Not really a great picture, but a decent likeness of the pretty sunset we had on Sunday after a day of generally not doing much. Steve surfed some with Brian while the gals worked on their tans. We had a nice beach-view breakfast as well. The weather was nice. Whew! Tough to get much more bland, isn't it? But there you have it, our Sunday.

Labels: photo

...but thought it might be of vague interest that we now have fast (er) speed internet at home.

It is advertised as 128K but when I went to the Cnet's bandwidth tester, it seems to think we are connected closer to 84.2K. Regardless, it is much faster than the nominal 56K that we had before five o'clock this afternoon.

Very exciting times here at the Broyles mansion.

I think that there was something else "interesting" about which I was going to write, but I seem to have forgotten.

I moved my studio out of the house a couple of weeks ago and into a real live commercial space. I am enjoying leaving the house to go to work in the mornings and being in town. Langosta isn't very far from Tamarindo, but without a car, it seemed a long ways, and I rarely got into town during the day for more than a few minutes once or twice a week.

Now, I often run into work, taking the very long way so that it's my normal 50 minutes, sometimes stopping by Steve's office to say "Hi", which means I often also see Matt, Brian, Kate, Carrie and BC as well. That's about as many people as I'd see in a week, and that's all before work!

Then off to the studio, which is about two blocks (if there were such things here) east of Steve's office on the same street. I usually get in before the Home store opens, but once it does, I see the owner, Rob, his wife and their assistant Katie. My landlord is usually somewhere around, as are his workers.

If I run in, I take a dip in the pool before I start work. Not a bad deal! Then someone usually stops by, or I head into town for a trip to the grocery store or for lunch with Steve or a friend. A huge change in my daytime social life!

The studio itself is upstairs above a slick new bike shop and across the parking lot from the aforementioned Home store, a laundry and a sandwich shop. Upstairs, above these businesses used to be a gym, but the space is now being turned into apartments. Should be good for the neighborhood and good for my business in terms of increased traffic. Not that I'm running a retail space. I see clients in the new space, but don't want to be a "shop". A working studio with stock to show clients is what I want, and so far, exactly what I've got!

There's a nice grassy area downstairs in front of the sandwich shop and Caly likes to play with the neighborhood dogs. It's a great place to take a little break and let her get some fresh air. She's been spending all her days with me in the studio and I think we both like it!

Labels: jewelry

Since we live in paradise, and a vacation town at that, we often have the opportunity, mid-week, to go for an afternoon catamaran ride. Boy, it's tough, but like they say, "Somebody's got to do it."

That's fine, we volunteer.

Brian's sister Heather had a birthday on Wednesday, so we all got on board a local 40' cat for an afternoon of snorkeling, food, music, drink and good friends. We find ourselves in this situation about once a month, give or take.

Like I said, it's rough.

My favorite spot is on one of the front trampolines where I can sit and enjoy my drink and the view, and lounge about with my friends. I could go into great detail about what we do on the boat, but really, I just did. It's a pretty mellow and enjoyable way to spend four or five hours of your day.

We do end up in the water at some middle point of the afternoon, goofing around, looking at pretty fish, taking silly pictures underwater with the cool housing Steve's got, posing prettily for the camera -- Brian you win this trip's award for best model!

Wave to the camera, Bb!	A blurry sea urchin.	Coral and algae	Blue-shorted Steve-fish. Fairly rare.
Matt's sister, also Heather.	Birthday girl with her parents	The sunset	Bb and Carrie on the Trampoline

We also had the added surprise of a sunset wedding on board! Two days before the boat trip, a couple who had spent the last seven years together decided to tie the knot. How romantic. Her two sons were there to watch and the entire crowd on the boat got teary-eyed. What a great place to get married!

Last trip we embarrassed the heck out of Donnie and Christi's pre-teen and teenage kids and their friends by DANCING -- in PUBLIC no less -- to silly old 70s songs and really getting our groove on. I think perhaps it was even more fun than our usual dancing sprees, knowing that we were the old geezers making fools of ourselves.

