"Brews and Books," Brainstorming, and *Surprise* Its a Garden!

In Eugene, I've been harvesting raspberries almost every day! They are PROLIFIC this year. I've already made jam, given some away, eaten some, given more away, and frozen some. And they are still ripening on the vines.

The blueberries aren't doing so well. I didn't fertilize them while they were flowering this Spring. And I only just un-choked them from the grass and weeds two days ago. They are fruiting, but not many.

The plums are going gang-busters. I have four or five trees, all with green fruit on them. By summer's end, they'll be dripping off the trees.

Blackberries are coming, and the strawberries have ended. The cherries are right now. But I don't know what variety they are. A tad too sour to eat for me -- though Ali likes them. And very small in diameter. Not worth pitting and making into jam.

Ali disagrees.

He picked a bag of them yesterday and promises to pit them by hand, if I will only please make him some sour cherry jam. His favorite.

Of course I said, Yes. And not only because I don't think he'll actually pit them.

Our relationship is deepening, and we're having lovely days filled with Spotify love song DJ nights, dog park excursions, BBQs in the backyard, laughing at private jokes and Facebook one-liners, and watching peculiar Netflix movies on the couch. We still massage feet and sore muscles every night we spend together, and we continue to make plans for the future.

Despite our concerns about moving to Costa Rica (missing Oregon's climate, our friends and the social life we are accustomed to, and snuggling without being sweaty), I think going there will bring us even closer together. We'll have even more time to spend together, as the cost of living -- and subsequently our work hours -- will be far less. When we are working, some of our businesses will be joint endeavors. We'll be working together, in both the secular world and on our small farm.

We still have a few years to try on some new job ideas and see if they fit. Bee-keeping, beer-brewing, mushroom farming, cheese-making, and running healthy living retreats. Weight loss is a big industry, and while we may not have anything new to say about it, we can offer a retreat space and an itinerary to inspire people to change their lives.

I'm in the blue bikini, front row.

Would you attend a Holistic Health Retreat in a tropical paradise with offerings of: permaculture tours, outdoor adventures, healthy cooking classes, organic produce, yoga classes, introduction to ecstatic dance, journaling, art classes, and access to the beach, mountains, and bio-diverse views every day? Plus, we could sell the cookbook that Ali and I are thinking of creating. We are formulating an eating plan that sounds unique, kitschy, AND doable for the modern person, with modern concerns and time constraints.

We also thought of hosting a library at Serenity Gardens. We wouldn't make any money off of it, but it sure would be fun. And we could combine it with a hobby store, of sorts. Like, Brews and Books. We could have a small beer and kombucha brew pub, with espresso cart (Did you know that it's really hard to find DECAF Americanos in Costa Rica?), mixed in with couches and cushy chairs and foot stools amidst our shelves and shelves of art work and books. People could buy a drink and sit and read, and/or check out the books. I can see an outdoor section with a hammock, too.

Without the actual deed on the property, my Costa Rican news is scant. I did, however, get a rather positive sounding email from Jim Gale, the land-developer of the Serenity Gardens and Osa Mountain Village properties. He said that he was down to two extremely unique custom lots (one that's four acres, and one that has a difficult-to-imagine shaped lot) and while those, of course, will be his top priority to sell, he thinks that the re-sale lots will go pretty fast from now on. There will be some new people coming next month to visit the Village; hopefully my lot will intrigue them! And then, next stop, solidifying the land purchase at Serenity Gardens.

I was thinking the other day that the next time we visit, (if we have a deed) I'd love to do some work on the land. Perhaps we can have the permits and supplies ready for our arrival, in order to build an outhouse, or deck, or something while staying there. At one point, Ali had the idea to build a platform for a tipi we'd purchase to use camping during our visits. A platform could be easy. Something to put potted flowers on. And a lawn chair. We could build an outhouse next. I bet the workers would love an outhouse while they are building the houses on our street. :-)

While nothing much is changing on the Costa Rican front, we are still thinking about our future move every week. I plan on incorporating a COSTS label on this blog in order to tally up the actual costs involved in moving out of the country for those of you thinking about doing the same. Look for those posts as they come up. Also, my kombucha-brewing (and Ali's beer-brewing) successes, recipes Ali and I develop, and our permaculture efforts here in Eugene.


Questing for the Pura Vida in the Place That I Am,
Valerie

A Costa Rican Vacation Wrap-Up

The one day it rained while we were there was the day we went to the beach. Of course. But the cool thing about rain forests near the equator is that when it rains, it's still 80 degrees outside.

Beach at Dominical

rain forest right up on the beach

My love reading on the beach

Just before the rains came...

After the beach, we walked up the hill (and when I say hill, I mean gargantuan mountain like thing) to the Osa Mountain Animal Sanctuary. We met the owner and he gave us a little tour and introduced us to some of the tenants. Mike wasn't officially open yet, so we gave him a donation instead of an admission fee.

This is Bubba. He can't be released into the wild, so he's been Mike's pet for something like eight years. Bubba bites his paw when he's content and happy.

baby parrots

spider monkey

This is Sophie.

a VERY young parrot

Then we went back to my Osa Mountain Village lot and took another photo. This is the last lot that has ocean views. I'm really hoping it will sell soon so I can finalize my Serenity Gardens lot.

On one of our last days in Costa Rica, Ali took the threaded bracelet he'd been given in India (at a temple), and went to release it in water, as per the custom in India. We took a short hike behind some villas and found a suitable place. We brought along a doggie friend.

