Sears, Phoenix & 80 Degrees

I slept about 15 minutes late again Thursday. But even though 15 minutes is a big chunk of time, especially during morning prep, I didn’t let it alter my routine. I recouped most of the time by cutting PC time to a minimum. At 602am I was already into meditation. I was finished by 615am then promptly delivered Mindy’s coffee. I had my stretch completed before 630am and was out the door for my run by 635am. I was fully caught up. The sky was clear and the temperature mild. It was only 53 degrees, but the day’s high was expected to touch 83 under mostly sunny skies – summer-like. My run went pretty well, although I could feel a pinch in my right knee from time to time – the same knee that has given me trouble from time to time over the past six months. I still ran four miles but was careful about making abrupt moves which might’ve aggravated a tender knee. I finished no worse for the wear. I helped in the kitchen by cooking my own eggs and preparing Bella’s Fruit Loops. Jacob was already finished with his breakfast and on his way to his room. Mindy put eye drops in both kids’ eyes before departing for work. Bella’s were far worse than Jacob’s. I was off to the shower after putting away the fruit tray and coffee creamer. I dressed with evening golf in mind and threw some shorts and a ball cap in my back pack. Because the weather was so nice, I planned to drive the BM’er. I moved my golf clubs from the Trooper into it on our way to the bus stop. It was a lovely drive in, made that much better by driving the convertible. It’s the first time in recent memory that I can remember driving the BM’er with plain old sunglasses instead of eye glasses. I’m just too cool!  The sounds of singing birds and the sweet smell of spring flowers tickled my nose as I walked towards the building. If ever there was a day when I wanted to turn around and go play, this was it. It was absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, my sense of responsibility guided me towards the entry door. The work day went well. I spent most of the morning interacting with my team. The time went fast. I decided to take a leisurely drive to Tuttle Mall at lunch. There, I stopped in Sears just to browse around at new appliances. We’ve kicked around the idea of getting a new range and dishwasher, but nothing too serious. Mindy & I both like the idea of a gas range over the now more prevalent electric. When it comes to dishwashers, quiet would be nice. But it’s awfully hard for me to justify spending a penny on new appliances when our current ones work fine. But after all, I was just looking. I had to fend off a couple of overly aggressive salesman. I used the line, just checkin' out the competitor. Neither knew what to make of me after that. From afar, they watched my every move. One guy approached me again offering help. He didn’t know what to say when I asked if I could hear one of the dishwashers run, and possibly fry and egg on one of the gas ranges. “Fraid we can’t accommodate you fella”. Why, that’s a lot of money to spend on something before seeing it work. I used the TV's as an example. I pointed out that all the TV’s were on, presumably for the shoppers comparisons. One of the guys spotted my work badge. I was busted! The store was largely unshopped. I felt like the only customer as I made my way towards the exit. Back to the BM’er. I should’ve driven back to the driving range to pay JR for yesterday’s lesson but it slipped my mind. I was on auto pilot and back at work by 145pm. By then, Bob I. responded to my inquiry about evening golf. He was in, but where was still in question. I called Phoenix which is 20 miles closer than Split Rock. They claimed we could get on after 4pm easily. Their leagues don’t begin for 2 weeks yet. I fired back an email letting him know that Phoenix was doable. I also called Tom C., who would typically be off on Thursday’s. He was, but in the middle of reroofing his front porch. He was tentative. We all agreed to leave work around 400-415pm. I didn’t leave until 415pm, just after changing into my shorts and ball cap. Meanwhile, I was anxious to see if I could put my recent lesson to work on the course. I arrived at Phoenix Golf Links at 440pm. Bob I. pulled in just ahead of me. Good thing we weren’t doing Split Rock. There was a huge delay just south of the I-270/I-71S interchange. Bob said there was a wreck down that way. We would’ve been stuck in traffic. It was just the three of us; Bob B, Bob I. and me. $22 for nine holes with a cart. Gave us our choice of the front or back. We checked both out. According to the ranger, the front was clearer – just one threesome currently on the tee and no one holding them up. Cool. We opted for the front nine. I hit my drive slightly right and long, but unfortunately into the already thickening tall grass rough that Phoenix is known for. I couldn’t find my ball. Dammit! I hit my second shot, a 3-wood, 50 yards shy of the hole but again slightly right in the deep rough. This time, however, I found my ball after some scouring. I hit my third shot (4 w/ lost ball penalty) on. Can’t remember if I two or three putted. No worries. Hole #2 is a 160 yard par 3 but with a stiff breeze blowing into our faces. Looks easy enough. I chose my 5-iron. I did my ugly left slice, although it ended up pin high but again in the deep, deep rough. I was on in two after hitting a nice PW. Two putted that for a bogey. I couldn’t avoid the deep rough all evening long, and honestly, it started to wear on me some. But nothing got to me as much as my infamous iron shank problem. I did it at least three more times, which really sunk my spirits. I know what I’m doing wrong but am still struggling. To be sure, my confidence was shaken. Not only that, but my attack mode was missing. I just couldn’t score. Left myself with lots of 20’+ putts, which resulted in too many three putts. My one really strong hole, a 500 yard par 5, I was on in three and within 16 feet for birdie. I four putted. Ugh!!!!!!!! Hole nine is a 400+ yard par 4. I hit a long low drive that just caught the top edge of a fairway grass bunker. I had no choice but to hit an 8-iron out. My third shot left me just off the green right, but the green’s fringe where I sat was about 20’ long. I chose to pitch rather than putt. I two putted for a double bogey. Not the results I was hoping for. My typical scores used to be in the low to mid 40’s for nine holes. I haven’t broke 55 once this season in four times out. What’s worse, this goes back to last fall. But I’ll get it together. Just watch me! I asked the Bob’s if they were interested in playing a few more holes. Bob I. typically bites. Neither did. Rats! I really wanted to end on a more positive note. I thought briefly about playing alone but didn’t. Time to head home and stew on this debacle. It took 12 minutes to get home from Phoenix – not long at all. It was 730pm and absolutely lovely. Still about 80 degrees. The kids were still gone with Jimaken. Mindy was doing some chores. She offered me her dinner leftovers from the Olive Garden, some lasagna, fettuccini, and chicken parmesan. I ate it all. There wasn’t that much left. I ended up having a few bites of leftover steak too. We have plenty of that. After changing out of my golf shirt I grabbed a beer and suggested we walk down to visit with the neighbors. Mindy followed. The kids got home just as we were crossing David and Becky’s yard. They joined us at Kenny’s Turns out, Chrissy was gone shopping and Kenny was out front working in the yard. We headed out there. He rented a gas powered edger (cheater tool) to cut the edge along all of their flower beds. He offered to let me borrow it. I didn’t jump on the offer. I still like the edge the square landscape shovel leaves behind better. I encouraged Kenny to stop working and come sit on his deck and sip a beer. He liked that idea. Kenny, Mindy & I, along with all the kids, sat out back for about an hour. Come 9pm Mindy gave the kids their 10 minute warning. We headed home around 915pm. Jacob was pumped up with it being his 10th birthday tomorrow. He told anyone that would listen that his daddy bought him an iTouch. Okay! Mindy had both kids get showers fast. While they readied for bed, I kicked back on the sofa with my legs propped up over the arm. I was out in a hurry, but waking to my own snoring twice. I got up at 1020pm and headed for bed.

