Walking
All the way
Daily
Walk to Radiation Haiku
Buckled old
Sidewalks
And more walking Haiku . . .
Continue reading “Walk to Radiation Haiku”Walk to Radiation Haiku
Buckled old
Sidewalks
Buckled old
Sidewalks
June is Cancer Survivor Month
At least that is so in the U.S. that has a month or week for almost everything! 🙂 And surviving cancer is a big deal worth celebrating!
I’m still in radiation therapy through June 10 and to be honest feeling terrible much of the time, tired and especially not being able to eat much with a constant bad taste in my dry mouth most of the time, even gagging on some food – But this too shall pass! 🙂 And now I’ve got pain and drainage in my left ear near the surgery that no one has identified yet. I may go to an ENT independently to see what it is if no answer soon. All that to say it is not always easy, but today one can survive cancer! Celebrate Cancer Survivor Month!
Feature photo is a Hibiscus Flower from one of my walks to the clinic. Flowers say “hope!”
¡Pura Vida!
Costa Rica News Used My Photo
The only thing is that they didn’t use one of my many nature photos I love so much, but a selfie of me holding my new drivers license back in 2016. It has now expired. No problem! I don’t drive anymore! 🙂 That’s both by choice and now by requirements since I practically have only one eye, meaning little perception of depth of field which is not good for driving! 🙂
It’s illustrating an article about the new requirement for expats to get a DL.
That’s what can happen when you post a photo on your blog or online gallery. They did not ask me or give me credit, but I enjoy getting attention from people who see it! 🙂
Costa Rica is First Place Again!
That is on International Living Magazine’s list of BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD TO RETIRE 2021!
Read about it and see total list of all countries on Tico Times Article Costa Rica is #1!
And I tried to link you to the International Living Magazine article, but they only allow subscribers in. Sorry! But all the info is in the above article on Tico Times with the top 25 countries listed and ranked by 10 categories. Pretty impressive! I keep getting my “radical decision to move here” confirmed by all kinds of organizations. 🙂
And if you are a beach person and thinking of Costa Rica for living and/or retiring, Tico Times has an article Ranking the 5 Best Beaches to Retire/Live On. What are you waiting on? 🙂
And if that is not enough to convince you, check out My Costa Rica Photo Gallery
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Many Beautiful Things
Surely I’m describing Costa Rica and I could be . . . though this time it is the title of a documentary biography I found on my new streaming service, Curiosity Stream, that replaced Netflix for me, permanently this time with a whole year of streaming costing less than one month of Netflix (a stripped down version for Costa Rica).
The full title of this bio is Many Beautiful Things, The Life and Vision of Lilias Trotter. (Link to Wikipedia description) In brief, she was one of the world’s best unknown painters in water colors (late 1800’s to 1928) who was befriended by John Ruskin, the leading art critic of the Victorian era who promised to make her the “greatest living artist” in England. She repeatedly turned him down while continuing to paint beautiful nature scenes and landscapes simply to praise God.
Continue reading “Many Beautiful Things”El Camino de Costa Rica – New Info
A Hiker Guide
One of my blog readers, Patrick, who is thinking about beginning his retirement in Costa Rica (like I should have!) shared with me the just-released new hiking guide available on hiking coast to coast across Costa Rica. It’s first on his agenda here! Are you interested in such a hike?
Available on Amazon as paperback or Kindle edition: El Camino de Costa Rica Hiker Guide
There’s also a newer video of the trail than the one I showed earlier plus more new info on the website and I found a good “Make the Leap” story I’m also linking! 🙂 . . .
Continue reading “El Camino de Costa Rica – New Info”Flowered Walk to Therapy
I’m the only one right now who walks to their radiation therapy, as far as I know, and I’m fortunate that I do! 🙂 It’s another type of therapy in itself! 🙂 Today I share some new flowers from along my 6 block walk yesterday.
That’s one and below is an 8-flower slide show . . .
Continue reading “Flowered Walk to Therapy”Living Alone but Never Alone
I have been receiving support from so many people around the world that yesterday’s article in Washington Post motivated me to say something here about it. The article is titled I had ovarian cancer, was single and living by myself. But going through treatment, I was never alone. – dated 23 May 2021.
