Celebrating Bella - Vikings Win

I slept soundly sleeping for about 9.5 hours, waking just ahead of 8am. Mindy woke just as I turned to exit the room. She asked for a hug and then for me to bring her some coffee in awhile. Downstairs I prepped a pot of coffee then stepped out on the deck to enjoy the sunshine and cool morning air. It felt like the low 50s.

Inside, I checked the late college football scores and then checked on two work related issues. I spent more time working than I hoped. In fact, I didn’t really want to spend any time working over the weekend. As soon as it was ready, I took Mindy some coffee. Back downstairs, I enjoyed a cup of my own.

I can’t remember it Mindy was up before I headed out on a run. I do remember donning freshly laundered running clothes. That’s always nice. I ran the usual weekend three miles, and during the run I happened upon Leslie Dent running the opposite direction. She stopped and shared that Mr Palazzo, a teacher at St Mary Magdalene, collapsed on the football field two times on Friday or Saturday night while refereeing a football game. Learned that he needs a double bypass. Said it was scheduled for Monday, and then asked that I keep him in my prayers.

It was a lovely morning for a run -sunny and 50 something. Mindy was readying to head for the grocery store when I got back to the house. I had designs on running to Home Depot to get the replacement parts for the grill. I wasn’t at all happy about needing to spend over a $100 in replacement parts after just 3.5 years of use. Good thing our kitchen stove isn’t made that cheap.

At Home Depot I bought 4 new stainless steel tube burners and four heat (flavor) shields. Both replacement parts are made to fit grills of varying depths. I whined the a nearby sales associate about how cheaply made their grills are despite their somewhat lofty price. I expected her to defend but she agreed.

Lindsey and the boys were already at the house when I returned. They were there to do their weekly laundry. Mindy was off to the grocery store. Lindsey said they had literally just walked in. Before messing with the grill, I headed out to take care of a couple yard chores. I trimmed the ivy off the foundation and away from the burning bush trunks on the west side of the house. Essentially the same exercise I did on the east side of the house on Saturday. It didn’t take more than about 10 minutes, in part because I had already pulled it all loose from the foundation the day before and because it wasn’t as over grown as the other side was.
As soon as that chore was completed I filled my garden sprayer with another batch of Round-Up to spray on that pesky Canadian thistle in the front east flower bed. There were 20-25 new baby shoots emerging from the soil. The trouble with Round-Up, it only kills existing vegetation. It doesn’t prevent new growth. This Canadian thistle is one tough weed!

Once the sprayer was put away I headed out to the deck to repair the grill. I got to use my new drill that Mindy bought me for Father’s Day to drill out the rusted screws/bolts holding the old burner tubes to the back metal resting strip. I am pretty sure I ruined 2 drill bits in so doing. Hey, can’t dance! Can’t believe that my new drill batteries are still holding their initial charge from 3 months ago. Awesome drill!
Took me about an hour to fix the grill. Of course the proof was in the test. Drum roll … Voila! Cooking with gas – er, uh, propane! Mindy was back from the grocery. I could hear Lindsey inside talking with Mindy. I did my best to butt out of the conversation. The Viking game, by the way, wasn’t on TV. They were playing the Detroit Lions on the road. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to follow the game via TV or internet. Instead, I would catch the score once it was a final. That way I would feel a rush of emotion either way – good if they won, sad if they lost. 

Too keep busy, I decided to wash the Accord. And it was no doubt dirtier than it’s ever been. Landon and Rocky asked to help. The old me would have shewed them away, but this time I took a deep breath and let them help. I let them wash the tires and wheels, and more importantly, at least from their perspective, I let them rinse their work. Kids love to play with the hose. Rocky lost interest in a hurry. I know, what a shocker! Landon, on the other hand, stayed with it and did a darn good job. After we finished the Accord I moved it to the street and we washed Mindy’s Pilot.

