Car Stolen Again

Woke up to a phone call at 7am this morning. It was from an Erie County dispatcher who said they believe they had Becky's vehicle that had been stolen. I said I didn't know anything about it and then looked out the front window down at the driveway. It was empty. Our car was gone. He told me the car was found in Amherst near Main and Kensington and to call the Buffalo Police.

I dialed 911 and was connected to our precinct and they said our car was found and they would take me to it to identify it. They said it could be driven. I got into the back of the police car and they took me to my car which was sitting in the middle of a side street near the intersection of Main and Kensington. The car was running. It was a mess and the ignition column was torn apart just like last time. There was a lot of junk in the car from the kids who took. They also stole the big yellow steering wheel club that was in the back seat. We had stopped clubbing the car early in the winter.

The police escorted me back to our house as I drove the car. I followed them back along the expressways. I pulled into our driveway and one of the officers used a USB device to turn off the engine. They told me there was a significant rise in the Kia and Hyundai car thefts over the past few weeks.

Next I called our insurance agents about the car theft. They had me contact our insurance company Travellers. That was an ordeal. Because I needed to have the car towed to a repair shop they kept putting me into their roadside assistance program. Everything was automated. I finally had to call a third time to ensure I talked with a person and got things going properly. Then I found it easier to set up an online account with Travellers and make the claim in the system. That took a couple of tries but I eventually got a claim in the system. I waited about a half hour and then looked at the progress of the claim... nothing seemed to be happening. I looked deeper into the claim process and found the person who was assigned my claim. I sent them an email outlining what I needed to happen. 

I wrote... Hi, I filed a claim this morning concerning my stolen and damaged vehicle. This happened once before in 2023 so I know the process. Our car was recovered and is now back in our driveway but not driveable. We need our car towed or taken from our driveway at 366 Crescent Ave, Buffalo, NY  and taken to Gerber Auto Repair at 2643 Delaware Ave for repairs. There is an Enterprise Car rental on the property which I will use.

Please make this happen. We need the car rental and our car fixed ASAP. Thanks.

I got a call from him a little later. He thought things were moving along fine. They set things up with Enterprise Car Rental and repairs to be made at Gerber Auto Repair. 

A Buffalo police detective contacted me to make a report on the car theft incident.

Brian down the street drove me over to Enterprise on Main Street to pick up our rental car which I then drove home. We will have it for the time it takes to get our car fixed.

Travellers sent out an appraiser who looked over the car and arranged with Gerber to pick up the car. Gerber contacted me and we talked about getting the car to them. They contacted Walters Towing who then contacted me to arrange a time to pick up the car. They came by a little after 5 pm and would take the car to their secure facility overnight and then take it to Gerber in the morning. We didn't want to leave the car vulnerable.

Tomorrow I will take the rental car over to Gerber and do the paperwork.

Funny is What I Do

Our grandson Andrew told us that Funny is What I Do! This kid just turned 4 years old last week and this is how he describes himself. Cracked us up. Yes, he is funny. He's also very loving and smart. He is fun to be around. Sure he has his 3-4 year old moments but overall he is a wonderful little boy and a joy in our lives.

Pizza & Wings

Sean and Ashley and the kids arrived this Friday afternoon of the Easter weekend. We had a very nice time with Andrew and Autumn although it was a little cold to be doing much outside. We did spend a little time in the backyard.

We were planning to have some pizza and they wanted pizza and wings from Mr. Pizza so Becky and I went over and got some. It was delicious as usual and we had just enough for a nice meal.

Then it was time to watch some basketball playoff games.

Another Coles Dinner

Becky and I decided to go out for dinner this evening after spending the day getting the house ready for Sean and Ashley and the kids visiting us for the weekend. We wanted to relax a little bit so we over to Coles. It seems like we've been there a lot recently. I think this would be the third time in about a month. Not complaining.

I had a beef on weck sandwich and Becky had a chicken milanese. I had a couple of draft beers too.

The restaurant was a little quieter than the past couple of times. Last week we were there on a Friday evening and it was jumping. Today was still very nice with good service and great food.

Kitchen Range Hood Installation

It took three weeks, just like they said, for us to get our kitchen range hood delivered and installed. They came by today in the mid-afternoon and had it done in about 20 minutes. These guys were good.

