No Gas!!!

Argh!  I ran out of gas! 

I use propane gas from a small tank for cooking, and *love* it!  But I was always paranoid about running out of gas in the middle of cooking - after all, when else would you run out of gas?  So, about a year ago (or was it two?), I got a second tank.  The *idea* was to always have a full back-up tank.  When the one in use became empty, I would switch tanks, and *immediately* call the gas guy to give me a refill.  One tank usually lasts 3 months.  Well, I kept my empty around just a little too long this time, and last night (Sunday, the one day the gas guy does not deliver), my dinner was nearly done, and ... phft!  No gas. Luckily, I have a microwave, and the dinner was nearly cooked, so we got to eat...

I let Pura Vida get the better of me - but then Pura Vida took care of me too :-)

---- if you need cooking gas ----
Tropigas delivers (to many places, but not all) Monday - Saturday, 7am - 7pm.  Their free servicio express center is 800-876-7442.  They exchange your empty tank for a full one, and charge the going rate for the gas (currently just under c9000 for a 25# tank).  The first time you call, they get all your pertinent information (phone number, address, needs, etc).  The next time:
- you say you want servicio express
- they confirm your address (based on the number you call from, which they can see)
- they tell you the price, based on your last order
- you tell them what bills you will pay with (so they will have the correct change)
- they will give you a time estimate; mine has been delivered anywhere between 15 minutes and and hour and a half
- I always ask if the guy can test the tank(s).  The last time, he tightened my regulator valve for me :-)
- *Immediately* bake some cookies to make sure everything is working right...

Asian Groceries to Your Door

If you enjoy Asian cooking, you will *love* "Super Sony" in San José! It is an Asian market *full* of delightful foods - prepared sauces, spices, dried mushrooms, interesting candies, umpteen types of rice, wasabi, fresh eggplant, tofu, soy cheeses...

If you need chopsticks, steamers, soup spoons, or whatever, they have that too. Oh! and an *enormous* wok! at *least* a yard in diameter - c75.000 and it's yours!

For my friends living in Costa Rica who can't (or just don't want to) get into San José often, this joy will take your grocery list via phone or email, and send your goodies to you - anywhere in the country! While you would probably want to make at least a first trip in to see what is possible, all you need to do* for deliveries is:
1) call or email your list (English or Spanish) to Carolina:
22.21-12.48
or
carolina REMOVE_THIS [at] supersony [dot] com
2) they will reply with a price and date available, and money transfer info
3) transfer money to them
4) wait for you goodies to arrive!

* my caveat - I haven't done this, since I live near enough (and don't need stuff that often)

To get there, go 350 m South of the National Theatre on Calle 3. It's on the left, between Ave 8 and Ave 10.

I went today, and this evening's dinner was a fabulous Chicken and Veggies in Garlic Black Bean Sauce - to die for!

Assorted Tasks

I've had a few assorted tasks hanging on, and I finally got them done (whew!).

- updated my brownie recipe post! Many thanks to Eleonora for correcting my Spanish!

- got my kitchen gas refilled. I have 2 canisters, so I never have to worry about running out of gas part-way through a meal (or cookies! what a disaster that would be!). *But!* I waited so long to refill my primary, that my back-up tank was threatening to die. So much for "the system." Always before, I had lugged the empty canister to the grocery store, and taxied back with a full one. Sometimes the grocery story didn't have one, so I had to return. Ugh. This time (!!) I tried calling Tropigas directly - they have a home delivery service that is *excellent!* Wish I'd known about it earlier... Basically, any time between 7am and 7pm, Monday through Saturday, you can call 800-876-7442. They will take your address and phone number, ask what size tank, tell you the price (same as in the stores), ask what denomination of cash you will pay with (so they can bring the right change), and show up *soon!* My guy came within the hour!

- talked to a guy about building a kitchen island. Our neighbor is replacing her tile (noisy, ugh), and her contractor is good. So, we'll see what he can do - he's pretty busy though, so I don't expect he'll be able to do anything for a while.

- inquired about a housekeeper. Hopefully, we'll talk to her on Tuesday, and have a clean house forever more :-s.

- checked up on my permanent residency. No-go; need to call back next week. sigh.

- got art supplies! After scoping out Lehman's on Tuesday, I went back after my trial run to Sabana Sur, and got **stuff!**

November 29, 2007 - Shopping for Unfurnished House

Wow! We are almost done getting STUFF for the unfurnished apartment!

Unfurnished here means - no (NONE!) appliances or cabinets in the kitchen. A kitchen is defined by a room that has a sink and an electrical connection for a stove - no more.

We moved in Saturday, expecting that at first we could just sleep and shower at the apartment - no problem; we had air mattresses, and we went right out and bought sheets and towels. Our next step was to be able to cook, and finally we wanted to be able to relax and to have company.

--- continued ---

A friend dropped by on our moving day, and lent us a shower curtain and mosquito netting - whew!

