Jimmy Lube

I slept in until just after 7am. From bed, I could see blue skies via the half moon window. That was enough to motivate me up and out of bed. I got the coffee started then started my exercise routine. After push-ups and sit-ups I leashed up Ykraps and headed out for our morning walk. I was angry to find the small pieces of sod I laid along the water’s edge out front rolled back for the third or fourth time. I’m suspecting it the handy work of raccoons. They’re notorious for doing so. It’s never gonna take root if they keep rolling it back every few days. After Ykraps’ walk, I headed out to put the sod back down. Back inside, I enjoyed some coffee and downloaded Saturday’s pictures from Tommy’s and the Jump’s. Come 8:30am I took Mindy some coffee. The house remained quiet even as I prepared to set out for my run. I wore long running pants and a long sleeved wicking shirt. It was still kind of cool – about 56 degrees. I did my usual Sunday run, running along Trabue & then down Hague. It was a nice run. I noticed that Mindy was enjoying coffee on her patio when I returned. Bella came downstairs looking for her, and didn’t believe me when I indicated that she was outside. I went to the PC. Mindy soon reentered the house asking me to join her. I said I would. I topped off my coffee and joined Mindy & the kids outback. I grabbed one of the two remaining cream filled donuts that Mindy bought for me last week. Once I took a second to savor the flavor I noticed that the cream was spoiled. Yuck! I spat the donut out right in front of the kids and Mindy. At about the same time, I spotted one of the two small rose bushes I planted only yesterday dug up. Not sure what’s doing it but suspecting it bunnies. There are oodles of them out back. I uttered a few unkind words and then got it reset and tamped down good. The kids complained of being chilly, although it was quite lovely. We all headed back inside together. I didn’t want to waste any valuable yard work time. I changed into my yard grubbies and took to the garage where I prepped to cut the lawn. It was 10am. As a change of pace, I decided to do the cut in with the push mower first. I’d do the whacking and edging after cutting all the grass. The grass was extremely thick in many places, especially the newly laid sod. It nearly choked the mower multiple times. It appears that I’m putting to much water on that side of the house too – kind of squishy. I planned to readjust the program times for that zone. I finished the lawn after about 2 hours. By then, Mindy had left for the grocery store. The kids remained home, but were off playing with the neighbors. The next task I completed was fertilizing the lawn. It didn't take too long - about 20 minutes start to finish. Then, worried that it might be blocking too much sunshine, I started pruning the mulberry bush/tree that seems to grow overnight and shades much of my newly laid sod. Not only does it grow overnight but it grows sideways instead of vertically. It provides a lovely canopy but too much shade. I whacked off all of the horizontal limbs, which was far more than I ever imagined. The limbs I cut were up to 3 inches in diameter and up to 12’ long. I worked on it for a good hour using my little hand saw and giant loppers. I carried all the prunings to the compost pile, placing them strategically along the wall of brush. The new grass will get much more afternoon sun now. Next, I moved just north trimming the over grown honeysuckles back away from the two blue spruce trees. And while in there, I hunted down the major arteries to the wild grape vines that are starting to thrive once more. They need cut back every couple of years or else they’ll take over everything. They hide themselves smartly amongst the honeysuckle. I cut some major limbs from the honey suckle bushes providing a nice 3 foot gap between them and the pines. They can get out of hand quickly too. I cut them back every year. I spent the rest of the afternoon prunning/hauling honeysuckle. Mindy made me a sandwich when she got home from the grocery. I woofed it down fast. I was hungry! Before calling it an afternoon, I blew off the driveway and walk, and moved four volunteer tomato plants to empty plant containers. I plan to give them to Dad. Mindy called me in to ready for the Thompson birthday party at 3:20pm. I had just started to water flowers out front, but we needed to leave by 3:40pm. I was ready to go by 3:45pm, just five minutes behind plan. No biggie. It’s a relatively quick drive to Todd’s. We arrived a minute or two after 4pm. By the way, the afternoon weather was absolutely gorgeous - sunny and low 70’s. In the shade, it was a tad chilly, but I wasn’t complaining. While I sat soaking in the sun, I reflected back one year ago to the same event. Mindy was just home from surgery and didn’t attend. I took the kids. The weather was similar. Hard to believe it has been a year. Time flies. In the same thought pattern, I remembered having that pesky sinus infection that I couldn’t shake until our Florida trip in mid-July. Back to the present. Speaking of presents, this was a birthday party for three of our nieces, one older (Lindy – 20) and two young ones (6 & 2). There was a table holding a mountain of presents. I got lots of photos of the kids and then took a walk around the yard taking what I felt were some really lovely shots of the landscape and weather. By the way, the food was good too: subs, meatballs, salads, etc. There’s a new trampoline in the yard this year. It didn’t take long for all the Thompson kids, Mindy included, to show off their long held trampoline skills. I got photos of most. Sadly, though, only a couple turned out. Failed to adjust my ISO setting. I managed to capture Mindy in mid air, upside down. Todd was by far the most adept. He did several flips, and got lots of air. I didn’t dare give it a try, keeping in mind my goal to remain in good health. The crowd thinned shortly after trampoline time. Mindy & I stayed a while longer playing a little volleyball with Jacob and Missy’s father. It was 7pm when we headed for home. My thoughts turned to what I might still be able to accomplish at home given the extended day light. I really want to get the oil changed in the Trooper now that I have all the stuff. The last thing I want to happen is have all that stuff setting in the garage. So, after getting home and walking Ykraps, I changed once again into my yard grubbies and started changing the oil. To do so, I had to back the BM’er out and pull the Trooper in the garage. The other side is dominated by bicycles (summer mode). It occurred to me as I crawled under the Trooper that I wasn’t sure exactly where the oil pan was. I haven’t changed oil myself since the Camaro was new (1984). Of the two choices, I opted to loosen the plug on the pan that looked like it had been violated past. Makes sense. Besides, the other was a little farther back, which wouldn’t make sense relative to the dip stick’s location. All went well, save for a drip of oil here of there. The new oil pan worked well, too. I let the old oil drain to a complete stop. I put the new oil filter on first, then, added the new synthetic oil. No fuss no muss! Lastly, I changed my air filter then poured the old oil from the storable oil pan into the jug that the new oil came in. I moved the Trooper back to the street and pulled the BM’er back into the garage. I wasn’t done with my chores, however. Nope. Next, I headed out to leisurely water all the flowers front & back. And just before going inside, I tied up the giant purple sage located next to the hose bib out back. Inside, Mindy said Bella was tirelessly awaiting a tuck in – wanted flown to bed. I obliged her request doing the helicopter maneuver. She digs it! A Black Dog Honey Raspberry Ale sounded good, and I had one in the fridge. Not wanting to deny my craving, I enjoyed one along with a bag of microwave popcorn. Meanwhile, Bella (a.k.a. the nose) smelt the corn and begged to join us. I agreed. She loves popcorn almost as much as me. While Bella and I snacked, Mindy checked out lakefront rental homes, first on Big Long lake in northern Indiana. Later, she found a lakefront house just down the road from where we stayed lat summer on Norris Lake. This house particular house sits on a one acre lot right on the lake and has a private covered dock. It has 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths too. I made note and thought that I might call on Monday to check on availability. We ended up popping a second bag of corn to satisfy everybody’s craving. We headed to bed sometime after 10pm.

