Month: March 2024

Yesterday (Wed.) I did the Alto Lino loop with my Panama Pals. We did the usual 5.3 miles and then went to Basar’s for lunch. I’ve been hearing about this place since I first arrived. I was supposed to go with Betty one night, but I think it was right after her accident, so we didn’t do it. It is now one of my favorite restaurants in Boquete. The owner’s name is Ofir. He is Israeli. I believe this is his first restaurant. It’s a little bit out of town on a difficult road, but Barbara’ ‘s a trooper. If she were in the military, she would have driven a tank.

The way this group lunch/dinner works is that you just let Ofir know how many are in your party, and he makes all the Middle Eastern basics – to perfection! Everything is incredibly fresh and flavorful: chicken shwarma; hummus; babaganoush; tabbouleh; shredded carrot salad; falafel; a mixed red onion/garbanzo/tomato salad; and pita bread. The dessert was baklava, and peanuts coated in vanilla or chocolate. And the wine wasn’t bad either.

We hung out in Debra’s apartment for a while after lunch, and then Barbara dropped me off at the Stone Cabins, where I met The Gang for their usual Wednesday night drumming. I usually don’t go because of the transportation issue, but I decided to attend for one last goodbye. I was happy that Gloria showed up. It was the first opportunity I had to sit and talk to her.

She’s been through a bit of hell in the past year. She had to go home last year because of heart issues. She ended up having surgery. She recuperated well, but just before she returned to Boquete, she discovered that the tenets in her house didn’t want to leave. They even changed the locks! They also made some changes inside the house. Unbelievable. She finally got them out, but also discovered that her former handyman had not been keeping up her payments on things, as instructed, and was instead pocketing the money – apparently because he had a sick wife.

Gloria sounded happier last night. She now has a 78-year-old man living in the apartment that I used to live in. They have an agreement that he will keep up with the maintenance and management of her house and apartment in exchange for reduced rent. He also drives her wherever she needs to go. Sounds good so far. I hope it continues to work out. Gloria said she plans to continue making the trip back and forth from Boquete to her home in Vinalhaven, Maine until she is 80. So she has two more years. She’s a very strong woman.

As I was leaving Stone Cabins to catch a taxi home, I realized that I left my keys in Barbara’s car. Luckily, my neighbor, Valerie was home and let me in the gate. This morning, I sent Barbara a text letting her know that I left my keys in her car. She said she would be right over after her hike with a new neighbor, Liz. Of course, she came immediately, but we then discovered that my keys were not in her car. I know that I dropped them into the little cup by the door handle. Not there.

I told Barbara that I would look for them later. Right now I wanted to get to the library for Mark Heyer’s presentation on AI. So I handed my backpack over the top of the gate to Barbara, and I climbed up the cement garbage structure on the side of the gate. It was a little tough because, on the very top of the wall, metal spikes were sticking up. I managed to squeeze my butt between two of the spikes, swung my other leg over, and Liz and Barbara helped lower me to the ground. I can just hear Dan’s voice if he ever witnessed that scene! And I certainly hope Linda doesn’t hear about it. Jerry – mum’s the word. Although Valerie may tell her. Or, she may hear it from the young Ngöbe woman who was eyeing us suspiciously from the road, even though Barbara tried to explain to her that I live here. I never know if Ngöbe understand Spanish, especially Barbara’s…:). I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.

Mark Heyer’s presentation on AI was mind-blowing. I always knew him as “the computer guy” in Boquete. I had no idea of his extensive background. He started working for Sony in 1980. They didn’t even know what to tell him to do, so he winged it. He also worked on the first prototype of the iPad and has given talks at schools like Harvard and Yale. He is very excited about AI and is a well-organized and stimulating speaker.

The things Mark spoke about are all things that Ray Kurzweil has been forecasting for many years in his books like The Singularity is Near and The Age of Spiritual Machines, and now they are coming to fruition.

This is an excellent video that encapsulates what Mark was presenting. This has all happened in the past two weeks since NVIDIA introduced what is called the Jetson Thor computer, which will run robots. Truly amazing.

One of the most fascinating predictions of this technology is that eventually companies will be saving and making so much money by using robots instead of humans, that they will pay the humans to stay home. I think that this is what is being called guaranteed universal income. I asked Mark what the incentive would be for companies to do this, and he said that there would likely be legislation created that would require companies to do so And companies will be so wealthy that they will comply. What a change in our economy.

Also, humans will be able to communicate with animals!

After my visit to the library, I went to Glow Up for a pedicure. I’m ready for spring in Wisconsin.

