Bugs

Becky and I were sitting on the porch enjoying a nice sunny afternoon when suddenly this white cocoon like bug dropped from above and landed next to Becky. It really almost landed in her lap. The bug landed on it's back and it took awhile for it to roll over onto it's legs. Then it just stood there for a bit before starting to climb up the leg of Becky's chair. I knocked it back to the floor where it stayed there.

After awhile I noticed more ants on the porch floor than usual. I came back later and the white bug was gone but there were still more ants... lots more and they were swarming along one side of the door and up along toward the top. Then I saw there were flying ants swarming around a crevice along the top of the door and a line of ants climbing up the side of the door. There were also ants going into a crevice at the bottom of the door too. I put an ant trap on the floor next to the door.

I went down to the basement and got out an old can of Raid. I put on a different shirt, a hat, my big sunglasses, gloves and a mask. Then I sprayed some Raid into both of the crevices and along the path of the ants and along the bottom of the door.

In a little while there was a pile of dead ants at the bottom of the doorway. This all happened a few days ago and I've been checking for any ant or bug activity around the door. There has been nothing but I have that can of Raid ready just in case.

Flowers for Mother's Day

Becky got a delivery today of flowers and a cake for Mother's Day. Sean and Katie got together to make it happen from Wegman's using the InstaCart service. The flowers were spectacular and the carrot cake is delicious.

The delivery came without anything written on a card. I got a text from Sean saying that a home delivery was happening in the afternoon so when the flowers came we assumed they were from Sean. Later we found out the gifts were from the both of them. The came a day early because it much easier to get a home delivery on Saturday than on a Sunday. 

I took a picture of the flowers from both sides of the table.

Mother and Grandmother

We were up on the 3rd floor moving stuff around and came across this old framed photo of my mother as an infant with her mother. Mom and Mom-Mom. 

I tried taking some photos of the picture but it was difficult because of the reflections in the glass frame. Actually this picture was framed at the Koenig family's art supply and frame shop Arttree some 40 years ago. I was working at the store at that time too.

Dave & Donna's

Dave and Donna had us over yesterday for a Saturday evening hang out with Jimmy and his son Sonny who were in town for the weekend. No Cassie as usual. It was great seeing Jim and his little two-year-old was very cute and fun to be around. We were over there from a little after 5 pm until about 8:30. There had been rain expected but it turned out to be a very beautiful evening weatherwise. When we first arrived Donna said we would be eating inside but by dinner time we were all outside eating.

Dinner was simple. Dave ordered pizza and wings and a salad. A mix of pizzas from Mr. Pizza and La Nova. Wings were regular and BBQ. Folks brought desserts... pies and of course Donna had an assortment of his cookies laid out. We enjoyed every bite of the food.

There was a nice group but not as crowded as usual. Jimmy and Sonny. Dave and Donna. Mary. Amy and Doug with the two teenage girls. Eric and Amy and their little one Ivy. And Tom and Diane. Sonny and Ivy played together nicely.

No pictures. It's amazing how many people we know do not take any pictures of diners, parties and actually any gathering of friends and families at their homes. There was only one time when phones came out for pictures and that was a staged shot of Jimmy with Sonny standing alongside of Eric with Ivy. The two sons with the two grandkids. Sadly they are the only grandchildren for both of those families. One and done. 

Dinner for Two - The Terrace

It was a Thursday evening and we decided to go out for dinner. We considered several places including going down to Canalside and almost went to the new restaurant in the Richardson Complex but because it was such a nice day we went over to The Terrace in Delaware Park. We didn't have reservations and we couldn't get a table on the patio. That wasn't so bad because they still had the winter protection up and it wasn't as nice as it would be when in full summer mode out there. We had a good table in the main dining room and the place was very busy.

One of the reasons we wanted to go there was do have some pub food sandwiches and we did good. Becky got a shrimp po' boy with fries and I had a delicious chicken sandwich with fries. I had a couple of nice Lunch IPAs on tap from Maine Brewery.

