Life in the Slow Lane
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Yesterday was my buddy Bucks annual wild game so me and the Glue picked up Twink and headed out there. There wasn't quite as much variety as there has been sometimes in the past. Not a big deal to me because I don't try out as much as I used to. I tried the wild turkey, a couple kinds of deer (one was possibly liver), salmon belly, ox tale soup, 2 or 3 kinds of fish and probably something I can't remember. They also had antelope, coon, chicken and other things that I can't remember plus I took out some armadillo eggs. My favorite was the fish especially the catfish which had a nice spice to the breading. My least favorite was probably the deer liver and salmon belly. Six of the eight armadillo eggs were gone when I left and most people said they really liked them.
Lots of friends I don't see very often were out there including several members of the slow pitch softball teams I played on years ago. Buck, his wife Debbie and his son Cory always get a great turnout for it and yesterday was no exception. We had to cut it short because the grandtwins were staying the night since Bailey had to attend Murphysboro graduation. We were also very tired because of the Glue's retirement party the night before.
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The Glue is retiring after 36 years working in a special education classroom so last night we had a little party for her at Route 51 brewery. While Route 51 is one of our favorites we chose this venue because her work was having their retirement party there too. It also has good food to go along with the beer selection.
Her work retirement was upstairs but we really didn't stay very long so we could get a couple tables for her party. I ordered a brisket sandwich for me with the hope she would share it with me but she went with cicharones and of course once again she didn't eat much. The brisket was surprisingly good but if I get it again I will order it without cheese. The also had their Irish Red beer which is our favorite there and we both made sure we got our fill of it. I also had the Golden Lager and American Ale both of which were good but I still prefer the Irish Red. There were three long tables filled with people there for her retirement and a great blend of family, co-workers and friends. Joe and Bailey were there along with Shad and the grandtwins. Her brother and his wife made as did her sister and her husband. Our nephews Andrew and Josh made with their families including little Rambo Nerd. Our niece Mandy and her mother Leanna came too. For me the best part was seeing my old neighborhood buddy Tom and his wife Debbie. I don't know how long it's been but it's been at least 15 years. His mother and sister also made it which was great and I saw his other brother Bill yesterday afternoon. Bocce champion and occasional Roll'em sub Ted crashed the party as I had forgot to invite him but Joe did. Neighborhood kid Robin came down from St. Louis with his girlfriend. These are just a few of the people who came. Joe's friend and Packer fan Matt Basler was the singer and he wished Lisa a happy retirement then launched into an "impromptu" song for her and her retirement which was awesome and I wish I would have video'd it. Since the Glue hadn't eaten we had to stop by Hardee's on our way home which was a good thing but the beer we got when we got home was not. Yesterday we decided to try out The Mill in Sesser which is housed in a an old grain mill. They've kept a lot of the features of the mill including silos and the overall effect is really unique and very nice. They have four or five beers on draft which was a nice surprise including Shiner Bock. We both ordered the Shiner Bock and it was nice and cold.
I went up with the intention of ordering catfish and stayed with the plan in spite of some other tempting choices. They have two kinds of catfish and I had the waitress explain the differences to me. I went with the beer battered ones which were cut in strips instead of full fillets. It came with coleslaw and I got onion rings instead of fries for a $2 upcharge.The Glue went with the Sunday special fried chicken which came with mashed potatoes and gravy and corn. The catfish was excellent and both the coleslaw and onion rings were good. The onion rings were thin cut more like onion straws and you got a bunch of them. I doubt I get them again just because that's too much fried food for me. The Glues chicken was also very good but a downside is you can't order all white meat. You get a true half chicken but it is cut into individual pieces not whole. The pieces are big too. Her mashed potatoes and gravy was also good and corn is corn and hard to mess up. Overall a great experience and a place we will go back to in the near future to check out some other items on their menu. On the way back we were going to stop at the Hop in Christopher but it's not open on Sundays so we went to Herrin and stopped at Teddy's. I ordered a Stag draft and the Glue went with a Blue Moon draft and the Glue chose to go with the 25 ounce ones, go big or go home. There were a lot of people in the pool rooms but just a few in the barroom and we talked some to the bartender and a couple from Columbia Il. who gave us a couple places there to try out. Once we got back into Murphysboro we decided to go to Big Muddy Brewery so the Glue could get some shirts to take to her brother when she goes to California. We had a Dunkeldog and then it was time get home to wait for the series finale of Game of Thrones. Once we got home we both decided we were hungry so I we ordered a Baileys club and a wazoon from Whiffleboys. Mine really hit the spot and I didn't hear the Glue complain. On Friday we decided to go out to try out Moody Muskies which is what the Kinkaid Marina is being called now. The new owners have done an excellent job of renovating the old building and creating a new atmosphere and excitement around the place. The bar itself is an old Criscraft boat that has been cut in half and it looks awesome.
