Sunday Morning News from the dining room table

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 12 July, 2009 & a Beauty of a day here in da burgh, it has been a fantastic summer so far , not all that hot not all that wet, , the garden looks great the birds are well fed & the grass hasent dryed out yet so it still needs a trim every week, we have hardly used the central A/C all year as of yet , but the dog days of august will soon be upon us , I have a LOT to do today , it is going to be a little busy arround here , looks like I will not be hitting the Qtr.deck anytime soon, , after breakfast , I got the Sunday hunk of beef in the oven , should be ready to eat about now ( MOOOOO ) , but the Boss wants it in the oven till at lest 3:30 this afternoon, , boys & girls, can you say Wellllll Done , Yuck ! , well done , just not in my lexicon of terms associated with beef ,oh well 39 years with the boss so far niether of us has budged on the way we like our beef, hahahaha
we did go to the movie last night , a sandra bullock film the Proposial , funny flick, Betty White played the grandmother , Funny stuff, it was Barbs pick & I went as to not start a disagreement, but it was a good flick, , I might even go back to see it again , this time with out all the cell phones ging off , dammmm @SS hole they tell you TWICE before the show starts, TURN OFF YOUR PHONE < NO TEXTING < but No these @$$holes think they are far to importaint to listen to a message on the screen, no they need the taste slapped out of there mouth , the lady beside my wife checked her messages 4 time during the movie , , this is the last time I sit through it , next time I am going to ask for my money back , & go to a different show, I have all ready told people to shut up , I have removed a phone from some ones hand & closed it , & gave them a SUHSSHHH , I am just getting to old to put up with the BS , I have become the old crabby guy on the block, & Dont let me catch your dog taking a dump on my lawn, it will be on your windshield the next morning !
Ohhh dammmm I love getting that BS off my chest, , I am heading to New Castle Pa this morning we will be recording that next POD CAST of Blowen smoke , you can listen to it by going to The BurghHerfers & clicking the link to the pod casts, or you can go to Western Pennsylvania Cigar Crawl & click the link to the pod casts, , we are having a great time with this stuff, ......
the boys have been busy with summer , so I havent seen all that much of them this past week, they were here Wed. for porkchops & baked beans it was a gassy nigh for my wife, 3 of us bean eaters in the car with the windows up & the a/c on she was gaging hahahaha , she isnt a baked bean fan so it was a lock out on the power windows hahahaha !, we did see the space station make a pass overhear last week, just before 10 PM it crossed the sky from the SW at 17K mph it went from horizion to horizion in less than a minute ( trees to the SW & the house to the NE ) , could have walked to the other side of the house to see it longer but the lights from the Barn next to us lights up the sky way to much , dammmm I should have gotten a lot more land out here 30 years ago when we moved from the city out to the country, to mannny other people had the same idea, now its almost like being back in the city , I USED to be able to sit on my back deck in my underware & no one said anything about it , Now I need a pair of shorts & a shirt or I get called a nudist hahahahaha , who gives a good crap about what I have on when I am out on MY back deck .... I sure dont care one way or the other , the misqutoes dont care why should the old fart down the street care !!!! , well I tell them I was here before you got here & I made MY own rulles before you got here & if the rules dont fit your life style, you have the right & privliage to MOVE your tired old @$$ out of here , No wonder I am getting old , People just seam to PISS ME OFF a lot more now than they did 50 years ago .........
I have been smoking a lot of FINE OLD cigars in the past week, some deep pockets of the humi were cracked & I pulled out a few sticks from 1980 , from our 10th wedding anniversary , this year it will be 39 years , a cigar from Panama if I remember or maybe Costa Rico , the bands were long gone , just the date on the paper they were wrapped in was 1980,,,, dammmm I bet some of you werent even alive back then hahahaha
time to get my formerly over weight body out of the chair & on the deck for a cigar & coffee , ! Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday 19 July 2009, & we are having a wonderful summer here in da burgh , not to hot a bit on the cool side ( globial warming my @$$) , average temp for the month is 69.7 F , we have been in the low 50's at night & the low 70's during the day , a little rain here & there but so far its been just Fantastic, , almost like when I was in San Diego back in the 60's , but then I was there in the winter here , , it was below zero when I got on the plane & over 80 when I got off ! , dammmmm thats a BIG difference ......
well enough about the weather, not much we can do about it anyway but complain about it or sing its praise, we get what we get ... end of story !
we were out and about last night with the Slippery Rock cigar shop FOURTH anniual Cigar Bar b QUE, no we didnt BBQ cigars we had a whole pig done over a slow wood fire , 14 hours to turn it into a masterpiece , mahogany skin, suculant meat , & fat dripping from my chins Yea baby , lots of cigars were smoked & the blow'n Smoke pod cast was recorded , should be up on line in a few days, the Cigar of the day was a 1968 Macanudo , NOT bad at all,m y taste buds we fryed by then as it was my 10th cigar of the day , I had a belly full of scotch & pork fat dripping from my mustashe, no wonder I had a hard time getting any taste out of it , or was it just that bland, I should smoke an other one first thing in the morning , , that will go on my to do list hahahah .............. the boys have been busy a lot this summer , I havent had much chance to get us all in trouble so far ,every one has been busy, now that school is out for the summer they find things to do with out me , , & I miss hanging out with them But they are having fun with out me , & thats great for them , bad for me , but I know they need time with thier friends , & I need time with mine , & thats what I have been doing all week, , sipping coffee sampleing the single malts & smoking a few cigars , dammmmm it cant get much better than this ! hahaha
The boss & I went to the local coffee roaster to pick up some roasted coffee & some fresh green coffees lasdt week, well they were just finishing roasting some Jamacian blue Mountain ................ dammm that $hit is EXPENCIVE , the pot she made this morning was a cost of $6.25 for the 3.5 ounces of ground coffee , dammm that almost as bad as going to Charbuck$ for a cup of Pikes plaza ( Black ) for me & a Latte for her , its good but not all that much better than the Brazillian, Columbian , Indosian, or any African coffees we get , , & I miss my Sunday morning kona , , now dont get me wrong there is nothing Wrong with the JBM
( other than PRICE) , it is a Buttery soft coffee & I do enjoy the light roast on it that way you taste the coffee not the roast of the coffee, , but it gets lost with the don carlos #3 , the kona has a bit more body IMHO than the JBM & Both are a light roast coffee, with the same 3.5 ounces per pot, for a long time I was using 2.5 , but kicked it up an ounce & havent gone back , yea Baby TASTE , I am here for the taste, , but that raises a question, have I burnt out my taste buds , needing a higher amount to get that same flavor kick? have I gone to far ? , will I be replacing my favorite Green chilly sauce with some thing a little hotter just to get that Rush of flavor? , Are My endorphines taking a nap? , Only Time will tell..........
