Tuesday, July 21 – Return to Routine
Nice to wake at home, enjoy coffee from the Kuerig, and take a leisurely 4 mile run through the subdivision. Mid-morning we got a call from Lindsey asking if we could pick-up Rocky from day cap (Hilltop YMCA). Yes.
I drove the BM’er to pick him up. During my drive there, I listened to NPR radio. The program was the formal launch of Governor Kasich’s presidential campaign. I called Mindy asking that she DVR it. Despite anyone’s feelings or perceptions, I wanted to hear what he had to say for myself.
Rocky was elated to not only be coming to our house but also to be riding in the convertible. We had a mostly leisurely day around the yard and house. Mindy headed off to drop Jacob at soccer practice near 130pm. Bella, meanwhile, left to go visit her boyfriend. His mom picked Bella up. I agreed to fetch her at their house before 4pm. While they were away, Rocky and I played ball. While passing the football, I tried to run hard after an errant throw. Doing so wasn’t a good idea as I tweaked my right hamstring. Ouch! It hurt so bad that I couldn’t walk it off. From that point forward, I was walking with a painful and noticeable limp.
Rocky and I headed to Whole Foods where I bought some Patagonian Tooth fish (AKA Chilean sea bass) as well as some of that yummy peach mango salsa. Left to fetch Bella at 345pm after struggling to find Eli’s address. Had to text Kayla who sent him a text to get it.
Mindy grilled the fish and steamed some rice. Delicious! The best Chilean sea bass in a long time. Mindy and I enjoyed a beer from the deck that evening.
Wednesday, July 22 – Tommy at 54 @ Wolf’s Ridge
Another hot sunny day at the house. Ran just three miles with an awfully painful hamstring. In fact, it hurt some much at the outset that I wasn’t sure that I would be able to finish but I did. Tommy and I agreed to meet at dad’s place near 11am to mow the lawn as a team while Mindy and the kids headed to lunch with mawmaw and nephew Joe.
I took my trimmer and blower as well as 5 gallons of gas. Arrived before Tommy. Got started with the push mowing ahead of his arrival. Never used dad’s old tractor.
Cut about half the front before Tommy arrived. Once he got the tractor going, he gave me a quick overview and let me take it while he finished push mowing. After about 60 minute, the tractor was over heating (it’s been doing that all summer). We left it sit awhile and then added more coolant mix. Probably just another 25-30 minutes of mowing to finish the job.
Couldn’t get it to start again. Mindy, mawmaw, and the kids stopped by dad’s after lunch. Headed home a short time later. We confirmed plans to take Tommy to dinner later that evening for his 54th birthday. The plan was to visit Wolf’s Ridge.
I fooled around with Bella’s iPhone, the same one that’s been out of commission since mid-June. Been out of service for six weeks. But all the sudden it started working after a hard reset, though it had done the same thing shortly after it failed but completely dead for the last 4 weeks. I was skeptical but also excited that it was working again. I planned to put it through its paces, including several power off’s and power on’s. That’s when it would usually fail.
That afternoon, I washed my Accord, giving it a much needed bath. After some lunch and a brief nap, I headed back over to dad’s hoping to get the tractor running and subsequently to finish the lawn. Started right up, so I was able to finish the lawn. By the time I arrived back at the house, Tommy was there. After a shower, we left for Wolf’s Ridge.
We enjoyed a pint from the tap room before making our way to the restaurant. We opted for bar seating there too, and that’s where we enjoyed a very nice dinner. All three of us went with the restaurant week special, which was a pork shank, salad, and dessert. Very well-prepared and very delicious! I enjoyed a high octane IPA too. Tommy’s dinner was on us. Happy birthday, Tom!
Thursday, July 23 – Rocky’s 12th b-day
Another hot sunny day at home. Ran 3 miles with a still painful hamstring, but it was somewhat better than Wednesday. That was certainly an encouraging sign.
The day’s plan was to celebrate Rocky’s b-day and have he, Landon and Olivia overnight. They wouldn’t be there until after Lindsey got off work. Ahead of that, I had the kids help me wash and detail Mindy’s Pilot. Jacob helped wash the outside. Bella vacuumed the inside and did a very good job. She’s a good cleaner when focused.
