hope every thing went well with the open house ... too bad for thr Steelers ...who are those guys wearing their jerseys ???
slow at the shop, & the 6 time super bowl champions got there head handed to them on a platter, there big & there BAD, BUT not as bad as cleveland or the lions , & I hate to admit it , I have lived in both areas, , lived in Lakewood & worked in Rocky River , both subburbers of the mistake on the lake, Cleveland, & spent a lot of my childhood in Flint & Clio Michigan , got to root for the Tigers & the Indians hahahaha Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday 13 december,2009, a crazy weather morning here in da Burgh, we have a thin layer of ice everything, the roads are like hockey rinks , the trees dont have as much ice as the roads as the air temp is just at freezing , but the ground is colder, the rain falls & spreads out & bingo , ICE , I had plans to do a little shopping this morning but that aint going to happen, the heat is on in the Qtr.deck & the coffee has been ground & brewed, a day of sitting in the Qtr.deck with a pot of coffee ,a stack of Jazz Cd's,& a bottle of Single malt , looks like it might be a Tuff day ! hahaha ,
& to top it all off I have a few Pork chops defrosting , & some brown rice ready to get started, NO BEEF AGAIN THIS SUNDAY ! AMEN !!!!!!
Last night I took Barb to the local mall & got her a few new bra's , first time in years we went shopping for underware together , most of the time she will go with her sister or our daughter, but last night I was Stuck with the task of Holding the Purse ......... ahhh what fun !!!
This past week was the S L O W E S T in sales we have had in the past 3 years , for the first time since we opened we didnt cover the operations cost , sure some weeks were just covering the nut but even a few bucks in the black is better than a few cents in the red ...... Payday was a tad short, & I have no idea why the sales are so low, all of the regulars were in & all bought what they get week in & week out , it was the walk ins & the some time smokers that didnt show up at all , there is this one old guy who comes in every day gets one cheep cigar , a free cup of coffee & leaves me a buck tip , so every few days I never charge him for the cigar, I just put the tip in the regester evey day & still come out a few bucks ahead each week, even giving him one on Thursday ....... well he has cut back his afternoon walks & now was in just one time this week, spent his 3 bucks & got a cup of coffee left me a buck tip as per his regular operation, . But thats just the tip of the ice'burgh , Friday night about half of the guys showed up, for the BYOB , I had a little egg nog spiked with rum , brandy & a wee bit of Bourbon , a bottle of Irish whisky & a bottle of home made white wine & some GREAT PATRON OF THE SINGLE MALT GODS brought in a 15 YO Glennfiddich & a few cans of Bottingtons were seen in the fridge , lets just say I was feeling NO PAIN untill I counted the days recipts , dammmmm it was LIGHT
Oh well there is next week to do it again !
I have a delemia here this morning , should i start out with the Don Carlos #3 like I do most mornings or hit this contraband Partagas series D # 4, what a wat to start the day.... will it just bring the whole day to a great start or will the next cigar be a let down.............. dammmm so many ways to look at it , so little time to think about it .... well the thinking is OVER , DC# 3 first with the Kona , Then switch coffees to a Coasta Rico Estate grown Peaberry & with a snifter of 18YO Macallen & the partagas then, but if i get any visitors the partagas will wait , dont have an other one to share , dont know how that happened , , must have smoked a few singles at different times or my brother has been in my humidors AGAIN .. dammmm he must have a key to the back door or something ........ , hahahaha
, Not that i am a hard line conserative or a tree hugging liberal , BUT this Globial warming BS has my pantys all in a knot ! cap & trade, carbon footprints , carbon credits, , dammmmmm look back at the history of the world, it gets Hot & it gets cold, , the great lakes were formed when the ice cap covered most of north americia , it was called the ice age, well we have had more than one of them , hey I am no climatoligest, BUT I have a little common sence, when the Los Angles basin was first seen by Spanish explorers they were commenting about the "Smog" in the area , the car was a few hundred years in the future , Nature will take care of it self, tell algore to fill his piehole with a slice of lemon custard ......... NO Al just a slice not the entire pie, dammmm to late hahahahaha
well i have a date with a pot of coffee a stack of jazz Cd's & a snifter of single malt & a few SEEGARZ, Enjoy, Vince
Hey Vince, As much as we all enjoy your weeks events, I don't think the Mrs. would appreciate you talking about her need for undergarments !! You are the one that got me started on the DC#3 , and 4's for that matter. I need to get a box one day since I only pick them up in pairs, and smoke them sparingly. Does the extra ring gauge on the Robusto size ( my favorite size) change the profile a lot in the DCs. Enjoy you week buddy, ..
