Ring out the olde, ring in the new!!!

How's this for a different way to advertise. The sign in lights says: Imperial 5.15 en Luperone, which is the local grocery store advertising the beer sale (Imperial). This was a sign just outside of Zi's Lounge where Coley and I sat on Thursday night to watch the parade come down the only street in Playas del Coco.

Later we went to a bar/restaurant right on the beach called Beach Bum Bar to watch this band becaue the lead guitarist and singer in the center was our neighbor for two months. His name is Miguel Cabrera and he was voted songwriter of the year in 2009. The beach is behind the bandstand and we really enjoyed hearing him. I told his wife, Arianna, I would have enjoyed it so much more if I understood Spanish, but we did love the talent of the band.

So, Coley decided this morning to wear the bathing suit I brought to her, which obviously is the same as mine (can't get away from that twin thing). So for the final day of 2010, Coley and I started our doing an awesome water aerobics class where our instructor worked our a...... off, and believe Coley and I have some a..... to work off.

We totally love the class and the instructor, Susanna. Any of you planning on coming down would really enjoy the class, but especiallly the setting and the scenery. Even if you don't join in the class, they have wonderful chairs to sit in to watch until we're done. Now, it doesn't get any more fun than that, huh!!!!!

And now, here's the perfect picture of me and Coley this New Year's Eve. We each have on our "costume" for the evening, Coley in her dress, all dolled up to out on the town and celebrate. To share in the playfulness of the night and to watch the fireworks on the beach. My "costume" is my t-shirt/pj shirt ready to flow into the evening of channel surfing. Perhaps I'll be awake to bring in the New Year, but that might be too much of a longshot. We will see!!!!!

This is our friend, Linda, who came by with her three kids and husband to share in some of the festivities of the evening. After Coley left to meet friends, Linda and her husband, Mark, along with Terry, Lily's grandfather, and Joshua, Linda's son, and I gathered in a circle and chanted the Danyavad chant. Naturally it was led by me, who else!!! But it was a beautiful finish for my evening with people. The most charming aspect was Joshua, so willing to participate 100%, and he's coming into the 6th grade. He's amazing!!!!!

My message for myself for 2011 can be summed up in one word "flowering". I have planted the seeds of my life, I have nurtured them, and now I can sit back and watch the flowering of my life take place. For each of you, as I sit here typing this I see your face in my mind, I say simply, you are the director, the actor, the playwright of your life. Let 2011 be about living fully and completely in each moment, staying in the flow and allowing yourself the pleasure of flowering.

Feliz Nuevo Anos!!! Happy New Year!!! I send you my love!!!

MORE PICS!!!

OK. here it is, proof I've been wearing sleeveless shirts and dresses. Never did that in Memphis, but here I'm really letting myself enjoy being free to choose any style. The dress I have on is the one that kept turning my arms, hands, and as I discovered later, my underwear.

Just to the left is Coley eating her first piece of sugarcane. Looks like it put a smile on her face!!!

More iguanas, you can see the orange color which means these are two males in season, looking for a mate.

Lest there be any doubt about me having a monkey on my back, well, the proof is in the picture.

The one where I am looking down and so is the monkey, we were both looking at a piece of sugarcane. The monkey won!!!!

Now,for a bit of news. Today Coley had an appointment in Liberia for an ultrasound test. She thought her gallbladder was acting up, so the doctor sent her for the test. The great news is, it's not her gallbladder. That's a huge relief for both of us. We're not sure what the problem is, further investigation is forthcoming. Please hold her in your prayers and see her in the perfect Light and Being that she is!!! Blessings and Love to each of you!!!

Holiday Fun!!!!!

Wahoooooooo!!! I have partied my buns off the last two days and I believe this has been one of the absolute best holidays I've had in a long time. We started it off by having Mike and Freckles over for dinner. I cooked a really wonderful meal of bar-b-que shrimp, chicken drummies, macaroni salad, pea salad and for dessert cranberry salad with whipped cream. We stuffed ourselves. We also sat on our porch with the lights and the luminaries creating a beautiful glow for us.