$65 Well Spent

This morning, I lost the cat & mouse game with the bedroom clock. I closed my eyes for what I expected to be no more than another five minutes only to wake 20 minutes later, or at 545am. Not to worry, however. All that really meant was that I had to remain a bit more mindful of the time, which translated into less PC time. Of late, I haven’t been spending that much time surfing anyway. I exercised and took care of my eyes before pouring coffee. I sat at the PC for no more than ten minutes breaking away to wake Mindy just before 610am. It was already 50 degrees under clear skies. Expecting to touch the low 70’s by mid-day. After waking Mindy I returned downstairs to meditate and stretch. Both served me well. I didn’t head out the door for my run until 640am – slightly behind schedule. No worries. It was a gorgeous morning for a run. My eye sight was once again clear. Without strain, I could read signs and see the horizon clearly even in the less than ideal lighting conditions. Very encouraging! I ran four miles and finished feeling strong. Mindy was already busy in the kitchen making breakfast. It was 720am. Bella complained of itchy eyes. They were puffy and swollen. She’s been whiny every day that her allergies have been an issue – hardly a coincidence. She doesn’t feel well. While Mindy prepared to leave, I spilled an entire cup of hot coffee on her while trying to open a new can of whipped cream. Oops! Sorry dear. I headed to the shower shortly after Mindy left. Mindful of my day, I dressed in attire appropriate for both work and my scheduled golf lesson (dockers and polo). The kids and I headed out at 757am. Actually, Jacob was already out the door like most recent days. This time he had on his jacket. There was a substitute bus driver. He looked familiar. Must be the same sub as many times past. Kenny asked if today was golf lesson day. Yes. I returned home to load my work gear and golf clubs into the Trooper. I could’ve taken the BM’er but opted not. I arrived at work at 830am, and it was a busy day from jump. We had our usual Wednesday staff meeting mid-morning that lasted until 11am or so. I spent the next hour and one half doing what I do which carried me up to golf lesson time. I left at 1240pm. I arrived a few minutes early. JR Able was relaxing in his office. He’s older, probably about 65. and quite friendly. I warmed to him quickly. Wanted to know how he could help me. I calmly explained my dilemma, which in a nut shell is, I can’t hit my irons to save my life since about halfway through last golf season. He grabbed his video camera and asked me to fetch a bucket balls and meet him on the lesson tees. He carried out my clubs. He pulled out my 7-ion and asked me to hit about a dozen balls while he observed and eventually filmed. Embarrassingly, I didn’t disappoint. I mishit all but one with most doing exactly as I shared – a sharp left, weak slice. He said not to worry. Far better for him to witness the problem first hand than to troubleshoot based on my story alone. Good point! He video taped me from multiple angles while I swung then asked me to following him into the office where he attached his video camera to a small monitor directly in front of my face. Just above was a large poster of the perfect golf swing broken into several segments – perhaps twelve. He complimented my swing as we broke it down frame by frame. Good stance, ball placement, and back swing. From there he played it through contact then backed up to contact to show me the problem. Each mishit was result of the club shank striking the ball, not the club head. I wasn’t rotating my hands at all. Freezing the video, he then compared my swing to the poster to emphasize where my hands should be at impact and then soon after. Said my glove should be pointing at the ground at the swings completion. Mine was almost on top – or no rotation at all - causing me to chop at the ball, most times with a completely open club face. We headed back to the lesson tees. He commented that he thought the fix would be simple, but would take some retraining of the mind/hands. He also shared how pleased he was to see that I hadn’t altered my “correct” address and swing in an effort to compensate, which, he said, is a much harder habit to break. Taking his rotation tips, I pulled out a half dozen balls and started hitting. I hit the first straight but low and weak. The next four or five were decent but still not the old me. The turning felt awkward but made total sense. Before long, I was cracking 'em like the old me – straight, high and long. Wow! After hitting about dozen in a row well, he brought me my 4-iron. Again, a club I would often revert to on a tight fairway before my troubles began. I struggled employing the same hand rotation technique, but they all went straight or a slight pull hook, which he said is what he expected. This a result of too much hand rotation or timing, which would only come with practice. The lesson was soon over. He’d spent his 30 minutes with me. He invited me to use the lesson tees to hit the rest of my jumbo bucket while he went to meet his next client. Asking how we might settle up, he offered that he doesn’t accept cards, which I didn’t know. Casually, he offered that I simply stop by over the next couple of day with cash or check. Cool! I decided to do an iron progression starting with my pitching wedge. I was anxious to get to my once trusty 6-iron but worked through the others first. With my 6-iron in hand I must’ve hit ten nearly perfect shots in a row. I was stoked. Feeling satisfied but with over a half bucket left, I moved down to the regular tees, where I felt far more comfortable unleashing the beast in me.  I hit my rescue club and 3-wood on the screws, and then got out my brand new 60 degree wedge. I hit it well, too. I used my 60 degree for some bunker practice later, just to compare it to my SW. I gave my last dozen balls to another guy I saw hitting his last. Said he had hit too many already. I walked back to my Trooper feeling great about my lesson – $65 well spent. I see it as an investment in my summer. Back at the office I went for my veggies almost right away. I was quite hungry. My afternoon was chalked full of activity that tested my mettle, but I worked through the battles and felt pretty good by day’s end. I had accomplished a lot. I left for home just after 530pm. By then, it was in the low 70’s, an absolutely ideal spring evening. Mindy was busy cutting veggies for tomorrow’s lunches. The kids were off playing. She shared an interesting story about her work day – more about her adversarial relationship with the school’s literacy coordinator (LC). The issue kept her at school until almost 5pm. That’s big! She asked about my golf lesson. I shared my story. Bella came in citing itchy eyes and scolding me for not stopping to get allergy eye drops. Mindy asked if I would agree to grilling steaks while she and Jacob ran off to Target to get the drops. Yes. I agreed. The steaks were floating in luke warm water in the sink – the old fashioned quick defrost method. I began seasoning the steaks even before Mindy left. I fired up the grill while taking in the lovely evening air from the deck. Bella hollered out her bedroom window that someone was at the front door. It was three young boys looking for Jacob. I shared that he was gone but would soon be home. I offered our backyard tree swings as a waiting spot. They excitedly threw down their bikes and headed back. I discovered that the third of the four burners on our grill causes excess heating for some reason. Not wanting to troubleshoot right then, I simply shut it down using only three. That gave me much more control over temperature and flame-up thus a better cooked steak. They were grilled to perfection just before Mindy & Jacob got back home. Bella wanted Fruit Loops – no steak. Jacob, Mindy & I enjoyed steak. We grilled three NY strips and two filets. I had strip while Mindy had filet. She ended up eating both filets but shared some with Jacob. After dinner Jacob headed out to play with the three friends still playing in our yard. They started playing with water guns and spray bottles. I laid down on the familyroom floor to rest and ease a knot that formed in my back during the afternoon, no doubt a byproduct of hitting a jumbo bucket of golf balls earlier. Albeit short, it was a blissful nap. I woke hearing Mindy washing and bandaging one of the boys playing with Jacob. Apparently wrecked on his bike just as he was leaving. Just a scrape. Not five minutes later Bella came in with a similar injury of her own. She slid down a wooden 4X4 and scraped her arm. She wasn’t crying until I said we’d have to clean it up and possibly put Neosporin on it. That set her off! She screamed bloody murder. Mindy came running. Bella was terrified that I was going to make it burn. Wouldn’t let her momma see it. While crying she cited Jacob as an example – when I put rubbing alcohol on his poison ivy. Yeah, I did that, and for good reason. Mindy calmed her. She washed it with cool water. We couldn’t find the Neosporin. Mindy seemed to recall giving it to Lindsey. Crisis finally over, I went to the familyroom chair for some reading. I read until I fell asleep. I noticed that my reading eyes are doing just as Dr Beran said. As my far and mid vision improves, my up close reading vision is worsening slightly. I read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open, or when reading suddenly and without warning turns to a dream – an interesting phenomenon. I woke at Mindy’s beckoning around 930pm. We headed for bed.

60 Degree Wedge & Hops

After sleeping well, I willingly rolled out of bed eager to begin my day just after 530am. Not five minutes passed before I was engaged in sit-ups and ultimately push-ups. It’s been more than a year since I removed curls from my morning routine. Reason being, too many aches and pains in my shoulders and neck. Recently, however, I’ve considered adding them in again, but perhaps on an every other day basis. I’ve noticed some loss of definition in my arms, and that’s something I worked years to build. I hate to see it wither. After exercise I jumped to the PC with coffee in hand. I checked the weather. It was 50 degrees under partly cloudy skies, and expected to reach into the upper 60’s with sunshine as the day progressed. Nice! I moved from PC to mediation early – about 602am. Like the day before, I meditated before taking Mindy her morning coffee. Back downstairs, I did my stretching then dressed for a run. I’d have to look back in my blog to measure accurately how long I’ve been at this stretching routine, but there’s no denying the results it’s producing. I can easily grab my foot with both hands and hold that pose for more than ten seconds without much discomfort. Initially, I couldn’t even do it. Plus, I can almost touch my nose to my knee on the pull back stretch. Gone are the frequent groin strains and hamstring issues. The neck and shoulder knots are much less frequent now too. All of this I directly attribute to stretching daily. I left for my run perhaps a minute or two after 630am. It's official, I’m embarking on a 5 month stretch time where I’ll be running in daylight from beginning to end. I look forward to this time each spring. I ran four miles without a problem. My vision didn’t seem as clear as it has been since Saturday. I measure it by reading street & real estate signs from a predefined distance. There’s no doubt though that my vision has improved markedly since last week. More good news! I finished my run before 710am. Back earlier than normal, I helped Mindy prepare breakfast. Bella was again grumpy. Allergies seem to be getting the best of her. Her eyes were once again extremely puffy. Jacob was on his momma about his birthday party, which he badly wants to have at the Chiller in Dublin. Mindy shared that it was booked for this coming Saturday, so it would have to be another day. Jacob was hard to live with after that. He stomped off to his room still complaining. I suggested privately, that we go ahead an book it for the following Saturday, even though that’s the day we had planned to go fishing. After Mindy left for work Bella wanted to make sure that I would sit and eat my breakfast with her. She doesn’t like to eat alone. I was off to the shower shortly after 730am and back downstairs ready to go by 755am. Once again, Jacob was already out the door. Bella waited for me patiently. We headed out together. Jacob was out without a jacket once again. I mentioned that he probably should have one on, but he was largely unreceptive to anything I said, still apparently angry over the Chiller party thing. The bus arrived at 805am, and I headed back home to do any last minute prep before heading into work. Included in that prep was loading and running the dishwasher. I toyed with driving the BM’er but settled on the Trooper. I left the house just before 815am. It was a lovely drive in. Gotta love spring mornings. I had a fairly busy morning doing what I do. I planned to escape for lunch and head to Golf Galaxy to buy a new golf glove and look at some other golf items, too. To that end, I left for lunch at 110pm. It was nice but still a tad chilly. It was only in the low 60s. I considered buying a pack of three gloves but decided that to be overkill. Instead, I bought just one, and went back to Foot Joy from Nike. The Foot Joy’s fit better. I ended buying two dozen new balls as well. I like playing with a soft feel, so I went with a Maxfli Soft this time. They were relatively inexpensive – two 15 packs for $25. I bought a new towel that attaches to my golf bag, too. I was going to head to the checkout but decided to look at the new clubs. I love the new irons, but with my golf game being a mess right now, there was no way I was even going to consider buying new. However, I did break down and buy a new 60 degree C-14 Cleveland wedge. They were marked down 20% to make room for this year’s C-15 model. I’ve been looking at that wedge for a year now. Walking to check out I looked at new golf bags and then Rescue hybrids, too, but didn’t bite on either. Time to check out. I spent about $140. I was back at the office just ahead of 2pm. The temperature I noticed seemed considerably warmer than it did just an hour earlier. It was really nice. Too bad I couldn’t head home then. Once settled back in my office, I went for my veggies. I ate them and a can of tuna. Both tasted exceptionally good. My afternoon required a lot of me, but I didn’t mind. That's what I'm paid for. Mindy phoned around 315pm already on her way home. I’d forgotten that this was her professional development day, which she spent at Styles elementary school. It sounded like she was in a good mood. We talked about the kids and more pointedly, how we might help Jacob shake out of his recent state of rebellion. According to Mindy, when asked, he’ll often blame me. Doesn’t like me correcting him. Mindy asked that I remember to praise him more often, but agreed that his antics are worthy of addressing. Here’s my take. Jacob doesn’t need two dads. And he worships the ground his father walks. Consequently, he looks to me for very little. All of this I understand and am OK with. However, there’s a downside. I still have to deliver the daily dad-type correction. And as one might expect, Jacob doesn’t care to be corrected, even when he knows his behavior warrants as much. I want our relationship to flourish, but it can’t be on his terms exclusively. And believe me, I am not trying to infer that I couldn’t do things differently or better. Not at all. I’m sure I can do better too. Like a lot of things, becoming aware is paramount. Moving on… This was Jacob’s soccer night. Mindy, Bella, and I planned to go somewhere for dinner. I suggested Barley’s, but was open to alternatives. I left work for home at 530pm. It was a lovely drive home with oodles of sunshine and temperatures in the upper 60s. Mindy hollered for Bella once I was home so we could ready for dinner. She came quickly letting out a big ol’ hurrah that we were going to Barley’s. We were on the road after a brief grooming. The lot was only half full. Right away, we spotted Doug & Jamie sitting at the bar. Haven’t seen those two in a month or possibly more. In fact, I’ve been meaning to email Doug just to see what’s up. We sat at the table near them and chatted for sometime before being served. Deanna was working bar – rare. She asked my pleasure. I ordered a Hoptopus. Mindy, somewhat surprisingly, went with water only. Bella ordered lemonade. Jamie left after 20 minutes or so. Had to get home to walk the dog. Doug stayed a while longer. Eventually, we ordered food. Me a Cuban, Bella a kids’ cheeseburger, and Mindy – I can’t recall. I ended up drinking two Hoptopus’, and also picked up the check. We were outta there for home by 740pm. Mindy was right. Jimaken and Jacob were waiting out front of the house. They couldn’t have been there long, however. Practice doesn’t end until 730pm. We brought Jacob some Gates of Hell wings. He tore ‘em up in less than five minutes. Mindy had to nuke the last two. He said they weren’t done well enough. That’s why I always order my wings extra-well done. After Jacob finished his wings, Mindy dispatched both kids for showers. At the same time, I cleaned my golf clubs in preparation for Wednesday’s lesson. I also went out back to hit about five balls with my new 60 degree wedge. Inside, it was time to tuck in the kids. I played with both for a few minutes before tucking them in. Bella saw me eating a fudgesicle and asked if she could come down and have one too. Mindy agreed. Back downstairs I headed for the big familyroom chair. I didn’t even grab my book. I simply through my legs over the arm and took a mini nap. It felt heavenly. Mindy woke me just after 930pm asking if I was coming to bed. Yes.

