Travels in the South

Let me start by saying that this posting has LOTS of food in it with pictures.  You know my mom and dad – they are professional eaters.  They get into trouble every possible way.  They called a field trip this past weekend.  There is a restaurant about 30 minutes away called The Vortex Bar and Grill in an area called Little Five Points.   They say it’s awesome.  First off, it’s a bar and most of the workers have tattoos and no one under the age of 18 can come into the restaurant.  I guess that leaves me out since I’m just over two – snorts.

 This is daddy posing outside of the entrance to the location.  I know I’ve talked about this restaurant before but I’m not sure if I’ve posted pictures of the awesome food – which mom and dad say is awesome…. shuffles hooves… I wouldn’t know because someone didn’t bring me home a piggy bag.

Like I was saying, the front of the building near the entrance has the huge skull that you walk through.  Scary looking huh?  You can see the name of the restaurant on the side to the right of dad’s head.  NOTE: Someone told mommy that it looks like daddy has rabbit ears over his head from the jaw line of the skull.  Snorts – I think it does too.  You?

The day that mom/dad went, there was no line.  Usually the line is out the door.  Inside of the location, it’s dark and cozy.  Mom and dad say the inside is rather small so the tables are tight.  You make friends really quick – snorts.

.

 They started off with a Mighty Meaty Chili.  This is how the menu describes the chili – menu wording not mine – just remember that :

“Made with ground sirloin, chipotle & habanero peppers and a secret combination of seasonings but no beans ’cause it’s MEATY.  It’s definitely got some heat to it so please don’t order if you’re a big pussy”

Yep, that’s what it says.  The picture to the left is of the cornbread that comes with the chili.  Daddy says you really needed that because the chili was H.H.O.O.T.T.  Thank goodness mom and dad split a bowl – snorts.

Mom and dad followed the spicy chili up with an appetizer of Cheddar Balls O’Glory.  That’s what I’m talking about – cheese balls.  Licks piggy lips.  And of course, I’m going to tell you the wording off the menu… why?  Because it’s so interesting 🙂

“A plate full of beer-battered, deep fried balls of cheddar cheese, served with jalapeno ranch dressing.  These are by far the tastiest balls you’ll ever put in your mouth.  You know you want some, so just bite our cheesy balls”.

Now with all of this wonderful food so far, you know the main meals have to be out of this world!  And yeah, mom and dad wanted to sample a lot.

Dad ordered what they called a Meat Packer Melt –

“A sirloin patty topped with sliced turkey, ham, American, Swiss and cheddar cheese all griddled together on swirled rye bread.  This is the best patty melt you have ever put in your mouth.”

Dad says this was the bomb!  It was deliciously served with tater tots – one of his favorites.  The last time he came here, he ordered the Double Coronary Bypass and trust me – he almost had one!  He had plenty of leftovers that time.  This is what it is:

“One big half pound sirloin patty topped with two fried eggs, six slices of American cheese and eight slices of bacon served between two grilled cheese sandwiches that we use in place of the regular hamburger buns.”  

And mom, we can’t leave mommy out.  She went grandstand too.  She got the Cubano De Libertad.

“A fresh baked roll filled with slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, sliced pickles and spicy mustard grilled flat and drenched in Mojo sauce.”

Okay – let me add that this little oinker was not harmed in the making of mom’s lunch.  See, that’s how she does me.  She runs off and eats pork.  Shakes my piggy head. At least she didn’t order the sandwich they call, “Three Little Pigs”… I don’t even want to know what’s on that one – Snorts.

So, that’s my wild humans.  If you want to see more of the menu, look here at Vortex.  It is by far great reading, mouth watering and delicious sounding.  You gotta check it out if you get a chance.  Happy Eats!

 

Shopping Around the World

This month we received a suggestion from our friends Reilly and Denny with Cowspotdog. This month we are pricing FIVE items from two different stores for price comparisons in your area.  Now, we are going to make this kind of easy.  FIVE items of your choice in making a meal.  Of course, you can use more than FIVE items to make your meal but you have to price comparison shop FIVE items from TWO different stores.

---

We here at the Hotel Thompson have been trying to eat better these days and with it being so darn hot, we have been eating a lot of salads.  With that in mind, we took this month’s shopping adventure with the makings of one of our favorite week day meals.

1 – Head of lettuce.  It’s funny how the price of a head of lettuce fluctuates so much.  We went to Kroger where it was 0.99 a head.  Publix had it for $1.19 a head.

2 – Seedless Grapes.  We got a small bag of red seedless grapes, 1/2 pound, at Kroger on sale for $1.19 a pound.  At Publix, they had the same for $2.39 a pound.

