Sunday afternoon

I'm hiding on the deck of the institute. It is a quiet pretty place away from the hustle and hustle of three kids, friends, food preparation, laundry,intermittent internet, 3 dogs and a husband who is always late and is just now at 2 pm on Sunday deciding to mow about an acre of lawn with a weed wacker.  

This morning was Sunday Meeting and there were lots of visitors. A group from Ohio who are interested (studying) in sustainable agriculture but don't compost their food at the college they attend, nor do they recycle.  Hmmmm. They were surprised that everybody does it here and were even more surprised to learn that we do it in Canada. Those oddities aside I'm finding it very helpful to have silent meeting 2x a week. Don't know whether it's the community and/or the structured quiet but there is a spirituality coupled with kindness and compassion here that is quite unique. Goes with the ecosystem I think.  

Other news. One of my favourite kids,  Nathaniel took me around back if the meeting house to see a Toucanette pair and then announced that March is the month that coral snakes hatch and that Fer de Lance snakes sometimes chase you.  All this after a sleepless night from dreaming about scorpions and a 3 am earthquake. Wow. No wonder I am hiding. 

And, of course, Friday afternoon I played Scrabble with the older Quaker ladies and retired gentlemen. Lots of tea, coffee and sweets. No vino tinto for that crowd. 

My gang picked me up at 4 and off we went to Hotel El Mirador de San Gerardlo

to see he sunset over the "backside" of Mt Areal. It felt like we were high in the Alps, complete with a lodge with charm and a breathtaking view. All that was missing were the cows with bells. 

This is Mt Arenal and the lake

This is a traditional Costa Rican stove at one end if the lodge. Heated the place for which we were grateful because a rainstorm blew through. 

Tomorrow starts another week.