Game on

As some of you know, we've had weekly family breakfasts for over a year now. On saturday mornings my kids and grandkids all come over to the house (and sometimes special guests) for breakfast. We've had as many as 14 for this gathering...

A quick aside....

My daughter's (#1) marriage has broken up, my son-in-law already has a new girlfriend - someone he met at work. Now of course, there were all of the assurances that this woman had nothing to do with the breakup, but I was born at night, not last night. But whatever.

Things weren't going very well for them for some time, so I don't view it with anything but some sadness. I do however, think my daughter will be better for it, as well as the grandkids.

So, daughter #1 and the grandkids are moving back into my house. And it's been an adjustment for Patti and I, we were empty nesters for about 6 months or so. And we were good at it!

But it's pretty cool having our daughter and the grandkids around - good kids all! But I digress...

We suspended the weekly breakfasts for the month of October so Patti and I could get the house ready. Moving our office (nice while it lasted) and making it the kids room, and converting our guest room into a room for our daughter. Plus the actual moving of all her crap!

So this saturday is the return of the weekly breakfast. And this news was received pretty enthusiastically by all.

I miss the breakfasts, they are a lot of work for me (the cook!), but I really don't mind. It really has changed our family dynamic. We're all much closer and meeting every week, just for an hour or so, it has really made a difference.

I hope most of you can conjure up an excellent family time, perhaps over Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. Well, that's what it's like for us. A lot of laughing, talking, the kids running around - good stuff. The best part is we don't have to wait a whole year in between!

Two stratas on deck for saturday - (kinda like a casserole) plus fresh fruit (always!), juice and coffee....
mmmmmmm.... breakfast......
m.

fear and loathing in the U.S.

I've thought for a long while now that the media's #1 mission has been to scare the shit out of us. Michael Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine' had quite a bit of insight on this phenomenon.

Now I can't stand Michael Moore, he is the worst kind of liberal douche bag, but he makes a valid point. Keep us scared and watching that tv for the latest idol.

And the fear being expressed both by Wall Street and our government is palpable. It all comes down to trusting their assessment of the situation.

I'm no economist, I would never profess to understand the underpinnings of our economy, let alone a global one.

So, where does that leave us?

The way I see it, it'll go one of two ways. We'll be hurt, a lot of people will suffer, but we'll continue on much the same way. Or, 2, the whole house of cards comes down.

Now, choice 2 is a scary proposition, and really, no one wants that, even if it is our comeuppance for our sins. (as an aside, yes OUR sins - yes, the banks acted in a predatory manner for their own gain, but a lot of people signed on the dotted line for those loans - there was greed all the way down the food chain)

So what if #2 becomes reality? I could worry at that for days, but really what can I do about it? Is there something I can do to affect the situation one way or the other? I can't think of anything.

I, for one, refuse to live in fear. Yes, I'll do what I've got to do to protect and provide my family, but I'm not going to make myself sick worrying about it.

Life is a messy business and challenges and threats to our well being come from everywhere, from troubles with your spouse and kids, your job etc. Now it's coming from a place we can't get our heads around, least I can't, and it seems to me the 'experts' don't know either.

What this boils down to is a threat to our lifestyles, not our lives. There is a lot of good in our families and communities, perhaps now we'll focus and nurture those things. It's time to help each other, our neighbors, our communities our towns and cities.

It's time for us to bail our government out, not because they deserve it, but because we do. The government has lost it's heart and soul and we as a people need to give it a bailout of a different kind. It's time to serve each other not for personal gain, but for each other - for the greater good that is this nation. The government has lost it's heart - we need to give it some of ours.

I believe we can make our lives richer than our possessions, but only if we remember who we are and what we are - husbands, wives, families, communities and especially- Americans.

The rest is just stuff.
m.

ok, I've had better moments

Rough night last night.

Ol' Ike rolled through the night before last and we had some damage on the 100 year old tree in front of my house. A couple of branches came down, including one that got caught up in other branches on its way down.

Now I like to think I'm a reasonably intelligent guy. I'm a system analyst, I write code all day long in a cubicle.

But dumbassery plauges us all, and last night I proved that point.

The branch that was caught up, was (of course), just out of my grasp. I'm 5'4" tall, so most of them are out of my grasp.! So I got a step ladder. Not a big one, maybe a 5 footer or so. And I still couldn't reach it. So, I got a rake, thinking I just need to hook it over the branch and break it
free. But it wouldn't budge! It had really wedged itself in the other branches.

So I was out there, 3 steps or so up the ladder pulling on the rake that I had caught the fallen branch on. That thing was caught up good, so during the pulling and shaking, I had gotten it to move a bit, 'one more pull ought to do it'....

