Am I really 47?

Everybody joined the welcome party. I didn’t miss a beat. I was up and going at it by 5:40am. Mindy could hardly take it. :) Kidding – I was going at my morning exercises. I had an extra skip in my get along due in part to the thought of my new grand daughter and all the positive energy she brings into the world. I readied like any morning and soon was at the office doing what I do best – working hard. I had a very busy day with three scheduled meetings sprinkled amongst everything else I had to accomplish. All of that made the day fly by. My run was tempered by a gloomy forecast but at least no rain. The afternoon went very fast. The day was done before I could hardly catch a breath. Mindy knowing that I’d want to visit my new grand daughter again today, made alternative child care arrangements for tonight’s choir practice. Her friend Tara and her son Chris would come over and watch Jacob and Bella while she sang and I visited Olivia and Ashley. Before all of that, however, Mindy had made some homemade hot wings. They were extra delicious! I cleaned up our mess in a hurry, helped with the kids bath, then headed out for the hospital. On my way, I talked with a former Lead Engineer of mine who’s contemplating coming back to work for me. We talked about the current environment and the fit. When I arrived at the hospital, Ashley’s friends were just leaving. It was now just Ashley, Olivia, and me. I held Olivia for about 1.5 hours in part so Ashley could get a break and simply because I wanted to. She’s so adorable! She was good the entire time. Some time near 9:00pm my dad and brother Bobby showed up unannounced. I was glad they stopped in. They got to hold and see our new gift. I could tell it made Ashley happy. Bobby and wife are expecting a bundle of their own in just 6 short weeks – baby Bob Evans Wright. We stayed until almost 10pm. I was tired. Ashley fed Olivia just before we left and I snapped several pics. She’s expecting to check out tomorrow AM. On my way home I called my mom to give her the news. I had forgotten to let her know until my dad mentioned it. When I arrived home the house was quiet and asleep. I spent a little time making sure things were in order hen hopped in bed. Mindy was still awake. We chatted about our night and then fell asleep a short time later.

Olivia's here!!!

Today, Tuesday, October 17th, 12noon Baby Olivia arrived weighing in at 6lbs 1oz. and only 17.5" long. Her head was 13" ( a rather small pumpkin). :) Tuesday began like most other Tuesday’s and for that matter, like most other work days. However, unlike all other Tuesday’s this one will be forever embedded in memory as the day my third grandchild, Olivia Taylor Wright was born. She joined the world at exactly 12 noon. She’s a mere 17.5 inches long and weighs only 6lbs 1 oz. She is very pretty and so far very quiet and unassuming like her mommy. Mindy and I shuffled our schedules to allow daughter Lindsey an opportunity to visit Ashley and Olivia after work by watching Lil’ rocky. Lindsey in turn watched Jacob and Bella while we visited later. In all the excitement I almost for got that this was our 13 month anniversary, too. I stopped on my way home and bought Mindy and Ashley flowers. I bought Mindy large white roses and then bought Ashley a batch of orange mini-tea roses. I was excited about going to the hospital to visit my new grand daughter. She was staying in room 680 West. We were pointed in the right direction by a kind older woman (probably 80 years of age) working in the gift shop. She not only walked us to the right hallway, she gave us each a large Musketeer candy bar. When I thanked her for taking us, she quipped that she was to old to “take me”! I was flabbergasted! We eventually found our way to Olivia’s room. There she was with her mommy and a couple of Ashley’s life long friends. Amanda Schirtzinger and Brittany. I remember both girls from Ashley’s kindergarten class. I held Olivia almost immediately and so did Mindy. She’s a quiet bundle of joy. We snapped many pics of the experience. We visited for about 1.5 hours. Before leaving I called my dad to inform him. Once we arrived home I posted pics of Olivia on my blog immediately. Went to bed within an hour after arriving home.

Are you ready for some football?

I rolled out of bed under a dark sky full of clouds but at the time, no rain. I guess you could say the sky was fitting for a Monday. It was 5:40am by the time I had my toes neatly tucked under the lip of the sofa and began grunting out my sit-ups. I could see that the wind was cranking up outside as evidenced by the swaying weeping willow tree. As I walked Ykraps I determined that it wasn’t going to be the nice fall day they had one promised it be. Back at home I made some coffee for Mindy and I and delivered hers bedside. Again, she is so spoiled. Downstairs I spent about ten minutes meditating. I needed it sorely. At 6:30am I had to get on with my routine so not to fall too far behind schedule. I whipped through the lunch & breakfast prep process and soon had a piping hot breakfast ready for myself and Mindy. And once again, she is so spoiled! Soon the kids were downstairs enjoying a little breakfast and readying themselves for school, too. As usual, Mindy and the kids departed close to 7:15am leaving me alone to shower, dress, and sing at the top of my lungs. I left for work around 7:50am and battled unusually heavy traffic on the freeway. I arrived at work by 8:05am. The pace of my work day picked up quickly. We had four new hires starting today and there was lots to do to get them going. We managed through without any trouble. I left for a run at 12:50pm. The temperature was barely 53 degrees and the sun was obscured by clouds. It was chilly. I ran in shorts, a long sleeved run shirt, and thin pullover wind shirt. That was just about right. What was most notable was the extreme wind blowing out of the south west. What a difference once it was at my back on the return. After a shower I returned to eat my packed lunch. I was hungry and made quick work of my food supply. The pace of the afternoon was fast and furious. I could hardly believe that it was 5:00pm but it was. This was a Mindy Monday, which meant no kids until 7pm. The house was calm, clean, and organized upon my arrival. Mindy was waiting with a smile. We walked Ykraps together even though it began to sprinkle. When we returned we decided to not make a big dinner and instead eat a couple of hot dogs – no buns. But don’t think for a minute that I didn’t ingest some carbs. After my hot dogs I enjoyed a huge brownie. Yummy! We spent the next 15 minutes chatting in the living room until we heard the kids return. As expected, the house went from peaceful to chaotic in a matter of minutes. Without the noise one would never appreciate the peace & quiet. Jacob walked in sporting a new haircut. His dad was kind enough to address the problem b taking him to have it done. Jim told us that Jacob tried getting out of it by saying he didn’t feel well. In fact, Jacob even called Mindy from dinner to try it out. Mindy didn’t buy it. Even though I like Jacob’s hair long, it looked really good. They did a nice job. Soon it was tub time. While Mindy gave the kids a scrub, I blogged and surfed. Minutes later I was beckoned to Jacob’s bedroom for the nightly read and tuck. The kids went down fast. They were asleep by the time we got back downstairs. It often amazes me how fast they fall asleep. We tuned the television to the Monday Night Football game and built a fire. The rain was coming down fairly heavy. Mindy rubbed my back for about 30 minutes making all gone with my knots. I was excited about tonight’s game because the Bears were playing. I hate the Bears and always root for them to lose. They are supposed to be the best of the best this year. We’ll see. By halftime, the Arizona Cardinals had made them look silly and were up 20-0. That’s as much as I saw even though I joined the game later from our bedroom. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow and as quickly as the kids.

Sunday was my guess

I slept like a rock, and when I finally woke and rolled over I was surprised to find that I was flying solo. That’s right! Mindy was already up and out of bed, and by the sound of it, fully engaged in the unfolding morning. It was 8am sharp when I leaped to my feet, brushed my teeth, and meandered down the stairs. Mindy had begun making blueberry muffins for the kids. What a wonderful aroma. The Starbucks coffee didn’t hurt either. As I always do, I largely ignored the sweet smells and instead focused my immediate attention on my workout routine. I did my usual 55 sit-ups, 55 push-ups, and finished with 40 curls. Before it was 8:15am I leashed up Ykraps for our morning walk. Our walk was a pleasant one as the sun was shining brightly and the temperature was mild as compared to many recent mornings. I made and enjoyed a cup of coffee upon my return. Mindy asked what was on my agenda and if I wanted to attend church. I had no real agenda but didn’t want to attend church. Instead, I was happy to have a leisurely day that encompassed little more than a run, a few miscellaneous chores and then some football. After Mindy left for church I readied for my run. I ran inside the subdivision, which seemed quite peculiar. I was back home by 10:35am where I spent the next ten minutes cooling down and surveying the yard and the fruit of yesterday’s labor. I feel really good about what I accomplished out of doors yesterday. I am about a month ahead and actually did work in the flower beds that I typically do in early spring. I guess the storm that toppled most of my flowers was the impetus for that. Back inside I choked down a few pieces of cheese & fruit. I then decided to work on the cable outlet in the guest room again only this time starting in the attic where the wiring scheme would be easily viewable save for the insulation. (Breaking news: as I type this update on Tuesday, 12:37pm EDT, Oct 17th I received a call that Ashley gave birth to a little girl at noon sharp. Welcome to my world Olivia! I love you!!!). I hadn’t been in the attic since I wired the additional outlet in that same room. That was Christmas Day 2001 – I think. I was almost worried what I might find up there. In the past five years I have had a new roof put in place as well as new trim boards. The old trim was falling off and allowing birds and other small critters easy access to my home from the outdoors. Popping open the hallway access revealed nothing out of the ordinary save for the tell tale signs of a new roof (lots of roof grit lying atop the white fluffy insulation). As I followed the cable TV wires I also gave the attic and roof a thorough inspection. Everything checked out OK! As I followed the CATV wiring it all came back to me how I wired in the new outlet. That made converting it back easy. I had simply spliced it through behind the original wall plate. From there it went back up into the attic and then down into the new wall cavity. After leaving the attic I made quick work of the conversion in the room. We now have CATV service available to our bedroom guests without a wire running across the floor. After that small chore I picked some tomatoes from the ever producing tomato plants. For the next half hour I updated Friday’s blog entry and then took to reading more of Deepak Chopra’s interpretation of the Kama Sutra until Mindy arrived home. Mindy and I found ourselves with a few hours of rare peace and quiet. The kids went to Mindy’s mom’s after church and asked to stay for the afternoon. We took a long afternoon nap while watching the Bengals football game. Come 3:30pm I rose from bed and took a much needed shower. I dressed in some comfy clothes that would be appropriate for Sunday dinner. We left for Gloria’s just before 4pm. I took my camera along and took a handful of pictures while driving (see attached). Great Western, Holly Hill. We arrived at Gloria’s just after 4pm and were warmly greeted by the children. Everyone was present this evening except for Craig and Jeff, who were in Washington DC for pleasure. I know the trip included a Babs concert. Mindy’s niece, Julie, who lives in DC was in town for the Columbus Marathon and was walking around a little stiff legged. I was impressed that she was up and walking around, though. I couldn’t wait for dinner. We were having pork chops, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Finally, we sat for dinner and the food was as good as advertised. After allowing our food to digest for about thirty minutes, it was time for dessert. We had three selections: chocolate chip cookies, fudge, and quadruple chocolate brownies that I baked and brought along. I had two brownies and about four cookies. I stayed away from the family favorite – the fudge- because I don’t care for peanut butter fudge. Never have. Needless to say, I was stuffed. After a little social time it was past our usual departure time. We loaded up the Trooper and headed for home at 7:25pm. Immediately upon our arrival I took Ykraps on his evening walk. Jacob joined me. We had a nice little walk. When we returned, Mindy got the kids ready for bed and soon called on me for the family read & tuck. As always, I obliged. After the kids were in bed Mindy and I tuned into Sunday Night football – The Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders. Oakland looked terrible. To bed by 9:30pm.

