Passing the 4th & Day 1

Since being on the roads yesterday was a non-starter as all the star-crossed people who passed the holiday away from their homes faced that task. My Favorite Panamanian and I were safely entombed in our Worcester home preparing for the afternoon arrival of the Neighborhood Mafioso. She had just returned from a Mediterranean cruise with her daughter and granddaughters to celebrate her retirement, so there were stories to tell. It was a picture-perfect summer afternoon as we set up shop on Deckzilla and listened to her detailed report of her adventures. We were joined by their son for a laid back but thoroughly enjoyable late afternoon. We seared some dead animal flesh, made serious inroads on a nearby cooler (okay, that was mostly me), and laughed almost non-stop. The best part, as usual, was just the time spent with friends without any schedule or need to drive anywhere.

Deckzilla Yesterday

Too Much Fun

Today was equally unscheduled but saw the start of my “big” backyard project. As I wrote before, I’m going to take this slowly, fighting my usual urge to keep pressing on when my body tries to tell me to back off. Predictably, this wasn’t my idea but involves a promise to my Favorite Panamanian not to overdo it. She thinks I’m a senior citizen, go figure. The project involves creating a patio between the bottom of Deckzilla and the style challenged fireplace. The first task was to remove the blocks and pea stone that I put in place due to Buddy the Wonder Pooch’s impact on the back yard. After I get the stones moved, I’ll remove the existing small wall and push the patio back into the hill on either side of the fireplace. The biggest task will be getting the future site level. This will take a couple weeks since I won’t be digging all day.

Target Area

As a matter of fact, in negotiating my work hours with the aforementioned Panamanian I can only dig when the site is in the shade (early morning and evening). The ground I’ll be attacking is well packed clay laced with rocks, so fun there. I caught a break this morning with a cloudy day and got most of the stones moved. Rock herding is no fun whatsoever. I was on the verge of feeling sorry for myself until I realized this was the easy part. I know. I’m asking myself the same question, where do I get these crazy ideas and then execute them. I know it keeps my wife shaking her head at times (make that most of the time). Oh well, here I go. I think I will be fantasizing about owning a small backhoe over the next few days when the digging starts in earnest. Here we go.

Blocks Removed

End of Work Today

I didn’t hear much on the granddaughter front over the weekend which is probably in direct correlation to how busy those young ladies tend to be. I received these pictures from the parental units to prove my theory. The FBR spent a long-time in a local Children’s’ Museum with her mother, my daughter. There were repeated rock wall climbs and her usual relentless pace which I’m sure had both ladies exhausted by the end of a well spent day. Meanwhile the BRS was dipping her toes into the frigid Atlantic with some friends and the ABFA. I like to see this because it makes a visit to her grandparent’s’ condo in Panama all the more attractive with the very warm Pacific waters. Another movie fell last night in my A-Z quest. 13 Hours, The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi remains a hair raising action flick that is scarily based on the truth.

BRS

Seaside

Cold Water

FBR Climbing 

Drawing

Sitting

Posing

Choosing

More Climbing

And Still More

Then Some Digging

Celebratory Photos Hulk Filter per FBR Choice

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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