Lunching with the Wife/Empty Storage

The day’s objectives were simple: exercise, prep, run, work. Everything went as normal. Work went along just as it normally does. Mindy called mid-morning while out running errands to measure my interest in meeting up for lunch. We agreed to meet at P.F. Chang’s at Tuttle Mall around noon. The weather was a little cooler than expected, only in the mid 70’s. Mindy was sitting on a bench out front awaiting my arrival. We both ordered the pepper steak bowl with a cup of egg drop soup – a good bargain and very tasty. Mindy was excited to have her wedding rings back after 10 long days in repair at the Diamond Cellar. Apparently the two wedding bands were gnawing away at the setting of her engagement ring. The fixed it by soldering all three together thus eliminating the clash. Mindy shared that she had the guest room ready for Glenn’s use. We discussed dinner plans in brief, although she knows I’m never good at planning dinner with a full belly. She talked about grilling burgers. But perhaps weighing even heavier on Mindy’s mind was emptying the storage shed of the last few items. She made arrangements to meet b-in-law Larry there after lunch to give him an old dresser/mirror. She made tentative arrangements with neighbor Kenny to help me fetch the old refrigerator & table. We went our separate ways around 1pm. On my way back to work I stopped at Golf Galaxy to pick-up a bag of longer golf tees that are better suited to my new driver’s larger club head. The heavier than usual lunch hung with me all afternoon. And as it turned out, it hung with Mindy too. By late afternoon she called and asked if I minded skipping a formal dinner. Nope, not at all. When I arrived home, Mindy walked over to Kenny & Crissy’s to see if Kenny could still help us with emptying our storage unit. Mindy had already shared our intentions with the storage unit manager. We’d be vacating it that evening. Kenny was agreeable to helping. He and I left around 6:30pm, right after I finished printing off eight Cedar Point tickets ( 6-adult and 2-youth). On our way to the storage unit, I informed Kenny that I made us a Friday AM tee time at Phoenix. We really wanted to play Safari but it was booked for an outing. Maybe next time. It didn’t take long at all to get the fridge. We tipped and slid it onto his flat bed truck and strapped it down. Did the same with the old table. We sat waiting at the Fisher Rd railroad crossing for several minutes while they jockeyed some rail cars around. That took longer than the work. Kenny helped off load the fridge and table into our garage then headed home. Mindy and I didn’t stay up too late for busier days to come. We were in bed by 10:30pm.

Ginormous Driver

After waking, I spent the usual amount of time exercising, walking Ykraps, playing, meditating, stretching and running. Unlike the week before, it was considerably cooler. The temperature was only in the low 60s. It felt quite nice. And judging by the forecast, it would be even cooler on Tuesday & Wednesday. There was little to separate my run from most others, but it still went well. I took my time preparing to leave for work after being on-call all weekend long. I took my golf clubs and drove the Trooper. If my work day would permit, I wanted to hit the range at lunch. I was anxious to hit some balls with my new driver. Turns out, the morning went surprisingly well. I was able to leave at 12:30pm. Before the driving range, I stopped at Galaxy Golf to pick-up some tees. I was almost out. On to Ables golf center. I paid $9 for an X-large bucket of balls and headed to the grass tees. It was fairly crowded, almost too much so. But thankfully, three or four patrons were just finishing up as I walked up freeing up plenty of room for me. I hit four or five with my sand wedge before pulling out the big gun. I hit my driver really well. It was very easy to hit. I purposefully wasn’t making a full back swing and only following through at 2/3s speed. Making solid contact was my objective. Each swing produced a slight draw – very nice! Right away, I could see that Bob Imber’s tip to buy longer golf tees was an accurate one. Crap, I just bought regular 2-1/4” tees earlier. I found a long one at the range and used it for much of time with great results. Note to self. My new driver’s club face is ginormous. I hit the entire bucket working with all of my clubs. I mishit relatively few. I was pleased. I spent about ten minutes on the putting green trying out my new Odyssey putter. I felt good with it too. Back to work. There was an obvious cool down in the air. The remainder of my work day went along smoothly. I headed for home around 5:30pm. Mindy and the kids were playing kick ball in the yard when I arrived home. I took full advantage and went straight for a nap after walking Ykraps. For whatever the reason, I was real tired. Into the early evening I worked on my weekend blog probably writing for a good 2 hours. We talked in the living room before heading off to bed.

