Bohdi - an Enlightening Double IPA

I was up on time, and guess what? It was raining again. This time, though, the rain was light and there didn’t seem to be any lightning or thunder like there was through the night. I put on my exercise shoes and headed to the living room where I whipped out 55 sit-ups.

After sit-ups I read headlines and checked the weather. It was 63 degrees with light rain. Expected it to rain throughout most of the day, too with a high temperature reaching the mid 70s. Looking ahead we should be getting a reprieve from the rain with temperatures heading into the upper 80’s just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Nice!

I did push-ups next. Afterwards, Eiknarf and I headed out for our walk. We headed east, which is rare for the two of us. It’s a shorter walk, but one that seems to promote quicker relief. I can only assume because there’s a stronger cache of ‘other dog’ scent on those lawns. J

It was trash day, but ours wasn’t out yet. I quickly remedied that once we got back home. Good thing too. They came to pickup while I was stretching.  After meditation and stretching I delivered Mindy’s coffee. She was already in the shower so I set it atop the chest of drawers by our closet then gave her a kiss (touch one). I then headed to downstairs to quickly dress and depart for my run.

It was still sprinkling as I headed out the door, but it stopped shortly thereafter. That left it extremely humid which lead to a whole lot of sweating. The run went well, however. And by the time I got back from my run the sky was clearing and some sunshine was peaking through. It’s done that a lot this week.

Mindy was making scrambled eggs but they weren’t quite ready. I used those few minutes before breakfast was ready to remove the large drain plug to the hot tub allowing what water remained to quickly drain out. Bella came out to ask/see what I was doing. She wants us to get another hot tub, but the truth is we rarely use it. Not worth the expense. I can’t imagine there are too many folks that buy a second hot tub. And most hot tubs don’t make it even five years before breaking down.

Eggs were ready. Mindy shared that there were plenty still in the pan for Eiknarf, and that was after Bella decided she’d have some too. She was slow to decide on her breakfast item, which, for whatever reason, is becoming more the norm. This was field day at Beacon Elementary, although, according to the kids, it would be held inside since the school’s field is a swampy mess and they don’t want the school’s hallways getting muddy on the day of the art show. Jacob expressed total disdain. Bella seemed indifferent.

Don’t think I shared that Bella totally defaced her school yearbook earlier in the week. They just got 'em last week. Like a lot of other kids, it started out as having her friends sign it, but that deteriorated into using black indelible marker to color over the faces of several school mates – probably 50-100. Pages were ripped apart too. Mindy & I weren’t happy. We told Bella she’d be using her allowance to buy a replacement ($13).

I also learned the night before during pillow talk that Jacob used his own money to buy his friend Noah a yearbook, apparently after assuming that his family couldn’t swing the extra expense. I was touched. That’s a huge act of kindness from an 11 year old boy. Very proud of him.

Mindy left for school at her usual time, and I headed off to the shower a couple minutes later. Bella gave Eiknarf half the scrambled eggs we put on her plate, and there were still plenty in the pan. I placed those in a container and stowed them in the fridge for Friday.

I was showered and dressed for work by 750a. I used the time between then and bus stop time to cut up cheese. I still had Wednesday’s salad and fruit in the fridge at work. The kids and I headed out the door at 757a. The pugs really went at it while waiting on the bus, way more than usual. Chrissy suggested they have a play date later in the day.

Eiknarf and I headed back home after the bus left. She peed before heading inside. Not only did I pack up all of my gear, but loaded and ran the dishwasher, too. I took a cup of coffee to my computer where I purchased the new Lady Gaga release, Born this Way.

I didn’t leave for work until 820a or slightly after. I drove in with the top down but put it up before heading inside. Still a strong chance of rain.

Arriving at work, things were well under control. And while we were busy, it never got too out of control. Come 1pm I left the premise for lunch and headed to deMonye’s, which is out near the airport to buy Wave petunias. They always have plenty even after the more popular garden centers are picked over. Sadly, it was cloudy and threatening rain. I had to do the drive with the top up.

It’s quite a haul from Hilliard. Took me about 20-25 minutes to get there. The advantage to showing up at lunch time on a workday was a smaller crowd. But I was surprised there were as many people there as there were. Having made this pilgrimage a few years past, I knew right where to go. As I hoped, they had lots of healthy flats of various colors to select from. And while it’s tempting to buy the fuller more mature looking flats, I’ve learned that those plants end up being too spiney when separated from the others. Instead, I was looking for smaller, more compact Waves. I found two flats that met that criteria as well as the right color – purple (not the deep bluish purple, though).

