I was heading home in the usual direction after the play tonight. I found myself up against some high water that wasn’t there the day before (river crested today). So I backed up and headed down another county road. Low and behold there was water blocking that path too. I never remembered that area with water, but what ever. So back up and down a third road (remember these are 1/2 to 1 mile apart here in NW Ohio) and there was more water!!!

Now I’m somewhat stuck, how can I get home without going back to town. Really there was no way, so I had to do just that. Back to town and head down the main roads. This was a side jaunt of about 5 miles. Water was just under the bridge heading west out of town. The village cemetery was under water, or at least the access roads were. So there is still a lot of water hanging around.

Then I get to my road and I find another spot where water is crossing the road. Lucky for me, that it was only a few inches deep, or it would have been another turn around. And I was only 1 1/2 miles from home…

We haven’t had rain since Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but in some spots the water is much higher than it as last night. The streams and rivers must be carrying that water from somewhere else.

Have we had enough rain yet? It was a downpour last night and I knew that my usual routes to work may have some flooding, so I left a bit early.

I was not prepared for the amount of water on the roads this morning. I had to backtrack twice when I got to places with more water than my truck would handle. Our little bridge (culvert) at the end of the drive was flowing over with water this morning. Of course I did notice there were many places that had water on them earlier, but it went down enough to be off the roadway by the time I passed.

I was worried about one place I didn’t pass this morning, but did this afternoon after the water subsided. I pass one place just outside of a small town, where there is a small donkey and a few goats. When I passed the place this afternoon, I noticed that the goat/donkey pasture was under at least 3 to 4 feet of water. I did not notice any animals standing in the water, so I am assuming the owners got them out and they are all safe.

On the way home from play rehearsal today, I also had to do a couple of bypasses of flooded roads. There were a few places where I had to go through some standing water just to make it home. It felt like one of those “You can’t get there from here” sort of stories.

I’m sure some of the roads I travel on will be better tomorrow, but some will be worse as some of the local rivers have yet to crest.

Stay safe if you are driving in flood prone areas. There is water, water everywhere.

We have the following items from the value menus of the local fast food chains (again Williams Co Ohio)

McDonalds — McDouble (99cents)

Wendys — Jr Bacon Cheeseburger ($1.00)
DoubleStack Burger ($1.00)

Burger King — Junior Whopper (99cents)
Bk Stacker (??)
Double Cheeseburger (??)
A&W — No cheap burgers only KFC has 99 cent snackers (chicken/fish)
Dairy Queen — Double Cheese burgers (2 for price on one day of the week)

I’ve already commented on the McDonalds sandwich. One less slice of cheese than the original Double Cheeseburger at the same old price. It’s exactly what you expect from McDonalds. It isn’t the same comfort food I grew up with, but for the price and speed of delivery, I always thought it was hard to beat. Until….

On a whim, I stopped at Wendys for a DoubleStack and a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger. All I can say is: I think I’m hooked. Little burgers with a big burger taste. Not at all what I expected. I thought they took a quarter pound single or, in the case of the DoubleStack, a half pound Double and shrunk them. Same taste as a regular size Wendys burger. I have a new mini-price comfort burger. When I want a cheap burger, that is where I am going.

One word on Dairy Queen burgers, I’ve had them, and they were OK. Not great, not bad, just OK. If I want onion rings or some specialty burger, that only they carry (The flamethrower or mushroom burgers are good), I will go somewhere else. There cheeseburgers and double cheeseburgers are just ok, and more than the dollar menu values of the other chains.

Burger King, I’ll have to say I’ve only had the Whopper Jr. Burger King has never been my favorite stop for burgers. I’ve always been able to taste the “gas” from the flame broiling. It may just be me, but it wasn’t a pleasant taste. On the bigger burgers the taste is less noticeable, but very strong on the smaller burgers. Not sure why that is. Their Angus Burgers, while not cheap, are quite good.

A&W — Even their Cheeseburger is more than a buck. Even at the old A&W stand in nearby Antwerp OH, I never cared for their burgers. Give me a chili Dog, Onion Rings and mug of root Beer. Great Combination, but it isn’t a cheap burger.

Next Up Franchise burgers — What they sell now (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Whopper, Grillburgers, Single, Double, Triple) and the winner is….

