$$$ PLANNING APPOINTMENT

Yesterday, Ray and I had our annual appointment to mostly discuss our future with our financial planner.  Before I go on with his ideas, views and opinions about us retiring to Panama (he mostly kept them to himself but enjoyed hearing about it and just stated he wasn’t ready to quit work and couldn’t relocate outside of  the States), this is a little side story.

One year ago, we had a pretty basic, boring meeting.  Pretty much the usual of “keep it growing so we can someday afford to quit our jobs and pay for health insurance and travel a bit”!  It turned into an expensive meeting though, because we had had some Panamanian-style rain that day.  I drove up to meet Ray for the appointment, and we left his car in a busy parking lot in Springfield, Virginia. We then drove my four month old car to the appointment.  On the way back to picking his car up, the rain was out of control and so was the traffic.  The beltway from Tyson’s Corner, Virginia to Springfield would lose lanes every so often to high standing water.  We stopped at  Mike’s American Grill for dinner (we needed a break from the rain, we never get to Mike’s enough, and the traffic was horrendous).  Little did we know we were losing Ray’s car to high water in that parking lot while we ate dinner.  His car and a pickup truck were the only cars sitting in the parking lot when we got to it.  The water had been up to the hood but had receded by the time we arrived.  Ray drove it home.  All the wiring was, of course, messed up.  And he drove it to work the next day.  Then he decided to just get it to the service station after work to have it looked over and declared totaled.  It took the appraiser one week, but he finally deemed it totaled and we were calling the FP to tell him we were taking a bunch of that money we were just talking about “letting grow” to buy another car.  Last night’s meeting stayed cheap.  Oh, I did make Ray take me back to Mike’s though.  $55 later.

Back to the meeting and the real reason for this post…

 Our financial planner’s company recently merged with another company.  One of the things the new company does is have the FP go through a check list when considering retirement.  Since we have fun with our planner at these meetings, there is really no stress, and we are all very relaxed during the meeting, he used Ray and me as guinea pigs for the new format. 

One question asked was: Is there anyone you would model your retirement after?

I spoke up and answered that it would be my dad.  He lived life when once he retired (at the age of 54 ½).  Sure, he did what he wanted by lounging in a lawn chair in the driveway (why sit out back when the action was taking place out front) with a beer soaking up the sun, but he also volunteered, worked a part-time job, and spent time with the grandkids. My dad, Fred, drove a bus for a retirement community. He went through the trouble to get a commercial drivers license for this job.  He would drive the residents a few miles to the grocery store but more often he was responsible for taking them to the theaters in DC and up and down I-95 and I-66 in Virginia.  Heck, he could then enjoy the shows for free (being on a fixed income and all), and sometimes my mom would drop what she was doing—like cleaning the baseboards or something that could wait a hundred years—and not  hold a grudge that he was “working again” to go with him.).  I think at times he worked too much and should have been traveling more to appease my mom.  Ray and I told our planner that our parents would love to do what we are hoping to do in the near future.  Living outside the box, going on an adventure, and if it’s right, we will know it.  We know that we can always create a Plan B.    

Mom, dad and me (dad at the start of his government career).  No, he didn't keep the mustache for long!

Another question asked was:  how do you realize your retirement?  I answered, “we just spoke about it for the past hour.  Panama is our reality.  It’s what we want to realize.”  At the same time, Ray was saying, “living life and our dream”.  Our planner then said that they were the perfect answers.  And while we have crunched the numbers ourselves over and over again, it was wonderful to get the reassurance from him that yes, we can go to Panama and see our dreams come true.  Whew!  Three weeks until we visit………….

PAY BY CASH? WHAT ABOUT MY POINTS??

Many years ago I was traveling with Allison's dad (Fred) and we stopped at a convenience store so he could get some coffee.  I think the total was something like $1.56 and he pulled out his credit card and paid for the coffee.  I could not believe someone would pay for a cup of coffee with a credit card especially my father-in-law.  That is when he explained POINTS to me.

According to Fred, he charged everything he could each month and then paid the credit card bill off each month with the bill arrived.  At the time I believe he had a credit card linked to Marriott and one linked to United Airlines.  Even though there was a fee associated with each of these cards, he used them enough through-out the year to earn enough points for hotel stays or airline tickets to more than make up for the fees associated with the cards.  The key was you had to pay off the balance each month to avoid paying interest.

