back in San Joaquin, for a couple nights.
have had an excellent week at finca 'pura vida' (the unofficial name of the neighbor's farm)
farm activites/events:
shelling beans
preparing some beds for sweet potatoes - the costa rican variety with brilliant pink skins and light yellow centers
playing cards
- kelci taught them golf, then we taught them spoons ('cucharas') which we have been playing ALL the time since then
swiming in the posas - a few different swimming holes. . the last day i was there kelci jumped off the bridge into one of the deep ones. ridiculous but sucessful.
milking the cows
almost every morning! am now almost a professional. Luz says that kelci and i are the first two volunteers to 'get it' and milk with her regularily.
fixing the classical guitar
someone gave guillermo jr a guitar, and i spent some tme with pliers trying to tune it. . but there are enough breaks and cracks and missing keys that it doesn't stay 'tuned' for long/at all. but after almost 3 months of not playing it was a fun project.
went over about 4 hills to grandma's house, to visit luz's fam and to help paint the house. spent two seperate days there and painted our hearts out. i still have some of the blue interior on my clothes/skin.
our first visit there we got a tour of their backyard river, and went crabhunting. it was al ot like being a kid on the island beaches, except i only halfheartedly looked because when one was spotted, the sister that was leading the expedition ripped off it's legs and pulled the meat out to cook later. i'm talking tiny crabs like the purple and green ones the width of your thumb. . . odd, but interesting. i had resigned myself to eating them, but we left before they were cooked.
the day before we had gone on another (unsucessful) hunt - for iguana.
no kidding. one of the may cousins that was hanging out at hte hosue (they're on summer vacation to the place was fuull of kis all the time) climbed a tree and shook it down, but it escpaed before the dog/guys with machetes could track it down.
thank goodness.
helped make tortillas and empanadas
ate flowers. a lot a lot of flowers. there is this variety of white blooms around for a short time right about now, so we steamed and picadillo-ed them quite often last week. they're fairly delicious, if a litle bitter.
toasted and ate peanuts that grew onthe farm. undeniably awesome, as i love peanuts rather dearly.
used part of the peels of a large citrus to make what seems like an original sour gummy candy - the puffy part between the friut and peel that i should know the name of - we boiled it then candied it with sugar and some yellow coloring. luz made me a little bag of it to take on my bus trip yesterday, along with a sack of peanuts of course.
what else...
ah, we:
weeded the greenhouse
planted culantro seedlingd as wellas new seeds
they have two kind of cilantro here, both of which are called culantro. one grows wild - the 'coyote' cariety, and the other, familiar kind is referred to as 'castilla'.
encountered a terciopelo, one of the more dangerous venomous snakes in the area/country. it is as long as i am tall - i have pictures of course. guillermo spotted it next to the road we were walking on, sleeping in the roots of a tree (they're nocturnal). he killed it right quick, and brought it back to bury it - i guess that if ants eat it and then bite you, they can pass along a dangerous bacteria; one of his relatives was in the hospital for about 3 weeks from such antbites.
the other day i donned a beekeepers suite and accompanied two family friends to harvest honey from the farm's 11 bee hives. i brought my camera and took some video along with photos. i got one sting, but was far enough away from teh hives that no swarming ensued. we were in the little tent where they centrifuge the oney into a bucket, and a couple 'bravas' - fightey bees came in along with the chill ones. . got me on the finger but it didnt hurt for long and was essentially gone by the time we got back to the house. the bees here are differnt from the ones in the states - tey are all africanized, which led me to believe i should be more wary of their sting, but it definitely was a peice of cake in comparison to the last sting i received. . . quite a while ago..
i have two bottles of the honey to bring back with me. got to eat pollen fresh from the hive, too. delicious. .
spent my last day there (yesterday) at the feria again, then took the bus a little after noon.
my taxi driver from san josé to san joaquin was hilarious - spoke slowly and clearly, had a good sense of humor, and was familiar with the potrero/flamingo area and even had been to the las brisas ladies' night. .
and now here i am, blogging in the internet cafes of this town, once again. .
i am going to visit my host family from december, then head to flamingo on sunday morning.
might be fortunate enoguh to stay at the house of some friends in surfside, the town between flamingo and potrero, for my secnd week there.
dad flies in on the 12th, and he will get to spend some tie with me on the coast before we head to the cdca. it is tempting to go back south to visit luz, guillermo and the fam, but that would mean as many traveling days as visiting days, so monteverde or omatepe seem to be the best plans.