Celebrating Courtney at 27

Happy 27th Courtney! I was up a little after 7am eager to get the party started. I prepped a pot of coffee then completed a full complement of sit-ups and push-ups. Ykraps and I hit the streets a short time later. Lovely morning – lovely walk. Not wanting to waste any time, I quickly enjoyed a cup of coffee before dressing for my run. It must’ve been 8:30am when I dashed out the door. I ran my usual Sunday trail – just three miles out Trabue and down Hague. It was a good run. I was startled to happen upon Mindy as I re-entered the house. She was just stepping over the baby gate at the base of the stairs. I wasn’t expecting that. I suggested we have some coffee out on her patio in the warm sunshine. We sat out there talking for a good 20 minutes. It was almost 10am when we headed back inside. I suggested that she get a shower now if she planned one in the next couple of hours. Dad and I would be turning off the water in order to complete the plumbing job. Best case, it would be off for about an hour. Worst case, who knows. She agreed, and headed up for a shower. While Mindy showered, Dad phoned to say that he was on his way. He also shared a run-in he had just had with step-brother Shawn that could best be summed up as less than cordial. While waiting on dad’s arrival, I decided to do as much prep work as I could. From the garage, I cut and pieced together the CPVC on-off valve and hose bib feed with out gluing anything. Dad arrived just as I was finishing up. We carried our tools and supplies to the basement where I showed dad the work I planned to carryout. The first order of business was turning off the water supply then cutting the ½” copper pipe leading to the existing hose bib, which is fed from the original metered water feed. We would then sweat on a 1/2” copper cap formally sealing off the old feed. Sounds easy. The prep went fine. I was ready to sweat the cap on quickly. I carefully cut the pipe, cleaned it with emery cloth and a pipe cleaner brush, then coated it with flux. We knew there was water hanging around in the end so we created a sucking towel to pull as much away as possible. On the second try the sweating worked. The solder found its way completely around the pipe. A very good sign, but only time and a test would tell. We waited a few minutes before turning the water on. Time to test. I turned the water back and within seconds we knew that our work had failed. The cap was dripping. Dad quickly pointed out how difficult that would make things because now we’d have to try and sweat it off with water in it. Anyone that’s ever sweated copper plumbing knows that that is impossible. The problem was that there was no way for the water to drain away short of the utility sink. We had no choice but to use the pipe cutter to severe the pipe just behind the cap. Lucky for me, I left a little wiggle room with the first cut. But honestly, that was by happenstance. Dad suggested that he do the second attempt not wanting to risk another failure. I conceded. It didn’t take long to finish the second try. I held my breath as we turned the water back on. This time, thankfully, the cap held nicely. The hard part was seemingly behind us. Dad suggested this was the reason why most seasoned plumbers avoid doing any type of home repair jobs such as that one. They’re timely, riddled with issues, while also being low revenue generating as compared to working with all new. Before installing the new CPVC run, we removed the old hose bib spigot. That took just a few minutes. Next, I had to sever the ¾” inch CPVC feeding the irrigation system to add in a tee that would serve as the new hose bib feed. Then, add a separate new CPVC shut off just above that, thus enabling me to turn it on/off without impeding water flow to the hose bib. Simple! Well, to begin, Dad carefully held the wire meter wiring out of the way while I took a hack saw to the existing CPVC run. It doesn’t take long to tear right through the CPVC. Soon we had water spraying all over everything. Oops! We both forgot to turn off the water supply again. Yikes! We laughed it off and moved on. The trickiest part was cutting the CPVC to the proper length while allowing enough slack to slip the existing end into the new tee and shut-off valve. We remedied that by temporarily removing it from the new deduct meter. The CPVC joints need to be cleaned, primed and glued. That might sound difficult but it’s really simple. The primer and glue actually weld the plastic to together via chemical reaction. Once it’s on, it’s on. It’s not coming off. Done correctly, leaks are very rare. We carefully went about adding in the new pieces/parts until we were done. The final end simply threads on the end of the water spigot much like a hose fitting. I wasn’t so sure how well that would hold well but my research says otherwise. I chose not to test the new plumbing for a few hours. The directions say to let the glue cure for at least two hours before full pressure is applied. With an array of on/off valves, I was able to turn on the water supply to the house but keep it out of the new CPVC. Before I forget, another benefit of using CPVC is that unlike copper, you can weld it with water in the pipe. It doesn’t matter. I budgeted two hours. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes. Dad hung around for another 15 minutes before heading out. Said he’d return around 4:30pm. I used the time to whack, edge, and blow the walk and drive. That took no more than 20 minutes. Afterwards, I readied for a quick trip to Home Depot and Target. I asked Mindy if we needed anything while I was out. A first she said no but called me before I even left the house. She asked that I get some sort of cake/ dessert for Courtney’s b-day dinner. I stopped at Home Depot first. There I needed to buy hardware to mount the new support rails to the boat’s interior. I really wanted stainless steel to avoid any corrosion. Unfortunately, their selection of stainless steel hardware wasn’t nearly as complete as that of the zinc, which will eventually corrode. I went with the zinc. I was really happy to find the special t-fittings I needed. I also bought two stainless steel screws to secure the new water spigot I just installed. After Home Depot I cruised next door to Target. There I intended to replace the kids’ kickball that went flat last week. I ended up buying two. One old fashioned patterned rubber kickball, like in elementary school only in blue instead of pale red. The other was a large blue marble looking thing. While there, I checked to see if they had that purple v-neck t-shirt I liked in my size. Last time in (about a month ago) they did not. Today, however, they did. I grabbed one. Next, I headed just down the road to the ATM and then Kroger. I needed some cash and then the cake Mindy requested. I checked out all the cake options and settled on a tray of twelve cup cakes decorated for the 4th of July. I also bought 2 four packs of giant iced cinnamon rolls. They looked incredibly delicious. I thought the adults might like that option over cup cakes. While heading to the check out lane I grabbed Mindy a dozen dazzling reddish-orange roses. I haven’t taken any home in a few weeks. Finally, I was heading home. It was 3:30pm when I called Mindy to check her status. The kids were already there. She & Courtney had already run to the storage facility where Mindy offered Courtney her old book shelf. I greeted everyone at the house but then quickly turned my attention back to the boat. I was determined to get the new treated wood rails prepped, recovered in marine vinyl, and installed. To that end, I worked methodically. The project went almost perfectly with just a couple small snags. While finishing my work, Joey & Shelly dropped off Kaileigh. They stayed for about 30 minutes visiting. They’re good people. We like them much, much to daughter Courtney’s dismay. I needed a shower and headed directly upstairs to take care of business. I returned ten minutes later clean and refreshed. Mindy started the grill but asked that I take over. She was a bit overwhelmed. I went to the deck and put the steaks, chicken, and hot dogs on. Crissy came over and said that Kenny was too ill to join us. Got sick eating at Bob Evans after church. That’ll teach him to go to church. Soon, we had dogs, chicken, and steaks cooked by Jimmy. There were four or five filets and two NY strips. The kids ate out on the deck. Not long after dinner we gathered around a large cinnamon roll to sing Courtney happy birthday. It didn’t dawn on me at the time but this was the first formal birthday celebration that I’ve done for Courtney since her 17th (10 years ago). After blowing out the candles, we gave her gifts. Kaileigh gave her jewelry, and so did our kids. We gifted her a Kohl’s gift card. Crissy had to eat and run. She had to see her step-daughter off to her mother’s. Courtney left a short while later. She said she was really tired. Honestly, she looked down all afternoon. Summer quarter starts Monday. I felt it a good thing for her to go home and get some rest. Everyone else hung out. Eventually, the rest of us gathered out back to play kick ball in Dave and Becky’s backyard. Dad played, too. It was really fun. There were several dysfunctional moments, but still lots of fun. June 28th is nephew Joe’s birthday as well. He stopped over around 7:30-8:00pm. He joined us for the last inning or two or kick ball. He and Mindy had a beer afterwards. As the evening wound down, I got busy watering flowers. They all needed a good hand watering. And to that end, it was time to give my new plumbing a run for its money. To the basement I headed to put it to the test. Slowly, I turned the water pressure on to the new water spigot. No leaks! Wahoo! Landon and I watered flowers for the next 30 minutes out back. It felt liberating to now be hand watering for 30% of the normal cost. I let Landon play with the hose by himself for about ten minutes. Lindsey said Kelly never allows him to do so. Incidentally, Landon loves his paw-paw. Soon Joe-Joe left, and then minutes later so did Dad. We’ll see dad again Wednesday after he fetches Glenn from the airport. Mindy ran Lindsey, Rocky, and Landon home. Kaileigh, Jacob, and Bella stayed home with me. My job was to water the front flowers, but then also give the kids a bath. I proposed a shower in the backyard from the garden hose. Kai and Jacob were game. Bella was not. She opted for the inside variety. Our neighbor Carl came over while I watered the front flowers. We talked for a long time. Eventually his wife beckoned. I moved around back and gave Jacob and Kaileigh a cold, outside shower with the hose. They brought out soap and shampoo and wore their swim suits. Mindy got home soon after their showers were history. I helped carry in what few things were still scattered on the deck. What a day. I was beat. Mindy complained of the same. We tucked the two girls into the guest bed, then Jacob in his own. I made myself a Jack & Coke around 10pm. It served as an excellent night cap. Good night Moon!

Bringing Home the Boat

After waking a couple of times and going back to sleep, I was finally up & out of bed at 7:30am. Mindy appeared to be out cold. I was careful not to disturb her. For the next couple of hours I exercised, walked Ykraps, logged into work, and played on the computer. I was in no hurry. In fact, short of cutting the lawn, I had little else planned for the day. After all, I was on-call. Mindy got up around 9:30am, about the same time that I was finally ready to run after finding a lull in the activity at work. At the same time, Mindy invited me to sit on her patio sipping coffee, but by then my mind was already running. I had to go. It was a warm run – about 75degrees, and by 9:30am the sun was high enough in the sky that it made a real difference. By run’s end, I was covered in a thick gelatinous glaze. While I ran, Mindy prepared a fancy omelet. She asked if I wanted mimosa. I did not. I stuck with straight OJ. I spent a little more time dealing with work matters then found another lull. I decided it a great time to visit my dad’s place to pick-up some of the min-boulders he said I could have. While there, I planned to invite him over for Courtney’s birthday celebration on Sunday and also ask if he’d help me do the plumbing work necessary to move my hose bib to the deduct water meter. I’ve had the material for about 6 weeks it seems. I headed over around 11am. Dad wasn’t home, but I vaguely remembered where he said I might find the boulders. Sure enough, I found about 13 of them. They were slightly larger than I envisioned but still ideal for my project. I planned to place them at the edge of Mindy’s patio and down into the pond giving it a more natural, rustic look. A couple of them were all I could handle alone. I worked up one heck of a sweat, too. It was heating up fast. Back at home, Mindy convinced me to wait until later to cut the grass. That way the lawn would be much drier, thus easier to cut. I agreed. In the meantime, I handled more work related stuff and then decided to go fetch the boat and give it the once over getting it water ready. Mindy suggested that I fetch it with the Honda but I didn’t want to do that just yet. I took the Trooper – a proven entity. I arrived home with the boat less than 30 minutes later. It doesn’t take long. At that point I still wasn’t sure how deeply I wanted to plunge into boat prep. After all, I was on-call and that remained my first priority. The first thing I did was remove the two rotted support rails that I was already prepared to replace. Next, I installed the battery and tried firing it up. It started on like the third try. I let it run with the water muff shrouding the engine for at least 20 minutes. I checked the oil and belts, too. All good. Sometime during my toil, Mindy prepared to leave for a shopping spree. For one, she was headed to Kohl’s. I suggested while out that she get Courtney a birthday card. She agreed to pick up a gift card, too. Just before she backed out, I offered to vacuum out the Honda since I already had the shop-vac out for the boat. The Honda really needed it. She waited while I vacuumed. It took no more than 5-10 minutes. She then left. After seeing that work was under control, I got more involved with the boat. I detailed/cleaned it inside and out. I put both the trailer and boat license stickers on too. In addition, I lubed the bearing buddies and checked the tire pressure on the trailer. Dad pulled up around 4pm best guess. He took an interest in what I was doing. Said he’d been out and about all day. I responded that I knew having been to his house earlier. I shared that I got the rocks I asked about. In the same breath, I asked for his help with the plumbing job Sunday morning, and then extended and invite for Courtney’s birthday dinner. He accepted on both accounts. We agreed to start on the plumbing at 1030-11am. Cool! About then, Mindy arrived home. She greeted dad with a hug. Always does. Shared with both of us some of the deals she got while shopping. Dad soon left agreeing to see us both tomorrow AM. Mindy hung out around the boat as I was winding down. She suggested that we order Sporano’s subs for dinner. We had earlier talked about attending Comfest but neither of us seemed up to the idea by then. I was on-call and looked forward to a more low-key kind of evening. Getting old, I guess! However, I still wasn’t done with all my chores. Nope! I planned to cut the lawn. I wasted no time transitioning from the boat to the lawn. I spent the next 1.5 hours cutting grass. I push mowed about half, maybe more. It looked great when I finished. Before putting the tractor away, I attached the trailer and hauled the 13 boulders I had in the back of Trooper out to Mindy’s patio. The tractor made it as easy as possible but I still had to lift them all. Ugh! The lawn still needed a whack, edge, and blow, but I decided to save that for Sunday. I was beat and needed a shower. After my shower, Mindy ordered those subs we talked about. She went and fetched them too. After seeing my way through a couple more work related matters the coast looked clear for a care-free & kidless summer evening. Wahoo! Mindy bought two subs, but we shared just one. We saved the other for Sunday lunch. While sipping a beer, Mindy suggested that I take my new putter down to Kenny’s and try it out on his putting green. Great idea, Mindy! She followed. While they ate their dinner, I putted. They eventually joined us. Meanwhile, neighbors Mike & Teri were out on their patio two houses down making some raucous. We eventually joined them. They were celebrating another neighbor, Katie’s, 37th birthday. Mindy shared the latest news on Gold Grill, the neighborhood menace. According to a SWAT officer friend, this guy is a convicted felon from Florida (robbery and murder), who was invited to stay with his aunt but later thrown out. He’s rumored to be living in the woods in our neighborhood park all the while praying on older house wives and befriending neighborhood kids. The local teenagers say he’s packing. I’ve talked to him a couple of times, extending only a casual greeting. We’re all concerned, especially if he’s packing. I made a couple beer runs back to the house. We hung out with the neighbors until almost 11pm. I checked in with work before heading to bed. Things were quiet.

