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.

Free Gifs and Animations

The Best Laid Plans..... Or.....How To Piss Off A Nun

Eventful day today. Offspring #4 went in for her shoulder surgery this morning. Nothing real serious. An arthroscopic out patient procedure to fix a tear and clean up some burrs and make sure everything was repositioned back where it was supposed to be so that horrible bone on bone cracking noise would be gone.

She had her knee scoped a couple years ago at an out patient facility that did nothing but orthopaedic work and it was great. We were in, we were out. This time, it was done in a hospital. We were in, but we were not out. I figured, since I took the day off from work today and I have to work a party tomorrow night after the regular lunch, I'd have all afternoon to make my pies for Thanksgiving after doing a little running around. HA!! Not to be. She was schedule for an 11:30 procedure. They didn't wheel her up till 1:30...the doctor didn't come see me till a little after 3...she didn't come out of anesthesia till 3:30...and they wouldn't let me back to recovery till after 4 and didn't let us leave till 5ish. By the time I got her home and settled and take off to the pharmacy to get the pain meds it was close to 7:00. Needless to say no running around was accomplished. I did get the pumpkin and the chocolate pies done and the apple is still in the oven as I type. The lemon will have to wait till tomorrow night when I get home. That should be about 11:00. PM. At night. No biggie since I can catch up on my sleep Thursday morning.

Now the "Pissing off a Nun" part. While we were on our marathon wait let me just say here that #4 is her father's daughter when it comes to waiting...I would have sworn it was him on that gurney bitching about every tick of the clock back in the pre-op room, this older woman comes up to #4 and reads her papers and then proceeds to announce that she's going to pray for her. So, anyway, here's this woman, going on and on and on. God bless Kerry, God bless the Doctors, God bless the hospital, the nurses, the guy who cleans up shit, blah blah blah blah blah for like 5 minutes! Now, #4 and I tend to get the giggles. Over stupid stuff. It does't take much, but when one starts, or if the other THINKS the other is gonna go, we're off to the races. I'm just sitting in a chair next to #4 watching to see what she's gonna do. She's got her eye on her book trying to focus on something other than this strange woman who's holding her hand. I mean if it had been a quick little blessing, bing, bang, boom, done, you're good, nothing would have happened. But no....after 3 or 4 minutes we knew it was gonna happen. I broke first...just a little, almost unnoticable snark that #4 picked right up on. This of course leads to her shaking whilst trying to stifle her giggle. It's over and we're both chuckling. Prayer Lady says "I don't think it's funny". #4 says, "I'm sorry". I say "She's just nervous about the procedure". I mean, what am I gonna say, 'sorry lady, we're not exactly the overly religious - pray about everthing type'? So does Prayer Lady end it there? ummmmm NO..she keeps going. I'm thinking Holy Crap...end it and move on, you're just making us giggle even more!!!! Finally she wraps it up and moves on to the next bed. Later we're talking to one of the nurses and #4 says "Prayer Lady kinda freaked me out a little" to which the nurse replies "Oh, yeah, we've asked Sister to kinda feel people out before she goes jumping into her prayers, but she doesn't think its necessary" I say "Sister??? she's a nun???? Great, we pissed off a nun now she probably dialed up The Big Guy and said...that one over there..forget what I said."

No doubt thats why we had a two hour delay and why its after 10:00 and I still have a pie in the oven.

Bun Update

The Bun has been SAVED!!!! She won't be harvested for parts after all.

Just found out today that some sucker savvy consumer bought her today.

Caveat Emptor is all I can say

Requiem To The Bun

A long time ago ok, it was only 1994...in a land far, far away, ok, it was Lackawanna Grandpa Adam the Spouse's grandpa bought a car. Brand spankin' new 1994 Teal Green Ford Tempo, which he tooled around town in. Over here. Over there. Down to the Post really, mostly down to The Post . His 4 great granddaughters, smart little dickens that they were referred to this 1994 Teal Green Ford Tempo as "The Bun" because the first 3 letters of his license plate were how cute is this .. B-U-N. The name stuck and she was forever know as "The Bun".

When Gramps was no longer able to drive, The Bun became a permanent fixture in our driveway. I used it for a while when I was, back then, doing newspaper deliveries. Then Offspring #1 started to drive and The Bun passed to her. She cracked it up once. #2 got her mitts on it. She cracked it up a couple times. # 3 had it for a while with no incident and now #4 is driving it. Brakes aren't working too well. There's an axle problem. Our mechanic The Spouse's cousin who's nursed her back to health since the beginning has made mention that no one should sit in the back seats because the floor boards are almost rotted out. seriously, the radio #4 put in has more value than the whole car. So we've made the decision to get the youngest a more reliable, safe vehicle. The Bun wouldn't have made it the winter. She'll now be an organ donor. Picked on for parts for all the other 1994 Teal Green Ford Tempos that are still seen around the WNY roads.

