ReScreening

After Monday night’s thwarted burglary attempt, I didn’t get a very much quality sleep. Instead, I woke several times through the night and probably didn’t fall initially to sleep until somewhere near 1am. Daylight came around too soon. As a result, I gave myself permission to sleep in a few extra minutes which resulted in me not rolling out of bed until 625am.

With the daylight, I was curious what if any clues or damage I might find from the burglary attempt. To that end I promptly stepped out onto the deck to take a look around. Dammit! I forgot that we set the security system for night time mode, so as soon as I opened the door the alarm blared. I hurried to the keypad to disable but to no avail. Once it goes off it’s got to be handled as an intrusion. At that point I had little recourse other than to wait for the security company to reach out for verification. Seconds later when they did just that I identified myself as required then they disabled the false alarm. I then was able to disarm the system. That got my blood flowing!

Back to the deck. I noticed right away that one of the screens in the bay window had been cut open on three of the four sides much like a door, if you will. More proof that the would-be burglar planned to come through the window. I really wish I would’ve caught him in such a precarious position because I would’ve smashed his skull!

I surveyed the area moreover looking for any clues like dropped tools, a phone, etc. But the only other clue was a deeply embedded foot print in the general vicinity of his landing spot when he leaped off the deck. I planned to check the rest of the yard more thoroughly after my run.

As for the weather, it was partly to mostly cloudy but most of the rain had already moved out of our area. It was warmer than I expected, too – still in the mid 60s. The day’s high wasn’t expected to surpass 73 with plenty of sunshine. And then the night’s low was expected to drop to 53 degrees. Forecast sounded more like September.

I headed back inside where over the next 10 minutes I whipped out calisthenics and then poured and enjoyed coffee. It was more than an hour later that I completed meditation and a stretch then left for a run. I think I got out of the house just ahead of 8am.

I ran 4.1 miles without much fanfare. A police cruiser drove the neighborhood which isn’t unusual any time of day, but I guessed that he was following up on the night before’s criminal intent. The run was pretty easy and again shirtless. The cool morning air felt good against my skin. After my run I went directly out back to further survey the crime scene. I looked behind and under the shed, the tree house and then along the stream. No other clues. I noticed Mindy stepping out on the deck with coffee. I pointed her gaze towards the cut screen, which I could tell surprised her. Makes you feel vulnerable. That removed any doubt of the burglar’s intent.

I couldn’t hang out too long for needing/wanting to leave for work no later than 930am. Inside I got cracking on some eggs, whipping up fried eggs, grits, fruit and toast. I fried the grits in the olive oil originally intended for my eggs. Yum! Off to the shower around 9am and downstairs again by 920am.Enjoyed a little more coffee before heading off to work. Mindy’s plans included taking the kids to their dental appointments with Dr Scott. Not sure what else.

Arrived across town near 10am, and after the ¼ mile walk in from the far lot I was settled in my cubical a few minutes later. Seemed like a ghost town all around. Geesh! My focus was finalizing the June monthly report and spent the better part of the day doing just that. Come 1pm, I headed to our regularly scheduled conference room. There I sat alone for 10 minutes – arriving five minutes early and staying until 5 after the hour. I then sent a text to a peer asking if I missed a cancel notice. Well, not exactly. The meeting wasn’t happening but they failed to tell me. Uh, thanks?

I thought about leaving and working the remainder of my day from home but didn’t. One thing lead to another and before I knew it was 415pm and time for our staff call. I ended up at the office until almost 5pm. I called neighbor Pat Shultz on my drive home sharing the details of the thwarted burglary. He knew about it, just didn’t know it was at our house. He learned about it from the neighborhood association email updates that go out to members. We talked for a while or until I was near Tuttle.

Shortly thereafter Orkin called to confirm their late arrival. Before confirming we were accepting of the late appointment I inquired about our service commitment since from my perspective, we’ve already met our obligation. I want them to come only every other month in the March to October time frame. That’s it. Makes no sense at all having them there over the winter. Who’s fooling who? Tom shared that they don’t have an as needed plan, but could do a seasonal plan which if I understood correctly is the same number of visits but spread over the warmer months. I agreed to at least one more treatment before deciding what we will do moving forward. I never intended to make them a never ending, recurring service. A bug or spider here and there is a nonissue in my world.

Called Mindy to let her know that the Orkin Man was on his way and might be there ahead of me. No worries. While talking, she provided an update on the kids dental appointments as well as the rest of their day. I was home a minute or two later. Neighbor Carl was out and caught me on my way into the house to talk about last night’s events. Insists that both Mindy and I get conceal carry permits. Offered to train her how to shoot. We talked until the Orkin man arrived. Young kid, Tom. Must be new. Very friendly and chatty. Mindy claims that she and or Bella have seen one or two piss ants over the summer which is why I agreed to this additional treatment. Oh boy! Saw a silverfish on our ceiling as well

Orkin guy was there for 15 minutes or so. While he did his thing, Mindy laid out a selection of leftovers for dinner that included chicken, pork chop, grouper, pasta, cucumber salad and Chipotle. I opted for the grouper reheated on the stone along with cucumber salad. That’s it. Mindy & Bella had leftover tortellini.

After broiling the grouper on the stone, it was even better than it was fresh. After dinner and clean-up I was going to take a brief nap and then fix the screen the would-be burglar cut the night before while Mindy agreed to water all the flowers. However, I thought I might pull and clean the screen frame before my nap. Well, I ended up doing the whole process without the benefit of a nap first.

I took my time first pulling out the old cut screen and spline and then thoroughly cleaning the frame before rolling out new screen. Soon after I started rolling in the new spline, Bob I. stopped by for a rare visit in his mustang convertible on his way home from work. Fresh back from their Northern Michigan vacation, we wanted to hear all about it. In fact, Mindy had shown me several pics he posted to FB just an hour earlier.

Sounds like an incredibly awesome trip. Briefly visited friends (former neighbors) whose family has an amazing lake house up there. The pics of the lake validated just how amazingly clear the water is. Holy moly!
We talked for 20-25 minutes before Bob headed on his way. We talked about our coming trip to David & Anita’s as well as our stop in Ashville. He shared a bit more about some of their favorite places to visit in Black Mountain which he likens to Yellow Springs here at home..

After Bob left I finished the screen repair. Before putting it back into service we cleaned the window frame and lubed the metal spring and track for the first time ever. Boy, did that ever make a difference! Window slides much easier now. Mindy joked that we made it easier for the next burglar to slide the windows opened. We repeated the lubage exercise for the two other bay window sashes too.

I soon tuned into MLB baseball’s All-Star game while also monkeying around with the TV audio config again. Still no joy. Bottom line, I still need to prove out the TV’s audio to be sure where the problem resides TV or cable box. Watched an inning of the All Star game but lost interest fast. My Kindle book was calling me. Before heading in to read, however, I tried helping Mindy with a problematic website used for her teacher relicensure. We determined the problem was the website – not operator error.

While I read from my recliner, Mindy played on her laptop from hers. We did that until almost 9pm when Bella finally came home. She was told to be home by 845pm but Mindy is generally pretty lax about curfews. I read for 30 minutes or so, dosing off for a few minutes in there as well. At 930pm I declared it time for bed. After a very poor night of sleep Monday, I was very much looking forward to some quality sleep. Before heading up, I made sure that the blinds were drawn, doors locked and outdoor lighting on. Mindy planned on activating the security system for home mode.

I was joined in bed by both Mindy and Bella maybe 10 minutes later. After say five minutes, Mindy dispatched Bella to her own bed. Next thing I know, Bella runs into our room once again insisting that she’s hearing noises downstairs. I was as close to sound asleep as possible, and was none too thrilled to be woken yet again. In a gruff I decided to go check but only after once again arming myself with my ball bat and insisting that Mindy and Bella go into their clearly defined roles as well, roles that we discussed over dinner, which included them being near the balcony with phone in hand ready to call the cops/911.

This time, as I suspected, the house and yard were clear. It must’ve been her imagination. And while I half expected it and understand the heightened fear, I wasn’t too happy since I felt so under slept. I headed right back to bed where it took more than a few minutes to dose back off.

Thwarted Burglary ... added content

I was awake and out of bed by 6am on what otherwise was a rather gloomy start to the day. Complete cloud cover but warm – a sultry 73 degrees. After calisthenics I checked the radar. Big rain wasn’t too far off to our west – perhaps an hour or less, I figured. Meditation, stretch and run were next. I was out the door by 715am.

Ran the usual 4.1 miles, and by the run’s end there were several rumbles of thunder moving ever closer. However, aside from a spit or two, still no rain. I warmed Sunday’s breakfast leftovers: a spinach & cheese omelet and home fries. Off to the shower by 815am. I took Mindy coffee but she didn’t wake or budge. But that changed while I was in the shower. It must’ve been the sound of pounding water. By the time I was out and dressed, she was awake.

