Feelin' Forty-Six

Tom & Charles embracing. Ykraps looks bored but in reality he's just contemplating where he might leisure next given that his favorite spots have been out of reach since the "new people" moved in. I definitely feel 46, and very thankful for my anti-inflammatory’s. Without them, I would’ve had a miserable night’s sleep to be sure. After moving three refrigerators, two washers, one dryer, a freezer, and countless other large pieces of furniture I am sore. My arms, shoulders, and legs were stiff and overworked. The simple task of going upstairs was enough to remind me of how overworked my body was. I was surprised that I was able to run without discomfort, but I’d guess those major muscles are not the same ones strained during the moving. I woke late – it was after 6:00am. And while I was still stiff, I was better than anticipated. Those pills work! I got down to the business of exercising in short order. By 6:30am I had completed the entire gamut of exercises and was out the door with Ykraps. Upon my return, I was looking very forward to a hot cup of coffee to help take the edge off. After my coffee I ventured onto the deck to bask in the sunshine and to meditate. I wasn’t out there long before Bella came out to join me. She sat quietly beside me, but only for short time. Soon, she popped up and headed back inside. When I followed, she asked for something to eat. She requested a fruit roll-up. I obliged, but also realize that they’re nothing more than candy. I checked the ice maker in the new fridge. It was working well. We had a fresh batch of ice waiting in the storage container. Cool! I went about making my lunch and breakfast next. It took much less time since Mindy was nice enough to cut up some celery, broccoli and cauliflower the day before. And what’s become the exception, I ate my breakfast at the PC while reading the Daily OM and catching up on the Yahoo headlines. Soon, I was upstairs showering and dressing. After my shower I noticed that both kids were in bed with Mindy watching television. I am still getting used to that. Because I had gotten up so late, I didn’t take anytime ‘Jimmy time’ to play guitar. After all, it was already almost 8am – the time I usually arrive at work. I planned to drive to the BM’er since my Trooper was attached to the boat. It was going to be a nice day anyhow with temps approaching 90 degrees and just a chance of afternoon showers. It was Monday at work and it definitely seemed as such. The first thing I did after settling in was check the status of the tickets and escalations I dealt with all weekend. Things, it appeared, had fallen into place rather nicely. As noon approached, I planned my afternoon run to take place around 12:30pm. I didn’t want to wait too long since it was heating up fast. By 12:30 it was 87 degrees with a heat index of 93 degrees. The humidity was a balmy 70%. Even though that is warm and close, it’s just a typical central Ohio summer afternoon. I would be able to handle that just fine and did. The run was uneventful. The most significant issue was that the sun disappeared behind thin cloud cover. The clouds reminded me that I should take time to raise the top on the BM’er after I showered. After all, I didn’t want to take the chance of it raining in my car mid-afternoon while I was inside all caught up in a work related issue. The afternoon went by briskly. Soon it was 5pm EDT – time to head home. I noticed when I went to my car that a few sprinkles had fallen, but nothing significant. Before heading directly home, I stopped at Home Depot to return the defective ice maker kit I had purchased Sunday afternoon. The Home Depot clerk asked if I wanted an exchange. I opted for a refund instead since we reused the old line and it appeared to be working flawlessly. Homeward! I took the back way home down Old Dublin Rd. Even with the stop at H.D. I pulled up at home by 5:30pm. I saw Mindy walking Ykraps just up ahead as I turned into the driveway. Quickly, I went about prepping tomorrow’s coffee, soaking my lunch containers, and changing clothes. I was ready to relax by the time Mindy made it back. She was surprised that I was home. She confirmed what I suspected; it had rained extremely hard at our house. I was pleased to learn that since the lawn and flowers were showing signs of severe stress. We haven’t had any appreciable rain fall since July 27th. And even though we got the heavy rain, the sky was clearing now and the sun shining. I would be able to wash the boat just as I had hoped. I asked Mindy if she wanted to help me wash the boat. She wanted to eat. We talked about making chicken wings but decided to hold off until after the boat washing. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about checking them repetitively. Mindy agreed to take the inside while I did the outside. What troubled me were the countless red spots that accumulated on the white of the boat during our last camp trip. And what’s more, they didn’t seem to want to come off by conventional means. We went about our task of scrubbing the boat. Mindy suggested perhaps we try the Clorox cleaner with bleach. I was reluctant not wanting to apply anything with bleach on the fiberglass. Instead, I went and got the rubbing compound I bought last summer to remove some of the chalking. To my surprise, the rubbing compound didn’t fully remove the stains either. Damn! I have no idea what the hell it is. The only thing I can think is that it was some sort of insect droppings or blood. Giving in, I went in and got the Clorox cleaner. It said it was safe for fiberglass. I sprayed it on a spot where I had already tried rubbing compound. After setting for a few, it took it right off! I was pleased. We went ahead and used it elsewhere. In hindsight, I probably should’ve waxed the boat in early June. As we finished up, the boat began looking good once more. The finishing touches included Mindy vacuuming and me Windexing the glass. I was pleased with the results of our efforts. By the time we had put everything away it was 7:00pm. The kids would be home by 8pm. Even still, Mindy decided that she’d come along with me to take the boat back to storage. That went well. We were back before 7:45pm. And even though we were early, Jim was waiting in the driveway with the kids when we pulled up back home. We went inside, Mindy hustled the kids upstairs for baths while I caught up on my blog. It’s probably worth mentioning that I just hit my one year blog anniversary without missing a day’s worth of action. There is at least some account from each day of the year – some more than others. J It began, as I recall, with our 2005 family camping trip (August 5-7). After updating my blog I was beckoned to the kids rooms so I could red them their bedtime story. I think the book was Barnyard Dance. Mindy and I had considered hanging the mirror over the sofa table tonight, but she was just as happy with me clearing the clutter she had organized or pulled from two of the four master bathroom vanity drawers. I had to laugh seeing what I had stuffed in those drawers. I had no need for space so I used it foolishly. Inside were concert ticket stubs, old business cards, coins, trinkets from my pockets, and old receipts (mostly clothes). When done, I had whittled the large pile down to a new wallet that I never used and a small stack of keep sakes. We never did make any dinner. It was now after 9pm. Mindy really wanted to cook something but I didn’t want the hassle. So, I ate leftover Minnelli’s pizza, and Mindy ate leftover stuffed peppers (mangos) – none of which is low-carb. After we ate I took another anti-inflammatory and then headed upstairs for a quick shower since I stunk from all the sweating washing the boat. In the meantime, Mindy read my blog. After my shower I read in bed until Mindy joined me about fifteen minutes later.