Where's Olivia?

I slept like a baby all night Friday waking only once to pee and then again around 7am to take a couple of preventative Advil. I stayed in bed until almost 9am getting the rest I needed and deserved. The price of sleeping late meant that there would be no peace while carrying out my morning routine. Everyone was up and moving about – Lindsey, Lil’ Rocky, Mindy, Jacob, and Bella. I pushed through my exercises all the while trying to ignore the distractions. My walk with Ykraps was a pleasant one albeit a little cold. I poured myself a cup of coffee to get my juices flowing and then took to the computer mostly to avoid the noise and crowd. The kids were all eating French toast at the table and being a bit noisy. I decided to be productive and begin blogging Friday. In the back ground I could hear bits and pieces of Mindy’s conversation with Lindsey. Lindsey’s logic is best described as childlike. There’s very little adult mindedness to it. To hear some of her viewpoints is enough to put me over the edge. I recognize that that is my issue to deal with. For now, I manage it best by avoiding it. Mindy talked with me and asked how I would feel about her offering to go help Lindsey clean her apartment. I thought that was fine but was not too excited about the prospect of being left at home with the three kids given my list of to do’s. Mindy calmed my fears by agreeing to take the kids along. God bless Mindy. I left for my run sometime around 10am and took the more scenic Trabue Rd. route. When I returned Mindy began gathering cleaning supplies to take along to Lindsey’s. She was armed with almost everything one would need to tidy up including the vacuum & swifter. Suddenly, I found myself with some peace and tranquility. I moved into project mode almost immediately. I planned on not only addressing the lawn chores but also doing landscape winterization, which included trimming/pruning all the shrubs, thinning and trimming the English ivy, clearing all the dead debris tucked amongst the front beds. For the next 2.5 hours I edged, trimmed, thinned and pruned. I drug a full tarps worth of yard debris to the back compost pile. Next, I mowed the lawn and then blew the clippings and trimmings off the walk and drive. That work took me right up until the opening kick-off of the Buckeye game. The game started slow but the Buckeyes finally made Michigan State look like most other 2006 opponents- inept. At half time Jacob and I went out back to further thin the dead thistle and brush blocking more valuable composting space at the end of my property. We did a thorough job in about fifteen minutes. Mindy gave us a holler when the third quarter began. After the game ended, Mindy headed off to the grocery, I think in part to get some peace and quiet of her own peace as well as to restock our dwindling food supply. She really wasn’t gone too long though. She was back before dark. After she returned and we carried in all the groceries, I took Ykraps on his much needed walk. Soon after Mindy finished putting away the groceries, she had the kids in the tub getting ready for bed. In the meantime, I watched a little Lawrence Welk while waiting for the Michigan game to begin. Just before 8pm Mindy requested I join in for the family read and tuck-in process. I gladly obliged. Mindy and I returned to the downstairs. I poured myself a glass of pumpkin ale and Mindy a glass of wine while we began enjoying the Penn State/Michigan game. Through the evening I had two more beers, a Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale and then a Columbus Pale Ale. Mindy wanted to hit the sack early for not feeling 100%. We went to bed after halftime - somewhere close to 9:30 or 10pm.

no more summer left in the season

I was eager to engage and fully participate in the conscious world beginning at roughly 5:30am. And more than ever, I was ecstatic that it was finally Friday. As I began pushing through my calisthenics I caught myself wishing that the work day were already over. Sadly, I have been doing that often even though I know that's like wishing part of one's life away. Of late, I feel a bit like Herbie - a mis-fit. Mindy was up a little earlier than usual as was Jacob. By the time I returned from walking Ykraps and took her some coffee, she was already playing in the shower. I left it on the bathroom counter and went about the rest of my morning routine. Over night we had another light frost. The temperature dipped to 32 degrees. The upside was that we were blessed with clear skies and the promise of a brilliant autumn day ahead. After making my lunch and Mindy her snack, I went about making some scrambled eggs and fruit for both of us. After we finished our breakfast Mindy went to start her mini-van after learning it was caked in icy frost. I cleaned up the breakfast mess and headed up for a shower. Soon, Mindy and the kids were on their way and I was reaping the rewards of a hot, steamy shower. I wore my much broken in jeans that were lying in the closet on the floor. I've worn them about 5 or six times. They're very comfortable like that. I backed out of the driveway close to 7:50am and was at work by 8:05am. The morning was pleasant but fast paced, as usual. I headed off to the fitness center for my run at 12:50pm. I bundled in my light winter running gear with music playing in my ears. The wind was stiff and consistent blowing strongly out of the southwest. It made a huge difference once I had its full force at my back. After my shower I decided to run a quick errand instead of hurrying back to the office. I got in the Trooper and drove to Sam Ash Music on Morse Rd. to look at hard shell guitar cases. I have been wanting one to enable safe travel for my guitar. I found one that I liked for $69. Sadly, the sales dude said that they didn't have one for dreadnaught guitars in stock, but that they did have a "much better case" for only $30 more. My choice was to order one online and wait or go ahead and take the up-sale bait. I asked to see the "better case". I liked it. It was definitely strong and probably way more guitar case than I'd ever need but I went ahead and made the purchase. Now my guitar can travel wherever with me as long as I keep the number of bags I travel with to a minimum (for me that's never been easy). I was back at the office by 3pm. I was gone an hour almost exactly. I spent the afternoon working through a couple of escalations which made the time fly by. I forgot to mention that Mindy called while I was traveling to work this morning to let me know that Lindsey had called on her way to work to ask if she could spend the night at our house tonight. Mindy and I agreed. I remember thinking when I saw the missed call from Lindsey and then an immediate call from Mindy that Ashley might be in labor. Nope! As I was preparing to leave for the day one of my engineers stopped in to talk. We talked until 5:30pm. By then, I was more than eager to head home and have a weekend. When I arrived home Lindsey and lil' Rocky were already there. She had picked-up Jacob and Bella from Grandma Sharon's enabling Mindy to have a little quiet time after school. That proved helpful for me too given that Mindy had already cleaned up the few dishes and walked Ykraps, ensuring my leisurely pathway to the weekend. We had originally planned to stay home and perhaps do some movies with the kids, but with Lindsey's visit we toyed with the idea of visiting Barley's after all since we now had a built-in sitter. After a short discussion, we decided to do just that - go to Barley's but only after we had the kids settled, bathed, and in bed. For the next half hour I toiled with the cable television line in Lindsey's old room trying to get one of the other two outlets working. I couldn't readily recall how I configured the wiring, which made the challenge that much more difficult given that everything's fished into the walls. I tried using my old toner but I suspected the batteries were too weak. I gave up after 30 minutes and instead made a 25' jumper and ran it across the floor so she could enjoy cable from bed. She's so spoiled! Meanwhile, downstairs, the kids were being rather noisy and rambunctious. Missing from my Friday evening was a peaceful chunk of time to unwind after a stressful week at work. It manifested itself in me attempting to isolate myself in my own home. I spent a considerable amount of time just surfing on the PC but really just needing some time. Mindy, I could tell, was not real excited about that. Soon the clock worked in our favor and eight o'clock was upon us. The kids went to bed rather peacefully and Lindsey and lil' Rocky settled in on the sofa while Mindy and I prepared to leave for Barley's. We left a few minutes later happy for the break. Mindy stated as we walked from the car to Barley's that she still didn't feel 100% and didn't really want to stay too long. The bar wasn't as crowded as it's been the past few weeks. We spotted a few of our favorite folks barside. Bob was there minus Mary Ann (she had to work till 9pm). Steve and Josh were there too. I had one Pale Ale off the firkin then two IPA's. For dinner in had my usual Gates of Hell wings and a side of onion straws. I hadn't had them in an awfully long time having forgot just how tasty they are. Mindy had her usual pulled pork - no bun sandwich with cheesy fries. Around 9:30pm, and old co-worker from MCI - Sarah Meade showed up. She worked for Barley's for spell too. She was in rare form cracking on everyone and filthy too. I think that she's funny and don't mind her taste for humor at all. Many others, however, were a bit taken back with her words. Admittedly, she's a bit abrasive. Just before we were leaving, Jeremy and Courtney arrived form the Grandview football game. They were happy because Grandview finally won a game - their first of the season. Mindy chatted with them for a spell and then asked if we could leave. She was tired and had wanted to leave even earlier. We left around 10:30 and were home by 10:45pm. We cleaned up a little and instead of carrying on we both headed to bed. Conclusion...we must be getting old.

