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Tuesday, April 5, 2022

D is for Dinner, Drive-In, Dancing

Going out to dinner is a typical thing to do on a date, right? We have a favorite restaurant that we go to sometimes 3 times a year, once for my birthday, once for hubby’s birthday and once for our anniversary. It is Benihana and it is kind of expensive so we’ve cut down a bit. It is one of those restaurants where they cook the food right at your table. The chef usually does some fancy tricks as he is cooking, like making smiley faces with the eggs and a heart shape with the rice. We’ve been so often that we usually know what’s going to happen in advance but if there are kids at the table it is fun to see their reaction.

For the longest time they would take a picture of you for your birthday. The last couple times we went was after the pandemic and I didn’t see them do it anymore. We are going again on Thursday because Bill’s birthday is this week and we got a $30.00 coupon to use during his birthday month!

One fun date that I don’t have any personal pictures for is the Drive-in. We used to have a few around us but like the bowling alleys, they are mostly gone. The closest one is about 45 minutes or an hour away. Still, if you do have one nearby, it is a fun date. I know there were a couple of pop-up ones in vacant lots during the pandemic but we didn’t go. Now you can listen to the audio through your car radio instead of having the speakers that come through the window. Nothing worse than getting all settled and then finding out the speakers don’t work!

And then there’s dancing. While I love to dance, my hubby has to be in the right mood and it has to be the right song. Needless to say, that is not one of the things we do very often anymore. These are from some company Christmas parties we went to when he was still working for Sara Lee Coffee and Tea. There is an Arthur Murray Dance Studio located very close to us and I had considered signing us up for some lessons. We are going to a wedding at the end of the month and maybe I’ll get him to dance one or two with me then.

Not too many pictures this time but at least I’m still in the game. See you tomorrow with E.



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8 comments:

  1. I love the egg smiley face. It's so cute. :-)
    I've never been to a drive-in movie, but I would love to go to one.

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    1. It was fun to watch him create that. Drive-ins were very popular and we had several around us. Easy to take the kids too as well since they could fall asleep in the backseat if they got tired.

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  2. Hi, Janet!

    Happy D-Day, dear friend, and happy birthday this week to Bill! I hope your meal at Benihana will delight both of you. Mrs. Shady and I went to a similar place where tables surround the chef's workstation and everybody has a front row seat as he does tricks with the food. I love how hot, delicious and fresh tasting the food is when he finishes and it is served to you. One of my pet peeves about Chinese restaurants and all-you-can-eat buffets in general is that the food is often just lukewarm, not nearly as hot as it should be. My dad always demanded that food served to him was to be piping hot, then he'd sit there and blow on it until it cooled down enough so that it wouldn't burn his mouth and tongue! :) It was nice to see pictures of the happy, cuddling couple out for dinner on date nights through the years.

    Yessum, I love drive-in theaters, too, but it has been decades since I went to one. They have the remnants of one near us that was turned into an outdoor flea market. When I was in my teens I went often, at first with my folks, then with the guys to drink beer and watch Russ Meyer movies, and finally on dates with girls. One of the most memorable outings was with the future Mrs. Shady #1. We went to see Night of the Living Dead around Halloween in 1968. First of all, we almost froze because it got very chilly that night. Secondly, the groundbreaking horror film scared us both out of our wits.

    I think most girls and women are less inhibited about dancing in public than are boys and men. I was like your hubby. I needed to be in the right mood to get up and dance. Unfortunately, for me, I was never in the mood until I started drinking alcohol. The more I drank the more I wanted to dance. In 1977, Mrs. Shady #1 signed us up for dance lessons at Arthur Murray, believing that we could go out dancing all the time and that it would be good for our marriage. I absolutely hated the lessons and, not long after, we separated and ultimately divorced.

    Thanks for showing me what a happy, compatible couple looks like, dear friend Janet. :) Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll be back to see you tamale!

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    1. Hi there Shady - LOL about your dad. The food is definitely hot and usually too much to eat in one sitting so we bring it home for leftovers the next day (although Bill usually eats his later that same night!)

      Being cold is one of the downsides of the drive in for sure. Turning old drive ins into flea markets is common here too.

      Alcohol can really mess up a relationship. We have had a bit of that in ours too. After my husband hurt his back in 2009 he went through about 10 years of excessive drinking. It almost ruined us too and it definitely caused an issue with his relationship with the kids, which is sad. I don't have to tell you that appearances can be deceiving and being a happy, compatible couple takes work! Thanks for your continued support my friend.

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  3. We don't usually dance . . .but if my husband has had a few drinks, he is more willing to dance :-) I don't remember the last time we went to one of those types of restaurants - the one closest to us is Styx. I always think the chefs are funny!

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    1. Hi Lisa. We've had good chefs and bad. I actually felt sorry for the chef we had when we went last year for my hubby's birthday. I had another couple meet us there as a surprise but it was like the first time we could go out since the Pandemic and we spent all the time talking and no time watching the chef. We tipped well though :)

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  4. Dinner and dancing are at the top of our list for favorite dates. My husband and I love dancing... in fact, we met at a dance. The community where we live has dances twice a month. I've kept notes on which bands are our favorites and we make sure to go on those nights because we know they'll play music that will have us dancing nearly every song.

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