this is a celebration day , we hare NOT HAVING BEEF !! , I have a nice hunk of pork that will be done with vadillia onions, apples ,carrots, celery & a handfull of prunes , all in the cast iron dutch oven , some roasted spuds & Summer squash............. if your in the area, we will be sitting down to eat about 4 PM ...............
Thats about all I have this week, there is a cigar calling my name, a roast that needs to get in the oven & a pot of coffee to finish & speaking of coffee , its about time to get rid of all I have drank all ready today , hahaha Enjoy,Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 26 July 2009 , A wonderful cool morning here in da Burgh , we have had a cool summer a lot of need for the A?C so far , but I think Aug & Sept. will make up for the lack of heat so far, in a normal summer my grass is showing a little distress by now , but it is still green & lush, a few spotty brown spots but nothing is burnt out like in years past, we have had a good bit of rain , but not as much as we should have had, we do get showers a few times a week but they are short & light, we do need a good soaking rain, but some places have had flash floods in the area, so its hit & miss for most of us ..... I started the day with a pot of Jamican blue mountain, , the meter maid just came back from vacation & brought me coffee & Rum , Good coffee BUT GREAT RUM , as you all know I am a scotch drinker , & the Appleton Rum was smooth , didnt have the smoke of the Islay scotch I enjoy but was a fine dram with a lighter cigar , like the Monte white band , of witch I am enjoying the double corona this morning, YES I DID have the Don Carlos #3 right out of the starting gate with the JBM , but I do miss my sunday morning Kona , & I have a pot of a medium/light roast of a blend of american coffeesbrewing right now, I have no idea the ratios, just a few beans of columbian, brazillian, costa rico,mexico & what ever else I had left over in a light or medium roast , 3.5 ounces of ground beans & 10 /6 ounce cups of filtered water, , run it through the drip pot , ( just way to lazy to clean the press pot this morning ) , it should be fine with a light body cigar like the monte white , I will let you know hahahaha
It is an other BANNER day here in Freedom Pa , NO BEEF on todays menu, I got the boss to agree to chicken & rice ,,,,,,,,,,, it will get started about noon or so , when ever i feel the time has come, no set schedual today , it is a lazy summer day & I have nothing planed other than a BIG cigar right after the one I am smoking NOW , & a lot of @$$time on the back deck or in the Qtr.Deck ,,,, I went out for the sunday paper before the boss was awake, brought the paper in , set it on the couch & went back out to fire up the morning cigar , well i heard her in the kitchen soon after & thought I will wait till she has finished her morning bible reading & then come in & make breakfast , well about 30/35 minutes goes by & I need to get rid of all the coffee I have been drinking, so I get up to go in & the door is locked, I knock, , , & wait, knock again, & wait, knock again & wait, , Nothing , No movement, no foot steps comming tward the door, SO I KNOCK A LOT HARDER & LONGER , Oh she says , I thought you were on the computer & when I say the door was unlocked I just locked it, well Suprise you opened the curtains in the computer room & I wasnt there was I , & if I wasnt on the computer, or in the bathroom, I must be outside dont you think? well yea she did agree to that & has no idea why she locked the door when she saw it was OPEN, Habbit I guess, , maybe its time to start using the hide a key or just take the lock off of the door all together , its looking like she will be joining her mother at the nursing home sooner rather than later hahahahaa
The boys went camping in the wilds of W.Va . with thier dad this weekend, , I guess its fun when your young, but dammmm , I want COMFORT ,,,,, , one main reason I joined the Navy , when they go into battle they take the beds , showers ,toilets , Stoves & ovens right with them ............. No "camping out" for me !
