20210731 + Dave's 50th

 20210731 + Up in the am and got some things done around the house. L gave me a haircut and then I rinsed off and Hazel and I headed out. We swung by the post office and Goodwill on our way to the dog park for a short visit. We then drove through Wendy's but J was working back on the grill so we didn't get to see him. Home and I dropped Hazel off and went to the grocery to pick up some stuff and Benadryl for L/s bee sting. Home and got some things done for work while watching the Olympics and throwing the ball to Hazel. D called a couple of times, his move was going good and they are in the new place already. J home from work and is going to spend a night with a friend. G called from the pool and is going to spend the night with a friend. L&I got ready and headed up to Mansfield for Dave's surprise 50th bday party. It was a nice crowd and some old faces I haven't seen for years were there. It was great to catch up folks and celebrate with Dave. We hung out a little while and then wanted to head home before dark. Home and got Hazel out of the cage and finished up work email.

20210730 - BAD DOG!

20210730 - Up late and L ran to Nicole's for the day. I got to the desk, had a couple calls, paid bills and got things ready for next week. G headed to the pool and J headed out. D called looking for the white car to move to his new apartment. I was chained to the desk. D showed up and got the white car and L home shortly after. L made some chocolate chip rice crispy treats for D and his buddies, set them on the counter to cool and headed outside to mow. I was in the office and heard some strange noises and then a loud thud! I went out to the kitchen and Hazel had helped herself to the treats! G had some friends come over to spend the night and L&I just hung out in the living room watching the Olympics for the evening.

20210729 + Another Try

20210729 + Up in the am and in to the office for a couple all day meetings. Got a lot done in the meetings and headed home in good time. Got G and we headed to a tryout with the team he wants to play for. Not a lot of folks there, but a couple good ones we'd like to get. D was there and helped with the tryout, it was a really nice place. Home and relaxed and watched some of the Olympics with L in her newly rearranged living room.

20210728 - Creekside Fun

20210728 - Up in the am and G at XC and his buddies are asleep upstairs. I got on the PC and calls and got the day rolling. G and his friends up making noise so I shut myself in to finish the day. At the end of the day the McClains showed up and we walked down to Creekside to have dinner and listen to some music at the park. It was a good time and we finished the night off with a game around the table. 

20210727 - SKUNKED!

20210727 - Well I let Hazel out at 3am and she found 2 skunks in our backyard... and yup, she got sprayed...  L&I didn't let her in and gave her a bathing outside. L had a good plan and got her pretty clean after 1 try... Up in the am exhausted from the all night skunkipade with Hazel... Got to the desk and made the most of the day. Moved a bunch of things forward so that was good. J at work, G at the pool all day, Gma&paB stopped by and then went to lunch at Wendy's to see J. L got herself ready and went to a selling party with one of her girlfriends. I worked late and then Hazel and I were alone so we warmed up some leftovers and headed out to the porch to eat, watch the Olympics, do some email and throw the ball a million times. G's buddy Trent showed up and we hung out watching TV until G and his other friend Jack showed up. I played the boys in Trouble and they beat me in the first game, and then headed upstairs to set up their xboxes. L home and we hung out watching more Olympics until late.

20210726 - Destruction Crew

20210726- Up in the am and ran to get blood drawn. Home and J at work, L ran to get G from his buddy's house and then she started doing the next step on her bathroom project and I got on the PC. G headed to the pool and had a normal day. At the end of the day Ed, G's coach for next year showed up and we went to the OEB tryout so he could see some of the kids. G didn't go so it was a bit awkward... We didn't stay long, Ed met Bill and Chris and we watched a bit and headed home. Home and hung out with L watching Olympics.