After our dinner, Christmas Eve night, we went down to Terry's, shown here with Coley. Lily,above, with me, Coley, Freckles and Mike. In Costa Rica the custom is to open your presents on Christmas Eve, so we took all of Lily's gifts to her and surprised her with clothes, jewelry, nail polish, candy, hair ribbons, body wash, and a number of other small items. She loved it and was so totally amazed with all her new stuff. It was great fun for us as well watching her open all the gifts.

Here's our beautiful luminaries and you can see our lights on our porch. Pretty huh!!!!!

I had a great time in my new tie dyed dress. Coley got it for me for Christmas and the whole night I kept noticing how red my hands were getting. It seems a though the "made in India" dress was rubbing off on me. We had a marvelous laugh all evening about how "sunburned" I was looking. I'll never forget this dress and all the fun I had wearing it!!

So, here we are Christmas day, headed to the Palo Verde for a trip up the river to view wildlife. We stopped in Ortega, walked through the local park and saw a number of iguanas, such as this guy. We learned that the male turns orange when he is ready to mate and we saw a number of iguanas in various states from really bright orange to green and some almost black.

Coley and Bob, a friend who went with us on the Palo Verde trip.

As you look as this tree trunk, you'll see what looks like scales. Those are actually long-nosed bats that appeared to be really small creatures, but when they took to the air they were actually the same size as most bats you see in North America. Had the tour guide not pointed them out, we would never have seen them.

Crocodile.

White-faced spider monkeys that crawled right on board with us. Our guide had a banana and he proceeded to cut it up into small pieces and put it on our heads or shoulders so the monkeys actually crawled up onto us.

Mike and the monkey.

Freckles with the monkey.

Another iguana, but can you see that his tail is half gone. They actually lose them in fights and then grow them back. However, the guide told us that they are striped naturally, except if they lose it, then it grows back as a solid color.

So we had a great two days of celebrating the holidays. We have laughed until we cried, toasted the season, shared gifts together but most of all, shared love.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Believing

The other day we were going to Liberia with Mike and Freckles to do some Christmas shopping. Before we got out of Coco, we stopped at the local bank to get cash for our purchases. Coley and Freckles neither one had any problem, but when I went to get money out of my account, I got an "insufficient funds" message. Very odd, since I knew I had plenty of money in that particular account.

Mike was kind enough to stop at their house to let me go on-line to check my balance. As it turned out, the internet was down so I was unable to access the information. Very strange, indeed! We got back into the car after deciding we'd try a different bank in Liberia, perhaps the bank's internet had gone down just as I was trying to get my money out. As we got back into the car, I said to the group "well, I guess Coley and Freckles' lesson is about prosperity and abundance and my lesson is about lack." Then I told them about the lesson for the day from Mark Nepo's book The Book of Awakening: Having the Life you Want by Being Present to the Life you Have, was about "believing". So as I sat in the back seat thinking about my bank account, I went into a state of calmness and affirmed for myself all was well, everything was in Divine Order, and nothing was happening that God didn't already know about. I began to breathe into myself the truth of these thoughts and in just a very short time, I started to feel an ease and relaxation begin to fill my body.

We spent the entire day in Liberia, with Coley making all of our purchases. We returned to our condo about 3:30 that afternoon, just in time for me to call the Credit Union to see what was happening with my account. I was told there had been some "unusual " activity on my account and they had blocked access to my card. I also found out that I could have it unblocked at any time, which I decided to do the next day in order to get cash out. Afterwards, I again called the Credit Union and asked them to again block the card until after the holidays, just in case anyone might be trying to use it again.

I remember a time in my life in the not-too-distant past when an episode of this nature would have sent me reeling with fear of losing all my money, not having enough to take care of my needs and feeling totally out of control. This "opportunity" allowed me to see how different my life has become, how my attitude towards money has shifted, and also my way of dealing with the issue, by immediately using the "tools" I've been given of affirmation and breath work. At the same time, looking at how my beliefs have also shifted, especially about money and finances.