the shop has been holding its own, nothing major or minor happening, just slow sales & few NEW customers, , I guess I have to get a next generation of cigar smokers trained soon to keep the shop alive hahahaha
right now I want to say some thing nice about the econemy................... sorry , nothing comes to mind, , other than welcome to the United Socialist States of Amerika............ My idea of Good government is that you never know they are in session, nothing changes , No NEW taxes, no scandle, No graft & kick backs , YEA like that will ever happen, hahaha , I didnt vote for McCain or Obama , but I think we all should give him a chance to see if his ideas will work, past preformance of any socialist government has shown that it will not work, but dammmmm lets try it again..... the sign of stupidity is doing the same thing over & over again & expecting differnt outcomes the next time you try it , you piss on an electric fence ONE TIME & you learn your lesson........... Nuff said . Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday 2 August 2009, a wet damp rainy morning here in da Burgh , & my Second tobacco free day ( so far anyhow) , yea from 10 cigars a day to zero, , , , let me explain , I have a vericose vein in my left leg that is comming out at the end of the month & the doc wants me off tobacco for better healing, hey he's the doc , I did have to abstain when I had all the skin removed after loosing the 202 pounds , so this should be a peice of cake , & to top it off I need a little eye thing taken care of again, so the no tobacco thing will work to help promote that healing as well, , I have no idea how it works but today is the last day for the asprin, fish oil , Vit E , & a few other herbs & exilers that I consume every day, but just untill the doc tells me its Ok to go back on them, I have no idea if any of them realy work, But I take them anyhow, ..... dammmm advertisments hahaha
Rib steak on the grill today along with a grilled summer squash , dammmm I should could go for a nice cigar right now ! hahaha , yesterday was not as bad as I thought it would be , but Barb did get on my nerves a little more than usuall , a sneeze with a mouth full of coffee covered the inside of the windshield & like it was my fault when I did clean it I missed a spot & left it a bit streaked & heard all about it AGAIN & AGAIN when we went to watch the fireworks last night at the community park , Oh well such is life , the boys are at home this weekend, I get a break, dealing with them & no cigars just might be to much hahahaha
well its time for me to get the eggs on & the bacon cooking, the toast will not toast it self , Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

10 PM Monday , holding on by the tips of my fingers but no cigars since friday night, holding out till the 31st if I can , the eye gets cut on the 18th & the knee on the 31st, so the doc said hold the cigars for the month of August, from 10 a day to zero in a weekend, will my wife be able to live with me this month/ hahaha the 15th is our 39th anniv. I sure hope its a happy one ! Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 9 August 2009, a HOT HUMID day here in da Burgh, going up to 90F+ today, first +90 day this summer, & I plan on doing as little as I can today, THANK GOD for A/C ... , well its been an entire week with out a cigar , the finger nails are over the worst of it & are slowly starting to heal a little , the only comment I have heard so far is from the local Pizza shop , Now I dont stink the place up when I walk in to pick my order ................... dammmm I dont know how to take that, oh well just a few more days till the eye is done then a few days later the knee get cut, so bt Labor day I should be back to the cigars, from 10 a day to ZERO , I'm glad the wife is still talking to me hahahaha , BUT I have noticed I am spending more time at the 'fridge , good thing we have a lot of fresh fruit & veggies, but the dark chocolate is getting a bit more action than it should, & the coffee, dammmmm that wonderful mug of coffee, or a MUG full yes a MUG full of espresso ,,,,,,, having a bit of trouble sleeping, getting to sleep is a fight , cant get comfortable, to hot , to cool, pillow to fluffy, pillow to flat, just cant get in the right groove ............. I have been up early all week, but still up at 2 AM , dammmm I miss the relaxation I got with a Fine old stick & a snifter of single malt whisky , Oh I still get a weee dram here & there , a glass of wine here & there & I had a beer this week also, Bloated the H3LL out of me , , just cant do the carbonation anymore , dammm getting old is TUFF, hahahaha
the new couch was delivered Friday morning, , the old one was moved to the Qtr.deck, , now I need to re arrange the seating plan & outlet usesage, & decide if I want to keep the computer out there or just stay with the radio & CD player , just not enough room for everything, the rocker is all ready gone & the 'command" chair might need to go , with both couches it is a little tight in the space dept., , ,
Since it is so dammmmmmmm hot today , No pot roast, NO OVEN to heat up the house, Chicken on the grill will be todays bill of fare , brown rice & garden fresh tomatoe's right off the vine this morning, stopped at a buddys place & raided the garden when I was out for my morning NO CIGAR walk , dammmm I realy enjoyed that first one of the day , OH well , Labor day will be here before we know it ,,,, just think of the money I am saving right now, & the money the tobacco growers are loosing............ I should be in New Orleans Right NOW , spening everything I have plus what ever I can get on my plastic money BUT that just isnt going to happen this year, I am missing one big drunken weekend in the big easy, Oh well there is always next year hahahaha .......... I havent seen mush of the grandsons , they are busy being kids , Bike riding & other summer activitys are keeping them out of the house & in the pool, Good for them , bad for me , spending to much time with the wife hahahahaha , Speaking of the wife, we went to the movies yesterday, Julie & Julia , a funny story about a young girl cooking the entire Julia Child , "Mastering the art of French cooking ", a bit of a background story of both there lives, a story in a story, JULIA Childs & Julie ( damm I forget her last name ) cooking her way through the entire cook book in a year & writing about it as she went, ended up a movie, dammm I wonder if this BS I have been dishing out every Sunday morning might lead to a book or a movie hahahaha yea like that will ever happen hahaha , any agents out there?
Well the Boss just got up & I have an assignment , make her breakfast, so it is time for me to get off the computer & back to the kitchen for me ! Enjoy the weekend, whats left of it & ENJOY a BIG Double corona for me !
Enjoy,Vince

[suretolose]

I hope everything goes well for you. Good luck.