20210725 - Picnic

20210725 - Up in the am and J headed to work and LG Hazel and I headed to Delaware to meet up with L's family for a picnic. IT was a nice time and really good to see folks and catch up. It was really hot and I was feeling pretty tired so we didn't stay to late. Home and L ran G out to a friend's to spend the night. D stopped over to get supplies to clean up the house he's living in before he moves in to the new one. L and I sat around watching the Olympics. J home after a long day and watched some of the skateboarding with us before heading upstairs. L&I watched some gymnastics and swimming before heading to bed. I was up late.

20210724 + Leak In A Tire

20210724 + Up in the am, J at work and L made G&I some bfast. I gave L directions for the next step of the bathroom demolition and G&I headed out to the garage to fix D's tire that has been going flat for a while. We got it off, found the leak, went to he auto parts store to pick up a repair kit. Home and taught G how to fix D's tire and get it put back on. G got the rest of D's tires inflated to the right pressure and then helped me fix the back porch swing for L. Ed, G's baseball coach for next year showed up and hung out on the back porch for a bit talking baseball. It's amazing the folks Ed knows, Butch Reynolds (one time Olympic gold metal winner and 400m world record holder) that he is going to have teach the boys how to run, Pete Rose that he's going to try to get and come talk to the boys... The list goes on and on... D home and hung out with us on the back porch for a bit. Ed left, D left and L came out to hang on the porch with me and G headed up to the Xbox. L&I hung out while I got caught up on some things from a really crazy week...

20210723 - Demo Day

20210723 - Up early and in to the office. A guy that was a key player in the meeting and supposed to be there texted and said he wouldn't make it, so I called and fired him. Meeting happened and took all day. Good progress, finding lots of things that need fixed... Home in good time and hung out with L for a bit, and she showed me her demo work for the day before we ran to pick up pizza for dinner. Home and ate and D showed up. One of the tires on his car has been losing air for a month, so he's going to take our car to Massilon for softball tomorrow. D hung out and ate, chatted with us and watched some of the Olympic opening ceremonies. G home from the pool and ate and hung out too. J home from work, D took off and G headed upstairs. I woke L up so she could se the USA folks march in and the final pieces of the opening before heading to bed.

20210722 - Final Tryout

20210722 - Up in the am, feeling better today. L took Hazel on a walk and then started working on her bathroom demo. J left the house at 6am to go to Wendy's and G went to XC this morning. I hit the desk and am trying to get caught up from being out of pocket for 3 days. I got a bunch done and was glad to be working from home, except for all of L's banging around in her bathroom demo... I finished my day up a bit early and G&I headed up to Olentangy for a tryout. This tryout was for the Arsenal, G's current team, and G lead the warm ups and stretching. There weren't as many kids there as we thought would show up, but some good ones. Chris, Bill and I had to help with the tryout. It was a good tryout and a couple kids committed right away. G got an offer and I think this is where he will land. G&I headed home and picked up some gas and Arby's on the way. Home and not up too late as I'm not 100% yet.

20210721 - Big Try

20210721 - Up in the am and feeling better today. Drove myself to the office and we dove right in to the meeting. It was productive and took the first half of the day. Everyone headed out to do their thing and I stayed in the office for a couple more hours to take some calls and get some things done. Home and got Grant and we headed over to the Bo Jackson Dome in Hilliard for another baseball tryout. There were 67 kids there trying out, it was crazy. G did eh ok at fielding, but ran, hit and pitched well. Bill, Tom and a bunch of dads I have met throughout the years were there and we chatted about this and that to pass the 3 hours we were there... After the tryout G&I took Andrew with us and we stopped at a Waffle House, but they were closed, so we just headed home. I saw a sign for another Waffle House on the way home, we swung in and it was open. We sat down and had some dinner and and the boys blah blah blah the whole time. We were full and headed home. I told some bad dad jokes and we got Andrew delivered home. G&I got home and settled in for the night.

