BURRRRR , good morning , it is Sunday the 5th. of December 2010 , COLD & SNOW are the order of the day & according to the national weather forcasters the week will be more of the same , , not going to get above freezing all week, & snow predicted for every day this week, YUCK , bad for business , & I will be hitting the walk ways with the broom , shovel & salt, & with the salt brings a mess on the floor so the mop & bucket will come out, MORE WORK & LESS SALES , dammmmm I hate this BS,,,,,,, BUT its a great day for a pot of soup , so I have all the bones from the turkey , & will be making a stock out of them today, there is some frozen slices of meat & a big bag of rice, so it will be turkey rice soup about 4 PM today , a little garlic bread on the side & apple pie for desert....... the oven will be on for the bread, so I mught as well slice up a few apples & make a crust....... I am not a baker , but every few years I get the urge to bake a pie...... & today looks like it will be the day !
Last night I went to the grocery store with the boss, we picked up a few bananas , tomatos , milk ,cheese & dark bread & some other BS, spent almost 100 Bucks & didnt get any meat of any kind NONE , nada Zilch.. Nothing, what the h3ll did we get ??????? .... its getten 'spencive out there
Friday was a good day for me all round, , sales at the shop we fair , & I got to get out early .... I left about 5:30 went home changed into my Tux & went to my Grandsons piano recitial & I was the master of cermonies for the show ,,, there were 8 piano players & 2 were grand & one was superb, I will tell you the Suberb one was NOT my grandson , it was his teacher Sue Solidky-Roush ,,,,, just fantastic, a piece by Clemente & one by Bach had me tapping my toes , the kids played everything from Scott Joplin to traidional old English melodies , a few were a little slow & a few sour notes were hit but eveyone was a star that night....... after the music was over , I went back to the shop , still in my Tux ........ had a great time a few customers asked about the suit, I told them I just got married hahahahaha
a few of the fools congradulated me & gave a a cigar , DUMB @$$e$ , I gave it back & explained I was at the grandsons piano recitial, & a few laughed & a few told me to keep the stogie,,,, good for the humi..... hahahah
The tree is up & decorated, the outside lights are up & working, the boss is strangling a cat... she is trying to sing along with the Christmas Carols , God Bless her tone deff sound ! ,,, what she lacks in tallent she makes up in VOLUME........
She is brewing a pot of Christmas blend coffee , a Chocolate hazelnut, mint eggnog , with nutmeg & cinninom .............. No comment, I will sip it & go out to the Qtr.Deck & dump it out the back window ........ wait a few minutes & come back in get the Kona on , & fire up a Fine OLD Contraband smoke & back out with a nice snifter of single malt ........ the world will blurr into a sea of jazz & cigar smoke ....... the soup will be ready about 4 , so if your in the area , be sure to stop ....... Enjoy, Vince
get a used subaru. the thing will last 700K miles if you put even a little effort into it.
I would love to BUT I just cant buy a car NOT made in the USA , I check the Vin number it must start with a 1 , if it starts with a 2 it was made in Canada, 3 is Mexico, < on & on , living in the Former Steel making capital I feel the only way to get big steel back is buy American steel.... I might just be out of date with my thinking , But it is part of my DNA............ Enjoy, Vince
Vince, I absolutely love reading these little updates every week. Very well written, and entertaining as well! Thanks so much for sharing, and please, keep it up.
Good morning , it is Sunday 12 December 2010, a wet cold morning here in da Burgh, we had a COLD week & some snow but now it is 35F & Raining, with a freezing rain & snow in the forcast, Fun times on the roads tonight, I will be turning on the heat in the Qtr.Deck soon & spending most of the day with a few friends, Don Carlos #3(Cigars) &,Jaun Valdez( coffee) & maybe a visitor from Islay in the form of Laugavulin or Laphroaig, but you never know, it might be a weee dram of Redbreast from the Emerald Isle , depends on the mood when I open the bar........ Most likly , it will be what ever is in front ,,,, ahhha bottle of Drambuie........ Rusty Nail anyone ? .... sweet sip, needs a full body cigar to complement the dark roast Brazillian santos ( I think thats what was on the bag before I roasted it, just dont remember & the trash man has gone so I cant look in the can to see what I tossed out.... what ever it is .... it will be good & strong !
The hunk O beef is all ready in the oven & the wife will be happy today ,,,, shes happy all is Good ........ But I did Burn my right hand with hot oil got a nice blister on the middle finger ,,,,, looks like a few days with out giving the ONE FINGER SALUTE, the index & ring fingers are red but no blisters,,, dammmm you never get to old to be NOT paying attention to what your doing, after 40+ years in the kitchen ,,, dammm now that I think about it 50 + years things just Flow, but as soon as you dont look , BINGO you cut yourself or burn yourself, Stupidity, you need to Focus no matter what you do ,,, like some one defusing a bomb, PAY ATTENTION to what your doing & you will come out on top, & not in pieces !
