Fire, Water, and Me

After almost 10.5 hours of sleep, I was up well before 530am for the first time since Mindy’s been out of school, although I had a case of that familiar grogginess often associated with too much sleep. Thankfully, it quickly abated. Our summer schedule leaves me an opportunity to sleep a bit later without repercussion. Downstairs, I put in some eye drops, started the coffee maker (its program has been screwed up since the power outage last Friday), and choked down a One-A-Day vitamin. Because the upper side of my right wrist was bothering me, I decided not to aggravate it any more by doing push-ups. There’s a small bump there, similar to the ganglion cyst on my lower wrist. I first remember feeling some aching there after hitting a mega bucket of golf balls at the range a couple weeks back. I opened Frankie’s cage, but like she often does these days, remained inside while I carried on with coffee and internet time. She finally joined me while I was at the PC and seemed full of energy. I quickly coaxed her to the back door and outside where she took care of business – pooped three times! It was very sultry, lots of moisture in the air with temperature already hovering near 70. I’d be running in shorts alone. Inside, I completed a meditation and stretch routine. That took me up to 6:30am when I dressed for a run. Frankie went cooperatively to her pen. Good dog! It was a very good 4-mile run that was completed with ease. Back home I started breakfast and freed Frankie once again from her pen. I made a spinach, cheese, and bacon-bit omelet. It was good. It appeared we were out of English muffins. Rather than run to the cellar to check for more, I opted for a couple slices of Bella’s cinnamon bread toasted. After a quiet breakfast I poured Mindy some coffee and headed upstairs with Frankie. Mindy was sound asleep. I felt bad laying Frankie in bed with her. She attacked her face. I warned Mindy that she was full of energy this morning after being so lethargic the day before. Just as I had anticipated, Mindy remained firmly entrenched in bed when I headed downstairs. She looked exhausted. I ended up driving the Trooper but for no good reason. Could’ve/should’ve driven the BM’er. I took my monthly bills to work with intentions of scheduling their payment online, desiring to have that out of the way prior to vacation. Also, before leaving the house I printed off our car rental reservation confirmation. Work was so busy that I got lost in time. The day flew by. And for the second day in a row, I didn’t bother taking a lunch break, but as with most days, I ate my packed lunch at from my desk. I talked with Mindy sometime during the early afternoon. The kids had friends over playing. Jacob and Evan were fishing. Nothing major going on at home. Mindy shared that we’d be having leftovers for dinner. She knew I planned to cut the lawn, wanted to know if I cared to eat before or after the lawn work. After. Work was crazy busy through the late afternoon. I wasn’t able to get away until 545pm. I arrived home just after 6pm. Mindy was outside with Frankie. Asked how I liked my new Born shoes. I like them - very comfy. I snacked on cheese before heading out to cut the lawn. I wasn’t really looking forward to it, but I knew it needed done. I’ll most likely cut it again on Friday. It was fairly steamy too – 86, sunny and humid. Following last week’s new routine, I cut the back slope first then the entire front with the push mower. I worked up one heck of a sweat. After an hour or so I hopped on the Deere and finished the back. It felt heavenly to ride versus push. While ride cutting, Kenny stopped over to borrow my Sawz-all. They’re having all new hardwood floors put down while on vacation and he’s in the process of ripping all the existing lower level flooring up. Said they’ve been at it all day long. After putting away both mowers I moved directly to blowing purposefully skipping the whacking and edging, figuring that I’d be doing that on Friday when I cut again. While blowing off the lawn, Mindy and Jacob headed out with Frankie on a leash walk. After their return 20 minutes later I asked Mindy if she would water the rear flowers. I needed to cool down. I puttered around the yard while she watered. She finished 30 minutes later. Before shutting down the hose, I topped off the hot tub, which is working fine but leaking at a rate of about 2 inches every three days. Mindy made herself some leftovers after our yard work. By then, I had already snacked on potato chips and cheese chunks and wasn’t that hungry. After eating, Mindy headed off to Kroghetto and Targhetto to pick up a couple things. Included on her list was some picture wire so she can finish hanging the sports related artwork in Jacob’s new room. She recently reframed a Woody Hayes poster I gave him along with a commemorative Blue Jackets poster from their inaugural season that he got from his daddy. When Mindy returned she asked if I was up for hanging the wall shelves in his room. I wasn’t up for anything but rest. She went at it alone while I played on my PC. After about an hour or so she asked me to come up and take a look. Looked good, however, I didn’t care for the placement of the Blue Jacket poster. Offered an alternative. Come 9pm the kids were busy getting ready for bed. I popped some popcorn for the first time in a week or more. Bella sniffed it out and soon joined me for some on the sofa. We hoped to watch some gripping Science Channel programming but were disappointed to find nothing all that appealing. Frankie joined us too. She loves popcorn just like us. After the kids were tucked into bed Mindy and I watched a show about how water and fire have shaped the Earth’s recent history. Interesting perspective. I started to dose around 10pm but stayed up until almost 11pm.

Lacking Necessary Sleep

The weekend went fast. It was already Monday and time to return to work. I slept as late as humanly possible. It was almost 6am when I finally rolled out of bed. But even after the extra sleep I was still tired. Could easily have slept a couple more hours. Because I failed to reset the timer on the irrigation system after Friday’s power outage, it was running an hour behind, or the length of the power outage. I let it finish before even thinking about taking Frankie out. Speaking of Frankie. She seemed as sluggish as me. She remained sleeping in the pen even after I completed my exercise and coffee. She was draggin’ ass, too. When we finally got around to going out back she took care of her business in a hurry. I complete the rest of my pre-run routine then suited up for another four miles. It was a gorgeous morning with the temperature perhaps a notch cooler than the day before. It was somewhere near 65. After my run I took the extra few minutes necessary to prepare an omelet. It was mighty tasty. With the pug and coffee in hand, I headed up to wake Mindy around 750am. She chose to remain in bed after my shower citing the need for more sleep. I was still kind of tired too. Needing to take the boat back to storage on my way to work, I planned to drive the Trooper. But both it and the boat needed gas, so I thought I'd head to the Silver Horn Kroger first. There I thought I'd save $.50 per gallon with my fuel perks rewards. I felt foolish when my Kroger card netted me just a $.10 per gallon savings, especially given that their price was already $.06 higher than Thornton's. I drove all that way and lost valuable time to save $.04 per gallon. Live and learn! I didn't get the boat to storage until 845am. Not that anybody was counting, but I ended up being 30 minutes late for work. Work was moderately busy, still quite a bit of fallout/carry over from the weekend on call to deal with. I ate my lunch at my desk but skipped a formal lunch break. I talked with Mindy who said we'd be having leftovers for dinner. I was OK with that. Unless I'm mistaken, she and the kids went to the pool for a couple hours taking Emily and Evan along too. I left work shortly after 530pm for home. It was one of those days when I felt extremely sensitive to clutter. The house seemed in disarray, and certainly much more so than usual. I found it difficult to relax and even complained about it a little. Mindy shut me down pretty quickly, however. Everybody had something different for dinner. I chose leftover fried chicken and mashed potatoes. It was good, but I wasn't all that hungry. I was anxious to clean-up the kitchen and start removing counter clutter. I dealt with my own stuff first. After cleaning up the kitchen, I headed for the PC to check email. I became really tired in an instant. Actually, though, I had been tired all day. It just poured over me even more so that instant. Not to be denied, I plopped face down on the livingroom floor for a nap. I'll bet I slept there for at least an hour, moving to the sofa next where I slept until 930pm or so. I can't recall if I woke there on my own or if Mindy woke me woke me, either way, I made a beeline for bed.

