Doors and Windows and Bricks, Oh My!

New door *which I have to stain on the inside* New window *which I have to stain, on the inside*
And the best part..the brick work. Gonna look wicked awesome once the new siding goes up. *did I mention that we decided to reside the whole house? Budget buster right there.*

Grime Doesn't Pay

Got the computer back today. My guy Ray ran what he needed to run, said if there was any kind of virus that it was gone and he didnt think there was a virus, but the big reason for my problems was dust. I guess shooting the thing with the air in the can stuff just isn't enough to keep the puppy clean. Computers are like TVs in that they are giant electromagnets that attract the dusties.

Speaking of dust, I've got a thin layer of construction dust all over the house. I just got done delousing the kitchen because the new sliding door went in today. There's grime everywhere. One thing I despise is grime!!! makes me nuts! And the window went in on The Project too. The brick guy was here dropping off the goods and Kevin came by and did some preliminary wiring. He and The Spouse are now up at Nickel Creek having a pop. And by pop I dont mean pop if you get my drift. I'll have some pictures up soon. There were too many people roaming around to get any shots this afternoon.

Not Much New Progress To Report

We have trim....

And we have soffits



I believe we're waiting for the electrician to work his magic and the brick guy to come and do the brick work along the lower section *across the whole lower back of the house, where the Tyvec is...wont that look cool?* of the house, then the siding can go up. Brick guy is also doing the brick and stucco on the interior.

I want it to be done!!!! "Daddy..I want an Oompa Loompa and I want it NOW!!!!"

Everyday A Little More Progress

Today The Project is enclosed. Well...except for the part thats staying open. All the sheathing is up and the roof, no shingles, but a roof, is on. As expected, my kitchen is a little darker, but thats ok because now I can have the curtains open without being blinded. It'll lighten up once the window goes in on the left side.





Would you look at that lawn???? All thru this, The Spouse, aka, Mr. Greenjeans has kept his lawn up.

And, as always, you can see more detail if you click on the picture.

What The???

Yeah..its the 18th of May and we're scraping frost off the cars????

And I didn't take the computer in Saturday cuz they were closed.

We have an actual structure now!

And this guy is doing all the work by himself.

In other news.....I think I have a fan motor problem on my computer.....I should really take it in and have it checked out, so I may be inactive for a few days. I can make posts from my phone but I dont know if there will be any pictures. Wish me luck

Have I Ever Mentioned How Much I Love My Job Or The People I Work With???

I'm sure I have. Today was just one more example of why.

We have a regular customer...*we have LOTS of regulars actually, this is just one of our favorites* who lately has been getting a salad to go. I started drawing little pictures on the bag, or writing little notes on the container and just doing goofy little things like that. Well, today Justin took it to the next level..




Yes...thats Andy's name carved out of a couple slices of provolone cheese.

Awesomeness

Framing Has Begun!

This is awesome...and the picture does not do it justice.


The sun was in the way!

And its weird....it's the first time since way back when in, what, September was it, that we're able to walk out the sliding door into the backyard. Coolness

Another Episode of .... Unsolicited Product Review

Today I tried the Woolite Rug Stick . And gosh darnit, it worked pretty well! I've got a high traffic problem stepping down into the family room. The dingy came out and it fluffed up nicely. I also tried upstairs where I had a spill and that came clean also. Then I thought...the stairs could use a sprucing up so I started on the bottom, got one step done and ran out of product, since the kit only comes with a trial size container.

Bought it at Tops for $14.95 and I didnt even think to look and see if they sold a refill. If they don't, I'm sure Target will have it. At least I hope they do.

Two Thumbs Up

And They're Off

We went to Buffalo Raceway last night. Had a table right along the glass in the grandstand.


I went down and play some slots for a little while, *because I couldnt find a room they were painting so I could watch the paint dry...not a big fan of the whole 'slap a wagon on a horse and make him trot in a circle and see how much money people will bet on the outcome thing* till I ran out of money...hahahahaha...it didn't take long.

