Sunday morning from PITTSBURGH Pa

[G-man]

Like I sais for us Ole' Guys "Life is Good"

[vince]

it sure beats going young & leaving a good looking corps

[vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday August first 2010, A FANTASTIC day here in da Burgh, the sky is blue with a few wispy clouds the temp is in the high 70's low 80's for the day & the humidity is LOW there is a nice 5 to 10 MPH breeze out of the south west & the wind chimes are singing this morning, , I got a little lazy this morning so I took the boss out for breakfast, Bacon & Bagel, not a kosher place but the food is fine & the service is good, , it was nice not having to clean up after breakfast, YEA like I clean up hahahahaha but I didnt have to listen to her complain about the mess i make hahahaha , well i set a slab of ribs in the cooler last night with a dry rub of pink Hawaiian salt , powdered mustard,celery seed,brown sugar , & what ever else fell out of the spice rack, , this moring , I fired up the grill & place the ribs on the cooler end & will forget about them till about 4 PM , the bones should just pull out by then,,, I will make up a little sauce & baste them the last hour or so , havent thougt about what it will be but I do know it will have an apple juice base, cant make up my mind to make it HOT or Sweet , maybe a little of both, but I will make WHATEVER the boss wants, me I will be happy with what ever she wants & if I decide before & make it with out asking , you KNOW dammm well what ever I pick will be the wrong style hahahahaha , I will be making green beans & bacon to go with the ribs, & a roasted yam for us to split , I have noticed that the sweet potato / and or /YAM has been getting a lot of use in my galley, used to be just in the fall & winter that they got to the table , but now I am deep frying them, roasting , & baking them all year long a great flavor & a lot of bata caritine , so i am told, what ever it is its supposed to be good for you, watch in a few years some one will come up with a study saying its poison or dangerous to the atmosphere ,,,, dammm nanny staters, let us LIVE our lives in peace, or is it PIECE ? hahahaha , I saw a study done in Canada, where a doc placed a silver dime in a rats stomach, stiched it in place & the rat developed cancer of the stomach , his conclusion was pocket change caused cancer ........... BRILLIANT , so now I make sure I put all my change in the piggy bank & not my pocket hahahaha
We have had a lot of local work related deaths in the area , 2 killed at the lead smelter after an explosion in the furnace, & one guy fell 30 feet at the sewage treatment plant & was killed from the fall but 3 guys who went to his resque were over come by the fumes , all servived the fumes but all were treated at the local hospital for it ., & I got stuck with a nail in a cigar box after opening the box, dammmm it looked like I had just tested my sugar, & for got to wipe off the blood, a dot about the size of a pin head , damm it hurt hahahahahaha
I will be roasting coffee a little later today or i might just hold off till monday afternoon, ...... yea thats more like it , Monday afternoon, being off on Sunday & Monday is getting to me , I like saturday & sundays off, with a monday tossed in ever few weeks, after taking a friday off the week before , LOVE the 4 day weekends , I figure I have a few more years to put in before retiring for the 4th & FINAL TIME , just as soon as I think I am out they pull me back in again , hahahahaha , about all I want to do any more is hang out with the grandsons, , , , smoke a few stogies, sip a little coffee, slosh a weeeee dram or 2 or 3 of a fine old scotch arround in my mouth before swallowing it , sleeping in my hammoc under the maple tree in the back yard ......... yep I am READY to retire but the shop needs me & aside from the hammoc , its almost the same hahahaha, yea I can sip coffee , listen to the music, down a weee dram at work, the only thing that messes up my day is the dammm customers wanting me to help them in the humidor, ,,,,,,, I want a MILD cigar , do you have any Cuban Cohibas? . thats when I want to tell the posers to hit the bricks , BUT I swallow hard & ask them how long its been since they were smoking a MILD CUBAN COHIBA, OH just last week , do you remember how much it cost? just 5 bucks you say well I want to buy 50,000 cigars from who ever you got them from ............ errrr well I dont know a whole lot about cigars but thats what the guy in Mexico told me , yea sure buddy it was a real Cuban for 5 bucks, did I show you my Pacasso I got at a yard sale for 25 bucks & had it appraised for $100,000....
Well its time for the BBQ sauce to get started, so I better ask the boss how she wants it & get it on the fire to reduce & thicken, the ribes will get a turn some time later & I have green beans to clean & cook, NOT TO mention a few cigars to smoke .... ahhh yes by buddy Don Carlos III has poured the kona & the 15 Y.O. Balvinie single barrel.... I guess the BBQ sauce will need to WAIT a bit hahahaha Enjoy, Vince

