Eatin' good in the neighborhood?

We went to Applebee's last night for dinner. I was going to order one of the new combo things that came with the appetizer, entree, and a dessert. Well, when I ordered the sirloin n' shrimp, I was told they were out of "spin dip". Well, that was ok as they told me they were substituting it with some queso.....

I got my meal. The broccoli was still in the microwaveable bag. Is this normal?!

Also, no queso to be seen. So I requested it again, and I was brought out some weird cheese thing. It seemed like a melted a block of Velveeta and someone threw in some parsley. It was disgusting - so much so, my husband who usually eats anything could not even eat it. In fact, he said "That is something that will bring tears to your eyes!" The only thing I had to dip with anyway was one piece of buttered bread that was quartered.

So, I didn't eat my appetizer and opened my own broccoli and dumped it out on my plate....

It was a meal that left much to be desired.


On the house front, we decided to strip some paint off the mantle in what will be our library. It is GORGEOUS underneath that nasty poop brown paint! It's a beautiful oak mantle with lots of detail that couldn't be seen underneath the layers of paint. If anyone knows what to do with those white tiles, let me know. Do I just clean them and regrout them? I am really not sure.
We are having trouble getting paint out of some of the grooves, but our friend is giving us something called SoyGel that removes paint... and we are hoping that will get it out of the detailed grooves.

For this room, we are just going to leave the mantle oak... tear down the nasty wood paneling and paint a neutral color. We plan on having big

plush leather chairs to lounge in. Also plan on having a projection tv that comes from the ceiling.

This will be the room we plan on hanging out in the most. My husband and I are happy when surrounded by beautiful things and books. It will be a great knitting spot, too!

As far as knitting, I am still working on those socks. I am the slowest knitter ever. I only do a few rounds, then I get sidetracked. I bought some Cascade 220 Heathers for a sweater yesterday. I may switch over and do the gauge swatch for it today to give myself a sock break.