If there's a recession, you couldn't tell it from The Fairgrounds. The grandstand was packed and there were very few slot machines that were not occupied.

Taking Shape

The concrete for the porch and the patio are done!





Next step....construction of the porch itself.

Random

So...there's no update on The Project because they're not pouring the concrete until Saturday. And it's supposed to rain on Saturday night so, who knows.

Here's some random stuff.

New (or old) TV shows I like.

The Unusuals I LOVE this show!!! The characters are a bit off the wall, or, unusual, if you will. On ABC, Wednesday night, 10:00

Castle Two thumbs up on this one too. Nice cast, humor, mystery, well written. On ABC, Monday night, 10:00

Bones David Boreanaz, Buffalo boy, nuff said. His father was Dave Thomas of Rocketship 7 and Dialing For Dollars fame.

30 Rock I have always and will forever have a crush on Alec Baldwin. There, I said it. Everyone knows now.

The Mentalist No commentary, I just like the show.

The Office, My Name is Earl, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, all make the list too. Hmmmmm...seems to be the stuff I like most is the stuff that makes me laugh. Or chuckle. Or snicker. Nuthin wrong with that!

And looking over at my Twitter update from last night, it seems I can't type whilst walking down stairs in a mob of people. That should have read "A Chorus Line". And let me tell you it was just fantastic! I was walking around all day today singing the songs I love the most. And singing them outloud, which is not really pretty at all. At least I didnt break out in a dance number using a lid to a pot as my top hat belting out "One, singular sensation, every little step she takes". I thought about it but I didnt do it.

Double Update

...because I didn't get home till after dark last night and didn't take pics till this morning and this afternoon.
This was the scene after yesterday....the foundation was all filled in and level. Beginning to look like something now, huh?

Now, today, forms for the floor of the porch, the stairs and the patio are now set.

It's probably going to stay that way for a while. Weathermen say its going to rain the next couple of day. Oh, wait...what am I talking about...they haven't been right about any weather prognostications for a long time!

The lilac are beginning to bloom too!

First Floor, Housewares, Second Floor, Sporting Goods, Third Floor, FOUNDATIONS!

WooHoo!

I Miss All The Good Stuff

I'm an ambulance chaser from way back. My dad was the first one to say "Let's go" when the sirens at the fire station went off. We had a scanner and if something big was close, we were there.

If only I'd stuck around at work for a few more minutes yesterday. I could have been in the middle of all the excitement. Not 10 minutes after I left, this really cool building behind work went up in flames.

This is all that's left


I know I have a before picture around here somewhere, and if I find it, I'll post it.

I should mention that the building was vacant and no one was hurt.

There's some more pictures and a story to this story at BuffaloRising.com

**edit 5/4

Just got this picture in from The Spouse, thought I'd post it

Pimpin' Ain't Easy!

Today was Kid's Day and Al and Justin and Kush and Jimmy and Peter and The Spouse and I were out there at 6AM schlepping newspapers. Here's Justin and Al...crazy bastards were walking the middle of the road like they owned it.

It was a fantastic morning, weather wise...we were warm and dry. Of course, it started raining about 10:30. I'm glad it held off till we were done, but the rain means nothing gets done on The Project.

We're On The Way!

The footers were poured this afternoon. The moat has been filled.

Let's hope there's no rain for a little while. *just knows there will be now that I've said it out loud*

Holy Lots of Dirt Batman!

Ok...so there's not THAT much dirt.

There's two nice mounds that came out of the trench for the foundation. Hopefully footers will be poured on Monday. Waiting for the building inspector to give an okie-dokie to proceed.

We've had an absolutely gorgeous last couple of days. I went over to Antique World this morning, y'know, just to get out and get some fresh air, yeah, that's it...I wanted fresh air. We'll stick with that story. I found this awesome tin Pepsi thermometer. The mercury for that actual temperature reading is gone, but otherwise its in great shape!
Can't wait to hang it out back with all the other stuff I've been collecting. I hope this room is going to be big enough!!!!

And The Construction Begins

Day One

Doug came over this morning to do preliminary stuff. Excavation for the footers starts tomorrow.

