End of the Strada

I readied for the day with a smile all about my face. I was smiling because even though this was a Thursday, it was in effect, my Friday. I was more than ready for a three day weekend having not experienced such an event since the weekend after Labor Day.

We polished off the last of the breakfast strada before heading off to work and school. I had no need for a packed lunch outside of a snack since my packed lunch from Tuesday still sat in the fridge.

I emailed Glenn the evening before asking that he send me his flight itinerary so that I had a bead on his flight. When I arrived at the office it was in my inbox. In addition to balancing and unusually busy Thursday of work, I had few personal errands to tend to. I contacted Sears to order replacement keys for the top tool chest in the roll around. For whatever reason, it has a different key number than the other two and Mindy didn’t know of its whereabouts. In fact, she didn’t even realize it took a different key.

At lunch time I drove to Home Depot to pick-up a few things and browse. I called brother Tommy along the way. I invited him to go hiking with us at Hocking Hills tomorrow and Barley’s that night. He accepted both having scheduled the entire weekend off for pleasure. The work day ended around 5:40pm. I really wanted to get out of there sooner but a couple hot issues kept me at bay. Oh well, I had a long weekend ahead and that felt great!

Mindy was grocery shopping with the kids. She wanted to knock out the chore early on so that she could also more casually enjoy our three day weekend. Once again, Mindy had a list waiting for me on the island. On the list were a few simple chores that I addressed after walking Ykraps. I pretty much ignored the last chore on list - making dinner. I wasn’t hungry and didn’t have the energy. Just before Mindy arrived home, I called my dad to see if he wanted to ride along with me to pick-up Glenn. He agreed. Mindy arrived around 6:30pm. I helped her carry in the groceries.

Jacob asked if he could go to the airport, too. Sure. I thought that he might ask. Glenn’s flight wasn’t scheduled to land until after 10pm. I wanted Jacob to know it would be late. He understood and still insisted on going along. We logged onto NWA.com to check the status of Glenn’s flight -just a few minutes late. We left the house just after 9pm stopping first at dad’s. He was at the door waiting and ready.

We made great time and found ourselves at the airport early – 9:25pm. By the time we made our way from the parking garage to the waiting area it was 9:35pm. Jacob was crashing fast and mentioned being bored & hungry. I eventually caved and took him to the Wendy’s within view. Lucky for him, we got our order in just before they closed.

Around 10:30pm I spotted Glenn wondering up the jetway towards the security area. As usual, he was one of the last passengers to deplane. We were on our way back home by 10:45pm. Dad agreed to join us at my house. I’d run him home later.

Back at home, Mindy was already asleep. However, just as I was headed up to wake her, she started down the steps on her own. For the next couple of hours we sat around the kitchen table talking, drinking a couple of beers, and snacking on some popcorn and chips and salsa. Eventually, dad asked to be ran him home. I obliged him, of course, and Glenn went along.
Glenn and I enjoyed yet another beer after returning. It was 2am. I was more than tired and called it a night.

Tell of Two Tales

Happy 1st Birthday Olivia - We Love you!

I was tired when the wake-up call arrived, but like always, I toughed it out and got up and moving. I likely didn’t fall asleep the night before until midnight after watching the Indians win. That means I only netted 5.5 hrs sleep – a full two hours less than usual. I could feel the fuzziness.

I did a full complement of exercises realizing little if any ongoing shoulder pain. For that I was pleased. It was very cloudy early on but the forecast called for clearing skies later in the day giving promise for Wednesday evening golf. I moved through my usual routine without giving it much thought at all. Mindy came down and retrieved her own cup of morning coffee, which is way unusual. But as quick as she appeared she was back upstairs tending to her own routine. I donned my running clothes then stepped out for my run. I stretched from the front stoop before taking off.

It was warm enough to skip a jacket. It was in the mid 60’s. It was very comfy. Nothing ached and the weather was superb. The run went extremely well.

Back home Mindy had our breakfast casserole & fruit ready for consumption. I was hungry and very eager to eat. Her & Bella departed on schedule leaving Jacob and I to our well rehearsed schedules. I went almost immediately to the shower returning downstairs ready to go by 7:48am. We had a few minutes to drink in the day. As usual, Jacob used the time to play GameBoy football. I picked up the kitchen. It was heavy!!! J
We headed to the bus stop at 7:55am. Jacob was his eager-self. I chatted with Pat for a few minutes after the bus pulled away. Soon enough I was on my way to work.

The work day was normal. MY peer was back from her travels so the pressure was somewhat lessened. For that I was grateful. I worked straight through still anticipating that I would be leaving early for golf. The sky cleared just as the forecast predicted. I sent an email to Bob some time after 3pm to gauge his interest. He replied soon enough that it didn’t look good work load-wise. I was disappointed but understood. I really wanted to golf and even considered going it alone. But as the day wound down, things got dicey on my end, too. I ended up working until 5:45pm. When I talked with Mindy she was already out to dinner with her mother, and the kids were out with their daddy. It sounded like I’d have some time at home alone. YES!!! Mindy mentioned a list of chores setting on the island counter top. For the record, I don’t respond well to lists.

I walked Ykraps and made the following morning’s coffee. I chose then to glance at Mindy’s list. On it was a request to bathe the kids upon their return. Additionally, she requested that I read with Jacob. It seems there was more but I can’t readily recall. I enjoyed the next hour+ tinkering around the house. Jimaken brought the kids home around 7:30pm. I allowed the kids a few minutes of acclimation time before herding them up for a bath. Bella went first and was most cooperative. Jacob wasn’t bad either. We’ve come a long way. While I toiled with Bella’s hair, Jacob did his reading. The kids assured me that their mother granted them permission to stay up until she returned from choir practice. I agreed assuming her to be home by 8:15pm.

Version #1 To my surprise, she stayed out carousing with “church people” until almost 2:30am. The kids were almost asleep when she returned. She had trouble getting the van into the garage, and even more trouble walking to the house. She spoke of it being a medicinal reaction.

Version #2 As predicted, Mindy arrived just after 8:15pm. The kids hid from their mother as she entered. I acted as if they were in bed. They surprised her gleefully after only a few seconds. It wasn’t long before the kids were tucked neatly into bed.

I was really hungry. I made a plate of nachos topped off with sour cream, cheese, and some of my homemade salsa. They were delicious! After the food I got really sleepy – big surprise. I went horizontal on the sofa. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I fell asleep. Mindy headed to bed around her usual time. I stayed on the couch for a while longer eventually making my way to bed around –uhh- 10:30pm.

Reliving a Nightmare

I was up on time feeling no worse for the wear. I measured roughly seven hours of quality sleep. I thought about skipping my push-ups and curls once again as my shoulder felt much better this AM. Giving it a break definitely did the trick. But in the end, I decided to get right back on the horse and whipped both out after my sit-ups. One day off was perfect.

I walked Ykraps after exercise, and during our walk I took special notice of the thick cloud cover. I knew rain was in the forecast, but what I didn’t know was how imminent. I checked the radar upon our return and saw that it was at least 100 miles out to our west. I knew then that I was going to fertilize the yard after my run and before readying myself for work. The way my schedule was playing out, if I didn’t get to it this AM, I might not have time or the weather until the weekend. And there’s nothing like getting it down before a good rain.

So, after meditation, coffee delivery, and stretching, I set out on my run. Today I skipped the fleece. It was 64 degrees. I was perfectly comfortable in my attire. The run went extremely well. And more importantly, I didn’t feel any tugging in my hamstrings, which I was more than thankful for. The stretching is helping a lot.

