Ashley, Salsa, & Storms...again

I woke up Wednesday morning at 5:30am – right on time. I stumbled downstairs, took my vitamin, and began my exercise regiment. Too, I could easily see all the cloud cover out the deck door. Although it was cloudy, it wasn’t yet raining but it was expected to start anytime. Ykraps and I were fortunate enough to enjoy a dry walk. As soon as we returned from our walk I went straight to the garage to get the trash out of the large can since trash day had been moved to today. They always come by my home just after 6am like clock work. Mindy had given me instructions when I rolled out of bed not to wake her. She wasn’t going to school today due to her pregnancy, ahh, I mean illness. :) Truthfully, she’s got a sinus infection that’s carried over for a third week and the recent antibiotics she was taking didn’t help much, so now she’s on prednisone. I went about my morning with an even more casual approach than ever. Mindy didn’t need anything prepared, and I didn’t need to make my own lunch since we were having an Italian potluck at work. Consequently, I leisurely enjoyed some coffee, meditated, and then made some eggs. That’s about it. Mindy continued slumbering in bed while the kids defied any logic and were up running about the house well before they would normally be awake. Mindy still planned on dropping the kids at Grandma Sharon's while she gets some much needed rest. I took my shower and prepared to leave the house by 7:45am. Just as I was preparing to depart, the skies opened up and dumped oodles of rain. It rained so hard that I thought better of going outdoors for the moment. We even had some thunder. I waited for a few minutes and the rain did lessen some. My plan "B" was to exit out the garage giving me quicker access to the Trooper and less time in the downpour. It wasn't going to let up so that's what I did. I hugged Mindy goodbye and left for work through the garage. It rained all the way to work, and it was still pouring down when I made my way from the car to the building. I was hopeful that the weather would clear somewhat before my lunchtime run. I settled in at work and got lost within my tasks. And just like always, it was runtime before I knew it. Thankfully, the rain had stopped a little earlier leaving a window of opportunity for a dry run. I wore only shorts and my new running shirt. I was plenty warm. It was still 60 degrees. I talked with Mindy during the day - can't recall if it was before or after my run. Anyhow, she advised that Ashley called apparently very upset with Stephen who had called her to tell her he no longer wanted anything to do with her. In the meantime, here sits Ashley 8 and 3/4 months pregnant. Great! According to Mindy, Ashley was so upset she could hardly speak. Today, as it turned out, was also supposed to be her final doctor's appointment before the birth too. Mindy offered to come over and take her but Ashley declined. She said her best friend Brittany was taking her. Mindy asked her to call again later and perhaps go to lunch. She did and they did. Without question, I'm certain Mindy gave her some sound advice. Advice similar to what I might have intimated only with a softer, kinder, gentler spin. Bottom line, I never once accused Stephen of being a "character guy". He's a young, lost slacker, who has no sense of accountability. Sadly, this is probably best for everyone including baby Olivia. I just don't like the idea of this added stress on an already stressful situation. I am also grateful that Ashley called Mindy for advice instead of someone else. The afternoon passed with little activity different than any other day. Soon it was 515pm and I was ready to head for home. I headed home to a Mindy Wednesday. The kids were with their daddy like most other Wednesday's. Along my drive home it began to sprinkle a little. Colder weather was predicted for later tonight. After walking Ykraps and completing a few other chores I prepared Mindy a bowl of chicken broth with some added touches. I was still full from the potluck. About then we heard what sounded like tornado sirens. It was only a week earlier, last Wednesday when we last heard them. The results are well documented. Mindy checked the doors and validated the tornado sirens. I tuned into the weather radar, and sure enough, there was a tornado warming for Franklin County including Valleyview, Grove City, New Albany, etc.. This time, luckily, we were spared. Others were not. A tornado hit in both Westerville and Grove City. Not only was it rare for it to happen two Wednesday's in a row but for it to happen twice in October is even more rare. Our skies brightened while we could see darker skies south and east. Once again, Mindy phoned her ex to check on the well-being of her children. They were fine. They arrived home sometime near 7pm - just when the warnings expired. Mindy asked if I would care to give the kids their bath since she continued feeling like shit. I agreed. By 8pm they had their baths and were tucked into bed. We never heard another peep. Downstairs, I decided tonight was the night to finally make salsa. I have had peppers and 'maters picked and ready for over two weeks. I used Mindy's manual chopper for the slice and dice part. It worked even better than my electric mini-chopper. Fifteen minutes later I had a batch of salsa - a combination of 'maters, bell peppers, California peppers, red chili peppers, habanera peppers, red onions, lime juice, and vinegar. I broke the batch into three containers and froze the two smaller ones, remembering how I had to throw out so much last year and the same the year prior. Having it frozen will likely guarantee fresh salsa into winter. After I finished cleaning up, which took as long or longer than making salsa, I relaxed by the fire I built for Mindy with a honey raspberry ale and a bowl of popcorn. After some snuggling, Mindy dashed off to bed at about 9:25pm. I chose to stay up and watch some of the ALCS as well as begin reading my new Deepak Chopra book. As always, I read and dosed, read and dosed. I went to bed at 10:30pm.