Float my Boat

Slept in until almost 8am. My sinuses were completely blocked when I first rolled out of bed. I hate that feeling. However, simply being on my feet helped them drain a little. I started some coffee then played on the internet until it was ready.

Enjoyed coffee and internet for about an hour before Mindy was up. Headed out for a run around 1015am. Told Mindy that I would walk the pug after my run. It was cloudy and about 30 degrees. It was supposed to break 32 degrees during the afternoon, our first real opportunity for meltage beyond just sunshine. Still lots of ice on the subdivision roads, but 90+% of the walks free of snow or ice. Ran three miles with any problems. Felt good. As for my sinuses, they felt perfect when running.

Back at the house I kept my word and walked the pug as soon as I was back from my run. She did both. Already with a little meltage going on, she was able to pick up a scent much easier than she has in the past week.

Had Mindy hand out the Accord keys so I could pull my car as far forward as possible, thinking I would leave room for Lindsey and the boys to park in the driveway that way avoiding having to park her new Civic in the heavily rutted snow pack along the curb. They were coming over that afternoon so I could help Rocky build a sailboat for cub scouts.

I was hungry. Asked Mindy if she wanted some ham and eggs. She did. I heated some Honey Baked ham on the pizza stone, whipped up a cheese omelet, and concocted potato cakes using leftover mashed potatoes. Added an assortment of items to give them some extra flavor. Turned out nicely.

Before and after breakfast, Mindy worked on a grocery list. She actually left for the grocery around 130pm. I took a very brief nap soon after she left while also tuning into the NFL playoff action. The day’s early game featured Baltimore vs. Indy Colts. Ray Lewis’ intro was way over the top.

Lindsey and the boys showed up around 2pm. If you ask me, Lindsey was making the sail boat project much bigger than it needed to be. Apparently it’s due Monday evening at his pack meeting. We got started right away. Sadly, noticed missing piece right out of the shoot. And after reading the directions, more to it than once thought. Needed assembled, sanded, painted, etc. Oh boy! Before I could stop her, Lindsey phoned the scout leader to talk about the missing pieces. Too funny! You’d think that someone’s life was on the line.

I had Rocky read the directions, and was happy how well he did. The few words he struggled with were well above his grade level. Used 60 grit sandpaper to shape the boat. Once we were happy with the shape we headed to the garage to spray paint the mast and boat. Mindy got home from the grocery just as we finished up the first coat of paint. Helped carry in the groceries. Had to be about 3pm.

I let Mindy know that while she was off to the grocery, Bella asked to go outside and play in the snow with Emily. Not ten minutes later Jacob alerted me that Bella was out on the pond ice again despite Mindy telling her just over a week ago that she wasn’t allowed on the ice under any circumstances. I called her in for the day and also sent her to her room.

Jacob and the boys played well together in the basement for the rest of the afternoon. Hardly noticed that they were there. Baltimore won the game against Indy rather easily. Next up, the Seattle/Washington game. Once to the end of the putting away groceries, Mindy realized that the rotisserie chicken she bought didn’t make it home. She called Kroger and went back after it. Lindsey soon left for home but the boys wanted to stay. Said she’d come back after them at 5pm. She had a roast cooking in a crock-pot at home.

Mindy worked on our dinner soon after she got back from Kroger. She planned to make chicken tortellini with pesto and peppers. Lindsey showed up to pick-up the boys just after 5pm. Rocky was beginning to panic, asking if he could call and see where she was. I’m guessing it was another half hour after they left that our dinner was ready. Shortly before dinner Jacob was throwing Bella under the bus for tattling. I then reminded him that he’s the one that tattled on her for being on the ice. Once Bella heard that she loudly proclaimed that Jacob broke his grounding rules while with his dad all weekend. Said he watched TV all weekend. Really? When asked, he came clean. Uh-oh!

Rather than display knee-jerk reactions, Mindy and I both reserved final judgment. Once afforded a private moment we briefly touched on the topic. Bottomline, we both agreed that there had to be repercussions. I also suggested that a conversation with Jimaken was in order. We absolutely have to be on the same page lest we risk a Jimmy/Kelly scenario.

Because we had about 15 minutes to kill after the tortellini was done but still before we ate, I went ahead and washed most of the messy dishes before dinner. That made the actual dinner clean-up far, far easier. Enjoyed dinner between 530-6pm. Tortellini was good.

Finished watching the Seattle/Washington game after dinner. After being behind for 3+ quarters, Seattle came from behind in the middle of the 4th quarter and won rather easily. RG3 looked gimpy throughout the entire game.

Had a fire going for most of the late afternoon and early evening. First time we had a fire in several weeks. In fact, I don’t think we had even one through all of December. Put Rocky’s boat in front of the fire to expedite the paint drying process. Once the first coat was dry I gave it another sanding only this time with fine grit. After that I customized it. Named it “Rocky Shores” and used indelible markers to add color. Sprayed in with a coat of polyurethane after that.

After the football game I tuned to the History Channel and watched an excellent account of the Dark Ages in Europe, dating for the sacking of Rome up to the 11th century. I was fascinated with the details. Mindy - not so much. At 815pm she headed up to bed to read. I poured a White Rajah and watched until 10pm. After securing the home, I joined Mindy already in bed at 1010pm after putting a dose of Sinex up my nose and after taking half a dose of Nyquil.