St. Patrick's Day (Part 2)

After a brief period of relaxation, my brother Bob and I took the #35 bus to Sears Hardware on Broadview Road.  Despite the St. Patrick's Day Crowd returning from the parade, the bus was only about four minutes late when we caught it.  Upon arrival, I called Maggie and Mike to come and pick us up for the short ride to their house.  Mike was the chauffeur.

Our meal consisted of Corned Beef, Rye Bread, Various Cheeses (American, Swiss, Cheddar Jack), Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli, McCain's Sweet Potato Fries, Cole Slaw, Applesauce (I believe that it was Mott's.), Carrots (Raw and Glazed), Apple Crisp, Green Jell-o with Whipped Cream (Maggie does not make "plain" Jell-O.), and Marie Callender's Peanut Butter Cream Pie.  We could have made it "A La Mode" with Edy's Slow Churned Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, but we were planning on eating our ice cream from Honey Hut for evening snack, so we passed.  The food was quite enjoyable.  By the way, my sister ran out of time to make cabbage, but it was no big deal.

We relaxed some more, than Mike took Bob and me home!  We watched the Cartoons on Fox, then we relaxed some more.  The fun was only beginning.

We enjoyed our ice cream!  Bob had Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream.  I had Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  Bruce Page (son of the Founder Frank Page) also gave us some ice cream that I believe to be Maple Walnut.  The artificial green color that was added in recent years is no longer present in the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  Despite leaving the ice cream out for a time with the lid closed, my ice cream was not ice cream soup. 

After some more relaxation, our day was over.  It was very busy but enjoyable.  I hope that Easter works as well.  Bob and I are helping with the meal as usual (We had last year off.).       

St. Patrick's Day (Part 1)

My brother Bob and I walked to State Road to catch the bus to Parmatown Mall because the coordination between the #35 (Broadview Road) and #20 (State Road) buses on Sunday is not very good!  We also wanted to avoid the early St. Patrick's Day crowd.  We made our bus!

Our first stop was supposed to be the Mr. Hero on Day Drive, but it opens at Noon on Sundays!  Despite being there about two minutes before opening, Bob decided to go to the Toys 'R' Us behind the Mr. Hero!  I did not like that idea!  After spending some time browsing, we finally showed up at the Mr. Hero.  We were initially overcharged because the computer initially didn't accept the second order with the coupon, but it was straightened out!  We both had 7" Chicken, Bacon, and Ranch subs, Waffer Fries, and soda!  As far as I was concerned, the food was up to the usual standards.

After lunch, we crossed the street to patronize the mall.  We browsed in Dick's Sporting Goods, Wal Mart, and JcPenney!  The Food court was visited so we could see if there were any new tenants.  The mall is still not that exciting.

After we exited the mall, we crossed Day Drive to go to Giant Eagle.  We then went to PetsMart, Kohl's, and Target.  Our only purchases came from Giant Eagle!  I bought a book of stamps and some lottery tickets. 

We then took the bus to visit Honey Hut Ice Cream because it was Opening Day!  Once again, we ran into Bruce Page!  As a result, we received our Ice Cream for Free.  Bruce even threw in a pint of what I believe is Maple Walnut Ice Cream, their newest flavor.  Since it was too cold to eat the ice cream at one of Honey Hut's outdoor tables, we walked home with our ice cream which we ate later that evening. 

We returned a call from our sister Maggie, inviting us to St. Patrick's Day dinner at her house!

My next Post will give all the details about dinner and our late night snack.

Fish Fry #1

Tonight, I had dinner at the Brooklyn Heights United Church of Christ on West Schaaf Road in Cleveland.  I had two pieces of fish, two pierogis, French fries., cole slaw, a roll, a slice of chocolate cake, and a can of Coke!  It cost $8.50! (For a dollar less, there would have been no pierogis.) 

The food was tasty!  Other than the fact that guests who ordered after me had their soda cans before me, the whole process was very smooth!  Most of the food was served on regular plates!  The roll came in a basket.  The cake was on a Styrofoam saucer. 

