Snow Storm Coming - Planning to Ski - Night at CBC

Still a little tired when rise time came around, I courageously battled through fatigue until it was a thing of the past. I quickly launched into my exercise routine (sit-ups and push-ups). I skipped curls now that I’m committed to them only on an every other day cycle. Soon I was done exercising and sought out Ykraps for our morning walk. It was cold - mid 20’s, but not nearly as bitter as the morning before. Instead, just an ordinary January day. This was Friday in what seemed like a relatively swift moving work week. Not only was it Friday, but it was also a date night Friday. This evening, after Jacob and Bella leave with their daddy, we had a sitter coming to watch Rocky & Landon. My routine went as planned. Soon I found myself heading out the door for my morning run. Like a good soldier, I did my new stretch still feeling better and better in the groin/inner thigh area. This is very encouraging stuff! The streets were fairly clear, just a few scant patches of ice. My speed was back to normal. Some runs go fast while others seem to linger on for ever. Today’s run s was the latter. Inside, Mindy had my scrambled eggs still cooking on the stove. Jacob was giving some assistance. I kind of like the idea of Jacob making my breakfast. J Mindy’s trying harder to get him involved in a few more grown-up things to help make him feel more important. Seems to be working. I topped my eggs with shredded cheddar and green jalapeño sauce. They were scrumptious! I picked fruit from the larger serving tray – mostly strawberries, watermelon, and what remained of the clementines. Mindy already had fruit and nuts ready for my lunch. I grabbed the rest of last Sunday’s chili as my main course. Mindy & wee ones left just before 7:30am. I found my way to the shower by 7:35am. Jacob and I headed to the bus stop at 7:58am. I had to hurry after taking much longer than usual in the shower. The Trooper already warm, I left the house for work around 8:08am. I listened to ESPN talk Radio on my drive in. The discussion, as expected, centered around Florida winning the national championship game. Work was steady but not busy. I was able to focus on a few ancillary things for once. We had an impromptu meeting in the boss’s office that lasted nearly an hour. After that, the better part of the morning was gone. The afternoon upon me, I decided to work straight through stopping only to warm my lunch and eat at my desk. I was a little tired and contemplated closing my door and taking a brief nap. However, that never materialized due to one interruption after another. Meanwhile, our center was all abuzz over a looming snow storm. Now through Saturday evening, the entire area was under a winter storm warning. Not only were we expecting up to 6 inches of snow, but also two different layers of ice – one at the outset and another at the storm’s finish. No matter how you looked at it, it sounded ugly. Mid-afternoon I received and email from Bob Imber asking about tonight’s plans and to let us know that he and Mary Ann would be skiing tomorrow at Mad River. Hmm? I didn’t mention it to Mindy until later on my way home. Skiing sounded good and I knew that Mindy would love the opportunity to get out and away. I thought that we could ask Kelly and Lindsey to keep the boys. After all, Jacob & Bella would already be away for the weekend with their daddy. I left work at 5:35pm. It was already dark and cold. There were a few brief periods of snow earlier, but for the time being it had stopped. After some heavy duty scraping, I set out for home. I phoned Mindy along my drive. I let her know that we were invited skiing tomorrow. She was intrigued by the idea. We had to end our conversation some what abruptly after she found Landon sneaking into the garage. Jacob & Bella were already gone when I got home. I took Ykraps on his evening walk in the chilly winter wind. Mindy phoned my ex-Kelly to see about keeping the kids all day Saturday. We had already planned for Lindsey to spend some time with them Saturday anyhow. What we didn’t have worked out was where – her house or ours. Kelly and Mindy worked it out. We’d drop the boys at her house around 10am and tentatively pick them up around 8pm. It was settled, we’d be skiing all day Saturday with Bob & Mary Ann. Yahoo! Mindy was really psyched. She left Bob a message indicating that we’d be going skiing but that we wouldn’t be at Barley’s tonight. Instead, we planned to visit CBC. We were expecting Kara, the babysitter to arrive around 7pm. She was right on time. While Mindy got herself ready for our night out, I got the two boys into their pajamas. Soon we were heading out. We called and left Mindy’s niece, Julie, a message letting her know that we’d be at CBC should they want to join us. They live within walking distance. We arrived at CBC around 7:35pm. The bar was crowded but there were still two seats available at the far end of the bar. We took them. I ordered an IPA and Mindy a 1859 Porter. Kevin, our favorite server, was back from his Xmas vacation in Brazil visiting his wife’s family. He shared a few stories about his trip. None was more gripping than the flight out from port Columbus. He left town the Tuesday before Xmas, the night we had the severe ice storm, and the same night that I drove alone to Barley’s and barely made it home without wrecking in front of our house. Long story short, getting to the airport caused his brother to wreck his car. He didn’t get to Brazil until Xmas Eve night. He just got back in town Wednesday, January 7th. We ordered food after one beer. Mindy ordered a full dinner – the special, pecan encrusted Walleye. I ordered wings. Mindy had ice water after her first beer. I had two more IPA’s. Julie texted us while we were sitting there letting us know that they wouldn’t be joining us. We stayed at CBC until 10pm. Shortly before we left, the owner/general manager came to the bar and sat down beside Mindy & I. We talked for a while about his restaurant’s success. He was quite friendly. Among other things, we discussed their beer quality and consistency. Mindy drove us home. We paid Kara and she left. She had plans with her peeps. We were in bed by 11pm.