Costa Jill

Dragged myself away from my cave and computer to glorious weather. Started watering thirsty plants and you know how one thing leads to another in the garden.

• My mulberry tree is loaded with fruit. A couple of ripe little black jewels peeked out at me and popped right into my mouth. Yup, it is my favorite fruit; hairs, stem and all.
•  The bougainvillea I just planted next to the walled garden has looked so dead. At close inspection, it’s covered with tiny buds. The way time is passing it’ll be climbing the wall with the others in no time.
• While picking the last Meyer’s lemons, the scent of delicate new citrus blossoms drifted into my nostrils.
• After sadly sifting the frozen buds of the mango through my fingers, I walk around the tree to find lots of live ones.
• Riding my bike up to get the Sunday paper, I spy another young cyclist stealing carambolas off a neighbor’s tree. I almost join him. And that brings to mind the first recipe. One of my favorite drinks. Talk about refreshing!

Refresco of Carambola

4 – 6 carambolas make a  pitcher. Use lots of water to dilute this tart and tasty fruit.

1. Cut off the ends and black edges of ripe fruit, and chop into chunks.
2. Fill blender 3/4 full with fruit and 1/2 full with water. Blend on high.
3. Push through a Costa Rican colander (fine sieve).
4. Add water and sweetener (sugar or agave nectar) to taste.

And that leads to my other favorite.

Refresco of Jamaica (Roselle Hibiscus)

1. Cover a large pot full of jamaica (roselle) bracts with water.  If you don’t have them in your garden in CR you can buy them in season (now) at the farmer’s market in Uvita.
2. Bring to a boil. Turn to simmer for 45 min.
3. Mash all the gorgeous red juice out of the soaked fruit through a CR colander and into a pitcher.
4. One pint of concentrate makes a big pitcher of juice. Add water and sweetener to taste.
5. You can freeze pint containers of concentrate for later.

Both of these drinks are loaded with Vit. C and jamaica has lots of calcium. Enjoy.

Looks like one of those Costa Rican bugs has bitten me again – some internal one. Will have the tests back next week. I’m finally feeling good enough to drag myself off the couch and aah! that fresh Florida February air feels fabulous. Should have a story posted next week. In the next few days will give you some background material. Don’t give up.

How do you like my background? It’s called the Whale’s Tail – a part of the Costa Rican Pacific coastline that I see from my balcony everyday. I’m so lucky!

After reading Nuala O”Faolain’s memoir Are You Somebody? I shed a few tears:

• for the  pain and the beauty in this little treasure of a book I found at Goodwill.
• for how it relates to me (we’re so egotistical aren’t we) and all women.
• for the memory of my mother, whose birthday is today.
• for my close friend’s mother’s dying, her funeral being today.
• for my ill health. My stomach hurts from some undiagnosed what?
• for my inability to settle my unruly thoughts, sort through them into a coherent view of my life and its relationships.

She tells her story with such honesty, power and frankness from a horrendous Irish childhood into her 50′s as she begins to deal with aging.  This American edition includes her Afterwords – the letters and stories she received. She just needed to tell her story having no idea that the instant best seller it became meant so much to so many people, especially women.

I was ready to write to her too, but found I was too late. She died late in 2008. I’ll write here instead. Hope to be posting some short stories soon.

And I thought I was going to write something funny and smart. Next time.  I’ll be back to my old optimistic self tomorrow.

It’s all out there now. Public. That’s what I keep forgetting. And there’s so much of it. (At least nothing goes out until I hit post.)

• I sit here listening to NPR. The bailout -don’t continue to give to the haves. Pepsi’s Gatorade change to G – what a slap in the face!
• CR sends me an email with  youtube.com Playing for Change - I want to dance inside and out. Each computer site I enter leads me away to another.
• In the car, listening to an audio Loving Frank (Lloyd Wright) by Horan -what a preposterous genius. Need some visuals and background. Find a book, go on-line.
• Nap time is for reading a book in print, Are You Somebody? by O’ Faolian. Still buy the Herald-Tribune, but how much longer will I keep the wonderful, archaic habit of reading the paper with the requisite cup of coffee? CRB sends email – the Costa Rican major newspaper La  Nacion, will probably have to give up print and go only on-line.

My mind’s awhirl. How did life change so much in such a blink-of-the-eye? And I didn’t even get to TV.