Spiders from Mars

I slept much later than I wanted, not waking until almost 6am. When I finally woke, I was extremely groggy. And the last hour or so was very dreamy. I am sure there’s a correlation. I had to prep coffee again having failed to do so the evening before. I was very happy to see clear skies and a crescent moon in the eastern sky. It was supposed to be the perfect mid May day – clear skies and 75 degrees.

Quickly I completed sit-ups and curls. I had to wait a minute or two for the coffee to complete its brewing cycle. I played around on the PC until 620am when I headed for the family room for a quick meditation. I didn’t stretch until after I woke Mindy.

Mindy wasn’t feeling well, up multiple times through the night. I asked if she was still going to school. Yep. I turned off the ceiling fan as I exited the room. Downstairs I stretched then headed off on my run. By the time I headed out the door it was pushing 645am.

As I said earlier, it was gorgeous, about 57 degrees and clear at run time. I ran the full 4.1 miles easily, though my right hammie has been bothering me a little ever since I painted the trim on the front of the house. My guess is that spending an entire day on a ladder aggravated it. Finished the run and was back at home near 720am. I waited patiently for he pug at the foot of the stairs. She came down quickly and we headed out the door.

We walked across the street to take care of business dodging all the goose crap on the drive and sidewalk in front of our house. The Canada geese have been spending a lot of time out front this spring. Have I mentioned how much I dislike them? There are at least three different families: one with only 2 goslings, another with 4 or 5, and yet another with 10. And there are times when all three families are grazing on our lawn – front or back. As you might guess, they make one hell of a mess.

I never let them rest peacefully, however. I run at them growling until they either fly off or run back into the water. I hiss at them just like they hiss at me. Eiknarf loves to eat their poop. It’s really gross.

Mindy made cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast. She was ready to head out the door as soon as Eiknarf and I were back inside. Jacob was staying home from school ill. On her way out the door Mindy mentioned that she might call her mom and ask her to come over to keep an eye on Jacob. He’s 12. I saw no reason to do that.

While I enjoyed eggs, Bella ate only a few handfuls of Krave. The cantaloupe that Mindy cut up on Sunday was already bad. It’s hard to get good tasting cantaloupe these days. Not sure why they’re bad so often. They taste like they might be fermenting and have acetone/turpentine overtones. Bluck!!

Before heading up to the shower I headed to the garage where I measured the exact lengths of the cedar lap siding pieces I bought the day before at Carter Lumber. As I suspected, two of the 7 were cut slightly less than 6’ in length. The width of the area in question is 71.5”. One of the two short pieces was right at 71.5”. A little frustrated, I decided to put the aluminum extension ladder against the front of the house and see how the smallest piece would fit. Of course I had to finagle the ladder in behind the giant boxwood shrubs first. Turns out, the piece is about an 1/8” short of touching each trim board. I thought about taking it back but if I split the difference (1/16” each side) caulk will fill the void easily. I quickly put everything away and headed in for a shower, still a little peeved at the goober from Carter Lumber he cut the lengths of siding so fast, I figured he didn’t measure properly.

By the time I showered and was back downstairs it was already time to head out for the bus. I hurried along right behind Bella meeting her there with the pug in tow. Chrissy was there with her girls. Shared that Pobena is graduating dental school in Boston this coming Friday. Hard to believe it’s been two years already. She’ll be moving to Sacramento with husband Kapil and daughter Isha the following week.

The bus was late. Mrs. Vanorder cited heavy traffic as the cause. No worries. Headed home for some last minute prep. Left for the office around 825am. I already knew I had a crazy day ahead chalked full of meetings, with only an hour or two to get things done. After all, had my schedule been freer, I would’ve worked from home to keep an eye on Jacob.

With a the few minutes I had to spare between morning meetings I watched a 2 minute You Tube video on installing cedar siding. Pretty simple, really, but I’m glad I watched it. There were two ah-ha’s: one, ripping a piece as wide as the overlap to place under the starter course, and then two, nailing just above the overlap. I’d like to wrap up the repair this weekend.

Meeting after meeting. That was the crux of my day. Added to the numerous meetings, I failed to pack my lunch. Lucky for me, I had a banana and about a little Gatorade in my office. I ate and drank that. I was hungry but too busy to worry much about it. I plowed straight through the day.

Tried calling Jacob mid afternoon by way of our spare cell phone. No answer. I was surprised when it went to VM and it was a message from Ashley to leave a message. Not sure how that came about. Tried calling Mindy soon after but went to VM too. She called me back on my desk phone soon after. She was on her way home from school. Said she talked with Jacob multiple times throughout the day. Was still in bed and sick, but otherwise fine. She asked if I still wanted to go out for date night. I suggested Barley’s.

