Dinner at the Claremont

It’s awfully hard for a Friday morning to go poorly. After all, it marks the end of a tough work week and the beginning of the weekend. However, there were two things limiting my excitement as the weekend approached. Number one, I would be on-call, which would put my personal agenda on the back burner, and secondly, the weather forecast was something less than spectacular. Still, it was Friday. I greeted the new day with boundless anticipation. I completed my calisthenics in short order before heading out with Ykraps. It was another over night with moderate rainfall and more expected through the day. It wasn’t very warm – about 49 degrees. I enjoyed my coffee and PC time. It went by fast. Soon, I delivered Mindy’s coffee while alerting her of the new day. Back downstairs I went through my latest ritual, which includes meditation, stretching, and self-massage - anything to ease the tension in my buttocks. I left for a run at 6:30am on the nose. Lately, my runs begin almost pain-free, but end with significant stiffness. This is almost the opposite of where I was two weeks ago. Still, I think the one mile reduction is helping. After my run, Mindy and I briefly discussed the evening’s plan. She’d still be picking up Olivia, but also expecting Ashley to get off of work early enough to pick her up before I got home. We planned to meet her family for dinner at the Claremont at 6:30pm. Mindy & Bella left at their usual time – about 7:20am. I took my time eating my breakfast and then headed off to the shower. Jacob was eager to head out to the bus stop. Certainly more eager than I. With a few minutes to go, I decided to help Mindy out a little and unload the dishwasher. That took longer than expected. By the time that I got to the corner the bus was just leaving with the kids. Oh well! I waved good bye to Jacob as they drove off. I arrived at work just before 8:30am. The day went well. I had planned on picking up Mindy’s new bike at lunch time, but also wanted to pick up another gift too. In the end, I opted to leave the bike for another day. Instead, I drove to Home Depot to fetch the finch feeder Mindy’s been asking for, but not before a little detour. I first drove to Lowe’s thinking it was there that I saw it. Once there, I quickly realized my mistake and drove up the road to Home Depot. I also got spare shed keys made and picked up some special jig-saw blades for cutting laminate. I hoped to cut up the last piece of old counter top small enough tofit into our trash bin. I was back at work after an hour away. The afternoon went quick enough. In the meantime, I worked hard to help ensure a mild on-call. I left at 5:05pm hoping to get home early enough to steal a quick nap before heading out for dinner. Mindy agreed to walk Ykraps. I called brother Tommy as I drove along. Good news! His divorce was final yesterday after 2.5 ugly years. I was home by 5:30pm. Mindy was upstairs wrestling with the kids to get ready for our dinner out. Immediately I plopped into the livingroom recliner hoping to steal a nap. I dosed off for about twenty minutes. At 5:50pm I woke and headed upstairs to clean-up and change into some nicer clothes. We left for the Claremont at 6:10pm. It began to sprinkle just as we drove off. It’s a quick drive from home – straight out 70-E to the S. High street exit. There were 13 of us committed to being there. We were the first to arrive after Craig, Jeff & Gloria. Others soon followed. Everyone was there within five minutes. While everyone was getting settled with drinks and such, Craig, Mindy’s eldest brother, announced a toast celebrating Todd’s birthday, Mother’s Day, and recognition of his father’s untimely passing some 30 years prior. It was a touching toast & tribute. He also announced that the bill would be his. Thanks Craig. Let them eat cake! The Claremont is known for its steaks and prime rib. I ordered a ribeye. Mindy ordered prime rib. We all shared some calamari and a couple cheese plates. I drank two bottled Columbus Pale Ales, the first beers I had since last Friday night at Barley’s. These two didn’t taste that good or go down so well either. The food was very good, but not quite Cameron Mitchell good. During dinner, Katy & Julie announced dessert at their place, which was in very close proximity to the Claremont. We finished up with dinner just before 8pm. By then it was raining fairly significantly. We scurried to our vehicles for the short drive to Julie’s. They served red velvet cake. Still full from dinner, I didn’t partake, although it was reported to be tasty. While relaxing, I perused a book about Edvard Munch, one of my favorite artists. I found his bio most fascinating. Around 9:30pm we gathered the kids and headed for home. Mindy put the kids right to bed. Finding myself to be surprisingly hungry, I ate some nacho chips while checking email and just before heading to bed. In bed so early, I would almost certainly wake feeling ideal come morning.