Sad Start to my Favourite Day

Yesterday morning when I went out the back door to turn on the pool pump, I was greeted by a powerful fragrance in the air and the head of a small animal protruding from the open end of a drainpipe I installed to carry rainwater away from the back patio. I couldn't tell what type of animal it was but I could certainly tell it was dead. My best guess is that it crawled, for some reason, up the pipe and got lodged inside. Sad.

Now....how to get it out? I did not care to touch the critter, so I tried prodding, pushing and prying to no avail. Finally it occurred to me that the appropriate tool was near at hand. When I was building, the welder fabricated several tridents to hunt crabs on the beach and I had one that I used to spread barbecue coals. Funally, I was able to get some purchase on the corpse and with no little effort, coax it out of the pipe. As it exited, I was able to determine that it was a skunk! My nose should have disclosed that but skunk, mixed with the smell of death and tropical fragrances, made for an unusual smell and it failed me.

The critter has been removed but the smell lingers. That's just how it is in the rainforest.

Back in Business

Things are back to normal again....almost. I got some athletic shoes and did my beachwalk in them on Sunday - a great improvement. However, they will need some breaking in...they were a trifle irritating this morning. I don't have any socks and they are a little on the large side. Since I am walking on the beach, however, I can give my feet a break tomorrow and wear the crocks.

I also got a new ice-maker. I just couldn't live without it! My buddy and I are going to try to repair the old one when we get a chance.

I started installation of the new kitchen overhead fan/light combo. I have to wait until tomorrow to get the electrical cable but the fan/light should be in place real soon now. It will be wonderful to get some more light in my kitchen.

I had a very busy Sunday. I made up a batch of coconut milk, a fabulous chocolate pudding, a batch of healthy, good-for-you fudge, a pasta dish, baked a pizza and two loaves of sprouted garbanzo bread. I love Sundays.

New Stuff

Ok...I'm just plain slack. I haven't posted anything for some time. But I do have an excuse. I suffered major trauma on one of my morning walks. Something weird happened to my glasses and I could barely see through them. So I took them off when I walked, which was ok on the beach but was not ok on the road. I kept catching my feet on rocks and stumbling until eventually I took a major fall. Yeah, I know....dumb as a box of rocks.

But I was making arrangements to get new glasses ( which I now have) and even tried to get athletic shoes unsuccessfully until yesterday. So now I have my eyesight back and new shoes to walk in...no more excuses.

I also bought a bicycle. Well, it's not a bicycle like when I was young. It has shocks and 18 gears and it's red. I bought a rack to put on the back and installed my old saddlebags that I had converted to use with my horse a few years ago. I installed a light, a rear reflector and purchased a lock. Again, good to go....almost. My buddy Jesus, who has an identical bike informed me today that the gear changers are substandard and need to be replaced with Shimano. I have organized that.

I also got a new ice making machine. I have had a countertop model for a few months and it has been an outstanding piece of kit. Unfortunately, it self-destructed recently and ceased operating. Fortunately, I had a friend headed for the "big smoke" and he was able to procure a replacement and it is now churning out ice cubes just like the old one did. I have my life back!

I also got a wall fan. I installed it in my mini-gym and it makes an incredible difference when I work out. I purchased a ceiling fan as well...one with lights. I plan to install it in the kitchen directly over the island. I need more light there and the cooling effect of the fan will be welcome. The trick now is to pull together all the parts necessary to drop the fan two feet from the peak of the roof. I know how I would do it and where to get the hardware if I were still in Canada but these exercises are always more challenging here. I consulted with my contractor buddy, Okie Dave, today and he will assist me with this project.

Today's challenge was the repair of the return line to my swimming pool. For some mysterious reason, the pump appears to have simply spit out the threaded connection to the return line. The return is a small manifold that allows me to return filtered water to the pool or to purge it if I think it contains usavoury elements. My intention was to replace the entire manifold. However, when I consulted the Water Board's field technician, my employee and friend Juan Carlos, he discouraged me from doing so and, instead, recommended cutting the feed and, by scoring the remnant that resided inside the connecting Tee into small slivers and popping them out with a screwdriver and hammer, I could salvage the two valves and the Tee, having only to replace an elbow and union. Yeah, easy!

So that is how I spent a goodly chunk of my Saturday. The good news is that the repair has been made and the pool is operational again. I was able to vacuum it today and to infuse algaecide - regular maintenance. Altogether, a good day in the rainforest.

