Happy 42nd Mindy
I was up relatively early, about 735a. Mindy was still sound asleep, but no real surprise there. It’s common for her to sleep well past 9am on the weekend. It was still raining and our backyard was saturated more so that I’ve ever seen it before. We literally had two separate streams running across and into the pond; one on the upper tier, and then another mid-yard by the two ash trees and Mindy’s stone patio.
I started a pot of coffee then completed calisthenics. Expected to rain most of the day. Yuck! Flood warning all around us. I was in no hurry to rush out for my run. Instead, I chose to enjoy another relaxing Saturday morning in front of my PC sipping coffee. I took the time to familiarize myself with my new camera and get it fully operational. I took a few test shots too. Nice!
I took Frankie out for a walk in the sloppy wet yard around 9a. Still no sign of life from upstairs. I opted to let Mindy sleep as long as she wanted. I left for a run around 10a. Thankfully, the rain was reduced to light sprinkle during my run. I thought for sure that Mindy would be up by the time I got back but she wasn’t. Already wet, I decided to head out back and clear the yard drain I installed a couple years ago. We had several inches of standing water in that very area. I knew the drain was clogged. Sure enough, the drain grate was clogged with leaves. It drained in a hurry afterwards.
Now 11am, I headed out to the garage to start work on the opener. Mindy was up a short while later. She came out to the garage to greet me. I wasn’t in the best frame of mind, already having a few issues installing the new opener part. I eventually figured it out and was ready to hang the opener back up on the garage ceiling. Mindy offered her help and I accepted. She handed me materials while I stood on the ladder and also served as the holder of the flashlight. It took about an hour or so to complete the install. The moment of truth was open us. Crap, something was amiss. The opener worked but it was clearly out of synch. I had to fool with the up/down travel adjustments along with the up/down reversal adjustments. I had to tighten the chain a little more too. Finally, sometime just after 12noon, we had it working smoothly again.
After getting cleaned up, I gave Mindy her card and b-day present. She seemed to like the custom Pandora charms a lot. She shared that she planned to go have her hair highlights done by niece Lindy. Needed to leave in short order. I headed back out to the garage to take care of some additional outdoor tasks. For starters, I finally took down the Xmas wreath, and then replaced the green and red florescent bulbs in all of our front fixtures with the standard white variety. I also cut the extension cord loose that was running up the gutter to power the roof top Christmas lights. I stopped short of getting up on the roof to remove the lights, however. Too wet. Mindy left to get her hair done while I was monkeying around with the extension cords. Still with more I wanted to get done, I started the BM’er and let it run for about 20 minutes. Started right up. I also topped off the oil in the Trooper. I’ve known for two years now that it burns oil. It took about a quart and a half.
Still not finished, I headed out to the shed to take a closer look at the fired electrical run. I wanted to see it from the inside. Not a big deal to redo it. Still plan to wait for better weather. Probably about an hours work max.
Inside, I made myself a sandwich. I was crazy hungry. Mindy was back from getting her hair done around 3pm best guess. I spent the after leisurely playing on the computer and reading the online manual for my new camera. In reviews, many complain about the online version, but frankly, I like it much better - less clutter that way.
At my suggestion, Mindy and I readied for dinner at Mitchell’s early. Figured we enjoy an hour or so at the bar ahead of our table reservation. To that end, we left the house at 530p. I wore jeans, a sweater, and a sport coat. It was still raining. We opted for valet parking – only $5, why not?
We bellied up the bar without stopping at the reservation desk. Didn’t want early seating. Mindy asked about their wines and went with the bartender’s recommendation. I knew that was gonna cost me! I ordered a Jack & Coke. We both had two drinks before at the bar, my second far stronger than the first. Mindy checked on our table around 645p. It was ready when we were. I asked for our bar tab. Yikes - $56! Mindy let out too loud of a “what?” Her wine was $19 per glass.
We were seated at a nice table for two. Our main server was Nicole, but as is customary at Mitchell’s you encounter several initially, one for water, another for bread. In lieu of calamari, which we frequently order as an appetizer, we went with their shrimp cocktail instead. Glad we did. Delicious and gigantic! The fresh oven baked bread was delicious too.