Celebrating Daddies Everywhere

I woke a few times early morning not feeling so well. My mouth was dry, my stomach queasy, and my head aching. I got up around 6am to take more Advil and refill my empty water glass. I went back to sleep until 9am. By then, I felt much better but still a tad hungover. Frankie was still out cold after a raucous night in her own right. She fought with her brother and sister until the wee hours of the morning. Despite opening her pen, she remained asleep in her bed. I started feeling better after some coffee. I convinced Frankie to get up around 930am so we could head out back. She relieved herself after some play. While Frankie played, I cleaned up most of the toilet paper Chrissy decorated my backyard with. And while I was out there, I watered all the rear flowers too. That took me until 1015am. It was supposed to be a gorgeous Fathers Day – oodles of sunshine and temps near 90, and it was already well on its way. I spent the next hour or so dealing with work related matters. I let Mindy sleep in. She woke naturally around 11am. She wasn’t up long before I headed out on my Sunday run. I ran three miles. And it was a warm and sticky three miles, too. Mindy showered then headed to the grocery store to pick-up a few last minute things for our Father’s Day cookout, which was slated to begin around 3 or 4pm. While Mindy was away, I took a brief nap. After waking, I went out and put air in the boat trailer tires – the one thing I failed to address on Saturday. Mindy expected the kids home around 3pm, but I could swear she told me 2pm the day before. After a quick shower, I was out back with Frankie. Turns out, the kids were home closer to 2pm. Jacob said he wanted to go with me to get Lindsey and the boys. Before we left, the kids and Mindy gifted me for Father’s Day. The kids gave me a nice card and made a t-shirt complete with their hand prints and a “Go Vikings” homemade logo. Very cool! Mindy gifted me a pair of Born shoes to replace my ten year old pair (actually a box with a picture of the shoes in the lid). They were being shipped to our home next Tuesday. She also gave me a Golf Galaxy gift card. Cool! I just might buy those new irons after all. We’ll see. Jacob and I hopped in the Honda and went to fetch Lindsey and the boys. Kelly wasn’t home – off spending Father’s Day with Al. Lindsey insisted I see how well her Knock Out rose bush was doing, the one we gifted her for Mother’s Day. Looking good in a patio pot. I couldn’t help but also notice the large piles of dog crap and the mud puddle off to the side full of baby mosquitoes. Ewh! We loaded everybody into the Honda and headed back to our house. Somehow our Florida trip came up. I believe Jacob shared the news. Rocky immediately asked if he could go. Not long after, Lindsey asked if we’d take her some year. She also promised Rocky that she’d take him someday. I kept my thoughts to myself. Believe me, I had a few of them. Lindsey went on about her mom and sister Courtney during the relatively brief drive home. We invited Courtney but weren’t holding our breath. Again, she’s apparently not speaking with us. The kids headed out to play as soon as we got home. It was just Mindy & I inside. I got nappy again on the sofa, but never did fall asleep. Sometime around 4pm Olivia and Ashley showed up. And not much later, Brother Tommy and Mathew (Wally) arrived. Dad was far behind either. Soon we had a house full. On the menu: fried chicken, brats, hot dogs, macaroni salad, and green beans. Mindy had been prepping food all afternoon. She even did the grilling. I didn’t have to do much of anything. That was a treat in and of itself. Mindy invited the neighbors to eat with us too. They came down just before dinner. I had the final round of the US Open whirling in the back ground. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods started off poorly after Saturday's dominant performance. I was hoping he’d win it, but it wasn’t to be. Mindy out did herself. The food was excellent. Ashley and Olivia presented me with a Father’s Day card. I teased Lindsey about not getting (or making) me one. Never does. Mindy apparently bought one for Rocky and Landon to give me. She pulled them off to the side and then had Rocky present me with a card to Grandpa on Father’s Day. Chrissy gave me a Father’s Day card, too. That was so nice! I was touched. We had a birthday card and gift ready for Kaileigh, but she had Father’s Day plans with Joey. Her birthday was last Wednesday. We called and talked with her. The kids gave Grandpa Glenn his card and gift too. After dinner I headed out to play with the kids. Both Landon and Olivia wanted to swing. I took turns pushing both in the baby tree swing, although Olivia now rides both. Sharing isn’t her strong suit. Just before we stopped playing on the tree swings, Rocky came down for one quick ride on the big swing. Long story short, he racked his “parts’ good somehow and was on the ground in tears. I felt for him. After playing with the little ones, I agreed to play baseball with all the others. Mindy was playing too. It was Jake, Jacob, Bella, Makayla, Lillian, Rocky, Evan, and Emily. I agreed to be all-time pitcher. We hadn’t been playing long when Mindy got slightly injured and stopped playing. A minute or two later, it was Rocky’s turn … again. This time, not paying attention, he walked right in the path of Evan’s ferocious swing of the bat and took the full brunt of it squarely in the rib cage. Now, he rarely cries, but believe me, he cried then. All of us cringed when we saw and heard it. It was a loud, solid blow. He’s one tough little cookie! He was back up and batting a minute or two later. Meanwhile, it was the two older boys against all the wee ones. They became incensed that I was ‘purposefully’ allowing the wee ones to score after dropping a number of throws and grounders. I was laughing so hard that it hurt. I think that Dad got a kick out of it too. Tommy helped some as well. He played catcher and coach while Wally & Landon played with the pugs in the neighbor’s yard. We played ball until well past 8pm. Afterwards, Jacob, Rocky, and Evan went to his house to jump on the trampoline. The wee ones, Landon and Olivia, wanted to go to. I walked down there and assisted them with a little jumping. They had a ball. They didn’t want to get out but I insisted. However, before heading back to our house, they stalled on Evan’s backyard playset going up and down the slide a number times. Suddenly, I spotted what looked like crap on the ladder to the slide. Landon fessed up that it was his! OMG! Just fell out of his pants. He kept right on playing. Holy Crap! I scooped it up and away with sand shovel from the nearby sand box. I hurried him home and then asked Mindy to please help - definitely not my forte. She did so happily!  The rest of the kids, meanwhile, were excited about having a fire on our pondside patio and making smores. I felt really bad when Rocky learned that we were taking he, Landon, and Olivia home before hand, He cried. He really needs a lot of love, attention, and some kid-type activities. Mindy agreed to take the kids home if I dealt with the fire. After helping Mindy safely load up the wee ones, I headed out back to prepare for a fire. I gathered the nearby kindling I’ve been keeping just for these events. I fetched some charcoal lighter fluid too (cheater fluid). As soon as I lit the fire the girls came a runnin’. I had to remind them that it would be a while before the coals were right for roasting marshmallows and making smores. In fact, I told them that we had to wait for Mindy’s return. There were seven of them: Jake, Jacob, Lillian, Emily, Evan, Makayla, and Bella. I knew better than to go it alone. Plus, I was really tired. Had I not promised Bella we’d have a fire twice before … Mindy got home about ten minutes later. THANK GOD! I had to go inside to request her presence. Said she didn’t realize I wanted her help. She was exhausted too, and rightfully so. We both were up too late drinking the night before, and then she cooked and entertained all day. I think we both felt a little overwhelmed with 7 kids gathered close together with pokey sticks around the small fire with flaming marshmallows. Well, it didn’t take long for a crisis. Jake dropped his flaming marshmallow on the leg of his sister, Lillian. Needless to say, she screamed to high heaven! Thinking quickly, Mindy ran in for an ice pack and other first-aid stuff. Mindy declared the event over almost before it got started. All the girls were very upset with the injury. But lucky for all of us, it turned out not being that bad – just a red spot on her foot. Mindy helped her home. While Mindy took care of the kids, I cleaned up the fire mess and carried in all the gear. It was well after 10pm. Mindy had the kids shower while I got ready for bed. We didn’t get to bed until almost 11pm.

Rocket to Russia

Greeted by gray skies and warm temps, I was up around 730am. Before checking in on work I completed my morning calisthenics and started a pot of coffee. I took Frankie outside, too. But after relieving herself, she promptly scooted back into her pen. With the gray skies, I spent the early morning hours before my run updating my sorely neglected blog. I had all of the past ten days drafted but unedited and unpublished. I wasn’t sure of Mindy’s intentions as she was still asleep, but she talked about going to yoga. Kenny & I hinted about golf but it received a chilly reception from the wives the night before. Regardless, because I was on-call, it was my first priority. Somewhere around 930-10am the gray skies drifted away leaving nothing but blue skies overhead. Instantly it was like a summer sauna. Mindy got up around 1030am. Bella was already awake but Jacob still sleeping. I dressed and left for a run a few minutes later. My run was a steamy one, but also a great work out. It’s been a while since I’ve run in hot, steamy sunshine. After my run I took care of a few yard chores like watering the flower pots and baskets out back. Once I headed back inside I told Mindy that I was going after the boat to get it water ready. I asked Jacob if he wanted to join me, although I knew he had only an hour before his daddy would be there to get him. Jacob decided not to join me. I was OK with that. I left to fetch the boat heading up Old Dublin Rd. On my way up, I decided to stop by Tom Clarks’ place. Hadn’t seen it in a while. Unfortunately, Tom wasn’t home. Must’ve been working OT. I walked around the house to check out his crafty work: new fence, front porch, and new sod out back. Nice work Tom! At boat storage, I found my boat packed in pretty tight. I had to use the hand pull-tow to get it out in the open where I could more readily hitch it up. No worries. Back at home, I removed the boat cover then headed inside. Jimaken pulled up about the same time to get the kids. I spent the next hour or two getting the boat water ready. That entailed attaching the battery, checking oil, belts, and filters. All good. I attached the motor muffs and hose, turned on the water, and then fired it up. No problems! I didn’t bother giving it a bath. We got it out only on time all of last year, and it was still pretty clean. It was after 3pm when I finished up. I saw neighbor Carl out walking around his yard so I walked over to chat. He’s recovering from kidney removal surgery. Said to be doing great. Showed both Mindy & I his 20+ staples. Nice! We talked for about an hour, or so it seemed. Mindy and Frankie eventually peeled off back home. Before heading inside for shower I took Frankie out back. She ran over to see Woody and Kenny. While there, I saw that neighbors Mike & Teri were home from their week long Disney/Florida vacation. We chatted for a few. I eventually headed in for a shower. Between my earlier run and the work on the boat, I stunk to high heaven! It felt good to get a shower. Saturday night was Kenny’s official 35th birthday party. We headed down around 5pm best guess. I took four good beers along but didn’t drink anything but ice water for the next few hours. I watched the 3rd round of the US Open from the comfort of Chrissy & Kenny’s leather sofa. I eventually dosed off much to Mindy’s dismay. Between on-call and working in the sun all day, I was tired, not to mention being hypnotized by the TV. Around 7-730pm I got a call from work. I had to temporarily head home and ended up spending the next 2 hours working on the issue at hand. I wasn’t happy about being dragged into weeds but that’s my job sometimes. Somewhere near 10pm it seemed we had the issue under control. I headed back down to the neighbors and cracked open a beer. It wasn’t too much longer before Chrissy started TP’ing our back yard landscaping and deck. There was no stopping her. She even went in our house to get more TP to do her handy work. I gave her an earful, but it fell largely on deaf ears. I was one of the few not sporting a buzz. Mindy didn’t care. She was feeling no pain! I eventually let it go after Kenny promised he’d send her over in the morning to clean it all up. She TP’d the O’Connell’s front yard too. I talked Chrissy into bringing her Bose iDock out on the deck so we could jam/dance. By then I had a few beers in me. We sang and danced for the next several hours. It got a little crazy. The neighbors, Alex and Tanya, one house to the east had just returned home from a two week vacation in the Ukraine. Alex had the gull to ask that we stop the noise. It must’ve been around midnight, best guess. Kenny pretty much told him no way. Alex went on to share that they had a long 7 hour flight and had jet lag. Mindy piped up that they should be able to sleep through just about anything then. A couple hours passed before Tanya came over asking pretty much the same thing. Having had about all I could take from both of them, I curtly advised her to go back home. I went on about living there on the island for 16 years and didn’t need a new neighbor telling us when to end our yard parties. I suggested that they move if they didn’t like it. I threw a few expletives in my delivery for emphasis. It’s not like we do this every weekend. But the few times we have, they always come over to complain. Sucks being them. Mindy headed home around 2am. I stayed for another hour. I stumbled home around 3am with Frankie, who was asleep in the puppy pen with both Woody and Camilla. I choked down three Advil before jumping into bed. I woke Mindy to share the Tanya story. I was still a little worked up about it.

