Thanksgiving 2012

Thursday - November 22, 2012

A Little Background
There are two special days during the year where Stef and I host a gathering of many wonderful people. They are:

• Thanksgiving - We started this annual event when we moved to Costa Rica to celebrate the visit of our great friends from Tennessee - Bob & Carol. It usually turns out to be a good time for everyone who attends.
• St. Patrick's Day - This is the celebration of the day Stef and I actually met face to face. For years we have had many parties celebrating this day. In fact, we have had as many as 200 people attend the event at our home in Nashville. This event is getting to be a pretty big one here at our home in Costa Rica.

When we built our home here in Atenas, we wanted to make sure that it would be a welcome and pleasant place for our friends to visit. In addition, we wanted to make sure that there was enough room for many people to have a good time. After hosting these events for the past few years, we really feel that we met our objectives.

Thanksgiving 2012 - Our 4th Annual Thanksgiving Celebration

 This event keeps getting bigger and bigger and we love it!! Two years ago, we had about 35 guests - Last year there were over 50, and this year - over 60 wonderful people joined us in celebrating a real US Thanksgiving Dinner with Turkey and all the fixin's.

All the tables and chairs were delivered the afternoon before the event and Pete was up early the next morning to start setting up the tables and then the girls took care of the rest. The red vehicle in the background is Ana Cecilia's Shuttle Service that brought all the people up to the house from the road where they parked their cars - As you can see, there is some planning that goes into having an event like this.

The Big Event began around 2:00 PM and people started arriving right on time. Within an hour, just about everyone was there. Look at the crowd of smiling faces:

Our neighbor Don and Ray with his CRWIFI guys who are instrumental in making sure we always have the internet up and running.

 Ursula chatting with Loek and his lovely friend.

Our neighbors and friends Peter and Nim

Stef chatting with . - Do you think she is plotting against me? :-)

Dona and Mary turning around to show us their pretty smiles.

Roxi  chatting with our friend who just became her new friend - Ron

Our wonderful Attorney Pablo and his close friend Valeria

This is our dear friend Mercedes

Yours truly with the "Sisters in Transition" Judy and Roxi who recently moved to Atenas from Portland, Oregon.

Me and my very Best Friend and Beloved Wife - My Stephanie

Dona and Bob from Ohio who have just finished traveling around Europe, but wanted to come back and enjoy Atenas again.

And, there is more..

And boy, did they bring the food!!! Take a look at this..

We had four 6' long tables set up for the food and they were all full from one end to the other. - You name it and it was there.







                                                                                                               




There were recipes from many parts of the world including some great new dishes from our new neighbors and friends from Italy - Look to your left in the big tray. Mmmmm very good!!

It was unbelievable how much great food everyone brought. This is probably the best food that many of us have ever eaten for Thanksgiving Dinner - Thank you Everyone!!!

And, last but certainly not least - The assortment of many tasty desserts where we had put them on our dining room table to make sure they were protected from many watering tongues.





Now, we cannot forget to mention some of the other people beside me who helped put this event together.
Stef, who worked her butt off on the food section of the agenda and our girl Elieth, who ended up spending a total of 12 hours today in getting things ready and the final clean-up. Camera shy were Liz who worked together with Elieth, Ana Cecilia - who handled the Shuttle Service in her usual efficient manner and Ana CC's brother Gerald who made sure the vehicles were taken care of. - Thanks to all of you!!

The event went on until about 7:00 PM - That night and the days after we got many emails from people to let us know how much they enjoyed the festivities. However, all we did was to supply the tables & chairs and a place to have the event - We want everybody to know that it was them that made this Thanksgiving another successful event

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!!!!

ADVANCE NOTICE - CHILI COOK OFF

Well, for some reason, Stef is now the Chairperson for the 2013 Atenas Chili Cook Off.  And, her and the committees are already working on the plans for this great event. It amazes me that the first one we went to in 2008 had 30 attendees - Now, the 2012 event had a gathering of over 1,000 people and they are expecting more next time. The objective is to double the money given to the children's cause in 2012, which was $5,000. That is big!!!