First Snow

Purposely slept later than usual allowing myself a few extra minutes of blissful sleep. All of that amounted to beginning my morning routine just before 5:50am. As I do most mornings, I glanced out he deck door looking towards the sky to validate the weather. I could see that it was clear, and it looked cold – just as predicted. After belting out my 55 sit-ups, 50+ push-ups, and 40 curls, Ykraps and I bundled ourselves and took to the streets. Because I anticipated the chill, I wore long legged flannels s well as my fleece jacket. I needed every bit of it too. Once back, I checked the temperature and found it to be a brisk 33 degrees according to the weather bug. My finger tips, as they often do in the winter, already ached a little from the chill and dryness. Too, they were still burning a little from handling the habanera peppers last night. Once I began preparing our lunches and had rinsed my hands a time or two, the heat only intensified from handling those damn peppers. It was merely a nuisance but still worth mentioning. I don’t recall such a phenomenon happening before. Off to work Mindy went, and eventually me too. The day was much to my liking sky wise, but the temperature as mentioned earlier was still nippy. Just before leaving the house I slipped onto the deck to sneak a few sunrise pictures, Slip was the key word. That’s right! We had ice. Even though weather bug said 33 degrees, it must have been colder on my deck. There was ice on the boards and ice in all the water pools left behind by all the rain. I nearly busted my ass, but I didn’t. I left the house with work on my mind. I was hopeful for a calm day at the office and a calm day with family matters. I both cases I think I was successful. My run was a real eye opener. It was brutally cold! The temperature was supposed to be 40, but the wind was blowing/gusting to 26 mph making it feel much colder. I ran with my light winter gear and needed it. I also ran with music in my ears. After my shower I decided to make a quick run to Dick’s Sporting Goods to find a new gym bag. As I walked to my Trooper we were hit with a freak snow squall. The earliest I can ever recall seeing snow. It was a white out for a few minutes. I found the bag I wanted and detoured directly across the street to the Wine Vault immediately after. Bill Gray turned me on to this place, having found my Honey Raspberry Ale there. I was lucky today. They had one six pack left. I didn’t say anything to the attendant but their stock is from the old brewery no longer in business. That means the beer is probably a year or more old. The six pack Bill bought me tasted good though, so I don’t care. The afternoon blew by. Today ended up being the last day for one of my engineers. His talents will be missed. I left for home just after 5pm. I arrived home to Mindy making some stove top chili. The kids were with their daddy since he was unable to have them Monday night. We walked Ykraps together then enjoyed some chili together. As we cleaned up our mess Jim returned with the kids. They were wound up. As usual, Mindy coaxed them upstairs not long after their return. I blogged until she called for me to join in on the night’s readings. After a quick tuck in we were back down stairs together. We chatted briefly then while Mindy caught up on my blog I began reading the Kama Sutra. I fell asleep while reading. When Mindy came into the family room she informed that she was going to bed even though it was only 8:30pm. I chose to stay up and read for a while longer. I wished her a good night and began reading more of my book. Like always, I read and dosed, read and dosed. At 9:35pm I secured the home and went to bed myself.

Ashley, Salsa, & Storms...again

I woke up Wednesday morning at 5:30am – right on time. I stumbled downstairs, took my vitamin, and began my exercise regiment. Too, I could easily see all the cloud cover out the deck door. Although it was cloudy, it wasn’t yet raining but it was expected to start anytime. Ykraps and I were fortunate enough to enjoy a dry walk. As soon as we returned from our walk I went straight to the garage to get the trash out of the large can since trash day had been moved to today. They always come by my home just after 6am like clock work. Mindy had given me instructions when I rolled out of bed not to wake her. She wasn’t going to school today due to her pregnancy, ahh, I mean illness. :) Truthfully, she’s got a sinus infection that’s carried over for a third week and the recent antibiotics she was taking didn’t help much, so now she’s on prednisone. I went about my morning with an even more casual approach than ever. Mindy didn’t need anything prepared, and I didn’t need to make my own lunch since we were having an Italian potluck at work. Consequently, I leisurely enjoyed some coffee, meditated, and then made some eggs. That’s about it. Mindy continued slumbering in bed while the kids defied any logic and were up running about the house well before they would normally be awake. Mindy still planned on dropping the kids at Grandma Sharon's while she gets some much needed rest. I took my shower and prepared to leave the house by 7:45am. Just as I was preparing to depart, the skies opened up and dumped oodles of rain. It rained so hard that I thought better of going outdoors for the moment. We even had some thunder. I waited for a few minutes and the rain did lessen some. My plan "B" was to exit out the garage giving me quicker access to the Trooper and less time in the downpour. It wasn't going to let up so that's what I did. I hugged Mindy goodbye and left for work through the garage. It rained all the way to work, and it was still pouring down when I made my way from the car to the building. I was hopeful that the weather would clear somewhat before my lunchtime run. I settled in at work and got lost within my tasks. And just like always, it was runtime before I knew it. Thankfully, the rain had stopped a little earlier leaving a window of opportunity for a dry run. I wore only shorts and my new running shirt. I was plenty warm. It was still 60 degrees. I talked with Mindy during the day - can't recall if it was before or after my run. Anyhow, she advised that Ashley called apparently very upset with Stephen who had called her to tell her he no longer wanted anything to do with her. In the meantime, here sits Ashley 8 and 3/4 months pregnant. Great! According to Mindy, Ashley was so upset she could hardly speak. Today, as it turned out, was also supposed to be her final doctor's appointment before the birth too. Mindy offered to come over and take her but Ashley declined. She said her best friend Brittany was taking her. Mindy asked her to call again later and perhaps go to lunch. She did and they did. Without question, I'm certain Mindy gave her some sound advice. Advice similar to what I might have intimated only with a softer, kinder, gentler spin. Bottom line, I never once accused Stephen of being a "character guy". He's a young, lost slacker, who has no sense of accountability. Sadly, this is probably best for everyone including baby Olivia. I just don't like the idea of this added stress on an already stressful situation. I am also grateful that Ashley called Mindy for advice instead of someone else. The afternoon passed with little activity different than any other day. Soon it was 515pm and I was ready to head for home. I headed home to a Mindy Wednesday. The kids were with their daddy like most other Wednesday's. Along my drive home it began to sprinkle a little. Colder weather was predicted for later tonight. After walking Ykraps and completing a few other chores I prepared Mindy a bowl of chicken broth with some added touches. I was still full from the potluck. About then we heard what sounded like tornado sirens. It was only a week earlier, last Wednesday when we last heard them. The results are well documented. Mindy checked the doors and validated the tornado sirens. I tuned into the weather radar, and sure enough, there was a tornado warming for Franklin County including Valleyview, Grove City, New Albany, etc.. This time, luckily, we were spared. Others were not. A tornado hit in both Westerville and Grove City. Not only was it rare for it to happen two Wednesday's in a row but for it to happen twice in October is even more rare. Our skies brightened while we could see darker skies south and east. Once again, Mindy phoned her ex to check on the well-being of her children. They were fine. They arrived home sometime near 7pm - just when the warnings expired. Mindy asked if I would care to give the kids their bath since she continued feeling like shit. I agreed. By 8pm they had their baths and were tucked into bed. We never heard another peep. Downstairs, I decided tonight was the night to finally make salsa. I have had peppers and 'maters picked and ready for over two weeks. I used Mindy's manual chopper for the slice and dice part. It worked even better than my electric mini-chopper. Fifteen minutes later I had a batch of salsa - a combination of 'maters, bell peppers, California peppers, red chili peppers, habanera peppers, red onions, lime juice, and vinegar. I broke the batch into three containers and froze the two smaller ones, remembering how I had to throw out so much last year and the same the year prior. Having it frozen will likely guarantee fresh salsa into winter. After I finished cleaning up, which took as long or longer than making salsa, I relaxed by the fire I built for Mindy with a honey raspberry ale and a bowl of popcorn. After some snuggling, Mindy dashed off to bed at about 9:25pm. I chose to stay up and watch some of the ALCS as well as begin reading my new Deepak Chopra book. As always, I read and dosed, read and dosed. I went to bed at 10:30pm.

