Just another Monday.....Weather Changes....

Saw a bit of it all over the weekend, weather wise, but for the most part the conditions remain better than your average winter weather.

With no game on Friday, I spent the majority of the day cleaning the wood floors in the 3 living room spaces of the house....the wood floors,  hard pine, have been without wall to wall carpet for about 5 or 6 years now, and despite Reagan the Airedale, making her marks with paws on them, they remain a plus over the carpet which covered them for many years.  The house, build as the old Church of God parsonage, was constructed beginning in late 1923, with the kitchen area and second half bath added in 1945.  For the first 60 years it was the home of many a pastor and their families, including one Tennyson Guyer, the former Mayor of Celina during the World War II years, and  a pastor at the First Church of God back in the late 1930s and 40s...before turning his attention to politics full time, and eventually becoming the US House of Representative member from this district, serving until the time of his death:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennyson_Guyer

The church moved to the north and farther west side of town, rebuilding in the 1980s. We became the 2nd owners after the church sold it....purchasing it in 1995.  We ripped out the carpet a decade or so later.  Anyhow, the floors needed cleaning after the wet winter thus far, and I worked a few hours on them Friday afternoon.

Once done with that chore, I decided, with the sun out and the temperatures near 50, it was time to smoke my first Cigar since October, being I seldom partake in the winter months...after all it is not enjoyable, at least to me, to freeze ones backside off standing outside smoking a good cigar...and I don't smoke inside or in the car.  So seldom do I fire one up from November until about May, unless the conditions warrant and I have the time to waste an hour or so.


The weather stayed nice for a couple of hours in the late afternoon, so I lit one up, and enjoyed a couple of Mad Hat Winter Lagers, and a 1876 cigar, over remainder of the afternoon and daylight hours.

Saturday____

After the sunny and mild Friday, it rained overnight into Saturday morning....then the snow started.  We may have received an inch or two, however when that ended, the melting started, and by the time I headed out to Antwerp, some 50 miles north, at 4:15, the majority was gone....until I got to the game site.  It seems Antwerp had received 3 or 4 inches, and that had not melted.  The JV games was a fast mover, afterward I showered and didn't stick around for any of the Varsity contest, leaving by 7:30 and pulling into the drive by 8:30 Saturday night.

Sunday____

Patricia, Anissa, and I waited out the early morning fog, which had formed on the wet ground and roadways, it seems that was only in the Celina area and south, north of town was sunny and clear...we left for Indiana, and Rick and wife Toni's place some 70 miles north and west, about 10:30...we drove out of the thick fog 10 miles north of town, and nothing but sunshine, and pleasant conditions would remain for the rest of the drive and day.

We spent a few hours, with Toni giving Patricia the tour of the new home they built on 17 acres within the last two years....I had been to the site many times over the past several years, both before and after construction, this was her first trip.   After the tour, we ate lunch, talked for a couple of hours, and, having to get Anissa back to her place, where her care giver was waiting, took the road home...sunshine all the way.


I managed to catch the end of a disappointing Duke game, where the Blue Devils came from 16 points down to Miami, only to lose in overtime by going a sorry 0 for 6 from the free throw line...doesn't get any easier for Coach K and Company, as they are at North Carolina on Wednesday.

The Super Bowl came on at 6:30 and for the second time in 4 years, the NY Giants defeated the Patriots on a late TD....the final was 21-17.  I didn't have a dog in the fight, but preferred the Giants, although, let's face it....professional sports has become a sideshow for millionaires and the jet setters, and seriously, I don't waste much time on it.

 Dartball tonight, basketball back on the agenda, tomorrow at Spencerville, and a Baseball Rules meeting in Van Wert on Wednesday....that is how the week begins, along with more spring-like temperatures and sunshine, at least for today....

back later>>>>

Photos-The weather was back and forth, give and take over the past 72 hours or so...Sunshine on Friday Afternoon, snow Saturday Morning, and back to Sunshine for Sunday and again this morning....Meanwhile I took the opportunity to clean the 88 year old wood floors in the downstairs, smoke a cigar on Friday afternoon, and sip a couple of Winter Dark Lagers in the afternoon sun that was bright in the backyard.

Mushrooms, Meeting Cousin Moe, Rain, and Hog Nosed Snakes...Part #1

Made it back from Michigan, not so high, and not dry either.....

We gathered just a few Mushrooms...gotta believe we were in between the black Morels, the Greys, and the Yellows the pop out and various times of May....at least that's what we were telling ourselves.  Those "gung-ho" hunters were bringing back bags of 600-700 blacks....they were selling for about $50 a pound at the area gas stations in and around Boyne Falls, and Mesick.  We had our best luck near cousin Moe Houseworth's place in Alanson, in the far reaches of the northern lower peninsula.  In retrospect we probably should have stayed up that way...went out with Moe to a local fish fry and got drunk....instead we headed back to the campsite near Boyne Falls, and ran into a dangerous looking("dangerous looking" being the keywords after some research) snake, and month long mushroom hunter with a bottle of Vodka, and a handful of Morels.

Cousin Moe, Hog Nosed Snake, and then the rains came____

We headed out of Rick's Acres in northern Indiana about Noon on Thursday for the far north country...it was unusually hot and humid for the season, especially considering just how cold and wet it had been around these parts for the entire spring thus far....it was 88 degrees when we arrived at our location, which is some 15 miles east of Boyne City, Michigan, at 5pm....things would cool down, and the rains would arrive by the time we packed up and headed south for Mesick on Saturday Morning.....

