Coveted Cleaner

It rained through most of the night. In fact, it was still raining, though only lightly, when I woke for work near 6am. From the outset, my plan was to run early, or before Bella left for school. To that end, I exercised, enjoyed coffee and internet, meditated and stretched, and headed out for a run all before 7am. I ran the full 4.1 miles, too.

Mindy was gone by the time I got back from the run. I grabbed the pug's leash then beckoned her presence from the bottom of the stairs. She and I headed out near 750am. By then the other bus stop parents arrived in their cars. I waved as we walked by. Inside, I ate my breakfast while Bella dashed out for the bus. Off to the shower by 815am. It didn't take me long. I was ready and left the house by 840am. I had about a 1/4 tank of gas, which was probably plenty, but then again, I didn't want to put myself in a predicament I could easily avoid. I stopped for a fill-up at Circle-K. Excellent mileage last tank full, almost 28 mpg. Arrived cross town near 9am. I looked for a close parking spot but there were none. It was raining again so I used my umbrella for the long walk to the entrance.

Stayed busy through the AM hours knocking out a number of to-do's. Amongst them was a personal to-do, reaching out to the two doctors I found by using our benefits resources page to see about making an appointment. My first choice was not accepting new patients. Dang it! My second choice was and has excellent ratings. Made a get-to-know-you appointment for Monday, May 12 at 330pm. That made far more sense. Already more personable than Dr. Coyle. Come 1230pm I left for a lunch break and a trip to the Easton Macy's. It was the first day of their Friends & Family sale, everything in the store 25% off, which also included items already on sale. I tried on a few things but bought just the lavender Polo shirt I'd been waiting to go on sale. I tried on a pair of cargo shorts but looked like a total dork in them with my short, stocky legs. I headed back to the office near 130pm.

Stayed busy through the afternoon, leaving for home near 410pm. By then the rain had stopped but the sky still mostly cloudy. I tried calling Mindy but she didn't answer. However, she called back about 10 minutes later sharing that she was just leaving school. By then I was only a few miles from home and beat her there by several minutes.

We had the house cleaned professionally for the first time in something like a year. The woman, Debbie, is the mother of a teaching partner of Mindy’s whom we met a couple weeks ago. She did a decent job, especially for the first time. I am confident that Mindy will work with her to address the areas that need more attention moving forward.

It was a Jimaken night, though with Jacob not feeling well, it was just he and Bella. Jacob said his throat hurt and he was ridiculously tired, essentially his bimonthly illness. Mindy and I planned an impromptu run to CBC even though we strongly considered staying home. Arrived at CBC near 545pm. The parking lot was full so we took our favorite spot in the ancillary lot across the street, our car within eyeshot. Standing room only in the bar, a company having an organized happy hour. Soon, however, some folks offered up stools they were standing by. Sweet.

They had Bodhi on tap, but both of us decided to try one of their guest drafts instead, the Mad Tree, PsycHOPathy. Not sure why but it left me in a very antisocial way. :) As usual, Mindy chatted it up with the staff, especially, Jen, the general manager, who is expecting a baby along with her wife, Keri. She also talked with Aubrey who is due in something like 6 or 7 weeks. Seems only last week that she shared that she was pregnant. Said she was inviting Mindy and I to her baby shower at her fiancée, Matt's house. And by the way, men are welcome too.

Enjoyed some fresh CBC bread along with our beer. Later, Jen comp'd us some fried asparagus shortly before we ordered dinner. Mindy went with the salmon and I with wings. Ordered a Bodhi as well. Haven't had one in quite a while. And boy was it ever tasty. It was approaching 8pm when we wrapped up our CBC visit and headed for home. Jim and Molly were still there with Bella. Mindy insisted I show the two of them some of the wedding photos.

Off to bed fairly early, and definitely before 10pm.

More Calling Hours

Was up near 6am again, this time it was raining immediately out of bed. As such, I took my time with exercise, internet and coffee figuring that I wouldn't run until after Bella was on the bus. Around 7am I got busy with work, too. Mindy left for school at 730am, and shortly thereafter I put work aside for meditation, a stretch, and pug walking duty. Bella was out the door for school at 8am.

Didn't leave for my run until; 835am. By then the rain was reduced to a light sprinkle, but it picked up again sometime into the 4.1 mile run. When I got back home I immediately tossed all of my clothes into the dryer and put my running shoes on the heating vent. I was soaked. Made breakfast for the pug and I.

Worked a little before heading up for a shower. Thinking it was near 1015am when I left the house for New Albany. Just before that, Mindy sent a text sharing details surround the calling hours for one of her students grandpa's. She wanted me to go with her that evening.

Had to park in the deepest part of the customer's parking lot. Good thing I had my umbrella with me otherwise I would've been soaked after the long, rainy walk in. Stayed busy leading up to our standing 1pm meeting. The meeting was brief, only about 30 minutes. Some of us stuck around after for another impromptu discussion. I stuck around until 2pm and then left for the day, my plan being to make a quick trip by the New Albany Oakland Nursery and the home where I would finish my work day.

I hadn't been to the New Albany Oakland Nursery before, but it was easy to get to, and only 3.7 miles from the office. I hoped to find healthy cannas bulbs with bronze foliage and orange flowers if possible. Nice place. Smaller than their Columbus location, but quaint. I liked it. I looked at some of the annuals they had out, and quickly catching my eye were these lovely orange begonias. A little pricey, though. I could only find red cannas, which I already have a ton of. Before leaving, I stopped by the desk to ask. The woman working was very helpful and guided me back to the greenhouse, and to a different area other than where I found the red cannas. Yep, they had more, but she said they only had bronze/orange. Really? Awesome! Moreover, they looked healthy and the price was great. They came in a 5-pack for $6.99. I bought two. I also picked up a bag of 8 multicolored Asian Lillie bulbs too.

Home James! Arrived home near 3pm and quick got back to work. It was an relatively easy finish to the work day. The kids and Mindy were soon home. Somewhat surprisingly, Jacob had soccer practice. With all the recent rain I was sure it would be canceled. Our plan was to take Bella to gymnastics and then go to the calling hours in the short north. Can't remember what we ate for dinner. I think I only snacked.

We dropped Bella at gymnastics just before 6pm and then took 270 to 670 exiting on Neil Ave. into the short north, arriving at the Shaw Davis funeral home around 615pm. All the immediate parking was taken. We paid to park at a nearby meter. Interesting decor - 40's/50's era. Mindy led the way eventually finding her student, Caylee, who once she laid eyes on Mindy came up and gave her a big, long hug. Cute and sad all at once. As Mindy shared, this same woman lost her first husband the same way, to cancer, and both were relatively young. Mindy's helped them through difficult times past. Seems, too, that Mindy's had a few of the family's children in her class over the years. She hugged several of them. Caylee walked us up to see her grandpa. Noticed small handwritten love notes in the casket from grandchildren. Very touching.

We didn't stay too long. Talked with the wife and kids and then left. Probably there no more than 15 minutes. Just a few blocks from North High Brewing, Mindy suggested we stop in for one beer. Why not? Been a couple months since we were last in. Not too many cars in the lot. Met David, a new bartender. Interesting character originally from New York City. The owners, Tim and Gavin weren't in. According to David, out on deliveries. I opted for one of their IPAs while Mindy enjoyed their stout. Talked with David the entire time. We couldn't stay too long. We had to pick-up Bella from gymnastics at 730pm. It was 725pm and we weren't even on 670W. Mindy sent a text to Kelly, Bella's gymnastics instructor sharing that we would be a little late. No problem.

Think it was 740pm when we finally arrived. Mindy was inside for 15-20 minutes. I was just about to call her cell when they finally came out. As soon as she was in the car Mindy said she had something to share with me later. Storms were rolling into the area again, and this thunderstorms. The skies looked impressively wicked. I suggested a stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream. Bella was game. It's just down the road but by the time we got there the thunderstorms were pretty much overtop of us. Strong wind, lightning, thunder and rain. We ran inside DQ.

I haven't had a DQ ice cream cone for myself for two years. Ordered a chocolate cone dipped in chocolate. Bella had a giant waffle cone filled with vanilla ice cream while Mindy had a Reece's blizzard. Yuck! Before we left, Mindy got something to take home for Jacob. Not sure what it was. The brunt of the thunder storm was now just to our north and east. There were several incredible lightning strikes visible from the freeway. Haven't seen lightning like that for some time.

Home just after 8pm, the rest of the evening was a bit of a blur. I'm sure that we were in bed by 10pm.

Rain in the Offing

I was up for work near 6am and moved swiftly through my pre-run routine of exercise, meditation, stretching, coffee and internet. I stopped upstairs to see Mindy before I left on my run fairly certain that she'd be gone by my return. I asked that she make Bella aware that I might not be back before she needed to catch the bus. What helped motivate me out the door was the threat of rain baring down on the CMH metropolitan area. Of course my preference was to stay dry.

For a couple reasons, I ended up curbing my run to only three miles. One, that would get me back home with plenty of time to make sure Bella was prepared to leave for school. And two, I managed to avoid the coming rain. At the time, I still wasn't sure if I was going to work from home or office. Mindy was already gone when I got back home, but that I expected. It was about 745am. I enjoyed breakfast and then walked the pug. By the time we were back it was time for Bella to leave for school.

Ultimately I decided to work from home. I'd already dug into a couple issues via email and none of my immediate team members would be in the office that day, either. The rains came, and I was happy about it. In fact, the forecast called for three straight days of rain. We really needed it.

Working in my running clothes, I stayed busy all day long. During what I'll call my lunch break, I edited Lindey's wedding photos. I planned to finish the rest after work. The kids and Mindy were home before I knew it. I didn't get a shower until almost 4pm. Mindy was excited that we didn't have any extracurricular activities on the Monday evening calendar, a welcome sight after such a busy weekend.

For dinner we had leftovers. Mindy and I had spaghetti warehouse leftovers - lasagna. Good stuff. After dinner I spent more time editing wedding photos, in all more than 300 photos.

The 911 on the 911

Woke fully rested ahead of 7am. In fact, I was downstairs by 645am. That’s got to be the earliest I’ve been up on a weekend day in quite some time. The sky was clearer than the morning before but also chillier. It was only 40 degrees at 7am. Burr!

I spent the first hour enjoying coffee and catching up on that work issue from Saturday. In fact, by the end of the day, I invested a couple more hours helping get it squared away. The sunshine warmed things quickly. I left for a run around 830am. Like most Sunday’s, I ran only three miles. Felt pretty good.

I prepared Mindy and I a Mexican omelet using leftover taco meat and black beans. I also added fresh spinach and cheese. Yum! Mindy errands to run, including returning Jacob’s tux, grocery shopping, and stopping by her sister’s. I planned to get more yard work completed including mowing the lawn. However, my first yard task was finishing up the ivy clean-up. I had only the westside of the house to complete.

Before heading out, I made Jacob a Mexican omelet too, even though he was still sleeping at the time. Mindy said he’d appreciate it. Had to be near 10am when I headed out to get started. As always, getting started raking the English Ivy is the toughest, but once I got going I found my rhythm. Mindy and I talked about it on Friday. We agreed it a good idea to remove the 6 or 7 barberry bushes under the spread of the green spruce tree. No longer do they serve a purpose to our lovely landscape. I opted to use my chain saw to easily cut them out. And once they were removed, that made raking the dead ivy from under the spruce so much easier.

