Double Dogged

Emory Grove Hotel Nov. 2007

2007-12-05T19:06:00.000-05:00

This is a photo of the hotel at Emory Grove Md. I caught the maple tree with about half of the leaves. To bad I didn't get it sooner.

Emory Grove is where my cottage is located. I want to show some of the before and after photos of the work we have been doing on the cottage these last couple of years.

I wanted to practice uploading photos and the hotel is the first one I have done. I am sorry I didn't get this tree with all of the leaves still on it. The photo was taken a couple of weeks ago.

The hotel was built in 1887 and was one of three on the grounds. It is the only one left standing. Emory Grove is in Glyndon Md. and was a Methodist summer camp and retreat. People would come to the grove for worship services and to get away from the Baltimore hot summers. Emory Grove dates back to 1868 and predates Glyndon by a few years.

People would come by street car, carriage and trains. In the early years they had very large tents on wooden platforms. They would have furniture and other amentities in those tents. They would bring their servants and nurses and stay the summer months of July and August. The summer cottages were built starting about the mid teens. There are 47 cottages on the grounds and haven't changed much since they were built.

I will try and get some more photos up soon. I just need to practice the best way to do this.

If You Have Been Wondering About My Cottage, Now You will Know!

2007-10-04T07:16:00.000-04:00

Through the last couple of years I have been posting about A Cottage my wife, sister in law, brother in law, and I have been restoring. It is a summer only Cottage and we use it from April Through November. It can be used during the winter, only there won't be any water to use as it gets turned off in Nov. We bleed the pipes, so no toilet to use. Yet it is nice to be there anytime.

It is like going back in time when there. Yes I do have a television there to watch the sports etc. Our Cottage is a shotgun type. It is all on one floor and as the name indicates, shotgun, meaning could fire a shotgun in the front doors and it will exit the rear door and not hit anything else. Hence the name shotgun.

This area goes back to the year 1868 when it was first formed as a Methodist camp. Tents were use then. There are 47 cottages and they were built after 1900, most around 1920. No insulation just the outside walls. Yes they do have some kind of heat, electricity and water.

They are nestled in among the tall Oak and Maple trees that date back a long time ago. Peace and tranquillity is the norm. It is only about a 20 minute drive from where I live in Timonium. When the 4 of us bought the place a little over 2 years ago we gutted it and have been improving it ever since. It is very livable!

The place is Emory Grove, which is located off of Butler Rd. in Glyndon Md. Emory Grove pre dates Glyndon by a few years. On the property it still has the great Victorian Hotel built about 1887. Though the many rooms cannot be used to rent, as was in the past, the very large main room is still used and can be rented for special occasions.

Being in the Grove as we call it, is like living back in the 1930's and 40's. You have this feeling when visiting and just about everyone feels it. You get this peaceful feeling of belonging when you enter the gates.

Us Grover's are very patriotic. We celebrate the 4th of July by decorating our cottages and having a parade. After the parade we go to the outdoor Tabernacle where we sing Patriotic songs. It is almost hokey, but you won't see much more patriotism in one place as you do at the Grove.

Style Magazine http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/features_article/fe_place_of_peace_ja07/

has a nice article about the Grove and some photos. My cottage is very much like the photos in the article.

Emory Grove has a great history and can be Googled to see other articles about it. If you were wondering where my cottage was located, now you know. It wasn't any big secret, but a great place to getaway.

Good Ole Patterson Park

2007-09-28T06:35:00.000-04:00

I have been a Friends Of Patterson Park for a number of years. This morning I received a newsletter from them showing that the City Paper have voted them the "Best Park"
http://www.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=14154

I can't you tell how good this made me feel. Since I grew up a block from the park, it became a second home to me and my family and friends. During those years we had the good fortune to play just about any kind of ball you can think of. This includes curb ball, stick ball, softball, baseball, kill the man with the ball, you get the idea. You mention it, we did it. I had the pleasure to swim in the old swimming lake before in was filled in and a new cement pool was built. The old swimming lake was located where the Ice Rink is now.

The boat lake was used for fishing or just sailing model boats. At one time The Boat Lake actually had boats you could rent! The many hills in the park was used for sledding in the winter and skating in the summer. I remember when they were putting up the Pulaski Monument that is still located near Linwood Ave and Eastern Ave. At that time we didn't know who General Pulaski was! Check him out here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011010-4.html

At one time Patterson Park was used as a Civil War Camp and a Civil War Hospital, this was back in the 1860's. I have an original letter written by a soldier stationed there telling about how it was at the camp and Baltimore. He was from New York State.

Patterson Park has a great history. Life around it even now, has benefited living near by or visiting the many functions that goes on during the year.

There is plenty of Patterson Park history on the net if you are interested. I am glad to see that the personnel of the Friends Of Patterson Park who have worked so hard to bring this park back to life get the kudos from the City Paper. They sure worked hard in bringing the park back to life.

For Awhile I wasn't A Double Dogged

2007-09-25T07:12:00.000-04:00

My Double Dogged name was taken from our 2 West Highland Terriers. This past June, we had to put down our beloved Tory. She was a Westie Rescue dog that had special needs when we rescued her. Tory became the companion of our other Westie, Katie, and for 7 years there was lots of love to give and receive.

Tory was the love of my life even is she couldn't hear, and couldn't go up and down the steps anymore. She was getting blind and we would practically have to carry her in and out of the house when she had to go and do her business. Tory, was the most lovable dog and the best friend our Katie ever had.

It was a hard decision no matter how much she was suffering. She just was not our old Tory! I miss her and I always will. You just don't forget someone that was a part of your family.

Katie is just about 16 years old and now we will be facing another hard decision soon. Though not in pain she is failing every week.

After Tory left us, my wife and I, or at least I didn't want to get another dog. I just felt I needed some more time before I could make the decision to bring another dog into my life.

My wife didn't have the same feeling about getting another dog. She wanted to get another rescued Westie. She was surfing the internet for a few weeks on all of the rescue sites. I knew this and we talked about another Westie and it didn't matter if it was a male or female. We wanted a Westie puppy and finding one to rescue was difficult to say the least. It had to be a rescue!

She came upon a site from a woman that was finding homes for dogs especially terriers. She bred Scotties and showed them. She had a network of other like minded breeders that rescued dogs through out the US and helped them find proper homes.

She contacted my wife and gave her the name of a breeder in Virginia that had a male Westie puppy for rescue. That was on a Friday. We got pictures of the puppy on their rescue site and the phone number of the people with the Westie. I called the number and made an appointment to see and get the puppy on Sunday. That was a good time for them. They lived in Virginia right on the North Carolina border and was at least a 6 hour drive.

We drove the 6 hours and my wife was on pins and needles the whole time thinking that they would let the Pup go to someone else. I told her that they wouldn't do that to us and that we would get the Pup.

We called them as we were nearing their place to let them know that we would be there soon. When we arrived the wife, led us into their place and met the husband and this tiny white Westie puppy. The puppy came right up to us and greeted us with kisses and was not shy at all.

Just a point of information about rescuing any kind of dogs. Most rescue dog lovers and or breeders will not just hand over any dog to just anybody. Having being active with Westie Rescue for the last 7 years or so, we had good credentials and was screened big time before you will get a dog from them.

This puppy was one of four that this breeder rescued and was the last one to be had. They were Scottie breeders and showed their dogs all of the world. Yet they would rescue just about any dog that was in trouble. They found out that a female Westie was bred with a male Westie. When the female was ready to have the pups she would have to have it cesarian and the original owner didn't want to have that expense for one reason or another, and was going to put the pregnant female down. The nice Scottie people found out about that, and offered them money for the dog and got it. They paid for the birth and the care of the four puppies and put them up for adoption through the rescue network. We got the last one! That 6 hour drive down and another 6 hours back was a very happy drive.

That was back in July and now we have a 5 month old male Westie puppy by the name of Murphy. I am so glad we got this little puppy! It is the love of our life and lifted our spirits having another dog to love. I can't imagine missing out on the joy of having our Murphy even if I was not quite ready for another dog. I am so glad I relented and that wasn't hard to do.

So now I have a Double Dogged home again.

You Know How It Is When This Happens!!!

2007-09-25T06:52:00.000-04:00

It has been 6 months since I have posted on my blog. All I can say is that I got burned out on my computer and I am just getting back on. I didn't stop everything, but I sure did slow down. I did check my E Mail and dropped in to check out the blogs here.

I belong to several fishing boards and I hardly have been on them. Sheeeeesh!! No selling on E Bay, just buying a few things and that is about it. It must be the weather! When it was warm I would sit on my screened in porch and read. Books, newspapers kept me occupied, and I just didn't feel like being on this ole computer.

Now that the mornings are cooler, I just feel better being back in the house and on line again. Sorry about not being around and posting as much, but I hope to post more in the future. I missed Ya!

Steppin' Out to the Tropics -Benefit for victims of Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse

2007-03-26T07:39:00.000-04:00

This will be my third year attending one of the best bargains for food and drinks while helping Turnaround with their fund raiser. This year my wife Sherry is the Co-Chair along with our friend Rosina for this great event. http://turnaroundinc.org/ It will be held this Thursday at M & T Stadium and there is no dress code, so you can come as you are from work or home. I will be dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and will have a Lei around my neck. With all of the food people setting up you can't eat everything they serve, well, maybe at least try to. The food and drinks flow all night long.

The 17 piece band called the Mood Swings were there last year and was requested by so many people they are going to be back on Thursday. If you can't get into the mood when they are playing, you are just not hearing them! They have 2 kinds of auctions, 1 silent and one live. I have seen some wonderful things go cheap in the past. This year we have a great boat in the auction donated by Offshore Performance in Grasonville Md on the Eastern Shore (click link to see it) it is a 18' Monterey 180 FS Sport Boat. I stopped in their showroom in Grasonville to see it. Nice boat, retails for over $23,000. This along with great vacations being donated, art work, autographed sport items, soooo many things to be had come and see for yourselves.

Tickets are $75 and you can deduct $40 of it for tax purposes. Lots of single people with be there! This event is something I look forward to every year! I get to sit and talk to Art Donovan and his wife Dotty. They will be having their vacation home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico available for a two week stay in the live auction, always a popular item.

Grey Goose Vodka will be there serving drinks at their tables. Last year it was Martini's! I don't know what kind of drinks this year, I know you will find me close by. Admission includes all foods from about 40 restaurants, with beer and wine included. Tio Pepe will be serving their famous pine nut deserts, just try and walk away from that!

It will be held at the North Club Level at M&T and parking is just $5 in Lot B. Entrance to the event is through gate A off Hamburg Street.

I hope to see some of my blogging friends there, look for me!

Ha! I Laugh At This Weather!

