The Lawn, Ashley, CBC & Oreo

 

I woke Saturday sometime close to 745am and quickly brushed my teeth then headed downstairs. It was sunny and looked fairly warm. I started a pot of Starbucks coffee then briefly stepped out onto the deck to take in a little sunshine and fresh air.

I played around online waiting for the coffee to brew. It didn’t take long, maybe 10 minutes. Soon I was enjoying coffee and following up on some work related emails. Things were quiet after last evenings barrage of escalations. Shortly after 9am I did a stretch then headed out for a run. By the way, I hadn’t heard a peep out of Mindy when I left the house.

It was a lovely morning for a run, only about 64 degrees. I ran the abbreviated three mile weekend trail returning home around 940am. Our bedroom door was still pulled closed. I knew then that Mindy was still sleeping. I emptied the dehumidifier then poured another cup of coffee. Mindy and the pug were up within 15 minutes of my return.

We spent a little time on the deck drinking in the sunshine with me eventually walking Eiknarf in the back 40 of the yard. We walked down and played with the neighbors dogs for a few minutes as well. Mindy agreed to deadhead the hanging geraniums while I repaired the feeder hose to the hose caddie that attaches to the back deck.

With such lovely weather I was thinking that we’d either go for a hike or bike ride. In fact, we had loosely discussed going to Yellow Springs. It would’ve been an ideal day for it with sunshine and an expected high of only 80 degrees. I was a little surprised when Mindy shared that she wanted to get some chores done around the house and also wanted to go shopping at Kohl’s. She said she didn’t want to bike ride. Hmm? I changed my plans to include lawn chores, though I joked that I was purposefully saving them for Sunday when Lindsey and the boys were planning to come over to do their laundry. I woofed down a ham & cheese sandwich before heading out to work on the lawn. I decided to do the tractor piece first just for a change. I also cut far more with the tractor than I usually do. In fact, I cut most of the front with it, which is something I rarely do. The front lawn was especially lush. I had to go over my mowing tracks twice to mulch up the large clumps of clippings.

Push mowing was fairly simple, and probably no more than 15-20 minutes worth in total. That’s compared with the usual 45 minutes. I took the time to do everything including the whacking, edging, and blowing. Mindy came out while I was weed-whacking and shared that Ashley wanted me to call her. She was at the auto dealer and needed me to cosign. I stopped what I was doing and gave Ashley a call.
In short, said she found a great car at Toyota West with her grandpa, and while they applauded her good credit, they wanted her to have a co-signer because she lacked any substantive credit history. I asked for the details of the deal, a 2010 Corolla S with 40K miles. She said the out-the-door price was $15200. The payments would be near $300 per month. I didn’t like the deal, already knowing that we could get a brand new Civic for the same or less per month. I shared that at 40K she’d soon be needing tires, brakes, and coolant, etc., not to mention the manufactures warranty being gone. I wasn’t liking the deal. Told her to tell the guy to knock another S2K off, but even then, I wasn’t in favor of the deal. We left it at that. Told her to shop around a little more.

I finished my yard work knowing full well what she’d do. She’d find a way to do the deal she’d already worked up. After another few minutes on the lawn I headed inside sharing with Mindy how our conversation went. I then went to the internet and checked for deals on a brand new 2012 Corolla S. Sure enough, I could get her in a brand new model with $0 down for $320 per month. I tried calling her back but she didn’t answer. I then sent her a text with the info. I was willing to cosign for the new deal.
I headed back out to the yard to finish the lawn. At some point Mindy shared that her mom was going shopping with her. After finishing the lawn I sprayed weeds with the Weed-B-Gone still in the pump sprayer from late spring. I then mixed up a batch of ant/bug killer (Diazinon) and sprayed the foundation all the way around the house. The exterminator we used said he’d come back and spray again but that it would be another $160. No thanks!

