An Excellent Motivating Force to Declutter Our Basement

Week of Nov. 13, 2017

Nothing makes us happier than having our grown children home visiting and spending time with us!
We chat regularly with them over skype or wechat and keep in touch with them so that we are not shut out of their lives as they live so far away. Our son was coming home for the American Thanksgiving weekend and we got busy!

Our basement was a storage room filled with old things.

Since we started the renovation on the upper floor of our house two years ago, we put away a lot of things in the basement which was filled to the ceiling. 

The basement was so filled with boxes, books, sporting equipment and many other junks that we could hardly find a space to walk.

 It was a real embarrassment! My husband complained a lot about when we would tidy things up and get rid of the mess.  I was for the past little while and procrastinated at this unpleasant task.

We spent days getting rid of unnecessary items from the basement.

However, nothing motivated me to declutter more than hearing the news that our son was coming home!

As parents, we need to set good example for our children even when they are grown.   














To get anything done, I have to set a goal and a deadline. Therefore, my goal was to get the basement cleaned up and ready before our son came home for Thanksgiving.

We spent the entire week, everyday, tidying up our house and decluttering all the things we have accumulated in the last three decades making sure our house would be in top shape and ready.


We put in new drapes in the guest room for privacy to ensure that this room would be comfortable and welcoming for our son.  I was surprised at how much we got done and how persistent we were at getting the house ready and the basement cleaned up.

After decluttering, we even fit our old dining room table and chairs there.

Love is a powerful motivating force. It is amazing how much energy we discovered we have when we are motivated!

We would do anything for our children including all the undesirable tedious tasks we have been putting away and reluctant to tackle.

I am really proud of how much we got done and purged many of the unused items in the past week!

The uncluttered basement now looks attractive and inviting. We have not used this space for years; we would certainly utilize it more often from now on!



R.T.
Enjoying Our Tidy Basement!
Toronto

A Refugee Crisis Awareness Art Exhibition at the Panama Airport

Week of November 6, 2017

It was time for us to go home!  Though we enjoyed our visit in Panama, we were also happy that we would be home soon.

Rev. C drove us to the Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. It seemed like yesterday when he picked us up from there. The day before we left Panama, we paid visits to a few church families. 

We got to the airport with plenty of time ahead of our flight. After checking in and security clearance, we walked around the airport trying to get some pre flight exercises.  

A special art exhibition at the Panama City airport on refugees caught my eyes.

An art piece by Heydi Sanjur, Panama

This was an art exhibition highlighting the plight of the refugee crisis worldwide. 

The artists were mainly from the Central America region.

Mecho - by an artist from Costa Rico

Many of the artwork pieces were poignant depicting the hardship and reality facing the 60 million refugees fleeing from violence, torture and prosecution from their homelands and various countries.

I was really touched by the artwork of Omar Zevallos from Peru

There was one piece in particular that touched my heart.

It was a mother crying and handing a suitcase packaged as a gift to her young son to leave as a refugee.

This painting resonated with me deeply. 

As parents, we all want to give our children the best gifts. How tragic it was to have to send your own young children running for their lives so that they may have the opportunity to live or for a better life.

We appreciated the artists' efforts in their work pieces and the opportunity for us to see this art exhibition that aimed at raising people's awareness of the refugee crisis and the protection needs of these displaced people.

R.T.

Tocumen International Airport, Panama City

Panama

Penonome, Panama - A Nice Small Busy Town

Town Plaza, Penonome, Panama

We stayed in the town of Penonome for almost a week when we were in Panama.

The municipal government building in Penonome, Panama 

On the second last day of our stay, we did a walkabout and visited some famous landmarks in Penonome.

Though not a big town with a population of 15, 841 ( year 2000), it has currently around 20,000 inhabitants.  We passed by a university and a college while we toured the place.

Note: Figure from Wikipedia
















According to Wikipedia, the town of Penonome is home to many descendants of Turkish, Chinese and Arab immigrants. However, we did not see any mosque or Buddhist temple in the town.

Cathedral San Juan Bautista de Penonome, Penonome, Panama

We saw a number of catholic churches. The biggest and the most beautiful one we saw was the Cathedral San Juan Bautista de Penonome.

The interior of the Cathedral was colorfully decorated with the flags of Panama. ( I rarely saw a church exhibiting its patriotism by draping itself with so many national flags.)



Apparently, there are also other smaller places of worship. One afternoon, we walked by a strip mall and were invited into a place of worship right there at the mall.

Penonome's Town Central Plaza

Cathedral San Juan Bautista de Penonome is located in the town's central plaza.

Right across from the cathedral is a small park.

We saw a number of beautifully painted park benches where visitors could sit and rest their tired feet.

Every bench has been dedicated to remember a special person with his/ her name written on it.















Since it was our last couple of days in Panama, we wanted to do some shopping and went to the two shopping streets in town.

A hardware store in the shopping area

We visited Avenida Juan Demostenes Arosemena, a street lined with many shops selling clothes, hardware, household items and a local farmers' market selling fresh produces.

Another shopping street is the Inter-American Highway along the edge of town.

We shopped at the Super Centro Cocle, a well known local supermarket with a good selection of a variety of  grocery, local food and household items. We bought some coffee and local snacks to take home for our families and friends.

