Kohls, Dicks, & Sams

I was up and downstairs near 745am. I didn’t expect Mindy up for a while yet. I started coffee then played around online, mostly reviewing college results from Saturday. Mindy was up earlier than I expected. I think it was near 830am. Initially, neither one of us was sure of Glenn’s whereabouts. We didn’t know if he came back to our place or stayed with Tommy. I didn’t hear him come in. I headed upstairs to check and peeked in the guest room. Yep, he was there sleeping. The little noise I made woke him briefly.

I was still playing on my PC and Mindy was getting an early start on laundry when dad tapped on the front door. I wasn’t expecting him but wasn’t too surprised, either. Figured he was there to see if Glenn wanted to go to breakfast. We visited for a few before Glenn made his way downstairs. The two of them planned on heading off to breakfast. From the sounds of it, they planned to stop and see brother Bobby, too. Making a day of it. Shortly after they departed, I headed off for a run. I’m guessing that it was close to 930am.

Like most Sunday’s, I ran 3 miles. It was a good run, the weather chilly, but nice. Back from my run, Mindy shared that she was heading out to run some errands ahead of her Ava Anderson party, which was slated to run from 1-3pm. I planned on getting out of the house and doing something, just what exactly, I wasn’t yet sure. Just before Mindy headed off to the shower she asked if I would vacuum the downstairs. Sure. It was no big deal.

Mindy wasn’t gone that long, perhaps an hour. When she got back we discussed dinner. Talked about grilling steaks. I shared my tentative afternoon plans, which was to head out shopping. I thought I might visit Kohl’s, Dick’s, and Sam’s Club to get steaks. Mindy gave me her Kohl’s card and Kohl’s cash.

I headed to the shower around noon and was ready by 1215pm. Mindy’s mom showed up a few minutes later to help Mindy get things ready for her party. I left the house at 1245pm. I made my first stop at Kohl’s and reminded myself to take my dear old time, since I had 2+ hours to kill. The only thing I wanted to get from Kohl’s was a new lower base layer for winter. Tried on a couple sizes. In the end I went with a large. Between the sale price, Kohl’s cash, and the scratch off coupon the cashier gave me, my totals cost was only $1.40. 

I walked my purchase to the car then headed next door to Dick’s. If I took my time in Kohl’s, I really took my time in Dick’s. I looked at all sorts of stuff but really only planned to buy a few new long-sleeved running/skiing wicking shirts. I’ve learned quite a bit about wicking shirts over the years as the features vary significantly. I’ve decided that I want to avoid the compression fit – too snug for all day comfort. Plus, I’d rather wear two thinner layers then one really thick one. And lastly, a mock neck isn’t as critical as I once thought it to be.

I ended up buying two thin long-sleeved Nike wicking shirts and then two thin Under Amour ¼ zip long-sleeved wicking shirts. We’ll see how that works out for both winter running and skiing. I left Dick’s extremely hungry having eaten nothing more than a single bite of Mindy’s leftover walleye. I thought I would treat myself (or punish depending on your view) and visit the Wendy’s at the corner of Hilliard-Rome & Trabue. Took some doing to get there and was disappointed to find it closed for remodel. Ended up back tracking to the nearby Burger King where there was no line at all. Ordered a BK double stacker combo. Yum!

I ate my fast food lunch from my car in the Sam’s Club parking lot. Headed into Sam’s near 215pm. I didn’t want to arrive home until 3pm, so I wasn’t in a big hurry. I’m not a big Sam’s fan by any stretch. In fact, it’s lower on my list than a prostate exam.  However, they do have decent steaks at a fair price, and we absolutely love their large tray of fudge brownies, especially for parties. I walked down the main aisle towards the fresh food department looking at a number of products. After killing about 15 minutes I picked out a couple trays of steaks. I walked slowly toward checkout. On this occasion there was only a short wait at the checkout line. Wahoo! I was reminded of another short coming upon checkout – no bags! I carried the two trays of steaks in my bare hands out the entrance.

Exiting, I was reminded of another inconvenience, a door guard checking each persons receipt against their haul out of the store. This time I walked by without being stopped. Walking to my car I soon spotted familiar faces walking towards me. It was Kevin, Kerriane, and their two boys, Garrett & Sawyer. I stopped to chat. They’d just come from having lunch at the 101 Pizza Kitchen in Powell. I asked if they were at my house since Kerriane is the one that turned Mindy onto the Ava Anderson product portfolio. No, they weren’t. Soon I was on my way home. It was 250pm.

Arrived home just before 3pm. Several cars still out front, and almost all of them family. Joe’s partner, Rick, was sitting by the bridge apparently feeding ducks. At first I thought it was simply a neighborhoodie enjoying the view, but soon recognized him when he waved. Inside, the gathering was just wrapping up. Julie, Katie, Joe, Ricky left within 5 minutes of my arrival. Jodie, Lindy, and Mawmaw were there a bit longer. The kids got home from their overnight with Jimaken before the others left. Mawmaw gave the kids Halloween treats. The first thing Jacob did was shake it out for the cash. 

Everybody was gone by 330pm. We got to enjoy a couple hours of quiet in the late afternoon. Jacob and I tossed the football for about 30 minutes. Mindy got a hold of Glenn and dad around 5pm to measure their interest in having a grilled steak dinner. They both accepted. This would be Glenn’s last vacation supper.

Mindy suggested I grill around 630pm. It was already dark by the time I threw the meat on the grill. I lost track of the time on each side this time too. I worried that the two thicker steaks might be under cooked. I didn’t bother slicing them open to check. Sure enough, once I handed the steaks off to Mindy and shut down the grill, I learned that two of the four needed more grill time. I quickly fired I back up and threw them on for a few more minutes. Even then they weren’t cooked enough in the center. I put two helpings in the microwave for a minute to help complete the cooking process.

The filets were really good, and so were the accompanying baked potatoes and salad. We split 4 filets amongst 6 of us. I bought a total of 8, so we’ll have enough for another steak dinner again soon. After clean-up, Mindy laid out a hodge-podge of goodies, including a few leftover from her Ava Anderson gathering from earlier. I opted to avoid dessert entirely, having eaten a few of the small brownies earlier when I got home from my shopping spree.

Well before dad left for home, we confirmed that he planned to deliver Glenn to the airport the following morning. He & Glenn made plans to leave early enough to make a stop for breakfast at Spiro’s. Dad left for home shortly before 8pm. Glenn & I readied to watch SNF – the Vikings and Packers. After last Monday’s poor showing, at least I had my expectations set way low. And sadly, I wasn’t disappointed. The Vikings were once again pathetic. Our defense couldn’t get off the field. The bright spot was Cordarelle Patterson, the Vikings rookie receiver, who ran the opening kick-off back for a touchdown, his 2nd this season. Some will point to the Vikings scoring 31 points, forgetting or overlooking the fact that 14 of those came during scraps time, or once the game was completely out of hand. Fact is, the defense looked horrid and the offense nonexistent and unimaginative. Our special teams allowed a punt return for a TD, too.

The game ended near midnight. I headed to bed immediately after. Glenn promised to shut down the TV before heading to bed.