We wanted to get a bedframe that could be either two twins or one king, so we contacted a furniture maker and got a quote. Yikes! For a simple platform w/ one side left off, no fancy wood or stains, he wanted $120 each - $240 total! We said we'd think about it. We went to some local furniture stores to see what they had. We saw regular platform bedframes for less than half that amount. We ended up buying a wooden table with 4 chairs and a rocking chair. We decided that being able to sit was also pretty important for our first few days... One problem that we didn't anticipate is that the table didn't quite fit through out door and up the stairwell :( - the delivery guy did finally get it in place, but it got scraped up. We'll have to get some sandpaper at some point and do what we can.

Immediately after that major "oops." we measured the narrowest part with some string - we carried that around with us for the rest of the furniture trips.

After visiting the furniture shop, we headed to Pali for kitchen and cleaning supplies. Got all the important stuff, and then found that they had a nice section of sheets and towels (much cheaper than where I got ours, but also not as thick - I *almost* kicked myself...). Other things we got there - pillows, plates, glasses, silverware - so *now* we are already *way* ahead of where we were in Orosi! We have *four* of everything! I also got one blanket - it is very thin, almost like a thick tablecloth. Since our kitchen has no real counters, we are keeping our dishes in the dish drainer next to the sink - it works pretty well.

So, for the first couple of days, we're sleeping on the floor in the living room. But we have a table and some chairs! We're in the living room because it is the only room that is private - we have no curtains yet... Now curtains! Wow! We went to the ferreteria for metal pipes to hang them on (this time we used the new laundry line as a measuring line). Then we looked for the material - I think I made a mistake going to Llobet's (a high-end department store) for the towels and sheets; the Pali had much cheaper versions. But, we went back to Llobet's to find curtains - none looked like they were heavy enough to give some privacy; we looked for single sheets to hang instead - only sheet sets. I kept thinking about those thin blankets in Pali - as a test, we put one up in the bedroom, and got to move our beds in where they belong :D. That worked well, so on our next trip to Pali, we got a enough for all three big windows. Note: two good things to travel with are a packet of safety pins, and a small sewing kit.

Now - how to get cooking! We'd been glancing in at the electronics/appliance stores, and (as we remembered) stoves and refrigerators are *expensive*! We had heard about a used appliance store, but when we got there, it was only new stuff. So we hit craigslist and the papers. And we adjusted our thinking.

We decided on a three-burner gas stove (just the top, no oven). These run about $30. Then we got the hose and regulator for a few dollars more at the ferreteria. (We asked 3 or 4 people where one was close to where we were; they all pointed us toward the same area, but we were blind and couldn't find it. We knew where another one was, and went to it instead. Later, we finally found the other one...) Then we had to arrange for gas (you know, so we can cook with gas!). The supermarket is where many people buy the gas (c9,800) and cilindro (c18,000). But we needed to find a way to get it delivered up our stairs. So we looked around some, and asked around some. We got two good leads - one that delivers to a restaurant (c9,000 for gas, and c18,000 deposit for the can), and one that delivers to various people in the neighborhood (c8,500 for gas, c9,000 deposit for the can - used, but usable). In either case, the deposit could be turned into a purchase. Rick arranged for the latter, and they met him at the apartment in less than 20 minutes! They even connected the hose, regulator, and stove! Now we just have to call them when the gas runs out, and they exchange it for us - nice!

We were looking for a fridge - thinking very small, but hoping for somewhat larger. We heard of one from a friend that might be for sale, and found another posted on craigslist. But then another friend offered to *lend* us one! Wow! We found a mover, and brought it home ($30). And it FIT! The next morning, two days shy of a week in our new home, we made breakfast! Ahhhh.

A bit later, we finally decided on bedframes - we got two twin metal tube frames (green), had them delivered, and then we set them up. Finally we're off the floor! We're using our big suitcases as night stands, one of the totes as an end table, and the smaller suitcases as temporary kitchen shelves. The table-top stove is outside the kitchen door, set up on the laundry sink. Pretty soon, we need to get shelves in the kitchen - we're thinking of the college answer of cement blocks and boards...

One thing that caught me off guard - everything is done with cash. I haven't had to worry about carrying the right amount of cash in so long - at the end of it all, I definitely knew the phrase in Spanish for "I'm not sure if I have enough money with me - can I get subtotals please?"

I can't imagine trying to do this without friends who have been through it all themselves. One knew of and contacted several people for us for moving, for deliveries, for housing. One knew of the best place to get furniture and supplies. Several had kept items for us from previous trips and brought them back to us when we moved. Several lent us items for the duration. All had excellent suggestions for so many things. And all of them kept us SANE! THANK YOU!!!

Dining In

We had food delivered – we had help with that – you have to be able to tell them the “address” (no street numbers; you use descriptions and distance from a landmark), and you have to tell them what bill you will pay with (they bring exact change only). Then you listen for a honking horn and go outside to flag them down – it is a pretty efficient system, given the circumstances.