The branch rebounded, pulling me off of the ladder and we all went tumbling down. (I fought the tree, and the tree won!) Me, the ladder, and the rake. (the branch is STILL there). The ladder was on my front sidewalk, I had kicked that to the right, the rake and I went down together. I landed awkwardly on my left wrist, but I got right up and commenced pulling on it some more.

Then it started to hurt and I figured that was enough for one night. I mean, how stupid was that? The only thing I could have done worse was to wear rollerblades while attempting all that. Pretty stupid move for a 'smart' guy.

I went in the house, and took stock. After about 15 minutes or so, I had a golf ball size lump on the back of my forearm and my left hand was really aching.

Off to the emergency room for x-rays! I was pretty sure I broke or at least fractured something. After only about 2 1/2 hours I was done. No break but a sizable 'hemotoma' on my forearm.

Really, it looks a LOT better this morning than last night. I iced it down three times (per the emer. room dr.) and the swelling is greatly reduced. Pretty sore today though....

My kids laughed their asses off! And everytime Patti told one of the kids, they were aghast at dad's stupidity.

Patti ALWAYS laughs when I get hurt. (especially self-inflicted stupidity!) It's a nervous kind of laughter and always is curious to me. The worse I'm hurt, the harder she laughs. She was pretty shook up - she actually saw me fall. She didn't laugh then, but when I showed her my forearm she started to giggle.

Actually, I can use that to gauge the seriousness of injuries. The harder she laughs, the more I should be concerned I guess....

The kids got a pretty good laugh out of it all and I'm a bit embarrassed and sore.

But it could have been much, much worse.

Consider me humbled!
m.

Confessions of an old concert goer

On thursday's every summer my most excellent home town, Buffalo, NY has 'Thursday in the Square'.

For the last 22 years there have been free concerts in one of the city squares downtown.

I haven't gone down to one of these in quite a few years. Firstly, you're likely to stand for the event, which is cool, but you have to get there early if you'd like a place near the bandstand, so you're looking at 5 hours worth or so. I tend to see bands now where I'm sure I can get a seat, I think my 'festival seating' days are over. Secondly, there really haven't had anyone come to the series that I HAD to see.

Now I love to see live bands, always have. I've played in bands since I was 19, and had the good fortune of hooking up with some talented, creative people over the years. I played every bar in this town that hosted bands. (as well as Toronto, Rochester, and NYC)

I was never in a cover or wedding band, always original music which is fun, challenging and really suits me as a player. I was never uber talented, I just worked hard at it, and at the end of the day I think I'm a really good rhythm (I spelled that about 40 times wrong, btw...) guitar player. I can play simple lead stuff, but I will never be a 'shredder', but I digress.

Last night Patti and I made the trip down to see Big Head Todd and the Monsters.

BHTM has never really made it big, but they're a really solid working band. They were on the big list of bands we like that we never got to see and we've been fans since the early '90's. The last time they came to Buffalo, they were part of a street festival thing with a bunch of bands. You know, one of those all day things. Anyhow, we passed on it then, so when we had a chance to see them - for free no less - we did the thing. (based in Colorado, they don't make it east all that much...)

I think it's been 3 - 5 years since we checked out a concert in the square (Amiee Mann or Ben Folds - not sure of the chronology - both AMAZING btw). We got there early and actually found a place along a stone wall to sit!!! (ok, stone wall - not super comfortable, but better than standing). The first thing I noticed was 2 block long beer tents! There have been some changes. They always served beer, but this was mass production beer for the masses. There are also tents selling pizza, beef on weck, etc.

The crowd trended a bit older than I expected, and by the end of it there were a LOT of drunken people there. I was kinda surprised at how many. We had a pretty good fight happen right behind us (over a girl/woman) and a couple of falling down drunks escorted by security. It looked to me that for a good percentage of the attendees that the beer was what brought them downtown. And beer up they did. I don't mind a few cokes myself, but I find the slurring/staggering drunk thing unpleasant, and there were more than a few....

Anyhow...

The crowd was pretty thin up until the end of the opening act (they were given a glowing review in the paper this morning - I expect the reviewer had been in the beer tent). They were a blues outfit, but I didn't think they were anything special. The lead singer/guitar player tuned (audibly) between EVERY SONG!!! (sometimes during!) Drove me up a wall. (Geez man, get a tuner that mutes so we don't have to hear you plinkin' away)

Big Head Todd threw down a really great show. You can tell when a band has been playing together for a long time. Very tight, very good band. They totally deliver. We're fans so we knew nearly every song and they did a great job. Go see these guys if you can - good fun.

