Missing in Action

It's been forever since I've posted here.  I am so bad.

However, I have been busy.
No, really.  Busy.  BUSY!

Anyone who follows my twitter feed knows I've been whining, stressing and just Ranting about the big changes we've made at the restaurant the daughter and I own.

We had a menu update, translate price increase.  Which always causes unhappiness. But is necessary to keep up with the rising cost of product.
We finally began accepting credit cards.  Yes, we are slow on the technological thingies.

And? 
In a county and state that has no mandated smoking ordinance, we opted to become a smoke-free restaurant.  This has not been popular with everyone.  We have a lot of loyal (until today) smoking customers.  We still have a lot of loyal smoking customers.  The majority of them understand our decision and like the food and service well enough to still want to come and see us.
 
And we appreciate every one of them.

There are haters of course.  We are trying hard not to take it personally.  Being a smoker myself, (yes I'm still working on that) I understand that side of the controversy.  This was a decision that we made purely as a business entity. 

So.
Our target date to implement the changes was today.
We closed early Sunday to start painting and cleaning.
We were closed Monday to finish painting and cleaning.  Also to go over any new menu questions and to train credit card processing with the employees.
Of course we had planned on having menus and a credit card processing unit  to work with.

Menus showed up Sunday morning.
Credit card unit was delivered 3:30 Monday afternoon.
Painting took longer than we thought it would.

Train Wreck.  Wait.  That was me. After an 18 hour day Monday, and 3 hours of sleep last night. I was at work at just after 4am today.

We opened today at the specified time.
Technologically updated: credit card capable.
Menus on the tables.
And smoke-free.


You can like us on Facebook  Tennis' Ramble Inn
And follow us on Twitter @TennisRambleInn



sigh

Time for a Change

I've been neglecting this space. 

Not out of laziness, but out of brain-deadness.  I can't think of anything interesting to go on about.
There's the grandkids, but even I can only stand so much of that.
There's the ongoing house projects, but nothing big happening at the moment.

The daffodils are blooming.  The trees are budding.  And they're calling for a chance of snow tonight.  Spring in Indiana.  Yay.

The price of gasoline is insane. 
The price of food is becoming insane.  Of course, that's not because we are using our food supply (corn) to make a fuel no one is using.  Grrr.

I'm attempting to at least cut down on my smoking, (yes, I'm one of those) by trying the electric cigarettes.  No tar or second hand smoke.  Just a water vapor laced with nicotine.  I'm sure there is some health risk in these somewhere, but it can't be any worse than real cigarettes.  And I just don't have the will power  to quit cold turkey.  That, and I'd rather not be jailed or institutionalized for displaying homicidal tendencies due to a withdrawal meltdown. 

Part of the reason to give up smoking is deciding to make the restaurant smoke free. We are shooting for the end of May.  Our customer base has shifted now from majority smokers to majority non-smokers.  We will probably lose some of our smoking customers, but the hope is the non-smokers that have been avoiding us will fill those spaces.  Pray for us.

Maybe my nicotine fits will bring good blog fodder as I attempt to do this.

I'm Easily Amused

Things that tickled me this past week:

This piece posted on the Red Dress Club by @MamaTrack, here Too funny!

The grandson playing with the extra plastic drain lines that didn't get used for the basement project. He had a riot with his "tunnels".
Hardware store toys are much cheaper than toy store toys.

And of course it's the best revenge when the grandkid is an angel until his mother comes to get him. Then he becomes an accomplished button pusher.
I remember those times.

Watching the granddaughter twist Grampa right around her tiny finger. She must be held by him almost the entire visit.

Making checks on the yard as it gets a bit warmer. I love seeing the buds peeking out.

Finally seeing roots start on the pussy willow cuttings a customer brought me. Probably going to plant them this week.

Watching the tomato seedlings get stronger. Need to get bigger peat pots now.

Visiting with my twitter friends.

What tickled you lately?