its a little fuller, I do like the thin size first cigar , if they made a lancero ............. , & as far as bra shopping , dammm I love to get after the sales lady, I know the stile number,the size & the color, I just like to mess with there minds ! Enjoy, Vince
Good morning it is Sunday 20 December 2009 a WHITE snow covered morin da Burgh, we got about 5 inches of the white stuff last night & it looks great all but for the removal of the snow from the cars , roads & walk ways , the pine trees are a sight to behold, tuffs of snow mixed in the tuffs of green , with red cardinals flying in & out the birds flocking to the feeder & back to the pine trees , this day is just a wonderful way to start the week,, the coffee this morning is a winter blend from Sheetz Brothers , a chain of convenance stores /gas stations /sandwich shops /gourmet coffee bar, in each shop , they never brew up the winter blend in the shop but sell the 12 ounce bag of preground coffee for 4 bucks a bag, a slight flavor of hazel nuts & pastasico nuts , with just a hint of nutmeg , I am not a flavored coffee lover , I like my coffee dark & bold but for some reason this just hits my taste buds & I do enjoy it a few pots a year at this time, now & just now, I dont want it in the summer at all, not that I would keep it till it was hot out BUT this might make a great iced coffee in the summer add a shot of Tia Maria & /or Frangelicia , a drop or 2 of Bailys Irish cream, hummmm I wonder if I will be able to hide a bag of this stuff till then ???? only time will tell, it might be gone before Easter & it might make it to the 4th of july , who knows only time will tell!!
Well the earth is back in its natural rotation , there is a Hunk o' Beef ready for the cast iron oven & Barb is Happy to get her Beef again. , I am just glad that she is QUIET ~hahahaha
sales at the shop have been B A D , so dammmmm slow , good thing I didnt over buy for Christmas like I did last year, , I still have a few boxes of stuff i got for last Christmas , all the small gift packs went fast but a lot of the full boxes are still there , Vega Fina & Black Pearl , are there , I have one guy buying the black pearls , he stops every few weeks & gets a few, i dont know it it will be worth re ordering them or not, he gets a mixed box of 20 & about half are black pearls , I have them marked 20% off retail, , when they were full priced he never touched them , But he likes the "bargains" , if I re order do I keep the price low or just lower the price on an other slow mover & see if he switches when I put the price back up , hummmm , thats a great idea, I should think out loud more often ! hahahaha
The boys have been laying low , getting ready for the annual visit from Santa hahahaha , yea like they dont have any idea its been me all this time hahahahaha at 11 & 14 they can tell but go along with it anyway , looks like this might be the last year for a while, till the GREAT GRANDCHILDREN start to show up hahahaha
da burgh lost a great voice on the radio last week Fred Honzberger a KDKA fixture of over 30 years past away while on vacation, I heard his last show on my way to work last week one day he was telling everyone he was going on his Christmas vacation, to play his tuba in the salvation army band at the red kettles arround town , Fred was 58 , there were no indications of what caused his passing , but he had been under the weather for a few years , he did have a gastric by pass , after I had mine but I guess it just didnt help him as much as it did me .... he will be missed , so Smoke one for Fred even if he wasnt a cigar smoker he was a fun guy to listen to on the radio........
Barb is out side cleaning the snow from the cars & turning on the heat in the Qtr.Deck for me Bless her heart, I will be heading out there soon , I have a Casa Fuente , & a few other PRIME sticks to fire up this afternoon, the beef will be hitting the oven soon & I will be brewing up a pot of kona to enhance the Don Carlos #3 , then the snifter of 18Yo macallen, a little Tanzanian Peaberry & the Casa Fuente , a black lable Don Peppin should carry me to the time when the hunk 'O beef is ready , & who know what I might have after that ! , Enjoy, Vince
Hey Vince Your description of that Winter Wonderland ALMOST makes me love the season. It's all beautiful from the warmth of indoors. I hate to travel in it, or have to shovel it. Have a good week.
I hate to go out in it also, great to look at but thats about it , never wanted to stay here when I retired, i wanted to go some place warm but the wife said NO WAY, so here I sit & freeze all winter , Thank God for Flannel !!! Enjoy, Vince
Good afternoon , its Sunday 27 December 2009, sorry for the late start of the day but the wife was feeling a little frisky this morning so ........ well its a bright sunny cold morning here in da burgh , the snow is all gone from all the rain we had, & that made for a lot of ice for a few days , what a mess! , well Christmas is over & the toys are all over the floor, , I better clean up my cars & dump trucks before the grandsons get here & want to play a game on the TV hahahahaha, Santa was verrrry good to me , a few bottles of single malt & a few boxes of cigars , a big tim of nuts & dry fruit , coffee & a whole lot of love & good wishes from family & friends , a veeeeeerrrry merry Christmas ................. we were a lot slower at the shop than I had hoped for , I havent run all the numbers yet but it looks like we were down about 30% from last year , & last year wasnt as good as the year before , , well so much for closing in Feb for a week in Cabo hahahahaha looks like I will be sloshing though the snow slush & cold all winter AGAIN ! hahahaha
I have the day off , I dont need to cook a big slab of beef, we are having left overs, yea baby , there is Ham , & there is Ham , & there is H A M. , Champagne cooked with all the stuff that should be served with it , it is melt in your mouth tender loaded with flavor, we did have a bit of bubbly with it ,a little better stuff to drink than it was cooked in , you now i just dont get all that excited with any sparkling wine as I did 40 years ago , I guess my taste buds have turned a blind eye to the stuff, however i do enjoy a weee drammm of single malt ........, the boys had a great time opening gifts & fighting with each other as brothers are prone to do , I still argue with my brother, , BUT for the first time in our lives he out weighs me, I am a lot older than him so I was naturaly larger , as i was almost an adult when he was just getting out of diapers, , but as the years went on & I got bigger he was able to stay on course & keep the weight off, I guess all the booze & drugs help keep you thinner than you should be , well he is clean & sober now & I have had the gastric by pass, so now he is bigger than I am , what a fat ass hahahahaha ..........................