Back at home Mindy already had my breakfast casserole warmed a ready for my consumption. It was a tad cool in the center but I didn’t bother warming it more. I was hungry. A few minutes later Mindy and Bella rushed off for work. Jacob was not yet downstairs when I finished eating, which was a bit unusual for him. But I could hear the water running so I knew he must be up & brushing his teeth. I headed out to the shed to fetch my spreader and fertilized the yard. That took twenty minutes. I worked up a light sweat moving swiftly about the yard. I was most pleased with myself for squeezing in the clumsy chore. When I returned inside Jacob was finishing his pop-tarts and playing with his Gameboy. He said that he knew I was outside working in the yard. He wasn’t worried in the least. It was tweener time – 7:44am. I knew that a shower would put Jacob’s bus boarding time at risk – at least if I were joining him. I chose instead to wait until he was on the bus to shower. We spent the next ten minutes chatting about football and stuff. Finally, at 7:55am we tied his shoes and headed to the stop where he happily boarded the bus. I chatted with Pat about the Indians game. He’s a big Cleveland fan.

After chatting I headed home to shower up for work. I left the house at 8:20am – only 12 minutes later than usual. Not bad! I arrived right at 8:30am. Once again, work was fairly busy as my peer was scheduled off again today. I had an early email form Jill, my old pal reminding me of our rescheduled lunch plans. She wondered if I remembered and if so, where we were meeting. I hadn’t fully remembered but was good to go. What I wasn’t sure of was the venue. I got the idea that she preferred somewhere closer to her office in Worthington/Polaris. I responded that we were still on and that the Winking Lizard sounded good to me. We locked in on the Winking Lizard for11:30am.

I worked through a number issues before setting out towards Worthington around 11:10am. I worked through a number issues just before setting out towards Worthington around 11:10am. Unlike the last and only other time I visited the Winking Lizard, I didn't miss my turn (I was wise enough to google map it before leaving). I was there a couple minutes ahead of time. I was one of two patrons in the entire place. I took that opportunity to walk around familiarizing myself with all of the sports memorabilia. Very Cool!

After a ten minute wait Jill arrived. I greeted her at the door. We were quickly seated in a booth – our choice. We spent the next several minutes catching up before placing our order. The waitress had to come back a couple of times. Eventually we ordered – me a burger and Jill a salad. The time went fast and the food was good. We agreed to do a better job of staying in touch and even committed to planning an event sometime soon with our kids. It’s hard to fathom that her daughter is now 4.5 yrs old.

We parted ways around 12:45pm. It was raining fairly steadily as I pulled away. It let up, however, shortly after getting back on I-270W. I was back at work by 1:10pm. The afternoon went by quickly. I was fairly busy. I didn’t speak with Mindy until I was headed towards home. She was right around the corner at ITT where Jimaken teaches. It seems Jacob was suffering from daddy withdrawal so Mindy took him to see him at his part-time job. He’s an instructor there. She spoke of meeting somewhere for dinner, but I was set on going home. I am a creature of habit. She reluctantly agreed and instead decided to stop at KFC for take-out. She also reminded me that tonight was “watch” night at Dance Center West (DCW), where Bella takes classes. She was planning to attend and ask me to go along too. I happily agreed despite the urge to veg-out.

I walked Ykraps before Mindy arrived home with the vittles. When she did, the KFC smelt terrific. I couldn’t resist a piece of original recipe. We took about 20 minutes to eat and then somewhat hurriedly got ready and bolted out the door to DCW.
We took the back way to Nike Dr, turning north on a mostly unknown road just east of Wal-Mart. The center was larger than I pictured. There were several areas for simultaneous classes. A few other parents were on hand to watch as well. The kids were group in classes by age – duh. Bella’s group all seemed new to the techniques being taught. They used trampolines, the balance beam, and gym mats. The young instructor was as much a baby sitter as she was a gymnastics instructor. I got a couple decent photos and a couple short movie clips.

Just before 7:30pm the class wrapped up and we all headed home. Mindy quickly readied the kids for bed. They went down rather easily as compared to the prior two nights. Mindy wanted to hot tub. I didn’t. Instead, I was eager to catch up on the blog and simply relax by watching the baseball playoffs. Mindy was noticeably disappointed. She went to bed somewhat early, even for her. I stayed up for the entire game.

Running on ESPN2 concurrent to the baseball game was The Greatest NFL Games Ever Played. Tonight featured the Vikings 1998 NFC championship game against the Falcons. That’s the year they were 16-1 and unstoppable. We were winning this game throughout only to lose in overtime. My spirits were crushed then and they were recrushed again on this night as I recounted what could’ve been. Afterwards I questioned my thinking for even watching it. I know how I am. I had a sinking feeling that I couldn’t shake the rest of the night. But on a happier note, the Indians won game four by the score of 7-3. They’re now up 3 games to 1. One more win and they’re in the World Series. Finally, come 11:30pm I headed to bed.

Open House

I woke through the night with my right shoulder aching enough to disrupt my night’s sleep. Despite the dull pain, I was up on time and ready to begin my Monday. I did my sit-ups but decided last minute to forego push-ups and curls to give my shoulder a much deserved break .I figured a day off could do it some good.

That helped move my morning along much faster. I was out walking Ykraps a handful of minutes earlier than usual. The sky was partly cloudy and the temperature mild. It was in the upper 50’s. We returned from our walk by 6:55am. I had plenty of time for coffee and internet, and I was more than anxious to read more about the Vikings big victory. Wahoo! Before setting out on my run I remembered that Mindy asked me to put the breakfast casserole in the oven for thirty-five minutes. What I couldn’t recall was the temperature she requested, but I simply guessed. But as it turned out, she came down to check before jumping in the shower. I was incorrect. I adjusted it warmer then departed for my run.

Run time came quickly. After a quick stretch I was on the beat still wearing my fleece even though it was warmer than lat week. I was a tad on the warm side but nothing too bad. I took notice of two extravagant Halloween displays side by side along my run. It occurred to me that folks are spending lots of dollars to doll up their homes for the series of holidays that follow. These two homes in particular were decorated as much or more than most do at Xmas.

I was hungry when I returned. Mindy was already putting the finishing touches on her morning prep. The casserole, she reported, wasn’t quite ready. I checked it and bumped up the temp a few degrees. Five minutes later I pulled it out of the oven and served up breakfast. Mindy ate then quickly departed with Bella. Jacob and I remained for our final 30 minutes of prep. I drove the BM’er. The sun was out and this was expected to be the nicest day of the my work week.

I arrived at work around 8:20am after an easy drive in. I rarely run into traffic issues even at rush hour. Seems the traffic is always going the opposite way. The work day unfolded as expected. No real surprises. I was busy, especially given that my peer was off. But I didn’t mind. The day simply flew by. Come lunch time I ran off to Lowes. I picked up one more roll of black shelf liner which will be enough to complete the tool chest project. I also looked at some tools and other stuff but didn’t buy anything else.

I left for home around 5:20pm. Mindy reminded me on my drive home that Bella had an open house at her pre-school. Mindy really wanted me to attend. I agreed. So, soon after arriving home we loaded up in the Trooper and headed to the open house. We were the only family attending at the early hour. The program ran until 8pm. I gathered we were first. But that’s OK. That’s how I prefer it. We viewed some of Bella’s art work and her written projects. In one written exercise about her home life, I noticed that she said I was her father. I was touched.

We left after about twenty minutes of visiting. As we reentered our subdivision, I drove around my run path wanting to show Mindy & the kids the Halloween display I mentioned earlier. However, there was one small problem. I couldn’t recall exactly where it was. We had to pretty much drive my entire run route. I was beginning to question my recall, and then it hit me. It was setting at about the half mile mark out from our home. I think the kids liked it.

Finally home, Mindy went right for the freezer looking for something to cook/make for dinner. I was into fast – no waiting. I warmed leftover Friday night pizza. Mindy was originally going to broil some salmon but opted instead to make salmon patties from the canned version – yuck! Meanwhile, the pizza I ate left me feeling a bit over stuffed. I didn’t care for that at all. I found the sofa where I tuned into ESPN’s MNF pregame.

