Normally I do the weekend updates on Monday mornings Sunday evenings, depending on when I have the time. But this week, there's no game tonight and I'll be exercising in the morning, so I decided to do it now. Besides, after a long weekend out of town I doubt much of any true interest would happen today, and if it does I'll update this tomorrow when I have time.
So as I mentioned in my last post on Thursday, Tuesday evening and through Wednesday morning just before we set out, I was tense and agitated for no real, discernible reason. But I forced myself to calm down (CALM DOWN, DAMMIT!) and by the time we got to my sister's Wednesday afternoon, I was in a better mood. Thursday morning I woke from a decent sleep and was ready to face what the day had to offer.
Rain. The day had rain to offer. All day, unrelenting rain. After everyone else woke up we talked about plans for the day, but nothing really got off the ground because the weather was so nasty. Ideas of where to go, what to do, even what to grill for dinner were met with a quick glance up to the skies, hoping to see some sign of a break in the cloud cover. The best we got was the occasional let up to a light drizzle, but it never really stopped.
After breakfast (which I cooked) my sister asked me and the wife what we wanted to do. I said I'd love to find some covered area to just sit, drink beer, and eat nachos. It was pleasant outside despite the rain, temperature wise, and I didn't want to be cooped up with a TV on all day. We could have done that here at home!
My sister started musing out loud about their pool-side umbrellas (the big, canter-level type) and how we could rig those up to provide adequate coverage from the rain when the BiL remembered that they had a big pop-up shelter in the basement. He ran down and got it and he and I set it up during a lull in the rain, and it was huge! Easily 12'x12', and adequate to keep the majority of the rain off of us. We set the patio table and chairs under it to dry so that we could sit in them later.
Now galvanized, we tore into action. We ran to Kroger to get some dead animals and veggies for the grill and the liquor store for more spiritual needs, and by the time we got back home we had all but decided Mother Nature could go fuck herself, we were going to enjoy the day despite the rain!
They eat later than we do, so when we got home the BiL and I sat out and had a cigar and a few beers. The wife and my sister would come out and sit for a time then go back in, but he and I just relaxed and chatted while enjoying a good smoke. Angry Orchard has an Apple Cider that's okay if unremarkable, but if you pour a shot of Fireball Whiskey into it, you suddenly have an outstanding beverage. That's what the wife and I were drinking (I had several to the wife's one) while my sister had a mixed drink and the BiL had St. Pauli Girl.
We couldn't get the grill going (it's my professional opinion that the burners are shot), so the BiL cooked the steaks on their oven. I was dubious of what the result would be, but he's a better cook than I am and they came out great! We had a simple spinach and arugula salad and baked potato with them, and the wife and I drank a bottle of wine between us. We ate inside to avoid the bugs, but when we were done we went back outside to enjoy the pleasant (though rain-filled) night.
The BiL had to work the next day, so we didn't stay out long before going back inside to head to bed. I took a shower to wash off the day, and by the time I got in bed the wife was already asleep. She wasn't being mean or cold; it's a defensive move on her part because of my snoring, especially when I've been drinking beer.
Friday the wife and I headed out for a bit on our own while my BiL worked and my sister ran some errands. The rain was, if anything, worse than the day before. We got home before everyone else, and though the wife had hinted that I might get a little somethin'-somethin' it didn't happen. The rain had me drained and frankly, I just wanted a nap. Besides, shark week had started the night before, so I knew she wouldn't really enjoy anything we'd do. I dozed a bit while the wife caught up on baseball, and a little later my sister and niece came home. We helped them clean and straighten and I started getting back in the mood to have a good time despite the weather.
When the BiL got home we sat out under the shelter with drinks and tortillas with a really good mango salsa. He and I had another cigar while we all talked (mainly about how much the rain sucked) then went inside while he cooked yet another great dinner. We had scallops and penne pasta with a white-wine and lobster base sauce he made, and charred asparagas. My sister made some homemade bread rolls baked with rosemary (my suggestion) which came out about as good as any rolls I've ever had.
After dinner we again went back outside to sit under the shelter, and my BiL produced two more cigars. I normally don't smoke two in the same day, but it was still relatively early and I was about four beers into a good, three-beer buzz, so I said what the hell. I expected at least some protest from the wife, but she didn't say anything or seem put off by it, so we lit up and relaxed. I drank a bit more than I had the previous two nights, but still never got really drunk. We stayed up until midnight, and once again when I got out of the shower the wife was already asleep.
My sister made crepes for breakfast Saturday morning, then we got packed up and on the road a little before 11 a.m. Six hours later, a relatively easy and uneventful drive was behind us and we were back home. We took the niece and her friend who'd came to visit her for the weekend out to dinner, then came home and started getting back to normal. We went to bed early, and now here I am on a Sunday morning, relating this to all of you. If the weather holds today, I'll mow; if not, I'll exercise. Maybe. If anything truly exciting happens I'll update the update to let you know.
It's been a good, if not action-packed, weekend, and one that I've needed for some time. I kind of wish my sister had brought up the subject of L; I still hold out hope that she will relent and at least want to know about her, and perhaps meet her sometime. But if the thought ever crossed her mind to ask, she never gave in to it. I was tempted a few times to casually mention L and her ex while talking about certain things the wife and I have done (like the New Year's Eve trips to Myrtle Beach), but decided not to. In my mind the stories lost some flavor by not mentioning them, because the events were so much more than just me and the wife doing them. But I don't want to force the issue and cause even more drama, or reopen the rift that my sister and I are finally closing.
I hope your weekend was nice as well, and that you made it through safe and fairly sound.
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