A Thong, Missed Walk-off and Deckzilla Pool Time

I’m in serious granddaughter decompression time after a whirlwind visit from the New Hampshire granddaughters. We were enlisted to babysit so my Favorite Son and the AFA could take in the Red Sox – Yankees game. As usual, my Favorite Panamanian went to several lengths to insure the granddaughters were properly entertained while in our care. But I get ahead of myself if I don’t first chronicle an unplanned but thoroughly enjoyable First Friday. I also know there are those of you out there wondering about the titular thong.

Friday Night at the VFW

After our First Friday Family Facetime call, I was staring down the barrel of a walk around downtown Worcester with my wife and the Neighborhood Mafiosos. That would normally be the recipe for a thoroughly enjoyable time but the legs were barking a little bit after Day 4 of the backyard project, a swim, and then bike workout. Little did I realize that the legs were in for a much more severe conflagration. While in the car heading for Worcester center, I casually mentioned that I heard, in the Y locker room after the aforementioned swim, that the newly reconstructed VFW post featured a live band on Friday nights. I made the mistake of mentioning that in the company of not one but two Panamanian ladies which they immediately translated into, dancing opportunity.

FBR's New Hairdo

Day 5 Progress

Our course was immediately corrected and a short time later we walked into the VFW post. As usual we were amongst the youngest attendees and that includes the band but we have never failed to have a good time at this place or with our partners in crime. We had dinner while awaiting the band which proudly proclaimed themselves as aged hippies. The music wasn’t terrible, as long as they stuck with covering well known oldies. Whenever they wandered into one of their own songs the dance floor emptied precipitously. Early in the evening a group of brassiere challenged young ladies showed up. I’m guessing they were band’s granddaughters but they were bound and determined to have a good time so they fit in well with the crowd. They also featured that thong, black in color, worn with a translucent, sheer white dress, so readily visible. I’m not an expert on the fashion of the youth but she was certainly making a statement.  Any time she walked by, the Panamanians were on high alert to see if we were in admiration mode. The Mafioso and I couldn’t help laughing. It was one of those unplanned nights out that turns out to be more fun than possibly imagined as we spent almost the entire night on the dance floor when we weren’t laughing with the Mafiosos about the very interesting crowd surrounding us.

Granddaughters in the House!

And in the Pool

With all the Toys

Naked Cookie Time with Abuela

Saturday morning I was out in the backyard digging into the uphill side of the future patio. I installed the first part of the retaining wall for that side which meant digging into the hill for the first time. It was a very real lesson in how much fun the later part of the project will be. I knocked the rust off my sub-terranean rock removal techniques as several large stones had to be extricated. My secret weapon, the crowbar. I can start seeing the patio starting to emerge from the barren site but it will be many rocks from now. My Favorite Panamanian opined that I should use all the rocks I’m pulling out to make a stone wall, of course, at the top of the hill.

Backyard Shampoo

Visit to Neighbors

Stylin for a Walk, Complete with Boots

Fashion Explosion

While this was going on she had been scurrying around the house in granddaughter prep. I was called upon to help inflate our newest kiddie pool. They’ve been growing exponentially so the size the pool has to increase. That was her shopping logic. At this pace we’ll have an Olympic sized pool in our backyard when they’re teenagers (oh boy – more digging). The ladies showed up in the early afternoon and after one look at the pool the BRS was rushing to change into her bathing suit. The distraction of all the abuela treats for the BRS and BR3 allowed their parents to make a hasty exit on their way to Boston.

Bird and Chipmunk Watching Breakfast

Abuela Hangs

Oh, Grandpa has the Camera Out

Both granddaughters were soon cavorting in the pool after BR3 and her abuela located every waterproof toy (and several that weren’t) from our granddaughter toy cache. These toys were dumped into the pool and the cavorting was on. My Favorite Panamanian decided to get in on the fun but was concerned about the cold water. She had me shuttling pots of boiling hot water from the kitchen to up the water temp. Las Lajas has kind of spoiled us. I didn’t even get into the water. I did get wet though as I was placed in charge of another one of abuela’s granddaughter buys – a gallon sized jug equipped with a pump to blow up water balloons. The BRS thought it was hilarious when the odd balloon would blow up in my lap. It reminded me of the first few weeks after my prostate operation.

The Boston Burger Bar

Soxfather With Them

My son and the ABFA had reached Boston and located a pre-game meal at a burger bar. Meanwhile we were contending with granddaughter bedtime, always an activity rife with adventure. BR3 remembered that our walk-in closet was now “her room” and went down fairly easily. The BRS was sad because she missed having the FBR for a roommate and late night, inappropriate conversation. She made do with her abuela. As I headed downstairs to watch the game I left my Favorite Panamanian stretched out in bed with the BRS discussing world events. It was even bet to see who put the other one to sleep. In Boston there was an undeniable connection with the departed Soxfather. Anything associated with the game and the Red Sox in general elicits cherished memories that will be his lasting legacy for the entire family. They walked by a street with Soxfather’s name which served as a clear indicator he was with them.

From Earlier Times With Soxfather and Great Aunt

He must have been with the Sox last night as well. After being pummeled into submission for two nights in a row by the evil empire, the Sox staged a dazzling walk off win in extra innings after the Yankees had taken a two run lead. It was highly improbable and once the Yankees scored, my son and the ABFA left to get ahead of the post-game surge. They watched the late game heroics on their phones from the subway station. My wife had also given up and was walking up the stairs when she heard my joyous bellow from the Man Cave (neighbors a couple blocks away may have heard them also). I was so excited that sleeping was not an issue so I waited up for their return from Boston. They were a little sad to have missed he end but thoroughly enjoyed the game, the Soxfather connection, and had grossly overstayed their usual bedtime. It was great night out for them and my son, in true Red So fan fashion, stated the comeback probably wouldn’t have happened if they had stayed.

BR3 with me in the Background at the Water Balloon Station

BR3 Armed with a Balloon, Nervous Riggins Next to Her

Watering the Flowers

This morning the BRS was back in the pool, once all the “buggies” were removed. BR3, in another astounding move, stayed asleep for the entire night which makes two in a row at our house. A real win. The morning swirled around hojaldras, cinnamon rolls, and screeching grandchildren, in other words, heaven. The FBR, who scored yet another hair style was very sad during our calls over the weekend. She wanted so much to be part of the fun with then BRS. We missed her too. I was back at the water balloon station but with improved technique and stayed mostly dry. The granddaughters were pelting my Favorite Panamanian’s vast garden complex, accomplishing the morning watering.  As usual, all too soon, it was the appointed hour to allow them to return home. As usual, the house seems unnaturally quiet now after just 24 hours of exposure to the granddaughters. Too. Much. Fun.

Three movies fell since last post in my A-Z quest: 22 Jump Street, 27 Dresses, and 28 Weeks later. Talk about a wide shot group. In a huge upset I decided to keep 27 Dresses active. It was much better than I remembered, I must be getting old.

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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