Sanity Check and Farewell to Arm

It’s been fairly hectic at work for the last week as I had a huge project to complete before my wedding related sabbatical.  I finally put that to bed late yesterday and it was really well received by the customer this morning.  I had another of my weekly sanity lunches with the son entering his final week of bachelorhood.  We discussed his mother’s frantic scramble to the finish line with her choice for mother-son dance music which provided ample fodder for a lunch that was, as always, way too short.

The Weekly Photo and Last One as a Single Guy

Apparently the MEF doesn’t realize that at times I take a bit of artistic license here on Frail Deeds and may exaggerate a bit, especially if it involves the spousal unit.  My tendency to wander from the “accepted” or “polite” has struck again.  My son, to his credit, knows his mother well enough to glean the facts from my embellished (but not that much) storytelling to calm his fiancé who was concerned for her future mother in law’s sanity (interestingly, no one ever seems to question mine, things that make you go hmmm).

My recently acquired prowess with my wife’s newest cleaning gadget was put to the test last night.  She sentenced Buddy to the basement around 10pm and handed me the task (alright – I volunteered) of cleaning and then polishing the entire downstairs hardwood floors.  I got off to a great start on the polishing phase when I dropped the bottle which spilled a lot of the polish.  Well, it was going on the floor anyways – I just had a new starting point.  I didn’t finish until almost 1am.  The floor where I still had polish to use looks great; the rest – well, not so much.  They only included a small bottle of wax with the machine which was not up to the task of our entire first floor.  She’s out to buy some more today so I’ll probably be back behind the damned thing again tonight.

Going and Coming

I was just sitting down to write this morning when the news came that the Red Sox had traded their best pitcher, John Lester.  In this forgettable Red Sox season his imminent trade was a foregone conclusion since he’s in his walk year.  While I was resigned to losing him I’m dumbfounded by what they got in return, Yoenis Cespedes, the powerful right handed bat they’ve needed for years.  Lester was a true stud and instrumental in two World Series championships, as well as a no-hitter, and a true stand-up guy.  There’s a slim chance he could even return as a free agent signing after the season but this is a real win for the Sox, who can’t seem to produce a power bat through their minor league system. This year (I’m not complaining) just got a whole lot more promising; actually I meant next year.   

Pre-Wedding Crisis Control

The wedding is now less than two weeks away and my wife is approaching critical mass about issues she considers herself responsible for.  I came home yesterday to find her a quivering, stress filled mess as she’d spent a large portion of the day trying to finalize her selections for the mother-son dance.  She was frustrated by her lack of computer expertise and her general lack of decisiveness.

This is usually where I step in (technologically a very small pond, decisiveness less so). 

This led a very frustrating hour on the I-Pad as she tried to explain what she needed.  The I-Pad was not constructed with my less than nimble, large fingers in mind.  This led to further stress which even the dog picked up on.  I was ready to consign the damned thing to the third level of hell after a couple inadvertent touches.  It was obvious she (we) needed a break after we reached a general consensus and luckily it was date night.

What Her I-Pad Almost Ended Up Looking Like

Less than fortunate was the choice of movie, And So It Goes, where Diane Keaton continued to cement her new found fame as an elder hottie.  This movie was just off.  It didn’t have the sharp dialogue and subtle humor I’ve come to expect from a Rob Reiner effort.  I guess he went full meathead in choosing the writing team for this.

Michael Douglas plays an aging widowed real estate agent who’s a complete boor to everyone around him.  He has an unknown granddaughter thrust onto him which leads him to Keaton.  Douglas seems to have mailed this in despite the fact his character must deal with a drug addict son, something he has real world experience with.  Francis Sternhagen steals all her scenes as the elderly curmudgeon buddy to Douglas.  I’m guessing this was supposed to be about finding meaning in life but it stayed to safely on the surface.

The New Toy

I continued my battle to rescue my wife’s shattered morale by promising to set up and demonstrate how to use her new floor cleaning system after the movie.  It was fairly simple and after I got started I didn’t want to stop, it was kind of fun (boys and their toys kind of thang).  I finished the entire upstairs while she puttered around offering well meant (but less well received) advice.  As I put it away for the night I realized she had somehow got me to do the work she had set for herself to do.  I had been “Tom Sawyered”!  I’ve got to get a copy of that wife’s manual on maneuvering husbands.  She’s always a step ahead of me.

