Guinness Irish Stew and the Instant Pot

Today Becky made a project dinner. We got out the Instant Pot and set it up on the counter. She had decided a few days ago to make some Irish Stew with Guinness in the pot. She's done it before and it is always a long project but the dinner is always unique and delicious tasting. 

Last week we brought home a four pack of Guinness draft from Target with the intent of saving one can for the Irish stew. 

Making this meal is a lot of work that includes spending time prepping meat and vegetables. She uses a recipe titled "Irish Beef and Root Vegetable Stew" taken from the Essential Instant Pot Cookbook which they say contains fresh and foolproof recipes for your electric pressure cooker and is authorized by Instant Pot. It's still a lot of work.

The recipe in the book has several of Becky's notes written in the margins where she has adapted the recipe to her style and taste like adding more thyme and parsley. She also likes to put in her herbs in large chunks that can be removed at dinner time rather than cutting it all up into small pieces and leaving them in the stew. 

The prep includes cutting up the beef into small cubes. She also cuts up lots of carrots, mushrooms, and rutabaga. I really like the rutabaga which adds some nice sweetness to the stew. 

She cooks it all in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes. We don't use the Pot much and it is always a little trial and error but it the end it works well for us. This time Becky was struggling a little with the settings on the screen and I went online to check. I couldn't believe how much confusing information there was out there because of the different variations of the Instant Pot with each one having different screen settings. It seems like the company tweaked the product over the years. We got it working and it cooked the stew well. It was delicious and well cooked. No burn errors on the screen this time which has happened during previous uses. 

The recipe calls for cubed parsnips in the stew but Becky has opted to use baked potatoes and instead of cutting them up and cooking them in the stew we put the potato in the bowl first before adding the stew. We take the potato and cut in into quarters the add a little butter. Then we pour the stew over the potatoes and dig in. The stew is juicy and covers the potatoes. We mix them up into the stew where they absorb the other flavors. Although I have a fork handy I mostly eat this stew with a spoon.

We also eat the stew with some nice bread from the co-op. There is usually a small glass of Guinness left over from the stew recipe which goes down nicely.

Eating this dish always reminds me of having some Guinness beef stew in a pub in Dublin. It was the Old Storehouse Temple Bar and there was some great live music we could watch from the balcony as we ate our dinner. I previously wrote about that night in Dublin here.

Godzilla VHS Box Set

While digging through boxes of "stuff" on the third floor I came across a bunch of VHS tapes including a box set of Godzilla movies. Five of them. I really don't remember where or when we got this set. Maybe from Sean. 

Unfortunately we don't have any working VHS player right now. I just threw out one the other day that had a tape jammed in it... a recorded copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth. I tried turning it on to see if I could clear the jam but it wouldn't work. Trashed. 

Becky is going to see if there is any interest in this Godzilla set on e-Bay. 

The movies include:

• Godzilla: King of the Monsters,1956
• Godzilla Versus Mothra, 1964
• Godzilla Versus Monster Zero, 1966
• Godzilla's Revenge, 1969
• Terror of Mechagodzilla, 1978

Groupies of Putin - GOP

The Republican Party. Traitors. It cracked me up when I heard the GOP referred to on television news as the Groupies of Putin which was funny but very aptly said by a member of Congress from South Carolina James Clyburn.  Of course two of the biggest traitors to their country and their people are the two Senators from that state Lindsay Graham and Tim Scott. Two disgusting politicians who would do anything for power.

In the meantime the MAGA GOP spews Russian propaganda every day along with the conservative media controlled by Moscow especially Fox. Everywhere you look you see the Republicans siding with Putin. Is it because of Trump and his efforts to get that hotel in Moscow, their love of authoritarianism or maybe just because they are scumbags.

Slung TV

We have been using Sling TV since sometime around 2016. I think we started subscribing to the service when we retired and dropped cable. A few years ago we started having problems with it and over time it has gotten significantly worse. Troubleshooting the problems has been a big pain in the ass and seems to be ongoing. This morning it got even worse. It just wouldn't turn on at all even after reloading the app. Becky had given up.

