on distance

how far,
from high desert of the Southwest to the ocean coasts of the continent to the plains of the Heartland to the tropics of Central America;
from no worship to traditional pews and stained glass windows to mismatched chairs on a cement floor and a rooster crowing out back;
from lazy to busy to tranquilo.

how far,
to that place we have yet to arrive;
to goodbyes and hellos;
to the mix of language and culture and tradition;
to learning yet again.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
That I may tell of all Your works.
Psalm 73:28



I just discovered Five Minute Friday, a challenge issued by The Gypsy Mama to write for 5 minutes, just to write whatever comes to mind, "to fingerpaint with words."  (isn't that a GREAT image?) 

Five minutes pass in a flash!

I think I'll be back...

a prayer for Palm Sunday

(from Scotty Smith, Christ Community Church, Franklin, TN)

A Prayer Celebrating the Glory of Palm Sunday

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. Zechariah 9:9-12


Lord Jesus, we’ll exhaust the wonder of this passage, as soon as we drink Niagara Falls dry; as soon as we memorize the names of every star you’ve launched into the heavens; as soon as we finish climbing every Alp in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and France.


On this Palm Sunday morning, we’re overwhelmed with your humility, sovereignty and your generosity. What other king would mount the lowly foal of a donkey to the conquer the warriors and war-horses of darkness? What other king could break the battle bow and the backbone of all warfare by his own brokenness on a cross?


What other king could replace the politics of tyranny with a dominion of peace? What other king would offer his life and death for the redemption and restoration of rebels, fools and idolaters, like us? What other king could possibly transform prisoners of sin, death and “waterless pits” into prisoners of hope?


Jesus, you are that king, none other can be found. Only you can make us eternal prisoners of living hope. Indeed, who is the king of glory? It is you, Lord Jesus, and only you. Who is the king of grace? It is you, Lord Jesus, and only you. Who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords? It is you, Lord Jesus, and only you.


We rejoice greatly today for you have come to us righteous and having salvation, and you’re coming again to finish making all things new. Fill our hearts this Holy Week with your presence. Overwhelm us with your love. May your cross and your crown continue to free us from all other imprisonments that we may live as prisoners of hope and agents of your redemption. So very Amen, we pray, in your glorious and grace-filled name.

(art credit: UNKNOWN; Illustrator of 'Speculum humanae salvationis', Germany (?), c. 1400-1500, from Museum Meermanno Westreenianum, The Hague)

La Feria Saturday

La Feria Saturday

Warm sun, dusty path,
Underneath the tarps.

Wilted greens, striped zucchinis,
Bolsa of green beans.

Tomato red, radish bunches,
Cukes not close to cool.

Mangos, pineapples and
bananas not yet ripe.

The produce of the market
seems to come
more easily than
the fruit of the spirit
some days.

My friend Upsidedown Bee noted today that Poetic Asides from Writer’s Digest has started an April Poem-A-Day Challenge. Today's challenge was to write a "postcard poem"- Make it brief and communicate what it is like where you are. Also, make it personal.

Screen shots

Challies.com has a neat selection of free screen savers and calendars for the month of April.

It's kind of small to see, but the quote on the one I chose resonates soundly...

“Weak, feeble and foolish as it may seem to people, the simple story of the Cross is enough for all mankind in every part of the globe.”
- J.C. Ryle

and enough for me, too.

Words

If you are going to be a true missionary, you need to deal with your feelings and be honest about them…

The words written across the screen blurred as my eyes filled with tears and my stomach turned and churned.
The accusations were just- I had not spoken the words that were filling my heart during those days, though it wasn't about dealing with feelings, or being honest.
It was about the words.

I had not spoken the words that would have told
of how the season of living out of a suitcases and spare rooms and borrowed beds and finishing well and pressing on had left me completely exhausted;
of how a piece of my heart had just been left in a place at the edge of the prairie, with people as close as family, with memories as precious as treasure;
of how I struggled to comfort five kids when I needed to be comforted myself;
of the anxiety that was growing as we left the comfort and familiarity of home far behind to travel to an unknown land with a foreign tongue;
of how for months I had been asked to tell our story and meet new people and take risks seemingly every day and, right then, I longed to be still and I longed to be quiet.