Back again!!

I am stunned to see that it has been a week since my last post. I guess that may be a measure of how uneventful life has been. I have had to switch my morning walks from the beach to the inside roads because of the rising tide. For two days last week I walked with Emily and Rosa, two friends and morning walk devotees. It was fun and they showed me some new, alternative routes. I was on my own again this morning.

Yesterday, stay-at-home Sunday, I made some whole-wheat english muffins, a spinach pizza and a pot of quinoa-lentil veggie stew. It was a successful experiment with the pizza dough which I had made previously and frozen. Although it refused to rise again, it baked up beautifully. I just love Sundays.

Relaxing Sunday

Had a most relaxing and enjoyable day yesterday, my stay-at-home day. I didn't even have to go out for groceries. I made hummus for the first time and it's awesome. My daughter used to make hummus and I didn't particularly take to it back then but it is really nutritious and will be incorporated into my diet. Then I made some almond nut-butter. Awfully good and good for you.

Then I made a chicken-garlic pizza from some dough I had refrigerated. I wasn't too happy with the performance of the dough and I will have to experiment further. The successful recipe I have for whole-wheat pizza dough makes enough for three pizzas so I would like to be able reliably to freeze or at least refrigerate the dough. That way, I can make pizzas as desired and not have to freeze them in meal portions - although that works extremely well. I make a 12-inch pizza, cut into four portions, eat one, refrigerate one and freeze the others in individual freezer bags.

I made Greek cinnamon-stewed chicken for supper. Simply awesome. I scrapped the orzo it called for though and served it on whole-grain rice. Orzo has a slippery-slidey texture that I find disturbing,,,it feels pre-digested. Rice is bold and substantial. I have four portions frozen and waiting for me.

All the while I was working in the kitchen, Phil Mickelson was winning the Masters and Tiger Woods was not redeeming himself. Doing all this cooking in one day kind of screwed up my eating schedule but not as badly as usual. I now have enough information on nutrition to develop my own personal meal and snack plan and will do so this week. I am pleased with the results of my weight loss program. I hope to get a set of bathroom scales today so that I can monitor my progress and maintenance when I reach that level.

Had a lovely walk on the beach this morning. I committed today to get a new pup. It's a Shar Pei-Yellow Lab mix and the pups are beautiful.

I plan this week on experimenting with sprouting some grains. I'm advised the only bread I should be eating is sprouted-grain bread so I hope to give it a try. I used to sprout mung beans and alfalfa back in the vegetarian days - should be fun.

My bass is alive again!!

Spent a wonderful afternoon yesterday with my friend and fellow bass player Michel Gauthier installing a new neck on my Fender Precision Bass. Sadly, the bass was caught in a flood (as was I) just after my arrival in Costa Rica. The neck warped and the instrument was barely playable.

Happily, I was able to buy a replacement neck through Ebay and have it shipped to friends in the U.S. who brought it here to the rainforest. Thanks Brent, Renee, Hope and Al. I have had the neck for some time but had not got around to the surgery. When Michel told me he had done this before and offered to help - I gladly accepted. Four hands are better than two on this kind of job.

We stripped the original neck of hardware and removed it, then installed the new neck and transferred all the hardware to it. It was a tedious, meticulous operation that took the whole afternoon. But at the end of the day my old '73 Precision was restored and is playable again. This instrument has quite a history and has traveled thousands of miles with me. It fed my family for years. I am glad to have it back. Thanks, Michel.

Snowbirds

The snowbirds are leaving the rainforest. They do this every year - back to the U.S., Canada and other destinations. But they'll be back next year. Meanwhile, this community shrinks to a mere shadow of it's former self. Social life is drastically curtailed and the rain visits upon us. The countryside is transformed as the rain paints the hills green and all the flora that have been dormant throughout the dry season are resurrected to restore the lush, green luxurious tropical veneer. This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful time of year here and I look forward to it.

My sister and brother-in-law left today to spend six months in Canada as they do each year. They will return in October.

I have resumed my morning walks after several days during which I have been down with the flu or, as it is known here, grippe. I don't know where I picked it up but it sure put me out of commission for several days. I stayed home so as not to share it with anyone. I got a lot of reading and sleeping done, at least. My energy level has not yet been restored but I am going back to my workout program today......that should help. I am delighted to report that I have lost fourteen pounds since I began.

By the time the snowbirds return, I will be a new man.