Frail Deeds Dancing

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Iso Zoned

Today marks our first full day in the isolation zone which is a very small price to pay to get to spend time with the young lady pictured below enjoying her first snow of the year down in New Jersey yesterday. This quarantine meant an excruciating visit to the grocery store to lay in supplies for the next two weeks. The excruciating part was the amount of groceries we had to get as well as my shopping partner. I’ve gotten into the habit of doing all the grocery shopping myself during our time in Pandemia but the extensive nature of yesterday’s purchases indicated to certain spousal elements that I needed supervision. This meant I was a little miffed at having my decision-challenged Favorite Panamanian along but it actually turned out to be a little bit of fun, exhausting, but fun.

FBR Yesterday

It was fun because we were also buying stocking stuffers and my wife knows I can deny granddaughters nothing so she descended on the candy section with truly evil intent. As I said, I was powerless and greeted each new addition to the already overburdened cart with a smile. I did mention how much I love Christmas, didn’t I? One of the things we’ll have to coordinate over the next couple weeks is trips to both Great Aunt’s and my Favorite Son’s house to drop off gifts for them and pick up the same for the New Jersey bunch. I envision something akin to a hostage exchange at the North Korean border with no contact but a certifiable level of love and Christmas spirit.

We’ll also have to figure out something for Keene Friend as he is usually a fixture at our home on Christmas. I received a call from my Pittsburgh College Roommate the other day. He took time out of his busy celebrity schedule to discuss the upcoming holiday and our mutual interest in Keene Friend. We also talked about the Christmases of the distant past when we would have a Christmas get together at the local rec hall to play basketball and then reconvene at my mother’s house to discuss our shortcomings. Okay that was mostly Cantankerous Friend who we agreed has mellowed a bit over the years. I’m going to miss seeing that guy at Christmas as well as we usually get together at Keene Friend’s house on the 26^th which cannot happen this year. It’s nice to have actual phone conversations with old friends as the communication shorthand developed over decades of friendship immediately kicks in. The most disturbing (and sad) thing about this isolation is that we’re really not going to have to modify our pandemic behavior that much. It will sting not having a house full on Christmas day but the FBR does an amazing job of filling space; something she inherited from her abuela.

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

BR3 – 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; 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

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Seasons Greeting Time

I post the words below each year around this time for the self-stated reasons. 2020 is certainly not your average year (I think the Grinch is the spirit animal for this year) but I still find myself seeping into the season with my usual unbridled enthusiasm. We’ll have to ratchet down the attendance at the house this year but we have a plan where I at least get to see those people I’m closest to, even if it is from a distance. I’m a firm believer that the travails of life in Pandemia has made us realize how special times we might have taken for granted in the past truly are. 2021 is imminent as is the vaccine. I plan on filling the holes in my soul my separation from friends and family that 2020 has demanded by going more than a little overboard next year int hat area – so be warned. I hope each and every one of you can spend time with those you hold most dear. That’s my plan.

I am an unabashed and unrepentant lover of Christmas time, in all of its glorious corniness. I love Christmas carols, Christmas parties, but most of all Christmas Day. I can remember Christmas as far back as the age of 3. I still remember one special year in my early teens when I was overcome with Christmas spirit, feeling so good about the season and just general happiness that I wondered at myself. This feeling lasted until well after Christmas and no, to all you cynics out there, the feelings were not chemically assisted. Every year since then has been an attempt to recapture that feeling. Most years I get it in bits and pieces, mostly associated with time I spend with my family and friends. I served 27 years in the Army and made it home every year for Christmas except for three years.

My wife and “kids” smile behind me, good naturedly, because they know how important Christmas is to me. I know there are those raging elements or hipsters out there that bemoan what modern Christmas has evolved to. Some say it overly commercialized or others not properly religious. It seems there are always those elements in society – “Grinchs” for lack of a better term. These seem to be people so unhappy with their own lives that they target times or traditions that bring happiness to others for scorn.

