Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Hot Hot Hot

Where the heart is... I woke again today right on time – 5:30am. It turns out that Bella woke up too and came down stairs to join me while I exercised. And when I went to leash up Ykraps she quickly jumped to her feet and insisted on joining me on our walk. She further insisted on holding the leash. OK! I am not used to having someone with me on my morning walks and certainly not by my side when I am whipping out the morning exercise routine. When we returned she went up stairs to join her momma in bed while I relaxed with a cup of coffee on the deck and did my morning meditation. I thought about Tiffany through it all, and most of day, for that matter. The thoughts were peaceful ones. I finished my morning routine like most days by capping it off with some guitar playing on the deck. It’s funny how the kids ask me to play the guitar each morning now. They actually look forward to our short family time each morning on the deck. Today I drove the Trooper. The work day was to be a special one. We planned to launch a new tool that’s capable of automating a very manually intensive process for us. I was responsible for seeing it through to launch. That went relatively well. Secondly, I finished filling out the 401K transfer forms and made plans to mail those off at lunch after my run. I’m finally transferring/consolidating my old Time Warner 401K into my new plan if for no other reason than simplifying my portfolio. Because of my planned errand, run time came a little earlier than normal. I left at 11:45am. Despite the earlier than usual departure, it was still hot. It was already 93 degrees with humidity nearing 70%. The heat index was well over 100 degrees. The last mile was gut wrenching and left me feeling a tad weak and weary. But once I was back inside the air conditioning and had a shower I was fine. I brought my keys to the gym so that I could head right for my car following the run. Probably because of the shower, I broke into a soaking sweat as soon as I got into the Trooper. By the time I got to the post office I began to cool. But still, my cotton polo shirt was soaked. After mailing the paperwork I headed over to my bank to deposit a couple of miscellaneous checks. Ten minutes later I was back at the office ready to finish my day. I made arrangements to have flowers sent to the funeral home tomorrow afternoon on behalf of Mindy, the kids and I. I also learned of the actual showing times from brother Tommy (2-4 & 6-8pm). In addition, there will be a graveside funeral on Thursday morning, exact time to be announced. As the day wound down I worked through a couple of sticky issues. Come 5:10pm, I made my way to the Trooper and eventually towards home. I took the back route once again, finding it much more peaceful and definitely more scenic. Tonight, we are entertaining Mindy’s nephew and mother. We’re cooking chicken strips and hot dogs on the grill. In addition, Mindy’s making her delicious fresh green beans, garden salads, and key lime pie. Because of all this prep, Mindy let me know that she hadn’t yet walked Ykraps. Quite frankly, I didn’t expect her to. I was happy to do it. The walk helps me unwind a little. After setting up the following morning’s coffee and soaking my lunch dishes, I left with Ykraps. And, yes, Bella went along too. Mindy’s nephew was already there visiting and had been since about 4pm. He had been playing with Jacob. When we returned from our walk, those two were just leaving to go pick-up Gloria. I decided to go outside and water the backyard flowers that were showing severe signs of stress from the intense heat. When I was through, I went in and played with Bella for a short amount of time in the playroom before firing up the grill. Just about that time, Mindy’s nephew, Joe returned with Gloria. Five minutes later I was outside cooking the meat, which we had marinated in pineapple orange juice, cumin, and other spices. It was 6:30pm and still very hot. I did what I could to find shade on the deck while tending to the grill. I kept a continuous supply of the marinate flowing over the meat while it cooked to ensure that it stayed moist and flavorful. By 6:45pm we were ready to eat. Mindy did an excellent job of preparing the table settings. We enjoyed the food and company for the next twenty minutes or so. After we cleaned up the dinner dishes, Mindy broke out the keylime pie. It was very delicious! By the time we had finished dessert and cleaned up the mess, it was nearly 7:40pm. Joe and Gloria prepared to depart. Just as they were walking out the door some friends of the family drove by and stopped for a visit. It was Donna Steve, who live on Inkster and Beaman Dr. I had never met them before. Mindy has known them since she was a wee one. We all visited for about ten minutes. When everyone finally departed, Mindy coaxed the kids inside for a bath and bedtime story. While they were getting bathed, I updated my blog. Soon, I was being beckoned to read the bedtime story. Tonight we continued in the Disney series, but this time about mysterious sea creatures. We read about ten pages when Mindy thought it might be a good place to stop. So, we marked the page and put the book aside. Soon both kids were tucked in and asleep. I went downstairs and found my way to my reading chair and book. I read about 5 or 6 pages before slipping off to sleep. I slept for only about ten minutes and woke by Mindy’s presence. I tuned into the Reds game. They were behind 9-4 in the eighth inning. I quickly turned it off. I decided to do some more reading. Mindy went up to bed even though it was only 9:30pm. At about 10pm I went up and joined her.

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