Basement Hangs

My wife’s wedding quartering plans are in full bloom now.  The upstairs closets finally succumbed to the size of her spare clothes caches to the point she needed additional basement space allocated.  She went down a size in clothes in the past year so she needed a new wardrobe but doesn’t want to abandon the old clothes since she night need them again (someday).

A few years ago I created a jury rigged hanging closet pole down there which has a truly impressive amount of ex-clothes hanging (including my devastatingly handsome pinstriped suit from college!).  I was beat into submission at work by a combination of demanding clients and spreadsheets so my wife sensed a need for me to perform some physical labor (or she knows I cannot refuse her anything).  She dispatched me to Home Depot where I acquired the needed implements for another jury rigged closet. 

I devised a new method that would have worked flawlessly if I had purchased a more cooperative form of wire.  I enjoyed the work which we accomplished while she carried on an almost continuous series of phone calls with friends and family.  My wife on the telephone is not considered multi-tasking, since the phone is akin to another appendage.

My New Creation Half Filled

I’m not holding my breath for my invitation to the Home and Garden network.  My projects will never win any awards for aesthetics but hopefully this one will stay up until I figure out how to reinforce the wire.  My wife wasted no time is liberally festooning her new storage space.  I even noticed some of my own “winter” clothes appearing on the rack.  My only worry (other than it falling down of course) is whether the monumental weight will bow the floor above.  I went back upstairs and her closet was still chock full.  I don’t know how she does it.  

Rained Out Musical Furniture

Yesterday was supposed to be my weekly foray into yard work but the gods must have noted the after effects of some long drives on Saturday because the day was a complete washout.  Thankfully the rain, while steady, wasn’t accompanied by a lot of fireworks so we were spared another Buddy melt down.  Less than thankfully my wife decided an afternoon whittling down the stack of movies waiting my attention was not in the offing.

Nature hates a vacuum and my wife feels likewise about the thought of an unproductive husband when there are projects to be done.  Some day in the distant future I’m going to get to the end of that project list but I haven’t glimpsed even a glimmer from the end of that tunnel yet.  Since we couldn’t work outside she decided to implement the first phase of her quartering plan for the upcoming wedding.  Our all too empty house will fill up dramatically next week as friends and family converge for my son’s nuptials with many staying at our house. 

We have three extra bedrooms and she decided we should switch the furniture between two.  This turned into an intricate ballet as the hall between the two became a heavy traffic zone while she modified the plan continuously as a new idea sprung in her very creative mind.  I “politely” informed her at one stage that we’d reached the “good idea cut off point” and then went about implementing her newest idea.

The Upstairs Hall Mid-Move

I have to admit (somewhat grumpily) that, as always, she was right as to the changes in décor.  It was strange walking up the stairs since these are the two bedrooms visible form the stairs and seeing everything switched.  To her credit she was working right alongside me during the furniture moving (she’s much stronger than she appears).

We had everything moved by the end of the afternoon and she acquiesced to a break so we snuck out to see Hercules starring that noted thespian Dwayne “Rock” Johnson.  Since this was a Bret Ratner film we were obligated to donate brain cells before entering but it turned out to be pretty entertaining.  This is the part Johnson was born to play as he has the physique and athleticism to make Hercules come alive.  Most guys who’ve attempted the part are so muscle bound they couldn’t turn their head without committing the entire body.

Johnson’s also a better actor than most give him credit for and he’s surrounded by a supporting cast of really fine actors.  Since it’s ancient times they all speak with British accents though.  It was a fun way to decompress from furniture moving.

I also finished off the last of Brad Thor’s books currently published, Act of War. His hero, Scot Horvath, is called upon to disrupt a planned comprehensive attack on the US by China.  Horvath charges from Pakistan to the Dubai to various and sundry places in the US typically leaving a trail of bad guy bodies in his wake.  As with all Thor’s work the pace is relentless and brought to the reader in clear, well thought out prose.

In a welcome turn Horvath still has the girlfriend from the last book and she doesn’t get shot in the head!  She isn’t in the book at all outside of a quick mention but I did get nervous when the action shifted to Boston where she lives.  Now I’m stuck waiting for Thor to publish his next book in the series and he joins John Sandford, Lee Child, George RR Martin, and many more authors who can’t write fast enough to keep me in books.  I’m going to miss Horvath in the interim.