We soon ordered our entrées. Mindy ordered filet Oscar, and I ordered the surf and turf (filet and lobster tail). We ordered a bowl of lobster bisque and jalapeño scalloped potatoes to share. The bisque was as good as one can get anywhere. Slurp slurp!
The service was quick and attentive. No problems whatsoever. However, one our entrees arrived, I had an issue that I just couldn’t overlook. First, my steak and lobster were very nice, but I couldn’t believe that the “melted butter” intended for my lobster was nothing more than vegetable oil. I practically threw up after dipping and drenching a big hunk in it. I quietly called Nicole over to share my concern. She promptly removed it promising to bring more, but said it would likely be the same. What? Really? Come on. I’m dropping a couple hundo and you can’t melt me some firkin butter? She returned a couple minutes later with more, and it looked exactly the same. This time, however, it had a slight hint of butter, but the vegetable oil flavor was over bearing. Not wanting to cast a negative shadow on our evening, I simply lathered my lobster in the real butter that came with our bread. Nicole must’ve seen me doing so and stopped by again asking if I wanted her to take it away and heat it up in the oven. No! Aside from the plate of scalloped potatoes, we both cleaned our plates.
We were eventually visited by an older gentleman who asked of our meal. We didn’t complain. He asked if the evening was a special occasion. Mindy replied, yes, her birthday. He said her dessert would on the house.
Mindy eventually ordered dessert. Can’t recall what it was. Anyway, later, when Nicole brought our check, she said she decided to comp us the dessert since there was a problem with the lobster butter. Please! Obviously a disconnect with her manager. Despite their faux pas, we tipped them reasonably well. I was anxious to get home.
It was nearing 9p. Mindy called the neighbors to measure their interest in company. Invited us over. Well, I guess we really invited ourselves. We walked down with Frankie in tow. Still raining. Took an umbrella along with some Jack Daniels in my ski flask. Josh & Rachel were over too. Just finishing their Kenny grilled steaks. We eventually headed to the basement where we played several games of pool, a game I haven’t played for at least 6 or 7 years. Used to be good, but couldn’t tell it then. I was baddddddddd.
Mindy & I headed for home at 11p.
Happy 42nd Mindy
I was up relatively early, about 735a. Mindy was still sound asleep, but no real surprise there. It’s common for her to sleep well past 9am on the weekend. It was still raining and our backyard was saturated more so that I’ve ever seen it before. We literally had two separate streams running across and into the pond; one on the upper tier, and then another mid-yard by the two ash trees and Mindy’s stone patio.
I started a pot of coffee then completed calisthenics. Expected to rain most of the day. Yuck! Flood warning all around us. I was in no hurry to rush out for my run. Instead, I chose to enjoy another relaxing Saturday morning in front of my PC sipping coffee. I took the time to familiarize myself with my new camera and get it fully operational. I took a few test shots too. Nice!
I took Frankie out for a walk in the sloppy wet yard around 9a. Still no sign of life from upstairs. I opted to let Mindy sleep as long as she wanted. I left for a run around 10a. Thankfully, the rain was reduced to light sprinkle during my run. I thought for sure that Mindy would be up by the time I got back but she wasn’t. Already wet, I decided to head out back and clear the yard drain I installed a couple years ago. We had several inches of standing water in that very area. I knew the drain was clogged. Sure enough, the drain grate was clogged with leaves. It drained in a hurry afterwards.
Now 11am, I headed out to the garage to start work on the opener. Mindy was up a short while later. She came out to the garage to greet me. I wasn’t in the best frame of mind, already having a few issues installing the new opener part. I eventually figured it out and was ready to hang the opener back up on the garage ceiling. Mindy offered her help and I accepted. She handed me materials while I stood on the ladder and also served as the holder of the flashlight. It took about an hour or so to complete the install. The moment of truth was open us. Crap, something was amiss. The opener worked but it was clearly out of synch. I had to fool with the up/down travel adjustments along with the up/down reversal adjustments. I had to tighten the chain a little more too. Finally, sometime just after 12noon, we had it working smoothly again.
