Life goes on...

We’re still a four-pet family. Unfortunately Clara never accepted Cotton Candy Ho so we had to return her. She has been welcomed back to her bunny family at the farm where we bought her and all is well. But now we have a new pet… a little brown puppy that Ryan has named Brownie Kacrownie. I am reading to Ryan as I type this and her words were, “And I love him so much it makes me want to have another dog.” Ran, being the sucker that he is, took Brownie Kacrownie in because a man was going to throw him away—literally! So while Ryan and I were at the grocery store, Ran was being persuaded by someone at the Pension to save the puppy. Brownie is 7 weeks old and he’s pretty sweet. Maile and Moki aren’t so sure about him but he and Clara seem to get along just fine.

Yesterday was our day to see wildlife! Ran saw a toucan in the morning and we all saw a bunch of capuchin monkeys in the afternoon. Then we saw two female quetzals. All of this took place in our back yard! The monkeys are so cute until they bear their teeth… then they look pretty darn intimidating.

The hotel continues to be full every day. Ryan really enjoys hanging out with the guests. Shannon took a trip to San Jose and bought some Christmas decorations so the Pension looks nice and festive. We don’t have any decorations at home, though. We brought our stockings with us so I’m going to hang them today. I can’t believe that Christmas is two weeks away! I hope to take a trip to San Jose next week to do a bit of shopping.

We’ve had a guest for the past few days. Lorena just got back from a month-long vacation visiting her family in the U.S. and she and her live-in boyfriend broke up. So she’s staying with us until she moves into a new apartment. Ryan loves having a house guest, of course.

We had a pretty full weekend. Lorena got here on Friday afternoon so we got her settled, then went to dinner at Flor de Vida, a vegetarian restaurant in walking distance from our house. (They have the best tomato gorgonzola soup.) On Saturday Ran went on a three-hour horseback ride. He had a great time and came home with a sore bottom. Ryan, Lorena and I went to art class. Ryan made a Christmas card and an ornament. Then we stopped at Lazy Frog--- a coffee shop and gallery. Ryan played with a bunch of the kids that were at art class and I bought her a cool sweater. I magically found one bottle of Tostito’s queso at the little grocery store near our house so we added tomatoes and peppers to it and indulged in cheese and chips! Then Ran came home with some pizza for dinner. On Sunday Ran went to work for a while and us gals went to an open house at Bromelia’s. It’s a gallery that has jewelry, clothing, books, music, aromatherapy--- all kinds of cool stuff. They also do massage therapy and yoga there. I bought some lip balm and eucalyptus oil. Ryan played with one of the owner’s sons—a little cutie named Kyle who is 5 days younger than Ryan. They are so alike that we (the parents) were laughing that the kids had met their match. We came home and Ryan took a nap, then we went to a birthday party at Moon Shiva, a restaurant/bar. There was a bonfire outside and a DJ inside and tons of people everywhere. Ryan, being the true party girl, ate cake and danced all night. She slept in until almost 10 today which was very nice!

It’s another beautiful day in Monteverde. Ran and Lorena are at work. Ryan and I had a Cheerios for breakfast and we’ll probably clean the house and go for a walk. I’ve got to go into the village (Santa Elena) today to get some craft things so we can make some Christmas decorations. On Wednesday Ryan and I are going to visit Sabine and Tara. We’re going on a horseback ride, then we’ll play with the bunnies (they now have 40), and Ryan really wants to milk the goat.
It’s the last week of classes at CPI before winter break. We might go to visit Daniel’s family in Cartago for Christmas. It’ll have to be a quick turnaround trip since the hotel is always open. Daniel has been taking English classes at CPI and he is doing so well! Last night at the party Ran gave a toast to Shannon and Daniel because they are getting married in January! Of course Ran cried as he called Daniel his brother and friend. And Daniel went to hug him and said (in English), “My friend, my brother, my life.” It was so touching and even kind of funny because you’d think Ran and Daniel were getting married the way they were hugging! So life keeps goes on in Monteverde. This is an awesome community and we are so blessed to be a part of it. Can’t wait ‘til you get here!

Pura vida