Dewey Does More Than Decimals

It was Friday, my favorite day of the week. I was up late (555am) after trying to steal a few extra winks. I didn’t stress out, however. I knew that I could manage my time and get back on schedule without having to dramatically alter my routine. Exercise wasn’t as easy as it normally is, but I got through it just fine. I was outside with Frankie around 610am when I heard a nearby explosion. The power went out simultaneously. Must’ve been a transformer. Lucky for me, the coffee was already finished brewing. Because of that, my morning wasn’t altered much at all by the loss of power, at least for the time being. I proceeded with my normal routine, including heading out for my run. The power was still out as I took off for my run. Almost immediately I noticed most everyone else’s power was on. That could’ve been bad news. But I am happy to report that the power restored while I was out on my morning run. Almost like it never happened. After toweling off the sweat after my run, I started my breakfast and packed a lunch. I made sure to pack my second chocolate bismarck from the Der Dutchman. I took Frankie out for romp # 2 just before the morning hand-off to Mindy. Bella and Mindy joined me downstairs for coffee before I left for work. Mindy and the kids planned to run some Father’s Day errands, but not much else. I drove the BM’er to work for the third day in a row. It was sunny and warm and was supposed to remain that way throughout the entire day. The work day was crazy busy, and to that end I worked without the benefit of a formal lunch break. Plus, I would be on-call over the weekend so I couldn’t get too comfy. I talked with Mindy at some point mid-afternoon. She was out picking up gift cards for both Kaileigh and my dad. Said we’d be having leftovers for dinner, but I suggested Dewey’s Pizza instead. She concurred. Dewey’s is a new New York-style dine-in pizza place in Grandview that also serves microbrews. Hearing lots of good things about it. I left the office for home around 540pm and arrived about 20 minutes later. And after a brief greeting, I set-up my work laptop at the desk then took to the livingroom recliner for a quick nap. I didn’t sleep much at all, but close enough to decompress. Not sure the exact time, but Mindy & I both freshened up with me changing into shorts and t-shirt. We left for Dewey’s a couple minutes later. I had talked about inviting Bob and Mary Ann when we talked earlier, but never got around to it. It's real close to their GV home. Mindy’s cell rang during our commute. It was Bob declining her invite. Apparently Mindy made the call. Maybe next time. Bella invited neighbor Makayla to join us. We were told we had a 5-15 minute wait for a table. OK by me. I bellied up to the smallish bar and ordered a CBC IPA. Mindy ordered a glass of wine. The kids went to the large window separating the kitchen to watch the pizza makers put on a show. We had just started sipping our beers when we were asked to a table. Jacob was excited to try their buffalo chicken pizza. Meanwhile, they had a number of suggested topping combinations named on their menu, but they also had an extensive list of ala carte ingredients for one to create their own pie - lots of familiar ingredients, but also a list of your not so run-of-the-mill toppings. We ended up getting two 17” pies. One, half pepperoni and half cheese. The other, their buffalo chicken offering, complete with celery and ranch dressing. I ordered a second CBC IPA soon after our pizzas arrived. The buffalo chicken pizza was good, but after a second slice I couldn’t eat anymore. I moved on to the pepperoni. I ate four slices in total. Mindy got the check. We opted for a stop at the Boulevard Carry-out on the way home. I wanted to see if they had the Great Lakes Monster DIPA or possibly even the new Southern Tier XXIPA. They had the Monster. I got a 4-pack. I picked up a 4-pack of Weyerbacher’s Hersey Stout for Mindy. Homeward. We arrived home around 830 – 9pm and then headed down to the neighbors. Kenny showed me his day's work. He spent the entire day raising the elevation of the area just off his back deck that holds a lot of water (even more than ours), and then laid new sod. Used a laser to make sure it had the proper slope away from the deck. We ended up hanging out for a couple of hours before calling it a night.

When 8 = 35

Happy 35th Kenny! Feeling well rested, I was downstairs by 535am. Time moved fast. It was already 555am by the time I finished my push-ups and sit-ups. Afterwards, Frankie and I headed out back where she quickly took care of business. She went back to her pen as soon as we were inside. Meanwhile, the sky was crystal clear and it actually felt a tad cool without the 80-90% humidity levels of the past week or so. It was still in the 60’s and the forecast called for 84 and sunshine. I didn’t have a lot of time to relax. At 635am I headed out for my run. By then I had meditation and stretching in the bag. I ran shirtless. The lack of humidity felt good. I ran four miles in the more than gorgeous weather. I was back home and busy making breakfast by 715am. While sitting to eat my eggs Frankie sat pawing at the back door. I almost told her to stop when I realized she was signaling that she needed out. Cool! I took her out where she promptly took care of her business. Good dog! I gave her treats back inside. Progress! I took Mindy coffee at 740am. Frankie followed me up. It’s quite interesting how she knows when it’s time, picks up on various queues. I was showered and ready for work by 805am. Mindy, Bella and I spent some time on the deck before I had to depart for work. I took a number of pictures. Just before leaving, I shared the need to cut the lawn after work. It sounded like we’d be cooking out with the neighbors celebrating Kenny’s 35th birthday. Mindy planned to pick-up steaks sometime during the day. I drove the BM’er – a perfect day for it too. Work was really busy. I stayed at it all morning long. I took lunch late, around 215pm, and drove to Golf Galaxy where I bought Kenny a box of Pro V1’s for his birthday. Kind of funny figuring that I wouldn’t dream of buying them for myself. I looked at a few other items but bought nothing else. I talked with Mindy sometime during the afternoon. Mindy said Jacob was on her last nerve … again. Also confirmed dinner plans and my desire to cut the lawn. Said we wouldn’t be cooking out until 7-730pm. That would give me the time I needed to address the lawn. I left work at 540pm. After a brief greeting of the family, I changed into attire suitable for lawn work. It was only 80 degrees and with next to no humidity. For that I was thankful. Like I have a lot recently, I mowed before trimming and edging. I’m liking that. I mowed the back first, again something different. I noticed a few places in the back lawn that were so saturated with water that the grass is dying after being walked on. Too mushy! I finished the lawn after about 90 minutes, and that includes whacking, edging, and blowing. Despite the low humidity, I was a sweaty mess. I needed a shower. Mindy and the kids were already over at the neighbors. I hurried through a shower in less than ten minutes. Mindy came back home surprised I was ready. She offered to whip up a drink, a rum, fresca, and grape fruit juice. We walked back to the neighbors together. Even though it was his birthday, Kenny agreed to grill the steaks. Nobody better. Mindy bought Kenny a Porterhouse, and Chrissy, herself and I thick filets. As always, Chrissy had hers butterflied so it could be cooked like shoe leather. While the steaks grilled, I helped Chrissy book their rental vehicle for our fast approaching vacation. I booked ours earlier in the day. We’re getting two Ford Escapes. My steak was grilled to perfection, brown and slightly crisp on the surface, yet pink/red in the middle. Yum-yum! Mindy whipped up green bean casserole and baked potatoes for the occasion earlier. I had only half a potato. After finishing our steaks Mindy walked home to and made me a second rum drink Poof, you’re a rum drink!  The kids played out back for the duration of the evening. Around 9pm Chrissy put 8 candles on the Kenny’s cake (3 blue candles representing the tens place and five red candles representing ones). We sang Happy Birthday! Kenny opened his gifts next. He cleaned up. Cash, golf balls, and a gift cards for dinner out. Kapil and Pabina weren’t there but sent a card with a very funny note. After the birthday festivities, I plopped down on their leather sofa and turned on the NBA basketball Finals game 7 – Lakers vs. Celtics. The Celtics were already ahead by 9 at the end of the first quarter. I never watch basketball through the season, and watched parts of only one other playoff game, the Cavs. We stayed until halftime. The Celtics were still up. Bella was upset that I wouldn’t build afire in the pondside fire ring after pinky promise that I would earlier that morning. But it was after 10pm. Mindy wanted the kids in bed, and she and I were tired too. I took Frankie out back to potty while the kids got in their PJ’s. Once back inside I heard Bella freaking out like nobody’s business after seeing a spider in room. She was screaming bloody murder. I was nerve racking, trust me! Thankfully, Mindy found it and flushed it down the toilet, or at least reported as much. Bella bought it, which is all that mattered, and went to bed. Good grief. Mindy agreed that we should watch the rest of the basketball game from bed, or at least until we fell asleep. That’s what we did. I fell asleep just as the 4th quarter was underway. The Celtics were still ahead.

Country Road Take Me Home ...

Again just after 530am when I finally rolled out of bed. There was clear sky overhead, this I could tell via the halfmoon window in our bedroom. Frankie allowed me to exercise without any indication that she wanted/needed out right away. In fact, she seemed unfazed by my presence. It wasn’t until I poured my coffee and walked into the family room that she finally stepped out of her pen. She joined me on the floor for some lovin’, still not acting as if she needed out. I knew better, however, and after just a minute or two of rubs, I took her outside where she promptly took care of business. Good girl! No sooner were we back inside did she slip back into her bed. She came running again when I stretched on the family room floor. She chewed on my smelly runnin’ ball cap. All I had to do was grab my running shorts and she headed right for her pen. I was impressed. Five minutes later I was off and running. It was an early start compared to the two prior mornings. It was 630am. The run proved to be a good one despite the ongoing high humidity. I was in a extra good mood as the weather forecast called for an abundance of sunshine with temperatures reaching into the mid 80’s. Not only that, but we had tentative plans to golf after work too. It would be a BM’er day. After my run, I made my breakfast and packed my lunch as usual. I was gonna have breakfast burritos but was disappointed find we were out of both tortilla shells and sour cream. Plan “B” was the old stand by, fried eggs. There were no veggies pre packaged either. I had to throw ‘em together myself. I felt unloved. Frankie and I trotted upstairs around 745am. She hopped in bed with Mindy while I headed for a shower. Once ready and downstairs I remembered I needed to grab some shorts for golf, just in case. I ran back up for shorts. Mindy asked that I give her a heads-up regarding golf later in the day. Sure, dear. She and the kids had a breakfast date planned with my dad at the Der Dutchman in Plain City. As I understood it, he’d be over around 9am. I left for work at 820am in the BM’er. The only thing was, I needed to stop for gas. I really intended on filling up at Kroger saving $.50 a gallon but there wasn’t exactly time for that. I stopped at Thornton’s instead. I arrived at work by 840am. Not too bad. Out of no where, fairly thick cloud cover rolled in prompting me to put the top up on the BM’er once parked. I didn’t want to chance it pouring rain. We had our usual Wednesday staff meeting but it was over quickly, done by 11am. Before heading back to my office I made sure my boss knew I planned to leave early for golf. He was cool with it. With that in mind, I didn’t plan to take a lunch. I did, however, eat while working from my desk. From the sounds of it, it would be just Bob I. and me golfing. Mid-afternoon I took charge of finding us a venue. I selected and confirmed Indian Springs. Said they’d get us right out, no problem. Cool! Phoenix and Fox Fire – no dice. I packed up and headed out at 420pm. It was absolutely gorgeous – sunny, 84, and very low humidity. Wow! And just as you might guess, it was an awesome 26 mile drive out 161 to Mechanicsburg, and Indian Springs. Bob pulled in minutes after me. Good timing. As usual, the course was wide open. The club pro offered that we tee off the back for being a bit drier than the front after so much rain in the past week, but ultimately it was our choice. My first tee shot went in the huge frog pond just to the left of the fairway. I hit another after Bob hit one down the middle. My second was down the middle but a rather weak draw. My second shot (really 4) was just left of the green but once again flirting with that same huge pond. It was safe. On with my third shot and three putt. We kept score for the first two holes but didn't bother after. Instead, we enjoyed the track. Aside from the remnants of flooding and freshly cut fairways, the course was in good shape and also quite beautiful. Definitely a track worth visiting. We finished out nine holes around 715pm. I planned to take 161 all the way back to Dublin and to I-270. However, I ended up following Bob a back way home. I think it was county road 84 to route 29 to 70E. Regardless, it was an awesome summer drive down a two lane country road perfect for the BM'er. I loved it! Then , once we hit I-70E, QFM 96 played Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb. Does it get any better? I arrived home ahead of 8pm in a chipper mood after the fun drove home. Mindy and the kids were down a the neighbors. I walked down too after making a Jack & Coke. Kenny was ready to celebrate his birthday and asked if I wanted to go to BW3's. Initially I wasn't sure if he meant all of us, or if he was just kidding for that matter. But after chilling out for a few, it came up again. We all agreed to go. Mindy & the kids hadn't yet eaten dinner. Nine of us caravanned to the BW3's in Hilliard. We were quickly seated as it wasn't crowded at all. I think our servers name was Mel, although her badge said Teesha. After she pointed it out, it became a running joke. I decided to steer away from alcohol and went with pink lemonade instead. I ordered 12 wings wild with a side of onion rings. Aside from shorting us one order of onion rings, our server did good. She quickly corrected the onion ring mistake. My wings were good. BW3s wings are always small, and often referred to as pigeon wings, but tasty. While enjoying wings, we watched the Reds game on the big screen. We witnessed a terrible third strike call against the Reds that helped put a halt to an eventual rally after finding themselves down 5-0. I'm sure I uttered a few choice words towards the umpire. He ended up ejecting both the player and the Reds manager, Dusty Baker. I let it go after that. I picked up the check. It was $100 before tip. Wow! By the time we headed home it was dark and time to get the kids ready for bed. I turned on the TV and tuned to the Science Channel and watched a show narrated by Morgan Freeman about black holes. It was interesting, but sleep still one out. Mindy saw more of it than me. We headed to be close to 11pm.

