Sneaking Up on Xmas

"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse"

Wednesday, Dec 17 – Xmas Shopping with Mindy, Roosters

Cold! Temps in the 20s/30s – spittin’ snow all morning.

Up at 540am after a poor night of sleep. Ran 4 miles, heading out the door around 745am.

It was Wednesday and monthly service review presentation day, which meant that I’d be working across town. Arrived near 950am. On the drive in, saw gas prices as low as they’ve been - $2.19 per gallon. I stated a few weeks back that gas prices below the $2.50 mark would likely have an adverse impact on our overall economy. And that premise is proving true, as the stock market’s been falling this week due to oil prices continuing to plummet.

Did the monthly service review to a small customer audience. Finished around 1130am. Tied up loose ends before taking lunch and running Xmas related errands around 1pm.

I had about 50 Xmas cards in the car which I wanted to drop at a post office. Before heading out for lunch, I Googled post offices in and around Easton/New Albany. And since I wanted to stop in Home Depot, too, I opted for the one supposedly within eye shot of them. Perfect!

Driving towards H.D., the only thing I saw where Google said I would find a post office was a Meijer, and that’s been there for quite a while. Hmmm?  For the time being, I cast that task aside and headed on in Home Depot where I picked up a new Dremel wood blade for my oscillating tool. Now days, most manufactures are making their blades universal (will fit any oscillating tool head). $13.

From the H.D. lot, I Googled local post offices again only this time from my smart phone. Said it was right next door and offered turn-by-turn directions, which I enabled. The navigation took me around back behind H.D. and the Meijer. Said my destination was right there. Hmmm? The only thing I could figure was that there’s a P.O. mailing center inside the Meijer. All I wanted was a drop box. Geesh! Rather than continue on a wild goose chase, I figured to stop at the tried and true Hilliard branch on my drive home. Needed to stop at the Hilliard Target anyway to pick-up our 2^nd batch of Xmas cards. Back to work.

Worked through the afternoon, leaving for home near 415pm. Noticed that the stock market spiked a couple hundred points. Yes!!! Exited 270 at Cemetery Rd making my way to the post office branch a mile up the road. Dropped the cards in the outside drop box 10 minutes ahead of the 5pm pick-up. Cool! Onto Target.

At Target, picked up our 2^nd batch of custom Xmas cards, and then did a little shopping. Bought a couple more gift cards for Xmas presents. Headed for home. Mindy phoned just as I was getting on 270. She was just leaving school after a lengthy after class meeting. Still sounding rough but said she was feeling a bit better. Asked if I still wanted to Xmas shop (It was date night). Yes. Otherwise, we might not get too many more opportunities. I was provoking and joking, but Mindy wasn’t in the mood. J

I arrived home 5-10 minutes ahead of her. Enjoyed a couple handfuls of peanuts. Noticed another Shutterfly package showed up. Yeah! Helped Mindy carry in her school stuff since she had a couple bags of Xmas gifts that she picked up after school.

We took care of a few incidentals and both did some quick grooming before heading off to the Rome- Hilliard Target (not Millrun). Our main goal was to take care of Avery & Addison as well as Ashley. Of course Mindy can’t visit a Target without perusing the $1 aisle. We picked up a few stocking stuffer type items. Over the years, we’ve found that the wee ones love the stuff from the $1 aisle.

Took care of Avery & Addison next, picking out a few outfits and PJs (Courtney said they needed/wanted clothes). Got them each a toy too. We took care of Ashley next as well as a few more stocking stuffers. According to Mindy, this bill was mine. Set me back about $300. Yikes!

Both of us hungry, Mindy offered to treat us to dinner at the Roosters just up the road. Sounded good to me. Crowded – very crowded! Had to park way out in the lot and that was after driving around twice. Chilly and spittin snow.  They CBC IPA on tap but I wasn’t in the mood for beer, opting instead for a leaded Coke. Mindy went with only water. We shared some garbage tater tots and each ordered wings, me Donkey, Mindy medium.

