Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Chili's and IHOP

My brother Bob and I made our Chili's debut at lunchtime today. My niece Mandy and her husband Paul gave me Applebee's and Chili's (and Friends) Gift Cards for my 40th birthday in October. Chili's started a two entrees and a shared appetizer for $20 deal, similar to Applebee's, recently. In anticipation for my visit, I joined Chili's e-club. The deal was free chips and queso (With an entree purchase, as indicated in the fine print on my coupon). Since the coupon was expiring soon, we went to the Chili's across from Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted. I had the Quesadilla Explosion Salad. Bob had Chicken Fajitas. We shared a half order of Texas Cheese Fries as our appetizer. Salsa and Ranch Dressing were the accompaniments. Even with the meal deal, we were still able to enjoy our free chips and queso (Normally $4.99). We had Cokes as our drinks. Though the food appeared to be too much for lunch, we only left some of the queso, and most of the salsa. If we had spoons (They serve soup!), we might have finished both leftovers. The food was quite appetizing!
We then burned off the food by going through the mall and visiting Petsmart in the adjacent strip mall. We then headed for Steelyard Commons to do some window shopping before dinner. Home Depot, Petco, Marshall's, and Target were our stops before dinner.
After the window shopping was finished, we went over to IHOP. I had Grilled Tilapia Hollandaise with Loaded Potato Soup, Broccoli, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Bread, and Pepsi. Bob had Pot Roast, Corn, and Seasoned Redskin Potatoes. (Yes, we reversed the potatoes.) His soup, bread, and beverage were the same as mine. The food was mostly O.K., but we were still full from lunch. We then came home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. It was a day of interesting food.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

St. Patrick's Day

Bob and I had a St. Patrick's Day to remember. We went to Beachwood Place, La Place, and Legacy Village in Beachwood and Lyndhurst. We left early enough to just see the usual crowd on the #35 bus. We did see the early parade visitors as they exited the eastbound Red Line train. The train was so late that we missed our bus to Beachwood Place. However, we caught the #9 Mayfield Road bus. I would have gone to MicroCenter in Mayfield Hts., but Bob wanted to go to Beachwood Place and Legacy Village. As a result, we got off the bus at Mayfield and Richmond Roads. We killed time at CVS. Eventually, we made it to Beachwood Place. We enjoyed a Footlong Meatball Pepperoni Sub from Subway. We did our window shopping at the three shopping centers (Two Enclosed, one open air). We then took the #32 Cedar Road bus towards University Circle. We then took the train downtown. It was standing room only, but a man left his seat to our benefit. We made it just in time to encounter the crowd leaving the parade. A lot of them were running, but injury was avoided. Our bus to our dinner was so crowded that it couldn't pick up waiting passengers. Fortunately, we had seats.
After exiting the bus, I called my sister Maggie to pick us up for the short drive to her house. We then ate Corned Beef, cabbage, cauliflower, Ore-Ida Fried Potatoes (?), and a lot of other delicacies. The food was delicious. Besides Maggie's husband Mike, Joe was the only other participant. It was a nice time. Eventually, Mike took us home. We then relaxed for the rest of the evening.
Next year, we are avoiding the parade scene!!

Goodbye, Katie

This morning, my oldest cat Katie died after a brief illness. Unlike Squeaky, she was eating regularly, so I wasn't prepared for her death. We enjoyed Katie for many years. She will be missed.

Katie (1997?-2011) R.I.P.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Happy Birthday, Patrick

Today is my nephew Patrick's Birthday. He and his sister Amy are planning to spend some time together in Boston as he is working at the Burton U.S. Open of Snowboarding in Vermont. (This information is courtesy of Patrick's Facebook Page.) I hope that they have a nice time together. I also would like him to enjoy the rest of his day as well.
By the way, the Teen Librarian who left the comment on a recent post is Patrick's Aunt Marianne, Dan SR.'s sister. Once again, Facebook is to be credited for this, as I send my posts to Facebook. Since I assumed that my friend at the Parma-Snow Library finally actually read my blog, I did not investigate the supplied link until she mentioned that she didn't write the comment. By the way, I am hoping that all libraries receive enough funds to provide their community service.
Until next time, enjoy your local library, or any library for that matter.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Just Another Day

On Wednesday, Bob and I went to the Chipotle just outside of SouthPark Mall in Strongsville. We had BOGO burritos and Coke. We then visited the mall. After we finished the mall, we went to Applebee's by Southland in Middleburg Heights. We had steak, boneless Honey Barbecue chicken wings, baked potatoes, broccoli, celery with Ranch dressing, and Pepsis. We enjoyed our food. We then came home and relaxed.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Dining Out

Yesterday, I had a late breakfast (11:00) at the IHOP at Steelyard Commons in Cleveland. I enjoyed my short stack of three pancakes with a bowl of loaded potato and bacon soup and Pepsi. The pancakes were free with a consideration of a donation to the Children's Miracle Network. As a result, the place was a little more crowded than my usual dinner visits, but I was in and out in about half an hour. Since the bus was coming soon, I skipped Wal-Mart Supercenter. After the first bus, I took another bus and then I walked down Portman Ave. to Broadview Road towards home.

After about an hour at home, I left for Moe's Southwest Grill by Parmatown. They were celebrating the branch's new Facebook Page by offering $2 Burritos. I had a top of the line Chicken Burrito with Sour Cream AND Guacamole. It wasn't too crowded at 2:00 P.M., but a few people showed up after me. The food was delicious. After lunch, I went to the nearby Target. I picked up some Frozen Banquet dinners for my brother Bob. Normally, the lines are not too long at Target. Of course, the lines were a little longer than I wanted. The good news was that the food was cheaper than the display price. Some cashiers arrived to handle the customers, but it happened as I was checking out.

I then ran for the bus. Fortunately, a couple of other people used the bus stop, so it didn't take off. This wasn't my first run for a bus today. I ran for my Broadview Road bus to start this trip. It appeared to be way early. There was one other passenger. What I didn't know at the time, was that the bus had broken down. Fortunately, the expected bus was on schedule, so I made my connection. I made my connection on the way home. There is a little more time between buses on this trip. The bus was also late. I then came home.

After a short time home, Bob and I went to Baker's Square in Parma Heights. The first bus was on time. The second bus was late, which may have made it a little more crowded than normal. After leaving the bus, we had to avoid snow mounds that blocked the sidewalk. Once we reached the restaurant, I enjoyed the Pie Shop Special. I had half a ham and Swiss sandwich on Oat Bran bread, a Garden Salad, Mint Brownie Blast Pie, and Coke. We then headed for the bus stop. The bus was a little late, but since there was no action on Pearl Road, we made our bus home. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing.

Tomorrow, we are going to have BOGO food from Chipotle. It could be interesting. Expect a report.

I am trying something new. This blog may be found in my Facebook Notes section. I am looking at Facebook for Dummies. If I follow the instructions, my Facebook page will never be the same. Details will follow in my next report.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Happy Birthday, Dan JR.

Once again, I am late with Dan JR's birthday message, though I left him a brief one on Facebook. He is on a business trip right now. I hope that he enjoyed his birthday. If I learn anything, I will share it here.