[G-man]

Oh my Buddy its once again Sunday and its U and I . Enjoy the moment

[El Loco]

Yo Vince, good to see you on this side of the pond !!

Top of the day to you sir !

[vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday Aug.8,2010, a wonderful morning here in da Burgh , had the windows open all night got down to 57F last night , a wonderfulllll nights sleep, woke up this morning about 9:30 ! could have slept more but nature called & had to empty the bladder, so up I got , made some poached eggs for my self & fryed the Bosses eggs , I spiced up the poaching liquid with some tabasco sauce, a little aged balslamic vineger,soy sauce & a splash of red wine , the eggs went on a slice of dark German whole wheat/rye combo & a slice of bacon with fresh garden tomatos & caso fresco sliced thick & grilled till crispy on the outside & like custard in the center, YUMMY !!!
This morning's coffee is a blend of Indian Malibar& Ethopian yourgarchef, or how ever you spell it & I am to lazy to go look at the bag the beans came in , I have a pot of kona waiting for me & my Good friend Don Carlos III , we will be hitting the back deck asap !
Its been a quiet week at the shop, a few regulars & a few first timers were in , they trickel in one at a time keep me from my coffee & cigar talking over the smooth jazz in the background & disturbing my relaxation ! hahaha Dammmm Customers hahahahaha the RTDA convention is comming up this week but I am staying here & manning the shop, not that I wouldnt love to go to New Orleans but $$$$$$ is the problem, if I close the shop , No income, if I get some one to cover the shop for me , what they take in, get paid & smoke up will be a wash if I had closed anyhow,
so I will keep the shop open & enjoy the weather here in Da Burgh, , & I can make red beans & rice ,listen to Pete Fountain, Al Hurt & the Zidico bands & turn off the A/C, sit in the 70% humidity of the humidor & pretend I am in New Orleans , OK now some of you nice ladys flash me !!!!!
hahahaha
school starts in about 2 weeks , it was a fast summer vacation, havent seen much of the boys other than taking the big one to his piano lessons on Mondays , the little one comes some times but he would rather stay home with the mutt , the dammm dog is up to 185 pounds , strong , but STUPID, pisses on his own foot ......... need I say anymore just plain Stupid
I have a nice set of NY strip steaks sitting in the marinade ready to get grilled later today , also I have 6 chicken breasts that will get a turn on the grill later to be made into chicken salid , there will be some grilled veggies & sweet potatos to go along with the beef& some hard boiled eggs with the chicken, we are looking for a high of 87F today & 90+ this week comming up so I am going to get the weeks cooking all done today & just reheat stuff in the microwave oven the rest of the week.......