I hope that next week's fish fry at St. Leo the Great Church on Broadview Road in Cleveland goes just as well.  Unlike in past years, this is a one time event during the Lenten Season.  I also had to pay in advance for this event, which is also different than before.  The meal options are more limited this year.  This meal cost $8.00.

A Lobster meal was also available for $17.  A second lobster would have been $10 extra!  They have had the advance order lobster meal once a season in recent years.

My next report will not be about the next Fish Fry!  Sunday is a major holiday for people of Irish Heritage.   Even if you are not Irish, people love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

Have a safe weekend!!

The Olive Garden

For years, my brother Bob and I discussed dining at the Olive Garden!  On Wednesday, we finally made the commitment at the branch on Day Drive (Across from Parmatown Mall) in Parma, OH.  Our sister Maggie and her husband Mike gave Bob a gift card good for Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Seasons 52 for his birthday.

We had the two dine for $25 deal. We both had Chicken and Gnocchi Soup.  Bob had the Tuscan Garlic Chicken.  I had the Sicilian Seafood Lasagna Rollata.  Bob had the Strawberry and White Chocolate Dolcini for dessert.  My Dolcini was Dark Chocolate Caramel Cream.  We both had Breadsticks and Coke.  The food was very delicious!

We plan on going back to Olive Garden in the future! 

Tim's 60th Birthday!!

This afternoon, we celebrated my brother Tim's 60th Birthday!!  The event was at Buca di Beppo in Strongsville, OH.   The Participants were Tim, his companion Lois, his daughters Mandy and Marnie, their spouses Paul and Mike, Tim's granddaughters Kendal and Hayden, my sisters Patty and Maggie, my brothers Joe and Bob, Maggie's husband Mike, my nephew Dan, our Aunt Rita and her son Johnny, and Oney (Leona?) and Jim (Daughter and son-in-law of Tim's previous companion Judy, who died in 2005) There were many significant people absent from this party!  My sister Kathleen is in Philadelphia, PA.  My brother-in-law Dan did not come with his wife Patty to Northeast Ohio this time around!! (Amy, Patrick, and Dave were not present, either.)   My niece-in-law Laura and her daughters Amy Marie and Emily had another birthday party that was more child-friendly! (LOL!)

Our food came from the Magnifico Package!  We had Baked Rigatoni (?), Chicken Parmigiana, Caesar Salad, Apple Gorgonzola Salad, Freshly Baked House Bread with Olive Oil and Chocolate Chip Cannoli from the restaurant!  Mandy provided Chocolate and White Cupcakes.  Marnie provided a White Cake from Costco!  (Their husbands are silent partners in this deal (LOL!)!)  The food was enjoyable for the most part!!  By the way, beverages were included in the package (Based on the Take Home Menu that I picked up when I arrived, I thought that drinks were not included!!  It also sounded like the Deluxe Famiglia Meal.).


The main present that Tim received was a trip to Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, FL.  Bob and I gave him a Target Gift Card!  Instant lottery tickets were also given!!

In addition, Kendal and Hayden received their Christmas presents from Kathleen (We brought them with us!) and some other goodies from Tim!  Also, Bob received birthday card from Joe and Maggie and Mike.  Joe gave him instant lottery tickets.  Maggie and Mike gave him an Olive Garden Gift Card!  I wonder how Olive Garden compares to Buca di Beppo in food quality!  I will let you know!

After the party, we went back to Maggie and Mike's house briefly before we attended 5:30 PM Mass at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Parma!  We walked into the church at the end of the First Reading!  Despite the Deacon's Homily going on and on, Mass was over around 6:21 PM.

We will spend the evening relaxing!  Dinner #2 will be Swedish Meatballs and Rice that I made on Thursday!  By the way, we had Spaghetti and Meatballs for lunch that Bob made yesterday!  (Since yesterday was a Friday in Lent, the meatballs were saved for a future meal!)

Tomorrow will be a lot quieter!!