I have been looking for a replacement for my long missed Mercury Sable , I can still see it in my minds eye being Towed away by the bright red tow truck, being driven by a cute blond girl ......... dammm I miss that car, well I have looked at a bunch of replacements , a retired police car still painted black & white,,, I was planning on painting Stogie Patrol on the doors,,,,,, I looked at a Mercury Capri Convertable , the guy has a spare motor & tranny as well as a ton of other parts, , its a nice car & I had one years ago, , its a basic 2 seat ragtop with a fiberglass hardtop for the winter, stick shift & cruse control, the front end was damaged & repaired, but the evaporator for the A/C was never replaced , it has sat a long time & need tires belts & hoses, I dont need or want a Project car but dammm I would love to have it when its finished , I have looked at a few older luxury rides but to get them up to snuff it would cost way more than I want to pay...so last night I saw a 2001 Mercury Sable 102,000 miles complete with a sunroof , just like my old one but the price is a bit high ...... I just might bite the bullet & go for it ........ who knows, all I can do is talk to the guy, & see whats up or down .........
the shop has been slow all week, we had a rep in from Drew Estates & Joya de Nicarauga on Saturday, he had some great specials & we sold a few boxes ...... you know its nice to move a box for the bottom line on the sales report, BUT then I dont sell that giy anything for the next few weeks , I would rather have them come in every day & get a few sticks , shoot the breeze & hang out a bit, build a nice core of guys & have a good time , we have a few like that now , but some guys just walk in grab a stick or a box& then disapeare into the night , sit ,smoke & Bull$hit a bit , sip a little coffee , savor a wee dram be friendly I dont want to be the shop keeper I want to be one of the guys no more no less, but some people feel uncomfortable when the celebertys come in , we have a few retired pro wrestlers, a smattering of retired pro sports players & coaches , a Local Radio personality ( me ) a few of the political skumbags we elected to service our needs at the local ,county , state & federal levels & thats just what we get , SERVIVED , just like the stud bull in the pasture next door to me , yep we have all gotten it from our elected officals , sure we have a few Lawyers & Judges,& Doctors , Priests & Ministers , but no one is wearing a notched collar or a robe & there are no alterboys to tempt the priests, , we have our Christans, Jews ,Muslims,Hindos& Buddists , as well as a few agnostics & athiests ,,, I could never be an antiest.... NO HOLIDAYS !!!!!dammm fools , everyone gets treated with the same amount of Contempt ..... you want more coffee, get it your self & if the pots low , make More ,,, what do you think this is your home? I am not your mother , clean up after your self..... dammmm its fun going to the shop !
its about time to turn on the heat & fire up a cigar . Enjoy, Vince
its Thearapy .......... I get it off my chest.... most of the time I dont say what I want to say, but I dont want to pi$$ people off, so I hunt & peck on the keyboard till I feel better ........ it beats kicking the dog ! hahahaha
Good morning , it is Sunday 19 Dec.2010 a cold snow covered day here in da Burgh ,,,,, I have the day with the wife baking cookies for Christmas, & I cant wait for the day to be over..... this is going to be a LONG day , both of us in the kitchen at the same time ..... good thing the windows are closed & the people next door are away or they might hear a lot of arguements , I am a trained chef, she is a compulsive cleaner, & when ever we are in close quarters there is always a "slight" disagreement on how to do some thing ..... so I should just relax & enjoy the time killing breaks she imposed on my get it done method & keep on moving style & her stopping to PERFECTLY clean a spill or a crumb on the floor, , I wipe it up & keep moving, she will want to vacume & MOP every little thing that hits the floor....... its a wonder we havent killed each other yet hahahahaha
well its less than a week to Christmas, & the shop hasnt picked up as much as I thought it would ,looks like I have way to much stock for Christmas, the gift boxes & sampler sets are just taking up shelf space, looks like a pre inventory sale comming up soon !
we have been in a cold snap all of december , hardly a day has gone above freezing all month, my gas bill was double what it was just the month before .... & congress want to pass a carbon tax... BULL$HIT, what the H3ll do they think we are , if the government needs money , you dont print it or raise taxes you cut spending... these so called public servents are not worryed about serving the people but catering to them so they can be re-elected ....... we need statesmen not polititions......
As I sit here & look out the window I see the pasture is snow covered & the bird feeder is low the cows are comfortable in the barn the bull is happy ,knowing he will get turned loose to "mingle" a wee bit ..... it looks like it will be a good day for him & not so good for me , , , , since we will be making cookies all day I will be ordering a pizza later as I dont have time to cook or the room to cook when we will be in the kitchen all day ... looks like the boss wants a thin crust with sausage & extra cheese, I want a thick crust with olives & peppers ......... looks like I will be getting sausage & thin crust ........
