Frail Deeds Dancing

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Isolation Redemption

This will be a short post because I have a very precocious dynamo circling the floor above waiting for grampa to finish “work”. There is a promised saucer sliding event on the back hill on the agenda. In other words, the payoff for the past two weeks of quarantine manifested itself last night when my daughter and her family arrived. Redeeming the incarceration of the past two weeks was more than enjoyable. They pulled into town just after eight last night and the FBR immediately assumed control of the social agenda.

Reunited!!!

Her parents allowed her to stay up a little late so she could re-indoctrinate her grandparents on proper etiquette. I was summoned to the living room floor to assist with puppy dog manor operations. It was all too fun as for the first time joy seeped into what had been a fairly dour holiday season. I would trade their presence for any amount of missed holiday parties though.

Uncovering her Toy Cache

Grampa is Summoned

And Could Not be Happier

The added bonus was the presence of Pee Wee the Cat. For the first time in a very (and too long a) time we have a pet in the house again. The cat didn’t seem as happy about his relocation but at least he didn’t go into his memorable hotel banshee mode. The FBR has grown noticeably since seeing her in August. I had her step up to the measuring stick in her bedroom and she’s grown over four inches in the past year. It has been a year since they’ve been able to visit and that is entirely too long. Just before leaving New Jersey the FBR had her five year check up and is in the 90^th percentile for her age in height. I think her abuela has resigned herself to being passed up in the height department in the next few years. Well, as I said, I have entirely too much fun waiting for me upstairs as well as a hill to slide down although I think I’ll let the FBR handle the sliding part. Merry Christmas!!!!

Finished this Puzzle Before they Arrived
This is Why My Sister is No Longer Allowed to buy
me Puzzles, Took Over Week - But Fun

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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

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Zoom Fam

I’ve written before about how the First Friday of the Week commemoration has evolved in Pandemia. I’ve come to truly treasure the family Facetime call organized by my daughter. Regular attendees include both of kids and their families as well as Soxfather and Great Aunt. The “kids” usually have to sign off fairly early due to required ministrations for the FBR, BRS and BR3. That leaves usually an hour or so to virtually hang out with my sister and Soxfather. It’s almost as much fun as really hanging with them in person, although a short substitute for the real thing. Yesterday was no exception as we gathered around screens to share some Christmas spirits. The FBR was more interested in getting movie night started but she put on a brave face and entertained us, including sending me about three dozen texts of different cartoons.

The BRS Also Enjoyed some Snow Time this Week

We added another element to our Friday lineup last night. I set up a zoom call with my Favorite Panamanian’s sisters and brother. Since we are not the most technically astute generation the first forty minutes were spent getting everybody on screen but after that we had the predictable amount of fun. I say predictable because one of the things I love about my wife’s family is that it is impossible not to share almost continuous laughter once they gather. We hope to make this another Friday tradition as long as our thin grasp of the technical aspects endure.

Last Night's Family Zoom

Today I drive up to New Hampshire to pick up my son’s gifts for his sister’s family and Great Aunt/Soxfather. Another reminder of how Christmas will be different this year. We’ll have a second Christmas with his family after my daughter and her family return to New Jersey. I’ll be making another trip down to Rhode Island to deliver and pick up gifts there ahead of Christmas. Both of these trips will be made with appropriate social distancing to maintain my personal quarantine. 2020, the gift that just keeps giving.

Wife Captured Some Photos of the Snow Clearing on Thursday

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Friday, December 18, 2020

Sounds of Silence

Well, we got the full treatment from the storm yesterday. It was hard to say how much snow fell because the wind was blowing the very light stuff all over the place. There was over 18 inches on the front walk. As I explained yesterday this was the first storm in years that I could truly “enjoy” because there was no commute or worry about keeping service out on the road. I also loved that after getting pummeled with over a foot of snow, hardy New Englanders were back out today as if nothing happened. I treasure this after living in Virginia and seeing it paralyzed by an inch of snow. I had to clear the driveway twice because of all the drifting snow but it was so much easier than the earlier, less prodigious snowfall which was so heavy. I even cut a walkway out to the flag pole so I could raise the colors each morning. I noticed this morning that the rabbits living underneath Deckzilla (note to self – do something about that) had taken full advantage of the path I dug. I love the aftermath of a major snowfall for the pristine silence that permeates the air, especially at night. The snow deadens all the usual ambient noise. I would have stayed out longer last night enjoying the atmosphere except that it was bone chilling cold.