So, I ask you, what are your personal beliefs around money? How are these beliefs serving you? Do you feel uplifted, enhanced, delighted about where you're at when it comes to your personal finances, or are you always "robbing Peter to pay Paul", or worrying about whether or not you'll have "enough" to make it through the day, the week, or even the month?

A Night Out on The Town of Hermosa

The group I wrote about some time ago, Class Act, meets once a month as a social club. Just a couple of days ago we met for dinner at a beautiful hotel/restaurant with the beautiful beach to the right just below the dining area. The area is called Playas de Hermosa (Hermosa Beach) and is a much more affluent community with quite a few more people living there. Above are Freckles, Mike, me and Jerry and below is one with Coley in the picture. The night was beautiful, a slight breeze wafting through the open air restaurant, the band playing in the background, and about 40 people gathered to break bread together.


























This morning, Coley and I decided to open our gift from the family. I thought it might be a little table top Christmas tree to put our ornaments on, the ones my family gave me before I left the States. As you can see by the picture, it was a Christmas elf, absolutely adorable, and now we are starting the get more into the spirit of the holiday.










Please note our liquor cabinet in the background, we will not "want" during the holiday to find our cheer, in fact, as soon as I finish this I'm going into the kitchen to make frozen pina coladas.

So to our family we say THANK YOU!!!! We love our gift and will be opening our cards on Christmas eve and Christmas day.

To Family and friends alike, we say "cheers" and we love you all, lots!!!

The Children Are Our Future!

Tonight, Lily, in the picture just below, had a school program. She's in the 5th grade and come February, after the summer break, goes into the 6th grade. So the school had their Christmas pageant. Lily looked so cute, she had the neighbor lady straighten her hair and had on her special dress. Her grandfather was still in San Jose, so Coley and I stood in for her family. We really enjoyed the whole evening.

Just to the left you can see Lily standing next to a boy named Bose who was her dance partner in the program. After watching Bose trying to do the dance and the hand movements, I leaned over to Coley and said "this is when boys decide they absolutely hate dancing."

In the picture to the right, the little boy in the yellow shirt was so cute, he sang the song, did the movements and at one point jumped up and started moving his hips around. The young boy on his right with the white shirt on, didn't sing, didn't dance, just stood there with his hands in his pockets. Coley said "there's a YouTube picture for sure, all the other ones singing and he's just standing their saying to himself "what the heck was I thinking!!!!"

Sandy, here's a picture I took for you, of course a dog would show up and be right up in the middle of everything. There are so many beach dogs here, but the Ticos have pets, they just don't let them come into their homes. The local rescue agency has done a great job getting the dogs and cats spayed and neutered.

And, finally, the entire school. The little ones in front were so adorable singing the Chipmunk song. Lily is to the back, the tallest girl on the right side in the darker dress. The school is called Green Life Academy and they seem to be a really good school. Next year, in February, which is their beginning of a new school year, they will have 7th grade for the first time. Eventually, the kids will be able to go to the school from pre-K right through 12th grade. Coley and I met several of the parents, some of which gave us their numbers and said to call if Lily ever needed a ride to school or to a special outing. They really love her at the school.

So now I'm back at the condo, and Coley has gone to Zi's for ladies night. I think I'll sit here and sing Feliz Navidad to myself, now that I'm more in the Christmas mood. Anyone want to join me in a song.........

Making Memories, Savoring Memories

Above is a picture of our friend, Lily Rain and myself, with flour on our face. The two of us, along with Coley, decided to make sugar cookies on Sunday so Lily could take them to school for her teachers and students. We had a really marvelous time getting into the baking and frosting of them. Although, we used a local lard for our shortening and I'm not sure that it enhanced the flavor of the cookies, but today they were all gone by the time Lily got home. Her grandfather is in San Jose for a couple of nights, so she's staying with us.

Tonight the three of us went to a local bar called La Vida Loca, where they were hosting a memorial service for our friend, Olen, who passed away on Sunday morning. Here's a picture of a mermaid out in front of the bar. She's something to look at, hmmmmm!!!!!