The Kids Barley Meme

I allowed myself to sleep a few extra minutes again. I know that if I’m up by 545am I can still do my entire routine without being late or rushed. It was cloudy and warm, about 68 degrees. The deck was puddle after another storm moved through during the night. Nothing new. The back yard was swampy. The forecast is calling for much drier weather towards the end of the work week. Let’s hope it holds. We could use a week without rain. After exercise I took Frankie out back. She did her thing quickly. The sky was showing signs of breaking up. I was encouraged that my run would be at least somewhat under fair skies – a rarity of late. I headed out at 635am and ran my usual four miles without incident. I noticed that our lawn needs cut again badly. I cut it last Friday. After my run I got busy making eggs and throwing together my lunch. Frankie was tuckered and despite leaving her pen opened, she remained snuggled up in her bed sleeping. It’s all that fighting with Woody, no doubt. I insisted she go out again before heading up to shower. She cooperated nicely – usually does. After pouring Mindy’s coffee Frankie followed me upstairs. It’s nice not having to carry her up the steps any longer, but it also spells the beginning of the baby gate era. I was ready to head out by 810am. Mindy didn’t bother getting out of bed to see me off. I said my goodbyes while upstairs, and left for work at 815am. The work day was a tough one, and I didn’t get a formal lunch break. I plowed straight through the day eventually heading for home just after 540pm. I talked with Mindy a couple of times during the afternoon. She had a cardiologist appointment mid-afternoon but somehow the appointment got screwed up and her doctor wasn’t even in. She wasn’t pleased. She also wasn’t pleased with Jacob, who was giving her grief about going to Dena’s while she headed to her appointment. She was also having trouble printing off a grocery list from her laptop, and by the time she figured it out, she said it was too late to go. She said she and the kids wanted to go to Barley’s for dinner. Lastly, she hared that she got the sports figure cling issue resolved with Pottery Barn. They’d be sending UPS to pick-up the defective cling and sending a replacement due at our home by Thursday. I arrived home near 6pm, and after a little freshening up we loaded into the Honda and headed off to Barley’s. Barley’s was sparsely populated even for a Tuesday. Their sign indicates Hop Slam on tap next Thursday. It’s no coincidence that that is the first day of the 3rd annual Hop IPA-Looza, my favorite beerfest. Beth was trending bar. We were seated in the eating area and Jesse was out server. She remarked that she’s never had the pleasure of waiting on us before. I ordered a Centennial. And Mindy ordered an Ohio Brew Stout after first trying a sample. Jacob stuck with ice water while Bella had Dr Pepper. We ordered food shortly thereafter. Mindy ordered the southwestern salad. Bella ordered KC wings. Jacob, Gates of Hell wings; and me a Cuban. I followed up my Centennial with a second. Mindy got the tab. By the time we left for home the sky was almost completely clear, something we haven’t had at that hour for several days. Wahoo! At home I headed outside to water. Even though we had spotty showers Monday and early Tuesday, the hanging baskets needed watered badly. I watered all the backyard baskets, pots, and beds. Afterwards, I topped off the hot tub while Mindy & the kids headed down to the neighbors so Frankie could play with Woody. By the time that everyone was back home I was inside and in my PJ’s. I played around on the internet some then took a nap. Those two beers did me in. I woke again only long enough to tuck in the kids and head to bed.

Gourmet Burgers, The Pool, and Camp Chairs

I was up and out of bed by 540am after allowing myself to sleep in a few minutes longer than usual. For all intents and purposes, it’s summer time which means mornings are a bit easier around the house now with Mindy and the kids out of school. I left Frankie in her pen until my calisthenics were completely finished. She didn’t seem that interested in getting out. That took some pressure off me. Meanwhile, it was yet another cloudy/rainy start to the work day. Ugh! Right on queue, Frankie hopped back in her pen when she spotted me changing into running attire. Hmm? Good dog! I headed out for my run at 640am wearing just a pair of shorts. It was mostly cloudy, but also warm and sticky. I ran four miles like it was nothing. I noticed that our trash can was emptied while I was out. I didn’t bother moving it back to its stowed position. I got started on breakfast and lunch immediately upon return. I fried two slices of Canadian bacon and two farm fresh chicken eggs. On my second romp with Frankie and just before a shower, Bella came out and joined us in the back yard. We headed inside where I prepped Mindy’s coffee then headed upstairs for a shower. Frankie followed up the stairs – something she’s just recently mastered. Bella and Frankie joined Mindy in bed while I got a shower. Mindy had to ask Bella to keep it down a few times so not to wake Jacob. I drove the Trooper to work. It was partly sunny and already near 70 degrees. Mid morning Mindy advised that she and the kids would be heading to the pool. She was taking neighbor Makayla too, who spent the day with Bella in lieu of the babysitter. I asked only that Mindy make sure the paint supplies I found still in need of cleaning be taken care of. In my mind, the job isn’t done until the tools are cleaned and put away. She didn’t take too kindly to my request initially. I ran errands at lunch time making stops at Home Depot and then Staples. At Home Depot I bought furnace filters, landscaping string, charcoal lighter fluid and a lighter. At Staples I bought a package of printer paper. By the time my shopping was complete, I had used my hour. I headed back to the office. Late afternoon, and presumably after the pool, Mindy called again. This time she shared that she cleaned up the painting supplies. She also asked if I would be so kind to stop at Kroger on the way home and pick-up four gourmet burgers. Yes. She also shared that the sports figure silhouettes she ordered from Pottery Barn arrived. Said the football player appeared to be mis-cut. I left work late – almost 615pm. Work got busy late afternoon. As promised, I stopped at Kroger on my way home to pick-up the gourmet burgers. I picked up a dozen white roses and two new camp chairs on sale for $6.99 each. For some reason I wrongfully assumed we had only two. But when I got out to the Trooper and opened the back I saw two others. We really didn’t need two more, but oh well! I’m sure they’ll get used. While Mindy toiled with the grill and dinner, I got busy hooking up the cable in Jacob’s new bedroom. There are three outlets prewired in the room, but the ideal outlet wasn’t currently active. I had to try and remember how I did that. That took some doing. I used my line toner but to no avail. I was easily aggravated. Mindy called me for dinner before I could finish. I ate quickly, still aggravated over the cable thing. I decided over dinner that I would simply use the active outlet and run the cable around the base board for about 6 feet – not ideal but functional. I headed upstairs to finish what I started. I made fairly quick work of running the cable. Then, I drilled holes in the back of Jacob’s armoire so we could conceal and hook-up his Play Station. Next, I fixed the cable feed to the TV in the guest room. Mindy came up to see my handy work. We ended up looking at and then hanging the sports wall clings. She was right. The football player wasn’t cut correctly and not even all the way. It started to tear even. I suggested she return it. The hockey player, on the other hand, went up without incident. Looks really good. It was already after 830pm. But little wonder, I didn’t get home from work until almost 7pm. Bella shared that Frankie was going up and down stairs. We knew she was going up, but hadn’t seen her go down any yet. Inside, Mindy made the kids get showers and then we settled on the sofa for some TV and popcorn, Frankie, too. Again, she loves it.