Class of 2009 - Jump - Sines

I woke with a slight headache – a common occurrence after drinking Barley beer- no matter how few. It was 6:30am. Headache aside, I felt plenty rested. I got coffee started and began my exercise routine. I was done with exercises and Ykraps’ walk before 7am. In fact, by 7am I was already engaged in work. I flipped between work and updating my blog until 8:45am when I left for a run. Meanwhile, Mindy was still sound asleep. I ran my usual route. It was gorgeous – sunny and 60 degrees. After my run I conversed online with my boss. Still no sign of Mindy. Around 10am I headed out to start planting the small rose bushes. Mindy came outside for coffee while I was in the middle of the first planting. I stopped for a few to spend a minute or two with her on the new waterside patio. We discussed many things, including taking Landon & Rocky with us to Kelsea’s graduation party. Mindy agreed to fetch them around noon and after her shower while I finished planting flowers and veggies. I filled a planter with leftover impatiens to place on the new patio (Mindy’s request). Next, I planted our tomato and pepper plants. This is the latest that I’ve planted my veggies in recent memory. But it’s not like it’s that late. I planted four varieties of tomatoes, two of each - first lady, roma, pink lady, and better boy. I also planted three varieties of peppers, two each – jalapeno, habanera, and bell. I planted all the veggies on the east side this year. That bed gets a uniform hit from the irrigation system and lots of decent sun. We were both running behind. Mindy didn’t leave to fetch the boys until 12:40pm. I got a quick shower and then prepped the soft cooler with soft drinks and ice. Mindy and the boys were back just after 1pm. Mindy had new outfits for both to wear. Long overdue, I gave them the Easter eggs still prominently displayed in a kitchen vase to throw into the pond. It contained about ten of them. They tossed all but three of the pretties into the water. We left for Kelsea’s graduation party being hosted at Tommy’s around 1:30pm. We couldn’t stay too long, however. We had plans to grill out with the Jump’s and Imber’s at 5pm in Grandview. Even before that, we had to be home to intercept the kids from Jimaken at 4:30pm. We arrived at Tommy’s place in Pickerington around 2pm. Parking was a bit of a mess at first, but Tommy quickly asked some guests to relocate their cars to make room so that others could get up the drive. We eventually parked out by his party barn, which wasn’t being used for this event. Mom, Dad, and Shelly we already there. I presented Mom with her petunia planter as soon as we got settled. I hadn’t seen Shelly since before Xmas 2005, just before Tommy shared the news of their imminent split. I greeted Shelly warmly, along with her new boyfriend, Lenny. Sitting with Shelly was her friend Kim and her husband Ray. We went karaokeing with them one night many moons ago. Kelsea looked all grown up compared to the last I saw her. She introduced me to her H.S. friends, who were all hanging out inside the house. Meanwhile, back outside, the boys were having a nice time playing with Tommy’s son Wally and Dad. Mindy and I enjoyed having the boys with us. They’re both well behaved. After some food and play, several of us took a walk around the property and into the woods. Dad was in the larger group and had Rocky with him. I walked with Mom, Mindy and Landon. Somewhat knowing the terrain, we cut through the woods and met with the others towards the tail end. We probably walked about a mile. Mom must’ve felt as though she were in heaven walking with dad for the last quarter mile or so. J It was already 4pm. We had little choice but to head for home. Just as we got back to the house Charles walked up with Lea. I quipped that I was leaving because he was there. They were just about to prank Kelsea as we were leaving. I gave Dad my leftover pepper and tomato plants before hitting the road. Sensing that we’d be up to 30 minutes late, Mindy phoned neighbor Chrissy on our drive home to see if the kids could play at her house until we arrived. Jimaken was dropping them at 4:30 and it was already 4:10pm. We still had to drop the boys by Lindsey’s. Landon asked to go to our house. We pulled up at Lindsey’s around 4:40pm. Olivia and Ashley were there for a visit. It was good to see them. We needed to remain mindful of the time. We left for home at 4:50 and arrived right around 5pm. The kids, we could see, were playing at the neighbors as we passed. We restocked the cooler with a six pack of HopSlam and drink boxes for the kids. Mindy grabbed a bottle of wine and two bags of chips to take along, too. We arrived at the Jump’s around 5:30pm. The Imber’s were already there. I hadn’t seen the Jump’s since a few days after Ella was born. I guess that would have been March. Jeremy & Courtney both look great. Porter was in a good mood. – but generally is. He interacted with all of us. He’s 20 months old now. Time flies. Jeremy poured me a Rye-PA right off. Good flavor, a tad on the light side. Nice! We hung out on their stepper patio while Jeremy started the grill. Bob showed off his new minivan and played the new Sarah McLaughlin CD. He offered to burn me a copy. Heck yeah! The burgers were ready in a snap. We planned to eat from their attached screened-in porch that faces 1st Ave. Very nice! Along with burgers, Jeremy whipped up some home made baked beans, too. Bob brought a batch of his famous guacamole. Before and after dinner, Jacob spent considerable time playing with Porter. They played with his trucks in the patio gravel, and Porter watched Jacob ride his scooter that we brought along. Mindy held Ella for quite a while. Ella didn’t seem to care much for Mindy’s touch initially but eventually warmed to her. She’s still so tiny. After dinner, Bob broke out a bottle of Mean Manaleshi, and then a Double Bastard Ale. Around dark, Mary Ann broke out three varieties of Jeni’s ice cream: kona stout, black coffee, and cherry sorbet. I had a scoop of the kona stout served on top of a home made brownie. It was very good. We stayed at the Jump’s until almost 9:30pm. Got home before 10pm. Mindy & I got in the hot tub after the kids were in bed. We saw a few distant flashes of lightning, but nothing to worry about, or at least we hoped. We were in bed by 11pm.

Last Day of School

It was Friday, but since this would be an on-call weekend my usual euphoric mood was at least somewhat tempered. Like most days, I completed my daily exercises then headed out with Ykraps. It was cool and cloudy – about 56 degrees. The day’s high wasn’t expected to pass the low 70s but promised lots of sunshine later. I was a bit anxious about my looming on-call and how it would compete with a host of family events. My weekend was almost entirely spoken for, and that was before considering the first project or chore. But that little voice inside my head reminded me to stay calm and focused. After all, I rarely fail to meet even the most demanding goals. Before heading out for a run, I did a brief meditation followed by a really good stretch. I am oodles more flexible for it. I wore a long sleeved wicking shirt to combat the slight chill in the air, but still wore shorts. The run went well. Mindy had fried eggs waiting my return. I washed them down with a big glass of OJ. Mindy & Bella departed after 7:30am. I headed for the shower at 7:35am. Jacob was out the door at the bus stop even before I finished primping/dressing for work. I guess he was excited about this being the last day of school. I met up with he and Jake a few minutes later. I took my camera thinking it important to capture the moment. Jake wasn’t feeling well. I teased him about looking so glum, this being the last day of school. Said he was tired. I photo’d both. Even though it was supposed to be sunny and warm, it was gray and chilly at 8:00am. Still, I held out hope for the better weather to come. After seeing Jacob onto the bus, I walked Ykraps in the backyard. I left for work at 8:15am. Once at work, it didn’t take long for the dreary gray morning to turn bright and sunny. My guess is near 9am. The boss and I planned a lunch outing at Chipotle. We left around noon. Meanwhile, the weather was ideal – about 72 and sunny. We got a table outdoors. I had their barbacoa (shredded beef) burrito. Delicious! The afternoon drug on a little bit due mostly to my earlier than usual lunch break. I stayed busy, though. By the time 5:30pm rolled around there was only one lingering issue following me into my on-call weekend. But because my evening peer was on vacation, I needed to be tuned in right away. Mindy had a retirement party to attend after school. She took Bella along. Because of her late arrival home, she made arrangements for my dad to greet Jacob off the bus. Dad was just leaving when I pulled up at home. He asked about Kelsea’s graduation party. We’d see him there around 1pm, we offered. At the same time, Jimaken was there to pick-up the kids. He was taking them for Friday night only since they’re heading to the Outer Banks this coming Friday. We won’t see them for the following two weekends. After the dust settled, I spent the next 30 minutes watering all the flowers. That served as a relaxing launch into the weekend. We left for Barleys around 7:30pm. Just before, I talked with my boss. That one lingering trouble was resolved! Wahoo! That made for a better start to my on-call. Barley’s wasn’t crowded at all, but housed a handful of our favorite peeps, including Bob Imber flying solo. Mary Ann was working. Also there were Steve Wonn and Calvin. Back on tap for the first time in maybe a year was Hoptopus. I ordered one of those. Mindy went with a Southern Tier Mokah – an Chocolate Imperial Stout. We ordered food even before my first beer was toast. We shared a pulled-pork quesadilla and an order of KC wings. We had a good time. Bob brought his Olympus camera similar to mine. On it he had photos of his recent golf outing with Steve Sines (former Muff Bros. front man). I was shocked at first, and didn’t think it possible that it was him. But after checking out the entire series it was pretty obvious that it was Steve. Not to be disrespectful, but boy has he aged. Of course it didn’t help that he’s now fully gray and sporting a serious beer belly. After all, it’s been almost 30 years! Rene joined us late. Must’ve been near 10pm. She wanted me to do a shot of J.D. Nope, not tonight. I bought her one, though. We left for home just before 11pm. All totaled, I consumed three beers, and all three were Hoptopus’. I drove home. We weren’t up too long. We headed for bed one after the other, but Mindy first. I checked the Reds score. They lost. Work was quiet.

Prehistoric Creature

It was a clean wake. I was up right on time. I felt really strong, too. I did my sit-ups, push-ups, and curls with a bit more energy than usual. Just to be proactive, I took three Ibuprofen. It didn’t dawn on me until my walk with Ykraps that my right thigh wasn’t aching any longer. That was excellent news! Even more apparent than the absence of pain was just how humid it was outside. The temperature was 67 degrees. The air was soggy. Back at the house I sipped coffee and browsed the internet for some good news. I delivered Mindy’s coffee promptly at 6:05am. I spent more time on the PC before meditation and stretching. I dressed and left for my run at 6:40am. It was very nice out. I spotted Kenny leaving for work as I ran by his place. I gave him a gentlemanly nod. My run went well. The sun was shining when I finished. But like most days this week, the threat of rain loomed large. It was expected to remain that way at least through the mid-day with possible clearing for Friday and the weekend ahead. Mindy had a big pile of scrambled eggs awaiting my return. They were quite good. This was one of the last Grandma Sharon day’s for Bella. She’ll be in school everyday next school year. Jacob’s school had a field day planned, a day when the entire school gathers for races and events outdoors. He was excited. Friday will be his last day of school. Lucky him! Mindy and Bella departed. I headed off to the shower. Like the day before, I walked Ykraps in the back yard while waiting on Jacoby. We happened upon a very large snapping turtle apparently laying its eggs in the deepest part of our backyard. It didn’t move, and Ykraps didn’t even see it. But I did. I’m amazed at how prehistoric they look with all the jagged armor about their bodies. I was careful not to disturb it. Back inside, Jacob was just putting on his shoes to leave for the bus stop. I let him know of the turtle’s whereabouts. He went out to see for himself. Jake knocked on the front door seconds after Jacob headed out back. I sent Jake out too, but asked that neither of them disturb it. They agreed. Unfortunately, by the time they got out there it was gone. It must’ve booked after I turned my back on it. They boys headed for the bus stop. I met them out there. After seeing the boys onto the bus I spent just a few more minutes at the house. I surfed the net looking for the Odyssey putter I want. I found it at TGW.com. I’ll show Mindy later. I left for work at 8:13am and arrived around 8:28am. We were still very busy, working our way through a handful of rather lengthy issues. I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish at lunch. To meet those goals, I left the office at 1:45pm – late, I know! My first stop was the Old Hilliard NAPA. There I bought the adapter for the 7-to-4 pin trailer light adapter for the Honda Pilot. I was worried that I’d never find one, or that it would cost an arm and a leg. It was $12. Cool! Next, I stopped at the bank to deposit a check from Mindy. No, she doesn’t have to pay to be my wife, but now that I think about it…. Hmm? After the bank I headed across the street to Wal-Mart. I bought everything I needed to change the oil in my Trooper using synthetic oil. I also bought an air filter. Ouch, that was pricier than most other models. Mine was $17 when most others were about $8. Figures. I bought a new oil pan, too. It also doubles as a sealed storage reservoir until the old oil can be properly disposed of. Cool idea. In addition to the auto supplies, I bought two small red double knockout rose bushes, two small vinca vines, and a petunia planter for mom. I’ll see her Saturday at Tommy’s. Lastly, I bought two camping chairs to keep in the Honda Pilot. Those will come in handy. Grand total - $120. Back to work. I was gone about 1.25 hours. The afternoon drug a little. I left work at 5:35pm. I stopped at CVS to pick-up a prescription for Mindy - $20 co-pay. I hate that! I arrived home a little after 6pm. Mindy was already in scramble mode having arrived home somewhere near 5:30pm. She was preparing to grill steaks. I walked Ykraps then went to the Trooper to retrieve the items I’d purchased earlier. I was disappointed to see that both rose bushes fell over casting potting mix all over the back carpet. Not a big deal, but something else needing my attention. I took care of that on the spot. I was suddenly overwhelmed with sleepiness. We ate dinner on the deck for the first time this season. The steaks were good, as was the corn-on-the-cob. The kids quickly scarfed their food and then begged off to play with their friends. I handled most of the clean-up with one goal in mind. Get the mess cleaned up quickly and then take a nap. I did just that. After the last dish was cleaned I found my way to the livingroom recliner where I all but collapsed. I fell asleep right away. Bella and her little friends decided for some reason to play inside. They were loud and persistent. Their noise woke me several times. I chose not to address it, but wanted to. They were being ridiculously loud. After about 30 minutes I got up and headed outside to check on my flowers. I didn’t bother watering. Everything seemed to be sufficiently wet. Mindy got the kids organized for baths at about the same time. She also started some laundry. I was slightly troubled that we were using so much water all at one time (bath, shower, and washer, not to mention a few toilet flushes). It sounded like the water meter might explode! Finally, after getting about ten days behind, I updated my blog. All were written but remained unpublished. I gave most entries a cursory review before posting. I finished my blog activity around 8:30pm and went to tuck in the kids. Bella greeted me at the top of the stairs wanting ‘flown’ to bed. I obliged her desire. Jacob acted as if he were already sleeping. I could tell otherwise. Back downstairs I tuned into the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA playoff game 5. Now I don’t watch any pro basketball but have loosely followed the Cavs on the net. I wanted to catch tonight’s game. Despite their stellar season, they were on the brink of elimination. A few minutes into the 2nd quarter, they were up by 14. And as the announcers summarized, they were up by as many as 22. That lead quickly disappeared until they were behind by 1 at the half. James made some awesome plays but didn’t seem dominant by any stretch. On the other hand, Howard, of the Orlando Magic, was. Mindy wanted to go to bed. I wanted to see at least one more quarter of the basketball game. She went on to bed without me. I popped some popcorn and watched the third quarter. Frustrating is the best description I can give it. The Cavs fell into a deeper hole but managed to stay close enough to keep hope alive. Still, end of the 3rd quarter, I headed for bed.

