Verbose

I was up at 5:35am – just before the coffee maker beeped to alert us of ready coffee. Never a bad way to wake! I happily tucked my toes under the lip of the sofa and effortlessly whipped out 55 sit-ups. After a short breather, I dropped like a soldier and did 50 push-ups, once again with little effort. I rested only briefly before engaging 25lb dumbbells for a set of 40 curls. It’s how I start each morning. Somehow, after it’s done, I feel ready to face whatever challenge the day has to offer.

Ykraps was waiting patiently by the front door as he often does. He seems to take his queue from my set of curls. I’ve tried to complete them almost in silence wondering how he senses such activity. Somehow, regardless of how sneaky I am, I can hear him draw to attention once I begin – even if I take an unusually long break between push-ups and curls. Sadly, these are the type of things I contemplate between 5:30 & 6:00am each morning.

Our walk was pleasant. I can’t help but notice with each passing day the shroud of darkness that usually protects us from viewing is slowly evaporating into summer’s early dawn. But for me, that’s good news! I am a summer kinda guy. Our walk ended at the specified time of 6:05am. I proceeded to make coffee and deliver Mindy’s bedside. I sensed that Mindy was a bit irritated with me for being a poor listener/communicator the night before. Just the same, I sat her coffee on the night stand and gave her a peck on the cheek and went about the rest of my morning routine.

Packing our lunches was easy. I needed to pack only nuts and fruit. Mindy was taking some leftover pork roast and I was hoping to go to lunch with work buddies – perhaps Chipotles. I made our usual bacon and cheese omelet along with cut fruit for breakfast. The kids we in good moods making our family time all the more pleasant. They departed around 7:20am. For whatever reason, Mindy still seemed a little steamed. She waved good bye with only one finger. I shrugged it off and headed to the shower. After ll, it was Friday!

After a quick, I slipped into my favorite jeans and black t-shirt. I was ready for the day. I opted once again to not drive the BM’er thinking all along that I might want the Trooper so that I could make a stop at Straders. I arrived at work at 8:03am. The flood gates opened quickly. My morning was filled with oodles of activity. I worked very, very hard. My lunch plans went south when my buddy informed me that he was working from home. I didn’t mind so much. Instead of lunching with the guys, I decided to go to Strader’s after my run. I purposefully left for my run about fifteen minutes early to facilitate that idea.

My run was pleasant. The temps hovered around 74 degrees. Couldn’t have been nicer. I listened to CD #4 of Beyond Belief. I returned from my run a new man. After a fast shower I jumped in the Trooper and dashed off to Strader’s – a visit each year I look forward as much as Xmas. Along the way I returned a call to my mom who was calling from the New Albany Surgical Center. She asked why I hadn’t yet visited. I thought that she was going home today after a brief overnight stay. But she countered otherwise. They insisted she stay again tonight even though her surgery was a success. Something about her blood oxygen levels being low. I let her know that I would most likely stop up tonight.

I was shocked to find Strader’s packed to fences. The lines at check-out were 20 patrons long. Still, I perused the aisles checking out their offerings. Mindy had already decided that we were going to Demonye’s greenhouse after work to get Wave Petunia’s, but still I thought that I might get a couple Hibiscus this afternoon.
I just browsed. There stock looked healthy, but they had nothing that took my breath away. I left after ten minutes of browsing. After checking in with work I cruised further up the street to Burger King for a combo meal. I ate while driving back to the office. I found myself back at my desk by 2:20pm. We were busy for the rest of the day.

I wrapped up my involvement in several issues the best I could and departed for home at 5:10pm. Mindy was busy readying for our quick departure while I commuted home. She had already stopped to pick-up flowers for my mom while she was out getting a book about publishing books. She’s inspired to be a successful writer of children’s books. She informed me that our neighbor, David, stopped over and gifted us after learning of our recent marriage. He gifted us Barley’s gift certificates and a bottle of champagne. Too cool! How’d they know we love Barley’s, we wondered.