I could not care less about these self-important gas bags. There is nothing in life more enjoyable than being around people you love and actually taking some time out of the all too busy lives we lead to simply be together. So to all of you out there that bad mouth Christmas – get a life; the rest of us already have one and we’re going to have the merriest Christmas of all in spite of you or more correctly in homage to the love we are blessed with of each other. Merry Christmas!

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Iso-Tactics

Yesterday was a weird day emotionally during this Christmas prep season. I knew going into this special time of year that this would be different. I mean, it is 2020 after all. I’ve had dreams all along of having all three granddaughters in the house on Christmas morning and looked forward to that beloved chaos which 2020 has cheated me out of so far. That dream received its expected death knell yesterday. I’m elated that my daughter, Wingman, and a very excited FBR will be able to come up for the holiday. However, this means we’ll have to delay Christmas with my Favorite Son and his family.

Since he still goes out and about because of his work it wouldn’t be prudent to combine these two far flung groups during this pandemic surge. My Favorite Panamanian and I will isolate here in home for two weeks, starting Wednesday night to insure we’re safely quarantined ahead of their visit. They will be taking similar measures down in New Jersey. I’m very excited that this won’t be another iteration of our lonely Thanksgiving as the FBR can truly fill up a house. At the same time, I’m a little melancholy for the dashed dream of multiple granddaughters and a missing son to help with the turkey. Christmas 2021 will truly rock.

It’s kind of sad but also a comment on our times that this isolation won’t be a huge change in our routines because we’ve been staying particularly close to home. I’ll be going out over the next couple days to lay in supplies and tomorrow will be my last pre-Christmas visit to the pool (which I will miss) but these are excruciatingly small sacrifices for the joy of having at least one of my kids in the house for Christmas. We’ll journey up to New Hampshire after they depart for a second Christmas with my son’s family, so this is actually a win on that level – multiple Christmases! 2020 must be hearing its demise around the corner because it keeps throwing haymakers at us, weather wise. This morning I awoke to something called “ice fog” which apparently coats all road surfaces in, you guessed it, ice. I walked out of the garage and stopped at the top of the driveway only to find myself sliding down towards the street. I could hear several sirens down in Worcester as the multiple accidents this created were dealt with. Of course, this was the one day of the week my Favorite Panamanian had to venture forth. A visit to the hair dresser was absolutely needed ahead of our quarantine (her words, not mine). I skated back up to the garage to apply some salt and by the time she left most of the roads had also been treated. There were no sirens involved.

So, we have a plan for Christmas which I believe is in line with all governmental requirements since we’ll be quarantining during the time before and after Christmas. I’m thinking I just received the best gift the holidays could have delivered – time with my daughter and her family whom I haven’t seen in person since our trip to Jersey back in August. This is way too long a time; a sentiment shared by my eldest granddaughter as well.

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

Monday, December 7, 2020

Stormy Weather

I shouldn’t be surprised that the first major snow storm of the year turned into something a little left of perdition. This is 2020 after all. We knew it was coming and in typical New England fashion the forecast changed each day leading up to it, including the day of. It started out Saturday morning with some heavy rain and wasn’t supposed to start snowing until after noon. I was on my early morning Facetime call with the FBR when she asked, as she usually does, what the weather was like up here. When we went to the window, I noticed that snowflakes were mixing with the rain and before the call was over, huge, wet snowflakes were falling in earnest.

BRS, A Dedicated Snow bunny out in her Yard Sunday

That continued throughout the day coating everything. I planned on clearing the driveway Sunday morning because my entire Saturday was devoted to a serial watch of the three Lord of the Rings movies since I received the 4K version of these favorite films on Thursday. Shortly after the warg riders were dispatched and Aragorn took his fall I checked in on the weather and heard a strong recommendation to clear driveways that night because everything was gong to freeze solid overnight.

Deckzilla Early Saturday Afternoon

We ended up getting ten inches since we’re on an elevated position. Just a few miles away on lower ground they received much less. The kicker was the last couple inches were soaking wet which weighted everything down. This compacted everything into a very heavy, wet mess. After Helms Deep was saved, I ventured outside into this chaos and fired up the snow blower. The snow was so heavy it would only allow itself to be thrown a couple feet. This meant I ended up having to throw the same snow three times to get it off the driveway. The snow bank at the street was formidable and consisted of huge boulders of snow(this being great snowman type of snow). I ended up chopping them up and carrying most of the pieces to the side. After several dozen clearings of the clogged chute I declared a hard fought victory and headed inside where my Favorite Panamanian had some hot chocolate waiting for me.