It wasn’t long before Mindy had the kids in bed. I went up to do the ceremonial tuck-in before returning downstairs to watch the MNF game as well as the Indians playoff game.. Mindy didn’t last too long. She headed to bed around 9pm. I stayed up flipping the channel between both events. I stayed up until the baseball was in the bag. The Indians won. MNF was still going on when I headed to bed.

Shallow Viking Fans ... Geesh!

It was Sunday morning in a flash. I woke feeling incredibly well slept at 7:45am. The last couple of weekends I was forced to wake much earlier on at least one of the two days, though for self serving reasons.

I tried to be extra quiet leaving Mindy to her sleep. Although I knew that she’d need to be up soon for church. And truth be told, I didn’t really want to go despite her asking. I figured if she slept late then I might be off the hook for it bumping up against my run. I did the usual tasks: I readied a pot of coffee, exercised, and walked Ykraps. It was again slightly overcast but I sensed a sunny day on the horizon.

By the time I returned from my morning walk the sky was already trying to clear. I enjoyed my first cup of coffee at the PC while reading about the Buckeyes victory and the Indians thrilling extra-innings win to tie the series. Mindy was up on her own around 9am. I went ahead and readied and left for a run. It was a nice run. I ran along Trabue and Hague. At one point along Hague just north of St Margaret Catholic Church, I’ll bet I had to share the berm with as many as twenty cars. I must’ve timed my run right as mass was letting out. Geesh! That’s never happened with such volume. I made it, though and eventually back into the subdivision. I was back at home by 9:40am. By then it was completely sunny & warming nicely.

I heated myself a pancake and sausage link still leftover from the morning before. Bella, already dressed for church, asked for the same. I obliged her request. Mindy stopped down after drying her hair to ask if I was joining them. I had no good reason to back out. I cowered and agreed to go. I had no choice but to dash off to the shower in an attempt to not make them late.

We were ready to depart by 10:10am. Everyone was in the car as I checked the security of the home. We pulled away around 10:15am & arrived just a couple minutes before the service was slated to begin. I had forgotten that the main sanctuary was closed for new construction. We were instead herded into the worship hall which has been converted into a temporary sanctuary. Mindy left me with the kids while she joined the choir. The kids and I found Gloria, Mindy’s mother, sitting just a row or two from the very back. We joined her there.

Today’s theme was about the children. Not only did they have the usual children’s time, but the entire message had ties to children – apparently it’s children’s week. There wasn’t a ‘real’ sermon, however. Instead, they allowed time for the director of the United Methodist Children’s Services to speak about his services and ministries to children. It was educational, but also intended to serve as a soapbox for raising funds to help support the services. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so disconnected from a church & its message.

The service lasted just over an hour. Mindy’s mom ditched out just before the service officially ended. I was happy to go retrieve the kids from their Sunday school class. I joined up with Mindy in the hall. As she often does, though, she stayed back to socialize with the congregation - something she’s very good at. I stepped outside to take in the beautiful weather. After about ten minutes Mindy came out with the kids. We headed for home.

We both commented about how hungry we were. The kids mentioned it as well. Mindy spent the next half hour making them a snack/lunch. I enjoyed a leftover cheeseburger from last night’s grilling. The burger was great, but it sat heavy on my tummy. I wanted nothing more than to steal a few winks quietly on the sofa before heading out to take care of the lawn. I slept until 1:09pm. I never did check the clock before hand, so I am not certain just how long I slept. I felt good, though. After relaxing for a few and watching some early NFL action I got up and ready to cut the grass.

While I headed outdoors, Mindy got back to the playroom .She still wasn’t done with her reorg project. I spent a little more than two hours working on the lawn, which also included throwing the football with Jacob for about ten minutes and watering the rear flower beds. I had to rake walnuts from the lawn along the pond’s edge for the third time this fall. Their ‘fall’ was slow to finish this year. It seemed to start a tad early but was slowed by a couple of rains. Plus, this was a heavy year anyhow. All I know is that there are so many you can’t walk, let alone mow, without slipping on them. Mindy alerted me that it was 3:45pm. I was shocked by her announcement. Crap! I had no time left. I had to quickly shower and dress if we were to be on time to her mom’s. After all, being late is disrespectful.

I hurried and made the self-imposed deadline. In fact, I was in the vehicle waiting for Mindy & the kids. We arrived just before 4:30pm. Craig & Jeff, & Joe, Ivan & Riley were already there. Larry, Jody, and Ruby arrived a few minutes later, as did the others. I wasn’t sure what were having for dinner, but soon it was time. We had sloppy Joe’s, fried potatoes, chicken potpie casserole, and carrots. All very good. Later, for dessert, we had Boston Cream Pie. I had two helpings. J

It was just short of 7pm and I still didn’t know if the Vikings won or lost. I purposefully avoided the news. I figured after walking Ykraps at home that I would finally check the score. I did know that they were up with just over five minutes remaining. After arriving home and tending to Ykraps, I finally faced the music. I went to the PC to check the score. I had a good feeling about it all along. They won 34-31. They won on a last second 55 yard field goal as the clock struck :00. SKOL VIKINGS!!! I was very pleased. And if that wasn’t enough, our rookie had 361 all-purpose yards – that’s 3rd all-time! 224 of those yards were rushing. Very cool!

Mindy and I tuned into Sunday night football where we watched the Seattle Seahawks get their asses spanked by New Orleans who prior hadn’t won a single game. It was not pretty. The fans were booing incessantly. Mindy went to bed really early. I stayed up and watched more of the game. I headed to bed around 10:30pm.

Pancakes & Sausage

I woke around 5:30am only to realize that it was Saturday. I had a small headache that I treated with two Advil when I got up one of two times to pee. I leaped back into bed where I fell back to sleep until waking refreshed at approximately 7:45am.

As expected, Mindy chose to stay in bed after I woke for good. I was anxious to get downstairs and begin my Saturday morning. The first thing I did was prep a pot of coffee before beginning my morning exercises. It didn’t take long. By 8:05am I was searching out Ykraps for our morning walk. The sky was clear to the west but still a bit over cast to the east inhibiting the sun’s bright beams from shining on us. It wouldn’t be long however before we were awash in sunlight.

Mindy was up before I set out on my run. She gave me the option of sausage links or bacon. I chose sausage. She also gave me the option of pancakes or waffles. I chose pancakes. Just before 9:30am I set out on my run feeling pretty darn good. I stuck to the loop inside the subdivision. It was an enjoyable, invigorating run. By the time that I returned Mindy was putting the finishing touches on our breakfast. I helped out just a little by turning the sausage links. Soon we were enjoying the sweet maple sausages and freshly cooked pancakes.

After clean-up Mindy headed up to grab a shower before setting out for her hair appointment. I headed out to the garage to begin my work out there. My goals were simple. I planned to finish lining the tool chest with drawer liner and then carry up all the camping gear from the basement to store it on the newly built overhead shelf. In addition, I wanted to get all of my tools carried up from the basement.& stored in the new cabinets.

Mindy & Bella left sometime after 11am for the hair appointment. Jacob chose to stay home with me. I tuned into the Buckeye pre-game around 11:30am via the radio in the garage. I listened as I worked for the next 3 or 4 hours. Mindy returned from having her hair cut around 1pm. She then went to work in the basement sorting through the kids toys making room for new and readying the old for charity. That job proved larger than either of us expected. She worked down there for the remainder of the day. I carried all of the camping gear up and placed in carefully on the new shelf. Next, I got all of my tools into the garage, cleaned, carefully sorted, and finally restowed. I called it quits around 6pm while Mindy ran back to Target for some additional storage tubs. After a shower I walked Ykraps and then started the grill. Mindy asked that I grill Bubba burgers while she and Bella were out. I did. Oh yeah, the Buckeyes won large – 48 -3.