I hope you all had a save & sane Christmas & that the new year brings you joy & happyness .................. see you all next year .....
Enjoy, Vince
ham good. bacon better.... how about a bacon or ham truffle?
, deep fry beer batter bacon !!!!!BEST...............................................................................................................................
Good morning , it is Sunday 3 Jan,2010........... 2010 yep a new year to run into the ground ..... its C O L D here in da Burgh all of 9 Degrees F , with a wind chill of MINUS 10 F , looks like the qtr.deck will be cold today , I missed the swim in the river this year on new years day , the old bones just cant take it anymore , the old saying goes , you dont stop playing when you get old, you get old when you stop playing......... well I guess I am starting to show my age , just dont play as hard or as often as I did 55 years ago , hahahaha before a lot of you guys & gals were born hahahaha ..... the winter has taken its tole on the shop, no one is comming in & sales are showing it , the Christmas rush never happened , we had a few better days , than average but no BIG block buster holiday season, so the sale signs didnt help, the regulars just scooped up the stuff at a discount & not enough new customers came in to try to UPSELL them to a more expencive line or cutter or lighter last year we were down about 20% from the year before but this time we are almost 40% below last years figures, I guess I will not be going to Hawaii for the Easter vacation hahahaha
today I will be in the kitchen creating some thing from all the left overs that are falling out of the fridge & freezer, , looks like ham will be the center of the attraction, & what ever else I can find will be in the pot, , BUT no sour ***, in the dish today , the air in the house needs to clear before I start eating it again hahahaha , the boys are off with there father this weekend so dont look for the 3 of us on the news tonight at 11PM hahaha , maybe next week hahahaha new years eve was a quiet one here , we watched *** Clark count it down, , I kissed the wife & we went to bed , her in her room & me in my room, , at our age we go to bed to sleep..........
I have been sipping some great single malt scotches this winter a fine after market independent bottler McMurry David, took a 10 Y.O . Laphoraig & finished it for 2 years in a Margue wine cast, , Now I have never been a big fan of wine finished malts but for some reason this one just hit my taste buds on the money bell ! , I also was in the Irish whisky a wee bit , some fool at the spirits shop miss marked a few bottles of Bushmills , it was supposed to be on sale for 19.95 , down from the regular price of 24.95 , well it was marked only 9.95 , I got them ALL hahahahaha so I will be finishing up the last one some time in May hahahahaha , thank God for the Plastic money to take advantage of the FIND of the year , the credit card will be paid off long before all the wiskey has turned into urine , I do process it well thank you, I can turn just about any distilled spirit, wine, or beer as well as coffee & other drinks into urine in the blink of the eye , seams like the more I drink the more I pee ! hahahaha , so far so good , the prostate is doing just fine ! hahaha speaking of coffee , this mornings pot is a Costra Rican , Tarazu , or estate grown some thing or other , all I know is its NOT my Sunday Kona , the price skyrocketed just before Christmas, & I passed on it for this week, if the price drops a little I MIGHT get it for next sunday but when its this cold outside I buy it roasted as I dont want to stand outside at the grill to roast the coffee since I am not allowed to do it in the kitchen anymore , to much smoke & to much clean up for the boss , so I do it outside where there is no smoke to worry about & the wind takes care of everything , BUT its WAY TO COLD OUT ! , I might even go to the shop today just to be warm for my Sunday Morning , well afternoon Cigar , as its almost noon & I still need to get todays supper in the oven ........ Steelers at 1 PM & possable last game of the season , after loosing 5 games in a row we can kiss the SEVENTH Lombardi trophy good buy till next year ............. Big Ben wants more rings than Terry Bradshaw ..... well wanting them isnt getting them , you need to work for them & forget about the rest of the STUFF , if you want to be the best you give it your all, thats why I am here & not on the Iron Chef, I had to give more than I did to get there & I was happy were I was & am so I never sent in my tape or thought about it much since then, I like the time & place I am in my life, & why let any distraction change your or my happyness ???????
Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday 10 Jan,'10 , its C O L D outside here in da Burgh , we hit zero last night on my back deck, the weather service said we hit 5 above for the offical reading , hey 5 degrees here or there , its still dammm cold, we havent been above freezing since the first of the year , even with all the insolation in the Qtr.Deck its still about 55 F with the heater running at max, so I will be passing on a day in the Qtr.deck again this Sunday, looks like I will be heading for the shop later for the Sunday afternoon smoke , & I will take a big mug of kona with me , & make some thing a lot cheeper for the mooches at the shop, we have been open for 3 year & I have never charged for a cup of coffee yet, a few guys have brougt in a pound here & a pound there witch I do appricate, but most of them just drink it like its there own home, , I provide the coffee, the cups & the seat, the heat & the lights, a little enternaiment , you want cream or sugar BRING YOUR OWN, I dont use it , I just am not going to pay for it my self, , dammmmm I am in a bad mood all ready just thinking about it, well thats what I get for thinking ! hahahaha
the Sunday hunk of beef is in , the stove top has a pot of ham & green bean soup simmering away , I wanted ham & pinto beans , but the boss dosent like any dry beans in any fashion, so its green beans & she is happy, & a happy wife is worth its weight in GOLD........ all you BOTL know what I am talking about ! , like the old saying goes if its got tires or mammary glans it will give you fits at some time , & speaking of tires , I had to get 2 rear tires this week, picked up a big old hunk of steel in one & hit a big iceburgh / pothole & broke the belt in the other , got 2 flats in less than 50 feet from each other , right in front of a tire shop, , Imagine that , , land mines to improve business maybe ? , like my buddy who owns a glass replacement service for autos & homes , he also sells BB guns & sling shots hahahahahaha
Last night we went for a short cigar ride , & I had a San Cristobal robusto , I thought it might get me close to an hour if I took it SLOW , well joy of joys it lasted almost an hour & 45 minutes , enough time to sip 2 mugs of coffee, , I had to stop for a refill at charbuck$ as they were the only coffee shop open , micky deees had a line arround the buildingat the drive up & burgherking didnt have any coffee ready , but the lady said they would make a pot as soon as they were done cleaning it , , so I passes & ended up bitting the bulit & getting a quad expresso ............. can you say BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ? , maybe thats why the cigar lasted so long , I was BUZZED from the coffee & didnt hit the cigar as hard or as fast , but I slept like a baby, up every 2 hours to pee hahahahaha
the boys have been spending time with there friends showing off the new Christmas stuff, so there isnt much to tell you about them this week, , but the weather is killing my hands & feet, the skin is breaking down at an alarming rate & I have been loading up on the hand cream, & changing sox's a few times a day, , using a lot of powder but the air is so dry ..... How dry is it, ?? why its so dry , I have been drinking my martinis in the shower & they are still dry !
I have a great cigar ready to cut , my Sunday morning smoke , a Don Carlos #3 , I will get the car started, & warm, fill my travel mug with Kona & head to the shop for a few hours, , come home in time to take the hunk of beef out of the oven & make the gravy, , , , yep its SUNDAY here in da Burgh & all is well in the land of 3 rivers , Hinze field is silent, we drove past the Mustard bowl last night on our cigar ride , no one tail gating , NO steelers in the playoffs this year , bad for the business , beer sales are off , chip sales are down , all the stuff arround the statium is at a standstill , but soon Spring traing will start & the Pirates will be filling PNC pank with a few hundred people hey if they win a few games this year ( 17 loosing seasons in a row) they might get a thousand at a game , gone are the glory years ,a world series champ a stanly cup champ & super bowl champ all in the same town all in the same year , & we did have a team in pro basket ball, the Pittsburgh ...... Pipers, I think, an aba team , won the championship one year with about 40 people in the stands, & there was the world team tennis , the Triagles , but the league folded after a few years , , Pittsburgh is a Blue collar, hard working beer drinking sports town, to bad I dont drink beer (verry little anyway ) dont watch sports & havent worked a day in my life hahahahaha , I guess thats why I love the BURGH hahahaha Enjoy, Vince
Good Morning Vince... Sorry to hear about the bad start to the day - I sure couldn't be happy about those temperatures, but fortunately I live a warm part of California. Hope the rest of the day turns up for ya.
¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
Good Morning Vince... Sorry to hear about the bad start to the day - I sure couldn't be happy about those temperatures, but fortunately I live a warm part of California. Hope the rest of the day turns up for ya.
warm? I forget what that is... our current temp is -13 with a windchill of -20.... BRRRRRRR
Good Morning Vince... Sorry to hear about the bad start to the day - I sure couldn't be happy about those temperatures, but fortunately I live a warm part of California. Hope the rest of the day turns up for ya.
warm? I forget what that is... our current temp is -13 with a windchill of -20.... BRRRRRRR
Gah!! I couldn't do that.. Right now we have dense fog with a temp of 46*..
¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
Good Morning Vince... Sorry to hear about the bad start to the day - I sure couldn't be happy about those temperatures, but fortunately I live a warm part of California. Hope the rest of the day turns up for ya.
warm? I forget what that is... our current temp is -13 with a windchill of -20.... BRRRRRRR
Wow, we aren't that cold here in NJ but it is definately freezing right now.