I'm excited.

If you recall, the last work to be done was demolition of the pool and deck, back in September.

Today, the siding was taken off, and marker stakes put in.



And the fence came down so the dig equipment can get back.



Stay tuned for further developments.

Did I mention I was excited?

I Don't Know Whats Wounded More...

....pride or my ass.

So, Offspring #3 and I are at step class tonite. Our normal Tuesday and Thurday night routine. The class is 30 minutes of step, 30 minutes of sculpt. And she *the instructor* kicked our butts tonite. In a good way. We're just about all the way thru our sculpt portion....on the ball with weights. Weights come down and we do some ball work. Shoulders on the ball, legs at an "L" at the knees, up down up down up down with the butt. No biggie. We're walking our legs in to get seated on the ball and its just about in the middle of my back when, ruhroh, the ball gets a little jammed up by one of my weights and pops up and I pop down. Ok, 'pop' isn't quite the right term, it was more of a thunderous BOOM. Holy crap! How mortifying! I just sat there for a second, assessing any damage I may have done, which, luckily was minimal, the floor wasn't damaged in any way. Then I kind of turtled over on to my hands and knees and crawled over to my water bottle and just sat there for a second. But I was a trooper and got back on the ball for the last 5 minutes. Jeeze, I felt like an idiot. I'm probably gonna be a little stiff in the morning. But at least there's not any searing pain or anything like that. And #3 and I are laughing about it. In fact, we get in the car and whats on the radio??? "Free Falling" by Tom Petty. Yeah, The Offspring had fun with that one.

Its Been 22,222 Miles Since I Posted Something Like This

You may recall this post from 2 years ago. Almost 2 years to the date, actually, thats kinda freaky. Well, I rolled another milestone driving to work yesterday I've got one eye on the road, one on the odometer . For 5 miles. I'd say that qualifys as loser status. I pulled into the parking lot of the Clinton Market to get the shot.

So, Stan says to Paul...

"Dis is one goddammit long parade Paul!" I swear that's exactly what he said. And if you've ever known any old timer who lived on the East Side down dere by da Broadway Market you can actually hear the inflection in dis guys voice.

So, as promised, a recap of last nights Dyngus Day Festivities in photo form. I had to make a slideshow because I took so many pictures.

We start the evening at Arty's, across the road from the Central Terminal to watch the parade, which just happens to end at the terminal. Then its off to the Adam Mickiewicz Library The Dobzuyasomething Brothers played first, then Those Idiots. We didn't stay too long for them....it was getting too crowded and there was some pushing action starting to happen, it was getting a little late too, and we'd all had enough beer, so we took off. Of course we didn't go right home cuz The Spouse and Offspring #1 and her boyfriend all wanted to get something to eat. to we head over to The French Pub. While we're there chowing on wings and fries and stuff, The Boyfriend buys the four of us a shot. "Danger Will Robinson, Danger!!"was the warning my little voice was screaming, but do I listen???? Noooo...one two three shot! and it was the most foul and disgusting thing I'd ever had. It was called a "T-Bone" consisting of Jim Beam Bourbon and A-1 sauce. Together. In the same glass. Let me tell you, it tasted just as bad coming back up this morning during my worship to the porcelain goddess as it did when it went down. BEH!!! Aside from that little barfing incident, it was the Best Dyngus Day EVER!!!

Happy Dyngus Day!!!!

Get out the pussywillows and squirt guns.....it's Dyngus Day!!

I'll have some pictures tomorrow.

Another Installment of "Unsolicited Product Review"

Today we're looking at the SmoothAway Hair Removal thing-a-ma-bob.



I bought one at Rite-Aid last week because, well...I hate shaving my legs and its getting to be that time of year where I can't hide the hairyness under sweatpants and frankly it was an impulse purchase as I was walking by the "As Seen On TV" aisle. Hey..the Ped-Egg impulse buy worked out well *I love that thing* so I figured, what the hell, and I bought it. $9.99 and there was no shipping and handling involved. I think they charge you $14.99 shipping if you buy off the website, so, unless you live in a cave in some remote area, or money is no object to you, head to a store and get it.