When she returned our meal was all but ready. She commented that this was the first time in as long as she could remember that I did the entire meal leaving no work for her other than coordinating her own plate. The burgers were ideal. The kids chose to eat others things – cereal comes to mind. I cracked a pumpkin ale before during and after my meal. But after three, I switched to Jack & Coke. I had two of those all the while enjoying more college football. Incidentally, we watched LSU, the number one team in the entire country go down to defeat and then caught snippets of California losing as well. That all but assured the Buckeye nation of the number one ranking come Sunday afternoon. Mindy headed to bed before me. I stayed up watching the Indians, but headed for bed prior to them winning in 11 innings.

Fertile Ground

Most importantly it was Friday, my favorite day of the entire week. I was up at my usual time excited about beginning my day. The week as a whole seemed to move faster than a speeding bullet. It was Monday and then, in the bat of an eye, the weekend. Like most other days, I exercised and then readied myself for a run all before 6:30am. Before setting out I delivered coffee to Mindy who was already in the shower.

Mindy surprised me with fried eggs upon my return. Until recently, that‘s always been a scary proposition. Thankfully, she’s finally getting the hang of it. Before she left, we briefly discussed our weekend plans which up to this point I still thought might include a round of golf early Saturday morning. More importantly, as things currently stood, this wouldn’t be a Barley’s night.

Mindy & Bella headed out at their usual time leaving Jacob & I all to ourselves. By 8:00am Jacob was ready to head to the bus stop and I was ready to depart for work.
The weather wasn’t the greatest. It was for the most part gray and still a tad chilly. However, the weekend forecast looked favorable with warming temperatures and increased amounts of sunshine. And while we could use the rain, there wasn’t any in the forecast.

Work was very busy from the moment I hit the door. If nothing else, the busyness ensured that the day moved swiftly. I still managed to escape for a lunch hour. I took yet another trip to Home Depot. There I bought some fertilizer (I haven’t fertilized since June) and a florescent work light fixture to hang over my new work center. I found the perfect light fixture in diamond plate metal to match my cabinets. I bought a couple more tool organizers for the peg board, too.

Back at work the day didn’t get easier. In fact, it might have been a bit busier. The afternoon flew by. I talked with Mindy some time around 5:30pm – just as I was leaving for home. She was at the grocery with the kids trying to knock out one of her pressing weekend chores early. I spent the little free time that afforded me walking Ykraps and then further organizing the tools in my garage.

Mindy arrived home around 6:15pm. After carrying in groceries I ordered us a pizza from Minelli’s. Having 20 minutes to burn I headed back to the garage to hang my new light fixture. That didn’t go as quickly as I thought and eventually asked Mindy if she minded running after the pizza. She reluctantly agreed to fly. That afforded me an opportunity to finish hanging the light fixture. Thanks Princess!

Soon Mindy was back with our pizza, and I headed in from the garage. We were expecting Rene to join us also. With no set arrival time, we dug into the pizza without her. I cracked open a H.R. Ale to wash it down. Yummy! Rene arrived around 7pm. She was in good spirits and brought a Greek salad and some baklava for her and Mindy to share. They drank wine while I enjoyed a few more beers. After filling myself full of pizza I retired to the family room where Mindy put in the DVD, Evan Almighty. We all got a big chuckle out of the Bruce Almighty sequel.

After the movie ended it was near 10pm. I was overcome with sleepiness, but before sneaking off to bed I updated my blog. And by the way, I didn’t tell Mindy I was sneaking off to bed. Good night!

He's a Pill

I was up at 5:30am.It was a blustery morning with full cloud cover and more chilly temps. I choked down my One-A-Day, exercised, and darted outdoors with Ykraps. For the first time all season, I dreaded the turnaround for the cold wind blowing against my face and body.

The coffee was more than satisfying after our chilly walk. I progressed through the rest of my routine including a decent meditation. Once again I donned my long running pants to combat the day’s chill. After delivering Mindy’s coffee and completing a thorough stretch, I took off on my run. It was about ten minutes ahead of schedule throwing a wrench into the usual AM encounters.
I was back by 7:07am and ready to eat my eggs. Mindy left around 7:22am leaving Jacob and I alone. He was a pill. I did my best to ignore his unpleasantness that rarely lasts more than a couple of minutes. Today was no exception.

After a brief yet enjoyable visit to the bus stop I dashed off to work in a very merry mood. The day went much like my early morning.- very well. At lunch time I dashed off to Sears and then Home Depot. At Sears I bought some new wrenches. While there I looked at all their tools and accessories. Argh-argh! At Home Depot I bought seven 2X4’s for the intended purpose of building additional shelves in the basement. I was back to work in less than an hour. Once those are in, the infrastructure for our long-term organizational project will be completely in place.

The afternoon kept me busy until almost 5:30pm. Mindy asked that I stop at Kroger for some cheese before heading home. I agreed to oblige her. While there I perused their beer aisle. Holy Smoke! They carry Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale now. Yahoo! I bought two sixers of it as well as a six of Columbus Pale Ale.

Homeward. I arrived just before 6pm. Mindy had tacos all but ready. I went ahead and walked Ykraps. After our walk we sat down at the dinner table to enjoy our Mexican fiesta. The tacos were delicious. We haven’t had home made tacos in a very long time. After dinner and clean-up, I took care of downloading some new pictures and backed up all of September’s to CD. I was a bit behind on that task. Better late than never!

We tucked the kids into bed. I watched another five minutes of High School Musical with Bella before lights out. When we returned downstairs I tuned into Thursday Night Football. I enjoyed the last of my Double Dog Dare IPA. It was probably a good thing I drank it tonight because the quality was deteriorating quickly. We headed up to bed early – around 9:20am. I needed a good night’s sleep.

There's A Change in the Weather...

I was up on time, and after the usual stuff I was outside with Ykraps. Starting out it was very clear, but it clouded over even before I returned outdoors for my run. It was significantly cooler too. It was only 46 degrees.

I bundled up for the first time all season in my long running tights. That along with a long sleeved running shirt and a fleece I was very comfortable. Not only was the air chilly, but there was a significant breeze blowing too. It was refreshing. As daylight dawned the scenery took on a very autumnish appearance. It wouldn’t be such a big deal hadn’t it just seemed like mid-summer for the past several days.

I loaded my golf clubs into the Trooper for what I hoped would be a golf Wednesday. The temperature struggled to climb all day. In fact, it actually dropped a few degrees. Our high only hit 53 degrees. We had a “tailgate” potluck planned for the midday, and one of our engineers brought in his gas grill. Seems like whenever we plan a cookout the weather always turns less than desirable.

We were very busy. The potluck food was not the best we’ve had. I even worried that some of it might make me ill. Sometime mid-afternoon Bob Imber emailed recommending Raymond as the course de’ jour. Sounded good to my ears. I didn’t leave work until 4:45pm, and made it to the course by 5pm.

We tee’d off the back – the tougher of the two. I played moderately poor. I had only one par after putting for bird on two holes. What’s really disheartening is that on a long par 5 I was putting for birdie but ended up four putting for a double- seven. Geesh! I had only one terribly played hole, however. The other two were simply poor execution.

The weather turned almost nasty. Not only was it CGDD, but it started to drizzle a little and get windy. My oh my! Darkness was approaching quickly. We finished just after 7pm, and I was home by 7:20pm.

Mindy was at choir practice. Ashley was at the house with the kids, and she brought Olivia and Lil’ Rocky. Needless to say, the house was rockin’! I had fun playing with the kids, especially Olivia. She was a lot of fun. Mindy arrived home around 8:15pm. I could tell that Ashley was beat and ready to go home. She started her new job and she’s been getting up at 5:45am. They left before 8:30pm.

Mindy and I tucked in the kids. I watched the first five minutes of High School Musical with Bella from her bed. This movie and the associated merchandise is taking off like wildfire and this was the first I had even heard of it. Wildly popular with the kids I hear. It looks like another Dirty Dancing or Grease to me.

