Wine rack delimma

I've been trying to come up with alternate uses for wine racks, since we have this really cool one that hangs from the ceiling, but only one bottle of wine to put in it. We are not big drinkers here, but the rack is very artistic and I would rather put it to some other use than get rid of it.

So far, I've thought of putting other cooking bottles in it, like olive oil and such, but finding bottles big enough to fit is proving difficult. Things like wine racks just look so much better when they are full, so if anyone has any ideas for what I could put in mine, please share them! Thank you.

DJ's Restaurant Review

DJ's Drive In has opened in the location that was previously a Sonic Drive In that failed. I'm not sure why the Sonic failed, because it seems that Eureka Springs is lacking in the fast food department and the Berryville location is always hopping with business. I would have expected someone to jump on a franchise opportunity to open it again, but maybe they have rules against re-opening in the same location.

We went to DJ's for dinner last week and it was good. The service was pretty quick, and the food was decent. We ordered crawfish po'boys, fries, and shrimp baskets for the kids. They loved their food and I thought the fries were really good. As for the po'boys - they were good, but my husband is from New Orleans and let's just say that after you've had the real deal, everything else falls short. The crawfish were a bit chewy and there was no remoulade sauce. Our overall impression was good, and we would eat there again.

Another time later in the week, my husband took the kids there for "happy hour" to get slushes. He was disappointed to find that the price seemed a bit high for half-price drinks, and when he looked closer at the receipt, found that they charge twenty cents for every flavor added to the slush, including the main flavor. So if you order a strawberry kiwi slush, they add forty cents. This seems a bit misleading to me, since no one would order a slush with no flavor, so at least the first flavor should be included in the menu price. The slushes didn't taste as good as Sonic slushes, according to my family, and the consistency was very hard and frozen in a ball.

We have not tried their breakfast menu at all, the sweet potato fries, fried okra, nor any of the other desserts or ice cream. I suspect we will be going back to DJ's in the future.

A New Earth

I just started reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, as I have heard from many people that this book has transformed their lives and the way they experience the world. Of course a statement that bold intrigued me, so now I am on my way to be forever changed for the better. I am only on page 30, but so far he has talked about how we are controlled by the ego and that from a very young age, we attach ourselves and our worth to the things that are "ours."

I have been yearning to detach from many of our belongings for a long time, and have been succeeding slowly. But there is a long way to go, especially in the way of convincing the children to let go of so many of their things. This is not a money issue at all. There are many people who have plenty of money, but choose to live a simple, minimalist life. In fact, the people with the most money who are not in the habit of sharing their wealth with the less fortunate seem to be the most depressed, spend the most time in drug rehab, and often commit suicide. If money were the source of happiness, these things would not happen.

On the contrary, the people who make lots of money, but donate most of it to charity, like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates seem to be genuinely happy people. There are many other folks who are not considered "rich" by our standards, but because they volunteer their time and give of themselves and their money whenever they can, they live very satisfying lives as well. But since they are not famous, they don't usually make it into the news - and they are probably perfectly happy with that as well. The truly generous don't do it for recognition and prefer to remain anonymous.

Summer trip

Well, we are all set for our trip to visit family and friends next month. We are using some of the points earned on our credit card for free hotel stays, one night each way. Since it is a 14 hour drive, usually more with the kids, we like to break the drive up into a two-day trip. This relieves the stress for parents and kis alike.

Of course, I wish we could have saved those free nights for a vacation alone with my husband, like maybe some nice Hilton Head rentals, but the points will build up again before we have the chance to take another trip. Once the kids get a little older, we're planning to leave them with their grandparents for a couple of weeks while my husband and I get some much deserved rest and relaxation and finally get to take a real vacation.

But until then, it's off to Denver to visit the old stomping grounds. We decided to drive our van this time to keep costs down. Car rental prices have shot through the roof lately, due to the rise in gas prices, I'm sure. So hopefully we won't have any major problems and the van makes the trip OK. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Economic Stimulation

Like most Americans, I was skeptical when I first heard about President Bush's "economic stimulus" plan of sending additional tax refund checks out to every U.S. household. But I have several friends who have already received their money, so I know it is true! I was wondering how the government could afford to give away so much money, but I suppose they are hoping we will be good little consumers and spend, spend, spend!

One of my friends is thinking of putting her check towards Lasik eye surgery and I think that's a great idea. Might as well spend it on something you've been saving for already. Our check will come in very handy, since we're purchasing acreage next week and won't be closing on our house for awhile. I suppose our grocery and house upkeep purchases will stimulate the economy a bit.

Changing of the guards

When we purchased new Frigidaire appliances two years ago, we also got an extended warranty from the store. We had to call for service on our refrigerator because it was making too much ice and spilling over the storage bin, and we were surprised when an Electrolux repair guy showed up. He told us that Electrolux and Frigidaire are the same company, with different names in different countries. In Europe, the Electrolux brand is common, while here in the states we have known Frigidaire for years.

The repairman also told us that the company is slowly phasing out the "Frigidaire" name, which I think is kind of sad since their logo is a classic American icon. There are not many examples of architecture or products from the fifties.

I just heard about Electrolux vacuums and I'm wondering if it is all part of the same company. There are many different models of vacuums and they are pretty expensive to buy new, but there are refurbished units available at a discount.