Birthday weekend.

Friday we headed down to Owensboro for the weekend with Cynical and Ragged. We arrived and then made out way to Yellow Creek Park for ROMP. When we got to the park we made our way across the crowd and found a place to set up our lawn chairs. We got to see Della Mae, SteelDrivers, The Dangerous Gentleman, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leftover Salmon.

The Deadly Gentleman

Carolina Chocolate Drops

 Della Mae

 Leftover Salmon

SteelDrivers

 

We returned back to Cynical and Ragged's home to stay up late into the night catching up on life. The next morning we awoke to breakfast prepared by our hosts, we stayed close to home and I was presented with a birthday cake from our hosts before returning to the park for the last evening of ROMP. Unfortunately the weather turned on us and we cut the evening short with a stop at Capone's for pizza. We returned to our host's home for the night. For lunch the next day we went to Panera Bread. Our visit ended all too soon and we had to return home. We had a wonderful weekend and hope to see our family soon.

P.S. Thanks Cynical and Ragged for the birthday cake, the Romp tickets and a wonderful weekend.

We're Back!

For details on our latest vacation check out the travel blog. The link is in the gutter to the right.

Memorial Day

Today I want to thank everyone in our armed services and to remember the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice in order for us to have the freedoms that we have today.

 

A picture I took at Arlington Cemetery in 2009.

Cinco de Mayo

Today we went down to the farm and had tacos for Cinco de Mayo. After our visit we returned home to put some of the tomatoes and peppers we picked up yesterday in the ground. I know the wet muddy earth isn't the best for planting right now but if we waited any long I think we wouldn't have anything left to plant. One of the plants had a rough ride home and was bent over when we arrived. Not long after letting it set in the back room to straighten out, I knocked the same tomato plant off into the floor. I don't think this plant isn't meant to make it. We will see.

The day the music died.

Yesterday afternoon Needles and I were setting in the living room and all of a sudden we heard a crackling from the surround sound system. I looked over the speakers and after a bit of investigating, discovered that the 9 year old Bose system was as dead as a doornail. I removed the unit and settled on listening to the T.V. speakers. After about 10 seconds of that, I decided that this wasn't going to work. Since my birthday was coming up, Needles offered to purchase a surround sound system for me. I did some research and decided on one that I thought would do the job without breaking the bank. It will be a few days before the new unit will be here but until then, we will have to settle with  the crappy T.V. speakers. Over the last few days, Needle and I have been preparing a little area in the yard for a garden. Today Needles planted some green beans and cucumbers. We are homing in a couple of months that we might have some fresh garden vegetables. We have already harvested a good serving of asparagus and the raspberry canes are looking healthy. Tomorrow we are planning on picking up some tomatoes and peppers to get in the ground. Last week Needles picked up a pink dogwood tree so we got it planted in the backyard.  It is finally nice to be able to spend some outdoors in the nice weather. Have a good weekend.

Home Alone.

This weekend, while Needles was away, I didn't do much since the weather wasn't fitting to be outside. I did however mow the lawn and spray the weeds. The rest of the weekend was spent watching movies, sipping coffee and making purchases on the internets. Hope you had a good weekend.

P.S. Sunday Needles and I made a trek down to the farm and got to see the Uncles and play with explosives. Enjoy the following movie. :)

Weekend Trip

Friday, while I was at work, Needles and Ragged planned a little weekend trip, so after work we packed up and headed South. We took our time heading down since I got away from work earlier than usual. We arrived around 6:00pm and settled in with Ragged and a new member to the family Josie. Josie is a year old kitten with gray and brown marble tabby markings. She is unlimited in her cuteness and energy. We sat and chatted on the lovely screened porch until Cynical came home from work all the while being entertained by Josie and her antics.



For supper we all headed out to the local sushi place and I was in heaven. I had the Wasabi Roll, which I had before and the Dancing Girl roll. They were both excellent. After our meal we returned back to our hosts home and watched a little T.V. and got a chance to catch up. Saturday we awoke to Cynical already gone to work, so after breakfast we headed to the Museum with a quick pit stop to The Crème for coffee.