Now we are very happy with the new stove and the range hood with the fancy lights and the wonderful fan. 

It was nice to get rid of the portable desk lamp that we've had next to the stove for many years.

Jupiter String Quartet

Tonight we experienced the last concert of the season in our Buffalo Chamber Music series. It was wonderful as always. We enjoyed it very much and we're looking forward to next season after seeing the brochure for the 2025-2026 series tonight.

The Jupiter String Quartet played tonight and the first half was spectacular with a Haydn string quartet followed by an interesting modern piece by Caroline Shaw. After the intermission there was a Brahms string quartet.

As usual we saw lots of people we knew including several neighbors.

It was a cold night but no snow or ice. We parked in our usual area and enjoyed the walk back and forth to the music hall.

Icelandic Sounds - Kitchen Listening

I spent the morning listening to the haunting music of the post-rock Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Three of their albums on the stereo lasted a little over three hours of blissful sounds and cerebral voices.

• Agaetis Byrjun, 1999
• ( ), 2002
• Takk..., 2005

I could have kept this going all day playing the rest of their albums in my collection but I'll save those for another time.

Bunny Hops

Earlier this evening Becky and I saw a couple of bunnies playing in our front yard. They would sit there chomping on some grass or something then suddenly hop up and charge each other. It was hilarious to watch and we stood there at the window for some time being highly entertained. 

Later in the dark they were out there still doing the same playful hopping around.

Ashley Visit

Yesterday we had a surprise visit from Ashely. She was coming into town to help her uncle who was being transferred from a hospital to a rehab center in the Southtowns. Sean called us in the morning to ask if it was alright for her to stay with us Friday night and she would drive back on Saturday. Of course we said fine.

We had reservations for Coles on Friday evening at 6 pm so we let Ashley know that we could add her to the reservation if she wanted to have dinner with us after she was done with her uncle. It turned out that she was running late with what she needed to do and she would not be getting to our house until 8:30 or 9 pm. 

She had to first stop by the hospital and get the house keys from her uncle. Then go to his place in Cheektowaga and get some of his personal stuff to bring to the rehab center. He was being transferred there from a medical transportation service and things were running late. She was able to have something to eat that her friend Mel brought over to her.

So quickly gave the house a quick cleaning and put some clean sheets on the guest room bed. Then we went over to Coles for dinner and we were back by 7:30 pm. 

Ashely showed up around 9:15 pm with a vase of flowers. Then we hung out for awhile watching the women's basketball tournament and doing a lot of talking.

This morning we had some breakfast and talked more. She had a lot to do today before driving back home so she left around 10 or so. We had a short but intense visit with her and looking forward to her coming back in a couple of weeks with Sean and the kids.

Coles for Dinner

Tonight we went over to Coles for dinner. It was a Friday night so we had made reservations for 6 pm. Since Ashley was coming over to our house later tonight we went to Coles a little early at 5:30 pm. We got the last booth in the bar area although there were still several tables there. The place filled up very quickly especially the big dining room.

We had a wonderful dinner and had a great time. We don't usually go there on the weekends and it was really hoping. We often go on Thursday evenings. I had a fish fry which was delicious as was the coleslaw and fries. I actually finished the whole dinner plate which is very unusual. Becky had a Buffalo chicken finger wrap.

I also had a pint draft of Ithaca Flower Power IPA and then an Abita Purple Haze which I hadn't had in a while.

We enjoyed our evening there and we were amazed at how many families with small children were in the pub. It was fun to observe. The place was incredibly crowded.

Then we were off to go home and wait for Ashley to come over and spend the night with us.

Chinese Noodles & Chicken

Becky made some nice Chinese noodles and chicken in the wok this evening. It was delicious. She hadn't done this in awhile. 

This was a wonderful dinner. We like using the Gomashia sesame salt rice seasoning with it too.

Dinner at Jack Rabbit

This evening Becky and I had a very nice dinner at Jack Rabbit's on Elmwood Avenue. This was our first time there after we couldn't get into our first choice Coles. 

We sat in their upstairs backroom which was very fancy in a hip way. We sat next to the piano.