Nine

Nine year anniversary at CompuServe/WorldCom/MCI/VerizonBusiness Pumpkindergarden - (pump-kin-der-gar-den) 1) the first of thirteen years of gord school. 2) a place where young pumpkins grow and are first exposed to other young pumpkins. Some say it is here that they learn most of what they'll need to know for the rest of their lives. Back on track this morning. I was up at 5:30am sharp feeling well rested and ready for the last of several gorgeous days in a row. Once again we were under the cover of a full display of stars and an almost full moon. Nothing about my morning was different than most others except for the name and date. I did my usual exercises, walked Ykraps, and prepared the same foods for breakfast and lunch. All of this followed pretty much the usual time schedule too. I decided against driving the BM’er since there was the threat of a late day shower, albeit a slim one. I left for work after some deckside guitar at about 7:45am. Gas, I noticed, was down to $2.02 at Thornton’s. I didn’t need any though. I arrived at work just after 8:00am. I stayed busy and plugged in until my run around 12:45pm. The temperature was about 8 degrees cooler than the day before -74 degrees. I debated on running without at shirt since I only had one of my new long sleeved stretchy running shirts. In the end, I ran with a shirt. I figured I’d learn very quickly if it really helps keep me cool like advertised. It feels like seal skin being so tight but did do a good job of keeping me cool. Don’t ask me how, however. I got a tad warm during the final mile, but nothing unbearable. I was happy to have my run under my belt and to be back at my desk eating my packed lunch by 2pm. The afternoon breezed by and soon it was quitting time and I was ready to head for home. Mindy called and requested I pick-up a pizza on my way home to serve as dinner. Being under the weather left her in the mood for a ‘cookless’ night. I obliged. That put the kibosh on my original plan of doing lawn chores, but truth be told, I didn’t really want to do them anyhow after such a laborious weekend. Instead, I was happy to let it slide even though I knew that I might not get another chance to do it until the weekend given the shitty weather forecasted through Friday. The pizza was coming out of the oven just as I arrived at Minnelli’s – impeccable timing! I couldn’t wait to eat some. I have a weakness for Minnelli’s pizza. I passed mindy and the kids walking Ykraps as I entered the subdivision. Being the disciplined one that I am, I took the time to complete a few necessary chores before sinking my teeth into even the first piece. We sat at the kitchen table together as a family and ate ¾’s of the extra-large pizza. It was absolutely delicious! After pizza, all of us out back to begin putting all of our “stuff” back in its place after it had been sitting in the yard since Saturday and Sunday so that I could stain. That took about fifteen minutes. After we finished the kids went to get ready for bed while I blogged. Once they were ready, I headed up to read and help with the tuck in process. Not long after the kids were asleep, Mindy decided that she was going to bed early. It wasn’t even 8:30pm. She asked if I was coming along. I declined and instead spent the next two hours finishing my Wayne Dyer Book that I started mid-June. Somewhere in those last thirty pages I took a quick nap or two. At 10:30pm I mustered the energy to secure the home and head up to bed.

Gem of a day

I didn’t get out of bed until 545am – a bit later than I had hoped. Still, that left plenty of time for me to complete my morning routine. By the time I finished exercising, my blood was flowing and my energy level high. Being uncertain of the temperature, I grabbed a jacket on my way out the door with Ykraps. But as it turned out, it was warm enough to be jacket-free. The stars & moon were in full view against a crystal clear sky. I knew then that today would be a BM’er day. As usual, I took Mindy her coffee when I went to wake her. She commented feeling a bit out of sorts. I carried on with my routine of making lunch and cooking breakfast. When it was time for Mindy to go, the kids were, for all practical purposes, still asleep. Neither of them seemed to enthused about the day ahead. The walked to the mini-van in a daze. After a shower and a fast grooming exercise I was downstairs making final preparations for departure by about 7:41am. I didn’t leave the house until just before 8am. The drive was great, especially given that the sun was shining, I was in my BM’er, and it was warm. I arrived at work with a skip in my gait. I walked into the center with my head held high after a Viking victory the day before. Sometime during the mid-morning Mindy left a VM indicating that she was on her way home. At the time I wasn’t certain if it were really from today or perhaps instead one I missed from the weekend. I later learned it was from today. She wasn’t feeling good enough to remain at school. She reported going home and sleeping for three hours before spending some time alone on the deck in the sun. I left for a run around 1pm. The sun was in full force and the temperature was a balmy 82 degrees. I ran without a shirt allowing the sun’s rays to envelop me. It was a very enjoyable run. I returned to my desk showered and ready for an afternoon. I tinkered with the idea of sneaking away for 30 minutes to get a hair cut, but ultimately decided against it due to workload. We were busy. I worked hard accomplishing everything I wanted to finish before quitting time. I left the office around 5:10pm, and because 270 looked backed up, I decided stopping for a hair cut was worth the gamble. I stopped in at my old Saturday’s location in Mill Run. To my surprise there was zero wait time. Courtney took me right away. I hadn’t seen Courtney here before even though she reports working there since May, but come to think of it, I haven't stopped in this branch for several months. Anyway, she seemed young and tentative at first, but as time went on she did fine. It didn’t take long. It never does. After all, it’s not like I have a complicated hair style – short back and sides, and some length off the top. I tipped her well and then was on my way making the entire stop no more than twenty minutes. I took the back way home down Old Dublin Rd to avoid the I-270 traffic snarl. Lindsey was at our house when I pulled up. I immediately felt for Mindy since I knew she had come home sick. The kids were playing and a little loud but everyone was in good spirits. I greeted them all and began going through my nightly ritual. Mindy insisted on walking Ykraps with me alone. I thought that was perhaps her forum for unloading some not so good news, but it wasn’t. She just wanted some Jimmy time. :) Lindsey had stopped by primarily to settle up on her baby sitting tab which we cover upfront. I was pleased that she handled it properly this time. She also paid me back some money she borrowed on Saturday. When we returned, Mindy served up dinner. She made sloppy joe’s. Bella and lil’ Rocky didn’t want them. Instead, they wanted hot dogs. Tonight I learned that Mindy’s family always uses hot dog buns for sloppy joe’s because they’re neater. OK - I guess because of the seam??? Tastes the same, so no worries! After dinner we had some leftover chocolate sheet cake that Gloria sent home Sunday night, which was still delicious. Lindsey left shortly after dinner. Mindy and I pursuaded the kids to an early bath. They didn't know the difference. They were in bed and asleep before 7:30pm. After blogging and viewing the weekend's pictures, we tuned into the Monday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens. Defense was king. When I fell asleep, the score was tied 3-3.

When in Stain...

I woke a little earlier than I did on Saturday. I was up by 8:10am. Once again, the sky looked perfectly clear. I muddled through making some coffee and choking down a vitamin leading up to completing my exercises. I was noticeably achy even after taking an anti-inflammatory and getting a back massage the night before. But it’s no wonder. Nothing does my shoulders in like raking leaves and then carrying around my heavy fiberglass extension ladder. It wasn’t long before Mindy came downstairs. She came down just as I was heading out the door with Ykraps. I didn’t think she wanted to join me being in her robe and all. Still, I checked. She didn’t. The morning was as spectacular as I had assumed. Today was much milder than the day before. It was already well into the 50’s. When I returned we made ourselves some coffee. Mindy hem hawed around about going to church, but ultimately decided she’d better go. She knew that the choir folks would be disappointed if she weren’t to show. We tinkered around the house for about an hour. Finally, at about 9:40am I dressed for a run and headed out the door just as Mindy was getting in the shower. My run took me down Trabue to Hague and then by my parents house. The garage door was up so I assumed my dad to be home and out side. I took a quick detour into their drive. It turns out that he wasn’t there, but Sheila was. She was just heading out with some garbage along with Archie. I thought that Archie was going to eat me! I think I startled Sheila. I didn’t stay long. I did ask how her back was doing. She said that it was getting better and that they thought it was muscular, which is far better than a disc related problem. A minute later I was back on the road. And fifteen minutes later I was back at home. I reloaded my coffee and went out on the deck to get crackin’ on clearing the upper tier for the final staining. I hoped to be finished prior to 1pm, finally putting to rest a project that I thought I should’ve completed last summer. By 11am I was staining away. Once again I deployed my successful two board system with a second coat on the prior two boards. I worked west to east and finished down the steps on the eastside. I had a bout a half gallon of stain remaining – enough for any touch-ups I may find later. Mindy had already returned from church but left for the grocery while I was finishing up. After cleaning up after the stain project, I moved immediately to my next job – washing the Trooper. I haven’t given her a bath in at least two months – maybe longer. I took my time scrubbing the Trooper top to bottom. Mindy arrived home with groceries just as I was using the shami to dry it off. I took a break to help carry in the bounty. When I returned to my work, Jim arrived with the kids. After finishing the Trooper I found my way in for a light snack and to catch up on the NFL scores. I saw that the Vikings were losing to the hapless Lions – great! I went ahead and took my shower so that we could leave for Gloria’s by 4pm. After my shower I logged back into the Vikings game via Yahoo’s gamecast. I couldn’t leave my seat. The good guys were mounting somewhat of a last minute comeback, although still behind. It was 17-16 after they botched an extra point try. Minutes later they kicked a field goal to take the lead. Next thing I knew, the Detroit QB threw an interception that the Vikings returned for another touchdown giving them a 26-17 lead with 1:31 left. Broadcast TV switched over to the Viking game’s final minute. At least I got to see the euphoric ending – another Viking interception. At 4pm we happily left for Gloria’s. We arrived at Mindy’s mom’s just after 4:15pm. Her brother & Jeff were there doing yard projects just as they often do. Her sister and her two children were there as well. Missing was Larry. He and Todd were on duty. Mindy and I moved some of the items that we had moved from Mindy’s old house up to the attic. In addition, we carried the kid’s playhouse to the back patio, lifting it up and over the privacy fence. Not long after, dinner was ready. We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and pasta salad. Everything was simply delicious. After dinner we took a break before Gloria served up dessert. We had chocolate sheet cake with chocolate icing and mixture of raspberry Jello and bananas. I had two pieces of cake but no Jello. Yummy! Not long after finishing dessert we prepared to leave. Mindy had plenty to do at home including bathing a couple filthy children. It seems that Jim, Mindy’s ex, had failed to give them a bath all weekend. We left around 7:10pm and headed for home. I feel bad leaving when there are dishes in the sink. I feel like we should stay and clean-up. Cooking for 12-15 is not easy. Shortly after we arrived home I hit the door with Ykraps. He was more than ready to go on his evening walk. There was a beautiful sunset. While Mindy bathed the kids I checked on all the NFL scores and some of the details. I find myself in a much brighter frame of mind after a Viking victory. It’s a much different story after a loss. After tucking the kids into bed Mindy and I tuned into the Sunday Night Football game on NBC. The game pitted the San Diego Chargers against the super bowl Champion, Pittsburgh Steelers. I stayed up for the entire game save for a couple brief naps that Mindy pointed out after about halftime. She headed up to bed. I stayed downstairs watching until there was about ten minutes to go. For the final ten minutes I went up watch from bed. It startled Mindy when I turned the television on, but she gracefully went back to sleep. I watched intently. As soon as the game ended I turned the television off and went to sleep. Oh yeah, the Steelers lost!

