RAIN! Mud, giant slabs, kittens - quite the mix

All Saints Day - the day my older daughter was baptized many years back. It was a beautiful day then and is again today!  Presently, there are about a half dozen workers in our back garden.  They are sloshing around in mud, working on the casita roof,and completing laying a slate path that resembles the Giant's Causeway in Ireland!  It is time to get this project finished. Yesterday, it rained so hard that we had a river flowing down the road and another flowing out of our back!  The patio was partly flooded, and it looked as though our whole back garden would be under water any minute.  A scene from Noak's Ark!

It will become a walkway!

The "river" flowing past the front of the house

A smaller river joins the big one (from next door)

Water from us and from lot 35

Does it ever rain in Panama you ask?  Oh, yes....and 20 minutes later it is bright sunshine and the puddles are fast disappearing. Only in Panama.

A week ago, just when we were about to give up on Fredi and her kittens, she suddenly placed them in one of our AC housings.  Three small furry bodies, well hidden.  Then last weekend, she carried/dragged the wee things to the back patio and to our delight put them in the comfy cat carrier we have out there. Two dark, one light ginger, and now we can see the dark ones are actually one brindled and one tabby.  I suspect a black cat who has arrived lately must be the dad. Our gingers chase him away so we have no idea where he came from or where he now hangs out.  The kittens were born around October 1st so are now about 4 weeks old.

With luck and ingenuity, we will befriend them, get them to a vet for a start, then get them adopted somehow.  Hopefully, Dr Diaz can assist us!  The bigger task is to make sure these are Fredi's LAST litter. She's fairly trusting now, but picking her up will be a challenge. With our care and feeding of their mother, at least these babes look healthy.  Spaz and Lucky are curious but Fredi warns them off if they get close.

I completed editing my manuscript of the novella. Then took a leap of faith and e-mailed query letters and the first chapter (five pages) to four agents. One replied within 24 hours with "interesting, but not for me right now". Courteous! I have the next book planned out and will complete an outline this coming week, then get down to work again.  Despite the agony and doubt, writing is now my forte!  Chris was off to the endodontist on Friday, having one of his root canals finished.  He missed wearing waders to get back home.  I swear that water would have been over his hubcaps!

One of our older workers, left us a big bag of lemons earlier in the week.  Using a little gadget I bought at a Fiesta here, we squeezed two jars full of lemonade.  Boy, is it sour!  Like concentrate.  So now I can have my morning glass of warm lemon before breakfast. I haven't found the lemon concentrate I used in Canada.  Still lots left to squeeze...

This is actually a long, long weekend for Panamanians.  Day of the Dead is tomorrow, Separation from Columbia is November 3rd and the 4th is flag day here.  Later in the month Santa Catalina is celebrated, closely followed by Independence from Spain.  A month full of celebrations - even more than Christmas.  No double time for any workers, and most businesses seem to simply close down. Fill your larder, and get your beer now! Last chance....