Took a while. Asked our server if they happened to sale lottery tickets after seeing a screenshot of Lottery stuff on one of their numerous monitors around the bar. Sure do! I wanted to purchase a Powerball for Tuesday night’s drawing which was sitting at $80,000,000. I know I’m gonna win, just not sure when. Midway through dinner I waltzed over to the lottery kiosk and bought a single ticket. I struggled to figure out how to use it but managed on my own.

We both needed a box for our leftovers. Rooster wings are very large.  I managed to eat only 6 of the ten. Mindy even less. At home, we carried in the dozen or so Target bags just before the kids got home. Kids were both excited to see we had Roosters leftovers. Jacob loves Roosters wings. He ate just a couple. And I think that Bella had only one. J I joked that I wasn’t sharing the pink iced animal crackers I picked up in the $ aisle at Target.

Mindy wrapped Anita’s gifts and had me make a couple custom gift tags on the PC. Printed off a mailing label for a box that we planned to ship out Thursday. While Mindy and Bella were in the basement wrapping presents, I headed down to quickly try out my new Dremel wood blade on my oscillating tool. As advertised, it fit up nicely on my knock-off brand. More importantly, the new blade went through those darn “wet” shims like butter. Finally!!!I cut off three or four then stopped.

Upstairs, Jacob and I had the Buckeye basketball game whirling the background. They won by 40 some points. Mindy off to bed near 930pm. I stayed up watching a very cool TV program on WOSU, Nova – Making Stuff Colder. Very cool, and a must see. Headed to bed near 11pm but after 5-10 minutes it was clear that I just wasn’t going to fall asleep. I got up, headed back downstairs, played on the internet and enjoyed 2 bowls of Cookie Crisp. Headed back to bed near midnight.

Thursday, December 18 Going Postal and Krogering

Ran 4 miles. Cold.

Working from the Hilliard office

Planned two stops on the way in. First stop at Kroger where I bought a gift card for a friend. The second stop was at the nearby post office to mail that gift card along with one for my boss.

Arrived at the office near 10am. I was surprised to discover that I was the lone team member actually in the office. The others were working remote.

Stayed busy until 1pm when I left for lunch. I headed to the Hilliard Sherwin-Williams where I purchased another gallon of pain, this time for the actual door panels – dapper tan, same chip as the walls, though two shades darker.

Headed home where I finished out my work day.

A couple Xmas packages arrived mid/late afternoon.

Jacob fell asleep soon after getting home from school. His dad was coming by to take him to soccer practice, but that wouldn’t be until 8pm. Crazy, I know!

No formal dinner – leftovers – fend for ourselves.

Mindy, Bella and I left the house near 6pm for Olivia’s Xmas play at the Westgate recreation center. I hadn’t been inside there for maybe 30 years. They’ve dumped some cash into the place. Quite nice.

Kelly, Rosemary and Ashley were already there. We sat in the row behind them. Per the usual, Kelly barely uttered a word beyond a forced hello in response to my greeting. Rosemary, however, was very chatty with Mindy & I. Talked about her recent hip replacement as well as Al’s recent fall. She seems to be doing great!

Olivia’s play was cute. She was very excited that we were there. Came up and gave Mindy a huge hug! Though, she would dare give me a smooch in front of all her peeps. J

After the play we dropped Bella at her gymnastics Xmas party then returned home. Jacob was finally awake and waiting on his dad’s arrival. He asked Mindy to make him something for dinner. She begrudgingly whipped up a couple grilled cheese sandwiches. Jimaken showed around 730pm.

I played around on the computer until it was time to go after Bella. Left the house near 845pm. Arrived with just a couple minutes to spare. Open gym Xmas party. Bella seemed happy. Without her asking, I stopped at Steak & Shake to get her some food. She was very happy about that.

Watched some of the Thursday Night NFL game but quickly tired of it. Headed for bed near 10pm, or shortly after Jacob go home from soccer practice.

Friday, December 19 – Happy 79^th Dad

Working from home. Purposefully slower start to my day. Kids and Mindy off to school at their usual times.  Mindy was torqued at Jacob for refusing to take the gift he had her buy for one of his teachers – a 12-pack of Mt Dew. She followed him out to the bus stop with the gift hollering for him to come get it. He refused or ignored her. She returned angry. 

