YEEABBA, DABBA, DOOOO!

I think Fred said it best when it came to quittin' time!
Here I am at the ultimate quitting time, retirement; well actually I have a year of paid vacation and then retirement! ;-)

Bye, Bye Ohio; Florida here we come!!!


It may be awhile before we get hooked back up to the Internet, but be patient I'll be back on-line soon!

1

Merry Christmas to all!

Just so you know the number is now 2!

I thought I'd take a look at my January schedule to see what things look like for the start of the upcoming year. It looks like its wide open! ;-)

4

Happy first day of winter!

5

6

7

8

9

10

The End is Near!

No this isn't a forecast for doom, it's just announcing that the end of my current career is near. After 30 years of working in the consumer goods industry I'll be calling it quits in a mere 18 working days.

Looking back it's been interesting, sometimes exciting and amazing, but mostly fun. Yes that's right I said fun. I've "met and usually exceeded expectations" (inside joke), made some amazing discoveries, learned from mistakes, laughed at myself and taught others to laugh with me.

I've been fortunate enough to have moved around within my company and learn many different aspects of the business of research and development and production. I've also been lucky enough to have traveled around the world several times and learned how to be comfortable living out of a suitcase for months at a time (for me it was sort of like very comfortable camping). I've learned how to feel comfortable being a stranger in a strange land, and picked up several languages and many, many friends along the way.

I think I'm ready to get off the plane for awhile and just sort of remember what it's like to "be me"! Not me the scientist, not me the singer, not me the cultural historian, just ME. The me that I set aside 30 some years ago. The impulsive me, the silly me, the sit and stare at the woods for hours at a time me, just ME! The "Hey Lightnin, let's hop on the bike and head to the coast?" me, the do something subtle yet silly to get Lightnin to look up from her book and smile (OK I've been doing that this whole time, but there'll be more of that) me, the take all day to cook some extravagant meal me, the watch the sun rise and hang around to see it set in the same day me, just ME! Yes, I'm definitely ready to get off the plane for awhile, and actually unpack all my bags!


Lightnin and I are about to start a new chapter! I'm looking forward to seeing where this new part of the journey will take us. Of course I know where it will start, on a 6 acre slice of oak and palm tree heaven!


Come along for the ride and see what happens next!

Weekend Brewing

Saturday was pretty nice out so I decided to hop on the bike and ride a bit which meant that I would be brewing on Sunday. So Sunday morning I got up to grind the grist and then get the mash started before breakfast. Since it takes at least 2 hours for the mash step this gave me time to fix a hearty breakfast to help carry me through the rest of the brewing process.


My choice was grits with chorizo, queso (pepper jack), and eggs.










The style of choice was Irish Stout.












You can almost smell the malty sweetness as the steam rises and you can see some of the hops floating to the surface in this picture. The amber liquid in the lower left corner was a Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest, which I highly recommend.

Having sampled the new brew after the boil as it was being chilled, this batch should be extremely smooth with a light, dry finish! It should go well with the Red Ale from a couple of weeks ago.

It was Cold this Weekend, and Other Randomness

Both Friday and Saturday nights here it was down to below freezing and only warmed up into the mid 50's(F) for a high.


This is a planter on our deck. That's not plastic wrap on it, that's frozen rain water!









I did manage to leather-up and ride a bit on Sunday afternoon.


We were watching Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives (Food Network)a couple of weeks ago and decided to try our hand at one of the extravagant burgers that were featured on the show. It was a Blue Cheese/Bacon burger, and it is fantastic!

You need a biscuit or cookie cutter thing, parchment or waxed paper, crumbled blue cheese, chopped bacon (we used peppered bacon), and good ground beef (You could use lean, but why bother with the bacon and blue cheese on there already) We used ground Bison for a richer beef flavor.

So here's how you make the burger:

First you lay out the parchment and use the biscuit cutter as a form, and place some of the bacon as the first layer.
Then add a layer of blue cheese
Then add the Beef or Bison, and pack it down to form as tight of a patty as you can. Be careful when you remove the form and when placing the burger on a hot griddle or skillet. Grill the heck out of it on the first side to form a crust with the bacon, and then be careful when you flip it.
















We served it with avacado, lettuce, mustard and ketchup; with spicy fires on the side. Delicious and not good for you at all, but hey live a little just don't eat one every day! Maybe once a year on a special occasion! ;-)

Crazy Drivers (I missed one!)

I missed one in my last post:

Oh $#*! There's My Exit
This one is driving along in the left lane and instantly darts across 2 to 3 lanes of traffic to barely hit the exit ramp, and causing everyone else on the road to lock up the brakes!

That actually happened not once, but twice on the way into work this morning! One doing this from the left lane, followed by another doing it from the right lane a few miles down the road!

