Moses

I woke around 6-7am to pee. I had a very slight headache. I went back to sleep for another hour or so and woke feeling so much better. I still took two Ibuprofen just in case. It was just before 8am. I prepped a pot of coffee then turned my attention to calisthenics. Outside, the sky was clear and deep blue. It was chilly though, only 36 degrees. Ykraps and I headed out a few minutes later. The sunrise was gorgeous! We enjoyed our walk much. Coffee was good. I relaxed in front of the PC for a good while sipping coffee and downloading pictures. The owner of the cell phone I found called around 9am. After an awkward moment we discussed the logistics of getting the phone back into his hands. He agreed to come fetch it. I gave him our address. I left for my run just before 9:30am. I wore my new running shoes for the first time. They’re a bit looser than my old Nikes making them more comfortable out the door. Great! I stayed inside the subdivision not wanting to run in the still wet berm and risk getting my new shoes all messy. I was back by 10:05am. Courtney showed up around 10:15am to pick-up the hacksaw she needed to complete the washer & dryer installation. She didn’t stay long. I was eager to get outside and start on the retaining wall. I had all the materials in the back of the Trooper still. It probably wasn’t much over 40 degrees when I headed out. Plus, there was a chilly wind blowing in from the NW. But the bright sunshine provided much warmth. Having built half the wall last fall, I knew what needed done. I went about my work almost matter of factly. Only encountered a couple small snags. For one, my ¼” drill bit snapped off in one of the 2X8”s. Lucky for me, I had a couple older bits of the same size. Then, while adding water to the quick set concrete, the connection from the hose caddie to the water spigot gave way eventually soaking me. I didn’t let that detour me long. The biggest challenge was cutting double angles with my circular saw. It’s a retaining wall so the cuts didn’t need to be perfect, but I wanted them close. Mindy seemed disappointed when she came to ask if I was attending the neighborhood party with her and the kids. I was still in my stinky running clothes, covered with concrete dust, and still quite busy. I begged out. She wisely placed the found cell phone in a Ziploc baggie and attached it to our front door with a magnetic clip when she left. That way, I didn’t need to keep a watchful eye out for the owner. I finished the wall around 12:30-1:00pm. I immediately moved onto other, less pressing projects. Around 2pm I decided it was time to give the lawn its first cut of 2009. I wacked, edged, and cut using both the push and rider. It was nice to smell the fresh cut lawn. After finishing the lawn I decided to tune/clean the trimmer, edger, and mowers. More often than not I do that before the first cut. But today I waited until afterwards. By the way, everything started up easily. Fuel stabilizer really works. I cleaned the edger and trimmer, which share the same engine body first. I made sure all the bolts and screws were good and tight, too. They’ve had a history of vibrating loose and causing loss of compression. A lesser man might’ve thought they were junk and replaced them, but I found and remedied the problem a couple year ago. Now I check them all at the season’s outset. While tuning the edger, Tom, the cell phone owner pulled up. Must’ve been about 3:30pm. He stayed long enough to pick-up his phone and explain how he must’ve dropped it. Mindy got home from the grocery soon after the phone guy left. I was working on tuning up/cleaning up the push mower by then. After getting it completed, I gave Jacob a lesson on operating the John Deere. I taught him how to drive it. I let him drive it slowly around the backyard. He was way into it. I was nervous. I let him pull it into the shed too. I decided that I’d clean/tune it another time. It was getting late. And besides, I was tired, dirty, and hungry. Mindy took charge and stated that she wanted to go out for dinner. Her choice was Barley’s and she didn’t care what the kids said. That choice pleased me much. After a shower and after walking Ykraps, we loaded into the Honda and headed off to the Smokehouse. Typical Saturday evening - light crowd. We opted for booth seating. I ordered an IPA, Mindy a St. Joan’s. The kids ordered soft drinks. Our menu selections were as follows: Gates of Hell wings for Jacob & I along with a basket of onion strings. Mindy ordered a brisket quesadilla and Bella grilled cheese. It wasn’t too long before our food arrived. The wings were good, and Mindy’s quesadilla looked even better. We weren’t there but for a little more than an hour. The food was good. The beer was good. Mindy took care of the bill. We were on our way home even before 7:30pm. Once at home, Mindy got the kids ready for bed. I was eager to get into my pajamas and stretch out on the sofa. I did so with a HopSlam. To satisfy my desire to be entertained, I tuned the TV to the movie, The Ten Commandments – 1956. We all know the story and I remembered the movie from my childhood. I watched intently. Mindy gave up and headed for bed around 9:30pm. I stayed up watching until just before midnight. I needed sleep. As I laid there in bed, I pondered the overall story and whether it was reality or myth. I wasn’t sure. I knew then that I would spend some time soon researching the life of Moses. Gotta love Google.