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Gathered Up:  Over 50 Farmgirls  |
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rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 12:28:49 PM
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Finally got a photo of the azaleas. Today, I saw a new plant that had flowered... A lilac!!! So happy.
Bunny, I hadn't seen the bear hugs sign. Adorable. Keep posting. We never tire of seeing your creations.
Marilyn, I suffer from the same can't-help-myself sickness when it comes to the garden. It has led to several conversations with dh...
Marie, my condolences. Lowell really messed up. I'd take away his guitar privileges!
Mar |
Edited by - rough start farmgirl on Apr 27 2015 2:27:24 PM |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 2:31:36 PM
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Oh, Mar, I definitely have Azalea Envy!!! They are stunning! Such a nice photo!
GG
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Tall Holly
True Blue Farmgirl
2305 Posts
Holly
Worcester
Vermont
USA
2305 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 2:40:16 PM
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Good early evening everyone,
the littles and I went for a spring plant discovery walk today. I took pictures they ran through the woods climbing and hollering.
colt's foot starting to blossom. they grow on the sides of the dirt roads and are one of the first to blossom in the spring. The stems and flowers are first and then the leaves which get to be quite large and do not disappear until fall.
colt's foot from the side. See how the stem is reddish, no green on these gorgeous bright flowers until the leaves show.
red maple buds. these buds show earlier than the sugar maple.
I liked the visual textures of this scene but they do not seem to have translated into the photo form as well.
Holly
farmgirl #2499
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Tall Holly
True Blue Farmgirl
2305 Posts
Holly
Worcester
Vermont
USA
2305 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 2:47:46 PM
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I do not know what this moss is called. The stems are last years "flowers" for lack of a better term
My mother used to have azaleas in one corner of the yard. Those are a beautiful color.
Sorry your younger son is having pet sitting issues. I guess the sargent should have been very specific in the care of his dog. It is sad that the dog is so anxious.
Sore back pains unite. We can ache or we can sit quietly and let the world pass us by.
Sweet dreams,
Holly
farmgirl #2499
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 2:59:01 PM
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So true, Holly. Love your photos.
Wow, Mar, lilacs! We don't have them here either. Love the fragrance more than anything! Even roses.
Bunny,I've heard of giving a dog half a Dramamine tablet to calm them down.
GG
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rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 4:22:42 PM
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Yea, I feel for the poor dog,too. He's probably young and has a lot of energy. Your son is probably worried about them getting back home. I hope they realize the dog was incredibly bored and anxious. There isn't a lot your son can do, is there?
Holly, I love the way you summed it up. None us want to watch life go by! I don't think I have ever seen colt's foot. Wonder how it got that name! The redbud is a very bright red. That must be gorgeous when there are a lot of them.
GG, are you parking on the floor yet? I'd be nervous!
mar
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Edited by - rough start farmgirl on Apr 27 2015 4:23:17 PM |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 5:30:39 PM
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Edited by - doll58maker on Sep 18 2019 7:08:44 PM |
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Bearclover
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
Bunny
Gig Harbor
Wa
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 7:10:39 PM
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I'm afraid the poor dog will be spending days in the garage until his owner comes home. My son said he talked to his sargent and that's what he said to do. My son said he will make sure he has toys, food and water.
My son said he has lost so far, a backpack, his boots, pillows and pillowcases. Not to mention the couch. The owner will be home in a week.
I love all the flower pictures! Mar, what an amazing mass of red.
Holly, love that you take time to teach about nature as well as the basic school stuff. Your boys are so lucky to have you as a teacher.
We are missing quit a few farmgirls! Hey, say hi you lurkers.
