Trim / Leftovers

I was up early and felt really good. It was 5:23am when I began my calisthenics. After sit-ups I checked the weather. It was 50 degrees but cloudy. At the same sitting, I checked the final score of the Colts Patriots game and was stunned to find the Colts won it as time expired. They were getting man-handled heading into the 4th quarter when I headed for bed. Wow! I did my push-ups then headed out with Ykraps. It was quite breezy making it feel much cooler than the weatherbug alluded. We were back home by 5:45am. I enjoyed more PC time up until 6:10am when it was time to wake Mindy and deliver her coffee. Instead of doing more PC time, I moved directly to meditation and stretching. Once again, I struggled to clear my mind. Stretching felt great. I sometimes forget or consciously skip stretching over the weekend, so Monday’s session is always quite pleasing. It was 6:35am as I headed out the door for my run, but not before stretching my hammies one more time from the stoop. I wore two wicking shirts including a bright orange one. I must’ve looked like a pumpkin. Anyway, the run went well, and felt really good. I did the full four miles. For some reason, I was craving fried eggs, but noticed scrambled eggs in the frying pan on the stove. I didn’t dare mention my preference for the other. I poured some juice then sat down at the table and ate with the family. We didn’t sit long, however. Soon Mindy was off to work and me off to the shower. The kids and I were off to the bus stop at 7:55am. Chrissy shared her displeasure over the Cowboys Packers game Sunday afternoon. She’s a big Cowboys fan. They got beat and looked bad doing it. Soon the bus was there to swoop up the kids. I spent a little time back at home before heading off to work. For one, I checked the trim resting/drying in the garage. It was still a little tacky to the touch. I left for work at 8:15am. The morning went smoothly. I planned to run a couple errands at lunch including another stop at Home Depot for another tube of caulk, this time back caulk for the trim. That’s one thing that M/I did when they built the house that I really liked. They caulked along the top edge of all the wood trim giving it a very finished professional appearance. I intend on maintaining that. I also picked up two large aluminum storage rungs for my new extension ladder, so I can mount and stow it on the garage wall above or below my fiberglass ladder. That took no more than fifteen minutes. Next, I decided to drive to the Hilliard Kohl’s where I bought a new wallet. My existing wallet was about to fall apart and I didn’t want to risk pulling it out and loosing half of it. It’s literally hanging to the other half by a couple threads. I really liked the minimalistic styling of my old leather bifold. Plus, I can’t take a big bulging wallet in my back pocket. Drives me nuts. I found one that I thought would work, although the fold is long-wise versus up& down. It was on sale for $15 marked down from $23. Alrighty then. Because I was right there, I stopped in Dick’s too, once again browsing snow ski accessories. I want to go skiing! I was back at the office after being gone for about an hour and five minutes. Not bad. I had to join a customer call at 3pm. That went surprisingly well. I was relieved. The rest of the afternoon went smoothly, although I didn’t get out of the office until 540pm. I called Mindy along my drive home. She mentioned that we’d be having leftovers for dinner and that Jacob’s buddy Noah was over and staying for supper. Our choices were many: fried chicken, vegetable soup, or ham. I requested chicken. I arrived home right at or near 6pm. It was already dark. Before even removing my coat I rinsed my lunch containers and prepped Tuesday’s coffee. I then turned my attention to Ykraps. He & I headed out for our evening walk taking the lesser traveled northern route. He seemed to enjoy the change of pace. No matter which direction we choose, he typically does his business in the same yards, and in the same order. I checked some email as soon as we got back, but it wasn’t too long before Mindy called us to dinner. Of particular interest was an email from Holiday Valley sharing that their newest lodging offering is now open and accepting winter 2010 reservations – a luxury high-rise right smack dab in the middle of the resort. It includes indoor/outdoor pools, hot tubs, saunas, restaurants, and a brew pub. And probably most important, ski-in and ski-out access. It’s called the Tamarack Club. I’m in! J My chicken was good, but even before I could finish my stomach started burning. I figured I’d better eat a Zantac soon. Clean-up took a while. Tony, Noah’s father, came to pick up his son around 7pm. He was very chatty with Mindy & I. Talked about the fast approaching TG holiday and his ailing father. I was eager to get busy on the trim. Mindy mentioned in passing that one of the cabinet doors in the guest bathroom was broken. Without even looking it put me in a bad frame of mind. I thought to myself that I can’t even finish one project before another is dumped in my lap. The way I’m wired, I was in an emotional freefall. Mindy called my dad to ask if he was interested in some of her leftover vegetable soup. He must’ve said yes, because soon after the call she and Jacob took him some. When they left, I headed out to the garage to get started on cutting/mounting the trim. Both pieces were dried to my satisfaction. I first cut the vertical piece at 34” and with a 45 degree angle to somewhat hide the splice. That always looks better than a 90 degree splice. That went fairly well and the color match I worried so much about was next to ideal. The wall trim cut was a bit trickier requiring a 45 degrees cut, but also a coping saw cut, a cut that most amateurs blow. I used my old trim as a guide and drew the outline on the new trim first. I left the length of the piece four inches long just incase I had to redo it a time or two. Mindy was home just a few minutes after they left. She came out to the garage to chat while I was busy. I was in no mood to chat. Instead, I was intensely focused on the job at hand, perhaps taking it too serious. After cutting both pieces of trim I took them inside to nail ‘em up. But because I didn’t want to risk cutting either piece too short, I had to return to the garage and the miter saw numerous times to get the length exactly right. Better long than short. While placing the trim against the wall I noticed that the bevel finish wasn’t the exact same. I asked Mindy if she could tell. She could after close inspection but didn’t think anyone would ever notice unless it was pointed out. My biggest concern was that it would look redone. And that’s the very thing I was trying hard to avoid. Standing back after wards I felt pretty good with the results. Next, I turned my attention to MNF as much to serve as a diversion as anything else. It was Cleveland versus Baltimore (the old Browns). Mindy headed for bed early – even before 10pm. I stayed up until the third quarter. Te Browns looked terrible.