A Merry Christmas

It was two days before Christmas, I decided to go into town, get a pedicure, and see about buying my things for Trish’s Christmas dinner. I got to the Century 21 and Went in to say hello, They invited me to an open house on the beach in Hermosa, but I didn’t have a ride.
Carlos said he would pick me up, and then this gal in the office offered a ride said she lived there and it would be on her way. So I ran down to Helene’s to get a pedicure but she was busy and I waited for more than a hour, ate and waited. But it got to late so no pedicure before Christmas.

I left to rush to the house, so that I wouldn’t miss this gal, but hours went by and no one showed up. So I went in to change and just as I began to change my clothes someone knocked on the window, I have a sliding glass window for a door. It was her at first I was happy that she showed but after getting in the car, I realized I probably would have been better off just staying home. She tore out of the driveway like her tail was on fire. I barely had time to clip the seatbelt and already I knew that I better hold on tight. She claimed she never had wreck or killed anyone, but I swear you couldn’t convinced me of that, by the way she was driving! We ripped down the road barely missing this lady and her , baby on a bike. Scared the daylights out of me… poor lady… Then we went to where she thought the house was, but there was not a soul around? Then to another area where I thought perhaps it may be but again no one or no cars that either of us recognized.

Being that is was in Hermosa, which is about 15 miles or so away, it was a ways back to Jaco. She then began saying, What am I going to do with you now? I don’t know if I should take you to this other place, ok now lets go back, when were were driving down the road she told me that her neighborhood was having a fiesta for Christmas, and that there were many people there.

She is a dyke, and I could tell that after she had me in the car and I commented on her driving she was not exactly happy with me. In other words, she became angry now that we couldn’t find the house and she was stuck with me… and me not being gay, well that I am sure, surely didn’t make her happy. I couldn’t tell honestly if she was a he or a she? But she got rude and angry, and I just never said a word. We got to the neighbor hood,and as she said, there was allot of people there. We got out of the car and I saw someone setting up a karaoke machine in the middle of a lawn or park area.

We walked in, she went off, didn’t introduce me to anyone, there many little children sitting on a board like bench and many people sitting on this board like bench all the way around the area. Someone was cooking some pig over a fire in a bit pot, boiling it in oil. There was Mashed Yukka root, and salasa, but no tortillas. She was talking to people she obviously recognized and I sat alone on the board. There were five or six chairs but they looked occupied by either these European looking people, or ticos, and or Two Americans. I ate some and drank a beer and watched the Karaoke, guy do his thing. You had to see his shirt, it said a foul word on, but I don’t think he knew what it meant.. or he may not have worn it to a Christmas Celebration.

To make it short, we only stayed a short time,and she Rushed to take me back and was rude the whole way back. I really didn’t talk, I just listened to her brag and complain and insult.

I got back to thinking about going back to the store, so I grabbed a taxi went to the store and bought the things I needed to make an Apple pie and some canoli.

Shopped around a bunch of people and came home to clean up and listen to the live music next door. They were celebrating, the funniest thing was they were playing later some disco music and they played wake me up for you go go… I laughed and sang along.

This morning I got up to the birds singing loudly as usual, drank coffee on the porch ate some breakfast, then rode in the heat to town the hardware store to get a pipe some fittings, a aluminum plate, a saw and some nylon twine. I wanted to make some bamboo posts with extensions, on the ends. Strapped these to the railing on the deck and hang flower pots from them, and Make a shelve out of timber bamboo.

So I spent most of the morning in town trying to do that, and then to store for a couple of things I forgot to get for someone as a gift.

I came back to a flooded apartment, the one down stairs had water pouring out of it, so I tired to open the windows to get in and to see where the water was coming from, but I couldn’t open any windows. Its UN occupied. I tried again and got one of the windows up and out. I got in to find that the pipe in the bathroom had burst and I shut off the main. It took hours to sweep all the water out to the front door but I did it then I called Carlos in San José to warn him and to tell him I took care of it. But he didn’t answer. If I hadn’t shut off the water, I would probably not have any water for myself since it’s a holding basin for all the apartments. I instantly thought about that, and how long was that water going? Who knows but It was at least eight or more inches deep in both bedrooms.


