Life has settled into a disturbingly mundane
existence as we enter our second month in the quarantine zone. I made the fortnightly
trek to the grocery store yesterday. I’m timing these visits to coincide with
rain storms since that keeps the number down within the store. It does make for
an interesting dash to the car after leaving. I also confirmed my theory that
Thursdays are much better than Monday/Tuesdays when it comes to stockage
levels. The inane things we’ve had to learn thanks to our friend – Covid-19.
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| The Penitent BRS |
The things I miss most is getting out of the house
to see people and, of course, movies; although the Man Cave does qualify as a
theater in its own right. I really miss the dashes to see granddaughters or up
to Keene to hang with friends in order to conduct reconnaissance for November’s
pub crawl. I’d also planned a pub crawl for my retirement but both the crawl
and retirement are victims of the virus. My latest puzzle, completed last night,
was a relief map of the aforementioned hometown of Keene. A lot of fun, until I
got to the part which was just green and a bunch of relief lines.
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| Hometown Puzzle |
My Favorite Panamanian has been complaining that I spend
too much time alone in the Man Cave working on puzzles. She said we should play
some board games. Wingman, as dedicated a board game player that I have ever
met, left a game of Sorry so I emerged from the Man Cave last evening declaring
we should play. My wife is almost as competitive as Wingman with a decidedly more
pointed attitude. It did not go well after she started losing and declared I
had to be cheating whenever the card I drew sent her back to the start.
Watching her react was a lot more fun than actually playing the game. She is entertainment
incarnate.
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| She Didn't Like the Revenge Part |
My daughter is getting slammed with work. Her company
downsized due to the virus and while she is grateful to be one of the ones
chosen to stay on (another indication of her absolute brilliance) she’s now
doing the work of four other people who were furloughed. While these are tough
times for everyone I know she’s cementing her reputation as one of the “go to”
people in her company even though it is painful. The FBR/Wingman team has done
everything they could to free her up to work in her attic loft/office.
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| Working Off her Penance |
The BRS ran into a little bit of paternal sternness
last night during our FaceTime call. My Son proudly pointed out that the BRS
was now volunteering to assist the ABFA with the nightly feeding of Riggins. The
BRS carried a full dish of dog food from the bathroom to Riggins’ meal spot and
then decided to pour the food all over the floor. She’s shown this devilish side
in other instances and immediately knew she’d screwed up. She retreated to the ABFA
while her dad spoke very sternly to her and it was clear she understood she’d
erred. I could not stop laughing. Riggins, in a totally canine move, promptly cleaned
up the mess as if this was a new and interesting way to be served. I think he’s
given up trying to understand humans.
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| Too Funny |
We had both granddaughters on FaceTime at the time
and the FBR was quick to claim that she had never spilled the cat’s food whenever
she helped her mom feed the cat. The BRS tried to get back into her dad’s good graces
by moving her perch to the kitchen sink to wash dishes. She was so cute – especially
when she donned the ABFA’s gloves. She was very thorough and intent about her
work although my son did point out she was washing dishes that had already been
cleaned. I don’t know if my sanity would survive this virus without connecting with
these two each evening.
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| 007 Progress |
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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 3rd 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
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