Next up I trimmed the ivy already growing vigorously back over the stucco. Mindy came out to share that she talked with Ashley and that she was buying the 2010 Corolla on her own without a cosigner. Stubborn! I was a little disappointed and proud in the same breath. I didn’t like the deal or the thought process, too knee jerk. On the other hand, I liked the fact that she’s finally growing up, making major purchasing decisions, establishing her credit.

Gloria and Mindy left for Kohl’s I’m guessing near 2pm. I finished trimming the ivy then headed inside for a much deserved break. After cooling off and enjoying some Gatorade, I headed out to wash the Accord. I had just started washing the car when I got a work call on my blackberry. A customer wanted/needed my help. I spent an hour or so washing my car but then an hour looking into the work matter. Bummer!

Mindy was home from her shopping spree around 500pm, best guess. I shared all I’d gotten done during her absence while she showed me some of her purchases. We discussed dinner plans, eventually Mindy offering that we do appetizers at 229 and then beers at CBC. I suggested we simply do CBC. Mindy liked that idea too. It was already near 6pm and I hadn’t yet had a shower, though I headed up to get one a few minutes later.

We left for CBC around 7pm driving the Accord. We called Ashley along the way to ask if she finalized her deal on the 2010 Corolla. She did. Said she’d bring it by on Sunday to show us. Arrived at CBC a few minutes later. The lot was only about ¾ full. There were maybe 8-10 tools available at the bar. We took two along the glass wall by the patio. I could see the Reds game on the corner TV. Vince and Emily were tending bar. They were busy, but not too busy to fetch us both drinks. Vince poured me a Bodhi without asking. He waited for Mindy to order. She went with wine, already having had a glass while at home. He brought us some bread too. Yum!

We talked about our dinner options while perusing a menu. Mindy seemed settled on steak. While we mulled it over Mindy asked if they would make us some risotto balls. Sure thing! They were out of this world delicious! We eventually settled on our menu options. Mindy went with the steak as suspected and I opted for the shaved prime rib sandwich. In lieu of fries I asked for the green beans.

The Reds, while on another tear and winning the 1st game of a day/night double-header, were trailing by as many as 5 runs in the 2nd game. It wasn’t looking good. First time trying the shaved prime rib sandwich. It was good. Pilfered some of Mindy’s steak while she was busy chatting with the guy sitting next to her. All during dinner Mindy and I exchanged numerus text messages with Bella, who claimed she was sad and bored. We asked why she wasn't playing with their new rabbit, Oreo (see pic above). Before requesting our check, Mindy ordered a growler of Bodhi to take home. She paid the bill.

On the drive home we talked about hanging with the neighbors. It looked like Chrissy & Kenny were up and hanging, but we could also hear the Shultz’s making some noise. We headed over to Chrissy & Kenny’s first after pouring ourselves each a Bodhi. We took the pug along too.

Hung with the neighbors for about 30 minutes. Teri was down too. Said Mike and Evan were in Canada with his parents. She and Emily didn’t go. Mindy must’ve had quite the buzz, as she stepped out on the deck to share a cigar with Kenny. Every now and again I get the urge to smoke one but then remember that nasty taste the next morning. Nope – no thanks!

As we walked home from the neighbors we decided to pour ourselves another Bodhi then walked over to the Shultz’s. I was a little surprised that Mindy was agreeable to another visit. Three of Pat & Lisa’s kids were there, Jamie, Max, and Alena. Jamie’s soon to be husband, Paul was there too along with their 6- month old son, Oscar. Jamie & Paul left shortly after we arrived. I hope we didn’t drive them away with our crude humor. :)

I’m thinking that we were there for about an hour. Mindy got what sounds like a good lead on a new house cleaner. It’s usually Lisa declaring that she’s heading off to bed, or else she quietly disappears. This time, however, Pat declared that he needed to slip off to bed, but welcomed us to hang with Lisa. They were expecting his parents for breakfast around 9am. It was near midnight, we opted to call it a night and headed for home and bed.