Ran 3 miles. Another cloudy day with morning temps in the upper 20s. Checked MRMS website. Opening for the season Saturday at 4pm. Excitedly sent a text to Mindy sharing as much. Figure we’d try to get up there either Saturday or Sunday.

Worked all day from home. Thought about making a run to L&E granite to checkout their showroom, but time was got away from me. The fireplace guy was set to return I thought around 2pm. However, once 2pm came and went, I went to my VM and listened to Dan’s message again. Said it would be last stop near 3pm. Actually didn’t show until almost 330pm.

Craig went right to work while I stayed busy with work too. By the time he arrived the kids were home from school. After about half an hour I asked how things were going. The look on his face said it all. He actually said fine but could tell that something wasn’t right. Sure enough, he called me to the family room to show me how to operate the fireplace. The variable remote function was backwards – on/raise turned it off or lowered the flame, and vice-versa.

Not a huge deal but I spent lots and lots of money on this, arguably the best in class. I told Craig that I was disappointed and wouldn’t pay until it is corrected. He understood but at the same time I could tell was a tad frustrated with me. Too bad. Deliver the goods, dude! Said he would get with their tech support – been doing this 20+ years and has never had this problem before. Blah, blah, blah.

I thanked Craig for his effort but then asked when I might hear back. Soon. Mindy arrived home from school just as Craig was pulling away. She was very excited to see the fire roaring. Certainly the sting was still visible on my face. I explained the quirk and that they would have to come back yet again.

I finished my work day while Mindy unpacked a bag full of Xmas gifts and goodies she reined in at school, some from her class and some from her peers.

The evening plans were as such. Bella was planning to meet friends and then go ice skating at the Chiller. Jacob, Mindy and I were planning to do dinner at the Rusty Bucket after dropping Bella. We’d figured to give her 1.5 hours or so before returning to get her.

Didn’t get a shower until almost 6pm. Ordered some gifts online for neighbors. Should be delivered before Xmas. Loaded up the family and left for Dublin around 7pm. Like the week before, Mindy headed inside the Chiller with Bella until she was satisfied that she was good to go. She was only inside a couple minutes before returning sharing that neighbor Josie was there too, and agreed to keep Bell under her wing (Josie’s a 7^th grader). Said we could text her if necessary since Bella doesn’t yet have a cell phone.

Down the road a couple miles to the Dublin Rusty Bucket where nephew Joe is the new GM. Waited just a couple minutes for a table. Yaya was our server. Nice kid! Ordered the same thing I had the Friday prior, fried pickles, White Rajah on draft, Italian torpedo sandwich along with a wedge salad. And once again, all very good! During dinner, I had Mindy snap a picture of me toasting with a beer. I in turn sent it to my day with a birthday wish (today was his 79^th birthday).

There for a solid 90 minutes. Headed back to the Chiller to fetch Bella around 915pm. Mindy headed in to find her. Jacob and I joked that they wouldn’t let Mindy in, but they did. She returned after about 10 minutes with the peanut!

Not too long after arriving home, Mindy headed for bed. I stayed up a little later, but was still in bed before 1030pm.

Saturday, December 20 – Paint trim, Return door slab, Soccer game in the cold – No MRM, CBC

Cloudy and cold – upper 20s all day.

Up and downstairs near 430am after waking wide awake. Played around online for about 80 minutes before feeling sleepy enough to head back to bed. Slept till just about 8am.

It was almost 10am before I headed out for my run. Ran 3 miles.

Mindy left to get her hair done around 11am. Kids didn’t get up until sometime after she was already gone.

While she was away, I worked in the basement. First thing I did was cut off the remaining shims with my oscillating tool and new blade. Worked much, much better. Next, I caulked all the door jamb nail holes and then got started painting the door trim. Tedious process, since there are three sides that need coated (top, bottom, face). Jimaken was over to pick-up Jacob for his 3pm soccer game near 130pm. Both kids would be staying with him Saturday through Xmas eve night. Bella, however, would wait and ride with Mindy and I to the soccer game. We planned to leave around 230pm. Mindy was home from her hair appointment around 145pm. I could hear Bella flipping out about her blonde hair. Later, she warned me that it looked bad but to play it off. Funny! J It doesn’t look bad, just different.