Nothing exciting happening here just the slow paced life of the burgh, a few births a few deaths some politicol big shot getting caught with his had in some one elses pocket , not much different from Chicago , LA, or NYC, what this country needs is a New THOMAS JEFFERSON , , sure he had his affairs & extra maritial children, but he was a wiz when it came to government, Adams was a light weight & could have never written the declaration that TJ came up with ,IMHO anyway & just like opinions &
@$$holes , every body has one !!
Time for a cigar , Enjoy, Vince

[vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday AUG 15,2010 ,,,, 40 years ago today I got marrired for the first & last time hahahaha , yep she hasent killed me yet ! , My brother had a little party last friday night a combo , his birthday, his sons birthday, his other sons graduation/leaving for school, & our anniv. all rolled into one big blow out, the food was great, the weather was super, the booze went down like fine old scotch, & the music was not to loud, a great time , no arrests, so it didnt get out of hand to much, we all ahd a great time , lots of people there I had no idea who they were, & they were thinking the same about me I am sure , , , , we are heading out for a relaxing dinner some place where I will be waited on & not cook , , , its my day as much as it is hers, !!!!! the shop was slow at first of the week, but got better as time went on , Friday ( the night of the party ) was a fine day at the shop, I was happy not to have been there I needed the night off !!!! , should have taken saturday off also , but I survived !!!! , I have a nice sample pack of San Cristobols to work my way through today , well at lest one of them anyway , 7 cigars, 7 different sizes, , hummmmm, one a day for a week, hummmmmmm, might try it , & save the Don Carlos for the weekends , , , , , But I dont think that will happen !
Since we are going out today I didnt even cook breakfast, she had toast & I had a peach, a banana & a rasin cookie .......... got to save room for the cheesecake ..... Enjoy, Vince

[G-man]

Hay you all have a nice day. Been a long time since I heard of 40 years same women. She deserves a medal for it and you " Give the man a CGar" Enjoy

[vince]

Hay you all have a nice day. Been a long time since I heard of 40 years same women. She deserves a medal for it and you " Give the man a CGar" Enjoy

She deserves more than a medal !!!!!!!

[G-man]

Don they all

She deserves more than a medal !!!!!!!

For simply putting up with us?

[vince]

not only has she put up with me & the cigars , but our daughter ,her husband & 2 grandsons , I just bite my lip & say YES DEAR.

[vince]

Good morning , it is Sunday 22 Aug,2010, a wet warm morning here in da Burgh , it has been a hot & humid week here but this morning it is "NICE" a little rain last night got rid of the humidity & the breeze is warm but dryer than its been , I got to take some time in the Qtr.Deck last night & enjoyed a fine old Bahia maduro torp, & a weee dram of Spayburn single malt along with a mug of espresso , who ever thought about using those tiny cups for espresso, dammm just as you get you whistle wet its gone, so I double up a few 'shots' & sip to my leasure .......
it was a slow week at the shop but we did get a lot of deliverys, a truck load of humidors showed up along with a truck load of cigars , the newest one we have is the Hammer & Sickle toro , a GLASS block box the damm thing must weigh in over 10 pounds in packaging, the cigar makes a great midmorning smoke or early afternoon , I dont think they have enough power but when the next few blends hit I might have a different opinion about the brand, but right now its kind of mild, not what you would expect with the logo on the band, , right off the Soviet Union flag , but we did get a few different things in , , , nothing out of the ordinary, just basic shelf fillers & money making toys for big boys , lighters & cutters & all the stuff you need to have .....
With the large scale egg recall for tainted eggs , well it has put a crimp in my breakfast menu so we switch to egg beaters a poor excuse for egg substitutes , maybe its just all in my head, but I like cracking my eggs, not pouring them out of a milk jug ..... , the coffee this morning is a new one , it is from the local coffee roaster in New Brighton Pa this blend is called Drews Brew after the son Andrew , who works there a medium roast mixed with a few darker beans, he didnt tell me the orgins of the beans, but he has the recipe to make the blend, just hope the next batch is as good as this one !!!
I have the Kona in the press pot & will be getting to it soon, a cool water extraction over night , buy the time I get this posted & fire up the Sunday Morning Don Carlos #3 it will be ready........
School starts back up in 3 days , the grandsons are mixed in there feelings about going back, the bus stop has been changed & now the walk to the bus is about 20 minutes , last year you could sit on the front porch & wait for the bus to pull up, now there are stops for the bus at intersections with parking lots only & the bus pulls off the road to pick up & discharge students instead of holding up traffic , some political staffer with a "good Idea" ... the Nanny state revisited !!
Today I will be cooking a stuffed rolled round steak , on the grill , I have a loaf of bread getting stale right now, I will crumble it add some butter ,beef stock ,celery,onions & peppers a bit of seasoning & a splash of egg to hold it all together , pound out the slab of beef & spread out the bread mixture & roll it up, , into a hot cast iron pot & brown it in a little oil & then put it on the grill in the cast iron pan as its just way to nice out ,to light up the oven , so I will fire up the grill & cook it outside , roast a few sweet potatos & have a little shoo fly pie for desert, & I can make everyting outside to help keep the house cool with out running the A/C .
looks like I have a lot of coffee to drink & a fine cigar ro smoke before I get back to the kitchen..... Enjoy, Vince

