Good as Pie

I woke initially around 5am and then about every half hour thereafter until 810am when I rolled out of bed for good. I could’ve slept even longer but quickly grew tired of the wake/sleep pattern.

Weather looked pretty much the same as it did for last three plus mornings – cloudy with light rain. I started a pot of Starbucks then headed to my PC. Once again, it was cloudy and threatening rain. Expected to stay like that for most of the day again, too. I decided not to rush to have my run done before any particular time. I used the quiet morning to add more photos to my blog and then write Friday’s posting.

I played around for a couple hours, not leaving for a run until close to 1030am. Mindy was still in bed when I headed out. It was 41 degrees, but felt colder than that with a cold breeze blowing from the SE. I ran three miles without any discomfort. Mindy was up when I got back from my run, which was just before 11am. Said she’d just gotten up.

We were expecting Lindsey and the boys around noon to do laundry. I bellyached to Mindy about the less than favorable weather forecast for both home & Holiday Valley, even going as far as talking about canceling our after Xmas ski trip. As she often does, Mindy reminded me that I do this every year, and every year it works out. She’s right, but this year seems even worse than last year’s poor skiing conditions.

I suggested we have bloody Mary’s. Mindy didn’t want one at first but changed her mind soon after I started mixing them up. I made hers a little weaker than my own.

Around 1145am I baked a full package of bacon, knowing that the boys would dig up on the bacon. I planned to make an omelet too, but figured I’d wait until they actually arrived before heating the pan. At the same time, I whipped up a double batch of pie dough, thinking I would make another chocolate pie for dessert. This time I added an extra ½ cup of flour to the mixture. That seemed to do the trick. I had the pie dough whipped up in no time at all. I placed one ball in the freezer and the other in the fridge.

The bacon was done around 1210pm, but still no Lindsey & the boys. They showed up about 10 minutes later. As soon as they were in the door they smelt the bacon and asked for some. I offered up eggs too. Only Rocky wanted a plain omelet. Landon wanted only bacon. I used the last six eggs for our omelets. I asked Mindy if she would get more so I could make the chocolate pie. Said she would ask Chrissy if we could borrow three. Added cheese, onion, and tomato to our omelets, but left Rocky’s plain.
The omelet turned out well. Soon after cleaning that mess I got started on the chocolate pie. At the same time, Mindy headed upstairs to ready for a trip to the grocery store. It was around 115pm. I turned the family room TV to NFL action. Right away they showed a Viking highlight. Surprisingly, they were up 14-0 over the Bears just 5 minutes into the game. I didn’t check scores again until halftime.

Instead of watching football, I prepped and cooked the chocolate pie filling then rolled out and baked the pie crust. Same problem as every other time. The baked pie dough shrunk more than desired, slightly below the lip of the pie pan even though I follow the directions to a “T”. Not sure why that always happens. Before Mindy left for the grocery, she took Chrissy the card and gift we got her, and then returned with four eggs.

Mindy left for the grocery while I finished up the pie filling, which is quite the process. My arm got tired stirring the chocolate concoction. For the next hour or more, the boys were doing what they usually do, which is bickering with one another, and Lindsey was giving them almost constant crap. Once the pie was in the fridge chillin’, I headed up to my room for a nap and a shower. I watched some of the Bengals/Cowboys game before falling asleep. The Bengals were ahead for the entire game, but were leaving lots of additional scoring opportunities on the table, which is never good.

I finally fell asleep but it couldn’t have been for more than 10 minutes. That didn’t matter. The rest felt good and the quiet was heavenly. Now 3pm, I finally got into the shower. After my shower, rather than head back downstairs I laid back down on my bed and watched a little more football. The Vikings were ahead 21-7 with 5 minutes left in the game. That energized me. I headed downstairs again around 320pm. Still no Jacob & Bella. That’s odd. Jim’s pretty good about having them home right at 3pm most Sunday’s.

I’m guessing that they were home at 330pm. It wasn’t too long after I headed back downstairs. Jacob, Landon and Rocky quickly headed out to play. Bella stayed inside. Asked if she could go to Makayla’s. I made her come give me a hug and sit with me for a few. Asked that she stay home until Mindy got back from the grocery. She did so, and without any push-back.

The Vikings won. For that I was happy. On the other hand, the Bengals blew their game against the Cowboys, allowing them to drive the field and score a winning field as time expired. Tisk-tisk! Mindy was home from the grocery around 415pm. Me, Bella and Lindsey helped her carry in the haul. I went to my PC to read about the Vikings unlikely victory while Mindy put the groceries away. She called out, asking me to prep the two rotisserie chickens for the oven. I did so but only after giving her a little crap.

Bella soon begged off for Makayla’s. Mindy asked her to be home for dinner at 530pm. With the house relatively quiet, I decided to mute the TV volume and do some reading. I read until dinner was ready. Mindy had to call Chrissy’s house looking for Bella. It was 545pm and no Bella. All the other kids were in. Lindsey was back from taking her finished laundry home. They planned to have dinner with us. Just as Mindy was about to send Jacob looking for Bella, she came in the door. Frankly, I was surprised that Mindy didn’t give her any grief.

As usual, the rotisserie chicken and Bob Evans mashed potatoes were delicious. We ate on paper plates so clean-up was a snap. Mindy got out the chocolate pie as soon as clean-up was finished. We stowed the leftover chicken in a Tupperware container. Mindy confirmed that she’ll be making chicken and noodles for dinner one evening next week. Yum!

Everybody loves chocolate pie. But Rocky & Landon ate only the filling, leaving only the crust behind. Bella ate some of their crust. As soon as dessert was history, Lindsey and the boys headed for home. It wasn’t even 7pm. Bella asked if she could go back to Makayla’s. Mindy agreed. Jacob headed off to his room for Sunday night homework. He’s pretty good about staying on top of his school work without being hounded by us. I appreciate his school work ethic. Like earlier, I muted the television volume and did some more reading. While I read, Mindy did some school work from her laptop. I kept a loose eye on the end of the Saints/Giants game. The Giants won easily. I took a break from reading at 8pm and actually watched an episode of the Simpson’s, a program I haven’t watched in several years. Funny.

Around 850pm we tuned into SNF, Detroit/Green Bay. Detroit was already ahead and remained ahead through halftime. It didn’t last. Green Bay took the lead in the 3rd quarter. Mindy headed to bed around 930pm. I stayed up watching football and enjoying a bowl of Cookie Crisp until 1020pm. Heading to bed when I did, I wasn’t that tired. I laid there awake for maybe 10 minutes before Mindy asked if I wanted to catch more of the SNF game. Yes. I watched until there were 5 or 6 minutes left. The Packers were ahead by 10 points.