I painted 4 lengths of trim with two coats (black semi-gloss). All I had time for. Also touched up the walls where I did some minor spackling. Showered and ready to leave by 240pm. Neither one of us were sure where Westerville Central HS was until Mindy Google mapped it. Way north off I-71 and Polaris then north on Route 3. Haven’t been all the way up there since golfing Black Hawk some years ago with pal Tom Clark.

Made decent time around 270 and up 71N to Polaris. Arrived at 310pm. As usual, felt even colder on the soccer/football field. It was something like 28 degrees but felt much colder. I chose to stand versus sit on the cold aluminum bleachers. Jacob’s team went behind 1-0, which unless I’m mistaken ended up being the final score. I headed for the car after about an hour (the games go about 90 minutes with two 40 minutes halves plus halftime).

From the car, I phoned my mom checking in but just as important, asking if she planned to come up and stay for Xmas just as she’s done the past couple years. Nope. Not this year. She gave me an earful about this and that – mostly not coming to visit. Talked about her brittle bones a little too. Needs to take vitamin D to help build bone density, though that is/was an alternative to the costly injections her doctor offered, but her insurance won’t cover.

Mindy soon joined me. Apparently the cold was getting to her too. We could see the field from the car but not enough to be sure what was happening. Bella opted to stay in the bleachers with her daddy. She was in a short sleeved short and pullover sweat shirt. Said she wasn’t cold. Holy moley!

After the game ended, we waited an extra 10 minutes for Jacob to walk off the field. Mindy wanted to hug both kids since she wouldn’t see them again until Wednesday evening. By then it was 445pm and nearly dark.

About a 30 minute drive home. During our drive, Mindy shared that she’d be taking a shower before we headed off to CBC for dinner. While she did that. I planned to return one of the two 24” door slabs to Home Depot due to the fact that it is warped (sticks out more than an inch in one corner). And while it came in prehung jamb, I planned only to return the door slab since the jambs already nailed into place and the all the holes filled. I was concerned that Home Depot might insist that I return the jamb too. But my thinking was this: I could buy a new door and jamb, take it home, put the old slab in the new jamb and return it.

Turned out, they gave me no hassle whatsoever, though they weren’t real sure how to go about the exchange/return. I suggested I simply remove the new door slab from the prehung jamb. They agreed but had no tools to do so. I offered to go to their tool department and fetch a hammer and a thin screw driver. Not necessary. She found a rubber hammer and then a drill bit that worked just fine to knockout the door hinge pins. Even exchange.

At home, I marched the new panel straight to the basement. One of the hinges was off slightly from the other door but after a little wiggling I was able to get the new door slab set into the existing jamb. Not only that, but this one hung perfectly square, but because I had tweak the jamb placement a little bit in an attempt to mask the warped jamb, I had to retweak the jamb a little. Anyone who’s ever hung a door knows what I’m talking about.

Mindy and I left for CBC near 640pm. Took an empty growler just in case they had a yummy beer on tap. We were meeting friends John & Carolyn at CBC. In addition, it sounded like Ryan L. was planning to join us too. Got the first parking spot – almost as if it were held just for me. J Mindy carried in a bag full of “server gifts” to help spread some Jimindy holiday cheer.

John & Carolyn were already at the bar and held a couple stools for the two of us. Sweet! They’d been for an hour or so already. No Bodhi, but they did have Orthodox, Actual’s winter IPA (black winter IPA). I really like it. Ryan showed up about 30 minutes later, and we made room at our little corner of the bar.

Enjoyed some risotto balls, good company and beer for the next couple hours. I had three Orthodox’s but switched over to water 2 hours before we left so Mindy could “enjoy” herself. She had three Holly Jolly’s Xmas ales from Fat Heads. She was feeling zero pain, at least until the next day. Three beers for Mindy always spells trouble. She ended up ordering a steak dinner pretty late. I resorted to earing only some of Ryan’s nachos. But just before we left, I put in a to-go of wings.

