Susan’s Got a New Name

Did you remember Cheers? The bar where “everybody knew your name?”

I loved that show. No, I’d say it was almost religion. (I’m being satirical here.) I didn’t miss an episode. And, I felt like a regular when I placed myself on the couch to watch it every week. I was so sad to see it go, but I forged on.

When I arrived here nine years ago, Costa Rica was my Cheers. I worked for years to develop a neighborhood, “regulars,” a system, and a routine where I felt at home. Many began to know my name.

My show was cancelled. Like Frasier, Ted, and Carla, I found myself written out of the script I had written. In other words, in a matter of very short time, I became a single mother in a foreign country, and of course as many of you know, my son has Down Syndrome.

How did all this happen so fast? This is not as important of the new
life ahead of me.

So, I’ve developed a “spin-off.” There are a few new characters in my play, and a few old familiar faces. My name has changed, but really, I’m still the same. With a few changes to the script, the stories will continue. I’m staying in Costa Rica, and “belly-ing” up to the bar for the new and exciting episodes.

By the way, instead of Susan Carmichael, you can now call me Susan Lutz.

Thanks for tuning in.

Getaway Weekend and Bird Watching Pt 2

I was so tempted to go back and change my last post promising Part 2 for the next day… but I figured someone would bust me in about two minutes… so here is PART TWO. Sorry for the delay… my BLOG was not displaying properly and I chose to update it before posting again. Not sure if this was necessary as most of my readers get updates by email or by RSS… but it makes for a good excuse.

On we go…. Part 2

Continue reading »

Costa Rica Cinema and Bras

Most YouTube films get hundreds, usually thousands of hits. Mine? Of the two films I’ve made, one got 20 hits (that’s up from 8) and the other got 88.

This is not a call for millions to log on and watch my films – little ditties about life and Costa Rica – rather, I am just fascinated at what we watch and what we’ll spend time filming. AND – that someone else will spend time – the finite time he/she has on this planet – watching all of this.

91,361 people viewed: How to fold your bra.

Magic? Think Again got 85667 hits. It’s about water and whiskey trading places in a glass.

T-shirt folding got 171,448 hits.

Joshy, a boy with Down Syndrome got 9615 hits.

Mookie and Sam (EP2) got 1,204,040 hits.

I can apply logic to the films and guess to some extent why people choose to watch a women with big Continue reading »

You’ll Have to Get Used to Ants

One day, my son flung a glob of chicken – chicken was our best guess – on the wall. In less than ten minutes, streams of the itty-bitty ants emerged from some crevasse in the wall and began to attack. As an experiment, we left it. It took two full days for these ants to dissemble the glob and take it to their nest.

Millions, and I don’t think I am exaggerating, of itty-bitty ants have made themselves known in my house. Once content to stay in the depths of the cement walls, they now scurry up and down my walls and Continue reading »

Mouse Saves Family from Invader Bug Attack

I was ashamed. I couldn’t speak of my family’s problem. I was ashamed our home and all living things in it had been overtaken by fleas. My pets were in agony. Their soft bellies were bitten, bloody, and scabbed. The scratched constantly, and so did I. The fleas thought my husband’s midsection a delicacy; my ankles a treat.

Buddhists believe in the sacredness of every living creature including fleas, leeches, and mosquitoes. I try to live in harmony with the insects that appear on my walls and floors. Since we live with our doors open year around, Continue reading »

We Rock in the Jungle

Addison has discovered rock and roll. Coco got a CD from a birthday party of some oldies. Addison does not like to eat food with me, he prefers the good stuff, the mother’s milk. But, he’s also started a nasty habit of biting down. And, as one would imagine, this hurts.

To divert his attention from me, we turn on the rock and roll. Addison sits in front of the CD player and wiggles his hands in the air, claps, and scoots. Today, he figured how to turn up the volume.

So, Elvis and the Beach Boys live on – right on into the jungle.

That’s What It’s All About

It’s not raining at my house. Thus…it is hot!

Everywhere I go, there is rain. And, I love the rain! But, we still have the winds, which are incredibly annoying, and constipated rain clouds that hover over the house in the afternoon.

As I drove home the other day, each town I went through was being soaked in rain. It was gorgeous and smelled like life starting all fresh and shiny and new. I could see our neighborhood ahead, and sure enough, Continue reading »

Sand Dollars Bring in Gold

The beach was calm; the waves subdued. It was easy to walk up to our ankles and knees in the water. More shells than usual were on shore and Coco was stuffing her bag with shiny finds. Then we came along a sand dollar. It was white and had a perfect imprint of the animal, which looked like a flower, in the middle. I only remember seeing a sandollar once in my life, and it was dipped in gold and I wore it as a necklace.

When we got back to our house, Coco told the nanny about our find. The nanny couldn’t believe our luck.

You are so lucky Coco! She said. My mother told me Continue reading »

I’m No Puzzle Master

Sudoku is taking the country by storm. It’s all the rage. I can’t do it.

For Christmas, my husband got a puzzle-a-day pack of Sudoku. He had no interest in it. I latched on to the gift and though I’d finally found the missing piece to my crossword puzzle fix.

And, I’m not that good at crossword puzzles, but once and awhile, they’re fun. I knew one would be available everyday in the daily newspaper. Now, we don’t get a daily English newspaper, and I certainly am not going to attempt a crossword in Spanish.

I sat down, got my pencil and Continue reading »

Then, the Other Car Goes

So this other car we have, a little French van you can’t get in the States, choked in the middle of driving. The power went out – usually on the freeway. Needless to say, we’ve had it in many, many tallers – garages. No one could find the problem. We lived with the problem on and off for three year. Then, another problem began: it would take about 30 minutes of turning the key before the engine started. Problem was…. Continue reading »