Yesterday started with a trip to Ultimate Gymnastics to watch the grandkids birthday party.  Really nice place with lots for kids to do, even Dax could walk around and climb stuff. Greyson was everywhere and really liked it when big cousin Van played tag with him and a couple others.  Brinley was impressive climbing and especially on this rubber thing hanging from the high bar.
Our plans changed when a warning light came on in the Jeep so instead we went to Draft Days at Walkers Bluff.  Our first trip there and it is an impressive building but not a place that had a lot of character.  We each had a beer and shared a huge pretzel and some fried cheese curds.  Huge might not be big enough for the pretzel and not only is it big it was good as were the curds.  Not really a place I care to go back but will the original location.
Next we went to Honker Hill and Debbie got sangria while the rest of us got warm beer.  We've always had a good time there but this time was different in big part due to the warm beer that I don't think anybody finished.
Next we went to Blue Sky three of us shared a pitcher of sangria while Mike got a beer.  The sangria was okay but very sweet.  Once again the vibe was not really there yesterday so we headed on home.
Not a great day but you can't hit everytime.

We debated going to a couple different towns but Lisa mentioned a "ride" and off we went.  We hadn't been up in LaRue-Pine HIlls in a while so that decided it.  It was a beautiful day so we took the freedom tops off the jeep to enjoy the weather.  Stuff is starting to bloom, noticed a lot of purple both trees and on the ground.  Being able to see scenery you can't see during the summer when the trees are leafed out. 
We came down and I didn't really have a plan but headed up towards Hutchinson creek.  I was really surprised when we were able to continue all the way up to the LaRue Pine HIlls road.  We'd never been able to do that before.  We had to go through a couple creeks but no big deal since we were in the Jeep.  I don't know that I would have tried it in the Durango.
Once we got back down we went to Ware market, always a interesting stop.  Wish we had one closer.
We decided to stop in the Duck Inn and eat.  I got a burger and Lisa got a cheeseburger but had them make it smaller.  I also got fries.  To say my burger was big would be an understatement, I'd say it was well over 1/2 pound.  Hers was bigger than she wanted but both burgers were really good.  One of my top burgers in the area.  The fries were good but needed a hair longer in the fryer.  Great stop.

A little catching up on some of the last weeks activities.
Last Saturday we went to the Peachbarn to watch Pity Thy Neighbor play.  Sadly it was too cold to be outdoors but they put on a great show and really played to the crowd or at least our table.  Way to go Tanner & Ryan.
Afterwards we were in dire need of food.  We went to Midlands, Cummares & 17th St. and all were crowded and had various waits.  We finally ended up at El Jalisco.  I ordered street tacos and were okay but didn't really hit the spot.
Wednesday we went over to New Kahala.  I got Chinese veggies with fried rice and Lisa got chicken in garlic sauce with broccoli.  I normally get white rice and extra sauce and veggies but this time wanted to change it up a little. 
Mistake.  It seemed like they put extra beef on it so back to extra veggies.  I like the fried rice by itself but the white rice to have with the entree.  A good thing about New Kahala is that they give you enough for 2 or 3 meals.

Before we took the courts we went to a birthday party for Derecho Dax at his house.  He turned two years old, if there's any truth to the terrible twos we're in trouble.
On a cold night we played the 7 and 8 o'clock games, yuck.  We ended up playing both games on the 3rd court.  Normally it's an advantage playing both games on the same court, normally. 
In the first game we played Boobs, Booze & Bocce.  The game started out close but we inched away before finally closing out a 9-4 win.
In the second game we played No Beer, No Bocce.  Once again the game started close, 2-2, but then it changed and not in a good way.  They got a couple points to move ahead 4-2, then pushed the pallino into a three point frame that we could never recover from finally losing 9-2.  The old adage "whatever can go wrong, will" held true in this game.
Before I forget, I hate late games.

Woke up yesterday with no heat so naturally we decided to go somewhere to eat before picking up Dax and the HVAC guy arrived.  After some discussion and not making a final decision until we got to DeSoto we decided on Emily's, mainly because of their special.
Both of us ended up getting the special of chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and toast.  Lisa got slaw instead of green beans and I got onion rings instead of green beans.  Neither of us are big fans of green beans when eating out.
The food arrived in decent time.  The chicken fried chicken was very good and hot and fresh tasting, also very big.  The onion rings were once again really good too.  Not so much the mashed potatoes.  They were not very warm and I didn't think had that much flavor.  I almost didn't order them and wished I hadn't but there was still plenty of food.  Lisa's slaw was creamy but still decent.  Oddly the star of the meal may have been the toast.  I usually don't pay a lot of attention to the toast but it was very good.

On a chili night the spring 2024 started last night.  It was great seeing everybody again after the winter layoff.
In the first game we played Money Balls on the third court.  We jumped out to a 3-0 lead but back they came moving ahead 4-3.  We got back on top 5-4 but they tied it right back up.  We proceeded to run off four straight points for a 9-5 win, getting the season off right.
The less said about the next game the better.  We moved to court one and played Boccelism.  The court seemed very fast and we couldn't adjust losing 9-0 in quick fashion, yuck.

