34 Degrees of Separation

I was out of bed somewhere close to 540am after a restful night of sleep. Downstairs I glanced out back at the clear skies and quarter moon. Looked cold and it was. After exercises I saw that it was only 34 degrees. It was Thursday so I did sit-ups, windmills, and curls. Headed upstairs with Mindy's coffee near 605am. She asked that I turn the heat up to 70 degrees, which was something I had already taken care of. I turned the ceiling fan off when I first got out of bed.

Back downstairs I enjoyed coffee and internet until just after 620am. I was in a lot better frame of mind than I was on Wednesday morning. Wasn't stressing over work. Dressed warm again, this time going after my thickest winter running shirt and new light jacket. For the first time all season, I added ear muffs, too. I didn't get out the door until 647am. And between it being late as well as so clear, I could already see daybreak on the horizon.

I was comfortable through the entire 4.1 mile run. While running, I remembered it was Kidney Foundation day. We had it all just inside the overhead garage door ready to moved just the other side. I planned to take care of that as soon as I was back at home. I didn't even bother heading inside. I raised the garage door using the code and moved everything into position. Mindy left for school just as I finished.

I walked Eiknarf next. Took about ten minutes door to door. Headed inside where I enjoyed the cheesy scrambled eggs Mindy had waiting for me. There was a fresh fruit tray too with watermelon, strawberries, and blackberries. I've never been a blackberry fan at all. I ate plenty of the others.

Bella was fooling around on her laptop when I headed upstairs for my shower. Didn't take me too long. I was back downstairs to ready my lunch and head out to the bus stop around 8am. We headed out together at 810am. I asked Bella to guide the pug while I started the Accord. It was still quite chilly but also pretty. Wasn't a cloud in the sky. I took a couple photos.

Chrissy was at the bus stop and commented about me wearing jeans. Declaring it jean day! The bus was a few minutes early. Even after letting Eiknarf stay out long enough to pee again, we were still back inside by 822am. I loaded and started the dishwasher then headed off to work. I had a 9am call to lead and didn't want to be rushed. I'm thinking I left the house at 830am sharp.

It was 855am by the time I was in my office and logged onto my laptop. The 9am call went well, and probably no more than 10 minutes. I had to join another call at 930am. That one was a bit more involved but went reasonably well too. Once those two calls were behind me I was able to focus all my attention to monthly reports. I worked straight through the day, though I took a few breaks to stretch my back using an old t-shirt. I ate my packed lunch while working.

Not wanting to feel too much pressure on Friday ahead of a week's vacation, I took care of as many things as I could Thursday afternoon. I was actually surprised at how many tasks I squeezed into my afternoon. I even prepped my timesheets for this week and next to minimize the time I'd have to spend on administrative tasks. I sent emails to my customer base as well, letting them know I'd be out all of next week and then who my back-up was.

I left for home around 515pm. Called Mindy once I neared the second roundabout, where there's a better cellular signal. We didn't talk for long. She was prepping dinner while also getting ready to take Bella to gymnastics. Meanwhile, I refused to tune into the last couple innings of game 5 of the Reds/Giants. Last I heard they were behind by 3 runs. What an epic collapse!

Mindy and Bella were already gone when I pulled up at home. I quickly readied Friday's coffee and rinsed my lunch containers. I played round online for a few minutes before Mindy got back and put the finishing touches on our spaghetti and meatballs dinner. For the first time in a while I had a glass of milk with dinner. I couldn't eat the last bit of spaghetti on my plate. Mindy took my leftovers. Jacob headed off to play with friends right after dinner. I managed clean-up while Mindy did some school work at her laptop. She double checked to make sure that I was going after Bella. 710pm came around fast. I wasn't quite done cleaning up the kitchen, but hurried through the last few steps. I didn't want to leave it for my return. Left the house at 715pm.

Still made good time. Decided to listen to Spa on XM still avoiding any word on the Reds outcome. Arrived at the gym at 727pm. It was already pitch dark. Arrived in time to see Bella do a back flip from the double mini. She came running to depart immediately after. Asked if we could stop at Wendy's. Told her no, we've got a spaghetti dinner waiting for you at home. Decided it was time to catch the Reds final They lost 6-4. Done! Too bad.

At Bella's request, I switched the car stereo to FM WNCI. She sang along to the next two songs. Made me smile. Arrived home by 742pm. Mindy was still busy with the school work. As soon as I was downstairs from changing, Bella asked that I warm her spaghetti and meatballs. I happily did the deed. While Mindy worked and Bella ate, I tuned into Thursday Night football on the NFL network pregame. I turned the volume low so I could read at the same time. I read about 5 or 6 pages of Subliminal. Interesting chapter, discussing the roots of our unconscious emotions. Most people, no matter their ethnic origin, and even those isolated from all others as well as technology express sadness, happiness, fright, pleasure, etc. with the same body language. Never gave it much thought before.

The NFL game featured the Steelers/Titans. Even though the game was in Nashville, the Steelers were favored. The Titans scored first but then the Steelers quickly took the lead. Mindy headed to bed at 915p and offered that we could watch the game from bed. I declined, desiring some quiet sofa time. Bella stayed up for a while longer too. I sent her to bed at 930pm. I think the Titans took the lead just before I fell asleep on the sofa. As I often do, I woke close to 10pm sharp and headed for bed. Mindy was already asleep.

Winning, Chiptole & Hubble

Somewhat out of character, I tossed and turned during the night and had a difficult time sleeping after say, 3am. I woke stressing over a work issue. I stayed in bed as long as I could without jeopardizing my routine. I pulled myself from bed around 550am. The room was too chilly for me. I turned the ceiling fan off on my way downstairs. I could tell right away that this was going to be one of those days where I’d be tired all day long.

I whizzed through sit-ups, windmills and curls. I was out of breath after push-ups. They take a lot of out me, especially when I’m tired. I felt a bit more awake though. It was already after 6am. Before enjoying any coffee of my own, I headed upstairs to deliver Mindy’s. I startled her when I woke her, which is highly unusual. Her alarm didn’t go off. She thought she overslept. She asked me to bump up the heat but I already had.

I headed back downstairs to enjoy some coffee and internet. Ended up playing around online for about 20 minutes. And by the way, this was my first extended sit in my new leather office chair. Nice and comfy! In fact, so comfy that it was hard to peel away. Tick-tick.

I somewhat hurriedly did a meditation and stretch so not to get too far behind in my routine. Getting out the door for my run before 650am wasn’t going to happen. It was only 37 degrees and partly cloudy. Jacob came down dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with his light weight jacket. I warned him of the chilly temps. What’s more, his class was headed to Darby Creek on a field trip that afternoon. They’d be ‘creeking’ (actually in the water). I suggested he take long sweat pants and a hoodie in his back pack. Nope. He said he didn’t want to. OK Jacob (bozo). I left for my run at 650am.

As I completed my warm-up lap, a peer of Jacob’s was waiting at the bus stop. He asked me if Jacob was ill. As I ran by I shared that he should be on his way out any second. I ran the full 4.1 miles and was comfortable throughout. It gets any colder I’m gonna have to don my ear muffs. By the time I completed my run and was back at home Mindy was already gone. I thought that might happen. It was just after 730am.
Bella helped me get the pug out the door. We headed across the street on a brief but fruitful walk. I zapped my eggs for 12 seconds in microwave. Bella took care of feeding the pug. By the time I finished my breakfast and sat out a few items for my lunch, it was already 750am. I hustled off to the shower. By the time I put the finishing touches on my ready, Bella was hollering up that it was almost time to go. Can anyone say role reversal?

Bella and I headed out at 810am. Chrissy was out with Makayla. Said she’d be taking Makayla to the doctor to have her burn checked out that afternoon. Not sure about letting her playing soccer despite Makayla wanting to. The bus was on time, and perhaps even a few minutes early. I let Eiknarf hang outside a while longer before heading to make last minute preparations.

It was Wednesday and monthly service review day for one of my customer’s in New Albany. I made sure I had all the necessary electronics and peripherals then headed out just ahead of 830am. I made good time getting across town. No traffic snarls. I was in the customer’s lot by 850am.

Took a while to get situated and logged on. I was a little surprised when my boss and a peer showed up. I knew they were planning to sit in on the presentation but expected them a bit later. Turns out, they had a meeting set up with one of the directors. We talked for a good 45 minutes or up until 10am, the start of their other meeting.
I had my usual 10am call but with a 15 minute delay due to a planned fire drill. However, the fire drill got postponed until the following day. The call was brief and efficient. The customer asked if we could push the monthly service review meeting out from 11am until 2pm to facilitate a special lunch meeting they were having for a peer who was leaving the company. Sure.

I used the time between then and 2pm to work on yet another monthly report for another customer. For the next 3+ hours I did some serious data crunching. Made significant progress. I decided to postpone eating my packed lunch until after the service review presentation. Those that know my work habits know that that is typical of me. The monthly service review meeting went even better than expected. Received lots of accolades for the quality of the report. I like hearing that.

It was already 3pm by the time I was back at my desk. I ate my packed veggies, cheese and fruit all the while continuing with my work. 5pm came around in a hurry. Took me another 15 minutes to wrap up what I was doing and pack for home. I called Mindy as soon as I was on the Accord. I remembered Jacob had a soccer game but I wasn’t certain where and what time.

Mindy was already on her way to the soccer game since Jacob needed to be there 30 minutes early. The game was at Spindler field, their home field and at 6pm. It was chilly – only about 52 degrees with a few scattered clouds and a brisk breeze. I made excellent time barreling around 270 with only a brief traffic snarl near the Cemetery Rd exit. I arrived at Spindler field near 545pm.

Mindy & Bella were already set up and bundled warmly. I already knew it was breezy but it’s always a while lot breezier at the soccer field. They didn’t have a chair set-up for me, but I didn’t really want to sit. In fact, I wanted to nap. The drive made me overwhelmingly sleepy. I begged off to the Pilot, which was parked within easy eyeshot of the game. Mindy said she was cold too, and came with me. Bella came running too. They hung out with me in the Pilot until just after the game started. While conversing, they shared that they saw a ground hog on the deck eating our sweet potato vine again. Said Jacob wanted to go out after it but Mindy insisted he not for fear of rabies. Damn, just when I thought I eradicated our yard of that pesky critter. A couple minutes after she headed back to their camp chairs on the sideline I managed to get a few winks. I’ll bet I didn’t sleep any more than 5-10 minutes, but it was enough and exactly what the doctor ordered.

I rejoined Mindy and Bella on the sideline. But no sooner had I walked up when the referee blew the halftime whistle. All three of us headed back to the Pilot. Both Bella and Mindy went on about how hungry they were. Mindy suggested we get Chipotle on the way home. Bella suggested I leave to get it right then and meet them at home. I was game. Mindy wrote the family order on a piece of paper and I was soon on my way. You can’t go to Chipotle without everybody’s order written down.

Chipotle is located across the street from the Hilliard-Rome Rd Target. I haven’t been to that one in a few years. In fact, I think the last time was when Mindy flew to DC to see her friend Tara’s sister before she passed of breast cancer. There was a small line but they served me as soon as I stepped up the line. Most of the help has trouble speaking English and as a result are difficult to understand. And because Chipotle build your order in assembly line fashion in front of your eyes, it’s always difficult when you have multiple burritos orders. At the same time, multiple people are asking what you want on the burritos. I was very matter of fact and succinct in my instruction. They seem to appreciate the clarity. When it was all said and done I’d dropped $28 (two burritos, two burrito bowls, two chips, two salsas, one guacamole). I carefully placed the bag on the front floor board, remember that the last time the salsa containers exploded in the bag and everything fell out when I lifted it at home. I’ve talked to others that same thing happened to as well. They should really put the salsa in a separate small bag. Thankfully, no such problems this time.

Save for snagging a few chips on the drive home, I left the bag untouched on the island until Mindy and the kids were home. I’m guessing I had about 20 minutes. During that time I rinsed my lunch containers, prepped Thursday’s coffee, and changed out of my work clothes and into my PJs. I surveyed the ground hog damage to our sweet potato vines. Pretty much decimated the vine in the tomato pot.

Mindy and the kids were home by 735pm. After both kids put their stuff away we sat for dinner. Bella’s burrito was comparatively small given that she only wanted chicken and cheese. It’s not like they’ll double up on the meat if you pass on the ten other ingredients. Even still, she couldn’t finish barely half of it, and gave what remained to Jacob, who quickly polished off his burrito bowl. Mindy polished off hers too. Me, I ate about 3/4s of my burrito then stashed what remained in the fridge for another day. Jacob, keep away!

By the way, the Reds lost again on Wednesday. Now the best of 5 playoff is tied at 2 games each. Thursday’s game will be for all the marbles! After dinner I tuned into the Science Channel watching a program about the Earth’s magnetic field and how over extended periods of time it’s prone to change, throwing off our sense of directions and what not. Interesting. That was over at 8pm, but another episode immediately after. This one concerned the big bang and an ever expanding universe and how it first came about in the astronomical community. Major credit is given to Edwin Hubble, perhaps more widely known in our current day for the space telescope named in his honor - the Hubble space telescope. He discovered and proved that the universe was expanding, and expanding even faster at its outer edges. From this he deduced then that if it’s ever expanding, it must have begun from a finite point. I eat this stuff up!

Come 835pm, Mindy headed up to read from bed. She insisted the kids be in bed by 9pm. Jacob headed up right then, too. He needed a shower. It wasn’t long before I fell asleep on the sofa while watching the Science Channel. I woke a time or two hearing Bella poking away at her laptop, but didn’t wake and head to bed until 1005pm. Of course, Mindy was already out cold when I slipped into bed. Good night moon!

Reds Doomed

I slept really good, not waking even once until just before my planned wake time of 540am. Downstairs I could smell freshly brewed coffee. I glanced out back and slipped into my exercise shoes. It was foggy and chilly. Headed to the livingroom where I whipped out 50 sit-ups. Quickly to my feet, I whipped out windmills and then 40 curls. Coffee time!

Mindy was taking the day off school to get Bella to an eye exam at Children’s Hospital. She asked that I wake her at 640am or just before my run. I spent the next 25 minutes enjoying coffee and playing around on my PC. It was only 38 degrees. Saw that the Reds won 9-0. They now lead the best of five series 2-0.
Did meditation and stretch then delivered Mindy’s coffee. She asked how I was feeling. Good! Jacob was already up and soon downstairs making his breakfast. He was dressed in basketball shorts and a light weight sport jacket. I warned him that it was very chilly. He didn’t bother changing or adding any additional layers.
I dressed the same as the day before, including wearing running gloves. I headed out the door just ahead of Jacob. It was recycling and trash day. Both cans were already at the curb. The recycling was already emptied. Jacob was at the bus stop by the time I completed my warm-up loop.

I ran the full 4.1 miles in the chilly fog. Mindy was still working on her ready when I got back home. I hadn’t planned on making my own breakfast, but got started on it right away. Mindy didn’t make it downstairs until I had finished my eggs. I asked if she would walk the dog while I showered. Yep! That allowed me to regain upwards of ten minutes. She also shared that she would throw together my lunch, another task I thought I might have to handle for myself. Mindy hollered upstairs to make sure that Bella was up and getting ready. I was off to the shower near 750am.

Took me about 20 minutes to shower and dress. I was back downstairs before 815am. I reminded Mindy that the Kidney Foundation was supposed to come Wednesday morning. We had a lot of stuff waiting for them in the basement. It worked out that she and Bella were ready to depart at roughly the same time as me. In a minor turn of events, Mindy headed out to warm our cars a few minutes before departing.

We backed out of the drive somewhere close to 835am. Mindy & Bella turned left, me to the right. Hilliard was far foggier than our neck of the woods – pea soup near our office building. Once I was settled into my office I walked down to chat with my boss since I couldn’t get to him on Monday. He showed me a few pictures of his new cabin in Vinton County. Very nice! I unloaded my concern and together we formulated a plan to get it corrected. I was a little surprised when he picked up the phone and placed a call to try and fix it right then. Unfortunately, the call didn’t net results we hoped. He promised more follow thru, higher up the chain. Cool! I appreciated the assist.

I spent a large portion of my day finalizing another monthly report and also figuring out how I might squeeze in yet another report it looks like I will need to take on. Ugh! I was admittedly a little stressed over the idea. Mindy texted a picture of Bella in glasses near noon. Turns out, those in the photo were only sample glasses. Her prescription won’t be in for a week, week and one half. She followed up the text with a call on her way to drop Bella off at school somewhere near 1230pm. I was just getting ready to head out for lunch. I needed to get away.

My plan was to visit Staples and possibly buy a new office/computer chair. My old mesh chair is a wreck. The shock is broke and now the mesh is torn. I’ve had it for quite a while. If I actually bought one, I thought I would call Mindy and ask if she could swing by and pick it up with the Pilot. It just so happened that Staples was having an office chair sale. They have so many and I didn’t want to spend a whole while at the same time I didn’t want to go to cheap either. After hemming and hawing, I found the perfect chair on sale for $100. It was $170 just last week when I was in. Said they would have it ready near 3pm.

There were three young women in the Staples giving complimentary chair messages. My neck and shoulder were killing me. I really should’ve taken advantage. I talked with one of them at length. They run a message therapy salon in Lincoln Village. Gave me two coupons – a one hour deep tissue massage for $39. Hmm?
I celled Mindy from the Staples lot. Asked if she would come by near 3pm to pick-up my chair. Said she would. I was there for less than 30 minutes. Headed next door to Home Depot. There was something I really wanted to pick-up at Lowes or Home Depot but for the life of me I couldn’t recall what it was. I headed in anyway.
I browsed a few aisles until I stumbled upon programmable thermostats. That wasn’t the item I intended but it was something on my wish list and something I’ve looked at several times past. This time I broke down and bought one. It’s an ideal purchase for us, especially since we typically alter the temp in a neat little pattern. I bought an upper end model for $50.

Headed back to the office in a slightly better frame of mind than when I left. I ate my packed lunch, including a packet of tuna I’ve had sitting on my desk for a couple of months now. I ate my salad without the benefit of dressing. It’s my latest attempt at cutting out unnecessary and unhealthy calories. It’s funny how tasty a salad is without dressing. I’ve been doing it for more than a couple weeks now.

Talked with Mindy again midafternoon. She picked up my chair just picking up Bella’s prescription around the corner from Staples at CVS. She was heading to the Giant Eagle Market District to pick-up some steaks. Wanted to know if I would grill ‘em. Yes.
Talked to my boss sometime just after 5pm to fill him in on where I was with our issue from earlier. I wrapped up my work day at 515p and headed for home. I called Mindy once on the road. She was just about to leave to take Bella to gymnastics and was busy pulling brussel sprouts off the grill. She and Bella were just heading out as I was pulling in. Unbeknownst to Mindy, Jacob jumped in the Pilot too and climbed over the back seat. Apparently he was going along for the ride. I opened the rear hatch and carried in my new office chair. Mindy and the kids pulled out.

Mindy asked that I start grilling the steaks at 6pm. It was about 535pm. I used the 25 minutes to reload the coffee maker for Wednesday and go through the mail. Come 6pm I fired up the grill but let it preheat for a good five minutes before throwing on the steaks. Walked out to check on some grass seed I planted near the tree swing about 9 days prior. Still no germination. The grill was ready by the time I was back up on the deck. The new burners get a bit hotter than the old ones. The onboard thermostat read 600 degrees. I went for the three prime filets Mindy had seasoned and ready on the island. Mindy and Jacob got back home with just a few more minutes of grilling needed. Good timing. She had red skinned potato wedges baking in the oven too, along with the grilled brussel sprouts.

Dinner was served a few minutes later. She gave me the pick of the filets. Turned out, I picked the one grilled near medium. The other two were closer to medium rare, or just the way I like them. We swapped steaks midway through dinner. Haven’t had a steak in maybe three weeks, Yummy! We saved some steak for Bella.

I managed clean-up, and by the time I was done it was already near time to go after Bella. I might’ve had 15 minutes to kill ahead of time. Still, not much. I left to get Bella at 712pm. Didn't take me long to get to the gym, but had a frightening near miss on the 70W to 270S freeway entrance ramp. I was aware of the construction - who isn't) but a recent change on the traffic pattern left only the inside lane access to 270S, the other now exclusively for 270N. Another car was in the inside lane and seemed to be adjusting their speed to cock block me no matter what I did - speed up / slow down. I decided to simply stay in the outside lane. Well, seemingly out of nowhere the newly placed concrete divider separating the two directions appeared. I had to slow aggressively to merge into the southbound 270 lane just barely avoiding clipping that pesky care as well as the concrete divider. Yikes!

I listened to the Reds playoff game through the relatively short drive to the gym. The score was tied 1-1, despite the Reds pitcher, Homer Bailey, not yet giving up a hit through 5 innings. ( His last start of the regular season was a no-hitter. The dude was on fire!). The only trouble was, the Reds weren't mounting much of any offense.
Arrived at the gym around 725p and watched the last 5 minutes of practice. It was packed with kids, some doing gymnastics, while others were there participating in the cheer program. Bella came jogging over after practice and we headed to the waiting Accord. I chatted briefly with coach, Kelly, Mindy's pal.

Bella asked if we could change the station away from the Reds game. Generally not a problem. After all, the girl needs her WNCI fix. This time, however, I was staunch in my opposition. No, we're going to listen to the ballgame. Arrived home a few minutes later, probably at about 745pm. We left about half a filet cut up for Bella. She was soon in tears, exactly why, I am not sure. But it had something to do with her dinner. Mindy wasn't wanting to hear it and at least somewhat berated her for having a needless meltdown. She quickly collected herself, to which Mindy later attributed it to hunger.

I watched the rest of the Reds game, which ended up going to extra innings still tied 1-1. At the same time, I was feeling quite a bit of strife, all brought on by some silly work related matters. In the end the stuff doesn't mean anything. But I tend to be one of those that can't simply let go of something. I have to let it run its course.

Sadly, the Reds lost the game in the 10th inning after our third baseman dropped a routine ground ball that would've been the last out. Instead, the Giants scored and lead 2-1. The Reds didn't score in the bottom half of the inning. Off to bed near 10pm.

Dogs with Dad

As planned, I was up and out of bed at 540am. Still tired? Yes. Feeling under slept? Yes. Did any of that matter? Not really. The house was much warmer than the morning before thanks in no small part to Mike O.’s for fixing our furnace. I had to prep morning coffee since I failed to do so the evening before. I glanced out back. It was clear and cold. There was scattered frost across the island.

Next, I whipped out calisthenics; 50 sit-ups, windmills, & 50 push-ups. I was winded briefly afterwards. My hard work was rewarded with a hot cup of coffee, which I enjoyed at my PC before heading upstairs to wake Mindy. During my first stint at my PC I checked the weather, the Reds final, and the SNF score. The Reds won 9-0 to go up 2-0 in their best of 5 playoff series with the SF Giants, and the Saints came back and beat San Diego. Hmm? As for the weather, it was a chilly 37 degrees.

At 605am I headed upstairs with Mindy’s coffee. She asked that I bump up the furnace. Already did. Made sure Jacob was awake too. Back downstairs I spent another 15 minutes or so fooling around online. I told myself I wasn’t going to log onto my work laptop but did anyway. Happily, there was nothing new, or of importance that would rattle me at 630am.

Meditation and stretching were next, and both went well. Jacob was downstairs tending to his toaster breakfast while I finished my stretch. I dressed warmly for my run, wearing a winter wicking shirt and my new light wicking jacket. And for the first time this season, I wore my tattered running gloves that I’ve had now for 3 years. I headed out the door near 640am. I thought Jacob and company might be at the bus stop as I completed my warm-up lap but that wasn’t the case.

It was Columbus Day and otherwise our trash and recycling day. However, both were pushed out a day due to the holiday. Unless I’m mistaken, the recycling will revert back to Monday. The regular trash day will remain Tuesday until the next holiday, which I believe to T.G. (Don’t think they recognize Veteran’s Day). I ran the full 4.1 miles and was comfortable in my light winter get-up from the outset, though perhaps just a tad chilly right out the door. In another 4-6 weeks 37 degrees will be the warm side of normal. Obviously, my body hasn’t yet adjusted to the 30’s.

Back at the house Bella met me at the front door with the leash. Eiknarf, however, wasn’t yet down the stairs. I jingled the leash and she soon came a calling. We headed out walking across the street where she took care of #1 and #2. Mindy had the Pilot warming in the driveway. She was out the door just as the dog and I were making our way back up the drive.

My eggs were waiting in the microwave. I gave them a 12 second blast before taking them out. That was ideal. Bella had already finished feeding Eiknarf her dog food and egg. She scarfed it down like nobody’s business. I was soon off to the shower. It had to be 740am or after. All that took no more than 20 minutes. I was back downstairs ahead of 8am. I threw together my lunch: a container of fresh veggies, banana, cheese, almonds, and some yogurt.

Bella and I headed out to the bus stop at 810am. I stopped briefly to start/warm the Accord as I walk by. Kenny was at the bus stop with Makayla. Asked Makayla if she would show me her burn. Raised her shirt. Ouch! Most of it was bandaged up but I could see some reddish brown streaks just below. She scolded herself making macaroni & cheese while pouring the boiling mixture into a strainer. Her mistake was pouring it back towards herself. Kenny commented that it was pretty bad. I was surprised they didn’t do the emergency room, but they did have Mike O. look at it. He was a busy guy on Sunday! The bus was there on time, and maybe even a few minutes early. That kid in the beater white car came barreling down the road just as Eiknarf I were about to head back inside. This time he had a friend with him. They motored on by their normal spot. I’m guessing because I was out there.

Inside I organized my lunch and then powered down my laptop and packed for the go. I enjoyed a little more coffee then left for the office. Felt nice to be heading into the office as oppose to working from home. Arrived near 840am. I listened to a little more of ESPN radio before heading inside. Bumped into my boss at the 6th floor elevator. He said he left his glasses in his car. As it turns out, that’s the only time I saw him all day. This was his first day back from vacation. I’d imagine that he was buried in email.

Like a broken record, I spent the lion’s share of my day working on monthly reports. I found time to squeeze in a real lunch break around 1230pm and drove to the two nearby furniture show rooms across the street from the Dublin Wal-Mart – Frontroom Furnishings and Rooms Express. I was eager to see what they had in the way of Queen Anne recliners. My hope was that they would have the style similar to Macy’s but with custom covering options. Yep, they do. I was a little annoyed when the over eager sales woman kept appearing, almost like magic, around every other corner. Yikes! She was tailing me. I eventually made a game of it. I purposefully went upstairs to the deep back corner. Sure enough, her she came. And just as she went out of view momentarily I scooted to the escalator and headed back down to the main floor. I turned to see if she was behind. Yikes! She was running in full stride with blood dripping from her vampirish teeth. OK, maybe a little exaggeration there. I figure Mindy and I can come back and look together. I realize first, however, that we need to agree on living room paint color, which we haven’t as of yet.

I went right next door to Rooms Express. I think they’re owned by Kittles, which is also right down the road. Their selection was much more limited. I wasn’t impressed. Most of their stuff looked cheaply made. I wasn’t in there long. Surprisingly, none of the sales associates bothered me. Gone only about 40 minutes, I headed back to the office.

Back at work I enjoyed my lunch while also putting the finishing touches on a monthly report. I wanted to chat with my boss, but when I walked by his office I could hear that he was on a call. It wasn’t something that couldn’t wait. I figured I could track him down on Tuesday morning. I stayed at the office until 515pm. I called Mindy once I cleared the local deadzone. She was busy grilling brats and dogs. We didn’t talk for long.

The Pilot was inexplicably pulled along the curb instead of in the driveway. I figured there an explanation but was baffled until I asked. Mindy said that Jimaken took Jacob to soccer practice and had the driveway blocked when she got home just ahead of 5pm. While rinsing my lunch containers dad came to the front door. Mindy quickly shared that she invited him over for dinner. Cool!

We weren’t having anything special, again, just brats, dogs, and peas. Asked dad if he’d been to the new casino that day - opening day. Causing quite the buzz. He didn’t visit, but did drive by to check out the traffic/crowd. He did, however, visit last Wednesday on a special preview day through invite only. He and Pete had invitations (frequent flyers). Said it was nice but too open and loud for his liking and compared to what he’s used to. Didn’t win anything either.

We also chatted about mom’s recent cataract surgery. He hadn’t heard how it turned out. Said he’ll likely need the same procedure very soon. Seems to exhibit some of the telltale signs. Mindy joked that he and mom do tend to have the same procedures, though usually mom after dad.

During dinner dad shared that his sister, and my aunt Ruth will be flying in for a weekend visit this Friday. They (dad, Kenny & Char) have plans to do dinner and possibly attend a Central HS reunion type event. She’s 79 now, and having difficulty getting around. I’d like to try and hook up with all of them too but Mindy and I will be out of town most of the weekend.

Bella ran off to play with Makayla, and Mindy soon left to pick-up Jacob from soccer. Dad stuck around for another hour or so. He was still there when Mindy & Jacob got back. I’m thinking he was there until 745pm or so. No sooner had dad departed, that I dashed upstairs to change out of my work clothes and into my PJs. I played around online briefly but then decided to do some reading instead.

While I read, Mindy worked on her sub plans for Tuesday since she’d be off school to take Bella to an eye exam. We’re anticipating that Bella will be prescribed glasses this year. At the same time, Jacob was struggling with his math homework - addition/subtraction of whole numbers with mixed fractions. More pointed, he was struggling with the lowest common denominator and improper fraction concept. Mindy was busy so I helped. His biggest struggle seemed to be converting a whole number to fraction. Baffling, I know! He finally got it and without much fuss.

The MNF game kicked off at 830pm – Texans/Jets. Jacob fussed as he muddled through the numerous fraction problems. More than anything, I think he was tired from staying up too late the night before. He headed directly to bed as soon as he was done. I’m thinking that was near 9pm. Mindy and I stayed up until 940pm. We were both under slept from the night before too. Even though I hate to go to bed too early. Once Mindy offered that we could watch the game from bed I was sold. Bella was still wide awake and toiling in her room even as we headed to bed. That’s not too unusual at all. We watched until halftime, which had to be near 1015pm, and then killed the TV.

Celebrating Bella with Family

I was up and downstairs just ahead of 8am. Mindy asked for a hug and then asked that I bring her coffee in short order. I stumbled off down the stairs and to the kitchen where I started a pot of Starbucks coffee. It was chilly in the house even though Mindy set the thermostat for the furnace to 62 the night before. It didn’t smell or feel like it kicked on. If it had, it would have been the first time this season. It was cloudy. I wasn’t sure of the temp.

I hand washed a few stray dishes while the coffee brewed. I was anxious to see if the Reds won their first playoff game. I went to my computer and saw that they did indeed win, 5-2. Cool! Winning the first game is big, especially on the road. It’s a best of five series, and the first two are in SF. I heard Mindy stirring upstairs a few short minutes later, or about the same time that the coffee maker beeped alerting me that the coffee was ready.

I hurried into the kitchen where I started a cup for the both of us. Mindy was before 830am and ready to get busy preparing for Bella’s family birthday party. Actually, she had streamers up and the kitchen table arranged for hosting a party the night before. Mindy shared that the furnace was blowing out cool air only despite having the thermostat turned up. Uh-oh. I went to the nearest vent to check it out. Yep, nothing but cool air. I double checked the thermostat to make sure she hadn’t overlooked the obvious. Nope. Looked right.

I headed to the basement with my LED flashlight and peered through the furnace door at the burner. No flame. I went for my mini –socket set to remove the front panel. Instantly I believed it something I knocked loose last Saturday when I pulled the front panel and vacuumed all the cob webs from inside and around the furnace. I cranked the thermostat up to 80 to and watched. The blower kicked on but that’s it. I wiggled several wires that I might’ve bumped when vacuuming last week. Nothing. Crap, I closed it up and headed back upstairs to my PC. Always something!

Mindy asked if I wanted her to text Mike O’Connell. He does heating & cooling on the side. No, not this early. It was only 9am. I knew that had a big shindig the night before. I played on my computer for another 60 minutes before heading out for my run. It was only 45 degrees when I dressed for my run. I wore my new, lighter running jacket and a long sleeved shirt. I ran 3 miles, just like I do every other Sunday. Once again, and despite taking a Naproxin the night before, my legs (quadriceps) were achy.

Back at the house near 1030am, I enjoyed another cup of coffee and a little more internet time. At the same time, Mindy headed up for a shower. Even though she tried to avoid it by grocery shopping on Saturday, she still needed to make another run to the store for the few ingredients she’d forgotten. I’m thinking that she headed out near 11-1130am. While Mindy was out, I took another look at the furnace making sure I didn’t overlook something obvious. Nope. Still no joy.

I didn’t do much of anything through late morning and the early afternoon. Much like the day before, I spent most of it napping and watching football. While Mindy prepared her signature chicken tortellini, she asked that I find time to vacuum. Yes dear. I got my rear off the sofa to take care of that around 2pm. Because the house was chilly, Mindy asked that I start a fire in the fireplace. Yes dear. At some point I asked if she ever sent Mike O a text. Otherwise, I was dreading having to call a heating and repair company. I’ve heard way too many rip-off stories. Said she did and expected him sometime later that afternoon. Cool!

Our first guests arrived just after 330pm. Within about five minutes of one another, Gloria, Joe, Lindsey and the boys, Tommy and Wally showed up. And then by 4pm we had a house full. As luck would have it, it was sprinkling rain making outdoor play somewhat unreasonable for the kids. That, however, didn’t stop Jacob and Rocky. They headed out to play football in the neighbor’s yard.

I don’t think we had seen Tommy since a summer gathering at his place, Charles’ birthday. The effects of the Bell’s palsy have all but abated, though his left eye is still a tad slow to track/follow, and his smile perhaps a smidge crooked.
With the stress of a house full, I decided to drink a beer. I opted far off the usual and poured a Southern tier Chokolat Stout. Very thick and very chocolaty. It’s sippin’ beer. Mindy laid out quite a spread. In addition to her chicken tortellini, she had 5 pizzas delivered and then a table full of snacks, dips and drinks. Mike O. showed up and quickly blended right in with his fireman peeps (Larry & Todd). After about 30 minutes he suggested we take a look at the furnace. He bumped the thermostat up to 80 before we headed down.

I was a little worried when there wasn’t a full electronic schematic on inside panel or in the information packet still stuck to the side of the furnace since we moved in. Nothing jumped right out at Mike initially. What was different was that now even the fan and blower weren’t kicking on. Earlier, the blower would run but the burner wouldn’t kick on. I was concerned that perhaps we hadn’t turned the furnace to on via the thermostat even though Mike insisted he had. After a couple more minutes of fruitless toil, I headed up to check again. Yep, we had the damn thing on off!

Back downstairs it was back to where it was earlier – the blower kicked on but not the burner. It didn’t take Mike five minutes to discover the rather simple problem. The little fan that pulls the carbon monoxide up and out the furnace chimney was seized up. And without that fan running the ignition is designed not to spark and light the burner for obvious safety concerns. After a gentle nudge of the fan fins the problem was cleared and the furnace kicked on as designed. Voila! I was very grateful.

While he was there, I asked him to look at the line running from the plenum to the AC condenser unit outside – it needs moved before finishing the basement. Without any mention, he pointed out how poorly they ran our gas line too – directly in the path of the window and far outside the path of the duct work Yes, that's a concern too, and one I was also considering having moved.

Mike said he could move both but that the gas line would take some doing since there are two other taps along its path that would need moved/extended as well. I'll consider it, but definitely need the condenser line moved first. Mindy soon hollered down the basement that it was time to sing and have cake. We headed upstairs where we sang the birthday song to Bella in her native Guatemalan tongue. Immediately after, I gave Mindy $40 to slip to Mike for looking at and fixing the furnace but he wouldn't take it.

Gift opening was next. Bella cleaned up, garnering a closet full of nice new clothes and then a handsome sum of giftcards and cash, and certainly enough to afford her that iTouch she's been eyeing for a couple years running.

Folks started to peel off around 615-630pm, or shortly after Bella did her gifts. And everybody was gone by 7pm save for nephew Joe, who stuck around helping with clean-up. Both kids ran off to play outside and next door. Joe, Mindy & I enjoyed some more drink. Joe had a couple beers while I enjoyed Jack & Coke. And unless I'm mistaken, Mindy stuck with wine.

Both kids were inside by 830pm. They hung with us having fun and joking around until about 1030pm when Joe left for home. Mindy & I were both tired from a busy day, busy weekend. Good night moon!

Bella & Friends @ SkyZone

Given my preference, I would’ve slept for at least another hour. But because we planned to be on the road near 930am, I got up and out of bed near 730am. Downstairs I started some coffee then played around for a little while on the internet. Mindy said she wanted up around 730am so she could start pancakes and bacon. Can’t recall if she was up and downstairs on her own or if I delivered her coffee. Hmmm?

Expecting clouds, I was pleasantly surprised to see the skies were completely clear. It was chilly though, only 45 degrees. At the time only Olivia was awake and downstairs. She asked for some coffee. I made some but with mostly flavored creamer. She headed back upstairs to Bella’s room after a few short minutes. I headed off on my run around 810am. Because it was the weekend, I ran the usual 3 mile trail.
Back at the house Mindy was mid-breakfast. The bacon was done and she and Olivia were busy whipping up pancakes. Mindy had Olivia wearing Bella’s apron. Too cute! While Mindy put the finishing touches on breakfast, I added a few photos to my blog. After all the girls were fed, I enjoyed a couple pancakes and bacon. We sent Olivia upstairs to wake Jacob. He didn’t want to get up. I was off to the shower near 9am.

Jacob wasn’t too happy about the prospect of riding with a car load of girls to Skyzone. He pleaded with me to drive separately. Mindy, however, was having none of it. She was determined that we could all fit in the Pilot. Unless I’m mistaken, there were nine of us (Mindy, Jimmy, Jacob, Bella, Olivia, Lillian, Makayla, Alana, and Laurel). Two of the girls had to double-buckle. We left the house pretty much on target near 930am. Traffic was light around 270 but surprisingly heavy up route 23 north. Skyzone is up near Alum Creek, just south of Lewis Center Rd on the east side of rt. 23 in the Orange Point Business Park.

Our event was scheduled for 1030am but they requested we be there by 10am. As it was, we were there at 950am. Two more of Bella’s guests were already there with their moms waiting. While Mindy took care of the logistics I walked around scoping out the place. Pretty cool set up. Reminds me somewhat of Skate USA although cleaner, neater, newer.
For the sake of the trampolines, they require that all jumpers wear these special shoes, which look like rigid hi-top tennis shoes. All the girls were ready by 1010am but had to wait until 1030am to begin jumping. The plan called for one hour of jumping and then pizza, pop and cake in a private party room from 1130am to 1210pm.

They have three ‘jumping areas: an enormous primary jumping area, probably about 150’ X30’, a smaller jumping area about 50’X30’ used for dodge ball, and then a similar sized area where half is a foam block pit.

As soon as 1030am came the kids were turned loose in the main jumping area. Jacob stayed for just a short while before heading down to the dodge ball pit. I stayed with the girls taking photos and video. I was amazed watching Bella effortlessly bounce and fly around in there. She gets much higher than most others her size. Another unique feature of the trampoline pits are the walls, which are trampolines too.

The ‘life guards’ or ‘jumping patrols’ do a good job keeping the kids of similar sizes in one particular area of the large pit to reduce the risk of injury. An hour doesn’t seem like that long until you start jumping. The girls were red faced and sweaty after just 10 minutes. Somehow they managed to go at it for the entire hour going between the three different pits. The ‘jumping patrols’ have to police the dodge ball court and set time limits for groups of similar sizes.

By 1010am Olivia was done jumping and wanted some food. Little wonder, she ate next to none of her pancakes and bacon. She was persistent. I walked her down to the snack bar where we happened upon Mindy who was looking to get some coffee. She fetched Olivia a bag of chips to tie her over until pizza time. Most of the girls kept at it until their time was up. At 1030am sharp, they opened the pizza party room.

Natasha was our hostess. She served the girls, soda, pizza, and then cake. We had to do nothing. She was very efficient moving from one phase to the next. I didn’t really plan on having any pizza but last minute decided to go ahead and have a piece. It was good. I had only one along with some water. I passed on the birthday cake. Natasha had us wrapped up and out of there after our allotted 40 minutes. A glance out to the jumping area, there was a much larger crowd by then. Probably a good thing we booked the early time slot. At the time it was the only one available. It was 1215pm, we still had much of the day ahead of us.

Jimaken was there for the party too. He and Jacob were going to the OSU Nebraska football game later that evening. Planning ahead, Jacob brought his suitcase so he could simply leave with his dad. As a consequence, there was one less for the drive home. We arrived home near 1245pm. Ashley texted just before we left Skyzone asking our ETA. She was coming to get Olivia at 1pm. Lindsey and the boys were at the house doing their laundry. All the kids headed out to play minutes after we got home. Olivia and Landon pleaded for me to push them on the tree swing. I really wanted to, but I had a bad case of the sleepies and wanted nothing more than to curl up in the family room chair for a little R&R. That didn’t stop the two of them, especially Olivia, from asking incessantly. They finally gave up after a few minutes.

Lindsey asked if we would keep an eye on the boys so she could go tanning and then make a stop at Target for Bella’s b-day gift. Mindy agreed. Ashley showed up around 115pm. She had Stephen’s sister, Brittany, and her son Carter with her. They didn’t stay too long, though Olivia tried unsuccessfully to get me to push her on the swing one more time. 

I’m thinking that Lindsey was back around 215-230pm. She only had to fold one more load of laundry. She and the boys soon left. Suddenly our house was quiet again. It was just me, Mindy & Bella. Mindy and Bella left for a run to Target, Kohls and possibly Giant Eagle. While they were away I continued my napping ways. I took a three different naps while also watching college football, albeit passively.

Not sure the time when Mindy and Bella got home but I’m thinking it was near 5pm. I helped carry in the groceries, which most them were for Sunday’s family b-day party. Mindy’s stated goal was to get all the shopping done so she wouldn’t have to run out anywhere Sunday. Mindy asked if I was up for dinner out or in ahead of the 8pm Buckeye game. Still exhausted, I suggested we stay in, relax, and eat leftovers. Mindy liked the sound of that too, and commented that she was going to pour herself a beer.
Bella ate leftover pizza from her earlier party. Not sure what Mindy had, though I’m thinking it was leftover meatloaf. I wasn’t that hungry and did little more than snack on cheese, nuts, and a few chunks of the rotisserie chicken Mindy pulled for her chicken tortellini recipe. The three of us took Eiknarf on her evening walk together. It was a lovely evening for it. Sunny, yet cool. The ideal autumn evening. I poured a beer near 7pm – a Dog Fish Head Punk. Had it out in the garage for almost a year. Nevertheless, it was still quite good.

The Buckeye/Nebraska game kicked off just after 8pm. The Buckeyes offense was, well, offensive through the entire first quarter. I don’t think they managed more than about 20 total yards. We drew first blood, however, returning an interception for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. That lead didn’t last. Nebraska scored the next 17 points. Then thunder struck. The Buckeyes offense finally got off the schneid and scored two quick touchdowns and lead 21-17 about halfway through the 2nd quarter. But like most good teams do, Nebraska came right back and scored a touchdown to take the lead again. Our lead and joy were very short lived. Big plays were killing us.

From that point forward, something got into the Buckeyes offense. We reeled off two more quick touchdowns before the half to lead 35-24. Suddenly were playing like a top ten team. I was a little surprised when Mindy declared that she was heading to bed at halftime. That’s just something I can’t do, go to bed during a Buckeye or Viking game. We had a fire going in the fireplace too, by the way. I kept it fed throughout the evening. Bella was off playing in her room, so I had the entire downstairs to myself.
Nebraska came out after halftime and drove right down the field again with relative ease making sure we knew they weren’t rolling over and playing dead. Little did we know, the Buckeyes weren’t going to roll over and play dead, neither. Far from it. Over the next 12 minutes we scored three more touchdowns making it 56 – 31. All of the sudden it looked like a route. It was still hard to relax, especially after last year’s Nebraska come back. They were down by 21 points in the 2nd half and came back and beat us.

Nebraska looked beat but still managed a moderately late touchdown to make it 56-38. However, the Buckeyes were done. They were determined to rub salt on the wound. We scored a ninth touchdown to make 63-38. The stadium erupted. The game didn’t end until almost midnight. There was a record crowd in attendance, too – something like 106,621 folks.

At the same time the Buckeyes were playing, the Reds were playing their first playoff game in San Francisco. They were leading 3-0 last I saw. Just before I killed the TV and headed up to bed, I saw a 7th inning update. It was 3-1 Reds. Good night moon!

Fresh H.O.P., Fire, Smores

As expected, I was up Friday morning somewhere close to 540am. It wasn’t supposed to be as nice as it was on Thursday, but the rain originally forecasted was no longer in the picture. Shortly after wake time the sky was mostly clear and the temperature in the low 50s. I completed sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups. I headed to the PC just before 6am. There I enjoyed a few quiet moments before heading upstairs to wake Mindy.
Mindy asked if I planned to work from or my office. I planned to work from home. She then asked if I was going to run before or after bus time. After. I headed back downstairs around 615am where I played around online for another 15 minutes before getting busy with work.

My plan was to knock out perhaps the most grueling portion of a monthly report before bus time. It’s a very repetitive, analytical task that requires a lot of cut and paste then reading/analysis. It generally takes me a few minutes to get in a groove and the fact that it was 630am on a Friday morning only exacerbated that point. During the next 90 minutes Jacob & Mindy left for school and Bella was up going through here early morning paces. She asked if I was working from home because I was sick. Nope!
Just as I hoped and planned, I was able to completely knock out the analysis piece of that monthly report just before slipping out to the bus stop with Bella. I was still in my flannel shorts and t-shirt along with a fleece jacket. Met Kenny & Makayla at the bus stop. That same strange white car pulled up at the bridge. I immediately excused myself and walked over to ask the driver his purpose. Kenny shared that he had my back should I need him.

I had Eiknarf in tow, and the driver had his passenger window down about half way. It was a nerdy looking kid, maybe in his early/mid 20s sitting there eating McDonalds. After a quick greeting I inquired to his reasons for being there most mornings. I went on to briefly explain that I was only asking in the name of safety for our children. Said he works at the pharmaceutical company across from Wilson Rd golf course and likes how tranquil it is in our subdivision and looking over the bridge into the pond. Spends his break time there. As odd as he appears, I understand that logic having done similar things when I worked in the field for Time Warner. I had my favorite spots in various neighborhoods to park and rest – take a break.

The bus pulled up shortly after my return. Kenny and I both talked about trying to get the grass cut sometime during the day. We parted ways. I walked Eiknarf out front long enough for her to take care of her business. Back inside, I changed into my running clothes then checked in with work to make sure that nothing too pressing was lurking. Coast was clear. I headed off on my run around 840am.

Once again, my legs were incredibly tired and tight, though there wasn’t much if any pain involved. In the name of a little reprieve, I decided to trim my Friday run back to just 3 miles. I really enjoy running at the time on a work day. Helps frame my morning if not my whole day. The autumn weather has been ideal for it, too - 50-60 and sunny.
I was back home around 915am. I poured another cup of coffee then got settled into the rest of my work morning. I worked on monthly reports until 1110am when I took an early lunch break and headed out to cut the lawn. At the time, it was sunny and about 70 degrees. It took me about 35 minutes to mow as much as feasibly possible with the tractor. That kid in the white car was back again, presumably this time for lunch. Really? I kept my eye on him the entire time. Before any push mowing, I checked in with work again. Still fairly quiet. I headed out again to push mow. All totaled, it took me about 70 minutes to mow and blow. Finished around 1215pm. That might be record time, though I did edge or whack. Still had a pretty good edge from last week.

As it turned out, the afternoon was a whole lot busier from a reactive standpoint. Had a number of folks emailing and pinging for this or that. Honestly, it was a bit overwhelming. I did my best to juggle all the concerns addressing them one by one. At 215pm I decided it was time to get a much needed shower. It didn’t take long, but felt terrific.

The last quarter of my work day was busy, at least until about 4pm. Thankfully, things did finally slow down a little as 5pm neared. Jacob & Bella were home from school at their usual times. Mindy, however, was not. Don’t think she got home until almost 5pm. She tried calling my cell phone but I was too busy with work to answer. Sometime near 5pm Jimaken showed up to take Jacob to soccer practice. Earlier, Mindy had said she was taking him. I guessed that was the reason for the call I missed. Those two left around 5pm.

Mindy was home a little later. And after a walk down to the neighbors she returned to tell me that she stopped at CBC to pick-up a growler of IPA and three orders of wings. We weren’t going out anywhere. Instead, Bella was having a sleep over with a few of her friends. We were also keeping GD Olivia overnight and then taking all the kids to Skyzone the following morning for Bella’s birthday party.

I walked away from my work laptop around 6pm after taking care of one last issue my boss sent my way. Shortly thereafter, Mindy left to go after Jacob. Ashley & Stephen brought Olivia over while Mindy was gone. They hung out for no more than 5 minutes. Olivia was her usual happy go lucky self. She quickly ran off to catch-up with Bella, Makayla, and Emily. I made sure that they intercepted her out back before I headed back inside.

By 630pm the lovely weather from earlier was gone. It cooled off and clouded over in a hurry. Shortly after Mindy and Jacob were back we broke out the CBC wings. I might’ve had 4 or 5, but that’s it. Olivia asked if I would take her out back and push her on the tree swing. Sure. She and I headed out to play.

Olivia and I played out back from probably 45 minutes. It was almost dark when we headed back into the house. During that time she swung, played in the tree house, and tossed walnuts into the pond. While we were outsde, Bella’s friend Alana arrived. All the girls were upstairs playing in Bella’s room. Mindy said Bella hoped that I would agree to having a fire on the pondside patio. As darkness set in we headed out to get a fire started. By then it was chilly and windy. I got a decent fire going in no time at all. The only trouble was the west wind blowing smoke in everyone’s eyes.

Mindy brought out the makings for smores. While waiting for the coals to be just right, all the kids played ball tag in the dark. I’m guessing that we were out there for about an hour. It actually started to sprinkle almost as soon as we got out there. But by the time the kids had their fill of smores it was sprinkling a lot harder. We headed in for the night.

Since we all needed to be up relatively early, Mindy headed for bed soon after getting all the girls settled in Bella’s room. It was probably somewhere close to 10pm. I stayed up a while longer enjoying another beer while also playing on my PC. I headed for bed around 11pm.

Dark @ the Dairy Queen

For the first time in quite a while, I woke two ro three times after 4am before finally getting out of bed at 540am. Not only have I started getting out of bed ten minutes later than before, but I've been sleeping more soundly right up until time to rise.

I was downstairs doing sit-ups a short time later. In between sit-ups and curls I stepped outside onto the deck. It was perfectly clear - a rarity the past handful of days - and gazed towards the stars briefly contemplating when that light I was seeing left the star that generated it. I guessed it to be about 54 degrees. And it turns out I am a very good judge. I was dead on. This I confirmed shortly after finishing my exercise routine and settling in front of my PC with some coffee. I savored the few minutes I had before heading upstairs to wake Mindy and deliver her coffee. The day's forecast was incredible - sunny and 79. Friday not so bad either, but rain moving later that evening then chilly and rainy through the weekend.

I delivered Mindy's coffee around 610am, a couple minutes later than usual. I checked on Jacob, too. He was already awake, only this time I physically confirmed it by stepping briefly into his room. Back downstairs I spent several more minutes online before segueing into work. I'd be working from home so the transition would be a bit more blurred that otherwise.

I logged onto my laptop while also playing around on my home PC. I told Mindy earlier that I planned to delay my run until Bella was off to school. I like doing it that way. It's a nice transition. That left me almost 2 hours to do as I saw fit, be it work or play. Me working from home works well for both me and Mindy. For one, she doesn't need to cook my breakfast. And two, she doesn't necessarily have to hurry home to recover the kids from the school bus.

Jacob was out the door first around 645am. Mindy was out the door for school around 725am. I didn't plan to walk the dog until I headed out with Bella. We did that at our usual time. I was glancing out the front door when Chrissy pulled up and dropped Makayla. That's right. I agreed to see her on the bus that morning so Chrissy could take Jake to and ortho appointment. Me and the girls headed out a couple minutes later. As I anticipated she might, Eiknarf was overly eager to get outside. :)

The bus arrived a little early, just a minute or two after we congregated at the bus stop. Cool. Back home I checked on work and saw that everything was quiet. I headed out for my run very near 830am. It was an excellent morning for a run. I did it without a jacket, but with long sleeves and long running pants. Ideal. I ran the full 4.1 miles with stiff quads.

Home around 910m, I toweled off the sweat, poured a cup of coffee, then got busy with work. Being the first week of the month, my to-do list was still loaded with monthly report activities. I got an email from a peer's customer looking for assistance. I found that odd until I remembered him asking me to cover his absence on this date a couple weeks ago. That made my day that much tougher. I ended up taking care of three different issues for him throughout the day in addition to my own stuff. I was very productive, not only did I complete several proactive tasks but dealt with several reactive ones as well. Sandwiched in between I made Eiknarf and I some eggs.

I'm guessing it was near 2 or 3 pm when I headed up for a shower. That felt great. And just about the time my thoughts turned towards winding down my day, another peer pinged me asking if I would send out some proactive notifications about an outage. I agreed to do it, but begrudgingly so. Long story short, I ended up working until 7pm.

Mindy made chicken & noodles for dinner. I enjoyed those while working. I left to go after Bella at 710pm. Arrived with 5 minutes still remaining in the class. Bella asked if we could stop at the Dairy Queen. She's persistent. This time I didn't say no. Figured a yes was long overdue. I let her lead me there because I wasn't sure where it was. She was right, though, it's back by Lowe's in Georgesville Square. However, there was one big problem. It was closed. Sign out front said under new management reopening soon. Bella got quiet and remained that way until we got home. As we neared the house and passed the UDF just down the road, I offered to stop there for ice cream. She wanted nothing of it. Say for the last two months or so, Bella's been moodier than ever. Body chemistry?

It was already nearing 8pm, and there was an NFL game on TV, the Rams and Cardinals. I checked on work then played on my PC for a few minutes. Thing sere reasonably quiet so I put it aside and headed to the family room where I tuned into the NFL Network. Perfect! The game was just about to kick-off.
The view of the St Louis skyline brought back memories of my two trips there many years back. One, my first ever business trip for CompuServe. The other came a few years later to visit a customer. I stayed at the Adam's Mark, directly across the street from the Arch. We took in the city's culture, including dinner in a predominately Italian neighborhood, lunch in their bustling downtown, river boat casinos, and a tour of the Lewis & Clark museum beneath the arch, and then the arch itself. Fun!

The Rams scored a touchdown on their initial drive, a lead, as it turned out,that they would never relinquish. Mindy headed off to bed around 930pm. I stayed downstairs until about 1030pm but was asleep for the last 15-20 minutes. Good night moon!

Macy's & Mittens

No surprise. I was up around 540am again. I felt pretty good and definitely more rested than I did the morning prior. It was 550am by the time I was downstairs and had the coffee brewing, something I failed to take care of the evening before. No worries. I completed 50 sit-ups, windmills, then 50 push-ups all before 6am.

I could see that it was cloudy. A few minutes later I learned that it was a fairly warm 60 degrees. There wasn't much of a chance of rain. In fact, it was expected to clear throughout the day. Thursday is expected to be gorgeous - 78 and sunny. Looking further ahead, the bottom is supposed to drop out by Saturday with weekend highs only in the mid 50s and rain. It is autumn.

