Taxing Delight

While it is hard to believe there is any downside to the time we spend here in paradise each year, yesterday highlights one of them. The BRS turned seven yesterday and we weren’t there to celebrate with her. A few years ago, we mitigated this annual pain when she was here with us for the day. My Favorite Panamanian and I were able to inflict our fractured singing of Happy Birthday to her yesterday through the magic of FaceTime. I don’t think this will cause too many nightmares for her. The ABFA and my son, with the stalwart assistance of her other grandparents, went out of their way to make her feel special yesterday. A party involving a lot of jumping and obstacles culminating with an ice cream birthday cake did a lot for that. I’m sure they were a little nervous about her younger sister, BR3. She jumped off the couch a few days earlier, despite being told not to, and produced an epic level nosebleed after colliding with a table. Happy birthday BRS, you truly and definitely rock!

The Birthday Girl Yesterday

The upstairs neighbors returned Thursday with an addition to our sunset crew. His younger sister is joining us for the next two weeks and she fit in immediately with our august crew. The return of the full team also meant outstanding sunsets both days. Since it was the First Friday of the Week, we all headed into the village to partake of the Sunset Pizza delicacies, including their matchless gelato. It was a very fun night.

Friday Augmented Sunset Crew

Welcome Back Sunset For Neighbors

Sunset Pizza Time

Another annual debit to the almost non-stop enjoyment in paradise is the requirement to file taxes. I went through that “beloved” experience yesterday once I figured out how to jump through the seemingly endless hoops in the electromagnetic spectrum to access all the needed documents. It was an expensive day but there was definitely a feeling of weight lifting off of shoulders getting it done.

Saturday Sunset

The Crew

With my Sunset Date

In good news, because that’s a lot more fun, the boogie board repairs seems to be holding. The Las Lajas waves finally showed some attitude this week which provided an acid test and four days into subjecting the board to the biggest waves of the year, the repair is holding. I guess you can repair Styrofoam. Of course, as soon as I made the repair, boogie boards re-appeared at the store in David. Wanting to hedge the bets on my repair acumen, we bought a couple. We now have five boogie boards so we could have a half-squad out in the surf at any one point. Like that’s going to happen.

Our Haul and Initial Cuts

I was volunteered by my Favorite Panamanian this morning to assist the condo caretaker to harvest some coconuts from the beach palm trees to get some “agua de pipa” (coconut water with coconut meat floating in it. He’s a little nervous about climbing the ladder up so I took up the role of ladder holder and coconut catcher. That’s important so they don’t break when dropped from the tree. Once he was safely back on the ground he took out his machete and drained the water into a bottle and then scooped out the meat to follow it. I made the mistake of telling him how much nearly two gallons of coconut water would cost back in the states. I’ll leave my wife to negotiate any price increase with him, it’s usually four bucks, until I opened my mouth.

Pouring the Water into the Bottle

Scooping out the Meat

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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

Shell Game and Some Hugging

Anticipation is building steadily with next week’s arrival of our first February guests, followed a week later by my daughter and the FBR. That means my Favorite Panamanian has been deeply into the planning process, having mapped out meals for the next month (I may be exaggerating there). Yesterday, as part of the process, we were back in sweltering David on a grocery run. While there we also visited the travel agency and are scheduled for a week-long trip, in March, to Medellín, Columbia. This is an anniversary gift as my wife has been campaigning for another trip. I wouldn’t have thought Medellín, with its unfortunate history, as a tourist destination but apparently, it’s become just that over the past decades.

Lunch at El Fogon

We were able to stop at El Fogon for lunch and touch base with my buddy/friend Everardo. My Favorite Panamanian got her mother out of the house for some shopping at the mall. There were benches for me to read in air conditioned comfort, so win win.  We were back in Las Lajas in time to enjoy the sunset and Las Lajas rallied from a less than stellar performance on Wednesday with one of it’s best. It was fun having my partner in crime back with me on the sunset crew. In further great news, the upstairs neighbors are back in the house to further flesh out the First Friday sunset crew.

Back on Duty

That Sunset

My Favorite Panamanian has been working on her balcony garden recently. A neighbor used shells in her flowerpot to help with splash protection. My wife thought that was a great idea and spent a couple days collecting shells, something the beach is never short of, the result of a very hungry bird population. In way of explanation, the innumerable birds spend a lot of time digging up shells, breaking them open and then depositing them on the beach after consuming the resident. This is when they’re not eating crabs and leaving a mess on the side of the pool.

The Balcony Garden

Wife Cleaning Shells

The return of the upstairs neighbors wasn’t the only highlight last night. I finally remembered, after several misses, to attend the zoom call with the redoubtable Root Huggers, my Command and General Staff classmates. A simply great collection of American heroes. While my internet connection was predictably bad, official labeled “unstable” by Zoom, I truly enjoyed hanging out with these good friends. We collectively decided it had been too long since we’d seen each other in person. There was talk of a mid-May reunion in either Tampa or Tucson. I’m hoping for Tucson because that means one of our members is well enough to travel. Now, to get back to celebrating the First Friday of the Week in Paradise!!!

Roothuggers Last Night

I checked out the latest version of The Wolfman this week. It’s an interesting take on the venerable character with a young family threatened in the deserted mountains of Oregon by a mysterious manlike beast. There is palatable tension throughout without unnecessary jump scare, just that building sense of ominous danger. There are the usual unbelievably stupid moves by the hunted characters, but that’s required in a horror movie. Still, hiding from a werewolf on top of a plastic sheathed greenhouse has to rank up there. There is a nice twist near the end and a well thought out conclusion. Enjoyable horror fare.