I had not spoken the words that would have told
of the privilege of being challenged by those who have walked ahead in the past few months;
of the joy of sharing time with others called to His service day in and day out;
of the beauty of His people, the amazing spectrum of His palette, the ingenuity of His Creation;
of the comfort of the Gospel or the hope of the Resurrection in my life;
of how big and how real Grace has become to me.

I had not spoken of the words that would have said
“I am broken,” and
“I was wrong.”
“I am sorry,” and
“I am forgiven.”

I had not spoken of the Word that I was holding onto,
the encouragement of Joshua,
you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed (Joshua 23:14, NASB);

the cry of David,
My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word (Psalm 119:25, NASB);

the wisdom of Solomon,
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad (Proverbs 12:25, NASB).

the exhortation of Paul,
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17, NASB),

or the promise of Jesus Christ,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1, NASB).

In his letter to Titus, Paul exhorts older women
to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. (Titus 2:3-5, NASB)

So many words then unspoken.
So many words yet to be said.

Oh does the She Speaks Conference look like an amazing opportunity!  As Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience writes-
 In North Carolina in July, there’s this gathering of Proverbs 31 women gather around their sisters women in ministry, leading, writing, speaking, and offer, “How can we serve you as you serve? How can we help you bear the risk of creating, all for His glory? How can we help you multiply the talent that He’s invested in you? How might you bury your fear in faith to keep from burying His gifts for good?”

To bear the risk of creating... for His glory?  deep breath...

Anne is offering a scholarship, and for that, in part, and also because
... I am full of words, and the Spirit within compels me.(Job 32:18)

I offer a bit of my heart today...

Cartago-Valle de Orosi

We headed out first thing this morning, destination Cartago.  We weren't disappointed.

 

We visited the beautiful Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles, the legendary site of La Negrita. 

We strolled through the gardens within las ruinas de parroquia, the outer walls of the Catholic church built, and then destroyed, and then built, and then destroyed again. 

And then we hopped a bus and ventured on into the Orosi Valley, where we wandered for a bit and ate lunch.  There was a wedding finishing at la iglesia de Orosi as we were arriving, but I was too far away to get a picture right at that moment.

It was a beautiful day, with blue skies and fresh air and good food and great company.

For more pictures, visit the Cartago-Valle de Orosi album I put up on Picasa.

Pura vida.

not mere pulsing emotions

And then, the only sounds to be heard came from the spin and churn of the washing machine, the rush of traffic several street away, and the song of a bird passing by. And of course, a dog barking, somewhere.

Relative silence, perhaps, but silence indeed in comparison to the 45 minutes that preceded it, the 45 minutes filled with a shirt lost and found, breakfasts eaten, lunches made, homework gathered, feet shod, and an exodus out the door.

I hate that I was eager for the leaving, and knowing we couldn’t heal anything this morning, I prayed that they would be more cheerful for others and saw them out the door. Tired before the day has barely begun, I am reminded of words I recently read in Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts:

I know it well after a day smattered with rowdiness an worn a bit ragged with bickering, that I may feel disappointment and the despair may flood high, but to give thanks is an action and rejoice is a verb, and these are not mere pulsing emotions. While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving.

True saints know that the place where all joy comes from is far deeper than that of feelings; joy comes from the place of the very presence of God.

And so, that is where I will choose to dwell today, in the action of thanks and with the verb of rejoice, in the very presence of God.

help Japan

MTW - Disaster Response in Japan from Go Global on Vimeo.

Over the years I've often described our mission in Japan as praying and preparing for the day of opportuity in Japan.
- MTW Missionary Michael Oh, President- Christ Bible Institute, Nagoya, Japan 

The work of relief in Japan continues on earnestly as MTW missionaries walk side by side with the Japanese church.  Please continue to pray for Japan, for the relief workers, and for the Gospel to go forward, for beauty to come out of the rubble.

Madness!

It's Tournament Time!

For the fourth (?, I think... maybe fifth...?) consecutive year, my family is participating in the ESPN Tournament Challenge- or as CBS Sports likes to say, "The Road to the Final Four." 

and it's fierce.
and yes, there might be some trash talking.
especially if the girls who pick their teams based on mascots and favorite colors win... 
:-)

I'm picking Kansas.
How 'bout you?

luck?

