Coldest Morning of the Season

I woke around 7:30am feeling just dandy and fully rested. Without hesitation I leaped from bed, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs to begin my day. My first task was to start a pot of coffee. After the coffee was brewing I dug into my exercise routine. I took a couple Advil knowing full well that my afternoon would be filled with yard work. An ounce of prevention…

 I leashed up Ykraps for our walk. He was more than eager to get outside. It was quite chilly. Depending on the source one used, it was anywhere between 28 – 35 degrees. Brrr! Still, the sun was shining brightly, and the afternoon high was expected to climb to 60 degrees.   Mindy had designs on going to church. It wasn’t too long before she was up and seeking coffee. She asked me to join her in the family room. I promised to do so after downloading Saturday‘s pictures. 

We sat on the sofa together sharing/talking about this and that. She was struggling to motivate citing feeling more tired than expected.  However, her desire to make it to church out weighed her desire to slack. She headed for the shower just after 9:30am. Meanwhile, I readied and left for a run.                                                                 

My run was chilly, but the sun warmed me quickly. Because of this, I was quite comfortable. I was back inside by 10:15am. Mindy was just coming downstairs to grab her coat to leave. She was wearing her new outfit purchased from Macy’s. 

Mindy had no sooner left when I began making myself a roast beef sandwich. I hurried to woof it down before heading outside to begin my yard chores. In addition to cutting and trimming the lawn, I had a few other chores I wanted to accomplish – all of them outside. Before heading out, I got out the rubbing alcohol, peroxide, & water mixture that I created yesterday to clean/rinse Ykraps’ ears. He seems to like the results, but still remains reluctant to allow me to put it in. I’m careful to rub it in good before allowing him to shake it away.  

I got started on the lawn at 10:45am. I whacked and edged before mowing. The mowing took a little longer again this week after deciding once more to use the push-mower for the entire front. A consolation prize for using the push mower is a much neater looking cut. I cut some of the new grass too for the very first time – a little earlier than I predicted. I still have some rather large spots that are bare on the west facing slope. There’s a strong likelihood that I’ll need to reseed those areas again in the spring.  It’s looking pretty nice, though.

 The back went much faster with the tractor. After finishing with the mowing I got right to blowing. Mindy got home from church during that phase. The front yard was looking especially nice. My next task was to get the sprinkler pump going on the new grass areas. I chose not to use the sprinkler system since the new grass was the only area needing it. No sense wasting water.

 I worried for a minute that my pump was seized up. It took three on off combos to get it going. Not sure if there was some trapped dirt or what. Either way, once I got it primed it began flowing freely. I planned to absolutely soak the new grass, especially the areas that have only recently germinated. I’ve noticed that the areas that I once thought got too much water are the thickest and lushest of all. Note to self. 

Once the pump was running I headed out back to prune the honeysuckle bush surrounding one of our large Ash trees. Instead of using the electric hedge trimmer I used the giant loppers. That took a lot longer but better enabled me to cut the branches where they needed cut. After hauling all the trimmings back to the compost pile I took the blower to the deck and then the upper half of the back yard. The mower did a nice job of mulching the already fallen leaves but the debris was still pretty thick. I wanted to blow as much away as possible. Fact - I’ll be blowing and raking leaves through Thanksgiving. 

I am amazed at how nicely/quickly the lawn has healed from the irrigation system installation. Most of the overseeding I did after the fact has germinated, too. I moved the sprinkler out front a few times making sure to soak all the new grassy areas. Next, I grabbed a shovel and moved some more dirt around the new wooden steps I built down to the pond. Lastly, I put the trash can to the curb along with all the boxes I collapsed last weekend. Bulk pick-up is slated for Monday morning.

 It was now after 3pm. The kids were home from their weekend with Daddy. I checked the Vikings score. They were behind 34-31 midway through the third quarter. Holy smoke! How’d they score that many points? Mindy hinted that she’d been following the game for me online all afternoon. That was nice! I headed off to the shower. We planned on leaving for her mother’s house around 4pm. 

I was showered and ready to go by 3:45pm. While I was thinking about it, I grabbed the white semi-gloss paint and a paint brush and placed them in the Trooper. We left for Gloria’s just after 4pm. Mindy already knew that we were having fried chicken. Yum-yum. Jacob and I tossed the football for just a few minutes before I headed in to begin painting. I didn’t figure the painting would take too long. After all, the area is only about 1.5’ X 1.5’.  Bella came to my side curious about the painting. She wanted to help. After trimming in the edges I allowed her to do a little of the painting. She was beaming with pride afterwards. J 

It wasn’t long before dinner was served. We were short a significant number of family members. Still, we sat to eat at 5pm. The fried chicken was delicious and the portions huge. I haven’t had home made fried chicken in a very long time. The sides were macaroni salad and cheesy potatoes. Everything was delicious. A few family members arrived a little late. The guest of honor was Katie, since we were officially celebrating her b-day. 

After dinner, I returned downstairs to put a second coat of paint on the ceiling patch. I decided to go ahead and put the trim back up. It’s been down since the last week of July. All that took another 25 minutes – not long at all. Good as new! I do need to bring one small finishing nail to add to the trim, but for all intents and purposes the job is complete! 

I watched football (Browns and Redskins) until dessert was ready. I could hear Jacob upstairs entertaining the family. His entertainment often borders on annoyance. Honestly, reminds me a little of myself at roughly the same age. Dessert was ice box cookie cake – Katie’s request. Ice box cookie-cake is a Thompson family tradition, especially at Xmas. It was very yummy. We weren’t there long after dessert. The kids were cranky and time was slipping away. The kids chatted with their daddy as we drove home. Jacob was insistent on walking Ykraps with me. To add excitement to our walk, we had the police helicopter and several cruisers darting about the subdivision. Somebody did something they shouldn’t have. 

After a walk the kids were coaxed into the bathroom for a thorough scrubbing. Bed was not long after. Having our fill of football all weekend, I didn’t care to watch the Sunday night game. Of course it didn’t help that the Vikings lost. I didn’t want to swim in my misery. Mindy & I hung out in the family room. I stretched out on the sofa while Mindy played on her laptop. She headed up to bed at 9:30pm. I stayed up listening to Deepak Chopra’s latest audio CD. I joined Mindy in bed around 10:15pm.