Sunday Morning Smoke

Next to a good bowl of chillie, Pizza is one of my all time favorites !

MY favorite veggie !!!!

Good morning, it is a COLD wintery day this is the 18th day of Jan 2009, it is snowing here in da Burgh & we have about 8 inches on the ground right now, we were in a deep freeze here the past week, SUB ZERO air temps & with the wind it was almost a Minus 25 , a lot warmer than sum place but a lot colder than we are accostomed to , lets face it if this is Globial warming , I am all for it hahahaha, the cold kills the virus & bacteria as well as some insects , the birds have the right idea , go south durning the winter, why should we stay here & freeze our Cannones off dammmm who said birds were DUMB, it is the human who is trying to out think nature, & it is the human who will get bit on the @$$ every time , no diss to the "bird brain" , they are smarter than we are !!!!!
Not a lot happened this past week, it has been to dammmm Cold to get out and do much, the shop has been busy but nothing major is happening this time of the year, the local econemy is in the tank , just like the rest of the world, sales are OK, but the big ticket items are sitting on the shelf & the bundle stuff is flying out of the store as well as the seconds, , I have been a big supporter of seconds but have stayed away from them at the shop as the supply is not always available in some brands & non existant in others , I have yet to find a true Fuente second anyplace ,,,,,,, BUT thewre are a lot of great bundle smokes out there & we have been selling a lot of them, my personal favorite is the Alcazar #1 , a BIG dark S.O.B. that pairs well with a dark beer & is some what OK with a cup O' Joe , But I still enjoy my Don Carlos #3 with coffee in the morning, it is just a part of my day , like waking up heading to the bathroom to get rid of all that coffee I drank last night ! hahahaha
Breakfast this morning was a single egg , a slice of bacon & a piece of toasted pumpernickle & an orange , I need a few more orange peels some lemon peel, grapefruit & lime peels, the still went hot this week & the annunial NOG & Grog at Alleghney Smoke works is this Saturday in Blawnox Pa , just a few miles NE of PittsBurgH & I am a few miles NW of da Burgh so it will be into town & back out of townnext saturday, I hope I finish the distilling before Thursday, it will need some time to "age" hahahahahaha , a few quarts of brandy with a little citrus kick , just what the doc ordered , in fact he wants 2 bottles this time hahahaha , I hope to get it all done before Tuesday , as the wife will get a little snip at the hospital Tuesday & will be flat on her back a few days , Nothing major , but she is way Uptight , I tell her dont worry, your insurance is all paid up !!!!! , this is the same operation that almost made her a widow a few years ago, we have both had gastric by pass, & I had a TON of hanging skin on the belly ( over 13 pounds of skin was removed) well I was having it done as an out patient & had the BIG CUT at noon & was sent home by 6 PM, well I bled out all night & in the morning my scrotum was like a vollyball BUT it was the greatest color of Purple I have ever seen, well the ambulance took me back to the hospital & I was given 9 pints of blood over the next few days , now she saw how close I was & now she is worried, well her fold of skin is some what smaller than mine was & she has the same doc, I did & he knows she is worried, & hopes to keep her over night & not send her home like he did with me that fast, But she is so uptight about it .............. I think she is worried about who will clean the snow & the so the laundry & all that BS, hey just sit back & relax, take a nap , GOD put the snow here, let GOD get rid of it! , it will get warm in a few months & it will melt, till then there is SALT ! ..................... today I will be making a pot of VEAL stew , I was rearranging stuff in the freezer the other day & I found a small package of veal stew meat in the freezer, its been there since August! , but no freezer burn so it is getting cooked today , I will have a little red pepper ,onion & garlic a little chicken stock & what ever root veggies are in the chill chest , there is a loaf of french bread dough in the freezer that needs baked , today just might be the day for it, , , with the snow comming down , it will be nice to have the oven ON ! , the trees are just Fantastic, I wish I had a camera to put the photos on the web, but I havent figured out how to get my OLD aged Nikon 35mm Film camera to take photos direct to the computer hahahahahaha ...................... & since I still havent bought a cell phone & moved into the 20th century , let alone the 21st hahahaha , yea thats right I dont have a cell phone !! I dont need one or want one, my wife knows if I am not at home I am at the shop, there is a land line there, & an answeing machine, , good enough for me, I have come close to many times of being hit by some @$$hole talking on the cell phone for me to want to be one of them myself, anyhow there are some times I just dont want to talk to anyone, or be found anyplace, & texting, WTF, if you want to tell some one some thing TALK to them ...........
the boys were sort of Low key this week, there was no school Friday we had an air temp of Minus 10 over night so the schools canceled, dammmmm whimps we never had a day off because it was cold, I do remember one day all the busses had flat tires , a weekend prank removing all the stems from the tires , then they put up a fence , OH well that was a fun time hahahahaha , Not that I had anything to do with it , personally I think it was a labor union action to force the school board into a raise for the drivers ,,,, Yea thats it a union problem hahahahaha !!!!
today is the Championship game between the Steelers & the Ravens , I have no predictions other than who ever wins today will beat who ever they play in the super bowl !!!!!!! an all Pa super bowl would be nice, Pittsburgh VS Philly in Fla . but I dont plan on heading south for the game ,I will have a football pool at the shop for the super bowl but I dont know if I will be watching it ............... I might find some thing else to do !.
Enjoy, Vince

