My latest project....

I've just completed 3 gourds.

Instead of paint, I finished them with polyurethane wood stain.

The pictures don't show how well it really worked out,

but I love it and will definitely be finishing others the same way.

This first one is my favorite:

It's 6 1/2" tall, 4 1/2" wide

I don't yet have the proper bits for the kind of detail I was trying to accomplish,

which made it hard to 'get perfect,' 

now I know!!

 

Here's a picture before I stained the next one:

  

After:

Again, it was so hard to capture the detail in pictures!

(Also, the texture of the inside of the gourd is much different, and not as pretty as the outside.)

The 3rd:

 

 

 

Crafty Me

When we bought this table, it came with a glass top...

that only lasted until it was about half way out of the box!

To replace the glass would have been $500...!?

So, for $100, we bought another table!

Billy cut a piece of plywood to fit the original

and we've been looking at that for several years,

until now!

I decided to take my boredom out on it and gave it a new look!

PS If your interested in doing mosaic, 

I can tell you everything you don't want to do!

Amazingly enough, I didn't loose a single piece during the grouting process!

(I couldn't be happier to be done!)

I'm starting to run out of room for my (very organized) shell collection...

and since the outdoor bathroom needed a mirror, and the theme is beachy...

I did this:

Also, a shell wind chime and a bird house:

And finally:

A QUILT!

My first in Panama!!

Well, it was actually something I had in the works before we moved down.

I'm not fond of it much, but everything was already cut!

Anyhow, to pull it all together, I made some pillow covers.

Well, there you have it.

Now I am without a project and going crazy.

I spent some time at the beach today collecting some shells,

trying to get inspired,

with no luck!

I guess I'll get caught up on blogging...;)

One more thing...

Before I close out 2011, I have to add these:

His 2 favorite Christmas presents!

Video game, from Grandma Barbara

and a hand made gun rack, from dad.

(I put the finishing touches on it, but that was about all!)

Below, a couple pics from one of the parties we went to.

All in all, it was a quiet but nice Christmas.

OK, maybe a bit lonely.

 I wish it wasn't so damn cold in Florida this time of year!

Christmas in July anyone...?!

Holiday Boat Trip

 To celebrate the holidays we went out to Isla Secas!

We did a little fishing...

and little beaching!

As you can see it was a beautiful day!

Hope you all had a happy holiday season!!



Our last guest(s) of the year :(

Well, here I am again behind as usual!

She's been gone for a month now and I'm just getting around to blogging it!

Barbara and Vicky's visit:

We went out to Isla Secas and had a wonderful day!

Unlike the weather during my dad's visit,

they enjoyed sunshine the whole time they were here!

Rainy season can be fickle that way!

 

Dylan found a (sick) Hawksbill Sea Turtle...

Poor little guy!

 

(I just love sea turtles!!)

Dylan enjoyed some spear fishing!

On another day Barb and the boys went out for a little fishing trip:

(African Pompano)

(PS Dylan is actually taller than Barb, I don't know what happened in this pic!)

Well, that's it for pictures.

The last week or so Barb was here we were in the hospital with Dylan.

The next thing we knew she was leaving...:(

So that's it for company this year.

If you haven't been down to see us yet, or it's been a while,

WHAT are you waiting for?

Annual Beach Clean Up, 2011

 Another successful and very fun "Annual Beach Clean Up."

After the boats were loaded up with garbage, we headed to the island for a BBQ!

As we were arriving, we spotted a momma Humpback Whale and her calf.

Then I ran out of battery in my camera,

imagine that!

Unfortunately, I missed out on a bunch of great pictures the rest of the day, but I will be sure to remember it as being a great time!

Dad's Visit!

So, between company and hospital stays I've gotten behind on some posts!

It's been over a month since he left,
but it was great seeing my dad!

We did a little kayaking...

Lots of card and game playing, thanks to the weather!

Fishing...

Exploring...

We set out to find where this river meets the ocean,

Billy wants to try it in the kayaks some time.

(San Lorenzo)

Views along the way:

San Lorenzo Beach

(A very bad compilation, but it will have to do for now!)

Yes, your seeing correctly.

Most of the cliff has eroded under this palm.

