Can we Caulk?

It was clear and cold early on Friday morning but it wasn’t expected to last. Instead, the forecasters promised a warm autumn weekend with temperatures soaring towards 70. If I wasn’t on-call I’d almost certainly be golfing, Buckeye game or not. I started my day like most others – exercise and walking Ykraps. It was cold. I wore running gloves while walking Ykraps. It was only 30 degrees. Glad I brought in one of our tropical hibiscus plants earlier in the week otherwise it would’ve gotten nipped. After waking Mindy I did a good meditation then a lengthy stretch routine. I felt really good heading into my run. It was chilly but I was snug as a bug in my attire. I ran four miles, and with no ill effects. At my run’s conclusion, I immediately fetched Mindy’s Honda keys and started it up to melt away the thick frost coating her windows. I knew she’d appreciate the kind gesture. Soon Mindy was off to work and me off to the shower. I was glad it was Friday but not overly so. Again, my weekend joy would be tempered by my on-call responsibilities. I saw the kids onto the bus. It was a substitute driver, and she was early – 8am early. Chrissy asked if Dad was over the night before helping me with my wall project. Nope, just dinner. Said Kenny wanted to help. No problem. I want Kenny to help! I was off to work by 815am. The work day was OK. We were busy but I took it in stride and paced myself. Knowing that I’d be on-call over the weekend, I was determined to take lunch, head home, and do all the outside caulking around the chimney. I did just that come 1pm. I was able to get most of the caulking completed save for the couple feet behind my wood pile. I had to get out the heavy fiberglass extension to do the job but it was worth it. Looked good too. I was back at the office by 215pm. My afternoon got really busy. I had to deal with a couple very hot issues that I knew would follow me into the weekend. To that end, I didn’t get out of the office until almost 6pm. I called my mom on the drive home. Said she was doing OK but sad because her brother headed off to Vegas for the winter. Implied she needs some financial help. Said she was doing OK medically. Asked about dad. I shared his happy story. At home, I leashed up Ykraps soon after arriving home. Mindy and the kids weren’t home. They were at the grocery store. I hurried through a number of household chores before she got home with groceries. I was busy hand washing dishes and unloading the dishwasher from earlier. I helped carry in the load. Mindy brought home food from Burger King. I wasn’t exactly ecstatic with the choice but was appreciative of the fact that she remembered me. I was already dealing with a work issue. Soon we had a house full of kids – ours and the neighbors. Yikes! I really needed my decompress time, but never got any. That never bodes well. I did my best to remain calm during the chaos. It wasn’t easy. Geesh - I was still reeling from work. Mindy did a good job of keeping the kids under control and getting the house in order. I needed that. The neighbors’ kids headed home around 8pm. I got a fire going then slipped into my Pink Floyd PJ’s and cracked open a CBC IPA. Ahh! Now that’s livin’! We sat on the sofa and tuned into the Boise State Friday night football game. The neighbors’ came down to hang out around 9pm. They watched the game with us. We had a good time. Kenny & I made tentative plans to work on my wall project Saturday morning. The neighbors hung out with us until roughly 1030pm. I think I drank 3 beers through the evening. We headed to bed shortly after they departed.