Ab-stain

Are you kidding me? Is it morning already? Well, at least I could sleep as late as I wanted. The sunlight gushed through the bedroom windows removing any doubt that it was morning and that it was sunny. An eye to the clock, (after doing some elementary math) revealed that it was pushing 8:30am. Even still, Mindy insisted on some snuggling before she’d agree to let me escape the confines of the covers. Once up, I made quick work of my exercises and took Ykraps on a wondrous walk about the neighborhood. The sky was as a clear as one could hope and the autumn air was crisp and chilly. Just as the weather prognosticators had predicted, it looked like a great day was in store. When I got back Mindy was already up and milling about downstairs, but it was after 9:00am. She was planning on shopping with her friend Shelly in hopes of finding the perfect bride’s maid dress. Their original plans called for meeting here at 10am. We enjoyed a couple cups of coffee on the deck despite the seasonal chill. The sunshine’s warmth along with a light jacket was more than enough to overcome the cool autumn air. We hung out until almost 10am when I decided to leave for a run. Today I wore shorts, a long sleeved running shirt, and a jacket. That was perfect for the temp. I said goodbye assuming that Mindy would be gone upon my return, but she didn’t think so. She figured she’d still be there waiting Shelly. I was back by 10:45am, and as it turned out she was correct. She was still there when I returned. Before I could accomplish much, Lindsey and lil’ Rocky showed up at our door. She said Rocky wanted to visit. I decided now was as good a time as any to reveal our sketchy plan for her liberation. Essentially, I have concluded that trying to build Kelly up and protect her integrity will only hurt Lindsey’s healing since I see Kelly as a significant part of the problem. I spoke very directly about what I thought she should do and why. And for the first time in a long while, Lindsey seemed to listen, and more importantly agreed in principle to some terms. Basically, we told Lindsey that despite how bad she thinks her apartment is, Living with her mother is much worse for her and lil’ Rocky’s long-term well being. I said as much as I needed to say to properly communicate how I see her current situation – nothing more. After that I went to the deck to begin prepping for the day’s staining project. Not long after I headed outside, Lindsey and Rocky walked to the park. And just as I was getting started with the stain, Shelly showed up. Soon, her and Mindy left for their shopping spree. When Lindsey returned from the park she asked for some gas money. I loaned her some cash. I also asked that she not discuss her plan with her mother as it would serve as a catalyst for trouble. She agreed then left. I stained the deck’s skirting before moving onto the actual walking surface. The skirting was easy and took stain nicely since it’s a vertical surface. The only tough part was around and behind the rose bushes. The entire skirt took about an hour. Next, I moved onto the lower tier deck surface. I was using a 4X7” paint pad with a handle. That’s the perfect tool I have found for the semi-smooth surface. I also determined that doing two boards at a time was a good system going back over the prior two once an initial coat was applied to the next two. That worked well as I moved from west to east. In addition to the deck’s surface, I did the two benches and the diagonal steps. Somewhere close to 2pm Mindy returned and modeled her new red dress. It looked nice. While I wrapped up the lower tier, Mindy chased down a couple of gyro combos for us from our favorite gyro shop – Greek Cuisine’. When she returned I had just finished the staining and clean-up. I left everything accessible to complete the project tomorrow. It was 3pm. I had originally planned to finish in time to watch the Buckeye game, but the more I though about it, I decided that it would be fool hearty to waste this glorious weather. Besides, there were so many yard projects needing tended too especially after the Wednesday storm. I needed to inspect the roof, trim some over grown ivy, clear the gutters and flower beds, and rake some leaves. After woofing down my gyro I took to trimming some ivy away form the chimney – something needing done all summer long. Next I moved around front and cleared ivy form the master bedroom screens and windows. At the same time I cleared the storm debris from the gutters. Next, I had Mindy stabilize the ladder while I replaced the broken spot light about 25’ up on the west corner of the house. It broke in the hail storm. After finishing the light, I moved the ladder to the deck for easy access to the roof. I climbed up to give the roof a thorough inspection after the storm, and to clear any remaining clutter in the gutters. Meanwhile, the Buckeye game carried on. We had the radio on so we were well informed of the progress. I felt good about our game plan. While the Buckeyes played we listened. And while we listened, we worked on accomplishing some yard tasks. Mindy suggested that we rake the back yard, which if she hadn’t I probably would’ve slacked for the remainder of the day. At the outset I thought we’d only do the upper half since it was such back breaking work, but as we went on, we kept moving further back until we had cleared the entire backyard of all the fallen debris – about 15 large piles and four giant tarps full. When we finished it was nearly 6:30pm. I was tired, achy, and sore. I went in and took a much needed shower before walking Ykraps. I didn’t want to be seen in my deck staining attire. After walking Ykraps, Mindy decided to hit the shower while I slipped out onto the upper deck to play a little guitar. At 7pm we left for Lowe’s to get one more gallon of stain which should easily complete the project (the sixth gallon). While at Lowe’s, Mindy grabbed some paint samples and some AA batteries for the kids toys (24). In kind, I grabbed another pack of AA rechargeables for the camera. After leaving Lowe’s we began our trek home. However, Mindy was persistent about her need for food. We kicked around some options and ultimately decided on Old Bag of Nails in the Tremont Center. Truth be told, I could’ve done without eating but humored her anyhow. Sometimes it’s not about me. Nope, it’s about her belly!!! J We both had large burgers, me a Cajun and Mindy a common cheese burger. They were good. To wash it down, I had a Dog Fish 90 minute IPA. I didn’t like it all that much, though. We headed home shortly after 9pm. To aid in healing our stiff bodies we got in the hot tub. It felt superb. While falling asleep, we watched the Georgia versus Tennessee football game. Exciting!

It's Friday!

