Wrapping up the weekend! (And the Mrs. made me laugh...again)

 (I didn't realize how long and boring this post was going to be when I started...so fair warning given).

Hey y'all!  It was just a very wonderful weekend around here at Andy's Place.  I got a lot done, and learned a thing or two that I want to tell y'all about.

Where do we start?  Okay, let's start with Friday (I only really work Monday through Thursday, so Friday is the start of my weekend, SUCKERS!)  Before the huge storms rolled through Friday night, The Mrs. and I decided to go down to The Louisiana Boardwalk to eat lunch, and do some shopping.

The Louisiana Boardwalk is a "must visit" place if you ever visit NW Louisiana.  It is kinda like a big old outdoor shopping mall.  It's big.  Some of it sits right where my Great Grandmother's house was when I was a kid.  (They tore it down to build The Louisiana Boardwalk)

It is anchored on one end by a "The Bass Pro Shop," and on the other by a hotel.  I don't remember...it's either a Marriott, or a Motel 6 (I'm not sure what it is, because I don't need to stay at a motel there since I only live less than two miles from it).

From that shot, you can't tell, but it's in Bossier City...right on the Red River.  You can see that big downtown-looking building in the rearground.  That's over in downtown Shreveport which is right across the Red River.  It's really a nice place.  They've got something like over a hundred stores there, maybe.  They've got a streetcar, and a carousel for the kiddos.  And, a bunch of outlet stores & restaurants...and I understand that there are some good "joints" like a comedy club, and bars that stay open after dark.  I would not know myself, because I do not get out after dark much....or go to joints or comedy clubs.  Not to be pious or nothing...that's just not my "scene."

They even have a statue of Hank Snow!

I think he was a Canadian.  And now that I like Canadians, I'm glad we have a statue of Hank here.  Of course, he might not have been a Canadian at all, and I'm mistaken.  (I'm too lazy to look it up on the computer)

It's a really good place to walk around, eat, and shop before you go lose your life savings at the Riverboat casinos we have here on The Red.  They've got a "Hooters" there, which I have never been to, due to the fact that The Mrs. does not care to go to a "Hooters," and she is my steady date.  But, she did want to go to this restaurant (which I had never been to, but she had been to with her Momma).

This is the restaurant I told y'all about that has flat panel TV screens above the urinals.

It is Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro.  Now, I do not know why they threw in the "Cheesecake" deal in the name of their restaurant (other than the fact that they sell cheesecake).  "Copeland" is a big-time name in the Louisiana Restaurant business.  Al Copeland, from New Orleans founded "Popeyes Chicken," and there are some other kinfolk Copelands that have good restaurants here in The Bayou State (I'm too lazy to find their computer pages to link to...but there are several...and I'm pretty sure they're kin to the Popeyes Copeland...who is dead now).  But, maybe not.  Could be a coincidence.  (I'm too lazy to find out on the computer)

So, I had heard a radio advertisement that "for a limited time, Copeland's has lunch specials for $7.99."  And, one of those "specials" the advertisement mentioned was "Barbecue Shrimp Linguine."  Now, it had been several years since I had some real "New Orleans-style Barbecue Shrimp."  If you don't know...it is not shrimp that have been cooked on a barbecue grill.  Nope.  It's baked in an oven.  And, it is not swimps with barbecue sauce squirted all over 'em.  No, it's baked with butter, and garlic, and other junk all over it (I'm too lazy to find y'all a recipe).

But, that advertisement worked, and I was more than ready to feast.  This is a nice restaurant (for a place that sells lunch for $7.99...even if only for a "limited time").

The interior is real pretty, and they've got those booths that just have half a table, with the curved benches so that folks can kinda look outside...or at the other patrons wearing ball caps while they're inside a restaurant.  Sorry!  My Momma taught me that was bad manners, dude.

This is another picture inside Copeland's.  This is in the bar part of it.  (They have flat panel TV sets just like over the urinals...only bigger.)

This waiter guy asked me why I was taking pictures, and I told him that I was planning to do a "restaurant review" for my high powered local blog...maybe even submit it to Southern Living Magazine and all.

Let me tell y'all that doing that will not get you a discount...

Anyway, our waiter guy was real nice.  And I ordered the Barbecue Shrimp Linguine.  The Mrs. ordered some kind of "Jambalaya something" that had Zitti (?) pasta in it. 

But, after a couple of minutes, The Mrs. said, "Andy, I wish I had ordered a salad."  (A salad does not come free with the $7.99 special...just so you'll know).  So, I flagged down our waiter guy, and asked him if he would bring The Mrs. a Caesar Salad.  I thought about ordering one myself, but I was kinda counting the money in my pocket, and did not.

The salad was $4.95.

The thing was gynormous!  

We could barely finish the whole thing between the two of us.  So, if you go there, do NOT order one for each normal human...prepare to split it with your date (and maybe somebody you've struck up a conversation with in the next booth).  It was pretty good.  Their Caesar dressing was not the best I've ever had...not quite tangy enough for my taste.  But, I ate it like a hog, and was glad that The Mrs. wanted some greens.

So, before we get the salad finished, my Barbecue Shrimp Linguine arrives.  The menu says that it's served in their famous "cheese bowl" (or something like that).  What it is...is something that looks like a pizza crust with the hint of cheese flavor.  And, it looked real dang good when our waiter guy got it to the table.

