Deckin' The Doors.....

As I placed the fluffy, white, fake cotton snow carefully around the miniature village under the tree, a bead of summer sweat ran down my face.  The sound of "Navidad Rock" in the background with signs of "Feliz Navidad" everywhere can mean only one thing.  Christmastime in Panamá marks the beginning of summer.  Schools close for summer vacation and local families head to the beaches to catch a wave in the warm, bath like ocean waters.  Still others drive up into the majestic mountains to pitch a tent and roast marshmallows oven an open campfire.

Our Dobie-Reindeer

Our Formal Dining Area



The stores are full of Christmas cheer, glittery ornaments, nativity scenes, fruitcake, and bargains galore. Paint prices come down at hardware stores since locals like to spruce up the outside of their homes with fresh paint this time of year, just in time for holiday visitors. Perhaps we should take advantage of the bargains since one of the projects on our to-do-list is to paint the outside of this old house.

The "Hole in the Wall"
has been decorated!

Top of the Hutch



Clyde breathed a sigh of relief today as he hung the last of the four outside, wooden doors that he made.  The last one was one of the larger two, a huge four foot wide door to keep the rain and wind out of our back hallway.  It went up with a fight but we managed to wrangle it into place and make it fit into the hole.

Forty Seven Inches Wide!



Yesterday the morning was spent decking the house with Christmas ornaments after putting up the tree.  Although the 90 degree temperatures outside don't make it fell like Christmas, the inflatable snowmen and Santa's in the store tell us it is.  Hard to believe that this is already our second Christmas on the isthmus of Panamá.

Our Setee all decorated

The snow village lit up



For the past few days I've noticed what looks like coffee granules in the kitchen sink even after I've cleaned it.  Being a women I naturally blamed it on Clyde in my head but didn't say anything and instead just cleaned it up.  Later on they'd appear again and I'd clean them up again and again wondering what was going on.  Finally today while pulling a glass down from our open upper cabinets, I noticed a pile of sawdust on the edge.  Ah-ha....I found the culprit....termites!  Sure enough without even a termite trail, some of those little buggers had penetrated into the very corner of the cabinet.  A tiny seam opened up and lacked paint allowing the critters to burrow their way in, causing a mess of sawdust.  We cleaned up the mess, sprayed the area and washed the glasses and cups just in case they'd been infected.  I also checked the rest of the cabinets and drawers but no sign of termites anywhere else. We thought these cabinets were safe since they've been there for 30 years in a vacation home that was inhabited much of the time.  Just goes to show us that no wood is safe here whether it's old or new.

Our Panama Christmas Tree



Sounds like a party here on Mango Street today since our neighbors have music blasting loud.  Fortunately though, these neighbors don't get in the party mood too often and always seem to turn it off when it gets dark.  Perhaps it's because they have toddlers that go to bed early?  Whatever the reason is that they turn it down when they do, we're certainly thankful for as we enjoy the quiet...along the gringo trail.