Do the Dow Now!

 

I woke feeling refreshed after sleeping rather peacefully all night long. All of this despite my right shoulder aching/throbbing the entire time. I must’ve been really tired. It was 5:36am by the time that I finished in the bathroom and made it downstairs to begin my daily exercise regiment. Meanwhile, it was another clear morning highlighted by a bright, nearly full moon. My 50 push-ups & forty 30lb curls weren’t as easy as they usually are – fall out from my aching shoulder. However, I managed through the pain. 

At 5:50am Ykraps and I headed out into the moon lit landscape. As we walked past my newly planted grass, I noticed a heap of mushrooms bulging up through the face of my new grass like a pimple on a teenagers face. It must’ve developed overnight. It wasn’t there the day before. Hmm. During our walk we passed the usual 5:30-6:00am suspects out tending to their routine business. Life is like a wheel.

 We found ourselves back at home a little later than usual. It was already 6:06am. I didn’t fret. Instead, I was just a bit more deliberate with my every move. I still enjoyed my coffee and even delivered Mindy’s bedside. I reviewed the morning headlines and saw that the global markets had rebounded beautifully after last week’s horrid decline. I was hopeful for much of the same here at home. I spent the last ten minutes prior to my run in meditation. I didn’t leave for a run until 6:40am. 

While dark, I could see the new day dawning in the eastern sky. What an incredible view watching the daylight unfold. Because I was so stiff prior to my run, I spent a few minutes stretching afterwards. That helped plenty. Mindy & the kids were up and in the kitchen eating and preparing the day’s food. I noticed that Mindy was wearing the same dress she wore to church the day before. I wondered for a moment if she might be wearing the same under garments, too. Ewh! J She and Bella left around 7:25am. Bella was going to Grandma Sharon’s so she didn’t need to change out of her PJs. 

Mindy placed a roast in the crock pot just before heading out. Her latest technique is to place the roast in completely frozen. A helpful hint from Helloise, I guess. The only trouble with that was the foam packing that the roast sits in was stuck firmly to its bottom. She asked that I remove it before leaving, thinking that it would be thawed a bit more by then. In kind, she asked that I season it as well. Sure!

 I headed off for the shower after getting the kitchen back in some semblance of order. Jacob headed off to his room. I was downstairs ready to go by 7:50am. I used the few minutes I had remaining to organize myself and to take care of the roast as instructed. All of that went without a hitch. Jacob and I darted off for the bus stop at 7:58am. Jake was already there waiting with his grandpa since his mom and step-dad were in Mexico. I let Bill know that he could take off if he needed/wanted. Jake was fine waiting there with me. He eventually did. 

 I walked back home, loaded up the BM’er, and headed off to work. I hadn’t gotten too far up I-270 when I realized that I had left my laptop behind at home. Crap! I didn’t want to be late so I went on in without it. I could use my back-up machine, I figured. By the time I arrived at work I had already decided that I’d run home at lunch, turn the crock pot down to low, and also pick-up my laptop.

 My buddy, Ken spoke about his car battery dying on his way into work. His car was setting at the Speedway station on Hilliard-Cemetery Rd. After unsuccessfully jumping it, he asked if I would run him home where he could pick-up a new used battery his father-in-law had available. Sure. We left for his place at 11:30am. Ken lives in Pinnacle in Grove City. It’s a good 20 mile drive, but relatively easy. He only needed me to drop him off. 

After dropping Ken at home I headed to my own house. I arrived around 12:20pm making incredibly good time. I turned down the crock pot then grabbed my laptop. Before rushing off back to work I decided to relax for a few. I took a brief ten minute nap in the recliner then downloaded Sunday’s pictures. All totaled, I spent 20 minutes at home. I felt so much better afterwards. I zoomed back to work at 12:45pm. 

I found myself back at work just before 1pm. I worked straight through the afternoon. Work was so much easier with my laptop. Mindy alerted me around 4pm that she was headed home but not before making a pit stop at Al & Rosemary’s to drop off some stuff for Courtney. She also mentioned that she invited my dad for dinner. He accepted. Before leaving work I checked the financial news and saw that the Dow rose a whopping 950 points, or 11.7% for the day. This pleased me VERY much!

I left work a little after 5:30pm. The drive home was nice, but then again, when isn’t it with the BM’er?  I spotted my dad walking Ykraps as I pulled up into the driveway. I waited at the door for their return. Dinner was still a few minutes from being ready. I used those few minutes to unload my day pack and prep the next day’s coffee, all while chatting it up with my dad.

 Mindy proclaimed it dinner time around 6PM. We all served up our own plates. The roast turned out fantastic. In addition to the roast, we had mashed potatoes and gravy & giant crescent rolls. Everything was terrific. Jacob acted up a little at the dinner table. Mindy apologized to my dad for his behavior. My dad said he hardly noticed it. Dad mentioned that brother Bobby & April won a $20K bedroom makeover from channel 6, I believe. Almost in the same breath, he mentioned that brother Shawn has fallen on difficult times. Too bad. His mother would be so disappointed. 

Dad asked about the brothers, Tom & Glenn. I haven’t heard much if anything from either. Word has it that Tommy’s seeing his ex and therefore is not coming around the rest of the family for their apparent disapproval. You think? 

After dinner both kids were going to ride bikes but opted instead for other activities. Jacob wanted to toss the football instead. Dad & I headed out with him. The three of us played offense/defense for about 15 minutes before Mindy ultimately joined in on the fun.  All four of us played until darkness set in. We are still battling a late, heavy infestation of mosquitoes.

 Dad left after we had time to catch our breath and get a glass of water. About the same time, Mindy urged the children upstairs for showers. I used the quiet time to write in my blog. I didn’t get it fully completed before heading up for the tuck-in. After the kids showers were in the bag, I manually turned on watering zones #1 & 2 for 20 minutes each. While the sprinkler system ran I returned to working on my blog. I caught up through Sunday. 

Mindy & I sat together on the sofa where we watched most of the first half of Monday Night Football. The night’s game featured the Cleveland Browns versus the Super Bowl champion Giants. I expected a Giants blowout but the Browns were ahead when we headed up to bed. Not only that, they were playing with fire in their bellies. After an hour lying in bed I turned the bedroom TV on to check the football score. The Browns were still ahead. Mindy promptly fell asleep. Meanwhile, the Browns went on to score a couple more times.