Sunday Morning News from the dining room table

[Vince]

good morning this Sunday after Thanksgiving , the 26th of Nov. 2007 it is a crisp cold day here in da Burgh & the boss has a few yard chores for me today since I will not be cooking ( leftovers ) & the Christams ligts need to go UP well I have a day of Honey DUE this & that today , its a wonder she is letting me take a few minutes to post this hahahah , the week was a strange one for sure, , Friday was a KILLER on my tired old body, I got up in the middle of the night , & had the shop open at 6 AM, for the crazy shoppers, I had Danish pastrys (store bought ) I am good but way to lazy to cook or bake for the customers , so there I was at 6 AM, coffee ready, ( 2 pots going ) & the lights were all on the flags were all out & the sign was lit OPEN, well by 9 AM I had moved only a hundred bucks worth of product & by noon it haddent changed we put windshield flyers on a few hundred cars at the local shopping mall & gave a big discount if they brought the flyer in, well, it was a waist of time & money, not one was returned ! , oh well it was a good day anyhow , but not the tripple sales we were told were going to happen, it was just a Normal friday with out being open at 6 am & closing at 11:30 PM, we didnt sell much after 10 PM to be worth staying open, dammmmm it was a LONG DAY , but I did have a good time, 6 pots of coffee, ( not all mine ) a tray of danish, & JAZZ all day & the better part of a bottle of scotch was comsumed by myself but since I started early in the morning ( about 7:30 ) & didnt have more than one drink per hour, I was in FINE shape to go home since I didnt have a drink for the last 3 hours I was at work I felt fine ( I know NOT to drink & drive ) & 3 hours & a pot of coffee were just what I needed, but I would have had the coffee with out the scotch anyhow ! , it might have been a disapointing day sales wise but it was a good day friendship wise, we had a good bunch of guys & gals in all day, the storys told & lies believed, the BS was so deep we all went home to get our hip waders hahahaha
a lot of Football was on the tube & we were watching the game with the sound off & Jazz in the background, a GREAT way to watch foot ball, who wants to listen to the anouncers tell you just what you are looking at , with all the instant replay who needs announcers, just show the dammmm game & shut up, now Radio thats a whole different way , it needs a voice to tell you what is going on , a great radio announcer might not make a good Tv announcer , for TV you need to SHUT up & let the people at home SEE what is going on , To much BS from the booth & not enough back ground from the color guy, just let the dammm game play it self out. well thats my small rant for the day !

I am still in the house posting , the wireless set up isnt set up yet, maybe soon but who knows , one day I will be posting from the Qtr.Deck Maybe hahahaha


it is a crisp cool morning here 7 soon I will be going out to finishe the yard work & put up the lights right now my wife is going through the closet 7 pulling out the decorations, dammmmm where did all the lights come from, looks like a GRISWALD Christmas here , but dammm all I want is to string a set of the new LED icecycle lights from the roof on the deck a few spiral trees & we are done, BUT NO she wants this & that & this & that & more this & that, dammmm woman enough is enough!!!!!!!

Wenow have a NEW employee at the shop , Randy retired from the PA state police after 25 years of keeping us safe on the highways of Pa. well for his retirement gift we gave him a set of keys & a password for the alarm system, & told him he started saturday at 11 AM , , he was there & did a fine job ,but needs to improve in his coffee making skills ! hahahaha , now we dont have to pay for a seperate secutity officer hahahaha
, well thats about all I have this morning , you all have a safe weekend & dont DRINK & DRIVE , you might hit a bump in the road & spill your drink ! hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[JoeyBear]

Sorry about the lack of a rush, but everything else sounds great!! I, too, have a whopper of a honey-do list today. If we added our lights together, they could probably see them on the space station. I hate doing Christmas lights when it's 20 degrees outside, but the wife has her list and she checks it twice Have some coffee and enjoy the day


As for the Danish pastry...you should have had kringle. It's the best Danish pastry ever

[koapoorpeople]

I was going to stop down on Friday, but I picked up an extra shift at work (start 10pm-6am then reg shift 6am-2pm). Midnight daylight kick my butt!.