After setting up camp next to a small stream, that turns out to be home, despite it's shallow depth, to a collection of Brown Trout...albeit, the ones we saw, were small in size.  Checking the temperature of the spring fed stream, it read 38 degrees on the thermometer...we would not be doing any swimming in this one, although later on, I would try, and my prized Fuji Film Camera, would take a dip....it may not recover...but the chip did, and I saved a few photos, some of those on here today....and more on tomorrow's blog post.

Caps,  aka Morel knockoffs, seemed to be the Mushroom of choice....not a particular good eating "schroom"....but Blacks and some Greys were being found...rather than tell of our failures in that department, it's best to say we were just a bit "in-between" on the season.  I(t appears it was bit early for Yellows, the Greys were south, and the Blacks and caps also were winding down.  Thursday night was spent around our campfire, drinking beer, eating snack, smoking good cigars, and bullshitting the boys with stories of our youth, which I'm sure they had heard from Rick, Clint, and me, a few times before.  Retiring for the night, it was warm but comfortable in the tent...the weather would cool off and go downhill from this point on....

Friday after a few walks in the woods and hills, where Clint, and Rick's youngest son, Guy, found the most Blacks, we decided to head north towards Petoskey and Cousin Moe Houseworth's place in Alanson.  I had "known" Moe for about a half dozen years, via e-mails, Genealogy Research, and phone conversations...but had never met the man in person.  We had a common ground...Houseworth Genes, Conservative( Far Right?) Politics, The Second Amendment...beer, and the outdoors, so I was sure we would hit it off...we did.

After all of us having a greeting and a beer at Moe's place, Moe and me, jumped into his Caddy, and with the rest following in the truck, we headed the back roads towards what we hoped would be a collection point of a handy supply of Mushrooms....we had our best finds on those hills, and in retrospect, probably should have stuck around longer...things Morel-wise went down hill after that.  We should have stayed the rest of the afternoon in the woods, and then went with Moe to the Friday Fish Fry in town.....as it was we headed back south to the camp, where we met a snake, a "gung-ho" mushroom hunter from Jackson, Michigan, and my camera got a bath, all in the name of saving a beer....

Those stories and more on Part #2...coming tomorrow...

back later>>>>

Photos-Moe Houseworth and Me....I stand about 5'11" and 185...so you can see, Cousin Moe, is a bit larger man than his older(by 3 years) 2nd cousin, PRH....The Creek where we camped...we watch some lady camping near us take a small Brown Trout of this spot....they were living in the shallows...and with no depth deeper than a foot or so, it was amazing to see these small Browns getting caught...some of the flowers near out site, and my buddy the Eastern Hog Nose, which at the time, I thought to be a North Michigan Timber Rattler....scary looking dude, ain't he...More photos of the Snake and the Mushroom Hunt tomorrow....

Philadelphia Flyers..."We've Got Boston Right Where We Want Them"

A rare Orange Ball appeared in the sky at dawn this morning...it's a fact that I cannot remember the last time I saw the sun when waking up.  The past few weeks for sure, have either seen a leaden sky or rain when my usual wake up time of 7:30 rolls around.  I may not want to blink...because by tomorrow morning, at wake up time, the rain and clouds will have returned...and will probably stick around for at least another week, maybe more.  What a Spring!  Unless something changes, I will get a game in tonight at Kalida...a trip north to Putnam County...after that though, Friday and the weekend look "iffy" to say the least, and with the Sectional Tournaments set to begin Saturday(I'm at Crestview in Convoy for a double header at 10am), things could get dicey. 

The Flyers Fold____

Last year my favorite NHL team, the Philly Flyers, fell behind the Boston Bruins, 3 games to none.  The Broad Street Bullies battled back to tie the series at 3 games, then fell behind at Boston in game 7 by a 3-0 score...and battled back once again, to win that game and the series by 4-3 counts.  They then won the East and moved on to the finals, where they lost to Chicago 4 games to 2.   It was only the 3rd time in the more than 70 years of the Stanley Cup that a team down three to none, had came back to capture a series.  Chicago came close this year to doing the same thing, only to fall in overtime of game 7 to Vancouver in round #1.   The Flyers now get a chance to do it twice in two years against the same team.  Don't Bet On It happening.

After outplaying the Bruins, except for goal tender Tim Thomas, on Tuesday...when the Flyers fired 54 shots on goal only to lose in OT by a 3-2 count, Philadelphia came out flat last night...giving up 2 goals in the first 63 seconds at Boston, they never recovered, and lost 5-1.  The goal tending merry-go-round continued for Philly.  Back in action at the Bruins home tomorrow, I expect to see the Flyers season end....but I still can hope for a repeat of last season...only a team like Boston is capable of gagging like that two years in a row...but like I said, don't bet on it.

Meanwhile East regular season champs Washington were swept out of the playoffs by Tampa Bay 4 games to none...and out West, Detroit's Red Wings are about to become the Dead Wings...losing on a late goal, then in OT to San Jose.  Detroit is down 3-0, like the Flyers.  The only competitive series thus far in the second round has been upstart Nashville against the regular season overall champions, Vancouver's Canucks.  Vancouver leads that series 2-1, with game 4 in Nashville tonight.  I gotta believe NBC executives are gnashing their teeth.  While hoping for a Detroit vs Boston or Philadelphia finals..they are likely to get Vancouver or San Jose vs Tampa Bay...wouldn't that be a ratings disaster?

