Lasting Benefits Realized

I’ve waxed, probably over abundantly, about how special the trip my Favorite Panamanian and I took in early October to visit the Marian apparition sites in Fatima, Portugal and Lourdes, France along with a bunch of places in Spain. This past weekend we realized an additional and hopefully lasting benefit when we reunited with two of the couples from that tour group. By the end of the trip, we had self-identified each other as some of the livelier couples in the group. They were our comrades in arms seeking the out the worst Irish pub in Christendom in Lourdes as well as the last night jazz club in Barcelona. As usual, it was my Favorite Panamanian who stayed in touch. We’d seen them once since our trip when we were visiting my son’s family and attended mass together. They wanted to get together in Manchester last weekend but that was the date of the annual birthday pub crawl which we all know is sacrosanct. 

New Friends at the sottoCello

As a result of that birthday, I had a wad of cash burning through my pocket and that meant another trip to my son’s family to do some tax free shopping. My wife suggested we reach out to the other couples and arrange a get together. I initially thought we would seem too pushy, but I depend on my Favorite Panamanian to keep pushing me out of my social comfort zone. I’m so glad she did because it turned out to be a special evening. We rendezvoused in Exeter in the basement of a small Italian restaurant right on the river. The restaurant is called the Cornicello.  We were stationed in what is called the, sottoCello, a speakeasy themed bar/restaurant. We fell right into a lively conversation which belied the fact we were just getting to know each other. The ladies bonded over a shared fascination with shopping, shoes, and purses while the husbands revealed what that meant in real terms. It was way too funny. Especially when I revealed earlier in the day, we had gone to Dick’s Sporting Goods for some of that birthday money shopping and somehow, someway, my Favorite Panamanian emerged with a new purse. How does one do that at Dick’s?! I remain in awe of her ability to shop.

Continued Fun at The Apothecary

The food was fantastic and, though kind of a gourmet Italian menu, I found something with a sizeable hunk of dead animal flesh in it, Osso Buco (happiness reigned). It was the first time I’d ever had it and I am officially hooked. We were having such a good time that we suddenly noticed the once packed restaurant was virtually empty and the staff were looking like they had better things to do on a Saturday night than cater to continued drink orders. One of the other couples knew Exeter, which they said rolls up their carpets fairly early on weekend nights, but that a new place, called the Apothecary, had just opened, a short walk down Water Street. We continued the fun there well into the evening. We’re already trying to figure out a way to see each other again before we head south for the winter. It’s so rare to meet people who you almost immediately classify as friends, but that’s seemed to have happened. I blame my wife.

BR3 in Full Spin Mode

In our earlier shopping excursion, where my Favorite Panamanian was severely out of sorts with my technique of entering a store with a plan and once finding the sought after item, leaving. This is anathema to her heartfelt need to graze. She was a good sport though and I’m now the proud owner of a new iPad (thanks to those over generous friends). In a development almost surprising as my wife’s purse purchase, I was able to set up the iPad all by myself with no input from my IT team (son, daughter, and their spouses). The new iPad was needed since my old one is ten years old (at least) and only lasts twenty minutes before needing a recharge.

Still Spinning

Son and I Trying to Get Sportscenter on Between Granddaughter Cartoons

The best part of the weekend is the time spent with my son and his family. BR3 is trying to set new decibel level marks in the primordial scream department and is a terror on her gymnastic bar. BRS is calmer but retained her crown as the undisputed hojaldra queen. She’s the reason her abuela doesn’t get to sleep in on any morning we are cohabitating. My son and I got to watch a scary movie late into Saturday night, as well as the Patriots’ game on Sunday together. The ABFA’s folks arrived as well to spend most to the day with us. So, another one. These great weekends just keep falling our way.

Seven movies fell in the A-Z watch, six keepers: Finished up the Transformer experience with – Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers Dark of the Moon, Transformers Age of Extinction, and Transformers the Last Knight – put them all together because they are basically all the same movie but its hard not to get drawn into them because of outstanding casts and non-stop action with state of the art special effects; Transcendence – before Johhny got all weird he could actually deliver a compelling performance, better than I remembered, must be all the AI talk lately; Triple 9 – astounding cast delivers a riveting cops and robber story, so much better than remembered; and Tristan and Isolde – in some parallel universe James Franco as a medieval knight might work in a serious story, here it doesn’t, eject.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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