3 – Shaved Ham.  Don’t tell Bacon okay.  We got the store brand low sodium ham shaved at the deli at Kroger for $4.99 a pound.  Publix brand for the same was $6.99 a pound.

4 – Cheese.  We buy the block of cheese from Kraft and cut and shred what we need.  A block on sale this week at Kroger was $2.50.  Publix also had it for $2.50.

5 – Strawberries.  In the summer time, it’s a fight for fresh strawberries.  We love them and they are one of Bacon’s favorites.  I like to slice them up and put them in salads.  We bought a package from Kroger for $2.50.  The same package at Publix was $4.99 this week.

Things also in this salad were chopped pecans and tossed with Catalina Dressing.  The all time perfect summer salad in this Georgia heat!

Hope everyone had fun this month – I know we did!

 

Shopping Around the World – REMINDER

Thanks to everyone for another great edition of Shopping Around the World.  Seeing everyone’s different FIVE ingredient salads was awesome and eye opening!  We took notes here at the Hotel Thompson and can’t wait to try some of these new recipes.

Me and my pal Fozzie started Shopping Around the World and it has become a huge hit.  We all want to know if we are paying more or less than everyone else – snorts.  We are going to do it again this month on Wednesday, June 24th.

Do a posting on your blog linked back to mine.  That way we can keep track of all of the different prices.  It should be interesting to see the differences between.  Mark your calendar so you can do a posting with us.

ITEMS TO PRICE THIS MONTH

This month we received a suggestion from our friends Reilly and Denny with Cowspotdog. This month we are pricing FIVE items from two different stores for price comparisons in your area.  Now, we are going to make this kind of easy.  FIVE items of your choice in making a meal.  Of course, you can use more than FIVE items to make your meal but you have to price comparison shop FIVE items from TWO different stores.  Got it?  And as always, pictures and recipes are greatly appreciated for our viewing pleasure… and of course licking the computer screen – snorts.  Happy shopping my friends.

Come join the fun of Shopping Around the World – mark your calendars Wednesday, June 24, 2015!

Thank you very much for your ideas for the monthly listing. If you have an idea to be added to my on-going list, please send them to me at baconthompson@gmail.com ❤

 

Shopping Around the World – Mark Your Calendars

Thanks to everyone for another great edition of Shopping Around the World.  Seeing everyone’s different FIVE ingredient salads was awesome and eye opening!  We took notes here at the Hotel Thompson and can’t wait to try some of these new recipes.

Me and my pal Fozzie started Shopping Around the World and it has become a huge hit.  We all want to know if we are paying more or less than everyone else – snorts.  We are going to do it again this month on Wednesday, June 24th.

Do a posting on your blog linked back to mine.  That way we can keep track of all of the different prices.  It should be interesting to see the differences between.  Mark your calendar so you can do a posting with us.

ITEMS TO PRICE THIS MONTH

This month we received a suggestion from our friends Reilly and Denny with Cowspotdog. This month we are pricing FIVE items from two different stores for price comparisons in your area.  Now, we are going to make this kind of easy.  FIVE items of your choice in making a meal.  Of course, you can use more than FIVE items to make your meal but you have to price comparison shop FIVE items from TWO different stores.  Got it?  And as always, pictures and recipes are greatly appreciated for our viewing pleasure… and of course licking the computer screen – snorts.  Happy shopping my friends.

Come join the fun of Shopping Around the World – mark your calendars Wednesday, June 24, 2015!

Thank you very much for your ideas for the monthly listing. If you have an idea to be added to my on-going list, please send them to me at baconthompson@gmail.com ❤

 

I Need Your Help My Friends – :)

I need your help my friends 🙂  If you have participated in our Shopping Around the World and have posted recipes, please email me your recipes and/or links.  My email is baconthompson@gmail.com

I’m trying to put together all of the different recipes for everyone.  Can you please help me out and send them to me.  Thanks so very much my friends!!  ❤

 

Happy New Years! – Article from my Mom :)

 Happy New Years my friends!  Can you believe that it is already 2015 – Where did 2014 go?  Today, I’m going to do something a little different here on my blog.  I want to share with you something that my mother wrote recently on handicaps.  It may be a little long, but I hope you take the time to read it.  I think this will be perfect to start this new year with awareness and kindness and paying it forward.  Enjoy and let me know what you think 🙂

Let’s play a game.  Close your eyes, tight now no looking.  Now, I want you to try to do things around your house.  Go to the kitchen and get a drink; try going to the bathroom; turning the television on; or making a phone call.  Can you do it?  Can you remember the layout of your home?  Can you remember what your phone looks like and where the numbers are?  What about the remote control?