She asked if I had a few minutes to enjoy coffee. It was near 830am. I figured I could stick around another 5-10 minutes. Downstairs I poured another cup of coffee while chatting with Mindy. She and Bella planned to visit a school friend who recently had a baby and then afterwards head over to niece Lindey’s condo and possibly even a swim at her condo pool, though the forecast wasn’t conducive to swimming. In fact, by the time I left the house it had already started to rain.

I wisely took my umbrella from the trunk for my walk into the office. It wasn’t raining that hard at the time, but just in case in rained all day and harder when I came out later. Was settled at my desk by 910am. There’s weren’t too many folks in the office early on, but I soon learned that was because most were off to a facilities meeting. By 930am most were back at their desks, including my boss. He and I chatted for a few.

Also chatted remotely with the peer I covered for the last 10 days. And while I had his ear, I asked if he would cover me this coming Friday in addition to the following week that we had already agreed to. Sure thing! Sweet. I walked over to chat with another local peer who spent the last week in NYC with his wife and daughter. Said they had a great time.

I had two big rocks needing addressed during the work day. One, updating my mid-year performance plan, and two, finishing up my June monthly report for Wednesday/s presentation. Around 1130am a few peers were headed off for lunch and invited me to join them for pizza. Thanked them for the invite but declined. Not only had I packed a healthy lunch, but I didn’t want to disrupt the day’s momentum.

As a result, I worked straight through the lunch hour, and before I knew it, it was time for our 3pm team call. It was supposed to be an abbreviated call but lasted nearly the full hour. I didn’t mind. I multitasked the entire time. Throughout the day, there were a couple strong storms that swept through the area but by the end of the work day the skies were brightening.

I left for home near 435pm and called Mindy soon out of the lot. She had just arrived home after picking up the boys from base as a favor to Lindsey who was required to work overtime. She shared how the visit with her friend went, and then the visit with niece Lindey. Given the poor weather, they didn’t swim. They did, however, go to lunch at Phillips Coney Island. I asked if she’d heard from Jacob, who was still at Cedar Point with friends. She did. Said he was having a good time.

Arrived home just before 5pm. Out of habit, I stuffed my face with a couple handfuls of nuts soon after making my way into the kitchen. I greeted the grandkids who were quickly out the back door to fish while waiting on Mindy to put the finishing touches on our dinner – chicken tortellini tossed in Italian dressing.
Mindy said she invited dad but hadn’t heard back from him. I helped Rocky free his fishing line from a tree not even five minutes after he began fishing. And by the time I got out to help him out he said he was done fishing. His brutally short attention span drives me batty.

Inside again, I asked Mindy how long until dinner. She offered that I had plenty of time to slip in a nap. Great! I took my Kindle to my recliner where I read and snoozed. I might’ve been there for about 20 minutes but of that, I slept for no more than 5 minutes. Even still, I felt refreshed once I was back on my feet. Minutes later Mindy called all of us to dinner.

It’s safe to say that neither of the boys cared much for the tortellini, though Rocky ate most of his minus the tomatoes. Landon only ate a few bites after dousing his entire plate in parmesan cheese. Both ate the rotisserie chicken that Mindy shredded and mixed with it. I liked it but after a few handfuls of nuts I wasn’t too hungry.

Free for the first time in a week after a grounding, Bella was quickly off to play with Makayla after dinner. They boys soon dashed off to play, too. Rocky soon returned sharing that Evan invited him to spend the night. Those two seem to get along just fine. We knew that Landon might feel left out, but not much we could do about that.

During dinner clean-up dad popped in. Mindy seemed to be expecting him, but I had no idea. Dad apparently got back with Mindy via text sharing that he’d already eaten dinner but accepted an invite for an after dinner visit. Hung out at the kitchen table for an hour or so. Somehow or another our conversation drifted to the lack of a healthy relationship with Sheila’s family after her death. Dad expressed a lot of anguish and pain from the apparent falling out. Still not sure what it was/is grounded in.

Before dad left for home we asked if he would take care of our home during our coming absence. Seemed agreeable to the plan. Cool! Lindsey came by to pick-up Landon after work. She agreed to let Rocky stay the night with Evan, but by doing so left Landon predictably upset. But unlike the last time, this time he didn’t cry or pitch a fit. Guessing it was near 730-8pm when dad left for home.

While Mindy ventured out back, I headed to the livingroom to snuggle up with my Kindle reading my newest book – The Honeymoon Effect – Bruce Lipton. I might’ve read 5 pages when Mindy came back inside and joined me in the livingroom. I stopped to check the radar as yet another rain storm was quickly moving our direction. Looked like the most likely path home from Cedar Point was already getting pounded. Mindy was much looking forward to Jacob’s return. She’d been sending texts repeatedly.

Bella was told to be home by 845pm. Mindy went to the back door to holler for her. She was apparently already on her way home. Once inside, she was promptly dispatched to the shower. I’m thinking it was close to 930pm when Jacob arrived home. Said he had a great time at Cedar Point and the friends lake house. Rode several roller coasters and didn’t get sick. His favorites were the Dragster and Millennium Force.

To a fault, Jacob badgered Mindy about our vacation agenda. Said he was in no way interested in visiting The Newport Aquarium. I chose not to chime in, though wasn’t too pleased with his seemingly ungrateful tone, especially after we just handed him $120 cash to play at Cedar Point for two days. As 10pm neared, I declared it bedtime. I took a few minutes to put my phones on charge and top off my water glass. While I was ready to head up to bed, Bella was sitting at my PC reading a Yahoo story about the cancelation of one of her favorite kiddie shows. I gave her a couple minutes before I locked down my PC. No way I was leaving her on it and heading to bed. Sorry!

Once I locked my PC I was off to bed. Against my better judgment I left Bella downstairs getting a last minute snack. I asked Mindy if that was messaging we wanted to send after her recent discipline. Before we vetted out the issue, Bella was already upstairs. She came in our room for a few while we watched the tail end of a 10pm Big Bang episode. Once it over, Mindy told Bella to turn off all screen by midnight and sent her off to her room.

The TV couldn’t have been off for 5 minutes and I was just starting to fall asleep when Bella came rushing into our bedroom freaking out that someone was downstairs. Mindy insisted that it must be Jacob, but after Bella checked and found him sleeping in his room she returned only this time hysterical and insisting that someone was breaking into our house. Her fear rustled me from bed in a jiffy. I couldn’t hear a darn thing, but then again, Mindy always has a fan or two running in our room, which effectively drowns out any stray sounds. To put her fears to rest, I headed downstairs to check, but no before grabbing the ball bat I keep under our bed. We keep a large, sharp butcher knife handy too, but I opted to leave it lie.

I heard nothing and the livingroom looked fine. Moving next into the kitchen all seemed clear there too. The windows and door locked and normal. But just as I was moving closer to peer out the deck door I spotted a guy creeping up onto our deck and reaching for the door. I startled him and he startled me. I raised the ball bat into position and at the same time he bolted like lightning, leaping off the deck and running off into the dark. I slammed my hand against the door glass and shouted for Mindy to call the cops. It all happened so fast.

The cops were there in less than two minutes. Frankly I was surprised. I still had the ball bat in my hands when they came to the door. These two cops weren’t messing around, guns were drawn. I could tell they meant business. After confirming that we were OK they immediately asked that we remain in the house while they scoured the property. I sensed that this might be bigger than just us, or just our house.

We watched from the windows as they scoured the yard leaving no stone unturned. They were looking in the brush along the pond, under the shed and deck, and even in the tree house. I knew the fool wasn’t still around. One of the cops came to the back door and shared that they found nothing amiss or obvious and that we weren’t the only ones to call with a similar situation that night. He asked for details of my encounter with the would-be burglar and then a detailed description. But sadly, it all happened so fast that even with the deck light on I couldn’t detect or recall much detail other than a button up shirt and cap on his head. Think he had blonde hair. Leaped like a horse off the deck to run away. That’s it!

Before the cop left he said we handled it perfectly and made sure to share that we should do what we have to do to protect our house should he be brazen enough to return. Mindy and the kids hugged and thanked me for protecting them. But honestly, I did everything on instinct alone. Nothing heroic about it. Bella was most shaken as she’s the one that actually heard the commotion which must’ve been him trying to open the locked windows and/or door. And based on how I came upon him, him creeping back up on the deck, he had to have been up there minutes earlier but must’ve gotten spooked, and maybe by Bella turning on a light upstairs.

Needless to say, no one was falling asleep anytime soon. Bella wasn’t leaving Mindy’s side. And given the circumstances, we let her sleep with us. Extended the offer to Jacob too but he declined. While I tried falling asleep, Mindy and Bella sent texts and FB updates sharing our ordeal. Maybe an hour later I heard the CPD helicopter out flying around but didn’t see a spotlight. I got up and checked the house again. Needless to say, sleep was loose and light that point forward.

