The Demise of Bella's Fat Cat and Villa Roma

I tried treating the kids to a pizza yesterday only to find out Villa Roma has gone under; last week Bella's Fat Cat shut its doors too. 

update: Hey - a neighborhood resident/manager at BN is the one who came to me with news that Bella's had folded. He said his wife went there herself & discovered it was OOB, and I'm 100% sure I heard him right. Still, I just got a Facebook note saying it seemed to be open today. I'll stop by tomorrow and find out what's going on. Meanwhile, I can personally confirm Villa is gone, w/ the inside empty and a note on the door.

update 2: OK, so I went to Bella's myself this morning and it *IS* closed. There's a sign on the door promising they'll be open again soon, but what Milwaukee hamburger/custard stand chooses to close its doors in the middle of a 90 degree week? I fear they're kaput.

Babysitter Wanted

Watching 'Babysitter Wanted' an unexpectedly good horror film starring a talented Jennifer Garner lookalike. Cannibals, Satan, some dark humor & a decent script - well worth a rental.

Gremlins 2

I rented 'Gremlins 2' for the kids from Blockbuster. I wanted Space Camp (taken out of inventory and sold), Howard the Duck (missing from the shelf) or Short Circuit (unavailable in any Milwaukee Blockbuster), but whatcha gonna do? The kids wound up loving it almost as much as the original, and actually *thanked* me for renting it. Be still my shocked heart.

A Busy if relaxed day

I heard a radio interview this morning with Tim Gunn. I wish I hadn't, because now I miss Project Runway something fierce. Anyhow, I love Tim Gunn - uh, you know, in a manly, largely platonic way.

After I dropped Lisa off at the Fair I rented "Batteries Not Included" for the kids. Against all their (very vocal) expectations, they liked it. LuLu adored it actually, and peppered me with questions throughout. It really is as good as I remember.

And our Good Samaritan has struck again. This time they left a bag of school uniforms, and a brand new backpack filled with supplies on our porch. Whoever you are, thank you.

ISO

Yo - does anyone have a copy of *any* of the following DVD's: Howard the Duck, Space Camp, Short Circuit, or Batteries Not Included?

Yuck

Nothing better than the smell of burnt popcorn in a breakroom as big as my closet

I disagree with this potential sentence

WTMJ just ran an story about a marijuana growing operation in a Brookfield house that was located right across the street from a school. Egads & gasps! The guy is facing *40 YEARS* for growing a bleepin' plant, but I guarantee you could chop me to bits right where I sit & be out in 20. You know who should get 40 yrs? The narc who phoned in the tip, and a culture that devotes so much time, effort and $ to this crap.

WTH? Someone anonymously dropped off a box of hardcover mysteries & some nail products. That's 2 donations in 2 wks. It would seem 2b someone we know, or a Good Samaritan w/ great intuition.

Yesterday evening I spent an hour doing yardwork sans shirt - in part because of the heat, but also so the neighborhood ladies could swoon as the sweat dripped seductively down my back hair. Bay View chicks are freaky -what can I say? Anyhow, in return for my selfless act the mosquito population scored a couple dozen direct hits, so the last 16 hours have SUCKED.

Farmville

My new farmhouse

Don McKay and Afterlife

Raided Redbox and watched "Don McKay", then 'Afterlife' w/ Christina Ricci and Liam Neeson. Both were good, but I'd give the nod to 'Afterlife'. It wasn't scary, but it sure was creepy.

YaYa Has Her Tonsils Out

YaYa had her tonsils & adenoids (?) removed today. The surgery was quick, but w/ the wait and recovery it was a 7 hr day. She was in good spirits b4, in agony right after, & seemingly back to (nearly) normal now. 

Here's a good sign of her overall  health: when I took her pain med script into Walgreens they had *NO* record of her having meds filled with them in the last several years - so long she was no longer in their system. Knock on wood.

On TV and Crowes

"Broadcast TV sucks donkey balls" - Lisa, after sitting through Leno only to be rewarded with Jimmy Fallon. OTOH, The Black Crowes were Leno's musical guest. A bit of trivia: I drove their drummer to the airport in the middle of the night after his wife called to say she'd gone into labor back home.

#1 Thing

#1 Thing you don't want to see when you walk into a Chinese restaurant to pick up your order: Not one, but *two* health inspectors berating the owner.

Still, I paid for the food and went home. Deeeee-lish! :)

30 Rock

Alec Baldwin's whirlwind impersonation of Redd Foxx in an episode of 30 Rock (s2 ep. 4 "Rosemary's Baby")? Priceless. Absolute comedy gold.

Not the Best Quote

"Damnit Smiley go to the bathroom and wipe your butt! Yes, now! Because you've got a big chunk of poop hanging from your a**, that's why!" - Lisa

Another Day of Demo for Alys

 Another morning of demo work, with me ripping up 3 layers of flooring to expose the subfloor. The bad? I'm sore head to toe. The good? Hang on, I'm thinking.

ugh.....so bored.....so broke, and so bored, what a shit combo! - Lisa

Our TV Sitch

Being limited to broadcast TV sucks in every possible way (ok, maybe not when 'America's Test Kitchen; is on), but it *was* bearable. Sort of. Then I saw a FB ad announcing that the new season of Project Runway starts tonight . . . plus no Doctor Who, no ESPN, no HGTV . . what's the point of even waking up in the morning?

No Zoo, but Lots of Swimming

An afternoon trip to the zoo was aborted when we were stuck in a traffic jam on 894. We detoured to the pool at my in-law's apartment complex & the kids had a blast. Meanwhile an anonymous Good Samaritan left two + boxes of toys & games on our porch. The clear favorite so far? The Lincoln logs, which were spread out over my dining room most of the evening.

Construction Man Dan

I spent the morning ripping out door frames and windows for Alys, a friend who's renovating her house. I will note that *contrary to the vocal opinions of my wife* I not only made it through in one piece, but removed the windows w/out damaging the surrounding tile. I've even been asked by the contractor to return and rip out flooring. So to Lisa I say, with love: pbbbbt. ;)

Lisa and I took a 'nap' and when we ventured back downstairs the house was destroyed. It's not like the kids were a hurricane; more like a hurricane that broke the levees, and the Army decided the city wasn't worth saving and razed it all.  It's amazing how much damage the kids can do when you're gone for three and a half minutes.

ISO

Weird request: 1 - if anyone has an old but new-ish Cricket phone for sale, let me know. 2. If anyone has a copy of the 1997 documentary "Ending Welfare as We know it", hosted by Meredith Vieria, kindly drop me a line. A friend of ours is featured in the film.

I just checked my wall and noticed how cluttered it is w/ Farmville crap. If that annoys you - and it would annoy me - block the FV application (but not my feed). If you can't figure out how to do that, well, then you don't deserve to be on the net anyhow and should suffer through my "Lost Wandering Moo Cow" updates. (repost)

Junie Floods the House

This evening Junie put the stopper in the bathroom sink,  left the water running & shut the door. Eventually it leaked into the basement, and the result was worse than the storm flooding. Whole areas of my basement, including the furnace, some storage, and clothes, were soaked. She's still damn cute tho'.