Can’t remember what else we did during the day. Bella’s phone was still working after putting it through all sorts of tests that prior would produce a fail. She was now aware that I had it working but suggested I needed another day to continue testing before possibly giving it back.
Mindy baked brownies for Rocky’s b-day celebration and we planned on ordering pizzas too. They got there around 5pm. We ordered pizzas and wings from Minelli’s. Hadn’t had a Minelli’s pizza in quite a while. Man, was it delicious!
Rocky was very excited with his b-day gift - $100 cash! After celebrating, Mindy and I sat n the deck while the kids all played. It wasn’t too long after we took a seat out back that we heard several cars honking out front. After a couple minutes Mindy went to scope it out. She returned with both wee ones on tow (Livy and Landon). And Olivia was in tears. Apparently she and Landon were trying to get passing cars to honk their horns and eventually decided that it was a good idea to sit in the middle of the street to shock oncoming cars! Holy cow!!!!!
I was scared and angry and let Livy know how disappointed I was. I called Ashley to tell her. That rattled me to my core because I know how fast and how most drivers in our subdivision drive without paying attention. She could have been killed! Still rattles me to think about it. Ashley initially insisted on coming to get her, but I talked her out of it. I made it clear in no uncertain terms that that could never happen again. Equally, we banned the two eight year olds from playing out front without one of us (me or Mindy) out there too.
We stayed up not much later than 10pm.
Friday, July 24
Another hot sunny day in CMH. Generally, Friday’s represent the beginning of the weekend and are therefore a very happy day, but with the weekend upon us, I could feel my 17 day vacation coming to an end. Honestly, I was dreading the thought of returning to work. I ran three miles, but that’s normal for most Friday’s. My hamstring was feeling a little better but still an issue. From past experience, I know it’s going to ache for quite a while.
The day’s agenda included me mowing the lawn again. It also included all of us going to watch Jacob’s H.S. soccer team scrimmage in Dublin. He had two games, one at 3pm and the other at 6pm. The plan was for me and Bella to meet Mindy there for the evening game, after all the g-kids were gone. Mindy left with Jacob around 130pm while I was busy with the lawn.
All the gkids and daughters were going camping at Alum Creek. As you might guess, they were much looking forward to it. Steven came to pick-up Olivia around 1pm. I promised Bella she could have a friend spend the night. She opted to invite Elaina who Mindy and I really enjoy. Very good kid.
We gave Bella her phone that day, too. She was very excited.
Bella and I left for the soccer match shortly after Lindsey picked up the boys around 5pm. The soccer field was very hot and sunny. We watched about ¾’s of the match before taking off to pick-up Elaina, who lives in Hilliard very near the H.S. We planned to meet Mindy & Jacob at the Rusty Bucket for dinner soon after.
Our timing really couldn’t have been better. We arrived at the Rusty Bucket just a minute or two after Mindy. Joe greeted us and seated us with Ryan as our server. I ordered a White Rajah. Yum! Went with the chicken parm for my dinner entrée’ and enjoyed a 2nd White Rajah, too. Delicious!
By the time we finished dinner and arrived home, it was well after 9pm and dark. I headed next door after hearing Kenny and Trena chatting from her deck. I hung out with the two of them for a couple hours. Went home briefly in an attempt to get Mindy to join us but she was already in bed and didn’t want to play.
While hanging out, Trena treated us to two different shots – one moonshine (lemon peel infused Everclear), the other fireball. Ugh! Combine that with two or three beers, I had all the makings of a bad Saturday morning. J It was fun Friday night though. The three of us shot pool in Trena’s recently finished basement. Very nicely done, I might add, save for the Steelers décor’.
It was after 1am when I headed for home and bed.