With my spring baseball winding down, and the Flyers on the verge of folding their tents until October...I can concentrate on getting my Sunflowers planted(if it ever dries out), enjoying the Michigan Mushroom hunt next week, and following the Reds, while sitting on the back steps enjoying a few cold stouts and some good cigars....come on sunshine and warm weather.

back later>>>>

Photos---It looks like the Stanley Cup will avoid the Flyers again this year...36 seasons and counting....and Mushroom, Beer, and Cigars, are on the schedule for our Michigan Mushroom outing starting next week....

A New Beer Discovery, Baseball Just Around the Corner...at least the rules meetings

Just a spitting of snow this morning as I walked outside to feed the resident squirrels and backyard birds...nothing on the ground, and there hasn't been since the 50+ degree temperatures melted the December cover, just before the new year kicked in.  I'm not really sure what the forecast is...I'll look it up when done here, but I can remember from yesterday that the forecast called for plenty of "near normal" conditions.  Highs in the 20s and lows in the teens....with some snow flurries here and there, about what you can expect for western Ohio in January.  I can live with that...although if I don't have to fire up the snow blowers anytime soon, I won't mind that at all.

Last night I traveled the 8 miles to Coldwater and hooked up with "Wulfie", Kent, Doc Herron, and his son, at the South Side pub and watering hole.  We tossed down a couple of beers and did some bs'ing for about 90 minutes, before parting ways, Kent back to Fort Recovery, "Wulfie" walked to his place across the street, and I headed back towards home...always good to see old faces, I don't travel the bar circuit these days, so sometimes the visits are few and far between.

Another "Stout" for my Beer list_____

During the rare trips to a bar and during the warm weather(baseball) months, my beer of choice is Miller Lite.  A harmless beer that goes down easy in the summer, when, after working a double header, I feel the need to fire up a good cigar in the back yard, and wash the smoke down with a few or more American Larger Beers.  However, of late especially, when the weather cools off I find myself downing darker, more tasteful, and frankly more alcoholic content beers.  Porters aren't bad, Bock in the late winter and early spring is good, but my favorite by far are the dark, thick, stout style beers and ale.

I have over the past 2 years been testing different types of dark stouts from various breweries.  Sam Adams has a decent Cream Stout, and the dry Guinness Extra Stout has been at the top of my list for a couple years now...but I continue to read about and taste different brands.  Now don't get me wrong, stout beers run about 40% higher than regular beer in cost, and some 20 to 50% higher in alcohol content.  So if you are into drinking massive quantities of beer to get "sheet faced", you may want to avoid stouts...you will find your wallet lighter, your waist line bigger, and yourself not being able to find your keys..  You definitely do not want to drink more than a couple of these and drive any distance...that would not be a good move...or a safe one.  I stick with these beers when I'm not going anywhere...like on a cold winter night watching a Duke basketball game(speaking of which, the #1 Blue Devils won over UAB last night in easy fashion), on the tube.

Anyway, yesterday I went looking for something in a stout that wouldn't break the bank, and would be a change from my usual Guinness Extra Stout.   Chief Super Market in Celina has installed a nice collection of beers in all shades, styles, and taste....yesterday I noticed a couple of six packs from a Cincinnati based micro brewery called Mt Carmel...seems these folks brew the beer in their farmhouse, and began just a few years back:

http://www.mtcarmelbrewingcompany.com/first_1.html

This brewery opened in 2005, and it appears to be just beginning to bloom in sales...looking at their list of ale and beer, it appears that I will have to try some of their others styles, if I can find them...Celina seems to be at the northern most reaches of their sales area... for now.  I will stick with the Stout for now, and pick some extra style brews up when Hal and Lisa have their wedding reception in Fairborn in mid-February.

The Mt Carmel Stout, is dark, real dark, like an Imperial Stout, has about a 5% alcohol content, and I have to say I really, really, like it.  If you are into dark stout beer, and live in the west Ohio or north Kentucky/southeast Indiana area, you might want to give this a try.  Good Stuff....

Baseball, just around the corner?

Well, not really...but I did get the Ohio High School pre-season manual and rules books in the mail from the OHSAA yesterday, and it sure made me feel better than spring is not that far off.  Our local meetings begin on February 2nd in Van Wert, I'll also attend a couple at my southwest Ohio association at Indian Lake.  The state meanwhile, like they did in basketball, and will offer in person, and on-line state rules "meetings" that you have to complete...I'll probably attend the live session, if basketball doesn't have all my dates blacked out.

Anyway, with the rule books here, and the schedule for my spring varsity games pretty well completed, except for tournament assignments, the baseball light at the end of the long winter tunnel is beginning to make a peak through the gloom. 

Off north both tonight and tomorrow for basketball, Junior High boys this evening at Antwerp, and a JV boys battle at Crestview in Convoy tomorrow night....

back later>>>>

Photos~top left, the logo from the Mt Camel Brewery founded in 2005.  My first six-pack of Mt Carmel Stout...excellent stuff!  Me, doing what I do best in cold weather, enjoying a torpedo and a glass of Drambuie, cigars and Stouts go together just as well...and my and Sam's pre-season baseball stuff from OHSAA arrived in the mail yesterday...I'm ready for spring!

Beers and Cigars....and a Happy New Year!