Hair Glue

The bedroom clock and I played cat & mouse during my final 45 minutes of sleep. I won. I rolled out of bed a couple minutes ahead of 530am. I brushed my teeth and grabbed my running clothes from the closet before heading downstairs. I whipped out my sit-ups and push-ups then poured a cup of coffee. I spent comparatively little time on the PC before giving way to meditation. I delivered Mindy’s coffee after meditation but still before stretching. I left for my run even before 630am. Making great time. It was cool and clear – about 47 degrees. I wore long pants and two wicking shirts, but no jacket. That was just about right. I ran four miles and was back home shortly after 7am. Mindy had the front door unlocked and opened for my reception. I helped get breakfast moving for myself and the kids. I had the time. Mindy reminded the kids to go to Noah’s after school. She had her usual staff meeting after class. She bolted for school at 730am. I headed up for a shower. Jacob was already out the door before I was back downstairs. I made sure Bella wore a jacket. It was still south of 50 degrees. Sure enough, Jacob was at the bus stop without a jacket. Choosing my battles wisely, I left him be. Chrissy shared that she was taking half a personal day to tend to her niece – was still in her PJs. I took a few minutes to organize myself placing the metal dryer vent along with two whole pieces of leftover tile in the Trooper intending to return both during my lunch hour. I already put both receipts in the Trooper the evening before. I was off to work by 815am. The scuttle on ESPN radio was all about Tiger’s performance at the Master’s. They harped on his use of profanity caught on live TV. I don’t have a big problem with it. He’s intense and expects perfection, and when it doesn’t happen he gets animated. My vision walking into the building was as good as it’s been since LASIK. I could read signs I struggled with the past two weeks. It appears that I’m making some serious progress. And for that I was grateful. I went straight to my office and holed up for most of the morning. My boss pinged mid-morning inviting me down to chat – have coffee. I headed his way but with only water. We had a nice chat about our weekends and then some work related matters. I shared my intentions to take a real lunch and get a haircut. Come 1pm I left for lunch planning to visit both Home Depot and Lowe’s as well as getting that haircut. They’re all within a quarter mile of one another. I stopped at Home Depot first to return the metal dryer vent the Sears repairman said wouldn’t work in our application. Next, I headed to Saturday’s. They said it would be a ten minute wait. I scribbled my name then headed quickly to Lowe’s to return the two pieces of leftover tile. No problems with either return, although I didn’t expect any. I was back at Saturday’s just in time to witness a dysfunctional mother and son combo. A heavy 16 yr old boy was gyrating to music blaring from his MP3 player while watching himself in the store front window while the mother went on and on about how bad he is from inside the store. Aired all of their dirty laundry on the poor Saturday’s staff. My haircut proceeded immediately. Can’t recall the girls name, but she’s cut my hair many times past. She knew exactly how I wanted it cut, and asked about any recent ski trips – knows me well. We chatted about coming vacations too. We also discussed the hold-up of the Lincoln Village Saturday’s. She shared that they’re never supposed to close or go to the bank alone. She was efficient, had me on my way after just over ten minutes. Before going, she offered some hair gel to help manage my freshly cut mane. She warned that it was almost like glue while she squeezed some into my hands. She was right! This stuff was in fact just like glue. It did the trick though. Helped tame the cut. I had to wash my hands before leaving. I tipped her well. Always do. Back to work. I enjoyed my veggies from my office while working through the mid-afternoon. I didn’t hear from Mindy until almost 5pm. She was finally on her way to fetch the kids from Deena. Wanted to know my thoughts on dinner – in or out? I didn’t fee like dining out, but offered little else. She was OK with that. I left for home sometime just after 530pm and was home just before 6pm. Mindy was busy making dinner, salmon patties. Yuck! Certainly not my idea of dinner, but Mindy loves them. It’s something her mother used to make, so I‘d imagine there’s some comfort in having them. She offered that Bella and I could have leftover burgers. That was OK with me. My burger was good. We had peas, too. After dinner, I got busy with clean-up then started installing the four new brushed steel wall plates I picked up and Home Depot earlier. Had to alter the three receptacles and switch to account for the depth of the tile before hand. That was somewhat tricky, and it took longer than I expected. Project officially completed. Looks great. I carried all of the tiling tools and leftover materials to the basement and garage. It was already approaching 8pm. I spent the next hour reading, although my eyes were drying out considerably from the work. I ended up doing some nap reading – a combination of reading and then napping. Mindy headed to bed around 930pm. I stayed up nap reading until 1030pm. I joined her already in bed after lubricating my eyes.

Yard Work & Soccer

After staying up until after 1am partying, I wisely took three Advil before going to bed. That did the trick. I didn’t get up until 845am but felt fine when I did. Mindy didn’t budge. I knew she went through an entire bottle of wine. Wasn’t sure if she’d be hung over or not. Because it was Sunday I didn’t do sit-ups or push-ups. I prepped some coffee then took care of my eyes. Speaking of which, it seemed like another banner eye sight day. That’s two in a row. I fooled around on my PC for about an hour then snuck upstairs to snatch my running clothes. I remembered Mindy asking me not to wake her. I was careful not to. She must’ve gotten up somewhere between 10 & 1030am. However, not sure if she woke on her own or if the kids woke her. She made the monkey bread she promised Bella the day before. I had a piece even before heading out on my run. The Prevacid I’m taking recommends eating something within 30 minutes after taking a pill. I skipped a stretch, and instead, headed directly out the door after quickly donning my running attire. I planned to run just three miles, again wanting to get back to my usual 27 miles per week (4 miles M-S and then 3 on Sundays). I had one extra 3 mile day the week before. I ran along Trabue and Hague. As usual, it was a pleasurable run, especially down Hague from Trabue. I felt really strong and full of energy. Back at home, I ate some more of that monkey bread and poured a second cup of coffee. I let some fresh air in the house too. It was warming up nicely. We had to leave for Jacob’s soccer match by 1230pm. But before that, I hoped to get a little yard work done. I did some simple but nagging tasks ahead of my shower. I emptied last season’s dead flowers from the two hanging baskets by the hot tub, and carried the Hibiscus that I left out to freeze over to the compost pile. I also pulled the dead flowers from the large flower pot on the front porch, too. By the time I finished getting cleaned up it was time to go to soccer. It was about 70 and sunny – very nice for early April. We arrived at the Hilliard soccer fields right at 1245pm – 15 minutes before game time as required. Bella complained of being bored minutes after setting up our chairs along the sidelines. But thankfully, one of her Grandma Sharon pals showed up and she played some with him. Jimaken is the head coach of Jacob’s soccer team. It’s essentially the same players from last fall’s team. You wouldn’t know from the results, however. They’re actually good now. Gotta hand it to Jimaken. He knows soccer. Jacob’s team won 7-1. Jacob scored at one goal and narrowly missed another that went just over the net. As Jacob correctly pointed out, that 7 goal total was more than they scored all season last fall. In a somber note, one of the parents shared that last fall’s coach is battling cancer. We headed home after soccer, everyone eager for some lunch. I ate my leftover Chipotle cold. It was good. I was anxious to get outside to do some yard work. Wasn’t sure how much I’d get done, but figured I’d start by edging the front flower beds with a square shovel and see how far I could get. That’s always tough work. I edged the entire front beds along with the two curb trees, white pine, and east side bed. Much more than I thought I might get to. I then fetched the Deere and trailer from the shed to haul away all the edgings. I filled the trailer twice. That’s a lot of edgings! In years past, I’ve used the edgings to fill low spots in the yard, and used the sod to patch bare spots. This year I dumped it all on the compost pile figuring it far more efficient to buy pieces of sod for patching if necessary. I will edge the back and west side beds another day, maybe next weekend. Now it was time to cut the lawn. This being the second cut, the front yard was thick and lush. I whacked and edged first. It looked sweet! This time I raised the blade on the Toro to accommodate the taller, thicker lawn. I cut the entire front lawn with the Toro. As usual, I used the Deere for most of the rear. The girls (Bella and friends) asked if I would give them tractor rides after finishing the lawn. It’s become somewhat of a spring tradition. So, after blowing the drive and walks, I gave all the kids tractor rides on the Deere. The kids loved it! While I was driving the kids around the neighborhood, Mindy started grilling dinner - burgers. We were having baked beans, potato salad, and burgers. Oh, and she made some chocolate pudding for dessert. I was covered in grass bits head to toe. I simply had to get another shower before dinner. By the time I was again clean it was already approaching 7pm. We sat for dinner soon after. Mindy agreed to do clean-up while I started caulking along the tile/granite juncture. The caulk matches the grout perfectly, but its consistency is much more silicone-like. It took a while to get the bead looking professional but I did it. Looking good! All that was left were the wall plates. I planned to buy those on Monday. Mindy suggested stainless steel. We tuned into Life come 8pm. Bella & Mindy watched intently. While they watched Life, I updated my blog with entries from several days past. By 9pm, I was caught up through Thursday the 8th. At 9pm I joined the family watching the second hour of Life, this hour dedicated to insects. The videography was again stunning. I’m certain the program will win awards for that alone. Great show. Mindy insisted the kids be in bed by 9pm. Unfortunately, they missed the insect piece. Mindy and I headed to bed at Life’s conclusion.

