Microwaved

I was able to talk with my Favorite Panamanian several times yesterday on her birthday but those conversations were interrupted each time by other well-wishers. I’m glad she got a sense of just how well loved she is. She spent part of the day down at the condo while new roller wheels were installed on the two sliding doors for our balcony. The original builders put in rollers that were susceptible to corrosion from the salt air. Who’d have thought that would happen, less than a hundred feet from the shoreline! She returned home and her entire family took her out for dinner to celebrate her birthday.

BRS Wishing her Abuela a Happy Birthday

My day was entirely more mundane. I had the appliance repair guys in to look at the main microwave. It broke on Monday which has put a serious crimp in my usual meal preparation while my wife is away. I ended up paying the guy to tell me it was broken. They could fix it for about 500 dollars. He recommended I just buy a new one and recommended a place I’d noticed just across from my barber shop. Killing the proverbial avians I knocked out a haircut and then went to the appliance store. I was really impressed with the guys at Percy’s. Within ten minutes I‘d arranged for a new microwave to be installed for a price less than repairing the old one. I also learned that I didn’t have to spend all the time measuring that I did because they come in standard sizes for the over the range variety.  Of course it will have to wait until after my return from vacation. I hope the neighbors won’t mind the excessive smoke issuing from the kitchen over the next few days. Percy’s is an example of why I like living in a fairly large city. I grew up in small town but have become addicted to the convenience of the options a large city provides.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – inbound granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; 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; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn