I received a text from Leslie Hughes today. She is one of the Boquete Hospice coordinators. She asked if I would consider being their data person or the secretary. I told her I would have to give that some thought. As much as I want to be a contributory member of the community, I’m still feeling a bit overwhelmed with the projects I want to accomplish while I’m here. I’m mowing through the list, but I must be careful. Pondering.
Spent over an hour today dealing with Landmark’s new website. Trying to start working on taxes. Always a challenge waiting.
Made my own yogurt yesterday. Since Dan is not here, I have to make my own. It turned out okay. What Dan has discovered is that the best starter is a full-fat yogurt (10% is good). The 0% fat versions just don’t quite cut it. Even with straining (Greek yogurt), it doesn’t have the thick, creamy texture I love. I’ll have to look around. Here is a link to an easy-to-follow recipe.
Today was the first sunny day I have had, so I decided to make a video of the outside. Actually, it turned into two videos.
View from the Roof
Tour of the Garden
As I said in the first video, I was hoping to sit out there this evening to do a bit of star gazing, which is one of the Soul Matters spiritual practice options; however, it has really clouded up again, so I may need to look at another option…just in case.
I met Gloria and Sally this morning at Tuesday market. The market is always fun. You never know whom you’re going to run into. I saw Beth, faithfully sitting in her place outside the market, where she has a table set up for Los Animales. She is a true animal lover. She reminds me of my friend, Bambi Kehler. They have truly found their passion in their love for animals.
I didn’t think of it until now, but I should have done a short video of the market. I’ve done it in the past. Well, there will be many Tuesdays to come.
We dropped Gloria off at the Haven (gym), and Sally brought me home where we sat and had a great visit. I had her try out the Meta Quest 2. Hilarious. Always is when a person tries it for the first time.
After I finish here, I plan to put the headset on again and try to figure out how Michele and I can do our boxing workout together in the same room. Not as easy as we thought. I’m finding the learning curve to be a bit choppy. Not sure if it’s me or them. I just have to get my system down. Right now so much is hit or miss. I need a manual!!
I’m going to do a beginner workout today. I was going to wait, but I changed my mind. I find that my newest adventure is learning more about chronic pain and how much of it is in our minds. After listening to just a few conversations online, I’m beginning to believe that my back pain stems back to an accident I had in 1978 in which I was hit by a car while riding my bike. I sustained a T12 fracture, which I’m now thinking is not that big of a deal, but I think that cognitively I’ve been protecting myself ever since. Although my current issue is due to an acute injury, I realize I’ve been dealing with back issues on and off since the accident. This will be a very interesting journey.
Ash sent me a text today with drills that he has designed for me. It looks like fun. I am so happy that I discovered a love for this art. While I am doing it, I feel such joy. I know that there is nothing else that I should be doing. Who knew?
Barb asked if I wanted to drive into David with her tomorrow. She has a medical appointment. Sounds good to me!
Today is only day three of my visit so far, and I have checked a number of things off my to-do list. I want to get “the work” out of the way so I can concentrate on playing.
The night before last, as I was falling asleep, I heard a thud followed by footsteps (pawsteps?) on the roof over my bed. The next morning I sent a message to Cathy and asked if it sounded crazy. She said absolutely not. This house is right on the edge of a ravine. There is a fence which separates the house from the ravine, but some of the trees that reach out over this house are rooted on the other side of the fence. She said it could have been a squirrel, an opposum, a sloth, a kotamunde (like a raccoon) or a large cat. I wish I would have seen it.
Kotamunde
I received this lovely message from Ash, my calligraphy teacher, this morning after sending him my daily practice.
Shades – Simple but certainly not easy.
“Well how good to wake up to my morning seeing this. You have come a long way Christine. Pat your back and be proud! đź‘Źđź‘Ź”
I’ve also been working on getting my Meta Quest 2 set up. I tried it for just a little while yesterday. My back is about 90% better. I’ve decided to start one of the fitness programs at a beginner level and see how it goes. Sally is also lending me a book titled Pain Free by Peter Egoscue, which she said she and friends have found helpful.