We had to park down the street a couple of blocks and had to walk through the park on an angle past the rose garden to get to the restaurant. The park was very crowded and we really enjoyed that walk. It was nice on the way back too. There was also a very large crowd at the Albright-Knox because of the free live music that they now have every Thursday evening. We thought about going in to check it out but it was getting near the end of the music by the time we were done with dinner. Maybe another time.

Got Trash

Becky made arrangements with the Got Trash company to remove a lot of stuff from our third floor. The price was reasonable considering how many things had to be carried down the stairs and out to a truck in the driveway. The two guys doing the lifting were great but they did get quite the workout. 

The items carried down the stairs included two CD shelves, one small and one large, my old computer table, the desk from the studio, the old sewing machine, an old book shelf and the treadmill which fortunately folded up in half. Then there was a stack of old paintings done on wood panels that Becky wanted to get rid of. They were several trips.

We had cleared out the stairway landing that had been a storage area and we took down all of the artwork on the walls along the stairs and out the door. Cleared off lots of pottery too just to make sure there were no accidents. They came around 10:30 in the morning and were done in about an hour. Everything that was coming down was marked.

When they were finished and sitting in the front seat of the truck writing up the bill I had gone to the refrigerator and got two plastic bottles of some cold water. They were both very excited and thankful to get that water. The look on their faces was priceless. They certainly deserved it.

A Summer Day in April

April 29th and it really felt like summer today. There's not usually any summer weather in April in Buffalo but today was different. The temperature was in the low 80's. We couldn't sit in our backyard sunroom because it got to 94 degrees in there. I was working out in the backyard and broke into a sweat. I was wearing a t-shirt.

We got a lot done in the garden today. We went for a walk too and we saw lots of flowering trees all over the neighborhood. It was also nice that although this spectacular day was a Monday we can enjoy every moment of it. I never thought for a moment about going to work but I did see some folks come home from work and try to get some garden work done. It's so nice to be retired.

Fish & Chips @ Cafe 59

Becky and I decided to go out for dinner this evening. We usually go out on a Wednesday or Thursday and usually on Fridays if we were heading out to an art opening. On this Friday evening we considered several restaurants but settled on one of our go-to favorite restaurants for a very good but unfancy dinner... Cafe 59 on Allen Street. We got a favorite table by the window and enjoyed a very nice time.

I had their wonderful Fish & Chips and Becky had their Chicken Finger Wrap. I had a couple of beers on tap... a Witte wheat beer from Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown NY and then I followed that up with a Energy Dome Red Ale from Rare Form Brewery in Troy NY.

Overall a very pleasant evening. The restaurant was busy and the service was outstanding as usual. I've never had a meal there that wasn't delicious.

4 Years Ago Today - Injecting Bleach

The maga republicans like to ask the political campaign question about whether you were better off four years ago than you are today. They should just leave it alone because four years ago any time this year is always about the pandemic and the trump response to it or lack thereof.

Four years ago today was that crazy rant by trump about fight covid by injecting bleach into your body. Yep, the president of the US said that and it came to symbolize how trump handled the pandemic and certainly destroyed what little credibility he had left by then.

Here is what he said... "A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that too. Sounds interesting, right? And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it’d be interesting to check that. So that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful."

The infamous bleach press conference became a rally cry for trump's opponents and today is the anniversary of that chaotic moment.

Recycling Eclipse Glasses

Last week I read somewhere that there was a recycling program for gently used eclipse glasses run by the non-profit organization Astronomers Without Borders which re-distributes the glasses around the world during solar eclipses. They sponsor drop-off locations that collect the glasses and I saw that the public libraries in Buffalo were a drop-off location. 

I collected the eclipse glasses we used during the recent solar eclipse in our backyard with Sara, Eliza and Dan. I had four pair of the cardboard glasses I picked up at the library and Sara had four of the big plastic glasses she bought in anticipation of the eclipse. After the event had passed and I heard about the recycling I found six glasses around the house. Three plastic glasses and three of the ones from the library. I think Eliza kept a set for herself to take home which was fine. The others I put in a bag and set aside to take to the library.

