I was up at 630am quietly slipping into the bathroom with my backpack that held my over night kit along with running clothes. I let Mindy know I was heading off on a run and locked the room door behind me. I noticed a complimentary breakfast buffet as I exited the hotel. Awesome! I planned to take advantage of that later. I stretched just outside the hotel lobby. I ran through a small neighborhood which was bounded by a Wal-Mart. I ran a couple loops probably logging about 3 miles in total. I was gone for about 30 minutes.
In the lobby I prepped two cups of coffee and woofed down some then returned to the room. Mindy asked that I draw the shades closed so to block the rising sun from waking the kids. After savoring my coffee I headed for a shower. By the time I was out, Mindy was ready to get up. I turned on the TV. The news was all about the storms that slammed an area from Indiana to the Virginia coast on Friday night. The kids were up by the time Mindy was out of the shower. Before we knew about the breakfast buffet, we talked about having breakfast at the IHOP next door to the hotel. Mindy gave the kids the option, eat from the buffet and be on the road sooner, or eat at IHOP. Mixed responses. Go figure. She chose for them – the breakfast buffet.
The buffet was better than expected: fresh pancakes, sausage patties, fluffy scrambled eggs, muffins, juice, etc. We were done eating and ready to hit the road by 9am. It was a warm sunny morning and everybody was in far better spirits than they were the night before during the harrowing storms. We weren’t exactly sure where we were, but knew it was somewhere close to Richmond VA. Turns out, we were in Oliville, VA. According to the GPS we were about 205 miles (3 hours and 31 minutes) from our destination.
As we neared the coast of Virginia along I-64east traffic was tight, but it loosened up a little once we lost those headed to VA Beach. We crossed over a couple large bays before entering N.C. Mindy pointed out the Outer Banks far across the sound. Soon we were within 60 miles of our destination. Unfortunately, the last 50-60 miles took 3 hours or better to navigate due to heavy traffic. Originally figuring to get there between 1230-1pm, we didn’t’ actually get there until sometime near 3pm. Crossing over the sound and then heading north on route 12 in the Outer Banks was a snails crawl for miles and miles.
As we passed through Duck a case of the sleepies had befallen me. Mindy graciously offered to drive the last few miles and let me take a quick nap. I slept for no more than 5-10 minutes but it did me a world of good. We remained in communication with the McVey’s all day. Because it took us so long to make it to Corolla, they went ahead and checked out of their temporary digs and were headed to the house. We planned to simply met them there. And actually, we were at the house ahead of them.
We opted to back track to the liquor store and donut shop we passed a mile or tow back up the road. I headed on for liquor (rum and vodka) while Mindy and the kids went to Duck donuts. We met the McVey’s at Brigadune house near 330p. Connie was off to the rental office to get the door keys while the rest of us waited. The kids were already in the pool. Connie was back from checking in near 4pm. By then we had already unloaded the SUVs but with our gear in piles near the home’s entrance. Excitedly, we toured the house then began the arduous task of carrying everything in. Mindy & Connie worked out the sleeping arrangements for everyone. Mindy & I were given the lone bedroom on the 2nd floor just off the kitchen. In all, it’s a three story home with four bedrooms and a large loft.
Dinner plan were coordinated. We’d be having homemade pizza with Bobilli crust. Mindy and Connie took a run to the grocery while Darwin and I put the rest of the food away, started pizzas and cracked open a growler of Centennial. The girls were gone for about an hour. We made 6 pizzas: three pepperoni, one cheese, two pepperoni, sausage, red onion, and mushroom. It turned out that 6 pizzas was a bit too much. We had about 2.5 leftover. Better too much than not enough.
After dinner we went for a walk on the beach with flashlights. All the kids were excited. After Mindy broke out the glow sticks. Scattering everywhere were sand crabs. It was fun. We stayed up no later than about 1030pm. Mindy & I both wanted/needed a good night’s sleep.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Summer Vacation - a Stormy Start
Like most work days. I was up well before 6am. I felt fine and completed a full complement of exercises, including a meditation and a stretch all before 630am when I dressed and left for a run. It was a steamy 81 degrees at 530am, perhaps the first time it didn’t fall below 80 degrees during the overnight in CMH in well over a decade. Despite the warm and muggy conditions I set out on my run wearing a sleeveless running shirt and shorts. The humidity was about equal to the temperature.
The run wasn’t too bad at all, but I was happy to have it in the bag. Once back at home I got logged on and busy with work. My plan all along was to start my work early so I could end it early in order to get on the road to the Outer Banks around 3pm.
Mindy was up somewhere near 730am. Glenn and the kids, however, weren’t up until after 10am. Dad stopped over near 1030am. By then it was already 90+ degrees. I wanted to water all the plants but also wanted to allow Glenn to see my technique so he could model it somewhat closely during my absence.
We did the watering things around 11am. Dad watched on as well. With Glenn figuring to make a mid week run to my mom’s place, my dad agreed to pickup the watering responsibilities. Meanwhile, the geese were as persistent as ever. I must’ve ran them out of the yard four or five times in total.
The day moved fast with me balancing the demands of working from home along with any last minute packing. Shelly dropped Kaileigh off sometime after 12noon. She stayed about 15-20 minutes. She had Sienna and Trip with her too. She gave us $40 for Kaileigh to use as spending money.
We started loading the Pilot near 130pm. Went a lot faster than I expected. It was ridiculously hot and steamy, though. I was soaked head to toe. As usual, I was nervous and a little testy during the entire process. ON my mind was the extreme heat and the impact it would have on our landscape in my absence. Add to that all the goose damage and it was a recipe for disaster. I also got a IM from my boss asking me to join a last minute conference call at 330pm. I was frustrated because that conflicted with our departure plans. I agreed to join but from the road via blackberry.
The car fully loaded by 230pm, we opted to depart a little early pulling away from the house near 250pm. Glenn snapped pictures as we pulled away. Felt good to get on the road. I drove until we were just west of the Lancaster bypass where Mindy and I did a Chinese fire drill so I could join the conference call.
The call lasted about 45 minutes with my blackberry dropping the call on three different occasions as we wound our way down 33 toward Athens. Once the call ended I felt like I was finally on vacation. About an hour later, or near 530pm I set my vacation out of office. Ahh! That felt terrific! Outer Banks here we come!
It was nice riding shot gun. Mindy drove for about three hours leaving me to relax a little. We stopped in Beckley WV to pee but quickly hit the road. Instead of stopping for fast food Mindy brought subs she picked up at Wal-Mart (Italian and roast beef). They were really good. Somewhere into WV we got a text from neighbor Teri asking if we were OK after a wicked storm passed through the island (home). We learned that near 5pm a storm rolled through with 80 mph winds, heavy rain and hail. I worried about my car, house, and yard. We tried unsuccessfully to reach Glenn to get an status on our home. We eventually called brother Bobby who was going to the Clipper game with Glenn and dad. He said our deck table blew over in the initial gust but wasn’t damaged.
About 300 miles into our drive (mid-Virginia) and near 8345pm the same storm that blew through Ohio caught up to us. The gusty winds were so strong that they tossed the Pilot back and forth as we rolled down the highway. Soon there was debris and dust blowing everywhere. Bella was over the top with worry which eventually turned to tears. As darkness set in in only got worse. Still no rain though. In Virginia, trees hug and line the highway both sides. Soon we had tree debris along with an occasional tree branch in the road. Suddenly, just in front of a branch came down causing the traffic in the fast lane to swerve into the slow lane. Two cars spun wildly off the road just three or four car lengths on front us. Scared all of us. We pulled over to make sure those in the cars were OK. Mindy got out and walked back to confirm they were OK. They were.
Our objective from that point forward was to get to a hotel. Unfortunately, though, we were still about 100 miles from Richmond, Virginia. The tension was high. Everybody was on pins and needles. The heavy rains came during the last hour. We stopped at two hotels, both of which were without power. Damn! We stopped at a third, a Hampton Inn, but it was full. Lucky for us, there was a Holiday Inn Express right next door. Finally, just before midnight we had a room. We quickly crawled into bed and went to sleep.
The run wasn’t too bad at all, but I was happy to have it in the bag. Once back at home I got logged on and busy with work. My plan all along was to start my work early so I could end it early in order to get on the road to the Outer Banks around 3pm.
Mindy was up somewhere near 730am. Glenn and the kids, however, weren’t up until after 10am. Dad stopped over near 1030am. By then it was already 90+ degrees. I wanted to water all the plants but also wanted to allow Glenn to see my technique so he could model it somewhat closely during my absence.
We did the watering things around 11am. Dad watched on as well. With Glenn figuring to make a mid week run to my mom’s place, my dad agreed to pickup the watering responsibilities. Meanwhile, the geese were as persistent as ever. I must’ve ran them out of the yard four or five times in total.
The day moved fast with me balancing the demands of working from home along with any last minute packing. Shelly dropped Kaileigh off sometime after 12noon. She stayed about 15-20 minutes. She had Sienna and Trip with her too. She gave us $40 for Kaileigh to use as spending money.
We started loading the Pilot near 130pm. Went a lot faster than I expected. It was ridiculously hot and steamy, though. I was soaked head to toe. As usual, I was nervous and a little testy during the entire process. ON my mind was the extreme heat and the impact it would have on our landscape in my absence. Add to that all the goose damage and it was a recipe for disaster. I also got a IM from my boss asking me to join a last minute conference call at 330pm. I was frustrated because that conflicted with our departure plans. I agreed to join but from the road via blackberry.
The car fully loaded by 230pm, we opted to depart a little early pulling away from the house near 250pm. Glenn snapped pictures as we pulled away. Felt good to get on the road. I drove until we were just west of the Lancaster bypass where Mindy and I did a Chinese fire drill so I could join the conference call.
The call lasted about 45 minutes with my blackberry dropping the call on three different occasions as we wound our way down 33 toward Athens. Once the call ended I felt like I was finally on vacation. About an hour later, or near 530pm I set my vacation out of office. Ahh! That felt terrific! Outer Banks here we come!
It was nice riding shot gun. Mindy drove for about three hours leaving me to relax a little. We stopped in Beckley WV to pee but quickly hit the road. Instead of stopping for fast food Mindy brought subs she picked up at Wal-Mart (Italian and roast beef). They were really good. Somewhere into WV we got a text from neighbor Teri asking if we were OK after a wicked storm passed through the island (home). We learned that near 5pm a storm rolled through with 80 mph winds, heavy rain and hail. I worried about my car, house, and yard. We tried unsuccessfully to reach Glenn to get an status on our home. We eventually called brother Bobby who was going to the Clipper game with Glenn and dad. He said our deck table blew over in the initial gust but wasn’t damaged.
About 300 miles into our drive (mid-Virginia) and near 8345pm the same storm that blew through Ohio caught up to us. The gusty winds were so strong that they tossed the Pilot back and forth as we rolled down the highway. Soon there was debris and dust blowing everywhere. Bella was over the top with worry which eventually turned to tears. As darkness set in in only got worse. Still no rain though. In Virginia, trees hug and line the highway both sides. Soon we had tree debris along with an occasional tree branch in the road. Suddenly, just in front of a branch came down causing the traffic in the fast lane to swerve into the slow lane. Two cars spun wildly off the road just three or four car lengths on front us. Scared all of us. We pulled over to make sure those in the cars were OK. Mindy got out and walked back to confirm they were OK. They were.
Our objective from that point forward was to get to a hotel. Unfortunately, though, we were still about 100 miles from Richmond, Virginia. The tension was high. Everybody was on pins and needles. The heavy rains came during the last hour. We stopped at two hotels, both of which were without power. Damn! We stopped at a third, a Hampton Inn, but it was full. Lucky for us, there was a Holiday Inn Express right next door. Finally, just before midnight we had a room. We quickly crawled into bed and went to sleep.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Weather 101
Happy 30th Courtney ... where ever you are.
Happy 25th nephew Joe
I woke near 4am a little chilly. We had the AC on, the ceiling fan going, and a small window fan on the floor near the window blowing straight up at our bed. That was Mindy’s doing. Not sure why. At any rate, I fell back asleep not waking for work until 540am. I had the coffee already prepped and set to auto-brew. That enabled me to start exercises right away. I completed the usual 50 sit-up then a set of 40 curls.
I choked down a Naproxen just before pouring my coffee. Along with catching up on the Reds and Vikings doings, I read about the elusive Higgs particle and how the CERN team may very well reveal its findings as soon as next Wednesday. Cool! I played around online until nearly 615am when I headed to the family room for meditation and a stretch.
I chased the geese away once again with my bb gun. For some reason or another, the magnet that holds the ready-to-fire bb in place is letting got prior to getting a shot off allowing the bb to drop safely to the ground just before pulling the trigger. I suspect those pesky geese have somehow infiltrated my arsenal. They fled the yard after seeing my presence alone.
It was 638am when I headed off on my run. Despite a high predicted to reach 101 degrees, it was only in the 60s with an abundance of sunshine. I wore a long sleeved wicking shirt again, more because I didn’t want to dirty a short sleeved shirt. It was trash day and our can was already at the curb. I made sure to place it there early last evening. I ran the full 4.1 miles, and once again accosted by Morgan, that unrestrained standard poodle. She charged out towards me at full speed and barking not stopping until I turned towards her. She circled me a couple of times then retreated to the whistle of her owner. I’m think I’ll take David’s advice and pick-up some pepper spray. I’ll talk to the owner one more time too. His dog is out of control.
I was back at home by 718am. Before starting breakfast, I headed out to water all the flowers. Because it was expected to top 100 degrees, I didn’t want any of my flowers to face the day without an abundance of water already cooling their roots. I watered thoroughly front and back. Took almost 30 minutes. As soon as I was back inside Eiknarf was crying for her release from Jacob’s room. I headed up to take care of her next.
She and I headed out for a walk, and we were out there for almost 10 minutes. It was 758am when we got back home. I quickly cooked three fried eggs and prepped a lunch. I was off to the shower by 825am.
I took Mindy some coffee and placed the pug up on our bed. She was excited to be in bed with Mindy. As usual, it didn’t take me long to shower and dress. I decided to wear jeans since this would in all likelihood be my last day in the office until mid-July. I plan to work from home on Friday.
Mindy headed downstairs with me. I made sure she knew that I had already walked the pug and fed her. I also let her know that I watered all the flowers. By design, she didn’t have a lot on the map for the day, instead, just some final packing. I brought two empty growlers and the Jimindy cooler up form the basement thinking that I might make two pit stops at lunch, one at CBC and one at Barley’s to have them filled. Mindy expressed worry over my obsession with the geese. I explained that I work so hard in the yard all spring long only to have those rats with wings destroy it. You’d have to see it to believe it. There are piles of shit almost every square foot and that’s after Mindy picked all of it up on Sunday. Not only that, but they eat our lawn down to nubs.
I shared that one of us should call my dad to confirm whether or not he’s picking up Glenn. In the end I agreed to call him. Need to call my mom too to see what her plans are for the coming week. I left for the office around 840am but not before once again chasing about 15 geese out of my front yard. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
The office was ridiculously quiet. I stowed my lunch and went after ice water. When I returned to my office I walked the nearby halls to see who else might be in the office. Out of about 30 offices, there was only me and one other guy. Yikes!
While getting settled in I called the water department after receiving another water bill after just paying one early last week. I reached Beth who explained that they sent a bill after replacing my meter, and then sent the regular cycle bill to get me back on the 90-day cycle. Said that my payment from last week has since posted so I only needed to be concerned about sending in another $7.38. OK.
I called my dad around 920am. He didn’t answer so I left a VM. He called back about 15-20 minutes later. He did get the word from Glenn detailing his flight itinerary and planned to pick him up. Said he figured to be bringing him to my house to stay. I asked if he planned to let Glenn borrow one of his cars. No. I offered that I would likely let him take my Accord but for local travel only. My dad mentioned that my mom would be coming in town to stay the weekend at my house with Glenn. Hadn’t heard, though we offered. I figured to call her sometime later that afternoon. Before hanging up, I told dad that I would keep an eye on Glenn’s flight and alert him if there were any significant delays.
I participated on a couple of scheduled calls and dealt with a few escalations. Before I knew it was 2pm. I went for my packed lunch enjoying it from my desk. I talked with Mindy too. She and all the girls (Bella, Makayla, Lillian, and Emily) were making a run to Target. I offered that rather than me running to CBC and then Barley’s for lunch that we simply plan on dining there. That way we can have the growlers filled with Centennial. That’ll make Darwin happy.
I spent the afternoon wrapping up a few things relative to my long vacation. I hoped to get out of the office a bit early and did. I left for home just after 430pm but not before taking one last look at Glenn's flight tracker. Looked like he was over northern PA, and already past our neck of the woods. I dumped my leftover ice water then turned the pitcher and my cup upside down. Again, I'd be working on Friday but from home. It felt good to be heading home.
Boy was it ever hot & steamy. Can't recall the last time it was that warm. The high temperature reached 100 degrees. There was a slight breeze blowing, but it felt like a blast furnace. The bright spot was that the humidity seemed to be baked away.
Mindy was surprised when I walked in right near 5pm. Wondered why I hadn't called. Instead of calling home I called and talked with my mom. Said she was planning to come up on Sunday to see Tommy sing locally with Glenn and my dad. Would almost certainly be staying at my place. Wasn't sure how long she'd be staying, but mentioned plans to see Red, White & Boom with Glenn, Lindsey and the boys too. I asked how she was holding up in the extreme heat. Fine after buying a large window air conditioning unit. She paid too much for it, but hey, at least she's cool and comfortable. We chatted until I pulled into the drive.
