Chocolate Pie For Me?

My freshly injured right shoulder bothered me all through the night. In fact, it woke me around 230a, so I headed downstairs to play on the PC and then watch TV for a while. I eventually fell asleep on the sofa not waking again until 430a. Still tired, I headed back up to bed after choking down a couple more Advil. I got up for keeps around 730a and headed downstairs. Looked like a gorgeous day in the offing. The sun was just rising above the horizon and the temperature was already above freezing at 34 degrees. I enjoyed coffee and internet for about an hour before taking care of Frankie. We headed all the way out by the tree house for the first time in a while. She took care of business completely before we made our way back to the house. Mindy & the kids weren’t up until approximately 9a. I headed off on my run around 930a. It was gorgeous. Birds of all types were singing like it was spring. I ran just three miles. No problems. Before heading in the house, I fetched the square shovel from the garage so I could scrape away what remained of the tough ice on our sidewalk just to the left and right of our driveway. As soon as I got started Frankie and Bella came running. Frankie pulled away from Bella, who had her out in the back yard. The ice came up fairly easy once I created an exposed edge. The sun would do the rest. I headed inside where Mindy was busy making breakfast burritos, Jacob’s favorite. I had only one burrito. Mindy shared her plan to go grocery shopping but only for the weekly staples since we’d be heading out of town mid-week. I had nothing to add to the list. Around noon I took a nap on the sofa, and that was about the same time that Mindy left for the grocery store. Bella headed down to the neighbors. Chrissy was taking Makayla and Bella to see the new Justin Beiber movie. Bella was stoked! Jacob, meanwhile, found himself relegated to his room and grounded … again. He was giving his mom a lot of back talk even after being advised to stop. This was after bullying Bella. Just before she left, Mindy empowered me to decide when he could come downstairs. I suggested he read or do something constructive in the meantime. He decided to practice his recorder. Good plan! Mindy now gone, I got a much needed shower. Afterwards, I washed my running and ski clothes so I could get them packed later in the afternoon for our trip. I took the time to top off the hot tub, vacuum the family room, and retuck the sofa and chair covers. Mindy got back from the grocery just as I was finishing up topping off the hot tub as well as the vacuuming. After carrying in the groceries, I headed out on the deck to troubleshoot the electrical circuit feeding the deck outlets and shed. Over the last couple of weeks the breaker has tripped two or three times and now it trips instantly after reset. I isolated the initial deck outlet from the rest of the circuit then read the line’s resistance. I read a short towards the shed. I then reset the breaker and as expected the circuit remained active – 120v. I turned the breaker off again, then left the circuit isolated at the first outlet but proceeded to the second outlet, or just before it goes through the yard out to the shed. Still seeing a short towards the shed, I worried that the underground feed might be shorted. After all, I did have to splice it after they installed the irrigation system. I went to the outlet at the side of the shed and isolated it from the rest of the circuit that continues into the shed. Hmm? Read an open up to the shed, meaning that the feed was clean. On the other hand, I was reading a short on the line continuing into the shed. At first I suspected the security light, but on closer inspection the trouble was right there in front of me. It seems the shed has settled somewhere between a half inch and a full inch causing the power feed to shear from the entry hole to the outlet box. Wow! The shed could’ve caught fire given the right circumstances. I left the breaker off and the circuit isolated from the deck until the weather warms up and I have enough time set aside to make a permanent repair. Shouldn’t be too difficult. I went inside and shared the dilemma with Mindy. It was already 3p and time to start preparing for Sunday dinner at Gloria’s, our first such visit since Xmas day. I spent the next hour before we left for dinner publishing a couple blog entries. We headed for Gloria’s at 415pm. Must’ve arrived around 430p. We were mid arrivers, there later than some but earlier than others. We had Frankie with us too. She was excited to hang with her cousins, Ivan, Riley, and Ruby. Mindy nailed it. We were having lasagna. Said it’s the only recurring dish her mother makes that absolutely everyone likes. Dinner was served sometime just after 5p. I had one serving of lasagna and then a couple pieces of chicken. Both were good. After dinner everybody congregated in the livingroom, which is the norm. Jerry & Joe were there together after announcing their break-up just a week or so earlier. I felt bad for Jerry, whose uneasiness I could easily sense. It had to be 645p when Gloria called us in for dessert, chocolate pie, my all-time favorite. She made sure, however, to share that she made it for herself. I guess to make sure I knew that it wasn’t made with me in mind. I don’t know.  At any rate, the pie was to die for delicious. It was so good that I had two monster-sized pieces. In fact, I’m more than certain that I took in more than a day’s worth of calories in pie alone. Yum-yum. Thanks Gloria! After dessert, Gloria brought out a small box of family photos asking the sibs to make a valid attempt at dating each one so she could create a chronological album. It was fun looking at some of their old family photos, a brief look into Mindy’s childhood if you will. Approaching 8p, Mindy declared that we needed to go. It was a school and work night. Before everyone started leaving, Gloria passed out Valentine’s Day gifts to the children. She also had an adoption day gift for Bella as well as a Xmas gift from a woman at church. Bella cleaned up. She was smiling ear to ear. We arrived home around 815p, and I believe that Mindy had both kids take showers. I changed into my PJs and then asked Mindy to rub my shoulder. The prior dose of Advil was wearing off in a hurry. She used the vibrating massage gizmo to help stimulate blood flow in the area of my shoulder blade. Felt really good. We all headed for bed by 930p.