Sunday morning from PITTSBURGH Pa

[vince]

Good morning, it is Sunday the 16th of May 2010, a wonderful spring morning here in Pittsburgh, Hockey season has ended here in da burgh as the Pens got crushed in game 7 of the Semifinals , the last hockey game to be played in the old Arena , next season they will be playing in a new building just over the hill from the old one, personally I have no idea why they built a new one to play in so the old building was 50 years old 7 the seating was limitited but they sold out the house for every home game , but its just our TAX dollars at work, we had a beautiful baseball football statium, 3 rivers statium, the athority still owed 29Million buks on the structure when it was torn down to make room for the 2 new statiums, one for baseball & one for football, , both are wonderful buildings , but there was nothing wrong with the old one , government & big business spending our tax dollars , greeeedy bastards all of them !
well I had a birth day last week, , looks like I made it an other year , smoked a few fine cigars had some cake & went to bed early, , dammm just like every other day but for the cake hahahaha , seams just like yesterday I was on my tricicle bouncing down the basement steps , Oh yea it was hahahaha , at my age I dont heal as fast as I did when I was 6 hahahahaha or even 60 for that matter ......
I have a pork roast on right now, a stuffing of apples celery carots & onions , flavored with a little sage , quick & easy , in the oven on a low setting & let it cook all day , there will be some mashed yams for a side dish, a sprinkle of fresh grated nutmeg on top of them a bottle of red wine & we should be just fine ...
the shop had a fair week, & Great friday pulled out what might have been a bad week sales wise to a good one , & I worked a half day & saturday as my wife & I had tickets to a play , we saw BYE BYE Birdy a musical about the millitary drafting of a rock & roll star , his manager ( a real Mommas boy , his secetery, & a family in some rural town where the rock star has a fan club & all the teen aged girls & boys to go along with it , a great show in a wonderfull theaterby a tallented bunch well worth the 20 bucks a seat even if they were the cheepest seats in the place , I saw the same show as the big wigs in the tux's & gowns spending a few hundred a seat just to be seen by the other patrons of the show, God Bless them, all as they have the money to spend & they do , IF I had that kind of cash I might just do the damm same thing hahahahah , money makes the world go round for sure, , well i have a lot to do this day, & this isnt getting me any closer to the Don Carlos #3 or that pot of Kona I did make a pot of moca java for breakfast, , a nice thick slice of bacon & an egg slid down the gullet with out any problems, a left over slice of birthday cake instead of toast was a different take on the egg for sure ! , I will be picking up both grandsons this afternoon heading out for our weekly adventure & attact of the junk food vendors , hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[larrysputnik]

Is the shop open on Sundays? I might swing by after golfing if you is.

[vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 23 May 2010 , a foggy cool morning here in Da Burgh , Yesterday was the Western Pa Cigar Crawl , about 50 of us on a bus stopping at a few selected cigar shops & eating, drinking ourselves into obivion, this is our 12 year & it was one of the best so far , I was able to "stock up " on a few cigars , got to try some stuff I hadn't had in the past, got to sample a few NEW blends, & Drank a lot of Coffee & scotch , dammmm it was just like being at work hahahaha , today we are all getting together at Slippery Rock Cigars to detox & eat asprins & maybe smoke a few more & drink a lot more & maybe just fall a sleep under a tree , the web site for the cigar crawl is
www.cigarcrawl.com
there will be links to the photos soon, & some from past adventures into the debachery that happens on the bus , there were no fights or arguements this year untill I removed a box of cigars from some one during the door prize session, he got all upset, swore at me said he would never spend an other dime at my shop, well in the 3 years we have been open he has been there ONE time , when this guy lost his job , I gave him cigars all the time , I gave him everything from an opus X to a Cuban monte #2 , & when he won a box at the dinner I could have chosen anything that had previous winners got or take whats behind the curtain, well a known prixe is better that a guess, so I went for the box of la travatia that was sitting in front of this lump, , I dont mind helping out a friend or a stranger but this guy just has no class & isnt able to say a simple Thank you, well pay backs are a BITCH & last night I got a little payback, but he did end up with a box of cigars , just not as good as he wanted, it was the LUCK of the draw....
the day was wet , it rained all day & we had to keep the roof vents closed on the bus whitch made the bus a weee bit smokey at times hahaha, yea like from the time we giot on the bus till we got off ! the shops we went to were glad to see all of us , hummms lets see 50 guys all spending an average of 50 bucks a person thats a good day in any cigar shop, every one was giving at lest 10% off what ever you got & one place was discounting 30% on box sales , I ended up with just under 100 sticks for the day , it was a good day for sure, ,,,,,,
last week there was a little Piano recitial for the students at the home of the teacher, , we heard a range of tallent from twinkle little star played by a 6 year old girl to a masters rendition of of a Rockmonanov piece that I dont remember the name of by the instructor it was a great evening ....
I am not cooking today, we are having left over Stuffed Peppers & I plan on getting a nap this afternoon in the hamock when i get to the shop in Slippery Rock .... right now , I NEED a shower , I reek of smoke & scotch, N O T thats its a BAD THING hahahahaha , more news form the burgh Next Sunday with the Lord willing ... Enjoy, Vince