A Gathering of Friends

As expected, I got up right at 5:30am. I didn’t have a lot of wiggle since I needed to be in the office by 6:30am. Also, by design, I skipped sit-ups and push-ups in an effort to rest those tired and overused muscle groups. Given the day’s early schedule, this was a good day to do it. After some water I headed out the door with Ykraps. The lawn looked incredible and the pond was still quite high after a ton of rain the night before. We were back by 5:45am. I poured myself some coffee and spent a few minutes on the internet before readying myself for work. I packed my gym bag with running clothes and shower supplies the night before. I was kind of looking forward to running my old work trail, something I haven’t done for almost two years. It was difficult to leave for work without a shower, but I managed. I left the house at 6:10am. At first I planned to drive the Trooper but last second I opted for the BM’er. I put both new golf clubs in the trunk thinking that I might go to the driving range at lunch. It was a lovely morning – brilliant blue and particularly warm. The parking lot was almost barren save for our over night crew, but that I expected. Unfortunately, the guy that I was supposed to meet with wasn’t in. I wasn’t too pleased. After all, I rearranged my entire morning routine to do this meeting, and he wasn’t in. Good grief! I called his boss, who was on vacation. After a short call and a little work, I headed down to the gym and readied for a run. For nearly ten years I used the company gym as the launching point for my daily. Hasn’t changed much, if at all. I did a cursory stretch before heading out the door. It was 7:15am. My work running trail is a rather simple 5 mile trek. Through the neighboring subdivision, down Davidson Rd to Avery, then north on Avery to Hayden Run and then back. It was nice to hit it again. However, there are two things about a lunchtime run that I don’t miss. One, the stress of having my run pending (lurking) each day during the heat of the battle. It took a huge amount of discipline to put work down to go run every single day at lunch. And secondly, running at 12:45pm, as I often did, meant that I was running at the hottest point of the day. There were a few times that I wondered if I’d make it. This morning, it was relatively cool compared to a lunchtime run. It was only 72 degrees, but still extremely humid. The run went very well. I was back for a shower by 8:05am. I felt really good after a shower. The rest of the day took shape like most others, save for a couple really important meetings. As the day began to unfold, I could see that I wouldn’t get away for lunch. But just as well. I needed to leave the office by 2:30pm to be home in time for Mindy to make her cardiology appointment. I packed up and left at 2:25pm. I’d be on-call over the weekend, so I planned to log back in as soon as I got home. It was sunny and hot when I left work – a lovely summer afternoon. I arrived home around 2:40pm. Mindy left for her appointment at 2:50pm. Meanwhile, the kids were lazy and lethargic, just hanging out watching TV. I made myself a light lunch, Triscuits with cheese and turkey and then logged into work. However, before diving in head first, I took to the livingroom recliner for a brief nap. I didn’t sleep too long. I woke to the sound of a subtle buzz. I wasn’t sure if it was coming from a neighbor doing lawn work, or if it was from inside the house somewhere. Turned out, it was Bella playing with my back massager. Hmm? I sat in front of my laptop on and off until Jimaken showed up to pick-up the kids for the weekend. Mindy had their bags already to go just in case he got there prior to her own return. Good thing. He was there around 4pm. They departed quickly. Mindy got home around 4:20pm. She thought the kids might be out playing. I advised otherwise. They were already gone. I worked until just after 5pm, then tried taking yet another nap. I got some rest but never fully fell asleep. I was still tired, however, but just couldn’t sleep. Mindy worked on her summer licensor class until I offered that we walk with Ykraps. We ended up walking over to neighbor Pat & Lisa’s. They were sitting out on their screened in patio basking in the summer shade. We invited them to Barley’s later. We stayed there chatting for about an hour. We shared the Justin story as well as the one about Gold Grill, the neighbor felon. They hadn’t yet heard. We headed back home around 6:15pm. I did a little writing and even tried taking another brief nap, but to no avail. We got ready and left for Barley’s at 7:15pm. No trouble finding parking. Great! We expected quite a few friends to show after inviting many. Nephew & friend Danny were already there. They phoned just as we were pulling in. I chatted with Scott & Linda for a good 30 minutes, mostly about our Mexico trip and their experiences diving the Caribbean. Neighbors David & Becky were already, too. They were having dinner at an inside table. About 30 minutes later neighbor Lisa, her daughter Jamie, and sister-in-law Lori showed up. But that wasn’t all. Nope, a bit later Tom Clark, Rene and a couple of here peeps showed up. We had a regular ol’ party going on. Aside from eating some of nephew Joe’s Barely burger, I hadn’t eaten a thing all night. That changed later. Around 10pm I ordered a brisket quesadilla. It hit the spot. The evening began to wind down around 10pm. We stayed until almost 11pm. Mindy drove home. Through the entire evening I drank three beers: one of their new Red Molly’s and two Centennials.

