A great week

The month has started well with two Skype sessions on final day of March. Chris's younger daughter was contacted in the morning and we spent a pleasant half-hour catching up with his family and our latest escapades. Later the same day (Easter Sunday), my son Skyped from his home while the rest of my family was visiting for Easter dinner. I am glad my family is continuing our traditional dinner get-togethers! Only one grand-daughter and a son-in-law were missing - both were at work. The littlest ones look like they are growing like the proverbial weeds, and the adults all looked well. No tears from anyone this time!

April 1st fell on a Monday, no tricks were played, and Cagney passed his vet visit with flying colours. We are to continue with another week of the antibiotics and multivitamins. He is eating us out of house and home now, but acting fussy about what we feed him. New pattern of behaviour!

In the afternoon, we met for lunch at The Bakery with an online contact of mine and her spouse. Penny and I first made contact through www.expat.com  and she has read my book. She is a journalist and commented that my blog is one of the best she has read. I was most gratified to know that! Penny and Bob live in Cambridge, Ontario and are determined to relocate to Panama once both are retired. At least, Penny is determined; Bob is less sure. My advice to them is the same as to others - if you cannot decide, try renting for 6 months in a place you like. Then, either think about buying/building or move to another location you may enjoy. Rents are reasonable and without a large commitment you get a feel for the place you may settle.

On Thursday we took a shopping trip to Rey at the new mall in Chitre, and while there found a sofa set we could both like! Madison is a small department store in Chitre and has larger outlets in other cities; their stock changes frequently so we check on it whenever at the mall. We also found a rug, and several pillows, so the whole lot is being delivered later today. Delivery charge = $30.00. Now we need a dining set for the Great Room. The outdoor furnishings have to wait a bit longer due to the higher cost!

Mitzi has now doubled her size and continues to terrorize our feet and shoes. She climbs up onto our bed every morning and takes a romp for half an hour before dropping in her tracks and sleeping. We use the TV less often these days!

                                 

                                 

This bright little creature has livened us up again, and even Cagney is becoming interested in her antics. Speaking of TV, when we cannot find a good movie, we watch "The Big Bang Theory" almost every evening, catching up on old episodes, and track the new episodes on Thursdays. Laughter is good medicine and this show delivers!

I am delighted to report that my Spanish is more understood by the locals and I am catching on to the nuances more quickly. Chris still struggles, but makes an excellent attempt to communicate in Spanish  when possible. I have an advantage having learned French well, but Chris has no real aptitude for languages and being partially deaf hinders him a lot. Nevertheless, "A for effort, love!" We are teaching Mitzi English of course.