Door Opening

Our long, garage deprived existence comes to an end today. As I write this, I can hear the repair guy working above my location installing our new garage door and opener. This turned out to be a bigger headache than I anticipated as we have always used the garage door as our primary way of getting into the house. We’ve used the front door in the past three weeks more than we had in all the preceding years combined that we’ve lived here. The guy showed up promptly at 8am and already has the new door mounted. This is fortuitous since according to the weather man we’ll be getting six to nine inches of snow tomorrow. December has decided to arrive.

Favorite Son with Shrapnel Inducing Assistant

I spent a good deal of time yesterday moving everything away from the front half of he garage in anticipation of the work today. It’s amazing how much junk can get pigeon holed over the years. I found stuff I thought I’d lost long ago. I’ll have to move everything back today in order to get the cars into the garage ahead of the storm. This will certainly consign those lost items back into the realm of the unknown. Yesterday had its ups though as I received the birthday gift my Favorite Son paid for, the 4K edition of the Lord of the Rings saga, including both theatrical and extended versions of the film. One of my fondest memories of our time in Charlton were the couple weekends my son and I hunkered down to watch all three films in sequence together, roughly twelve hours. He has way too many daughters to even contemplate that kind of effort nowadays but there is that storm tomorrow so I will be hibernating in the Cave watching Frodo and Aragorn again. It won’t be nearly as much fun without my son but this is my favorite film of all time, so there. Now, all I have to do is avoid the honey do list form my Favorite Panamanian.

New Garage Door Going Up!

Psyched!!!

Christmas cookie prep has started in the family landscape. This is yet another sign of the impending Christmas season which always has me on the giddy side. My Favorite Son started with his signature sugar cookies last night with the stalwart assistance of he BRS. Th ABFA reported that the BRS added some adventure to the job by putting a spoon into the mixing bowl while the mixer was at high speed. Only minor shrapnel wounds were chanced but an effort worthy of the danger.

Screen Captures of FBR Images

The FBR opened another aspect of Facetiming last night when all of a sudden she changed her picture into a textured version and then started adding small hearts and animals. I could see her figuring out how to do things on her own that would have taken me hours. I’ve seen it in my own kids who grew up around technology (they are my go-to IT experts) and I can only imagine where the my granddaughters’ generation will take us. Evidence of the gap is that I still can’t figure out how she did it, even with my iPad fully updated. I plead – age.

Latest Puzzle Completed

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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; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; 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