Port City Party Time

Massachusetts and New Hampshire took a page out of Connecticut’s playbook yesterday in making a true effort to keep me from celebrating my son’s birthday with him.  We were scheduled to head up there to first catch a movie and then a birthday dinner with him along with the MEF’s parents at his favorite restaurant.  We were scrambling to make our departure time when we received a call from the MEF reporting the birthday boy was still suffering after effects of some pre-birthday celebrations (and libations) on Friday night with his buddies.  We didn’t have to scramble at that point but I knew the Saturday traffic heading towards Maine through the Portsmouth bottleneck can get oppressive so I gave myself an additional hour for the trip.  It wasn’t enough.

We traveled at 10 to 20 MPH for a good portion of the trip for no good reason whatsoever.  There were no obstructions or accidents, just oxygen thieves behind of too many vehicles.  The extra hour I planned was quickly (relatively speaking) consumed.  We were up against a movie time that came and went as we inched along I-95 in New Hampshire. We finally abandoned the masses headed for Maine and after some broken field running through the back streets of Greenland and Portsmouth arrived at my son/MEF’s apartment.

Tree Top Hangs With MEF and Son

The delay did provide an opportunity to see a later showing of the movie as well as a nice time on their roof deck on the absolutely gorgeous summer day.  I’d forgotten what a beautiful day it was during my incarceration on the vacation choked highways.  The MEF wasn’t joining us for the movie since the violence within was beyond her stated limits.  Since I do not suffer the same limitations we went to see the movie Lucy after first stopping at the electronic store to peruse tablets.  My son has been stockpiling Best Buy gift cards with an aim towards this latest “need” of his generation.

Tablet Shopping

Lucy was pretty cool.  All the best scenes were shown in the previews.  Scarlett Johansson has an accidental drug induced ability to fully access her brain’s capacity (insert comment here about what an actor’s brain would really be capable of).  The enhancement turns her into a superhero and she starts globetrotting and time travelling to link up with Dr Morgan Freeman to preserve her knowledge before she burns out.

Old Boy himself, who was responsible for the enabling drug is hot on her heels with a seemingly endless supply of henchman.  Since this was a Luc Besson movie the climax takes place in Paris.  Since this was a Luc Besson movie the action is almost non-stop, filled with huge plot holes, and immensely entertaining. 

The Destination

While we were thus entertained the MEF’s parents had arrived and we all crammed into my son’s car for the short drive into central Portsmouth for dinner at The Library.  This is my son’s favorite restaurant and who can argue about dinner with people you love surrounded by books and steaks. 

MEF Parents - Just Great People

While my wife and I love the MEF and already think of her as a second daughter one of the best things about my son finding her was the opportunity to meet her parents.  They almost immediately felt like family and every new chance to get together more firmly cements those feelings; just great people to hang out with.  Dinner passed much too quickly (for everybody except out waitress).  We took an all too short walk around the center of Portsmouth to work off some of the dead animal flesh consumed in honor of my son’s birth day.  Dessert was reserved for slices of his birthday chocolate pie courtesy of his mother.  There were more gifts and in depth discussion of the wedding, now less than two weeks away where the MEF will relinquish her fiancé status.

Dinner Table Inside the Library

While it was my son’s birthday we were the ones provided with a gift yesterday.  The gift of precious time spent with family and friends that cannot be overvalued.  One of those days you don’t want to end but time has this remorseless tendency to proceed even faster on days like this.  At least the late night drive home was exactly half of what the same trip took earlier in the day. 

Birthday Pie!

Of Course there was a Dog-Themed Cad

Wife and a Library Lion

The Beautiful Gals We got to Eat Dinner With

MEF and Son

Big Guy Birth Day

This is going to be a short post because we’re scrambling to travel to Portsmouth this morning to spend his birthday with our son.  He’s brought such joy to his very proud parents that it’s hard to find the words expressing how much he means to us.  He was delivered via C-section at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington.  I was sitting in a waiting room when the doctor came and without saying a word escorted me through a series of medical rooms before stopping and pointed to what looked like a McDonald’s French Fry heating table.  That was my first look at my son and began his career of being everything a father could hope for. 

He's 29 Today and a Little Taller
His Table Manners Are Still Suspect Though

He loves dogs, the Red Sox (except for the player he selects to be his annual pariah), beer, and movies; so I guess he bred true.  Most importantly he loves the MEF and we’re all so excited as they start down their own marital road in a couple weeks.  Happy Birthday Big Guy!

Wife at Zorba's Last Night

Nothing much to report on yesterday’s First Friday activities.  It took well into the afternoon to fully eradicate the smell from my brain of Buddy’s implosion.  My excellent boss was in high form ranting and raving about the political leaders so Brew City was entertaining based on that alone.  My wife successfully maneuvered Sears into getting her the right machine which brought back memories of my own mother’s well remembered epic battles with my home town Sears.  We raised a toast to her at Zorba’s and thought she would have been proud of my wife’s hooking and jabbing with her old adversary.  We topped off the night with Ronnie’s Ice Cream because we’ll see the MEF today and did not want to disappoint (well that and the ice cream was awesome!)

