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Stolen Items Partially Recovered....

Fri, 11 May 2012 06:39:24 -0400

Several months ago, a disgruntled boyfriend “supposedly” placed personal belongings into a secure mini-storage facility, in Cornwall Ontario. Less than a week or two later (date cannot be specifically pinpointed), the locker was “supposedly” broken into and only my most personal and valuable items were taken from two suitcases. The suitcases were tossed into a remote area under some power lines, outside the Cornwall core.

Inside the suitcases were five frames, containing silver and gold medallions from my great grandfather. These medallions were won for horse competitions in the early 1900’s. One frame was recovered in the snow, January 2012 by a good samaritan who happened to be walking his dog in this remote area. He reported it to police and police contacted me....see story.

I have returned to the site several times since January. In March, I recovered another frame with 3 medallions. Three frames are still missing.

Last week however, the police contacted me. It appears another good samaritan had been walking that same area and found several medallions laying loosely in the melted snow. Unlike the last experience with the police, I felt this officer to be more attentive. He explained what he knew, and advised me that he would return to the site with a metal detector to determine if more of the medallions happened to be sitting there.

Today, I am scheduled to meet with the officer to recuperate the findings. I am grateful. When I had first heard of the robbery, my stomach and my heart felt like they had been immersed into an acid bathe. It was sickening.

It is my opinion and my feeling that the entire robbery was fabricated. It wasn’t a robbery at all and the disgruntled boyfriend, in an act of rage, threw my personal belongings out into the snow. I never realized how close to home there can be such idiotic people, and people who are way out of control. I guess what is frustrating is that these people are “allowed” to be out there and there are no repercussions. (by police).

I am so appreciative that I have recuperated some of my most precious heirloom possessions....it means a lot to me and my family, and very little to anyone else.

Boquete Hangouts

Sun, 6 May 2012 07:30:44 -0400

After 5 years in Panama, things have changed tremendously. From the eyes of a virgin visitor, Panama cannot be described and understood the same way as the date I arrived on March 31, 2007.

Prices have changed. Housing has changed. Utilities have changed. And Hangouts have changed, several times over. What a visitor decides or a local resident, might be one of these places:

Bistro Boquete
(great restaurant from breakfast to dinner, happy hours)

Sugar and Spice (fabulous bakery gone cafe with great breakfasts and lunch. The best sandwiches))

Posada Boquetena (excellent pizza, wood fired chicken and inexpensive drinks)

Amigos (meeting place for drinks and watch the calendar for daily events)

Oasis (nice restaurant with fireplace, Wednesday afternoon for Bridge, also great for salad choices)

Sabor Escondido (nicely appointed, fine food and formal decor in the Valle Escondido development. Dinners)

Los Ruinas (very popular for fresh fish, BBQ and dessert dishes. Live Music)

The Rock (Fine food, the best live jazz on Mondays, ribs on Thursdays)

Panamonte (always nice, especially in front of the fireplace. Constently good. For formal dining, same menu in the lovely dining room)

Restaurant Baru (Nice terrace across Central Park, great drinks and people watching)

Kombi Kafee (Hidden treasure with German food, breakfast and lunch. Located upstairs, right next to Bistro Boquete)

Puenta d’Encuentro (Olga’s has been serving American style breakfasts for years and she knows how)

Tree Trek Restaurant (Another surprise located up in the mountains, try it)
Il Pianista (Intimate location next to babbling brook, wonderful Italian food)

Art Cafe La Crepe (French cuisine, crepes, couscous, salade nicoise...when I want a salad, this is where I go)

Big Daddy’s (Fairly new, casual fare offering fresh fish and mostly lunch dishes)

Tipicos (The ones I have been to which are all good)

Las Orquideas (kiddy corner to the Police Station, next to Macchu Pichu)

Jardines de Boquete (across from Las Establos Plaza, next to Delta and Tropigas)

Chef Ruben (across from Sugar and Spice, lunch and breakfast only. The steakhouse opens in the evenings)

Nelvis (behind Los Establos on the street that runs parallel to Main Street)

Central Park (downtown, in front of the park and the Alcaldia - town hall)

El Alto (Next to Curvas Bonita in Alto Boquete)

The Dilemmas of Aging

Sat, 5 May 2012 07:30:42 -0400

Aging can be scary but it is part of life and one has to accept it and deal with it. The hair suddenly shows white sprouts and roots turn different graying colors. Dying or coloring is no longer an easy option because once you start, you have to keep it up every week or two.

For years, the coloring of my hair was affected by salt air and sun. Highlights and streaks appeared in blonde and ash colors, from the Caribbean airs. Eventually however, my roots displayed strange colors of dark brown and light colors of grey. It was time to rethink my hair strategy.

I do believe in “taking care of oneself” but I also believe in age appropriateness. Thus, the hair has now been let go to a natural salt and pepper color. It is much healthier, shinier, and thicker than it has been in years. The cut remains short as long hair is not for me. As I have often been told, I look like Jamie Lee Curtis, and isn’t it funny she chooses the same style of hair cut and naturalness that I do?

Salt and pepper hair changes the face. The skin appears more pale, eyebrows and lips also fade. And from all the sun in the past, age spots suddenly appear. Wrinkles and laugh lines are more obvious. So “taking care of myself” is a whole new exercise.

