[there is supposed to be a photo of the eclipse here. not sure why it’s giving me problems, but i can’t seem to get it posted. i’ll work on it more later…]
wow. there was a total lunar eclipse tonight and the skies were sooooo clear. and cold. very cold. but it was beautiful. we had a hard time getting a good picture (should we open the shutter longer or make it go faster? does my head make a good tripod? [answer: no]), but this one wasn’t too bad.
our kitty is feeling somewhat better (can you see her in the photo above?). she’s not yet back to her regular frisky self, but she did eat a little today and she greeted us at the door when we came home, so she is on the mend. hurrah! this new favorite spot of hers cracks us up. mr. happy stuff said he saw her standing near the fabric waiting for the furnace to come on and blow the fabric in the breeze. when the furnace came on, she walked underneath into a “tent” and then stayed there even after the furnace was off. silly kitty.
we tried a new (for us) restaurant tonight–flat top grill. mr. happy stuff had won a gift certificate at his work christmas party, so we decided to try it out. it’s one of those joints where you go pick stuff (salad bar style) to put into a bowl, then set it on a counter for the cooks to grill (on the flat top) for you. while we both enjoyed our meals well enough, we both agreed that for those prices, we’d rather eat somewhere local (this restaurant is a chain from illinois). however, the restaurant did one great job of reminding me that if i am craving stir-fry, there is a way that i can make it and we can both enjoy it (soy sauce and mr. happy stuff are not good friends). if the vegetables and other ingredients are stir-fried plain, we can add our favorite flavorings and sauces later–peanut sauce, curry sauce, soy sauce…. whatever! brilliant! i was also impressed with the restaurant’s unique non-alcoholic drink selections. there were three flavored lemonades (raspberry, pomegranate and “desert pear”) as well as some interesting teas. bonus points for that. we also split a slice of peanut butter pie at the end of the meal. the crust was a curious combination of chocolate and what appeared to be chow mein noodles (think of those “bird’s nest” treats at easter) which might have been okay except that the pie was kept cold because of the filling and… the crust was really tough. overall, i’d give it a meh+. good if you are a picky eater and want to design your own meal, but otherwise, not worth the final price tag when there are so many other, better places to eat in town.