I had their fish fry which was huge and very good although the coleslaw and noodles which were so-so. Fries were good. I had a Guinness on tap and then later a lager from 42 North Brewery. Becky had a chicken finger snack wrap.

We had a wonderful and interesting time hanging out with Mary Ellen earlier this afternoon and after her visit we decided to go out for dinner. She was talking about getting a fish fry to bring home to her sister and that made me want a fish fry too. I haven't had one in a while.

Our plan was to go over to Coles. We parked in our usual spot and walked down the street to the restaurant. It was about 5:30 and didn't look to busy. We saw plenty of empty tables but the staff person said reservations only. Apparently there was an event at Buff State and the folks were all coming to Coles for dinner. She showed us the list of reservations. All of those tables would be full by 6 pm. So we got turned away and then walked down the street to the Jack Rabbit restaurant.

This was our first time going to dinner at this restaurant. We tried once before a few months ago on a Saturday evening when we couldn't get a table at Coles but they were full too. This time there were plenty of tables for two available.

It was interesting to be there again because over the years this had been one of our favorite go to restaurants and bars when it was JP Bullfeathers. Bullfeathers closed in 2015 in a complicated legal and family situation. They were originally supposed to refurbish the restaurant into an apartment building and construct a new restaurant someone else on Elmwood Ave. Nothing turned out and the building was empty for several years until the new owners over the summer of 2019. Then of course the pandemic came along before they could get their new restaurant going. Eventually they did and they renovated the building along with having a live music venue.  We had been wanting to get over there but just wasn't motivated enough until recently.

They really did a great job with the renovation and it's hard to believe it's the same place we spent so much time at over the years. They really expanded the restaurant into the second floor that hadn't been used previously by the restaurant. That is where we sat this evening. They also expanded down at the lower level which back in the day was the Wine Cellar. Now there is a bar and dining room down there. The main bar area has been very nicely improved along with the patio.

Definitely a place we will go to again. I'd like to sit in that main bar area for a meal sometime.

Mary Ellen Visit

Yesterday Becky's friend Mary Ellen called. It was a funny call because we were messing with Becky's phone at the time trying to access a message when suddenly there was Mary Ellen on the line. She was in town and wanted to come by and see us. So we set it up for her to come by for lunch today.

Mary Ellen lives in Texas near Dallas. I haven't seen her in many years although Becky has met her at a coffee shop when she has been in town recently.

We had a nice time hanging out at home. We had some sandwiches in the kitchen for lunch then sat around the living room talking. Then Becky took her upstairs to her studio where she got very excited over Becky's work that she has been getting ready for her show. Then we sat around and talked more.

Mary Ellen hung out with us for about three and a half hours. From 1 pm to 4:30. Then she had to go to her sister's house but first she planned to stop to get a fish fry dinner on the way.

She was in town taking care of some legal issues having to do with the death last year of one of her sisters where a niece has been trying to take over the estate. Complicated and awful.

Becky and Mary Ellen go back to when they worked together as waitresses at the Upstairs Downstairs restaurant on Elmwood Ave in the early 80's. Mary Ellen also made Becky's wedding dress. 

A Murder of Crows

Over the past couple of days our backyards have been full of crows that have been passing through. They stopped in our trees because they had easy access to Mark's bird feeder which they filled before going out of town for a week. Usually Mark would chase any crows at his feeder but since he wasn't home they made themselves at home. I tried chasing them a couple of times but there just came right back over and over. The only thing that would get them to move on would be if there was no more bird seed for them. It was amazing to see so many of them in the trees as a few at a time went to the feeder. 

It took them just a little over two days to finish off Mark's bird seed. Now they are gone. The birdfeeder is empty. During this period our birdfeeder saw a lot of activity because the crows drove all the other birds away from that feeder. The small birds came to ours and I had to refill it during the week. 

Little Feat Live - Kitchen Listening

One of my all-time favorite live albums has been Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus which they released in early 1978. I went out and got this double LP shortly after that. We played this crowd pleaser a lot in our house on Seymour Street. I had seen this band a few years earlier with John in 1975. 

Today I put on the expanded double CD version of the album which came out in 2002 and of course I had to have. Recently in 2022 the record company released a super deluxe 8 CD version which is actually a collection of several live shows from that time period. I don't think I need that but I could listen to it on Spotify.

