The state of Washington – at least the western side – is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful states in the U.S.  In Seattle you can immerse yourself in hues of green you thought existed only in paintings or heavily-photoshopped photographs.  There’s a reason they call it the Emerald City.

Have I mentioned green is my favorite color?

But of course on the flipside, there’s the rain.  It’s the blessing/curse that makes all the verdant beauty possible but, when preempted with continuous overcast, dull gray skies, can start to drag you down after awhile.

So far in this Costa Rica rainy season we’ve been very lucky.  It rains almost every afternoon, but that follows at least 5 or 6 hours of heavenly sunshine.  Except for the last 3 days.  Three days of clouds.  And it’s all thanks to Hurricane Matthew which, according to weatherstreet.com, is apparently heading toward Central America in a hurry.

In honor of our very own Hurricane Matthew, Jota (remember those guys?) put together a little something special.

At least the real hurricane is staying pretty far north of Costa Rica.

But anyway, the rain is fitting because someone left us this week – someone we will miss dearly.  And even though she left us for a better place – an island off the coast of Florida, to be exact – I think the significance of the fact that we’re not going to see her again before we leave here is only just now starting to sink in.

Meet our “host mother,” Judy.  We’re staying in Judy and her husband Gifford’s beautiful home while we’re here, and Judy has been one of the most gracious hostesses I’ve ever had the pleasure of mooching off of – err… staying with.

From her homemade hummus to her vastly better-than-mine beans ‘n rice, Judy has spoiled us rotten over the last 4 weeks sharing her delicious food, vast knowledge of holistic healing, exceedingly comfortable diggs, and, best of all, the pleasure of her company.

Erin and I imagined we’d one day have to share a tearful goodbye with someone on whom we’ve come to lean and ask for guidance, but we never, ever, ever imagined that she’d be the one to leave us!  The news came as a bit of a surprise and, as with all great relationships that eventually come to an end due to insurmountable circumstances, it might take us a little while to get over this one.

But we do have plenty to keep us busy.  With Hurricane Matthew spoiling our beach plans for the weekend, our friend Carla will be giving us some rainy-day cooking lessons.

We were too shortsighted to take advantage of that with Judy while she was here, and we don’t intend to make the same mistake with Carla.  Her “Tico food” is out of this world delicious, so stay tuned for some peeks at how she intends to fatten us up this weekend.