Sunday Morning News from the dining room table

[Vince]

Good morning , a cool damp autumn morning here in da Burgh , itme what slow week at the shop sales wise , but I have been BUSY with a bunch of stuff outside the shop, , rolling cigars for a few events & weddings has been keeping me B U S Y , , I am not very fast , & my finished product looks like it was made by a beginner , BUT the draw ( so far ) has been good & I have a nice blend to work with so the taste is fine , a digetial scale helps keep the blend the same from stick to stick, , well last night I was at my nephews & was rolling for his church group , the mens saturday night campfire & steak fry the conversation started out by a nice talk about the calling each one of them had recieved & how they were filling there life with God & his works & by the end of the night , as it got later & cooler the fire got smaller the talk went to hunting, fishing & other Guy stuff &ended with a record of GAS OUT THE @$$ , a Bit of barley water was consumed & a few strips of beef hit the grill, along with a good half pound of green coffee beans that were done over the open fire & brewed , jest lik da kowboys of the wild west ,,,,, open fire listening to the owls & the herons by the creek, with the dogs & cats setting by the fire & begging for scraps , well the cat didnt beg it just jumped up & took what it thought it was due , but it turned up its nose when you offerend the potato to it , GIVE ME MEAT ! but the dog , well you toss it in the air , it was GONE , ,
NOTHING IN THE OVEN TODAY, Barb will be going with her sister & I am heading to the shop for a PIG ROAST , it went on the fire about 6AM this morning , just about 3 hours after i got home last night , or should I say early this morning ! , we have a 78 pound pig on a rod, over charcole , should be ready some time about noon or 1 PM , thats at King Beaver Cigars ,1106 Penna. Ave. Monaca Pa 15061, call for directions, 724-774-5166 !
The boys have both been a little under the weather , the big one has the flu & the little one was constapated & now has the Montazuma revenge , Both missed school & were at the doc's good thing they have 2 bathrooms as they are both fighting for toilet time hahahaha , this is one time they will NOT share ! hahaha
I have by travel cutlery set packed & ready to go the meat thermometer had been cleaned & checked , & I am ready to go as soon as I get dressed, , not that I am not at all Uncomfortable to go in my robe & slippers but it is a bit cool out so I have thought it be in my best intrest to at lest have on pants & shoes if only under the robe hahahaha , But I might put on a shirt just to keep the wife from blowing a gasket ! Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , It is sunday , 11 Oct ,2009 a cool wet morning here in da Burgh, the trees have started to loose the green in favor of the golds , orange & reds of fall. it is a great time of the year for looking out your window or taking a drive to see the wonder that God paints every fall BUT I know that the snow isnt far behind, & thats just no fun at all, I now understand why there are so many snowbirds in Fla., they just pack up & go when it gets to cold here , BUT my wife hates Fla. with all the heat ,humidity & BUGS , so it looks like a cold winter here in da burgh again , maybe just a few weeks , like just after new years , till the mid of March , some place warm , But we cant afford it , well I say we can but she said we cant, guess who wins hahahaha, hands down we will be salting the walkways & shoveling the drive way freezing my gonads off & liking ever second of it hahahahaha... well Penna state has a budget in place over 100 days late , yea thats a great bunch of do nothings for the people we have elected yes sir , they were right on the spot when it came to the pay days for the legeslators & staff , but to hell with the rest of the state employees, oh yea the governer got his & some of the bills got paid like the Pizza shop that delivers to the state capital, enough pizza for 3000 people on some days when we only have a few hundred in the building , do I hear padding the bill for a kick back anyone , anyone ,anyone , else see that ????? , it looks like this country has started its decline into a second rate country , study your history, the GREAT civilizations were on top about 200 years or so then crumbled from with in , the greeks , romans & even the british empire all went by the wayside , the sun never sets on the British empire was the catch saying of the day, now they cant even controll scotland or ireland & 2 of my Favorite places to make WHISKY !
