Pacific Northwest in the morning - Barley's at night

1) Glenn's figure drawing illuminated 2) The drop at PDX 3) Back at Barleys I woke at 4:50am to get my Friday underway. Happily, a glance out of Glenn’s masterbath window revealed a few stars lurking above. Today the stars represented more than just a spiritual experience. They represented a dry run which would make my last minute packing much easier. I quietly made coffee, exercised, and took my multi-vitamin. I made a cup of coffee before leaving for a run at 5:20am. Of course it was pitch dark during my run. And even though there were a few stars above, the streets and walks were still wet from all the rain. I ran only four miles for the sake of time. I was back at Glenn’s by 5:52am. I quickly took a shower and then went to wake Mindy at 6:04am. While she showered and dressed, I packed us a light snack for the trip home. I made turkey and cheese sandwiches on French bread along with a baggie full of peanuts. After some last minute packing of carry-on items we were ready to wake Glenn and head to the airport. We woke him at 6:40am. He was up and ready in less than five minutes. We didn’t need to depart before 7am so he even had time for a cup of coffee. I loaded our bags into the Honda. We left Glenn’s place at 6:56am destined for PDX. We arrived at the airport at 7:12am. Glenn pulled along the curb where just five days ago he had picked us up. We unloaded our gear, said our goodbyes, and posed for a couple of pictures. Seconds later we disappeared into the mass of people. Check in was a breeze save for the double booking. They had us on two different flights home. One through Phoenix, and the other through Minneapolis. We selected the flight through Minny, of course. We were at our gate with about an hour to spare. We boarded our flight and left by 7:50am. Our flight time was almost an entire hour faster heading back east due in part to a 70mph tailwind. It was just a 2.67 hour flight to Minny versus 3.5 hours on the way here. I dosed several times during the quick flight. An hour and a half into the flight we enjoyed our sandwiches. I was ready to come unglued with a couple sitting in front of us. They were flawed adults with no apparent regard for the space and tranquility of others. They were watching a movie on their laptop and laughing hysterically and very, very loud to the point that they were down right obnoxious! I was still angry until I saw them when we all deplaned. They both got short changed in looks and common sense. On second though, they deserved a good laugh. We landed in the “C” concourse and took a tram to the “F” concourse where our CMH flight would depart. Once there we found a Burger King and grabbed some lunch. We were hopeful of a flawless flight-schedule home, but that wasn’t to be. Our flight was delayed about 40 minutes due to a late arriving crew. Not a big deal, however. The day was near done when we left Minny at 4pm CT. That was hard to fathom. The sun was beginning to set as we took off. I felt as though we had just gotten up, and the sun had just come up. It’s always a fast day flying back east. The CMH leg of the flight went really fast. Mindy slept soundly for almost the entire flight. I slept for about half, and read through the other. Before we knew it, we were preparing to land at home. No sooner did we land did we receive a call from brother Tommy, who was already waiting patiently at Barley’s for our arrival. I had given thought to stopping home first, but when we called, Ashley didn’t answer giving us any real purpose for going home first. Mindy wanted to go directly to Barley’s. Yikes! I’ve created a beer drinking monster! Barley’s was sparsely populated, but no Bob & Mary Ann, and no Jeremy and Courtney. Tommy’s stuff sat at the bar but he was no where to be found. It turned out that he was back playing pool. Steve, Dan, Lee, and Janet were there. We greeted everyone and Mindy shared our good news and showed everyone her ring. After procuring an IPA, I went and found Tommy. As time passed Barley’s emptied even more, but we remained and had a dandy time. Mindy ordered food; I didn’t. I did eat a few bites of hers, however. Later in the eve Rick showed up as did Josh and Thad. We stayed until almost 10:45pm. Tommy left around 10pm. We arrived home by 11pm. I walked Ykraps, who hadn’t been out for his evening walk yet. When he and I got back, Mindy went right to bed. I stayed up and surfed the web For about 15 minutes. I joined her in bed before 11:30pm. Our bed felt really good after being gone for five nights.

Rain, Mimosa, & Turkey

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush! Cooked & stuffed! Place settings I was up at 7:30pm after waking a couple of times through the night to pee. I could feel the effects of the many beers from the night before, but all in all, I felt pretty good. It was raining steadily yet lightly. I took my vitamin, allergy meds, and an anti-inflammatory. In the kitchen I prepped coffee and poured a glass of OJ. And just like prior mornings at Glenn’s, I drug the 3X5’ area rug from in front of the TV to the sofa so that I could comfortably complete my sit-ups on the hardwood floors. After the sit-ups, push-ups and curls I tuned into Today to catch-up on all the TG festivities. Mindy was up shortly after I began my exercises. I drank a cup of coffee and soon left for my TG run. As I alluded earlier, it was a rainy TG morning. To go along with the rain there was a stiff SW breeze blowing too. Despite the yucky weather, there were a number of runners and walkers taking in the Vancouver river front. That didn’t surprise me, though. There are always folks out and about the river front. It’s designed with walkers, runners, and bikers in mind. I completed my run n about 45 minutes. I was drenched with rain and sweat. We needed a few grocery items to complete our TG dinner, so before even changing out of my wet running clothes I requested Glenn’s CRV keys and left for a quick trip up the road to the Safeway. I grabbed some coffee, creamer, OJ, frosting, and whipped cream. I forgot to request Glenn’s Safeway card so I wasn’t able to take advantage of the good sale prices. If I could’ve remembered Glenn’s home phone number that would’ve worked too, but I couldn’t. Oh well! Back at Glenn’s I topped the cheesecake that I made the day prior. I also opened the bottle of champagne that Glenn’s neighbor, Lola left along with a box of pastries. I made Mimosas for everyone. After finishing off the cheesecake we got busy making the TG meal. My contribution was preparing the turkey, stuffing, and the gravy. Mindy helped me prep the stuffing. My recipe is an apple, sausage, walnut concoction blended with a handful of veggies, including bell pepper, celery, and carrots. Our turkey was medium sized -13.5 lbs. We had so much stuffing that we baked a little more than half in a separate casserole dish. Glenn went into work for an hour or two while Mindy and I put the bird in the oven. I think I had three or four of those mimosas. Mindy took a nap on the living room floor by the roaring fire Glenn built. We had Xmas tunes whirling in the background too. While Mindy napped I wrote and practiced guitar. I had a good little holiday buzz going. J Glenn returned sometime close to1pm and got busy making his famous green bean casserole. In the meantime, Mindy prepped the mashed potatoes. While we waited on our food to cook, we called our families back home in Ohio to share a little holiday cheer. We called Dad’s where they were celebrating TG for the first time in almost nine years, according to brother Bobby. Everybody talked, including Mindy. After that we called Mom. She had brother Charles and family over along with uncle Chuck. Mom reported not having the results of the tests her doctor ran on Wednesday. The description of her latest illness didn’t sound too promising. She managed to get Glenn and I concerned. Glenn commented that we could very likely loose both our mother and step-mother in the coming year. As 4pm approached, our turkey along with all the trimmings was finally complete. Glenn dressed the table in its holiday attire making for a most festive setting. We all sat down to TG dinner and shared a few things we were most thankful for. After we ate we agreed to take a walk about the neighborhood to help relieve our full bellies. We were out about an hour. We toured Glenn’s old digs, the Tip-Top Tavern (walk-by only), and other appealing neighborhood houses. It sprinkled a little but not too much. When we returned home we put in the Over the Hedge DVD. I cut myself a piece of cheesecake while watching the movie. I was crashing fast. After that movie we immediately put in Hannibal, a favorite of mine. After the second movie ended Mindy and I were whipped. We discussed our wake-up time and scheduled departure time with brother Glenn. We didn’t want to leave anything to chance. We headed to bed after 10pm. I had to be awake at 5am to ensure plenty of time for exercise, a run, and last minute packing.

