Old Navy Belts

During my recent cleaning out some boxes of "stuff" on the 3rd floor I came across a couple of old Navy belts that I was issued at boot camp in 1970. The dark blue one I wore all the time for many years with my classic Navy bell bottomed dungarees. The other one, an olive drab cotton pistol belt, I don't remember ever wearing except for a brief time in basic training.

I'm giving them to Becky to sell on e-Bay. I'll never wear them and they don't come close to fitting anymore. I'm surprised they even fit me when I was 18 years old.

What We Can Know - A Novel

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan, 2025. Another quick read. About nine days. This was a fascinating story about a search for a lost famous poem from the early 21st century by an academic scholar researching within the library archives in a climate changed drowned Britain in 2119. It's also a complicated love story too but mostly a look at our times as seen from the point of view of that dystopian future. We got blamed for the future. 

It was kind of like a science fiction novel but without the science. I think I read this novel quickly because I wanted it to be over. 

The only other Ian McEwan novel I've read was Atonement back in 2002. 

Old Neighborhood Irish Red Ale - Glass of Beer

The other day I went to the Co-Op with Becky and while we were there I went over and looked at their beer selection which is always very good. I picked out a six pack of Old Neighborhood Irish Red Ale from one of our local brewers Resurgence Brewery at a very reasonable price. This evening I had my first taste of it and it was delicious. Loved this beer and gave it a 4.25 on Untapped. 

Did my glass of beer pic with a book too. I'm reading this 3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and The Lost Empire of Cool by James Kaplan, 2024. A book Becky got me for Xmas.

Mira Restaurant Reservations

For the past couple of months Becky and I have been interested in checking out the new restaurant on Elmwood Avenue located in the former Pano's Restaurant. The new restaurant is called Mira and is owned by several local experienced restaurant people and is serving Mediterranean cuisine from Spain, Greece and Italy. 

We had been waiting for it to open and several times we were on that block and could see the renovations going on. Then one day in early November we were walking over to Coles from where we parked on Bird Ave and saw that Mira was open. People were sitting at tables and at the bar. It was early in the evening and there looked to be plenty of room. We went in and asked for a table. The person at the staff entrance desk asked if we had reservations and it turned out that the entire restaurant was booked because it was the Grand Opening Night. So we went out and across the street to Coles.

The next day or so I went online to make a reservation but it was booked up for the next two months. I tried several times in November and December to book a table but it was always filled many weeks ahead. Almost two months. A few times we have been to Coles or in the neighborhood and saw that the restaurant parking lot was full and there were crowds on both floors.

I figured the best way to get a reservation was to book a table for 4 on a Thursday some time in the future and then ask someone to join us as the time got closer. Today I went online and made a reservation. The closes time I could get for an evening was in mid-March. I made a 5:30 pm reservation for Thursday on March 19th. I also tried to make a second reservation for April but the system apparently only lets you make reservations within a two month period so April and beyond was not available yet. At sometime over the next few weeks I'll make another reservation for a table for 4 in April.

At some time in early March we'll ask another couple to join us for dinner at Mira.

Last Day of January 2026

It's cold and dreary. Cloudy and snowy. It's the last day of January 2026 and I think it would be a good day to stay home and keep warm. Sometimes the sun would come out and there would be a little blue sky and then a few minutes later the clouds would come along with the snow. Back and forth all day. Lake effect cells passing by.

Parkside Meadow w/ Dave & Donna

Yesterday Becky was on the phone with Dave and during their conversation he suggested that we should all go down to the Parkside Meadow for a fish fry tomorrow. I contacted to ask what time and he initially said 4:30. I made a joke about it and we agreed on 5. Becky and I would have gone down there at 5:30 or 6. Then I called the PM and made a reservation for 4 at 5pm. 

This evening we walked down there at about 4:45 and it took about ten minutes to walk because of the snow. We took our time and it actually wasn't bad. All of the sidewalks from our house to the PM were shoveled and the street corners were OK to walk across. We got there and the bar area was full but we were the first people in the dining room. We were given a table in the middle of the room. It was OK but there were better tables. We asked for a booth but the waitress said they were all reserved. Then we asked about a table along the wall but they too were reserved. Friday night is always very busy for them and people ask for reservations at specific tables. Well, will know better next time.

While we were waiting for Dave and Donna to arrive Len, the owner and our neighbor, came by and chatted with us for awhile. D & D sat down and we continued talking with Len. Meanwhile some folks started coming in. By the time our ordered drinks arrived, me and Dave got beers, Donna got a glass of wine and Becky got an NA, people were coming in and those booths filled up. By 5:30 the dining room had almost filled up. By 6 the place was jammed, the bar area full and the back dining room was half filled too. 

Dave and I got the fish fry with their homemade chips. The cole slaw was good too. Becky got a beef on weck with chips and Donna got a tuna melt. The food was fine and we had a great time. The service was good and although it was crowded we could still sit at our table and have conversations. 

There were a lot of people I knew in the restaurant. Mostly from serving on the PCA board. I said Hi to about a dozen people in the restaurant.

We finished up around 6:45 and headed for the exit but it took a little while because we stopped at a friend's table and chatted a little. Dave and Donna had driven down to the restaurant but they had to park about a block and a half down the street so we walked along with them. After our goodbyes we continued down Russell and over Crescent to our house. It was all pretty quick and although it was cold we were dressed for it and there was no wind. Overall a very good night and we'll go again sometime soon.

