On-Call Weekend

It was some where near 6:30am when my Blackberry began ringing. At first it didn’t register as I somehow allowed the ring to become intertwined with my dreams. It wasn’t until Mindy nudged me into reality that I rose to answer. But in the end I was too slow for the called which I assumed to be work. Still very tired I laid my head back down on my pillows for an hour or so longer. Surely they’d leave a message if it were that important, I rationalized.

At 7:25am I leaped to my feet to begin my Saturday. I was still a little put out by being awoken an hour earlier. I definitely didn’t care for that. I did my best to shake it off and begin my day in earnest.

Downstairs I started a pot of coffee, choked down a vitamin, and began my exercises. I fired up my laptop and listened to a message left on my personal cell phone before heading out with Ykraps. As expected, it was work bringing me up to speed on an overnight issue.

By the time that Ykraps and I returned from our morning walk Mindy and the kids were up & downstairs – something a bit out of character. Mindy made me a cup of coffee while I dug into a few work related matters. Nothing like beginning the weekend with a work issue. I talked to one of my engineers and got the issue straightened out. I spent the next hour or so getting a handle on the work day. I dressed & set out on a run just after 9am. Mindy agreed to make bacon while I ran.

I ran along Trabue & Hague for the first time in a few weeks. And like many days running that path, I found someone’s errant tee shot – a Nike soft/feel. Cool! The run was unbelievable. There’s something about running the stretch of road between Trabue & Western Run. It’s very serene and quite lovely. The birds were chirping in abundance this AM. The occasional but swift moving traffic keeps me very alert.

I was back well before 10am. Mindy & the kids were playing Connect Four on the family room floor. I asked who wanted fried eggs and tended to that chore. It’s been a few weeks since I have fried an egg. I fried four in all - two for me, and one each for Mindy & Bella. They were very tasty, and so was the maple bacon. I helped get the breakfast mess picked up before getting busy with my Saturday project list. I opted to skip a morning shower since I’d do nothing but get grimier during my day.

My list of weekend “to-do’s” was aggressive & long. And the lion’s share of my work was in the yard. For starters I badly wanted to trim the English Ivy growing on the house. I started on the ivy growing up the chimney trimming it away from the roof line. The ivy growing up the stucco needed trimmed too. Some of the aggressive growing branches begin to fall loosely away from the house. Eventually I wound my way around to the front where I trimmed ivy away form the window screens, and then removed four large bird nests. Next, got out the hedge trimmers to trim all the shrubs and groom the walkway to the house. I must’ve spent two hours with all that trimming. I raked all the trimmings onto a tarp before dragging it all to the mulch pile out back. Finally, I was able to begin working on the lawn. I took a couple of breaks to throw the football with Jacob.

While I toiled outdoors I could see that Mindy was inside cleaning away. This pleased me much. Before cutting the grass I had to rake the hundreds of walnuts into the brush along the pond. It didn’t take all that long but took its toll on my shoulders. Raking always does. I finished the lawn around 400pm. It looked damn good! Lynne, Mindy’s niece, came over to cut Jacob’s hair. Mindy asked what I wanted for dinner. I wasn’t sure but knew I wanted a jug of Double Dog Dare IPA from Barley’s. She said she’d be happy to fetch the beer later along with some of their food via carryout. She didn’t feel like cooking. Soon, and after Jacob’s haircut, Mindy, Lynne, and the kids headed out shopping for groceries and Halloween costumes. But before they left, I spent about thirty minutes installing Mindy’s new side view mirror. That went well, having taken it apart a few weeks ago. After they left I got cracking on my Trooper window once more. I have taken this door panel off at least eight times so far. I am about tired of it, to be sure. I was surprised to find the two new clips I bought broken. Hmmm - how in the devil? OK – deep breath. I went in and took a much needed shower before driving off with the Trooper door half apart. I drove to Advanced Auto Parts to see if they have any more of those clips. They did.

Back at home I made quick work of mounting another set of clips and then gluing the glass in with epoxy. This will be it. No more fooling around for me, damn it! Mindy & the kids returned home while I was finishing up the job. They carried all the groceries in.
It wasn’t too long before Lynne set out towards home. Mindy then prepared to leave for Barley’s. In addition to the beer, I ordered brisket quesadillas. Being the constantly moving animal that I am, I spent the next 45 minutes in the garage working on my project center. I methodically cut the rubber mesh shelf liner to fit the shelves and drawers of my new cabinets. By the time I finished Mindy was back. Already, I thought?

I was hungry. My quesadillas were delicious, and so was the Double Dog Dare! Mindy got one of her favorite salads. After dinner I put a few more things away in the garage. It was time for the Buckeye kick-off from Minneapolis. The game started slowly for the Buckeyes but ended up going fairly well. We won 30-7 on a day when five of the top ten teams in the country had already lost. After Buckeye game I followed the USC game well into the second half. When I fell asleep the Trojans were ahead, but not by much. Our win, I surmised, would vault us up in the polls.