I was up at 720am and felt pretty good. Mindy woke before I could sneak away and asked for a hug. After a quick hug I headed downstairs to get my day started. The first thing I did was prep a pot of Starbucks.
After getting the coffee started, I whipped out my sit-ups and push-ups. Meanwhile, outside, it was foggy and looking a lot like Friday. Mindy was up early – around 830a. Jimaken was coming to pick-up the kids and taking them to see a movie. We expected him around 930a. He showed up just as I was heading out the door for my run, which was just after 930a.
While I ran, Mindy headed for a shower. I ran only 3 miles, but it was a good run just the same. By the time I was back Mindy, of course, was already out of the shower. She and I planned to make a trip to the Market District in Arlington to buy some party food and then stop at Barley’s to get three growlers filled with beer. We left the house around 11am.
Quick drive to the Market District. The place was even more crowded than it was the last time we were in. TG shoppers, no doubt. We stocked up on hummus, pita chips, shrimp, and a few other miscellaneous items. We looked at beer but didn’t get any. As we exited, Mindy headed back in to buy some Frostie rootbeer after seeing the bottle display at the exit. I pulled the car around.
From there we wound our way through Arlington towards Grandview and Barley’s. Along the way, I phoned ex Kelly to make sure she knew our position relative to Lindsey’s ordeal. We talked through the entire drive. I shared that we weren't prepared to make that commitment right now, especially while feeling as though we had a gun to our head. I also shared most of the information Big Rocky’s mother shared with me the night before. She called me out of the blue, which I agreed was odd. As you might expect, none of the information could be considered flattering.
Road crews were working on Rt 33 between Grandview Ave and 5th Ave. Hard to navigate but we managed. Barley’s was almost empty. Our friend Monica was tending bar. Haven’t seen Monica for quite a while. She only works weekend days. We decided to have some food and a beer rather than filling our jugs and splitting. I ordered a Centennial while Mindy tried a Troeg’s Mad Elf holiday ale– a whopping 12% abv.
We ordered some KC wings and sauerkraut balls to share.
A couple other customers came in while we were there, including Calvin. We didn’t stay long. We needed to meet the kids at home. In fact, they phoned while we were settling up. I told them to go on inside the house. Jimaken has access. We arrived home about ten minutes later.
I tuned to college football while the kids headed out to play. Mindy, meanwhile, started prepping food for our Buckeye game get together. She laid out a nice spread of cheese, hummus, crackers, pita chips and then her homemade chicken & noodles.
Two early Big Ten games of interest were underway, Michigan versus Wisconsin, and then Michigan State versus Purdue. I wanted Michigan and Purdue to win, which had they, along with a Buckeyes win later, would've put us in the driver’s seat for another outright Big Ten championship. Both games looked promising for awhile but in the end both enemy teams won. :(
The Jumps showed up sometime around kick-off (330p). They had only landed a few hours prior, sometime around 1230p, and had spent time at their Grandview house only long enough to grab a bite to eat.
We watched an exciting but tense first half of the Buckeye game while also enjoying some of the snacks Mindy laid out. The Jump’s showed us the details surrounding the house they’re buying in the Boston area. Very, very nice! Over 4K sq ft, finely appointed, 6 bedrooms, Victorian era styling, 5 acres of land, and only minutes from a popular ski resort. Not sure one could ask for more.
The neighbors came over during halftime. Bob I. showed up about the same time too. Bob brought a cooler full of beers. I sampled a few different varieties. I didn’t care too much for the Jester, a farmhouse brewer.
The Buckeyes let a handful of scoring opportunities slip through their fingers – literally. They missed out on a few would-be touchdowns or bombs. They also fell behind 17-10. It wasn’t looking too good for a while. But then again, the Buckeyes have all but owned the Hawkeyes over the last decade.
I can’t recall the time when the Jump’s departed, but they had to leave for a wedding reception. Unless I’m mistaken, the game was still underway. I’m guessing mid 3rd quarter.