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday Aug 16, 2009, a HOT & Humid here in da Burgh , & the 16th day in a row with out a cigar for me ........... dammmm I must have gained 30 pounds in the last 16 days hahahaha , , the eye gets cut on Tuesday & the knee on the 31st , & the doc told me I will heal better with out the nicotene, well I didnt check on it , didnt go to scopes to see if it was for real, didnt get a second opinion, but he is a cigar smoker himself so I dont think he would deny me the Pleasure & relaxation of a cigar here & there , yea I know my 10 a day is a bit much , but I was even a bit over the top at 3 or 4 a day , but now ZERO for 16 days , its a wonder my wife is talking to me hahahaha, dammmm maybe I should have thought of that solution sooner hahahah, well yesterday ( the 15th ) was our 39th anniversary & she is still talking , I havent got in 3 words in the past 39 years hahaha, , , & even since the weather man tells us its going over the 90F mark today she was insistant on a Hunk of beef , so the hunk o Chuck is in the oven all ready , a nice slow oven , the A/C is cranked up & running at full blast , & for the first time today she is some what quiet & reading the Sunday Paper , with out the escape to the Qtr.deck for the past 16 days , I wonder WHY did I stay with her so long hahahahaha
No we really do get along just fine, she lets me have my cigars & buys a lot of them for me , some of the local shop owners know her by name, & so do some of the manufactures , as over the years she has been instrumential in getting me some GREAT stuff from a few of the Big guys in the industry, , like a hand written note from Nick Prodomo sealed inside the box before it was shrink wrapped , Class , just pure class, yea I make light of her OCD & her love of Roasted Well done beef , But if I had to do it all over again, dammmmm I would have married her sister hahahaha no I cant complain , BUT I DO ! hahaha
The Boys are getting ready for school, & will be heading to North Carolina with there other grandparents for a few days to see the other grandmothers sister , who has No kids , & will be invaded by 2 boys & 3 girls ( the rug rats cousins) , so I feel a little sympathy for her hahahah, better her than ME ! hahahaha
the shop has been SLOW as its ever been, & Friday the sales were verrrrry low & everyone was using plastic, didnt get enough cash in to cover payroll, & have change for saturday, So I was a wee bit short till saturday morning when the first customer of the day bought a box & Paid CASH , Yea baby thats more like it , I gave my self a 2 buck bonus as I didnt want to take any ones out of the regester , dammm well earned that 2 bucks hahahaha .......
The computer was down a few days , got some kind of a bug or trojan , as my grandsons tell me , well I called my comcast rep & he wasnt able to help me get rid of it, so he connected me to the McAfee help desk in the Phillipines & the guy did speak English ( AMEN ) , but he wasnt able to get rid of it either, so I shut it down called a Buddy who works for IBM, & builds computers, & develops software , so he is as big a geek as you can find, he tells me he will be out for a cigar ( his payment was to be a 3 pack of God Of Fire by Carleto ) BUT before he got her the NUMBER ONE GRANDSON fixed it in less than an hour , BUG GONE , Computer up & running, all it cost me was a new pair of shoes for school, a new back pack for school, a new jacket for school & 3 new pairs of pants & matching shirts, sox, underware & a belt, , & the same stuff for grandon NUMBER TWO , & dinner at red lobster for all of us, ......... dammmmm I could have got a new computer for it cost me hahahahaha , Oh yea then they wanted to go to the arcade to play air hockey dammmmm , the cash flow has turned into a lake draining burst dam.................... good thing I cut out the cigars cant afford the cigars & the grandsons back to school shopping !!!!

we had a minor tragiety this week, the groundhog who lives under the yard shed got smashed by a car as it was crossing the road, , so the boys wanted to burry it in the woods, , I gave them each a shovel & told them to have at it , well it was a very shallow hole , & since it was almost 90F it didnt take them long to call it quits , by next summer there will be a new groundhog family living there raccoons, possums, or Rabbits, I dont care as long as its not a family of Skunks !!!!
we did have some new cows born this past week, I see 3 new Tiny little ones out in the pasture ,,,,,,,, VEAL ANYONE ?????? dammmmmm electric fence hahahaha
Coffee this morning was an end of the African Safari Blend & the start of a moco java , since I am not having a cigar I opted out of the Sunday Kona , , dammmm after all this time you would think it would be easy, But everything I do , leads me back to the humidor DAMMMMMMM , Oh well Labor day isnt that far away & the money I am saving this month will go to Jerrys kids & MDA telethon on labor day , step up & buy Jerrys kids a cigar this year ....... Enjoy, Vince

[dinoa2]

good luck on both Vince, I always enjoy reading your stuff

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 23 August 2009 a humid but Cool day here in da burgh , only 63 F this morning , way down from the 70 plus nights we have been having, yea you guys out in Arizona would be putting on the jackets by now hahahaha , we turned off the A/C yesterday & I had the bedroom window open all night , it was comfortable ! , The boys went to the outer banks this week with there other grandparents so it was a quiet week here on the home front, good thing they went this week as I had the eye surgery on Tuesday & it turned out just fine, , walked into the OR, got on the table, the doc said I have a little some thing to relax you before we get started , next thing I know BAMMMM , I am in recovery ....... missed a little work on Wendsday , & was right back at it Thursday, I am a bit itchy , but cant scratch it dammmm its frustrating, , my hands & wrists are like pin cushions, they must have stuck me 6 different times to get an IV in , just didnt hit it right so they moved to a "better " spot , yea right , just hit it the next time or pick an artery in the chest ! hahahaha , well its 23 days with out a cigar ....................... just cant get over that , 23 FREEKING DAYS , I am walking in my sleep, looking for a great cigar But I go back to the docs on Wendsday to have the stiches taken out so Maybe I will get the OK from him by then, , a few years ago I stopped drinking beer, & the local brewery IRON CITY BEER , closed, & moved out of da burgh, Penn Pilsner ( a local micro brewery) also closed & the Herford & Hops ( a brew pub & steak house ) filled for chapter 11 & eventually closed , well I hope I havent damaged the cigar industry to much hahahaha ...
