Sunday Morning News from the dining room table

[Vince]

if you need directions just call me at the shop724-774-5166

[Vince]

Good morning, it is a COLD wintery day this is the 18th day of Jan 2009, it is snowing here in da Burgh & we have about 8 inches on the ground right now, we were in a deep freeze here the past week, SUB ZERO air temps & with the wind it was almost a Minus 25 , a lot warmer than sum place but a lot colder than we are accostomed to , lets face it if this is Globial warming , I am all for it hahahaha, the cold kills the virus & bacteria as well as some insects , the birds have the right idea , go south durning the winter, why should we stay here & freeze our Cannones off dammmm who said birds were DUMB, it is the human who is trying to out think nature, & it is the human who will get bit on the @$$ every time , no diss to the "bird brain" , they are smarter than we are !!!!!
Not a lot happened this past week, it has been to dammmm Cold to get out and do much, the shop has been busy but nothing major is happening this time of the year, the local econemy is in the tank , just like the rest of the world, sales are OK, but the big ticket items are sitting on the shelf & the bundle stuff is flying out of the store as well as the seconds, , I have been a big supporter of seconds but have stayed away from them at the shop as the supply is not always available in some brands & non existant in others , I have yet to find a true Fuente second anyplace ,,,,,,, BUT thewre are a lot of great bundle smokes out there & we have been selling a lot of them, my personal favorite is the Alcazar #1 , a BIG dark S.O.B. that pairs well with a dark beer & is some what OK with a cup O' Joe , But I still enjoy my Don Carlos #3 with coffee in the morning, it is just a part of my day , like waking up heading to the bathroom to get rid of all that coffee I drank last night ! hahahaha
Breakfast this morning was a single egg , a slice of bacon & a piece of toasted pumpernickle & an orange , I need a few more orange peels some lemon peel, grapefruit & lime peels, the still went hot this week & the annunial NOG & Grog at Alleghney Smoke works is this Saturday in Blawnox Pa , just a few miles NE of PittsBurgH & I am a few miles NW of da Burgh so it will be into town & back out of townnext saturday, I hope I finish the distilling before Thursday, it will need some time to "age" hahahahahaha , a few quarts of brandy with a little citrus kick , just what the doc ordered , in fact he wants 2 bottles this time hahahaha , I hope to get it all done before Tuesday , as the wife will get a little snip at the hospital Tuesday & will be flat on her back a few days , Nothing major , but she is way Uptight , I tell her dont worry, your insurance is all paid up !!!!! , this is the same operation that almost made her a widow a few years ago, we have both had gastric by pass, & I had a TON of hanging skin on the belly ( over 13 pounds of skin was removed) well I was having it done as an out patient & had the BIG CUT at noon & was sent home by 6 PM, well I bled out all night & in the morning my scrotum was like a vollyball BUT it was the greatest color of Purple I have ever seen, well the ambulance took me back to the hospital & I was given 9 pints of blood over the next few days , now she saw how close I was & now she is worried, well her fold of skin is some what smaller than mine was & she has the same doc, I did & he knows she is worried, & hopes to keep her over night & not send her home like he did with me that fast, But she is so uptight about it .............. I think she is worried about who will clean the snow & the so the laundry & all that BS, hey just sit back & relax, take a nap , GOD put the snow here, let GOD get rid of it! , it will get warm in a few months & it will melt, till then there is SALT ! ..................... today I will be making a pot of VEAL stew , I was rearranging stuff in the freezer the other day & I found a small package of veal stew meat in the freezer, its been there since August! , but no freezer burn so it is getting cooked today , I will have a little red pepper ,onion & garlic a little chicken stock & what ever root veggies are in the chill chest , there is a loaf of french bread dough in the freezer that needs baked , today just might be the day for it, , , with the snow comming down , it will be nice to have the oven ON ! , the trees are just Fantastic, I wish I had a camera to put the photos on the web, but I havent figured out how to get my OLD aged Nikon 35mm Film camera to take photos direct to the computer hahahahahaha ...................... & since I still havent bought a cell phone & moved into the 20th century , let alone the 21st hahahaha , yea thats right I dont have a cell phone !! I dont need one or want one, my wife knows if I am not at home I am at the shop, there is a land line there, & an answeing machine, , good enough for me, I have come close to many times of being hit by some @$$hole talking on the cell phone for me to want to be one of them myself, anyhow there are some times I just dont want to talk to anyone, or be found anyplace, & texting, WTF, if you want to tell some one some thing TALK to them ...........
the boys were sort of Low key this week, there was no school Friday we had an air temp of Minus 10 over night so the schools canceled, dammmmm whimps we never had a day off because it was cold, I do remember one day all the busses had flat tires , a weekend prank removing all the stems from the tires , then they put up a fence , OH well that was a fun time hahahahaha , Not that I had anything to do with it , personally I think it was a labor union action to force the school board into a raise for the drivers ,,,, Yea thats it a union problem hahahahaha !!!!
today is the Championship game between the Steelers & the Ravens , I have no predictions other than who ever wins today will beat who ever they play in the super bowl !!!!!!! an all Pa super bowl would be nice, Pittsburgh VS Philly in Fla . but I dont plan on heading south for the game ,I will have a football pool at the shop for the super bowl but I dont know if I will be watching it ............... I might find some thing else to do !.
Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