A Quest for Immortality

1) My TG cheesecake 2) Egyptian Art 3) The Wright's in hieroglyphics 4) At the Dragon Fly We woke somewhere close to 7:30am again. I got busy immediately with making coffee, my exercises, and then some TV. It was raining again this morning and so that meant that I’d be running in the rain. It was coming down in varying degrees. Even though it was raining, I enjoyed the run in the rain. Something about overcoming the elements. There was plenty of company on the river trail this morning too. I figure most of them were holiday visitors like me. I was back at Glenn’s before 10am. Our plan today would be a little more relaxed. We planned a trip into Portland’s downtown to visit t he Portland Museum of Art, and more specifically to see the Egyptian Exhibit – The Quest for Immortality. After the museum visit, the plan called for Museum after hours with a few of Glenn’s close friends. In between, I was sure, we’d do lunch at a local pub or restaurant. Mindy and Glenn had breakfast underway when I returned fro my run. I jumped in the shower to warm my sweaty, rain chilled body. I enjoyed sausage and scrambled eggs topped with cheese. For the next two hours before heading to Portland, I made the holiday cheesecake. Glenn doesn’t have an electric mixer, and I didn’t have my official l recipe. However, I have made so many cheesecakes over the years I knew I could wing it. I had to be creative with t he mixing since I hadn’t an electric mixer. Like always, I overcame the minor barrier. My cheesecake was done by 12:40pm PT. I had 20 minutes o t tinker before leaving. I played guitar. At 1pm sharp we departed for downtown Portland. Traffic was quite heavy heading over the Columbia River towards town, but it always is on this day. Twenty-five minutes later we were parking in Portland. It was raining pretty hard once again. We sucked it up and took it in stride. We were only two or three blocks form the museum. Finally inside we purchased our tickets. Admission was $20 per person. We each grabbed ourselves portable audio guides to learn as much as possible about the pieces. The pieces were as old as 1500 B.C. and as new as about 500 B.C. The exhibit was well named. The Egyptians were hell bent on finding their way to the blessed afterlife after dying in the flesh. Much like the rest of antiquity, they believed in an underworld where life closely resembled life on earth as we know it but with perfection. However, to attain this status one had to prepare themselves according to their strict customs. The adorned their tombs with many of their favorite earthly relics in hopes of using them in the afterlife. One notable tidbit that I pulled away from the experience was that many Egyptians were in poor health, missing their teeth, and somewhat homely looking. As their bodies were prepared for the afterlife, mummified, and stowed in a sarcophagus, they were made to look beautiful as they might be in the afterlife. This is the reason that the Egyptian burial masks of gold presented an almost flawless looking specimen.. The exhibit had mummies from 3000 years ago complete with coffins and sarcophagi. Another little fact was that they placed covers made of gold over their fingers and toes. Gold was thought to be the metal of the Gods. They were a very spiritual people. We left the museum at close to 4pm PT. We sought a place to get some food and drink that wasn’t packed beyond capacity. That proved difficult. Finally, at our third stop, we found a place - McMenamin’s Market Street Pub. Mindy ordered a Terminator Stout, me a Kris Kringle, and Glenn had a … I forget. I ordered three appetizers; hummus, wings, and mini-burgers. Everything tasted especially good, both the beer and the food. We hung at the pub for three hours! I had a few beers. Mindy stopped after one beer and one Spanish coffee. Glenn, I think, kept up with me. We waited patiently at the pub for Tom Shepperd to call. We decided somewhere along the line to skip the after hours at the museum. Tom would call us when they were leaving, and then we’d meet up elsewhere downtown. He called around 7pm. We walked to Alexander’s which sits atop the Hilton on like the 20th floors. It provides an amazing view of the Portland nighttime skyline as well as quality local music. Sadly, we found the bar to be closed. After meeting up with Tom, Eric, Paul and Holly, we headed to Dragon Fish, a Japanese restaurant. There we ordered more beers and appetizers. By now I had about four beers in me. I was on a roll, but so were others. It’s fair to say, we raised some hell! We laughed and played for about 2 plus hours. We finally left downtown around 11pm and headed back to Glenn’s place in Vancouver. Once back we were quick to head to bed. Mindy and I talked and snuggled for a few, however, before drifting off to sleep.

Seattle, Pike St, Bodies & Brew

1) Driving into Seattle against a threatening sky 2) Looking East up Pike St from the Market 3) The Fish Market 4) Seattle night time sky line Tuesday morning came quickly. I was up at 7:30am PT. Mindy got up moments later. I loaded the coffee maker and then broke into exercise. I made quick work of my routine and enjoyed a glass of pine apple OJ and a cup of coffee before heading out on my morning run. It was a rainy drippy run. The sunshine of Monday was long gone. What’s more, there’s little chance that we’ll see much if any sunshine through the duration of our trip. The weather forecast calls for rain, rain, and more rain. And all that rain translates into snow in them there mountains. Today’s plan calls for a trip to Seattle for some sight seeing and more specifically, three major destinations. We plan to hit the Bodies Exhibit at the Washington Convention Center, Pike Street Market, and then the Space Needle. We originally talked of heading out at 9am, but given our 7:30am rise time, run, and breakfast, that wasn’t going to happen. But we’re on vacation so not one of us was too concerned. We left Glenn’s at 11am destined for Seattle. We hit cloud burst after cloud burst along our trip – it’s a 160 miles almost exactly. After about three hours, Seattle was in our view. Along the way you pass through the state capital – Olympia, and then Tacoma. Seattle has a most impressive skyline. The sky had brightened significant as we drove into the city. But hanging out over Puget Sound were deep purple clouds. By the time we found parking and made it to the streets, thunder began to rumble and a driving rain hit. The locals told us that they get thunder and lightning up to three times a year. We experienced it as soon as we exited the car. Anyone who’s been to downtown Seattle knows that the east to west streets run down steep hills towards Elliot Bay. We walked down one into the driving rain with umbrella’s launched. Glenn’s umbrella was destroyed in less than a minute. Somehow I managed to keep mine from busting, although due to the strong wind, it inverted several times. We could take no more. We ducked into a Starbucks and ordered some hot coffee drinks and then used their john. We hung in Starbucks until the rain lessened. We knew it wasn’t going to stop entirely. We made our way to the Bay and to the many gift shops. We stopped in The Ole Curiosity Shop – a landmark gift shop. There they have an interesting display of shrunken heads and a couple mummies – Sylvester and Sylvia. After some purchases we stopped in Ivar’s, a famous clam chowder house, and ordered some chowders. We enjoyed them in their covered patio as we peered out into the bay. After Ivar’s we found our way to the Pike Street Market. Mindy was looking forward to seeing the Fish Market, especially. We had to walk up several flights of stairs to get there but it was worth it. This is one of the coolest open markets in the country. Their produce and fresh seafood is unparalleled anywhere else. We hung out at the market for about an hour. And any trip to the Pike Street Market isn’t complete without a stop at the original Starbuck’s which sit directly across the street from the northern most end of the market. It’s quite small, plain and unassuming. We left the market area and walked about eight blocks to the east towards the Washing State Convention Center which houses the Bodies exhibit. Seattle has a beautiful down town. You’ve got to see it to appreciate it. Soon we were at the exhibit. As it turned out, this is probably one of the most significant exhibits I have ever witnessed. There were bodies donated t o science is full form and figure as well as all the various pieces and parts. Each of the bodies systems were amazingly separated form the rest and displayed for educational value with an artsy spin. We saw a circulatory system, digestive system, nervous system, skeletal system, muscular system, isolated organs, and then a body of skin only. It was very moving and insightful. Words cannot do it justice. If you want to be educated and amazed, find a way to see this fabulous exhibit. We left the Bodies exhibit after about 2.5 hours. It was nearly 7pm. We made a quick walk to the monorail system where we planned to take a ride over to the Space Needle. As it turned out, the monorail had just shut down – 7pm. It was raining significantly still and we were all hungry and tired. At Mindy’s prompting, we opted out of the Space Needle and instead headed to our car and then to dinner in the sports district. We drove to the Pyramid Brewing Company directly across from Qwest & Safeco Field. There we enjoyed a couple quality beers along with some top notch pub food. I had a Reuben. Glenn had wings and Mindy had … I can’t recall. After dinner we left Seattle and headed towards home (Vancouver). I fell asleep almost immediately. I felt bad for Glenn, thinking that if he were anything close to as tired as me, he would be suffering for all the driving ahead. We were home in just under 3 hours. I woke just as we exited the freeway and came to a stop. Funny how that works. Glenn and I stayed up and watched a little TV and had a beer before going to bed.