Finding things to write about this time of year is pretty challenging, finding things worthwhile to write about is almost impossible...especially after 3 1/2 years of 250 or so posts per year.  Politics these days sucks{the opposite sides will never agree on anything, I am firmly convinced that the days of right, left, Christians, and "others" are never in our lifetimes coming together, until the final days are at hand..The Clintons, Obama, and the PC Crowd within the Education and Media have seen to that}.  Sports, especially college and professional, have become a joke, run by greed, played by criminals and steroid freaks, and the cheerleaders in big media...it is a sad reminder of the 1950s and 60s, when kids could actually look up to these guys...now we get Michael Vick and his ilk.  Basically guys that would be in prison if not for their athletic prowess, but instead are held up as examples of men who have cleaned up their lives...laughable to say the least.

A couple of things are constant...we grow older, and as we do, some of us have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the future....I kind of sit on the fence.  In some ways I prefer to stick by the way I have always thought and acted, in others I move grudgingly forward.  Here are a couple of examples, just for shits and giggles:

Beer_____

I have enjoyed the taste and to a lesser extent the effects of Beer since I was 18 years old....that was the drinking age in Ohio back in 1967, and I wasn't one of those that tried it early.  That just wasn't in me.  

I started out being a fan of Pabst Blue Ribbon, then Strohs.  In my Air Force and College days I drank whatever was cheap and available...so I enjoyed/tried to enjoy plenty of rot gut stuff, from Falstaff to Schlitz, and even an occasional Carling Black Label....Nasty Stuff to say the least!  As I aged my taste really didn't get much more refined, and I settled on Miller Lite...you know "Great Taste, Less Filling"?  And it is still my favorite hot weather brew.  However, during the winter months, and fall, to a lesser extent, I have come to enjoy the darker beers and ale that is somewhat more expensive, and which tastes much different than your average American Beer.

Guinness Extra Stout is my favorite cold weather beer, but there are a dozen or more that I enjoy....bottle beer only these days, I can hardly stand the taste of 'canned' brews.  From some of the Sam Adams seasonals to Blue Moon Abby Ale and Harvest Moon, to Imperial Stout, and other hearty dark beers....I enjoy most, one thing about these seasonal and dark beers, they may be more expensive, but you don't drink as much, because of the texture and alcohol content, so price is pretty much a wash.

Garry and I have had a two year bet....that bet started last year was that the Ohio State QB would or would not finish in the top 5 passes(yardage wise) in a single Buckeye season throughout their history...I bet the "would not" side, and in 2009 won a case of beer...Garry won this season, and I am in the process of sounding him out for something he wants to drink.  I picked up a 12 pack of Blue Moon Winter Samplers so far, and he pointed me towards a Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada...add those to another 6 pack of 'something' and our bets will be completed on this....especially since OSU Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is sitting for about half the season next year, if he chooses to come back at all.  So the bet next year will have to be something different.

Garry also makes his own home brew, and told me that he is "brewing" this afternoon and to stop by...with no games, I will probably do just that, and drag along a couple of good quality cigars.

Cigars____

I never was addicted to cigarettes...never like the smell or taste, so back when almost everybody was lighting up, I didn't, and I thank God I never got into the tobacco habit, at least not that kind of tobacco laced with way too many poisons....

Cigars, on the other hand, I enjoyed no occasion.  I would buy a cheap 5-pack when I was stationed at Tan Son Nhut working the graveyard shift.  Sitting in those towers, or driving a relief Jeep during the 10 hour overnight shift, was not conducive to staying alert and awake...so on occasion I would fire up a Phillie or White Owl, to help me stay alert and awake...didn't inhale them, so really didn't see them as a problem.

About 15 years ago, I started reading up on Hand Rolled Cigars, which at that time were undergoing a "boom" among the yuppie crowd.  No stinking yuppie was I, but I did like the taste and smell of the moderate and mild tasting hand rolled types.  I still don't inhale, don't like the after smell on my clothes and body, but I do enjoy the taste of a good cigar.  I might smoke 40 to 50 per year, mostly in the summer months, always out of doors and usually when the temperature is above 70 degrees.  New Years Day will be an exception, when I head over to Rick's for our annual year opening get together.  Cold or not(rain and 45 is predicted), we will doubtless fire a couple up.

Cigars can be quite expensive, and my all time favorite is a Arturo Fuente Don Carlos #2 Torpedo...but at $13 per smoke and $325 per box of 25(more or less depending on where you make a purchase)..I shy away from those, unless somebody else lays one on me.  I've probably had 5 in my life.  I usually go online to Cigar International and pick out a mild Torpedo at around a buck a stick.  Not as good, but one heck of a lot easier on my limited Cigar Budget...on occasion they have a special on Indian Tabac in the Robusto or Torpedo size for around 2 bucks, and I grab a box of those.  So my cigar purchases per year are usually about that of a tankful or two of gas....but if someone wants to send me a box of Don Carlos #2 to sample...I am open to that suggestion...otherwise I'll stick to the off brands or an occasional box of Tabacs.

The New Year is almost upon us___

I'm not sure exactly what 2011 has in store for me or anybody...but it will see me qualify for Social Security come March, and our youngest son Hal get married in February...the rest of what comes is a mystery that will be solved between now and this time in December 2011.

Tomorrow has me scheduled for 3 basketball games.  In the morning, a junior high double header at Russia for their boys Holiday Tournament...then in the evening it is off to my birthplace of Van Wert for a girls JV contest...that will end my 2010 basketball schedule, I will start the 2011 season off on January 4th.

