That Time of Year Again, But Colder

Since there wasn’t anything worth seeing at the theater this week we decided date night would be alternated to plant buying. I don’t need to tell you whose idea that was. It’s okay since I love how annually my Favorite Panamanian transforms the exterior of the house into a beautiful landscape of flowers and plants. Getting there isn’t the easiest road to take but the destination is more than worth it. We rarely shop together, because of our diametrically opposed views on that benighted process. I tried mightily to suborn my bone deep frustration and impatience. We acquired a deck full of plants and flowers.

The Pots Gathered

I’m not allowed to do much of the actual planting. I’m employed in areas requiring brute force and ignorance. For that reason, I spent a lot of time gathering the flower pots and painstakingly removing the roots from last year’s plants so they’d be ready for my wife’s ministrations. That is nowhere near as much fun as it sounds. We had everything set by Wednesday, but it rained all day. Thursday was proclaimed (by the planter in chief) as too cold for outdoor work (in the 60s and windy). I was getting a little nervous because our sizable investment in plants was sitting in the garage (again nighttime temps in the 50s). While I argued that there wasn’t a danger of frost, I was overruled (my 49% of the vote not carrying).

Last Year's Roots Removed

Some of the New Acquisitions

Meanwhile, In Rhode Island

Incredibly Cute Namesake Nephew's Daughter Supervising 
Great Aunt's Deck Renovation

Removing the Old Decking to Expose Some of the Work Soxfather and I did 40 Years Ago

Finally, today, she got out there. By out there, I mean she had me move the cars out and she set up shop in the garage (out of the wind at least) where she worked all day putting plants to pots. She says it’s still too cold for them to be outside at night. The plants look their customary fantastic thanks to the greenest thumb I know. They'll spend another night in the garage, so I'll take photos when they see the light of day. With all this going on, our washing machine decided to die. It was original to when the house was built making it at least 23 years old, so it died a hero’s death. This meant another shopping trip together, not for the weak of heart. The new washer shows up next Friday and my marriage just might survive, despite the pressure of shopping together (TWICE!!!).

The A-Z watch continued with five movies, three keepers: The Warriors – classic film that holds up well; The Warrior’s Way – a Korean western, who’d of thunk it, but it works, great action in classic kung fu style; The Watcher – Keanu as a bad guy just doesn’t work, too many gaping plot holes, eject; Watchmen – loved this stylistic alternate history superhero flick; Tales of the Black Freighter – a Watchmen add on, silly when it should be scary, 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; Upstairs Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course