Barley Friday ... Finally!

I didn't feel that well this morning but this is ridiculous! It was finally Friday and after a full five days of work I was more than ready for a relaxing weekend. I woke early enough – about 5:40am in preparation for my Friday. I wasted no time fooling around. My exercises were done and I was out the door with Ykraps before 6:00am rolled around. For lunch I made tuna fish, a salad, and some fruit. For breakfast I has the usual, scrambled eggs and cantaloupe. Mindy left for school with the kids before I was out of the shower. The house was eerily quiet when I stepped out to dry off. I enjoyed the remainder of my morning before heading off to work. I drove the Trooper again to work if for no other reason than to have available the necessary drywall repair tools should I choose to stop at Echo Park again tonight on the way home. Work was busy for Friday, but I went in expecting it to be. I worked hard, of course. There was little time for fooling around. I continued feeling less than stellar. My throat felt slightly swollen, my eyes heavy, and my shoulders stiff. Mindy wondered if I was feeling the effects of a ridiculously high pollen count. That may be although I’ve never succumb to allergies in the past save for an occasional bad response to cats. By the time I left for my run I had zero energy. This run would have to come purely from the heart. The endorphins generated by running did wonders for my disposition – they always do. It was extremely warm and once again very humid. The Septembery weather we had earlier in the week was nothing but a memory. As the day wrapped up, I prepared myself for departure. I left the office for the weekend at about 5:15pm. As I pulled way from work I felt a bit euphoric for it being the weekend at last. I made my way to Echo Park, the back way. It took all of about 35 minutes to get there. It didn’t take long. I was only there for about 5-10 minutes. After some little light sanding and another coat of mud, I was out the door. I called Mindy who had just arrived home with groceries. Jim had just pulled up to pick-up the kids. I let Mindy go so that she could get things in order. I decided to stop at Giant Eagle for a six pack of beer. I looked for Alpha King, IPA but they didn’t have it. I ended up selecting Mojo IPA. While there I picked up another batch of flowers for Mindy. By the time I got home the kids were gone and the groceries had been put away. Wahoo! After completing my typical Friday evening routine I leashed up Ykraps for a walk. Mindy came along too. I was just about 6:30pm when we returned from walking Ykraps. I couldn’t wait to take a nap. Mindy couldn’t wait to get a shower. I read myself to sleep but had a difficult time going out all the way. I gave up on the nap thing around 7:20pm and headed upstairs to ready for our night out at Barleys. We left for Barleys at 8pm. Even though the sky was clear, we drove the Trooper so Mindy could drive home if necessary. Bob & M.A. were still on vacation so we knew they wouldn’t be there. But we hadn’t been to Barleys for two weeks, so we were both really looking forward to it. Mindy ordered a Shiraz and I ordered a Double Dog Dare firkin. Jersey was working the bar in place of Janet who was off on vacation. Jeremy and Courtney were there and we talked with them for about an hour or so. There too were Mark and his brother Scott, Rick, Dan, Calvin, and Paul. Later Josh showed up with his father. I ate a huge dinner. I had six of ten Gates of Hell wings and a Cuban with cheesy fries. We had a very good time. We left Barleys just before 11pm for home. Once we were home Mindy initially insisted on hot tubbing but had a change of heart once she went upstairs. I think she had a little too much to drink (3 glasses of wine). We were asleep before midnight.