Took a hell of a lot longer to finish raking out all the dead Ivy than I ever imagined. Probably two more hours. Was very happy to have that out of the way. Next on the list, mowing the lawn. And this time I decided to trim and edge first. Struggled with the trimmer. Not sure why I didn’t install the new head I bought a couple weeks ago. The edging was tough too, but then again, the season’s first edging always is. Looked nice though.

Decided to cut the entire front lawn with the push mower. It always looks so much neater, tighter lines. By then Mindy had left to run her errands leaving Bella home with me. Earlier, while I was still raking out the ivy, Jimaken and Molly came by to pick-up Jacob for the final leg of his weekend soccer tournament.

Finished up the mowing around 2-3pm. Bella came out at some point asking if it was OK if the boys came over for dinner. Sure, but also asked that their arrival be an hour out still. I needed time to accomplish a few more chores. Over the next hour I got the two backyard hoses installed and ready to go. I also transplanted two cone flowers that were a little too close to the beds edge. I didn’t think I’d have time to get to it, but managed to spray both a gallon of Round-Up on the weeds growing along the gutter of our flower beds and then some Weed-Be-Gone on the lawn weeds.

It was while I was spraying lawns weeds with Weed-Be-Gone that Bella came out showing unusual interest in what I was doing. Actually wanted to help. OK. I let her spray while I found the weeds. Soon it was clear why. While out near the shed, I looked up to see Jacob and a CMH policeman standing on our deck. I asked how I might help him. He walked out to me asking if I called 911. Nope! Been out her working all afternoon. Said they definitely received a 911 all from my home. Odd, especially since we don’t use the home phone for anything but security. I turned to Bella and asked if she made an accidental call to 911. Nope. The officer was friendly and insisted he go confirm the number from which the call was placed.

Sure enough, it was our TW home phone number, which I would never remember the number unless someone quoted it to me. I had Bella go in and fetch the phone and do a history of number’s dialed. Took her a long while, but she eventually brought it down showing us that no such number had bee ndialed. By then my suspicions were increasing. I can read her like a book. The office made it clear that no one was in trouble but instead that he only wanted to make sure everyone was OK. Still, no confession.

The officer left, and as soon as he did, Jacob insisted that it was Bella. Said he could tell. Asked Bella to check the other phone. Mysteriously, it was dead. Not a big deal, I guess. I headed out back to finish the work I’d started. Bella came along too. Soon enough the boys were over but just as quickly off with Jacob to Evan’s house to play basketball and baseball. And then not 10 minutes later Mindy was home. By the time I headed inside Mindy already knew about the cops being at our house, and apparently had a confession from Bella that she had mistakenly called 911. I understood that she was afraid but insisted that she should’ve told the officer the full truth. Still not sure how or if she was able to make the dialed number disappear from history, but then again, I let her do all the checking. Oh boy!

I needed a shower. As it was, I was filthy dirty and smelly. A shower felt terrific. And more than it has in the last ten years, my lower back was aching to high heaven from all yard work, bending over and such. Mindy promised to rub it later. Ouch!!! I eventually took a few Advil needing some relief as fast as I could get it.

Before Mindy left for the grocery we talked about grilling dinner, either salmon or steak. In the end, I left it up to her. She chose steak, and bought six filets from the Kroger butcher shop. Before any grilling, Mindy whipped up a lovely garden salad, corn-on-the-cob, baked potatoes, and fruit. First time we’ve had a hand cut fruit tray in a really long time. Thinking it was near 630pm when I grilled the steaks. Even though I didn’t plan to eat an entire steak, Mindy insisted we cook all six. Out of practice, I was a little worried that I might over cook them. But that wasn’t at all the case. To the contrary. They were grilled to perfection, at least the way Mindy and I like them, which is medium rare. Just before the steaks were done, Landon came bouncing home from Evan’s holding his belly. Once he was on the deck he showed me an ugly scratch he got from a trampoline spring. Yikes! It was bleeding pretty good, but not deep. Thankfully. Mindy took care of cleaning and bandaging him up.

To Mindy’s credit, we ended up earing all but about half of one steak, due mostly to Landon and Jacob eating more than their fair share. But that’s OK. Just don’t want it going to waste. During dinner, Lindsey sent a text asking what time she needed to return for the boys. They asked that it be 8pm. Wanted more time to play baseball. 8pm it was. Dinner clean-up took some time, as there were lots of trays, pans, etc to wash. I had just finished wheeling our two trash cans to the curb (recycling and regular) when Lindsey pulled up. Of course she didn’t come in, and neither did the boys. Just left without as much as a hello/goodbye. OK!

Spent the remainder of my evening reading from my Kindle. Mindy finally got around to rubbing my lower back and hamstrings around 845pm. Felt terrific. We headed for bed around 910pm. I didn’t think I was ready to fall asleep that early but that proved to be incorrect. I was asleep before 10pm.

Exchanging Bows

I was up around 720am. And instead of the sunny skies they forecasted, it was cloudy and 50 degrees. Bummer! I enjoyed coffee and internet and work for the next hour or two before heading out on a run. I really wasn’t anticipating having to work, but received a number of emails overnight all centered around one problem. As much as I hated to, I dug in.

During my run I contemplated how I might further address that pesky work related issue. By my run’s end the sky had cleared giving way to oodles of sunshine. Mindy was walking the pug out front as I wrapped up my run. I spent another hour or so with work before declaring it time to get on some yard work. Jacob had an early AM soccer game that Jimaken was taking him to. Mindy and Bella needed to be at the union hall to prep for the wedding by 1pm. Mindy tasked me with getting Jacob there by 230pm and also seeing that he got into his tux without incident.

My plan was to rake more dead ivy leaves from the flower beds, having gotten the two large front beds the weekend prior, we still had the sides and back. In other words, lots still to go. Tough sledding, especially at first. I used the metal tined rake which tears and catches more so that the plastic tined rake. I got the entire east side done in about an hour. That included raking all the debris onto the tarp and then blowing any remaining loose impediments out from the beds and into the lawn. Still only about noon, I went ahead and started around back. There we don’t have that much ivy save for one bed on the west side of the deck. However, there was a lot of fall foliage needing raked out from under the shrubs and first deck tier. Clearing out under the shrubs and then under the deck is a job I disdain. Needs done, though, and the only things that produces the end result is persistence. And I can’t bare to employ the out of site out of mind card. I know they’re there. I can’t simply leave them.

Remembered that the slacks I wanted to wear were needing laundered. Before Mindy & Bella left, I asked that she put a couple of my dress slacks in the washer. She did that as well as getting them into the dryer. Thanks dear!

Mindy & Bella left around 1230pm. Wished her well. Mindy was already made up for the wedding wearing a purple dress she recently purchased. She looked nice. Only me at the house, I woofed down a small snack then returned to working in the yard, knowing that the more I got done on Saturday the easier Sunday would got. Turned out, I got all the way around to the SW corner of the house, which was further than I imagined getting to. That’s always a good feeling. I needed to keep an eye on the time and left myself plenty of time to drag and dump the tarp full of debris as well as to put all of my tools away. By then it was 115pm. I figured I better head inside.

Jacob was home from his soccer game, which his team lost. He wasn’t too thrilled. He double checked to make sure that I planned to help him get into his tuxedo. Sure! He had already showered. While he got started, I took a quick shower and then preheated the iron so I could press my slacks and shirt. Got Jacob and I both dressed over the next 30 minutes. We left the house at 210pm. By then it was a gorgeous afternoon, clear skies and 70 some degrees.

Arrived at the wedding venue at 230pm, which was the time our presence was requested. I called Mindy, who was already inside to confirm parking arrangements. I ended up parking in the Spaghetti Warehouse lot. I headed inside to the groom’s room with my camera gear. As expected, Josh’s uncle was still in the hospital and as a result unable to shoot the wedding. However, he sent his gear. And along with his camera gear, his wife and daughter agreed to shoot the wedding. Larry asked that I shoot some photos too. At some point I introduced myself to Alyssa and her mom and discussed how we might best utilize the fact that we had 4 cameras to shoot the wedding. I recommended that I set up my small Canon on a tripod on the balcony and use it to video the wedding while Alyssa and he mom would shoot photos from the front of the wedding. That’s where some of the best photo ops would come from.

I shot from the balcony as all the guest arrived. I did manage a decent shot of bride and father (Larry & Lindey) exiting the bride’s room which was located off the same balcony. The wedding started about 15 minutes late, which I think is fairly standard. Didn’t last more than 8 minutes. Done!

After the formal ceremony Lindey & Josh moved to the outdoor patio area to greet all the guests as they exited the wedding venue. With the sun shining, I knew I could get some nice shots out there. And because the reception was being held in the same venue, the catering staff began serving drinks right away. For the time being, I opted only for a Coke.

After an hour or so outside, the reception finally moved into the more formal reception hall, which was done up real nice. And because it’s the CFD union hall, the DJ stage is a replica fire engine grill. Neato! The DJ – didn’t get his name – was a very big man. In fact, he was even bigger than Terry W., Larry’s older brother. I kidded the fella about spinnin’ some tunes to which he quickly corrected me that he’s all point and click! 

Mindy, Jacob, and I were seated at table 5 along with her college pal, Chris, his wife Tamara and their two boys, Jack and Nathan. Earlier, I asked Mindy to fetch a handful of my mini bottle of Jack. I had three in my pocket and she stashed another in her mini purse. I then enjoyed a couple Jack and Cokes.

The reception was nice and very traditional. There was the father’s welcome and toast, the best man’s toast, (Josh’s younger though bigger brother) and the bride’s maid speech (Brittany). Oh boy! That part was a bit of a train wreck but still sweet/cute. Then there was the father/daughter dance, which was also nice. Dinner was served about an hour in. The meal consisted of pasta and chicken. It was good, but I ate relatively little. Just wasn’t that hungry.

Dancing ensued for the next half hour until the big DJ declared it time to cut the cake. He came to me asking for the maid of honor and the best man. I did my due diligence to locate both but with little success. I passed word along to others to help locate them. Soon enough, they were found and organized. I positioned myself upfront to capture some of the cake cutting with my camera. Cute!

After cake and cupcakes, more dancing ensued. I danced with Mindy for three or four slow songs but that’s it. The time went pretty fast, and soon it was 8-830pm. By then about half the guests had departed. The reception was slated to run until 10pm. We convinced Mindy that it made sense to pack up for home around 830pm. Jacob said he was riding with Mindy. He’s such a momma’s boy. Once we were all set, I headed for home ahead of Mindy and the kids arriving 5-10 minute before them. Eiknarf was beside herself and really wanted/needed to go out. I quickly obliged her request and walked her out front. Mindy and the kids got home while we were still in front of the house. At Mindy’s requested, I waited for her to join me.

We walked into Pat’s court and then back home. Pat, along with his friends Joe & Peggy were just heading out and stopped the car to chat with us briefly. Said Lisa was at some work even downtown. They, in turn, were headed for the Trabue Tavern. Trabue Tavern? OK.

Kenny and company were out on their deck, too. It was a lovely spring evening. Why not? Mindy suggested we walk down and say hello, and she wanted to do so in our dress-up clothes. Jacob made only the briefest of an appearance before running back home to change. Funny, he’s the one that was so gungho about showing off his tux.