Not a lot going on here this past week, sales at the shop have been slow, inventory is getting a little better & the state almost passes a 30% floor tax, dammmmm that would have killed me dead in my tracks, that would for sure have made me take a good look at the shop & decide if it would even pay to stay open,30% is a HUGE BITE to pay up front & then sales will go way down as the price to the customer will be 30% Higher, thats just to much to eat , I did suck up most of the fed. tax that dammmmm S chip payment to the feds , an other bunch of bloodsucking leaches, ........ well I have a lot to get done today, the garbage disposial needs cleaned out the QtrDeck need to be used & I need a good BM , hahahaha dammmm getting old means you need more fiber in your diet, , I guess I should just start chewing bamboo ................ Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 18 Oct.2009 , a wet cool morning here in da Burgh, BUT WAIT check your callender, is ? Barb put out a PORK roast , BUT its Sunday, NO BEEF ? what is she doing to the rythem of the universe? will the equilibrim of the world be affected , I didnt even suggest that we have some thing beside beef, it was all her idea, dammmmmm 39 years with that lady & she is still suprizeing me, just when I thought I had her figured out she changes her behaviour , back to square one for me , AGAIN, its like playing shoots & ladders with her redesigning the board every time you pick a card , ( for thouse of you with out young children, its a board game with color cards to move instead of dice ) or is that candy land? dammmm its been a long time even for the grandsons , sice we played that one , the oldest will be 14 next week , dammmm I remember 14 ( I think ) pimples & hair growth, my naked chest started to turn into a forest , but today the forest has been all frosted over & I am starting to look like an old man, hey I am an old man !! , look at the drivers licence , dammmm did I get old fast , & since I havent had many photos taken since I lost 202 pounds , there are a lot of memories of the BIG GUY who used to live in this body ........ well the pork will be done with peppers & rice for a change , I have some nice red,yellow orange & green bell peppers a few small hot green chi peppers that I will seed & devain as they are just a bit uncomfortable if you dont ! a sweet onion & some celery maybe a few tomato pieces & Garlic , cant forget the garlic, a bit of brown rice & maybe a little stir fry action with the rice , who knows maybe just steamed with a little ginger root , hummmmm so many different ways, maybe just drop a few recipes in a hat & pull one out , or let the BOSS make an exutive decision , yea thats the safe way hahahaha
Last night we were at the Lincoln school for preforming arts in Midland Pa where there was a benifit program for the Womens Center of Beaver County ( a domestic violence treatment center) , well the Divas live was a BIG Hit , headlined by ETTA COX , a fantastic jazz singer , there were a few local singers at first a smashing 15 year old girl from the school, dammmmmmmmmmmmm 15 , that thought would get me 20 years hahahaha I got to rub elbows with a few of the local dignatarys & assorted slime balls we have elected to represent us in Harrisburg & Washington DC , , slime balls, yea that just about covers it all, nuff said about that ! , I have been smoking a lot of PRIME stuff , my inventory here at home is at an all time LOW, I am breaking into the long term storage stuff, like the Ashton ESG's Padron 26's Partagas 150's & davidoff doubble R's , I figured what the h3ll , I am drinking some fine single malts that a CRAZY friend left here , 18 YO Macallen & 17 YO Balvinie , dammmm I have no idea what I did to deserve them BUT DAMMMMMM Bottoms Up , sip slow & savor every DROP !! , I will be heading out to the QtrDeck as soon as I finish posting this morning, turn on the heat & come back inside, get the pork in the oven & by then it will be time to fire up a cigar in the warm enviorns of the QtrDeck , a big mug of the Sunday morning Kona & a snifter of single malt a bit of Jazz on the CD player & relax till its time to consume the pork & rice , that should be some time arround 4 PM , , then BACK to the QtrDeck for an after dinner smoke & then take my car to the shop, it is over heating again, last week 250 bucks to fix a "small " leak, who knows what this one will cost, & too top it all off the wifes car has a slow leak in BOTH front tires, , so this will be fun till I get MY car back, thats about all i have rught now, maybe I will think of some thing later , maybe Not hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 25 OCT.2009 a Bright crisp morning here in da Burgh , the sky is BLUE the trees are red, gold , orange & the yard needs a snowblower to get rid of all the falling leaves, or a good strong wind to blow the leaves away ! its a beautiful time of the year but a real mess with all the falling leaves, & dammmm are they slippery when they get wet , not only on the roads BUT under foot as I have seen a few people end up on the south end of a north bound train ( a local term for falling on your @$$) well its been a quiet week here , nothing going on , nothing comming up , & not much to look Fwd. to other than Halloween & for me thats a Big Zero , I used to get all dressed up , put out speakers under the porch & have fun scaring the kids & them "scaring " me , then a few of us would go from house to house with a shot glass & see what we cold get to drink, but the times just got old , some of the @$$hats got offened by it & we stopped, 'your just ruining it for the kids" hey lady , trick or treat has been over for 90 minutes we have been doing this for 15 years , its a tradition, you were told about it weeks ago , but you didnt pay attention , well calling the cops isnt a nice thing to do so the desk sgt. thought it might be nice if we just skipped her place next year so we did , BUT she still called the cops as were were all drunk & disorderly on the next door front porch , last time for the trick or treat drinking ............. dammmm I miss it hahahahaha , the boys were QUIET this week, no outstanding warrents , on them, no fights with thier mother , & thats about it , OH YEA the universe is now back in order, POT ROAST on Sunday afternoon, yep its back to the hunk of beef for the boss. all is right in the order of the univerce again.
