Decked Out

Lunch Date!

I’m now the proud owner of a deck that’s more like an aircraft carrier flight deck. The contractor will be back in a week or so to touch up the borders on a couple of the planters but last night was spent loading all his myriad tools into the back of his pickup. I’m more than a little amazed at what he accomplished in the short span he spent in our backyard which has been totally transformed. He even offered to add in a support beam so my wife can install the swing she and my granddaughter have been enjoying. I think she mentioned this to him a couple dozen times.

Deck Complete

Huge

Test Driven

Other than an intense interest and an addiction to This Old House I’m woefully incompetent to accomplish anything of this scale. I’m always impressed with people like the contractor who can perform seeming miracles with simple tools. I think a truly gifted contractor has a bit of an artist’s eye which may explain why I’m so hopeless. I will never be described (except in some fever dream) as artistic.

Some big doings across the creek (used to be a pond before the information age) yesterday as Great Britain voted to leave the European Union. I remember from my senior year in high school as British political forces hemmed and hawed about joining it. I’m not well enough informed to understand all of the political issues in play (I’ve been severely distracted by the presence of a little Californian) but this may be an indication of the same political forces now sweeping the US – intense displeasure with the political status quo. Many voters feel the political leadership is completely out of touch with reality and playing their own games instead of governing. Sick of the implied noblesse oblige conferred upon them by entrenched political leaders the voters rebelled. The Brits get out of the United States of Europe and we get Donald Trump. The Brits certainly did better than we did, no matter where you stand on the EU.

Sitting at the Table -Duck in Hand

Silly Face Intact

Congratulations Mommy!

To celebrate my daughter’s recent employment triumph I took all three ladies out for lunch. My granddaughter felt like a very big girl since she got to sit at the table in a high chair, with everything moved unfortunately (for her) out of reach. I got to sit next to her and we soon had a game going where she would try to drop her rubber duck without me catching it. Is it immature that I had so much fun doing this?

The Rubber Duck Game

The Contestants

The Winner

Ladies Heading out Last Night

I sent the adult ladies out last night to see the movies and volunteered to watch over the First Blog Reader. Granted it wasn’t much of an effort since she was already down for the night. I was left with a baby monitor and strict orders to only go up to see her if she cried for more than fifteen minutes. I think this was the only time I ever hoped a baby would cry. Unfortunately she was perfectly content to sleep through my entire tenure as primary caregiver. Buddy, feeling  a little neglected with all the granddaughter hoopla, used this opportunity to re-establish his primacy in Couch Potato Position #1, complete with serial gas attacks.

Reading the Morning Paper Together Today

Seriously Don't Know What I'm Going to do Without This

Both of Them

At Least I get to Keep the One on the Left

Footsies, Proud Father, and Cross Street Dishes

My Two Overachievers

As her remaining days in East Coast residence fades towards their inevitable and completely regrettable conclusion my granddaughter continues to push the envelope on the charm scale. I spent better than a half hour with her yesterday when I returned form work just lying on the floor together. Granted, she was a lot more active than I was. She demonstrated amazing dexterity with her feet which she uses almost like another set of hands. We, and most of her East Coast family, have invested serious money in toys for her but her favorite seems to be an empty water bottle.

Foot Use

With Her Water Bottle Filled with Dry Rice

Water bottles in general seem to fascinate her to no end. We have taken to eating our morning and afternoon meals together (if I’m really lucky) and as soon as she sees my water bottle she refuses to eat anything until she’s had a chance to handle it. I know its dry in Los Angeles and I wonder if this is a reaction to it? I’m still examining scenarios where I refuse to let her leave. Fortunately I’m going to be consumed with the final phase of the move across the street over the days immediately following her and my daughter’s departure. It’s still not going to be easy.

I know I tend to brag a little bit about my children but no apologies (in other words – deal with it). I’m still constantly amazed they emerged as intact as they did considering their father figure. My daughter got her annual evaluation from work yesterday along with an unexpected raise. This from a company that recently went through a major downsizing, which speaks volumes about how much they value her. Not half as much as I do but it’s nice to hear other people see the same excellence I do.

