Sunny & 75

I couldn’t have planned it any better. It was Friday and I didn’t have to work. Moreover, the weather promised to be perhaps the nicest of the season – sunshine and mid to upper 70’s. I had been aiming at this day for some serious yard projects for quite some time. And to think that the weather gods were cooperating so well was almost uncanny. But then again, I expect things in my life to go this well.

I slept until 6:15am. I was surprised that Mindy wasn’t in the shower. But after making my own way downstairs, she said she was purposely working her routine backwards to avoid waking me with the shower running. Wasn’t that sweet! I got my exercise routine underway rather quickly. Now that I was up, I was hell bent on making the most of my day off. Mindy asked if I planned to run before or after getting Jacob on the bus. Given that it was already 6:30 the answer was after, although had I been a bit more aggressive I could’ve snuck it in ahead of time. But I chose not too.

Mindy & Bella departed at their usual 7:25am. I blogged while Jacob passed the time playing in the basement. We walked to the bus stop at 7:55am. It was gorgeous – clear, sunny, and 55 degrees. Pat and I talked for a few minutes after the kids were gone. He was expecting a dump truck load of mulch sometime during the day. Sounded like we’d have similar days. Back at home I readied for a run and hit the door just after 8:30am. My ass felt pretty good for as bad as it was all week. I was very excited about that. I ran in shorts and a long sleeved shirt. That was nearly perfect given the lovely spring weather.

By the time that I made it back home my buttocks was tight as a drum. There was no sharp pain but it ached enough to ponder the prospect of hot tubbing. And knowing what I had planned for the rest of the day I figured that a wise move. In lieu of a shower, I jumped in the hot tub for about ten minutes. It felt terrific and loosened my butt muscles significantly. Since I’d be digging in the yard I saw no reason to get a shower afterwards. Instead, I put on some shorts, t-shirt, and ball cap and headed out.

My first stop was Dad’s place to get the trailer. He had it all ready for the go. After last spring’s debacle, believe me, I checked the tire pressure. They were setting at about 30 PSI, but they’re rated for 60 PSI. I knew I had to stop for air. In addition, Dad left me his battery charger so that I could at least try to charge my BM’er battery one time before replacing it. Instead of spending money on gas station air, I drove home where I pumped up the tires with my little 12V air compressor. And since I was home, I went ahead and pulled the BM’er battery and placed it on the charger. It was low alright. I left it charging while taking off for the Com-Til plant.

It took a good 20 minutes or more to get down there. The Com-Til plant is located just south of Rt. 665 off of Rt.104. It’s a very organized process. You pull up onto the scales where your vehicle is weighed empty. You then proceed to be loaded before repeating the weigh-in process. The difference, of course, is the weight of the Com-Til, which is priced by the ton. I have been here on or about the same weekend every year many times over. It hardly seemed like an entire year had passed since my last visit. And who could forget? Remember? I got two flat tires on the trailer as the fella dumped the Com-Til in. Righting that wrong literally took my entire day. But that was last year. A year older and a year wiser, I learned my lesson. As stated earlier, I had the tires inflated properly before heading down. I was weighed, loaded, weighed again in less than five minutes. The entire load cost me $12. What a deal! This year I’ll be coming back for a second load, too.

I returned a missed call from brother Tommy as I exited the Com-Til plant. I hadn’t talked with him for two weeks. Among other things, we talked about his doings over the past couple of weeks and his plans for later. He spoke of meeting us at Barley’s later this evening. I was home in no time at all taking 71N to I-270W. That was a much faster route. Despite having a trailer full of Com-Til, my beds weren’t ready. I still had to pick out the edgings and then rake them smooth. Sounds easy, but it’s not. It’s tough, tedious work. I know all to well that the key to beautiful flower beds in July and August is good prep in April.

I must’ve spent a good three or four hours preparing the beds to receive Com-Til. In between, I grabbed some food and checked on the BM’er battery. It looked to be charging just fine. Around 2:30 or 3:00pm I put the battery back in the BM’er and gave it the go test. Vrooom - started right up! I took it on a nice little five mile drive. However, I knew the real test would be letting it set for an hour. Back at home and back to the flower beds. I edged and cleaned the side beds up until 3:45pm. My body was beat! This time, instead of placing all the edgings along the pond, I dumped them against the foundation behind the massive American Boxwoods out front. That’ll help force future run-off away from the foundation.

I hurried in for a shower in hopes of beating Jacob off the bus. If timed properly he and I would quickly dash off to Dick’s Sporting Goods, and then slip in a quick hair cut before returning him home to meet his daddy. I was showered and ready just as Jacob’s bus stopped in front of the house. He was hungry but I urged him to hurry and change so that he and I could dash off in the BM’er towards Dick’s Sporting Goods. He wasn’t in the most pleasant of moods at first, citing tiredness and hunger as the main culprits. But once we got to Dick’s and began checking out baseball pants and cleats, he livened up. They had baseball pants on sale for $5.99. And we found some Nike cleats for $29.99 that should last two seasons given their unique expandable design. When done, we headed across the street to the Great Clips just down from the new Target. There was a 15 minute wait, due mostly to several young kids getting haircuts all at once. Both of us needed a shearing. I promised Jacob he could get a Mohawk if he wanted. He opted not.

They called him first. I watched until another stylist called for me. We were both done about the same time. Neither of us took all that long. We both looked handsome! We headed home in the BM’er with our fresh haircuts blowing in the breeze. Jimaken was at the house when we returned. He was there to pick-up the children given that this was a Jimaken weekend.

Mindy & I had plans to meet some of my old work buddies at Cosmos Grille in Dublin & then head to Barley’s afterwards. We didn’t take long getting ready after Jim & the kids left. We left the house at 6:30pm. We arrived at Cosmo’s just before 7pm. Already there were Jeff G., Steve A., and Kevin B. Jeff G. reported that Tom C. was yet to make his customary late appearance. Mindy took that as her queue to call him. He said he was on his way and was bringing his sister Mary.

Mindy ordered a Guinness in a can. I had an Abita Purple Haze, a raspberry beer. We enjoyed the company of those present. Steve got to telling stories about some business trips to Amsterdam that had Mindy in stitches. Steve is one of the best story tellers this side of the Mississippi. Mindy called Tom yet again to check his whereabouts. He finally arrived with his little sister Mary in tow. Mary is very attractive. She doesn’t look a thing like Tom. J We stayed for another beer, or at least I had one more. Mindy & I left for Barleys around 8:40pm – guess.

We arrived at Barley’s near 9pm. Unlike most Friday’s the bar was practically empty. There, sitting all alone was Rick. I ordered my favorite - an IPA. Mindy ordered a stout. Not long after we arrived, brother Tommy showed up. Later, Tom and his sister Mary showed up. And even later Bill G. & and his friend Drew arrived. We raised a little hell for the next hour or two. I had three or four IPA’s all totaled. Mindy drove home.

Once at home Mindy & I headed for bed almost immediately.