good evening it is tuesday , Jan 20 ,2009 , I didnt get much of a chance to see the goings on in Washingtopn DC today , My wife had a planned surgery for this morning, about 5.5 /6.0 punnds of skin were removed from the belly, she had a gastric by pass a few years ago just like I did, seams my talents in the kitchen affected (or is it Effected? ) us Both! She is now home sleeping in my tilt back chair, & I am being as quiet as I can as to not disturb her , she is disturbed enough & filled up on Percocet hahahaha ( hey 38 years with me who wouldnt be a little disturbed ) hahaha
since i dodnt have my seat in the living room, & cant watch TV anyhow, ( like there would be some thing to watch on that idiot box , I figured I might just as well get on this idiot box ! , with all the removal of the skin, she is Now without a belly button, , I Gotta check it out when the bandages come off ! , she did get a call from Both grandsons last night & went to bed before Letterman was over , up at 5 AM & back home by 1PM .............. dammmm cheep insurance companys, I pay almost $500 a month for health insurance & they say this is OUT PATIENT ............ BS !!!! well the next 24 hours will be closely watched , set the alarm for every 3 hours .... I sure hope i dont sleep through it ! , I will keep you all updated if anything happens ,,,,, Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 25 Jan. 2009.............. it has been a COLD week here in da burgh but Friday it was about 40F , just enough to melt some of the snow & when it hit a low of 7F last night , yep it froze & we had an ice rink, EVERYPLACE I went , it was a lot of FUN let me tell you ! , still have all 4 fenders on the car, & no bruses on my Butt.............. How long will that last .... who knows ! Winter, it sucks, I remember when I was a kid, I loved going out in the snow, it was a money maker for me , shovel walks & driveways, , pile up snow & make a jump for the sleds, , , , snow forts , & dont forget the freezer full of snow balls for the 4th of July snowballl fight !!!!! , they were like rocks by then, but toss them in the pool at each other, it stung but it was Fun..................... Yep winter sucks when you get old, , I am reminded of a saying you dont stop playing when you get old, you just get old when you stop playing............. well I havent stopped playing YET, but I have changed the games a little ............ No more running after fly balls in the outfield , I have moved to first base, , No more deep pass routs, I moved in to tight end, , No more basketball , the knees just dont respond as well on that hard floor, soccer, well I never did understand it , all that running is for young kids , I have put the tennis racket away , & never did like Golf, , , hit the ball & chase it, not my idea of PLAYING, ....................Dominos, BRING it, , Black jack No problem, I can count to 21 if I pull down my zipper hahahahahaha , No more LOUD music, I just turn it up so I can hear it, hahahahaha , BUT I laugh my way to the back to cash that social security check every month ............. well it is direct deposit , but you get the idea, you know that Social security is a BIG Ponzy scheem, just like Madoff had going, but since the government runs it its OK, BS is all I have to say, I wish I had all that I put in to the social security system , Invested in stocks, Bonds & Mutiual funds , even with the 1.8 I lost with Michael Milken with the Junk Bonds & the 88K I had to pay Drexil, Burnam, & Lambert , when he put them out of business ..... dammmmm its only money , so now instead of being well off living in the Fla.Keys for the winter & back to the Burgh for the summer, I am stuck here all year ,nest egg gone still working , BUT the money i lost made some one happy for a short time , & since we are just here on this earth for a short time I hope they had FUN while it lasted, I have had my share of Fun, I am enjoying the grandsons , living my YOUTH all over again........ & again.................. & will till I am slid into the BIG BOX with 6 of my old friends hauling my formerly Fatt ass off to the Final rest at the creamatorium, put a bottle of scotch in the box with me, & a few fine cigars to carry me to the next life & I will be a happy man, ..... dammm I never know where this BS is going to take me or end up, one minute I am bitching about winter & them talking about the BIG Dirt nap, I just dont under stand to corelation .............. hey your the one sitting there reading this BS hahahaha, I just plink on the computer key board with my 2 index fingers & hope what ever comes out makes some sort of sence, or at lest some laughs here & there ..........
well lets get back to the BS at hand, Barb (wife & the Boss) is resting in the living room, she is feeling MUCH better , still has the 3 drains on her gut we empty them every few hours , the amounts have been all over the place , as much as 90CC & as small as 2CC , BP is fine but her heart rate is a little high , I get to PLAY with the rubber gloves & get to measure all the out put, Just like I did when I had this a few years ago, Now the roles are reversed , I am taking care of her, , some thing different arround her, I have always done the cooking & she has taken care of the grass & snow, it works for us, well Now I have to do the laundry, I was all set to tackle it Saturday , well when i got home from work Friday night , it was all done, she did it AGAINST the doctors orders, & mine to JUST TAKE IT EASY, well when I got home , it was all cleaned up & ready for a new week, she didnt trust me to fold & put anything away, I didnt get a chance to PLAY with the washer or the dryer, dammmmm I was looking fwd to that, hahahahahaha