Chatted with Kenny, Ivan, Mike & Teri for a few minutes before headin back to the house to change into clothes more suited for hanging out. Promised to rejoin the neighbors in a few minutes. It was the end of the 2nd period of the Blue Jackets playoff game. At the time, the score was tied 1-1.

After getting into to our comfy clothes, I poured a Jack & Coke and we walked back to the neighbors. Haven’t hung out with all of them for a really long time. Ended up doing a shot – a red hot, which is aptly named. Tastes exactly like red hot candy, but with a slightly different outcome. 

Finished my drink fairly quick and slipped off back home for another. We hung with the neighbors for a little more than an hour before heading home. It had to be near 1030pm when we headed for bed.

Let's Rehearse

Up at 615am for exercise and coffee

Worked from home

Ran three miles after seeing Bella onto the school bus

Mostly cloudy with a few scattered showers – about 56 degrees at noontime.

And for what I’ll call my lunch, I spent about an hour working in the yard. It was too wet for mowing so instead, I prepped and seeded the two large areas where we had the ash trees vacated last fall. There was a fairly deep depression needing filled there as well from where I moved three large boulders. I used composted top soil that I had stashed along the stream. Filled three, 5 gallon pales to fill the void. Before spreading fresh grass seed, I topped both areas with a mix of store bought topsoil and leaf compost. And before wrapping up and heading back to work, I seeded a couple nagging bare spots in the lawn, too.

The afternoon moved swiftly. The kids and Mindy home from school between 3-4pm.

Lindey’s wedding rehearsal was set to start at 5pm. And since both of our kids are in the wedding, we needed to have them at the firehouse union hall. I told Mindy earlier in the day that my participation, at least getting there at 5pm, was iffy and based on work activity. As it turned out, things were well under control, so I was able to shower and leave with the family near 445pm.

And while it had been cloudy and rainy for most of the day, the sky was showing suns of clearing as we headed to the wedding rehearsal. Probably more important was the Saturday wedding day weather forecast. Early in the week they were calling for rain and chilly temps but now they were calling for 72 and sunshine. Ideal, really.

Arrived at the union hall near 5pm – right on time. Most others were already there. Larry let me know that there was beer available in the kitchen fridge. I took him up on the offer, enjoying a Yeungling Lager. I brought along my new Canon 70D hoping to put it through a few paces. Soon after our arrival Josh (the groom) asked if I would be on standby just in case his uncle, who was set to be their wedding photographer, couldn’t make it. As of the evening before, he was in the hospital. Of course I agreed to help however I could, but also pointed out that my camera is brand new thus my skill using it really nonexistent.

I took a number of shots of the rehearsal at the same time trying to familiarize myself with my new camera. Rehearsal took about 30 minutes, nothing more. The plan was to do the rehearsal dinner at the spaghetti warehouse, which is located right behind the union hall. In fact, we could’ve left our cars at the union hall and walked it was so close, but we didn’t.

We were seated in the loft, apparently a special area just for such occasions. There was a prepared menu of food and drinks. The only booze on the menu was sangria. I opted to purchase a beer separately and ordered a Sam Adams on draft. I didn’t mind springing for it at all, but was a little disappointed that it wasn’t fresh. I didn’t complain, however.

Unless I’m mistaken, haven’t been to the spaghetti warehouse since the day of Grandma Lantz’s funeral, which thinking back also marked the first day of my current running streak. Wow! Pretty sure that Mindy and Bella were there the day they dropped me at the airport for NYC.

Bella asked for some cash so she could play games in the mini-arcade. I gave her three $1 bills. In kind, Jacob soon asked and Mindy gave him an equal amount. I think he ended up giving all of his dollars to Bella. I guess they didn’t have any of the games he expected.

They brought giant bowls of salad and baskets of bread to the table. A few trays of appetizers were provided too. The salad and bread were especially tasty. I would’ve been fine with just that. For my entrée, like many others, I went with the lasagna. The lasagna came with meatballs and Italian sausage links. Yum! It was really good, too. I couldn’t finish mine, nor could Mindy and Bella. We boxed up our leftovers for home. I tipped the waiter well for my beer. I think it was near 715pm when we left for home.

Home and quickly out of my clothes and into comfy lounging attire. Opted to pour a Jack & Coke. Before the evening was over I had two. We headed to bed near 10pm.

Cracking Jack

Needed to be across town no later than 930am for a presentation, and while that doesn't sound that early, working backwards from my desire arrival, that meant I would need to be up no later than 6am and on task until departure. No fooling around. To that end I was strict with my agenda: exercise, coffee, internet, stretch, meditate, and out the door for a run, all before 7am.

Ran 4.1 miles

Cloudy, expecting a little rain and temps in the low 60s.

Arrived across town near 930am and headed directly to the conference room. First one there.

Others soon arrived.

As usual, I was a little nervous, but the presentation went well.

Finished up around 1130am. Opted to head home to finish my workday.

Enjoyed a Jack and Coke before bed.

Coyled up like a Snake

Run 4.1 miles

Partly cloudy, but more sun than Tuesday. Chillier, though, the daytime high only in the mid 50's

Work across town - lunch with customer at Bar Louie's Easton

Stop at Lowes afterwards pick-up 4 bags of top soil, 1 bag of composted leaves, and then fresh grass seed, a rye, fescue, bluegrass mix.

Left customer location near 415pm. Before calling Mindy, decided to call doctor's office since I hadn't yet received a call from Dr Coyle. Got a different office person this time, who after introducing myself immediately put me on hold. She returned a minute or so later advising that Dr Coyle would NOT be calling me. And the reason being that I wasn't formally her patient since I hadn't been in to see her yet. She would only discuss my lab results after the fact. That's it. I was Dumfounded, What do you mean not a patient? She went on to say that because I haven't been in in the last year (it's been two years) that she wouldn't talk to me. Flabbergasted, I shared my mind. I have been a patient of Dr Broyles for 20+ years and never, ever was he rude - cold. She quickly interrupted me saying that she only showed me being there three times and then only a patient since 2008. Oh now I was pissed, and was certain that I didn't want to be a patient of their practice any longer. I asked how I might get my medical records. Should I come in? She quickly answered, no! You need to go online, and blah, blah, blah! I was very angry and told her that they were asses. I quickly asked if Dr May was still part of the practice, my thinking being that he would be a much better option. After all, Dr Coyle's online ratings are not impressive.

I terminated the call by sharing how rude, uncaring, and inflexible they seemed. I knew then that my best recourse was to simply find a new doctor.

Bad Blog Day

Run 4.1 miles

Partly cloudy and mid 60s - weather turning chillier

Work across town

On afternoon drive home Talk with Tommy for the first time in several weeks

Calling Hours in McArthur

Up near 6am. Exercise, coffee, internet, meditate, stretch and run.

Ronald's father, Guy, passed away, I believe Thursday evening, April 17th. Calling hours were 5-7pm in McArthur, Ohio. He died of a heart attack while watching TV with Ronald. He was 87 years old. I might have met him 20 years prior when Mom and Ronald married, but don't think I had an opportunity to talk with him since. Even still, Mindy and I made arrangements to attend. We reached out to dad to see if he wanted to join us as well. He did. Also left a VM for Tommy, but never did hear back.

When I arrived at work near 9am, I let my boss know that I needed to leave near 3pm in order to make the calling hours in McArthur. Mindy expected to leave school right after the students were dismissed. Dad planned to meet us at the house near 330pm. To help out, Jimaken agreed to make Monday his evening with the kids.

Sadly, my long time family doctor retired at the end of 2013. And in his farewell letter to all patients, he emphasized that we would be in good hands with Dr Coyle, a recent addition to the practice. I was a bit nervous about the idea of having a young female doctor, but willing to give it a go. Approximately 2-3 weeks prior I made an appointment to see Dr Coyle, and as per the usual, requested an early AM appointment so I could avoid fasting all morning long. The office agreed that a physical was best since Dr Coyle wasn't familiar with me and gave me an 8am appointment. Perfect! Or so I thought.

Mid-morning I phoned my doctor's office to inquire about the possibility of pushing out my appointment by only 10 minutes Tuesday morning so I wouldn't have to worry about finding someone to watch Bella. Instead of 8am, I asked if me arriving at 810am would be fine. You'd think I ask for $1000. They were adamant that I be there at 8am, and early if possible. No flexibility. Said the doctor has another appointment at 830am. Frustrated, I told them I would find a way to be there.

I left for a lunch run to Strader's near 1230pm, my first such visit this season. I always look forward to it, and typically plan to buy noting. Rather, just look at all the pretties. As I was exiting the office parking lot I got a call from my doctor's office. At first I thought perhaps they might've had a change of heart and would acquiesce to my 10 minute appointment delay request. Nope. This was an appointment confirmation call, and if you ask me sneaky. Sneaky because first, the young woman asked if I still planned to make my 8am Tuesday appointment. 'Sigh' - Yes, I do. Only after I confirmed my attendance did she proceed to tell me that the appointment was made in error and that the doctor isn't even in at 8am. LOL! O.K. ... The obvious question then was, great, then what time does she get in? 830am? I will be there then, and actually, that works better for me anyway. Well, no, because the doctor has other appointments at that time. OK. She hemmed and hawed, eventually telling me that she would check with the sdoctor and call me right back. OK. Onto to Strader's.

Strader's was gorgeous, fragrant and therapeutic. Certainly not all their annuals out but still plenty. Might've browsed for a solid 25-30 minutes before feeling satisfied. I headed back to the office, Oh, and no call back from the doctor's office.

As planned, I left work at 320pm after sharing that I wouldn't be able to make the standing Monday afternoon team call. Still no word from the doctor's office, I decided I would call them. The woman on the other end of the phone was pleasant but also a bit condescending. She matter of factly shared that the doctor would not be able to see me on Tuesday after all and that I would simply have to reschedule. And, if I wanted an early AM appointment it wouldn't be until July! Needless to say, I was incensed. Do you mean that you screwed up and now you want to move my appointment to July? Really? I asked to speak with the doctor, and then reminded them that Dr Broyles would never treat me, his patient, so poorly. She said she would relay my request for a call back to the doctor, but then offered a June 12th appointment but at 130pm, meaning I would have to fast well into the afternoon. She did concede that another more viable option would be to go separately to the lab and have blood work done before the appointment at my convenience. That made more since then fasting all day, but by then I was aggravated by their seeming lack of flexibility and patient care. I asked that she send me the info for the lab option but wasn't fully committed, though did keep the June 12th appointment she offered, just in case.

At home, I quickly logged into work. And while I was working, dad showed up. Shortly thereafter so did Mindy, and minutes later, Bella, Both kids were home from school before we left for McArthur. They'd be home for 30-60 minutes alone before Jimaken would get there to pick them up.

We had options relative to which route to take. Both I felt were subject to rush hour issues. In the end I chose to take route 33, my thinking being far fewer traffic lights than route 23. Mileage wise it's shorter too. As expected, we hit some traffic congestion as we merged onto 33 off of 270 but it didn't last too long. It was gorgeous, by the way, mid 70s and sunny. All of us were hungry. We planned to stop for dinner at some point. We never really discussed it, but I figured we would stop on our way back. Took about 90 minutes to make the 84 mile trip. Found the funeral home without any problems.

Lots of folks gathered outside smoking cigarettes and many in attire fitting for the area. We headed directly inside where we soon spotted my mom sitting in a chair next to Ronald. Once mom spotted us, she came to the entrance to greet us. She then introduced the three of us to some of Ronald's family, including his mother and several of his sisters, many of which I met some 15-20 years ago when she married Ronald. Been a while, for sure.