Her Date, Yours Truly

MEF Sanctioned Dessert

Defacatapocalypse II

Those of you with a weak constitution should stop reading now.  I was reinstructed this morning on the joys of pet ownership.  Buddy the Wonder Pooch wanted to take the edge of my excitement for the First Friday of the Week.  As I headed downstairs this morning for our normal morning rituals I was greeted with a tell-tale, overpowering odor.

For the second time the storm stress drugs apparently nuked Buddy’s digestive system which resulted in a case of explosive, well let’s call it “number 2”.  Unlike his earlier effort he was unsuccessful in getting this donation outside the cage.  This was not the scene I was prepared for on a glorious summer morning.  If the neighbors glanced out their window they would have seen me dragging the kennel with Buddy still inside out onto the driveway, nattily attired in my overnight lounge pants and slippers.

I Could Have Used One of These Suits This Morning

I felt really bad for Buddy, who looked incredibly contrite, as I first hosed him down and then took apart the kennel so I could thoroughly clean that up.  Buddy took off to continue his donations at various locations across the lawn.  After the cage was fully sanitized and reassembled, Buddy got a complete bath.  After mopping the basement floor twice I thought I had fully mitigated the hazardous waste spill.  Buddy and I were admiring our handiwork when he leaned over a vomited a huge deposit right where I had just finished mopping (my sympathetic feelings towards my canine companion took a serious nose dive at that point).  After “we” got that spill taken care of I thanked Buddy for demonstrating effluents from each of his corporeal orifices and went upstairs for breakfast.  For some unknown reason my appetite was not up to its normal robust standards.

I wrote earlier that I was drawn in (kicking and screaming) to my wife’s shopping activities this past weekend when I assisted her with some Amazon based shoe shopping.  The shoes arrived and she loved them but felt they were a little too small.  My wife takes an almost perverse pleasure in returning items she doesn’t like while I have a contradictory pain in doing so.  Since this was Amazon I had to do it and I was pleased with how easy they make it.  The shoes were returned and yesterday the replacement ones (that fit) arrived.  Thank God for Wing Man’s adding us to his Prime account which provides free two day shipping.

What She Thought She Was Buying

What They Gave Her
Momentarily Happy Before She Realized the Mistake

My wife’s returning activities are not concluded for the week though.  She was all abuzz yesterday when I got home with her purchase of a new cleaning device.  Another friend put her on the trail of a cleaning/sanitizing floor cleaner that works on both hard wood floors and carpets.  I was charged with assembling her new acquisition while she prepared to put it to immediate use.  When I finished my task it was obvious she didn’t have the machine she thought she did, since this one only worked on hard wood floors.  She said a salesman had assisted her and when she pointed out what machine she wanted, he returned from the stock room with what he said was the right machine.  I probably don’t have to tell you this all happened at Sears; at least they’re consistent.  She goes to do battle with them today.

Despite all of this, I am psyched to declare this is still the First Friday of the Week. I think I really am going to need a couple beers tonight!

Sanity Check In Restored

Yesterday was about as soul leaching a day at work as I can remember.  I once again spent the entire day glued to the computer screen with a faithful IT “expert” seated beside me as we labored to make a Microsoft Access data base accept reality.  Anyone who has ever worked with one of these quirky little torture devices will understand the need for the expert at my side.  Well that and my legendary lack of computer prowess, but that goes without saying.

I count myself extremely fortunate therefore that yesterday was also the one day this week that my son was working in the area so we got together for lunch.  This not only allows me to inflict another photo of us together upon you but went miles towards preparing me for the afternoon session of electro-magnetic torment. 

Son and I With Proof of Life from Hannibal

He and the MEF are truly on short final with plans for the wedding now only days away.  We’re at the point where most of the conversation was coordinating wedding week activities; well that and his continuing ability to injure himself in non-contact sports.  I was also finally able to loan him the blu ray with the first season of Hannibal (that should prepare him for marriage).  My daughter finally successfully liberated it from bondage imposed by the Wing Man who held it hostage for months and avoided all attempts to get it to my son. 

Last night saw a truly impressive series of thunder storms role through which reduced Buddy the Wonder Pooch to a quivering mass of black jello.  I prepared his isolation chamber and administered his drug of choice.  He stopped trying to dig through the cellar floor once the drugs kicked in.