De-skeined

I have spent the last 20 minutes disentangling a ball of yarn from the dining room furniture.  This is a new chore I must do now, several times a week.
The youngest of my cats, the 2 year old, is an artist.  She decorates with yarn.
I keep hiding my yarn, she keeps finding it.
She brings it down the stairs and around the corner.

This time it was a green baby yarn.  Looped around one chair, under the footstool, back to the chair, under the second chair.  Then in a genius effort, under the computer desk and back to chair number one.
How she manages to loop the yarn around itself is a mystery.

I have tried to wind the yarn up the way it came off.  Not.  Happening.
I end up lifting the furniture to free the loops.  Sometimes I have to turn the furniture over to loosen those loops enough to slide them off the legs.

Sometimes I have to convince her I don't need her help.

She is sure I do.

I haven't knitted or crocheted in some time.  I'm feeling the urge.

Anyone have a pattern for kitty pawcuffs.  Even a plastic canvas jail might be handy.

Did I mention she has hidden some of my knitting needles too.

Just Another Day

I'm loving my Friday ritual.  Go to work at 4am, well maybe not that part.  But taking the grandkids home with me at noon is awesome. 

I get to watch Dora and Diego.  The grandson is all about Max and Ruby right now, oh and BubbleGuppies.  My personal favorite is UmiZoomies.  I almost tuned in the other day.  By myself.  But I got over it.  I was a bit concerned for a moment.

In non-annoying-gramma news:  the honest to goodness bathtub is in the foreseeable future.  I will probably spend an entire week in the tub when it gets done.

Hubby dear is working on the drain lines this week.  And a miracle!  All is going well.  (throwing salt over shoulder)

Must get back to my mundane life. 

Dog needs to go out.

I Am Not a Doting Grandmother

Yesterday I got to babysit for the grandkids again

Yes.  I'm that annoying Gramma with the perfect grandchildren.

The granddaughter is 3 months now.  She does 3 month old stuff.  Eating, spitting up after eating.  Pooping, smiling after pooping.  Crying cause the diaper is dirty.  Smiling again in a dry diaper.

She is also trying to roll over.  She is a Genius.

The grandson is all kinds of 2 year old BOY.
Grandpa has a bunch of plastic tubes, connectors and pieces to replace the old drain lines in the basement.  They are also the best toys in the entire universe. 

The boy spent the entire day dragging them around.  Trying to put them together.  Propping the long line up and rolling a ball, pen, kaleidoscope, battery and back scratcher from top to bottom.  Over and over. And over.

His vocabulary is increasing daily.  I can understand most of what he says now.  He says Gampaw, but hasn't figured gramma out yet.  My name this week was mostly "cracker?", but at least I knew what he wanted.

His mother has a potty chair for him.  The kind with the duck.  When the duck gets wet, it quacks.  He doesn't ask to go yet, but if she puts him on it, he goes.

She is in for a challenge with this kid.  Last potty use, she rinsed and emptied the little bucket.  After she replaced it, this boy, ran his finger across the bottom.  Stuck it in his mouth.  And said ahhh.

Daughter speaks, probably loudly," NO!!!  That is disgusting!"

Boy looks at his mother.  Grins.

And does it again.

I love this boy!

The First Signs

It is a chilly, gray, soggy, gloomy, yuck of a day here.  So, I decided to squish around the soggy yard.  At first glance, I was wondering why.

.
Then I looked a little closer:

Those?  Are tulips.  Wheeeee!

So I looked some more.

Those?  Are the first buds on the pear tree. 

I am doing a tappity dance.

Spring is springing!

As I kept walking around I found daffodils starting to peek through.  Irises too.  And the lilacs are heavy budded.  They should bloom soon. 

It'll be time to pull the last of the fall leaves off the gardens and see the new growth.  Time to till the veggie garden, which already has winter onions ready for grabbing. 

We already have new flowers ordered.  They should start shipping in a couple of weeks.

I need to start my tomato seeds soon so they'll be ready to put out after Mother's Day.

I love the gardens.  Digging, planting, planning.

And?

It allows me to play in dirt.