DeMonye's Day

Just as I had hoped and predicted, I felt terrific come morning. I was up and ready to begin my day at 6:45am. I could see clear blue skies out the half-moon window, which was a welcome but also expected site. There was to be this beautiful day sandwiched between two incredibly raining blustery days each side. I started coffee and began my exercise regiment almost immediately. I logged onto my laptop as well. I was eager to get a feel for my on-call activity bright and early. Bella joined me walking Ykraps. After we were back I spent quite a bit of time dealing with work related matters all the while sipping my coffee. Come 9:00am I readied and left for a run. I ran along Trabue and south on Hague, and then through Western Run. It was a very pleasant experience. As expected, my buttocks stiffened considerably during the run. I alerted Mindy that I was getting in the hot tub to hopefully loosen p my ass a little. Turns out, all four of us got in. Mindy & Jacob weren’t in long. Bella and I stayed in for a while longer. I made sure and hit my sore spots with some vigorous jet action. I wasted little time getting ready to head out after exiting the hot tub. Seeing that work was quiet, I planned to head out to DeMonye’s Greenhouse to get some flowers. That event each year is one I look most favorable towards. This year was no exception. My only concern was that I might get some flowers but have no time to plant ‘em, at least in the near term. DeMonye’s is out close to the airport off of I-670 and Cassady Ave. It’s a relatively quick drive since it’s almost all freeway. I was there at just a little after 10am. The lot, as expected, was full. I anticipated that given that it was sunny, Saturday, and the day before Mother’s Day – often a recipe for disaster. Yet despite the crowded lot, the nursery was navigable. I knew just what I wanted – red & blue (purple) Wave petunias to start. They were where they were last year, so I had little trouble finding the mother load. Meanwhile, it was a gorgeous morning to be at the nursery. I loaded my cart with five flats of Wave petunias’. Last year I think that I bought nine but I also doubled up when planting. This year I wouldn’t do that. In addition to the flats, I bought two ornamental grasses for the weeping willow bed, and then a Hydrangea bush for Mindy. She’s wanted one for a couple of years. That pretty much took up all the room in my cart. I’d have to get the rest of my flowers at another time, but I already anticipated that. The haul set me back $200. I was loaded and ready for my return trip home even before 11am. Having spotted a McDonald’s just up the road, I decided to stop and get myself a breakfast sandwich. I was ravenously hungry. I chose to go inside versus sitting in the long drive-thru line. Good move. I was first in line. I ate most of my sandwich before driving towards home. I arrived back home by 11:20am. I checked the status of work before doing anything else. Things were calm. Jacob & Jake, meanwhile, were just preparing to leave on a hike into the woods having cleared it with Mindy. I planned to begin my lawn chores not having cut the grass since last Thursday. It was well overdue. If I got nothing else done today, getting the lawn cut was a priority, even above planting flowers, which I figured I could do in the rain if necessary. I took my time working the lawn chores. I spent a good 2.5 hours beginning ‘til end. Mindy left around 2:30pm to grocery shop and go Targeting. She left the kids home with me. After my lawn chores I decided to wash the BM’er, something else that’s needed done for quite a while. And since Mindy was away, I took the opportunity to prep her Mother’s Day gifts. For starters, I had the kids come in and sign her card and then put everything in a gift bag – her finch feeder, seed, and bike brochure. She already saw the hydrangea. Work remained under control requiring much less of me than I expected. That was a welcome gift. Next, I moved on to replacing the water spigot on the Westside of the house. I planned to replace the guts leaving the infrastructure in place. I had an extra after removing the back spigot ten years ago to make way for my deck. The guts were like new in that one. That didn’t go as easy as I would’ve liked. It took about 30 minutes to do what should’ve taken five minutes. I worried for a little while that I might not be able to turn the water back on. Finally, though, I got it straightened out and had everything in working order. The replacement worked flawlessly. Feeling quite good about the day’s productivity, I began planting Wave petunias out front. Mindy returned home just as I was getting warmed up. I was very messy. For this reason, she asked Jacob to help carry in groceries in lieu of asking me to stop. I appreciated that, but still offered. Among her purchases, she finally bought Bella a booster seat for the Trooper to replace the child safety seat. For me, she bought a bottle of Jack! Meanwhile, I kept planting until I finished both front beds. This year, instead of mixing, I planted purple on one side and red on the other. Mindy and I discussed evening plans. Ashley was bringing Olivia over for us to watch for a couple of hours. We were happy to do it. Lindsey called about Rocky coming over too, but by the time Mindy got back with her, Lindsey changed her mind about bringing him. She didn’t want to expend the gas. We haven’t seen Rocky in a few weeks. After watering in the flowers I put all of my lawn tools away and locked the shed. I desperately wanted and needed a shower, but Ykraps wanted/needed to walk. Putting his needs above mine, I addressed that first. While I walked him, Mindy finalized plans to host a cookout at our place. Neighbors Crissy & Kenny and kids would be joining us for brats and hot dogs. Another neighbor, Teri, said they’d already eaten but that she’d be down to hang out. I went back home and took my shower. Afterwards, I got the grill fired up and the brats on. We were eating 30 minutes later. Mindy made Au Gratin potatoes and green beans too. We ate out on the deck even though it was getting a little chilly. Most of us wore light jackets. The kids had a ball, Olivia included. We hung outside even after we were done eating lighting off bottle rockets and sparklers. The kids were digging it. Later, we had the kids out back snipe hunting. Although we never saw one, a couple of the kids said they got one. Hmm? Everyone headed home by 10:30pm or so. Bella spent the night with Makayla at Crissy’s, and her son Jake stayed at our house with Jacob. Mindy & I headed to bed after seeing that everything was cleaned up and put away.