Dad's 70th Birthday!

I woke last night to the sound of thunder … No, not really! I got up at 545am. That wasn’t too bad considering I didn’t go to sleep the night prior until almost midnight. And the first thing I noticed when I rose was the big bright beautiful moon shining in through the aptly named half moon window in my master bedroom. And yes, I am the master, too. Once on my feet I relieved myself, brush my teeth, then headed down stairs to begin my morning. And what has become somewhat customary, the first thing I did was plug in my Xmas tree and give it a drink of water. In no time at all, I whipped out my exercises then bundled up in hat, gloves, boots, and parka for a walk out of doors with Ykraps. We had a jolly little stroll about the snow and ice. It was so cold outside that just the thought of a fresh cup of coffee was never more appealing. Upon my return I loaded up a mug with all the fixins’. After my morning meditation, I checked the temperature on the weather bug. It was reported to be 6 degrees! I thought it felt cold outside. As I prepped lunch and made my breakfast I did a mental walk through of my entire day. First of all, work should be rather easy as it generally is slow the week before and after Xmas. And my run, I thought, would be that much more comfortable if I added that extra upper layer to my gym bag (total of 4). After work I would be heading directly home to ready myself for dad’s birthday gathering at aunt Char’s home (it’s her b-day too along with my late Grandma Wright’s). All three were born on December 19th. That’s how it all unfolded too. It was a whopping 11 degrees when I left for my run. That extra layer did the trick. I wasn’t cold at all. In fact, if anything, I was just a tad warm especially on the return where I had the bitter winter wind at my back. Work was as slow as it’s been in an awfully long time. I like days like that. I deserve a few of those! At 505pm I hit the door and headed for home. I was in the garage by 522pm. I quickly but patiently went about my usual evening routine. After walking Ykraps I phoned Mindy to determine her ETA. She was reported to be leaving her home in 5 minutes. It was 540pm. I spent the next 15 minutes writing out three b-day cards (Dad, Char, and Sheila) and wrapping three token gifts. Ding-dong! Mindy arrived. She helped me finish up the wrapping. We spent the next ten minutes looking at the pics from our weekend via a slide show. We had time to kill because we were waiting on Tommy to arrive. He was planning on carpooling with us to Aunt Char’s. He showed up around 630pm. We chit chatted for a few then prepped ourselves for departure. The gathering began around 6pm but we didn’t leave my house until almost 7pm. Char’s house is only minutes from mine so we were there in short order. Present already were Dad, cousin Brian and his live in girlfriend Kimberly, Tawny, Char, and Bunky. I introduced Mindy to those present since they hadn’t met her before (everyone but my dad – he’d met her at Tommy’s Halloween party). Soon brother Bobby and his three youngest arrived without April (hmmm). We hung out and shared stories for about an hour and one half. Just before we were prepping to depart, Char’s oldest daughter, Misty arrived with her gal pal Alexis. Since it was a school night, Tommy, Mindy and I were ready to call it a day. We said our good-byes and left. Back at my house we all decided to have a drink. Tom and I had a beer, Mindy had water. In addition, I heated the leftovers from Mitchell’s for Mindy. I had leftover pizza from my mom’s b-day party. After his beer, Tommy left. We’ll see him again Saturday night at brother Bob’s. Mindy and I hung out until she had to leave. That was approximately 10pm. I quickly went about blogging and surfing. I felt a sudden urge to sleep and even fell asleep for a few minutes at my PC. That little nap gave me a new lease on what little time was left of the evening. I stayed up until midnight screwing around on the PC and playing guitar. I’m getting’ good!