We arrived at the Museum to find that we were the first to arrive for the scheduled spinning demonstration. While the ladies knitted and spun yarn I wandered around the museum. Before long we broke for lunch and went just down the street to The Bistro. The food was very good and service excellent. We went back to the museum for the afternoon and finished up a little after 3pm.

 

We return to the house after a quick grocery run to await Cynical to get off work. Our supper for the evening was grilled hamburgers and turkey burgers with a side of grilled vegetables. It was all very good. We stayed up late into the night watching a movie before calling it a night. Sunday after breakfast we did a bit for running around and shopping. Cynical and Ragged picked up some plants for the landscaping and then a run by Panera Bread for lunch. We arrived back to the house to get in a little more porch time before it was time to head home. We had another lovely time with Cynical and Ragged and can't wait until the next time we can get together.

Pan-Starrs Comet 3-13-13

 

A closer look.

Since the switch.

Since my post on Feb. 3rd Needles and I made the switch to a Roku and said buh bye to DirecTV. Since then we have been catching up on TV series that we haven't been able to watch before. Some of the shows we were watching are not available so we have been streaming it through our laptops to our TV and we have been able to watch almost everything we have watched before at less than half the price of our old cable bill. A few of the shows we are now getting caught up on.

Supernatural
Big Bang Theory
Revolution
Fringe
Grimm
The Walking Dead

If you don't mind the occasional decreased resolution,questionable popups and ads a website I have stumbled upon has a lot of good shows free to stream. http://stream-tv.me/

Weekend Trip

Needles and I made a run to my parents this past weekend. We got to visit with some of my family , do come antiquing and went out to eat at the local Chinese Restaurant. We had a good visit although the weekend went too quick.

A Weekend of Firsts.

This weekend, Needles and I headed South to Owensboro. We were going to visit with family we hadn't seen for a while. When we arrived Friday afternoon we sat and talked for a bit and shortly we were headed out for supper at Pizzaroma. The dirty bread appetizers were awesome follow shorty by the half and half pizza. It was all very good and I ate my fill before we rolled out of there and to Yolo for gelato. I had the coffee while Needles had the Mascarpone. This was the first first. I haven't ever had gelato. It was very good and difficult to say that it is much different that high butterfat ice cream. After the gelato we went to the local library and set in on Unscripted an Indie Film Xperience. We watched to films, the first being They Said They Were Here To Help. An interesting concept on a zombie movie and the second Obsolescence, a movie with a genetic manipulation conspiracy and people with expiration dates built in. They were both very interesting and I enjoyed them. It was good to have the director/ producers there to answer questions and explain some of the visions behind the movie. We left the movie and discussed them both into the night until time to go to bed. Saturday morning we had breakfast and then headed out for a few shopping stops but then to possibly the highlight of the trip, we went to Wasabi Express for sushi. I have tried sushi before on some of the Chinese Restaurants buffet ans was still unsure if I would like it. Lets just say that it was amazing. My cousin recommended the Wasabi roll and I chose the Dynamite Roll for a second. They were both very good but if I had to choose between the two the Wasabi Roll would win hands down. It was the prefect blend of sweet and savory. I can't wait to try it again someday.We returned home and watched a new series on Netflixs. The show is called House of Cards with Kevin Spacey. We watched 3 episodes and they were all very good and ended up going to bed pretty late. This morning we had breakfast and sat in the living room talking about various things but one of the main topics is us doing way with our satellite T.V. We are considering going to Roku- streaming T.V. In fact we have already ordered the device and plan on making the switch this week, especially because when we got home we had a DirecTV bill waiting on us announcing the upcoming rate increase. We have been with DirecTV for about 13 years and I think we aren't getting our moneys worth. Just because you have been doing something for that long doesn't mean you have to keep doing it.

Fun with Blog Posts

Take one of your posts. Copy and paste it into Google Translate. Translate it into whatever language you like. Copy and paste the translation back in and translate it back into English with some interesting results.

My last post below translated into Croatian.