FBR, Appropriately as a Snow Angel

View out our Front Door This Morning

Buried Angel

It also snowed down in New Jersey which the FBR took full advantage of with her sidekick, Wingman. They only got six inches but that was a lot for there. She was full of ideas this morning during our call. She particularly liked sliding down her playground into a pile of snow. She wants Wingman to pack up her huge playground to take with them when they come next week. When we told her that was impossible, she relented and said they needed to pack only the slide, which, and I quote, “should fit in a large bag”. When her parents and I stopped laughing I told her I was planning on teaching her the intricacies of snow saucer sliding on our back hill while she’s here with hopefully no Clark Griswold incidents.

Future Prey - Rabbit Tracks outside Deckzilla

Meanwhile in NJ

It’s heartwarming to see the palpable excitement whenever we talk with her about their upcoming visit. She asked if it would be okay for her to come into our bedroom and wake us up each morning while she’s here. When I responded that my Favorite Panamanian and I were counting on that, my daughter chimed in with an enthusiastic, “So are we!”. A parents’ burden can certainly be a grandparents’ delight.

Our Future Wakeup Call Testing the Snow

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Nor’Eastering

The weather guys/gals have been crowing about this major snow storm that was supposed to hit overnight and through today. As I wrote about earlier I was a little excited because for the first time in years I only had my driveway to worry about, no commute, or work related issues. Therefore, I was a little disappointed when I was heading upstairs to bed last night around midnight and we only had about an inch or so. I thought this was another case of the weather dudes overemphasizing. I awoke this morning to find that, if anything, they underestimated. There was well over a foot on the ground and looks like we’ll end up with over 18 inches by the time the snow winds down later today.

BR3 and BRS

Thankfully it’s the light powdery type which is easy to move but carries with it the same faculty for the wind which we have a bunch of. I walked out to the street to retrieve the paper and a half hour later the wind had filled everything in. There are already some waist high snow drifts. I’ll send some before and after photos tomorrow. I think this may be one of those storms where I end up clearing the driveway multiple times as the drifts develop. It gives me something to do while in isolation. I think a white Christmas is all but assured, barring some tropical front moving through before the 25^th. I think we’ve seen the last of the lawn’s grass for a while. It also snowed down in New Jersey which the FBR was extremely pleased about. Wingman recently acquired a second-hand snow suit that has the FBR looking like she’s ready to go tactical.

FBR in Tactical Mode

Out the Front Door This Morning
Another Six hours of Snow to Go

Deckzilla Wind Scoured

Daughter Took This Photo Last Night in NJ
Snow Reflected so Much Light it was Like Twilight

Apparently, the world keeps moving outside our quarantine bubble. One of the nicest people in the world, the ABFA’s dad, had his birthday yesterday. He was able to travel to my son’s home over the past weekend to celebrate with his granddaughters which is really the best birthday present possible. The BRS looks to thrown herself into the celebration of probably her favorite person outside of her mom and dad.

Birthday Boy and his Biggest Fan

Quick Dad, Take the Picture
So I can get at These Cupcakes

BR3 Impossibly Cute

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Cookie Monster Control Measures

One of the true bellwether events of the Christmas season is now underway in the family – Christmas cookie baking. This usually takes place while I’m at work so I haven’t gotten the full experience. This year, however, (and standby because I’m about to say something nice about 2020) in my semi-retired state, I’m fully available to immerse myself in the experience. I’ve been soaking in the smells of cookie baking all week long as my Favorite Panamanian creates her usual boatload of cookies. She learned this from my mother so it’s no surprise that the smells can transport me back to a house on Valley Street where my mother plied her way through this same tradition all those years ago. I’m sure both my sisters are likewise employed this week, mom lives on.