No rehearsals tonight, and that is a good thing. I have to go over my lines again, but that is a given when in a play. Until it is over, the lines have to be comfortable in my mind. But it is an easier night.

I used my time to get a bit of shopping, and also some relaxation. So I found the ultimate in relaxation, someone else to do my housework. And here is someone that will work for peanuts, or dried fruit, and maybe some hamster food.

If the embeded youtube doesn’t work, here is the link
Bionic Hamster

Yesterday, on my way home from Toledo, I heard that Paul Harvey died at the age of ninety. His news broadcasts were my first foray into news of any type. I remember sitting next to my Dad at noon on Saturday to listen to Paul Harvey News. When Dad was home during the week, he would listen to those newscasts too. I would occasionally go to work with him, and he had a radio to listen there too.

When I had my first job after college, my Dad and I would share a ride to and from work. We started listen to “The Rest of the Story”. Paul Harvey was sort of a father and son bonding time. It went on for a few years. A small way to connect.

I’ve since lost my Father, but I never stopped listening to Paul Harvey when I could. Work didn’t always let me tune in during the week. Prior commitments sometimes took me away from the radio in the evening. Listening to Paul Harvey news or “The Rest of the Story” brought back many memories.

I’ve lost another connection to my past. Sad day.

I’m not sure how it started out, it was still dark when I arrived at work.  I’m not sure how the day look all day, I have no windows where I work.  But the day was gray anyway.

For this reason or that.  Human error and computer malfunction played havoc on the day today.  All morning seemed to be a rush to get nothing accomplished.  Everytime something was tried it, for some reason, failed.  The day was gray.

This type of day is very draining.

But even with all of that, there was humor in the day.  That little bit of silver lining, perhaps?

Coffee just wasn’t doing it this morning.  Even though I enjoy my cup of joe in the morning, it just didn’t hit the spot like normal.  When this occurs, as it does from time to time, I go to a cup of tea or two.  After heating my water, I went back to my desk for a nice cup.  A few minutes later, I was drinking my brew thinking it was very weak.   Then I noticed, the dry teabag was still sitting next to the cup.  I was drinking a cup of hot water.  Now at that point, I knew the day was going all wrong.  I’m lucky it got better in the afternoon.

So, how was your day?

Yesterday was a long and tiring rehearsal. New scene changes, missing actor, multiple acts run again. It was not the best rehearsal.

I was due to be with friends watching the Academy Awards last night. I wasn’t in the mood for any sort of gathering. All I wanted was food, relaxation and then sleep. I was grumpy, crabby, tired and hungry by the end of rehearsal. I was sure I wouldn’t have been the best company while watching an award show. It was actually hard skipping the party, but my body almost demanded it.

After a quick bite to eat with my daughter, we went home and I started a fire in the fireplace. For just I bit I sat down near the fire, and stared at the flames. It had a very calming influence. I went to bed early and actually missed the award show.

Today, I felt a bit bad about not showing up. My grumpy, crabby self was well relaxed and ready to go. I’m sure I would have had fun at the gathering, but I’m also sure I would have paid for it today. Sometimes, I guess, I just need to listen to what my body is telling me. Food, rest and then sleep was definitely called for.

I hope everyone had fun at the party. I had a relaxing evening after a trying afternoon.

If I average around two posts a day from now until the last week of March, I may end up with around 1 post per day when I reach my 1 year anniversary of blogging. I’m not sure that will happen, since I do have a few other things going on between now and then. Today is a fluke because I have a little bit of time to blog a bit, while I’m waiting for some things to download. I just noticed, with my last post on fish sandwiches that I only needed 1 more to hit 300. Then only 65 more for the 1 post per day average by the end of March.

Unless I really want that distinction, it ain’t gonna happen..

I’m only adding more words, since on one of my other ‘century’ posts, I was given a bit of a rough time for the length of it. I do believe the comments on the post were longer than the post itself.

There are 6 national Fast Food Restaurants that serve a Hot Fish sandwich at least during or around Lent. Yes, Subway exists and does server a tuna fish sandwich, but that is an entirely different animal. As I try them, I will give a short review.