Once home I quickly went from work mode to vacation prep mode. Most of my gear was laid out but still in need of packing. It didn't take nearly as long as I imagined, probably no more than 25 minutes. We received a mysterious large envelope in the mail. Mindy opened it. It was two t-shirts and stickers sent to us from David & Anita. One said Coexist while the other said Peacemakers all using symbols representing various belief systems. Brought smiles to both of us. We admired theirs while they were here visiting. Thanks David & Anita.
We had plans to dine at Barley's and as soon as my packing organizing was complete we headed that way. It couldn't have been later than 6pm when we left the house. Bella opted to stay back and play with her peeps under the watchful eye of neighbor Chrissy. It was Mindy, Jacob, and I. Throughout the day we received text messages from Darwin sharing their travels. I think they made it to Corolla NC near 630pm. Mindy let him know we were at Barley's eating and having jugs filled for the trip.
Janet was our server. Haven't seen her in a while. I ordered a Centennial and Mindy a Stone IPA. Jacob went with Dr Pepper. And before ordering dinner, we went through two orders of fries. It was Thursday, which meant it was Reuben night. It's not on the menu any other night. I haven't had one of theirs for months. Not sure what Mindy ordered. Jacob ordered a brisket quesadilla. I eventually ordered a 2nd Centennial. The twins, Kent and Kurt, showed up about 15 minutes before we left for home. As usual, we had an enjoyable conversation with the two of them. Mindy took our growlers to the bar to be filled. Janet said they weren't permitted to fill a CBC jug. Hmm? She let us borrow one of theirs. We have like 15 Barley's growlers at home. We paid for part of our tab with gift cards. I covered the rest. We left for home near 730pm. Man was it warm.
Arrived home still before 8pm. Did a little more organizing but then took a little nap in the family room chair while watching an episode of How It's Made. I slept on and off for 30 minutes. I finally mustered enough energy to check Glenn's flight status to CMH from Newark, NJ. He had already landed. Now 850pm, Jacob shared that Grandpa and Glenn were just pulling up out front. I was surprised they showed up so quickly.
We visited for a couple hours, though dad hung for only the first hour. Mindy offered up the Barley leftovers as well as Bella's entire entree of chicken tenders that she dismissed after having pizza with the neighbors. Glenn gladly ate most of the tenders and fries. I wasn't going to drink any more beer but went ahead and poured a White Rajah anyhow. It was good. Neighbor Teri stopped over to see Glenn and invite him to stop down for food and a beer while we're gone. That was awfully nice of her.
With a long drive ahead of us on Friday, I was anxious to get in bed and get a good night's sleep. We all headed to bed near 1045pm. Good night 90 degree night.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Damn, Forgot My Blackberry
I slept about 10 minutes later than perhaps I would’ve preferred, but didn’t let that alter my routine. Downstairs by 555am, I slipped into my exercise then started calisthenics. I wisely prepped coffee the night before saving myself the trouble that morning.
Sit-ups and push-ups were up next. Immediately after, I choked down a Naproxen. It was 605am when I headed to my PC with a cup of joe. I read about the Reds 4-3 victory and then a blurb or two about the Vikings. Football season (preseason). I checked the weather. It was still relatively cool as compared to the past couple weeks. It was only 56 degrees. Not to be fooled, however. The heat cometh! Thursday’s high is expected to reach 102 and then stay in the 90s for the next 10 days. Not expecting much difference in the Outer Banks either.
After meditation and a stretch I set out on my run. It was darn near 7am by the time I left the house. Once again I wore a long-sleeved wicking shirt and was reasonably comfortable throughout the entire 4.1 mile run. The geese were congregating in the front yard when I returned. I kept running right at them chasing them back into the pond, those filthy dirty beasts.
Inside, I started breakfast and prepped my lunch. I left a fried egg set aside for the pug. Took Mindy coffee when I headed up for a shower. It was approaching 8am. Didn’t take me long to shower and ready. I was back downstairs by 815am. Mindy was up too, and she and I walked the pug together, running into Chrissy just getting ready to depart for the office. I hadn’t seen her since her return from vacation. She showed us her peelie legs. Said Jamaica was a blast – beautiful.
It was 830am when we got back. I quickly organized everything I’d need for a work day at my customer’s site in New Albany. Mindy and the kids would be taking the Pilot in for tires and brakes at noon and then spending the afternoon with Gloria. Dinner would likely be leftovers. I didn’t mind. My goal was to pack and get the Thule atop the Pilot later that evening. I left for work at 840am.
I took 670 east and the traffic was almost nonexistent. Nice! I made it to the campus in record time. As I walked towards the building it dawned on me that I’d forgotten my blackberry and personal Droid. Damn! Without my blackberry I wouldn’t be able to get on the network since it holds my access e-token. I felt like a fool. I walked into my office and then by the manager’s office. I was going to tell him of my need to head back home, but he wasn’t in his office. It was 915am. Wasting no time, I headed back to my car and the freeway, only this time I took 270 around.
As I neared Dublin I figured it made more sense to simply head to the regular office where I could work without my blackberry. Not to mention, I would then be able to make our regular 10am call. Yep, that’s what I did. I got off at Tuttle and took the back way to the office arriving by 940am. And by the time I was in my office and logged on I had only about 5 minutes to spare before the call began.
The meeting was short. I fell on my sword sharing my dilemma, but also committing that I would get my blackberry and come back if they so desired. As expected, they insisted I not trouble myself. I appreciated that. I ended up working straight through the day, stopping only to retrieve my packed lunch from the fridge. I talked with Mindy around 1130am or just as she and the kids were leaving Wal-Mart after picking up some vacation food. They were on their way to the Honda dealership. She said she realized my faux pas when she heard my phone ringing and then saw my blackberry at my PC. Oops!
I asked that she call me if the dealership quoted her numbers much different from those they quoted me last week. I sent them to her email so she’d have them on her phone. Said she would. I called Mindy again later in the afternoon. Was on her way to pick-up the Pilot. Said she didn’t need brakes. I worked on a number issues right up to 5pm when I left for home.
As soon as I was home Mindy shared the details of the Pilot tires and brakes. Said the front brakes won’t close to needing replaced. I looked over the invoice confirming that they gave her the 15% discount on the numbers they quoted me. They did. Mindy picked up steaks to grill. While she preheated the grill, I headed out to install the Thule on the Pilot in preparation for out trip. Got it down to a science now. Went on fairly easily.
I had to shew the geese away again, only this time from the back yard. Took over grilling the steaks immediately after. Didn’t take but five minutes. They weren’t that thick – Kroger steaks, I think. Both kids are very much looking forward to our family vacation. Jacob’s eager to hand with Lane and Bella’s excited about having Kaileigh along. During dinner we talked about Glenn’s arrival Thursday and the logistics behind that. According to Glenn, Dad’s supposed to pick him up at the airport around 8pm. Glenn will be staying at our place while we’re gone. Good thing too. With all this extreme heat and no rain, the plants need watered almost every day. The steaks were just OK. Hard to be the prime beef we’ve become more accustom to of late.
After clean-up, Mindy ran Bella to gymnastics. She asked if she could have Makayla and Lillian spend the night afterwards. Mindy promised to check with Chrissy. They haven’t had much opportunity to hang out over the past two/three weeks. In the meantime, I started packing for our trip. Didn’t take me long. Our goal is to get most of our gear in soft packs so it will stow in the Thule thus freeing up space in the Pilot. Darwin/Connie left at 2pm that afternoon. Texted Mindy to bring grilling utensils and sharp knives. Even before Mindy left to run Bella to gymnastics I took a nap with my newest book from Wayne Dyer. I woke to find them gone and a note on my book cover saying to call if I thought of something we needed from Wal-Mart. I ended up going right back to sleep. I felt ridiculously sleepy.
Mindy stayed gone until it was time to pick-up Bella from gymnastics. They didn’t get home until 845pm. By then I was face down in the sofa. I woke around 9pm and stayed awake for another hour watching a program on History Channel about how the Great Lakes were formed – ice sheet/glacial movement and volcanism. Very cool program. During that time both Makayla and Lillian came over to spend the night. They ran back home twice, once to get swim suits, and a second time to get their American Girl dolls.
Mindy headed for bed near 930pm. I stayed up until just after 10pm. The girls were still giggling and playing in Bella’s room when I headed for bed. Mindy was out cold as I slipped into bed. No snuggling on this night.
Sit-ups and push-ups were up next. Immediately after, I choked down a Naproxen. It was 605am when I headed to my PC with a cup of joe. I read about the Reds 4-3 victory and then a blurb or two about the Vikings. Football season (preseason). I checked the weather. It was still relatively cool as compared to the past couple weeks. It was only 56 degrees. Not to be fooled, however. The heat cometh! Thursday’s high is expected to reach 102 and then stay in the 90s for the next 10 days. Not expecting much difference in the Outer Banks either.
After meditation and a stretch I set out on my run. It was darn near 7am by the time I left the house. Once again I wore a long-sleeved wicking shirt and was reasonably comfortable throughout the entire 4.1 mile run. The geese were congregating in the front yard when I returned. I kept running right at them chasing them back into the pond, those filthy dirty beasts.
Inside, I started breakfast and prepped my lunch. I left a fried egg set aside for the pug. Took Mindy coffee when I headed up for a shower. It was approaching 8am. Didn’t take me long to shower and ready. I was back downstairs by 815am. Mindy was up too, and she and I walked the pug together, running into Chrissy just getting ready to depart for the office. I hadn’t seen her since her return from vacation. She showed us her peelie legs. Said Jamaica was a blast – beautiful.
It was 830am when we got back. I quickly organized everything I’d need for a work day at my customer’s site in New Albany. Mindy and the kids would be taking the Pilot in for tires and brakes at noon and then spending the afternoon with Gloria. Dinner would likely be leftovers. I didn’t mind. My goal was to pack and get the Thule atop the Pilot later that evening. I left for work at 840am.
I took 670 east and the traffic was almost nonexistent. Nice! I made it to the campus in record time. As I walked towards the building it dawned on me that I’d forgotten my blackberry and personal Droid. Damn! Without my blackberry I wouldn’t be able to get on the network since it holds my access e-token. I felt like a fool. I walked into my office and then by the manager’s office. I was going to tell him of my need to head back home, but he wasn’t in his office. It was 915am. Wasting no time, I headed back to my car and the freeway, only this time I took 270 around.
As I neared Dublin I figured it made more sense to simply head to the regular office where I could work without my blackberry. Not to mention, I would then be able to make our regular 10am call. Yep, that’s what I did. I got off at Tuttle and took the back way to the office arriving by 940am. And by the time I was in my office and logged on I had only about 5 minutes to spare before the call began.
The meeting was short. I fell on my sword sharing my dilemma, but also committing that I would get my blackberry and come back if they so desired. As expected, they insisted I not trouble myself. I appreciated that. I ended up working straight through the day, stopping only to retrieve my packed lunch from the fridge. I talked with Mindy around 1130am or just as she and the kids were leaving Wal-Mart after picking up some vacation food. They were on their way to the Honda dealership. She said she realized my faux pas when she heard my phone ringing and then saw my blackberry at my PC. Oops!
I asked that she call me if the dealership quoted her numbers much different from those they quoted me last week. I sent them to her email so she’d have them on her phone. Said she would. I called Mindy again later in the afternoon. Was on her way to pick-up the Pilot. Said she didn’t need brakes. I worked on a number issues right up to 5pm when I left for home.
As soon as I was home Mindy shared the details of the Pilot tires and brakes. Said the front brakes won’t close to needing replaced. I looked over the invoice confirming that they gave her the 15% discount on the numbers they quoted me. They did. Mindy picked up steaks to grill. While she preheated the grill, I headed out to install the Thule on the Pilot in preparation for out trip. Got it down to a science now. Went on fairly easily.
I had to shew the geese away again, only this time from the back yard. Took over grilling the steaks immediately after. Didn’t take but five minutes. They weren’t that thick – Kroger steaks, I think. Both kids are very much looking forward to our family vacation. Jacob’s eager to hand with Lane and Bella’s excited about having Kaileigh along. During dinner we talked about Glenn’s arrival Thursday and the logistics behind that. According to Glenn, Dad’s supposed to pick him up at the airport around 8pm. Glenn will be staying at our place while we’re gone. Good thing too. With all this extreme heat and no rain, the plants need watered almost every day. The steaks were just OK. Hard to be the prime beef we’ve become more accustom to of late.
After clean-up, Mindy ran Bella to gymnastics. She asked if she could have Makayla and Lillian spend the night afterwards. Mindy promised to check with Chrissy. They haven’t had much opportunity to hang out over the past two/three weeks. In the meantime, I started packing for our trip. Didn’t take me long. Our goal is to get most of our gear in soft packs so it will stow in the Thule thus freeing up space in the Pilot. Darwin/Connie left at 2pm that afternoon. Texted Mindy to bring grilling utensils and sharp knives. Even before Mindy left to run Bella to gymnastics I took a nap with my newest book from Wayne Dyer. I woke to find them gone and a note on my book cover saying to call if I thought of something we needed from Wal-Mart. I ended up going right back to sleep. I felt ridiculously sleepy.
Mindy stayed gone until it was time to pick-up Bella from gymnastics. They didn’t get home until 845pm. By then I was face down in the sofa. I woke around 9pm and stayed awake for another hour watching a program on History Channel about how the Great Lakes were formed – ice sheet/glacial movement and volcanism. Very cool program. During that time both Makayla and Lillian came over to spend the night. They ran back home twice, once to get swim suits, and a second time to get their American Girl dolls.
Mindy headed for bed near 930pm. I stayed up until just after 10pm. The girls were still giggling and playing in Bella’s room when I headed for bed. Mindy was out cold as I slipped into bed. No snuggling on this night.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
The Chill Before the Heat
I was up near 540am after a very restful night of sleep. The bedroom was extra chilly after sleeping with the windows opened all night long. After exercise I learned that it was only 53 degrees. Hasn’t been that chilly for a while. I glanced out back from the dining room window. The irrigation system had only recently moved to zone #2 as a result of me lengthening the time spent in each zone to help combat the mini-drought.
I fooled around online for about 20 minutes enjoying a few headlines and coffee. I headed to the family room for meditation & a stretch around 615am. Between the two, I dedicated about 15 minutes. I threw on a thin and loose long-sleeved wicking shirt then left for a run near 640am. The cool air felt good. Once I was in the sun’s direct path I was instantly warmed. I ran the full 4.1 miles easily. I remember thinking that it won’t likely be this cool again for quite some time. The upper 90s are coming by mid week, and they’re predicting lows Thursday only dipping down into the low 80s! Folks, that’s warm!
I finished my run near 720am and quickly went about preparing my breakfast and lunch. I made three fried eggs, setting one aside for Eiknarf, but only after her morning walk. She slept with Mindy and I and was ready for a walk when I delivered Mindy’s coffee. I insisted that she wait for me to finish my shower.
I was ready near 8am. I walked the pug then joined Mindy on the deck for a 2nd cup of coffee. As I do every morning, I had a lot on my mind. Mindy asked briefly for my undivided attention. She and the kids were heading out to Tara’s to go boating/water skiing. I left for work sometime near 830am.
I spent the lion’s share of my morning reviewing monthly reports prepared by a peer hoping to familiarize myself with his methodology, with the end goal being to keep the transition between he and I less obvious to the customer. Near 1pm I left for lunch making a trip to Home Depot where I picked up two plastic threaded male hose ends. One of the back yard garden hoses sprung a leak last week just below the sprayer. I browsed several other aisles not intending to pick-up/buy anything else. Instead, just killin’ time.
Was back at the office by 2pm where I enjoyed my packed lunch. Took care of a couple escalations and continued work with the new reporting. Sent brother Glenn a belated birthday greeting, but also sharing how hot it was going to be during his visit. Hard to believe he’s 54.
All in all, it was an easy afternoon. I talked with Mindy at some point during the afternoon. I think they had just arrived at Tara’s. She said she expected to be there for at least 3 hours. I hoped to leave the office a little early and did, but not by that much. I left for home at 445pm. Time sometimes just gets away from me.
When I arrived home I was surprised to see that Mindy and the kids were already back home. According to Bella, Mindy was in the shower. Glancing out back I saw about 15-20 geese nesting/eating my nearly ruined back lawn. I headed out with my bb gun. This time, instead of one swift movement into the pond, the flock of geese scattered every which way. I went for an old 2X4 from under the shed and tossed it at a few of them trying to hide in the honeysuckle. I want them to fear and remember me, hoping they’ll think twice before resting and eating away at my yard.
It was a Jimaken night so we planned on dining at Barley’s as soon as he showed up. While waiting, I headed out to repair the leaky hose. It didn’t take me but 5 minutes. Not my first rodeo with hose repairs. Jim arrived around 520pm to pick-up the kids. I freshened up a bit before we left for Barley’s. I’m thinking that we got there by 545pm. I don’t think we’ve been in on a Jimaken Tuesday for at least a month. Jersey was tending bar, covering the shift for another.
I saw they had regular Centennial on tap. Not having had one for about two months, I was more than eager. Mindy, somewhat surprisingly, went with a Stone’s IPA. We ordered food after 20 minutes or so. Charlie showed up just after 6pm. We met he and his wife at Barley’s about a year ago. They live at Lake Choctaw right on the water. Mindy shared that she and the kids were just there that afternoon. Among other things, he shared the story of how they came about their first boat and ultimately deciding to move to Lake Choctaw.