I woke several times through the night and spent the entire hour and one half from 200am until 330am mulling over a list of things that included; Lindsey, storm damage and a possible insurance claim, and work. None were bothering me too much but the simple fact that my mind was racing at that hour was enough to keep me awake. Finally, I remember surrendering to the moment and telling myself to simply relax. It must have worked. I fell back to sleep and didn’t wake again until 5:50am. The moon was positioned where it was shining directly in the aptly named half-moon window in our bedroom. It was as bright as it gets. Thinking back, both Bella & Jacob woke Mindy for attention through the night – Jacob was sick, and Bella misplaced her elephant. Come to think of it, that’s what woke me in the first place. Despite my slightly late start, I stayed off the accelerator and instead took my time. I was a bit discouraged, however, since I intended on running before work today so that I could meet an old co-worker for lunch ( Jay Pierce). While I was exercising I decided that I would still do the early run. While walking Ykraps I determined that it was plenty chilly out doors and that I might want to run in light winter attire. It was 41 degrees with a chilly breeze. So, today marked the dawning of the long running pants. I don’t think that I had worn those since last April. I took Mindy her first cup of coffee and said my goodbye. I knew I wouldn’t see her again until later that evening. Out the door into the chilly abyss. The run was invigorating and really got my juices flowing. I was back home at 7:45am. I made myself some eggs and then took a shower. It was already after 8:00am when I went up. Before leaving the house I took a few minutes to pay some early bills and to sort out a mistake I made with my auto insurance. I had mistakenly directed payment to my home owner’s policy instead of my auto policy. I worried that my policy would be in default. I called my agent on the drive into work. He assured me that they had already detected and corrected my mistake. I was relieved, especially given that I may need to file a claim for hail damage. I arrived at the office well before 9:00am. I was late but earlier than I expected to make it in. It was a Friday so I expected the pace to be furious. Lucky for us, it never got too bad, though. Before I knew it, it was just after 11am – time to head out for our lunch meeting. My peer Ken was coming along too. Before leaving, I gave Jay a quick call to confirm plans. I drove to the Olive Garden on Sawmill Rd. We arrived at 11:31am. As far as we could tell, Jay wasn’t there yet. Once inside that was confirmed. Minutes later Jay showed up, and with him was Ken Cannon, another former team member of mine. We asked for a table for four, but were corrected by Ken who said there was yet another former MCI employee coming, Rob Freitag. We were seated at our table while we awaited Rob’s arrival. Once Rob arrived we all placed our orders. Everyone else ordered soup and salad. I ordered chicken parmesan. Through lunch we chatted about work and the latest personal scoop. Ken’s now taking guitar lessons in Marysville. Jay’s still in the process of remodeling an old home he bought. Rob just turned in his 2 week notice. I hadn’t eaten at an Olive Garden in sometime. I was impressed, and completely happy with the service and my meal. We returned to the office by 1pm. I worked hard for the remainder of the afternoon. Many co-workers were planning on joining us at Barley’s this evening to wish one of our team members well as he embarks on a new opportunity. Although, I’m still holding out hope that he’ll change his mind. I generally don’t mix my personal and work life so liberally but made an exception for this occasion. I left work just after 5pm and it was a picture perfect evening weather-wise. I was home by 5:35pm. Mindy and I walked Ykraps together and then she went to take a shower. I played guitar for about the next 30 minutes. Come 6:50pm we were on our way to Barley’s. Tonight’s firkin was Hobgoblin, Barley’s answer to pumpkin ale. It’s essentially pale ale with seasonal spices. It was good. I visited with my usual peeps then moved over to the table that all of my co-workers grabbed. There were about 10 team members there along with their significant others. A couple of Mindy’s friends showed up, too – Aaron and Steven, and then a little later, Tara. Bob Imber’s brother Bill was visiting from Chicago. He’s a few years younger than Bob and looks exactly like Bob only with a full head of hair. He was a hoot (see pics). We left Barley’s somewhere close to 11pm – last call. When we got home Mindy wanted some loving but I think she fell asleep. Her loss!

Hail..ashis clean-up begins

Thursday began like so many others. And as a matter of fact, there was little to distinguish it from any other work day save for the aftermath of Wednesday’s big storm. I was up with plenty of time to spare but sped through my exercise routine anyway so that I could get outdoors and further survey the damage located around the subdivision while at the same time walking Ykraps. The most notable side effects I saw this morning were the blankets of leaves left behind on all the sidewalks and all the leaves stuck to the western side of most homes. I went through my morning progression just as I would any other day. By the time I finished packing my lunch and making and eating breakfast it was 7:15am. I hugged everyone goodbye and then headed for a shower. The day’s weather was expected to approach 60 degrees and the skies were expected to be cloudy all day. Sounds like I’m “home on the range”. Work was uneventful but busy. We held another round of interviews today which took about 4 hours of my day. As soon as the interviews were over I left for the gym. I grabbed an extra t-shirt out of my desk drawer since the temperature at run time was only 53 degrees. I needed it too. I still ran in shorts but needed the three light upper layers. I finished my run and was back at my desk eating some tuna fish by 2:05pm. I worked through several dangling issues before leaving for the day. I left the building at 5:10pm eager to get home and on with my primary role in life. As I approached my leaf stricken car, I surveyed closer for hail damage. I first thought I had amazingly avoided any of the tell tale damage often associated with a large hail storm, but on closer inspection I was wrong. I had hundreds of small pock marks left behind by the hammering of hail. They are most evident from an angle on the passenger that bore the brunt of the storm and the hood. This was nauseating. I talked to a couple friends who said it’s almost impossible to fix too. As I drove for home I was un sure how I would handle the problem or whether to involve my insurance company or not. When I pulled in the drive, I was surprised to see Mindy out in the yard blowing and seeping the leaves from the walk, drive, and lawn. The lawn that looked so lovely just 24 hours earlier now looked war torn. After initiating some chores and changing my clothes I went out to help. Mindy went in to begin dinner (salmon patties). I stayed out taking in more of the carnage. I carried several dead branches back to the mulch & debris pile. Upon closer inspection of the house I realized that all of my west facing down spouts look the same as my car except even worse. They look like someone took a ball peen hammer to them. Also, my A/C coil had very noticeable hail damage to the cooling fins. I’ll have to inspect the gutters and roof much closer over the weekend before deciding whether to file a claim. Before dinner was ready I sat at the computer and finished Tuesday’s blog. Soon, Mindy beckoned me to the kitchen to help with dinner. I had never had salmon patties. We had added some habanera and chili peppers as well as red onion. I liked the kick. They were OK, just not my favorite.

What the Hail!

I rose at 5:35am and immediately began exercising. My walk with Ykraps was uneventful as was the rest of my morning ritual except for the time I spent on the deck meditating, which was most beneficial in that I was able to clear my mind perhaps better than I have in the past couple of months. Today’s weather promised low to mid 80’s with the potential for late day storms. And those late day storms were expected to usher in much cooler weather by at least twenty degrees. For this reason alone I didn’t plan on driving the BM’er. The rest of my morning at home was pleasant, and I spent several minutes on the deck playing guitar before giving in to the need to leave for work. I would love to have stayed home and worked on yard projects. My lawn looked almost perfect since cutting it the evening prior. I felt proud as I drove away. The work day presented nothing too unusual or worth discussing here. Although, I did have to deal with a couple HR type issues for the better part of the day. I left for my run around 1pm. And like the day or two prior, I ran without a shirt. In fact, today was almost hot! I was back in the office by 2:00pm and continued with the issues I mentioned earlier. I talked with Mindy somewhere close to 3:30pm when she told me she was headed home to relax on the deck with a glass of wine since Jim was picking the kids up at Grandma Sharon’s for his routine Wednesday evening visit. She was looking forward to some time in the sun. I was envious. I continued working hard right up until just after 5pm. I surprised when I looked outdoors around 445pm and saw that it had been raining albeit lightly. And when I finally left for home and tuned into the radio, I heard that we were expecting some possibly strong storms but most appeared by us already. I took that in stride as I stopped in Home Depot on my way home. I was looking for some white safety tape to mount on Bella’s new step stool. I found it in short order. Still, I took my time perusing the aisles for other project ideas. I left H.D. at 5:40pm destined for home. The radio forecast had added a potentially strong thunderstorm moving out of Madison County and a potential tornado much further south in Ross County & Washington Courthouse moving southeast. I called Mindy she reported that a relatively heavy storm of rain just passed over, and judging by the sky it looked as if it did. To our immediate west the skies began to brighten. When I arrived home I once again admired the beauty of my lawn and thought how fortunate I was to have the rain the day after cutting and grooming. It was simply gorgeous! We walked Ykraps together and finished the relatively few chores. Mindy had to leave for choir practice within the next ten minutes so we spent the next few minutes chatting and deciding if I should wait until she gets home to eat my dinner. At the same time I finished mounting the safety tape I had just bought on Bella’s step stool. Out of the blue, we heard it begin to rain and quite heavy too. Next thing we know we heard a few pings of small hail striking the house and even more prominently against the sky lights. It caught my attention, but that was just the beginning. Suddenly, the hail got bigger, louder, and more abundant. Soon our home was under attack. It wasn’t too long after that that the winds picked up to a point where there was next to zero visibility, save for a blur of objects flying by the windows. The trees look bent almost at a 90 degree angle and debris was flying everywhere. Mindy had already dashed for the basement while I struggled with my camera. I wanted a picture but was having difficulty opening the door. The noise was loud and intense – too hard to accurately describe. Something came over me and told me to get to the basement too. I was sure we were in a tornado. I tried to persuade Ykraps to come along too but instead of following my lead, he ran upstairs (brilliant!). After a few minutes in the basement the hail stopped. We dashed upstairs and immediately looked out the windows. The views were surreal. I suppose because of the hail, the gutters were clogged causing the rain run-off to pour like a waterfall against the house. Too, the street was completely flooded for the same reason. Water could not drain fast enough into the pond. Cars were at a stand still as the hail, rain and wind picked up again. Finally, after it had all but stopped, Mindy called her ex to check on the kids while I began surveying the damage. And in what has to be considered a very rare thing, I saw another rainbow after the storm passed. That's two days in a row! My first objective was to check the skylights for breaks, then the yard for fallen trees. There was literally 2-3 inches of hail piled on the deck, on the driveway, and in the street. The once beautiful trees and flowers had been stripped of their foliage. Our lawns were covered with hail and a thick blanket of green leaves. The scent in the air smelt like a tree farm, I suppose from the ripping and tearing of all the green growth. All of my annuals were completely naked, left with nothing but stems. A fog rose from the ground because of the thick blanket of hail into the steamy relatively warm air. Neighbors began coming out of their houses to survey the damage. My neighbor was out snapping pics of his damaged siding where baseball size holes were left behind by the hail. Anything facing west was covered in greenery. Homes, cars, and the like had leaves plastered to their western most face. The sky remained very ominous looking just to our east. You could see a deep black – almost purple block of could moving away but also leaving behind a trail of drooping black clouds. I took a couple of interesting pictures. We continued to survey for significant damage and eventually decided to check with our neighbors, Pat and Lisa. The feeling was eerie as we walked through all the debris which was thankfully more cosmetic than anything else. My neighbor John’s house faces west. His garage door looked as if it had been sandblasted by the hail. The paint was gone down to bare metal and his coach lights we hanging only by the wiring. We knocked on Pat and Lisa’s door as we watched their neighbors gathering in the cul-de-sac. Lisa answered and invited us in. She began telling of her own experience. AS she spoke of her fear we recalled seeing her drive by in the height of the storm. She reported almost white out conditions and worrying for her safety. She was downloading pictures that she had already taken from around the house and yard. We later found Pat out surveying his own property. It looked like only one tree snapped along the pond thankfully. Still, the carnage left behind was profound and memorable. It looked like autumn struck in a matter of minutes except for the fact that all of the fallen leaves were dark green versus the normal red, yellow, and orange. In the end, we were happy that no one was hurt and that no one seemed to have endured any major damage structural damage. We left Pat & Lisa’s after about a fifteen minute visit. While there we saw pictures of a half million dollar home Pat just finished building for a client and saw their daughter Aleana’s brand new palette expanders. Back at home we decided to check the back yard more thoroughly. We were further relieved that there was no major damage to our home or our trees. Just then Jim arrived with the kids. He reported several trees down along Raymond golf course and that it was much worse here than it is in Hilliard proper. Meanwhile, on the tube the debate begins on whether there was an actual tornado. They did report a funnel cloud at 270 and 70 which is essentially where we are – we’re about ¾ mile northeast. For me, the biggest hurt is the damage to my beautiful landscape. My trees and flowers have been stripped of their heavenly bouquets weeks prematurely, and it happened in a matter of a couple minutes. The rest of the evening was largely uneventful save for a couple of loud claps of thunder and lightening. No sooner did we get the kids ready and tucked into bed did they dash back downstairs after a couple claps of thunder. We spent the rest of the evening talking quietly in the living room and headed to bed at around 9:30pm

