Date Night - We've been making a real effort this past year to try to get a sitter once or twice a month to get out for dinner without the kids. Usually when we go, Michelle says that she wants to go to the Pasta Loft. It's close, is reasonably priced, has good atmosphere and tasty Italian food. I've often suggested that we break out a bit and try the Mile Away Restaurant. Her concern is that it's too expensive and I can understand her opinion.
So tonight on my drive home from work I remembered a suggestion from my mom. She had noticed that the Amherst Black Forest Cafe was now open for dinner (as of last October). See their menu here. Chris and Suzy might vaguely remember it as the little place we stopped for pastries and cookies after our trip back from Ogunquit, Maine (with the super crabby Abby). I bounced the idea off of Michelle and she also felt like giving it a try.
The atmosphere was nice and on the quiet side. The food was excellent. We started off with an appetizer by sharing their Vegetarian Chili — "a bowl of our mild and hearty chili of eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and black and garbanzo beans". We both had some (virgin) lime rickeys. For dinner I kept it simple and had their Rachel sandwich. To quote their menu it's "a blend of contrasting flavors and textures, the Rachel sandwich has hot pastrami, crunchy red cabbage slaw, tangy house made Russian dressing, and gooey melted Swiss cheese piled on grilled marbled rye. Served with our traditional potato salad". It was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Seriously — and I'm a bit fan of pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. Michelle had one of their specials of the day — skewers of roasted lamb and vegetables served on a bed of vegetable rice pilaf. It's so Michelle isn't it? We topped it all off by splitting a slice of lemon cheesecake with some coffees. The total bill came to $36. A definite must see for future out of town visitors.
Tiger - Tomorrow Apple computer releases their new operating system, nicknamed Tiger. The computer pundits in the press have been raving about this. While I try to avoid coming off as a Mac bigot, I must say that I've been a bit proud that the reviews have been positive so far. I plan on purchasing a copy in the next few days, but I have to laugh at what I consider to be an Apple faux pas. Let me explain.
It turns out that this new operating system release can only be purchased on a DVD. None of my computers have a DVD. I didn't see the need (and still don't). To quote Apple's upgrade page:
Tiger ships on a DVD, but if your Mac doesn’t have a built-in DVD-ROM player, you’ll need CD media. When you buy Mac OS X Tiger, you qualify to purchase Tiger CDs for only $9.95.
OK, inconvenient, but not insurmountable. I buy the DVD, fill out of form, mail a few things (including the DVD), and I'll get replacement CDs in exchange. It'll add a few extra days. I look over the order form for their "media exchange program". I had to laugh when it said:
Apple recommends that you make a copy of the completed order form, install DVD, and proof-of-purchase for your records.
Excuse me?! Make a copy of the install DVD? Helloooo! With what!? Now if I had a computer DVD player and burner, I wouldn't need to do a media exchange for CDs, would I? Oops! It reminds me of the joke about the billboard that said, "Illiterate? Write for a free brochure!" Why they couldn't offer the option up front of buying it on CD, I'll never know.
Dentist - Claire and Abby had dentist appointments today. Since Michael didn't cooperate last time, I had him come with to watch. We hope that if he attends a few more visits, he'll be comfortable enough to let the dental hygienists work on his own teeth soon. (fingers crossed) I'd point out what the hygienist was doing to Claire or Abby saying things like "see, it's okay". He'd repeat back, "it's okay". I'd ask "do you want to do this?". He'd immediately comeback with "No!"
Mulch - One last thing: Michelle had 5 cubic yards of hemlock mulch delivered today. She packed all the kids up and drove to Amherst Earth Products. The staff was very friendly but surprised as they watched her pull the kids out of the van: one, two, three, four, FIVE! “I didn't know we'd scheduled a school tour!” they joked. The twins loved watching the bulldozers that move the materials around. The girls and Timothy loved the three dogs they had at the site, especially the Samoyed. Between the dogs and bulldozers, the kids wanted to know when they could go back. Michelle had to break the news that it would probably be a couple of years. You don't need fresh mulch that often.
Once it was delivered, the kids “helped” Michelle put it around the beds of the yard. I say “helped” in the same sense that they “help” me shovel in the wintertime. In the winter I have to remind the boys that the snow is supposed to come off the driveway and onto the grass — not vice versa! Michelle had to remind them to keep the mulch on the beds, not in the grass. I'm sure she'll be a bit achy tomorrow. Even though she was happy to not have to worry about getting the mulch home in lots of individual bags (as she's done before), it's still a lot of effort getting it into wheelbarrows and spreading it around!