MY BIRTHDAY MEAL - HOW WE STARTED AND HOW WE ENDED UP

Where do I start? The three of us - husband, son and I - set off at 2.30 p.m. We would have dearly loved our daughter-in-law to join us, but their working hours are different and d-in-l's day was overflowing until late evening.

We wanted to get to the restaurant early and we arrived at opening time, 3.00 p.m. We were all looking forward to a steak and loaded potato meal, having decided on this restaurant a week ago and already had checked out the menu.

As soon as we walked in, we were shown a large glass case of different cuts of steak that we could order, and it seemed we were expected to choose there and then. However, we said we would like to sit down and look at the menu first.

It all went downhill from there. We were shown our table, a booth, that was about four inches off the ground and the boys reminded me to make sure that I didn't climb down before they got there to help me. Yes, I promised, no problem and I was happy with the table but…

firstly, let me say we are not fussy, picky, snippety, customers, far from it and we have not had any kind of a problem with meal or staff at any of the special occasion restaurants, until now. Well, there was that one time 30 years ago, which came flooding back like a laser beam, but I won't go there, yet.

We all ordered the steak from this young man who firstly ignored the usual nicety of saying, “Hello I'm -----, welcome to -----, can I get you....."  I was closest to him, and he crowded me out by shoving his hair and his elbow into my face and asking the boys what their order was. I immediately started feeling anxious and claustrophobic. No exaggeration, the boys' eyes said it all and I never would make a good poker player. My expression spoke volumes. Lips pursed, eyes narrowing...

I was being totally shoved into a corner as they gave him their orders. Ignored me, no eye contact, with any of us actually. He presented a surly persona. Finally, still not looking up, he said brusquely, "And you?" Seeing my surprised look, Gregg jumped in and ordered for me. Surly guy left and the three of us looked at each other and looked in our waiter's direction, wondering what the heck was going on with him. Maybe he was having a bad day, but this was opening time and we were one of the first customers. Maybe something more than a bad day and you do wonder. Okay, we went on chatting and tried to enjoy ourselves but it was a strange start. 

He came back and put my coffee down in front of me without ceremony and left. I took one sip and it was like it had just come out of an icebox. I said to son take a sip of my coffee. He said it's ice cold and no, this was meant to be a hot cup of coffee, the heavy mug gave it away. 

The meal came and let's just say the thickness of the steaks were considerably a lot thinner and smaller in size than what we were shown in the display case. I've cooked steak, I know it doesn't cook down that small in size or as thin from the sizes we saw. I had ordered a small one and thought this was starting out to be a strange birthday meal. 

The potato with all the fixings that was so highly praised online, was cold. Son’s Mac and cheese that was cold too, not even luke warm. How's your potato I said to hubby. It's cold he said. 

Earlier we were presented with a tray of several pots of small side dishes to taste, so that we would have a better idea when choosing our side dishes. A good idea but all of it looked abysmal and tasted overcooked and mushy. Son also told us that our waiter came out with his thumb stuck in hubby's salad, something he remembered much later but in all the kerfuffle he forgot to tell his dad. Cue roll of eyes looking sideways when I heard that. 

We didn't say anything because we were still trying to figure things out. Totally puzzled by the waiter's continued surly attitude. He was being downright rude. I could feel my blood pressure rising. And that's unusual for me as I consider myself a person who is rarely ruffled. There have been times in my life when I have felt totally disrespected and those ruffles start to rise. Let's get to the cocktails. The Margarita I get once a year on my birthday gave me brain freeze and I was only taking a sip at a time. Birthday meal was definitely heading in a bad direction. 

I asked him to take the coffee away as it was cold and it was wasted space. I didn't say that last part, but literally there was no room on the table for wasted space. Did I want another he asked, which surprised me. No, thank you I said. I wasn't feeling very chatty.