Grout, Golf & Grillin'

I was up at 715am and felt really good. I could tell right away that it was gonna be a good vision day. I could see clear both long and short. That was welcome news. After exercise I checked the weather. There had to be an error, I thought. The temperature was only 28 degrees. Wow, hasn’t been that cold in a while. It was cold, but the skies clear. It was supposed to warm to near 70 later in the day. Before pouring my coffee, I started my Prevacid dosage. Supposed to take one everyday for 14 days. I sipped coffee at the PC, but spent comparatively little time doing as much. I didn’t want to ruin a good vision day. At 830am I took Mindy coffee and gathered my running clothes. I was determined to get my run in sooner rather than later. I bundled warmly given the current temperature then stretched before heading out. If it was below freezing, it sure didn’t feel like. The sunshine was warm. I ran four miles comfortably, although a tad warm through the final ½ mile or so. I left the door lock behind me banking on Mindy and/or the kids being up when I returned. Nope, still in bed. No one heeded my knocks. I ended up going in through the garage. I checked the temperature after getting out of my winter running gear. It was already 11 degrees warmer – 39. The sunshine made a big difference. I poured more coffee then played on the PC again briefly. Soon Mindy and the kids joined me downstairs. It was still before 930am. Mindy started preparing breakfast burritos, a favorite of Jacob’s. I shared my plan to grout this morning before going to neighbor Kapil & Peobena’s daughter’s b-day party, which started at noon. While Mindy made the burritos while I updated the anti-virus software on the kids laptop. The trial subscription recently lapsed. Good thing I checked. My existing license was good for three PC’s. I almost paid for a second. I’ve come to find that I like Norton way better than McAfee. Jacob wasn’t too pleased that I overtook his machine, but I didn’t want to risk a virus. Plus, it needed done while I had the idle time. Soon the burritos were ready. They were extra good. I ate only one, being careful not to over stuff myself. Mindy cleaned up while I prepared to grout the new tile. We agreed to work as a team, me grout and Mindy wipe clean. We started in the back corner behind the stove just in case there was any learning to do. I applied the grout to an area about 1 sq foot before turning the wiping over to Mindy. Thought we might kill each other at the outset, but we eventually agreed to switch roles. That seemed to help, especially once we got a system down. The Sears dryer repairman showed up around 1100am to install our new heating coil. It didn’t take him more than 15 minutes. Before leaving, he shared that the heating coil went out for one reason only – a clogged dryer vent hose. He also shared that the metal vent I bought to replace the plastic hose wouldn’t work – too much bend. We finished the grouting after about 1.5 hours. By then the kids were chomping at the bit to head over to Isha’s b-day party. I released Mindy to shower while I cleaned up the daunting mess. All that was left was to caulk, reinstall the electrical wall plates, and rehang the kitchen window valance. But that would wait for at least another day. The grout needed 24 hours to dry. After clean-up I stepped back to admire my work. Looks nice! I then headed up for a shower. We left for the neighbor’s party at 1245pm. It was a gorgeous day – about 65 under nothing but blue skies. There must’ve been about 20 cars parked along the street. Quite a turn out. Kapil rented a jump house for all the kids. They really seemed to enjoy it. I had to ask Jacob to exit after catching him bullying Bella and her friends while inside. He stomped off acting innocent. The thing is, I asked him nicely once. He did it again. Loves to bully his sister. Not sure why. The food was good, catered by City Barbeque. Mindy & I shared a couple of plates. It was such a lovely afternoon. I suggested golf to Kenny. He bit right away. Both wives were agreeable to he & I escaping for 18 holes. Mindy asked if I would be home to grill steaks afterwards. Yes dear. I hurried home to change into attire more suitable for golf. Kenny met me at our house and we left, but not before dropping the house keys off to Mindy. We left uncertain where we might play. We figured we’d scope out Raymond since it’s right across the street. But just as we expected, it was backed up like nobody’s business. Next stop, Phoenix. Took about 15 minutes to get there, but it was crowded too. We decided to head on down to Split Rock in Commercial Point. We knew we could walk on there. Sure enough, we were able to get right on. 18 holes and a cart for $25. Not bad! Like the past Wednesday, I started out OK, bogey, bogey, par, but started to struggle from there onward. Only this time my struggles were worse than never. I couldn’t strike the ball solidly at all. I tried maintaining a positive attitude, but believe me, it was hard. Everything I hit was a low, weak slice – every club short of my woods, that is. AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Finally, on the 15th hole I found my groove again and started making some damn good golf shots. By then, however, my score was through the roof. But believe it or not, I pulled a lot of positives from the experience. One, my eye sight was next to perfect, both long, middle and short. For that reason alone, I was grateful. And two, the inconsistent golf reaffirmed my determination to contact JR Able next week for a private lesson. I will fix what’s ailing my swing. We had to wait on the twosome in front of us a couple of times, but by no means was the course backed up. In fact, we finished our 18 holes in just over 3.5 hours. We arrived home around 7pm. I already knew that Mindy had fetched a boat load of steaks from Sam’s Club after talking to her from the 16th tee box. She’d made homemade potato salad too. The plan was to grill at Kenny’s. I took a quick shower that felt really good. I was sweaty and dirty from golf. Mindy and I walked down at 725pm. As usual, Kenny & Chrissy had a house full. This time we supplied all the steaks, something Kenny’s done more than once. Most of the little kids ate hot dogs. Jacob and Jake ate steak. Chrissy seemed a little overwhelmed. To help her out a little, I hand washed all the dirty dishes. Sometime around 9 or 10pm nephew Joe and Jerry showed up at Chrissy & Kenny’s back door. They livened things up a little. We hung out drinking beer until 11pm or so, and then headed back to our house. Joe and Jerry wanted to see my handy tile work. We ended up drinking more and even did a couple of shots – buttery nipples. Joe & Jerry left at close to 1am. Mindy & I headed to bed.

Seeing Dr Julie

Ahh, finally Friday. Actually, though, the work week went super fast. I was up on time and quickly engaged in exercise. By 545am I had completed my sit-ups and push-ups and was enjoying coffee in front of my PC. I lubricated my eyes just before heading up to wake Mindy. It was 610am. Back downstairs, I spent the next 20 minutes doing meditation and then stretching. It was between 635 & 640am when I headed out for my run. Daybreak was already upon us, although the sun had yet to rise. It was quite chilly, only 37 degrees, and cloudy. Certainly not the spring weather we’ve been blessed with for most of late March and early April. Not to worry though. The forecast calls for sun and warming temperatures through next week. In fact, the weekend is once again supposed to be gorgeous. I wore my pullover fleece, hand and ear covers. I knew better than to stow them away so soon. I ran four miles comfortably in just under 35 minutes. As expected, Mindy was busy preparing breakfast when I got home. Bella was still somewhat under the weather bothered by spring allergies. The pollen count is said to be quite high this season. Before Mindy left for work, we briefly discussed the evening plans. Mindy would be dropping Jacob at Noah’s most likely before I got home so he could attend a friend’s birthday party. Sounded like we’d be hanging out at home. Soon Mindy was off to school and me off to the shower. The kids and I headed out at 757am. Already, the sky was showing signs of clearing, but it remained unseasonably cool. I stopped for gas on the way into work. Paid $2.81 per gallon. My eyes were already feeling dry. I knew then that this wasn’t going to be a banner vision day. Work was fairly calm for a Friday. My boss and peer were heading out for a breakfast sandwich soon after I arrived. No thanks. I stayed back to get caught up on a few things. I had my two week follow-up eye exam scheduled with Dr Julie at 130pm. I planned to head there during lunch near 1pm. The morning flew by. It was 1pm in a hurry. I left for Dr Julie’s taking Hayden (Bethel Rd.) due east to Olentangy River Rd. I arrived by 115pm. They allowed me back to eye glass area right away. JP the optician was in working on lenses. I hadn’t seen him since he fitted me for my prescription sun glasses early last fall. I asked about the new baby. All doing well, he said. We got to talking about my Oakley sun glasses. Said he probably had the ‘plain’ sun glass lenses that came with my frames in a drawer in his office. Went to check. Yep, he had ‘em. Told me to bring them in and he’ll replace them no charge. Cool! I was a tad bummed that I was battling dry eye for my exam, but that was something I couldn’t change. It is what it is. Dr Julie greeted me in the eye glass area. I congratulated her on her pregnancy, and she gushed about meeting Mindy, really likes her. She was very thorough checking my eyes – always is. I asked about her readiness to be a mommy. Said she’s excited and a little afraid, citing no experience. But she’ll do great, I am sure. Dr Julie put some dye in my eyes to check the pressure. I shared the fact that since my LASIK procedure that I have had a handful of really good days and a couple bad days vision-wise. Each of the three really good days all occurred on days off work. A coincidence, I think not. She concurred. I also shared that once my eyes feel dried out, there’s not bringing my vision back that day. She seemed to understand. She concluded that Dr Beran actually made me nearsighted (-.75 in both eyes) as today’s exam revealed. This wasn’t at all a surprise to me. My close-up vision at times seems too clear while my distant a bit lacking. I shared that Dr Beran’s team advised that my distant vision would come as I continued to heal, and that my near vision might slip back a tad. She openly listened, but I also got the sense she didn’t necessarily agree. She went on to share that LASIK results are fairly predictable for nearsighted patients while far more unpredictable for us farsighted patients. She said if my vision didn’t correct as planned, she could always put me in a set of glasses. Heck no! She check my corneal flaps to make sure they were healing correctly. She noticed what she said was a tiny fiber of some sort on my right cornea. Said it was on the outside floating around. Wanted to know if I could feel it. Nope! She insisted on flooding my eye with drops to remove it. She tried two different times, then later she tried using a swab. Still no joy. She was concerned enough that she called Dr Beran to ask if he wanted to see me, possibly even Saturday morning to get it out. She said that it might actually be under my corneal flap. Turns out, though, Dr Beran had already charted that tiny micro fiber and said my body would absorb it, at least as I understood her to explain. She concurred with his findings and apologized for alarming me. Showed me where he had that listed on my chart. Before leaving, she said she wanted to see me again in two weeks to further check my progress. She gave me three small bottles of Systane eye drops and said I can stop buying the preservative-free variety. That was great news! In my Trooper I was shocked to find the whites of my eyes almost bright yellow from the dye she put in. Holy smoke! I doused my eyes with some of the drops then wiped away the excess. They tissues turned bright yellow as the dye came out of my eyes. Only a tinge of the yellow remained. I headed back to work, arriving around 230pm. I ate my packed lunch, veggies and tuna, as soon as I was back at my desk. The afternoon was busy. Mindy called around 330pm to discuss our evening. Shared that she would most likely be going grocery shopping after dropping Jacob at Noah’s. Told her that I was happy to stay home and relax in lieu of going out to dinner anywhere. Headed directly home when I left work. As expected, the house was empty, although Mindy’s grocery was still resting on the island counter. I figured she either forgot it or hadn’t gone yet. I was home alone until 630pm when Mindy & Bella returned. Said she’d been at Noah’s chatting with Deena the entire time. Soon, she left for the grocery leaving Bella home with me. I planned to nap and possibly even update my blog. I had several days written but still in need of posting. Bella spent a considerable amount of the time in her room watching High School Musical 3, but eventually came downstairs due to boredom. We wrestled on the living room floor, her idea. It was fun. Mindy called on her way home from the grocery store measuring our interest in dinner. Bella decided on Wendy’s. I suggested Chipotle. It was settled. Wendy’s for Bella, and Chipotle for Mindy & I. Mindy got home around 745pm with the groceries and our dinner. I was slow to help carry in the groceries to which Mindy later shared always aggravates her. Jacob returned from the birthday party soon after we had dug into our dinner. He, Noah, and Tony came in. The boys said the party was a hoot. Mindy offered that Noah could spend the night. Tony declined. I thought the plan was to watch a movie, but the kids ended up playing Wii instead. I relaxed in the chair and sipped a Great Lakes Pale Ale. A very tame Friday evening to be sure. We headed to bed not too long after 10pm.

