Vikings Cornhole

I was out of bed, downstairs and engaged in exercise even before 530am. The irrigation system ran its course through my sit-ups, but ended somewhere near 5:35am after I shortened the zone run times the evening before. The entire program is just over an hour long. I checked the temperature. It was 56 degrees. And I already knew after glancing out back that the sky was crystal clear. I put on my fleece jacket before heading out with Ykraps. I had that familiar kink in the left side of my neck but much less intense than last winter. I was back home enjoying coffee before 5:55am. The time went fast. It was time to wake Mindy in a snap. I returned to the PC after delivering her morning coffee, but just long enough to read the Daily OM. Time to stretch and meditate. I dressed and left for a run at 6:35am. And just all week long, I wore long running pants and a thick wicking shirt. I was very comfortable. It was daylight but the sun had yet to break on the horizon. It didn’t show itself until I was nearing the 3 mile marker. But what a gorgeous sunrise it was. The entire week has held spectacular sunrises and breathtaking sunsets. You gotta love September. I was back at home by 7:15am. Mindy had a plate of cheesy scrambled eggs resting at my usual place setting. Bella shared that the tooth fairy left her two dollars. I joked about it not being $5 like the one last weekend. Talking under my breath, but so she could still discern what I was saying, I tossed around various ways/ideas how we might catch or detour the tooth fairy from getting in the next time, including placing no-fairy signs on our windows. Bella wasn’t pleased and became somewhat vocal about it. Mindy did Bella’s hair then bolted for work. Meanwhile, there remained some confusion regarding the time we could expect the school bus this morning. The printed copy that the driver handed us said the change would go into affect on Friday, but she told Mindy it would be Thursday. The way I saw it, I needed to prepare as if it were Thursday (today). I ran off for a shower while the kids played up in their rooms. I was ready to go by 7:50am. Before heading off to work I searched my PC for mom’s address. I thought for certain that I had it but I guess not. We walked to the bus stop at 8:03am. Glancing down the street, I could see that the bus was already at the corner waiting to begin her daily assualt. Wait for it. Wait for it. We waited until 8:20am. While waiting, neighbor Becky came out to talk with the girls before she herself left for school (she’s a music teacher in Hilliard). Kenny asked about any weekend golf. I was bummed that we already had a foursome for Sunday. I shared that Sunday wouldn’t work but that I was game for Saturday or possibly even Monday. He understood, and we left the option open for Monday given that the 1st Buckeye game is Saturday. Not many are willing to miss it. I thought to myself that I would contact Westchester when I got to work to investigate another tee-time contiguous to our existing 1015am. If so, I would book it so that Tom and Kenny can golf with us. I didn’t mention the possibility to Kenny. I left for work shortly after the bus swept up the kids. I drove the Trooper. Don’t ask me why I didn’t drive the BM’er. Not sure. I arrived at work at 8:38am. It was my boss’ 34th birthday. To that end, he planned to work from home. Cool! The day was largely uneventful. It’s good to have a few of those sprinkled in every once in a while. Even though the day was tame, I didn’t take a formal lunch. One of my guys builds cornhole boards for hire. Through me, Mindy tasked him with building me Viking boards as a birthday present. He let me know that they were done and in his truck. I covered the $80 cost. Mindy would have to pay me. I walked out with Myron to get ‘em around 4pm when he was leaving for home. Looking good. I placed them in my Trooper with a bath towel between the two to hopefully prevent any scratches. I went back inside and finished my day, leaving for home at 5:30pm. Mindy was at the pediatric dentist with Rocky & Bella. She said not to expect her home until after 6pm. Cool! I arrived home around 5:45pm. I breezed through a few routine chores – rinsing lunch containers and making the following morning’s coffee before leashing up Ykraps. I headed out walking to the west and by Kenny’s house. Just as we approached his place he and the girls pulled up. I asked Kenny if he wanted to golf Sunday at Westchester. He was in. I failed to mention that Tom jumped on the opportunity, too. I was happy to have pulled that off. Meanwhile, the two girls, Makayla and Lillian, asked Kenny if they could walk Ykraps with me. We were only going three or four houses down the way. Another neighbor, Kapel, was over talking with Kenny when we got back. The three of us chatted for a while. Kenny invited Kapel and his wife, Pabena to the USC game party next Saturday. I asked what they were up to this coming Saturday. Kapel being a doctor, shared that he would be heading into the hospital to continue an experiment he’s running on some mice. It has something to do with pre-diabetics. Eventually Pabena arrived home and joined the three of us. And just a few minutes later Mindy and kids arrived home and walked down, too. Rocky was staying for dinner. We talked for a while, and were eventually approached by a kid representing some charity for kids. I asked him to share a little about his organization and what sort of services they provide. He did a good job. I gave him the only cash I had - $5. Kenny & Kapel followed suite by giving him $20 each. We finally headed towards home, all of us eager for dinner. We were having pork roast after it cooked all day in the crock pot. It smelt terrific and tasted even better. Bella complained that she didn’t like the pork and asked if she could have a bowl of cereal. I obliged her request. Rocky loves pork roast and ate two helpings. After a quick clean-up, Jacob & Rocky talked me into playing football. We played for about 15 minutes until both tuckered out. Afterwards, we tried out my new cornhole boards. I left to run Rocky home around 7:30pm. We arrived around 745pm and met up with Lindsey & Landon, who were just down the street a couple houses playing at a neighbors. After some idle chit-chat and hug I bolted for home. It was nearing dark about the time I got back. Mindy & Jacob were playing cornhole when I left. I saw that they carried the boards up onto the deck. Inside, Mindy had the kids showering up and readying for bed. I tucked them in after a very brief nap. Despite me not wanting to, I did one of those “I Spy” pages with Bella. It makes her happy and provides time for just her & I. Back downstairs I tuned into the NFL preseason games on TV. Both the Browns and Bengals were playing. However, the fourth and final preseason game is never much to watch or get too excited about. Most teams hold out all their starters. I don’t figure the current format of four preseason games to last too much longer. In fact, there’s already talk of reducing it to two and then adding two more regular season games. I fell asleep on the sofa watching football. Mindy was already up in bed. I woke feeling ridiculously tired. It took all the energy I could muster just to get up the stairs, brush my teeth and get in bed. Good night full moon!