2007-02-26T08:56:00.000-05:00

Here in Maryland, one of the greatest pleasures is catching The Maryland Blue Crab. What is even better is eating them! Saying that, yesterday I attended the annual Tidal Fish Crab Forum's Snoodfest. It is a bunch of crabbers who get together this time of the year to eat, drink, and be merry, and of course talk about the upcoming crabbing season here in Maryland. Everyone brings a dish, dessert or appetizer to share. BYOB for what ever you want to drink, beer, soda, or wine etc. One of the most enjoyable things at the fest is eating Oysters and Clams on the half shell. Steamed or Raw they are good. The weather was predicted to be miserable and it was somewhat. It was to be snow changing to sleet, changing to frozen rain. It is the frozen rain that is nasty. The Snoodfest was held at a community center on the water just outside of Baltimore City. My church cancelled services on that weather prediction and was justified in doing so. Our services are 5 p.m. every Sunday. That prediction didn't keep me from going to the Snoodfest! I know many members were coming from out of town and a long way, They made the right choice not to come.It started snowing about 10a.m. and was covering cars, grass and driveways. I picked up my friend Mike on the way at about 12 noon and the snow was coming down hard. No problem getting to the center where it was being held. The forecast changed a little and the freezing rain was expected till later in the evening. As the weather being what it was, we still had a good turn out, about 50 men, women and some children. The snow was coming down hard and was about 2 to 3 inches at this point. We put our food on tables along with all of the other food being brought in. The Oysters and Clams were outside under a tent on tables set up for shucking and eating. A large grill was under the tent with us and gave off plenty of heat if needed. Oysters and Clams were being steamed in a pot set up on a propane burner. Soon hot dogs, hamburgers along with oysters and clams were on top of the grill cooking in their own juices. The raw oysters were outstanding in their taste, salty fresh and cold. I shucked and ate quite a few of the bivalves after putting on a little of the hot sauce, and slurped them down. Who cared about the snow, this was fun! The snow was still coming down hard and accumulating more and more!Filling up on Oysters, I went back inside to see what else was put on the tables. There was homemade Italian sausages, pasta, smoked salmon, shrimp bisque, soups, cold cuts, and cheeses just to name a few things. It was a plethora of food. Wonderful desserts and appetizers abound. Some one was in the kitchen frying up clam fritters. Outstanding! I only drank one beer since it was snowing so hard. I didn't want to drive home being impaired in any way. Getting a chance to meet other people and putting a face with the forum names was a pleasure. We talked boats, crabbing, equipment and where the good spots were in the summer. Some use trot lines, some collapsible traps, and even hand lining to catch crabs. There were displays on what to use for crabbing and also how some of the crabbers steam them . Quite of few of the crabbers using a trot line would use a snood tied onto their trot line. The snood was and extra piece of line that dropped about 6 inches and the crabs eating the bait from one of the snoods would hold on to the bait much longer as the line was being brought up to dip them. I got to see first hand how to tie them on and how they were used. Very informative! Members Polecat and RJ gave us an education! Sitting around and talking shop the snow kept coming down and sometimes it sleeted. It was about 5 o'clock when Mike and I decided to leave. Brushing the snow from the car (about 5 or 6 inches) we headed for home. We got much more snow then was predicted and was glad it was snow and not the freezing rain. Dropping off my friend Mike, I made it home before the snow stopped and the freezing rain began. Some of the roads were slippery and you just had to slow down and take your time, which I did! Being out with a bunch of like minded friends even with the snow coming down made for a good afternoon. I am glad I went! Ha! What's a little snow when you can have this kind of fun!

__________________

Being In The Baltimore City Fire Department And The 1968 Riots

2007-02-01T07:42:00.000-05:00

Back in April 1968 when the Riots hit Baltimore City, I was in the midst of it all. It is something I will never forget! I spent most of 4 nights and 4 days fighting fires. I was located on Caroline and Gough Sts. which housed Engine Co. #34 and Hose Co. # 5. I was in Hose Co. #5 which had 3 monitor pipes mounted on the engine and carried hose up to 3" in diameter. The 3" hose would put out much more water than the 2 1/2" hose carried on regular engine cos. when needed. The Hose Cos. came about after the great fire of Baltimore in 1904. The city installed an underground water system with a high pressure pumping station. All around the downtown area there are underground portable hydrant connections. The hose cos. carried portable hydrants which could be hooked up to these underground connections. You could connect up to 4 hoses to these portable hydrants and the high pressure pumping station would add the pressure and water. This added so much more water for any Engine Co. that needed it to fight any major fire. If you are downtown and look for what looks like an large iron sewer hole cover, and it has many tiny stars on it, that is where the underground hydrant connections are. They are still there!

Just after Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis Tennessee, The Fire Dept. was alerted that a riot would be going down, but did not know when. We fire fighters were on call at home and were to report back to work when word was sent down. This went on for some time and you just never knew when you would be called or you might be on duty when it happened.

I was working day work on a Saturday, and at the end of my shift went home. I was home less than an hour when I received the call to come back to work ASAP, the riots and fires have started. I remember driving back, and as I approached the inner city intersections, there were mobs of people on all corners. They were turning over cars and setting fire to them. I just never stopped and went through the intersections and kept going until I reached the Fire Station. I was lucky that I got through!

The station was empty as both 34 engine and 5 hose were out fighting the many fires that arose. The only people there were a couple of us firefighters and a Captain that made it back in.
A couple of hours went by and we could hear what was going on through the radio intercom on our watch desk. At this point not many other fireman were getting into the station house. The city was closed off and the mobs wouldn't let anybody get through.

Engine 34 made it back to the station to get more men, as the city was afire and needed all of the help they could get. We piled on the back and out the door we went. As we were responding to a fire, the mobs where throwing rocks at us. Back then the engines didn't have rock shields cages or separate sitting compartments as they do now.

Every piece of equipment in the city and I believe some county Cos. were in use. There were so many fires that there wasn't enough companies to fight the fires as a unit. A normal alarm of fire had 4 engines and 2 truck cos. and a chief. We were lucky just to have another company with us. As time went on most fires would only have an engine co. pumping water on it to keep the rest of the surrounding buildings from catching on fire and destroying.

The fire we arrived on was in a large building and the Truck Co. were throwing ladders up to the 2nd floor windows. You could see the smoke escaping from the building and hear the crackling of fire. I had a hose over my shoulder and I was wearing my air mask with a air tank on my back. The hose wasn't charged with water yet, and that made it easier to carry it up the ladder. Smoke was pouring out of the window and I could hear and see the fire inside across the large room. The Truck Co. men were on the roof cutting holes to relieve the pressure. I gave the sign to charge the hose with water and the Pump Operator slowly opened the valve to give us water. I had the nozzle and our other men were right behind me on the ladder controlling the hose. As the water was hitting the fire, the black smoke was turning white and into steam. This was good! We climbed into the window and hit the fire and was driving it back and not having it curling above and around us. AT this the worst thing that could happen to any Fire Fighter would be to lose your water. It was your lifeline! You could put it on spray, if you lost your air mask, and would have air to breath being behind the spray while keeping the fire off you.

As we drove the fire back and making good headway, the smoke was subsiding and the fire was finally out. It is amazing how much fire you can put out with an 2 1/2" hose and some good men behind you helping to control the hose. It is very hard to have a charged 2 1/2" hose at the nozzle and to be able to move with it without help.

This fire was controlled and put out with 1 engine co. and 1 truck co. We also had a Deputy Chief with us. It is amazing what you can do when you don't have all of the other engine or truck cos. with you. At the time Baltimore City had the number 1 Fire Dept. in the USA. The training and schooling was copied by most other Fire Depts. in the US. They came to Baltimore to see how we trained. Baltimore City still is one of the top Fire Depts. around.

Just a point of information, just about all of the fires were set on the businesses of the city. Houses next to a business would catch on fire because there were not enough apparatus at the fire to put it out. We would then try and put out the fire of the private houses and the business would just have to burn.

We were out all night fighting the fires and getting exhausted. We got back to station house to be relieved with what men made it in. A couple hours of rest and we were back out fighting fires. There were reports of snipers and gun shots firing at us, and rock and bottle throwing was common.

It was daylight and I was out with my own company Hose Co. #5 with various people from other shifts that made it in. We were fighting fires that would normally call for 2 or more alarms and all we could do most of the time was use our monitor pipes from outside and flood the building to keep it from spreading to houses or other buildings etc.

Owners of some of the businesses would come out and bring us food and tell us to take whatever we needed as they would be fire bombed soon. This was true! We were on West Baltimore St. and would see the fire bombing going on and the store owners knew that they were next. We got a call to tell us that the National Guard was set up in our quarters and to get back when we could.

The rock and bottle throwing stopped as the people realize we were there to save their houses. What a relief that was. It wouldn't be anything unusual to have mobs of hundreds of people around us watching us trying to put out the fires.

We finally managed to get back to our home station after being out all night and part of the morning. When we got back, there were cots set up in the upstairs rooms and the National Guard were waiting for us. With some relief from other Fire Fighters I got a chance to get some needed shut eye. As tired as I was, I couldn't seem to fall asleep right away. Later on getting up with some rest, my appetite was apparent. There was plenty of food brought in and what the merchants gave us before being Fire Bombed we ate pretty well.

# 5 Hose came back in so it was time to go out again. With the little bit of rest I got and a good meal in my belly out the door we went. This time the National Guard was riding in our hose bed with their rifles for our protection.

Headquarters sent us to Central Ave and Lombard St. which was close by. They told us that there were several buildings fully involved in fire which are located on Lombard St. the heart of the Jewish district. This area is just east of Little Italy and is the Corned beef Row of the City. One of my favorite places to eat!

When we arrived at the intersection, one of the Battalion Chiefs and other apparatus (Fire Engines and Fire Truck) were parked around the corner. Police were everywhere at that intersection. The places that were on fire were still burning and no Companies were in there fighting the fires. We soon found out why! Just to the Northwest of Lombard St. were the ghetto High Rises. It seems that some of the rioters were taking target practice at any Police or Fire Fighter that tried to come into the area to put out the fires. So the business just burned.

Frantic calls to headquarters by citizens to report that no one was trying to put out the fires caused headquarters to keep calling us to go in and put out the fires. The response back to headquarters was that snipers were firing on us. Not being on the seen, headquarters had no clue at the time what was going on.

All of us including the Police were behind walls or some kind of protection so we wouldn't be shot at. The Police were in contact with their headquarters and were told that their men were swarming the High Rises in search of the snipers. In the meantime our headquarters are still telling us to go to the fires and do what we could. Our Battalion Chief had just about enough of headquarters trying to put us in harms way. I will never forget what he said to headquarters.
"When I see the Police walking up that street and not hiding under the cars and not being shot at I will take our men in to fight the fires." This Battalion Chief later became Chief of the Fire Dept. ! He was a Fire Fighters Chief whom I knew well when he was a Capt. in my Battalion.

The Police did clear out the High Rises and we all got to go in and control the fires. Yes, there was some serious damage to a few of them, but no one was hurt or killed.

As time went on, we all were tired and weary! At this point It didn't matter where we were sent we just went into the building and put out the fires as best as we could. Looking back we Fire Fighters did a lot of good and save many places from burning down and saved many houses.

After 4 days and nights the word got out that the riots were being called off. I remember cars driving around with megaphones calling for an end. Eventually it did stop! The riots were planned and now it was over. Thank Goodness! We all were tired and weary and relieved to have it ended. Later on talking to people that lived in the different neighborhoods, they were hurt by the riots as much as anyone. Some of their houses were badly damaged, the stores where they shopped were burnt out, so it affected everyone in the city where it took place. In all of these year, the riots are one thing I will never forget!

Being home felt good, but I was seriously on edge and couldn't come down, my nerves were on edge. I grabbed my fishing gear and headed up to the Susquehanna River and by the end of the day I was finally relaxed.

Who said fishing wasn't good for you!!!!!

Things You May Not Know About Me Or Care To

2007-01-26T07:24:00.000-05:00

In no particular order:

My roots are in Canton and Highlandtown!

The first part of my life, my parents owned a bar and restaurant in Canton. Yep, in my early years I grew up in a bar! Actually it wasn't a bad place to grow up in. The regular patrons always treated me great. The bar was open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. That's a lot of hours! Being open that early in the morining it would get very crowed, as the shift workers from Standard Oil were getting off work early and filled up the place. My father was a part owner in 2 other bars in the Canton and the Highlandtown area. I learned to count on the Juke Box!

As I got older, I would carry groceries home for patrons of grocery stores in the area. Yep, I was self-employed and an entrepreneur at a very early age. This was always something I did on a Saturday to earn extra spending money beyond my allowance. The tips added up fast! You always needed a new water pistol to keep up with the water pistol fights in the hood!

We had a summer home on the water that was in my family since about 1920. My great grandfather had a large truck farm and raised horses there back then. I lived there every summer and was fishing and crabbing every day. On weekends family and friends would come down the shore (as we would call it) and have fresh caught crabs. We kept them in large live boxes and dipped them out as we needed them. Of course, you had to catch them first to put them in there. That was one of my favorite jobs! We always had fresh soft shell crabs. We kept peelers (hard crab turning into soft crab) in small boxes in the water and when they got soft, we got them out and in the fridge before they got hard again. I still love fishing and crabbing and being on the water!