Over the past couple of years Sling has been giving us trouble. Mostly since it had been taken over by Dish Network. They must have really cut back on the technology upgrades because it showed. Last year I started looking at the online FB Sling support group and many people have been having trouble. Lots of complaints but it is the least expensive service of it's kind. Maybe you get what you pay for.

So I have been spending a lot of time tweaking the Sling app. I also go to the app settings and reload Sling at least once a day and often two or three times. We bought a new TV back in 2021 and a little while after that we started doing all of our streaming through the smart TV app. We had been using an Amazon Fire Stick with the last TV.  We still have it hooked up but mostly use the Samsung app for streaming. It seems that the problem with Sling may also be happening because it may not be working well with the Samsung app.  Today I switched over to the Fire Stick and Sling was working fine. Went back to the TV steaming and it wouldn't recognize it at all. 

Then I went back to tweaking the app again and suddenly it started working again as normal. Maybe it just needed some urging from the other app. Well, regardless of why I think it is time to once again look at all of our streaming options with the intent of dropping Sling. So I'll go and make the list of what is available, what do we watch, and what are our options. I'm going to look hard at Hulu and YouTube TV along with the other streaming services we are currently using besides Sling.  Then we'll make a decision.

Record Theatre Stamps

While recently up on the third floor going through a box of "stuff" I came across completely full book of stamps from Record Theatre. Over the years I purchased a very large number of albums from that record store and with each purchase I religiously collected the stamps and added them to the several books I had available at all times. I don't know how I overlooked and didn't cash in this book that I just found and I'm not sure how many years (or decades) this full stamp book sat there. I hadn't gone to Record Theatre in many years and it was a long time before that since I collected any stamps.

A customer got one stamp for each dollar spent at the store. The book held space for 125 stamps. A full stamp book could be redeemed for a $5 credit toward your next purchase. 

I spend a lot of time in the store at Main and Lafayette and also at the one in University Plaza. Going to record stores and browsing the stacks was at one time one of my favorite pastimes. 

Record Theatre opened in 1976 and at one time was the largest independently owned store in America. It expanded quickly but by the mid 90's it was shutting down many of them. The last flagship store closed in 2017.

Medical Appointments

Lately my calendar seems to be filled with medical appointments. Lots of tests, scans and doctor evaluations. I have seven upcoming appointments in March that include two surgeries. I have completed five doctor/scan visits since the start of the new year.

Just today I made an appointment for a pre-op evaluation with my primary doctor. He wanted me to come in for a check-up before my cataract surgery. Then Ross Eye contacted me today by phone text with two new appointments the day after the surgery for a post-op check-up. At first I thought they were moving my surgery appointments by a day and I called their office to see what was going on. I was a little confused but apparently they always schedule an appointment following a surgery to make sure everything is good.

I've also been doing regular physical therapy appointments for my dislocated shoulder which is gradually improving but still sore at times.

Then of course there were the many eye doctor and eye glasses appointments I had in the Fall. Quite a few of them and also the extra brain scans to make sure my eye problems were being caused by that aneurysm behind my eye. 

So it has been a very busy past few months with medical appointments and with more on the way. 

Sesame Noodles

Becky's sesame noodles with veggies and scallion pancakes. A very tasty dinner. The noodle dish is a variation of a New York Times recipe that Becky tinkers with. The scallion pancakes are one of our great standby frozen dishes from Trader Joe's that we keep on hand.

We dig out the chopsticks for this dinner.

Another Beautiful Day in February

I spent an hour and a half sitting in our backyard sunroom today because it was another beautiful day in February. Blue sky and sunny. It was in the high 50's but inside the cabana it was a nice 79 degrees.

I was reading a NY Times Magazine while listening to some music. 

Tomorrow the temperatures are rising to the upper 60's and maybe even hitting 70 but a cloudy day.  Then there will be a day of cold again before going back to the 60's later in the week. 