Labels: photo, sailing, wedding

I've been getting lots of guff for not responding to emails more quickly. My apologies as my server was down for nigh on two weeks, then I moved my studio to a commercial space. My computer did not make the move with me and I find that I lack the time and sometimes motivation to log on after I get home from work.

I sketched a quick schedule of my week for those aforementioned guff givers and at Steve's behest am posting it here. We love living here and wouldn't change our lifestyles for anything,(okay, my lifestyle for a week of no construction anywhere in town) but we do believe that perhaps our level of commitments is lost on those who don't live in a resort town where everyone is either visiting us for business or visiting us for pleasure. Both of which amount, generally, to the same thing. More damn boat rides!

Jocelyn's week:

Monday: Ran for 50 minutes, went to the studio, had lunch for about two hours with a client of Steve's who is now a friend of mine. Back to the studio then home for a quiet and quick dinner with Steve.

Tuesday: Studio for the day. Home early for take out pizza and mindless DVDs in bed!

Wednesday: 50-minute run, dip in the pool, at the studio until 1:00 p.m., then on the catamaran until sunset. Dinner at Dragonfly until 9 p.m. or so, then on to a new bar in town. Home before midnight!

Thursday: Into the studio, lunch with Steve where I learned about what projects he's got going. Short run home with Caly, quiet Thanksgiving dinner with unexpected, but thoroughly enjoyed guest. To bed around 11 p.m.

Friday: Standard run, dip in the pool, work at the studio, lunch from the grocery store, out to cocktails at 5 p.m. with a client of Steve's, then onto dinner. Home, thank goodness, by about 8:30 and straight into bed.

Saturday: Up at 6 a.m. (construction loud of course) and finally getting to email. Will go into the studio for a few hours, clean the house (I had to fire my maid), do the laundry, then most likely go out to dinner with "the crew" and then on to a close friend's 40th bday party at a local bar. Party doesn't start till 9 p.m. and will likely go later than we should. Oops! Forgot to mention that I need to make a cake for 40+ people somewhere in all of that!

Sunday: blissfully unplanned at the moment, but I'm sure something will come up!

Monday: Rinse, repeat.

Labels: jewelry

The weather yesterday was unbeatable for enjoying this coast: sunny but not too hot with cooling breezes coming in off of the water. Not so great for surf, but we had morning glass with waist- to chest-high sets that were just perfect for my new longboard.

This morning has been less pleasant so far- I was dragged out of a sound slumber at 4:45 when a client called (apologetically) because the shuttle bus that was supposed to arrive at 4:15 hadn't. We should stop for just a second to analyze that last sentence-- the great news is that we now have the option of a shuttle bus to the international airport located an hour away! Three years ago, when we first arrived, the closest international airport was five hours away and a shuttle to get there required at least two transfers and a taxi, meaning that one really had to spend the night in San Jose in order to catch an early-morning flight to the States.

But at 4:45 in the morning (still pitch black and drizzling rain) none of that really registered. Most of the thoughts going through Steve's head were even darker than the predawn ink outside as he drove into the office to get the cellphone number for the desgraciado shuttle driver (of course it was at the office... MOST of the time there is no need for predawn chit-chat with that particular guy). By five the guy had finally shown up, sparing Steve an early morning rally car trip to the airport- so we've got that going for us, which is nice.

Now, at six, I sit, trying to get some work done before we loose power on a scheduled blackout (they are repairing the high tension lines that bring electricity into our fair town) at eight. But instead of working, I'm sitting here enjoying the newest Jack Johnson album while typing up a journal entry and waiting for the coffee to kick in.

And that, my friends, is just a thin slice of the ups and downs, trial and tribulations, joys and sorrows, pleasures and pains.... that make up the Sandcruiser Story these days. Thanks for stopping by. More pictures coming soon.

November has been a tremendously busy birthday month. In addition to Steve's on the 16th, we've had another dozen or so to celebrate in November. The celebrations have ranged from a sunset sailboat ride to dinner parties, to an ice cold beer at a local bar- fun!
Speaking of fun- I got a new surfboard as part of a commission. It is amusing how much more excited I've been about the $900 board than I was about the much-higher value commission check- but it is tough to surf on a check (even tougher to deposit the board at the bank, I suppose).