The Best of Both Worlds: Golf & Wings

I slept deeply all night long, but as is often the case, it was still hard to get out of bed. I wanted nothing more than to keep sleeping. I remained groggy through exercise but slowly came out of the funk and began feeling markedly better. It probably didn’t hurt that I choked down three Ibuprofen as soon as I got up. Regardless, I was in a far better place than I was Tuesday AM. I did my usual stuff. After exercise I walked Ykraps. I kept his water on the counter over night but put it back down immediately after our walk. I noticed that he lapped it up. I knew then that I should walk him again before leaving for work. I spent several minutes on the PC, and even returned for a little more after delivering Mindy’s coffee. I had plenty of time for meditation and stretching, too. It felt good to be on schedule. Like the last couple of mornings, the sky was partly cloudy early in the morning. No real threat of rain. However, thunder storms were again said to be imminent for the afternoon. I wore shorts and a sleeveless wicking shirt for my run. I was quite comfortable. I hit the street at 6:40am. My run was a good one. I felt mentally and physically well, although that mystery ache remained in my front right upper thigh. The discomfort was lessening, however. My run finished nicely and the sun was shining by its end. Mindy had fried eggs waiting my return. She enjoyed one, too. Lately, I’ve been taking my breakfast with a glass of orange juice, something I haven’t done for 5 or 6 years, or when I started a low-carb diet. To this day, I remain vigilant in my quest to keep my carb intake to a minimum, but admittedly slip on occasion. Mindy asked about golf night before she left. I confirmed my intentions to play should the weather cooperate. I was off to the shower soon after Mindy & Bella departed. I was done with my shower earlier than normal. I took Ykraps on another walk out back before bus time. He unloaded three or four times. I might have to do this everyday moving forward. We’ll see, that or manage his water intake better. I met Jacob and Jake at the bus stop afterwards. Jacob, I saw, had gift certificates for all of his teachers, bus driver included. Mindy wisely thinks of those things. I’m sure there good for at least one letter grade higher. J Before shoving off for work, I fetched a pair of shorts for golf. I arrived around 8:25am. We were quite busy once again. Add to that, my peer was doing her team outing from noon on. We were busy. I took lunch around 1pm and drove to Galaxy Golf to look at Odyssey putters in an attempt to find just the right one for me. Their left-handed selection was weak. I had to try and find the right model based on a right handed version. Not the optimal way to find the perfect putter. My plan was to find one, try it there, then order online, unless they had a better deal, of course. As I understand things, Mindy may get it for me for Father’s Day. I made note of a couple model numbers and then headed off to Lowe’s, having been gone from the office for just over 15 minutes. At Lowe’s I looked at their double knock rose bushes and vinca vines. They had no vinca vines but did have the Double Knockout roses for $12.99. Although I bought nothing, I browsed for a while. The abbreviated afternoon went by quickly. Soon it was time to leave for Wednesday golf. I changed into my shorts in my office and left at 4:30pm on the nose. I was eager to play. I encountered one small traffic snarl as we approached the I-70 interchange on I-270 south. It’s always backed up right there. It cleared in hurry, though. The new way in seemed to save about ten minutes. I was there by 5:05pm. It was Bob, Bob, and me. We played the back nine. I played my usual good holes, bad holes. I left two very easy birdies out on the course. And by the way, still looking for my first of the season. I had two eights that I killed my round. I didn’t let it bother me much. Like always, a few feet his way or that way and I could have easily shaved ten strokes off my round. But that’s my game. We finished around 7:20pm. We chatted for a spell before heading out. I asked Bob if he’d heard from the Jumps. According to Mindy they’ve invited us over Saturday evening for a cookout and to tap Jeremy’s latest batch of IPA. He’s getting really good results lately. At that point, Bob had yet to hear from them. I took the new way home and used my trip odometer. It was 25 miles on the nose – lot to driveway. I arrived home in 27 minutes. Mindy spent her Mindy Wednesday at Barley’s. She brought me home a box of Gates of Hell wings. I ate every last one of them. I was very hungry. She soon got the kids ready for bed. I started dosing off while in the familyroom watching the end of the Reds game. We headed to bed even before 10pm. Suddenly, I couldn’t sleep. I got up and headed downstairs for a while. I watched the 11pm news cast, something I haven’t done in years. It put me to sleep. J Back to bed.

Groggy, Sleepy, Tired

I woke tired as ever, but knew that I had to be at work so I never gave it any further thought. It took everything I had to push through my exercise routine but I did it. It was 67 degrees when I headed out with Ykraps. This was trash day Tuesday now that the Memorial Day holiday moved it from Monday’s. Our can was already out waiting at the curb. It was stuffed full. It contained a lot of planting containers and trays. After exercise, meditation, and stretching, I left for a run. I still had a nagging pull in my upper right thigh. Don’t know how I did it. It started aching during my Sunday morning run, and it really got tweaked on my first swing on the golf course later that same morning. I did all sorts of stretching on the course to help alleviate the dull pain. It helped some, but the dull ache’s remained to this day. Thankfully, running didn’t seem to aggravate it much. I reckon I did it doing yard work. Mindy had eggs ready upon my return home. Before she and Bella left for school, Mindy & I briefly discussed Jacob’s soccer pizza party set for 6:30pm at coach’s house. After a shower, Jacob alerted me that he just spotted Ykraps peeing on the back of our sofa. I was not pleased. Why is he doing this all of the sudden? Perhaps it’s his age, and he just can’t hold it any longer. But he was out two hours prior. I started cleaning it up, but not before making him sniff it and rapping him once on the ass. I lead him to his pen after. That’s the first time that I’ve gave him a wallop in 7 years or more. And yes, I felt a little guilty. Off to work. It was a lovely drive in. It was sunny and already 70 degrees. I would’ve enjoyed staying home. Work was very busy, but little wonder, being the day after the holiday. At lunch time I drove to Strader’s, although I took an alternative path after mindlessly driving towards Home Depot instead. There, I bought 6 tomato and 9 pepper plants. A few thunderstorms rumbled through the area mid-afternoon. I was hopeful that the soccer pizza party would be postponed or canceled. I was still ridiculously tired. It wasn’t. In fact, the sky cleared late afternoon. Mindy & the kids were waiting for me to get home in lieu of meeting there. That would work. Despite not leaving work until after 5:30pm, I decided to stop for gas before going home. It was up to $2.65 in Hilliard, and only $2.41 at Thornton’s. If I waited until the morning, I just knew Thornton’s would be marked up, too. It took $42 to fill-up. I was home long enough to sneak a short nap in the recliner at Mindy’s prompting. I really appreciated and needed it. I was hungry, too, and pizza sounded really good by then. We left for the pizza party at 6:20pm. Coach’s house is out by the Thornapple golf course. We pulled up at 6:42pm. It looked like most others were already there. We gathered somewhat uncomfortably in the kitchen until they unleashed everyone on the pizza. After all, none of us knew one another that well. I ate four slices of pizza. I was full. Mindy struck up a conversation about her failed school levy with a couple other mothers. I listened but didn’t contribute. We were there just about an hour. After pizza coach began passing out trophies to the boys and offered a few encouraging words to each of them. He recognized Jacob as being the most improved player on the team. We left for home around 7:40pm. At home I took to the outdoors and watered flowers. Back inside, I laid down on the family room floor around 8:30pm and fell soundly asleep. I woke after an hour or so and plopped onto the sofa but went right back to sleep. I slept until Mindy woke me for bed. It took every ounce of energy I could muster to get upstairs and into bed. I was so tired.