Our son was looking at me really sympathetically because I had said 'I wouldn't mind so much but this is my birthday meal, and I've been looking forward to this for ages'. The bad poker-player face was out there for all to see. The bar was right next to our table, and I think the lady who was serving drinks may have heard my complaint because the next thing the manager came over and asked if everything was satisfactory. Did we complain? Of course not! By that time, I do what I usually do when I am upset, I clammed up and the boys thought it would be better just to get out of there, not bothering with a dessert. 

We all felt the service was atrocious, that this young man had a long way to go in his interactions with customers. I was watching him truly puzzled and noticed that when he went into the kitchen, which we were close enough to see, he had a big smile for a girl in there and was chatting to her for a bit. How sweet and yes, I may be a bit snarky! 

What we did do was get out of there as fast as we could. From start to finish the three of us agreed the service and food were awful. My two darlings thought that the guy was having a really bad day, but I told them it certainly didn't stop him from switching on the charm for that young girl, which I could see going on and they couldn't because their backs were to the kitchen. 

The check came and much later, son told us he actually gave him a decent tip. He said maybe he will think about that one. The boys laughed at me when I slid out of the booth in a "Get me out of here" sliding motion down to floor level. I couldn't wait to get out of the place. The whole experience was horrible! I kept hoping our waiter would get better, but he just gave us a steady does of worse and I was extremely disappointed.

Our son suggested we go over to Chateau de Chantilly which wasn't too far away. Bless him for suggesting that as it allowed us to decompress over a lovely cup of coffee and dessert and where, even though we don't interact with the staff that much as it is cafe-style, we can guarantee we will get a lovely smile and way better treatment. I personally was sick of the surly. 

I won't name the restaurant. Maybe we should have said something, but when all's said and done, we didn't want to be the catalyst for this young man losing his job. On reflection it felt like he needed a second chance from someone. 

I also don't understand how unappetizing, cold food can be served up when the place had just opened its doors and there was barely anyone in there. Maybe everyone behind the scenes was having a bad day, maybe something had happened. I'm giving them all the benefit of the doubt. 

With all that being said we ended up having a great pick-me-up-ending at our favorite little cafe, and enjoyed a coffee and dessert. Thank you son for suggesting it.

The boys teased me about the expression I had on my face when I left the first restaurant. They hadn't seen that expression in a long time. When I left the Chateau de Chantilly Cafe, frown had turned upside down and I was smiling. Different as night and day.   

Now, I do remember one other waiter who talked down his nose at me after I tried to order something that was way too gauche to be on the menu, literally scoffed at me, about 30 years ago! This incident brought it right back like a laser. We never went back to that restaurant and we're certainly not going back to this one. I have a long memory for people talking down their nose to me, where I feel totally disrespected. I avoid those people like the plague, and I have a memory like an elephant.

I took a few photos but will only share the ones from our bright, cheerful and sunny Chateau de Chantilly and to everyone there, I say a big thank you for being consistently good, from the staff to their pastries, to their coffee. I owe an even bigger thank you to our son for suggesting it. 

Let me just say, this was an unusual experience. We have never, in all these years, had a bad meal and terrible service like this one.

I passed this over to Gregg for a read and his response said, yes, that just about covers everything that happened, and we both actually had a bit of a chuckle. 

Onward and upward!

Thanks for listening to my moaning Minnie personality who thankfully rarely makes an appearance. Because I have always been a diary/journal writer since I was young, I want to remember everything, and I feel better for writing it all down. What would I have done differently? Not go out in the first place? Ha! 

How would you have handled it? I am really curious! We all handle awkward situations differently.

Have a great day everyone! 

Photos from Chateau de Chantilly Cafe on Wednesday, July 8th, 2026

Feeling better!

I like your Mickey Mouse shirt guy!

Gregg with his choice of coca cola, special design for 250 year celebration.

Here is a closer look with his choice of dessert, a sticky bun.

Son's choice of dessert, can't remember what this was called but it tasted good he said.

