Weekend Rescue

There I was sitting at home, wondering at the fact that I had no social or familial obligations for an entire weekend (as long as you ignore the required Sunday mass for anyone married to my Favorite Panamanian). Alas this was not to be (Thank God). The Neighborhood Mafiosos convened a Saturday Happy Hour on their back patio and the weekend was rescued from imminent isolation. This gave me a chance to field test my recently acquired small cooler which also saved the Mafioso’s husband from having to smuggle me beers after my eagle-eyed wife starts counting. We still attempted the smuggle just ta stay in shape and to perfect our technique. It was a fabulous New England summer evening, of which we have had far too few this summer. As I’ve said many times before, there is something just flat medicinal about spending time hanging out with friends. We are truly blessed to live virtually across the street from them.

Saturday Happy Hour

Where I Wore my New Favorite T-Shirt

The granddaughters were moving targets over the weekend as the BRS and BR3 took their dad up into Maine to see a Portland Seadogs game. Meanwhile in New Jersey the FBR sent her parents out to celebrate their 15^th anniversary. I wrote about those dual anniversaries in my last post but Facebook once again removed them as being in violation of policies. This mystifies me because Frail Deeds is about as harmless as I can make it, unless you’re a Trump supporter. I appealed the removal as I did before as well but nothing ever happens despite their promise to answer within two days. I’m guessing the Facebook AI is a Yankees fan and objects to my existence.

Saturday in Portland

After the Requisite Snack Bar Stop

I had a good experience today with a home repair, always something to note. I had all our windows and the entrance out to Deckzilla replaced a couple years ago. The French doors out to the deck were sticking and seemed to be getting worse. Power Home Remodeling did the installation and promised a lifetime guarantee for their work. Since the granddaughters were struggling with the sticky door, I gave Power a call a couple months ago. Today was the scheduled appointment. I thought they would just send a guy to assess it and then schedule a repair. The guy showed up early and went about fixing the door in twenty minutes. Apparently, there’s an adjustment screw on the hinges that hadn’t been properly set. He asked if there was anything else and I mentioned a window upstairs wouldn’t stay up at times. Ten minutes later that was fixed. I was impressed and the best part, totally free. They really do stand by their work and this young guy was impressive.

Two movies fell in the A-Z watch, both keepers: The Last Samurai, great action with Cruise taking himself a little too seriously but the Japanese actors rescue the movie; The Last Stand, Arnold returns from governorship with a better than I remembered action flick.

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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 him her single days in Brooklyn; 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; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Tandemversary

Ending a fairly quiet week at home as we waited for Hurricane Debbie to pass by. We only had some Deckzilla flower pots blown over with a lot of rain. I’m hearing it sucked to be in Northern New York and Vermont though. My Favorite Panamanian and I will need this break in action though for a couple reasons. First, we’re both dealing with some age-related physical issues. My knee and foot seemed to have resolved but the lower back has been acting up ever since I unadvisedly swung a granddaughter around more than I should have. In my defense, they are all fairly irresistible, but they are getting bigger. Scrolling aimlessly through Facebook reels I found a recommended morning stretch involving swinging one leg at a time in a circular motion to loosen up the hips and lower back that actually sems to work, fingers crossed. My Favorite Panamanian’s knee pain has blossomed over the past weeks and she’s getting an MRI and orthopedic doctor visit in a couple weeks. That’s the health news.

Best Weekend Ever #1

Best Weekend Ever #2

The second reason rest I vitally important is that we will receive all three granddaughters next weekend for their annual summer stay with us. Next Friday will be the last day I wake up later than 6:30am for the following two weeks. A worthy price to pay to hang around with these young ladies. My wife has already prepared their t-shirts to welcome them to Grampa and Abuela’s summer camp. We have the usual amount of activities lined up for them including a few more pool days as they all seem totally enamored with the aquatic environs. I’m guessing that’s hereditary. BR3 had an important educational milestone this week as she graduated to pre-kindergarten. With the FBR amping up for 3^rd grade and the BRS for 1^st grade, I guess that explains the strained back muscles.

