Pardon my tardiness. \u00a0Again. \u00a0I had a three day weekend and didn’t want to\u00a0irreparably mar it by sacrificing the hours it takes to compose these posts. \u00a0Or, I really didn’t have anything to post anyway. \u00a0One of those. \u00a0If I did do something, I can’t remember what it was. \u00a0I’m going to take a wild guess that I went to the Brooksider on Friday, although I’m not 100% sure I did. \u00a0Geez that seems like a long time ago. \u00a0Let’s go with it though, just based on past history. \u00a0Matter of fact, based on past history, I can even tell you where I sat, who I talked to, and what we talked about. \u00a0Somebody recently compared an afternoon on the ‘Sider patio to the movie “Groundhog Day,” and it’s \u00a0a fair comparison.<\/p>\n
Saturday Donette went to the movies with some friends. \u00a0They were lined up to see Lincoln<\/a>, but there was some mix-up and they ended up seeing Zero Dark Thirty<\/a>. \u00a0They went to the recently remodeled Ward Parkway theater. \u00a0I don’t think she was overly fond of the movie itself, but the theater got high marks. \u00a0Meanwhile, that left me home sans transportation. \u00a0Teagan 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<\/a>. \u00a0Every year I plan to not renew my membership, and every year I get sucked back in for various reasons. \u00a0(They lost my Ziggy mug, Martin’s Ziggy mug actually, back in 2010. \u00a0Their lack of understanding and compassion on the gravity of this situation continues to infuriate me every time I go there.) \u00a0I sat out on their patio and enjoyed the nice weather and some complimentary appetizers, and caught the Missouri and Kansas games. \u00a0For dinner, I fixed a pot of beef stew, which came out pretty well. \u00a0I followed a recipe off Food Network<\/a>\u00a0for the most part. \u00a0I 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. \u00a0Also, despite all the assertions in the user comments that it “makes the recipe,” I left out the allspice. \u00a0I just don’t like it. \u00a0Probably the most significant change was that I photo-shopped a picture of Alton Brown over Paula’s when I printed it out. \u00a0The lady grates on my nerves like fingernails on a chalk board.<\/p>\n Sunday we didn’t do much of anything, which is standard Sunday fare. \u00a0I took my bicycle in for a tuneup, then we enjoyed lunch at Blanc Burgers<\/a>, \u00a0stopped by McGonigles<\/a> for some groceries, and headed home for the games. \u00a0I put together a pot of lamb shanks for dinner. \u00a0It came out OK, I’ve got somewhat mixed feelings on it. \u00a0For one thing, it was a rather pricey endeavor. \u00a0That was probably partially my fault; \u00a0McGonigle’s isn’t exactly known as the low-price leader in the neighborhood. \u00a0On top of that, they only had huge shanks, and packaged in twos. \u00a0I really only wanted one, but what can ya’ do. \u00a0Got one in the freezer for next time I guess. \u00a0Also, I followed this rather sketchy recipe<\/a>. \u00a0Read it if you’re that bored, but suffice to say there are several errors between the ingredients and the cooking instructions. \u00a0It’s like two separate recipes. \u00a0Eh, 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.<\/p>\n