And of course it was far to bothersome for either one to use the turn signal to at least give some sort of warning.
Of course if they had, the driver in the lane next to them would have sped up to keep them from changing lanes! ;-)

Driving in Cincinnati

OK I'm not sure how bad of drivers there are where you live, but honestly Cincinnati has the worst drivers I have ever seen, and I've been around a few places. Sorry if you are a native Cincinnatian and you take offense to this, but some of these folks need to be taken off the roads!

Here's a few of my pet peeves about Cincinnati Drivers:

Slow Racer in the Left Lane - This is the person that drives about 5-10mph under the speed limit, in the left lane. Oh the Racer part, that comes in when you move over to pass them they of course will speed up to keep you from going around them! I've found that the average increased speed that these tormentors will do is about 12mph over their original speed and then they will slow back down, but occasionally one of them will zoom up to about 20-25mph and then start changing lanes erratically (I have no idea what that is all about!).

The Totally Oblivious - This is the driver that has absolutely no idea that anyone else is out on the roads! They will slide from lane to lane, no turn signal, or usually hang just over the line between two lanes so you don't know if they are planning to change lanes or not. This is sometimes the cause of talking on the phone or texting while driving, but the scary thing is that most times they are just driving! Yikes!

The Deal Maker - This is the guy that thinks he is the ultimate "Mover and Shaker", his car is a rolling office! he is conducting important business deals or day trading on wall street, and can't afford the time to pull over to make these calls. I've even seen this guy with the phone in one hand, an pen in the other and his day-planner stretched out on the steering wheel!

The Texter - This is the guy or gal that has to stay connected at all costs! They will drive erratically speeding up and slowing down shifting from side to side, crossing lane lines, etc. They will sometimes sit through an entire cycle of a traffic light, with no clue it just happened. When honked at, so I don't miss another light, they of course will act as though they are totally innocent of any wrong doing throwing they're hands in the air forgetting that the phone is clearly in one of them! Definite cranial rectal insertion syndrome

Then my favorite of all:

Speed Racer - This is the guy or gal that is in a hurry, of course nobody else is. They will ride your bumper no matter how fast you are driving, or how many vehicles are in front of you. they will constantly change lanes speeding up to get on the bumper of every car that is in front of them, usually needing to slam on the brakes as soon as they change lanes because they didn't see the semi-truck in the next lane! They usually end up defeating their own purpose by getting themselves hopelessly trapped in the thickest part of the traffic, and yes that is sort of amusing!

Not sure if you have these same characters in your part of the world, but please chime in and let me know!
If you are from Cincinnati and either agree or disagree, please share your opinions too!

Reflections or is it Retrospection?

I took some time to go back through some of my old blogs and really liked what I saw, back then. I used to actually tell stories, give such good details about the events happening that it would draw the reader into the pictures that were provided. Lately it seems that I'm merely sharing photos and putting a few captions with those and have set my story telling aside.

My theory on this is that it is the effect of several causes over the past couple of years(not necessarily in order): 1) Preoccupation of building a new home via long distance, 2) Re-acclimation to American life, 3) Being stuck in Cincinnati with no real prospect of travelling outside the US, and 4) Planning the next chapter in our lives

So here's my rationalisation:
1) The house is completed so I can check that one off! 2) The readjustment period is finally coming to a close, although #3 isn't helping that much after traveling all over the world for the past 15 years it would have been better to ween off a bit rather than going "cold turkey" in the "Natty"! (Too bad, it is what it is, so count your blessings and get over it!) 4) The decision is becoming more apparent and should not be a burden for much longer.

So in other words its time to get back on the horse and start writing again! My travel was always a sort of muse for me so now I will simply need to look for a new muse in what is happening around me in day to day life. So don't be too surprised to see some upcoming blogs about the quirkiness that comes with everyday "normal" life.

IIII'm Baack!

We'll see how this goes!

Angel's of Mercy Ride 2011

This past Saturday was the 2nd annual Angel's of Mercy ride. The weather held out by being sunny and dry, but it was a bit chilly and there was a constant 25mph wind with gusts up to 35mph. I didn't get a final count of how many bikes showed up, but it was a good crowd and a great ride! Here's a few photos,and videos, courtesy of Lightnin's "Bike Cam":





















For the best viewing click to bring the videos to full screen and turn up the volume!




It was a really well planned and organized ride for a great cause! The beautiful clear sky and cool crisp air helped provide for great photos and the wind kept things interesting.
I would encourage anyone interested to join next year!

Oktoberfest 2011

The 2011 Cincinnati German festival season has come to an end with the Donauschwaben Oktoberfest this past weekend. The weather held out so that there was a good crowd. We went on Friday evening and it was a bit damp and cold, but the music, food, drink, and Gemutlichkeit were all good!

