Yesterday's Task (updated)

So here it is:

















If you recall I mentioned that we're picking one task on our list and working on it in the morning and then basically goofing off the rest of the day. Well this was my task yesterday:




Can you guess what it is?











Maybe this will help:

Hectic Schedule

Since we left Cincinnati in a whirlwind it was now necessary to unpack and put things away in the new home. So we decided logically that the place to start would be the place that the house is centered around, the kitchen of course! We adjusted the shelving in the cabinets and rearranged the stuff that we had previously brought down and now the kitchen is functional at maximum efficiency!

It's important to point out that we've adopted a strategy to this retirement thing, and that is that we have put together a list of work items that need to get done and we will work our way down that list one item at a time. We will work on each item until noon that day, and if we get it completed early we're done. If we don't get it done by noon then we finish it the next day.

So with our work behind us yesterday Lightnin decided to stay home and read from her Kindle and I leathered up and went for a nice long ride.

The sun was out and the temperature was up to 65F. I decided to take a loop from the OTT to CJ's, then to Bear's Den, and end up back at the OTT. It ended up being a 70mile run and I made it home by 5pm. That timing is critical for two reasons: 1) It gets dark here around 5:30pm and I mean dark! The last thing I want to do is try to ride the bike down our lime rock road in pitch black and 2) It does actually get cold at night here this time of year, and with the extra humidity in the air it carries some impact.

So what's on the agenda for today? I'm not sure I guess I'd better check the list to see!

We're Back Up And Broadcasting From The Cabin In The Woods

So where do I start, let's see: Retired on Thursday, packed up and headed south on Friday (12hr 30min drive door-to-door), unloaded and here we are!

FC and Mrs. FC had us over for a fish fry the next day (New Year's Eve); where we got to see their lovely young ladies, and missed JR because he had to work (Hey we've been there!) We also got to meet some new friends and the food of course was fantastic (Mrs. FC that Chocolate torte was killer!). What a way to bring in the new year!

On New Years Day we went to a pot luck "hang-over party" at The Old Town Tavern (OTT). The menu was: the best black eyed peas I've ever eaten, greens, and several types of corn bread. If this is any indication then it's going to be a good year!

We worked around the house the next day, which means: we finally unpacked!

Then on the 3rd we headed to Gaterville to complete one of Lightnin's "Bucket List" items, to meet her cousin from Brazil who just happened to be on vacation in Florida. It was so nice to meet Sergio and his family! We talked and laughed and he and Lightnin were able to fill in gaps that had been opened years ago, what a great experience! We'll stay connected from here out.

Here we are (from left to right): Their daughter Fernanda, Yours truely, Ligntnin, Sergio, His Wife Anamaria, and their son Theodoro.
















One final good-bye photo (I'm thinking: Hasta luego, Bis spater, or Zaijian rather than good-bye though):
















That brings us to today. Probably boring to most of you, but we went through and rearranged the shelves and contents of the kitchen cabinets, making the set-up more efficient then it was when we first blew in and threw things in their places. Don't get in my way in our kitchen now 'cause everything is in it's place and I can move like a cat in there! ;-) The reward of course was a ride on the bike, a short ride I'll confess, but a ride none the less! Yes, we're having a record cold spell down here this week; and yes, everyone here is blaming me (somewhat joking), but hey the sun was up and the roads were dry so I leathered-up and rode!

So that's about it for now, we'll see what tomorrow brings!

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!

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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! ;-)

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Happy first day of winter!

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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!