It was about 7:30am when I jumped out of bed and peered out the window overlooking my front lawn. I knew instantly that it was a bit chilly as evidenced by the light coat of frost present on the roofs of nearby houses. However, it was accompanied by bright sunlight, leaving little doubt that Sunday would be a great day weather-wise.
I already felt ahead of schedule since I was up almost 2 full hours earlier than I was on Saturday. That was a good thing since we had to get moving pretty quickly. As I often do, I hadn’t programmed the coffee maker but did have it ready for action. Before beginning my morning exercises I took my vitamin and turned the coffee maker to ‘on’.
After exercises, which went fast and easy, Mindy and I sat down for some coffee while quickly reviewing the day's plan. Mindy would be in somewhat of a hurry, needing to leave my house around 10:15am if she were to be at church on time, and I had to run. To that end, Mindy agreed to shower and begin breakfast while I indulged myself with a run.
The run went well as the sun quickly warmed the frigid morning air. After my run I returned to a house smelling like maple sausage and chocolate muffins. It was wonderful! Time was quickly slipping away though, and I detected that Mindy was a little rattled with trying to make breakfast while at the same time readying herself for church. I took over the breakfast prep so she could finish dressing. It all worked out. We had just enough time to enjoy a hearty breakfast before she had to boogie. She left right at 10:15am.
I finished cleaning up after breakfast then took a few minutes to plan my home activities for the next couple of hours. I worked on my three year old Toro weed eater, trying to get it started one more time before taking it in to a professional for repairs. It occurred to me that I might be smothering the engine with a stronger than recommended oil/fuel mixture. So, I drained it and replaced the mixture with plain ol' gas. It started straight up. Hopefully it’ll continue to perform that well. That was a load off my mind! Next, I moved on to repairing my post light fixture that has been broken for a couple of years. I had to drill out the old rusted parts in hopes of inserting new parts. That was successful, which eliminated the need to spend a couple hundred bucks replacing all four of my front light fixtures ( 1 post, 1 porch, and 2 garage coaches). However, one of the replacement parts I bought was too short. I’d have to continue/finish the repair effort Monday after work. Next, I finally got around to reattaching my hose reel to the hot tub deck and winding the hose back up that I had left coiled on the deck all fall and winter. It looks so much tidier out there with that done! All and all, I felt really good about what I accomplished in the limited time I had allotted. It makes a difference when you have a list of clear cut objectives.
It was nearly 12:30pm and I had to get moving with phase three of my day which included showering and readying for Jacob’s birthday party. Mindy had requested that I show up a half hour early – around 1:30pm. I made sure to grab my baseball glove in hopes that Jacob would like his gift so much that he’d want to throw/play b-ball later in the day. I grabbed the ice that I was asked to bring, my camera, and headed that way. I arrived just after 1:30pm. Mindy’s ex-husband, Jim, and her mother were already there. I had already met her ex a couple weeks earlier at Gloria’s so there was no discomfort. In fact, I like him. After all, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have my princess!
I helped best I could to finish getting everything ready. Mindy did a wonderful job, as she always does, laying out quite a spread and decorating. Soon guests large and small, young and old, family and friends began arriving in droves. At some point I heard Mindy mention that there were 41 guests present and accounted for. For the next two hours everyone interacted and had a good time doing so. As an extension of the party, I was able to meet some of Mindy’s friends I hadn’t yet met. They were all very warm and friendly. Even though all were invited to stay for dinner, few accepted. Mindy had made lasagna and salad. I failed to mention that Jacob cleaned up with birthday presents. It was a pile that rivaled any Christmas haul. And you know what else? I think he liked mine best! It’s no wonder, though. I got him firecrackers, a real gun, and some low alcohol beer. KIDDING!
After most of his friends left, I asked Jacob if he wanted to play some ball out back. He did. We went out and tried out all of his new baseball stuff. He did really well once again. The only folks that remained at Mindy’s after about 5:30pm were Teri and Scott, two of Mindy’s closet pals, and their son, dig this name, Mossimo. We walked to the park at the end of her street where the kids planned to play some baseball. But what should have come as little surprise, they only played b-ball for about 5 minutes and abruptly stopped in favor of running around playing. We stayed down there for about 30 minutes but went home quickly after Bella cut her finger. Back at Mindy’s every one helped play clean-up. Bella wanted to watch a movie in Jacob’s room so I took her up and snuck in a short nap. After about thirty minutes we went back down stairs to wish Teri and Scott well. After the had gone Mindy readied her kids for bed. After helping to get them settled I readied for home myself. I was, after all, still a tad weak from the cold symptoms I developed last Wednesday. I was home by 9pm and quickly tended to Ykraps’ needs. He hadn’t been out since around 8am. After some puttering around the house I put on my pajammas, grabbed some water and my book, and headed off to bed in hopes of a restful night’s sleep.
