Contessa in Costa Rica

June 10 will mark three months in Costa Rica.  I can't say this has become my new normal yet, but we have started to settle in. My thoughts go both to the good and not so good about the country. Maybe not so good is not the best way to put things.  Other words come to mind such as different or inconvenient.  It seems that both have both positive and negative aspects. Why don't I just make a list.  I like a good list. Familia:   It's really nice to be around Eduardo's family and for him to have access to them.  It's been years since he has been able to be involved on this level.  I know he is enjoying the time he is spending with them.  They have also been an endless help for us during this transition time.  Without them we wouldn't have known how to go about getting our cell phones, how to get around on the buses when we need to, who to talk to regarding lawyers to get property moved over to our name.....  It's been great going to ...

Six days after we arrived the country of Costa Rica was shut down to foreign travelers.  We got here at the right time, thank God.  I could not have gotten into the country if we would have waited a week.  Along with the shut down of the country, Costa Rica also put restrictions in place for bars, restaurants, churches, and gatherings.  Like many other countries they have also closed business that were not essential, closed beaches and parks, and limited the number of people in markets and stores.  The country has done amazingly well containing the outbreak here.  To this date we have 780 cases with 480 recovered and only 6 deaths. Those are great numbers and I've very proud of my new home for being so organized and on top of things. I feel very safe here compared to many other countries.    While most of the country is in lock down it's not as sever as the United States.  We can still walk down to the markets and go shopping for groceries...

As many of you know, we have moved to Heredia before setting off to Potrero. One of the things I was most excited about was the central market.  I was there once when I was traveling to Costa Rica for the first time, but didn't have much of a chance to really explore on my own time.  So on our first full day we decided to go for a stroll to the market.  So we took a lovely walk to the market. Do you remember when we used to make fun of older people who would complain about how bad their lives were growing up compared to ours?  "We walked to school in the snow up hills both ways....."  Well, they must have been in Costa Rica, except for the snow.  I come from Indiana where the world is mostly flat.  There are a few hills, we will call them bumps. Those bumps make up a slight incline into softly rolling bumps at best.  They do have bumps in Costa Rica but those are speed bumps. My first experience with the central market was going down a hill ...

I am now a resident of Costa Rica.  Well, I am a here on a visitors visa until it expires in 90 days and then I will be visiting the lovely nation of Nicaragua approximately 1.5 hours, but close enough.  It has been a whirlwind of experiences that I will attempt to sum down to a few short hours of reading for you.   The Flight We flew out of Fort Wayne because we were bringing two cats and the extra expense of flying out of Fort Wayne was well worth having to listen to two cats sing the heart breaking song of "of the agony and pain" two hours in the car. Yes they were drugged and it might have been fine, but we were not taking any chances.  We also decided to upgrade to first class since we got two free bags up to 70 pounds and the cost difference was close to the same. So, we arrive at the airport at the ungodly hour of 4 am - credit to my amazing mom who picked us up at 3:30.  We arrived before the Delta people were already at the counter, s...

What way is up? On Saturday, Eduardo, my awesome brother and nephew, and some great friends packed a 20 foot shipping container with all my worldly goods and watched them drive off into the ether. Ok, I just looked up the definition of "ether" and no my property did not take flight into the upper sky beyond the cl ouds nor did it travel through  a pleasant-smelling colorless volatile liquid that is highly flammable.  But it's still a nice word!  I did discover that someone grabbed a bag and packed it that shouldn't have gone in the shipping container that will take 4 to 6 weeks to reach us, but who really needs 80% of the underwear ??  While it was wonderful to get that massive item checked off our list, it wasn't the highlight of my day.  The highlight was when EVERYTHING we were taking with us fit in the container and I got the glorious moment to look my husband in the face, in front of witnesses no less, and give him a giant "I TOLD YOU SO."  Ke...

Before we get to life in Potrero we need a place to lay our heads.  Much to my  dismay our little metal bunkers don't come prebuilt on our already prepared land. So we will be landing in Heredia in the central valley while we are building.  Eduardo actually grew up in Heredia so he will be more familiar with the area.  We are going to be staying in Eduardo's parents house.  After Eduardo's father passed away, his mother moved into  his sister Sandra's house.  We will be there for a few months, or as long as it takes to build our bunkers.   I'm excited we get to spend some time in the central valley for a few reasons. (Yes I made a list.  Why would anyone EVER pass up on a chance to make a list?)  I'm looking forward to getting to know Eduardo's family better.   It will also be wonderful to see Eduardo with his whole family.   I want to be with Eduardo as he goes back and sees all the sit...

Many of you know that I have made jewelry for about 15 years.  Some years I have made more than others but it's always been a presence in my life. The business name that I adopted  is Chaotic Contessa Designs. Over the years I have become somewhat successful in the trade and quit my full time job in July of 2018 to work exclusively on jewelry design, much to the dismay of my brains ambassador of finance.  Let me take a moment and share with you some of my lovely designs because you are now actually a captive audience. Prepare yourself to be amazed by my super power skills, ninja like hand agility, Miche langelo(esque) power of design and bodybuilder sized pinching muscles in my poor hands. Please note, this display works best if you read the captions following the pictures out load with the proper amount of aw and reverence.   OHHH AHHH OHHH AHHH Well, now we can move on to more about me because we all know that is ...