Good weekend here, let's recap...
Thursday night, an unexpected surprise... two colleagues from work reached out (including my pal Nick Strain from Quali-Pro), on their way back to St. Louis/Madison, and invited me to dinner in Topeka. I offered an alternative: dinner at the Hall of Justice. They said "IN!"
I bought six KC Strips and sparked up both grills. Ted coincidentally reached out to see if I could hang out, and I told him to come over. What ensued was a fantastic night (good mild weather, too) in the HOJ, conversing over some excellent steaks and crushing a few beers. (I about broke my arm patting myself on the back overall the quality of the steaks.)
Friday I was pretty worthless, and clocked out at noon from work to watch golf. That evening we had leftovers from the night before, and it was pretty fancy -- steaks, pork chops, asparagus, baked potatoes, corn on the cob. I got some new (old) Captain America comics in the mail, so I read one that night. Then I went to bed early, ready to get going on Saturday...
Storms overnight woke me up but I got moving early Saturday morning and took the dog with me to do the recycling. After that, I went to Eudora to go to an estate sale I saw advertised from a sign... don't know what motivated me to go... probably that it was a Saturday/Sunday only sale (so I didn't have to think that all the good stuff would already be gone by the time I got there.) I scored on some Jayhawks stuff: a bunch of KU coasters; a "KU parking only" sign that is different in that it celebrated the 2008 championship; and the best one, a mini-stoplight that flashes, "Let's Go KU!" All for $6.50! They are all now up and on display in the HOJ. Estate sales are always sad, but I'd like to think the old guy who lived there would be happy that his KU stuff has added to a fellow Jayhawk fan's proud collection. Rock Chalk, sir.
The fam was interested in $5 Subway breakfast footlongs so I went and picked up four. It was OK. The best thing about them though was that meant I didn't have to cook/make a mess. While I LOVE cooking for the family, it's always a drag to make a mess that needs cleaning.
Grandma Judy joined us for the weekend and it was great to enjoy her company. Also, we have a new friend here at the house... a stray cat (pictured) that was hanging out in the yard... we've started feeding it and the cat has taken a shine to Boydee. Boyd named her Mittens and she's been lurking in the front of the house for five days now. Koko isn't a big fan but doesn't go too crazy, either. Who knows, maybe the cat can patrol for mice out there. I'm not a cat person but I do like it that this cat likes Boyd. And that it's outside.
I mowed, worked on the yard a little. I took Evey out for her second driving lesson (she did great.) The big event of the evening was I set up two slip-n-slides behind the HOJ on a big hill. Me and the kids took turns sliding, while Adro, Judy and Koko watched. Lots of laughs. Evey shot way off the second slide a few times, and also face-planted on her first attempt.
That evening Bart came over to hang out in the HOJ. It was the first time I've seen him since Super Bowl Sunday. It was great to see my old friend again and we traded stories, watched sports, laughed out loud into the wee hours of the night. I'm sure the jukebox was too loud playing Pixies and Queens of the Stone age at 1 in the morning, but out here, no one seems to mind. I'm thankful for our slice of heaven out here.
Sunday morning I woke up a little crusty! And it was sweet that Judy made breakfast for us all... pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs. Scrambled eggs from your mother-in-law when you're hungover? That's a medicine you can't put a price tag on.
We all watched St. John's church on YouTube. Some of us (most of us) took naps. Evey's was interrupted as I watched Koko decide she needed to snuggle with Evey, even though there wasn't any room.
Today has been pretty quiet. I've been watching a lot of golf. Boyd is watching YouTube. The girls are trying to watch "She's All That" or something, with Freddie Prinze Jr. It's overcast out, not as hot out as the weatherman predicted, but it's nice and cool and chill in the house.
It was a good weekend. Ready for a new week!