Video Dating

System Leaving Ukraine

If you’re following events over in Ukraine it’s obvious Russia is in serious cover up mode.  The two SA-11s they sent to the rebels last week and were presumably used to take down the Malaysian flight were quietly deployed back across the border to Russia, missing a couple missiles of course.  That’s the reports coming out of Ukraine along with photos of the systems passing back into Russia.  Yet here in the USA, Obama declared yesterday there is no proof the Russian government was involved in the downing of the flight.  So if we are to believe our illustrious leader the rebels snuck into Russia, stole some missile systems, shot down the airliner, and then returned the missile systems to Russia, all without Russian government knowledge.  That’s what our government is asking us to believe.  I’m more convinced than ever that Putin has compromising pictures of Obama that is blackmailing him with.

Safely Back in Russia

Date night, I reacquired my favorite date last night as my wife joined me to see Sex Tape.  This was another in the long line of recent raunchy comedies starring Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz.  They’re a married couple trying to rediscover their horny ways lost with the arrival of parenthood.  They choose to do that by videoing their connubial interactions.  Unfortunately the device they used is automatically synched with a number of other devices in the hands of friends, neighbors, and the mailman; hilarity ensues.

The movie was funny at times, as long as you could suspend your disbelief that Segel could ever score with Diaz.  Diaz has a real talent for comedy and she carries the movie, along with her fully toned backside.  The movie loses its way near the finish line as they try to get too cute and heartfelt instead of sticking with the outrageous gags.  This is also the first movie I’ve seen him in that Rob Codray doesn’t dominate as a supporting character; leads me to assume a weak writing team.  It was still a lot of laughs if a little uncomfortable at times.

Hidden Travels

So today I break my streak of daily driving of at least three hours at five days.  The past weekend plus was a little hectic but entirely too much fun to complain about.  Monday provided its normal dose of actual employment which did offer the opportunity to catch a few breathes since I was glued behind a computer for most of the day (there’s something criminal about that on such a beautiful summer day).

The last day of my driving streak did include the onerous task of returning my daughter to her NYC life via transit through Connecticut traffic quagmire.  This is never a welcome duty but I could tell she was itching to get back to the Wing Man and a lonely cat or two (tough to compete against that combination).  My daughter did contribute on the trip down further embellishing her growing reputation for navigational acumen. 

I'll Miss This Face

She’s already mastered the google maps app that routes us around Connecticut’s never ending attempts to create traffic standstills through poorly timed construction projects (I mean, who shuts down a major interstate during rush hour traffic!).  She unveiled a new app on her I-phone which reported the location of police cars along the route.  I’m not saying I was speeding but I may have been shading the upside of some posted speed limits so this was welcome route intel.  She was back in the Big Apple where Wing Man greeted her with flowers and Pee Wee the cat with long overdue cuddle time.  I personally think Buddy is superior in this department but she’s a cat person; I miss her, despite her feline affliction.

A Very Happy NYC Cat Last Night

Less Happy Parents at New Haven Train Station

I finished what I thought was the last of my Scot Horvath thrillers with Hidden Order yesterday.  The author, Brad Thor, takes a new tact with his legendary hero inserting him into a pretty straight forward murder mystery.  Since it is Horvath there are hordes of CIA hit men and nefarious bankers involved as well.  Horvath is tasked to assist the Boston P.D. to investigate a series of gruesome killings aimed at the Federal Reserve and incorporating a lot of American Revolutionary War history.

Horvath does what Horvath does so there’s a robust body count at the end and America is saved once again.  He’s teamed up with yet another beautiful woman (he’s lucky that way); a Boston police detective.  They end up on a Cape Cod beach together falling in love and she hasn’t even been shot in the head.  Yet.  I kind of hope this one survives, Horvath deserves some happiness.  The even better news is that Thor has published another book in the series while I was making my way through the earlier ones so I’ll find out shortly if she makes it.  It was uploaded to my trusty Kindle shortly after learning this so stay tuned, or better yet – start reading Thor’s work.  It rocks. 

Party Travels

I’m kind of sneaky glad work has arrived to replace the hectic pace of the past weekend.  I have one more long drive tonight (through my arch nemesis – Connecticut) but the sedate rhythms of employment have supplanted the weekend’s demands for forward motion.

