New Desk, Barley's, a Bob sighting, & Hot Tub w/ Neighbors

Decided to sleep in for a while so I wasn’t up and out of bed until 610am. I planned on working from home so I didn’t wake feeling behind the eight ball. Downstairs I completed calisthenics then poured and delivered Mindy’s coffee. Back downstairs I enjoyed my own coffee then logged onto my new laptop for the first time from home. That went without a hitch.

Watched Jacob head off for school just before 7am. Mindy was soon downstairs and headed off to school near 730am. I hung out with Bella, worked, stretched and meditated over the course of the next 45 minutes. She and I headed to the bus stop at 810a. It was Eiknarf’s first opportunity to be outside. I walked her across the street from the bus stop.

Chrissy hobbled out for the first time in eons. The new kids were there again too. I got two of their names: Dominic and Camden. Seem like nice boys. They were all about Eiknarf. Once the kids were on the bus I headed back home to make final preparations for a run, essentially making sure work was quiet. It was.

I ran the full 4.1 miles. It was chilly and 40 some degrees. Temps expected to drop through the afternoon but then warm up nicely over the weekend. Was back from my run at 915am. Instead of frying eggs I ate two slices of peanut butter toast. It was good.

Stayed busy all morning working on weekly reports and escalations. Was still covering a large customer for a peer. He’ll be back on Monday. Wahoo! I’m thinking it was near noon when I headed up for a shower. I wasn’t downstairs again for 10 minutes when the UPS driver showed up with my new desk. He was struggling with it on a dolly. I went out and helped him navigate up our driveway. Wasn’t sure he would help me get it in the house but he did. We let it rest just inside the door. I didn’t have time to fool with it right then. Back to work.

Had a very productive afternoon accomplishing everything on my to-do list. Started on Friday’s administrative tasks around 230pm. Knocked them out by 3pm. My plan was to end my work day at 3pm since I put in too many hours earlier in the week. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make that happen. Ended up drug into an escalation that kept me busy until almost 5pm. By then, the kids and Mindy were home from school.

It was a Jimaken weekend and Mindy spent several minutes helping the kids get everything they’d need for a weekend away. Mindy said she was going to tackle the desk after they left. Nice! We also discussed our evening plans. Decided to visit Barley’s.

Kids were gone by 520pm and Mindy soon got started on the desk. Once I put work aside I gave her a hand. Turns out, the desk only needed the legs and a support piece installed. The drawers and the top were already completely assembled. Took us until about 6p to get it completely together. It was missing one f the rubber shoes on a leg. Shoot! I tried calling the 800 number to ask them to ship me another but their office hours are only 8-5pm M-F. I suggested we visit Lowes on our way to Barley’s.

It was 640pm by the time we left for Lowes and Barley’s after both of us took time to freshen up. In the hardware/fastener aisle Mindy showed an associate the part we were hoping to match. While they toiled in the specialty fastener aisle, I ventured elsewhere looking for plastic/felt leg bumpers. They were one aisle over. I found what we needed but had to buy a set of four so they matched. No problem. Only $2.49. We looked very briefly at valances but didn’t come close to agreeing on a pattern, color or texture. Agreed to disagree.

Mindy sent a text message to lots of peeps letting them know that we’d be at Barley’s. I think she said we’d be there at 7pm but didn’t get there until 720pm. No biggie. Steve Wonn was there. First time we’ve seen Steve since Xmas time, I think. Holy Moly! Mindy chatted with a pregnant woman that also happened to be a school teacher. We were both drinking the Left Coast IPA. Good!

Bob Imber and brother Tommy showed up around 830pm. Haven’t seen Bob since our last ski outing at MRM, and haven’t seen Tommy since we landed home from Utah. Good to see them both. Mary Ann was working, and Bob shared that the dogs were waiting in his minivan. Think he stuck around for two quick beers. Mindy attempted to arrange dinner with the two of them for Saturday. Bob promised to circle back with us on Saturday.

Later that evening, Thad & Monica showed up, as did Grandpa Tom and Steve. Mindy’s principal pal Jan and Jeff showed up for a while too. They’re always a good time. We ended up closing the place down, something we haven’t done in a really long time. All totaled, I drank four beers over the span of 3.5-4.5 hours. Our bill was only like $10. April shared that Tommy picked up our main tab. Thanks Tommy!

I drove us home. Could hear the neighbors outside. I guessed they were in the hot tub. Yep, sure enough. Mindy, the pug and I walked over. It was Kenny, Chrissy, Josh & Rachel, and Teri in the hot tub. They invited us in. I declined but apparently Mindy disappeared home to get her swimsuit on. She returned 5-10 minutes later not only in her swimsuit, but with mine too. It was more than chilly outside. I headed inside to change into my trunks. Spent at least an hour in the hot tub. I brought a CBC IPA from home and once it was gone I tapped into Kenny’s bottle of bourbon again.

Mindy disappeared at some point. I headed home a few minutes later to find her just about to hop into bed. She told me the following morning that we didn’t get to sleep until 3am. Wow! Been a while since we were both up that late.