am looking forward to having my own kitchen and being by the ocean again.
more soon,
love
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
animals, sugar, and the river is my backyard
one-hundred-and-eighty-degrees, i tell you - in just 1 km downhill, dramatic improvement.
i bid farewell to earthrose farm, received a hug from rosie and an actual 'have a nice life' sans eye contact from maji (honestly??) and am glad to go.
it's almost sad to see the untapped potential in that farm; i know they truly desire to improve it, and their wwoof exchanges, but i doubt that will happen soon whilest one of their halves spends every day in san isidro. . ah, well. i wish earth rose the best, but have no plans to return.
as for the present - -
in the 2 days i have been staying with the neighbors, Luz and Guillermo , we have:
visited a chicken farm to load and unload over 50 large sacks of feed
fed the cows
ridden horses around the farm to gather the cows in for the night
visited the largest tree on the farm (huge! and gorgeous, growing by the river)
milked cows in the morning
gathered eggs and fed the chickens
watered the little hydroponic garden
worked the trapiche!
- harvested sugar cane
- sent the canes through the trapiche, which presses the stalks to squeeze out the juice
- gathered/bundled the dryish stalks to use for fuel for the trapiche fire where we
- poured the juice into large vats above the oven where it cooks for abotu 3 hours before we
- scoop it into a large low box to cool and mix, then
- plop it into molds (400 in one day) like gigantic thimble shapes to cool and harden
- we ate every step of the process - the cane, the juice, the espumas (foam while it cooked), various levels of carmelization and the final, brown sugary, product- 'tapa dulce'
oh and we can swim in the river just about whenever.
i walked up the hill (the otehr direction from ER) with Luz to use a phone (they don't have a phone line that far out and can't get cell service in the valley) so i got to visit a parent-meeting of sorts with lots of ladies, babies, and coffee. .
they also have pigs, which is worth noting mostly because their kitchen stove is powered by gas from the piggies' poo. brilliant.
today we are back at the feria, selling some tapa dulce along with the usual wares. i have decided to stay for a week to keep working here, as it is much more relaxed and i am learning a ridiculous amount of interesting things.
next week i will head north, to san joaquin to visit my ol host family (there was an earthquake a couple weeks ago as some of you may know, and they live much closer to the epicenter. . we didn't even feel it here) then continue on to guanacaste - i'm going back to potrero/flamingo for 2 more weeks of spanish classes. .
dad comes to visit on the 12th of february, so i am scheming up adventures for us to have between here and nicaragua - probably a visit to monteverde to see the reserve/cloud forests, cheese facroty and delicious resraurants, maybe a coffee farm or two. . i also lpan to have us stop in grenada for a night on the way up.
might not have mentioned it before but i have extended my stay for 5 more days, so i can accompany dad to the cdca in nueva vida to wrok for a week and see the lopez hs group.
this means we head home 5 weeks from yesterday. i am excited to return to the nw but am enjoying the hell out of my time here, now that i've escaped tick country (mostly.)
am off for another week in the country, will write again next thursday with more farmy adventures
love
i bid farewell to earthrose farm, received a hug from rosie and an actual 'have a nice life' sans eye contact from maji (honestly??) and am glad to go.
it's almost sad to see the untapped potential in that farm; i know they truly desire to improve it, and their wwoof exchanges, but i doubt that will happen soon whilest one of their halves spends every day in san isidro. . ah, well. i wish earth rose the best, but have no plans to return.
as for the present - -
in the 2 days i have been staying with the neighbors, Luz and Guillermo , we have:
visited a chicken farm to load and unload over 50 large sacks of feed
fed the cows
ridden horses around the farm to gather the cows in for the night
visited the largest tree on the farm (huge! and gorgeous, growing by the river)
milked cows in the morning
gathered eggs and fed the chickens
watered the little hydroponic garden
worked the trapiche!