May take tomorrow off, due to the game schedule, but will be back on Friday for a year ending post.

back later>>>>

Beers and Cigars:

Blue Moon's Winter Abbey Ale...pouring a Guinness Extra Stout...Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada.  Cigar International is where I purchase my smokes from usually...the tasty, but expensive Don Carlos #2 torpedoes from Fuente, and my lesser priced smoke of choice...the Indian Tabac brands from Rocky Patel.

Cleaning Out the Cluttered Closet

Cleaning Out the Cluttered Closet?  Codewords for...I really don't have a dang thing to write about this morning...at least not much, if anything, worthwhile.

I stopped over at Nick's yesterday afternoon and we discussed the upcoming trip to the Lake Huron/Au Sable River area north of the "thumb" in the western section of lower Michigan....hopefully we will get a good rate at the Blue Horizon in Oscoda...a perfect spot, not much crowd that time of the year..Summer is over, the fishing season is winding down, weather turning colder, and the hunters are still a few days away from Deer Gun Season, which begins for two runs, starting November 15th, ending on the 24th,  with the 'second' season on November 29th and 30th...so no crowds to deal with is the perfect time to try our luck.  Of course in case the fish aren't biting(like last year), we will take a supply of beer, Drambuie, and hand rolled Cigars...just in case, you know?

The rest of this week looks busy...at least football wise:  Tonight an 8th grade game, with undefeated Wayne Trace hosting Hicksville.  Then Thursday a night game in Celina with it's 7th grade team having their annual season ending Night Game at the Stadium against Elida.  Friday I'm with Garry's crew, filling in at Head Linesman for a game at Hicksville, against Green Meadow opponent Holgate.  Saturday JV at Spencerville in the morning, and so far it appears that Sunday, Sam and I will work a Tournament Game in the Rec League here in Celina.  Next week games get more sporadic, then things crawl to a halt for me, as I get ready for the Michigan trip....Dartball begins in early November, and then Basketball Scrimmages kick off after Patricia and my annual pre Thanksgiving trip to Wisconsin to see her folks.  Time does indeed fly.

Glancing at other things going on.....

The Atlanta Braves, much like the Reds, had their season end at home last night, with San Francisco coming away with a 3 games to 1 taking of the Division Series.  The Giants will now travel to Philadelphia to play the Phillies starting Saturday.   My guess is the Phils will take this one in 5 or 6 games....meanwhile Tampa Bay will try to complete their improbable comeback in Florida tonight.  Losing the first 2 games at home, the Rays took the next 2 in Texas and now will face the Rangers again tonight, with the winner taking on the Yankees in the AL Playoffs.

Looks like the Shine is off the great Bret Favre....it seems he should have retired with grace, not only did his Vikings fall to 1 win 3 loses on the season, it now appears Bret has some sexual text message "issues":

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-vikings-favre
As they say, no fool like an "Old Fool"...a damn old fool in Favre's case....he should have stayed in Green Bay, out of the limelight, and retired a hero...now is seems he's the next "victim" of the media building you up, so they can tear you down....that's what happens when you try to get close to a media whore Brett...sorry about your luck(not really).  She's looking for a payday Bret, and you are going to be her "Sugar Daddy".

In other news...The Obummer and his Democratic Cronies are diving for cover while the November 2nd Avalanche is nearing, and it appears there is no escape.  The House of Representatives is likely to go into the hands of the GOP, and the Senate may as well....even if they don't, the shine is off King Barry, and his ability to govern is going to be handicapped come January...who says there isn't a higher power?   Obama's rats are abandoning his sinking ship in record numbers, and even the stupid middle-of-the-road "moderates" who put this fool in office are heading to the right.....The Non-Bias "Real Clear Politics" site takes into account all polls, even those like Bloomberg and Newsweek lap dogs for Obama and Company...the numbers don't lie, the Dems are in deep dung:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/elections/

The big question is...if and when the Republicans take charge, will they govern as Conservatives, or go back to their Big Spending RINO(Republicans in Name Only) ways?  Time will tell.....

Enough Clutter Cleaning for this round...

back later>>>>

Photos-All from Nick and my trip to Oscoda last fall...the Salmon, unlike our great year in 2008, were not to be ours...but the Blue Horizon was a great find and we plan on hitching our horses there again this time around.  (1) Nick left, me on the right, on our first night at the Blue Horizon, cigars and a bottle of Drambuie got the fishing trip off on the right foot.  Looking out over Lake Huron and the Beach on a Sunday Sunrise, The Foote Dam, our fishing stop...we always fish there for a few hours at least each trip...no luck last year.  And finally our cottage a 25 yard walk to the beach....and you should have retired in Green Bay Bret....

Cigars, Smoke Rings, and "The(Cincinnati) Reds is Dead"

Bye-Bye-Cincinnati___

The professional baseball season, for all worthwhile  purposes came crashing to an end for this fan last evening...as the Cincinnati Reds were swept out of the National League Playoffs by the 2 time defending NL Champion Philadelphia  Phillies.  3 games to none, without much of a whimper...no hit last Wednesday, error prone loss on Friday, and the top hitting team and top defensive team in the National League got little hitting and another costly error in last nights 2-0 lost in Cincy to put the Reds season at rest.

