Monday, June 18, 2007

Tommy & Wally


















































Feeling rather good, I bounced out of bed and made my way downstairs at 5:35am. By 5:50am I had completed my calisthenics and was looking for Ykraps. He was hanging near the door in anticipation of our scheduled walk. It was a balmy morning. It had to be in the 70’s still. For a brief minute I toyed with the idea of taking a day-off to go boating. The forecast called for clear blue skies and temps in the mid 90’s. It was gonna be a scorcher. But as I generally do, I chose to attend work.

I finished packing my lunch and eating my breakfast by 7:45am. I ate breakfast on the deck and then spent a little time playing guitar before beginning my watering chores. I spent an inordinate amount of time watering, making sure that everything was soaked really good. These extremely hot days dry the beds & pots quickly. I spent almost 35 minutes watering. It was 7:40am when I headed back upstairs to get my shower. I wondered briefly where all my time went. I left for work just after 8am.

I arrived at work expecting a couple new hires, but apparently we had our wires crossed. I later learned that they weren’t starting for a couple more weeks. I had a few personal goals to get completed sometime during the business day. I planned to file a hail damage claim for both my Trooper and home after last fall’s devastating storm. I’d put it off long enough. I had to pay a couple of bills, too.

I managed to stay on top of work and complete those goals before lunch. It felt good to have those issues behind me. MY insurance company promised to have two claim coordinators contacting me within the next day or so, and made an appointment to have the hail damage to the Trooper assessed tomorrow at True2Form Collision Repair. I left for my run at 12:45pm. According to AOL, it was already 96 degrees with about 40% humidity. I was taken back with how warm it was when I took off out the door. It was by far the hottest it’s been all year. It was down right oppressive. To offset the extreme conditions I slowed my pace a little taking it easy most of the way. I held up quite well given the conditions. And just as you might expect, the cool shower at runs end felt incredibly good.

The afternoon wasn’t as bad as I expected. I was busy but at least I wasn’t running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I managed to escape the office at 5:15pm. The kids and Mindy had alerted me that they wouldn’t be home when I arrived. Instead, they'd be swimming at a friend’s house. I had the house all to myself until approximately 7pm. We agreed to have a late dinner.

My plan was to wash the Trooper since I was taking her in to be evaluated tomorrow. Aside from that, I planned to water the lawn as well. After walking Ykraps I got the sprinkler pump primed and began watering the west side of the yard with the dramatic slope. While sprinkling I washed & detailed the Trooper.

Mindy & the kids arrived home just after 7pm. Immediately, Mindy began prepping dinner by thawing some Mahi-mahi. Jacob asked if I'd take him on a canoe ride. Yes. We took a lap around the pond in Diane’s canoe. It was fun. It was after 8pm when we got back. Mindy hustled both kids off to ready for bed. In the meantime, I began working on my blog, adding pictures from vacation (I’m way behind on pics).

After the kids were safely in bed, Mindy got busy making the Mahi-mahi along with some green beans and salad. Soon, we were enjoying our late dinner. It was still 90 degrees at just before 9pm. We opted to eat our dinner inside to avoid the stifling humidity. Dinner was just aabout history when brother Tommy called about stopping over. He'd just spent the evening at dad's and wanted to come by for a quick visit, just he and Wally.

Tommy & Wally arrived sometime around 9:30pm. I was in the middle of adding pictures to several recent blog entries, and I continued on after an initial greeting. Mindy entertained & fed Tommy. Finally, just after 10pm, I finished my blogging and briefly joined the two of them in the kitchen. The conversation was nothing more than familiar family gossip. Becoming increasingly tired as my usual bedtime came and went, I quietly moved to the sofa where I stretched out & tried closing my eyes. I could hear their muttled conversation the entire time. It kept me awake. I suppose I could've excused myself to bed, but didn't. Finally, shortly after midnight Tommy gathered up Wally & terminated their visit. By then I was more than eager to get to bed.

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