A few years ago, fast food restaurants were advertizing late night hours on their drive throughs.  But now, some of the casual sit down restaurants are staying open past midnight.

I suppose the idea is that since they serve drinks, they may as well stay open late just like the bars.

I guess when last call arrives, you can still order a pitcher of beer and a plate of wings.

About 10 years ago, I bought a crock pot.  We were going to be serving soup and we needed something to keep the soup warm.  So, buying a 5 quart pot met our needs.

And, the pot came with some slow cook recipes that were very good except that they made 5 quarts.  So, when ever I cooked one of the recipes, the pot was full to the brim.  This made it difficult to move it around without spilling it.

Plus, the lid did not have a vent hole in it.  So, when ever I cooked anything with the lid on, the steam would spurt out from around the edges and make a mess on my counter and floor.

So, when my daughter wanted to borrow my crock pot, I told her that she could have it.  I figured that it was time to buy a new one.

Around the area, we have a number of “gated communities”.  Some of these communities have access cards for the gates while others have access cards and a guard shack.  But, I have yet to see any community with the gates closed.

I suppose if the need arises, they will be prepared to secure the area but not until.

The other day when I was in Meijer (regional grocery chain) I noticed that they had cases of Cream of Mushroom soup sitting in the isle on sale.  I guess the holiday season must be finished for this year.

Why do the new style of waffle makers have to flip over?  I mean, my old style waffle maker heats on the top and the bottom so that waffles cook on both sides.

The new style waffle makers also heat on the top and the bottom.  The only difference is that the new style requires that you flip them over part way through the cooking process.

But, I wonder why they are designed that way?  I can understand doing that with pancakes because they only cook on one side at a time.  But, waffle makers cook on both sides at the same time so why the flip?

Maybe it give people something to do while they are waiting for their waffles to cook.

The other day, we went to the boat show.  Since I had never been to the boat show, I didn’t really know what to expect.

But, I was surprised to see a huge selection of pontoon boats.  And, what’s more, I was surprised to see that they were all pretty much the same.

I mean that they all pretty much had the same floor plans.  The “captains” consoles looked the same and they all seem to have the same style of music systems.  Even the canopy area was the same.

While I am sure that there must be differences between the various manufacturers, I wasn’t all that interested so I didn’t bother to ask.

The other day when I was in Meijer (regional grocery chain) I  could help but notice that there was a lack of good beef.  By that, I mean that there were no Porterhouse, Tbones, Rib eyes, New York Strips or Tenderloins.

Since they usually have an ample supply, I can only conclude that meat case was cleaned out by the Super Bowl.

I recently had lunch at Applebee’s, one of my favorite restaurants.  When they asked me what I wanted to drink, I told them Diet Pepsi.  (They don’t carry Coke products.)  They told me that they were all out of soft drinks.

No diet cola??!!!!!  I was planning on a junk food meal with a burger, fries and a diet cola.  But, when they told be that they were out of cola, I opted for soup and and a salad.  I purchased my Diet Coke at Menard’s.  (A regional lumber/hardware chain.)

It sounds really really strange to be out of ALL soft drinks.  I suspect that this Applebee’s is going out of business.

Having finished my first bag of Schuil blend decaf. it was time to try another blend.  So, I decided on the Decaf Schuil Supreme Gourmet Blend.  I choose that blend just because it had Supreme and Gourmet in the name.  So, I asked for a bag of whole bean.

When I arrived at home, I immediately ground up enough for a pot and proceeded to brew.  It smelled wonderful but the proof would be in the tasting.

When it was done brewing, I poured a cup and took a taste.  It was very good.  But, it still didn’t have as much flavor as I was looking for.  Yet, it was still a contender.  When the bag is done, I will have to try another blend in my never ending quest for a decent cup of coffee.

I buy quite a few items that need to be weighted in order to be priced.  And I tell them in general terms what I want.  For instance, I might ask for “about” a pound of ground beef.  This seem to put the clerk into a tizzy as I am not looking for an exact pound.  Some clerks can deal with 9/10ths of a pound while other go for the whole pound.  Whatever.