Anderson's & Scrabble Champ

Mindy was up extra early to see Jacob off to Cedar Point with a friend and his parents. I think she was up around 7am. And as I understood it, he’d be gone until Monday night. Between the two of us, we forked over about $120 to cover his admission and food.

I slept till 8am. Woke rested. It was a very gloomy start to the day – cloudy, soupy, muggy, warm, and 78 degrees. Coffee and internet until my run which wasn’t until almost 10am. Ran 3 miles. Somewhat surprising, Mindy was still in bed upon my return.

Near 11am I decided to whip up a big breakfast that included an omelet, home fries using leftover baked potatoes, cheesy grits, and bloody Mary’s. Mindy was up near 1130am or shortly before everything was ready. I wasn’t really sure if she’d want any of it but made plenty. Turns out, she did. There was enough for the two of us and then some. I left some aside for Bella just in case she wanted some once she was up, which was somewhere near noon.

During breakfast, Mindy and I talked about our trip and what we wanted to take food-wise. We agreed to take some steaks and fish. To that end, we planned to make an Anderson’s run that afternoon. The Bloody Mary’s were good. We each had just one. Bella wanted only home fries but didn’t finish them. She ended up going with Cheerios.

I headed up for a shower near 1230pm. Mindy planned to shower later that afternoon. The three of us left for the Anderson’s around 1pm. As we barreled around 270 we could a couple scattered storms, one in west Hilliard, and one in Dublin. Skies looked scary. Poured rain once we hit Dublin with several lightning strikes too. But by the time we exited 270 at Sawmill the rains had moved beyond. However, that didn’t last. Sky still looked threatening so I offered to let Mindy and Bella out at the entrance. As soon as I stopped near the door it started to rain once again.

While I parked, it really came down. I waited a few minutes before heading inside. Like the showers we drove through on the ride up, it stopped less than five minutes after its start. We were in the Anderson’s for what I’m guessing was 45 minutes. We bought steaks, fish, beer, wine, as well as a few other items. By the time we checked out and headed to the car the skies were again sunny. Really humid, too, by the way. Headed straight for home.

Once the meat was in the freezer, and then following Mindy’s lead, I headed out on the deck. With the earlier rain, it was really humid and warm, by then about 90 degrees. I couldn’t decide what to do with my afternoon, if I wanted to sweat it out outside or stay indoors in the AC. I was torn.

I headed back inside and then outside again multiple times. That’s the problem with me not having an agenda. I’m lost! At one point I bought a new Kindle book only to realize that my Kindle was all but dead. I plugged it in to charge then headed back outside for a while longer.

Now what? I spent some time online refining our Ashville/Black Mountain to-do list. Earlier, I emailed Bob I. asking for some ideas/options. He and Mary Ann have been there twice I think in the last couple years and share similar interests. He responded quickly with a host of ideas/options. Also learned that they’re in Northern Michigan on one of their many planned summer trips.

Still unsettled on what to do with my time, I waffled over getting my bike down and going for a ride. The biggest problem I saw with that was where to put my bike in the garage since the kayaks are taking up that room right now. I ended up skipping the bike ride and headed back inside to check on my Kindle, which was already charged to about 60%. Good enough. I did some reading, and by then it was about 330pm. I read and napped until almost 530pm. I woke to the sound of Mindy’s camera shutter capturing me in my slumber.

Shortly thereafter Mindy headed upstairs for a shower. Bella asked what we were doing for dinner after I declined a pasta and red sauce recommendation from Mindy. Bella reminded me that we talked Friday about making homemade pizzas. That wasn’t top on my list, but the fact of the matter is that I had no list. My day was largely undecided. I eventually agreed to make the pizzas and we got started around 6-630pm.

Bella and I have done the homemade pizza thing two other times. We’ve got this thing down pretty well. Not really that hungry. We decided to make just one pizza. Took about 30 minutes from the outset to getting it in the oven. Not bad. By the time it was ready to go it, Mindy was back downstairs after a shower. She seemed to be in a really good mood after the shower.

From experience, I decided to leave the pizza in for a couple minutes longer than called for on the box since we all tend to like a crispier crust. We enjoyed a couple slices of pizza as well as some cucumber salad. It was good.

Through dinner, we discussed Bella’s grounding which comes to end with the dawn of a new day (Monday). We also talked a little about the essay we’ve requested she write, which is the second half of her discipline plan. We agreed on a due date of Thursday. And to that end I strongly urged her to get some ideas on paper sooner rather than later.

After dinner, Mindy suggested we play Scrabble again. Bella was game and so was I. I was far more into to it this go round. I set the tone early, laying several decent words and jumping out to a rather sizeable lead that was never relinquished. Bella, we could tell, lost interest about halfway through when the letters she drew were leaving her with little in the way of options. And when Bella gets bored, she can be borderline evil. She darn near talked herself into more trouble, but we let it slide. And yes, I won again!

Near 8pm there was a huge gathering of kids in our backyard. All the island kids were home from their weekend trip to Cleveland for a sand volleyball tournament as well as Lane, AJ, and Jack done fishing for the day. Some other neighborhoodies out there too. Mindy and I walked out when we noticed that Lane and friends appeared to have taken Josie’s phone. They were just playing but we insisted they give it back. They did. I asked the boys where they stash the flat bottom boat they use. It’s nearby in the woods.

Inside I fooled around with the TV trying to figure out why and how our TV volume recently stopped working. We can still listen through the stereo but the TV’s audio is gone. I fooled around with the TV’s extensive menu looking for a misconfig but came up empty. I then rebooted the Time Warner Cisco box, which is a huge disappointment – always something amiss with it. In the end, no joy. I plan to experiment by bypassing the Cable box entirely, perhaps using my camera and a HDMI feed to see if it’s the TV or the cable box. My money’s on the cable box. 

A little hungry, I popped some popcorn while watching some bad TV. Near 10pm all three of us headed for bed.

Bellasofa

I woke initially around 530am and felt well rested, but after realizing that it was a Saturday I happily rolled over for another bout of sleep. I woke again – this time for keeps – at 715am. And for the first time in more than a week I woke feeling completely refreshed and full of energy. Oh nice it was to feel so good!

I quickly started some coffee then stepped briefly onto the deck to drink in the lovely summery weather. It was mostly sunny and 72, expected to approach 90 later in the day. I enjoyed coffee and internet for the next 90 minutes or more. Didn’t head out for a run until almost 930am. By then it was nice and steamy, and needless to say, I worked up quite a sweat. Felt good, though.

Mindy was up shortly after my return. Bella not until 1130am or so. Jacob was up around 11am. He was going to the lake with neighbor Evan and was expected to be gone until 8pm or so. Mindy, Bella and I were going to Ben & Ryan’s cookout but not until 6pm. Ahead of that, I wanted to make a Macy’s run to buy a new shirt to go along with my cool new shorts that I bought earlier in the week at Old Navy.

I was more than surprised that Bella wanted to go with me. It was a lock when I agreed to stopping at one of the Tuttle furniture store to browse. Funny kid. She loves furniture stores as well as Home Depot and Lowes. I took a quick shower and she and I were out the door near 1210pm. We stopped at Macy’s first.

I knew exactly what I wanted, and it was on sale – 40% off Saturday only, which is why I wanted to go when we did. After buying the shirt, we popped in Finish Line. I would’ve bought the running shoes I wanted too, but they didn’t have my size. I can order online and have shipped to store for the same price.

I offered to walk the mall, any store Bella wanted to visit but she declined, eventually sharing that she was too embarrassed to be seen at a mall. She went on to share that all of her friends frequently shop Tuttle without their parents. I got the message loud and clear. Don’t know that we’re ready to unleash Bella like that. We just started letting Jacob do those things in the last year.

We left the main mall and headed across 270 to Front Room Furnishings, Macy’s Furniture and Kittles. Bella was like a kid in a candy store. We both got a kick out of Joe, the furniture salesman that stalked us throughout our relatively short visit at Front Room Furnishings. He would seemingly appear from nowhere ready to answer questions about any seating group we tried out. Bella insisted on using my phone to snap photos of one or two she really liked.
We made similar stops at Macy’s and Kittles. Each have their good and bad, but we agreed that we liked the offerings at Front Room best.

Called Mindy on the drive home. She shared that she was cleaning and still in her PJs. Waiting on Bella to make cookies and cucumber salad for Ben & Ryan’s cookout. Thinking we got back to the house near 2pm.

I didn’t do much with the rest of my afternoon, though I did water the deck flowers. I took a late afternoon nap, too. It was brief but felt terrific. Near 530pm I freshened up for Ben & Ryan’s cookout. I packed a cooler with 6 beers, water and Gatorade for Bella, and a bottle of wine for Mindy. Actually, the wine wasn’t in the cooler. We left the house near 6pm arriving maybe 20 minutes later.

Mostly family members already there. We parked in the driveway. Within the next half hour many others arrived, most of whom we’ve met at their previous gatherings. The food was to-die-for delicious. Ben made pulled pork and smoked chicken quarters both of which rivaled some of the best places around. Most others, us included, brought sides. We brought cucumber salad and keylime cookies.