I will be roasting some corn on the cob , on the grill today with a set of rib steaks that will get a little spice rub in a few hours NO ROAST BEEF TODAY ! cann you believe it , NO ROAST ON SUNDAY , dammmmm she is getting unset, whats next , sex in the afternoon ! hahaha ??? No I just am not that lucky hahahaha , the shop was a little slow all week but Friday was a good day , , I didnt even call to check on saturday, I just laid back 7 relaxed most of the time when I wasnt getting quized by the boss about stuff I have never had any control over, like what would happen if we turned left in stead of turning right at the intersection of 19 & 108 , well we would be going in the opisite direction & headed away from where we were going , , Just inane BS questions that I didnt want to deal with as I wanted to listen to the radio , & the interview of the late Studds Turkel a Chicago based writer & philosipher, But No she wanted to talk about BS & it was getting to me a little , well a lot , I told her 6 times i wanted to listen to this , & she just kept talking , so i turned offthe radio 7 then she said , why did you turn it off I thought you wanted to hear that , wellll I knew better to take the bate & said I thought it was a little boreing & that we should just talk & bingo she had nothing to say , dammmmmm you just cant win can you? , No Dont turn it back on that will just start her up again,my I have still got a lot to learn, so e drove in scilence for about 20 minutes , stopped for coffee & headed home , checked the milage when we got back after filling up 22.7 MPG Not bad for an old bucket of bolts , I was thinking of trading it in for the clunker rebate, BUT WHY? its paid for , like I need an other car payment, so I dont get a new car m, SO what,, I love my old SABLE , speaking of Sable do any of you remember the HOT LADY wrestler called Sable ? dammm I havent thought of her in YEARS , * & I wonder why she just popped into my head just now ahhhh the way the mind works ! , coffee this moring was a pot of pappa malu , a medium light roast , BUT DAMMMMMMM I MISS MY SUNDAY MORNING KONA & Don Carlos #3 ......... 23 days & counting , burrrrrr its gettting TUFFFFFFER as the day s move on .... I havent been in the QTRDECK for a week , I miss the relaxation & QUIET , I still need to get out there & hook up the cd player & radio, as well as the computer , everything is on hold since we got the new coush in the living room & the old one went to the Qtr.Deck, the rocking chair is now at work & the "old command chair "is now in the tool shed , I need to figure out how to set everything up so I can reach it with out getting up, , might need to rethink the chair & bring it back, get the old couch in the tool shed, ( it didnt recline like the new --- old couch )
decisions to make but no way of getting the correct answer with out a lot of hard work, dammmm theres that BAD word again , "Work" hahahaha , I like the word PLAY much better ! , thats about all I have this week, who knows i might find some thing else later this week or even later today who knows ! Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday Aug.30, 2009, a cool crisp day here in da Burgh, we have had a wonderful summer , not a lot of 90+ days , the rain has been OK & the bugs have been at a minium all summer the birds seam to have them all under control , the deer how ever have laid waist to my shrubs & veggies , the only thing left in the herb garden is the chives & organo, everything else has been eaten to the ground , the bird feeder & watering station have been hit hard by the chipmunks , & the rabbits have been cleaning up all the spilled seed under the feeder , from the bird feeder to the woods on the other side of the road you can see a path in the brush where the deer have come in to eat & drink, , next summer the feeder get moved closer to the road, but I am sure they will find the garden weather I move the feeder or not. dammmmmmmm , next year the garden will go on the roof hahahaha , lets see the deer climb a ladder !!!!
Breakfast this morning was a Kitchen sink omlet, , I cleaned out the fridge & put everything on the sink, what I didnt toss out went in the frying pan ! bacon , onions, peppers, garlic, left over veggies from the grill , cheese, & a bit of pasta & there might have been some chicken & rice tossed in also, dont remember if I tossed it out or put it in the pan hahaha , well it took 4 eggs to cover it all a handfull of Jarlesburg cheese diced verrrrrry fine & a pot of Hawaiian coffee , I thought it might be a Kona style coffee from the Hielo coffee company in Hawaii, but dammmm not even close , I picked up a 2 pound bag of roasted hole bean for 11 bucks, should have known it was to good to be true , Oh well live & learn, but by now I should have KNOWN better , REAL Kona next Sunday, & TRUMPET FAINFAIR TADA , CIGARS are back on the menu ! , got thr stiches out of the eye lids & the doc said it healed well, so I am BACK , not up to my 10 a day, that was just getting out of hand, so I have cut back to 5 or 6 , Last night I finished the day at 4 , BUT a GRAND 4 they were, started the day with the traditional Don Carlos #3 ( It just dont get no better than that ) a Casa magna fallowed then a san Cristobal & finished the night with a partagas series d #4..... cant get much better, today I will be starting with the DC#3 & heading up the New castle to the Havana room & Chee Robs for a POD cast of the next Blowin smoke , No idea what we will be lighting up when I get there , I will be taking the wies car so no smoking up & back , I need a wheel bearing & its going to the shop tonight , so I dont want to drive it all that far till its fixed , & I dont think I will need the car the next few days as i am getting a vericose vein, removed from my right knee in the morning , I was instructed to be at the hospital at 5 AM 5 AM 5AM dammmm I didnt know there was a 5 Am , sure I know 5PM , But 5AM come on buddy cut me some slack, Margretta time at 5PM , but at 5AM , whats that bloody mary time ? hahahaha , but nothing to eat ot drink after midnight , dammm if I got to be there at 5 frigging AM I better get up about 4am & sure as hello will in bed by 9PM , so what am I to do get up at 11:30 to have a slice of cold pizza hahahaha ???? , dammm you should see the size of this vien , bigger than a pencil in diameter & it runs right over the knee cap, gross looking S.O.B., but it needs to be taken care of .
the grill will get fired up this afternoon , T bones & summer squash , with a grilled peach for desert , I love to grill with the gas grill I can fire it up all winter long, not as tasty as real charcole but when the snow flys & its freezing out a grilled t bone is just HEAVEN
School has started for one grandson & the other starts monday I dont find them happy at all , no more sleeping in , no more afternoons in the pool, Back to the salt mines hahahaha poooor baby hahahaha
well thats just about all I have this morning, I might have missed some theing , but its just the internet anyway , I will catch up with all of you next sunday morning I hope , Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday 6 sept. 2009 a great day here in da burgh , , I have no idea what I did to the computer but I cant get the Volume incon off the screen , its stuck in the lower right side & I cant move it or shrink it back to the task bar , dammmm computers, & my grandson ( 13 y.o. ) isnt home to call, sure hope he calls me later today , he will tell me what i diod to stick it where its right now & how to get it to go away , dammmm kids, dammmm computers , life was much simpler before computers ......