We Reds fans should, I guess, take solice that they are young, with a bright young pitching staff and some up and coming players....hopefully they will be able to build on this season...after all it was the first time in years that Reds fans were actually paying attention after July 4th...Cincinnati is usually hopelessly out of the race by then.  So it's wait until next year....only this time, we actually have something to look forward to.

Sam, home from Ohio State(who kicked ass on an over matched Indiana team Saturday to take over #1 in the polls after Alabama was ambushed at South Carolina), after working the video for the Buckeye-Indiana game, and I worked the last regular season football double header in the area Recreation League....and headed home for supper.  Then I grabbed more than a couple of beers, a couple of hand rolled torpedo cigars and plopped myself out on the back steps.  I had decided to not watch the Reds and Phils battle, I would catch most of it on radio, by far the best medium for baseball...good broadcasters can paint a picture in your mind...so who needs the yapping lap dogs of WTBS telling you what you can already see?  I'd much rather listen to long time Hall of Fame Broadcaster Marty Brennaman of the Reds.  Marty has been pretty negative the past few years, but with the sad state of the Reds until this year, who can blame him?  He's still one of the best...so it was me, the radio, cigars, and a few beers last night...after all I was sore as Hell after 3 1/2 hours of football officiating, and needed some sort of support group.  Cigars and Miller Lite seemed to be that, and after the Reds fell behind in the first inning...they would come in handy.

Smoke Rings____

I never have been a cigarette smoker, nasty things.  I've watched them kill off and ruin the health of more people, friend, and family,  than I could count...and I watch in amazement at the dumbass young folks who still get hooked the expensive things these days.  Absolutely no reason on this green earth to get hooked on the poison that is contained in those things that cost $5 and more a pack.  Cigars, on the other hand, are something else...now don't get me wrong, I don't claim that Cigars are "safe" or healthy for you...but neither do the have the poisons that are included in their nasty little brothers.  For one, you don't inhale Cigars(unless you're a damn fool), and how many does a person really smoke?  I may partake in an average of 1 per week through out the year...50 to 75 tops...and I only smoke them in the warm weather months, and on our annual Salmon Fishing Trip to Oscoda, Michigan, I may smoke a handful.

So even though I'm not a smoker per say, I have learned to blow "smoke rings"...guess that's how bored I was with listening to the Reds get swept out of the playoffs last night...so Cigar in left hand, camera in right, I decided to see if I could get some "flash" shots of a cigar ring or two.  The results are in the top photos...not some of my best work...but hey, I was about 4 beers and 2 cigars into the evening when I decided to become "Rembrandt" with a camera and cigar.

So that finished off the weekend, which included a 75 mile(each way) trip north to West Unity, Ohio, to officiate a JV Football game on Saturday morning...beautiful weather through the weekend, which will continue today with another summer like day in the mid 80s with bright, intense, sunshine...after that the sun will stick around for the next 2 weeks they say, just a shower or two in the forecast mid week..but temps will drop to the more October-like mid 60s by Thursday.  Today a MRSI Board Meeting, then will help out with daughter Anissa this afternoon...JV game here in Celina was cancelled due to injuries in the whipping they got a Kenton Friday night.  The young Bulldogs were down by 38-0 at the end of the first quarter, en route to a 58-14 loss.  Celina falls into a tie with the Wildcats for first in the WBL...but with a 5 win 2 loss record overall, this team is much farther along than anybody could have predicted.

For the most part, I have a busy week of football on tap, including games on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday Night, Saturday Morning, and a Rec League Double Dip in tournament play on Sunday.....after that, things will begin to wind down, and I can get ready for Basketball season and Winter....not sure I'm really ready for either.  But come they will...and I will get my legs in shape for a different sport yet again.

back later>>>>

Photos-Smoke rings from my 1876 Torpedo, while listening to the Reds season come to an end....and the Celina Bulldogs Cinderella season struck Midnight...now the young Dogs will need to regroup, still tied for first in the WBL.

Cell Phones, Grills, Sunflowers, Monarchs, Football, Beer, and Cigars....

The title about sums up my weekend.....

Except for the Cell Phone, and that took place this morning....My 2nd AT&T Phone, by Nokia, has lasted me three and 1/2 years, without a hitch...no battery replacement, no problems....until I left it in my PJs this morning and it got washed!  That was the end of it.  So Patricia and I headed up to the store and looked for a new one for me....finally decided on one, another Nokia, that is somewhat like the drowned one....I guess I should feel lucky, since the boys usually go through 2 or 3 a year...this is only the 3rd one since I retired in 2002 and considering I traveled the country for 5 years, to having never lost or destroyed one...I hate to lose the phone, but w-t-h, sheet happens!

Saturday, Sam and I headed to Lima Shawnee for a 5 hour State Interpretation Meeting for the upcoming football season....$20 for a chance to cover the required meeting, plus breakfast, drinks, and door prizes...not a bad deal.  Some of the meeting material was well worth the time.  My first scrimmage is August 20th...and with the heat and humidity building for the next week or so, I'm glad I didn't take any sooner.

When that was completed, I pretty much planted myself in the back yard for the rest of the weekend....way to many beers, to many cigars, and not enough exercise....Nick stopped by Saturday night, and we downed a few and smoked a couple of Free Cuba hand rolleds.

Yesterday I was grilling pork steaks, and with the fire hotter than eternal Hell, I noticed the glass window on the grill exploded....thus ruining the steaks...damn!  Patricia headed back to the store while I cleaned up the mess...window or no window on the aging grill, we were going to BBQ....

