Sunday' Story

I woke up at 6:50 a.m. on Sunday morning. I grabbed a cup of coffee and then filled in the rather extensive Blog entry. It took another cup of coffee before it was finished. Then I ran through the Sunday morning chores and started the last load of weekend wash.

Then I got geared up and took the bike out on San Jose. If it sounds like I am practicing too much, trust me, I need it! Never got it above 50 mph, but I’m not supposed to anyway during break-in.

Found out one thing that bummed me out: my new boots won’t work. I got steel-toed ones (like I used to ride with) and they are too tall to work the gear shift properly. So, I took it back home and changed into my good ole Crocs (no protection whatsoever, but they work). Spent almost an hour practicing U-turns, turning from a standing stop, waving to curious neighbors I don’t even know, etc.

I was gonna ride over to CVS and pick up my prescription, but couldn’t figure out what to do with my helmet.

I only got scared twice: once when I hit a manhole (note to self: You have to watch the road surface, too, dude – oh, I can’t wait for pothole dodging) and once when I downshifted with the throttle still cranked (can you say “wheelie”?) As I said, I need practice!

Sidebar: And this whole “turn signal” thing… Never rode a bike in my life with turn signals and I am having trouble remembering this…

I wore my leather coat unzipped and it was okay when I was moving. But, with my helmet on and the heavy coat, I was sweating like a pig when I finally put the big thumper on the center stand.

I came inside and took off my coat. I wiped my head off with a wet washcloth and then got on to serious stuff.

It was supposed to rain by 4:00 p.m. so I took the Weed-B-Gone out back and sprayed all the dandelions between the house and the back wall. It can rain without washing it away after two hours, you see. BTW, my hand hurt like hell afterwards.

While on the dandelion hunt, I found some violets blooming nestled up against a tree in back.

I noticed while walking around that the peas had sprouted and were coming up.

When I went inside, I changed clothes and headed out to Costco for more coffee and peanuts for the squirrels. Then I went to Westborn and got the pine nuts. OMG! I paid $8.99 US for four ounces of the damn things! I could have bought filet mignon or lobsters for that price per pound!! These better taste AWESOME.

Since I was that far anyway, I drove to Six Mile and GFS. I picked up two big bags of lump charcoal. I had paid a ridiculous price for a small bag of “Cowboy Charcoal” at Lowe’s the other day, and it ticked me off.

I was back home by 12:30 p.m. and it was still sunny. So, I changed clothes (this time into shorts and a t-shirt) and went out to refill the bird feeder and the squirrel feeder. Then I moved the limbs from the trash tree over to the pile Rick had made. That done, I took out the riding mower and cut the grass I missed yesterday.

Then I dragged out the lawn roller. I took it over to the hose and started filling it up. I’m not sure just how many gallons this bad-boy holds, but I know it weighs 280 pounds when full.

Sidebar: My friend B___ says that rolling your lawn is the WORST thing you can do. But, is it better to bounce over ruts? I had totally screwed up what used to be a nice lawn with that Bobcat, so I don’t think I can hurt it any more than I did already.

So, after about 15 minutes of filling the drum, it finally was full. So, I hooked it to the tractor, put it in low and took off.

I did the back yard first, and then went out to the front. I did the front two different ways. Then I went out back again. I took a bathroom break and the phone rang. It was B___ and we talked for a while catching ourselves up.

He was in the middle of making a Mother’s Day dinner: BBQ beef, slow-cooked in a crockpot that would be served on onion rolls with sharp cheddar cheese and home-made macaroni and cheese with ham. Sounded fantastic!

I told him about my adventures on the bike and he agreed that I need a little more practice before hitting the road.

I mentioned that I was trying to cram as much outside work as I could before it rained and he said the latest forecast on the Weather Channel said no rain today. But, it’s supposed to rain for the next five days!

After we hung up, I went back out and did the back yard the other way. I can’t tell if I was successful yet, but given the marks on the bare lawn north of the play structure, I think the roller did its job. I parked the mower and drained the roller.

When it was empty, I put the roller and the mower away. Then I grabbed the shovel and the wheel barrow and went out front to address the culvert.

Now, every year, the culvert fills in with debris and dirt. Then I dig it out. And, that’s what I did today. I spread the dirt into the vacant lot next door.

It was after 6:00 p.m. when I finally got everything put away and locked the shed. I went inside and started dinner.

I put on a pot of water to boil my fresh cheese tortellini. Meanwhile, I heated a non-stick skillet and toasted a tablespoon of pine nuts. I put them in a large bowl. Then I heated some olive oil in the skillet and added six large cloves of garlic, finely chopped. I sautéed that for about a minute. Then I threw in six ounces of fresh baby spinach. I cooked the spinach about two minutes, until it had wilted.

I put the spinach in the bowl as well as the cooked, drained tortellini. Then I added 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, two ounces of thin sliced prosciutto and some fresh ground black pepper. I carefully mixed that all together and fixed a bowl for myself. I added a little grated Parmesan and dug in.

Hmmm… not bad, but not great. Definitely filling!

Oh, BTW, the pine nuts were a nice touch.

I took the rest of the night off after cleaning up the kitchen and putting away the leftovers. I watched Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” (this time it was Russia) on CNN and then started to whittle down my taped shows backlog. I went to bed a little after midnight.