I have one of the original bedroom sets that I use to sleep in when I was a kid at the shore. It is a matching ornate Victorian Walnut 3 piece set with marble tops and a high back bed. It predates the shore as it was bought during the 1870's and descended through the family.

I worked for a major oil company in downtown Baltimore. I would take a bus to work and home everyday. It was easy to do as they did run on time. I was in their accounts payable office, then moved up to an office where we closed the books every month. At the end of the month I worked a lot of overtime.

I had a couple of cousins that lived on O'Donnell St. between Linwood Ave and Curley St. At the same location as where one of the upscale bars is now located. It is in the 2900 block on the north side even numbers. It had a storefront but, no store and rented to my cousins as a house. They would tell me about the Ghost or Ghosts that were in that place. They would hear them walking around and opening and closing doors. There were stairs leading up to the second story from the back yard on the outside. Many a time they would hear the footsteps of a Ghost coming up those steps and there would be nobody there. Even when it snowed and heard the footsteps coming up, there were no prints. They just lived with it, as it didn't do anyone any harm.

I became a Fire Fighter for the Baltimore City Fire Dept. I loved the Fire Dept. While there I would have side jobs painting houses and sometimes doing lawns. I didn't like doing the lawns, maybe that is why I have someone do my lawn today! Being in the Fire Dept. you had lots of free time to work a second job or go fishing and crabbing. Which I did! While in the Dept. I started a Furniture restoration and paint stripping business. I worked for the Fire Dept. and my furniture restoration business for about 4 years at the same time, putting in 80 + hours some weeks. I left the Fire Dept. and continue to this day, doing furniture refinishing and paint removal.

I like doing research! I have researched my family genealogy and still enjoy doing it.

I have been a collector of antique and collectible glass for over 30 years. I have some of my glass on loan in some of the major glass museums on display. I at one time would give talks on glass to the different glass clubs in the mid Atlantic States. I don't anymore! I do research on glass and have a very large library of glass books. I have written articles on glass and was an advisor for other glass books.

I like E Bay and have been buying and selling since the mid 90's not just glass but, lots of other things.

As a young teen, a bunch of us boys would go skinny dipping in a fresh water pond located in the middle of the train yards in Canton near S. Clinton St. It was located where the Harbor Tunnel is now.

Patterson Park was our best play ground. We played softball, hardball, curbball, stickball and basketball there after school during the summer and winter. Swimming in the summer and on occasion tennis. We skate boarded (home made) down the hills near the Pagoda and sledding during the winter. My mothers cousin was the supervisor of Patterson Park and lived in that neat old house that now houses the "Friends Of Patterson Park" Off Patterson Park Ave. and Lombard St.

During the hot swelter summer nights people would bring blankets and pillows to sleep in the park to escape the heat. Me and my brother included!

I am a supporter of the "Friends Of Patterson Park" and they are certainly doing a great job of creating enjoyment for the people who use the park.

At age 14 I worked part time after school in a store called "The Candy Kitchen" The owners were our neighbors and friends of the family. I made 60 cents an hour and all of the food and chocolate I wanted to eat. My job was to melt large hunks of milk chocolate in a large copper bowl. The chocolate was then poured into molds of various shapes like the Easter Bunny, Chickens and any thing Easter. They had hundreds of those molds. The store was always packed with people during the season to buy these homemade milk chocolate bunnies etc. I never got my fill of chocolate and still eat it today. I love chocolate!

I had the privilege of shaking the hands of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson! They landed in a helicopter in Patterson Park in 1959. They got into a motorcade at the corner of Linwood Ave and Eastern Ave. Sitting in an open convertible I got the chance to approach them while the Secret Service was keeping a bigger crowd at bay. You know, the second mouse gets the cheese! They both shook my hand as the crowd surrounded the car. They couldn't move being surrounded and that gave me the chance to shake their hands.

I was at the very first Baltimore Orioles game at Memorial Stadium. It was in 1954 and I was in the right center field bleachers. Clint Courtney, our catcher won the game with a home run hit into the right center field bleachers. The ball tipped my hands as I reached up to catch it. Somebody that was in back of me has a real treasure!

Well, that's enough for now, try not to be too bored.

Now, Back To What Really Matters

2007-01-15T09:09:00.000-05:00

Now that this football mess is over, it is time to get my thoughts back to what really matters, fishing. There are a couple of shows I want to attend in the next few weeks. One is the Eastern Sports and outdoor Show in Harrisburg Pa. It is too much to see in one day if you like hunting as well. Last year I couldn't attend. It snowed here and we had 27" of snow in our driveway during the show. It kept me busy at home. http://www.easternsportshow.com/app/...ignid=27177568The next show I want to attend is The Baltimore Boat Show. I am still kicking around the idea of getting another boat. I want to keep it under 20', easy to handle and trailer. I will just be kicking some tires at this time. http://www.baltimoreboatshow.com/I have the last of January and the first part of February covered. The weather here in Maryland has been very mild with temps in the upper 60's, but a cold front is moving in tomorrow. So far we have been having a very mild winter and that is fine with me.

Comcast Is Coming To My House Today

2007-01-08T09:54:00.000-05:00

This time it is a pleasurable visit, I hope. I just bought a new flat screen Sony Hi Def Television. It is a 46 inch LCD Bravia 1080 p. Comcast will be here between 1 and 5 p.m. to set it up and getting it running. The TV that the Sony is replacing is a 15 year old 32" RCA. It has been a great TV and I had added surround sound to it some years ago. I had the windows shaking with that system.

I figured a year or so ago that it would finally give up the ghost and I could get the new flat screen. Nope, it didn't. It still plays as good as it did when new. I will just use it in another room. I began looking and doing the research on the Hi Def's last year. One of the first things I decided was that it will be an LCD instead of a Plasma. I just prefer the LCD. The Plasma's have just as good a picture. I just didn't like the reflection of any light or back ground light showing up in the Plasma's front glass producing a glare. The LCD's don't have that reflection, because there is no glass covering the front screen like the Plasma's have.

I also chose to get the 1080 p definition so when they all change over to the higher 1080 p later, I will have it already. The 764 definition they all have now gives the same good quality picture as the 1080 p. When all the stations and most movies start having 1080 p I will be have it already. This does not mean that the DVD's that don't have 1080 p won't play well. It probably will be hard to discern the difference.

The only place around that had the 46 incher was Sam's Club. That is a good thing as they are usually less money than the other stores. The price of these flat screens of all kinds have come down considerably in the last 7 months. My good. I have been on line and to all the stores that sell them. Circuit City, Best Buy and the other stores didn't even offer a 46" screen in my model. I could get a 40" or 42" but not the 46" which I wanted. The 46" Sony fits perfectly in my large antique entertainment cabinet. The cabinet was made about 1840 and I converted it into an entertainment cabinet with out hurting the integrity this beautiful old antique.

I was almost going to get the TV just before Christmas, but held off. Good thing I did, it dropped down just over $200 in price after Jan 1st. Happy New Year to me! I hauled it home and my daughter Allison and I brought it in. That is when I called Comcast, and today was the soonest they could get here to set it up. I missed the playoff games this weekend, but it will be up and running for next weekend. Of course I will be at M&T Stadium for the Ravens/Colts game.

The Bass Pro Shop And Shopping With The Girls

2006-12-27T07:53:00.000-05:00

Having the day off yesterday, I didn't know what I was going to do with it. My daughter had been staying with us for Christmas and wanted to go shopping. Usually shopping with the women doesn't interest me. My wife asked me if I wanted to go with them and another friend. Before I could answer she said that they were going to the Arundel Mills Mall. The Bass Pro shop is located in the Mall, and I haven't been there since early summer. So now I am the driver for the 3 women and we were setting up boundries of time and where to meet. No problem, I parked in front of Bass Pro and we used that as and entrance and exit. We had our phones, so communication wasn't a problem. They went their way and I trudged off to get some lunch.

After a little lunch, I was back in The Bass Pro Shop to do some checking out. I first checked out any new equipment in the Rod and Reel depts. They all still look the same to me. I am glad I don't need any new Rods or Reels.I checked out the Plano tackle boxes, as I need a couple of the slide in plastic boxes that goes in them. My box is the 759 model where the front opens and they have 2 slide out trays and 2 of the plastic slide out boxes that come all the way out. http://www.epinions.com/pr-Fishing_G...Tackle_Box_759 They take the slide out box # 7592 and Bass Pro didn't have any. They told me to contact Plano directly. If I remember, I went through this same senerio over a year ago. Talk about deja view! I then checked out the Seaguar Fluorocarbon Leader. Yep, it is still about $20 for 25 yards. I believe I still have enough for fishing this coming year. Something for me to check out later. http://www.anglerscenter.com/termina...er_seaguar.htm The next thing I wanted to check out was the Horny Toads by Zoom. http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage-ZF.html They had a color that I haven't seen before. It was a green and white swirl that I will be trying out next year. Next to the Horny Toads was a display of Yum Buzz Frogs. They look the same as the Horny Toads except you get 6 to a pack instead of 5. The one thing that I noticed about the Yums is that they have a lot of salt and scent on them. They call that LPT meaning Live Prey Technology. It says on the package that it imitates what a real dying minnow smells like. I know I will be trying them next year. http://www.yumbaits.com/lures.cfm?d=...1%2F2%22&m=Yum The women checked in on me as they were going to get some lunch and wanted to know if I wanted to join them. I declined as I had lunch earlier. I stayed in Bass Pro to check out the boats. They had a nice Mako 17' center console with a 90 h.p. Mercury on it. It is surprising how big a 17' boat looks out of water. Nice rig, just about what I would be looking for when I am ready to get a boat. Something easy to trailer and 17 to 20 feet. That will be another adventure later on.I wondered through Bass Pro and look at just about everything to do with fishing. I had a good time and was getting tired of being on my feet. The girls then called and said they were done and we all left feeling good about getting out even if it was the day after Christmas. Now on to the New Year!
__________________

Seasons Greetings

2006-12-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone! Tis the season!

History And Word Origins Fun Read

2006-12-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

I am sure that some of you have seen or heard about some these word origins before. It is always interesting to find out how these words and sayings came about.

These are quite interesting. There are plenty of things that our origins have come from these are just a few. Today's History Lesson - Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

"Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs.

"There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

"Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."And that's the truth...

Now, whoever said that History was boring ! ! !
__________________

Last Week Was Black Friday And I Was

2006-12-01T07:23:00.000-05:00

One of the of the early birds waiting in line at 5:30 a.m. for a good buy on a new refrigerator. My wife and I were in line along with a bunch of other shoppers at the Sears Outlet on York Rd. in Timonium. My wife had the Sears ad stating that all Sears Kenmore products were 1/2 price and the first 25 people in line would get an additional $100 off. The doors were opened at 6 and we piled in and got our certificate for the extra $100.

The fridge we were going to replace was still working very well and we had it for 15 years with no problems. The new one would replace it and the old one will be used as an extra, as our other extra fridge bit the dust last month.

At the Sears outlet they had quite a few fridges to choose from. Many brands along with the Kenmore Sears brand were lined up from one end of the store to the other. Just about all of them had a cosmetic problem and we just kept looking for the kind we wanted. Minor dents would not do unless it was on the side or towards the back which would be hidden in the space under the kitchen cabinets. We wanted one with the automatic ice maker on the freezer door rather inside of the freezer at the top like our old one. Due to the freezer door being against the wall we couldn't pull the ice bin out unless we pulled the fridge all the way out so we could open the door all the way. The ice dispenser on the outside of the door was fine and when I need a lot of ice for a cooler, I kept putting a glass under it and dumping it into the cooler. It was a pain in the ass, but better than pulling the fridge all the way out to get at the bin.

We had measured the place where the old fridge was, and were looking for one that would fit. No luck there, all the new ones were taller. Oh Oh, that could be a problem. I went back home and remeasured to make sure and came back with the exact measurements. I was right the first time. I had checked out the cabinet above the fridge and decided I would have to move the cabinet up about 3 inches. It could be done with a little work and it wouldn't hurt the integrity of the cabinet.