Forest Park , Brew, and Dinner

1) Glenn's home early Monday morning - Sunny! 2) A pose in Forest Park 3) Glenn & Mindy Forest Park 4) Gourmet Pizza - Bridgeport Brew Pub - downtown Portland 5) Moet & Chandon toast 6) Rina, Glenn, Mindy, & Me Mindy was the first one out of bed this morning. It was 6:30am. I had a little headache so I took a couple of Advil and returned to bed for a few. She was happy to get up and not have to deal with kids vying for her attention. I could hear the happiness in her voice. While I laid in bed I could hear her talking with her mom back home. She was giving her all the details of our engagement. Gloria knew it was coming because not only had I asked her permission, but I had also asked her for Mindy’s ring size. I got up around 6:45am and dressed in my running clothes. When I went out into the living room, Mindy had coffee ready and was reading the book she had just started yesterday. She was all but done. I completed my normal exercise routine. Before leaving on a run, I unpacked my laptop and did a little journaling. At 8:00am PT sharp, I left for my run. I did my usual 5+ mile Vancouver run, down to the river bank, behind Joe’s Crab shack, along the river walk, to the shore side condos, and back. By the time I returned, 8:50am, Glenn was up. We had an aggressive action plan for the coming week that included, visiting the Museum of Art, skiing, and Seattle. After locking down the order in which we should attack our agenda, Glenn got on line to check out the Portland Museum of Art’s operating schedule – the first day’s main event. Uh-oh! Museum is closed on Monday’s. It was already 10am, too late to head to the mountain for skiing and probably too late to head towards Seattle. With all plans comes flexibility. We decided we’d go hiking in Forest Park, the same park where Glenn and I biked last TG week. We couldn’t really ski today anyhow. The snow pack on Mt Hood had diminished to a paltry 24” after a couple of rainy days in the mountains. That’s too bad because sky wise, today was an ideal ski day – clear blue skies. Unless we got appreciable snow over the next couple of days, and then some decent visibility, snow skiing was in danger of being nixed entirely from our agenda. Obviously that’s out of our control so we didn’t focus much time on it. Instead, we looked forward to our hike. We left the house around 1130am. We made a stop at the local Walgreen’s to get some bottled water and candy bars. We loaded up on the water. We bought a case. Each of us grabbed a couple candy (energy) bars, too. We drove across the river to Portland and then through downtown to Forest Park, the largest metropolitan park in the country. The park sits on the city’s western edge and winds up a very large hill that overlooks the city. It’s quite beautiful. The trail we took is about 12 miles long. We would not be doing the entire trail. We left for our hike under beautifully sunny skies. The trail has a slight upward slope pretty much the entire way. After attaining a pace, the slope was almost undetectable. The greenery was lush and beautiful. And like you might expect, we spent a great deal of our time chatting about this and that while we hiked. We hiked for a couple of hours. We did a total of four miles, turning around at the two mile marker. We left Forest Park near 2pm and headed into NW Portland for some lunch and some brew. We were going to visit the Blue Moon – somewhat of a tradition, but opted instead to try somewhere new. We ended up visiting the Bridgeport Brewpub in the trendy ‘new’ Portland area. The decision was a good one. The pub was ultra modern and the brew and food was A+ good. The décor was primarily stainless steel with lots of other metals mingled in. We ordered a pitcher of their stout along with a 12 inch gourmet pizza. We left the pub before 4pm and headed back towards Vancouver and to the grocery store where we would shop primarily for our TG fixins. We decided on the Safeway at Jantzen Beach. I was a little worried since we would be shopping without a list. That only increases the money we’d spend plus left us vulnerable to forgetting a few important ingredients. We headed home with our haul at 5:00PM. After carrying everything in, I played a little guitar while Glenn locked down our dinner reservations at the Hudson. Mindy and I would be meeting Rina for the first time ever. We had an hour or so to play before leaving to pick her up. I played guitar. Glenn checked email, and Mindy finished her book. We left for Rina’s place at 6:15pm PT. She lives a short drive from Glenn’s. Mindy and I waited in the car while fetched her. Rina looks a lot like her pictures but speaks much differently than I expected a bit rough. We chatted about numerous things including children and back grounds. She hails from Southern California and migrated here about 25 years ago. Like a lot of people, she moved for love. Four kids later she’s still here and now helping raise her grandchildren. We were seated promptly at the Hudson – at rustic looking lodge type place. The menu was a bit pricey, but according to Glenn, the food very good. As we perused the menu, Mindy and I decided to use this dinner out to celebrate our recent engagement and subsequently ordered a bottle of their best champagne – Moet & Chandon White Star. Of course we shared our bubbly with Glenn & Rina even though they had just ordered a bottle of wine. Mindy, Rina, and I ordered New York Steak. Glenn ordered cedar plank salmon. The food was very good. None of us wanted dessert. I picked up the bill. Glenn took care of the tip. We left the restaurant around 9pm. I was almost asleep at the table. After all, it was midnight back home. I slept all the way home, including the drop of Rina at her place. It was only 9:15pm PT when we arrived back a t Glenn’s. I went straight to bed. I was pooped!

An Engaging Experience

A Diamond, cool then warm And we're off ... again - Portland/Vancouver Bound! Detroit NWA tunnel - awesome! My day began early for a Sunday. I was up ten minutes before my self-prescribed 6am. I felt good having cut myself off from drinking during the OSU game at halftime save for one victory beer after the game ended. We probably were asleep by 11pm too. I carried on with my morning routine like any other day. I brushed my teeth, pee’d, took my vitamins and made a pot of coffee before cranking out some exercises. My plan, working backwards from our flight’s departure time, called for me to be back fro ma run by 8am. That would give me plenty of pad on both sides for any unforeseen extra actions I’d need to take prior to departing. Mindy had already requested a wake-up time of 7am, so after taking care of all the above stated business, and then walking Ykraps, I took her a cup of coffee. In our bed I found Jacob where I would usually be lying, snuggling close to his momma as he often likes to do. Back downstairs I blogged for Saturday while the events were still fresh in my personal storage. It’s been a while since I have documented the weekend on the weekend. Most often I do that on Monday, which takes some doing to recollect. Generally, though, once I get going, it all begins to flow like it just happened. But it wasn’t always like that. It’s an acquired skill. A little after 715am I sprung from my computer chair and dawned my back-up running attire (The my A & B sets being clean and packed). The only familiar running gear were my shoes. I decided once out the door, that I would remain in the subdivision in lieu of taking the Trabue route – no sense tempting fate this AM. After all, I had a lot on my mind and didn’t want to be dodging traffic too. I returned from my run feeling victorious and awfully sweaty. It was about 7:55am. Mindy was already out of the shower and half dressed. We were expecting ‘JaMaken’ around 9am to pick-up the kids. As the clock ticked, I was getting more nervous as the ever pressing secretive deadline I had arranged was fast approaching. Mindy was baking bacon and preparing scrambled eggs for all of us. I used the time to blog and tie up a few loose ends. As we sat for breakfast – just after 9am, JaMaken showed up to get the kids. We offered him food but he chose instead to just site and chat. Soon it was time. While Jim preparing to depart with the kids, I snuck upstairs to grab the jewels. We said our goodbyes and gave out liberal hugs. In part to ease the mounting tension, I carried all the suit cases to the car but couldn’t put them in to the Trooper until Jim backed out. He had the tailgate blocked. Jim was soon gone,. Suddenly I found myself alone with Mindy. I haven’t been so nervous in God knows how long. I told Mindy it was time to go. The little voice inside my head (the scared one) tried to conjure up another reason to delay! I paced nervously. Mindy said she wanted to check her email just before we left. I was ready to do the deed. Crap! I could take no more. While she plucked away at her email, and then my blog of all things, I approached her from behind, called out her full name. I told her that my heart was r acing faster than ever before. As she turned in wonder I asked her to marry me and presented her with the ring, still enclosed in the Diamond Cellar box. She seemed more than surprised and I think we both shed a tear or two. She, now equally nervous, accepted and opened the box. She handed the ring back to me to place it on her shaking left ring finger. I slid it on all the way to her knuckle where it stopped. She took over form there and pushed it the rest of the way on. Finally, it was done! Mindy shall be my wife. We left for the airport at 9:45am and were there in the Blue Lot by 10:00am. It’s a fast trip. With little trouble, we were in the terminal checking our bags five minutes later. We had almost 1.5 hours to burn before our flight departed. We strolled casually towards the security check point. Trouble! Apparently the liquid limitation issue was lost on Mindy. She had two items clearly violating the policy and the TSA folks weren’t going to be flexible. It was either leave them behind or possibly mail them home. One of the items was a $50 bottle of Calvin Klein Cologne I bought for her recently. I wasn’t pleased. She went to mail the items home while I passed through security safely. Mindy returned ten minutes later and explained that the items were too large to fit in the mail slot so she took them to the kind lady we met earlier at Bath & Body, gave her $20 bucks and our address. She said she’d ship them to our home. What ever was left, was all hers for the kind act. In the end, not such a bad thing. At our gate, B-36, we sat and waited patiently for our plane to board. Our trip would take us first to Detroit, then to Minneapolis, and finally onto Portland. Detroit was gray and snowy but nothing on the ground. Our original plans called for a quick 40 minute layover and because we had to change concourses, we no time at all. We hurried ourselves to our departing concourse only to arrive and learn the departing flight was delayed. We weren’t too upset because we had a planned 2 hour and forty minute layover in Minny anyhow. Here or there, we figured. We didn’t like having to change gates last minute due to mechanical issues. We left Detroit 50 minutes later than scheduled. We arrived in Minny close to 4pm local time (5pm ET). Again, we had 1.5 hours before our scheduled departure so we found ourselves some fast food – A&W rootbeer & burgers. After woofing down our meal and heading tot our gate we learned our next flight was delayed an hour. Shit- again! We called Glenn to let him in our delay. We’d be an hour later than originally scheduled. The next thing we learned was that our flight gate had changed again. We had to relocate to concourse ‘G’ from ‘C’. That ended up being a long ten minute walk. We were already exhausted! Finally at our new gate, we sat and watched NFL football on the plasma TV. We met a young lady from Portland who gave us a $35 flight voucher she had been given by NWA for transgressions during her trip. She was nice, funny, and also a bit annoying. She talked with Mindy for a long time. Finally, we boarded our Portland bound flight at 6:15pm Minny time. It was a 3.5 hour flight. It already seemed as if we had been traveling all day long. But, in the end, that’s all part of it. We read and slept through the final leg of our journey out west. Come 8:05pm we landed in Portland. We quickly spotted Glenn waiting just outside of baggage claim as we grabbed our four checked pieces of luggage. Soon we were being whisked back to his house. I needed a beer! We arrived at Glenn’s around 9:15pm. We settled in quickly. I cracked a beer, and Mindy some wine. We chatted for about an hour. Mindy, put on her pajamas and excused herself to bed at 10pm PT. Glenn and I went out for a beer after two at home. We found our way to the Hilton at Esther Short Park. It’s a trendy upscale bar. We’ve come along way form the hole in the wall kind of pubs we used to frequent when visiting. We caught up on all the recent goings ons in each of our lives. We shared a plate of deep fried calamari and each had a pint of JubeAle. I was beat. It was near midnight (3am ET). I needed to sleep. Glenn drove by a few other establishments on our way home. I sensed that he wasn’t ready to call it a night. I could take no more, however. Each place we cruised by was either closed or empty. We were back at his place by midnight. I excused myself and turned in. I was very, very tired. More to come...