I still havent found a car thats in my price range , I have a few in mind & drove a few more some I liked some I didnt but its just a tuff decesion to make , I miss my old Sable ,,, I did see a nice Taurus ( the same car one is a ford the other a mercury , ) I think they might come off the same asembly line , slight difference in the grill & tail lights , no difference under the car, same motor & transmission, brakes & exaust .... & since Ford motor co has discontinued the entire mercury name plate I was hoping to pick up a 2010 mercury or even a 2011 but so few were made , & the deals were just not as sweet as they were when I bought the 2000 Sable ...... Maybe after the first of the year the dealers will want to get the year off to a good start, but you would think they want to clear the books & lot before the end of the year to pad the sales for this year & show a profit or loss NOW & not sit on inventory........ I would rather make a dime today than wait a week & make 15 cents next week, I want to make a dime every week, move inventory, , keep the shelf full & move it out pronto , get the new stuff in & move it out keep the money flowing buy & spend , not TAX & spend I think all people who run for office should have a retail Or manufacturing back ground of some sort, if you cant run a business you cant run a government ........... yea we have a Coummunity orginizer in the white house & look where it got us , deeper in debt than the oil man & base ball team owner we had befor him ....... I think the last real Leader we had was Truman ,,an owner of a small business , well Reagan was an actor & & did run the actors union as its president for a time , , but look at the people since Harry, IKE was a war hero , JFK a son of a bootlegger & whisky importer during the dry times here in the USA , Nixon a crook & former VP under Ike, Johnson got a free ride to the white house after JFK was shot, lets not forget the peanut farmer Jimmy Carter , yea he did have a real job , almost forgot about him ....... Ford was a congress man form Michigan, played to much football with out a helmet , but he was a hard working man , played football & was dammmm good at the game...... the dress stainer from Arkansas a smart man Rhodes schollar but in his own words ABHORED the millitary & the Bush family , bush the elder(41) a graduate of the Central intellegency agency & 8 years of his son busH (43 ), with 8 years of billary between the bushes hahahaha, if this is the best we have to offer maybe we should just give the country back to the Native Indians , now just look at the scoicity then, no taxes at all, men went hunting & fishing anytime they wanted to , the medicine man was free the women did all the work , raised the kids cooked cleaned & gathered the fire wood, the men were free to hunt & fish all they wanted & then the STUPID white man came in & thought he cold make thing better .... what a CROCK OF BULL$HIT . well I have rambeled on long enought I ned to take a dump, fire up a cigar & get in the kitchen & start on the cookies before I get yelled at anymore this morning .... Merry Christmas to you all , dont eat & drink to much........ hahahaha Enjoy, Vince
well I have rambeled on long enought I ned to take a dump, fire up a cigar & get in the kitchen & start on the cookies before I get yelled at anymore this morning
LOL......Vince, you are the MAN!!!
Have a GREAT Christmas!
I have been posting to this forum for a LONG time , mostly here on the Sunday Morning Smoke, & all I can say is I am having a great time & just reporting it to you all.... Have a happy Christmas & smoke a good one for me, a wee dram of single malt a cup of strong black coffee, & some Jazzon the CD player..... life cant get much better ..... Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday Dec.26,2010, the day after the celebration of the birth of Christ........ for all of you I wish you all a safe & care free holiday season , with Christmas & new years a week apart we have been busy at the shop, BUT I found out I did over buy for the year , dammmmmm I got a lot of stuff to get rid of to make taking the inventory go smooth, I want to sell the stuff not count it !
Santa was good to all of us, & I think I need to educate my wife just a bit more , as the past few years she has done a wonderfull job with the Christmas cigars for me , but this year ,,,, well the selection was GRAND , BUT it was shipped in a Humidor that is Beautiful, But I have 12 all ready plus 2 walk in humidors at the shop........ well I guess I can consoladate a few of the smaller ones into this big S.O.B., look like it will hold a few hundred ,,,, maybe I can retire a few of the old 50 count boxes & get rid of all the small 10 & 15 count boxes....... I do have one 10 count box that I love , it was filled with contraband Partagas series D #4's when I got it .... I looked at it over 2 years before I smoked any of them ....... they lasted 10 days after that.......... dammmmmm they were FINE ........ & thats the problem WERE ..... but I guess if I could have one EVERY day , they would become mondaine & tiresome & I would be craving a Hemmingway short story or Camacho Liberty ...... Oh well I guess we smoke what we can ,,,, & I have a pot of kona ready to press & a Don Carlos #3 calling me ...... The Grandsons were verry happy with the bounty they got , & we all went to the nursing home to visit my mother in law ,,, she thought I was her brother, well she is the youngest of 13 & the last one alive she is in her late 80's & has been in the home 6 years now, she is in the last stages of Althizimers & we are running out of money to keep her there , what we spent in the last 6 years we all could have gone on a cruse arround the world ......... TWICE ...... but thats all water under the bridge & over the dam, Gone & not to be returned, I just hope my daughter appricates the way we took care of her Nana ..... & she takes care of us like we did ..... lets face it she isnt much older than I am ...... you just never know when I might end up in diapers & drulling on my self...... after a few scotches I could use a bib even now hahahaha