We finally found what we wanted and the goodies that came with it. Sure is a big difference from the older fridges of 15 years ago. It was a Kenmore Elite 2 door with the ice maker and dispenser in the door. Everything is electronic with plenty of little buttons to do what you want it to do. It didn't have any dents at all on it and just 2 tiny scratches which could be touched up with paint. At half price and the extra $100 bucks taken off the price, it was an excellent buy. My wife and I are good buyers and will do our homework on any large purchase before buying. We usually know a good deal when we see it.

On Monday a friend and I removed the kitchen cabinet from its space over the old fridge, cut enough off to accommodate the new fridge. It was surprisingly easy, it just took time. When the job was finished you couldn't tell that the cabinet was moved. I then made arrangements for the Sears crew to deliver the new fridge and move the old one to my laundry room where the old one used to be.

They delivered on Wednesday at 7 a.m. , moved the old fridge and was off to their next delivery. The new fridge being on easy move wheels was a dream to move about. The only thing left for me to do was connect the old water supply. With a part that cost $1.44 at lowes I had that done in no time.

We love the new Kenmore and hope to have it at least another 15 years. I will say this much about Sears. All the people we came in contact with at the store were just delightful to deal with. Very helpful and cheerful they made shopping a pleasure. The 2 men that delivered were just as nice and they sure knew what they were doing. Kudos to Sears! I just wanted to give some praise where it is due. You hear about the bad things that happen when shopping and not the good experiences.

Black Friday for us was not so bad!

Nashville And Other Experiences "The Trip"

2006-11-27T09:17:00.000-05:00

My friend Mike and I did get a good start at 4:30 a.m. for our trip to Nashville to see the Ravens and the Titans play. By the time it was good daylight we were on Rte. 68 in the far western part of Garrett County Maryland. It was nice to see a good sunrise even if it came up in back of us as we headed West. Our first stop was in Fairmont West Virginia for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Wow, they give you more food then 2 people can eat, but I managed to lick the plate. Yeah, you can lick your plate if no one is looking, or you will never see these people again, so what is the difference. We were heading south to the area where the notorious feud between the families of the Hatfield and McCoys lived and died. The feud started between the 2 families around the time of the Civil War. The feud ended many years ago and they even have reunions of the 2 families. Mike's Grandfather was a McCoy and decended from the family, he has always wanted to go to area where they lived and died.

Continuing south in W.Va. We were in awe of the Mountains and the colors that were still about on the trees. We made it to the town of Williamson which is in W. Va. and a place where a lot of the Hatfield/McCoys were located. Kentucky was on the other side of the Tug Fork river that separated the 2 states. The Hatfields and McCoys lived on both sides of the Tug Fork river with the Hatfields mainly in W.Va. and the McCoys in Kentucky. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield-McCoy_feud

Getting off the main roads we got an eyefull of what rural country was really like. Jeff Foxworthy sure knew what he was joking about with the Redneck Jokes. We saw more abandoned trucks and household appliances in front years with the grass growing up and around them. We went into Kentucky and stopped in a few small towns for information. I must mention here that all of the people we talked to were friendly and helpful as can be. We stopped at a large general that sold souveniers of the Hatfield and McCoys. Mike bought a couple of shirts with the Hatfield/McCoys name on them, one of them for his brother.

The store had just about anything you needed and it carried items you have never seen as it was located out in the sticks. Mike had to take a whizz and they directed him through a door which when he entered were other doors. He didn't know what door the restroom was in, so he started to open them. The one door had a guy in the room by himself filled with smoke and he was playing some kind of Slot machine. He closed that very quick like and he told me he found the right door and led him out in back of the building. They had an out house out back with regular toilets and running water.

We hit the road as we had about a 5 hour drive to get to LaFollette Tennessee to see my son Frank http://www.airwave64.blogspot.com/ who was working late at the Radio Station that evening. We got into town just before dark and met Frank at the station. We planned on the time to leave the next morning to head to Nashville. Mike and I were hungry and Frank recomended the small family owned Italian Restaurant where he goes for Pizza and anything else Italian. Mike and I got the Pizza and it was one of the best we ever had.

The next morning we were to meet up with the other Mike at the Cracker Barrel just outside of town. Mike's girlfriend was driving him over to meet us while my friend Mike and I went in to fill our gut up with more food. The manager came over to our table to pour us more coffee and asked if everything was ok and told us we didn't have lick the plates as they had a dishwasher. Frank waited for him on the porch rocking in those big Rocking Chairs while a big storm came through the area. Frank had already had breakfast so he watched the storm while rocking away. Little Mike arrived with his girfriend and we said our good byes and we got into our cars and hit the road to Nashville about 3 hours away.

We arrived safely in Nashville and drove to the Hilton where we were staying. We have stayed at this Hilton before and is one of the best rated hotels in Nashville. The rooms are all suites and is just a 15 minute walk to the Stadium where we were going to see the Ravens and Titans play each other the next day. Nashville was loaded with Raven fans and all the hotels were booked in town. I had made the reservations in June and got 2 rooms. The hotel has one of the best watering holes in town. We met people we knew from Baltimore and the place was loaded with Raven fans. Having a bit of lunch and drinks we walked around town as we usually do when in Nashville. Later in the Evening we went down to the bar to get something to eat and we couldn't even get near the bar for a seat. They had a waiting list for tables so we just had some brews and stood around talking.

The next morning we ate breakfast in the Hilton at their buffet. It was good! We headed over the bridge to LP Field to try and hook up with Nasty Nestor http://www.wnst.net/index.htm Bobby Nyk http://www.bobbynyk.com/ and the rest of the Ravens that were meeting there.

At this time I have to mention that Frank and Little Mike are dyed in the wool Titan fans and Big Mike and I are of course, Raven fans. Last year the Titans beat our Ravens and it was not a pretty game. The Ravens just stunk and was not a fun game for the Ravens fans. This game I am now talking about happened a couple of weeks ago, you know who won. This is the game where Steve McNair returned to Nashville for the first time since leaving. He go a very warm welcome from everyone there. The Titans were beating us during the whole first half, Frank and Little Mike were elated. I told Frank that the Ravens are a team that comes back toward the end. The Ravens did come back and won the game in the last few seconds. Air McNair knows how to come back and win for a team. Needless to say that the crowd was stunned! Frank and little Mike were not happy campers. I almost felt sorry for them, but that soon passed in about 1 second. I must admit that the Titan fans are some of the nicest you will come across. They told us congrats and welcome to Nashville and hope we were having a good time. Now that's good ole southern hospitality. I will take it anytime. Thanks Titan fans!

To be continued later.

Off To Nashville To See The Ravens And Titans

2006-11-09T20:30:00.000-05:00

I am leaving tomorrow morning and driving to Nashville. My friend Mike and I will be meeting up with my son Frank and his friend Mike. That's two Franks and two Mikes. Sounds like a deli order doesn't it! This is the first time I have driven to Nashville in about 5 or 6 years. Normally I would fly down and back. Monday, the day after we beat up on the Titans, Mike and I will be head for ports unknown. We are going to be driving around for the next 6 days with no special plans other than just go and stop at any interesting place we want to. Our wives told us both to go and have a good time.

I do know our first stop will be in Lynchburg Tenn. at the Jack Daniels Distillery. It is only an hours drive from Nashville. We might head down to Florida where we have friends that would like to see us. We don't really have to be home in 6 days, but I want to be home in time to see our Ravens play the Atlanta Falcons. If we decide to go to Florida, I want to check out some Condos in the Vero Beach area. I wouldn't mind having a winter place to go to during our cold months.

Savannah Georgia and Charleston S.C. have always been places we like to visit. Charleston also is a place I could spend the winter months. One place on the way home we are going to stop is the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk Va. Across the way into Hampton Va. is the Hampton National Cemetery where my Great Great Grandfather is buried. He was wounded in the second battle of Fair Oaks in Virginia in 1864. He died 20 days later at the Hospital at Fortress Monroe and buried nearby in the Hampton National Cemetery. While doing the genealogy of my family I could not find where he was buried until recently. He joined the 5th Maryland Infantry Regiment Co. K in Baltimore and was a sergeant when he was shot. After visiting there we will probably leave for home.

My friend Mike is descended from the McCoys of the Hatfields and McCoy battles. I believe we will stop at Williamson West Va and Pikeville Kentucky the area and Museum for the Hatfields and McCoys. From there It will be off to Tennessee and the next morning arriving at Nashville.

It is getting near the time for me to hit the hay and be off at 4 a.m.

Later Dudes and Dudettes.

Watch The Wild Animals Live, From Africa

2006-09-25T15:00:00.000-04:00

National Geographic has a wild live cam at a place called Pete's Pond in Botswana Africa. It is a watering hole during the dry season and all of the animals come to drink. It is one of the most fascinating site you will find. It is on 24/7 and also fun to watch the elephants and other animals night or day.

If you check out the site, they have a list of what wild things will appear at some time or another. You can hear them and then see them. They will get into the pond to play and wash or just come down for a drink of water. Warning, you might not be able to stop watching.

You can click on the screen to make in larger in another window. I keep it on for hours and just keep it in the background till I hear something going on, or just check on it once in awhile.

It usually starts in August when the dry season is upon the area and runs through Nov. when the rainy season begins. The Warthogs are interesting to watch as is everything that shows up.

Clicking on the National Geographic site will fill you in on how it all came about and what to look for. Humans actually are there to move and focus the camera. Just because it is night, don't let that stop you from watching as you can still see what is going on. They are 7 hours ahead of our time. Oh yeah, there is a crocodile in the pond that can cause some havoc when it makes an appearance. Enjoy!

http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/wildcamafrica/index.html

E Bay The Baltimore Ravens The Tennessee Titans And Nashville

2006-09-08T08:01:00.000-04:00

Every year I meet my son Frank (left of the dial) in Nashville to see the Tennessee Titans play the Baltimore Ravens. When the Ravens are not playing the Titans, we still hook up to see the Titans play whomever. We plan this visit when the Ravens are not playing at home so we can watch The Ravens play on TV so I don't miss their away game.

Frank will get us 4 tickets through his Radio Station so we are all set for the game. This year I needed 2 extra tickets to the game as it will be 6 of us going to the game. The game will be played at LP Stadium in Nashville on Nov 13th. My brother and nephew will fly to Nashville, while my friend Mike and I will drive to meet Frank and his friend. Mike and I usually fly to Nashville, but this year we are driving. We decided to drive and take about a 10 day vacation after the game. We have no plans of where we want to go when we leave Nashville on Monday the day after the game. This is one of those just get in and go vacations. The kind with no schedule or time frame. Our wives told us to have a good time.

This is where E Bay comes in handy. I bid and got 2 more tickets to the game and they are very close to where the other 4 tickets Frank has. Getting them early was a good idea as I got them for face value and the only difference was the postage. That doesn't happen often!

Nashville is one of my favorite cities to visit. We will pickup my brother and nephew at the airport sometime in the early a.m. on Saturday and go to the Downtown Hilton to check our luggage till we can get into our rooms. The Hilton is one of the best hotels and about a 15 minute walk to LP Stadium. Eddie George has one of the best bars in town at the Hilton and we spend a bit of time there as does lots of other Ravens and Titans fans.

One of our first stops is at tootsies the honky tonk bar thats famous for quite a few country and western stars getting their start there. Sometimes they drop in and mix with the crowd. They always have someone singing and playing even at 10 a.m when we get there for our first beer.

Sometime during the weekend we always seem to meet people we know that came to see the game. The Ravens have a good showing anytime we play the Titans and we all wear the purple wherever we go. My son Frank and his friend Mike, yes there will be 2 Franks and 2 Mikes there, are Titan fans. We have some fun with each other during the game teasing about plays or who wins which we usually do. Except for last year when the Ravens played so poorly and lost. This year we will win and it will be fun to win with Steve McNair, Derrick Mason and Samuri Rolle former Titans. Ha Ha!!