Dosad Nova godina je imao nekoliko uspona i padova.Mećava tek nakon Božića bačena samo preko podnožju snijegom na nas. Mi još uvijek imamo nekoliko komadića bijelog stvari gdje su ga nagomilana u parkirališta. Prije nekoliko dana imali smo neke Ledena kiša koja je napravio stvari malo Slick za nekoliko dana.Led zamrznuo garažna vrata i ulazna vrata zatvorila jedno jutro pa sam morao uzeti kamion na posao nakon susjeda i ja uspjeli dobiti otvorena vrata i čašu tople vode da biste dobili vjetrobransko staklo očišćeno. Dok je pokušavao otvoriti garažna vrata je ubacio osigurača u otvarač. Nakon čekanja na nove osigurače biti isporučen do kuće i nakon što ih zamjene vrata radi kao nov. Ja bih puno radije potrošiti 20 dolara na osigurače od $ 300 + za novi otvarač.Kasno Srna sezone mi je donio dosta jelena, ali uglavnom dolara. Ja zavrsilo ostavljajući ih hodati po. Iglice kupio ptica feeder drugi dan i nakon otprilike tjedan ptice su hrle na njega u šumarcima. Imali smo napuniti i ulagača gotovo svaki dan. Mislim da je svatko ovdje je umorna od hladnog vremena i spreman za proljeće i ljeto. Držite toplo.

Now back to English.

New year so far has had a few ups and padova.Mećava after Christmas just thrown across the foot of snow on us. We still have a few pieces of white stuff where ga piled in the parking lot. A few days ago we had some icy rain which made ​​things a bit for a few Slick dana.Led frozen garage door and front door closed one morning so I had to take the truck to work after my neighbors and I have managed to get the door open and a glass of warm water to get windshield cleaned. While trying to open the garage door opener in the fuse popped. After waiting for a new fuse to be shipped to the house and after they replace the door works like new. I'd much rather spend $ 20 on the fuses of $ 300 + for a new otvarač.Kasno Deer season has brought me a lot of deer, but mostly dollars. I ended up leaving them to walk on. Needles bought a bird feeder the other day and after about a week the birds were flocking to him in the woods. We had filled and investors almost every day. I think everyone here is tired of the cold weather and ready for spring and summer. Keep warm.

Funny stuff.

New Years so far....

So far the New years has had a few ups and downs. A blizzard just after Christmas dumped just over a foot of snow on us. We still have a few patches of the white stuff where they piled it up in the parking lots. A few days ago we had some freezing rain that made things a little slick for a couple of days. The ice froze the garage door and entry door shut one morning so I had to take the truck to work after the neighbor and I manage to get the door open and a glass of warm water to get the windshield cleared. While trying to open the garage door it popped a fuse in the opener. After waiting on new fuses to be shipped to the house and after replacing them the door works as good as new. I would much rather spend $20 on fuses than $300+ for a new opener. The late doe season brought me plenty of deer but mostly bucks. I ended up letting them walk on by. Needles bought a bird feeder the other day and after about a week the birds have been flocking to it in groves. We have had to refill the feeder almost every day. I think everyone around here is tired of the cold weather and ready for spring and summer. Keep warm.

Winter Storm

Christmas eve

Today we had a lot to accomplish. We awoke earlier than usual and set out for a quick grocery stop before heading home to start up the smoker in preparation of the turkey for tomorrows Christmas meal. The cool windy day made it for a difficult smoke. I finally called it quits after about 4 hours and finished of the turkey in the oven. I only smoked the turkey for about an hour and then placed it in a pan to catch the drippings to make dressing. So far the plans has worked well. I called my Dad to wish him Happy Birthday and we are also in the path of a winter storm coming down the pipe for tomorrow night. I don't mind the snow but usually when it happens my line of work gets a little busy. People, especially elderly people don't have the sense to stay home and out of the snow. In preparation of the snow I placed a couple of extra supports under the awning of our patio. The last time we got several inches of the white stuff, it buckled the frame in a couple of places. I also found out why my rain gauge hasn't been working for about a month. A spider made a home in the gauge and his web kept the gauge from working. Overall the day has been a productive one.