Buckeyes Win 42 - 39 !

1) Pumpkin decomposing 2) Smashing Pumpkin 3) Ash, Olivia, & Mindy 4) Bella OSU tattoo 5) Bob & Mary Ann's Clubhouse 6) OSU wins! Buckeyes win a close one! More to come... I was up at 7:30am after sharing our bed with Bella for the last few minutes of sleep. I woke feeling well after a relaxing Friday evening at home. And while I felt good, I could already feel some tension building within. That always happens before departing on a trip. I'm not quite sure what the actual cause is but its something that's plagued me for years. Perhaps it's the fear of forgetting something or a looming, pressing dealine that has no flexibilty such as a scheduled flight time. I have never missed a flight, or been late. In fact, the reverse is true. I am always early - sometimes too early. Too, I get tunnel vision and only want to focus on the goal at hand, whether that's packing, loading or organizing. Any slight diversion and I'm a basket case. I have tried to manage this by relaxing a little and not placing so much emphasis on being ready days early. I have found that backing off of the annal act of preparing early only worsens the feeling. At the heart of it, perhaps, is a secret longing to be shamefully lazy. DId you ever have one of those dreams where you forgot to finish a major school project and found yourslef in a terrible pickle only because you lazily failed to get around to it? I had many such ddreams covering many of topics. As I write I think that I have maybe pinpointed the cause. The fear of failure! Ihate to lose. I hate to fail. I know this, I am miserably hard to live with on deadline days. I don't need to be told as much. Today falls well into that category. After my run Mindy prepped herself and the kids for a visit to her mother's and her sisters. She was dropping of the kids packings and picking up a suiitcase and a book. I would have approximately two sorely needed hours alone to pack and organize. And while they were out, I did just that. Come 1pm I was packed and ready. Now i could turn my attention to the Michigan and the clubhouse festivities at Bob and Mary Ann's. I alos made calls to my dad & Ashley to ensure our house sitting and dog walking plans were tight. I had to leave a VM for my Dad. Mindy arrived home around 2:20pm and we quickly organized ourselves around our goal to be at Bob's by 3pm. Mindy ordered wings for pick-up from Barley's, of course. I loaded the cooler and camera. Ashley arrived for a quick visit and to pick-up the key and cash. It was nice to see her and Olivia prior to leaving. We left for Bob and Mary Ann's at 2:45pm. We stopped at Barley's to get our wings. The tension was mounting in the Buckeye nation as the looming kick-off was now only 30-40 minutes away. We pulled up in front of Bob's at 2:57pm. Bob's clubhouse was already alive with activity. We quickly blended with the group, while Jacob and Bella mantained a low, shy profile. Bob served me up with a Sun Dog Blueberry Wheat. It was tasty. Mindy enjoyed a Mike's Hard Berry. Kick-Off was finally upon us. The game started poorly for the Buckeyes. The Wolverines drove right down the field to score the game's first touchdown. The Buckeyes answered on their first drive, and then two more times before Michigan scored again. By half, the score was 28-14, and the Buckeyes seemingly had all the momentum and the second half kick-off coming their way. Thanks God for halftime. It allowed me to catch my breath. I ws tense from the game and also from our looming trip. The second half started much like the first. Michigan scored quickly and before we knew it, it was aball game again. It was 28-24. But just like he's done all year, Troy Smith drove the Buckeyes right back and we build oour lead to 11 points. Never intending for this to serve as a sports recap, I'll cut to the chase. The Buckeyes continued applying pressure equal to Michigan. In the end, The Buckeye's proved to be up to the task. We won a real nail biter, 42 - 39! We celebrated loudly in the clubhouse. Bob couldn't resist his pyro-tendencies. He launched a couple serious fireworks. He's known around Grandview for his fire power prowess. In fact, he's been paid a visit or two by Grandview's finest. We headed for home sometime after 8pm. I walked Ykraps who waited patiently at home. Mindy got he kids in bed and then turned her full attention to packing. I relaxed while taking in more football. Mindy eventually went to bed. I stayed up a little longer. Eventually I joined her watching the USC game from bed. Good Night Moon! Go Buckeyes!

Bo Knows

I managed to sleep soundly until my normal rise time for the first time all week long. I think I still got up to pee around 4am, however. The realization that this was my last day of work for ten whole days did nothing but lift my spirits. I haven't enjoyed more than 4 successive days off of work since our mid-June Florida vacation. And that's a long time for me. I went through my usual paces - exercise, a morning walk, meditation, relaxation, food prep. Again ,this morning we were socked in by clouds. This will go down, I am sure, as one of the cloudiest, rainiest autumn's in recent memory. The weather forecast calls for partly sunny and mid 40's for tomorrow big game although given our recent pattern, I am not going to hold my breath. Mindy and the children left at their usual time and I was left to shower and dress in a quiet house. I went to my t-shirt archives to dig out my old "Bo Busters" t-shirt that I bought at the OSU-Michigan game in 1984(the first of two OSU vs Michigan games that I've attended). I wanted to wear it to work in lieu of the standard jersey. I found it with relative ease. It didn't smell so great but I wore it anyway. Just like other t-shirts from the archive, it was a bit tight around the chest and arms, confirming once again how well I have maintained my physique! :) I left for work around 7:50am after some guitar strumming and straightening up of the homestead. Despite a brightening forecast, I hit some drizzle along my way to work. The TG week forecast calls for temps soaring into the 60's and partly sunny skies. Hmmm? I was a little worried how the work day might unfold given the way that Thursday went. We were as busy as we've been since mid-summer. I knew, however, all I had to do was make it through the day and then I could forget about work altogether for ten days. In what was a little out of the ordinary, we had our weekly staff meeting this morning. It was an upbeat meeting with nothing too heavy discussed outside of a few employee related issues. Come 12:45pm I left for my last pre-vacation work day run. The temperature was a balmy 41 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The light of the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds every so often. My run went fast. After a shower I was back in my office just before 2pm. Meanwhile, as expected, my Bo Buster's t-shirt yielded a handful of funny comments. Then a peer approached and told me that I should be ashamed and should turn my t-shirt inside out. When I asked why, he told me that Bo Schembechler had just passed away. At first I thought that he was joking, but once I logged onto my PC I immediately saw that he was not. That's just too coincidental! The game's already bigger than big, and now that one of the game's legendary icons passed away on the eve of perhaps the biggest game ever between the two is just too freaky! Sheepishly, some Buckeye fans quipped that they hoped this wasn't just what Michigan needed to boost their desire to win. For the next half hour I read all about Bo's timely/untimely passing. Oh boy! It was almost 3pm and my thought s turned to wrapping up and getting out of the office. I spent the next hour tying up all loose ends and preparing to be gone. At 4pm I left for home feeling awfully good! At home, the kids and Mindy were already there. I did the Ykraps thing before anything else. Mindy warmed leftover pizza for dinner and the rest of the evening we spent hanging out with the kids who very rambunctious. At 9 or so Mindy and hot tubbed. I'm convinced that Mindy tried hurting me when she knocked my drink and its contents along with shards of glass into the tub. However, I carefully fished out the missing pieces before sitting comfortably there in. Inside, while a fire roared, we watched Discovery Channel where a guy was dropped into the rain forest in Costa Rica and used only his knife as a tool for survival until he found his way out. Next, we watched a few folks climbing Mt. McKinley in Alaska - some 20,000ft up. Very tense. I fell asleep before the end but Mindy watched it all and told me what happened in the end. We went to bed sometime close to 11pm. No Barleys.

