Me and the Blue Skies

In Good To Very Good Used Condition

1996 Gibson SG Special Guitar with new gold tuning keys and a soft case.

I don’t usually use my blog to sell stuff, but my soon-to-be son-in-law is selling off his 1996 Gibson SG Special Guitar to raise some money for the french drain system they need for their basement and the new roof that they must get by springtime.  Funny isn’t it that as we grow the toys of our youth seem less important and get replaced by new toys like refrigerators, washers, dryers, and sump pumps for the basement? Ah, the joys of home ownership.  Makes you grow up pretty fast, eh?

Anyway, Aaron is not only willing to give up his once prized position, he’s absolutely dying to sell it.  The French drain with sump pump is gonna run them about $4,000.  The roof could run anywhere from $3,000 – $6,000 depending on whether they do the whole roof or just the back. (They recently received a letter from the insurance company that they will drop them if they don’t replace the back part of the roof by springtime.)  Aaron understands that the sale of the guitar isn’t going to pay for either of these needs, but it sure can help offset the costs… (more…)

Where Moderately Good Food Meets Less-than Moderately Good Service

Linda and I decided to head on over to Casona tonight to try out the dinner menu.  If you have read my blog before, perhaps you may recall my review of Casona’s brunch.  The folks at Casona were so happy with my review of their brunch, they sent Linda and me a gift certificate to come by and try dinner.  Now I want to get something clear, when I blog about a restaurant, I give my honest review of the whole experience. If it’s good, I say so. If it isn’t, I say that as well. I don’t write a review to get a free meal but I am not a rich man so when a free meal comes my way, I gladly except it. However, when it comes to my review, I base it on my experience not on who paid the tab. Enough said.

Christmastime in Collingswood

Collingswood is such a wonderful town and when it’s all decked out for Christmas, it’s even more special.  The trees that line Haddon Avenue are trimmed in swirls of white lights and big, beautiful glowing “Season’s Greetings” signs span the street.   Even though it was extremely cold tonight, the streets were full of shoppers, strolling in and out of the various shops and restaurants.  Even Santa was out, waving and greeting passersby.  Collingswood represents hometown Christmas at its best.  It’s worth the visit regardless of where you’re going.

Casona is no exception when it comes to decorations.  Dressed in the same white lights as the rest of the town, Casona fits right into the season.  Warm and inviting, the decorations spill into the restaurant without overwhelming.  The lighter touch still captured the Christmas spirit without making me feel like I was dining in Santa’s village… (more…)

It’s Not Christmas Without These Shows

I love Christmas specials. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, I always looked forward to the upcoming Christmas specials as much as Christmas itself.  I remember checking the TV section of the newspaper for any upcoming holiday special and then plotting out my viewing plans: The Grinch-ABC- Tuesday at 8 pm; Charlie Brown-CBS-Wednesday at 7:30 pm; Rudolph-NBC-Friday at 8 pm.  Nothing was going to interfere with my viewing schedule.

As I grew into adulthood, I continued to enjoy those holiday specials with new perspective through my daughter’s eyes.  And I also enjoyed watching the new holiday specials created during her childhood.  I remember in the mid-80’s I decided to record every possible holiday special on the VCR for Heather.  I watched every special that year, pausing the tape for commercials, and filling three VCR tapes of which only one has still survived. Of course, today you don’t have to wait for specials to run on TV, you simply go to the store and buy the DVD.

The holiday specials have started already this year and I thought this would be the perfect time to announce my top 10 all-time favorite holiday specials.

10. The Little Drummer Boy (1968 Rankin-Bass stop motion animation) – I really wasn’t that fond of this special as a child but, as I grew older, I gained a nostalgic liking towards it. One of the few specials with a strictly religious theme, the story is both simple and familiar. After his parents are killed by thieves, the little drummer boy sets off on his own, accompanied by a few barnyard animals.  Filled with hatred towards mankind, he runs into con-artist Ben Hararmad voiced by Jose Ferrer.  Eventually, the little drummer boy ends up at a manager in Bethlehem. Greer Garson is absolutely fabulous as the narrator and listening to her tell the story is worth the watch alone… (more…)

Thoughts of Turkey, Turkey Soup, and Briefly Living Alone

Heather's Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Soup - Yummy!

