Since we arrived in Puerto Viejo. It is still hard to imagine sometimes that we are here. a lot has happened since I last wrote at eight months. Our new puppy, Sofi, has grown like a weed and is even more adorable than when we first got her. Her legs are so long but her face is still tiny!! Wiley and Kaya have adapted well to her presence although Kaya does get a bit tired of being chewed on all day long. Sofi sometimes has to take a “time out” in her crate because she won’t leave Kaya alone. Other than that, though, it is all great fun.I was in Wyoming for around 3 1/2 weeks taking care of mom and just got back a week ago. She is an amazing woman at 85 and I so admire her resolve to get better after falling three times in four months and breaking so many bones. I got her moved to an assisted living apartment in the same complex that she has been in and, even though she really was not sure about moving since she loved her old apartment, she found that this move was just right. The apartment is quite a bit smaller overall but her bedroom is much bigger and she loves it! The living room is about the same size as her other apartment so all her furniture fit. The only real difference is that there is no kitchen – just a sink, refrigerator and microwave – since she eats all her meals in the dining room. It turns out that she is absolutely fine with that so all is good.
While I was gone, Sarah and Rene left Puerto Viejo and headed back to Europe. We had such a great time with them and I know we will remain friends. I am even planning to visit them (Tom too
) in the next couple of years. 
Before they left, they had a great party – which I missed since I was in Wyoming – and they played guitars and said goodbye to all their friends here on Playa Negra as well as from other areas of Puerto Viejo. They will be teaching English in Sicily in the fall hoping to get enough experience to be able to pick where they want to go in future years. We will miss them……….Our new backyard is gorgeous!! While I was gone Tom finished the walkway and planted lots of new trees, plants, and flowers and it looks just great.. The tomato and pepper plants are now giving us something to eat in our salads along with the tree that has leaves we can eat. All of our fruit trees are doing really well and we should be able to start eating the fruit from them next year or the year after.
This coming Saturday, Shanti and Shaylyn are coming for a week to visit and we are reallylooking forward to that. I am hoping to be able to take them snorkeling – we went last week when the ocean was calm and got some great pictures! Tom will be heading to San Jose Friday to do a bit of shopping and then will pick them up first thing – 6:00 a.m. – on Saturday and head back. He will stay at our favorite place, Marguarita’s B&B in Alajuaela Friday night and will go to Pequeno Mundo and a couple of other places to stock up on things we need. Of course, I brought back so much stuff from the states when I came home last week, there shouldn’t be a lot more to get.
On Wednesday I will go back to a dentist in Limon that I visited last week. She is going to put a new crown in on an implant I had done before I left Moscow last year. The crown fell off and I lost it which annoyed me no end!! If I went to San Jose I would only have to pay $250 but in Limon I am paying $400. It is still a great deal as it is a zirconium crown but I sure wish it hadn’t come out in the first place.
That’s it for now. Next time I write, it will be on our one year anniversary of our move. Now THAT should be an interesting blog……….
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