dammmm age this stff?? I dont think I have anything strong enough to hold it if it explodes hahahahaha should end up with 6 or 7 bottles if I mike a light head & tail cut on the next batch through the still. , I like the stuff with a little citrus peel flavoring & I dont do that till I am happy with the last run, the color & proof are not importaint , I go for the taste, the color is always as clear as glass, & the proof well who cares as long as it tastes good, with out a BURN, I want smoooooooth , & I get it the last little bit of citrus peel gives it a lot of flavor IMHO !! Enjoy, Vince

I sure hope so , it didnt help sales today !!!!

BUT I hope to ammend my info on my profile as da Burgh being the home of the 5 time super bowl champs, to the SIX time super bowl champs , we were the first to get 3 , the first to get 4 & now we stand 5wins & 1 loss in the big dance ............ some times I wonder why I gave up my season tickets, then I look out at the temp, & remember the FREEZING days & nights at 3 Rivers statium, & I know there is less cover at Hinze field , , so unless I get in one of the luxury boxes , I just stay in the Qtr.deck,smoke a few cigars , sip some single malt,drink some coffee & listen to jazz on the CD player & check the score on the evening News ! hahahaha
Enjoy, Vince

good evening it is tuesday , Jan 20 ,2009 , I didnt get much of a chance to see the goings on in Washingtopn DC today , My wife had a planned surgery for this morning, about 5.5 /6.0 punnds of skin were removed from the belly, she had a gastric by pass a few years ago just like I did, seams my talents in the kitchen affected (or is it Effected? ) us Both! She is now home sleeping in my tilt back chair, & I am being as quiet as I can as to not disturb her , she is disturbed enough & filled up on Percocet hahahaha ( hey 38 years with me who wouldnt be a little disturbed ) hahaha
since i dodnt have my seat in the living room, & cant watch TV anyhow, ( like there would be some thing to watch on that idiot box , I figured I might just as well get on this idiot box ! , with all the removal of the skin, she is Now without a belly button, , I Gotta check it out when the bandages come off ! , she did get a call from Both grandsons last night & went to bed before Letterman was over , up at 5 AM & back home by 1PM .............. dammmm cheep insurance companys, I pay almost $500 a month for health insurance & they say this is OUT PATIENT ............ BS !!!! well the next 24 hours will be closely watched , set the alarm for every 3 hours .... I sure hope i dont sleep through it ! , I will keep you all updated if anything happens ,,,,, Enjoy, Vince

Blushing bride hahahahaha .................. 38 years with me there is NOTHING she can be blushing about anymore ... she is feeling a little better , she did get a good amount of sleep, ate a little rice & veggies, with some veal, so she is feeling a lot better now, the percoset helps hahahaha !, I will keep you up to speed if anything changes !

