Lack of Green - Coffee Explosion

After lying in bed and unable to fall asleep late Sunday evening, I got up again around midnight and had a bowl of cereal and played on the internet until I felt sufficiently sleepy enough to fall easily asleep. Worked like a charm. Of course, the down side is that I didn’t get back to bed until almost 1am, and no matter how much napping I did the evening before I figured to be ultra-tired come rise time Monday AM.

That was indeed the case. 6am came around fast and I didn’t want to get up. I laid there until 610am which is when I forced myself up and out of bed for good. Downstairs, I slowly completed calisthenics then finally went for coffee near 625am. As soon as I grabbed the coffee I realized right away that something was amiss. It was far too light. At first I thought perhaps I forgot to hit the go button, but it instead it was about ½ full. Uh-oh! Soon noticed spent coffee grounds scattered near and around the coffee maker. And then on closer inspection I noticed actual coffee spilt everywhere too. Dammit! The return of the exploding coffee maker!

I was incensed. Knowing from experience how daunting a clean-up task it is, I almost uncontrollably blurted out all sorts of expletives. Not only was the coffee and coffee grounds all over the counter top but it was in the cabinet drawer, in the lower cabinet, and in all the bowls and kitchen implements stowed there. Of course, it was all over the tile floor too. What a mess!

It was important to keep my priorities in check, which was to troubleshoot for the cause and then start a new pot. Once that was underway, I began the arduous clean-up. Before the mishap, my plan was to run early and be at work before 9am. However, I knew the clean-up process alone would take at least 45 minutes and I couldn’t bear to leave it wait until later, or worse yet do half a job.

I pulled every utensil from the drawer and gave them all a blast of hot steamy water. I then rinsed and cleaned the drawer itself. Next, I pulled everything from the cabinet underneath, cleaning and rinsing each piece. Removed all the shelf/drawer liners too and rinsed them. What a mess. And because we stow our toaster after use, there were so many toast crumbs in the cabinet below the liner and presently soaked in coffee. It was nasty! Cleaned it all.

Jacob came down and grabbed his lunch but said nothing. Mindy came down after a shower to fetch some coffee. She gave me a hug and thanked me for cleaning it up. It was 715-20am by the time I finished. And by the way, I left everything, and I mean everything out to dry on the kitchen table. If there was a silver lining it was this, reorganizing (think throwing away useless stuff from our cabinet). It was also all I needed to deal with to fetch the new coffee maker lid from the basement and finally deploy it. I’ve had it for at least 6-8 months, or since the last go round with the coffee maker exploding. It wasn’t until I had ordered the part that I discovered the old one was simply clogged and came apart.

Finally enjoyed a little coffee and internet around 735am. Now, I wouldn’t get to my run until after seeing Bella on the bus. In kind, that meant I wouldn’t likely make it into the office until 10am at the earliest. I was already logged onto my laptop and had been all weekend. I took care of a few small items early on, but nothing too important to deal with.

Just before Mindy left for school, I heard Bella tell her that she thought the coffee maker exploding was funny. I could’ve gotten angry but knew she didn’t mean it in a spiteful way. Instead, just funny to a kid. I get it!

I stretched, meditated, dressed for a run, and walked the dog before Bella was off to catch the bus. My plan was to run as soon as she was gone. I headed out the door at 805am. By the way, it was plenty cold, and only 18 degrees. Expecting it to warm into the low 40s by the afternoon, and then reach into the 50s each day through the end of the week. Just needed to get through this one last cold morning.:)

I was tempted to go with a base layer and extra fleece, but after overheating a couple mornings of late, I opted not. Of course I did go with the hand and ear covers as well as two wicking shirts. That proved just about right for the temp and breeze. I was comfortable throughout. And I could tell a big difference in my calves, especially the left. No longer was it tight. The right one was better too, but perhaps just a tad stiff. For that I was encouraged and ran the full 4.1 miles.

Back home by 845am, I decided to get a shower ahead of making my breakfast and lunch. Of course that doesn’t save any time but instead just felt better. Downstairs again shortly after 9am I made my breakfast and packed my lunch. Enjoyed a cup of coffee before heading off to work. Exchanged an email with my boss before leaving the house too. Arrived at the office near 10am.

Early on, my boss and I agreed to make a mid-day visit to the hospital to see Ken. It took care of a few dangling to-dos an hour or so before we headed out. I drove. My boss is fairly tall. Hardly a comfortable ride even with the seat slid back.  Both Ken and his bed were gone when we got to the hospital. I immediately – and wrongfully – assumed he had been transferred to the regular step-down ICU unit. Instead, one of the many nurses gathered at the nurses station shared that he was off for testing and should be back within the hour. Geesh, wasn’t sure we could stick around that long, but I offered that we venture into his room where I could leave a note in the book that Spencer made for his guests to sign.

While crafting a brief note, Lori, his wife came in. We talked with Lori for a while agreeing to stick around for another 15-20 minutes before heading back. A few minutes later the pastor from their church, Grove City Nazarene stopped by to see Ken, too. And then a couple minutes later Ken was wheeled back into the room.

He appeared to be out but not a minute after locking down the wheels he opened his eyes and engaged us in conversation. Updates were very positive, starting to show signs of pain sensation and crude movement on his left side. Talked for a while. We learned that his parents were in the waiting room. Not wanting to hog ken all to ourselves, we bidded Ken farewell, stopping by the waiting room to greet his parents on our way out.

Before exiting the hospital, I stopped in the gift shop to get change for parking. Headed back to the office arriving near 115pm. I stayed busy for the remainder of the afternoon. Left for home around 510pm or shortly after talking with Mindy. Reminded me that we’d be having pork roast for dinner. Called David on my drive home. Asked if he was ready for our trip. They’ve been enjoying some nice spring weather down his way the past couple weeks – sunshine and mid 70s. In fact, he was out on his boat on Saturday, I believe. Happened to be cold and rain on Monday. Says it’ll do that all winter long – back and forth.

Dinner was ready shortly after my arrival home. Hollered more than once for the kids to come home. They were both down at the O’Connell’s. Enjoyed our dinner together. Mindy informed the kids that we’d be having a family meeting just after dinner. Bella seemed the most bothered with the notion.  We intended to clear the air regarding what constitutes a clean bedroom. We also talked a little bit about the rest of our week. Mindy and I were surprised that the kids offered next to zero pushback. Jacob even acknowledged his bedroom cleaning prowess along with his shoe issues – leaving them anywhere/everywhere. Jacob headed back outside after dinner. Mindy made an after dinner run to Target to pick-up a few things she needed/wanted for our trip. I’m pretty sure that one of the kids went along, and I think it was Bella. While they were gone, I did a little bit of packing prep, organizing my casual and ski clothes in a laundry basket.

I updated my Excel trip prep list too. Without it, I don’t know how I’d ever do it. Once I was satisfied with my trip prep progress I kicked back in the recliner for some reading. Mindy was back from Target pm near 8pm. Bella and I enjoyed some popcorn in the livingroom while watching a little Big Bang. We all headed for bed around 930pm.