My choice, a brownie-like base with a big marshmallow on top, plus a sliver of chocolate and a little icing.

I found a quote just recently and I thought why not put it on here. Author unknown.

“Life can sometimes be like a bowl of soup and I am just the fork.”

And that's it for today's epistle!

THE HAPPY TART IN FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3RD, 2026

Last week our son treated us to a favorite restaurant of his and our daughter-in-law. They had visited the previous week. Gregg was over the bad cold and cough he had, and was eager to get out, as was I. We found The Happy Tart a very unassuming and very pleasant place, with excellent food. They ordered at the counter and they were brought to the table not so long afterwards.

I had my eye on this framed photo on the wall, overlooking a canal in Amsterdam. Totally black and white except for the bicycle which was red. You can’t tell from this photo but that red of the bicycle really popped. Come to think of it, so did the color of the wall.

The menu photo also shows part of the ceiling, which interested me. I was having difficulty taking a photo later but son obliged…

and took this for me. Thanks son! 

It is the first time I have been in a 100% gluten-free bakery. I didn’t know beforehand and I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was surprised at how delicious the pastry was on the quiche, and the same for Gregg’s chicken pot pie (top left). The crispy potatoes were delicious too. Also, the desserts later. On the right is my Quiche Lorraine and below is our son's Quiche Florentine, all individual sizes. Not shown is a small takeaway canister with a veggie salad.

Our desserts were a slice of opera cake for me, so delicious and chocolate-y. Son’s heart-shaped one was a New York cheesecake concoction and Gregg’s was a chocolate eclair, not shown. He and I took ours home which we enjoyed that evening.

More goodies below…

If you ever find yourself in the area I can highly recommend the place. It is on a busy road with on street parking, but there were also a couple of parking lots nearby, so son told me. He dropped us off and parked around the corner. He picked us up later after getting the car again. Each side of the street is filled with interesting little shops on the first floor. The Happy Tart is located on the ground floor of the Pearson Square apartments. The rest of the photos were taken outside or a couple of doors away.

These were taken in front of another shop.

I can see us going here again. It was a fun place and we had a very enjoyable lunch with our son. Here is a link to their menu if you would like to take a look here. 

Thanks for visiting and 

I hope you have a great day.

ON MONDAY...

we were out bright and early that morning and were off to Costco to pick up my prescription (prism) glasses, which will fix my double vision. I went to the ophthalmologist a few weeks ago, which I mentioned on here at the time. I was told I had an astigmatism. 

We had momentarily forgotten that it was Memorial Day and Costco was closed. No matter, we decided to go shopping. Driving out of the neighborhood we saw a few houses decorated with flags and banners. This was one of them. On the way to the supermarket, we stopped at a traffic light and this dog very kindly posed for me.

He was definitely showing me his best side.

and was momentarily curious about us.

A few days ago we had glorious skies and I was interested in this cloud formation...to me it looks like someone is lying back on a deck chair.

But the skies have been more like this lately.

For years we used to pass this old house, and it had been empty for as far back as I can remember. It had seen better days. One day when we drove by, there was fencing all around. We realized its days were numbered. Not long after that it was bulldozed.

They have been building this ever since. It's for people to rent personal storage spaces. There are another two similarly designed buildings nearby, one right next to it and another not too far behind. We are still in our decluttering stage at home, and this place always reminds me, we need to get cracking on that again. 

Gregg got his linguiça (pronounced "leen-GWEE-sah) from Harris Teeters on our shopping expedition. We don't have it all the time, but I found a recipe for smoked sausage, cabbage and potato cooked in a slow cooker. I asked him if he would like to try it, as a potato and cabbage combo are a favorite dish of his. His mom used to cook it for his birthday meal when he was young, but with a boiled ham. He's not a big fan of smoked sausage and the only time we ever go to this particular supermarket is when he gets a yen for linguiça. I will use it in this recipe. We can't find it anywhere else around here.

