how to wave "bye bye"!  I am busy crawling everywhere although the tile floor is not that comfortable.  I am working on standing up as I think walking will be very useful here!  I have 4 new teeth which means I can bite lots of things including people.  My mommy's arms have the bruises to prove it!  I have discovered all kinds of interesting things to put in my mouth and find sand and centipedes quite tasty!  If these are not readily available I also enjoy the computer cord.  I don't understand why everyone is saying "no, no, no" to me all the time.  I have a new friend "Yani" who will stack my cups for me so I can crash them down (this game never gets old!) I love the water and I think the ocean is quite interesting but not as good as sand of course.  I am teaching myself to swim in my little tub by sticking my face in the water (and only drinking some of the water!) Gotta go, I spot some unprotected lego...

Mucho LLuvia!

We have hit the so called rainy season and it has been cloudy with off and on rain for about the past week.  Our sweating rate is also at a new all time low!  Many people got flooded but not us (thankfully!) and the beach is full of logs and debris. Good news is they have actually done some work on the road so it is better.. until of course we get more rain.  Our new enemy is mold and people are busy scrubbing the sidewalks and driveways with chlorine (yuck!)  I think I would prefer snow.
Terry made it back from San Jose but sadly without our car as the Canadian bank was giving us trouble.  It is all sorted now we think so he just has to go back one more time to pick it up.  Due to the unstable weather he could not fly back but managed to get a ride and returned with a new blender and rice cooker which I am sure will be put to daily use.
Lindsay has new company crawling around the floor. Carter got a nasty kick to the shin at his first "futbol" practice from which we hope he will recover sooner vs. later.  I think he has inherited his pain tolerance from his father!
Speaking of Lindsay, she has expanded her diet to lego, fuzz, paper and anything else she can get her hands on and gets crazy mad if these are taken from her.  We have fished many interesting things out of her mouth most notably one of Carter's lost teeth which I think the tooth fairy must have dropped on her way out.  How this happened is quite the mystery but may have involved Jorja "sticky fingers" who creates her own adventures.

A few pics

I may be getting the hang of this! Here are a few pics.  Multiple choice, which title goes with which pic...
a) New best friend
b) Interesting creature(s)
c) First day! Hmmmm!

Casa Blumes

Costa Rica Settlers

Feeling like we have stepped into another era some days and the clock has been turned back about 100 years or so.  Getting used to having fewer of the "modern conviences" and realizing the challenges of those who live daily with less.  Also appreciating our ancestors and how much they must have worked their butts off when first arriving in Canada or any other country.  The appliance we miss the most is definitely the dishwasher with a bath coming a close number two (that's Lindsay's vote!).  Thankfully we have a washer/dryer and we don't have to light a fire for every meal!  Terry away on first "hunting trip" traveling to San Jose on a wild and crazy but scenic plane ride.  He apparantly has slayed a "Toyota Prada" but when he will return with it is anybody's guess.  Buying a car here includes having a "guy" (doesn't everything?), wiring money, lawyer etc.  Nothing comes easy of course but it is a great learning experience.  Speaking of learning, realized there is no way I could keep one step ahead of both Lindsay and the grime that quickly accumulates in our little casa so have gotten help x3 days/week.  This is forcing us to practise our spanish as this is a truly bilingual country and almost everyone you need to talk to will switch into english.  Also hoping this will allow me to go out and "gather" some yoga or exercise a little more often.  It also frees up some time for endless cooking.  Making everything from scratch is not hard but rather time consuming in turns out, but we will save that rant for another time!

Creature Count

Determined to get better at actually catching all the interesting bugs and animals we have spotted so far on camera but for now will have to be satisfied with description.  First wierd and wonderful bug was about the size of Jorja's hand with giant pincers (would it eat your finger? Did not test theory!), name unknown.  Our neighbor (teacher at the school) caught one of similar size with a big long middle thing called an "elephant beetle".  Spotted the "Iguana brothers" at the beach and Carter has seen spider monkeys up close right by the pool! The Costa Rica "raccoon" hangs arround behind our fence eating our "compost" which is chucked over the fence.  It looks kinda like a hairy anteater and we keep forgetting its name in spanish.  Rather large spider ran across my foot the other night from under the couch and gave me a tickle.  Terry and Carter saw fireflies one night.  Drove over but did not run over a snake!?!  Terry has seen sting rays in the ocean which are apparently quite popular at this time of year and painful if stung.  Carter exploring the tidepools by the beach was given a circular bite by an unidentified circular thing with a circular mouth...he survived!  Supersized daddy long legs about and I swear when I broomed one the detached leg just kept right on going.  Otherwise, just sneaky mosqitoes who don't buzz here but still bite!