We'll miss ya, Bun.

Sign of the Apocalypse

I'm driving home from work tonite and I'm surfing the radio dial cuz I stupidly left my iPod at home and what do I find?????

Star 102.5 is now playing Christmas music.

All day fricken' long.

For the next six weeks.

Bastards!

The Eleventh Hour Of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month

It Was Bound To Happen

It is mid November, after all. But after last weeks tropical, yes I mean tropical...we had the same temps as Tampa Bay...we got a little spoiled.

Not quite a winter wonderland yet....there's was only about an inch on the ground, but its a start.

Alrighty....I've just been elected to the highest office in the land and I'm formulating my agenda.

The English Language shall be the official language of the country. You want to live here and be a citizen...speak the language. Worked in my grandfathers day, it'll work now. That was simple.

The Welfare System. I'm all for helping my fellow man, woman, person, whatever. But the time of sponging everything you can off the public trough is over. No more working the system. Not on my watch or my dollar. The other day I was at the grocery store. There was a mother there with 4 children. I dont know if they were hers or what, but they were together. Kiddies with those annyoying skate shoes wizzing all over, touching everything, whining, wrestling...you know what I mean, you've been there. The adult female on the phone gabbing about her date last night and "yes ma'am I got in his pants" and grabbing whatever off the shelves, oblivious to the fact that her spawn are even IN the store, much less wreaking havoc. She gets to the check-out....whips out her WIC card and her food stamps card and proceeds to leave the store with the gang of 4. Out in the parking lot, she loads her stuff...kids included, into a BRAND NEW CADILLAC ESCALADE!!!!! Ok....how does this happen? I'm paying for the groceries and she's got an $80,000 vehicle???? I dont think so..

From here on in, Welfare is no longer a job handed down to child, from parent from grandparent. The free lunch is over. There's new eligibility requirements to receive public assistance.

• Item First: Education. Every child covered under a WIC card shall be enrolled in school. Attendance is mandatory. Benefits are pro-rated to actual attendance dates. How do we keep track of that? you ask. Simple...swipe the WIC card to get in and out the door of the school.
• Item Second: Community Service for all WIC dependants ages 13 to 16. After school, go volunteer for something. Latch-key kid programs, washing the windows of the old lady down the street. Picking up trash. Something. ANYTHING!!! After age 16, volunteering can be eliminated if you've got a part time job. Flipping burgers, sweeping floors, delivering papers...whatever. This is where Corporate America comes in.
• Item Third: Public Assistance checks will be issued on the second and fourth friday of each month. You will be required to fill out a questionaire thats written in ENGLISH with answers written in ENGLISH. Not hard questions, not right or wrong questions, mind you, and not the same question each time...just to keep you honest. Anyone can memorize a question and answer..so, no cheating. And you'll have to pee in a cup. Lots of people with jobs have to wizz to work, so why not you too. Pass the drug test and we're good for another 2 weeks. Oh, and you need to be a citizen, born and bred, naturalized, whatever.
• Item Fourth: There will be a time limitation on benefits. If you can't lift yourself by the bootstraps in, say, 3 or 4 years, you ain't trying hard enough. I hear the mountains of Mexico are nice...go live there. The military could use some help too....enlist if you don't like the mountain views.

Corporate America has been feeding out of the public trough a little too much too. All those tax breaks and incentives you get and then you outsource your work to some third world nation. Uh nuh...no more. There's a bunch of people up there in the last category who'd like a job. I mean, all those requirements for assistance are a lot of work! I'm sure you've got something easier for them to do. They can be trained. The Unions can train them. They'll watch out for them to...make sure everything is fair. And you Union Guys over there...you'll not be gouging Corporate America anymore. Fair Pay for a Fair Workplace.

Health Care Insurance will be paid for by both Corporate America and Worker. Everyone chucks a few bucks in for Health Care Coverage. Your coverage being dependent on how much you put in. Better job, better insurance. Want better insurance...work a little harder and get a better job. And since Corporate America's outsourcing is about to stop, there will be a few more jobs around here. And Insurance Companies will NOT be the final say in what treatment a patient can or cannot have. Insurance Companies will NOT tell you what doctor you can or cannot see. Insurance Companies are there to assist in the payment of the medical bill. Insurance Companies can also be included up there in Corporate America. Insurance and Pharmaceutcal Companies are right there at the top of my list of things ruining this country.

