Easing into Weekend

Easing was definitely needed yesterday and not just because we were celebrating the First Friday of the Week. I spent all of Thursday afternoon digging in the neighbor’s yard. He had four cubic yards of dirt delivered for the new garden I created for him with the construction of last week’s wall. This favor I’m doing is a gift that keeps on giving. Once the garden wall was up they needed to fill in behind it to create the garden, hence the delivery. Since he still has a heart condition it fell to me to load up my wheelbarrow a couple hundred times and transfer the dirt to behind the wall. That took some gyrations such as wheeling underneath his grape arbors once I had climbed the hill. I eventually figured out a system where I used the packing skid the stones came on as a ramp so I could get the dirt behind the wall without having to climb the hill.

The Moved Dirt

I Beg to Differ

Guilty

I knew the dirt had been delivered because the heat finally broke on Thursday and we had the windows open. He ordered a very pungent variety of garden soil. As soon as I walked into our kitchen, I could smell the overpowered odor that made me think I was in the middle of a farmer’s field. This only added to my resolve to get the stuff moved as quickly as possible. It is true that prolonged exposure to strong odors eventually deadens the sense of smell, thank God. After four hours with the stuff, I hardly noticed it. Although my Favorite Panamanian ordered me directly to the showers when I came in from my labors. Both she and my neighbor looked appropriately apologetic throughout the day as they watched the long afternoon unwind for me. At any rate, it’s done and I feel good for having done this favor for him. Doing nice things for good people is rewarding in itself.

The Re-Painted Virgin

Spousal Inspection

Final Site

My 65-year-old body reminded me that these type exercises should be approached with a little more finesse. I ached in just about every pore of the aforementioned body through much of Friday. My Friday morning swim was an interesting torture session until the muscles finally loosened up. I should mention that while I was shuttling the odiferous dirt on Thursday my wife created two gardens, complete with a single layer of bricks as a border in the same neighbor’s front yard. I’m just glad I won’t have to stock those gardens. Friday also saw the final touches on the resurrected Virgin Mary statue with a coat of white paint. It is now back on its garden pedestal.

BRS Back in the Pool

The FBR was noticeably absent from FaceTime over the last couple days. I inquired with my daughter if the FBR was in Facetime jail for some indiscretion but she reported that she had only been grumpy. Wen I asked the FBR about this yesterday during the First Friday Family Facetime call, she roundly denied she was grumpy in any fashion and simply didn’t want to call us during the previous two days. Don’t you hate it when kids start actually growing up? There was a very touching moment late in the call involving my Favorite Son and the BRS. We first thought he might be engineer bound as a young child when he showed an almost preternatural ability with Legos. I know that sounds farfetched but it turned out to be true.

BR3 Playing Peek-a-Boo Behind Curtains

The BRS has now exerted eminent domain on my son’s huge collection of Legos from his childhood. During the call yesterday they were playing with that set. My son was getting frustrated when the BRS kept taking pieces he needed to build her a castle. She didn’t seem to recognize his suzerainty as either the owner or paternal authority figure when it came to Legos. The BRS continued her own aquatic career this morning with another swimming session. We are rewarding ourselves for our neighborly favors with a little escape this weekend. Soxfather’s incomparable family is holding what we call a “McShawn’s Night” at one of their houses. It’s named after the favorite Irish bar where we used to gather in pre-pandemic days. We’ll travel down to Jamestown, RI for the gathering and I booked a hotel to stay over Saturday night. This was due in most part to my Favorite Panamanian’s complaint about the two hour drive home from this more distant destination, but it will be fun to escape for a bit.

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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