Cold December Morning
Landgraf Philipp I of Hesse (Philipp the Magnanimous).
Another very cold morning!
It was 12 degrees without the wind chill when I woke up this morning. It was 550am when I lifted my eye lids and peeked at the clock. Without giving it any thought I jumped right to my feet and began my day. My first order of business was plugging in my new toy, my Christmas tree. Next, a quick glance towards my coffee maker insured that I’d have hot coffee available once my exercises and walk with Ykraps were completed. Sandwiched between my morning walk and meditation was a hot cup of coffee complete with all the fixins (splenda, whipped cream, caramel, and pumpkin pie spice)!
After some quiet meditation, I prepped my lunch and made my breakfast. Soon after, I shaved my face and jumped in the shower, which I hadn’t done since last Tuesday (shaving that is). I was looking scruffy! I was ready to leave for work by 735am. I barely had enough time to play guitar but still did. Despite running short on personal time, I took a few sunrise pics with my new camera, too.
On my way to work I gave Mindy a call. We chatted for a few before I entered the building. She had some things she needed to share/discuss. The workday was about as light as I can recall in recent memory. And that was a welcome turn of events. Come lunch time, I was ready for a run. Again, it was cold (mid 20’s w/o wind chill) but I was well prepared and enjoyed it immensely. I returned from my run to attack my packed lunch. It was really tasty. I had a five vegetable salad with ranch dressing, sliced turkey served over a bed of fresh spinach, and a mix of fresh cantaloupe, strawberries, and pineapple. All good, and all healthy!
The afternoon went by without incident. At the end of the day, I contacted Mindy to confirm our plans for dinner at her home. I would try to make it to her house by 6pm. Before heading home, however, I stopped at Target to pick-up new batteries for Mindy’s keyless entry to her mini-van along with some new flannel boxers which I use as an under garment when running. I didn’t get home until 540pm. It was fairly obvious that I wouldn’t make it to Mindy’s by 6pm. I still had to prep tomorrow’s coffee, walk Ykraps, and possibly stop for gas. After finishing everything, I left the house at 610pm. I called Mindy to let her know I was on my way. She reported that everything was ready and in the warmer. We were having pork chops, salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sauerkraut. And because I requested the sauerkraut be prepared a certain way, she waited for me to do it. Along the way to Mindy’s I couldn’t pass up stopping for gas at the Walmart Shell station. Gas was only $1.99. That was cheap compared to everywhere else (avg. $2.25). I was at Mindy’s by 630pm. Everything smelt so, so good! Visiting Mindy was her good friend Lori and her son Jack. Lori used to live in Scioto Woods and was familiar with my house and reports having seen me a number of times running by her home. I had actually looked at buying a used Toyota Corolla from her and her hubby about 5 or 6 years ago.
Mindy already had the pan for the sauerkraut heating with olive oil on the stove. I simply open the package and dumped the kraut in to the pan and began frying it. I’d forgotten to drain it, though, so I had to improvise after the fact. I knew that if I didn’t somehow drain it, I wouldn’t achieve the desired browning and consistency I’d sought. I was successful. Dinner was ready in short order, and I must say, the pork chops were the BEST damn pork chops I have ever eaten. Mindy used minced garlic and rosemary in a shallow glass baking dish to prepare them. They were goooood Clark! And to complement the chops, Mindy’s mashed potatoes were excellent too! Needless to say, I filled up! And while Lori declined eating any food with us, she did join us at the table as we talked about all sorts of things. She’s a school teacher too, and it was somewhat interesting listening to the two of them exchange battle stories. You’d think these second and third graders were hardened criminals by listening to their banter. Instead, I’m sure they’re really a bunch of sweet and innocent youngsters that are misunderstood! J
After dinner wrapped up, I helped clean up the mess then went and played with the kids. They were engaged in what appeared to me to be dangerous acts of bravery. They were using the old coffee table in the lower level playroom as a slide with the love seat cushions doubling as sliding pads. I was certain someone would end up with a broken limb. Thankfully, that never happened. In the background we watched the original Charlie Brown Christmas special. The same one that was around when I was a kid. Very dry, very basic. Lot’s of biblical references which surprised me. The kids were not interested in the special in the least. After the “regular” Charlie Brown Xmas special, they had an extension of sorts that spotlighted each of the main characters. Weird!
Soon, Lori and her son left and Mindy prepped Bella and Jacob for bed. I picked up the playroom as they’d given it a real workout. But, that’s what kids do! And something I rarely if ever do, I continued to watch TV. Together we watched a show about a female president (Gena Davis & Donald Sutherland). It was admittedly very gripping. I left Mindy’s around 1030pm. I really wanted to do a few things at home before going to bed. I managed to do just that, a few things. I ended up going to bed at 1145pm.
