A Beer-y Good Time

Have you noticed how popular breweries are these days?  If not, you must not be hanging out with the cool kids.  I know I'm way behind on this trend.  Lately, I have been to several events at breweries and enjoyed each of them thoroughly.  This is saying something considering I don't even really drink beer!  It turns out breweries are fun places with cool decor and a great atmosphere.

Some of the cool kids enjoying a nice "fall" day at Karbach brewery in Houston.

At the end of September I visited my daughter, in Chicago, on my way home from the shore.  When she heard the date of my visit she mentioned she was running in a 5K that weekend and asked if I'd like to join her and her friend.  I'm a sucker for a nice run in some cool-ish northern air with my daughter so I agreed.  I trained (ran maybe 4 times) for two weeks before the run, it was a brutal training schedule!  I did not train for the beer drinking part of the event.  She assured me it would be a laid back, non-competitive run so I didn't feel too much pressure to perform.  I still didn't want to embarrass myself, or my daughter.  She was right about the non-competitive nature of the run.  It was just right for an old timer like myself!  Kelly and her friend were very considerate for the first mile and ran at "old lady" pace and then I set them free to run ahead.  I enjoyed running somewhere I've never been before, on city sidewalks, not knowing where I was or where I was going.  I just made sure there were always people in front of me and behind me....motivation to not be the last finisher!

Look, I see Chicago!  Yes, I was so slow I could take pictures!

The race/run began and ended at the brewery.  I think the main reason many of the people did this was for the free beer!  There were no t-shirts given away, only free beer.  The place was great!  Even I enjoyed a post run cold beer!  

Post run hydration!

The second brewery event was on a lovely Saturday afternoon before my nephew's wedding.  We had a lot of family in town and since the weather actually resembled fall we took a little outing to Karbach brewery for lunch and fun.  They had a great outdoor space which was just perfect for our needs.  We had all ages from Logan at 17 months to ....TJ and me at slightly older than Logan.  The kids could play and the adults could visit, have a beer and play bean bags.  It made for a lovely afternoon!

He is so excited he made the bean bag disappear!

Grampy and John doing some artwork!

The latest brewery event was last weekend at a family wedding in Atlanta.  What a perfect place for a reception!  Great atmosphere, plenty of space, good beer (of course) and I didn't have to run there to enjoy it all!  We danced the night away with some of our favorite cousins and shared in celebrating the marriage of two wonderful young people.  The outdoor space was the perfect place to enjoy the cool evening and recover from all our dancing.  Even though I did not indulge in the craft beer (thanks for serving wine), I hear it was yummy!  Everyone had a beer-y good time!  Who knows, maybe I'll start drinking beer....nah!

A cousin selfie with the bride and a photo bomber!

 

Sweating it Out

Summer is officially over.  The sun knows it and has started to take a little time off by rising later and setting earlier.  The trees know it and they are dropping acorns, pecans and leaves.  The  kids know it because they are back in school.  Saturday afternoons and nights know it because now they include college football.  I do love fall, even the air outside turned from hot and humid to mild and much less humid.... for a few days.  This got my hopes up that fall was legitimately here.  I fall (pun intended) for this evil trick every year, I should know better by now.  Fall (weather) does not truly arrive in Houston until well after Halloween in spite of all the traditional signs....silly me.  Shorts and tank tops it is....with boots.

Re-entry this year has gone smoother than usual. The first week home was spent bonding with all of the things I miss while we are at the farmhouse.  Things like my daughter, son-in-law and beautiful grandson,  my house, my golf group, and all the traffic on the freeways. Usually, after a few days of unpacking and moving back into my house I find myself wondering why I'm here and not still up there.  This year I know I am right where I should be, in spite of the weather.  Yes, I may complain about the weather in every paragraph...you would too if you lived here.

Look who came over for dinner!

Something else in the air, other than heat and humidity, has been love.  We are at the age where all of our kid's friends and our friend's kids are getting married.  Over the last month or so we have been to two weddings and one engagement party and are heading to another wedding this weekend and two more are on the horizon for next spring.  With all these weddings and lovely young couples I find myself somewhere in between feeling ancient and inspired.  There were two "close to home" experiences at the recent weddings.  At the first one, the gospel reading was the same one read at our wedding 38 years ago.  I was verklempt to say the least.  I elbowed TJ as soon as the priest started reading the passage,  Matthew 5:13-16 and when the priest mentioned in his homily that maybe someday, 25 (or38) years from now, the couple might elbow each other when they heard the same reading at another wedding, I was a goner.  The second "close to home" moment was when my nephew and his mother danced their first dance to the same song my son and I danced to 5 years ago at his wedding.  I just love weddings!  Can't wait until this weekend and another family wedding!

The most recently married couple and the longest married couple at the wedding.
Makes me feel happy...and old.

Finally, in a totally unrelated and random topic but still something that makes me sweat ....
Being back in the states preceeding this election has been surreal and unsettling.  I keep waiting for someone to say, "joke is over...gotcha" and present candidates with vision and principles....honesty and ethics would be nice too, liberal and conservative.  Unfortunately, my jaded view of politics is only being confirmed.  I just want to be able to vote for someone I am proud to vote for.  How did we get here?  Ugh!
And that's all I have to say about that.  Have a great week and enjoy the fall weather!