The silver Pilot doesn’t show dirt nearly as much as the black Accord. So if you’re looking for a low maintenance car color, silver is definitely the way to go. I will say this, however. Once it’s clean and shiny it always surprises me how much better it looks. Landon did the lower level panels and wheels while I took care of the upper panels. His investment in time was only worth it if he got to do the rinsing. Of course he soaked me with the hose by accident. Mindy laughed and shared that he’ll remember these times for the rest of his life. Probably so. Jimaken dropped the kids at home around 3pm. Jacob had Bella in tears over some silly line he kept repeating.

While Mindy was out watching she shared that we were expected at her mom’s for Bella’s birthday dinner around 430pm. I remembered her talking about it as recent as Friday but never sharing that it was a done deal. Last I remembered was her and Bella discussing the pros and cons of having it Sunday or Tuesday, her actual birthday. Mindy’s bad for that, though she’ll undoubtedly tell it differently in her blog!  At some point Mindy shared that the Vikings were ahead 20-6 with 6 minutes left in their game. I know Mindy. Had they been behind, she wouldn’t have told me the score. I love that she cares enough to check. And by the way, she was wearing one of the Viking shirts I bought for her.

It was already after 330pm. I hurried to put away my things and head inside for a much needed shower. Lindsey and the boys were still at the house when we left near 4pm. Jacob took both a football and basketball. Unlike most Sunday dinners at Gloria’s, this one was only us. Felt a bit strange. I can’t recall the last time I was there for dinner of any kind. Was it Easter? I’ll bet so. At any rate, Jacob went straight from the car around to the back to shoot hoops. He’s not much of a social animal. :)

After a quick greeting inside, Gloria gifted Bella a porcelain tea set she said she bought for her many years ago and had been holding on to it until she was at such an age where she might take care of it. Bella wasn’t sure what it was as she opened the tightly sealed box and then the all the accessories tightly bundled in bubble wrap. She was genuinely excited to play with it.

Jacob finally came inside and asked if I would come out and shoot hoops or toss the football. Sure. We headed out back and did a little of both just ahead of dinner. Mindy came out after about 10-15 minutes to let us know that dinner was ready. The main menu item was meatloaf, but because Jacob doesn’t care for it, she made him a fried chicken breast. The rest of us had the meatloaf, Bella’s choice. The kid loves meatloaf. We had baked potatoes too, as well as kernel corn, salad, and rolls. I tried to be mindful of portion size so not to over stuff myself. For one reason or another I filled up fast.

After dinner and while Mindy and her mom chatted, I slipped off the lower level to catch my first NFL action of the day, including the final score of the Vikings game. It was 530pm and I still didn’t know the outcome beyond what Mindy leaked earlier and then Jacob telling me that the Vikings scored two TDs – one by a kick-off return and another on a punt return. That’s all he knew. Said he didn’t have any idea of the score. Tuned into the late FOX game, though can’t recall who was playing. Within the first minute I saw that the Vikings won 20-13. Wahoo! We’re 3-1 and in 1st place. Not going to hold my breath, however. Still, it’s good to be playing decent enough to win again.

I took a mini nap while enjoying the football. Bella came down around 615p to alert to dessert time. Iced Brownies were on the menu. Once again, I was careful not to over indulge. I had only one and a relatively small one at that. It had a funny taste, but I chose not to say anything. We hung out at Gloria’s until 635pm when Mindy declared it time for us to head home and ready for the coming work week. As usual, the weekend flew by. Seemed we were just at the Italian place in Bexley.

I asked Jacob to put the trash can at the curb as soon as we were home. He willingly complied. Eiknarf was extremely excited that we were home. It’s not uncommon for her to be happy but she was jumping all over us – odd! While everybody did their own thing, I went to the internet and read a little about the Vikings victory. It’s not like the blew out the Lion’s statistically, not by any stretch. Instead, the Vikings defense played well and they scored their 2 touchdowns on kick returns. I’ll take it!