We eventually ordered dinner, me going with KC wings, and Mindy ordering their daily special, chicken enchiladas. I asked for a 2nd Centennial and Mindy ordered a 2nd Stone IPA. Mindy talked to two Cols. Police officers who stopped in for food. My wings were perfect, cooked just the way I like them. Ten minutes before settling our tab, we ordered some chicken tenders with buffalo sauce and gates of hell sauce on the side to take home to Jacob. We paid our tab with a Barley’s gift card but left a cash tip.
We were on the road for home by 735pm. As soon as we got home I headed out to water flowers front and back. While I watered flowers, Mindy talked with Darwin and Connie. We were expecting them by anytime with the rented U-Haul to pick-up a few things we’d be taking with us to the Outer Banks. They’re leaving Wednesday morning (lucky them!).
The kids got home around 815pm. Jacob ran off to play with friends without even noticing the tenders we brought home from Barley’s. I finished watering then updated my vacation packing list with a few more items I thought of during the day. While on the computer I saw that the Reds and Bronson Arroyo had a no-hitter going against the Brewers heading to the 8th inning. I eventually headed to the family room where I tuned into the action on the TV. By then the no-hitter was gone and the score tied 3-3. However, the Reds scored another run in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the lead again.
I fell asleep until Darwin and family showed up with the trailer. We all headed out to chat. They had three of the four boys with them. The whole family was excited to be leaving the following morning for vacation. We chatted for about 15 minutes. Wished them safe travels. We’ll be catching up with them Saturday afternoon.
Back inside, I was eager to see if the Reds hung on and won. Yep, the 4-3 score held up. It was already after 930pm and Mindy was heading up to bed. I stayed up just a little bit longer but only until 10pm. I wanted a good night of sleep too. Good night half moon!
I fooled around online for about 20 minutes enjoying a few headlines and coffee. I headed to the family room for meditation & a stretch around 615am. Between the two, I dedicated about 15 minutes. I threw on a thin and loose long-sleeved wicking shirt then left for a run near 640am. The cool air felt good. Once I was in the sun’s direct path I was instantly warmed. I ran the full 4.1 miles easily. I remember thinking that it won’t likely be this cool again for quite some time. The upper 90s are coming by mid week, and they’re predicting lows Thursday only dipping down into the low 80s! Folks, that’s warm!
I finished my run near 720am and quickly went about preparing my breakfast and lunch. I made three fried eggs, setting one aside for Eiknarf, but only after her morning walk. She slept with Mindy and I and was ready for a walk when I delivered Mindy’s coffee. I insisted that she wait for me to finish my shower.
I was ready near 8am. I walked the pug then joined Mindy on the deck for a 2nd cup of coffee. As I do every morning, I had a lot on my mind. Mindy asked briefly for my undivided attention. She and the kids were heading out to Tara’s to go boating/water skiing. I left for work sometime near 830am.
I spent the lion’s share of my morning reviewing monthly reports prepared by a peer hoping to familiarize myself with his methodology, with the end goal being to keep the transition between he and I less obvious to the customer. Near 1pm I left for lunch making a trip to Home Depot where I picked up two plastic threaded male hose ends. One of the back yard garden hoses sprung a leak last week just below the sprayer. I browsed several other aisles not intending to pick-up/buy anything else. Instead, just killin’ time.
Was back at the office by 2pm where I enjoyed my packed lunch. Took care of a couple escalations and continued work with the new reporting. Sent brother Glenn a belated birthday greeting, but also sharing how hot it was going to be during his visit. Hard to believe he’s 54.
All in all, it was an easy afternoon. I talked with Mindy at some point during the afternoon. I think they had just arrived at Tara’s. She said she expected to be there for at least 3 hours. I hoped to leave the office a little early and did, but not by that much. I left for home at 445pm. Time sometimes just gets away from me.
When I arrived home I was surprised to see that Mindy and the kids were already back home. According to Bella, Mindy was in the shower. Glancing out back I saw about 15-20 geese nesting/eating my nearly ruined back lawn. I headed out with my bb gun. This time, instead of one swift movement into the pond, the flock of geese scattered every which way. I went for an old 2X4 from under the shed and tossed it at a few of them trying to hide in the honeysuckle. I want them to fear and remember me, hoping they’ll think twice before resting and eating away at my yard.
It was a Jimaken night so we planned on dining at Barley’s as soon as he showed up. While waiting, I headed out to repair the leaky hose. It didn’t take me but 5 minutes. Not my first rodeo with hose repairs. Jim arrived around 520pm to pick-up the kids. I freshened up a bit before we left for Barley’s. I’m thinking that we got there by 545pm. I don’t think we’ve been in on a Jimaken Tuesday for at least a month. Jersey was tending bar, covering the shift for another.
I saw they had regular Centennial on tap. Not having had one for about two months, I was more than eager. Mindy, somewhat surprisingly, went with a Stone’s IPA. We ordered food after 20 minutes or so. Charlie showed up just after 6pm. We met he and his wife at Barley’s about a year ago. They live at Lake Choctaw right on the water. Mindy shared that she and the kids were just there that afternoon. Among other things, he shared the story of how they came about their first boat and ultimately deciding to move to Lake Choctaw.
We eventually ordered dinner, me going with KC wings, and Mindy ordering their daily special, chicken enchiladas. I asked for a 2nd Centennial and Mindy ordered a 2nd Stone IPA. Mindy talked to two Cols. Police officers who stopped in for food. My wings were perfect, cooked just the way I like them. Ten minutes before settling our tab, we ordered some chicken tenders with buffalo sauce and gates of hell sauce on the side to take home to Jacob. We paid our tab with a Barley’s gift card but left a cash tip.
We were on the road for home by 735pm. As soon as we got home I headed out to water flowers front and back. While I watered flowers, Mindy talked with Darwin and Connie. We were expecting them by anytime with the rented U-Haul to pick-up a few things we’d be taking with us to the Outer Banks. They’re leaving Wednesday morning (lucky them!).
The kids got home around 815pm. Jacob ran off to play with friends without even noticing the tenders we brought home from Barley’s. I finished watering then updated my vacation packing list with a few more items I thought of during the day. While on the computer I saw that the Reds and Bronson Arroyo had a no-hitter going against the Brewers heading to the 8th inning. I eventually headed to the family room where I tuned into the action on the TV. By then the no-hitter was gone and the score tied 3-3. However, the Reds scored another run in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the lead again.
I fell asleep until Darwin and family showed up with the trailer. We all headed out to chat. They had three of the four boys with them. The whole family was excited to be leaving the following morning for vacation. We chatted for about 15 minutes. Wished them safe travels. We’ll be catching up with them Saturday afternoon.
Back inside, I was eager to see if the Reds hung on and won. Yep, the 4-3 score held up. It was already after 930pm and Mindy was heading up to bed. I stayed up just a little bit longer but only until 10pm. I wanted a good night of sleep too. Good night half moon!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Fixin to Leave
I woke near 530am and despite feeling no where close to fully rested I rolled out of bed anyway. I wisely prepped coffee the night before so I was able to start calisthenics right away, or just after glancing out back at the weather. Looked clear and warm.
I completed 50 sit-ups then 50 push-ups. Felt good. I remembered to take a Naproxen before pouring some coffee. I read a few headlines but there wasn’t much going on in the world worthy of my undivided attention. I walked away for meditation near 605am. I did meditation from the livingroom for the first time ever. I finished up near 615am and moved directly to stretching. Stretching took little more than 5 minutes. I was dressed and ready for my run well ahead of 630am for the first time in a few weeks. I checked the temperature before heading out, it was a balmy 73 degrees. I was a little surprised that it was so warm since the day’s high wasn’t expected to leave the 70’s.
I ran the full 4.1 miles without incident and felt good head to toe. I finished the run and was back inside by 708am. David & Anita were already sitting on the deck enjoying coffee and tea while surfing the internet. I greeted them with a good morning but promptly headed back inside to start breakfast. Without asking I whipped up cheese omelets and whole wheat toast for all. They were both appreciative of the breakfast. They planned to head for home about the time I’d be leaving for the office.
I took Mindy some coffee after finishing breakfast asking if she planned to get up and see David & Anita off on their journey home. She looked exhausted, and I later learned that she’d been up most of the night feeling sick. It was near 8am when I returned downstairs after a shower. Mindy wasn’t too far behind.
We exchanged pleasantries & then goodbyes before seeing David & Anita off for home. We walked out to their car a few seconds behind them taking Eiknarf along intending to walk her immediately after they pulled away. We had a very enjoyable time but were both exhausted. We didn’t spend much if any of our time together simply relaxing. It was go-go-go Friday through Sunday.
Mindy talked about going back to bed as soon as I left for work. Said she didn’t fall asleep until 4am and was battling diarrhea. She blamed the raw tuna wrap she ate at the Rusty Bucket the evening before. Lovely! We figured to have a quiet house until Thursday when Glenn gets in town, but we’ll be prepping for vacation most of the week too. I enjoyed a little more coffee before heading off for work at 830am.
I stayed busy all day joining what seemed like endless conference calls. And when I wasn’t on a call I was dealing with escalations. I was really sleepy for some reason. At lunch time, instead of heading somewhere, I closed my door and took a 10-15 nap. The brief nap was good but I felt like I could’ve slept all afternoon.
I talked with Mindy near 1pm. She shared that she slept most of the morning away and still didn’t feel well. Said she’d likely nap some more. I reminded her about making an appointment to have the brakes and tires done at the dealership. Said she’d call later that afternoon.
I stayed busy at the office until 515pm when I finally left for home. In the back of my mind was the fact that the grass really needed cut. I was kicking myself for not finding time to get it done over the weekend. What’s more, I’ll most likely be cutting it again Thursday evening. I contemplated holding out until then, but it’s too long now. The one bright spot was that the temperature was only around 76 degrees with low humidity.
I arrived home around 540pm. Mindy was fresh out of the shower after sleeping much of the afternoon away. The house wasn’t a mess by any stretch, but I could tell Mindy hadn’t picked up. Looked pretty much like it did when I left that morning, the lone exception being the hand prints all over the back door glass, which is something that drives me through the wall. Almost on queue, Bella let the neighbors’ two Jack Russell’s in to play with Eiknarf. I wasn’t in the mood for the doggie chaos and opened the door to shew them as quickly as they dashed inside. Chester wasn’t happy about leaving. He was enjoying a doggie treat by the table. When I picked him to put him on the deck he proceeded to pee all over me and the tile floor. According ot Mindy, this is something he does frequently. Oh boy!
Both kids headed out to play while Mindy worked on wrestling something up for dinner. I opted for the other half of my leftover reuben. She shared that she received a text from David indicating that they were already home. I checked my phone and saw that I had a similar text. Both kids were back from play to have dinner. I noticed that Bella was wearing Jacob’s flip-flops. When asked why she shared that she left hers at Chrissy’s place, which is a habit that’s getting out of hand. I told her to stop eating and go get them. She then shared that she couldn’t because they weren’t home. We told her she’d be buying her next pair with her own money.
Still really sleepy, as soon as I finished my sandwich and helped clean-up the kitchen I stumbled to the chair for a quick nap. Mindy planned on running Bella to gymnastics and then stopping at Target to pick-up a few things. The verdict was still out on whether or not I’d be cutting the lawn.
Mindy & Bella headed out around 652pm just about the time I was dosing off after reading a few pages. I slept for at least 20 minutes, maybe a little longer. I woke and sat quietly for a few minutes but fell back asleep. I woke again around 740pm and finally mustered the energy to head out and get started on the lawn. I changed into sweat shorts and a t-shirt first. I was surprised at how cool it was. It couldn’t have been much more than 70 degrees with a cool breeze.
I was a little angry with myself when I realized that I was all but out of mower gas. I had enough to do all the push mowing, which I planned to do first. Jacob and Lane were out front playing on their scooters as I got started. I set the blade at the halfway point between the two settings I normally use and cut the entire front. I was further aggravated when I noticed how dry and spindly the front lawn looked despite watering every day. And then there were the numerous piles of goose crap. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
After finishing the front and the steeps out back, I grabbed my wallet, gas can, and Accord keys and headed off for the Circle K, but not before stopping by Alex’s house where Jacob, lane and AJ were hanging out. I asked Jacob to walk down to the pond and get our good football out of the pond. I also asked who/how the weeping willow stump got tossed in the pond. He blamed it on Evan.
I decided to fill the Accord while I was there. Gas was as cheap as it’s been in several months, only $3.25 per gallon. Between the Accord and gas can I bought about 20 gallons. I sat the gas can next to the garage side entry door and went for the tractor. It wouldn’t start. Completely out of gas. I had to go after the gas can and fill-up the Deere while it sat in the shed. I mowed with the tractor in a hurry.
As soon as I was done mowing I watered all the flowers front and back. They all looked thirsty. I soaked them good. Mindy and Bella were home around 840pm. They heard me hollering for Jacob – thought I was angry. I was hollering because I thought he was up in his room. His bike was in the garage. Mindy asked why I wanted him. I explained that I sent him for the football in the pond 20 minutes prior then left for gas. The football was still in the pond but Jacob no where to be found.
About that time along came Jacob. I walked back to point our where the football was in the pond. It was tucked neatly against some large rocks, admittedly hard to see. He fetched it. After the watering was complete and the football safely back home, I reprogrammed the irrigation system with 50% longer run times in almost every zone and then kicked it on for a manual cycle. Since the middle of May we’ve had only about an inch of rain. That’s about 5 to 6 inches below normal.
While the irrigation system ran its course, I decided to take the opportunity to adjust the arc and spray on a number of the heads out front in an effort to cure some dry spots. I spent about 20 minutes doing that. It was almost 930pm by the time I headed inside for the night. As cool as it was, it’s expected to get really hot as the week progresses. By some accounts, Thursday will top 100 degrees, and there isn’t any rain in sight through the 4th of July.
I felt a lot better after getting the lawn mowed and the irrigation system adjusted. I cleaned up a little then poured some ice water and headed to the chair to finish my newest book, The Drunkard’s Walk. Mindy talked with Darwin and agreed to let Jacob spend the night with Lane. She drove Jacob down after a quick shower. She shared that Darwin and family are leaving for the Outer Banks on Wednesday now, opting to spend two nights in a hotel before our house becomes available. Said he’s bringing the pull-behind U-Haul trailer by Tuesday night to get our bikes.
As soon as Mindy was back from dropping off Jacob she headed up for bed. Bella followed, but soon returned for snacks. I finished my book, not realizing how few pages I had left to read (long bibliography). I have two more books to dig into over vacation. I headed up to bed around 1030pm. Bella was lying in my spot snuggling with her momma. She headed for her own bed as soon as I jumped into bed. Good night moon!
I completed 50 sit-ups then 50 push-ups. Felt good. I remembered to take a Naproxen before pouring some coffee. I read a few headlines but there wasn’t much going on in the world worthy of my undivided attention. I walked away for meditation near 605am. I did meditation from the livingroom for the first time ever. I finished up near 615am and moved directly to stretching. Stretching took little more than 5 minutes. I was dressed and ready for my run well ahead of 630am for the first time in a few weeks. I checked the temperature before heading out, it was a balmy 73 degrees. I was a little surprised that it was so warm since the day’s high wasn’t expected to leave the 70’s.
I ran the full 4.1 miles without incident and felt good head to toe. I finished the run and was back inside by 708am. David & Anita were already sitting on the deck enjoying coffee and tea while surfing the internet. I greeted them with a good morning but promptly headed back inside to start breakfast. Without asking I whipped up cheese omelets and whole wheat toast for all. They were both appreciative of the breakfast. They planned to head for home about the time I’d be leaving for the office.
I took Mindy some coffee after finishing breakfast asking if she planned to get up and see David & Anita off on their journey home. She looked exhausted, and I later learned that she’d been up most of the night feeling sick. It was near 8am when I returned downstairs after a shower. Mindy wasn’t too far behind.
We exchanged pleasantries & then goodbyes before seeing David & Anita off for home. We walked out to their car a few seconds behind them taking Eiknarf along intending to walk her immediately after they pulled away. We had a very enjoyable time but were both exhausted. We didn’t spend much if any of our time together simply relaxing. It was go-go-go Friday through Sunday.
Mindy talked about going back to bed as soon as I left for work. Said she didn’t fall asleep until 4am and was battling diarrhea. She blamed the raw tuna wrap she ate at the Rusty Bucket the evening before. Lovely! We figured to have a quiet house until Thursday when Glenn gets in town, but we’ll be prepping for vacation most of the week too. I enjoyed a little more coffee before heading off for work at 830am.
I stayed busy all day joining what seemed like endless conference calls. And when I wasn’t on a call I was dealing with escalations. I was really sleepy for some reason. At lunch time, instead of heading somewhere, I closed my door and took a 10-15 nap. The brief nap was good but I felt like I could’ve slept all afternoon.
I talked with Mindy near 1pm. She shared that she slept most of the morning away and still didn’t feel well. Said she’d likely nap some more. I reminded her about making an appointment to have the brakes and tires done at the dealership. Said she’d call later that afternoon.
I stayed busy at the office until 515pm when I finally left for home. In the back of my mind was the fact that the grass really needed cut. I was kicking myself for not finding time to get it done over the weekend. What’s more, I’ll most likely be cutting it again Thursday evening. I contemplated holding out until then, but it’s too long now. The one bright spot was that the temperature was only around 76 degrees with low humidity.