things at the shop are a little slow as the weather is Cold & the econemy is down, BUT the STEELERS will be in the Super bowl AGAIN this year, 6 times to the Big dance, & 5 rings , , Now I wonder WHY I gave up my season tickets , well I look at the temp & remember, TO FRIGGING COLD , maybe if we were in a domed statium, BUT then it wouldnt BE PITTSBURGH ................. speaking of the way the ecomemy is headed, I think the bail out for the auto compayes 7 the backs was done all wrong, the Government gave money to the @$$holes who made the mess, My way would be Give it ( the money ) to the consumers & let the government MATCH us or give us a % of the selling price as a rebate , , lets just say the SUV market is in the toilet ( and it is ) well if you got a $15K rebate from Uncle Sam a Stimilus to the car company, they will sell more SUVS , the more they sell the more taxes they pay,. the more sales tax we pay, every one wins, the same with the bank, GIVE me matching funds or a Stimulis deposit in MY account, I spend the moey at the local level, & all the local business do better, they spend my money & the rest of the customers money at different places, in turn they buy other stuff, * it just GROWS, But if you give the MONEY to the corperations , they spend it on new carpets for the executive washrooms & there vacation homes out of the country, .............. Burgdoff Goodmans & Tiffanys will do OK but what about the little guys , the MOM & POP shops , the small family owned places , we keep the big corperations working, if we have the cash infushion at the local level it will work its way UP to the BIG guys sooner or later
Every one thinks Ronnie Reagen was the big mover behind trickle down economics, BUT it was JFK who first cut takes to the Big shots & inturn they SPENT a lot of money, things were in full swing, the treasury was a wash in money , when the tax rates are low people have more money to spend, & they Do, when taxes & intrust are High no one has any money to spend, you just cant tax your way to prosperity ! ............. dammmm I am on a roll today , Just cant type fast enough to keep up with the thoughts !
Saturday was the anniul NOG & GROG at Alleghney smoke works , in Blawnox Pa , we had a great time , sipped a little coffee, a little Hooch , smoked a few fine cigars, & bought a few for my self that I dont have in my shop., gotta try the stuff first, looks like I will be ordering some new stuff as soon as I can, LIKE MONDAY !
Since its Sunday & Cold outside, the oven will be on, POTROAST ........... again, dammmmm my wife is getting what she wants again, I wish she liked some thing else beside Beef, not that I( have anything against beef, I like mine char grilled rare, when she wants beef its well done in the oven, same critter, just a different cut............ , I was going to cook a little bit of chicken , BUT she wants the STANDARD so she gets it, easy to avoid a fight just give her what she wants ............. hen pecked, NO way not me, Pussy whipped, NO way not me , Smart, I cant stay awake all the time, I need to sleep some time, so I avoid any probles at all , & I can sleep safe .......
I havet had a chance to roast any coffee this week & was running low, so i had to BUY some all ready roasted, NOT BAD , But Not Great.. the brand will be nameless BUT I did get a little bit of roasted coffee from onne of the places I get my green coffee from & it was dammm good, ( thats for Home But the guys at the shop get the crap & Friday night , 5 pots of coffe at the shop & everone Bitched &, moaned about the NO Body, Flat taste , & other BS , & they were correct , well I hope I get some time to roast a little some time today .................. I hope I havent BORED you with my ramblings today, But some times you just got to VENT !
Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good Morning , it is Sunday FEB.1 2009, where did the January thaw go ? , we never did see it here in da Burgh, snow & ice , what a mess, but now that is all behind us & we are g for the Groundhog on Monday to see or not see his shadow, , if he see'e his shadow we are in for 6 more weeks of winter, No shadow , an early spring, well no matter what the groundhog has to say, it will be a long time for the ice & snow all to melt & I cant complain to much or I will start to sound like my wife hahahaha , Good thing she never reads this stuff ! , well I talked her out of the hunk of beef today , I have some veal that will be getting the once over shortly, , a braised veal shank , some veggies & rice , , looks like a great meal for SUPERBOWL SUNDAY , dammmm I almost forgot today is the 7th time the steelers have been in the Super Bowl, 5 wins , one loss so far, today it will be the 6 time super bowl champs, I hope the final score is Pittsburgh 22 & the Cardinals 12 , I got the 2's on the football pool ! , well no matter how it turns out , no matter what the final score & who ever wins , I am sure it will be a great game, I dont think I will see much or any of it since I am still playing nurse to the boss, she had 2 of the 3 drains removed from her gut on Tuesday , No Thursday, & we go back next week to have the last one taken out, , right now she is driving me NUTZ , she isnt allowd to do much of anything , but she is tired of reading, tired of watching TV , tired of sitting when there is snow to clean & laundry to do, .......... the OCD isnt helping hahahaha . well I dumped 40 pounds of salt & 45 pounds of calicum on the drive way & side walks , & I still have a mess of BS melting & refreezing at the end of the drive way , to bad the drive is sloped down & not up, all the water runs down the drive , on to the sidewalk & then freezes all over again, , its like a hockey rink , with out the boards to keep you on the ice ! , I was thinking of adding a few gallons of gas or keroseen to the cement walks & setting them on fire, melting the snow & ice & letting the water run off in the grass, killing the grass then there is no need to cut it in the summer, hahahaha
I was at the Doc my self this week, I have a lump on my testical & the doc told me dont worry about it , unless it gets any bigger & starts to hurt MORE than it all ready has, ... dammmm I have 2 eye surgerys set, getting the cataracts removed, & that is a must asap, driving at night is getting tuff, I just hope this will help, but some of the other OLDFARTS who have had this done still tell me its tuff to drive at night , well I might just change my schedual & have some one drive me other than crazy hahahaha
for the first time in 2 weeks I have the heat on in the Qtr.Deck, I will be enjoying a fine old havana this first day of feb, with a big mug of Moca java ( the kona is all ready history this morning as well as the Don Carlos #3) , it looks like a partagas serie P torp will be next, & a casa fuente after the veal shank , later tonight I have a GOD OF FIRE by Carlito or by Don Carlos to pick from, hummmmm , I dont know for sure, but I have a great single malt to open , a full body Islay , maybe I might skip the GOF all to gether & just fire up a trippple maduro Camacho , dammmmm to much to pick from. Not much else happening in da burgh, the grandsons were off school a few days because of the weather, I dont under stand that, close the school on the idea it will be to cold for the kids to wait outside for the school buss, well I road the buss ( NO NOT THE SHORT ONE HAHAHAHA)school, & I remember one time the bus didnt show up & twice we had No school as all the busses were sitting on flat tires , so in my 12 years of public education I can remember 3 days of no school, but that was a long time ago & my memorie isnt as good as I hoped it would be, selective memorie like my hearing hahahahaha , well they just delay school start time by 2 hours & make the class time shorter, go to Gym class, change into the Gym clothes, , roll call , play 2 min. of basket ball, shower & to the next class, , it was a TUFF LIFE hahahaha thats about all I have today short & sweet , maybe I will get the mind working a little bit more later in the week ! , maybe NOT , Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday 8th of Feb. 2009........ a warm day here in da Burgh , after a few weeks of below zero temps it is 40F today with 15 to 20 MPH winds , still not sunbathing weather but no parka & sled dogs to get to work hahahaha , the ground is showing a little grass here & there , the snow & ice are slowly melting & what was frozen ground is now Slippery muddy bogs .............. the boss went to the doc & he still left one drain in her belly it is putting out about 50 CC's of fluid a day not a lot but still a pain to deal with.................. the boys have been low key all week as there other grandfather ( well step grandfather ) passed away , he has been sick a few years & just gave up after owning a local Pub from 1976 till a few months ago , he consumed 2 life times worth of Beer & booze, in the end it is what killed him, , he will be missed by a lot of brewerys & distillers, for not only what he sold but his personal consumption, , , , he was a lot of Fun to hang out with, he will be missed, so heres to you Fat Eddie ..... Bottoms UP !
dammmm thats about all I have today, it was a slow week at the shop, & the coffee consumption is at an all time high 6 pots last friday, ( now I didnt drink it all the shop was full & it was cold out & after the football season hangover that so many customers had they were drinking coffee ) OH yea , the Steelers won the SUPERBOWL , , , AGAIN 6 wins , 1 loss , 7 trips to the superbowl, now would be the place to place a disparaging remark to the fans of the browns or any other team that has NEVER even been to the superbowl let alone win it 6 TIMES ,,,,,,,,,,,,, but I am above all that petty stuff , hahahaha , Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 15 FEB. 2009, the day AFTER Saint Valentines day, an other "Hallmark" holiday , I think the card companys invent a lot of the BS just to sell cards, at 2000% markup or More , 5 bucks for a piece of cardboard with some lace & printing, BS, BUT if you DONT get one your in the Dog house with the BOSS, speaking of the Boss she is doing a lot better, the last drain has been removed , & she is getting on my nerves as usual , you didnt do this right , you didnt do that right , , HEY its done, let it alone , well she cant , & it drives me NUTZ, today she informs me we are taking down the Christmas lights , its 38F outside & I will need to re install the motion dector lights , she cant wait for a nice warm sunny day , its TODAY , & since she is getting dressed for the outside weather I need to get my valium taken so it will kick in by the time she starts to NAG , BUT I'M ONLY TRYING TO HELP .................. yea & the lions were only trying to help the Christians get to heaven faster ............
we had a slow week at the shop, the econemy isnt helping sales at all, Governer Ed SWINDELL of Pa wants to tack on a new tax on Cigars, the Schip program is a forgone conclusion & we will be paying out the @$$ in new taxes on our cigars, what Prohibition did for Booze this will do for Cigars ............. I am thinking about getting a truck & start making trips to Canada , BUY a ton of maple syrup & hide a few boxes of Cigars in the mix, sell the sweet stuff & keep the cigars for myself & few good friends , who knock at the peep hole & know the pass word, , you all have heard about the Preimbargo Cuban cigars well this will be the PRE Tax revolt cigars hahahaha

