Making Braciole 2025

Today Becky got an early start on her annual Christmas Eve dinner braciole. Usually she does most of the work preparing the braciole on the morning of the dinner but not this year. This time she worked on them this evening and they are all put together, rolled and in the fridge to be cooked tomorrow.

Downtown Hanukkah Dinner Party

This evening Becky and I went downtown to Dick and Iris' apartment for a last day of Hanukkah dinner. It was also our first chance to see Katie, Todd and the kids since they arrived in town Saturday evening at the downtown hotel. This was a special gathering of Todd's family as his brother and his family also came into town late Saturday night from California to spend some time with his parents. So yesterday our grandkids got to play with their cousins all day at the hotel where they were all staying. It was all very special for Todd's family.

So tonight we got to hang out with the their family and enjoy a wonder dinner. It was also fun to hang out with all the kids including Ruby and Hannah who love spending time with Henry, Clara and Violet. I had a nice time talking with Jeremy and Rachel along with our usual good time with Dick and Iris. The weather held up too with none of the snow that had been predicted earlier for this night.

Buttermilk Falls 1976

Here is another photo from that old box of "stuff" on the third floor that I've been going through recently. Me standing at Buttermilk Falls in August 1976. This was my first time in the Adirondacks. There was a group of us who spent a week there that year including me and Becky, Karen and Ed and Dave. We stayed at what was left of the old Sagamore site in one of the cabins. 

The Sagamore Hotel burned down in the early 1960's and the remains were still there. It was kind of a creepy site. Becky's family had stayed there several times when she was growing up. 

That week in August was very chilly. Later when Becky and I would vacation in Long Lake we would always book a week in July. The weather was much better.

Cookie Time 2025

Becky has been making her annual Christmas cookies over the past couple of days. Not quite as many as other years but still a lot and they are delicious. I helped with the cookie decorating. The cookies will be very popular with our house full of kids in the coming days.

Another Old Pic - 1970

Another pic from the old box of "stuff". Me in front of my locker in a barracks at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. The date on the photo was August 22, 1970. I was just back to the base after an emergency leave to bury my father following his sudden ruptured fatal brain aneurysm. I was 18, probably still in shock and never the same.

Dinner @ Romeo & Juliet's Cafe

After decorating the Christmas tree and the house, wrapping presents and putting the lights up on the porch... pizza and panini with some montepulciano wine and limonata at a favorite nearby restaurants... Romeo & Juliet's Cafe & Bakery. Brought home some of their delicious panettone too.

We always have a wonderful dinner there and the service is always great. This place reminds us of a cafe in Rome or Florence.

Old Family Photo Collage

This old photo collage was found by Marisa when she was cleaning out the attic in the Evergreen Avenue house when Dan was selling it. The photo then went into a storage unit until recently. The other day Dan sent me a copy of the photo and asking about the people in the pictures. 

The framed picture featured photos of our parent's wedding and focused on Mom's side of the family. The lady in the center of the photo was Mom's grandmother Agnes McDevitt Keegan who had passed away earlier in 1948. 

The upper photo on the left is Mom, Mom-Mom (Elizabeth Keegan Morris Casey), Mart (Martin Casey) and Dad. Upper center is Mom-Mom, Dad, Mom, Nana Morris (Ada Meehan Morris) and Grandpop Morris (Thomas Morris). Upper right is Mom and Dad. Lower right is Mom-Mom and Mart. Lower center is our Grandfather Emery, Nana Emery (Clara Smith Emery), Dad, Mom and Mom-Mom. Lower left is Mom-Mom and Mart.

Many of these pictures I hadn't seen before.

The Drowned - A Novel

The Drowned - John Banville, 2024. Just finished this incredible crime mystery novel by the Irish writer John Banville. This was the fifth book in his Dublin detective Strafford series and the tenth book of his Dublin pathologist Quirke series. This is the third novel of these two characters working together again.

I enjoyed this very much like all of Banville's novels.

This is the 13th John Banville novel I've read.

Bills Epic Comeback

Watched the Bills vs Patriots game today. It was a little unusual in that it started at the regular 1 pm time. So many of the Bills games this season have been prime time, late afternoon, Sunday nights, Monday nights, etc.