Glad to see Randy has started his NEW job!

[terrasco-cl]

Man, Vince, when I retire or win the lotto I want to come work for you!

[Vince]

Originally Posted by terrasco

Man, Vince, when I retire or win the lotto I want to come work for you!

Could you adjust to the winters this far noth of the mason dixon line? hahaha , stop in & fill out an app anytime ,,,, hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[Jimmie The Mum]

My first read regarding your posts. Very well written and interesting..

[Vince]

welcom to the zoo

[terrasco-cl]

Originally Posted by Vince

Could you adjust to the winters this far noth of the mason dixon line? hahaha , stop in & fill out an app anytime ,,,, hahaha Enjoy, Vince

Ha, ha, probably not. We haven't even had a good freeze yet this year. Had some snowflakes today but they didn't stick.

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday DECEMBER 2, 2007, December all ready seams just like yesterday it was July & we where complaining about the heat, well Now we can complain about the ice & cold , complain , complain , thats about all we can do about the weather, , unless we move to some place that is just one season all year long, then we would complain about being Bored with the weather , must be part of our nature to bitch about stuff we have no control over ! hahaha well it is a freezing rain this morning here in da Burgh , I went out to get the newspaper & turn on the heat in the Qtr.Deck & it was 38F inside , well its just before 10 am now & by Noon it will be 70inside , I would be happy with 65 & a long sleeve flannel shirt but 65 my hands get cold , & here I go bitching about theing I have no control over, you get OLD the circulation isnt as good as it was , & the smoking constricts the blood vessels exeserbating the condition , dammm where the hell did that word come from, shit man , looks like I got to stop hanging out with my educated friends , it might be rubbing off again, , I dont want to loose my style as Bloofy has said , I might not have the greatest spelling or grammer in the world but I do enjoy spinning my little rant every Sunday morning, well the clock is hitting 10 AM right now & I have just finished a fine breakfast of one slice of Bacon & one egg, , I am sipping a cup of Holiday blend coffee, , it has the slighest touch of peppermint in it, , Not exactly what I had in mid but that is the coffee the wife made, I didnt dare say anything, so I just shut up & drink it, , later when the taste buds clear & I head out to the Qtr.Deck, I will be taking a POT of Kona with me & a Don Carlos #3 , that is what MY taste buds are waiting for , & then after the Kona a nice pot of Kenya AA to go with my afternoon smoke , to day it looks like it will be a Partagas series D #4 , I just have been craving one of them for a few days now, & today will be the day.

The wireless network is still in limbo, I am getting a 3 to 6 % signal in the Qtr.Deck, not enough to run the network out there , so we need to Upgrade the stuff or just hard wire the dammm thing, right now I can play games onn the computer out there but cant get on the net for anything, well that just dont hack it right now , so I just play spyder solitair ( dammmm what happened to my spell check ) hahaha
My buddy Travis & his main squeeze Ginger have been working on it but they have lives of there own & cant just drop everything to fix my minor problems, & speaking of minor problems , I have an outher frien ( yea thats right I do have more than just one ) , Jay , he is a buddy from the post office & he is going to stop over today & install my high neck kitchen faucet , now I will have room to get that BIG pot under it to cool down my" veggies"& grains , hahahaha, you all know to what I am taling about, & if you dont , well just go back & read about my hobby of making "Beverages" on the stove !

