Monday the 25th we decided to visit the arboretum to finally use our Acorn Express tickets which were due to expire at the end of August. You get two free ones with a two-year membership and we kept forgetting to use them. It was a beautiful day and even though it was warm the breeze created by the tram kept us comfortable. The tour was an hour long and went over the history of the arboretum and it’s various collections. It was very informative and relaxing.
After the ride we walked around Meadow Lake to look at Ribbit! The Exhibit before heading to Taco Diner for lunch.
This past Friday we picked up J and headed to Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Indiana. Our first stop, as always, was Dan’s Pierogis since the line is always long (which it was even though we got there less than a half hour after opening). We all got sweet cheese pierogis because we’ve learned over the years that even though the other flavors sound good, the sweet cheese are the best. We also got some taco pierogis from a booth nearby. We had tried them for the first time last year and I had made a note to get them again. They were delicious and will definitely be on the list for next year. Other than Joe getting ice cream we didn’t eat anything else because it was threatening rain, so around 1 pm we left right before it started to pour. I was bummed we didn’t get more time to explore the other menus since the fest has so much to choose from, plus once it started to cloud up we weren’t as hot, but what can you do?
We were still hungry so we consulted Yelp and ended up picking up food from Chicago Pita Kitchen which is the same building that used to house our local Dairy Queen when I was growing up. I swear it still smelled like a DQ inside too. Incidentally, their website is funny because it’s just their huge menu and nothing more. Not even an address. Doesn’t seem to hurt their business, though, since there was a steady stream of customers while we waited for our food. It was really good too. I had the chicken breast pita and a side of rice and Joe had a brat with fries. My brother got chicken strips and fries. I’d definitely go there again if we’re in the neighborhood and my mom doesn’t have food prepared for us. One of the Yelp reviews was pretty funny though since it said they have the best pitas in Hegewisch. I’m thinking, just how many pitas can you even get in such a small town? Apparently two if you ask my brother, but the other place sucks.
We took the food back to my parents’ where we all sat around talking for hours. At some point we were all hungry again so we ordered pizza from a nearby place and then played Aggravation. I think we left around 10 because we were home by 11.
Saturday we were hanging out at home when I got a text from Joe’s sister. She was in town visiting his brother and invited us to join them Sunday. We didn’t have anything on the agenda so we said sure. On the way out there we stopped at Long John Silvers for lunch (it’s a two hour drive and we were instructed to be there at 1 pm so we figured we wouldn’t be eating for awhile). We mostly just sat around talking and sometime around 4 pm had dinner. They served some very juicy and delicious pork chops, plus I love my SIL’s cucumber salad so I loaded up on that along with a baked potato.
It was nice to see everyone and we even Facetimed with Joe’s niece in Arizona so we could see her baby. Joe’s brother said we have an open invitation to come out anytime which we should take them up on again before it gets too cold. Yea, it’s two hours, but it’s not that bad, although I imagine it could get a little boring if we visited too often. I’m not a fan of just sitting around chatting for hours on end – I’d rather play some games too, especially since they talk about the old neighborhood and people they used to know so I can’t contribute much to the conversation. That being said, at least I felt like people would hear me out when I did speak and no single person would dominate the conversation which is more than I can say for some other situations I’ve been in. We left at 7 pm and were home and watching Netflix by 9.
Today we did some shopping at Target and then I cleaned the rats’ cages and gave Milo and Gizmo a bath. They were squabbling with each other after I put them back in their cage which is not like them, so I’m not sure if it’s due to the bath (they don’t smell familiar to one another) or because Milo is cranky due to what I think might be a tumor near his tail. It seemed to appear overnight so I’m hoping it’s just an abscess instead. Only time will tell. I’m not ready for him to pass away (not that I ever will be).