The Buckeyes pulled close with a field goal making it 17-13. Then, our defense held forcing a punt to give us the ball back with only a couple minutes to play in the game. One of our most reliable receivers let a would-be touchdown slip right through his arms on a 2nd down play. On the same drive, we ended up needing to convert a 4th down and 12 to keep any hope of winning alive. We converted, and a couple plays later scored the go ahead touchdown. We held the Hawkeyes with seconds to go and sealed the win guaranteeing ourselves an opportunity to at least share the Big Ten title for the 6th time in a row with a win over Michigan next Saturday. We celebrated!
After the game we drank more beer and ate more food. At some point (it was dark) we took Bob I. out to see the tree house. The kids wanted to show off some of their more daring escapades, none that I had previously seen. Most notably, leaping from the tree house into a pile of leaves, something we did as kids from our fort on Valleyview Dr. Bella was the only one of the two who did it. Jacob chickened out. I was surprised that Bella wanted to do it. She was scared, and even crying before leaping, worried about getting hurt. I tried talking her out of it, but the peer pressure from the other kids, namely Jacob, proved too strong. Success! Quite humorous really. Jacob cited the inability to squeeze under the lower rope as his excuse for not jumping. It’s an 8’ leap. I warned both that a freak injury could ruin their entire ski season. Something they needed to consider.
We hung out for another half hour or so before Bob I. headed for home. Just prior, Mary Ann called and talked with Mindy. She was just leaving work and battling a cold. She wasn’t going to make it. :( It seems we see Mary Ann only a handful of times each year anymore. Mindy sent home some chicken & noodles for her.
Another knock on the back door. It was neighbor Jake decked out in hip waders and a bright yellow jacket. Apparently Kenny made Jake put it on and get in the pond to fetch the expensive football the kids tossed in earlier.
After our guests departed, we watched a little more football before Mindy and the kids headed to bed. I stayed up watching more on my own. Common occurrence. Not sure the time when I finally headed for bed.
I was up at 720am and felt pretty good. Mindy woke before I could sneak away and asked for a hug. After a quick hug I headed downstairs to get my day started. The first thing I did was prep a pot of Starbucks.
After getting the coffee started, I whipped out my sit-ups and push-ups. Meanwhile, outside, it was foggy and looking a lot like Friday. Mindy was up early – around 830a. Jimaken was coming to pick-up the kids and taking them to see a movie. We expected him around 930a. He showed up just as I was heading out the door for my run, which was just after 930a.
While I ran, Mindy headed for a shower. I ran only 3 miles, but it was a good run just the same. By the time I was back Mindy, of course, was already out of the shower. She and I planned to make a trip to the Market District in Arlington to buy some party food and then stop at Barley’s to get three growlers filled with beer. We left the house around 11am.
Quick drive to the Market District. The place was even more crowded than it was the last time we were in. TG shoppers, no doubt. We stocked up on hummus, pita chips, shrimp, and a few other miscellaneous items. We looked at beer but didn’t get any. As we exited, Mindy headed back in to buy some Frostie rootbeer after seeing the bottle display at the exit. I pulled the car around.
From there we wound our way through Arlington towards Grandview and Barley’s. Along the way, I phoned ex Kelly to make sure she knew our position relative to Lindsey’s ordeal. We talked through the entire drive. I shared that we weren't prepared to make that commitment right now, especially while feeling as though we had a gun to our head. I also shared most of the information Big Rocky’s mother shared with me the night before. She called me out of the blue, which I agreed was odd. As you might expect, none of the information could be considered flattering.
Road crews were working on Rt 33 between Grandview Ave and 5th Ave. Hard to navigate but we managed. Barley’s was almost empty. Our friend Monica was tending bar. Haven’t seen Monica for quite a while. She only works weekend days. We decided to have some food and a beer rather than filling our jugs and splitting. I ordered a Centennial while Mindy tried a Troeg’s Mad Elf holiday ale– a whopping 12% abv.