See!  Looks real dang good, huh?

When they brought that dish, I'm thinking I'm gonna need a "to go box." I'm already jammed with Caesar salad...

I was wrong.  Again.

The Mrs. said her Jambalaya was outstanding! I offered her a taste or two of that "cheese bowl" pizza crust deal, and she liked it just as much as I did. So, being the critical food commonsewer...Andy is  giving Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro...

Two Forks Up!!!

After we finished eating lunch, we decided to walk off the sinful gluttony of it all, and do some shopping.  There is a store down there that sells cooking utensils.  This is one of The Mrs.' favorite stores down there.  I have told y'all that she is a fabulous cook, and appreciates getting cooking utensils as Birthday, and Anniversary gifts.  She was looking for a decent garlic press, but didn't find what she wanted.

But, we did run across a nice gift for my nephew and his new bride.  We have not had the "family wedding shower" yet.  Seems that she has a bun in the oven, and that's why the whole "wedding deal" got rushed up.  But, we're gonna have a family shower, and we found this really nice glass cake cover that you can invert to become like a punch bowl, fruit bowl, or something to hold table decorations if you don't want to cover up a cake.  It's real nice.

So, I decide not to take it in a bag...just carry it on back to the car in my bare hands.  Now, it's in a pretty good sized box.  So, I grasp the box with both hands, and I'm walking along holding it against my now much bigger gut.  We had parked in the parking garage at The Louisiana Boardwalk, due to the fact that severe weather was in the forecast, and The Mrs. didn't want to get her hair wet if a storm passed through (which it did not while we were there, thankfully).

So, we have to ride an escalator back up to our car.  I approached that escalator, and discovered that carrying a big box against your belly does not lend itself to easily stepping on to those moving stairs.  I kept trying to judge exactly when to step on, but without being able to actually see my feet, I found it dang near impossible.  And, I did not want to break the glass cake cover, or a leg.

I could hear The Mrs. standing behind me just "giggling."  So, without saying a word, I shifted my load to the right, and kinda looked down my left shoulder...took the measure of the speed of the moving stairs...and took the plunge.  Perfect!  No problema!  As I disembarked from the escalator (with my load swung to the right so I could see when to step off), the Mrs. (coming up behind me) just chuckled...

"Have a little trouble getting on the escalator, did you?"  To which I replied, "Yeah, Sweetheart, I did.  I couldn't see what was beneath me, and it made me a little nervous."

"That, my Dear, is what it's like to be pregnant!"

Oh man, I laughed so hard that I almost dropped the dang glass cake cover...

(That's one something I learned this weekend.)

Well, we survived the strong storms that came through Friday night with little zero damage.

Saturday was a normal old ho-hum, gloriously beautiful day in which we did not catch a squirrel again, but got a lot of household work caught up.

Sunday!  Oh man...I had about 4 miles of grass to cut between my place & Dad's...that much weed-eating and such to boot!  Everything looked like crap around here, due to the fact that I've been lazy, and have Spring Fever, I guess.  Plus, I was all excited about the Barksdale Air Force Base Defenders of Liberty Air Show that I always watch from my own front yard.

I was WAY excited about it, because last year I was tied up with junk and did not take pictures to show y'all.  I was thinking, "this year, I'm gonna show y'all just how cool it is, and how close these airplanes come to Andy's Place."  I'll swear, it seems like those planes (last year The Blue Angels, and this year The Thunderbirds) seem to dive bomb my place.  The roar is deafening.  The magnificence of those birds right straight over your head just make you swell up with pride.

So, the first shot I caught was a way off picture of two Thunderbirds.  It's way off, so it is not all that good.

See!  It's Thunderbirds!

But, I know the best is yet to come. Because I know.

About that time, my really good neighbor from across the street came walking across with his weed-eater. He was having some problem getting the new line loaded, and was asking for advice. So, while I was looking at it, those same two Thuderbirds flew almost directly overhead. I grabbed my camera...which had turned itself OFF due to the fact that it turns itself off to save battery. I switched it on, and took this glorious shot!

Impressive, aren't they?

So, I figured I'd have another chance pretty quick.  Sure enough, as I finally figure out how his weed-eater line loads, here they come again...

I grab my camera and catch 'em!

See!  Cool, huh?

So, we finally get his string problem straightened out, and he heads back to finish his work. All the while, I can hear the ROAR of those magnificent birds. I know it's coming...I know it is. In mere moments, they will ALL be in formation right above Andy's Place.

About that time, I hear Sadie (who never barks) begin to bellow in the back yard like something's wrong...REAL wrong. I run toward the fence to look and see what's wrong, and here they come...all the T-Birds in perfect formation...all of them about 12 feet above my Oak Tree, (or so it seems). Those dang things move quick! So, I've only got a split second to catch this shot.

Crud!

Evidently, I hit the shutter button while I was grabbing  the camera, and trying to swing it skyward.

Crud...

Well..."We'll get 'em next year!"

Okay, I'd better wrap this sterling piece up with something else I learned yesterday.  Let me give y'all one more little bit of advice.  If you ever cut your hair down real short, and plan to be outside for several hours on a gloriously beautiful, clear, High UV Index day, and have gone to the trouble, and expense of buying ball caps...

REMEMBER TO WEAR ONE!