Up a Wall

I was up and out of bed somewhere near 730am. It wasn’t a very pretty morning with thin cloud cover and wet streets and walks. It obviously had rained overnight but had stopped at least for the time being. I started coffee then checked in with work. Nothing pressing at the time.

I enjoyed coffee from my PC for the next couple hours, most of the time alone and in complete silence. Paul Postle, the backflow inspector came by earlier than expected. I didn’t yet have the paperwork ready and at the door. But once I heard him out there I quickly gathered up the necessary form and hung it from the storm door in a large Ziploc baggie. He wasn’t there but five minutes. I went ahead and wrote out a check paying him right then. No since in having him waste money and time billing me.

Mindy was up a short while later, and I’m guessing between 9-930am while the kids slept in. Jacob was up before Bella and Makayla. I’m thinking it was near 10am when I finally headed out for my run. By then, it was drizzling light rain and was rather cool, somewhere in the low 40s. Wasn’t expected to get very warm, only the low 50s. Like most Saturday’s, I ran just three miles.

As soon as I finished my run I headed out back to hang the tire swing using the new S hook I bought on Friday. It worked fine. After hooking it over the swivel mounted to the tree branch, I tried unsuccessfully to close it with a pair of channel locks. It should be fine as it is.

Inside, Mindy was busy finishing up our laundry as we were expecting Lindsey over around 1pm to do her laundry. Oh boy! Jacob readied for his soccer game. His dad was coming by to get him around noon. It was raining lightly but steadily and expected to continue through the afternoon. I let Jim borrow my umbrella before the left.

I spent the early afternoon throwing my March photos on my web album then watched a couple YouTube videos, one on how to paint a stucco exterior and then on how to remove/replace broken ceramic floor tiles. YouTube is an excellent ‘how to’ source for such things. Lindsey and the boys showed up right on queue. It’s sad, but she has zero charm. Instead of a hello, how’s it going, she barges in hollering for and at the boys. And so it begins.

In mood for interaction, I kept my distance. I could hear her reviewing her finances with Mindy. Sounds like she’ll be hundreds short of meeting her monthly bills this month. This is the slippery slope I warned her about when she used her first paycheck of the month to catch up on last month’s deficiencies. It’s always somebody else’s problem.

Mindy was heading to the grocery while I stayed home with Bella and Makayla, and as it turns out, with Lindsey and the boys too. I kept to myself at my PC while Lindsey hung with the kids in the kitchen. Can’t recall who got home first, Jacob from his soccer game or Mindy from the grocery. The plan all along called for Mindy and I to head to Giant Eagle after steaks and beer after unloading the weekly groceries. Lindsey was still working on her laundry and it sounded like she planned to stay for dinner. When she asked Mindy if she would pick her up a few things like bread, peanut butter, and then boneless chicken breasts I gave her an earful. I am in no mood to give charity to someone who spends $20 a week on cigarettes then cries too poor to by food.

Before leaving, Mindy asked Lindsey to snap the tails off the fresh green beans she bought at Kroger. Mindy knew I wasn’t in a pleasant mood. Being around Lindsey makes me that way. I just don’t gel with her personality type. No where is it written that a parent needs to like their offspring. As we set out for the Giant Eagle Market District Mindy did her best to calm me. Not only was I frustrated with Lindsey, but also a recent escalation request from work. Between the two, I wasn’t in a pleasant mood. We wound our way through Arlington north on Tremont to Market District. It was crowded. We had to park pretty far out in the lot.

Mindy sent me after the steaks while she picked up a couple things she forgot at Kroger and then a couple things for Lindsey. The plan was to get more of their prime beef. It’s expensive but for our money, worth it. Instead of the filets, I opted for two large Delmonico steaks. Between the two, they were almost $50. Yikes! Mindy met me there. Before heading to the beer and wine department, we headed over to the cheese department where I bought a wedge of aged French gouda. It was on sale for $9.99 lb as opposed to the regular price of $20 lb.

In the beer & wine department I had my eye out for any new IPAs. I saw a Sam Adams variety pack of six different IPAs. I thought about it, but opted not. Instead, I went for a six-pack of White Rajah while Mindy bought herself a bottle of wine. She dropped a cool $108 with seemingly little in our small cart. We headed for the Pilot with Mindy giving me grief for sporting a bad attitude.

On the drive home, Mindy said she wanted to grill right away. I understood her eagerness, but needed to follow-up on that work issue first. I spent about 30 minutes escalating that then joined Mindy in the kitchen. It must’ve been about 530pm. At the same time Lindsey was just finishing up her laundry. I headed out to the grill with the steaks only to find the propane tank empty. Oops! I was wondering how long it would last. We’d have to broil the steaks inside. Mindy wasn’t too pleased and shared that we need to buy a 2nd propane tank. I agreed.

She had tater tots baking in the oven for the kids. We let those finish before switching over to the broil mode. It didn’t take long. While the steaks cooked I stayed on top of a work issue. Some of the kids and Lindsey wanted chicken. Mindy cooked that in the grill pan on the stove top. Dinner was ready just after 6pm. The steak was good, but not the discernable quality difference detectable with the filet mignon.

Lindsey and the boys left for home soon after dinner. Jacob, meanwhile, was hosting three of his friends for a birthday sleepover. They were expected to arrived around 7pm. We were still in kitchen clean-up mode when the first arrived. In fact, all three showed up in all of about ten minutes. Jacob asked if neighbor Evan could stay the night too, but Mindy pooh-poohed that idea sharing that it’s a bad idea to mix age groups like that. She’s right. Evan’s about 4 years younger than Jacob and his classmates. One of the boys brought his airsoft rifle. And all four of the boys headed out back to play well into the evening hours. And while there were only three spending the night, eleven more were expected to show up Sunday afternoon for his actual party. At the time, my plan was to head into the office to join Sunday’s planned all-day conference call, so dealing with 14 preteen boys wasn’t in my cards, or so I thought.

Jacob and his friend were little to no trouble. They spent most of their time in his room playing video games or watching a movie. Mindy popped the boys three bags of popcorn to go along with the movie. And while they enjoyed the movie and popcorn, Mindy, Makayla, Bella and I hung out downstairs where I cracked one of my new White Rajah’s. What a difference fresh makes. It was far tastier than the ones I still have left from Valentine’s Day.

Since I needed to be up around 6am, we headed to bed around 10pm. I did a little reading from bed as did Mindy & Bella. After reading a chapter or two with Bella, Mindy dispatched her to her own room I’m guessing near 1030pm.