Mom took us up to see Guy. Looked good. He was dressed in denim overalls much like he might be wearing any other day. I'm told he wore them every day. He loved to wheel, deal, and trade, and often with tractors. It's little wonder then that there were a few matchbox-sized tractors in the casket.

We hung outside for a while, too. The cigarette smoke was a bit overwhelming, but that's what a lot folks down there do, I guess. I gave Ronald and mom hugs, once again expressing my condolences. We then left for home. We wound our way north on route 93 to route 33. Decided to stop at the Wendy's located near the route 33 entrance ramp. I'm pretty sure that the town is Logan. The Wendy's was a little down trodden but the food really good. In fact, it might've been the best baconator's that I've ever had.

Thinking it was near 7pm when we left Wendy's for home. Not too much conversation on the drive home. With a full stomach, I got really sleepy and had a case of the yawns that I couldn't shake. Got home near 8pm. Rather than come inside, Dad went straight to his minivan. He said he was tired too.

Hippity-Hoppity

I got up for good near 740am and once again to completely clear skies. Like the morning before, it was cool until the sun got a little higher in the sky. I enjoyed coffee and internet until about 845am when I left for a run. By then it was in the low 50s but felt great with the sunshine. Ran into Brad, who was out taking care of his lawn. Wished me Happy Easter. Oh yeah! A little later into my run, I ran into Pat out doing his morning walk.

Mindy and the pug were up by the time I was back from my run. I told Mindy that the Russian neighbors had an HER for sale sign in their front yard. Hooray! I was eager to learn how much they might be asking. The sign had a number to call to get details. I called the number but didn't know the code or the specific address. Without it, I couldn't get too far. Decided to leash up the pug and take her on a walk and at the same time get the address.

Happened upon neighbor Kenny while walking the pug. Said he called the day before but there weren't any details. Don't want to sound mean, spiteful but these neighbors have only tried causing trouble for all of us on the island. Happy to see them move on. We've been nothing but nice to them. Back home with their address, I called the property lot line again. Holy Smoke. They're asking almost 10K less than they purchased it for, and that was at the beginning of the down market. They've also dumped an easy 5-10K into to it. Wow, they must want out bad! I sent Kenny a text sharing the asking price.

At home, Mindy made breakfast, scrambled eggs with feta, tomato and spinach. It was good. We planned to have Easter dinner at her mom's and we were supposed to be there around 3pm. Before any of that, however, I wanted to get some yard chores done, namely raking out the front flower beds. And if nothing else, clearing out the dead English Ivy leaves. The plants aren't dead but the foliage is. Our extended bitter cold winter killed almost all the leaves, which more often than not survive midwest winters. It's happened two other times over the last 20 years. And about the only way to rid the dead is to rake it vigorously, which is no easy task since it's so dang viny.

After a hearty breakfast I headed out front with rakes and a tarp. Mindy indicated that she'd be out to help in a little bit. I got started by myself. Yikes, the raking was even more difficult than I remembered, but once I got warmed up it got a bit easier. Once Mindy joined me, we created a little system. I raked and she cut and trimmed the barren ivy cines back and also raked the piles onto the tarp. We spent about two hours on the front beds. It was more work than I imagined. For the first time ever, it killed the foliage on the stucco wall that's been completely covered in ivy for at least 18 years. I raked the dead from the wall too, again leaving the barren vines, which some are as much as 2" in diameter.

Mindy headed in to get cleaned up while I finished up. But at least she helped me lug the tarp back to the compost pile. That took some doing. Talk about exhausting! Jimkaken dropped the kids at home around 1pm. And shortly after their arrival we had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard where a little earlier we hid plastic eggs filled with candy. However, two of the eggs contained money. It took them a while to find all the eggs but with a little help they eventually found all of them. Inside they ravaged their Easter baskets, especially Bella. She was very excited.

We readied and left for Gloria's near 245pm. We had a lot to going with us. Our haul included Lindey's wedding gift, a cheese and pickle tray, and Eiknarf. The weather, by the way, was ideal, mid 70s and sunny. Can't remember a prettier Easter. In fact, the last really nice Easter I can recall was 1994, the same year we moved into my current house. It was 80 and sunny that day but then got cold and rainy the following day.

Arrived at Gloria's near 3pm. About half the family was there ahead of us. I asked Bella to walk Eiknarf before heading in. I know all too well that the excitement of being somewhere special makes her have to poop and pee regardless of going prior to leaving the house. Inside, I helped Mindy get the pickle/olive tray in order, and then after a few hellos I headed out back to play basketball with Jacob. I was fairly stiff from the earlier yard work but well enough to play a little. I didn't have much if any spring in my giddiup, though.

Soon the others arrived and joined us out back. By then I was in a full on sweat from the basketball and warmth. Took a while to cool off, stop sweating. Mindy's entire immediate family was on hand for Easter dinner, along with long time family friends, Pat & Mel. Including kids, there were 21 of us. Dinner was served around 430-5pm, best guess. On the menu was ham, chicken, a couple varieties of pasta salad, and much more. Mindy made up my plate while I washed up. Once one gets around to their seat, it's awfully hard to navigate back down the chow line to get more food. Everything was delicious.

After dinner, most trickled outside. And why not? It was lovely. A short time later, however, a small contingent headed over to see Lindey & Josh's new condo in Hardesty. Decided to make myself useful by raking and bagging up the leaves in Gloria's flower beds. Filled two lawn debris bags. Must've been around 630pm when dessert was served. I had two helpings of icebox cookies. Unfortunately, no chocolate pie. :( Headed for home near 715pm.

Still lovely as the evening turned to night. For some reason, I was still hungry even after two desserts at Gloria's. Tuned into the Cosmos on the NatGeo channel. Great stuff! Mindy and the kids headed to bed early. Mindy wanted me to come to bed then too. We made a deal, that I could watch the Cosmos from bed. I started to dose off but then woke abruptly after an hour or so. I couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and headed downstairs where I played on the internet while also enjoying a bowl of Fruit Loops. Back to bed near 11130pm.

Car Wash times 3

With the promise of gorgeous spring weather in the offing, I couldn't wait to get up. I was downstairs by 720am where I quickly started coffee then stared out the windows to the backyard while awaiting its completion. With nothing but clear blue skies it looked lovely, but temp was still somewhat cool, only 46 degrees. Expecting a high near 65 on Saturday and then 75 Sunday. No real chance of rain until Tuesday.

Enjoyed coffee until 845am or so when Mindy called for me to join her for a little snuggle time ahead of my run. Somewhat reluctant to head back to bed before a run, but did. It must've been around 930am when we both got up and I headed out for a run. Ran three miles in brilliant sunshine. Very nice! Back from my run a little after 10am, Mindy, the pug and I hung out on the deck and in the yard for a while. The skies were so clear and the sunshine so brilliant that it felt a lot warmer than it actually was. By then it was in the mid 50s but felt at least 10 degrees warmer.

We puttered around the yard and house for the next hour or so eventually deciding to spend our afternoon washing all three cars. I told Mindy that I'd need some time to get the hose ready. Each year rather than simply hook it up to the spigot, I replaced the rubber washers in the females end of the hoses and sprayers as well as lubricating all the threads, diverters, and sprayer handles. All that took about 25-30 minutes.

While I washed the accord. Mindy vacuumed and cleaned the inside of the Pilot, which took her at least 90 minutes. It was plenty filthy, but not as bad as it's been times past. Bella's side is always the messiest, hands down, but at least she's getting out of the trinket and bubble gum stage. Mindy likes to point out that the Pilot is dirty because we use it as the travel/vacation vehicle, which is true.

Even though I took the Accord through a carwash the Friday prior, it was still in need of a good hand scrubbing. And even then, I wasn't able to get all the crud off of it. As usual, a good washing reveals all the imperfections that have stacked up over the last 6 months or so. For some reason, lots of minor scratches and mars, and with a black car, everything shows when it's clean and in the sunshine. I used the black car polish on several of the mars, and most came out. I really need to polish the entire car, but that requires another hour or two in and of itself. I wasn't mentally ready to give that much time to it on this occasion. I should probably ask future son-in-law, Steven to detail it for me. Aside from his new job at Marzetti's, he still details cars a day each week. I may look into that.

Once the Accord was clean I moved it to the curb then backed the BM'er from the garage. Mindy was still busy working on the interior of the Pilot. She naturally works at a much slower speed that me. The BM'er washes up quick. Not a lot to it. I took the extra time to wash the top too. Otherwise, it smells musty. And even though I drive the BM'er so little, the front rims are always caked in brake dust. I've learned that Fantastik gets them clean. The inside of the BM'er was dirty, too, but not as bad as years past. This winter I put and left the top up.

Once the BM'er was clean we worked together to wash the Pilot. It's silver, which is probably the best color for not showing dirt. I am always amazed, however, how much nicer it looks after a bath. Shiny is the word. AS soon as the Pilot was washed, Mindy headed in to get a shower. We planned to make the second of Jacob's two soccer games, which started at 4pm. I'm guessing that it was near 230pm when she headed in. It was probably another half hour before I had everything wrapped up and put away outside and then headed inside for a shower of my own.

In addition to going to Jacob's 4pm soccer game, we planned stops at Macy's to get a wedding gift for Lindey, and then stops at Target and Home Depot. We left for Jacob's game near 335pm and by the time we arrived, parked, and found field #6 at the Spindler Soccer facility, the game was just about to start. Until then, we didn't know if Bella & Molly would be there or not. They weren't, but Jimaken was. Said Those two went to see a movie, the new Muppet movie. Even though it was bright and sunny, like always, it was a lot cooler at the soccer complex than it is at home. We always say that's it's 10 degrees cooler. These days were come prepared. I had my running jacket and glad I wore it too. Chilly breeze blowing from the NE, which is rare.

Soccer game ended in a tie. Jimaken and I both noticed that Jacob didn't seem to playing with the intensity that he usually employs. He injured his groin a week or so prior. We think that was bothering him. He won't take any Ibuprofen for it. After the game was over Mindy gave Jqacob and hug goodbye and the two of us headed off to Macy's at the Tuttle Mall taking Avery Rd to Hayden Run and then to the mall from the back entrance. While Mindy went to find the restroom in Macy's, I headed briefly to the Men's department. I wasn't there long. Met Mindy in the crystal, china department where we agreed to meet. It didn't take us long to pick out a gift. Mindy knew she wanted to get them some real crystal, which wasn't even on her registry, but something Mindy knew she'd love. I was surprised that Mindy listened to my opinion on the style and pattern. We dropped a couple hundo on the two pieces.

We wasted little time getting back to the car and onto Target and Home Depot. They're side-by-side on Trueman Rd near my office. Mindy suggested I drop her at Target and then head over to Home Depot by myself. Sure. She headed in Target to get gift wrap and cards while I headed in Home Depot to get can lighting for the basement. I bought three boxes of six for a total of 18 cans. I also bought 250' of 14/2 wire. I also did a propane tank exchange and purchased a new hose nozzle. By the time I got back to Target, Mindy was just coming out. Perfect timing!

