Happy Holidays Everyone!

I know it has been quite a while since my last update.  And, although things around here generally tend to be interesting they are not always exciting, at least not without some embellishment.  Having acknowledged that, if this entry is a little long, I'm going to try and catch you all up.  This is actually a number of drafts I put together during the year and did not publish along with some more recent updates.

First, Maureen, Liam and I hope this finds everyone happy, doing well, and enjoying the holidays!

Maureen had an opportunity to walk with a friend a portion of the "El camino de Santiago", an ancient walking pilgrimage through Spain.  They completed the portion from Santiago to the sea.  If you've ever seen "The Way" (2010) with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, it's the section Martin Sheen walked at the very end of the movie after the main pilgrimage was finished.  It was over 100 kilometers and it took them a little less than a week.  Maureen had such a good time she wants to do the main camino that starts in France and crosses most of Spain.  It's over 800 kilometers (500 miles) and takes 4 to 5 weeks.

We have some very good friends that we've met and Maureen was explaining how she was preparing for this more than month long trek through Spain and how I was not interested in the least in going.  Our friends did not quite know how to express their concern that there might be some issue between Maureen and I that she would consider spending that much time away and that I would be OK with it.  I would like to assure them and anyone else concerned that the only potential for marital discord would be if Maureen and I vacation across Spain and she makes me walk the whole way (well, unless there are a number of golf courses laid end-to-end involved).  I'm a "get there and enjoy" kind of vacationer.  I will fly, go by rail or bus, and possibly even bicycle, anything but walk every day all day.

Abs Are Made In The Kitchen.  At least that's the theory promoted by one of Maureen's skinny friends.  My Abs? They were made at the microbrewery!  I do an hour on the recumbent bike 5 or 6 days a week and lift weights at least two days a week.  I've really made an effort to eat right most of the time.  I cut about a half acre of lawn every week with a push mower and have started walking 18 at the Asheville Municipal Golf Course (the back 9 is truly a mountainous course) hopefully at least once a week.  And, I'm back into Racquetball, playing about twice a week.  You would think with all that exercise and conscientious eating I would be sporting a bikini figure to die for.  Not so much!  I still maintain a 32" waist but I'm not a "flat belly" by any stretch of the imagination.  I appear to be a victim of my environment.  The only six-pack that I'm sporting is the Sierra Nevada Kellerwies (pronounced "keller-vice") in our fridge.   Maureen and I are out at least every Friday night as well as multiple special events during the summer months.  One of our favorites is the "Main Street Music" festival in downtown Weaverville.  And of course I always make a point of supporting our local businesses, especially Blue Mountain Pizza who sponsors the beer concession.  After years in Corona and the inland empire which always seemed to be devoid of readily accessible entertainment opportunities we now have to prioritize what events we want to attend.  And although Asheville and the surrounding areas are a "resort" destination and tend to get crowded especially during the summer months it's nothing like the sparse events in southern California.  I suppose I could just drink more water?  Yea, like that's going to happen!

I hit another bench mark with my weight lifting.   Although I've always been somewhat active; playing, coaching, and refereeing soccer; playing racquetball, running, golf, etc... Most of that just required good conditioning and some leg strength.  I've never had great upper body strength.  I purchased a set of Bowflex 1090 dumbbells with my retirement gift.  When I started my latest exercise craze in earnest I had three goals:

1. Bench press 150 lbs (not just once, but multiple times as part of my workout.)
2. Bench press my weight (an important part of that was getting my weight below the 2-90 lbs dumbbells weight set which I was able to do early on.)
3. Bench press the entire 180 lbs set (not just once, but multiple times as part of my workout.)

A couple of months ago I hit the first goal.  If any of you that don't or haven't lifted weights for strength training and don't think 150 lbs is that much, try it (but don't hurt yourself).  You'll be surprised.  Anyway, I told Maureen instead of washboard abs she's going to have to settle for the nice guns (biceps) I'm working on.  On to the next goal.

I mentioned I'm starting to play some golf too.  I've rationalized that I spent the last 15 years or so chasing Liam around to all of his event venues.  Now that he's not competing anymore I can start doing some of my old recreational hobbies again for myself.  Back in the day I was able to maintain an 18 handicap (bogie golf).  I've learned a stark lessen in the past couple of months.  Golf is a perishable skill.  It's been ugly!  The "I couldn't hit water if I fell out of a boat" analogy wouldn't be too far off the mark.  I joined the MGA (Mediocre Golf Association) Tour.  On the back of my membership card it give me permission to practice because; "It's not going to matter anyway!"  That's how I feel after my last couple of attempts.  I console myself with the fact that I started out a hundred years ago shooting over 100 and over time managed to become an 18 handicap.  My last time out I hit 100 on the number, which is an improvement.

"If it's true it ain't bragging!"  Dick Haley

I looked up the definition:

 brag·ging/noun
1. excessively proud and boastful talk about one's achievements or possessions.

So Dick, even though the following is true, the next few paragraphs are, in fact, bragging!

