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 3rd 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.