Tall Timbers

I slept in until almost 8am. Gone was the brilliant sunshine we enjoyed on Saturday. In addition, it was below freezing again too. It was only 28 degrees. I started coffee then headed to my PC. I checked in with work. Nothing requiring my attention. Hooray!

We had plans to go to Tall Timbers for a Wedding open house with Ashley around noon. The primary purpose of the visit was to reserve her preferred wedding date and then make a down payment. Ashley was supposed to be at our house around 1145am. We weren’t sure if Steven and/or Olivia would be joining us, too.

I left for a run around 9am. I was careful not to overdress, not wanting to overheat. I was stiff but better than the day before. Mindy was up by the time of my return. I promptly leashed up the pug then headed out for a walk. There was a very chilly breeze blowing in from the NE.

Once back at home I whipped up breakfast for Mindy & I, making a spinach, cheese, and sweep pepper omelet. At the same time, I made a plain omelet for the pug. Finished breakfast and kitchen clean-up by 1045am. We had an hour before Ashley was expected to show up. We took a brief nap before getting showers. Steven & Ashley showed up near noon. Ashley shared that Olivia was at a neighbors birthday party. We left for the wedding open house by 1230pm. I drove the Accord.

Hadn’t been to Tall Timbers in Reynoldsburg since a Time Warner summer picnic maybe 25 years prior. I knew roughly where it was. Didn’t bother Googling it. We took 70-E to 270N to Broad St. Whoops! It’s actually on Main St. We took Broad St or RT 16 east to Taylor Rd. Still had to head east on Main St a couple miles. Had to be near 1pm when we arrived at the wedding open house. The lot was chalked full of cars. Frankly, I was a little surprised. I think Ashley was worried that they might give away her preferred date if she didn’t get there early and handover a deposit.

I guess I hadn’t considered what the open house would be like, and apparently Steven felt the same. Both of us were a little surprised to discover that it was show full of wedding vendors on hand to market their services at Tall Timbers facility. It was like a min convention complete with florists, DJ and photography services. Many other services too. Of course, Tall Timbers provides the venue and the catering.

After we were there for an hour or so, Ashley shard that she finally secured an appointment with one of the Tall Timbers wedding planners, where they would answer any questions and ultimately draft up a contract for the services. Glad Mindy was there with us. She had as many or more questions than Ashley. Once all of our questions were answered we did the contract and I wrote a check for the deposit. After 3 days, should Ashley and Steven change their minds, the deposit money is lost. I made sure they knew that if that happened they would be responsible for paying me back. 

The venue is nice. If it were me - which I realize it isn’t - I would’ve have chosen a venue closer to home, like Darby park or park along the downtown waterfront. Still, Tall Timbers is nice, and as long as it’s a warm, sunny mid-June morning, it should be just fine. It was after 230pm when we made our way back to the Accord. Still, cloudy, cool and brisk.

Took 270S and was planning to jump off on 70W. Somehow missed the exit so we took 270 all the way around. Easy drive. Back at our house by 3pm. Ashley & Steven went right from our car to their own. They needed to pick-up Olivia from a birthday party.

I had a snack and then did some reading and took a nap. I woke when Jimaken dropped off the kids. Both of which went bonkers when they saw their mother’s purple hair. Jacob was especially distraught since one of his school friends was coming over to play basketball that afternoon. Thought he might crawl into a ball and hide.  The boy showed up with his mother, who apparently used to teach with Mindy but who is now a principal. They chatted for a while.

Still sleepy, once the mother departed, I headed up to our room where I took a longer, much quieter nap. I actually slept until almost 7pm. Jacob’s friend’s mother came back to get him around 715pm, but stayed for at least 20 minutes talking with Mindy. I waited until she left to rejoin the family downstairs. After lots of napping, not only was I hungry but well rested too. I reheated some leftover chicken artichoke pasta and had a garden salad, too. Yum! My hunger finally satiated, I headed to my PC and ultimately back to my Kindle where I recently finished Robert Wright’s, The Evolution of God. Wanting to have another book, especially for our upcoming trip, I searched Amazon for something similar that interested me. I am definitely drawn to learning the roots of religion and for that matter, God. It makes so much sense understanding how our world’s many-faith based belief systems evolved. In fact, I found that book so interesting that I searched and bought one along those same lines, though this one a bit more focused. It’s titled, Zealot- The Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth. I read the preface for free before deciding it worthy of my time, attention and dollars.

I couldn’t put it down. Read the first four chapters before finally heading up to bed around 11pm. By then, Mindy had been in bed for more than 90 minutes. However, she was still awake and unable to fall asleep.