Cookin' in the Creek

1) Bob #2 swingin' his irons
2) Gloria observing the party
3) Sun & Clouds
4) The Graduate (Danielle) with a Jacoby on her back

Right on plan, I was up at 5:30am ready to get on with my busy day. Based on the early hour, one might mistakenly think that this was a work day. I was up so early to facilitate a 9:07am tee-time at Cook’s Creek in Ashville (just south of Columbus on rt 23). Again, working backwards from our start time, I knew I had to be up at 5:30am to keep my routine in tact without jeopardizing the integrity of my morning. I spent the first 45 minutes exercising, walking Ykraps, and coffee-ing. I left for my run around 6:40am and returned at 7:15am. Wanting to leave the house at 8am, I moved to the shower with little dilly-dallying around. I was out of the shower and back downstairs by 7:40am. I spent the next 20 minutes loading the Trooper and making a breakfast sandwich and packing a snack. I hit the road right on schedule.

It was completely cloudy as I pulled away from the house. I could already tell that south of town it was clear. Once I made it around I-270 to Route 23 south the sky brightened significantly. And by the time I made it to South Bloomfield it was completely sunny – major mood enhancer! I arrived at Cook’s Creek at 8:25am. Chuck pulled in right behind me. By 8:45am Bob #2 was there. We were still waiting on Mr. Imber. We had our carts loaded and ready to go. He pulled up right in the nick of time. The starter called us to the tee at 9:07am on the nose. For whatever reason, I never like teeing off in front of strangers. I get nervous. And like many times before, I duffed it. Damn it! That sort of set the tone for the morning and afternoon. I was flip-flopping from eight’s to pars on the first few holes. But I never found my groove like I had hoped and expected to. The course was awesome – very tough design and very tricky. It’s nestled along the Scioto River and the Little Walnut Creek. There is a butt load of water and a host of hills and trees. I was most impressed with Bob Imber’s driving. He was effortlessly crushing his driver off the tee – long and straight. I’ve never been one to allow my golf, or lack there of, to get my goat, but around hole number 15 I got so fed up with my errant shots that I let off a few curse words much like a machine gun. I’ll bet I lost 10 balls through the course of the day. But lucky for me, I found about the same number. The pain ended after number 18. I gave Bob I. the three tomato plants (one Pink Girl and two First Lady’s) I had leftover. I took my 105 ass (I think) on home.

I called Mindy in route to home. She reported that Renee was coming over for lunch. She had cleaned house, grocery shopped, and mopped and vacuumed the floor. She did all of this while I toiled on the golf course. Somehow, though, I‘ll bet she had more fun than me! J I talked with Ashley next. She let me know that she found a new used car that meets her needs along with her budget. The kids were home from their weekend with dad by the time that I got there. Mindy & Renee were on the deck having their lunch. I headed right for the shower after slamming down a few small pieces of leftover pizza. After my shower I joined the two girls on the deck. We talked about a bunch of stuff before Renee readied to leave. While Mindy readied the kids for the graduation party I napped on the deck. I was suddenly overcome with sleepiness. I slept for only about ten minutes. We left for the party at 4:07pm. Our destination was located just past Oakhurst Country Club. The crowd gathered at the party looked much like the Sunday church crowd, in fact, it was. During the party, the sunny skies gave way to cloud cover and eventually some heavy rain driving the gathering indoors. I stayed under the canopy enjoying the quiet and the rain. We stayed at the party until about 6:30pm. By then the kids were getting cranky so we rounded them up and headed for home.

Once back home Jacob and Bella left with me to walk Ykraps, but I could sense that they weren’t fully committed to the usual walk. Jacob turned around at the bridge and Bella just a few paces further. They ended up playing in the shallow pond until I meandered back that way. While Mindy got the kids bathed, I took to fertilizing the lawn since the conditions were ideal. The weed & feed works best if the lawn is wet, and given that we just had a passing shower, I figured no time better than the present. After finishing, I took to watering the front yard flowers. I watered for about 20 minutes soaking everything really well.

The kids were excited about lighting off some fireworks. I got out some sparklers and bottle rockets and took to the deck. We had fun doing that for about 20 minutes. It was well past the kids’ bedtime. Mindy was insistent that they get to bed. I went in and got cleaned up before heading up to tuck in the kids. Mindy and I looked at the weekend’s pictures before retiring ourselves. It must’ve been 9:30 when we headed to bed.