I think I like this thing. It works well if you READ and FOLLOW the directions. I tried it as soon as I got home. Ripped it open, read the directions and proceeded to use it. It really didnt work that great the first time because I didnt FOLLOW the directions. You're supposed to use it on clean, dry skin. I of course didn't bother to take the time and shower and get the moisturizer and 'being in front of a steam table' sweat off me. But the next time I used it worked way better. It does take a lot longer than shaving, but you don't get the exfoliation action with a razor. And you kind of have to get the hang of using....rub too hard and you end up with an abraision. All in all, I thing I'd give this a thumbs up.

Well...it's Restaurant Week here in the Big Buff. What a brilliant idea. Here's the deal....a bunch *ok about 150* local, independent restaurants got together and said, hey...March is traditionally slow month for dining out, howzabout we get some kind of schtick going here to get people in....and restaurant week was born. For $20.09 *get it? it's 2009 and the price is $20.09* you can visit these establishment and get a really good meal. Most of these places, not all of them mind you, but a good number of them, are generally upscale places that local schlubs don't frequent too often. It seems to be working too. By all the accounts I've been hearing on the radio, each day a couple of local radio stations have had chefs and/or owners of these places on air promoting the concept, it's been a rousing success. They've all been packing people in. So, anyway, back to my story...Offspring #1 and I went to Cecelia's Ristorante and Martini Bar *operative word in making our choice being martini* tonite. Their deal was an appetizer or salad and an entree for $20.09. Can't beat that with a stick. And it was delicious! Of course our bar bill...two martini's each, French Cosmo for me and Pomegranate Martini for the kid, was just about as much as the food bill, but totally worth it.

I have to close now and hit the sheets....two martinis and food and now I'm tired!

For My Maternal Unit....who couldn't open this in the email I sent her

The Wearin' O' The Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day. If I don't see another piece of corned beef for a while it'll be too soon. 4 days straight we've been looking at it.

Saturday after the parade in the Old First Ward, there was a party at the bar. Reuben Sandwiches and corned beef on rye at that one. Plus some fried bologna and sausage pattys...but mostly beef.

Sunday after the Big Parade down Delaware Ave downtown, we had the Irish Firemen for there annual after parade soiree. Reubens, corned beef on rye, pizza and potato soup at that one

We had it yesterday at lunch in the form of Reubens and again today at lunch...Reubens and corned beef sandwiches again, along with dinners, with cabbage, potatoes and carrots.

I hope I can get the smell of it out of my hair.

So..anyway...The Irish Firefighters always have this pipe and drum corps from Canada march in their parade, and they always come to the bar after for food. And they usually play a couple numbers before the Irishman of the Year Award is given. And they usually play inside. I usually head for a door jamb cuz it feels like this 100+ year old building might just come down with all the banging. *sorta, but not really, if its not down yet, its not coming down...but y'know..better safe than sorry* This year, it was so gorgeous out they played outside. Way better. Here's a few shots...

Irishman of the Year












check out this guys pants...little leprechauns all over them

Florida Stuff

I go to Florida for a little warmth and sunshine. Yeah, it didn't do that till yesterday, the day I left. 50's for the most part while I was there. I kept telling myself...'it's not freezing and it's not snowing'.

Our friends belong to the Moose Lodge. I know I know!!! A Moose Lodge? I always equated your Frank Barone type with the Moose....not so! The one they joined is right on the beach...I mean...right there! Good fish fingers at that one. At another, on Sunday, we went for breakfast. 2 eggs any style, sausage or bacon, grits if you want 'em, 2 pancakes or french toast, hash browns, biscuits with sausage gravy and toast. Guess how much. $4.95! Can't beat that with a stick!

Tampa has a nice airport. Best part...these....




Yeah...a place to smoke without having to go completely out of the airport and back in thru security and the maze of concourses. They also have this cool concept. "Cell phone lots" where your ride can sit, at no charge, and wait till you call and say 'pick me up'.

