No More Dishwasher Wobble

Happy 7th Birthday Kaileigh As it turns out, I didn’t sleep all that well, so come rise time Monday morning I was feeling a bit sluggish. However, the feeling didn’t stick. I was up and cooking with gas in no time at all. I was a little surprised that my sinuses were feeling swollen and full again despite the antibiotics. In addition, my arse ached more than it had in the past week or two. It wasn’t a banner morning. I pushed through my exercise routine and then headed out with Ykraps. He was quick to finish his business, and I was eager to be back home for coffee. My coffee in front of the PC was most enjoyable. I read some emails as well as the Daily OM. I also got all caught up reading about Tiger’s spectacular finish at the US Open, which would continue later this afternoon with an eighteen hole playoff. He’s arguably, the most dominant and most consistent athlete I have ever witnessed. There’s never been anyone in all of sports as cool & confident under pressure – no one. I left for my run around 7:00am. I was moving slow. I had a great run even though I was stiff. Again today, I kept it to just three miles. I felt good after the run, certainly better than before. Once I was home I got busy with food prep. I kept it simple, throwing together a salad, nuts and fruit. I fried eggs for breakfast. I had to chuckle when I went upstairs. Bella, Rocky, and Jacob were all three in bed with Mindy watchin’ cartoons. Very cute! I was ready to leave for work by 8:20am. I drove the Trooper. We were running full tilt all day. I didn’t leave for a lunch break until 1:30pm. I went to Home Depot. I bought some specialty screws to mount the dishwasher more securely to the cabinets. It’s been unacceptably loose ever since having our granite counter tops installed. In addition, I bought a couple more push-on hose couplers. I knew there were a few more things I wanted to get but didn’t have my list. I’m terrible about that. I often remember after I leave. Today was no exception. The afternoon went fairly quick. I talked with Mindy who hadn’t yet heard anything from Lindsey. I tried contacting Kelly but kept getting her VM. She never takes my calls. J I left for home around 5:50pm, a little later than what I anticipated. We planned to cook steaks on the grill. The house was abuzz with activity when I arrived. The 3 older kids were outside playing. Landon was already in bed. Mindy commented that he rarely stays awake for more than two hours. After walking Ykraps I lit the grill. The fuel in the grill lasted about five minutes. When I went to turn the steaks I realized that it was out of LP- gas. Daggone it! One of us left the main tank on after its last use. We did turn it off at the grill, however, but that’s always bad news. I suspect that propane leaks out slowly but surely. We had no choice but to finish cooking the steaks under the broiler. While I finished the steaks, Mindy prepped salads and green beans. She also set our places at the outdoor table. The kids got started first. They were having hot dogs and macaroni and cheese – one of Rocky’s favorites. But you can tell that they’re getting older. Both Rocky and Bella asked for some of our steak. And Jacob ate some of Mindy’s sautéed onions and mushrooms. Yuck! As we were finishing up dinner the kids asked me to play baseball. I was encouraged that Jacob wanted to practice the evening before his game. I agreed to play as long as Mindy agreed to manage the clean-up. She did. Jacob, Rocky and I headed out back. We practiced throwing & hitting for more than an hour. We had a lot of fun. I was pleased to see Jacob’s finally taking decent cuts at the ball. Prior, his swing was way too lackadaisical. He’s also throwing with greater accuracy and velocity. What do you know! He’s becoming a real ball player. Hopefully it’ll transfer over into his games. He still dodges the ball when catching, I notice, but that’ll come with time. Right now he handles grounders much better than flies. That’s something I never excelled at – taking grounders. Rocky hit the ball pretty good as well. I was impressed. After ball practice I took to one of the deck chairs where I thought that I might sneak in a quick nap. We were waiting on Lindsey to come get the kids. She phoned an hour or so earlier letting Mindy know that she was on her way. According to her, big Rocky’s brother took her minivan and stole gas. She proclaimed herself innocent. Perhaps, but in my mind, she’s guilty of poor judgment. We’ve advised her time & time again to never let anyone else drive her vehicle. Over the years, most of her cars have been wrecked or ruined by someone else. One of Mindy’s friends who lives around the corner brought her three little ones over to play in our backyard. For a while, there were like eight little ones waiting their turn on the tree swing. Lindsey arrived while everyone was outback playing. She said very little to me other than asking where the kids were. I explained that Rocky was outside with Mindy and Landon asleep upstairs. She went out to greet Rocky first. Of course he came running for his mommy right away. Soon Mindy went to fetch Landon. I heard Lindsey telling Mindy that Landon rarely if ever sleeps through the night at home. Plus, she gives him one or two bottles each night. We haven’t given him a bottle once. We’ve been feeding him regular food, and he’s been eating like a horse! I must say, both Landon and Rocky were well behaved - good eaters and good sleepers, too. I think it has more to do with the environment than anything else. The house was much calmer after Lindsey and the boys were gone. It’s far easier with two than with four. Mindy corralled the kids and herded them upstairs for a shower and a bath. I did a little blogging. I headed upstairs to assist Mindy getting the kids into bed. Afterwards, I decided to knock a small project off of my list. I grabbed my drill and a few hand tools in an effort to mount the dishwasher securely to the side cabinets. But before I could drill the holes and screw it in, I had to do a better job of leveling it. Once the undermount brackets were removed from the underside of the old counter tops it became quite apparent how unlevel it was. I was determined to get it set in the opening perfectly. It took a little work as well as some assistance from Mindy, but we got it level and square. The small plastic screw covers I bought at Home Depot worked well at covering the otherwise unsightly screw heads. In fact, they look like they were designed for the application. If nothing else, Mindy was impressed, although she zinged me for taking two months to correct the issue. The final step was reconnecting the water supply. That took some doing. Not only was difficult to get started, but because of the confined space, it was hard to get a wrench head on the nut. But after a little swearing, I managed. Mindy was ready for bed after I finished up. I was too. I kidded her about finishing the ½ bath. But I couldn’t truly blame her. She’s spent the last two days playing mega-mom!