Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Friday, June 30, 2023

Big City Doors #ThursdayDoors

 Hi hi! 

My consistent excuse for being hit and miss is the book, and once I start the publishing grind I am afraid I might disappear within the land of blips, beeps and hair pulling challenges. 

Meanwhile, we took a business trip to Panama City… Panama, that is. As in Central America. You can’t believe the number of people we interact with who instantly think we are talking about Florida, even after we tell them we live in Panama the country. Combine that with there being a town in our second home of Nebraska named Panama, and we have taken to saying we live in Panama-as in you need a passport to enter. 

So, back to our very quick trip. We had business at the embassy which is very nice, by the way, albeit the uber young manager over the notarizations department didn’t have a clue about what I needed. After a couple of trips in and out of the building, I’m happy to say we got what we got it done. 

With a bit of free time left, we took a side trip to one of the city’s huge malls which was a virtual wonderland. We barely covered a third of it, I’d wager. We also got in some nice meals and I got a few doors pics to share for my talented good friend Dan Antion and his #ThursdayDoors weekly prompt. 

I hope everyone else is faring well in these ridiculously uncertain times. Enjoy a mini view of Panama City, Panama below.



The hotel we stayed in was quite old but nice and the staff very friendly. There was a pool but ditzy me didn’t squeeze a suit into my carry on backpack. 



Hotel lobby with doors. 



Our first food adventure was to a well established Chinese restaurant named Sunly, that specializes in Dim Sum. We ordered from the main menu and the portions were huge, the food was delicious and the value was just incredible
.  


We chose shrimp wontons for an appetizer



Hubby ordered Kung Pao Chicken and we shared this platter of combo fried rice



Me? Tofu and Eggplant for the win. You know, healthy to counter those THREE servings of rice I had 🤦‍♀️



There was a TGIFriday’s attached to the hotel, and while I didn’t take any door photos I can assure you we used one to get inside for this well deserved dessert which we shared. 



No photos of the embassy doors if you want to be allowed to leave without being arrested


I once had a book by Steve Martin titled Cruel Shoes. He must have had the same pair I was wearing that day. One walk up the hill and I had vicious blisters on both heels. And I had to go up twice! 



This little this-and-that store had fun things for kiddos, with lots of doors. My son and grandson would LOVE this car. 



All the grands would love this! Every entrance was themed with a different animal, all represented with life sized replicas. This one was-you guessed it-the D entrance. D is for….



And not only was it a ginormous mouth, it was also an escalator, or escalera mechanica in Spanish. This is a Dinosaurio here. Yeah we had to ride up and, yeah, I took a video but it is so complicated to put a video on a blog anymore, so my apologies. It was fun. 🫢



Doors to the indoor bowling alley! 



There must be something that passes for a door here because I just love carousels and wasn’t not going to post it.  Use your imagination.  I’m pretty sure there’s a mechanics door in the middle. 



SO many stores and so many doors! 



The mysterious entrance to the restaurant we chose for a skyline view of PC.  Looks like a Minecraft face doesn’t it? 



Still uncertain if we’d ducked behind the right metal panel, we headed upstairs. 



Yep! We’re in the right place! 




Even though it was raining we ordered our first of several custom cocktails and settled in to enjoy the view. Mine? The Negroni, of course! 



The rain finally stopped and we could see the city skyline.



There was a hazyview of the canal also. That bird sat there the entire time we were eating.



He chose ribs and I had the pulled pork sliders with patacones



Then the sun set and the lights came on! 👏🏻👏🏻




Next morning we would be leaving so we took another walk around the El Dorado area and found this delightful bakery called 888. 😱🤤So many good things. We ate a few then snagged a box to bring home



There were three of these cases and several cold ones as well. The coffee was great too



These breads were so light and fluffy!



My final door is to the faro, or lighthouse, just outside of Boquete. The sunset was just beautiful as we happily made our way back home. Be sure to visit Dan’s blog to find more great doors posts and join in if you haven’t already! 

