Love & Hoppiness

I got up around 715am, brushed my teeth and head downstairs. I took a peek outside then started some coffee. It was sunny and in the mid 60s, seemingly a perfect early summer morning. Mindy kicked Eiknarf out of our room a few minutes later. I went to the stairs with her leash. She came quickly. Must’ve really needed to go out.

We took our regular walking path, though we did take a little more time than usual. There was no reason to hurry. After getting back home I walked the back yard picking up numerous sticks that fell during Saturday night’s storm. I tossed them into the compost pile.

Come 830a I readied and left for my run. Probably was more like 845a by the time I took the first stride. It was gorgeous. The three mile run was terrific. During my run I decided that I would spend the afternoon framing in the new deck. However, to do that, I’d need to make another run to Lowe’s for lumber. As soon as I got back home I went to alert Mindy of my intentions.

I was off to Lowe’s by 940a. Lowe’s and Home Depot are separated by less than a mile. More often than not, Lowe’s is twice as crowded. Not sure why. I spent almost an hour gathering the 7 pieces of lumber (5 – 2X6X8’ & 2 – 4X4X8’) and the hardware necessary, including lags, washers, joist hangers, and decking screws. I picked up a new cotter pin for my tractor and trailer too. I drove the Trooper and hadt the seats down before I left the house. To protect the leather seats, I covered them with old bath towels.

The Trooper performed well. I checked underneath both at Lowes and then back at home. Didn’t see any signs of leakage. Transmission didn’t slip either. I carried the materials around to the deck and ultimately the work area. Mindy was up by then and preparing to leave for the grocery store. Before she headed up for a shower, I asked her to douse my back with sunscreen.

I quickly gathered all the necessary tools to hang the new joists. I hung the joist hangers first, five each side. I figured I’d better recheck and make sure they were square. They weren’t. Off by about 2”. How I did that I’m still not sure. It took me about 30 minutes to fix my faux pas.

Sun was getting hot. I worked up one heck of a sweat out there. I cut the 4X4” posts into 24” lengths next. They’d serve as supports for the wrap around bench I plan on building, a nice touch to the existing pergola. That required lots of predrilling, leveling, and lagging. Mounted 9 support posts, 18 holes and 18 lags. By the time I finished it was clouding over. I heard some faint rumbles of thunder too. I went inside to check the radar and the time. Holy smoke. It was already 430p. A small but strong storm was making its way SE from Marysville towards CMH. Apparently the storm was bad enough that play at the Memorial was temporarily suspended. Never did materialize into anything in our neck of the woods. Went just east of us.

I was pretty much done with what I wanted to get gone. I still need to buy the decking boards and more 2X6s to finish the benches. I put all my tools away then headed in for a shower. I was showered and reading in the family room chair when Mindy got home from the grocery. Felt great. Of course reading often turns into a nap, and this time was no exception. I heard Mindy came in and promptly got up to help her carry in the groceries. I did more reading and napping immediately after. I think she was over visiting the neighbors when I woke for good.

When Mindy came back home we made dinner plans. Mindy offered that we go out either to Barley’s or Matt the Millers. I deflected the choice to her, but she couldn’t decide. I chose Matt the Miller’s. We readied and left around 6p.

Grandview was still bopping, even on a Sunday evening. We were fortunate enough to get one of the few remaining meters and one directly across from the tavern. Parking is free on Sunday’s. We opted to sit at the bar where we were served by Bruce and another young woman who I deemed as Spunky.

I ordered a Lagunitas IPA from their large draft selection. Mindy couldn’t decide and went with water initially. We ordered some of their freshly made pretzel bites as an appetizer. Saw them last time in and they looked incredible. We weren’t disappointed either. And even though they’re called pretzels, they’re actually more like funnel cakes rolled in a light coating of sea salt (slightly sweet flavor and very soft). They were served with two delicious sauces, one mustard based and the other garlic based. I ate two of the eight. Mindy had one or two. Very filling, and almost like a dessert. Mindy eventually ordered a glass of shoofly shiraz. We ordered our entrees next.

Mindy went with a salad topped with salmon. I ordered their bacon burger with fries. Speaking of burgers and fries, after ordering I shared my most recent weigh-in numbers with Mindy. I’m finally down to 167lbs, or the target weight I set for myself last summer. Over the last year, I've shedded about 11 pounds. As is often the case, the last 3 or 4 were the stickiest.

During dinner, I ordered a 2^nd beer. I decided to try a new one. I went with a Rogue Love & Hoppiness. Reminded me a little of Sam Adams Boston Lager – a full bodied beer. I asked Mindy to try it. She did the pucker face. Play resumed at the Memorial so we watched the last three holes, which were the only holes we saw the entire weekend. Too busy to watch TV. Steve Stricker won by one stroke. The course looked amazing by the way.

I picked up the tab after Mindy got Friday and Saturday’s. The sun was setting as we headed west on I-70. The skyline was gorgeous. Mindy walked Eiknarf as soon as we got home. As soon as they got back in I asked if she was up for a bike ride. She was. She changed into clothes more suited for a bike ride, and we both changed into tennis shoes.

It was just after 9pm when we set out. We loosely followed my running trail but also ducking in and out of some of the smaller cul-de-sacs that I don’t run. It was fun. We discussed riding over to Raymond and following the cart path around but didn’t. Mindy was concerned about darkness setting in. After our bike ride we took Eiknarf out for another walk together. We walked towards Kenny & Chrissy’s. Kenny was just coming out of Kapil’s house. We sat talking with him at the foot of his driveway for a while. Chrissy eventually joined us along with Woody. A few minutes later,  Kapil’s parents, Geta and Raj, walked over to say their goodbyes. They fly home to Sacramento Monday  afternoon. They’re taking Eesha with them. We chatted for about ten minutes, or until it was almost completely dark. Mosquitoes were biting, too.

It was just before 10pm by the time we were back inside. Hard to believe that it was darn near bed time. I prepped Monday’s coffee then we headed upstairs. I removed the baby gate from the foot of the stairs so Eiknarf could join us. That pleased