Next Day...

 

The birthday happened.  I'm thinking we should've altered plans, but it's done now.   The drive over was iffy.  The movie was fun.  Repeat is not an option for the restaurant we ate at; pricey, meh food & poor service.  The biggest problem was the heat.  It hammered me.  The house never did really cool down, with us being gone so long & no AC running.   So, maybe we should've waited.  But, we had no idea how long this movie would be playing & the heat looks to be here for a bit.

I need to get around.  I have to shower, eat, do trash & head to my telemed appointment.  I'm tired just thinking about it.  Tomorrow we'll handle the bank & bills.  

That's it for now, take care.

Cya...

Not The Same...

Since COVID, we've been slowly trying to rebuild our lives outside of the house.   It's not been easy.  The pandemic lasted forever & COVID is still here.  Past that, we've had our own issues to contend with, but we are trying.  We keep hitting snags in the process.  

Even before the pandemic a lot of places we frequented were either going out or changing to the point we no longer liked them.  A lot of businesses never picked back up after COVID.  We've tried some other places, but so far they're not the greatest fit.  

A serious issue concerns pricing & quality.  We hit a place yesterday for something to bring home.  We used to go there fairly often, it was on the way out.  The last time we tried to go it was closed.  The time before we ordered 2 dinners & left paying just under $18 & that was an uptick on price.  This time, we'd just eaten & this was going to something smaller for midday before dinner.   We got 1 dinner & left.   That single dinner was $13+.  That's a 50% markup on price.   To make matters worse, it wasn't the same quality as before & the portions were about a third smaller.   In the end, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't worth the cost.  So another place off the list, next.

I get inflation hit, but seriously $7+ for a basic Hardees burger is not reasonable.   If restaurants keep upping their prices while downgrading size & quality, they can't be surprised when people walk away.   A lot of us just can't afford those costs.  Especially not when the quality is just so-so.

I guess we'll keep looking for the next thing.  Still, we are trying to get back out there.  It's just not been as smooth as we'd liked.

Take care.

Cya...

Trying Newish...

We went out to eat yesterday for the tail end of my birthday.  It was a place that became a chain over the last 20+ years.  I went to school where the original restaurant was in Stillwater.    I was never that fond of it there, but it'd been 20+ years since I'd been to a Hideaway Pizza.

I sort of really hate Ft Smith.   It has stupid levels of traffic in some areas & the drivers are asshats.   Yesterday turned out to be no different.  The place looked packed, it really wasn't, just deceptive parking.   

The process of getting in wasn't easy.  You had to park quite away from the door.  There was no short way into the place.  Once inside, you were immediately reintroduced to the 90s.

We got in & ordered.  The food was OK.  The service was reasonable.  The prices were more than they should've been given the quality & portion.   Hideaway went from being some post-hippie, collegiate hangout for frat bros to a bougie chain for norms.  

I'm glad we went.  It was different.   We were curious to see if the place had changed.  It had, just not for the better.  Overall, we had a new experience.  We probably won't repeat it, but it was different.  At least there's that.

Cya...