 These are all problems that my husband encounters everyday.  You see in 2004, he was in a minor car accident and almost died. That’s right I said minor accident.  He was only going 30 miles per hour when a car accident happened and his airbags deployed.  The force of the airbags against his chest caused massive blood clots in his lungs.  He was in intensive care for nearly 12 weeks coming close to death several times.  In fact at one point, the doctors asked mommy if she believed in miracles because it was time to start praying for one. 😦

Within two years of his accident and many, MANY surgeries that we lost count, he lost his vision.  This is not a story to say, “Oh dear, you poor thing”.  This is a story to enlighten people, restaurants and businesses.  Handicaps are not just visibly seen by wheelchairs, walkers or canes.  Some handicaps you would never know unless you knew the person.  This is my husband Jim.  He does everything we do just with a little help.

 When we go out together, we are always holding hands.  This is something that we have always done for the 26 years we have been together.  But now, it’s also to help guide Jim.  He doesn’t use a cane and it’s not because of vanity.  Jim and others with vision impairments want to be ‘normal’ as much as they can be and I can deal with that.  Wouldn’t you?  He does everything you and I do but just with a little help.

 When we go out to eat, we hold hands walking to the table.  If you are close enough to hear us, you might hear me say, “Walk straight, your chair is to the left.”  And you will see Jim walk straight to his chair just like he ‘saw it’.  You may hear me discussing the menu just like regular people do on, “What do you want to eat?”  You might even hear me tell him when the food comes to the table, “Chicken on the bottom, green beans to the left and corn to your right.”  But other than that, Jim can eat all by himself just like a big boy. 🙂  So, you might not ‘see’ that he has a visual impairment.  And after dinner when we walk to the car, you will see Jim open my car door for me and then walk to his side and get in.  Does that ‘look’ like a handicap to you?

 But here is where we need to step up in businesses and restaurants.  We are all for a little romantic dinner in a restaurant where the mood is set and the lights are low.  But some restaurants tend to push the envelope a little more these days.  But for someone with a visual handicap that might ‘see’ perhaps a little light to guide them, a little mood set with lights low makes them completely blind.  The little bit of tunnel vision Jim might have in one eye is now completely blocked by low light setting and where he might be able to look ‘naturally’ before now he can’t.  You add the low lighting with a white table cloth and white dishes, he is going to stumble around on his plate.  His drink might get bumped.  He may drop his napkin.  Waiters/Waitresses – please note this is not something that he is doing ‘on purpose’.  Please don’t say something to him negatively.  Please don’t “talk down” to him like a child.  And by all means watch what you say not to insult.  People with vision impairments don’t do these things on purpose.  They don’t want the extra attention.  They want to feel normal in every aspect that they can.  When we ask for a table with a little more light, don’t make a big deal by the request.  I mean we could eat at home and we often do but don’t we all want to go out from time to time?

 And bathrooms in public – sigh.  More businesses and restaurants really need to come up family bathrooms.  We have come across these in our travels and they are fabulous!  Why do you ask?  Well, hopefully in your own home you know the layout of your bathroom.  But in a strange place, can you imagine closing your eyes and feeling your way around in a bathroom when you have to potty?  There have been a lot of times that I will walk Jim to the door, open it and try to peak in to tell him where everything is – beware men – I’m not trying to look at what you are doing 🙂 Really, I’m not.

 If you see someone that is acting ‘off’ and it doesn’t ‘show’ that they have a handicap, they may just have a visual handicap that you don’t see.  Instead of walking by or acting like you might catch it, why don’t you stop and chat.  Don’t worry, they won’t bite.  Believe me, just because they are visually impaired,  they do have a sense of humor still.

If they are trying to go to the restroom, why don’t you volunteer to guide them.  Trust me, they won’t hesitate for your help.  If they drop their flatware on the floor, why don’t you replace it and touch their shoulder and say, “No problem sir”.  If you have someone that asks for a more lit table, don’t belittle them or act like it’s a big deal – accommodate

And don’t think Jim is being a snob if he doesn’t shake your hand when you offer yours.  Just a heads up – most people with a visual impairment can’t see your hand.  🙂  Sometimes it helps if you touch their shoulder and say, “Good to meet you”.  And of course, if I’m there I will be glad to tell Jim your arm is extended.  Don’t worry.  You can shake hands.  You won’t catch his blindness.

Most handicapped people don’t want a free pass.  They want to feel like they fit in and can still do what they once could.  Jim is the same.  He knows our house like the back of his hand.  He takes care of the kids and the house.  He can clean like you wouldn’t believe!  He makes the beds.  He does all of the laundry.  He does the dishes.  He can cook for himself.  Astonishing huh?  It just takes a few tweaks on my part to make his life like it once was.  The microwave is marked, the washing machine is marked, the dryer is marked – all with little tabs that he can ‘feel’ to turn on and off.