Lots of birds singing in the backyard too.

Jaunty Sailor 1970

I recently came across this old photo of me as a jaunty sailor from 1970 where I looked like I was getting ready to break into a salty jig on the desk of a ship. I found the photo while going through one of my old boxes of "stuff" up on the third floor while doing some cleanup. It had September 25, 1970 written on the back and I am standing in front of my locker next to a couple of barracks bunk beds. 

At the time I was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Center going to Machinist Mate A School and living in a barracks room with three other sailors attending that program. There was another picture in the box of those three other guys who all happened to be from Texas. It was an interesting experience as they all had never met a white guy from Philadelphia before and especially someone who never listened to country and western music. 

Until You Came Along - Reflections FV

Another hour and a half mix put together from a Decade 6 mega series and transformed into a Reflections Final Version mix. No deep cuts here. These are all prime cuts... hits. 

Until You Came Along - Reflections FV

1. Until You Came Along – Golden Smog, 1998
2. Why Can’t You Be? – Shelby Lynne, 2000
3. Runaway Feeling – The Thorns, 2003
4. Lullaby – Shawn Mullins, 1998
5. 6th Avenue Heartbeat – The Wallflowers, 1996
6. Iris – Goo Goo Dolls, 1998
7. Ballad of Big Nothing – Elliott Smith, 1997
8. Free To Decide – The Cranberries, 1996
9. Is It Like Today? – World Party, 1993
10. 1979 – Smashing Pumpkins, 1995
11. Knives Out – Radiohead, 2001
12. Little Eyes – Yo La Tengo, 2003
13. Coffee & TV – Blur, 1999
14. Gold Day – Sparklehorse, 2001
15. Black – Pete Yorn, 2001
16. Dry The Rain – The Beta Band, 1998
17. Imitation of Life – R.E.M., 2001
18. Handshake Drugs – Wilco, 2004
19. Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of – U2, 2000
20. I Feel Possessed – Crowded House, 1988

Dishwasher Rack Wheels

Over the past several months the front wheels on the lower dishwasher rack have been falling off. It was probably happening for a lot longer but I just didn't really notice until both wheels on either side of the rack came off at the same time which then caused a significant problem. When one wheel was coming off the rack still slide out of the dishwasher ok but when both wheels on a side were gone than the tray slide out of position. It was time to get it fixed.

I searched online for KitchenAide dishwasher rack wheels and discovered that it was a very common problem with dishwashers from all the different brands as they all used the same dish rack system. I went on Amazon and found numerous places to purchase the wheel systems. I ordered a set of four and they were delivered the next day. Today I put the two new wheels units on the front of the rack and they were very easy to install but I did first look at a YouTube video of the process. The back two I left as is. I have a couple of replacement units for the back but for now they are down in the basement on a shelf and I have two extra. 

Now the dishwasher rack is working perfectly and there are no more wheels coming off and rolling around on the floor. We've had this dishwasher for a very long time and this is the only time we've had this problem but it was quickly and cheaply solved.

Greek Chicken Lemon Soup

Becky made one of our favorite soups tonight. Chicken with orzo and rice, lemon, veggies and lots of spices including rosemary, thyme, and poultry seasoning. It was delicious. We also had it with some nice toasted naan bread.

She made enough of it that we have leftovers for another dinner and some lunch this week.

Snap, Crackle & Pop

That's the sound of my shoulder. It's been nearly two months since my shoulder got separated in a fall while on a walk on Christmas Day. The shoulder seems to be slowly getting better but there are still moments of pain and discomfort. I've been to the orthopedic office twice and have had scans done on my shoulder twice. The most recent one was yesterday when I had a CT contrast scan done at Great Lakes Imaging. The other scan I had done by them back in December was an x-ray. They wanted to do an MRI but that wasn't possible because of my medical history with that aneurysm clip.

