Holiday Testing

One of the things we wanted to do prior to our family Christmas gathering was to have everybody get tested. A couple of months ago this would have been a breeze. That was life before the omicron variant. I went to three different CVS stores yesterday only to be greeted at the front door with signs proclaiming they were sold out and didn’t know when they would get resupply. I checked online and the nearest scheduled appointment I could get was well after the holidays. I guess I could join the three hour long wait for unscheduled testing but that seems to defeat the whole purpose, i.e., avoiding other people. The People’s Republic of Taxxachusetts distributed a couple million free in-home tests but the 200K that Worcester received all went to low income support agencies. I don’t argue with that because the poor have been hit hardest as they have the highest percentage, along with Trump supporters, of the unvaccinated. Some things I’ll never understand. You’re offered a free preventative to a deadly disease and you decide to avoid it because of some weird ramblings you find on social media. I guess this is ole Darwin back at work, weeding out incompetents from the gene pool.

FBR Helping Mom

I have modified my routine this week ahead of the family arrivals. I’ve eschewed my morning swim workouts because there really is no way to mask during that activity. That means a doubling of the bike workouts which are literately a pain in the ass. Nothing, though, can dampen the excitement of once again having the entire clan under one roof again. Christmas cookie baking was also coordinated this year with my Favorite Son making peanut butter blossoms as well as sugar cookies while my Favorite Daughter contributes her peerless chocolate sugar cookies. The FBR assisted in that preparation and was in charge of adding the sugar topping. I think I put on a couple extra pounds just looking at the pictures. I can’t wait.

The End Result

The FBR Sugaring Station

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                           

BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – 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