Well, a week or so went by and the glasses sat in their bag first on the dining room table and then on the floor near the front door. Finally I grabbed the bag and put it in the car when I went out to my eye doctor appointment. After seeing the doctor I turned down Hertel Avenue and drove over to the North Park Library and dropped off the glasses. The staff there were happy to receive them and I was glad to put them to good use. They will be used in some Third World poor country during another eclipse where the people may not have access to the glasses like we have here in our country. They would just sit in a box for who knows how long if we kept them or we would just throw them away. Now someone else somewhere in the world will get to safely experience that solar eclipse totality like we did.

Eye Doctor Again

This afternoon I had another appointment with an eye doctor. This time it was my regular doctor and not the cataract surgeon but it was a post-op follow-up visit. Everything went well. About three weeks ago I had another appointment at Ross Eye to check my eyes for glaucoma and had some tests done by a technician. They also did some tests on my vision which was 20/20 without glasses. Part of my visit today was to go over the results of the test with Dr. McGraw. 

So everything went well. She reviewed the test from last month and every thing was good. There were no increases in the potential glaucoma problem from the previous test results last year. She also checked out my eyes from the recent cataract surgery and everything was good. Then she also did a regular eye exam and my eyes were very good. She said I had outstanding results from the surgery.

I talked with her about some of the issues I had with using reading glasses and it was unusual for someone my age to not have reading glasses prior to cataract surgery and she assured me I would adjust and get used to the new need for reading glasses. We also talked about using mid-range glasses for computer work. She gave me a script for both reading and computer glasses but it would be best for me to try over-the-counter glasses first which I have started using. She gave me some numbers for the glasses I should try out.

I made an appointment to see her again in six months. At that time I may not need to use the glaucoma prevention eye drops anymore. That would be nice. Overall she said I was doing very well.

Zios for Dinner

When Sean and Ashley were getting close to Buffalo on Friday Sean texted me asking about our plans for dinner. I suggested we get some take out food and asked any ideas. I got a response back... Zios! We had the menu out when they arrived later.

We ordered five sandwiches and the food was wonderful as usual. Their sandwiches are always delicious and well made.

The sandwiches this time... Rocco, Luther, Zio, Bro and Nana.

Becky put together a salad too.

101 Magazines

Over the course of my adult life and delivered to the various addresses I've lived at over the last 50 some years Becky and I have had subscriptions to 101 magazines. Some of the were very brief and some we had for many years. Some were gifts that we didn't renew and others were for our children. We had subscriptions to magazines about music, art, politics, librarianship, computers, sports, films, cooking, home and gardens, economics, entertainment, etc, and etc.

So I'm going to break them down into manageable groups, make some lists and write about those magazines. I came up with the initial list by going to Wikipedia. First I did a search on the List of United States magazines which they broke down by categories such as entertainment and art, finance, children, lifestyle, music, sports, politics, computing, etc. Then I looked at the list of defunct American magazines. From these lists I came up with my personal list of magazines we had subscriptions to over the years and decades. I wrote them down in my notebook and added them up... 101 magazines.

Last Drops & A Glass of Beer

Celebrating my last session of cataract surgery eye drops this evening with a glass of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. One of my favorites. So the eye drops went on every day, at least twice a day, for a month for each eye. The charts were handy to keep track of the eye drop schedule. The whole process went on for five weeks but it's done now.

On Monday I got to my eye doctor to check things out but right now I'm enjoying this beer.

It's Election Interference He Says

Today began the first of Donald Trump's series of criminal trials and he was sleeping in court. He now has become the first former president in America to be tried in court as a criminal. Another infamous first to add to his disgusting resume. When he left the courtroom this afternoon he of course had to make some rambling incoherent which somehow did have one statement that made some sense although not in the way he intended. After going on and on about radical leftist Democrats being out to get him he called his trial election interference. Yes, it is about his election interference in the 2016 election by paying hush money illegally using campaign finance money to interfere in the election process by hiding his corrupt behavior with another woman while his (3rd) wife was pregnant. There was also another woman he had a 9 month affair with that was also part of the hush money scheme to keep that information from the public during his election campaign. Yes, election interference.