Saturday, July 25 - This time it's my Personal Republic
Who coulda predicted this? I woke around 8am feelin' OK, but definitely not a 100%. A little coffee, an English muffin, and some internet, figured I'd be OK. Around 915am I headed off on a routine 3 mile run. I was fine through my run, but afterwards I wasn't feelin' so hot. To make matters a little worse, Mindy was shared that she was annoyed with me for ignoring her the evening prior. I wanted nothing more than to lie around and heal. :)
Our plans for the day included two events. First, we had the neighbors son, Jake's 17th b-day yard party, and then the St Margaret's festival - the Catholic church next to dad's place. There we planned ot meet Darwin to see his son, Jordan's band play. After a couple brief naps I felt marginally better, and from that point forward it was simply a matter of feelin' sluggish and tired. The only thing that would cure it was a good night's sleep.
We headed to the neighbors around 3 or 4pm. Enjoyed seeing folks we haven't seen in many months as well as some of the yummy food. I tried to eat healthfully, chomping on salad and veggies and washing all down with water.
Headed for the festival near 530pm.I was wrong about the start time. It was 6pm. Very hot and sunny, by the way. We parked at dad's and happened upon brother Bob and Tommy. Bob asked me to sign some papers relative to dad's estate. We chatted for a while catching up on all the particulars. We wisely brought a cooler of our own craft beers to enjoy in lieu of paying $5-6 each at the festival. Of course I brought some Solo cups too.
Entered the festival grounds from dad's deep backyard. There wasn't a cover charge but walking in with carry-in beer wasn't allowed. We quickly hooked up with Darwin and his brother-in-law, Brian who were sitting at a table a few deep from the stage listening to Jordan's band, Personal Republic. We sat with them for a bit but the hot sun was too much. We begged off seeking cover and shade, though still within close proximity of the stage.
Rather than head back to the car for another "free' beer, we caved and bought beer tickets. At least this year they had a couple craft beers. Seems everybody's come of age relative to beer selection. Thirsty Dog IPA. Decent!
We hung out for perhaps another hour, now sitting with Connie - Darwin's wife. She invited us to go to the Outer Banks with their family in two short weeks. Appreciated the invite but gracefully declined. There was a strong chance that I'd be working in Texas covering a strike. Found our kids who were milling about the festival on their own. Jacob had a girl friend with him - Alex. He won two cakes via the cakewalk/spin. thingy. Bella and her friends opted to stay. Jacob and Alex headed home with us. Neighbor Mike agreed to go back later to fetch the girls.
Once home, we fairly quickly rejoined the neighbors yard party. Enjoyed another beer but soon called it quits for not having the will or desire to party too late for a second night in a row. Headed home around 930pm. At the time, Bella and her friends were still at the festival. Alex's parents came to get her around 11pm. Mike and Kenny went after the girls about the time that Mindy and I headed home.
Sunday, July 26 - Lat vacation day :(
Big surprise, I woke Sunday feeling considerably better than I did the morning before. Usual run and fun. The day's plans included attending good friend Rene's wedding. Wedding slated for 3-4pm at the Greek Orthodox Church downtown. Rene - she's as Greek as they come. :)
Leading up to our ready, I lounged and tinkered around the house. Opted to wear my newish suit to the wedding. Overcast skies dominated the afternoon. Still quite stick. If you've ever been to a Greek Orthodox wedding, you know that they're generally much different than what we've come to expect. The two priest pretty much sang the wedding, and the couple - Vaughn and Rene spoke no words. And the ceremony itself drug on for a painful 40 minutes, though I must admit that it was mildly entertaining and the venue extraordinarily ornate. We love Rene so we endure!
The reception was on prem, which is the way to do it. Good food, good fun. We were seated at a table with like families: teacher peers of Mindy and Rene, along with their hubbies and children. We had a nice time. The food was good. I opted to pass on the open bar. Instead, drinking only water. For me, it was time to escape the drinking every night and get back on the fine horse that had gotten me to my summer vacation in the first place. :)
Enjoyed most of the formal wedding stuff, like the speeches, toasts, and dancing. We left for home sometime near 8pm. Rene looked as happy as I've ever seen her.
Monday, July 27 - Return to Work
I wisely logged onto my laptop Sunday evening before going to bed, not only to get a feel for what the work week might bring but also to make sure all of my passwords worked and then to clean-up email. That helped considerably.