I have the leg unrapped , it was driving me to scratch so I unwrapped it & let it get some air, dammmmm cut from the groin to the ankel or is it ankle , what ever you should know what I am trying to say by now if you read my BS every week, you get accostomed to my spelling , & grammer , dammm vol comtrol is in the way , cant see what i am trying to say , he there is no j in what is there ? hahaha , well the stiches & staples all come out Tuesday at 8 am the leg is a bit brused but that BIG honking vein is Gone, that dammmmm think looked like a big blue rope going across my knee cap & winding its way from top to bottom side to side , it was Huge & throbbed with every beat of the heart, , a great plasce to check the pulse , but now its GONE , the vein not the pulse dammm I scared my self on that one hahaha
the shop will be open Monday , & I will be behind the counter in my rocking chair with my leg up on a foot stool, I will be sipping coffee & listening to jazz all day so if your in the area stop in for a cup of mud & a cigar, BYOB , I am out of scotch at work, & payday isnt till the 16th so you got to bring your own till then, hahaha sorry but thats just the way it is right now, back to school shopping was tuff this year, my son in law got laid off from his job & with his 2 kids & her 2 kids , house payments car payments utilitys & Food for all of them & the 180 pound Mastive " puppy" , I got to get some of the back to school clothing bill, as always she finds a way to extract money from my right front pocket, she learned long ago the money ( cash ) is not in the left rear pocket , with the wallet there is just the ID BS & photos & the coffee cards for the local coffee shops , I think I am keeping a few in business all by my self hahahaha
breakfast this morning was a breakfast sandwich, eggs, bacon , swiss cheese, & a slice of garden fresh tomato on an english muffin that was buttered & toasted on the grill , egg mcmuffin my stinky old ass hahaha ( now that just makes me want to get sick , great food & old man smell , I wish I could find some joint cream that has no aroma , you know my joints hurt the same if I skip a day , so I might just save the bucks & get more cigars & whisky & stop trying every otc remedy that comes along ! , get old with pain , get old with out pain, no matter what you still get old hahahaha , as the oold saying goes , had I know I was going to get this old I might have taken better care of the body ! hahaha , hey no way I had fun & still am having fun, isnt that whats life all about, its not who dies with the most toys , but how you shared your toys , it isnt about what kind of car you drive but who you gave rides to , dammm here comes the philophier out, , but I want to slam the door on that BS right NOW , I have a great set of porterhouse steaks in the marinade right now, Corn on the cob will be roasted on the grill along with the BEEF ( I did try to get her to go for the VEAL porterhouse cuts but the cost was outta site ) , if it isnt beef , its not Sunday supper, , give me a plate full of chicken wings & I am happy,, give me a big old pork roast or chops I am a happy camper, give her anything but beef on Sunday & you pay for it all week !
well on a lighter note on of the customers at the shop brought in his laptop with the attchment & program for the dianogistic testings for the car, his computer talks to the computer in the car & I /we got a clean bill of health, 180K + on the clock & nothing wrong with annything but the paint, the dirt on the floor & the loose nut behind the steering wheel hahahaha , still getting over 20 mpg on the 2000 Sable , I just love the way it feels , I like it better than my wife new Taurus ( different body style ) her car is larger than mine , the top of the roof is mush higher there is more room & she has the heated leather seats , But give me my old bucket of bolts & I am a happy camper, just had a wheel bering replaced & now its back to being out cigar ride car , when we take her car , NO CIGARS , so I guess thats why I dont care for her car all that much, , in a few years when she gets her new one & the sable has hit it last oil change , I will inherate the taurus , well maybe if I was allowed to smoke in it I might like it better hahahaha

For YEARS I have been using the coffee cup I got from Cuesta Rey, some of you might remember them , a tall black mug with the yellow logo , the cup had a groove for your thumb when you were holding the cup with your right hand , it dodnt work left handed like so much other stuff, but who cares I am not a south paw , nor am i ambidextrous & cant spell for $h1T either so what you know what i mean & if you dont jus tre read it till it makes you understand hahahaha well after all the years of using this coffee mug she thought it was time to boldly go where it had never gone before, I the dish washer .............. services for the deciesed coffee mug were last Thursday, as the heat from the drying cycle melted the lid , I have been working out with a different array of mugs & cups all week end to find a replacement, so far I havent found the ONE , ther are a few sitting on the kitchen counter, that I have collected over the years & the one that I like the lid on the best, is a tumbler, NO Handle & that lid will not fit on any odf the other mugs or cups , looks like a set of hose clamps & a little cutting on the stainless steel mug thats the same size but a different style lid, well I just might need to give is insulated life up for that handle to go on the stainless steel tumbler, BUT I might find a replacement to the black mug I have used for so many years , .......... I will keep looking hahahaha
the coffee is still that cheep Hawaiian sruff, , cant wait till its done, then back to the real KONA, I have a little Sumatra ready to grind for monday morning , I might roast a liitle this afternoon if I feel up to it, might do a little moca java or some good old Columbian , with the wonderful summer we have had & the crisp cool mornings with a cigar on the back deck & a pot of coffee , man it just dont get much better than this ! Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning it is Sunday , but for some reason my computer is telling me its Friday , , dammmmm repairs to this thing were not good, having trouble logging on to a buch of sites & my e mail is getting out & some of it is comming back as undeliverable , But I guess the cost of the fix was well worth the headaches it causes, the grandson got rid of the trojan & the fake fire wall, & did get to spend a lot more time here explaing what he was doing & I have no frigging idea of what he was talking about ! hahahaha

All the staples(17) & stiches(22) are out of the leg, the groin is still tender, but I am back at the cigars hot & heavy, dammmm I missed them !, back at the eye doc Friday morning for a steroid injection to the right eye ball & a good zap of the lazer to the right eye , , it was tender all day friday & saturday , still a little tender to the touch this morning, dammm its tuff getting old, hahahaha
I spent most of saturday at the leaf & bean ( cigar shop & coffee roaster) in the strip district in Pittsburgh rolling cigars , I might not be fast , I might not be good , but the cigars all had a good draw & a good taste, hey I have no control over the taste I roll what I have , But I did get a great Habano wrapper to cover the Nic filler & conn binder , dammm good stuff, after 5 PM I was at the Long Ash Club in Pittsburgh @711 Penn ave , right in the heart of downtown again Rolling cigars , they are a cigar bar & eating establishment , that caters to cigar smokers & gourmets, the scotch selection is grand & food was great , & they have an ANTIQUE cigar rolling bench, that I got to use, , & had a great time , made a few bucks in tips , ate & drank all eveing, & they had a Pot of kona waiting for me when I got there , classsssssy !!!!
