Dropping Cousin Eddie at Brother Bob's

I was up just after 530am on another cloudy, rainy Wednesday in Columbus. At first glance the rain appeared light, and nothing to be concerned with. I grabbed my exercise shoes and headed to the living room where I whipped out 50 sit-ups and then headed to the kitchen for push-ups. The reason I relocate for push-ups is because I prefer a hard surface, such as the tile floor. Doing push-ups on carpet feels a bit awkward & clumsy.

I poured some coffee then headed to my PC where I checked the weather forecast for both home and HV. Here at home, we were expecting a high near 58 with heavy rain, up to a half inch by day's end. Again, another rainy, soggy Wednesday. I checked the forecast at HV next. My stomach went to knots after seeing that they have revised their forecast for all of next week now showing highs above freezing and night time lows anywhere from 28-30. Barely snow making conditions. Oh boy!

About that same time I heard the intensity of the rain pick-up. It was literally beating against the skylights and roof much like on might expect in spring or summer. It continued through meditation, waking Mindy, and stretching. Good grief. Can a guy get a break? At 635am I stood at the front door fully dressed for my run but hesitant to dart out into the heavy downpour. I waited about three or four minutes to see if it would subside. It slowed, but not much. I headed out with a come what may attitude.

Lucky for me, the intensity of the rain slowed more and more as my run progressed. I didn’t get soaked but was definitely wet. More than anything, I was incredibly warm. Too warm, in fact. I wasn’t real sure of the current temp but it felt like the mid 50s. I think I had my PC temp indicator mistakenly set to Ellicottville. I was dressed in full winter garb including a thick toboggan and gloves. I removed the toboggan first and then later the gloves. That made a big difference, though the thick wicking shirt and fleece jacket were a bit much, too.

The rain was reduced to a spit by run’s end. I encountered Mindy out front of Kenny & Chrissy’s place on my return out walking Eiknarf. I suppose she realized that I got a late start. She was soon off to work while I tore into my eggs after stripping out of my wet attire.

The night before, I had made arrangements for Lindsey and the boys to come by at 815am so we could take her car in to Aarrow Radiator to have the alternator and door handle fixed. Would ask them to look at the transmission, too. I hurried through breakfast so I could get showered and dressed before their arrival. I had plenty of time, though I was a tad anxious since I needed to be in New Albany that morning too. I figured that I might not get there until 10am. Oh boy!

The rain soon  picked up again and was back to down pour conditions. Ready before Lindsey and the boys arrived, I sent myself another Xmas list that I hoped to fulfill at lunch. Lindsey and the boys were there at 807am. At first I told them we still had time, but just as they began removing their shoes I figured we might as well leave right then. Landon wanted to ride with me. Rocky chose to ride with his momma. Lindsey followed me to Aarrow which is located on the remote western edge of Hilliard off of Hayden Run Rd.

It poured throughout the entire drive. I could tell Lindsey was nervous sticking so close to my bumper. We arrived at Aarrow near 835am. I asked Lindsey and the boys to wait in my car while I took the keys in and talked to Dean. Before even leaving the house, I made Lindsey promise that she wouldn’t be calling Aarrow during the day hounding them about the car. Told her it would be her bill to resolve if she did. Said she wouldn’t and wondered why I would even broach the topic. Really? You do it every stinking time! J

Dean and I reviewed what needed addressed: the door handle, the alternator out of align, and the transmission codes. Said he’d call me later to let me know what it would take to get it fixed. Cool! Still raining, I took Lindsey and the boys back home, but not before Landon asked if he could go to my house. Told him I had to work. I dropped them at home near 9am. Before heading to New Albany, I made a brief pit stop at the house where I mistakenly left my laptop power cord and mouse. That would’ve been bad had I not realized it then. I was back on the road by 905am and decided to take I-670 east instead of the I-270 loop.

The decision to take 670 was a good one. Only a slight delay through downtown, but it cleared as quickly as it formed. I arrived at my destination far earlier than I anticipated. I’m pretty sure that I was in my office by 930am where I was quickly greeted by one of the managers asking for some help with an outage. No problem. Honestly, I wasn’t aware. We held our regularly scheduled 10am status call/meeting as planned.

I used the rest of my morning to run some new reports that I planned to send to a couple of the directors for their evaluation. That took me up till 1230pm or so, or when I planned to head out for some Xmas shopping. If all went well, I’d be making four stops. My first stop was Kohl’s where I picked up a gift for brother Tommy. Took some doing. Much larger crowd than I ever expected. Turned out, it was the same everywhere. Easton is a happening area at Xmas.

Next stop was Dick’s, a former Galyan’s, thus a larger version than we have in Hilliard and also much nicer. There I picked up some back-up ski gloves for myself as well as a couple more gifts for Tommy. I also picked up a gift card for Jimaken.  Aren’t I a great guy?

