Easel Does It

Up at my usual weekend rise time of 7:30am, it was a fabulously beautiful morning. Mindy hardly stirred as I exited the bed. I doubt she even noticed that I was up and out. I made a pot of coffee, exercised, and then walked Ykraps. It was much cooler than I expected given that it was supposed to be in the low 80’s later.

I took my dear old time once we were back from the walk enjoying coffee, surfing the net, and catching up on all the college football scores. Just before 9:30am I crept back upstairs to get my running clothes. Once again, Mindy didn’t budge.

I knew the instant I hit the door running that I would end up being too warm but did nothing about it. The temperature warmed dramatically over the last hour. In addition to being overly warm, my legs were stiff. Add both of these factors together and my run was a challenge. I managed, however.

When I returned, still no one else was up. I spent some time uploading & editing photos. Eventually, Mindy got up and joined me downstairs. I noticed a little earlier that the Vikings game would be televised at 4:15pm on FOX. For this I was pleased. Glenn rose sometime near 10:30am. We discussed food and the quickly unfolding days plans. We decided on El Vaquero for brunch. I called dad to ask if he was up for meeting us there. He was.

We arrived at the Vaq around 12:45pm. I remember that because Mindy contemplated a Margarita but they couldn’t serve one for another fifteen minutes. She decided to skip the Margarita. We enjoyed our chips and salsa in the few minutes prior to our entrees arriving. One thing about the Vaq is their exceptionally fast service.
























We were done by 1:30pm. Glenn opted to spend the rest of the day with dad. I made sure that dad still had his key so that Glenn could get his gear. Mindy and I went shopping for Olivia’s b-day gifts. We shopped the brand new Hilliard Rome Rd. Target. We got Olivia several outfits, a winter jacket, and a toy. We also picked up some household goods along with three new rope light sets for the pergola.

We left Target and went next door to Kirkland’s. There I was bent on getting an easel for an old painting of mine. Quickly I found one that suited both our tastes. Time was slipping away. It was already 2:50pm. Jimaken was slated to return the kids at 3pm. He was waiting on the deck when we arrived. We had just an hour before we needed to leave for Gloria’s and Sunday dinner.

We left for Gloria’s right at 4pm. I was eager to get there quickly so that I could tune into the Vikings game. They haven’t been on TV once this year. But I guess that’s what happens to a 6-10 team. I watched the game from the lower level TV pretty much by myself. The others congregated upstairs as usual. I didn’t want to be anti-social but really wanted to see the game. It was 7-7 at halftime. I headed up when the dinner bell rang. We had cube steaks, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. All very comforting foods. Jacob was being quite the pill – loud and annoying. It took all the patience I could muster not to pinch him! He was annoying everyone. I threw the football with him for a spell to help him unleash some of his energy. But if it helped, it went unnoticed. I returned back inside to catch more of the game. The Vikings held a 14-7 lead through most of the 3rd quarter thanks to a defensive touchdown. Another one was called back. But in the bat of an eye, the Cowboys scored ten quick points of their own on Viking miscues. Suddenly we were trailing. We never recovered, and lost 24-14. What couldn’t be overlooked was the poor play by our quarterback, Tavaris Jackson. He completed only 6 passes for 75yards the entire game long. Ugly!!

The dessert call came. We had a variety to choose from: peach Jello, no-bake chocolate cookies, and peanut blossoms. I ate a couple peanut blossoms. We left for home at 7pm. The kids needed a bath badly. While Mindy dealt with that, I walked Ykraps who needed out just as bad as the kids needed bathed.

I'd been looking forward to the final game of ALCS. The game began shortly after 8pm. Mindy prepped much of the week’s lunch food and a few loads of laundry before calling it a night. The Indians couldn’t seem to find their groove and lost big. It was only 5-2 when I went to bed, but I learned that they were pounded much worse the following morning.