End of Summer ... sorta

I overslept by roughly 15 minutes after waking initially at 507am thinking I’d sleep perhaps another 20 minutes. That meant I’d have to alter my routine ever so slightly to help get back on track.

I gazed skyward while slipping into my old black exercise tennies. I could see a few stars but it wasn’t nearly as clear as it was on Tuesday morning. I headed to the livingroom where I whipped out sit-ups then jumped on the PC just long enough to check the current weather. It was 66 degrees under mostly clear skies.

I headed to the familyroom next where I did 55 push-ups. Felt good. It was already after 6am. I poured two cups of coffee, one for me and one for Mindy. I went ahead and delivered hers right then. She asked that I close the bedroom window and turn off the ceiling fan. Yes dear.

Back downstairs I spent a little more time on the PC, or until 615am when I moved on to meditation and a stretch. Both of those took me just past 630am. I was dressed for my run still ahead of 640am. I decided to go with a short sleeved wicking shirt given the much warmer temps (ten degrees warmer than Tuesday).

I stretched my hammies from the stoop then dashed off on my 4.1 mile morning run. I felt great and full of energy from the outset. I ran hard and finished strong. No struggle whatsoever. I was back at home near 715am. Jacob was out front of Chrissy’s house just finishing up a walk with Eiknarf. I took the leash so he could dispose of her waste and heads inside. He went in the back, me in the front. As I entered the house I asked who left Eiknarf wandering around out front. My joke fell on deaf ears. Mindy was upstairs.

Mindy was back downstairs putting the finishing touches on breakfast. Soon I had two farm fresh chicken eggs cooked over easy resting in front of me with half a dry English muffin. Just the way I ordered it. Bella was having a toasted bagel but complained about it being burnt. It really wasn’t. Instead, it was just brown from the toaster. She was making a mess picking off the toasted part.  I showed her how to use a butter knife to scrape away the toasty part.

Mindy soon departed for school leaving me and the kids behind to finish our own prep. She reminded me about Jacob’s school open scheduled for 6pm. Wondered if I planned to make it. Left it open-ended since I’d be commuting home from the New Albany area in rush hour traffic.

Off to the shower soon after 730am. Found myself back downstairs around 750am. Made double sure I packed the  power cord and mouse for my laptop this time, though I finally got the replacement battery I needed, so I wouldn’t be SOL without it like last time had I somehow forgotten again. The kids and I headed out around 810am. Met up with Mike O, who was out walking with his two puppies, Chester & Shamrock. They love playing with the pugs, and the pugs seem to like them too. Chrissy and the girls were out a few minutes later. Mike hung out at the bus stop with us until the bus arrived.

Eiknarf and I headed home in a jiffy. I gave her a chance to relieve herself again, but she didn’t take advantage.

I finished my cup of coffee then left for work. After taking I-670 across town the last time, I learned my lesson. I took I-270 all the way around this time. It might be a few more miles but it goes so much faster. Didn’t have any back-ups and only a brief slow down right at I-71 but the passing lane maintained near normal speed. I was there by 855am.

Hadn’t been there since Aug 3, a full 4 weeks. I greeted my peeps as I made my way to my once-a-week digs. Had my phone working this time. My space is about as bare bones as it could possibly be, but I don’t mind. I suppose I could and might ask for some storage shelves later. We’ll see. A couple folks stopped by joking about my extended absence. I took my packed lunch to the fridge, this time remaining totally in the moment so not to forget where it is.

One of the managers stopped by to let me know that they canceled the 10am call, the thinking being that we’d simply combine it with my 1pm presentation. That made total sense to me. I spent the entire morning working ongoing matters. 1pm came around fast. I headed to the conference room to set up a few minutes early. I was joined by the actual account manager, who also works onsite, but in a different building. Several others, including my boss, joined remotely via conference bridge. The presentation went perhaps even better than I expected. We finished in just over 30 minutes.

Headed back to my cube before 2pm. I tinkered with leaving for lunch but in the end decided to not. Instead, I caught up on more work and went after my packed food. The afternoon went fast. No one brought me any urgent-emergency type stuff.

I packed for home just before 5pm hoping to get a little jump on the traffic. I talked with Mindy as soon as I got on I-270. She was home and prepping to head to Jacob's open house. Planned to leave the house at 530pm, which was about the same time that I expected to arrive home. Traffic around 270 was heavy but not in a snarl, at least until I got around to north Hilliard.

Thankfully though, it loosened up just south of Hilliard Cemetery Rd. Mindy called just as I was turning onto Wilson off Roberts. We passed a few seconds later. It was 530pm on the nose and they were on their way to the open house. Looked like I'd have some alone time. Yippie!

Immediately in the door I looked for my new running shoes, hoping they might've arrived and that Mindy just forgot to tell me. No such joy. I took care of my chores and prepped Thursday's coffee. After about ten minutes I headed to my PC to check email. What's this? There in my computer chair was a box from Finish Line. My new running shoes did arrive after all! Yeah!

I opened the box and verified they were the correct model and size. I slipped them on loosely (untied). They felt good and looked good - black and vibrant green. I wore them around the house while I puttered. I finally got around to sorting my bill pile. Haven't done so, at least completely, for about three months. It really doesn't take that long at all, and most I find can be pitched. Lots of credit related junk mail. Felt somewhat cleansed once done. I'm sure you can relate.

Now full of energy (funny how that works), I headed out to water the strip of grass between the walk and street as wells as the flowers around back. I was expecting Mindy home anytime. After watering all the flowers I walked around to visit my tomato plants. I wasn't quite prepared for what I found. Instead of 5 healthy plants full of promising green maters, most of the plants had been ravaged either by man or beast. And on closer inspection most of the plant stalks were broken off about a foot above ground. The plants now withering without roots or water. I was pissed! The break looked almost too clean to be by beast, almost as if done my man's hand. But who would be so mean? That set me in a funk for the rest of the evening.

I spent the rest of my alone time updating my blog and adding pictures. Mindy called at some point to let me know they were done with the open house and planning a stop for fast food. She offered to bring me some.  I refused the kind gesture having a greater yes burning inside. I'm guessing she and the kids got home around 730pm. They quickly settled in at the kitchen table eating their fast food.  I actually ate the lone leftover chicken enchilada a bit earlier.  

The rest of the evening was pretty much a blur. We chatted some and then tuned the TV to the Discovery Channel, though I can't recall what we watched. Mindy and the kids were in bed by 930pm. I was just a little bit later. Good night new shoes!

Fryin' Pan for BABIES!

I was up right on time after another sound night of sleep. Yet despite the good sleep, I really wanted more pillow time. However, that wasn't in the cards. I got up anyway. It was rather chilly in the bedroom after sleeping with the window opened. I brushed my teeth then headed downstairs.

I glanced out back marveling at the clear, star-filled sky. It was as clear as I’ve seen it in recent memory. In fact, after whipping out sit-ups and push-ups I took a few minutes to head out on the deck with my mini-binoculars in hand. I gaze skyward, but struggled to get focused on the stars I was most interested in. I gave up after a couple minutes. Viewing with the naked eye was just as enjoyable.

