New Addition Met

We checked off one of our most important redeployment goals yesterday when my Favorite Panamanian and I met the newest addition to the family – the daughter of the Namesake Nephew. She was born on my wife’s birthday in February and has conclusively captured the heart of Great Aunt. We, of course, had to see what all the talk was about, and Great Aunt facilitated that yesterday with a barbecue lunch at her house. This was the first time I’d seen my sis since I returned and that would have made the trip more than worthwhile in and of itself. The added benefit of the littlest one was gravy.

Great Aunt with her Granddaughter Yesterday

Great Aunt Assures me this is a More Typical Mood for Her

She certainly lived up to advance billing in the pictures that we had seen. She’s a beautiful baby but she was not in her best mood yesterday. She has an older brother and sister who made it their business yesterday through increased decibel levels to insure the baby did get her nap. I can also assume the baby might have been a bit shocked to have all the new faces (including mine which is not the most attractive) thrown at her. She made her unhappiness well known with some decibel augmentation of her own. That couldn’t hide the fact of what a welcome addition she certainly is. My Favorite Panamanian had her in her arms five milliseconds after they arrived. We were joined by other members of Soxfather’s incredible family. I failed in my usual mission to snap a picture of Soxfather’s sister because she (as is well known and chronicled) is a huge fan of my innate photographic abilities. I apologize sincerely for not capturing her likeness yesterday. She’ll have to find a way to forgive me.

My Wife with the Star of the Show

It was a great day, and I loved seeing how happy Great Aunt is being a grandmother, a role she has trained extensively for in spoiling mine. I was a little tired yesterday and I didn’t understand it. I showed up from Panama with an extra fifteen pounds (too much of Sunshine Pizza and gelato) that I’ve been trying to work off. I was more than half way to my goal until I ran into Great Aunt’s usual formidable dessert table. I was helpless to resist, especially when she unveiled her ultimate weapon, a donut cake. That has been my kryptonite for twenty years, dating back to when it was first deployed against me by Soxfather’s mom. I tried to go with just a small piece but that only led to additional ones. As stated above, helpless. A great day.

Great Aunt in her Element

I wasn’t the only one that had a great day this weekend. The FBR and her mom visited a cat café on Saturday. These two are both hard core cat lovers (which I struggle to understand but have accepted as a character flaw that can be tolerated). As you can see from the pictures the cats were fully appreciated by the FBR. I was convinced they would return with an adoptee as they are all available, but that didn’t happen. If I know my eldest granddaughter at all, I’m sure she made several impassioned pleas to her mother on this subject before they departed.

FBR at the Cafe

I Think She Found One

Today is a most welcome day as it marks what I have come to call the Annual Grand Opening. After a blustery weekend, we are blessed with a fabulous spring day and I returned from my morning swim to find all the windows in the house open. I always leave the decision to turn the heat off to my Favorite Panamanian since she is pathologically disinclined to brisk temperatures. I love having the fresh air in the house after all the months of the furnace and the air conditioning (that would be in Panama). The trees are starting to sport flowers and leaves and the winter finally seems to be on the run. Of course, this is New England, and we could get a blizzard tomorrow, not that I would mentioned that to certain Panamanians I cohabitate with. We had a minor emergency this weekend in the kitchen. No, I’m not talking about any culinary efforts I may have attempted (but that would have been a good guess). The kitchen TV died. While that may not sound like a big deal. It is. This is the TV we use the most and always have on to hear news and more importantly, SportsCenter. I ran out to buy a replacement and tried to get one the same brand so all the codes wouldn’t have to be updated. All the times I watched the Geek Squad install and mount the TVs finally paid off. Despite a skeptical Favorite Panamanian watching, I was able to dismount the old TV and install the new one. I even took it a step further and programmed the smart TV functions, something I usually wouldn’t attempt without someone for my IT section (son, daughter, their spouses) present. In a major surprise, everything works. I made a huge tactical error by showing my wife she could now watch her Russian soap operas dubbed in Spanish on the new TV with YouTube (when will I learn!?).

Newly Installed TV

Front Yard Tree Blooming

Five movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: new additions from Christmas: Furiosa A Mad Max Saga, Taylor-Joy continues to impress as they try to live up to Fury Road; Judgement at Nuremberg, important movie, especially given our current times; The Killer’s Game, trying to outdo John Wick and almost getting there; The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Reacher and Superman teaming up, the Nazis didn’t stand a chance; and back to the library shelves, Ocean’s Eight, better than the male versions, Bullock and her team are awesome.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete – my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; 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; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course