I arrived home around 540pm. Mindy was fresh out of the shower after sleeping much of the afternoon away. The house wasn’t a mess by any stretch, but I could tell Mindy hadn’t picked up. Looked pretty much like it did when I left that morning, the lone exception being the hand prints all over the back door glass, which is something that drives me through the wall. Almost on queue, Bella let the neighbors’ two Jack Russell’s in to play with Eiknarf. I wasn’t in the mood for the doggie chaos and opened the door to shew them as quickly as they dashed inside. Chester wasn’t happy about leaving. He was enjoying a doggie treat by the table. When I picked him to put him on the deck he proceeded to pee all over me and the tile floor. According ot Mindy, this is something he does frequently. Oh boy!
Both kids headed out to play while Mindy worked on wrestling something up for dinner. I opted for the other half of my leftover reuben. She shared that she received a text from David indicating that they were already home. I checked my phone and saw that I had a similar text. Both kids were back from play to have dinner. I noticed that Bella was wearing Jacob’s flip-flops. When asked why she shared that she left hers at Chrissy’s place, which is a habit that’s getting out of hand. I told her to stop eating and go get them. She then shared that she couldn’t because they weren’t home. We told her she’d be buying her next pair with her own money.
Still really sleepy, as soon as I finished my sandwich and helped clean-up the kitchen I stumbled to the chair for a quick nap. Mindy planned on running Bella to gymnastics and then stopping at Target to pick-up a few things. The verdict was still out on whether or not I’d be cutting the lawn.
Mindy & Bella headed out around 652pm just about the time I was dosing off after reading a few pages. I slept for at least 20 minutes, maybe a little longer. I woke and sat quietly for a few minutes but fell back asleep. I woke again around 740pm and finally mustered the energy to head out and get started on the lawn. I changed into sweat shorts and a t-shirt first. I was surprised at how cool it was. It couldn’t have been much more than 70 degrees with a cool breeze.
I was a little angry with myself when I realized that I was all but out of mower gas. I had enough to do all the push mowing, which I planned to do first. Jacob and Lane were out front playing on their scooters as I got started. I set the blade at the halfway point between the two settings I normally use and cut the entire front. I was further aggravated when I noticed how dry and spindly the front lawn looked despite watering every day. And then there were the numerous piles of goose crap. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
After finishing the front and the steeps out back, I grabbed my wallet, gas can, and Accord keys and headed off for the Circle K, but not before stopping by Alex’s house where Jacob, lane and AJ were hanging out. I asked Jacob to walk down to the pond and get our good football out of the pond. I also asked who/how the weeping willow stump got tossed in the pond. He blamed it on Evan.
I decided to fill the Accord while I was there. Gas was as cheap as it’s been in several months, only $3.25 per gallon. Between the Accord and gas can I bought about 20 gallons. I sat the gas can next to the garage side entry door and went for the tractor. It wouldn’t start. Completely out of gas. I had to go after the gas can and fill-up the Deere while it sat in the shed. I mowed with the tractor in a hurry.
As soon as I was done mowing I watered all the flowers front and back. They all looked thirsty. I soaked them good. Mindy and Bella were home around 840pm. They heard me hollering for Jacob – thought I was angry. I was hollering because I thought he was up in his room. His bike was in the garage. Mindy asked why I wanted him. I explained that I sent him for the football in the pond 20 minutes prior then left for gas. The football was still in the pond but Jacob no where to be found.
About that time along came Jacob. I walked back to point our where the football was in the pond. It was tucked neatly against some large rocks, admittedly hard to see. He fetched it. After the watering was complete and the football safely back home, I reprogrammed the irrigation system with 50% longer run times in almost every zone and then kicked it on for a manual cycle. Since the middle of May we’ve had only about an inch of rain. That’s about 5 to 6 inches below normal.
While the irrigation system ran its course, I decided to take the opportunity to adjust the arc and spray on a number of the heads out front in an effort to cure some dry spots. I spent about 20 minutes doing that. It was almost 930pm by the time I headed inside for the night. As cool as it was, it’s expected to get really hot as the week progresses. By some accounts, Thursday will top 100 degrees, and there isn’t any rain in sight through the 4th of July.
I felt a lot better after getting the lawn mowed and the irrigation system adjusted. I cleaned up a little then poured some ice water and headed to the chair to finish my newest book, The Drunkard’s Walk. Mindy talked with Darwin and agreed to let Jacob spend the night with Lane. She drove Jacob down after a quick shower. She shared that Darwin and family are leaving for the Outer Banks on Wednesday now, opting to spend two nights in a hotel before our house becomes available. Said he’s bringing the pull-behind U-Haul trailer by Tuesday night to get our bikes.
As soon as Mindy was back from dropping off Jacob she headed up for bed. Bella followed, but soon returned for snacks. I finished my book, not realizing how few pages I had left to read (long bibliography). I have two more books to dig into over vacation. I headed up to bed around 1030pm. Bella was lying in my spot snuggling with her momma. She headed for her own bed as soon as I jumped into bed. Good night moon!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Raw Tuna Wrap? Who thought that was a good idea?
After sleeping incredibly well, I was up around 645am. Once again the sky was cloudless. I started a pot of coffee then quietly tidied up in the kitchen before heading to the PC. I checked in with work then after seeing that everything was quiet I went for coffee. The geese were in my flower beds again. I chased them away with bb gun in hand. Back to the PC.
David was up and joined me downstairs around 715am. We sipped coffee and laughed about some of the previous night’s happenings. Anita joined us a few minutes later while Mindy slept in. I thought I might get out for my run before 830am but after donning my running clothes I got sucked in to the Facebook thing with David looking at all sorts of posts from our reunion. David went on about not making it in any pictures and pointed how many I made it in. It was all in jest. I finally left for a run at 9am.
I did my usual Sunday 3 miles getting back somewhere close to 930am. Mindy was up by then and all three were out on the deck. I joined them but quickly excused myself to water flowers. It was already steamy and hot. I watered all the flowers, front and back. The chore took about 25 minutes.
We ate comparatively light, just some peanut butter toast. David & Anita had plans to spend their day with David’s son and grandchildren. I’m not certain but think they left around 1130am. We gave them a key just in case we were gone when they got back. We had Joe’s birthday party to attend at the Rusty Bucket, but that wouldn’t be until 5pm. Right after they departed I got busy with yard chores, but I didn’t cut the lawn. Instead, I sprayed for weeds. At the same time, Mindy cleaned up goose poop. I’ll bet she spent at least an hour doing so. While Mindy did that, I hit golf balls between our yard and Kenny’s.
Mindy shared that she talked with Chrissy. They were supposed to make it home on Sunday but had some flight mishaps and wouldn’t be home until roughly 130pm that afternoon. I mulled over whether I should cut the lawn or not and decided not. I was feeling nappy. Instead of working I took to the chaise lounge with book and beach towel. Man was it comfortable. I dosed off two or three times. While I read and napped outside, Mindy napped indoors. She had talked about running to Target but it was quickly after 3pm and she was still upstairs napping. The kids got home from their weekend with Jimaken around 345pm. By then Mindy was in the shower presumably getting ready for Joe’s b-day event. I headed up for a shower after Mindy was all but completely ready. That must’ve been somewhere near 415pm. We left for the Rusty Bucket at 440pm driving the Accord.
The family was gathered on the comfy, cozy patio and had just ordered drinks. I believe that Lauren was our server. The kids ordered lemonades while Mindy and I ordered adult drinks (me a Goose Island IPA, Mindy a glass of wine). Jodie & Larry picked up the tab for all the appetizers but left the entrees to each family. I wasn’t even sure that I was going to order any food beyond the appetizers but eventually did. I went with the Reuben. Predictably, Jacob went with a chicken sandwich, and Mindy ordered a tuna wrap. Bella said she wasn’t hungry.
Around 645pm Bella and Mindy headed across the mall courtyard to Cuzzins frozen yogurt. We hung with family at the Rusty Bucket until well after 7pm. Mindy covered our check. I thought about stopping in Whole Foods right next door and picking up some beer for our beach trip coming up fast, but as we walked by I decided to save it for another day.
At home David and Anita were there and chilling on the deck. We asked about their day with the kids to which there were many stories to share. We ended up hanging out on the deck until after dark. During those couple of hours neighbor Teri stopped over to introduce herself to David & Anita. They seemed to hit it off just fine. After a whirlwind weekend and a travel day ahead for David & Anita along with a work day for me, we were all tired and looking forward to an early bedtime. That said, we headed inside for bed near 10pm. I checked the weather forecast via my Droid before placing it on charge. Predicting a high around 102 on Thursday with no threat of rain anywhere in sight. We need a good all day soaker.
Jacob and Bella hung out in bed with Mindy and I for about 5-10 minutes before peeling off to their own rooms. Bella was excited to get her Kindle Fire back after a three week hiatus.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
All in the mind of an autistic child
Geese were once again congregating in our lawn up by the deck. I headed out to shew them away with my bb gun. David was up and downstairs by 740am. I wrapped up what I was doing relative to work then joined him on the deck for coffee. After a shower, Anita joined us too. Mindy was up just after 830am. I left for my run around 9am. I ran the usual weekend trail logging three miles. It was a good, sweaty run.
Upon my return, I rejoined the gang out relaxing in the morning sunshine on the deck. Mindy soon headed in to reheat the breakfast burrito concoction. We all took part in breakfast burritos again. The day’s plans included spending the afternoon at Comfest then attending our 35 year HS class reunion later that evening. I’m thinking it was near noon when we left the house for Comfest.
I got another work related escalation just as we were leaving the house. Lucky for me, I had enough foresight to take care of what needed addressed before we left the house. Call me wise! We took the back way into Comfest cutting through Arlington and Grandview across 5th avenue to Neil. We drove around for about 10 minutes looking for a parking spot eventually deciding to drop the girls off at the corner of Buttles and Harrison and then going off to find a parking spot. David and I found a spot near Pennsylvania and 2nd ave. Probably about a half mile walk. Not too bad.
David called the girls once we were in the park asking there whereabouts. They were walking along Park St where all the vendors were set up. We found them easily. We casually walked the length of Park St stopping at several vendor’s tents along the way and then to take photos with a rather stiff, almost cardboard-like Barack Obama.
We made our way to the festival’s southern most point where we purchased beer tokens and a commemorative cup. I had mine filled with CBC pale ale. David went with the CBC Summer Teeth. He said he didn’t too much for it. In hindsight should have chosen the PBR. For my money, we spent too much time looking at stuff and signing petitions. I wanted to enjoy live entertainment. After getting our second beers we finally headed into he heart of the park stopping off at one of the many stages to listen to a local band. We found some shade and took up camp for about 30-40 minutes. Mindy even got up and danced.
One of the best experiences associated with Comfest is the people watching. We weren’t disappointed. There was something there for everyone to enjoy. We ran into several Barley peeps and were told that Bob & Mary Ann were there. We texted but by the time we heard back they were already on their way home. Mindy exchanged texts with nephew Joe. He was hanging out at a home on Buttles directly across the street from the festival that belonged to a friend of Craig & Jeff’s. We made our way that direction and eventually joined up with them.
Nice place, a beautiful Victorian style home. There were several folks gathered on the large front porch. There I met the owners, Tom & Brett. They were having a really good time with all their friends. There was a large glass dispenser of sangria available as well as a bowl filled with vodka soaked cherries. The cherries were amazing. I had two or three. David and Anita fit right in yucking it up with everybody else. That made me happy.
We hung out until about 4pm when we figured we ought to head home and ready for the reunion. David and I went for the Pilot while the women continued with the party on the porch. I’m guessing that 15 minutes passed before we were back with the Pilot. Arrived home near 440pm. Truth be told, I was under slept from jump, and even more so after spending 3-4 hours in the sun and drinking two beers. So before getting ready for the reunion, I took a cat nap from the comfort of the family room chair. I slept no more than ten minutes but it felt terrific. I headed up for a shower around 515pm.
A shower was just what the doctor ordered. We were all ready to go near 530pm and left the house a few minutes later. It was an easy drive to the Shamrock Club, east on 70 to 71 south then east again on 104 to High St. The Shamrock Club is located south of 104 by about ½ a mile just west of High St. The lot was fuller than I expected. Seemed as though we were late even though in reality we were a couple minutes early yet.
Can’t explain why, but I was a little apprehensive/nervous at the check-in process. Greeting and checking in all the class members was Mr Vanderson and Mr Malonosky, neither of which I forged relationships with during my years at West. I already knew after speaking briefly with Sandy Redmond the evening before at the golf tournament they didn’t have a badge with my photo. According to her, the return address stamp of Thompson-Wright threw them off. Couldn’t correlate a James Thompson to a 76 or 77 graduate. Please! No biggie. As Mindy mentioned, my 30 year reunion badge was resting in a night stand drawer. I should’ve worn it. I made the best of it, signing my generic badge “Mr Wright” along with my signature caricature.
The venue was set-up to host the majority of the reunion out of doors. There was a shelter house and make-shift bar. I ordered Mindy a wine and myself a water. I didn’t realize it initially, but it was a cash bar. Add to that, the beer selection was lame – pedestrian. I opted for water instead. I felt dehydrated anyway.
I’m certainly not at my best under such conditions, but I did my fair share of socializing before dinner. Early on Suzi Sauers walked up and whispered in my ear that I get more distinguished looking every time she sees me, which hasn’t been by maybe three times since HS. Said I reminded her of Al Pacino. I don’t want to be cruel but many class members looked bad, overweight, out of shape and just plain old. However, there were a few that have held up well.
Dinner was catered by City Barbeque, and I’m guessing that would’ve been around 730pm, or right after class pictures. The food line was set up inside. There were just a few tables inside so we opted to head back out to the shelter house to eat. David & Anita never came out. I later learned they shared a table inside with Mike Griesdorn and his lovely wife. Mindy & I shared a table with Jodie & Larry.
After I finished my meal I moseyed over to the table adjacent to ours where Tim Dientz sat with his new wife, Artie along with another young lady. Her name escapes me, but I she told me she was one of Theresa Harlor’s best friends. We talked for a while and eventually Mindy, Jodie & Larry joined us.
The DJ started playing music as dinner wound down. While playing Chicago’s Color My world, I asked Mindy to dance. We were the only ones dancing, forging our own dance floor. Even for me, that behavior is way outside the box. After our dance we mingled some more. I eventually got over the social anxiety and struck up conversations with all sorts of people. Mindy and I talked at length with Rusty Ranney.and his wife, Wendy and then spent considerable time talking with Patty Conrad & her husband, Tito. Also talked with Mike Inks, who I only knew in passing prior. Mindy, as it turned out, taught one of his sons. At my prompting, Mindy friended Patty Conrad on Facebook so we can get together another time. As I understand it, Tito’s ex-wife was one of Mindy’s best friends in high school. Small world.
As 10pm neared, I suggested we leave and head to CBC where I could relax and enjoy a beer. But I didn’t want to rain on David’s parade if he wanted to stay longer. Turned out. He and Anita were ready to leave as well. Somebody had the bright idea to light a camp fire right next to the patio. It was smoking like the dickens. I joked that somebody threw an old sofa on it. The smoke was bothering all of us. We left still before 10pm.
We drove north all the way up high street to Greenlawn Ave. then north on Front St. to Liberty and finally to CBC. It was about 1030pm and they weren’t busy at all. Pretty much the same folks working that were there Friday night. I ordered a Bodhi and Mindy ordered water. David and Anita ordered Bailey’s and coffee and then shared a piece of banana cream pie. Having not eaten much at the reunion, I was still hungry for some protein. I ordered wings.
David went on about how much one of the servers looked like Paige from a reality TV show. Can’t recall the name of the show, but did pull up the photo on my Droid. He was right. There was a strong likeness. We called her Paige for the rest of the evening. She took it as a compliment after seeing the picture.
I ended up drinking a 2nd Bodhi while I finished my wings. Man, were they ever delicious! David graciously picked up the tab again. I doubled up the tip. It was late by the time we got home. It was almost 1am. Holy smoke! Where had the day gone? All of us were exhausted. We’d been on our feet for most of the day. Off to bed.
Friday, June 22, 2012
27 Holes
I was up just ahead of 7am and quickly downstairs prepping coffee. I enjoyed about 30 minutes of quiet before David & Anita were up. They joined me for coffee on the deck. It was already quiet warm and steamy and expected to approach 90 during the afternoon.
Mindy was up around 830am and started making breakfast burritos. Sometime near 9am I excused myself and headed off on a run. I ran the full 4.1 miles in the bright, warm and steamy sunshine. I worked up one heck of a sweat but never felt overheated.
Everybody had their PCs out, Anita her laptop, David his iPad, and Mindy on her laptop. We’re living in a connected world, indeed. The breakfast burritos were ready. Mindy got everybody’s started with the basics but left the customization to each of us. They were very good. Soon after breakfast we discussed how our day might unfold. We had loosely discussed a couple options, including boating and hiking. David shared that Anita wouldn’t be up for a hike due in part to her asthma. No worries. Even though David and I were scheduled to golf later that evening with members of our HS graduating class, I asked if he was up for some golf during the day. He jumped on the offer right away. We made plans to play Phoenix.
In the meantime, it sounded like Mindy & Anita were going to find a place where Anita could have a broken finger nail fixed. I hustled off to the shower around 1030am. I’m thinking that it was near 11am when we left for golf. David invited Jacob to join us but he declined the invite. I wasn’t surprised. I’ve taken him twice but he hasn’t yet gotten hooked. David offered to drive.
Arrived at Phoenix near 1130am. In the pro shop, I told the guy working the counter that we wanted to play 54 holes. Without missing a beat he nodded in agreement citing there one price play as many holes as you’d like policy. We paid for 18 holes. I picked up the tab.