I've had so many scans over the last thirty some years but mostly of my brain. This contrast scan of my shoulder was a first and it felt weird to have needles stuck into my shoulder to fill the joint with the scan contrast dye. The prep time took much longer than the actual scan. The whole process at the imaging center took less than an hour and that included the paperwork check-in. I was only waiting for less than ten minutes overall. They are very efficient. 

My shoulder is still making all sorts of clicking sounds and although the sharp intense pain has subsided because of the anti-inflammatory medication there is still a lot of discomfort. In a couple of weeks I'll be at the doctor's office again and they will review the scans to see where I'm at with the healing process.

One That Got Away - Reflections FV

More deep cuts taken from my Decade 6 mega mixes and put together differently in an hour and a half Reflections Final Version mix. Sounds very fine with a folky feel.

One That Got Away - Reflections FV

1. The One That Got Away – The Civil Wars, 2013
2. Dirty Paws – Of Monsters and Men, 2012
3. Blend – Aldous Harding, 2017
4. Love Ain’t Enough – The Barr Brothers, 2014
5. He Lays In The Reins – Calexico & Iron and Wine, 2005
6. Ends Of The Earth – Lord Huron, 2012
7. Lady Brain – The Harmaleighs, 2017
8. Street Of The Love Of Days – Amor de Dias, 2011
9. Dandelion – The Black Atlantic, 2009
10. Ships – Tyler Ramsey, 2007
11. I Thought I Knew – Alela Diane, 2013
12. Fool’s Errand – Fleet Foxes, 2017
13. The Fire – Kina Grannis, 2014
14. Olivia – Lowland Hum, 2015
15. Priscilla – Sea Wolf, 2012
16. Alaska – Maggie Rogers, 2017
17. I Know Myself – Amen Dunes, 2014
18. Long Way Around – The Sweeplings, 2015
19. Aeroplane – Holly Throsby, 2017
20. Tiger Striped Sky – Roo Panes, 2014
21. All Those Girls – Jolie Holland, 2011
22. The Only Thing – Sufjan Stevens, 2015
23. Still – Daughter, 2013
24. On That Day – Asgeir, 2013

Mardi Gras 1974 - Goin' Home

Mardi Gras 1974 continued... goin' home. We tried to get a good night sleep before leaving but of course that was impossible as the partying at the stadium continued even though the mantle of Lent descended on New Orleans. 

We left the city and traveled on through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland and back into Pennsylvania. The gas crisis

was still going on and again it took us an extra day of travel because of the gas shortages and long lines when available. We were exhausted to and shared the driving. Fortunately I had a shoe box full of cassette tapes of music because those southern radio stations really sucked. 

When we finally entered into Pennsylvania from western Maryland we needed to get more gas but then realized that because we had PA plates we were now subject to the odd/even days for getting gas and it was the wrong

day. We had to drop back into Maryland and travel east looking for gas. We eventually were able to fill the tank and then drive back into PA and on to Philadelphia. 

When we got home I think we slept for a couple of days. I couldn't find a job at the time and went on unemployment. There was a recession, the war in Vietnam had ended (sort of) but returning veterans were not finding jobs. I took some classes at Temple University and went full time in the fall semester that year. I had bought the house in our old neighborhood that my great-grandparents had owned and raised my grandmother and her sisters and brother. I spent a lot of time working on that 1876 home. A couple of years later Becky would move in there with me and we would start our life together.

Glass of Beer - Madonna IIPA

Madonna IIPA - a double IPA from Zero Gravity Brewing. I had a busy day that included a medical scan of my recently dislocated shoulder and after dinner I really enjoyed sitting at the kitchen table doing some writing while some music played and enjoying this nice hazy gold double IPA. It really did hit the spot. 

Becky's Potato Wedges

Becky makes some mighty fine tasty potato wedges. Tonight they made our chicken and veggie dinner perfect. 

The wedges are deliciously seasoned and grilled on the stove. Often times in the summer she makes them on the grill.

