August 21, 2007

Dear Dad,

We celebrated Mother’s Day on Wednesday and the government declared Monday a holiday so we had a three day weekend.  I am sending you something someone sent me

This is a great reminder why we celebrate Mother’s Day.  I think it is funny and thought you might get a nice laugh reading it.  This is a true story.

So, we had this great 19 year old cat named Jack who just recently died.  Jack was a great cat… and the kids would carry him around, sit on him and nothing ever bothered him.  He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom. Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old.  The middle one is Eli.  Eli really loves chapstick…          ….LOVES it!!     He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing i t.  So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to, but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done. Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on.  My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box.  I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up.  Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli.  I have searched everywhere and I finally go around the corner to go into the bathroom.  And there was Eli.  He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right---their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the HUNDREDTH.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever…. because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures,  There will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

We didn’t go to Punta coral last weekend because the young female cat was sick and had to have a shot a day for four days for a bacterial infection and high fever.  Junior is her name, named after Boomer and Harry because she is a calico with the colors of both of them.

Junior arrived at the back door of our house, the one we lived in for 15 years, and became our cat. She must have been badly treated because until now she has never liked anyone touching her.  Now that she is well; her personality has changed a little and she is more friendly and purrs and lets us pet her or she sleeps on our bed and no longer hides on top of the closet.

This weekend, I cooked spanakopita, the Greek triangles made out of filo dough and filled with feta cheese and spinach and flavored with fresh dill.  They are always a favorite appetizer and Celiece and Marlon have been asking for some.  I knew that Celiece was going to finish her tour and I wanted to have something special for her to eat when she showed up at the house Sunday night and Monday for lunch.

David and I went shopping on Sunday and bought roses plants for the garden.  I got one of ever color and can’t wait for the gardener to return and plant them in the back yard where I can see them when I sip my morning coffee.

We have been having the slowest week all year.  The news of the hurricane stopped cold the reservations because the news said the Pacific would or could be rainy and dangerous. 

Not true, the Pacific side of Costa Rica was sunny and the waves were normal and the days perfect. We did get rain in San Jose, but Puntarenas and the surrounding islands are always summer weather.

We are getting ready to haul out the Manta Raya and get ready for the tourist season.

She needs to be painted and some minor changes and hull work. She will be hauled out for two weeks. 

I am on my way to Columbia on the 10th of Sept for business.  I am traveling with a friend and the two of us are participating in a travel show; the biggest on this side of the world. Jetty and I will leave on Monday night and return on Saturday.  The show is three days of appointments much like Expotur that we do every year here in Costa Rica.

Monday was a holiday and I had the rugs in the office cleaned on Saturday.  Last time I did this, the rugs were a little damp on Monday with only one day or Sunday to dry.  This time we had two days with no foot traffic and I am hoping they will stay nice and clean for a while.  They look great now.

David is having fun playing with his new (er) car.  He had installed a camera in the back that gives a live picture on the dash of what is behind him when he is backing up.  Hey, I need one.

David told me today that Costa Rica is almost ready to start the navigation systems so we can find our way around better. This is great since road and street signs seem to be against federal law, because they don’t exist.  I am always getting lost.

Thursday

It is just starting to rain again.  I can hear the thunder and it is almost time for me to leave and go to the dentist.  I am trying to save a baby tooth that is in danger of falling out because there is only a tiny bit of root connected to the bone.  I have been watching it for years and the dentist cannot figure out why it is still there, but could fall out anytime. 

David is playing golf and has not arrived yet.  I still need to go to the grocery store because tomorrow we will go to Punta Coral for the weekend.

I get tired of shopping for groceries, always buying the same thing it seems.  But it is getting interesting because the last two times someone put things, small items,  into my basket and I didn’t notice until I went to put the groceries away.  Not products that I use, but it was interesting to try and remember when it could have happened. I wonder what they thought when arriving home only to find the items missing?

I think this is all the news for the week. 

Tonight is massage night, tomorrow I go to Tortuga Island for an inspection of our tour and then finally it will be the time of the day I’ll be dropped off at Punta Coral and if it is not raining I will take a walk, hug my tree and see what surprises the forest has for me this weekend.  I can’t wait.

I love and miss you.

Besitos,  Cecs