Enjoy, Vince

Good morning , it is Sunday 25 Jan. 2009.............. it has been a COLD week here in da burgh but Friday it was about 40F , just enough to melt some of the snow & when it hit a low of 7F last night , yep it froze & we had an ice rink, EVERYPLACE I went , it was a lot of FUN let me tell you ! , still have all 4 fenders on the car, & no bruses on my Butt.............. How long will that last .... who knows ! Winter, it sucks, I remember when I was a kid, I loved going out in the snow, it was a money maker for me , shovel walks & driveways, , pile up snow & make a jump for the sleds, , , , snow forts , & dont forget the freezer full of snow balls for the 4th of July snowballl fight !!!!! , they were like rocks by then, but toss them in the pool at each other, it stung but it was Fun..................... Yep winter sucks when you get old, , I am reminded of a saying you dont stop playing when you get old, you just get old when you stop playing............. well I havent stopped playing YET, but I have changed the games a little ............ No more running after fly balls in the outfield , I have moved to first base, , No more deep pass routs, I moved in to tight end, , No more basketball , the knees just dont respond as well on that hard floor, soccer, well I never did understand it , all that running is for young kids , I have put the tennis racket away , & never did like Golf, , , hit the ball & chase it, not my idea of PLAYING, ....................Dominos, BRING it, , Black jack No problem, I can count to 21 if I pull down my zipper hahahahahaha , No more LOUD music, I just turn it up so I can hear it, hahahahaha , BUT I laugh my way to the back to cash that social security check every month ............. well it is direct deposit , but you get the idea, you know that Social security is a BIG Ponzy scheem, just like Madoff had going, but since the government runs it its OK, BS is all I have to say, I wish I had all that I put in to the social security system , Invested in stocks, Bonds & Mutiual funds , even with the 1.8 I lost with Michael Milken with the Junk Bonds & the 88K I had to pay Drexil, Burnam, & Lambert , when he put them out of business ..... dammmmm its only money , so now instead of being well off living in the Fla.Keys for the winter & back to the Burgh for the summer, I am stuck here all year ,nest egg gone still working , BUT the money i lost made some one happy for a short time , & since we are just here on this earth for a short time I hope they had FUN while it lasted, I have had my share of Fun, I am enjoying the grandsons , living my YOUTH all over again........ & again.................. & will till I am slid into the BIG BOX with 6 of my old friends hauling my formerly Fatt ass off to the Final rest at the creamatorium, put a bottle of scotch in the box with me, & a few fine cigars to carry me to the next life & I will be a happy man, ..... dammm I never know where this BS is going to take me or end up, one minute I am bitching about winter & them talking about the BIG Dirt nap, I just dont under stand to corelation .............. hey your the one sitting there reading this BS hahahaha, I just plink on the computer key board with my 2 index fingers & hope what ever comes out makes some sort of sence, or at lest some laughs here & there ..........
well lets get back to the BS at hand, Barb (wife & the Boss) is resting in the living room, she is feeling MUCH better , still has the 3 drains on her gut we empty them every few hours , the amounts have been all over the place , as much as 90CC & as small as 2CC , BP is fine but her heart rate is a little high , I get to PLAY with the rubber gloves & get to measure all the out put, Just like I did when I had this a few years ago, Now the roles are reversed , I am taking care of her, , some thing different arround her, I have always done the cooking & she has taken care of the grass & snow, it works for us, well Now I have to do the laundry, I was all set to tackle it Saturday , well when i got home from work Friday night , it was all done, she did it AGAINST the doctors orders, & mine to JUST TAKE IT EASY, well when I got home , it was all cleaned up & ready for a new week, she didnt trust me to fold & put anything away, I didnt get a chance to PLAY with the washer or the dryer, dammmmm I was looking fwd to that, hahahahahaha