Saturday we went uptown for the St Patricks day celebration.  Good weather, good music from Usual Suspects made for a good time, too good actually.
Sunday the Grumpy Shillelagh took the court in the St Patricks day tournament.  The day wasn't as nice as the previous one and cooled down as the day went on.  We once again played in a three man pool and had to play each team twice.
In our first game we played the Eclectics on the middle court and everything went right for us.  We jumped out to a big lead and kept on rolling for a 9-0 win.
In the second game we played Pallino Posse on the first court.  We jumped out to a 2-0 lead but they quickly tied it up and got the lead.  We caught up and they once again jumped out front finally moving to 7-5.  They made a big mistake and left and opening and we took advantage with a four point frame to win 9-7.
We moved to the third court and played the Eclectics once again.  They had just played on that court and the game was much more competitive.  We trailed early but caught up and got a two point frame to close out a 9-5 game.
In the fourth game we played Pallino Posse on the first court.  Nothing really went right for us and we took a 9-2 beating.  This lead to a roll off between the two teams.  Their first throw was a couple feet short but but both of our throws came up just short.  I thought both shots were good but didn't roll out on the freshly drug court.
Of well, a good time and a good showing for the Grumpy Shillelaghs.

Lisa had to do some shopping in carbondale on Wednesday so naturally we decided to grab something to eat while we were out.  The weather was fantastic, shorts and short sleeves in mid March.  Of course when she was done we had to grab a beer at Chili's to decided where to eat. 
I hadn't been to Chili's in quite a while.  We both ordered Blue Moon and it was really nice and cold.  I looked over the menu and nothing really jumped out at either of us.  Lisa had said a ride around Giant City sounded good so off we went.
While we were driving around the park I had an idea pop into my head.  When we were done going around the park we stopped in Makanda to check out the shops on the boardwalk.  I hadn't stopped in Makanda for an embarrassingly long time.  Some really interesting places, of course my favorite was the sandwich and ice cream shop and the rock and knife place.
New Kahala was closed so we decided to get Dales to take home.  Naturally we got large fries, extra crisp and extra salty, for the ride home.  We also got a burger and roast beef to share.  The fries were excellent, maybe the best we've had there.  The burger and roast beef were both very good and big.  Great choice but we have to guard against burn out.

For the first time in a while the Packers were active in free agency. 
Josh Jacobs:  Signing Jacobs is huge, he's still young enough and is an impactful running back
Aaron Jones:  This one hurts.  I really like Jones and loved his sombrero and macho man glasses. 
Xavier McKenney:  Awesome signing and still only 24.  Solves a big need.
David Bakhtiari:  Another one that hurts.  From his play on the field to his beer chugging off it a great Packer.  Really a shame he hurt his knee and hasn't been able to play.
Jon Runyon Jr.: Always liked him but he was way overpaid by the Giants.
Jonathon Owens: Hate to see him go but that's mainly because of how him and his wife, Simone Biles, embraced Green Bay.
Of course we resigned and lost some others but:::::::
After a couple days I feel the Packers are a lot better than they were before free agency started
and somehow got young, a great combination.

I've been on a bit of a below average run on my food choices when eating out so yesterday we went to Kretzers to try and break that run.  
I went up thinking catfish and stayed with the plan.  I got slaw and a salad bar to go with it.  Everyone else got sandwiches and we also got onion rings for everyone to share.  The onion rings were really good but I didn't eat many to try and stay away from fried food coma.  The slaw was mayo based but still good.  The salad is a salad bar and is great, lots of items to chose from and all looked fresh.  Only downside is the carrots were baby carrots and whole.  The catfish is also great, maybe my favorite anywhere.  Everyone else seemed to like their sandwiches.
Overall a great choice.
On the way home I wanted to stop at Fuzzy Duck in Nashville only to find out it's now Slip In Saloon.  I was disappointed in the place when I found out they didn't have Alaskan Amber on tap anymore.  The disappointment turned to excitement when I started noticing all the Packer stuff on the walls.  It got a lot better when I noticed there were two game used bats hanging, one from Hunter Pence and the other from Tim Lincecum. 
We finished up at Da-Nite and stayed there way too long but it was a great night until we got home and I slipped on a clothes hanger and skinned up my knee.

Just an all round bad day yesterday so we decided to go to Dale's after the grandkids were picked up.  Dale's has become one of our favorite places to pick up from and take home.  This time it let us down. 
I went in just as our food was being brought up to the front, great timing.  We always eat the fries on the way home but when Lisa got the fries out it appeared they didn't give us the large/huge fries.  We dug in anyway and the fries were not crispy at all and were unusually greasy.  They all got ate anyway.
When we got home my garnished dog wasn't even warm (it's hard for me to say that big city in the northeast part of the state).  Once I started eating the dog it fell apart very quickly.  I'd been wanting to try the garnished dog at Dale's but this was disappointing. 
Lisa got a blacked chicken breast sandwich that she took off the bun.  I tried a little bit of it and it seemed dry.
A rare bad experience there.

  I realized a couple days ago the we are only a couple weeks away from bocce starting.  It always starts around the same time but for some reason this year it just seems real early.
That also means St, Patricks Day is coming up.  Quick aren't I? 
Saturdays are normally the day we go places but as yesterday morning progressed we just decided to stay home.  I did some baked potatoes and went to the store to get some ribeyes.  I've been doing them on my propane griddle and they've come out very good.  This time tried my skill/luck with Debbie wanting hers medium rareish, Mike wanted well done yuck and me and Lisa like our medium. 
Not my best effort, none charred like I wanted.  I had to put Mikes back on because it wasn't done enough for him.  Debbie said hers was closer to rare and Lisa said hers needed a little more.  The only one I hit one was mine although Mike said his was perfect after I put it on longer.  Flavor was spot on though on all of them and of course baked potatoes might be the best thing I do.