A Quiet Little Birthday

Yesterday was a strange day.  I spent a goodly portion of it sitting in a doctor's office while Sheila had a routine colonoscopy.   I had an appointment later in the afternoon with some really nice people.  A nice, easy, low stress legal matter.

During the appointment, I received a text message from Sheila's sister saying that her computer had bit the dust. By this time, it was late afternoon.  So, Sheila and I drove to Broken Arrow and fixed her sister's computer.

By the time the computer (and operator) were sorted out and instructions on a new semi-smartphone had been given, it was dinner time.  We decided to go to dinner someplace in the 71st street, Woodland Hills Mall corridor.  Since it was my birthday, I chose.  I chose Carrabas.  As we walked in, Sinatra tunes were playing on outside.  At Sheila's suggestion, we danced a step or two right there on the sidewalk before we went in.

The meal was a mixed bag.  The bruschetta was disappointing.  Bruschetta should be fresh and tangy.  The tomatoes and basil should the be the stars.  This bruschetta tasted like it had been marinated for several weeks and was laced with chunks of mozzerela.  It was anything but fresh or appetizing.  Even the toast left something to be desired.  Too much olive oil.

The entrees were great .... but small.  It seems there is no happy medium in restaurants these days.  Based upon our experience with gigantic entrees at other Italian restaurants we both ordered the small portions. Well, they were just that, small.  Very small.  Kind of stingy actually. I had the chicken marsala. It was great.  Maybe the best in town.  About two ounces more would have been even better.  Sheila had the chicken Bryan.  It was also fabulous.

We had passed a new DQ on the way.  That had really excited Sheila who is a DQ fanatic.  So, instead of having my usual black coffee and a couple of bites of tiramisu, we drove back down the street to DQ for desert.  I had a child's cone and Sheila had the biggest, prettiest soft serve cone I have ever seen.

As birthdays go, I wouldn't call this an exciting one.  But, as you age, excitement is not everything.  Sheila's tests went well.  We had a chance to visit with her sister for a while and do something nice for her.  And then, we had a nice dinner.  All told, not a bad day.