Back in Rhode Island I had a nice vegetable garden in a green backyard shaded by big old trees. We got the perfect amount of sun for a garden. The soil was not great. At some point in colonial history the land was a chicken farm. They used fill to level the terrain. When I turned soil I found many apothecary bottles and relics from a century past.

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I awakened early today for dinner preparation. I'm slow cooking a 9 pound pork butt. I'll be tied to house all day. I don't claim to be a grill master but I do okay. Most everything I smoke or grill comes out very good, sometimes great, with an occasional mishap because I like to experiment.

I've gotten a good amount of use of my Brinkman smoker ( Read more... )

I feel better now. There's not a more affective mood changer than sex. It will get your mind off just about anything.

Prior to sporting events teams issue injury reports listing ailments of players. At our age we have a similar ritual before sex. "My left elbow is stiff and my lower back is iffy." .... "Okay, be careful near my right knee and I ( Read more... )

The Christians are out in the sun sporting their Easter best. I ventured out in my flip flops, sweat shorts and a plain white tee shirt. I did have a cap on, my Easter bonnet. I had to pick up a few items at the marketplace.

I don't miss going to church. Catholic mass holds memories of squirming 6 year olds, crying babies, hushes, menacing parental ( Read more... )

I broke out of Monkeytech at 12:20 this afternoon. I slipped out when everyone was having lunch.

If you remember when your kids were young and you took them clothes and shoes shopping you'll know how I felt today.... except my son will turn 26 tomorrow. He needed new sneakers. I shop at Sears.

James should have graduated law school in 2010 and be ( Read more... )

I haven't been to a big Super Bowl party since moving to AZ but that doesn't stop us from having a party-like meal. Today I'm preparing a New England style clambake. The hardest part is finding the fish. In most cases I must settle for frozen.

Lobster tails, king crab, scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels, sausage, corn-on-the-cob, red potatoes, onion, ( Read more... )

Tempe is a college town but given the fact Arizona State University is the largest school in the nation it does not have a quaint college town feel. The downtown Mill Avenue district at ASU is fantastic. I'm glad to be living closer to the action. There's plenty to do in this city with many events taking place downtown, festivals, concerts, ASU ( Read more... )

If you've never had Grimaldi's pizza you're missing out on one of the great pies in America. The original pizzeria is on the Brooklyn side of the famous bridge. They've expanded west. The first time I had Grimaldi's coal oven pizza with it's thin crispy New York style crust it became my favorite. It passes every pizza test. They use the real deal ( Read more... )

One of the traditions I miss from back home was our annual Super Bowl party. My buddies and I started the tradition back in the late 70's when the Cowboys lost to the Steelers in Super Bowl XIII. We had that first party at Dave's (H) apartment in Pawtucket. The following year the gang went to a Knights of Columbus hall. Since then the party  ( Read more... )

I read about this in Slate, it was taken from this NYT article.......  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/dining/19soft.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp ........ These whining parents make me so mad I want to scream, for ice cream.

When did parents stop being parents? At what point did the average American mom and dad lose the ability to say "NO!" to their ( Read more... )