Blessed is the man who is done with chance, and who never speaks of 'luck'; but believes that, from the least to even  to the greatest, all things are ordained by the Lord.
- Charles Spurgeon,  

bits

already the weekend again?  Friday night, and I only think in bits...

*we came home from school today and watched news video of the devastation in Japan.  It takes my breath away.  The immensity of the tsunami engulfing everything in its path is really more than I can conceive. It looks like special effects from a diaster movie, and yet, it is so very real and so very big.  And we are all so very small.

For direction in how to pray, here's specific requests from MTW-
•Praise for the safety of all MTW missionaries
•Love and comfort for grieving families
•Rescue for those who may be trapped
•Safety from aftershocks, which have been quite large
•Shelter for those whose homes are destroyed
•Wisdom and clarity for MTW regarding our response
•Restoration of power and communications

Most of all, however, pray this will be an open door for the gospel, that missionaries and national believers will be able to show the love of Christ to those around them. Relationships are critical in Japanese culture, so pray this crisis opens new doors that could make many more relationships possible.

** Last week I was delighted when (in)Courage published a piece written by a dear friend of mine.  She writes straight from the depths of her heart, and the honesty of those words serve to challenge and to encourage me.  She and I are in very different places, in location, in stages of life, and yet, I understand so much of what she writes.  Yes- take heart.  He is calling you. You will be blessed by reading it, too.

***  I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other, an that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we shoul reach them. I find now that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other, and that it is not a question of growing taller, but of stooping lower, and that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts.
FB Meyer, quoted by GBF Hallock, "The Cultivation of Humility," Herald and Presbyter 90, via One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp 
I am at a place of language learning that is more challenging that I ever anticipated.  In my life, I've never been the top student in the class, but I've never been the bottom.  Until now.  And yet, somehow at the bottom of that pile, I am reminded that perhaps humility is an even harder lesson to learn than language. More clearly than ever, I see that I bring nothing, but cling tightly to the hope that, there on my knees, the Giver of all good things will continue to hear, and even to answer, my cry.

**** One of my oldest and most dear friends in the entire world, her husband and her son have been in the country for the last couple of weeks, and although most of the time has been spent traveling, the time that they have spent with us has been precious to me.  What a gift for me, that time spent together.  And, to giggle as well as we did when we were in college. (ok, and that they are leaving us all of their delicious American snack food!)

***** My kids received good report cards today, my husband made delicious pizza for dinner, and tomorrow is Saturday! And for all that, and more, tonight I am thankful.

(photo credit: traditional Japanese Kokeshi doll by FurugiStar on etsy)

saturday away

to the Pacific coast for the weekend, with old friends.

moving slowly.
fresh coffee.
birds chirping.
juice from fresh pineapple on my shirt.

(deep breath of refreshment)

Tuesday dusk

How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset.
George MacDonald

February 2011 Photo Hunt- Complete!

Finished up the February 2011 photo challenge.  I probably didn't take as many photos as I have in the past, and for a while, I thought I'd have to throw in one from the archives, but it all came together. I do really enjoy the inspiration the categories provide, and I look forward to doing the Challenge again in the future!

Here's a question for you photographers- how do you take candid photographs of people, especially people that you don't know.  Do you ask for permission? Do you take the photo and then ask permission? Or do you take the photo and never ask permission?  Do you know, how do professional photo journalists do that?  I am really self-conscious about taking those kind of photos, but they tell such amazing stories...  I guess if I had a great zoom, it wouldn't be an issue, but since I don't, yet...

To view all the photos in a slide show format, go to the Picasa web album. And to view other February 2011 Photo Challenge Entries, visit Photo Hunt Challenges.

Best from 2.19 or 2.20

This was taken during a prayer during our Sunday worship on 2.20. 

Black History Month (or Culture/Ethnicity)

A display of original art at an Artesans Market in San Jose.

Canned Food Month

There is more canned tuna in grocery stores here than I can really fathom...

Everyday

A mom and son just across the Panama/Costa Rica border.

Hearts

Homemade Valentines from my kids

Macro

Fern at the botanical gardens

Numbers

A pay phone keypad.

Something Cozy

A girl in a hammock off the beach.

