I happened across this in another blog and thought it was fun. This is a photo I took of the woods by the house as the sun was coming up.
Online jigsaw puzzles from JigsawSite.com
PS If you want to do this on your blog, read this for instructions: http://wpbtips.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/widgets-for-wp-com-blogs-14-jigsaw-puzzles/
Now and then when we are out, I’ll take my camera so you can see what we have available here. This is our PriceMart, similar to a Costco in the US. These photos were taken while trying not to be seen by the staff, so excuse the quality of some of them.
PriceMart tends to sell large quantities, especially food items. There are only two of us so anything perishable or too bulky to fit in the house doesn’t work for us. We have bought some tables, pots and pans, other household things, nonperishable items like cleaning supplies and snacks, and the prices on liquor, beer, and wine are better than in the supermarket. I don’t buy meat and fish, or produce since I’ve found better prices elsewhere.
We were told that if you see something you want, buy it because it may not be there tomorrow. This is true! We found a good deal on corn chips that we liked. One day we went and there were none, and they didn’t return for weeks. This sort of thing isn’t unusual in Panama, and it’s not just PriceMart. There was a time when there was no sour cream in any of the supermarkets, and when it showed up again it was only in 2 pound containers.
These photos don’t even cover everything they sell, but they should give you some idea of what it’s like. One thing we like about living in David is having so many things close to us.
I may not be there, but I can still get pictures. My other daughter Elizabeth and her husband went to visit, and these are their photos. Thank you Elizabeth! 🙂
Camden is growing so fast. He has so many more facial expressions, and I can see that he is really focusing on people and his surroundings.
How do you spend your first birthday in Panama?
I worked with some great people, and seeing all my old friends put a big smile on my face. You don’t always think about how many friends you have until they all write to you on the same day!
The Paisanas, aka Gray headed Chachalaca (Ortalis cinereiceps)
The frog is way up there in the banana trees!
This beautiful frog was very small so it was hard to get clear photos.
Someone had to go behind the banana tree so he would come back over on our side.
What a beautiful little frog!
It is so rainy and humid the walkway is green.
The forest is green. Even the tree trunks are green!
Ahh, the river 🙂 There sure is a lot more water now!
The scorpion on the floor, in the light of a flashlight!
Joel’s video –
I’d say that all in all, it was an excellent birthday. And, don’t forget the birthday rule: However many years you are old, you can celebrate for that many days on either side of your birthday. So, let the fun continue!
El alacrán – my new word of the day (scorpion)
Yesterday I saw the biggest grasshopper I’d ever seen! It was maybe four inches long and really beautiful. My friend and I were walking around my yard and she spotted in on one of my pineapple plants. She wanted to kill immediately, saying it would eat everything in my garden. I convinced her to put her shoe back on and let the grasshopper live so I could take some photos, but I had to promise to toss it into the woods when I was finished.
This grasshopper was interesting to photograph because it didn’t move much, and it looked directly at me when I pointed the camera at it. At one point it slowly moved from one pineapple leaf to another, almost like it thought it wanted some different poses. When I was finished I put it in a bucket and it just placidly let me scoop it up. Thank you grasshopper for being so interesting and beautiful, and for cooperating with me so well in our photo shoot. I hope you are having a good time in the woods, and don’t come back to eat my garden.
The instructions are: Share a picture of CURVES and explain why you chose that picture!
I’m sitting at my desk wondering where to go with this, looking at the lamp, and the spider web…. There is this tiny spider that has taken a liking to our desk lamp. It builds a web between the lamp base, the shade, and my husband’s pencil holder. They are positioned in such a way that the web is not flat, but twisted into interesting curves. Then, the individual strands of the web also make interesting curves. The web is fairly small and delicate so I used my macro lens.
This morning the whole spiderweb is looking pretty tattered, so I expect the little spider will take it down and build a new one soon.
Now I know not one, but two fellow bloggers in person 🙂 My friend Cindy and her husband arrived in Boquete recently, and we decided to meet at the Tuesday Market. What fun! I should have taken pictures but we were too busy talking and enjoying each other’s company. It’s so interesting to follow someone on line, and then meet them in person. It adds a whole extra dimension, and it’s a lot easier to talk without all the typing 😀 We had a good time and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of them.
I also saw our friend Jose. He was working at the Bambu Hostel where we stayed on our first visit here, and we have been friends ever since. He was at the market promoting a new housing development about 15 minutes from David. It looks affordable and very nice. If I wasn’t so attached to our neighborhood, I’d take a look. But, it was great to see Jose. We’ve kept up on Facebook but haven’t seen each other much in person, and he and Joel hadn’t seen each other since our trip three years ago.
I only took a quick walk around the rest of the market because I wasn’t in shopping mode, but there is always something interesting to see. My favorites are always the molas, especially when they are sold by the artisan who makes them.
After the market, we caught up with Holly and Scott at Habla Ya where they were going for the second day of Spanish class. They are looking great, and now even have their own wheels. I was happy to hear that their first day of class went very well. If they are spending every afternoon at the school, it’s not going to be long before they are talking with everyone.
And, I saw my teacher! We have spent so many hours on line that we are good friends. She is also expecting her first baby in a couple months so it was wonderful to see her looking round, healthy, and happy. We’ve only seen each other in person maybe 4 or 5 times, so today was a real treat.
It’s been a good day. Even the drive is getting more tolerable. There is a crazy back roads detour in the Dolega area, but otherwise it’s mostly new road. There is work in progress in many areas, and I think it will be finished soon. Then it will be faster, safer, and more fun to make the drive to Boquete. That’s good because I’m getting so many new friends there that I expect we’ll be making the drive more often.
I’m very happy that I didn’t have to be taken to the hospital last night. I have a little story to tell you…….
It was dark, very dark, before our neighbor, Ama, returned to her home across the street from our house. Kris and I were waiting to give her three boxes of clothing, books and other items that had been on our porch for a month or more. I had washed some blankets that were musty smelling and had rummaged around in the boxes during the daylight hours and had seen nothing unusual. We just wanted to get the boxes to Ama and out of the weather.
“Hello, Kris?” Ama called out. Kris got up and greeted her. We proceeded to get the boxes, Ama taking the first one, Kris the next, leaving the one the bottom for me. It was heavy and Kris offered to take it to…
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We’re eating breakfast on the back patio, and I see this little frog hop out from under some stuff behind my neighbors house. Isn’t it a cool looking little frog! A bit of internet research told me he’s a poison dart frog.
From what I understand the bright colors are a warning to predators to stay away, and they come in a number of bright colors. I showed the picture to one neighbor who said they are very dangerous and was upset that I saw one next to her yard (but she tends to freak out about everything!). Other neighbors said they are fine and they have never had a problem with them. They said that red and yellow ones are seen around here as well.
I will plan to keep my hands off these frogs, but I am very happy to have seen one. There is no end to the interesting things around here!
Notice the 100% humidity! We had a lot of rain yesterday with thunder and downpours. This morning everything is wet and dripping, and very green. It seems like everything is growing like crazy.
We were also just visited by a noisy bunch of oropendolas! What a treat to see these interesting birds, but they are so active they are almost impossible to photograph. Joel managed to catch one with the camera though, and I thank him for his patience and skill.
crested oropendola
Life is good in Panama 😀
The Panama Adventure 