With coffee in hand, I made my way to the PC where I checked the weather forecast. At the time, it was only 57 degrees with the promise of sunny skies and a high of 84 degrees predicted for the afternoon. Nice! And then it's supposed to get really warm by the work week’s end though – well into the 90’s, in fact. My thoughts immediately turned to Mindy and how she'll absolute hate hearing about that given her un-air conditioned classroom. . Looking ahead to next week, there's typical September weather on its way, and just in time for my birthday week - mid 70’s and sunshine. Very nice!

Come 6am I pulled myself away from the PC and delivered Mindy’s coffee. She asked me to close the open bedroom window. Afterwards, I headed to the family room for meditation and stretching. Finished up by 625am, and quickly dressed for a run. After the morning run the day before, it was an easy decision to wear a long sleeved running shirt today. Felt a bit awkward and restrictive at first but comfortable once outdoors.

I ran the full 4.1 miles without a problem. The sky was gorgeous through sunrise. Before heading back in the house after my run, I took a few minutes to water the grass between the sidewalk and street, especially where WOW dug up my yard to splice their damaged cable. The irrigation system would kick on around 845am, but that area needs a little more TLC right now.

When turning off the hose I noticed that the basement light was on thanks to the nearby  window. Inside I asked Mindy if someone was down there. Yes, it was her. She was getting some meat from the freezer for the crock-pot. Just making sure. My eggs, meanwhile, were already done. Mindy used the tiny new egg pan she bought over the weekend. She was busy prepping boneless chicken breasts for the crock-pot that would eventually become enchiladas.

Learned that Bella was grounded from screens once again for leaving her TV on all night. This is a pet peeve of Mindy’s, and something that Bella does frequently even though she knows she's not allowed to watch TV past a certain hour. Bella tried denying any knowledge of how her TV got on. Mindy wasn’t buying it. She gave no clue as to how long she’d be grounded. Bella was not happy.

Mindy left for school near 730am. I reheated some of the scrambled eggs I had stashed in the fridge for Eiknarf. She must’ve smelt them as she was crying for them. Off to the shower a few minutes later.

After a shave and a shower, I was dressed and downstairs by 750am. I played around online, tidied up the kitchen, and started the dishwasher before heading out with the kids. The time went fast. Headed out the door at 810am. Met Chrissy and the girls at the bus stop. One of her girls forgot something again and had to run back in the house. Chrissy asked Ms Vanorder to wait. She did so willingly.

Eiknarf and I walked back home, her sniffing around but not taking care of any further business. The house all in order, I was off to my ortho appointment by 822am.

It’s a quick drive up and around I-270 to Dr Monfort’s Dublin office. I arrived a couple minutes early at 838am. Janice saw me come in and called me back right away, Cool!

Dr Monfort was busy with a vendor who sounded as though he was giving him an estimate for some office remodel work. Janice got my new removable retainer ready for the fitting. Dr Monfort was over a minute or two later. I’ll bet I wasn’t’ in the chair more than 4 or 5 minutes. That’s it. I was done. Left with the retainer in. Have a good day!

I arrived at work by 855a and was settled in a few minutes later. While down on the fifth floor filling my pitcher with ice and water, I stopped by my old digs to say hello to my peeps. We talked for about 30 minutes. One of my former directs was excited to share that he’s taken a transfer to Florida – something he’s aspired to do for several months running. I only encouraged him when he reported to me.

Headed back to my office around 945am.The work day ended up going by pretty fast, especially considering that I didn’t bother taking a formal lunch break. I had nothing I wanted or needed to do. However, I did do a little personal writing sandwiched in between several work related tasks. My main goal for the day was to have my customer facing report in a powerpoint presentation ready for Wednesday. I’d be working from their site on Wednesday.

I left the office for the day around 520pm. Thought I might get home a few minutes early. For one reason or another, I kept thinking that it was Wednesday. Long week after just two days. On my way to my car I ran into an old friend and co-worker. We chatted in the parking lot for quite a while – maybe 15 minutes. I called Mindy once I was on the road.

She sounded as if she was in a far better place than she was the evening before. Said she was busy prepping dinner – chicken enchiladas. That sounded awfully good. We chatted only briefly. I arrived home just after 6pm. Jacob was off to soccer practice with his daddy. It was just the three of us for dinner. It was on the table a few minutes after I got myself settled.

Unless I’m mistaken, this was Mindy’s third go round making chicken enchiladas. And this batch was by far the best – super tender, moist and flavorful. She made Mexican rice too. I liked it as well. I ended up eating 1-1/3 enchiladas.  I managed clean-up and coffee prep while Mindy prepared Wednesday lunches. Mindy said something about helping Bella learn to ride her bike (still doesn’t know how). Also suggested calling my dad to come over to teach her. I begged off for a brief nap. I laid in the recliner eager for some sleep.

At one point I was lying there wondering if I could really fall asleep. The next minute I was waking up feeling totally refreshed. Couldn’t have been more than 10-15 minutes. Mindy came inside to let me know that she and my dad were outside with Bella. Said my dad just pulled up. I headed out telling my dad I lost the bet. I didn’t think he would come over.

Dad was busy guiding/helping Bella essentially with the same technique he used successfully with Jacob. Basically has her completely ignore the pedals and instead focus on learning to coast down the gradual hill in front of our house. All this effort to hopefully establish a sense of balance. As athletic as Bella is, and with a good sense of balance, I was surprised at how difficult learning to ride a bike has been for her. She gave up after taking a couple small spills in the grass. At one point she started crying and even tossed her helmet in disgust. She headed inside. Dad seemed to feel that she was right there – close to getting it. I wasn‘t so sure having experienced a similar result with her last summer.

Mindy asked dad if he’d eaten dinner, and talked him into coming inside and having some of her chicken enchiladas. He accepted and really liked them. Jacob got home soon after we headed inside. He was hungry too, after two hours of soccer practice.

I split my time between editing my blog and talking with the family. At some point Mindy shared Jacob’s journal entry where he had to write about himself. It was surprisingly well written, complete and creative thoughts. However, he totally dissed his sister Bella by writing that the day she was adopted was the worst day of his life. I wasn’t the slightest bit amused - angry even.

Dad left for home around 830pm. May not see him again before his knee surgery scheduled for the Tuesday after Labor Day. Mindy had the kids get showers over the course of the next half hour while I finished editing my last four blog entries. I was tired and didn’t’ bother publishing any of them. Maybe Wednesday.

I headed to the sofa just after 9pm, and then at Mindy’s prompting, tuned to the third episode of Rising on the Discovery Channel, the program that we DVR’d Sunday night. Despite saying that she was completely exhausted, Mindy watched most of it with me. Jacob headed to bed right after his shower, and according to Mindy was already sound asleep. Bella was another story, up in her bed but wide awake. J She sought my tuck in mid-program. I obliged her request. It’s important to her. 

Mindy headed to bed ahead of me, or around 955pm. I stayed up until the end of the program, which concluded around 1010pm. I was tired and headed up to bed after securing the home. Good night moon.

Celestial Bodies

I fell asleep with relative ease the night before, and slept rather soundly until about 520am when I woke for a time check. Still early, I snuck in another five minutes before popping up and out of bed for good.

I had failed to prep coffee the night before, so after brushing my teeth I headed to the kitchen to address that task post haste. I was ready for exercise by 530am. I slipped into my exercise tennies then gave a quick glance out the back door. The sky was mostly cloudy, which came as a bit of a surprise.

