Burned Out

I had a great plan for yesterday. The temperatures soared into the high 50s and Deckzilla shed all of its remaining snow cover by noon time. Getting my Favorite Panamanian to venture outside before the temperatures reach 70 is always a daunting task, but again, I had a plan. I prepped a fire in our outdoors fireplace and moved a couple chairs nearby, figuring I could light it around dusk and coax her out with wine. That was the plan. I didn’t say it was a good plan, but it was definitely a plan.

It Was Also a Beautiful Day in NJ
The FBR Had her Family Out and Solitarily About

I was grilling some dead animal flesh for dinner when I noticed the winds were picking up. My back yard is something of a wind tunnel and the fireplace sits in the middle of it. While this does wonders for oxygenating a fire, it carries with it the possibility of spreading sparks into neighbors yards all too easily. Since one neighbor is already convinced of my pyromaniacal tendencies I decided last night wasn’t appropriate, although it would have done my soul well to send a couple sparks her way. My wife was hard pressed to hide her joy of not having to leave heated confines. She remained sequestered in her sewing station in the master bed room turning out face masks for the family. I was called upon to assist her in lubricating the sewing machine which I was clueless about but we got the overworked (lately) machine operational despite the Singer company’s best efforts at making access screws completely inaccessible.

Wingman, an Accomplished Skateboarder
Passing on Skills to a Very Excited FBR

The rest of the time was spent in the Man Cave where I continued my march through the 007 movies, a new season of Bosch, and a Netflix series called The Ranch. I’m beginning to reach saturation level with television watching during this quarantine. Who thought that was even possible. I may be breaking out some jigsaw puzzles. I’m into the Roger Moore secton and he really does pale in comparison to Mr Connery, the once and always Bond.

Bond Progress

During out call with the FBR yesterday she was bemoaning the fact that we couldn’t visit and she therefore missed out on the opportunity to wake me up in the morning. I volunteered to have my IPad next to the bed and she excitedly looked forward to awakening me. She missed both yesterday and this morning. My daughter says the FBR gets distracted when she gets up each day. She was visibly angry during our call that she missed out on the opportunity. My wife was laughing at me because I always bounce out of bed in the morning when I wake up (bounce may be an exaggeration). She sometimes asks me to stay in bed and continue my designated role as bed warmer but I always refuse. She was laughing because all my granddaughter had to do was ask and I complied.

Finally I’ve updated my itinerary for my 48 state tour (see map) which I still have faint hopes of accomplishing this summer, as long the plague has been vanquished by then. Some of my time in the Man Cave has been at the computer using Google maps to check out the route. I was able to zoom in on each turn and see the actual street signs I’ll have to follow. This only whetted my appetite for the trip as I saw so much of what awaits me on the tour.

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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