The weather has been typically fantastic for November. Our seasonal rains are waning, the days are getting a little warmer, but still comfortable, offshore winds have started up, and the roads are getting some much needed repairs.

Jocelyn has a new studio in town- groovy, in that we now have a den instead of a workshop in our home, which means that the computers and camera junk and whatnot aren't in our main room anymore so it almost looks like a living space instead of a storeroom. The downside is that now we are feeling more and more inclined to buy more furniture and actually decorate the place, which adds substantially to our quality of life but is not so great for the pocketbook. Caly is enjoying Jocelyn's studio as well- there are a couple of friendly dogs who take their owners to work there and so far everyone seems to get along (both dogs and owners). Presumably there is some benefit to Jocelyn's business here too.... but I'll let her write about that.

Also in the camera this week- a police officer out for and evening stroll and one of the potted plants on our patio, catching sunset light.

Labels: garden

Ian and Steve went out on horseback to check out a property today. Great way to spend a long morning. As it turned out- there was a scheduled (though poorly announced) suspension of power service all morning anyway so the almost-a-half-day-off morning was about as productive as we could be.

the horses waited for us while we hiked up to an almost-dry waterfall	found this cool bug hiding within a dead leaf	even though the falls were fairly dry, the trees are still in full leaf, in another two months they'll be pretty bare
native aloe plant	more forest	Ian the horseman
pretty horses just hangin out

Labels: Costa Rica, day trip, photo, real estate

Ran across this online-- apparently a French filmmaker attached a camera to a Ferrari and had a professional driver friend drive downtown Paris at stupid-fast speeds.
Check out Metafilter for more information.

In other, slightly more crazy news, kids all over Kansas are about to waste hours and hours in school learning about absurd alternatives to the facts of evolution. This is a sad day for US education.

Labels: landcruiser

Wow. Take a look at Living-Jewels.com for some fantastic beetle photography. Great work of some truly beautiful subjects such as this one, from Costa Rica.

Labels: photo

Just wanted to include some pretty scenery, the journal was looking a little drab. Here are two properties that we are working on bringing to market. I'll let you know when they are available for purchase. Nice stuff.

Labels: photo

After another 4 till 9:30 after-work work session, Louie has all four corners lifted now. Very exciting stuff. Pictures are bound to come soon. The rear is still pretty jouncy, a little stiff for the lack of load that we are currently carrying. As soon as we move the drawer and roofrack over, we should feel a bit more comfortable. Adding in the auxiliary fuel tank will help too.

The only worry I'm having now is that without the bullbar and winch, the front end is already a touch on the low side. I guess the diesel weighs quite a bit more than the gasser motor. With a little time and effort, I'm sure we can work out a tad more support for the front end (and weigh down the rear as well).

The big test drive will be tomorrow on the way out to Playa Grande, sure to be a rough and corrugated road...

Before that, I've still got to head back out and install the front driveshaft (new flange necessitates some changes from the old cruiser) and I'd love to hook up the air locker in the rear. The aforementioned drawer and roofrack are priorities as well. Plenty of fun left to be had. Plenty.

Labels: landcruiser

So after a long day of slogging through chest high mud (we had horses, very unhappy horses, but at least we had horses) I came back to Tamarindo at about 3pm to check on the progress on the suspension swap that we are doing for Louie-- Sandy is losing her legs, Louie is getting them-- and much to my expectation, they hadn't done just about anything.

Despite really wanting to go home, shower and move on with my day, I decided to crawl under the truck(s) and help the mechanic to the job... At 10:20 Louie pulled out from the mechanic's shop with a near rear end. I'm guessing that the mechanic's estimate of "finished by tomorrow morning" might have been optimistic in light of the fact that with him AND me working on it, it still took seven hours to complete.

I intend to backfill the details sooner or later but in essence- the job was rough. Had to do a few extra things that we didn't expect. With minimal tools. And mosquitos.

But now Louie has about six inches of lift in the rear end and very saggy front end. Think "Scooby Doo Van" that's how I feel when I'm driving. Fun. Actually.... kinda fun.

Labels: Costa Rica, landcruiser, mud, travel