Oh duh! I almost forgot the most curious door…


While I’m not certain of its significance, there was a guy selling produce and eggs right beside it. Perhaps it is a secret door to his sprawling mansion. I sure hope so. ❤️

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Is it Tuesday?

The best thing about retirement in paradise is not having to know what day it is. I try to keep up but knowing Sunday night is just another night after years of trepidation for a new week of work, mean coworkers and unappreciative management has been the sweetest gift. 

So, for today, just a tune from a favorite cult flick and a photo or two. My homage to an unorganized life. 😉❤️




Love the Big Lebowski..



This fair fellow is obviously someone’s pet but enjoyed a moment of free roaming in the neighborhood. 



Tried a new Rustic bread recipe in the Dutch oven. Yum!, 



My new project. In between writing… and cooking… and my green things…



My sweet friend, Lissy, gave me a lovely box of handmade truffles and this one was a total delight! That’s a grape! 🥰




We met this fellow when he stopped by to hunt. I’d never heard of a 
Laughing Falcon before. Isn’t is beautiful? And, yes, its call sounds like a laugh. 
Hey, they eat mostly snakes, and venomous ones at that! 



😍


I made a Panamanian bread, Hojoldre, which is very similar to Sopapilla or Indian Fry Bread. 



The Owls eating..



I love my dewdrops and reflections…
Have a great rest of your week! 






Wednesday, July 13, 2022

When You Least Expect It #OneLinerWednesday

Some days are just magical…



We first encountered Owl Butterflies in the mangroves in Costa Rica. They grow quite large and appear menacing to predators. Once they open their wings the inside shows their gorgeous blue and beige colors. It is difficult to get that shot though. I didn’t get one yesterday. 




Sharing a meal with the malachite butterfly.



This was a real treasure for me. The owl butterfly, a Giant Swallowtail larvae and eggs. I’m not sure what kind the eggs are. The garden is full of many species that all exist together. We love this place! 



Taking hers ‘to go’!









You have to be very observant to see larvae, caterpillars and eggs. Once you’ve spotted them you see them everywhere! 
The leaf below looks rather plain doesn’t it? 



A closer look reveals life in process! 



Eggs like tiny beads of dirt lie in perfect little rows



These look like the yellow Swallowtail that I saw but I’m not an expert



This guy is the Owl Caterpillar. I’ve petted one. It’s quite furry, like a teddy bear. See how brilliantly it’s camouflaged on the leaf seam? 



Malachite giving me a photo op



Oh! Here’s my favorite species! ❤️



In one of my happy places. So much peace and tranquility exists in nature. So many humans don’t bother to notice. 😔



These are truly the smallest bees I’ve ever seen.  They might easily be mistaken for gnats or mosquitos! 



Another naturally crafted ‘hive’ for our winged friends



I’m pretty sure I saw this guy in a B horror film. I stopped for a photo and autograph, just in case..
🫢



We’ve never seen anything quite like this amazing plant. It is commonly called a Vining Jade and I think it comes from the Philippines




Bzzzzzz…..


This is likely the best video moment in my life. She’s laying an egg! 








Hubs has been craving Chinese food so we found some at Chopsticks. It was pretty tasty too! 



We both chose Kung Pao but I snag shrimp any chance I get! 

Boquete Bees and Butterflies has become one of my favorite places locally. Their honey is amazing and we just bought some of the coffee they farm as well. Locally sourced takes on a completely different hue here.



This one definitely looks otherworldly. I wouldn’t mess with it, would you? Those ‘eyes’ are actually on its back end. 




My personal favorite bee! The fascinating colorful Euglossa! We saw these two as we were leaving. 



There were a lot of fading beauties and they were busily laying eggs for the next generation of stunning residents to the garden





Banana blossoms are some of the most lovely on such ordinary plants. 

This post is part of #OneLinerWednesday, sponsored by Linda Hill

Happiness truly is….