I have a meat loaf going in the over some time this afternoon, , I havent decided what style to make it yet, I have the ground beef, pork & veal , now I need to figure out what else to add to it , I could go south west & add some peppers or north east & add cranberrys , but we just had cranberrys for thanksgiving , , south east style & add some fruit like peaches , hummmmmm a Gorgia meat loaf, but I dont want anything sweet , maybe a slice of ham might add a bit of Old Virginia to it , or some crab to give it a Chesapeak bay theam , you know the more I think about it the more I am leaning to some dry fruit, I had some dry cherrys yesterday with almonds & they were tasty, but the boss isnt a fan of fruit in a savory dish, so thats OUT before I ever get started on it , , got to keep her happy, cause when she isnt NONE is !!!!!!
looks like it just might be a plain old meatloaf, with brown gravy & a baked potato , dammmmmm that sounds BORING, but it will keep PEACE in the home & if I want PIECE , I better keep PEACE hahahaha, dammmmmm after 37 years you would think I was tired of all that hahahahaha


the shop has been busy this past week, but not as busy as I had hoped it would be still slow enough to handle it alone, I like it better when we have 2 or 3 people wotking & waiting on customers all the time , BUSY , Busy , Busy , the time moves fast, the shelves get empty & the cash regester RINGS, dammmmm thats what its all about, No more Christmas sperit, Peace & good will tward your fellow man, Now its just a time of year to make the allmighty Buck, & I just dont like it, , I loved the Holiday season when I was a kid, putting out cookies for santa, going to midnght service , cause I got to stay up ( & would fall asleep on the way home ) , the best part about Christmas when I was a kid was going to my Grandmothers & all my cousins wiould be there & since 4 of them lived in Michigan we didnt see then all that often, , my Unles Bill could make the trip in 5 hours, but my dad took 12 to get there , I hated the long ride, Uncle Bill would get on the Turnpike, & fly low, my Dad took all the 2 lane roads going right throught the center of every town between here & there !my Mother wanted to stop & shop at all the little Interesting shops between here & there , & my Dad did everything to keep her happy ,, I guess I learned that from him hahahaha , amoung a few other things about life for sure, !

My daughers frien Paula bought a new half a duplex in Pittsbutgh & had an open house yesterday well we went & had a fairly good time , the new house is nice, the hard wood floors are just great looking & the place is a lot bigger inside that it looks , she is a Dietition & works at one of the BIG hospitals in da Burgh , she & my daugher went to High School together & have been friends forever it seams , half the time was spent here with us & the rest of the time they were at Paulas place, so they say anyhow hahahaha , well we had ann ok time there , they place got full of family co workers & friends & since I want allowd to have a cigar inside I froze my buns off outside, well it didnt last that long & I was able to convince the rest of the people in my car it was TIME to go home & that we did , still no cigar in the car, my daugher is such a PRISS about her hair, I just had it done & I dont want to smell like cigar smoke, dammmm kid you grew up with it , you should enjoy it now that your getting OLD ( she will be 35 next week, ) TRAMA UNIT alerted hahahaha


the coffee is almost gone & I am in the need for a few puffs on the Don Carlos #3 a little Jazz & then I need to get in the kitchen & figure out what direction I will be going with the meat loaf, barb said smoething about a Traditional , no frills lump of baked ground beef, dammmmm what a waist of good veal & pork , I just cant do Conventional, I NEED to be creative , I need to express myself, I need to do what I am told to do hahahahahaha so a Plain meat loaf with gravy will be the order of the day, BORING but its what the BOSS wants ! hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[JohnRider]

Snow, ice, and wind here yesterday. I imagine all that weather is headed your way, Vince. I didn't even bother to change out of my pajamas yesterday...I knew I wasn't going to be able to go anywhere. Everything was covered in ice. I did have a good cigar day, though!

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday 9 December 2007 , & a wonderful cool damp day here in da Burgh , we have a few inches of wet snow & slush on the ground but all of the streets & walkways are bare by now, , not a good day for driving or walking, lots of fender benders & a few fatial crashes , a guy delevering flowers in his van did a 360 in front of a garbage truck & well lets just say that he had the flowers headed to a Funeral home, I guess he didnt know it would be his own ... R.I.P . Dale , you made the front page of the Paper yesterday , Dale was 62 & we had been in the Conway Area Jaycees together years ago , I havent seen him in 20 years or so , but he was a nice guy & it is a shame to die this young...... but who is to say , since we dont know what is next for us as we leave this vessel we call a body then & only then will the question be answered, is there life after death, is there such a thing as reincarnation, , then & only then will we know the answer........ but enough of the philosipy of the meaning of Life & lets get back to the reason we are right here right now, the Sunday moning smoke & a little news from the dining room table,