Crossing a Threshold

A rainy morning I woke in the middle of the night once again. It was approximately 3:00am. I had to pee and my sinuses ached and were stuffy. I pee’d, blew my nose, and took two Advil then jumped back into bed. I fought off the urge to get up even though for a few minutes I felt unable to fall back asleep. Finally, I past that imaginery threshold. Next thing I knew it was 5:40am. I was quick out of bed and downstairs getting after my exercises. Thunder rumbled across the sky, which was preceded by a few colorful lightning flashes. In an instant, I could hear little feet scurrying through the hallway. The storm woke them and they joined Mindy in bed. It was raining once again. We can’t seem to shake this turbulent weather pattern we’ve lived in since last Sunday, but who’s counting. As I went through my routine I could hardly believe that it was Thursday already – a week away from TG Day. The realization that my vacation is practically upon me and the beginning of the Xmas season began to take hold. I’m ready! In what’s becoming old hat, Ykraps and I headed out into the rainy morning. We took a different route than usual. He appreciates that as much as I like to shake up my run route from time to time. When we returned I toweled him off as I often do after a drenching to minimize the shakings that typically splatter the walls. I began making coffee for Mindy and I. In a bit of a twist, Mindy came downstairs to get her coffee since she was awakened by the kids, who were now romping around in our bed watching a video. As we sipped our coffee the kids began to squabble over the video and ended up in trouble. Always a little hard to take at 6am! Soon things quieted down and Mindy returned upstairs to get a shower. I continued making breakfast and packing our lunches. Before long, everyone was back downstairs ready to depart for the day. I headed up to get my own shower. I enjoyed the quiet of the house in everyone’s absence. I spent a little time playing guitar and laying out more vacation packings. All of my ski gear is accounted for, plus I verified that we I still have two patches for our use – a must as we ascend into the mountains. Comfortable with what I achieved, I left for work a little after 8am. I arrived by 8:20am and got myself involved in all the activity quickly. Needless to say, I worked hard! I didn’t come up for air until almost run time, which came at 12:45pm. By then the rain had subsided and temperature was a rather mild 53 degrees. I made a mental note of the sun’s position which was obscured by clouds yet obvious. It’s much lower in the sky these days. Duh! After my speedy return, I gobbled my lunch (turkey too!). I spent the afternoon trying to clear my to-do list prior before going on vacation. I even recorded my vacation away message and drafted my out-of-office email so all I have to do tomorrow is push a few buttons. Sure as day, 5pm rolled around quickly. I left the office somewhere near 5:15pm. I called Mindy before leaving my parking spot and she & the kids requested I bring pizzas home for dinner as long as it sounded good to me. I obliged and even placed our pick-up order before hitting the gas. It was drizzling again when I arrived at Minelli’s. Our pizzas were just coming out of the oven. Perfect! More often than not, there are familiar faces sitting in the dining room. Tonight I noticed the Ruby’s. They live or lived in the Westmoor Place subdivision that I once lived in some 40+ years ago, and had two sons (David and Doug) that Glenn and I went to school with. We didn’t speak, but I could tell that they recognized the familiarity in my eyes too. As soon as I got home with the pies I leashed up Ykraps for our walk. We took somewhat of an abbreviated stroll but just enough for him to do his business. We didn’t bother grabbing the umbrella. At least wit hall the recent rain, Ykraps knows the return routine well. I don’t allow him off the leash until we’re in and he’s been toweled off. I could smell the delicious pizza waiting. I woofed down several pieces of pepperoni and a couple cheese. After dinner the kids were sent to the basement to play while Mindy finished some laundry and packing. Not does she need to pack for our trip, she has to pack the kids for their stays with Grandma and then with Jim. And in what seems almost ridiculous, she packs the kids stuff for Jim in labeled bags for each day. I found my way to the reading chair where I slowly drifted off to sleep, and it was only like 6:45pm. I was woken by the cries of Jacob being sent to his room. Apparently, he was tormenting Bella and eventually kicked her. Mindy had heard and seen enough. Jacob’s night was officially over despite profuse begging and many apologies. After calming, Mindy slipped upstairs with the dreaded spoon to dole out some corrective action. I stayed up for a few and even updated my blog for the past two days. I went upstairs to tuck in Bella – Jacob was already asleep. I went back downstairs and returned to my chair where I read and again fell asleep. I woke a couple of times but slept there until almost 10pm. Eventually, I leaped to my feet and headed towards our bed. Mindy followed. For lots of reasons, I was thoroughly exhausted!

Rained all damn day & night

OK... it's not MY list but you get the picture! OK… this is becoming a habit. I was up once again sometime around 3:30am feeling entirely rested. This time, however, we both were awakened by Bella. I couldn’t return to sleep, so I once again got up and went downstairs to read. I read for a shorter spell than the previous two days and slowly but surely drifted back to sleep. I stayed downstairs until it was well past my usual rise time. I jumped to my feet at about 5:45am and got going. It was miserable out of doors. It was raw and rainy. After my usual exercises Ykraps and I ventured out into the rain together. Squish-squish describes it well. After some meditation, coffee, lunch, breakfast, and shower, I was all but ready to depart for work. Before leaving I spent some time playing guitar like always and then just like clock work, bolted for the office. My morning was painstakingly busy, and because of more interviews, I knew that my afternoon would be equal to the task. I left for a run a little early budgeting my time according. And as luck would have it, it was raining nicely at that time too. I got soaked but I didn’t mind too much. For the most part, I am impervious to water. I came with a protective coating that replenishes itself about every 28 days. After a return to my office I made very quick work of my brought food. I had to hurry. My interviewees were waiting downstairs.The interviews went until well past 3pm. The rest of the day was very busy. I ended up in a lengthy discussion with a peer until wel lpast 5:00pm. I nfact, I didn't leave for home until after 5:30pm. And yes, it was still raining. This was a Mindy Wednesday with the the choir practice caveat. Mindy had a nice pork chop dinner ready for the two of us. We didn't have long before she had to go. She left the house at 6:45pm. I was scared what the evenign might be like once the kids returned. As you may recall, last choir practice Wednesday didn't go so well. The plan as Mindy explained was for Jim to bring the kids home around 7:30pm - a full half hour later than ususal. I figured ot avoid some of the trauma of last week. Anyhow, they arrived at about 7:20pm. Jaocb, as he often is, was a bit stand-offish while his dad was present. But nothing more than one would expect from a young lad. After Jim departed both kids were exceptionally well-behaved. They didn't challenge my authority at all. They did ask to eat some Halloween candy before readying for bed, which I agreed to. Short of that they were little angels. We went through the entire process quickly and happily. Jacob & Bella each read, and then we did the brush and tuck. It was exactly 8:00pm. I changed into my own pajammas then slipped back downstairs to relax. Mindy arrived home right after 8:30pm. I think that she was as surprised as me at how quiet the house was. I gave her thumbs-up report on the kids behavior. Soon they heard her voice and beckoned for her attention. She quickly obliged then returned downstairs where we chatted about our coming trip, Lindsey, us, and other miscellaneous stuff. Mindy headed up to bed around 9:45pm and I popped some corn and snuggled up in my chair for a little reading. But I did more sleeping than reading. I found my own way to bed around 10:40pm.

I don't want Tuesday to slip to far out of short term memory

Once again, I woke up mysteriously early – about 3am. And just like the morning before, I couldn’t fall back asleep. I felt completely rested and ready to get up. However, having been down this road before, I know that sleepiness ultimately returns before dawn. Instead of laying there, I got up and headed downstairs to read. I read for about 45 minutes before falling back to sleep slumped in my chair. I woke about twenty minutes later. Instead of heading back to bed like the day before, I found a way to lay crosswise in the chair promoting a more restful sleeping position. I drifted off again until 5:30am. I woke feeling pretty good and got busy with my morning ritual. After calisthenics and a vitamin I headed out with Ykraps. The rest of my morning went like almost all others – pack lunch, make breakfast, eat, shower, dress, play and go. At work I had a busy morning comprised of multiple interviews. That took me right up to lunch. At 12:45pm I left for my Tuesday run. The run went well. It was chilly – mid 40’s and gray. I could tell that something remained in my system from the weekend’s illness. But my legs feel much better, still. After returning to my office and eating my lunch, I got involved in several escalations that kept me from clock watching for the rest of the day. I left for the day close to 5:15pm. Instead of going straight home I stopped at Saturday’s in Mill Run for a shearing. I was quoted a fifteen minute wait, so I ventured Jack’s Aquarium and Pet’s next door. I returned after 15 minutes and was ushered back by Stacey. She had the honor this evening. Surprisingly, she remembered that I typically travel for TG and asked if that were so again this year. We talked about my upcoming trip and then about her local holiday. I had her cut my hair a tad shorter than usual. She was efficient with time and had me out of there after only about five minutes. I bought a new small tube of hair gel that will travel well. I was home before 6pm. Jacob got a haircut today too as it turned out. He wasn’t too happy, however, as he had gotten used to keeping it longer on my prompting. It looks good though. Mindy made the two of us chili dogs – no buns. It would’ve been an almost carb-free meal if it weren’t for the pumpkin pie for dessert. But that’s OK. It was yummy. The rest of the evening was spent getting the kids ready for bed, talking, and then some reading. We went to bed somewhere near 9:40pm.