There's a lot of stuff for sale in Florida. Especially homes, and more specifically, homes in foreclosure. They've got it pretty bad down there, economically speaking.

There's a lot of trailer park manufactured home communities.

Where Else In The World....

.....could you wake up at 6 AM to almost 60 degree weather, with a little rain, and by the time you leave work at 10:30 PM, its 20 degrees and its been a freezing, sleeting kinda snow for about 2 hours and the windows on your car are frozen shut and it's a good thing you have a remote starter other wise you'd be a little popsicle on the ride home?

Here of course!

Y'know.....I really wasn't so sick of winter until tonite. I like winter, but, tonite just put me over the edge a little. Kinda glad I'm off to Florida tomorrow.

See ya next week.

The One Thing I Miss Whilst Working On Friday Nights

is going out for a Fish Fri....Buffalo style. I usually get one the week we're off in July. And on Ash Wednesday. Which just so happens to be today.

Yum! All that beer-battered goodness!!!! And the mac and the potato and the slaw and the fries!

I think that pretty much wipes out the hour I just spent at the gym, but I don't care. It was DELISH!!!!

So.....The Spouse took off for the Deep South today on the annual "Mikey Does Florida Golf Tour"

Have I ever mentioned how I look forward to this tour as much as he does?

People think I'm strange and wonder how I "allow" this separate vacation. "Allow?" I reply...."excuse me, but I highly "ENCOURAGE" this phenomenon!"

Are you kidding me?

The New Bear Skin Rug Picture

This poor kid never has to worry about the embarrasment when mom and dad pull out the picture of him on a bear skin rug and show it to his friends or girlfriend....or his kids. It's on the the internet forever for the whole world to see.

Hilarious

So...I Went and Joined a Gym

...and boy are my arms tired. *ba dabump ching*

I really haven't done anything resembling physical activity in about 6 months. I used to be religious about working out. Every morning when the Offspring took off for school, I'd be in front of the tv with my Buns of Steel or The Firm or the Balance Ball. But, things evolve and kids dont get on busses at 7am anymore and I turned into a lazy schlub who would always start again tomorrow. And as we all know, tomorrow never comes.

Offspring #3 is a member at The BAC so I decided to join too.

So I knew I was out of shape. But I didn't realize how badly till I did this cute little assessment. There's the measuring tape, and the scale, and the flexiblity thing and the 3 minute step test. And when I say step test I mean stack of steps that was knee high. I thought I was gonna die.

Anyway...my goal is to be back in my size 9 Calvin Klein jeans. They're in a box in my closet and I'll be pulling them out soon, just to gauge my progress. Right now I can just get them over my thighs, and no where near being able to zip.

Wish me luck. *and I dont mean luck with the jeans...I mean luck getting out of this chair, cuz my muscles are sooooo fatigued right now*

Flight 3407

The Offspring went to school with this kid

Tons of stories like that one everywhere you go.

And The Judge down there in the Kicezka post...his brother's girlfriend, who was coming into town for a family wedding, was on that plane.

Sad

News Flash!!!!!

Amazing news! *finger in the ear speaking into the mic..Gary Owens style*......

It hasnt snowed in 48 hours!!!! Two whole days with no white stuff. In fact it was almost 40 degrees yesterday...upper thirtys today.

I even went so far as to wait in the looonnnggg line at Delta Sonic to have my car washed.

Thats all

Not Impressed

I gotta say...I don't think it was a banner year for Super Bowl commercials.

And that run at the end of the half....that 100 yd interception return cost us $7,000 on the big pool. At least we won the third quarter. Kinda made up for it. Sorta. The way I see it, someone owes us 2 grand. Either the guy who ran the ball or the dolts who couldnt stop him.

