ruthkennedysretirementblog

The ‘New’ House in Pedasi

It’s coming along. Lots done and still lots to do.

After I left Pedasi April 2024, Daryl stayed as there was a ton of work being done on the house. Wet season doesn’t start until May…ish and everything on the outside of the house needed to be closed in before the rains come.

When I left we were in process of getting a new roof. After all the clay tiles had been removed, a portion of the wood and a big beam had to be replaced.

The new roofing arrived and was ready to go. While a lot of people like clay tiles and they are a hot commodity for resale, I just don’t like the look when they turn black with what I presume is mold.

The underlay is on the roof and the panels are being laid.

The ceiling, both inside and out, and the posts were sanded and stained.

The security bars were delivered after being constructed and painted.

The roof is on, and the security bars are in place on all the doors and windows. Just look at that blue, blue sky.

While the roof was being completed, Daryl was busy learning a new skill, concrete patching. Once it is painted it will be perfect.

Not sure we need all those security bars, but as we are only here part time, better safe than sorry!!

The eves troughs weren’t put in place until this spring, but it is a nice finishing touch.

We also had no electricity. To make it happen the meter had to be visible from the road, which meant the fence had to be ‘adjusted’. We don’t have any light fixtures yet, but the bare bulbs work. The electrical panel was in a storage room in our bedroom, that needed to change and it is now in the hallway. So much easier access.

On another note, last winter Daryl took an avocado pit and stuck it is a pot of soil. It rooted and started growing. When it got about a foot tall we planted it in the yard. It survived the winter, getting lots of water during rainy season. All the lighter green leaves towards the top are new in the last month, and it’s about four feet tall. Apparently it can take years before a tree started from the seed will bear fruit. Here’s hoping!

A work in progress. Who ever said retirement would be boring!

Cheers

Ruth

Time for more DIY: Solar panel storage and little tables

When Daryl’s ‘mishap’ happened this summer, I learned way more than I wanted to. At the trailer we have no electricity and depend on solar panels (and a generator if we are really stuck). Normally Daryl would take the four solar panels and the wiring off the trolly before storing it all in a shed. When he couldn’t do it and I had too, it was no easy task. Also not going to happen again.

During his two months of inactivity, Daryl came up with a plan, build another structure and roll the panels in.

It’s taking shape.

And we have doors and a ramp!

Time to pretty it up with a little paint. That day was hot, 30C+ in September! I had to get the shed painted before 10 AM while there was still shade. Black for the trim was spray paint and messy.

Mission accomplished, all nicely tucked away in the trees. No more need to take the solar panels apart when we leave and set up is a whole lot easier too.

As we have such a large outside living space, we need lots of chairs and little tables so we don’t have to drag them from one end of the property to the other. The chairs we have.

We have morning coffee at the marsh, in the chill of early morning it’s sunny and warm.

Then in the heat of the afternoon this is a great place to have a cold drink.

When it is raining or very hot, we find shade. 2024 has been an incredibly hot summer and under the canopy works well for both cooking and eating. The propane fire pit was only used once!

When we sit around the campfire we definitely need some place to put our drinks and s’mores supplies.

Sometimes we just sit under a tree or the trailer canopy.

Knowing any little tables would be left out in the weather, as our stated goal was to not have to cart them around, we wanted to spend as little money as possible. Daryl ‘found’ two solid wooden chairs with flat seats, he cut the backs off and we had the beginnings of two more little tables.

So… while Daryl was busy building a shed, I got busy ‘making’ a couple of tables. The table that is left at the marsh was easier, only required removing the fabric cover and padding. Removing the many staples was the longest part of the job. Then after a quick sanding and painting one table was ready.

The other table was meant to be left at the fire pit. When it gets cool in the evening we often eat there as the fire pit becomes our smoker/BBQ. This table needed to be a little bigger. We just so happened to have a pallet sitting around.

We don’t often use the generator, but it sure comes in handy when using power tools that aren’t battery operated.

A trip to Michael’s for acrylic paints, a little pouring, and the second table was ready. The mosquitos were vicious, not sure what the coil does to a person’s body, but it worked to keep the mosquitos away.

Next summer we hope to enjoy the fruits of our labour.

Cheers

Ruth

Alberta Wildflowers

We haven’t been spending much time at the trailer this summer. On our first trip in a month, mid July, the wildflowers were incredibly beautiful.

**Yes, the trailer is hiding in the trees.**

Once we got settled in and the fridge packed, it was time to walk around and enjoy the beauty. Wish I could say I knew the names of the flowers, but no.

There were so many splashes of colour.

We also had strawberries. It would take an awful lot to fill a tablespoon, but they sure packed a tasty punch.

At one end of the property there is a marsh. We don’t see very many animals, but it is the perfect place to have morning coffee when the temperature starts dropping.

While everything was lush and green at this point, it did not last long. There is a full fire ban in effect and has been for a while. You could practically watch everything turn brown.

When there is work to be done you can’t keep a good man down!

It has been too hot to even use the propane fireplace. Survival for me means moving from one shady spot to another as the sun progresses across the sky. That too shall pass.

Cheers!

Ruth

DIY Tables….and more tables.