It will be a weekend of drinking, eating and good football. The main thing, and this is what it is all about, is being with Frank and having a good time.

Damn, They Can Jump Too Far Sometimes

2006-09-07T07:56:00.000-04:00

Recently one of our large Goldfish jumped out of our little pond. My wife found its body out on the grass where it died. We only have one large goldfish left in the pond with a school of freshwater Shiners that are getting larger. The Shiners are the same ones you buy and use for bait to catch Pike and Bass or any other game fish.

The Goldfish that we lost was a tiny little thing when we put him or her in the pond. So, it has been a family member for several years. Larger Goldfish like any Carp like to jump. We have seen this many times, but it never jumped out of the pond. We were saddened to find it dead.

The Shiners were put into the pond by me a couple of years ago. It was only 2 of them and they were small. I thought they would be a good addition as the pond had plenty of room for them. Now there is a school of them. Damn things reproduced! We feed all of our fish Cheerios cereal, not the expensive fish food from the stores. They love the Cheerios and it's good for them.

The Cottage

2006-08-31T20:49:00.000-04:00

I haven't written anything about the progress of our Summer Cottage since Feb. 25th. We have been busy getting it into a livable condition since we gutted it. The electrical work was completed a few weeks ago and now we have lights and receptacles for our power tools. We did get 200 amp service and all of the wiring, etc. is new. As each faze of the work was being done the County Inspector approved of the work and he came out in a good timely manner. Then the final inspection was approved after all the work was done. Hooray!!!

The plumbing is now being installed. We have a new bathroom with tub and shower. My wife did an excellent job putting in a marble floor, it looks good. We are going to put in a toilet that only flushes about a pint of water. It is made for Cottages and Recreation Vehicles. The underground tank will serve us well with that toilet using such little bit of water.

The original sliding front doors have been stripped of the paint as have all of the windows and back door. We have the dining Room Set that I painted in place along with a sofa and other comfortable chairs. We installed 3 overhead fans to move the air. Two inside and one on the front porch. I bought a TV with an DVD player for when we want to chill. It has an inside antenna that sits on the TV and we get stations from Baltimore, Washington and York Pa. Not bad for that little antenna.

The Cottage is now quite livable and is a nice little get-away place to go to and chill. Some of the Oak trees that surround us are over 300 years old. There are over 50 acres surrounding us for our use. The acorns are dropping making a pleasant sound as they hit the ground.

The kitchen is being used now that the electric is in. It's nice to have hot food. We have owned this place less than a year and a lot of progress has been made. Maybe next year we will build an extra room and use it for another Bedroom and storage room. That can wait until we finish what needs to be done this year.

There are other Cottages there and we all get together for different activities. This Sunday the men will get together and have a Pancake Breakfast for everyone in the Cottages.

Like I have mentioned before, being there is like living back in the 1940's and 50's. It has that laid back feeling.

Tonight It's The Ravens Playing The New York Giants In Baltimore

2006-08-11T13:01:00.000-04:00

I am looking forward to seeing the Ravens/Giants game tonight. It is an exhibition game and the 1st game this year. Steve McNair will start at Quarterback probably for the first quarter only. It will be good to see if there is any fire on defense and how well the offense has come together. Maybe by the first regular game the two will have jelled and good things will happen this year.

I will be at the Cross St. Market having a few brews and getting something good to eat at Nick's Seafood. I am up for it. I hope to hook up with my daughter Allie and her good friend Nicole. My brother and my friend Mike will be with us. It will be a fun night.

Maybe see ya there!

Where I Wuz

2006-08-11T09:16:00.000-04:00

I have been away on vacation for 2 weeks getting back home on Wednesday. I was in Canada fishing on O' Sullivan Lake in a remote part of Quebec Providence. The location is about 200 miles above Ottawa. I have been going there for the last 5 or 6 years fishing for Northern Pike and Walleyes. Fishing was good and the weather was much more to my liking than back here in good ole Baltimore. While Baltimore was sweltering with temps reaching 103 degrees with the humidity to go with it, I was enjoying pleasant weather. On 3 occasion we had to turn the stove on to take the chill off the cabin. It was mostly sunny during the day with temps in the 70's and low 80's.

My largest Northern Pike on this trip was about 18 lbs with many more in the 8 to 15 lbs range. These toothy critters were well filled out and heavy. They have plenty of forage fish to feed on to get that way. My fishing partner and I are catch and release anglers, so all of the Pike we caught are back in the lake to grow and for others to have fun catching.

We also caught our share of Walleyes, which is one of the premier fish that fisherman are after. They are way more plentiful and are about one of the best tasting fish to be had. Though they are more plentiful than the Northern Pike they can be elusive to catch if they are not in the mood. Weather has something to do with that.

We stayed in one of the 10 cabins on this lake and is not much in the way of amenities. It does have a toilet and a hot and cold shower. The beds leave something to be desired in size, but are
are ok for the time we are there. The cabins have a full kitchen if you want to bring food with you. We had our 3 meals in the lodge and the food is plentiful and good. No skimping in this department. Actually they pack us our lunch and we eat it while out on some remote part of the lake.

It's an overnight drive to get to the Lake. We have the longest part of the drive the 1st day, stay in a motel then drive to the Lake the next morning. The last 75 miles to the lake is on an logging road and it takes about 3 hours for that 75 miles. We usually get to see some wildlife on the way into the lake. Bears, Moose, Deer, and Wildcats is what you get to see if you get lucky.

We always meet some of the same people in the cabins next to us every year at this same time, so it is like old home week when we get there. If you don't fish you better like to read, because it is not much else to do. At times we get out to pick fresh Blueberries. They are around in quite a few places on and off the trails. When they are growing wild they are actually Huckleberries and they look and taste the same as Blueberries. Nothing like Blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

You never know when you will run into some of the wild animals mentioned above, but they are there. The will avoid humans as much as possible.

We had a great trip again, but was glad to get back home safe and sound. Besides I missed all my bloggers friends.

Wow ! Was That A Surprise !

2006-07-03T18:10:00.000-04:00

The other night I ate some Pizza loaded with Pepperoni and Cheese and drank a few beers. It was good and I enjoyed it very much. The next morning (Saturday) I woke up my usual early time around 5 a.m. My mouth and throat was dry and I was thirsty. I went into the fridge and brought out a large container of pure Cranberry juice. Nothing like a good glass of juice to slake your dry thirst. I poured myself a glass of the juice and emptied it on one long swig. Something was wrong. Then I remembered that my wife had made up a large batch of Cosmopolitans and had used that container to store it. It wasn't just Cranberry juice anymore, it had about a half a bottle of Vodka and almost the same amount of Triple Sec in it. Talk about a sensation. My thirst disappeared and I was feeling good baby. Just to make sure I wouldn't get thirsty, I had a second glass. I then had my coffee. It was a great morning, I will have to do that again.

The BMW and a Rosary

2006-07-01T21:37:00.000-04:00

Last evening my wife, a female friend, and I were driving down Charles St. from the beltway when a BMW convertible went whipping by us. The guy driving pulled into the left lane where we were and stopped at the traffic light, we were directly behind him. Hanging from the rearview mirror on the Beemer was what looked like a glass bead necklace. Then we spotted a cross dangling on the end and sure enough it was a Rosary. We were saying, what the hell is that there for! Our friend quipped that the Rosary was a trophy for screwing a Nun. We couldn't stop laughing for the next 5 minutes as the BMW sped away. Anyway it was funny at the time.

Painting Furniture

2006-06-28T07:38:00.000-04:00

I am at work at my place getting ready to paint a dining Room Set for our Cottage. My wife picked out the color and I got the paint and primer and will be ready to paint after doing all of the prep needed.

This DR Set consists of 6 chairs, a very large 2 piece hutch and base, a buffet, and table. I bought this set from one of my customers some years ago for my daughter. She took it to Pennsylvania where she was living at the time. A few years ago she bought a house in Parkville and was using it there. My daughter decided she wanted a different look and bought other furniture and I got the set back.

The paint job will give the set a whole new look. I hope to have it done by this weekend. It is a good quality set and is all wood. Except for the table top which will remain the natural wood that it is now, the rest will be painted. It is a lot of work but worth it.

The Cottage will be getting all new electric and plumbing. We are going to do our own plumbing, but an electrician will be doing all the new wiring. I haven't been working at the Cottage because of my cat bitten hand, but will soon be able to put more time working on it. It is coming along and it will be awhile before staying overnight. It is looking good though.

It's All About The Cat

2006-06-28T07:23:00.000-04:00

Here it is a month later and I am still dealing with that cat bite I posted about earlier. If it's not too boring for you, here's the update. I went to the specialist doctor whom was taking care of me, and my hand is still swollen. The Doc had X Rays taken to see if I needed surgery. The good news is, no surgery needed. I will still be taking the prescription for 10 more days and only if my hand gets worst, I won't have to see the Doc. I was told that the slight swelling and pain could be around for the next 6 months to a year before it is all gone.

At least I can use my hand almost like normal without it hurting. The Cat is doing fine.

The Baltimore Ravens Vs The Tennessee Titans In Nashville

2006-06-18T11:10:00.000-04:00

My plans for seeing the Ravens play the Titans in Nashville are under way. This game is played on Nov. 12th and there will be 8 of us going this year. It started with my son Frank (Left Of The Dial) and I some years ago. Now it is up to 8. I usually fly down from Baltimore, but this year it will be a little different. One of my friends that goes every year retires next week. He and I are driving to Nashville for the game. The others will fly down and back. My son Frank and his friend Mike will drive also as they do every year. They live about 2 1/2 hours from Nashville.

My friend and I are going to make a long week of it driving home after the game. We will be heading over towards the coast and go north from there. On the way we might stop at the Jack Daniels Distillery and do the tour. I know we are going to wind up at Fort Monroe in Virginia. My great great grandfather was buried there after getting killed in the Civil War. I have been wanting to get to his grave for years. Also, a stop at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk is a must. We are going to be free to do what we want on this trip.

I have already reserved 3 Suites at the Nashville Hilton Downtown and was lucky to secure them. This hotel is rated at 5 Diamonds and is one of the best in Nashville and when I called for reservations they were just about out of rooms. We stayed there last year also.

Nashville is a great town and the people are great as well. Usually our first stop is at Tootsie's Honky Tonk for our first beer of the morning. Last year the talent playing on stage had us enjoying the music for several hours. Many of the C & W stars got their start at Tootsie's. There will be a sea of purple in town.

The Ravens will be bringing 3 former Titans to town with them this year, Samari Rolle, Derrick Mason and Steve McNair. This should be interesting.

I am looking forward to this game already.

Nasty Cat Bite Takes Me Down And Out

2006-06-15T10:44:00.000-04:00

It has been 3 weeks since my last post all because of a Cat. Yep, that's right a cute and nice Cat. I was pet sitting for my daughter on the Sunday over the Memorial Day weekend while she and my son in law were at the HFS festival. They have 2 dogs and 1 cat and you can't leave them in the same room while food is being served. One of the dogs gets very aggressive if bothered while eating. After feeding the dogs, I went to the basement to feed the cat who tried to get out when I opened the door to go down. The cat wanted to go where the dogs were feeding so I picked him up and was taking him back down the basement when he tried to get out of my arms. I held him while all the time petting him, so I could keep the cat and dogs separated and get the basement door closed. That didn't work. Let me tell you, cats have a mind of their own and this cat wanted down. Just before I could set him down, he chomped down on my left hand. I ran up the steps and closed the door before he got there.

My hand was bleeding from 4 puncture wounds from his teeth. He got me on that soft part of my hand between my thumb and pointer finger. I could feel that the punctures went deep into muscle and ligaments. Damn, that hurt. I will say this, it wasn't the cats fault, he was just acting as a cat being restrained and wanted to get down. When he couldn't get down he, CHOMPED, and he got down really fast.