Golf Woes @ Darby Creek

I woke just after 7am. After a glance out the window it was obvious that it had rained significantly overnight. For the time being however, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I was excited about that. The forecast wasn’t as promising. It wasn’t expected to rain but it was expected to be mostly cloudy at least through mi-afternoon. Because it was Sunday I skipped morning calisthenics. Instead, I simply enjoyed coffee and took Frankie out back at a more leisurely pace. I headed out for a run by 815am running just three sweaty miles. It was awfully humid do to all the moisture. Before heading up for a shower I took Frankie out for a second time. Kenny was out chipping on his putting green. He & I would be heading out around 930am. Said the rest of the family was still up north at Mike & Julie’s. It was almost 9am by the time I hit the shower. I delivered coffee and handed the pug to Mindy. I was out of the shower and dressed by 910am. Meanwhile, Mindy planned on attending church after being asked to speak to the congregation as an educator at a sermon designed to recognize the children of the congregation for their academic achievements this school year. I made a quick egg, cheese, Canadian bacon sandwich before heading out. Kenny & I hadn’t yet determined who’d be driving. He pulled up in our driveway at 930am sharp. Guess it would be him.  Mindy came out and whispered that it was Kenny’s birthday this coming Thursday. I planned to get his green fees. As with most preferred golf venues, Darby Creek is 30 miles from the house. We took I-270N to Rt 33W to Rt 161W west of Plain City. We arrived just after 10am. And while I woke to clear skies, it was completely clouded over again. What’s new? We were there just ahead of Guy Bob I. And since I hadn’t yet recognized Bob’s April birthday, I ended up picking up the fees for the entire foursome. I had a coupon providing a foursome with carts for $160, a $32 savings. We had a few minutes to practice putting and chipping before teeing off. Sadly, that did little to help my game. With out a lot of details, I was bad in all facets of my game, and this was a very unforgiving course. It had everything, heather, woods, water, and length. And to top it off, it was extremely wet. I shot well over 100 and honestly was done around hole 14 or 15. Plain and simple, I couldn’t put two good shots back to back all day long. No one shot particularly well, but I clearly under achieved the best.  I was playing so poorly that I acquiesced and drank a beer, something I rarely do on the course. We finished up at 330pm on the nose – about 4.75 hours later. I already knew the kids were home from their beach vacation. I called Mindy from one of the holes along the back nine to check. Said Jacob loves his new room and Bella loves her DVD set. I was looking forward to seeing them. I was depressed over my horrible golf game and anxious to put it behind me. I almost left my Oakley sunglasses in the golf cart, remembering last minute and running back to the clubhouse to fetch ‘em. Just as I ran up the cart boy was pulling away in our cart. I politely stopped him and reached behind the empty ball sleeve to grab my glasses. Good timing otherwise they’d have been on his head instead of mine today.  We arrived home near 4pm. I already knew that Mindy’s mom and my dad were coming for dinner. Gloria was already over. After greeting the kids, Jacob and I headed out back to throw the baseball, his request. It was quite steamy. And while waiting on dinner to be finalized (tacos), I untangled the two fishing poles Jacob took to the Outer Banks. Not only were they tangled but the reels weren’t functioning either. It took some doing but I got them separated and fixed. Jacob started fishing even as dinner was about to be served. Dad got there around 430pm. Jacob caught a carp just minutes after tossing in his line. About the same time, Mindy hollered that dinner was ready. We all headed in. Dad shared exciting news about brother Bob being offered part ownership the company, ELK Productions, he’s worked for over the last 15 years or so. He also shared some not so exciting news about Shawn. Same old same old. Everyone seemed to enjoy their dinner. I was full. After clean-up, the kids wanted to fish. I took Jacob, Bella, and Makayla across the street to fish on Carl’s side of the street. There are blue gill over there. Not sure why they don’t seem to venture our side as much. We spent more than an hour fishing over there using old moldy bread as bait. And by the time we finished, each of the kids had caught at least one fish. Makayla was the last. Said it was the very first fish she’s ever caught on her own. She was very excited. Cute! Dad left a good 30 minutes prior. Mindy eventually joined us with Frankie on her leash. Neighbor Carl came out to chat too. Shared that he was having a kidney out the following morning. Told us a long version of the story leading up to that conclusion. We wished him well before we headed back home to get the kids bathed. It was already after 8pm. The kids got showers. I needed one after sweating through an entire afternoon of golf. But I never did take one. We tucked the kids into bed around 930pm. Both were exhausted. We headed to bed at 10pm.

Leveling the Playing Field

I was up early – somewhere close to 7am. Despite a clearing sky the night before, more storms rumbled through overnight and it wasn’t done yet. More was on the way. I exercised, took Frankie out, and eventually headed off on a run. I was fortunate and avoided any dangerous weather. Mindy was up around 930am or soon after I got back home. She headed out for yoga around 1130am. While Mindy was away, I did very little. I wrote some in my blog, put air in our bike tires, and took a nap. I kept Frankie entertained too. That was a job in itself. Mindy got home around 1-130pm. Just as it had for the past several days, the weather cleared for an hour or so, long enough for Mindy & I to head out on a bike ride through the subdivision. It was fun but also awfully sticky. Feeling tired, I took yet another nap mid afternoon. It was just that kind of day. Mindy shared that we were expected at her brother’s downtown condo around 5pm. We started preparing for that around 345pm. We left the house between 430 and 445pm. C & Js condo is in the Arena district overlooking Nationwide arena – right in the heart of all the activity. To that end, we still had to pay $10 to park in the condo’s parking garage even though we were visiting a resident. Odd, I thought. This was our first visit to their downtown condo. Small but nice. It also holds a spectacular view of the Arena district and should provide a stellar view of Red White & Boom. We hung out at their condo until all seventeen guests were present. We walked from their condo to Level (formerly RJ Snappers) which is located at the corner of N High St & Lincoln Av, about a mile walk. I took about 20 pics during the 10-15 minute walk. Thankfully, the sun was shining the entire time. We were promptly seated in a special area (upstairs) designated for our rather large group. Drinks were first. Like a lot of trendy new restaurants, they’re noted for their specialty martinis. I went with a Sam Adams. Along with drinks, we shared a few plates of appetizers too, humus and sweet potato fries. Not straying far from my usual faves, I ordered their bay scallops. Good choice! They were fabulous! But there were lots of interesting entrees on their menu. It was very difficult to choose. Great choice of restaurants. We’ll definitely return. Craig graciously picked up the tab for the entire group. I’m sure it was a doosey. The plan all along was to head back to the condo for dessert (birthday cake). Mindy headed out in front of the others. It started raining at a fairly good clip during the trek back. Mindy spotted her heart specialist dining on the patio at Hyde Park. We stopped long enough to chat with her and her husband. I felt like we were interrupting their dinner. Mindy and I toyed with slipping into Barley’s Ale House #1 for a quick beer. As we passed it was raining much harder. We slipped inside but only to pee. They didn’t have a to-die-for beer on tap anyhow. By the time we made it back to the condo, all others were already there. We had to buzz through security and have someone come down to let us in. We sang happy birthday to Gloria and Jeff then enjoyed birthday cake and a lot of humorous birthday cards. I stopped drinking at dinner to allow Mindy to have some fun. She enjoyed a couple more glasses of wine. We stayed until almost 10pm. By the time we left a severe thunder storm was heading our way. The light show coming form our immediate west was incredible. I was determined to make a stop at Barley’s Smokehouse on the way home. The place was almost empty save for our good friends ‘Doomie’ who were sitting quietly at the bar. A few other familiar faces trickled in late too. I ended up having 2.5 West Coast IPA’s while we chatted with Doomie. It was fun! Mindy was happy we stopped in. She drank only water while at Barley’s so she drove home. After taking Frankie out in the rain, I sent Bob I. and email confirming my interest in Sunday golf at Darby Creek. We had a 1030am tee time. We headed straight to bed.

Lady Guy-Guy

I was up around 645am after a poor night of sleep. I didn’t feel well either, slightly hungover. I was surprised given that I drank only four beers spread across three hours. After starting coffee and taking Frankie outside, I took 3 Advil then snuggled up on the sofa for another 30-40 minutes of sleep. The Advil nipped the headache but didn’t cure the sleepies. Storm clouds moved in around 8am and it rained fairly hard for a brief bit, enough to leave the back yard even squishier than before and puddles at the rear flower beds’ edges. Mindy must’ve joined me downstairs shortly after 9am. She wondered if I had already completed my run. Nope. We hung out briefly before I finally headed out. It was cloudy, but very warm and humid. If nothing else, the run left me feeling much better. I ran up on heck of a sweat. It wasn’t back home too long before another downpour. How crippling. I had this sinking feeling that I wasted a day off work. I don’t like to take ‘em just to take ‘em. As it was, with the constant threat of rain, we couldn’t go boating or even work on it. Heck, I couldn’t even golf. However, the threat of dangerous weather eventually abated, so I decided to try and cut the wet lawn. Our lawn, especially the front, was getting long and thick. While I worked on the lawn Mindy left to meet her mom and brother for lunch at Minelli’s. It was Gloria’s 76th birthday. Afterwards, Mindy planned to stop by a glass shop to buy a piece of glass for Jacob’s desktop as well as a stop at Target. The afternoon warmed considerably and every time the sun shined for more than a few minutes it got really steamy. I cut the lawn in running shorts alone. Just as I was finishing up the front lawn, nephew Joe pulled up. He wanted to check out Jacob’s room. He headed in while I toiled in the yard. Mindy arrived home just as Joe was getting ready to leave. He stayed a short while longer presumably checking out Jacob’s newly decorated room. Mindy and I had dinner plans with Kenny & Chrissy at J Alexander’s in Worthington. We made plans to head up 6pm. Through the late afternoon and early evening the sky alternated between sun & clouds with a few scattered storms sprinkled in. As planned, we left the house around 6pm. We dropped Jake at his Church youth group meeting in Worthington. They were heading to the Clipper game before heading to dinner. J Alexander’s was less than a mile from where we dropped Jake. This was my second dining experience there, both with Kenny & Chrissy. It is their favorite restaurant. We ordered drinks after being comfortably seated. I went with Jack & Coke, Mindy wine, and Kenny & Chrissy a beer. We ordered their calamari as an appetizer. A Lady Gaga look alike came in and was seated just a couple booths behind us. Somehow I missed getting a glance as they walked by. Chrissy and Mindy insisted I check ‘her’ out. A few minutes later, a familiar couple sauntered in and was seated at the booth just behind us. It was Chrissy’s cousin Heather and her boy friend Mike. I suggested Mindy walk over to the Gaga look alike and ask if she could get a photo with the two of us together. Mindy declined. I then headed to the restroom figuring I’d detour by their table on my way back for a glance. I was surprised to discover that she was a he. She did look something like Lady Gaga, or was at least trying hard to look similar (hair- attire). Three of us ordered their specialty, prime rib. As she often does, Chrissy strayed from the flock and went with a filet instead. She can’t eat beef pink. This marked the first time I had ever ordered prime rib. Had it before at Xmas parties and such but never ordered it as an entrée. It was cut thick and delicious. Kenny graciously picked up the tab. On our drive home Mindy asked if we could drive by her old home in Worthington just a minute or two from the restaurant. Hadn’t seen it before. Nice place. Before heading home, we also drove by Thad Matta’s place in Worthington Hills. Very nice! The sun came out during our drive home. That was nice to see. We stopped at Chrissy ex-in-laws to fetch the girls but they ended up spending the night. And since we were in a touristy mood, Kenny drove us through Moneyback. Mindy hadn’t seen it before. We planned to hang out at the neighbors after a brief stop home. Mindy picked up Frankie and I filled my ski flask with Jack before heading down. We hung with the neighbors until 10pm, but no later. Mindy wanted to be home at a reasonable hour and I wanted to wake Saturday feeling good. Others were arriving just as we were leaving.