- harvested sugar cane
- sent the canes through the trapiche, which presses the stalks to squeeze out the juice
- gathered/bundled the dryish stalks to use for fuel for the trapiche fire where we
- poured the juice into large vats above the oven where it cooks for abotu 3 hours before we
- scoop it into a large low box to cool and mix, then
- plop it into molds (400 in one day) like gigantic thimble shapes to cool and harden
- we ate every step of the process - the cane, the juice, the espumas (foam while it cooked), various levels of carmelization and the final, brown sugary, product- 'tapa dulce'
oh and we can swim in the river just about whenever.
i walked up the hill (the otehr direction from ER) with Luz to use a phone (they don't have a phone line that far out and can't get cell service in the valley) so i got to visit a parent-meeting of sorts with lots of ladies, babies, and coffee. .
they also have pigs, which is worth noting mostly because their kitchen stove is powered by gas from the piggies' poo. brilliant.
today we are back at the feria, selling some tapa dulce along with the usual wares. i have decided to stay for a week to keep working here, as it is much more relaxed and i am learning a ridiculous amount of interesting things.
next week i will head north, to san joaquin to visit my ol host family (there was an earthquake a couple weeks ago as some of you may know, and they live much closer to the epicenter. . we didn't even feel it here) then continue on to guanacaste - i'm going back to potrero/flamingo for 2 more weeks of spanish classes. .
dad comes to visit on the 12th of february, so i am scheming up adventures for us to have between here and nicaragua - probably a visit to monteverde to see the reserve/cloud forests, cheese facroty and delicious resraurants, maybe a coffee farm or two. . i also lpan to have us stop in grenada for a night on the way up.
might not have mentioned it before but i have extended my stay for 5 more days, so i can accompany dad to the cdca in nueva vida to wrok for a week and see the lopez hs group.
this means we head home 5 weeks from yesterday. i am excited to return to the nw but am enjoying the hell out of my time here, now that i've escaped tick country (mostly.)
am off for another week in the country, will write again next thursday with more farmy adventures
love
Thursday, January 15, 2009
' i may be trying to squeeze a freckle out of my foot...'
well well well
i am taking a break from the feria - a gigantic farmer's market in downtown san isidro- to check the emails and attempt to fill you in on the last two weeks.
bullet form brainstorm, here we go:
spiderwebs. everywhere, cause mi jefa can't see them i think?
gorgeous sunrises. consistently followed by light fog, the hot hot sun starts around 10, then nice breezes til the sun goes down around 5:30.
batshit. on the kitchen table, always, cause they roost in the ceiling - - plus side: twe can use it inthe garden and bats are just generally wonderful.
seedlings! growing like mad and already some want to be transplanted - - thge oldest ones were only seeded on the 5th. .
clay. the soil is a burntish red, high in iron and hard as, well - clay.
compost. almost ononexistent cause the care(less) takers managed to mess that up, along with everything else.
'mess up' : understatement of the year. the people who own finca tierra rosa only live here during the dry season, and have had various (seemingly insane) caretakers over the past few years. the first round turned out to be the bet, but just didn't know much about farming and i guess the lady wasn't up for the coutnry life. the second was some guy who apparently had some episode and burned their large foam mattress outside in order to rid the farm of scabies???... meh.
the third set takes the cake - they robbed the farm blind, selling the horses, cows, power tools. . stole various appliances and even returned later on for the kitchen knives, propane, etc. . really truly crazy.
this story, all the facets and gorey details,m have been told and retold a hundredfold since the first account i recieved on the bus ride down here. this is barely an exaggeration, because honestly everyday there's something. . am officially driven mad by this overdigestion - gave then the benefit of the doubt at first, cause well, anyone would need some time to process such a grand loss, however i am fed up, because inevitably discussion of past events is accompanied by
money. all the time. it's rather awkward because i am just not used to discussing personal funds and complaining about how expensive everything is - - it results in discomfort and something akin to guilt, when using things on the farm, i.e. food. . which i'm paying for anyhow. turns out that most costa rican (if not all?) farms charge money. yes, this is contrary to the wwoof system and i am rather the opposite of 'down' with it. meh.
spanish. they don't speak it.
i knew that english would be the primary language of the farm , but not that they straight up don't speak spanish . . . i've recommended CPI to them - especially rosie cause i think with a few weeks of class she could get along much more easily.
the feria.
i'm spending my days off with the neighbors - luz, guillermo and thei kids nicol, fernanda, guillermo jr and daniela. yesterday i went to the rive (their back yard) with daniela (9 yrs old) and we exchanged friendship rocks and seeds. 'mejores amigas'. the seeds are maizio,(sp?) or ´lagrimas de ssan pedro´- tough little thi8ngs that have removable tufts that create perfect holes through the center - insta-beads. anyway, i'm staying with them until tomorrow afternoon, helping at their farm and just chillin. .
today we woke up at 4 am to drive to SI for the market. luz sells her milk, eggs, bananas, celery, marndarinas, lemons, and 'mostaza china' - literally chinese mutard, which looks like bok choy or something similar. i am practicing my spanish like mad, and it feels really good to be surrounded again. . after just two weeks on the finca , practicing very little, i felt like i had forgotten everyting and lost confidence, for sure. but now, after a 1/2 day with the neighbors, everythings coming back and i am less worried.
the 'bathroom'.
is seriously ridiculous. by ridiculous i mean disgusting. yes, it 'flushes' but it also leaks and is generally unsanitary. even a portapotty would be better, and i loathe those things. give me an outhouse or even a temporary latrine over this nonsense please. .
TICKS.
everywhere. didn't realize at first, cause i was on the lookout for the adulte, which are less plentiful and easier to avoid thatn the babies, who look like crawing dirt or freckles. the quote that serves as the title for this entry is courtesy of kelci, my latest wwoof comanion, during one of our nightly (really multiple times a day) tick-checks. .
water. we've been having problems with it, but all's mostly fixed now. i went with the local worker carlos to inspect the line, all the wasy to the souce a km away, through the neighbors cow feilds, which resulted in so so so many ticks. also had a little run in with a pejibayi tree, which is covered in 2 inch long spikes - - on the edge of the muc creek where carlos was working, i leaned to toss him something and almost slipped, but reflexively steadied myself on that damn tree. picked the last of my splinters out yesterday. . polka-dot hand to match my mosquito bitten ankles.
electricity. we don't have any. this is not so bad, as we only need it for the fridge and the lights in the house. we have solar panels to charge lanterns and i actually kind of enjoyed washing my clothes by hand yesterday. (there is a washing machine here but i never used it while we had power. . meh. )
the upside.
we have fresh bananas, coconut, yuca, and are drying cacao to make chocolate. i can now make some mean tortillas and empanadas from scratch, and yesterday i made an imitation 'mary´s best potato salad' out of yuca and it was delicious. also i am anjoying our new hens and their fresh eggs, as well as raw milk from luz's cows. .
well there's much much more to tell but i am off to work more in the market. am currently formign plans to return to guanacaste, maybe to teach enlgish, mabe learn to surf. .
will work for a while at l&g's farm, then spend some time in the city to internet and wash clothes. .
until next time, wish me luck
my best to you all
love
mak
i am taking a break from the feria - a gigantic farmer's market in downtown san isidro- to check the emails and attempt to fill you in on the last two weeks.
bullet form brainstorm, here we go:
spiderwebs. everywhere, cause mi jefa can't see them i think?
gorgeous sunrises. consistently followed by light fog, the hot hot sun starts around 10, then nice breezes til the sun goes down around 5:30.
batshit. on the kitchen table, always, cause they roost in the ceiling - - plus side: twe can use it inthe garden and bats are just generally wonderful.
seedlings! growing like mad and already some want to be transplanted - - thge oldest ones were only seeded on the 5th. .
clay. the soil is a burntish red, high in iron and hard as, well - clay.
compost. almost ononexistent cause the care(less) takers managed to mess that up, along with everything else.
'mess up' : understatement of the year. the people who own finca tierra rosa only live here during the dry season, and have had various (seemingly insane) caretakers over the past few years. the first round turned out to be the bet, but just didn't know much about farming and i guess the lady wasn't up for the coutnry life. the second was some guy who apparently had some episode and burned their large foam mattress outside in order to rid the farm of scabies???... meh.
the third set takes the cake - they robbed the farm blind, selling the horses, cows, power tools. . stole various appliances and even returned later on for the kitchen knives, propane, etc. . really truly crazy.
this story, all the facets and gorey details,m have been told and retold a hundredfold since the first account i recieved on the bus ride down here. this is barely an exaggeration, because honestly everyday there's something. . am officially driven mad by this overdigestion - gave then the benefit of the doubt at first, cause well, anyone would need some time to process such a grand loss, however i am fed up, because inevitably discussion of past events is accompanied by
money. all the time. it's rather awkward because i am just not used to discussing personal funds and complaining about how expensive everything is - - it results in discomfort and something akin to guilt, when using things on the farm, i.e. food. . which i'm paying for anyhow. turns out that most costa rican (if not all?) farms charge money. yes, this is contrary to the wwoof system and i am rather the opposite of 'down' with it. meh.
spanish. they don't speak it.
