Heated Up

I’m not talking about the microwave fate of my usual dinner fare in the title either. After having the heat on in the house a couple weeks ago, we turned on the AC over the weekend as temperatures truly soared (I’ve always wondered about the saying “soared”, seems counterintuitive). Fortunately, the subterranean Man Cave remained pleasantly cool, without the need for AC. I was even using blankets down there when it was truly sweltering (another strange word) outside. I seem to be tangentially inclined this morning. Not focusing tangentially but letting the mind wander at individual words I’m writing. You are welcome to my incoherence. I blame the Game of Thrones which I am binge watching for the first time since I saw it as it was broadcast. I’m not sure why I’m assigning blame there but it was the most obvious target. I’m through season four where the Prince of Dorne just suffered his mountainous splitting headache, but I digress (which is kind of the point).

BR3 at the Great Aunt Supplied Water Table

The granddaughters were moving targets this past weekend. We had no contact with the FBR but she was busy indeed, dealing with a humid 99-degree temperature. That probably made the decision to finally get a hair cut easier to make; she looks awesome. She spent part of pre-haircut Saturday at a local park with her neighborhood running buddy. Popsicles were involved. She also managed to finagle a shopping trip out of her parents. She truly has her abuela’s shopping genes although more inclined to stuffed animals than my Favorite Panamanian.

Saturday Hangs in the Park with her Buddy

Cooling Off

Shopping!!!

Haircut Sunday

Beyond Cute

Meanwhile, up in New Hampshire, the BRS and BR3 started swimming lessons; a first for BR3. My Favorite Son reported it took a while for BR3 to accept immersion while the BRS was more than ready to submerge. They dealt with the heat with a Great Aunt supplied water table which I’m sure had both kids and their parents soaked by the end. I was outside, sitting on the steps, talking with my Favorite Panamanian as she trimmed shrubs in her vast garden complex in the cooler evening when my son called at the request of BR3. Although she was obviously tired from a long day in the heat she was incredibly charming and immediately lifted spirits in what had been a fairly quiet and moderately lonely weekend.

BRS at the Table

We’ve got a quiet week lined up but events should inevitably spiral deliciously out of control this weekend with the celebration of BR3’s birthday and a run up to the habitat of the Maine Musquetera (a trip that is moderately overdue, at least according to my Favorite Panamanian). This will involve my first ever trip to the Acadia National Park which my wife, with her Musquetera trips, has seen many times. She says we need to start doing more traveling. Her rationale is we’re getting old and don’t want to get too sedentary. I couldn’t agree more about the getting old part but gas prices may put off my Covid delayed cross country jaunt for another year.

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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