The Ugly, The Bad, and The Good

Between the fact that I've not posted much lately, and that yesterday's post was really not informative enough, I am doing some major backtracking to let you know what's been going on. So, with apologies to Clint Eastwood, here is the ugly, the bad, and the good:

UGLY

In Tennessee, you could often hear people say "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Having lived in low-humidity Colorado and felt neither as hot nor as cold as "natives", I thought I knew all about that statement. Here in Boquete, however, I have learned another aspect. The temperature here has been a pretty consistent 72-75 degrees all month. The humidity has also been a pretty consistent 80-100%. Laundry is still damp after 24+ hours on the line. Fabric upholstery feels "funny". And, just last week I discovered mildew growing on all my bamboo knitting needles and two of my favorite knitting bags!!! Talk about "Mama ain't happy"! I was able to wipe down the everything with alcohol, but things were pretty ugly there for a while.

BAD

Another thing that all the high humidity does is to lay a very light layer of water on pretty much every horizontal surface in the area. When wet shoes from actual rain and puddles meet that light layer of moisture inside, you wind up with tile floors that are as slick as ice skating rinks. I discovered this phenomenon a week ago at Todos a Dolar. This Panamanian Everything's a Dollar store in Boquete is on two levels with a nice broad staircase. Bob and I had stopped in there and he'd gone on ahead of me. Well, I was about halfway down the steps when the slippery surface caused my right foot to slide out from under me. My left foot did not. So there I was, hanging on to the railing with my right hand, sliding down the stairs with my right leg straight, my left leg bent back, and my left ankle bumping every single step. Of course, my dignity flew out the window.

I lay there on the steps, mentally assessing myself, and trying to make the Spanish-speaking (and awfully nice) people understand that I didn't understand them. Eventually I just hollered out to Bob "I've just fallen down the stairs. Please come help me." Which he did. Of course.

No breaks. No boken skin. But I do have several spectacular bruises, especially on my left ankle. And for a couple of days I could feel the muscles in my left leg when I went up and down the stairs here at home.

GOOD

As I mentioned yesterday, we drove down to David with a couple from church. Our first errand was to go to the "fixer" who is going to help us obtain our Panamanian driver licences. Because I am under 70, my application process is much easier than Bob's. This may also result in my having an unrestricted license, which means I may have to drive to David or to Panama City. (I have sworn that I cannot drive in Panama City. Everyone there uses the horn like crazy, and they cut you off, and they seem to have a fundamental aversion to street signs, and a fundamental aversion to obeying traffic signs and signals. Scary, scary, scary.) Oh, well, we shall find out by Saturday.

After meeting with the fixer, we then went to Price Smart, which is the Costco-affiliated members-only "big box" store in David. It is just like a very small Sam's Club. But I found several treasures there.

I found instant onion soup mix! This is like finding diamonds because I make a pot roast that we both love. (Recipe for those interested in such things: 3-4 pound roast- brisket is great; 1 envelope onion soup mix; 2-3 tablespoons yellow mustard. Put roast in crock pot. Smear mustard over roast. Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast. Cover crock pot. Turn it on low. ((I used to do this on Saturday night and let it cook overnight and through church on Sunday.)) If you really like thick gravy, remove the meat from the crock pot, pour the juices into a small saucepan, mix about a tablespoon of cornstarch in a half cup of water, stir it into the juices, bring to a boil for about a minute. Serve. Enjoy. Slice any leftovers for hot roast sandwiches and freeze. Yum. Thank me later.)

Another treasure I found (emeralds, anyone?) is Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix!!! This is the BEST pancake mix ever! I am looking forward to serving pancake breakfasts when company comes. You probably won't get bacon, because it is waaaaaay expensive here, but if you treat me very nicely, I'll grill some ham. No southern-style sausage patties or links here, however. Sorry. Not gonna happen.

I also found a whole sirloin in the meat department, which I am going to slice into steaks and freeze. And there were loads of various frozen vegetables, but I think I am going to start frequenting the municipal market in Boquete, where I am told the best, freshest, organic produce is available.

Oh! and I found Bounty (American style) paper towels! The local ones are quite small and do not hold together very well. I just have to ration myself.

After we got home, Bob took a nap while I got my dining room as completely "together" as I could. There is still a pile of rolled-up area rugs in one corner and a medium moving box in another, but for the most part it looks nice: polished wood, tidy china cabinets, and all that.

And I sorted through the medicine chest and got it on the pathway to organization.

Slowly. Things. Are. Coming. Together. Slowly.

So there you have it. The Ugly, The Bad, and The Good.

I love and miss all of you in the States. Know that Casa TARDIS is open, even if not completely "company ready". (If you can negotiate your way past the boxes outside the office, I can offer you hospitality.) Mi casa es su casa.