Bunny
Farmgirl number 3738
My blogs:
www.curiousorangecat.com
Handmade stuff http://www.curiousorangecat.etsy.com
Not all who wander are lost.../
Plan to improvise
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prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 9:36:20 PM
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Sigh....lost another friend. she actually passed away earlier this month but it wasn't in the paper till today. A story she told me that I'd like to share:back in the 1970's, when women were just starting to enter jobs traditionally held by men, she had two boys to support and interviewed for a job at a local refinery. The man interviewing her told her about the clerical jobs that were available. She asked about the higher-paying "men's" jobs--the interviewer told her what the jobs entailed and she said "That's the kind of job I want!". The guy leaned forward and said,"Missy, those jobs are for men!" She then leaned forward and said, "Not anymore!" She got the job and then had to prove, over and over, that she could do it. I knew she had cancer and I knew it was probably terminal but....this is just too much for one month. I need a break from all this loss. Surely May will be better. There is a public memorial service and tree planting for her on Saturday. She did a lot to help protect the environment and challenged others to do the same. People are rioting in Baltimore and CEO's of large corporations, who are probably clinical psychopaths, are trying to gain control of the world. I feel like the world is going crazy. When will we ever learn to be satisfied with "enough"? How many more oil wells will be dug, how many rivers and seas polluted, how many mountaintops blown away,before we realize that you can't eat money? How many deaths will it take till we know that too many people have died? I know...the answer is blowin' in the wind.
Cindy
"Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free; And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the rocks reach the sea.Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun. and cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done"--Loreena McKennit
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 27 2015 : 9:58:58 PM
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I'm so sorry, Cindy. The world is a rough place for gentle souls like you.
GG
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 06:32:13 AM
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Cindy -- Sorry you are having trouble with all this mess. I can sympathize -- empathize, really. Some days I feel like I must be eating crazy pills. Do you remember the story of The Emperor's New Clothes? It was my favorite fairy tale as a kid. You can see that the Emperor is absolutely nude, but you're the only one who can see it! There must be some kind of pathology descriptor for it. Some days I find myself wondering if this is how "old people" have always thought. Hopefully the answer IS blowin' in the wind and it will blow this way soon.
Just wrote a whole big long rant and erased it. Had an online encounter yesterday with some shirt-tail relations that was astonishing. Some people seem to think that they are entitled to do and say whatever they want and that the rest of the world is just supposed to go along with it. I get very tired of my opinion being the only one that doesn't matter and shouldn't be expressed. Maybe I really am old. ha
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 06:50:50 AM
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In other news -- puppies and kittens and pretty flowers!!!
Time to turn my head around and pull up my big-girl knickers. I woke up this morning -- good thing. I can hear the birds and see the sunshine -- good things. I have honest work for honest pay -- good things. I love my sweetie and he loves me -- good thing. I have met some wonderful and supportive ladies here -- good thing. And coffee -- REALLY good thing. So no more ick from me today, I promise.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 06:54:20 AM
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Well, M, you shouldn't have erased it. We love to weigh in on other sisters' problems. Especially relatives. I was careful to marry an orphan this time, lol. Not really, but it sounds good. His parents are deceased. He has one sister whom I really like, and a few distant relatives whom I will probably never meet. My own relatives are enough. Guess what-- my 92+ mom is being released from rehab this week
. for a broken hip, not drug rehab. I just realized how that might have sounded. My mom has a lot of courage. She never complains about anything.
GG
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Edited by - doll58maker on Apr 28 2015 11:22:57 AM |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 06:57:10 AM
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Edited by - doll58maker on Sep 18 2019 7:09:53 PM |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 11:31:02 AM
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Edited by - doll58maker on Sep 18 2019 7:10:28 PM |
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rough start farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3331 Posts
marianne
The Beautiful Pacific NW
Washington State
USA
3331 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 2:09:15 PM
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It is crazy to think that sometimes this thread gets up to six hundred visitors a day. And about a dozen posts...
Cindy, I am so sorry to hear that your difficult time is continuing... I hope you find something to be very joyful about very soon. Please be kind to yourself.
Marilyn, my dd said she didn't sleep that well last night. Actually, what she said was, "This day is brought to you by caffeine." I like my coffee with cream and sugar. Really half and half and real sugar. I know. The nasties. I think maybe I don't like the actual taste of coffee... But, I adore my morning cup. And sometimes a nonfat latte with one raw sugar.. or a coconut mild latte with NO sugar (aren't you proud). I am a true Northwest coffee lover and you just don't lose that by moving to PA, do ya?