My renewed interest in Racquetball shows much more promise than my golf game.  In Southern California, the mecca of racquetball, I was just mediocre.  I learned from some very good players early on but never achieved their level of play.  Here in Western North Carolina (not a mecca for racquetball), as of this writing, at the local YMCA, I've yet to play anyone who even holds the racket correctly and about 6 is the most points scored against me so far in any one game.  There is a "Challenge Ladder" posted outside the racquetball courts which I'm working my way up but I've had issues scheduling matches during the holidays.  I'll keep at it and let you know how I do.

PS I got a new racquetball racket for Christmas!

In the past I've also shared my involvement with a poker group here in Asheville.  Through PokerStars.net's "Home Game" feature we play weekly for points.  Season 6 (2017) I joined the group late at the end of February and had a few bad months while learning the ropes but still managed to finish 4th for the year.  The goal is always to be number one, right?  

This year, Season 7, I'm killing it.  With two scheduled poker tournaments to go (you can earn 3 to 6 points per tournament for a win depending on the number of entrants) I'm first with a commanding lead.  (Scarecrow111 is my moniker.)

I'm clear of the second place player by over 60 points.  I've averaged almost 1.5 points per game, am in the money 47% of the time, have knocked out over 180 opponents, and have won 20% of the tournaments I've entered, all group bests for the year.  I'm looking forward to a snowy 2019 winter (there are always more tournaments scheduled during bad weather) and Season 8!

It is predicted that we will have a heavier than average snow fall this winter.  We've already had a couple of snow falls, one was 8 inches of "heart attack snow."  For the Southern Californians who've never heard that phrase, that's snow where the bottom two inches or so is wet, heavy, slushy snow covered by the nice white stuff.  Heart attack snow got it's name because old guys like me would get heart attacks from trying to shovel the heavy, immobile stuff.  Once I figured out what it was I had no trouble letting it sit for a few days and let the sun do the heavy lifting.  

If you didn't already know, Liam changed his major last year to computer sciences.  Pretty much all of his general ed classes are done so he is having a challenge scheduling his major courses with the prerequisites and availability so his graduation date will be stretched out a bit.  No worries.  Liam's grades are great and Western Carolina lowered their tuition starting January 2018, to $500 per semester.  Liam and I are bowling almost once a week and he's even allowing me to show him how to play racquetball (sort of).  With his reach, athletic ability, youth and stamina Liam should be able to give me a game if not beat me in short order.  Of course that would require that he listen to me and focus a bit so I'm probably safe for a while.  

Liam finally got an opportunity to see a professional football game live.  The Riley's treated him to the Cleveland vs Cincinnati game when we were visiting with an all day tailgate party and a Cleveland win!   We did our traditional Thanksgiving with my family in Richmond and Christmas with Maureen's family in Cleveland again this year.  They were very nice visits and everyone is doing well and enjoying the holidays!

That should catch everyone up from between April and now.  Again, Maureen, Liam and I would like to wish everyone a joyous holiday season, we hope you all had a very merry Christmas, and we wish everyone the very best New Year!


Rick

  

"Every Child Is An Artist. The Problem Is How To Remain An Artist Once We Grow Up." - Pablo Picasso

Back in early February I shared that I was taking an oil painting class.  I used to paint in oils when I was a teenager and did a number of paintings back in the day.  I completed my project for my current class but what I learned was I was not as interested in getting back into oil painting as I thought I might.

My project came out OK, I just didn't enjoy the process of painting with oils.

Currently I'm taking two drawing classes and I am enjoying those classes much better.  One class is titled; "Anyone Can Draw."  The other is titled; "Drawing Wildlife."  The first class is your basic drawing instruction in shapes, tones, shading, detailing, etc...  In the second class, "Drawing Wildlife", the instructor is having us draw using a grid method in order to help us with perspective and spacial relationships.  I actually was taught that method in a high school art class many decades ago, so I was somewhat familiar. 

I have to say I'm having a considerable amount of success using this method and am really enjoying completing my projects in this class. 

The "Drawing Wildlife"

instructor has forbidden us using pictures of our pets as subjects in his class but I got a picture of Buddy romping with the neighbor's dog Basker, and couldn't resist sketching it.

The rest of this blog entry I'm going to describe and show the process of drawing with a grid system.  It is so easy it may encourage the child artist in each of you to give it a shot.

First, you need to draw a grid very lightly (you will be erasing the grid at a later time) on your drawing paper.

  (If you zoom in you can barely see my light pencil grid lines on the drawing paper.) 

I like using 1" squares.  The blue painters tape on the borders is to contain your drawing and coloring, either with colored pencils or water colors at the end.  Next, draw the same number of squares on a copy of the picture that you will be drawing.  If the picture is smaller you can scan and enlarge it to your target size or just draw smaller squares on the image so the number of squares on your image matches the number of squares on your drawing paper.

If you are using a computer image you can use Word to apply a grid (I insert a table with 1" squares over the image) and print the picture with the grid already in place.  Then, start drawing.

Draw the image in pencil lightly either by transferring the images in each of the individual squares or by using the squares to identify points where the image crosses the horizontal and vertical lines of your grid and then connect the dots. 

