Reunions with Old Friends

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Daughter with the FBR

Christmas celebrations are picking up some steam with a Friday night gathering at the house and yesterday’s movie. This is one of the years we get a Star Wars film involving the original story line – so, win! My wife planned a small gathering of neighbors to celebrate the holiday and the arrival of the Maine Musquetera for one of their patented shopping frenzies. I was supposed to cut short the celebrations of First Friday but I was confident in the almost guaranteed lateness of the Musquetera. She was scheduled to arrive at four and my wife wanted to kick off the dinner party at five. I showed up at five just ahead of the first guests. The Musquetera rolled into town a little before seven – I love consistency.

Friday Night - Ladies Table

Great Food

The Musquetera showed up with her college senior daughter and it was a little jarring to have the little girl, it seems like from yesterday, already a confident young lady drinking beer with me. Where have all these years come from? It was a very fun group and my wife prepared the traditional Panamanian Christmas dish, a huge pork loin. I was well into Christmas spirits when I made a FaceTime call to New Jersey to my bemused daughter and Wingman. I was vocally protesting the delay in serving cake as my wife insisted on cleaning up the kitchen before serving the fabulous cake the Maine Musquetera, renowned baker that she is, had brought. The New Jersey contingent were no help whatsoever in moving my agenda forward but we did eventually get the cake and it was worth the wait.

Great Friends

I was up at my normal time yesterday but the musqueteras had stayed up well into the wee morning hours in one of their customary late night conversations. They were supposed to launch out for holiday shopping at 8am but eventually hit the road around 11am. Timeliness is not a huge planning factor in their relationship, probably why I try to stay on the fringes of it. They still managed to get in almost twelve hours of shopping though – returning home shortly before 11pm. Even I was impressed and I’d seen their abilities before.

Christmas Outfit

Down in New Jersey the FBR had a very full Christmas day herself. She donned her abuela acquired Christmas outfit to attend an annual Christmas brunch at one of their friend’s house. She was especially pleased with the shoes which sported bows. They had a great time at the brunch which included a visit from Santa which the FBR took with a lot more aplomb than last year’s meltdown experience. They returned home and started in on their own Christmas cookie baking and the FBR was front and center helping out. She even followed family tradition by demanding a cookie for recompense for all her efforts. By the time I caught up them in the early evening the FBR was fully involved in a cookie digestion cycle which left scant room for playing games with Grampa. A very good day for her though as she is immersed in Christmas traditions.

Helping with the Cookies

Getting Paid

Left to my own devices, literally, I snuck out of the Man Cave to the cinema to see Star Wars the Last Jedi. There was no way I was going to wait until date night to see my old friends from a galaxy far, far away. I clearly remember walking out of a 1977 movie theater with my girlfriend at the time after seeing the first movie and saying they certainly set themselves up for a sequel. I had no idea I would be thinking the same thing forty years later. I can’t say a lot about the plot without revealing some of the twists which are at the heart of what made this movie so special. It does move in some unexpected directions with the new generation of actors taking firm control of the action, which is almost non-stop. Luke, the heart of the original series, is back but in a supporting role to the vibrant Daisy Ridley as the new Jedi. The movie gets a jolt of adrenalin whenever John Boyega shows up on screen – this guy is going to be something very special. The movie is a triumph and I can’t wait to see it again on date night!

The Bad Cinema project count rises to #82 out of 100, with Star Pilot a really weird Italian effort and Future Women with Shirley Eaton leading a Brazilian Amazon kingdom