By then both of us were hungry and I'm guessing that it was near 630-645pm. We dropped our purchases off at home and then headed to Barley's for some dinner and beers. Barley's is often very low-key on Saturday's. And this occasion was no different. Not too many patrons at all. Jersey was tending bar. David, the manager was there as always. We chatted with him while he changed the labels in the new beer taps. Looked like a tedious process.
I enjoyed a regular Pale Ale to begin while Mindy enjoyed a Fortune Teller at my recommendation. On her own she simply couldn't choose.

We both ordered burgers, each of us craving one when discussing our dinner options earlier. She had a regular Barley burger, while I went with the Texas, Pile it On burger. Double yum! I had a second beer, a Centennial. I am pretty sure that Mindy had just the one. We weren't there too long, 90 minutes tops. The Blue Jackets playoff game was on but they were losing 3-1. It didn't look good. I told Mindy they were done. Just a handful of diehard fans gathered at the bar watching. Arrived home near 9pm. Took a gander towards Pat & Lisa's but didn't see any sign of life on their patio. Looked down toward Kenny & Chrissy's too, but it looked dead down there as well. Just as well. I was happy to get into my PJs and relax. Once in my PJ's, I poured a beer, a Uinta Dubhe black IPA. At the same time, Mindy headed up to bed. It wasn't even 10pm on a Saturday. I drank about half my beer then wrapped it in saran wrap and joined Mindy in bed watching TV. I was asleep within minutes.

Rolling Boulders

From the outset, I knew I was working from home so afforded myself the opportunity to sleep in for a while. The net result was me sleeping in until 640am. Felt great to get the extra 40 minutes of sleep. Downstairs, I completed calisthenics then enjoyed coffee and internet until about 715am when I got busy with work. Because there was no school, I didn’t bother taking Mindy coffee. Let her sleep in.

The peace lasted until about 815am or so. At that point I was joined downstairs by the boys. A short while I later I went ahead and took Mindy some coffee since I needed to head out for a run and didn’t want to leave the boys unattended. Mindy agreed to get up shortly thereafter.

Once she was downstairs I headed off on my run. Just before I left, I asked that she make sure and have Bella walk the pug. It was 52 degrees and partly sunny at the outset of my run. Like most Friday’s, I ran just three miles.

By my return to the house, all the kids were up and having breakfast in the kitchen. Mindy made a number of pancakes – some plain and some with chocolate chips. I had a few small, plain pancakes. Mindy had a number of Easter related crafts to keep the kids occupied while was busy with work. They colored Easter eggs, baked cookies and later decorated/iced them.

Must’ve been around 1230pm when I declared it my lunch time and headed out to the backyard where I fetched my spud bar from the shed and attempted to move the two enormous boulders in the middle yard that once looked perfectly in place up against one of the two mature ash trees we had cut down last October. Now they just looked in the way. I wasn’t having much success moving them by myself. It wasn’t until I employed the help of Jacob and his buddy, Caleb. Caleb seemed mechanically inclined, understanding how to use the spud bar and 4X4’s for leverage. Best guess is that the boulders weigh 400lbs each.

Once we got some momentum, we kept the first one moving towards the stone patio along the water, where I wanted to place them. And by the time I returned with two more pair of gloves for Caleb and Jacob, they had the first stone already in place. Now with a system, the 2nd stone went twice as fast, even though it had flatter sides which prevented us from rolling it. That one was more like “flopping”. I was tinkled pink to have both boulders moved in less than an hour’s time.

My plan is to put down some top soil then overseed the area where the boulders and trees were. By mid- summer you won’t even know there were once trees there. After the boys headed in for lunch, I surveyed the area by scratching off the last of the tree mulch. Unknown to me prior was another boulder, but 90+% of it underground. What the heck, I thought it made most sense to get it up now before trying to over seed the area. Well, it ended up being much larger than I ever imagined. After a little digging and prying, I could see that it was about 16” around. After woofing down a sandwich Mindy made for me, I headed back out to free it from the earth and roll it over to the stone patio with the others.

After lunch, I quickly got back to work. Around 2pm, Mindy and Jacob left to run Caleb home leaving me at home with the three wee ones. They weren’t much trouble, spending most of their time outside. Through the afternoon Mindy and the kids colored the eggs, baked and decorated cookies. The boys wanted nothing to do with coloring the eggs or cookie decorating. Most surprising was Landon, who in recent years has always wanted to do what the girls were doing. This year he was out in the back yard playing football with all the other boys.

Ashley had the day off, too, and came to get Olivia late afternoon. She wasn’t real excited about having to go but finally did once she understood that Jacob & Bella were leaving soon, too. And then, around 430pm Lindsey came to get the boys. As it turned out, however, neighbor Evan asked if Rocky could spend the night. Lindsey apparently walked down to discuss those arrangements with Teri. Landon, I noticed, was having a mini-meltdown over the thought of Rocky having another overnight and he having to go home with mom. I felt sorry for him. He was so upset, he wanted nothing to do with taking his Easter basket home. 

Just as Lindsey was outside convincing Landon to get in the car, I was off to shower. Must’ve been around 5pm. One of the habits of working from home is not getting a shower until late in the day. And by the time I was back downstairs all the kids were gone, including our own, who were spending the entire weekend with their dad for the first time in more than a month, though they did spend one night the Saturday after we got home from Oregon.

Mindy & I had plans to have dinner at CBC, though we didn’t leave for there until almost 615pm. Traffic wasn’t an issue. As we pulled in the Kroger lot across the street, we noticed that one of the three up front parking spots was available in the main parking lot. We quickly headed over to snag it. Inside, there were a few bar stools available too. After a brief meet and greet near the door, we took two stools on the patio side of the bar.

Vince and Kevin were working the bar. Because we’re rarely in on Friday’s, we don’t see Kevin that often. He only works one or two shifts a week, and almost always on Friday’s. The beer menu was an IPA lover’s dream. On tap was CBC IPA, CBC Bodhi, White Rajah, and Great Lakes Chillwave. We both had a Bodhi to start, and Vince son brought us bread and risotto balls. Yum! Almost like arriving home!

Mindy wanted a steak and eventually ordered the barrel cut sirloin. Equally predictable, I ordered wings. I know, as I’ve aged my palette has only gotten simpler. For my second beer I ordered up a Chillwave, and I am pretty sure it was my first taste of it ever, though I’d heard lots of scuttle about it.

My wings were terrific. Ate ever last one of them, which is rare. Usually take a few home. After two beers and dinner both of us were ready to head home. I don’t think it was much later than about 830-840pm. And by the time we left for home, the bar area was almost barren.

I poured a third beer at home, a CBC IPA, enjoying it at my PC and then in the kitchen. Mindy and I headed to bed fairly early, again near 10pm. I was eager for a lovely sunny, Saturday working in the yard. Good night moon!

First Mowing

Initially I planned on working from the Hilliard office but that soon changed once I was settled at my desk enjoying coffee, internet, and a little work. Sandwiched in there, too, was a trip upstairs to deliver Mindy’s coffee. At the time it was 40 degrees under cloudy skies.

By 645am I’d pretty much decided that I would go ahead and work from home. After all, I was already engaged in work related activities. Because of the change of plans, I didn’t head out for run until after Bella was on the school bus. Between the time Mindy left, which was near 730am, and 8am, I walked the pug, stretched and meditated.

This, by the way, was the last school day of the week for both Mindy and the kids - Good Friday. As such, we made arrangements to have Rocky & Landon overnight. Tried reaching out to Ashley, too, to see about having Olivia over as well. As of Thursday morning we hadn’t heard back.

Once Bella was safely off to school, I headed off for a run completing the full 4.1 miles in something short of 40 minutes. By then the cloudy skies from earlier were showing signs of clearing. I had two important calls to join, one at 1030am and another at 2pm. Aside from a brief break after my first call, I stayed busy straight through until 230pm when the 2nd call wrapped up.
By then it was mostly sunny and warm – about 66 degrees. I headed to the shed to get the mowers so I could reinstall the freshly sharpened blades. It didn’t take too long to get the tractor blades on, but there was a pretty big problem. As soon as I gave it a practice run loud clanking rang out from the mower deck. Holy moly! I quickly shut down the blades and then the entire mower. Looking underneath, one of the blades had worked its way loose. I was certain that I’d torqued it down well. Hmmm?

I pulled back into the garage without engaging the blades but struggled to roll up the tire ramps. Instead of driving right up the ramps, the tractor would only push the ramps forward across the smooth concrete floor. Funny, I pulled right up just 5 minutes earlier. No matter what I tried, same results. By then it was after 3pm and Jacob home from school. I solicited his assistance. Having him drive the tractor forward while I positioned my feet in front of the ramps to hopefully keep them in place. Worked like a charm.

This time I took a little more care reinstalling the blades, making sure they were secure and tight. I was sure I had them placed correctly – sharp side pointing up. After torqueing down the blades I drove the tractor around back before testing it again. Same results. Loud clanking from the mower deck. I quickly shut down the blades and drove back to the garage. Not only was I at a loss, but also a little pissed! What in the world?

Before dealing with the tractor, I went ahead and put the sharpened blade back on the Toro push mower. I took a couple practice swaths with it, too. That went without a hitch. Back to the tractor. Had the same problem getting it on the ramps. Called for Jacob’s help again, and by then Bella was home from school and was wondering just what in the heck I was doing. Later, she called me out for swearing. Oops!

Once again the blades had worked loose. What in the heck was going on? Before progressing, I went to my PC and Google to see if I might find a video for installing the mower blades on a John Deere. Now, keep in mind, I’ve done this before without any problems. Buy hey …

I found a couple YouTube videos not only for removing and installing the blades, but for my exact model too. Sweet! Both were homemade – definitely not professionally done. Oh boy! The first one turned out being nothing more than a guy trying to sell his tractor. No help whatsoever. The second, the video was blurry at best, and when he got to the blade removal part, the camera was aimed incorrectly completely shielding the viewer from seeing what he was doing. What a goober!

I wasn’t about to give up. Instead, I went for my owner’s manual in the basement file cabinet, something in hindsight, I should’ve earlier. The blade removal/installation section was somewhat vague but pointed to a couple ahh-ha’s. One, there was a bolded warning to avoid lubricating the threads of the blade bolts or risk damage or injury (???). Oops! And I lubricate and clean the washers and bolts before putting the blades back on. It also suggested cleaning the small metal cups protecting the blade shafts.

I headed back to the garage to not only remove and wipe the blade blots clean of any residual lubricating oil but to also clean the blade shaft cups. Both were chalked full of debris. I gathered that while I was able to tighten the blades down securely, one of them never snugged up and over the end of the blade shaft as required. My hunch was correct. After securing the blades for a third time, my problem was finally solved.

I headed back to my desk where I wrapped up my work day. And once my work day was wrapped up, I headed out to cut at least some of the lawn, or so I thought. I did the tractor mowing first, managing to get maybe 90% of the yard with it. What the heck? Once Mindy was home, I decided to head back out and do the rest with the push mower. That went well too. This being my first cut, I didn’t bother trimming or edging. I did, however, take the time to blow the clippings from the drive and walk.

Mindy shared that the boys weren’t coming over until 8pm, that way we’d have enough time to relax, have dinner, and accomplish a few chores. For dinner we had a number of leftovers to choose from. I had wings and a small piece of sub. Shortly after our dinner, Mindy headed off to Target to get Easter stuff for the kids. She reminded me that the boys would be there soon. Somewhere sandwiched in there I finally got a much needed shower. Felt a lot better after that.