I headed to the livingroom where I whipped out sit-ups then immediately headed for the kitchen where I did push-ups. I was done with exercise by 540am and busy pouring a cup of coffee. I spent a good 15 minutes on line reading about the hurricane’s impact on NYC and then some sports related headlines. I read an email from Glenn sharing his flight itinerary for a late October trip home. Sounds like they’ve had a dismal summer in the PNW. Met a girl from the northern reaches of Washington State while in NYC. She concurred – cool and rainy.

Delivered Mindy’s first cup of coffee just after 6am and just ahead of meditation and a stretch. Both tasks were in the bag by 620am, and soon I was dressed for a run. I double checked the temperature – 62 degrees. I was iffy on my choice for an upper layer, not sure if I should have gone with a long sleeved wicking shirt. I chose a shirt sleeved shirt. I was fine but a tad chilly right out the door. I told myself right then that if it gets any cooler, as is predicted, I’ll have to make the switch. The only reason we were in the low 60’s then was due to the unexpected cloud cover.

The cool temps actually felt really nice once I got a quarter mile or so under my belt. The sky was trying to clear out, but it was slow going. The trash truck was right behind me at the outset. I took ours out even before exercise having forgotten to put it out the night before. Actually, it’s Jacob’s job. I ran the full 4.1 mile track and was back home ahead of 710am.

Mindy had scrambled eggs on the stove. The first such go around in a long while. I enjoyed my breakfast right along side the children after Jacob returned from walking Eiknarf. To change things up a bit, I asked Mindy to buy pineapple orange juice. Both Bella and I gave the subtle change a thumbs up. Mindy packed me a salad and fruit. All I had to prep was cheese, and then pluck a banana from the bunch. She left for school around 730a, or shortly after helping Bella with her hair. I headed for a shower a couple minutes later.

After a shave and a shower, I was downstairs dressed for the go by 750am. I used the time ahead of bus time to pay my bills online. Still with plenty of time, I went ahead and renewed the vehicle registration for both the BM’er and boat trailer. Sad, I still have this year’s boat trailer sticker for the ready. That was fairly painless. Done in a jiffy.

Not sure if I mentioned it or not, but the county completed their property value reassessment this summer and sent out the new values last week. Our home value went down by about 18%, which is about what I expected. For my money, it was long overdue. I’ve felt that our value was way too high for several years now. That’ll reduce our annual property taxes by a nice chunk. Should recognize those savings come December, about the time the latest school levy will go into affect. J

The kids and I headed out to the bus stop by 810am. The bus arrived about 5 minutes early again, which suits me just fine. Gives me half a chance to get to work somewhere close to 830am. Clouds to the east but blue to the west. The sun was busting through what remained of the overnight cloud cover. Nice to see.

Eiknarf wanted to walk before heading in. I assumed she needed to go, and she did. Off to work by 821am. Had to turn on the rear defogger. Nice drive in. It’s getting’ to be premo BM’er weather. Hopefully, I’ll be driving it a lot during September and early October.

Work was fun. Spent the majority of my day further fine tuning my customer facing monthly report, and then getting a jump on a quarterly report, but that won’t be presented until late October.

I made it a point to take a lunch break at 130pm, or immediately following a weekly conference call. I headed to Target and then Home Depot. At Target I picked up some more eye drops and ball needles. Jacob goes through ball needles like candy.

Next door at Home Depot, I picked up some ant traps. Mindy said the one’s she bought are ineffective. Wanted more Hot Shot traps like the ones I bought last spring. Couldn’t find the exact match, but did get some made by Hot Shot. We’ll see.  Browsed a few other aisles too. Bought nothing else. Back to work.

 I was gone for no more than 40 minutes, but it felt good just the same. Back at my desk, I ate my packed lunch (salad, cheese and fruit). It hit the spot. I don’t realize that I’m hungry until I start eating. Stayed busy all afternoon. Didn’t pack up until 540pm. The last hour always flies by. I didn’t talk with Mindy all day. I called her on my drive home. However, she was busy helping Bella with homework and quickly begged off the call. Sounded aggravated. Not sure why. 

I arrived home right near 6pm. Jacob was just pulling up on his old bike. His new one, by the way, is a piece of S%^&. Mindy was still struggling with Bella’s math homework. After I got settled Mindy threw her assignment my way for another set of eyes. Bella, I think, was relishing the fact that her mommy was stumped. I had the problem solved in about 20 seconds. Mindy was simply trying too hard – a rare case of me getting it and her not.

Dinner was a choice from the plethora of leftovers Mindy had scattered across the island. I joked that I wanted the BW3 wings Jacob had. And while I enjoyed the pasta and shrimp Sunday evening, I didn’t want more. Mindy and Bella both had that. Instead, I reheated steak and mashed potatoes, but not a whole lot.

Mindy was stressing. Asked if I’d be interested in dropping or picking up Bella from gymnastics. It’s a 7-9pm thing twice weekly. I offered to do both if she agreed to water the flowers. She jumped at my offer.  I finished cleaning the kitchen and then a little PC time before it was time to run Bella to gymnastics. It’s not too far at all. We left at 648pm and still were there a couple minutes early. I tinkered with the idea of shopping but in the end headed straight back home.

While Mindy finished the watering, I spent a little more time on the PC writing in my blog. Afterwards, I crept back in the recliner and took a brief nap. Because the knot in my left shoulder blade was spasming all afternoon, I was mindful about the way I laid back in the chair. Most notably, I made it a point to keep my shoulders flat against the recliner’s back. That helped a lot. Snoozed only briefly but effectively. Felt terrific.

Searched for the NFL preseason game between the Jets and Giants only to realize that it wasn’t televised.  It was originally scheduled for Sunday night but moved due to Irene.  I tuned to one of the educational networks instead. I got up to go after Bella around 845pm. Honestly, I was feeling kind of grumpy. Not entirely sure why.

The drive did me some good. Arrived a few minutes early. Headed inside to watch the final minutes of practice. They were calling Bella ‘speedy. She was running really fast in her approach to the tumbling drill. Too fast, really, but she’ll learn.

Bella shared her frustration with spending time at her daddy’s place every other weekend. Says she has no friends, no social life, nothing to do. It’s always daddy playing with Jacob. Wants him to move elsewhere so she can make friends. I was careful with my response, not wanting to sound like I might be bashing her daddy.  I only offered that she consider inviting a friend, such as Makayla along one weekend.

Once at home, Bella enjoyed the slice of keylime pie she’d asked for earlier. She was then dispatched to the shower. It was already 915pm. I tuned back into the educational programming and watched a show about asteroids, comets, and meteorites. Prior, I’d never given much thought to the differences. I enjoyed it much. Mindy and the kids were off to bed well before 10pm. I decided to stay up for a while longer. Bella eventually joined me asking me to come up and tuck her in. After doing so I headed back downstairs where I snacked on some pita chips while watching the conclusion to the asteroid program. Mindy had the bedroom window opened and the AC off. Trying it again.

Good night celestial bodies.

Kentucky?

I let myself sleep in as long as I wanted. I slept until 8am. And figuring I fell asleep somewhere near midnight, I got a full 8 hours of sleep. As I headed out the door, Mindy asked that I bring her coffee in a little while.  I acknowledged her request as I tip-toed down the stairs.

Because it was Sunday, I didn’t do any calisthenics. Instead, as soon as I started the coffee, I sat down in front of my PC. For starters, I read about the Vikings 23-17 preseason loss to the Cowboys. Vikings had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown. That was the difference – a ten point swing.

