We’ve been in Puerto Rico for the last week—Allysen a little longer than me—and it’s quite a change from the fitful winter weather of Boston. Here, it’s been warmer than usual for January, ranging up and down in the 80s. The house that Allysen’s parents built is as beautiful as ever, with about the usual number of things that need fixing. This time, though, I’m doing only minor fixing, and we have someone reliable (we hope) for the big stuff. Our friend Crystal has joined us again, taking a respite from fretting about the L.A. fires and worrying about the safety of her own home there. And…we brought our dog McDuff down with us! She seems to be really enjoying it. She gets much more time outdoors, and it really suits her.
For me, there was one big thing I couldn’t leave at home, and that was my need for extra oxygen, which has gotten more pronounced in recent months. I am just in the process of getting my O2 concentrator at home upgraded to a bigger, 10 LPM (liters per minute), machine, and I needed that here, too. My portables are enough to get by on for a while, but not enough to make life easy. It seemed to make sense just to buy a 10 LPM unit down here, and that I have done. But it took days of phone calls to accomplish the seemingly simple task of getting a prescription from the Brigham Lung Center. (Great docs, not a great system.) Also, the high cost of renting a car for months at a time finally drove us to buy a used car for the house. We now have a little 2018 Ford Eco Sport for getting around. Well used, but in good condition. 
Yesterday we drove to Yauco to see “Yauchromatics,” an art project literally painted onto the houses of a neighborhood, quite lovely.
This evening we enjoyed a sunset dinner at the café at La Cruceta, the enormous cross at the top of the hill overlooking Ponce.
Tomorrow I fly back to Boston for some medical appointments, and will stay long enough to attend Boskone. Then I’ll come back to rejoin Allysen, McDuff, and various visitors at Casarboles. More to follow.
Laurel S Oswalt
So glad to see you both with your furry friend! Glad you could make the trip!!! The scenery is amazing!!! Hope your trip back is uneventful and health issues taken care of in Boston. Say hi to the rest of the crew!!!