breakfast this morning was Home frys , bacon & a cheese omlet with coffee , no toast for me but Barb had an english muffin , & since it is Sunday the Coffee was Kona , I do enjoy it every Sunday but I like a fuller body coffee with my cigar, the Don Carlos #3 is good with the Kona , but a dark roast ITALIAN or Habanos Coffee will be next in the pot, I have a great selection of cigars to "TASTE " today , I will be heading out to the Qtr.Deck in a bit to start sampling , on todays taste list I have a Zino plat, Shorty , that will be paired with the KONA & it is first on the list, then after lunch I have a gift to try, Partagas series D #4 , that will go withb a single malt Islay Scotch & a cup of dark roast coffee of some sort . by then the Steelers will be kicking off the football game at the shop , the place will be packed as they are playing the undefeated NE Pats , well I am not a fallower of the NFL as much as I have been in the past, I was a season ticket holder back in the 70's & had a lot of free time every Sunday , since my daughter went to visit her grandmother every weekend , so I was free do do what ever I wanted well now I am the grandfather & I get to spend time with my grandsons & since my daughter & the boys father have divorsed they spend weekends with Dad & I get a rest hahahaha, well no big deal they have some what of an understanding of how life is & since both there mother & father have remarried, they picked up a whole new set of Grandparents , hey got to share the wealth, I picked up a 3rd grandson & a granduaghter, they are a little bit older & realy dont want to sit on granddads lap hahahaha
Last night my Brothers youngest son was in the Highschool play a Christmas story , not the orginal set in Bethlaham , but the adapation of the red rider movis, hey Ralphy youll shoot your eye out , verry well done & we had 11 seats with the "Family " a;ll being there , my wife & myself, her sister & husband with there 18 YO son , my daugher , he husband & the 4 kids of there extended family , the place was sold out SRO , about 250 seats in the small theater , every one was filled, ZERO no shows ! , hows that for a Saturday night & a 12 buck ticket per person, but it was wirh evey penny , but Dammmm this time of the year when my credit card is all ready black & blue from getting beat up by all the use its getting hahahahaha
I have some chops to work with later today , & some chilies, looks like a spicy Sunday meal is in the works today still havent thought all that much about it , I have a few hours before I need to make the final pantry raid , I am still working on the wireless hook up, , just need to find reciever for the Qtr.Deck that will work, I am only getting a 3 to 6 % signal out there so it is back to the drawing board & try to get some theing that will work, sure I can go to the store & BUY one system in a big box that will work but the idea is to make it a Project that takes up time & money & when the wife has had enough , she will call some one & buy the system , there is method to my madness hahahahaha

Nunbers at the shop have been a little lower than I had hoped day to day we are just about the same as last year, & with us just opening last OCT , I had hoped we would be running way ahead of last years numbers, , But I did have an offer of 400K for the business & building , now if they want to double it , I might find a way to sell it all ! hahahaha , as long as thet hire me to run the palce hahahaha, just trade one boss for an other & sit on my commission for the 800K sale hahahaha , notheing like a little nest eggs this late in life, the grandkids will be able to enjoy it more than I do hahahaha

I have been out Shopping , & dammmm I hate this , I am a BUYER not a shopper, just look at the list go get it & out the door you go, 45 minutes topps, give all the loot to my daugher to wrap & I am home free, I still have a few more "little ' things to pick up but now I need to wait till next payday since I spent my allowence this week hahahaha

