Año Nuevo, Condo Style!!

Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you had a small fraction of the fun I had on New Years Eve. I owe that entirely to my Favorite Panamanian’s spectacular family who joined us at our condo to welcome in 2025. That include my 92-year-old mother-in-law who joined the dance floor along with the rest of us. It’s no secret where my wife inherited her dancing genes from. We had just finished the hectic move in phase which involved a lot of cleaning, a constant theme in my life over the past few days. My wife’s two sisters and her mom showed up late on the 31^st and the party got underway. We were joined later by her brother and his partner to complete the group. My brother-in-law arrived with a fully cooked pork roast, the typical New Year’s Eve dinner.

First Photo of 2025

The Panamanian tradition is to have a very late and large dinner on New Years’ Eve. In our younger years, this meant after midnight. Since the word “younger” no longer applies we ate around 10pm. It was a fun meal; the type you have when a close family gets together. I’m truly blessed to be included in this bond with my wife’s family. As soon as the dinner dishes were cleared the dancing started, including everybody. Tia Loca and her brother had their usual back and forth, which is always entertaining.

Wife with her Siblings

And Their Mom

Tia Loca Singing Karaoke

If you look at the accompanying photos, you’ll see one with Tia Loca sitting in the background. My wife laughed so hard when she zoomed into see the expression on Tia Loca’s face. It is funny. I thought about sectioning it off and including it here but that would be too cruel. When she heard I had zoomed in, she said if I posted it here, she would never visit us again. This, of course, had me changing my mind again, more than ready to post it. Cooler heads prevailed, mainly because of threats of bodily harm from my Favorite Panamanian. The champagne flowed at midnight and we all moved out onto the balcony where we enjoyed the fireworks a number of people were setting off along the beach. Fireworks are mostly legal in Panama and I was impressed with the number and quality of the show. There were no large secondary explosions, so I believe everything ignited safely.

Wife and her Mom

Brother in Law and Partner

The Photo I Wrote About

Wife's Knee, Fully Recovered

I enjoyed the first full day of sun we’ve had since our arrival on the first day of 2025. That meant the morning workout, including boogie boarding, started up. I had the entire beach to myself, which wasn’t surprising given how late the locals partied the night before. My own stable of Panamanians followed a similar tack and thought I was a bit “loco” to be up that early and exercising to boot. If I’m going to party like that, I need to pay the piper if I don’t want to approach 300 pounds. In a very good sign, I caught the first three waves for good rides before my usual mediocrity asserted itself.

Watching the Fireworks from our Balcony

I’ve added new gear to my beach accoutrement this year, inspired by my less than pleasant time spent on the dermatology surgery floor. I wore a swim cap for the first time in my life to protect the top of my head where I had such a painful experience with the dermatologist’s scalpel. I also wore swim shoes to protect the foot which caused me so many problems last year. I’ll have to learn a new launch technique, as a couple times the shoes came off my heels and I had to hang on with my toes to prevent them from disappearing into the ocean deep. Having to do that ruined a couple really good rides. As I read what I just wrote, I realize I’m literally falling apart. I won’t go down without a fight though.

With my New Years' Eve Date

New Years' Eve Dinner

I have become unjustifiably famous within my wife’s family for my turkey dinners. It started with my father-in-law who stated my turkey was far superior because it tasted like turkey and not overladen with the typical level of spices Panamanians use. His legacy remains that every year they buy a frozen turkey which I find waiting for me and am expected to cook along with the side dishes I usually prepare for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I was a little taken aback when I started peeling the sweet potatoes to find them a deep purple instead of orange. My Favorite Panamanian assured me this was just another type (which she said was better) and I could prepare them the same way. I still found it a little disconcerting to serve something purple although I was assured everything, including the purple surprise, tasted great.

Purple Sweet Potatoes

First 2025 Turkey

We almost got a true sunset last night although the clouds tried their best to intrude. Tia Loca and my wife joined us for what has become our nightly regimen to watch the sun sink into the Pacific. In a most welcome development, the upstairs neighbors arrived last night to complete our crew for upcoming nightly ceremonies. Friends and family back home are girding their loins to start receiving the nightly sunset pictures while they suffer through their New England winter. It’s what I do. We spoke to both kids last night while on the beach. My son said he might stop answering the phone at this time of day if I keep showing him the sunset. My daughter reported the FBR stayed up till midnight to welcome in 2025 but still awoke at 6:30 am the next morning. So, welcome to 2025, it’s off to a great start, so far. Stand by for sunset photos.

FBR Geared up for New Years' Eve

First Sunset of 2025

The Sunset Crew

But This Photo, She Doesn't Mind

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete –

 my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course