Allison and I liked the idea of free travel and decided we should give this a try.  The first step we had to tackle was to pay off the credit cards we were carrying balances on each month.  Once that was  accomplished we applied for a card linked to Marriott (seemed the obvious thing to do since we own a timeshare with them).  Soon enough we were earning points and charging anything and everything we could each month, keeping in mind that we must pay the bill off when it came in.  For several years we accumulated Marriott points and would use them for weekend getaways to various places.  We them decided to get an additional card linked to Delta Airlines.  We got very good at charging nearly everything each month and earned enough points to travel to several different places virtually for free.  We just had to pay taxes on the airline tickets and taxes on the Marriott stay.

A few months ago we discovered COPA Airlines is affiliated with United and that they have a direct flight to Panama City from our area.  Thinking ahead of the numerous trips we will be making to Panama, we decided to get a new card linked to United Airlines.  We figure by the time we move to Panama in a couple years we should have enough mileage points to be able to travel back to the US at least a few times and maybe work in some trips to other destinations as well.

Unfortunately, we are reading more and more that Panama is cash bases and credit cards are not the norm.  We are going to have to train ourselves on how to use cash rather than credit cards.  Seems like that should be easy enough, however it looks like we will be missing out on quite a few points.  Overall, I would say the trade-off of being retired, living in Panama and not getting points will out-weigh our other option.......

FALL FROM SUMMER

Fall is here, and I love it!  I am an admitted geek when I start hearing the leaves crackle under my shoes (as much as I can hear them for that matter), smell the autumn candle scents that I have to immediately light up, see the fall decorations go up around the house and in the neighborhoods, and most importantly, taste the taco soup simmering on the stove! 

So let’s put the brakes on my excitement here for a second.  I did hear the leaves under my shoes today on my morning walk.  I took Zorro on a walk today with me.  Zorro is a rescued Australian cattle dog with a few issues (a bit blind and a bit crazy).  His owner/momma is one of the owner’s of the lake house with me and Ray.  We had a great walk once he got over the fact that momma wasn’t walking with us.  Back to the leaves though.  I love when they get crisp and crunchy and the acorns drop.  I don’t love raking them.  I love the exercise and being outside, but it is a chore.  A chore I am trying to make light of and enjoy with the other owners of our Lake Anna “villa”.  I didn’t enjoy sitting by the water on Friday reading the newspaper getting pelted with acorns and other droppings from the trees overhead—I will learn to sit under an umbrella next time, and at least it wasn’t dropping from a bird.

Mr. Z

I do love the smell of candles.  When it isn’t hot and humid, I like to burn them.  Now I am burning a candle warmer.  A candle warmer is a small ceramic dish you put blocks of wax in, and they melt by the heat of a light bulb.  I still had fresh berry garland in it from the winter—immediately removed that wax and dropped three cubes of cranberry pomegranate cider into it.  Autumn is here!  The windows are popped up, and there is a slight chill in the air!

Super close to what mine looks like.  Sort of.

I took many fall decorations to Carly’s apartment yesterday.  We visited her for a few hours, filled her up with a delicious dinner at a restaurant we hadn’t been to and stopped at Sweet Frog for some frozen yogurt.  So decorating my house today was a bit  problematic.  Since the holiday season last year, we have a new tv/entertainment center, and I didn’t know where to put what (I have a pattern that is now skewed a bit).  Oh well, the pumpkins are out, wreath is on the door, and life is good!

Not my door.  I wish.

Finally, the taco soup is simmering on the stove.  A double batch.  But then Ray suggested making it ahead of time for the week, and today we would grill steaks.  It is a lovely day to grill, so the taco soup will wait for the busy week ahead.  And I have been sneaking some tastes here and there J

Not a picture of my taco soup (I forgot to take one!), but close enough!

Such a great start to fall.  The only concerning thing here at the back of my mind (Ray brought it up, but I was already thinking about it) is that Panama doesn’t have fall.  The leaves don’t change colors although it does get chilly in the highlands. I don’t think there are oak and maple trees there.  I won’t want to burn candles most of the year, will I?  Where we want to live (not right by the beach, but at this point who knows), I may be able to, and not heat up the house.  I will give my decorations to Carly, my sister/other family members or leave them for the lake house, but I still hope to buy new decorations to set up for the fall holidays. And finally, steaming, hot taco soup might not be on the stove that often (I will make it when I visit my family), but I am sure I can find other warm and cozy foods to satisfy me in the fall months!

Lake Anna in the fall.

AND NOW WE HAVE LOST FOUR

Another one gone. Yesterday the office manager told us that another receptionist gave her notice.  She has been in the office for eight months, but since her husband has found a job in another state, she is moving to be with him.  Makes perfect sense.  

