Party Hat Debut

I was really geared up for a Saturday get together with Great Aunt and Soxfather. I even acquired a new party hat to decisively impress them. Unfortunately, as is wont to happen in Pandemia, Soxfather woke up Saturday not feeling well and with an abundance of caution they had to cancel. Great Aunt texted, “Not sharing IS caring.” My Favorite Panamanian and I decided to party anyways, even if it was just the two of us; the hat had to be broken in. The neighbors across the street spent all of Saturday packing up their final belongings for their move and found a huge Mexican sombrero they no longer wanted. My reputation must have influenced them (this is something he would wear) because they walked across the street when they spied me outside planting my wife’s latest addition to her vast garden complex.

Wife and I Saturday Evening

I immediately agreed this would be a welcome addition to my usual party ensemble. My wife just shook her head when she saw me walking around the yard looking like Pancho Villa. We fired up the new grill and immolated some dead animal flesh while my Favorite Panamanian created her deadly pizza dip which hold the land speed record for being devoured. Sporting my hat, we spent the late afternoon hanging out on Deckzilla drinking beer (me) and wine (her). Predictably, as my Favorite Panamanian was involved, dancing eventually broke out. I hope we didn’t scare the neighbors. I felt honor bound to go to the front yard wearing my hat and saluting when the neighbors mounted their U-Haul truck to pull away for the last time. They couldn’t stop laughing and said that was the first time in nearly twenty years anyone had worn that hat. I felt humbled by the honor.

Wife Said I Should Cpt Morgan It

The FBR was in an extremely talkative mode over the weekend. She called us no less than three times on Sunday alone. One time we were talking just after I’d come in from mowing a very hot/humid lawn. At one point while she was talking with her abuela she noticed I was dozing off in the background. I was immediately ordered awake by a loud and thunderous “GRAMPA!”.  This then became her latest game as I had to fake going back to sleep so she could awaken me. After that first wake up I worried about ever falling asleep again.

FBR Got Ahold of a New Camera Filter
That Came with its own Sloth

And Makeup With her Mom

Hard to Explain

My wife and I watched a game show on Netflix called the Floor is Lava that was a huge hit with the FBR. She converted her living room to a version of the game and we watched while she navigated her obstacle course, expressing an appropriate amount of concern if she came close to falling into the “lava”. On Sunday the lava field was converted to a spacious fort which we received a guided tour of. She was also calling my Favorite Son whom she tasked with creating engineered plans for the ultimate living room fort.

When Not on the IPhone - Flying High on New Playground

Talking with her cousin, the BRS, was less salubrious. She’s fully into her terrible two phase. She likes to say hello to us but then reacts violently and loudly if her father points the camera towards her at any other point. At the end of the call she provides a very cheerful good bye. Weird. This allowed us to spend some time admiring her sister. BR3 is turning into a real charmer. The ABFA’s parents were up there yesterday in order to allow the new parents their first lunch date away form the kids in a long while. I know that was welcomed by both but especially the ABFA who’s been entombed in the house/neighborhood for months.

Finished The Hitchcock Puzzle
Tough with no Picture to Go By

Just Love the Hat!

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – 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