Memorable Memorial Day - Sunny & 80

It’s quite clear that my natural rise time is close to 7am. Over the last few months, I’ve woke at or near 7am on most weekend days regardless of my bedtime. That works well. It’s not too early and not too late. Plus, it gives me a couple hours all to myself since Mindy has a propensity to sleep until 9am. I’m probably stating the obvious, but I was up near 7am. Initially, it was cloudy, but still quite warm. It was 67 degrees. I completed a full set of exercises: sit-ups, push-ups, and curls. After exercise I headed out with Ykraps. During our walk, I thought about all I wanted to accomplish this day. Primarily, I wanted to powerwash the front porch, walk, and drive, and then perhaps plant flowers in the remaining pots. I worked on my blog for about an hour before setting out on a run. I didn’t bother waking Mindy before hand. I figured she deserved some uninterrupted sleep. I didn’t head out for my run until after 9:30am. I wore long running pants and a long sleeved shirt. That was a curse and blessing. It was too warm and humid for that particular get up. However, I took a tumble on the asphalt at about the three mile marker. Having on long running pants saved my skin from some serious road rash. In nearly 12.5 years of running this was my first fall…ever. And that includes running in some ridiculous conditions. Funny thing is, I can’t figure out how or why I fell. I wasn’t paying that close of attention on the terrain and also know that I had just stepped off a curb and into the street. I’m sure that had something to do with it. But it’s not like I tripped over anything. To the contrary. Out of no where, I had this strange sense that I was falling forward, and one that I just couldn’t stop. In the end, I put my hands out in front of me to absorb the fall and ended up doing a complete summersault in the road. I looked around and brushed myself off. I listened for a voice, perhaps from an obscure viewer checking on my condition but there wasn’t one. Thankfully, aside from burning palms, I felt fine. I simply rose to my feet and continued towards home. Mindy made French toast out of Italian bread along with maple bacon. The house smelt terrific. Both kids spent the night at Crissy & Kenny’s. We enjoyed our breakfast alone. It was almost 11am by the time we got breakfast put away. Mindy reiterated her desire to take the kids to the pool, this being opening its weekend. I expressed no desire to go, citing too many things on the to-do list remaining. She tried guilting me into going, but I resisted. I quickly got ready to power wash. Mindy did a number of inside chores before leaving for the pool. I spent the next two hours power washing the front porch & drive. The porch was covered in a thin sheen of moss since it rarely gets any direct sunshine facing north and all. It cleaned up nicely. Taking a break from power washing, I started washing Mindy’s Honda. It needed it badly. And by the way, the weather once again turned out better than forecasted. It was sunny and 80. It was gorgeous. No sooner had I finished cleaning the Honda when Mindy and five kids left for the pool. She took our two along with the neighbors two, plus, they had a friend over. He went too. While they were gone, I helped Kenny with his own small re-sod project along with finishing up the power washing. After helping Kenny I washed the Trooper. I considered getting two of our three cars washed icing on the cake. I potted some flowers for the front porch before wrapping up for the day. Before winding up the hose I watered the front flowers really well. I did the back too. Mindy & the kids arrived home from the pool just after 4pm. Dinner plans called for another cookout at the neighbors. Only this time, they were supplying almost everything. I took a badly needed shower and then walked Ykraps before heading over. Mindy was already over there. I made myself a rum, ruby grapefruit juice, and Fresca to take along. The gathering included: neighbors David & Becky, Becky’s brother Rick and his girlfriend, Crissy & Kenny, Mike & Julie, and Mindy & I. And, of course, all the kids were there too. Kenny grilled steaks. I had a delicious T-bone. I walked home after dinner and poured myself yet another rum drink. I knew that would be my last one. After all, this was a ‘school’ night. Back at Kenny’s, we ended up playing football with the boys until near dark. They were much better sports after today’s game. Mindy got the kids bathed while I checked the Reds score online. We headed for bed near 10pm.

Golf, Dahlias, Burgers & Beer

It was just after 7am when I rolled out of bed. I probably could’ve slept longer but didn’t want the morning to get away from me. I started some coffee and exercises. Afterwards, I headed out with Ykraps. It was mostly cloudy over head but looked to be clearing. The sun was shining a short time later. I fooled around on the PC for a short while but knew that I needed to leave on a run prior to 8:30am if I were to remain easily on task. Bob Imber phoned just before my run to let me know that he’d meet us at Split Rock around 11am. Cool! I ran just three miles and along Trabue and Hague. It was very nice – about 70 and mostly sunny. Olivia and Jacob were playing in the basement when I got back from my run. Originally, the plan called for me to drop Olivia on my way to the golf course, but Mindy scrapped church and agreed to drop her off in route to school, where she’d catch up on report cards. That would save me a diversion of sorts. I was showered by 9:15am and quickly got busy transferring my golf clubs into the Trooper. I was waiting for David and Kenny. I woofed down two cream filled donuts for breakfast – fast & easy- while waiting. I was just getting ready to phone Kenny when he came to the front door. By 10:15am we were loaded into the Trooper and on our way to Split Rock. We took an alternative path which seemed to cut about ten minutes off the drive. I’ll remember that for next time. To my surprise, Bob Imber was already there waiting. We were able to tee off a few minutes early. Great! And while I’ve golfed nine holes a number of times this season, this marked my first 18 holes of the year. I didn’t play bad, especially on the front. I shot a 42/49. I missed a number of short putts which prevented me from scoring really well on the front. Then, I had two rough holes on the back that kept me from scoring in the 80s. A few feet this way or that way really cost me this round. Regardless, we had a great time. On hole number 16 a storm moved in, and it poured for about 15 minutes. We parked our carts under a canopy of trees. I felt a little uneasy after hearing the rumble of thunder a time or two. But it soon passed and we finished our round. Bob showed us his new, used minivan before departing. Very nice. All the bells and whistles. We headed home the same way we came in. Mindy had been at school all day but was already home when we arrived. I moved immediately to planting flowers, hardly wasting even a minute. I planted a flat of dahlias out front where I would typically plant red begonias. I didn’t stop there, either. I planted another flat of petunias along the west side of the house. Before calling it quits I watered them in really well. While I was busy with the flowers, Mindy made arrangements to cookout with the neighbors. We were having burgers and green bean casserole. After planting and watering, I needed another shower before heading off to the neighbors. I had Mindy chill a couple Hop Slams and Honey Raspberry Ales. We hung out with the neighbors until after 10pm. We made plans to grill out with them again on Memorial Day.

Working From My Lengthy Mental Project List

Despite being tired, I crawled out of bed just before 7am to get my Saturday morning underway. The impetus for my early rise time was my rather lengthy mental project list. However, before the first project could begin, I had to follow through with my usual stuff. I started a pot of coffee then exercised and walked Ykraps. I checked the forecast. There was a 30% chance of rain with the day’s high expected to be in the low 80s. The current radar was clean. The skies were partly cloudy. It was 65 degrees. I brushed Ykraps after his walk. By the time that I was through, I had enough dog hair to make a fur coat. For the next hour I sipped coffee and puttered around the house and yard. I dressed and left for a run just after 8:30am. Mindy was still sleeping. My run went well. I was home and done around 9:15am. Mindy was up a short time later. We spent some time out in the yard on her patio and then checking out some of our summery blooms. It was quite lovely. Sometime after 10am I decided it was time to get started on my projects. The first thing I did was find my power washer hand book so I could review its operation. It had been summer of ’07 since I last used it. Feeling comfortable with its operation, I headed out to get busy. It took about 30 minutes to get situated with the powerwasher and water supply on the deck, but once I did it was smooth sailing. Even when it was new I could never get the power washer to start first or second pull. Imagine my surprise when it started right up, first pull. I started by power washing the upper deck and the stucco below the bay window. I was impressed how easily the mildew came off of the stucco. That was good and bad news all in one. I wasted $36 buying a gallon of paint to cover it up. I was certain that I tried power washing it off two summers ago. I moved around the deck washing away the green moss which builds up under the shade of the growing red maple trees. I also power washed the four resin chairs. We typically use Clorox bleach cleaner to scrub those clean each spring. However, the power washer did an even better job than that. I was quite pleased. I probably spent about an hour power washing on the deck. It looked better than expected when I finished. It was already after 1230pm. Mindy alerted me that we needed to leave for Jacob’s soccer game by 1:20pm. That meant I had just 30 minutes to work before needing a shower. I used the time to whack and edge the lawn. I planned to cut it later in the afternoon. I used every minute made available to me to get my work done. I was in & out of the shower by 1:25pm and ready to leave by 1:35pm. When we left the house it was hot & sunny, certainly warmer than expected. Mindy wisely grabbed the camp chairs out of the Trooper. We arrived at the soccer game with five minutes to spare. Although coach likes the boys there 20 minutes early, almost no one ever is. Jacob’s team, The Destroyers, took the field just after 2pm. They quickly jumped to a commanding lead. The opposing team never seemed into the game. In fact, they laughed and joked as the goals against them piled up. At one point one of the kids asked his dad if they could go to the swimming pool. That drew a laugh from everyone in the crowd. Joe-Joe and Aunt Jodi showed for the game, as did Jimaken. The game went fast. The final score was something like 11-3. Bella played with a familiar friend for the game’s entirety. By 3:15pm we were heading for home. We thanked Jodi and Joe for coming. Mindy planned to go shopping once we got back home. My plan called for finishing the lawn and then planting flowers. My mental project list was still quite long. Jacob ended up going with his mom. Bella ran off to the neighbors. I made a sandwich but then got busy with the grass. I finished in about an hour. Before doing any planting, I thought that I’d fix the sprinkler head that I had aimed into the pond. I guessed I’d have it done in five minutes. An hour later, soaked and muddy, I had it pretty much aimed correctly. Kenny saw me screwing around with it and walked over to investigate. We also confirmed our golf plans for Sunday morning at Split Rock. I agreed to drive. I planned to call and invite Bob Imber. Mindy got home while I was busy out back planting petunia and geraniums. I finished up around 6:30pm. We planned to grill steaks for dinner. Mindy surprised me with plans to have Olivia over for the night. That made me happy. Ashley was bringing her over around 7pm. She showed up while I was watering in the newly planted flowers. Of course she insisted on helping. Mindy was already grilling and actually had the steaks ready even before I got a shower. I couldn’t just stop. Some time around 7:30pm we ate our steak dinner. Olivia & Bella ate hot dogs. Mindy, Olivia and I walked Ykraps after dinner. Olivia doesn’t listen real well. She fell and skinned her knee and immediately came running for her Pawpaw. I got it on photo. The kids didn’t go to bed until almost 10pm. Olivia wanted to sleep with Jacob. Jacob ended up sleeping in the guest room after Olivia crowded him out. Mindy & I spent the last hour of the evening relaxing on the deck.