[G-man]

Sorry Vince I was on holiday

Good morning , it is Sunday 22 Aug,2010, a wet warm morning here in da Burgh , it has been a hot & humid week here but this morning it is "NICE" a little rain last night got rid of the humidity & the breeze is warm but dryer than its been , I got to take some time in the Qtr.Deck last night & enjoyed a fine old Bahia maduro torp, & a weee dram of Spayburn single malt along with a mug of espresso , who ever thought about using those tiny cups for espresso, dammm just as you get you whistle wet its gone, so I double up a few 'shots' & sip to my leasure .......
it was a slow week at the shop but we did get a lot of deliverys, a truck load of humidors showed up along with a truck load of cigars , the newest one we have is the Hammer & Sickle toro , a GLASS block box the damm thing must weigh in over 10 pounds in packaging, the cigar makes a great midmorning smoke or early afternoon , I dont think they have enough power but when the next few blends hit I might have a different opinion about the brand, but right now its kind of mild, not what you would expect with the logo on the band, , right off the Soviet Union flag , but we did get a few different things in , , , nothing out of the ordinary, just basic shelf fillers & money making toys for big boys , lighters & cutters & all the stuff you need to have .....
With the large scale egg recall for tainted eggs , well it has put a crimp in my breakfast menu so we switch to egg beaters a poor excuse for egg substitutes , maybe its just all in my head, but I like cracking my eggs, not pouring them out of a milk jug ..... , the coffee this morning is a new one , it is from the local coffee roaster in New Brighton Pa this blend is called Drews Brew after the son Andrew , who works there a medium roast mixed with a few darker beans, he didnt tell me the orgins of the beans, but he has the recipe to make the blend, just hope the next batch is as good as this one !!!
I have the Kona in the press pot & will be getting to it soon, a cool water extraction over night , buy the time I get this posted & fire up the Sunday Morning Don Carlos #3 it will be ready........
School starts back up in 3 days , the grandsons are mixed in there feelings about going back, the bus stop has been changed & now the walk to the bus is about 20 minutes , last year you could sit on the front porch & wait for the bus to pull up, now there are stops for the bus at intersections with parking lots only & the bus pulls off the road to pick up & discharge students instead of holding up traffic , some political staffer with a "good Idea" ... the Nanny state revisited !!
Today I will be cooking a stuffed rolled round steak , on the grill , I have a loaf of bread getting stale right now, I will crumble it add some butter ,beef stock ,celery,onions & peppers a bit of seasoning & a splash of egg to hold it all together , pound out the slab of beef & spread out the bread mixture & roll it up, , into a hot cast iron pot & brown it in a little oil & then put it on the grill in the cast iron pan as its just way to nice out ,to light up the oven , so I will fire up the grill & cook it outside , roast a few sweet potatos & have a little shoo fly pie for desert, & I can make everyting outside to help keep the house cool with out running the A/C .
looks like I have a lot of coffee to drink & a fine cigar ro smoke before I get back to the kitchen..... Enjoy, Vince

Have a great week bud !