She got back with the resupply,  and I fixed burgers, chicken, and more pork steaks....they came out fine, and mine went well with more beer....looks like next summer, I'll be investing in a new grill.... however, the old windowless one will do for now....it is still serviceable.

Yesterday while grilling, listening to the First Place Reds sweep the Cubbies, and downing some Miller Lites, I got a chance to check out how my 4 varieties of Sunflowers were doing.  I had planted 5 types, but only 4 have shown thus far....still waiting for the "puffy' variety...not sure if they will make it, but the rest, Mammoth, Moonwalkers, Evening Shade, and Mexicans, are going great guns...I guess I should say five are going great, because the one large Wild Stalk that a bird or something dropped along the fence line, produced 30 flowers....plenty of seeds for the varmints are on the way for this fall and winter.

I did get a chance to click some photos, including one of a Monarch Butterfly that had landed on the Mexicans.....some are included here.

Meanwhile my hand rolled cigar stash took a hit....and I may have put a dent in the Miller Lite and Guinness Extra Stout supply in the local stores...

A couple of meetings today, Mercer Residential and MacOnline gang....soooooooo I'll be back later>>>>

Photos-All taken in the backyard yesterday afternoon....A Monarch Butterfly hangs out with the "Mexicans"....the "Moonwalkers" have taken flight, and one of the Evening Shade Sunflowers  in all it's glory....

Green, Green,

Awoke this morning to a strong northeast wind, a mix of clouds/sun, and cool temperatures...something you would expect for late April. The clouds that had brought the weekend rains, finally broke up in mid afternoon yesterday, but not before depositing a few more drops, and cancelling the scheduled baseball games in the area....mine at Fort Jennings was moved to May 14th. As luck of the schedule would have it, I have FJ at Spencerville on the schedule for tonight...will the wind and sun dry things off in time to play that NWC game? Maybe.

I had planned on mowing both our and Mom's yards today...but after a quick trip outside and to the bank....I may or may not get that done...the yards are drying, but I'm not a big fan of mowing in cold weather, and trust me, with the wind...it does feel a bit like March....I may wait for warmer temperatures tomorrow.


The rains, which we had been lacking for a couple of weeks, did do one thing...they greened up the grass big time....once the sun came out yesterday afternoon, The Airedale Reagan, and I headed out to the back yard....I poured a Guinness Extra Stout, and fired up a torpedo...and enjoyed those and the moderate temps. I snapped a couple of photos, of me, Reagan, and the bright green backyard...amazing how a month changes things in nature.
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While we await the outcome of youngest son Hal's interview at an area High School, confident that whether he gets this job or not, that he is indeed working in this Obama Depression(both the economy and state of mind)...and things are working out for him. Meanwhile, oldest son Sam, entering his Junior year at Ohio State at the ripe old age of 28, will be doing his own interview for a summer internship this afternoon at Springfield, Ohio. Sam, who headed back to school after the bottom dropped out of the economy and the Recreational Vehicle business, is majoring in Actuarial Science, and has been a regular on the Dean's List at OSU, with grades in the 3.7(out of 4.0) range. Actuarial Science is closely aligned with the Insurance business and the rates they use and charge...takes Math skills, which both sons were blessed with, unlike their old man....I may have majored in the Biological Sciences...but I never claimed to be an expert, not even close...even after 20 years working in the Environmental Health field. I was always more comfortable behind the radio microphone, home plate, or serving up drinks in the local pubs.


I can say that despite 20 years at the 2 Health Departments I have worked, or faked working at a variety of occupations....Even while in the Environmental Health Field, I was always working doing something else as well...whether it be radio, cable TV, or sports officiating. Since my retirement from EH, I have worked a variety of part time jobs, including the 5+ year stint driving RVs across the country....and with something else in the works, I may add another "occupation" to that list.


Time for a 3rd cup of coffee, and then decide if I will mow, 1, 2, or zero, yards today...before the game at 5pm.


back later>>>>>

Photos-Me, with a pint of Guinness Extra Stout in hand and Cigar, and Reagan were out in the greening back yard yesterday, after the clouds parted.

The Bucket List/Runs Rule!

It was sunny and cool for most of the weekend...cool meaning temps in the mid 50s, just a tad lower than normal...but right in the range we can expect this time of year. It was windy but dry on Saturday when Sam and I did our first game of the year together...Sam did the plate, and I stood out in the wind(right in the face) on the bases...a pretty non-eventful game, with homestanding Lincolnview winning in routine fashion by a 14-5 tally over Waynesfield-Goshen. This got me to thinking just how many runners I had seen cross the plate in the 9 days and 10 games that I had umpired since the previous Friday...Drum Roll Please:

188 Runs!!!!

Now, we're not talking Slow Pitch Softball, Little League Baseball, or Tee Ball, we are talking 18.8 runs per game for High School Varsity Baseball(with the exception of 3 games in the JV ranks from the previous Saturday's Triple Header)...I'm not sure I have seen that kind of scoring in the last decade or so since I re-entered the umpiring ranks. Winds blowing out, dry weather causing pitching staffs to be a little worn out may have contributed to the high scores...but regardless, it made for long games and worn out baseballs....