the grandsons are doing well, nothing exciting to tell you about this week, no major goings on , just to cold to go out & do much, but spring is just arround the corner & soon the pool will be cleaned & the sun will be shining & the Dog (PONY) will be out sunning him self .............. if he would be able to control the drooling he would be a lot more fun to take in the car hahahahaha , open the sun roof & he sits on the passenger seat & looks out the top , but the wind brings the drool back in the car , thank GOD I have glasses on ! hahahaha .........

I have some chicken defrosted & a few nice red bell peppers ready to roast, dont know what I will be doing other than that, I will think of some thing when I get to the kitchen & see what else is out there............

Ths morning Coffee today is the traditional Kona BUT I have a Pot of morning JOY , blended up by a local coffee roaster ........... & its not bad at all , I will be getting deeper into it later whith a cigar , as soon as I get the light on the front deck replaced , I have the heat all ready on in the Qtr.Deck & hope to be showered & have the lights done by 1 PM ... ...... After the Don Carlos #3 I have a Rocky Patel Winter blend Robusto & I might fire up a Casa Magna Just for $hit$ & Gigles , a fine smoke BUT I dont think its the Cigar of the year material , BUT then again , just like all people with opinions , you can repace it with an @$$hole, because every one has one, an opinion & an @$$hole !

I have no Comment about the Bail out package, all I can say is I hope my great grandsons can pay it off ! ............. bunch of hacks & loosers in the congress, you cant tax your way to prosperty , you need to MAKE some thing manufacturing is the key, start with a raw material & make a finished product .... Sell it , That is the back bone of commerce .............. a little barter here & there & soon everyone is depending on everyone else for what ever it is you specialize in we work together, everyone wins, but DONT BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU & thats just what our congress is doing to the public, living high on the hof on our Dime , telling us they are going to pass on NEXT years pay raise but they are going to take this years pay raise , by next Janurary they will think we forgot & find some way to suck up more of our hard earned cash........... I wish our Congress would read the papers of Monroe , Jefferson & Franklin & take it to heart , I think we would all be in a better place & maybe a few lessons from the BIBLE might help a lot also ! .................................................. .................................................. ......