On the night before we left, we attended the Easter celebration at the community center. We dressed up a wee bit -- neither of us being Christian, but still wanting to join in on the pig roast festivities.

We watched the sunset at the pool.

Had a drink.

And then stuffed ourselves.

Everything was delicious. And. I'm sorry to say ... that the dish on the end there, is Charlotte. (From a previous post.)
This was a first for both Ali and myself -- meeting and petting the animal we'd eat the next day.

The evening capped off with some fire dancing, courtesy of Eric and Brando.

On Monday morning, I taught the community yoga class one more time, then Lisa and Mark drove us to Palmar Norte's bus station for the first leg back of our trip.

Me and the luggage, waiting for the bus to San Jose.

My cutie at the San Jose airport.
The first time we'd worn jeans in ten days.

Unfortunately, I don't know when we'll be going back to CR. We'll most likely travel to India next (A LONG TIME DREAM OF MINE), and quite possibly to Turkey after that. And then back to Costa Rica. I also really want the land at OMV to sell pronto, so that I can finalize the sale of our Serenity Gardens lot. Once that is done, then we can put a yurt on it, and stay on the land. 

I'm looking forward to the time when we can travel to CR and not pay lodging.

Maybe in two years, I reckon.

Vegetarianism, or Not -- "I like it when they stay standing up."

Robert, my twelve-year-old son, after being forced to help in the garden a wee bit on Saturday -- truly, it took him longer to find SOCKS and put them on, than the amount of time he helped -- asked why we were even having a garden. I said, "So we can eat."

"What?! We're not eating anything else but what grows here? No meat?!"

"Well. Not everything. We'll still buy meat and things we don't grow from the Farmer's Market."

"Oh. Whew. I need meat."

I chuckled at the time. But since then, I watched an inspiring (and a little bit heart-breaking) YouTube video.

You see, just last week I had decided (and discussed it with my partner, Ali, and my son, Robert) that I didn't want to eat meat with un-known origins anymore. If I don't buy it from a local farm here in the Eugene/Springfield/Junction City/Lowell/Dexter/Veneta/Elmira area, I don't want to eat it. After all, "free-range" just means that they aren't in a cage. They could still be shuffling shoulder to shoulder in tight quarters. And "organic" meat is just animals that were fed organic feed; it tells me nothing about their living conditions, and whether they were treated humanely, or not.

I was feeling pretty great about my decision, until I watched this:

Now I just feel lame for not being a vegetarian.

(sigh)

On another note: I'm determined to process/can/dry/freeze as much fruit as I possibly can this Summer and Fall. All in my quest for sustainable living ... I've even started knitting my own dish cloths again! So, on Sunday next, Tamara and I are going to go strawberry picking -- if I can find a farm open on Sundays -- and then make jam. Mmmm. Probably just freeze some, too.

Little baby steps.

So, yes. Today, I may not eat octopus, but I'll still consume the beef from a Junction City farm (that I've visited personally) which I purchased at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

Maybe next year I'll go veggie.

Let the Planting Begin

Yesterday I spent a few hours on the garden and finally planted something. First though, my friend Tamara graciously reminded me that garden work isn't just time spent planting starts and watering; it's the travel time to your friend's house to bag up compost and bring it to your own, because she bought too much, and you desperately needed it but didn't have the money to get any this year because you're so tight on funds from starting up a new business, that you don't know how you'll pay rent this month.

So, even though I didn't get any plants in the ground on Saturday, I still brought the straw and compost home, dug it into the soil -- stirring it -- dug trenches around each "raised bed" area, weed-eated an already overgrown section of the garden that I'm calling "the container garden," and laid straw down in between the beds and around the cherry tree where I'm trying to discourage weeds. And, as Tamara put it, that was still gardening, and I'm proud of the work I did.

The next day, after volunteering at the Country Fair site on our various crews, we napped, and when I awoke, I felt a little bummed about still not getting the plants in the ground -- so I geared myself up and spend another 2 1/2 hours in the garden. I started weeding the raspberries -- which are loaded with unripe berries -- and attached the rest of the garden fence so the dogs couldn't get in and dig up stuff. That nice soft dirt is so tempting. Then I finally transplanted the local starts I've been accumulating.

16 strawberry plants -- we already have a strawberry patch! -- 3 pepper plants, one chocolate cherry tomato plant for Ali, (I don't like tomatoes -- raw ones anyway) and one lavender plant to replace the one that mysteriously died.

Ali spent his time clearing the ubiquitous blackberry vines.

Speaking of mysterious plant death, all of my started basil seeds sprouted beautifully, so I moved them outside to get rain and sunshine with the other herbs I've got potted in the front yard. They seemed to be flourishing. Or at least, you know, staying alive. I was quite pleased. And then I went away for Memorial Day weekend and came back to no basil. It didn't die; the containers were still there; no dirt spillage; no dried up stems. JUST GONE. As if nothing had ever been planted there.

I have no idea what could've gotten it. Birds? Squirrels would've dug in the soil and knocked over the pots, and they don't strike me as the basil-eating type anyway. Snails maybe. I didn't think they would've climbed into the plastic starter pots with those sharp rims, but I guess they could have.

Anyway, it's a mystery. But, I'm still happy that my garden is started.

Up Next: planting seed potatoes; fertilizing and weeding the blueberries; weeding the raspberries, too; and planting seeds!!!

My sustainable garden has begun.