I also watched this excellent video conversation between Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and pain specialist Howard Schubiner. with
With the Meta Quest, I was also experimenting with watching videos on YouTube that are made just for virtual reality (VR). I was watching a National Geographic video on elephants in Africa. At one point, I turned and looked to my right. There was a guy standing right next to me. Scared the shit out of me!
This is my first card. My friend’s father passed away yesterday, so I made this for her. She likely will not receive it for a while, but I hope it makes her smile.
I met Nancy and Beth for breakfast this morning. The plan was for me to meet Nancy at the entrance to Santa Lucia, where she lives. She doesn’t know where I live, so I told her “sure” I can do that. I am up Volcancito Road from Santa Lucia. I thought I could make it down the hill in ten minutes…easily…ha! My memory did not serve me very well. I used to live up here and walked and down this hill every day. I had no idea it was going to take me 30 minutes, not 10. I eventually caught a taxi and met them at Isabella’s.
Which was excellent!
Breakfast at Isabella’s
I met a new person at breakfast this morning. His name is Jack. He’s a talker, but nice enough. From Chicago. I already know that he grew up in a family with eight kids, spent his summers in Boulder. Worked in construction, got his MBA and built computers. Knows a lot about supplements. Saved a woman’s life by helping her rid herself of cancer by using marijuana. Loves Elon Musk because he has made three-quarters of a million dollars for him.
I sent a message to Cathy (hostess) today asking her how she deals with scorpions. She gave me a number of tips and then shared this story with me:
“Funny scorpion story…. I was making batidos, grabbed a glass from the cupboard forgetting to check it, poured blueberry batido in the glass and gave it to Larry. He was busy and let it sit for a few minutes…. Took a sip and then pulled a batido laden scorpion out of his mouth. Fortunately, it was dead. He held it up and asked me ‘what is this?’ I smiled and said ‘a scorpion, my dear.'” 🤣
Getting back to blogging is proving to be a bit challenging. But it’s all coming back to me.
I am now settled in my fabulous room in Boquete. It’s called the Glass Casita at Finca Wild Orchid. This is truly heaven. I simply cannot believe my life sometimes. (Sorry for the breathing noises.)
I am all unpacked and settled in. The first thing I did upon unpacking was practice calligraphy. It doesn’t get any better than this.
A Bit of PracticeCalligraphy with a ViewOne of the Pleasures of Boquete
Getting here from Panama City was pretty straightforward. I went to bed last night at 7:30, p.m., so I woke at 2:30 a.m. I arrived at the airport at 4:30 and sat and finished my book, In the Castle of Flynns. I highly recommend this book, especially if you grew up Irish Catholic in the 50s. You and your family are in there.
I arrived in David on time, and both of my bags were present! I was picked up by Fernando – all arranged by Cathy, my hostess here. We stopped at Gago, and I picked up a few essentials for dinner this evening, and then we stopped at Nancy Peterson’s to pick up my “three” boxes. Oops…actually five, but some were pretty small. Fernando then dropped me off here.
Tomorrow morning, I’m meeting Nancy and Beth Abrams for breakfast. Sunday, Barb Fiorucci is stopping by. It’s so much fun seeing people again.
Looking forward to spending most of this first week doing absolutely nothing strenuous. My back is about 80% better right now, and I don’t want to jeopardize that. I brought my Meta Quest virtual reality with me. I’m looking forward to doing some of the workouts on there.
I’ve begun creating my to-do list. Never a dull moment. I’ve been putting some things off until I got here. First thing is to start working on our church auction. I’ve already been nudged about getting that started. Then there are cards, writing, Spanish classes, Soul Matters prep, and calligraphy…of course. Nice to be back.
Just checked into my room in Panama City, where I will spend the night. My flight for David leaves at 7:19 tomorrow morning, which means I will have to be on the shuttle at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. I left home this morning at 3:30 a.m. Thank goodness Dan drove me to O’Hare; it makes things easier.
My main bag was checked through to David at O’Hare. Once at the gate, I thought I might as well check my carry-on so I wouldn’t have to deal with putting it in the overhead compartment. I didn’t realize that that bag also was checked through to David. I sat for too long in baggage claim waiting for my bag. One of the staff nearby assured me that it would be coming. He said it just takes time for them to unload sometimes. I finally went to customer service, and they informed me that it was checked through to David.