Power, Freedon, & Grace

Gloomy Morning Got Milk? My boy posing for the holidays. There was no doubt the worst of my latest illness was behind me. Gone was the inevitable urge to vomit. Still, I didn’t sleep all that well after 2:30am. Finally, after laying there for an hour, I got up and out of bed at 3:30am. I ventured downstairs where I paid Lindsey’s late AT&T bill and then did some reading. I began by reading several pages of the Kama Sutra before deciding it was time to put the book aside and move on to something more stimulating. This marks one of the few times I have given up on a book and moved on. I started on yet another Deepak book, Power, Freedom, and Grace. And this book is much more up my alley. I read about 16 pages before me eyes could take no more. I allowed the book to flop to my belly and my neck to roll back and to the side. Almost in an instant, I was sound asleep, and some of the best sleep all night. I woke after only twenty minutes and turned off the reading light. It was now 5:00am. I had thirty more minutes available and took them. I woke like clock work right at 5:30am. And just like always happens, I finally felt tired after being wide awake earlier. Despite feeling tired I gleefully leaped to my feet and began my morning prep process. I cracked the seal on my new One-A-Days after taking Mindy's Target brand vitamins for almost 60 days. I'm convinced I could tell the difference - mostly when I ran. The Target brand left me feeling like I wasn't getting my needed dose. Maybe it's all in my head. We'll see how I feel after a few days. After my exercises and walk with Ykraps I did the coffee thing for both Mindy and I. Mindy woke when I delivered hers and asked where I was. " I am here, of course." :) I told her that I couldn't sleep and that I had gave up on sleep and decided to read. Back downstairs I did my morning meditation then quietly began food prep. I could feel the lingering effects of my illness along with some tiredness. My stomach felt a little uneasy. I chugged through my routine and soon was enjoying my eggs and fruit. Mindy and the kids were up and about the kitchen by now having some breakfast of their own. Jacob had Pop-Tarts and Bella ... can't recall. After Mindy left I showered and dressed rather handsomely in nice black dress slacks and a colorful button down shirt. As I dried my hair I was reminded just how good looking I am. Not really! I was reminded how badly I need a haircut. I made a mental note that perhaps I should get it done either after my run or after work. Onward. Before leaving for work I snapped a pic or two of the gloomy sky and played a few licks on the guitar. I left for the office by 7:42am. I arrived at work by 8:00am. The first half of my day went pretty smooth. I've definitely seen much worse! It was 12:45pm when I headed out for a run. My run was pleasant despite the chilly temps. I wore a wind shirt under my jacket which blocked the air's chill from piercing my armor. My legs felt about as good as they have in a month all the while the queasy never left. I was very surprised. Good run! I pondered many things during this run: the hapless Vikings, the upcoming Buckeye/Michigan game, Lindsey, as well as the coming weekend. I returned to my office close to 2pm. I ate my lunch even though I had only half an appetite. Once started I was able to easily eat all of my brought food. After lunch I put the finishing touches on tomorrow's interview extravaganza, and managed through a couple escalations. I checked the Timberline Lodge snow pack and was surprised to see it setting at 28 inches after being at zero as recent as Friday morning. Checking their webpage even further, Mt Hood's in the throws of a large snow storm with an additional accumulation of eleven inches expected. Suddenly, and somewhat unexpectedly, it looks like skiing is on TG week! Similar circumstances last year. Wahoo! As work wound down I readied for home. I was home by 5:30pm. It was all but dark when I arrived. Boy, the sunlight fades fast after fallback! This was a Mindy Monday, which meant no kids and a quiet home at least until 7pm-ish. Mindy and I walked Ykraps together. Mindy made herself a cheese burger. I declined the same for having a queasy tummy. I ate chicken broth and a couple pieces of French bread. I did managed to woof down a piece of my tasty pumpkin pie, however, and it was even better after a night and day in the fridge. After dinner and clean-up, Mindy and I sat in the living room chatting. We kicked around the notion of hosting the Wright family Xmas celebration since brother Bob's conceding this year. We also talked about the possibility of attending the Mannheim Steamroller show Friday ,December 22nd. We talked about taking Glenn and one of Mindy's teacher friends. Soon the kids were home. Jim M didn't stay too long stating the need to get to the library pretty quickly to work on his resume since his politically appointed boss lost the election last week - Betty Montgomery. Little time passed before Mindy lead the kids upstairs for jammies. I did what I always do. I blogged. After the read and tuck we returned downstairs for a short bit of time. I retired to my reading chair and began, well, reading. Mindy perused pictures on the PC. By 8:30pm I slipped off to sleep but only for about fifteen minutes. I woke, secured the home, and headed for bed. Mindy followed. I think I was asleep before she even made it into bed.

More pumpkin pie

Pumpkin Pie Jacob's imitation of the MB game , Mouse Trap! I woke a couple of times through the night never sleeping quite as well as I would’ve liked. I felt good enough to head down stairs at 7:30am. And it wasn’t too long before Mindy joined me. I still felt queasy and my stomach definitely didn’t want anything too heavy. I still made coffee and took my vitamin. I pushed through my exercise routine on nothing but dedication. I certainly didn’t have much stored energy. I walked Ykraps with a cool breeze in my face – one that I was thankful for. After an uneventful walk I returned for some coffee. With my coffee in hand I logged on to my work laptop and perused the pending issues. The coffee was a bit heavy so I drank it slow. Unlike usual, I didn’t even finish the first cup. I was eager to get my run underway before any new ill feelings came over me. I left for a run just after 9am. I wasn’t sure until the last minute if I would take my internal or external route. I so much more enjoy the external route but also know it’s more dangerous and being ill I thought that it wasn’t time to worry about dodging cars. At the very last minute, I took that route anyway. The run went well and I felt better than I thought that I might. Over the years I’ve learned that even the staunchest illness lets go when I run, especially when it’s cool. It must have everything to do with the endorphins. It’s only when I finish do the ill feelings return. Today was much the same. When I returned fro my run I had the house to myself again. My first order of business was to make some eggs. My stomach was empty. The only food I had eaten yesterday was two eggs, some sausage, and cheese-its and I threw them up. Needless to day, despite my queasy tummy, I was hungry. After my eggs and a little work, I got busy with the pie crust I wanted to make and then the chores Mindy asked me to do in her absence. She would be out until almost 2:30pm with church and groceries. I ended up doing some laundry, vacuuming the entire house top to bottom, spot cleaning the tile floor, putting away tools, and starting the nightstand knob replacement project. I was a busy beaver. I still felt a bit ill. The feeling never left, but I felt good enough to slack all day in my PJ’s. I finished when Mindy called close to 1pm. It was then that she warned that Jim would be bringing the kids home between 2-3pm – early by about 1.5 hours. I was fine with that except that I felt I needed a nap by now. I tried in a hurry to sneak in a nap. I never fully fell asleep but did some sliding in and out. At 2:15pm I rose and did some more work. Mindy arrived home just before the kids arrived and I helped her carry in the groceries. I called daughter Ashley and Lindsey to invite them over for dinner. Ashley called back and accepted. Her and Olivia would be over around 4:30pm. Lindsey promised a callback but never did. Mindy got home and started making dinner – homemade vegetable soup. At the same time, I started making a pumpkin pie. I pulled the pie out of the oven at 4pm. I watched NFL football while carrying on with other Sunday activities, including keeping an eye tuned to work. As promised, Ashley and Olivia arrived between 4:30 & 5:00pm – right when Jacoby and I were heading out with Ykraps. I was good to see them both. We hadn’t seen Olivia in two weeks. It’s hard to believe but she’ll be 4 weeks old on Tuesday. Yikes! After playing with Olivia Mindy began serving up dinner. And by the way, the Vikings blew yet another sure win. They lost to the punchless Packers. Olvia wanted a bottle while we ate. I happily got up to do the honor while allowing Mindy and Ash to eat. Ashley and Olivia stayed until about 7:30pm. Before Ashley left we confirmed plans for our trip and her house sitting. We also had her try out he carrier we bought her. Good thing it’s not for me. I am not flexible enough to reach around my back to fasten the damn thing. Before Ashley left we had dessert – my pumpkin pie. Ashley left and Mindy and I continued cleaning up after dinner. We had made quite the mess. I headed upstairs to help Mindy with tuck in process. I missed reading. Mindy and I relaxed on the family room floor for about an hour while American Dad and Family Guy played. They were both very funny tonight. We headed to bed where we uncharacteristically read the dispatch & watched a little more Sunday sitcom TV. TV was off at 10:15pm. I wasn’t as sleepy as I had hoped, but it’s no wonder. I got lots of sleep over the weekend.