The date for the 2013 Atenas Charity Chili Cook Off is 

February 10, 2013

Stef  and her gang are really working hard to hit this big objective, but believe it or not, you would be amazed at the amount of support they are already getting. When it comes to supporting a great cause, the good really comes out in people. Some of the things they are looking for are:

NEEDS:

• Volunteers to help on the day of the event
• Local and international contributions (think I'm kidding? They had much of this last year)
• Suppliers who can contribute to help make the event bigger and better than last year - That- is going to be a tough one to beat.
• And, most of all - YOUR ATTENDANCE

M7.6 Earthquake - WOW!

September 5, 2012

This morning Stef and I just sat down to eat breakfast when it sounded like a train coming at the house. We both ran outside and things really started shaking, and there were white caps in the pool with water splashing out onto the stone patio around it. This shaking lasted what seemed like a 1/2 hr, but in reality was about 30 seconds by the time it stopped. I can tell you that it was pretty scary watching your house shake like ours did. Fortunately, this is usually taken into consideration when building a house here in Costa Rica - the footers of our house are 48" deep and reinforced with a lot of re-rod to secure it. When I checked for damage to our house and 3 others in the community that we watch for the owner's who are not full-time residents - none of them suffered any damage.

There are usually about 3,000 quakes a year here, but the majority of them are very weak and you don't even feel them. Since we have been living here, there are only two others that kinda' concerned us. However, today's event was a big one. This quake ended up at 7.6 magnitude - They originally thought it occurred off the coast in the Pacific, but later concluded it was below the land.

Below is the link to the map of where it happened ( the big square is the major quake and the smaller squares reflect the locations of several other smaller quakes). There, you will also find out a lot of information about the "little event" we had today.

 http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000cfsd#summary

To all of our friends and relatives:

Stef and I and the animals are all ok - however, think I am going to mix me a nice stiff drink. :-)

Should Have Named Him "LUCKY"

This is Ike. He is a stray cat that came with the property when we were building the guest house. At the time, he was just a half grown kitten. Ike had 7 brothers and sisters that we caught, then took to the vet to get them fixed and found homes for them. For some reason that I can't remember, Ike ended up staying here. He hasn't caused any problems for us in spite of being a little wild. Our dog Abby is always chasing him up a tree. I don't know why the cat just doesn't turn around and swat her across her nose and she would never do that again, but I think that he just likes to get chased by Abby.

This has been a very bad year for this poor cat. Earlier in the year, he was bitten by a snake. Then about 6 weeks after that, bit in the head by another snake where his head swelled to about twice it's normal size. Now, we are not talking about any snake here, we are talking about a Fer de' Lance. One of the most dangerous snakes in the world. If it would have bit Abby or us - we would have died. But, for some strange reason, cats are not affected that way. Our gardener Noel told us "just let him go and do what he needs to do and he will be ok in a couple of weeks" - Noel was absolutely correct.

Well, if the snakes weren't enough, it seems that Ike was recently hit by a truck. Although he lived through it, the inner side of his right rear leg was scrapped down to the muscle. It was not a pretty site. We had to catch him and take him to the vet where he ended up staying for several weeks - at a cost of $20 per day. This was because the only place we had for him at the time was the great outdoors and the vet was highly concerned about infections and the possibility he would lose his leg. We tried taking him home to take care of him and he escaped , but came back the next day. Then one of the apartments came available for awhile so he stayed in the Meow Hilton for about a week. Then he had to go back to stay at the vet's for another week. - He is now finally better and the leg is looking pretty good. The pictures here are both after all this has happened.

They say a cat has 9 lives. Well, it is an obvious observation that this cat has definitely used up 3 of them. Many of my friends say that we should have named him "LUCKY" - That is about as correct as you can get.

Don't look at me like that - I was just joking

He really is a great cat and good friend. And, believe it or not, Stef & I never really cared much for cats before, but things change.

Guess Who Had A Birthday?

August 9, 2012

Is a very special day for us. It marks the beginning of a new year for Stef because this day is her Birthday!!! As you know, this girl loves to party especially when she is celebrating a special event. This year, she did it in two stages - All in One Day!! - Keeping this in mind, I am going to separate this posting into two parts:

Stage One:
Since around the first of July, we have been honored to have the "Sisters in Transition" stay in one of our apartments while they are waiting for their permanent residence to be ready. Judy and Roxi pulled up stakes in the US, and decided to settle down in Atenas. They are a couple of great gals who are a lot of fun and we are rapidly becoming good friends.