I looked at some perennials too, but selected nothing else. I was surprised at checkout when she quoted me $60, or $30 per flat. I could’ve sworn they were $19.98 per. She assured me that I was incorrect. I thought about walking back out to that area to prove it to her and myself, but decided to just go ahead and pay and get. I loaded my two flats of petunias into the BM’ers trunk and headed back to Hilliard. The drive back seemed to go much faster. I was back by 215p. Not bad. Gone about 75 minutes.

In my office, I enjoyed my salad, cheese, and fruit. My boss called me to his office to show me an informal note from the guy who interviewed me. Wanted to know if he could have me in two weeks. His answer was yes. I hadn’t received an official offer and refused to assume anything until such a time. I stayed busy all afternoon dealing with the issues of the day, and there were plenty.

Meanwhile, it was a Jimaken Thursday, so to that end, I hoped to get away a tad early. Mindy and I exchanged a couple texts late afternoon. We pretty much agreed that we’d be going to CBC for dinner. I was more than eager to try May’s Hop Odyssey, Bohdi – a double IPA.

To that end, I left the office at 520p. The skies were looking rather ominous, and even more so than earlier. The clouds directly overhead were darn near purple. It stayed dry for the entire commute home. And by the time I arrive there, it started looking a bit more benign out west.

My dad’s trailer was still in front of the house. Mindy & I both chuckled that he most likely forgot about picking it up. We chatted briefly about our day then brushed up for dinner at CBC. It couldn’t have been quite 6p when we departed.

I kept an eye out to the east looking for a rainbow. The sun was breaking through the thinning clouds out west against a dark cloud covered sky in the east. I never did see one. During our drive downtown, Mindy shared her frustration with her new principal, Jim. Never follows through, and sounds to be very disorganized.

We hit a traffic jam near the 70E/71S meet point. It was slow crawling from there. Luckily, we didn’t have that far to go before the Front St exit. The CBC parking lot was jam packed, and probably more so than ever before. Lucky for us, someone was just backing out of the few spots just to the north of the building (not the main lot). We took that spot in a hurry.

Inside, the bar was packed too. Mindy got one of the last stools and quickly shared that the two young women next to her would be leaving soon. Jamie was working the bar. Without being asked, she poured me a sample of the Bohdi. Yum-yum! I deemed it gooooooood. Bring me five gallons, I proclaimed! CBC has a knack for brewing quality IPA with a citrusy, piney background that’s bitter yet without an unwanted (bad) after taste. This is right up there with the 12 Hops of Xmas. I was very happy.

Mindy? Not so much. Still no stout on the tower. She actually liked the Bohdi, but apparently not enough to get one for herself. She opted for a Patron & Gran Marnier  margarita. We watched Jamie make it. Wow! It was almost all booze – added only freshly squeezed orange and lime juice.

I finished my beer before ordering any food. Mindy order calamari and their salmon dinner. She was going all out! I ordered wings and a 2^nd Bohdi. I took a number of photos from the bar, some of the skyline, but then some of unsuspecting patrons. One fella got a little perturbed when he caught me snapping a photo of him using my self timer function. I guess he saw the LED flickering, which I never gave any thought too. I had the flash disabled. When he called me out I quickly denied and showed him the 2^nd most recent shot which was the downtown skyline. He backed off in a hurry.

We very much enjoyed our visit to CBC, but then again, when don’t we? Kate was serving tables, which is the first time I’ve seen that. Said she might see us at Barley’s on Friday. Remember, her boy friend is a new manager there – Zach.

Mindy agreed to pickup the tab. After all, she accounted for 67% of it. I agreed to drive home. That margarita was powerful. We arrived home I’m guessing around 740p. We beat the kids home by about five minutes. I think that we were on the deck when they came in.

At some point I found my way to the sofa while snacking on some pita chips. I was still hungry. Wings rarely fill me up. I tuned the TV to a program about the planet, but can’t recall the gist of it. It wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep. I didn’t wake until 1005p, and everyone else was already in bed. I took my time making sure the house was secured and shut down. I crawled in bed just before 1030p.