Somewhere over the Double Rainbow

It was 5:35am when I jumped out of bed and 5:40am by the time I made it downstairs. In kind, I was well rested and ready for whatever the day offered. After making quick work of my morning calisthenics I was out the door with my favorite boy dog, Ykraps. As we walked, I mulled over some deep seated anger over a work related issue that I just couldn’t seem to shake even though I knew I shouldn’t allow such folly to cause this much consternation in my life. I have to find peace outside the antics of others I can’t control. Easier said than done, however. I returned to the house and quickly made some coffee for myself and then for Mindy. After delivering hers beside, I took to the deck to meditate. I was totally immersed in my meditation when out of nowhere I heard some strange noises around me. Keep in mind it was still totally dark. Because of my state, it didn’t initially register. Suddenly, my fight or flight kicked in and jarred me awake. As I opened my eyes and my heart beat quickened, simultaneously a varmint stirred and scampered away from the steps of my deck making a very strange and awkward noise. I’m certain that I scared it as much as it scared me. After that ordeal it was hard to let go & refocus. I went inside to begin the rest of my morning ritual. I packed my lunch and Mindy’s mid-day snack as well as both of our breakfasts. By 7:00am we were both enjoying a hot breakfast at the island counter. Jacob was up and enjoying his usual chocolate milk, too. After some hugs goodbye I headed up to get a shower. While rinsing shampoo from my hair, Mindy made a brief appearance with Bella in tow to give me one last kiss goodbye. I could tell that she had just woken her from a deep slumber. Poof, they were gone. Before I finalized preparations for take-off, I played a little guitar and cruised the house for anything out of place. All systems were a go. Lat minute I decided to forego the BM’er and once again drive the Trooper based on a slight chance of late afternoon showers. There were some deep gray clouds to our west and the sun shining in the east. Immediately I detected the lower leg of a rainbow hovering off in the distant sky approximately where my office building’s located. As I continued on my journey to work the rainbow did nothing but grow in detail and size. I was in awe. It was spectacular! By the time I had arrive in the parking lot at work, it sat just to the west and was a perfect semi-circle. As I walked into the building another rainbow arched its way over top of the original making a double rainbow. Awesome! I was disappointed that I didn’t have my camera in tow. I tried in vain to use my cell phone camera only to discover the memory was full. The episode, if nothing else, elevated my mood. When I walked into the office many were gathered at the window admiring the rare beauty. One of my engineers pointed out that the tail sat literally out on our lawn, so it was truly arching our property. I called Mindy from my cell so that she could possibly share in the beauty and with her class. She looked out her western window and then her playground but could not see it. Too bad. Minutes later it faded to nothing. My day progressed at the usual fast pace and before I realized, it was already past time for my run. Once again it was plenty warm enough to run without a shirt, which is something I won't be able to do much longer at least with regularity. I could even feel the heat radiating from my skin like mid-summer. Another sure sign that summer's over was the angle of the sun. It's sitting just north of forty five degrees above the southern horizon. I returned from my run fulfilled and ready to settle in to an afternoon's worth of fun at the office. During the afternoon I made a winterization appointment for the boat at Paul's Marine -yet another sure sign that summer's gone. :( The appointment's not until October 28th in hoping there will be that perfect opportunity to boat at least once more. As the afternoon wound down my attention turned towards my evening at home. My plans included grooming the lawn. When I departed from work and phoned Mindy, she indicated that we would be having wings for dinner. I knew the lawn would take until at least 7pm, so I would be eating late and possibly alone. After getting a few household chores completed I changed quickly into my lawn boy attire and then made a dash for the garage. I made quick but thorough work of my lawn chores. It looked fabulous when I finished. While in the garage switching from the push mower to the tractor, I heard Bella crying louder than usual from inside the house. My curiosity got the best of me so I went in to see what was the matter. She had just received a timeout for defiantly pulling Mindy's pearl bracelet apart after being asked not to touch it. Not only did she knowingly disobey the request to leave them alone, she went on to bust the link casting many of the precious pearls about the kitchen floor. Mindy was furious, I could see it in her eyes. I ducked out quickly after seeing that Mindy had things well under control. I went right for the shower after finishing the lawn. After a fast shower I was downstairs to enjoy some wings & celery. I topped the already delicious wings with an additional coating of sauce only this time I used the green Tabasco over Pete's baked on wing sauce. The combination was to-die-for good. I enjoyed every last one. After I finished the wings I had the final piece of keylime pie that I had made a week or so earlier. I decided then that it was time to use my phone-a-friend option and call Kelly, my ex, to discuss creating a united game plan to help Lindsey get on her own two feet. My expectations were tempered before the call, but I had no idea Kelly was going to be so ridiculous and out of control. Bottom line, she refused to accept the idea of creating a joint plan as well as having Mindy's involvement in any fashion. Her rants drifted wildly from topic to topic, most of which centered around tangible household items we acquired throughout our marriage (Courtney's old saxophone and a few framed prints). The relevance to helping Lindsey get better, I have no idea. Anyway, our conversation degenerated quickly and before I knew it she was screaming and swearing like a truck driver, and doing so in the presence of Lindsey and I assume lil' Rocky. I could hear Lindsey getting upset in the background. We were going nowhere fast, but that's often the case when talking to her. Nothing she said was constructive. Instead, everything out of her mouth was destructive or vindictive. I could easily see how and why Lindsey feels the way she does. When I'd try to redirect our discussion back to topic, she'd railroad it again. Sadly, she never once committed to doing anything proactive to help Lindsey. Instead, she spoke in circles. And just as Lindsey had told us, she left everything in doubt and up in the air, open to interpretation. If you asked me, Kelly's already checked out of life and has seemingly accepted an existence of misery. She certainly isn't role modeling a happy healthy existence, and the responsibility we have for being a co-creator of our own abundance. Our conversation ended when she hung up. I'm of the opinion now more than ever that Lindsey will never get better as long as Kelly plays a prominent and influential role in her daily life. Bottom line, if things persist as they are today, we all lose - most notably Lindsey and lil' Rocky. I've never been more disgusted with her antics. Mindy and I talked afterwards. We began formulating a strategy to help without the aid or participation of Kelly. Sadly, we concluded that Lindsey's best opportunity for success will come only if Kelly's negative influence is not a major factor in her life, which equates to Lindsey spending significantly less time around her or her house. Around 9:30pm we headed upstairs for bed.