Talked with Lisa who shared lots about her weight loss, exercise and running initiatives. Definitely gung-ho. Good food, good people, fun. We stayed until 930pm. Mindy felt it necessary to head home to intercept Jacob after neighbor Teri sent a text letting her know that they were home. I had to pee really bad. Hindsight, should’ve gone before we left.

Home near 10pm. Cracked open a beer and took my jambox and phone to the deck to enjoy a little music. Ate most of the take-home plate Mindy made for Jacob. Headed for bed near 11pm. Bella crawled in bed with us.

Fire Smores & Bodhi

Once again I woke incredibly sleepy, this time sleeping in until almost 7am. Had I not needed to be up for work I could easily have slept for another couple hours. I was so tired that I decided to skip calisthenics at least for the time being. Instead, I poured coffee and logged onto my work laptop. Slowly but surely I managed to ditch the sleepies and decided to squeeze in some windmills and push-ups ahead of a run.

By then Mindy was up and sitting on the deck. It was a gorgeous morning, sunny and 70 degrees. She must’ve heard me grunting through the 50 push-ups and rushed into the kitchen to make sure that I was OK. I appreciate the concern for my wellbeing. She and Bella would be taking Eiknarf to the vet for her annual check-up.

Around 830am and just before my run I walked the pug. Before tossing her bag of crap into the trash can, I asked Mindy if she wanted to take it along. She must’ve thought I was joking until she thought it through. I left it on the front porch. I left for my run around 840am, and like most Friday’s, I ran 3 miles.

It was too long after my return that Mindy and Bella left with the pug. I’m thinking that they were gone for about an hour. Meanwhile, Jacob and one of his buddies that spent the night were just waking up. Didn’t hear too much from either of them.

Had to be near 1115am when Mindy & Bella returned. Said Eiknarf got a couple shots and a clean bill of health. She weighed in at 29.7 lbs. They weren’t home too long before leaving for a Kohl’s run. I stayed busy with work through the noon hour. Sometime around noon Jacob came downstairs to share that LeBron James had just announced that he was returning to Cleveland. Near 1245pm, I took a lunch break to mow the lawn. Just before getting started, I sent a text to Mindy asking that she park out front along the curb when returning.

The lawn was sufficiently dry that I was able cut 90% of it with the tractor, leaving only the heavily sloped areas for the push mower. Skipped trimming and edging too. I can’t recall if it was before they left or if perhaps Jacob asked, but Mindy was stopping for Chipotle on their way home and asked if I wanted some. No. I don’t like to eat like that during the day. Jacob, his buddy, Mindy & Bella enjoyed Chipotle while finished up outside. I had a few Chipotle chips, that’s it, and then got back to work.

Mindy and Jacob left to run his buddy home around 2pm. And then it wasn’t too much later when Mindy left for her annual mammogram. I think that appointment was set for 4pm. A little while later Jacob asked if we were going to Barley’s for dinner. Really? You just had Chipotle and Mindy and I were there on Wednesday. I wasn’t in the mood for Barley’s, or going anywhere for that matter.

In between her appointments, Mindy and I talked in more detail about our fast approaching family vacation plans. We’ve decided to take the opportunity to spend a couple days in Ashville, NC on our way to David and Anita’s. It’s on our bucket list and we kicked ourselves for not stopping on our way down back in June. During a free minute here and there, I started poking around for hotels, brewpubs, and hiking trails.

For the most part, I wrapped up my work day near 430pm and then headed up for a shower. I needed one badly. Afterwards, I took a few minutes to install the new weather shield on the fountain electrical receptacle. Just a couple swear words dropped!  Afterwards, I finally got around to spraying the weeds on Mindy’s stone patio and then spread the three bags of gravel I bought over a month ago. I used the two bags of larger gravel to pour between the small boulders we have flowing into the stream. I then used the single bag of pea gravel to backfill around the flagstones. Mindy helped sweep it in once she was back from her mammogram appointment.

Mindy asked if I wanted to go anywhere for dinner. No. Staying home sounded perfect to me. And just like I had every evening that week, I got really sleepy around 6pm and took a nap on the deck. Felt great. Drank ice water all afternoon and evening. Bella, Mindy & I hung out on the deck for most of the evening. We even played a game of Scrabble. I won.  After Scrabble, Bella asked if we could have a fire. I wasn’t noncommittal until it was nearing dark. Finally caved.

We got a small but comfy fire going in no time at all. Most of the wood I had ready to burn has been there dating back to the end of last summer. All it took was a little charcoal lighter fluid to get it started. I played tunes through my phone and jambox while Mindy & Bella made smores. I enjoyed a couple pints of Bodhi too.

It had to be near 1030pm when Bella doused the coals with water and we headed in for the night. From bed we watched a little TV, Modern Family, I think. I was asleep in a hurry.

BM'er Day

Happy 52nd Chuck!

Slept late, and once again not getting out of bed until 630am. I was still really sleepy too. Nevertheless, once I completed calisthenics most of the cobwebs were gone. Enjoyed coffee and internet until 730am or so. And then after a quick meditation and a stretch, I headed out the door for a 4.1 mile run.

Fairly chilly for mid July, only 60 degrees under mostly sunny skies. Nice. I ran without a shirt, which is something I've done for most days the last couple weeks. Getting spoiled. Feels awesome. Back from a run near 830am, I leashed up the pug and took her on a walk.

Back at home, I fried a few eggs then headed off to the shower. Left for the work near 920am driving the BM'er for the first time in perhaps a month. Arrived about 15 minutes later.

Settled in and working a few minutes later. Mindy sent a text reminding me that it was Charles' birthday, and then sharing that she made a Friday vet appointment for the pug and a mammogram appointment for herself. I sent a happy birthday text off to Charles.

Stayed busy through early afternoon. Left for a Home Depot run near 115pm. At Home Depot I bought a 3-pack of work gloves for $9.99 - good deal! In addition, I bought weatherproof outlet box cover for the AC receptacle on the deck where our fountain plugs in. There were a couple other small items, too. Right now can't recall what they were.

Back to the office by 2pm. Spent the rest of my day working on monthly reporting. Mindy had a 2pm appointment at Hugh White Honda where she was getting her oil changed and a tire plugged. She sent a text near 330pm sharing that she was still there.

I ended up at the office until 515pm or so. By then our entire floor was a ghost town. Nice drive home in the BM'er. By the time I arrived, Mindy was home from Honda dealership . Got her oil changed and tired plugged. Can’t recall what we did for dinner. Jacob was having another overnight guest, though his mom wasn’t dropping him off until 8pm or so. I was napping in my recliner when I was woken by the sound of air trapped in the outdoor water spigot. Sounds like a pipe’s about to burst. Unaware of any activity out there I rushed around the side of the house only to find Jacob, his buddy and Evan rinsing their feet in the hose. Doing nothing wrong, mind you, just startled me.

Once I was awake, which was now after 8pm, I headed to the deck with my phone and jambox along with a pint of Bodhi. Mindy and I sat outside enjoying the lovely weather while watching all the island kids playing soccer in Trena’s backyard.

Hung out on the deck until 930pm enjoying two pints of Bodhi before heading for bed around 10pm.

Eating Catherine Clark

Slept relatively late, not getting out of bed until almost 630am. Even then I was still really sleepy. Something isn't right. Mindy thinks we all have a touch of the virus plaguing Bella.

Exercise, internet, coffee, meditation, and a stretch

4.1 mile run

2 eggs, Catherine Clark whole wheat toast, fruit for breakfast.

Working across town. Left near 920am.

In and settled by 950am. Somewhat quiet. Got a message from Ken's wife sharing that he suffered a few seizures the night before as well as some painful muscle spasms in his left arm. Was back at Riverside for some testing.

15 minutes later Mindy sent me a text sharing the same news. I sent Lindsey a text asking about the boys baseball games. Last we talked I was certain she shared that their next game was tonight (Wednesday). I wanted to go watch Landon and Olivia play.

It was date night too so I knew Mindy wouldn't be as eager as I to watch the G kids play ball but she agreed to go just the same. At lunch, around 1pm, I made a run to Lowes where I bought some boat grease and concentrated hummingbird food.

Back the office by 2pm. Worked just another 45 minutes before checking my calendar and realizing I needed to be at another campus building for a 3pm meeting. Zipped over there arriving by 250pm. Meeting lasted until 345pm. Wrapped up and headed for home at 4pm all the while knowing I'd need to log back into work once home and tie up a few loose ends.

Arrived home near 430pm. The kids were leaving for dinner with Jimaken despite Bella not feeling so well. She still had a fever but only slight - 99 degrees. I logged into work taking care of the two things needing my immediate attention.

Landon and Oliva's ball game started at 6pm. We left the house near 530pm. Made it 10 minutes early and parked in the exact same spot we did the week prior. Their game was at the diamond closest to the confederate cemetery. Lindsey & Ashley were already there, as was Rocky enjoying a freezer pop from the stands. He had a game the evening prior. Mrs. Dent was there watching her son, too.