Long story short on the keys: After bugging everyone – including Barb searching Debra’s apartment, Debra calling Orif to see if I left them on the table, and Barbara and Murray again scouring Barbara’s truck, I discovered them in the bottom of my larger backpack as I was unpacking some groceries. I was looking for them in my smaller pack, thinking I was using that yesterday. Oh well. All’s well that ends well. I hope it’s ended.

So, my final week. Many people would be happy for just a week in this paradise, and I’m feeling a bit melancholy. I enjoyed my last visit to the Tuesday Market.,” I’m listening more closely to the birds: “Your Kids are Here!,” “The Helicopter Bird,” Ha! He started up just as I typed that! Hearing the roosters crowing, the dogs barking, the occasional gunshot. That’s my Boquete.

I’m going on a hike tomorrow with the Panama Pals (Debra, Barbara, and Barb). Then we are going to a new Israeli restaurant for lunch. I’m looking forward to that. I was hoping I could make it to that restaurant before I left. I told Debra a while ago to find out what wine is Barb’s favorite. Barb lent me a pair of hiking poles, so I wanted to say thank you. They were a godsend. Lesson learned: Make the effort to pack mine. So, Debra was a very good detective and told me that she overheard a conversation between Pascal and Barb. They were waxing lovingly about something called Pastis. I found it locally, at El Dorado, and Kathy Rutz, who lives upstairs from there, picked it up for me. I thought it was a wine, but I have since learned that it is an aperitif. I learned this from Louise while at Las Lajas. She was in the wine business. I’m going to see if I can buy it at home. I love a good aperitif. I just realized (thanks AI) that it is not apertif, as I had been saying it. Learn something new every day.

I forgot how much joy I experience while making cards. I haven’t been able to spend much time on them because of the writing. Maybe next year. I have an emergency order for Mickey. She wants a birthday card for her sister, Lulu. I think I might get that done before I leave here. I just discovered that I have some decent watercolor paper here – maybe – we’ll see. Today, I finished off a couple of thank-you cards and made envelopes. Just using the Disappearing Purple Elmer’s Glue was a blast. It reminded me of Cordelia and Marie. I’ve already set up a couple of dates with Sara to take them when I get home. I also want to make one more visit to town to buy a little surprise for them.

I enjoyed listening to this podcast today. I love her back story as well as her insights. I especially loved what she said about habits: that we need to choose those habits that serve us. She’s beautiful inside and out.

The trip to Las Lajas was fabulous, as always. Just a few images to commemorate.

Our final night, we had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant called Naturalmente. It was excellent.

After our very happy dinner, we sat at the beach for a while before calling it a night. Wish I could have captured a photo of the huge crabs that were crawling around us. They move too quickly to get a photo.

Poor Dan had to celebrate his birthday without me. Looks like he did okay with a little help from his friends.

So, one more week, and I’m headed home.

We arrived at Las Lajas Beach Resort yesterday afternoon. I have 45 minutes before “cocktails,” so I just wanted to post a few photos….

Cocktail and dinner hour over. Just now got the videos to download.

The rooms have been upgraded. They now have two doubles and a twin, bathroom, lounging couch, TV, AC, refrigerator and water bottle. Very nice. Betty and I watche Netflix last night.

I’m going to book two rooms for Christmas next year. We’ll see who comes.

I am loving this trip here. I feel like I’m on summer vacation, just having finished a busy semester. Good news for Kathie today, was also good news for me. Her husband, Michael came home from the hospital today, so she said that she is going to take the next two weeks off work to get adjusted to having him at home. So, that means I’m off until 4/5. The book has now been entirely submitted for the second time for editing, and I spent the two days before I came here doing the final formatting. So, it’s pretty much finished for a while. I am still waiting for two batches of pages from Kathie, and I will have to edit those, but then we move on to marketing. Then it’s a waiting game.

I had such a full day, that it felt like two: coffee, meditation, meeting with Dan and financial planner, meeting with Kathie for my lastest 20 pages, primal movements, editing those pages, finishing up and submitting the next 20, practicing calligraphy, having a very satisfying dinner and now working on the blog. Whew! These are times that I really miss my glass of wine. I’ll have to settle for tea.

I’m pushing myself a little bit because I want to have the second draft of the book finished before I go home on the 1st. Looks like that is going to happen. Once I get that out of the way, I will feel free to play full time. I’m meeting up Barbara, Barb and Debra on the next two Wednesdays. Wednesdays have turned out to be “our day,” The 20th we are going to hike and then have lunch at the new Israeli restaurant. The 27th we are going to Pascal’s farm.

From the 21st to the 25th I’m going to Las Lajas with the gang. Herta might have to miss because she has a sick cat. Hope she can make it. It will be nice to have everyone together.

