GOOD BYE til 2011

Well just a short entry to say goodbye to the land of doing nothing for 2 months and HELLO to the land of 70hr work weeks. I can't wait !!!! ( NOT ). We are getting ready to head north. 8 am and the weather at least is going to cooperate. Funny that its been the coldest winter here in central Florida in over 40 years and when we get home on thurs the temps are expected in the 60's.. Oh well maybe next winter, Until then... thanks for reading my daily ramblings, See ya all real soon.

T.B.I.M.L.F. !!!!!

Too Bad Its My Last Friday .....


Well all thing must end and after a great winter vacay here in Florida, this is our LAST weekend. They say the temp is Florida was the coldest in 40 years. Whatever happened to global warming? I guess it starts in the Caribbean huh?


Last night Karen took me out for our final "Date Night"... I say she took me out cuz it was her treat. That's right... she paid..her debit card... her signature .. WHOOPPPEEE. we went to a place called Carrabba's Italian Grille and although its a chain much like The Olive Garden, it was FANTASTIC !!!! Karen had Lobster Mac & Cheese and I had Ravioli stuffed with lobster in a tomato/basil cream sauce. It was out of this world.









Well its been raining for 2 days in Florida with tornado warnings all over the place so I guess somebodies trying to tell me something. I'll shout out once or twice more before we put the laptop in mothballs for the trek north., Have a great weekend !!!!

Winding down

Well its Sunday and Bike Week ends at 6 pm today. The constant 24/7 rumble of FatBoys, Choppers, XLCH's, ElectraGlides and Heritage Soft Tails will subside tonight. I swear you can her the baa-badda baa-badda..ALL NIGHT AND DAY. They say in the local paper that during this week there are in excess of 200,000 motorcycles here in Daytona.... all within 5 square miles..... MY GOD. I went to Publix Mkt last Thursday and they had shut down Ridgewood Avenue .. ( The MAJOR street in Daytona/HollyHill ) for a concert by David Allan Coe.. There must have been over 20,000 Harleys just parked in the street and everybody was rocking.

Now don't get me wrong... I like bike week but since I only own a moped, I really don't get into the leather and noise and partying like all these 1 week a year warriors do. It's great for local businesses.. I mean there is a tee-shirt stand , tattoo parlor, bikini bike wash or instant BBQ set up on every single street corner. Its so funny.. at the start of the week all the t-shirt stands say "BIKE WEEK - T-SHIRTS" ... and their 15-20 bux a piece.. by Wed they say BIKE WEEK - T-SHIRTS 3-$20 . and by today (the last day) they all have duct tape or magic marker signs that say.... T-SHIRTS 6 - $20 !!!! What a deal !!! Gee you could polish your car with them.

Friday my friends Joyce and Oby Walker from Port Orange came by on his big ol' Yamaha and we went to the Iron Horse Saloon just outside of town in Ormond Beach for a look-see at the Bike Week festivities. We had some BBQ and beers and walked around... it was fun, but nice to get home after....

Well this is the LAST full week of vacay coming up.. We leave on Tuesday 3/16 for the trip back to reality and work.... BOO. Have a great week.. We'll talk again....

WOW .. where'd the time go ???

Hey gang.. sorry. I've been having such a great winter here this year in Holly Hill that I haven't been thinking about my blog. Where to begin..... Hmmm well the weather has been fair.. lots of wind.., some rain and temps in the mid 60's to mid 70's. The nights have been cold though. Heat is on at night.

Projects around the house.,,.., I put a gutter and downspout system on the back 1/4 of the house over the spare room effectively killing 3 birds with one stone, 1) Sealed the roof about the room to stop any leaks... 2) stopped rain from flooding the area against the house and 3) made and irrigation "channel" to my banana tree. These puppies need an awful lot of water and I'm not here 24/7 to look after it.. Now it will flourish. I'm sure.

This is BIKEWEEK in Daytona and the shit has hit the fan,.,, roaring Harley's day and night.. non-stop. Karen and I went to a really nice Sushi restaurant on Sunday night and when we pulled up there were 25 hogs parked out front.. when we got inside there was leather and X-rated tee shirts as far as you could see, now mind you these are well behaved people who probably have 9-5's 51 weeks a year ..... but show a little class and hang out at the coleslaw wrestling pit or go to the Iron Horse Saloon if you're gonna dress like that. Jessssssus...