Next stop Customs. When I got to the desk, the agent said, “You made a mistake on your form. You have to make out a new one.” So, back to baggage claim to fill out a new form. So happy no one was waiting for me. Happily, the lines were not too long.
Tomorrow I will be met at the airport by Fernando, a taxi driver. Cathy (the caretaker of the Wild Orchid Glass Casita, where I’m staying in Boquete) arranged for Fernando to pick me up, go to my friend Nancy’s to pick up my boxes, and take me grocery shopping. Thanks Cathy!!
I love this photo. There is a lot going on. We can see the expressions on the faces of the Smiths as they are reacting to what they perceive as an attack on their identity.
The Face of Ego Reactivity
Although the image is a bit disturbing, I find Smith’s Twitter comment hopeful: “got all dressed up to choose chaos.” Of course, the operative word here is “choose.”
I read this morning that the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences is launching an official inquiry into the incident. This is great news. I heard that over one billion people witnessed this event. If they also have the opportunity to witness an exploration of what it was that caused Smith to “choose chaos,” it can be an enlightening experience for many, many people.
I feel that the emphasis needs to be continually placed on “choose” and “choice” and any other iteration of this word. The good news is that Smith already used this word in his Twitter response.
As the Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.”
Right now, I choose to have faith that he will be able to explain what went on in his mind at that moment. The world is watching. He can be a role model for many.
In the 1939 film we watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. We are now watching in real time as Mr. Smith Awakens...or not…you never know.
In response to Will Smith’s hitting Chris Rock, Sam Crosby, Sky News Contributor on the Paul Murray Show, said this. “C’mon it’s the most human reaction for a husband to defend his wife’s honor like that.”
I say, more’s the pity. Crosby is intimating that it is normal or acceptable to express emotions with violence.
Because this type of violent reactivity is common, even respected by some, does not mean it is acceptable or optimal. Violence begets violence.
Violent behavior shows a lack of self-control and a lack of self-awareness, both of which Smith demonstrated.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Again, I hope that Smith is reflecting on the value of this moment.
As I’m sure millions of people are responding to the drama of last night’s Oscars, so am I. In case you don’t already know, in short, Chris Rock, as he was preparing to present an award, made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness. Pinkett Smith apparently has an autoimmune condition which has caused her alopecia (baldness). Upon hearing the remark, Will Smith walked up onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face.
Later, as Smith was accepting his award for King Richard, he apologized for his behavior and said, “love makes you do crazy things.”
I was saddened by this weak defense of his behavior. It is not love that makes us do crazy violent things, it is just the opposite, it is ego, identification with a story, one based in fear. It is ego, the weakest point on the spectrum of who we are that makes us do crazy things, not love, which is at the highest point of the spectrum.
Smith apparently believes in a story that tells him he must defend at all costs an idea of who he thinks he is. He talked about the character Richard Williams, father of the famous tennis stars, Serena and Venus Williams. Smith compared himself to Richard Williams, who believed in protecting others, especially people in his family, especially women. What did he think he was protecting them from?
I am heartened to hear the media responses to Smith’s behavior, which were generally disparaging, citing lack of self control and the ultimate rejection of violence as an answer. The Oscars presentation is in many ways an opportunity, especially for young people, to view role models. Smith’s behavior is not something worth modeling.
However, I am also hopeful. I hope that this is not the end of Smith’s drama. This is an opportunity for him to see how his thoughts led to an episode of suffering, which resulted in a poor choice, but one which can also lead to an awakening. Choose again. Learn what it really means to choose from love.
I had a pretty lazy day today, recuperating from my evening with Barb and Murray. Barb is just back from her visit to the U.S. to visit her daughters. It was great to see her again. I made puttanesca for them again, and with that we had fresh tuna (raw) with Murray’s famous hot sauce, and some great wine. I spent the night and came back and did a bit of work on my cards and the blog.
I went to a new restaurant last week, once on Thursday for lunch with Sally and then again yesterday morning with the gang. The restaurant is called Taburete. The ambience is charming. I wish I could say the same for the food.
I saw this video today on the Boquete Community Group. Vaughn is one of the pickleball players I have met recently.