The next step is to ink in all of your pencil lines.  Once you have the image inked in you erase all of the grid lines and stray pencil marks not covered with ink.

At this point, if you have any shaded areas or thicker black lines that need to be filled in like the example drawing I'm using, ink those larger/thicker areas in at this time.

To color my drawings I'm currently using colored pencils but if you prefer, water color paint works just as well.  One thing I learned in this class that is producing good results is to layer my colored pencils, light to dark.  For this cactus, I colored the whole thing yellow.  Then I started highlighting with orange followed by a lighter shade of brown and then a darker shade of brown.  I think the cactus came out the best in this picture.  For the background in the example above I just have the lightest shade for each of the areas.

Finally I use multiple colored pencils to layer in the background, light to dark in each of the areas, followed by highlights using the darkest colors for each area and shade of color.  Color the background all the way to the painters tape.  Carefully remove the painters tape and you have defined boundaries for your picture. 

I'm not as happy with the background as I am with the cactus but the cactus is the focus of the drawing. Here are a few of my other pictures all done using this method.  (If you zoom in you can see my light pencil grid lines on the drawings before they are erased and the picture is colored in.)

  

For any of you that draw, used to draw, or would like to take up drawing, I hope this information is useful and maybe even inspires that inner child artist lurking inside somewhere. 

This link is to a page where I have all my drawings from both of my drawing classes to date saved if you are interested.  (The drawings on the linked page are in chronological order from the first of each class to the present in order to represent my progress over time.)

About overlooked talent, my dad was always a big fan of the Roadrunner Cartoons and I would like to leave you with this last thought!

Have a great day!

Rick

I Wanted To Lose 10 Pounds This Month......I Only Have 15 Pounds To Go!

But that is the nature of vacations, isn't it?  Maureen and I just returned from a four week trip to Italy and Ireland.  I've always joked about getting three kinds of potatoes whenever you order a meal in Ireland, but it's not really a joke.  With any lunch or dinner order you could expect boiled and mashed potatoes and an order of chips (french fries).  Even the famous "Full Irish Breakfast" comes with hash browns and home fries.  In Italy it's PASTA with everything, and huge amounts of it.  I always thought that Europeans ate much lighter than Americans and that their portion sizes were more reasonable.  Well it appears that the American tourists have had a negative influence on the European food service industry.  And for someone (like me) trying to limit the amount of processed food that I consume you basically have to suspend your rules unless you really want to come off as the stodgy American that refuses to eat the local cuisine.  Therefore I was forced to suspend my dietary restrictions a bit in order to truly enjoy my vacation.  I stepped on the scale when I got home and it wasn't the complete disaster that I was certain it would be.  Maybe all those apple crumbles and hot brownies with ice cream I had along the way didn't wreck me beyond repair as I was afraid it might.  Apple crumble is a traditional Italian dessert, isn't it?

Of course McDonald's is a prominent feature in the landscape anywhere you go anymore.  As big as McDonald's is it is still considered a "growth company" from an investor's standpoint.  Their growth comes from finding new markets to expand into.  McDonald's was the first fast food restaurant to offer breakfast.  If you remember, they also introduced salads, the ones in what looked like a dome covered clear solo cup that you poured in your dressing, covered with the lid and shook to mix the dressing.  Europeans have their own tastes and McDonald's has adapted to their tastes and lifestyle with the McCafe`!

The McCafe`caters to the breakfast tastes of the typical European with a selection of croissants, pastries and coffees.  I say "coffees" but I've discovered over my many trips to Europe, there is no "coffee" on the other side of the Atlantic.  Europeans have Espresso Machines, not coffee makers.  A "Cafe Americano" is really just espresso with hot water added.  It is really quite bad as far a coffee goes.  What I discovered on this trip was Cappuccino as an acceptable alternative.  Cappuccino is a shot of Espresso in a cup filled about three quarters full with steamed milk.  The steamed milk cuts the Espresso enough to make it drinkable, but no free refills.  In my many trips across the pond I've only seen one drip coffee maker ever, and that was at a B&B on this trip.  The coffee was still horrendous but at least they had the right tool for the job for a change.

All things considered, this was a pretty good trip.  Liam and one of his school friends joined us in Rome for the first week.  The weather was challenging and caused Maureen and I to have to completely re-book our flights because of cancellations due to snow in Dublin and winds in New Jersey/New York.  The boys flew through Germany so even though it snowed there as well the two of them got to Rome as scheduled.  The rescheduled flights caused Maureen and I to spend an unscheduled day in New York which turned out to be a very nice day together in the Big Apple!  It rained quite a bit in Italy although we had a beautiful sunny day to tour the Colosseum and Forum.  We even got measurable snow in Dublin which turned into a slippery slush before the day was out.  But as I said many times on this trip; "Anyone can travel when the weather is good!"  