Next stop was Target for some stocking stuffers. I was in and out of there fast. Forgot to get playing cards. Crap! Not sure how my attention got diverted. One last stop, another simple gift for Mindy. It was nearing 2pm. Not bad. Made all four stops in about 75 minutes. I headed back to the office.

I still hadn’t heard from Aarrow regarding Lindsey’s car. So, come 330pm I decided to call them. Dave answered and shared that he was waiting to hear from Hyundai on the price of the parts necessary for the repairs and said he would call me back shortly. He called back not 10 minutes later. Covered the alternator first. Said the hole on the bracket holding the alternator to the block was stripped or somehow made oblong, which was forcing the alternator out of align with the other pulleys. Said it would be $600-700 to replace the bracket since he’d have to tear apart the entire front half of the engine block to replace it. Uh – no! Said he had it straight and tight but couldn’t guarantee it would hold. Would charge me $85 just for that.

To replace the door handle would be about $123. Said they read the P1529 code, which commonly suggests the transmission. Not performing poorly then. Asked how I wanted to proceed. He recommended we take it back to where ever it was replaced and have them fix it again. Shared that was in 2007 and when it was still under warranty. Opted to clear it. Certainly not spending another $2200 -$2600 for a new tranny. Said he'd most likely have it ready Thursday afternoon.

I had a lot of house keeping issues I needed/wanted to take care of in preparation for my Xmas vacation, including sending out notes to my clients advising them of my absence as well as my back-ups.  I got everything buttoned up by 510pm and then headed for home. I didn’t even consider taking 670. Instead, I took I-270 around.

Mindy and I talked during my drive. We still have a few Xmas gifts to get, but collectively we’ve made a big dent this week. Mindy was giddy for being officially on Xmas break until Jan 3^rd. The evening’s plans were sort of up in the air, but we knew we have the kids back home. Jimaken planned to drop Bella at gymnastics and then Jacob home. We had no dinner plans. I suggested Barleys. I was starving having eaten only cheese and fruit since breakfast. Mindy liked the sound of that. We also planned to drop the Imber’s gift by their house on the way.  She planned to call Jimaken to see if he would drop Jacob at Barley’s instead of home. That way, we could enjoy a relaxing dinner until it was time to pick-up Bella from gymnastics at 830-9pm.

Left for the Imber's and then Barley's soon after I arrived home. I'm thinking it was 605pm when we backed out the drive. I had the Imber's address this time, and we pulled up a house or two south of theirs. Mindy ran the gifts up and placed them on the porch then returned to the car and we pulled away. As soon as we were back on Grandview ave. she sent Bob & M.A. a text suggesting they check their porch for goodies.

Arrived at the Smoke House a few minutes later. It was packed to the walls. Chatted with some peeps sitting outside and then headed in to the bar. Mindy suggested we get a table since Jacob would be joining us soon. I picked the two seater closest to the bar, but didn't plan on sitting myself. I ordered a Double Dog IPA and then a St Joan's for Mindy. The Double Dog was delicious. Janet immediately asked if I'd be having another presumably so she could give me the happy hour pricing for both.

About 5 minutes later the twins, Kurt and Kevin showed up. We chatted for a bit. Not another 5 minutes passed before Jimaken showed with both kids. He was leaving Jacob with us but taking Bella on to gymnastics where we'd be picking her up afterwards.

Mindy called and talked with nephew Joe at length. We ordered food when she came back to the table. I ordered KC wings and fries. Jacob ordered tenders with buffalo sauce and then Gates of Hell on the side. Mindy ordered  a Barley burger.

About the same time that our food arrived, nephew Joe and his buddy, Tony showed up. As I understand it, Tony's a bar tender at Level. He seems like a great guy. We hung for a while. I heard Mindy invited both to stop by the house later. In the meantime, I had just finished my second Double Dog when Mindy asked if I would drive. Yes. I stopped drinking so she could enjoy herself a bit more, this being the beginning of her Xmas break. She ordered a Cousin Eddie this time. I was so proud of her. :)

As 815 neared, I reminded her that it was time to leave to get Bella. She asked if I would mind going after her while she remained there with Joe & Tony. No problem. Jacob went with me to fetch Bella. We arrived at DCW just ahead of 830pm. Bella was surprised, and I think a little disappointed that her momma didn't come. Said she promised she'd come get her.

We weren't home too long before Mindy, Joe & Tony arrived. By then I was nestled into the corner of the sofa and in my PJs tuned to the NatGeo channel watching Planet Earth. Tony shared right away that it was Sigourney Weaver narrating, and then how much he loves that program and those like it. Hmm? A man after my own heart. :)

Mindy cracked open a bottle of wine for two of them. Not sure if she partook but I'm guessing she did. I was content with ice water given that Thursday would be a work day. And besides, I was already getting nappy. It couldn't have been 30 more minutes before I was sound asleep. I remember waking hearing Joe and Tony leaving.

I'm thinking we headed to bed for good at 1010pm. It wasn't too late. Both Mindy and I expressed great pleasure in placing Eiknarf with Bella for the night. Good night Frankie!