Actually all of his current and upcoming criminal cases can be described as him doing election interference to avoid losing the election in 2016 and his election interference with the results of his losing the election in 2020. It's all about him and his fear of being a loser... which he always has been.

Another aspect of this trial I thought has been amusing is the jury selection and the ability of perspective jurors to tell the court, with Trump sitting there listening, why they have prejudicial views about the defendant. Some have said, as New Yorkers, they have been aware a his corrupt activities for decades and strongly believed he has been criminally interfering in our democracy with his activities to keep himself in power.

The Women of Lower Bohemia

I just found this flyer in a box of "stuff" up on the 3rd floor. We've been to Nietzche's so many times over the years but this event was very special seeing our 17 year old daughter performing on that stage in 2002. She was in some good company too.

March 1972

March 1972 is written on the back of this photo of me on my Navy ship the USS Plymouth Rock. I haven't seen this picture in about 50 years and found it in a box of "stuff" on the 3rd floor. I'm wearing a hat with PR on it which refers to the name of the ship. 

In March 1972 I was on a Mediterranean Sea deployment cruise. If this was early March I was probably heading across the Atlantic Ocean. If it was mid March I was probably off the coast of Spain and if was late March then I was in the waters of Greece.

I don't remember where I am on the ship at this time. I'm standing in front of a hatch to another compartment and there is a loudspeaker above my head that was used for routine announcements and general quarters calls. I'm wearing my dungarees and bluejacket so I must have just come from being on deck. I certainly wouldn't be wearing the jacket if I was coming to or from my duty station in the engine room. Maybe this was early March and we were up on deck gazing at the Northern Lights which we saw several times crossing the North Atlantic. Otherwise it was warm off the coast of Spain and Greece but of course maybe it was night.

Table Hopping @ The Steer

We had another wonderful dinner at The Steer this evening but we also had a very unique experience... we sat at four tables to find a comfortable place. The reason was that the garage door to the patio was open and it was a rainy chilly evening with a very cool breeze blowing in on the tables. Actually the first table we sat at was next to the fireplace and it was too warm. Then we moved across the room but we were directly in line with the open patio area plus also under a ceiling fan. Then we moved to the table next to it and it was still too chilly. That breeze coming in off the patio was intense. That poor waitress was fine with moving us around and there were no other people in the dining room at that time. Finally we moved ourselves across the room to another table that was closer to the fireplace and completely away from the open patio door plus there were no ceiling fans above us. That was the sweet spot. Soon there were other people sitting at tables and I know some of them were not comfortable. One woman and her child sitting near the patio area ate and ran. 

The food and the service was fantastic. The waitress was very attentive. We both had chicken sandwiches but different. We also both had a Peroni Lager on tap.

The restaurant also had new lamps at each table that looked great and classy. The waitress said that the patio was in use yesterday and earlier today. It was a lot warmer earlier but as it got past 5:30 pm the temperature was dropping dramatically and there was a stiff breeze. The manager should have had that patio garage door closed. They weren't going to be able to serve dinners throughout the night with that room getting so cold.

A Treat From Sara

Sara brought me some bottles of Yuengling Lager from PA and then when out shopping with Becky at Trader Joe's she got me a bag of almond butter filled pretzel nuggets. She had heard Becky talking about my love for almond butter. She saw the snack and immediately wanted to get some for me.

So tonight I was sitting at my laptop doing some writing with a glass of Yuengling Lager and some of those delicious pretzel nuggets. Sara was also excited to see the Gumby on the window sill who was the star of so many of my social media posts. Well, I had to take a picture of the beer and nuggets with Gumby looking on approvingly and sent it to her phone.

First Eye, Last Drops

My first eye surgery was on my right eye. That operation for the removal of my cataracts was March 13th. Since the day before I have been putting multiple drops in that eye and the left one starting the following week every day. The whole process for my right eye went on for four weeks and today was the last day.

I still have another week of these drops for my left eye but it feels good to make progress in completing this task. Most of the time Becky has put the drops in for me.