My last meeting was over around 445pm. I tied up a few loose ends then headed for home, one of the few times I’ve been able to leave at 5pm for home in recent weeks. Didn’t bother calling Mindy since we spoke around 4pm. Traffic was a mess on 270 south, a crawl from my entrance to my exit. There was a 3 or 4 car wreck that required the fire department in the southbound fast lane. Once we were by that the last ½ mile was smooth sailing. Arrived home around 525pm.

Bella greeted me immediately in the door. Frankly, I was surprised that she was still there since it was a Jimaken night. Mindy shared that Jimaken was caught in horrible traffic as well, only he was coming from downtown. Apparently they had 70W closed for a time. The plans for Jimaken night had changed. Said by the time he arrived it would make little sense to take the kids. Instead, he would hang out at our house for a while. Just wasn’t sure what time he’d be by. I suggested that we take Bella and run to dinner. Jacob was still sick and in bed. He wouldn’t be doing anything anyway.

For the first time ever, Bella espoused displeasure with our diabolical plan. Said she felt cheated out of ‘daddy time’. What? Are you not the same kid that pleads not to go on daddy weekends? Mindy eventually trumped Bella’s expressed displeasure, sharing that we’d be going to dinner anyway. To Mindy’s point, Bella was just in a bad mood.

Jimaken pulled up just before we were about to depart. It was near 550pm. He came inside and eventually headed upstairs to see Jacob. Said he wouldn’t be staying too long. Even though Jacob was ill, Mindy figured to bring him home some food anyhow. We left for Barley’s a few minutes later.

It was a rather easy drive, though the opposing traffic on Riverside Dr heading north was extremely heavy, no doubt fallout to the 70W debacle, whatever its cause. Barley’s lot was fairly full for a Wednesday, but we had no trouble finding a spot. Bella was still being a crab as we made our way inside. Mindy selected a small barside table where I pulled up a 3rd chair. But after sitting most of the day, it felt good to stand.

April came from behind the bar to wait our table. I ordered Mindy an Epic IPA and a Hoptopus for me. Bella ordered a Dr Pepper. Mindy asked for a basket of fries too. It’s a standard whenever we have the kids in tow. The Hoptopus was yummy. April shared that Calvin was in but had just left. Said he’s looking lots better – healthier. That’s good news!

We soon ordered food. Bella ordered buffalo wings and more fries, Mindy ordered a quesadilla that she planned to share with Jacob at home, and I ordered a Cuban with bacon. Our food was out after about ten minutes. By then Bella was in a far better place – a pleasure even. We let her bring her Kindle which kept her busy the entire time. She integrated us into a thumb print analyzer app. Of course Mindy did hers repeatedly after it said she was grumpy.  She kept doing it until it gave a more favorable response. I guessed it either completely random or based on temp. Regardless, it kept Bella entertained and happy, which after all is the point.

I ordered a 2nd Hoptopus but shared it with Mindy. Like often happens when we’re there with kids, Bella rushed me through it. She was anxious to hurry home and play with Makayla. Not one of us ate more than half of our food order. Mindy and I polished off the 2nd Hoptopus and then boxed up all of our leftovers and headed for home around 720pm. Mindy picked up the tab.

Bella didn’t even go in the house. Instead, she grabbed her bike and rode off to Makayla’s, but not before spotting perhaps the biggest spider we've seen at our home in some time. Just happened to have my camera in my pocket and snapped a photo from its good side.  I pulled the garbage can to the curb in prep for Wednesday morning’s trash day. Inside we were greeted by another Eiknarf present. Once again she was in the trash. Apparently Mindy left the can out from under the sink again. Angry, I shewed Eiknarf into her pen. At least the mess was easier to clean-up than Sunday’s. I took the bag to the can already at the curb once it was picked up. I asked Mindy not to tempt fate. We left Eiknarf in her pen.

I was tired but resisted the urge to lounge and instead headed out to water the flowers. I knew once I got out there that I would be happy I did. Watering was very relaxing and rewarding. Always calms me. Spent about 30 minutes front & back. Chased the gaggle of geese away a few times too. Eventually went for my bb gun. Always works but only temporarily.

Headed in around 815pm and changed into my PJs. We watched American Pickers and Pawn Stars, though after Mindy and the kids headed to bed I turned the volume down and did some reading. I let Eiknarf out of her pen around 9pm. Bella came back downstairs to snuggle and pack her Wednesday school snack after a shower. I stayed up until 1030p. Guided Eiknarf up to Bella’s room. Good night moon!