As usual, I did a 4 mile run in the subdivision around 730am. Felt good getting back on that horse. Hamstring still sore but tolerable. Headed into the office arriving near 930am. Stuck around until almost 5pm. Worked from home that evening.
Tuesday, July 28 Work Cleveland Brandi
Ran 4 miles from home. Worked across town at my customer's campus. Shortly after I arrived I learned that our 1pm meeting would be canceled. I stuck around until almost 2pm anyway.
Headed for home. Mindy and I left for Cleveland shortly thereafter. Lindey was coming over late that afternoon to spend the night with the kids. We left them pizza money and made sure the rules were clear - no one in the house until Lindey arrives - no exceptions.
The drive up 71N was easy and clean as a whistle - no traffic snarls whatsoever. Adding that 3rd lane in that 21 mile stretch between Mt Vernon and Mansfield makes all the difference. Arrived at our hotel around 430pm. Our hotel - Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade downtown - was/is gorgeous. Until then, I didn't really know what an arcade was. Wow! As soon as we checked in our room, I logged into work to make sure everything was quiet. It was. Around 5pm, we headed out. The concert venue, Cleveland House of Blues was literally right across the street. No Ubering necessary. :)
Around the corner from the House of Blues main entrance lies a hopping popular alley called 4th St, I believe. It appears as though it's permanently closed to traffic and instead comprised of several sidewalk cafes. We opted for The Butcher and the Brewer. We weren't disappointed. Great craft beers and excellent food. The architecture was as interesting as both the beer and food. We both loved the place. We met a handful of folks, some of which were also taking in the Brandi Carlile show. Don't go to Cleveland and miss this place. It's a must visit locale. We opted to eat lightly, choosing appetizers - the bacon wrapped dates and the mini burgers. Both were delicious. I must say, however, for our money, Columbus' 229 does the bacon wrapped dates better than anybody.
Headed to the concert venue where we stood in line for about 5 minutes awaiting the opening. Tickets said show started at 7pm. Doors opened around 705pm. The House of Blues is a small venue. I believe the maximum capacity is 700. Most seats were standing room only, though there is a small balcony with seats. Our standing room seats behind lighting and sound couldn't have been more than 40-50 feet from the stage. Very intimate venue, very colorful, with lots of local art on the walls. Loved it!
Anderson East opened for Brandi. Man can that dude sing. Very strong, moving vocals. Enjoyed him much. Brandi came on around 9pm. She was incredible. Very talented, engaging, and full of energy. She did a nice job mixing up her song list, too. Played both old and new. We enjoyed the show very much. She wrapped it up after two encores around 11pm. Through the show, I enjoyed 2 beers - both White Rajahs.
Headed across the street to our hotel where I snacked on the Chex Mix Mindy brought for me. I checked in with work then hit the sack.
Wednesday, July 29 - Bad McD Coffee - Date Night
Woke near 7am. Checked my work laptop. Sent a couple emails. Soon dressed and out the door for a run. MY hamstring was extra stiff. Didn't give myself the benefit of a healthy stretch. That certainly didn't help. Our hotel was near 9th St, the street where the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame is located. I ran through downtown to the lakefront along and behind the HOF. It was an absolutely perfect summer morning. Blue skies, warm temps, slight cool breeze. Like downtown Cincy, Cleveland has preserved much of their 19th/20th century architecture. Gorgeous! Nothing but props for Cleveland!
Back at the hotel I jumped in the shower then logged into work. Asked Mindy if we could hit the road pretty quickly. We checked out and hit the road near 9am. Our plan was to stop for coffee once out of the morning rush. We exited @ route 42 and headed east looking for coffee. Ended up at a McD's. - certainly not what either of us had in mind. The service was exceptional. The coffee - unfortunately bad!
The drive home went as well and fast as the drive up. I had Mindy drop me at my customer's campus near 1130am. Asked that she be prepared to come back and pick me up around 330-4pm. Was at my desk and working by noon. Talked with my boss shortly thereafter via cell phone.
