Last Friday and Sunday, we put the feed bag on.

Denise and I drove over to Temple, not totally sure if Mom was gonna be game to go out to eat or not. She changes her mind pretty quick based on how she feels. Her prerogative, and I'm used to it, but it makes these new Friday rituals a little more interesting.

She'd said she probably wouldn't want to eat much, but I told her I didn't mind drivin' her back to Killeen, so we headed back to my neck of the woods and went to The Olive Garden.



It turns out the wait for a table was about 40 minutes, so we sat (Mom and Denise sat) outside and waited with the little flashing light/vibrating thingy that give you. We enjoyed the sunny weather till the telltale vibrations told us our time had come.

Neither of these women, the most important women in my life, like to have their pictures taken. Witness protection program. Enough said.



So I was reduced to sneekin' a shot now and then, like when Mom took a huge gulp of her margarita. It was a good one. Denise had a Strawberry Daiquiri and I had a few chilled mugs of Shiner. I asked for one tall glass but they were out of them, so they sent me two regulars. I wasn't cryin'.

We started out with the salad and bread sticks and ended up goin' through about two helpings of both. their salad and bread sticks are the best. They're a must have thing whenever we go there.



I chose the Seafood Alfredo as my main meal... Sautéed shrimp and scallops tossed with creamy fettuccine alfredo. I love it. I think I have this just about every time I come. This or the Lasagna.



Denise had the Stuffed Chicken Marsala... Oven-roasted chicken breast stuffed with Italian cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes, topped with mushrooms and a creamy marsala sauce. Served with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes.

Mom had the Stuffed Mushrooms... Parmesan, romano and mozzarella cheese, clams and herb breadcrumbs baked in mushroom caps. She was lookin' for somethin' small and light, having stuffed herself on the salad. She was happy with these.

After eating we drove Mom back to Temple and enjoyed a few chilled glasses of Chateau Monet. Mom gave me a few more items from Dads drawers and Denise and I headed home. We went by Blockbuster on the way and rented a few great flicks.

The Kingdom was excellent, about FBI agents investigating a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia. Into the Wild was a favorite of mine, but Denise didn't like it. I used to fantasize about walking into the woods and not coming back, so this story was of particular 9interest. I'd read the original story in Outside Magazine back in the '80s or '90s and knew the story going in. Rent it. It's good stuff.

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Sunday night we all descended on the house in Temple again, this time to eat Mom's chicken Enchiladas. These things are famous. Ask anyone in our extended family. She hadn't made them in ages, so we were all really happy to hear her talk about wanting to make them. She's got to be hungry enough to want to take the time to make them, so it's great news whenever that happens.

Before I dug into this platter there were about 12 or 14 enchiladas in there, filled to the brim with chicken and a special sauce and covered with different kinds of cheese. And what's in the special sauce? I'll never tell.

Yep, I can make this dish. I got the recipe from her a decade ago. Easy peasy and good as hell. I think I ended up eating about half of them myself.

She even brought out the good plates and stuff. She made a salad for us to eat and we consumed it all mightily. After this there was ice cream with chocolate sauce dripped over it and then the traditional tipple of liqueur. Everyone went home fat and happy.

Now, if you're suffering from sensory overload from all this good food, just relax and settle down. You should be used to this sort of thing around here by now. Just imagine how I felt having to sit there and eat it all. It was torture, stuffin' myself like that and then havin' to drink all that booze.

Well, that's a lie. Boy, is THAT a lie. You know that was a lie. It was all WONDERFUL!

We're scheduled to take mom out again Friday, the old tradition holding up so far, so there could well be more pictures of good vittles to come. Just settle down and try to hold back the green envy. Not sure where we're goin' yet. Maybe BJs. I'll tell ya when it happens. We'll talk. Cheers.