Jonsing for Barley's Real Ale

I was up reasonably early for Saturday morning. I thinking that it was somewhere close to 7am. I thought I'd have plenty of time to myself while the others slept peacefully, but while I was making coffee, I was met in the kitchen by Bella, who shared that she barely slept at all the night before. It wasn't ten minutes later when the Lindsey and the boys showed up. Oops! I forgot all about us volunteering to watch them so Lindsey could work OT.

I did my best to keep the kids quiet including making them some fru-fru coffee. I spent most of the early morning sipping coffee and updating my blog. I did a little work too. Mindy I don't think was up until after my run, which I didn't get started until almost 9am.
Despite a gloomy, rainy forecast, it was a mostly sunny and warm start to the day. I ran the usual abbreviated 3 miles without any problems. As soon as I was home I raised the garage door and grabbed by electric hedge trimmers so I could trim back the cranberry bush at the side of the garage and house as well as the Ivy, which is taking off like gang busters thanks to all the recent rainfall. I trimmed the ivy growing into the street around the mailbox, too. By then the kids were fishing out front in the pond.

Once I finished with the light yard work i retreated to the deck and installed the new black canopy over the still standing frame. I had Mindy give me a hand rearranging turning it 90 degrees so it was 8' wide and 10' out from the deck door. I had to move the deck table and umbrella over about 10" to allow for the move but it looks better, not to mention more functional that way. Of course, I checked the radar before taking the time to set it up. Like the day before. the weather was a crap shoot. There were scattered storms circling all around the Ohio.

While relaxing on the deck, I heard all sorts of commotion out front where the kids were fishing. It wasn't long before they came calling for my help. Said that Rocky caught a duck and needed my help freeing it. I grabbed my camera and rushed to the flailing duck's aid. Not only was he hooked, but he was freaking out. You'd think his peers would've shown some mercy, but they were trying to attack it, almost as if they thought it had gone mad. Meanwhile, the kids were in a panic. I dispatched Rocky to the deck to sit. I enlisted Bella's help to free the duck from the fishing line. I was admittedly a little over stimulated too. At first I asked Bella to grab the helpless duck while I slowly reeled it ashore. But she didn't appear to have the courage to handle it. We traded spots and I took over the rescue effort.

Honestly, I was a little concerned for my own safety too, never before handling a mallard duck. If it were anything like the geese, it would fight me with its webbed feet and claws, let alone biting me with its beak. The duck, however, seemed at ease once I had a firm hold of it. Almost as if it realized I was there to help. At the time, the fishing line was wrapped all through its wings. It looked like it was in its mouth too. It was soft and very warm. I ordered Landon to fetch Mindy and meet me on the deck.

Between Mindy and I, we were able to quickly untangle the fishing line from the docile ducks wings and then turned our attention to its mouth. It quickly became apparent that it had swallowed the entire hook. Mindy tried nervously to pry its mouth opened. When she did so, it seemed to be in pain. Mindy went for surgical tools, needle nose pliers and scissors. On even closer inspection, the barbed end of the hook was poking through its neck. It looked hopeless, but as I told , Mindy, that might be the best of all possibilities. If it was protruding enough, we might be able to pull it all the way through. We cut the fishing line at its mouth.

Unfortunately, the hook seemed to rescind into its neck, and prying its mouth opened far enough to attempt to grab it from the top seemed impossible, if not fatal. We opted to say a little blessing and release it. I put it down and it waddled away to the water like nothing happened. Mindy was in tears. The kids were very, very quiet. Rocky watched the surgery from the deck door. Once things calmed down I invited Rocky outside with the rest of us. After all, he didn't catch the duck on purpose. There's so many of them this year that when the kids fish with bread they attack it too, just like the carp.

I invited the kids to throw the Frisbee again. Only Rocky & Landon were interested. Again, Landon is surprising good at it, especially for a 6 year old. We tossed it for about 30-40 minutes before we both were sweaty.

As it was, Lindsey was expected to get off work around 2pm and then come to our house to finish her laundry while me, Mindy and the kids headed to a wedding and reception. As planned, Lindsey showed up around 215pm while I was napping on the deck. Mindy headed off to the shower at some point. Not sure exactly what time. I napped and relaxed the whole time expecting Mindy to come out and tell me it was time to get ready for the wedding. By the time I headed in to shower and ready, everybody else was all ready to go. I checked the radar again, worried that a storm might be moving in. But once again, lots of scattered storms all around us but nothing appeared to be heading directly our way. I opted to leave the new canopy and umbrella up.