Worked through the afternoon, texting, calling Mindy for a ride home around 330pm. We already knew that despite making our house rules clear before leaving the house for Cleveland Tuesday afternoon, Bella broke 'em shortly after we left by allowing her friend and neighbor Kayla in the house, and not just once but twice. Jacob booted her out both times and sent Mindy a text accordingly.
Bella was with Mindy when she picked me up across town. Said Bella was grounded from everything save for TV. Filled me in on all the details of her latest transgression. Oh boy! Buckle up!
Once home, I got right back to work and stayed busy until 6pm or so. Mindy and I headed out for date night shortly thereafter. I hadn't been to CBC for more than a month. I suggested we go there, and Mindy excitedly agreed.
Arrived to a sparsely populated parking lot. Wow, that doesn't happen too much. Kate was tending bar. I haven't enjoyed Kate's company for several months or ever since she moved to days and the lunch shift. It wasn't on the official beer list but they had Bodhi on tap. We both opted for one. I haven't had one for a really long time. Yum!
Ordered risotto balls then joked that Kate would forget. What do you know, she didn't! While relaxing at the bar, a quick but heavy storm rolled through town. Rained so hard we couldn't see the Miranova building immediately to our north. Needed the rain. Sun came back out even before we left for home an hour later. Before that, I enjoyed a 2nd Bodhi and a plate of wings. Mindy had a steak.
Thursday, July 30 - Bunches of Hairs Cut
Ran four miles but not without sharp hamstring pain for the first 1/2 mile or so. Ouchy! Loosens up after a while but never completely stops.
Sunny and warm. Drove the BM'er and worked from the main office. At lunch I headed to the bank and then to Saturday's to get a haircut. It had been about 6 weeks since my last. Interesting note, I asked for a #2 guard for the back and sides, which I do more often than not. But this time it seemed far shorter than most others. I like it that short, just different.
I thought I would work the rest of the day from home, but remembered that I left my yummy salad in the fridge at work, and since I likely wouldn't be back to the office for several weeks, I decided to head back and get it.
Got home around 3pm where I worked for the remainder of the day. Mindy grilled pork ribs for dinner. Very good. After dinner the family piled into the Accord and drove to the Dairy Queen in Grandview where we went through the drive-thru buying 4 blizzards. For each blizzard purchased on Thursday, $1 went to Children's Hospital - a worthy cause and a win-win.
Friday, July 31 - Knotty Pine & Sideswipe
Worked from home. Ran three miles. I was covering for a peer. Still, a fairly easy day until mid-afternoon. Ended up covering for another peer as well. Had my hands full until well after 6pm. I was on a conference call when the kids left with Jimaken. Kind of sad given that there was a very strong chance that I'd be leaving Sunday morning for Texas with an undetermined return home, and almost certainly at least a few weeks. I gave them both a quick hug on their way out the door.
Took a little while to decompress from the late afternoon barrage but eventually did. Had been in contact with Darwin since Thursday evening about hooking up Friday evening for some beers. Agreed to do dinner and beers at the new Knotty Pine in Grandview, a revamped neighborhood bar and restaurant which is now a microbrew house too. How cool is that?
We picked up Darwin at his place. He was just getting home from work when we showed up. Connie was there with the young boys. They'd just gotten home from the hilltop pool. Said it was chaotic and a mess. Like the Wright's, Connie's family grew up going to the hilltop pool.
Connie opted not to go with. Let Darwin head out alone with the two of us. Later, Mindy emphasized how depressing it is to always be the only girl. Kept on Darwin to prod Connie into joining us. Almost worked.
We enjoyed a couple beers at the Knotty Pine as well as some appetizers. Darwin had wings, I had mussels, and Mindy had their fish dinner. The bartender's name escapes me at the present, but he looked so much like Chris Rock it wasn't funny. Had the personality to boot, too.
After about 90 minutes at the KP we headed for Sideswipe, which we hadn't been to for a couple/few weeks due to vacation. Decent crowd for the tiny venue and a familiar one too. Our new Sideswipe peeps were there: Paul, Daniel and a host of her peeps. Enjoyed two more beers - Fisticuff IPA's. Hung there until 1140pm - well past Craig's documented closing time. He's a gracious owner/host.
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