Ailing

A zoom-in down my throat and into my tummy. OK, this isn't really a pic of my sick stomach but it does capture quite nicely how it felt. I woke feeling somewhat sluggish on Saturday morning, but that’s all that unusual after a few beers the night before. What was odd, Mindy got up at the same time as me – 8:30am. After working through my exercises, which I struggled through, Mindy and I walked Ykraps together. Our walk was non-eventful save for the sudden urge to vomit about half way through the walk. That nauseous feeling came and went in a hurry, though. Upon our return we both enjoyed a hot cup of coffee. Mindy had an aggressive goal to be out of the house by 9:30am in route to her mother’s for some early Xmas shopping. I planned nothing but a leisurely morning before taking off on my daily run, and some follow-up on a few work related issues. Mindy made a call to her mother to let her know she was running a few minutes behind schedule but would be there by 10am. She pretty much met her adjusted departure time. Soon after she left I dawned my running gear and took off into the cool, gray autumn air. I chose to stay within the confines of the subdivision instead of taking my weekend route down Trabue. For whatever reason, I was low on energy and ran tired and a little stiff legged. When I arrived back home I was so relieved my run was in the bag. There are always a few days like that. Inside, I filled the CD carousel with some of my favorite Xmas music and turned the stereo up a bit louder than usual. Included in the mix were two Mannheim Steamroller CD’s. While the music played, I cooked myself some sausage and eggs all the while doing a little work. After finishing my breakfast, I thought that I’d make some pie dough, but just as I was pulling up my stored recipes on line, that sick feeling came over me again, but this time I felt a little dizzy too. I decided to lay down for a spell. It was now 12 noon and time for college football. I got horizontal on the couch as I began feeling progressively worse. Minute by minute the symptoms heightened. I felt terrible and almost certain to vomit. I slumbered on the couch four a couple of hours going in and out of sleep, but never close to blissfully. With each passing minute the feeling only worsened. Finally, I managed my way upstairs to dawn a t-shirt since I was shirtless after my run. I was getting cold. The trip up the stairs proved too much for my sick stomach and eventually I threw up. I hadn’t done that in an awfully long time. It was horrid! Often throwing up feels like a blessing – finally releasing the poison within. This time, however, I felt as though I was dying. My head was spinning out of control, I was in a cold sweat, and found myself pleading for God’s help. After heaving my guts for a couple of minutes the symptoms subsided. I thought perhaps I had simply passed the poison and could move on. I brushed my teeth, gargled, and laid down for a few more minutes. Minutes later I jumped to my feet feeling much better. I decided to take a shower and did it ever feel good. I opted to return to my flannel pajamas and then to the couch downstairs. I remember thinking that I should photo’d the vomit for journal purposes, but didn’t. I laid watching football feeling very weary & tired. The sick feeling slowly began to mount once again. I moaned through it all the way up to the Buckeye game kick-off. I felt so bad that I laid with my eyes closed and just listened to the broadcast. I was sick! Mindy arrived home from shopping some time around 4:30pm. I was feeling slightly better than I did earlier, I even asked Mindy to get me a bowl of Cheeze-Its to help stave off hunger and at the same time hopefully absorb any of the nasties left in my tummy. I watched her organize and wrap some Xmas presents while the Buckeye game carried on. Sometime during the third quarter I began moaning again and the sickness once again came upon me like an avalanche. I literally crawled to the guest bathroom sure that I was going to vomit in seconds. I laid there on the floor of the smallish bathroom with my head on the cold tile. It was terribly uncomfortable but seemingly a far better option than staying upright. The symptoms lingered but no joy. I was in misery. I could take no more of the hard, cold floor. Somehow I mustered the energy to crawl upstairs where I grabbed a pillow and dropped to the carpeted floor. I felt rough! Minutes passed and the any little noise that Mindy generated caused me great angst. Finally, feeling it was inevitable once again, I slithered to the master john, raised the lid, and all but begged for the poison to flow. The most god awful rush came over me. I really thought that I might die right there. I remember feeling helpless and hopeless. Out with the Cheeze-Its and whatever else remained in my tummy. Instantly, I found myself soaked in a cold sweat. But more importantly, the awful feeling had abated. Still ill, I climbed into bed and there I covered up in the dark room with only the TV playing in the background – The Buckeye game. Soon Mindy came upstairs to ready for the Bachelorette party she planned to attend. She asked if I wanted her to stay home and care for me, but I declined. Soon she was gone. I slept for about two hours best guess. I woke around 8:30pm I felt good enough to get up and mosey down the stairs to the couch once again. There I plopped and enjoyed the Texas/KSU game. Mindy called soon after to let me know she was almost home. I asked that she fix me some Orange Live-Wire Mt Dew when she got home. I was craving the sugar I guess. I even for two cans poured over ice. When she finally arrived home I could think of nothing I wanted more than my coveted cold drink. She made it for me expeditiously. It was so good. I took my time drinking it since my stomach was remained tender. We watched the game until halftime as I went in and out of sleep. We headed for bed still during halftime. I continued watching the game from bed. I slept through much of the late 3rd quarter and early 4th. The game was a wild one. I was sure Texas would pull it out, although I didn’t want them to. I woke again around 11pm feeling noticeably better and sweaty which was a good sign. From bed I enjoyed the final minutes of game and smiled as KSU ran away with the major upset. Now wide awake, I tuned into Saturday Night Live and Mad TV to get a few laughs before finally drifting off to sleep again before 12:30am.

Precursor

A Friday sunrise to remember While shooting sunrise pics I spotted this hawk in my Ash tree (taken with flash into a dark but lightening sky). Notice the flash against his eye. Jacob and Bella in Friday sorta moods. I was up on time and in a positive frame of mind. It was Friday, and part two in a series of spring-like days. I busted out my exercises then hit the streets with my little buddy, Ykraps. Mindy had a field trip planned so she didn’t need a packed lunch. In turn, I only packed a light lunch for myself. I was eager for the weekend ahead even though I would be serving as the on-call manager again. I held out hope that role wouldn’t completely destroy an otherwise relaxing weekend. Too, Mindy and I would be kidless for the first time since the weekend of October 20th. The temperature promised to hover near 70 degrees again today with plenty of sunshine. I already knew that I’d be driving the BM’er. There won’t be too many more days like this until next year. I dressed rather ragged even for a Friday. I wore some worn out jeans and a Hedonism t-shirt that I recently dug out of my t-shirt archives. The theme blended well with driving the BM’er to work on a sunny Friday morning. My drive into work was truly invigorating – sunny, cool wind in my hair. Work went good. The early day never managed to get too out of control. I left for my run early – somewhere near 12:15pm. I ran in shorts and a long sleeved shirt and was very comfortable. After my run & shower I left the campus to run an errand. I drove to Baby’s-R-Us to pick-up the baby carrier I had promised Ashley. I discovered immediately that the price for these soft carriers varies wildly any where from $30 to $120. I opted for a less expensive model after comparing safety features and also considering its minimal use. I was back at work by 2:25pm more than ready to eat my light lunch. The Friday afternoon pace picked up considerably and time flew by. I had an uneasy feeling that a couple of pending issues would haunt me all weekend long. I was nearly dark when I left the office – sometime near 5:15pm. I wouldn’t get to enjoy the Friday sunset on my drive home. When I arrived home, Mindy had my access to the garage completely sealed off. I had to move the Trooper before I could pull in. We walked Ykraps together then Mindy left for her Southern Living party at Joy’s. Along our walk, we ran into our neighbor and friend, Pat Schultz on his way to pick-up the every Friday Sporano’s pizza (you can almost set your watch). We chatted for a few and then invited he and Lisa to join us later at Barleys. He asked that we call Lisa and ask her. When we got back home we did. They agreed to meet us there later. Mindy soon left for her party. She hoped to be back by 8pm. In the meantime I updated Thursday’s blog and took care of a few other miscellaneous tasks. As luck would have it, I got involved in a couple of work related matters that I mentioned earlier. That some what soured an otherwise wonderfully relaxing early evening. Mindy was home before I knew it. I was still working when she returned. We left for Barleys by 8:30pm and arrived shortly thereafter. We had to stand as there were no stools available at the bar. We knew, however, that most likely we’d have a couple of seats after about 15 minutes or so. I ordered a firkin – a House hops, Pale Ale. And in what’s completely out of character, Mindy ordered a beer. She ordered a St Joan’s Revenge – an Imperial Stout. To my surprise, she eventually drank the entire pint. While we drank our first beers, Pat & Lisa showed up. Pat’s gone to Barleys with me before but I don’t think that Lisa has. Soon after they arrived, Bob showed up alone dressed head to toe in his Blue jackets attire. He was at the game while his wife, Mary Ann worked. He left the game a bit early after it was clear that the B.J.’s were going to lose yet again. Over the course of the evening we joked, ate, and drank some more. We had a really nice time. Mindy and I bought two OSU/Michigan squares for $5 a piece. Bob inferred that he will, in fact, be having a “clubhouse” for the Michigan game. We’ll most likely go. We left Barley’s and were home by 11:30pm. Through the night I had my usual three beers. Mindy drove home since she had only one. At home we snuggled in bed before falling asleep.

