Save 2d Base

There is nothing humurous about breast cancer, but that doesn't mean you can't use humor to make people more aware of its dangers. "Save 2nd Base” is a humorous phrase to support the fight against Breast Cancer. A play on words which we all remember from our high school dating days, the phrase is now synonymous with a battle cry heard ‘round the globe! The shirts were worn during the 2005 Breast Cancer Philadelphia 3-Day Walk. Get your honey a "Save 2d Base" T-shirt.

http://www.pwjournal.com/articles/38/1/Pink-with-a-Wink/Page1.html

Ceviche Recipe

Just about the second thing I fell in love with in Panama was Ceviche. Ceviche is fish cut into small pieces and marinated in lime juice, with whatever condiments you wish, though onion and chili peppers are mandatory.

I've tried many times over the years to make good Ceviche without much success, until my last trip to Texas. There I made the key discovery that had prevented my Ceviche being good. The secret is to use the large seedless limes, not lemons or the small limes. I also discovered that the absolute very best fish in the world for Ceviche is Crappie, or White Perch as they are known in some parts. Crappie are unfortunately unknown in Panama, but I've been told that Tilapia comes close, and will let you know how it works when I get my hands on some fresh Tilapia. Peacock Bass makes good ceviche, with a good firm texture and none of the rank fishy taste that you sometimes get with Corvina.


Squeaky Update

I'm happy to report our squirrel rescue efforts have been successful. Squeaky has been living in the trees for over a month now, and sometimes we don't see him for a couple of days. He's getting wilder and not nearly so gentle when he climbs on us. He's still picky about what he eats, so we make sure he gets a variety of goodies. We also learned from our neighbor that he's a shameless panhandler, and was eating rice from his hand. Yesterday, I was sitting at the computer and felt his claws on my leg. I guess he got hungry and came into the house looking for me to feed him.

Hard Times?

So far, the bank failures and housing market crash that are affecting the rest of the world haven't hit Panama hard, but I figure it's only a matter of time. We're seeing a shift in our customer base with fewer US and more Canadians. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela continues to provide a steady stream of folks looking to get out while they can, but overall there seem to be fewer middle income folks coming to Panama.

We're starting to see some reductions in real estate prices, and with the large numbers of condos scheduled for delivery this year I expect to see some distress sales. There seems to be no slowdown whatever in construction of housing aimed at middle and lower income Panamanians in the sub-75K price range.

Gas prices are down, currently at $2.31 for 95 octane (European rating, 91 US), but pork and chicken prices are up. We had a pleasant surprise this month when we saw a 25% reduction in our electric bill. Local beer is still under $10.00 a case and bananas, a long-time benchmark are $.15 a pound from the small vendors.

In short, hard times aren't here yet, and I'm praying that light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

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