It's a quiet Tuesday. Larry's playing golf, and there are no workmen for the first time in months. The front landscaping is in place, so we decided to give Steve and company, as well as our pocketbook, a rest before starting on the waterfall and walkways out back. There are scores of plants out back, however, in addition to those out front, that up until a few days ago we wore ourselves out watering. After the wettest of wet seasons, we suddenly were hit with no rain and lots of wind for about a week and a half, drying everything out virtually overnight. We have four inter-connected tanks that catch rainwater from the downspouts, a pump to pump it out, and water lines and four faucets on the back part of the property. We emptied the tanks in two days of constant water dispersal via sprinklers and hoses. Out front, we used house water, and lots of it. Finally, three days ago we starting receiving late afternoon and early evening showers, saturating everything thoroughly and refilling the tanks. It's still windy, but nothing like that few days in January. With the sun and moderate rain, things are really beginning to grow.
There continue to be aggravations, compounded by the general inefficiency of Panamanian businesses and government. It took us five days "will-be-there-today" to get our automatic gate working properly. I've been waiting for two days for a plumber to unclog a water line to the kitchen so that I have more than a trickle of water to the sink. And I just got a call from C & W (Cable and Wireless--aka Clueless and Witless or Corrupt and Worthless) telling me my phone bill hasn't been paid even though I set it up for automatic charge to a credit card of which they have copies. Naturally, they can't look up their own records but insist that I visit their office to straighten it out. The house papers still haven't been properly filed with the Public Registry because of a dispute about the value of house--despite two bank appraisals and an appraisal by the Town. Garbage collection is regular unless there's a holiday, and there are many, in which case it throws them off completely and we don't have a pick up for weeks. Finally, we've been waiting an eternity for some patio furniture and a couple of indoor tables which were ordered in mid-December and partially paid for. Oscar, the craftsman, who made our gates in record time and therefore won our confidence, apparently is still is town because there are reported sightings of him, but we can't run him down to save our lives.
If I get one major thing accomplished a day, I feel good. Today it was renewing my health insurance. Yesterday it was getting the gate fixed. Sunday it was doing income taxes. And so on. In between, there's always watering, weeding, and household chores. It hasn't left much time for recreation, but I did get away last Thursday with Jane (of The Coffee Estate Inn where we always stayed when we came down as tourists) and Kay Wade for a girls-only road trip to Concepcion, Volcan, and Cerro Punto. We swore we would do it more often, but it was Jane's first day off in months. They've had a full house since November and, in addition to serving as innkeepers and all-around problem solvers for picky guests (you should hear her stories), they also offer gourmet meals at night. And Kay and her husband Dan were leaving for Bhutan on a bird-watching jaunt the following weekend. So when we'll get together again I don't know. Doc, Charly, and Ramon are just as busy settling into their house and landscaping the property, although we do see from time to time for a dinner out or a quick visit.
One day I hope to be retired.