i knew that english would be the primary language of the farm , but not that they straight up don't speak spanish . . . i've recommended CPI to them - especially rosie cause i think with a few weeks of class she could get along much more easily.
the feria.
i'm spending my days off with the neighbors - luz, guillermo and thei kids nicol, fernanda, guillermo jr and daniela. yesterday i went to the rive (their back yard) with daniela (9 yrs old) and we exchanged friendship rocks and seeds. 'mejores amigas'. the seeds are maizio,(sp?) or ´lagrimas de ssan pedro´- tough little thi8ngs that have removable tufts that create perfect holes through the center - insta-beads. anyway, i'm staying with them until tomorrow afternoon, helping at their farm and just chillin. .
today we woke up at 4 am to drive to SI for the market. luz sells her milk, eggs, bananas, celery, marndarinas, lemons, and 'mostaza china' - literally chinese mutard, which looks like bok choy or something similar. i am practicing my spanish like mad, and it feels really good to be surrounded again. . after just two weeks on the finca , practicing very little, i felt like i had forgotten everyting and lost confidence, for sure. but now, after a 1/2 day with the neighbors, everythings coming back and i am less worried.
the 'bathroom'.
is seriously ridiculous. by ridiculous i mean disgusting. yes, it 'flushes' but it also leaks and is generally unsanitary. even a portapotty would be better, and i loathe those things. give me an outhouse or even a temporary latrine over this nonsense please. .
TICKS.
everywhere. didn't realize at first, cause i was on the lookout for the adulte, which are less plentiful and easier to avoid thatn the babies, who look like crawing dirt or freckles. the quote that serves as the title for this entry is courtesy of kelci, my latest wwoof comanion, during one of our nightly (really multiple times a day) tick-checks. .
water. we've been having problems with it, but all's mostly fixed now. i went with the local worker carlos to inspect the line, all the wasy to the souce a km away, through the neighbors cow feilds, which resulted in so so so many ticks. also had a little run in with a pejibayi tree, which is covered in 2 inch long spikes - - on the edge of the muc creek where carlos was working, i leaned to toss him something and almost slipped, but reflexively steadied myself on that damn tree. picked the last of my splinters out yesterday. . polka-dot hand to match my mosquito bitten ankles.
electricity. we don't have any. this is not so bad, as we only need it for the fridge and the lights in the house. we have solar panels to charge lanterns and i actually kind of enjoyed washing my clothes by hand yesterday. (there is a washing machine here but i never used it while we had power. . meh. )
the upside.
we have fresh bananas, coconut, yuca, and are drying cacao to make chocolate. i can now make some mean tortillas and empanadas from scratch, and yesterday i made an imitation 'mary´s best potato salad' out of yuca and it was delicious. also i am anjoying our new hens and their fresh eggs, as well as raw milk from luz's cows. .
well there's much much more to tell but i am off to work more in the market. am currently formign plans to return to guanacaste, maybe to teach enlgish, mabe learn to surf. .
will work for a while at l&g's farm, then spend some time in the city to internet and wash clothes. .
until next time, wish me luck
my best to you all
love
mak
Friday, January 2, 2009
whaaaaa???
HI
surprise internet session - in town buying supplies but may have to leave any minute so excuse the hurridness. .
well the farm is a beautiful fucking mess. seriously. gorgeous, but has been closed down for 4 months so there´s termite and bat shit, weeds up to my shoulders, and the water´s out cause an elbow joint int he pvc lines got trampled by cows.
someone stole the propane so we´re cooking on the wood stove in 80 plus degree heat, and i have 4 large red flybites on my arm.
on the upside: i learned to harvest bananas yesterday!
also i can see h ow the farm can and will turn into a marvelous place, once we´ve worked (much) more and once more peolpe arrive to help (2, tomorow). .
and: i met the tico neighbors, and they are grade A people, absolutely excellent. i have an invitation to stay at their house on the weekends, and will get to check out the process of turning sugar cane into tapa dulce and molasses. the mother, luz, makes cheese and might be able to teach me to make the farmer´s cheeses they eat here that i love so much. she is going to find a kitten for the farm very soon as well.
upon arriving to the farm, part of me considered backing out, taking off, leaving early, because of the disorder, disfunction, etc. . . but i figure that´s just about the shittiest way to start the new year - abandoning commitments when the going gets rough. i considered carefully through the day, and have decided to stick it out. i am excited to see what we are going to turn this place into; also i think the experience of kickstarting a farm from somewhere near scratch will eventually be very valuable.