20210720 + 70%

20210720 + Up early and feeling a bit better, about 70% and L drove me in to work. We had an all day meeting and I was pretty quiet in the morning. We walked to get some lunch and I felt better after lunch and participated more. We had some good discussions on moving the company forward. D checked in with me to see if I need a ride home, but we weren't done yet. We finished our meetings and walked to dinner at the Whitney House. It was a good meal and feeling better as the day went on. CB drove me home. Home and G decided not to go to the tryout we had lined up for the night, which was fine with me. Hung out at home and relaxed the rest of the night.

20210719 - ER Again

20210719 - Up in the am and not feeling 100%... Had meetings in the office today so headed in to work. I got VERY lightheaded driving and thought this is NOT RIGHT... Made it to work and CB was in the parking lot when I got there. He took one look at me and said 'You ok?' I said no and he threw me in his car and ran me to the fire station up the road... They checked me out and everything looked fine, but wanted me to go the ER. So I got an ambulance ride to the ER. Made it to the ER, they hooked me up ran some fluids in me and drew blood. L showed up. Tests all came back ok. The Dr. said you have a pulse of 49, are you an elite athlete? I replied of course I am! He said everything looks fine, go home, drink lots of fluids, get some rest and call your Dr. L drove me home. I hung out on the couch with Hazel guarding me for the rest of the afternoon. Chris took G to a tryout and L&I headed to the tryout towards the end of it to pick G up. Home and took it easy and headed to bed early.

20210718 - Ka Nigits!

20210718 - Up in the am G headed to the pool and L&I headed to Friendship park with hazel to take a walk to where the rivers meet for her to play in the water a bit. We got there and walked back to the rivers but the water was raging. We took the long way back and came out in a field full of knights have a battle. Home and I set up on the back porch determined to make it through my hundreds of emails before tomorrow meeting. I hung out in the breeze with my laptops and some beers, throwing the ball to Hazel a million times and got done as the sun went down. in to the house and J bac from vacation. We talked to him for a bit before he vanished upstairs.

20210717 - Mud Hole

20210717 - Up in the am and L at Panera with some work friends. I got to the desk and got the bills paid. L home and I finished up and then took Hazel to a dog park in New Albany for a change of scenery. It was a mud hole and a mean little pit bull showed up so we headed out and took a nice walk around a 1.25 mile loop at the park. Home and L&I hanging out on the back porch and I got a call from Bill letting us know he was at Tom Sr's bday party at Coach's. L didn't want to go so I walked down and hung out a bit and headed home before dark.

20210716 - Pill Popper!

20210716 - Up in the am and internet works today!!! So I worked from home. L ran G to and from XC and he vegged out most of the day. L ran errands and I was on calls and buried in email. At the end of the day I shipped ebay stuff and Hazel and I headed to the Post office to drop them off, the gas station to get beer and lotto, but the lotto machine was broke, and to McD's to pick up dinner. Home and LG&I ate downstairs and watched the new 'Space Jam' movie, it was cute. G reported he wasn't feeling good as he headed up to play on xbox and L FINALLY GOT HIM TO SWALLOW A PILL. The years long battle is finally over and he didn't die from the pill getting stuck in his throat or cutting him on the way down, PRAISE THE LORD!!! L and I celebrated and watched another move, well she slept. L headed up to bed and G came down and we watched a documentary on 'Action Park' and both decided that would should build a park like that on the farm! We got to be about 3am...

20210715 ‡ BAD DOG!

20210715 ‡ Up in the am and there's no internet... On hold with WOW for 18 min before I hand the phone off to L and jump in the shower. As soon as I got my entire body wet WOW takes us off hold and is ready to talk... I jump out and take the call, the lady can't find the issue so schedules someone to come out on 7/19... Not very helpful... So I pack up and head in to the office. I stop at an auto parts store on the way in to get brake pads for my squeaky brakes and they only have the fronts. I go across the street and they have both so buy them there. On in to the office taking a couple calls on the way. In to the office and chat with folks for a min before finally getting set up and starting the day. L calls and says, would this black cable that Hazel has been chewing on be our internet that isn't working? Deep breath... I will look at it tonight... Got a couple of things done, saw D at work and arranged for him to come over and help a bit this evening. Headed out a bit early and D came over. We dug up the old cable and buried a new one. L made us dinner and we chatted a bit. To the garage and D helped me change the brakes on the Hyundai, no more squeaking! We finished up about 9pm and D took off and I was exhausted. Got a shower and headed to bed.

