Hoppy & Hoptopus

I woke near 530a only to realize that it was Saturday. Boy was I ever happy for that, especially given that I didn’t feel too well. I fell back asleep for another hour or so getting up for keeps at 645am. Mindy might’ve woken briefly as I slipped out of the bedroom and headed for the downstairs.

I started some coffee and took a few Advil. I decided to skip calisthenics to give my neck and shoulders some additional rest. I laid down on the sofa with Eiknarf until 730a. We got up and headed out for a walk a few minutes later. The weather wasn’t as nice as I hoped. Skies were partly to mostly cloudy. It was supposed to be sunny. The temperature was around 50 degrees.

I played around online and did some writing in my blog until 9a or so. By then it was time to get in my run. I headed out a few minutes later. Mindy was still upstairs asleep. I ran the 3 miles easily. Can’t recall for sure, but I think Mindy was already up when I got back home. It was between 930-10am. I had a lot I wanted to accomplish before leaving for Janet’s wedding, which was slated for 230p in Grove City. I made two slices of cinnamon bread with peanut butter and woofed them down in a hurry. Mindy was fooling with her laptop. Lost its internet connection. I asked if she needed my help before heading out.  I told her that I loved her too.

I went to the shed first, and gathered the things I’d need not only to plant the two new burning bushes, but also to remove the two dead root balls. I planned to haul the new ones to the site with my tractor and trailer, but the battery was almost dead and wouldn’t start. I opted instead to dig out the wheel barrow.

The two root balls came up easily, almost too easily. It’s like the roots never left the ball. Hmmm? I vacated both holes before retrieving the two new ones from the Trooper. It took some real umph to wheel barrow the two new bushes up the incline of the front yard. Aside from having to pull one of the bushes back out of its hole to make it slightly larger/deeper, the planting went smoothly. Not much to it. Done in less than an hour.

Next, I moved around front where for the second time in as many weeks, I transplanted several volunteer May Salvias (same ones as before) to make room for wave petunias in a couple of weeks.  Mindy came out to let me know that she was heading off to Target. I must’ve spent about 30 minutes transplanting the salvia.

One of my least favorite jobs each spring is clearing the flower beds of residual leaf debris. It’s a painstaking process, especially when it’s tangled amongst the English ivy. I took my time clearing out the same bed where I had just planted the burning bushes. I filled my collapsible yard debris can twice.

Mindy was home around 1230p. I asked what time we needed to leave for the wedding. She suggested no later than 145p. I asked that she alert me once the clock struck 130p. I still wanted to cut the front lawn. Before I did any mowing I put away all of my yard tools. I push mowed the front yard about as fast as I could. I didn’t bother doing any edging or whacking. Didn’t have time. Mindy came out with a time check just as I was finishing up. Good timing. All I had to do was lock the shed.. I decided to stow the mower in the garage since I’d probably use it on the back Sunday.

I headed in for a much needed shower. Mindy was already dressed and ready. I asked about proper attire. I didn’t want to wear a suit. I opted for Dockers and a sweater. I was ready to go by 145p. Mindy had me sign the gift card just before we left. We planned on going out afterwards, though we didn’t have a firm destination.

I tuned the Honda's XM radio to ESPN’s radio coverage of the NFL draft. Don’t you know, they were doing a story about the Vikings #1 draft choice, Christian Ponder.  Many are calling it a terribly risky pick. It didn’t take nearly as long as we thought to get to the Heimat Haus on route 104. We were there by 2p, a full 30 minutes early. We sat in the Pilot for a few minutes but decided to head inside a little early. Plenty others were already there too.

As we waited in the sign-in line, our old friend Lee joined up with us. Because we were early, we treated ourselves to premo aisle seating. We were soon joined by some of our Barley employee peeps, but still a rather small contingent. I took a bunch of photos from our perch. This marked our second event at the Heimat Haus. The last was for a wedding reception. And just like I did that time, I noticed a strong musty smell. It eventually goes away once you’ve been there for about 30 minutes.

The wedding started a little later than advertised, but I think that was intentional. The ceremony was quaint. The woman marrying Janet and Jacob had quite the sense of humor. There were more than a few laughs throughout. Ceremony lasted maybe 20-25 minutes. After the new couple was introduced to the crowd, everyone was invited into the adjoining banquet room for appetizers, wine and beer. The beer was provided Barley’s (Hoptopus and Scottish). Dinner was catered by Oscar Bickerdt. And as you might guess, authentic barbeque. Very good stuff!

Wasn’t long before the DJ got cranked up and the karaoke started. As I suspected, he had a plant amongst the guests, a starter if you will. The guy sang every other song for a while. During his first song I informed Mindy that he’d be singing Neil Diamond shortly. Sure enough, he did two or three. Too funny! Jimmy Cordle (former Buckeye) was introduced to the crowd and sang a song. Said something about the Giants drafting a tackle.

Most of the Barleyites, including the newlyweds, were said to be heading to Peddler’s, a local watering hole for more fun. Mindy and I opted not. It was near 6p, the very time we figured to be heading out. We decided to head to Barley’s. Mindy drove.

For whatever the reason, Barley’s has never been a crowded place on Saturday evenings. That was the case this time, too. The bar was only about half full. Tina was already working the bar after leaving the wedding reception around 5p. Justin had been at the wedding as well, and was serving tables.

We started having fun almost immediately. I ordered a Rogue Sublimely Self-Righteous black IPA. Mindy, a St Joan’s nitro. Zach was there (new manager). He texted his girlfriend Kate from CBC and then confirmed that she was coming in for a visit. He also shared that they went sky diving earlier in the day – thrill of a lifetime. Sounds like fun. Had a video and pics on his phone. Cool!

At some point some one, Mindy I think, decided to give some of the Barley employees seven dwarf nick names. That soon morphed into nicknames for everyone at the bar, even the strangers we’d just met. Soon everybody had a name tag with their nickname. There must’ve about 10-12 of them all totaled. I dubbed myself hoppy, and Mindy hoptopus. Tina was horny, and the other new manager, Jeff, goofy. She nick named Zach, spunky. We laughed our butts off.

Mindy texted nephew Joe soon after our arrival. He showed I’m guessing around 8-830p. Kate and Lawrence showed up just before Joe. Lawrence is from France and was quite entertaining.

Our intent all along was to hook Joe up with Justin, figuring them a good match for one another. At least initially, both seemed warm to the idea. At some point Mindy inquired about a ride home. Once Joe offered to be our DD, Mindy started drinking again. Not sure the time when we finally left for home, but I do know this, we were having a hoot of a good time. We left the Honda there while Joe drove us home.

Eiknarf was ecstatic to see us after being people deprived all afternoon and evening  I walked her out front before heading up to bed. I knew that she wouldn’t like being alone. I convinced Mindy that we needed to let her sleep with us.