Murder on the Vine - Book

Murder on the Vine by Camilla Trinchieri, 2022

Read this third volume of the Tuscan Murder Mysteries in about a week. I've been enjoying these crime novels that include some memorable descriptions of food and wine in the rural communities of Tuscany.

The author of another murder mystery novel series set in Europe that I read said it all on the book cover blurb... "A Tuscan feast of old lusts and new loves. meals and murders, an ex-NYPD cop and a dog."

Mardi Gras 1974 - The Party

Mardi Gras 1974 continued... Then we partied every day for a week. I had only been out of the Navy several weeks and I wanted to let loose. There wasn't a better time and place. We had a great experience and met some amazing people.

There was a different parade every day too with beads being flung about. We got lots of them. We saw live music every day. Sometimes it was on the street but we went to bars and clubs every night for music. Of course we spent some time at Preservation Hall experiencing New Orleans jazz and lots of other venues throughout the French Quarter and the Garden District.

On one night as we were walking down Bourbon Street being carried along with the crowd when we suddenly realized we were passing a group of guys from our neighborhood in Philly. One of the guys I was greeting was someone that was in my class from first grade through high school. It all happened so quickly and then we were moving on down the street with the crowd going in the opposite direction. I hadn't seen that guy since I left high school and then that was the last time I've seen him since.

The food was amazing. We had lots of street food but also at least one restaurant every day. We did quite a bit of site seeing throughout the city and especially on the Mississippi River waterfront.

At the end of the night in the French Quarter we would take a trolley car over to Tulane University to sleep at the stadium. We slept in our sleeping bags along the concourse in the campus stadium along with a large number of young people. They charged us $2 a night to stay there and that included access to showers.

One night I was separated from John and fell asleep on the trolley on the way back to Tulane. I woke on early the next morning laying across the seat in the trolley that was parked in the trolley barn.

On Ash Wednesday we got in the car for the long drive back to Philadelphia through the ongoing gas crisis. To be continued...

The first photo here I took of some street musicians with John in the background. He's the guy with the white jacket, plaid shirt and muttonchop beard. I wish he was here to go through my box of photos from the trip and reminisce together.

Every Time - Reflections FV

And here is another mix in my Final Version series in the Reflections group. This one takes a group of songs from the Decade 6 series of mega mixes and puts them together differently in an hour and a half mix. Mostly deep cuts.

Every Time - Reflections FV

1. Every Time The Sun Comes Up – Sharon Van Etten, 2014
2. Volcano – Beck, 2008
3. Paint The Moon – The Czars, 2007
4. Golden Artifact – Sleepy Sun, 2009
5. Sun It Rises – Fleet Foxes, 2008
6. The Moon – Cat Power, 2006
7. Through The Dark – Alexi Murdoch, 2011
8. Seasons Of Your Day – Mazzy Star, 2013
9. Autumn Sun – Emiliana Torrini, 2013
10. Sunset Soon Forgotten – Iron and Wine, 2005
11. Flume – Bon Iver, 2008
12. Wordless Chorus – My Morning Jacket, 2005
13. Sleeping Lessons – The Shins, 2007
14. You Can Count On Me – Panda Bear, 2011
15. Cecil Taylor – Jonathan Wilson, 2013
16. Lullaby – Lord Huron, 2012
17. Stories Don’t End – Dawes, 2013
18. To The Morning – A. A. Bundy, 2009
19. Dawn – Cloud Cult, 2010
20. Tea Lights – Lower Dens, 2010
21. Slow Show – The National, 2007
22. Run With You – Keren Ann, 2011
23. End Times – Eels, 2010

Mardi Gras 1974 - The Road

It was Mardi Gras 1974 fifty years ago this week and I got into my '73 Chevy Vega and drove down through that gas crisis to New Orleans from Philadelphia with my friend John Howley. It would be quite the adventure and I can't believe we thought it was a good idea to take that trip during a gas shortage. From Philly we headed down to Maryland and then cut across Virginia. Somewhere down in southern Tennessee we needed to fill the gas tank and we were driving around looking for an open gas station or one that didn't have mile long lines. It was getting late in the day and gas stations were closing. I don't remember the name of the town but after getting something to eat we were still driving around looking for a place to get gas and finally decided to stop for the night. We pulled into a station that looked like it would be open in the morning and we parked next to the pump. We went to sleep in the car. We woke up at dawn and a little while later the gas station opened up. We were surprised to see cars lined up behind us down the road for about a mile. We got gas and continued back on the highway to New Orleans. We then drove through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