Well, the morning agenda had Stef, Judy & Roxi, and Stef's good friend Cathy scheduled to run some errands in San Jose and Escazu. They ended up having lunch at our favorite Indian Restaurant - the...

As you can see there was some celebrating going on with the girls.

Starting on the left and going to the right around the table, we have Judy, Stef, Roxi and Cathy - Kind of looks like they are having a good time.

This is a sample of some of the food David had prepared for them, and they said it was wonderful.

And now, the Birthday Girl wishing all of you the best!!

Stage Two:

Now you didn't think that I wasn't going to help her celebrate did you? Well, I have got to tell you that with the help of our dear friend Mercedes, we had a pretty big dinner bash for her hosted at the Guanacaste Restaurant. I have to tell you that Mercedes went all out to make sure it was a big success.

We are very fortunate to have her as a friend

I sent out invitations to a bunch of friends and everyone I invited said YES, we are coming. It turned out to be about 30 people in total and Mercedes made sure the guys at the Guanacaste were prepared and had things set up. This event turned into a really great time. Click the arrow to check it out

Then there was the cake Mercedes baked for Stef - The kind our friends often say 

"This is the best cake I have ever put into my mouth"

And, there is me saying some nice words about my lovely wife.

WE HOPE THAT YOU HAD A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART

LOVE YOU!!!

An Article Worth Reading

Many of you know that I am not into the Political crap, but I really think that this article hits the nail on the head, and I just had to share it with you.

Charley Reese's final column for the Orlando Sentinel...
He has been a journalist for 49 years.
He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.

Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican nor anti-democrat. Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It's a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!

545 vs. 300,000,000 People

-By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

A not too funny Poem

This might be funny if it weren't so true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid...

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
'Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

And, The Different Taxes We Must Pay

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?  Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and; our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened? 
Can you spell 'politicians?'

I really don't have anything to add to this - it's obvious that the writer said it all.

Went to Our First Costa Rican Wedding

And, it was pretty neat.

Remember this couple?  These are our Tico friends Luis and Mercedes .They have been a big part of our life and also any event we have had, and are wonderful people. Luis is the contractor who saved everyone's butt when the infamous Pedro skipped off with all of our money.

Mercedes has been an absolute blessing for us. She speaks excellent English and helps us all the time with translating for us with many different people, including Luis when we have discussions regarding construction topics. In addition to this, she bakes some of the best pastries and cakes you will ever taste.

Well, this couple have been together for quite awhile, and finally decided to tie the knot. The date for the event was Saturday - May 26, 2012. One important thing to note is that this day is also the birthday of Luis. I think he liked the idea of an annual double celebration.

One thing that I want you to remember is that this is a typical Costa Rican wedding, and I sure wish I would have known about it years earlier. This is because I found you can have a great time, enjoy tremendous food and the marriage still takes place at a fraction of the price of what you would pay in the US. Just another great learning experience for us, and gaining more and more respect for the people of Costa Rica.

The wedding was scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM - This was according to the invitation Mercedes gave us. Being highly disciplined people from the US, we usually try to make it a point to arrive on time. However, we forgot that in the spirit of true Tico Tradition, the timing of this wedding was based on "Tico Time". The people of Costa Rica do not like to get excited and rush to things. This is probably why these people were recently voted being the "Happiest People on the Face of  the Earth" for two years in a row now. When we got there around 1:00 PM, we were about the only ones there and the crowd did not really start arriving until around 1:30 PM. This is the way the way the area looked about that time.

The wedding took place at a real nice secluded special event facility owned by the brother of Luis. The driveway to the reception building had to be at least 1/4 -1/2 mile long. It was in a beautiful secluded area surrounded by mountains and streams. The building was open and inviting and had all the facilities you would need for a very large party.





While we were sitting and waiting for the festivities to begin, Mercedes' oldest daughter brought around some munchies to chew on. Before we knew it, this really cute girl we didn't know decided to join us and  grab a little snack and drink for herself. She didn't say much, but Stef knew what she wanted and did not hesitate to accommodate her. This kid was a real sweetheart, and we really enjoyed her company.