Something Furry

A display of bears at a local store

Something Red

Licensed taxis in San Jose are red, not the yellow we North Americans expect.

Something White

A rental bike at Bocas del Toro.

The View from Above

A lily pond at the botanical gardens

El sabado

Spent a fun couple of hours this afternoon in El Centro de San Jose (downtown) with a few friends, showing a visitor around.  We stopped to enjoy a gentleman with a great voice singing Christian praise music near the plaza. We watched a spray paint artist create a new work. We wandered through the artesans market while our friend searched for gifts to take home.  I even got to play checkers (tablero) with a couple of vendors behind the scenes.  (I won! But not without help from my new friend, Jose) We shared churros on the way back (& a capuccino, mmm...).  And then we survived another bus ride, this time reminiscent of a scene out of Speed. 

And all that plus a morning of encouraging teaching on evangelism with the ladies from church, lunch with friends, a load of laundry complete, a trip to the grocery store, a chat with family, and amazing mongolian beef cooked by my husband.

A good Saturday, indeed.

Google Art Project

The Google Art Project is seriously neat! It takes all the technology from GoogleEarth into some of the best art museums in the world, and just like you can see what's in my backyard on Google Earth, you can get THAT close up to the some of the greatest works of art.

(which reminds me, last year we were at the Georgia O'Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, and my friend got lasered by a guard because he was getting too close to the painting. It was almost a scene out of Night at the Museum 2. WILL NOT happen at the Google Art Project!)

In all seriousness, you can see the brush strokes in Starry Night at the MoMA in New York City and the cracks in the Rembrandts at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. You can create your own gallery of favorites. You can stroll through the halls of the National Gallery in London while barefoot, with food AND drink next to you. 

Even if we can't BE there, we can still (virtually) see them all. 
Check out the Google Art Project.

Amazing Race 18

Unfinished Business.

My family isn't really a tv watching family. In truth, there is only one show that we watch, typically on Sunday night.
We tried Survivor for a while, but the kids were little and the language was raw and...

For a couple of years, it was IronChefAmerica, but after that many battles in Kitchen Stadium, the secret ingredients all started to blend together. 

Then we found The Amazing Race.
(my kids are older now- I can't really recommend it for those of you with young 'uns...)

But here in Costa Rica, we can't watch it live on Sunday evenings because we don't have cable tv. We have to watch it a few days later over the internet, typically the following Sunday. 
No problem, except when, for example, we really want to know if The Cowboys are still in the race. 
Don't tell us (Nicki)!
We can wait another week!

But if The Cowboys are out, good gravy!, I am pretty sure that Flight Time and Big Easy move into first place here...

And, here's a shout out to my older kids who immediately picked out Mike as Ned Scheebly from School of Rock. (note- I'm not recommending that one to young 'uns either!)

Home sick

Just to be clear, I'm not really sick.  I just have a pesky little cold bug- runny nose, sore throat, achy when I don't take the tylenol for a while.  I took an afternoon nap, and that was a great help.  That kind of sick.

But I think it's when I don't feel well that I miss home the most. 
My bed.
My fluffy comforter.
Simply Limeade.
Kleenex.  (yes- name brand Kleenex.  my favorite.)

There's no denying-
my idol is comfort.

on increasing faith

The life of increasing faith is like a circle that grows and grows until everything is brought into it, and nothing is left out of it. Every area of your existence, every plan you make, every word you utter, every argument you reason, every mood you allow to dominate you, every social situation you take part in, every impression you receive, every problem you work on, every delight you choose, every affection you embrace, every thought you entertain—is taken captive to God and His Word. It means rigorously and consciously, at every point, putting the Word of God above the word of any man, the report of any witness, or the insistence of any emotion in your heart.

- Andree Seu, Increasing Faith, WORLDmag.com

So very worth the entire read, including the exhortation as to how faith speaks, literally.

