Missing Pieces

I’m still basking in the afterglow of the fun time had with Great Aunt, Keene Friend, and the Cantankerous One. My feet have finally unthawed as well. I now have less than a week to prepare the house for the return of a certain Panamanian. While I know I will fall short of her exceedingly high standards I know she will look for some effort on my part. I’m hoping to distract her from those unachieved standards by spreading mulch over her vast garden complex. I’m having a literal truckload delivered tomorrow. I’ll have to put a tarp on it because tomorrow afternoon I’m making a thunder run up to Keene to hang out with those two guys again. It’s one of those “not wanting the good times to tend” situations so we agreed on a Saturday get together. I’m reasonably certain beer will be involved. It happens. I finished a puzzle last night and predictably it’s missing one piece and this as a brand new one that I took directly out of the bag it was shipped in. I think I have a poltergeist.

Latest Puzzle with a Missing Piece

I was saddened earlier this week when I saw pictures of what used to be the building that housed the Cobblestone Pub. After the fire earlier this year the building was razed and no longer exists. I know when you get old (guilty), locations significant from your childhood (and later) are inevitably churned under the inevitable wave of progress. There were a lot of memories with that building and not only for being an integral part of the annual birthday pub crawl. I remember as a very young child stopping by there with my dad to pick up donuts from Sunrise Donuts after church. The building sat on the leading edge of the downtown Keene area and during my military career, whenever I came back to town, I’d glance over there and smiled at the memories of donuts with dad. Over the last fifteen years those memories include the pub crawls as the Cobblestone was where the crowd usually began to grow. I wonder what’s going into that space. I hope it’s a pub and not another college dorm.

The Cobblestone, Going

Going

Gone

Happier Times

I saw The Northman earlier this week. I thought this was going to be a straight action movie but it is a lot more than that. Some of the additional content was interesting while some dragged a little. The title role is a part Alexander Skarsgård was born to play with his light acting touch and imposing physicality. He’s a Viking princeling, wronged by his uncle who makes his way in life as a hired berserker, good work if you can get it. He eventually sets out on a revenge tour of Iceland where he meets Anna Taylor-Joy who is a fully grown woman now and a superb actress. The film veers between intense historical realism and fantasy as the vengeance efforts ensue. We get a down and very dirty exposure to Viking religion and myths as well. The cinematography is superb, especially when the story moves to Iceland. This wasn’t all that I expected but it’s a fascinating story, well-acted, and beautifully shot. As long as you don’t the odd dismemberment, decapitations, or noses bit off , you’ll love it. I did.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                        

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course