we have about an inch of snow on the ground right now with a few flurries predicted for today but Nothing like the east coast ,that is going to get a 10 to 14 inch snow fall ........ dammm glad I dont live there ...... even down South its Cold & snowing ,,,,,,,, whats this BS about Globial Warming ????? well the boss just came in from cleaning the snow off the walk ways & tells me she cant get the door to the Qtr.deck open ,,,,,,, so I need to get dressed & go out & turn on the heat, so that later today I will be warm & comfortable when I go out for my Sunday morning Smoke .... Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday Jan 2,2011, the first posting of 2011 & a cold ,sunny but wet morning here in da Burgh ...... New Years resolutions ...... dont make any .... I woulndt be able to keep them so why try to fool myself & make them,,,, on new years eve we went out to eat with my brother & his family , my daughter & her 2 boys , her husband was at a new years eve party with his Motorcycle buddys ..... she isnt a big fan of the group & didnt want to spend the entire evening talking about bikes & riding in the winter , so she & the grandsons opted to dine with OMA & OPA , ( Guess who got to pay ) Oma & Opa are what the grandsons call us ...... Zma & Zpa are the other grandparents, ...... dont ask , I dont know !!! well its 2011 , I cant believe I made it this far , seams just like yesterday it was 1999 & we were all worried about the Y2K bug in every computer in the world....... no big deal or shutdown...... so whats next for this year? will obama get us out of the financial mess we are in , will the war in Afganastan come to a close, will India & Pakaistan nuke each other, will North Korea & South Korea figure it out & stop fighting , will the east & west , north & south ever drop the area & become one nation? where are we headed this year ? will the Christians, Jews,Buddests, Muslums ,Hindus & athiests ever agree on anything ? will the price of gasoline ever come down? Will I ever get back under 215 pounds? questions only time will tell, I have no chrystal ball or clairvoiance , I have a humidor with a
"FEW " cigars in it a small amount of single malt whisky & a few pounds of coffee to roast .......... thats all I can account for , a weee dram , a cigar & coffee, at this stage of my life other than the grandsons is about all I need or want , sure iIhave a wife of 40+ Years , & I try to keep her as happy as I can but you cant please everyone all the time , so I do the best I can & according to her , she said she will keep me arround till some thing better shows up hahahahahaha , yea like either one of us want to start training a replacement hahahaha , she has me trained & knows what I can & will not do , I will not give up my smoking room, , but I will cook for her anything she wants ...... she knows my limits & I know hers , No mustard , mayo or ketchup on her burger, no picles or relish, maybe a slice of tomato or cooked peppers & onions , cheese is Ok but I always ask first to be sure ... even after 40 + years she can still throw me a curve ball......
I am heading to the shop later today , its Inventory time , this way I can find out how much was shoplifted & "sampled" ........ I dont want to know but the accountaint wants to know, well if he wants to know let him count it hahahaha let him do his magic with the numbers & make me a millionair , lets make that a billionair , hey if your going to dream ,,, DREAM BIG !
Yesterday I slept in till about 10AM , had a nice light breakfast of Tofu & a banana both grilled to a golden brown with a shot of green tobasco to give it a little kick , lunch was a grilled cheese sandwich & then I went to the Qtr.Deck with a Lost City Opus X , a thermos of coffee & snifter of 21 YO Balvinie .... Dave Brubeck on the CD player & I got up 2 hours later to get rid of all the coffee I had consumed ..... it was a great smoke , not as strong as I thought it might be ,,,, BUT I have the BBMF opus X for some time this week, might save it for hummmm what to save it for???? No I think I will get it maybe today.... depends on what the boss has for me tonight or how the inventory count comes out , it might be a celebration smoke tonight or a last shot behind the ear ..... either way I will enjoy it hahahaha
We finished to last of the Christmas blend coffee & started the day with a peaberry , I dont remember where it was from , but the beans were tiny when I ground them this morning, ,,,, looks like I will miss my Sunday morning kona & don carlos #3 , I still havent found a car that I like & can afford, I have found a lot I like but way to much $ , & the ones I can afford, well I just didnt want them..... so when I get to the shop I will fire up a pot of the daily grind I make at the shop every day, I might make a little kona to drink on the drive in , but I am not allowed to smoke in HER car ........... nuff said about that...... I dont want to pick the scab off of a cut ... well I have a lot to do today, no cooking we are having the left over pork & *** from last night when I get home tonight.... so no hunk o beef for the boss today , stop at the store get my lottery tickets for the week,
( I hit for 3 Bucks this past week ) , I spend about 10 bucks a week on tickets , so for the past 20 or so years I might have made 2 or 3 hundred bucks & spent a few thousnd times more on the tickets , who knows some one hits , So I take a chance , I buy the tickets but never check them, the wife is in charge, dammmm I might have hit the big one years ago & dont even know it .... hahahaha time for me to get my @s$ in gear & get some thing done , like get dressed , hahaha Enjoy, Vince
Happy New Year Vince ... here's to another year of reading your Sunday morning posts they are thouroughly enjoyed buddy. Hope we both make it to the end of 2011 ... bottoms up bro !!!
