And the thunder rolls

The sky here is ever changing.  Most mornings, the sun is out and the birds seem  take over the front yard with their busy schedule of looking for bugs and feeding on nectar. We have several star singers who light up the air with songs and various bird chit chat.  To date, I have identified several birds thanks to a book loan by my friend/chiropractor Bruce.  BTW I've posted a pic from his balcony where I get the most wonderfulful adjustment and rebalancing.  The drive to Volcancito takes me about 5 minutes and it's amazing how different the area is from where we are in Alto Boquete.  It's much drier here (dry being a relative term) and different vegetation.  We are more of a savannah, while Volcancito is a jungle paradise.  Plus sides to both and we are working on the landscaping here to bring in more greenery and visual aesthetics to our yard.  My first plant purchase was from a local Ngoble woman selling plants at the Tuesday market.  Not sure what it is or how big it grows, but tomorrow, it's going in and we'll see how it does in our soil.

We are still very busy with painting and have one room done at this point.  We spent yesterday in town checking out various stores and finally settled on a sofa and 2 chairs from Economico Precio.  Decided to have lunch at a little stand next door and pigged out on some chicken and rice with lentils and a small side beet salad.  We had a bit of fun and a nice break from the housework checking out Conway, our version of Target and Pricemart (Costco) and a side trip to Novey, which is kind of like Kmart and great for all those little items you can't find anywhere else.  Dennis was a trooper as shopping isn't his cup of tea.  Check out the pic of him patiently waiting in the garden dept. of Novey while I went through the checkout line.

Checked out  a yoga class at Curvas Bonitas on Monday and had a great time.  It was held outside n the back patio under a tin roof.  The roof was especially nice when  a light rain came upon us (wonder of wonders) Jer, the teacher, had a great vibe and was my first experience with a male yoga teacher.  Good energy. Om shanti!   

Spanish lessons have begun (at least for me) on Wednesdays and I am enjoying Evelyn (American)  and Henry (Panamanian) , my teachers.  It's such a relaxed group and gives me lots of practice with my accent and sentence construction.  We meet at Evelyn's house which is just down the road from me.  I was afraid my spanish was too basic for the intermediate class, but I held my own and think maybe they will not kick me out just yet.  

We sold a few items on Ning and met some really nice people to boot.  Terry and Liz are here helping to build dorms and houses for local Indian girls while they are attending school.  As is often the case, there is not the financial or emotional support at home, so they house the girls while they finish junior and senior high school.  There are some sad stories of how some of  the girls come to them, but Terry and Liz have such an uplifting and positive manner, it's hard to ignore the great work they are doing.  Dennis and I are hoping to become involved in some manner once our place is up and running and the little casita is habitable (as in rental and guest house for any visitors that may come our way)  The area that they are living in is called Porterillos and is about 15 minutes from where we live.  It's more rural and a bit out of the way, but spectacularly gorgeous and made for a wonderful fieldtrip for us as we learn the area.  A side benefit was Dennis got some direction on the best way to proceed with our roof.  He and Terry got to talk a bit of shop and Liz and I chatted about the families and children that live and work there.  We also met a very nice young man named Hermes (pronounced 'air-mez) who came to volunteer with them from Nicaragua.  

Tonight we're off to listen to a guitar concert at the library and then tomorrow, we'll tackle another room and whip it into shape for an office/retreat/art room.  Full throttle ahead.

As I close this post, the thunder is rumbling in the distance and the rain is about here.  Time to close a window or two and head inside.  CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM!