First Day of School - Bus Stop @ 655am

First day of school for Jacobella. And this marks a milestone of sorts in that we’ve put the walking the kids to the bus stop era behind us. His school year both Jacob and Bella will be riding the middle school bus and the pick-up time it an early 653am.

In order to ensure both kids were up and off to school on time, Mindy got up near 6am while I remained in bed a while longer. I was up around 630am though, with plenty of time to snap a couple school year beginning photos. Both kids downplayed any excitement but I could see and hear it in their voices.

And while they headed to the bus stop on their own, I soon followed with the pug just so I could get more photos as well as fostering perhaps a little embarrassment.  I’d already completed my calisthenics, so back at home all I had to do was meditate, stretch, and run.

that’s school’s back in session, looks like somebody turned the summer weather back on… finally heading back into the upper 80s and low 90s along with high humidity. Of course Mindy’s school doesn’t begin for another couple weeks or after Labor Day, but at least she’ll have A/C for the first time ever. I ran 4.1 miles on an absolutely gorgeous summer morning. Worked up a good sweet.

Left for work after a leisurely breakfast, packing my lunch and taking a shower. Arrived across town near 10am. Busy day working from the customer’s headquarters. 1pm meeting came around in a hurry. Meeting went for just short of an hour. Busily, I stuck around the office until 430pm.

Called mom on my drive home. Hadn’t talked with her in a couple weeks. She shared that she’s slated for a stress test on Friday and then provided the results are good, then out-patient surgery the following Monday to perform a biopsy on her bladder or kidney.

At home, Bella had little to share about her first day of school, but promised to share more come dinner time. She was zonked and slumbering on the sofa. Jacob was at soccer practice. Mindy made steak fajitas for dinner using the leftover steak from CBC. They were very good. After dinner, Bella went back to the sofa and promptly fell asleep. Mindy and I agreed that she might very well be down for the count. That ended up being the case sans a brief respite before heading upstairs to bed.

I headed to bed around 930pm but couldn’t sleep and ended up back downstairs after 10pm. Bella, after sleeping all evening, ended up downstairs with me. She headed back to bed two or three times only to return. I ended back in bed near 11pm.

Feeding 35

Warm and humid – 87 sunny
Ran 4.1 miles
Kids last day of summer
Work from the office
Mindy asked that I pick Jacob up after soccer practice at 6pm which is just around the corner from my office. After leaving work, but before heading to the middle school soccer field, I made two stops, one at Home Depot and then another at Lowes for a few more electrical supplies.
Made it to the soccer field just ahead of 6pm.
Briefly forgot that Mindy asked me to attend a quick parent/coach meeting.
The coach was reviewing how the season would unfold and then all the details for game days, etc. The two biggies, the kids are required to dress up on game days and that the parents are expected to supply sinner for the entire team each game day. Wow! When asked, he shared that we’d need to feed 35 kids. Whhhat? We were there until 630pm. By then I was hungry.

Dad over for dinner – grilled burgers.

MNF – Browns/Redskins. Watched 2nd half from bed.

Brunch with the Lithgo's

Slept in until almost 8am, and even then I probably could’ve slept a lot longer, but the thought of sleeping that late drives me up a wall. Downstairs I started coffee and played on the internet. We were meeting Ben & Ryan at CBC for brunch but not until noon. It must’ve been about 930am when I finally headed out for a run. Ran three miles under mostly cloudy skies and 65 degrees.

After my run and before a shower, I decided to do a little electrical work in the basement. My goal was simple: removed the 50amp/220 breaker that was used for the hot tub effectively freeing up two breaker spaces in the electric panel for 110v breakers. At the same time I removed the hot tub wiring and checked out the breaker box rail system to determine if the new tandem breaker I bought would work in our box. As it was, the documentation was unclear, so the only way to tell was by visual inspection. For it to fit, the rail would have to have slots in it to accommodate the hook clamp design of the tandem breaker. I removed the wiring and 220v breaker with the power on but was very careful.

With the breaker removed, I could see that the rail system did not have the slots required to host the tandem breaker model I bought. Dang it! I was more than a bit discouraged. I asked Mindy if she minded stopping at Lowes after brunch so I could return the tandem breaker as well as the 20amp GFCI single breaker I bought. While researching the tandem breakers I learned that we’ll be much better off going with a standard 20amp breaker and using GFCI protected outlets where required because anything on the circuit with a motor – I.E. bathroom exhaust fan and/or a fridge- can trip a GFCI.

We left for CBC near 1130am and arrived well ahead of Ben & Ryan. We opted for the same table we had the week prior with David and Anita and soon ordered drinks. Mindy went with a spicy bloody Mary and I went with a Bodhi. Ben & Ryan showed up at 1205pm. Once seated and settled, they ordered bloody Mary’s too – the same one as Mindy. Mindy ordered some pretzel bread as an appetizer.

Once everybody had their drinks, we placed food orders. Like the week before, I went with the Brew House breakfast. Ben followed suit. Mindy again ordered the chicken and waffles, and I believe that Ryan did as well. Breakfast was delicious. Stayed with just the one beer. Guessing we were there until 1pm or so. Parted company in the lot, Mindy and I off to Lowes. Ben and Ryan heading for home.

Arrived at the Hilliard Lowes near 130pm. Mindy opted to wait in the car while I headed in to return the breakers. No questions. It was any easy return. Instead of heading back to the car, I decided to look a bit deeper at their breaker offerings, possibly looking for the other QO load center tandem breaker type. Sure enough, they did in fact have the other type in stock though this model in a sealed package. I couldn’t open it to reveal the seating type but on closer inspection it appeared to have the seating type used in my QO load center. I picked up a 15a & 20a model. All told, the two of them were $10 cheaper than the two I’d just returned, but more importantly, they seemed to be the more in line with what I needed.

At home, my first order of business was to play a little guitar and then taking a nap. Together, that lasted about half an hour. With the front still off my load center panel, I popped in one of the two new breakers to make sure they fit. It fit perfectly. Yeah! And since I will need future access to the panel to run new electrical feeds, I left the cover panel off.


Upstairs, I got comfy in the family room chair watching NFL preseason football, and once again fell asleep. At the same time, Mindy headed upstairs for a nap. The kids got home around 330pm, and I am pretty sure that Mindy was still asleep. I woke a few times feeling sticky and warm. I figured Mindy mis-set the AC thermostat settings. It was set on 72 degrees, blowing, but a balmy 76 in the house. I checked the vent nearest the thermostat and realized that it was blowing air but it was warm and moist. Not good! Having been down this road twice past, the first think I did was visually inspect the AC lines to the compressor from the window. No ice build-up, which was a good a thing. But I also noticed that the fan in the compressor wasn’t running. Uh-oh!

I headed outside on the deck and tapped on the unit thinking I might jar it free. I could hear a steady humming sound as if it might be stuck. No such luck. Anyone familiar with Occam’s Razor knows that the simplest solution is generally the one. And thinking of my recent actions, I headed to the basement and to the electrical panel box where I found the A/C breaker mis-seated. It sparked as I pushed it back onto the rail and immediately I heard the compressor kick on. Relief! Apparently knocked it loose when I removed the hot tub breaker earlier that morning. Cool air was now flowing into the home. A little bit later when Mindy was up, I asked if she noticed how warm it was. Said she did. I told her what happened.

The grandsons were coming over to stay the night and spending their Monday with Mindy since base would be closed ahead of the start of the new school year. Mindy asked Lindsey to bring them around 730pm. That time came around fast. Even before Rocky & Landon showed up, our kids were barking about being hungry. Mindy had talked about grilling burgers but neither of us were hungry so we put those back in the fridge. I agreed to order the kids pizza, or more accurately stated, pay for pizza.

The kids of course wanted something other than Minelli’s, which as far as I was concerned, I wasn’t having any, so I didn’t care where it came from. They opted for Poppa John’s and Bella agreed to order it. I helped coach her, since she wasn’t sure how to do it. We reviewed the script but she got flustered once they answered so I asked for the phone. I did the order. We had a coupon for two large pizza with ip to 5 toppings each for $11 each. I ordered one with pepperoni and the other with double pep and double cheese. The woman advised that they would have to charge us more since cheese doesn’t count as one of the ingredients. What? Yep, fine print on the coupon that extra cheese will result in an additional charge of $2. Hell no! I changed it to quad pep then. What a farse.

We ended up not only with our own kids and grandkids, but all the island kids too. I didn’t mind sharing but I insisted that our four kids get to eat first since we didn’t plan to have the entire neighborhood over for dinner. Proved to be plenty of pie for all.

Headed for bed near 9pm where I watched Sunday Night football from bed.

Electric Kayaker

I was up, out of bed, and downstairs near 8am. It was a chilly mid-August morning, sunny but only 49 degrees. I stepped out on the deck and glanced at my lovely flowers on the east side of the deck. Noticed something unusual about the giant dahlias I planted from bulb – their giant blooms were lying on the ground. I stepped down off the deck to inspect only to discover that they’d been vandalized along with a bell pepper plant by some critter, and they got both of them too. I felt mad and sad seeing such beautiful flowers that I’ve nurtured from bulb to bloom all summer long destroyed in one night. I was angry about the pepper plant too, but have come not to expect much from them anymore, despite vigilant efforts to protect them from critters with tomato cages and tight chicken wire. Whatever it was, it was strong enough to pull both the cage and wire mesh away before devouring the plant down to bare stems. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Inside, I went about a quiet morning enjoying coffee and internet until maybe 915am when I segued into a run. I wore a running shirt to combat the slight chill, which felt really good. The 3 mile run was almost effortless, my mind elsewhere the entire time.

I felt a bit anxious inside, due mostly to no solid plan for the day and with so many options – perhaps too many. We could hike, bike, boat, kayak, or work in the yard or basement. The options were plenty. Mindy was up by my return and on the deck with the pug. I topped off my coffee cup and joined them. We hung out on the deck for quite a while. I showed Mindy the damaged flowers and veggies. She was sad about it too. I trimmed back the tattered remains in hopes of salvaging what we could.

Without a clear plan for the day, Mindy soon took to reading from the deck. Me, I was still suffering from option overload. It’s a difficult feeling to convey, but one that drives me batty. It must’ve been around 1130am when I decided to take charge of my happiness and declared that I was going to kayak the pond, something I hadn’t done since the first week we bought those darn things. By then it had warmed nicely into the low 70s and still under cloudless skies. I opted to launch from behind the shed, perhaps the deepest water in the entire pond save for right up against the dam. I took a bottle water and packed my phone in the waterproof bag.

I am amazed at how beautiful the pond is once behind our property near Agee island. From past experience I knew to go around the island to the west. Just beautiful as well as peaceful. And there were zero geese anywhere to be seen either. There were a couple blue heron who took immediate notice of my presence. The flew off to nearby tree branches, and largely out of sight while I paddled around. I paddled around for an hour or so, very much enjoying the tranquility. And perhaps more importantly quieting the anxiousness I’d felt all morning.

Back at the house I pulled out and washed down the kayak leaving it and my water shoes in the sun to dry before stowing. Mindy was still reading, obviously enthralled with the novel. Having eaten only a banana prior, I made a little snack and then took a brief nap. Felt nice! Waking slowly from my nap I was surprised to find that the sun was no longer shining and veiled behind thin clouds despite a sunny forecast and zero percent chance of rain. I briefly toyed with the idea of washing my Accord and BM’er, something I haven’t done for a couple months running.

However, instead of doing anything outside, I decided my time might be best spent doing something in the basement, namely starting the wiring. Without mention of my intentions, I headed to the basement with a printed copy of my wiring plan and all the necessary materials. There I spent perhaps the next 2 or 3 hours wiring all three of the lighting branches, 17 cans in all. The wiring went largely without a hitch or any swearing.  I did have to bail myself out of one minor mistake but that was solved rather easily.

By the time I was done was closing in on 5pm. It was still cloudy outside and Mindy shared that it sprinkled rain on and off. Ugh! Where the hell did that come from? She also shared that she’d all but finished the novel she’d started just that morning. As much as I like to read, that’s just something I can’t do – dedicate an entire day to reading.

I walked the pug and then took a shower. Mindy got a shower too. At some point we made plans to head to dinner at CBC. We are so creatures of habit. The only thing about dining at CBC was the fact that we made plans to have brunch there Sunday with Ben & Ryan. CBC overload!!! Thinking it was near 630p when we arrived.

For the first time in a while they had Bodhi on tap, and it was cloudy, too! Really yummy. Vince promptly hooked us up with some risotto balls. We sat next to a couple from Dayton that were in town for a bike ride and decided to check out the local beer scene. We talked with the talked with the two of them for an hour or so.

I ordered a 2nd Bodhi about the time that Mindy ordered dinner. I planned to order some food too but wanted to wait a while. Mindy went with steak. And about ten minutes after her meal arrived Vince asked Mindy how the steak was. She ordered it medium pushed towards rare, but it came with just a hint of pink in the center. Without hesitation, he went to fetch another. By then she’d eaten half, if not more. At the same time, I ordered the Cuban burrito, and then worked on the rest of Mindy’s first steak. She asked Vince to make the replacement steak to-go order while I woofed down half my burrito. It was delicious. I had them pack what remained for home.

A few months back they added a couple new CBC t-shirt colors. I really like the blue on gray and asked Mindy for one. She happily bought me one to go with the two others I already have in my closet.

Thinking it was 930pm when we arrived home, and it wasn’t too long before Mindy was off to bed. I wasn’t tired, so I cracked another beer and spent another hour or so watching the Vikings preseason game against Arizona via Yahoo. They won easily and seemingly played well. Headed for bed around 11pm.

ET iPhone Home

I was up near 630am and still a little groggy. However, once calisthenics were completed I was wide awake. Enjoyed coffee and internet for a solid hour. Also followed up on a couple lingering work issues before giving way to meditation, a stretch, and ultimately my run.

Before heading out on a run, I went to the basement to find a box for mailing David’s iTouch. I brought up the packing tape too. I left it setting on the island figuring to address it once I was back from my run. Got out the door near 8am, a bit later than I hoped.

It was a gorgeous morning – sunny and 57 degrees, chilly enough that I wore a short-sleeved running shirt. My run went well. Back at the house somewhere close to 830am. Before starting my breakfast, I boxed up and addressed David’s iTouch for mailing. It didn’t take too long. Enjoyed a couple eggs, toast and fruit before heading up for a shower. Took Mindy some coffee.

Ready to go by 915am. We enjoyed a few minutes together on the deck before I left for work in the BM’er. It was a spectacular day to drive the BM’er, sunny skies and temps hovering near 70. I exited to the west on Hilliard-Cemetery in order to stop at the post office ahead of work. Good news, no line whatsoever. About $4 to mail the small box first class. I figured it would be more. In and out in the matter of about 2 or 3 minutes. Arrived at the office shortly after 930am.

The office was well attended, especially for a Friday. Like me, one of my peers who normally works at home on Friday’s was there, too, since she also worked at home on Thursday. We laughed about it. Stayed busy through the lunch hour at which point I made a Home Depot/Lowes run. There I planned to look for and purchase tandem circuit breakers made for our current breaker box. Turned out, they were out of them at Home Depot, so I made the half mile drive from there to Lowes who did have them. Frustratingly, they actually sell two types for my make and model, one twice the price of the other. And the documentation as to which one fits my panel box was sparse. I ended up rethinking my electrical design and opted instead to purchase only one 15amp tandem breaker and then one 20amp GFCI breaker to feed both the new bathroom and kitchen. The GFCI was really pricey – about $70. The tandem breaker was about $20.

Back to work for the rest of the afternoon, and I was there until 5pm or so. By the time I left the place was darn near empty. Mindy wanted to leave the house for niece Julie’s birthday party at 530pm in an effort to be there near 6pm. Given my druthers, I would’ve preferred to have an hour to decompress from the work day. It was supposed to be a kidless weekend but Mindy wanted the kids to attend Julie’s party too, so we agreed to drop them off at Jimaken’s place after the party. It wouldn’t be a big deal. They both live up off of Sawmill Rd.

We left for Julie’s party shortly after 530pm. I wore what I had on, only freshened up a bit. Mindy made cucumber salad to take along. She also took a bottle of wine. Sawmill Rd was its usual self – heavily traveled, but we still made decent time. Arrived near 6pm. Julie & Katie were using their garage to host the food and drink – completely cleared out of the usual garageable stuff. I love the look but also recognize that it’s an impossibility in our world of stuff. Oh so we e stuff! 

The food spread was good and grew as more family arrived. There was Jet’s pizza with extra thick crust and yummy toppings to go along with all the sides the family members brought. I was careful not to eat more than enough to sustain me – one piece of pizza and a couple of the side salads. Plus, I drank only bottled water. I was banking on a stop at Barley’s later on the way home.

Once everyone was there the party moved around back to the patio where the kids played volleyball. It was a gorgeous evening, by the way, still sunny and somewhere near 80. I opted to skip the volleyball in order to not break a sweat. Didn’t want to get all sticky. Mindy partook in a couple helpings of the food and a few glasses of wine. I, in turn, stayed true to my resolve to drink only water.

We did the usual family birthday stuff – conversation, cards, gifts, and dessert. I’m thinking that it was near 830pm when we prepared for departure. Took Smoky Row to Snouffer to Sawmill to Bethel Rd. And I am quite sure that we got stopped at every stinkin’ traffic light along the way. By the time we arrived at Jimaken’s condo, it was all intents and purposes dark. I waited in the car while Mindy walked the kids in.

From Jimaken’s place we headed to Riverside Dr and then south all the way the way to Barley’s. By then I’m guessing it was near 910pm. Not much of a crowd, and only a couple of the ole regulars – Steve & Grandpa Tom. We cozied up next to the two of them. Said they were just talking/thinking of us.

Still something very comforting to me about Friday’s at Barley’s. And I suppose that’s because it’s become part of my very fabric. Heck, it’s been part of my Friday’s for some 15 years. Like I have the past few visits, I ordered a Barley’s Pale ale to start. Mindy went with only water. While Mindy chatted it up with G. Tom, I talked with Steve, sharing our chaotic thwarted burglary story as well as the many subsequent middle of the night paranoid wakings.

I ended up having a second beer, only this time a ZIPA (my new pattern). And by then I was hungry, too, so I ordered a brisket quesadilla. It was exceptional. We hung at Barley’s until almost 11pm. As we left for home I took notice of how I felt – complete. Barley’s, you complete me.  At home we were promptly off to bed.

Cockadoodledoo

I was up for work around 630am and put myself through the usual paces of exercise, coffee, internet, meditation and stretching and a run. Mindy was up before I headed off on the run since she needed to leave for her school retreat around 9am. I ran the usual 4.1 miles and was home by 945am. Before she left, Mindy reminded me that Bella needed to put in her contacts but wear them for no more than 4 hours.

I didn’t expect to be as busy as I ended up, but that’s how it goes sometimes. I worked harder than had I been in the office. I didn’t even get a break around the lunch hour to address the lawn, and since I’d be working from the office on Friday, it wouldn’t likely get taken care of until the weekend.

It was noon before I remembered that I should wake Bella. Left to herself, she might’ve slept all day. I reminded her about putting in her contacts, too, and asked that she holler if she needed help. She didn’t. Once she was up, she got ‘em in just fine.

Mindy/Jacob arranged for a friend to take him to soccer practice and bring him home. Think it was near 345pm when Jacob headed out to wait for his ride. Mindy called to make sure that Jacob got off to soccer practice as planned and then to ask about Bella and her contacts. I reported that all had gone well.

Thinking it was near 5-530pm when Mindy got home from retreat. She was excited to share that they gave her a new laptop. She was also excited to share that she saw and talked with Rena, whom we haven’t seen or heard from in a couple years. We discussed dinner and I offered that we visit Roosters. Bella wasn’t too excited but we figured Jacob would be. I was cravin’ their donkey wings! Mindy liked the idea too. We weren’t expecting Jacob home until 630pm or so.

As planned, Jacob was home from soccer practice near 630pm and after an incredibly quick shower, ready to head off to Roosters. No wait for a table. Our server’s name was Jaycie or something like that. She actually wrote it on a napkin and left it at our table. She was obviously pregnant and due sometime very soon. Mindy and I ordered CBC IPAs, but kept it just to one. Jacob, Mindy and I ordered wings. And I think that Bella ordered a burger. The kids ordered personal appetizers. Jacob loaded fries, and Bella, cheese stix.

All through dinner, and despite the kids asking her to stop, Mindy flirted with a baby girl at the table next to us. She couldn’t have been more than 10 months old. She also talked to our server about her fast approaching due date, name, and father. Like the week before at Roosters, I couldn’t eat all of my wings, instead only seven. They’re enormous. Mindy and I packed our leftovers into one box for home.

With a belly full of wings, I didn’t think I was long for the evening, but ended up watching most, if not all, of the NFL preseason football game between Chicago and Jacksonville.

Contacting Bella

I woke near 640am still a little tired after a late night and beers the night before. However, after calisthenics and coffee I felt just fine. Went through my usual routine: coffee, internet, meditation, stretching and a run. Thinking it was near 8am by the time I headed out. Ran a shirtless 4.1 miles. Felt good.

Back home I whipped up some eggs and toast and then packed a lunch. Off to the shower around 905am. Left for work around 940am. It was nice and sunny, and we were expecting a high near 80. Arrived across town near 10am and was quickly settled in and busy. Fairly quiet day from a face-to-face personal interaction perspective but not from an action perspective. Joined a couple conference calls and accomplished lots. Stayed busy, worked straight through the work day.

Bella and Mindy had eye exams scheduled with Dr. Julie, and I am pretty sure that their appointment was late in the afternoon. Talked with Mindy around 4pm. Bella got contacts for the first time. Diagnosed as near sighted. She’d have the next several days to try them out, each day wearing them longer than the day before.

I was actually home from work before the two of them. Pretty sure that Mindy dropped Jacob at soccer practice on the way to their eye exam. Jim was by to pick-up Bella around 5pm. We didn’t plan for a date night since we were out the night before. Relaxing at home was just what the doctor ordered. I played, napped and read.

Sometime that evening Mindy reminded me that she’d be at school retreat the following day and needed me to work from home to keep an eye on Bella. Until the reminder, I’d forgotten all about it. I planned to send my boss an email early Thursday AM letting him know not to expect me in the office. And since I need to be in the office two days a week, I thought I might work from the office on Friday.

Off to bed well ahead of 10pm.

The Pour / Lovetting Lyle

Up around 630am. Exercise, coffee, internet, meditation and a stretch all completed by 730am or so. About 745am when I headed off for a run. By then the concrete guys were already onsite again and it looked like they intended on pouring concrete, though the mixer truck wasn’t yet on site.

Completed a 4.1 miles run without any trouble. By the time I was back home the mixer truck was there and they were preparing to pour concrete. Rain was in the forecast but the heavy stuff was apparently past us, or at least I hoped so. By the time I enjoyed breakfast, showered and dressed, the concrete was poured and already being worked. And when I left for work it appeared all they had left to do was brushing and cutting. They didn’t mess around!

I left for work thanking the crew of about 6 guys for doing a good job. Like the day before, I asked Mindy to ping me if something came up. She and Bella had an eye doctor appointment that afternoon, and I am pretty sure that Mindy was taking Jacob to school to have pics taken and lockers assigned. However, it might’ve been Bella’s day. I can’t be sure.

My work day went day went smoothly. I stuck around the customer’s campus until our weekly staff call wrapped up around 430pm. I soon headed for home. I quickly checked out the concrete work, now completed and staked/taped off. At first blush, anyway, it looked nice. I planned to inspect it more thoroughly later. I could see right away that I’d need to get a load of top soil to build up the edge, but that’s something Tom, the owner, shared with me last May when he came out for the measure and estimate, so by no means was that a surprise. In fact, they cleaned up, spruced up better than I expected. Looked like they took care not to damage the irrigation system which runs under most of the walk on the east side of the driveway.

Mindy, Ben, Ryan and I were all heading to the Lyle Lovett concert at the LC Pavilion in the arena district. We expected them at the house at 530pm. Ben arrived near 530pm. He was alone, but anticipated that Ryan would soon show up, too. He brought a couple six-packs of beer, some milk stout and then some Hop Nosh! I enjoyed just one beer before we planned to leave. Jacob was at soccer practice and Bella off to school orientation with neighbor Chrissy. Dad was coming over to intercept both kids around 8pm and then hang out until we returned home around 11pm.

Ryan showed up around 545pm. We hung out for perhaps another 15-20 minutes before piling into the Pilot and heading down to the LC. It was surprisingly cool, by the way, especially for mid-August, only around 70 degrees with clearing skies after sprinkling on and off most of the day, Expected it to drop into the mid 50’s overnight.

Like our last LC concert, we parked in the garage across the street for $5. Good deal! We brought a few beers in a small cooler which we enjoyed from the comfort of the Pilot before heading over to the venue. We stopped at the Music Bar adjoining the LC where we all took advantage of the facilities and then Ben and I got a couple beers.

Into the LC near 7pm. We opted for lawn seats this go round, which afforded us the opportunity to deploy our state-of-the-art picnic blanket for the first time (it along with the concert tickets were my Father’s Day gift). We plopped down center stage first row of the lawn seating. The lawn never did fill near capacity but far more late arrivers than early. Also, as expected, the crowd older.

Guessing it was near 740pm when Lyle and his big band came on. He’s looking a little gray and older but sounded, played fantastic. And there must’ve been as many as 12 others in the “big band” Each of them were extremely talented and were given an opportunity to sport their wears throughout the show. During the show, enjoyed a couple more beers over the next 2.5 hours. Also worthy of mention, we ran into the same women we ran into at ASBCO the previous Saturday - the women Mindy befriended at MRM last winter. In addition, we ran into some distant neighbors at the show.

Spectacular, crisp performance. Played a really long time. Enjoyed it very much. Mindy commented more than once how much she enjoyed it too. Prior to the show, she hadn’t really heard of Lyle Lovett, but admitted that a few of his songs were familiar. And like a lot of folks, she knew of him as the guy that was once married to the “Pretty Woman”.

Got home around 11pm. Not sure about the others, but I was incredibly sleepy. Ben & Ryan didn’t hang out long, and neither did dad. He left as soon as we got home. Made plans to do brunch with Ben & Ryan at CBC the following Sunday. Mindy and I were in bed by 1120pm.

Waters back to Wateree

I was up for work near 615am and promptly downstairs engaged in calisthenics. At the time I was the only one up, and I didn’t hear anyone else stirring either. Like most mornings, I enjoyed coffee, internet, meditation and a stretch before heading out on a run. It was cloudy but also warm. As a result, I ran shirtless.

I did my 4.1 miles and was more than a little surprised to find the concrete guys at the house finishing the dig and forms for out new service walk. Heck, it wasn’t even 8am. One of the guys asked what I was running from. I think he was a little surprised when he realized that I was also the homeowner. I joked with him, assuring him that it was OK before heading back inside to finish my ready.

By then, Mindy, David and Anita were all up and going about their business. David and Anita were heading home, though I wasn’t sure what time they’d be heading out. Mindy had eggs ready and waiting. After woofing down my fill, I headed upstairs for a quick shower. By the time I was back downstairs and ready, David and Anita were loading their luggage into their car for home. We exchanged the usual pleasantries and said our goodbyes. Soon they were on the road for home. Think it was near 845am when they pulled away.

I took a few minutes to enjoy another cup of coffee before heading off to work. Asked Mindy to keep me posted of any significant issues with the concrete guys. As it was, they weren’t sure how far they’d get. The possibility existed that they would even pour if time allowed. I wasn’t willing to hold my breath since they still had lots of work left to do just to get it dug and formed.

As for Mindy and the kids, they didn’t have a whole lot planned. I was off to work before 9am. Shortly after getting set-up and underway, David sent a text asking if we had his iTouch. A couple hours passed before Mindy let me know that she found it on the counter. I let David know. The work day kept me more than busy, in fact so much so that I lost track of time. As he usually does, David sent a few texts sharing their whereabouts. Seemed they were taking their time getting home.

I didn’t talk with Mindy again until near the work day’s end. Pretty sure I left for home around 430pm. Mindy shared that the concrete guys were gone and that they had it dug and formed. Said they hoped to return on Tuesday for the pour. As dry as it had been up to that point, of course rain was in the Tuesday forecast. Sometimes that’s just how it works.  I wasn’t confident that the work would get done on Tuesday, but then again, I wasn’t in a hurry either. Instead, I want quality work.

Pretty sure we had leftovers for dinner. Lord knows we had a fridge full. Rather relaxing evening. David and Anita got home around 6pm. Sent a text sharing as much. I was tired. After dinner I did a little reading and then predictably took a nap. Went to bed early, too. I wouldn’t say we had a wild weekend but we’d definitely been on the go since Thursday evening.

CBC & Schiller Park

Up around 730am, I was a little surprised that both David and Anita were still in bed. That’s unusual. I started coffee and played on the internet before being joined by David about 30 minutes later. The plan was to do brunch at CBC but not until noon or so. I didn’t head off on a run until 930am or possibly even a little later. I was a warm, sultry morning, by the way.

While off on my run, David & Anita made a run up north to visit with his grand kids, Aiden and Gilley. Among other things, he planned to drop off one of those southern pork butts. After my sweaty three mile run, I decided to use the idle time to mow the lawn. Before any of that I had to move the Pilot to the street. No biggie. I had to alter my approach to mowing after the concrete guys dug out the new walk. Spent about 60-70 minutes mowing and blowing. Finished up around 1130am and rushed off for a shower. David and Anita were back shortly thereafter.

Left for brunch at CBC near 1150am. IN the back of my mind I figured we’d stop at Schiller Park after breakfast to look for those Keebler Elf doors. I didn’t say anything, however, not wanting to rouse the kids since I knew they’d complain about the add-on adventure.

CBC opens at 11am, and an hour after opening they still weren’t terribly busy. The six of us were first seated in a booth, but soon moved to the large round table in the back corner which is by far my favorite Mindy & the kids weren’t too excited with the move but I insisted. I don’t like feeling cramped in a booth.

Beth, the former Barleyite, was our server. All along, I had been looking forward to ordering their green bloody Mary but was sad to learn that it has since been removed from the offerings.  It was one of the best I’ve ever had. Went with the Mexican variety instead. And as it turned out, it wasn’t very spicy at all. I added lots of salt and pepper.

Mindy & Anita ordered the chicken and waffles while David and I ordered the Brew house breakfast. Jacob went with the huevos rancheros while Bella went with Belgian waffles. All good stuff. Bella plopped her two giant sausage links on my plate. I was stuffed by the time my plate was clean. David picked up the entire tab. Thanks David.

Once in the car, and much to children’s chagrin, Mindy announced that we were stopping at Schiller Park to seek and find the Keebler elf doors. It’s not even a mile from CBC. There in a jiffy. We parked along the park’s western edge near Deshler Ave. Gorgeous old city park, much like Goodale in the short North and Westgate on the hilltop. Lots going on too. Mindy and the kids set out together to find the two elf doors while I largely walked off on my own while David and Anita strolled just behind. I think it was Bella who found the first one near the western edge in a rather large oak tree. We all took a look and even got some pics. Mindy and the kids continued looking for the second only to learn later that the door has be n removed by vandals. Mindy found a FB link addressing the vandalism.

Gorgeous afternoon – warm too. Most of us needed to use the bathroom thus were eager to head for home. Hard to believe they don’t have functioning facilities on prem. We headed for home arriving around 3pm. Mindy and I scattered off to sneak a nap. Mindy to our bedroom, and me to the livingroom recliner while David & Anita went on a westside (Valleyview) tour.

I woke after an hour or so and then headed to the family room where I tuned into the PGA championship. There was a 1.5 hour rain delay, so they finish was in jeopardy all evening due to impending darkness. David and Anita were gone for a couple hours. Said they went all over – west high school, Valleyview, Westgate, etc.

Lounged all through the late afternoon and early evening watching golf. Dinner would be self-serve, leftover pork butt. I was full from brunch until 730-8pm. Not used to eating like that early in the day. Being a work night, there would be no beers for me. David might’ve enjoyed one or two soda pop beers (Bud Light Lime). David and Anita leaving come morning. Off to bed even before 10pm.

Viola, Aspen Ski & Board, Schmidt's

Downstairs near 8am, David and Anita were already up and carrying on with their morning routine, and I’m pretty sure that David had already started the morning’s coffee. It wasn’t too long before Anita headed out for her morning walk. It was another half hour or more before I was ready for a run. About the time that Mindy got up from bed, we spotted dad sitting on the deck napping. We invited him for breakfast. David ran an errand, believe he went after some tea and sweetener for Anita.

I left for a run shortly thereafter. It was gorgeous – sunny and somewhere in the 60s. Ran the usual 3 miles. Once back at home I enjoyed a breakfast burrito. We had a somewhat aggressive agenda, at least for the first half of the day. To begin, we all piled into the Pilot, kids included, and headed first into Hilliard where we made a stop at the Music store to pick-up Bella’s viola for music class this upcoming school year. While there, I picked some new guitar strings, drum sticks, and maracas.

On the way there, Mindy had us prepared for a crowd of school kids picking up t heir instruments but happily that wasn’t the case. From there we headed up 270 exiting on route 23N to Aspen Ski & Boards for their opening day summer sale. We planned on trading in Bella’s ski gear for a snow board, bindings, and boots. We also planned on buying our 2014/15 MRM passes since they were offering a $50 discount along with some additional perks, like extra guest passes. Oh, we also brought Jacob’s new board and bindings that we bought the last day of last season so they could install and tune it.

As expected, ASBCO was packed. Mindy went to take care of the membership outside while me and the kids headed inside with the gear. There must’ve been 25 employees milling about but even that wasn’t enough to serve everyone right away. We were patient and waited our turn. David & Anita browsed outside, I think. Mindy finished up with the membership purchase and met the kids and I inside. There she happened upon a FB friend she met last year only once at MRM. They hugged and talked for a few.

Finally we were waited on. While they took care of filling out the paperwork for Jacob’s board & bindings, Bella and I headed over to the kids area to pick out a board and bindings. We decided to bite the bullet and buy her a nice board instead of a starter. In fact, we upgraded everything: board, bindings, and boots. Mindy stayed with Bella through the arduous fitting process while I mingled and browsed a little. I happened upon David and Anita a time or two outdoors. Jacob tried on a couple different jackets that were on sale. The one he liked I hated. 

When it was all said and done, we got one heck of a deal on Bella’s new snowboard gear. In addition to Bella’s new snow board, Mindy agreed to buy Jacob that Jacket he liked along with a colorful mask. Once through the checkout line, we headed out for one last step, which was having our pictures taken for our 2014/15 MRM memberships. While we did that, David went through the checkout line buying a ski jacket at an incredible discount. We all left ASBCO happy. Next stop, German Village, Schmidt’s.

15-20 mile drive from Powell to German Village. Found parking relatively close to Schmidt’s, which is a big tourist attraction in GV. There was a 20-30 minute wait for a table, so while we waited, we perused the local gift shops which I am guessing are either owned or controlled by the Schmidt’s family. Soon enough our table was ready. I can’t remember the last time I ate at the GV Schmidt’s, but it’s been a long, long time.

I wasn’t in the mood for beer. Went instead with lemonade. Pretty sure that David was the only one having a beer. As an appetizer we enjoyed sauerkraut balls. Pretty sure we had a second option too though can’t recall what it was. Their sauerkraut balls, as it turned out, don’t hold a candle to Barley’s – mild and small.

I went their reuben, and I am pretty sure that Mindy and Jacob did as well. David ordered their sausage variety plate, and I think Anita had a salad. Bella went with a cheeseburger. It wasn’t too long into lunch when I noticed Bella, who was sitting right next to me, was glancing all around her lap like something was wrong. I quietly asked what was the matter. What she shared, I wasn’t quite prepared for. Fairly certain that she told me there were little black beetles crawling all over her. I looked at her lap and there was nothing – nada! Uh-on! I didn’t make a big deal of it and figured I’d tell Mindy about it later.
We finished our lunch in all of about an hour’s time.
As for the food, I doubt I’ll be heading back anytime soon. Wasn’t bad but wasn’t remarkable either. Nothing there to draw me in. My Reuben was simply just fair.

Once at home, I think most of us took a brief nap. After waking David and I watched the PGA championship until 630-7pm or so. Rory McElroy was leading after three rounds. Our evening was more low key than Friday, that’s for sure. We still hung out on deck while enjoying adult beverages but at a slower, more moderate pace. And when darkness finally set it I went for the music kit again, this time breaking in my new maracas, which are very loud compared to the mini set Mindy has in her kit.

The girls headed in for bed a little after 1030pm. Near 11pm I sprung for pizza for Bella and her peeps, ordering from Poppa John’s. At the time, Jacob was still with friends at the St Brendan’s Festival, but was home shortly after the pizzas arrived. Before heading to bed, Bella complained that David doused what pizza remained in the accompanying garlic butter. 

Golf is a Mind Game

I slept later than usual, not getting up and out of bed until almost 7am. David and Anita were already up. Anita was just heading out the door for her morning power walk. I skipped calisthenics and instead got right down to business along with my first cup of coffee.

Got an email from Tom K., the concrete guy sharing that they weren’t going to be onsite Friday after all. Said his crew needed to finish work they started on Thursday, and then would likely be back onsite again Monday, weather permitting. It was sometime after 830am before I finally headed out for a run. It was very nice – 70 degrees and sunshine. Ran the usual 3 miles.

Back from my run near 9am and promptly back to work. David, meanwhile, had tentative plans to golf with old pal Monte’ N. somewhere in Delaware. He was waiting for a text with the course name along with the official tee-time. I think it was near 10am when Monte’ finally reached out, sharing that he was working in Hilliard installing a pool. Wasn’t sure what time he might be free to play. He needed a crescent wrench to tighten a loose hydraulic line on his heavy equipment. David asked if I had one he might run over his way. I handed off my biggest crescent, which opens to approximately 1.25 inches. David ran the wrench to Monte’ in Hilliard somewhere near Thornapple.

I stayed plugged in and busy with work all morning long – in a zone so to speak. Not sure what Mindy and Anita were up to. Guessing David was gone for 30-40 minutes, certainly not any more than that. The plan now was to wait to hear from Monte’ once he was done with the pool project and ready to golf. Sort of like being on stand-by. 

Near noon I started a lengthy online training class (officially 2.5 hours long). It was near 3p when I wrapped up the class and successfully completed the test. Ugh!

David never did hear back from Monte’, so he and I made tentative plans to golf Thornapple sometime after 3pm, my work load permitting. After my class I wrapped up a few administrative tasks then headed upstairs for a much needed shower. In the meantime, David called Thornapple to inquire about a tee-time. The gentleman said our best bet was to get there before 4pm thereby getting out in front of their Friday evening league. With work extremely quiet, we left for Thornapple near 320pm arriving 10 minutes later. Before we headed inside and paid, I checked in with work via my iPhone. Still quiet, Golf was a go!

Aside from a group just ahead of us, the pro told us that the course was pretty much open and started us off hole #1. He was right in that there wasn’t a lot of traffic on the course out in front of us, but that foursome just ahead of us was a group of apparent newbies that also included a female. I only mention the female because that inherently adds delay since she was teeing of the ladies tees, which essentially requires a double set-up. They were slow, slow.

Lucky for us, after the 1st hole, the starter or course patrol talked to them about allowing us to play through. Good thing, they were 20+ minutes per hole. David started with a par, double, me back to back doubles. But from that point on, I was spot on, putting together a long string of pars and bogeys, which for me is good golf. While I was in a groove, David was not. And when David’s not golfing well he’s not shy about sharing his frustrations one bit. He called my etiquette into question a time or two.

I finished the front nine with a 43, which after opening with two double bogeys that was a great score in my book. However, that said, holes #10 and 11 loomed large, and many times past a decent round was thwarted, ruined after those two holes. But on this occasion the golf gods were smiling brightly on me. I pared #10 and bogeyed #11. Sweet! Not only was I driving fairly well, but I was hitting some decent 2nd shots too, which is key for anybody’s game and often my undoing. On top of that, I had a couple really nice chips and was putting well, too.

I had one bad hole on the back after pushing a drive into an adjoining fairway and under a tree. That whole ordeal cost me two strokes resulting in another double bogey. I regrouped though and finished strong. And by then David had found his groove too. For the first time in a few years I shot in the 80s – 87 to be exact. And in my world that’s good golf.

We finished 18 holes in something less than 3.5 hours. Mindy sent a text just as we were loading for home, or near 7pm, asking our ETA. We were back at home by 730pm and more than ready for dinner. Mindy invited dad to join us for dinner. He was already there upon our return from golf. Dinner consisted of the pork butt David and Anita brought along. We left it in a crock pot all day on warm since it was precooked/smoked. In addition to the pork butt we had corn on the cob, cole slaw, and macaroni salad. All of it delicious.

I was careful not to over eat. Wanted to save room for beer (dessert)! Speaking of dessert, Mindy took her first swing at a lemon meringue pie. To her own admission, it didn’t turn out quite as good as expected. In fact, she joked that it was more like lemon meringue soup. Hey, live, experiment and learn. Earlier I asked Mindy to place a few good beers in the deck cooler. It was 830pm by the time the kitchen was cleaned up and I was finally able to relax and crack open one.

At first it was just David and me sitting out on the deck but we were soon joined by the girls. As darkness set in, we beckoned the crate of music makers. Soon the four of us had our beat on playing along at first to guitar chords compliments of David, and later Pandora and to the likes of Bob Marley, Billy Joel ,etc. By then Josh, Rachel and one of their friends stopped by to play along. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. As the night went on I might’ve gotten a bit carried away, playing more than one instrument at a time. At one point I had the triangle dangling from my teeth, which got away a time or two heading straight for Anita. Sorry, Anita! That lead to my declaration that we be called the Flying Triangles.

We partied late into the night, though not quite as late as the weekend before. Mindy and Anita headed in much sooner than David and I. In fact, both of them had been fighting the sleepies for more than an hour. Before heading to bed, I cleaned up the kitchen and deck.

Waters from Wateree

Up and downstairs by 630am, I promptly started a pot of coffee then completed Thursday calisthenics. It looked like a gorgeous day in the offing - clear skies and a high near 80. Enjoyed coffee until 715am and then did meditation, a stretch, then dressed for a run. Out the door around 740am. Ran 4.1 miles with no trouble.

Figured I would drive the BM’er. Couldn’t think of one good reason not to. Made the usual breakfast – fried eggs, reheated grits, fresh fruit and toast. Off to the shower near 840am. Took Mindy a cup of coffee. Showered, dressed and ready to leave near 910a. David sent a text near 9am letting me know that he and Anita were on the road. I sent a quick acknowledgement also asking if there were wants/needs food/drink-wise.

Before leaving for work I pulled the Accord to the curb then drug the tarp of dirt down the drive several feet to allow for backing out the BM’er. Lovely drive in. Arrived at the office around 935am. Didn’t plan on taking lunch and stayed busy all day long. David kept me posted on their I-77 whereabouts periodically throughout the day.

Sometime near 3pm David sent a text sharing that they botched their I-77 exit to 33W. Instead of taking ##w they took the exit for 33E which comes about 5 miles before 33W. Sounded as though they were happily taking the scenic route to Rt. 33W along the Ohio River.

I left the office for home around 430pm fully expecting to log into work from home. I stopped at the post office to mail a 2013 tax package to the city tax department. Happily there was next to no line. In and out in the matter of about 5 minutes. Arrived home by 5pm. As expected, Mindy and the kids weren’t there. They were at a dental appointment and then dropping Jacob off at soccer practice on the way home.

Thinking Mindy and Bella were home by 530pm. Guessed David and Anita’s arrival near 615pm. Ahead of their arrival Mindy whipped up snacks while I watered flowers. They really needed it. Suddenly and for the first time really all summer we were in grips of a dry spell. Hadn’t rained for 5 days straight and there wasn’t any to speak of in the forecast until the following Monday, either.

David & Anita arrived closer to 6p instead of 615p. I was in the middle of reviewing important pension documentation. Mindy headed out to greet our guests while I finished reading the pertinent data. I set the document aside and headed out to greet our guests and help carry in their gear.

David was fired up. Wanted a beer before anything else. Apparently the I-77/Rt. 33 mishap got under his skin more than I had imagined.  We had tentative plans to do dinner at Barley’s, but sat around the house for about an hour or so before we agreed to head out. Jimaken was picking Jacob up from soccer so the plan was simply for us to bring home his dinner.

Even though the lot was only about half attended, I still parked in the back forty. Habit, I guess. Fairly promptly, we were seated in the booth in the SW corner of the front restaurant bar area. Chelsea was our server. David ordered a St. Nick’s (still some left from Xmas in July). Mindy went with a Dogfish 60 minute IPA and I went with a Pale ale. And I’m pretty sure that Anita went with a soft drink, as did Bella.

We shared a basket of fries before ordering food. The St Nick’s David ordered was served in a small brandy sniffer. Couldn’t have been more than 10 ozs. He ordered a 2nd when we ordered dinner. David and I went with burgers while Mindy ordered a quesadilla. Not sure what Anita went with with. Bella ordered a kiddie burger.

I ordered a 2nd beer mid-way through dinner, this time a ZIPA. It was delicious. Mindy switched over to water after finishing her beer. I picked up the check, though David handed Chelsea a $20 bill. I tipped her well, too. She did a very good job. Headed for home around 845pm.

Jacob was home and eagerly awaiting his dinner, the usual, chicken tenders with buffalo sauce, gates on the side. While Jacob attacked his dinner, David and I relaxed on the deck spending, I don’t know, maybe 20-30 minutes out there. None of us were up for any heavy partying. I had to work in the morning and David and Anita were exhausted from their 500 mile drive. Thinking we secured the home and headed for bed near 10pm.

No Concrete Today After All

Not as hot. Only in the low 80s but still really humid. Rain was forecasted but never came.

Ran 4.1 miles

Worked across town

Got an email from King Concrete sharing that they wouldn’t be on the job this day after all. Damn! And all that hustle to get the sprinkler heads moved, though regardless of the start work day, they still would’ve needed moved.

Irrigation Repairs on the Fly

Up near 620am. Another warm sticky morning. I checked the garage door right away. Still down. I also took the time to move all the KF bags to the driveway with a sign indicating that they were for them.

Hot, sticky run. Ran 4 miles.

Worked in New Albany. Busy day. Left for home later than I wanted. Somewhere close to 5pm.

After dinner I headed back out front to move the two remaining sprinkler heads – the pop-ups on the east side of the driveway. Quickly I was able to see that the mainline feeding those two followed the same path as the proposed service walk, and worse yet, the 1” mainline was extremely shallow. I knew I’d need to completely expose the line to prevent the concrete formers from cutting/damaging the line unknowingly.

Mindy came out to see what I was up against. It was tough digging. I also needed to expose the electrical conduit I buried several years ago running out under the pine tree for uplighting. It was at least a foot deep but very likely why they went so shallow with the irrigation line through that area. After all, I told them about the conduit install day. Turned out, the zone #6 mainline was even shallower than I thought. I ended up nicking it pretty good while digging to further expose it. I kept digging back until it was at least 6” outside the concrete form zone. I then ran the zone quickly for two reasons, one to see if the nick went all the way through, and second, to see if the rest of the pop-ups would be impacted by the service walk.

Of course! Once on my fears were confirmed. I put a hole in the zone #6 mainline. Dang it! It would have to be fixed before concrete work for sure. Figured worst case I would call Nationwide irrigation and beg for same day service call Wednesday to make the repair. I still had another sprinkler head to expose.

The third head, the last on the east side of the drive was a little easier. By then I knew that the mainline feeding it ran parallel to the driveway and would end up under the extension, so all I could do was move the “t” line for the sprinkler head out of the way of the extension and form. To do so I had to make a quick drive to Lowes. Bella went with.

At Lowes I was in a hurry. First, I rounded up a 100’ roll of ½” irrigation line. I also bought pinch clamps and a 1” “t” splice. I wanted to buy a pair of pinch clamp pliers but they were all out. Figures! Just my luck. I knew I had a pair of tile nips at home that pretty much are of the same design, only with a sharper edge at the pinch. I’d try that.

We hurried home arriving near 830pm. Darkness was fast approaching, so I somewhat hurriedly got to my first attempt at splicing the mainline of the sprinkler system. Easy work. I cut the line right at the nick, put a crimp ring each side of the splice then pinched the rings with my tile nippers adding an old dish towel between so not to cut the soft metal. Worked like a charm. When I tested zone #6, there was a miniscule drip but one I could live with. I felt good with the repair and quickly got busy cutting a long 6” piece of the ½” irrigation line and extending both lines for the pop-ups that were in the way. I used rigid wire hoops to hold the heads in place above ground so we can continue to water through the extended dry period. I felt really good about the relocation and repair work. Crisis avoided!

Problem in the Purse

Up at 615am

Warm and sticky – already 72 degrees and clear.

Ran 4.1 miles.

Worked from the office.

VM from King Concrete sharing that they would be starting the concrete work this week – possibly Wednesday. That meant I would need to get cracking on moving the 3 sprinkler heads in the work’s path.

Also received a heads up call from Kidney Foundation reminding us of Tuesday’s pick-up. We had several large trash bags stuffed full of clothes for them. Mindy already remembered. She and Jacob carried all of it upstairs from the basement and to the garage.

It was wickedly warm and sticky after dinner. I hurried through clean-up and then changed into my grubbies and headed out to at least get started on locating and moving the three sprinkler heads that were in the way of the designed concrete driveway extensions and walk. Mindy agreed to come and assist.

I exposed the big rotating sprinkler head on the west edge of the driveway first. That was easy. And once I had a bead on the 1” line feeding it, I dug back until we were at least 6” beyond where the new concrete forms would go (back 30”). Enough for one night. Had it exposed after an hours work. I wisely used a tarp to house all the dirt and salvaged the more than healthy sod I removed for use elsewhere in the yard. I was dripping head to toe in sweat before heading inside.

When attempting to put down the overhead garage door it kept bouncing back as if something were in the way. Hmmm? It didn’t appear that anything was in the way, but near the door’s edge were all eight of the large trash bags stuffed with clothing for the Kidney Foundation pick-up Tuesday AM. I pushed then back at least 3 feet from the door’s edge but it still bounced back up when we hit the button. Great!

I checked the sensors each side verifying green lights both sides. Clear! But still, no joy. Really? Dang it! It made sense that something changed today and the only thing was Mindy & Jacob carrying the bags to the garage. To be sure, I moved all of them completely out of the way and out on the drive just to be sure. We tried again, only this time using the external push button code and the door closed. Problem solved, or so I thought.

I grabbed a quick shower and watched a little TV. We headed to bed even before 10pm. I couldn’t sleep and something, I don’t know why, told me to go downstairs and check the garage door. I got up but instead of checking the garage door I simply made a bowl of cereal and played on the internet. A half an hour passed when Bella came downstairs sharing that she thought she heard the garage door going up. Wanted to know if it was me. No, and honestly, I couldn’t hear a thing, but just the thought sent chills down my spine.

I grabbed a sharp butcher knife and told Bella to stay back. I headed through the laundry room and quickly threw open the door to the garage. Sure enough the overhead door was wide frikin opened! My heart sunk. I quickly turned on the light and peered aggressively and with anger. Nothin’ was amiss. Everything in its place. Hmm? I hit the button to close the door. It closed completely but before I could turn around and head back inside it inexplicably headed up on its own again. Shit!

Bella finally came out to see what was the matter I explained that the door was going up and down on its own. Holy moly. Here I was in the middle of the night playing with the garage door and its controls. I got the step ladder thinking it might be a wiring issue with one of the pads. I first disconnected the inside door pad completely but it continued to go up and down on its own. Leaving it off, I disconnected the exterior key pad, but it still kept going up on its own. Holy shit!

Frustrated and tired, I relented and pulled the door loose from the overhead door opener. Even then, the opener continued to go back and forth, though now without the door in tow. To get some sleep, I pulled the power plug so we could both get some sleep. I thanked Bella for being so attentive.

Back in bed, Mindy asked what was the matter. She was aware of the problem earlier and quickly understand my frustration as I rolled over to go back to sleep. I laid there for a minute thinking about the symptoms then woke Mindy again asking where her garage door opener fab might be. Said it was in her purse. I couldn’t resist the urge to check something. I got up again and went for her purse and the opener. It was wedged deep in the confines of her purse, too. To test my theory, I went back to the garage and plugged the opener in again. I hit the button and it headed to the closed position, still, however, without the door in tow. Next, I reattached the door to the opener’s drive. Hit the button and the door went up. Hit the button again and the door went down. Waited, waited, waited. Nothing, Fixed!

I couldn’t wait to share with Mindy what I found. Holy smoke. I was about to lose my mind. Finally able to get some restful sleep.

Biking the Connector

I woke near 8am a little worried that I might be hung over. That wasn’t the case. Instead, just a tad bit tired, but that quickly abated once I sucked down a fresh cup of coffee. I think it was near 915am when I headed out for a run. Any fallout from Saturday night was left in the dust after 3 mile run. Felt just fine.

Mindy was up around 10am. By then I was in the kitchen whipping up a big breakfast – omelet and grits. These were my best grits yet, at least somewhat replicating those from the Retreat in S.C. Mindy enjoyed them as much as me. She asked if the plan was to wire the basement. Nope. Instead, the weather was so nice that we decided to bike the Scioto connector, which connects Valleyview to the Scioto bike trail.

After breakfast, I headed out to install the Thule bike rack on the Pilot, get the bikes down from the garage ceiling, air up the tires, then finally get them loaded onto the Thule. We left the house around 1230-1pm. No shower for either of us, though I did do a “Brian Tippler” since I stunk of old sweat from my run.

There’s a gravel pull-off near the intersection of McKinnley and Harper Rd. which is the trailhead for the Scioto connector. Pulled the bikes off, loaded a bottled water, locked the Pilot, then off we peddled. The city spent almost $5 million building the connector which consists of two gorgeous bike bridges over the Scioto river, both straddling 670, one on each side of Grandview. Surprisingly beautiful ride, and about a mile of the ride in covered woods – trees draping all the way above and across. Lots of river views one would otherwise never see. Truly makes me proud of my city. In not too much time at all we were downtown a North bank Park.

North Bank is where we’ve watched Red, White & Boom the past two summers. We both agreed that we should bike down next summer. Faster, easier. We stopped periodically for some sightseeing, taking in the enormous 2-year river narrowing project now underway. Right now it’s a mess but one can visualize the end result, which looks really nice. We peddled our way from North Bank to Bicentennial which is on an augmented bike trail while the river narrowing project continues on.

We stopped along the Scioto Mile promenade, just short of 229, again taking in the project’s progress. Biked on to 229 and Bicentennial where we parked and locked our bikes while we once again scoured the park for the Keebler Elf door supposedly somewhere in one of the trees. No luck again! The fountains were once again busy with guests – a bustling daily attraction, weather permitting.

After a brief respite it was back on the bikes and our subsequent return. Noticed a homeless man taking up camp under one of the many bridges along the river. Believe he had a nice bike up there too. We briefly considered calling the authorities but ultimately decided against. Climbing the slight uphill for each of the new river crossings was a bit more arduous on the ride back. I plowed on ahead of Mindy, and after the last climb I knew she’d be tuckered. Sure enough, she was. Good thing we were back at the trailhead. Guessing the ride or roundtrip 8-10 miles.

Surprisingly, despite a rainless forecast, it looked like imminent rain as we headed for home. Spotty though. It never did anything more than sprinkle at our place, but surrounding areas got heavy buy brief showers. Our plan was to take Rocky his birthday gift fully assembled – a pitch back net and balls. While we were loading it into the Pilot, Jimaken pulled up with the kids. Home quite a bit earlier than arranged. No biggie. Molly was along too. She looked tired.

We offered the kids to come along but both declined. Mindy and I left for Lindsey’s place near 320p. We wanted to be home by 4pm since niece Lindey was coming over too cut me and Jacob’s hair. Showed up at Lindsey’s apartment 10 minutes later and carried the large baseball pitch back net around to their back patio where they have access to a real nice green space. We set it up temporarily there so the boys could play with it. We watched Rocky throw about 20 pitches. He was excited so his control was off a bit.  Did my heart good to see him so excited. I joked with Lindsey. Saying she must have a dirty house since she never actually invites us in. She quickly shared that that wasn’t the case and offered me to come check. I declined. We needed to get home to intercept niece Lindey, who was coming over for dinner and haircuts.

Trading Filet Mignon for Minelli's Pizza

I was up near my typical weekend rise time of 715am. Given the forecast which called for imminent rain, I was more than a little surprised to wake to blue skies and sunshine. It was fairly warm too – about 71 degrees. I enjoyed coffee and internet for an hour or more before finally setting out on a run. It was sunny when I headed out the door but it didn’t last. By the time I had my three miles in the books, it was clouded over. Mindy wasn’t up until almost 10am, and by then it was threatening rain.

Before there was much rain, there was lightning and thunder. More than once Eiknarf and I headed out for a walk only to quickly return due to lightning. She was obviously confused with our shortened walk. Despite my verbal coaxing for her to finish and finish fast, it never happened.

Somewhere between 1030-11am it stormed hard. The rain didn’t let up for more than an hour. When it finally did I quickly leashed up the pug and headed back out for a third attempt. This time it was successful. Hooray!

Even though the rain stopped, there was plenty more on the way. In fact, it was expected to keep raining until 5 or 6pm. We bagged our outdoor activity in favor of working on the basement project. I’m guessing it was near 1pm when we headed down the basement to hang the rest of the can lights (9). Having hung eight cans with Bella 2.5 month prior, this time it went smoother, faster, though still not without a couple moments. Mindy helping made a big difference. She was eager. In fact, she wanted to start the wiring too, but that would have to wait.

Earlier in the afternoon we laid out a couple filet mignons to thaw for grilling later but come later afternoon or early evening we decided that we didn’t really want to grill or cook anything. I wasn’t excited about going anywhere, though, either. Instead, we decided to order a Minelli’s pizza. Before that, however, we both got showers.

As gloomy and stormy as it was early afternoon, the evening was beautiful – clear skies and mild temps. We spent our time relaxing on the lower tier of the deck, Mindy sipping wine, me enjoying a few beers. We ordered a Minelli’s pizza and left a note on the front door guiding the delivery guy around back to the deck. He showed up about 20-125 after we placed the order. Yum. Good pizza!

Friends Josh & Rachel are house sitting for Kenny & Chrissy while they vacation in Florida. We invited them over. Must’ve been around 8pm when they showed. We offered up some pizza but they declined, having lamb chops out and ready to grill later. After hanging out for a while, I went inside to fetch my drum box and guitar. Having shared my drum box with Josh another time past, I knew he’d dig smacking it some. We soon had pretty cool beat going. After a few minutes of that I asked Mindy if she would fetch her instrument box from the basement, the one with the kazoo, tambourine, bells, harmonica, and triangle. Soon all four of us were making music. Call us SRS – Scioto Rhythm Section. 

Guessing it was somewhere near 10pm when one of our neighbor, Trena’s guests walked over to applaud the rhythm we were creating. Said he loved it! We soon offered him the opportunity to join in, to which he gladly accepted. Then after a short stint jamming with us on our deck he invited over to Trena’s for more. She was having a deck party too. Soon we had most of her deck party guests jamming/drumming with the rest of us. Too much fun!!!!

We jammed until 1 or 2am.

Music in the Fountain

I slept in until almost 7am and woke not feeling too well. I’m thinking it was that popcorn before bed. Ugh! I gave serious consideration to bagging calisthenics but ultimately did the right thing and cranked them out including the 50 push-ups.

It was mostly sunny and warm, already somewhere close to 70 degrees. Expecting a nice summery day, too, but with rain in the forecast for the weekend. I headed out on a run just ahead of 8am. Like most Friday’s, I ran only 3 miles.

Mindy was up fairly early in order to get things ready for her party which was set to begin around 11am and then end around 1pm. She enlisted the help of Jacob and Bella, Jacob for the muscle, Bella for kitchen help. I stayed busy with work while she made the kitchen, family room, and deck party ready. She was nervous, I could tell. The entire reason for the party was to meet the new principal. And in case you’re wondering why our house, a couple teacher pals who put it together asked that Mindy host it at our home in lieu of using a local park.

I joined two calls between 930 and 1030am. I planned on taking yet another online course shortly thereafter. I decided to wait until Mindy’s gathering started. That way I could do the meet and greet thing. I didn’t bother taking a shower, though I did throw on a t-shirt rather than sit around working barebacked. I didn’t think Mindy would appreciate me looking so slobby.

Her new principal, Marge was the first guest to arrive. Mindy handles those uncomfortable moments so well. The ice was broken almost instantly, and they struck up conversation right away. A couple minutes into their conversation I set work aside and walked in the kitchen to greet Marge. We joked a little about being crazy but then it was right back to work for me. Soon many of Mindy’s teacher pals were at the house, and many that I hadn’t previously met. I couldn’t help but notice how young a handful of them appeared – no doubt 20 somethings – cute too. That hasn’t always been the case.

I soon got busy with my online class which took longer than I expected. I’ll bet I spent the next 2+ hours focused on the training, which requires testing throughout and then a real test at the end. I took a couple quick breaks to meet a few more teachers and then also to grab a plate or two of the yummy food the teachers brought. There was quite the spread laid out. Lots of salads and lots of desserts. And having not eaten any breakfast, I was starving. I made a pig of myself with this meatless taco salad. It was crazy good! I ate a few chocolate chip cookies too.

Near 115pm, after the training class was completed, I took a much deserved lunch break, heading out to mow the lawn even though Mindy’s shindig was still going on. Hey, I always try to cut the lawn on Friday’s at lunch. We already had our vehicles at the curb so I was able to go right to work. Before any mowing, I did all the trimming and edging, which is the hottest, itchiest part. The tractor was next, cutting about 90% of the lawn. By the time I finished with the tractor cutting, all but one of Mindy’s teacher pals were gone. Kerri was the only one still there along with her two boys, Garret and Boyd.

Just as I was starting to push mow, Mindy came out asking if I would give Boyd a ride on my tractor once I was finished. Of course! It didn’t take me long at all to finish the push mowing and then blowing the clipping away. I asked Boyd if he wanted to ride on the tractor or in the cart/trailer. He wisely opted for the cart. Of course I can’t attach the cart without drawing all the little kids. His older brother, Garrett wanted to go for a ride too, as did Bella and Makayla. No problem. I took them around the block and through the islands back yards. They loved it!

By the time I finished all the lawn chores it was close to 245pm. I headed back inside and to my desk to finish out my work day. It wasn’t until almost 515pm when I put work aside and headed up for a much needed shower. That was about the same time Jimaken stopped by to pick-up the kids for the weekend. It would be our first full weekend without the kids in a while. I think we’ve had only two of those all summer.

Mindy and I were eager for a kidless weekend. We planned to visit Milestone 229 that evening, taking in their outdoor patio and the live music at Bicentennial Park,. As for Saturday, weather permitting, Mindy suggested we bike the new hilltop connector to the Scioto Trail (Valleyview to Bicentennial Park). She originally suggested Yellow Springs, but agreed when I shared that we really needed to make use of our summer toys (boat, bikes, and kayaks). We can do Yellow Springs once the boat is out of season. To date, we hadn’t even gotten our bikes down from the garage ceiling.

We wasted little time heading off to 229. We figured parking and seating would be a challenge given the free concert at the adjoining park. No nearby meter parking, so Mindy suggested we suck it up and park in the pay lot directly across the street. It’s usually only $3 but because it was a weekend and an event, it was now $10. We parked there anyway.

The water fountains were in full use. Lots and lots of small kids screaming in utter joy. We opted to walk around the park before heading into 229 looking for the Keebler elf door in a park tree (supposedly four in the city parks and one in Bicentennial Park). We looked at most of the trees but didn’t find it. Into 229 where we first scoped out outdoor bar seating but there was none. Instead, we asked for an outdoor table and our peep Stacy took care of us, setting us up at the patios edge with the fountains and stage in direct view.

We came prepared – both of us wearing sun glasses. Our server’s name was Alana. Guessed his ethnicity from Central America. Nice kid. He reviewed all the drafts available to which I selected the White Rajah. Mindy went with CBC Bodhi’s little brother, Dalton. It’s the summer version and only 4.5% abv. I gave it a taste. Yum!

While enjoying our beers we people watched – those playing in the fountains. And while the fountain was a big hit, the grassy field between the fountains and stage was filling quickly with folks too. Lot of camp chairs and blankets. A local band, Mojo Flo was slated to take the stage at 730pm playing lots of Mowtown hits.

We eventually ordered a pizza as an appetizer, their Crispy Pig: pork belly, bacon, provolone, white sauce, and lettuce. It was unusual but good. A bit later Mindy ordered their pretzel bread. At roughly the same time I ordered us both another beer. As promised, the band kicked into action near 730pm. Shortly thereafter I ordered Mindy a 3rd Dalton. I was drinking slower than usual thus had only the one.

Never intending to stay out too late, during the band’s first break, we opted to head for home. On our way back to our car, I happened upon an old pal and co-worker, Dagayla. Hadn't seen her for at least 10 years. She was taking in the music at the park by her lonesome, well, with her tiny dog. We hugged and chatted. Now works for Nationwide.

 At home, the island was beyond quiet with two of our four neighbors off to Florida for vacation. Across the pond neighbors, Pat & Lisa were gone too. They were in Chicago. I enjoyed another beer before we called it a night.

Counting my Blessings

Up near 615am.

Ran 4.1 miles.

Sunny and in the 70s. No real chance of rain. Drove the BM’er

Worked in Hilliard office. Arrived near 930am.

Boss shared that he recently switched home ISP from Time Warner to AT&T U-verse. Got a much lower price, more channels, a $250 rebate, and a price lock for 2 years. Having trouble getting Remote Access client working, though.

Worked straight through the day. By mid-day the office floor was a ghost town. Only a few other heads visible over the cube farm walls.

Left for home near 5pm.

At home, Mindy was busy in the kitchen whipping up a few dishes for her school party slated for the next day. She was making cucumber salad and chicken pasta and pesto. To make the pasta dish she bought two rotisserie chickens, which we were also having for dinner that evening. She also invited my dad over for dinner. He showed up sometime between 530-6pm. She gifted me an instant lottery ticket, and based on my requested blessing I was certain it would be a winner. Drats! It wasn’t. Still, I very much appreciated the gift.

Dinner consisted of rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and salad. Yum! Dad asked how mom was doing, Shared her most recent malady.

After dinner clean-up, Mindy asked for help deboning what remained of the two rotisserie chickens. I pulled off quite a bit even after she declared herself done. I knew that Eiknarf would very much appreciate the extra effort. 

Dad left for home around 7pm. He took our extra can of recyclables with him. Planned to drop it off at the local firehouse. Around 730pm, Mindy and Jacob left for Dick’s Sporting goods in hopes of finding new soccer cleats. No sooner had Mindy departed when my dad knocked on the door. Said he was dropping off the extra recycling can after emptying it at the firehouse. I didn’t realize he was taking care of it immediately. Thanks dad!

Spent the next 45 minutes to an hour writing for my blog and reading about the my beloved Vikings training camp. Excited for the new season, new coach, and new players. Mindy and Jacob were back at home around 815pm but without soccer cleats. Didn’t have his size, so they were apparently having them shipped or transferred in from elsewhere. Mindy said she bought a gift for me, a new short sleeved Nike wicking shirt. I wasn’t expecting anything. Thanks dear! My third blessing in only 24 hours.

Considered having a beer but in the end opted for only ice water and later some popcorn. I was certain that Bella would come calling once she got a whiff but she never did. Instead, I had the bowl all to myself. I headed to bed near 10pm.