I have a buddy in Sactomento., Jeff , he is on bunea vista way , where ever in town that is I have no idea , never met him other than the internet, he used to live in LA , but moved up north a few years ago, dont know what B&M he visits , the northern most pat of the left coast I was in was san fran, but that was back in the late 60's when I was in the Navy. Enjoy, Vince
NJ, yea I used to live there when I was in the navy also, stationed in Philly lived accross the river in a little town called haddonfield, nice place but NO BARS in town , it was DRY, but just up the street in Cherry Hill, well that was a different story, there was a pizza & sub shop they had the best stuff I have ever had, a deep fryed calzone called a panzoritti , or some thing like that , great stuff, last night i was watching SNL, they were doing a little thing with the "governor " of NY & he was ripping NJ a new one , here in da burgh we pick on Cleveland & I guess in NY they pick on Jersey, Dammm I miss the place I worked in haddonfied , the argile rooster, great eggs bennidict , good food in jersey, when i was cooking there ! hahaha
Enjoy, Vince
Good Morning , it is Sunday 17 Jan. 2010a some what cool morning here in da Burgh for the first time this year we didnt go below freezing or get any snow ........ Barb was getting realy "bitchy" about all the shoveling she was doing ( more than her usual ) but then how can you tell??? hahaha
breakfast this morning was a quick plate of bacon cheese & eggs , a fresh hard pressed cheese from some place warm as there were palm trees on the wrapper, caso fresco , a hard white cheese that grills well , just slice it & drop it right next to the bacon , turn & plate it, right along with the bacon, drop the toast & the eggs & every thing should finish at the same time .... the coffee this morning is Kona but I have some Community Coffee with chicory that will be the next pot & a Camacho 11/18 ( I think ) to go with it , I will be heading out to the Qtr.Deck to turn on the heat soon, , But I have a hunk of Veal that needs some TLC before I get to have cigar #2 for the day .......the red bell peppers will add some sweetness along with the onions , garlic, celery , & carrots , a 'splash' of wine a bit of stock & with a little brown rice , its time to eat , should be ready about 4 if the spirit moves you to show up ........ we still have about 4 inches of snow in the yard, but some areas are down to the grass , just depends on what side of the hill your on , the sun gets the stuff across the road but the way the hills are we are in the shade in the winter, but in the summer we get the sun, & need a bigger A/C unit, ahhh yes the worst of both hahahaha
Last nights "Cigar ride" was a Los Blancos #9 , a toro size smoke with a maduro wrap, the first puff was toasted marshmellows , that great taste of smoke & burning sugar, a great way to start the drive ,,,,, we got home in time for Saturday night live , its been a mainstay for 35 years now launching to stardome a bunch comics & I also remember laying on the living room floor watching SNL & getting a little frisky with the wife & missing the killer bees sketch or the news update , now we just WATCH the show & save the frisky stuff after the arthritus pain meds kick in , dammmm its H3LL getting old ........ , with all the sub freezing weather & all the snow (14 days in a row) I havent been able to hang out with the grandsons all that much, talked to them on the phone & got about as much info as talking to the wall, ( they cant talk in front of there mother with out getting into trouble , so we just have a lite conversation about the weather & school, hard to tell me storys about there mother with her right there hahahaha , yea i know what a pain she can be, after all she is her mothers child hahahaha Not much else going on here , I hear the pots & pans in the kitchen calling me , time for the veal to get a workout , sharpen a few knifes , chop some veggies & pull the cork on a bottle of some thing .. Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday ,24 Jan.'10 , well the big question is it twenty ten or two thousand ten? , WHO CARES a two oh ten , what ever , well its raining here in da Burgh a welcome sight, you dont have to shovel the rain, we had about 12 days in a row or so of snow, my wife is realy tired of shoveling the stuff, me I just shovel BS hahahaha , brakfast this morning was a real nice hunk of slab bacon sliced thick, & I made a dippy egg for the boss, she likes the white crisp on the bottom but the yoke needs to be liquid , so i seperate them start the white first then add the yoke after the white has set a bit, its hard to keep the yoke centered & a real *** to NOT BREAK IT , but she was happy with hers & I had scrambled eggs ( from all the ones I messed up trying to get hers just right ) , well with all the rain this morning I havent had my Sunday morning Don Carlos #3 yet or my Kona , but the kona is in the French press & the water is on the boil so I will have coffee in a few minutes , right now I am sipping a mug of Moca Java from the local coffee roaster , he is expanding his operation to roasting peanuts , almonds & cashuew , making fresh nut butters , & he asked me to do the voice for his new radio spots , I told him I would be glad to , all I need was a pound of 100% kona , & some almond butter, Done deal, now all I need to do is wait for the rentvations to the shop, get the new roaster installed & working , & then I can collect my payment , , but he hasnt given me a script yet so I have nothing to worry about, untill I get it on tape, , I will be looking for the right music for the background , , so Vintage 50's rock, "Peanut butter", or "I like bread & butter"or even a ole blue eyes recording of the coffee song , "they got a lot of coffee in Brazil ", I have no idea what I might find when I start looking through the arcives , I might find one of my old banjo recordings hahahaha , back in the day when I was MCing a few Blues acts in the area I would strap on the old tenor banjo, & threaten to play it if they didnt tip the waitress & cheer for the band , "Alabama jubalee"is not the right song for this crowd of blues lovers .......... the shop has been super SLOW this past week, I didnt get paid , thats how slow it is , i went through 4 pots of coffee on friday, the place was full but everyone just bought A single cigar & smoked it & left, the place was full all night but the sales were so far down I dont know what to do, if it keeps up like this i will need to cut out the help & put in more hours my self, & I dont want to do that , I want to get more help & work less hours ( for the same amount of pay hahahaha ) but dammmmm when there isnt enough cash to pay me , how do I pay some one else? , yes we will ship, but I cant compete with the big on line places , they buy a truck load at a time , I get a few boxes here & there , they all give freebees & I have to pay for them ,,,, well the idea of opening up was never to go head to head with the mail order guys, I just give you a place to smoke relax sip a little coffee & BYOB , just like being at home with out your wife yelling about the cigar smoke , & so far its been working out OK, but about last August the sales went down & have stayed down, , we still get a nice crowd on Friday nights as soon as HS football is over , but the rest of the week is getting thinner & thinner , anyone out there want to make a BIG cash infusion for a small % of the bottom line ? hahahahaha
The boys are with there father this weekend so nothing to report with them, I was going to take one to a Paino concert but I went home early last wed. & slept a few extra hours, sore all over, joints creeking mussels stiff & sore dammmm if i would have known I was going to live this long I might have taken better care of this body & not worn it out so fast ! haha!