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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

Canadian Club

No. I’m not talking about that rye whiskey from up north which I’m sure is doing really well these days up there since they won’t buy American thanks to our idiotic commander in chief. Isn’t it great to have a “businessman” as president! But I digress, as usual. No, I’m talking about last evening’s sunset crew which was liberally filled out by our Candain neighbors from down the beach. An added treat was the addition of their two adult sons who were in town for a short visit before returning to the frozen tundra of Alberta. They were a very fun addition to the crew, solid guys, and I enjoyed speaking English again. That’s been a limited opportunity since the upstairs neighbors left. The sunset itself was appropriately spectacular for the biggest sunset crew of the year.

Sunset Crew (Canadian Club) 

Sunday Sunset

Sunday Partner in Crime

Monday Sunset

For some unknown reason (which my Favorite Panamanian wishes she could access) I felt industrious yesterday. I started the repair process for the damaged boogie board as well as three or four additional tasks that had been hanging around awaiting the dissipation of my tropical induced sloth. The boogie board repair was interesting. Usually when the board’s underlying Styrofoam breaks, we throw it away. Since I had more than a healthy attachment to this particular one, I decided to give it a try. I watched a YouTube video which gave me some ideas and last week scored the gorilla glue that I needed.

Initial Gluing

This Morning's Work Space

Yesterday I mixed some glue with water (even though you’re not supposed to) and applied it to the crack after inserting some toothpicks. It looked exactly like the video, so I was encouraged. I taped it up and waited 24 hours for it to cure. I spent an hour this morning stripping off the excess dried glue which was really messy. In a stroke of luck, my Favorite Panamanian left earlier for David for some eyebrow related maintenance (don’t ask). She would have been appalled at the mess I created but the vacuum seems to have gotten it all picked up. The repair seems solid, but we’ll see tomorrow when a couple hundred pounds of gringo jumps on it to ride down a seven-foot wave.

Final Result, Let's See How it Works

I got a couple batches of photos from the granddaughter realm in the past couple days. Since the stated reason for the blog is to chronicle their youth and my dotage, I include them here. My son and the ABFA took the BRS and BR3 to northern New Hampshire to visit an ice castle. They were joined by the family of my son’s best man. They said they had a fantastic time but that it was beyond frigid. My son’s half-Panamanian side was severely tasked by that but he rangered his way through for his gals. The two granddaughters were exhausted by having way too much fun (which is kind of their job at this point). When they got home, they went to bed without issue which is not typical. The BRS sort of woke up to go to the bathroom and instead of making the longer walk back to her room, ducked into BR3’s room and climbed into bed with her to snuggle and fell asleep. That’s where their parents found them and took this adorable picture.

Son and ABFA with Friends, Looks Cold

BRS and BR3 (in pink) in the Castle

Still Cold

BRS Invades BR3's Bed

The New Jersey bunch provided these photos which they finally received from their New Years’ Eve celebration. It looks like the FBR threw herself (literally) into the event. I know her abuela (AKA the Dancing Queen) was pleased to see the photos of her dancing with our daughter. The dancing pair are due here in about ten days and I am officially in psyche mode for that. I feel a little more separated from the family this year because the internet continues to be terrible here in the condo. It works fine for a couple minutes and then fades out for twenty to fifty seconds. This makes the Facetime calls that usually provided my granddaughter fix has been nigh on impossible. Live is much better anyways.

FBR (l) Enjoying the Party

Family Shot with Wingman and Daughter

The Dancing Princesses

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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

Reversion

The last couple days have been oddly unpleasant because they marked a reversion to the old times when my Favorite Panamanian and I would be the sole residents of the condo complex. This used to be the case for most of our stay here except for the weekends. The upstairs neighbors solved that problem but they are Guatamalalizing for a week so we were left in sole possession. While I used to relish being the only ones here, I find I miss the neighbors and having someone to hang out with. This is most apparent at the sunset ceremony where we usually conduct an after-action review on the day with them. Yesterday I thought I was going to be called upon to handle the escort of the sun into the Pacific Ocean by myself.

Friday Night Pizza with my Date

It started out that way as my Favorite Panamanian had her priorities severely out of whack. She thought drying her hair in preparation for out First Friday pizza date was more important than the sunset. Fortunately, she realized her mistake and finished her hair in time to join me. While the sunset wasn’t up to Las Lajas’ usual standards, it did end up in the Pacific. The First Friday family facetime call was comic in the beginning. My wife and I were lounging in the pool awaiting the sunset when she mentioned a phone call she had received. This set off a bell in my head and I asked what time it was. It turned out to be 4 minutes before I was supposed to start the call. A mad dash upstairs while simultaneously trying to dry off was funny as I look back, not so much at the time.

Ready to Handle Sunset by Myslef

Happier with Late Arriving Wife

We were on our own for pizza as well and received a surprise when we arrived to find the place packed, with no seating available in the dining room. We made do with seats in the front where the owner’s small dog made me feel guilty (as only canines can) for not sharing the pizza with him. It was still a very fun date. The village is gearing up for their annual festival celebrating their patron saint so the main street was packed with booths selling food and souvenirs. Instead of fighting through the crowd I took a couple back streets that my wife didn’t know that I knew about. The importance of map recons cannot be understated. She was upset because she wanted to check out shopping opportunities, yet another win for me in taking the other road.

Subpar Sunset

I May be Spoiled

It was so good seeing the family during the call, especially during this lonelier than usual time. Great Aunt is gearing up to welcome her first grandchild who is on short final approach. My daughter was dealing with the chaos of having two additional kids in the Friday night mix with eh FBR. My son was also gearing up. In his case for a weekend trip to visit the ice castles in northern New Hampshire with forecasted temps below zero. For some reason, he didn’t want me to show him what the beach looked like. Go figure.

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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