Today, i got up and thought to myself, "this is the day". So, i did the online quiz while eating some breakfast, got ready and caught the bus downtown.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) was calling me from work on his break when i was leaving and again when he got off work just after i got home.

Other than some confusion and a disagreement between staff members that involved me and what line i should be in, everything went quickly and smoothly.

I left home after 11am and got home around 2pm. Plus i stopped to have a small lunch and browse then purchase some veg from a table on Main street.

I passed the vision and written test. I now have a learner's permit. Soon, the streets will not be safe as i learn to drive...

Caffeine is the devil.

(E:Uncutsaniflush) and i went to his company picnic yesterday afternoon. All they had to drink was Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, water and Labatt Blue (ewww).

It was hot, and i was thirsty. I had 3 caffeinated beverages. Waaaaaaay over my usual intake in of caffeine in a day.

So, at 3am when i still hadn't fallen asleep, i was quite frustrated. I couldn't keep myself still long enough to lay in bed, and not keep my long suffering husband from waking up.

I hope i have enough energy to accomplish the tasks i have set out for myself today...

I consider going out to eat our entertainment since neither (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i are big partiers. Besides, we really do have to keep our pleasantly plump shapes, well, pleasantly plump.

Buffalo has some amazing places to eat. Bill Rapaport's Restaurant Guide has been a great resource to us.

So, i thought i would send him my review of a new place we tried yesterday, Fables Cafe.

Here's what i sent him:

Fables Cafe
1 Lafayette Square
Downtown Public Library, Main Floor
Buffalo, NY 14203
(716) 858-7127

info@fablescafe.com

Positive Review

Fables Cafe was not difficult to find in the Downtown Public Library in the middle of the lunch hour, even on a Monday. Follow your nose and you will find it. The smells alone convinced my husband and i to stay for lunch. The decor was clean, modern, but not frilly in the least. Comfortable, i would say, in that downtown officey sorta way.

The line was long, most of the tables were full, but since we were not in a hurry, we didn't scramble for a table. The line moved quickly enough, but we did have time to consider our options at the drink cabinet. Luckily, there was also a menu board there, too, since i wasn't able to read the menu sign from the counter. Maybe i need glasses?

Turn over was fast and we found a table before our order was out. On the opposite side of the counter, however, the drink selection was different. Even though i had already paid, i asked and employee if i could swap out my ice tea for a different flavour. I would recommend looking at both drink coolers before deciding on beverage, just in case.

The menu is limited but from appearances of what other customers ordered and what we saw coming out from behind the counter, looked very good.

I decided on the Quattro Fromage, a yummy melty gooey vegetarian sandwich with an unknown combination of cheeses and fresh tomato slices on crisply fried (i assume with a panini pressed) slightly garlicy bread. My reaction, on first bite, was to say "Oh my god, this is a great grilled cheese!" The side salad it came with was good, but simple -- merely a blend of lettuces with some carrot and radish with a sweet balsamic vinegarette. The " Skrumption" as described on the website might change daily, i am not sure, but today it was a wee wedge of brownie. Just enough to have a sweet ending to the meal.

My husband, not a vegetarian like me, had, as they say on the website, a "mystery" (aka daily special?) which was, in this case, a "Brooklyn" Roast Beef Sandwich. He said the oil and vinegar combination was nice with the slightly spicy mayo, perhaps with a bit of horseradish in it, and the beef itself was tender. It came with cheese, lettuce and tomato on untoasted bread. Which would have been the death of me, if i ate meat -- looked like it got a little soggy nearing the end.

The price for us both to have a sandwich with the side salad and wee dessert with a drink each was just under $18. Not cheap, but not overpriced at all. We would return gladly, next time perhaps on a cooler afternoon when i felt more like trying one of the vegetarian soup options.

But aren't you folks lucky, you get to see pictures, too.


(e:Uncutsaniflush) 's roast beef with one of my olives

(e:LeeTee) 's grilled cheese

And now, looking at the pictures, i realized i forgot to mention that the salad has cucumbers. Oh well.. not bad for a first try.

She's not an (e:strip)per, but i think she reads my journals. She's a dear friend from Knoxville that i cherish.. and miss. She rocks. She is so much the sublime combination of a fun, frivolous and funny person balanced with grown responsibility and caring that can be so rare. She is always available when needed. And can be called on to be silly and fun. Never met anyone like her. I love her to bits, bless her heart.

While walking by a Subway on Delaware that had been closed for a while, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i noticed they seem to be renovating. The signs on the chairs that were stacked up on the tables amused us.




Today, (e:Uncutsaniflush) had a rare weekend day off... and i am FINALLY beginning to feel a bit better.

I strongly suspect my mind-numbing headaches are from TMJ(WIKIPEDIA - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporomandibular_joint_disorder) but since i don't have medical insurance, i don't want to go through the process of being officially diagnosed. I have all of the mild to moderate symptoms (thank goodness no severe ones, knock wood) and the recommended home remedies seem to knock back the pain enough for me to be able to do more than lay on the sofa in tears.

So, we went to lunch then to the History Museum. It was a fun time. Shame we couldn't use our admission for today towards a membership, or i think we might have. Call me morbid, but i loved the whole death and mourning part of the basement....

We ate at the Olympic on Military and Sheridan. I was impressed with the variety of vegggie options. I might even add a comment to Bill Rapaport's Buffalo Restaurant Guide





I had a super yum greek salad wrap with waffle fries.



(e:Uncutsaniflush) had a Ruben on sourdough with fries, but i wasn't quick enough with the camera to show you the sandwich.

We couldn't resist heading down to the Japanese Garden while we were in the 'hood.





And this is what our bench told us...

Not Snakes On a Plane!

Although both are dreadful.

As mentioned in my previous post, (e:LeeTee,40268) we had a mishap with the direction of water flow through the drains in our basement this morning during some heavy rainfall.

Instead of paying a plumber, we DIY'ed it. (e:Uncutsaniflush) did most of the heavy work. I did walk it half way home from Chi-Chi's on Grant because it wouldn't fit into our car. And, i am planning on walking it back in the morning when (e:Uncutsaniflush) is at work.

Yep, i took pics.


doesn't it look like fun?


hey look! an (e:strip) bumper sticker!


small tree roots and perhaps a tampon.


second snake only produced small tree roots.


lovely stuff, eh?


In a completely unrelated note... HeadOn seems to work for me, despite what critics say about it being merely a placebo.


Or, at least it took the edge off a headache that i have had all week long that could have been allergies, a virus, both or just a headache. I took both ibuprofen and naproxen sodium and neither worked... so i figured i had very little to loose. Well, except a headache that has had me crying from pain most of the week...


And on a happy note, our tomato garden is beginning to look pink. I picked our first tomato today.


Doesn't he look yummie?


More will ready to be picked soon.

And i just noticed... this is my 300th journal!

Right now, i am so frustrated with our basement... that i would sell our house if anyone offered us a mere dollar over what we paid for it.

Not sure (e:Uncutsaniflush) would agree. Poor guy is at work and has had to deal with paniced phone calls from his wife...

(e:Twisted)? You still interested? The basement floods every time it rains... and it doesn't get deep enough to use a sump pump -- it just spreads out in an even inch or two. But other than that, it's a nice house, i guess...

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. Guess i haven't had much to say.... or much ya'll would be interested in.

The sale we just finished went well, i think. But i don't know anything about the clean up or how pleased the client was, so i could be wrong. I will say, however, that those nice people that watch kids, well, they can be aggressive when they need to be. The first day, in the morning was chaotic. And it was sad to see so many books left at the end -- until Mike thought up a solution. Instead of selling the remaining books at $5 a bag, why not sell them all for $20!

Ava's puppies are getting big. Sunday, we thought we would take them all to the park to let them breathe the fresh air. Not such a great idea. They are big enough to run now. Many thanks to the very nice two young women who came over to pet the puppies and ended up helping us keep them from running all over Bidwell Ave.!!

So, of course, i took pictures. I didn't have the chance when we were outdoors, because i was too busy keeping them from running away, but while inside, i got the chance to snap a couple....

Eating...



Falling asleep in food...



Chewing...



And being generally drowsy...

Today, at the yard sale, a grown woman stopped at the table of books out front. She said, "hey, look, someone made a book about the t.v. show!" while holding a Grey's Anatomy volume. Her companions looked embarrassed, but did not correct her.

And yes, i told that story to the lovely man, Peter, who ended up taking the book home. I had to...

If anyone is interested in not going to Taste of Buffalo tomorrow or already went, wants to see me sweat in the summer heat and wants a bargain on household bric-a-brac come on down. Well be at Heidi's Madhouse from 10am to about 4pm at 739 Elmwood hawking our wares.

OK, among all the other things i am phobic about (yeah, so i am afraid of escalators... whatcha gonna do about it, huh?), i am most scareded of bees. Anything that flies about, buzzes (*shudder*) and has the ability to sting freaks me out.

But i really needed to weed around the tomato plants today. I've been putting it off for too long. Every morning when i water the plants, i think that i just need to get in there and rip out the unwanted plants.

As the bush beside the tomatoes flowers, there seem to be more and more flying stinging things. Yesterday, i stood still ready to freak out while a big fat bee buzzed around my head. There i was, eyes scrunched together as tight as i could, making a "mmmmm" sound (sorta like your youngest did when i was cutting his hair, (e:Britian) ) ready to take off. Eventually (more like 3 seconds, even if it felt like an hour), i couldn't take it anymore. Off i ran, screaming. The neighbours probably thought i was on fire.

So, today, i went into the garden, knowing there would be flying stinging things.

I got some of the weeding done. The closer i got to the bush that is flowering, the more of a general buzz i heard. And the tighter the knot in my stomach got.

When a wasp (waaaaaaaaaay worse than bees) landed on a tomato blossom right next to my hand, that was it. Off i went. No more. I can finish tonight (i will do it with the porch light on in the dark if i have to!) or tomorrow morning.

Here are a few snaps of some of the first of our tomatoes. I am so looking forward to munching on them... they might even be worth the daily flying stinging thing traumas.







P.S. Many many thanks to my lovely and talented husband, (e:Uncutsaniflush) for figuring out why this would not publish... ah, the ) after an (e:peep) problem yet again!

Which (e:peep) drives a maroon car with a billion and one bumper stickers on the back, including an (e:strip) magnet on the right hand side of the trunk?

Well, whomever you are, i waved at you, as we were behind you on Elmwood by Albright Knox when you made a right hand turn.

In other news... thanks for the invite to lunch, (e:Ladycroft)! Good to see you and catch up!