It seems like most of our activities these days are dictated by what we have a coupon for.  Such was generally the case this weekend.  I guess the exception was Friday night, when I ended up down at the Brooksider.  My friend Troy (Laura Schalker-Manivong’s hubby) came down and hung out with me for the better part of the evening.  I don’t get to see him very often, which allows for plenty of conversation material.  And, while I didn’t have a coupon for the occasion, the ol’ Brooksider is just downright reasonably priced so I didn’t break my wallet right off the bat.

Saturday our entertainment for the afternoon was at John’s downtown.  Not my favorite place to hang out by any stretch, but we had a groupon that was about to expire so we figured it would pass the time.  It was a nice day too, so I had to admit that a little time on their deck didn’t sound bad at all.  I wasn’t sure if you could order food on the deck or not, but luckily you could, albeit in foam to-go containers with plastic-ware.  What the heck, gave it a little picnic feel.  I’ve eaten at John’s several times for lunch, and have always been less than impressed, to say the least.  About the most complimentary thing I’ve ever been able to come up with has been “It’s cheap.”  As it turns out, that may have always been my own fault for just getting the lunch special of the day.  (Generally something along the lines of tacos, grilled cheese, etc.)  On Saturday I ordered a catfish sandwich and Donette had a burger, and both were very good.  I’d go so far as to say her burger was “outstanding,” as a matter of fact.  I may well find myself back there in the not-so-distant future to order one myself and make sure it wasn’t just a fluke.  While we enjoyed our early dinner, a pretty good crowd of youngsters filled up the place.  It appeared they had spent their afternoon at the nearby swimming pool, and they were all good and wound up.    Hey, what can you expect for a rooftop patio on a nice afternoon.  They were a bit loud, but provided us quite a bit of entertainment while we ate too.

Sunday my day started off with a nice 17-mile bike ride with Munkirs.  We had kicked around the idea of 34 miles, but between the 95% humidity and our assorted old-man aches and pains, it wasn’t too difficult to call it good at half that.  Plus, I had the prospect of mowing the lawn staring me in the face, another unpleasant task in that kind of weather.  Indeed, by the time I finished these two activities I was not a happy camper.  Felt a little woozy as a matter of fact.  Desperate for some calories and air-conditioning, we headed up to our old stand-by 75th Street.  They’re always good for some cheap refreshment, so we hung out there and watched the Royals game.  (“Watched” being the key word there;  They never have the sound on, which annoys me.  Beggars can’t be choosers I guess.)  After the game we headed back home and loitered for the rest of the day.  I broke out of my horror-movie genre last night and watched “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” which I haven’t ever seen.  I started watching it on network TV but the commercials drove me crazy pretty quickly so I found it on Netflix.  Good movie, if entirely too thought-provoking for me.