I know it’s a little late for a Thanksgiving Day post, but the homemade turkey soup my daughter gave me put me in the mood to write about it.  Yes, she’s a good little cook and she made an amazing turkey noddle soup which she brought over to me last night.  I didn’t eat it last night as I already had some leftovers that needed to be eaten.  I saved it for today and I can say it’s probably one of the best she’s ever made.  Unfortunately, I wolfed down about half of it before I took the picture but if  you look closely, you could probably smell how wonderful it tastes.  Well, I bet you could if you have a really good imagination.

I have to say I’m enjoying my limited time alone. Empty nesting is really not that bad. I have total control of the tv. Dave (the dog) never complains when I fart. I can go to the bathroom with the door open. I can eat seafood. (Seafood makes Heather sick so I never kept any in the house.) I can sit around in my underwear. (Well, I sorta did that before.) The house is now smoke-free. And yadda yadda yadda.  It won’t last too long cause Linda is moving in the 1st of February.

Now I’m not complaining. Linda and I have been friends for a long time. We get along well and I’m sure things will be fine. She’s already started to come over and help with getting the house cleaned up.  Linda is sorta a clean freak and I am sorta not. But I am sure that if she comes armed with a chisel and a blow torch, she’ll have this place cleaned up by 2012… (more…)

It Seems Christmas Comes Earlier Each Year

Good Grief! It's Christmas already?

I was driving home from work tonight and was playing around with the channels on my radio when what to my wandering ears should I hear, but a radio station playing Christmastime cheer?  Well, that’s not exactly how the poem goes but you get the idea.  Here it is only November 19th -one week from Thanksgiving- and B1o1, a local Philly station, is playing Christmas music 24 hours a day.  I haven’t even sat down to eat that sumptuous Thanksgiving feast I wrote about in my last post and I’m already getting bombarded with the holiday season.  I thought the Christmas season didn’t start until Santa showed up at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. What the hell happened?

Actually, I shouldn’t be surprised.  It was two days after Halloween when I saw my first Christmas commercial.  At first I thought it was a parody of some kind and then I slowly realized that it was nothing but a lousy Christmas commercial. I almost dropped the Halloween candy I was eating as I looked around my living room that was still decorated with Jack-o-lanterns, witches, and skeletons. It sure didn’t look like Christmas, at my house at least.  But the commercials kept coming.

And it sure doesn’t feel like Christmas.  Christmas is winter and snow and hot cocoa. We’ve had a fairly warm fall and half of the trees still have their brown leaves clinging to them. In fact, we have a tree around the corner from my house that still has yellow leaves on it. It’s kind of weird driving around in a light jacket, with leaves on the trees, the grass is still mostly green, and I’m listening to Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart sing, “Baby it’s cold outside.”  It’s definitely not cold outside. It’s the fall and Thanksgiving is the Autumn holiday we should be preparing for, not Christmas! Not yet… (more…)

Thanksgiving Dinner Ranges From 2,500 – 5,000 Calories. Is That A Big Deal?

It’s almost time for Thanksgiving.  I can almost smell the turkey roasting in the oven. Oh, how I love a good ole’ traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  Give me the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Yummy. I am drooling as I write this. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving dinner comes with a price tag.

Depending on who you talk to, what website you visit, or which blog expert you read, Thanksgiving dinner can run upwards to 5,000 calories.  Now based on the calorie calculator from mayoclinic.com, a 5′ 9″  35-year-old man weighing 180 lbs. and is “somewhat active” should consume no more than 2,400 calories a day.  Adjust the figures for a 35-year-old woman at 5′ 5″ and 135 lbs. and it drops to 1,800 calories a day. So for the average man or woman, a Thanksgiving dinner could equal up to 2 to 2.5 times their daily caloric intake–in one seating! Yikes!!

So what’s a person to do? If you search the internet, you will find all sorts of creative ideas for “adjusting” your Thanksgiving traditional meal.  Recipes abound for low-fat mashed potatoes made with vegetable broth instead of cream, roasted veggies instead of the green bean casserole or candied yams, and low-fat, low-calorie pumpkin pie. The experts suggest sticking to skinless turkey breasts and bland, butter-free, sausage-free stuffing. Ugh. Sorry folks, but that’s just not for me… (more…)

Ten Oldie But Goodies That Everyone Should Watch At Least Once

The grand opening of "Gone With The Wind" in Atlanta. No, it's not on my list because it's already on everyone's list.