My wife & her sister are heading out for the day , I DONT HAVE TO MAKE A HUNK OF BEEF for her today, I will be dinning alone today , looks like it will be tofu , hahahahaha maybe chicken , but tofu sounds good to me , after all the black beans & pork last night , & speaking of pork, , the chef made a stuffed pork chop , that was to die for , a marinated chop, stuffed with ham swiss sheese & a slice of pickle , a Cuban sandwich with out the bun ir was great, the deeo fryed plantains, the black beans , & freezay were all good in there own rught but that hunk of pork was OUTSTANDING ! kudos to the chef , as an added BONUS Max Talbait of the Penguins was in the house & enjoyed one of my fresh rolled cigars , But since I am not much of a sports fan when the owner of the place brought him up to introduce him to me I had no frigging idea who he was , looked like I had seen him some place before , but wasnt sure, , Robin the owner say the vague look on my face & told me he was the winning goal of the stanley cup finals , THEN the lights went on & some one was at home, Big Smile & a harty handshake , complete with bits of tobacco & glue hahahahaha , he was with a HOTTY , dopnt know who she was , little black dress, 5 inch spiked pumps , cleveage & a great tan with LONG BLOND hair .................... what was I talking about ? dammmmm just got a wiff of her perfume in my mind again , lost my train of thought ! hahahaha
I will be spending the day on the back deck, or in the Qtr.deck since the boss will be out & about, with her sister, well thats what she is telling me anyway hahaha, so I will be heading to the grocery store for bread & eggs & maybe a watermellon , then its CIGAR time, well as long as I am awake its cigar time but NOT in the house , ahhhhh one of these days ......... hahahaha

I filled up the tank last night 26 MPG , 26 can you believe it , 26 on a car with 180K on it & a BIG car , a Sable , 3.0 V6 , sure not a Huge motor or a Huge car but lots of room & good size for me to relax in , I 20/22 MPG back & forth to work, , but I had a few extended drives on this tank of gas, lots of highway miles & dammmm I am one happy camper with that set of NUMB3RS
I am about ready to fill up the mug again , ahhhh yes Sunday morning Kona & spening a little time with my buddy Don Carlos III,
LIFE IS GOOD
Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 20 Sept. 2009 the Last Summer Sunday this year , the weather here in da burgh has been just FANTASTIC , low 50's at night , mid to low 70's in the day, the sky has been a Penn State blue & white all week & the sky at night has been top notch for star gazing , sit back look up & watch the cigar smoke head tward the heavens & the milky way . it just dont no better than this , a fine cigar great coffee fantastic season & no a/c running or furnace bills to pay for , I will take this all year if I could, , I wonder if there is a place on this great spinning rock we all call home that has weather just like this all year round? San Diego was nice when I was there but since I dont speak enough Spanish to live there & I DONT want to pay the high tobacco taxes in the Republic of Kalifornia , or not be allowed to smoke in my own back yard ( what BS) , maybe I should just move up in the hills of Hawaii & get it over with, BUT then we have a problem of COST, dammmm everything needs to imported there but the coffee & salt but then again I dont think I will need a lot of gasoline , as I will not need a car , but once a month to cash my check & get grocerys, , the mail man or UPS driver can bring me my cigars hahahaha , just sit on the deck, listen to the wind & watch the clouds & the surf breaking down below from my home on the hill, yea like I got that kind of $$$$ to do that hahahaha , but its good to dream hahahaha
the shop was S L O W all week, barley breaking 100 bucks one day, cant have that to many days , I had 3 cutomers all day, , but it was a great day sitting outside watching the traffic go by & talking to the hookers metermaid & the town crazys who shuffel off to the bar when the crazy check comes in , they get all blasted on cheeeeeep beer & then when the $$$ is all drank up they shuffel off to the drug store to get the meds & end up in a stooper , dammmm to go through life with out a pourpose other than to get high ,,,,,,,, yea its great every now & then but for years at a time dammmm a real wasted life , BUT its not up to me to judge , sooner or later they will find what thier after or kill them selfs trying . Now that school is back in session I havent seen the rugrats all that much, , the 13 Y.O. fixed the spyware problem with the computer & the 11 Y.O. is busy with school, & what ever kids do , dammmmm its been so long its hard to remember hat I did as a kid, well not much different now, hahahaha
I stopped at the gas station & filled up yesterday, 25 MPG on my old sable with 180+K on it , its just getting better with age , & the fact that I have slowed down a lot , the state put up signs , Slow down & save a life , so i did , & dammm the milage went up, now I have a 12 minute drive to work ( with out traffic, ) & about 20 minuts with traffic , but on our cigar rides we get a few hours of steady driving, last night after i filled the tank we went 99.8 miles , & I had a Diamond Crown Maximus number one , & it lasted the entire 2.5 hours that it took us driving the back roads of Beaver , Butler & Allegheney countys of Pa , it was a great night , a great mug of java & a fine old cigar that had a date of Dec. 2005 on the sticker , nice blume on the stick & a great aroma & draw, all in all it was a great evening.