GEMINIDS

 

 

12-12-12

Just before I left from work today, Needles text me and told me I had a package to pick up from the post office. I wasn't expecting a package but when she stated it was from the bank I got a little concerned. I stopped by the post office on the way through town. A young lady and her children that my brothers family is friend with was in the post office shipping packages to China when her little girl spied me and ran over to me with her arms out stretched wanting me to pick her up. I gladly hoisted her up to my hip and watched her smile in between licks of the candy cane she was well into finishing. The mother, lets call her "J" spun around to see what strangers arms her child was running into. We both smiled as we both came to the realization that her child thought I was my twin brother Rudy. Before long it was time for them to go and I smiled and waved them goodbye. I thought what an awesome thing to come home to from work. I stepped up to the counter and told the post office worker what I was there for and proceeded through the formalities of signing and presenting I.D. I then was presented the large yellow envelope with my name and address on the label. I drove home with curiosity welling up inside. Upon opening the envelope I discovered that the mortgage on my house was paid in full and also a $8.84 refund. I was ecstatic and called the bank just to be sure as I had couple more payments in my book and wanted confirmation. The gentleman on the phone asked me for my mortgage number. After a little clicking noises in the background he came back to say Merry Christmas it is paid in full. Yahoo! It has been 15 years and I thought this day would never come. 12-12-12 you have been a good day for me indeed.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving is one of adjustment. We have been going down to the farm the evening before Thanksgiving for some 15 years but this year required a bit of a change due to recent events. We are all picking up with our new rolls and making the best of it. We arrived at the farm around 6:30am Thanksgiving morning and got the turkey ready to go into the oven just after 7:00am. While the turkey was percolating, I attacked cleaning the refrigerator and Needles waged war on the kitchen floor. After the cleaning session we settled in until the Uncles rolled in with their contributions to the upcoming feast. Right at noon we pulled the turkey from the oven and the smell exploded like a bomb into the kitchen air. It was hard to finished the sides while we awaited the bird to rest before diving into it. We all made our rounds and filled our plates. The turkey was accompanied by dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, homemade rolls and cranberry salad. Dessert was home made squash pie with cool whip and vanilla ice cream. We all ate our fill and then found something to do to keep the sleepiness at bay. After the clean up and packing up some food to bring home we headed home arriving just after 5pm. It was along day but it was nice to get together with the family for the holiday. Hope you also had a Happy Thanksgiving.

Weekend Guests

This weekend Cynical and Ragged came to visit. After they arrive Friday night Needles made homemade tomato soup with dill bread and for dessert blueberry crisp ala mode. It was all very good and we settled in to the living room and got to catch up on current events. Saturday morning we had a trip to Vincennes scheduled so after breakfast and getting ready we were on the road. We made it over to the yarn shop as requested by the ladies. After the ladies got to peruse the yarn we headed down the road to Windy Knolls Winery. I picked up a raspberry wine along with a peach and pomegranate. Ragged also picked the peach, pomegranate and also a blueberry. After our purchases we made our way into town for some lunch. We decided on Quickies and then a stop off at the coffee shop for some salted caramel mochas. Following lunch and  coffee we made a stop at Pop Around the Clock. On our way home we dropped in on Rudy and Brandos for a visit. We headed home about Supper time where Needles had chili in the crock pot. With our bellies full of chili we retired to the living room for a movie and conversation. Cynical fell out early and before long it was midnight and time for bed. This morning we had breakfast and enjoyed the warm yet windy morning. All too quickly our guests decide it was time to head home. We enjoyed our time together and hope to visit with them again soon.

It's Over...

 

Last night the American people spoke with their votes and made sure that this country with all of it's diversity and opportunity will continue to move forward and not look back.

The Theatre...

 

Tonight Needles and I went to the big city and watched a play. We intended on going last weekend but Needles coming down with a bit of a bug, we decided to postpone. After supper at the Chinese Buffet we made a run by Impressed where we both enjoyed a salted caramel mocha before the play. I think when we got done with our warm beverage, we both could have flown there. The entertainment for the night was the play Dracula put on by a local group called the Old Town Players. The performance was very good with periods of just good. It seemed that the players talent was wide ranging. Some of the actors lines and emotions were somewhat easy to loose yourself in the story with the occasional slap back into reality by a deadpan delivery. Overall the play was very entertaining and I think Needles and I are going to try to make this a Halloween tradition. The past few years the Halloween plays have been The House on Haunted Hill and Frankenstein. Just the thing to finish off the season of ghosts and goblins. Happy belated Halloween.

Fall Vacation

 

Needles and I just got back from our Fall vacation. Click on the link on the right to go to my Travel Blog for details.