the shop is holding its own, nothing to tell you about from there , the cars are all running , & the price of gas is back up to 2.79 for the cheep stuff at Exxon & 2.75 at the discount no name station , h3ll gas is gas, my old sable cant tell the difference & with 10 gallons I save 40 cents after i fill up 10 times i have saved enough for a cheep cigar hahahaha & speaking of cigars , I think I hear one calling to me from the humidor, a Don Carlos #3 , ahhh yes the voice is unmistakable, the sunday morning smoke , pot of kona & I am ready , heading to the Qtr.deck as soon as I get this posted , Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday NOV First 2009, a cool crisp sunny morning here in da Burgh , Pitt had a bye week & so do the steelers this week, so NO FOOTBALL this weekend, But last night the LAST battle for the bridge took place between Monaca & Rochester Pa , naming rightsidge that seperated the 2 communitys , will it be the monaca -rochester bridge or the rochester monaca bridga, will the battle has gone on for 60+ years & now the monaca school district is merging with the center twp. district & they will be in a different class than Rochester & the battle ended last night with a 28 zip shutout by Rochester over Monaca ........... hey how about that ,sporting news on Sunday !!!, well we changed the clocks last night , I didnt get that extra hour of sleep & I am pissed about it , No one bothered to tell my kidneys to slow down & I still had to get up just about the same time I have been getting up all year long, you can change the time on the face of the clock but the body knows when its time to PEE !!!!!
I have been running a little low on the Don Carlos #3's but find I have a lot of Montecristo #4' s & #5's , so till the stock pile grows a few boxes of #3's I will be hitting the #4's & 5's ......... nothing wrong with the montes , its just I like the don carlos a shade better ( all out of the don carlos #4's ) just cant seam to keep them in stock,, smaller than the 3 & just as tasty, that short drive I have in the morning makes the 4 a better travel smoke, when I was working down town in da Burgh the #3 was great for sitting in a little traffic here & there & was just about gone when I got out of the car , & by the time I hit the elevator , it was time to toss the butt, Now I can unlock the door walk in with the cigar in my mouth , dammmmm its a GREAT JOB , make coffee, , BS to customers, smoke fine cigars & listen to music all day , dammmmm so much better than standing on my feet all day in a HOT kitchen running back & forth , getting caught up in a sudden influx of a bus tour being 45 minutes early , the dish washer comming in drunk & 2 line cooks fighting about God knows what ,,,,, ahhhh itsd great to be a RETIRED CHEF , dammmm its great just to be retired, the cigar shop is a REAL RETIREMENT job .... I love it ! , Not as easy as the 4 years with my own talk show On 1460 WMBA , But I have a greater peace of mind now , No hassel from callers or management, no contraversy , just good friends kicking back with a cigar , coffee , a bit of single malt & a little music..... Life is good .
Well its Sunday & all is right here on the third rock from the sun, Barb requests BEEF & BEEF she will get , I was hoping for chicken , hahahah yea like that will happen..............
The boys have settled in for the long haul of the school year & have been a little low key for a change with all the flu going arround some how they have both had a light touch of some thing & not the N1H1 bug , I got the seasonal shot but they ran out or the other, so here i am un protected, & not worried, I have enough smoke in my system to kill just about anything hahahaha , if the smoke dont get them the scotch will ......... I HOPE !
This mornings coffee is a new blend for my home a Pappa malau & kona blend , Not Bad , you can taste them both & not a bad cup at all , both were roasted lighter than my usual darker roast , But a nice bright flavorfull potb this is , it will go well with the San Cristobol robusto I have planned for as NEXT in the line of todays cigars , I might fire up a contraband series D #5 after the beef today , MIGHT not , but chances are good hahahahaha .
the trees have lost a good bit of the color & the yard needs a good strong wind to blow all the leaves away, if not , out come s the rake again ! , dammm I want to move to a High rise appartment with an outside balcony so I can sit out & smoke all winter long, , No grass to cut, no leaves to rake , no snow the shovel................ dammm i dont know what I would do with out Barb hahahaha, maybe MOVE into an appartment hahahaha , I do like having my own home , not worrying about noise from above or next door, not worrying about the elevator or climbing all the steps , BUT ... for the right envioment I might move , anyone one in Hawaii have a small apt or house for rent CHEEEEEEEP ? , North coast of Kona would be nice hahaha But maybe some place on the yucatan or in the holy land of Cigars , Cuba , I wonder if we will ever be allowed to go to Havana & partake of the fine traditions of old Cuba , like playing dominios when getting smashed with Rum & fine cigars ,,,,,,,,,,,,, Oh yea we do that here But it aint just the same , tropical breezes vs 40mph cold winds out og the north willed with sleet , snow & rain is just not as romantic sounding as soft trade winds sented with jazz & cigars hahahaha !