This is my top ten list of great old movies, mostly from the 30′s through the 40′s.  There are so many great classic movies from this era that I found it difficult to narrow them down to just ten. I finally did it, but I decided to pick some lesser known movies over the more popular ones like Gone With the Wind.  Even if you are not an old movie buff, like I am, these are movies that everyone can thoroughly enjoy.  Don’t pooh-pooh them simply because they are black and white and old, because this is the stuff that forged the foundation of the movie industry.These are the great actors and actresses who had to rely on sheer talent for success. These are the stars who knew how to stir emotions into audiences with a simple raise of the brow or a crook of a smile.  And these are the wonderful movies they made.

10.  Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Okay, so I am starting off with a horror movie that was made in 1964 but this is a real goody. It was a toss-up between this movie and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).  Both of these movies feature outstanding performances by Bette Davis.  After all, nobody plays crazy like Bette Davis does.  She has a way of taking characters that would normally be campy and unrealistic and making them believable and human by injecting a bit of pathos and frailty into them.  While Baby Jane is better known, I chose this movie because Bette’s performance is a little more understated.  Additionally, there are some excellent performances by the supporting cast including Agnes Moorehead and Olivia de Havilland.  In fact, the movie is worth the watch just to see Olivia play a deliciously sweet villain… (more…)

The Treats No Trick-or-Treaters Want

Good ole Charlie Brown gets another rock!

It’s that time of year again when little ghouls, goblins, witches, and monsters all come out in search of chocolate sweets.  Yup, it’s Halloween once more!  Who can forget the anticipation, the thrill of dressing up, and the big booty at the end of the night? It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right behind Christmas.  Since this is a night for kids and candy, I thought I’d scare up a top ten list of worst candy to give out to trick-or-treaters.  If you give out candy this Halloween, this is the list to avoid:

1.  Toothbrush – This is the worst non-candy treat a person could give a kid.  Halloween is all about sweets and chocolate. Who wants to be reminded that they have to brush their teeth?  Could you find a more utilitarian treat? This is akin to getting socks and underwear for Christmas. It’s a big no-no.

2.  Pennies – I really want to know who thought that this was a good idea. What is someone going to do with a few pennies or a couple of nickels? Did you confuse my outfit for a piggy bank?  What a total rip-off.  I bet people who give pennies to trick-or-treaters are the same people who tell waiters how wonderful they are and then leave a $2.00 tip on a $45.00 tab. If you’re too cheap to give out candy, then turn your lights out and pretend you’re not home… (more…)

Upscale Dining at Its Best!

If you’ve read my blog,  you know that I love to brunch in Collingswood.  Collingswood (and the surrounding area) has become the place to dine out in South Jersey. Many of these wonderful restaurants offer brunch specials and I’ve blogged about some of them.  When Linda suggested we try Casona, the Cuban restaurant in Collingswood, I was very excited to go somewhere new. I’ve read mixed reviews about Casona but it sure is hard to argue with being voted Best Sunday Brunch in 2006 and Best Cuban Sandwich in 2009 by South Jersey magazine’s reader’s poll.

The view from our seat. The couple at the table had just gotten up. I should have waited until the table was cleared to take this picture.

Casona is actually an old Victorian house that was once a local doctor’s office.  Beautifully rehabbed, the owner’s have kept the original charm of the house while maintaining a comfortably elegant dining experience.  The expansive original, wrap-around porch offers year-round dining with the addition of heaters and a canvas wall.  To us, the real appeal of the porch is the ability to dine outside while still being inside, and since the canvas walls are now up, we chose to dine in the more luxurious inside dining areas… (more…)

My Daughter and Her Fiance Are Buying a Home!

Isn't it a cute house?

My daughter, Heather, and her fiance, Aaron, are buying their first home.  They were bidding back on forth on this really cute, rehabbed cape cod and the sellers finally accepted an offer.  The home inspection was today and I went over and took a bunch of pictures.

Heather and Aaron on the front porch.

Looking into the living and dining room from the kitchen

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