Olivia was excited to see Mindy and I in the stands. Landon expressed little if any emotion, but I still know he was happy that we were there. Too cute, both of them. Fun to watch coach pitch baseball. More than once an unsuspecting fielder just let the ball fly nearby without noticing.

Meanwhile, Rocky incessantly begged me to toss the baseball with him. I offered that I would but only after seeing both grand kids bat at least once. Despite not having my own glove, I made good on my promise. The ball Rocky brought was one of those soft baseballs. After throwing for about ten minutes I took him to the concession stand and bought him some nachos. That made him happy.

When the home team came back from the field to bat again, Olivia came out to site on my lap despite Ashley advising that she needed to go back to the bench to sit with her team. Again, too cute! We watched the grand kids bat one more time before heading out. I gave Lindsey some cash to buy Landon the treat of his choice. Ashley said she had money to buy Olivia something.

A week or so prior, I let Ashley borrow our camping dining canopy for the coming weekend's camping trip. I warmed her then and again Wednesday evening that she should do a practice set-up in her backyard. It's not that easy to assemble. I doubted she'd listen. I also asked why she didn't take my advice and plan the camp weekend at Alum Creek in lieu of Deer Creek. Among other amenities, there's a beach right there on site as opposed to the 5 mile drive at Deer Creek.

Left St Mary Mag. near 7pm, and Mindy offered that we make a stop at Barley's. OK, though I was feeling tired again. Not too many cars or folks at Barley's - dog days of summer I suppose. We bellied up to a sparsely populated bar. Just a couple others, Katy, who works there but was in this time as a patron, along with her husband, Rich. Daniel was tending bar. Janet was in also. Pretty sure she was serving. I ordered their flagship pale ale, which for my money is top notch. Mindy, I think, went with the Brew Kettle's chocolate stout. After savoring our beers we ordered food. I went with the Cuban while Mindy ordered a quesadilla.

We both stuck with just the one beer. And I ate only half my sandwich before leaving for home, which by then was already after 8pm. Mindy had one quarter of her quesadilla remaining too. She was certain Jacob would devour it at home. Sure enough, the kids were already home, but Jacob off playing with Evan. But he was home soon enough, and just as Mindy suggested, he promptly devoured what remained of her quesadilla. As for the other half of my sandwich, I ended up eating it myself.

Not much else going on. Off to bed before 10pm.

Dreaded Enterovirus Strikes!

After a lot of sleep, I was up near 620am to cloudy skies and 70 degree temps.

Exercise, internet, coffee, meditation, and a stretch

4.1 mile run

2 eggs, Catherine Clark whole wheat toast, fruit for breakfast.

Worked a little from home then headed across town near 10am.

Stayed busy all day. Didn't take a formal lunch break.

Mindy let me know that Bella was sick. Fever of 101. Sofa surfed all day. Suspecting Enterovirus.

Left for home just after 5pm.

Grilled grouper for dinner. Nice change of pace.

Overwhelmingly sleepy after dinner. Been extra tired last few days.

Woke after 40 minutes. Headed out to replace Mindy's air filters. Both extremely dirty - nasty even. Mindy shared that she likely told Honda her husband would replace but failed to tell me.

She had me check her tires too, after getting low tire warming. Unlike my Accord, her Pilot actually shows which one is in trouble. Checked, and it was low by about 10 lbs psi. On further inspection I could see a nail in the tread.

Checked and filled all four Pilot tires then the same with the Accord. Also realized I hadn't put updated insurance cards in the vehicles. Took care of that too. While I finished up the cars. Mindy spruced up the front flower beds. Before heading in, I helped her collect some of the salvia clippings.

Too bed near 930pm.

Suppose that's Glenn?

Slept well. Mindy tried waking me sometime around 545am presumably to see Glenn off for home. I remember only grunting and rolling over and going right back to sleep. I was up for good at 605am. By then Glenn was already gone.

I exercised then enjoyed coffee at my PC for the next hour or more before meditation, a stretch, and a 4.1 mile run. The weather was gorgeous – sunny and 65 degrees. Headed out the door near 720am. Near the 2.5 mile mark of my run I saw a SW airliner soaring westward across the sky. I figured it had to be Glenn, though I couldn’t be 100% sure. I knew his plane was slated to take-off near 740am.

After my run I made breakfast and packed a lunch. Must’ve been around 830am when I finally headed up for a shower. I took Mindy a cup of coffee too. While brushing my teeth I noticed that the $5 bill I’ve kept in my hair brush basket on my side of sink was inexplicably missing. I bothered me so much that I woke Mindy, sharing that we have a thief in our midst, harsh words, I know.

I showered and dressed over the next 10-15 minutes. Downstairs together, Mindy and I talked about the missing money. With little doubt, we both suspected Bella. After all, I’ve noticed my hair brush out of the basket a few times of late, something I rarely do. I guessed it after one of the many times she’s used our shower. We planned to confront Bella about it at another time. After all, we hadn’t yet decided on the punishment for taking the smoke bombs. Brother!

Not 100% sure what Mindy and the kids had planned, but I think a whole lot of nothing.  I left for the office near 925am. I would’ve driven the BM’er but as nice as it was early on, there was a strong chance of thunderstorms developing during the day.

From the main office, I took a 3 hour online training course then worked on my June monthly report. At lunch time I headed to Wal-Mart and Home Depot. At Wal-Mart, I bought new air filters for the Pilot, just like I got for the Accord two weeks prior. I checked her cabin filter on Sunday. It was chalked full of filthy gunk! While there, I also bought a roll of black duct tape, some spray on turtle wax, and a pack of micro fiber towels, too.

Can’t immediately recall what I bought at Home Depot, nothing big. The afternoon breezed by. Left for home near 5pm. Mindy shared that we had house guests – kids friends. Said we were having chicken wraps for dinner. Save for Joey, one of Jacob’s school friends, the others left shortly after my arrival home. By then we were having scattered downpours.

After dinner, Jacob and Joey headed out to play basketball at Evans. Mindy and I took the opportunity to further discuss not only the smoke bomb deal, but also the missing $5 bill. Bella shared that she knowingly took the smoke bombs because she was certain I would say no. She also agreed that it was near stealing, even though I bought them with the intent to enjoy them with the kids. She also quickly admitted taking the $5 bill from our bathroom. Oh boy! As the conversation continued she went to tears, sharing that she knows better but that her mind tells her to do it anyway. Said she can’t control herself. Wow!

Preferring not to doll out punishment when angry, we agreed to think it through a bit more. In the end, we’re after a change in behavior. Jacob & Joey had basketball drills starting at 7pm. Mindy ran them there while Bella stayed home with me. While they were away I finished my latest Kindle book and then took a hard nap. By the time I woke, Mindy was back. From the recliner I ventured to the sofa and the TV where I watched a little TV but fell quickly back asleep.

Mindy went after the boys around 9pm. Still exhausted, I woke and headed straight to bed. Again, I turned on the bedroom TV but only for a sleep aid. I don’t sleep well with the TV on but it helps me fall asleep.

Ivy on me and in my beds

I was up and out of bed around 8am again. Didn’t really want to get up but sleeping past 8am makes me nuts! Once again, dad was over early, or shortly after my waking. He was there to fetch Glenn. Those two made plans to have breakfast with uncle Kenny and possibly even aunt Char. I thought about getting up earlier, running and joining them but didn’t. A leisurely approach to my morning sounded so much better.

It was a cool, overcast morning with even a few scattered sprinkles. After a 3 miles run, I decided to get busy trimming more dead ivy vines from our flower beds. Mindy was still in bed, by the way. Not to be mistaken for May’s effort of raking all the dead ivy leaves from the beds, this exercise was to remove the dead vines that didn’t sprout new growth. To date, we’ve removed most of the dead out front. I started on the east side of the house where I spent maybe an hour. Decided to keep moving. Despite the overcast and cool breeze, I worked up a decent sweat from the high humidity.

Worked my way around the front where I’d previously trimmed away dead but left still more behind. That went fast. Ended up on the west side of the house which had about the same amount needing attention as did the eastside. It must’ve been near noon when Mindy came out to check on me. I could tell that she’d just woken. Slept 13 hours!

I continued the exercise until I was satisfied that most of the dead was out. There are still scattered small branches in the beds but barely noticeable. I’ll get those when weeding. All totaled I managed to fill the 9x12’ tarp full. The dead vines are very light so draggin’ it to the compost pile was a breeze. It’s fair to say that my biggest concern was avoiding another case poison ivy. Once completed, I headed in, washed my arms and hands thoroughly, then gave myself an rubbing alcohol bath with cotton balls.