To the left is a type of "buddha" also in front of the bar. Notice the hand or mudra position. Really quite something to look at.

To the immediate right is a guy we call "Beach Kevin" because he absolutely loves going to the beach and every time I've seen him, this is how he is dressed.

Here is Coley with Freckles and Jerry having a drink for Olen. You can see a little of Mike, Freckles boyfriend. That's the couple I've pet-sat for a couple of times. Really good hearted people.

To the far right is "Brooklyn Jimmy" with his pal, BonBon. Jimmy says this dog will always stop and say "hi" to him no matter where he runs into him, that BonBon is his buddy. Jimmy is one of the really good guys I've met here in Costa Rica.

Just below is a real beauty, our friend, Linda.

She and her husband, Mark, live here with four children. She's another person I've really enjoyed meeting here.

And, finally, the young man looking at the camera is Brennan, Olen' s grandson. He flew in on Sunday to be with his mom and to help with all the arrangements for his grandfather's funeral.

Olen would have so loved the send off this evening. There were about 40 people at the bar to raise a glass in his honor. I didn't know him all that well, but whenever Coley and I went to Zi's Lounge, we could count on seeing Olen at the railing sipping on a beer watching the people go by. I'll miss my hug from him!!!

So take the time to tell your family and friends you love them. You never know which moment will be your last. To all of you reading this, I love you deeply!!!!!!

God's Time, Not Our Time

Today, we are saying goodbye to our dear friend, Olin, who layed down his earthly body this morning. Coley and I have just found out and Coley has gone to try to help his daughter with anything she might need.

Only a moment ago, Olin's best friend came upstairs to see if we knew. As he left, I asked how he was doing with all of it, and he started to cry. I asked if I could hold him and he walked into my arms. We both cried together. "There is no reason for the timing of it all", I said to him. Then he told me that Olin's daughter "felt" as if she needed to be here. She got here two days ago.

How incredible, how mystifying, how synchronistic is it when everything fits so neatly together, right place, right time, right where one needs to be, just the right moments before one passes......... Last night Olin and his daughter spent several hours dancing, drinking, laughing, having a great time. Coley was there until 1:30 a.m. sharing in the fun.

Olin loved this place he called home, Costa Rica. He wouldn't have had it any other way. We, who are the ones left behind, grieve through our letting go, but Olin has surrendered the heaviness, the pain, the sorrow and the sadness to wrap himself in the arms of Love. Tonight I raise a toast to you, dear one, be at peace!!!!!

What the heck was I thinking?!

One would think that being in a virtual paradise, would naturally lead one to find a sense of deep peace and relaxation, not to mention a sense of pleasure and joy at being able to spend inordinate amounts of time soaking up the sun.

I, however, have way too much time on my hands. Don't get me wrong, I am truly in paradise, but my idea of paradise for the past several years (24 to be exact) was my beautiful apartment filled with all my "things", where I could go and shut out the rest of the world, if needed. Or, as was often the case, I could drive to the local theatre and lose myself in one of the most recent releases, now many of which are offered in 3d.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really not complaining. I mean, after all, what do I have to complain about. The temperature here is about 85 to 90 degrees right now with very little humidity. The sky is a beautiful clear blue, with a smattering of white clouds. I have access to the Pacific ocean, less than a 10 minute walk to a beautiful sandy beach, or, if not the beach, then walk downstairs to the pool just below our condo, surrounded with gorgeous flowering plants and shrubs. So, what's there to complain about.

I read a book right before I got here, given to me as a retirement gift by my friend, Douglas, called 12 x12, A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream, by William Powers. It was a fascinating true story of William Powers journey of self discovery when he moved into a 12 x 12 structure in North Carolina, totally off the grid, but self-sustaining. Every day he woke to the same room, the sameness of each day which came down to personal survival, eating, sleeping, some physical activity and filling in the hours of each day without television, radio, or any of the modern conveniences. At the beginning, he found it very difficult to immerse himself in his "home", and questioned his sanity about choosing such a primitive way of living.