Sedona has been cuter than ever and we have been taking her to the local dog park almost every day and last week we even took her up the road to the "Bed & Biscuit Inn".. a pampered palace just for dogs,.,, they even have their own swimming pool. She just loved it. It was a great day.

My cooking exhibitions continue nightly.. mostly winners a few flops.. like the homemade biscuits I made for a chicken fried steak dinner. I used leftover (last winter) baking powder thinking it would be OK !!!! NOPE.... I had flat tire repair patches instead of nice rolls,, ha ha.

Well today (Tues) marks 2 weeks left.. we head North on the 16th of March so lots of fun still to be had until the 60+ hr work weeks begin,. ( Boo Hoo ) Joyce and Oby are coming over for the day Friday and we are all headed to the Iron Horse Saloon for some BikeWeek festivities. Its a tradition that Joyce gets some crazy steak sandwich there every year. I'll take pix and post them on the weekend. Have a great week.. y'ALL

Bed & Biscuit Inn

We took Sedona to the Bed & Biscuit Inn at Flagler Beach on Tuesday and she had an absolute blast. Sedona has taken to water since she was a puppy but always salt water. Shes never been to a pond so when we heard about this exclusive dog's only place, we had to try it,. It was $10 for a day pass and she had the pool pretty much to herslpf all day. She frollicked and played with all the toys.. She swam and by the time we got home... she was OUT for the night. The day was a total success.

Good Monday Morning

Getting ready to chase some seagulls

What's so good about Monday mornings? Everything when you're on vacation.. cuz Mondays are like Tuesdays are like Wednesday... who cares ???? Sorry, for those who are working and hating it. Well this is the week leading up to Bike Week here in Daytona.. in a few short days the silent air will be broken by the sound of over 100,000 Harley Davidson's revving up and all hours of the day and night. The locals actually stock up on food and supplies and stay indoors for 10 days while the "festivities" go on around here. Friday starts the mayhem... I'll probably venture out for a few choice pix. Maybe girls cole slaw wrestling at the Boot Hill Saloon or the rear tire burnout competition at the Iron Horse... Hmmmm .. maybe I'll just stay home and watch Grey's Anatomy !!!!

Took the dog out yesterday to the Holly Hill kiddie park and Marina and had a ball just being a kid.... The dog loved it and so did we. Today we are taking Sedona to The Doggie Bed & Biscuit in Flagler Beach ( 30 miles away ) where the dogs get a day of "pampering" which even includes a real "doggie swimming pool". We should probably bring her bikini so she looks good !!!! Pics for sure coming on this one.

Well the weather is finally cooperating and like yesterday... today is a beauty. Temp is about 73dg right now.. so the dog is ready to go. See ya all soon.

I love you.. you love me... No No that's not Barney !

Do I look scared ?

Porthole princess !

My wife is a swinger !!!!


Chillin' on the pier....

The 2 beautiful ladies in my life !

Food - food - food

Pulled Pork Sandwich from Gaff's BBQ !!!

1 Pulled Pork / 1 Beef Brisket

Surf & Turf w/Jag & Greens

Karen, me & Joyce doin' it Portuguese style

The carne de vinho d'Ilhos REAL GOOD

Carne d'vinho L'ilhos !!!!

Welcome friends to the weekend .....

They say it's finally going to warm up in Florida. 21 of the past 30 days have been "below normal" .. some below freezing in central Florida. What the hell ever happened to global warming ??? I was watching the Olympics yesterday and the temp at the downhill ski event was 42dgs... in Canada. The temp in central Florida was 49dgs !!!! What's wrong with this picture ???

I can't wait for tonight.... Karen's cousin Joyce is coming over for a meal I've been promising her since we got here Jan 16th ..... Carne de vinho L'ilhos .... What the hell is that you say ????

Its basically pork blade steak hunks marinated for 5 days in wine vinegar and many spices... then its simmered for about 3 hours and served over Portuguese rolls., YUMMY..,.. if you're Portuguese !!!!. It's a very traditional Madeiran meal, the recipe of which comes from Issy Gouveia.. ( Karen's mom ) and passed down to me. I can't wait to have it. It's served with sticky white rice and boiled potatoes.... ( starch overload ). I'll post up some pix of the finished product over the weekend.... Meantime... please have a great weekend and try to stay warm. I'm hoping to get to the beach at least once whilst here !!!!!

