Monday evenings are usually STAN nights. However, the place I picked to go was only open Tuesday – Friday. So, we had a STAN lunch on Tuesday. They also serve dinner, but we opted for a lunch instead.

The place: Texas Culinary Academy (TCA) on Burnet Road in Austin.
Location: IBM site, entrance #2, building #2

Students enroll in this Academy for a 12 month program. During their last six weeks, their class is responsible for the dining room meals. We learned that they also serve as interns at local hotels or restaurants before graduating.

We had several servers during our meal. While one was refreshing our drinks, another was serving bread and another was placing more eating implements beside our plates. One of us ordered a Caesar salad and was given a choice of having the salad prepared in the kitchen or at our table. He opted for having it done at our table, and it was educational as well as entertaining. The table settings were formal, yet the atmosphere was very relaxing. The students were all dressed in crisp, sharp attire (white button shirts/jackets and black pants), and a few with chef hats were nearby.

The food choices on the menu included Appetizers, Salads, Entrees, and Desserts and there was a very good variety of each. It was difficult to choose because each one sounded delicious. Even though we were tempted to go for the steak, we decided to try something more “adventuresome.” Terry’s grilled pork chop came with a fruity sauce and potato patties topped with another dollop of flavored topping. His comment was “this is wonderful.” Ann, Kelby (joined us at the last minute), and I had the grilled trout with green beans and finger-size potatoes. The seasoning and flavor of each item on our plate was wonderful. I don’t usually order fish, but now I am encouraged to do so more often. Nick had a crepe that was full of shrimp and covered in a cheese sauce. He also said it was delicious.

The facility, the food, the service, and the atmosphere was tops! If you get a chance to eat at TCA, do so!

Just sitting on our front porch this morning, enjoying a cup of coffee, and the still cool-enough temps (80’s) when I saw about 5 chickens and roosters in our yard. They belong to our neighbors down the road, just came for a visit, I guess. Fried chicken came to mind immediately, but of course these chickens were safe — I’d never be able to wring a chicken’s neck or chop off its head with an ax. Even so, then I’d have to remove those feathers and other parts — so, the trip to the grocery store sounds a lot easier (and more pleasant!).

Reminded me of the good “old days” when we gave our toddlers a drumstick to chew on? Our grandkids won’t eat chicken “with bones in it.” They are too attached to chicken tenders (and “chicken parts”), I guess. Wonder how many Generation X “kids” even know how to cut up a whole chicken — not just to get the legs and thighs, but to get the pully bone (wishbone for those who don’t know) and the two pieces of the back bone. Some of my favorite memories were at my grandmother’s table pulling the pully bone apart with my cousin, Terry. Supposedly, the one who got the biggest part could make a wish and it would come true! Where can we get pully bones today? Only at home, I believe.

And some will remember the “old days” when feedsacks were used as material to make various wearing apparel, as well as quilts. Learned today that feedsacks were even made into underwear for some folks — afterall, they were 100% cotton and felt much better against the bare skin than some other materials available. Today, if you can find an old feedsack piece of material, you’ll pay dearly for it. Now, each time I find some, I’ll wonder where it was worn or used in the “old days.”

How times have changed: “in the old days, Grandma put the apple pie in the window sill to cool — her grandchildren put their apple pies in the window sill to thaw.”

Trying to repeat this often so I won’t forget who I am! Seems like lately that my old memory “chip” needs to be recharged/replaced/updated or sent back for warranty work.

Now, don’t start reserving a room at the Alzheimer’s Clinic for me yet. I can still remember if I ate — I never stop — or where I live and what to do with the tv remote control (unlike the cartoon strip, Pickles, when Earl aims the cell phone at the tv, punches buttons, and after a bit hears a voice speaking in Chinese).

OK — here it is: I thought that today was “Thursday.” It is “Friday.” What happened to “Thursday?” Maybe it was here and left while I was sitting at the dining table trying to price linens I have bought for the past two years for resale. And that’s another story — as in, WHERE did I buy this hanky and what did I pay for it and what should I price it at so as to make a little profit. Now, I used to be a business teacher and consider myself a very good recordkeeper — but when you have hundreds of hankies, it gets old trying to describe each one in your inventory.

Here is another: I keep losing misplacing my glasses. Yeah, we all do that — even my grandson. But, it’s embarrassing when they are on top of your head and you’ve searched the house looking for them. Then, there’s the couple of times they have been left at an eating establishment — once in the booth seat and last Monday night on the floor next to the booth. These glasses must be “charmed” not to have been stepped on or sat upon before I retrieved them. They KNOW what it’s like to have been stepped on — I stepped on my own glasses about a month ago. They just fell on the ground and you’d have thought I had AIMED for them with my size 9 1/2’ers. Before I could even react to their gravitational urge, they were made unwearable! Thank goodness the Eye Clinic works miracles!

Another? All right — missed appointments. My hair stylist, Lisa, needs to start calling me the day before an appointment — a gentle reminder, like the ones from all of the doctor offices. Did medical staff call to remind us when we were younger? I don’t remember. I do put all of our appointments into an organizer now (something I never used before retirement) — and that helps, if I remember to go look at it every day or two!

Then, there are times when Terry and I are riding together and all of a sudden a thought or a question hits me. I share it with Terry. He almost slams on the brakes and tells me that he just finished telling me “that” . . . . Guess that’s where I heard about “it.”

As I write this, I look up above my computer screen and on a shelf is a small framed photo of my Dad, Gus. Seeing his sweet smile and expression remind me that “everything is fine.” So, I’ll stop worrying, fretting, and forget that I forgot.

Afterall, Sam I am, and that’s just the way it is sometimes.

Stepped on the scale this morning — what a mistake! Think this is related to the saying: “if you don’t know the answer, maybe you shouldn’t ask the question.” So, I’ll be staying off that electronic device for a while — besides that, it’s hard to drag it out of the lock box I keep it in. After all, “out of sight, out of mind.” HUH?

Since I was always a “skinny Minny,” these last few years of having weight problems just don’t compute. In my mind, I go to Curves to exercise (once, twice, or sometimes three times a week) and therefore I can have a nice size bowl of Blue Bell as a treat that night. Why doesn’t that work? Of course, if you think about it — I would have had the Blue Bell anyway, so the exercise did some good — HUH?

During my teen years, my good friend, Carol, wanted to lose and I wanted to gain. We thought we were smart to exchange our eating habits. However, when I tried to follow her meal plan, I lost! (Maybe I should try to resurrect that meal plan now.) When I was gaining too much weight during my first pregnancy, my idea of dieting was to drink a can of SlimFast ALONG with my hamburger and fries. HUH? (Perhaps that’s why my second child weighed 9 lbs. at birth.)

Terry and I are known for planning our travel routes based on “where to eat.” For that reason, we love exit 31 on IH10 in Mississippi. We have even been known to lead a caravan of others there for a few days of enjoyment at such places as Jack’s, Catfish Charley’s, and buffets at various casinos on the coast. Another time we detoured about 40 miles south of Indianapolis just to try some Fried Bisquits. HUH? Our sweet Aunt Macky just couldn’t understand our behavior, bless her heart! But we have found some neat places just following our noses stomachs.

Yesterday, Terry asked me to purchase a pair of running shorts for him. Uh-Oh, I’m in trouble! Once he sets his mind to start doing something about his eating habits and losing weight — we have major changes in the house and on the road! Oh to have his will power!

Won’t share how much we weighed in at this morning — but maybe I’ll share how much we’ve lost in the next month or so. If anyone wants to place bets, put your money on Terry!

Now, where DID I hide that stash of chocolate from myself . . . . HUH?