Now, about 1:45 PM Luis and Mercedes pull up. Mercedes comes up to us and said that now she is still single, but getting married about 2:00 PM. Well, it took a little for that to happen :-)

Now we are starting to get a good crowd.

And, the bride-to- be who is not getting the least bit nervous

Now, it is time for the wedding - 2:35 PM

Luis and the two girls walk up first and await the bride to be

Here comes Mercedes lead down the aisle by her very proud Mother, and she has every right to be proud of her.

Now, the rest of the wedding party.

AND NOW - THE VOWS (CLICK THE ARROW)

It is now time for me to admit a big mistake - Would you believe that the video above took up all the room on the camera memory card - this meant that I couldn't take any more pictures of the festivities. However, I think that you will agree that I covered the most important parts of today's event. A couple of other things that I would like to say are:

• When the food was served, there were no waiters to perform this task - Our food was served to us by the Bride and Groom and family - I have never seen that in any other wedding I have attended, and think it was really a nice thing of them to do.
• As I said before, this was our first Costa Rican wedding that we attended. I can say one thing "It was simple / heartwarming / with a lot of friendly people who all had a great time. This proved to me that a lot of money spent really does not guarantee the same good time.

Thank you Luis and Mercedes for inviting us!!!

Stef Has a Very Fertile Garden

Remember the garden I had built for Stef last year?

Noel found some real good black dirt somewhere around the yard. Then he carefully mixed in coffee bean shells and rice shells into the dirt making for an exceptional growing mixture. Stef bought some organic vegetable seedlings from a friend of hers and my God - they took off in about a week.

Here are examples of her recent harvest!!

She also is growing pineapples in another area of the yard. Every time we have one, she cuts off the top and Noel places it in the ground to grow another one. Check out the size of this one.
















And, last but not least - Somehow we ended up with a papaya tree that just recently started bearing fruit. Here is a picture of the tree and an example of the fruit it produces.

Not bad for a City Gal learning how to farm. 

Me? I just sit back watch, eat and enjoy.

Our Pizza Maker - Finally!!

I am a lover of pizza's who usually takes a trip at least once a week to get a pizza for lunch or dinner.

Well, about a year ago, my friend Erhard sold me a really neat pizza maker. This bad boy can cook a delicious pizza in about 5 minutes.

The only problem was is that Stef, as hard as she tried, could not come up with a pizza crust that would work with this machine.

Now, things have changed - she found out that a large tortilla will do the job - to the left, you see an example of what she is now using.

Stef has come up with her own home-made pizza sauce and is starting to make a great pizza. She found a place to buy real pepperoni and all the other ingredients that I love to have on my pizza.

This is the result!!!

It is really Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!!! Now, I can have pizza just about any time that I want for a fraction of the cost - I can even invite all of my friends over for a pizza party. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm - Life is great here in Costa Rica.

bioTD Receives World Recognition

When I first told you about bioTD in my post of June 11, 2011 and how I thought this company was going to be a winner - I wasn't joking.

Remember Dr. Roy Mora? The guy who has helped me a lot with some medical issues? Well, he recently received a call from the Presidenta's Office telling him that he has been selected as the top scientist in Costa Rica and that they want him to go to this big convention in Geneva to represent Costa Rica and bioTD.

 (Dr Roy is in the middle of the picture to the right taken when they received the top Costa Rica Award for innovation.)

This is the result of what happened according to a recent letter Robin sent us.

"Finally.....bioTD attained another milestone in Innovation by being awarded the silver medal for our cervical cancer screening test at the 40th Inventors Forum in Geneva, Switzerland on April 20th, 2012. This event consistently gathers the top inventions [and innovators] from around the globe. We believe this is the first International Level Award for Innovation attained from a Costa Rican entity."

On another note - bioTD has signed contracts with two companies to introduce the bioTD products to the US market and the market in India. I was involved in the selection of these companies and they are going to do a great job so stay on the lookout for some great products.