It's a Portuguese sausage that is a real nostalgia item for him. He remembers when he visited relatives in New England. His mother's family used to fix it - very popular up there - and when relatives from that area visited, they would always bring a batch for the family. Gregg's step-grandfather was of Portuguese heritage. I only met him once, not too long after we were married. He passed away and I didn't get the chance to meet him again. I took to him right away, a dear man. Wonderfully gracious and kind in nature. He was a true gentleman, everyone loved him including me.

Added this the next day (26th). Up early again and were at Costco’s at opening time. We were still third in line to see the lady at the eye-glass department. After 20 minutes she handed me my eye glasses that I had ordered. I didn’t want bifocals/trifocals as the last time I was never able to get used to them, and as at this stage I am worried about falling, I splurged and bought three pair. I now have reading, distance and sunglasses, all prescription and prisms. 

I was very nervous but she gave me the long distance ones first. I put them on and my double vision disappeared immediately. I just about clapped my hands. It sounds dreadful but I have been living with this double vision for a year. At first I was waiting for it to get better. It took a while for me to go to my doctor, but eventually admitted to myself it definitely wasn’t going away. I did have my eyes checked by another ophthalmologist in the beginning,  as I already had a regular appointment. I can’t remember what he said about my double vision, after just getting the usual things done. Everything else was tested. He suggested going to my regular doctor if it didn’t get any better. 

Many appointments at the doctor afterwards, it was off to an ophthalmologist who was more local. She was amazing, looked so very young, was incredibly thorough, softly spoken and the kind of professional who puts you at your ease immediately (you can see the post about that visit here). She diagnosed the astigmatism after looking at all the results. 

I will take photos of the new glasses soon. They have boring frames and maybe I should have spent more time with frame designs, but I didn’t hang around and wanted out of there.

Anyway, a little bit of a ramble today.

Thanks for visiting and I hope

your day is a great one.

AND THE ANSWER IS...

 A Dubai Chocolate Croissant from our favorite drop-in-for-a-coffee-and-a-pastry place. You can see the tiny piece of edible gold leaf that I cropped for yesterday's post.

I'll be the first to say that it looks a little strange, which was the reaction I had when son first recommended it to me. He and I have very similar tastes and he said I would love it. He knows me well.

I have shared the cafe before and this was from April 21st. We have been trying to cut back on sugary treats, but this was the day we were going out for lunch and we found the restaurant had closed down. The Chateau de Chantilly Cafe was just up the road, so the siren song called. No salads today for us. Well, later for dinner but not for brunch.

As for the Dubai Chocolate Croissant, I found this description online. "...the cafe is famous for its Dubai Chocolate Croissant, which features a glaze of dark chocolate mixed with crushed pistachio nuts, and a coating of crunchy knafeh/kataifi (shredded phyllo dough). The filling is a decadent, creamy and nutty filling composed of pistachio paste or cream, Nutella and often tahini. The use of the edible 24K gold leaf is specifically on the croissant when they can vary by batch or seasonal presentation."

This is Gregg’s order, the Creme Brulee Donut. He usually gets a simple Danish but they had sold out of those. He thinks this will be a regular order from now on. For a drink he has a Coca Cola. 

I get a vanilla latte with mine.

They have savory items too. I was curious about this one. I usually like dark breads so may try it sometime. It is called a Black Garden Cheese Bun.

We were lucky to get a seat in our favorite spot. The 'cards' were behind us. 

It took me a while to realize what they were holding in their hands.

What we all need is love, love...

I've seen young people, students maybe, stretched out on the top wooden platform, and others sitting on the 'steps', usually with their laptops, and a drink of some kind, along with their pastries.

We are going to try and make this a once a month stop. We'll see! It is such a great place to hang out for a while.

There is a video on YouTube at this link. Unfortunately it doesn't show how my favorite is made but there are a lot of other delectable delights. 

Thanks for joining in with my guessing game. I very much appreciated you taking part.

Happy First Day of May 

and thanks for stopping by.

