The Real Deal

From California

This gentleman is the real deal, a blues man, a searching soul singing his heart out at Chris's Club in Vallejo, California on one fine Monday night in April of 2011. Oakland Sam is a harmonica player 1st class with a smooth vocal delivery to boot.

We finally have our airline tickets in hand for our long awaited trip back across the pond. Frankly I didn't know if it was ever going to happen, maybe not even this year. Our finances are just this side of pathetic...just like the bloody US Government. Those August bastards get to put the US asleep financially tonight at midnight. Bumbling fools and idiots one and all, who allowed these assholes to run out government? We did?! Huh?! Yea gads folks we HAVE to do a better job of finding candidates for those jobs that go there with our best interests in mind, not their own and the Korporations that jerk their strings. Awful.

I chucked the old PC for another whacky assemblage of parts as Win 7 took a big dive one day and was apparently unfixable and somehow wiped out a 500GB Seagate HD as well. I haven't been able to format it though it thinks all is well and it has a partition. Who knows but I'm now using this one until it too gives up the ghost. What a pain these damned machines are.

The grandkids will all be here this evening, I'll make them Spaghetti and Meatballs with a big green salad. We've never had such attention as has been given to us by Michael and the kids since he came back into our lioves after his divorce. It's been real fun for all involved.

Bye for now. Maybe I can keep this up now that the fog of our future has lifted somewhat.

A Dim Light At The End Of A very Long, Dark Tunnel

Today was supposed to de dedicated to finishing the grouting of the countertops and backsplashes...supposed is the key word here. Instead I visited ACE Hardware in Suisun City for the 4th time yesterday...yes...4 times! AND...got the final (I thought) 1/2 inch compression pipe fittings for the installation of the dishwasher next to the big sink. I got as far as moving the dishwasher back out from the cabinet and attempting to install the pipe fitting it needed to hook up the intake water. Sure...not a fit this attempt 3/8th's inch compression was NOT the RIGHT one. So back to ACE and got a 1/2" pipe thread fitting and sure enough...wrong again! Then Bob of Bob and Marsha fame came by to see how we were progressing (me..NOT!) and he pronounced the fitting on the dishwasher as a 3/8ths pipe thread. So back to ACE once again (!) and exchanged the error pieces (hose was wrong too!) for the correct (according to Bob...and he was RIGHT!) So I took everything to the house and began the installation in earnest. After installing the CORRECT fitting and the CORRECT connecting hose I plumbed in the new coppy 1/2" T fitting and the old valve that I saved from the 15 yr old installation from this same kitchen. The dishwasher was pushed back into it's cabinet space and fastened to the countertop. Of course doing this unceremoniously removed by force the 4 face tiles in the 24" wide cabinet due to interferance with the top of the dishwasher. Shit! I'll put them back when I've determined this whole install is not leaking or failing in some other way. 'Til then it is IN without the tiles in place.

I was done at 311 for the day. Then I went next door to Audrey's house and repaired the fallen down clothing rod in her closet. Then home to watch "Street Thief" on Netflix online. Riveting!

Then we ate dinner...I made a Beef stew with carrots, camerlized mushrooms, veal stock, red wine, roasted potatoes. Delicious if I do say so myself. Then we were off to Dinitri's Lounge for the Sunday night Blues jam sessions that start at 6. What a show! Terrific bunch of musicians and a friendly, lively crowd all anxious to dance, dance, dance. It was great fun as always and made we want more! Dimitri's does a great job! Here's three videos to show you what I mean! You may need quicktime from Apple to play these, get it, it's free! http://www.apple.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVDUKkF4yLg

A Great Music Scene! The Beginning of...

First...The Blood Pressure Drug...Metoprolol is back in my stable of drugs-that-keep-me-here. Finally thru great effort Kaiser FINALLY got the mess around my prescription sorted out and I have a three month supply in hand. BP is looking VASTLY better these last few days. Enough.
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The Kitchen in the Big House that we are going to move into real-soon-now has now it's first coat of Min Wax Polyurethane water-based gloss top coat over Pecan Stain on the old vertical-grained fir...it is supposed to cure/dry/be ready for another coat/can be walked upon...in 2 hours. Sure...at what temp? Humidity? Application thickness? So though it was done at 1pm today I will wait til I get our Duck Confit dinner well underway before I venture back there to check the floor.
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On the 15th...the evening of...we attended a music evening at Dimitri's Lounge By The Bay in downtown Suisun. 22 bucks brought a night of great music supplied by Tony Lindsay, Santana's Lead Singer. He brought the house down! People dancing, bouncing in their chairs, singing along, he was spectacularly talented and his band was equal to the task as well. We won't miss ANY of the events at Dimitri's agter that demonstration, that's for sure. In fact...we went back Sunday for an Open Mike Blues session that wound up going overtime! 4pm to 7pm...they close Sunday's at 8pm.
5 bands formed from the audience full of Blues men and women just ready to jam. Soooo very good! We drank our beers and enjoyed watching the audience and dancing in our chairs. One fantastic good time was had by all! Dimitri's is The Place for Blues! Tomorrow we go back to the Jam Session at 4pm, come join us! Great fun to be had by all! Here's their great web site...turn down your speakers first!
http://www.dimitrislounge.com