I also put on their second live album Live from Neon Park which is a double CD released in 1996 which I hadn't listened to very much over the past nearly 30 years. Certainly not as much as Waiting for Columbus. It was nice hearing it following the first album and made for an interesting morning and afternoon of live Little Feat.

We had it on while doing a little cleanup around the house before Mary Ellen comes by for a visit tomorrow.

Atlantis The Lost Continent - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Saturday Matinee Random Pick #5. Atlantis, The Lost Continent, 1961. George Pal, dir. 

I was 10 when I first saw this in the theater around the corner. I really like this movie and saw it many times over the years. I was fascinated with the idea of a lost continent and unknown ancient lost civilizations.  

I also went to see any movie that George Pal had anything to do with. He was the early standard for special effects.

Bob Dylan's Chronicles Volume One - Book Shelf

Book Shelf post #168 on Bluesky. Music Memoir. Chronicles Volume One by Bob Dylan, 2004. Another Dylan post.

I read this book over the summer of 2005. I've read a few books about Dylan over the years but it was very fascinating to experience his story with him telling it. I really loved this book and have been very disappointed to be waiting 20 years for the next two promised volumes. I guess writing a book for him is harder than writing great songs.

We still have his music and there are still plenty of books about his life and music but I wish he would get motivated to write those other two planned volumes of his Chronicles.

I've previously written about Reading About Dylan here.

Club Paradise - Film Favorites

Film Favorites #36. Club Paradise, 1986. A wonderful vacation comedy in a fictional Caribbean island banana republic with a great cast including Robin Williams, Twiggy, Jimmy Cliff, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, etc. Loved it. So 80's.

Neil Young Stories - Kitchen Listening

Listening to some later Neil Young this morning. Mostly acoustic and solo. Story telling about many different issues... social and political. And of course some romance too. These albums I listened to today were from 2014 to 2016. I hadn't given them a listen in a while and not together as a group probably ever. The Storytone album was actually a 3 CD set. These albums were on the stereo all morning and into the afternoon.

Most of the music was stripped down and acoustic. Some of it was a little rough around the edges. The A Letter Home album sounded like it was purposefully recorded on a cheap cassette player. 

Overall a very interesting music kitchen listening session with Neil Young.

• A Letter Home, 2014
• Storytone, 2014
• The Monsanto Years, 2015
• Peace Trail, 2016

Burger Time

Burgers for dinner along with Becky's special home fried potatoes and some tomato and cucumber salad. So very good.

High Fidelity - Film Favorites

High Fidelity came out on film in 2000. I had read the Nick Hornby novel around the same time. I probably read the book after seeing that the movie was coming out. I wrote about the novel here

I don't think I saw this film in a movie theater and probably saw it on HBO or another streaming service as soon as it was available. We just don't got out to the movies anymore like we did for so many years. Now when we go out I'd rather go see live music and have dinner somewhere. There are plenty of movies to watch at home.

But I did really like this film and the cast. In particular I liked the Jack Black character. I also liked the lead character's mixtape obsession and his loads of rules for making mixtapes. 

I enjoyed the TV series on Hulu while it lasted.

Nothing Has Changed - David Bowie Kitchen Listening

Kitchen Listening. Nothing Has Changed: The Best of David Bowie, 2014.

Spent a nice afternoon giving this 3 CD box set a listen. An amazing collection in reverse chronological order makes for an interesting listening perspective.

Blade Runner - Film Favorites

Film Favorites #34. Blade Runner, 1982. Science Fiction. Ridley Scott, dir. Inspired by the 1968 Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which I've read a couple of times. Saw this movie a few times too.

Becky's Pizza

It was time once again for Becky's wonderful homemade pizza. She comes home from the market with some really great bread and that is the start. Then pepper and onions along with a nice salad. Always a great meal.

Music & Rhythm - Vinyl Spins

Vinyl Spins #85. Best of Music and Rhythm – Various Artists, 1983. 

I got this during my 80's bar DJ years when I was always looking for unique compilation LPs like this one. Lots of interesting music to play on this record. Mostly reggae related and world music. 

