On This Date in 1999 (April 25)

As it turned out, we didn’t have pizza Friday evening, but neither did we go out to eat. We couldn’t agree on a place that pleased everyone. JoAnna and I considered going out ourselves, but we felt that the boys were in too much of crabby mood to be left home alone. I went out and got some Chinese take-out. The boys had to fend for themselves. JoAnna and I took advantage of yesterday’s beautiful weather and accomplished quite a bit outside. I cleaned the windows in the family room, inside and out, and then put up the screens. JoAnna mowed the front yard and then moved the patio furniture out of the shed, including the umbrella for our picnic table. I washed the plastic chairs and then set them up in their usual arrangement. I also tied some string around our five clusters of peonies, so that when these flowers bloom in another month or so, the stems won’t sag to the ground. We took a break during the middle of the afternoon to pick up Andy at his baseball practice, getting to the field early so we could watch the last 20 minutes of batting practice.

Because of Andy’s improved attitude at school, we allowed him to have a sleepover last night. He invited Matt Ziegler, one of his classmates and a soccer teammate. For supper, I cooked hamburgers on the grill, and JoAnna purchased the ingredients for s’mores. The boys spent most of the evening with the Playstation controls in their hands. They went to bed around midnight, and Andy and Matt were up this morning at 6:30, Eddie sleeping in another hour.

Sunday evening

I don’t know where Andy gets the energy. In spite of his lack of sleep, a baseball practice from 1:00 until 3:00, and a soccer practice from 4:00 to 5:30, he still wanted to accompany Mom to the club so he could play some basketball. He did look very tired when he was stretched out on the couch in the family room after supper.

Eddie also had a soccer practice today. Right now he’s watching The Lost World, the sequel to Jurassic Park, a special privilege since we usually don’t allow any forms of TV on a school night.

I spent about three hours today cleaning the windows, inside and out, in the living room, dining area, and kitchen. I also did the grocery shopping after dropping off Andy at his soccer practice. Except for all the boys’ activities, it’s been an uneventful day for JoAnna and me. After supper, a delicious pork roast, we reviewed our summer calendar. May is a very busy month with soccer and baseball and end-of-the year school activities. June will be busy with baseball games during the week, but so far our weekends look open. Not so July and August. Once we hit Independence Day, we have only one unscheduled weekend between then and the start of school.

Time to wrap this one up. The movie’s just about over, which means I have to start think about herding the boys toward the bathroom. Shower time. Then it’s homework time for Eddie, a very short math assignment he’ll be able to finish in a couple minutes followed by 15 minutes of reading. I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to just sit back and relax with a book myself.

We send you our love.

October 13, 1991

LINK

I don't get very far with my continuation of the window cleaning project.   During the afternoon, we take a drive in the country -- west on Airport Road to Cross Plains, to 14 west, 79 north, 16 east until we eventually find the Tree Farm, a "pick-your-own" market located on a hilltop a few miles west of Springfield Corners.  We buy pumpkins and gourds, but I veto the cornstalks.

"There's no room to put them inside the van, Hon."

At Larry and Martha's, Michael is just about ready to fall asleep when we arrive.  Andy is rather rambunctious, filling up our hosts' quiet time with his antics.  Back home, John Dickert joins us for supper, and he and JoAnna discuss her run for a county board seat.

October 12, 1991

The Domestication of Nellie.  Stearns observes chapter 5 or 6 in this ongoing saga.  Our lifestyles are so different now, but the bond of friendship is still strong.  Paul makes that apparent when he admires the sunset over Lake Superior photograph I have on display in the living room.

He leaves around noon, and as he backs out of the driveway I get a little misty-eyed thinking about an even longer absence between friends.  Andy stands next to me, the little sweetheart; maybe he senses my feeling of loss.

I had planned a productive afternoon of household chores, but JoAnna isn't feeling well and I have to watch the kids through much of the afternoon.  I have enough time to do all the bedroom windows before supper.

April 6, 1991

An early taste of summer.  The temperature reaches 85, a record for the day.  I spend the day doing chores:  my semi-annual window cleaning ritual, a tidying up of the garden shed interior, but no landscaping due to JoAnna's veto of the necessary expenditure to begin the project.  I quickly get over my disappointment, realizing that there are plenty of weekends ahead for me for these activities.  We cook out.  Ribs and chicken.   The grill fires up right away but I have some trouble controlling the heat.  "Blackened" is not the descriptive term I had in mind for my efforts.