Sunday

Sunday was supposed to be a recovery day. We were supposed to clean house, take care of the bicycles, get the house ready for Yamaraashi-chan's return from summer camp, clean out the car's clutter, and all the other neglected little details that had been building up.

As it was, we did get quite a bit done. We changed the tires on our bicycles and got the kitchen cleaned up and, in a fit of sudden domesticity, I made a loaf of bread. It was warm enough to rise well if I put it on the top shelf in the kitchen, however I was worried that the yeast was too old to be viable.

Then, as Omaha is taking care of the laundry, we get a message from fallenpegasus that he's helping tygereclipse move out to her new apartment, and they need more cargo hauling capability. So we rig the car for cargo (basically, we take out one of the kid's seats, which is convenient since Yamaraashi-chan wasn't home yet) and troop over to Tyger's old apartment. She hadn't been living there for a few months and so it had been the denizen of three young and uncivilized men.

It would be hard to imagine a room more disgusting. Hallways were strewn with unclean laundry and hastily tied garbage bags, computer parts, books (mostly role playing games), empty pizza boxes, magazines, porn. The carcasses of three dead computers lay in a corner, covered with kibbles of cat food. A goatish smell hovered in the air. When we had recovered the furniture and escaped I had the worst sneezing fit I've had in months.

After dropping everything off at her new apartment, we made our apoligies and hugs and we headed back to grab the weekly groceries, stopping to run the car through the carwash which, for Kouryou-chan, is as good as a ride at Disneyland. By the time we got home, it was time for dinner. I slaved over a hot stove, first putting the bread into the oven and then making a thick white sauce with chedder and parmesean for macaroni & cheese with a topping of toasted breadcrumbs. The bread came out of the oven and, although it hadn't risen very enthusiastically, it was quite delicious. While I cooked, Yamaraashi-chan came home. Summer camp had been good to her, but she needed a bath.

So we put the girls through a bath and a hair combing and all the usual evening ritual, and then cleaned up the kitchen. After the girls were in bed and Omaha and I were calming down in our living room, we suddenly heard a loud hissing sound outside. After fourteen miles of trails, after all the abuse we had put them through, right then her rear tire decided to give way for no apparent reason. We would look at it in the morning.

We pulled up Quake 4 and proceeded to kill each other for an hour. At first, I was ahead of Omaha with a score of 3 to 1, but she finally won the game, 10 to 9. It was embarassing. She's getting very good at camping. Maybe I should change my avatar; the anime chick I'm driving must stand out like a sore thumb, whereas her ugly Strogg avatar often seems to blend into the background.