Downstairs, I poured myself a leftover DDD. It was fresher than I expected it to be. We headed to bed around 9:30pm.

I was dragging a little bit after staying up late to watch the Indians clinch and the Cowboys pull one from their proverbial ass. Even still, I was up and about at 5:30am. My shoulders were stiff and ached through most of the night only adding to the morning’s discomfort. I took an anti-inflammatory. Soon after exercise I was out walking Ykraps on yet another balmy mid-autumn morning. This one looks like the last for a while. It was 67 at 7:10am. Tomorrow’s expected to be many degrees cooler. I carried on with my usual routine before and after my run. Mindy had eggs ready upon my return, and left a handful of minutes later. Jacob and I were left to fend for ourselves. He seemed a little grumpy after I helped carry Mindy’s gear out to the van. He threw a few punches a just as I reentered the house. I chose to ignore them and treated them instead like love taps. :) After my shower he seemed to be in a much better mood as we made our way to the bus stop. By 8:25am I was finally at work and ready to dig into whatever the day had to offer. I stayed busy all day long not taking any real breaks. I left for home around 5:20pm. The weather had changed dramatically throughout the day. While it was warm and muggy this AM, a cold front moved through as well as a band of showers leaving in its wake much cooler autumn-like air. At home Mindy had hot wings ready. We hadn’t had those in quite a while. They were very good! After dinner Jacob and I went outside to throw the football. Meanwhile, Mindy went to fetch Bella from dance class. Incidentally, Bella specifically requested that we save our bones so that she could enjoy them later. No kidding! Jacob and I threw the football for quite a long time. Some neighbors joined in late as the sky darkened quickly. We stayed out as long was we could. It didn’t go unnoticed that one of the kids was one I blasted a few weeks ago for some unscrupulous acts in front of our home. But every kid deserves a chance and he was very polite tonight. Mindy & Bella were back by 7:30pm. Mindy called the kids for a bath. I spent some time updating my blog prior to tuning into House at 9pm.

Booster Shots

The neighborhood children swangin': Makayla, Lilly, & Evan

I didn’t sleep all that well. My shoulders ached through much of the night. Still, I managed to wake just before 5:30am to get going with my day. I had put the garbage to the curb last night forgetting that it was Columbus Day. It’s not exactly one of those holidays one easily identifies with unless you happen to be a government employee.

I was quickly over any lingering effects of the weekend and ready to get on with my routine. I was alert and awake while walking with Ykraps. Because I was ahead of the curve, I was able to do everything I normally do and even managed a good meditation before my run. It was still very warm. The temperature at 6:30am was already a balmy 71 degrees. It’s definitely been more like August rather than October. Not to worry, though. By Wednesday the bottom’s supposed to fall out. We’ll be dealing with lows in the lower 40’s and highs in the lower 60’s – much more seasonable. I’ll take 74 and sunny with one day of moderate rain each week– and make that Tuesdays please.

My run went well. I was out about five minutes ahead of schedule throwing a monkey wrench into my usual encounters. I felt terrific. I was home just after 7am doing my cool down stretches on the front porch. Mindy had our eggs just about ready on the stove. I served them up so that she could do some of her own prep. After ten minutes or so of hanging out together, Mindy & Bella departed for school.

Jacob and I moved on with our morning like most others. I remained a good five or ten minutes ahead of schedule. Jacob insisted on heading to the bus stop early. We got there at 7:52am. We had over ten minutes until the bus arrived. But it was a lovely morning so no harm!

I left for work. It was 8:12am. The morning went well. Good things were happening everywhere. My day was split into two halves thanks to a Home Depot jaunt for lunch. I headed there around 1pm. I wanted to get a sheet of plywood or hardboard cut to size to put on my garage wire shelving to prevent fall-thru. I also bought some organizing drawers for all of my miscellaneous hardware (screws, nails, electrical supplies, etc…), and some gutter screen drains for my five downspouts. I was happy to see that Home Depot now carries clay colored gutters and downspouts – the exact match to my own. Able wanted an extra $1000 to do my gutters when all that’s damaged are three sections of down spouting. I can buy the materials for less than thirty bucks! GREAT!

I returned to work by 1:50pm. First, I ate my packed lunch and then got back into the day’s work. I didn’t manage to leave for the day until 5:20pm. I called Mindy from my Blackberry since I apparently left my personal cell phone at home. She was at Target with Bella, who just had her five year check-up with Dr. Craig. She got three booster shots and didn’t cry during a one. Apparently that earned her more toys. Great – just what she needs after hauling in a truck load only yesterday. :) Mindy talked of stopping at the Big Fat Greek Cuisina on her way home for carryout dinner. That suited me well. I didn’t feel up to grilling. It was still 90 degrees.

When I arrived home the house was quiet. I walked Ykraps before tending to a number of smallish chores. I readied the next day’s coffee, emptied the two party coolers, and straightened up the family room. By the time I finished the family arrived home with dinner in tow. We sat at the kitchen table and dined as a family. The gyros were good, but I wasn’t all that hungry. I ate something less than half. Satisfied, I put the remainder in the fridge for another time. The kids dashed off to play with friends after dinner. I washed all the stray dishes by hand, including Jacob’s lunch containers as well as my own.

Jacob came back home sooner rather than later. He asked Mindy and I to play “Go Fish”. We played two hands. I won the first on my initial turn!! Hey, I play to win. After cards I moved onto a little organizing. I took advantage of the two coolers that were already upstairs from yesterday’s party and stashed them away on my new overhead camping gear shelf in the garage. I placed all the hardboard shelves I bought earlier on the wire shelving too. That went well.

Mindy rushed the kids upstairs to ready for bed. In the meantime I did some work on my blog. I finished writing Friday and Saturday and uploaded both. However, I’m more than a week behind on pictures. I was eager to get to the TV to catch the Indians/Yankees game #4. The Indians could clinch a trip to the ALCS with a win. I bounced back and forth between baseball and MNF. The Indians won and so did the Cowboys.

Venus, Saturn, & Regulus

Hey, 9:00am comes quickly around here, especially when there’s so much that I want to get completed before hand. This being the first Sunday of the month, we had plans to meet the family at the Hilliard Frisch’s at 9:00am. That meant I had to be up by 6:30am to remain comfortably on task. Success! I was up at 6:25am no worse for the wear.

I prepped the morning’s coffee then got started on my exercise routine. I almost talked myself out of push-ups and curls but ended up completing them after I returned from walking Ykraps. I was treated to an amazing cosmic view on my walk this morning. There was a crescent moon nestled between a very bright Venus, Saturn, and a brilliant star named Regulus. I read about this rare occurrence on Yahoo the morning before but had forgotten about it until my eyes gazed skyward. Very cool!

After my exciting walk I returned home to enjoy some coffee and read the Yahoo headlines. I didn’t spend too much time, relaxing, however. I had to remain on task. I dressed and left for a run around 7:20am. Mindy asked to be woken at 8am. If I timed this right, I wouldn’t have to wake her until I returned, and that would still leave me enough time to shower, dress, and drive to Frisch’s.

I implemented the plan flawlessly. And the run was quite comfortable without a shirt. It was 72 degrees at 7:30am on October 7th. Holy smoke Batman! I delivered Mindy’s bedside coffee at 8:05am. She promptly upped and got in the shower while I completed a few miscellaneous chores downstairs. Around 8:20am I headed up to shower and dress. I was back downstairs by 8:35am while Mindy put the finishing touches on her own prep. I spent the next ten minutes unloading the more than full dishwasher. Finally, around 8:45am Mindy was ready. She asked if we could drive the BM’er, so drive the BM’er we did!