Absolutely Curtains

Sunrise Sunset Once again I was able to harness the magic of the fallback and wake with ease and right at 5:30am. This fallback thing is exactly what my psyche needed! I woke a couple of times through the night to sounds of puking. It was Jacob. He was ill and did his first deed in our bathroom for some reason, but at least he had the wherewithal to make it to the toilet. I heard him a couple more times,too, although in his own bathroom. He woke his mommy the first time. The other times she heard him and leaped to his side without any prompting. I was excited about the day ahead when I peered out of doors to see the moon and several stars peeking back at me. The anticipated high was supposed to approach 70 degrees and stay that nice through Friday evening. Unless something unforeseen occurred, I knew right then that it was gonna be a BM'er day. I whipped through my exercises and my walk with Ykraps with a bit of a skip in my gait. We were back even before 6:00am to begin enjoying coffee. As always, I took Mindy hers. I returned downstairs to meditate and carry-on with my usual food prep routine. I made tunafish today so I packed Mindy some too. When she woke Jacob, he was concerned about school and was insistent on going to school. He didn't want to miss. She offered hi man out and a day at Grandma Sharon's but he was still adamant about school. And since he seemed to feel better she allowed him to do just that. She left for school about normal time with both the kids. I showered, dressed, and paid bills before leaving for work. I felt much better after paying the early monthly bills. To the BM'er Batman! By the time I was ready to pull out of the garage the sunny skies had turned to thick fog, but I didn't allow that to deter my positive energy. I proceeded as planned. It was a bit chilly but also invigorating. I arrived to work just before 8am and felt super good. The work day was pleasant and went by quickly. Before I knew it, it was time to run. I left for my run near 1pm. I wanted to depart a little earlier but got wrapped up in a work related escalation. That's how it often goes. The weather was super. The skies were now almost completely clear and the temperature was in the mid 60's. I wore shorts and a long sleeved running shirt. For whatever reason, my legs were weary today. I chugged through it, and once I hit the halfway point I was over the hump. I thought through a number of issues while running today. I doubt I really solved anything, but pondered the world just the same. After my run I showered then returned to enjoy my packed lunch. I was hungry. I had momentarily forgotten about the tuna so I was excited to see it in my lunch bag. Hey, sometimes it's the little things! The afternoon went quickly too. Before I knew it, it was time to go home. I pondered the night's activities and could think of nothing out of the ordinary. Good! It would be Mindy, Jimmy, and the kids enjoying each others company. About the only thing on our agenda would be watching the big Thursday Night Football game between Rutgers and Louisville, who were both undefeated. When I got home I did my usual chores and walked Ykraps. Mindy was making dinner. She hasn't done that in a while. We were having baked skinless chicken breast and green beans. Bella didn't want any chicken so she had Rice Krispies. Before dinner was served I used the time to surf the net. Soon Mindy called me to dinner. We ate a healthy low-carb dinner. We ruined the low-carb thing somewhat by eating the last of the keylime pie that's been in the freezer. Though, they were small pieces. After dinner Mindy predictably rushed the kids upstairs for the bath event. While they did that I updated my blog and downloaded Mindy's Veteran's Day pics from her Nikon, which we hadn't used in months. I found pics we'd taken all the way back into July that we hadn't downloaded or viewed. What struck me most was how much the kids have changed in four months. Man, they grow fast. Soon, Bella yelled for me to come read and tuck. We enjoyed Jacob's early reader attempt, but the book he picked was simply too hard. I predicted he'd be able to read books like that by Xmas at the rate he's going. While Mindy read a bedtime story I headed down to finish downloading pics. After that job was through, I went to family room to tune into the football game. It had just started and Louisville was already ahead 7-0. Very quickly Rutgers fell behind 22-7, although, just like last week, it was an exciting game. At the half we headed upstairs like always to watch the rest from bed. We took our blood pressure. Mindy's was 134/82 pulse 84, and mine was 125/61 pulse 46. It was 25-14 when I fell asleep. I remember Mindy sliding the remote from my hands. but I couldn't muster the energy to combat her.

Trash Day

The line-up. Can you identify the perpetrator? It was bound to happen sooner or later. Today marks the first time that I woke later than 5:30am. I woke a couple of times before, but gave myself a hall pass for an additional few minutes of precious sleep. The last time turned into about 35 minutes and I woke at 5:45am. I moved with a little more urgency, but certainly not as if I were late because I wasn’t. I was back on track after walking Ykraps. I was back at home by 6:05am – my desired coffee cut-off. In act, I still beat the trash truck back, although I put it out the night before just in case. When I pulled my running clothes from the dryer, I also removed the lint and rolled it into the shape of a mouse for Bella’s enjoyment. After food prep and breakfast she finally made her presence known. We pointed out the mouse, but she didn’t fall for it. She immediately picked it up and threw it in the trash. Good thing it wasn’t real. Hmmm? Maybe that’s my next prank! Me and the kids went back and forth like we often do. I enjoy it quite a bit, and so does Jacob. For whatever reason, Mindy isn’t so keen to it. Usually when I rowel up the kids it carries over after I excuse myself. Today was a good example. Jacob kept teasing Bella after I headed upstairs. Bella wined and Mindy snapped! I’d never heard Mindy yell before. I guess I always knew it was in there. It was both scary and funny. I brought me to the top of the stairs to check out the carnage. Looking down the stairs and into her eyes I knew not to say anything. Oops! The kids both snapped to attention. I proceeded with my daily grooming and before I knew it I was on my way to work. I was hopeful that the weather Gods would deliver on the promise of a warm sunny day, although the forecast had diminished somewhat. Originally it was supposed to be sunny and 65. That was morphed into PC and 58. Still Thursday and Friday are expected to be banner late fall days with crisp sunshine and temps close to 70. Wahoo! Boating anyone? Work went well. I had a few meetings on tap so I knew I had to be attentive to my schedule If I were to remain on task. The first meeting ran right up until run time making for an ultra fast morning. The afternoon meeting had already started by the time I returned form my run since I stopped and visited with my buddy Carmen. Her son Jacob Michael is 16.5lbs and he’s only 3 months old. He’s big, and he looks just like her, too. The afternoon meetings went until after 3:30pm. Needless to say, the afternoon flew by. Work attempted once again to hold a tight grip on my presence after 5pm. I was able to get things headed in the proper direction and into safe hands by 5:20pm. Finally, I left for home. This was a Mindy Wednesday, which also meant choir practice, or child care practice for me. I forgot about that until Mindy reminded on my drive home. We talked until I was in the driveway. After dumping my gear and addressing some chores, Mindy and I walked Ykraps together. He took a double dump tonight. That’s rare. Also, we acknowledged that he needs a new retractable leash. For whatever reason the recoil is almost shot all of the sudden. That can be hazardous when a pedestrian or another dog nears. Back at home Mindy and I sat in the living room and chatted up until she needed to depart for choir practice. We talked mostly about Lindsey, and how to approach her action plan. It’s a very difficult problem. Mindy’s point about not bailing on Lil’ Rocky is a good one, regardless of what happens with the rest of it. She expressed concern that a great bit of our free time and conversation of late has centered on Lindsey, and how she hopes it doesn’t come between our relationship. She sees what it does to me and how I tend to withdraw a little. That troubles her. Mindy left for choir practice by 6:50pm. That left very little time before Jacob and Bella would be home, so I spent it at the PC playing around with pictures. They pulled into the driveway close to 7:05pm. They hung outside for an inordinate amount of time prompting me to go check things out. I went to look and could hear a faint cry coming form the car. It was Jacob. Bella was half way to the house with a scared, tentative look on her face. She eventually came in but just as soon turned back towards her daddy and Jacob as the crying continued. Long story short, Jacob got Bella going for a spell but she eventually stopped. Jacob did not. He cried keeping his daddy here and at bay for at least ten minutes. It was a bit taxing, and left me feeling a little guilty but also sorry for him. After all, he is six and he never asked to be thrust into what must at times seem very confusing. Jim eventually left but Jacob continued pouting, crying and being defiant. I proceeded to get Bella prepared for bed and kept her energy high. Jacob was in a sour mood and nothing I could say or do would snap him out of it. As time passed I gave Jacob and ultimatum, either come now or risk losing privileges such as movies, TV, and games. That did it. As he dressed for bed he slowly came out of his cranky skin and became Jacoby again. Each kid read an early reader book then I read two bedtime stores. After the stories both kids went to sleep very, very easily. I was pleasantly surprised. I got in my jammies and brushed my teeth before heading back downstairs. I began journaling until Mindy came home. I had almost 30 minutes. When she returned she already knew of the mini crisis. Jim M had apparently called her on his way to the house to forewarn her of Jacob's mood. He also called from my driveway at Jacob's insistence. I filled her in on the details then we talked more about us and the Lindsey dilemma. I made some microwave popcorn, which served as my dinner. We headed to bed around 9:40pm.