since its almost noon & I am still in my robe & slippers, I better get this posted asap, I still need to go out & turn on the heat in the Qtr.Deck , get a shower & get dressed, its going to be a GREAT day here in da Burgh No matter what the Steelers do it will be OK with me, I have a set of betes today one with the steelers & the points & one with the Pats, well no matter how it works out , I will win one ( for a cigar ) & loose one ( for a cigar ) so it will work out fine for me, as I will be giving Both guys a cigar anyhow & getting one back, it is a WIN WIN WIN WIN all the way arround hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday Dec.15, 2007, a COLD wet & snow covered day here in Da BURGH , we had freezing rain & snow last night & the roads are a real mess this morning, & last night the local Fire dept. had "Santa " on the fire truck touring the area complete with raindeer ( in Costume ) & the elves , along with Mrs.Clause in a mini skirt ( one of the firemaen with his turn out gear & the mini over it hahaha ) , they were stopping & passing out candy to any one brave enough to venture out in the snow & rain, they did a reallly fine job this year the decorations on the truck were first rate, & tastefull, ( all but Mrs>Clause ) hahaha , would have been a lot better had he had his wife or daughter play the part !
Sales at the shop are picking up a little but not near as good as last year, looks like this $3.00 a gallon plus is killing the cigar sales , what do I do , somke a padron anniv, for 9 bucks or a Padron 2000 for 3 bucks & put the 6 bucks tward the gas tank, well thats just what is happening the sales of the cheep cigars is booming, selling lots of low end stuff & the top line stuff is suffering, I havent sold a Trinadad Anniv. All week , even the monte sales are off by almost 50% but the Alcazar Bundles are GONE, I just got 3 bundles of each size & dammmmm the bin is E M P T Y ! , not a bad smoke, very inexpencive & tastes just fine with a beer, the only beer I have had in the past year was a Sam Adams Octoberfest & I had an alcazar torp with it & dammmm what a great taste combo , I just might try one with a scotch as soon as we get more of them !
My wife got out the job jar this morning & before I head to the Qtr.Deck I MUST clean all the books & magazines from the bathroom, the magazine rack is overflowing as well as the side of the vanity , just to dammm much stuff to read & not enough time so I maulti task & read when I am sitting, well I have the habbit of leaving what ever I was reading right there in the bathroom, looks like the public libuary in there said the BOSS , so I will get a few shopping bags & toss out all the old magazines catalogs & newsstorys & what ever else I find in the pile , the trash man is due here Monday morning so it is time to put out the trash Tonight & hope the snow covers it up hahahaha !
I have been working on a bottle of Laugavulin all week, dammm pricy stuff but just wonderfull with a full body cigar & a strong black coffee , I opened a box of Partagas series D # 4's this week & have had 3 so far , one being better than the nest , dammmm I wish they were longer hahaha, just like a short story , great smoke but way over to soon, well the same with the PSD4 . over way to soon, , I think I will kick back with a pot of Kona & start off he cigar day as I have for many years with a Don Carlos #3 , I should be doing some thing in the oven today but I think it will be fryed chicken, I just dont feel like making a roast or a casarole today , I have some breaded chicken parts in the freezer & thats just what I am going to do today, , fire up some oil & drop the chicken in it , , this weather is sreaming out for soup & a roast , but I just dont feel like it , & the boss said she didnt care so I am going with the taste buds & getting out the tabasco & butter for a sause for the chicken , I have a few chilis that might get stuffed with cheese & some carrots that might see a little glaze before they hit the plate , brown sugar & pure maple syrup, , nothing like killing the sugar all at once hahahaha
this morning my wife found some whole wheat english muffins in the freezer & we had them with bacon & eggs as a sandwich with Jarlsburg swiss melted all over the top , , dammmmm all I needed was a fresh summer tomato & I would have been in heaven , the stuff you get in the market this time of year tastes like cardboard, I just want to let them rot on the shelf tasteless & Expencive , maybe some day I will grow my own tomatos in the winter , like when I move to Fiji or the Bahamas , hahahaha
this COLD weather is getting to me , I have no idea what my forfathers were thinking when they moved to the Pittsburgh area, , why didnt they go to Hawaii or some place warm all year ! hahahaha, then I could be growing my OWN kona coffee instead of buying it ! , Oh well some one had to be making the Iron to build this great country & thats just what my family did , on both sides the grandparents were involved in the industry that made PITTSBURGH the city it Became , one grandfather was a machinest & the other a Rail road conductor that moved the coal to make the iron into steel , my grandmothers were both great cooks & thats where I learned to be a cook my self learned Italan cooking from my mothers side of the family & German cooking from my Dads side , which worked out just fine, I was able to cook a lot of different dishes by the time I was ready to get a Job working for some one other than family , a great education from the hands of 2 masters , My dads mother was a great baker & made some of the best partrys I have ever had, but I hated to measure & the artistry was lot with me , I was more into a big slab of beef or pork than a dainty little kringle or ginger snap cookie , so I stayed out of the bakery & got busy in the butchershop & grill area of the kitchen, & seeing how I got to 400 plus pound eating beef, can you think HOW DAMMMM BIG I would have been had I gone the bakery route hahahah Dammm I would have eaten my self to death years ago hahaha, I still LOVEa small hunk of German Chocolate cake with the coconut almond icing , dammmm I gain a few pound just thinking about it , Yeasterday my wife & I made 18 Dozen Pitzells , 9 dozen ANIS( her all time favorirte cookie ) & 9 dozen lemon , & lemon because she wanted to, next weekend will be the maple & what ever else she wants to make , so that will kill my weekend out of the kitchen hahaha