When I got home I immediately hung my running clothes out on the deck in the sun so that they’d be dry come Saturday morning. I then leashed up Ykraps for our evening walk. Mindy was still getting ready for our evening out. When we returned she was ready just as we planned. We grabbed the flowers for mom, the camera, and set out for the night.

Our first destination was Demonye’s, which is located off of I-670 and Cassady Ave out by the airport – about half way to the New Albany Surgical Center. We were pleased to find Demonye’s sparsely populated. We grabbed a nursery cart and set out to find their Wave Petunia’s. We found them quickly although they were very pricey. They were $45 per flat of ten. Ouch! I wanted them so we carted four flats. I was certain, however, that they had to have a vaster selection as there were only about ten flats where I found these. I asked a worker where I might perennials and perhaps more Wave Petunia’s. She directed us outside the greenhouse.

We found some what we sought. Outside they had flats of 18 (though slightly smaller) for $20. That was far more reasonable. We exchanged our pricey lot for these. Next, we perused the perennials looking for some flowering varieties to complement our existing landscape. We found about five that we liked and loaded them onto the cart. All told, we spent about $140. Not too bad at all. We left Demonye’s after about an hour of shopping destined now for New Albany and to visit mom. We thought that we’d be cute and not take I-270, but instead take Rt. 62 up through Gahanna exchanging the concrete expressway for a more serene country like drive. A good idea – right? Well, we almost immediately ran into heavy traffic in Gahanna, and then a detour on 62 that took us down roads we wee unfamiliar with. We felt lost save for the Trooper’s compass. Finally, after back tracking for 20 minutes, we found our way to New Albany and the Surgical Center. New Albany makes one wonder what the hell these people do to afford such luxurious living. It’s a part of town that I haven’t frequented to very often. There are some estates that make Bexley look like the slums.

We arrived at the Surgical Center around 7:40pm and found our way to mom’s room fairly easily. She was asleep. We watched over her for a few before I tapped my foot against the tile floor to wake her. We visited with mom for about 30 minutes. She shared the usual gossip and told of dad visiting each day and helping her out. They seem to be natural pair, although it seems a bit awkward to me. Just before departing, mom told us that she just bought a new car. I was in disbelief. Why, I thought, would my mother by a new car when her income versus expenses is so apparently out of whack? She bought an SUV (Jeep Liberty). But, then again, that’s my mom - always spending beyond her means.

We left the Surgical Center destined for Barley’s. It was about 8:20pm when we hit the road. We had learned our lesson. We would take 161 to I-270 and then to I-670 West. They are still working on 161 apparently turning it into a freeway, at least in the New Albany area. The area has been under construction/transformation for more than two years. And it appears as thought they have another year’s worth of work yet to do.

We arrived at Barley’s making exceptional time. We were there by 8:42pm. The lot was somewhat surprisingly not crowded. We got a parking spot close to the door. There were even seats available and waiting at the bar. We greeted our friends, Bob, Mary Ann, Tim, Mark, Steve, Dan, Paul, and others. Lee soon served us what we craved. I had one of their new Left Coast Pale Ale’s, and Mindy had a glass of wine. We ordered food during the drinking of my first beer. I ordered a Cuban and Mindy this salad thing. We ordered a side of sauerkraut balls too. We watched Reds and Indians games (they weren’t playing each other). They both went to extra inning ands both ended up losing. Crap!

My second beer was a Hoptopus. We hung out until after 10:30pm. I had one more beer before leaving. I had a Double Dog Dare IPA – perhaps my new favorite! We headed home after making tentative plans to host a Saturday evening cookout on our deck. When we got home I poured yet another beer and fired up the hot tub. We spent about 20 minutes soaking and chatting. We opted out of swim suits. After all, we weren’t swimming anyhow. We headed to bed just after midnight. I guess I fell asleep first.