This Just-in

Up at my usual time, I quickly had my exercise routine underway and completed. I was eager to get outside with Ykraps and drink in the summer-like morning air. Once again gorgeous, we took our time during the walk. My thoughts turned to the three day weekend ahead and how much I might be able to accomplish with in landscape. Bur for here & now, I still had to get through the morning routine and the work day. After coffee, PC, meditation and stretching, I left for a run. I wore long running pants and a long sleeved shirt. It’s just about time to scrap the long stuff and move to shorts. The long stuff is getting a bit warm for the temperature, about 62 degrees. Not unbearable, however. I felt really good out the door, and for the duration of my run it remained that way. Mindy was putting the finishing touches on our eggs when I returned home. She & Bella left just after 7:30am. I headed off to the shower. Jacob and I hooked up at the bus stop around 7:57am. Both boys were excited about the long weekend ahead. Adding to the euphoria, I am sure, is that fact that next week is their last week of school for the year. Done May 29th. After they were on the bus, I watered the sod, flowers and a few other dry spots. I must’ve spent about 10 minutes doing so. I left for work in my dirty Trooper. It needs a bath inside and out. Gas, I noticed, was up to $2.49 a gallon. I hated to see that, but I didn’t need any. Work went well. It was relatively quiet all morning long. Come lunch time I drove to Lowe’s where I bought some CPVC primer for my plumbing job. It’s not necessary but recommended, and for $3, I decided to get some. It’s supposed to help ensure a leak proof seal after gluing (welding). All day, I kept thinking about making a list of all the small tasks I wanted to accomplish over the long weekend ahead. However, I never did take the time to scrawl them all down. I felt a bit uneasy with my ever growing list. My nature is to get uncomfortable in my own skin with everything I WANT to get done. I say want, but make it feel like an absolute necessity. Somewhere in my past I must’ve used this technique to make sure certain things got done. It eventually manifested into the way I go about getting most of my to-dos done. Though, as Mindy often points out, did it get done? Yes is always the answer. Sometimes the simple process of making a to-do list can have a positive impact. The list never seems quite as long on paper as it does in one’s head. I never made the list. J The afternoon wasn’t bad at all. I left for home around 5:20pm. I already knew that I’d have the house to myself since Mindy was at the grocery and the kids were with the neighbors. I quietly went about walking Ykraps. Bella came running after me during that walk. She asked permission to attend Makayla’s soccer game. I agreed. Jacob was apparently going too. Cool! Once again alone, I decided to take a brief nap before doing anything else. I must’ve slept for 10 minutes, no more, but that was all I needed to launch me into weekend mode. Yahoo! Mind arrived home with the groceries sometime after 6pm. I helped carry in the haul. Soon after Mindy got home, Justin, the strange kid that’s been hanging around our home for the past two days, came knocking on the door looking for his ‘friend’ (Jacob). We advised that he wasn’t yet home from a soccer game. Five minutes later he knocked again, only this time at our back door. Same answer, Justin. He won’t be back for awhile. And yes, ten minutes hadn’t yet passed when he knocked for a third time, again at our front door. Mindy assumes the kid autistic, or at least close. Last evening he was frolicking in our mucky pond like an idiot. The other neighbors shewed him away and advised their kids to stay away from him. This troubled Mindy. She felt sorry for him. I understood but quickly pointed out the apparent age, size difference between he and most of our kids. If he is disturbed in some fashion, who’s to say he wouldn’t harm the little girls (Bella, Makayla, Emily). After all, aside from his name, we don’t know this kid from Adam (not Lambert). Our Jacob took a liking to him and found himself conflicted and troubled with the rejection Justin received. He cried to his momma about it. On one hand, I am moved and proud of Jacob for not toeing the prevailing neighborhood line of rejection. Instead, he’s showing compassion when it’s not popular. This is a trait rarely seen in adults, let alone children. I also don’t want to be the responsible party if the kid harms someone else or even himself. At a minimum, Mindy & I agreed, we need to learn more about this kid, including where he lives and what school he attends. We later learned he lives in Moneyback. Once the neighbors were back from soccer Mindy and Crissy planned a pizza night on their deck. We ordered from Minelli’s. They ordered from Sporano’s. David & Becky joined us too. I later learned that they attended the soccer game with everyone else, too. Mindy left a note on our front door indicating that we’d be outback. She spotted the pizza dude while we yucked it up with all the neighbors. There are five households in our little cluster of homes. Four of five families gathered for an evening of fun. All of us are different in many respects, but at the same time, we also have several things in common. It works well. We ended up at Dave & Becky’s, our next door neighbors, they set up an old Lionel train set for the kids and then made arrangements for Bella, Makayla, and Emily to spend the night. We hung out until midnight. Mindy went home with Jacob around 11pm. They were both asleep when I arrived home.

Gathering More Flowers to Plant

I slept a bit late, but hardly enough to create cause for concern, or to put me behind the eight ball. I exercised and soon headed out with Ykraps. I had some thigh burn, even more so than Wednesday morning. Most folks will tell you that it’s the second day that hurts the worst. True that! My face was sunburned too after purposefully leaving my ballcap behind for Wednesday’s golf marathon. I did so to get some sun about me since we’ll be leaving for Mexico soon enough. It used to be that I’d have a midsummer’s tan by Memorial Day. I enjoyed coffee time in front of the PC. It felt so good to relax and sip coffee. Time was moving swiftly, and by 6:05am I was up and prepping Mindy’s morning caffeine fix. After meditation I dressed and left for a run forgetting before it was too late to do my inside stretching. I still completed the outdoor variety from the front stoop. I’d be OK, but if there ever was a time when I needed to stretch, this was that day. It was mild, about 56 degrees. I rain in long pants and a winter wicking shirt. I was comfortable. What a difference running in the morning makes to attire selection. When I ran at lunch, my long running pants would have be retired by May 1 and not seen again until late October. My run went well. And while my thighs ached a little it didn’t disturb my gait. Mindy made fried eggs. Soon she and Bella departed for school and the sitter. Jacob was up in his room playing video games or watching TV. I hit the shower at 7:38am. I made it a point to dress a little nicer again since my boss’ new boss was in town. I wore dress slacks and a red polo. After a shower, I weighed myself for the first time in maybe three or four months. I’ve gained 2lbs since then. How, I have no idea weighed 169.5lbs. I like weighing no more than 165lbs. I drove the Trooper to work after deciding the BM’er was too dirty to enjoy. I toyed with the notion of driving it to the carwash on the way to work but that would’ve been too much pressure. J In fact, all three of our vehicles are dirty and in need of a bath. Priorities. Work went well. We did our usual coffee time. I shared stories about my team golf outing with my boss and peers. We hung out for a while. Come 1pm we gathered in our usual conference room to meet our new director. She seems nice. We conducted our usual weekly meeting. It ended around 2:15pm. I could’ve easily skipped lunch but badly wanted to go to Strader’s to get more flowers to complete our 2009 summer landscape. It’s not unusual for it to take four or five visits to the nursery. This year is no exception. I headed to Strader’s. It was crowded but not at full capacity like it’s been since Mother’s Day. I bought two more flats of flowers: a flat of dahlias and another flat of Ramblin petunias, violet this time. I also bought 7 spikes plants to add to our deck pots. That leaves me needing a few more vinca vines, vegetables (maters and pepper plants), and perhaps a double knock-out rose bush. I’ll get those over the holiday weekend. The lines got really long by the time I went to checkout. It was hot in there too. It was 86 degrees outside. Being inside of a greenhouse only exacerbates the heat. I did my level best to remain patient. An older women accused me of dishing her. I gestured otherwise and allowed her in front of me. I was back at the office by 3:20pm. The rest of the day moved at a decent clip. There wasn’t much left. I stayed until about 5:40pm. I didn’t bother phoning Mindy. I had no idea what we were having for dinner. I was home by 6:05pm. We were having spaghetti and meatballs, certainly an odd summer meal. We all like it though. Iwalked Ykraps in the heat. It felt like midsummer, especially given that it’s been on the cool side prior to this warm-up. I could see that some of my newly planted annuals were wilting under the sun’s heat despite being watered earlier this AM. It takes a couple weeks for their young roots to get established where they can stand being without water for an entire day. I planned to water after dinner. Dinner was tasty. I ate a big plateful of spaghetti. After dinner, I wanted nothing more than some sleep. I fought it off and did dinner clean-up. But before going out to water flowers I took a nap on the floor. That felt terrific. Outside I found the same spots in my new sod almost completely dry. Obviously those spots are getting missed by the irrigation system. Too, while watering the hanging baskets on the pergola, I happened upon some giant flying ants. I swear to Rudy, these things were 1.5 inches long. I need to spray the home’s foundation, hot tub, and deck this weekend. Watering took about 40 minutes. Afterwards, I walked over to chat with Kenny who was out watering his flowers. He was surprised some of his petunias wilted even worse than mine. I shared my knowledge about nursing new annuals along. He showed me how he repaired his backflow meter. We talked about the possibility of golf this weekend. I headed in around 8:30pm. Mindy suggested that we turn on the AC. Good call. Mindy got the kids bathed and ready for bed. I manually ran four of the six watering zones. We sat up and talked in the kitchen until about 10:30pm. We headed to bed around 10:45pm.

