The kids are amped up for Christmas, and the snow has them in an even more frenzied state. They’ve sledded and snowboarded, built ramps, snowmen and igloos, and have generally stayed outside until the redness in their cheeks has become semi-permanent. On the other hand, they’ve been so busy playing that they’ve been very well behaved. This is ALWAYS a blessing. As soon as I edit it down, I’ll be posting a vid of them playing.

Only 4 days left to work this year, then I’ll be on vacation until 1/2/2010. It always seems bizarre to write dates in the new year. They come up so fast!

Peace to each of you in the coming year. Be sure to reach out and let those who you love know about it. When they’re gone, it’s too late. When that happens to you, there’s no amount of consolation that will help you forget it.

-RG

The mattress came from Bedcrafters on West Broad Street. We talked with Sonny, who owns the place. He was really knowledgeable, and gave us a good deal. We went in with the idea that we were going to buy the most expensive one in the store ($4200.00), but Sonny showed us a less expensive set that felt great and fit our needs better. Great service! He’s got customers for life!

However, once we sat down, the wait REALLY began. We got the alligator appetizer, which came 35 minutes after we got our table. It was overdone, tough and almost inedible. For dinner, I got the Fish and Chips, which were one of their “specialties”. The waitress had to ask me if I wanted fries with my Fish and Chips. Ummm…if not, it would just be Fish, wouldn’t it? It was OK, but nothing to rave about. Just plain white fish in a rather bland batter with (again) overdone fries. Served with tartar sauce, no malt vinegar served with it. At this point, I was too hungry to care.

Karen got fried catfish and fries. It was fried in a cornmeal batter which made for a munch crunchier exterior. In fact, if it hadn’t been burned, this may have been pretty tasty.

Everything at Islamadora was overcooked, even the kids chicken nuggets and corn dogs. I can only imagine some underpaid schmoe coming in from an all day fishing trip on the James River leaning over the fryer hood and trying to catch a bit of shuteye while our dinner merrily burns away.

From start to finish, our dinner took 1 hour and 40 minutes. I watched 4 tables that came in after us get served, eat and leave while we waited. Ridiculous.

On the upside, the kids really liked the big fish tank. It held their attention for about 15 minutes, then we had to plug them into their iPods to watch SpongeBob.

Color me unimpressed.