This was David’s first time teeing it up at Phoenix golf links, but more importantly, the first time he & I had ever golfed together. I was fully expecting to be humbled and schooled given his strong golfing past. He slammed his first drive long but into the dry heather on the right. Uncharacteristically, I hit a rather poor drive, but at least it was safely in the fairway. I think David took two lost balls on that first hole and carded a nine to start. I, on the other hand, salvaged a par.
David has a graceful swing that more often than not produces a beautiful ball flight. His game was a little rusty otherwise he would’ve beat my pants off, I am sure. I managed to stay on top by a few strokes through the front nine. At the turn we were fortunate enough to get out in front of a twosome just starting off the back nine. There wasn’t anyone to hold us up within two holes. I managed to hold on to my slim lead through the first couple holes on the back, but David eventually started making some key shots about the time I started missing. Soon he was up by two or three. He dropped a couple ‘f’ bombs earlier somewhere near the turn after a couple bad breaks. I reminded him that first and foremost we were there to have fun.
We played fairly even on the back nine with me playing bogey golf. Realistically, that’s about all I can ask of my game. I was happy. David, on the other hand, not so much. He wasn’t pleased with that kind of scoring, and understandably so. I figured the match would be decided on holes 17 & 18 and it ultimately was. We both managed pars on the treacherous par 3 - 17th. On 18, we both hit fairly nice drives, but mine was resting in some dry rough. I hit a safe 2nd shot putting me just in front of the stream guarding the green. David’s 2nd shot ended up in the creek just left of the green. In the end, he took a 7 while I took a bogey. All added up, we tied with 92’s. I was pleased, especially given that this was only my fourth round of golf all year.
I had told David earlier that tips and critiques of my swing were welcome. He gave me a few throughout the round but was largely complimentary of my swing/game. I’m thinking we finished up near 330pm. We stopped at the UDF and then drive-thru on the way home so David could get some Dos Equis. They didn’t have it at UDF. They had it across the street at the drive-thru.
Not remembering that we’d be leaving for golf again in two hours or so, I insisted we not leave our clubs in the car. We toted them to the garage as we headed inside. I made the two of us sandwiches. Mindy left a note on the island sharing that they were off to Penzone’s. I worried that they made Jacob go along. Bet he’ll pick golf the next time.
The girls actually phoned a few minutes later and Mindy shared that they were on their way home. Mindy said Jacob went to Zoombezi Bay with friends Cody & Kyle.
Mindy, Anita and Bella were home around 430pm. Anita got her nail fixed and Mindy & Bella got pedicures. We shared some snacks and listened to some music for the next hour or before we needed to leave for the Wilson Rd golf course outing. Until then, I opted to drink only Gatorade, not wanting to start drinking beer too early and then fizzle out. Jimaken showed to pick-up the kids around 515pm.
I freshened up before we left for golf again near 545pm. Of course being so close, it took only five minutes to get there. We quickly learned from Rusty R., the organizer of the 2-man best ball golf tournament, that our outing wasn’t really supposed to start until 630pm. We didn’t have a very big turn out, but then again, I wasn’t expecting there to be. I’m thinking that there were 15 golfers. That doesn’t include five or six others that were there just to help cheer us on and take photos.
David and I were paired up with our HS class president, Jeff C. and Rusty’s wife, Wendy. We tee’d off first. We birdied the 1st hole after I sunk about a 15’ putt. We eventually got to -2 under until the 7th or 8th hole where we took a bogey. Lucky for us we birdied hole #9 to go back to -2 under. And as it turned out, that score was low enough to win the outing. Yeah! David was overtly happy about the win and promptly posted a pic of the score tracking sheet to his Facebook account. “Bragging rights for the next 5 years!”
Sounded as though several folks were heading to Lucky’s bar & grill afterwards. They asked David and I to join them. We declined due to our dinner plans downtown at Milestone 229. It was 830pm or after by the time we headed for home. I was really hoping we could’ve gotten downtown earlier. No biggie. We didn’t have a reservation.
David and I both wanted showers after two rounds of golf. The girls were already ready. We both showered fast, but it was still after 9pm by the time we left for dinner. We chose 229 was so they could see/enjoy the downtown waterfront. It was almost dark by the time arrived, so they didn’t really get to appreciate the stunning sunsets it’s quickly becoming known for. And even though it was dark, the fountain park right next door was still surprisingly loud and crowded. Not only that, but the strong smell of chlorine hung heavy in the air. Because of that, we left our seating choice to David and Anita, who both quickly shared their preference for dining inside.
We were quickly guided to a table by a window over looking the south patio and fountain park. John was our server. He brought us the drinks we’d just ordered from the bar then two appetizers: four snacks and pretzel bread. The four snacks appetizer includes the amazing bacon wrapped gorgonzola stuffed dates. Yum-yum! Both David and Anita were excited to see they had a dish they were familiar with from back home in S.C., shrimp and grits. However, come time to order, only Anita went with the shrimp and grits. David ordered the scallops as did Mindy & I.
When David and Anita finished their Mai Tai’s, David impatiently went to the bar to order another after seeing our waiter tied up at another of his tables. Our meals came in a timely fashion. And by all accounts, the scallops were deliciously tender and sweet. However, the shrimp and grits weren’t at all what David and/or Anita expected. David went as far as to tell our server that the dish was prepared incorrectly. I didn’t take issue with their displeasure as taste is a personal thing. However, what I did take issue with was that it was made ‘wrong’. I liken a food dish to art, in that it can and will be expressed differently by many. Either way, they didn’t care of the local spin which boasted a spicy tomato base, which David cited as wrong. Anita, being the shy one of the two, seemed content to leave it be. In hindsight, we probably should have shared her displeasure with the dish with John in a positive way and then asked for another dish. Without question, it wasn’t at all what she expected. I am certain they would’ve have willingly replaced the dish with something more pleasing to her palate.
I was admittedly concerned that David might make too much of the mishap but in the end he didn’t. He did, however, go back and forth with John a little, but nothing one would dub inappropriate. True or not, John expressed that others have shared that the shrimp and grits dish wasn’t what they expected either. David picked up the tab despite me planning to get it. Rather than order another round of drinks, Mindy & I suggested we head to CBC for a night cap. I was craving a Bodhi.
We arrived at CBC near 11pm. There were only employees sitting around the bar, but they politely agreed to serve us drinks anyway. David and Anita ordered Bailey’s and coffee while Mindy & I went with Bodhi’s. I drank mine fast and ordered a 2nd. Yum-yum! They offered David the opportunity for a 2nd at the same time to which he refused. Little did he know they were putting away the top shelf booze for the night. Later, when he changed his mind, he was told that it was too late. He expressed a bit of displeasure to which I could only cringe. After all, CBC is one of our favorite places in the world and we’ve built strong ties with most of the help. We left for home near midnight. I drove.
As soon as we were home I headed out back with the pug for a few minutes. Back inside I cracked another beer then made a batch of buttery nipples. Everybody had one, David and I enjoyed two. By then it was approaching 1am. We all headed off to bed.
Mindy was up around 830am and started making breakfast burritos. Sometime near 9am I excused myself and headed off on a run. I ran the full 4.1 miles in the bright, warm and steamy sunshine. I worked up one heck of a sweat but never felt overheated.
Everybody had their PCs out, Anita her laptop, David his iPad, and Mindy on her laptop. We’re living in a connected world, indeed. The breakfast burritos were ready. Mindy got everybody’s started with the basics but left the customization to each of us. They were very good. Soon after breakfast we discussed how our day might unfold. We had loosely discussed a couple options, including boating and hiking. David shared that Anita wouldn’t be up for a hike due in part to her asthma. No worries. Even though David and I were scheduled to golf later that evening with members of our HS graduating class, I asked if he was up for some golf during the day. He jumped on the offer right away. We made plans to play Phoenix.
In the meantime, it sounded like Mindy & Anita were going to find a place where Anita could have a broken finger nail fixed. I hustled off to the shower around 1030am. I’m thinking that it was near 11am when we left for golf. David invited Jacob to join us but he declined the invite. I wasn’t surprised. I’ve taken him twice but he hasn’t yet gotten hooked. David offered to drive.
Arrived at Phoenix near 1130am. In the pro shop, I told the guy working the counter that we wanted to play 54 holes. Without missing a beat he nodded in agreement citing there one price play as many holes as you’d like policy. We paid for 18 holes. I picked up the tab.
This was David’s first time teeing it up at Phoenix golf links, but more importantly, the first time he & I had ever golfed together. I was fully expecting to be humbled and schooled given his strong golfing past. He slammed his first drive long but into the dry heather on the right. Uncharacteristically, I hit a rather poor drive, but at least it was safely in the fairway. I think David took two lost balls on that first hole and carded a nine to start. I, on the other hand, salvaged a par.
David has a graceful swing that more often than not produces a beautiful ball flight. His game was a little rusty otherwise he would’ve beat my pants off, I am sure. I managed to stay on top by a few strokes through the front nine. At the turn we were fortunate enough to get out in front of a twosome just starting off the back nine. There wasn’t anyone to hold us up within two holes. I managed to hold on to my slim lead through the first couple holes on the back, but David eventually started making some key shots about the time I started missing. Soon he was up by two or three. He dropped a couple ‘f’ bombs earlier somewhere near the turn after a couple bad breaks. I reminded him that first and foremost we were there to have fun.
We played fairly even on the back nine with me playing bogey golf. Realistically, that’s about all I can ask of my game. I was happy. David, on the other hand, not so much. He wasn’t pleased with that kind of scoring, and understandably so. I figured the match would be decided on holes 17 & 18 and it ultimately was. We both managed pars on the treacherous par 3 - 17th. On 18, we both hit fairly nice drives, but mine was resting in some dry rough. I hit a safe 2nd shot putting me just in front of the stream guarding the green. David’s 2nd shot ended up in the creek just left of the green. In the end, he took a 7 while I took a bogey. All added up, we tied with 92’s. I was pleased, especially given that this was only my fourth round of golf all year.
I had told David earlier that tips and critiques of my swing were welcome. He gave me a few throughout the round but was largely complimentary of my swing/game. I’m thinking we finished up near 330pm. We stopped at the UDF and then drive-thru on the way home so David could get some Dos Equis. They didn’t have it at UDF. They had it across the street at the drive-thru.
Not remembering that we’d be leaving for golf again in two hours or so, I insisted we not leave our clubs in the car. We toted them to the garage as we headed inside. I made the two of us sandwiches. Mindy left a note on the island sharing that they were off to Penzone’s. I worried that they made Jacob go along. Bet he’ll pick golf the next time.
The girls actually phoned a few minutes later and Mindy shared that they were on their way home. Mindy said Jacob went to Zoombezi Bay with friends Cody & Kyle.
Mindy, Anita and Bella were home around 430pm. Anita got her nail fixed and Mindy & Bella got pedicures. We shared some snacks and listened to some music for the next hour or before we needed to leave for the Wilson Rd golf course outing. Until then, I opted to drink only Gatorade, not wanting to start drinking beer too early and then fizzle out. Jimaken showed to pick-up the kids around 515pm.
I freshened up before we left for golf again near 545pm. Of course being so close, it took only five minutes to get there. We quickly learned from Rusty R., the organizer of the 2-man best ball golf tournament, that our outing wasn’t really supposed to start until 630pm. We didn’t have a very big turn out, but then again, I wasn’t expecting there to be. I’m thinking that there were 15 golfers. That doesn’t include five or six others that were there just to help cheer us on and take photos.
David and I were paired up with our HS class president, Jeff C. and Rusty’s wife, Wendy. We tee’d off first. We birdied the 1st hole after I sunk about a 15’ putt. We eventually got to -2 under until the 7th or 8th hole where we took a bogey. Lucky for us we birdied hole #9 to go back to -2 under. And as it turned out, that score was low enough to win the outing. Yeah! David was overtly happy about the win and promptly posted a pic of the score tracking sheet to his Facebook account. “Bragging rights for the next 5 years!”
Sounded as though several folks were heading to Lucky’s bar & grill afterwards. They asked David and I to join them. We declined due to our dinner plans downtown at Milestone 229. It was 830pm or after by the time we headed for home. I was really hoping we could’ve gotten downtown earlier. No biggie. We didn’t have a reservation.
David and I both wanted showers after two rounds of golf. The girls were already ready. We both showered fast, but it was still after 9pm by the time we left for dinner. We chose 229 was so they could see/enjoy the downtown waterfront. It was almost dark by the time arrived, so they didn’t really get to appreciate the stunning sunsets it’s quickly becoming known for. And even though it was dark, the fountain park right next door was still surprisingly loud and crowded. Not only that, but the strong smell of chlorine hung heavy in the air. Because of that, we left our seating choice to David and Anita, who both quickly shared their preference for dining inside.
We were quickly guided to a table by a window over looking the south patio and fountain park. John was our server. He brought us the drinks we’d just ordered from the bar then two appetizers: four snacks and pretzel bread. The four snacks appetizer includes the amazing bacon wrapped gorgonzola stuffed dates. Yum-yum! Both David and Anita were excited to see they had a dish they were familiar with from back home in S.C., shrimp and grits. However, come time to order, only Anita went with the shrimp and grits. David ordered the scallops as did Mindy & I.
When David and Anita finished their Mai Tai’s, David impatiently went to the bar to order another after seeing our waiter tied up at another of his tables. Our meals came in a timely fashion. And by all accounts, the scallops were deliciously tender and sweet. However, the shrimp and grits weren’t at all what David and/or Anita expected. David went as far as to tell our server that the dish was prepared incorrectly. I didn’t take issue with their displeasure as taste is a personal thing. However, what I did take issue with was that it was made ‘wrong’. I liken a food dish to art, in that it can and will be expressed differently by many. Either way, they didn’t care of the local spin which boasted a spicy tomato base, which David cited as wrong. Anita, being the shy one of the two, seemed content to leave it be. In hindsight, we probably should have shared her displeasure with the dish with John in a positive way and then asked for another dish. Without question, it wasn’t at all what she expected. I am certain they would’ve have willingly replaced the dish with something more pleasing to her palate.
I was admittedly concerned that David might make too much of the mishap but in the end he didn’t. He did, however, go back and forth with John a little, but nothing one would dub inappropriate. True or not, John expressed that others have shared that the shrimp and grits dish wasn’t what they expected either. David picked up the tab despite me planning to get it. Rather than order another round of drinks, Mindy & I suggested we head to CBC for a night cap. I was craving a Bodhi.
We arrived at CBC near 11pm. There were only employees sitting around the bar, but they politely agreed to serve us drinks anyway. David and Anita ordered Bailey’s and coffee while Mindy & I went with Bodhi’s. I drank mine fast and ordered a 2nd. Yum-yum! They offered David the opportunity for a 2nd at the same time to which he refused. Little did he know they were putting away the top shelf booze for the night. Later, when he changed his mind, he was told that it was too late. He expressed a bit of displeasure to which I could only cringe. After all, CBC is one of our favorite places in the world and we’ve built strong ties with most of the help. We left for home near midnight. I drove.
As soon as we were home I headed out back with the pug for a few minutes. Back inside I cracked another beer then made a batch of buttery nipples. Everybody had one, David and I enjoyed two. By then it was approaching 1am. We all headed off to bed.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
David & Anita Visit Jimindy
I was up near 530am and quickly at my routine. I wisely prepped coffee the evening before so I was able to dive right into calisthenics. I finished sit-ups and curls then headed to the PC with a cup of coffee. It was going to be another warm day, already alarming warm at 72 degrees, with an expected high reaching into the low 90's. Unfortunately, I read how the Red's lost to the Indians for the 3rd game, meaning they were swept in a 3-game series. Damn!
I did a meditation and stretch then left for a run. I was out the door late again, somewhere near 650am. Already warm and sunny, and the air wet and close. The trash truck was just pulling away as I stepped out the door to stretch the hammies from the porch. Carl was already up retrieving his emptied can from our side of the street. I ran the full 4.1 miles working up a healthy sweat but enjoying every second.
Back at the house I pulled our trash can back to its resting spot then headed inside to start my breakfast. After enjoying two eggs but ahead of a shower I walked the pug. Mindy was up before I had a chance to deliver her coffee, though I had it poured by the time she made it to the kitchen. Now nearing 8am, I was quickly off to the shower.
It didn't take me long to shower & ready. And since it was effectively my Friday, I wore blue jeans and a pink polo. I thought I might drive the BM'er but ultimately scrapped that notion. Saving Mindy the trouble, around 820am I headed outback to water flowers. She was having a house full of friends over later that morning. I knew she'd appreciate having one less thing to consider beforehand. Instead of enjoying coffee outside on the deck before leaving, we spent a few minutes together in the kitchen before I bolted for work.
I hoped to have a relatively easy, predictable day at the office. I was settled in and busy by 9am. I got a text from David sharing that they were on their way just before 9am. My boss stopped in to chat shortly after my morning was off and running. There were rampant rumors of more layoffs happening that day. I didn't ask him if they were true but shared that I heard rumors of impending layoffs. He only confirmed that I was safe. And while I never worry about such things since it's out of my control, it was good to hear that I wasn't impacted. Lord knows I have enough things to worry about that I can control.
I took care of two or three major to-do's on my daily list ahead of lunchtime. Sometime near noon I made calls to Gentiles, Whole Foods, then Market District asking if they had any White Rajah in stock. Both Whole Foods and Gentiles shared they had one six-pack each. Market District, who I called last, said they had 3 six-packs. I left the office at 1245pm planning to make at least two stops, and maybe three. My first stop was Home Depot to return the defective color changing solar landscape fixture I bought in New Albany the day before. The exchanged it without questions. From there I headed to the Market District in the Kingsdale Center. Instead of 3 s-x-packs, it looked more like 3 cases. Wahoo! I carted a full case of White Rajah. Felt like I hit a home run. :)
Before heading back to the office, I figured to make one more stop at the Kroger on Cemetery Rd hoping to pick-up sparklers for the kids. They often have them in a cardboard kiosk this time of year. I wasn't disappointed, and picked up a whole handful of multi-packs. I was headed back to the office after being out for just about an hour.