Michael, Farah, and our pet Lizard

Happy 51st Glenn! I got up at my usual start time, about 5:30am. At the same time the irrigation system kicked on and the watering began. Indeed, all was right with the world. I kicked it into high gear quickly. I did my exercise routine and then headed out with Ykraps. Boy was it steamy. It was already 74 degrees and very humid. Back home and inside, I poured some coffee and spent a few minutes on the PC reading headlines, the Daily OM, and blogs. I thought that I might send Glenn a birthday greeting but forgot to. I started meditation and stretching at 6:25am. I did both well. I felt really good before setting out on my morning run. I ran at a good clip and worked up one heck of a sweat despite being scantly clothed. I toweled off once again on the deck using the purple beach towel left hanging out to dry. As far as I knew, it had been hanging there innocently since Sunday. I prepared fried eggs for breakfast and packed a healthy lunch of veggies, tuna, fruit, and nuts. After eating my eggs and a piece of French toast, I headed up for a shower. I forgot to take Mindy coffee. After a shower I apologized and asked if she wanted me to bring her one, or if she wanted to join me on the deck for a cup before I left for work. She opted for the latter. I reminded her that my golf clubs would likely be delivered sometime during the day. It didn’t sound like she had much of anything planned. I left for work around 8:15am. I drove the Trooper since a threat of showers loomed large for the late afternoon. It was expected be hot, too, about 92. Work wasn’t bad at all, but we were busy. Late morning or very early afternoon my boss stopped by and asked if I liked Chicken tortilla soup. Yes. He handed me a bag and left. Inside was a bowl of the soup along with some crispy tortillas. It was absolutely delicious but also incredibly filling. I knew immediately afterwards that my packed lunch wouldn’t get eaten. The day wore on. I didn’t leave or take a formal lunch break. Mindy called mid afternoon to let me know that my new golf clubs (putter and driver) arrived via UPS. Cool! She said the kids were playing and that she was studying. No pool action. She asked how tacos sounded for dinner. Don’t know. Never heard a taco before. J I explained that I had tortilla soup and was still full but that tacos would almost certainly sound good come dinner time. She said it was hot outside. She also told me that Michael Jackson passed away. I was surprised to learn about it. I had just read of Farah Fawcett’s passing earlier. Geesh! I sent Glenn a birthday note late afternoon and before leaving for home. I finished up my work and departed for home at 5:30pm on the nose. I was eager to get home. Mindy was right. It was steamy and hot. I walked Ykraps soon after arriving home. He was eager to get out of the house. And as soon as we got back I asked if I had time for a nap. I was suddenly overwhelmed with a case of the sleepies. I kicked back in the recliner but don’t know if I went out fully or not. It felt like I did, but only for a few minutes. Either way, the rest felt good. Mindy called me for dinner a few minutes later. I thought about opening my new golf clubs but didn’t want to deal with all the packaging quite yet. I joined Mindy & the kids for dinner. Jacob, Mindy & I all had tacos. Bella had a sausage sandwich. She doesn’t care for Mexican food. Imagine that! Jacob ate three good-sized burritos. I was impressed. I half expected him to toss his cookies … again. I had three tacos myself. I was full. Mindy started cleaning up. I didn’t stop her. I was again - or still – really tired. I went for another nap. Just as I kicked back she asked if I was planning to do the dishes. Yes, but not for another twenty minutes. I really needed the nap. I noticed that despite watering the night before, there were a handful of dry spots in the lawn, a byproduct of the hot sunshine all week. I planned to water front flowers as well as those dry spots after my nap. While I napped, Mindy and the kids cleaned out the lizard cage. They did the lion’s share of it outside. One of the two passed away today. Must be the day for it (Ed McMahon, Farah, Michael, and now our lizard). Holy smoke! I heard Mindy tell the kids that it was gonna storm. As much as I doubted it, I was hopeful because that’s what we needed – a good rain storm. Sure enough, about 20 minutes later it began to rain, but not too heavily. And even though there was distant lightning and thunder, Mindy allowed the kids to go out and play in it. I was weary. They were fine. Later, after their play time, it began to rain really hard. The last I had checked the radar the storm was well to our immediate north and tracking east. But since I last checked, a large swath dropped south, just like last week. We got pelted with heavy rain and even some small hail. That must’ve lasted about an hour. And after an hour or so of calm, it started up again, only this time it was accompanied by constant lightning and thunder. It was a cool storm. After the kids were tucked into bed I opened my new clubs. I was slightly paranoid that they might’ve screwed up my order but they didn’t. Left-handed putter and driver, correct models and size. I didn’t realize it when ordered but both shipped with nice head covers. Cool! I asked Mindy if she would make me a Jack & Coke. Poof! She did. I sipped it while we talked in the living room. I updated my blog, too. I was on top of things. We went to bed at 10:15pm.

No Pain - No Worries

I could hear the irrigation system already running when I woke at 5:35am. I didn’t sleep all that well, the best sleep coming during the final hour. Often happens that way. Adding to my morning, I forgot to start coffee the night before. Crap. I hurried and prepped the coffee maker before starting my exercises. By the time my exercise routine was complete, it was fully daybreak. It was quite steamy outside and 72 degrees. Ykraps and I enjoyed our walk. Another nearby neighbor had an irrigation system put in yesterday. That’s two neighbors in the past week. It’s sorta neat seeing all of them running at about the same time. Speaking of which, I got the water bill on Tuesday but hadn’t yet opened it for fearing the number. Coffee was ready by the time I was back at home. It was just past 6am. I read some email, the headlines, and even did a little writing for my blog. I didn’t finish, however. There just wasn’t time. At 6:20am I moved onto mediation and stretching. During my routine, I found a way to stretch the aching muscles in my rear shoulder that offered a great deal of relief to an area prone to ongoing stiffness, most likely a byproduct of daily push-ups. Just can’t believe I went so many years without a good stretching regimen. I dressed and left for a run at 6:50am. I was behind schedule by 15 minutes but still no biggie. The run went extremely well. No pain, no worries. Nothing but happy thoughts! I was home by 7:25am. Like clock work, I went to the deck to towel away the heavy perspiration. That felt great. Inside, I placed the egg pan on the stove and put about a tablespoon’s worth of olive oil in before setting the burner to med-high. While the pan preheated I poured some orange juice and cut some veggies. While fetching my eggs, I spotted a zip-loc with Sunday’s leftover French toast inside. That sounded good. I pulled one slice to complement my eggs. It was 7:45am by the time I had breakfast in my belly. Off to the shower and to deliver Mindy’s coffee. After a shower I remembered to grab a pair of shorts for golf, but what I didn’t do was grab a lightweight shirt. Given the day’s forecast I could’ve used it. Downstairs, I transferred my golf clubs to the BM’er then returned inside to enjoy a cup of coffee on the deck with Mindy before departing for work. It was sticky and warm – about 72 degrees. I took a couple photos. I asked Mindy about going to the pool. She was noncommittal. I suggested that she take Rocky if they go. I left for work at 820am. Work was busy, plus it was meeting day. I worked straight through, but did eat my lunch from my desk. This was golf day. I always feel better not taking lunch since I leave early, although my boss has alluded more than once that it’s not necessary. But still… I closed my office door and changed into my shorts at 4:25pm. I walked out the door right at 4:30pm. It was hot indeed - about 90 degrees. It took 40 minutes to get from work to Split Rock. It was a nice drive with the top down. Bob B was already there. I carted with him, but went to get a cart for Bob I., who was till in transit. While loading my clubs, a couple girls who are part of a woman’s league that typically tees off right after us were chatting right next to me. I heard another girl from a distance holler over that she brought the helmet. I quipped that it might be a bit odd to wear a helmet on the golf course. In reality, it was a motorcycle helmet. Moreover, as it turned out, it was Jackie, brother-in-law Larry’s niece, who had the helmet. Small world. We were called to the back nine tee box at 5:20pm. I went second and hit the best of the three drives. Sadly, I duffed my second shot. It rolled only about 30 feet ahead. It’s a par 5, though, so I didn’t worry too much. I hit my third shot just short of the green. A simple sand wedge and I’d be putting for par I figured. Crap, I uncharacteristically hit my sandwedge way long and behind the green. It took 5 shots to get on the green. I two putted for a seven. Through the next eight holes I had four pars and three bogeys with an ugly eight sprinkled in just for good measure, but that was debacle. I four putted from 25 feet on the shortest par four on the course. Long story. The highlights of my evening were three shots in particular. One, I hit a fairway wood from about 240-250 out and rolled up just short of the fringe after a really bad drive. Two and three were both 3-iron shots on hole 18, a very difficult par 5. After another poor tee shot, I went 3-iron, 3-iron in leaving myself again just off the green. The pin was at the very back so I hit a sandwedge up leaving myself about 12 feet for a par. Unfortunately, I missed but tapped in for a bogey. I shot a 46. Not bad given a couple really bad breaks and not playing for three plus weeks. I kidded both Bob’s that my new putter and driver will shave a good eight strokes off my game. We’ll see, but I was only joking. Maybe two or three. But then again, they might add two or three. :) I talked with Mindy on my drive home. She was at Wal-Mart grocery shopping. Jimaken had the kids. Not sure that I would’ve chosen grocery shopping with my alone time, but hey, that’s just me. While talking, I missed my turn on Sharp Rd (the new way home). As an alternative, I took Rt 762 all the way to Rt 62. It takes you right past the Orient prison. I then picked up 71N at the Orient exit. I beat Mindy home by ten minutes. Jimaken was in the driveway with the kids. It appeared that they had just pulled up. He backed out to give me room to pull up and into the garage. I prepped tomorrow’s coffee and poured myself some Fanta orange soda. I was craving the sugar and fizz. I was also craving carbs. Something about playing in the hot sun causes me to crave fizzy, sugary pop and carbs almost every time. In any case, I drank two big cups of orange soda like water. Mindy pulled up with groceries minutes later. She requested Jacob and I help her haul everything in. She reported this being a big haul. She hadn’t really done any big shopping since before vacation. She requested I help unbag too. Crap, I hate that. She heated Bella’s leftover KC wings in the oven in a stoneware pan while putting away groceries. Jacob asked if he could have some. No, they mine! He had dinner with his Dad. While Mindy finished putting groceries away, I updated my blog and added a few pics. I also tracked my new driver and putter via the UPS webpage. Cool! Slated for Thursday delivery. I had a couple more glasses of soda through the evening. Mindy got the kids to bed around 930pm. After tucking in the kids I collapsed on the sofa. I was shocked to see that it was already 10pm. I turned on the TV looking for something interesting. Nothing. I hadn’t watched any TV since Mexico. I settled on Barack Obama discussing his health care initiative. I saw just a few minutes before I fell asleep, but found him quite engaging. I like him. Next thing I knew, I woke to a dark downstairs. It must’ve been 10:45pm or so. I hurried on up to bed.