I learned a new acronym that became relevant on this trip.  When traveling Italy you eventually get to the ABCs stage;  "Anything But Cathedrals!"  In Ireland it can be interpreted as "Anything But Castles."  There are so many beautiful works of art, frescoes, sculptures, tile-work, etc... in the churches, basilicas, and cathedrals in Rome, Florence, Venice and all of Italy really, that I could drone on and on for pages.  It's all information that is readily available in the thousands of tour guides in the travel sections of any bookstore you stumble into.  However I did learn a number of interesting tidbits on this trip that might not qualify for the mainstream travel guide.

• Almost all of that fabulous art, mostly found in religious buildings, were the Renaissance Romans way of "keeping up with the Jones's."  Having enough money to commission a piece from Michelangelo or Donatello meant you were one of the city's elite.  Outfitting your home church more elaborately than your neighbor's was a symbol of power and prestige.
• During a certain period paintings and statues were not signed or given any specific mark to indicate who the artist might be.  Signing your work was a mark of pride which was a sin and could get your hand cut off.  The rich could commission fabulous works to show off their wealth (display pride) all they wanted but not the artist.  Of course no one ever suggested the double standards such as what exists with our current ruling class (our politicians) is anything new.
• All of those beautiful white marble statues were originally painted and somewhat gaudy.  That included the marble clad Colosseum and many of the ancient buildings and scuptures that we all envision as classically stark white.
• Many of the statues that we see today are pieced together pieces of different statues from different eras.  Especially during the Renaissance period, as older statues, damaged from being buried or abandoned, were recovered, the Romans would put a Greek era head with shoulders from an earlier Roman period and a pedestal from yet a different time and create a bust for display.  What amazed me was that the archivist were able to identify the different pieces from the various periods.
• Rome is frequently referred to as a "Lasagna" from an archaeological perspective.  Just one example; Maureen and I were walking on a path/road that had been excavated to roughly 500 AD.  At about my eye level embedded in the bank next to me were pavers for the road constructed around the eleventh century.  And well above my head was the entry to the temple that would have been at ground level during the fifteenth or sixteenth century.  Just think about that for a minute.  Over the centuries when parts of Rome were not occupied, enough dirt, debris, ash, etc... had accumulated to raise the surrounding area sometimes ten or twelve feet or more.
• For centuries, all of Michelangelo's paintings were evaluated on the assumption that he chose to paint in darker shades.  Books have been written and thesis have argued and rationalized about why he chose to paint in such dark, moody colors.  Turns out Michelangelo was not dark or moody at all.  Modern painting restoration is revealing bright vibrant colors under layers and layers of dirt, candle soot, and varnish repeatedly applied to protect the original painting.  Hundreds of art historians are turning over in their graves because not only did they miss the mark, they were not even aiming in the right direction.
• And last but not least:  When we think of the traditional "Gladiator" we all think of Russel Crow, right?  It turns out that the typical third century Roman gladiator was a short burly dark character, more Danny Devito than Russel Crowe.  Kind of ruins the image for you doesn't it?      

Despite the weather Ireland was fabulous as usual.  My mom and youngest sister joined us in Dublin for a week in Ireland.  It was fun being able to show them around.  After a couple days in Dublin we headed out into the countryside south and west.  Maureen kept plotting out the "scenic routes".  I've driven in Ireland enough times that driving on the left is no problem.  But the roads are so narrow as a rule that all I see when I'm driving is the pavement and on-coming traffic.  There is not enough room for error to be able look away at the scenery.    

As vacation destinations go, any illusion that Ireland is a "Undiscovered Gem" has long past.  Ancient ruins, tower houses and castles where I've had to park on the side of the road, walk across an open or walled field, and was able to roam freely through in past trips have for the most part been converted into legitimate tourist attractions with parking lots and entry fees.  Even this early in the year we had to dodge tour buses and rush to jump ahead of tour groups so as not to get in a long queue behind them.

After having traveled for a couple of weeks I started to look a little shaggy.  I keep my hair pretty short and usually go for a hair cut every other week or so whether I think I need it or not.  But the thought of trying to get a hair cut in Italy where I didn't speak the language and my concern about how my instructions might be misinterpreted reminded me of the Ray Stevens classic; "The Haircut Song!"  (If you've never heard it click the link for the song.)  So I waited until I got to Ireland to get that trim.  At least in Ireland I can almost speak and understand the language.

My one disappointment.  I finally made the trip up to Cong in Co. Mayo where the John Wayne classic "The Quite Man" was filmed.  I've always wanted to sit down and have a Guinness in the pub prominently featured in the film.  Alas, that pub was closed for the winter season and would not open until April.

I guess that dream will have to wait for the next trip.

We all took a gazillion pictures in Italy and Ireland which I suspect will show up in an album on our Facebook pages soon if anyone is interested.

While we were gone Buddy was being pampered by a nice retired couple from Canada.  We met them through a Trusted House/Pet Sitters website.  They had the opportunity to winter away from Canada, Buddy got to stay home, and we didn't have to worry about Buddy in a strange kennel for a month (or the expense) while we were gone.  Apparently they got along great.  Buddy barked at me quite a bit when we got home.  I couldn't tell if he just didn't recognize or remember me or if he thought that after we left he had traded up.  

