Backend of June

 

Dr March 2 Timer – gotta quit meeting like this

It was time for my semi-annual dental check-up with Dr. March. The last such visit back in mid-December proved quite memorable. After my cleaning and exam, I shared that I had been experiencing some sharp pain in the upper right rear. That ultimately resulted in a root canal shortly after Xmas.

This go-around, after a quick cleaning from my hygienist, Shana, and then a thorough exam with Dr. March lead to the discovery of a missing filling in tooth # 17. We scheduled a follow-up appointment for the 25^th (brother Glenn’s 66^th birthday) to address it. The follow-up appointment on the 25^th went smoothly, though it took a number of shots to become comfortably numb.

                                                                                  

GAI concert

For our 17^th wedding anniversary, Mindy bought me tickets to the Gregory Alan Isakov show way back in February, the day before we left on our anniversary ski trip. Actually, I drove down to Kemba Live to buy/fetch the tickets since they were experiencing technical difficulties with their website that mid-February afternoon. I recall it being an unusually pleasant mid-February day, weatherwise.

GAI has become one of my faves after first discovering him via Spotify 4 or so years ago. We last saw him March 2022 at the Newport. Love his music as well as the life he leads. The Kemba show was really good sans the extreme heat and humidity. It’s summer, so I guess that’s what one should expect.

 

Jen’s Pool Party – Strawberry Moon

We met Jen at Gallo’s a few years ago. At the time, she was one of a handful of new bartenders. She’s now the GM now and does a super job managing all aspects of the business, at least from a repeat customer’s perspective. She and her family recently moved into a home near us in Golfview Woods, which abuts to Wilson Rd & Raymond Golf courses. They have an inground pool too, with direct access to the fairway of Raymond’s hole #15.

Once darkness set in, we ventured out their more than convenient rear gate onto the fairway to watch June’s Strawberry full moon rise. Nothing short of spectacular! Holy cow! Good people, good party, good fun!

Tim Easton Nocterra

Became a Tim Easton fan a few years back seeing him for the first time at Natellie’s GV with co-worker and friend Bill R, who I spend a great deal of time hanging with these days. We ski/travel together, and frequently meet up for food and drinks.

We made plans to meet at Nocterra Brewing in Powell to see Tim Easton, my 3^rd time seeing him perform. Bill was taking Aimee, a fine young woman he met in Colorado during our last ski trip in April, and ultimately made arrangements for her to fly here to check-out CMH. Meanwhile, it was another sultry evening in Columbus, with temps in the 90s coupled ultra-high humidity.  

We drove separately but quickly ran into Bill and Aimee as they were seeking out a hard-to-come by parking spot. We didn’t realize it when we planned the outing that it was also Powell’s summer fest weekend, which effectively blocks off the entire small downtown village for a weekend celebration. Lots of music, food, and family fun that culminates with fireworks.

I hadn’t visited Noceterra brewing past, so I was very much looking forward to it. Bill and Aimee picked up a pizza from a Powell favorite, Brooklyn Pizza, and passed the pizza off to us as they drove by seeking a parking spot since we were already parked and right near Nocterra’s outdoor seating area.

We enjoyed pizza, beer and Tim Easton music for about 90 minutes. As the show wrapped-up we agreed to a little bar hopping in the quaint Powell downtown. Lots of cool bars, restaurants packed into a few blocks. Believe we stopped in Prohibition, the back bar, which is somewhat garage-like with several overhead doors they opened to the night air. Only Aimee and I ordered formal drinks, Pretty sure Bill and Mindy opted for water. When I saw they had Weller 12 year, I excitedly ordered a pour. Yikes! Later, after the firework show, and when I closed our tab, I learned that the single pour was a whopping $54!

The firework show was cool, but the again lame compared to Columbus’s RWB! Still, a fun event with good people. It was nice to meet Aimee. She was fun to hang out with.

 

A Couple new high-rise Deck Chairs (story later)

                                                                       

ComFest ’24 & Delivering the Good’s

We were much looking forward to Comfest ’24 (Friday, June 28 afternoon thru Sunday, June 30). We try to go at least once each summer provided we’re not out of town on vacation. The stagnant weather pattern was holding at hot, steamy & sultry with the threat of pop-up storms.

We made loose plans to meet our friends Mike & Kris. We met Mike & Kris at Gallo’s (go figure) a few years ago and became quick friends. Heck, Mike even joined us on our last February ski trip. The two of them love their live music. In fact, I think it’s fair to share that Fish is their favorite band. They travel lots to see them.

We made arrangements to meet them at the Comfest pavilion stage. And don’t you know that Tim Easton was slated to play that very stage around 330pm. When we arrived another fun band was playing, the HellRoy’s, from Arkansas. They’re musically tight with almost comedic lyrics. Give ‘em a listen. Had the crowd very much into it.

After the HellRoy’s wrapped up, Mike & Kris begged off for food somewhere on High St. Mindy and I stayed back to walk the festival but quickly returned to catch at least some of Tim Easton’s show. Happily, he proved much better sounding than he did the week prior at Nocterra.

After about 30 minutes of Tim E., we took in the fabric of the festival. Lots of cool artisans and such. We bought a bed sheet-like concert blanket dyed with a colorful bodhi tree pattern. We then sought out a lemonade for Mindy all the while making our way to the venue’s mainstage to catch a Grateful Dead-like band, Terrapin Moon. We showed up in time to catch their last 3 or 4 songs. Again, a really tight band with a large fun-loving crowd.

Before bagging the festival, we headed across Buttles Av. to the Fresh Water house owned by Tom & Brett, long-time friends of brother Craig. They always host a Comfest party on their porch, and always make us feel more than welcome. We didn’t stay long, however. After all, it was 430pm and we still had to rest up before heading to Mike and Kris’ place for another friends’ 62^nd birthday cookout party.

We got home near 5pm where both of us took short naps. We agreed to bring potato salad to the party. I wisely made it the afternoon prior. We talked about Ubering but ultimately drove, figuring worst case we could leave our car and Uber home if the need arose. The shindig was slated to begin at 7pm. Think we arrived closer to 730pm.

Mike and Kris have a cool home in Arlington that sets up real nice for indoor/outdoor parties. Save for the sultry weather, this one was no exception.

Lot of familiar peeps on hand including Chris Mc., Joan and Amy (Joan’s bday) Mike’s friend since childhood, Clay, Chad, Amy’s sister and boyfriend, Baylee, Jeffrey, and Jen. There were several others too. Food, fun and friends. Turned out to be a super good time. Spent the last couple hours of the evening chatting it up with Saki and Maria, who we recognized but hadn’t previously spent much time with. Turned out they were quite fun and very interesting. We hung out until almost 2am EDT. For the last couple hours, minus about half a Coors Light, I drank water. I was fine to drive us home.

June backyard wildlife