A leisurely day

I have not had a day like today for a long time. I got to sleep in a bit before I started getting cell phone calls. Every so often, I get to do that every so often on a Saturday. I did get a phone call about a work problem, make a few in return, and then I got to do what I wanted.

Usually my weekends are spent either working, helping out other people, various activities, some sort of show, and the like. Today, I got a chance to mow the lawn as planned. It was a beautiful day for working outside. The temperature was in the sixties, there was a constant breeze, and it was sunny. I never even worked up a sweat while mowing.

After cutting the lawn, I got to take a nice shower to get all the dirt and grass out of my hair and off my corpulent self. I actually got to pick up a book, sit in my backyard swing, and read for a while. It has been so long since I have been able to be leisurely and just relax like that. I was able to have no concern for time. My cat, Fluffy, came to sit with me in the swing. I also got to grill steaks on the barbeque, watch a movie or two, spend time with the wife, and just plain do nothing if I wanted.

Unfortunately, old habits die hard. Knowing that we had a problem with one local origination cable channel today at work (we have been having issues for over a week and tech support has not solved them yet), on a whim, I checked in on the cable feeds for Durham and Fayetteville, besides the Raleigh zone. I noticed an issue with the Durham channel, rebooted the computer that controls that channel, and called tech support. Hey, a little extra time for my next time sheet.

Tomorrow, I plan on trimming the hedges and shrubs now that the azalea blossoms are gone. I like nicely trimmed hedges. I found that once in the spring and trimming once in the autumn keep the hedges looking nice enough for my liking. I also need to lay down some more lawn food.

Right now, I am relaxing in the living room and watching The Fantastic Four for the second time. We rented it on Time Warner Cable's On Demand. I watched it once with the wife and now we are rolling VHS tape to get our own copy. I usually wait until the movies play on HBO, Showtime, or other premium channel so that I don't have to pay for them. As a Time Warner employee, I get those channels free. I also get movie rentals and pay-per-views half off. Every once in a while, I like to spend a few dollars just because I feel like it, sit with the wife, and watch a movie we have been wanting to see together.

I remember the comic book and the cartoon from the sixties and again in the seventies.

I have liked Ioan Gruffudd in most movies and TV shows in which I have seen him. For some reason, I have always liked the story of Horation Hornblower, even though I have never read the C.S. Forester novels. Gruffudd starred in a series of made for TV movies a few years ago about a young Hornblower that aired on A&E. I enjoyed that series of movies. I also liked the 1951 Gregory Peck movie, Captain Horatio Hornblower. For some reason, I like the "old navy" genre films.