We have a friend who had a very very large corotu tree fall down in his back yard. It damaged part of his fence and workshop. That’s a lot of wood to use up.

It took a while to get a guy with a six foot chain saw blade to come and cut the tree into slabs.

We decided to get a piece. My new preferred activity is wood working and what a wonderful opportunity to get a solid piece of wood to make a table 6′ x 3′.

Ours is somewhere in the middle of this pile. We will probably need a forklift to move it. It has a beautiful dark centre with light colour around the edges. There is also enough wood in the slab to make the legs.

The wood got a chemical treatment to keep termites and other creatures from eating it. Now it has to sit for a year or so to dry out. Then the real work starts. I am good with doing the table top, Daryl will make the legs.

We needed a regular height work surface as we have lots of work in our future. Somebody told us somebody (you know how it goes) had an old table with a separate tree stump base for sale.

The ‘stump’ was too short for a regular table height so we decided to shorten it and make a coffee table.

Even though it is in pretty rough shape, it has too much potential to be used as a work table.

We took it to the house and Daryl gave it the termite treatment. After a few days I decided it was ok to start the cleaning up process..

The sanding did not last long as there was too much chemical odor.

Both pieces are stored for completion in the fall. At some point we hope it will be a fabulous coffee table.

While we were at the lumber yard getting wood for the window trim, I saw an old piece of grey wood that could work as a work station. ‘The guy’ would sell it for $20, but first he would clean it up.

After being sanded and cleaned up, it was a very nice piece of wood and the perfect size for an end table. My plan was to use a block of wood for the base. But ‘the guy’ had a better plan, and only for another $20!

This table is never coming apart.

It would not have been my choice for table legs, however this man is an artist at work. This table only needs the legs stained and a clear sealer. The beautiful tabletop is all natural.

Now we have an outside dining table, a coffee table and an end table all in different stages of development. We ended up using a kitchen counter that needs replacing as a work station.

Cheers

Ruth

A Panamanian house. Almost DIY

Sometimes it is better to buy a ‘fixer upper’ than trying to build from scratch.

This lovely little gem was a new build that has been sitting empty for the last 10 years. It came with a good size lot. The location is also perfect, it is on the edge of town but only a two minute walk to main street. So we can walk ‘everywhere’.

Three areas needed to be attended to before we go home: a fence, security bars on all windows and doors, and a new roof.

This house had no water or electricity. Our neighbour across the street let us run a water line from his well and to hook up to his electricity. Both were run in ‘tubos’ under the street.

This all came together relatively quickly.

The electric wire had to be pulled through the pipe. It was not easy. I ended up standing on the pipe so the worker did not have to hold it with his feet while pulling.

Once we had water and electricity, the fence was next to get going. The process was a little different. The quote was in two parts: supplies and labour. Daryl went to the hardware store, the ‘ferreteria’, and paid for the supplies. Everything was delivered and work started.

It was manual labor for the most part.

There was a line of trees across the back yard that was in the middle of the property line. They were all removed with a machette and shovel, except one. That one needed a little help to get the root.

So sad to see all those lovely trees being chopped down. It’s a plus that vegetation grows quickly here.

We ended up with quite a pile of brush that will need to be removed.

Once the post holes were dug, it was time to get the posts planted in cement.

While the fence was going up Daryl and I started preping the windows for the security bars.

Daryl painted outside, I did the inside.

A big bunch of trim had to be stained and then window screens installed.

All 13 windows now have screens. It will be a couple of weeks yet before the security bars are ready.

There are about 8000 tiles on the roof that have to be removed. The workers sure know what they are doing.

A guy on the roof throws a tile and the guy below deftly catches it.

Over half the tiles have been removed. A long way to go yet, but that’s a good start.

Daryl is installing privacy netting on the fence. Eventually there will be shrubbery hiding the green.

It has been a busy couple of weeks.

Maybe some day we will even have furniture!

Cheers

Ruth

DIY: Making a Mandala

There might actually be something artistic in me!

Making the mandala was fun and not difficult, as long as you followed the pattern. The instructor suggested I take the beginner lesson first as I had no idea of the process involved.

I did (me and a nine year old with his mom). Basically we were taught how to mix the paint, follow the pattern and make the different size dots. The entire ‘painting’ is made with dots.

Mix the paint with white to make three shades of yellow and blue.

Start with a centre dot and work out. You need to follow the pattern pretty closely. However if you make a mistake, you can erase it if you are quick enough before it dried. A bit of water on a little brush and a Q-tip should get rid of the mistake. Then a dab of black paint and good as new.

Add a bit of yellow and a good three hours later it was done.

The next class had a bigger canvas and took closer to five hours to complete.

Starting to come together.

And finished.

All in all a fun couple of days, and something I would do again.

Cheers

Ruth

DIY outside seats

Once I realised how satisfing it was to take a raw piece of wood and change it into something useful, I was hooked.

Daryl and I went back to the same lumber yard looking for wood for another project.

I had this visual image of making stools to use outside, preferably under a big shade tree. I would do the seats and Daryl could build the legs.

