Terry is a very low maintenance woman, so when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday and she said nothing special, it was just another day, I wasn’t surprised. But we had to do something, right?
We’re not really into giving each other gifts for birthdays and holidays and such because basically whenever we want something, we get it. Sometimes it takes a lot of nagging and cajoling on my part, and that can last for days, but eventually Terry gets tired of my whining and gives in, buying herself whatever it is she mentioned she wants. See, like I said, low maintenance.
Since there was nothing she wanted, and trust me, I asked over and over, we decided that just having a day away from the house together would be nice. Even if the day started with an appointment at Terry’s doctor. That only took a few minutes, then we drove into Daytona Beach and spent some time browsing at Nicole’s Beach Street Mall, an antique mall we like to visit now and then.
Do you remember me writing about wanting to find an antique upright cabinet radio a couple of months ago, and looking in antique shops all over the region and not being able to find one? As I said in the blog, eventually I acquired two of them from a fellow who had an ad on Craigslist. Now that I have my radios, what did we see at Nicole’s? Yep, three or four of them. Though to be honest, both of mine are in better shape than the ones on display there. I passed on the radios, but Terry did find a couple of things she wanted, including some nice silk yarn at a greatly reduced price.
From there we went to the VA clinic so I could get blood drawn in preparation for an upcoming visit with my primary care provider in a week or so. At that time we will be discussing whether or not I will continue with VA healthcare at all or switch to a private-sector doctor, or possibly a combination of both.
Done with that, we stopped at Bass Pro Shop and browsed for a few minutes, then went to Bed Bath and Beyond for two new CO2 cartridge for our SodaStream machine. Our next stop was at a Barnes & Noble bookstore for some more browsing, with Terry finding a couple of knitting magazines she wanted. Though we do most of our reading on our Kindle Paperwhites, neither of us have ever been able to pass up a bookstore. And sometimes I will see a book at Barnes & Noble, then look it up on Amazon and find I can get it cheaper, with free shipping.
By the time we left the bookstore it was about 4:30 and we were both hungry, since we hadn’t eaten all day. Originally Terry had said she thought she wanted to go to Aunt Catfish’s On The River, one of our favorite seafood restaurants in this area. But she had also talked about the grilled salmon at Longhorn Steakhouse, and since we were close to it that’s where we decided to go. We have only eaten at Longhorn a couple of times before, but remembered it as being very good.
Terry ordered the salmon, which she said was very good, while I decided to try their Outlaw Ribeye, because my buddy Greg White has said many times that it is excellent. And Greg was right! (Isn’t he always?) I’m a steak kind of guy and I’ve eaten a lot of it in my time, but this was absolutely beyond a doubt the best steak I’ve ever had anywhere. I used to like to go to Texas Roadhouse for their ribeye, which is good, but the music is always so darn loud you can’t hold a conversation there. After the steak I had at Longhorn, I know where I will be going the next time I get a craving for dead cow.
Back at home, I sat down in my recliner to watch the news and promptly fell asleep for about a half hour. Then Terry and I had a quiet evening watching TV and just enjoying being together. She said that’s a pretty good way to spend a birthday. Yep, low maintenance!
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Thought For The Day – Elevator sex is amazing on many levels.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!
And so glad you had a wonderful day together. That’s what life is all about – being with loved ones and enjoying each day.
The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo TX. A great T-bone!
I still like my Sodastream, too. Wonder how much longer we’ll be able to get the canisters.
Seeing you really like steak, the next time you go to Publix look for a (thickest one you can bye )cowboy Angus ribeye steak , whether It be with or without a bone in. Salt-N-Pepper let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour before cooking on Hi heat 5 minutes one side, Flip three minutes of the other side .
But here’s the best trick . basted both sides with butter real butter
That’s the only way to eat steak