The "Carne d'vinho L'ilhos" 3 days into the marinating cycle.

12hrs. of HELL

Took the wife today on my annual trip to Tampa. ( 142 miles away ). You see... Tampa is just like our Ledyard, CT.. where the gamblers go !!!! For us it's Foxwoods... here its the HARDROCK Casino. I don't play slots because those of us with ANY brains at all know that they are the single reason the casinos leave all the lights on.... you can't win ! Also, Florida has a really shitty rule in casinos regarding poker... you can ONLY buy into a game for $100 MAX !!!... So if you get into a cash game where some guy has been kicking ass all day and has a large stash... you're screwed. They will just keep muscling you out of your money.. 100 bux at a time. So I basically spent the day in the car with the dog watching movies. Total time away... 12hrs. total loss... I don't even want to know... all I DO know is that there doesn't appear to be any recession in central Florida. The place was absolutely PACKED. I've never seen so many senior citizens, 4 prong walkers, O2 tanks, wheelchairs and $100 bills in my life !!!!

IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME !!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. I hope if you haven't found or have someone to love that you take a couple of Franklin's and head downtown and get some !!!! . Really though, today is a day invented by Hallmark & FTD to make extra money so go on out and help Obama with our economic recovery and buy a card and some flowers !!! ME.... ??? I'm parking it on my couch and rooting for SMOKE ( Tony Stewart ) to win the "Great American Race"... the Daytona 500. Its 8:30 am as I type this update and I can already hear the roar of 800 hp cars circling the track, practicing just 3 miles away. If you're into NASCAR... today's the world series.





The temp is 39dg !!! BUT..... It's sunny and clear. a perfect day for racing. Hope you all have a wonderful day and if cars going in a circle aren't your thing...,, you can watch replays of Apolo Ohno winning his medal at the Olympics.

Bye

The BLACK SCREEN of DEATH

Well Hi Y'all,

Its Friday Feb 12th..... just 2 days to Valentine's Day. Daytona is in the midst of a light steady rain and the temp is around 50dgs. Just a perfect day to stay in.. put up the heat and read my book. Last night I watched the movie 2012 and I have to say it was, by far, one of the WORST flix I have EVER seen !!! This movie was so bad that I truly shut it off with 20 mins to go, I didn't care if the friggin' Mayans were right and the world ended and everybody dies, IT SUCKED. The most unbelievable plot EVER !!!!!

I made a killer Eggplant Parm and Karen, already an Italian freak.. loved it. Today's menu will feature a ham steak w/mashed and peas. ( A Kim Classic ). Hey here's an interesting story all you computer freaks can associate with. While down here in the southland I have 2 computers... 1) is one of these mini "netbooks" which functions fine as a go online unit and 2) my bigASS Laptop with all the bells and whistles. The big one stays on all the time... well at least until Wed. morning when we woke to find it hopeless locked on the "BLACK SCREEN OF DEATH"

I gave it to a local geek type guy and he's trying to save it.... We'll have to wait and see, but until then Karen and I are locked into the world of mini keyboards.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.... I just hope it stops raining.

CCcccOOoooLlllDDddd.................

Excuse me.... I'm not trying to sound like a sissy, what with the Northeast bracing for a second wave of 12" + of snow... BUT..... IT's FRIKKIN COLD in FLORIDA !!!. I work 12hrs a day 6 days a week for 10 months to come down here and maybe enjoy a few days at the beach... laying down in a lounge chair..... wearing shorts... BUT NNNNNNNOOOooooo...

Today I wake up... look out my front window and the lady across the street has blankets covering her fruit trees cuz the temp is 41 dgs !!!! What's up with that. Hey... we old folks have brittle bones and these cold temps are very treacherous for us if we slip with our canes and walkers !!! I hope it warms up soon. Good Luck back home... I guess there's always someone worse off.

Monday I went to American Legion bingo and guess what... Oooops I did it again !!!!!

I hit the "large picture frame" for $50 !!!! I swear I'm going to need a mask to get in that place. My nickname is "The Social Security Bandit" . I can't lose. Today Karen and I are headed out at noon to the S.I.C.A. hall in Holly Hill for the big Wed. BINGO game. Watch out seniors.... I'm doing the "circuit". Ha Ha. This is hilarious. I'm not sure what S.I.C.A. stands for but I do know the the "C.A." stands for "Council on Aging" Jeeeeessssuss.... what's happening to me ?????