My wife said I should get treatment and antibiotics. I refused at first and wanted to put it off till the next day. After my hand swelled up and I couldn't bend my fingers, it was time I went to have it looked out. I went to Patients First, which is open 7 days a week, and is staffed by Doctors and Nurses. I have never been there before. In fact I seldom get sick or need a doctor unless it is something like this. I registered and was called in to the inter sanctum of Drs. and Nurses. They gave me a tectnus (sp) shot and a prescription for the infection in my hand.

The Doctor told me that cat bites can get very serious and this was serious. Infection gets into the muscles and ligaments and is hard to get out. I had a prescription that called for me to take a tablet in the evening and in the morning. It was a 10 day supply. I took it faithfully and while some of the swelling went down and my little finger was moving, the rest of my hand and fingers still would not move very well. I couldn't lift anything with my left hand and it hurt like hell. All the while I was taking anti inflammatory pills, like Aleve or Ibruprofin. That helped for the pain.

I couldn't work so I have been home for almost 3 weeks. The infection would make me sleepy at times and I slept a lot. After about 10 days, I went back to Patients First and they had a specialist look at my hand. What I had to do next I did for about a week, but it was working well. It seems that there is no oral medicine to be prescribed that would do what I did in the coming week. I had to go in twice a day for an IV with 3 different antibiotics mixed together. I sat there while the drip, drip of the medicine was going into my veins. My right arm looked like a junkies arm, it was covered with small bruises from all of the IV's I had. It was working much better than just the oral pills. BTW, I was still taking the oral pills in the evening as well.

I got to know some the Doctors and Nurses at Patients First because I was there everyday twice a day. Theyl couldn't have treated me better. While there I got to see some of the other patients come and go and the inner workings of this treatment center. I was impressed by how kind everyone was and how they really cared. I would walk in, sign the register and someone would see me, then take be back for my IV. I had very little wait time.

This past Monday was my last day for the IV and I got a new prescription for more oral pills, which I am still taking. As of today, I can now move my fingers on my left hand except for the pointer finger which is still stiff, and hurts then swells if I use it too much.

I did read some of the posts and responded by using one finger typing which is hard for me to do and takes a long time.

I am looking forward to going fishing in the next few weeks with The Cheese and his son. I just need to get my left hand a little more useful and get a time the three of us can go. It will be fun.

Until this cat bite, I had no clue that the infectious mouth of a cat could be this bad. It was because of the punctures that went deep in my hand that it got that bad that quick. I found out that cats actually have less bacteria in their mouths than humans. We have had cats as a part of our lives for over 30 years. They are great pets and are a part of our family as is our 2 Westies.

I got a chance to catch up on some reading and plenty of movies while being one handed these past 3 weeks. That is, when I wasn't sleeping.

A Personal Glimpse Of Life In The Year 1852

2006-05-25T06:48:00.000-04:00

Here is a writing from the personal album of Mary Carter before she became Mary Smith. (see my other blog)

This is being copied exactly as written in the album.

To Mary

The ties of earth are linked together
And from the scented grove
Comes back to us the willows breath
The mournful truth to prove

We raise with care affections bower
But oh the grief and pain
When snatched from us the lovely flower
Which neer will bloom again

The joyful scenes of bygone years
With those we loved have fled
They come in dreams but memorys tears
Deeply the dead the dead

To hear the voice we loved so well
We call and list in vain
The sighing wind sends back the knell
They neer will speak again

Elizebeth Snow

Syracuse N York

1852

I notice through out this album many of the writings are about life and death. Marriages, visiting places, visitors, and especially death. While their are many happy moments, the death notices appear. Back in the year 1852 this was a way of recording family histories. There are newspaper clippings about marriages and deaths and seem to be family or friend related.

The above writing seems to be of death. I haven't found out who, if anyone, this writing is about. It could be that the friendship of Mary and Elizebeth and them being apart is the pain they feel.

Here is a clipping pasted in the album that picks up on a more amusing theme.

Some foolish man asked the question a year ago, "What does a woman do!" One woman of Washington kept a statistical account of her various labor performances and has now furnished the answer through the Star of that city. "Number of lunches put up, 1157; meals ordered, 963; desserts made, 172; lamps filled' 328; rooms dusted,, 2259; times dressed children, 780; visits received, 897; visits paid, 167; books read, 88; papers read 553; stories read aloud, 234; games played, 329; church services attended, 125; articles mended, 1286; articles of clothing made, 120; fancy articles made, 56; letters written, 426; hours in music, 20 1/2; hours in Sunday School work, 208; hours in gardenning, 49; sick days, 44; amusements attended, 10. Besides the above I nursed two children through measels, twice cleaned every nook and corner of my house, put up seventy-five jars of pickles and preserves, made seven trips to the dentist's, dyed Easter eggs, polished silver and spent seven days in helping nurse a friend who was ill, besides the thousand and one duties too small to mentioned, yet taking time to be performed"

I don't know the time line on this clipping, but as you can see life was different then. Notice that they used oil lamps back then, so it is before gas or electric lamps. Probably about 1850's or 1860's. Just my guess.

It's Up And Running And Looking Good

2006-05-25T06:32:00.000-04:00

The pool is up and running. I put in the chemicals, cleaned the filter again, and turned on the pump. Everything was working well and the water is crystal clear. The 10' end of the pool looks like it is only about 4' deep it is so clear.

The only thing to do now is to wait for the warm weather to warm it up. It is still nice though to lay around the pool, read, listen to music or just doze off. Waiting for the water to warm up is not so bad when you can still enjoy relaxing and catching some rays.

The Pool

2006-05-24T07:18:00.000-04:00

Three weeks ago I was posting about my swimming pool and the crew that came over to acid wash it. The crew showed up and was doing the acid wash to get the stains out. About an hour into the cleaning they decided to stop and leave. I was surprised that they left. I talked to the pool company and since they couldn't get the stains all out, they didn't want it to cost them any more time and money. They didn't charge me for what they did. It seems the stains were due to the tannin from leaves getting into pool during the winter. I found out that calcium was leeched out of the gunite finish, and where it leeched there was a very dark brown stain. The acid did lighten it up considerably. My choices were to go with it the way it was, or have a new gunite finish put on at a cost of many thousands of dollars. I decided to use it the way it turned out with the acid wash. I did another good cleaning with more acid and the power washer, then started to fill up the pool. Last night it was filled to where it normally should be and the stains look more like shadows than deep stains. The water is crystal clear. If it wasn't so cold, we could jump in anytime. Come on summer and warmer weather! I will be adding the chemicals this week and that should lighten the shadows even more.

Talking to other pool owners and the pool companies this problem is normal as a pool gets older. The good news is, outside of the light stains and the finish being a little rough, my pool is in excellent condition. It is good to have it filled with water.

While it was empty, I got a chance to measure the deep end and it measures just a tad under 10 feet deep. I always thought it was about 8 1/2 feet deep as it is shown in the original blueprints. Go figure.

Collectibles Genealogy And How It Was In The Past

2006-05-21T08:09:00.000-04:00

One of the things that I have collected over the years are small personal albums mainly before the year 1900. These personal albums give you a glimpse of what life was like back then. They are always started by young women and would contain poems or clever writings much like what your family or friends would write in your Year Book, only much longer. Sometimes they will contain elaborate drawings, which are collectible by themselves. You could find just about anyone she knew writing something in the album. Family, friends male and female, people she visited or visited her. The writings would usually contain the name of who wrote it, their relationship, what city or state and the date.

The other day I came across a album I forgotten that I had. It was a bit more unusual then most albums that I've collected. Every page was used from front to back and it contained this person life story or as close to it without being a day to day diary. It began in the year 1852 and ended after 1900. The album is at least from 1852. It contained most of her family and friends and piecing it together, I figured out how some of them were related. When someone would write something they just put it on a blank page which could be in the beginning of the album, in the middle or even in the back. I have to keep rereading the pages to see if I can connect the family.

For those who are interested in this kind of writing and a glimpse into a real persons past life, I will be presenting this history with some of my own comments over a period of time. It also contains newspaper obituaries and other newsworthy items. I will copy the wording verbatim and some of them could be long, but interesting. The personal writings by her friends and family are in old handwriting and is hard to read and some are faded. Bear with me for any mistakes in deciphering the words, I will do the best I can. And now to see who "her" is.

The album is black leather embossed in gold, and on the front cover it reads Flower Tokens with a lyre looking design holding 2 baskets of flowers. The back cover has a woman in a flowing gown taking flowers out of a basket and throwing them to the ground, while butterflies are surrounding her. Through out the album are colored lithographs of flowers with elves and other people. They are signed F & S Palmer 34 Ann St. N.Y. ( Please check out the bottom of this blog for information about F & S Palmer Lithographs it is very interesting. ) So that is the theme of the album itself. On the inside front page it says "Presented to Mary by Willie. In large letters at the top of the page someone wrote in nice looking penmanship "Elmira" as in Elmira New York in which this album was started. As you will see other cities are mentioned and are from around the same area. The names that are in here can be traced through the marriage and deaths notices that appear. The names and dates of the events and where they took place is a genealogists delight. Take note of the names and places because it is possible that some of you could be related. If your last name is listed in the album and your family is from upper state New York or other places mentioned, who knows you might find your relatives. It has happen more than you think.

Since this is Marys album I will at times be referring to her as our Mary. She almost seems to be family since I have been reading so much about her and her family. Maybe you will follow her here on this blog and feel the same way.

Mary who's maiden name is Carter, and I believe that Willie who presented her this album is her nephew. She married Claudius M. Smith in the year 1854 and became Mary Smith. Didn' t they have any unusual last names back then to make looking them up easier. At least the first name Claudius is helpful to keep track of the name. I will be adding more information in the next blog as I get time. It is taking a lot of time looking up certain information before I type it on here. The time lines will be jumping around as I add interesting tid bits because that is the way it is in the album and I can't keep track of them.

Here is the information that you might find interesting about F & S Palmer Lithographers mentioned above. If you feel like it and get a chance Google the name F & S Palmer Lithographers. Check out what Alibris has some of the lithographs listed for. It blew my mind.

During the late 19th century, it is said that in the homes of most ordinary americans there were lithographs created by Frances "Fanny" Palmer. Aside from the drawings, you will see her work on countless numbers of greeting cards, calendars, and in books as the print makers in America loved to use her artwork. Even though her work was so widely used throughout America, she was ignored by many art historians.
Fanny was born Frances Flora Bond in 1812, in Leicester, England. She received her art training from a private girl's school, where she was instructed by Mary Linwood who was an artist herself. When Fanny was age 20, she would marry Edmund Palmer, who was employed as a gentlemen's gentlemen.
After Edmund lost his job, Fanny and Edmund fell on financial hard times. They decided to start a lithography business together, where Edmund would work as a printer and Fanny would do the artwork.
In 1844, Fanny and Edmund saved enough money from their lithography business to move to America. They would move to Manhattan, New York, where they set up a business that was named "F. & S. Palmer". This business failed and again left them and their two children, along with other family members from Fanny's family, with a bleak financial outlook.
Edmund took a job running a local tavern where he quickly drank up most of the profits that the tavern brought in. In the book titled "Currier & Ives: Printmakers to the American People", Harry Peters describes Edmund as:
"He was fond of shooting, even fonder of drinking, and had no interest in any kind of work. As time went on, his son Edmund Jr. became a handsome second edition of his father."
In 1851, Fanny went to work for Nathaniel Currier, who owned a lithographic
firm in New York. She would travel to New Jersey, Long Island, New York, and other cities throughout New York. However, most of her artwork was of places that Fanny had never been. She would create her artworks after drawing on various sources such as books describing the places she was drawing, by viewing daguerreotypes, and in the latter part of her career, by viewing photographs of the places she was drawing.
In 1857, Nathaniel Currier took on a partner named James M. Ives, forming the firm called "Currier & Ives". They would employ many artists and became known as the largest supplier of lithographs in America. Fanny began working an excessive amount of hours in her later years while being employed at Currier & Ives. Her body was said to appear almost deformed from leaning over while she created her lithographs. Her specialty was in creating atmosphere in her drawings and creating beautiful backgrounds and scenery.
She would travel frequently to Long Island, where she would be driven throughout the countryside in a carriage. This allowed her to quickly sketch many types of rural and suburban settings such as:
winding country roads
farm houses
saw mills
grain mills
covered bridges
barns
and country scenes
Although many artists relied on others to do the actual lithograph of their drawing, Fanny could not only sketch but was talented enough to work at creating her own lithographs.
In many of the wildlife and hunting lithographs, Fanny would use the background that she sketched in the rural areas of Long Island and would use her husband and their dogs as subjects portrayed in the lithograph as a hunter and his dogs out hunting.
In 1859, Fanny was told that her husband, Edmund fell down a flight of stairs while drunk where he broke his neck and quickly died. James Ives, of Currier & Ives, said this about Edmund's death,
"That's the best thing he ever did for her."
Fanny began signing some of her works as F. F. Palmer. It is estimated that she created over 200 unique works for Currier & Ives. However, since the majority of her works were unsigned, that figure could be quite a bit higher.
Many of Fanny's works have been reproduced millions of times throughout the years appearing on calendars, greeting cards, and as illustrations in books.
Charlotte Rubinstein, who wrote the book titled "American Women Artists: From the Early Indian Times to Present " had this to say about Fanny:
"Like a Hollywood screen writer or advertising artist today, Palmer operated as part of a big machine - in this case one that presented a glamorized and picturesque view of America, free of sweating immigrants in factories and slums. The upward mobile public identified with the technological progress, and with images on their walls of well-kept homes, happy families, idyllic landscapes and rich still lifes."
Fanny died from tuberculosis on August 20, 1876 and was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
The wife of the last owner of Currier & Ives, Mrs. Daniel Logan, had this to say about Fanny Palmer:
"She was a very refined woman. Worked very hard. Was modest and subdued in dress ... she was a lady, born and bred."