Hop Slam Gone Bad!

I didn’t get out of bed until almost 6am and even then was slow to motivate. Not really sure why. It wasn’t weather related. We had a clear sky and steamy temps for the first time in a few days. That made me happy. After taking care of Frankie, I laid down on the sofa and slept until almost 7am. After a quick stretch I put Frankie back in her pen and headed out for a run. I worked up quite a lather running. There was a ton of moisture lingering in the air from all the recent rain. And unfortunately, after Thursday, it looks like we’ll be getting more of the same for the foreseeable future. I whipped up my usual breakfast after my run, two eggs, an English muffin, and some fruit. I pulled together a lunch, too. Before heading up for a shower I took Frankie out again. I was running about 45 minutes behind schedule. As a courtesy, I sent a message to my peer letting him know I’d be in but about 45 minutes late. Mindy asked if I still planned to golf after work. Yes, I certainly hoped so. It’s been at least four weeks without Thursday golf. Mindy planned more painting in Jacob’s new room. I left for work just before 9am arriving 15 minutes later. The work day was in pretty good shape. Nothing too scary. I was scheduled to participate on three customer conference calls that consumed the lion’s share of my day with the last ending around 315pm. And since I planned golf after work, that left about an hour to my work day. Both Bob’s were in for golf at Split Rock. I shut down and packed up at 4pm. I’d be off until Monday with Friday scheduled off as a personal day. Traffic was about as light as it gets on I-270 around to I-71S. I didn’t have any traffic issues until the Rt 665 exit. There, traffic was baked up for about the last ¼ mile. I arrived at Split Rock just after 430pm. Bob B pulled in just after me. Bob I was apparently still in transit. Bob B and I carted together and spent a few minutes putting on the practice green before Bob I showed up. We’d be teeing off the front nine. I pared hole #1. Good start! Hole #2 is a tricky par #3. I hit a poor iron shot (topped it) but just in front of the water. I hit a SW on and within 12’. I tow putted for another four, only this time a bogey. No worries. I wasn’t so fortunate over the next few holes, making a handful of silly mistakes. I ended up with a couple of sevens and eights on my card. Of all my clubs, my fairway wood hurt me tonight. We were finished by 715pm, and it was a gorgeous evening. Before parting ways, we discussed the possibility of Sunday golf. Asked what I’d be doing on my Friday off, I shared my plans to get the boat out if the weather cooperated. I hadn’t yet seen or heard an updated forecast. I arrived home by 745pm. I spotted Kenny in the backyard and walked back there to chat. We ended up agreeing to cookout at their place having brats and burgers. Beforehand, I headed inside to change out of my sticky golf clothes. Mindy shared that Frankie’s vet appointment went well, her second set of shots. She now weighs 8.5 lbs. Said Frankie crapped in her Honda on the drive home. She stopped to visit Courtney Jump in Grandview on her way home. Brought me a sample of Jeremey’s home brewed IPA in a Barley’s growler. I poured it into a pint glass to take to the neighbors. I took a Hop Slam from the garage fridge, too. Kenny spent the day converting his LP gas grill to natural gas. The end result was a flame somewhat less than expected. The grilling took longer than one would think, but the end product plenty good. Mindy had Kenny grill us these Johnsonville turkey and cheese brats. They were OK. After my IPA I poured the 18 month old Hop Slam. I drank about half before declaring it bad and pouring it out. Sad, really. I have about 14 of them remaining. It was $18 per six pack. I walked home to get a couple more beers, returning with two Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA’s. Mindy & I hung with the neighbors until 10pm or so. We confirmed dinner plans for Friday. Mindy headed home an hour or so before me. Shortly after Mindy left for home Chrissy bought her niece, Hailey a plane ticket to Florida. She’ll be joining us on our vacation. I ended up drinking one of Kenny’s Labatt Blues before heading home with Frankie around 11pm. I took Frankie out back and checked the Friday weather forecast before calling it a night. Boating wasn’t looking too promising, 80% of thunderstorms Friday. Crap!

Rainshine

I was up at 530am in what would be yet another cloudy, rainy start to the day. I breezed through morning calisthenics before turning my attention to Frankie's needs. As expected, she was hesitant to relieve herself in the steady rainfall. I carried on with the rest of my morning as I do most days. There was coffee, meditation, stretching and then my run. I penned Frankie before heading out. It was still raining steadily but thankfully not too hard. The temperature hovered somewhere near 58 degrees and it was a chilly rain. I was good and wet not a half mile into my run, and somewhere along the line I ran through a puddle soaking my shoes through and through. Not a good feeling to have squishy shoes. I was surprised that Mindy was up when I got back home. She even had a beach towel waiting for me on the banister. That came in real handy. I was dripping wet. I threw my wet clothes in the dryer while Mindy took Frankie out in the rain. I set my running shoes on top of the dryer. I can't recall if Mindy made my eggs or not. I know for certain that I ate them, though. I pulled my lunch together quickly. Mindy had veggies already cut up and loaded in plasticware. I grabbed a can of tuna, some yogurt, and a banana. Voila! Lunch. I headed to the shower around 745am and returned ready at 805am. There would be no coffee time on the deck prior to leaving for work. The rain made that a certainty. We chatted briefly about our day. Mindy planned to do more painting and decorating in Jacob's new room with the help of nephew Joe. Not sure what time he planned on coming by. I headed up to the room just before leaving to give Mindy my thoughts on how we might do the stripes she envisioned. She liked my idea. Meanwhile, I wasn't too thrilled with the color scheme she wanted to use but understood why - the sports theme - Blue Jackets and Buckeyes. I left for work around 815am. The work day was manageable despite me being the only one from the leadership team in the office. Received an email from Bob I. indicating his desire to golf tomorrow (Thursday) after almost a month without making it out. That goes for me too. Come lunch time I drove over to Golf Galaxy. With our coming vacation, I bought a soft shell travel bag for my clubs. There was a price discrepancy of $100. I expected it to be $89 but it rang up as $189. We walked back together to check out the sale sign. I was sure that it read $89. The sales guy pointed out that was for the red/black bag, not the black bag I selected, although in the same exact box and side by side. Said they were different. I asked that he show me the difference. He agreed, opened the box and pulled out the black bag. It was a bit beefier and had bigger and perhaps more durable wheels, but other than that identical. I opted for the red/black bag. But even it rang up at $119 instead of the $89 printed on the sign. He fixed it at the register. I looked at new irons too but wasn't serious. Just looking. Back to work at 145pm. The afternoon moved along at a good clip. I was busy but not inundated. I left the office for home at 510pm. The sky was clearing out and sunshine was now in abundance. In fact, Thursday's supposed to be a banner summer day - 84 sunny. Joe and Mindy were still hard at work in Jacob's new room, the wall stripping all but done. It looks really good. They hung new blinds and curtains, too, and painted the once faux wood grained desk black. It was still wet. The carpet in that room is for all intents and purposes trashed. Lots of food, beverage, and make-up stains from the days of Courtney. Without any furniture or the benefit of a throw rug, it looks bad being off-white carpet and all. Mindy had a solution. She bought a 5X8 area rug after we nixed the idea of new springing for all new carpeting. The new rug is black, tan, and gray. Should look good with the decor. Mindy seems to like decorating with black as much as me. It works well and transcends any particular style and/or era. Mindy started whipping up dinner while I played with the pug. After taking Frankie out back, I fetched Joe and I a beer. I drank a Commodore Perry IPA while Joe sipped a Southern Tier Hop Sun ( summer wheat). I'm not a big wheat beer fan - tastes too grassy to me. Mindy made a tasty chicken & pasta dish. It was delicious. We'll have to have it again. Joe had to leave. Must've been around 730pm when he headed out. I went out back to water flowers. Mindy ended up over at the neighbors with Frankie. Still hungry, I curbed it with a few handfuls of Cookie Crisp. Through the evening, I ended up napping on the familyroom floor while Mindy worked in Jacob's room. She's stressing over getting it finished before he returns from vacation Sunday. We're still waiting on the sports themed silhouettes she ordered online. Bella called upset, sharing how much she's been missing us. But not only that, she was bummed that Jacob would be getting what amounted to a surprise when he got home - a new bedroom. I assured her that we'd have a surprise of sorts for her too. After getting off the phone I suggested we buy Bella the Life DVD set. She absolutely loved that min-series, and I found it online for $40 at Amazon.com. Mindy agreed. We bought it with two-day delivery (promised to arrive Friday, June 11). Cool! I woke on the sofa with Frankie around 1130pm and headed up to bed.

Taking the Elevator to CBC

I was up at 530am after a good night of sleep. I could see that it was going to be a clear morning glancing out the bathroom window. Once downstairs, I whipped through my sit-ups before even considering opening Frankie’s pen door. In fact, I checked the weather from the PC beforehand, too. It was very cool for June – only 52 degrees. I grabbed my fleece before heading out back with the dog. We must’ve been out back for about ten minutes. Frankie was taking her dear old time. Finally back inside, I almost forgot that I hadn’t yet completed my push-ups. Before enjoying any coffee, I stopped and whipped out 55 of them. Frankie and I played in the familyroom while I enjoyed coffee. I tried to calm her so I could do my morning meditation. Then, after a thorough stretch, I took Frankie out for the second time and just ahead of my run. Frankie went to her pen during my run. I ran my four miles in long running attire. I was comfortable. It’s probably worth mentioning that I haven’t had any trouble whatsoever from my right knee for a few weeks now. That’s great news. And aside from an occasional spasm, my neck and shoulders have been pain free too. Again, great news! Before heading inside to start my breakfast, I checked the small patch of grass seed I planted between the sidewalk and curb last week in a spot that I believe was damaged by dog piss. It’s sprouting like crazy. That makes me happy. Inside I moved swiftly through organizing my lunch and preparing my eggs. I freed Frankie from her pen, too. After eating my delicious fried eggs, the two of us headed out back again. I took the pug and coffee to Mindy at 740am. Time for a shower. Mindy rolled out of bed just as I was heading downstairs to make my final preparations for departure. We sat on the deck again, soaking up the morning sunshine while enjoying some coffee. I drove the Trooper thinking I might head to the driving range at lunch. Beyond the present moment, I wasn’t sure what the weather was supposed to do. I left for work at 820am. It was a glorious drive in under clear blue skies and temps in low 60’s – just a perfect day. I disappeared into my work for the entire morning. It was another tough day. Despite a full plate, I managed to sneak away for a lunch and headed to the driving range just as I had planned. It was sunny when I arrived but clouded over while I practiced. I practiced with my irons only and hit them well, at least through the first 50-60 balls. I must admit, however, after that my sharpness and accuracy went south in a hurry. I attribute that to atrophy. I think I’ll stick to a smaller bucket moving forward. It was 210pm by the time I was back at work. By then the temperature was much cooler and the cloud cover thick. Our sunny morning was a thing of the past. From that point forward I lost contact with the external conditions as I completed the rest of my busy work day. I left the office for the day somewhere near 510pm. Mindy wanted to go out for dinner – not Barley’s. I arrived home around 530pm. Mindy was outside with Frankie. During the day she had done more painting and did the grocery shopping. I was happy to see that she bought me more eye drops as well as several other items I had on my wish list. We decided to visit the Elevator Brewing Co. for dinner. I freshened up a little before we headed out. It was cloudy and only in the mid 60s when we left the house. We parked in the lot adjacent to the Elevator. Mindy paid the $5 fee. I had no cash. Our first thought was a table on their patio, but quickly changed our minds and opted for seats at the bar instead. Mindy thought t she’d be too chilly outside. I agreed. Reviewing their beer menu, I chose their Three Frogs IPA, although I already knew it wasn’t that good. Mindy tried two beers but eventually settled on a glass of wine. They could definitely do a better job with their brewing. We ordered food at the same time, a hummus plate and the crab stuffed sea scallops. We’ve had both before. They’re really good! I really enjoyed the food but could drink only one beer. I found myself longing for CBC. To that end, we settled up our tab and made a beeline for CBC at the opposite end of downtown - the Brewery District. CBC was only sparsely populated as expected. Kate was tending bar. She's been a fixture there for at least five years, maybe longer. I ordered an IPA while Mindy went with their Porter. Kate tried tempting us with food but we declined. We joked with our server friend, Jamie, niece Katie's old friend. We didn't stay long, no more than 45 minutes. After one beer we headed for home. It was another cloudy evening and threatening more rain.

