Cucurbitaceae

It’s hardly even worth mentioning but I overslept by a couple of minutes this AM. By the time I brushed my teeth and found my way downstairs it was 5:40am. And even though I got more than 7 hours of sleep, my body wanted more. But that wasn’t going to happen. I sucked it up, tucked my toes, and got my sit-ups & push-ups underway. I skipped curls to give my shoulders a much deserved break. Ykraps & I headed out at 5:55am.

 It was cold, very cold! It must’ve been like 25 degrees. I was bundled appropriately, however. We didn’t find our way back home until 6:04am. That meant I needed to deliver Mindy’s coffee straight up. As always, she was very appreciative. I asked how she felt. She expressed feeling considerably better. She’s been battling a cold of sorts for about a week or longer.

 Downstairs, I grabbed my own coffee and then took to the PC. My guess was close. It was as cold as 23 degrees in the CMH area. Around here, Indian summer is said to occur after the first hard frost and when the high temperatures reach 70 degrees for seven consecutive days. According to the upcoming weather forecast, we just might get that type of weather for the next seven days. Even if we don’t actually hit or break 70 each day, it’ll still count for most.

 I spent just a few short minutes in meditation before changing into ‘running man’. Because of the extreme chill, I went to the basement for my winter running jacket. I was officially donned in my regular winter running attire. Granted, I still have additional layers I use when it’s really cold but the basics are officially out. 

I stretched from the stoop before taking my first step. Stretching is making a difference. My groin isn’t nearly as tight as it once was.  I was comfortable for the run’s entirety. It was really quite nice. Stars were above & bright for the duration. After today, only two more days of dark running. 

Mindy had scrambled eggs and a giant pile of mixed fruit setting for the ready.  While I ate she loaded her and started her minivan. It was coated in heavy frost. She & Bella left the house at 7:26am. Bella was excited about the Halloween party Grandma Sharon was hosting for the kids today.

 Jacob quickly dashed off to his room to watch television. I headed towards the shower. We reconvened downstairs at 7:55am. We both dressed warmly for the bus stop. I started the Trooper as we waked down the driveway. We still tossed the football. The kids complained of it being hard to catch in the cold. We couldn’t play long. The bus showed up in no time flat.

 Off to work at 8:10am. I was feeling extra-upbeat since this was essentially my Friday. I noticed that gas was down to $2.19. I snapped a photo with my Blackberry to commemorate the occasion. As I often do, I listened to NPR’s WCBE 90.5. They recapped Obama’s 30 minute infomercial and subsequent rallies in the state of Florida. He’s definitely a good speaker and actor. Ever since the days of Reagan, Washington knows that Hollywood sells.

 I read a conservative piece Wednesday afternoon that exposed what the liberal left has in mind for our 401Ks. They’d like to seize them and convert them to government controlled accounts. Hell no! I’ll take my chances on my own. Somehow I don’t think that any government official has my individual needs at heart.  Read about it… 

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2008/10/23/would-obama-dems-kill-401k-plans.html 

I arrived at work a few minutes early and quickly got my day underway.  The day went quickly. I tinkered with the idea of taking a lunch and getting my hair cut but never did. Instead, I kept my nose to the grind stone. Paul’s Marine called mid-morning to confirm my winterization for 11am Friday. I remembered. I even asked if it were possible to arrive earlier. No. Booked full. I had designs on golfing since the forecast called for temps approaching 70 with sunny skies. In turn, I placed a call to Lee’s RVs to make sure my boat was accessible this evening. This time of year most customers’ already have winterized and they’re packed into the public storage building like sardines. Last year that was the case and my boat was all the way at the back. I left a VM for Ed. I called back later in the afternoon. This time Ed answered and said he got my message and had my boat setting just outside the overhead doors ready for pick-up. Cool!

 Just before leaving work I talked with Mindy. She was just leaving work too. That’s a switch! She was working on report cards. I suggested Barley’s for dinner. I figured the kids would like it, but we did have plans to carve pumpkins since Friday’s Trick-or-Treat. We left it open. I left work at 5:15pm. I took Leap Rd to Scioto Darby Rd. There’s always a lot of traffic at the Scioto-Darby Rd intersection. This evening was no different. I must’ve sat there for 15 minutes waiting my opportunity through the four-way stop. I arrived at Lee’s by 5:40pm. There she was, all ready for the go. The boat and I were home by 6:00pm. It was only 50 degrees. Seemed funny pulling the boat with such chilly temps.

 I was surprised at the day’s leaf fall. My, oh my! Seems the early morning’s cold temps brought ‘em down by the bushel. My weeping Mulberry nearly lost all of its foliage in one day. Today marks the first “killing frost”. Mindy and the kids arrived home just as Ykraps and I were returning from our walk. They were excited about the prospects of dining at Barley’s. We wasted little time getting ready. Mindy wanted to be home soon enough to carve pumpkins and still have the kids in bed at a reasonable hour. 

We drove Mindy’s minivan since the boat was still attached to the Trooper. Made sense to me. We arrived at Barley’s around 6:30pm. We took a table in the restaurant/bar area under the big screen TV. Deanna was our server. We really like her. I ordered a Southern Tier – Un-Earthly IIPA. Mindy ordered water. The kids ordered lemonade. 

Because we were pressed for time, we ordered our dinner as soon as the beverages arrived. More often than not, I would drink a beer first.  I ordered a Cuban and onion straws. Mindy ordered a brisket quesadilla. Jacob ordered gates-of-hell wings. And Bella ordered a mini-cheeseburger and fries. Deanna brought our order about 5-10 minutes later. Sitting at the bar was Tim. We hadn’t seen him in a while. He was in with two of his yuppie-biker buddies. I teased them about their assless chaps as they were leaving. 

During our dinner I ordered a second beer. The IIPA’s are not meant to be chugged. But the kids and Mindy were ready to depart at the same time I started drinking. But Mindy appreciates good beer and understood that I couldn’t/wouldn’t simply chug it. I did speed it up a little, however. We left for home just after 7:30pm. Mindy drove. Tomorrow night is Oysters and Stout night. They’ll have Mindy’s fave on the Tower – Russian Imperial Stout. There’s a good chance we’ll be back tomorrow evening after Trick-Or-Treat. 

As soon as we arrived home we got cracking on carving two of our four pumpkins. I worked with Jacob. Mindy with worked with Bella. Jacob and I drew up a custom designed face on paper before transferring it to the gourd. Mindy & Bella chose a more complex design that came in with a carving kit. We spent the first 20 minutes deseeding and degunking our gourds.

 Next, we moved onto carving. Mindy & I did most, if not all, of that. Jacob & I finished ours first. It wasn’t even close. Both Bella & Jacob grew bored with the carving process and moved on to other things, just like last year. Bella was infatuated with the pumpkin seeds. She spent several minutes washing them in the sink. Jacob moved on to e-pumpkin carving. I placed a candle in ours to see it aflame and in all its glory. Mindy did the same only about 20 minutes later. In fact, while she finished, I got the kids showered and in their pajamas. 

We tucked them in by 9pm. They went down easy. We stayed up just a short time longer. While Mindy played on her laptop I napped and watched ESPN college football Thursday. I sipped another beer through the evening too. We headed for bed around 10pm.