It was a gorgeous drive west to Hilliard. We arrived at 8:55am. Bob, his family, and dad were already there waiting by the door. We had neglected to call one another to confirm plans, but Bob and I did speak about ten days ago and loosely agreed to still meet on our regular schedule. I didn’t feel the need call. Missing again were Tommy and Shawn, both of whom have been told of our regular meeting. We carried on without them. We were seated at our regular table too. There were nine of us. Dad ordered an entrée. The rest of us partook in the breakfast buffet. Bob and family reported boating on the river Saturday afternoon. They also announced the coming of baby number three. April hand delivered Mindy’s jewelry order.

We enjoyed our Sunday breakfast. We were there only an hour. It was just before 10am when we headed our separate ways. We stopped by Kirkland’s but they were not yet opened - not until noon. We headed on home with a lot yet to do. The first thing I did was take a brief nap on the sofa. My tummy was full of heavy breakfast food (sausage, bacon, gravy, eggs, and French toast). I’m not used to that. Mindy wasn’t amused that I was slacking when there was much left to do in preparation for Bella’s celebration. After napping for a short bit I headed out back to water the flowers. I think sometimes Mindy forgets that that is a chore too. I took care of a few other chores before the two of us took a brief break just ahead of the kids return home fro ma weekend with dad around noon.
I iced and popped the coolers. Mindy left to pick-up a prescription. While she was gone, Jimaken returned somewhat unexpectedly with a big bag of ice. I got out another cooler for water and juice bags/boxes. Jim went up stairs to spend time with the kids. We had an hour before everyone was expected to arrive. Mindy returned ten minutes later and began laying out all of the eats/snacks and party favors. I set up the out door table, strung spider webbing on the pergola, and hung the pumpkin piñata from the maple tree.

Come 2pm our guests began to arrive. Soon our house was full of guests, mostly Mindy’s family save for some neighbors and their kids. Still, we had quite a house full. Being so warm outdoors – the high hit 93 degrees – not too many were eager to spend any measurable time outside on the deck. Everyone was gathered tightly in the family room and kitchen. Mindy got the kiddie games going along with the usual birthday party traditions. Soon Bella was tearing into her enormous pile of gifts. She got more crap than most kids get at Xmas! This reminded me how vigilant we must remain in our ongoing quest to weed out the old toys lest we will soon find ourselves inundated. J

About half the crowd stuck around to enjoy some Minelli’s pizza we later ordered. We used our collection of coupons to get three free. I forgot to mention that I was stung by a yellow jacket while photographing the kids whacking the piñata. If you haven’t been stung in a while, you’ve probably forgotten just how painful. Trust me – it hurts & burns like hell! Our guests all departed around 5-6pm. We were left with quite the mess.

Mindy & I walked Ykraps just after 6pm. We congregated with the neighbors for a few minutes discussing the one neighbor about to abandon us. I was feeling very tired – exhausted after a long day. Mindy diligently kept to the clean-up, even mopping the tile floor. We called the kids home a few minutes later to get baths. While Mindy bathed the kids I tuned into baseball – the Indians/Yankees game. At the same time I caught a little of the Sunday Night Football game. We were in bed before 10pm.

Prairie Oaks Metro

More than anything, I was extremely eager to sleep beyond 530am. So much so that I slept until the short side of 8am. I woke a few times through the night with petty negative thoughts swirling around my brain, but successfully talked myself down off the ledge and forced myself to think of pleasant things and eventually fell back to sleep.

As I rolled out of bed I asked Mindy if she would be sleeping in longer, although I already knew the answer. Of course she would. She always does. And given that she’s been sick only served to further cement the fact. But that works well for me as I love my alone time in the early morning hours.

I spent my initial waking minutes brushing my teeth and prepping the morning’s coffee before breaking into exercise and walking Ykraps. The morning was absolutely beautiful and very summery. The 8:15am temperature was already above 70 degrees. After enjoying some coffee and downloading pictures I readied for a run. I delivered a cup of coffee to Mindy before setting out. By then it was already 78 degrees.

My run went well, wearing only a pair of shorts. I was quite the sweaty mess by the time my run was in the bag. Mindy was up and asked if I wanted a home cooked breakfast. I did not. She next asked if I'd prefer to dine out on the way to our hking destination. Nah, I wanted neither. I was happy to eat some fruit and some quick hand to mouth stuff. Mindy reported feeling considerably better but still not perfect. However, to my delight, she still agreed to go hiking at Prairie Oak Metro Park. On that note, we wasted little time getting ready, although I insisted on getting a shower. Mindy, on the other hand, passed on a full body wash.

We were ready to head out around 11am. We took only the camera and four bottled waters. The park runs along Big Darby Creek north of I-70 and just west of Amitty Rd. After reviewing the map given to us by Bob Imber we decided to park along Beach Rd (home of the old Beach Bridge) which judging by the map would enable us to cover the most trail. We got to our destination fast even after being detoured by what we’d later learn was a fatal motor cycle accident. We parked in a lot just west of the beautiful new “Beach Bridge” right by one of many surrounding park lakes.

As we initially set out, what was most apparent was the extreme warmth. Here it is October 6th and the temperature is soaring near 90 degrees. It just seemed wrong, but I was careful not to complain being one who despises CGDD. As it turned out, there was no connecting trail to the main trail from the parking lot. We decided to walk the lake trail first. It was very picturesque. We admired the nearby homes whose yards backed up against the new parkland’s watery vistas. They're very fortunate, indeed. The initial trail probably was a mile or perhaps even a mile and one half. Half the trail was wooded while the other more meadow-like. We were pleased at the clearness of the lake water.

From there we walked over the new bridge along Beach Rd to the main trail head. We were surprised that there wasn’t a safer way to get there, but we took as much precaution as we could. Mindy showed signs of over heating as we walked along the open trail along Big Darby Creek. She commented about it being much warmer than she had planned for and also threw in not planning on being ill. I must admit, Mindy rarely complains about such things so I knew she wasn’t feeling well. She made frequent stops in the shade and spread her arms wide to feel the occasional breeze. The trail took us through varying terrain and eventually to a large open area where three small lakes abutted one another. There were parking lots, bridges, shelters, and restroom facilities. After the fact, we now knew this is where we should’ve parked making the various trails more accessible. Still, I enjoyed the trek.

Mindy was eager to find the restroom. I pointed it out off in the distance. We walked that way. You can tell that the park is new just by the signage and construction. All of the permanent infrastructure (buildings, bridges, and shelters) were built with fashionable building materials. In addition, there were signs indicating new plantings. At one point I stopped and read the history of the land and how the lakes surrounding us were once quarries serving the stone, gravel and sand industries once so prominent in these areas. It wasn’t until 2003 that Metro Parks bought the land from the Olen Corporation, which incidentally was named after the Olentangy (red face paint) Indians who were rumored to inhabit the lands up & down Big Darby Creek. And I can’t help but think the tie in with Olentangy is why they built a bridge similar to the one that crosses the Olentangy River on Lane Ave.

A little more… The old “Beach Bridge” was not destroyed. Instead, it was moved to Westerville providing a bike path over Alum Creek.

The rest of our hike took us along the Big Darby into open meadows full of local wild flowers. I got loads of great pictures. We happened upon some horseback riders and took a break along the creek itself. I feel very drawn to Big Darby. My Paternal Great Grandfather owned a cabin overlooking the Big Darby. Perhaps that’s its natural draw.

Mindy toughed out the rest of our hike and eventual return. We guesstimated that we hiked for two hours. I know I was happy to return to our vehicle. I can just imagine how happy Mindy was. Nice trip!

We were both famished after our hike. But before we’d seek to satisfy our mounting hunger, we agreed to drive around the area and look at some of the homes we saw from the park. We’ve talked a time or two about the possibility of moving out this way. We found the road leading to the houses abutting the first lake we hiked around. And to our surprise, there sat a 3800 sq ft. home on 11 acres for sale. Mindy grabbed a flyer out of the reality box. Hmmm?

That served only to whet our appetite for more. So, we drove a bit further north and happened upon a street hosting some beautiful new-looking upper tier homes – still along the Big Darby. Wow! I think I found my dream home. It was gated and sat at the back of the deadend street – probably Creekside – and complete with an absolutely gorgeous private pond winding around the back of the property.

