Actually, I'll start with the morning.
My two daughters, 6 and 2, spent the night with me last night. We made pancakes for breakfast. They both love to do as much of the cooking as possible. Pouring ingredients, mixing, and all that. With me helping hand-over-hand, Shaina hits the egg on the side of the bowl, then just crushes it. Funniest thing to watch!
Lisa is getting pretty good at lifting the edges of the pancakes to see if they're ready, and flipping them.OK, OK, skip ahead. It's a 2-hour drive to the nearest Cold Stone, which is in Albany. Turns out it's in the fancy-schmancy mall I used to work at years ago when I lived up there, Stuyvesant Plaza. I got there about 2pm.
Although you can get any combo you want, here's their "Originals."
www.coldstonecreamery.com/secondary/creation.asp
I had planned to get two smalls, do some shopping, eat lunch/dinner, then get two different smalls (their sizes are named Like It, Love It, and Gotta Have It) before returning home. But when I got there, the smalls looked too small, and there were too many choices. So I got three Love Its:
Chocolate Devotion www.coldstonecreamery.com/secondary/creation.asp?id=24
Founder's Favorite www.coldstonecreamery.com/secondary/creation.asp?id=26
Peanut Butter Cup Perfection www.coldstonecreamery.com/secondary/creation.asp?id=8
It all came to $16.21.
Now let me explain how they do things there. First, they scoop the appropriate amount of the ice cream flavor needed for that Original. Then, they put that slab o' ice cream on a counter that is, I assume, made of cold stone. In front of the stone is all the candy bars, brownies, syrups, nuts, chips, fruits, and anything else you might possibly put into ice cream, each in its own container. They throw/squirt whatever ingredients you need onto your slab, and smash it all around until it's all mixed. My friend at work was right; there's nothing quite like seeing them grab a brownie out of the jar and mash it into your ice cream!!!!!
When anybody puts a tip in the jar, whoever is ringing the person out yells, "We got a tip!", and they all sing one of several songs. I, however, didn't get a song when I put my money in. I believe it was because I threw the teenage girl off when I told her that I loved her and wanted to have her children. (Hey, don't judge me until you're standing at a Cold Stone about to eat three extraordinary-looking treats!!
)And there I sat, eating my three choices. To say I was happy is a ridiculous understatement. It's difficult to put into words, but put simple:
There is no other ice cream.
There is no other ice cream. This is the first thought I'll have every morning for the rest of my life. There is no other ice cream. This is the last thought I'll have when death claims me; hopefully MANY years from now, due to a massive, Cold Stone-induced heart attack. This is why God invented milk. If there is a Heaven, I'm quite sure it manifests as naked women serving me Cold Stone ice cream.
When I was done, I went to Barnes & Noble. I was looking for the next book in Julian May's Galactic Milieu Trilogy, but it's not available. I ended up getting $70 worth of jazz and the Willy Wonka dvd. The jazz was Chick Corea's Solo Piano Standards - Part Two, and two from John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (because duchess raves about it) and Ascension (because I read such great stuff about it).
Then I went to the great Satan, Borders. Yeah, I hate them for closing down the company I was working for when I had my dream job of Classical Buyer, but I hoped maybe they'd have the Julian May book lying on the shelf. No dice, so I got Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, which some here said is great. (I'll be starting a thread for it in the Loresraat so I can ask what the hell he's talking about!)
I figured I'd better get some actual food into me before more ice cream, so I went back to Stuyvesant Plaza and had a Cobb Salad (which, afaik, has nothing to do with Ty Cobb) at TGI Fridays. (Coincidentally, I went to the one near me last night. I took my father for his birthday.) That's all I had, because I was still pretty full of ice cream. I then read some of Eco, and walked around, trying to work off some of what was in my belly. I looked at the books in the window of the book store across the parking lot, and saw Day Trips With a Splash - Northeastern Swimming Holes. I had to get that, so I went back to B&N. After the woman spent a good long time finding it in the back room, I jokingly told her I changed my mind. But I bought it. Heh.
Now back to Cold Stone. Well, I was still pretty full, and I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't finish my two small (Like It) dishes. This time, I went for:
Breathless Boston Cream Pie www.coldstonecreamery.com/secondary/creation.asp?id=20
Cookie Doughn't You Want Some www.coldstonecreamery.com/secondary/creation.asp?id=4
What can I say, I'm not as young as I used to be, and I was getting to the bursting point. (Again, don't judge me!!!)
I figured I'd call it a day. I got a coffee (extra shot of espresso) at Starbuck's, and got in the car. After about 45 minutes, the feeling that I was about to vomit began to subside, and the rest of the ride was uneventful.
Which brings me to typing now, and you up to date.
I'd like to thank all the people who made this possible. In particular:
-duchess, for first telling us about Cold Stone Creamery.
-Sam at work for giving me delightful details about it.
-Chevrolet for making the Lumina that I drove to Albany in.
). I really do have to win the lottery and open my Fantasy/Sci-Fi bookstore so I can hire you, Joy, Myste and others.
), and a thousand other things. palisadescenter.com/webpages/index.asp
Why I outta.....
Cate