[vince]

Good morning , it is the 29th of August 2010, a wonderful warm clear day here in da Burghlast night it was 55F & a nice breezecomming through the open bedroom window made for a great night to cuddle up to the wife, to bad we have seperate bedrooms hahahaha, but we can visit on occasion, not as often as we did 20 years ago!!!! The weather has been spectular here in the burgh this past week, warm clear days & nights LOW humidity & no need for the A/C or the furnace, My kind of climate , right now I dont even have the cieling fan on ..... I got a late start this morning , we went out for breakfast, a local place for steak & eggs , not bad but the steak was sliced so thin it only had one side ! , but you got enough of it , the eggs were scrambled dry & hard, , not the way i like them, but for a fundaiser it wasnt all that bad, when you get enough tabasco & ketchup on the eggs, they slide down easy , the onions were the best part of breakfast, poached in a little beef stock & browned on the flat top all they needed was some bell peppers of chili peppers to add a bit of ZIP to them, But now that we are home I have the press pot filled with the Sunday Morning Kona & will be hitting it asap ....
We got in a ton of new cigars this past week, the shipments from the show are starting to arrive, the UPS delevery guy is now "prsona non gratta "
in the shop, 15 cases of humidors , all at the same time ...... NO NO NO , no more room ! , yea I got a good deal on them but I wanted shipments staggered , over 3 months , 5 cases a month, not all 15 at the same time ! dammmmm sales people , they will tell you anything to make a sale ! with all the new cigars we will have about 600 different facings in the shop...... thats just NUTZ , I dont need every size of every brand, why do I need 6 deferent blends of Monte#2 Torp? the classic,platnum,white,series c& maduro& then carry as many R&J torps as well, , I have to much overlapping stuff, time to cut back on the blrends & sizes, first I eleminated the brands that didnt move well, now it will be a tighter look at blends & size, I have tons of robusto sizes , but not a lot of Double coronas, , lets face it there is more PROFIT on 2 robustos than on one DBL corona , but the guys are starting to ask for the DBL.Corona when we first opened the robusto & toro were most asked for sizes ..... so I will be making adjustments to the inventory.... AGAIN ....
Well since we started out the day with steak & have 2 nice sized NY strips sitting inn the fridge in a littel marinade of crushed garlic, peppers,onions EVOO & a dash of apple jack , it will hit the grill some time about 4PM with some yams & carmelized onions & peppers , this should make the beef lover wife of mine a happy camper today , Me,,,, I'm happy with a slab of tofu when its done right !!!!!
Well I need to get out the tool box, we had a new storm door installed last week or so, but we never checked to see if the lock worked on the door, well it didnt so out came the tool box & the problem was fixed with a few washers behind the latch plate, the latch was just catching it on the close but when you locke the knob the latch moved so slightly but you were able to pull on the door & it would open, now with the washers in place it gets a much better grip on the latch & no POP open , a 2 minute fix that the installer wanted 35 Bucks for a service call, well he can KISS me where the sun dont shine ..... he should have checked it before he left & since it was his fault there should not have been a charge for a service call, , but dealing with large company & getting an operator NOT the business owner, means a lot, no more from now on its the little guy down the street not the national chain , its just like PIZZA, go local not chain store & get better stuff !!!!
The boys are back in school much to the dismay of a few teachers hahahah, both are good students & both are achivers , one is driven to be better &the other is so laid back I wonder what keeps him from forgetting to take a breath.......... My wife just refilled my mug with this morings end of the pot of Kona , so it is off to the back deck for my sunday morning conversation with my buddy Don Carlos III ...... Enjoy, Vince

[satch]

Hey Vince. Amazingly it's sunny in Wakefield West Yorkshire too.
Just about to have a Trad Sunday Dinner then I'll retire to cigar shack with an RP Decade. (that might change, depending.)