More Tiling

I was up on time, and even a few minutes early. I breezed through my exercises then checked the weather. I already knew it was raining. Temperature-wise, still not bad, it was 61 degrees. The forecast, however, called for dropping temps throughout the day and ultimately dropping down into the mid 30’s overnight. The upside was that the less than desirable weather was to last no more than two days. This time of year the weather can be iffy. I was done with exercise, coffee, and computer a minute or two in front of 6am. I went ahead and did my morning meditation early, even before heading up to wake Mindy. I dressed for a run in freshly washed attire. Boy was that nice! After a good stretch I headed off on a four mile run. It was still dark, in part because of the clouds but also because I was out about 12 minutes earlier than normal. Judging from the radar, more rain was coming, I hoped to beat it. I completed my run 7am. And don’t you know as soon as I headed up the driveway towards the house the rain started up again. I am truly blessed! I was back so early that I had to let myself in the through the garage. Mindy hadn’t yet comedown from the shower. I cooked my own eggs to help Mindy. Bella complained of feeling ill: sneezing, itchy eyes, and a sore throat. Mindy believes her symptoms to be allergies. She didn’t want to go to school, but Mindy insisted. She didn’t have a fever. Mindy did tell her to let Mrs. Valentine know if she felt any worse. I was off to the shower just after 730am. Both kids were on their way out the door as I was coming back downstairs. It was raining. I grabbed my umbrella. Bella shared it with me. Jacob wanted nothing to do wit hit at first, but eventually came to his senses and took the available cover. I left for work at 810am. It rained through my entire commute. My new wiper blades are incredibly smooth and efficient. Nice! The day moved along swiftly. Soon it was lunch time. By then, the rain had given way to partly cloudy skies, but considerably cooler temps. I didn’t mind. I headed towards Target & Home Depot. At Target I bought Jacob a set of starter golf clubs for his fast approaching 10th birthday. I also bought a package of golf spikes for my old golf shoes. I’m gonna try to get another season out of them. At Home Depot, I bought a tub of grout, matching caulk, and a new dryer venting tube – metal. Speaking of our tile project, I asked Mindy to consider running the tile all the way up each side of the kitchen window. I planned to complete that Thursday evening after work. That way we can grout the whole thing on Saturday. The afternoon went smoothly. Mindy reminded me that the kids would be doing dinner with their daddy. We opted out of going to dinner in part so I could tile. Mindy planned to work late and make a couple stops. I left work for home just after 530pm. It was no surprise that I was the only one home. I quickly readied Friday’s coffee then organized myself to hang the rest of the tile. It didn’t take me long to get in a groove. I had one side all but completed by the time Mindy was home. She liked the look. I did too. I had to nip about 25 tiles for each side of the window. That was the only painstaking part. Because the tiles are stone/slate, they’re very brittle. I’ll bet 30% of them broke during the nipping process. Starting on the opposite side, I suggested Mindy help by doing the appending while I focused on nipping. That went much faster. The kids got home just as we were wrapping up. Mindy offered to make me some dinner but nothing she suggested was good for my tummy. If the burning continues I’ll need to see Dr Broyles. I ended up snacking on Triscuits and cheese, but that’s it. It was already 8pm. Mindy got the kids organized for showers then walked down to Chrissy’s to help her put together two gift baskets for the kid’s school fun fair. I cleaned up the tile mess and unloaded the dishwasher. My eyes were dry and bothersome afterwards. I just needed to relax in the dark. Mindy got back home around 9pm. By then I was tuned into Fringe. There wasn’t anything good on the Discover, Learning, Animal Planet, or NatGeo channels. I watched Fringe until I fell asleep. That must’ve been about half way through. I woke still before 10pm and headed up for bed. Mindy said she’d be up soon.

Golf Season

Up at my usual 530am, I felt better than I thought I might. Not sure what caused me to feel ill on Tuesday, but it seemed to be behind me. I completed my sit-ups and push-ups over the next ten minutes then spent time on the PC. It was supposed to be another banner day with sunny skies and temperatures in the 70’s. However, conditions were expected to worsen considerably overnight and then carrying over into Thursday and Friday. With that in mind, I planned to golf after work as long as I could find someone else willing. The pork roast that Mindy put in the crock-pot the night before smelt terrific. I’d be transporting it to work for the day’s potluck. I delivered Mindy’s coffee at 610am and then started meditation and stretching. I left for a run right at 630am. I ran four miles without any complications or complaints. We were blessed with a gorgeous sunrise, the morning sky turned several shades of orange, pink, and blue. Mindy was busy making breakfast when I returned from my run. I asked about adding more water to the pork roast. Mindy suggested adding a jar of pork gravy and just a few ounces of water. I did as she recommended. I still didn’t have much of an appetite, but managed to eat my eggs and fruit. It wasn’t long before Mindy was out the door and I was off to the shower. The kids and I headed to the bus stop at 757am. Kenny was out there with the girls. We had talked about the possibility of golfing early morning if I woke ill again and stayed home, but that wasn’t to be. I was going to work. I shared my plans to golf later that afternoon. That wouldn’t work for Kenny. Soon the kids were off to school and I headed back home. I transferred my golf clubs from the BM’er to the Trooper then used a laundry basket with a beach towel inside to transport the oblong crock-pot. Off to work. I threw my back pack into the laundry basket to make transport into the building easier and in one trip. I left the crock-pot in my office until 11am or so. We had our staff meeting at 10am. I walked through the training room where the potluck was set-up. Wow! Some one brought about three dozen Der Dutchman donuts. Not only that, but there were a handful of giant, chocolate frosted crème filled Bismarck’s too. I couldn’t resist the temptation and snagged one. Every time Mindy picks one up for me, someone else eats it. It was delicious! Out meeting was relatively brief. I spent most of the late morning and early afternoon hard at work. The potluck started around 1pm. I made it down around 130pm and made a pork sandwich with a few sides. I didn’t stuff myself. However, I did devour two sugar cookies afterwards, and then two more later. Darn it! I emailed Bob Imber mid-afternoon to measure his interest in Wednesday golf. He and Bob B. were game, suggested Split Rock. Those two get off work a lot earlier these days and were said to be leaving at 4pm to head that way. I wasn’t comfortable leaving quite that early, but speculated 415pm. I talked with Mindy around 330pm after leaving a message a few minutes earlier. She was OK with my golfing. Said she’d be taking the kids shopping and then possibly to dinner. I suggested she call Sears if our heating coil arrived. She said she would. I let my boss know that I planned to leave early to accommodate golf. As expected, he was amenable to my desire. I wrapped things up and left at 410pm. It was warm (74) but also windy. I decided not to change into my golf shorts. Didn’t run into any traffic snarls along the drive there. Seemed to go by pretty fast. I arrived around 450pm. The Bob’s were already there and paid up. The pro shop was closed. They were collecting green fees at the bar. We agreed to tee off the front. I started strong, par, bogey, par, but tailed off as we played along. I had two bad mis-hits that irked me – a 7-iron and a SW, both resulting in that all-too-familiar weak slice. Other than that just some sub-par putting. The good far out weighed the negative. I drove well and hit some really nice second shots with my fairway and rescue woods. I don’t think we saw another golfer on the course. We finished at 6:50pm. I called Mindy in route to home. She and the kids were at Barley’s having dinner. She offered to bring me home a Cuban. I accepted. Mindy called Sears. They said they couldn’t get someone out any sooner than our scheduled Saturday appointment. Guess Sean was overly optimistic. I was home by 730pm. I beat Mindy & the kids home. I must’ve had upwards of 30 minutes at home alone. I used the time to prep the next day’s coffee, get into my PJs, and read mail. The family was home by 8pm. I ate my Cuban right away, my second helping of pork in one day. It was delicious. Mindy got the kids into bed sometime around 830pm. Afterwards, she and I watched TV, a program called River Monsters on Discovery. Basically, a giant catfish in the Kali River, just south of the Nepali/India border, was thought to be eating people, and then even a buffalo. We headed to bed at 10pm.