Sipped coffee while playing at the PC. Weather was ideal, about 64 and sunny under beautiful blue skies, which was more than I could say for NYC. Good thing I wasn’t still there. First and earthquake and now hurricane Irene was wreaking havoc with NYC and the Jersey shoreline. The good news was that the storm had lessoned to some extent, although heavy rains were still expected to pound and flood the area.

Eiknarf was crying from Jacob’s room. Went and fetched her, leashed her up and headed out on a walk. She took care of business fairly quickly.  No sooner were we back when Bella and Olivia joined me downstairs. Immediately, Olivia asked to play Wii. As always, until everyone else was up, the answer was no.

Both of the girls asked for whipped cream on their fingers.  I obliged their request. They asked for coffee too. Instead of no, I made them each a cup of fru-fru coffee – mostly chocolate milk with just a hint of coffee. They loved it.

Mindy was up around 9am, or just about the time I was preparing for my run. She all but insisted I spend a little time with her out on the deck. My mind was all set to run, but I gave her five minutes anyhow. I’m guessing that it was near 930am when I finally dressed and left for a run.

I ran three miles without any problem whatsoever. Of course, I didn’t expect any either. As soon as I was back, Mindy asked if I still planned on getting donuts with Bella. Yes. I said we’d go ahead and take the Honda so I wouldn’t have to jockey the cars around to get to the BM’er. Mindy quickly said that Bella was looking forward to a ride in the BM’er. She was right. I did tell her as much. I moved the Accord to the street to unblock the BM’ers path out.

Bella and I headed off for Tim Horton’s right up the road. Didn’t take long. We got a dozen donuts and 20 Tim-Bits. The girl working the donut counter was a bit aloof. Seemed stoned even. Laughed incessantly when she almost fell over. Scary! 

Mindy had pancakes ready for the kids by the time we were back home. I said I wasn't interested in any, but eventually ate one of the plain one’s. I passed on the donuts, at least for the time being. After the kids enjoyed their donuts we headed out back to swing. I already knew that Ashley was on her way to pick-up Olivia. Lindsey called a little earlier from Ashley’s house. Rode the bus their from the YMCA downtown. Heading to church.  We talked briefly. Said she’s not liking it much. Says it’s dirty, but then again no dirtier than her mother’s place. I chuckled about that. It pains me much to think that my kid and here kids are living/staying at the ‘Y’, but she’s got to forge her own path. Can’t help her more than providing encouragement.

Ashley was over by 11am to fetch Olivia. She came out back and watched us swing.  I could easily sense that Ashley had something she wanted to tell me. I didn’t prod, however. By the way, her teeth are already moving back into place after having her braces installed for only about ten days. More importantly, she feels good about it.

As we walked back towards the house Ashley came clean. She said she’s giving strong consideration to moving to Kentucky, where Steven’s father and step-mother reside.  She cited several reasons, as if she had to justify it to me. She didn’t mention her mother’s response, but did share that her grandma went off about it. I only said that she needs to follow her heart and dreams. Live her own life. Now believe me, the last thing I want is for my daughter and grand daughter to move away, but I also realize you only live once. If that’s her calling, who am I to rain on her parade?  Several thoughts/questions raced through my head, but I knew then wasn’t the time to espouse them. She said her stomach was in knots thinking about telling me. I laughed about that.

In the end, she said it wouldn’t be any sooner than next spring, after her orthodontics are completed and only after she secures a new job/career down there. She again cited several reasons for the move, most of which I cringed at, but once again opted to only listen and encourage. Also whirling in the back of my mind were my own youthful moves to Florida and California. Those experiences were invaluable to me.

Can’t recall if I or Ashley told Mindy once inside. Like me, Mindy only encouraged her to follow her dreams. And as she often does, Mindy offered Ashley some gas money just before they departed. She said she didn’t need it.

As soon as they were gone, I headed out to start on the lawn. Mindy said she’d be making a run to Target shortly. I asked only that she get me some work gum. Once engrossed in the lawn work, I asked Mindy to move her Pilot to the driveway’s center enabling me to edge and mow without concern for the vehicle. She obliged.

It was warm and sunny, but far less humid than it’s been all summer. I worked up only a mild sweat. The mowing part behind me, I kept at it, moving on to weed whacking next. Initially, I chose not to bother changing out the line to the thicker stuff I bought on Thursday. But once one side broke off, I decided it was time to give it a whirl. Took about five minutes to reload the spool with the .95 mm line.  Wow! Should’ve done that a long time ago. Did the entire yard without needing to tap n’ go even once. Nice!

After finishing the edging and blowing, I headed inside for a shower. I was itchy from  bits of lawn debris. Mindy wondered if I was planning to go somewhere. Nope, just getting the grass off. I was done working too. Wanted to relax. After my shower I got comfortable in the recliner and started to dose. It was 255pm when Mindy said she was leaving for Target. Wasn’t sure exactly where the kids were. No worries. I’d take care of them.

She wasn’t out the front door for 20 seconds when Bella came in the back door asking for her mom. Said she was back to go to Target with her. Oops! Told her to hurry and catch her backing out the driveway. Only problem was, Mindy was already down the road. Bella was disappointed, but not distraught.

I spent the rest of my afternoon napping and playing on the PC. At some point I ate some leftover pizza. It was good. I’m guessing that Mindy was back in a little more than a hour. I shared how Bella was disappointed that she missed her. She said she forgot that Bella wanted to go. Said I should’ve called her. Would’ve turned around to get her. Ouch! I told Bella not to bother her. J  No harm. Bella was back outside playing joyfully with her friends.

Mindy started dinner soon after she got back home. She made penne pasta with shrimp. The kids came home from play around 5pm. Said Kenny was on his way down for a visit. Still hadn’t seen Kenny since I’ve been home from NYC. In fact, haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since the last weekend of July. Wow!

Mindy put the finishing touches on dinner while I watched a NatGeo special on the events leading up to 9/11. If memory serves, it all started in 1983. Hmmm? I found the linking fascinating. Did a nice job bringing all the evidence and circumstances to the forefront. Went into extensive detail about the terrorists that actually flew the planes into the WTC. They’d been living amongst us for nearly 2 years.

Dinner was served earlier than usual. Sure enough,. Kenny stopped down, but when he saw that we were eating he said he’d stop by again later. I didn’t realize it at the time but he was home alone with Lillian. Chrissy, Jake, and Makayla were off to church and soccer practice. He could’ve eaten with us.

After dinner and clean-up Mindy asked if I wanted to walk Eiknarf. I suggested we stop down and see the neighbors. Mindy concurred. We took Eiknarf down to the neighbors. Kenny was prepping their dinner for later, making sis kabobs. Looked good. We didn’t stay too long, probably no more than 20 minutes.

I was eager to get home and watch Rising – The Rebuilding of the WTC on Discovery Channel. Turns out, the family watched with me. Interesting story lines following the folks doing the work and hearing the stories that inspired them to be part of the new WTC. Some of the footage was so fresh that it had to have been taken while I was still there. Could see our building in several shots.

We watched for over two hours, eventually bagging it in the third hour and DVR'ing the rest. It was about 1015pm when we all headed for bed. Jacob was asleep even before I made it up to tuck him in. Bella, on the other hand, was still wide awake. Mindy toyed with the idea of sleeping with the windows opened but changed her mind when the house hadn’t cooled as much as she had hoped an hour or so before bedtime.

