loopdeloup's Xanga

Liberia

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:32:05 GMT

I was recently in Liberia for work. Liberia, Costa Rica of course.

santa cruz street parade

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:42:35 GMT

in santa cruz for work last weekend, returning to town in the evening, we came across a street parade in the middle of the town, apparently celebrating university week.

there were more people in the parade than watching it! (and there were probably less than a hundred in the the parade)

even so the costumes were very elaborate and there was a lot of colour and movement and music and dancing

. . .celebrating local wildlife . . .

flores de mi jardin

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:12:03 GMT

costa rica celebrates its independence, and I do too!

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:50:17 GMT

tomorrow is costarican independence day!

and since I've been in such a you-tubish kind of a vibe lately, I thought it was about time I uploaded a mini-cultural inventory of all things costarican which I made for my presentation for the National Conference for Teachers of English back in February.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:56:11 GMT

Friday, September 11, 2009

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:03:42 GMT

more of wil's recent work

this was made from the log of Ron Ron so long fallen one end of it was buried a meter deep -
looking back through old posts I see we secured hold of this wood all of seven years ago,
concurrently with the buying of our house -
we actually first bought it about 8 years ago but it took another year to organise retrieving it -
all kinds of drama and adventure as it was so far from anywhere accessible

(this one I want to keep (i always do) but alas, I think will very shortly be sold)

this is an old shot of pieces in the home 'gallery' -
all the pieces and even the table in the forefront that they're resting on -
have long moved on to better homes

some of wil's work

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:44:41 GMT

It's been a while since I've posted any of wil's pieces.

made from ron ron

Cocobolo

Ron Ron

Nazareno (or Purpleheart)

Ron Ron

Bela with Kira and bowls

*

on the subject of artistic endeavours;

a sample of Elias' recent artwork - a tribute to the wizard of oz

previously his drawings were all centered on male superheros with interesting weaponry and superpowers,
but now his sketchbooks are suddenly filled with graphic representations of the female form! (*ulp!*)

*

and finally, at the Puntarenas shorefront,
wilson finds the perfect restaurant to match his personality:

what we did today . . .

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:04:32 GMT

we made it home safely too!

animal menagerie

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:07:37 GMT

bunch of mixed animals.

lily holds our new kitten, named Kira,
kitten that found us on the street,
intelligently ran straight up to us mewling pitifully one evening,
it's tail broken in about 4 places, a tail become an eternal question mark,
and it's stomach empty and its mother gone

now the apple of my lily's eye,
master and commander of the household
and never really been heard to meow since

even the dogs respect her, for she knows no fear

Casi, other big fat cat,
usually deeply intolerant of any feline competition

actually came out of some weird badly behaved depression with the arrival of new plaything
(not that she ever plays with her)
but sometimes lets little kit sit nearby her without even growling
- and - miracle of miracles! - has even curled up with her once or twice

and here's -

another dog that wandered up to our place to stay for a while

elias, "tito" and lily

christened Tito.
beautiful creature.
we thought must have an owner somewhere.
still had baby teeth and was in full shoe-chew mode

showed up one day tired and thirsty, saw our two big dogs and settled down by them next to the fence.
we asked him in and gave him water and food
asked the police and the local vets if they knew of him.
and the answer, always; no.

before long word got around and people started showing up, saying they'd lost one just like HER.

but HE was not a SHE, so they were not the rightful owners.

neither, of course, were we, so we actually let some folk, saying they were heartbroken when their she-dog disappeared,
take her home with the proviso that they give her back to the real owner if they should show up

very early the next morning they bought T Tito back saying he had cried endlessly all night.
never cried once in all the time he was with us, about a week!

Alaska in back, long hair cut looking like a real rottweiler,
Tito right at home thank you very much

finally some more people came with the story of a young lad who had had a very similar dog, heartbroken when he was run over, with a big fenced yard and all the love and care to give for such a pup.

so with much sadness, we gave him to THEM to care for, until such a time, if and when, his rightful owners should show up

as far as we know, he is there still . . .

(and we continue trying hard not to be the mad dog people that people think they can dump any dog on. . . )

santa cruz

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:56:46 GMT

i am in santa cruz.

i sit outside my hotel room on the balcony.

it is raining. there is the whirring whirring rattle of the airconditioner, all the airconditioners in a row, each room with its airconditioner exhaust facing out onto the balcony on which i sit. Which sounds unlovely, and if you think about it it overmuch is not particularly charming, but in fact, does not dampen the prettiness of the night, the intermittent flashes of sheet lightning, the mass of tropical trees. the rooms in this hotel are not numbered but have animal and tree names.

today i am in the ron ron room. ron ron is one of the woods wil likes to use.

it is humid. but not too hot. or maybe it's that I have learned to live with the heat. i used to think i would die in heat like this. but i am wearing black jeans, have my warm laptop topping my lap, and even so, only remembered the heat because of the sometimes remembered racket of the airconditioners, all in a row.

my workmates are asleep. they are morning people. I am night woman.

we drove and we ate, and we worked a little too, very few interviews for so much distance and expense and having come so far. this is a charity project, the projects pockets are bigger than the enthusiasm with which it is being taken up by the intended recipients. sad really. and rather frustrating. probably the people are there, but they move slow in these parts of the world, and when it rains, often not at all.

you have to learn to slow down your stride when you come to live in costa rica. and the further countryside you go, the slower and slower the pace. . . .

but even night woman must arise with morning people tomorrow, i should off to bed. and try to sleep to the rattle and hum of the conditioning of air. . . .