My friend Sandee and I stopped at the Chinese Market today. I hadn't been before. Sandee said not to get my hopes up. It has more produce than other stores, but it still isn't the tropical paradise of fruits and vegetables we were expecting when we moved here. Fruits and vegetables have been a disappointment…
My dear friend Nancy makes a sherry bundt cake from a family recipe at Christmas time. It’s one of my favorite things. I eat it for breakfast for at least a week every December. One day craving that cake, I searched the internet for a recipe. Not paying attention to what I was doing, I…
The hardest part about being in Panama is being away from loved ones. We want to share their joys and sorrows, celebrate events and be with them. When loved ones hurt, we hurt. We have not been in Panama long enough to have seen from far away so many life-changing diagnoses, life-altering job and home…
Much like Black Friday, Panama hosts Black Weekend. I believe it is put on by the national tourism bureau, and it is promoted in nearby countries. The malls have been preparing for weeks. Even the local tire store is offering 15 percent off this weekend. We hit the AltaPlaza Mall today. We have plans for…
We are at Neil's basketball game under a metal roof, sitting on metal stands and the usual thunder and lightning are happening. No one seems concerned. The Californian in me is worried. Friends who have lived in Panama tell me not to worry.
I just made Sloppy Joes for dinner. Nothing fancy. It's a go-to dinner that fills up hungry boys and is easy to make. I use turkey. I know some think that is sacrilegious, but I don't like all the grease of red meat. Like many things, making Sloppy Joes in Panama is a bit more…
The menfolk saw "It" last night. I did not. I'm not great with scary movies. I'm still haunted by the after school horror movie on TV that I watched in eighth grade. In fact, I was a little afraid to stay at home... alone... at night... while they watched the movie. Guessing when a movie…
How do you leave one life and start another? Are you really leaving a “life” or just following the path of the life you are already on? As we set up the house, set up our lives here in Panama, I ask myself those questions. The boys are in school. Dean goes to work. I…
Dean's company provides 80 hours of Spanish lessons for me. But first I had to be assessed. Others, including Dean, have gone through the assessment. They are shown a picture of a celebrity and asked to describe the person in Spanish. Hair color, eye color, personality, etc. Then they are asked English to Spanish vocabulary,…