Playing Cat & Mouse

I got caught playing a bit of cat & mouse with the bedroom clock during the final hour or two of sleep. In the end, I woke a little later than I wanted. It was 5:42am. The 12 minute delay didn’t sway me much, however, other than to simply put me behind my usual schedule. I checked to make sure the coffee brewed and started my exercise regimen. Yes. Outside, it looked like another sunny & warm start. It was already in the upper 60’s. Ykraps and I headed out the door at 5:55am. Nice walk. It was 6:15 or so when he and I got back for coffee. Actually, Ykraps didn’t want any. Instead, he wanted water. I spent just a few minutes at the PC before moving onto meditation and stretching. Both went well. The stretching felt incredibly good. I just can’t express how beneficial it’s been for the minor aches and pains that ale me, most likely associated with my ongoing running and exercise plan. I didn’t leave for my run until 6:50am – much later than usual. In fact, I passed a walker I see almost every morning straight up. He quipped that I was late! He was right. Yet despite being later than usual, I took my time and didn’t worry about the clock. It was a thoroughly enjoyable run. It was darn near 7:30am by the time I was back at home starting my breakfast. I toweled the sweat off my body from the deck. I made an omelet with Italian cheese. It was quite tasty. Around 7:50am I headed up for a shower with a cup of coffee in hand for Mindy. I was showered and dressed in less than fifteen minutes. I asked Mindy if she cared to join me on the deck for another cup of coffee. She did. It was humid and warm, almost 70 degrees. The anticipated high for the day was 86 degrees. We sat on the deck until 8:20am when I finally had to depart. Mindy complained of feeling incredibly tired. Work was busy. I didn’t take much of a break all day long, and I never got outside to appreciate the summery weather. Those at work that had, returned talking about how hot and humid it was out there. Those, no doubt, are the same folks that complain about how cold it is in the winter. Me, I am simply happy that it’s summer. Mindy reported taking the kids to the pool again during the afternoon. She also said she wasn’t up for cooking dinner and suggested we do dinner at Barley’s instead. Both kids backed her proposal. I was more than agreeable, too. After all, she went through a lot of trouble for me on Sunday. Mindy agreed to walk Ykraps before I got home. As tired as she felt this AM, I felt equally as tired when I got home. I pleaded for the opportunity to take a quick nap before leaving for Barley’s, but did little more than lay there with my eyes closed. It was 6:40pm when we finally arrived at Barley’s. We opted for a table on the patio, something we rarely, if ever, do. Our first choice left us exposed to too much late evening sun. We moved to another, but still had the sun in our eyes, at least to some degree. It was quite warm but bearable. I ordered a Centennial IPA. Mindy ordered a rum & Coke. The kids ordered lemonade. Mindy asked for an order of sauerkraut balls as an appetizer. We placed our food order when the drinks arrived, in part, to cash in on the happy hour prices. Mindy ordered a burger; me, a Cuban. The kids ordered wings; Jacob, Gates of Hell, and Bella, K.C. Our food arrived ten minutes later. All very good. As expected, Bella grazed on her wings like turtle. She ate only two of ten. On the other hand, Jacob woofed down seven of ten rather quickly. He said the Gates sauce was extra hot. I had a side of Gates to dip my fries. I agreed. It was hot! While Mindy and Bella were away at the bathroom, Jacob was busy sucking on ice cubes. Suddenly, he got this look that I’ve seen before. I knew he was about to toss his cookies. Sitting to close for comfort, I asked him to turn his head the opposite direction. He didn’t comply. Instead, he threw up on his plate and in his lap. It wasn’t a lot but still enough. I wasn’t happy. He said he couldn’t help it after an ice cube slipped halfway down his throat. When Mindy returned I shared our dilemma. One thing was certain, we wouldn’t be taking his three leftover wings home in the boxes Diedra brought us. I nursed a second beer before leaving, a Hoptopus. Mindy picked up the check. We arrived home around 8pm. I really needed to water the backyard flower baskets and pots but was overwhelmed with a case of the sleepies. So, instead of tending to my chores, I plopped down on the sofa and took about a 30 minute nap. I was out like a light. After slowly waking, I put on my dog walking shoes and headed outside to water. I was happy to find the previously saturated parts of the lawn now dry after deactivating the irrigation system for three nights in a row. Most of my concern was at or near the new sod. It’s been soggy since it was laid and never once has it had much of a chance to dry out. It was still lush and green. I planned to re-enable all 6 zones starting tonight. I watered all the flowers and even topped off the hot tub, which was down about three inches. I couldn’t help but notice how much my tomato plants have grown in the last week or so. Hot steamy nights do the trick every time. While Mindy got the kids ready for bed I played on the PC. We headed to bed at 10pm. Both of us were over tired.

