Wow! Where has the time gone?  I truly am the world's most accomplished procrastinator, but I've outdone myself this time, as it actually has been a year since reporting in.  With luck, that grand hiatus is history and you'll be hearing from me in a more timely manner "hence, forth and from here on out," as my mother liked to say.  Or in 21st-Century business speak, going forward.

We had a few visitors over this morning... so that would seem like a good place to begin filling in the blanks since my last post.

If you ever wondered what a whole platoon of army ants looks like as it converges on your house, wonder no more.

  It's really tough to take meaningful photos of a bazillion tiny creatures (actually we estimate that there were at least hundreds of thousands of them!), but this should give you a general idea.  Luckily, they opted to dine outside, sparing us the trouble of scurrying for higher ground with the dogs while they cleaned out the house.  I'm happy to report that they've since moved on after no doubt carrying off countless creepy crawlies that might have ultimately sought refuge under our baseboards - or worse yet, under our bed.

Vic's gardening efforts are finally paying off.  Even though we lost his first crop of Roma tomatoes and sweet corn to fungus, we harvested a bumper crop of squash over the course of about 6 months.  Bumper crop in this context equates to something in the order of a half-ton - literally!  

 This monster ended up in the freezer and one about half this size found its way onto our Thanksgiving table, crowned with a delicious sage stuffing.

Right now we're eating kale, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and herbs from the garden and hope to be enjoying Brussels sprouts in a few weeks.  What a treat that will be... assuming that the bugs don't get to them first, of  course.

We were equally blessed with what might have been hundreds of delicious chayotes (aka mirlitons), which I learned can be thinly sliced and pickled for use in salads and on sandwiches. 

 

We enjoyed these three moras (something akin to a blackberry) from Vic's 15-month old mora bush.  The birds got the rest.

In January we spent a wonderful day with friends at the tope (horse parade), the centerpiece of the annual Fiesta de Palmares.  Apparently half of Costa Rica was there that day, as well.

Don't let these innocent faces fool you. Shortly before Christmas the big-eared guy in front (that would be Yoda) had a close encounter of the smelly sort with a skunk.  His sister, Chiquita, got close enough to acquire light dusting of the smell of nature, but didn't take the direct hit in the face that Yoda got.  It took a few days and a lot of baths with a half-dozen different home remedies (none of which worked particularly well) before they regained their house privileges.  And as a result of their proclivity for trying to return to the scene of the assault, they both lost their freedom and are now leash dogs.

Every now and then a banana, plantain, or quadrado tree bows under the weight of the fruit and Vic gets to haul home the goods.  

Believe it or not, there truly is a difference in taste between a fresh banana and a store bought one.

In August, Vic and some friends took a one-day fishing trip to Puntarenas.  The fishing was a bust, but they enjoyed a nice day on the water.  And, of course, you know what any fisherman worth his bait says... "A bad day fishing is better than a good day working."

And of course, we continue to be entertained by all manner of interesting insects, like this guy.  

And then there are the not so interesting or entertaining ones that nibble at our ankles and buzz around our heads while we're trying to sleep.  We recently draped our bed in a mosquito net, which has eliminated the latter problem, but we do have to leave our little cocoon every morning, so find ourselves swatting and scratching with annoying regularity.

For those who might be wondering if we're still on that crazy diet, the answer is an emphatic yes.  I saw a fabulous epithet for our plant-based diet the other day and I think it sums it up nicely:  PB4L - or Plant Based For Life.

Since becoming no-added fat, whole food, vegans last year (yeah, that's a mouthful), we have each dropped 45 pounds and continue to lose weight, though a bit more slowly than in the beginning.  Just as importantly, all of our bio markers - cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar - have returned to normal, or near-normal.  

We feel great, have lots of energy.  I haven't taken a Prilosec since one week after giving up animal products!  As a consequence, we have no interest in going back to the Standard American Diet (SAD). 

And me?  I've rediscovered the joy of cooking.  In fact, I feel that  have finally learned to do real cooking, from real ingredients.  How to create textures and flavors without relying on meats, dairy, eggs, fat and off-the-shelf products.  Cooking from scratch requires more time and some days can feel like a chore, but  the time I spend in the kitchen definitely belong on the plus side of my balance sheet.

And there it is, folks.  One year - or at least most of the highlights of it.  Look for more soon.

Pura Vida

Mangosteen pod before opening.  

Can't you just see two little eyes and a button nose on this guy?