Tonight Garry and I head for Lima Central Catholic...this will be my 3rd visit there this season with 1 more to go...and it's Garry's turn at the dish(home plate), when we work again this Friday in a MAC League game at Marion Local, I will go behind the plate.....Varsity game at Van Wert, a rare Jr High game(first one in 8 seasons and only one that I scheduled this season) at Lima Perry, and my longest trip of the year to Hilltop High School at West Unity, Ohio(some 75 miles north) will fill out the middle of my baseball work week.

The Bucket List_____

A term used for folks reaching towards the end of life, making a list of things they would like to do or accomplish before they "check out", assume room temperature, croak, etc...A couple of years ago, there was a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman by the same name....2 old farts running around trying to see what they could accomplish before time ran out.

Now, I'm 61 and have no issues that say I'm checking out anytime soon...but hey, you never know? Anyway on one of the websites I frequent on occasion the Bucket List thing came up with some younger folks giving their opinions what they would like to do before the Grim Reaper came calling....most of the things were of a simple nature...as the senior member of this 40 or so person website, I listed mine...some serious, some not, and some just plain BS....here is what I listed that I wanted to see happen before "He" comes a calling:

(1) Live long enough to see Obama and family evicted from our White House....the SOB needs to know, he and Queen Michelle are only there temporarily...we Americans own the place...so when we throw your sorry ass out, get out, and stay out!

(2) Outlive Bill Clinton....has anybody seen that Hillbilly of late? He looks like he has AIDS....having said that I hope he lives until he's 95....

(3) See Noker(one of the younger posters, and a Obama loving far left loon, but a good kid) realize that Liberals are the scum of the earth...and see him driving a new Toyota Pick Up Truck with a Palin For President 2016 Bumper Sticker on it....(Noker loves the UAW and American Made Cars, can't stand Sarah).

(4) See Duke win another NCAA Basketball Championship, just to piss off the Duke haters...

(5) Find the perfect beer.....Guinness Double Stout and Sam Adams Winter Larger are as close as it comes.....I gotta believe there is even something better out there.

(6) Find the perfect hand rolled Cigar....Arturo Fuente Don Carlos #2 Torpedoes are great, but at $11 a smoke, I hope to find something more in my cash out range.

(7) See the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Flyers, and Cincinnati Bengals, win another(or in the Bengals case, a first) World Championship....only because I figure that will take at least 40 years, and that will make me 101....

Sounds like a plan!

Back Later >>>>>

The Bucket List, some of the items, on mine!

Projects On the Horizon....The Basement and Garage

Dartball last night...I came away with 4 for 10 to hold my average at .429, a drop of just a point from last week's .430...couple of triples and the same amount of RBIs....strange thing was, we stunk as a team, but managed to come away with 3 low scoring wins. This puts us at 4-2 and tied for 1st in the South Division in the second half of the season. Next week we face our old nemesis Mouth Carmel, who, like us, has a 4-2 2nd half record....I'll miss part of that series due to basketball, but Sam should be home for a day, due to MLK Day, and he can pick up the slack.

Basketball tonight, a Junior High double header at Waynesfield...some 35 miles to the east....then tomorrow morning it's my 6 month check up at the Doc's office in Minster. It will be interesting to see what the 20 pound weight loss over the past 4 months, has done to my BP and sugar levels. Still a ways to go on the weight loss, but the Holiday Season was not the disaster it has been in the past, as my pounds lost stayed off....now I can get back to losing the final 8 or 9 pounds, and see how things work out.Projects needing done____

Patricia and I had discussed cleaning the basement and garage of the collection of "stuff" we have accumulated over the past 30 years, since our first child was born....I'm sure anybody that has been together for more than a few years, would marvel at the amount of things, useful, and useless, they have accumulated.

We have a large deep 2 car garage...Patricia still parks her van in it during the winter months...I have room on "my half" for a vehicle, but this winter have chose to keep the Buick{with cover}, the Jeep, and the Intrepid, all outside....giving me time to take stock in what I need to get rid of, either by selling or tossing, and what to keep.

Meanwhile down in the basement, another collection awaits. The basement is unfinished...and looks today much like it did in 1923 when the First Church of God built the dwelling as a Parsonage for the Pastors that would serve it's church for the next 65 years, before they picked up stakes and built a new Church on the northwest side of Celina. We are the second owners of the old Parsonage since it was sold...purchasing it in 1995. The basement is under 80% of the house, the exception being the kitchen area, which was added in 1944....that has a large crawl space under it.

Although technically "unfinished", the basement houses my shower, a TV and Cable hookup, the Food and "survival" storage area, weight room, antiques from my Grandmother's place, and my clothes, cigars, and sports official equipment....it gets used to say the least. But it still has plenty of "stuff" that has to go. With the boys and Anissa moved out, more or less{Anissa home at least once a week, and Sam still residing here when Ohio State is out of session}...we have to figure out what to do with their "stuff" Most of Hal's is in the garage...and he can't take it to his apartment, just not enough room, meanwhile Sam's goods are in his bedroom, and the basement...so the logistics still remain to be worked out...but worked out they will be, by hook or crook.

Thus the projects that need to be taken care of before Spring has Sprung....The work in the basement has begun, the garage will wait until the ice melts....I'm not doing much in the unheated garage this time of year. Hopefully by the time Fall 2010 comes around...the photos you see, will show a lot less clutter.

Back Later>>>>

Photos-"Project Clear The Clutter"...Top-The Cigars will remain, but not sure what else will be kept in the basement and garage or sold or tossed....as you can see, much needs to be done, and many decisions to be made....Stayed Tuned!