New Garden For Stef

Remember the garden Stef had? It was made of bamboo and regular wood. It didn't last long because some types of bamboo rot after two years and termites ate up the wood used for the beds. By the time it was done, it only took less than 1/2 hr to tear the entire thing down. We also had to set the wood on fire to get rid of the termites. If we didn't do that, then the termites were going to head for the house, and that would not have been a good thing.

Every time I looked that way and didn't see the garden, something felt like it was missing because I knew how much Stef enjoyed it. - I decided that while she was gone, that it was going to be re-built, and made in such a way that it would last for at least 20 years.

I got my man Biron, who is an outstanding welder to make the frame out of steel and weld it together on site. Then, I had him also make the platforms for the tables out out steel. We used Cedar for the boxes that set on the platforms.

It was finished just in time before Stef returned and the results were well worth the effort. Take a look..

With the construction phase of the project completed, Noel found some real good black dirt to put in the boxes. He also added charcoal, coffee shells and rice shells to the mix. Using all this, things are going to grow very good.

The green cover on the roof area is specifically made for this purpose and will allow 50% sunlight to enter the area.

This cost me a little more than expected because Biron got a little fancy with his welding artwork. Now, my friends who come to visit are asking me not to let their wives see it because they are going to want one.

Stef has the seedlings ordered and they will arrive tomorrow...

Stef leaves Costa Rica

September 27, 2011

Stef was pretty anxious to head to Tennessee. You can see how excited she was. When we usually go there, we take an aftenoon flight and arrive in Nashville around 10:00 PM. However, her flight was scheduled for 7:00 AM, which meant that I had to have her at the airport at 5:00 AM, which meant that I had to be up at 3:30 AM - Oh Well so much for getting a good night's sleep.

I got her to the airport on time and went with her to the check-in desk to see if her bags were not too much over-weight, and they were. One thing that our friend Johanna told her is that she takes a shopping bag with her and put the excess in that because a shopping bag is not counted for a bag or weight. This is something we should all remember for future airline travel.

She gave me a hug and kiss goodbye and headed for the gate.

There she goes 

After she took off - I headed home and went back to bed for a couple of hours. She was scheduled to land in Nashville early afternoon and my friend Bob would be there to pick her up.

The Ya Ya' Girls Invade Tennessee

Stef has been away from Tennessee for several years now, and had a desire to go back and see her friends and relatives. When she told me this, she said that she had planned a month's stay there I was a little shocked. Now, little did I know that the plans she made involved several real cool events - AND -  included the Costa Rica Ya' Ya' girls meeting her there for some fun times. Oh God, do you know what that means? An invasion on Tennessee that those town-folk in Nashville are not used to. I immediately emailed my friends there and told them to batten down the hatches because they didn't know what they were in for. (in the picture) Karolyn - CR, Guess who - CR, Kathy - CR, and Carol from TN who is going to have to put up with these girls.

I had no interest in going back to the States because with all that is going on there, I get depressed. In addition, someone had to stay here and take care of things while she was gone. Besides, it would give me a chance to relax a bit, but that never happened.  Because I do not have any idea of how to cook, Stef took several days and made me about a month's worth of food, which she put in the freezer for me. I do know how to microwave things :-).

The itinerary that she put together was pretty intensive:

• Meet with her twin sister Denise whom she hasn't seen in a few years.
• Get together with some of our friends in Nashville.
• Meet the Ya' Ya's and go to Gatlenburg for a few days at Charlie's mountain resort
• Go on the annual Fall Cruise at Center Hill Lake near Nashville and raise hell. (we were the founders of this event in 1993 - there were 3 boats involved - She said there were over 100 boats this year)
• Back to Nashville and see some more friends.

To put this all into one post would make it a book, so I decided to break it up into events on several posts. - Stage 1 is about to come - Stay with us, or her should I say.