We ordered some KC wings and sauerkraut balls to share.
A couple other customers came in while we were there, including Calvin. We didn’t stay long. We needed to meet the kids at home. In fact, they phoned while we were settling up. I told them to go on inside the house. Jimaken has access. We arrived home about ten minutes later.
I tuned to college football while the kids headed out to play. Mindy, meanwhile, started prepping food for our Buckeye game get together. She laid out a nice spread of cheese, hummus, crackers, pita chips and then her homemade chicken & noodles.
Two early Big Ten games of interest were underway, Michigan versus Wisconsin, and then Michigan State versus Purdue. I wanted Michigan and Purdue to win, which had they, along with a Buckeyes win later, would've put us in the driver’s seat for another outright Big Ten championship. Both games looked promising for awhile but in the end both enemy teams won. :(
The Jumps showed up sometime around kick-off (330p). They had only landed a few hours prior, sometime around 1230p, and had spent time at their Grandview house only long enough to grab a bite to eat.
We watched an exciting but tense first half of the Buckeye game while also enjoying some of the snacks Mindy laid out. The Jump’s showed us the details surrounding the house they’re buying in the Boston area. Very, very nice! Over 4K sq ft, finely appointed, 6 bedrooms, Victorian era styling, 5 acres of land, and only minutes from a popular ski resort. Not sure one could ask for more.
The neighbors came over during halftime. Bob I. showed up about the same time too. Bob brought a cooler full of beers. I sampled a few different varieties. I didn’t care too much for the Jester, a farmhouse brewer.
The Buckeyes let a handful of scoring opportunities slip through their fingers – literally. They missed out on a few would-be touchdowns or bombs. They also fell behind 17-10. It wasn’t looking too good for a while. But then again, the Buckeyes have all but owned the Hawkeyes over the last decade.
I can’t recall the time when the Jump’s departed, but they had to leave for a wedding reception. Unless I’m mistaken, the game was still underway. I’m guessing mid 3rd quarter.
The Buckeyes pulled close with a field goal making it 17-13. Then, our defense held forcing a punt to give us the ball back with only a couple minutes to play in the game. One of our most reliable receivers let a would-be touchdown slip right through his arms on a 2nd down play. On the same drive, we ended up needing to convert a 4th down and 12 to keep any hope of winning alive. We converted, and a couple plays later scored the go ahead touchdown. We held the Hawkeyes with seconds to go and sealed the win guaranteeing ourselves an opportunity to at least share the Big Ten title for the 6th time in a row with a win over Michigan next Saturday. We celebrated!
After the game we drank more beer and ate more food. At some point (it was dark) we took Bob I. out to see the tree house. The kids wanted to show off some of their more daring escapades, none that I had previously seen. Most notably, leaping from the tree house into a pile of leaves, something we did as kids from our fort on Valleyview Dr. Bella was the only one of the two who did it. Jacob chickened out. I was surprised that Bella wanted to do it. She was scared, and even crying before leaping, worried about getting hurt. I tried talking her out of it, but the peer pressure from the other kids, namely Jacob, proved too strong. Success! Quite humorous really. Jacob cited the inability to squeeze under the lower rope as his excuse for not jumping. It’s an 8’ leap. I warned both that a freak injury could ruin their entire ski season. Something they needed to consider.
We hung out for another half hour or so before Bob I. headed for home. Just prior, Mary Ann called and talked with Mindy. She was just leaving work and battling a cold. She wasn’t going to make it. :( It seems we see Mary Ann only a handful of times each year anymore. Mindy sent home some chicken & noodles for her.
Another knock on the back door. It was neighbor Jake decked out in hip waders and a bright yellow jacket. Apparently Kenny made Jake put it on and get in the pond to fetch the expensive football the kids tossed in earlier.
After our guests departed, we watched a little more football before Mindy and the kids headed to bed. I stayed up watching more on my own. Common occurrence. Not sure the time when I finally headed for bed.
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