I'm home! I had a fantastic trip and will do my best to post some stuff in the next few days. Internet access was so sketch there, I bought a notebook and kept a written journal.

I´ve been here for just over a week. I´m really not spending a lot of time on the internet so will just give a brief overview.
The town I´m in, Dominical, is basically a surfer town. I arrived about 2 weeks before the big tourist season (spring break) so it´s been pretty quiet at my hotel and in the surf camp. Worked out well, having an instructor to myself. So the week broke down like this.
Day One was all about the simplicity of surfing - you have a board, a wave, you stand up and you surf. We spent the afternoon at in the whitewater at Dominical. There are two rip currents at this beach so it was interesting to finally be able to see what that´s all about from beach level. I did well, and was really pumped about the rest of my lessons. Just thinking that if I had never taken up paddling, I would never be able to do this.
And if day one was all about the simplicity of surfing, day two was all about learning to respect the ocean. My instructor Raymond took me over to Dominicalita - a smaller beach in a protected bay. No whitewater surfing here - the waves were 4-6 ft and I got my ass kicked on a couple of them. Wiped out on one wave and as I was standing up, got taken down by the next one in the set. Tumbled, dragged across the bottom of the ocean, came up on the wrong side of the board and got a good crack in the quad. Learned some good lessons on this day!

First, just want to update on two multi-bypass surgeries on men who are so loved by all who know them.

My cousin Graham is finally through the worst of it and has miraculously done it without brain damage or other (predicted) bad stuff. Let's face it, a few days ago, they were saying another hour of life would be a blessing.

And Daddyo, just 16 hours after his 7 bypass surgery was on the phone and talking with the family.

Both these men are so good at their core and have engendered so much love in those who know them, this has only strengthened my belief in Karma and the power of love.

I have a ton of stuff to write about Costa Rica and photos to upload - unfortunately, the internet here is so slow it times out before I can get even one photo up. Lots to tell! I can pass along this though...weather forcast is sunny, mostly sunny, sunny, more sun....well, you get it.

Well, I'm in Costa Rica. The flight was great, we got in early and my driver was waiting after I cleared customs with a sign pressed up agains the main window. It's a 4+ hour drive from the airport in San Jose to Dominical but I was so pumped to be here it didn't matter. Jony, the driver, speaks some english (lots more than I speak spanish) so we were able to communicate a bit but for the most part it was a pretty quiet ride. We stopped partway across the mountains at at a resaurant where I had what will be my first of many plates of rice and beans and chicken. It was fantastic though for only 3,000 colones (1$C = 555 colones). And I didn't realize how hungry I was until I put the first forkful in my mouth.
I'd forgotten how bland Canadian chicken is for the most part. I will sometimes buy free-range at the St.Lawrence Market just to get that true chicken flavour. It tastes amazing here.
We didn't get to Dominical until about 7:30 and by the time I unpacked and cleaned up a bit it was almost 9:00. I had a corona at the hotel bar and then walked around the corner to the soda. I'm too tired to bother with food. I picked up a 6 pack of Imperial beer and pringles. I got a little packet from the green Iguana Office. It has a bunch of meal vouchers and a schedule of the surf excursions. The tide progresses by 45 minutes every day so it changes. Plus we go to different beaches. I'm pretty excited.
My first session will be at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon which is great - I can use a sleep-in. My cousin Graham is still struggling so I've been a little anxious. They had to put him in a temporary state of paralysis to get him to stop fighting the equipment and staff.

From today's Globe & Mail Re: Mike Schaus

No news came through the night and I expected the worst this morning. I was surprised to see that his daughter, my cousin Susan, had posted a message on Facebook shortly after midnight asking friends to pray for a miracle. He is still in this!

This morning at 9:30, more than 24 hours after he went in for surgery, I received a text from Susan. Unbelievably good news! Graham's made it through the night. His heart stopped for 2 minutes sometime during the night (I guess that was the code blue) but he's still in there, fighting for his life. He's developed a slight fever so they have fans all around the room. I called Susan right away. She understandably sounds strung as thin as wire but is hopeful. Enough so that they were able to convince her mom to go back to a friend's to get a few hours sleep.

I guess this is when religious people would pray and it would be so much easier to have that outlet. Instead I'm sending all my love, good thoughts, calm, regular pulsing thoughts towards Saskatchewan.

I'm waiting to hear news about my wonderful cousin, Graham Taylor, who is out in Saskatchewan. He went in for bypass and valve reconstruction surgery thrusday morning at 9:00am.

At 4:00pm he was out but by 5:00pm he still wasn't stable. His heart wouldn't maintain a steady beat and his blood wouldn't coagulate.

By 8:00pm they were working on him and wouldn't let the family in to see him.

At 10:00pm they were using the paddles for a third time but he wasn't responding. Currently they are in a full code blue (I don't even really know what that means except that in hospital shows it's really bad) but I think it's complete heart failure. He's already had two other triple or quadruple bypasses in the last few years. Susan says they did 6 bypasses this time (is that even possible?) and reconstructed a valve.

He's also got an old surgical scar that runs straight down the centre of his chin. That's from when they split his face open to remove a tumor the size of a baseball from his throat back in the 90s. Seriously, it was huge - when you looked in his mouth, it looked exactly like a baby was crowning and about to be born. Basically, this guy is a survivor. I can't imagine him losing this fight.

He's actually my mom's cousin so he's about 74 years or thereabouts but he's ageless. Intelligent and funny, he's a bull of a man who ran his farm on his own up until a couple of months ago when he and his equally dynamic wife, Isabel, finally decided to move into town. He's written a number of books, had a regular column in their local paper and was minister of tourism for the Saskatchewan Legislature. Well-travelled and educated, they lived in Hong Kong throughout his cabinet posting, raised their younger kids over there before returning to Wolsely to continue his political career locally and take care of the farm. I can't imagine not being able to pick up the phone and call him so we can discuss Canadian politics and laugh at my 80 year old uncle Max with his steady stream of 30 & 40-something girlfriends.
I will wait.

Just a couple more days before I'm out of the cold and wind!! Three weeks in Costa Rica is the best cure I could think of for this winter of my discontent. And when I get home it should be spring...

One day last week, I think it was Friday, it was incredible in the morning +9, but the temp fell steadily over the course of the day until it was -25 in the evening.

I had dropped by Jackie and Blake's in the evening (missed Sydney who was already in bed) and got home shortly after midnight. I heard a loud bang from my bedroom. I went upstairs and heard a couple more loud bangs before deciding it was just the house timbers cracking. All that moisture generated by thaw and then extreme temperature drop.

I spent Saturday morning at the nail place in Credit Landing - personal maintenance. It's been ages since I've had a pedicure. Transforming into my summer self!