Mindy was gone for about 90 minutes. Finally talked with Ashley. She and Olivia were at the grocery store. Made arrangements for Olivia to spend the night, too. Said they had other plans but knew that Olivia would very much prefer to stay with us. Said she’d bring her over after they were done. Cool!

Neighbor Pat gave a call asking if we were up for a visit. Sure. Didn’t know it at the time but he was home alone, the wife out running errands. Hadn’t spent much time with Pat recently. He, Mindy and I sat in the livingroom chatting until all three of the grandkids showed up. The boys arrived first, then Olivia just a few minutes later. Things were a bit wild for a while, the kids all very excited and wound up. Pat didn’t stay all that long. Thinking he headed for home around 830pm.

In addition to having the grandkids, both Jacob & Bella were hosting overnight guests of their own. Jacob had his friend Caleb over, and Bella had Makayla. Yep, we had a house full!

The grandkids played games, snacked, and got baths over the next hour or so. Jacob & Caleb planned on ordering pizza after the wee ones were in bed. Mindy and I weren’t up that late, either. Thinking the two of us were in bed before 1015pm.

Lobster Loose - Run for your lives 2.0

Celebrating Jacob @ 14

I was up around 6am to some really cold temps. Only 22 degrees at least according to the Weather Channel. The skies were clear though which meant the sun would warm things up a bit once it made its ascent. For the time being, however, it was simply going to feel more like winter. Mindy was actually up just ahead of me to preheat the oven and start cinnamon rolls for Jacob’s birthday.

Took care of exercises and then delivered Mindy’s coffee. I put Jacob’s cinnamon rolls in the preheated oven, too. After enjoying coffee and internet, I pulled the cinnamon rolls out of the oven about 10 minutes later. Mindy was surprised to come down and find them done. I wasn’t sure how we would’ve pulled off the early AM b-day celebration otherwise. Mindy even woke Bella for the occasion, insisting she come down and sing the birthday song before Jacob needed to leave for school. We sang and took photos shortly before Jacob left for school.

Shortly before it was time for Jacob to head out, I warned him that it was really cold. He, after all, was dressed in shorts. He said he already knew. He headed out in the cold shortly before 7am. Mindy opted to leave for school earlier than usual too. Think she left by 715am. I planned to run as soon as Bella was off to school. Ahead of that I walked the pug, stretched and meditated.

It was 745am when Bella came running down the stairs giving me all sorts of attitude for not waking her again. Huh? Apparently after celebrating Jacob Bella headed back upstairs for more sleep. She had 14 minutes to finish her ready, which was more than enough. I didn’t appreciate the disrespectful tone, though. Bella finished her ready with a couple minutes to spare and I gave her hug before she headed out the door to catch the bus.

Shortly after the bus pulled away, I was out the door for my run. Ran the full 4.1 miles in the cold, wearing full winter garb, including hand and ear covers. And based on the 10 day forecast, perhaps for the last time this season. No more sub-freezing temps on the immediate horizon.

Whipped up ham & eggs for the pug and I once back at home. Ate, showered, and prepared for work over the next hour or so. A few of us had lunch plans with the customer. As such, I only packed a few snacks just in case the plans fell through. It’s happened before. I headed across town around 945am arriving about 25 minutes later. By then, the brilliant sunshine made it feel a whole lot warmer.

As mentioned earlier, me, my boss, and a peer had a lunch plans with the customer. However, sometimes the best laid plan goes awry. And it turned out, Wednesday’s lunch plans fell into that category. Just 30 minutes before all of us were scheduled to meet the plans fell apart. Long story short, my boss and peer opted to meet for lunch anyway. We changed the venue from Bar Louie’s to On the Border. Still fairly early – only 1130am – we were well in front of the lunch crowds. There might’ve been one other table occupied when we first arrived.

Before we ordered entrees we enjoyed a few baskets of freshly made nachos with salsa. And On the Border’s might be the best in town, certainly better than El Vaq and Chipotle. And truth be told, I would’ve been fine with just chips & salsa. I am sure our server wouldn’t have been pleased. We all ordered entrees, me the green chili carnitas tacos. They were really good, too. Lunch was great. We used the hour to discuss our strategy moving forward. Dropped my boss back at his car nearby then headed back to the office where I finished out my work day.

It was Jacob’s 16th birthday, and to celebrate, we had dinner plans at the Sawmill Rd Red Lobster. However, it was a Jimaken night, too, so he still picked the kids up around 430-5pm. He, Molly and the kids planned to meet Mindy and I there at 7pm. Mindy and I left the house around 615pm. Didn’t take more than about 20 minutes to swing around 270 and arrive at the new Red Lobster. Not that big of a crowd at all. Still, when we asked for a table for six, they told us we’d have a 5-10 minute wait. Huh? The place was next to empty! It must just be standard protocol so that they can line-up resources – a server. Soon we were seated in an enormous booth, bib enough to seat 10 if necessary. At the time it was just Mindy & I. Seemed a bit over kill.

While waiting on the others, we went ahead and ordered drinks, me raspberry lemonade and Mindy only water. Jimaken and the kids showed up about 10 minutes after us. I went to the lobby to announce our table. Molly still was present. Until then, I assumed she was arriving with them. That wasn’t the case. She apparently had an after work event that she needed to attend. We waited for her arrival, but did order some appetizers shortly after she called to share that she was near. We ordered her a Diet Coke too.

Molly showed up around 715pm apologizing for being late. No worries. Mindy shared that we had all night. Uh, sort of. About then our appetizers arrived, muscles and deep fried green beans and dipping sauce. Both were quite good. We also went through three or four baskets of their yummy rolls, which are always a big hit with Jacob, who loves Red Lobster.

Bella ordered crab from the kids menu, and Molly ordered muscles as an entrée. The rest of us ordered a version of the seafood feast, which came with a lobster tail, scampi, and fried shrimp. Others did a replacement here or there. All the entrees came with salad and rice. My dinner plate looked far from the menu picture but it was still pretty good.

Mindy told our server, who was very attentive, that it was Jacob’s birthday. He rounded up some of the crew and came over and sang happy birthday. Jacob declined dessert for being too full. We split the check 4/2. And while the kids arrived with their dad, they rode home with us. There was a Canada goose nesting in the Red Lobster parking lot right next to the Accord. Could see that it was sitting on a bed of eggs. I was prepared to defend myself as I got into the car. It didn’t make any aggressive moves. Good thing!

Arrived home near 9pm. Jacob complained of an upset stomach. Mindy gave him some Tums. I headed to bed before 930pm with a full stomach.

Ken & Stella, Columbus Ale House

A dusting of snow on the ground when I woke near 6am, but by the time I completed calisthenics and delivered Mindy’s coffee it was snowing again and this time a lot harder. In fact, it looked more like a full-on winter storm outside. Jacob, I am sure, wasn’t too thrilled with the sudden burst of winter weather, but he still wore shorts.

I planned to work from home until 10am or so and then head across town to a customer location where I would finish my day. A judging by the radar, the snow would be out of the area within the hour. Mindy & Bella were off to school as normal, and shortly after Bella left, I headed out for a run. By then there was between 1-2” of fresh snow. It was gorgeous and plenty fluffy. The temperature was hovering around 30 degrees and it melted quickly on the walks and roads. As a consequence, and aside from bundling warmly, it had little if any impact on my 4.1 mile run.

Enjoyed ham and eggs for breakfast then headed up for a shower. Left the house for New Albany near 945am. Cold walk from the depths of the parking lot, still hovering near freezing. Supposed to get even colder Tuesday night with a low around 23 degrees. Too bad for all the flowering trees and shrubs that started to bloom over the past weekend. Good chance their flowers wouldn’t survive should the forecasted lows come to fruition.

Stayed busy with another customer call and more reporting until our standing 1pm Tuesday meeting. And just as it usually does, the meeting went till almost 2pm. I had a lot on my daily to-do list, and certainly enough to keep me busy until 415pm and our weekly team call. Wrapped the call up at 445pm and soon packed up for home.

I talked with Mindy on the drive home. We planned on going to visit Ken at Dodd Hall. To accommodate, Jimaken agreed to take the kids for a couple hours. Soccer practice was canceled. No surprise there. I got home by 520pm and after freshening up, Mindy and I headed off to Dodd Hall at OSU to see Ken.

We cut across 5th avenue through Grandview arriving near 6pm. We parked in the adjoining parking lot so we didn’t have to walk in the cold spring air. By the way, by then the sun was out and almost all the morning’s snow had melted away. Just a few scattered remnants.

There was a nurse in with Ken and I think he’d just gotten out of the shower. After a couple minutes Mindy and I were allowed in to visit. We thought we heard Lori in there but it was just the nurse and Ken. She left us alone to visit. Ken looked far better than the week prior but his mood much darker. The original plan had him going home the previous Sunday for a short visit but that was before complications with his right knee where they discovered a blood clot and had to do surgical procedure to prevent any possibility of it causing another stroke. As a result, he was still heavily drugged for pain during our visit.

Ken told Mindy and I that he wished Lori hadn’t found and save him. I hated hearing him say that but understand his frustration. He wants his old life back. He told us that the plan is still for him to go home on Thursday and then go to daily physical therapy in Grove City close to home. However, given that he was noticeably drugged, I wasn’t ready to take that as fact.

Ken looked really tired, and even admitted as much when asked. In turn, Mindy and I said our goodbyes then left Dodd Hall around 655pm. Once on the road, I suggested a quick stop at the new Miller’s Columbus Ale House for one beer. It’s located at the corner of Olentangy and Third Ave where an old, ornate bank once sat. I think it’s been opened for about 6 months now. Mindy agreed.

Fairly good crowd on hand. We opted for two stools at the end of the large U-shaped bar. Quite a large beer selection and lots from Ohio. We both settled on a CBC Bodhi and then decided to share an order or potstickers. Spotted former CBC server, Stella. We hadn’t seen Stella for a really long time, and maybe since she left CBC. She gave Mindy and I both a hug and shared a little about what’s been going on in her world. Still looking for love. Her daughter Olivia is about to turn 5. Wow! Hard to imagine.

We stuck to our plan, having just the one beer then heading for home. Shortly before we left, the manager stopped over to say hello. Seemed very friendly. We took the opportunity to brag about Stella. HE concurred. Said she works circles around the others. Both kids sent texts asking Mindy to pick-up Chipotle on the way home. Not his time, Mindy countered. We had too many leftovers in the fridge.

Arrived home around 810pm. By then the sun was setting with a mix of thin and thick clouds on the horizon making for one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen in recent memory. I wanted a pic but our views were tainted by buildings. We weren’t home too long before I slipped off to bed where I watched some TV before falling asleep. Just vaguely remember Mindy coming to bed. No idea the time.

Shapened Blades in-hand Gratis

Up near 6am. Still nice and warm – 70 degrees - though calling for dropping temps, light rain, and then cold and a couple inches of snow by Tuesday AM. Ran 4.1 miles.

Jacoby, Mindy, Bella off to school between 7 & 8am. As for me, I was off to the shower by 810am and then off to work by 840am. Took lunch and headed to JD Equipment to pick-up my mower blades. Same guy that I handed them off to the Friday prior. He was again apologetic for not being able to do them while I waited Friday. No worries. He handed me the sharpened blades and wished me happy Easter. No charge! Said to bring my mower in when it needs service. Sure! Thanks.