Cecilia, You're Breaking My Heart

Old habits are hard to break. Like clock work, I woke cleanly right at 715am, my typical weekend rise time barring any unforeseen circumstances (think too much beer). Mindy, of course, remained in bed as I slipped out of the room and downstairs. I started a pot of coffee then completed my calisthenics. It was sunny & 64 degrees outside – really nice.

After exercise, I poured a cup of coffee then took to my computer. At some point I rescued Eiknarf who was awake and ready to be released from Bella’s room. I took her on a brief walk where she relieved herself. I took my camera along but forgot that I took the battery out for a charging. No juice!

Back at the house and ahead of my run, I did some writing for my blog. Mindy was up a little before 9am. We spent some time together on the deck ahead of my run. I’m thinking that it was after 930am when I finally headed out.

It was an easy run, only 3 miles. Back at the house I asked Mindy if she planned on attending yoga. Yep. She planned on grocery shopping too. I thought I might trim the red maples around the yard, something I’ve been trying to find the time to do for a couple months. Jimaken came by to pick-up the kids around 11am and planned to keep them until about 3pm since he didn’t get a chance to do dinner with ‘em during the week.

Mindy left for yoga around 1145am. I openly celebrated the fact that I’d have 3.5 hours of alone time to putter around the house. I took my iPod and dock out on the deck then retrieved my tree pruning tools from the garage. I listened to Edgar Winter while trimming the trees.

I took my time with the trimming, removing all the branches that sagged below eye level, and then pretty much any branches with a downward trajectory. I had quite a pile by the time I finished. Not only does it open up the yard a bit more, but it allows more sunlight to the lawn and plants below too, not to mention the additional headroom. I must’ve made 6 or 7 trips back to the compost pile with all the cut branches. The cut branches ranged in size from ½” to as large as 3.5” in diameter.

After taking care of the trees I watered all the flowers front and back. Everything was looking thirsty, including the lawn. Next, I sprayed another dose Weed-Be-Gone. You may recall, I sprayed about 5 gallons the Saturday before I left for NYC. That dose did a remarkable job riding the lawn of most of the weeds.  I wanted to hit that pesky morning glory out back with another dose and then the few patches of remaining clover. I used about ¾ gallon this dose, not that much.

I headed inside where I took care of several inside tasks, including putting the sofa & chair covers in the dryer and then later reinstalling them. I still wasn’t done. Just before getting a shower, I vacuumed the entire downstairs. The house was looking good when I finished.

Mindy got home near 3pm just like she predicted. I helped her carry in groceries. She asked if I made arrangements to have Olivia. Funny, I was just about to tell her that I told Olivia she could spend the night.  Wasn’t sure how that would go over, but I couldn’t resist. Mindy was fine with it. We’d simply take her with us to see Bella perform at the St. Cecilia Festival.

We were expecting the kids to get home anytime. In fact, we were expecting Olivia to arrive at about the same time. Everybody was home by 330pm. We planned to leave for the festival near 4pm to allow enough time to pick-up Gloria, who was going along, too.

It was a gorgeous afternoon with sunny skies and a temperature near 80, just like forecasted. Low humidity too. Picked up Gloria around 415-420pm and arrived at St. Cecilia sometime after 430pm. Not only were we early for Bella’s event, but for the entire festival too. Not much of a crowd at all. Right away, it was pretty obvious that they have a more organized, better ran festival than St Margaret’s and certainly St Mary Magdalene.  A lot better mid-way ride selection as well as nice crowd flow.

Bella and Olivia wanted to ride rides immediately. Mindy sprung for $20 in ride tickets, which were crazy expensive for what they were. The kiddie rides were $3 a piece. We really should’ve sprung for the $15 wrist band. They blew through the $20 worth of tickets in a hurry.

Bella needed to be at the performance tent around 5pm. We headed back there as soon as the ride tickets were gone. You might wonder what Jacob did the entire time the girls rode rides. He used his $10 for two balloon/dart games. He won a prize both times. Not really sure who won, though, them of him. J The prizes were cheap 1 dollar stuffed animals.

The kids wanted drinks, and it was kind of warm standing in the bright sunshine. We fetched drinks from the nearby refreshment tent. We got Olivia some cotton candy too. Bella would get some as well, but Mindy wanted her to perform first, so not to get it all over herself.

Ran into an old friend, Joyce Castarano. Haven’t seen her in years. Introduced her to Mindy. As it turned out, they knew each other somewhat, through Jodi & Larry. They lived across the street from one another.  Joyce is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. And her family can cook like there’s no tomorrow. 100% Italian! Mindy and Joyce exchanged numbers so we can reconnect at another time. She was working the refreshment tent.

Bella’s recital started around 530-6pm. But Bella was one of the last performances. Must’ve been ten others ahead of her. And since she only started two weeks ago, we weren’t expecting too much. She did great, though, doing cart wheels, tumbles, and jumps with another girl about her same age/size.

We stuck around after she finished to watch some Irish jig dancers. They were cute. Ran into Makayla and Lillian, who were there with Lillian’s step dad. Bella really wanted to go find them after her performance and ride big girl rides. But the rest of us were eager to get home and grill our dinner – steaks. That was the plan all along. We didn’t make plans to hang at the festival for that long. Gloria decided to catch a ride home with niece Lindey, who came to watch Bella perform as well.

Think we left for home around 615pm, or just when the crowd was starting to build. I’m not too big on these festivals. For one, the beer is crappy. On our drive home I suggested we skip I-270 so I could see the progress at the new casino. I was surprised. The steel structure is already taking shape. I’ll need to get some photos of the entire area. If things go according to plan, one won’t recognize the entire area ten years from now.

Weren’t home too long before Mindy had me start the grill. I poured a pint of Centennial first. Yum-yum! We had four Rib Eye’s to grill along with a batch of asparagus, which Mindy planned to blanch first. I ended up over cooking the outside of two of the four steaks. All were OK inside, though. Mindy tried inviting the neighbors’ down for dinner but learned that they were off to another friend’s house to watch a NASCAR race.

The steak was good. I ate only about half mine. The asparagus was pretty good, too. Mindy bought a frozen key lime pie at the grocery. Haven't had one of those in eons. She and Bella wanted some pie right after dinner. I wasn't so sure that I wanted any, at least right then. What I did want was another beer. In fact, it wasn't long before I polished off the growler. But not to worry, I had a fine selection of IPAs waiting in the mini garage fridge.

Bella asked a little earlier if we could have a fire on the pondside patio. Why not? Haven't had one all summer. It's been too warm to think about a fire. The kids wanted to roast marshmallows, too, but we didn't have any. We all gathered around the fire, which started rather easily with the aid of charcoal starter fluid. The patio shrinks up in a hurry once you get a fire going. Too close really. I'm thinking about expanding the patio by about three feet, but before I'd get serious, I'll have a fire and put the benches/chairs at an optimum distance to make sure I'm expanding it big enough.

Because we didn't have marshmallows, I suggested that the kids roast hot dogs instead. I half expected them to pooh, pooh that notion. However, they didn't. Instead, they cheered gleefully.  Bella and Olivia roasted hot dogs. Actually, Mindy roasted most of Olivia's. Bothe girls woofed them down in a hurry. We didn't stay out too long. Jacob had the honor of dousing the fire with pond water.