Re-Steak, Races, and FAFSA

5:30am came around fast. I felt good, though and quickly got out of bed, brushed my teeth and headed downstairs to begin my exercise routine. I purposefully left the irrigation system disabled overnight to give the lawn a chance to dry out some. However, before starting my push-ups, I ran zone #1 (the front lawn) manually for 20 minutes. It’s the only part of the yard that soaks it up, but little wonder, it slopes away from the house rather dramatically. Ykraps and I enjoyed our morning walk. It was a gorgeous summery morning. I poured a cup of coffee then took to the PC. I read the Daily OM and some headlines. I downloaded Sunday’s photos, too. That was fun. Before I knew it, it was 6:20am. I had to peel myself away from the PC to do my meditation and stretches. I didn’t leave for my run until 6:40am, but headed out feeling fantastic. It must’ve been about 67 degrees & sunny – perfect. The run went really well. It was over seemingly just as it started. I went to the deck almost immediately after arriving home to towel off with one of the beach towels hanging out to dry. That felt terrific! I preheated the egg skillet while organizing my lunch, a can of tuna, some carrots, and nuts. Landon & Rocky called for me from the balcony. I told them they could come down. They both came quickly. They both wanted donuts and juice. Not a problem. They watched cartoons while I ate my breakfast. I took Landon upstairs with me when I went for a shower. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him unsupervised downstairs. Mindy understood and got up to deal with the boys. She seemed in good spirits. By the time I was out of shower and dressed, Mindy coaxed the boys downstairs so not to wake Bella and Jacob. Like he often did when he lived with us, Landon insisted I play the guitar before leaving for work. Very cute! Mindy and I enjoy seeing some of the same d positive behaviors we taught them while they were living with us being repeated. It’s funny because it takes a while but they eventually get comfortable and start doing those things without being told. I left for work at 8:10am. I had to move Mindy’s Honda to get the BM’er out of the garage. I hadn’t driven it to work in many weeks mostly due to the ongoing threat of rain, plus the fact that it was dirty. The drive in was a fun one. Always is in the BM’er. I noticed that gas prices didn’t budge from last week. Still $2.57 per gallon. However, I didn’t need gas in the BM’er. I had ¾ tank. Work was much more manageable than it was last week, although there were a few weekend carryovers to contend with. We had those handled by late morning, thankfully. It got much easier after that. I left for a Home Depot stop at 1pm. I planned to pick-up some nuts & bolts to secure the back slats of the patio bench to the frame. The wood screws were no longer holding. While at Home Depot, I also picked up a two-pack of WD-40, two citronella candles for the deck table, and two hose guides for the rear flower beds. All totaled, I spent about $20. Back to work. The afternoon went along smoothly. I didn’t leave the office until 5:30pm. Courtney phoned just as I was starting up the BM’er. I sat in the lot and talked with her for a few minutes. She was distraught over her school financing. She apparently failed to complete her 2009-2010 FAFSA form in time to get Summer quarter covered. She didn’t realize that it runs summer to spring of the following year. Of course now she needed some financial help until that ship comes in. I didn’t respond too favorably, especially at first. In the end, I understand that the process can be confusing, and agreed to help. And if nothing else, call Columbus State and get a better understanding of where things stand. That made her feel better. I asked that she bring me all the paperwork later that evening. I arrived home around 6pm. Dad was over, making good on the leftover dinner offer. He’d already walked Ykraps, too. I let Mindy know that Courtney would be coming over shortly. Mindy shared how much fun all the kids had at the pool. She dropped Rocky & Landon back at home around 4pm. We all enjoyed the re-steak dinner. Jacob was the only one who didn’t have steak. He wanted a Mexican microwave dinner instead. Whatever? The kids ate quickly and dashed outside to play with friends. I took care of kitchen clean-up duty. Courtney showed up at the same time. After carefully considering Courtney’s dilemma since she and I last spoke, I asked that she give us a brief overview, while avoiding her tendency to blame everyone else in her blow by blow. I wasn’t sure how she’d respond to my request, but she responded favorably. She did a good job of telling the story in brevity and blaming only herself for the oversights. Without airing too much dirty laundry, the one thing that all three of my daughters do all too frequently is blame everyone else for their many varied predicaments. Listening to them spin their tales would lead the casual observer to believe they’ve been wronged by everyone. It causes me pain just to hear that type of talk as it gives too much power to everyone else while disempowering the self. Mindy & Dad both stepped out onto the deck while Courtney and I finished our chat. Courtney left after about a 30 minute stay. She stepped out to say goodbye to Mindy & Dad before departing. After finishing up in the kitchen, I gathered the tools & hardware necessary to complete the patio bench. I pulled out most of the loose wood screws and drilled the holes slightly larger and all the way through so to accept a bolt, washer, and nut. It didn’t take too long. On my way back to the garage with my tools, I put everything down and spent an hour playing with the kids, who were in the neighbor’s yard playing first bounce or fly. That eventually turned into running races. It was funny to watch. I purposely set up the races so that no one would have an obvious unfair advantage. I accomplished that by giving the girls a 5-10 yard head start and then gave Evan, the smallest, about a 15-20 yard head start. That turned out to be just enough of an advantage to make the race interesting. When Jacob was nosed out at the finish line by a girl he lost any composure he might’ve had otherwise. I think that Mindy summed his attitude up quite well. He’s a sore loser, but also a poor winner. He’s one of those that rubs it in & taunts when he wins, but pouts and runs off when he loses. The kids raced several times. Unbeknownst to us, Bella headed inside pouting about getting edged out during a race, too. She, of course, blamed me for her less than stellar performance. We laughed it off. Dad hung out through all the races. He left probably around 8:45pm. Everybody was in bed by 9:30pm. Mindy & I went out on the deck at 10pm exactly where we marveled at the daylight still hanging on the western horizon. To bed. Good night moon.

Dad's Day & The First Day of Summer Rolled Into One

I woke initially around 5:30 and then again around 6:30am, but fell right back asleep. I got up for keeps at 7am. It was a sunny start to Father’s Day and the first official day of summer. The last I had seen, it was expected to be sunny, hot and humid for the next several days. Summer’s right on queue. I prepped a pot of coffee then started my exercise regimen. I was out the door with Ykraps before 7:15am. It was in the mid 60’s – a lovely morning indeed. I was happy to see next to no digging around my newest sprinkler head. A raccoon went berserk there Friday morning digging for something. I gather he smelt the human scent and mistook it for meat. Inside I poured myself a cup of coffee and then spent some time playing on the internet. I must’ve played around for a good hour. I prepped and left for a run at 8:30am. I ran just three miles running along Trabue and down Hague, a typical Sunday run. Mindy and the kids still weren’t up when I returned. I was only a little surprised. I took care of a few minor chores. Soon, Mindy and the kids were up. Mindy wasted little time starting breakfast after verifying that I had already completed my run. While she cooked I filled the humming bird feeder and mounted the new Tiki torches to the deck. By the time I headed back inside, Mindy & the kids had Father’s Day cards and a gift waiting for me. I opened the card and gift from the kids first. They each thanked me for something special that I’ve done for them. That was cute! Bella thanked me for flying her to bed, and Jacob thanked me for giving him some IPA. J kidding! They gifted me a pair of new Crocs, too. Cool! I opened Mindy’s card next. Inside was a gift card to Golf Galaxy worth more than enough to cover the putter I wanted and probably enough to get that new driver I’ve been eyeing too. Geesh! Thanks Princess! I made out. Breakfast was ready in short order. Mindy made maple sausage links and French toast. She poured mimosas for the two of us. The kids had straight OJ but also served in wine glasses. Breakfast was delicious. I had two mimosas. After clean-up I suggested that all of us do a family bike ride. We left just after 11am, and we ended up heading to the local park. Curious about the rumors surrounding some guy living in the woods of the park, I promptly parked my bike and walked back through the woods looking for any signs of camping/living in the woods. Nothing but some scattered trash. I know some teenagers hang out back there but nothing looked unusual. Jacob’s chain came off of his bike during our ride. I had to do a field repair, just like when I was a kid. No problem. I got it back on easily, but advised that he should take it slow until we got back home where I could tighten the chain properly. We took a different route home. Mindy spotted an old family friend, Steve Gallentine (sp) out mowing his yard. We stopped and chatted briefly. We headed home after short visit. Jimaken was already waiting at our house for the kids. He planned to take Jacob and Bella swimming for a couple of hours. While I worked on Jacob’s bike chain, the kids gave their daddy his Father’s Day gift. They left for the pool just as I was finishing up the bike repair. Mindy started our Father’s Day meal prep as soon as the kids departed. I asked if she needed me to do anything before heading out to mow the lawn. I lowered the blade a ½” before mowing. The lawn was a bit drier than it’s been all spring and not completely over grown. After all, I cut it only 66 hours prior. The mowing went a bit easier than the past few. And as soon as I finished with our yard, I started on David and Becky’s. They were out of town all week and I told Dave I’d take care of it. Given that their lawn is flat, I cut 99% of it with my tractor. It was easy save for the three or four trees I had to carve around. To finish, I wacked and edged. I edged David’s yard, too – something they don’t typically do. That was tough sledding! After finishing up both lawns I gave the tractor a long over due bath. It was still covered in dirt after the grade change project in mid-spring. I got it spit shined in a jiffy. Just as I was putting it away in the shed it occurred to me that the grand kids might want tractor rides. So, instead of putting it away, I got out the trailer, hooked it up and parked it in the mid-backyard. Before heading in I blew both of our walks and drives clear of any grass clippings. Just as I was finishing up my chores, all the girls and grand kids showed up in Courtney’s minivan. After a quick hug, I headed in for a much needed shower. I was feeling hot and slightly over heated. By the time I was out of the shower, dad was over. It wasn’t quite 4pm. Mindy didn’t plan to grill until 5:30pm or so. I played with all the kids in the yard. Soon Tommy and Wally arrived, as did good friend Tom Clark. We’ve only had all the girls and all the grand kids over one other time. That was Xmas eve. Being able to play outside made the gathering a bit more manageable. I gave the kids tractor rides around the immediate area. It was fun. Mindy asked me to get the grill going around 5:00pm. I grilled ten NY strips and eight hot dogs. Meanwhile, Mindy prepared green bean casserole, baked potatoes, and lots of finger food. A couple of the girls didn’t want to eat, and Kaileigh had to leave even before we ate dinner to make it to yet another Father’s Day celebration. Courtney, Lindsey, Ashley and Olivia left soon after dinner. Rocky & Landon stayed behind for a sleep over. Landon cried like he always does. I had to take him from Lindsey. I knew he’d be smiling in short order. It took a few minutes longer for him to calm but once he did he was happy-go-lucky. He and I spent a lot of time on the kiddie tree swing. Almost everybody left by 7:30pm. But Dad stuck around later than anyone else. He didn’t leave until 8:30pm or so. Mindy invited him over for Monday leftovers (steak). He loosely accepted. Dad walked Ykraps before departing. Thanks Dad! Mindy got the kids (Rocky, Landon, Jacob, and Bella) bathed and ready for bed before 9pm. We allowed Landon, Rocky, and Jacob to share the guest bed. Landon cried and pleaded to sleep with Rocky, something he does every night at home. It made no sense to fight it. Landon cried at lights out for less than a minute. Ten minutes later, Jacob asked to be tucked into his own bed. All the kids were out by 9:30pm. We weren’t far behind. We sat and reflected on our day before retiring to bed around 10pm.