We met Bailey, Shad and the grandtwins there and found a nice table in the corner. The Glue wanted to try a pretzel as an appetizer which ended up being mediocre at best. Me and the Glue ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza while Shad ordered a burger and Bailey ordered chicken tenders. When our pizza arrived it was pepperoni and sausage and after getting the waitress back over she realized that the other waitress had grabbed the wrong one so she went back and got the correct one. Not a big deal but when Bailey cut into the chicken tenders they were red on the inside. The waitress took one look and took them back to the kitchen for a new batch. Once we got the correct pizza it was disappointing, just mediocre at best. Shad said the burger was just ok but some other people said theirs was real good. Me and the Glue tried a little bit of the chicken tenders and we both thought they were good as were the fries which were a lot better than the house made chips. After we finished me and the Glue went to the bar which is a wonderful place to have a beer. They have six or so beers on tap with a nice selection of different styles. Two of the new owners also own long time favorites Katy O'ferrels and Bella Italia in Cape so I have no doubt they will get things together and the food will improve rapidly. Last night was the Wednesday night tournament for the coveted bad ass towels. We were the number three seed and in the first game we took on Coming In Hot on the Silkworm court.
The game was never close and we ran away with 9-0. In the second game we took on 2 Boobs and 2 Girls. We started out fast again and jumped to a 2-0 lead. We upped that to 6-0 with a four point frame. They got on the board making it 6-2. We had a chance to win it then put settled for one point and a 7-2 lead before getting the win 9-2. In the third game we took on red hot Boccelicious who were the number seven seed. We gave them a four point frame early and could never recover as they came through when they had to time after time and we couldn't take advantage of any chances we had. We ended up losing 9-3 ending our hope for another towel. The towels ended up going to Holy Ballz Batman who also finished first in the league standings. On a very nice evening the 2019 spring season came to an end last night.
In the first game we took on Boccelicious who were short a player so they picked up Big Ed from Squatchy to play for them. The game started out harmless with both teams picking up a point but with the score tied 1-1 we left it wide open for them and they hammered us with a four point frame. From this point on it was basically trading points and we lost 9-5 in a game where none of us threw well. Reeling from that disaster we took on 2 Boobs and 2 Girls in the second game. This game was different from the start as we made shots when we had to and never left anything that was completely wide open and we won 9-5. Unfortunately we found out last night that Clutch and Herbster aren't playing during the summer. Just as unfortunate we found out Fred's team isn't playing either but he'd already told another Wednesday team he'd play for them. Roberto has said he will play this summer and I've got a couple other feelers out so hopefully we can cobble together a team. On Sunday we were heading out to the marina to have a drink and either eat there or at Mi Patio when our nephew called. He told us there was a Cinco de Mayo celebration going on in Alto Pass so we decided to head down there.
Once we got to our nephews house we headed down to the party. There was a band and several small tents serving food. We were checking them out when we ran into our old friends Baby Daddy and Baby Mama. After talking with them for a while we decided to get some tacos. While we were waiting in line we got a bowl of polenta from another tent and it was good but more up the Glue's alley than mine. The tacos we got were great and cheap. We tried some other places and only found one thing I didn't like which I don't remember what it was called. Unfortunately we had to cut the day short when the Mexican food kicked in on me and I barely made it up the hill to my nephews house. I don't know if it was something I ate there or what but I'm still not feeling 100%. Other than that it was a fun day with a great atmosphere. On Saturday me and the Glue teamed with Kenny and Jake to play in the Relay for Life tournament. Once again the Glue comes up with a great name for our team - Game of Throws.
In the first game we played Molley's Pint and started with a bang. Me and the Glue gave up a four point frame. Kenny and Jake then gave up a three point frame and all of a suden it was 7-0. They then finished us off with a two point frame in a game that was over before it began. We didn't throw well and they capitalized. In the second game we played Bootlegger Bocce and my cousin Roberto who subs for us quite often. This time we started out hot with me and the Glue getting a two point frame sandwiched between two one point frames from Kenny and Jake. Not being able to stand prosperity me and the Glue gave up a four point frame to tie the score 4-4. The Bootleggers moved ahead and beat us 9-5. In the last game with nothing to gain we took on M&M bocce. We decided to switch it up and have me and Jake throw together and the Glue and Kenny throw together. This seemed to work a lot better and we won 9-5. In spite of it being a crappy day it was a lot of fun. There were some teams with younger members who had never played before and they seemed to have a great time and were talking about getting teams together to play in the league. The Glue's smoked sausage went over very big as all 56 sausages were gone. Since neither of us had eaten any of them we decided to go to Kilby's and grab some BBQ's to take home. Needless to say they really hit the spot. Last night Roll'em took on Coming in Hot on the Silkworm court to start the evening and we were the ones who came in hot. Clutch couldn't be there so we turned to Kenny from Can't Be Trusted to sub for us. We started out on top and slowly built our lead to 7-0. The next frame we took turns getting inside one another until we were left with one ball which moved their ball far enough to get two points and 9-0 win. In the second game we took on Mission: Imbocceball featuring birthday girl Teresa. We were once again the Silkworm court and jumped out to a 6-1 lead. Then they got hot which started when me and the Herbster didn't get anything close and they still had three balls left. Lucky for us two of their balls went just long and it was 6-3. If we got a close one they either got closer or hit our ball away and the score kept closing until it got to 7-6. We got the next point to move to 8-6. The Glue threw the pallino and decided to bank her first ball which I thought was a poor idea on this court but it ended up a couple feet away and they were unable to get one closer and we got the win 9-6 in a game that was a lot closer than the final score. The night ended on a pretty hilarious moment when birthday girl Teresa had a little accident while handing out her birthday cupcakes. But once again Pete was to the rescue and shoveled the icing from the cupcakes off the court.
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