I have some bonless pork cuttlets that will be heading to the stew pot soon, a little onion, garlic, carrots ,celery & tomato , some brown rice & a little stock ,white wine , a bay leaf, & who knows what ever else fall out of the pantry , I think I will even make a little whole grain bread as i will have the oven on , should be ready about 4 PM if your in the area stop in for a bite ........ right now I will be heading out to the Qtr.deck & turn on the heat , come back in start the pork & get chummy with the boss for a few minutes or untill the chill is gone from the Qtr.deck, & she tells me for the last time to let her alone so she can read the Sunday paper hahahahah ahhh yes wedded bliss hahaha, we did go to the movie yesterday saw the
movie with Steve Martin,Meryell Streep & Alec Baldwin , called
"It's Complicated ", Funny in parts slow in others , nothing to win any awards but it did kill a saturday afternoon , then we went to applebees for a disapointing supper , as it always is at applebees, mass production food, No SOUL, NO LOVE , just average at best , no smoking , lots of little kids loud sports on all the TV's & all on different stations, hard to have a conversation with the wife , hahaha Yea just what I want to do hahahaha , last time I was there I said never again, well looks like I went back, & said NEVER AGAIN , AGAIN ! , I waited for a refill on my coffee for 10 minuts, , I ordered a cup of chili & it never showed up, till desert was almost over , I told the server no thanks but it was on the bill, , NO way will I go back , untill the boss wants to go again hahahaha
I have a Camacho trippple maduro set out for this afternoon , right now the Don Carlos #3 is calling me , & I have a candella robusto thats been sitting in the humidor a few days , a gift from a Buddy who just came back from Tampa , its been a long time since I had a candella wrapper, so it might get fired up before the Camacho , yea probably will, might even go before the #3 , Hummmm maybe , depends on my mind set when i get to the Qtr.deck & what I pour to go with the coffee hahahahaha
Enjoy, Vince
GGGOOOOOD MorMOR MORNING, BURRRRRRRRRR its Cold here in da Burgh Minus 5 last night, the last day of Jan. for 2010, we have a blanket of white all over the place, & last nights Full Moon was spectular on the snow, reminded me of Christmas's past & the poem "'Twise the night before Christmas", you know the one I am talking about , , well it was a Photo worthy evening even if it did freeze the balls off of the brass monkey , we did get a cigar ride in , be it short, last night was a Graycliff corona & a cup of Charbuck$ finest decafe, now theres an oxie-moron ! hahaha ( if I need to explane that one, send a note attached to the back of a nice new 20 dollar bill & a return post paid envelope for the explination )
well if its Sunday it must be Beef for the Boss yep she wants pot roast again, , dammmm getting her out of that rut is harder than I thought it would be , yea for a few weeks it was working but we are right back to the sunday beef , so what ever she wants she gets , its SOOO much easyer that way !!!!
breakfast this morning was a bacon & chedder omlet with a few slices of hot house tomato & a great slab of fruit & nut bread, , , almost like a fruitcake but the same stuff in a heavy whole wheat bread dough , with out the rum & brandy of the fruit cake , LOTS OF FIBER in this bad boy , hahahah & I need the fiber hahahahaha , I think I might go on a sawdust diet to get things moving hahahahaha , dammmm its tuff getting OLD , didnt get a chance to interact with the grandsons this week, & dammmm I do miss it , but with the cold & lack of time we just didnt get any PLAY TIME with after school activitys & me going to the shop & there mother having issues with me taking them out in the sub freezing to go sled riding , after dark,,, well it just didnt happen ..