I watched the game on the couch while reading a book on my tablet waiting for the furnace repairman who didn't come BTW during the game. At halftime the Bills were losing the game 21-0. I was a little bored with the game and was reading more.

Then came the second half and the Bills came alive. It was a completely different game and very exciting for fans of both teams. The Bills fought hard for a comeback and the Patriots scored again to keep their lead. But the Bills prevailed. Bills 35 Patriots 31. It was another classic game.

Glass of Beer - I Julius

Glass of Beer - I Julius, an American IPA from Tree House Brewing in Charlton, MA.

Another brew from Lewie. Very tasty. Enjoyed it a lot. 

Now it's time to read some more Ray Bradbury.

Morning Snow

Woke up this morning to a snow shower. It was really coming down. I took a shower and when I came out it was actually snowing even more. I took another picture of the backyard.

Very intense.

Injustice - The Book

Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America's Justice Department by Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis, 2025.

Recently finished reading this well written, well researched and very informative but shocking account of the corruption and ongoing subversion of the Justice Department and the rule of law in America. The trump dystopia continues...

Drunkin Pumpkin w/ dinner @ Coles

A Drunken Pumpkin tonight. My second one this season at Coles. This is a 1/2 pint of Southern Tier Pumpking Imperial Ale topped off with a 1/2 pint of Guinness Stout. What a tasty Black and Tan. 

We had a wonderful dinner tonight at Cole's on Elmwood. One of our favorite go-to restaurants. I started off with a cup of soup... chicken and rice. It was delicious.

Then I had their meatloaf sandwich cooked in rich French onion, topped with mozzarella, finished with roasted garlic aioli, and served on a soft pretzel bun. Their tasty fries too.  Absolute comfort food heaven. Becky had a chicken parmesan sandwich. I started off the evening with a pint draft of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, a seasonal IPA annual treat. 

Another Yucky Winter Day

What made today particularly yucky was the mix of snow and rain. The morning started off with snow and there was about 2 to 3 inches on the ground. It was going to rain so I went out around 9:30 am and cleared the snow off around the house, the sidewalk and the car. It was a very heavy snow and then a little later it started raining. A cold wet rain. It is supposed to start snowing again later this afternoon.

It's trash day tomorrow so I'll be putting out our trash container, the recycle bin and compost box but later after the rain stops and the snow starts up again.

Then it's going to snow all night.

Mickey 17 - The Film

I watched the movie Mickey 17 over the past couple of days. It was pretty much a waste of time. It was billed as a science fiction comedy but I really didn't find anything very funny. There was some good sci-fi effects with the alien life but overall the plot and the story was boring.

I think perhaps the movie was made from the story line of the two Mickey7 books of which I read the first one. I guess I should read the second book too and maybe the movie will make more sense. 

In the meantime I give it 3 stars.

Glass of Beer - DDH Attitude

I'm not sure what DDH attitude means besides the name of a very tasty and satisfying New England IPA from Long Live Brewing from Providence, RI. Lewie and Lizzie gave me a pint can of this beer when recently visiting us while on their way to Cleveland for the holidays.

I enjoyed this beer a lot. Thanks Lewie!

Open Your Mind - Songs 2005 FV

Open Your Mind. Still more indie rock songs from albums in my collection released in 2005. Lots of deep cuts.

Donovan's Brain in the pic.

Open Your Mind - Songs 2005 FV

1. Open Your Mind - Donovan's Brain
2. We're All In This Together - Ben Lee
3. Over My Head - The Fray
4. Knuckle Down - Ani DiFranco
5. I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab For Cutie
6. Mercy Now - Mary Gauthier
7. Fishing For A Dream - Turin Brakes
8. I Am A Full Grown Man - Phosphorescent
9. Atmosphere - Son Volt
10. California Blue - The Orange Peels
11. Nowhere - Teenage Fanclub
12. Lookin' Forward - Over The Rhine
13. Balloon Maker - Midlake
14. Give It Up - Amos Lee
15. Bread - Stone Jack Jones
16. The Dark Don't Hide It - Magnolia Electric Co.
17. Come Inside - The Twin Atlas
18. Bird On A Wire - Rogue Wave
19. Virginia - Vic Chesnutt
20. Looking Down - Winterpills
21. Fine Line - Paul McCartney
22. He Was The King - Neil Young

10,000 Maniacs @ The Pastime Lounge

After posting some flyers from my time at the Pastime Lounge someone asked me about the 10,000 Maniacs playing there back in the 80's. As I remember they played there many times in 1983 and 1984 and they were some great shows. I remember hanging out with the band members a lot between sets while I played songs from the sound booth. I would often put on a cassette tape of mixes that I made for between sets of bands.