Back inside, I poured myself a Hop Wallop and tuned in to the preseason NFL football game - Lions vs. Patriots. Granted, it was only a preseason game, but the Lion's were kicking their hind ends. They looked really sharp.

Mindy got the kids tucked into bed. Olivia fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. I headed up to tuck 'em in afterwards. Mindy & I headed for bed around 1030pm. Still catching up on my sleep, I guess.

No Beer Friday

All summer long, I've been sleeping much more soundly than I have in years. Unfortunately, that's lead to more than a few overslept mornings, and certainly more than I'm accustomed to. Friday was a good example. I slept really well, but didn't wake for work until 555am. I think it was Mindy who woke me. I hurried out of bed, brushed my teeth, then headed downstairs to get busy with exercise. I did both sit-ups and push-ups over the course of the next five minutes. I then poured some coffee before taking to the internet to check out what was up with the rest of the world.

Really hard to believe that it was already Friday. The work week flew by. I was happy to see a weekend forecast calling for nothing but sunshine and 80 degrees through Monday. Because I limited the time spent online, I was pretty much able get back on track in a hurry, and that was after spending time meditating and stretching, too. I headed out for a run near 640am.

It was gorgeous outside, 63 degrees under clear skies. And this time no morning storms to contend with. I ran the full 4.1 miles without a problem, though I didn't expect one either. Got back home around 720am to a waiting breakfast of fried eggs. As promised, Mindy fried Bella one, too. She was picking at it, doing her best to avoid the runny yoke. Mindy wasn't home much longer. She was off to work by 725am. I was done with breakfast and off to the shower by 732am. By then, the kids were in the family room watching TV.

I was ready quickly, helped along by skipping a shave. I wore jeans and an untucked pink Polo. It was only 748am. Had more than 20 minutes before bus time. I used the time to order new running shoes from Finish Line. Since I'm pretty much sticking to the same make & model, ordering online was a more than viable option. Better selection online, too. It was a snap. Should arrive in 3 -5 days.

Soon it was time to head out. I leashed up Eiknarf and was right behind the kids. Chrissy was already out with Lillian and Makayla, but once I got to the bus stop I realized none of the girls were anywhere to be seen. According to Jacob, they ran off to the cul-de-sac up the street. Not sure why. It wasn't long before the bus came barreling down the street at least five minutes earlier than we expected.  

Uh, where are the girls? They must've seen the bus, and came running in a hurry. They made it back just as the bus door flew open. Chrissy and I chatted briefly talking about weekend plans. Hope to hook-up sometime this weekend. Headed back home with Eiknarf, she taking a dump along the way.

It was only 821am. I was ready to leave and only had to secure the home. I was off to work a minute or two later.

Arrive to work by 840am. After getting settled I walked to my boss's office to say hello. Hadn't seen him for three weeks. We  talked about my NY trip and a couple of the leaders there in the city. Headed back to my office where I fine tuned the monthly report. Around 10am I walked down to chat with a couple peers. They went on about seeing me on YouTube in NYC. We yucked it up for about 30 minutes.

Walked down to the dock hoping that I might've missed the email letting me know that a package awaited me. I ordered a replacement battery for my laptop almost 5 weeks ago. It wasn't there. Crap! I didn't leave for lunch. Instead, spent the early afternoon further fine tuning my monthly report.

 I drove myself crazy all afternoon looking for an email I knew I sent myself in July with detailed instructions on how to compile a certain report. Without that email I'd have to bother my former again. I hated the thought of that. I searched high and low through all my relative folders, including my sent items. Looks like the email server switch in late July screwed me. Lost all my sent items up to that date. In the back of my mind I figured there was a slight chance I sent it to myself at home. I do that sometimes if it's an email I simply can't live without. Before calling my former, I figured I'd check my home inbox.

Out of the blue, I received an email from the loading dock that a package arrived to my attention. Could it be my laptop battery? I hoped so. And sure enough, it was. I headed down to pick it up around 330pm, or just before our staff meeting. I planned on giving it a try just before leaving for the day.

We had our regular staff meeting at 345pm. It lasted until 430pm. Nothing major or earth shattering. Back in my office I spent the rest of the late afternoon gathering data for another report. Before I knew it was 530pm. My boss stopped by on his way out jokingly telling me not to work until 7pm like I did in NYC.  I packed up and left for home around 540pm.

Home near 6pm, Mindy left it up to me whether or not we did dinner at Barley’s. The other option was simply staying home and ordering pizza. I decided that ordering pizza sounded best. I already had a jug of Centennial in the fridge, and hadn’t had a Minelli’s pizza in quite some time. That sounded awfully good. I had a feeling, though, that Mindy thought I’d choose the former.

Bella was in the dumps, Makayla wasn’t home and Emily was being downright rude to her. Not sure what all that was about. Mindy ordered the pizza around 630pm, just before she and I headed out on a short walk with Eiknarf. We walked about a block or so, before turning for home. I needed to fetch the pizza. They always quote 20 minutes but it’s almost always ready in 12-15 minutes.

We ordered just one extra-large pizza for the four of us. We’ve gotten in the habit of ordering two, but because I wanted only pepperoni like the kids, it seemed a waste to get more than one. It was ready as soon as I got there to pick it up. I thought about scavenging a piece on my drive home but didn’t. I waited.

Soon, we were all enjoying some pizza. I’ll bet I ate 10 pieces, but it was cut into small squares. We did some damage leaving no more than 5 or 6 pieces. I washed my pizza down with an ice cold Coke. Nothing sounded better. In the back of my mind I thought I might pour a beer but never did. In fact, after finishing dinner I got comfy on the sofa watching NFL preseason football – Green Bay & Indianapolis. Wasn’t too long before I was sawing logs. Upped and headed to bed early. Bet I was in bed before 1030pm.

A Matter of Perspective

Not relative to the day, but a photo of my NYC peeps in Time Square.

I was up at 530am with relative ease. After getting up at 430am for the better part of 16 days, this felt like sleeping in. I brushed my teeth then headed downstairs. There was another thunderstorm moving through, an all too common occurrence this summer. Home just two mornings with an equal number of early AM storms rumbling through. Well, for Pete's sake!.

I know I’ve gone on about it before, but most other years I’d be hard pressed to have to deal with more than perhaps 2 early AM thunderstorms. This year/summer has been absolutely crazy. Conservatively, I’ll bet there have been at least ten. Most are brief, which only makes it more comical since they move through in such a tight window of about an hour - roughly 545- 645am.  

I did both sit-ups and push-ups before doing anything else. No doubt carry over from my days in NYC. Once exercise was complete I poured some coffee then spent a little time at the PC. Of significant importance was a weather check. Looked like the brunt of the storm was well to our south but we were still getting some of its red upper edge. Looked like it might be gone by 630am.

I enjoyed coffee then did a meditation and stretch. Both went well. Felt really good to be back in my routine at home. Because the online radar is so limited, I tuned the TV to the more detailed radar channel. Looked to be another five minutes or so before the coast would be clear.

I took Mindy some coffee just before heading out on a run. The storm moved out around 625am, and I took the opportunity to get an early start. After all, I’d gotten used to running at 5am while away.