Multitudes (#424- 446)

What if gratitude was as natural as breathing, because we knew in our bones that the air we breathe is grace?
Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience

424. "Faith that goes forward triumphs." Matthew Henry
425. Girls welcoming friends.
426. Unsolicited thank you's
427. Wednesday lunches
428. smooth green guacamole
429. shiny tile
430. the smell of sheets dried in the sun
431. an unexpected package
432. the book-y familiar smell and crisp clean pages of a new magazine
433. the first taste of dark chocolate
434. a day with nowhere to be
435. learning a new game, and even winning once
436. nothing lost
437. knowing how to get there
438. no temeré mal alguno, porque tu estarás conmigo Salmo 23:4
439. fresh popped caramel corn
440. sleeping on the right side again
441. type flying fast is almost as good as a phone call
442. friends on Skype
443. May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. Numbers 2:24-25
444. morning sun on fuschia flowers
445. 20 minutes in the sunshine and quiet to write a letter
446. holding hands on the way back to school

on the bus

Because we do not have a car here in Costa Rica, the public bus is our primary mode of transportation. Well, I guess our feet are our PRIMARY mode of transportation, but the bus definitely comes in second. To attend worship on Sundays, we take two buses to church.  We first walk a few blocks to a stop where we wait for the first bus.  Sometimes we wait longer than we ride, I think.  Then we change buses, get on a second bus, and get off right in front of where we worship. We leave our house about an hour before the service begins, and if all goes well, we are seated with time to spare.

The second bus is the less predictable of the two.  On the way to church yesterday, we thought that perhaps the driver was maneuvering through his own NASBUS circuit, taking the turns wide and fast to move to the inside corner for the pass.  There were streets blocked off on the usual route, which necessitated more turns than usual.  We held on tight, even while sitting.

And then it came time to get off the bus.  I got off first, and thought that Tim was right behind me.  It took longer than normal, and when he did get off, immediately he and another woman exiting were in what looked like a pretty heated conversation. There were a lot of arms waving and then one of our Tico friends from church who was also on the bus got involved.  I crossed the street and waited.

The group finished, and crossed the street, and then I learned the entire story.  While getting off the bus, the lady exiting in front of Tim stopped because she lost an earring.  She bent down to look for it on the floor of the bus.  In the process of waiting for her, the lady immediately behind Tim pickpocketed his wallet.  THAT FAST!!  But, after a moment he suspected something funny was going on, felt for his wallet, noticed it was gone, and confronted the lady behind him. She denied it all, but we are sure that she was in cahoots with the lady who dropped the earring, and maybe even a third person we didn't notice at all. (note: I love being able to use the word "cahoots"...)  Yes, the wallet was gone.

But the good news? There was absolutely nothing of value in that wallet.  It had a couple of empty gift cards and a few worthless receipts. Isn't he a clever one, my husband?  Everything of value was in the wallet strapped to his belt and tucked into the front of his waistline. 
HA!

Nonetheless, it was a pretty sobering moment- that it happened that fast.  We were on a bus last week when we watched a woman have her purse stolen from her shoulder at a stop across the street from where we were at a stoplight.  Again, it happened THAT fast, in a blink of the eye.  Both incidents serve to remind us not to be complacent, and that we need always be alert.

All in all, though, just another day on the bus...

(photo credit- really taken on the first bus Sunday morning!)

stylesson

Isn't it fun when someone you know in real life does really neat things on the internet, and then you say, "and I KNOW her..."? 

(note- this is a great example of one way I love how Spanish works.  There's a Spanish verb that distinguishes between "I know her personally..." (conocer), rather than just "I know that 2+2=4..." (saber)  See, I am learning Spanish, really!)

My friend Marcy recently launched stylesson, a design blog that highlights design blogs.  For a girl that lives in, shall we say, a design challenged home, Marcy's site is an oasis in the desert. stylesson is filled with fun ideas, design inspiration, beauty. It's classy, just like Marcy.

(psst- can I just brag on Marcy for a moment? she sent us an AMAZING care package today- full of magazines, a brownie mix, packages of gum, and CHOCOLATE! If you want to bless a missionary familiy living outside the US, this is the recipe for success!)

The photo is one of my favorite recent posts. That scene would be in one of my best dreams ever. 
sigh.

be sure to visit stylesson and tell Marcy I said hi!! 

Lankester Gardens

Last week I took an afternoon field trip to Lankester Botanical Gardens in Cartago. 

Peaceful.
Still.
Quiet.
Beautiful.
Green.
Bright.
Lush.
Serene.
Relaxing.

Everyone should make it a point to visit gardens, no matter where you live.  I am convinced, it is good for your soul, no matter what the weather, no matter what the circumstance.