This is the hand drawn card left by the sitters on their way out thanking us for the opportunity to sit with Buddy.  You can't tell me Buddy wasn't spoiled.  And I think the sitters even cut our grass before we got home as well.

We are finally home and happy to be back sleeping in our own bed and not living out of a backpack.  I'm sure it won't be long before Maureen begins planning our next big adventure but for now I'm content to plant myself here at home for the foreseeable future.

We hope everyone is doing well!  Until next time...

Rick

PS  This was posted on a friends Facebook page just before I published so I'm including it for fun:  David Allen - Irish Customs

Be Careful of What You Wish For!

It's still February and I may have to break out the lawn mower and cut my grass!  One of the last things I wrote in my last blog entry was that I was "about ready for spring!"  Since then we've had a couple of colder days but for the most part it has been an unseasonably warm February and we've had just enough rain that nature thinks it's time to start blooming.  We have a trip coming up so I went out yesterday to get some yard work done and tidy things up a bit and the grass looked like it was on the edge of raggedy.  It was a completely weird yard work day.  I had to rake up some leaves from an uncooperative tree that didn't shed until after the fall when I was done raking.  After that tree finally did shed it's old dead leaves it snowed almost immediately.  I couldn't see the leaves so I was good (until today of course).  Then I went about picking up limbs and branches that came off the trees on our property during the snow and freezing rains.  And now it looks as if I'll have to mow the lawn before our trip.  That's chores from three seasons in one day.  Add to that I have to clean the gutter covers which is typically a summer job and I'm doing a full year's worth of chores in less than a week!  What's that all about?

I mentioned we have a trip in our near future.  Maureen, Liam and one of his buddies from school on spring break, and I are headed off to Rome for a week.  Maureen is in full planning mode.  She has reservations for us to get into the Vatican and has pre-purchased tickets for us to get into a couple other attractions, museums, etc...  Because we are "practicing" packing minimally in preparation for our next big hike, the Camino de Santiago trip where you have to carry everything you need on your back for about 500 miles if you do the whole thing, Maureen has packed and repacked, and recorded lists of things to pack several times.  Me, I just need a days notice so I can do some laundry and put a bag together.  Ever since a spent a month planning a trip to Italy and Greece and then on about two days notice ended up backpacking England, Ireland, and Germany instead, I have not put much stock into excessive planning.

After the boys head back to school at the end of the first week (the end of spring break) Maureen and I had "planned" to take a week and just kick around Italy and make our way in the general direction to Ireland, which of course means that Maureen has book lodgings for us in Florence and Venice and then a flight to Ireland at the end of that week.  A day or so after we arrive in Dublin, Saint Patrick's Day as a matter of fact, my mother and youngest sister will be arriving in Dublin.  The four of us will then spend the next week buzzing through and then down the west coast of Ireland.  After my mom and sister fly out of Shannon Maureen has teased that she just might take me up to Mayo so I can finally have a Guinness in the pub where they filmed the scenes from The Quiet Man.  Maureen is not a big fan of that cinematic classic, but if she's willing I'm not passing up the opportunity.

Buddy gets to stay home.  Buddy has never been a good candidate for kenneling.  Maureen has found a website, Trusted House Sitters, where you can get people to volunteer at no cost to you to come sit your house and pets while you are on vacation.  What's in it for them.  The couple that will be watching Buddy are coming down from Canada and will have the opportunity to vacation in the Asheville area of Western North Carolina and not spend a dime on lodging.  Like most on-line services you have an opportunity to review bios, references and reviews, prior to making your decision.  When Maureen posted our vacation plans and request we received responses from Europe, Canada, and all over the US.  Asheville is apparently a desirable vacation spot.  When you consider kennel boarding and hotel costs this is a deal for both of us.

Sitting Buddy presents very few challenges. Buddy's sycophantic (word of the day: behaving or done in an obsequious way in order to gain advantage) nature allows him to shift gears and adjust to whomever happens to be here watching him at any given time. What our sitters need to understand is that while Maureen and I are still here it will take a couple of days for Buddy to get used to them being in the house but he will still be suspicious. After we leave, within a couple of days Buddy will be curling up in their laps soaking up all the attention they are willing to give him. However, once Maureen and I return, Buddy will not realize our sitters even exist. And when Liam walks in the house I will magically cease to exist. That's just life with Buddy, Liam's dog.

Of all the dogs I've been responsible for (remember Buddy is not my dog), Buddy is the least trained of the group. It's not that he can't be trained or is unwilling, I've just not made the time or effort to make any real progress. Although Buddy is coming around. I've always run my pets through the local Parks and Rec obedience program and then followed up with at home training resulting in reasonably well behaved pets. Hunter, my Labrador, even won the "Best in Class" trophy. Here in WNC, there are no Parks obedience classes available. There are many opportunities for "pay by the hour" training if you are willing to spend the money. But even then there are few or no group training opportunities. Even though I've been the weak link Buddy is slowly figuring out what I'm looking for when I address him. Buddy has never run from me when he is loose, but recently I've even been able to walk Buddy off leash and not have to go get him when it's time to move on. I wouldn't go so far as to profess that he always comes right away when I call him but we are getting there. If you know anything about training dogs, if you can't get a dog to do something for food, you're doing it wrong. And Buddy is no exception. 