International Relations Starting today, all that aid we're sending your way is no longer being delivered. And those lopsided trade agreements??? They accidentally went thru the shredder. You'll pay the same duty/tax on the stuff you send over here, that we pay for our stuff to come to you. Our military, for the most part, is coming home. We've got some work to do over here. Oh, we'll leave a bit of a contingent scattered around, but thats just security work. Our security, not yours. There's some nasty gang bangers we could be working on,and our borders could use a little shoring up. Like the Welfare Requirements outlined above, there will be some work needed to pick our pockets. Get in line and have your written applications for aid filled out in triplicate. We'll get to them as soon as we're done taking care of our people here. Got a nasty natural disaster on your hands? We'll be there, but we're not staying long. We'll help you get back on your feet, and we're outties.

I'm sure I'll think of more stuff, but I just wanted to get the big ticket items in order first.

Where's the Daylight???

It's 6:00

It's been completely dark for about an hour.

I hate Daylight Savings Time.

Another Unsolicited Product Review

When it comes to mashed potatoes...I'm totally old school. Russet potatoes. I buy 'em, I peel 'em, I boil 'em, I mash 'em.

I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a mashed potato snob. None of this 'boil water, throw the dehydrated, processed, lifeless flakes in and, voila, mashed potatoes' crap for me. I grew up on those. My grandmother worked at General Mills a good portion of her adult life. We'd get from her, with regularity, what were called "Grab Bags". 4 foot tall brown bags of mystery food. You never knew exatly what you were gonna get. Full of all kinds of GM products. Brownies, cookie mixes...all kinds of good stuff. And Cheerios...lots and LOTS of *blech* Cheerios. *I suppose we got all those Cheerios cuz they were made right downtown. Still are. If you're ever down by the arena and you think...'gawd what is that smell?' its the Cheerios.* And Potato Buds. Instant mashed potatoes. I have more a liking for the taste of the box than the buds. My mom's not famous for her culinary skills *Well .... she kinda is .... but not in a delicious way* so, needless to say..we ate a lot of Potato Buds.

Aaaannnyyyway... I've been seeing this commerical on TV for these Steam 'n Mash Potatoes, by Ore-Ida. Given my history with processed spuds, I immediately thought.."pfffffftttt....yeah right.....THOSE are gonna taste right...I don't THINK so." And never thought any more of them. Till today. I was wandering around aimlessly in Tops looking for something for dinner and I hit upon meatloaf and mashed when I went by the freezer aisle and saw them.



So, I thought..."Hey...it's only The Spouse and I for dinner, what the hell? I'll give it a shot". 10 minutes in the microwave and I'm still a little skeptical. But they look like boiled potatoes so I'm intrigued. A little butter, a little milk, some salt and pepper, and SHAZAM! mashed potatoes.



And they actually taste....well...they taste good. These taters are tasty! And you get a decent bit of them, volume wise. I had some. The Spouse had some. He packed some for lunch tomorrow and there's enough for Offspring #1 if she wants some.



That meatloaf looks rather delicious too!!

I cant find my receipt, but if I recall correctly, they were, like, $3something. Best part, 0 Calories from fat. Well..till you add the butter. There are 260 grams of sodium, from the brine its cooked in I think. Only 3 ingredients....potatoes, salt and disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate. whatever that is

I'd buy them again.

Just think...In a few short hours.....

....we won't have to listen to anymore political ads!!!!!

....we can answer our phones again!!!! Thank your particular spiritual entity for caller ID.

The end of the nasty stuff is here!!

I've waited a long time for this

This was the scene this morning. No..thats not snow...its frost. Everything was so shiney and glittery this morning and the color of that tree is fantastic.

When Pigs Go Bad

Whats the best way to spend the months of September thru April in Buffalo?

Why join a bowling league of course!!! Mixed Doubles is the way to go. The Spouse and I have been teamed up with The Spouse's Bestest Buddy Since High School and his bride, for a good number of years now. In this league we have the broadest spectrum of bowlers...from kids in their 20's to kids in their 60's. Quite possible in their 70's. All for fun. Friendly rivalries. Best of all...no "Blood Bowlers". Everyone gets along, blah blah blah blah. So, anyway, The Bestest Buddy and I are in charge of our team mascots. Hot and Shot.