Feels Like Summer Now

Today it feels like summer. Before lunch Becky and I took a nice walk around the neighborhood. No jackets were necessary. I had a long sleeve shirt on and needed to unbutton the cuffs and roll of the sleave because it was so warm. After lunch Becky and I went out and sat in the backyard. It was a perfect sunny day and the temperature was 75 degrees. It feels like summer. It was actually getting hot. Inside  the backyard sunroom it was 94 degrees. That certainly feels like summer.

Katie called while we were on our walk. We video chatted for a couple of blocks and then said we would call her back. It's hard to walk and look at a phone at the same time. We see people doing it all the time but it is dangerous in so many ways. Phones can certainly be a distraction. We continued our conversation back at the house and eventually ended it to have lunch before going outside to sit in our lawn chairs. It got too hot and we came in where the house was a lot cooler than the backyard.

After dinner it was still warm out and we went for another walk around the neighborhood. Sometimes it takes a little longer for our walk because we stop and talk with neighbors along the way. When I was putting out some compost in the container at sunset I looked at the thermometer on the wall in there and it was still 92 degrees. It should be a little cooler tomorrow and then some rain on Thursday and Friday with temps in the 50's and 60's. 

Buffalo News Photo

Earlier this morning we got a text message from Katie letting us know that our pictures were in the Buffalo News today and she sent us a link to the online version. Yesterday was a beautiful cool sunny day and we had gone down to Canalside on the waterfront and apparently a Buffalo News photographer snapped this photo of me, Becky, my brother Dan, our niece Sara and her daughter Eliza as we were walking along the boardwalk past a display of Eclipse shirts. I do remember the guy taking pictures with a fancy camera but I thought he was shooting the ships at the Naval Park and not us. 

Later on we found out that Katie first saw the photo when Todd's mother Iris contacted her about it. Then she told us about it.

The photo in context... the online version.

Then the paper version

Eclipse Totality

We were very lucky today that we got to experience the Eclipse Totality. It had been very cloudy all day but just at the right moment when the sun and the moon were doing their thing there were some gaps in the cloud cover letting the solar show peep through.

We sat in chairs in the wayback of the backyard as were our neighbors in their backyards. We did get a good view although I was not looking because of my very recent eye surgery. I did get to experience the totality of day turning into night and that very eerie time just before and just after the totality.

Everything happened right on time and the totality began at 3:18 pm. The street lights came on as did our backyard security light. Very weird. The birds got all quiet too.

I played some music while we were sitting out there... one of my Sy Fy mixes seemed appropriate. 

Coles' 1/2 Pint Onesie

When we were at Coles last night Sara got excited about something she saw at the front of the bar and when we were sitting at our table she got up to talk to the hostess. She saw a baby onesie for sale in a display case and ordered one for Sean and Ashley's baby Autumn. It was a onesie with a Coles logo.

We had told them about Coles being not only one of our favorite bar/restaurants in the area but also a favorite of Sean and Ashley's too. So she decided to get the onesie as a gift for their almost new baby. It's a wonderful gift and the hostess brought one over to the table and gave it to Sara.

When we got the check and were getting ready leave Sara had gotten the check and was treating us to the dinner. However, the cost of the onesie was not on the check. She hadn't paid for it yet and it was supposed to be on the check for payment. She got up and took the check to the waitress and explained the purchase of the onesie and made sure she was charged for it and then paid the modified check. Sara works in a restaurant and was very aware of the process and wanted to do everything right.

It's funny that Becky and I never really noticed that display before. This was the first time I'd seen that onesie. It is very cool and I know Sean and Ashley will be thrilled with it. Sara was going to send it to them but then realized that they will be coming here with the kids in about ten days so she decided to leave it with us to give to them. It will be a great story too.

Eliza really loved being in the bar. She was excited and bouncing around to the music while sitting in her chair. She could see the very crowded bar from her seat and especially watched the groups of young women who were dancing around the bar and through the crowds. She also loved the decor of the restaurant which is one of the oldest bars in Buffalo. I was sitting next to her and explained the history of the place and it's relationship to the neighborhood and the local colleges. She was very happy to be there.