McDonalds Fillet-o-Fish Served all year
The Fillet-o-Fish has been my perennial favorite. I’m sure this has something to do with eating so many growing up in a Catholic family, and of course spending lots of time hanging out in McDonalds. For those who don’t know, this sandwich is a square fish stick on a bun, smothered in Tartar Sauce and a slice of melted American Cheese. This sandwich, as was usual with most McDonalds products is the same year after year, sandwich after sandwich. Even though my tastes have grown up a bit, I will still get one of these on occasion. I don’t eliminate the meat from my diet during lent, or on Fridays, so the desire for fish has to out weigh my desire for beef. It happens, but the Fillet-O-Fish is not the comfort food that a cheeseburger is. 😉 These used to be a cheap sandwich at McDonalds, but the price has gone up in the past few years. There should be a two-fer sale in the next few weeks to coincide with the Lenten season. Not a bad sandwich, and it is my scale for all other fast food fish sandwiches… so it is a 7 on scale of 1 – 10

Burger King BK-fish Served all year
Been a few months since I’ve had one of these sandwiches. Always, and I do mean always overcooked. Doesn’t matter what BK I go to. I’ll stick to their Angus burger. Score 3.  I may try this one again.  I was told they got better, and it is Lenten fish sale time.

Arbys Fish during Lent
Decent fish sandwich, A large fillet with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce. When I last had it, no cheese was offered. Since I was used to the McDs sandwich I felt it was missing. They are usually only offered in the spring, with some sales during lent. I think last year it was during the entire period, but sometimes the sale is only on Fridays. With a sale price this is a very good value, not so good if not on sale. I’ll choose it over the McDs sandwich when on sale.   Give this one an 8 when on sale, 6 when not….

Wendy’s Fish During Lent
I just had this sandwich a couple of weeks ago. I will have to try it again. On my first sandwich the fish was overcooked, but not served piping hot. Must have been sitting around a while. To give it a fair review, I will need to go back when they are busy on a Friday to make sure I get a fresh sandwich. Served with lettuce, tomato and Tartar Sauce with cheese as an option. So far the score on this sandwich is a 3.

Dairy Queen Fish Fillet sandwich (all year?)
I had the DQ Crispy Fish Fillet sandwich this week.  What can I say?  The onion rings were tasty.   As for the fish, I would almost complain of some false advertising.  It wasn’t very crispy.  That being said, it was a niced sized piece of fish.  The sandwich also contained tartar sauce and lettuce.  The bun was very fresh.  Nothing really special, but not too bad either.  I’m thinking a score of 6 fits this sandwich.

A&W/KFC Fish snackers during Lent

99 cent mini fish sandwiches. No frills, just Tartar Sauce, fish and a bun. I like these little sandwiches a lot. If our local KFC had better service, I would get it more often. Just not worth the time spent waiting to get them, unless I really want a draft Root Beer too. Interesting combination of KFC and A&W in our town, but I think that confuses the servers. Score 8

Your Favorite?

[poll id=8]

During the summer, a contest in our local community was held to determine the best burger in town. I was unable to go to that event, and I don’t even remember who won. I understand it will be a large undertaking, but I may be taking my own survey on the local burger scene. Since I really like cheeseburgers, I imagine most of the burgers will have cheese on them.

Let’s eliminate the fast food burgers first, starting with the smaller dollar menu burgers. I’ll have to make a trip to all the fast food joints in the area (Williams County), but I can start with McDonalds.

Recently to save money, McDonalds now have a new burger on the menu. It is called the McDouble. This is a standard double cheeseburger minus one slice of cheese. All this for 30 cents less than the old Double Cheeseburger. 30 cents for 1 slice of precut American processed cheese. Hmmm. Still, the Double Cheeseburger was a memory comfort food for me. Kind of like White Castle sliders only bigger. Not the best burger around, but a taste that remained the same from restaurant to restaurant. Since the introduction of the McDouble, I’ve been able to tell the difference from the restaurant in Bryan and the one in Montpelier and from the time of day it is purchased. I’m not sure what they do different, but it is no longer the comfort food I was used to. Being the cheap person I am, I’m not about to spend 30 cents for a piece of cheese. So I have to find another $1.00 burger to replace my old standby.

I’ll try to keep you posted…

Also on the list, in time for lent, Fast Food Fish sandwiches…. 😉