You can see the red dot on the album which means I got this at Home of the Hits/Play it Again Sam's on Elmwood Ave. There were always interesting albums available there and with a very knowledgeable staff to advise.

Posted this to Bluesky.

The Vikings - Film Favorites

Film Favorites #33. Saturday Matinee. The Vikings, 1958. Another son of Ragnar. Always liked those old seafaring adventure Viking movies. I also like streaming the many new TV series that keep coming out.

The Terminator - Film Favorites

Film Favorites #32. The Terminator, 1984. Science Fiction. James Cameron dir. A classic... and only four years away.

JT's with Val

Earlier this evening Becky and I went out to dinner at JT's with Val. We picked her up at her house and got to the restaurant for our 6 pm reservation. She had been there once before for brunch with Nina. 

It was a Friday night and the restaurant was crowded... especially the bar area. We had a nice table. I started off with a large glass of Tuscan red wine. Becky had a regular pinot grigio and Val had a pinot noir. The food and the service were wonderful as usual. I had a Chicken Cutlet Parmesan Alla Vodka. Becky had the always great Rigatoni Bolognese and Val had the Chicken Cutlet Salad Milanese. Of course we had to have some gelato for desert while Val had a very nice large carrot cake.

Overall a very fine time. We had been hoping to take Val out to dinner for several months and we're glad we were finally able to do it. She has had a hard time this year with the relatively sudden passing of Bobby and her getting used to living alone. She also had knee surgery recently which she recovered very nicely.

Swiss Family Robinson - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Saturday Matinee Random Pick #7. Swiss Family Robinson, 1960. Saw this a few times back when double features changed twice a week at the neighborhood theater.

Soylent Green - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Science Fiction. Random Pick #9. Soylent Green, 1973. A dystopian future police detective murder mystery with a weird ending.

Splashdown & the Dolphins

Becky called me into the front room to see something very unique on TV. CNN was live covering the splashdown of the SpaceX capsule bringing back the stranded astronauts that had been on the space station for so many months. When the capsule came down into the ocean on a beautiful calm day at sea they were greeted by a pod of dolphins who hung around during the operation and were seen by millions watching on TV. I was happy that Becky made sure I saw this wonderful event.

Many years ago we saw lots of capsule recovery operations on television but we never saw any of them greeted by dolphins.

Jesse Colin Young - RIP - Kitchen Listening

Last night while browsing online I saw that Jesse Colin Young had passed away. He was 84 years old. I first heard his music in 1967 when he was with The Youngbloods and had that monster hit Get Together. I saw them in concert back in the late 60's and I saw him perform solo later at the folk festival and at either the Main Point or the Bijou Cafe.

I really liked his music and used a number of his songs on mixes over the years.

So today I put on some of his music. I started off with his double CD best of and then went to a few of his albums both with the band and solo.

In my collection 

• The Youngbloods, 1967
• Elephant Mountain, 1969
• The Best of The Youngbloods, 1970
• Get Together: The Essential Youngbloods, 2002

His solo albums

• Song for Juli, 1973
• Light Shine, 1974
• The Best of Jesse Colin Young, 2005 (2CD)

Phase IV - Film Favorites

Film Favorites: Science Fiction. Random Pick #8. Phase IV, 1974. One of my most shocking Sci-Fi movies. I saw it the week it was released and only knew it was based on an H.G. Wells story. I was a college film major at the time.

The H.G. Wells story was Empire of the Ants, 1905. Phase IV had an alternate ending that was recently released for the 50th anniversary of the film. I need to see it.

New Kitchen Stove

We got our new kitchen stove delivered and installed today. We went over to the store and picked out and bought the stove. They were scheduling us to get it delivered in a couple of days but then they called us and said they could deliver and install this afternoon. Amazing quick service.

We also bought a new fan and light hood but that will not be available for installation until about three weeks. In the meantime we have the stove.

Our old stove which we had for over 20 years had been giving us problems and then recently we smelled a little bit of a gas odor when the oven was initially turned on. It didn't last long but it was a concern and we opened a window and turned on the vent fan. It made us want to go out and get the

new stove and we did. It's kind of funny but this is the third appliance we've purchased from Orville's in recent months. First the new dryer, then the dishwasher and now the stove. What's next... maybe the clothes washer.