Hurricane Stations

The first hurricane to hit this area in 30 years is bearing down on us now. This is weird because I lived in New England for Hurricane Bob, the aforementioned predecessor to today’s, Henri. We were living in Rhode Island where I was serving as an ROTC instructor and Bob blew through and knocked out power for a day or so. I remember it clearly because it was an eye opening comment on my neighborhood. I’d lived there for more than two years and this was the first time I’d met many of the neighbors because we all ended up out on the street when the eye came through and power was out. I think the word I’m looking for is insular. We did, however, know all the cool people. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Wife and Her Mom Sitting Around Pool Yesterday

This has been a strangely behaving hurricane as it was forecast to hit us directly earlier in the week but as of yesterday had veered west and was supposed to impact Connecticut directly (I’m sure that will help with traffic). However, I woke up this morning to find it had changed its mind yet again and we were back in the direct path. So far, just a lot of rain but the winds are picking up. I was out on Deckzilla this morning securing all the hanging plants and other things that might blow away in the storm. That included the sun screen which was surprisingly easy to remove. My Panamanian residents are a little freaked out because they don’t really get hurricanes down there. I’ve told them not to worry, the rains will be like a typical rainy season day in Panama with the winds just amped up significantly.

My Kryptonite - Gingerbread Squares

Photo in the Paper This Week
Flooding as Seen from my Old Office

My mother-in-law has once again taken upon herself to destroy my best intentions of staying on the keto diet religiously. She traveled with one of my kryptonites (in addition to brownies and marble cake), the gingerbread squares that I love. My wife’s family had despaired of ever finding a desert that I would eat due to my extreme pickiness when it comes to food. Most of their normal desserts are pretty exotic and I don’t do well with “exotic” when it comes to food. She knows about my love of the gingerbread squares because whenever I visit her house, I walk down to the neighborhood store and empty their supply of them. They remind me very clearly of “spice cakes” which my father’s mother was justifiably famous for. I remember every time we went to visit my grandparents’ house in Keene, the grandkids would always go in search of the dark blue, covered pot she kept the delicacies in. Spice cakes were the absolute best.

Linking up with our Czech Buddies

Party Time

We had a very fun day yesterday preparing for the storm as we attended a birthday party for the Latin Mafia member who recently hosted the frigid 4^th of July party. The weather was spectacular, especially in contrast to the last time we were there and what we’re facing today. I even ended up in the pool teaching my former Czech shadow how to do a half twist of the diving board, baby steps needed there. It was a magnificent day spent in the company of really good friends. There was also the yellow lab with the same name as the FBR which was disconcerting as whenever they yelled his name I turned around expecting to see my granddaughter running around a corner. Unfortunately that will have to wait.

Hostess/Birthday Girl Singing Peruvian Ballads

The Dahlia Distribution Effort

I was trying to behave, keto wise, and then they hit me with a marble birthday cake so all bets were off there. We stayed much later than we usually do as we savored the weather and the friends. As we were preparing to leave, we volunteered to help prep their party area for the coming storm. It was nice to be able to repay them for the kindness they always show in hosting these parties. Part of that prep was cutting off the tops of blooming dahlias before the storm could blow them over. This delayed out departure for a full twenty minutes as the ladies trailed our hostess around her own vast garden complex distributing the cut flowers. My Favorite Panamanian was first in line, as could be expected. Now I should get around to posting this before the power goes out.  

Happy Ladies

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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; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; 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