Cold December Morning
Landgraf Philipp I of Hesse (Philipp the Magnanimous).
Another very cold morning!
It was 12 degrees without the wind chill when I woke up this morning. It was 550am when I lifted my eye lids and peeked at the clock. Without giving it any thought I jumped right to my feet and began my day. My first order of business was plugging in my new toy, my Christmas tree. Next, a quick glance towards my coffee maker insured that I’d have hot coffee available once my exercises and walk with Ykraps were completed. Sandwiched between my morning walk and meditation was a hot cup of coffee complete with all the fixins (splenda, whipped cream, caramel, and pumpkin pie spice)!
After some quiet meditation, I prepped my lunch and made my breakfast. Soon after, I shaved my face and jumped in the shower, which I hadn’t done since last Tuesday (shaving that is). I was looking scruffy! I was ready to leave for work by 735am. I barely had enough time to play guitar but still did. Despite running short on personal time, I took a few sunrise pics with my new camera, too.
On my way to work I gave Mindy a call. We chatted for a few before I entered the building. She had some things she needed to share/discuss. The workday was about as light as I can recall in recent memory. And that was a welcome turn of events. Come lunch time, I was ready for a run. Again, it was cold (mid 20’s w/o wind chill) but I was well prepared and enjoyed it immensely. I returned from my run to attack my packed lunch. It was really tasty. I had a five vegetable salad with ranch dressing, sliced turkey served over a bed of fresh spinach, and a mix of fresh cantaloupe, strawberries, and pineapple. All good, and all healthy!
The afternoon went by without incident. At the end of the day, I contacted Mindy to confirm our plans for dinner at her home. I would try to make it to her house by 6pm. Before heading home, however, I stopped at Target to pick-up new batteries for Mindy’s keyless entry to her mini-van along with some new flannel boxers which I use as an under garment when running. I didn’t get home until 540pm. It was fairly obvious that I wouldn’t make it to Mindy’s by 6pm. I still had to prep tomorrow’s coffee, walk Ykraps, and possibly stop for gas. After finishing everything, I left the house at 610pm. I called Mindy to let her know I was on my way. She reported that everything was ready and in the warmer. We were having pork chops, salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, and sauerkraut. And because I requested the sauerkraut be prepared a certain way, she waited for me to do it. Along the way to Mindy’s I couldn’t pass up stopping for gas at the Walmart Shell station. Gas was only $1.99. That was cheap compared to everywhere else (avg. $2.25). I was at Mindy’s by 630pm. Everything smelt so, so good! Visiting Mindy was her good friend Lori and her son Jack. Lori used to live in Scioto Woods and was familiar with my house and reports having seen me a number of times running by her home. I had actually looked at buying a used Toyota Corolla from her and her hubby about 5 or 6 years ago.
Mindy already had the pan for the sauerkraut heating with olive oil on the stove. I simply open the package and dumped the kraut in to the pan and began frying it. I’d forgotten to drain it, though, so I had to improvise after the fact. I knew that if I didn’t somehow drain it, I wouldn’t achieve the desired browning and consistency I’d sought. I was successful. Dinner was ready in short order, and I must say, the pork chops were the BEST damn pork chops I have ever eaten. Mindy used minced garlic and rosemary in a shallow glass baking dish to prepare them. They were goooood Clark! And to complement the chops, Mindy’s mashed potatoes were excellent too! Needless to say, I filled up! And while Lori declined eating any food with us, she did join us at the table as we talked about all sorts of things. She’s a school teacher too, and it was somewhat interesting listening to the two of them exchange battle stories. You’d think these second and third graders were hardened criminals by listening to their banter. Instead, I’m sure they’re really a bunch of sweet and innocent youngsters that are misunderstood! J
After dinner wrapped up, I helped clean up the mess then went and played with the kids. They were engaged in what appeared to me to be dangerous acts of bravery. They were using the old coffee table in the lower level playroom as a slide with the love seat cushions doubling as sliding pads. I was certain someone would end up with a broken limb. Thankfully, that never happened. In the background we watched the original Charlie Brown Christmas special. The same one that was around when I was a kid. Very dry, very basic. Lot’s of biblical references which surprised me. The kids were not interested in the special in the least. After the “regular” Charlie Brown Xmas special, they had an extension of sorts that spotlighted each of the main characters. Weird!
Soon, Lori and her son left and Mindy prepped Bella and Jacob for bed. I picked up the playroom as they’d given it a real workout. But, that’s what kids do! And something I rarely if ever do, I continued to watch TV. Together we watched a show about a female president (Gena Davis & Donald Sutherland). It was admittedly very gripping. I left Mindy’s around 1030pm. I really wanted to do a few things at home before going to bed. I managed to do just that, a few things. I ended up going to bed at 1145pm.
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