Bottoms up hahaha, yea I did a little to much of that at work last friday afternoon,,,, dammmmm ran out of glasses & didnt want to drink the single malt out of a plastic or paper cup.... so i drank right out of the bottle, seamed to go down way to fast but dammmm what a BUZZ, havent been that far gone in a LONG time ! , none worse for wear, drank a pot of coffee , waited till I went to the bathroom a few times & got home safe, & sound, , it was about 3 hours after the last drink I even thought about going home under my own power.... glad its a short drive ....... I can walk in 40 minutes....... not that I want to hahahaha
Good Morning , it is Sunday 9 Jan.2011 a fridged cold morning here in da Burghwith a wind chill of a minus 3 F & an air temp of 12 F , it looks like I will be NOT spending any time in the Qtr.Deck today, just to costly to heat it in this kind of weather, , with the wind blowing & the skys cloudy , we will not get much help from the Sun & it will take all day to get the temp up to a comfortable level.... it is snowing right now a light fluffy snow thats easy to remove from the walkways & driveways ........ not that I will be doing any of that anytime soon hahahaha
We were awakened early Saturday by the phone , my Mother in law has been in a nursing home for 5 years & they called to tell us she was heading to the hospital via Ambulance , on top of the Althizimers she is having trouble with her heart, a verrrrry slow beat & low BP , the old pump is just wearing out , so she is in the hospital & we have been going there to calm her & let the staff do there job...... the Doc just called & they are sending her back to the nursing home , well thats a big load off my mind & a big load on the wallet.... I was hoping to have her transfered to the county home for the aged & cut back on the expence of keeping her in a private nursing home, the doc said she is as healthy as a race horse, in better shape than people half her age only problem is her mind , its just Gone , she knows NOTHING, she can read but dosent understand , she can talk but cant carry on a conversation.... she eats well has kept her weight up & walks with out help of any kind, .... she is in better shape than I am ........ that is a load off of my wifes mind, she is close to her mother & cant get over the fact she has no idea who she is ...... its a tuff way to go... But I did see my Brother in law for the first time in months when he came to visit his mother........ we have been missing each other there all summer & autumn, so it looks like we will be getting together with his 3 boys well they are all young men & fathers them selves for a cigar soon ..... his youngest son moved from Fla. Back to Pa. just before Christmas ..... dammmm what a time to get out of the Gulf coast Fla. Sunshine & back into the COLD ,DAMP, GRAY winters of Pittsburgh......... dammm what a kick in the head , I was planning on a visit to Fla. ,,,, sleep on the couch a few nights & get out of town with a tan & a few cigars ....... Oh well better luck next time !
The shop was so dammmmm slow Friday evening I left about 10 Pm , didnt make enough to cover the heating cost for the day, But Saturday , dammm went in late , people waiting for me & before the hour was up I had done more in sales than I did all day on Friday....... I just dont understand the public anymore , back when i was cooking I was able to look at the sales for the week & plan the amount of food I would need to make the next day , I never ran out of anything or never had so much I had to trash the leftovers , I was able to forcast & buy just what I needed & thereby cutting costs as there was verry little garbage or spoilage... but here dammmm I cut back people want what I cut back on , I order up & it sits on the shelf..... dammmmm Customers, there all NUTZ hahahaha
I have a hunk of beef as per the wife it is Sunday & she wants her pot roast so she gets it,,,, a happy wife is a happy life . I have a pot of Kona waiting in the press pot .... & since I dont have to go to the hospital to visit the mother in law I will be heading to the shop , as the heat is on there , no need to heat the Qtr.Deck, , But I dont want to deal with customers, I dont want them to think I will be open on Sundays .......... dammmm customers hahahaha ........ well if I do go to the shop , I will have a Don Carlos #3 as per the Sunday Morning Smoke Custom to go with the Kona I will pack a 3 finger case with a BBMF Opus X , a Padron anniv. 1964 princeape maduro & a Camacho Liberty from 2008 ...... at liest I think its a 2008...... maybe I might just let it in the humi & take a an AVO #2 ....or maybe Both of them hahahaha
I will be taking the grandsons to thier music & art lessons Monday , & smoking a fine cigar at the piano lesson ..... Tom has a heated garage & pulls the car out to give us a place to sit smoke & sip a weee dram..... My grandson gets a lesson from a world class piano teacher & I get a world class cigar out of the humi for myself & tom ..... he provides the wee dram & the heat , I supply the cigars , he is a VSG smoker & I like just about all of them, he has a slightly narrow flavor profile so I bring some thing for my self that is OUT of his taste range ,,, he likes VSG but thinks Opus X are trash , hated the Diamond Crown maximus but loved the regular line ???? enjoys padron 26's will smoke a 64 but perfers the 26.... I am happy with a bundled long filler almost anything, I am not happy with cut filler smokes , I chew my cigars way to much & hate spitting the hunks of stems & leaf out ,,,, so I try to stay with the long fillers, I do smoke a lot of seconds when I can get them, & a great bundle cigar is money in my pocket ... why pay for the box when all your going to do with it is give it away or toss it out, cant sell them all Loard knows I try to sell all the empty boxes I can , but some just end up in the trash or the bottom of the charcole grill to help light the fire ....... its about time to hit the kitchen & get the hunk of beef in the oven, the wife is almost done cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast & I want to get out there & mess it up before she gets into the sunday paper hahaha .... Enjoy, Vince
Good morning it is Sunday 16 Jan.2011 a bitter cold morning here in da Burgh , the air temp is 13 F but the wind is a brisk 15 to 20 MPH ..... BURRRR is all I can say ..... Steelers headed to the AFC championship game facing the winner of todays Patriots/Jets game , at lest I think thats who will be playing today , with 6 wins in 7 attempts the fans in da Burgh will execpt nothing less than a super bowl victory every year , its like being a NY Yankee fan, second place is a looser ..... But who give a rats ass about that , its Sunday & cigars are on my mind , I just finished a 4 cheese omlet with bacon & dark rye toast with a pot of Indian Malibar coffee , the Kona is in the press pot as I type & will be joined by a Don Carlos #3 , I will be heading to the shop this morning as it is WAY to cold to get the temp up in the Qtr.Deck anytime soon , when it gets below 20F & the winds are over 15 MPH it just takes all day to get the heat up to 60/65 & anything cooler than that is uncomfortable ..... why should I be uncomfortable ?? ?? ?? ??