So, I’m pretty much hold up here until I finish this second draft.

This past Wednesday I went to Barbara and Murray’s for lunch with Barb and Stefan and Pascal and Debra. Stefan made a dish called flammkuchen, Murray made his famous pizza, Debra made a salad, and I made Jose Andre’s wrinkled potatoes with salsa verde.

It was a fun afternoon. I felt like I was in a TV production with Stefan and Murray in the kitchen. They were both nervous about stepping on each others’ toes, but I didn’t see any fights breaking out. Stefan got a bit upset when he discovered that the outdoor pizza oven was too hot to bake the flammkuchen properly. We all found it fabulous.

So, what is flammkuchen? Basically, it’s a French-German-Swiss pizza. It originated in the Alsace region of France, which borders Germany and Switzerland. The dough is super thin, and it contains no yeast. Here are a few photos of Stefan’s creations.

More images of the day:

March 17: I finally made time to finish this posting. It’s two days after the party, but I didn’t want to finish until I figured out how to edit videos. I think I got it. So a few “action” scenes from our great day at Barbara and Murray’s.

I am also exceedingly happy to report that his morning I finished the second draft of the book. The next step is formatting, and then after Kathie finishes editing my last two submissions, we will begin the marketing process. Hallelujah!!

Now I am free to play. Tomorrow I have my last appointment with the dentist for the crown. Barbara and I are going to get together either before or after that. I may even start making a few cards. I haven’t had time for that since I’ve been here.

The water has been turned off here since 3/11. Luckily, I’m the only one in the house right now, so the tank reservoir is still supplying tap water. However, I’ve been conserving – no showering or doing laundry. So far, so good.

Jerry just sent me this photo from Vietnam:

I texted Linda a few days ago and asked if she was having fun. She did not respond. I am judging from this photo that she is likely extremely overwhelmed. Hope I’m wrong.

How lucky am I to have a husband like Dan? He has been FaceTiming me to show me all the cleaning he has been doing. He was especially happy with his clean refrigerator. I asked him if he shared this joy with his guy friends. He said that he did, and they told him he was gay. That’s fine with me – in more ways than one. It is such a joy to come home to a clean house.

Dan hung in there and skied the Birkie again this year, but he was certainly disappointed with the conditions. Instead of skiing the hills and valleys of the Birkie course, the skiers were relegated to a 10K loop (on machine-made snow) that they repeated three times. Looking forward to 2025. When I was explaining to my taxi driver today that they had to make snow with a machine, he was incredulous. I wish I could have recorded his reaction. It was hilarious. He was also shocked when I told him that I spend four months here without my husband.

Wow! I started this entry over a week ago. Not much has been happening. I was feeling under the weather for a couple of days, so didn’t do much at all. I am also dealing with this crown replacement. I was in the chair for over two hours on Monday, and the dentist couldn’t complete the job because of inflammation and bleeding from all her digging around. So, she put on the temporary crown, which I later felt had two sharp points on it that commenced to tear up my tongue. I tried filing it down with a nail file and jabbed myself in the gum. I then tried covering it with chewing gum. Not great. I managed to file it down somewhat, and my tongue is now starting to get used to it, so it’s not so painful. I go back tomorrow to get the impression done. It’s a hassle, but a crown here is only $500, so I want to finish it while I’m here. Always something.

I’ve had a couple of lovely get-togethers. Saturday night Jerry and Linda made dinner for Betty and me. I even got Linda to smile a little for a photo.

Jerry loves entertaining…and baking. This is his banana cream pie. It was great!

Jerry and Linda leave tomorrow for Vietnam. Linda finally said she was going to try to enjoy it. Yay! She came down this afternoon to say goodbye and told me how much she enjoyed having me as a tenant. That was so sweet. We even shared a hug.

This afternoon, I was SO happy to have lunch with Adrianna, Charlie, Jon and Rosa. It’s the first and last time I will see them this year. I have rented from Jon in years past, and I met Adrianna and Charlie when they were Jon’s neighbors. I also rented from Adrianna and Charlie one year. They have a home in Charleston and spend more time there now because they have a young granddaughter they spend a lot of time watching. Rosa is Jon’s caretaker.

The lunch was wonderful. As well as numerous appetizers, Adrianna prepared a polenta and salad.

It was an interesting conversation. Both guys have transgender young adults in their families and were confused how to deal with it. When I suggested that they just love them, they were concerned that this attitude would encourage them to continue with a choice that might be a mistake. Tough times for these old guys.

Dan and I have been talking a lot recently, planning our upcoming Camino in May. I think we have most things booked. I’ve also been spending a lot of time on writing. I’m quite sure the second draft will be finished before I leave here. That’s the goal. Then it’s on to marketing.