If you got this far, you have learned about F & S Palmer and now have some knowledge to use if you ever come across their lithographs. Knowlege is power.

WOW !!! It Bit My Johnson, And Now My Worm Is Torn

2006-05-15T17:54:00.000-04:00

I did go fishing this morning in the rain and it wasn't bad at all. The fishing was good as I hoped it would be. The rain stopped and there was no wind on the lake. Nice and calm. I was fishing for those Toothy Fish I like to catch. Pickerel, Pike etc. Pickerel and Pike belong to the same family of fish as does the Musky all with lots of teeth. Backing my boat down the ramp and into the lake, fish scattered away and I felt it would be a good day.

The Pickerel are plentiful and fun to catch, you just don't ever put your fingers anywhere near their mouths. Their mouth has hundreds of tiny very sharp teeth and will shred your fingers to pieces. They did bite my Johnson Silver Minnow Spoon and my rubber worms I use to catch them. The worms being soft and life like get torn apart when a Toothy Critter grabs it and takes off. By the time you get it near the boat it is a goner and you just replace it. The Johnson Spoon is one of the best Pike lures around. It always catches fish.

As the day approached noon the Sun came out and I started to peel off my clothes. Since it was raining the rain gear came off first. As it warmed up, my sweater, then my light sweat shirt was next. This left me in my short sleeve shirt and it felt good as it was too hot with any of the other clothing on.

People were out on the lake in their boats and canoes just enjoying being there. I was heading back to the boat dock later in the day as the dark clouds appeared and the temps were dropping. It still was comfortable in short sleeves. I got to the boat ramp dock and tied up so I could walk up to my van and trailer. As I was getting into my Van, the rain came down and all of my rain gear was still in the boat. I backed down the ramp until my trailer was in the water, got out of the Van and got into my boat. I put on my rain coat and drove my boat onto the trailer. It was coming down hard and I did get a little wet, no problem though it felt good. I pulled my boat up and out of the water and parked on the side of the road to put away the things that were in the boat. Some people drive their boat and trailer with all of the equipment still in it. I don't. It only takes a few minutes to unload and get on the way to home.

Not much wildlife about today. There were several very large Blue Huron on their very tall legs in the shallows. Plenty of Turtles and Geese and of course fish.

It was a good day!

This Is For You Mothers

2006-05-14T10:22:00.000-04:00

I want to take this time to wish all of the Mothers a VERY HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! This is your day enjoy it. Take Care

Fishing In The Rain, Should Be A Good Catching Day

2006-05-14T10:01:00.000-04:00

I just picked up my boat and loaded the Van for fishing tomorrow at Loch Raven. I haven't been fishing for a few weeks and I feel tomorrow will be a good catching day. Though I enjoy the sunny warm days, they are not always the best days to catch fish. The forecast is for showers likely, a slight chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon . I don't mind the rain, I have good rain gear and I layer my clothes to keep warm on days like that. If it is thundering with lightning I will not go. If the storms come and I am on the water I will get to land very quick. There are very few times that I am not very close to shore so it shouldn't be a problem.

I have fished many times in the rain and wind and the fishing is surprising good. Can't let a little rain stop me. It seems the fish go on a feeding rampage just before any kind of front comes in. It doesn't have to be raining, it's the barometer change they react to.

I have fished in weather that was cold, rainy with the winds blowing the rain in sheets. Yet the fishing was good. Just need to get into a protective cove out of the wind and fish away. I will see what will happen tomorrow. I will be there by myself and just the fish.

XM Satellite Radio And Jason Kidd

2006-05-08T21:07:00.000-04:00

A week ago or so, I got a new XM Radio for my car and a boom box for home use. When you subscribe you not only get all of the channels for your radio, you get to listen to XM satellite radio on your computer. Receiving XM on your computer is part of the service. It has so many channels to listen to, I keep changing channels to hear just about any kind of music there is. It is not just music it has all kinds of entertainment. You can go crazy switching channels.

Right now I am on channel 8 taking in the music from the 80's. It just so happens that the DJ and PD on channel 8 is Jason Kidd. Jason is my nephew and has been one of top DJ's in the country for awhile. My son Frank is a DJ and news director in Tennessee and I have a cousin that is a news director and DJ in West Virginia. Being an on air personality just seems to run on my side of the family.

If you want to experience XM satellite radio go to xmradio.com for a free 3 day trial. It's fun!

And The Good News Is.......

2006-05-04T07:10:00.000-04:00

At about 6 :30 this a.m. I received a phone call from my Swimming Pool people. They wanted to know if they could come over to do my pool this morning. The head of the crew apologize about the early call. He knew I was an early riser because we talked about fishing and being up early every day, which I am.

This means I will have a head start on getting the pool filled with water by weekend and not have to wait until Monday, the original pool cleaning day. This is good!

I am now leaving to go over to Allie's (my daughter) house to take her front door over to my place and strip the paint off. She will be home all day and I will have it done by afternoon to re-install. This will be a very busy day for me. I love it!

I think I will get some good Steaks for dinner on the deck tonight. Or, maybe stop in my favorite Polish Deli (Krakus) on Fleet St. in Fells Point and pick up some of those very large great tasting Hot Dogs they have. I love these Hot Dogs. I have to stop at the Antique Store across the street and pickup some glass I bought. It is not an extra trip to get Sausage or Hot Dogs. Even if it was it is worth it. Either way it will taste better out on the deck.

The Pool Man The Deck And Breasts Yeah!

2006-05-03T18:26:00.000-04:00

The swimming pool man showed up on time and gave me some good news. When he saw my empty and debris cleaned pool he knocked off $200 from the price of cleaning it. They start Monday to acid and power wash and I can start filling my pool at the end of the day when they leave. I thought the price was reasonable for what the crew would have to do. Like I said in the other blog, that is way too much work for me to do. The pool should be up and running like new by weekend.

It is nice to have service people show up on time and actually reduce the estimated price that they had given me on the phone. Then they knocked off the $200 for the pool being emptied. Now the price was half of what the phone quote was. I am in a service business and will always be on time for an appointment. Customers really appreciate it. I know I did!

It is so nice to be able to have dinner on the deck. Now that the weather is warmer, we will be eating most of our meals out there. Tonight we grilled skinless chicken breasts blackened Cajun style, had a salad and some string beans. It was good! Our larger deck is covered and screened in. We have a small under the counter refrigerator and a counter top stove with a grill on one side. We have a TV and some comfortable furniture to sit on. There are 2 palm type overhead fans to stir the air when needed. We practically live out on the deck during warm or hot weather. Life is good again. We love our home!

How In The Hell Did That Happen !!

2006-05-02T19:28:00.000-04:00

Today, my wife was cleaning out our little pond. This happens every spring and sometime later in the summer. Pulling the filter draining some of the water etc. Last fall we had 3 large Goldfish in the pond. We saw a large Huron in the yard at the pond and it apparently got one of the Goldfish. After that we only saw 2 of them. They stay in the pond all winter and hibernate under the ice. It has been like that for years since they were very tiny fish.

My wife had a bucket with the pond water in it and dipped her hand in and out came some fish. The looked like Golden Shiners. They were all about 3" long except for one that was 5" long. How in the Hell did they get in our pond. We usually have frogs that appear out of nowhere, but we don't have a clue how the Shiners got into the pond. Maybe the big bird brought it, but I don't believe that. Why would the Huron bring me fish and then eat one of mine. Maybe it was a trading Huron or something like that. Those fish had to be in the pond for a long time to get that big. Just another mystery to be solved or not.

On another note, last week I drained and cleaned the swimming pool then power washed it. It was stained and the stain wasn't coming out. It has to be acid washed then treated with chemicals to neutralize it. Then filled with water which will take about 2 days and the normal chlorine to keep it clean and clear.

I tried to clean it with the Acid, but decided to let a pool company come in and do it. Just too much work for me and besides they can do a better job. The Pool Co. is suppose to be here tomorrow to see what has to be done. One of the big good things was, I had already drained and cleaned all of the debris out of it. So I will save some money because they don't have to.

At least it should be open by Memorial Day Weekend according to the Pool Co. They gave me a phone estimate and it is doable. I gave them the dimentions from the original blueprints and he added another 100 sq. ft. I will see what happens tomorrow!

I Finally Got Started On The Pool

2006-04-26T07:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I got started on cleaning my pool. I know this is probably boring to some, but I have only drained my pool once before since we had it. I started to drain it on Monday and it took a day and a half to drain. I cleaned out all of the leaves that got into it and power washed it. I couldn't believe that amount of leaves that got into this pool. The pool is inground and is 20 x 40 with the deep end 10 feet. Somehow I thought it was only 8 feet on the deep end. Being drained I got a chance to stand in the bottom of the deep end to see how deep it really is.

Today I will give it a good scrubbing with chemicals to get out any stains and replace one of the 2 strainer covers that had been broken. I tried to replace that cover but couldn't because of the deep water. I will give it a good power wash again and start filling it with water. Good thing I have city water and not a well.

The pool has been a great asset to have. Once it is open, it is easy to maintain for the rest of the year until I close it. On those steamy hot summer days, jumping into the pool cools down your body and no matter how hot it is you are cooled down the rest of the day.

My son who lives in Tennessee and has the Blog " Left Of The Dial" will be here in July and I told him I would like to have a Blogtimore, Hon pool party on Saturday July 22nd if possible. He knows I like the Bloggers Happy Hours and since he couldn't attend, I would have it when he is in town. He can then put a face to some of the bloggers he has become to know. As I have mentioned before he was the one that introduced me to the Blogtimore, Hon bloggers.

If this goes down, and it should, being in July should be good pool weather. I know some of our bloggers have children and they are invited also. Jumping into the pool is optional.

Stay tuned.

Charm City (Baltimore) Have Really Tough Girls, I mean Women. They Are the Charm City Roller Girls

2006-04-24T16:51:00.000-04:00

Last night I attended the Inaugural Bouts of the Charm City Roller Girls. I must admit it was quite an enjoyable evening. I arrived at the Putty Hill Skateland before 5 p.m. and before the doors opened. Even at that early time the parking was getting scarce and there was a line around the whole parking lot waiting to get in. Fool and ebill were in line waiting for the doors to open and I joined them. Getting inside and putting on our admission bracelets, we were surprised to see that we would have to be checked with a metal detector. This was unexpected, but it went very quickly and we were in. There were chairs lined up for the ticket holders that paid for them. You could also sit on the floor just inside the rink itself. I stood at one of the low walls and had a great view of what was to go on.

