Shamrock

I am going to need a Shamrock Shake this year. Last year I spent quite a bit of time roaming around Buffalo, looking for a McDonald’s that had the Shamrock Shake – none of them had the shake. Most of them didn’t even have a functional shake machine. I managed to stop myself from throttling the clueless and perky teenage girl who chirped, “I know, they’re sooooooo good, right?” when I was disappointed on my fifth attempt to get a Shamrock Shake.

I had to make do with a few sips of my nephew Izaak’s shake. I’m glad he loves me, and glad that he shares. But this year I WILL HAVE MY OWN SHAKE. I’m working on some leads now. And I’m going down to visit my family this afternoon, so I will check some places along the way.

The weather is just perfect for a bit of a drive – sunny, a little windy, warm(ish). The weather has been perfect since Sunday, and I’m willing to put up with some slush if it means that I can go outside without a hat on. My scalp can breathe!

On Sunday some friends and I went downtown to check out the Powder Keg Festival… and I gotta say, we were a little disappointed. Obviously it wasn’t anyone’s fault that the pond hockey tournament was canceled (we had slush and rain all Saturday, and the “pond” was deemed unsafe), but we were kind of excited about the pancake breakfast at the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery – and they weren’t prepared! We got there an hour before the breakfast was supposed to end, and no one who worked there seemed to know what we should do. Everyone gave confusing answers, and then, after a few minutes of waiting, we were informed that they ran out of food. Seriously, Pearl Street? Seriously?

We checked out the ice maze, which was nice, except that they weren’t limiting how many people could go in at a time, so we basically followed a big line of people to the exit. Not exactly maze-like, in my book.

So we came back up to Allentown for brunch (they have a pretty tasty brunch at K Gallagher’s), then had some drinks at Just Vino and watched the Olympic hockey game.

A disappointment or not, Powder Keg did get me out of my room, which I started painting on Saturday. I thought I’d get the bulk of the work done on Saturday, but I underestimated both the size of my room and the amount of stuff I have (in my defense, I have an apartment’s worth of books, personal papers, knick-knacks, etc. in my room). I did get quite a lot done on Saturday, but it was good to take Sunday off. I finished most of the painting on Monday, and moved most of my stuff back into the room on Tuesday. Now it’s pretty much back in order, except for some papers that need to find a home. And while I kind of liked the fort of furniture I had going around my bed while I was painting, I’m happy that everything is back where it belongs.

I’ll post pictures eventually.