October is going to be very interesting.  So far there will be three new hires all starting on the same Monday, I will have three weeks to get to know them a bit before I go to Panama, and I will definitely need that nine day vacation!

Yesterday, Ray was in to have his teeth cleaned, by me, of course.  After 25 years of being married to a dental hygienist, he is finally flossing more often than not and noticing how it really does work!  The owner of the practice and I have had discussions about retiring to Panama or to Ecuador.  Limited discussions, but he does know that it has been a thought of ours.  He asked Ray, “is it that you want Ecuador and Allison wants Panama or do I have it mixed up”?  We told him we both are set on Panama and a few of the reasons why.  We mentioned the Pensionado Program, but he seems to think that Ecuador is so much more inexpensive, the country doesn’t need to offer such a program.  Ecuador has earthquakes. I have six friends haha who live in Panama or are moving to Panama soon (virtual but friends, nonetheless).  That one made his eyebrows raise. J  Little does he know about my vacation to Panama.  I doubt he ever knows when one of us is taking vacation time, so I will just tell him “tienan una gran semana!  Voy a Panama para vacationes! OR “Have a great week!  I am going to Panama for vacation!  I don’t think I can wait another another 30 days, let alone the 32!  The best part is that after this trip, Ray and I are already planning for Trip 2.  The researching and planning must go on. For now, the daydreaming continues.

"I'M SURE YOU CAN'T HEAR THIS"

Since my most recent post took three days to put together, I am just going to post my thoughts from today now.

The title says it all.  It is a standard line out of Ray’s mouth, and mine is usually “what?”.

It has been a gorgeous week here in Northern Virginia and the weekend hasn’t disappointed.  We slept with the windows wide open last night (although those hadn’t been cleaned yet).  A rarity with the humidity and pollen.  Ray could hear the crickets.  This morning it was the geese.  I heard nothing.  (No se oye tan bien or I don’t hear very well).  Some say that when in Panama I should look into the cost of hearing aids there.  I now say “why”.  Perhaps it will be best when the windows are wide open that I don’t hear the neighbors or the dogs or all of the birds.  Not when I am trying to fall asleep that is.  My daughter did come up with a reason why though—“you might want to be even more aware of your surroundings in a new country”.  Smart.

On our walk this morning, before tackling those final windows, Ray commented about this one neighborhood having a lot of dogs.  They were all up and barking (that I could hear).  At least here they are in the backyards behind fences.  I made the comment to Ray that in Panama we will have to get used to seeing cows, horses, dogs and big bugs on our walks.  And THEY won’t be fenced in.  Let’s see how I get used to that or how quickly I find a gym with a treadmill in Panama!

WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK

I need to be reminded why I like being off on Fridays again. Sure, not setting the alarm is a plus, but I always seem to wake up early to start the day.  Any other day, a work day, I just want to keep sleeping.  Not so on a day off.  I want to hit the ground running enjoying the day, even it just means running errands.  In the summer, it was a treat because my daughter and I played on my day off.  We visited amusement parks, saw movies,  spent big $$$ shopping, had manicures and pedicures and sometimes we would just hang out getting ready for people to come swim in our pool over the weekend or now getting ready to play at the lake.

Since she has been in college, she has spent the summer months working, studying overseas or starting graduate school.  Not as much playing for us.  Don’t get me wrong.  I do not want to practice hygiene five days a week every week.  Treating patients five days a week EVERY OTHER WEEK is more than enough.  When I even do that (I limit it to the fall and spring months)!

 But I realized today that Fridays off in the fall or spring is not playtime.  Laundry, chores, windows and more were on my list of things to do.  And I stopped at the windows.  I cleaned nine windowsills. There were too many, they were heavy to hold and clean at the same time (play a violin here and listen to me whining), and Ray definitely said he was in on it with me.  It was a joint effort.  And there are so many of them!  Yesterday we took care of the main level after running a few hours of errands.  I practiced more patience, okay maybe not, in Costco.  I thought of the Price Smart stores in Panama.  I made note of the couple in front of us—she with her super short shorts and small top, and he oblivious to how to put their two items up on the belt in a timely fashion—or to even push their cart forward.  Back to the windows.  22 windows yesterday.  22 too many.  Tomorrow we clean 12 more.  We cleaned the outside of the house (spider webs), realized we need to get the exterior painted (note the “get it painted”) and have decided we will wait until we sell the house.  Or the HOA turns us in due to some chipped paint.  The house is all of six years old.  Looking weathered but probably only to me. 