We were done looking at homes and now ready to seek out food. We talked of Gyros but ultimately decided on a simpler choice – Burger King. We were right by one. We each ordered the same thing save for the drink. Good thing Mindy checked the order before we pulled way, however. They gave us the wrong food. I took it inside and got the right order still setting on the counter. What surprised me was that they took the order I returned and passed it right out the drive-thru window to another waiting customer. That prompted me to ask if mine had been passed out the window to another. They assured me that it hadn’t. I believed them and left. We ate our burgers on our drive home. Again, we were both famished!

The day had really heated up by now, and it was fast approaching 3pm. Mindy worked to finalize her grocery list while I took a very brief siesta. Fifteen minutes later I rose to my feet and decided to get cracking on my yard chores despite the intense heat. I was 30 minutes into my chores when Mindy kissed me goodbye on her way out to the grocery. We had lots to do in preparation for Bella’s party tomorrow. I continued working on the lawn for the next 1.5 hrs. She looked great when I finished. I wasted little time moving right to watering, not wanting to risk browning out the green grass heading into deep autumn. I watered the rear flower beds by hand before attaching the sprinkler head and hitting the front lawn.

Mindy came home with the groceries while I was busy tinkering in the garage. I stopped to give her a helping hand. It was now after 5pm. We had talked about doing a “date” (going to dinner and possibly the gallery hop) but realistically we still had too much to do before tomorrow morning. Mindy had more decorating and food to prep. I volunteered to make my homemade salsa. It was well after 6pm when we finished up our food prep and decorating. We agreed that an evening out was simply out of the question. We were happy to just stay home and enjoy the Buckeye game and perhaps a drink or two ... or three. :)

I whipped up a plate of nachos topped with cheese, salsa, and sour cream for dinner. Aside from having one hell of a kick, they were very tasty. I tapped my jug of Barley’s Double Dog Dare IPA too. I’m afraid to say, however, that the new jugs (crappy cap) don’t seem to keep the freshness in so well. In just one day the beer had already lost quite a bit of the bite I crave. About the time we finished the nachos the Buckeye game was kicking off. Purdue came into this game undefeated and promising a “Black Out”. We kicked their ass. I am still not sure if there was a black out. If so, it went largely unnoticed. :)

Mindy headed to bed even as the Buckeye game carried on. But honestly, the outcome was never in doubt. Late in the game it was announced that USC went down to defeat. And pehaps equally entertaining, LSU was losing to Florida. If that score held there was talk of the Buckeyes leaping to one or two in the nation. Not so fast fellas!! I stayed up and watched the end of the LSU game. They came back and won. I was up until midnight.

Just a Smidge Between Your Teeth & Gums

I was up on time but felt utterly exhausted after tossing and turning through most of the night. I pushed through my sit-ups, but instead of doing moving on to my push-ups and curls I went ahead and walked Ykraps. I thought I might skip them all together, but I ended up completing them just before setting out on my run. When Ykraps and I got back from our morning walk I took a brief ten minute nap on the sofa. Feeling marginally better I got up and dressed for my run. I didn’t wake Mindy because she called off of school due to her sinus infection. I set out on my run around 6:40am.

It was an unusually warm morning for early October. It was 68 degrees. I wore just a long sleeved shirt but it was even a bit warm for that. The run did wonders for kicking the sleepies. I felt a hundred times better after finishing my run. I woke Mindy when I got back at her request. She was planning to make Jacob’s school lunch but I volunteered to do it so she could keep sleeping. Time was running short. It was 7:45am after I finished making his lunch, and I still needed to get in the shower. I got Mindy involved in Jacob’s morning prep so I could move forward with my own. She was shoving him out the door for the bus stop just as I was coming down the steps dressed and ready for work. I walked down to the bus stop just behind him.

Pat & Alena were already there like most other days. We chatted briefly before the bus pulled up. After the kids boarded the bus I headed back home to warp up my morning prep and dash off to work. I drove the Trooper thinking that I might stop at Home Depot for some more plywood shelving. I left at 8:12am. Mindy stayed up as she had to get Bella ready for preschool.

Work was busy, but when aren’t Fridays that way? I didn’t pack a lunch after making plans to take one of my leads to lunch for his birthday. We decided on Wind Chimes, a small Chinese restaurant in Dublin. We left at 12:30pm. Another buddy and co-worker, Jay P. went along too. We all ordered War-Su-Gai. I had a bowl on Won-Ton soup also. It was delicious. We were back at the office just after 1:30pm. By then it was quite warm outside. The temperature soared to 88 degrees.

The afternoon got a little crazy in the office. I was inundated with issues needing my attention. The last hour or two was the busiest. I didn’t get out of the office until 5:30pm. I was eager to get home and begin my weekend. I called Mindy who reported sleeping a great deal of the day away. Because of this uninterrupted rest, she was feeling significantly better. This was a Jimaken weekend and that meant a Barley’s Friday. Soon after my arrival home wee walked Ykraps together. When we got back I mixed myself a Jack & Coke to jump start my weekend. It worked perfectly.

Mindy readied for Barley’s early and asked that we not stay out too late. We drove the Trooper. Mindy initially indicated that she probably wouldn’t do any drinking. There wasn’t any real estate available when we first arrived, but after an hour or so two stools opened up at the bar. We took advantage of the situation. The lion’s share of the crowd was paying close attention to the Indians/Yankees playoff game. The game was close making for an exciting time, especially if you happened to be an Indians fan. The game didn’t disappoint. There was even what some deemed divine intervention as thousands upon thousands of smidges descended on the ball field disrupting any momentum the Yankees might’ve had. The Indians seemed to use the event to turn the tide and eventually won in extra innings 2-1. The bar erupted as the winning run crossed the plate.

After the game we had our jug topped off with DDD and then departed for home. We didn’t stay up long at all. It was something like 10:05pm. I took a peek out the back door to see if the neighbors were out but they weren’t. And like a wise soldier I took two Advil before jumping head long into bed.