Not Adam on this Eve

I woke extremely stiff. My groin and legs ached something fierce. Never again will I scoff at soccer players. Heck, and I played half speed and with a bunch of kids. Not only was I stiff, I still didn’t feel anywhere close to 100% health-wise. I was slow to get through my exercise routine, but finished as usual. Soon Ykraps and I were out on our walk. It was warmer – about 52 degrees. The first morning over 50 in a handful of days. The high was expected to hit 80 under clear skies. That helped motivate me. Add to all the nice weather, this was our team building day. I planned to take my team golfing at Thornapple. We’d be leaving the office around noon. However, before any of that, I still had to run. I skipped a jacket for the first time in several days. It was an awesome run. The aches from soccer didn’t come too much into play. Enjoyed my eggs after. Mindy and Bella left for school around 7:30am. I dressed nicer than usual for work ( dockers and a polo). I looked ready to golf. Funny thing, I wouldn’t be golfing in that attire. Instead, I packed shorts and a black tee-shirt in my backpack for golf. After seeing Jacob onto the bus, I took the time to water the sod and flowers. I chose to drive the BM’er for the first time in almost a month. I moved my golf clubs from the Trooper to the BM’er. I was a little behind for all the extra stuff I had to accomplish but not by much. What a lovely drive into work. Due to my team outing, my boss postponed our weekly staff meeting until Thursday. Truth be told, I wasn’t feeling that well, but there was no way I would let my team down. But any other day, I might’ve gone home to sick. I left the office for Thornapple at 11:45aam. I stopped by home to pick-up my cell and Blackberry, which in all my haste, I left behind earlier. While home, I went ahead and changed into my golf attire. I arrived at Thornapple well before my team members. I used the time to putt & chip. They arrived around 12:30pm. Not too much after me. By design, they had our bagged lunches ready in the clubhouse. I picked up the tab for lunch. Green fees, however, were the responsibility of each person. I guess I’m cheap! Because there were nine of us, we played in 3 threesomes. My team tee’d off first. The rules were simple. Best ball scramble, and must use at least 5 shots from each person – putts included. We played solid but not strong. Much like my usual game, we left many birdies on the greens. We shot a 41. Keep in mind, half the team had never golfed. After golf I hung out for photos and a few laughs. But this was golf Wednesday and I was expecting to meet the Bob’s at Split Rock in Orient. It was just after 4pm when I pulled out of Thornapple. I phoned Bob Imber to check on his ETA, but got his VM. I made good time to the course. I arrived by 4:45pm. Bob returned my call just as I turned onto Thrailkill Rd. They were just leaving work. I used the time to putt & chip, but then took a brief nap on their sunny porch. It was hot and sunny, by the way – 85 degrees. I still felt less than perfect. The Bob’s arrived around 5:15pm. We hurried to pay and tee off to get out in front of a women’s league that we learned tee’s off at 5:30pm now each Wednesday. We played the front nine. I bogeyed the first two holes. The third hole looked good too after a gorgeous drive. But unfortunately, that‘s where the fun ended. I hit an errant second shot that left me in serious trouble in a grove of trees. I never really rebounded after that debacle. I was deflated. After our nine holes ended we discussed our availability for 18 holes over the holiday weekend. Bob suggested Saturday but that wouldn’t work for me due to a 2pm soccer match. We agreed to communicate through email. I drove home under beautiful, cloudless evening skies. Simply gorgeous! I arrived home around 8pm. I was ravenously hungry and tired. The kids were still outside playing and Mindy was busy doing school work. The end of the school year always causes her panic. I made myself a burrito and snacked on potato chips. Afterwards I headed out to water flowers and sod. All of our hanging baskets needed water badly. I used the irrigation system to water the lawn. The Idol finale came on at 8pm. We missed the very beginning. This was results night. Would it be Adam or Kris. I was most impressed with the major artists they teamed the tow finalists with. They teamed Kris with Keith Urban for a duet of sorts. Very nice. Adam, well, the y teamed him with Kiss and later Queen, minus Freddie Mercury, of course. That was nothing short of awesome. Many people sing Queen, but Adam did it and did it extremely well. The Kiss thing was cool too. The show was chalked full of good outtakes and pat contestants. Very enjoyable programming. One reason I love following Idol is that it quickly takes you from the Super Bowl to summer. In the end, Kris won the popular vote. Many called it a major upset, but digging into the dynamics of voting left little wonder. There’s no questioning Adam’s a bigger draw, but also much more polarizing. My guess is that all the Danny Gokey voters moved over to Kris. I was a little disappointed for Adam but he’s still gonna be a huge winner. Watch and see!

Home to Plant Flowers for Lunch

Tuesday started out a lot like any other work day. It was chilly but promised to warm quickly. I was draggin’ a little bit, much like the morning before. I felt like I might have a bug of some sort. The symptoms: a twinge in the sinuses, a tight throat, and exhaustion. After exercise and a walk with Ykraps I settled down in front of the PC with my morning coffee. There’s something very comforting about that time each day. I look forward to it much. I delivered Mindy’s coffee then returned downstairs to finish my pre run regimen. I did a healthy meditation and stretch before heading out for my run. I wore my fleece running jacket to combat the chill. Although the day promised the mid 70s, it was still in the mid 40s early in the morning. I was comfortable. The run felt great. It helped open my otherwise stuffy sinuses and albeit temporary, it made the fatigue go away as well. Mindy had breakfast ready upon my return. She and Bella were soon on their way out the door. It was a school day for both. Soon Jacob and I were at the bus stop with Jake. We tossed the football some. I watered the sod and flowers before heading off to work. I ran the irrigation system out front too. Work went well. It was lunch time in a hurry. All morning long, I had been tossing around the idea of going home for lunch and planting some flowers. That’s what I did. I knew that if I didn’t do it at lunch, I wouldn’t get another chance any sooner than Thursday evening. That left me feeling a bit unsettled. I arrived home around 1pm and went right to work. Right to work that is, after quickly changing into my yard grubbies. The first thing I did was plant about 20 impatiens out front where we get limited direct sunlight. Next, I potted the two remaining geraniums in the hanging baskets attached to the large ash trees out back. Lastly, and at Mindy’s request, I added 2 vinca vines to one of the hanging geranium baskets on the deck. While I was planting flowers, I spotted neighbor Mike at Kenny’s, most likely working on his heating and cooling system. I went down and talked with him for a few minutes. I was back at work before 2:30pm and finished my day just before 6pm. I stayed late since it was a soccer practice night. It took less than 10 minutes to get there, so I stopped in Darby Creek Nursery for a quick browse. I was surprised to run into Debbie Durway (sp), an acquaintance from high school. She’s married to an old buddy of mine. I had a crush on her in tenth grade. The Garth Brooks song, Unanswered Prayers, came immediately to mind. She’s likely 50 (my age) but looks 60 or even older. Sadly, more wrinkles than my own mother. I was there for less than ten minutes. It was 6:20pm and time to head across the street for soccer practice. As always, traffic heading west on Scioto Darby was heavy. I couldn’t get across. I decided to turn right then turn around. That saved lots of time. After all of that, I still beat Mindy & the kids. They arrived about 5 minutes later. Mindy did a poor job of parking (on the white line). Plus, I’ve asked her numerous times to always park on an end to protect the vehicle. She didn’t. I wasn’t pleased. After everyone emptied from the Honda I asked for the keys to readjust the parking situation. I centered the Honda in the slot she picked. It was parents versus kids’ night at soccer practice. However, we had to wait about 20 minutes for a field. Mindy gave me the dickens for giving her what she deemed a ‘disapproving look’ regarding her soccer attire. She was in a bikini for crying out loud! J Until that evening, I hadn’t played soccer even once. I felt a bit awkward at first. I asked coach for a few pointers as we progressed. I was immediately surprised at how taxing it was on my energy reserves, although I was feeling somewhat under the weather even prior to playing. I found myself grabbing my knees and gasping for air very quickly. All the stop start, this way, that way is not something familiar to my system. You might think that being a runner I would handle this easily. Not the case. Different muscles. As a buddy later pointed out, playing soccer taxes your fast twitch muscles, where running uses large muscles. Anyway, as time went on my body adjusted somewhat. I even scored a goal and injured the coaches son in a violent collision. Hey, see ball, get ball. Hell be damned! The kids were beating us 3-2 as time was about to expire. I took a pass from coach with seconds remaining and went for the tying kick/goal. My kick sailed just wide of the net. We lost. I was devastated! J This coming Saturday is the final game of the season. Coach asked that everyone come to his house next Tuesday, our normal practice night, for a pizza party. I guess we’re invited, even if I did nearly break his son’s leg. J Mindy headed towards home with all the kids. I drove alone. Mindy promised to stop for food – Steak & Shake – on the way home. I started watering flowers as soon as I got home. I watered hanging baskets and the impatiens I planted earlier in the day. Things were already drying out. We haven’t had any appreciable rain since last Wednesday. Mindy called and asked me to DVR Idol. I followed her orders and set up the DVR. It had just started. She didn’t miss much, if anything. Mindy got home with the food in short order. We ate our dinner together while also watching Kris and Adam compete for the American Idol crown. For my money, Adam’s the winner, but I also realize that he’s much more polarizing than Kris. Jacob seemed very interested and watched most from his room. After Idol we watched the premier of Glee, a new FOX show that will begin airing in the fall. This was a teaser episode of sorts. Predictable but interesting. To bed at 10pm.

Imploring that he was Full!