20210714 - Line Up

20210714 - Up late, J stopped by to drop off his car on the way to Raleigh. L carried G to XC and I got to the desk. PC still not working how I would like it to, but it is working good enough for today. Lining things up and getting the priorities knocked out. G home from XC and went to the pool for a bit. I got some more things done and before I knew it it was time to head to Newark for another tryout for G. We got there as it started and the talent was NOT good. G stuck it out and while I was waiting for him to pitch I heard the announcer from the big field say a kids name that I knew so I headed over there and found his mom and chatted a bit. Back to G and he was done, said no way he's going to that team... Home and we stopped at Popeye's on the way home to get some dinner. Home and ate and watched some of the NBA finals game. GpaW called to check in, sounds like he's doing a bit better. To bed, not up so late.

20210713 - Trying Out

20210713 - Up in the am, L ran G and Owen to XC and J at work. I got online for work and the internet shut off and the power dropped twice. L ran and got G and then took him to his orthodontist appointment. I got on the phone with the internet provider. L&G home, still no internet... L went to a friend's from work for a staff summer party. Internet back up and back at the desk trying to salvage the day. Internet back down.... Day pretty much shot. Did get a couple things done and then G&I headed out with a stop at the post office on the way to a tryout. We got to the tryout early and the place was empty. I checked online and the location and been moved :-o We rushed down to Berliner and still made it in time for the tryout despite having no gas. The Bowman's showed up for the tryouts and Chris and I proceeded to commentate the tryout with much comic inappropriateness that made the couple hours goby much faster. This was by far the best tryout so far, very organized, structured and thorough. After the tryout G&I headed home with a stop to get gas and raffle tickets from Andy's where G found a new car to be obsessed with, a 1989 Nissan 300ZX... smh  We stopped by the Chinese place on the way home to get our order we called in while getting gas and headed home to eat and watch the All-Star game with L. Home and J had already left for his 2nd vacation of the summer.

20210712 + GRAND SLAM

20210712 + Up in the am and J heading in to work, L and Hazel had already had a big walk and I headed in to the desk for the day. It was a slow day around the house and towards the end of the day LG Hazel and I headed out. First stop was an auction to pick up some stuff and then on to Berliner for a baseball tryout. We were early so went to a McD's that was close to get some food. Got to the field and the tryout started and they had really cool tech, that didn't work... There was a lot of standing around... Hazel and I walked down to watch some of D's softball game. We got to see D hit an in the park grand slam and beat the pants off the other team. After the game I walked halfway back to G's tryout that was still going on and met up with the Bill and Brady, they headed to D's game to watch a bit and I walked back to meet them there. L joined us and D's second game wasn't so good, it was the championship game and they lost. Good to see D and his buddies having fun. After D's game we went back to get G and the tryout just finished... Home and J home late.

20210711 - Head High

20210711 - Up in the am and got the PC rolling to get $in. G&I headed to a baseball tryout and had a good conversation about net year and what factors will help decide where he goes. We got there and I made him go check in, he wanted me to do it and I told him, you're gonna be 15, you can start doing some of this for yourself, so he went up and did just fine :-)  The place was small and no place for me to get anything done so I headed in to work, it was only 7 minutes away. I got some things done and then headed back to pick G up and listen to the propaganda. Home and I took Hazel to the dog park for a bit. There was only 1 other dog there and it was nice and quiet. After a bit we drove through Wendy's to see J and get frostys. Home and I got back to the desk. J home and got cleaned up and then LJG Hazel and I headed East on Morris Rd. looking for a corn field. It must be the year for beans as we had to drive 15 miles out to find corn. A couple days late but we got our 'knee high by the 4th of July' pic. We got our pic taken, headed home and then J took off and G headed up. I finished up the PC work and then watched a bit of TV with L and checked in with Gma&paW. Couldn't sleep, up way too late.