Floor Time While Wife Packs Dining Room

"Grampa, Why aren't You Packing the Glassware?"

I spent that half hour on the floor yesterday because my wife was packing up the dining room treasures from the hutch. One of the real benefits of moving just across the street is not having to pack everything into dozens of boxes and then unpacking them, something we’ve done so many times during the course of a military marriage (side note: it’s not a lot of fun). She’s very suspect of my ability not to break things so I was under strict orders to carry only so much during each trip across the street despite my protestations that I could manage a lot more. I think you know who won that argument.

Deck - Almost There

Huge!

The deck is in its final throes of construction with the contractor rounding corners and adding the final touches he’s promised all along. I know I had my doubts when my wife decided to greatly expand my own modest plans but I’m completely on board now that I see it. It’s like we added another room to the house and are making better use of what would have been a fairly limited back yard. I can’t wait for the First Friday after parties there each week.

Wingman was in Milwaukee Last Night

"Grampa - Pick Me Up!"
Heartbreakingly Reminiscent of a Similar Move by her Mother 30 years Ago

New Sleeping Position - Butt Firmly into the Air

Panic State

Walking Back from the Job Site Together Last Night

I am enjoying having the California contingent in the house so much that I don’t know how I’m going to deal with their departure. I could refuse to drive them to the airport on Saturday but my daughter is inventive enough to overcome that obstacle. I’m guessing that it might skew future relationships as well. I’ve got entirely too used to having my granddaughter sit down to read the morning paper with me and then greet me when I get home from work. There has to be some sort of chemical released in your body when a baby smiles at you, I know I’m addicted.

My Breakfast Companion This Morning

I helped out across the street with the deck yesterday after returning from work. I dug a small trench for the base of the staircase which was finished yesterday. My wife brought our granddaughter over to watch part of the process and that was all the motivation I needed. The contractor is putting the final touches on today and maybe into tomorrow but it should be done when we make the big move over the upcoming week. We’ll have to start looking into scheduling a party to celebrate, but first the move.

Deck Progress

Finishing up Stairs on Left

My daughter and Wingman got me a brand new blu ray player for Father’s Day since they were offended by the ancient relic I currently use (which they also got for me in the not too distant past). My daughter took some initiative last night after the First Blog Reader retired for the night to set it up for me while I was at the movies. We returned to find her extremely frustrated because everything worked fine (I can tell the difference in quality) except there was no sound. While my daughter is my “go to” techie in most cases, even she was stumped and the sun source of this type knowledge, Wingman, was performing on a stage in Cincinnati.

Wingman in Cincy Last Night

I had to quell the panic about to set in when we hooked up the old player and the sound didn’t work for that either, rendering me movie-less until we can get it fixed. Anybody who reads this blog regularly will understand the need for panic on my part. When the Geek Squad initially set this up at the current house they must have used some arcane method because we were stumped and extremely frustrated after working together on it for a while.  Looks like I’ll have to move up the scheduling on their return to the new house.  

Gramma Time

I needed to get my wife out of the house last night because I could tell the cumulative effect of her grandmothering over the past few weeks had reached a culmination point and she needed a night out of the house. Child rearing is best left to the young with their semi-boundless energy. Grandparents are more ideally suited for brief surges of effort. She thoroughly enjoyed getting out last night and laughed almost continually through the movie.

Central Intelligence is a passable buddy comedy with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart performing in the central roles. Johnson has always struck me as a better actor than he gets credit for but once you look past the biceps he’s capable of nuance. He plays a high school nerd bullied in high school who returns twenty years later as, well, the Rock. Hart tones down his comedy chops to meld nicely with him and a totally haphazard plot that produces just the right amount of laughs you’d expect from a summer sojourn in the theater. It’s not rocket science but it works and there’s enough fun to lift the spirits of an overworked grandma, which is what was called for last night.