Purple Rein

I slept soundly once again, and was up for good just before 8am. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast and the threat of rain was hanging over our heads for the first time in a while. I started some coffee then leashed up Ykraps for our morning walk. This was supposed to be my day of rest - free from calisthenics. Once outdoors, rain didn’t seem as eminent as I once thought. There were plenty of breaks in the thin cloud cover. I sipped coffee in front of the PC. For the first time in a long while I read brother Glenn’s blog. Also, while thinking about it, I checked the FOX Sunday TV listings to see if the Vikings game would be televised locally. I wasn’t too surprised to see that it wouldn’t. Just as well. We’ve got a busy afternoon planned with Jacob‘s soccer pictures and then a soccer game. I heard Mindy stirring well before 9am. She was up & downstairs a short time later. While enjoying coffee, I called Mindy over to watch a photo album of the wedding photos. Between the rehearsal and wedding I took about 400 photos. And amongst them were a number of really good ones. My plan is to post the album on my Picasa account so everyone can view them via invite. I headed out for a run between 9 – 10am. I ran just three miles, a break I commonly give myself on Sunday’s, but not always. After returning home I played guitar, did some reading, and did some general tinkering. I didn’t do much of anything productive. Bella asked if she could visit her maw-maw while we did the soccer thing with Jacob. To that end, Mindy arranged for her mother to pick-up Bella at our place before leaving for the grocery. I was snuggled up in the over-sized family room chair doing some reading when Gloria came in. I entertained her while waiting on Mindy & Bella to descend from upstairs. It seemed like a long wait. J But honestly, they weren’t too long. Soon, she & Bella left, as did Mindy. Suddenly, I was all alone, or so it seemed. Jacob was home but outside playing with friends. It wasn’t long before I headed outside too, to cut the lawn. I went right to the shed for my push mower having whacked and edged the day before. Just to add variation, I cut in reverse order (back first) from my usual routine. Jacob, Evan, and Emily asked if I would give them a tractor ride. But by the time I got to the tractor it had started to drizzle. By then my focus was solely on getting finished. I beat the rain, and even had time to blow off the drive and walk. The kids, meanwhile, were no where in sight. Must’ve gone inside to play. I saw that Mindy was home as I was putting everything away. She brought me home a double-cheeseburger from Burger King, my second in two days. No wonder I am gaining weight! It was already 1:15pm. We needed to leave for soccer pictures by 2pm. I headed up for a shower and turned on the bedroom TV hoping to catch an early Viking score. Imagine my surprise when I found the game being televised despite the listings calling for a different game. Cool! Unfortunately, the Lions, who had lost 18 straight games, were just kicking a field goal to go ahead 3-0. Not a good start. By the time I was out of the shower the Lion’s had the ball again. The Vikings so far looked flat and unprepared. Yuck! They were down 10-0 by the time I finished getting ready. You might think I’d be a tad nervous. No. Wait. How about really nervous? I joined the game on the big screen downstairs. I asked Mindy if I could simply meet her at the soccer field at 330pm – in time for Jacob’s actual game. I mean, hey, the Vikings were on, and it was raining. Who wants to stand out in the rain waiting for pictures to be taken? She lovingly agreed and soon left with Jacob. While nervously observing the Viking game, I decided it a good time to get the whole chicken Mindy bought seasoned and on the rotisserie to allow it time to slow cook while we’re off at soccer. It took a little while considering I had to clean it, dry it, season then mount it on the rotisserie shaft. Without thinking, I placed it on the shaft without using the rotisserie forks, which left it dangling in place even while the rotisserie motor spun. To make matters worse, it started raining steadily. I remember thinking, why me? It didn’t take but a minute to figure out my mistake, but I had to call Mindy to find the forks, and while I had her, I double checked on the soccer game. In spite of the rain, it was still a go. The chicken weighed upwards of 7-8lbs. It was a little big for the grill’s rotisserie. About 4lbs would’ve been ideal. Live and learn. The Vikings finally got their act together over the next hour or so. In fact, by the time I had to leave for soccer they had erased the entire ten point deficit by scoring 17 unanswered points. They were leading 17-10. I felt much better about life. J Just before leaving, I checked on the chicken. It was doing OK, but the onion slices I stuffed inside had fallen out, and the limbs (wings and legs) were dragging against the griddle with each passing turn. I really need to find some stainless steel wire to tie up the limbs. In route to the Hilliard soccer fields I stopped at the bank for some cash. I ended up taking Hilliard Rome road to Roberts then north on Alton-Darby going by Mindy’s old subdivision. I decided to make a quick detour through to see her old house. I was surprised to see the cop’s house on the corner up for sale. He always has one of the finest petunia displays in the area. This year was no exception. Seeing the for-sale sign had me wondering if he might be divorcing or possibly over-extended. Anyway, Mindy’s old place looked about the same, but with a slight upgrade to the landscaping. However, the lawn still looked as if it was starving for nutrients. Hard to believe that it’s been over three years. Onto soccer. I arrived a few minutes before 330pm, the stated start time. However, it looked like the game was already underway when I pulled up. I walked out carrying two camping chairs. Jimaken was already there, too, by the way. I greeted everyone and then turned my attention to the game. Jacob’s team, the Destroyers, I think, looked over matched. The opposing team actually had some tough little players. Must’ve been about 5-1 at the half. During the break, I headed to the Trooper to check the NFL scores. I was happy to hear that the Vikings were ahead 27-10 in the 4th quarter. Wahoo! I shared the good news with anyone interested. The Bengals were ahead of the Packers, too. That one surprised me. The game ended around 4:20pm. Mindy asked Jacob who he wanted to ride with. He selected Mindy. They’d also be stopping by Gloria’s place to fetch Bella. I hurried home listening to ESPN radio the entire way catching up on all of the day’s NFL action. Before doing anything else I checked the chicken. Somehow, one of the rotisserie forks slipped off leaving the chicken in one spot. About one third of the bird was charred black, but lucky for me only skin deep. I took the necessary steps to get it back on track. Just after Mindy got home I checked it again. This time about a quarter of the chicken fell off the carcass once again leaving the rest stationary. I expended a great deal of energy cooking this damn bird. The oven would’ve been far easier, but then again, I wouldn’t have learned how to efficiently use the rotisserie. We invited Courtney for dinner, and she showed up around 545pm. Originally, we had suggested she bring Olivia, but apparently that caused all sorts of drama at Kelly’s house. She wisely skipped the stop and instead came alone. I questioned Courtney about her summer quarter grades. Seems she hasn’t yet resolved the incomplete given to her by one of her prof’s., although she swears it’s his error – lack of organization. I believe it, but worry about her lack of follow-through. I asked a number of other tough questions, too, essentially making her personal business mine. We seemed to work through it. Dinner went smoothly save for Mindy not feeling well. Her sinus infection was wearing her down fast. She wasn’t in the mood to do much at all. In fact, she was uncharacteristically short with me and the kids. Courtney didn’t stay too late. I’ll bet she was gone by 7:15pm. After she left I finished kitchen clean-up while Mindy got the kids bathed and ready for bed. I knew that Mindy was determined to be in bed extra early herself. After the kids were tucked in, Mindy apologized for being curt earlier. She watched a little of the Sunday Night football game with me but soon headed up to bed around 9pm. I watched football until I fell asleep. Not sure of the time when I headed up for bed.