BR3 Heading in for First Day of Pre-K

Big Sister Telling her What to Expect

Matching Bows

They Spotted a Couple Baby Deer in Front of the House

This week also marked the annual dual anniversaries of both “kids”. They were married a day + five years apart. That’s great as I’m getting older and only having to remember one anniversary date, knowing the other one is a day later. That doesn’t capture the great memories associated with both weekends; officially labeled as Best Weekends Ever #1 and #2. My daughter and Wingman celebrated their 15^th year of married life which seems almost impossible until I realize how old I’m getting. Their wedding predates Frail Deeds. Some great memories of that weekend including a biker convention at the reception hotel, carrying my underage Panamanian nephew out of the reception after he snuck all the table wine, and our Charlton house rocking all weekend with the assembly of friends and family. My Son and the ABFA tied the knot five years and a day later in Nashua which carries a huge amount of romantic memories for me (Nashua, that is). It was a another fabulous weekend highlighted by my son's reaction to seeing the ABFA in her wedding dress for the first time, an awesome mother-son dance, getting to know the ABFA’s great family, and the Cantankerous One’s hotel misadventures. Frail Deeds was in operation by that time. The day is captured here:

 https://fraildeedsdancing.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-day.html

My Son's Reaction to the ABFA

True Love

I had a lot of fun re-reading that and the posts from the surrounding days. It reminded me of what a fantastic time that was. So, Happy anniversary to the four of you, I’m so proud of the families you’ve created and allowed us to be part of. (Oh, and for all the grammar Nazis out there, I know the title isn’t a real word)

Six movies fell in the A-Z watch, five keepers: The Last Action Hero, much better than I remembered, great cameos; The Last Airbender, what possessed me to buy this, worst acting I’ve ever seen, terminate with prejudice from the collection; The Last Boy Scout, great 90’s action with Willis dominating; The Last Legion, a bit miscast, Mr. Darcy will never be an action hero, but has Roman legions, Arthurian legend, and Aishwarya Rai (yikes!); Last Man Standing, Willis again in a gritty Walter Hill film combining prohibition gangsters and the wild west; and Last of the Mohicans, just a great movie, song will be stuck in my head for days now.

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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 him her single days in Brooklyn; 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; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Mary Rehab and Rodent Wars

I’m finally getting some time at home despite the Favorite Panamanian’s continuing info war to convince me to visit Canada. I’m a veteran of these PR campaigns so we’ll probably end up in the Great White North in September. Today we finally have what I consider a true New England summer day. The past few weeks brought back unwelcome memories of my time living in the south with pervasive humidity and high temperatures. I’m hearing something in the news about global warming 😊. We now have a full presidential ticket for both parties. I’ve got to learn more about this democratic governor but anything is more acceptable than the madman leading the republican ticket. You would have to know me to know how much it hurts to say I can’t vote republican again this year. Trump is just too dangerous to put back in power. It remains the biggest mystery of my life how people I respect and truly like can support this fraud and want to entrust him with the presidency. He doesn’t have a leadership bone in his body.

Rehabbed Statue Back Above the Roses

On a much more mundane level I’ve engaged in yet another war with the back yard rodents. Somehow, I was drawn into a two-front war. A mouse ran out from under some of the covered Deckzilla chairs. Then, I took the cover of the grill recently and another really well-fed mouse ran between my feet which immodestly took up some unpracticed dance moves. Being thoroughly embarrassed at my reaction, I declared war. I put in traps next to the propane tank and under the chairs. I was rewarded the next day with a dead mouse under the grill but suffered some collateral damage with a chipmunk under the chairs. I moved the effort strictly under the grill and took out two more mice over the next two days. I haven’t found any more in the last two days so I’m about to make a George W. declaration. The other front involved my perpetual foes, the backyard squirrels. I thought I’d defeated their efforts to pillage the bird feeder with a Vaseline coated pole. I found one burrowing into the feeder and then saw they had figured out how to jump from the ground up to the feeder. While I was impressed, I went out and elevated the feeder another foot which seems to have thwarted them for the nonce. The ball is in their court though I’m confident they’ll figure something out. More of a stalemate there.