things at the shop are a little slow as the weather is Cold & the econemy is down, BUT the STEELERS will be in the Super bowl AGAIN this year, 6 times to the Big dance, & 5 rings , , Now I wonder WHY I gave up my season tickets , well I look at the temp & remember, TO FRIGGING COLD , maybe if we were in a domed statium, BUT then it wouldnt BE PITTSBURGH ................. speaking of the way the ecomemy is headed, I think the bail out for the auto compayes 7 the backs was done all wrong, the Government gave money to the @$$holes who made the mess, My way would be Give it ( the money ) to the consumers & let the government MATCH us or give us a % of the selling price as a rebate , , lets just say the SUV market is in the toilet ( and it is ) well if you got a $15K rebate from Uncle Sam a Stimilus to the car company, they will sell more SUVS , the more they sell the more taxes they pay,. the more sales tax we pay, every one wins, the same with the bank, GIVE me matching funds or a Stimulis deposit in MY account, I spend the moey at the local level, & all the local business do better, they spend my money & the rest of the customers money at different places, in turn they buy other stuff, * it just GROWS, But if you give the MONEY to the corperations , they spend it on new carpets for the executive washrooms & there vacation homes out of the country, .............. Burgdoff Goodmans & Tiffanys will do OK but what about the little guys , the MOM & POP shops , the small family owned places , we keep the big corperations working, if we have the cash infushion at the local level it will work its way UP to the BIG guys sooner or later
Every one thinks Ronnie Reagen was the big mover behind trickle down economics, BUT it was JFK who first cut takes to the Big shots & inturn they SPENT a lot of money, things were in full swing, the treasury was a wash in money , when the tax rates are low people have more money to spend, & they Do, when taxes & intrust are High no one has any money to spend, you just cant tax your way to prosperity ! ............. dammmm I am on a roll today , Just cant type fast enough to keep up with the thoughts !
Saturday was the anniul NOG & GROG at Alleghney smoke works , in Blawnox Pa , we had a great time , sipped a little coffee, a little Hooch , smoked a few fine cigars, & bought a few for my self that I dont have in my shop., gotta try the stuff first, looks like I will be ordering some new stuff as soon as I can, LIKE MONDAY !
Since its Sunday & Cold outside, the oven will be on, POTROAST ........... again, dammmmm my wife is getting what she wants again, I wish she liked some thing else beside Beef, not that I( have anything against beef, I like mine char grilled rare, when she wants beef its well done in the oven, same critter, just a different cut............ , I was going to cook a little bit of chicken , BUT she wants the STANDARD so she gets it, easy to avoid a fight just give her what she wants ............. hen pecked, NO way not me, Pussy whipped, NO way not me , Smart, I cant stay awake all the time, I need to sleep some time, so I avoid any probles at all , & I can sleep safe .......
I havet had a chance to roast any coffee this week & was running low, so i had to BUY some all ready roasted, NOT BAD , But Not Great.. the brand will be nameless BUT I did get a little bit of roasted coffee from onne of the places I get my green coffee from & it was dammm good, ( thats for Home But the guys at the shop get the crap & Friday night , 5 pots of coffe at the shop & everone Bitched &, moaned about the NO Body, Flat taste , & other BS , & they were correct , well I hope I get some time to roast a little some time today .................. I hope I havent BORED you with my ramblings today, But some times you just got to VENT !
Enjoy, Vince

