When Storage Makes Sense

Sometimes having a storage unit is a crutch. But sometimes it makes sense!

We first had a storage unit when we moved out of our California house, and started exploring Costa Rica. We sold or donated a lot, but we weren't sure where we would end up - our move might be temporary, or...

After a while, we brought a lot to Costa Rica, and my parents moved some of their excess into the emptied space.

A few years later, I got itchy feet, and started a series of contracts in Iowa - it only made sense to store the car and a few necessities in between gigs.

Well, eventually that ended, and we downsized to a small trailer, back to California. A lot of that came to New Mexico with us.

When we moved on to France, we (again) sold or donated a lot, but brought back the sentimental things to store in California 🙂.

Here we are, 5 years later - our "annual" visit was delayed due to you-know-what. My parents were getting tired of having stuff in storage, and we were ready to drastically reduce what had just been convenient to forget about. We spent a good part of the month sorting, donating, selling, and we moved into a *much* smaller unit. On one day alone, we donated 8 boxes of books, and 4 of computer parts. Other days were nearly as significant!

Hopefully we will know more about our living situation in the next few months, and our storage unit will become a fond memory 😬

Flor de Itabo to Yucca

When I lived in Costa Rica, I was happily introduced to Flor de Itabo. "In season," the flower stalks are sold in ferias and roadside stands - virtually none make it to the grocery stores (they are snapped up before they can get there). I wrote a couple of posts about the plant:
- Flor de Itabo
- Tropical Chicken Lasagna

Now, here I am in New Mexico, and I'm experiencing a sort of déjà vu! I keep  seeing the flowers, but they're on the wrong plant! Well, I finally looked it up...

Itabo is also known as "Yucca Gigantea" - a type of yucca that is native to Central America :-\
The edible flower (for all yucca, I think) is called "izote."  It is not only the national flower of El Salvador, but it is also the state flower of New Mexico!  But here, it is simply designated "yucca flower"...

Here is another yucca (from California). Before I looked this stuff up, I labeled it a  Flor de Itabo...

San José Tour

Today's tour of San José, Costa Rica - Brought to you by Memory, while on the treadmill in New Mexico...

I left our apartment in lovely Barrio Dent, walked though Parque China, and through Escalante to the Iglesia Santa Teresita.  Then I cut through Barrio Amon to see the bougainvillea at the Casa Amarrilla (I waved to the President, of course), and then through Parques España, Niños, and Morazon, and on to the Alliance Française - Coucou! Ça va?
I followed the bus route (terrible for breathing fumes, but exciting to think of all those destinations!) all the way to Mercado Borbón, where I bought some *fresh* palmito (aka hearts of palm) and mora (blackberries).  I turned back towards home, thinking of all the wonderful ways to enjoy them!
I stopped off at the central Correo (so beautiful) to check the mail, and rested for a moment at the park (for some reason, this time, I simply didn't hear the perpetual stream of proselytizers).
I went down to the pedestrian mall, past the flower stall and statues, and into the press of people!  I got into my people-watching-and-dodging mode, listened to the chatter and street musicians, kept an eye out for a street-side bargain (hah), and stopped for a breath of wet air at the fountain.
I thought about stepping into the café at the National Theatre, but decided to listen to the blues played outside instead.
I watched children chasing pigeons, and remembered the freeze-frame flashmob we did at the plaza :-)
I got to the end of the mall, this time without coming across any political parades, and went on to the Artist's Market, where I cut back through the shady, breezy, blossomy Parque National.  I passed the ferrolito (train station, also used for outdoor events), the Antigua Aduana (an events hall that used to be customs), and walked on to Parque Francia.
Almost home!  So I waved to the North American Cultural Center, passed the dazzling yellow hibiscus, turned left at the purple bougainvillea, and went into my gate :-)

Backyards

We've had quite a few backyards over the past few years - I've enjoyed the views; hope you do too!
The backyard where it all began, in northern California

Our first house together, at Moss Beach

The Forever Spring of San José, Costa Rica

Winter, spring, summer, and fall in Iowa

And the watermelon-red of the Sandia Mountains from Albuquerque, New Mexico

Remember, no matter what they say, sometimes looking back is FUN!

Visitors

The funny thing about slow traveling is that I thought we would have a lot of people come to visit when we were staying somewhere for a while.  The biggest problem with that is that we could never tell people "hey, we're settled in for a while, come on down!" - they needed time to adjust to the idea, get vacation time arranged, buy tickets, etc.  Plus, I think they were a bit uncertain about just how settled we were :-).

We finally did get an apartment on a long-term lease in Costa Rica, and have had a few people come for visits.  We're right in the middle of introducing my parents to life here, with the help of my brother (who has been here several times).  We're mixing in side trips to the beach and mountains with a few days here and there of shopping, cooking, relaxing, museum-hopping, and participating in cultural events.  Visitors give us an added incentive to do things we had put off, and to rediscover things we enjoyed - we see everything all over again with fresh eyes.

We will be spending a few months in the states soon, and expect have visitors there as well!  Hopefully, we have learned a bit about how to make sure friends and family are comfortable coming along with us on our trips (or at least for part of them).

Costa Rican Pork Roll-Ups

Pork Roll-Ups

Preheat oven to 450 F
Make your favorite savory stuffing (but even a box of stove-top will do)
Stir in
   - chopped pineapple
   - chopped pecans
   - cut green beans (about 1/4 inch pieces)
Place a scant cup of stuffing mixture into pork loin fillets (1/4 inch thick or less) and roll up
Place pork roll-ups in a casserole dish; add any remaining stuffing mix around pork
If pork is "natural" (no salt solution added), salt the top
Put dish in oven and reduce temperature to 325 F
After 10 minutes, drizzle honey over pork
Cook till done, approximately 10 more minutes

Part of the joy of travel is to discover new foods and what to do with them!

Extreme Slow Travelin' - Costa Rica

For the past 6 years, we've been traveling and then living in Costa Rica. If Slow Travelin' is a month or two of living as much like the locals as possible, then I'd say our change of residency to Costa Rica would qualify as Extreme Slow Travelin' :-).

From beginning to end, here is where we captured the saga:  JulieAndRickInCostaRica