More to life than football

It was just after 6am and I wasn’t in the place or position I generally hope to find myself at that time. Instead, I found myself still in bed, warm, comfy, and cozy. I leaped to my feet, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs almost in one fluid motion. I was determined to not allow my tardiness to disrupt the otherwise tranquil flow of my morning. A glance out the back door revealed a sky smattered with stars and few, if any, clouds. That was what I needed to see to help put my frame of reference where it needed to be. Soon I was tearing into my exercise routine. I could still feel the hangover effect of eating all the carbs and sugar at Bella’s B-day party yesterday afternoon. It reminded me why I avoid many of those foods on a regular basis. Ykraps and I were out the door by 6:15am. I let him lead the way. He took us eastward which is very unusual. I followed, thinking that we all need a change of pace from time to time. I mean, hey, look at me. I take a different running route on the weekends just to mix it up a bit. I’m certain that Ykraps feels the same way. He gets tired of pissing and shitting on the same old sign, tree, and bush. We were back just before 6:30am and I got him a treat and me a cup of coffee. I poured Mindy’s coffee too. I left it downstairs since I could hear that she was up and in the shower. I spent just a few minutes in meditation knowing that I had much yet to do. Next, I got busy making our breakfast and packing our lunches. By then, Mindy was already downstairs milling around, sipping her coffee, and organizing the kids stuff. I served her breakfast at 7:10am. Jacob had just came downstairs where he went right for Bella’s collection of musical instruments. He began drumming and playing with the microphone rather loudly. Mindy asked him to turn it down a little. He did. Bella came down a little later – at about 7:20am. We sang her happy birthday once again since today’s her “real b-day”. After that fun, I went up stairs to get started with the grooming process. When I reemerged down stairs, it was after 7:40am. Somehow, during that twenty minutes my sunny morning had faded. And upon closer observation I could see a thick gray cloud cover to the north, but clear blue skies over head and to the south. The sun was temporarily blocked by some of the clouds. Before seeing that, I was determined to drive the BM’er to work. The clouds made me reconsider. So, I defaulted to the Trooper and drove away by 7:55am. I arrived at work around 8:10am. Walking into the center on a Monday’s can be a crap shoot. You never know what it’s going to be like. Today was fairly calm. I talked with a peer of mine who told me they had a bumpy weekend. The morning progressed quickly as I continued following up on issues from the weekend. Before I knew it my run time was upon me. I left for a run around 12:50pm. According to the weather bug, it was 77 degrees with almost no breeze. And just as this morning, clouds hung to the north but blue skies were plentiful to the south. The sun seemed to be teetering the dividing line. Regardless, it was as warm as it’s been in days. I ran without a shirt for the first time in a long while. That was refreshing. As the after progressed the sky cleared out even more. And by the time 5:15pm rolled around the clouds to our north had all but dissipated. Looked like we had all the makings for a very nice evening. I stopped only for gas on the way home even though I had more than a quarter tank remaining. Fuel was only $2.03 at Thornton’s and I didn’t feel like gambling with a price increase tomorrow or the next. Even with the fuel stop I was home by 5:33pm. This was a “Mindy Monday”, meaning we had no children for a couple of hours. We walked Ykraps together then returned to make some dinner. We made fajitas with Saturday’s leftover steak. We finished our dinner and the clean-up by 6:30pm. We spent the next half hour before the kids came home on the bridge feeding the ducks and then on the deck relaxing under a clear blue sky. It was a very nice time. Soon the kids returned with Jim in tow. They had been to McDonald’s and at the park. We invited Jim to hang out while we once again celebrated Bella’s 4th b-day with leftover cake. We sang to her and lit four candles once again. I ate most of the cake. The icing was especially good! After cake and some limited play time, it was time for the kids to get a bath. Mindy raced the kids upstairs to get the job done. I took that as my queue to get cracking on my blog updates. Ten minutes later I was being summoned to their rooms to help with the nightly reading and the tuck in process. Speaking of which, Jacob’s already showing significant progress with his reading skills after only 6 weeks of school. After getting the kids tucked in and lights out, we found our way down stairs once again. I finished updating my blog then to the television to catch at least a portion of the MNF game. Mindy headed up to bed well before me. I fell asleep on the couch I know for at least 45 minutes. And in what is often the case, I had a horribly stiff neck and shoulders after waking. That damn sofa is notorious for that like no other. Mindy, when she returned downstairs, rubbed the kinks out of my neck and to a great extent, eased the tortuous pain. At around 10:30pm I stumbled my way upstairs to bed. I tuned into the game from bed and held the remote firmly in my grasp knowing that Mindy would likely may a play for it even before I fell asleep. What she doesn’t realize is that I love to fall asleep while watching football occasionally waking to catch up on the score. Sure enough, she made a play for the remote even while I laid there watching with eyes wide open. “Hey, you’ve got to be kidding me”, I said. She gave it back reluctantly insisting I was sleeping. I wasn’t. Soon, however, my eyes got heavy and suddenly the importance of the game waned. I turned off the television and went to sleep.

Bella's Big Day

Perhaps it was a stressful Saturday, a tough work week, or the combination. Whatever the case, I slept uncharacteristically late Sunday. I didn’t roll out of bed until 9:00am. And in a complete turn of events, Mindy was already up and had walked Ykraps and made coffee by the time I made it down stairs. I netted over nine hours sleep. Mindy asked if I heard the storm through the night. I had not. But perhaps that’s why I slept so well. For whatever reason, I sleep most restful during heavy storms. I noticed that it was sunny when I glanced out of doors, and I could see steam rising into the air from many of the plants and surfaces. After making quick work of my exercises I took my first cup of coffee out onto the deck where I breathed in the warm and steamy sunshine. Mindy headed off to the shower to ready for church and asked for help dressing the kids. After about ten minutes of relaxation I returned inside to follow through with my assigned to-do. Dressing Bella is never easy. She always makes a game of it. It’s kind of like catch me if you can. After a little wrestling, I was finally successful at getting the wee one into her new pumpkin outfit. Her hair was still in need of some TLC, but I left that for Mindy. In short order the threesome was on their way out the door and onto church. As she was leaving, Mindy mentioned that Lindsey had called and asked if she could come over after church services. Oh boy! I did a few small chores like putting away some laundry and organizing some papers before taking off on my run. I ran the streets of my sub-division in lieu of taking my typical weekend route. I hadn’t run inside the sub-division on a weekend in a long while. It was a very pretty run under clear blue skies. As I rounded the final curve with my home in site, I could see that Lindsey was already on hand. Any alone time I had envisioned was immediately erased. However, the benefits of spending extra time with my grandson far out weighs my desire for a moment or two of peace. I repeated this mantra to my self even as I was entering the house.J Lindsey and especially lil’ Rocky seemed delighted to see me. After a greeting I went about getting a shower. I wasn’t sure but I assumed that Mindy would be bringing her mother home after church for the big birthday party. They arrived home around 12:30pm. I helped as much as I could for the next hour or so with the final party preparations. There was food to be strategically cut and displayed, and there were balloons to blow and hang. It all came together by 1:30pm and guests were to begin arriving soon after. Mindy, once again, did a fantastic job of planning and organizing a party to serve about 25 guests, including us. Soon our home was full of guests large and small. Most of the early arriving guests were family members. Invited to share in Bella’s celebration were Mindy’s ex and his parents. They are very nice folks. I felt comfortable around them all. And in what’s become expected, all of Mindy’s siblings were there to help celebrate Bella’s 4th B-day. Mindy invited her closest friends and their children too. Mindy did a masterful job of introducing everyone and keeping the activities moving along. Everyone who wanted got a tour of our new home together, and everyone seemed comfortable, even Jim, Mindy’s ex and his parents. Soon, gift and cake time rolled around. Bella took in quite the “haul”. She literally received enough clothes to fill her entire closet. From a toy perspective, she received several musical instruments. And as you might have guessed, the noise was in abundance for the duration. Hopefully these musical instruments will lead to budding musical talent - an outlet to express oneself through. The crowd thinned after the cake and ice cream. Mindy baked some Stouffers lasagna for those that wanted to stay for a meal. She had a garden salad prepared too. Her friends Chris and Tamara, Scott and Teri stayed along with their kids, as did Gloria, Lindsey, and lil' Rocky. We hung out until around 6:30pm when they all prepared to leave. Gloria, Mindy, and I cleaned the party mess completely. The house looked very nice once we were done. You'd never know we had a house full and a huge mess under and hour ago. Mindy ran her mother home after the clean up. I stayed back with Jacob and Bella. Neither child wanted any part of walking Ykraps. I took him for a walk down the sidewalk when all of sudden Jacob came running to join us. Bella still didn't want to come. We made it into a short walk since we didn't want the house to be out of site. As we approached the house from across the street we could hear Bella crying. Jacob ran to console her. She grabbed her flip-flops and joined us for a more thorough walk. Ykraps still didn't crap. Mindy was gone much longer than we expected. If you ask me, I think she was out carousing with friends. I had the kids in their jammies and ready for bed when she finally remembered where we lived. I think she crawled in sometime after 2am. :) That's not true. She arrived somewhere close to 745m. I had hooked up the DVD in our bedroom so Bella could watch Sponge Bob. She complained all day that I was watching football down stairs. By 8pm both kids were nestled in their own beds and all but asleep. Mindy and I passively watched the first half of the Seattle vs. Chicago Bears Sunday Night Football game. The Bears were surprisingly dominating the Seahawks as we faded. Some time around 9:30pm we retreated up to our room to catch more of the game and to do some snuggling.