With our broken Spanish we were able to communicate what I wanted to do. The people who work at this lumber yard were more than accommodating. A gentleman walked around the yard with me until we found a log large enough to be used for stools.

A chain saw and twenty minutes later we had six rounds a couple of inches thick. He was going to charge me $5 for four pieces. I made a deal to get six pieces for $10. I know! However it worked for me!

The wood was pretty rough, with some pieces better than others. We went out and bought a hand sander and I went to work.

As the only tool I had was a hand sander, I used the ‘grittiest’ sandpaper available, #40. Some of the groves were at least 1/4 inch thick.

It was so satisfying to see the grain take shape and each piece become smooth.

The sandpaper went from 40, to 80, to 100.

The edges were cleaned up and rounded off. The seats were as smooth as they were going to be. All six has a slightly different grain, and the one closest to the end had a crater in it, plus a hole straight through.

Enough sanding!

Mineral oil was used to bring out the grain. Three coats with a light sanding using #120 between coats.

Next the seats needed several layers of clear sealer. This will make them more durable to being outside and keep bugs from eating them.

And done. Daryl will make the bases and we are good to go.

Cheers

Ruth

DIY woodworking

A while back I needed a project. We are in a country with lots of beautiful wood. I needed something small and easy to make as I had zero tools.

Daryl and I stopped by a lumber yard to see what was available. The workers were more than helpful and we were given two end pieces of wood.

Both pieces were in fairly good shape, just rough edges, some saw marks and one had a big burl in it. With a bunch of sandpaper and a knife (to get rid of the bark and clean out the hole) I went to work.

I started with a rough sandpaper, #80, then #120, then #220 to get smooth wood.

At some point in the many hours spent sanding, our landlord took pity and loaned me a small palm sander.

Once the sanding was completed it was time to wet the wood, as apparently this helps the little ‘hairs’ stand up and when sanded off make for a silky smooth finish. When the wood was wet you could really see the grain.

The last step was oiling. According to google it needed to be somethong like mineral oil as the boards were going to be used for food. We ended up going to the next town to a bigger pharmacy to find what we needed.

As an aside, see the maracuya ripening on the table. They are a wonderful flavour for kombucha.

Three coats of oil and we have a finished project.

I have no idea what kind of wood this is, however the end product turned into usable boards, either for charcuterie, a cutting board or a trivet.

It has been a couple of months since those two pieces were completed. The colour has really toned down, but they get used constantly.

There is a good chance I might have found a new calling!!

Cheers

Ruth

Venao has both hiking and surfing

As a change from all beach days, we decided to do a small jungle hike. Eco Venao Lodge has a short hike we have done a couple of times. Thankfully for the most part there are shade trees.

Not long after crossing this stream we came across several howler monkeys. Pictures sure don’t do justice. There were two mommas with tiny babies on their bellies. So cute. And they make such a loud noise.

About halfway into the hike there are three plunge pools. A couple of months ago there was more water, however as we get further into the dry season there is less. The water felt really good after walking up a mountain side in 30C+ weather.

And what’s a hike without a snack. The locally smoked tuna was pretty tasty!

Later we went “across the road” in Venao for a bit of surfing. Unfortunately the kids only got to go surfing once as it was so enjoyable they spent many hours in the hot sun. That is a recipe for blistered noses, even with sunscreen.

Surfing is hot thirsty work.

Those crispy kiddie cheeks needed a day in the shade. Coucou Crazy in Pedasi has wicked craft beer, fresh roasted Panama coffee and kombucha. Something for everyone.

Having family visit sure is an opportunity to showcase some of the beauty Panama has to offer.

Cheers

Ruth

Sand, Sun and Waves

Family visits are a great time to showcase local beaches. There are so many choices and each with different highlights.

Cheryl, Adam, Hannah and Davis recently visited. They made it to Pedasi at 3AM, after two long travel days.

Our first beach was Playa Playita. Always a favorite for me as it has the most calm water of any beach around. It wasn’t very busy and we luckily were able to get a shaded area.

The kids also got to see monkeys, toucans, large iguanas and a deer. All wild and free but sticking around, probably for the food.

Playita is a calm beach due to the ‘island’ windbreak. We arrived at low tide and you could pretty well reach the rocky bottom all the way across. The sand was so hot we had to keep our sandals on until we got to the wet sand.

As the tide came in, there were a few waves, just not very big.

The next day was again blistering hot. We needed to find the perfect location to enjoy the sun but not burn to a crisp. Our choice was Escondido. It’s not that far from Pedasi, however the last part of the drive is quite ‘bumpy’ so takes about half hour.

Here the waves were bigger for playing in.

And shade when you need it.

The third beach we visited was El Tigre. This one was quite isolated, pretty sure we had this kilometers long beach all to ourselves.

The waves were also considerably bigger and the kids were happy people.

At the top of the picture is Isla Iguana, a national park and a popular snorkling area. I have never been as the sea always seems too choppy for a small boat. It’s not. It’s me!

Looks like there is a wall of water comimg at you.

Again, we were here during low tide so had tons of beach.

The sand and rocks are black…ish.

Just three of the many beaches around Pedasi, all beautiful and different.

A great place to spend quality family time.

Cheers

Ruth