Barely 70

I was up on time but still a little groggy. It looked like a nice day in the offing, clear skies and cooler temps. I completed sit-ups and push-ups before freeing Frankie. Actually, I opened her pen right after sit-ups but she remained comfortably in her bed until I coaxed her out after push-ups. She must’ve been worn out from her play date with Woody the evening before. Frankie only pee’d, and that took a while. I knew then that I’d have to get her out again shortly. That’s nothing knew, however. Inside, I briefly enjoyed some coffee before meditation and then a stretch. Frankie and I headed back outside around 620am. She was again slow moving but eventually took care of business. This time I wore my fleece jacket outside. It was about 57 degrees. Since Mindy no longer needs to be up this early, I decided to re-pen Frankie while I set out on my run. And she was tired anyhow. I didn’t leave for my run until 645am. I ran four miles wearing long running pants and a thin, long sleeved wicking shirt. I was comfortable. It was also a trash day. I had our container at the curb Sunday evening. It was emptied by the time I returned from my run. I freed Frankie then started my breakfast. I made a cheese and bacon omelet along with an English muffin. It was really good. Mindy had veggies pre staged in the fridge. All I had to do was grab the last can of tuna and a thing of yogurt and my lunch was made. After breakfast I took Frankie and coffee to Mindy. It was almost 745am. I hurried through a shower and was ready for work by 805am. Mindy and I enjoyed some coffee from the deck along with Frankie. It was a lovely morning. I declared it a BM’er day. I left for work at 820am. Mindy shared that she planned to spend her day painting in Jacob’s new bedroom. The sunny skies clouded over during my drive into work – bummer. It wasn’t supposed to rain. I left the top as I normally do. Work was busy, but when isn’t it? I had a number of conference calls that prevented me from taking a viable lunch. I worked straight through. By day’s end, my butt hurt from too much sitting. I talked with Mindy late in the afternoon. I planned to leave near 5pm, although I didn’t share as much. As planned, I left for home just after 5pm. Mindy was busy preparing dinner – brats. She was also eager to show off her painting skills. Spent the day painting Jacob’s new room. The base color, a light gray, will be accentuated with some striping and sports figure silhouettes. For now, she just had the first coat of the base color down. We enjoyed our dinner from the deck. It was lovely, about 70 and sunny. Far cooler and less humid than it’s been recently. And Tuesday’s high isn’t expected to reach 70. We spent the evening chillin’ out. I suggested we walk the pug, but Mindy wasn’t too enthused with my suggestion, citing being too sore from painting all day. I spent a little time on the PC updating my blog and then took a nap on the sofa. We ended up going to bed even before 10pm.

Sunday Golf Face Off

I slept about as late as I have in the last three weeks, not waking until almost 8am. Somewhere near 7am I heard a strong thunderstorm blow through. It was brief, but a real doosey. By the time I was up and downstairs, there were nothing but blue skies overhead. But unfortunately, they didn’t last. We weren’t expecting anymore rain, but instead partly cloudy skies. The clouds quickly returned and were moving by at a very fast clip. It was sunny for a few minutes then cloudy for just as long. It flip-flopped back and forth all morning long. By the time Mindy was up, which was somewhere near 9am, I had already been out with Frankie twice and had a belly full of coffee. We played out back with the dog before Mindy decided once again to head off for Sherwin Williams. While she was out after her paint, I readied and left for my run. I ran out along Trabue and passed Mindy, who was already heading back home from Arlington/Grandview. We were completely socked in under cloud cover when I set out for my run but under sunny skies by the time I made it back home. Mindy advised that Kenny called about the possibility of golf. Said I needed to call him back. After helping Mindy get set-up to paint Jacob’s new closet, I took Frankie and walked down to talk with Kenny. We made plans to golf at Split Rock around 130pm agreeing to leave the house around 1245pm. I would drive. Mindy & I had no formal plans for the rest of the day. She asked that I call her on my way home from golf. Kenny & I left at 1240pm. The sky continued to trade blue for gray all afternoon, although as the day wore on there was more blue than gray.  Split Rock was having an outing, but it looked like everyone was going off the back nine. We, of course, tee’d off from the front. I picked up both of our green fees since Kenny got mine last Friday. I bogeyed hole #1, a rather simple par 4. With the birdies and pars still largely alluding me, I put together a string of 5s and 6s. If nothing else, I was striking my irons about as good as I have all year. That felt good. No really bad mis-hits on the front. However, I did take an eight on hole #9 after hitting my drive into the woods and then some extremely poor chipping and putting. 49 on the front (Kenny shot a 45). The back nine went a smidge better, but not by much. I shot a 47 (Kenny 43). The one bright spot, I had only one bad mis-hit with my irons, and that didn’t hurt me too bad. For the day, my driving was marginal at best, and I’ll bet I left myself seven or eight 30’ putts from the fringe. Plus, I missed a few 5-6 footer’s too. We finished in record time, held up only once and that was on hole 18 where were finally caught the group that started well in front of us. We finished in just over 3 hours. It was only 435pm. Before heading home we stopped for a look at the new construction going in along the back nine. First two houses are finally being framed. Ashley phoned during our drive home. Shared that she and Olivia had been at the pound looking for Benji. No luck. At the same time, she received a call from a Pickerington resident saying she found a dog that met Benji’s description. She was very excited to get home and see the picture sent via email. Nope, not him. :( She also shared news of her landlord offering to sale her the house via land contract. I didn’t want to discourage her too much, but also don’t want her to do something she’ll regret later. I warned against being too eager, especially given the amount of work the home needs. She seemed to be aware of the home’s trappings as we talked through it. I think it’s fair to say that her biggest fear is that if the landlord sales, she’ll have to move again. My opinion, then so be it. Mindy was surprised when we arrived home around 5pm. Expected me gone far longer. Showed me her handy work then ventured the yard with Frankie. Asked what I wanted to do about dinner. I shared my intentions to plant the last of our flowers, put that phase of summer completely behind us. I headed out to do so. In the meantime, Mindy agreed to head off to Kroger to fetch a couple steaks for grilling. While she was gone, I planted the rest of the petunias and a couple impatiens then transplanted the sun flowers Bella and I started from seed. By then, Mindy was back with the steaks. She bought some giant shrimp too. Before starting the grill, I suggested she check with the neighbors. Mindy checked with Kenny & Chrissy. Made plans to grill together at their place. After a quick clean-up she and I took our steaks, shrimp, and pug down to their place. I took a fresh Jack & Coke that Mindy made for me minutes before. I took a little more in my ski flask. We chatted all the while the steaks grilled. I took the two pugs out back to romp around before we ate. They’d been going at it since we arrived. But that’s what they do. It’s constant. I had a nice little buzz going after my first Jack & Coke. I went home to fetch another Coke just before dinner. The steaks Mindy picked out were extra thick filets, about 2”. Kenny grilled them to perfection. Both Mindy and I agreed perhaps the best ever! Right up there with Mitchell’s. Great job, Kenny! During dinner, Chrissy put in the Alice & Wonderland Blu-Ray DVD. I had been looking forward to seeing that movie for some time. We restarted the movie after dinner. We missed some good parts not paying attention. I enjoyed it. Chrissy sent us home with the regular DVD of the movie. She bought the Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital copy kit. It was almost 10pm when we headed home. I stayed out with Frankie for a while. It was a star filled sky. Yeah!

Olivia Sings to Good Beer!