The Cigar crawl is up & running, the bus is filling up fast, check out
Western Pennsylvania Cigar Crawl
we need to fight for our rights to smoke cigars & pipes with out being Taxed to death!!!!
well Barb is in the shower & wants some one to wash her back, since I am the only one here ................ hahahah Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday 22 Feb 2009, & its time for the Morning smoke ! , out the gate with my favorite morning smoke was the Don Carlos #3 , but before I even got to it I had to move a little snow, , so I cleaned a path to the Qtr. Deck, turned on the heat & went back to the rest of the walkways & drive ways , about 5 pounds of calicum Cloride , & I was in the deck for a few minutes , the temp haddent got above 40 in there yet so it was off to the car which had been warming all the time , so I popped the roof & sat there enjoying my sunday morning Kona & DC3 , & since today is Sunday & that means there is a chuck roast headed for the oven soon, I dont understand her, but I guess we as men are never going to understand the ladys in our lives, its Sunday I want beef, OK you got it , ,,,,,, easyer to join in the madness than fight it ! , ........................... she was back at the docs & every thing is looking OK, she should be back on her broom soon hahahahaha , , we had a water line break at the shop on Monday thank GOD it was outside, , but we didnt get water back in service till Saturday !!!, & since monday was a Holiday , it just made thing a little tuffer to start to deal with the boro , well the water main is burried in the middle of the street which just happens to be a state highway , our shut off is on the side walk but the city stripped the head in the valve & wants US to replace it , well it was a convulated mess, who was paying for what , who needed there permits , who was going to pay for traffic control, & on & on & on just a bunch of BURACRATIC BULL $HIT, well I tossed 1500 bucks on the table told the SOBS to GET ER DONE , dont tell me anything dont ask me to sign anything, just DO it , if you need more cash TUFF , I need water & I am tired of going out to the parking lot to take a piss, & I cant MAKE COFFEE at work, as it just makes me go more often so I have been in a foul mood all week, , No coffee, no bathroom, hauling water from home to make sure the cigars keep moist, we are using 6 gallons a day in the humidifyers , thats 3 trips to the car to take them out & 3 trips from the car to bring them in the shop, dammmmm a gallon of water in each hand is heavy, ever since i lost the 202 pounds I just dont have the wearwithall to carry any loads , that 20 pound bag of Bird feed is about all I can do with out a lot of effort, but for sume reason holding 2 gallons of water in each had is just more than my back & arms are comfortable with , so its one in each hand & make an extra trip !
other than that it was a QUIET week , yea like the "Quiet room " at the Hospital hahahaha ( you know that room with matresses on the walls ) hahahahahaha
well its time for a second pot of coffee, I think it will be a moca java or maybe a dark roast Columbian , depends on what cigar I pull out of the humi next ! Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday MARCH FIRST , 2009 a little closer to the time of the year for halter tops & hot pants ............ who can forget the posters of dasiy duke in her high heals & white sox s............... I guess I am showing my age , a little ......the ORGINAL DAISY not that knock off of a few years ago , dammmmm my memorie is getting as bad as my spelling jessicia simpson, britney spears , who the H3LL it was , Oh well I cant even remember the name of the one that was on the TV show , & that was the HOT one hahaha
Oh well back to the Sunday Morning smoke & forget about all that waisted silicone & Plastic surgery............
its tuff for me to focus this morning , I havent had anything to drink YET ,( JUST PLAIN BLACK COFFEE) but I am sort of in a fog, , the Sun is out the sky is Blue & the temp is in the low 30's , 99% of the snow has melted & the grass is a nice soft Brown / Green , I am ready to call for a ban on snow for the rest of the season ! Yea like that will solve anything hahaha Speaking of solving some thing , well I am not a political type & am a bit more Conservative than liberal, But the policys of jimmy Carter are not what we need now, Dont raise taxes, LOWER them STOP GOVERNMENT spending, some of you Young people remember Ronnie Reagen , & remember his trickle down econimics policy & it was a page out of the play book BY J F K ! , yep JFK was the author of the reagen policy , hard to imagine a Conservative Democrat , Nothing at all like his brother ted, a tax & spend liberal, NO, JFK had his Ducks in a row, & removed the words Silver Certificate from our money & replaced it with Federal reserve note , I think thats why he was shot, , no , just the word change didnt do it , the actions it made happen on wall street did , when your money is backed by gold or silver it has a VALUE, but when its backed by nothing more than FAITH in the government it has NO value , even the banks in Achiant Rome had Coins made of Gold, silver & copper & when thewre was a run on the banks the emporior took gold & filled the vaults at the banks to keep them solvent, , the history of money , boom & bust go way back to before records were kept. but I am not here to give a history lesson or one in social economics , Lets talk Cigars, whisky, coffee & food ! , First up this morning was a Don Carlos #4 , a little smaller than my usual #3 But it was a bit chilly out & I had to get things done so I cut down the size & time of the morning walk & cigar , the coffee is of course Kona , & the next pot will be Moka Java with a Davidoff millinium lonsdale size , after that who knows what goodies I might find in a humidor or maybe in a box hidden under the bed hahahahahaha

I have a small hunk of veal today , it will get the royal treatment to a nice dice of red peppers, onions, garlic & some tomato , a bit of Brown rice & a slow oven , should be on the table about 4PM .............. a nice bottle of wine & some thick crusted bread , a little cheese & fruit after & maybe a scotch , & a cigar ...... hUMMMMM sounds like a Sunday at My place hahaha
The boys went to Columbus OHIO to visit there step mothers father this weekend, lucky kids get an extra 2 set's of grand parents after both parents get remarried .......... you could sprain your wrist addressing cards to all the extended family !
Now that Feb is in the books & march is comming in like a Lamb I hope we have a better month, no plumbing problems, No electrial problems No roof problems & no Furnace or A/C problems , JUST a great month of sales & promotions , the government gets smart & repals the tax & we get to keep our prices low , looks like the feds are going to get 40 cents a stck & here in Pa Governer Fast Eddie Swindellie will get 3 cents a stick & 1%added to the sales tax taking us to 7% .......... times are Tuff so you raise taxes so we have less to spend...... yea right !!!!