I'm draggin' ass a bit today, in a good way....
m.

kitchen gadgets

As some of you know, I'm the cook in the house. Patti just doesn't like to cook, and I quite enjoy it.

I've done all the cooking since we've been together (25 years now).

Being a guy, I have tool acquisition syndrome. This spills into my kitchen stuff.

First, a few prerequisites.

1) Easy to store.
Especially if it is a minor appliance or something I'm not going to use too often.
2) Easy to clean. We've NEVER had a dishwasher. (I am the dishwasher, although Patti helps with this periodically).
3) Useful in a daily sort of way.
Not everything I've got fits in this category. My mortar and pestle for instance. I don't use it super often, but when you need one, there is no substitute.

I have a couple of favorites:
1) Bagel guillotine. Amazing product. I think the first time I saw one was on TV (the OC I think - my wife and daughter #3 were fans). If you do the bagel thang, it's a must have. Bagels are a Sunday morning thing at the house. I run to Manhattan Bagel - best in Buffalo - and pick up a 1/2 dozen (or so). The guillotine is getting kinda old now though. It's becoming more of a bagel folder than a guillotine these days.
2) Pampered Chef's Cheese grater. Comes with a soft and hard cheese 'wheel'. I'm surprised just how often I use this thing. I've had it for years and I probably use it several times a week.
3) Flexible spatula. It took me a while to find this, (Ikea!), but a spatula that is thin and flexes. Perfect for turning eggs.
4) Pampered Chef's Garlic press - We LOVE garlic. This is an excellent press with a cleaning tool. (If you've ever left one sit before you get to cleaning it, you know what a pain getting these clean is...)
5) Not a 'gadget' per se, but my All-Clad cookware. I lusted after a set of these for at least a decade. They are expensive, but totally worth it. I've had them for nearly two years and often I think how they make a difference. I have the plain aluminum, I don't like non-stick cookware...
6) My cast iron skillet. Heavy mo fo but 'the' tool for the job when making home fries or potatoes anna (holy crap these are excellent!!!) - sometimes old school is the best.


m.

counting it down again

ok, just 3 and 1/2 days left...

And another week of vacation is here!!! whooohoooo!!!!!

Yes, I know, I just had one. (like a month ago)

And I worked my ass off.

This one, is just for fun. We're gonna do what we want, when we want. Or not. Patti and I are really good at doing very little! Patti can be reading, I'll be puttering around the house. It works for us.

We are watching the grandkids for a couple days, shouldn't be a big deal. Daughter #1 is going to North Carolina to visit some friends. Other than a couple of little projects (self imposed and if they get blown off it'll be no surprise)

I want to build a mirror for our upstairs hall. I've considered using maple, but I think I'm going to go with oak or mahogany. Simple clean design, shaker-ish. Both would look good, it kinda depends on how dark Patti wants the finished product.

But that's really it.

Daughter #3 returns to school for another year of pharmacy grad school. (2 of 4)I think she misses her friends and her apartment. And I think she really enjoys living alone. It's been really nice having her around, and we'll miss and worry about her when she leaves, but it's what she needs to do. Next year this time, she'll be half way through, one more year academics, 1 year internship/rotations. Then she'll be out in the world a PharmD. Man, I am so proud of that kid.

ah, summer....
m.

so that makes me...

My eldest gransdon turns 8 this friday. Eight! Holy shit!!!

It's times like these how early Patti and I started our family. When we went to my 20th HS reunion, we had all high school age kids. Mostly, there were toddlers to 7/8 year olds everywhere. Seemed strange then, seems strange now.

He presented us with a list of items he wants for his birthday last saturday. I didn't total it up, but it is easily in the $1000.00 + range.

But that's cool. It's a good thing to know what you want I guess. This is the same grandson that asked for an iPhone last Christmas.

He's very tuned into pop culture. Watches waaaaaaay too much TV and is a bit of a class clown. It makes sense to me that he'd like to live on the bleeding edge of technology. I think he sees (as many people do, not just kids) that owning the latest gadget gives you some cache. He's kinda arty, not very sporty. He plays soccer, Patti and I went to a recent game, but his heart isn't in it. He's remarkably like my son #2, who is finishing his masters this school year in conducting. He's very popular at school and has a bit of his mom's free spirit in him. I like him a lot (of course, I love him too, but I like who he is, ya know?)

Surprisingly, he hasn't got the cell phone yet, but it's only a matter of time. I went to a taco joint for lunch yesterday and there were a couple of kids in there that couldn't have been older than 8 or so and they both had cell phones. Weird.

Our saturday breakfast is going to be a birthday celebration for him, with presentation of the 'big gift'. Should be a lot of fun!

So happy birthday grandson #1!!!!

m.