Sounds & Sights of the Season

I woke after hearing Mindy in the shower presumably using her sinus rinse. Holy smoke! Sounded like a leaf  blower. I covered my head with a pillow so I could try and go back to sleep. It worked well enough that I slept for another 20 minutes or so. I’m thinking it was near 715am when I got up for good and headed downstairs for exercise and coffee. By then, Mindy already had the kids up and getting ready for school. She left for work just as I was starting sit-ups. She asked that I give her a call if I wouldn’t be able to get the kids off the bus come 4pm. I didn’t see it being an issue.

After push-ups, I played around on the computer while drinking coffee until it was time for us to head to the bus stop. 810am came quickly. The kids were stoked, this being their last day of school until January 2^nd.  Met Chrissy and both girls there. Chrissy asked if it was pajama day at work. Nope – day off!

Bus arrived on time. Soon, Eiknarf and I headed back home. Even though this was my on-call comp day, I still agreed to join a 10am conference call that I expected to run for about an hour. I planned to get my run in beforehand.  To that end, I enjoyed another cup of coffee but then headed out for my run around 845am. It was near 30 degrees, so I wore regular winter attire, including a hat and gloves. I ran just three miles like I do on many days off.

Back home near 915am, I enjoyed more coffee and internet ahead of the 10am meeting/call. I had my work laptop up and running since I’d be on-call over the weekend. I wanted to be aware of any bombs ahead of time. The call commenced on time and lasted for 65 minutes. It was a good, productive call. Glad I joined, although I was getting a little antsy wanting to get on with my day’s personal agenda.

I spent the next two hours working on Xmas gifts, both putting them together and then the dreaded wrapping. I planned to do a little more Xmas shopping too, so after some lunch I headed up for a shower. By then it was near 130pm. The day was flying by. Set out for Target, Dick’s, and Kohl’s near 2pm.

Visited the west Hilliard Target first. There, I picked up a few gift bags, but that’s it. I popped in Kirkland’s too but nothing caught my eye. Next, I crossed the street and made a quick stop in Kohls where I bought myself a pair of wicking long johns, some over the calf running socks, and a new wallet. Geesh, I wouldn’t want to leave the impression that the stop was all about me. I bought a Xmas present too.

Put my Kohls purchases in the car then walked to Dick’s right next door. There I bought myself a new winter weight wicking shirt and ski socks using a gift card I received last Xmas. I had to chip in some of my own money too, but got a good deal on the shirt (20% off).

It was 330pm in a hurry. I needed to get home if I was to intercept the kids. Saw that I had two missed calls on my blackberry. Seems I’m never really off work. I listened to the VMs before driving off. Arrived home a few minutes later where I quickly stashed all my purchases then played at the PC until the kids arrived home from school, which was right at 4pm as expected.

Jacob headed out to play with a bunch of school friends right away. Bella was in her room. Someone knocked at our door around 430pm. It was a neighbor kids mother, whom I hadn’t previously met. She said she was curious to meet the parents of the boy her kid likes to play with. Can’t recall her name. The dad sat in the minivan in the driveway. Their kid whizzed off on his bike just ahead of them pulling away.

Mindy called around 445pm to let me know that she was on her way to get the boys after finishing up her own Xmas shopping errands. It must’ve been about 510pm when she and the boys got home. By then, I already had two work issues to contend with right out of the shoot. Lucky for me, both seemed to be heading the right direction. Mindy asked if I would be interested in doing Barley’s for dinner with all four kids. I resisted at first but ultimately gave her the thumbs up.

Thinking it was near 630pm when we loaded everyone into the Pilot and headed for Barleys. Mindy put our name in for a booth/table. I walked to the bar to say hello to a number of peeps. The place was as packed as it’s been all year, and likely due to Mark Pansing’s presence, who is town from Arizona visiting family. I ordered a Brew Kettle Xmas ale. It was OK, but not much different than anybody else’s.

Mindy got a booth within eye shot of the bar. She got the kids drinks and fries and then milled around visiting with friends. After chatting briefly with Mark I joined Mindy and the kids at the booth, although I chose to stand rather than sit for most of the evening.  Mindy was pleased to see that they had St Joan’s on tap. She ordered one of those.

Bob I. showed up after we’d been there 30 minutes or so. Mary Ann was working. Talked with Lenny, the owner, briefly. He engaged the kids in conversation asking them what their favorite Barley food was. Jacob and Bella shared their faves openly. Jacob shared that he prefers buffalo sauce but with Gates on the side. Lenny shared that he likes to do the same only with Texas and Gates.

My second beer was their newest porter. It was just OK. Meanwhile, Mindy made a new friend, a younger girl and her boy friend. The girl went to school with nephew Joe. Mindy spent a lot of time talking at their table. As he often does, Darwin showed up just before we needed to head out. However, we did stay long enough for me to enjoy a third beer, a Double Dog IPA. Bob, Darwin, Mindy & I discussed the pros and cons of heading to MRM on Saturday. They were still planning to open even though their webcam showed as much bare grass as snow cover. Sadly, it didn’t look like we’d get any runs in before our holiday trip. I considered that a bad thing, especially for Jacob since he hasn’t tried his new snow board yet.

Thinking it was 9-930pm when we left for home. Mindy drove. We dropped the boys at home first. Lindsey met us in the parking lot. Mindy must’ve texted ahead. The boys had a good time.

Everybody wanted to visit with the neighbors, so after only five minutes in the house we walked down to Kenny & Chrissy’s with the dog. She was very excited to see Woody. Terri was there with her kids too, and they already had the music cranking. We blended in quickly. Talked about the island Xmas party and when we’d do it. To my recollection, we never did get a definitive plan in place. Per the usual, everybody’s got this or that going on leading up to Xmas day.

Kenny & Chrissy shared that Lindsey stopped by after work to get the boys and was freaking out that we weren’t home. She was also freaking out about her car, and the loud squealing noise it was making. Kenny said he looked at her car best he could in the dark. It was coming from her alternator. Said it was loose so he tightened the best he could but said it appeared to be out of line with the main pulleys. Hmm? I was a tad confused because I thought Mindy called Lindsey and told her we were taking the boys to dinner with us. But apparently Mindy only sent a text, but to the wrong number. Oops! She didn’t mention word of it when we dropped the boys.

It wasn’t long before Mindy was dancing on the counter tops. Oh boy! We hung with the neighbors until 11pm. Had a good time. Headed home and to bed.