WEEKLY HAPPENINGS - SUNDAY-3/29/26 TO SATURDAY-4/4/26

Just a note to tell you that this will be my last full-time weekly happenings. I will just do small snippets of what's going on in our lives every now and again. I hope you have enjoyed them but time to put the whole week to bed for a while, at least after this one.

I am starting late on my weekly happenings. But it's still from Sunday to Saturday. This week's weather forecast from Sunday 4-5-26 to Saturday 4-11-26.

Sunday, March 29th, 2026: a quiet day Nothing of note. The usual things around the house and finished a jigsaw puzzle in the evening. This is for the cat lovers. All the colors attracted me to choosing it, and the cat with the red and white fur fit in perfectly with its surroundings. He reminded me of my own dear cat when I was a little girl.

Monday, March 30th, 2026: we went up to BWI again to pick our son up. As we were leaving we saw a beautiful big cottontail run across my neighbor's yard. It has been so long since I saw one. Seemed an appropriate sighting this Easter week. We arrived half-an-hour-early and had settled in the hourly parking lot. 

I love the fact that we are able to track flights thanks to the airline's app. Son's plane landed ten minutes early. He texted us and was making his way to where we could pick him up outside of arrivals and told us the number of the door where he would be waiting. We didn't even have to wait as there he was. Another fun trip that got us out of our routine. We asked him when his next trip was. We enjoy volunteering for these drop-offs and pick-ups. 

In this photo son is driving home, Dad in the passenger seat, me in the back with my pillows and throws. We didn't have to leave as early this morning and were out the door at 3.00 a.m., again no traffic. I fell asleep going down and coming back, for 20 minutes or so each time. On the way back I woke up sensing the car had slowed down and was turning off the freeway. I knew we were still many miles away from home. Making our way into the drive-thru at another McDonalds, again for breakfast. They were both hungry. That was about 6.00 a.m. 

These were taken out of the back window when we were nearer his place. Never in too much of a daze to take photos and these came out not so bad.

The buildings were lit up like Christmas trees, and then there were the lights on the trees outside. The traffic was a little heavier but there were no delays and we were dropping him off soon after. The rest of the day was spent quietly. 

Tueday, March 31st, 2026: running a few non-important but necessary errands this afternoon.

Gregg and I didn't want to go straight home so we had a late lunch/earlyish dinner at the Bakery and Museum Company. It was on the way home and we pass right by it normally but this time when we checked, there were several parking spaces available. We were very surprised as it was getting close to dinnertime. For a few weeks now and every time we drove by, the parking lot was full with people waiting for a spot to open up. There are other stores there and they have claim to parking spaces in the front of their shops. Obviously, I agree with that as they need their customers too. Anyhow it was lovely to get in for a change. I have a thing about light fixtures and am automatically drawn to them, especially those hung from high ceilings.

Generally we are the oldest ones in there. We do notice these things and smile.

I normally have an all-day breakfast sandwich when I go there; scrambled egg, sausage patty with fresh spinach and sliced tomatoes. Potato chips on the side which I'm not too keen on but Gregg likes and I pass my plate over. He had his usual all-day breakfast; scrambled egg and cheese and that was it for him. 

We also brought home a cake for later, which is what we usually do at this place. So, not cutting out sugar entirely. It's a slow process and doing a lot better. Not huge pieces so that's a plus, and it was nice to have them for a tea that night. I sound like I am justifying and yes of course I am, it's a long road but already doing better.

I was taking a picture of my dear other half but saw later on looking at the photo on my laptop, that I had captured the jigsaw players I noticed when we left. They have a table set up for this pastime and there was a young couple making use of it, concentrating quite intently on the task. They looked like girlfriend/boyfriend in their teens, very sweet. Gregg also noticed that not only were we part of the elderly tribe, which for some reason we see the funny side of, but there were more women in there than men, by 90 percent. Some mothers with young children, students with their laptops out, and some just getting together for a chat.

