While looking for another picture, I stumbled on one from a day trip Sam and I took shortly after we started dating.
The above photo was taken in front of the Whitehouse Restaurant in Clare Michigan. We had headed up that way to visit with her Goddaughter. Sam asked if I had ever been to this place and I told her I had not. She raved about the burgers here, so we made it a point to stop.
I’ve heard people call places a “hole in the wall,” but this place really is just that. It is one of the tiniest restaurants I’ve ever seen. There are literally 6 booths. One row is almost on top of the grill where they cook!
There are three booths on each side of the restaurant.
The booths are small as well. You can fit two people at each one. 12 customers max in this place. It was like something out of the Twilight Zone.
The burger I had was delicious! We’ve been talking about going back up there for dinner, but schedules haven’t allowed that.
If you ever happen to be in Clare, be sure to check this place out!
Over the weekend, I finished up some of the projects on my “To Do” list.
One of them, I’ve blogged about a couple times. I feel like the nook is officially complete. I wanted to get a cushion for the bench, but the size was odd. I really thought that I was going to have to get one custom made, or by the foam and fabric and make my own. However, I found a solution I would have never thought of!
I had to go to Menard’s to get some mulch for the front yard. As we walked through the store, I passed the pet area. I happened to see a dog bed that said 42 inches. I knew that was the length of the bench (and nook itself) because I measured to mark off where the coat hooks were going to go. I put the only one they had in the cart and walked over to where the tape measures were. I knew the bench was 42 x 26, so I wondered if I’d get lucky. I did!
I picked up a decorative pillow and it is now officially complete!
The second project was fixing the swing set for the kids. The main beam on the set that was given to us was a bit rotted out, so my father-in-law told me what to get from the store to fix it.
He came over on Memorial Day and we swapped out the old hardware, drilled new holes, and mounted the new beam. After that, we put up a toddler swing, a regular swing, and a net swing for the kids. At some point I need to paint the bean, but there are a few other boards that need to be replaced first. The kids were thrilled to be able to play on it, though.
As a bonus, my mother-in-law brought burgers and dogs to grill for dinner.
The last, and easiest, project was a small (but important) one. A year or so ago, I mounted a flag on one of the trees in the front yard. The weather got the best of the aluminum pole and it broke and fell off the mount. The flag itself was tattered a bit, too. It was time for a new one. Thankfully, the mount is still in good shape and I was able to fly the Stars and Stripes proudly for Memorial Day.
On Saturday, I celebrated birthday 51. I worked the night before, so I came home and literally went to bed. Sam and I had plans, so I wanted to get some sleep before we left.
Even before the clock struck midnight, my Facebook was blowing up with countless birthday wishes. When I woke up, there were over 300 wishes and more continued throughout the day. I always joke that without Facebook I might not remember somebody’s birthday. Remember when we used to put them on a calendar and actually made a phone call or sent a card to someone? Not that it bothers me, it is nice to be remembered.
Anyway, Friday night, my coworkers helped me celebrate with home made brownies and cannoli from my favorite Italian bakery (Tringali’s). Another co-worker bought me an instant ticket and it actually was a winner, which never happens. It wasn’t the $500,000, but enough to buy another lottery ticket…
Visit to the Zoo
Ella’s first trip to the Detroit Zoo. Had to get a picture by the famous fountain.
For Ella’s birthday, Aunt Margaret got her a year membership to the Detroit Zoo. The weather was going to be perfect, so we decided that we’d celebrate both our birthdays there! We almost weren’t able to go, because you have to reserve tickets in advance. There were only two times available on Saturday and I took the first available, which was 4:30pm. That only gave us an hour and a half to walk the zoo.
It actually worked out perfectly. We didn’t stand in line for the kangaroos (it was quite long), and we didn’t do the reptile house. Instead, we walked and saw the animals that were outside. We saw lions, tigers, giraffes, rhinos, monkeys, and the polar bear. Sadly, the penguin exhibit is closed for remodeling and the otters were off sleeping somewhere (those are Sam and my favorite animals).
Doesn’t that tiger look real?!
Every so often, we’d take Ella out of her stroller and tried to get her to walk with us. We tried holding her hand, but it wasn’t gonna happen. As soon as her feet hit the pavement, she was off like a shot! She was running everywhere. She was so excited to see other kids and other people. She just wanted to roam around! We got our exercise in chasing her around the zoo!
Sam had asked me what I wanted to do for dinner earlier in the week. Our favorite steak house is almost impossible to order a carry out from these days, so I thought we’d try Mexican food. After a few attempts, and getting a busy signal, I was at a loss. Then Sam reminded me of the Roadhouse up the street from us. They have the best burgers! That actually sounded really good, and I was excited to order. Sam was craving nachos, so she got an order from there (it probably could have fed 4 people – that thing was huge!). The burger itself was a treat, but I also decided that I’d splurge and get an order of fried pickles! Yummy!!!
Ella was exhausted by the time we got home and pretty much went straight to bed. Earlier in the day, she helped Sam make my birthday cake. She cracked the eggs and helped mix it all up. Because she went to bed, we never really got to sing Happy Birthday and I didn’t get to blow out the candles and make a wish. However, my wish had already come true that day – I got to spend my day with my two favorite girls!!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 