Tile & Trmiing

Lucky for me, I had the day off work. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why, but I felt unusually tired and lethargic when I finally rolled out of bed just after 7am. I stumbled through brushing my teeth and then downstairs. My staying home made Mindy’s morning easier too. She didn’t have to make me breakfast. Soon Mindy left for work while I played around on the computer. The kids were ready and downstairs on their own at 755am and ready for the bus stop a minute or two later. It was a gorgeous morning with clear skies, sunshine, and late spring warmth. It was already 64 degrees. I headed out a couple minutes behind the kids. I still didn’t feel that good, but figured it would pass. I was astonished at how much the grass grew over night after last night’s thunderstorm. Many of the deciduous trees & shrubs seemingly bursted into bloom over night. Once the kids were on the bus I meandered back home and eventually plopped down on the sofa for a nap. I might’ve fallen asleep for a few minutes but never too deep. I got up around 845am and prepared for my run, although I still didn’t feel that great. It was so warm I decided to run in shorts and a sleeveless shirt. First time this year. Because I felt weak, I ran just three miles. The run, at least temporarily, snapped me out of what ailed me. I was back home well before 930am. After taking in some fresh air I headed inside to get started on the tile project. The first thing I had to do was get all the supplies out of the Trooper and situated in the kitchen. It took about 20 minutes to be tile-ready. I cut two pieces for under the windowsill first. The fit was snug but required no nipping. For that I was pleased. I then laid the two pieces aside and applied some mastic with a trowel learning as I went along. I realized early on that I applied too much mastic for those two pieces. I had it so thick that the residual oozed through the mesh almost like grout. Note to self. I progressed slowly and methodically. Lucky for me, the four electrical boxes along the wall required no nipping side to side. I felt fortunate. My first crack at nipping the slate/rock tiles didn’t go so well. I later learned that I was nipping off too much at a time, and even then, some of the individual stone tiles were more brittle than others. I decided to save any nipping for last and instead get all the whole pieces up first. That went well. End-to-end, the tile fit perfectly with out any cuts required. Before piecing in the handful of pieces needing nipped I scraped away any mastic resting in the joints of the first two pieces of tile I hung. By then it had hardened just enough forming a skin which allowed it to come out much easier. I nipped about 12 pieces to finish the project. It took another hour to clean-up my mess, which was bigger than I expected. I left my materials out but organized, thinking I may run the tile all the way up to the ceiling each side of the kitchen window. For now, it was level with the bottom of the upper cupboards. During my tile work I made half a peanut butter sandwich which helped curb the growling coming from my stomach. My stomach remained uneasy all day. At the conclusion of my tile work I felt plenty tired, but the weather outside was so nice that I didn’t want to let the rest of the day slip by without taking full advantage. It was over 80 degrees without a cloud in the sky. How fortunate! I headed out to work on the front and side flower beds. The first thing I did was trim the shrubs with the electric hedge trimmers. That took a good hour. Next, I trimmed the English Ivy back along the stone retaining wall then cut back last summer’s dead growth from our purple sage. By the time I was done, I had filled the 9’X12” tarp with yard debris. It took all the energy I had to drag the heavy tarp back to the compost pile for dumping. I was feeling even worse. After putting all of my tools away, I fired up my blower and blew what was left of the debris out of the beds and off the lush looking lawn. I love that part. To aid, the wind was blowing at about 20mph to the east. Once I got it to the street the wind took care of the rest. Sorry my neighbors! The kids got off the bus right at 4pm. I OK'd Mindy not being home to intercept them, knowing I’d be there. They made themselves snacks then headed out to play in the early summer-like warmth. I headed inside for a well deserved shower. Mindy arrived home near 430pm or soon after I finished my shower. She expressed joy over the tile job. I asked her a couple questions about adding more. She liked it how it was. I was on the fence. I also shared how miserable I was feeling. I was tired, sore, and felt like I could throw up. Bless Mindy’s heart, at my urgent request, she rubbed my aching feet. My entire being ached. Dinner was of concern. Mindy wanted to make spaghetti & meat balls but my stomach was bothering me again (burning). No spaghetti sauce for me. I told Mindy to go ahead and make it. I’d eat my spaghetti without sauce. Jacob was off to soccer with his daddy. He’d be out of pocket until 8pm. Dinner was ready around 530pm. The sauceless spaghetti was better than I expected. I covered it in pepper and parmesan cheese and then washed it all down with a cold glass of milk. After dinner Mindy & I walked down to Chrissy’s, Mindy to check on her laundry, me simply to visit. Kenny was home putting together their new propane-fired log burning patio table. Very nice! It was an absolutely gorgeous evening to sit outdoors. Kenny fired up the new table just to try it out. Nice! We sat around even after Jacob got home from soccer. Mindy and Chrissy headed down to our place to check out my nifty tile work and to make Jacob a French bread pizza. At 840pm I headed home. Mindy asked Chrissy to send Bella home. She arrived minutes later in tears. Didn’t want to stop playing even though it was getting late. Mindy & I stayed up until 945pm. By then, I was feeling a little better after taking three Advil, but nowhere close to perfect.

Getting Our Honda Back

I woke a couple minutes late, but not nearly enough to alter my routine. In fact, I was engaged in exercise by 540am. Before having my coffee I completed my push-ups. Like most work days, I spent the next 20 minutes online before heading up to wake Mindy. Upon my return downstairs I started meditation then my morning stretch. Both went well. I checked the temperature before heading out on my run. It was a balmy 61 degrees at 633am. I felt really good and ran the full four miles. Back at home, Bella was sitting at the breakfast table looking really grumpy. She explained that she was in a bad mood – tired. She didn’t want to sit by me while she ate. She moved over by Mindy. Mindy was ready to leave for work at 730am. I asked her to let me know if an d when she heard from Honda. After a quick kitchen clean-up, I headed for the shower. I was apparently slow to shower and groom. The kids were already out the door and at the bus stop by the time I made it downstairs. It was 758am. I quickly headed out to join them. Chrissy & I chatted briefly after the kids were on the bus. I was driving the BM’er to work again. This time, though, it was clean and shiny. Lucky for me, the weather’s been consistently nice during the Honda’s shop visit. Mindy called mid-morning. Still no word from Honda. She planned to call them if she didn’t hear from them soon. Early on in the day, I confirmed that it was OK to take Tuesday off as an on-call comp day. At lunch, I drove to Home Depot to buy the materials necessary to complete my wall tile project. Unfortunately, H.D. only had nine sheets of the stone tile. I needed 14. Once again, rather than piece meal the project, I left without buying anything, although I already had a Plan “B”. Plan B was to visit the Georgesville Rd Lowes after picking up the Honda, which we were all but assured would happen that evening. Mindy called around 315pm in route to Dr Julie’s to pick-up her new glasses. She wasn’t happy. She learned that Jason, the Honda service manager was off today and no one knew whether our car would be ready or not. Nice! They promised to call when they knew for certain. Lovely afternoon, by the way – mid 70’s and sunny. I left the office a few minutes late – about 540pm. I was excited about the prospect of having Tuesday off work. At home, I was surprised to see my dad’s minivan parked in front of the house. Mindy didn’t mention that she had invited him for dinner. All I knew was that we were having brats. Dad asked about my eyes then shared his recent pursuit of a newer used engine for his boat, one that has automated hydraulics. He’s currently negotiating with Delta Marine on a price and warranty. It’s shocking how much used boat engines sell for. I asked Dad if he really intended on using his boat. After all, he has two and has rarely used either the past several of years. Said that life got in the way past, but now that he is free and relatively healthy he believes he’ll use it more. He later shared that he’ll be heading down to Florida to visit Uncle Kenny some time towards the end of April, dates aren’t set yet. Good for him! Dad mentioned that he picked up the old track light I placed by the curb. Might have a use for it. It still works, I just didn’t like it anymore. We still hadn’t heard from Honda when dad left for home. That had to be 7pm. Mindy tried calling them but had to leave a VM. She wasn’t pleased. Truth is, I gave up any hope of her getting it back that night. I snuggled up in the chair and did some reading until I fell asleep. Mindy headed to Chrissy’s house to fetch some clothes from her dryer. She returned around 740pm and woke me up. Said the Honda would be ready by 830pm, and Chrissy would keep an eye on the kids. I lounged lazily until 805pm when I went upstairs to freshen up. We left for Hugh White Honda at 820pm. Mindy was excited to get her car back. I didn’t say anything but had a strange feeling that it wouldn’t be fixed correctly. We spotted our Pilot right away and parked right next to it before heading inside. Looked like they had just run it through the car wash. Inside, the kind service writer directed us to the cashier’s desk to get our receipt and keys. She asked Mindy for $70-some dollars. Nope. According to Jason, there wasn’t to be any labor charges. I was surprised that she was so quick to accept our word. Also, as discussed, they gave us two oil change vouchers. While Mindy signed the paper work, I looked briefly at the CR-V in the showroom. I was quick though. I didn’t want to deal with an overly anxious salesman. Out to the Honda. Mindy and I gave the Pilot a careful once over checking everything relative to the dash operation since we knew they'd completely disassemble it. Everything seemed to work, although there was a strong smell of antifreeze. I had Mindy pop the hood, but saw nothing amiss. Mindy headed home. I headed across the way to Lowes to get tile supplies, or so I hoped. In the sky, to our immediate south, was a magnificent lightning show. Unaware of the actual forecast, I didn’t know if it was from an approaching storm or simply heat lightning. The lightning was becoming wickedly vivid. It was 850pm when I entered Lowes. It looked like they were about to close yet the signage said open till 10pm. I half expected to be told they were closing early, but no, they were open. This Lowes had everything I needed including, and most importantly, enough sheets of tile. I quickly carted 14 sheets of tile, tub of mastic, tile nippers, trowel, and grout float, then headed towards the check-out. The cashier warned me that I’d be getting wet. Apparently, it was about to storm outside. Great! I hurried to the Trooper with my bounty. The wind was blowing hard out of the south and lightning was striking every couple seconds, but with only minimal rain. By the time I got the car loaded and started the sky broke loose. It rained hard with strong wind blowing everything sideways. In fact, it rained so hard that I considered pulling over on I-270. I tuned the Trooper’s stereo to 610 WTVN. We were under a severe thunder storm warning with heavy winds and damaging hail already being reported around the area. Lucky for me, It calmed temporarily about the time I entered our subdivision, but once inside it started up again. I heard hail pounding against the skylights and deck but it was infrequent and light. Looking out onto the deck, the hail was about a ¼” – no bigger. Mindy was trying to get the kids to bed. Good luck with that. Bella was crying after several loud claps of thunder. Knowing that she wasn’t going to sleep, I called her down to my side where I had her lay with me on the couch for a while. We watched a very strange program on the National Geographic Channel about the hypothetical effects of the Earth’s slowing rotation and ultimate stoppage. The program frightened Bella. The storm once again eased, so Mindy ushered Bella back to bed. The storm started up again not long after Bella was in bed. She came to the rail of the balcony and shared how she was coping with the storm – she mumbled something about envisioning the thunder as angels and the lightning as something else. Good plan, I responded! Mindy headed to be before 10pm. Because I was off work on Tuesday, I planned to stay up for a while. I poured myself a Jack & Fresca and watched the last 15 minutes of the college basketball national championship game. Duke beat Butler.