Now, GG, my least favorite roast is French Roast. I first had an espresso in Toronto in 1988. We went there for a winter get away from our home in Syracuse, NY. Since we had a three month old, we were up early and walking the underground passages between shops, etc. So neat. I was enchanted with the espresso and they did the lemon rind twist that they stroked around the rim. Sigh. My first time. Now, I like Costa Rican coffee. When we were there, even though it was SO hot and humid you wanted to die, I still wanted their coffee. Good grief, it was so delicious. It was thick like syrup. We bought a bunch to bring back home. World Market has a good Costa Rica roast. Now, for the sheer sake of not spending more than a small fortune on beans, I get our beans at Costco. Starbucks roast. (YAY locals) It is very decent. But, not outstanding. Of course, enough sugar and half and half... That coffee in Costa Rica didn't need a thing though...probably covered in pesticides.
I got the mud off the horses and about a pound of hair off the blonde then fly masked them and fly sprayed them. And then saw that it was about to rain so I fertilized all my flowering bushes. Then went to take the fly masks off the horses. And as soon as there is mud, they will roll and wipe all the fly spray off and get all dirty. But, they are happy. I guess. At least I made the effort.I was in the middle of using the shedding blade on Sunny when dh got home and asked, "What are ya doing?" I can't believe he expected an answer. I was holding a shedding blade next to a horse who had significantly less hair on one side of his body and we were both covered in blonde tufts. But, he's cute so I will ignore it. The younger mare has always shedded out beautifully on her own. Ol' Sunny just doesn't like to let go of his winter coat, so we brush and brush and brush to keep him comfy.
Mar
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 5:40:09 PM
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Edited by - doll58maker on Sep 18 2019 7:10:58 PM |
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Bearclover
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
Bunny
Gig Harbor
Wa
USA
2391 Posts |
Posted - Apr 28 2015 : 7:29:35 PM
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I didn't think we were that entertaining. Oh well, we are a special bunch aren't we.
I'm afraid I'm a mocha girl. Other than that I just muck up coffee with sugar and cream. I can't drink it black.
Not much else going on.
Angus the black lab chewing machine was a good boy today. My son said he let him stay in the house with promises from Angus that he wouldn't eat anything. He was a good boy so he doesn't have to go to the garage tomorrow.
My son is trying to talk me into moving with him in North Carolina. If it wasn't so far away, I would be so tempted. Cross country with three cats and me only being able to drive maybe 7 hours at a stretch. Fun times!
Bunny
Farmgirl number 3738
My blogs:
www.curiousorangecat.com
Handmade stuff http://www.curiousorangecat.etsy.com
Not all who wander are lost.../
Plan to improvise
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Bearclover
True Blue Farmgirl
2391 Posts
Bunny
Gig Harbor
Wa
USA
2391 Posts |
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prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2015 : 03:54:27 AM
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Marilyn--yes, the emperor is naked! The people who don't see it are engaged in denial. Mass denial. I see where the Pope is calling on Christians to take seriously their duty to serve and preserve the Earth. He says it's a moral issue, and it is. It not only encompasses care for the Earth, but for the poor who make up the majority of the human race, as well as all the Earth's creatures and plants, the waters, mountains, deserts, the poles, savannas, etc. It takes a global re-imagining of the human race and our place in the cosmos. I don't know if it can be done, but I'm sure gonna try.
G--the world is a rough place, period. I'm lucky I live in a great country and don't have to worry where my next meal is coming from. I have good neighbors and associate with some really dedicated and community-minded people who want to see this area become a tourist destination. It already is in winter, when people come from all over to see the eagles. We have lots of little specialty shops and antique stores which draw people from far away. Now if we could just attract businesses with good-paying jobs, like we once had, this could be a great place to live. I may feel down at times, but I can see the positive, too. I wanted to go to an event tonight featuring a speaker on local foods, but it was in St. Louis and I just felt too tired to drive that far. I have been having better dreams and I can recall them better, which I've read is a sign of healing. Just wish I had more energy.