Everybody!!!! Who Stole the Kicezka, Who Stole the Kicezka, Who Stole the Kicezka Someone Call a Cop

It started out kind of as a joke. We had so much fun on Dyngus Day last year. Every Friday night, standing around the bar after dinner, the subject would come up..."can't wait for Dyngus Day"... "You guys oughta come with us on Dyngus Day next year", and so on. Someone, can't remember who, said something to the effect of "Let's have our own Dyngus". Which evolved into "Let's have a count down to Dyngus Party". Which in turn led to a "Lets have a 'Who Stole the Kicezka' Party". The idea snowballed and everyone got involved. It was decided that we'd do it on a Friday, right after the last dinner was served. What fun. I'll bet there were close to 75 people at this party last night. The place was packed.

Someone even brought in a little vase of pussy willows! Where does one get pussy willows in the dead of winter? See them...right there on the right in front of the glass


Master of Ceremonies Mark sang "Who Stole the Kicezka" with Al, accompanied by the incomprable Norm Kaminsky on the accordian.


The Judge showed up and sang a Kicezka Song that he wrote. Friggin hilarious!


This happened a couple of times during the evening....


The carving of the fresh polish sausage that the boys made last night.


And this guy....Accordian Bill. He's on the right with the goofy hat next to Norm. The quintessential Polack....with his one liners and stories. Kind of a Henny Youngman, only Buffalo Polish

At This Particular Point In Time..

...I'm really really sick of the snow. It's been the coldest winter since the below mentioned Blizzard of 77 and the 18th coldest in history. And I think it's snowed everyday for, like, the last two weeks. I like winter and all...but this is getting old.



The Spouse leaves for his annual, 2 week "Mikey Does Florida" world tour and this year I'm joining for a couple of days. He leaves the 21st of February till, like, March 8 or 9. I'll leave Feb. 28 and come home March 4. The best of both worlds here...I still get the bed to myself for all but 4 days of that 2 weeks AND I get a little vaca.

Nice

On This Date In History....

January 28, 1990....

Offspring #4 made her way into this world!
Happy Birthday KB!

January 28, 1977.....

The Blizzard of '77 hit.

Random Stuff...

cuz I've been too lazy busy to post in the last little bit and while I sit here and wait for AAA to get here cuz I've got a flat tire. It's kinda mangled right now too cuz I drove too long on it. Oh, well.

Offspring #2 set the date for her wedding....Sept. 5. This year. Leaving me TONS of time to do all the mother-of-the-bride has to do. Good thing she doesnt want the whole princess wedding business, there would totally be not enough time. We're booking a grove and having a huge outdoor wedding picnic thing.

On top of the wedding stuff, we're still busy talking to contractors about the back porch. We were thinking of making it a two story addition and bumping out our bathroom and adding a magnificent walk in closet. Scratching that. 90 grand with all the structural work that would have to be done. We'll settle for knocking down walls at a later date when more of the Offspring are moved.

I finally took down the inside Christmas decorations yesterday. Seems like I just put them up.

Where Do I Lodge a Formal Protest????

I am appalled!!!!

We went to Famous Dave's tonite. The Spouse had a hankering for some ribs. Naturally, I said "ok, I'll go" I'm not one to turn down ribs, no way, no how!. He likes the St. Louis Style and I prefer the Babyback...its an ongoing debate we have...which style is better. We mosey up to the bar, cuz thats where we always eat and we're perusing the menu and something just doesn't look right. I can't find the babybacks anywhere on the menu!!!! So, I ask..."excuse me, no babyback ribs on the menu?" by this time I'm ready to break out in a cold sweat, I want my babyback babyback babyback. "No" is the reply I get. "Um, WHY?" I ask, trying to control my headspins. "Well, we weren't really selling a lot of them" She says..."And you're like the 3rd person in the last two days to ask me that". By this time, all I'm hearing is Charlie Brown's Teacher...wah wah wahwahwah wah noises. Apparently, they got rid of them in October. Just about the last time we went there.

Talk about being bummed out! I choked down some of the St. Louis style, and they were good, but they just weren't as good as the babyback.

Famous Dave....bring my babies back!!!!