20210710 + Last Hit

20210710 + Up in the am and J at work and LG&I headed to Newark for G's baseball game. We got there and Gma&paB joined us. The boys played a pretty good game, G went in and pitched wonderfully, but there just isn't a defense... G had 2 great hits, way out in the outfield and both were caught. They hung in there and they were only down by one, 7-6, going in to the last inning. And then the wheels FLEW OFF THE BUS.... error after error after error and game over 22 to 6... What a beating! Gma&paB joined LG&I for lunch at Bummie's Pub & Grub for some AMAZING burgers. Full and we headed home. Home and I took a little nap. While I was napping there were texts about the team and we're not going to play tomorrow, after that beating we are calling it a day and ending the season...  I threw the ball with Hazel a bit and then grabbed the laptop to get some things done. Hazel tried on some underpants and L&I watched a movie to finish off the night.

20210709 - Stag Beetle

20210709 - Up in the am and L&G headed to Newark for baseball. I got to the desk and got a bunch done. D swung by the house to pick up some clothes with a couple of his buddies. J got himself around, came down for food, and vanished back up the steps. I listened to G's game as I worked and glad I didn't make the trip. L&G home and I finished my day. We headed out to the back porch, ordered some subs and sent J to pick them up. We ate and then the McClain's stopped over to hang out a bit. G, Brady, Amaya and their cousin went down to Rita's to get some ice cream. We chatted and chatted and the neighbor Nate, his daughter Jillian and a Sam, a new neighbor from down the way showed up to chat too. we got word of when our game was the next day and so did the McClains, they had a super early game so they took off. I hung out with the neighbors a bit longer and we found a stag beetle hanging out on the porch. We chatted for a bit and then headed to bed.

20210708 - 2 Birds 1 Silver Chain!

20210708 - Up in the am and on calls straight away, I shipped ebay stuff listening to folks talk. Hazel dug something up and L had to wash her feet. L&G then headed to Newark for G's baseball game. I listened as I worked and got a TON done today. G's game was a easier to listen to as they were winning and G was 2 for 2 before the rain came and delayed the game. They called it in the 4th inning and I think it will count as a W.. I finished up my day and headed to the back porch where I hung L's swing up with a bolt through the rafter so it won't fall anymore, used the same chain to make G a silver chain necklace he has been begging for, chatted with Doc, fixed the door knob from the garage to the kitchen, reattached the screen to the back screen door, and removed a quarter from the garbage disposal so it would turn again. L cooked some dinner and we ate on the back porch and hung out there until late.

20210707 - Watch Dog

20210707 - Up in the am and it is a catch up day. G went to XC this morning, L mowed and then headed to Marlene's to swim. I'm chained to the desk and Hazel keeps coming in to check on me...  Had a busy day and finished up. Had something to eat with L and then headed to Mallonn's to do some electrical work. Home and hung out for a bit before ending the day.

20210706 + Couch Potatoes

20210706 + Up in the am and in to the office to get the short fast week rolling. J was already at work and L ran G to the Dr. to get his school physical done. I got a couple email things done and then headed in to the Worthington office. Checked in with D and the crew and then had an IT company in for a meeting. Headed home, Lonie came over for dinner and stayed and chatted a bit. Watched some TV and headed to bed.

