North High Brewing & CBC

Since I planned to work from home again on Friday, I knew that I could sleep in a bit and not harm my routine. To that end, I didn’t get up until 610am. Even before exercises, I took Mindy some coffee since she needed to maintain her normal routine. Once she was awake I headed downstairs and whipped out sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups. Coffee, work and internet were next.

For the next hour, not only did I play on the internet as usual, but I started working on some reports too. In fact, by the time that Mindy was downstairs and ready to leave for work I was in full-fledged work mode.

Our kids had a four day weekend, and Bella planned to join Mindy at school while Jacob opted to stay home with me. Mindy had to holler for Bella to finish her ready like four times. Humorous! I think they left around 725am with enough time for a stop at Tim Horton’s.

I didn’t stretch and run until 9am or so. By then it had warmed up a little. It was hovering just above freezing under cloudy skies. I wore the usual winter running garb. I ran three miles for the 2nd day in a row. Back at the house I walked the pub before stripping out of my running garb. Back from our walk, I dug back into the day’s work. I worked for about an hour before getting a quick shower then headed off to Aspen Ski & Board to pick-up my skis and then a quick stop at the bank to deposit a couple of checks.

I opted to stop at the bank first. Went through the drive-thru. Not more than a 5-10 minute stop. Arrived at ASBCO around 1125am. As hoped, they did a good job getting all the scratches and nicks out of the bottom surface. The edges felt nice and sharp too. Stopped at the Daily Growler on the drive back home. Closed. They don’t open until 3pm. Took a peek inside. Mindy was right. About as bare bones as one could expect.

I stayed busy all day. Jacob wasn’t awake and downstairs before 11am. And once he was up, I saw very little of him. I’m guessing that it was near 130pm when the Alarm Force guy called. Said he would be there in 10 minutes. I kept working up to the minute he pulled into the drive. Eiknarf barely barked when he knocked and entered. Hmm?

Dan is an older gentleman and seemed eager to correct the problem. He completely disconnected the two-way box and checked the programming. He then proceeded to test the motion sensors ultimately coming to the conclusion that the one in the livingroom was defective. He also determined that the kid here on Monday programmed both sensors incorrectly, and too sensitive for our dog. Her weight teeters right on the edge of the setting he selected.

Dan replaced one of the sensors and adjusted both for a higher weight setting. He also correctly documented where each sensor resides. As it was originally installed, it was confusing at best. Dan could only snicker at the ego the kids displayed on Monday, essentially telling me that he was the expert. I’m thinking that Dan was at the house for about an hour. Only time will tell if he got the problem resolved.

I got back to work and stayed busy through 5pm and even a little after. Mindy and Bella got home from school around 420pm. I’m pretty sure that Jacob was off playing with friends when they got home. While worked, Mindy packed Bella’s clothes for a weekend with Jimaken. She planned to have Jacob pack for himself.

I’m thinking that it was near 530pm when Jimaken arrived to get the kids. Mindy and I briefly discussed evening plans. She wanted to visit North High Brewing for perhaps one beer then head to CBC for dinner. I agreed.


While Mindy readied for dinner out, I took a very brief nap from my office chair. At the same time, the weather outside got a bit wintry with moderately heavy blowing snow. I’m thinking that it was about 620pm when we left the house in the Accord. We took a CBC jug just in case they had some Bodhi on tap. However, I wasn’t holding my breath.

The drive was slow from exiting our subdivision all the way to the North High Brewing Co. There was still quite a bit of rush hour traffic, but I think the weather played the biggest part. The snow was coming down hard for most of the 25 minute drive. We parked along 6th ave, which always leaves me worried that someone might sideswipe our car. I told Mindy that I’ll bet they have an obscure parking lot. We planned to ask.

As we were making our way to the front entrance we noticed one of the owners out front giving a guy in a U-Haul truck an earful. Not exactly sure what happened, but thought I heard him say something about blocking the road. Hmm? First time in on a Friday. Much larger crowd than the two Wednesday visits combined. Had a new girl tending bar too. We got perhaps the last two stools available.

Mindy ordered the porter she likes and I went with their Imperial IPA. Saw they had an appetizer menu now too. Not a whole lot on it, bit what they did have sounded great, and was one of our favorite appetizers from 229 – bacon wrapped, gorgonzola stuffed dates. We ordered a plate of those too.

The dates were really good. The gorgonzola taste more like blue cheese to me. I didn’t notice that same finish at 229. We didn’t stay but for the one beer. We chatted briefly with both owners – Tim and Gavin. As we exited, I suggested we pop in the Kroger liquor store right next door and stock up on our favorite ski-day libations. We picked up some vodka, Bailey’s, rum, and then a half gallon of Jack, though the Jack is more for home. Haven’t taken any of that skiing for a few years. Forgot to buy some more Goldschlager. Still spent $100 via self-checkout.

Headed south on High St the entire way. Even though the snow had stopped, it was very picturesque. I snapped a couple photos while stopped at the many traffic lights.

As is generally the case these days, CBC was packed. Unbeknownst to me, Mindy shared that our friend Tom C. was already there and had sent a text sharing that it was standing room only. Sure enough, we found Tom in the back corner where we joined him. They had Bodhi on tap. They served Mindy & I without even having to ask. Tom commented that he’d been waiting to be served for quite a while. We ordered a pale ale for Tom. Vince & Emily were tending bar.

Soon after getting my beer, Mindy handed Vince our growler to have it filled. They weren’t entirely sure how much Bodhi remained. I think he filled and stowed it for us right then. While Mindy chatted with Tom, I chatted with a young girl standing by herself next to me. I guessed her a nurse and sure enough, I was right. The shirt was a dead giveaway. Her name was Jessica and she was very cute. Waiting for her husband and friend. She was very friendly and fun to chat with. Her husband showed up about 10 minutes later. By then I had introduced her to Mindy and Tom as well.

Her husband showed up while Mindy was off to the restroom. If looks could kill, they would’ve killed me. Didn’t seem pleased that I was talking with his wife. He said next to nothing even though Jessica introduced us. His buddy Matt, on the other hand, was really friendly. We talked for a while. He works at Cardinal Health.

As often happens, Mindy discovered that Jessica was college roommates with a girl that Mindy taught in elementary school. She’s now the hands behind Jack Hannah whenever he’s on TV. Come to think of it, we’ve run into her there at CBC before too.
Of the three of us, Tom, Mindy & I, only Tom ate a real dinner, though Mindy and I shared an order of Risotto balls soon after our arrival. They might’ve been the best batch ever, too. After Tom enjoyed a steak, he ordered another plate of the risotto balls. He likes them too. Earlier, soon after our arrival, Mindy let Tom know that she has an Asian friend at school that she wants to introduce him to. She’s the school psychologist.

Eventually learned that Jessica’s husband, Pat was a Columbus cop. Also learned that he attended elementary school where Mindy teaches. He had her current teaching partner as his 2nd grade teacher. Small world. After that discovery, he opened up a bit more. We parted ways as friends.  Tom graciously picked up the evening’s tab. Thank big, Tom!

Mindy drove home. I’m thinking we were home and in bed before 11pm.