Yeah. I know. It’s been a while. You are most certainly welcome for the respite from my inane ramblings but that vacation is over. I have excuses, but as one of my former Army drill sergeants once told me, “The maximum effective range of an excuse is zero meters.” I first had to contend with yet some more painting as my Favorite Panamanian took advantage of the weekend tax holiday to purchase some more paint. The hallway of the main staircase was allocated to me while she pursued more important tasks with the Neighborhood Mafioso. That wall took a bit of stretching, even with a ladder in place on the stairs. Note to self – balanced precariously on a ladder placed on stairs is not for the faint of heart, but it got done.
Late Monday the Maine Musquetera and her
husband showed up for a welcome visit. It has been way, way too long since we’ve
had the opportunity to hang with these special people. Job #1 on Tuesday morning
for the ladies was, of course, launching on their favorite shared activity - shopping. I may have made a critical mistake
in showing my Favorite Panamanian how to enter her favorite stores in the Waze.
Heretofore she’s always been dependent on the Neighborhood Mafioso to reach
certain places. Her hunting grounds have therefore expanded. This could get
expensive.
Dinner Last Night
While they were out, the two guys faced
the task of assembling the other victim of the weekend tax holiday. The new
kitchen table chairs were delivered and required assembly. We went to the store
because they promised free delivery. When the salesman started to charge me
$129 to deliver the chairs, I asked him about that offer. He said the free part
meant they just dropped the boxes off and I would have to assemble. We went the
free route as I thought, how tough would assembling chairs be? It wasn’t, but
the fingers are a little raw from all those turns of the allen wrench. The
musquetera’s husband was an immense help and by the time we were finished we
could assemble a chair in about ten minutes, despite the English assembly directions
composed by someone in Vietnam.
Newly Painted Hallway
While we awaited the return of the
respective better halves, I introduced my buddy to the pleasures of watching a
movie in the Man Cave. He was as thoroughly impressed as I anticipated and
opined it was difficult to believe that I ever left the sanctuary. That struck
a little too close to what I hear from my Favorite Panamanians at times. He marveled
that this was the first full length movie he sat though in years. A good time
although we had to take a break after a message from the musqueteras where we
had to measure their car to insure a carpet they were buying would fit in their
car.
The New Chairs
The ladies did eventually return (after
some coaxing) and we set out for dinner. We were going to take them to Val’s
but we learned Val’s was closed not only on Monday but Tuesday nights as well.
A return to Worcester saw us in a well-appointed steak house where we had a
really fun dinner with the added entertainment of a major dish falling
incident. Our energetic waitress actually brought the other waitress that had
dropped the dishes over to introduce her as the source of the evening’s entrainment.
Which was kind of weird. We ended the night back in the Man Cave where all four
of us enjoyed another movie. It is contagious. So much fun hanging with these friends.
Tomorrow, we head south to retrieve the FBR for her two week stay with us. You’re
probably going to get an even longer break from my inanity as it is hard to
write when confronted with granddaughter energy levels.
The Musqueteras Talking with Tia Loca
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; CRC - Connecticut
Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor
of the big river; Curbside Girls – close
friends of my daughter acquired during him 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 3rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew –
son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high
school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; 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
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