Though everything about us is different (age, sex, location, cancer type, treatment, etc.) – we both experienced the marvelous good nature of most people and both of us enjoy living alone though appreciating the help and concerns of other people. 🙂
Some ladies of Roca Verde are still bringing me meals even though I told them it is no longer necessary. Several have shared their experiences with cancer, and sometimes it feels like everyone in this little farm town of Atenas knows I have cancer and lovingly ask me how I’m doing and offer to help. I know most of the taxistas here and they are all so caring and helpful. The wonderful, loving people of Costa Rica are a big part of the “Pura vida!” I’m so fortunate to live here.
Likewise through the internet, my blog and its links to Facebook plus emails I feel like there are literally thousands praying for me around the world and staying in touch, from old friends to never-met new ones, as is possible on the internet.
I am at peace and believe the Lord is watching over me just like all these friends and neighbors or is it God working through them? I believe so and I’m optimistic about the future with many more nature trips around Costa Rica with my camera that I can still use, even with one eye, and the trip I have scheduled 5.5 weeks after radiation concludes will have given me time to recover some from most side-effects and now gives me something to look forward to. . .
. . . I will be flying to the southern tip of the Osa Peninsula, near Panama border, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the mouth of Golfo Dulce where you sometimes see whales, while also hiking around the southern end of the largest protected rainforest in Central America. What could be better than that? And I’m still alive to enjoy it! 🙂 Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge is west of Puerto Jimenez at the village of Cabo Matapalo, south of Corcovado National Park. Places like this are the reason I moved my retirement to Costa Rica! 🙂 For photos of other places I’ve already visited here see: My Costa Rica Trips Gallery. And you’ll know why I’m “Retired in Costa Rica,” the name of my blog and website.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Proverbs 16:9
¡Pura Vida!
Dragonflies and Damselflies
Saturday morning in Atenas I checked with my new internet order-delivery service called “Atenas WebShop” and had two packages, one a new paperback book from Amazon.com, Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica, A Field Guide by Dennis Paulson and William Haber (Link to Amazon ordering). It’s also available direct from the publisher, Cornell University Press.
It is a very thorough and scientific book and the first I’ve found anywhere here to help me identify these odonatan insects that I occasionally photograph. They have detailed descriptions and photographs of all 283 Dragonflies and Damselflies identified in Costa Rica with more being discovered frequently here.
I will use it to try and identify the ones I already have in my Dragonflies and Damselflies Photo Galleries, though it will not always be easy as there are some finely detailed differences between many species that all of my photos are not good enough to show, but at least I will have more labeled than before! 🙂
Now I just wish someone would develop as good a field guide for the butterflies of Costa Rica! A much bigger job! And until then I will continue to use the Butterflies of Mexico & Central America book for my IDs.
¡Pura Vida!
Hotel Art
As Friday’s post featured a few works of art at the Radiotherapy Clinic, this post shows some of the art I’ve enjoyed being around at my hotel during this therapy time. It’s not a replacement for visiting the closed museums, but it is always enjoyable to be around good artwork anytime and anywhere!
And a short slide show of more . . .
Clinic Art
With most museums closed for the pandemic and me now low on energy, it looks like I won’t be visiting Art Museums in San Jose during radiation. so I will share today just a few of the art pieces I photographed with cellphone at the clinic and tomorrow some more from the hotel.
These are from the waiting rooms and treatment hallway. I didn’t go into the doctors’ offices.
And in the parking lot I consider this sign a type of art: 🙂
TRANSLATION: We are life expectancy, for the cancer patient. Twenty-first Century Radiotherapy – Or most here translate “esperanza” as “hope,” making this “hope of life” but my online dictionary considered the context and used “expectancy” as a more modern translation. Languages cannot be translated word for word in every case. Spanish speakers know what it means! 🙂
And at 2:30 this afternoon I get the stitches removed from my left eyelid. Hoping for minimal pain.
¡Pura Vida!