Just like that it was 3pm in the afternoon. Mindy asked about dinner, and misunderstood my request that we avoid using the 5 or 6 steaks we have in the freezer. She ended up needing to put them back. Instead, we agreed to grill chops and chicken. I read and napped, and then got a shower. By then the clouds had thinned. Glenn and the kids were back home at about the same time, somewhere near 4pm. I was out puttering around the yard when all three showed up.

Glenn had just eaten lunch at Steak N’ Shake. I doubted he would want dinner anytime soon, but then again, Mindy didn’t plan on grilling until 6pm. Glenn shared how his day unfolded. Did in fact meet Kenny and Char for breakfast but then just he and dad headed back to dad’s place where they spent the majority of their time.

Around 630pm, Mindy whipped up a nice dinner – thick pork chops, boneless chicken breast, rice, and salad. I’m thinking it was during dinner that we learned that Bella took the smoke bombs I bought at Kroger to her dad’s without asking. Jacob brought it up, but can’t remember exactly how. Sure enough, I went to the bag only find them missing. When asked, at least Bella came clean. What was most troubling is that she apparently overheard Mindy tell Jacob that he would have to ask me if it was OK to take them to which he opted not. It was after that when Bella simply decided to take matters into her own hands. Mindy and I were bothered by the notion that she would take without asking. At the same time, we found a pair of very ornate earrings in the laundry room, to which when asked, Bella shared that she found them in the creek. In the creek! Really? Hard to believe, especially when one can hardly count on any of her stories these days. For the time being, we left sleeping dogs lie.

Spent what remained of the evening enjoying some key lime pie for dessert then chatting a little with Glenn. Somewhat late that afternoon Glenn realized that his flight for home was leaving not at 1030am as he once shared but instead at 740am Monday morning. Dad was aware and planned to be at our place by 6am. Very sleepy, I begged off for bed around 930pm fully anticipating being up to see Glenn off in the morning despite a new rise time of about 610am these days.

It's a Miracle ... Prairie Dog

It was Saturday but didn’t necessarily feel like it. Of course that had everything to do with it being the long 4th of July weekend. No kids in the house, so it was pretty quiet. I was up at 815am, which is late by compared to historics. Shortly after my waking and heading downstairs, my mom was up and downstairs as well. I hooked her up with a cup of coffee – black with sugar then off to my PC for a while.

It was too long before dad was at the door, there to pick-up Glenn and mom for breakfast and then driving mom to Logan where she made arrangements to meet Ronald, who was picking her up in her own car. I’m pretty sure that I headed out on a run before they all departed. I know this for certain, I ran three miles in lovely conditions – a sunny, warm, but little humidity.

Helped carry mom’s gear to dad’s minivan. Before the three of them pulled away I clarified when they might return since Mindy and I planned to kayak somewhere later that afternoon. Glenn shared that they’d likely be gone for most of the afternoon. It was nice to have a quiet house again, just Mindy and I. Shortly after my return from a run I hopped in the Pilot and headed to Strader’s on Riverside Dr. figuring to pick-up some annuals to replace those damaged by Jacob & Rocky while they played from the deck Thursday evening. I wasn’t too thrilled with them but by this point the best thing I could do was replace and forget. Mindy already apologized for letting Jacob play soccer from the deck after I warned her that this might happen. And the only reason he was doing so is because she grounded him for poor behavior. From my perspective, I was the one punished.

Strader’s was surprisingly busy, but not so much that I could navigate the aisles. I surprised as I was with the crowd, I was even more surprised with the inventory. Lots of flowers on hand. I bought a few tuberous begonias (think giant flowers) to replace the damaged Reiger’s. I also bought a hanging basket of vinca (not the vines but rather the annual flowers). The flowers resemble impatiens, but they’re sun lovers. Was in and out and on my way home after 15 minutes.

Carried the flowers to the deck then headed inside where Mindy was busy cleaning. I fetched a few plating tools then headed to the deck to sink the new flowers. After replacing the damaged flowers I fed all the deck based annuals with Miracle Grow. Must’ve filled my watering pail a dozen times. It was either that or attach the sprayer attachment which wastes fertilizer. Mindy came out to check out my handy work. She really likes the large vinca pot.

After watering and fertilizing all the plants Mindy made sandwiches. It was good. We then discussed our options for kayaking. I went to my PC to check out some options. First, I scoped out how we might access the Scioto River downtown. Aside from docks at Griggs and then at the Whittier St peninsula, there wasn’t a whole lot of info where one might put in kayaks. In addition to a put-in, we were concerned about parking our Pilot safely too.

I then checked out Prairie Oaks Metro Park. That looked like the best option for the day. After all, we’re still kayaking rookies. Prairie Oaks three kayaking ponds, two of which are quarries – 80ft deep. I read an article about a 21 year old college kid that drowned there this past March while kayaking. For some reason he was out there without a live vest with water temps in the 30s and capsized after trying to get his dog back in the kayak. Sad.

I shared the venue with Mindy. She agreed to head there. We’ve been there before and liked the park a lot. It’s been five years or so since we were last there. I readied the kayaks and our safety gear then packed a small cooler with water and Gatorade. We left the house near 1pm with the kayaks in the back of the Pilot, just like the day we brought them home from Dick’s.

Headed out Roberts Rd to Walker Rd. to Carter Rd. Easy drive and lovely afternoon – about 78 and sunny. Once at Prairie Oaks we settled on the double pond and parked fairly close to the put-in. We had to carry the kayaks maybe 100’ from the lot to the water. No biggie.

The water was cool but clear. After kayaking in our pond, it was nice to be in clean, clear water. Put-in went without a hitch. We agreed to paddle around the rim. Very nice! We paddled around the rim of both connecting ponds which entailed going under a low foot bridge. We saw turtles, small fish, herons, and geese. Maybe 6 or 7 other kayaks/canoes out. My guess is that we were out on the water for about 90 minutes, which was a decent workout, especially for our first paddle away from home. By the way, we used our water bags, and I doubly secured my cell phone in a Ziploc baggie inside an old water proof fannie pack. I took a few pics carefully. With the kayaks, I’ll likely put my waterproof Olympus camera back in service.

Getting out and loading for home was straight forward and simple. Both of us were really tired. And I was especially thirsty. Home near 3-330pm, we made a snack then took a nap. I’m guessing that dad and Glenn were back near 5pm. While got in the shower, I ventured down to chat with them. Mindy and I had already roughed out plans to do dinner at CBC, her preference. We incited both dad & Glenn to join us but both declined. In fact, dad headed home around 545pm. Glenn said he was too tired and felt grossly under slept, just like the rest of us. It would be just Mindy and I.

Thinking it was near 630pm when we headed out. CBC wasn’t that crowded. We got one of the three up front parking spots in the main lot. Vince was working the bar, which made us very happy. He might be the most attentive bar tender ever. I know he’s Mindy’s favorite. Just after we arrived, Hilary and Ian showed up. We met the two of them last winter, I think. She’s a 1st grade school teacher, too. He’s a financial advisor.

They didn’t have any Bodhi, but I didn’t mind. Heck, we have a full, unopened growler in the fridge at home. I went with the Ohio Brew Kettle Kitka – a Chocolate, Coconut stout. Good, not over powering. We enjoyed some pretzel bread but no risotto balls. For my second beer I ordered a CBC IPA. As for dinner, we shared a side salad which is more than enough then ordered separate entrees. Mindy went with the NY strip special. I went with the Walleye over risotto. Yum! My dinner was delicious. Neither of us could finish. We took the rest home. Mindy got the check.

Yawned all the way home. Guessing it was near 930pm. Glenn was up and fooling around online and playing guitar. Mindy headed promptly to bed while Glenn and I enjoyed a couple more beers from the deck with our guitars. Like weeks past, I was really grooving after 3 or 4 beers. Kenny eventually walked down encouraging me to play more. Said we sounded great. Thing is, we were just winging it, no particular song.

Maybe 15 minutes passed before Teri stopped down too. Said she wanted to say goodbye to Glenn, whose company she always enjoys. We hung together for maybe another half hour or so before the two of them left. Thinking it was near midnight when I finally called it a night and headed for bed.

Dependent on Independence

 

Per the usual, I was the first one up, and that was somewhere near 8am. Landon and Bella were both asleep in the family room, Landon in the big chair, Bella on the sofa. I was careful not to make too much noise making coffee so not to wake them.

I got to enjoy a little coffee and internet time alone before Landon woke around 830am. No surprise, he asked for some coffee. I made him a cup with mostly chocolate milk. It was a cool morning, sunny and 61 degrees. I left for a run near 945am. By then everybody was up and dad was over. I ran three miles.

At some point, dad, mom, and Glenn headed off for breakfast and the cemeteries. Meanwhile, the kids asked to fish. I readied two fishing rods and sent them on their way. It was a lazy late morning and early afternoon. I did take the time to plant the two new zinas that I bought a week ago from Wal-Mart.

Sometime that afternoon we got out the kayaks so the kids could experience the fun. Mindy agreed to take each of them individually on an adventure, she in her purple kayak, and then the kids taking turns on mine. Jacob went first, then Rocky, Landon, and finally Bella. By the time we finished up dad, Glenn, and mom were back.