Mindy was pacing nervously as I made final preparations. She was worried that we'd be late for the wedding. At the time, I wasn't even sure where it was taking place. Just before we left the house I learned that it was being held at Crossroads church. I haven't been there for a number of years. I think Mindy's gone a time or two. We left he house around 305-310pm. The wedding, according to Mindy, was set to begin at 330pm sharp. I doubted it. They always start late.

We made it with plenty of time, but were in fact some of the last guests to arrive. We sat behind Jodi, Larry, Lindy and Maw-maw. The ceremony started maybe 5 minutes after we were seated & settled. The ceremony was relatively quick, about 35-40 minutes, and that included communion, which was served by the bride & groom. I didn't realize it at the time but the groom is a minister. The wedding ended around 410pm and all the guests were shuffled just outside the church doors for the ceremonial bubble blow ( no rice). The reception was slated to start until 6pm at the YWCA downtown. With about 90 minutes to kill, we headed home for a while. During our drive home it began to rain. We stopped by Darwin's place as we drove by. He and brother-in-law, Danny were out front. We chatted ever so briefly. I told him that I wasn't doing the reception and would be back shortly.

Lindsey and the boys were gone by then. I asked Mindy again if I could stay home from the reception. She wasn't having any of that. She insisted that I go with she and the kids. She knows all too well how I get when I don't have any down time to relax over the weekend. And this is one of those weekends with a packed agenda. Ugh! Not wanting to make waves, I cowered and agreed to go with the family. We left for the reception around 550pm. It was a rather easy drive east on 70 exiting at 4th St. The YWCA is located at 4th & State in direct view of the capital building. I'd never been there prior.

The reception was on the 4th floor. We took the stairs, which left me a little winded. We stepped out on the veranda overlooking the buildings just to the south. I sipped a lemonade while Mindy and the others enjoyed mojitos. I stayed out on the veranda after the others headed inside. Mindy was off talking to the other guests. Our table was #17. We were all sitting together.

Pretty much a traditional reception, lead in lock step by the DJ. There was the arrival of the wedding party, the toasts, then dinner and dancing. The dinner options were a bit different: pulled pork and a vegan entree, which included a very spicy tofu dish and rice. The salad was called carrot salad. I tried some. It had a funny, not so pleasant after taste. I'm not sure that anyone at our table cared for the meal, but then again, that's really not why we were there. Heck, who am I kidding, I was there to appease my wife. :) I have to say. though, Danielle is a super young lady - bright, charming & pretty. She and her new husband have a lot going for them.

Mindy and I did the wedding anniversary dance. We were in the third group to exit the floor - less than 10 years married. The winners were a couple that have been married for 67 years. She was in a wheel chair dancing with her husband whose shirt was untucked and amiss. Very cute. They looked to be in their late 80s- early 90s. We did a 2nd song, too, just because.

I tried to get Bella to dance but she was a no-go. I even jokingly asked Jacob for a dance. He declined too. :) Both kids were eager to leave, but not before having some wedding cake. More than once, Jacob shared how hungry he was. I was hungry too. Mindy agreed that we should stop at Barley's on our way home. Instantly I was in a good mood. :)

We left the wedding reception near 830pm. We had to wait in the car for an extra 5 minutes while Mindy went back inside to locate the black shawl she let Bella borrow but forgot. Knowing Mindy, Jacob and I both were worried we might be waiting an hour. Given the chance, that girl will converse with a wall. :) Surprisingly, she was back out, though empty handed, after just five minutes. We headed to Barley's.

All four of us were excited to be there. The lot was sparsely attended. As a result, we got a close parking spot. Immediately in the door I heard my name and a cheer. It was neighbors Pat & Lisa along with their sister-in-law, Lori and her new beau, Bill. They were seated at the corner of the bar. We bellied up to one of the small barside tables near them. I asked for a Centennial. Boy was it good. Mindy opted for a Hoptopus while both kids went with a Dr Pepper. Almost a tradition, at least when we go there with the kids, we ordered a basket of fries too. Yum!

Everybody but me ordered food. I was a little hungry, but more so craving a craft beer. I knew I'd have plenty of opportunity to snack on some of the kids food. Bella never eats even half of her meal. I ordered a 2nd Centennial about 30 minutes later. We chatted at length with Bill, Lori's beau. Seems like a great guy. I joked that until now I guessed him a myth since he's never at one of the family gatherings.

We didn't stay ay Barley's too long, but the neighbors left before us. I'm thinking it was near 10pm when we bolted for home. Once home, I fetched a 3rd beer from the garage fridge, a Founder's All Day IPA. Yum! Bella and I stayed up long enough to watch part of SNL. It was rerun. Bella was asleep on the sofa when I headed up for bed. It had to be near midnight.