Mindy Runs

I didn’t get up until just after 8am. Mindy asked that I deliver some coffee after an hour or so and then fell back asleep. Downstairs, I went ahead and put on a pot of coffee and started exercising. I took my time moving through my morning routine. I had no pressing deadlines save for Jacob’s 1pm baseball game.

Before leaving on my run I downloaded photos from Friday. While doing so, my Dell Image Expert software reverted to the standard version even though I had paid for the premium upgrade years ago. I am sure it had everything to do with my hard drive crash in December and reloading the bundled package from CD, but what I didn’t quite get was why it took 6 months. Regardless, I knew I couldn’t operate without the organizing features the premium edition afforded me. I had to do something.

I have Adobe Photo Shop IV for serious editing, but it lacks a downloader/organizer. Corel now owns Jasc, the actual make of Dell Image Expert. I’m not a big fan of Corel and their spyware antics but they do have decent organizing software bundles. I eventually decided to download their trial version of Photo Album 6. It’s essentially Dell Image Expert upgraded many times over. I found it very familiar, which was a good thing.

Mindy got up around 10am. We spent some time together relaxing and sipping coffee. She also spent some time reading my last batch of blog postings. Until this AM, I was way behind on my postings. I encouraged her to join me on my run, although left thinking there was little chance of it actually happening. I proposed that she run to my turnaround point except from the opposite way I run it. That way she could run back home with me.

After I hit the three mile marker and turned for home I spotted someone running towards me on the other side of the road. Not having the benefit of my glasses, I could not readily discern that it was Mindy, but as she got closer I realized that it was. We joined up and ran the rest of the way home together. I was proud of Mindy for giving it her all.

By the time we finished our run it was well past 11am. With the time we had left before Jacob’s ballgame we decided to mount the two pieces of art we bought last evening at Comfest. It didn’t take long. We knew where we wanted them.

We showered and left for Jacob’s game around 12:45pm. Just before we showed up a rain shower moved through leaving those there a little wet. Jimaken brought the kids since this was his weekend. Mindy figured that Jimaken wouldn’t have Bella’s hair fixed and brought the tools to address the matter. Like the last few games, Jacob played the field but chose not to bat. This was one of those games where our kids didn’t show up, or at least not during the first few innings. Sadly, this was the final regular game of the season. Not to fret, however. The tournament begins Sunday (tomorrow).

After the game, the kids left with Jimaken. Mindy & I stopped at the Trueman Rd Target. I got an ICEE while Mindy got a Starbucks even before doing any shopping. However, our main purpose for being there was to get a birthday card for daughter Courtney, who we’d be dining with later that evening. In addition to the card, Mindy picked up a couple other items. Total damage … about $21. Not bad! Headed home.

The sky changed from sunny to threatening rain a number of times through the afternoon. Despite the threatening weather, I really wanted to get the lawn cut before heading out for dinner. But once we were home, the urge for a short nap was by far the most important item on my agenda. After a brief nap I headed out to cut the lawn. By then, the sun was shining brightly and the temperature really heated up. But by the time that I whacked and edged, dark clouds moved back in. Soon rain began to fall. I wasn’t too pleased, but what could I do? Nothing.
Courtney was slated to arrive around 6pm. We had tentatively made plans to dine at CBC, although we’d leave the final decision to Courtney. After all, it was her b-day. She must’ve arrived near 6-6:15pm. We already knew she’d need to take a shower after spending the afternoon at Zoombezi Bay. Mindy got Courtney all set up in the kids’ bathroom while I waited/hung out in the family room.

We left for dinner around 7:00pm. Along our drive we talked with Tommy. He was just leaving Marysville so we invited him to join us. He accepted, although figured to be 30-60 minutes behind us. We’d wait in the bar. We each ordered a drink; me a CBC IPA, Mindy a water, and Courtney a martini. We ordered some calamari too. Tommy arrived about 20 minutes later.
We eventually asked for a table on the patio. It afforded us a lovely view of the Brewery district. We each ordered an entrée and another drink. Mindy had scallops, me a quesadilla and soup, and Tommy, I can’t recall. Courtney ordered a salad. Dinner was good. We had a lovely young waitress, Sarah, I think. Courtney ordered a Crème Brule for dessert. Unbeknownst to me, they ended up comping it. After all, it was her b-day.

Because Tommy lives near Courtney, he agreed to give her a ride home. That saved us a good 30 miles of driving. Mindy & I did the hot tub after arriving home. After 20 minutes of that we headed off to bed.