Mom made mention of wanting to head home. I asked what come of the notion to stay at our place while Glenn was home. I’m thinking she was missing her animals. Midafternoon I decided it was time to cut the lawn, a task I hadn’t completed since the previous Thursday. And given the fact that I fertilized in the last 10 days coupled with all the recent rain, the grass really needed some attention.

I moved the vehicles to the curb then cut with the tractor first. I ran out of gas with just a little tractoring mowing left to go. I asked Mindy if she’d mind running to the gas station to fill my 5 gallon container. She agreed. Before she left, I used the half gallon or so that was left to top off the push mower and put the rest in the tractor. While she was away, I was able to finish all the tractor mowing and even got a good start on the push mowing. Seeing her struggling to carry the five gallons of gas (weights about 37 lbs), I stopped briefly to carry it back to the garage. Thanks dear!

Landon, meanwhile, was sitting patiently on my tractor waiting for me to finish push mowing and trimming with hopes of me pulling him around the yard in the tractor trailer. By the way, I did all the ending using the trimmer rather than stopping and switching to the edger head attachment.

Once finished with the lawn, I couldn’t bear to leave Landon hang. I gave him a ride around the backyard on the tractor sharing the seat with me. The other kids were off playing elsewhere so I decided to let him drive the tractor all by himself. Too cute! I asked that he follow the same path I made driving him around. He did darn good. I think Mindy got a couple photos.

By the time we were done it was just about time for Lindsey to come after the boys. In addition, our kids had already with their dad for the weekend. . By the time I was out of the shower all the kids were gone. Ahhh! Just like that it was me, Mindy, dad, mom, and Glenn. Mindy suggested we grill burgers and eat on the deck. It was a lovely evening for it, sunny but not too hot, about 78 degrees.

I cracked a Widmere Up HEveal IPA just before dinner. In fact, enjoyed a few more before the evening was over. Neighbor Pat stopped over around 6pm or just before we ate. We offered that he eat with us but he had grilling plans of his own. We chatted for a while.

The grilled burgers were delicious. After dinner I enjoyed a few more beers. Sounded like my mom made arrangements for my dad and Glenn to take her home Saturday morning, or at least take her to Logan to meet Ronald. We were all in bed by 11pm.

Working is Germain

When I picked up the boys at St Mary Magdalene I couldn't help but notice that Jesus left his backpack behind.


I was up before 6am to cloudy skies and temps in the 60s. The next two days weren’t expected to escape the 70s. I could do without the clouds but the milder temps sounded heavenly. I was on a run before 8am and ran just three miles, giving myself a mini reprieve from the usual 4 miles.

Initially, I planned to head into the Hilliard office but also planned to take an early lunch to get the Accord to Germain Honda for the previously scheduled 11am A/C service appointment. Busy with work before and after my run, I decided it made more sense to keep working from home until 1020am.

I didn’t bother with a shower either. Instead, I brushed my teeth for a 2nd time, rolled on some deodorant then headed off to the Honda dealership with my laptop and phones near 1015am. I arrived 20 minutes early for my appointment but they took my car right away. I set-up for work in the quiet room complete with comfortable chairs with a small table arm much like old school desks. There was an AC outlet nearby too, so I didn’t have to rely on battery power.

I stayed busy with work for the next couple hours, interrupted somewhere midstream by John, my service writer, letting me know that they found a leak in the return hose and would be replacing it. That made me happy. While working, I overheard another service writer advise another customer that she needed to have her air and cabin filters replaced, which was the same spiel they gave me the week prior. Without much hesitation, she gave them the nod to go ahead and replace them. Once the service writer walked out I shared what I learned last week, which was how easy their replacement is, and how one could save $80 for 5 minutes of effort. She thanked me and went out after her service writer to halt their replacement.  My good deed for the day.

. I’m thinking it was near noon when he came to get me to let me know they were done. I logged off work, packed up my stuff and headed out to sign my car out. John went over once more what they did to resolve the problem. Let me know my car was waiting, running just outside the service garage door. I thanked him for taking care of my car and wished him a happy 4th then headed to my car.

As promised, my car was running and waiting. Instantly noticed that instead of blowing cold air, the Accord was blowing warm air. The fact that it was running meant that it should have been operating efficiently cold. Still, I decided to drive it around the block and rechecked the settings. No change. Nothing but warm air, which was never the symptoms prior. Instead, the air temp was marginal.

I pulled right back into the service garage and asked for John, who was writing a new service order for another customer. I waited until he was finished then let him know that the problem wasn’t fixed and much, much worse. He concurred and took my car immediately back to the service garage after apologizing. I thanked him again for being so attentive then headed right back to the quiet room to log back into work.

This time I was logged in for no more than 10 minutes when John came to get me again sharing that the problem was taken care of. Apparently they left a pressure relief valve loose. He assured me that it was good to go. In fact, he left the hood opened in the service garage for me to inspect, and for him to show me just what they replaced. Good enough. I couldn’t help but notice lots of neon green slime all about my battery and the air filter housing. He confirmed my suspicion. It was dye, which is what they injected into my AC system to find the leak. I guess they forgot to clean it up. John shook his head in disgust of his repair techs oversight and then fetched some cleaner to finish cleaning up their mess.

He also brought his service manager over too, who also apologized. I thanked both for following through and cleaning up the mess. While holding the industrial style cleaner spray can at his side the service manager accidentally hit the trigger spraying the cleaner all over my driver’s side fender. I joked that now they needed to repaint my car.

The AC was plenty cold, by the way. I was pleased provided it stays that way. You never know. By then it was 1pm or just after. I called Mindy to let her know that I was done and on my way home. She had been in touch with Connie McVey making Red, White & Boom arrangements. She’d also been out running errands, including picking up snacks and ice. Before heading home, I stopped at Kroger to fetch some beer, flowers, sparklers, smoke bombs and snaps for the kids.

I exchanged a couple texts with Lindsey, too. From Kroger I headed directly to St Mary Mag. To pick-up Landon and Rocky, who were at base (daycare). We were taking them to R.W.B. with us.

Must’ve been near 2pm when I pulled up at the school. The kids were out front playing in the hose with Stephanie, the granddaughter of Mrs. Carrier, the main care taker at the school’s daycare. Both were very nice. Rocky, Landon and I headed for home with me doing familial impressions during the brief drive. They loved it!

Once at home, I got logged back into work. Not a lot of activity as many folks were already gone for the long holiday weekend. We were expecting Glenn, my mom and dad any time. My mom & Glenn were planning to join us for RWB. Around 4pm my boss sent a note out to his team advising us to log off. I took the queue and headed out to toss the baseball with the kids in the backyard. Just as the forecast promised, the sky was clearing up nicely leading up to boom.

Dad, Glenn and mom pulled up out front sometime before 5pm. Mindy had snacks laid out inside. We hung out inside for a while, planning to head down to northbank park around 630pm, where Darwin & Connie set up camp. Trying not to be rude, I made sure that my mom knew that we’d have to walk a good mile from our parking spot to the fireworks. With her back and knee issues, I just wanted to make sure she knew what was in store. She acknowledged my advice but was insistent on going, which was more than fine. I was worried that mom wouldn’t be able to endure the long walk. I then extended the same invite to dad. He declined.

We left the house near 630pm. I was a tad anxious getting everyone loaded into the car and making sure we had everything we wanted/needed (chairs, blankets, drinks) while also keeping the bulk low given that whatever we took would need to carried for more than a mile.

We parked on Michigan Ave. near Thurber and across the street from APCO windows & doors, which is the same place we’ve parked the last two times. We faced the car north so getting out of there after the
Event would be that much easier. Experience!

Keeping a close eye on Landon was key since we had to walk against fast traffic. Also had to stop numerous times to allow mom to catch up. Rocky found an iPhone along our walk. When he showed Mindy she immediately confiscated it against his desires. It was locked but had a photo presumably of the owner. A few blocks later Mindy encountered a young woman and man walking against the flow and commenting that they’d need to walk back to the car. Mindy felt that the girl looked like the owner of the phone so she butted in and asked if they happened to be looking for a phone. Elation! They were.

Mindy and the others got far ahead of mom and I, after I stayed back waiting for her to catch up. She gave me a little grief about the distance to which I quickly reminded her of what I had shared earlier back at the house, that it was at least a miles walk. Oh boy!

Finally arrived at the northbank park venue. Very crowded, just like the year before. Struggled to find Darwin’s camp but after a couple texts we eventually zeroed in on the spot, which was no more than 100’ from the live music stage. Needless to say, the spot was loud. Our wee ones, Bella, Rocky Landon immediately went off with Connie while we got settled. Judging by looks alone, mom didn’t look at all pleased to be there. The band playing just a 100’ away was really loud. She later shared that she was cold. It was far from the type of weather one might expect on the 4th. I’m guessing that it was in the upper 60s but with a cool breeze. The sky continued to clear up as well.
Mindy and I eventually went off to find the kids and Connie. We found them on the midway of food and games. I’d forgotten just how crowded it gets down there. No exaggeration, the lines for bathrooms and food were at least 200-300 deep. We were going to get the kids some food but the lines were much too long – over an hour’s wait. No thanks!