I'll give you a BINGO report tom'w that is if I don't get "caned" for winning.......

Toodles...

The MEAN chair ....

Where do I begin ??? Let's go back to Sunday afternoon--- (pre Superbowl). I had made and appointment to have a tattoo done by one of the most reputable artists in the Daytona area. There is a studio in Ormond Beach called "Tropical Tattoo" which has been operation since 1975 and has the same 6 artists on staff. I went there and met with "Boscoe".. a really neat guy who reigns from Jacksonville and has been tattooing since he was 15. I had a special request which he though was hilarious. A chair !!! What ... a chair, you say ??? Why a chair ???

The "mean" chair that hurt me

One year ago, Jan 8, 2009 to be exact.. I was here in Daytona and in the midst of a very severe asthma attack.. we're talking 911 style. I knew that if I called the EMT's, it would take them 20 mins to find my house and get me to the hospital which is 3 miles away. So wheezing and gasping I headed towards my car to take myself. This exact chair was in my driveway and blocking the way to my car door.... instead of kicking out of the way, I tried to fold it up... well it stuck and I lifted it up over my head and forced the hell out of it....... Next thing.. POP !! Massive rotator cuff tear !!!! Long story short. I got to the hospital.. got the asthma taken care of. Suffered in agony til June of last year.. got the rotator cuff repaired ( huge surgical procedure ).. TORE it AGAIN in August... got it fixed AGAIN on Dec 8th and am now in Daytona taking it easy, resting and doing self P.T. to regain "some" of the use of this right arm again.

Well this tattoo is to serve as a permanent reminder that one stupid move can haunt you for the rest of your life. Learn people....... Uggghhhhh

Willie's Tropical Tattoo

Lots of samples to pick from

Boscoe starts the pain

Almost done

The finished job... "THE OBJECT OF MY AFFLICTION"

Oh when the Saint's go marchin' in .....

Well Monday is here and the SuperSunday hype is finally over..... Saints win 31-17 ...yada yada yada... but what was your favorite commercial ? Mine personally was the Betty White/Abe Vigoda vinguet... funny shit. Those 2 are NEVER gonna die !!! I am here alone with my wife and dog now that my buddy Tony is back to reality and since Karen's likes football as much as getting the flu... I knew that I would be having a "private" Superbowl party.... which I did !!!

I gathered up a whole bunch of nifty leftovers & frozen stuff and proceeded to make a nice little spread for myself. I had some leftover smoked pork ribs... some old salsa... some pesto sauce.. a half eaten bag of Dortito's w/lime and a bag of frozen chicken wings. Voila... instant party !!!!

In any case... Karen was in the bedroom reading her book and I watched the game in the living room... party for one... pretty cool !!

Well today starts the official beginning of "Speed Week " here in Daytona and the town is BUZZIN'. At 8am today I started hearing the distant roar of cars on the track running practice laps. There are many different events planned all week with many different types of cars & trucks, so each team and driver vie to get on the track to "test" as much as possible. The first real event is Thursday afternoon/evening with the Gatorade Duels... ( my favorite of all events ) then onto the Nationwide / Craftsman Truck Series and finally the "Great American Race" on Sunday the 14th. Even if "yur nawt a rednek".. this part of Feb is very exciting in Daytona. All the stores have "Welcome Race Fans" banners.. there are sales everywhere... ( Budlight 30pks - 16.99 !! ) and extra real race cars at all the local sponsors stores. You go to Home Depot ..WHAM.. A Joey Logano backup car. Go to Loews... WHOOP..There's Jimmie Johnson's shootout car. I even saw an ARCA car at a Publix Mkt cuz they were a minor co-sponsor of some unknown driver...but it's all about the hype. Even the seniors like this time much, much more than bike week.....which is 2 weeks away...,. hoooobooy.

Well gonna run, got some chores to do around the house... temps today are cool ..(Low 60's) but beautiful & sunny. Tonight.... big night.... BINGO at the American Legion,.., let's see if I can muscle out some more senior citizen cash !!! Oh yeah gotta set the TIVO to rec. 24 & House....

CYA

Coming t'mow ----- My NEW tattoo !