Bitter Cold Again

Woke up to another morning of sunny weather with temperatures below zero. It's been very cold almost everyday for the past few weeks. It's usually been single digit temperatures and occasionally going up into the teens. It's been awhile since it was in the 20s. Above freezing... can't remember. There hasn't been a January Thaw this year.

We've had a lot of lake effect snow but the lake must have frozen over so why all that extra snow. We have about 7 or 8 inches on the ground now but it mostly came in small steady increments with nothing melting.

This bad January weather has been happening all over the East, Midwest and the South. We were talking with Katie and the kids on video chat and they were excited about all the snow they had in Philly. 

Yesterday I cleaned off the car three times. I've been trying to keep up with the snow shoveling. A few times this month I used the snowblower but mostly I've been shoveling. Yesterday later in the day the plows came by and buried our driveway with heavy street snow. So I had to go out there again and dig through it. Me and all the neighbors too. 

So later today we are going out for a fish fry with Dave and Donna down at the Parkside Meadow. We plan to walk there so we will be very bundled up. The temperatures will be about 9 or 10 degrees in the early evening.

2054: A Novel

2054: A Novel by Elliot Ackerman & James Stavridis, 2024. I read this in about a week in January. It was a quick read but rather unsatisfying. I think I read this one fast because I kept thinking something exciting would be happening just around the corner, just another chapter. Well, it did describe AI run amok and the results of lots of conspiracy theories. It was a novel of speculative fiction that takes place 30 years in the future. 

I read their first novel together... 2034: A Novel of the Next World War which they published in 2021 and I wrote about at the time. I liked that political thriller a lot but something was missing this time. It took the story about 20 year further into the future and shows us where our society is heading. And the coming Singularity and possible Civil War. 

Bruce Springsteen's Streets of Minneapolis

Bruce Springsteen has always been very vocal in his opposition to the trump regime in many ways. This week he released a new protest song he wrote specifically addressing the issues of police brutality and trumpian ICE fascism in Minneapolis and around the country.

Here are the lyrics...

"Streets Of Minneapolis"

Through the winter's ice and cold
Down Nicolet Avenue
A city aflame fought fire and ice
'Neath an occupier's boots
King Trump's private army from the DHS
Guns belted to their coats
Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law
Or so their story goes
Against smoke and rubber bullets
By the dawn's early light
Citizens stood for justice
Their voices ringing through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renee Good

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We'll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Here in our home they killed and roamed
In the winter of '26
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

Trump's federal thugs beat up on
His face and his chest
Then we heard the gunshots
And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead
Their claim was self defense, sir
Just don't believe your eyes
It's our blood and bones
And these whistles and phones
Against Miller and Noem's dirty lies

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

Now they say they're here to uphold the law
But they trample on our rights
If your skin is black or brown my friend
You can be questioned or deported on sight

In chants of ICE out now
Our city's heart and soul persists
Through broken glass and bloody tears
On the streets of Minneapolis

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
Here in our home they killed and roamed
In the winter of '26
We'll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis
We'll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis

JT's with Dick & Iris

We had a wonderful dinner tonight with Dick and Iris at JT's. I had the Rigatoni Bolognese which I've had there several times and love. I also had my usual Tuscan Blend wine and then followed it up with a nice Peroni draft beer.

Everyone else had seafood. Becky had the Shrimp Scampi. Dick had a Dover Sole which was stuffed with clam and crab with a lobster sauce. Iris had the Grilled Whole Trout. Wow. And we started off with a large plate of Sauteed Mussels. All of us except Becky who doesn't eat mussels. It was delicious and a little hot too. 

The restaurant was busy for a snowy Wednesday night but it was also kind of quiet. It was nice sitting there at our table and enjoying our conversations. We ended up sitting at our table together for a little over two hours. The service was wonderful as always and the staff were exceptionally friendly.

It was also kind of a crazy snowy night on Elmwood Avenue and from our table we could see the snow coming down and at times it looked like a white out. Becky and I parked the car in our usual spot on Bidwell and as we walked the block and a half to JT's we had snow blowing in our faces. We couldn't believe how much snow was coming down. It was snowing when we left the house but not very much and it wasn't until we got over to Elmwood that suddenly we were in white out conditions. It snowed a little throughout the day but it wasn't forecasted for snow this evening. This was all some crazy lake effect snow. We had to shake ourselves off after we walked into the restaurant. Our reservation was for 6:30 but we got there about 15 minutes early. We sat at our table to wait for Dick and Iris. We were concerned for them. They arrived at 6:30 and Dick let Iris off at the door then we parked the car right out in front. We helped Iris in with her walker and got her seated at our table.

During our Christmas Eve dinner Dick and I talked about getting together soon to go out to dinner at a restaurant. We had been talking about this all year whenever we were together for some family event when the kids were in town. Going out to dinner would be a chance for just the four of us to get together. So because of Iris's mobility issues they should pick a restaurant.

Dick had contacted us recently and suggested dinner. We agreed right away and said we were flexible. They decided on JT's restaurant which is one of our favorite places for dinner and picked the day and time... Wednesday Jan. 28 at 6:30 pm. Everything went very well despite the snow.

Right before we left we talked about doing this again at another restaurant but in the Spring. Dick and Iris are traveling to California to spend time with Jeremy, Rachel and the kids and plan to spend about 4 weeks there. Now that's a nice break in the weather.