Last Day of Spring '09

Regardless of the day or circumstances, I consider waking at 8am sleeping late. However, we didn’t get to bed until well after midnight Friday, so the extra sleep felt good. Mindy stayed in bed as expected. I headed downstairs and started some coffee, then began my exercise routine. Ykraps and I headed out for our morning stroll. It was already sunny, warm, and steamy – 72 degrees. The lawn looked great but would most likely need cut again sometime this weekend, even after cutting it only 1.5 days ago. While walking, I reviewed my mental project list. Nothing huge yet several things I wanted to accomplish, most in the yard. I sat at the PC drinking coffee and updating my blog for the next hour or more. I decided not to force myself out for a run before 9am like I most often do weekends. And even though I didn’t head out for a run until 9:30am, Mindy still wasn’t up. It was a nice, sweaty run. I finished strong. Mindy was just backing out the drive when I returned from my run. She had Bella in tow, too. The plan called for a quick stop at Dr. Craig’s office since Bella was still showing signs of a possible ear infection. Afterwards, Mindy planned to visit The Anderson’s to pick-up food for Sunday’s Father’s Day event. I started tinkering almost as soon as I was back home, but woofed down a day or two old cinnamon roll first. The first thing I did was trim a peep hole in the Ivy growing over the front door sidelights. Next, I trimmed the huge Salvia bushes in the east front bed since some of them are falling forward and covering up my lovely petunias. Doing that required that I pay close attention to the numerous bees swarming about their flowers. Next on the agenda, I moved to the backyard where I cut two new legs for our vandalized flamingos. However, before replanting them in the flower bed, I gave both a fresh coat of purple spray paint to counter the dulling affect the pond water had on them. Next, I repotted the impatiens from the vandalized pot into the new purple pot. I knew that would make Mindy happy. In the garage I decided no time better than the present to finish repairing the boat cushion that I’ve had at home for almost three months. I’d already removed the rotted base and had the treated sheet of plywood ready but still not cut to size. I used the rotted piece to trace out the pattern then cut it with a jigsaw. That took but a few minutes. After drilling five weep holes, I spent the next 20 minutes resecuring the marine vinyl to the new base. I was thrilled to have that done. It was one of those pesky little tasks that’s been lingering in the back of my mind since I winterized the boat last fall. Time to work on patio bench repair. I fetched the materials from the Trooper and then carried the kids patio bench to the garage where I made the repairs. I had to do a simple cross cut, but also sand the sharp edges off the 1X2” board before mounting. It didn’t take too long to finish. Mindy got home around 1pm. Bella did indeed have an ear infection. She needed to go fetch a prescription of antibiotics soon after. I stayed busy in the yard, backfilling and seeding some of the minor damage left behind by the irrigation crew. But I still wasn’t finished. I pulled the BM’er from the garage and gave it a much needed bath inside and out. Leaving the top down in the garage has allowed the inside to collect mucho dust. I haven’t driven it for a good month. I had it washed and put away in less than an hour. The last thing I did was water the pots and baskets. It was about 2:45pm. I headed inside to shower up for the DeWood’s annual volleyball party. We left for the party around 3:50pm. Mindy took along hot dogs and a tray of sweet finger desserts. I really could’ve used a nap. The DeWood’s annual party is an event that’s been part of Mindy’s life since she was very young. They used to be neighbors in Holly Hill. Now the DeWood’s live in Oakhurst. Many of the attendees are fellow Crossroads parishners. There were plenty of eats, and as always the event was very organized. One doesn’t have to look too hard to figure out that Bob DeWood is a neat-nick, and certainly more so than I. I appreciate that about him. I sat alone eating in one of our camp chairs while Mindy & the kids chose to sit at a very crowded table bumping elbows with others. I couldn’t help but think the party would be much livelier if there was alcohol. But probably best that there wasn’t. We finally played some volleyball after an hour or so. I think I played about 6 or 7 games all totaled. It was fun, although the teams were too crowded – often nine per side. Yikes! Jacob played on my team. He might’ve been the youngest competitor. We started making preparations to head home around 8pm. I was eager to get there knowing too well that Ykraps needed a walk. I was also looking forward to an ice cold beverage – beer! I also held out hope that our neighbor’s, Kenny & Crissy would be home from the Myrtle Beach. We arrived home around 8:30pm. They were home. Bella ran down to see Makayla straight up. Mindy & I followed while also walking Ykraps. Kenny was already out washing the car. Said they’d been home less than an hour. Neighbor Mike stopped over while we were chatting and invited all of us over to his place for food and fun. We accepted the invite but finished walking Ykraps before heading over. There were several folks already there and lots of kids jumping on the trampoline (I’m talking like 12 kids). We hung out at Mike & Teri’s until 11pm or midnight yucking it up and drinking beer. Mindy headed home about 30 minutes ahead of me. I joined her already in bed. She wasn’t yet asleep.

