Sinking Hibiscus

I didn’t feel that great when I rolled out of bed, no doubt a byproduct of the many beers I drank the night before. I didn’t have a headache but instead, just groggy. It was approaching 8am. I started some coffee then headed to the PC.

It was a gorgeous start to the day, sunny and in the low 50s. Expecting a high in the upper 70s. Yes! I enjoyed coffee and played on the internet then finally updated my blog for the past couple weeks. That took about an hour. I readied and left for a 3 mile run around 915am. It went well. I wore sun glasses to combat the bright sunshine.

Mindy was up when I got back. We walked the pug together. Mindy planned on grocery shopping, Lindsey was coming over, and we had dinner plans at her mom’s in celebration of brother Todd’s 42nd b-day. It was going to be another busy day.

Having completed most of my weekend to-do list on Saturday, I didn’t have much of a plan for anytime at home. Jacob had another soccer game, but this time only his dad was going. Jimaken came by to get him around 1230pm. After they left and Bella headed out to play, Mindy and I took a short nap before Lindsey and the grandchildren arrived. After waking from the nap I headed out to work on a few chores while Mindy showered.

The first thing I did was measure the dimensions of the composite wood between the master bedroom & living room window. 71.5” X 36.25”. Lindsey and the kids pulled up while I was up the ladder. She had Olivia with them too. Olivia once again apologized for her temper tantrum the week prior. But when I showed her the scratch mark still on my arm she excitedly called Landon over to show off her handy work.

I continued my work outside moving around to the west side of the house checking out the warped band board between the upper and lower floors of stucco. The 1”x7” rough sawn pine board is so warped that there’s a small gap allowing rain to get behind the board. I filled all the gaps with caulk more as a temporary measure to prevent moisture form ruining our walls. That took about 30 minutes.

Mindy left for the grocery store soon after I completed my chores. At roughly the same time, Bella and Makayla set up another Kool-aid stand out front. I had to remind the little ones to stay behind the stand and not run out into the road. I know, sounds obvious, but wee ones are wee ones.

To occupy the wee ones, Landon and Olivia, I took the two of them out back to the tree house and swing. We played out there for a long time, swinging, trying to catch a bullfrog, then playing hide and seek in the woods. The kids were hilarious. While seeing them on one occasion, I heard Olivia telling Landon that they were in Mexico.

Once the kids ran off away from me, I planted the extra hibiscus that I bought Saturday in the ground, my first such endeavor with a hibiscus plant. Next, spent some quiet time on the deck napping and reading. Once Mindy was home I headed in for a shower. It had to be about 330pm.

Lindsey planned to stick around to finish her laundry while we headed off to Gloria’s for dinner. We left the house at 420pm, but not before I clarified Lindsey’s auto insurance renewal preferences. She wants to switch to liability only.

Arrived at Gloria’s near 430pm. We were the fourth car to arrive. We parked in the driveway. Jacob headed directly around to the basketball court without stopping in to say hello. Mindy, Bella and I headed inside along with Eiknarf. After greeting everyone I headed out to play some basketball with Jacob. He and I played three games of HORSE. I won two of three. Jacob maintained a positive attitude even in losing.

Dinner was served near 530pm. As usual, there was more than enough food. The main course was lasagna – two kinds: vegetarian and meat. There were lots of sides, too. I ate too much, enough that I needed a nap after. : ) I headed down to the lower level along with nephew Joe to steal a few winks. I don’t think I fell asleep per se’, but I did rest and relax. I could over hear Mindy sharing Jacob’s recent poor sportsmanship issues with family.

I joined the others upstairs around 630pm. Not too long after, dessert was served. I’ve been around long enough to know that one of Todd’s favorites is lemon cheesecake. Sure enough, that’s what we had, that and a couple plates full of homemade brownies. I was a little taken back that Gloria didn’t make me a plate of fudge for my fast approaching colonoscopy.  I had a big piece of the lemon cheesecake and one small brownie. Ummm good!

We hung out until 715pm when we somewhat hurried departed for home. Mindy cited still many chores to complete in preparation for the new work week. We said our goodbyes then headed for home. We weren’t home long before I got changed into my PJs then snuggled up in the family room chair for more reading. I tuned to the History Channel 2 and let it whirl in the background. Can never get too much of that stuff.

I was tired all day long. A good night of sleep was critical. We all headed to bed early. By then rain had moved in bidding farewell to our lovely spring day. I didn’t mind, and actually love night time storms.