Statue After Initial Cleaning

Retaining Wall under Construction

We’ve added another chapter to the decapitated Virgin Mary statue which I’ve written about before. We all know my Favorite Panamanian is as serious a catholic that there is; although don’t make the mistake of calling her a fanatic (I only did that once and it was the stuff of nightmares). One of her proudest possessions within her vast garden complex is that statue. It’s had a hard life. Its head was first knocked off by Buddy the Wonder Pooch when we lived across the street. A couple years later, after a repair with cement, the FBR knocked it off again during an unfortunate snow saucering collision. I once again repaired it and gave it a full rehab, including painting it white. The Favorite Panamanian was pleased. Fast forward to now and she was unhappy that the surrounding rose bushes had prospered under greenest of thumbs and now obscured the statue. In addition, the decapitation scars were showing as some of the paint had flaked off. I was charged with rectifying the situation.

In Its New Home

She didn’t like my first course of action which was to cut the roses back; actually she was more horrified than anything else. If the bushes couldn’t come down then the statue had to go up. I had a bunch of retaining wall bricks from my recent garden stair repairs and she approved a plan to create a small retaining wall to lift the statue up. That was much easier said than done, especially with my back and shoulder barking at me (getting old is not for the weak of heart). I extracted the statue to clean and paint it. While that dried, I tied back the rose bushes since putting the wall in with thorns digging into my back was a non-starter. While my wife was a little nervous about that, she agreed not to come out and “supervise” until I was done. I had to get a little creative with the bottom row since the granite had migrated below ground, so leveling the bricks was a challenge.

The most fun though was carrying the eight large buckets of dirt down the hill to fill in the new enclosure. This was from the dirt pile I made a couple years ago when I created the backyard patio. Carrying it down the hill was so much easier than up. I tamped that dirt down as hard as I could get it and then put in the base blocks the statue stands on. Getting the statue back in place was fairly easy although I rubbed some of the paint off again. There was enough spray paint left to fix that before inspection by the Favorite Panamanian. That went well as, in a surprising development, she had no suggestions about how I could have done it better. Now, all that is left to do is somehow retard the growth of the rose bushes.

We managed a date night at the movies yesterday to see The Instigators. This was so funny and so Boston. Damon and Affleck play two complete idiots charged with making a high level robbery that goes wrong every way possible. It reminded me a little bit of the Sellers classic, Being There, on a different level entirely. There’s an amazing supporting cast, including one of my true favorites, Hong Chau. She can do no wrong and she shines as a hostage/therapist to the idiots. There were so many inside Boston jokes that I found myself laughing almost continuously. Although this isn’t getting a lot of love from critics, I really loved this movie. Damon and Affleck are so good.

Five movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Lady in Cement, Sinatra was the definition of cool and a young Raquel Welch, Yikes!; Lake House, love this movie, don’t know why, feels almost lyrical, Keanu and Sandra, such chemistry; Lake Placid, silly monster movie but features foul mouthed Betty White, too funny; La La Land, re-captures you every time you watch it, so wish the imaginary montage at the end was the real story; Larry Crowne, Hanks awesome as his everyman character.

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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 him her single days in Brooklyn; 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; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course

Celebration Laced with Big News

It’s been a while since I’ve been on Frail Deeds and that is usually due to being too busy or granddaughter involvement. I’m happy to report that both can be assigned blame for this lull in my fractured prose. We spent the beginning of August worrying about a friend who faced a health challenge but that person has once again rallied and seems out of danger. That wasn’t the only good news as we had all three granddaughters inbound for the weekend. The compelling attraction for their arrival was the Saturday celebration of Namesake Nephew’s engagement at Great Aunt’s home. The first to arrive was my Favorite Daughter and the FBR late Friday afternoon having navigated through a ferocious thunder storm.

Namesake Nephew and his Future Bride

The FBR quickly established herself in the house and set about “fixing” the facial makeup for her abuela and mom. She wasn’t daunted by an even bigger challenge and coaxed me (I can deny her nothing) into a makeup session. The ladies were impressed. We also delivered the Ireland/Scotland gifts although the FBR was more impressed by another result of her abuela’s shopping, a small suitcase. My Favorite Panamanian noticed how much the FBR coveted a suitcase after seeing her cousin, the BRS, with one. It was a huge hit and she was soon parading around the house in yet another cute, abuela supplied outfit. She is nothing if not a fashion statement. After the obligatory Friday night pizza and Family Facetime call, the FBR seized control of the Man Cave for her Friday Night movie. It was so good to have a less than quiet house again.