Sunday Night @ Coles

We took a break from watching the college tournament basketball games to go out and get some dinner. Becky and I had been considering different restaurants over the past few days where we could bring them and that we would be able to get in because of the crowds in town for the eclipse. We were hearing on the news and in the online media that the city would be full and restaurants would be hard to get tables. We normally have so many options even on a Sunday evening but we had thought that we would go to someplace with pub food sandwiches rather than a fancier restaurant. We were originally planning on Sara and a couple of teenage girls but of course it turned out to be one teenager and Dan. We thought about getting into either Coles or The Steer which are close by and would fit the bill.

I went online and made a reservation at Coles for Sunday evening for five people at 6 pm. When we got there the place was mobbed and there were a lot of people waiting around for tables. We saw a couple of empty tables in the bar area and the dining area where there were large tables looked packed. The bar itself was 2 or 3 people deep. We got to the desk and I said we had reservations. I told the person there that we come here a lot but never do reservations. She said it was very smart to do it this time. They were exceptionally busy because of the eclipse.

We got a table for five in the bar area and it was very loud and crazy in there. It was loud and crowded everywhere. Service was great and we had some wonderful food. Eliza had an order of wings. I had beef on weck. Becky had a Buffalo Wrap. Dan ordered a hot banana pepper dip for the table and then a chicken quesadilla. I don't recall what Sara had.

I had the same two beers on tap that I did the last time we were there a week or so ago. A Patty's Irish Ale from Rohrbach Brewery and then a Pseudo Sue Pale Ale from Toppling Goliath Brewery. Becky had an Athletic Brewery NA. I'm not sure what the others had except that Sara had an IPA.

More Third Floor Mayhem

Becky and I have both been spending a lot of time on the third floor clearing out "stuff". She from her studio and me from the music room. I've been carrying a lot of trash bags down from the third floor and also lots of recycle material. An example here in this photo is a bag of cassette tape cases that I'll recycle along with the paper inserts. The tapes themselves went into a trash bag.

Our recycle bin has been completely filled every week over the past month. Trash container too along with at least two trash bags each week.

Cleaning out the third floor is actually two projects. We are downsizing and getting rid of piles of paperwork that has filled two filing cabinets. There were tons of paperwork from my years working in libraries. There's lots of Navy stuff that needs to go away.

Becky is also clearing out her studio on Hertel Avenue and the studio space up on our third floor. Much of the artwork from both spaces, hers, her mother's and her father's, will go into a storage unit. A lot has been thrown away and so much paperwork along with it. Our entire third floor will be dedicated to Becky's art studio except for an area where we will have vinyl albums and CDs stored at least for a little while longer.

New Reading Glasses

I went on Amazon and ordered some new reading glasses. They are the half size because I really need something that I can look over easily because I'm really having a problem with using any reading glasses.

However, they do make me look older. I also have now needed to have glasses in my pocket at all times. That would be one of these half glasses. I also have one sitting on the table next to my reading chair. 

I found a pair of old glasses that Becky had bought years ago that are a 1.5. I use them for working at the computer and they are always sitting nearby. I also have one of Becky's old glasses sitting next to the bed. I really do dislike reading in bed with glasses. That is something I've never had to do before. Wear glasses while in bed with a book or tablet.

In a few weeks I will be going back to the eye doctor to get another post op examination at which time they will test my eyes again. They will look at my need for reading glasses and make sure I have the proper prescription for them.

A Change of Eclipse Plans

Early this morning I got a text from Sara concerning their trip to Buffalo this weekend to experience the solar eclipse and there is a change of plans. She said their plans were to leave tomorrow morning around 10am instead of Sunday. Her brother Chris decided to stay behind because his kids had already missed too much school recently. She laughed that it took him this much time to realize that. The big surprise to us was that my brother Dan was coming along instead. So it would be Sara, Eliza and Dan coming in on Saturday and they would be leaving on Monday instead of Tuesday.