After getting cleaned up, I gave Mindy her card and b-day present. She seemed to like the custom Pandora charms a lot. She shared that she planned to go have her hair highlights done by niece Lindy. Needed to leave in short order. I headed back out to the garage to take care of some additional outdoor tasks. For starters, I finally took down the Xmas wreath, and then replaced the green and red florescent bulbs in all of our front fixtures with the standard white variety. I also cut the extension cord loose that was running up the gutter to power the roof top Christmas lights. I stopped short of getting up on the roof to remove the lights, however. Too wet. Mindy left to get her hair done while I was monkeying around with the extension cords. Still with more I wanted to get done, I started the BM’er and let it run for about 20 minutes. Started right up. I also topped off the oil in the Trooper. I’ve known for two years now that it burns oil. It took about a quart and a half.
Still not finished, I headed out to the shed to take a closer look at the fired electrical run. I wanted to see it from the inside. Not a big deal to redo it. Still plan to wait for better weather. Probably about an hours work max.
Inside, I made myself a sandwich. I was crazy hungry. Mindy was back from getting her hair done around 3pm best guess. I spent the after leisurely playing on the computer and reading the online manual for my new camera. In reviews, many complain about the online version, but frankly, I like it much better - less clutter that way.
At my suggestion, Mindy and I readied for dinner at Mitchell’s early. Figured we enjoy an hour or so at the bar ahead of our table reservation. To that end, we left the house at 530p. I wore jeans, a sweater, and a sport coat. It was still raining. We opted for valet parking – only $5, why not?
We bellied up the bar without stopping at the reservation desk. Didn’t want early seating. Mindy asked about their wines and went with the bartender’s recommendation. I knew that was gonna cost me! I ordered a Jack & Coke. We both had two drinks before at the bar, my second far stronger than the first. Mindy checked on our table around 645p. It was ready when we were. I asked for our bar tab. Yikes - $56! Mindy let out too loud of a “what?” Her wine was $19 per glass.
We were seated at a nice table for two. Our main server was Nicole, but as is customary at Mitchell’s you encounter several initially, one for water, another for bread. In lieu of calamari, which we frequently order as an appetizer, we went with their shrimp cocktail instead. Glad we did. Delicious and gigantic! The fresh oven baked bread was delicious too.
We soon ordered our entrées. Mindy ordered filet Oscar, and I ordered the surf and turf (filet and lobster tail). We ordered a bowl of lobster bisque and jalapeño scalloped potatoes to share. The bisque was as good as one can get anywhere. Slurp slurp!
The service was quick and attentive. No problems whatsoever. However, one our entrees arrived, I had an issue that I just couldn’t overlook. First, my steak and lobster were very nice, but I couldn’t believe that the “melted butter” intended for my lobster was nothing more than vegetable oil. I practically threw up after dipping and drenching a big hunk in it. I quietly called Nicole over to share my concern. She promptly removed it promising to bring more, but said it would likely be the same. What? Really? Come on. I’m dropping a couple hundo and you can’t melt me some firkin butter? She returned a couple minutes later with more, and it looked exactly the same. This time, however, it had a slight hint of butter, but the vegetable oil flavor was over bearing. Not wanting to cast a negative shadow on our evening, I simply lathered my lobster in the real butter that came with our bread. Nicole must’ve seen me doing so and stopped by again asking if I wanted her to take it away and heat it up in the oven. No! Aside from the plate of scalloped potatoes, we both cleaned our plates.
We were eventually visited by an older gentleman who asked of our meal. We didn’t complain. He asked if the evening was a special occasion. Mindy replied, yes, her birthday. He said her dessert would on the house.
Mindy eventually ordered dessert. Can’t recall what it was. Anyway, later, when Nicole brought our check, she said she decided to comp us the dessert since there was a problem with the lobster butter. Please! Obviously a disconnect with her manager. Despite their faux pas, we tipped them reasonably well. I was anxious to get home.
It was nearing 9p. Mindy called the neighbors to measure their interest in company. Invited us over. Well, I guess we really invited ourselves. We walked down with Frankie in tow. Still raining. Took an umbrella along with some Jack Daniels in my ski flask. Josh & Rachel were over too. Just finishing their Kenny grilled steaks. We eventually headed to the basement where we played several games of pool, a game I haven’t played for at least 6 or 7 years. Used to be good, but couldn’t tell it then. I was baddddddddd.
Mindy & I headed for home at 11p.
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