Meeting, Exceeding Bella's Expectations

We had the ceiling fan going, the windows opened along with another small fan set inside the window. It was cool night’s sleep. It was somewhere in the mid 50s. I heard the irrigation system kick on, but not from the rattling pipes but from the sprayers kicking on from outside. It was a calming sound to which I promptly fell back asleep, but only for another 20 minutes or so. I was up and downstairs by 535am.

Once again, I didn’t prep coffee the night before so I had to take care of that first thing. Once the coffee was brewing I did exercises – sit-ups and curls. It was supposed to be another picture perfect day only this time climbing to near 85 degrees under clear skies.

Meditation and stretching went well. I took my time figuring it more important that staying ahead of the clock. I was well worth the extra time spent. I still left the house for my run around 640am. During the 4.1 mile run I decided that provided my calendar was as free as I thought it was, I would work from home instead of the office. The run went really well. It was gorgeous.

I drug the trash can back to its regular spot then headed inside to start my breakfast. I checked my work calendar via blackberry and confirmed just two calls/meetings. I knew then I’d be working from home. I fired up my laptop then headed back to the kitchen to start my eggs. I carried on with the rest of my morning much like any other work day, just in a better place psychologically.

Just as I finished eating my eggs I heard Eiknarf crying for release from Jacob’s room. I headed up with Mindy’s coffee and asked her if there was any reason I might not want to work from home, thinking that it might be a Rachel day or a day when she invited all her friends over. No, nothing like that planned. I headed back downstairs then out with the pug.

After our walk I fed her dog chow topped with a fried egg. She was most appreciative. Mindy was up a short time later, still ahead of 8am. Right away I had to deal with a work escalation and wasn’t immediately able to join her for coffee on the deck like she hoped. After taking care of the issue I headed out to join her. We hung out for about 15-20 minutes before I headed back inside to do more work. Both kids remained asleep.

Mindy soon shared that she’d be taking Jacob to his scheduled doctor’s appointment around 10am where he was slated to get four shots he’s due. Afterwards, she planned on taking the kids Father’s Day shopping. It sounded like I might be working from home in a quiet house.

I joined a previously scheduled conference call at 930 that lasted almost an hour. I sat working until just after 11am when I took a break and went outside to consider what I might be able to accomplish on the trim removal/replacement project in small doses. I gathered the tools necessary then set-up my aluminum extension ladder then headed back inside for more work.

Around 1230pm I headed back outside and climbed the ladder taking a stab at removing the trim boards while being careful not to damage the surrounding stucco. I was able to easily remove the nails along the bottom due to the old boards being cupped outward. I experimented with prying ever so carefully, once again not wanting to damage the stucco or the z-bar flashing on the trim’s upper edge. I did the work in small chunks through the afternoon while also taking care of my work responsibilities. All totaled, I probably spent 2 – 2.5 hours working in the trim removal, getting a big jump on the project. My only concern was that there wasn’t any rain in the near term forecast. I checked and there wasn’t.

Mindy was home midday and soon back out again for Father’s Day shopping. Unbeknownst to me, Jacob opted not to join them, instead staying home. We think the vaccinations made him feel queasy. He went to the basement of all places to sleep. I later learned because it’s so cool down there. I was working away when I heard the basement door close. Scared me. I went looking for its source. It was Jacob. I joked that I could’ve shot him. Didn’t know he was home.

Around 3pm I finally headed up for a shower since I didn’t take one after my morning run. The shower felt terrific. By the way, I started the day by taking a Naproxen, to see if that might help my finger/hand before I considered taking the cortisone pills. I could still feel a little discomfort but there’s no question that it was helping. I plan to take scheduled Naproxen for as long as a week to see if it can make the ‘trigger finger’ symptoms go completely away.

Mindy called from shopping to ask me some questions about a drill I told her I would like to have. She also shared that she planned to pick-up my prescription while at Target. I told her not to get it if it was over $30. After my shower and before Mindy got back home, I headed out front this time to deadhead the May Blue salvia. To make the job go quickly, I used the hedge shears. Not only did it do the job quickly but left the plants looking neat & trimmed. All I had to do was pick-up the trimmings while avoiding the numerous bees those plants attract. Mindy was home around 430pm. She joked that my prescription was $86. What? In reality, it was only $.86. It’s just six pills, but again, if the Naproxen works I won’t bother taking the cortisone.

I worked until just after 5pm then headed in the kitchen with the others. Once again Mindy laid out a spread of leftovers. She and the kids had leftover chicken and pasta. I opted for a taco/burrito and some of Darwin’s yummy guacamole. I did a little more work after dinner but thankfully things quickly quieted down to next to nothing.

After dinner I headed out to the deck to do a little reading and was loving it. I evne dosed off for a few minutes. Bella came to me asking if I had made up my mind about having a fire on the pondside patio as she earlier requested. Mindy quickly chimed in that Friday evening would be far better since we’d have the boys overnight. Bella was bummed. Not wanting to disappoint my baby, I asked mindy to have Bella come out and talk with me again. I told her that we could have a fire both nights. As it was, it was only 8pm. Figured we’d start the fire near 9pm that way we’d have hot coals by dark in tome to make smores.

I stated the process even sooner, emptying all the damp coals and ashes that have been sitting in the fire caldron since last summer. I then systematically built a fire structure of kindling. I asked Bella to come help. I wanted her to see how to go about building a fire. Around 9pm we gave the kindling some juice (AKA as charcoal lighter fluid) and lit it. Didn’t take long to get a rip roaring fire going. It was almost too hot for a while. But as the sun set and the flames died back some it was perfect. Mindy and I sat there while Bella played in the yard with a heavy heart. All the island kids were off to a ball game.

I had Bella come add a couple more big logs and soon the sun was set and we had some luscious hot coals that were perfect for making smores. Bella ran over to Kenny’s to see if the girls might be back. They weren’t. Bella made and enjoyed 3 smores, but still wasn’t here usual jovial self. She kept looking eastward to see if her peeps were home. Soon they were and eventually headed over. At the same time, Jacob came outside and enjoyed a smore. By then it was almost 10pm and we were putting away the smores making stuff. The kids, however, started playing ball tag in the dark. Bella’s smile was back too.

We stayed outside until almost 1030p with me enjoying two White Rajah’s and Mindy enjoying a glass of wine. Despite the late hour, Mindy had the kids shower before heading to bed. I checked in with work and the the score of the 2nd NBA finals game between the Heat and Thunder. The Heat was up by 11 points. I helped Jacob find the channel on his bedroom TV then headed for bed. Mindy laid on my chest as we both fell asleep.