In case you missed my previous posts about bioTD, it would be of benefit for you to see what this company is all about. These posts are:

January 11, 2012 

August 17, 2011

June 11, 2011

You may want to note the progress the company has made in less than a year! Will keep you updated

Coati Mundi - Another Strange Visitor

Yesterday afternoon, we had another strange visitor come into our yard. It is called a:

 Coati Mundi

(kow'aatee'múndee)

(picture taken from the internet to show example - Courtesy of Black Pine in Indiana)

Now, these guys are a member of the raccoon family. They eat both meat and vegetation. In spite of being part of the raccoon family, Coatis look very different - They sport a much longer snout, smaller stature, smaller eyes, shorter ears and longer hair. However, as a raccoon, the Coati Mundi shares a long tail marked with dark bands - One important thing to note is that they have very long and effective claws that can do a lot of damage to anything coming after them. You will soon see why this is one of my main concerns.

These critters like to climb high into trees and for some strange reason they can rotate their hind feet to make coming down from a tree head first much easier. They are also very fast and can run at speeds up to 15 miles per hour.

I have never seen an animal like this before, but they live in the US, Mexico, Central and South America. The females live in groups of up to 20, but the males are much more reclusive and stay to themselves.

If you are thinking of having one of these for a pet, forget it. They are not domesticated, and have no desire to be trained making them not an ideal candidate for your best friend.

Now - what happened yesterday:

• This creature was strolling across our lawn by the pool - I yelled to Stef to let her know what was going on - Abby also saw and began chasing it - up into a tree by the guest house.
• It climbed down and jumped to the ground and hauled butt with Abby chasing it -  and, almost caught it, which could have been very bad for Abby - THANK GOD!! Because that thing could have killed our precious dog with it's claws.

Anyway - it is gone now - and, I do not think it will want to come back with Abby guarding the house. - We found out that our friend Betty knows that these critters are hanging around close to her place that is only a couple of hundred meters from our house. - She has taken some pictures of which, I think you will enjoy - Take a look

This was really another great experience in learning about the wonders of Costa Rica - we do not mind these animals being here because it is their place to live as much as it is ours.

Here is a website that provides mucho information about Coati Mundi's. It also has some videos of how the animal interacts with humans. We think you will enjoy it.

http://www.squidoo.com/coatimunde

WWII Vet Receives Long Overdue Medals

When we built our first home in Brentwood, TN, This retired couple moved in next door to us. They were Dick and Judy Zartman who became close friends of ours. Even though at the time I was many years away from retirement, the guys in the neighborhood along with myself pictured Dick as the perfect example of what a retired man's life should be like and we all looked at him with envy.

Recently, Judy notified us of this event honoring Dick. You may want to check it out because is is something to be proud of.

WWII vet receives long overdue medals on Brentwood Home Page

Costa Rica Scores High in Happiness

This is an article taken out of the We Love Costa Rica website that shows once again that Costa Rica is a great place to live: Their website can be found by clicking the link below, you might also consider becoming a member because it is always up to date and has very informative information.

http://www.welovecostarica.com/Index.cfm

Jeffrey David Sachs is one of the youngest economics professors in the history of
Harvard University.

Sachs has written several books, he has been named one of Time Magazine's "100
Most Influential People in the World" twice and is one of the Editors of the March
2012 World Happiness Report in which Costa Rica ranks #1 for 'Average Life Satisfaction."

In an interview while meeting with Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla (1), in
New York City Jeffrey Sachs said:

"For those of us who know Costa Rica, we are not surprised that Costa Rican appears
so high on the (World Happiness Report) lists. Costa Rica is a beautiful and unusual
country after choosing over 60 years ago not to have an army, choosing a peaceful
direction and environmental sustainability. Costa Rica, definitely qualifies as one of
the iconic countries for showing the rest of the world how to do things right."

Why not come visit and enjoy a little Costa Rica happiness for yourself?

The 158 page World Happiness Report in .pdf format edited by John Helliwell, Richard
Layard and Jeffrey Sachs can be found in our Download Library at:

[ http://www.welovecostarica.com/members/programs/opendownloads.cfm ]

If you enjoy WeLoveCostaRica.com and our newsletter please forward it on to
someone you love ...

This is Pretty Cool

I was just informed that we had our first visitor from:

Republic of Macedonia

Would you believe that this is the homeland of all of Pete's relatives? - Pretty neat!

Welcome