[G-man]

Sounds like a great day had by all . You can fill a room full of great B/SOTL and theres always going to be 1 shitzbag that ruins it for himself! The next time dicbag enters your shop give him a real warm welcome with a Bronx cheer and give him a free smoke . Maybe a machine rolled beauty with the cello removed so as he thinks its a hand rolled.
For the reat of the group enjoy this lazy Sunday and stay dry. Weather wise that is not sober . And Vince next crawl drop me a line as I'm 3 hours drive from your shop I think !

[larrysputnik]

Shit, no one ever told me about this cigar crawl. I showed up at the store to drop off that cigar I owe you and the place was all locked up.

So, since I was on the wrong side of the city and I had to travel through it to get back home I decided I'd meet up with a friend at the Leaf and Bean to smoke a cigar, but that was locked up too. Must've been with you on that bus.

I smoked your Juan Lopez #2 on the way home.

[vince]

[QUOTE=larrysputnik;89977]Shit, no one ever told me about this cigar crawl. I showed up at the store to drop off that cigar I owe you and the place was all locked up.

So, since I was on the wrong side of the city and I had to travel through it to get back home I decided I'd meet up with a friend at the Leaf and Bean to smoke a cigar, but that was locked up too. Must've been with you on that bus.

I smoked your Juan Lopez #2 on the way home. [/QUOTE

I am sure I told you about the crawl at the long ash club, gave you the web site , www.cigarcrawl.com we do it the third saturday in may , this was #12 ........ Next year get your deposit in early as the bus sells out FAST

I will be in the shop all week starting at noon on Tuesday , closeat 6/6:30/7 , when ever i feel like getting out of the place, fridays till 11

[larrysputnik]

I'll have to see if the wife will give me another day pass so I can make the trip again

[vince]

I'll have to see if the wife will give me another day pass so I can make the trip again

Friday night we are open till 11 , bring your wife with you, that way you both get a night out hahaha Enjoy, Vince

[larrysputnik]

ok i'll see what I can do.

[Lou3]

Welcome, Vince.

[vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday , 30 May ,2010, a HOT & Humid morning here in da burgh, the coffee that is filling my cup is Sumatra & the kona is ready to brew next .Breakfast was a bacon & egg on a toasted muffin, a little melted swiss cheese ,vine ripe tomato a spoonfull of red pepper relish& a dash of celery seed , all fallowed up with a ice cold gala apple dipped in peanut & cashew butter , there went todays calories !!!! , but I have some home made hot sausage ready to hit the grill some time this afternoon, with this being the "OFFICIAL" start of summer , the Memorial day weekend , I have NOTHING planned , just going to sit on the back deck, pull the cork on a bottle of single malt , brew up a lot of coffee &
S M O K E a lot of cigars , If I could get away with it I would not even put any pants on, just the jocky shorts, dont want to stick to the chairs hahahaha .
it has been a verrrry warm & humid week at the cigar shop, , but withthe fans turning at high speed it keeps the smoke moving out the open doors but makes a real mess on the floor & not to mention the bad burn you get sitting in the wind, , ashes every place you look, just more work for me , not that I do all that much anyway hahahaha . I did get a new Gas Grill for the back deck, it will get a realy good work out today , sausage & corn are on the menu & all will be fire roasted , a little Pre lighting to the grill is to take it back appart & wash the grates & season them, a good salt rub to get off any high spots & grind it down to a smooth finishe , get it hot & seal it with a dab of cooking oil & then its time to cook, a few onions & some peppers , just dont be down wind of me later hahaha
The grandsons are off with there father this weekend , so I will not be corrupting any children this weekend, hey they are 12 & 14 , I was a cigar smoker by the time I was 15, & it hasnt hurt me other than it has DRAINED my cash reserves , BUT it has given me pleasures far beyond what it cost in hard cold cash, the friends I have made, the doors that it has opened , it was worth 100 times what I spent on the cigars & pipes , now as I look back on my life & remember all the great times I had Very few didnt have a cigar in the memorie........
Enjoy, Vince

[vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 6 June,2010 a warm humid morning here in da burgH , yes PITTSBURGH there is the letter H at the end of the burgh , I have no idea why thet bugs me when I see Pittsburgh with out the H , I am a very poor speller as you might have noticed had you been reading my BS over a long peroid of time .... but when I dont see the H I think they are talking about some other city there are pittsburg's in Alabama & California, that do not have the H maybe a few more i dont know about , hey there are a lot of things i dont know anything about, just ask my wife hahahaha
I found a new bread in the market , a dark German rye bread with a lot of caraway, & other seeds, in the mix, its like some one spilled a bag of bird seed in the mix, , I have no idea whats in it , but as long as they make it & slice it for me I will contue to buy it . toasts well & freeze's well,has a nice nutlike flavor , holds up well in the microwave when i melt cheese on it , A bit pricy at 3.29 a loaf , for the size of the loaf ... but the taste is worth it to me .
we have been getting a lot of HEAVY weather here the past few days we are sitting out a toranado alert right now , I just checked the radar at the airport & there are a lot of heavy showers & lightning strikes off to my soutwest heading right tward me, , we had a line go through about an hour ago & this one isnt as wide as the last but more lightning with this one , hummm mabe i can get the 2 iron out & a few balls in the rain hahahaha
I have a pot of moca java to finish & a pot of kona wating for me & my good friend Don Carlos III, But I have a special anouncement as far as my Morning smoke , it has been over 10 years now that i have been having a dc3 for my moring smoke but I have started to smoke a new one not every day but I am enjoying a CAO La Travitia corona , a change to the DC3 not to replace it but to allow it to take a well erned rest & just after a 2 day break the DC3 was right back where i wanted that taste profile to be , I am going to try a 5 day regiment of the CAO & see what i get when I get back to Don Carlos 3......
this moring I have a very easy day planed , the local store front Church /Coffeeshop is having a spagetti dinner today as a fundraiser for thier mission to Central Americia , well anytime I can sponcer anyone going to a cigar making country carring a diplomatic passport ( not subject to customs inspection on the return) , welllll you get the idea hahaha , so I eat a little pasta & make a donation to the trip , then I give him an envelope to remember me with a shopping list & cash , good thing he is a cigar smoking scotch drinking man of the cloth ! , AMEN to that !!!
the gradsons have been busy getting ready to end the school year & getting the back yard pool ready for the season, , I have no idea why they shut it down in the winter, just fire up the heater & swimm all winter, so what if its zero out, if the water is warm hahahahaha
the shop has been slow this past week , however the number of cheep sticks has gone down & the higher priced stuff is selling slightly better , more money in the till but the markup is less on the high end vs. the moderate priced cigars , I can get away with the manufactures seggested retale on them as its the same in any shop, but to sell the high end stuff i cant sell them with out a small price cut , more cash in but more cash out to replace the stock ..... a fine line between the buying & selling , driven by PROFIT ahhh yes capitialisum , it sure has state run stuff beat all to H3LL , but as the founders of Democractic government system, the Greeks have slid into scoiciaisum, I fear the USA is heading in that direction, way to many social programs, & WAY to much welfair , , a guy came in the shop this past week with an Access (welfair )credit card & wanted to buy a box of cigars , dammmm what to do , I am Paying for them with my tax money , & the liberal say well just because they are unemployed why shoulnt they enjoy a FINE cigar if thats what they want, BUT the same liberal will also say dont smoke, in the next breath, well I didnt take the card or make the sale, , am I stupid for doing that ? its not my place to tell a perfect stranger that he should get a job & then come back with cash , had the guy been a regular or at lest occasional , but he has never been in the shop before , i guess with the access(welfare) card he has started living better than he did when he had a job.... .... or am I the fool for not making the sale & embarrising a lotal stranger, now he might never come back , oh its not my fault I got fired, just because I drug & booze habbit & got canned, its not my fault, BS .... I dont know , to many liberals out there beating my ears with a constant hammering , give them a hand up, well in the past i did a few time only to have them step on my hand as they climed over me taking the hadout of some one higher up the food chain, , , , , only to see them right back in the gutter 6 months later, am I bitter, ??? I dont know for sure ,, should I be ??? , I look at MY life, on the whole I am happy with where I am & who I am , I worked Hard, holding maulti jobs at the same time, working & learning to better my self at every turn in the road, when I was able I helped younger people learn from me & am proud of what I did so there is no reason for me to feel bad, about NOT selling a box of cigars to a guy on welfare , you know if it had been a run of the mill every day smoke I might have done it, but a Box of Montecristo 75th anniv. cigars was way out of my price rage to use for an every day smoke, he was celebrating one year of Unemployment & boasting about it , dammmm it still ticks me off. , now my stomach is tied up in knots & I need to relax, take a good dump & flush all this worry away , light up a Fine old cigar maybe a contraband R&J , that has been hitting the surface of my humidor for the past week or so , maybe a CAO , or my buddy Don Carlos 3, just like a kid in a candy store, I want them ALL ! hahahah Enjoy, Vince

