Backyard Cleanup

After my nasty fall, the three youngest were sent out to finish winterizing and cleaning the backyard. I must admit, I was both happy and a little surprised that without any instructions from me (well, none that they followed) they did a formidable job. 

Thank you!

Sawyer at the Salon

Back on the 8th Smiley and I took the dogs to a salon on KK to have their nails trimmed. Alas, aside from the copious amounts of hair they left in my car, only one of the two behaved well enough to actually get their nails done. I'll let you guess which one (and it isn't this one). 

At any rate, here are some pics Smiley took. 

A few days later, Lulu took Sawyer to his usual salon where they successfully did the trimming. 

 

        

Fresh Coast Jazz Festival 2024

LuLu graciously agreed to go with me to the Pabst Theater to attend the final day of the 2024 Fresh Coast Jazz Festival. If you were expecting mellow sounds and a prim and proper crowd, you were mistaken - the joint was jumping. 

Heck, there was even an obnoxious legally blind woman that security randomly sat in front of us, and who then turned on the flashlight on her phone and began a long, loud Facetime call with her man. We moved to different seats before I got to the point where I grabbed her phone and tossed it off  the balcony. 

 

Up first was Aussie Andrea Lisa, whose voice and guitar work were superb. 

Then Lemek and Quintin Gerrard W, a father/son combo, took the stage. They were great, but of the three acts we saw, were our least favorite. 

Finally, the headliner! The incomparable Boney James!!! 

How was Boney? Let me quote a guy I overheard in the stairwell on the way out. 

"Boney James don't owe me nutthin.' That man gave me what I paid for," 

It might go down as my favorite compliment of anyone, EVER. 

A Christmas Gift (from 3 years ago!)

 Today was pretty low key. I slept in, then drove Lu to work before going to Mass, then ran some small errands in the evening with Junie (pharmacy, Walmart, storage, etc). 

But right before Mass I swung by Collector's Edge Comics and FINALLY used this certificate Junie got me for Christmas way back in 2021! To my shame, I lost track of it for a long time but was overjoyed to rediscover it. 

Despite the expiration date being two and a half years in the past, the owner honored the gift certificate. I raided the discount bin and picked up ten copies of the great 80's run of Blue Devil. 

Thanks Junie!

Grandpa's Day 2024 Pt 1

Friday was the 41st anniversary of Grandpa's Day,  a day trip I took with my Grandpa only two weeks before he died.  To celebrate,  I took a much needed day off of work. 

Late in the morning Lisa and I drove down to Kenosha for lunch, taking the scenic route down Hwy 32. We ate at the Union Park Tavern, at the recommendation of a co-worker.

I will say that there sides were grand.  The jalapeño poppers featured red jalapeños and had a delicious kick to them. 

The potato wedges were on point,  and Lisa enjoyed the cheesy hashbrowns. 

The restaurant bucked tradition and in place of rye bread provided a thick slab of Italian bread.  I found this to be an abomination,  but it was much to my wife's liking. 

The fish tho . . . this was my 3rd fish fry in Kenosha and I just don't think they've got the knack for it. The batter was light and had almost no crisp to it,  the cod itself was average, and the seasoning was meh.

Sigh. 

Oh, and look at this egregious error in the 'newsletter' they have at each table:

"Wayne Cochran"????????? Do you mean the late, great EDDIE Cochran sir?????

Still a nice lunch.

Afterwards we drove home and enjoyed a nice nap before being awoken by Lulu constructing a new garbage cart for our kitchen. 

Then Lisa headed to work and I stopped by the cemetery to pay my respects and say another thank you for that great day we had together so long ago.