I pulled the cork on a Laphroaig Qtr.Cask , dammmm its Great, so much smoke in the glass, it was briney , & went so well with the Camacho trippple maduro I had to have an other !!!!! , & that reminds me I need to stock up on cigars here at home , the count is way down , I havent made a MAJOR restocking of the home bound humidor in a few years now & it is looking shabby, I counted 4 empty humidors & a few almost empty ones , I need stock in the shop, sales are way off from last year ( about 60% off from the year before last ) & thats a real ball buster .... but I have smoked through my stash & need to replace it asap, they need time to rest before they step up to the cutter & lighter, speaking of stepping up, I was tuned in to Cigar Dave last night , & dammm he realy ticked me off , going on & on about forgetting his cell phone, dammm let go , you dont need to have an umbilical cord between you & your phone, dammm I grew up with a party line phone in the living room, ,, & my parents grew up with out a phone, yea classmates of Alexander Gramm BELL hahahaha , so in 2 generations we have grown to NEED to be connected, dammm I havent even got my FIRST cell phone , & my grandsons are on there second or third, one of them has a phone that will surf the web, he never needs to use the computer at all he carries it with him every where, has a phone & camera to record everything , dammm to me that OVERLOAD, , gone are the days of hauling arround the Nikon SLR & cassette recorder hahahahaha , now its all in the shirt pocket , I thought about it but the dammm phone screen is to small , but this new I pad, well if it had a phone in it , well maybe, it is big enough to read , but a phone that big , I dont know, but if I ever do break down & get a cell phone it will be like the communicators on the ORGINAL StarTrec , or maybe a pen like the man from Uncle had , I dont think many of you young people remember the man from uncle , but trust me it was a great show for its time , ahhhh yes the 1960's ,,,, seams just like yesterday , & speaking of yeasterday I saw a BONANZA , rerun , Pa, adam, hoss & little joe, the adds were for the new Chevy Impala , dammmm it brought back some great memeroies of my buddys Impala & the BIG back seat , & pantys hanging from the rear view mirror ....... OH to be young again, , Now I need a big bed , couch or even floor & a warm shower after hahahaha , that stuff in the car well I guess it might be OK in a pinch, but dammmm I didnt climb to the top of the food chain to eat rice & veggies the rest of my life, so why should I denie my self the comforts of a hotel or even my home , the sex in the car thing is for the kids & when you feel like a kid hahahaha lately I havent felt like a kid , dammmm , BUT I still think like one hahahaha
with the cold smap we have been having I am passing on the Qtr.Deck today, , I will be heading to the shop for a Sunday afternnon smoke as soon as I get the beef in the hot box
This morning first pot was a new one from Hallowed grounds in New Brighton Pa , a coffee med.dark roasted from High in the mountains called Panama Red , verry nice cup, a some what natual sweetness to it that is rather enjoyable , it went well with the eggs, but I have the kona in the press pot & will be brewing it asap, & the cigar will be the STANDARD of Sunday Morning , A DON CARLOS #3, still looking for a replacement but so far the search is still in full swing.........Thought I might have found a replacement for it , but the supply line of the ISOM Partigas series D #4 is kind of fragel & not to mention expencive, & the Cigar of the year the Padron @ 28 buks retail is just way to far out of sight to make that an every day starting smoke , well if I hit the lottery for 100 Millon I might think about that one hahhahaha
looks like its time for me to get the beef ready , get some pants & a shirt on & fire up the DC # 3 , Enjoy, Vince
Good morning , it is Sunday 7 Feb.2010 ( Super Bowl Sunday ) the Sunday AFTER the 4th largest snow fall in history here in da Burgh , I stuck the yard stick & there were 27 inces of snow but I had a snow drift as high as my head , there was over 32 inches on the top of my car, , but a lot of that was wind blown, we went out just after noon with broom & shovel in hand it was 26F according to the national weather broadcasts on the noaa radio network @ 162.550 mh on the weather alert radio we have ... well they were calling for 6 to 10 inches , I say they were off just a weeee bit hahahahawell we took a brake at 3 & again at 5 & didnt get finished till 7:30
THERE IS A TON OF SNOW HERE. , went to sleep fast , slept soundly all night & at 6AM the call of nature woke me , time to Pee , dammmmmmm I was comfortable & warm, BUT I had to get up & that when it hit me, dammmmmmm the only thing that isnt hurting is my hair , it pains me to lift a coffee cup this morning & we have an other storm heading here tue. & wend., with an other 3 to 5 inches called for , damm I have no idea where we will put it , the pile of snow is over my head arround the drive way , the walk way to the Qtr.Deck is clear as we used it as a warming station yeasterday when we were cleaning out the mess mother nature left us , & I did have a nice cigar or 2 when we were finished, I poured my self a POT of coffee & a weeee dram of my hooch that was distilled last week, , thursday if I recall hahahaha , so I sat in the Qtr.Deck, listened to NPR for the new from Lake Wobegone & when it was over I tuned in Cigar Dave on a station out of Youngstown Ohio , , long ashes to you general...
well as I was enjoying a Maduro Hemmingway classic , taking stock of all the streched mussels & tendons , I was hoping for a good night sleep & a good day today, well I got the good sleep, but dammmmm I HURT BIG TIME today , I am way to old to be doing this stuff, & Barb isnt in any better place in her old age than I am , no kids in the area who want to make a buck anymore, they sit on the couch & play x box , the grandsons were with there dad, so I didnt get to use child labor this snow fall dammmm , hey ...... 12 & 14 now, big enough to help, & earn a few bucks
we didnt get the shop open till 5 Pm saturday , there was so much snow no one was out & about, side walks were covered, the parking lot needed plowed & no one was out anyhow , but when I called in last night there were 5 guys stitting & smoking , but sales were still slow, damm guys keep bringing there own , , I gotta figure out a way to stop it , , I understand if the cigar you like is something I dont have on the shelf, like Davidoff or God Of Fire , but if your smoke is an excaliber , damm I have them, , so you get them on line, well smoke them on line , I have a monthly nut to crack, lights heat water cable tv & nice leather chairs to pay for not to mention FREE COFFEE , , BUY something even if you dont smoke it now, I dont want to be a *** but dammmm I dont want to close the doors , & then both of us will be unhappy, so SPEND a buck or 2 at your local B&M shops .....