So I looked through the box of "stuff" on the 3rd floor for flyers supporting gigs of the 10,000 Maniacs at the Pastime and found a few. These are flyers that I made. I'm sure there were more out there from Marshall who was booking them at the time. I've collected a few of the ones I made here. They show six different concert dates but do not have the years on the flyer. I found confirmation on the date shows from this Natalie Merchant concert site and another setlist site.

I'm going to post this group of flyers on Facebook.

Here are the dates of the Pastime Lounge shows:

• May 21, 1983
• July 9, 1983
• Sept 10, 1983
• Nov 12, 1983
• Feb 23, 1984
• Apr 7, 1984
• June 30, 1984
• Aug 13, 1984

 

A Bills Shootout 39 - 34

The Bills played a rare 1 pm Sunday afternoon home game to today and won a very exciting and entertaining comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals 39 - 34 in the snow. Bills were behind the entire game until late in the 4th quarter scored 21 points to take the lead and keep it. Josh Allen did it all again including a 40 yard rushing touchdown.

74... Just a Number

Now I'm 74 years old and it's just another number. But it did get me thinking about the year 1974. Looking back that was one of the most important years of my life. I just finished four years in the Navy in late December 1973. I was a civilian again in 1974 and ready to party. 

I bought a house in my old neighborhood of Germantown in Philadelphia where I grew up. I got the house from my great aunt's estate. The house had been in the family since 1909 when my great-grandparents Thomas Keegan and Bridget McDevitt Keegan moved there. Now I was making it into a college party house. Three of my friends from the neighborhood moved into the house with me. We each had our own room.

I think I went the whole year of 1974 without a haircut and shave. Something about getting out of the Navy I guess. I was working a real job, part time and not something military. I was living in the neighborhood I grew up in and I was going to college at Temple University on the GI Bill. I was going to rock concerts almost every week and buying lots of albums trying to catch with what I missed over the past four years. It was a good year.

Here are some of the concerts I saw in 1974. The last part of the list were from the 3 day Philly Folk Festival. Lots of others too. 

• Eric Clapton
• Neil Young
• Hall & Oates
• Bob Dylan and The Band
• David Bowie
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Joni Mitchell
• Grateful Dead
• Little Feat
• Badfinger
• Tom Waits
• Al Stewart
• Mahavishnu Orchestra
• Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
• Gordon Lightfoot
• Sandy Denny
• Tim Buckley
• Leo Sayer
• Average White Band
• Buddy Miles
• Emmylou Harris
• Fairport Convention
• Hawkwind
• Sun Ra
• Incredible String Band
• String Driven Thing
• Dave Van Ronk
• John Prine
• Bruce Cockburn
• David Bromberg
• Arlo Guthrie
• Tim Hardin
• Leon Redbone
• Tom Rush
• John Hartford
• Norman Blake

Another number... 51. 1974 was 51 years ago and I was born in 1951. I was 23 in 1974 and had just experienced the world. I would meet Becky in 1975 and we would start living together in 1976. I would graduate from Temple University in 1978 and we would move to Buffalo in 1979. We got married in 1980. Now it's 2025 and I'm getting towards being an old man. We went to a friend's birthday party the other day and I was the oldest person there. The only place I don't feel old is going to the Buffalo Chamber Music concerts.

Mickey7 - Sci-Fi Novel

Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, 2022. Now a science fiction movie titled Mickey 17. Why the different title... I guess I'll need to go see the movie. 

Anyway, I just finished this book last night. It was a quick read and took me a week to finish. It had an interesting plot and some amazing backstories that led to the current situation in the novel. I enjoyed the book.

There is a follow-up book... Antimatter Blues which I'll need to read since this book leads everything hanging. The movie is being promoted as a science fiction comedy. I didn't think the book was particularly funny.

The movie is now on Prime and HBO Max.