I broke one of my personal policies this morning by entering Garden Ridge Pottery anytime after Halloween. For some reason, they transform the place into the smell of cinnamon, and I just don't care for that, at all. But, my wife needed to look for something, so off we went; and I promise, I was prepared to wait outside if need be. But in fact, they must have reduced the cinnamon smell because it just wasn't all that bad.
But if you plan to attempt Garden Ridge, you should know that shoppers seem to have trashed the place. My wife commented that everything looked as though it had been picked through. Seriously people, can't you look at something and then place it back on the shelf where it came from?
Last night we took a drive around the neighborhood to show our dog Gracie the Christmas lights. I have noticed over the years an increase in the use of these fancy blow-up ornaments and huge globes and such. So standing in Garden Ridge, I witnessed some guy purchase one of these palm tree looking things with a built-in stereo system and flashing lights. It is actually cool; you can connect your iPod to it and play your favorite music. The problem was, it wasn't playing Christmas music at all - it was like a cruise to Jamaica or something and this redneck with a huge beer belly (bigger than mine, in fact) was attempting to do some sort of mambo train dance as his wife hurriedly pushed the shopping cart away from gawking onlookers and the one guy with a camera. Sorry, no footage.
But the point of it is, what happened to just a string of lights and a wreath on the door? Oh, who am I kidding? We have deer and other crap set out in our front yard too.
And if some deer and a big Texas outline that has flashing lights that spell out "Merry Christmas, Y'all" doesn't put you in the mood, surely this will get you going.
Oh, and attention Garden Ridge: It is Christmas season. Can we open up more than two cash registers?
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So we had to run to Ingram Park Mall to find something at Kirkland's, but we got there before they opened up. We decided to walk around for a bit, and some lady snagged my wife to demonstrate some Russian style hair flatting device. Okay, I say Russian because they lady had a really thick Russian accent. Anyway, the lady starts messing with my wife's hair and she is being a good sport about it though she tried to walk away several times and was too polite to say, Get off me, bitch! 
About the time I walk back up to them, I hear the lady telling my wife that the little straightening thing is regularly priced $352.00 but right now, she could let it go for $159.00. I nearly bust a gut trying to throw my laugh in a different direction. My wife was a little more pleasant simply saying, "Oh, hell no!" Seriously, if you saw this thing, you'd be sure it was the same thing they sell at Walgreen's for $19.99. I mean, our economy can't be so jacked-up if people will pay $159 much less $352 to straighten their hair.
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We went in to Kirkland's, got the few items we needed then by chance went down to the Sears just to observe and report as needed.
I wonder if they really want you to walk down the blue line, then stand directly in front of the sign until called to the register. Apparently, the lady did not think so.
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After a trip to HEB Plus, we thought we would try out the new Freddy's Frozen Custard place they built on Potranco Road near Highway 151. The place was packed, but we figured we would give it a shot.
Not so fast my friends. Apparently, they were just feeding each other because it still isn't open yet. Has anyone ever eaten at one of these places? I am assume it is a chain. What should I order? Tell me about it.
And since we had to eat anyway, we stopped into the new Freddy's Frozen Custard over on Potranco at 151, in spite of well intended warnings. Oh, and this time it was actually open for business.
We had sort of an inkling that Freddy's might be a little like a Steak 'n' Shake, and sure enough, the burgers and the fries were along the same design. The place was clean, staff was plentiful, and in spite of going in during the lunch hour, we ordered and got the vittles lickity split.
As we were sitting in there, it was pretty obvious how the owners came up with the location for this place. There were students from both Warren High School and John Paul Stevens High School which are really only a mile apart as the crow flies, with Freddy's in the middle. I predict this place will be packed with pimply faced teenagers all the time.
I ordered the #4, Freddy's Single Steakburger and a Hot Dog with regular fries. Let's talk about these fries. They are really skinny. Even if they taste good, chances are, they won't stay hot very long, just because they are so skinny. And they were way too salty. Some cook back in the kitchen is going to get high blood pressure if he eats his food anywhere close to the way he serves his fries. But I know some people like them that way.
The hot dog was okay. I liked the way that they toast the hot dog bun, and I also liked that the bun was not like the regular one you buy at HEB. It was cut short, and it was sort of square on the sides. The hot dog itself was okay, but if it was me, I would have boiled it for several minutes longer. I know, hot dogs are already cooked when you buy the package, but really, considering what they are made of, I feel a little more comfortable when they boil the animal piss, lips, gizzards and fecal matter out of them before serving. I guess I'm sort of weird like that. 
Finally, the steakburger. If you are going to a place like this or Sonic or McDonald's for a quality beef patty that you would enjoy eating without the bread and condiments, then I suppose you'd be happy with anything. I don't expect much from the burger itself, I look for what is good about the presentation and how the whole package tastes. I'd say this was as expected, very acceptable for what it is. I didn't have any complaints about the quality, size, or the condiments. But both my wife and I found ourselves repeatedly wiping our faces because it just seemed like a fog of grease was floating in the air. Maybe it was just all the high school kids.
My wife ordered the regular steakburger and got the onion rings instead of fries. We already know how I feel about the burger - take it or leave it, it is what it is. But the onion rings deserve mentioning here. I know many people do not like this particular style, where they are batter dipped rings, fried to a golden brown. Well pass me yours because this is the exact style I love. Not crunchy at all! And, they were not over salted. Kudos.
We were pretty much done with eating when my wife started to ask the question, what exactly frozen custard is. So we tried some. She got some sort of Hawaiian Delight which she was extremely pleased with. The macadamia nuts are not chopped into tiny little sawdust sized portions, but are actually full-sized nuts. I just had a cone with some chocolate custard on it. Sort of soft for my liking, but I'm not really an ice cream - or frozen custard eater. Course, I didn't want to be rude, so I ate it all.
I think the place is worth a visit. Certainly not a special trip or anything like that, but if you happen to be driving by and need an onion ring fix, why not stop in and get some? Price was reasonable, the place was clean and service was quick. Not bad at all.
