April Ends Straders Begins

I was up on time and quickly downstairs to begin my morning routine. It was just after 530am. Wisely, I had everything I needed to get my eyes, stomach, and exercises out of the way without accessing the kitchen and waking Frankie. She likely heard me grunting halfway through my sit-ups and began to stir. However, I wouldn’t be deterred from my goal thus waited until my push-ups were in the bag before heading to the kitchen to free her from the pen. Happy to be free, she gave me lots of lovin’. I took her out after a few minutes of snuggling. She was good, doing both number #1 and 2. I sipped my first cup of coffee while sitting on the floor playing with Frankie. She eventually fell asleep on my lap. Trying hard to mesh my new world with the old, I used that time wisely. I did my meditation while she was sleeping on my lap. Effective and efficient use of time indeed! I handed her off to Mindy along with a cup of coffee then returned downstairs to stretch and ready for a run. It was in the mid 50’s under a clear sky, a lovely morning for a run. I ran four miles without incident. Trash pick-up had already been by to dump our garbage by the time I returned home. Mindy was starting breakfast and asked if I cared to fry my own eggs. Didn't know I had any??? Who knew? I agreed to do it. Soon Mindy was off to work, and I was off to the shower. The kids, Frankie, and I headed to the bus stop at 757am. I thought briefly about the driving the BM’er but didn’t. I was anxious to see if the check engine light was still on in the Trooper. Off to work. The check engine light was in fact still on but without any performance degradation. I didn’t worry too much about it, but did contemplate how I might proceed with plans to get a new vehicle sooner rather than later. I arrived at the work about ten minutes early. It was a challenging day work-wise, but I was careful to maintain an even keel in the face of adversity. Not only was the day busy, but I was on-call for the upcoming weekend too. That only added to the potential for stress. Barring any unforeseen issues, I planned on visiting Strader’s at lunch time to buy 4 hanging baskets for our backyard. However, before that, with my stomach already growling, I went ahead and ate the leftover pork chop I brought from home. Despite being inundated with to-do's, come 1245pm I managed to get away. Albeit brief, the time away at Strader’s would be like medicine. The crowd was larger than I anticipated, comprised mostly of older Arlington women filling their carts with flora. I had a plan and stuck with it. I bought four big, beautiful geranium baskets then four vinca vines as a complement. In addition, I bought 3 orange begonias and a 2 cubic foot bag of Miracle Grow potting soil. The entire cart load set me back $145. I wasn’t gone but about 45 minutes. I toyed with the idea of going elsewhere too but didn’t. Instead, I headed back to the office. By the way, the weather was superb – sunny and 70. I received an email from Bob I. indicating how nice it was on the golf course the evening before. I’ll bet. Wish I could’ve got out with them. The afternoon chugged along. I talked with Mindy late afternoon, but I had to keep the conversation brief as I was super busy. Quickly, she shared her intentions of going grocery shopping as soon as the kids left with their daddy. I hoped I could leave the office around 5pm, but before I knew it, it was 515pm. Everything in check, I headed out after packing up my laptop. I arrived home around 545pm. I was greeted by a sparkingly clean house. Almost forgot it was cleaning day. Thanks Rachel! Frankie was asleep in her pen and hardly acknowledged my presence. I headed back out after unpacking my gear to carry all of my plants around to the deck, although I stashed the more fragile vinca vines and begonias in the garage. The weekend forecast was calling for torrential rains both Saturday and Sunday with anywhere from 2 – 5 inches. I guess one could view that as a bright spot since I would be on-call anyway. Regardless, despite the ugly forecast and being on-call, I still hoped to get some of my flowers transplanted either Saturday or Sunday. I had plenty of time to play with Frankie after getting settled. I took her out back where she took care of business again. Good girl! Mindy got home while I was busy updating my blog. I helped her carry in groceries then the two of us walked down to Chrissy’s for a brief visit. Chrissy, Mindy, and Kenny’s mom were all gushing over baby shower gifts. Bored, I took to their sofa, put my feet up, and tried taking a brief nap. Hey, we’re neighbors! I got up around 705pm and said I was heading home. Mindy and Frankie followed. Mindy and I planned to head to Barley’s but promised to stop back down later, or after Barley's. We readied and left for Barley’s around 730pm. The bar had a crowd typical of a Friday evening. I had just been served my first beer, a Centennial IPA, when neighbors David & Becky showed up. Along with them was David’s mother, Celeste, whom I hadn’t met prior. Apparently Mindy had, however. She was very nice. Our favorite servers, Diedra and Beth, were both working, but also leaving for their long-planned cruise tomorrow morning. Mindy gifted each of them $25 (not a tip) to have as extra spending money. They take great care of us all year long. Mindy ordered food in a hurry. She went with the Southwestern Salad and I had a Cuban with bacon. Good eatin’! It was probably best, but there were no double IPA’s on tap. I had only three or four beers all evening long. We left for home around 1030pm. Mindy picked up the tab. She also drove. We took Frankie out then walked down to hang with the neighbors for a little while. I took only one beer. Kenny was home this time. His mom was busy in the kitchen baking some incredibly big and great smelling cookies. She offered us one but I declined citing a full belly and a cold beer. We stayed for no more than 30-45 minutes. And sometime close to 1130pm we headed home for bed.