Lights Up!

 

I heard Mindy's alarm sound. It had to be close to 6am. She didn't immediately move to put out the noise. Instead, she let it whirl for a while. Finally, after a good 30 seconds, she put the kyboshes on the obnoxious alarm. It went off again maybe ten minutes later, but this time she dealt with it quickly and was soon up and out of bed. I rolled over burying my face in my pillow trying hard to return to sleep.

It must've worked. I didn't wake again until sometime just after 7am, right after Mindy finished blow drying her hair. I got up, peed, brushed my teeth then headed downstairs to start exercises. It occurred to me that this was recycling day and I had a feeling that Jacob forgot to put out our can. Still half asleep, I staggered to the garage and drug our recycling to the curb. I looked up to see the Rumpkee recycling truck barreling up to our house. Excellent timing! I greeted the workers and wished them a happy TG.

It felt great knowing I didn't need to bother with work. I leisurely completed my calisthenics then poured a cup of coffee. Mindy asked if I still wanted to swap cars for the day so I could take the Pilot in for an estimate. Yes. She left for school in the Accord around 730am.

Bella and I hung out until bus stop time. She played on the new iPhone for several minutes after her ready. At the same time I played around on the internet. Leisure time went fast. Soon it was time to head out to the bus stop where we met up with Chrissy & Makayla. Chrissy talked about her short work week and then there trip to see Justin Bieber on Tuesday, the following day. Said she was taking Makayla out of school around noon then leaving for PA. Would be home sometime Wednesday. Bella didn't flinch. I looked.

After the bus picked up the girls I asked Chrissy if Kenny was working. If he wasn't I had the thought of golf in mind. Too bad. Kenny was indeed working. Just as well, I had a lot of things I wanted to accomplish over the next few days before the TG holiday. Because I slept late by design, this was Eiknarf's first opportunity to be outside. We walked down the street a ways until she finally took care of business.

Back at the house, I might've played on the computer for 5-10 minutes before ultimately dressing for a run. I left for my run near 835am. It was a lovely morning - sunny and 30 degrees. I ran only three miles and planned to do so most days this week.

I was back at home shortly after 9am. I enjoyed another cup of coffee and a little more time online. While at my PC I sent myself an email detailing a to-do & Home Depot list that I created in my mind while running. I headed off to the shower next. It was just after 10am when I left to take the Pilot for an estimate at Westway body shop on Fisher Rd. I'd never been there before but have known of its existence and have heard good things about it. Mindy took the Pilot there to have the ding fixed she put in it backing into the our trashcan a few years ago.

Wayne, who I believe is the owner, said he recognized the Pilot as soon as I pulled up. Asked my wife's name. Mindy. Yes, Mindy. I filled out an estimate form and then the two of us headed out to look at the minor damage. One has to look carefully to even see the damage but it's there. Almost all the damage is on the lower bumper trim. Still, I wasn't too surprised when the estimate came in just under a $1000. Would need to follow-up with the kids' insurance company before proceeding with the work.

I was there no more than 15 minutes. As I left to head to Home Depot I took notice of the strange light illuminated on the dash. Looked like something to do with the airbag. It was red too, which to me meant - 'warning'. Before going on, I pulled the manual from the glove box to reference the indicator. Sure enough, something amiss with the SRS (safety restraint system). I wondered, one, if Mindy realized it, and, two, if it was a result of the rear ending. If so, it would need to be accounted for too.

I headed onto Home Depot taking the back way up Old Dublin Rd. At Home Depot I picked up several things, including a CFL black light bulb for Bella (she's been asking for one), 2 electrical jct. boxes, some 1-1/2" PVC pipe, elbows and glue, a set of color changing Xmas lights, and a poinsettia. I checked mycart against the list that I emailed myself to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Nope!

I headed for home. It was just after 11am. Good bet that nephew Joe was at our house cleaning. Mindy reminded me that he would be there Sunday evening. Didn't want to cancel like we do most times when I am on vacation. Trust me, it's difficult to 'live' in one's house when it's being cleaned. Yep, Joe was at the house and just starting in the kitchen. After a brief greeting and conversation, I headed to my PC where I listened to Xmas music and wrote in my blog. Earlier, I thought that I might get cracking on my inside basement projects while Joe cleaned, but the more I thought about it the less sense it made. For one of the projects, I'd have to render the kitchen sink out of commission while moving the PVC drain pipe. And the other would require me turning off an electrical circuit.

Instead, I decided that it made more sense for me to do the yard work that I originally forecasted for Tuesday. That way Joe & I wouldn't be in each others' way. I announced my plans and headed out through the garage. I gathered up the electric hedge trimmers, a 100' extension cord, and gloves then headed out back. To begin, I trimmed back the two large burning bushes that sandwich the deck steps. Next, I trimmed back the deciduous bush at the SW corner of the house. It's always a pain!