FBR Still Having Fun with Facetime Filters

Pee Wee Communing with my Daughter During Our Call

My late night activity was redeemed Sunday morning when I saw one of my neighbors literally using an axe to cut the now very frozen boulders blocking his driveway. My next door neighbor recently had surgery (something I know way too much about) so I did hm a favor and cleared his driveway. I ended up just kicking the boulders to dislodge them and then carrying them to the side. Like I said, 2020, in spades.

Screenshot of My Son with BR3
She Wears this Very Judgmental Facial Expression
Like She's Angry We're ruining her Cuddle Time with Dad

All of this work took over an hour and a half on Saturday night which delayed the movie watch, but I was not to be daunted. Sauron met his demise and ten movie endings later I snuck upstairs at 1:45 in the morning. Fortunately my Favorite Panamanian was so sound asleep she didn’t realize my idiocy until I revealed it the next morning over breakfast. Still, I enjoyed the watch, even though I missed having my son at my side as in previous viewings.

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

Friday, December 4, 2020

Door Opening

Our long, garage deprived existence comes to an end today. As I write this, I can hear the repair guy working above my location installing our new garage door and opener. This turned out to be a bigger headache than I anticipated as we have always used the garage door as our primary way of getting into the house. We’ve used the front door in the past three weeks more than we had in all the preceding years combined that we’ve lived here. The guy showed up promptly at 8am and already has the new door mounted. This is fortuitous since according to the weather man we’ll be getting six to nine inches of snow tomorrow. December has decided to arrive.

Favorite Son with Shrapnel Inducing Assistant

I spent a good deal of time yesterday moving everything away from the front half of he garage in anticipation of the work today. It’s amazing how much junk can get pigeon holed over the years. I found stuff I thought I’d lost long ago. I’ll have to move everything back today in order to get the cars into the garage ahead of the storm. This will certainly consign those lost items back into the realm of the unknown. Yesterday had its ups though as I received the birthday gift my Favorite Son paid for, the 4K edition of the Lord of the Rings saga, including both theatrical and extended versions of the film. One of my fondest memories of our time in Charlton were the couple weekends my son and I hunkered down to watch all three films in sequence together, roughly twelve hours. He has way too many daughters to even contemplate that kind of effort nowadays but there is that storm tomorrow so I will be hibernating in the Cave watching Frodo and Aragorn again. It won’t be nearly as much fun without my son but this is my favorite film of all time, so there. Now, all I have to do is avoid the honey do list form my Favorite Panamanian.

New Garage Door Going Up!

Psyched!!!

Christmas cookie prep has started in the family landscape. This is yet another sign of the impending Christmas season which always has me on the giddy side. My Favorite Son started with his signature sugar cookies last night with the stalwart assistance of he BRS. Th ABFA reported that the BRS added some adventure to the job by putting a spoon into the mixing bowl while the mixer was at high speed. Only minor shrapnel wounds were chanced but an effort worthy of the danger.

Screen Captures of FBR Images

The FBR opened another aspect of Facetiming last night when all of a sudden she changed her picture into a textured version and then started adding small hearts and animals. I could see her figuring out how to do things on her own that would have taken me hours. I’ve seen it in my own kids who grew up around technology (they are my go-to IT experts) and I can only imagine where the my granddaughters’ generation will take us. Evidence of the gap is that I still can’t figure out how she did it, even with my iPad fully updated. I plead – age.

Latest Puzzle Completed

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Inside From Out

My Favorite Panamanian’s decorating blitz has moved inside from her megawatt consuming efforts outside. This is predictable given the return to more seasonable December temperatures. She is relentless. I’ve come to enjoy my periodic zoom meetings, something I never thought to embrace, simply because I’m off the beck and call list for an hour. She’s an incredibly good sport about the effort though and realizes she wanders into fantastical realms at times with her thought processes as to what is possible. That’s me, Mr. Grounding – I know, a scary thought indeed. At any rate, she finished off the Christmas tree and fireplace mantle last night and today she’s on to her multiple nativity scenes.