Remembering that Olivia would be over around 730am, I rolled out of bed just after 630am to get the day underway. Mindy didn’t budge, but I didn’t expect her too either. I started some coffee then exercised before freeing Frankie. We headed out for our first walk in the back yard just after 645am. It was plenty warm and incredibly sticky. Way more clouds than sunshine. Ashley and Olivia showed up around 720am or while Frankie and I were busy playing on the family room floor. Olivia was excited to see Frankie. After Ashley headed off for work, Olivia and I took Frankie out for a second walk. Olivia didn’t care for the wet grass. She’s such a girly girl. We played outside and watched TV for the next couple of hours. Mindy didn’t get up until 10am. At that point Olivia and I were watching a Dora DVD, one of her favorites. After having some coffee, Mindy agreed to keep and eye on Olivia while I did my Saturday morning run. It must’ve been approaching 1030am when I finally headed out. It might’ve sprinkled a bit here and there, but all in all I stayed pretty dry. Sometime after 11am I found my way home. Mindy & Olivia were busy surfing the Kohl’s flier from the sofa. Olivia shared what she wanted to buy for her mom & dad, all of it was $9 in her world. Very cute! Mindy painted Olivia’s toe nails before heading up to take a shower. Ashley showed up to fetch Olivia around 1230pm. We hung out together talking on the deck for maybe 15 minutes before Ashley and Olivia departed. Before heading out to do some yard chores, I met Mindy in the guest bedroom to quickly go through some of the closet’s contents, deciding what was trash and what to save. She’s in the process of moving Jacob into the spare room, and then making his old room the new guest bedroom. I spent about 30 minutes helping out. Before heading out to my yard work, I headed to the garage to drill holes through an old hard drive and some old floppy discs that were in that closet. I destroyed an old laptop too. Finally free, I headed out to address some yard chores with my primary goal to cut down the wild grapevines growing quickly up through the honey suckle and stream-side walnut trees. Left to themselves, they can quickly take over and even kill a tree. I’ve cut them back several times over the years, two years ago being the last time. You can never get rid of them fully, however. Their intricate root system travels along the water’s edge and can re-grow from even the smallest remaining root structure. I disappeared into the honey suckle for about an hour. The vines are sometimes difficult to discern from the trees and bushes. The under growth is so thick that it makes navigation a challenge, too. I think I got most of them. Mindy hollered out back that she had made me a sandwich. After finishing the trimming, I headed in to enjoy half of it. Originally thinking the yard too wet for mowing, I decided that it was dry enough to give it a go, but I would have to use the push mower more than usual. I chose to push mow before trimming & edging for a change. While I mowed the lawn Mindy headed off to Target to get more organizational supplies. I spent the next couple of hours mowing, edging, and blowing. The lawn looked pretty good when I finished. Still with plenty of time on my hands, I decided to trim back some of the honey suckle growing rapidly up and around the shed. And while I had the hedge trimmers out, I contoured the lone bush growing at the base of our large ash tree, too. That thing was growing out of control. Both tasks are on my list every spring/summer. I heard a few rumbles of distant thunder as I trimmed the bushes and carted the carnage off to the compost pile. Not 15 minutes after I finished a big ol’ thunders storm moved in with the heaviest rain I’ve seen all season. It was running off our roof top like a waterfall. Glad I got the yard chores done when I did. I waited to take a shower, not wanting to risk getting injured from lightning. There was even a tornado warning to our northeast. It rained hard for about an hour. After the storm moved past, I headed for a shower. It was now 530pm. The Memorial tournament on the tube, play had just resumed after a lengthy rain delay. I was eager to watch some of it. However, at the same time, Mindy asked if we could make a quick trip to Sherwin Williams to pick-up a gallon of white paint for the closet. Said they close at 6pm. We left the house for the Grandview Sherwin Williams at 540pm arriving ten minutes later. What? A sign on the door said they were closed. Hours of operation only until 5pm on Saturday’s. Definitely not in sync with their own website. Mindy wasn't happy about that. The trip wasn't a total loss, however. With Gentile's just down the road, I suggested we make a pit stop for some good beer before heading back home. I was hoping to pick-up some of Great Lakes newest offering, Monster DIPA or Southern Tier’s newest, 2XIPA. They had neither. Said they can’t get the Monster yet. We picked up four 6-packs: a Southern Tier Hop infused wheat, Avery Stout, Two Brothers Resistance IPA, and Great Lakes Commodore Perry. Yum-yum. We headed for home discussing diner options. I wasn’t in favor of dinner out, and suggested carry-out gyros. Mindy suggested Minelli’s pizza. Sounded good to me. We both opened one of our new beers as soon as we got home. Then, while walked Frankie out back, Mindy ordered a pizza. We drove the ¼ mile to pick-up the pizza 15 minutes later. Frankie went along for the ride. Speaking of Frankie, Saturday was a banner day for her. She finally conquered going up stairs making it up both sets of deck stairs from the yard without any assistance. Still won’t go down ‘em, though. At home we enjoyed pizza and more beer. I tried each of the three that I picked out. I like the Two Brothers Resistance IPA the best. As darkness set in, Mindy & I got in the hot tub for the first time in 8 months. Felt terrific! Afterwards, we watched a PBS special about the Ed Sullivan show complete with clips of famous musical performances, many of which I remember seeing as a young child. Great throw back. Both of us tired, we headed for bed before 11pm.

Blessed Weekend

I was up just ahead of 530am. I could see that it was gonna be another cloudy start to the day. I was able to complete my sit-ups and eye drops before freeing Frankie. That helps me get a jump on the day. She and I headed outside around 545am. I completed my push-ups from the deck’s lower level while waiting on Frankie to finish her business. We headed inside a few minutes later where I enjoyed a cup of coffee before starting meditation and stretching. After completing those two daily rituals, I took Frankie out for a second, more successful, back yard romp. While delivering the pug & coffee, Mindy reminded me that I wouldn’t see the kids after this morning for ten days – leaving for their beach vacation immediately after school. Noted. I walked by their rooms. Both were still soundly sleeping. I headed downstairs to prepare for my run. The sky was foggy and it was really warm, about 70 degrees. The sun was busting through the moist air making it about as humid as it could possibly be at that hour. I ran with a sleeveless shirt but peeled it off a mile or so into the run. It was sticky! I decided to roll my run back to three miles to facilitate a little more family time at home with the kids before school. Back at home, both kids were quiet and slow moving. According to Mindy, a byproduct of not enough sleep. I snapped a couple photos and tried my best to get them pumped for the last day of school. I told Jacob that I charged his iTouch overnight so it would be available for his trip. Next, and at Mindy's prompting, I measured their height. Jacob measured 59.25 inches while Bella measured 46.5 inches. While Mindy put the finishing touches on breakfast, I quickly went to my blog and pulled up their heights measured on the first day of school. While Jacob grew about an inch, Bella doubled that by growing a full two inches during the school year. Mindy left for school around 740am. Shared that she expected to be home by 1 or 2pm. And like any other day, the kids and I headed out for the bus stop at 757am. The year's last bus stop was on time. I gave both kids a big hug and told them to have fun on their beach vacation. See ya in ten days! I took Frankie home and out back for a third opportunity to relieve herself with me at the helm. I left for the office a few minutes later than optimum, about 820am. The morning turned completely sunny during my commute into work. Nice! Expected to reach into the low 80’s. We were busy, but no more than any other Friday. I made arrangements to take a lunch around 1pm. I drove to All Seasons Spas to buy a new filter for our hot tub. The existing filter was 6 or 7 years old and completely spent. Not only that, but it was severely damaged during winter’s freeze. A new filter set me back $80. Yikes! Next, I drove to the nearby Kroger to fetch a bottle of Jack Daniels. I ended up buying a half gallon. Barring a Jack attack, that should last quite a while.  I saw that they had some really fresh roses, but didn’t buy any. I worried that they’d die baking in the Trooper for the day’s duration. Sorry Princess! The afternoon was busy. I worked awfully hard. I couldn’t wait for the day to end and the weekend to finally be upon us. I made arrangements to leave the office at 5pm and actually managed to get out of there by 505pm. I called Mindy on my way home. She shared a few stories, the kids emotional departure for vacation, and one about her retiring principal Jane. I shared a conversation I had earlier with daughter Ashley, asking if we would keep Olivia Saturday morning so she could work OT. I told Mindy that I agreed to do it. Actually, she asked about overnight but I advised her that we had Friday night plans. I arrived home just before 530pm. Mindy was in an extremely good mood this being the actual last day of school. She and I sat on the deck with Frankie soaking up the early evening sun. Mindy made herself a rum drink. I sipped water. Kenny stopped over to invite us down later. Having some friends over. We planned to hit Barley’s but promised to stop over after. Mindy went for a shower while I went for my book and a nap from the deck’s chaise lounger. I fell asleep but not sure for how long. Mindy was all but ready to go as I headed inside. Before leaving, I changed into shorts and a fresh t-shirt. Crowded. We parked in the gravel lot. Mindy and I took stools separated by a couple of familiar faces. Consequently, carrying on separate conversations. To start, I sipped a Centennial while Mindy enjoyed a rum & Coke. Soon after my first beer was gone I ordered food, a Cuban with bacon, or as my friend Dan and I aptly renamed, the triple porker! Mindy ordered KC wings promising to share a few of them with me. Mindy presented one of our favorite servers, Beth with a graduation card that we stuffed with a little cash. She just completed her masters program at OSU. She’s a sweetie! Also serving on Friday was Katie, who I haven’t seen in their on a Friday night for several years. Tom C. showed up after we had been there for a good 90 minutes. We didn’t stay more than another hour. In fact, I believe we left even before 10pm. Mindy picked up the tab. Mindy asked if I wanted to hot tub or join the neighbors. I chose hanging with the neighbors. We headed down to Chrissy & Kenny's. I took a 22oz bottle of Brew Kettle IPA. Kenny and friends were sitting out on the deck. Commented that it was a quiet night in the subdivision. We didn’t stay longer than an hour. Mindy left after about 40 minutes, apparently agitated with the topic of our conversation. I was about 10-15 minutes behind her and left in charge of seeing Frankie home. Was in bed by 1105pm.

Teachers Let the Monkies Out

Up at 530am Cloudy, steamy, foggy – 64 degrees Take Frankie out – squish, squish Exercise, coffee, meditation, and stretching Take Frankie/coffee to Mindy at 625am Head out for run at 635am – partly cloudy – sun peaking through clouds – run 4 miles Mindy’s last day of school with students (tomorrow is classroom clean-up day only) Breakfast - Eggs, fruit, English muffin. Mindy leaves at 735am – Me off to the shower Kids, Frankie to bus stop – pugs wrestle/tangled in leash Kids present bus driver with gift card Frankie out one more time before I leave Take along golf attire just in case Worked straight through – let boss know my plans to leave at 430pm for golf – OK Bob I. responds to golf inquiry – not able to getaway. Tom C. working OT. No golf  Mindy called around 3pm excited – Wahoo – last day of school! Hosting after party at our home with teacher pals and their babies too I didn’t really want to head home and hang with a bunch of teachers I drove by the house at 5pm but kept going. Drove to Griggs reservoir – napped at one of the pull-offs until 525pm – warm/sticky w/o AC on. Arrived home at 545pm. Four or five cars still at the house. Talked with Mindy and her teacher friends. Played with Garrett, Karianne’s 6 month old son for a few minutes. Seems to like me. Mindy’s friends disperse pretty quickly. Gone by 630pm. Mindy asked neighbor Kenny if he would grill steaks – agrees – has two of ours from a while back. We head down around 7pm. I take one of the two 22oz beers I bought at the Anderson’s Wednesday. Steak good. Hang with neighbors until almost 9pm. Head home with kids to ready for bed and their last day of school. We’re all in bed by 10pm.