last monday I took my grandsons to thier music & art lessons & had a good time with my buddy Tom ,the husband of the piano teacher , we sat in his garage with a propane heater, sipped a wee dram of Irish whisky well this week looks like a repete of last week - I hope !! cigars, conversation & whisky cant beat it !! I have a hankering for a hunk of beef my self today , but not the pot roast my wife loves , I have a nice set of Delmonoco steaks sitting in a light marinade over night they will hit the grill reguardless of the temp some time this after noon , along with some yams, peppers & onions & a nice dark beer to top it all off with a celebration meal to be sure , what are we celebrating you ask? why LIFE of course !!!! the fact that we are alive semi healthy & have the means to do just about what ever we need to do to make life worth living & living well,,,, No there is not a Bently in the garage, in fact no garage ... the old ford just sits outside ... Thank God for the remote starter , Fire it up from inside the house & when I get out there a nice warm car is waiting for me , the ice is gone from the windshild & the inside is warm,,,, ready to take me to the shop.... the wife has all the snow out of the drive way ,,,Bless her heart... as she said it never snows in Vince's world .... Now if I could get her to come to work with me ........ hahahahaha its getting to be about that time I get in the cigar shop & clean up the mess that is waiting for me , God knows what time they closed up last night after the Steeler Victory & what time they will show up for todays game , I would like to get the top layer of trash out of the way asap ...... Enjoy, Vince
Good Morning...... BURRRRR its freezing here in da Burgh the 23rd day of Jan.2011 , right now its 12F with a windchill of -4 F , way to late to save the balls from falling off the brass monkey ! well its just way to cold to warm up the Qtr.Deck so I will be heading to the cigar shop later for my Sunday morning Don Carlos#3 & Kona coffee.... I need to check the water lever in the humidors so I might as well go & have a smoke , I will be putting the bosses Hunk o Beef in the oven soon & by the time its done, I will be home & ready to eat...... should be some time arround 4PM so if your in the area, bring a harty appitite & a bottle if you want any wine with your meal...... DAMMMM its been COLD & snowing all week, the shop was a bit slow as no one wanted to come out but soon the craving for male bonding & the sweet smell of a cigar was way to powerfull to hold some of the harty souls in the igloos , Friday we were full up by the time I wanted to go home , so I left & told them last one out locks the door ! , it was a grulling 14 hour day for me cleaning 6 inches of snow at the shop front walkway & helping the wife get rid of the same amount here at home from the walkways & drive way ,,, we moved a few tons of snow by hand .... gotta get a snowblower some day ,that shovel is getting HEAVY !
we have track's in the snow leading to our bird feeder , a single line ,one deer, leading up to it , lots of drag marks in the snow getting to the seed on the ground & one set of track's leading away & jumping the fence into the cow pasture next to me , looks like its time to get some corn out there from the local feed store , in the 30 plus years I have lived here this is the first time we have hoofprints in the snow,we get deer in the summer all the time but never in the snow for some reason or an other , I'm not saying they dont come close to the house in the winter just never saw tracks in the snow , maybe they use the cleared walkways to get through the yard & drive way !!!!
I went to the cigar shop in Blawnox Pa , Alleghney Smoke Works , for our post holiday herf , drank a weee bit of brandy ,lots of Coffee & smoked a few sticks I dont have at my shop,,, like a Hemmingway MADURO Masterpiece , alomost 4 hours of BS & smoke ....... it was GRAND !
well today is the playoff game between the STEELERS & the jets ....... I have no idea who will win , of course I would love to see the STEELERS go to the Superbowl AGAIN right now the STEELERS have been to the big game 7 times & won 6 of them,,,,, there only loss was a win for me as I had the numbers on the pool & won one thousand bucks in Cold hard CASH , gave the guy who ran the pool a 100 Buck tip, bought pizza for the entire crew at lunch the next day told the wife I won 250 Bucks , gave her 200 & kept 50 for my self hahahahaha dont know what she did with her 200 but I had a great time getting the humidor stocked up as well as the bar , I ate ,drank & smoked it all !!!!!
