Meatloaf - Olivia - Vikings Win

I was up around 7:30am after a rather restful night’s sleep. I felt good and was in a much more pleasant mood. The weather didn’t hurt either. There were blue skies overhead for the first time in a while. It was still fairly chilly, however. I started coffee and walked Ykraps skipping my daily calisthenics. After all, it was Sunday. I played around online before thinking about a run. Mindy was up earlier than I expected. I asked if she was heading to church. Nope. She expressed concern over my Saturday afternoon “cave time”. I shared/insisted that it wasn’t her. I left for a run shortly after our conversation. She was just getting in the shower readying to go grocery shopping. Some time after my run I did a little bit of yard work. I topped off the hot tub and added enough chemicals to get the PH and alkalinity in order. Next, I drained and scrubbed (winterized) Mindy’s fountain. It was covered in algae. I cleaned and winterized the small pump and scrubbed all the shells then stored them both in the garage for the long winter season. As soon as Mindy got home I helped carry in the groceries. I left for Home Depot around 12noon determined to return home with a new hot water tank as well as all the supplies one would need to put it in. I headed to the Hilliard- Mill Run Home Depot. Wouldn’t you know, they were out of the 12 year – 50 gallon natural gas model I wanted. In fact, they were the only Columbus store out of them. I could do nothing but chuckle. They had six at the West Broad St store. I left for there. It didn’t take long to get from one to the other. They’re no more than 5 or 6 miles apart. They had the one I wanted. At my insistence, the attendant brought one down from high above in an unscathed box. While he did that, I shopped for the ancillary materials necessary for a quality install. All totaled, I spent $780 with tax on the tank and materials. The materials were $120+ by the time I bought a propane tank, torch, solder, flux, brush, emery cloth, new shut off valves, and an installation kit. I headed home with the tank in Dad’s trailer. Mindy was willing to help me carry in the new tank, but it proved to big a task for the two of us. Plus, the large clumsy box was difficult to grasp. I decided it best to remove it completely. Mindy went to solicit Kenny’s help. Said he’d be down in a few minutes. Cool! All I cared to accomplish today was to get it in the basement. Since I was scheduled off work both Monday and Tuesday, I planned to do the install on one of those days while Mindy and the kids were away. Kenny and I made quick work of getting the tank to the basement. Once the kids were home from Jimaken’s, we planned to return Dad’s trailer and then deliver Olivia’s birthday gifts. Mindy was busy all afternoon in the kitchen making a meatloaf and baking pumpkin pies. She made two pies after accidentally doubling the filling recipe. But that’s another story. We left to run our two errands near 3:30pm. By the way, I was happy to see just before we left the house that the Vikings were beating the always tough Ravens. I avoided score updates during our travels. I didn’t want my mood to be impacted by the results of football. Dad was out in the garage as we pulled around. He smiled and shared that he didn’t even realize his trailer was missing. He looked tired and frail. He’s probably lost near 30lbs. Little wonder, though. He can hardly get around. He was using/relying heavily on a cane. We briefly discussed his upcoming surgery scheduled for next Friday. He shared the logistical plan as well. Brother Bobby will deliver him and Uncle Kenny will be caring for him after. Mindy & I figured to head up Friday evening provided he’s conscious. Before heading off for Ashley’s, Mindy asked dad if he’d be up for some pumpkin pie later. He said yes. She’d deliver it later. We arrived at Ashley’s new place around 415pm. She gave us the full tour, although I’d already seen most of it on Friday when I picked up Olivia. She keeps a nice home – not perfect, but neat. Olivia had just woken from a nap. She wasn’t her usual jovial self. She dug her gift bag, though. And just as I expected, she seemed to like the big bag of dum-dum suckers the best. We laid her new rug in her bedroom. Looked terrific! The kids really took to Ashley/Olivia’s dog, Benji. Not sure what type of dog it is (little). J We didn’t stay around too long. We left around 440pm. Tommy texted me just as we boarded the Trooper for home. “Whew!”. I took that to mean the Vikings pulled out a squeaker. I immediately tuned the car radio to ESPN and caught the final score. Vikings won 33-31. They were ahead 30-24 last I knew, and lead 27-10 with ten minutes left. Yikes! Turns out, they EVEN got behind with minutes left leaving Brett Favre to do some last minute magic. Hey, a win is a win! SKOL I was in a fabulous mood knowing my team was 6-0. I was eager for some meatloaf and pumpkin pie. Mindy prepped the dinner table while I walked Ykraps. Soon we were seated for dinner. Mindy invited the neighbors down to enjoy dessert with us. She promised to call them back later when we were ready. The meatloaf looked and tasted great. We had homemade mashed potatoes and salad, too. I ate a helping and a half of meatloaf wanting to make sure there was room for pie. While I managed the clean-up, Mindy ran dinner and dessert to my dad. When Mindy got home we called the neighbors who joined us for pumpkin pie. Kenny had two pieces. Before they left, Kenny and I made loose plans to golf Monday afternoon after I finished tackling the water heater and he finished a work project. Night time was upon us. And because I had the next two days off, I was able to snuggle up in front of a fire sipping a couple IPAs while enjoying Sunday Night Football on NBC. Mindy and the kids were off to bed around 9pm. I watched the game in its entirety.