I will be making chicken & rice today, , forgot to get the hunk of beef out of the freezer & the chicken will defrost fast & be in the oven before the hunk of beef would be defrosted ........ I was in a chicken mood anyway, I had thought about frying, but thats to much work, brown it , put it in the oven to finish, a little rice & bingo , its DONE , I will be heading out to the Qtr.deck soon to turn on the heat there is a Don Carlos #3 & pot of kona calling my name , BUT first I want to get in the shower, & drain all 75 gallons of hot water from the tank & loosen up all the tight joints sore gluts & stiff knees , from the top of my head to the soles of my feet the only thing that isnt hurting is my hair hahahahaha , I think that retirement appartment is looking better & better all the time , no grass to cut, no snow to move , BUT no room to smoke , well theres always the drive to the shop, but I like a little nip & a nap at times & want to be at home for the nap hahahahaha , I wonder if I could just move the Qtr.deck to the roof of the apt.building ? hummmm gotta check in to that !
Super bowl party will start at the shop some time today, as far as I know there might be a few there starting to drink all ready, or they might still be there from last night , getting a BIG jump on the booze, & dont forget the BIG halftime toilet flush, according to some Burocratic in DC more toilets are flushed during half time than any other time in the year, NOW WHO PAID FOR THAT STUDDY ? we sucker s thats who , your BIG Government at work. , we need more people like Ross Perot & Jessie the Governer Ventura , INDEPENDENTS , not party hacks , well before I get off on that ball of wax , I better get this BS posted, not that anyone ever reads this BS or has much to comment but for a few people who do , I need the therapy of expounding my week, it is a good way to share the trials & tribulations of life in a small town with only one cigar shop & not enough customers ..... I was thinking of installing a shoe shine chair, I used to slap a mean rag when i was in the Navy , BUT no one wheres shoes that need a shine anymore, nikes just dont need polished !!
Enjoy, Vince
Thats a sore spot with me too. I've got no issue with buying online but we need to support our local shops or they won't be there. More and more shops I'm going to are requiring you to purchase something to smoke there. I've also been into a few shops with signs that say something to the affect of "If you didn't buy it here, you can't smoke it here."
I ALWAYS buy something when I go to my local B&M. There have been many times that I smoked something I brought with me but I picked up a stick or two. A lot of times I'll bring one with me and I'll buy one. I tend to smoke two everytime I make it up there.
Vince I've been reading your posts ever since I have become a member. I look forward to reading it every week either when I first get up on Sunday or when I get home, depending on my work schedule. Just so you there are 325 posts in this thread and 32,156 or so views right now......people are reading and ejoying your posts. Hang in there with the shop, I'm sure things are going to turn around soon for you. Next time I'm out that way I'm going to stop by.
How can somebody walk into a B&M and smoke a cigar they didn't buy there? That should be rule #1!! Kick em out, you'd be saving money. Or, if you are too nice to do that, tell them that they get free coffee with any purchase. If they don't purchase anything, they have to pay a buck a cup. I think I'm more upset than you and it's not even my business.
How can somebody walk into a B&M and smoke a cigar they didn't buy there? That should be rule #1!! Kick em out, you'd be saving money. Or, if you are too nice to do that, tell them that they get free coffee with any purchase. If they don't purchase anything, they have to pay a buck a cup. I think I'm more upset than you and it's not even my business.
The coffee thing is a great idea! And vince, I look forward to hearin what's happenin in da burgh all week!
I have been roasting & brewing coffee since we opened, I feel like a stooge when I get taken advantage of but a buck for unlimited coffee a day isnt a bad idea, should have thought about that one my self,& a corking fee for the booze is also a good idea, but when i am not there no one will collect it ??
I have been roasting & brewing coffee since we opened, I feel like a stooge when I get taken advantage of but a buck for unlimited coffee a day isnt a bad idea, should have thought about that one my self,& a corking fee for the booze is also a good idea, but when i am not there no one will collect it ??
Sounds like a good idea to charge a buck for unlimited coffee - I'd jump on that; and if no one collects it, then you're right back where you are now, so not much of a loss.
On the subject of smoking cigars you didn't buy at the shop, I commonly do that, but then again, the guy at the shop doesn't carry what I like to smoke, has about 15 cigars made by normal manufacturers compared to 15 of his own house-made cigars (yeah, 30 cigars is the total selection), charges $10 for his house-made cigars, and charges full retail if I want to buy a box (eg - each cigar is $8 single, and I wanna buy a box of 20, so he quotes me a price of $160 plus tax). Sucks when your local B&M is like mine, I really wish it were more like yours
Comments
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
warm? I forget what that is... our current temp is -13 with a windchill of -20.... BRRRRRRR
¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
Thats a sore spot with me too. I've got no issue with buying online but we need to support our local shops or they won't be there. More and more shops I'm going to are requiring you to purchase something to smoke there. I've also been into a few shops with signs that say something to the affect of "If you didn't buy it here, you can't smoke it here."
I ALWAYS buy something when I go to my local B&M. There have been many times that I smoked something I brought with me but I picked up a stick or two. A lot of times I'll bring one with me and I'll buy one. I tend to smoke two everytime I make it up there.
On the subject of smoking cigars you didn't buy at the shop, I commonly do that, but then again, the guy at the shop doesn't carry what I like to smoke, has about 15 cigars made by normal manufacturers compared to 15 of his own house-made cigars (yeah, 30 cigars is the total selection), charges $10 for his house-made cigars, and charges full retail if I want to buy a box (eg - each cigar is $8 single, and I wanna buy a box of 20, so he quotes me a price of $160 plus tax). Sucks when your local B&M is like mine, I really wish it were more like yours