Paskha

It was Easter morning and I was up around 755am. Once again, there were clear blue skies over head and relatively mild temps. Because it was Sunday, I didn’t plan on doing any sit-ups or push-ups. Instead, I made coffee and went immediately to my two computers, aptly named work and pleasure. I decided Saturday to stop using the antibiotic and steroid eye drops and rely solely on the lubricating drops. I doused my eyes accordingly then poured a cup of coffee. I wasn’t up too long before I heard the kids scampering about. They were excited to get downstairs to nab their Easter bounty. Soon, Mindy and the kids were downstairs. And just like we have every year for the past five, we had an inside egg hunt. Honestly, though, I think they’re both getting a little big for an indoor – one room egg hunt. Mindy made them each a nice Easter basket too, that contained traditional candy along with a couple small gifts. They seemed appreciative. Mindy planned on attending Easter service at Cross Roads United Methodist Church. Some time around 930am I shared that I wasn’t planning to join her. I simply had no desire, but fully understood her wanting to. She didn’t act to surprised or bothered like I worried she might. She and the kids left around 1015am. Soon after they were gone I readied for my Sunday run. It was about 55 and sunny, ideal for running. I ran just three miles hoping to get back on track with my usual routine of 4 miles Mon –Sat. Once back home, I woofed down some cheese chunks and poured a second cup of coffee. I then gathered everything I’d need to install our new track light over the fireplace. Of course the first thing I did was take down the old, outdated track light. It was originally white but yellowed over time. After taking it down I remembered what was so challenging about putting it up. When we had the house built we had the builder (M/I Homes) rough in light box. Instead of using a standard junction box, they used a light switch box. Most lighting fixtures don’t match up to the two holes provided on a switch box. I had to improvise then and would have to once again. The directions supplied ith the new track light were somewhat cryptic. I read them completely before starting the reinstall. I must’ve made ten trips up and down the ladder for one reason or another. I got frustrated more than once and did my share of swearing. I had to alter the suggested install process a bit to accommodate for having only two hands.  After wiring & securing the new track, all that was left was to install the four light fixtures. And because there were four, I had the luxury of highlighting some of our art pieces. I am embarrassed to point out that I wasn’t sure how to move the tracks once snapped into place. I damn near broke one of the heads trying to move it. It wasn’t until I’d all but given up that I figured it out. Mindy & the kids returned from church just as I was finishing up the clean-up. Mindy really liked the light. I knew she would. It was about 1230pm and the temperature was warming up nicely. It was 70 and sunny. Mindy made all of us lunch, grilled cheese sandwiches. After devouring my sandwich, I headed out for some yard work. I planned to do backyard flower bed prep, which included cutting back the ornamental grasses and the other assorted perennials then raking out the beds and loading it all onto my trusty tarp. I worked in the yard for about two hours. It always takes longer than one might expect. I’d have to do the front yard another day, but it’s still early in the season. Mindy suggested we leave for her mother’s sometime after 330pm. To that end, I headed in for a shower. This would be just our second Sunday dinner this year. We were ready to go by 345pm. Mindy & I headed off in the Trooper, arriving just before 4pm. The kids, I failed to mention, were having Easter dinner with Jimaken’s family. Jimaken planned to drop them off at Gloria’s later. We spent the first hour or so visiting, sharing stories and waiting on others to arrive. Dinner was served somewhere between 5-530pm. There was ham, roast beef, stuffing, and macaroni salad. I had a little of everything, but consciously avoided over stuffing myself. After dinner many went on a neighborhood walk. I did not. We hung out for another hour before dessert was served. The kids arrived shortly before dessert time. Dessert consisted of “icebox cookies” and lemon cheese cake. I had some of each. We didn’t stick around too long after dessert. It was approaching 8pm and it was a work/school night. We loaded into the Trooper and headed for home. It was such a lovely evening I wished we had gotten home sooner so we could’ve taken advantage of the nice weather. As it was, we needed to get the kids ready for bed. I quickly tuned the TV to Life, already underway, not wanting to miss it this week. Mindy let the kids stay up longer than usual watching. It must’ve been 915pm when she forced the issue. Mindy & I watched the rest of Life before heading to bed.

A Busy Day Indeed

I woke initially around 7am but wanted more sleep. I must’ve woken three or four more times between then and 8am when I finally got up for good. Mindy didn’t move. I left her sleeping. Downstairs, I started coffee then completed both my sit-ups and push-ups. I put some lubricating eye drops in. I was encouraged and surprised at how good my eyes felt after being so dry the evening before. Not only that, but I could see at multiple distances with great clarity, something that has been slow to come now day nine after LASIK. I played around on my PC while also checking in with work via my laptop. Things were going fairly well. I was careful not to spend too much time on the PC not wanting to dry out my eyes. Come 945am I headed out for a run. The weather was superb, 60 something and sunny. I could’ve comfortably worn shorts but didn’t. I ran four miles without any complaints. Just lovely! Mindy remained asleep even after my return from the run. I made a quick sandwich then headed out to wash the BM’er. It was dirtier than ever before, and that my friends was driving me crazy. Before doing so, though, I had to turn-on the exterior water feed and make sure the hose wasn’t leaking. All good! And because I leave the top down virtually all the time, the BM’er was as dirty inside as out. I did the exterior first. And because it’s so small, that went quickly, although, as always, cleaning the wheels took some time. Mindy came out to greet me just as I was starting on the interior. She was skipping yoga. Not sure what time it was but figured it had to be nearing noon. Mindy kindly brought me the shopvac from the cellar. The interior was covered in dusty dirt. After vacuuming the interior I took the time to scrub down the entire interior, including the underside of the convertible top. Man, it looked nice when I was finished, inside and out. I thought about moving to the Trooper, but also knew that Mindy planned to leave for the grocery store sometime soon. I didn’t want to do half a job, so I decided to cut the lawn instead. However, before I could start cutting, I had to put the freshly sharpened blades back on the mowers first. This being the first cut of the season, I didn’t plan to edge or whack, just mow. I put the blade back on the Toro first. I did a quick spring tune-up, too. All good. Started first pull. Mindy left for the grocery while I was busy mowing. The freshly sharpened blade seemed to make a difference, but the real test will come down the road a couple of weeks when the spring rains come & the lawn really thickens up. Right now it’s growing in patches. The good news is that the large area that I painstakingly restored fall of ’08 is really flourishing. I cut the entire front with Toro and then got out the Deere. I used auto ramps to raise it high enough to easily replace its two blades. I cut the back in less than ten minutes using it. Most of the rear lawn wasn’t long enough for cutting, but now it was even. I was happy that both mowers started easily. I secured the shed and headed inside. The sky clouded over and temperature dropped considerably. I wasn’t sure what the weather was gonna do. In fact, I hadn’t bothered checking the forecast all day. I wasn’t inside long before the Sears repair dude phoned to let me know he’d be there in 15 minutes. It was approaching 2pm. He was right on time. He seemed oblivious to the comments we added to the service request where we supplied the make and model number along with the most likely culprit, the heating coil. I left him alone to troubleshoot after pouring him a Fresca. It didn’t take long for Sean the dryer man to holler for me. Yep, it was the heating coil. The bad news was that he didn’t have one on the truck, or anywhere local for that matter. Said it rarely goes out. Would have to order one, and that could take up to a week. He set us up for the install a week from then – next Saturday sametime. I had to pay today, however. Mindy arrived home with her groceries while Sean and I were settling up. Mindy wasn’t at all pleased when I informed her that it would be another week. She thought I was kidding. Sean quickly chimed in to explain. Mindy, uncharacteristically, gave him a bit of an earful. I was surprised at her obvious bitterness. Not like her to be so unkind. Sean did say that the part would be direct shipped to our address and that if it arrived early, we could call and they would most likely send someone out immediately to do the install. That did little to improve Mindy’s mood. It wasn’t this kids fault. After Sean left, I carried in what was left of the groceries, which amounted to nothing more than a few 12-packs of soda. Afterwards, I headed upstairs for a much needed shower. We had designs on hanging with the neighbors again Saturday night. Chrissy was hosting an Easter party that would include a glow-in-the-dark Easter egg hunt for the kids. To that end, we made arrangements to pick-up the grandkids minus Kaileigh, who was out of town visiting Shelly's poppa in Alabama. Mindy suggested that we pick-up the boys around 330pm. It was 240pm when I left the house first for Giant Eagle intent on getting some fresh beer. The Eagle was packed with shoppers stocking up for what I assumed was Easter dinner. Lucky for me, I would be checking out in the 12 items or less aisle. I bought two 6-packs of CBC, one Pale Ale and one IPA. I picked Mindy up some of the Sam Adams Imperial Stout she likes. It's expensive - $10 for a four-pack. While there, I decided to buy another box of preservative free eye drops. Ouch! They were $12 there, a $1.50 more than Target. It was already pushing 330pm. I was hungry, having eaten nothing but half a sandwich after my run. I drove through the Burger King drive-thru and picked up a combo meal. Bad, I know. It made more sense to pick Olivia up first. As always, she was excited to see me. She always makes me feel good. Even though she wasn't staying the night, she wanted to bring her "nee and pillow". OK, sure thing. We headed to Lindsey's next. The boys were waiting with baited breath. Wasn't sure of Lindsey's plans, whether she intended to come along or stay home. She stayed home. We arrived back at our place just after 4pm. The kids were eager to see Mindy (mimi). Without wasting a minute, Mindy started the egg coloring exercise. for all the kids. We ended up having Makayla and Lillian down to color eggs too. Mindy has a good system that leaves no mess or fuss afterwards. She essentially covers the table in a throw away table cloth that can simply be rolled up and thrown away when down. The kids colored about 3 dozen eggs with Makayla, Bella, and Lillian doing the lion's share. After coloring eggs, I went outside to push the kids on the tree swings. All the neighbor kids came over too. We pushed them for about half and hour. We headed down to Kenny & Chrissy not long after to join their Easter party. There was a lot of food, including a Honey Baked ham & turkey breast. I ate my fill while also sipping on a CBC. As darkness approached Mindy & Chrissy headed out to hide eggs. The kids were excited for the glow in the dark egg hunt. The hunt started at 830pm. Chrissy wisely had eggs for the really small kids up close by the deck. That area was off limits to the older kids. The 4-7 year olds had their won area too, close to the putting green. The big kids were relegated to the far back by the shed. The system worked well. Included in the bounty were three golden eggs holding $20 each. Embarrassingly, Jacob and Bella each found one. There were 20 kids, what are the odds? Ashley & Steven were there now too. They came to pick-up Olivia and the boys, something we worked out an hour or so earlier. That way I could safely drink beer. The egg hunt was over by 9pm. We walked down to our house with the grandkids to give them the Easter baskets we prepared for them. They bolted for home by 915pm and Mindy & I headed back to Kenny & Chrissy's. We hung out with the neighbors until 11pm or so. We headed home to get the kids to bed and hide eggs for the morning. Mindy did all of that.