We finally got into New Orleans a day later than planned because of the gas problem. It took a while to get into the city. It was getting late in the day so we headed for Tulane Stadium on the university campus to park the car and sign up to crash there in our sleeping bags. This would be the last year that visitors would be allowed to enter the city for Mardi Gras without proof of hotel accommodations. This would also be a week of really crazy experiences. We lost my friend John a little over 9 years ago and I sure wish he was still here for me to call him to talk about that trip together. We had shared memories but some different perspectives too. To be continued...

Expecting To Fly - Reflections FV

Last night I sat back down at the kitchen table with my laptop and decided I needed to relax. I had been writing for a couple of hours after doing some reading. Now it was time to play with my music collection. I went for something somewhat quiet. Earlier in the evening I was riding the exercise bike in the basement listening to some music and heard Buffalo Springfield's Expecting To Fly from a Decade 2 mix. I thought at the time that it would be a nice song to start off a mix. Good title too for a Reflections mix.

So I created a playlist and file and started off the mix with that song from 1967. I also decided to keep the music from the late 60's to probably the mid 70's and I was off and running. These songs had all been previously used in my Decade 2 mega mixes but this is their first time together in this hour and a half configuration. An interesting time and place.

I completed the mix in about an hour and I've added it to my Reflections Final Version series. I took this photo last night for some unknown reason... maybe to use for this mix.

Expecting To Fly - Reflections FV

1. Expecting To Fly – Buffalo Springfield, 1967
2. Good Shepherd – Jefferson Airplane, 1969
3. Shine On Brightly – Procol Harum, 1968
4. Into The Mystic – Van Morrison, 1970
5. Surf’s Up – The Beach Boys, 1971
6. The Ballad of El Goodoo – Big Star, 1972
7. When The Morning Comes – Hall & Oates, 1973
8. Can’t Get You Out of My Head – Electric Light Orchestra, 1974
9. Don’t Cross The River – America, 1975
10. Endless Highway – The Band, 1973
11. Old Dan’s Records – Gordon Lightfoot, 1972
12. Lodi – Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969
13. Burn Down The Mission – Elton John, 1970
14. Just You ‘n’ Me – Chicago, 1973
15. New York City Serenade – Bruce Springsteen, 1973
16. Hummingbird – Leon Russell, 1970
17. Faithful – Eric Anderson, 1972
18. Solid Air – John Martyn, 1973
19. Time Waits For No One – The Rolling Stones, 1974
20. Lyin’ Eyes – Eagles, 1975

Trump's Sneakers

Now here is an obvious sign of pathetic desperation. It actually looks like some stupid joke that can't be made up. Trump hawking a line of gold sneakers for $399 a pair to his cult followers. They are branded as "never surrender high tops" available to order on a website. He is also selling his own cologne and perfume for $99 a bottle called "Victory47".  So dumb. I wonder if his stuff is all made in China.

One of the funny things about this is that when someone buys a pair of these sneakers they are on order to be delivered sometime in July. They are sending money to trump based on a promise. Laugh out loud. Of course there are many jokes out there about trump selling gold depends and things like that. 

Mind Games - Covers FV

I'm playing those mind games together.  I had just recently finished reading Sinead O'Connor's memoir and was listening to some of her music. I really loved her cover of John Lennon's Mind Games and wanted to start off a new covers mix with that song as the title track.

The hard part was finding songs I hadn't used yet in a covers mix that could possibly follow her version of that classic song. I was looking for a certain feel and now this is it which I just completed after a little tweaking.