Bachelorette MEF and Daughter

My daughter limped in yesterday afternoon from her exertions at the MEF’s bachelorette party.  From her somewhat blurred recall, the outstanding young ladies of the MEF’s entourage properly honored that fantastic young lady in preparation for the impending nuptials.  She has a habit of inspiring the best out of people.

Keene Friend 2 at the Grill

We hoped our daughter would accompany us to a party up in Keene but she was in deep recovery mode after destroying a dance floor the night before.  The apple did not fall far.  We were heading up to Keene for the birthday + sendoff party for the outstanding daughter of one of my high school classmate’s (Keene Friend 2) girlfriend.  She’s leaving shortly for a job in Argentina and as an ardent salsa dancer we knew she had to meet my wife before she left.

Driving a total of three hours for a two hour party seems like a lot but the family motto is probably – we will travel to party.  Predictably my wife and the daughter got along famously right from the beginning.  By the end of the party they were salsa dancing together on the lawn.  It was a fun, low key gathering of people I didn’t know beforehand for the most part but really enjoyed meeting.  Good people seem to attract other good people.  Keene Friend 2 ably manned the grill and we sat in the shade of their house as the daughter circulated through the crowd and along with her mother made everyone feel welcome. 

The Gathering

It was kind of bittersweet as we celebrated the daughter’s birthday but also knew she would be heading the deep, deep south for an undetermined length of time.  I’m a firm believer that young people should travel the world when young enough to enjoy it and learn that different is necessarily wrong.  That doesn’t make it any easier on a parent having to say goodbye as a child heads out on that adventure.

The Departing Daughter With Her Mother at Her Side Addresses the Crowd

I got a chance to say hi to Keene Friend 2’s parents who I hadn’t seen in decades.  Since this was a school night my beverage intake was limited to water but that didn’t dim the fun meter at all.  I even joined a conversation in Spanish with the daughter’s high school Spanish teacher, something I usually prepare for with a couple beers.  He even complimented me on my Spanish which was probably more polite than accurate. 

The Dancing Girls

Keene did its part as well, providing the normal feeling of coming home, well worth the time spent getting there and back.  On our way out of town we stopped by Keene Friend 1’s house but he was out of town on one of his rare days off and we also drove by a couple houses for sale.  My wife somewhat snarkily observed that this was one of the rare times she hadn’t been required to drive home from Keene.  It’s scary how fast time is proceeding towards hopefully a full time move back to Keene and less long drives.  

Kind of a Cool Touch
Everybody at the Party Had a Picture Taken with Her
Through a Picture Frame - My Wife and I Here

Silver Linings Things

Since I abandoned the wife for half of our weekend nights on Friday night I felt the need to recover some lost ground.  She was supportive of my Red Sox night out with the boys but it did seem a little unfair to just spend the other weekend night at home.  Our footloose daughter was out with the MEF bachelorette extravaganza where she apparently beat a nautical dance floor into submission.  I’m sure there’ll be some stories from that adventure.  She comes by her dancing genes honestly and not from her Anglo-Saxon side.

Daughter and MEF Last Night With the Ship Borne Posse

The genetic donor I am married to therefor was a little overjoyed (euphoric would be a more accurate description) when I told her I was taking her out dancing last night.  This followed a truly exciting day at home where we shopped for shoes on amazon (I’m sure you accurately guessed who the shoes were for) and weeded gardens all day while Buddy provided squirrel overwatch.

Maxwell's Last Night

Maxwell Silverman’s performed his task admirably by providing an excellent atmosphere where a middle aged couple could bust a few dance moves without the usual youthful scorn.  One of the downsides to the keto diet (besides missing cupcakes) is the occasional muscle cramp.  Friday night I woke out of a dead sleep when my lower leg seized up and refused to cooperate.  I was a little leery about the dancing I committed to but sufficient aquatic intake sufficed to keep me in the same time zone as the dancing queen wife.  A truly fun night, she’s a great date, especially when dancing is involved.

R.I.P.

Some sad news out of Hollywood where one of my childhood idols, James Garner, passed away.  While the current generation remembers him as the older version in the Nicolas Sparks weep-a-thon, The Notebook, I will always remember him like this (see photo).  A true leading man who seemed like a regular guy despite all his success, he was also a combat decorated veteran.  Sleep well Mr. Rockford, you’ve earned it and thanks for all the smirks.

Today also marks the 45^th anniversary of the first moon landings.  It was one of those where were you then moments.  I clearly remember being in the darkened upstairs of a vacation lake cottage with my favorite cousin when our aunt called us down to hear the news on radio.  Yes, the news also used to come via radio; I just can’t believe it was that long ago.