Mindy disappeared for a while returning several minutes later with a Charlie Brown Xmas tree.  It looked authentic. Press a button and it played Vince Guaraldi music. Thought she was going to try and bring it home. Fun times! We pretty much shut the place down, not leaving for home until after 11pm.

Ryan decided to stop by our place before heading home. She popped in the drive-thru in route to get some beer. Beck’s dark. Mindy, Ryan and I hung out in the kitchen together talking for an hour or so while I enjoyed a couple more beers (an Upheavel and a White Rajah). While playing around on my PC I think I might’ve dosed off for a few. Thinking it was approaching 1am when Ryan opted to head for home.

We headed for bed shortly thereafter.

Sunday, December 21 – 1^st Day of Winter ‘14/15

Up near 8am. Clear skies and sunny. Still cold – only 27 degrees.

We planned on going to MRM sometime Sunday but based on the way Mindy was feeling the night before I sensed that was in jeopardy.

I played on the computer, drank coffee and then headed out for a run around 930am. Ran 3 miles.

After my run I whipped up an omelet and baked potato. Left Mindy’s share in the microwave, choosing not to wake her any sooner than necessary. At one point I headed upstairs to peak in. She was out cold. However, just a few bites into my breakfast, she was up and downstairs. Said she felt OK after taking some Advil earlier and getting more sleep.

During breakfast, Tina Cubra sent a text from MRM sharing that only a few runs were opened and one of them wasn’t the face. We briefly discussed our plans and quickly decided to nix a ski day. We had plenty we could get done at home if we didn’t ski, and neither one of us was eager to make that drive and not have the conditions we’re accustom to experiencing.

Shortly thereafter, I headed to the basement to get busy painting more door trim and door jambs. Mindy, in turn, said she would soon be off to the grocery. I painted 7 more door trim pieces and then put a 3^rd coat on those that I painted Saturday. Next, I moved on to the door jambs, painting the entry to the storage area and then the pantry jamb. Talk about tedious!! Oh yeah, lots of nooks and crannies. I used a small paint pad and a narrow brush. Ended up putting 2+ coats on the two jambs.

After finishing the two jambs, I put a 2^nd coat on the newly painted door trim pieces. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but up until them I’d already spent 3+ hours painting. Before wrapping up for the afternoon/evening, I painted two door slabs (the pantry and storage area) one side and then the edges. All that took me until almost 5pm. By then I was done!

I headed up for a shower, but not before searching and finding Windle’s Lake Choctaw mailing address for Mindy. We talked about going to Ding Ho for dinner, but once we were pulling out of the subdivision, I suggested Barley’s instead. I found myself craving an El Lupulo Libre!! J Mindy agreed. We can do Ding Ho one evening during the coming week.

Katy & Marrisa were tending bar. We grabbed two open stools behind a set of taps, not ideal but they’d suffice. Walt the balloonist was in. First time we’d seen him in a really long while. Introduced us to his wife, Deb and then shared pictures of their Macy’s TG parade balloon handling. Cool pics!

At the bar, Marrisa had my Lupulo Libre waiting. Mindy opted for only ice water. No beer for her. Said it didn’t even sound remotely good. J We enjoyed a basket of fries with buffalo sauce. Enjoyed a little conversation with Josh T. Eventually ordered dinner, me an order of K.C. wings, and Mindy a Barley burger. I ordered a 2^nd beer, this time a Barley’s Double Dog Dare (a DIPA). Very good!

I ate a few of the wings before asking Marrisa to take then back and have them grilled more. After all, I ordered them well done. If you don’t order them as such they can (the skin) be a bit gelatinous.  Less than five minutes later … perfect! We finished our dinner and beer then headed for home.

Arrived home near 8pm. Mindy retreated to the family room with a fire. I headed to the basement to flip the recently painted doors and put on a coat of paint. Down there about 45 minutes. Mindy headed for bed ahead of me, though I dosed off from the sofa however briefly. Watched a little of the SNF game but it was boring. Headed up to bed around 1020pm. Surprised to find Mindy in bed but still awake playing on her phone and watching SNF. We watched a little more football before lights out near 1045pm.