My friend, Melanie, who also read the book, says I'm living my 12 x 12 experience and I must say there is some truth to that. I wonder at how things would feel to me here if I had access to a car and to being more mobile. Every day is the same and yet different. Every day begins with a cup of coffee outdoors and ends with a reading session in bed. The hours in between vary little as well. One of my greatest blessings is rediscovering my relationship with my twin. One of my challenges is honoring my Truth, following my Path and continually moving back into the energy of Love. With all this time on my hands, it is a moment by moment exercise.

My spiritual community, my book study group and my friends in Memphis and Mentone have given me several "shots in the arm", boosting me back to a different perception of my life and the work I continue to do to bring every area of my life back into balance.

So, to each of you who hold me in your hearts with great love, I say thank you!!! You know who you are and you know I send love back to each of you in this very moment!!!!!

Dancing Queen

Today, after going to our water aerobics class, Coley, Freckles and I drove into town to shop at a fund-raising event for the local animal rescue agency. They had received a donation of clothes, some with "Gap" labels, and other well known designer labels, to sell, all of the proceeds went to the agency.

The picture to the left shows a woman under an umbrella, holding a sign advertising the sale. This is just one little portion of the main road in Playas del Coco and when traffic is moving, it can get kind of crazy. Two lanes of cars with people walking and riding bicycles, scooters, golf carts, and motorcycles. You have to be really conscious when you're walking on this street. Coley, Freckles and I have decided to take on an 11-year old girl for Christmas, who lives in the complex Coley and I live in. In a couple of previous posts, I've included a picture of her. Her name is Lily Rain and she lives with her grandfather. We found several articles of clothing at the sale today. I've also decided to buy a bicycle for her, since she doesn't have one and she borrows Coley's all the time. Being able to do this really puts me in the holiday spirit and I know it does Coley as well.

Speaking of Coley, here she is in her new freedom dress. I bought this for her the night she found out she was divorced. If you look closely on her right shoulder, you can see her freedom braid hanging down. She looks so good in this dress and it will look really good on our cruise. Tonight, she and I both went to Zi's to listen to a band. The group is called Banana Kings and it's three guys, around their mid to late 50's playing some really great tunes, Sweet Home Alabama, Born on the Bayou, and the one I actually got up and danced to was the famous Johnny Rivers song, Long Distance Information Give Me Memphis, Tennessee. I mean, how could any self-respecting girl from Tennessee not get up and dance to that song. Thought about all my buddies in Memphis, really miss each and every one of them, Shelia, Melanie, Anne, Ayn, Sherry, Elva, Tish, oh Dios mio, I could go on and on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just about the time I was read to come home, a young tico man came and sat with us. His name is Miguel, he's from Nicaragua, but has lived in Costa Rica for three years. He's been trying for a year to get his work permit, so he can stay in the country for a year without having to leave every 30 days. For those of us from the States and Canada, etc., we get to stay for 90 day and then we also have to leave for 3 days, hence our cruise the middle of January.

Miguel speaks really good english and we were both enjoying talking to him. He said he likes dancing, so I immediately told him that any time he's back in Zi's bar and he sees my twin, to get her to dance, she loves it. So when I left the bar, guess who was up and dancing? HMMMMMMM!!!!! I wonder ----not!!!

Love to all!!! Buenos noches, dulce sueltas (good night, sweet dreams)!!

FREEDOM!!!!!

Here's Coley on her way to celebrate her day of becoming a "free" woman once again. Yesterday she got word her divorce had become final. So the two of us went in to town to have a drink at Zi's and to order chicken wings for supper, Coley's favorite.

Once we got into town, I saw Kevin who does the yarn braiding. He and I had talked about me getting one, and since we were celebrating, we both got one to represent freedom in our lives, her from her husband, me from my job. Tomorrow I'll take a picture to share with you guys.

After we got the braid, I took Coley down to her favorite dress shop, just before you get to the beach and bought her a little sun dress, more of an evening dress, but in black, similar to what she's wearing in this picture, except it has little sequined designs. It's going to look really good on our cruise in January when we celebrate our 60th birthday.