The temperature got up to 84°F today, 29°C (?) It is the first day I have worn a summer dress. Felt lovely but with not the humidity that you get in the height of summer. Windows are all open at home and there is a slight breeze blowing the curtains.

Wednesday, April 1st, 2026: Happy First Day of the Month! 

We got up very early today as last night after looking at the weather, and finding out it was going to be a warm and sunny that morning, we drove to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Mountains. We are thankful that we aren't that far away and it is always an easy drive. 

We were hoping to see deer and a few birds, but I think at that time they were safely tucked up in their beds. There weren't many people up there and we passed a few bicyclists getting a real work-out on those steep, winding roads. The trees all seemed to be bare of leaves, no doubt they will be catching up soon. 

When we got home, not 30 minutes later it started raining hard and it rained for the rest of the day.

I get fascinated with the pop-up pictures on my laptop, and thought this one was amazing. I know some of you have these pictures also. I tapped on the top right button, and it told me it was the Thiên Đường Cave in Vietnam. You can click on its name if you like, and it will give you more information. The last time I was in a cavern was at Luray Caverns here in Virginia, and that was when we first got married. I had never seen anything like it before. It's not that far away from where we were, about 20 miles or so.

Thursday, April 2nd, 2026: a day we didn't go out. The weather was cold compared to the start of the week. These high and low temperatures are a bit strange. We got in the kitchen and made the chickpea, feta and cucumber salad I shared yesterday. Also made roasted chicken thighs to go with it and Jasmine rice. The day went very quickly. Nothing else of note.

Friday, April 3rd, 2026: another quiet day but did have a lovely long chat on FaceTime with my brother-in-law on the other side of the pond. The three of us always finds lots to chat about.

Breakfast was a bowl of blackberries and blueberries with a spoonful of plain yogurt, and I got the idea of putting in a tablespoon of almond butter. Mixed it up and it made a delicious breakfast.

Dinner: Leftover chickpea and cucumber salad and mixed in leftover Jasmine rice and we also had one piece of chicken left. Cut that up and threw everything together. It made a very tasty meal and no fuss. 

Unless I write things down the day of, I can't remember what we ate and I'm trying to keep a record of it as hoping to cut down and surprise the doctor on my next visit. I can live in hope!

Saturday, April 4th, 2026: here we are and it is 7.00 p.m. Another day gone quickly. We drove to Green Spring Gardens in the late afternoon. But first we had another lovely long chat with my niece and her boyfriend. Lovely chatting with them both. She said it was a year ago that they were getting ready to come over here and spent Easter with us. A whole year already, where did that time go? 

After we put the phone down, off we went to the garden. It was a warm day, a little more humid, the first time I had felt it. I take along water and drank a whole flask while there. Lots of tulips and other spring flowers to take photos of. I had a great time looking at them all. I also took a photo of this cutie at the Moon Gate. Such a charmer! A bit far away but I like how he was framed. I was sitting on a bench at the time.

Quite a few people but not crowded by any means. There was a wedding photo session taking place and we joked that we didn't get an invite this time, remembering from last year the kindness of the family whose son invited us. We had been chatting at another bench not so far from this one. With all these colorful flowers, they would make a very picturesque backdrop.

Breakfast/brunch today was a ham and cheese sandwich on a multi-seed bagel, with a cup of blackberries on the side.

Dinner was a grazer as we like to say, and what we have in the fridge; three miniature stuffed grapevine leaves, the chickpea, feta, and cucumber salad, a couple of radishes and later, a banana and plain yogurt for dessert. 

It was a nice surprise when our son called up and said our dear d-in-l had been busy with extra services singing at the church this week, and leading up to Easter. He asked if we would like some company. It was really nice to have extra time with him these past few days, and he will be over again in the morning. 

Right after he left we went to bed and that's it for the latest weekly happenings.

Thank you for reading through to the end, and I wish you all a continued good week.