We Need a Zamboni

Elsie and I checked out the downtown skating rink. It was closed the day we went, and there was about three inches of snow covering it. It turned out to be a good thing because that ice was a little slippery. I hope that I can teach Elsa how to skate as well as my brother Chris taught his son Brad. Chris took everything he learned (from the three years in which he skated, right before Kenny Gates whooped his @#% in the 1976 Bay Lions Winter Carnival Skating Competition) and turned Brad into quite a hockey player. Brad, you should be thankful.

Chris still tells that story. He told it again last time he visited. "AAAH! KENNYYYYYYY!"

Elsa's New Food Chart

Ruth came up with a plan. Elsie gets a special treat for every five new foods she tries. This pic was taken right before she tried HOISIN SAUCE to complete her first five new foods goal. I picked up a copy of the musical Annie and we watched it last night (...fun answering the question Daddy what's an orphan?)

Anyway, her five foods were:

BUTTER BEANS

STAR AND MOON FRIES

CREPES

CANNOLI

HOISIN SAUCE

We didn't really know how to make nutritional value a prequisite. The crepes were stuffed with jam and then slathered in maple syrup. The cannoli, was, well, a cannoli. And the star and moon fries were, well, french fries. And she had one butter bean and a pea sized drop of hoisin sauce.

She's moved on to her next five, and so far has eaten MARMITE (this morning with eggs) and FARO. Which is like barley. She ate one grain...

Forgotten Buffalo

Neighbor Mike gave us an afternoon tour of Forgotten Buffalo spots. We hit the Broadway Market where we were able to buy chruscikis, fried dough cookies covered with sugar. Redlinski's Meat Market for polish sausage, pierogis, and kiszka (looks a bit like potato sausage). But the highlight of the trip was lunch at the R and L Lounge. Mike had read that the food was good, but had not been there before. It was about two blocks from the market so we went for it.

Walking in it felt like I was back in Milwaukee. Three older gentlemen at the bar glanced over. The proprietor immediately walked over to us with a smile, greeting us with "and who's this?" She told us to sit in one of the booths on one side of the bar so we plopped down, Henry and Elsa in tow, and she disappeared in back. Later she emerged with homemade pierogis and stuffed cabbage. Turned out the R and L stood for Ronnie and Lottie, the couple who owned the place. Lottie cooked the food for us and even took care of Henry while we ate. And she gave me some solid parenting advice as well: don't spoil them, plant them in the stroller so you can enjoy your lunch, and my favorite- sugar for hiccups!