Finally time for Some Posting

Got back from Orlando New Years Day. Offspring #3's internship at Disney is over and we went to retrieve her. This was the plan....we *The Spouse and I* fly down, stay a couple days, I fly back and the two of them drive home. No room in the car for me....it was packed to the gills. I had a 4 hour layover in Chicago. BORING!!! They left Orlando at noon yesterday (Friday) and rolled into town about 9 this morning (Saturday) thats 22 hours from Orlando to Buffalo. They would have been home sooner had there not been bumper to bumper, any slower they would have been going backwards traffic on I-95 till past Georgia. Kinda makes the layover at O'Hare not so bad, huh?

Speaking of airlines...why in the world would someone purposely fly standby? Totally not worth the aggravation if you ask me.

Click here for Xmas Pics. There's not too many of them cuz I forgot to bring my camera *again*. Thanks to Amanda for sending them to me.

And, We're Off

The Spouse and I leave for Orlando this evening. Offspring #3 is just finishing up her internship at Disney and will be coming home. I can't wait to see her!

The two of them will drive back...she's had her car with her the whole time....and I fly back on Thursday. I hope this whacky weather we've been having doesn't leave me stranded in Chicago. That would suck.

Happy New Year in case I don't make it back in time. hahahahahahahahaha

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

And I'm not just singing Christmas music here people!

It's some kind of nasty out there. And, DANG...there's also a lot of snow. And that snow is just blowing around like Tazmanian Devils! Can't see out of any windows because the white stuff is just getting blown on and stuck. All the schools are closed for tomorrow. Already.

I'm having blizzard flashbacks here.

The Spouse and I took a ride over to My Maternal One's house. I'd talked to her earlier in the day when she was on her way out. And she couldn't get in her driveway. She'd just got back from church with the grandkid and was off to a christening and then to schlep another grandkid to somewhere else. The first grandkid that went to church with her helped her with the snow in the driveway. He's five. Thats right...a FIVE YEAR OLD was doing her driveway. She was a little concerned that she wouldn't be able to get in the garage when she got back from volunteering at the info desk at the hospital. K...I made The Spouse take me to the grocery store cuz I didn't want to drive and my mother is carting kids and doing all kinds of stuff. Bonus points to me for getting the ride to the store. Yay me. How spoiled do I sound?? So, anyway, we get to her house and the drift across the apron of her driveway is waist deep. Once we got the snowblower out of the truck it took about an hour to get up to the house. And this is not a long driveway she's got. Two car lengths perhaps. The Spouse did most of the work. I helped a little. And by helped I mean sat in the car and listened to the radio with the heat on and the heated seats working. More bonus points staying warm and dry. there's that spoiled thing again

Anyway..I lost track of where I was going with this story, so I'll just end here with some advice. It's shitty out. Do what Jimmy Griffin said to do during the Blizzard of '77..."Stay inside, grab a six-pack and watch a good football game.”

So...I casually mentioned to The Boss last week....Wednesday or so...that I didn't think we were going to have a white Christmas.

I talked to him today and this is what I hear..."You and your whining about no snow for Christmas. It hasn't stopped since you said that" Of course there was a bit of exaggeration there. I didn't whine and it didn't start snowing till Friday. And it didn't snow at all yesterday. Blowing and snowing today, of course, but hey!!! Its December and its Buffalo. Deal.

And this is what we're dealing with today....

Tacky Tacky Tacky

I hate these things.




They should be banned. There's a house on Union Road that has every conceivable blowup piece of crap ever made for Christmas crammed into their front yard. Stupid.


But that's just my opinion.

I do have to chuckle however, when I see one of the 'snow globe' ones. Yeah, when it gets real cold out all the 'snow' sticks to the inside of it and you can't see anything but the 'snow'.

Quote of the Day

'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater.
If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.
If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.
If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.
If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.
She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.'

How I Spent My Weekend...In Rhyme

Ouside of the house
The lights are all lit
It was cold and snowy
My feet were frost-bit

I've baked all the cookies
No more till next year
If The Spouse eats one more
He's out on his ear.

The tree is all decked out
There's sap in my hair
I've misplaced the vodka
It's around here somewhere.

All thats left is to shop
Gifts and goodies galore
Now where is that list
Before I head to the store.

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