Number one grandson went to the winter semi formal dance at school last night , he is 15 & starting to figure out that Girls are not all that Icky & kissing is better than hitting hahahahaha he is starting to look like a young man & not a kid anymore ..... makes me feel OLD dammmm it .
we had a nice breakfast this moring , I grilled a few bagles ,covered them with swiss cheese bacon egg & tomato, a little fresh cracked black pepper & a touch of mayo on mine , no mayo on the wifes, ,,,,, but If I keep eating like this all the weight I took off (202 pounds ) will come back slowly from 417 pounds & a Tight 62 inch waist down to 215 pounds & a loose 40 inch waist, , right now I have moved up to 240 & a tight 40 ........... back on the diet before I loose control........ like I ever had any hahahaha
as I look out the window tward the pasture I see a few light snow flakes & in the BRIGHT blue sky it is a fantastic sight , the birds are in the raspberry bushes looking for seeds ,& the pine tree next to the barn is a wonderfull color of green on a white snowy background with the rust colored barn in the background, makes me wish I had a digetal cameraso I could show all of you what I can see from my window, BUT I still have my old Nikon & it takes FILM..... & Kodak stopped prossing Kodachrome ....
So I guess I have an outdated hunk of History like my , Radioshack color computer 16 & Comadoor 64 computer ,,,, Now I wish I had never sold them hahahaha , so I will hold on to my camera...... am I making a big mistake? who knows, & who cares ? I have well over 1000 bucks invested in the camera & bag with all the toys that go along with it so if its worth is nothing , all I have lost that , BUT if it goes up I might be able to make back a few bucks , the camera has paid for itself many times over not only in Cash but in the photos we have of the good times ...... over 10,000 negatives & slides are in my cold storage locker at the old mushroom mine.A family history & a few weddings I photographed over the years , nothing that has paid off in BIG money or rewarding contracts but a few local winners & a lot of great times ,,, & speaking of time,,, I need to get this posted & get the hunk of beef in the oven.... Good luck to the Black & Gold as the kick off temp will be in the single numbers..... glad i didnt get tickets hahahaha Enjoy, Vince
Good morning, it is Sunday 30 Jan,2011 a cold snow covered morning here in da Burgh ,,, Globial Warming MY @$$,,,, I havent seen any grass in my yard since November , the piles of snow at the end of the drive way is almost as tall as I am ..... I have ran out of snow melter twice ,for you in the tropical latatudes, snow is a chrystal of frozen water of varrious sizes & shapes from lace like 6 sided disks to tiny round balls of ice with a water content that also varries from a dry powder like to a heavy wet glob the powder is great to sweep ,& fast to remove but the wet heavy stuff is a pain to shovel & slow to melt & then at night as the tempature falls it will refreeze unless you have treated it with enough salt , but then the salt distroys the cement walkways dammmm I wish I had been born closer to the equator, but then i would find a way to complain about the heat & the bugs , & speaking of BUGS , the stink bugs are invading my bathrooms exaust fans ,they must have nested in the vents & are now hatching .I get a few evey day , last night I pulled the paper towels in the kitchen to wipe up a spill on the counter & dammmm there was a stink bug right on the paper towels ....... I guess I complain to much , I dont have all that bad of a life ,,, far from it , I have a great life ...... a few humidors with cigars , ( a few empty dammmm it ) a supply of single malt whisky that should last a week or so , a few pounds of coffee & warm place to sit & smoke , sip the coffee & lavash my taste buds with the Whisky... a great wife who understands ... well ,,,,,puts up with the cigars , 2 grandsons who dont mind them all that much a pain in the @$$ daughter who will complain about a free ham , it was to salty , it was to fatty , it was something but that is her natural state, she gets it from her mother hahahaha , but when you get right down to it I have a great life .... how much longer it will last ...... God only knows . Right now I am Glad I am not in Egypt !!!!! As the history teachers told us that the middle east was the home of the Garden of Eden, the center for 3 major different froms of religion& a hot bed of wars over the time that history has been recorded ..... my God is stronger than your God ....... so what is the answer? ONLY GOD KNOWS !