The afternoon was quiet and calm. I was able to complete of all my necessary to-do's by 430pm. We were expecting David and Anita to arrive around 6pm, so I hoped to get out of the office by 5pm. I would be on-call over the weekend and as a consequence would have Friday off as a comp day. It still felt as though I was leaving or a three-day weekend.
I arrived home around 525pm. Mindy had the house neat and tidy even after her teacher shindig earlier in the day. There were still a few snacks and appetizers sitting out, which she planned to leave out for the arrival of our house guests, David & Anita. David texted around 550pm to let us know that they were near. They arrived just a few minutes after 6pm, but had to call for more precise directions after turning the wrong direction off of a nearby cross street. Mindy headed outside to greet them at the curb. I followed right behind. We greeted both with a hug and then headed inside. David & Anita gifted us plenty. There was fruit, nuts, and drink, Jack Daniels for me, and wine for Mindy. Thanks David!
After a few minutes of settling down we shared a couple weekend house rules. One, make yourself at home. Two, let us know if there is anything you need. And three, have fun! Mindy planned to grill chicken and did so around 630pm. She didn't make a lot of sides, but we had lots of sweet snacks out from Mindy's gig earlier in the day. The chicken was good. After dinner we hung out on the deck sipping beers. I think both David and Anita drank Bailey's on ice. Mindy called and invited my dad over to see David. He accepted and showed about 30 minutes later. Dad mentioned thinking he would be seeing Sean M. but quickly recognized David. He really hasn't changed much physically, though a bit taller (late growth spurt) and perhaps a tad heavier.
We talked old times, both from our extreme youth and then our days living in Florida after turning 18. We laughed hard! Dad headed home around 930-10pm. I'm thinking the rest of us hung out on the deck until about 1030-11pm. During that time David perused Facebook via his iPad showing me pictures and profiles from many West High school compadres as well as our circle of girl friends from elementary school (I.E. Linda Clemons, Debbie Lombard, Debbie Marcum, Jodi Shore, etc). There seemed to be a dramatic story with each. I was a bit taken back with a few of them.
Mindy made sure our guests had what they needed to get settled in the guest room then we all headed for bed. Good night moon.
I did a meditation and stretch then left for a run. I was out the door late again, somewhere near 650am. Already warm and sunny, and the air wet and close. The trash truck was just pulling away as I stepped out the door to stretch the hammies from the porch. Carl was already up retrieving his emptied can from our side of the street. I ran the full 4.1 miles working up a healthy sweat but enjoying every second.
Back at the house I pulled our trash can back to its resting spot then headed inside to start my breakfast. After enjoying two eggs but ahead of a shower I walked the pug. Mindy was up before I had a chance to deliver her coffee, though I had it poured by the time she made it to the kitchen. Now nearing 8am, I was quickly off to the shower.
It didn't take me long to shower & ready. And since it was effectively my Friday, I wore blue jeans and a pink polo. I thought I might drive the BM'er but ultimately scrapped that notion. Saving Mindy the trouble, around 820am I headed outback to water flowers. She was having a house full of friends over later that morning. I knew she'd appreciate having one less thing to consider beforehand. Instead of enjoying coffee outside on the deck before leaving, we spent a few minutes together in the kitchen before I bolted for work.
I hoped to have a relatively easy, predictable day at the office. I was settled in and busy by 9am. I got a text from David sharing that they were on their way just before 9am. My boss stopped in to chat shortly after my morning was off and running. There were rampant rumors of more layoffs happening that day. I didn't ask him if they were true but shared that I heard rumors of impending layoffs. He only confirmed that I was safe. And while I never worry about such things since it's out of my control, it was good to hear that I wasn't impacted. Lord knows I have enough things to worry about that I can control.
I took care of two or three major to-do's on my daily list ahead of lunchtime. Sometime near noon I made calls to Gentiles, Whole Foods, then Market District asking if they had any White Rajah in stock. Both Whole Foods and Gentiles shared they had one six-pack each. Market District, who I called last, said they had 3 six-packs. I left the office at 1245pm planning to make at least two stops, and maybe three. My first stop was Home Depot to return the defective color changing solar landscape fixture I bought in New Albany the day before. The exchanged it without questions. From there I headed to the Market District in the Kingsdale Center. Instead of 3 s-x-packs, it looked more like 3 cases. Wahoo! I carted a full case of White Rajah. Felt like I hit a home run. :)
Before heading back to the office, I figured to make one more stop at the Kroger on Cemetery Rd hoping to pick-up sparklers for the kids. They often have them in a cardboard kiosk this time of year. I wasn't disappointed, and picked up a whole handful of multi-packs. I was headed back to the office after being out for just about an hour.
The afternoon was quiet and calm. I was able to complete of all my necessary to-do's by 430pm. We were expecting David and Anita to arrive around 6pm, so I hoped to get out of the office by 5pm. I would be on-call over the weekend and as a consequence would have Friday off as a comp day. It still felt as though I was leaving or a three-day weekend.
I arrived home around 525pm. Mindy had the house neat and tidy even after her teacher shindig earlier in the day. There were still a few snacks and appetizers sitting out, which she planned to leave out for the arrival of our house guests, David & Anita. David texted around 550pm to let us know that they were near. They arrived just a few minutes after 6pm, but had to call for more precise directions after turning the wrong direction off of a nearby cross street. Mindy headed outside to greet them at the curb. I followed right behind. We greeted both with a hug and then headed inside. David & Anita gifted us plenty. There was fruit, nuts, and drink, Jack Daniels for me, and wine for Mindy. Thanks David!
After a few minutes of settling down we shared a couple weekend house rules. One, make yourself at home. Two, let us know if there is anything you need. And three, have fun! Mindy planned to grill chicken and did so around 630pm. She didn't make a lot of sides, but we had lots of sweet snacks out from Mindy's gig earlier in the day. The chicken was good. After dinner we hung out on the deck sipping beers. I think both David and Anita drank Bailey's on ice. Mindy called and invited my dad over to see David. He accepted and showed about 30 minutes later. Dad mentioned thinking he would be seeing Sean M. but quickly recognized David. He really hasn't changed much physically, though a bit taller (late growth spurt) and perhaps a tad heavier.
We talked old times, both from our extreme youth and then our days living in Florida after turning 18. We laughed hard! Dad headed home around 930-10pm. I'm thinking the rest of us hung out on the deck until about 1030-11pm. During that time David perused Facebook via his iPad showing me pictures and profiles from many West High school compadres as well as our circle of girl friends from elementary school (I.E. Linda Clemons, Debbie Lombard, Debbie Marcum, Jodi Shore, etc). There seemed to be a dramatic story with each. I was a bit taken back with a few of them.
Mindy made sure our guests had what they needed to get settled in the guest room then we all headed for bed. Good night moon.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
1st Day of Summer '12
I wasn’t up until 550am after electing to sleep in a little bit longer than usual. I went through the usual paces of starting coffee, slipping into my exercise shoes, and glancing out back at the weather. The skies were clear as expected. I choked down a naproxen then jumped head long into my exercises completing both sit-ups and push-ups over the next 5-10 minutes.
It was after 6am by the time I was sitting at my PC with coffee. I checked the headlines somewhat anxious to see who won the NBA basketball game the night before. The Heat trailed by 3 points at the half when I headed to bed. The Heat won taking a 3-1 advantage in the 7 game series. Good. I am happy for LBJ.
I halted PC time near 620am and completed both meditation then stretching. Once again, meditation was exceptional. The stretching was good, too. Dressed and headed out for a run around 650am. It was warm and the sun a bit higher in the sky than I’m used to. I took notice of the sun’s position, this the first day of summer, though the actual solstice wouldn’t occur until 709pm EDT. I ran the full 4.1 miles enjoying every step.
It was close to 730am when I finished and immediately started prepping my breakfast and lunch. Enjoyed two fried eggs along with fresh fruit and OJ. Went for Eiknarf next, or just ahead of taking Mindy coffee. We walked to the west doing our best to avoid the dried goose crap on the sidewalks. Back at the house I fed Eiknarf her egg and chow then prepped Mindy’s coffee and headed up for a shower. By then it was darn near 8am.
Mindy didn’t acknowledge the coffee until I was about to walk away. She insisted on hug before I hit the shower. No problem.
I needed a shave. Took care of that and also watered the 6 bedroom plants before a shower, too. Mindy was soon out of bed, in fact had it made and was already downstairs by the time I was ready. Downstairs we enjoyed a little coffee time on the deck drinking in the lovely summery sunshine. Mindy planned to run some errands with the kids, but also had a doctor’s appointment with her ortho/neuro guy. Hopefully her last. I think they were doing lunch with nephew Joe-Joe and maw-maw at the Rusty Bucket, too.
It was a New Albany work day for me. I thought I’d stop in and get a haircut at the local Saturday’s during lunch. I left the house in the Accord at 850am. I took 670 east and didn’t run into any traffic issues. Made great time, arriving at my customer’s digs by 915am. It was an enjoyable walk into the building from the deep lot, the smell of summer hanging heavy in the morning air. Ahh!
We had our regular 10am call. It went smoothly. All the escalated issues had already been addressed. I took the opportunity to share my vacation plans. They needed to know for a couple reasons, one because we needed to reschedule our monthly service meeting, and two, so they wouldn’t try reaching me. I plan to take my laptop on vacation and complete the majority of the monthly report either early mornings or late at night. That was I won’t be scrambling upon my return to work, which can be stressful. They were happy with the plan.
The rest of the morning went smoothly and around 1245pm I left for lunch heading to the Saturday’s up the road a couple miles. Jessica was there, but in the back doing something else when I arrived and they checked me in. I was going to request her specifically but didn’t. Another girl cut my hair. She was a bit older and pudgy. I know it’s not fair but I typically judge my stylist by appearance alone, at least initially. However, the older I get the less I’m concerned about any one haircut. Don’t get me wrong. I want to look good, but I won’t fret over a less than stellar job. It grows back fast. In fact, my last cut was only three weeks ago.
Turned out, the girl did a good job and took a little more length than the last cut. This one should last me until the end of July. As always, I declined the gel citing that I had some in the car and would fix it just so once there. The price has increased yet again - $19.45 before tip. Of course I left a good tip.
After my cut I ventured across the street to Home Depot where I picked up two new color changing solar landscape light fixtures. Also picked up a three pack of small LED flashlights. They’ll come in handy at the beach at night. Spent a while browsing the power tool aisle as well. I walked through the garden center too. I was most impressed with the tree-like gardenia’s that look an awful lot like the hibiscus trees. The difference is that the gardenia’s flower looks more like a rose and smells about as good as any flower I’ve ever smelt. I nearly bought one, but it would have been a tight fit in the Accord. Maybe another time with the Pilot. I headed back to the office. Meanwhile, it was steamy and warm, already about 93 degrees.
Max Shultz was out front taking a break when I got back from lunch. I congratulated him for getting a fulltime gig with my customer. We laughed about how happy that would make his parents. I grabbed my packed lunch from the fridge then headed back to my office where I spent most of the afternoon crunching/merging data in Excel using vlookups and such. Anytime I get absorbed into data gathering and crunching time absolutely flies by, and Wednesday was no exception.
The afternoon was otherwise quiet, no urgent escalations. To that end I left for home just after 430pm. I called Mindy once I was safely on 270. We didn’t talk for too long. She and the kids were just home from running errands all day. She planned to grill something for dinner. Traffic backed up just like usually does near Tuttle Mall and was at a snails crawl the rest of the way south on 270. I didn’t arrive home until about 510pm.
Mindy had the grill going and Bella was on the deck washing our plastic deck chairs that we use sparingly. I noticed a spray bottle of cleaner. I only asked if it was Clorox cleaner that she avoid getting it on the nearby planters. Mindy shared that it was Fantastik. She also shared that I’d have time for a quick nap if I desired. Wow, it’s like she read my mind. I used my book as a sleep aid and after reading a page or two I was out. Next thing I knew Mindy and the kids were waking me for dinner.
She grilled marinated pork chops and heated canned corn. Both were good. Bella asked if Mindy pounded the chops before grilling. She hadn’t. The kids headed off to play with their peeps soon after finishing their meal. Mindy and I talked about our weekend plans, and more specifically, what we’d be doing with David and Anita’s after their arrival Thursday evening. Mindy’s got the spare room all ready for their visit and offered up a few suggestions: boating, dinner at 229 or CBC, etc. David and I are golfing Friday evening at Wilson Rd with others from our graduating class.
After clean-up, Mindy took care of some preparations for a get together she has planned for all her teacher friends tomorrow afternoon at our place. She’s got quite the busy social agenda. I put together an oscillating stand fan Mindy picked up at Wal-Mart, and one we plan to use on the deck on really hot days. I wanted black, but Mindy bought white. It’s not that big of a deal. I opened the two new color changing solar landscape light fixtures too. One wouldn’t work right after pulling the plastic tab. Dang it! I’m not having good luck with the colored lights. I monkeyed with it eventually getting it to come on. The only trouble now as that it wouldn’t go out even in the sunshine. Great! The other seemed to work fine. I left the broken on and resting on the table expecting the battery to drain after a few hours. I figured to return it/exchange it on Thursday to the Mill Run Home Depot.
Now after 730pm, I headed upstairs and changed into my comfy shorts and a t-shirt then settled into the chair with my book. Mindy asked if I wanted to share a beer. Nah. I was good with ice water. I shared that my finger feels as good as it has since before the injury. Still not fully right by any measure, but getting so much better. Mindy offered that I should stay on the Naproxen for at least another week. She also massaged the specific tendon area for a minute or two. I iced it again while reading. That seems to help too.
I tuned the TV to the History Channel 2 watching the end of a program about a lighthouse the Greeks built back in antiquity, some 3000 years ago. They hypothesized about how they generated the beacon for the light. That was interesting, but what I was more interested in was the next program, a show about Einstein’s life. Not only did I watch it live, but also DVR’d it. I am fascinated with his mind and his contribution to physics. One interesting tid-bit about Einstein, he envisioned many of his theories just by sitting or walking quietly. Only later would he do the math and set up experiments to try and prove them correct. The whole idea about warped spacetime fabric is awesome.
Everybody else headed up for bed long before me and well before 10pm. I fell asleep while watching Einstein waking near 1015pm. I headed up to bed and Eiknarf followed. Turned out that everybody was still awake in their rooms, including Mindy who was up reading. I dropped Eiknarf off to Bella then leaped into bed face first, belly down. Good night moonless first day of summer.
It was after 6am by the time I was sitting at my PC with coffee. I checked the headlines somewhat anxious to see who won the NBA basketball game the night before. The Heat trailed by 3 points at the half when I headed to bed. The Heat won taking a 3-1 advantage in the 7 game series. Good. I am happy for LBJ.
I halted PC time near 620am and completed both meditation then stretching. Once again, meditation was exceptional. The stretching was good, too. Dressed and headed out for a run around 650am. It was warm and the sun a bit higher in the sky than I’m used to. I took notice of the sun’s position, this the first day of summer, though the actual solstice wouldn’t occur until 709pm EDT. I ran the full 4.1 miles enjoying every step.
It was close to 730am when I finished and immediately started prepping my breakfast and lunch. Enjoyed two fried eggs along with fresh fruit and OJ. Went for Eiknarf next, or just ahead of taking Mindy coffee. We walked to the west doing our best to avoid the dried goose crap on the sidewalks. Back at the house I fed Eiknarf her egg and chow then prepped Mindy’s coffee and headed up for a shower. By then it was darn near 8am.
Mindy didn’t acknowledge the coffee until I was about to walk away. She insisted on hug before I hit the shower. No problem.
I needed a shave. Took care of that and also watered the 6 bedroom plants before a shower, too. Mindy was soon out of bed, in fact had it made and was already downstairs by the time I was ready. Downstairs we enjoyed a little coffee time on the deck drinking in the lovely summery sunshine. Mindy planned to run some errands with the kids, but also had a doctor’s appointment with her ortho/neuro guy. Hopefully her last. I think they were doing lunch with nephew Joe-Joe and maw-maw at the Rusty Bucket, too.
It was a New Albany work day for me. I thought I’d stop in and get a haircut at the local Saturday’s during lunch. I left the house in the Accord at 850am. I took 670 east and didn’t run into any traffic issues. Made great time, arriving at my customer’s digs by 915am. It was an enjoyable walk into the building from the deep lot, the smell of summer hanging heavy in the morning air. Ahh!
We had our regular 10am call. It went smoothly. All the escalated issues had already been addressed. I took the opportunity to share my vacation plans. They needed to know for a couple reasons, one because we needed to reschedule our monthly service meeting, and two, so they wouldn’t try reaching me. I plan to take my laptop on vacation and complete the majority of the monthly report either early mornings or late at night. That was I won’t be scrambling upon my return to work, which can be stressful. They were happy with the plan.
The rest of the morning went smoothly and around 1245pm I left for lunch heading to the Saturday’s up the road a couple miles. Jessica was there, but in the back doing something else when I arrived and they checked me in. I was going to request her specifically but didn’t. Another girl cut my hair. She was a bit older and pudgy. I know it’s not fair but I typically judge my stylist by appearance alone, at least initially. However, the older I get the less I’m concerned about any one haircut. Don’t get me wrong. I want to look good, but I won’t fret over a less than stellar job. It grows back fast. In fact, my last cut was only three weeks ago.
