Garden Ho

I was up even before the clock struck 5:30am, and since I was well slept so I rolled out of bed and began my morning. The first thing I did was give my teeth a good brushing. Once I was downstairs I could hear the slight pitter-patter of rain hitting against the sky lights. I was surprised because the forecast, last I saw, called for the rain to stop sometime after midnight. Well, it didn’t.

While walking Ykraps I realized that the rain wasn’t coming down as heavy as the day before. And when I returned home the first thing I did was check the radar. It was clear that it wouldn’t last. Sadly, I happened upon two separate puddles of dog puke as I walked towards the PC. I spent the next 25 minutes cleaning that up. Not fun!

Come 6:25am I readied for a run. By then the rain had all but stopped. My running shoes were still soaked from the morning before, however. I considered moving to a back-up pair but decided against it. Instead, I toughed it out. I barely noticed more light sprinkles until I returned home. I was wetter than I thought. Mindy had a towel waiting by the door once again. Perhaps she does love me. :)

The house was bopping. Everyone was up and readying for departure. Mindy & Bella were gone minutes later. Jacob shot baskets in the basement and played with his Gameboy while I ate breakfast and subsequently showered. He bolted out the door well ahead of me on his way to the bus stop. Once again, no Alena. Hmmm?

I drove on to work all the while listening to my CD book. The morning looked cloudy out the window and remained that way up until I left for lunch. I decided early on that I wanted to walk around Garden Ridge looking at their offerings. There were a few things I had specifically in mind to look for but I was just as interested in browsing aimlessly. I arrived there sometime after 1pm. I spent a good 30-40 minutes looking at Xmas decorations, which they have tons and tons of, picture frames and matting, and storage tubs. I left without buying anything. I was happy just to get away from the office for an hour or so.

Back at work the afternoon went by fluidly. Before I left the office I phoned Mindy. We agreed to meet for dinner at Ding Ho’s, having not dined there for several months. My guess is March/April 2007. By meeting there, Mindy could head directly to choir practice immediately after. The kids were with their daddy.

I arrived a few minutes ahead of Mindy. She wasn’t far behind, though. I waited in the lobby. Their throw back décor is captivating. You definitely get a late 60’s early 70’s feel from the place. I noticed many familiar faces waiting tables. We ordered our usual fare. Their Won-Ton soup might be the best I’ve ever had. As usual, the portions were crazy big. I ended up having them box 2/3’s of my War Su Gai. Around 6:40pm we exited and parted ways. Mindy headed off to choir. I marveled at the downtown skyline as we headed west on Broad St. The sky scrapers were ablaze in color from the late appearing and setting sun. Our immediate area wasn’t sunny but the tall buildings were getting loads of deep orange light.

Once at home I was equally astonished with the autumn sunset. I dropped everything and went for my camera. It was absolutely beautiful! After a few pics I walked Ykraps. I enjoyed my time home alone cruising through my usual set of chores. It wasn’t too long before Jimaken brought the kids home. My charge was to get them ready for bed. Mindy said they didn’t need baths. That made it easier. We played for 20 minutes or so before heading up. Jacob and I played basement basketball – something we haven’t done since last spring. Bella watched and cheered.

Come 7:45 we headed up and readied for bed. The exercise went smoothly. The kids played quietly upstairs while waiting on their mother’s return. Right on queue, Mindy arrived home at 8:20pm. We tucked the kids into bed then I finished updating my blog. Come 9pm I headed up to bed hoping to get a long, restful night’s sleep. I vaguely remember Mindy coming later, but I can’t recall the time. I woke only momentarily.