That'll be $0.40 extra

First off, the weather up here in Indiana is wonderful! It has been in the 70's the past two days and we have had the windows open and the cool breeze is blowing through the house. I think that it is going to get back into the 90's tomorrow, but then cool off again.

Secondly, we (mainly I) have been busy going to all my old stomping grounds. It is nice to see how things have changed since I moved to Texas. I have also been running into some old friends. Just last night, Catherine and I met up with one of my old friends Chrissie Cartmell. She now works for John Deere in Kansas City, but she was making a trip back for a wedding and happened to be coming through our area last night. When Chrissie called me she asked if we could meet for dinner. I was thinking that we would meet at a nice steakhouse or someplace upscale. Instead her suggestion was to meet at the Lindy Freeze. The Lindy Freeze is a quaint little building that serves things like hamburgers, fried tenderloin sandwiches, chili cheese fries, sweet corn nuggets and other eats like that. It also has a great selection of ice cream treats, although I was rather depressed that they have done away with the slushy machine since I last visited. We shared a great meal, many laughs and an ice cream cone all whilst sitting on a rickety picnic table on a cool Indiana evening.

Thirdly, and the subject of this post, is while ordering my sandwich I was made aware that the Lindy Freeze now wants to nickel and dime you. When I ordered my sandwich I asked for a Breaded Tenderloin Sandwich with tomato and cheese. The girl who was taking my order said "It will be 40 cents extra for the cheese and 30 cents extra for the tomato."

WHAT!!!!!! Are you kidding me?

It drives me crazy when restaurants want to try and charge you for everything. Is a slice of cheese really $.40? or a tomato $.30? I guess if they want to charge extra for a condiment, they should tack on that expense to the sandwich or just be happy to get our business when there is other places we could go for our dinner.

I appreciate when businesses take care of their customers. For example at our local pizza joint you can have all the toppings you want for the same price. That is service! It is also nice when you go to a restaurant and the owner or manager is there and they want you to sample one of their dishes. It makes you feel like the appreciate your business, and rightfully so.

So to add insult to injury, once we finished our meal, both Catherine and I wanted to get a refill on our tea. Again we were met with "That'll be $.50!" So I just threw my cup in the trash and said "Forget This!," but Catherine was dying of thirst and she wanted to pay the extra money for a refill on tea. So I threw two quarters all the way to the back of the room and while they were getting the change, I stole the ice cream machine. That will teach them to charge me for cheese, tomatoes, and a tea refill. So if anyone wants to come by for the ice cream social later today, please do! We have lots of ice cream to get rid of.

Finally, while we were having internet problems yesterday, I walked about and took a couple pictures just around the house. Nothing special, just random shots to pass the time. If you scroll down any further to look at the pictures, that'll be $.40 extra!

This was a recent addition to our basement cave we stay in. And when I say "cave" it is a good thing. My mom had put in a new stained glass window in the door that leads into the basement, or so I thought. It is actually just a piece of plastic that has a pattern printed on it. It looks real and I had to touch it to make sure it wasn't an actual stained glass window. I think that I am going to "stain glass" all our windows when we get back.

I liked the flower, not sure what kind it is, and I took a picture of it. Then I cut it and put it around Wilma's neck. Then Wilma danced a flamenco.

This was the first day we got here. Mid 80's. We liked that, but now it is 67!!!!!

Finally, my mom has acquired a pineapple plant. Yes this is real and I am stealing it and taking it back to Texas. It is not the same pineapple we eat, but same family. I am still kinda fascinated by this.

That's all we got!