We both had a really good time and even though I got home much later than usual, I was really happy to be here with her. I remember when I divorced my husband, I cried the entire afternoon after going to Court and asking a Judge to grant me one. I felt like such a failure, even though I was the one who wanted it.

I hope Coley and Mike will be able to resume a friendship at some point. He's been in our family for 33 years, and I will miss seeing him periodically. He's a good guy, they simply took it as far as they could.

Being free is something each person has to learn how to live in. It has it's own moments of great joy, but also deep despair. Learning to be alone and yet not be lonely, is only one facet of this rough diamond. Many other opportunities for growth as well. Coley is strong, independent, self-sufficient. She will find her way through this and she and I will have many opportunities to discover our own rhythms together.

One of my lessons

Yesterday was a day like every other day, we got up, had coffee on the porch, played a game of Farkle and then worked our way through the day. It wasn't sunny enough to get out in the pool or the ocean. Coley heard there was going to be a band at Lavida Loca, a bar at the beach. The owner was celebrating his birthday.

By mid-afternoon, Coley asked me if I was planning on going to the bar with her and I replied that I was still straddling the fence. I kept trying to work up the enthusiasm to go in and listen to music, drink and be there for my sister so she wouldn't have to go by herself. When it finally came to the point where I had to make a decision, I started to cry and told Coley I'm simply not a bar person. She hugged me, kissed me on my neck and said "please don't cry, it's OK, I still love you and you don't have to go if you don't want to. Besides, if you weren't here, I'd have to go by myself anyway". I said "I'm just not a bar person, it doesn't appeal to me at all".

Later, after she got all dolled up and left for her evening out, I thought about what I was feeling. I thought about my experience over the past month, and I've come to the conclusion that being around a bunch of men who only want to drink, get drunk, talk about their sex lives, and then end up taking one of the local street women back home with them, is not my idea of having a great time. Not once in the three or four times we've been to the bar has one of these "gentlemen" offered to buy us a drink, or sat and had a conversation about something other than sex or some innuendo related to sex.

I know my twin really loves to dance, and she can find any number of people who are more than willing to dance with her, but unless I'm out with a group of people and everyone is dancing, I'm probably not going to be up there with her.

As we get into being together for longer periods of time, we are discovering just how different we are, but also how much more we love each other. I knew when I came this would be an opportunity for me to be true to myself, I just didn't realize how much I want to make her life everything she wants. In denying myself, I deny her the opportunity to grow as well, so yesterday's angst enabled both of us to step into our own power, and to honor where we are both at. She's a fireball, full of energy and drive. I'm driven in a totally different way, more inner than outer. Together we are whole, separately we are discovering how to be whole, yet each individually.

I'm so thankful for this opportunity to re-discover this woman who has always been half of my heart!!!!!

PICTURES FROM THANKSGIVING

Mom, I told you Coley would find a turkey wing, and here's the proof!

We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving dinner in the home of Anna. Anna lives at the golf course area, very near the 4th green which is shaped like a heart. There were about 60 people at the dinner. All the traditional foods were there, but for my southern tastes,there was not a single cornbread dressing.


The picture below is our friend, Lily Rain.
She's almost 12 years old and lives just below
us. It was a last minute decision to take her with us, but she had a marvelous time and ate her way through the dessert table. This after eating a plate of turkey and mashed potatoes. Look how cute she looks in her beautiful dress. She asked me to braid her hair, which I did.




To the left is Mike, his girlfriend, Freckles, Vicky, and Coley. The home of Ana, was high up on a hill, so we had a beautiful view of Playa de Coco. You can kind of see the hills off in the distance. Nothing was green hills and trees to look at. It's amazing me to me that Ana lives so far out from anyone, and lives in this huge home by herself.

Hey, Jeff, really enjoyed talking to you yesterday and I told you I'd send you a message. Look carefully at some of the pictures I've posted. I understand when you get here that all the hills will be brown instead of green. I think you'll love being at the ocean and having every moment to kick back. So hurry up and get down here. As for all the rest of you, I say again, when are you coming?!!!