Hairs to a New Year

Not entirely sure what time it was when Mindy and I finally fell asleep but it had to be somewhere near 2am. Needless to say, an early rise wasn't in the cards. I woke a couple times after daybreak just to status my well being. I felt surprisingly good. I think it was 845am when I finally rolled out of bed and made my way downstairs.

I started coffee then went to the computer. For grins, I checked HV's website. It was near 40 degrees and raining. Lost quite a bit of their snowpack since Friday. Looks like we left at the ideal time. I checked MRMs website too, but I can't get to their live webcams due to the security settings on my PC. They were opened but with relatively few runs opened. Moreover, the day time high was expected to reach near 50 degrees with winds up to 50 mph.

I enjoyed coffee in the quiet for about an hour. Mindy joined me first somewhere near 10am. She wished me happy new year, had some coffee, then headed over to Chrissy’s to get her cell phone, which she left there after partying the night before. She walked over in her robe.  No sooner was she back home when she disappeared. I found her back in bed when I headed up to get my running clothes from the closet. I wasn’t surprised. She had quite a buzz going New Year’s Eve.

I headed out for a run near 1030am. Just before, I heard kid voices upstairs, but no one had yet come downstairs prior to my departure. It was New Year’s Day and also Sunday. To that end, I ran just three miles. My legs felt much fresher than Saturday, but still noticeably fatigued. The weather was cloudy and near 50 degrees last I checked. For the time being anyway, the winds were calm.

During the my run, the clouds started breaking up and the temperature started dropping. And by the last ½ mile or so, a few strong gusts of wind kicked up as well. I’m glad I finished when I did.

Right away I grabbed the Pilot keys and headed out to unload the Thule. I backed the Pilot to the lower (less steep) half of the drive. I opened the Thule towards the ever increasing winds. Had I given it more thought, I would’ve opened it from the other direction. I quickly unloaded the skis, poles, and Jacob’s board a little worried that a strong gust might rip the lid off. It went fine, though. I quickly closed and locked the Thule then carried the gear into the garage for stowing. We had Bella’s skis in with Jacob’s snowboard. I was surprised how quickly the edges of his began to rust, just two days. Of course we stowed them still covered in snow and wet leaving HV. I wiped his board and edges dry and left them out of the bag.

My skis were stowed in a light travel bag, too. And just like Jacob's board, my edges were starting to rust a little too. Mindy’s, however, were fine, the only pair not stowed in a bag. Note to self. While I was busy tending to the skies Kenny stepped into the garage startling me. He was returning the wine bag Mindy left at their place and was hoping to get his kids. He shared that he bought a Thule like ours last week. He headed inside to check on his kids while I kept on task. He didn’t stay long. Was back out a minute or two later. Said all the kids were up and having some of Mindy's homemade waffles. Wanted them to head home as soon as they were done.

Already near noon, I wondered where the morning had gone. I didn’t have a waffle of my own, but did finish Bella’s. Mindy had a pork roast already in the crock-pot, which would serve as dinner. Her mom and my dad would be joining us. She planned to pick-up her mom around 3pm.

We were also expecting niece Lindy to show around 3pm. She was coming over to cut mine and Jacob's hair. I took a shower about the time that the final day of the NFL regular season kicked off. The Vikings game wasn’t on, which was probably a good thing. I was more looking forward to the 415pm Bengals game. Win and their in the playoffs. The boys played Xbox in Jacob’s room for most of the afternoon, and did so quietly. For that Mindy & I were grateful.

Can’t recall what time Mindy headed out to get her mom, but I'm guessing it near 230pm. By then I was napping from the sofa. She wasn’t gone long. I’m thinking that she was back at home by 255pm. And niece Lindy was over soon after Mindy & Gloria arrived. She trimmed Jacob's hair first, really just fixing his bangs and then trimming his sideburns.

She brought the clippers for me, a #3 guard. She took her time and did a nice job, leaving more length than I typically do on top. I'll most likely have it cut the same way moving forward. It lays nicely from the the outset where typically I'd have to gel it up for two weeks. Thanks Lindy! I gave her $20. Though we invited her to stay for dinner, Lindy stuck around just a short while longer.

Dad showed up around 430pm. We weren’t planning to eat until 530pm. We sat in the family room watching football and chatting. Dad and Gloria talked about people they know in common from growing up in the bottoms. Dad brought up the annual Florentine’s gathering he recently attended. Turns out, Gloria knew many including some I know, too, like the Conrad’s.

Mindy had dinner ready a little earlier than 530pm. I’m thinking it was 515pm when we sat to eat. The pork and sauerkraut were really good. Hit the spot! Lindsey showed up from work about the time I was finishing clean-up. We sat some of the leftovers aside for her to enjoy. She wanted only some of the pork, and in a take-home container. I offered  that she could leave her laundry for me take care of through the evening and then on Monday.

And then, to help further, Mindy and I offered to watch the boys again on Monday after Lindsey shared that she had nobody else. The kids will be back in school and daycare beginning Tuesday. One of the downsides to the after school care being part of the school. Not open during the holidays. We’ve kept the boys everyday that we’ve been home over Xmas break, and it really hasn’t been a problem at all. They like being at our house, and Jacob & Bella have been asking to have them over.

Lindsey headed home with the boys around 6pm. The rest of us sat around the dinner table long after our meal talking and then sharing a plate of Xmas cookies. Dad left first, then a few minutes later Mindy ran her mother home.

By the time Mindy got back home it was much colder than it was earlier, still windy, and even snowing a bit. In fact, all of the sudden, it felt a lot like winter for the first time since the weekend before Xmas. The forecast was calling for a coupe really cold days Monday & Tuesday with highs in the mid 20’s. But it's supposed to warm up again, heading into the weekend. In fact, 50 degrees and sunny by Friday.

I poured myself a Jack & Coke and then tuned into the last game of the NFL regular season, the Cowboys versus the Giants. Winner would claim the final playoff spot, and the loser heading home. For my money, a fitting way to end the regular season. From the outset, the Giants looked strong and built a 21-0 lead. Mindy pealed off to bed even before halftime. Jacob and I stayed up.

Getting bored with the game, I figured I could be much more productive and ultimately headed to my PC to do some more writing. Jacob, howwever, stayed up watching the game. I was a little surprised when I joined Jacob again midway through the 4^th quarter and saw that the Cowboys were making game of it. It was 21-14. I watched the rest of the game with Jacob. The Cowboys lost. We both headed to bed after the game. I was surprised to find Bella still awake. I only asked that she not make a lot of noise.