a little rain one day and a day in old town apartment hunting

See this truck going down the street outside our apartment.  We had some rain ( well actually a lot of rain) the other day.  Fortunately Patt and I were in out of it at this point in time.  The guy in a Hilux was  for some reason was not driving as fast as he could have been.  Perhaps he had been down the road before.

Now this is the road where the truck was headed.  The little car passing the larger one, is heading toward the deeper end, but did indeed make it through.  Lots of cars  did indeed turn around upon seeing the pool in the street.  The street became a bit of a mad house.  Those that did make it through had this intersection waiting on them.  Photos taken from our front room window.

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one of the things Patt and I have done while here is look for an apartment as in one to possibly buy or consider buying.  (We sometimes delude ourselves)  Anyway we have looked in Casco Viejo, the old town and while quaint, and full of personality, is probably not for us.

There are some streets getting developed, some not -- the ones above in the latter category, as is the one Patt is next to below.  It is not hard to tell which is which.  Much has changed for the better since we were last here and this place is changing fast.  Gentrification is taking hold.  And if we are anything we are gentrified.

This street has several buildings cleaned up and ready for prime time --and they look all quaint and everything on the outside and hoo-ha fancy on the inside.  ( the long sleeves are sun protection - and I recommend sun protection )

and the pool with the view of old and being renovated is really really nice.

out on the Causeway

We went out on the Causeway for dinner a day or so ago, and my goodness but we had lots and lots of ships were lined up to enter the Canal, including this huge cruise ship that had a lot of people going to the end of the boat ramps to look at to see.

There were of course lots of container ships and tankers too, and Patt and I had time for an ice cream cone.  -- gosh it was, has been and is hot.  we are talking new level of hot.  The past two days we have also had rain, hard rain, sudden rain, sheets and sheets of rain, fill up the streets with water rain, now it is really really humid in case you did not notice rain.  But guess what, this is still a great place to be.  Those smiles are for real

a day at the park

Well actually it was not a day, but a day or so ago, the four of us went for a walk to a near by playground and dog park, yes a dog park -- Panama City is quite civilized, especially in this part of town.  The park is on the water front and Jen and Stephen's dog, Deuce, really liked the park and the water.  Jen and Deuce knew many of the people and dogs in the park.  It is not hard to know why.

Deuce and I went down the boat ramp to the waters edge -  (there was a bit of a beach too, but accessible only over some pretty large rocks.).

We (the Deuce and I ) went out on the long breakwater and got some kids to take our picture.  Deuce, fortunately for me, has decided that she likes me -- a lot.  She worries when we are walking if I am not with the group and tries to herd me into the group of the four of us.  When I stray, she looks over her shoulder and tries to get us back together in a tighter pack.  We seem to have a lot in common too.  She and I both pass gas.  Hers though is the stuff that legends are made of.

PART 2 apartment PART 2

Just outside the bedroom is a "small" sitting room/den which is a relatively long way from the living room and kitchen down a hall past several other bedrooms.

The master bedroom, - like the entire place, it is very sparsely furnished (our real estate agent would approve) so it looks large.  and actually I think it is.

The bathtub to the left is larger than the old Volks wagon cars of the 60's and probably most of the smaller European cars of today.  It has a tub edge to ceiling window - why not? - that slides open and looks out onto the city.  there is a light over the tub in case you wanted the city to look in I reckon as there are no curtains.  taller buildings actually are some distance away.

Part of the rest of the bathroom.  Due to the tile it is not necessary to shout to be heard in here.

and more of the bathroom --- those are closets and built in dresser drawers of all types behind those doors.  I just found out I have thinning hair on the back of my head and am not so sure I like all these mirrors.

Our driveway into covered parking, if we had a car- that would be relevant.

eight floors above the ground floor.  We are on the eighth.-- and there is an elevator

Our street 3A Sur, which intersects with Calle 49 Este, corr. Belle Vista.

We are just a few blocks from this street which several of you should remember from the wedding  - Marie and Patt bought a cell phone on this street and the entrance to El Panama is just in front of the Don Lee sign.

 So there you have it.  We think it will do --

an apartment in Central America

We have an apartment.  Check that WE HAVE US AN APARTMENT ! ! It is HUGE, and in a very nice location and quite nice.  I think it will do.  Take a tour.  Here is Patt arranging the dishes in the kitchen.  early 70s era styling, and gas appliances.