I had a hard time falling asleep Sunday night and woke Monday morning feeling as if I’d been cheated out of an entire night’s sleep. I must’ve slept, but definitely didn’t get any R.E.M. sleep. I started my morning achy and tired. It took some doing to complete my exercise regimen but I did it. I checked the weather to see how cold it got overnight. Some forecasters were predicting temps in the mid-30s and frost, but according to Weatherbug, it was 42 degrees. However, when walking Ykraps, I spotted some widely scattered, light frost on a few lawns, but no damage. As luck would have it, I’d spent the weekend planting flowers. Either way, this would be the last chance for cold as warm, early summer-like temps begin tomorrow and look to remain that way as far out as one can peer (10 days). I was still draggin’, even after my walk with Ykraps. I didn’t dare lie back down. If I had, I might’ve slept for two hours. Instead, I pushed on through it. After waking Mindy, I spent an abbreviated amount of time on the PC, allowing myself the valuable time necessary for meditation and stretching. Very disciplined, I was. I left for a run after 6:45am. As expected, a few of the folks I typically pass each morning were either at a different point or gone all together. But I guess I’m only pointing out the obvious. My run went well. I was dressed warmly to combat the cooler than normal temps. Mindy had the Honda warming in the drive and my scrambled eggs ready to go. She was on her way out as soon as I sat down to eat. It was already 7:30am. I hurried through my breakfast and eventually a shower, too. After seeing Jacob onto the bus I made sure that dad’s trailer was ready to go home. I’ve had it for two weeks and have moved sod, Com-Til, stone, and mulch. I definitely got some use out of it this spring. Dad was out in his driveway as I pulled around. Archie came after me, just like he often does. Dad had to give him the dickens to keep him at bay. For whatever reason, his pleasure is to bite me. Dad and I talked for 30 minutes. I knew it would make me late but figured the time spent was well worth it. I arrived at work at 9:01am. I was still awfully tired, and felt as though I could turn off the light and sleep the morning away in my office. Of course, I didn’t. I did my level best to stay active avoiding that sinking, crashing feeling. Come lunch time I headed to Strader’s. There I bought a flat of white geraniums for $19.99, a flat of deep violet impatiens, and two vinca vines. I made another stop at Home Depot where I bought the materials necessary to move my hose bib to the deduct water meter. That way water used via the hose will cost the same as irrigation system water. I bought two new Tiki torches for the deck as well. They’ll replace the two tattered torches that are there now. I made quick run by Lowe’s, too, but bought nothing. Back to work. At the office I ate my packed veggies and cheese. I started on my fruit, but the cantaloupe was nasty. I threw it away. Mindy indicated that she invited my dad for dinner. We’d be having grilled chicken and dogs. Fine with me. I called Ashley & Courtney on my drive home. I invited Ash and Olivia to dinner. She declined, just as she usually does. I understand, though. She’s tired after working all day, not to mention running Olivia around. Courtney expressed frustration over school and work – too many hours and no time for herself. I gave her some encouragement and reminded her to call us if she needs to vent, or simply to bend an ear. Dad was already at our place when I arrived home. He’d already walked Ykraps, too. Mindy was busy grilling the chicken and dogs while dad and I talked about a handful of current events. Dinner was good. I made a chicken sandwich with my boneless breast. Dad did the same. In the middle of dinner, Jacob threw up on his plate after following his mother’s direction to eat more off of his plate, even after imploring that he was full. Yuck! I was not too pleased. Both kids were in a hurry to get back outside with friends. After clean-up, Mindy offered up dessert. And while I went out to water flowers, Mindy took dad to see her new patio. The two of them eventually joined me out front. We talked for a while before dad headed out. I continued watering flowers as well as the three leftover sheets of sod. The details of bedtime and after are sketchy.

Bakin’ Bacon

Next thing I knew it was 7:15 Sunday morning. I slipped out of bed, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs. Mindy indicated that she had no preplanned wake time. Just as well. Like almost all other morning’s, I started some coffee then proceeded to complete my exercise routine. I thought about skipping push-ups but didn’t. My arms got one heck of a work out Saturday. There was an abundance of sunshine, but the temperature much cooler than the morning before. It was in the mid 40s. Our walk went well. I took the camera but didn’t snap a single photo. I reviewed the day’s to-do list as we walked. Simple, really, Cut the lawn and spread the mulch. There were several other, less demanding things, too, but they’d be considered icing on the cake. I spent the next 30 minutes enjoying coffee and bringing my blog current. I have so many interesting photos of our recent projects/events that I still haven’t added. I know t hat pics make the blog more interesting. Very busy!!! I left for my run still before 9am. I ran three miles only, taking the short route through the subdivision and out to Trabue and down Hague. I noticed Shawn’s minivan parked at Dad’s. Hoped things weren’t going poorly for dad. My run was over even before 9:30am. I thought briefly about heading out to start yard work but I was really hungry. For the first time in a long, long while, I decided to make breakfast – maple bacon and a fancy omelet. That’s something I sued to do most weekends. I hoped the smell of the food would wake Mindy naturally. Turns out, she got up even before I put the bacon in the oven. While the bacon baked, I decided to use the 20 constructively. I fetched the rotted boat cushion form the garage and took it along with a few hand tools to the deck where I proceeded to remove all the staples holding the marine vinyl to the rotted plywood base. There must’ve been 200 staples all totaled. I stopped a few times to check/turn the bacon. I let the bacon cook a minute or two too long. No biggie! I made the omelet while the bacon cooled. I added sliced buffalo chicken and Italian cheese – no veggies. It turned out really nice. Mindy & I enjoyed a quiet breakfast in the sunny kitchen area. After breakfast I wrapped up the boat cushion project and readied for another day in the yard. Mindy spent some time inside but promised to help me once I got back to mulching. I was eager to cut the lawn. Not only was it long, it was thick, too. I took extra time whacking around the new sod making to get the edges cleanly. Edging went well too after turning the blade around getting a fresh, sharper edge. I cut the new sod first. It’s looking awesome! I ended up cutting the entire front with my push mower for a much cleaner, neater cut. I used the tractor out back. I was startled to find Mindy sitting on her bench on the new patio reading. Later said she’d been out there for a while. After finishing the mowing I left the tractor out and attached the trailer for the mulch project. Before spreading the first bag, Mindy & I went on a hike in the woods behind the house looking for large rocks that might fit well around our new patio. We found relatively few, and those were small, softball sized. We gathered them still. Back in the yard we moved to the west side of the house where we repeated the dead ivy removal project. Once again, we filled a tarp full of dead clippings. We pulled the entire tarp around to the east to finish over there. All totaled, that phase took a little more than an hour. Both of us were complaining of aching backs from all the kneeling and leaning over. It was worth it, however. The beds were looking good. After hauling all the clippings to the back we started spreading mulch. I sliced and dumped while Mindy did the spreading. Having a second set of hands made big difference. We moved our way around the back in short order. We had the lion’s share of it done when the kids got home from Jimaken’s. Bella ran off immediately to reunite with her friends. Jacob clung by his mother’s side. I had to ask him more than once not to walk on the edge of the new sod. He wasn’t pleased. I am emphatic about keeping ALL unnecessary traffic off of it until it’s firmly taken hold. We finished up on the west side of the house. We ran out of mulch once again. Lucky for me, neighbor Kenny bought to skids, or 100 bags. He had lots left and said he’d sell me whatever I needed. I drove down to get 7 bags. I was grateful for his willingness to share. It allowed us to finish wholey, save for some touch up here and there. I stashed the last three bags under the shed for later use. What I thought might take 35 bags ended up being 60. Yikes! Sound familiar? Just like the dirt thing. Mindy headed in to get a shower while I put the toys away. It must’ve been 4pm. Before heading in for my own shower, I blew the drive and walk clear of the grass clippings. The yard was looking top notch! It was hard to stop and go in with so much more to do, but the break and diversion would do me good. Besides, I was really hungry. Mindy and the kids were waiting in the Honda when I came down ready to go. We arrived for Sunday dinner just few minutes earlier than last Sunday – about 4:55pm. The temperature only reached into the low 60s but the brilliant mid-May sunshine warmed things nicely. Sunday dinner would be enjoyed by something less than a full house. Still, it’s about who’s there, not who isn’t. The menu consisted of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, coleslaw and rolls. Everything was delicious, especially the meatloaf. I had two big helpings. After dinner I headed for the lower level for some rest. I might’ve dosed for a few minutes but more than anything I just needed to stretch out and veg. I’ll bet I was down there for 30-40 minutes. It was time for dessert just a few short minutes after my return upstairs. There were two choices, chocolate cupcakes and peach Jello. I had two chocolate cupcakes. We left soon after dessert. It was already after 7:20pm. It felt like we ate and ran but we needed to get home. At home, Jacob and I walked Ykraps. He rode along on his bike. By then it was 7:40pm and the temperature was down around 58. It felt chilly. Needing to water flowers and grass, I decided what the hell, and started up the irrigation system starting with zone #1. It took a minute for the lines to refill with water but all the heads popped up and distributed water as designed. I was most pleased to see it operational once more. The heads were aimed correctly too. I proceeded to through run all six zones. The only problem being the head I relocated in zone #5. It’s aiming into the pond. J I actually thought about that after the fact. It’s a relatively simple fix. Seeing all the heads working, I removed the flags I’d left in the yard since the first week of October. I headed back inside feeling good about the irrigation system. I still need/want Chris to add one more head, however. Neighbor Kenny tried turning on his system at the same time. I spotted him looking closely at his deduct meter. Uh-oh! Yep, it was leaking. Said the backflow device had a crack in it. I was warned that it’s most susceptible to freezing. Kenny winterized his own. I allowed Nationwide to do mine. Note to self. Inside I changed into my pajamas and then tucked in the kids, who were already in bed. Mindy wanted to hot tub. We hadn’t been in it for several weeks. I readied the tub with chlorine and then I poured myself a rum & Fresca to enjoy tub side. The hot tub was most enjoyable. It eased both of our aching muscles. I was surprised how much better I felt after. I had Mindy walk on my back afterwards. I figured my muscles would be looser and therefore easier to adjust. We headed to bed just after 9:30pm.

