Not a BM'er Day

Was up and downstairs by 610am to a partly cloudy sky but little if any chance for rain. I was looking forward to the work day and a promising weather forecast that offered sunshine and warm temps all the way through the Memorial Day weekend. Couple calisthenics then delivered Mindy's coffee. And by the time I was back downstairs to enjoy some for myself it was already near 630am.

My plan was to run ahead of Bella's bus pick-up and then work at the main office, and possibly even make yet another Strader's run at lunch. To that end, I fooled around on the internet a little longer than perhaps I should've. It was 710am by the time I finished playing around, meditation and stretching. Because of the time, I briefly considered moving my run until after bus pick-up, but in the end I pressed forward, heading upstairs to say goodbye to Mindy and then sharing with Bella that I might not be back in time to see her off to school. She told me that she would be fine and knew exactly what she needed to do.

Off I went near 720am running the full 4.1 miles in about 38 minutes. All the kids were at the bus stop by the time I got back. I felt a lot better about seeing Bella get on the bus. Once they were gone I went back home to take the pug on a walk. Mindy didn't make my breakfast before she left. We chatted about it even before my run, so I knew not to expect it. I enjoyed a 2nd cup of coffee and ate a few pieces of fruit before heading off to the shower. Was downstairs preparing to depart for work by 838am.

Briefly toyed with driving the BM'er but didn't. Despite a lovely forecast, clouds moved in taking most of my incentive to drive it away. Arrived at the office just ahead of 9am. Not very many folks in the office, perhaps the fewest yet. No mind. My boss was there, so he and I chatted for awhile. Talked with a few others I hadn't seen in while too. A couple guys stopped over to ask about Ken. Sadly I didn't have much of an update having not seen him for a while, though I did have a missed call from him on my personal cell from the day before. I planned to call him back later that day.

Took care of several tasks on my to-do list leading up to about 1245pm when I decided it was time for a break. As planned, I drove to Strader's on Riverside. A little surprised at the crowd on a Thursday afternoon. Hardly a parking spot to be had. My mission was to get a few get some tomato and pepper plants, mostly for Bella since she enjoys planting and then caring for them. I also wanted to get a couple herbs, perhaps basil and chives. Not only was Strader's crowded, but their inventory was heavier than it was just ahead of Mother's Day, which was a big shocker. I guess it's a later than usual planting season in CMH, and it's not that the weather has been afoul, instead it's just that most people don't get out to but their plants unless the conditions are ideal.

 I got everything I wanted and even picked up another asparagus fern basket filler. I was gone for about 40 minutes. Looked like my boss headed home while I was out. He was online though and working the rest of the day presumably from home. It was a quiet afternoon in the office. I was there until about 430pm. Talked with Mindy on my drive. I stopped at Play it Again Sports on the way home to look at Lacrosse sticks, Jacob's latest sport kick. He was looking at ridiculously expensive sticks online, upwards of $100. I discouraged such a purchase until he gets a bit more familiar with the sport. Told him we could likely get a really good stick or two at Play it Again. He seemed skeptical.

Jacob is becoming very materialistic, and moreover very much swayed by items of high cost, particularly when it comes to shoes and houses, or even sporting goods. Over the last 6 months he's asked Mindy several times why we don't get a nicer house over by his school. A lot of his friends live in $500K homes. Seems a little ashamed of where we live. Ego is a funny thing.

As I hoped, they had a decent selection of Lacrosse sticks, some used and plenty new. I opted for two new sticks for less than I could get them from Amazon. Paid $30 each. I also picked up a couple balls too. Homeward.

Jacob barely had a minute to see the Lacrosse sticks before his dad showed up to take him to soccer practice. After they departed Mindy and I headed out back to sit by the pond. It was a gorgeous evening for it. She poured a glass of wine, I poured a Centennial, still from the same growler we brought home last Friday. Still tasty and fresh. Ahhhhhh! We sat there for quite awhile, long enough for me to have three pints. During those couple hours neighbor Chrissy came by to chat for a while where we shared kids stories, all true of course. :)

Headed inside near 8pm, or just before Jacob got back from soccer practice. Once home, he immediately headed out back to find Evan so they could try out his new Lacrosse sticks. They played for a while. I eventually headed out to toss with some Jacob, too. I launched one deep enough that Jacob said he saw water splash in the drain culvert that ultimately empties into the pond. We looked for a while unsuccessfully. That's $3 down the tubes in a hurry! Noticed dog shit dumped right where the culvert empties into a stream feeding the pond. Ugh! I made it a point to tell Mindy that I needed to talk to Kenny about it. I think Jake's been dumping it there unaware of the possible problems that might cause, namely E-coli. Jacob and I headed in near sunset. By then any buzz I had from the beers earlier that evening was pretty much gone.

Nothing much else going on. Off to bed before 10pm.