Home on the Range

I was up on time and then quickly engaged in my morning exercise routine. Looked like another gorgeous day was in the offing. It was already 60 degrees under clear skies. I took care of my eyes in and amongst everything else. At 630am, after meditation and stretching, I stopped just short of waking Mindy after remembering she had no reason to be up early. Both she and the kids were off today for Good Friday. They planned on going to COSI sometime later in the day. It was daybreak a mile or so into my run. I ran four miles and felt terrific. Back at home I went about making my breakfast while everyone else remained asleep. I decided to spice up my breakfast a little by frying some of the leftover scalloped potatoes that I found in the fridge to have along with my eggs. Apparently the smell woke Bella who came downstairs briefly but still half asleep. She uttered something about me waking her up then headed back upstairs. I took Mindy coffee when I headed up for a shower. I was showered, dressed, and ready by 755am. Mindy shared that Bella complained that I woke her earlier with my cooking by tempting her sniffer. We both got a good chuckle out of that. I headed off to work at 815am. I already knew the work day was gonna be tough. My peers were either off on vacation or on holiday. My team and I were pretty much on our own. Things got dicey in a hurry, but I expected it. It was such a gorgeous day outside. I forced myself to getaway for lunch. But instead of going for fast food, I went to the driving range to work on my golf swing. In route, I made sure to take a closer look at the backyard tree house that caught my eye a couple weeks ago. I hope to build the kids something similar this spring. We'll see. The range was predictably crowded. Despite the lovely weather, I chose to hit from the enclosed tees. I bought a large bucket for $8 and worked almost exclusively on my irons starting from sand wedge and working up to my 3-iron. I took my time, making sure to swing properly. I moved through my short iron progression quickly making solid contact with most. By the time I reached my mid-irons I was warmed up. I was able to strike the mid-irons with far greater success than I have lately on the course, and without a single weak slice. I’d say that half of my 6-iron shots were like the “old Jimmy”. I worked down to my 3-iron making decent contact on most. Still with 15-20 balls left in my bucket I eventually smacked a few with my driver, but went back to work on my 6-iron to finish. I left encouraged, but not over-confident. I got back to the office around 2pm. I was looking forward to eating my packed vegetables and tuna. I was really hungry. I’d be on-call over the Easter weekend, but did my best to not let that detour my excitement. The weather was expected to be superb with high’s both days in the 70s. The afternoon breezed along. I felt fortunate that most of the day’s crises were well-managed and/or resolved before I left the office for home. I packed up my gear and departed at 515pm. The house was quiet and clean upon my arrival, and the kids were already gone with their daddy. Mindy updated me on the Honda. They confirmed that they had the right part in but that we wouldn’t have it back until Monday afternoon. Let’s hope so. Meanwhile, I really needed to decompress – put the work week behind me. No better way to accomplish that than to take a nap. I did so from the livingroom recliner, but not before setting up my work laptop at my desk. It took a while to fall asleep, but slept much longer than I anticipated. It was almost 7pm when I woke up. I was in a quiet mood. Mindy appeared already prepared to head to Barley’s. It took me a few minutes to spruce myself up and tend to my eyes. We must’ve headed out near 720pm. Pat Shultz stopped by on his way to pick-up the Friday night pizza. We invited he and Lisa to meet us at Barley’s. We left in the Trooper shortly thereafter. A few regulars were scattered around the bar. Amongst them, Steve Wonn and Barely Dan. We had to take stools a few seats down. They had Hoptopus on tap for the first time in a while. I went with one of those. Not sure what Mindy ordered. The Hoptopus was good. Mindy was ready to order food early on. I was not, but planned to later. When Mindy ordered food, I ordered another beer. We eventually moved to a couple vacated barstools closer to our pals. Mindy talked with Christa. Mindy’s food arrived, a brisket sandwich. It looked delicious. I picked at the large pile of beef stacked high on the bun. In fact, I had enough of that that I didn’t feel the need to order any food of my own. Mindy suggested we not stay too late. I agreed but wanted one more beer. This time I went with a Maharaja. Superb! I picked up this week’s Barley tab. We headed for home, the time still in front of 10pm. Once at home, I wanted to go hang out with Kenny for a while. Mindy, on the other hand, wanted to go to bed. She made it fairly clear that she wasn’t too excited about me going without her. But the thing is, she goes down and hangs with the neighbors a couple times each week. I rarely if ever do during the week. I poured a beer and carried another then headed next door. Sounded Like Mike & Teri were having some fun too, only outside on their patio. I chatted with Kenny, Chrissy, and Mike (not neighbor Mike) for a short bit before heading down to neighbor Mike’s with Makayla. In the meantime, I sent Chrissy after Mindy. I visited with Mike, Teri, and their friends for about ten minutes. I was really surprised to see Mindy drinking a glass of wine when I got back to Kenny & Chrissy’s. She openly shared the source of her angst with the neighbors. We hung with the neighbors until 11-1130, not that late, really.

April One & 80 degrees

Up on time, I was downstairs and all about my sit-ups just before 530am. Checked the temperature immediately after, it was already 50 degrees. Nice! After push-ups I poured some coffee and then spent another ten minutes online. Read some of brother Glenn’s blog. It looks like his home was broken into again. If I were him, I’d bag the house thing and go condo. He responded to my request to try taking back those tire chains I bought for the rental in February. April 1 is the first day they can be returned. I moved onto meditation and stretching around 605am finishing up just before 630am. I delivered Mindy’s coffee before dressing for a run. She asked that I turn the ceiling fan off. I adjusted my running attire for the mild temperature. Just about right. I ran four miles after cutting it short on Monday & Wednesday. I felt really good. Mindy was up and working on breakfast. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as jovial. Both kids were upset that Mindy told ‘em they couldn’t wear shorts even though the high was expected to top out at 80. Privately, I convinced Mindy that there was little harm in it, and she eventually changed her tune and allowed it. That made both kids happy. While Mindy went to help the kids find shorts, I took over cooking my eggs. Bella came down in what looked like knickers. She wasn’t too pleased. I told her to roll ‘em up, but she refused fearing her mother’s wrath. When Mindy came down she agreed and rolled ‘em up. That made Bella happy, at least temporarily. While enjoying my eggs I had a little April Fool’s Day fun with Bella. Unfortunately, she didn't see it the same way. Let’s see, I told her that school was canceled and later that she had a hole in her shorts. Both brought her to tears. Come on! Sometimes Bella can be overtly dramatic. This was one of those occasions. I encouraged her to April Fool’s me. She eventually did. I walked to the bus stop with the kids. As expected, Kenny & Chrissy’s girls were in shorts too. Had Mindy not conceded, there would’ve been hell to pay.  Kenny shared that he was staying home and working in the yard. I shared my hopes to golf after work, but still wasn’t sure I’d find a partner. I put my clubs in the BM’er’s small trunk after the bus left with the kids. I also put the kids rented snow skis in the back of the Trooper hoping that Mindy would find the time to return them to Aspen Ski & Board after her massage this morning. Her schedule was tight: a massage at 930-1130am, a hair appt at 1215pm, and then lunch with her BFF, Teri afterwards. She’d be doing a crazy amount of driving. I begged her to find time for the ski return since they need to back no later than the 10th. Without the Trooper it would be nearly impossible for me. I didn’t leave for work until 825am. It was a lovely drive in. I could’ve kept going, however, my sense of responsibility just wouldn’t allow it. The morning went along swimmingly. I forced myself to getaway for lunch and drove the BM’er home. There, I removed the mower blades from both the Toro and the Deere. Their removal went much easier than I anticipated it might. Chrissy had the same idea as me - no, not removing mower blades. She was home for lunch sitting on the deck watching Kenny do yard work. By getting the blades off that afternoon, I could have them back Friday and possibly due the season’s first cut this coming weekend. I thought briefly about washing the BM’er, too, but time was slipping away. I decided not and headed back to work. Mindy called me later that afternoon and shared more Honda drama. This time the guy told her that they got the correct part number sent was but that it still wasn’t the correct one. Now, said it might not be ready until Monday. Wanted to know if we wanted a rental. Honestly, a rental doesn’t buy us much. I advised Mindy that she should pursue other options, like a credit on our non-warranty work (mirror install and tire rotation) and perhaps even more. Said she’d take care of it. Mindy was done with all of her appointments and was visiting her friend Tara who lives in The Glen. And by the way, she found the time to return the kids skis, too. Mid-afternoon I phoned Tom C. to measure his interest in golf. He was home and interested. He took the initiative to call around the local course to see how busy they might be. Called back and reported that Thornapple and Bolton were very busy. Was told to expect a crowd. Tom campaigned for Indian Springs. Never a crowd and a nicer course. I agreed to play Indian Springs, although I insisted that it’s further than perhaps he thought – 30 miles from the office. We agreed to try and meet there near 5pm. I planned to leave at 415-430pm. I sent Bob I. an email letting him know our arrangements wondering if he was interested. Bob responded back shortly after. He and Bob B. were preparing to leave at 4pm and thinking of playing Fox Fire or Split Rock. Maybe next week. Almost on queue, my afternoon got incredibly busy until I left the office at 420pm. For a while I thought I might have to cancel. I took Hayden Run to Cosgray to 161 then west. I arrived just before 5pm. Tom wasn’t yet there. I did some work via my Blackberry until 5pm. Tom arrived a few minutes later. We saw one other twosome and one guy walking by himself. That’s it. The course was wide open, and we had fun. Indian Springs is nestled amongst many large lakes and lilly pad infested frog ponds in and around trees. It’s really quite beautiful. The wildlife was abundant. By sound alone, you’d of thought it was summer. Tree frogs were cricking and bull frogs croaking. We saw five deer scampering across a fairway too. My game was as erratic as it’s been since mid-summer last. Still shanking every other iron shot. I didn’t worry about it, though. I was happy to be golfing and without wearing prescription eye glasses. The greens were cut incredibly long making them super slow. In fact, the fairways were cut long, too. But this early in the year you’ve gotta give the course time to get into shape. As poorly as I was playing, Tom was playing that well. And he’s much easier to live with in that scenario.  We played holes 1-13 but started running out of daylight. We decided to skip 14-17 and drive all the way to 18 and play in. It was getting hard to see as we finished. My eyes dried out pretty bad during play. I didn’t carry any drops with me. Mistake! And even though I dosed up back at the car, driving home was quite difficult, especially against any on coming traffic on rt 161. I arrived home around 835pm. I was ravenously hungry first eating potato chips then a leftover cheeseburger. It was near bedtime in a hurry. I sipped a Jack & Coke while we watched a little TV before heading to bed.