Mind Games - Covers FV

1. Mind Games – Sinead O’Connor (John Lennon)
2. Downtown Train – Everything But The Girl (Tom Waits)
3. Into The Mystic – Michael McDonald (Van Morrison)
4. Show Biz Kids – Rickie Lee Jones (Steely Dan)
5. More Than This – Norah Jones (Roxy Music)
6. Wasn’t Born To Follow – Dusty Springfield (The Byrds)
7. And When I Die – Peter, Paul and Mary (Laura Nyro)
8. Who Knows Where The Time Goes? – 10,000 Maniacs (Sandy Denny)
9. Baby, Now That I’ve Found You – Alison Krauss (The Foundations)
10. It Ain’t Me Babe – Lucy Kaplansky (Bob Dylan)
11. Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness – Amy Black (John Prine)
12. Bird On A Wire – Johnny Cash (Leonard Cohen)
13. New York City Serenade – Pete Yorn (Bruce Springsteen)
14. I’m On Fire – BoDeans (Bruce Springsteen)
15. Better Be Home Soon – Minnie Driver (Crowded House)
16. Four Seasons In One Day – Paul Kelly (Crowded House)
17. Pale Blue Eyes – R.E.M. (Velvet Underground)
18. Reason To Believe – The Youngbloods (Tim Hardin)
19. Drift Away – Rod Stewart (Dobie Gray)
20. Many Rivers To Cross – Joe Cocker (Jimmy Cliff)
21. Nights In White Satin – Bettye LaVette (Moody Blues)
22. Tracks Of My Tears – Aretha Franklin (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles)

Salmon Dinner

Becky made a very tasty salmon dinner tonight. Some nice creamy rice along with peas and carrots. Delicious. 

Kingdoms of Sorrows - Book

Kingdoms of Sorrow by JK Franks, 2017

Book 2 of the Catalyst Series.

I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one in the post apocalyptic series, Downward Cycle, because I think the author stayed a little more focused on the action, the characters and the plot rather than the speculative side shows in the first book. 

There are two more books in the series but neither of the libraries where I download e-books have them so I guess that's it for now.

Only For You - Reflections FV

Another mix I put together recently that was made up of songs used in previous mixes over the past decade or so. They were originally part of my Reflections Decade 6 mega mixes but now run an hour and a half and are part of the Reflections Final Version collection.

Only For You - Reflections FV

1. Only For You – Heartless Bastards, 2012
2. Baby – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, 2013
3. Dear Friend – Jonathan Wilson, 2013
4. Just Make It Stop – Low, 2013
5. Circulation – Thurston Moore, 2011
6. Love Out of Lust – Lykke Li, 2011
7. All Is Forgiven – Jim James, 2012
8. Funtimes In Babylon – Father John Misty, 2012
9. Handkerchiefs – Winterpills, 2007
10. Sway – Castanets, 2007
11. Throwing Your Voice – Damien Jurado, 2010
12. In My Time – Kurt Vile, 2011
13. The End of That – Plants and Animals, 2012
14. River – Akron/Family, 2009
15. Down The Line – Jose Gonzalez, 2007
16. In The Dark – Nurse & Soldier, 2007
17. Deep Blue – Arcade Fire, 2010
18. Ready, Able – Grizzly Bear, 2009
19. Silver Soul – Beach House, 2010
20. Land of Broken Dreams – Weyes Blood, 2014
21. Can’t You Tell – Vetiver, 2011
22. Johnny Viola – Shearwater, 2007

Gym for Veterans

Yesterday I received in the mail a postcard with information from Cohesion Studio which is a no cost gym and fitness center for veterans only specializing in health and wellness. They offer a life-time membership at no cost for veterans in a facility with certified personal fitness instructors. The promotional information urges veterans to sign up for free fitness classes at their location.

The address was a little familiar and I looked it up on Google Maps. I was very surprised to find that the gym is located in the same building that housed Better Wire Products where I worked back in 1979-1981. The gym is in the back of the building with access on Gelston Street which runs parallel with Niagara Street. The gym is right next to the shipping and receiving truck entrance where I worked. 