Weekend In Review

 

This weekend was kind of an active one. Needles made an appointment for the car to get a new set of shoes so Saturday morning  I followed her and we dropped the car off at the Dodge dealer. While they were working on the car, we did a little shopping. I wanted to stop in at Lowe's and pick up a new sink for the bathroom as the old one was in very bad shape. Of course putting in the new sink was not without it challenges. The opening cut for the old sink was almost too large for the new sink so I had to cut some cleats to set the lip of the new sink on and seal the gap with caulk. After fighting the old sink out and getting the new one back in, a job that should have taken maybe an hour took almost a couple. On our way back home we stopped in at the park and took a few pictures of the changing trees. While in the big city we picked up a few bunches of mumms and got those planted in the front of the house. I will say since we took out the old bushes and planted the mumms, the front of the house looks more cheery. Today I changed the oil in the Jeep but other than that we just stayed inside, watched T.V. and sipped coffee most of the day. Hope you had a nice weekend also.

Just a few pics.

 

 

Projects

I have been working on a few projects since the weather has cooled off. I worked on painting and resealing the widows for a couple days and then moved on the the eaves. The paint on the eaves of the house has been pretty rough for several years and every year I have been putting it off. This year I finally got to it. I worked on them off and on for about 2 weeks. I finally finished them up and then moved on to do some work on the front porch. The ceiling on the porch needed scraped and painted. I finished it up last Thursday and today I painted the floor of the front porch and removed the bushes that has gotten way too big and looking sparse in foliage. The front porch is going to need another coat and then I will be moving on to the back patio. I hope to keep this going until the weather keeps me from doing things outside. I might have to start a few projects inside.

East Bridge Arts and Music Festival

Here is a few pictures from the East Bridge Art and Music Festival in Owensboro, Ky.

Art Booths

 Big Blue

 Chalk Art

 

The new river front.

 

This weekend Needles and I were hosted by Cynical and Ragged. We arrived in Owenboro on Friday around 5:30pm. When we arrived we visited with each other for a bit before it was time for Cynical and I to go pick up some local take out pizza. The pizza was very good and we sat in the livingroom and discussed  and caught up on what was going on in our lives. Before long it was time for bed. The next morning we had a very noce breakfast and then we were off to the festival. We arrived a little early which was nice to be able to wander through the art booths without bumping elbows with other patrons. There were some very talented people with booths and unfortunatley the storm the night before made the setup disasterous for some. Ragged did a little shopping and Needles found herself a hand dyed goody bag. After that we were able walk the Blue Bridge. They had shut down traffic across the bridge from 10am to 3pm. When we made it back we walked up the new riverfront and got to see all the improvements to the area. After the festival we went over to visit with some family and see a new member of the family. After that we returned home for a lunch of grilled burgers with sides. It was all very good and we filled our bellies. We returned to the riverfront area to pick up some coffee at a local coffee bar and walk the riverfront at sunset. It was a nice way to end the day. Sunday morning we had breakfast and settled in on the screen porch and enjoyed the cooler temps. We spent the last few hours together talking, eatting and then having to say goodbye. We always enjoy visiting with Cynical and Ragged and can't wait for the time that they will make the trek to our neck of the woods.  

Perseid Meteor Shower

Getting Life Back Together.

Life goes on and day by day the healing continues. We  go through the motions with an empty spot in our hearts hoping that one day it will scare over and not hurt so much. Last weekend we had our first family get together since our loss and I think it went pretty well. I smoked a couple of racks of pork ribs and made some baked beans. We had corn on the cobb and green beans. For dessert we had chocolate chip ice cream. All the Uncles showed up and it was nice to get back to life as we knew it...sort of. I think we are all in agreement to try to get together at least once a month and have a family meal and visit.  This weekend we have been taking it easy since we have been on the go so much. Today I grilled steaks and Needles made up some potato and herb packets so we put them on the grill. It all turned out pretty tasty. Since the temps have dropped a little we opened up the windows and let fresh air blow through the house. Since Needles finished up her Masters degree I purchased a Bouy Bell wind chime for her. With the windows open you can hear them chiming into the house occasionally.  I am glad to be able to give the air conditioner a bit of a break. I am sure the electric bill will reflect the break in the hot weather. For now I guess we are content in setting around  and soaking in the Olympics on TV.