On Friday Dec 21 we are having a small party at the shop so if your inn the Pittsburgh are besure to stop at King Beaver Cigars 1106 Penna Ave in Monaca 15061 the phone is 724-774-5166 if you need directions , stop in bring your own booze , I will have coffee & if you find a small tray of cookies or some cheese & ham , well dont be shy , bring it with you, nothing like brining your own food to a party hahahaha , even a bag of chips will help , we are trying to do this one on the cheep as sales are a bit down this year
Oh almost forgot the asshat at the consert, , last monday ( I think it was anyhow) there was a grade school choral consert at the school , & I dont konw if I told you guys about it before or not & I am just to lazy to go back & check, well this asshat has his cell pne ringing a few times & is talking , I had enough & took the phone out of his hand & closed it handed it back to him & did the libirian shuuuuuushh to him, he took his phone & went out in the hall with out any further incodent , they guy is a wrnch turner at the railroad , not a boss of anything , not a Doctor, not aeven a bail bondsman , TURN OFFF THE DAMMM PHONE , good thing I dont go to church all that often , some ones phone rigs during the service , I am kicking some ones ass, ahhhh yeas the good christan in me hahahaha
thats about all I have this cold & blustrey Sunday, time to go clean the books up, get the heat On in the qtr.deck & spend the next few hours listening to jazz & sipping a little coffee & smoking a FINE OLD Cigar , maybe I just might looks & see if there are any contraband Monte #2;s hiding some plce
Enjoy, Vince

[JohnRider]

You have a titanium set of kahoneys, Vince. I can only imagine the look on the guys face when you took his phone. Utter amazement.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by JohnRider

You have a titanium set of kahoneys, Vince. I can only imagine the look on the guys face when you took his phone. Utter amazement.

No just brass, I cant tell you how much cell phones tick me off, I dont have one , dont need one, , I have a machine at home & if I dont anser you know the drill, well unless your a doctor or a bail bondsman or smoe one with a sick family member , then TURN the dammm thing off , & set it to vibrate, then when it buzzes GO OUT OF THE THEATER to answer it, dont sit there & talk to your buddy who is at the pool hall or some other Stupid reason for being on the dammmmm phone , a few years ago I was hit by some goofy woman on her phone merging into traffic, she never looked & came across 3 lanes to hit me , & had the guts to stay on the phone when we were exchanging numbers, that phone was glued to her ear 7 she was talking to her girlfriend & they were getting the dirt on the guy who lived in the apartment between them, I felt like tossing her phone in the river , dammmmm I get pissed when I think about it , breath,breath , breath, ahhhhh '


enjoy, Vince

[FoZzMaN-cl]

So, how many people in the theater applauded you? Know damn well I would've!