Steak on the Grill

This evening Becky grilled us a small steak for dinner. It was delicious. We are not regular steak eaters. It has probably been decades since either of us ordered a regular steak in a restaurant. It's just something we've been interested in. However, we do like to have a little steak on our porch grill once a summer. This was it.

Some nice potatoes too and a salad. Oh, and that great bread from the co-op. A very nice meal.

Love That Chicken

Becky makes a really good chicken cutlet dinner. The chicken has all the right spices and it's a good piece of chicken to start with. We love it with some nice fresh vegetables and some tasty rice.

Old Photo 1976

While clearing out some of the old stuff on the third floor we came across this old photo of me and Becky that her brother Dave took at the Adirondacks in 1976. We were staying in Long Lake just after Labor Day. It was my first time experiencing the Adirondacks. Earlier that year I also visited Buffalo for the first time.

Becky had that very cute short pixie haircut and I had rather longish hair and that Franz Zappa-ish stash and goatee. Also was wearing a headscarf. LOL.

We were living in Germantown at the time and both attending Temple University. She was in art school and I was majoring in communications and film studies on the GI Bill. 

Holy Mole

Becky and I went out for some Mexican food this evening at Taqueria Ranchos La Delicias on Niagara Street. This restaurant has been on our radar for the past couple of years and we finally got there. It was spectacular and we had a wonderful dinner. We loved the booths and the authentic Mexican decor and vibe. 

I had Enchiladas Mole which was three chicken enchiladas topped with mole sauce and cheese along with Mexican rice and sour cream salad. Becky had a very large grilled chicken Quesadilla Fajita with rice, beans and sour cream salad.

They had a nice selection of Mexican beers and I started off with a draft pint of Modelo Especial and then followed that up with a draft pint of Dos Equis lager.

From the Kitchen Drawer

So what are these things from the kitchen drawer? I yanked them all out of the silverware drawer where they were all squeezed into the front along and under the tray. I piled them on the kitchen counter top and sorted through them. I threw away most of them but kept a few of the nicer ones. You never know when you need a good twisty tie. Some rubber bands too.

Thursday Evening Dinner

Becky and I went out for some dinner and left around 5:30 or so. We had decided to go down to Cafe 59 on Allen Street which has been one of our favorite restaurants for many years where we enjoy getting a little something for dinner. We discussed a few other restaurants but settled on Cafe 59. Becky had the chicken finger wrap. I had a wrap too. Their Harvest Wrap which is roasted turkey, field greens, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette. Very tasty. I had a draft Rare Vos, a spicy Belgian style amber ale from Ommegang Brewery. One of my favorites.

Usually when we are out to dinner like this I have a second beer. This time however we decided to leave the restaurant right away and drive over to the Albright-Knox Museum. I have been wanting to get over there to see the current show and we thought that Thursday night would be a good time to check it out. There was also live music by a band called Root Cellar. I thought we could see the show and check out some live music... have a beer too. Since we are museum members we can stop by any time for any amount of time without a cost so we should do it more often. Many times we drive by the museum on a Thursday or Friday evening and it looks like things are going on and we've thought of stopping by and checking it out. Tonight we decided to do it.

We drove over there about 6:45 pm and there was no parking anyway near the museum. We completely forgot about the free Shakespeare in the Park which always begins at 7:pm. It was crazy. There was also a special event at The Terrace restaurant across from the museum and next to the park. We drove through the chaos and ended home. We'll do that show at the museum another time. The last performance in the park is Aug. 18.

Dentist Visit

I went to the dentist this morning for a semi-annual teeth cleaning and check-up. It went well with no issues to report or complain about. I've been going to the same dental office of Advantage Dentistry on Elmwood Avenue in Kenmore for almost 45 years now. It's also the same office that Becky went to as a kid. 

For some reason today while waiting to see the doctor after the technician cleaned my teeth I was thinking about going to the dentist when I was a kid. I think the name of our family practice dentist in the neighborhood was named Dr. Chase. I definitely remember that the office receptionist was an old lady named Miss Toth whom of course we all called Miss Tooth. The office was in a house over near Wayne Avenue. I think it was on Abbotsford Ave. We walked over there from our house on Greene Street for our dentist appointments. We always had lots of cavities as kids.

Float On - Songs 2004 FV

This is the first mix in the Songs 2004 group of mixes in the Final Version series. These are new mixes as I never previously created any mixes for the year 2004 so it was a start from scratch.

As always with these year mixes I start with the list of favorite albums from a give year and in this case the 60 Albums 2004 post. Then I got to Wikipedia to the category 2004 in Music. That gives me a sense of what was released during the year and also helps me find songs that may be part of a compilation album in my collection. Then finally I go through my iTunes sorted by year. When I find songs I haven't used before but in this case with 2004 all the songs that I want to use are put into a playlist to work from. Then I create the mixes. For the FV series I am making them approximately an hour and a half. This one was a lot of fun and the start of a good year of music in my collection. 

Modest Mouse in the photo.

Float On - Songs 2004 FV

1. Float On - Modest Mouse      
2. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - Arcade Fire   
3. Mr. Brightside - The Killers     
4. Always/Never - Manic Street Preachers      
5. Can't Stop Now - Keane         
6. Section 12 (Hold Me Now)      - The Polyphonic Spree    
7. Pressure Point - The Zutons  
8. Assessment - The Beta Band 
9. C'mere - Interpol
10. Take Me Out      - Franz Ferdinand   
11. Messenger - Blonde Redhead
12. Cinnamon Girl - Prince
13. Dreams - TV On The Radio    
14. It's You - P.J. Harvey   
15. My Friends Have - Marianne Faithfull
16. There Are The Ghosts - A Band Of Bees    
17. Decent Days And Nights - The Futureheads
18. First Of The Gang To Die - Morrissey
19. Asleep For Days - Blitzen Trapper    
20. Primitive (The Way I Treat You) - Ambulance Ltd  
21. Closest (Look Out) - Matt Pond PA   
22. Venom Cable - The Coral      
23. Happy Ever After - Ian Brown 
24. Stray Paper - Tift Merritt        
25. The Battle For Straight Time - A.C. Newman

Dinner Downtown

Last night we had dinner downtown at the Schifeling's apartment. We always enjoy ourselves with Todd's parents. The kids had gone down earlier in the day to visit with their other grandparents and we drove down for dinner around 5:30 pm. 

We love the view of downtown from their apartment and the conversation with them too. 

They got some take-out food from Fat Bob's BBQ. A very nice assortment of food and very delicious too. It's been quite a while since we have gone to Fat Bob's for dinner. Having that food last night has made us want to get ourselves over there again to that restaurant soon.

The kids came back to our house after dinner for their last night here. Today they are heading back down to the hotel for the rest of their stay while Sean and Ashley come by here for the rest of the weekend.