Their plan at that time would be leaving early on Monday and maybe actually going to a different location to see the eclipse somewhere on the way home within the path of totality. There are predictions of cloudy weather in WNY and she was also considering getting out of the crowded area quicker. 

Well, we were somewhat surprised and also a little relieved. We really didn't know what was happening with Chris and where he would stay. We had thought at our house Sara would be in one room with Eliza and Olivia in the other one. Chris and Nolan would be at a hotel somewhere. 

She said that they expected to roll into Buffalo late afternoon tomorrow and she would text us about an ETA as they progressed. 

Well, we had been getting the house ready for the past few days but it was still a surprise and a little stressful that they would be coming a day sooner. It was also a little different in the arrangement. Dan would be in one room while Sara and Eliza would be in the other room on the kid's beds. I was happy to have my brother visiting us. 

When I got back to Sara to text her about the trip it was snowing here in Buffalo but the weather over the weekend was supposed to be much better.

So why was Sara coming a day earlier and leaving sooner? It turns out that Betsy has a doctors appointment on Tuesday morning and Sara wants to take her and talk with the doctor. But that's a whole other story.

Compost Container

A couple of months ago we noticed a couple of our neighbors had small brown compost containers out on the sidewalk alongside their trash containers and recycle containers. The bags in the container were picked up on the same day as the other containers and a new bag was left with the emptied container. A few weeks later another neighbor had the compost container and we were noticing them throughout the neighborhood. I looked into the service and found that the city had contracted with a small company called Farmers Pirates Compost which offers residential and commercial composting service throughout the city of Buffalo. I went online and signed up.

It took about a month to hear back from them and then I was contacted by email letting me know that the service would start for us in April. First a compost container and bag was dropped off at our home and then I was given a schedule for pickups.

This week we had our first compost pickup on trash day. Next week we will have our second pickup and we will continue it for awhile before we go back to our backyard compost containers.

Now we've always been big on composting and have had several different composters in our backyard over the past nearly twenty years. Two right now. We get wonderful soil from the composters and use that good dirt in the garden.

The problem is usually the winter season where we just don't go out to the backyard in the snow and bad weather to put table scraps into the compost containers. We just threw them out in the garbage. Now we have the composting service all year and we can recycle our waste all year around.

Shango Tonight

Becky and I decided to go out to dinner tonight. It is Thursday and this weekend is going to be crazy because of all the folks coming into Buffalo for the eclipse so we thought this would be a good time to make it to a restaurant. Considered a few but went for Shango and their po' boy sandwiches.

I started off as usual with a bowl of their wonderful gumbo. Then I had a blackened catfish po' boy and Becky had a shrimp po' boy. 

I had a The Darker Side Stream Style Lager from Three Heads Brewery from Rochester. This was brewed as one of a series of beers to celebrate the path of the Eclipse through WNY. It was very good.

Pasta & Sausage

Becky loves to make a pasta dinner and I certainly get to enjoy it. We had some Italian sausage left over so that was a good reason to cook up some pasta. She made some Gia Russo penne rigate pasta along with some peppers, onions and dried tomatoes with some basil pesto to add. The sauce was a tomato basil marinara from Trader Joe's which was quite good. Everything went well with the Italian chicken sausage. And then there was our favorite fresh bread from the Co-op. A very nice dinner.

A Great Basketball Game

Becky and I have been watching a lot of the NCAA Women's Tournament over the past few weeks and last night we saw a great basketball game between defending tournament champions LSU and this year's contender Iowa. They both have two superstar players that went head to head. Angel Reese of LSU and Caitlin Clark of Iowa. We've been seeing a lot of Clark over the past few weeks not only in games but also on TV commercials. She is a national star now and that was before this game.

Tonight Iowa beat LSU in a game that set the all-time television ratings record for a women's college basketball game. 12 million people saw Iowa avenge last year's loss of the championship game to LSU and now they advance to their second straight final four. It's too bad these two teams met now instead of this coming weekend in another championship game but it certainly felt like a final four winner take all game but of course next weekend there is undefeated South Carolina to face.