Neither of those two tasks took long at all. I decided to go ahead and tackle the honeysuckle removal project - the one surrounding the base of the ash tree middle of the backyard. It's a pretty bush but one that's hard to keep groomed. I only recently decided to cut it completely down. It'll still grow back, though, if left unattended unless I also remove the roots, which I don't plan to do. I thought about using the chain saw, but opted to cut it down manually using the giant loppers and a folding tree saw. As with most bush/tree removal projects, it looked far bigger on the ground. Took about 30 minutes to lop off/saw off all the main trunks, some as big as 3" in diameter. Took as long again to drag all the branches to the compost pile. Worked up a good sweat.

Next, I raked all the loose twigs and small branches into a pile with the surrounding leaves then picked up most of it by hand, placing it in my collapsible trash can then carried it to the pile. Next, I fetched my blower and managed the most recent leaf fall in the entire back yard. I created two wide piles for mulching then blew the rest along the pond's bank. I then fetched my tractor for the mulching. I recently discovered that the Deere mulches even better than my Toro. Very surprising!

Worked like a charm. The Deere rendered the leaf piles almost nonexistent - not even a trace. What the heck. The lawn didn't really look like it needed mowed, but it had grown some since last week's mowing. I went ahead and cut the entire lawn with the tractor. And because I placed the leaf piles in half of neighbor Trena's yard (it's flatter than mine), I went ahead and cut her entire back yard too, also mulching up the leaves between her and Kenny's house. After finishing the mowing, I blew the front yard free of any newly fallen leaves. For some reason, our sweet gum tree holds its leaves much like a pin oak. It's the only one I've ever seen do it, and there are several hundred of them in our subdivision. They eventually fall through the winter , but it's a slow, slow process. Pretty much have leaf fall all winter long. Yard looked great when I finished.

I headed inside to grab a water. It was near 230pm and Joe was upstairs vacuuming. The downstairs looked sparkling clean. I was careful not to leave a trail. I didn't relax. Instead, I headed back outside to hang the new Xmas lights I bought earlier. This is a set of 12 large icicle lights that vary in length -5" & 7". My plan was to hang them from the overhang above the front stoop. I've professed that my days of crawling out on the roof to hang lights are over. I planned to use these clear plastic clips and small clear tie-wraps for mounting. I fastened the clear clips with a small phillips screw using my new cordless drill. Worked like a charm. Can hardly notice the clips which are on the backside of the overhang. They're virtually undetectable, so I can leave them up all year. The plan worked flawlessly. The light set stretched across the overhang perfectly, almost as if they were custom cut just for that spot. I plugged them into a day/night timer and gave them a test run. Cool! Was looking forward to seeing them in the dark.

Jacob was already home from school. had been for a while. It had to be about 330pm when I headed back inside, only this time for the day. Jacob soon ran off to play with friends. Joe had just finished cleaning. Before leaving, Joe commented about the early Xmas music. Like many, doesn't like listening to it before TG. I shared that it begins playing on the Time Warner seasonal channel Nov 1st just in case he wants to partake at home when alone. :)

Bella was home near 4pm. She asked if I knew that the new Xmas lights were on. Yes, allowing them to 'burn in'. Mindy got home from school around 440pm after making a brief stop at Kroger in Grove City. Both kids ran off to play with friends. We talked about it and decided to do dinner at Barleys. I know that comes as a shock!

Jacob was thrilled to learn about dinner at Barley's. Bella, however, wasn't. She went as far to throw a mini-fit. Mindy explained that there are times when her opinion matters and then also times when it doesn't. To be clear, this was one of those times when it didn't matter. :) We left for Barley's around 6pm driving the Accord.

We opted for a booth near the bar. I ordered a Xmas ale. Mindy did too. I ordered the kids Dr Pepper's. Samantha was our server for the first time even though she's been there for a while. Mindy and I laughed when she brought both kids drinks in kiddie cups complete with straws and a lid! Jacob wasn't thrilled but was a good sport. Bella, however, said she wasn't drinking it. She was still in a pissy mood for simply having to be there. Mindy ordered a plate of loaded fries to tie the family over while we perused the menu. Slowly but surely, Bella emerged from her cantankerous mood.

Jacob ordered the regular - chicken tenders with buffalo sauce and Gates of Hell on the side. Can't recall what Mindy ordered. I went with 20 KC wings figuring I'd share them with Bella, who otherwise refused ot order anything. Finished my Xmas ale then ordered a Centennial. Mindy went with ice water after finishing her Xmas ale. To appease Bella, Mindy ordered another basket of fries. We all had some. I passed the check to Mindy and she took care of it. We headed for home around 730pm. Bella was in a far better mood.

At home, everybody got into their PJs. Jacob headed to his room to read and practice saxophone. Bella hung out with us playing on the new iPhone. I checked my email via my new cell phone. Had two emails from Amazon sharing that two of the items in my recent order were scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. Read them twice since I selected free super-saver shipping. The original promise date was after November 27th. Cool!

We tuned the TV to MNF - The Steelers/49er. Both teams were playing with back-up quarterbacks, which was somewhat of a disappointment. However, the 49ers back-up played lights out. The game was pretty much a blowout in SF's favor. I watched until about 11pm then headed for bed.