Tomorrow…back to the dentist!

Today was one of my very favorite calligraphy days ever. I love making things and giving them as gifts. It is sort of the same way I feel when I’m knitting something for someone. I think about the joy of that exchange. Sharing gifts, especially those I have created.

The project today was finishing up this set of nametags that I made for the staff at Las Lajas. One day, during my last visit there in January, as I was sitting at a table in the restaurant/bar, Doris, one of the wait staff, stopped and chatted with me as I wrote. I told her that I was going to make them all nametags, and she provided me with the names.

What made it even more rewarding was the fact that I had to make my own gold ink. I thought I had a bottle here, and I do, but it’s empty. I took the plunge and mixed watercolor from a tube along with water to make it runny enough to flow. Another first: I “loaded the nib” with a paintbrush, instead of dipping it into the ink. It took just a little getting used to. Unfortunately, I have no idea of the wearability of this paint. In any event, the nametags will be covered with plastic.

Barbara and I are planning a trip there from March 17-19. I’m looking forward to sharing them.

I was listening to Julia Louis Dreyfus’ podcast today. She was interviewing Fran Lebowitz. One thing that made me happy was hearing Leibowitz say, “If someone says they love the process of writing, they are probably not very good writers.” I don’t have to force trying to love it. I also have a nice little break from the “deadline” feeling. Kathie is off next Friday, so I have two weeks to produce the next 20 pages. Love these breaks. That’s when I can do calligraphy.

I’m also happy that the auction is finished, and my watercolor paper is here, Soon, I’m going to start making cards again.

I’ve been having issues logging in to WordPress. I wasn’t getting the verification code, but it came through today, albeit taking a while.

Yesterday, I walked to the dentist to have the work started on the new crown. After the nearly four-mile walk, I discovered there was no electricity at the clinic. The loss of power was blamed on the wind. It is ferocious, as it usually is this time of year. Happily, it was at my back for most of my walk. The dentist and I waited an hour, but it never came back on, so I made an appointment for Monday. After that visit, I walked back into town, did a little shopping and took the bus home. The walk into town is now much better that I have poles – thanks Barb! And the bus ride home is also enjoyable. My only issue with this walk is that it takes so much time.

I met Barbara at the market on Tuesday morning to shop for our Wednesday lunch with Debra and Barb. This is my favorite place to buy kale. The huge bunch in this photo is only $3.

Tuesday night Trivia was fun, as always. Linda panicked at the outset because Brandy, the gamemaster, announced that the water was out, so the bathrooms were closed, and we would have to go outside. Linda pushed her glass of water away and said she didn’t think she could make it all night because she had bladder issues. I promised her I would go outside with her and shield her from public view. I don’t think that went over very well, and we were all happy when the announcement was made that the bathrooms had opened.

Stopping for an ice cream at Gelato after Trivia has now become a tradition. Linda doesn’t like the trend because she is worried about Jerry’s health, but he insists he is doing it for me. Works for me!

And she even made a joke at the shop. When it came time to pay, she said that since it was my idea, I could pay for them all. Then she smiled and said she was kidding. This is a rare and lovely surprise.

Wednesday morning, Barbara picked me up at 9 am, and we went to Barb and Debra’s where we begin the Alto Lino loop. It’s about 5-1/2 miles. It was a beautiful, sunny, perfect day with just a bit of bajareque. After the walk, we had lunch at Debra’s. I made puttanesca and a salad. The bus in the photo is one that has been out of commission for awhile, and everyone is happy to see it back.

Dan and I have been fine-tuning our Camino plans. He sent me two videos, one of each route option. One option is the Coastal route; the other is the Central. My vote, hands down, is for the Coastal. As the name suggests, it is mostly along the ocean. The Central, also as the name implies, is more urban. I wanted to include the video here, but for some reason, I can’t embed the YouTube URL, but a search on YouTube for “Joseph Rasmussen” will bring it up. The video is called Camino de Santiago | Portuguese Coastal Route & Spiritual Variant – 350km. I’m looking forward to this walk. I’ve decided to accept whatever Dan plans, and if a given day is too much for me, I’ll take a taxi. That’s the plan anyhow. If there is no taxi… I guess we’ll have to see what happens.

Jerry just made a delivery – plum tart.

And the latest calligraphy. I sent it to Ash. We’ll see if he responds. I didn’t mark my errors. I’m guessing he’ll do that for me. I can see the capital D and the capital C are wonky.

I spent a good part of my day today making nametags for the staff at Las Lajas. I want to gift those when Barbara and I go there on March 17-19. My last hoorah.