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It was about 7:30am when I jumped out of bed and peered out the window overlooking my front lawn. I knew instantly that it was a bit chilly as evidenced by the light coat of frost present on the roofs of nearby houses. However, it was accompanied by bright sunlight, leaving little doubt that Sunday would be a great day weather-wise.
I already felt ahead of schedule since I was up almost 2 full hours earlier than I was on Saturday. That was a good thing since we had to get moving pretty quickly. As I often do, I hadn’t programmed the coffee maker but did have it ready for action. Before beginning my morning exercises I took my vitamin and turned the coffee maker to ‘on’.
After exercises, which went fast and easy, Mindy and I sat down for some coffee while quickly reviewing the day's plan. Mindy would be in somewhat of a hurry, needing to leave my house around 10:15am if she were to be at church on time, and I had to run. To that end, Mindy agreed to shower and begin breakfast while I indulged myself with a run.
The run went well as the sun quickly warmed the frigid morning air. After my run I returned to a house smelling like maple sausage and chocolate muffins. It was wonderful! Time was quickly slipping away though, and I detected that Mindy was a little rattled with trying to make breakfast while at the same time readying herself for church. I took over the breakfast prep so she could finish dressing. It all worked out. We had just enough time to enjoy a hearty breakfast before she had to boogie. She left right at 10:15am.
I finished cleaning up after breakfast then took a few minutes to plan my home activities for the next couple of hours. I worked on my three year old Toro weed eater, trying to get it started one more time before taking it in to a professional for repairs. It occurred to me that I might be smothering the engine with a stronger than recommended oil/fuel mixture. So, I drained it and replaced the mixture with plain ol' gas. It started straight up. Hopefully it’ll continue to perform that well. That was a load off my mind! Next, I moved on to repairing my post light fixture that has been broken for a couple of years. I had to drill out the old rusted parts in hopes of inserting new parts. That was successful, which eliminated the need to spend a couple hundred bucks replacing all four of my front light fixtures ( 1 post, 1 porch, and 2 garage coaches). However, one of the replacement parts I bought was too short. I’d have to continue/finish the repair effort Monday after work. Next, I finally got around to reattaching my hose reel to the hot tub deck and winding the hose back up that I had left coiled on the deck all fall and winter. It looks so much tidier out there with that done! All and all, I felt really good about what I accomplished in the limited time I had allotted. It makes a difference when you have a list of clear cut objectives.
It was nearly 12:30pm and I had to get moving with phase three of my day which included showering and readying for Jacob’s birthday party. Mindy had requested that I show up a half hour early – around 1:30pm. I made sure to grab my baseball glove in hopes that Jacob would like his gift so much that he’d want to throw/play b-ball later in the day. I grabbed the ice that I was asked to bring, my camera, and headed that way. I arrived just after 1:30pm. Mindy’s ex-husband, Jim, and her mother were already there. I had already met her ex a couple weeks earlier at Gloria’s so there was no discomfort. In fact, I like him. After all, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have my princess!
I helped best I could to finish getting everything ready. Mindy did a wonderful job, as she always does, laying out quite a spread and decorating. Soon guests large and small, young and old, family and friends began arriving in droves. At some point I heard Mindy mention that there were 41 guests present and accounted for. For the next two hours everyone interacted and had a good time doing so. As an extension of the party, I was able to meet some of Mindy’s friends I hadn’t yet met. They were all very warm and friendly. Even though all were invited to stay for dinner, few accepted. Mindy had made lasagna and salad. I failed to mention that Jacob cleaned up with birthday presents. It was a pile that rivaled any Christmas haul. And you know what else? I think he liked mine best! It’s no wonder, though. I got him firecrackers, a real gun, and some low alcohol beer. KIDDING!
After most of his friends left, I asked Jacob if he wanted to play some ball out back. He did. We went out and tried out all of his new baseball stuff. He did really well once again. The only folks that remained at Mindy’s after about 5:30pm were Teri and Scott, two of Mindy’s closet pals, and their son, dig this name, Mossimo. We walked to the park at the end of her street where the kids planned to play some baseball. But what should have come as little surprise, they only played b-ball for about 5 minutes and abruptly stopped in favor of running around playing. We stayed down there for about 30 minutes but went home quickly after Bella cut her finger. Back at Mindy’s every one helped play clean-up. Bella wanted to watch a movie in Jacob’s room so I took her up and snuck in a short nap. After about thirty minutes we went back down stairs to wish Teri and Scott well. After the had gone Mindy readied her kids for bed. After helping to get them settled I readied for home myself. I was, after all, still a tad weak from the cold symptoms I developed last Wednesday. I was home by 9pm and quickly tended to Ykraps’ needs. He hadn’t been out since around 8am. After some puttering around the house I put on my pajammas, grabbed some water and my book, and headed off to bed in hopes of a restful night’s sleep.
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