 I’m not writing this story for sympathy.  I’m not writing this story for money.  I’m writing this story for knowledge on visual impairments.  The next time you see someone with a visual problem – where you see it with someone using a cane or being guided by someone, don’t fear them or treat them differently.  Be kind and helpful.  And hey – why not even help their caregiver out for a while.  Do you know that must people with visual impairments still like to do things for their loved ones.  This has been one of the biggest downfalls to Jim’s vision.  There are times that he would love to go get me a card or some flowers but how can he when he can’t drive himself to do such a wonderful gesture?  Perhaps if you know someone with a visual problem, offer to take them out for such a trip 🙂

In the new year let’s start practicing a little Luke 6:31, “Do to others as you want them to do to you”.  Happy New Years!

 

Oh Dear – My Parents Are At It Again!

Let me start by saying that this posting has LOTS of food in it with pictures.  You know my mom and dad – they are professional eaters.  They get into trouble every possible way.  They called a field trip this past weekend.  They jumped in Albert, mom’s Smart car and off they went.  There is a restaurant about 30 minutes away called The Vortex Bar and Grill in an area called Little Five Points.   They say it’s awesome.  First off, it’s a bar and most of the workers have tattoos and no one under the age of 18 can come into the restaurant.  I guess that leaves me out since I’m just over two – snorts.

 This is daddy posing outside of the entrance to the location.  I know I’ve talked about this restaurant before but I’m not sure if I’ve posted pictures of the awesome food – which mom and dad say is awesome…. shuffles hooves… I wouldn’t know because someone didn’t bring me home a piggy bag.

Like I was saying, the front of the building near the entrance has the huge skull that you walk through.  Scary looking huh?  You can see the name of the restaurant on the side to the right of dad’s head.  NOTE: Someone told mommy that it looks like daddy has rabbit ears over his head from the jaw line of the skull.  Snorts – I think it does too.  You?

The day that mom/dad went, there was no line.  Usually the line is out the door.  Inside of the location, it’s dark and cozy.  Mom and dad say the inside is rather small so the tables are tight.  You make friends really quick – snorts.

.

 They started off with a Mighty Meaty Chili.  This is how the menu describes the chili – menu wording not mine – just remember that :

“Made with ground sirloin, chipotle & habanero peppers and a secret combination of seasonings but no beans ’cause it’s MEATY.  It’s definitely got some heat to it so please don’t order if you’re a big pussy”

Yep, that’s what it says.  The picture to the left is of the cornbread that comes with the chili.  Daddy says you really needed that because the chili was H.H.O.O.T.T.  Thank goodness mom and dad split a bowl – snorts.

Mom and dad followed the spicy chili up with an appetizer of Cheddar Balls O’Glory.  That’s what I’m talking about – cheese balls.  Licks piggy lips.  And of course, I’m going to tell you the wording off the menu… why?  Because it’s so interesting 🙂

“A plate full of beer-battered, deep fried balls of cheddar cheese, served with jalapeno ranch dressing.  These are by far the tastiest balls you’ll ever put in your mouth.  You know you want some, so just bite our cheesy balls”.

Now with all of this wonderful food so far, you know the main meals have to be out of this world!  And yeah, mom and dad wanted to sample a lot.

Dad ordered what they called a Meat Packer Melt –

“A sirloin patty topped with sliced turkey, ham, American, Swiss and cheddar cheese all griddled together on swirled rye bread.  This is the best patty melt you have ever put in your mouth.”

Dad says this was the bomb!  It was deliciously served with tater tots – one of his favorites.  The last time he came here, he ordered the Double Coronary Bypass and trust me – he almost had one!  He had plenty of leftovers that time.  This is what it is:

“One big half pound sirloin patty topped with two fried eggs, six slices of American cheese and eight slices of bacon served between two grilled cheese sandwiches that we use in place of the regular hamburger buns.”  

And mom, we can’t leave mommy out.  She went grandstand too.  She got the Cubano De Libertad.

“A fresh baked roll filled with slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, sliced pickles and spicy mustard grilled flat and drenched in Mojo sauce.”

Okay – let me add that this little oinker was not harmed in the making of mom’s lunch.  See, that’s how she does me.  She runs off and eats pork.  Shakes my piggy head. At least she didn’t order the sandwich they call, “Three Little Pigs”… I don’t even want to know what’s on that one – Snorts.

So, that’s my wild humans.  If you want to see more of the menu, look here at Vortex.  It is by far great reading, mouth watering and delicious sounding.  You gotta check it out if you get a chance.  Happy Eats!