29/October/2016 - Chores on Saturday

Saturdays are so wonderful!

Today was no exception, even though we had to do a lot of chores to get ready for Sweetie's super-duper tea party tomorrow.

When we had to run errands, even if early in the morning, Dodong was ready:

Dodong in his car seat, ready to go!

Sweetie and Lola's flowers are still kicking butt, as these pics attest to:

For dinner we went to Mikata, where Kuya horsed around, as usual.

Okay, now I have to get a bit negative here, because our dinner at Mikata was not good.  (Notice I am NOT providing a link to any Mikata webpages!)  This was our fourth visit to that restaurant; after a somewhat mediocre first visit, the other two were pretty good.  But this last time was yucky.  Sweetie and Grump got some assorted sushi, and while most of it was fine, the tuna was ..... well, let's just say it was "off".  Not rancid or contaminated in a way that would make you sick, just sorta foul tasting, like it was old, and had been thawed and refrozen many, many times.

Grump and Sweetie have eaten lots of sushi, from expensive sushi restaurants to the deli bin at the local grocers, and NONE have ever been close to being this bad!

How can a sushi restaurant serve bad sushi?

So Sweetie and Grump have resolved to NEVER go to Mikata again.  Should the urge for sushi bite us again, we'll go to Taki or Circa.


Peace!

28/October/2016 - Friday!!

Another Friday rolled around.  Hooray!!

So what happened today?  Nothing really all that newsworthy.  Grump walked around Columbus a bit at lunch, and took a pic of this old bus that has been converted into seating for a restaurant:

The weather in Georgia has been absolutely beautiful for more than a month now.  This has enabled Grump to really enjoy his long drives home, as he takes back roads through the countryside and admires the view.  But ...... once the weather turns cruddy, as it tends to do in January and February, I'm sure he will not enjoy his drives nearly as much.

Peace!

27/October/2016 - Tired Thursday

Grump came home last night, like he usually does on Wednesday nights.  Since he has to get up before dawn to make the long, long drive back to work, he likes to go to bed early so he can get some sleep.

Unfortunately, when he is home the boys get excited, particularly Kuya.  So it should come as no surprise that Kuya was up very, very late, and kept Grump and Sweetie awake too.  Grr!!  Once Grump and Sweetie did fall asleep, they were already facing a too quick to arrive 5:00 am alarm.

So what did Dodong do to help this situation?  Why, wake up screaming at 4:00 am of course!  Double GRRR!!!

Grump did manage to wander about, (in a sleep-deprived haze, no doubt), and take some more pics of Columbus and environs.

During his lunch break he walked across the pedestrian bridge to Alabama, and meandered about Phenix City for a bit.  A friend of his who currently lives in Reynolds GA used to own this restaurant:

Tim's Old Restaurant.  (Different Owners Now)

Ain't much in this part of Phenix City!

Does anyone know what this grass with the pink seed heads is called?  In mass plantings it is very, very pretty, and I would assume that, being a grass, it is fairly easy to grow.

After work Grump and a co-worker went to dinner in the rebuilt old commercial section of Columbus.  Lots of restaurants and bars are along this street.  It looks like a cool place to hang out.

As usual, Grump was more interested in plants than anything else!

A quick peek down an alleyway.

The weather in Columbus this month has been superb, making up (almost) for the unbearable heat of the summer months.  If I were to plan a trip to Columbus, I would get here in the spring or autumn, and leave the scorching months to the locals!


Peace y'all.

26/October/2016 - Back Home Again!

I suppose the most significant event of the day was that Grump came back home, as he usually does on Wednesday night after work.

He got to eat some of the "Mama's Beef" left over from yesterday, and said that it was worth the drive just for the beef!

After dinner he and the boys hung out in the bedroom, and horsed around a bit:

Kuya, Dodong, and Grump's legs

And I guess that's about it for this uneventful workday.

Peace!

25/October/2016 - Moody Tuesday

Today felt like Monday, because Grump had to get up before dawn and drive his 100 mile commute.  But it's good to have him home, even if he doesn't get much sleep!  (The boys get too excited when he's home!)

But he's not driving home tonight, (thus the reason for calling today "moody"), so although lonely back in Columbus, he should at least get some sleep!

Today Grump wandered around the TSYS campus, taking a few pics of the pink fountain.

Back home, Sweetie FINALLY got Dodong to eat some protein!  She made some of the "Mama's beef", (alas - without Magic Sarap, as that has apparently been banned from the USA), and both the boys loved it!  And who wouldn't, as it is simply delicious!