20210705 - Step It Up

20210705 - Up in the am, J in to work early, and I did a couple of work things before heading over to our rental to have a look at the steps. I see why the handyman wouldn't touch it... I made a list of supplies and then headed home to get them. I got my tools loaded up and headed to Home Depot to get the lumber. Got everything and headed to the rental. I swung by the house to pick D. D&I got there and in a couple hours got the old steps removed and the new steps built. Home and D had to take off to get ready for softball and I jumped in the shower to get all the sawdust and crawlspace crap off of me. Nice working with D today. After a bit G&I headed to a baseball tryout. G's buddy Trent went and his dad Chris and I sat in his truck and Bob Menery commentated the whole tryout, we were crying :-) Home and J home from work, L fed G&I and we watched the Bachelorette before heading to bed.

20210704 ‡+ Relaxing 4th

20210704 ‡+ Up in the am, J at work and Trent came over and the boys headed to the pool. L&I walked down to the parade by ourselves and watched the parade that had a really nice crowd. We saw lots of folks we knew along the road and in the parade. We crossed the road adn went to Wendy's to get a Frosty and watch the rest of the parade in the air conditioning. We then headed to the poll where we didn't bother G too much and sat and people watched and chatted the afternoon away. G and soem of his friends were heading to our house so we left and went and got subs for the dinner. Home and fed the boys and just relaxed the rest of the evening. A nice lazy day!

20210703 - All Over Boom

20210703 - Up from a pretty sleepless night and LG&I headed to G's game. Uncle Russ met us there and stayed to watch the game. G had a great game and got a couple really good hits that PBR published online. They lost but it was nice to chat with Russ. The Amos' joined us on an adventure as we found the Sugar n' Spice Diner. THe lady's were nervous by the looks of the place but once we parked and got inside to take a look it was a supre cute little palce and with an hour wait at 11am you know it had to be good. We weren't going to wait so we found Gordo's Pub and Grill, another dive and had an AMAZING meal! Home and hanging out. J losing his mind because he didn't want to stay home tonight, so I disconnected his car battery, he couldn't figure out why it wouldn't start... People showed up and we watched a spectacular fireworks show in our front yard. After the show some neighbors stayed and chatted on back porch.

20210702 - Sliding Catch

20210702 - UP in the am and did a couple of quick things at the desk and then L&I headed to Cincinnati. We got to the university baseball field and got to watch G play on this beautiful field. My buddy Chris' son lives here on campus and he grew up around my boys in school and scouts and he swung by to watch and chat and tell us about life in the big city. G played well and had an amazing sliding catch the PBR featured on their social media. After the game LG&I headed to Quaker Steak and Lube where G and Trent had arranged for the team to go and eat. No one else showed up... We ate and then headed to the hotel. We got there and they don't clean the rooms unless it is prearranged, that didn't happen. There were no towels, took us 3 different trips and 5 different keys to get in to the room and it was a shit show from 3 boys staying there last night... and they are completely booked so I can't just grab a clean room... We headed to the Reds game and met up with G's team. It was a great time, the Reds won and there were fireworks afterward. Back to the hotel and they had cleaned the room up a bit after my talking with the manager on the way out. Checking on things and J still not home, 2am, Hazel been locked in her for 6 hours... Not happy with J...

20210701 - LONG DAY

20210701 - Up in the am and G&I headed to Cincinnati for his first game. it was a bit rainy so I found a place out of the weather to watch the game. It was an ok game but we lost. We headed to the next field and tried to stop at a place to eat but they had a sign on the window that said 'NO FOOD TODAY'. So we looked on the map and found Bard's and headed there for some food. We ran in to the Amos' there and ate with them. These burgers were AMAZING!!! ON to the second game of the day and the beating continued. A the game wound up L texted and said they were circling Columbus because of bad weather and may be rerouted to Cincinnati, so I drove G to the hotel which was closer to the airport. Just as I dropped G off L said they landed in Columbus so I headed home. It was a good drive until just south of Grove City where it came to a dead stop for 50 min. It took me 3.5 hours to get home tonight and I'm EXHAUSTED