I do understand why housekeepers and cleaning services say “I don’t do windows”. They are a huge pain.  I also remember when we started the researching, daydreaming and planning retirement to Panama, we were lured by the newsletters that stated we could live cheap in Panama and hire “housekeepers for just $10/day and gardeners for $15/day”.  Not that this is really what we would do now since we would have all day and everyday to do those windows, it’s just funny how our needs and wants have changed these past eight months.  Now when I look at my home and compare it to what I want in Panama, I look at the windows.  Like Ray and I said today, “more outdoor space, and about twenty-five fewer windows”! 

Being home this weekend, our neighbors are wondering what the heck we are even doing here.  This is why I go to Lake Anna.  But this house needed tending to. Even though it was just some light housework, those windows were spread out over three days--just like this post!  The best part of being at home was the money we made through Craigslist.  We managed to sell/get rid of two bikes, a lawn mower and possibly a treadmill.  $$$ for Panama :)

My Fridays off with my daughter used to be so much better.  But we all have to  grow up, our dreams change or are simply realized, and the only way to reach those dreams is allowing time to pass whether it’s cleaning windows, floating on the lake or talking and walking with Ray.  

ALL ABOUT ME (it is my blog afterall) & A CHAOTIC WEEK

All about me this week. When Ray posts again, he can make it about him J It was an usually difficult week at work, or maybe tiring is more like it. With the weather being gorgeous (low eighties and no humidity), Ray and I have walked daily. This is unusual in itself (we sometimes give ourselves a break somewhere in there), and  poor Ray got an earful each night.  For 25 years Ray has listened to my stories, and this week he didn’t disappoint me.

My office has two full time and two part time dentists, five full time and three part time dental hygienists, five full time and two part time dental assistants, four full time receptionists, a full time billing/insurance coordinator, and finally, a full time office manager. With the number of patients we treat on a daily basis and operating six days a week, we need all the front desk staff/support we can get!

 Three weeks ago, a receptionist left suddenly to start dental hygiene school (a dream come true for her even though most all the hygienists at work have tried to persuade her to change her dream). Now there would be three receptionists in direct contact with the patients.  Two weeks ago, another receptionist gave her notice.  She is going to work from home for a previous employer and couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  As of today we now have two at the front desk (simple math here). One week ago, the billing/insurance coordinator gave her notice.  She has been in the office for 25 years with the previous owner.  Dynamics of the office have changed, and she has found a job that isn’t one hour plus away from her home.  Our office manager is just trying to get these positions filled which means “working interviews”.  We have had five this week so far.  Confusion.  Commotion.  Chaos.  The most important thing to the assistants and hygienists is things running smoothly.  Not happening lately.  Patients not being checked in upon arrival, new patients not filling out forms because no one realizes the patient is new, new patients taking twenty minutes of a sixty minute appointment to fill out the forms (we don’t do it online—another frustration in itself), too many new patients scheduled per day/hygiensit (job security, yes, but it gets taxing), recare patients being able to walk in late, and so much more.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  This has been ongoing for 27 years in three out of four practices I have worked in.  I don’t know why I think things would have improved by now.  Especially since we are not short the manpower to do the job well.

So with the daily confusion, there are always stories.  And yesterday was a better day for me!  Ray’s on the other hand was intense.  So I listened to him, and yes, I do remember what he talked about—the lawyers are not respectful of the “little people” trying to make the law firm successful (read as: making money for them). 

So while we have been walking and talking, and I have been talking some more, I was thinking also about Panama.  (I can do three things at one time when I set my mind to it.) What will Ray and I have to say to each other on our walks there?  It will just be the two of us for quite a while (before we really meet other people although we have three friends there now).  There should be plenty of stories but we will most likely encounter them together.  Will we practice Spanish with these stories?  That would be something else!  How will our days be spent?  I cannot wait for these days.  I think.  

SCORPION TREATMENT $6 PANAMA-$83,000 ARIZONA

Mostly when I am at the lake house, I often think about mosquitoes, bees, ticks and snakes.  I am outside a lot when at Lake Anna, so I keep lawn and bug spray close by for the yard as well as Off bug spray for me.  While researching Panama,  I started reading about Panamanian bugs.  Bloggers were posting about what bugs were being seen when and where (the yard, the dogs, the mountains, the ocean all throughout the year).Then they posted pictures of the unusually large creatures.  I have been taking notes on having the house sprayed monthly for pests or what to do with the ants that show up in the house and drop from the ceiling (I think nothing can be done). 