Wife at Work Creating Magic

It is, of course, a double-edged sword. My availability to experience it also means I’m available for impressment into service. Since we’re both getting a little long in the tooth for extended time on our feet my Favorite Panamanian dragooned me into assisting her (with some close supervision, needless to say). I can now wield a cookie press! Who saw that coming? My son has already started his own cookie manufacturing session and created his usual batch of sugar cookies and peanut butter blossoms. One of the true challenges of this season is ensuring enough cookies survive until Christmas. I, needless to say, play a major role in this issue and am placed on my best behavior. My wife, not trusting to chance and my ability or resist temptation, has consigned the spritz, ginger bread, and peanut butter blossom cookies to the freezer until next week. The FBR was closely monitoring this to insure cookies would be available when she arrives. The BRS is no longer giving her parents a hard time about dinner because she is rewarded with some cookies afterwards.

My Son's Haul of Blossoms

We’re in the for a major snow storm tonight through tomorrow and for the first time in years it doesn’t carry with it the usual responsibilities and concerns. I don’t have to drive into work or worry about keeping the buses running. The drivers at my old job are all New Englanders and were true heroes for the most part during the storms, even when 2015 was throwing haymakers every couple days. Again, nothing I have to worry about this winter and my responsibility will only be to clear my own, blessedly short driveway (yes, Charlton I’m thinking of you!). This is what I used to look like in Charlton after the driveway from hell was cleared.

only Took 3 Hours This Time!

During one of the annual searches through the basement to locate all the cookie making accoutrement my wife and I stumbled across some old pictures, included here, that carried some great memories of some people and animals that are no longer with us. It is funny as I get older that I truly treasure seeing these departed faces staring back at me from the past and remembering them. Life really is a tapestry woven of the people who move through it and the attendant experiences – like Christmas cookie season! Now to calculate how long it would take kidnapped cookies to thaw!

Wife's Grandparents With Their "Kids"
Moher in Law in Back on Left

Wife (r) and her Sisters

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

Wife in Traditional Panamanian Folk Dancing Dress - 2001

Son with our Beloved Goldens - Skyla and Estrella

The Day They Met

Daughter's Demonic Beast - Mindy the Cat

The Fam - Early 2000s

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Monday, December 14, 2020

Time to Return

The electoral college votes today and hopefully puts an end to the baseless claims by the orange one of massive election fraud. I’ve written before about my consternation how people I like and respect have supported him. These are intelligent, well-meaning people who cannot, for some reason, see behind the veneer of this con man. That is certainly what he is, in addition to be hyper-narcissistic and certainly not a leader by any stretch of the imagination. He’s a guy who was born into wealth and has maintained his stature through a combination of failing businesses, a legion of lawyers, and implacable litigiousness. All of these traits have been apparent over the past few weeks as he continues to damage our system of government with claims that have repeatedly proved to be without merit and belong in one of those sensationalist news rags that used to festoon grocery check-out lines. The ones that purported finding of alien spaceships in New Jersey or something equally foolish. Yet people still cling to this thing that occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It is time to return to the light, you have proved incredibly loyal to a man who doesn’t know the first thing about that concept. I’ve voted Republican nearly my entire life and am not a huge fan of the democrats and their left leaning ways but when the other choice is Trump, the debate ends. Come back into the light of common sense and civility, we need each other and the country needs us more than ever.

The first Covid-19 vaccines will be administered today around the country. This marks the beginning of the end of this most bizarre episode in our lives. It will be June before the entire country will have access to the vaccine and I can’t wait for the idiotic anti-vaxxers to show their colors. This vaccine really is a triumph of science and kudos to the administration for the relentless push to produce it, all the while denying the virus was a serious problem. My Favorite Panamanian and I should get the vaccine in February since we’ll both be 65 then and that is when Massachusetts has that group scheduled for inoculation, rightfully after health care workers and first responders.