Sunny Saturday

Good Morning,

It's a beautiful sunny morning in Daytona Beach but a bit cool. Perhaps low 60's. Yesterday was quite windy and rainy although very warm. With inclimate weather, Karen and I tried something totally different. We hopped in the car and headed south to International Speedway Drive where the racetrack is located and spent the afternoon at the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. We browsed, read, had some latte's in "the Cafe", went online w/ free wi-fi and even bought a book. What a really cool way to spend a rainy afternoon.... reminded me of my college days.... oh so long ago. Anyway, we headed back home, late afternoon and rented a couple of videos and I threw a nice 20 oz porterhouse on the grill and we had a great cookout. YUMMY.





Well I'm off to my weekly Sat. morning visit to the D.B. Farmer's Mkt. down on Main St., going to pick up some fresh Florida produce grown this week. Great prices and the best flavors. Well enjoy the resst of your weekend.

T.G.I.F. .......

Well the weekend is here... YEAH !!! Temp is presently 74dg. 10:30 am BUT rain is on the way this afternoon thru the night then a "cooler" weekend. NASCAR fans are EVERYWHERE here in D.B. all getting ready for speed week(s) which start tow'w. For those of you who follow stock car racing.. Danica Patrick is all the buzz. She's the siren that does the "Go Daddy" ads on TV and races in the Indy Cup ( open wheel ) circuit..


They've recruited her to try Nationwide series racing which is 1 tiny teeny notch under the Sprint Cup division, which is the big money event. Her inaugural race will be tom'w night. Should be interesting,, D.I.S. ( Daytona International Speedway ) is located just 2 1/2 miles from my house and I can always tell when there are cars on the track. The predominate winds blow northeast and I can hear the revs of the engines right from my front porch. The coolest thing of all was at last years Daytona 500 when the 5 Blue Angel jets flew over the infield during the national anthem.. I was watching them on TV and in less than a second they few right over my house. It was AWESOME !!!!

The guy who cuts my lawn works at the track as a ticket taker and said he will smuggle me in for any race except the 500, which I wouldn't go to anyway ... I hate 100,000 + crowds. I'm thinking about going to the Gatorade Duels next Thurs, we'll see. Stay tuned... Have a great weekend and try to stay warm.. I know I will.

Bye Bye to Tony....

Well the big guy is gone and I already miss him a lot. Tony left yesterday from Orlando airport. They have a stupid new rule at Southwest Airlines. You must be at the gate 10 minutes prior to take off or you do not board. Checked in or not. Because of delays at security, Got to the gate "9" minutes prior to take off and although the door to the jetway was open.. the plane was still parked at the end and the ticket taker at the door said it was OK.... the BITCH at the counter said "NO.. where were you, I paged you ? "... Long story short instead of a 3hr non stop arriving at 6pm, mmy poor buddy ended up Orlando - Baltimore - Providence arrive 8:30 pm. BASTARDS ...... Well he's home safe and sound and in the frigid New England temp and we miss him dearly. He might come back in a few weeks.. we'll have to see.

Tony's last night...

My buddy Tony Alphonse has been staying with us for the past 2 weeks and he is heading home today @ 3:00 pm. Boohoo. Tony is a great guy and was a blast to be with these past 15 days. Karen, Sedona and I are going to run him over to Orlando airport this noon and bid him farewell. Last night we went for our "last supper" at a great restaurant in New Smyrna Beach ( 27 mi away ) called "Boston Fish House" and the name says it all. Big fat fried whole belly clams, onion rings, slaw... the works. It's run by a family from New England and truly is a "taste of home" we all had the fishermans platters and WOW were we stuffed.






After supper we headed home but first stopped in Port Orange at the world famous "Last Resort" bar. For those of you who don't know...Aileen Wuornos was the woman who was executed in Florida on Oct 22, 2002 and billed as the first female serial killer. She murdered 7 men in the Daytona Beach area in the early 2000's and they did a movie starring Charleze Theron call "Monster" about it. Great stuff.. well this is the bar that she ( as a homeless person ) hung out at and usually could be found sleeping on the benchs in front of the place every morning. We had a few beers and swapped stories with "Bev" the very friendly barmaid. Glad to be outta there though !




Home of the "Monster"



Florida's newest "Monster"



My dream date ....



Big Daddy Yum Yum poses at the "wall of fame"