Turned out, the girl did a good job and took a little more length than the last cut. This one should last me until the end of July. As always, I declined the gel citing that I had some in the car and would fix it just so once there. The price has increased yet again - $19.45 before tip. Of course I left a good tip.
After my cut I ventured across the street to Home Depot where I picked up two new color changing solar landscape light fixtures. Also picked up a three pack of small LED flashlights. They’ll come in handy at the beach at night. Spent a while browsing the power tool aisle as well. I walked through the garden center too. I was most impressed with the tree-like gardenia’s that look an awful lot like the hibiscus trees. The difference is that the gardenia’s flower looks more like a rose and smells about as good as any flower I’ve ever smelt. I nearly bought one, but it would have been a tight fit in the Accord. Maybe another time with the Pilot. I headed back to the office. Meanwhile, it was steamy and warm, already about 93 degrees.
Max Shultz was out front taking a break when I got back from lunch. I congratulated him for getting a fulltime gig with my customer. We laughed about how happy that would make his parents. I grabbed my packed lunch from the fridge then headed back to my office where I spent most of the afternoon crunching/merging data in Excel using vlookups and such. Anytime I get absorbed into data gathering and crunching time absolutely flies by, and Wednesday was no exception.
The afternoon was otherwise quiet, no urgent escalations. To that end I left for home just after 430pm. I called Mindy once I was safely on 270. We didn’t talk for too long. She and the kids were just home from running errands all day. She planned to grill something for dinner. Traffic backed up just like usually does near Tuttle Mall and was at a snails crawl the rest of the way south on 270. I didn’t arrive home until about 510pm.
Mindy had the grill going and Bella was on the deck washing our plastic deck chairs that we use sparingly. I noticed a spray bottle of cleaner. I only asked if it was Clorox cleaner that she avoid getting it on the nearby planters. Mindy shared that it was Fantastik. She also shared that I’d have time for a quick nap if I desired. Wow, it’s like she read my mind. I used my book as a sleep aid and after reading a page or two I was out. Next thing I knew Mindy and the kids were waking me for dinner.
She grilled marinated pork chops and heated canned corn. Both were good. Bella asked if Mindy pounded the chops before grilling. She hadn’t. The kids headed off to play with their peeps soon after finishing their meal. Mindy and I talked about our weekend plans, and more specifically, what we’d be doing with David and Anita’s after their arrival Thursday evening. Mindy’s got the spare room all ready for their visit and offered up a few suggestions: boating, dinner at 229 or CBC, etc. David and I are golfing Friday evening at Wilson Rd with others from our graduating class.
After clean-up, Mindy took care of some preparations for a get together she has planned for all her teacher friends tomorrow afternoon at our place. She’s got quite the busy social agenda. I put together an oscillating stand fan Mindy picked up at Wal-Mart, and one we plan to use on the deck on really hot days. I wanted black, but Mindy bought white. It’s not that big of a deal. I opened the two new color changing solar landscape light fixtures too. One wouldn’t work right after pulling the plastic tab. Dang it! I’m not having good luck with the colored lights. I monkeyed with it eventually getting it to come on. The only trouble now as that it wouldn’t go out even in the sunshine. Great! The other seemed to work fine. I left the broken on and resting on the table expecting the battery to drain after a few hours. I figured to return it/exchange it on Thursday to the Mill Run Home Depot.
Now after 730pm, I headed upstairs and changed into my comfy shorts and a t-shirt then settled into the chair with my book. Mindy asked if I wanted to share a beer. Nah. I was good with ice water. I shared that my finger feels as good as it has since before the injury. Still not fully right by any measure, but getting so much better. Mindy offered that I should stay on the Naproxen for at least another week. She also massaged the specific tendon area for a minute or two. I iced it again while reading. That seems to help too.
I tuned the TV to the History Channel 2 watching the end of a program about a lighthouse the Greeks built back in antiquity, some 3000 years ago. They hypothesized about how they generated the beacon for the light. That was interesting, but what I was more interested in was the next program, a show about Einstein’s life. Not only did I watch it live, but also DVR’d it. I am fascinated with his mind and his contribution to physics. One interesting tid-bit about Einstein, he envisioned many of his theories just by sitting or walking quietly. Only later would he do the math and set up experiments to try and prove them correct. The whole idea about warped spacetime fabric is awesome.
Everybody else headed up for bed long before me and well before 10pm. I fell asleep while watching Einstein waking near 1015pm. I headed up to bed and Eiknarf followed. Turned out that everybody was still awake in their rooms, including Mindy who was up reading. I dropped Eiknarf off to Bella then leaped into bed face first, belly down. Good night moonless first day of summer.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
No Lunch BM'er Day
I was up near 540am again this the last full day of spring 2012. I slept like a rock not waking even once before glancing a the clock and seeing that it was time to get moving. That left me a bit groggy until I was downstairs. But once I had the coffee started and calisthenics underway I was golden.
Somewhere along the line I popped a Naproxen. Can’t recall where exactly in my routine. The important thing was that I took one therefore continuing my scheduled attack on my trigger finger. Exercises completed, I headed to the PC with a cup of coffee in hand. I played around online for nearly 20 minutes. I opened our water bill that I’d forgotten about for the last two weeks. Saw that it was only for 77 days and due on June 21st. Must’ve put us on a new billing cycle after having the meter replaced almost a month ago. The bill was for $242, or an average of $3.15 per day. And the last day of the billing cycle was May 22nd so that doesn’t include much irrigation system water. We’ll get our next bill near the end of August. I’ll then be able to calculate the additional cost per day when using the irrigation system. I’m guessing the increase to be about an additional $1 per day.
Did meditation and stretch next. Both went well, especially the meditation. My stiff neck and shoulder caused by the slip when chasing geese out of the yard last Saturday is finally fading. I’m thankful for that, and hopefully a little wiser too.
It was close to 645am when I left for a run. It was clear and 71 degrees. Expecting a high near 95 with no rain in sight. I figured to be driving the BM’er to work, too. I ran the full 4.1 miles feeling good the entire way. I finished coated in sweat but no worse for the wear.
Inside I quickly got started on prepping breakfast and lunch. I decided to make it an omelet day using three eggs and Colby jack cheese. I thought I heard Eiknarf stirring upstairs. I went to look. Sure enough, she was sitting at the top of the stairs. I decided to take her out before cooking my eggs. I wisely turned the heat off on the stove before we headed out.
She took care of her business in short order. Back at the house I restarted the omelet making process. I split the omelet into three sections, the largest for me, another section for Mindy, and the smallest section for the pug. I enjoyed my omelet with a slice of whole wheat toast, orange juice and fruit. Before heading upstairs I fed the pug then poured Mindy some coffee.
I left her coffee on the night stand thinking that she wasn’t going to wake. However, as soon as I turned away for the shower she woke. After a brief hug, I headed in to ready for the work day. I wasn’t long getting ready. Mindy decided to get up and join after confirming that I had time for another cup of coffee. Downstairs she reminded me that it was a Rachel day and that she and the kids would be running a handful of errands including taking back my drill combo kit. I asked that she please water all the flowers sometime that morning. She agreed. She also agreed to move the Accord to the curb to simplify my departure.
I’m thinking that it was near 840 when I finally left for work It was a short, fun drive into the office, but then again, almost every BM’er day results in a fun driving experience. I was settled into my office near 9am. My boss stopped by however briefly just to chat. Mindy called sometime near 10am with a question. About what, however, I can’t recall. I think it had something to do with David and Anita’s visit.
I spent most of my morning working on collecting/reviewing data for my two new customers. Mindy called me back again within the hour. This time she and the kids were at Lowes to exchange the combo drill kit. She wanted to confirm the one I really wanted. I wanted one similar, but a regular drill as opposed to a hammer drill. She called back again a couple minutes later for more clarity and to share that they didn’t sell the combo drill/driver kit with a regular drill. Wanted to know if I wanted the hammer drill after all. I Googled while talking with her on the phone. Appeared she was correct. Even though she ended up getting me what she got me in the first place I saved her at least $50 since it was that much cheaper at Home Depot. They also were running a special, throwing in an additional 20v 3mah battery, a $100 value for no additional charge. Good deal!
I ended up working through lunch with no errands to run. I took some time to fetch my packed lunch but then ate while I worked. The day was moving quite fast. Around 3pm I took a break and talked with my peer, Lance for almost an hour. We haven’t had a chance to catch up for a week or so.
Mindy was heading to a funeral home in Lancaster for the showing of her church’s former pastor’s wife. Originally, she was going to wait for me to get home, but doing that math would have put us there near the end. As luck would have it, it was a Jimaken night for the kids. She planned to leave once he arrived to get the kids. Sounded like I would have some time to myself. I left for home around 530pm.
It was a quick drive home and the house was sparkling clean. Mindy left my new drill combo kit by my PC. After unloading the dishwasher I opened the box, got out the two drills and charged two of the three batteries. Mindy called just before 7pm to let me know that she was just leaving the funeral home and asked if I wanted to meet somewhere for dinner/beer. But given that Jimaken would have the kids back by 830pm, it didn’t make much sense to hurry and meet somewhere for 30-45 minutes. I was happy sticking around the house.
With that determined, I went ahead and ate the leftover turkey cheddar brat that I prepped the evening before. Afterwards, I went to the family room to do some reading. After a few pages my eyes got ridiculously heavy and I fell asleep until Mindy arrived. I’m guessing that was near 730pm. Said she was surprised/happy to see that I had already opened my Father’s Day gift.
We headed out on the deck near 8pm to enjoy the warm but tolerable evening. As planned, the kids were home somewhere close to 830pm. Bella headed up to her room to play while Jacob joined us on the deck bringing his old and new airsoft rifles out and hoping I might be able to fix whatever was ailing the new one. I fooled with it for a while eventually getting it to fire, but it still wouldn’t launch an airsoft b-b. Mindy & I both monkeyed around with the b-b clip until we concluded that the clip spring was bad. Jacob went in to Google a replacement and found one within minutes both at Crosman and at Wal-Mart for $13-$15. And given that he spent about $100 on the gun, that seemed a reasonable price to get it back into action.
I had to laugh at his ingenuity. He took the battery from his new one (same voltage but different shape) and used duct tape to attach it to his old riffle getting it back into action. Mindy shared that he came up with that idea all on his own. Perhaps there is hope!
We watched the 1st quarter of the NBA finals from the deck after Jacob went in and raised the blinds so we could see the TV. We hung out on the deck until just after 915m. Mindy headed up to read around 930pm while Jacob and I watched the game from the family room until halftime. The Heat were down by as many as 17 points early on but down by only 3 points at the half. Already after 10pm, I begged off for bed. Jacob and Bella planned to watch the rest of the game from his room.
Mindy and I were pleasantly surprised that they were hanging out together in his room without fighting.
Somewhere along the line I popped a Naproxen. Can’t recall where exactly in my routine. The important thing was that I took one therefore continuing my scheduled attack on my trigger finger. Exercises completed, I headed to the PC with a cup of coffee in hand. I played around online for nearly 20 minutes. I opened our water bill that I’d forgotten about for the last two weeks. Saw that it was only for 77 days and due on June 21st. Must’ve put us on a new billing cycle after having the meter replaced almost a month ago. The bill was for $242, or an average of $3.15 per day. And the last day of the billing cycle was May 22nd so that doesn’t include much irrigation system water. We’ll get our next bill near the end of August. I’ll then be able to calculate the additional cost per day when using the irrigation system. I’m guessing the increase to be about an additional $1 per day.
Did meditation and stretch next. Both went well, especially the meditation. My stiff neck and shoulder caused by the slip when chasing geese out of the yard last Saturday is finally fading. I’m thankful for that, and hopefully a little wiser too.
It was close to 645am when I left for a run. It was clear and 71 degrees. Expecting a high near 95 with no rain in sight. I figured to be driving the BM’er to work, too. I ran the full 4.1 miles feeling good the entire way. I finished coated in sweat but no worse for the wear.
Inside I quickly got started on prepping breakfast and lunch. I decided to make it an omelet day using three eggs and Colby jack cheese. I thought I heard Eiknarf stirring upstairs. I went to look. Sure enough, she was sitting at the top of the stairs. I decided to take her out before cooking my eggs. I wisely turned the heat off on the stove before we headed out.
She took care of her business in short order. Back at the house I restarted the omelet making process. I split the omelet into three sections, the largest for me, another section for Mindy, and the smallest section for the pug. I enjoyed my omelet with a slice of whole wheat toast, orange juice and fruit. Before heading upstairs I fed the pug then poured Mindy some coffee.
I left her coffee on the night stand thinking that she wasn’t going to wake. However, as soon as I turned away for the shower she woke. After a brief hug, I headed in to ready for the work day. I wasn’t long getting ready. Mindy decided to get up and join after confirming that I had time for another cup of coffee. Downstairs she reminded me that it was a Rachel day and that she and the kids would be running a handful of errands including taking back my drill combo kit. I asked that she please water all the flowers sometime that morning. She agreed. She also agreed to move the Accord to the curb to simplify my departure.
I’m thinking that it was near 840 when I finally left for work It was a short, fun drive into the office, but then again, almost every BM’er day results in a fun driving experience. I was settled into my office near 9am. My boss stopped by however briefly just to chat. Mindy called sometime near 10am with a question. About what, however, I can’t recall. I think it had something to do with David and Anita’s visit.
I spent most of my morning working on collecting/reviewing data for my two new customers. Mindy called me back again within the hour. This time she and the kids were at Lowes to exchange the combo drill kit. She wanted to confirm the one I really wanted. I wanted one similar, but a regular drill as opposed to a hammer drill. She called back again a couple minutes later for more clarity and to share that they didn’t sell the combo drill/driver kit with a regular drill. Wanted to know if I wanted the hammer drill after all. I Googled while talking with her on the phone. Appeared she was correct. Even though she ended up getting me what she got me in the first place I saved her at least $50 since it was that much cheaper at Home Depot. They also were running a special, throwing in an additional 20v 3mah battery, a $100 value for no additional charge. Good deal!
I ended up working through lunch with no errands to run. I took some time to fetch my packed lunch but then ate while I worked. The day was moving quite fast. Around 3pm I took a break and talked with my peer, Lance for almost an hour. We haven’t had a chance to catch up for a week or so.
Mindy was heading to a funeral home in Lancaster for the showing of her church’s former pastor’s wife. Originally, she was going to wait for me to get home, but doing that math would have put us there near the end. As luck would have it, it was a Jimaken night for the kids. She planned to leave once he arrived to get the kids. Sounded like I would have some time to myself. I left for home around 530pm.
It was a quick drive home and the house was sparkling clean. Mindy left my new drill combo kit by my PC. After unloading the dishwasher I opened the box, got out the two drills and charged two of the three batteries. Mindy called just before 7pm to let me know that she was just leaving the funeral home and asked if I wanted to meet somewhere for dinner/beer. But given that Jimaken would have the kids back by 830pm, it didn’t make much sense to hurry and meet somewhere for 30-45 minutes. I was happy sticking around the house.
With that determined, I went ahead and ate the leftover turkey cheddar brat that I prepped the evening before. Afterwards, I went to the family room to do some reading. After a few pages my eyes got ridiculously heavy and I fell asleep until Mindy arrived. I’m guessing that was near 730pm. Said she was surprised/happy to see that I had already opened my Father’s Day gift.
We headed out on the deck near 8pm to enjoy the warm but tolerable evening. As planned, the kids were home somewhere close to 830pm. Bella headed up to her room to play while Jacob joined us on the deck bringing his old and new airsoft rifles out and hoping I might be able to fix whatever was ailing the new one. I fooled with it for a while eventually getting it to fire, but it still wouldn’t launch an airsoft b-b. Mindy & I both monkeyed around with the b-b clip until we concluded that the clip spring was bad. Jacob went in to Google a replacement and found one within minutes both at Crosman and at Wal-Mart for $13-$15. And given that he spent about $100 on the gun, that seemed a reasonable price to get it back into action.
I had to laugh at his ingenuity. He took the battery from his new one (same voltage but different shape) and used duct tape to attach it to his old riffle getting it back into action. Mindy shared that he came up with that idea all on his own. Perhaps there is hope!
We watched the 1st quarter of the NBA finals from the deck after Jacob went in and raised the blinds so we could see the TV. We hung out on the deck until just after 915m. Mindy headed up to read around 930pm while Jacob and I watched the game from the family room until halftime. The Heat were down by as many as 17 points early on but down by only 3 points at the half. Already after 10pm, I begged off for bed. Jacob and Bella planned to watch the rest of the game from his room.
Mindy and I were pleasantly surprised that they were hanging out together in his room without fighting.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Grilling Asparagus
I was up around 540am after a less than stellar night of sleep. As I headed downstairs I remembered that I turned off the irrigation just before bed since we got quite a bit of rain on Sunday evening. I started some coffee, took a Naproxen, then headed in for sit-ups. Sit-ups and push-ups were both a chore. I could feel Saturday’s neck strain doing both.
I managed through it, however. Not wanting to risk missing the new recycle pick-up, I drug the recycle can to the curb before settling in with some coffee.
Coffee was ready just ahead of 6am and I headed to the PC to relax a little. In no big hurry to get out the door for my run, I played around online until almost 620am. It was clear and already about 70 degrees. It knew it would be sticky run. Meditation and stretching went well. I didn’t get out the door for my run until almost 645am.I ran the full 4.1 miles. It smelt and felt like summer. Nice!