Well it's stopped raining so I better go out and take care of those gutters while I can.

Until next time, take care!

Rick

Who Says "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche"?

That's a not-so-subtle reference to Bruce Feirstein's 1982 best seller; "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche", which I actually owned and read once upon a time.  What brings it to mind at this late date?  An interesting looking Broccoli/Bacon (who doesn't love bacon) quiche recipe (click here for the recipe) popped up on my Facebook page the other day so I decided to make it.  For guys who think they can't cook, that might only be true if you absolutely, steadfastly, refuse to follow any directions, ever!  However, if you can put together Walmart kit furniture, assemble a bicycle, or even manage to complete some of the more complex Legos, you can cook.  It is as simple a getting a recipe and following directions.

Since Maureen was out to brunch with her friends, I set out to make breakfast for Liam and I.  Ever try to assemble something only to discover the box didn't include all the parts?  When I went to our freezer we didn't have any bacon and we didn't have any broccoli.  We did have ham in the refrigerator which was an acceptable substitute for the bacon.  And we had some turkey sausage in the freezer.  The turkey sausage was as close to a vegetable as I needed to be so I started cracking eggs.  My next obstacle came when I realized there was no seasoned salt in the house.  What do "Real Men" do in the absence of seasoned salt?  We go for the Tabasco sauce!  We did happen to have Parmesan and cheddar cheese so I finally was able to throw together an acceptable facsimile of the original recipe.  It actually ended up pretty tasty.  You see, "Real Men" can follow directions and put stuff together even when they don't have all the parts, even quiche!  On a side note, I couldn't help myself so I went out the next morning and bought some bacon, broccoli and seasoned salt and made the original recipe for Maureen.  Although it was not as "Manly", it was good too.  Since then I've also used the original recipe foundation and substituted tomato and mushroom.  Who knew I as a "creative cook"?

I had my first oil painting class.  We spent most of the time with orientation and prepping a canvas for a main project but then the instructor passed out an 8x10 basic single line sketch with the instruction, "it doesn't have to be good, it just has to be fast."  And "to just put paint to paper!" 

So this is my first dabble with oil paints in over 40 years.  Since then we've been working on a main project.  Each week my idea of the final product changes a little.  That's the nice thing about oils.  Once the paint drys you can just paint over the offending areas and it's a brand new painting.  I even built myself a folding table top easel to use in class.  I think it came out considerably better than my paintings.  Maybe I should stick to woodworking!

It also appears that I've found a couple of guys to play racquetball with.  I've only had the opportunity to play once and although I was obviously rusty from my decade of not playing I didn't do that bad.  I was a little surprised at how sore my shoulder was the next couple of days after my match.  I've been exercising consistently going on two years now, including strength training.  I guess wielding that racket used muscles that weren't getting worked regularly.  I wasn't sure if my old racket strings had deteriorated and would hold up through an entire hour of play so I went to Walmart and purchased the only racquetball racket they had, a cheap $19.95 Head brand racket.  I took both to the court a little early to get a little practice and try them both out.  My old racket was the "Cadillac" of racquetball rackets  back in the day, an Ektelon that I paid $150 for 20 years ago when I was playing competitively.  And it truly was a great racket that served me well.  However, the technology apparently has changed so much, compared to my $19.95 Walmart racket, my Ektelon (Cadillac of rackets) is only good for sifting gravel or mashing potatoes.  I'm going to have to come up with an appropriate retirement for my old faithful Ektelon.    

So I'm slowly divesting myself of the hobbies I picked up during the era of Liam; soccer coach and referee, air soft combat, track spectator, etc... and am getting back to doing some things I did for recreation for myself in the past.  I'm even looking into getting back into competitive shooting.  The gun range in the south of Asheville has a recreational shooting league on Monday evenings that I hope to participate in around my Lions club and poker club meetings.  I've even joined the GSSF (Glock Sport Shooting Foundation) with the goal of competing in some of their events, maybe when I'm back in practice.  Of course for me the limiting factor in my ability to compete may be my eyes.  At my age that can be a substantial disadvantage.  Good thing there is a senior division.  Something of a level playing field I hope.  Maybe I'll get into practical pistol competitions.  I'm bound to be in better physical shape than most guys my age that shoot as a hobby and I understand there is some running involved in those events.

Now if I can just find someone to play golf with.  I met a guy who was going to get a foursome, including me, out on the Grove Park Inn course (normally $150 a round) at a discount today.  I didn't hear from him this week but I don't mind at all.  Today's high was 28 degrees Fahrenheit and with the wind chill feels like 17 degrees.  So instead of freezing my [see cartoon below for the appropriate body part reference] off out on the golf course today I'm sitting by the fire watching Ancient Aliens and typing my blog entry.  In my book, not a bad trade off.