Ein Prosit der gemutlichkeit!



The ladies played "Pass the baby", but I have to say that this little guy was a real trooper. He just took it all in and never once fussed about the noise, music, or all the people!










As usual a good time was had by all!

Just When You Think You've Seen It All!

So Since returning from China a bout 2-1/2 years ago my job has held me captive in the Cincinnati area, well there was that one trip to Europe, and now my second trip to Iowa (which is what this post is about).

There were 4 of us taking the trip and we thought we'd save expenses by driving out instead of flying, thereby cutting the cost down to about 1/4 for the trip alone. What the company forgot was that according to the "Guide Book of Being Guys" (I may get censored by the greater community of "Guys" now) and I quote: "Whenever 2 or more guys go out of town for any length of time in a wheeled vehicle it is officially known as a ROAD TRIP"! Now just so I can still keep my membership card not a whole lot more details will be shared, but rest assured that even though we did work hard and accomplished allot we did manage to have fun!

Now to actually get to the real point of this now rambling post, I have been fortunate enough to have traveled most of this country during my lifetime, from coast-to-coast and border-to-border all along the interstates, and I'm still a firm believer that you miss allot if you don't do this! I've seen some of the most famous landmarks like: The Grand Canyon, Buffalo Bill's Home, Pillsbury Crossing (I threw that in there for Lightnin and Merlyn, one truly unforgettable Road Trip!), etc., all well worth viewing, but the real fun is in the obscure, and sometimes bizarre sightings, these are the real gems that you miss when you fly over.

Yes I can boast that I've seen: The World's Largest Prairie Dog, The World's Largest Ball of Twine, (Notice a pattern here?), The World's Smallest Tea Set, etc. (Oh I could go on and on), but on this trip I finally got to see (are you ready?) The World's Largest Truck Stop! And here's the picture to prove it:

Ain't she a beauty?














This beauty is right on I-80 in Southeastern IOWA, and I can now claim that I've seen it! We didn't go in it mind you, we just stopped, took a picture, got back into the car, and made tracks to get home, but by golly we saw it!

What Happened to Summer?

******Weather Rant Warning!******

So this morning we wake up with 52F temperatures and a slight mistiness in the air, and its said that we'll make it up to a whopping 64F for the high! This wouldn't be too bad except that for the past few months we've had from mid to upper 80's (perfect in my book) to mid to upper 90's (a little warm, but I like it). So to all of a sudden sink to the mid 60's for the high, along with the dampness in the air, is a bit of a shock. For crying out loud it's mid September and I had to grab a jacket on the way out this morning!

If you've followed this blog for any time at all then you'll know that for starters I'm a fan of warm weather, and come pretty close to hating winter, but my biggest pet peeve is the inconsistent weather around here during the spring and fall. I'll spare you the full description of these sometimes violent swings in temps and precipitation conditions because I've detailed those in previous posts, but it's safe to say that this time of the year I am usually not a happy camper!

This state of unhappiness is brought on by several things: The obvious I've mentioned in rantings above and in previous posts, the not so obvious is the fact that this season reminds me that winter is fast approaching. This is also coupled with the usual loss of sunlight and the reduction of vitamin D production which actually does trigger a depression reaction.

This year I'm prepared and a long term solution to this issue is in the works!

More to come.......

Before and After

Here's a few more before and after photos:

In the beginning













Cleared and ready to start












Got foundation?















The dream has become reality!

Finally Florida!

Yes we're finally in Florida! We've actually been here over a week, but this is the first time I've been able to get on-line to post anything (thanks to FC for loaning me his connection!).

The journey started with loading up the truck and trailer with everything we could get on them, and heading down the road.
















When we finally arrived it was amazing to see the difference from the last time we visited the house. The jungle had tried to take over again and I had to rent a Bush Hog type piece of equipment called a "Billy Goat" to beat the jungle back to the tree line. Here's the before and after shots:




















Ok, ok I'll get to the house! The outside of the house hasn't changed much from the last visit so we'll move inside to the drastic improvements. Here are a few before and after shots of the kitchen:























The stairs were not completed yet last time either and we actually got to help finish them. I helped Mr. Trapp (The Builder) lug the cypress trees around to get them cut to fit, and then Lightnin and I applied the sealant to the steps, rails, and trees for the final touch.
























It's been a working vacation so far, but while writing this post we were just informed by the builder that the final inspection just passed and we will have our C.O. in a couple of hours! That means we finally have reason to celebrate and will take the next couple of days to actually enjoy some of our time off!

More to come later!

Yes, It's Me Again!

Sorry for the lag time of almost 3 months now!