I noticed a Bit of RUST on my rear wheel wells on my sable , 9 years old 170K + on the clock & it is showing signs of age , looks like a trip to the body shop in the spring, I want to get 240K on this car before I retire it a TRIP to the Moon, , Now if I get 480K that will be a Round trip to the moon ! , I dont see that happening BUT who knows I am still getting 20 MPG on it , its comfortable & the CD player & radio work as well as the A/C & heater, the remote starter is still working & the only things thats bad on the car is the dash light dont work, & the cruise control will not engage , so I have a clip on book light to light up the dash at night as the bulbs are only a buck each but the entire dash has to come out so said the service manager & the labor will be 150 Bucks to replace 6 bulbs, BS I said & got a battery powered light for 2 Bucks & click it on when I need it, the light is OK in the radio so I am COVERED !
I thinkits time for me to get my Lazy @$$ out to the kitchen & get the veal started, get the heat on in the Qtr.Deck & get my Sunday off to a great start !, Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 6 March , 2009
the first day of daylight savings here in da Burgh , lost an hour of sleep last night so I made up for it this morning ! , yea like my body can tell the difference of one hour, its raining here so I dont see much sun , & the body will adjust with the time of the year & amount of sun shine you get
so I dont see any rational thought behind the "daylight savings time " , you get up when you need to , we shoulnt be goverenend by a clock, ( but come to think of it , a clock might make a better governer than what we have here in Pa . ) old fast eddie rendell , wants more of my hard earned taxes to help pay his buddys there graft & coruption moneys, first he mandates a state freeze on hirering & as soon as one of his buddys looses his seat in the state house he appoints him to a new job in a new breaucracy paying 96K a year & he is getting his state pention for being an elected offical over 7 years & that is a full ride with health care & all the rest of the BS we taxpayers are footing the bill for " a BUNCH OF CROOKED BA$TARD$, Geeee it great to live in the USA , we might have the same Crooked B@$T@RD$ as they do in other countrys but we have the FREEDOM to say so with out being sent to jail, , hold on a phone call for me , be right back, , , , , ,. , Dammmmm the state revinue service , looks like I am going to be auditited hahahaha , as you all know the S Chip program has passed the congress & Barock has sighed it , ( W vetoed it TWICE) so our cigars will go up in price AGAIN & fast eddie rendelle( governer of PA) never to be left in the back seat has added a state tax on top of the feds so he will be getting more of our hard earned moey in taxes , dammmmmmm I dont know about you But I am FED up with this BS , I have less spendable income today than I did when I was working 2 jobs at the same time , but if this trend of tax & spend keeps up I will need to find that elusive second job to keep things going at the cigar shop , I have had to cut down on my consumption of "Embargoed" cigars , exotic coffees & vintage whiskys , back to smoking machine rolled ( never going to happen ) instant coffee YUCK & blended scotch vs the single malt ,,,,, dammm what this great country slidding back to , I worked hard for MANY years to get myself into the good life of the AMERICAN DREAM, well my car is paid for ( but my wifes isnt ) the house is paid for & we used to have a little money in the bank & some in the stock market , so now we dont have as much in the market as we did , it just evaporated hahahaha at lest I didnt get taken by bernie madoff like I was taken by michael milken , but that as they say is an other story ................

We have a lot of rain in the forcast today & I have a don carlos #2 torp this morning as soon as I get off the computer, I will be heading out to the Qtr.Deck with the last of the pot of sunday morning Kona & a pot of moca java right behind it, seams to me like a nice fallow up, & it pairs well with the DC2 , Meat loaf is on the menu today , YEA not a hunk of POTROAST , so later I will be slicing & diceing a few veggies to add to the mix of ground veal,pork & beef , a little herbs & seasonings , mash up a few spuds make some gravy & we are Home free of hassel & work, way easyer than falling off a log !!!

Barb is recovering well from her visit to the doc, we go back Wed , & she should be able to remove the binder from her lower back & belly, , I have been rubbing Vit.E oil on the scar all month now, so she should be fine in a few more weeks ,,,,,,,,, the boys ( grandsons) are still being a pain in the
@$$ , thats there JOB till they get out of school & get a job,, then they become a BIGGER Pain .................