not sure what else.
ah, my boss here really does not speak much spanish, which surprised me. she´s made friends with the neighbors, and can communicate, but not insentences; i had expected someone at my level or beyond but apparently, no. .
i have been acting as unofficial translator, which i do not mind in the least. one local will be hired soon to work with us - carlos who has worked for them before, and according to the farmbook (memories of past volunteers - very interesting read) he is 'awesome' and 'amazing'. . so i should learn a lot working with him, and be able to practice and improve my spanish. looking forward to becoming pro with the machete. .
things i forgot from last week:
took a trip to the mall and bought 2 small paperback cookbooks - one of batidas/frozen blended drinks and refrescos, and the other of desserts that all involve CHEESE - a disgusting word but favorite food. . hilarious and awesome.
in the bookstore was playing a modern soft rock version of the irish folk tune 'wild mountain thyme' which cracked me up.
joyce recommended that i read isabel allende's 'house of spirits' while down ehre, and whil i did't get it before leaveing i have checked every bookstore i´ve found here with no luck. lame. .
however the farmhouse has some interesting reads - one by deepak chopra (sp?) and lots of survival skill/ farmy things and herbal medicine.
i am wishing a very happy birthday to my most excellent brother lars who is already 19 and a day in japan, and very newly 19 almost everywhere else. way to go, kiddo.
well happy new year to everyone, while i won't be writing much (maybe ever) until i come back, i definitely would not object to a full inbox of tidbits from you all. .
love
mak
surprise internet session - in town buying supplies but may have to leave any minute so excuse the hurridness. .
well the farm is a beautiful fucking mess. seriously. gorgeous, but has been closed down for 4 months so there´s termite and bat shit, weeds up to my shoulders, and the water´s out cause an elbow joint int he pvc lines got trampled by cows.
someone stole the propane so we´re cooking on the wood stove in 80 plus degree heat, and i have 4 large red flybites on my arm.
on the upside: i learned to harvest bananas yesterday!
also i can see h ow the farm can and will turn into a marvelous place, once we´ve worked (much) more and once more peolpe arrive to help (2, tomorow). .
and: i met the tico neighbors, and they are grade A people, absolutely excellent. i have an invitation to stay at their house on the weekends, and will get to check out the process of turning sugar cane into tapa dulce and molasses. the mother, luz, makes cheese and might be able to teach me to make the farmer´s cheeses they eat here that i love so much. she is going to find a kitten for the farm very soon as well.
upon arriving to the farm, part of me considered backing out, taking off, leaving early, because of the disorder, disfunction, etc. . . but i figure that´s just about the shittiest way to start the new year - abandoning commitments when the going gets rough. i considered carefully through the day, and have decided to stick it out. i am excited to see what we are going to turn this place into; also i think the experience of kickstarting a farm from somewhere near scratch will eventually be very valuable.
not sure what else.
ah, my boss here really does not speak much spanish, which surprised me. she´s made friends with the neighbors, and can communicate, but not insentences; i had expected someone at my level or beyond but apparently, no. .
i have been acting as unofficial translator, which i do not mind in the least. one local will be hired soon to work with us - carlos who has worked for them before, and according to the farmbook (memories of past volunteers - very interesting read) he is 'awesome' and 'amazing'. . so i should learn a lot working with him, and be able to practice and improve my spanish. looking forward to becoming pro with the machete. .
things i forgot from last week:
took a trip to the mall and bought 2 small paperback cookbooks - one of batidas/frozen blended drinks and refrescos, and the other of desserts that all involve CHEESE - a disgusting word but favorite food. . hilarious and awesome.
in the bookstore was playing a modern soft rock version of the irish folk tune 'wild mountain thyme' which cracked me up.
joyce recommended that i read isabel allende's 'house of spirits' while down ehre, and whil i did't get it before leaveing i have checked every bookstore i´ve found here with no luck. lame. .
however the farmhouse has some interesting reads - one by deepak chopra (sp?) and lots of survival skill/ farmy things and herbal medicine.
i am wishing a very happy birthday to my most excellent brother lars who is already 19 and a day in japan, and very newly 19 almost everywhere else. way to go, kiddo.
well happy new year to everyone, while i won't be writing much (maybe ever) until i come back, i definitely would not object to a full inbox of tidbits from you all. .
love
mak
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