I am going to have to stop by this gym and check out that space. It's weird that this is the second business or organization in the Better Wire building that I've become aware of recently. The other is the Raft of Sanity art gallery in another part of the building where my office was located.

Dinner @ Trattoria Aroma

We had a wonderful dinner tonight Trattoria Aroma on Bryant Street. This is one of our go-to favorite restaurants that we have been enjoying for many years. We had reservations for 6 pm but got there a little earlier after spending the late afternoon at the Albright Knox. The food and the service was extraordinary and we enjoyed every moment there. The restaurant was busy on this early Friday but service was fast and efficient. People at tables were also comfortably spaced apart.

We started out sharing an Insalata Griglia which was plentiful and delicious. Becky ordered the Penne Aroma with sausage and mushrooms. I had their Pappardelle Bolognese with a ragu of beef, pork and veal. We have had both of these entrees over the years. When I sat down tonight I just had to have that Bolognese again. It had been a while. For desert we split a cannoli which was spectacular and by far the best cannoli we've had in years. When we said how much we loved it the

waitress told us the cannoli are made to order and filled just as they came out to the table. It certainly tasted like it was a fresh as could be. I had a couple of glasses of super Tuscan red and Becky had a glass of Verdicchio white. 

We were even able to get a nice parking space just down the street a half a block. 

Someone Like You - Reflections FV

This mix starts off with the wonderful vocalist Adele and then it flows through a selection of songs across a couple of decades that sound good together and have been featured on many of my mixes over the years. I put this one together recently as part of my Reflections Final Version series. It runs about an hour and a half and explores the music of some great love songs. 

Someone Like You - Reflections FV

1. Someone Like You – Adele, 2011
2. One Day – Sharon Van Etten, 2010
3. Broken Arm – Winterpills, 2007
4. Love Goes On – The Go-Betweens, 1996
5. I Misunderstood – Richard Thompson, 1991
6. She’s A Mystery To Me – Roy Orbison, 1989
7. She’s Still Bewitching Me – The Green Pajamas, 1999
8. Tart – Elvis Costello, 2002
9. Nobody’s Baby Now – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, 1994
10. Wheels – Lone Justice, 1986
11. Forever Blue – Chris Isaak, 1995
12. Everything Reminds Me Of Her – Elliott Smith, 2000
13. Busby Berkeley Dreams – The Magnetic Fields, 2000
14. ‘Til I Fell In Love With You – Bob Dylan, 1997
15. Essence – Lucinda Williams, 2001
16. Love Is A Losing Game – Amy Winehouse, 2006
17. Fall At Your Feet – Crowded House, 1991
18. Lover’s Waltz – A. A. Bundy, 2007
19. I’ll Dream Of You Tonight – Hem, 2006
20. I Want You To Be My Love – Over The Rhine, 2005
21. Goodbye – Emmylou Harris, 1995
22. I Don’t Want To Talk About Love – Nanci Griffith, 1989
23. If I Should Fall Behind – Bruce Springsteen, 1992

Bacon & Eggs Dinner Treat

Becky put together a surprise dinner tonight of scrambled eggs with pepper and onions along with some nice crispy bacon. It's been a while since we've had eggs for dinner. She also had some of her famous chopped pan roasted potatoes that was leftover from last night went perfectly with this meal. We had some nice bread from the market that made good toast.

There's some leftover bacon for a sandwich this week and of course some leftover potatoes too.

Burger & Home Fries

We had a couple of hamburgers tonight. Those perfect delicious meat burgers from Dash's meat department. They are always great and the best store hamburger patties around. I always like them with some Trader Joe's Sriracha Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce. The rolls were very delicious too. We had Becky's pan roasted home fries along with a salad featuring guacamole on top. 

Having a burger once in a while is nice. Of course today is Valentines Day but we will go out to dinner some other day this week.