Blue Monday and Ruby Tuesday

For today's Blue Monday and tomorrow's Ruby Tuesday, I want to show you where I have lunch many times:  Donny's Country Cooking.

Here it is - in beautiful Kennesaw - just about a mile (as the crow flies) from where I work.  Just in case you can't read the price posted in the window, enlarge the photo.  Yes, friends, it's $6.61 plus tax.  That's $7.00 even - and the price includes your sweet or unsweet tea and everything on the food bar.  Donny's is a restaurant that features real home-style Southern cooking.  It is owned by Donny, an Asian, and the cooking is all done by Asians, as well.  Go figure.  But boy, have they got it right!

That's Donny who welcomes you when you come in, and takes your money when you leave.  He owns the restaurant.

This lady is on her way to the buffet area (or feeding troth, as my boss calls it).  She will not be disappointed!  I'll show you what I had to eat that day.  I  had 2 plates.  First, my salad plate:

At high noon, you see my lettuce salad with cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers and pickled beets.  At 2:00 you see just a smattering of delicious cole slaw.  In front of that, their fantastic macaroni salad (with just a hint of curry flavoring!  It's fabulous!)  To the left of that, is crab salad and then the non-salad item:  a fried chicken leg.  I took that so that it would have time to cool down before I got ready to eat my entree.  Donny's fried chicken is very authentically southern - no spices - just chicken fried in batter, letting the chicken flavor come through.  It's perfect, IMHO.  Now on to my entree plate:



At 12:00 you see stir fried veggies - not mushy - just crisp tender like they should be.  At 2:00 is a genuine fried green tomato.  You may have seen the movie, this is the real thing.  And perfectly done.  I don't usually eat these, as I try to limit my fried food there to just the one piece of chicken.  But I thought I was duty-bound to put it on my plate that day to photograph it to show you.  And then, I had no choice but to eat it.  You don't want to waste food, right?  LOL.  In front of the fried green tomato a little taste of sirloin tips.  To the left of that, green beans, and a little dash of corn.  In back of the corn, Southern pinto beans.  Donny's also serves the prerequisite corn bread you need to eat with them, but I avoid this.

Now, I didn't have dessert; but had I wanted to, I could have had a slice of layer cake, piece of pecan pie, jello, banana pudding, several fresh fruits, and the piece-de-resistance:  CHEESECAKE.  (Remember - all for $7.00!)  The cheesecake is really good - no shortcuts!

Now, you'd think I couldn't stay on my diabetic diet and would gain weight eating here.  But I haven't.  Six months ago when I had an endocrinologist appointment my A1C was 10.  That's BAD!  Six months later, last week my A1C was 5 - SO MUCH BETTER!  And I had not gained any weight.  I think that choosing what I should eat at a buffet like this is what helped.  Check out all of the veggies I ate, the small meat portions, etc.

So if you ever find yourself in Kennesaw, get in touch with me and we'll have lunch at Donny's! 

Blue Monday and Ruby Tuesday - Lunch at a new restaurant

Chepes is a new Mexican Grill that is close to the bead shop where I took my beading class recently.

 I loved the cheerful decorations.

While I was waiting for my food, I ran out and got my camera to take photos.  Actually got a photo of myself taking the photo!  LOL!

More cute decorations

These plates were in my booth

And here was the best part!  The food was excellent!  The salsa was made with fire-roasted tomatoes and served hot.  Very diffeerent and delicioso!

Ruby Tuesday - at Callaway Gardens

This photo was taken last year during a visit to Callaway Gardens.

Ruby Tuesday - Our Beloved Grady

For this week's Ruby Tuesday, here is our beloved, dearly departed Grady.  The best cat ever - for us, anyway.  He was a stray who kept coming around and every time we opened our door, he scooted right in.  We had 2 other cats in the house, but as soon as he walked in the door, he was the King.  He would paw at the door when the visit was over.  We adopted him as our 'Outdoor Cat.'  However when some nasty felines wounded him more than once, costing us several hundred dollars in vet bills, my husband decided that it was time for Grady to become an indoor cat.  It took many months before he would stop pawing at the door to get out.

Once declared an 'Indoor Cat,' he took to defending our new cat, "Little Bit" from the clutches of Fanny, who hated Little Bit from the moment she laid eyes on him.  She would corner him and then just sit there until the poor little thing would have no choice but to wet in the corner.  But when Grady came inside, that harrassment stopped.  Grady defended Little Bit and chased Fanny any time he could.  Tooky still thought he was the alpha cat, and Grady, gentleman that he was, let him think that.

One day I woke to find Grady dead on the kitchen floor.  My husband was distraught.  They had become such good buddies, as Frank was retired and he and Grady were BFFs.  Just a year later, my beloved Frank passed away as well.  So now I think of them together at the Rainbow bridge waiting for the other cats to follow.  And I'm sure that Grady is eagerly awaiting Fanny's arrival so he can chase her all over again.

Ruby Tuesday - Dinner at Pappacito's Cantina

For Ruby Tuesday

My oldest daughter and her three children visited and we had a great dinner

at Pappacitos Cantina, including tableside-prepared guacamole. Yum!

Ruby Tuesday - My Cats

Here they are - reclining on my ruby red blanket on my couch and getting it all full of cat hair of all colors.

Tooky, the black cat, will edge closer and closer toFanny until she jumps off, leaving him the entire blanket to himself.  He just has to be #1.

Ruby Tuesday - Memories

Here's a photo of my girls taken around 1981.  Suzanne, on the left, is now 34 and the mother of two daughters.  She works as a patient liason at an Oncologist's office.  Jennifer, in the red swing, is now 31, and the mother of a two-year old.  She is a teacher.  Amy, the oldest, now 36, is the mother of three, and a manager with the UC Physicians organization.  They might not understand it now, but I still see them as they were in this photo!

Ruby Tuesday for An American Girl

My daughter, Amy,  went to Chicago on business recently and bought my granddaughter, Emily, an American Girl doll - also named Emily!  When I checked and found out how much those dolls cost, I was glad they were not high on my daughter's 'must have' list when she was a girl!  LOL!  She had a Cabbage Patch doll, that we had to wait for. (Named Lindley Athol) and that cost about 1/3 of what an American Girl doll costs.

Amy is bringing the 3 grandchildren to visit during spring break on her way with them to Disney World.  I wanted to get some gifts for the grandkids - so you can imagine my amazement when I found this cute little American Girl backpack, which appeared to be brand new, at my local Goodwill Store for less than $3!  She can carry it around the theme parks with her.  And if I ever win the lottery, maybe I'll buy her Emily doll some accessories!

Ruby Tuesday - From Callaway Gardens

For this week's Ruby Tuesday:  This photo was taken at the Day Butterfly House at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia.
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HURRY AND ENTER TO WIN MY FIRST BLOG GIVEAWAY!

I will be choosing the winner of the bead-woven necklace on March 15!  To have a chance to win it, you must be a follower of my blog, or become one, and leave a comment on the original giveaway post, with a recommendation of a blog you think I would like.  That's all there is to it! Please be sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner.

Ruby Tuesday - A Visit to the Varsity

For Ruby Tuesday:  My grandson, Bobby, visited and we made a trip to the Varsity.  I cartoonized the photo for fun.

Ruby Tuesday

Here's a real blast from my past for this week's Ruby Tuesday.  This was my wedding day in 1997.

My dear hubby, Frank, passed away in 2007.

Second version of Lily's portrait

Here is the second version of the portrait of Lily that I did last week. (I'm also posting this for Ruby Tuesday).