It was plenty warm - 72 degrees – and also very sticky. I didn’t bother me though. In fact, I enjoyed it. It was a good 4.1 mile run. What I noticed more than anything was that it remained dark through at least the first ten minutes or so. Days are growing shorter! Autumn’s not too far behind.

Got home sometime after 7am. I headed in through the overhead garage door grabbing my new shami along the way. Inside, I soaked it in the sink then headed out for what would be the 3^rd day in a row to wipe down the Accord. I wanted it free of those damn water spots. It took me no more than five minutes to complete the deed. Headed inside to a waiting breakfast, a luxury I haven’t been afforded all summer. Mindy fried me two eggs and also had a salad already prepped for my lunch. That was nice.

The kids were up and enjoying their breakfast, too. Bella commented about wanting a bite of my eggs. Oops, forgot! Woofed them down in a hurry. Mindy offered to make her some on Friday. She nodded in agreement. Mindy soon left for school. My mind raced to make sure I had the routine down. Kids need to be at the bus stop at 815am. OK. I can do that. Off to the shower.

Shaved then showered. Was downstairs ready to go by 753am. Unlike last schol year when the kids spent most of their time before the bus in their own rooms, this time they were stuffed under blankets in the family room watching TV. We had more than 20 minutes before departure time.

Not wanting to waste time, I started on Wednesday's blog entry. Got quite a bit done before it was time to head out. Bella was much quicker with her final prep. I handled Eiknarf.

And while it rained earlier, the sun was out and the skies completely clear. According to the weather forecast, we're in for at least three lovely days with sunshine and temps near 80. I'll take that. Heck yes!

Soon the bus was there and the kids aboard, minus Lillian. Just as the bus pulled up, she announced that she left her lunch in the house. Chrissy quizzed Ms Vanorder about waiting while she ran into get it. She agreed. Soon the kids were off to school, and me and Eiknarf headed back towards home. Along our way, she took a dump in Trena's yard, Chrissy that is. :)

It was 827am by the time was out the door and heading off to work. It felt good to be driving my clean new car again, something I hadn't done much of lately. I arrived at work near 845am. It took me a few minutes to get situated, dropping my lunch in the nearest fridge and then procuring some ice water. I decided to poke my head in the NOC to say hello to my former peeps. We chatted for at least 30 minutes talking about my NYC experience and then everything that went on back here. It was 930am in the blink of an eye. And by the time I was settled back into my office it was 945am.

I spent the middle portion of my day working on monthly reports, something I fretted over the entire time away. Went much smoother than I presumed. It was 1pm in a hurry.  I decided it would be good for my soul to take lunch. Besides, I needed to pay a visit to Home Depot and pick-up some 2-cycle engine oil for both the blower and weed whacker.  Arrived around 120pm. Grabbed some 2-cycle oil and then a small spool of .95mm weed whacker line. The .80mm line I have now breaks off too easily.

Headed back to the counter top department hoping at a minimum to get some advice on repairing our fallen undermount sink. I called Modlich granite earlier in the day asking if they would come out and fix it. They weren't interested in the work if they weren't the ones who installed it originally. Great! The kitchen specialist at Home Depot said the same thing. Their contractors won't touch it. Said to give Angie's list a try, sure there are several folks that will do it. Said I could do it myself but would need to have the sink manufacturer so to be sure and buy the proper clip type. Either way, it would require drilling a 1/4" hole in the granite from underneath then installing a small bolt for each clip that would be held in with epoxy. The risk is that the granite can easily crack/break. Oh boy!

I headed back to the office near 2pm. I felt really good about my productive morning. The afternoon went well, too. In amongst my work, I made an appointment to have the Accord's windows tinted on October 15th. Also, rescheduled the ortho appointment I missed while in NYC. Need to have my removable retainer fit.

The day went incredibly fast. It was after 5pm like right now. Felt good! I packed up and left for the day at 520pm. Called brother Tommy on my drive home catching up on what's been going on. Business is doing just OK. Said he turned down an offer to expand with two more stores - Arlington and Smoky Row. Now's not the time.

Jacob was off to soccer practice, though I didn't realize that until we sat for dinner and he wasn't called to the table. It was just the three of us. Mindy warmed leftovers. I asked for the leftover fried chicken. Tasted as if it had been frozen. I asked where it came from. Mindy said Monday dinner. I then learned that Gloria sent it home. Given that knowledge, very plausible that it was in the freezer prior.

While Mindy warmed leftovers, I cut a piece of 1"x2" trim to use as a prop to help hold up the undermount sink. I cut it long on purpose. It didn't take much time. Had it propped up in no time. By no means perfect, but at least it's not at risk of falling away completely.

Dinner clean-up was a snap. Not a lot of washable dishes. Used paper plates. After tidying up the kitchen, I headed to my PC where I worked on my blog. At the same time Mindy headed out to walk Eiknarf. Invited me along, too. Never did make it. When she got back about ten minutes later she offered that we spend some time together on the deck. Said it was lovely. Sounded good to me.  I poured myself a Centennial and Mindy poured a glass of wine. We headed out to the deck.

We sat outside for about 45 minutes, best guess. Jacob was home from soccer practice, I'm guessing near 730-800pm. Went immediately for his skateboard. Was back in a hurry, though, stating that his new board is junk. Asked me to loosen the wheels more. While looking it over more carefully I noticed that the bushing on one of the trucks looks smashed. The trucks are very, very loose. So much so, that the wheels now rub the board when he makes a turn. Not good. He pissed and moaned about his new skateboard for the rest of the night. Spent his own money on it - $60. Told him that had he asked, I would have advised against the purchase. Of course, then, I would've been evil for not allowing him to buy it. Sadly, this was probably best. This way he might learn a valuable lesson.

Mindy agreed.

Headed inside around 830pm anxious to tune into Thursday night preseason NFL football. Game was already underway. The Baltimore Ravens versus the Washington Redskins. Early on the Redskins were puttin' a hurtin' on the Ravens. Might've watched for about 30 minutes before I was overcome by a strong desire for a pillow and the floor.

Next thing I remember was Mindy leaning over the railing asking me to come tuck in the kids and then to come to bed. It took me a few minutes to motivate but eventually did. I rinsed my pint glass then filled it with water before heading upstairs for the tuck and bed. Good night Olde Frothingslosh.

Element of Surprise

For the first time since August 7th, I woke in my own bed. I didn't need to be up at any specific time, though I was expected to see the kids on the school bus at  823am. I woke sometime during Mindy's prep. Not sure the exact time. I brushed my teeth then headed downstairs to start sit-ups and push-ups. Can't recall if I was downstairs when Mindy left or not. Drawing a blank.

Each new school year brings the same controversy with the transportation arm of the school district. In dispute, is the time the bus picks up our kids. Each year they schedule pick-up around 825a at the outset, which throws both Chrissy and me a curve ball since both of us desire to be at work by 830am. In each of the last couple years, we've been able to get the pick-up moved back to 805am. Ms. Vanorder, the bus driver sides with us, although her motives different from ours. She claims she can't get the bus load of kids to school in time with the delayed pick-up. We'll have to see how things unfold this school year.

To that end, I walked the kids and Eiknarf out to the bus stop at 815am. I was warmly greeted there by Lillian and Makayla as well as Chrissy. Eiknarf, I can tell, has owned his walker for the past couple weeks, barking incessantly at every passerby without repercussion. Big surprise with me taking lead, I gave her a big ol jerk as she darted off into the street barking at another dog and owner on the other side. I pulled so abruptly that she tumbled head over heels back towards me. It was completely instinctual. I didn't intend to be so forceful.