Abuela Gets her Special Treatment

Then my Daughter

The Results

My Much Scarier Results

FBR With her new Acquisitions in Abuela's Shoes

Someone Got a Hold of my Phone
Found this 

We set out for Rhode Island mid-day Saturday to celebrate Namesake Nephew’s engagement. My Favorite Son and the ABFA were late arrivals since they had to end their beach sojourn and move out of their rental house that morning before driving down to R.I. That set up the usual every five minute questioning by the FBR regarding her cousins’ arrival time. Luckily, on a very hot and humid day, Great Aunt’s pool was available and the FBR, a well-known pool aficionado, could not resist. Namesake Nephew set up a very welcome sun shade on the deck and we spent the entire afternoon there. My son’s family arrived and the all was well as the granddaughters once again took up their cousinship as if no time had passed. BR3, watching her more accomplished sister and cousin paddle around the pool, starting taking some chances, even with her swim wings on. The ABFA, ever watchful decided her presence in the pool would address BR3’s increased bravado and also offered her a welcome chance to cool off.

Daughter Wife and Sis on the Deck

Cousins in the Pool

Remy was a Big Hit

As is normal whenever Soxfather’s family gathers, there was an overabundance of food available. At a certain point the entire clan gathered on the deck for a special announcement. Everyone, except the engaged couple, thought this was a chance to celebrate the betrothal. That impression was shattered when the couple handed Great Aunt a special card. She was a little confused as she opened the card. The card was accompanied by a small garment. The card ended with a small picture which showed an ultrasound of Great Aunt’s first ever grandchild! She was overcome with emotion as the news sunk in and the crowd erupted in good wishes for the expecting couple. After a long career where she has more than earned her title as a favorite aunt of so many that were assembled on that deck, Great Aunt basked in the knowledge that, early in 2025, she will welcome a granddaughter. I could not be happier for her.

Great Aunt Learning she'll be a Gramma!

More Pool Time

And Remy

Best Friends

Remy Couldn't Hide under the Table

As the existing granddaughters’ bedtimes approached, we had to reluctantly leave this august gathering. My Favorite Panamanian was driving as there was also an overabundance of adult beverages to celebrate the day. While we were using the GPS, she told me to stop “helping” so I was silent when she missed an exit. I did help her get back on the right route and, for once, was capable of keeping my mouth shut during the entire interlude. We returned home to the usual battle in trying to get three very charged up young ladies into bed. I tried to stay above the fray as a dispute arose over assigned bunks between the FBR and BRS. The FBR ended up in her mother’s bed to finally settle that row.

Last Night in the Man Cave

Granddaughters this Morning With Suitcases

FBR Fixing BR3's Runaway Hair

The adults adjourned to the Man Cave to watch the Olympics. I’ve been kidding my son and daughter for years about abandoning cable in favor of online programming. I’m guessing the cosmos heard enough of my banter because for the last two nights my usually very reliable cable was spotty at best, completely failing for long stretches. It’s testimony to how great my “kids” are that they didn’t take advantage of the situation by reminding me of my earlier boasts. It was still a very fun night hanging out in the cave with these very special people. They’re all gone now, called upon to return to their homes. Our home is once again as quiet as it ever gets when the Favorite Panamanian is in residence. My wife’s shoes are strewn throughout the house as all three granddaughters inherited her love of footwear and their abuela’s shoe closet is one of the first places they descend upon when they arrive. They could be in a little trouble though as they departed without returning their borrowed shoes to that closet. All three will be back in a couple weeks for their annual summer stay with us. A final note on shoes, the FBR is rapidly catching up to her abuela’s actual shoe size. She’s growing up entirely too fast. Her mother and uncle did the exact same thing to us. Miss them all so much right now.

Five movies fell in the A-Z watch, all keepers: Kong, Skull Island, really good action movie that I had all but forgotten about; K-Pax, I know he has personal issues but Spacey is such a good actor and I love him in this; Krull, guilty, silly pleasure that I used to love watching with my son when he was young; Lady Bird, such a good movie exploring the dynamic between mothers and daughters; and Mrs. Doubtfire, (watched out of order as the FBR’s Friday night movie), Robin Williams remains a national treasure, miss him.

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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 him her single days in Brooklyn; 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; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course