If it were my home...

Through internet wanderings, thanks to Kate at  behind the gate, I came across IfItWereMyHome.com . This site gives a statistical snapshot of life in another country, and compares life in that place to the United States.

So of course, I had to try Costa Rica...
They tell me that living in Costa Rica, I use 85.7% less electricity and 84.15% less oil.  I think that's true, because it seems like our house is always dark!  We don't have a clothes dryer.  Our hot water heater is small.  Our stove uses propane. And we primarily walk or use public transportation here.

They say that we would have 20.39% more babies in Costa Rica. We break the rules here (but we break the rules in the US, too!) It is very unusual to find a modern Costa Rican family, at least in San Jose, with more than 2 kids.  Most people are amazed we have 5 here (and our grown-ups and grand back in the States, besides!).

There's a neat feature that shows the country size in comparison to a place in the US. Costa Rica fits in an area within southern Nebraska to central Kansas. 

Then I checked the comparison with Mexico, and the stats aren't that different than Costa Rica.
But, I had to smile when I looked at the recommended books and the list included one for NEW Mexico...  (ah yes, one of our fifty is still missing...)

Try it for the places you are, or where you have a heart for, or where you'd like to go, even for a visit.

The smell of love

Aubrey at Pilgrim at Oak Ridge today asked, "what is the smell of love?"  She had earlier written of the delicious smells of love, of favorite family recipes.  But while serving, her family, her patients, she also noted that the smell of love isn't always the good things. 

What does love smell like?

For me, love smells like apple pie in the oven, almost ready to come out, and wood being cut in the garage workshop.
Love smells like freshly mowed grass and turned over soil in spring.
Love smells like windex and PineSol.
Love smells like the musty old wood in the sanctuary of my home church, and lasagna warming up before Pot Providence lunch.
Love smells like fresh brewed coffee first thing in the morning.

But I also know that love smells like stale smoke and lingering alcohol on the person at the back door of the church.
It smells like hot meals prepared in an industrial kitchen and packed into coolers for home delivery.
It smells a bit moldy, like the basement apartment of someone in their own place for the first time in years.
It smells like the mix of Eastern spices and musk  and sweat in the building full of Sudanese refugees.
It smells like a sweaty kid, flush from running crazy, but stopped in your arms long enough to avoid getting into trouble. For now.

And tonight, love smells like fresh made oatmeal cookies, made by a willing daughter for a sweet-starved mom and brother.

Boca, Part 2

As temporary residents of Costa Rica, the law requires us to leave the country every 90 days in order to renew our tourist visas.  So, for the second time, we made a weekend trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama.  It took a full day to travel south to Boca.  We traveled to the border by public bus, and then walked across the border, and then took a taxi to a boat launch, and then a water taxi to island, and then another water taxi to the hotel. 

The next morning we woke up to rain, and let out a collective sigh.  Our last visit to Panama in November was during a tropical storm, and it rained in torrents for most of our trip.  But this time, the weather cleared.  Mostly.  Except that one little made-for-a-film-set-cloud-burst while we were biking.  And then, the weather cleared.

We had a great weekend.  We rented bikes and traveled along the coast.  We ate great food.  We saw amazing views. 
I might have ended my surfing career when a wave pummeled me into the shore...

I am grateful for
safe travel,
uneventful border crossing,
unexpected skype message,
a red bike with a comfy seat,
and a basket,
kids that can bike,
laughing at a downpour,
laughing at myself,

nachos,

brightly embroidered pillows,

white surf,
celestial blue water,
sun,
billowy clouds,
sandcastles,
tiny whole shells,
red ginger flowers,
only my shoulder hurts,
ice cream cones,
my own mola,
fresh pizza,

boat rides,

naps,

gazpacho and falafel,
home again.

For a full view, pictures are up in a Picasa album to puruse.

February 2011 Photo Hunt

It's back.
I haven't participated in the Photo Hunt Challenge since last February, I guess...
(last February?!  It has been a year?!)

I haven't had the camera out much in January, and I'm looking forward to shooting with purpose! 

Looking at the list, I already think Something Cozy and Something Furry will be a challenge.  We seem to be lacking both here in Costa Rica...

I know that some of you might want to play along with me... :-)