Not much else happening right now , time for me to get out to the Qtr.Deck & start the day off right with a Fine cigar & a MUG of coffee, & maybe a little Dram later hahahahaha ( maybe 2 or 3 ) hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good Morning it is Sunday 15 March 2009, as history goes to day is the day Brutis & his henchmen killed his friend Julis Ceaser , so I guess the political world hasnt changed much in all these years , we might not resort to using a gun or knife as much but it is still practiced in the media & by word of mouth, NOT that some of them SOB's dont deserve it hahahaha , just a little gallows humor , I have been thinking about running for a local office here in the township where I have lived the past 30 some years , not where I grew up & went to school, but I dont think I am a carpet bagger but it is still in the same county , not like some of the national political hacks that move to a state just to run for a national office ( Hillary) , you know I wouldnt have a problem with her if she had run from Illinois where she was from or from Arkansas, where she was married to the governer , but thats for a different time & place to expouse my views on political BS ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,
breakfast was a toasted english muffin with a slice of Hot Pepper cheese , slice of bacon & an egg with a broken yoke , a dab of olive oil mayo & a Big Mug of kona , , I have a Don Carlos #3 clamped in my jaws & will be firing up a great old La tradicione from 1993 corona soon , hard to believe I have cigars from 93 still in my humidor , should have smoked them a LONG time ago hahahaha , dammm I still have 3 from 1970 ( when I got married , it will be 39 years in August, dammm I could have been getting out of Jail just about now hahahahaha
there are Stuffed Peppers in the slow cooker for today, should be ready about 4 or 5 , a few mashed spuds & we are in fat city !!!
I had a great friday at the shop, busy all day sipped a good deal of scotch , drank a LOT of coffee & smoked a few contraband stogies ....... it was a good day hahaha hey any day your GIVEN a great smoke by a friend & get to sip a weeee dram with that friend , well it dont get much better than that !
I got a suprise when the postman delivered a package from a buddy in Tombstone Ariz. , , 2 bottles of Joe Perrys Hot sauce , yea baby , sweet, hot & tasty , I wanted to lick it off the wife behind but she said that was just a little kinky for her ,,,,,,,,,,, oh well it was a good idea anyhow hahaha , its wonderfull on eggs , the JP hot sauce that is , ( for you YOUNG guys & gals Joe Perry is the Guitar player for Aerosmith , a ROCK band from the early days of hard rock ) , you might want to google Aerosmith for more info on one of the best bands to get off drugs & become millionairs , closing in on 60 years old the band still rocks & still has ALL the orginal members , lead singer Steven Tyler is now a grandfather , I dont know about the rest of the band , I just get up dated by my wife who is a HUGE aerosmith fan, , but as always when she talks I just get evey third or forth word in every fifth or sixth sentence ................ yes dear thats nice ........
now that the peppers are cooking the day is Sunny & bright I think I might be heading out for a Cigar , coffee 7 a scotch, dammmmm I hate to dig my self into a rut, seams like all I ever do is eat ,smoke ,sleep & drink, dammmmm its a TUFF life .............. hahahaha Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 22 March 2009 a cool clear day here in da burgh, the eye surgery went well , the laws of murphy were all in place, ( if anything can go wrong , it will ) so dont sneeze when your having your eye worked on hahahaha , the cateract is gone, the new lens is in place but I still have a little blurrryness , lots of eye drops & the right eye gets the same treatment on April 2 , so I will be some what needing a driver for a few days next month also, it was nice having a day off from the shop, last thursday ( when I was at the hospital ) , came home took a nap & everything went well, went to the shop a little Friday evening, & enjoyed a Cigar, the first one since wendsday, some how I never did get one on thursday , dammmm doctors & the asthesia , made me sleepy & I didnt get my cigar fix for the day DAMMMM ! The small things we do get stay healthy hahahaha !
Since I missed 2 days of work at the shop , ( I was there friday but as a customer ) things went well, there were 3 boxes from UPS that I will get to on Monday , I have no idea what they are , I didnt even pull the packing list from the box, so I will get on it Monday Morning, & we got a NEW MOP, Bucket & Ringer , YEA, hey you can take the Boy out of the Navy but you cant take the Navy out of the Boy , ( how do you seperate a new sailor from an old salt ~~~~~~ with a crowbar > hahahaha ) yep I spent a lot of time dancing with the mop, or as we called it swab, hence the nick name swabbie , well it brought back a lot of good memories , & now the floor is as shinny as it was when it was NEW .............. & it will stay that way !

I will be heading out to the kitchen soon , & today I have a small PORK ROAST ............... NO BEEF ! AMEN, this hunk of piggy will get the apple & prune treatment , along with a little bit of hot peppers, a sweet & hot mixture that should make the wife happy, I HOPE !!!!

the grandson has a little Piano thing this afternoon an open house at his new teachers studio , he is playing at 2 pm so I will miss a few afternoon cigars today, , but do not fear my friends I will get my alotment of smokes in today some how, the Qtr.deck was busy last night as my Brother in law stopped out & the sisters went shopping, well it was a great time, a lot of scotch was sipped & lot of cigars were smoked & a LOT OF BS was sent out ! hahahaha , I have no idea what they went shopping for , but I did find a bunny with a bell hanging from the door knob, ( an EASTER TYPE BUNNY , not a playboy type bunny ) ..... some times I wonder about you guys & gals, I find I need to Explain almost everything, I guess thats the draw back of the internet, you dont get the inflection in the voice to "know" what I am talking about, , Bring back the telephone, NO CELL phones, No TEXTING, No instant photos, , Bring back the Fountain Pen, Paper ( Stationary ) & learning to write in script, my calligraphy skills have declined , & this computer is one of the reasons, BUT it enables me to reach a lot more people with MY BS so I guess the trade off is there !
I enjoy the feedback of CONVERSATION ( & you dont have to Spell out anything ) , today the english speaking population has about 5 times as many words to choose from as they did in the time of William Shakespear , granted a lot of the words are tecknolagey based ( again no need to spell if you were speaking instead of typing ) But I digress, so it is back to the Sunday Morning smoke, , & it was a MADURO Hemming way given to me by a Customer last friday Night ................. in his humidor since 99 , I just HAD to try it , so this morning at 7AM I was up to get the Sunday paper, turned on the heat in the Qtr.deck, came in with the paper & made a Pot of Jacu Bird Coffee, yep Bird $hit coffee , some what like the Civet cat $hit coffee from Indonesia , but this is from Brazil & a MUCH better flavor that the civet stuff, , this a FULL body coffee that was a full DARK roast & then just a little more , deep rich color on the Shiney beans, verrrry moist & had to clean up the grinder when it was done , but a GREAT cup of coffee

