Daiso

I had never heard of Daiso, a Japanese retail store that is apparently well known on the socials. To be fair, I'm not their target audience, and regardless, last Sunday I found myself driving Lisa, Junie, and two of Junie's friends to check out the place in Kenosha, about 50 minutes south of us. 

 

I was underwhelmed. It's essentially a dollar store, with a few sections of "higher end" items -  merchandise you'd expect to pay five bucks for at other places. That's fine, I like Dollar Stores, and I make no effort to hide that. 

Two things bothered me. One, other than a very small assortment of Japanese food items, nothing in the place was Japanese. Oh, it may have been from Japan, but if it's all copies of the stuff in the stores to either side, what's the point? I was expecting culture shock, and instead felt right at home. 

Two, the only REAL Japanese thing about the place was the pricing. Some items had prices in yens, and you'd look on a chart posted in every aisle and translate that to dollars. Whatever lacked a price - i.e. most of the place - defaulted to $2.25. 

 So you'd pay $2.25 for scads of items that you know weren't worth it, items you could find for $1.25 at any Dollar Tree, or even a buck or less elsewhere. What a ripoff.  But, just as you do whenever you're a tourist, you go and buy it anyway. I spent $33, and while $12 was reasonably spent on a set of bowls, the rest was just me being a sucker. 

Sigh. 

Afterwards Lisa treated the kids to White Castle before we drove home. The food, the travel, and the company made up for what was, to me, a disappointing trip to Daiso. 

New Glasses and a Trip to Chicago

 On December 28th, the morning after Seth's birthday get-together, Lisa woke me up, on very little sleep, to go with her to pick out new glasses. 

Afterwards we had breakfast at La Crema. Lisa ordered chilaquiles, which were a bust, and I had some  so-so bisquits and gravy. 

 We like the place, the location, the atmosphere, but the food continues to miss. I'm not sure we'll be back anytime soon. 

Afterwards, although I was completely exhausted, I accepted Seth's invitation to go down and spend the day in Chicago. His wife was going with, and he told me that instead of his normal ride, he'd be taking her Suburu. He sent a text saying he was on his way. 

So a few minutes later, when a Suburu pulled up in front of the house with a woman in the passenger seat, I walked over, opened the rear passenger door - 

aaaaaand it wasn't Seth and his wife. 

That's not the first time I've made those types of mistaks. Once, a few years back, I got into a  silverMazda CX-9 at Dollar Tree, and got upset when my key didn't start it. You guessed it. My car was parked a few spots down. 

It's a good way to get shot, to be honest. 

Anyway, we drove down to Chicago, scooped our friend Eladio from his north side home, and traveled to the south side of Chicago, to Ricobene's.

Eladio seconded the propaganda the restaurant puts out: that they serve the best sandwhich in the world. This "masterpiece" is breaded steak on a hoagie bun, toppped with marinara sauce and, if you pay extra, peppers and shredded mozzarella. 

It was fine. 

Was it worth a ride to Chicago when I was that tired? No

Was it worth a ride to Chicago had I been fully rested? No

Was it worth a ride across Milwaukee if there was a location there? No

Was it worth stopping in if you're in the neighborhood? Yes. 

Afterwards, after driving past Seth's alma matter of Loyola, we stopped in Lincoln Square. 

First stop, an upscale meat market called Gene's Sausage Shop, on the site of a famous defunct Chicago deli called Meyer's. 

Then it was down a few doors to a bookstore, The Book Cellar. I guess the identically named store in the Central Milwaukee Library isn't as uniquely named as I thought. 

Lastly, to a tourist shop, where I saw the Taylor Swift ornaments below, and then an apothecary. 

Our departure from Lincoln Square was delayed by a heavy police and fire presence. that boxed in the car. At first I  thought they were there to treat a man I saw trip and bust his nose on the sidewalk, but it appears they were there to prevent any trouble at a televised interview at the large menorah in Lincoln Square. 

From there we dropped off Eladio and then headed back to Milwaukee. 

Suprisingly, sometime after the meal, I broke through my wall of exhaustion and felt pretty darn good, so in the end I greatly enjoyed the Chciago trip. 

A good day start to finish. 

My First Time Kayaking

OK, so if you know me you know I'm not a huge fan of water. Oh, I love ships and cruises and I don't mind being in the water on my own. But having seen two drownings (one fatal) in my life, I do not find it a place of . . comfort. 

At times, I find it a place of great anxiety. 

But I love Lisa, and she loves water, and she had a blast kayaking with the kids earlier in the summer. So on September, while the lake was still open for the season,  I sucked it up and joined her on Foxbrook Lake. 

Yes, yes, laugh all you want. The mandated life preserver was too small by an amusing degree and I looked the fool. Chances are if the kayak tipped it would have helped about as much as a cotton ball in my pocket. But again - mandated by the rental place. 

I will not lie, teeter tottering on a kayak above "deep" - aka well over my head - water with a faulty life preserver did not soothe my anxiety. For a good portion of the hour on the lake, fear nibbled at my mind. 

That did NOT mean I gave into that anxiety. Sometimes, often actually, you have to shove it aside and just do the needful. 

As you can see, I quickly mastered the paddle stroke and spent the hour traveling around the lake, extending into the middle of it and for a time considered venturing to the other shore. 

 

It was, I must admit, fun, and a decent workout. Plus Lisa was very pleased with me, and "happy wife = happy life." 

We didn't get a chance to go again in the limited time left in the season, but I'm sure we will next year. 

Noah Kahan Bracelets

Around midday Junie asked Lisa and I to help her construct bracelets to give away at the upcoming (rescheduled) Noah Kahan concert at Alpine Valley. It was during this activity that news broke about Biden bowing out; Junie was the first to let us know as it flashed across her phone. 

This was the first bracelet I made. Honestly, not too shabby, right? 

A Day of Dining

Early in the morning Lisa roasted a large pan of mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes to make a homemade tomato soup, then went out with her Mom. 

Among other errands, they had a slice of pie on the outdoor pie at Small Pie. 

They returned in time for an early dinner that Smiley had prepared at Lisa's suggestion. Thinly sliced and pounded chicken breast, breaded and fried to perfection, over a serving of Caesar salad, with the tomato soup on the side. 

Coincidence: We were told that this was actually the 100th birthday of the Caesar salad, or it's 100th plus a day, too! 

Thank You Lisa!

Today I wore the new Battlestar Galactica t-shirt  - the real  '70's version BG- that Lisa bought me.