All my tomato plants are doing well but my eggplant and pepper seedlings kind of wilted and gave up, don't know why. Too much light? Not enough? Too much water? Too dry? I don't know. Guess I'll have to buy some plants that are already established. On the subject of coffee, I can drink it if it's shade grown, organic, and freshly ground. I don't add anything to it. Don't have it very often. I've been adding the matcha, which has caffeine, to my smoothies. Trying to kick the soda habit. I like the French Roast but haven't tried too many other varieties.
Oops. Got sidetracked. Now where was I? Oh well, gonna post this before I lose it again.
Cindy
"Come by the hills to the land where fancy is free; And stand where the peaks meet the sky and the rocks reach the sea.Where the rivers run clear and the bracken is gold in the sun. and cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done"--Loreena McKennit
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
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Tall Holly
True Blue Farmgirl
2305 Posts
Holly
Worcester
Vermont
USA
2305 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2015 : 04:45:08 AM
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Good morning,
Just opn for a quick fix before the day starts. I would like to respond to Cindy's post.
At seder in the Haggadah that we do it talks about the exodus from Egypt of the Jews. That when the Jews asked for their freedom the Pharoah said no. Then there were a series of plagues and the Pharaoh continued to tighten the reigns until his first born died. There is a lot more to the story but the gist is that the oppressors tightened the reigns instead of loosening them. Here in Baltimore there is the same situation. The people are tired of being treated poorly, being kept poor, being killed and the oppressors (usually white men in power) are tightening their hold instead of looking for ways, for long term ways of alleviating the poverty, the poor educational system, the violence. Society needs to change. There is no reason that any one needs to be oppressed for society to grow and evolve.
This time of year is sad for those of us left with the grieving. Cancer is nasty there are no two ways around it. Keep telling the woman's stories and she will live. I have had two elderly friends die in the last month. Both were sad but not sad because old age is not for sissies. The first had been the executive director of the Vt ACLU for many years and did great work in advancing civil liberties here in Vermont. The second woman helped to start Planned Parenthood here in Vermont because when she and her husband first were married they had three children right off and did not know how to stop the pregnancies in a safe way. she was also a founding member of the VT ACLU. She and her husband were very civil rights minded but raising children here in Vermont can be limiting on that front and they needed to help.
I have another set of friends who when I told them I felt helpless in being bound to the land and the children in forwarding civil liberties in the parts of the country that were in upheaval at the time of the conversation told me they were very torn during the sixties about not being able to join in the marches and bus rides and registering voters that raising conscientious children is important as well. I have a button that is sometimes hard to wear that says Silence is the voice of Complicity. Just speaking out is important whether we live close to a situation or far by distance.
I hope you all have lovely days with healing and moments of joy.
Holly
farmgirl #2499
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Edited by - Tall Holly on Apr 29 2015 04:46:35 AM |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2015 : 06:32:48 AM
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Bunny -- North Carolina (at least the parts I have visited) is lovely! Would you like living with your son? I have this "fear" (not sure if that's the right word) that I will end up living with my daughter someday. I think I would love living with her, but I guess I just don't want to feel like I HAVE to -- like I have no other choice. Does that make sense? And what size is that wonderful dress from your last picture -- the one with the bear hug on it??? I might "need" it. ha ha ha
Mar -- Don't you wish you could just say "Here's your sign" sometimes? lol I know I ask some things sometimes that Dude just looks at me and shakes his head. I can just picture you standing there covered in horsehair, holding that brush.....hmmmmmm... I am making spaghetti for your dinner, Dear. I also think it's wonderful that you think he's cute!!!!
