Building Memories of Foam

Around 715am, I popped up and out of bed, brushed my teeth then headed downstairs. The sun wasn't quite up but the sky was clear. It was supposed to be beautiful, sunny, and in the mid 50s. I started some coffee then played around online until it was ready. Ahh, coffee was delicious. Played on my computer for about 60 minutes. Headed out on the run around 830am.

It was sunny and cool - only 38 degrees. Ran just three miles. As I neared home I passed Mindy and the pug a few houses down from our own. I finished my run then joined up with the two of them for the duration of the pug's walk. We stopped at the O'Connell's and let Eiknarf play with Shamrock and Chester for a few minutes.

Back at the house, I got a couple of calls from Lindsey right around 9am. My phone was muted so I didn't get to either. She followed up with a text sharing that Landon was trying to call so he could come over. I returned the text sharing that we were enjoying a kidless weekend. And then in true Lindsey fashion she gave me crap for supposedly promising Landon that he could come over this weekend. Of course, that wasn't factual, but that's what you get when you trust a 6 year old to communicate the results of a phone call. I had already talked with Mindy about me taking the boys to see a movie on Sunday afternoon while she hosted another Ava Anderson party at her sister's house. I shared that in a text with Lindsey. She responded that the boys were happy and excited with the plan.

I decided to call Camtronics, a long standing Columbus camera repair shop. They used to be located near Worthington but now call Grandview home. I called the number listed on their website and got the owner. Said it was his personal cell phone. Yikes! I apologized and offered to call back on Monday during normal business hours. He asked what I needed. I shared the dilemma with my S95. Told me to bring it in the following week and he'd have a look. Might be able to make the repair much cheaper than Canon. Cool.

A little later, Mindy and I discussed the day's agenda. We had previously discussed going hiking but hadn't fully settled on a location. I offered up Lake Hope (80 miles), Yellow Springs (50 miles), or Darby Park (10 miles). As much as I want to get out and explore the Lake Hope area, Darby Park seemed more fitting, at least on this occasion. It's so much closer. Mindy and I agreed on Darby Park. That way we could do some other stuff too.

I whipped up an omelet before heading off to the shower. Made it with cheese, chicken, red onion, spinach, and hot pepper rings. Made a plain scrambled egg for the pug. The omelet was delicious. Mindy ate only about half of hers. I baggied up what remained for another day.

By the time we both had showers and were ready to go it was nearing noon. We took the most recent Kohl's coupons with us, figuring we'd stop there on our way home from hiking. At Mindy's suggestion, we took the more scenic router - Fisher Rd all the way out to Amity Rd. Along the way, we marveled at the autumn landscape, which is now looking more like winter with most of the leaves already fallen. Last weekend was our peak color.

Having hiked/biked the new trails at Darby Park the last time we were there (early October), we planned to hike the older trails this time. In kind, we used the second entrance, which was the main entrance for decades. We hiked Indian Ridge and part of the Ancient Trail veering off the main trail on several occasions to get closer to the creek. Time-wise, we spent about two hours hiking in the park. Headed back roughly the same way we came in. We exited the park thinking we were going to venture to the other side and take in one of the newer trails we saw on park map the last time we were there with our bikes. However, we weren't exactly sure where to turn. We tried following Alkire but that took us too far west. We then back tracked to Gardner Rd but that took us all the way to Broad St. Maybe another day. Instead of heading back home, we opted to head west through West Jefferson. I hadn't been that far out West Broad St in maybe 30 years. Downtown West Jeff looks really nice these days. Mindy thought she spotted a brew pub but we couldn't find it on our trek back.

We jumped on 142 north to 70 west then got off at Rome-Hilliard destined for Kohl's. As usual, traffic on Rome-Hilliard was a disaster. Got to Kohl's around 3pm. Our main purpose for making the stop was picking up a couple more bed pillows. We grabbed two regular bed pillows and then two premium memory foam pillows for our own bed. The memory foam pillows have a gel side, too. They were regularly $100 each, but between the sale price and Mindy's special coupon, we got 'em for $28 each. What a deal!

We had no choice but to pay for the pillows and then carry them to the car since they wouldn't fit in the smallish carts Kohl's keeps on hand. They look more like a baby buggy than a shopping cart. After stuffing the four new pillows into the Pilot, we headed back inside so Mindy could look at some clothes. Ugh!!

While she looked at clothes, I quickly looked at running attire and then Xmas decorations. No thanks. Took me no more than 5 minutes to determine that there wasn't anything I was interested in. I eventually hooked up with Mindy, who was hovering in the woman's department. I quickly picked out a sparkly black sweater for her to try on. She had a couple things already in her arms that she wanted to try on. I didn't like either of them, especially the white, short sleeved, bunny-like sweater. Thankfully, after trying it on, she didn't like it either. While she tried on the clothes, I sat in the waiting area checking college football scores from my phone. Turns out, Mindy liked only the sweater and shirt that I picked out. How funny is that? We headed to checkout for the second time. This time the lines were quite a bit longer, but we really lucked out when they opened a new register and were next in line.