Too-Mulchuous

With a trailer full of mulch waiting for me outside, I rolled out of bed at 6:45am. I was a little bleary eyed but after starting some coffee and exercises I began to come around. I leashed up Ykraps at 7:00am and headed out for our morning walk. It was warm – about 64 degrees- and the skies partly cloudy. But more importantly, it wasn’t raining. I had Ykraps’ hair brush with us during our walk, intending to do the deed once we got back home. He’s in the process of shedding his winter coat and it’s coming off in clumps. Ykraps thought we were going back inside. I could see the look of betrayal in his eyes when I showed him the brush, which he despises. I shortened the leash to its shortest length and began the tedious process of raking away the loose, heavy winter coat. Ten minutes later I had a huge, softball sized mass of dog hair to dispose of. As for Ykraps, he looked much skinnier. Inside, I washed my hands before making coffee. For the next hour or so I sat at the PC updating my blog and then reading some others. After checking the weather radar, I left for a run at 8:30am. I ran four miles. The weather was very nice at my run’s conclusion despite a forecast that called for spotty showers. There weren’t any storms in sight. It was 9:15am. Before starting any yard work I took Mindy some coffee. By 10am I started planting the purple salvia and spreading mulch. It took me a while to mulch the front beds. Mindy came out to visit around 10:45am. She’d been up just a short while. She promised to come to my aid after Jacob’s soccer game which started early this week, 12noon. I opted out, although felt along that I should’ve went. While Mindy was gone, I stopped mulching and started removing dead English Ivy from the front porch and along the west garage wall. That’s always a tangled mess, and very tedious work ridding all the dead leaves from the existing beds. I have to do it about once every two years. A lot of it died this winter due in part to the extended deep freeze and snow pack. While in there, I decided it a good time to trim the deciduous shrubs too. I had an entire tarp filled with trimmings. Keep in mind, I did a similar exercise about five weeks ago. I knew then that I’d have to do a more detailed pruning later. Later was now! Mindy was home around 1:30pm. Jacob won his soccer game rather handedly. He scored three goals. Mindy changed into attire more appropriate for yard work and soon joined me out front. Meanwhile the sky bounced between partly sunny and cloudy all afternoon. Mindy did some of the more tedious pre-mulch debris removal while I started planting the Burgundy Chrome Ramblin petunias in the front beds. Man they are pretty! Mindy & I work well as a team. I emptied the full tarp before moving on. She was reluctant to get back behind the burning bushes and cut the dead ivy from the east garage wall, citing the presence of all sorts of critters. I don’t even think about it, and willingly went in to do the deed. She took care of the disposal of all the trimmings. Without a doubt, a very messy job. The afternoon was winding down and the clouds were thickening. Mindy headed inside to take care of some indoor chores. I distributed the remaining bags of mulch to various flower beds around the yard. I did it the hard way since it was threatening rain. I didn’t want to get the tractor and trailer out, although that would’ve made it so much easier. It began to rain in earnest, however brief. I was soaked by the time I had dad’s trailer emptied. It was obvious that I would need more mulch. I estimated 15 bags but decided to bump that number to 20. My goal was to fetch it before the place closed Saturday evening since the price was set to go back up $.50 per bag on Sunday. Before going to fetch more mulch, I decided to relax a little and pot the deck geraniums in their hanging baskets. I asked Mindy if she would be kind enough to walk Ykraps. It was already after 6pm. After the last round of showers the sky started to clear up. However, at the same time, the temperature dropped. I left for Ohio Mulch around 6:30pm. I was the only customer. I parked right next to the triple shredded Absolute Black. After paying inside, I headed out and started loading up by myself. A younger guy eventually came over – the only guy left on site, and helped. He never did ask for my receipt. Instead, he bellyached about them sending everyone else home even while knowing that more customers would surely be coming in during the last hour, thus overworking him. I listened/acted as if I cared. Home with my bounty, I carried a few more bags to their eventual home, but left the rest for Sunday. Like Friday, I covered what remained in the trailer to keep people honest. I needed a shower and quickly got one underway. Mindy made arrangements for us to grill steaks with the neighbors. Originally, we were gonna go out to the Big Fat, or possibly even order a pizza. Staying home and grilling with the neighbors sounded perfect. Mindy took our frozen steaks down to Kenny, who’d be grilling, while I finished in the shower. Mindy whipped up a salad and some chocolate covered strawberries, too. I lieu of beer, I decided to drink rum and Fresca. I took a strong one with me when we walked next door. We had a nice time yucking it up with the neighbors. Kenny grilled the steaks to perfection. I walked back home briefly to make a second drink. That’s all I drank through the evening. I was tired, just like Mindy, after a full day of yard work. We were in bed around 11pm.

What do Ramblin Petunias & John Cooper have in Common?

Me! I was up at 5:35am after one of the best nights sleep in quite a while. I couldn’t readily recall waking even once through the night. That’s odd. For once I didn’t have that lingering, tired feeling either. I did a full complement of exercises before heading out with Ykraps. It was lovely outside, blue skies and mild temps. A very enjoyable walk. By the time we were back at home it was already time to deliver Mindy’s coffee. I enjoyed a little PC time before moving on to meditation and stretching. It felt good to be back into my usual routine. I dressed and left for a run at 6:35am. My run went well. No aches, pains, or general discomfort. Everything was clicking! Sunshine was soon splattering everything, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The forecast called for sunny and 80. Does it get any better? The weekend, unfortunately, isn’t supposed to be as nice – rain on Saturday and much cooler on Sunday. There’s even a chance of frost Sunday night. But looking ahead to next week, the weather’s going to be ideal heading into Memorial Day weekend – sunshine mid 70s. Mindy had cheesy scrambled eggs ready when I got home. Bella had some too. Soon, those two were gone. I was showered and ready for work by 7:49am. I used the few minutes I had to burn some CDs for Bob I. I hoped to catch up with him and Mary Ann later that night. I got two of the three burnt before running off to the bus stop with Jacob. I took the football. We tossed the ball for a while before the bus showed. Both boys have slippery hands these days. Jacob used to catch everything I threw at him, but not so much anymore. I attached dad’s trailer to my Trooper since I planned to get mulch sometime during the day. At the time, however, I was undecided about exactly when – lunch or after work? As I walked into the building from the parking lot I couldn’t help but stop for a moment to drink in the lovely weather. There’s always that day each year when the warm spring air smells so sweet. Today was one of those days. The calm breeze, sunshine, and brilliant blue skies only added to my joy. I hated to go inside but knew I had to. Work went well. We did our coffee time just like we usually do. Things were very calm, especially for a Friday. Knock on wood! Come 12noon I left for lunch having decided to visit Strader’s to hopefully get our hanging baskets. The lot was packed, but that was expected. The mid-day crowd is always an interesting one. A lot of what some might call the Arlington snobbery. Women with their perfect hairdos, nails, and suntans were busy pulling around carts full of blooms. But as I’ve shared before, being in the nursery does something for me. I feel so good amongst the beautiful flora. I bought four large geraniums – two red & two purple/red to use in our backyard hanging baskets. I used to do giant Wave petunias but even the most studious care left them looking ragged by middle/end of July. Geraniums, on the other hand, do so much better. As I patiently stood in the check out line, I spotted a familiar looking older gentleman who just finished his purchase and was exiting. It was none other than my old friend, John Cooper (former coach of the football Buckeyes). I quietly acknowledged him by saying a friendly, hey John! He turned and gave me a grin and a nod. The crowd seemed almost oblivious to his presence. That, or they just don’t like him. But I find that hard to imagine. John has always been nothing but a gentleman. I loaded my geraniums into the Trooper, then decided to go back in and buy our Wave petunia for the front beds. I worried if I didn’t that I might be left with a picked over selection later. I was happy to see they had oodles of each color in stock and they were very healthy looking, too. They have a new variety this year that aren’t technically Wave petunias at all. Instead, they’re called Rambling petunias. The spread like the Wave but also grow up about ten inches high – perfect for my beds. I was very pleased with the concept. I decided to go with raspberry – a blend of red/purple. They’ll look sharp. I am certain. I also selected a flat of the white/blush Rambling petunias to use out back along with white geraniums, which I will buy later. The last couple of years I have experimented with white flowers and have enjoyed the results. I felt really good with my selections. I could’ve headed back to work but decided not. Instead, I drove to Ohio Mulch close to home (Roberts Rd). There I bought 35 bags of Absolute Black triple shredded mulch. From there I drove my haul home. At home I unloaded the flowers into the garage and then detached and covered the trailer. I headed back to work after getting myself a quick drink of water. I was gone for about 1.5 hours. I was so happy that I got the flowers and mulch taken care of. The early afternoon went about as smoothly as my morning, at least until 3pm. After that things got dicey. Typical Friday, end of day. I managed to end my work day at 5:30pm and turned things over to my peer. I was excited about the weekend ahead as well as the lovely weather overhead. Mindy had an encounter to share of her own. I doubted it could top my John Cooper encounter, though. A substitute teacher stopped her on the playground asking her identity. Turns out, the sub was in her 4th grade class some 14 -15 years ago. Mindy enjoyed the encounter but said it made her feel old. Yeah, I can see that. Mindy wasn’t home. She was at the grocery. The kids were gone with their dad for the weekend. In kind, we planned a night at Barley’s. After walking Ykraps, I put Mindy’s new fire ring together. While on the floor I noticed that Ykraps had peed on the back of our sofa again with the remnants easily visible on the white tile floor. Talk about being mad as a hornet! Damnit! Why is he doing that? I can only guess that another dog at one time or another was in our house and peed on it. The sofa back was inaccessible for 14 years, but now that we’ve rearranged the layout, it’s out in the open. He must smell something there and feels compelled to mark his territory. What he doesn’t realize is that it’s all MINE! I wanted to rub his nose in it and whoop him but didn’t. I cleaned it up the best I could. Mindy arrived home while I was busy downloading the last of the three CDs I was burning for Bob. I helped carry in the groceries. My neck was really stiff all day long. I had Mindy rub it some and then I laid flat on my back on the family room floor and took a brief nap. That helped a bunch. While I napped, Mindy readied for a night at Barley’s. I upped around 7:40pm. Mindy said I slept for 15 minutes or so. I felt like a new man. Never underestimate how beneficial a short nap can be. It’s a wonderful way to transition from work week to weekend mode. We left for Barley’s at 8:05pm. Nephew Joe called/texted while in route. He was already there and wondering our whereabouts. Right away, I ordered an Extreme Dan. Mindy ended up drinking rum & Coke. That’s a first, at least while out. It never got crowded. I guess it’s that time of the year when people start doing other activities that pull them away from the warm invite of a bar setting. Tom Clark joined us around 9pm. He’s close to closing on his house. He’s very anxious to get in. Later, Joe’s bff, Danny and her mom (Cheryl) joined us. We had a nice time. I eventually ordered a Cuban and fries. Not sure what Mindy ordered. My Cuban was delicious – best anywhere. We left for home just before 10:30pm, best guess. We called Crissy to see what she was doing. We invited ourselves over. We joined them for a beer and met Crissy’s mom, who was spending the night and visiting the grandkids. Kenny shared the story of Molly, his giant black lab, biting Duke, the little whatever dog that thinks he’s king of neighborhood. Mindy & I got a huge chuckle out of the story. Duke was said to be at home still shaking, traumatized from the ordeal. We headed home just after 11pm. Lots of yard on the agenda for Saturday.