[vince]

Good Morning, it is Sunday 13 June 2010 a warm wet humid day here in da Burgh , we had a lot rain & a lot of wind damage in the area, last night but I slept right through it , my wife told me all about it this morning , again & again ....... dammm so it rained ,,, but let me tell you about it again.....
we got up & went to subway for breakfast, a steak egg & cheese omlet in a flat bread, dammm what a breakfast, I wasnt able to finish it all, , better than Mcdonalds breakfast by far ...... , I lucked out 7 didnt have to cook this morning , BUT I have a few thick cut porkchops dry rubbed over night & now in a wet marinade , they will go on the smoker soon, should be ready late this afternoon , Brown rice with chicken stock , a bit of veggies chopped fine in the mix, & who knows what I will find in the fridge or pantry, OHH YEA Peaches on the grill, , slice them in half, pop out the stone, add a dab of butter, a sprinkle of sugar, a grind of fresh nutmeg & cinnamon, wrap them in foil, plop the package on the top rack away from the direct heat & in about 20/25 minutes you have a slice of hot peach pie with out the crust !
This mornings cigar was a change up, I passed on the traditional Don Carlos #3 & went for the CAO La Travatia corona , & the coffee this mnorning is not the Sunday morning kona but I went with the Pappa New Ginney, the cigar is a slam dunk with the coffee, , my taste buds didnt miss the Don Carlos or the kona, , so breakfast was a hit & I didnt have to lift a finger, just pull out the money clip, , dammm I like this , so much easyer, than doing it yourself, , well there are some things you enjoy doing yourself, but dammmm , its nice having it done for you hahahaha ( & TOO YOU HAHAHA)
the shop had a fair week, , a little slow at times but with all the graduation partys, & celebration cigars going out the door the higher priced stuff went out in abundance this past week, & everyone had ID , & I was a happy camper selling the $30.00 sticks to the first time cigar smokers , hey why not start off with the best cigar ( well most expencive ) in the house , speaking of graduations, grandson #2 "graduated" from 6th grade & will be going to JR High next year,, dammm a graduation program for 6th graders........ you got me on that one, !, anything to have a party , hey I 'm in !!! pool party next saturday at my daughter place , your all invited ! , thats about all I have right now, I have a Maduro Principe Padron 64 anniv, calling to me from the Qtr.Deck, the A/C is cranked up & ready to go ,it is down to 75F in the Qtr.Deck, it was 82F when I turned it on about 25 minutes ago ... Time to fire up a cigar sip a little more coffee, & maybe a weeee dram might just set it all up for a nice relaxing afternoon in the Qtr.deck a little jazz in the background , maybe a nap in is store for me later hahahaha Enjoy, Vince

[G-man]

Good Morning from Pa.
A great day here in the land of OZ . The weather is the same and the wifie has no choice but to watch the lazy day just float by. About 5 or so cups of Joe already and a TAT P2 done with the first cup .Now its time to get serious with a rum and coke and Liga Privada No. 9 Beli .Drew Estate . With hockey behind us for another year and real football around the corner nothing to do but sit and wait for the action sports to reemerge . Till then its Cigars and more gars .

[vince]

BASEBALL????????hahahahahahahaha