Back at the house around 725am I started preparing food, three fried eggs for breakfast along with packing a lunch. I sat an egg aside for the dog while I enjoyed my breakfast. I went out and shot my b-b gun at the geese crapping in my flower beds. I hate those geese!
Mindy asked that I bring her coffee when I headed up for a shower. I heard the dog pouting. I went up and set her free from Jacob’s room and then took her on a walk first. Back inside I took Mindy a cup of coffee. She didn’t seem too eager to wake and enjoy it. I went about getting ready. I had to run back downstairs to get my razor from my computer table. I left there after installing new batteries the evening before. I decided to try using rechargeables.
It was expected to approach 90 degrees again. I asked Mindy what her plans were. She talked about starting on the basement, ridding ourselves further of any unnecessary items – a prelude to the basement finishing project. She talked about exchanging my new drill kit, too. We enjoyed a few minutes of quiet time before I left for work. I backed out the drive around 840am.
In the office by 9am. The boss was back from a week’s vacation. We chatted only briefly. He spent the week at Dale Hollow, a huge lake straddling the Kentucky, Tennessee border. I spent my morning in regularly scheduled conference calls and then working on reports. I talked with a peer based out of the Chicago area for a while. He’s been helping me understand the reporting format he used for my new customer. While talking, I learned that he’s a runner. Run’s about 6 days a week. Said he’s still fat! Come lunch time I drove to Home Depot where I picked up some bamboo stakes for out tomato pots as well as a roll of black duct tape. I looked at a few other things too.
I remembered that I need some new deodorant, so I headed next door to Target and bought some. I was back at the office after being gone something slightly less than an hour. One back, I enjoyed my packed lunch consisting of cheese, tuna, and yogurt. It was good. I spent the rest of the day working on new monthly reports. Progress was slow.
My goal was to get out of the office closer to 5pm, but that didn’t happen. Turned out, I didn’t leave until 540pm. I called Mindy once I pulled out of the lot. Said she spent most of her day in the basement but had lots more work to do. She was also busy grilling asparagus. I let her go so she could get back to grilling. I knew nothing more about our dinner, but assumed we were having steaks or something yummy.
Arrived home near 6pm. During the drive I became extremely sleepy. Expecting something different, I was a little disappointed to see leftovers out on the island. I guess she grilled the asparagus to complement the leftover burgers. I wasn’t interested in one of the leftover burger. They were slightly overdone when cooked the first time – tough. I ended up settling for a turkey cheddar dog to go along with a fresh garden salad and a leftover ear of sweet corn. Dinner wasn’t so bad after all, but I was even more sleepy after. So much so that clean-up was a chore. Bella was going to spend the night with Gloria. Mindy had her ready herself right after dinner. Mindy ran her there around 7pm. Jacob headed out to play with his peeps.
While Mindy was away I changed into my flannel shorts and a t-shirt then grabbed my book and kicked back in the living room recliner. I read 3 or 4 pages before taking a restful nap. I woke when I heard Mindy’s car horn. I lounged for a while longer trying desperately to return to sleep. That never happened. Getting up stiff, I made my way to the family room with my book and read from the much more comfortable big chair. I ended up reading about 35 more pages.
Around 9pm Jacob and I tuned into the Reds/Indians game, this time from Cleveland. Last week they played but in Cincy and the Reds swept them. It was a high scoring game. The Indians won 10-9. Jacob and I both headed for bed after the game. Since Bella was away for the night, he took Eiknarf again. Mindy asked who won the game. Just as I was about to fall asleep Jacob came to our room asking Mindy to come see something. I heard here gasp. She returned briefly to share that he pulled a scab from his foot when removing his socks and bled all over the carpet and tile floor. Yuck! I fell asleep before Mindy returned to bed.
I managed through it, however. Not wanting to risk missing the new recycle pick-up, I drug the recycle can to the curb before settling in with some coffee.
Coffee was ready just ahead of 6am and I headed to the PC to relax a little. In no big hurry to get out the door for my run, I played around online until almost 620am. It was clear and already about 70 degrees. It knew it would be sticky run. Meditation and stretching went well. I didn’t get out the door for my run until almost 645am.I ran the full 4.1 miles. It smelt and felt like summer. Nice!
Back at the house around 725am I started preparing food, three fried eggs for breakfast along with packing a lunch. I sat an egg aside for the dog while I enjoyed my breakfast. I went out and shot my b-b gun at the geese crapping in my flower beds. I hate those geese!
Mindy asked that I bring her coffee when I headed up for a shower. I heard the dog pouting. I went up and set her free from Jacob’s room and then took her on a walk first. Back inside I took Mindy a cup of coffee. She didn’t seem too eager to wake and enjoy it. I went about getting ready. I had to run back downstairs to get my razor from my computer table. I left there after installing new batteries the evening before. I decided to try using rechargeables.
It was expected to approach 90 degrees again. I asked Mindy what her plans were. She talked about starting on the basement, ridding ourselves further of any unnecessary items – a prelude to the basement finishing project. She talked about exchanging my new drill kit, too. We enjoyed a few minutes of quiet time before I left for work. I backed out the drive around 840am.
In the office by 9am. The boss was back from a week’s vacation. We chatted only briefly. He spent the week at Dale Hollow, a huge lake straddling the Kentucky, Tennessee border. I spent my morning in regularly scheduled conference calls and then working on reports. I talked with a peer based out of the Chicago area for a while. He’s been helping me understand the reporting format he used for my new customer. While talking, I learned that he’s a runner. Run’s about 6 days a week. Said he’s still fat! Come lunch time I drove to Home Depot where I picked up some bamboo stakes for out tomato pots as well as a roll of black duct tape. I looked at a few other things too.
I remembered that I need some new deodorant, so I headed next door to Target and bought some. I was back at the office after being gone something slightly less than an hour. One back, I enjoyed my packed lunch consisting of cheese, tuna, and yogurt. It was good. I spent the rest of the day working on new monthly reports. Progress was slow.
My goal was to get out of the office closer to 5pm, but that didn’t happen. Turned out, I didn’t leave until 540pm. I called Mindy once I pulled out of the lot. Said she spent most of her day in the basement but had lots more work to do. She was also busy grilling asparagus. I let her go so she could get back to grilling. I knew nothing more about our dinner, but assumed we were having steaks or something yummy.
Arrived home near 6pm. During the drive I became extremely sleepy. Expecting something different, I was a little disappointed to see leftovers out on the island. I guess she grilled the asparagus to complement the leftover burgers. I wasn’t interested in one of the leftover burger. They were slightly overdone when cooked the first time – tough. I ended up settling for a turkey cheddar dog to go along with a fresh garden salad and a leftover ear of sweet corn. Dinner wasn’t so bad after all, but I was even more sleepy after. So much so that clean-up was a chore. Bella was going to spend the night with Gloria. Mindy had her ready herself right after dinner. Mindy ran her there around 7pm. Jacob headed out to play with his peeps.
While Mindy was away I changed into my flannel shorts and a t-shirt then grabbed my book and kicked back in the living room recliner. I read 3 or 4 pages before taking a restful nap. I woke when I heard Mindy’s car horn. I lounged for a while longer trying desperately to return to sleep. That never happened. Getting up stiff, I made my way to the family room with my book and read from the much more comfortable big chair. I ended up reading about 35 more pages.
Around 9pm Jacob and I tuned into the Reds/Indians game, this time from Cleveland. Last week they played but in Cincy and the Reds swept them. It was a high scoring game. The Indians won 10-9. Jacob and I both headed for bed after the game. Since Bella was away for the night, he took Eiknarf again. Mindy asked who won the game. Just as I was about to fall asleep Jacob came to our room asking Mindy to come see something. I heard here gasp. She returned briefly to share that he pulled a scab from his foot when removing his socks and bled all over the carpet and tile floor. Yuck! I fell asleep before Mindy returned to bed.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Father's Delight
As late as I was up Saturday night that didn’t seem to stop me from waking 7am feeling pretty good. It was cloudy and expected to stay that way all day. While choking down a Naproxen and prepping some coffee, I noticed that there were geese in the yard again but this time I didn’t run out after them. I did, however, chase them away but at a much safer pace.
I played around online updating my blog for the past two weeks or so. Then after a quick stretch I headed off on a run around 845am. Despite the clouds, it was still a very warm and sticky run. It was already 70 degrees. I was back from my Sunday run by 910am. The night before Mindy asked that I bring her coffee at 930am. Still with 20 minutes burn, I watered all the flower pots and baskets. Now 925am, I used every minute constructively. I headed to the basement where I fetched the exterior trim paint and tarp and put it in the garage by the cut trim boards.
I delivered Mindy’s coffee next. I ended up hanging out with Mindy for about 30-40 minutes after which I took a quick shower before heading out to the garage to paint. I hoped to paint both sides and all the edges of the cut trim board before nailing them up. It took about 45 minutes to get the exposed and all the edges painted. I decided to let them dry for a little while before flipping them over to do the underside.
Mindy and the kids left for the cemetery around 11am. Mindy cut a bouquet of fresh flowers from our yard. She alerted me that someone had been in her car. Apparently I failed to lock it when we got home from the recital the afternoon before. The only thing missing was a bunch of change. I checked the Accord. Didn’t look violated, but oddly enough, my fuel door was opened. All sorts of reports of thievery in our subdivision.
After Mindy left, rather than sit around watching paint dry, I cut the lawn. To make it easier on myself, I cut with the rider first. After completing all I could with the tractor, I headed inside for a brief break cooling off and making myself a burrito with leftover taco meat. Yum! I touched up the trim boards too then headed out to cut the rest of the lawn with the push mower. Took just over an hour to do all the mowing. I didn’t bother edging and trimming.
Now near noon, I badly wanted to get the trim up before everyone arrived to celebrate Father’s Day. Also, there was a strong threat of thunderstorms. Western Ohio was getting heavy downpours. I wasn’t sure how easily the trim would go up given that I would be handling it by myself 12’ up a ladder. But I’m happy to report that it went even smoother than I hoped. Only one tiny problem. That was getting the 45 degree cut edges lined up perfectly from board #1 to board #2. On the second try it went right into place. You can barely see the seam. The third and final board required a cross cut to the desired length, butting into the vertical trim board behind the downspout. It measured something less than 87”. The cut went almost perfectly and it fit in like a puzzle. I was most please with the final results. The one thing that I didn’t account for was the shininess of the new zbar below the trim. In the sunshine it detracted the eye away from the painted wood due to the strong solar glare. I may go back and paint the overlapping edge of the zbar later.
Mindy was home from the cemetery around 2pm. She came around the side of the house and complimented the work. And not long after Mindy got home, Tommy and Wally pulled up. By then I was painting over the nail heads. Tommy came around to chat. Haven’t seen him since we met for beers at CBC more than a month ago. He was talking out the side of his mouth. At first I thought he was being funny, or trying to be dramatic. But it was soon apparent that he was not. When I inquired, he shared that he had a bout of Bell’s Palsy. Scary!
Tommy eventually headed inside with the others while I finished putting away my tools. Dad pulled up minutes later and walked out to see my handy work too. Once inside, my first priority was a shower. I was a hot & sweaty mess.
A shower felt terrific. Soon the girls were over with the grand kids. Courtney, of course, was the exception. Not a word from her, but then again that’s what I’ve come to expect. Because it was Father’s Day, mindy did almost all the prep. I didn’t even have to grill. Like the weekend before, Mindy grilled early and placed the cooked meat and corn in warmers.
The little ones were having a great time until Olivia nearly fell face first down the basement stairs after tripping on a toy they brought up and left lying. I read them all the riot act for pushing, shoving to get up and down the stairs first. I know I scared the ‘tarnation’ out of Landon.
The kids and Mindy bestowed me with card and gifts before dinner. I even got a card from Eiknarf. Ash & Olivia got me a “pug not drugs’ t-shirt. Lindsey and boys got me a nice card. Mindy and the kids got me a super nice 20v drill/driver combo. We gifted dad a Bob Evans gift card.
Dinner was good. Lots of Father’s Day food: burgers, dogs, corn on the cob, beans, etc. During dinner a few storms rolled through dumping appreciable rainfall. Other surrounding areas got far more than us. Clark county (out by Yellowsprings) got as much as 3”. After the heavy rain I was even more happy that I got the new trim up.
Tommy & Wally left first, having a singing engagement to make it to. The others left earlier than usual too, and all by about 630pm. It was nice to have the house picked up and back to normal before 7pm. That was we could relax a little. The kids played in and out for the rest of the evening. At 830pm we tuned into the NBA finals game #3. I watched basketball, read, and iced my hand all at the same time. I enjoyed a pint of CBC IPA too. Mindy and Bella peeled off for bed pretty early. I know for sure that it was before 10pm. Jacob and I watched the entire game. The Heat won taking the series lead 2-1 despite not playing that well, especially in the 4th quarter.
I played around online updating my blog for the past two weeks or so. Then after a quick stretch I headed off on a run around 845am. Despite the clouds, it was still a very warm and sticky run. It was already 70 degrees. I was back from my Sunday run by 910am. The night before Mindy asked that I bring her coffee at 930am. Still with 20 minutes burn, I watered all the flower pots and baskets. Now 925am, I used every minute constructively. I headed to the basement where I fetched the exterior trim paint and tarp and put it in the garage by the cut trim boards.
I delivered Mindy’s coffee next. I ended up hanging out with Mindy for about 30-40 minutes after which I took a quick shower before heading out to the garage to paint. I hoped to paint both sides and all the edges of the cut trim board before nailing them up. It took about 45 minutes to get the exposed and all the edges painted. I decided to let them dry for a little while before flipping them over to do the underside.
Mindy and the kids left for the cemetery around 11am. Mindy cut a bouquet of fresh flowers from our yard. She alerted me that someone had been in her car. Apparently I failed to lock it when we got home from the recital the afternoon before. The only thing missing was a bunch of change. I checked the Accord. Didn’t look violated, but oddly enough, my fuel door was opened. All sorts of reports of thievery in our subdivision.
After Mindy left, rather than sit around watching paint dry, I cut the lawn. To make it easier on myself, I cut with the rider first. After completing all I could with the tractor, I headed inside for a brief break cooling off and making myself a burrito with leftover taco meat. Yum! I touched up the trim boards too then headed out to cut the rest of the lawn with the push mower. Took just over an hour to do all the mowing. I didn’t bother edging and trimming.
Now near noon, I badly wanted to get the trim up before everyone arrived to celebrate Father’s Day. Also, there was a strong threat of thunderstorms. Western Ohio was getting heavy downpours. I wasn’t sure how easily the trim would go up given that I would be handling it by myself 12’ up a ladder. But I’m happy to report that it went even smoother than I hoped. Only one tiny problem. That was getting the 45 degree cut edges lined up perfectly from board #1 to board #2. On the second try it went right into place. You can barely see the seam. The third and final board required a cross cut to the desired length, butting into the vertical trim board behind the downspout. It measured something less than 87”. The cut went almost perfectly and it fit in like a puzzle. I was most please with the final results. The one thing that I didn’t account for was the shininess of the new zbar below the trim. In the sunshine it detracted the eye away from the painted wood due to the strong solar glare. I may go back and paint the overlapping edge of the zbar later.
Mindy was home from the cemetery around 2pm. She came around the side of the house and complimented the work. And not long after Mindy got home, Tommy and Wally pulled up. By then I was painting over the nail heads. Tommy came around to chat. Haven’t seen him since we met for beers at CBC more than a month ago. He was talking out the side of his mouth. At first I thought he was being funny, or trying to be dramatic. But it was soon apparent that he was not. When I inquired, he shared that he had a bout of Bell’s Palsy. Scary!
Tommy eventually headed inside with the others while I finished putting away my tools. Dad pulled up minutes later and walked out to see my handy work too. Once inside, my first priority was a shower. I was a hot & sweaty mess.
A shower felt terrific. Soon the girls were over with the grand kids. Courtney, of course, was the exception. Not a word from her, but then again that’s what I’ve come to expect. Because it was Father’s Day, mindy did almost all the prep. I didn’t even have to grill. Like the weekend before, Mindy grilled early and placed the cooked meat and corn in warmers.
The little ones were having a great time until Olivia nearly fell face first down the basement stairs after tripping on a toy they brought up and left lying. I read them all the riot act for pushing, shoving to get up and down the stairs first. I know I scared the ‘tarnation’ out of Landon.
The kids and Mindy bestowed me with card and gifts before dinner. I even got a card from Eiknarf. Ash & Olivia got me a “pug not drugs’ t-shirt. Lindsey and boys got me a nice card. Mindy and the kids got me a super nice 20v drill/driver combo. We gifted dad a Bob Evans gift card.
Dinner was good. Lots of Father’s Day food: burgers, dogs, corn on the cob, beans, etc. During dinner a few storms rolled through dumping appreciable rainfall. Other surrounding areas got far more than us. Clark county (out by Yellowsprings) got as much as 3”. After the heavy rain I was even more happy that I got the new trim up.
Tommy & Wally left first, having a singing engagement to make it to. The others left earlier than usual too, and all by about 630pm. It was nice to have the house picked up and back to normal before 7pm. That was we could relax a little. The kids played in and out for the rest of the evening. At 830pm we tuned into the NBA finals game #3. I watched basketball, read, and iced my hand all at the same time. I enjoyed a pint of CBC IPA too. Mindy and Bella peeled off for bed pretty early. I know for sure that it was before 10pm. Jacob and I watched the entire game. The Heat won taking the series lead 2-1 despite not playing that well, especially in the 4th quarter.
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