The Festival of Neety

The eponymous event was, this year, a sprawling pentadiem in honour of the hatching of Salsa Girl. Given the secluded nature of the current times the event was stretched out over the full five days with Hulk and I doing our best to provide enough small joys for Salsa Girl to equal the joy of the usual gifting and out in the world excursioning and feasting.

So as the five day festival finally draws to a close we can take heart that the hidden messages, flowers, clue hunts, feasting, massaging, rummy-playing, and other sundry undertakings, seem to have done the job - although fingers crossed that the lack of the usual important footy game at this time of year has not marred Salsa Girl's experience.

The only thing remaining, as One mashes out this post with claw-like hands mangled from five days of massaging, is to see the long, long recovery period to completion.

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8 years, 10 years, & 8 years

So, for the past few months, One has had most of One's time consumed with work - of the From Home type - intertwined with educatory duties, causing One to, once again, neglect the Tales.
As well there have been several anniversereal events occurring that required One's attention and diligent application in the night before the exam kind of way.

Anniversary the first was the celebration of Hulk having attained 8 years. It was celebrated with a sprawling affair constituting our very own mystery - Harry Potter and the Sinister Simulacrum - replete with clue finds, classes, much table quidditch, and the stunningly original revelation that the new teacher Professor Robot Automa was in fact the Sinister Simulacrum and not Hulk's new automated lizard present that all clues pointed towards. (One has a mind to shop one's virtuoso script around Hollywood).

Preparations for this event included much creation of decorations which number among them these Every Flavour Beans, with attitude:

Beans with attitude...

Other preparations included a month of vigorous beard growing by oneself in order to get that Dumbledore look. It was successful on the axis of white colouring but the length was several feet short. Unfortunately Hulk as demanded that One keep growing said beard until it reaches the requisite length, which has resulted in much amusement in one's many video meetings. 

Anniversary the second was to celebrate the 10 years that Salsa Girl and I have been together. With all potential minders quarantined away from us it was celebrated joyfully as a family with Hulk cramping our style. There was a gastronomical event or two one evening feast and one a banquet that went for most of the weekend. Having not succumbed to any more grump towards one another during seclusion than usual it looks like Salsa Girl and I have another 10 (or more) wonderful years to look forward to.

The Third Anniversary was the anniversary of ones father's days which now number 8.
Astute readers will note that this number coincides with the Hulk number! Living in these apocryphal times has taught me that when numbers align like that it must mean something of great import, and that shadowing figures must be manipulating things behind the scenes!

This celebration was more subdued coming on the heels of the previous one and was interspersed with a video call to Handy Dad and Freeloading Mum, wherein they proceeded to ridicules one's beard with statements to the effect that One now resembled Handy Dad.

So now that these events are all over One should have plenty of time to .... ummm...

Oh no! 

Salsa Girl's birthing anniversary is coming up!!!!!!!

Excuse me, I have to get to it. We'll talk later.

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