The bus pulled up at her scheduled time. Soon the kids were on the bus. New this year, there are other children aboard. We're no longer the first pick-up. Gave Chrissy a hug before heading back home. Hadn't seen her in almost three weeks.

With the house quiet and all to myself, I poured another cup of coffee then spent the next hour or so playing on the internet and writing/updating my blog. It was just after 930am when I got around to running. I was looking forward to a run in the friendly confines of our subdivision, the first such run in 17 days. I wore fresh running clothes: shorts, shirt, and socks. Just as I was slipping on my old sunglasses, I discovered that one the arms broke, no doubt during travel in my carry-on backpack. I wore my expensive Oakley’s instead.

I ran the full 4.1 mile track without any trouble. It’s felt as if I never left home. It was a beautiful morning, sunshine and somewhere in the mid 70’s. Expecting a high in the low 90’s. Much like it was before I left town.

I planned to do a little yard work, including trimming the English Ivy and  the shrubs. They all look out of control all of the sudden. I’d hate to think what the yard would look like if I were gone for a month or more. Yikes!  Before heading out, I made a turkey and cheese sandwich and washed it down with a glass of milk. Both were really good. I’m thinking it was 11am when I headed out for yard work.

The first thing I did was trim the English ivy away from the master bedroom windows/screens. I must have removed 4 or 5 empty bird nests from the ivy.  I then trimmed the rest of the loose Ivy dangling from the front of the house using my aluminum extension ladder. I’ll bet I spent a good hour trimming ivy.

Next, I gave the shrubs out front a haircut with my new electric hedge trimmers. I had a tarp full of debris by the time I finished. By then the sun was hot, and I was sweating like the dickens and feeling worn out, too. Before stopping, however, I hauled everything around back and trimmed the over grown honeysuckle bush engulfing one of the ash trees mid back yard. I hadn’t touched it since mid spring. It’s grown three feet since then.

Because the ground around that bush is anything but level, it’s always a challenge getting it trimmed. In addition, my 6’ step ladder has a tendency to shift side to side (not a lot of lateral support). In kind, it fell over twice, each time me having to bail with the hedge trimmers in hand. I was only up about 3 or 4 feet but could’ve broken an ankle if I landed wrong. Lucky for me, that wasn’t the case.

After I drug all the trimmings to the compost pile I put my tools away then headed inside. I needed a cold drink, perhaps some ice water. I sucked down a Fresca first. It went down like water. I then poured some real ice water. It was somewhere near 230pm. I spent some more time writing and working on my blog. After cooling off I headed out again to rinse and shami the Accord. The overnight storm left large water spots head to toe. And I worked too hard on Tuesday afternoon getting it all shiny to consider driving it covered in water spots. The bane of black cars. 

It was time for a shower. And believe me, it felt great. Still with time on my hands, I folded and put away the two loads of laundry I did on Tuesday. I even took the time to hand wash one of my black sweaters that’s been sitting on my t-shirt/underwear caddy since winter. I let it soak in the kitchen sink for at least an hour.

The kids got home around 4pm. Mindy called near that same time to let me know that she wouldn’t be home before 4pm like she originally thought. Said she was making a stop at the Grove City Kroger. Bella started on her math homework and Jacob headed out to play on his new skateboard.

From my computer I heard Bella let out a shrill from the kitchen. She was concerned with what was in the sink - my soaking sweater. Wasn’t sure what it was. That’s Bella, a drama queen. I’d forgotten all about it. I went to rinse it out and then hang it out on the deck. Just as I slipped my hands into the cool water to grab hold of my sweater, I heard a dull ‘thunk’ sound. Uh-oh! The damn undermount sink came unglued from the granite countertop on one side leaving a gap of almost an inch. Still attached on the otherside. Not good!

I dealt with the sweater then turned my attention to the sink looking it over top and bottom. Apparently, the epoxy the installer used didn’t hold. In such instances, Google is my friend. I went to Google looking for help, options, suggestions, or alternatives. I found several articles/chat boards where a similar event happened.  Many pointed out that gluing with epoxy and not using clips was a certain recipe for disaster. In other words, not if, but when.  The more reading I did the more I became convinced that this wouldn’t be a Jimmy repair, especially if it entails drilling into the granite from underneath to install clips.  And either way, the entire sink, faucet, garbage disposal, and drains will need to come off. I don’t have to tell you that I wasn’t happy.

Mindy got home around 430pm. She asked about my day, Not bad other than the sink being broke. I showed her our dilemma.  I returned to my PC for more research.  One of the most common causes, I learned, was plunging the sink. I asked Mindy if she’d plunged recently. Nope. Hmm?

She asked what I wanted for dinner. Those that know me, know that I can’t think like that under such circumstances. I don’t have the ability to cast a problem like that aside too easily. The last thing on my mind was dinner. Suddenly, I was in a crusty mood. Mindy gave me an earful about it too. One guy said he had to have his entire granite counter top removed to do the repair. Oh hell no! That would ruin our tile backsplash too. Good grief!

I decided to Google Rocktop Granite, the company that installed out counter tops, thinking I might call and complain to them about the half assed install. The news wasn’t good. Seems they’ve since gone bankrupt, and were being sued in federal court for fraud. Apparently kept collecting money up front for new installs despite knowing they were going under and weren’t ever planning to do the work. Must’ve been about 50 cases like that. Just a few years ago, they were touted as the fastest growing company in that sector, with franchises popping up all over the Midwest.

Mindy opted to grill chicken kabobs. Our other option was Tilapia. Not me. Chicken it was. I decided to let go of the problem after resigning myself to the fact that we’ll need to contact a pro. I’ll ask some friends and then make some calls later in the week.

Dinner was ready around 530pm. Mindy made a fresh garden salad to complement the chicken kabobs. She bought some bakery fresh garlic and cheese bread too. Everything was good. Bella had gymnastics practice. I’m thinking at 7pm. Mindy planned to run her there.  I did dinner clean-up being extra careful with the sink. Afterwards I gave some thought to how I might make a temporary post to help hold up that end of the sink from underneath, so at least we can use it. I’d need to do something soon before it falls away at the other end.

While Mindy took Bella to gymnastics, I watered all the flowers out back. Despite the overnight storm, everything was pretty dry. I soaked them all. Jacob and Evan were out front skate boarding. When Mindy got back home, she started some laundry. After finishing up the watering I did some more writing in my blog.

I’m thinking that Mindy left to fetch Bella around 830pm. Jacob asked to go along. While they were out I got comfy on the sofa and tuned into Through the Worm Hole, and later The Wonders of the Universe. I made some popcorn to enjoy while I watched TV. Mindy and Bella had some soon after they got home. They weren't up long, however. Mindy and the kids headed up to bed by 930pm. Meanwhile, both programs had me from hello. The former was an in depth look into whether or not we humans have a 6th sense. The evidence is convincing that we do. The latter program, titled Children of the Stars, was a dive into the 92 known elements in the universe and where they come from. They're all born in stars - nowhere else. And all come about only during a super nova, or the death of a star. And again, nowhere else. Totally fascinating stuff.  Good Night Betelgeuse!