Ladder of Fact

I woke Sunday morning right about 730am. I could’ve slept longer but had already woken two or three times in the last 45 minutes, a sure sign that I had all the rest I needed. It was cloudy but the temperature still mild – a balmy 53 degrees. Because it was Sunday, my typical day of rest, I didn’t bother with sit-ups and push-ups. Instead, immediately after starting some coffee I headed out for a walk with Ykraps. Back at home, I inspected both the paint and stain work. The paint looked good so I went ahead and rehung the metal artwork being careful not to scratch/scuff the new paint. However, easier said than done. I draped an old bath towel over the piece to help avoid scraping the wall with its rough edges. I carried the painting supplies to the basement. Afterwards I dressed and left for my Sunday run. Like many Sunday’s, I ran just three miles. The sun peeked out a few times during the run but there didn’t appear much a chance that it would stick around. Way more clouds than open sky. Mindy was up when I got back. I half expected her to be sick after polishing off an entire bottle of Yellowtail the night before, but that didn’t appear to be the case. She was already working on her grocery list. She laid out a beef roast to defrost, which she later said would be used to make homemade vegetable soup. While Mindy showered, I made a ham sandwich and put away more of my tools. I planned to head to Home Depot to pick-up a few things, including the 20’ aluminum extension ladder I’ve had my eye on – one I can easily maneuver around inside the house as necessary. I shared with Mindy my plan to drop the dry sink off at Ashley before Home Depot. I took a shower before heading out. Mindy and I were ready to head off at approximately the same time. She offered her help carrying the dry sink, but I deemed that unnecessary. I cleaned and polished it with Pledge before loading it into the Trooper. With it finally out of the garage, I could get the bikes stowed above allowing Mindy to once again start parking inside, and then me in the driveway. All part of our winter preparedness program. I called Ashley to make sure that she was open to a brief visit. She was. It didn’t take long to get there either. While in transit, I decided that I would visit the West Broad St Home Depot instead of Hilliard afterwards. From Ashley’s place, it’s much closer. Olivia greeted me on the front porch. She was still in her PJ’s. I carried in the dry sink then focused my attention towards Olivia. She was kind of cranky and was giving Ashley a hard way to go about a sausage biscuit sandwich she wanted. She freaked when Ashley put it in the microwave. But it was frozen solid and needed cooked. I don’t know that Olivia ever acts like that when with us, but I’ve seen it several times with Ashley. I suppose it’s not that uncommon. While Ashley whisked her away, I finished making her sausage biscuit and eventually served it to her in the living room. By then she was in a better place, mood-wise. I didn’t stay long, although I did go down and peek at Ashley’s new furnace. I left for Home Depot around noon. I went straight to the aluminum extension ladders at Home Depot, although it took some doing given that no two Home Depots seem to be set up alike. After selecting the model I wanted, I went for the other items I came for : trim nails, wood putty, semi-gloss polyurethane in a spray can (novel idea), and caulk. Grand total - $140. I was a little nervous mounting/hauling the new ladder on top of the Trooper. Aside from hauling a Xmas tree or two, I’ve never used my rack. And speaking of my rack, it’s a nice one! J I tied it off using tie down straps, and took the freeway home. I drove more cautiously but close to the speed limit. No biggie! The Viking game was just getting underway when I walked in the door at home. I am embarrassed to admit that I was really nervous. Of course it didn’t help that I was still tense from hauling the new ladder home. I watched and worked at the same time. The Vikings took an early lead but squandered several opportunities to take an even bigger lead. Plus, we had numerous untimely penalties called against us. That hasn’t been the case all year. I was worried, that while beating them, we were leaving the score close enough for a bizarre comeback. I used more cuss words during the first half than I have all year long. Mindy must’ve thought that I was nuts. She was watching from afar while making her homemade vegetable soup. The spray polyurethane worked great. I applied three coats over the next four hours. After the Viking game I took the time to caulk the last two feet of the chimney/stucco transition behind the wood pile. And since I had lots of caulk left in my gun, I caulked a few gaps out front on our concrete porch/steps, too. Makayla came over to play with Bella. At the same time, Jacob, Jake, and I headed out back to play some football. As expected, it didn’t take long before the two boys were at each others throats. Happens every damn time they play football. Our Jacob is a taunter, and neighbor Jake struggles with his route running skills. It’s a dangerous mix. One of these days they’re going to get into a nasty fight. I can see it coming. I always do my best to diffuse it, but it’s coming. After football and before dinner, I went to the garage to hang the family bikes (5 of them) from the garage ceiling furthering along the goal of clearing the garage for Mindy’s Honda. Next, I toted the two pieces of trim from the deck to the garage for overnight drying. I didn’t want to leave them outside fearing rain. Mindy should be able to start parking inside by the end of the week. We ate dinner around 6pm. Mindy’s vegetable soup was good, but it’s not one of my favorites. The big chunks of beef were extra tasty. We had to put the cornbread back in the oven for an additional ten minutes. Everyone was excited for it. After dinner I took Ykraps on his evening walk, and he was more than ready. Mindy walked Makayla home around 7pm. It’s only two houses down but in the dark we don’t like to leave the girls walk home alone. I couldn’t do anything else on my wall project so I changed into my pajamas and watched some NFL highlights in anticipation of the Sunday night game featuring the Colts & Patriots. We tucked in the kids around 8:10pm – early compared to most recent nights – then plopped down on the sofa to watch Manning and Brady go at it. Mindy headed to bed before halftime. Said she was exhausted. I stayed up until the end of the third quarter. At the time it looked like the Colts were gonna get spanked. It was 31-14 Patriots.