Re: Coffee -- I have been drinking a medium roast here at the office, but I have it with actual sugar (oh dear) and heavy cream (oh dear). I removed all the artificial sweeteners from my diet a few months ago (at least the ones I knew about) and get local cream (so lucky to have so many Amish farms nearby). I figure something will kill me eventually, so I would go with real food and try to eat as locally as possible. A friend of mine just came back from a trip to Cuba a few weeks ago. She said they had coffee everywhere they went and it was heavy and dark and thick. Now that she's home, she says the coffee she was used to here is like water! She brought me some Cuban coffee, but I haven't tried it yet. When I was a missionary, I worked in Costa Rica a couple of times and fell in love with their coffee (as well as with a particularly handsome young man with curly dark hair and sweet dimples, but that's another story), and I happen to have another friend who is Costa Rican and brings me a bag of coffee whenever she comes back from down home. Isn't the world an amazing place? I bet among our little group here, we have been pretty much everywhere and done pretty much everything.
Yesterday afternoon we had our first hummingbird of the season. Yay! I am still getting used to the East Coast, and I think I put my feeders out way early, but I am glad they were ready when the birds showed up. Dude made up a story that the hummingbird that was buzzing around us last night as we drank our wine on the deck was one of the ones that kept us company at Surf Sound Cottage when we were on St. John in January. I love that guy!!!! This weekend the weather promises to be perfect, but the marina will be closed for the annual boat show, so no 'Peake Pleasure for us (that's our boat). Looks like Saturday and Sunday will be gardening days -- hopefully we will get all the seeds in and then I will wait a week or two for the plants. A friend is starting tomatoes and peppers for us in his greenhouse.
I had no idea we were such an interesting group. Maybe I should try harder to make my posts interesting? Let's see...I got a new dehydrator. And a new bathmat. Yup -- that's about it!
Have a full-sail kind of day, Ladies!!!
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2015 : 06:46:14 AM
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Katherine Hepburn is credited with having said,"Life is hard. After all, it kills you."
Marilyn, I find your posts very interesting, entertaining, funny and uplifting. Apparently so do a few thousand lurkers, ha.
I never drank coffee at all, didn't know how to make coffee until my son's best friend's mom brought me a bag of "the good stuff" from Columbia. Then I was hooked for life. (Thank the gods it was only coffee). Turns out they brought other good stuff from Columbia too.
That's another wonderful part of being over 50. We've lived long enough to be interesting, not just another pretty face.
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Edited by - doll58maker on Sep 18 2019 7:12:25 PM |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2015 : 07:01:27 AM
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The coffee in New Orleans is really good, too. Then there is the Kona coffee which I get when I visit my son in Hawaii. None of these places seem to ship their best. That's one reason travel is such a rich experience. There is a white sugar pineapple in Hawaii that you can only get there, and the papaya right off the tree with fresh lime-----absolutely nothing like the stuff we get here.
Should we put Costa Rica on our bucket list to visit? I think of heat, humidity and tropical birds for some reason. I hear a lot of expats are there for cost of living but I do not like humidity. |
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Marilyn Hartman Sullivan
True Blue Farmgirl
1138 Posts
Marilyn
Oxford
PA
USA
1138 Posts |
Posted - Apr 29 2015 : 07:26:34 AM
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If you stick to the middle mountainous region of CR, it's not as humid as down around Limon and the rain forest. We are planning a trip in January of 2017 and will go to the Pacific coast, which I have only visited once on a day trip. I would hope that the ocean breezes would make it less humid over that way. The mountains in the center of the country have sugar and coffee plantations and I just loved it there. I would have stayed had it not been for my daughter.
The ex-pats I ran into back in the olden days were living "la vida" down there, for sure. All you had to do was guarantee that you had a certain amount of monthly income -- the CR government didn't want you on the welfare rolls -- and it was only about $400 back in the late 80s. There were also several cattle ranches that belonged to Americans. Not sure what the picture is these days. I am so excited to go back and revisit some of the places I worked. It has been so so long. I used to dream that I was walking along the road in the village and I would stop at each door and see the people who lived there, stopping in all the little shops, and then I would get to the door of the church and walk inside and then I would wake up. It was so frustrating! This coming January we are going back to St. John, which will be wonderful and lovely and we are already looking forward to it, but 2017 in CR will be a real treat.
Farmgirl #6318
"Where there's a will -- there's probably a family fight." |
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Gathered Up: Over 50 Farmgirls |
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Over 50 Farmgirls
