Are Those Free?

We went to dinner with Uncle Jonathan and Margaret tonight.   My children were with Mimi and Gramps while we went to one of the oldest restaurants in town and one of the best known in the state.   This might possibly be due to age but is probably based on the quality of food as well.  I remember going there as a child for special occasions.

The thing I remember most about the restaurant was getting vanilla ice cream for dessert with Creme de Menthe on the top.   I have no idea what I ordered or ate otherwise, but I remember that special dessert.   The thing was, we had Creme de Menthe at home, and we had vanilla ice cream from time to time; but for some reason we never put the two together very often.  

Back in my childhood and even in my early adulthood there was a strict dress code at the restaurant.   Today there isn’t a dress code that I’m aware of and while most people were dressed for the evening, there were people in jeans and I saw one man in shorts and a t-shirt.   I said shorts.   It’s over seventy degrees here today, which is quite unusual for February.   But we’ve had some cold times as well this winter.

At the end of dinner as we were leaving I reached into one of the barrels near the front door and got a red apple and started eating it.   My husband looked at me and said questioningly, “are those free?”  I realized I’d done it without thinking.   Yes, they were free, they weren’t part of seasonal decorations.   It has always been tradition that apples (these were nice and cold, despite the warm weather) are available to anyone who wants one at the entrance.  

We had a lovely dinner with our friends.   The children were hoping they would get to see them.   Tomorrow I’ll tell them we plan on having Uncle Jonathan and Margaret over soon.  

The Big Boy Update:   Update on my son’s valentines cards.  His lot was the opposite of my daughter’s with only two pre-made cards and one of the pre-made ones had a hand-written note inside it.   There was only a single card with candy, but it was a well-thought out one.   The student had made Tic Tac Toe cards and had put five each of two different colored conversation hearts in a bag.   And just like my daughter, I think he also got one pencil.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:   My son was at free running class last night.   My children typically take a bath together and usually have a lot of fun in the tub.   I think I could leave them in for hours some days.   Last night though it was just my daughter and she had the entire tub to herself.   She was lying back, relaxing in the tub and told me, “seriously, best resting spot ever.”