Winter Goals ... all but done

The bedroom clock said 8:05am, but since it was thirty minutes fast I knew that it was really 8:35am. It was really 8:35am because of daylight savings time’s return. As much as I prefer the longer evening light, I often dread the return for the difficulty in waking. Plus, this year having it three weeks early seems so strange. Talk about being thrust from the grips of winter right into spring!

I had placed fresh water in the coffee maker but had purposely left the coffee out – not wanting it to set needlessly overnight. The only trouble with that was I didn’t suspend the auto brew feature so we had a pot of steaming hot water for the ready. Not fully convinced it was hot (don’t’ know what I was thinking) I poured some over my hand as I dumped it into the sink. Ouch! Yes, I burnt my fingers! Soon, a new batch of coffee was on the horizon.

I whipped out my sit-ups, push-ups, and curls. I was out the door with Ykraps.before 9am. The morning was beautiful. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But there was a thin layer of frost about the lawn and covering the windows of my Trooper. It was chilly. Mindy expressed an interest in me attending church along with her but I declined, wanting instead to fetch the plywood and finish the shelving project mid-afternoon. She understood and dropped it.

Because of daylight savings time, it felt as though the morning was flying by. It was 9:45am before we knew it. Mindy begged off to the shower and I readied for a run. I asked if we could swap vehicle to make picking up the ply wood easier. She was more than willing. I would simply hope to avoid anyone I knew for her van being so incredibly filthy! I left for my run by 9:50am. I kept today’s run inside the subdivision for no other reason than change. It was a lovely run with music filling my ears. As I rounded third and was heading for home, I happened upon Mindy darting off to church. She stopped the Trooper and waved me over. She asked if I had been in the Trooper rummaging for anything. I had not. Then someone broke in, she stated, because she found the glove box open and all the storage cubbies contents strew about the vehicle. Nothing was missing, however. We both surmised that something must have spooked them away and that we must have inadvertently left it unlocked. I felt blessed to have nothing missing.

She went on and I ran the rest of the way home. Before going in the house I surveyed the drive looking for any clues of forced entry, but found nothing. I made quick work of breakfast and began sorting through my day. I had to make a cheesecake for later at Gloria’s and had to run to Home Depot to get plywood. In the end I decided it best to get the cheesecake in the oven before setting out on my journey. My decision was based mostly on the length of time the cheesecake needs to cool after baking.

It took almost an hour to get the cheesecake oven ready. Before placing it in I made sure I was well prepared for my trip to Home Depot. I needed to ensure that I’d be home before the one hour timer expired. I left for Home Depot and was there in a hurry (about ten minutes). And because I am blessed, I found the plywood I wanted for a more than reasonable price, found an attentive employee to make the necessary cuts, and was on my way after spending only 15 minutes, tops, in the store. I had them cut one 4x8 sheet in half making two 2x8 sheets. The other I had them rip like the first but then make cuts at 55” and another at 32”. If my calculations were correct, the pieces would fit on the shelf framing like a puzzle, and would require nothing but fastening with screws. I loaded the plywood pieces in the minivan and left for home. I was back sometime near 12:40pm. A quick check of the timer revealed 19 more minutes of bake time. Mindy pulled up the same time I did and offered to help carry the plywood. I did it myself. I made three trips, carrying each piece to its actual place on the framing. After I got it all unloaded, I turned my attention towards the cheesecake until it was out of the oven. I let it cool in the rack for a short while then placed it up on the stove where it needed to set for 30 minutes before refrigerating. I went to the basement to finish the shelves.

I fastened the plywood shelving in about fifteen minutes. I spent the next 45 minutes making the braces/legs for added support/strength. An hour or so later I had finished the project to design. Perfecto! I felt a sense of accomplishment as I wrapped up. My goal was to have the project done before the nice weather hit & I was successful. The only remaining major “winter” goal is to complete my tax return!

The kids arrived home from their weekend with dad around the usual 3pm. Jacob, as we already knew, was very sick. Apparently he’d been throwing up and had a fever. He didn’t look too good. Bella, on the other hand, was fine. The afternoon sunshine was strong and warmed things considerably, although it was only about 55 degrees. We hung out and played on the deck.

Around 3:30pm I topped the somewhat chilled cheesecake and placed it back in the fridge. It looked awesome! Everyone’s bringing a dish to Gloria’s. We were in charge of dessert. I took a shower and was ready for dinner at Gloria’s by 3:50pm. We left just after 4pm.

We arrived around 4:15pm. Craig & Jeff were already there. We hadn’t seen them in nearly three weeks, or since the “Family Feud” incident. They just returned from an eight day trip to St Barts, where they rubbed elbows with the likes of Ashley Judd, Jimmy Buffett, and Nicole Kidman. They told of a fabulous time. Jody, Larry, Lynn, and Joe soon arrived. They waited until halftime of the Big Ten championship game to come over. But we already figured as much. I hadn’t seen them for three weeks either, although Mindy had. Finally, everyone planning to attend was present.

Many of the dishes needed to be heated so we didn’t eat until almost 5pm. As a main course, we were finally having that baked chicken Gloria once cooked all day in a non-working oven (that’s the day we fetched pizzas last minute). Jody made corn pudding, Jeff made potato casserole, and someone else made scalloped potatoes. Everything was very delicious! After dinner Jacob convinced me to go out back and play a little basketball. We didn’t play too long because after he took a pass in the gut he returned to the house in tears. Oops! After all, He was still under the weather.

Back inside Mindy got dessert ready for everyone. It was good too, although the cheesecake wasn’t completely set and cooled. It really requires setting/chilling overnight. After dessert everyone retired to the living room until Bella had a bit of a meltdown. After a few minutes Mindy was convinced we needed to go. I tried to calm Bella but she was beyond repair for the time being. We opted to depart.

Even though it was already 7pm it was still very bright. The minute we got home I took Ykraps on his evening walk. He was more than eager to go. When we returned, Mindy was already getting the children into bed. After a family tuck, Mindy and I settled in the living room wing chairs where we talked a long while. We made calls to my dad, Lindsey, Ashley, Pat & Lisa, and then Tommy. Most notably, my dad reported Sheila still being in the hospital trying to gain enough strength to be moved to rehab.

Mindy headed to bed around 9:30pm. I read for short while before heading up myself.