we had a 5 cheese omlet this morning with bacon & Kona & I will be heading out to the Qtr.Deck as soon as I get Barbs Hunk of Beef in the oven , dammmm I feel like a broken record, but if that what makes her happy so be it , a happy wife makes a happy home , Nuff said about that for sure , she might read this & reallllly get on my @$$ for nothing hahahah , as far as the medical reports , everything is fine the leg is healing , the eyes are not far behind, BUT I have noticed a tightning of the pants a bit, since its getting a little cooler sitting in the shade at work I have switched from the shorts to the pants, & they seam a bit tighter now than they did in the spring when I put them away , & the scale confered , up to 242 , so its back on the tofu & water diet, cant let this get out of hand, , got to get back down to the 220/225 area, , sure would like to get back to the 200/205 area but hey lets not push it hahahaha , so starting Monday , No pasta, bread or cake ( well maybe a little bit of Pie as long as its fruit & not a cream filling hahahaha ( pumpkin,lemon & key lime are a delema hahaha ) , but if I just eat the apple (NOT PIE) plain its just fine !!!!
Since this is the Last Summer weekend I plan on getting out side asap & fire up a Contraband Monte #2 torp, sipping a second pot of kona & maybe , just maybe a weee dram of single malt who knows it might turn into a great day, hahahaha Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 27 Sept,2009 a cool damp morning here in da Burgh, well the G20 is over but the damage still remains , lots of broken glass & hurt feelings by the crybaby protesters & when many of them were asked what are the protesting to gain all I ever heard was negative answers, not terying to gain anything just showing displeasure in the status quo, but not offering any way to fix it , yea its bad, but what do we do about it, well lets break a lot of windows in the "Mans" stores, lets do damage to the ATM 's , lets toss piss & $hit on the cops for trying to keep us acting like Civilized people , BUNCH OF FRIGGING MORONS , all the out of town protesters getting the locals all fired up BUT it didnt work as well as the out of towners wanted, DA BURGH didnt fall for the BS & there where a lot less protesters than the city had prepaired for , so the out of town BS artistes were out numbered by the local police, state police, secret service, national guard , & there undercover counterparts , the jail was ready for 1500 arrests , didnt get 300 !!, one @$$hole from the republic of kalifornia did about 20K damage & the rest was small acts of random BS & the city was spared the big troubles that the last citys who hosted the g20 had, a gridlock in traffic down town, a loss of income for a lot of down town places , & an expence for covering the windows with plywood & painting a welcome message to the delegates , ( who most likely never did see any of them ) , but its the thought that counts hahahaha , well its over & thank God the media didnt hype up the little damage that was done ...........
Ok enoughtof the political BS , heres the news from the kitchen table !
Breakfast the best meal of the day ( so far , hahaha ) was a sandwich made on focota bread , red onions , bell peppers & garden fresh tomatos all baked in the bread, a liberal coatong of extra virgin olive oil on the top & on the grill, the bread was split & grilled , bacon, eggs , cheese & pepper relish went in & a slice of tomato went on top, a quick turn of the gresh ground pepper & sea salt & breakfast was served, a pot of kona & now I am sipping on a pot of African safari , from the local roaster a blend of all african coffies, some light roast, some dark, & some in between, a realllllly nice bright cup with good balance between the acidity & flavor, this will go just great with the Don Carlos when I get this posted ! NEWS FLASH< a big story just broke from Freedom Pa , Barb said it was OK to have a pork roast today instead of beef, , will the cattle men of texas understand what this means, will it be the end of the beef industry as we know know it , stay tuned for more up dates as more info comes in , , a pork roast with Gala apples,sweet onions, carrots, celery, garlic & plums some sweet potatos on the side & a little spinich tossed with a hot bacon dressing , well I might even open a bottle of Guiness ........ hahahaha
the grandsons are well just being kids, the older on has the flu, the younger one is harrassing his brother , & next week when the younger one has the flu the older one will be busting his balls , so thing never change here hahahaha , My brother was in the shop this past week & I singed the hair on the back of his leg as he was standing next to me BS'ing to a guy as I was lighting my cigar & the hair on his leg, Dumb @$$ dont point your@$$ at me when I have a lighter in my hand hahahaha , the hair will grow back hahahaha , things never change ,
I go back to the doc in the morning, the eys have heald well, a small scar is noticable when you look for it but at my age it just belnds in with all the wrinkels anyhow ! , so the eyes have had there lazer treatments & a few more of them are in the future, the leg has been looked at & is still a bit sore in the groin, but dammm whats old age with out aches & pains, , Barb is complaing ( as always ) about her shoulder & arm , it hurts when I do this, Classic henny youngman answer, Dont Do That ( for you young guys & gals henny youngman was a comic who did a lot of one liners & played the violin , kind of like Victor Borga Played the piano when he did his comedy routeen, but you probably dont know who he was either, well ask you mothers or fathers to explain them to you hahahaha , I keep forgetting there are a lot of YOUNG people out in the world, & some of my reference points will be dated to my generation, , it like a Burgher giving Directions, , , , you go to the corner where Jenkins arcade used to be & turn right, , well if your not from da burgh you have no iea where it was & if your under 40 you never saw the building to begin with so how do you use a forgoten landmark for directions? who cares Burghers know ! hahaha
Enjoy, Vince