Kuya eating "Mama's Beef"

Dodong LOVED "Mama's Beef", eating TWO PORTIONS!!

Yummy Mama's Beef

Peace!

24/October/2016 - Forgetful Monday

The started out well enough.  Grump woke up before dawn, and made the very long drive halfway across the state to his job in Columbus, Georgia.  He got into work okay, (he did NOT poop in his pants!), settled down and logged into his computer, and ...... then PANIC!  His wallet was NOT in the back-pocket of his pants!

Looking frantically, he couldn't find it anywhere, so in desperation he called Sweetie back home.  Guess what?  It turns out the Old Grump had left his wallet back home!

So now he would have no access to money or credit cards for the rest of the day, and would have to make the very long drive all the way back home to get that darn wallet that he forgot.  Drats!!

Back home, the boys were busy making eating dinner an art form.  Dodong attempted to coat himself with yogurt, whilst Kuya engaged in noodle fun.

Dodong eating/playing with yogurt

Yummy!

Kuya wanted his picture taken too

Kuya eating noodles

Because Grump will have to drive in to work yet again tomorrow, (due to his own forgetfulness), yet again we went to bed early, so the old guy could get some sleep.


Peace!

23/October/2016 - Peaceful Sunday

After the exhausting excitement of yesterday, we needed a day to simply relax.  And by "relax", I mean of course engaging in Sweetie's favorite restorative activity, namely shopping!

We started the day slowly, by lingering in bed:

Kuya, Dodong, and Sweetie relaxing in bed

Once we finally got dressed, and went shopping at the Riverside Mall, Grump was put in charge of watching the two boys.  Here is what happened when he asked them to, "sit down!"

Wiggling

Wiggling

More Wiggling

Finally, (almost), sitting down!

When seen from the correct angle, Grump's nose is bigger than Lola's head.

His head is bigger than Sweetie:

Dodong developed blisters on his feet, so Grump wound up carrying him for most of the time.  (Did I mention that we walked all the way from Belks to Dillards?)

Grump carrying Dodong

Can we go home now?

Back home from shopping, Sweetie insisted that she just "had to" dye Old Grump's hair.  (I think she may be getting a bit embarrassed about being married to an old fart!)  What can I say about this, other than it went a whole lot better than I expected.  Grump has now gone from looking like the walking dead, to appearing to be only half-dead!

Grump's lifeless hair before the dye

Grump's hair after being dyed

Whilst Sweetie was busy attempting to erase years from Grump's appearance, Dodong was busy digging up the planter in the hallway.

Dodong was busy

Fortunately for us, Lola is always there to clean up the mess when he does this.  Thank God for Lola!



We decided to go to Mellow Mushroom Pizza for a very early dinner.  Dodong was fascinated by the statue outside.

Sweetie waiting for pizza

Dodong and Lola eating pretzels

Kuya eating pretzels

Grump waiting for pizza

After dinner we went home and once again went to bed early, as Grump has to wake up before dawn tomorrow and make the long, long drive to work.

Peace!

22/October/2016 - Busy Saturday

We mentioned yesterday that today was going to be a busy day.  And so it was!

To begin with, Sweetie and Grump both went on a 5K walk to benefit breast cancer research.  They have a friend who is a breast cancer survivor, and they walked as part of her team.

Sweetie and Grump in their official race day t-shirts

Although only a little over three miles, by the time they had finished both Sweetie and Grump were very, very, very tired!

Back home, after a brief rest, we all climbed into the Sweetie's car and drove off into the Georgia countryside to the small town of Reynolds.  We went there to help celebrate one of Kuya's friend's birthday.

Kuya eating watermelon

Dodong, Sweetie, and the birthday girl's mom

Kuya's friend's family happens to live on a small farm.  It was very pretty out there today.  Grump wishes that he too could live on a small farm out in the country.

The three boys sitting on a swing

Kuya's friend has a pet goat.  The boys and girls all went wild when her dad let the goat out for a quick run around yard.

Kuya waiting for the goat to be let out

Dodong from head to toe

Kuya attempted to give Dodong a ride in a small toy electric car.  He was not a very good driver; he didn't know how to steer!

Dodong and Kuya in the "car"

There was a candy filled piñata at the birthday party.  Kuya was the kid who finally broke it!

Kuya after breaking the piñata

It was an exciting, but exhausting day.  We went to bed early again!

Peace!