My car is in the shop for the state inspection, its now 9 years old & starting to cost me money every few months, this trip to the car doctor will be over 600 , last November it was a grand to rebuild the front end, , all the, shocks ,springs ,ball joints, tie rods & alignment with 2 tires , this time its the rear brake drums , Brakes & springs & the Emmisions didnt pass eather, so I hope what ever went wrong with that part is cheep, But I know it will be Big Bucks so why even waiste my time hoping its a $3.00 hose & not a $300.00 sensor , as they say $hit Happens .But I guess 600 twice a year is cheeper than 400 a month for a car payment , & I realy like this car, a 2000 sable, with almost 200K on it , still getting 20 MPG in town going back & forth to work ! cant beat it, its comfortable & has everything I want short of the heated seats ! , it is starting to show its age, as the paint is starting to go & the rust is starting to show up over the back tires , I want to keep it about 5 more years , then I will inhearit the wifes Limited edition Taurus ( IT HAS THE HEATED SEATS ) YAHOOOO !!!
well its time to head to the kitchen & start to beat that pork roast into submission !!! Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 29 March 2009, a big wonderfull sun filled morning here in the Burgh , the birds are all over the feeder & the temp is going into the 60's today , , the grass has started to show a little bit of growth & is getting greener as we speak, , I can say it has been a long strange winter here in da Burgh & I am glad its over, but you poor pouls in the plains states with the high water, snow & COLD, God Bless you !
we had a Fun week at the shop Pedro Gonzales the owner of Don Gonzales Cigars was here for a few days & we did a few tastings at the shops in the area , had a lot of fun & got to sip a little home made wine , at a few different shops, Man I love tasting the stuff that is made at home & not the stuff that is full of sulfides to retard the growth of the bacteria like in so many commerical wines , give me that good old Home made stuff anytime, granted some of it is mighty sour , but when you find a good one , you cant beat it with a stick !
I have been trying new morning cigars again, the Butera Vintage maduro robusto is getting some nice vibes from the old taste buds , but still I havent found anything to replace the Don Carlos #3 .......... its the right size & the right TASTE, the #4 is OK a little smaller than the 3 but not a bad replacement , , finding that PERFECT morning cigar is a challenge you all should embark on , a journey into the taste buds , is this to strong for you in the morning, is this to mild for you in the morning , is it the right flavor , is it the right size, all of the questions must be answered , But I will keep up with my reasearch & report the finding when I get new Information to pass on.
Last night I went to the Lincoln school for performing arts & witnessed the Ballet Du Bond , a ballet set to the music of the classic James Bond Storys , the narater was Ieon Flemming , played by the drama teacher, & it was great, the dancer who play Bond, James Bond was first rate & only a JR. at the school , he will be back in a few more shows this year & next, , & the girl who payed Miss Moneypenny............. well lets say I had to remind myself she was only a Highschool girl ! dammmmmmmmmm !
I will be heading to the kitchen soon for some Chicken & brown rice , I might toss in a little hot pepper cheese to the pot today , I havent thought much about it yet, (In other words the boss hasnt given her OK on todays menu ) Gotta keep her happy , & it was tuff enough to get her to by pass the pot roast ( her favorite )
The eye is doing well & today I started the drops for the right eye & that one gets cut this comming Thursday , so by this time next week I will have had it done & will report back then !
The grandsons are just waiting for the Easter break at school, & I cant wait till lent is over & all the guys who gave up cigars for lent will be back with a Passion ! (I HOPE) , I never under stood why we will Give up something we enjoy for lent, , , , as Ben Franklin said "Beer is Proof that God loves us , & wants us to be happy " well if God wants us to be happy , why should we give up something that makes us happy ???? , far be it from me to debate the bible with anybody !!!.............................

My car was in the shop again, last year it was the front end, this time is was the rear end, the brake drums were replaced along with the brakes, rear springs & all the other BS that takes to keep a car with 175K on the clock still on the road ,,,, it is still cheeper to fix it than to get a brand new car, , I will wait till the new one we got for the boss last year is paid for , then I will get that one & she will get a new one , I didnt want her last one , it was well under 100K & it did have all the toys I wanted , even a few i could do with out , but it was just not ME , I love my sable , it is the right size for me, her Contour was OK but it was just a hair to small for me, it might have been able to work for me but it was 13 years old , her new Taurus will fit a lot better for me when it gets passed on to me , who knows what we will replace it with in a few years, or if there is an American car to replace it with !
I havent looked at the statement for the 401K ............ to depressing !
so here we are battling a Budget that is out of ballance , spending more & more money on BS every day , AIG is on everyone's mind but some @$$hat in the senate put the wording in the bill to pay the blood suckers , He is the one the outrage should be leveled at not the big $hit$ at AIG, , lets face it , our FEDERAL Government is OUT OF CONTROL , time to put a stop to the BIG Brother attitude , get back to a smaller federal hold on our life & let the states & local government take a little more control of the situation the feds should be involved it the trade, the boarders & national defence, along with delivery of the mail, not the Quasi government enity we are dealing with today, the post master general making 800K + a year is out of site , last time I looked the president didnt make all that much & the PMG isnt even a cabnet post anymore ..................
thats about it for today, time for me to hit the shower , & get the chicken & rice on the stove ................. Enjoy, Vince .................... sorry for the late posting the local internet was down this morning, a car hit a pole & took out the cable !

[dinoa2]

good to see your post vince, havent seen you for a while on any forum I inhabit.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by dinoa2

good to see your post vince, havent seen you for a while on any forum I inhabit.

I have been here since the move , didnt miss a week yet, but it did get moived fromm the cigar posting to the non cigar general BS , Glad you found it ! Enjoy, Vince