Slip n' Slide My Grass Away

Up just after 5:30am, I felt pretty good and was ready to tackle my day. I noticed in passing that the deck was wet, a sure sign that it rained more overnight. And while engaging in exercise, I saw that the wind was whipping it up pretty good outside. I checked the weather forecast and radar like I often do before heading out with Ykraps. Turned out, there was a thunderstorm warning for our area, but from the looks of it, Most of it was tracking just to our north. Folks up in Marion/Mansfield were getting hammered. Ykraps and I headed out for our walk. It wasn’t raining but it was very breezy and cloudy. On a clear day, it would’ve been broad daylight, but today the cloud cover was so thick that it was still pretty dark, even eerie. A constant barrage of lightning flashes could be seen to our immediate north and west. But at the time there was little to no accompanying thunder. The storm clouds were moving swiftly, too. Back at home I checked the radar again to see if a run in the next 30 minutes looked feasible. At about the same time heavy rain pelted our area along with strong winds and lightning. A large red swath of the storm dropped south from the larger body and was getting us pretty good. I watched from the front & back doors. I expected to hear tiny feet scampering across the upstairs floor as the kids made their way into our bed with their mommy. They typically do in thunderstorms. Today, however, I didn’t hear any such movement. There was no way I was gonna get my run in as normal, but the immediate forecast called for improving conditions after 7am. I decided to wait it out on the sofa. I tried going back to sleep, but the best I could do was hit that tweener stage between consciousness and sleep. The rain continued longer than expected, but the once heavy downpours turned into a steady light rain. But what concerned me more than heavy rain was the incessant lightning. As the sky brightened I could see the storm clouds with greater definition. They were scary looking. I eventually dressed for my run once the radar proved the worst was behind us and the storms to our east. I could see a brightening sky directly to our west. It must’ve been about 7:30am when I finally headed out for my run. It was only sprinkling at the time. The majority of my run has me facing the east. The sky out that way still looked quite scary and even had me questioning my thinking a few times. What I saw were ongoing lightning strikes and heavy rain. But the few times I faced back to the west I felt secure enough to continue. The sky was bright, and there were even a few small breaks of pale blue. During the run there were a few cloud bursts, and even one where the rain drops were as big as dimes, but it didn’t last. All in all, I stayed fairly dry. As luck would have it, the storm fired up again once I was back home and making my eggs. I felt fortunate to have gotten my run in. It was already after 8:00am. I knew that I’d be late for work. I woofed down my breakfast then dashed off for a shower. I was showered and dressed for work by 8:20 something. I made great time. I wouldn’t be that late after all. By the time I made it to work the sky was showing signs of much better weather ahead. The forecast called for clearing skies and upper 80s. Work was very busy, and it only got busier as the day progressed. I had planned to visit Home Depot again at lunchtime only this time to return the oak 1X2” I bought the day before to repair our patio benches. I wanted to exchange it for a 1X3” after discovering that the bench slats are an odd, in-between size which would require ripping the 1X3”. However, because we were so busy, I turned around in the parking lot and went back inside to help keep the ship moving in the right direction. I decided I’d simply live with a slightly narrower bench slat. The afternoon’s activity was constant, countless escalations. I did my best to remain calm and drive the issues to closure. At 5:15pm I phoned my peer, who’d be on-call over the weekend, to give him a heads up. I wanted the transition to be seamless. I didn’t leave for home until 5:50pm. I phoned Mindy, who said that we’d be ordering pizza for dinner. I was OK with that. It sounded like she and the kids had a fun day playing. Good for them! I arrived home just after 6pm. Mindy shared more about their day and prepared to walk Ykraps with me. At one point, while glancing out back, I noticed a large area of the lawn looking completely matted and muddy. Mindy admitted having the Slip n’ Slide out for all the kids. I was pissed because the yard was already saturated from the heavy rain. Damn it! I gave Mindy an earful even while we walked Ykraps together. My thing is that I work hard to make and keep our yard looking top notch only to have others tear it up without giving it any thought. Back at home, I really didn’t want to get a close-up look fearing that it would only make me angrier, but I did. Turned out, the grass wasn’t ripped out but it would take some doing to get it back in shape. I didn’t want to fool with it then, however. I went back inside. Back inside, Mindy ordered pizza and then went to pick it up. I took a much needed nap in the recliner, something I love to do, especially on Fridays. While Mindy was gone, Rene showed up. I kept sleeping. She engaged the kids while waiting for Mindy’s return. Mindy mentioned earlier that Rene might be visiting. Mindy was back in less than ten minutes with the pizza. When I finally upped from my nap everyone was outside in the yard. I helped myself to some pizza and eventually cracked open a HopSlam. It was quite warm and humid, nevertheless, we ate our pizza from the deck. During dinner, we exchanged vacation stories with Rene, who spent the week we were in Mexico in the Outer Banks just up the way from Jacob & Bella. At one point I suggested that Mindy fetch one of the small fans just to keep the outside air circulating. Instead, we moved inside. Rene got a call from a friend and left about 30 minutes later. Not long after, Tom Clark called. Mindy invited him over. He was at Barley’s and wondered if this was a kidless night. Nope! Tom showed up about an hour later. Earlier, Bella had asked if she could spend the night with Emily, a few houses down. We agreed. Well, she wasn’t there but an hour or so when the phone rang again. This time it was Teri, Emily’s mom, calling to say Bella wanted/needed to come home. She said her ear hurt. Actually, though, we suspected she was home sick. Tom, Jacob and I sat and talked, joked over the growler of Barley’s Pale ale that Tom brought. Against Mindy’s will, we gave Jacob a very small sample in his drink cup. He seems to like beer. He asked for more later. As you might expect, Bella was quite the pill when she got home. She cried repeatedly. Mindy gave her Tylenol and eventually had her lay with her ear on a heating pad. That at least calmed her. Meanwhile, Tom, Mindy, Jacob & I continued sitting around the kitchen table having a good time sharing stories. Tom shared some childhood stories, most of which I’ve heard before but enjoyed hearing them again just the same. Before Tom left, which must’ve been around midnight, Mindy invited him back for our Father’s Day event this coming Sunday. Sounds like he’ll be coming. After Tom left we all went to bed. We were surprised that Jacob stayed up so late. I could tell he was toast, however.

Celebrating Kaileigh at 8

I woke at 5:30am and quickly transitioned from sleep to exercise. The irrigation system was on and the sunshine shining. The day had indeed begun. Soon, Ykraps and I were taking our usual morning stroll. I was eager to check out the watering pattern of my newest sprinkler head to make sure that it was doing what I hoped. It was. Good aim, good call. Back home around 6:00am, I got some coffee then took to the PC. Not too worried about the time, I read some of Glenn’s blog along with my other favorite reads. I must say, reading Glenn’s blog is more often than not much like looking out the window hoping to find lovely weather, but instead finding cold, gray clouds moving in - lots of negative overtones. Sometimes we simply need to manufacture good news and then before we know it, good things start happening all around us. Funny, I can almost hear him defending his writings, of which there’s really nothing to defend, by stating that he’s simply sharing it as it happens without adding any sugar & spice. My point, however, is simple. Create your happiness – the world will follow. And if it doesn't, what's lost? But back to me ... After PC time I moved immediately to meditation and stretching. Stretching has been so good for me, the medicine I needed but never realized. If I really dedicated myself to it, I could see it curing most of my minor aches and pains. By 6:35am I was dressing for my run. This time I left the shirt behind entirely. It was a few degrees cooler than the morning before but still reasonably warm – about 64. Running shirtless felt a tad cool, but that quickly subsided as soon as the sweat started to brew. My run went extremely well. Back home, I made a simple cheese omelet. This time I didn’t try to be like Lolita. It was good. I didn’t need to pack a lunch since I still had yesterday’s resting in the fridge at work. It must’ve been about 7:35am when I finally headed up for shower. I was ready to depart for work by 7:55am. I walked around the backyard for a few minutes before heading out. Mindy and the kids remained in bed. Work was calm and remained that way for most of the day. Come lunch time I drove to Home Depot to pick-up the stuff I wanted to fix the patio benches out back. I needed some screws for the large bench, and needed a new oak board and bolts for the little bench. I spent a lot of time trying to find the exact match to the missing bolt. I ended up settling on one similar. I bought a 7 foot long oak 1x2” board. I felt instantly that it looked a smidge to narrow even though I measured at home. I headed back to work after Home Depot. It was noticeably more humid than it has been. I headed back to work. The afternoon kept me hopping. I didn’t catch any air until it was time to head home. At home I knew we’d be celebrating G.D. Kaileigh’s 8th birthday. Mindy made arrangements for her to have dinner with us, and also fetched her a couple birthday gifts. Courtney would be there too. I was looking forward to seeing both, but especially Kaileigh. Like often happens, I was overwhelmed with sleepiness as soon as I got home. Mindy understood and allowed me to take brief nap before dinner. We were having leftovers: hamburgers, hot dogs, chops, and potato salad. The kids, meanwhile, were playing and somewhat loudly. I took it in stride. After my nap I gave Kaileigh a big ol’ grandpa hug. At dinner, I noticed how Kai’s stretching out, looking rather slender. Courtney, I noticed, dyed her hair black. In general, I don’t care for dyed hair, especially such a stark transition. Looks artificial – forced. Meanwhile, I was still sleepy but battled through it. After dinner we celebrated Kaileigh’s birthday with a chocolate chip cookie cake decorated accordingly. We sang, took pictures, and gave her gifts. Honestly, she didn’t seem too enthused with her gifts, but that’s OK. After dinner I wanted another nap but knew there wouldn’t be time. I needed to cut our lawn and neighbor Kenny’s, too. Both of our lawns were thick and tall. I started with the John Deere, and on Kenny’s. His is a difficult cut with a tractor. There are many planted trees to cut around, that and his putting green. It took a while. The grass was so thick that my twin-mulching blades couldn’t mulch it all and dumped clumps of clippings back onto the lawn. I took the time to mow over those areas twice, some even three times. Onto my own. I fetched my push mower and did all the major slopes, valleys, and edges. For one reason or another, I was sweating profusely. It was more humid than normal but I can’t recall ever sweating so much. The t-shirt I was wearing was soaking wet, and my face was dripping too. The mowing seemed to take forever. And then, out by the bridge, I accidentally snagged the accelerator line of the mower on one of the large bolts holding the bridge beams in place, all without realizing what was catching. I kept trying to pull it way which only made it worse. I ended up bending the metal tube protecting the cable at 90 degrees. Good grief! At the same time, the electric start wire became disconnected. I was a mess! At roughly the same time, Mindy just so happened to venture out to look at the yard. She witnessed my mini tirade. :) I quickly regained my composure. And boy was I sweating! I cut 2/3s of the yard with the push mower. After all the rain and watering, I figured it best. Before putting the push mower away, I headed back to Kenny’s to do the cutting-in around the trees and beds. Looked good. I thought about skipping whacking, edging, and blowing, but in the end decided to stay after it even as daylight waned. I had our yard in ship shape well before dark. Somewhere in there, Kaileigh’s aunt came and picked her up. And I never saw daughter Courtney leave. After finishing the lawn we all headed in to shower. I went first. Mindy asked that I leave it run for Jacob. I followed her orders. That shower might have felt better than any other in recent memory. As it turned out, we weren’t too long for the night. We headed to bed early.