First Card

One of the things I love doing here is making cards. I made my first one yesterday. I have an order to fill for my donations for the last church auction. I must make four sets of five cards. So, it will be fun to see how they turn. The one I made today was a separate project, a card for a friend who lost a friend.

I had dinner last night at Kinnears. The other guests were Kathy Rutz, CathyAnne Schulte and Nancy Peterson. Wish I would have taken a photo. Joyce had a lovely cheese platter with blue and a goat cheese(?) with apricots as an appetizer. It was a great combination with CathyAnne’s focaccia, which is absolutely amazing. She brought one to me once last year when I was staying at Isla Verde. (She lived nearby.) We played Scrabble, drank wine, and I ate almost the entire focaccia. I tried really hard last night to share, but I think it is safe to say I had the healthiest portion. Joyce also made a broccoli salad with cranberries and nuts and a beef stroganoff. And, of course, she made dessert: a strawberry shortcake with a very unique type of shortcake. Kind of a pie-crust-shortcake mix. AND, fresh whipped cream – of course.

I spent a long time today working on learning Bubble, the new program being used by Boquete Health and Hospice. I think I mentioned earlier that I volunteer with this group. So, my latest technological challenge is learning how to create an app. Why not?! I’m going to give it two hours a day (as often as possible) for at least two weeks to see if I have the capacity to learn this. Also, as my wise friend, Patty, says, “If it’s not fun, fuck it!” Right now, it’s still fun.

Also, continuing with my lessons with Hola Spanish. My latest challenge is learning how to pronounce the “rr.” It is a tough one for me. I need to learn how to relax my tongue and speak at the same time. There is SO much tension in learning a new language, but this program normalizes that. I love the classes. The teacher, Brenda Romanello, is a perfect example, I think, of someone who has found their passion in life. She is one of the best teachers I have ever experienced.

Barb stopped over today. We talked about our plan for our walk tomorrow. I will call tomorrow, January 15, the official start of my training for the Camino, which I plan to do in the fall of 2022. It is one of the many gifts I plan to give myself for my 70th birthday. Stay tuned.