Good Morning , it is Sunday FEB.1 2009, where did the January thaw go ? , we never did see it here in da Burgh, snow & ice , what a mess, but now that is all behind us & we are g for the Groundhog on Monday to see or not see his shadow, , if he see'e his shadow we are in for 6 more weeks of winter, No shadow , an early spring, well no matter what the groundhog has to say, it will be a long time for the ice & snow all to melt & I cant complain to much or I will start to sound like my wife hahahaha , Good thing she never reads this stuff ! , well I talked her out of the hunk of beef today , I have some veal that will be getting the once over shortly, , a braised veal shank , some veggies & rice , , looks like a great meal for SUPERBOWL SUNDAY , dammmm I almost forgot today is the 7th time the steelers have been in the Super Bowl, 5 wins , one loss so far, today it will be the 6 time super bowl champs, I hope the final score is Pittsburgh 22 & the Cardinals 12 , I got the 2's on the football pool ! , well no matter how it turns out , no matter what the final score & who ever wins , I am sure it will be a great game, I dont think I will see much or any of it since I am still playing nurse to the boss, she had 2 of the 3 drains removed from her gut on Tuesday , No Thursday, & we go back next week to have the last one taken out, , right now she is driving me NUTZ , she isnt allowd to do much of anything , but she is tired of reading, tired of watching TV , tired of sitting when there is snow to clean & laundry to do, .......... the OCD isnt helping hahahaha . well I dumped 40 pounds of salt & 45 pounds of calicum on the drive way & side walks , & I still have a mess of BS melting & refreezing at the end of the drive way , to bad the drive is sloped down & not up, all the water runs down the drive , on to the sidewalk & then freezes all over again, , its like a hockey rink , with out the boards to keep you on the ice ! , I was thinking of adding a few gallons of gas or keroseen to the cement walks & setting them on fire, melting the snow & ice & letting the water run off in the grass, killing the grass then there is no need to cut it in the summer, hahahaha
I was at the Doc my self this week, I have a lump on my testical & the doc told me dont worry about it , unless it gets any bigger & starts to hurt MORE than it all ready has, ... dammmm I have 2 eye surgerys set, getting the cataracts removed, & that is a must asap, driving at night is getting tuff, I just hope this will help, but some of the other OLDFARTS who have had this done still tell me its tuff to drive at night , well I might just change my schedual & have some one drive me other than crazy hahahaha
for the first time in 2 weeks I have the heat on in the Qtr.Deck, I will be enjoying a fine old havana this first day of feb, with a big mug of Moca java ( the kona is all ready history this morning as well as the Don Carlos #3) , it looks like a partagas serie P torp will be next, & a casa fuente after the veal shank , later tonight I have a GOD OF FIRE by Carlito or by Don Carlos to pick from, hummmmm , I dont know for sure, but I have a great single malt to open , a full body Islay , maybe I might skip the GOF all to gether & just fire up a trippple maduro Camacho , dammmmm to much to pick from. Not much else happening in da burgh, the grandsons were off school a few days because of the weather, I dont under stand that, close the school on the idea it will be to cold for the kids to wait outside for the school buss, well I road the buss ( NO NOT THE SHORT ONE HAHAHAHA)school, & I remember one time the bus didnt show up & twice we had No school as all the busses were sitting on flat tires , so in my 12 years of public education I can remember 3 days of no school, but that was a long time ago & my memorie isnt as good as I hoped it would be, selective memorie like my hearing hahahahaha , well they just delay school start time by 2 hours & make the class time shorter, go to Gym class, change into the Gym clothes, , roll call , play 2 min. of basket ball, shower & to the next class, , it was a TUFF LIFE hahahaha thats about all I have today short & sweet , maybe I will get the mind working a little bit more later in the week ! , maybe NOT , Enjoy, Vince

its no problem seeing my side its plenty bright enough, I have problems with the oncomming headlights , just way to bright for me, , I dont mind the new High power headlights , its just the guys with the hihg beams, driving lights & fog lights all on at the same time comming at you like a 747 comming in for a landing !

I havent smoked to many 60 ring cigars, just to big for my dainty little mouth hahahaha
as far as the chili,,,,,,,,,,, I had a great bowl of venision chili , just enough Japelenos ! Enjoy, Vince

Good morning it is Sunday 8th of Feb. 2009........ a warm day here in da Burgh , after a few weeks of below zero temps it is 40F today with 15 to 20 MPH winds , still not sunbathing weather but no parka & sled dogs to get to work hahahaha , the ground is showing a little grass here & there , the snow & ice are slowly melting & what was frozen ground is now Slippery muddy bogs .............. the boss went to the doc & he still left one drain in her belly it is putting out about 50 CC's of fluid a day not a lot but still a pain to deal with.................. the boys have been low key all week as there other grandfather ( well step grandfather ) passed away , he has been sick a few years & just gave up after owning a local Pub from 1976 till a few months ago , he consumed 2 life times worth of Beer & booze, in the end it is what killed him, , he will be missed by a lot of brewerys & distillers, for not only what he sold but his personal consumption, , , , he was a lot of Fun to hang out with, he will be missed, so heres to you Fat Eddie ..... Bottoms UP !
dammmm thats about all I have today, it was a slow week at the shop, & the coffee consumption is at an all time high 6 pots last friday, ( now I didnt drink it all the shop was full & it was cold out & after the football season hangover that so many customers had they were drinking coffee ) OH yea , the Steelers won the SUPERBOWL , , , AGAIN 6 wins , 1 loss , 7 trips to the superbowl, now would be the place to place a disparaging remark to the fans of the browns or any other team that has NEVER even been to the superbowl let alone win it 6 TIMES ,,,,,,,,,,,,, but I am above all that petty stuff , hahahaha , Enjoy, Vince