Swimming Goggles unexplained
But she is Repping her Panamanian Blood

The FBR’s two-week home stay during the school quarantine has allowed her to become Wingman’s video game pupil. That might explain this picture in which she looks like a punk rocker. She claims to have defeated the family champion in Mario Cart, her mother, yesterday. Her two week stay at home also caused the return of her early morning FaceTime calls where she tries to catch us sleeping, taking some evil delight in waking us up. The girl is nothing but a handful, a truly delightful one.

Christmas Tree Before

And After

We’re not the only ones decorating form Christmas. The BRS emphatically declared she had decorated the Christmas tree at my son’s home. There’s no contradicting her when she becomes emphatic. BR3 has recovered from her first ever cold and is developing a piercing, almost judgmental stare whenever we call. This look dissolves completely into a dazzling smile whenever the ABFA or my son start kidding with her. I’m thinking hard about future Christmases when all three of these dynamic young ladies are present in the house. Bliss, indeed, challenging, but blissful.

The Mantle

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Lights and Then Some

My Favorite Panamanian has never met a Christmas light that she doesn’t want to use somewhere. We started this year’s decorating with a veritable mountain of extension cords that I thought would be more than needed to address her expression of holiday cheer. We finally finished up decorating outside yesterday and there wasn’t a single cord left. Since the temperatures were weirdly in the 60s on December 1^st she ventured outside which contributed to additional wattage being expended as she decreed any plant in her vast garden complex taller than four inches needed to be festooned.

FBR in Zoom School

She rallied an impressive set of lights, included some multi-colored solar garden lights. She actually had two different sets of solar powered lights that went into use. This was just a drop in the bucket though as I can see the credits we’ve built up with the electric company over the past year based on our rooftop solar array being seriously challenged. All this being said, as usual, her vision turned into something really special and I found myself wandering outside a couple times after dark to take it all in. As I said, I am an unrepentant lover of all things Christmas related.

Front of the House

Besides looking remarkably like her father at the same age BR3 confirmed her relationship to me yesterday as she roundly rejected creamed carrots in her continuing exposure to solid foods. She has embraced the concept and last night while we were talking, I could see her gnawing on the tray in front of her while her food was being prepared. The girl is a chow hound.

Side Yard

The FBR is back in the Wingman day care center for two weeks as they shut down her classroom for that time after one of the teachers had a close contact with a positive. She still conducts classes remotely and continues to love learning. Wingman recently received an early Christmas gift of a new video game system and this has allowed him to spend some time with the FBR on it. She was regaling me with a tale of a “friendly” rat who grew horns and wings. When I doubted the rat was truly friendly after she revealed it ate a small boy she scoffed, saying, “Grandpa, it’s just make believe!” Today she gets some lessons in Mario Cart from my daughter who claims to be an expert. I always wondered what they were doing with that Nintendo set, back in the day.

Other Side, Solar Light in Foreground

Speaking of rats, of the sinking ship variety, the Trumpster’s ardent supporter, the attorney general, William Barr, publicly stated there was no widespread election fraud. I’m sure this didn’t please the bunkered one but it was nothing everyone outside of he and Rudy Giuliani don’t realize. I think the expression is – “A blinding flash of the obvious.”

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

RECURRING CHARACTERS

RECURRING CHARACTERS

BR3 - Granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law, formerly known both as MEF – Most Excellent Fiancé & MEG – Most Excellent Girlfriend; Wingman – my son in law; 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; Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Buddy – AKA the Wonder Pooch – family dog, a black lab – hates squirrels, died in 2017; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog, surrogate grandchild while awaiting the real thing; PanaGals – female relatives/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latin 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; Excellent Boss – my former direct boss at work; Voices of Inappropriate Worth - members of public who come to every Worcester public meeting to complain, all are on public assistance along with demeanor issues