Beyond A Late Awakening

I recovered quite nicely and was up even before the clock struck 530am. Yet despite my easy rise, my head felt a little groggy as I moved through my morning routine. Finally, out of doors, I was awestruck by the moon and stars shining ever so brightly in the clear sky above. I was eager for my first cup of coffee upon our return inside. Its medicinal tendencies were apparent almost instantaneously. Ahh! I read the Daily OM and a few Yahoo headlines before jumping into quiet meditation. I didn’t have a great deal of time, however if I were to remain on task - only about ten minutes. I delivered Mindy’s coffee. It was then that I realized I had no clean running clothes for the morning’s jaunt. I sifted through my dirty running clothes basket and pulled out a pair of shorts and a shirt. I mean come on, Tow months ago I would run in the same shorts and shirt for an entire week. The only difference was that now they lay damp in a clothes basket. Ewh! I have them warm with body heat & fresh sweat in no time at all, however. I dashed out the door at 6:30am on the nose. It was a most pleasant run. The clear sky aided the coming daylight. The sky lit up in fantastic orange hues on the eastern horizon. I was amused. I finished my run by 7:10am. It was fully daylight by then. After cool down stretching I proceeding inside to tear into some scrambled eggs already prepared by Mindy. Ye, she was up & about despite sounding like she should be in the hospital. She spoke of feeling marginally better but sounded horrible. Her eyes told the story as much as her raspy voice. It wasn’t long before Mindy & Bella were gone and Jacob and I were home finishing up with our morning routines. I was intent on driving the BM’er and told Jacob as much. For this reason alone, he was eager to catch a ride to the bus stop with me. At the bus stop we met Pat & Alena who were already in place. We chatted only briefly before the school bus pulled up and boarded the children. Work was on the busy side. I was completely engrossed in my day’s work. I didn’t stop to take a lunch break and readied to leave for home just after 5:15pm. I could see that I-270 was backing up so I opted instead for Old Dublin Rd. Besides, that’s a much prettier drive anyhow. Bella greeted me as I opened and entered the garage. She reported her mother napping in bed. I surmised that Mindy was feeling poorly. After tending to a couple of quick chores I leashed up Ykraps for his evening walk. It was a warm one. The temperature was still hovering near 85 after topping out at 87. The weekend looks even warmer with near record high temps predicted. I was felt a sudden lack of energy about the time that Ykraps and I returned. I continued with a few miscellaneous chores. Mindy was up & about now too. She looked ill and expressed feeling the same. I insisted that she go to bed and allow me to take care of the house & kids for the night, but she refused and went about her usual routine of caring for the two demanding children. Oh, and by the way, her rendition of the conversation might be a little different. J Neither of us felt the energy to cook a significant meal. Jacob was put out after asking for hot wings. But we convinced him to enjoy a bowl of cereal as a change of pace. And he eventually bought in. Mindy did the same. Afterwards, she went out on the deck seeking the warmth of the evening air. I went horizontal on the sofa. I’m not sure for how long, but I did go out. It felt incredibly good. I heard Mindy outside coraling the children impressing upon them the need to head in and get a bath. It must’ve been somewhere near 7:30pm. While she bathed the kids I surfed between the multiple sports programming. I bounced between the Thursday Night Football pregame and the Indians baseball game. Just as the kids were getting into bed I decided to pop some corn. I put it in the microwave, but didn’t start it. Instead, I went up and tucked in the children. When I returned I started the microwave. I knew instinctively that they would come a’calling for popcorn once they smelt it. They always do. As expected, as soon as I emptied the bag into my bowl the howls for some began. Mindy asked why I do that – pop corn just as they’re going to bed. I caved and allowed Bella to join me. And while Jacob asked once, I could tell he was on his way to sleep. I could tell by the slowness and tone of his voice. I had to ask Bella a couple of times to keep her noise to a whisper while downstairs. She can be a very noisy kid. After sharing my popcorn she eventually sought out her momma. Mindy found herself tucking in the kids for a second time. Afterwards, she came back down and laid with me for a while before heading off to bed around 9:15pm. I chose to stay up a while longer ultimately falling asleep on the couch while watching football and baseball.

I'm Going Mentel

I woke about ten minutes late for the first time in weeks. I was troubled by this for just a minute. In the end, however, only my pride was damaged. I moved on with my morning like any other. Ykraps and I didn’t make it back form our walk until 6:15am. For the first time in recent memory I felt a sudden sense of urgency about my morning. No longer do I have time to squander on frivolous activities. If I don’t stay on task I will impact others. I need to be out the door running by no later than 6:40am other wise I risk Mindy being late. That’s a lot of pressure I didn’t realize until now.

With that in mind I pressed forward with my morning agenda. I downed my first cup of coffee and checked the weather forecast online. I poured Mindy a cup of coffee and delivered it shower side. The one consolation was that Mindy slept in by fifteen minutes too. It was already 6:30am and I wasn’t even dressed for my run. That same ten minutes was impacting my morning, indeed. I dressed and stretched for a run fast. I could tell just by the morning sky that I was leaving later than usual. The sky was already brightening in the eastern sky.

It was already 7:20 when I made it back to the house. Mindy was running around trying to tie up loose ends before departing for work. She apologized for not making my eggs but I was happy to make my own. I fried myself two. Just before leaving she asked if I would still try to make it to Jacob’s walk-a-thon. I agreed to make it a priority. I woofed down my eggs and saw to it that Jacob had breakfast before descending on the shower.

I sped through my shower and dressing process enough to allow a few minutes to ready Jacob for the bus stop. While he dashed off to the bus stop I threw my golf clubs into the Trooper to ready for the evenings golf. I was at the bus stop along with Pat, Alena, and Jacob right at 8:05am.

I made it to work at my usual time. I let my two peers know that I needed to leave for an early lunch around 9:30am to attend Jacob’s walk-a-thon. I want to support Jacob but don’t know that I agree with the idea of a “PTA fundraiser”. Why?

I left for Beacon Elementary at 930am sharp. I arrived a few minutes before his class was scheduled to walk. The school grounds were well prepared for such an event as they had the playfield and playground nicely decorated and marked off. In addition, they had fun music blaring and a bubble & fog machine working. A look around, there weren’t that many other parents present, and even fewer of them were men. But I didn’t mind. Jacob spotted me right away. He seemed very happy to see me and was eager to give me a hug.

It wasn’t long before we were given our instructions and started our walking. The kindergarten team was already 15 minutes into their walk. And judging by the itinerary, each grade would start 15 minutes after the prior. I walked with Jacob and a couple of his buddies. We had fun. Soon it was obvious that the girls in Jacob’s class like him quite a bit. He sheepishly played off their youthful advances and explained how they always chase him on the playground. Yep, that’s where it ALL begins! We completed seven laps around the trail in about 35 minutes before I had to depart. Jacob seemed happy when I left. I’m glad that I made time for him. I arrived back at the office by 10:30am just like I planned.

I didn’t take another break throughout the day. We did have our weekly staff meeting that went until 12:45pm. That helped the day speed along. I received an email form Bob Imber around that same time about the evening’s golf. Later we decided on Mentel Memorial (formerly Bolton). I haven’t golfed there in probably 15 years.

I stayed profusely busy right up until 4:15pm when I prepared to leave for golf. I departed at exactly 430pm. A quick glance at the freeway traffic looked sparse. For this I was thankful. But spares it was not, at least by the time I made it on. Instead, I was cast into the biggest traffic jam I have been part of in quite awhile. It was bumper to bumper – stop & go from Cemetery Rd all the way to the Broad St East exit I decided to exit on. That ended up costing me, though. Surprisingly, by the time I made it to Georgesville Rd and i-270 I could see that the freeway & exit were clear. That never happens!

I made it to Bolton by 5:12pm. On any other day I would’ve been there just before 5pm, I’d guess. But truthfully, the traffic cost only the frustration. I was certain that both Bob’s were stuck in it too. And they were. We were seemingly in no hurry. There wasn’t anyone immediately in front of us or behind. Just how we like it. We tee’d off just before 5:30pm.

I hit a typical first tee drive – poorly, but recovered and was on the 400 yard par 4 in three. I two putted to take a bogey – five. And I pared the next long par five. Setting me up for what I hoped would be a good round. The next hole had other ideas, however. I hit my tee shot into a pond about 175 yards out on the right. After dropping and hitting three my next shot went slightly of course and disappeared in a little dip about 100 yards in front of me. We all looked for my ball but couldn’t find it anywhere. We moved on believing that it must’ve went down an open 5 inch drain just off in the rough. I ended up taking a seven, having to sink a nice putt to salvage that. Shake it off!

I played reasonably well for the next five holes paring one more and bogeying the rest. I was hitting some very nice shots indeed. On hole number nine I hit a somewhat poor tee shot but certainly not one I couldn’t recover from. Sadly, though, I duffed my next shot, and then put my approach shot about 20 yards left of the green. Four on – three putt – seven! Ouch! And by the way, we played hole number 4 twice after allowing a fast moving twosome behind us to play through.

The sun was setting as we finished. In fact, it was difficult to judge the balls flight or distance on the last hole in the dusky conditions. I checked my Trooper clock once on board for home. It was only 7:30pm. I arrived home well before 8pm. Mindy and the kids were snuggled up in Bella’s bed watching a movie on her new TV/DVD combo. In the meantime, I went back downstairs to feed my overzealous hunger. Wanting something fast, but tasty, I decided to whip up some nachos with melted cheese. After nuking them, I topped with sour cream and some of my hot homemade salsa. They were unbelievably delicious.

Mindy came downstairs after putting the kids in bed. Taking that as my queue, I went up and tucked them in.