I woke Mindy near 605am just as I do most other days. Said she was extremely tired. Jacob was already up. Downstairs I played around online for another 10 minutes or so before walking away to meditate and stretch. Both went really well. Dressed and headed out the door for a run near 640am. My legs were tired but not that sore, if that makes any sense. I ran the full 4.1 miles.

I leashed up the pug as soon as I was back at the house and headed off on a walk. Mindy was loading up the Pilot for takeoff by the time we got back to the house. There were eggs waiting in the microwave. Mindy reminded Bella and me that nephew Joe was coming to clean our house. You know, we tidy up the house before house cleaning. Breakfast was good. Eiknarf thought so too. Asked Bella how it felt, this her first full day being 10. No different. She told Mindy and I that she expected to feel different. Drunk, maybe, I don't know. :)

Headed off to the shower near 740am. I wore black Dockers and an orange Polo. I looked like autumn. Used the blow dryer on my hair for the first time since having it cut last Thursday. Looked decent. It was already 805am by the time I got back downstairs. Bella and I headed out a few minutes later. She and Makayla took a 1/2 loaf of bread to the bridge to feed the ducks while Chrissy and I chatted. Bella was bummed when she noticed Makayla wearing shorts. Said her momma told her no. She had her jeans rolled up like knickers. Looked silly, but hey! Bus arrived a little late. No worries.
Headed back to the house to enjoy another quick cup of coffee before heading off to work. It was Wednesday which means customer site visit day. I made sure I had everything I needed to work remote. I left the house near 840am. Took 670 east.

Traffic wasn't a concern, hence I made excellent time. Arrived near 905am. Was settled and logged on by about 920am. We had our regularly scheduled 10am call. That went smoothly. Spent the morning working on monthly reports. I was in a groove until 1pm. At 1pm I left for lunch and headed to Macy's at Easton wanting to browse, look at recliners. We've talked about replacing the two Ragged Queen Anne style chairs in our livingroom now for a few years. I've never ventured anywhere other than the Men's Department at the Easton's Macy's. It was kind of fun searching out the furniture department.
It's funny, they have pretty much the same collection covered in the same patterns that they've had for several years running. It looks somewhat like a paisley. I like it, sort of. I snapped a photo of the Xmas department. Macy's used to be one of the first to ring in the Xmas shopping season. I had a sales associate approach and ask if I needed help as I snapped the photo. I turned to him and acted as if I were retarded. He quickly squirted away. My name is Eric! :)

I spent almost an hour at Macy's looking at and trying on some casual dress slacks. I was good and bought nothing. Back at the office a few minutes later, I had to park way out in the upper lot. Someone took my visitor spot. Spent the entirety of my afternoon working on yet another monthly report. I made some serious progress in a little more than 3 hours. It's a report I really didn't expect to start on until next week, so I guess I can consider myself ahead of the game slightly. Couldn't believe that it was 530pm. Dang, time flies! I headed for the Accord.

Called Mindy once I was safely merged onto 270. She asked my ETA. She was in route to Jacob's soccer practice. Said she'd be picking him up, too, since she needed to pick-up a few things at Kroger/Wal-Mart. Great! I made good time around 270 and half expected to beat her home. That wasn't the case. The Pilot was resting in the drive when I got home .

Dinner plans were already made. We were having leftovers - all, I believe, from Barley's, both from Tuesday evening and last Saturday. Mindy heated most of it on the pizza stone. Took about 15 minutes tops. I ate somewhat light, having only the 1/4 Cuban and two or three wings. OK, I might have eaten 3 or 4 fries too. Still, not a whole lot. It was good. Mindy asked which wings were which, since we had a combo of KC and Gates. I guessed incorrectly. She bit into a Gates and freaked! :)
Forgot to share my quick observation of Joe's cleaning prowess. Though to be fair, Mindy and the kids had already dirtied up the island counter with snack smegma. He did some things, it appeared, better than our past cleaner and then some not quite as well. I could see the effort everywhere throughout. Hell, even I'm not sure the how Rachel got our counter tops and stainless looking so impeccable. I plan to ask then share with Joe.

While I cleaned up after dinner, Mindy toiled with my laundry. That's right. She knows what's good for her! I think she left to fetch Jacob and run an errand or two around 7pm. I played on the computer editing some blog entries then headed for some TV just ahead of 8pm. I watched some How the Earth was Made. I was planning to watch the presidential debate at 9pm. Mindy was back around 8pm, best guess. She surprised me when she shared that she was heading up to the bedroom at 815pm. She took her laptop which I found a bit unusual. It's a porn thing.

I dosed a little and watched a little. Caught myself watching more of the How the Earth Was Made program instead of the debate. Once I realized it, I changed the channel. Now I don't care much at all for Mittens (aka Mitt Romney), but there's no doubt that he outshined Obama. I've never seen Obama more tongue tied and at a loss for fluidity in his delivery. Seemed caught off guard numerous times. I wouldn't call my response shocked, but it was certainly beyond surprised. Mittens still reminds me of a window salesman. " I see you have the original windows there in your home. Those are some real nice windows, aren't they. Have you ever thought of replacing them?" Yes, with plywood! :) But I've digressed.

After the debate I was no longer sleepy. I flipped back over to the How the Earth Was Made program watching an episode I've seen before yet still find fascinating, how the Great Lakes were formed. Very cool! At its conclusion I headed up to bed. It had to be near 11pm.

Bella Double Digits

 

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY BELLA

I was up at 540am in what has quickly become my new default wake time. It wasn’t too much longer before I was downstairs engaged in exercise. The coffee had just finished its brew cycle as I wrapped up curls. Outside it was cloudy and fairly warm. This I learned by poking my head out the back door. I poured a cup of coffee then headed to my PC.

I had to laugh the night before when Mindy asked that I bring her coffee a little early, say around 615am, so she could get up and put some cinnamon rolls in for Bella’s birthday. Uh, I usually bring your coffee at 605am. She laughed then said, “never mind”. I played around online for few minutes while also enjoying some coffee. As usual, come 605am, I took Mindy some coffee. Once she was up I checked on Jacob. He was already up and moving, too.

Instead of going right back to my PC, I headed to the family room where I did a very thorough meditation and then a healthy stretch. Then, instead of preparing for a run, I logged onto my laptop so I could follow up on that late night email I received from a customer. I spent about 20 minutes getting all that sorted out. It could’ve been worse. At 640am I quickly readied for a run. Given that the temp was a tweener – about 57 degrees – I opted to forego a jacket and instead wore a winter weight wicking shirt. The mock turtleneck was a bit bothersome, having not worn one since way back in mid-spring. Other than that, I was comfortable throughout the 4.1 mile run.

I decided during my run that I wasn’t going to hurry. I was going to enjoy the morning. Mindy was in the kitchen when I got back from my run, asked if I would hold off walking Eiknarf so that we could have a mini-birthday celebration for Bella. We put a single candle in a batch of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and then sang the happy birthday song. Bella was giddy with excitement. It was her 10th b-day!
Mindy prepared to leave right after the festivities, and I headed out with the pug, who was more than eager to go for a morning walk. Mindy was gone by the time we got back to the house. Bella was in a great mood. She confirmed that I still planned to stop at Kroger and bring cookies to her classroom. She made sure I knew that there are 25 kids in her class and two with some sort of food allergy. I was off to the shower by 740am.

Didn’t take too long to shower, but I did take the time to iron both my slacks and dress shirt. We were having a customer service week luncheon at the office with my VP. I wanted to look as crisp on the outside as I am on the inside.  Bella was ready to head out the door as soon as I got back downstairs. I quickly leashed up the pug and followed behind.

Bella asked that I have the cookies there before noon. I laughed because I planned to pick them up and deliver them on my way to work. The bus was on time. No sign of that curious looking white beater car. I ended up working from home until just before 9am. I arrived at the Cemetery Rd Kroger shortly after 9am. There I picked up 4.5 dozen cookies of three varieties. Was in and out of there fast. Bella’s school isn’t that far from Kroger. I was there by 915am. I headed directly to the office to sign in. There were two familiar receptionists working. They both gave me a look of concern when I announced my intentions. Shared that school policy no longer permits cookies or sweets of any sort. Said that it’s a published policy and that they’d have to consult with Mrs Leach, the principal.

Sure. I apologized for causing trouble and even offered to leave without delivering cookies. No, they insisted I talk to Mrs Leach. I could hear them whispering to her just around the corner. Soon Mrs Leach came out to chat, and pretty much work for word shared what the receptionists had already stated. Said they’re trying to promote a healthy life style. She went on to share that it’s even published on their website. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings but I never once have visited their website.  She took it even further suggesting that instead of bringing sweets (cookies, cakes, etc) that we bring erasers for the kids, or come in a read a story. OK, it was all I could do not to laugh in her face. Really? What 4th grader wants a stinking eraser? I was ready to give up and leave with my cookies when she said, but you paid money for them. I turned around and asked Mrs Leach what she wanted me to do. She said to do what I felt was right. OK. I signed in and walked the cookies down to Bella’s classroom.

Ms. Leahy saw me at the door and motioned me in. I was a tad concerned that she too might read me the riot act, so instead of waltzing in, I waited for her at the door. She was smiling ear to ear. I whispered my intentions and she gleefully shared that regardless of the stated policy she tells the kids to bring whatever they want. She welcomed me to come in for a minute. I talked with the class briefly. Handed the cookies over to Ms Leahy, snapped a picture of Bella and some of her classmates then asked them to help me wish her a happy birthday. It was fun but brief. I walked back to the office and signed out. There were a number of folks gathered in the office. I quipped that they better not have any cookies. 

Off to work. Took about 5 minutes to get to the office from school. It’s not too far at all. Arrived around 935am. I walked down to the fifth floor to fill my water pitcher and chatted with some old peeps. It was after 10am when I got down to business. The luncheon was slated to start at noon. I took care of several tasks, including closing the loop on a couple lingering issues from Monday. I was anxious to dig into my monthly reporting, but that wasn’t as urgent as the other tasks. I ended up spending the rest of my morning knocking those other tasks out.

Headed to the luncheon at 1205pm. There weren’t too many of us, as many of my peers work remote in other cities these days. I think there were seven or eight of us including my VP. It was an informal gathering and the chat light. Somebody brought up my running to which my VP quizzed me about the length of my streak. 15.5 years and counting. Some ten years ago, he had some folks interview me about my running streak and published in our department newsletter.

The conversation quickly turned to business, mostly questions about strategy/direction. The luncheon lasted about 1.25 hours in total. I headed back to my office near 120pm and eagerly dug into my monthly reporting. Talked with Mindy around 330-4pm. I shared the details surrounding the birthday cookie delivery. She laughed but shared that her school has tried to enforce a similar policy. We planned on taking Bella to dinner for her birthday. As of Monday evening her preference was Barley’s. Her call.

I left work just before 5pm. I talked with Mindy in route to home. She confirmed that Bella still wanted to dine at Barley’s. I wasn't home too long before we turned right around and headed off to Barley's. However, just before we headed out Bella opened her birthday presents from us - two American Girl doll things. Bella wasn't as perky as I expected. I learned that she picked Barley's by default after Mindy pooh-poohed a request to pick-up carryout at City Barbeque. During the entire drive there and then at dinner, Jacob kept asking us "You know what?, My name is Eric." It got old after the second time. He must've said it 50!

Barley's was quite full, especially for a Tuesday. Inside we got a booth near the bar. Tristen (aka Russell Brandt) was our server. Both Mindy & I ordered a Sunshine Dreamer, a session IPA. Quite good - lighter than most. Jacob ordered lemonade, Bella a Dr Pepper. We enjoyed two baskets of community fries before ordering our entrees. We ordered dinner after about 10 minutes. Mindy ordered a brisket quesadilla. Bella & Jacob ordered chicken tenders. I ordered a Cuban. Our food was good. Bella remained mopey through dinner. Mindy took it as her being ungrateful. I did not. Bella likes hanging with her peeps. She was concerned with eating, getting home, and hooking up with Kayla.

While there Calvin came in for about 45 minutes. Looks as good as he has since his bypass surgery. No longer using the walker. That's good to see. While in Barley's we could the rain pounding against the roof. Mindy & Bella went to look. Holy smoke was it ever raining! I got roped into the check. We had to wait an inordinate amount of time for Tristen to pick-up our check. He was at the booth next door taking a lengthy order for a very high maintenance customer.

Headed for home near 710pm. By then it was no longer raining, but the roads were still very wet. We weren't home long before Bella ran off to Makayla's. Meanwhile, I snuggled up in the familyroom chair. I fell asleep by 8pm and slept for almost 1.5 hours. When I woke up everyone else was off to bed. Bella was still awake, however. She dropped her doll over the balcony railing. Scared me. Gave her a hug and headed off to bed near 10pm.

Bengay & Pot Roast

I was up and out of bed at 545am after what I thought was a good night of sleep. I was still tired, however, as I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. I had to prep coffee having failed to do so the evening before. I looked outside as I slipped into my exercise shoes. It was partly cloudy and cool. I wasn’t very motivated but pushed through my calisthenics anyway. The push-ups took my breath away.

I played on the internet while the coffee brewed, among other things checking the score from the SNF game. Eagles beat the Giants. I was mildly surprised. The forecast called for mostly sunny skies early on but with clouds moving in with rain by midafternoon, and it was currently 53 degrees.

I prepped Mindy’s coffee alongside of my own. I took hers upstairs first. She asked how I was feeling. Tired! I grabbed my bed pillow on my way back downstairs thinking I might sofa dive for a few. I checked on Jacob on my way back downstairs, too. He was already up. I felt a tad queasy. My plan was to work from home so I had some flexibility in my schedule. I decided to try and get a little more sleep from the sofa. It was 615am when I first laid down. Often times I fail to fall fully asleep when I sofa dive like that. But this time I fell asleep without issue. I vaguely remember hearing Jacob toiling for his breakfast then later hearing Mindy leave for school and planting a kiss on my head. I woke for good at 740am feeling ten times better.

I warmed my coffee then headed to my desk where I checked in with work. I had a couple items needing my attention right away. No real surprise. I fooled around with work until it was time to head to the bus with Bella. We headed out at 810am. Of course Eiknarf came along too, this being her first walk of the day. Instead of standing around the bus stop, I walked her on one of our many paths where she quickly took care of business. Met Bella, Makayla, and Chrissy at the bus stop a few minutes later.
Chrissy and I chatted briefly after the bus pulled away. She commented about how sleepy I looked. She was right. I could feel it. I headed back home and immediately dug back into work. Once I had the two biggest issues needing my attention underway, I took that as my queue to head out for my run. While I was dressing for my run, Chrissy phoned on her way out of the subdivision letting me know that that strange white car was again out front parked on the bridge. I planned to talk to the guy on my way out. See what/why he’s stopping there each morning.

It was gorgeous - sunny and cool – about 57 degrees. The white car was gone once I headed out the door. It was a quiet, contemplative run. I did my usual 4.1 mile run reminding myself how fortunate and blessed I am. After all, an awful lot has gone right for me. I returned home in a positive frame of mind. After toweling off the sweat I poured another cup of coffee then dug back into work. I spent about an hour or so pulling monthly report data then took a break to make some eggs for me and Eiknarf. By then I was really hungry.

Had three scheduled calls, one for each of my main customers, although just internal folks. All three meetings went fine. The day flew by even faster than it does at the office. I couldn’t believe it when I looked up and saw that it was 130pm. Holy smoke! I took a few very short breaks, no more than 5 minutes each time.
The afternoon went as fast, or even faster than the morning. And Jacob was home around 250pm. He went about his own business completing his homework and then out to play. I confirmed that his dad was coming by to pick him up ahead of 530pm to take him to soccer practice. Bella was home just ahead of 4pm. Hardly seemed possible that the school day was over. At some point that afternoon I headed up for a shower. Felt good – refreshing!

I spent the last couple hours of my day starting my most detailed monthly report. I was so absorbed into the details that the time flew by. I ended up working until 6pm. In those last two hours, Jimaken came by and picked up Jacob and Makayla came over to play with Bella. Those two were playing on the laptop in the kitchen. Mindy called at some point after school letting me know that she was on her way to the funeral home in Lancaster to attend the calling hours for her former church minister. We were expecting her home until about 630-7pm.

Mindy had a beef roast in the crock-pot and it smelt terrific. The plan, I assumed, was to eat a late dinner once she was home later that evening. I walked away from my desk just after 6pm. Bella & Makayla played nicely all evening long. If they weren’t on the computer, they were playing with the new tea set that Bella got from Maw-Maw on Sunday.

Mindy called around 620pm to let me know that she was leaving the funeral home in Lancaster and expected to be about 45 minutes. She threw me a curve ball when she asked how dinner went. Uh, what do you mean? We haven’t eaten! She seemed surprised. Said she made the roast so we could eat in her absence. I never quite got that part, but thinking back, I wondered why she was telling me where the mashed potatoes and rolls were. Duh! I told her we would just eat when she got home. She seemed concerned that Jacob didn’t eat before soccer. Trust me I am sure he ate something. He’s very self-sufficient when it comes to eating. We laughed it off.

Mindy actually got home sooner than she predicted. I’m thinking it was 650pm. She quickly started organizing dinner but asked if I would be kind enough to pick Jacob up from soccer practice. Sure, dear. I Practice ends at 730pm. I left the house at 710pm. It didn’t take but 10 minutes to get there. Even still, for all intents and purposes, it was already dark. Can’t believe they’re out there playing soccer without the benefit of lights. Jacob was in good spirits. Said they scrimmaged the 14 year old team. Of course they lost, but said they expected to.

We were home by 735pm. By then it was completely dark- night time. It was one of those nights when the realization that summer is gone really hit home. As predicted, it clouded over sometime around 12 noon. But up until that point it hadn’t yet rained, though the sky looked at least somewhat threatening since about 2pm. We all sat down for dinner at 745pm, Makayla included. The pot roast was especially good. And save for some scant bits and pieces, we polished off the whole thing. By the time clean-up was in the bag it was 820pm. Where in the heck had the day gone? Working from home requires quite an adjustment.

At 830pm we tuned into MNF – Bears/Cowboys. Wasn’t sure who I would root for but likely the Cowboys since the Bears are in the Vikings division. If nothing else, two very entertaining quarterbacks – Romo & Cutler. Unless you’re a Bears fan, it’s really hard to like Cutler. He’s the poster child for NFL crybabies. Mindy and the kids were upstairs to read and for bed near 9pm. Before Mindy headed up, however, I asked her to rub my stiff left neck and shoulder. Had her rub in some Bengay too. I watched football until about 1015pm. By then I was sufficiently tired and ready for bed. And unless I’m mistaken it was the 3rd quarter of the game and the Bears had just gone ahead 17-7. I made the mistake of checking work email just before heading up to bed. Had a couple emails from folks apparently expecting me to be online. I chose to ignore both until the AM. I need my rest too.