It snowed a couple of times this past week.  Just a couple of dustings, not enough to stick on the roads.  I've already mentioned how cold it is today.  And for a good part of the day we've had light snow flurries.  Maureen and I ususally go out to socialize with our friends on Friday evenings but I think we've both decided it's just too dang cold.  And I'm warm here by the fire.  I don't know about the rest of you but I'm about ready for spring!  How about it?

Until next time, try to stay warm.  At least that's my primary goal!

Take care,

Rick

   

A Stark Realization! (Revised)

Being up in the mountains and out in the country a bit, not on city water or sewer, Maureen has been concerned about our ability to manage in a disaster. She had me get a portable generator when we first bought the house and now she's working on a hand pump for our well for when the generator runs out of gas. Facebook occasionally has a reoccurring story about a prepper who buys and buries a large steel shipping container and turns it into a fallout shelter/bunker. I occasionally kid that my prepper efforts consisted of getting one of those large shipping containers, packing all of my stuff in it, loading it on a truck, and then moving out of earthquake country. I then had the driver drive through tornado alley and stop before he hit the hurricane coast. I understand the national head quarters for the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) are in Asheville, NC because this area has the fewest natural disaster events in the nation. That was good enough for me and that was the extent of my prepping.

And then came "A Stark Realization!" We don't live anywhere near a Trump Resort property. Should the unthinkable happen there is nothing within hundreds of miles to attract enough attention to ensure that we would get federal aid. When Erma hit Florida, the home of Mar-a-Lago, FEMA was all over it. However when Maria hit Puerto Rico, over 1000 miles from Mar-a-Lago, all they got was Trump touting how great a job he was doing, but no real aid.  It's been months and 75% of Puerto Rico is still without power, water and just basic needs for survival.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the guy. And whether you are in the Secretary of State Tillerson's "Trump is a f***ing moron" camp or not, you have to admit, Trump has a talent for taking care of his own! 

Trump has openly professed that "Global Warming" is a hoax. He recognizes the climate change effects of man made carbon in our atmosphere has only affected one location in the entire world, Doonbeg, Ireland. What is unique about Doonbeg, Ireland? It is the home of Trump's luxury golf resort, the Trump International Golf Links and Hotel. On his application to construct a sea wall to stem the erosion, Trump cited the effect of rising sea levels due to man made climate change as the primary reason the sea wall was needed. (Read about Trump's "other" wall here.)

After the tragedy of 9/11, it was reported that Trump successfully filed a "small business" claim for $150,000 even though his business netted several times the revenue ceiling that defined a small business. (Politifact small business claim article.) In 2005, Trump was also able to collect on a $17 million dollar insurance claim for hurricane damage to Mar-a-Lago, damage that few actually remember happening, with some of the excess money he admittedly transferred to his own accounts. (AP article about questionable hurricane damage claim.) Throw in the reports about Trump using RNC and Republican Donor money (Vanity Fair article) to fund his legal team for his Russia Gate scandal defense and his self proclaimed business acumen that allows him to pay little or no taxes and it becomes very apparent that Donald Trump has a talent for taking care of his properties and his wallet. 

And what about this new tax bill? I know that Trump professes that he and his pals will be losing money but by the most conservative estimates Trump is set to make millions! And if you include everyone in the top 1% the number is in the Billions!

Then there is his latest Trump proclamation eliminating offshore drilling restrictions for the entire eastern and western seaboards of the United States.  Of course afterwards he did exempt the Florida coast where the restrictions will remain in place.  Trump does not want to have to look out from Mar-A-Lago and see oil drilling rigs ruining the view from his personal resort.

Everyone seems to be concerned about Trump's proximity to the nuclear button.  I don't know why his advisers haven't considered this yet but if someone would just point out to "The Donald" that "Nuclear Winter" would be horribly bad for his resort properties Trump would likely become the biggest proponent for nuclear disarmament!

After considering all the evidence above I just want to be under that "Trump Umbrella" should an unlikely but unfortunate disaster strike in the Western North Carolina mountains.

I don't think I could afford the fee that Trump gets for naming rights and I really don't think our apartment downstairs that we promote through Air B-N-B is grandiose enough to attract Trump's attention. Maybe if his deal with Putin to build a Trump Tower in Moscow falls through and he is not too in debt to the Chinese I could sell Trump on the idea of building "Trump Tower Asheville." Or, for expediency I could try to sell him on an existing property, something like "The Trumpmore Estate." Or if the Biltmore owners don't want to give up the estate proper, they might be willing to part with the real estate and shops outside of the estate. We could have "The Trumpmore Village."

Sam's club sells a bulk "Emergency Food Supply." You can buy different packages that will feed 1-4 people from 1-12 months. And the food is advertised to last in storage up to 25 years. I think my next project might be to build shelves to house our new emergence food supply just in case "The Donald" is too distracted playing golf in Florida to send help our way. And just to hedge my bet, while Maureen is researching and arranging for our new hand pump to be installed on our well, I think I'm going to circulate a petition to try to get our local Planning and Zoning agencies to consider a new resort project somewhere between Asheville and Weaverville. You can never be too prepared for an emergency!

Ever Throw A Party Where No One Came?