We have learned that Panama produces excellent coffee and some have garnered top awards!

Super Centro Cocle, a well known local supermarket 

What surprised me was that the cashiers working at this supermarket were allowed to sit while performing their duties.

We don't even have that in Toronto!

Canadians pride ourselves living in one of the advanced countries in the world. We have a lot to learn from other countries. 

Though Penonome is a small town, it offers many services to its residents including many shops, universities, a hospital, pharmacy stores etc.

This pharmacy is located right next to the Super Centre Cocle  supermarket, with a bakery next to it as well.

A paying station where residents can pay all their bills.

We passed by a paying station where customers can pay for all their bills. Not bad at all.

This was my third time visiting Penonome. I enjoyed my visit every time and my husband  really enjoyed his first visit to this small nice town in Panama.

R.T.

Penonome

Panama

Pinatas For Sale in a Supermarket in Panama

A cafeteria in a Panama supermarket

Before we headed to Panama, we were busy packing for our trip, things such as sunblock, sunscreen, fribre rich cereals etc. We were worried that we might not be able to get the things needed there.

However, once we landed in Penonome, we found that our worries were unfounded.

We could buy many things we needed in a Panama supermarket.

We found a number of places and shops where we could shop for our necessities.


Some modern western style supermarkets have sprung up since I last visited Penonome, a city in Panama.

The supermarkets sold many imported foreign and local products which were well organized and neatly displayed in different isles in the stores.

 We also  found many local produces in the supermarket.

Pinatas of many types and designs were displayed and for sale.

One supermarket even had a cafeteria where customers could buy home food to enjoy.

I always  enjoy shopping and looking around in the local stores and shops when we travel to different places.

I try to find the items unique to the local culture.

I often can learn a lot about the local culture and customs of the particular town from what they sell.

I found something which we do not see in our supermarkets in Canada.

The pinatas!

There were pinatas of many types and designs for children.

I found a sweet beautiful Cinderella pinata!

We even found a micky mouse pinata in this Panama supermarket!


I wonder how many children would actually bash these beautiful Cinderella and Mini Mouse pinata until they breaks and have the candies fall out?  I think most likely the girls would rather take these cute and adorable pinatas home and hang them in their bedrooms!

However, there was one item I still could not find locally - bottle distilled water for my breathing machine.

R.T.
Penonome, Panama

Relaxing Under a Bohio on Playa Santa Clara, Penonome, Panama

Interesting rock formation in the Santa Clara beach area.

After running the children's camp and giving a parenting workshop on Sunday, we could let our hair down a little.

We went to Playa Santa Clara, about 25 minutes drive from Penonome, Panama.

As we drove into the Santa Clara beach area, we saw some interesting rock formations leading to the beach and ocean.

Bohios dotted along the ocean on the Santa Clara Beach

The Playa Santa Clara is considered to be the best beach by some in Panama.

On the day we went, the beach was pretty clean with little garbage or debris. We noticed two police officers patrolling the area to make sure everything was safe for visitors.


I loved the fine white sand and the bohios - palm leaves covered little huts, dotting along the ocean on the beach.

Visitors could rent a bohio with restaurant service at Playa Santa Clara

After our intensive work for the past few days, it was nice to be on a beach without worrying about work.

My husband sipping coconut water and relaxing under a bohio

Our friends and my husband could not get up to one of those hammocks fast enough under the bohio.

Panama is an island surrounded by oceans; everywhere one turns,  one can see sand and water.

We had lots of fun on the sandy beach. Using my feet, I was trying to write a short message on the sand.  However, half way before I could finish, the waves rolled over and washed over the sand erasing what I had just written.

A group of 3- 4 people was watching me and they motioned me to move up to the beach to avoid the waves. I did but each time the waves moved up higher to the beach again erasing what I did.

Finally, one of the guys came over and helped me to write the other half of my message.

Nice friendly folks indeed! In fact, everywhere we went, we met very friendly local people in Panama. Using my little Spanish, I could communicate a little with them.

Some people from the local church made a special trip to Santa Clara beach on the same afternoon. Bill, his kids, Kim, her husband and kids also came and joined us for the afternoon.

We had a great time talking to them. I got to know Zany and Willie, Kim's kids, a little better in this outing. They are such nice kids!

We enjoyed the beach outing a lot at Playa Santa Clara, Panama.

Being on the beach with cool breezes blowing on our faces and with warm sand under our feet, we felt relaxed and blessed.

We sampled stuffed plantains at the ocean front restaurant.

We were there from afternoon till dinner time and were eager to try some local food such as stuffed plantains.

Fish and Chips, Panama Style

Food served from the beach restaurant was pretty good.

The local fish and chips were quite different. The fish was freshly caught locally and the whole fish including head and tail was deep fried and served to us.

Fresh and delicious!

We ate at this ocean front restaurant at Playa Santa Clara

Time flew when we were with good friends, enjoying delicious food in a beautiful calm tropical setting.

Sunset on the beach of Santa Clara, Panama

The sun started to go down and we all tried to get some good shots of a tropical sunset.

It was a really good day on the beautiful Santa Clara beach spending time and having fun with church friends in Panama!


R.T.
Playa Santa Clara
Penonome, Panama
Week of Nov. 6, 2017