Back at our spot the kids played wildly and seemed to be having a ball. We brought limited snacks and drinks which helped ward off their hunger but not much else. Glenn, Mindy, and mom looked a bit glum. Mindy and I joked, asking one another why we thought it a good idea to come down to see RWB. It was then that I broke out the flask of Jack Daniels. Even Mindy partook, which might’ve been a first. I’m guessing she did 4 shots over the next hour or so. Worked like a charm on all of us. Elevated everyone’s mood.

The fireworks started at 10pm sharp and lasted maybe 30 minutes. Just before their start, I hopped over the park’s stone wall and took a pee. What a relief! Meanwhile, both Mindy and Bella had to go too. They opted to hope the same wall, but ventured over to a private party area and used their port-o-potty.

The fireworks were certainly entertaining but I am not so sure that it’s worth the effort getting down there, and that doesn’t even account for the long lines for the bathroom and food. I’d put it right there with the zoo lights. Other than a long walk back to the Pilot, which mom did with little trouble, the trip home was quick. Our strategy definitely pays off. Keeping in mind Glenn’s local preferences, Mindy suggested we hit White Castle on the way home. Why not? All of us were hungry, well, save for Landon who was asleep before we got out of Victorian Village.

Arrived at the Wilson/Broad St White Castle about 15 minutes later. No surprise, already a line of cars ten deep in the drive-thru. We weren’t in a huge hurry, though, so we waited. And by the time we neared the order kiosk there were another 10 cars behind us. Yikes! We ordered three #9s, which each consisted of 20 castles and 3 orders of fries for a total of 60 castles and 9 fries. All that for just under $60. When analyzing the cost, probably not a real value, especially given that we didn’t touch but maybe one order of the fries. So effectively we paid a dollar per burger. Not a deal, but they did satisfy Glenn’s west coast craving, which as Mindy said was the reason.

Between seven of us, we might’ve eaten 40 of the burgers. Bella and Rocky had just a couple each before begging off to bed. I think I had eight. I drank one beer, that’s it. It was after midnight before we knew it. I was tired and ready for bed.

One, Two, Three Strikes You're Out!

Up at 605am. It rained through most of the wee hours but had stopped by daybreak. Headed out for a run near 730am and completed 4.1 miles.

Made my own breakfast then headed up for a shower taking along a cup of coffee for Mindy. She and the kids were heading out to Lake Chactaw to boat with Tara. I’d be working across town again but would need to bail around 115pm to be at an eye appointment in Dublin by 2pm.

I left the house near 915am. Fairly quiet morning. Spent most it working on June’s monthly report. Left the Easton area near 115pm. Nice afternoon – sunny & warm. Made excellent time around 270W to the 161/33 west exit. Dr Mauger’s office is on Post Rd north of the Kroger.

I was 25 minutes early. The staff was quite friendly. Just when they asked me to complete a medical history form I heard Kim calling for me 15 minutes early. The staff told me to disregard filling out the medical history form sharing that Kim would gather the data.

Kim spent about 10 minutes asking me all sorts of medical history questions. She then did a minor eye exam. She commented that the red-out drops that I currently use are bad for my eyes. I made the appointment to see Dr Mauger to learn if there is anything new they can do to address the pterygium.

Dr. Mauger came in 5 minutes later. Very pleasant and seemingly smart. We talked about my condition and then he checked my eyes to confirm the pterygium diagnosis. Explained that surgery isn’t a viable option as the procedure often leaves a bigger problem than it solves, especially in a minor case like mine. He offered that NSAID eye drops might be a better option, which should address the redness and swelling. We talked about the surgical options again a bit more at length and how they now go about it, though I left convinced that I would live with my eyes as they are short of using the drops he prescribed.

I headed straight home, arriving somewhere near 3pm and quickly got reengaged in work. Mindy and the kids were home near 4pm, which was a bit earlier than I anticipated. Over the next hour the kids readied to leave for dinner with Jimaken while I exchanged a few texts with Lindsey where we made plans to go watch Rocky, Landon, and Olivia play their baseball games at St. Mary Mag.

Scattered showers were once again forecasted and threatening the central Ohio area but at the time everything looked to be just north and west of us. We locked in our plans to go watch their games. Jimaken came by to get the kids just after 5pm. Mindy headed for a shower after a day on the lake. She and I left for St. Mary Mag. At 610pm. We didn’t account for Hague Ave. being closed just south of Valleyview Dr. for storm tunnel repairs. We had to take Valleyview to Sylvan and through Westgate. No problem. We arrived just before first pitch.

By our arrival the sky had taken on a rather ominous look. We sat in the bleachers with Mrs. Dent & Lindsey watching Rocky’s game first (his started at 630pm while Landon and Olivia’s game was slated for a 730pm start). We got to see Rocky pitch two innings. He was good, striking out 3 or 4 batters across the two innings. His form and location was excellent but he hurries to a fault, which was no surprise to me. In fact, I noticed more than once he would be in his wind-up even before the batter was in the box.  Let’s just say that patience is not one of his prevalent virtues. Olivia and Ashley showed up near 645pm.

One of the mother’s there watching her son showed us the local radar which had us right in the path of a coming storm. With the sky threatening heavy rain and the onset of sprinkles, Mindy and I made the call to leave. Lindsey, Olivia and Landon were disappointed, but I assured them their games would get called. And by the time we got to our car the sky let loose. Never did see/hear any lightning or thunder but it poured hard for the next 20-30 minutes.

Now about 7pm, Mindy suggested we stop at Dirty Franks. I anticipated she might suggest that but it simply didn’t sound good to me. Before I could offer my idea she offered Dragon Palace, which was what I was going to offer. Perfect. Just a couple miles from St. Mary Mag., we were there in no time flat. Mindy intimated that we eat in but I offered that we get take-out instead. She acquiesced. We ordered won-ton soup, egg rolls, beef friend rice, and sweet & sour chicken. Took just a couple minutes to prepare. We were home by 730pm.

Enjoyed our Chinese food while another heavy rain storm raged on outside. The kids got home from dinner with Jimaken near 8pm. Bella was especially thankful that we had a fortune cookie awaiting upon her return. My mom called and left a VM around 9pm to share that she wanted to come stay at our house through the 4th if it was OK with us. I called her back to let her know that it would be fine. She would simply come back on Thursday afternoon with Glenn and dad. Off to bed before 10pm.

No More Justin

Hot steamy morning under mostly sunny skies. However, despite the lovely start, there were strong thunderstorms in the day’s forecast. Ran 4.1 miles. I’d be working across town and needed to be there no later than 1045am since we had a special meeting planned.

To that end, I made it a point to be there no later than 10am. As such, I left the house at 930am. No sooner did I get logged in when I learned that our 11am meeting was canceled. I used the two hours leading up to our standing 1pm meeting to catch up on some dangling to-dos.

Sent Mindy a text around 1130am letting her know that we could do Barley’s for dinner. She asked earlier before I left for work, but I wasn’t ready to think about dinner at the time. 1pm came around quickly, and our meeting lasted about 50 minutes. Spent the rest of the afternoon tackling a number of escalated issues. I didn’t leave the office for home until near 5pm.

Talked with Mindy on my drive home. Nailed down plans to do dinner at Barley’s. Traffic was tight, and somewhere between Dublin & Hilliard I was nearly involved in a pile up after a fairly instant stop. Three or four cars behind me had to abandon their lane in favor of the median to avoid rear ending the car behind me. Got home around 540pm.

Wasn’t home too long before I changed into shorts and a t-shirt and left for Barley’s. Not too many cars in the lot. As a result, we got perhaps the closest spot to the entrance. Inside we took up refuge at one of the two community tables. This, by the way, marked our first visit since Justin’s departure. Thinking our server’s name was Todd, and I am sure that I’ve never seen him there before despite his insistence that he’s served us before. He was pleasant enough. Learned that he knew and dated our friend, Stella when the two worked together at Miller’s Columbus Ale house.

I enjoyed a Centennial while Mindy went with a porter. The kids ordered Dr. Pepper and fries. And like we often do, we ordered a side of buffalo sauce too, but Todd brought salsa instead. He corrected his mistake and we used both. I ordered the soup of the day and KC wings. The soup was hot & sour brisket. It was decent. Mindy ordered the SW salad, Jacob a wrap, Bella, geesh, I can’t recall. I ordered a 2nd Centennial as well. Everybody finished their meal well ahead of me finishing my 2nd beer.

Left for home around 8pm. Sky looked threatening but still no rain, though it wasn’t an hour later when a heavy storm struck our side of town. Quiet on the home front. Off to bed before 10pm.