It's not as bad as it sounds.  We had absolutely "FREAKISH" weather for New Year's Eve.  Not only was it cold, about 10 degrees F (at least not single digits), but just after about noon it started to sleet.  Now I took credit in my family's "who saw snow first" competition, but sleet is not snow.  Think BBs, like you would use in a Red Rider BB gun (for you Christmas Story fans) only about 1/8th to 1/16th the size, and little round frozen balls of ice.  Now think about how difficult it would be to walk on a thin sheet of little balls of ice.  Maureen put together what promised to be a great New Year's Eve party.  A fare number of people that we've met here in the Asheville/Weaverville area and a good number of neighbors had RSVP'd that they would attend.  The party was scheduled to start at 8 PM.  About 2 PM Maureen sent me out to pick up something at the grocery store that we'd forgotten.  At that time the sleet was coming down but you couldn't even see sleet sticking to the roads.  However, it was so cold that the sleet was sticking to the windshield of my truck.  I had to crank my defrost until my truck cab was a sauna before the sleet would melt on my windshield and I could use the wipers.  During that trip to the store, even though the sleet was not really visible on the roads, I lost traction with the rear wheels of my truck at least a half dozen times only driving about 20-30 mph.  I lost some traction with my front wheels almost every time I had to make a turn.  It was scary slippery out there.  The only responsible thing to do was to let all our guests know, that although we still intended to have our party, if they had to drive we would understand if they chose not to come.  Sometime around 6 PM the Highway Patrol had closed at least portions of I26 & I40 (the main north/south and east/west freeways), either due to accidents or because the sleet had made them un-navigable.  Of course by that time all our commuting guests had cancelled.  By 8 PM the sleet was so thick on the ground you could hardly walk down my driveway which is flat.  However the incline of the street leading to my driveway is steep and so by 9 PM it became apparent that our neighbors had the good since not to attempt to navigate that hill to our house.  

So there you go.  I threw a party and no one came!  The upside is that we have all those hors d'oeuvres that you love to have at parties but that you never make for yourself during the year otherwise.  The downside is that we'll be eating chili (enough for 30 guests) for days.  And I have a "drinking problem"! OMG, I have so much beer in the house.  I need some of you to come over and help me with that.  If I try to drink it all I'll end up weighing 300 lbs before Valentines.  I still had a great new year.  I stayed up to toast the New Year with my beautiful bride and my son (who can now drink legally (and hopefully responsibly)).  What else do I need?

Yes, Liam has turned 21!  Can you believe it?  We spent his birthday and Christmas in Cleveland with Maureen's family.  Liam has cousins in Cleveland closer to his age which must be infinitely more fun than partying with your mom and dad when you turn 21.  A couple quick anecdotes about Liam's 21st:

His cousins and their friends took Liam out at midnight on December 22nd.  They arrived at the bar a little early.  Apparently, for some reason, a half dozen police officers were congregated outside the bar they chose.  Liam is standing outside the bar and the bouncer had to negotiate his entrance to the bar 6 minutes before his birthday.  The cops were cool and let him in early.  By all accounts he had a great birthday, except;

The next day Liam and I are running around trying to take care of a minor issue with one of his birthday presents when he asked if I could take him to the grocery store.  Which was fine but when I asked what he needed, Liam indicated he wanted to buy a beer.  At a grocery store?  Apparently when you turn 21 everyone goes out of their way to buy your drinks.  Liam was 21 and all he wanted to do was show his ID and pay for his own beer, just once.  It's funny what might be important to a person.  I assured Liam he had his whole life to by his own beer and to enjoy the attention.  If it was really important, I told him we'd stop at a bar and he could buy me a drink.

As cold as it is here it did get down to single digits in Cleveland.  I've been fairly disciplined with my running and exercising since we landed in NC.  But it does get cold in the winter.  I've built up a fair amount of cold weather running gear.  All of that may be on its way to the Good Will.  For Christmas, Maureen got me a nice recumbent bike.  I have it out in my shop which only has a portable heater but no more running the hills and blind corners on the narrow mountain roads in 13 degree weather (remember, 12 degrees is too damn cold).  I have it set so I can just open the door and see the downstairs TV and pedal away for an hour.  Much better than pounding the pavement with frozen fingers (I can never seem to get my hands warm when it's that cold out).

What else?  I've moved into fourth place in points with my on-line poker group.  And I've played fewer tournaments than the three above me, 20-25 less than a couple of them.  I've signed up for an oil painting class.  I did a little painting in high school.  It will be interesting to see if I've retained any of the old talent.  And last, if you've noticed the gap between now and my last posting, I did write a blog entry during that period but I was forbidden from posting it.  You see it had a slight political bent.  I won't say who forbade me but her initials are M(aureen) B(rooks).  With the political winds, the way they are blowing, I may just revise (update) and post it after all.  It was just a little passive/aggressive but I thought it was pretty humorous.  I'll have to think about it!

Maureen, Liam and I hope everyone had a great holiday season and we wish the best to all of you!  Or as the Irish might say; May the best of your past be the worst of your future!

Take care and have a great New Year!

Rick