Now the living/dining room is somewhat sparsely furnished.  It does have a view of the Pacific and ships lining up for the Canal between the buildings in the distance - 7-8 blocks, not too far and we do get a breeze.  More to come on the apartment - the built in dining room table - to the right is a monster and will have its own blog in the future.

Here is another view of the living room dining room looking back across the previous shot.  (the Pacific is to the left on this view).  I have since moved one couch up to the window and another to the window where I am standing for this shot.

Bucolic view looking out the front window to the right-same blue and gold building as in the top photo on the extreme right of the picture.

and because we are in a large Latin American city, we live next to a construction site.  Right next- like outside living room window on the other side.  You should expect no less.  We did.  Fortunately the bedroom is on the other corner.  Unfortunately that does not seem to make much of a difference.  More to come - of course - on the apartment.

Got here --Central America

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We got here, and my goodness it is nice to see the kids again.  Son here - complete with Jobst hose (note right leg) fresh from home and freshly put on. and is is back in his newly local space, leg up and computer open.  Stephen is recovering from the blood clot quite well, still working on getting the INR score correct.  We are having a real father-son good time, discussing dosing and testing related to treatments for clots.  

A complication though for Stephen, much like I had.  Each minor chest pain or deep breath is sign of a heart attack or stroke.  Stephen has admitted to five heart attacks -- all false alarms, and six strokes (or perhaps the count was reversed).  He like his Dad is subject to any and all symptoms and manifestations of problems.  Jen thinks Stephen has underestimated his count on heart attacks and strokes by a large multiple.

Here is Stephen with full view of the living room / dinning room of their very nice apartment in a very quiet part of town just a couple of blocks from the Pacific.  It is in the Punta Paitilla (it is the little point on the side of the bay closest to the airport) region of town.

When we got to the airport due to Stephen's condition and Jen's work, we took a cab into town from the airport.  Found Stephen as above and then went to Jen's office, a few blocks away on Balboa, the ocean front road.  The office is a tiny interior office humming with activity, in a large building with lots of offices ranging from I don't have a clue to what looks like the Swedish Consulate.

Here is Jen showing Stephen (who "had to get out of the house") her Outlook spreadsheet of activities of Koozies.com.  They have been busy. Check it out   http://www.kooziez.com/

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I finally decided what I want to do now that I have retired.  Clean closets, get rid of junk, throw out stuff, then fold up linens neatly, arrange things  and make the shelves look really really nice like you have lots of space.  See this hall linen closet.  See the neatly folded sheets, blankets, the carefully arranged box of light bulbs.  Does it look like yours ? of course not !  Does it look like ours did prior to my retirement ?  are you kidding?  

Oh I have another idea

I think I would also like cleaning out attics.  Yeah that sounds really fun.  You know bump your head on the rafters, strain your back lifting some box of books, or old magazines, get dust up in your eyes, --- we are talking fun.  This place used to have stuff to the edge of the eaves, to get to the other end was nigh on impossible, and I had promised half the junk to my son-in-law and the other half to my daughter-in-law. Well, 70% of it is gone, trash, recycling, Goodwill, and so on.  Lets talk about a hoot.

Notice also the new attic floor.  Had a new helper person on that one, a nephew, a student at NCSU complete with pickup truck to go to Lowe's with me to get the plywood.  As we were bending nails.  We allowed as to how his Grandfather probably would not have been impressed with our hammering skills.   As always helper persons are appreciated.

See the heirloom.  this treasure.  its value is purely in the eye of its beholder -- that being me.  No one thought our crap was worth a crap.  Had a yard sale and all we got was a couple of sneers.  People would walk up, pick up a piece or two, turn up their nose, and walk out.   A niece helper person, knowledgeable about Craig's list and wine accessories both (talk about your unique combinations) was of immeasurable help in the yard sale, my sanity and is now attempting to peddle some of our treasures.

See the clutter, mess, stuff that has been placed in the garage.  where is the car?  out collecting pollen, that is where.

here is yet another view.  the stuff and been moved around.  Guess who did that.  Do I know how to have fun or what.  Yes, these items will soon be gone, even the ficus trees in the background.  One of those even served as a Christmas tree in the basement one year.  Nevertheless, we can clean out, downsize, have less stuff.  Retirement has never been so much fun.  Been this way for six weeks now.  Getting better every single day.