On Break - Off Work - Up to the Roof - Down with the Lights

Mindy must’ve slept in until about 620am. Once the lights came on and the shower started I was awake for good. I tried pulling the blankets over my head and going back to sleep but it just wouldn’t work. I felt well rested so I got up and moving. I had a feeling that maybe I’d forgotten to start the coffee the night before. Mindy confirmed that I had indeed forgotten. She said I brewed hot water! She had to get it going. Oops! I headed downstairs to start my exercise routine then poured Mindy & I some coffee. I delivered hers to the bathroom where she was already busy working on her face and hair. I was in a really good mood. But how could I not? I was scheduled off work and it was going to be sunny and warm. Golf? I already knew that my run wouldn’t happen until the kids were off to school. I planned the rest of my early morning routine accordingly. Kenny never returned my call the evening before. I was hoping he could break away from work for a round of early season golf. I asked Tom Clark, too, but he was scheduled to work some overtime. He’s typically scheduled off Thursday thru Saturday. By design, I didn’t have a lot planned, but there were several things I could do. But more than anything, I was happy to have a day all to myself. I thought that I might finally take down the Xmas lights and then check out the failed hot tub. I had to pull the plug on it mid December after finding it dead after 15 years of service. Plus, I hadn’t totally given up on golf, figuring Kenny still might call mid-morning. Mindy suggested that I come have lunch with her. She lunches at 1130am. But if I did that, the rest of my day would pretty much be shot. Needless to say, she wasn’t really excited with my logic. Mindy left for school at 730am. I played on the PC until it was time to usher the kids to the bus stop. We met Chrissy, Makayla, and Lillian there. Chrissy said she’d have Kenny call me about golf. I headed back home and casually prepared for a run. I didn’t want to waste too much time, however, lest the entire day could get away from me. I left for my run around 840am and ran 4 miles. It was 46 degrees and sunny. I ran with two upper layers and skipped wearing the sweat shorts under my running pants, typical of a winter run. I used my pullover fleece zipper to regulate my body heat. Oh, no hand and ear covers either. The run went well. I was home by 915am. I spent the next 45 minutes texting with a peer regarding a hot topic in the office while also writing in my blog. A little after 10am I headed out to investigate the hot tub failure a little more thoroughly than I did I back in December. I took my trusty volt/ohm meter. It looks the main 30A fuse blew, but when that happens one must ask why. On closer inspection, I noticed that the heater had exploded too, but that most likely occurred from freezing after I shut it down. I'll tinker with it some but won’t spend a lot of money on its repair. It leaks, the frame is weakening, and a few of the cycles and gadgets no longer work. I’ve gotten far more life out of it than most others could ever hope to. Inside I researched what a new heater might cost. Best I could tell, about $200, and that’s if I replace it myself. I might do that, but I’m still not sure. After finishing up on the hot tub I surveyed the yard making my way out to the tree swings where I hope to build the kids a lookout/fort this spring. Surveying its location was my primary objective. I also took notice of the area I tirelessly resodded last spring, and how thinned out it’s become. I plan to overseed the same are this spring – and the sooner the better. After a quick break I got cracking on taking down the Xmas lights. Even though I didn’t get them down last year until some time in March, I was absolutely certain that I’d get them down much earlier this year. Nope! They’ve been up for 3.5 months. Man how time flies! I got out my light aluminum extension ladder and ascended the roof from the back deck. I crawled out to the roof’s edge to remove the double layer of Xmas lights and clips. The removal of the upper most lights went pretty quick. That was the most dangerous and most dreaded part. The rest would be much easier and accessible from the ladder. I took a brief break and returned a missed call from Mindy. Among other things, we discussed dinner. I offered to cook steaks if she'd stop at Kroger to buy ‘em. She agreed. Neighbor Carl was out and walked over to chat. We haven’t talked much since late fall. He helped steady my ladder as I removed the lights and clips from the apex of the garage, and then the extension cord running up behind the gutter and secured with tie-wraps. Carl and I talked about car troubles/repairs mostly. He knows my boys at Aarrow - takes his cars there too. It was already 130pm. I moved to the shed next to remove the lights Jacob and placed there. We put those up the day before TG. They came down fast and easy. It was after 2pm by the time I had all the lights down and tested before storage. I threw away one set of icicle lights that had far too many strands out. Not worth my effort. I had to wind up three or four extension cords too, and then put away my ladder. Where had the day gone? It always works like that. I made myself a sandwich, my first real meal of the day, although I snacked on chunk cheese earlier. While enjoying my lunch, I checked my online banking to see if our tax return deposited. It hadn’t. Certainly the IRS would have a way to check its status. I went poking around their website looking. Yep, you can track your return. Said ours was due to deposit tomorrow (Friday). Cool! I also sent an email to Dr Beran regarding my potential Lasik procedure. Traci, one of his assistance, responded back in minutes. I'm fairly certain that I'm going to schedule the procedure soon. After my lunch I snuggled up in the living room recliner with my book, Virus of the Mind. I was much looking forward to some quiet time reading and possibly even a nap. By then, it was approaching 3pm. I must’ve read and napped for about 30 minutes before heading up for a much needed shower. It was about 330pm when I returned downstairs after a shower. I felt so much better afterwards. After tidying up the kitchen I returned to the living room recliner where I continued reading until Mindy & the kids arrived home. It must’ve been about 420pm. Mindy started baking potatoes for our steak dinner shortly after arriving home. Said I should wait about an hour before starting the grill. I used the time to write in my blog, getting ever closer to being caught up. I helped Bella with her home work – math and spelling. I felt a bit inept when she asked for help identifying shapes (rhombus' and trapezoids) and I wasn’t 100% sure. Mindy saved me. Mindy and I continued our discussion regarding the use/mis-use of prepositions. I shared with her my research indicating that there is actually no hard fast rule against placing a preposition at the end of a sentence like most of us were taught in school. However, having said that, it’s never recommended to place a preposition at a sentences end that adds no meaning or value (I.E. where are you going to?). I lit the grill around 545pm, or just as the rain started. Of course! I ended up grilling steaks in the rain under an umbrella. They turned out nicely. All four of us ate steak. Somewhat of a surprise was how much steak Bella ate. She’s typically not a big meat eater. She devoured more than half of a large T-bone. Dinner and clean-up was in the books by 7pm. Afterwards, I played Wii Ski with Jacob, but no matter what I did I couldn’t seem to control my skier. I tossed the remote aside in disgust. Nope – not me. Not worth the frustration.  Jacob and Bella played after that. At roughly the same time, Mindy placed a call to Deena, Noah’s mom, asking if Noah could join us tomorrow evening at Gloria’s for the family euchre tournament. Jacob would otherwise be the only boy, and most likely bored stiff. She agreed to allow Noah to join us. We tucked the kids into bed sometime near 830pm. Once the kids were nestled into bed I returned to the family room determined to ice my knee and read my book, Virus of the Mind. After a slow start, it’s getting really interesting. Mindy made it known that she wanted some attention. I could tell she was aggravated with my determination to read and ice. She headed to bed at 9 something. I joined her around 10pm.