Aren't they just so cute? Of course, this is before they get hammered and before they go thru their pregame rituals and stuff. These are some bad bad piggies. Each of 'em gets a chug off a beer and then get a little sumthin' sumthin' before the first ball is thrown. Before you know it...they've had way more beer than a little piggie should.

Before last night we were 1 game out of first place. Last night we won 2 and lost 2, and I have no idea how the #1 team did, but I'm pretty sure we're still up there at the top, if not on top. Not that it matters....cuz there's no Blood Bowlers. *evil chuckle*

And Now, Another Page from the Infamous "Stuff ChaCha Sends Me" File....

And all this time we thought it was cats and dogs.

We've all heard the stories about Chinese restaurants and their means of acquiring their 'meat'. How there's 'never stray cats in the vicinity of a Chinese restaurant'. Well, we can put those rumors to rest finally. It wasn't the cats and dogs after all.

HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) - Is road kill on the menu at a popular Hamburg, NY restaurant? A disturbing discovery at the China King Restaurant has forced health officials to lock the doors.

Lisa Williams was going to eat in the restaurant when she got some upsetting news. "Were you coming to eat here?" "Yeah, we were coming to eat." "Did you hear what happened?" "No." "Health inspectors closed it down because there was road kill out here, a deer." "Oh no."

People who came to China King for their Friday dinner found it hard to believe. A dead deer had been butchered inside the kitchen in the restaurant they've been coming to for years.

Patron, Sue Bender said, "Our daughter just called us because she knows this is our take out Chinese, and told us, you're not going to believe what was just on Channel Four."

A witness tells us he saw an oriental man dragging the deer inside.

"I watched him drag it across the parking lot and he dragged it through the front door of the China King Restaurant. I said this is just not right, so I called Hamburg Police and reported it. Sure enough by the time they got there, they said that he had the deer almost all butchered inside the restaurant."

Another patron wonders, "How stupid could that man be? To let that go on."

Erie County Health Commissioner, Dr Anthony Billitier said, "I don't know what the intention was with the deer, but they can't do that in the restaurant even if they were going to use it for private consumption. It's not consistent with the sanitary code.

Its a story that's closed down the restaurant and caused patron to loose their appetite

Lisa Williams said, "That's disgusting, I'll never eat Chinese again. I'm sorry for all these people out there. That's gross."

When asked if Sue Bender will come here again? She replied, "never...never."

The Health Commissioner tells News4 a hearing with the owner is scheduled for next week.

Story by Tricia Cruz, WIVB

Holy Crap!

A house down the street just went up for sale. Naturally, I immediately head over to the website to check the digits. 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, family room, kitchen 2-1/2 baths. And he does have the built in pool. I have 4 bedrooms, living room, family room. No dining room, but I have a country kitchen which is more open than his model. Don't have the pool (hahaha,..see post) but I do have more square footage. And he has a finished basement and I don't.

Let's see what the board says, Johnny!

$209,0000.

Let me say that again....Two hundred and nine thousand dollars. Now, that might not seem like a lot considering housing prices around the country. I watch House Hunters and My House Is Worth What and all that stuff on HGTV. Religiously. I know what real estate is going for everywhere else. I know that I could sell my house for half a mill if we lived anywhere else, say, the other side of the state. But this is Western New York. Erie County. Cheektowaga. First ring suburb to the city of Buffalo. Hot Damn!!!

About a year ago, there was a bidding war on a house similar to the 209 house on the other side of the circle that is my neighborhood. They got, like, $195k or something. I was a little shocked at that but this!!!! Topping the 200k mark is amazing to me. Let's hope he gets it!

Flashback Part Deux

October 12, 2006. I'll do the math...thats 2 years ago.


This blog is born....sort of. Well, the idea of it anyway. Can't blog with no electricty now, can we? But anyway...it was 2 years ago tonite that THE storm started. Crazy stuff.

Flashback ... Part One

October 12, 1983. I'll do the math....that's 25 years ago.

Offspring #1 is born.


Holy crap, I have a kid who's 25.

Happy Birthday Melissa.

DoDaDoDoDo Inspector Gadget DoDaDoDoDoDaDo and My "Almost Panic Attack"

For a couple months now, I've been looking for a particular gadget. I looked everywhere...Macy's, Kohls, BedBathandBeyond, Penney's, LeGourmet Chef, who cant seem to keep them in stock...the girl there was the only one who knew what kind of gadget I was talking about. So, anyway, I turn to my trusty friend, The Internet, and sure as shootin, she leads me to the exact spot I need. I end up at QVC and there it is, all shiney and new......



I even made sure I had a pineapple in the house on delivery day. I know what you're thinking, "what a loser" but hey, the little things exite me, k? Don't judge.