The first time I read about the scorpions in Panama (or just about scorpions, period) was in the blog, Along the Gringo Trail.  Seems the writer’s husband, Clyde, had slipped his foot into a shoe and a scorpion stung him.  After paying a visit to a doctor, he was prescribed a pain killer and Allegra (in case of an allergic reaction).  The doctor confirmed that he had been stung by a poisonous scorpion.  The cost for this visit was $6. 

In RichardDetrich.com (he has a blog as well), he writes that scorpions in Panama are “generally harmless” except for the horrible sting! 

I was reminded of these posts this morning when I heard a story on the radio about an Arizona woman that was stung by a scorpion in June.  She was taking air conditioner filters out of a box in the garage and was stung.  She went to the emergency room of the nearby hospital. She was told about an anti-venom drug called Anascorp that would relieve her symptoms.  She was never told the cost. The article doesn’t address the type of scorpion or what her symptoms were, but after agreeing to two doses of the medicine, she then received a bill for $83,000.  Her insurance paid $57,000 and the hospital is asking for $25,000 from her. Seems that the Mexican-made anti-venom was an “out of network” drug! 

I researched some scorpions, and I like the Panamanian one’s a little better.  If this was an Arizona “bark” scorpion (found in homes), she would have experienced a sting from the most venomous of scorpions in North America.  She would get numbness and tingling at the site for 24-72 hours.  She could have experienced temporary immobilization or convulsions and in extreme cases, loss of breath.  But fatalities in adults are rare (two in Arizona since 1968).  First aid that is recommended is cool compresses, elevate the area and take ibuprofen.  Seek medical treatment if a child is stung or if experiencing extreme pain (she might have been in severe pain). 
 Did the doctor take the time to discuss with her (and here they both speak the same language, English) the symptoms of a scorpion sting and that most are generally harmless but painful? Maybe he was just reacting to the scorpion sting in that he wanted to get medicine into her right away to get her comfortable? She states that he didn't discuss fees were her or have someone check with her insurance company to see if there would be coverage.

From this woman's story, I should write that this is one other thing I have learned about Panama.  There are bees, bugs, gnats, roaches, mosquitoes, scorpions, ticks, ants and so much more there.  Anywhere.  Everywhere.  Need to expect it.  To be ready for it. This is what Ray and I are doing—getting ready for it, all of it. 

DIY PROJECT ON A RAINY DAY AT LAKE ANNA

Labor Day weekend became a bit laborious for Ray and I while at the lake house.  But then again, it was a cloudy morning and rain was expected (from Hurricane Isaac, but the weathermen were remaining mum about it all) on and off for the weekend.  So it only made sense that if three out of four lake house owners were up for a home improvement project, well, we should just go for it and do it.  The other home owner was entertaining her boyfriend and his children who were to arrive sometime that morning, so there wasn’t any way for her to commit.  And we all understood.  We knew going into the project of laying down a “peel and stick” tile floor on the screened-in porch that there would be three of us doing the job.  At Lowe’s Home Improvement Store, we had a $100 gift card.  That paid for a new umbrella that was on sale (we went with the red stripe one instead of the boring solid green), chemicals to kill weeds in the yard, paint samples, bleach for the fountain (we usually get at Dollar Store but since it was there…), some goof off for spilled paint and perhaps a small part of the linoleum squares we bought for the porch.  It was great to have this gift card.  We have held onto it for three years or so when a cousin of one of the homeowners (the very same one with the boyfriend) spent a vacation week at our lake house and gave us the card as a thank you gift.   

I called us “3 Broke Girls and a Guy” while tiling, because we have to come up with frugal ways to make the house look nice.  We don’t want to go overboard with it since it is a lake house that gets lived in and used by four people and three or four dogs.  And this is when we don’t have company.  I have also submitted pictures of the yard here at the lake house to the DIY show “Yard Crashers”.  Maybe they will come and redo the backyard for us.  We could be on tv and get the yard “prettied up”. 

The other thing I realized is that the homeowner that had this flooring idea just re-did her bathroom vanity here at the lake house when it was a rainy weekend.  Perhaps, since rainy season is for six months in Panama, I should recruit her to visit often.  Then Ray and I can get many home improvement projects done quicker!

It took us four summers to figure out we should drill hole into picnic table and have the umbrella  OVER the table and not beside it.

Voila!  Now this makes a bit more sense!

Out with the old indoor/outdoor carpeting.

Measure, mark and measure again (finding the center)

Just a few more to put down!

Ray walks the perimeter noting all the cutting he will have to do later.

Lola checks out the new floor first!  

Ta da!  The reveal!