There are ways to bring back youthfulness without the use of “botox”. I’ve been fearful of injecting poisonous substances into my body, just for beauty. And plastic surgery? ....way too unnatural. Look at the end results of those who have gone through it. Do they look younger, or instead, freakier?

Something miraculous (at least for me) has come my way. I’ve discovered IPL. IPL is “Intense Pulsed Light” Therapy and works to stimulate the collagen under the surface of your skin unobtrusively. This therapy is based on high-intensity pulses of light that penetrate the skin. Unlike laser resurfacing, chemical peel and dermabrasion, there is almost no downtime. That means no blisters, burns or long recovery period, and you can go right back to your life after your treatment is complete. The cost is normally anywhere between $150 - $350 with a reputable specialist. But nowadays, the specialists are offering so many promotions that the decision is effortless. A recent promotion in Canada offered two visits for the price of $119. A normal “facial” can cost as much.

My first exposure to IPL was actually in Panama where it cost $150 for that visit. This was the office of Dr. P. Alegria, above Shalom Bakery in Boquete. There are technicians who work in this office to carry out the treatments, and they do great manicures and pedicures there as well. The IPL results seem to be well worth it....it has been months and so far so good.

Phone call from Paris

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:24:43 -0400

I have Skype, a free downloaded program to call people around the world, computer to computer. I also use it sometimes to call people on their land line or cell, but I pay for these calls (pennies).

This morning, I woke up rather early, and checked my morning emails, as usual. When I open up my computer, Skype automatically loads up so people can see when I come online. Today, I received a telephone call from a person I worked with in St. Martin. He was the French auditor who audited my work with a Quarry and Materials Corporation on French St. Martin. I was employed as Financial Controller and my task was to convert the American accounts to comply with France (the country where the business was located). Apparently, the Americans who purchased the Quarry thought they could get away with maintaining American accounts. After a few years, the law caught up with them and they had only six months to come up with compliant accounting records for France. The consequence if they failed? would have meant a complete shut down. I was hired specifically to take on the task of converting three past years, plus the current year of all accounting records from American to French.....all within six months.

I managed to complete the task successfully and a team of auditors flew from Paris France, to audit the accounts in order to determine whether the corporation would be permitted to continue business. It was successful, and every year thereafter, the auditors returned....it was a mandatory requirement. There were two team members who returned for the four consecutive years. The leader was an elder gentleman, and the senior auditor had always come across as a very serious, compliant and strict auditor who loved his job, but also came to love St. Martin. He moved from France (after the four years) to work on the island. His term was a short year, as he found the work ethic of most colleagues to be quite opposite to his own and thus frustrated, he returned to France to pursue his career. When he moved to St. Martin, the Quarry had already been sold to another corporation. I had already moved off the island.

It was this senior auditor who called me today. It was such a shocker to hear from him after almost five years. I think I spoke with him a couple of years ago but I don’t really remember. I thought he was living in the south of France, but apparently he had moved on and is now owner of his own “cabinet” in Paris. He reminisced of St. Martin and informed me that our common connection in St. Martin (the accountant who oversaw and signed off on the accounts) has just been elected as President of St. Martin !!!!!! This is a great achievement and I am very pleased to hear this as Alain Richardson was a great man to work with and his election will be a grand benefit to the island and the country of St. Martin.

Catching up with each other’s current lifestyle, my caller was surprised to hear I was in Canada. Just as I was surprised to hear he was in Paris. He explained that the search for qualified staff is an ongoing headache. Even in Paris, I questioned? Apparently, he compared the workforce with that of St. Martin and / or Guadeloupe.....where many a worked could care less about working diligently, or deadlines. I wondered if he was hinting that I get on a plane and go to work in Paris? No, I doubt so.

It was a very pleasant conversation, catching up with each other and reminiscing of St. Martin (the common thread). Maybe one day, I will take another trip to Paris. It is one of my favorite cities in the world and I haven’t visited for over 25 years......dream on!

Dogs 101....

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:10:16 -0400

My dog Razz is exceptional. She is smart, well behaved, and she loves humans. She can be a bit of a “bitch” when strange dogs come around as she is protective and perhaps, a bad trait, dominant. I’ve always thought of her to be close to a border collie in breed but now, I have seen some border collies up close and she doesn’t quite have all their traits. She’s not as active and she doesn’t have the herding instinct. She has a “hunting” instinct, which is quite different.

My friend Robert has 3 border collies on his farm of 150 acres. He hasn’t got any farm workers to assist him but his border collies are a huge help. They herd the sheep when it’s time, but they also herd the horses when it’s completely unnecessary. Collies are very busy animals and must work all the time. They use their eyes to focus on the animal, staring them down. This intimidates the animals and the border collie wins in herding the animal to where he/she wants it to go.

Border Collies are exceptionally intelligent. Robert suggested I look up Dogs 101 where, on video, one of the trainers claims that the border collie is “the smartest dog in the world”. They do need a lot of room to run and a lot of exercise....definitely not a house dog !

I do enjoy watching them. Princess is the brown and white dog, Toxol is the other black and white...seen with the horses. Buddy, above, just loves to be around the animals and play with his toys or run with the other collies...he’s more like Razz. And Razz....well, I still think she’s one of the smartest dogs around !