Pardon my tardiness.  Again.  I had a three day weekend and didn’t want to irreparably mar it by sacrificing the hours it takes to compose these posts.  Or, I really didn’t have anything to post anyway.  One of those.  If I did do something, I can’t remember what it was.  I’m going to take a wild guess that I went to the Brooksider on Friday, although I’m not 100% sure I did.  Geez that seems like a long time ago.  Let’s go with it though, just based on past history.  Matter of fact, based on past history, I can even tell you where I sat, who I talked to, and what we talked about.  Somebody recently compared an afternoon on the ‘Sider patio to the movie “Groundhog Day,” and it’s  a fair comparison.

Saturday Donette went to the movies with some friends.  They were lined up to see Lincoln, but there was some mix-up and they ended up seeing Zero Dark Thirty.  They went to the recently remodeled Ward Parkway theater.  I don’t think she was overly fond of the movie itself, but the theater got high marks.  Meanwhile, that left me home sans transportation.  Teagan and I kicked the ball around the back yard for a while, then I hoofed up to 75th Street to pay my annual dues for the mug club.  Every year I plan to not renew my membership, and every year I get sucked back in for various reasons.  (They lost my Ziggy mug, Martin’s Ziggy mug actually, back in 2010.  Their lack of understanding and compassion on the gravity of this situation continues to infuriate me every time I go there.)  I sat out on their patio and enjoyed the nice weather and some complimentary appetizers, and caught the Missouri and Kansas games.  For dinner, I fixed a pot of beef stew, which came out pretty well.  I followed a recipe off Food Network for the most part.  I cut the amount of beef in 1/2, partly because we’re trying to cut back a bit, and partly (mostly?) because I’m a cheapskate.  Also, despite all the assertions in the user comments that it “makes the recipe,” I left out the allspice.  I just don’t like it.  Probably the most significant change was that I photo-shopped a picture of Alton Brown over Paula’s when I printed it out.  The lady grates on my nerves like fingernails on a chalk board.

Sunday we didn’t do much of anything, which is standard Sunday fare.  I took my bicycle in for a tuneup, then we enjoyed lunch at Blanc Burgers,  stopped by McGonigles for some groceries, and headed home for the games.  I put together a pot of lamb shanks for dinner.  It came out OK, I’ve got somewhat mixed feelings on it.  For one thing, it was a rather pricey endeavor.  That was probably partially my fault;  McGonigle’s isn’t exactly known as the low-price leader in the neighborhood.  On top of that, they only had huge shanks, and packaged in twos.  I really only wanted one, but what can ya’ do.  Got one in the freezer for next time I guess.  Also, I followed this rather sketchy recipe.  Read it if you’re that bored, but suffice to say there are several errors between the ingredients and the cooking instructions.  It’s like two separate recipes.  Eh, at the end of the day you’re just throwing a bunch of stuff in a pot and simmering it, so I just sort of winged it.

As I mentioned, I had the day off yesterday, while Donette had to work.  I wasted the better part of the day, then when I had called the day a complete loss and was settled into the couch for some movies, she suddenly declared it was time to redeem our two-year-old gift certificate to Garozzo’s.  She’s been after me to cash this thing in for about…  Well, two years.  Despite the lure of two free dinners though, I just never quite made it down there.  For one thing, although on paper it’s only seven miles from our house, it’s a daunting seven miles.  Stop lights and traffic and such, you know.  And yes, I realize the OP location is significantly closer, but that is in no way a viable option.  For another thing, I have a rather steadfast aversion to eating at Italian restaurants.  It’s pasta.  Pasta is pasta is pasta.  No matter how much you pay, no matter the supposed authenticity of the restaurant…  It’s pasta.  My meal was delish though, I’ll grant you that.  I had one of the chicken spiedini selections, and it was very good.  Overall, a very nice dinner, while I doubt we return for another two years due to the aforementioned obstacles.