Jamie gets an Oscar

I was up and at my routine by 540am. It was raining lightly but expected to clear very soon. I whipped out sit-ups and push-ups then enjoyed coffee at the PC for about 15 minutes. I saw that the Buckeyes won their game by nearly 20 points. The game didn’t even begin until 10pm. We didn’t watch any of it.

Happily, the weekend forecast was looking better and better. Supposed to be sunny and 75 on Saturday, and in the mid 70’s with a slight chance of thunder storms on Sunday. Unfortunately, I’d be on-call, so I couldn’t really plan much. This was supposed to be a Jimaken weekend but because he had NCAA tournament tickets we agreed to keep the kids Friday into midafternoon Saturday.

Mediation and stretching went well. Delivered Mindy’s coffee just after 620am. Didn’t head out for my run until 645am. Because of my late start, I curbed my run to just three miles. The adjustment afforded me about nine minutes, which allowed me to run and walk the dog before Mindy left for school. 

Bella had already taken her medicine before I got back from walking the dog. Took it with applesauce. Way easier. Mindy asked if I still planned to work from home. I clarified that that wasn’t the plan. Instead, I expected to leave work and arrive home by 2pm, or shortly after a noontime meeting.

Was done showering and ready to go by 800am. Like a couple other days that week, the sky was clearing in the west. It was shaping up to be a really nice day. The kids were on the bus near 810am. With the threat of thunder storms still in the immediate forecast, I planned to drive the Accord to work. I left home near 825am.

As usual, the office hallways were fairly dead on a Friday. I spent the first hour of the day tying up as many loose ends as I could for the issue I has been working for one of my customers the entire day prior. At 10am, I joined a customer service review meeting via conference call, the first such meeting with my newest customer. That meeting went fairly well and lasted until 1120am.

I had another call to join at 1130am. That went a tad longer than expected, ending near 1215pm. My plan all along was to take the afternoon off if at all possible to avoid any overtime. I ended up at the office until 130pm. I made a stop at Lowes on my way home to pick-up some project materials, including lawn fertilizer, toilet rebuild kit, and some plumbing supplies to replace the on/off valve feeding the deduct water meter. I must’ve been in Lowes for 45 minutes getting everything I needed. I was home by 230pm but was immediately beckoned by work. Good grief! I ended up working the entire day. So much for having an afternoon off.

The kids were off the bus near 4pm. Both gleefully shared that they had no homework. Mindy was home a short while later, but planned to go to the funeral home around 6pm to pay her respect to the school custodian’s father. We also made loose plans to head over to Pat & Lisa’s to see their new grand baby, Oscar. I knocked off work around 505pm. Felt good to put work down for a spell. I immediately headed outside to spread the fertilizer I bought earlier that afternoon.

 The kids were off playing with their friends and we didn’t see hide nor hair of them for several hours. The weather was fantastic. A great night for hanging around outdoors. Mindy left for the funeral home sometime before 6pm but wasn’t gone for that long. While she was out, I changed into shorts and did a little reading from the deck. I put Eiknarf on her lead out back so she could enjoy some of the lovely weather too. 

I’m guessing that it was near 645pm when Mindy and I walked over to the neighbors. The kids were still of playing with their friends and didn’t want to join us. I took tow beers. Mindy took a glass of wine. Pat’s folks, Hal & Dotty, I believe, were in town visiting from Arizona. Haven’t seen them for a few years. Also there was Pat’s ex-sister-in-law, Diane along with her daughter. Of course, Jamie was there with Oscar. This was our first such opportunity to see the new grand baby now about two weeks old.

Got to talking with Pat’s father. He’s quite the conversationalist. We ended up talking all evening long. Now I know where Pat gets it. J Pat was busy prepping dinner through most of our visit. He invited us to stay. How could we say no? Pat’s always been one heck of a cook. On the menu was a chicken pasta dish and garden salad. It was really good.

Pat’s father dominated the conversation during and after dinner, sharing his viewpoint on what’s been wrong with our country ever since the end of World War II. He’s a very knowledgeable man with strong convictions and opinions. Again, now I know where Pat gets it. Mindy walked home to get another glass of wine and also another beer for me. We ended up visiting with Pat’s family until about 10pm. Good times!

Mindy called down to the neighbors (Mike & Teri’s) once we were home and asked that they send our kids home. They were down there watching a movie, Orca. The kids were home within five minutes. I enjoyed another beer before heading off to bed.