There's been a lot going on: The house is nearing completion, but with new issues encountered that have once again pushed the completion date back; changes at work that are requiring extra effort; and physical therapy for me before and after work. All of which have added to the normal stress load that was already a bit high.

So selfishly when I finally get downtime lately, I've tended to take time for myself in a more low profile manner. I realized that this was needed at this time when I left the house the other day without my camera in my hand and it didn't even bother me! What the? That's not me! SO a little sabbatical has been in order in the name of personal sanity.

Don't worry though, the thought of blogging is constantly gnawing at me and I will get back into the swing of things again soon! I promise!

More Flood Scenes and Another Storm

On Thursday afternoon it wasn't raining when we got home from work so we decided to get the bike out for the first time in a couple of weeks and try to get a few more pictures of the flooded areas.

Here's the over swollen White Water River


This is supposed to be a corn field

This is another view of the White Water River, if you see the two clumps of trees to the left the normal channel of the rive is between those!

There's a bridge under there

Looks like it's time to get back home!

Hail that came down with the storm













We barely got the bike put away and the sky let loose on us once again. We had three waves of rain and high winds with the third storm producing a bit of pea sized hail.

So This is What I came Home to!

This spring has been a wet one for us here in the Ohio River Valley!. The ground is saturated and there's no place for the rain to go. We currently live near the White Water River and I ventured out today to take a few shots of the flooding.

These first few are at a boat ramp and park just around the corner from us. Those are trees floating down the river





This is usually a field which should already have corn planted in it, but right now it's a lake


















The White Water River is usually a docile clear running body of water where you can tube, canoe, or kayak down to cool off during the summer.

Right now it's not raining, but there are more storms coming later this evening and we may not see the sun until Friday. that means that it will be a daily check as to see if we can get out to go to work in the morning or get back home at night. I guess we'd better pack a few things and take them with us just in case!

Our Cabin in the Woods, or is This Paradise?

I left the rain soaked (understatement!) southern Ohio region a couple of days ago to come back down to the wilds of Florida to make some final adjustments and decisions to the design before the final stages of construction begin.

The weather could not have cooperated any better! The temps have been in the upper 60's to lower 70's in the mornings and reaching upper 80's to lower 90's in the heat of the day, but with amazingly low humidity so it's very comfortable (temperatures are reported in degrees F for my international followers). This combined with clear blue skies has made the short visit exactly what the doctor ordered!

So with the first 2 days here spent getting the business completed I was able to spend a fun and relaxing evening with my buddy FC enjoying some good music and a couple of cold malted beverages near the gulf, again just what the doctor ordered.

My other good friend Mrs. FC has been very busy preparing for a huge catering job that is taking place today and since I really didn't have any plans, and they could really use the help, I'll be spending my last day here helping with the affair. It should be a fun time, even if it proves to be hard work, and I get a chance to check out some of the indigenous species that I would not normally have a chance to observe.

OK enough of the idle chit-chat I know you're wanting to see what I came down here to do!

So are you ready kids?

I can't hear you!

Whoooooooooooo Lives in a.......... Just kidding! Here's the latest pictures, but take a deep breath because it will likely leave you breathless, it did me!




Definitely Paradise!



We have interior walls


Lightnin's Tree


The side view, Love that deck!













It's been a short and busy trip, but we're in the home stretch now (pun intended)!
I'll be home soon Lightnin!

Finally Some Warm Weather!

Last time I mentioned that I got a new camera, well here's what the little thing looks like:

This is it next to my wallet (for scale). Don't get too excited the only thing in that wallet is cobwebs right now! ;-) This was taken with my old camera.


This is my old camera, taken with my new camera


Here they are in a side-by-side comparison











The old camera is a Cannon Power Shot A560 which takes great pics and I thought at the time that it was really compact. It's capabilities are 7.1 mega pixels with a 4x optical zoom. The new camera is a Samsung SL-50 with 10.2 mega pixels and 5x optical zoom. it's amazing how much difference a few mega pixels makes!

So the weather has finally changed here and in between the rain storms we're getting sunshine and 70-80F temps, YEA!!!!!!

We got the bike out and met up with a couple of our friends to blow some of the dust out.

Here's a shot of our two bikes. Check out the clarity in this picture, that's the power of the mega pixel!

Here's an action shot from Lightnin using the helmet cam technique.











It was beautiful weather and this weekend could be even better.
The bummer is that my bike is in the shop, but not for anything bad, it was time for the 15,000 mile check-up. If you recall, this bike is only 3 years old and the first year I wasn't even in town to ride it, so that means I've logged 15,000 miles on it in just 2 years!

So with the weather great and the bike in the shop it looks like I'll be spending my time getting the lawn implements up and running for the new season.