BRS Assisting ABFA at Kitchen Sink Last Night

BR3 Enjoying Some Oatmeal

We had a lot of fun last night talking with granddaughters. The BRS continues her fascination with the kitchen faucet and reacted “strongly” to any suggestion she move on from washing her hands repeatedly even to the point a change of shirt was needed. She also achieved some success with potty training yesterday which was notable. The gal has an ironlike resolve and was upset when a diaper was put back on for her nap because she felt this was doubting that resolve. She’s a certifiable character and I love that about her.

Flagpole in Repair Shop

We had a semi-emergency in the flagpole department over the weekend. The rope finally snapped, a victim of enduring out hilltop winds. The recent snow also knocked off the top half of the globe on top of the pole. Yesterday was a balmy day, by December standards, and almost all the snow melted which revealed the missing half. In a true precedent shattering event, I actually anticipated the needed repair and had a replacement rope read to install. In a few short minutes the flags were back up and waving back.

Back Up and Waving

So Thursday's Snowfall Looks Like Fun - Can Anyone Say White Christmas!

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RECURRING CHARACTERS

Friday, December 11, 2020

Conversating

I heard a great joke last year and have always meant to put it up here. An older guy is talking to a millennial and extolling a new breakthrough in technology. This new device allows a text message to immediately be converted into a voice message with the sender’s own voice and allows for an immediate response from the recipient, also converted into a voice message in the recipient’s voice. The millennial was impressed and excitedly asked what the new device was called. The old guy responds – a telephone. I know. It’s not that funny but the first time I heard it I laughed out loud as I waited to hear what the brand new device was called.

FBR Playing her Guitar Last Night
And Waiting for her Grandparents to Dance for her

I mention it here because after my posting yesterday about my conversation with the Pittsburgh College Roommate and our belief that the Cantankerous Friend was mellowing out in old age I received a call from the cantankerous one. He called to argue about whether he was mellowing out or not. I guess he was offended by the notion that people actually thought well of him. He also wanted to dredge up complaints from those long ago basketball games where he accused the Pittsburgh College Roommate of being “a black hole” on the court. He claims whenever the ball went there it was never coming out as the roommate was a pretty good shot. I never got involved because my effective range was two feet from the basket.

The Gamers at Work

I Think It's Called - Focus

I loved the calls because, despite his raging liberal political stances, the Cantankerous One remains one of my oldest friends and I enjoyed the byplay immensely. It was a lot more fun than a political argument. Not to be undersold he took his argument to Facebook where the roommate eloquently answered his complaint by saying the ball never came back form him because it went through the hoop. As I said, in these isolated times I was transported back to those memorable times of my youth where not even the Chinese had to wear facemasks. Yet.

Latest Puzzle Completed- A Gift from Great Aunt
She & My Daughter May be Prohibited from Buying me Any More Puzzles
The Christmas Tree was a Stone Cold Beeatch

The FBR seems almost as excited as we are for her upcoming visit for Christmas. She now asks to inspect her room during our daily FaceTime calls. Pee Wee the cat is also returning for the holidays for the first time in years. I’m sure he’ll be the only one in the house that won’t miss having Buddy around to contend with. The FBR is quickly becoming a video game enthusiast under the expert tutelage of Wingman. She promises to try and teach me during her visit.

I enjoyed our check-in with my Favorite Son last night. We saw first hand that BR3, judging by her facial expressions, is not a fan of green beans. I wonder if that is an inherited trait? If so, we all know where it came from. My son’s Covid delayed project of finishing off the third floor of their house finally got off the snide this week. The construction crew got all the framing and insulation done and now awaits the attentions of the electrical and HVAC guys. They’re adding a bedroom, a study and future bathroom up there. Both sets of grandparents are pleased with the additional space now that the BRS and BR3 will have their own bedrooms.

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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