Now....anyone who knows me, knows I'm not one to go into a tizzy about anything. I don't know where the panic button is around here cuz I never use it. That's me..calm, cool, and collected. Just a character trait.

But today,GOOD LAWD I came this close. I chopped the top of a pineapple off and I open the drawer to find my new toy and *GASP* it's not there. Its not in any other drawer, or cabinet or a pot or pan, no not in the dishwasher. IT'S FRIGGIN DISAPPEARED!!!!!

My heart started beating a little faster...I'm muttering stuff to myself...I'm ripping stuff out of everywhere and I just CAN'T FIND IT!!!! I'm gonna strangle the person who took it. And I looked in every cabinet and every drawer, like 3 times. I've got a galley kitchen and I went in a big circle for a good half hour.

Turns out it was still in the sink, under a bowl. I'm getting all uptight cuz I can't find my shiney new toy and there it is right in front of me...sorta.

Lame. But I'm all better now!

In Two Weeks Time....

....we've gone from this...


To this..


To this...


To this...


And now we're scrapping Plan A (new slider, covered porch, patio and pool) and going to Plan B (new slider, bigger covered porch, patio). We had the pool guy over the other day and, even though we came in $3,000 below my estimated budget, we're eliminating the pool. No way we can justify spending 27G's on a hole in the ground we're only able to use 4 or 5 months out of the year. It's a no brainer. You get hot..come in the house, we got A/C. And with a roof over a nice big porch, we won't be roasting out back. That side of the house faces east and we get glaring sun out there till at least 4:00 in the afternoon during summer. Another plus...That roof will help protect the dining area in the kitchen from the heat. I mean, we cant even open the curtains for the slider cuz of the solar rays.

I'm going up the country, baby, don't you wanna go

The Spouse and I took a ride up the country today...up to my sister's place.

This is what she sees from her front porch.


This is her eldest...Stephen and the puppy, Sophie.



The leaves have really started to turn out that way.


Not so much yet back here in suburbia.

I did something today that I haven't done in years...

....and that is...went to the Bills game. It was a little dreary out and started drizzling around half time, but hey..it wasn't freezing and snowing.



They put Bruce Smith's name up on the Wall. You can't really see by this picture, but trust me...his name is there.



And the Bills won on a last second field goal to be the ONLY undefeated team in the AFC East. Thats right...I said it...Bills and undefeated in the same sentence. That hasn't happened since 1992 or 93..one of those years

One of the funniest videos I've seen in a while....

Thanks to ChaCha for this one....



And then there's this one...

And you tell me over and over and over again my friend, you dont believe we're on the eve of destruction.

So, this is our backyard on Monday. More specifically, our pool on Monday. We've got some ambitious plans to upgrade the back that hasn't really had anything done to it in years. The pool is (was) about 16 years old. I'd say we got our money out of it. This is the pool on Tuesday....notice the railing fence has been taken down and most of the water drained.

This is the scene yesterday. Johnny Five came over to give us a hand. He wanted the scrap metal, he's got the scrap metal. Of course, in any project around here, there's beer involved.......
....and power tools. Beer and powertools...thats our motto!



And what was I doing whilst the boys were destrucing you ask? I wasn't just taking pictures, I played the part of helper and lugged all that scrap out front to JT's truck. Quite a nice job of stacking, don't you think?

This is all that's left. We just have to cut up the remnants of the liner into managable pieces and haul it out for garbage day on Monday. The garbage men are a little picky about what they pick up. If it's too heavy, it'll sit there.

When we were all done, we got cleaned up, JT went and picked up the bride and we went over to Famous Dave's for some ribs. And more beer.

Next on the agenda.....the deck. It's all coming down. That's a LOT of damn wood. Good thing there's people who are interested in taking it. We'll be having a 'deck destruction' party in the next couple of weeks.

We'll have beer.

Have you seen these things?

Those AquaGlobes that you see on tv are awesome! I just love them.

And they actually work like they're supposed to. My plants have not been happier.

I did a little work on the family room over the weekend. Hauled out my sander and my paint and my latex gloves and my cute little spongey brushes and gave the shelving unit a little facelift.

It went from this........


to this......


Ok..right about now you're thinking "B-F-D..it's the same picture". AuContraire my friends, its not the same picture. My facelift was so subtle that its hardly noticable. I painted the face of the shelves and a thin part of the crown moulding at the top black. It looks much more dramatic in person than it does in these crappy pictures that I took with my phone cuz my camera batteries were dead.

Step off, Martha Stewart...I'm here now.