Nissan Quest Has A New Owner

I was up on time. And like I have each day for the past week or so, I checked the temperature. It was -1. I completed my exercise routine then bundled warmly for a walk with the dog. It was definitely cold. I concluded that there’s little difference between -1 and -13. It’s just cold. I could hear that Mindy was up and in the shower just as she planned. She had to be at school by 7:30 which in effect, moved everything up 30 minutes on her agenda. She got up just a few minutes after me. For what it’s worth, I tried to get out of the house for my run a few minutes early just so Jacob didn’t have to be at home alone for too long. I stretched well from the front stoop before dashing off. I bundled warmly with two running shirts but only one pair of running pants. I was very comfortable. I reminded myself during the run how fortunate I am to run in the icy cold versus the rainy and wet 30s. That can be miserable. As luck would have it, just as I rounded the bend for home, Mindy was backing out of the drive. I figured she’d already be gone. I said goodbye to everyone once more. Inside, she had my eggs ready on the stove. After eating my breakfast I went out and started the minivan. I planned to let it run through my shower and then pull it in the garage to install the new license plates. Lately, Mindy hasn’t been making my lunch. This is something she had been doing for me for the last 2+ years. I guess the honey moon’s over! She’s never said anything about it. I will have to ask. However, I do realize how full her plate is early mornings these days. After my shower, I headed out to pull the van into the garage. To my chagrin, the windows were still frosty. It was cold! While I was busy scraping, Jimaken pulled up to pick-up Jacob. Jacob was ill so Jimaken offered to stay home from work with him today. That helped plenty. They left in a hurry. As soon as they pulled away, I pulled the minivan into the garage. I really didn’t want to be contending with the license plates in the sub zero temps. The garage provided some additional warmth. I removed the old and installed the new somewhat ceremoniously, officially making the van Courtney’s. I pulled it back to the curb before leaving for work. By then I had my Trooper warming too. I left for work a few minutes later. The work day wasn’t very busy once again. However, there’s always plenty for me to do. The biggest difference is that I am able to work in a different quadrant – the non- urgent/emergency. I managed my time well and left for lunch at 1pm. I drove to The Anderson’s on Sawmill to get some snacks and beer for our ski trip. Nobody has selection like the Anderson’s. I did some mindless browsing for the first few minutes but then turned my full attention to why I came in the first place. I was very excited to find that they had all sorts of my favorite beers on hand. They had 22oz bottles of Hop Juice, Mean Manalishi, & UnEarthy IPAs. Holy smoke! It must be my birthday! I picked up a Hopin’ Frog Silky Porter for Mindy. On top of all that I found some CBC IPA. This is the first time I’ve ever seen it bottled. I grabbed a sixer. Lastly, I grabbed sixer of Mojo IPA. I knew then that I just spent entirely too much money on beer, but what the hell. The beer is right around the corner from the butcher shop. I couldn’t pass up the deal on NY strip steaks. I bought two 12oz strips for $7.50 each. Now over to the snacks. I found some of the Babybel individually wrapped cheeses. I bought a couple bags. I grabbed four packs of fresh beef sticks, too. In addition, I picked up some pepperjack Cheezits and some stuffed Hanover pretzels. My total bill was $110. Honestly, I spent more than I originally thought I might. Back to work. After all that, I was back at the office by 2pm. As soon as I got back I made a few personal phone calls I needed to make. One, I canceled the insurance for the minivan. Two, I called Al, my ex-father-in-law. We talked for a few minutes. And lastly, I called Tony, our Honda sales dude. He thanked me for sending him more business. One of my guys bought a new Accord from him last week. Honestly, though, I didn’t know anything of it. J The reason for my call was to track down the trailer wire connector we need for the Pilot. He promised to research and call me back. He called back and said that Honda doesn’t provide or sell them. Said I’d have to get it from an auto parts store or trailer shop, like U-Haul. Hmm? OK. I thought they forgot to give it to us. The rest of the afternoon flew by. They often do. I left for home at 5:30pm. Mindy had wings in the oven when I got home. Courtney arrived at the same time. He grandpa dropped her off. She was excited to show off her new driver’s license and to start/warm-up the minivan. I walked Ykraps as soon as I got situated. I don’t like to relax much before hand. Courtney left before wings were done. We offered her dinner but she refused. She was excited to be free with her own vehicle, I’m sure. As it turned out, I wasn’t all that hungry given that I ate chicken & noodles for lunch. But the wings smelt good, so I ate a few anyhow. The kids enjoyed them as well. By the way, everyone in the house is ill except for me. I have vowed not to get the kiddie crud this year. Clean up was a snap. Mindy got the kids ready for bed earlier than usual. Although we didn’t have them tucked into bed until just before American Idol came on. Tonight’s Idol show featured contestants from San Francisco. As expected, there were plenty of funny/good ones. I enjoyed it. After Idol, that show, Fringe had its winter premier. We haven’t watched it for a couple of months. This episode was very good. It’s worthy of a watch. Check it out next Tuesday. We headed for bed soon after Fringe ended.