15 January 2010

Life is good in Panama

I enjoyed Christmas Dinner with Gringo friends in Volcan. My grandchildren's birthday is just passed also, and I miss seeing them on a regular basis like I did when I only lived 3 miles away.

My birthday is coming up in a couple of days and quite a number of my new Panamanian friends, neighbors, and Gringo friends are coming over for an afternoon cookout on the following Saturday afternoon. As the 4 month dry season seems to be in full swing, I would expect good weather. The daytime high will undoubtedly be 78 F so a good day to be outside and/or inside in the mountains of western Panama.

Speaking of Gringos, one of my old friends from Nashville, TN will be arriving next week just in time to bring me birthday (& Christmas) gifts from the U.S.

The house is progressing nicely, albeit slowly. We are finishing the plaster facing for the inside walls in the next few days. The two outside walls with concrete blocks were faced with plaster this past week. The plumbing is complete and the major electrical circuits are in. I still need interior doors and the dropped ceiling installed but that will come with time. We will begin part of the painting in the next couple of days and finish in 2 or 3 weeks.

Ham radio has taken a "back seat" to construction and finishing of the house, however I have managed to talk to several hams around the world in the past 3 or 4 weeks. My Internet service is generally reliable but some tree limbs were interfering with the wireless signal. We managed to trim them today so things should be back to normal on the "net".

Personal responses and topics of interest to blog readers are welcome here. However, I have had to moderate comments due to a couple of rude abusers, personal and commercial, so comments do not appear immediately.

All the best from my corner of Paradise!