I never know what I will say here untill I sit down & start to type , I do try to keep the cigars as the central theme & it seams like I Never get to all that much cigar BS & more about the family & what ever else is going on in the world arround me .... right now my wife is out cleaning up the snow flurries we got last night .... about an inch or 2 ...... I will be heading to the Qtr.deck soon to turn on the heat, get the Chicken & rice started for todays supper ....... a NO BEEF Sunday here in da burgh ...... what ever makes her happy & I pointed out the chicken has been in the freezer since November & the beef is from this month, we should eat the older things before they get freezer burnt or shoved to the back & we dig it out 2 years from now hahahahaha
well the shop was over flowing Friday night , Lots of pipe smokers this week , it was a nice change BUT tuff on sales .5 Bucks worth of pipe tobacco will last days , where a 5 buck cigar might only last an hour & you need an other .... Full shop empty cash regester ...... oh well we all had a good time .... it has been a snow coverd winter & I need to get back outside & roast some coffee but dammmm its cold.... I might put the roasting on hold for a few weeks & buy some coffee that is ready to grind , these old bones just cant take the cold like they did a few short years ago .Dont feel sorry for me , feel sorry for yourself,,you to will be in the same position sooner than you think...... Enjoy, Vince
Good morning it is SUPERBOWL Sunday 6 Feb.2011 .... here we go Steelers here we go ! OK enough about football allready , it is a COLD wet morning here in da burgh a light coating of snow has covered the dirty snow & made everything slick as a WD40 Coated dip stick ,,, we are not as bad a shape as the pore folks in Dallas / Ft.Worth area we are set up for snow & ice as we get it all the time here in da burgh ( BUT we are not as bad as Buffalo, dammm a big snow in da Burgh is an average day in Buffalo , ) so what Big D is getting is way out of the ordinary for them , a city that size with 14 snow plows ... NYC had 2500 plows & a fleet of sanitation trucks that can plow snow as well as pick up the trash.. do Big D needs a snow plow at the airport a few times just to keep the runways clear , what my wife would clean off with a broom they need a snow plow to take care of ..... its just what you get used to doing. & she is outside right now with her broom cleaning the walkway & turning on the heat in the QTR.DECK .... there is a great deal of prep going on at the cigar shop today ... 2 deep fryed turkeys, 2 hams, 10 slabs of ribs,Venison Chili ,Lasagna,mac& cheese,baked beans ,coleslaw ,cheesecake & B E E R .
I will spend the day here at home with my wife, she will be reading the sunday paper & I will be in the Qtr.Deck smoking a fine cigar & sipping a great mug of coffee today the wife brewed up a pacific blend of coffees from all around the pacific rim , less the Kona & kopi luwack ,,,,, both are just to costly to blend & cut the grand flavor & aroma ,, I do see a lot of kona blends but dammmm what is the reason behind that? it would be like adding 10% of a fine old single malt scotch to a big glass of ice & lemonaid , you would never get the full advantage of the flavor of the great whisky so why blend Kona coffee with anything or the Kopi Luwack,,, at the cost of both watering them down to make them last is just wrong in my opinion , go for the gusto & taste them as they should be drank, at full strength & BLACK,,, if you want cream & sugar added why drink it all you get is the taste if the dairy & the sweetness of the sugar & then I see some people dumping chemicals in there coffee like artifical sweetners ,,,, dammm that just bugs the H3ll out of me ,a Double cheese burgher, large frys & a diet drink , BLOW IT OUT YOUR @$$ a teaspoon of sugar is 16 calories ,,,,, BIG F'EN DEAL , it has a better taste & is better for you even if you diebetic a small amount of sugar has to be better than a boat load of chemical sweetners, ( insert disclaimer here , I am not a trained medical expert in any way shape or form , just my opinion ) OK back the Subject at hand,,,, what ever it is ..... the ONLY thing I want in my coffee is a wee dram of Irish Whisky or a bit of Coffee liquor hummmm maybe both at the same time ..... 99.9 % of the time my coffee is black & thats about all I need ahhh yes Coffee the gift from God just like the great barley that gets trasformed into Whisky & the weed called tobacco ....... who said there is no heaven ? it will be in the Qtr.deck all day a grand amout of smoke, whisky & coffee, along with the voices of angles comming from the trumpets of Miles Davis , the piano of Dave Brubeck & the orchestration of Bach & Beethoven , you just dont mess with the masters .
I have a MANDITORY hunk of beef for today, the boss wants it she gets it.
not that I wouldnt like to slip away for a little turkey at the shop but I will spend the day here ,just like any other Sunday she will be reading the paper & I will be enjoying the day in the Qtr.deck , it was 30F just a few minutes ago when she turned on the heater , should be ready to go as soon as I get her hunk o beef on , make a pot of coffee & decide what single malt I will be sipping this afternoon. as cold as it is & with a light snow falling right now you better believe it will be an Islay malt of some sort or fashion.... Ahhh yes Islay, the smoke , the peat, the right stuff for the cold harsh winters we have here in da burgh ! well the 13 anniaul cigar crawl is ON , May 20 to the 22 check it out at
www.cigarcrawl.com
The Grandsons have been hibernating all week, have seen them since last Monday & will be taking them to there music lessons this monday as well the 13 YO is playing a 6 string electrict & the 15 YO is a Piano player they have a step brother who pays drums & a cousin who playes the violin , a step sister who has switched to the Tuba & a foster sister who is a clarinet player & NONE of them like to play Jazz, dammmm kids cant get them to agree on ONE dammm song to play together , so I said just play your favorite piece & let everyone else just jump in a jamm with you , But No they never heard of that .... what planet did they grow up on ? they have been listening to it for years & thought it was all written out like a score for a movie ......... ahhhh kids so charming , so cute, so DUMB.... well its time to get the show off the ground & get the day started , we had a nice cheese omlet with bacon this morning & I saved to bacon fat to brown the hunk o beef in , should kick up the flavor of todays gravy .... Time for more coffee & an introduction to my old friend Don Carlos#3 , I have a Contraband monte for Celebration or Mourning for after the game, I will be celebrating with a fine old single malt or lamenting the game with a single malt, I win no matter the outcome of the big game ... Enjoy, Vince
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