Kids Homecoming

After four beers the night before, I slept a little longer than I normally would. Was up and out of bed around 745am. It was cooler than I expected - only 56 degrees - but the sky mostly clear. I started coffee then played around on the internet for the next hour or more. Left for a run around 915am. Wore my old Ray Ban's, shorts and a short sleeved wicking shirt. Ran just three miles. It was a good run, too, but then again most are.

Mindy was up shortly after my return home. We spent a little time on the deck enjoying coffee. Eiknarf joined us playing and pooping in the neighbors yard. :) Mindy had plans to run Father's Day errands again that afternoon. I asked if we could trade cars that way I could pick-up a couple/few bags of mulch for the new flower I cut along the western slop in the back where we planted three rose of sharon. I also planned a run to Lowes to get a new toilet valve for the first floor guest bath. The currently Korky valve isn't but a year old but already acting up. Mindy agreed.

Enjoyed some peanut butter toast and more internet before deciding to take a crack at the toilet valve ahead of going after a new one. Took no more than 10-15 minutes to drain the tank, remove the valve and inspect it. It was acting as if something was clogging it. After fooling around with it for a couple minutes i decided to reinstall it and see if perhaps freed whatever was sticking. Sure enough, worked like a charm 15 minutes later. Voila! Even though it seemed to be working fine, I wasn't ready to declare it completely fixed. I knew better. Figured we would give it a day or two.

With the toilet valve working again, I headed out to edge the new flower bed in preparation for mulch. I cut it back at least a full foot from the new miniature shrubs so not to risk accidentally chopping them up with the mower or the trimmer. Turning that spot into a bed with save me the trouble of mowing the severe slope. Took a little longer than expected. Might've spent a solid half hour fooling around with it.

We were expecting the kids home from the Outer Banks around 530am. They called earlier sharing that they were in Richmond, Va. The week apart went fast. Mindy left to run errands between noon and 1pm. She ended up taking the Pilot. I took a nap shortly after Mindy headed out. I was feeling like a I needed a nap, so I took some ice water, my book, and Mindy's purple polka-dotted reading glasses to the deck chaise lounger. Oh, I might not of mentioned that my cheap reading glasses got damaged in my back pack during our S.C. trip. Mindy shared that she bought them in the dollar aisle at Target.

After waking from a brief nap, I hemmed and hawed over making a run to Ohio Mulch for two or three bags of Absolute Black. Decided to do it if for no other reason to prevent a bunch of small tasks from backing up on me. Glad I did. Took just a couple minutes to get there. Bought three bags. At home I quickly carried them around the house to the new bed. used 2.5 bags. The bed not slopes towards the pond, it slopes towards the back too. I'll need to use stone to create a hard ridge to prevent the mulch from falling away with rain.

Mindy was home a short time later. Told me I was going to be real happy with all the beer she picked up at Giant Eagle Market District. They finally got a shipment of White Rajah in. She bought three six packs. Not only that, but she got some Founder's All Day IPA that I like too. Sweet. She said they didn't have any Chilean sea bass so she planned to make yet another run to the Whole Foods to see if they had some. If so, she was going to grill that for dinner.

This time while Mindy was away I took a shower and played guitar. She was back home near 5pm. She asked me to shuck the corn. I was tired, but mustered the energy to get it done. We both enjoyed a pint of Bodhi, the last of the growler we've had in the fridge for the past two weeks. It was still good as new. I guess the kids and Jimaken hit some unexpected traffic and figured to be a little later than originally planned. We were on watch. I had the camera ready for their return. Sometime near 6pm, I saw Jimaken's Murano pull up. I rushed out to get pictures.
Bella apparently had just recently woken and wasn't in any kind of mood to have her picture taken. Jacob, however, didn't seem to mind.

Jimaken stuck around long enough for the kids to give him his Father's Day card and gift. He left for home around 620pm. Bella was tanned, but nowhere near as dark as she's come home before. Jacob hardly got sun at all. They both must've did a better job with the sunscreen this year.

While the kids shared stories about their trip, Mindy grilled up a real nice dinner - Chilean sea bass, corn on the cob, rice, and bread. Dinner was ready around 645-7pm. Yum-yum! Love that Chilean sea bass. This batch from Whole Foods was far better than what we got from the Trabue seafood shop.

I ate a lot and as a result, was in food coma during clean-up. Managed to finish dinner and clean-up before 8pm. The clear sunny skies from earlier had given way to completely cloudy skies. And the Father's Day forecast didn't look too promising either. Expecting on and off rain showers all day long. Shux!

We watched some Big Bang Theory after dinner and chores. Mindy had Bella take a much needed shower. We asked how frequently she brushed her teeth. Her answer didn't surprise me at all. She said she brushed her teeth everytime she showered. OK, how many showers did you shower? Three times! Oh boy!

I was tired but also was craving a fruity drink. Opted for a vodka, Fresca and raspberry schnapps. That was really good. I fell asleep after downing about 3/4s of my drink. Mindy headed off to bed shortly after 9pm. I woke around 10pm and joined her in bed. She was still awake watching TV from bed.