Stopped at Home Depot on my way back to the office. Considered buying basement can lights but wanted to be 100% certain on the specs I wanted/needed. To determine that I needed to do a little more internet research to remind myself of the benefits and use of air-tight versus not. Back to work.

Finished out the work day around 440pm and then headed for home. Mindy was grilling brats, dogs and smoked sausage. Invited my dad for dinner again, too. I got home near 5pm. I was already on my PC when dad arrived. Dinner was ready by 530pm.

Both kids were acting up at the dinner table. Mindy threatened bodily harm to Jacob. I soon followed by advising Bella that she’d be spending the rest of the evening in her room if she scowled at me again. It’s something she’s started doing over the past month or so when she’s not happy with something I ask her to do. Dinner was good. I had a turkey brat and corn on the cob.

Dad provided a more detailed update on Uncle Kenny’s status. Unless mistaken, I think they placed two or three more stints. Dad also shared more about his dermatologist appointments. Recently had a number of precancerous growths removed from his arm and face. We talked about the looing snow storm, dad confirming that we’re expecting up to a couple inches by morning. So much for the 70s and sunshine. However, the cold isn’t expected to stick around. Nice again by Thursday.

Dad headed home around 7-730pm. The rest of the evening not too eventful. Off to bed early – 915pm, and by then it was raining and fairly hard

Stihling Hedges

I was up and out of bed by 745am. From bed, I could already see blue skies, and it was supposed to be nice and warm near 80. I made coffee then enjoyed a little quiet time at my PC. I’m thinking that it was near 9am when I set out on a run. It was warm, about 67 degrees. I ran the usual 3 mile weekend route. As I rounded the last bend, I could see Mindy sitting on the deck drinking in the sunshine and presumably sipping coffee. As soon as I was back at home I topped off my coffee and joined her.

Lovely morning! We hung out back for the next hour or so, including me coaxing the pug to join me for a romp around the yard. We loosely discussed the day’s agenda, which for Mindy would include a trip to the grocery store. I wanted to take care of a few more yard chores like chopping back more honey suckle and then using my new gas powered hedge trimmers. I asked for Mindy’s help raking out the area by the stream where we’d already cut the honeysuckle back. She agreed. Bella, by the way, remained sleeping until almost noon. Jacob was still in Cincy at his soccer tournament.

Mindy guessed that we’d be getting a call from the boys wanting to come over. Completely skipping breakfast, we started our yard work around 1030am. While Mindy raked, I chopped back the enormous honeysuckle bush still somewhat blocking the treehouse with the chain saw. I didn’t take off much more in height, but instead, cut back the long draping branches, some as long as 10’. As usual, looked like a whole lot more on the ground than on the bush.

I spent about 15 minutes sawing and another hour chopping and stacking all the cuttings onto the compost pile. Took some doing. I headed up to check on Mindy when I finished. By then she had a tarp full of debris she raked from along the stream. And wow, did it look better! While she finished, I put my new hedge trimmers to work, not only going over what I had cut with the electric trimmers the week before but then all the burning bushes east and west and then the thorny barberry bushes out front. By the time I wrapped up with the hedge trimmers my stomach was growling for some food. Feeling weak, we both headed in for some food, and opted for mostly unhealthy fare: leftover pizza and sub. By then Bella was finally up and downstairs. Bella gave us a little crap for not going to CBC for brunch, which is something we talked about doing as recent as Saturday evening. During lunch, the boys called asking if they could come over just as we predicted they would. We agreed but asked that they give us an hour or so to finish out yard chores. After stuffing myself with leftovers, we headed back out to finish what we started. We enlisted Bella’s help, too. I gave her my better garden gloves and took a beater pair for myself.

We drug the tarp full of rakings to the compost pile and dumped it all. Tough work!! I then took the empty tarp around the yard picking up the new hedge trimmer trimmings. Bella’s help was somewhat aloof. She actually spent more time playing in the pond, though Mindy had her fishing some trash out, too. She and Mindy headed in while I finished up outside and put my tools away. The boys showed up while I was putting the finishing touches on the yard work. Landon gleefully helped me carry the last of the debris to the compost pile and then helped put away the lawn tools. He asked for a tractor ride but I had to decline for having the blades removed. Next time!

Mindy and Bella soon departed for Justice and the grocery leaving me at home alone with the boys. They asked if they could shoot the BB gun. Yes, but only with my supervision. They both followed my instructions carefully, and Rocky was a one heck of a shot, hitting almost every target he aimed at. Landon, on the other hand, struggled. His arms just aren’t long enough to reach the trigger with the butt of the rifle in the crotch of his arm and shoulder. As a consequence, his aim was always at least 20 degrees too high. Funny! I let them shoot for about 30 minutes until they bored of it.

In the garage, they asked if they could ride scooters. Sure. And while they did that, I fired up my blower and blew the leaves out of the garage as well as from the front flower beds. The boys soon bolted for Evan’s house after seeing him arrive home with Mike. By then I was tired and dirty. I headed in for a much deserved shower. Ahh, felt terrific. Downstairs and alone, I tuned the TV to The Masters on CBS. Prior to that, I hadn’t seen even on shot of the tournament. I was quickly fixated on the tournament, watching a young 20 year old open up a 3 shot lead but only to squander it over a span of about 20 minutes. Too bad. I got a little nappy and allowed myself to slip blissfully off to sleep, but only for a few minutes.

I woke when I heard my phone. It was Mindy requesting that I be ready to help carry in groceries. Maybe 20-30 minutes before Mindy got home, Jimaken dropped off Jacob. I didn’t even see Jacob. He went right to his room and to bed. Jimaken poked his head in the family room to say hello.

Jacob got up to help his mother and I carry in groceries. Just before she got home, I heard another tap at the front door, only to find Lindsey getting back into her car. She must’ve found the boys at the O’Connell’s, where they’d been playing for the last hour or so. Even though Mindy picked up some meat for grilling, Jacob asked if we could do dinner at Barley’s instead. I was indifferent and my hunger still satiated from eating all the leftovers earlier.

Mindy asked me again 30 minutes later. I soon agreed to dinner at Barley’s. More than anything, a beer or two sounded really good. We left for Barley’s around 615pm. Not much of a crowd at all. We opted for one of the two community tables. Justin was working and traded with Steve to be our server. Justin isn’t long for Barley’s. After 7 years, he’s finally moving on in about 45 days. Moving back home to the Pittsburgh area and going back to school. We’ll miss him.

I enjoyed a guest stout for my first beer while Mindy opted for a flight of five. Sunday is $.60 wing day at Barley’s. I ordered 10 K.C. and 10 Texas. Jacob & Bella went with their usuals: chicken tenders and smothered fries respectively. Mindy ordered muscles. For my second beer, I ordered a Centennial. Yum! Quite good. I couldn’t eat but about 8 or 9 wings. Asked for a take home box. Justin shared that the owner frowns on customers asking for take-home boxes on wing day since the price is supposed to be for dine-in only. We simply laughed it off. If Lenny wants to play that way then we’ll start buying those damn 50% off cards, which to date I’ve refrained from since I recognize their purpose is really to attract new business. Mindy covered the check.

We headed for home near 745pm. Spent a little time online and then watching TV. We headed to bed early where we continued watching the Cosmos. For the first time all year, it was a tad too warm in our room despite having the window opened and the ceiling fan going. Despite the discomfort, I fell asleep but not for long. I woke within an hour and despite feeling tired I was also wired. Couldn’t sleep. I got up and headed back downstairs to watch more TV. Once I started to dose off I headed back to bed. Back in bed, once again I couldn’t sleep. Ugh! Not one to enjoy tossing and turning from bed, I promptly headed back downstairs for round two. I played around online for maybe 45 min. It was 1130pm when I headed back to bed for try number 3. This time I fell asleep for good.

Bevo from Rio

I wanted to be up no later than 7am to ensure I had enough time to enjoy coffee, internet, a run, a shower, and breakfast all before 9am, because that’s when we wanted to leave the house for Bella’s gym meeting in lovely Rio Grande, Ohio.

To that end, I was up and downstairs by 645am. I started some coffee then glanced outdoors. As forecasted, the skies were mostly clear. Checked the temperature, too. It was a cool 45 degrees, but it was expected to warm nicely into the mid 70s by late afternoon. Unfortunately, due to the gym meet, we wouldn’t get to enjoy much if any of the nice weather. I enjoyed coffee and internet until about 730am when I headed upstairs to wake Mindy.

And then after a quick meditation and stretch, I headed off for my Saturday run. Fairly easy 3 mile run. Back at home near 810am, I promptly walked the pug. Next, I sipped another cup of coffee then took the broom to the deck to sweep up most of the silly string left behind by Jimaken, Bella, and Jacob. Headed up for a shower around 82am. Mindy was just finishing up and asked if I wanted her to cook me some eggs. Yes, please.

Showered and downstairs again by 835am. It didn’t take long. Eggs were ready, and by then, Mindy was upstairs working on Bella’s hair. Finished breakfast and was pretty much ready to go by 850am. Mindy said she didn’t think we needed to leave until 915am. Hey, OK. While she put the finishing touches on Bella’s hair, I started and loaded the Accord. Squeegeed the windows clear of dew as well. We left the house for Rio Grande at 915am.

Stopped to fill-up the gas tank at Circle K. Lovely drive. Called my mom somewhere close to 945am to see if she wanted to meet for lunch at Dakota’s. Yep, agreed to meet us there near 230pm. Of course the time was dependent on Bella’s gym meet remaining on schedule. I told mom I would call her as the time neared to give her a status update. Mindy called my dad shortly thereafter asking how Uncle Kenny’s heart procedure went. Mindy invited him to meet us at Dakota’s too, but he had plans to hang with brother Bob and family that afternoon.

We made good time down route 23 and east on route 35 E. After 95 miles of driving we arrived at Rio Grande University at 11am sharp. This was our third visit to Rio Grande for a gym meet. Making this one unique was the fact that this was the state meet and qualifier for the nationals. What I remember most about Rio Grande is reading about the legendary Bevo Francis, the NCAA record holder for most points scored in a single game – 113 points. Holds other scoring records, too.

Bella was called for the first of three events (floor) around 1120am. Different from most other meets, far more kids competing at each age/expertise level. I’m guessing that’s because it’s the state event. It was another 30-40 minutes before the actual competitive event started. Lots of warm-ups. This is usually Bella’s most challenging event. This time, however, she did better than ever before.

Her next event was scheduled for 1230pm – trampoline – but they were apparently running behind. I actually took a nap while waiting. And let me tell you, that took some doing, especially while sitting on bleachers! Might’ve slept for 10 minutes. Listened to some tunes via my phone to help pass the time. During Bella’s trampoline event they called her group to the double-mini. Sweet! That meant we’d be getting out of there sooner rather than later. As soon as she finished up on the trampoline she rushed over to the double mini for her four practice passes. And while the competitive event started on time (130pm) it was an hour later by the time we had the results and Bella collected all of her trophies. These events definitely aren’t known for their expedience.

While waiting on her last award, I got a hold of my mom, who had already left her house to meet us at Dakota’s. She didn’t answer her cell phone, but did call me back near 230pm. Let her know that we were at least a half hour behind. The Jackson Wal-Mart is just a block or two from Dakota’s. She offered that she would simply head there for a while. Told her I would call her again once we were 5-10 minutes out.