Enjoy, Vince

[Vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 15 November,2009, & I must tell you all that last Sundays Missed posting was a major error on my part, I moved the computer from under the desk to beside the desk, needing to unplug everything, well I had an old phone on the desk along with a antique answering machine , well I have had a wireless phone & voice mail for a few years & never disconected the old stuff, so when I was pulling wires & figured it was time to get rid of the junk cluttering the desk, ........ post it notes on all the wires, & away I go , oh yea the wifi for the computer in the qtr.deck was also Disconected at the same time as that computer has never been hooked back up since I added a new couch to the qtr.deck, , so I hook what I thought was everything back up & no phones , no internet .......... I get comcast on the phone from work & they send out a guy to fix what I messed up, but that took a few days , & in the big move I pinched the wire connecting the key board to the tower & had to replce the key board, lucky I had the computer in the qtr.deck & am using that key board right now, getting a contact nicotene rush from the finger tips as this key board has been in the qtr.deck about 3 years & looks like an ashtry bottom hahahahaha , it has that same patina as the windoes in the Qtr.Deck hahahaha . so that my story & now on with the BS ....... a bit of sad news from the burgh this morning , my OLD FRIEND Mike Pappas past way last night , he was 84 & I have known him since about 1955, we shared a lot of cigars over the years the owner of K&N resturaunt in Ambridge Pa with the BEST GRAVY bar NONE that I have ever had the pleasure & privlage to drip on my shirt ....... I have had some all most as good but NEVER BETTER
So fire up a BIG MADURO in honor of Mike ..... RIP Mike we miss you all ready ...
Last night was the 4th. BIG ASSED birthday party for the Blowen smoke podcasts www.blowensmoke.com & we celebrated with cake & cigars at Slippery Rock cigars Slippery Rock Cigars, Online Cigar Store .............. damm I hope the links work, I wonder if I spelled them correctley hahahaha , as i never proof read any of the bs I put out , its in my mind ( what little of it I do have , , transfered to the finger tips & the key board into the computer, & bingo , its posted quick & simple, just like me ! hahaha
we did have a visitor from the boards ,,,,, the traveling J, Justin was able to stop at King Beaver Cigars last week & made it to the Big Assed birthday party last night good to see the face of some of the readers & share a cigar with all of them,,,,
On Black Friday ( the day after thanksgiving ) we are hosting a Whisky tasting at King Beaver cigars , 1106 Penna. ave Monaca , Pa 15061, from 6 to 9 in the evening , with 20 Single malts, Rum from Napal , single cask bourbon , brandys of all sorts , & I might even make some of my hooch for that evening hahahaha , got to cut wood to get the still fired up hahahaha , dammmm thats way to much work anymore hahahahaha
I took the older grandson to a music program at his school all the classical trained piano, flute, cello & violin teachers showed there stuff , no not junk in the trunk stuff the music ability stuff, , , , you bunch of pervs hahahaha , we had a good time & his private lesson teacher was there & we all sat together, & her Husband is a cigar smoking buddy so it was a great evening for all of us, BUT my daugher was all bent out of shape as we stopped for a bite to eat after the show , BUT ITS A SCHOOL NIGHT & HE NEEDS HIS SLEEP OR HE WILL BE HARD TO GET MOVING IN THE MORNING , bla bla bla ............. she forgets all the time I had her out past her bedtime when she was still in school. ,,,, being a gradfather is so much easyer to explain than being a father, she all ready knows what to expect from me hahahaha .......

"ALERT THE NATIONAL NEW MEDIA" no beef on todays menu , Pork chops , how can this be ? is this a precursor to 2012 ? did the mayians know some thing we didnt ? yes pork chops , a slow braise with apples , & some dryed fruit in a reduiced citrus juice glaze , I havent thought about the rest of the meal yet, potatos, rice, who knows till I get out there & see whats in the pantry & what tickles my taste buds.

a Salute to all my fellow vets & I have continuted to distroy the crops of our enemeys , Burning them one stick at a time , savoring the aroma of the burning crops knowing that that crop will never make any MORE money for anyone ever again , hahahaha , this past week I have distroyed crops from Chohiba, Partagas & Montecristo , all in different shapes & sizes , & the one that gave me the most satisfaction was the series D #5 from the partagas region the smoke billowed up from it almost 50 minuts from a small little fireplug came a lot of satisfaction ....... tossing a little 17 YO single malt whisky made it burn all the better & the Italian roast coffee made the evening , a little Brubeck on the CD player & I laughed with glee as the crops of our enemeys burnt into ashes , hahahaha

it has been a quite week here , Barb has been fighting a bug of some thing, & has LARENGITUS , ahhhhh its never been this QUIET here in years hahahaha
the weather has been outstanding for November, I strung up the Christmas lights saturday & had persperation on my browe, it was that warm..... I guess we will pay for it this Janurary & Feburary .........
well thats about all I have right now , Enjoy, Vince