We headed home around 4pm. I was extremely hungry so I snacked on Triscuits, cheese and hot pepper rings. While I snacked, Mindy headed upstairs. When she didn't come immediately back down I figured that she must've laid down for a nap. Hmmm? After eating too many Triscuits, I stretched out on the sofa watching college football - Michigan/Nebraska. Turned out, Mindy was upstairs cleaning our bedroom and bathroom. We haven't yet found a new house cleaner so it's up to us to do the deep cleaning the house needs. I guess this weekend it was cleaning time for our bedroom and bath. She was washing our bedding too, which was good since we had the new memory foam pillows to try.

I might've slept for a few minutes here and there but never soundly, and certainly not for any stretch of time. I took the pug on a walk around 545pm. We left out the back door but returned via the front. I forgot that the door was locked. I ran the doorbell and knocked. I even saw Mindy pass by while vacuuming the upstairs hallway. I guess she couldn't hear me, or simply chose to ignore me. The pug and I had to walk around to the deck door.

Around 6pm we discussed dinner plans, agreeing to visit - big surprise - CBC. We talked about stopping elsewhere on the way, but in the end we both figured that one stop at CBC was all we really needed - great beer, great food, and great atmosphere. We left the house somewhere between 630-7pm. Given that it was a weekend day, it was an easy, quick drive into downtown. We parked in the rear Kroger lot then walked across Short St to the restaurant. The restaurant and bar were full. After greeting some of our CBC peeps, we hovered at the bar near the restrooms, waiting to pounce on the first couple stools that freed. We stood there just a minute when the couple right in front of us suddenly popped up and made a beeline for their waiting table. In the process the fella darn near knocked Mindy over. She didn't fall completely over but he did knock her directly into the wall where several pictures are hung. In fact, one of them fell on the floor. Mindy laughed it off as we picked up the fallen picture, rehung it, then snatched up the open stools.

Vince and Robin were working the bar. Vince made sure to get us both a beer. Mindy opted for the Actual Brewing Stout while I went with my all-time favorite, a Bodhi. Time for a CBC photo. Because my flash no longer works on my S95, I had Mindy hold my Galaxy III behind the camera with the LED flashlight app. Snap! Cool effect. A minute later the gentleman that knocked Mindy into the wall came walking over to apologize. Ended up buying our beers. How nice was that? He was very apologetic too. Thank you kind sir! Jen observed the entire verbal transaction and was dying to hear what it was all about. After Mindy told her the story, she then shared that she had recently asked the same gentleman and his wife, who were both large people, if they were very uncomfortable in the booth they were originally seated in. When the answer was yes, she offered to find them a free standing table instead. That's why they were at the bar in the first place. - while she cleared them a free standing table. Oh geesh!

Without having to ask or order, Vince brought us some bread - their new pretzel bread that comes with two dips - a mustard dip and then pub cheese. Yum! Shared that they didn't have any risotto. No problem. The Bodhi went down easy. Ordered a 2nd while Mindy nursed her stout. Said she'd most likely only have the one. After about an hour we ordered food. Mindy ordered the steak which now comes with the glazed carrots and cauliflower au gratin. I ordered the spinach artichoke dip. By then my 2nd Bodhi was about gone. At the same time Mindy had a change of heart and wanted a 2nd stout. That meant that there wasn't any way she'd be driving- not after two big beers. To be safe, I figured to stop after two. However, a couple minutes later, Vince brought me a 3rd Bodhi. Hey, he twisted my arm. :) I enjoyed the 3rd with my meal.

We finished our meal and watched the start of the Alabama/LSU game. As it often does, the bar cleared out considerably after 8pm. Jacob called my cell shortly after the game started to ask for score. I guess he couldn't get a decent enough signal to get an internet connection from Hocking Hills. He asked that I keep texting updates. Sure, Jacob! We left CBC much earlier than usual. It wasn't much after 830pm. After settling our tab, Mindy suggested we buy some of the coffee beans they use and sell there.

Arrived home around 9pm. I stepped out onto the deck for a minute and turned the back light on. I heard neighbor Teri holler out for me & Mindy to stop down. Too funny! Mindy and I agreed to walk down for a few. We could see that they had a decent fire going on their patio. We took the pug with us. I grabbed a beer. Mindy said she was done drinking. It was just Mike, Teri and Evan - no other neighbors. Mike shared that Kenny & Chrissy were at the Blue Jackets game. We hung out with them for about 30-40 minutes. Good time. Mindy was getting tired and wanted to head home. Got back to the house no later than 10pm.

Mindy & I tuned into the Alabama game from the sofa. Kept Jacob updated with the score via text. Mindy made herself some tea with honey and a shot of Jack, a concoction she learned helps a cough. And since she had it out, I did a shot, too. Why not? What the heck! Mindy slipped off upstairs returning a few minutes later with something lacey underneath her thick pink robe. Good night Venus.