Developments

It has been a busy couple of days in the casa. Before I get into that, I have to comment on the photo below. My daughter sent this and commented that the FBR calls this, “The Breakfast Bunch”. I’m sure it has something to do with her eating breakfast on the couch as both Pistachio and especially Walnut are renowned scavengers of food. As you can tell from the look on the FBR’s face, she enjoys these meetings immensely.

The Breakfast Bunch This Morning

Now, on to business. I heard from our contractor today and he provided the anticipated estimate for the addition of a small bathroom in the Man Cave. This is a big deal, as a senior citizen I know spends an inordinate amount of time in the Man Cave and this will save him the nearly constant need to mount the stairs to the nearest bathroom. As you can tell, a large amount of junk will have to be moved, mostly granddaughter toys. For that reason, it’s good that the work won’t start until November as I’ll need that interval to clear the space out and the corollary effort in other areas of the unfinished part of the basement where the junk will be moved to. My Favorite Panamanian lodged a complaint about the new bathroom, saying she’ll hardly ever see me since my regular trips up the stairs will no longer be needed. I’ll need to be a better husband. I also scored some hero points with the spouse for a surprise purchase of a cushion for the new pooch swing. I took a huge chance by not consulting with my inhouse shopping guru. She was, however, pleased that I chose the color red to match the other Deckzilla cushions. This is a rare win in the color department (see below) for me. 

Site of Future Basement Bathroom

New Cushion

The other major development is the hunt for a new Highlander. Our current Highlander is now six years old and while we love it, it’s time to get a replacement. I didn’t make the same mistake as last time and made sure my Favorite Panamanian accompanied me. She’s constantly complained about my choice of color (who knew that was important) for the current one. We linked up with same salesman that got us into the GR86 and he passed on the sad news that Toyota was transitioning out of gas-powered Highlanders and all new ones will be electric. He got us into a Grand Highlander (still gas powered) which we loved. Then the color discussion started. She wanted a bench seat in the second row instead of the captains chairs and wanted a different color. We signed an agreement to buy the car when they got the right color and everything else she wanted. It should happen over the next couple weeks.

Leaving the dealership we headed out for date night. Since the major openings this week were horror movies, I had to dig deep to find something mutually acceptable. We ended up watching The Uprising. This film chronicles, with a severe case of Hollywood re-imaging, the peasant’s revolt in England in the 14^th century. The Amazing Spiderman is called upon to lead the revolt against taxes and sports a Game of Thrones level of mud in the face throughout. I guess washcloths hadn’t been invented yet. Garfield is excellent as the conscience of the revolt as they march on London to confront the king over taxes. The film offers an interesting perspective of not being ready to get what you’re asking for from political leaders. I liked the film but found the camerawork a little disjointed and the dialogue sometimes hard to hear. A dour historical epic, saved by the superb acting.

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