But Dylan had to have that coconut!

(I don't think he'd have been doing this if he knew how bad a concussion was...I hope!)

Here's Dad, and I know what he's thinking...

(But it's ok Dad, we made it there and back and you didn't have to muddy up your shoes, AND we didn't even run out of gas;)

Some partying:

Oh, and look, the sun is shining...finally.

Of course it is, Dad's leaving today!



MRI Pictures

Below are 2 of the many MRI scans we received.

The areas circled show the blood on his brain, after 10 days.

The neurologist said that it will take several months for the collection of blood to go away.

The biggest concern now is secondary injury.

He was sent home with an anti inflammatory and orders to rest.

NO physical activity.

(DYLAN?? I might have to sit on him to keep him down!)

In case your wondering, here's a break down of the 10 day stay in Hospital Chiriqui:

Neurologist: $1,500.00 ($150.00 per day!??)

CT Scan: $275.00

MRI: $650.00

Hospital Stay, incl. ER visit: $920.00

Plus: $50.00 charge to call the Neurologist

Total:$3395.00

I know that in the states, you can hardly even walk in the ER for this price,

however the charge for the specialist took us by surprise.

He received wonderful care.

After a week of hospitalization in the states for his appendectomy,

I can truly say from experience that I preferred the care he received here.

The nurses couldn't have been nicer to him, you could tell most of them truly cared.

What a difference!

Final Update on Dylan

HE'S HOME!!

YAY!

Obviously the MRI results came back fine, the Dr wanted him to be on meds for a couple days after the results came in, but he's a free man now!

Thank you to everyone who prayed for him!!

MRI Postponed

Dylans MRI was postponed today to the point that the Doc will not be able to read the results until 1st thing tomorrow morning.

As much as we were looking forward to good news, he seems to be improving more each day. 

Dylan Update

Hi all.

Just wanted to to give an update on Dylan.

He seems to be doing much better today.

The doctor informed us that they will perform the MRI tomorrow at noon.

I'm thinking the doc will get the results pretty quickly.

If all is well, he may go home on Tuesday.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers, keep 'em coming!

Pray for my son please

Dylan could really use some prayers from anyone who has some to spare.

The CT scan showed 2 pockets of blood on the front of his brain, but no current bleeding.
Monday or Tuesday they will be doing an MRI to check that he is healing properly.

I have the computer at the hospital now, so feel free to Skype us.

Kayak Adventure

Pepe La Pew & I set off on a (6 mile, 6 hour) kayak adventure!

We put in at Playa Hermosa

("Beautiful Beach")

This was our route:

(I've coordinated a few spots on the map with pictures taken below)

  

 My goal was to do some beach combing

and check out access to Playa Grande.

The first beach we stopped at had massive amounts of BROKEN conch shells:(

(Spot A)

On a cliff above the broken shells were a variety of orchids that we don't have on the property...

and still don't because I couldn't reach them!!

Spot B:

Playa Grande at last, and disappointed again!

(Spot C)

Playa Grande is a known surf beach in the area,

so I went knowing the waves would be big.

However I was hoping there would be some little spot I could sneak in,

on a kayak...with a dog!

Unfortunately, avoiding rocks looked to be an issue and I really didn't think Pepe was in the mood for surfing the kayak ashore!

Sorry little buddy, next time your staying home!

Next on my bucket list was to touch ground at this rock:

(Spot D)

But, because the swell was so big that day

I'd have probably kicked the bucket trying!

After that, I decided to head back into the protected waters of the bay as I was starting to feel a bit sea sick!

(Spot E)

 An entire skeletal structure of a Howler Monkey on a beach.

(Spot F)

This is a video of a troop of Howler Monkeys being quite vocal on Playa Gavilla.

It will open in another window via YouTube.

I thought I share the video since I didn't get any great pictures.

(Yes, that's Pepe you can hear whining, wishing I'd let him off the leash!)

We intended on visiting my friend Kendall, but she wasn't home!

(Spot G)

All in all, it was a fun trip and I'm looking forward to doing again soon!

Next time I hope to have a dolly to help get the kayak up to the truck.

Because the tide was out when I came back, I had to drag it for what seemed to be a 1/2 mile!