Then I carried on with my project, making the pies, and canoli which I found after I had everything done I had no oil to make the shells for the canoli. It is difficult here to do things with out the proper tools or supplies. I didn’t even have a rolling pin and I did it with a wine bottle.

Zachery showed up, so I put him to work on painting the statues, and cutting me some timber Bamboo for the porch and this shelve I want to make with Large bamboo and glass. I will take a photo when I am done.
He complained the whole time he was working, hate to see what he will be like in about 20 years. He would be an old man with his cane beating up little children as they walked by or sitting for hours doing nothing but complaining about the day… Lol I thought it was funny, as women and we all know this… can do twice if not three times more and still have energy to do more.



Ok now as for the Christmas tree, here they only use a tree on the porch all decorated, and generally not everyone, but everyone does have the nativity scene in there house. If it’s a real tree its an arborvitae, so it looks strange to me.

They shoot off fireworks everywhere like the forth of July in the states? And they begin the celebration of Christmas at noon on the 24th.

I have no porch tree, or decorations, no nativity nothing… but I will be going to Trish’s house in the evning to watch the sun set and have a turkey dinner. Should be different, since its going to be all women??? Two which I have met and well lets just say I am not fond of either yet.

Now the huge Fireworks are flying sounding like cannons, here I thought I was getting away from that in Washington where they shoot off fireworks from new years to the forth of July, loud as anything and well Its here too.

The morning of Christmas, I got up to singing birds as usual, but I worked on cleaning up the place and making my poles with pots hanging from them for the back porch.
I used the timber Bamboo which is about 6 and half inches in diameter, and some smaller pieces for the cross bars to hang potted plants from the porch. It is all cement so poses for a difficult situation should you try to hang something from the eve. Besides It not my place or I would drill. After working on that for several hours, I went then for a walk on the beach, and strolled down the la playa seeing many people surfing, eating and basking in the sun.

I walked to Trish’s house to tell her that I needed a ride later for the pie the cake and the wine and gifts I was bringing, since it would be hard on the bike to try to carry all that! But she was not home. So I walked back to the house, Trish lives about a mile away. I showered and got ready to go to her house for the celebration dinner. She did call and came to pick me up, but before we got to the house she found out her horse was out… Now the sun was going down and the whole point of dinner was based around the sunset!! JUST MY LUCK!! We had to drive around looking to see if we could find the horses… but we didn’t I pointed out that the sun was setting and they we should back to the guests, I hadn’t met. We did and there were more than just women there. There were several American Men and about five with me six American Women.

The dinner went well under candle light and out on the porch overlooking the Sea, her house sits right on the beach, she has four apartments there that she rents out. WHAT A SWEET SITUATION…. If only something like this could develop for me? I need something to happen in order for me to survive here aside from working day and night.

Dinner was great, all the food was good and my pie well it was fair, they thought it was wonderfull, but It was the worst pie I ever made. The crust was too thick and I didn’t have any cinnamon for the filling. Mom would have croaked eating that. It tasted good but it was not my opinion of a great pie. I need to work on perfecting things here, its hard with no tools and very little materials to work it. In time I am sure I will accomplish the ways of life here.

Eating way too much, I decided to leave a little early, the people were nice enough with the exception of a couple of catty women who I ignored, didn’t want to give place to any thing but happy thoughts as I was missing my family and friends, and listening to the gossip was making me upset. So I told them I needed to talk to my children and I walked home in the dark. My belly full and really hurting from all the turkey dressing green beans, cranberry pie and cake… oh yeah and mashed potatoes that were like Brandon would say SOUP! HAAAAA and I didn’t make um! They were instant I could tell gross but hey it was a good dinner!
Got home and called the kids and laughed and cried after I hung up missing them on Christmas night, and thinking about my grand kids.