By the time we left Rio Grande, it was 245-250pm. It was a gorgeous afternoon, 78 and sunny. About 20 miles west on route 35 to Dakota’s. We arrived ahead of mom. Sat outside on a bench awaiting her arrival. It was about 15 minutes before she came barreling down McCarty Ln from Wal-Mart. Was closer to 330pm by the time we were seated at our booth.

Rolls, peanuts and drinks. Mom, Mindy, and I had iced tea. Bella, lemonade. I wasn’t in the mood for a heavy dinner. Initially, I thought I might only have salad, but after the others ordered steak dinners, I could hardly get by with just a salad. Instead, I ordered a burger but opted out of the fries replacing them with a salad. The burger was good. I couldn’t finish all of it. Left a ¼ or so on my plate. Mom took what was left of her dinner home in a to-go box. I’m thinking we were there for about an hour.

On our way home near 430pm. It was still plenty warm, hovering in the mid to upper 70s. By the way, the trees south of Circleville were noticeably further along their spring bloom. Arrived home near 550pm after 199 mile round trip. Shortly after we got home Bella was off to her room and Mindy went horizontal on the family room sofa (rare) while I played on my computer. Must’ve been around 7pm when I declared that I was going to Barley’s. Mindy had no interest. I bagged the idea. Once Mindy was up, I invited her to join me walking the pug. After all, it was a gorgeous spring evening. When we got back Mindy headed down to the neighbors briefly with the pug. She was back about 10 minutes later sharing that Rachel and Josh were down. Now about 8pm, I poured a Jack & Coke. We stayed up and downstairs watching TV until 10pm or so. We then watched a little more TV from our bedroom. I fell asleep around 1130pm.

Sharpen Blades, BM'er Battery, Hedge Trimmers & Lunch @ Piada

I woke eager and rested near 615am. Jacob wasn’t up yet so I knocked on the wall as I passed down the stairs. Downstairs I quickly whipped out calisthenics, including sit-ups, windmills, then push-ups. Happy to have them behind me, I poured myself a cup of coffee then headed to my PC. I didn’t take Mindy coffee since she took the day off school so she could take Bella to a mid-morning doctor’s appointment to have a wart burnt off of her ankle.

Jacob was downstairs near 640am and out the door 10 minutes later. I read a few headlines and checked the weather forecast. At the time it was 56 degrees with very light rain. What little rain that was around wasn’t supposed to stick around. Instead, the skies were expected to brighten throughout the day. Mindy was up around 8-815am. I headed out for a run around 830am. At the same time, Mindy said she was off to the shower.

I skipped wearing my brand new running shoes for the light rain. In so doing, I complained to Mindy that more often than not my first day with new running shoes is hampered by rain. Like most Friday’s anymore, I ran just three miles. Back at the house near 9am, I was a little surprised to find Mindy still milling around in her PJs. I guess she never got around to getting that shower, though she headed for one for real in short order.

Meanwhile, I got busy with work, joining a call at 10am. Next thing I knew, Mindy and Bella were ready to head off for the doctor’s appointment. However, before they left, Mindy gave me a brief rundown of her plans. After taking Bella back to school after her doctor’s appointment she planned on running a few errands. She also planned on picking up her mom and taking her shopping at Kohl’s. I asked if she wanted to meet for lunch. She did, but I don’t recall agreeing on a specific time.

Stayed busy with work until noon. In addition to meeting Mindy for lunch, I planned to have my mower blades sharpened at the annual JD Equipment open house for $2. Once a year they have this event and so the sharpening while you wait. That’s a good deal given that the price is usually $7 per blade and it typically takes a few days. I thought I might buy the Echo gas powered hedge trimmers from them too. In addition, I planned to stop in Advanced Auto Parts and buy a new BM’er battery. The two venues are less than a mile apart.

I stopped at JD Equipment first. I expected there to be crowd but there wasn’t. In fact, I was one of only two or three customers there. One of the employees was outside manning a grill full of meat (brats, burgers, and dogs). Took my blades in and was promptly advised where to take them. In the back, which is the same place I took them last year, I waited for someone to help me. A young woman had me complete a form similar to the one I completed the year before. I made it clear that I was there for the same day $2 sharpening. I immediately got the sense that that might not happen. And it turned out that I was right. A gentleman came in and told me he would call me when they were done. Hmmm? I thought you were going to sharpen them while I wait? Said he wished he could but that they were too backed up.

I didn’t want to make too much of a fuss about it. After all, it wasn’t like I needed them back that instant anyway. He must’ve seen the frustration on my face because as I turned to walk out he shared that he would still get to them that day and would call me when they were ready. OK. Back in the showroom I looked for the Echo hedge trimmers. Even though their website says they carry a full complement of Echo gas powered yard tools, I didn’t see them. Instead, they were prominently displaying Stihl equipment. However, in the center of the showroom they had a small little rack of Echo equipment. When asked, the sales guy told me that they didn’t have the model I was looking for but could likely get one transferred in my early next week. He called two of their other stores: New Albany and Washington Courthouse. W.C. had one. New Albany didn’t. Said he would have it in on Tuesday. In kind, I offered that I would simply pick-up both the trimmer and mower blades on Tuesday.

I headed just down the road to Advance Auto. I opted to leave the old battery in the car this time until I confirmed they still had the right battery as well as the venting kit. Turned out, they had the battery but not the venting kit. Offered to check two other local stores: Hilliard Rome and then West Broad St. West Broad had both the battery and venting kit. He had them hold both for me.

Mindy called just as I was leaving Advance Auto. Agreed to meet for lunch at Piada Italian Street Food in about 30 minutes. On my way to west Hilliard decided to make a quick stop in Hilliard Lawn & Garden to see if they still carried Echo power equipment. They used to. Just like JD Equipment, they had switched over to Stihl, they had the stuff hanging on three of the store walls. Josh, one of the sales associates, asked how he could help. I simply asked if they still carried Echo. Nope! Carrying Stihl instead. I could see that. I, in turn, asked why. Said they got tired of fighting with Echo to back-up their products. He in turn asked if I was dead set on Echo. Not deadest, but very happy with my other Echo products, a chain saw and blower.

After asking what Echo model I was looking for he offered to show me the Stihl equivalent. Stihl has an equally good reputation and quite possibly better, but they also cost more and come with a tighter warranty (2 years versus 5 years). I was going to stick with my original plan and move on, but decided to give Josh a chance and take a closer look at the Stihl. They had a smaller model and a slightly larger model. The smaller was $10 more than the Echo and the larger was $70 more. I was immediately impressed that the larger, despite being more powerful, was actually lighter and definitely more balanced in the hand, which is critical after a few minutes of use. In fact, everything about it seemed a notch better. Skeptical at first, I quickly decided to take the plunge at buy the Stihl. Forgot to mention, simply buying a 6-pack of the Stihl oil extended the manufactures warranty by two more years. I bit on that offer too.

Josh took the time to gather the paperwork, register my product warranty, and then getting it fueled up, started, and quick demo. I very appreciated the service – the difference between buying at a small specialty shop versus big box. I headed to Piada to meet Mindy. On my way, I noticed they put a new Moo Moo car wash in at the north end of Target. For a brief second, I thought about turning around and getting my car washed. Lord knows it needs it. Figured I better head to the restaurant. Mindy wasn’t there yet. I waited maybe five minutes before she pulled up. Neither one of us had tired Piada prior. I was eager to give it a try. Very similar to Chipotle in the set-up, menu selections and process, only with an Italian spin versus Mexican. Mindy ordered a pasta dish. I ordered what was essentially a chicken burrito with an Italian bent. It was really good. Glad we gave it a try. We hung out for maybe 30 minutes. Mindy needed to go after her mom and I needed to go get my battery and then get home and back to work.

Before heading to the New Rome Advance Auto Parts on West Broad St. I headed back to the Moo Moo car wash just down the road a bit. And while the sign advertises a $5 carwash, I opted for the $8 wash which included an under body wash as well as a blow dry. Considering how filthy my car was, they did a decent job. I thought about asking if I could go through a 2nd time but didn’t. I did, however, take advantage of the free vacuuming. Spent about10 minutes vacuuming the interior and trunk.

Traffic was tight near Hilliard-Rome and Trabue. Always is. For my money, one of the worst intersections in town. Took Hilliard-Rome all the way to Broad St. A little seedy, but they were really nice and helpful. Hooked me up with the battery and vent kit. Sold me an anti-corrosion kit, too. Headed home via West Broad to 270 N.

Got home at 215pm. In somewhat of a surprise, Mindy was home. She explained that she stopped home to put the food items she purchased for Jacob’s bday party away. Eric, the Orkin service manager was there too. I’d almost forgotten about the appointment. Mindy left within a couple minutes of my arrival. I talked with Eric about the return of the piss ants. I quickly gathered that he must’ve talked with Mindy since he already knew where she spotted them and where he planned to treat with bait. While Eric did his thing, I got back to work. Thankfully, things were still quiet. Within the next hour, Jacob was home from school. He headed out to play minutes after arriving home. Don’t blame him. It was sunny and nearing 70 degrees.

Around 3pm I headed out to install the new battery in the BM’er. Not only is the battery located in the trunk, which is why venting is necessary, but it rests in a deep recess, too. Not a problem, but getting the clamp around the base of the battery shell is a trick. I was lucky and got it installed first try. However, I had to pull it back out after somewhat boogering up the venting hose coupler. That took some rigging but I got it. As expected, started flawlessly.

Just inside the front door were two packages, one for me, and one for Mindy. I opened the one for me. As expected, it was the trimmer parts I ordered online Monday or Tuesday. No time to fool with them right then. Instead, I put my focus on closing out my work day and week. Bella was home from school around 345pm. Mindy and her mom got home from shopping around 415pm. The plan all along was for Gloria to stay for Jacob’s birthday party. I’m pretty sure that Jodie & Larry agreed to give her a ride home. Mindy, Gloria and I readied the house for the family birthday party. Among other things, I vacuumed and watered plants.

The family began arriving near 6pm, just as Mindy requested. We ordered Sparano’s subs and Minelli’s pizzas. Until all that arrived, we had chips and dip laid out. Jacob’s cake remained in the freezer since it was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. According to Mindy, it’s to be left in the freezer until 10-15 minutes before use.

Present were all of Mindy’s sibs and their spouses minus Missy and the girls. They apparently had a school event to attend. Julie, Katie, Joe and Lindey were there too, as were Jimaken, Molly and Candy, Jimaken’s mom.

The 10 Sparano’s subs arrived first. Pizzas arrived maybe 10 minutes later. Let the feeding begin. Many enjoyed wine while I enjoyed a couple beers. Cake and gifts took place after everyone got their fill of pizza and subs. After singing the birthday song, I cut the cake. Took some doing since it was still half frozen. As for the gifts, Jacob cleaned up. Lots of gift cards and cash. Of course Mindy and I got him a new pair of Nikes that he picked out when we were in Oregon.

The kids and their dad had a silly string battle on the deck. In all, 4 cans worth. Most were gone by 830pm. Jacob went home with his dad and Molly since they were taking him to his Cincinnati soccer tournament early Saturday AM. If memory serves, they needed to be on the road by 5am. Ugh!!
Near 930pm by the time we had the kitchen/familyroom back in order. We headed to bed fairly early too since we needed to be on the road for Bella’s gym meet in Rio Grande at 9am.