Hey, is that you?

1) beautiful sunrise 2)dit-dot (lower righthand corner) Glenn's plane departing Columbus' skyline 3) Another zoom shot of his plane in flight 4) A Firkin Friday - Cherry Porter - I only had a taste via tester 5) Our new coffee maker in use 6) Lil' Rocky reclining Friday came fast. Any other week I would've been full of anticipation for this day to come, but because this was a holiday vacation week, it was anticlimatic. Even still, the early morning was lovely and the sunrise to die for. And once again, the high temperature was expected to climb well into the fifties with oodles of sunshine to support that endeavor. I made quick work of my morning routine after rising around 7am. I had to be up early because Lil' Rocky would be coming over around 7:30am. I found a little solace in my walk with Ykraps before the busy day began. We took our time and enjoyed all of the scenery. There was plenty of local wildlife milling about full of energy as if it were spring. Perfect timing. As soon as we returned, Lindsey arrived with Rocky. She brought along his brand new min-recliner. Lindsey left in a flash needing to scurry onto work. The first thing Rocky asked for was Bella and Jacob. I heard them stirring upstairs, so I knew it was just a matter of time before they'd all be up and playing. That time was now! Everyone was downstairs playing within minutes. Mindy got up too. We all enjoyed our early morning together although Bella was already being a "pistol", to use her mother's expression (very whiny & very needy). But anytime you combine a three, a four and a six, you're gonna have some issues. Mindy's close friend Teri and her son Massimo were planning to come over this morning for a play date. She called shortly after 8:15am to let us know that they were on their way. I took that as my queue to get on with my morning run. Before leaving on my run, I took notice of the time. It was 8:35am. Glenn's plane was scheduled to depart CMH at 8:30am. I figured I had a chance of seeing his plane since the skies were clear, so I took my camera outdoors. At first no plane, but as I zoomed in for a pic of a pine cone high in the White Pine out front, a departing Southwest jet appeared just overhead. I figured that to be his flight. I snapped a couple of photos while pondering the significance. Number one, it contained my brother, and number two, just how quickly he came and went. The holiday week flew by. I have run the Trabue route all week and did again today. It was a very nice run. Save for the low hanging sun, it didn't seem at all like winter. As I rounded the curve for home I could see that Teri was not yet at our home. Back inside, Mindy was waiting for me to return so that she could grab a shower. Apparently she didn't feel comfortable showering with all three kids on the prowl. I don't blame her. While Mindy was showering, Teri and Massimo arrived. She brought with her coffee for everyone along with some Tim Bits (donut holes). Apparently that's a tradition whenever she visits. I kept her company while Mindy finished dressing. Teri is a bit like Mindy. She can talk up a storm! Mindy was down from her shower in no time flat. While the kids played together, the two women talked and walked around the house. That allowed me to spend some quality time catching up my blog which has been lagging about three days behind all week. I had forgotten, but Mindy had an 11am doctor's appointment in Grove City. She left Teri at home with me and the kids. I was a tad nervous since I don't know her all that well. We talked the entire time, however, and before we knew it, Mindy phoned to let us know that she was already in route home. Mindy was very concerned with the water she has been retaining since Sunday. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it hadn't been for her bout with Cardiomyopathy just after Jacob's birth six-plus years ago. Retaining water can be a symptom of heart issues, thus her concern. Along with retaining water, she was feeling over tired and sore, too. They took blood samples and would call with results on Saturday. In the meantime they gave her a prescription for Lasix- a commonly used diuretic. And because the sudden loss of body water can also deplete your potassium levels, they gave her a prescription for that, too. Geesh!!! Within an hour of arriving home she was peeing up a storm and reported dropping about 4lbs. by evening. Lindsey arrived to pick-up the Rockmister a little after 4pm. He was pretty good again today. I love having him here with us. After he left I took to the reading chair, which now resides in the formal living room and has throughout the holidays. I began reading my latest Deepak book, Life After Death. After reading the intro, I took a short nap. To my chagrin, the kids were attracted to the livingroom for whatever reason. Being sleepy, this annoyed me. I sought refuge in my room where I could read and nap even more. After about twenty minutes, I decided to get up and get cracking on my coat rack project. The paint was dry so I mounted all ten of the nickel hooks. That didn't take too long. Ashley was due to arrive somewhere near 6:30pm. She was pretty much right on time. She was here to watch the kids while Mindy and I went to Barley's for a spell. We visited with her and Olivia for about 30 minutes. Olivia was such a joy. I played with her all the while Mindy changed for a night out. We left for Barley's around 7pm - earlier than usual by an hour. The bar wasn't very crowded, and I didn't expect it to be given the "tweener" week. Jeremy and Courtney were there, however, so we hung with them. Mindy wasn't drinking for obvious reasons. In fact, we took separate cars just in case she needed/wanted to depart early. I felt I needed a night out. We hung out for about 2.5-3 hours and ate dinner in the process. I had quesadillas and Mindy had tuna. I had three beers: a Barley's Xmas ale, a Bell's Hopslam (very hoppy), and a cask conditioned Kiss My Bitter Ass IPA. We left for home just before 10pm. At home we played with Olivia before she left. She was watching MTV when we arrived. She seemed mesmerized with TV. That's scary, but that's the world we live in. She cooed and talked to me in baby speak which I find absolutely amazing. You see by looking into her eyes that she's trying to communicate. She's just so damn adorable! They left around 10:30pm. We paid Ashley $20 for watching the kids. Mindy went to bed ten minutes later. I stayed up working on the coat hook (removed the small-old one), reading, and watching TV. The lead story tonight was the execution of Saddam Hussein. And as one might expect, the press was having a heyday with the story. For a number of reasons, I couldn't get to sleep so I got up and read some more and watched even more TV.