There were 4 teams, The Junkyard Dolls vs Speed Regime and the Mobtown Mods vs the Night Terrors. Each of the bouts had 2 periods then a half time. After half time the teams had a 3 rd period which would determine the winning 2 teams.

All of the girls were tough and took a beating through out the bouts. Between the blocking, the knocking down and the tripping, their bodies all were all over the floor. That didn't stop them, they would get up and get back into the pack to take any other abuse that came their way. Yes, there were fights as tempers flared and the refs had their hands full (no pun intended) separating them. The refs did an excellent job keeping order and keeping the score as the girls made points.

All of the practice hours these teams put in came into play last night. You could see the teamwork as they set up the pack for blocking and getting their jammers through to score points. The jammers were fast and got into and through the packs and left me wondering how they did it. The sweaty bodies would go round and round taking the other side out or would be knocked down themselves. They surely must have lost weight by the end of the evening. Every girl were up to the game and would sacrifice themselves to help score points. That is what it is all about.

We had two of our own bloggers in the bouts. One of the refs, Justice Feelsgood Marshall (Textureslut) and Frenzy Lohan (Team Moose And Squirrel) of the Night Terrors. They were good and I kept wondering where all of that energy was coming from. Damn, I forgot to get their autographs.

Oh, BTW it was a complete sell out. The patrons outside without tickets didn't get in. Security was tight and the crowd was good with no problems. If you want to have a good time and see something different, the next bout will be on May 19th at Skateland. Be there!

www.charmcityrollergirls.com

Do You Swear To Tell The Whole Truth? Ha

2006-04-19T18:19:00.000-04:00

I Came across these and got a big kick from them. I don't usually post this kind of material, but it remined me of Fool' s Blog when she talks about what happens at her work. If you read them somewhere before, enjoy them again.

Do You Swear to Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth? These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?

WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
_____________________________________
ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
___________________________________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one.
________________________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh....
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing LAW.

Back From A Day On The Water After Toothy Critters

2006-04-17T19:35:00.000-04:00

I was on the water at Loch Raven this morning before 9 a.m. It was very overcast and the temps were in the low 50's. The weather forecasted this cloudiness, with the Sun to make a grand appearance later. Thank goodness the wind wasn't a factor, it was calm.

I was fishing for the Toothy Critters know as Northern Pike and its smaller cousin the Pickerel. They have teeth you wouldn't believe. Rows upon rows of tiny teeth that are razor sharp. My first fish I caught soon after being on the water was a Pickerel about 22" long. It put up a great fight. It was released so someone else could enjoy catching it when it is bigger. I practice catch and release with just about all the fish I catch.

The Sun was trying to peek out and you could feel the warmth. The wildlife was everywhere. Turtles were on every log sunning themselves. I watched a Beaver go swimming by, it must have come from the other side of the lake. It took a dive and you could see the wide flat tail as it went under. It came up near shore and swam down along the shoreline. There were patches of Geese along the shoreline or in large V formations as they flew overhead. A mother Mallard Duck with about 6 ducklings was in the same cove as me disappearing under the water looking for whatever they ate. They would surface and always surprise me, as I couldn't guess where they would come up. Lots of Hawks were circling overhead.

I usually see Deer along the woods, but this time I didn't see any. Nor did I see the Eagles on this day. What I did see swimming in the lake that you just don't see around these parts was a Loon. At first when I saw it I couldn't believe it was a Loon. Loons usually are paired for life and this Loon was by itself. I tried to get a better look and it would dive under and come up way ahead of me. I continued fishing and was having a good day catching. I even caught a nice Smallmouth Bass to round out today's catch. The fish turned on just after the Sun came out. I caught Northern Pike and lots of pickerel for the next couple of hours. The largest fish of the day was a rather large Northern Pike, I got it up to the boat when its teeth cut my line. You know how it is, the big ones get away. I was using a wire leader on my other fishing rods, but this Pike choose to hit this line that didn't have a wire leader.

The weather warmed up considerable and it was very pleasant being on the water. I was moving out of this cove to start back to the dock when I heard the Loon making its call. You can't mistake a Loon when it is sounding off. Off in the distance was a return call from another Loon. So now it was a pair of Loons on the Lake. That made me feel good knowing it had a mate and a happier ride back to the Dock.

This Time It's The Loch Raven Reservoir Not The Susquehanna

2006-04-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

I have been fishing for Shad on the Susquehanna River the last few weeks. Tomorrow morning I will be out on Loch Raven in my boat to catch some of those Toothy Critters and Bass. I have been enjoying fishing and catching Shad on the Susky, but I wanted to get on Loch Raven before the hot weather appears. The Shad run on the Susky will be getting much better in the next few weeks. I will have time to catch plenty more before it peaks.

I really enjoy catching the Northern Pike and Pickerel (The Toothy Critters) and it will be a nice change. The Bass should be hitting also. The weather is suppose to be nice with the temps in the 60's with little or no wind. A good day to be on the water.

The Northern Pike grow big in Loch Raven and I know that the Maryland State Record for Northerns are there. I have seen very very large Pike in Loch Raven. The state record is 24 lbs. 12 ozs. caught on Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland. They are bigger then that in Loch Raven.

I have caught Northern Pike that weighed 25 lbs in Canada on my yearly Toothy Critter trip. This time I would like to catch them in my own back yard. It doesn't matter what size I catch tomorrow, I will just enjoy being on the water. The Bass fishing is also very good this time of the year.

The Eagles that live by the lake should be out and about looking for food for their just hatched little ones. The Deer and Geese are always around to watch. It will be good to be on the lake.

Broadsheet's Birthday Happy Hour Tonight

2006-04-11T06:17:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder for tonight. It's Happy Hour and Linda's Birthday at The Brewer's Art in the Grotto Bar around 6 ish. Located in Mt. Vernon at 1106 N. Charles St. Be there and meet your Blogger friends and celebrate a birthday with a real sweetheart. See Ya There!

It's Gotta Be Done I Better Get Started Soon

2006-04-06T07:39:00.000-04:00

I usually open my pool sometime in April every year. I am not looking forward to it this year. During the winter it got filled with leaves and they sunk to the bottom and turned the water a liquor brown. Don't even ask how that happened, it's a sore spot for me. I have only had to drain the pool one other time in the years that we have had it. The good news is I will be able to replace a broken drain strainer that was a slight problem last year.

I am going to start draining soon and remove the leaves. Then I will power wash it and refill with clean clear water and and put in the necessary chemicals to keep it sparkling clear as it should be. It past years it only takes me a couple of days to get it up and running. This time an extra day or so and it will be good as new. It is a very nice pool and has given us much pleasure over the years.

My daughter Allie is always the first one in the pool every year. She dives in sometime in May and lays around catching some rays or reading a book. That is too damn early for me. I like it to warm up a little before I get in. Of course, some of those really hot days in early summer, jumping into the pool cools you down quick. We do sit around the pool dangling our legs and feet in the water while sipping on a drink when the water is still cool.

My house is made for entertaining. It has a great screened in porch with a counter top stove and a refrig. We eat out there all summer until it is too cold. It is always pleasant on the porch and seems to have a breeze most of the time. There is a couple of overhead fans to keep the air moving on the hottest days. We also have a open deck and a large patio. In the winter we have plenty of room for entertaining indoors.

I could call in a pool service to do the pool work, but I have been maintaining the pool for years and I really don't mind doing it when not under any time frame or hurry. It will get done before May and as usual Allie will be the first to dive in.

The Woman Said To Me "I Have This Big Chest"

2006-03-30T07:34:00.000-05:00

The woman said "I have this big chest I want you to handle for me", when I answered the phone at work. In my line of work, I get all kinds of funny and unusual sayings or questions. I do furniture stripping, refinishing and paint removal on just about anything, so I get all kinds of crazy things said to me. I wanted to say to the woman on the phone some kind of off color come back, but I bit my tongue and listened to her describe her chest of drawers she wanted me to strip for her.

One day I get this call to come out to give an estimate on a tall poster bed. I was met at the door by the woman of the house. She said, I want you to refinish my bed, but there is something else I need you to do for me. Please what ever you do, get those damn handcuffs locked on the posters off and get rid of them. I lost the key and can't get them off. I get tired of having company come to the house and having to hide the cuffs under something I hang on the posters. The good news is, I made a key for the cuffs and I have them to this day.

Since the name of my business has the word Stripper in it, I get all kinds of calls from guys wanting a stripper for a party. Sometimes people call and I play along with them because they are putting me on. I had a call from this guy that wanted a stripper and I told him, sorry the girls are all booked up. There was a pause, then he said how about some guys then. Again, I had to tell him they were all busy. Before he hung up, he blurted out that this city must be sex crazy, I can't find anybody. Young women are always calling for a Stripper. When I explain to them that I do furniture they have a good laugh and go on their merry chase for the kind of Stripper they are looking for.

Another time going to a customer's home to pick up furniture the wife and husband got into an argument about having the furniture refinished. The wife wanted it done and the husband didn't so he was making all kinds of excuses not to have it done. She said to him, I love this furniture and the cost of doing it is much less then buying new crap. He started to come back with a answer when she yelled out, I'm getting it done and if you keep yelling like that, I won't buy you that new car you want. You can go out and get a job and buy your own car. We hauled out the furniture and when we returned with it, the husband had his car, and even complimented us about how nice the furniture looked. You just never know!

Lots of other things happened, but that will be another post.

A 15 Minute Blizzard

2006-03-21T07:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was fishing on the Susquehanna River at 6:30 a.m. Yep, I got up extra early and headed to the Susky which is about a one hour drive. About 9 o'clock the wind picked up and it was getting darker. WTF, I am standing on the shore and all of a sudden was enveloped by a heavy snow. It lasted about 15 minutes at its worst point, then just flurries. The Sun was peeking though the clouds and everything was good again.

It was kind of weird, because I was not expecting the snow. I actually enjoyed it while it was at its worst. After clearing up and the Sun came out, I could hear the Geese above me. I looked up and in a very large V formation I saw about 75 Geese. The honking noise they made was music to my ears. A little later, I watched as a very larger bird with a wide wingspan was catching the wind and just floating on the waves of air. It started to flap its wings and made its way toward me. It caught a draft of wind just above me and I could see that it was an Eagle. My camera was in my Van, so I missed a good opportunity to get some photos of the Eagle.

Earlier as I was driving to the River, there along side of the road in a small pasture was about 25 Deer. They all turned to look at me to see what I was going to do. I just slowed down and went upon my way and they went back to grazing.

No, I didn't catch any fish, but the wildlife was more than enough to make this trip worthwhile.
It was a good day to just get out and around the nature.

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman Update

2006-03-15T06:36:00.000-05:00

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman to be married in Nashville.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006120084,00.html

This information, courtesy of Frank Strovel's Left Of The Dial in Tennessee. It seems that this marriage attracts people from all over the world. I am interested because I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Keith Urban on a flight from Baltimore to Nashville a few years ago. Then getting to see him perform that same day. It was plain old good luck that this happened. Since then Urban has shot to stardom and the rest is history. It didn't hurt that Nicole Kidman was in Baltimore recently, and very visible, while shooting her latest movie.

http://www.airwave64.blogspot.com/

Spring Is Near And Fishing Is In The Air

2006-03-14T06:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I headed to Bass Pro Shop at the Arundel Mills Mall. I picked up my fishing license and a new pair of Chest High Waders. I usually have my fishing license in January so I am late in getting it. This nice warm weather has me wanting to get on the water to wet a line. I know there will be more cold weather ahead, but that is something I can dress warm for.

The Shad fishing on the Susquehanna River will be starting in a few weeks and I should be there for the next couple of months catching those baby Tarpon like fish. They hit hard and jump high out of the water when hooked, truly a fun fish to catch. They range in size from a couple of pounds up to 8 lbs. At this time they are catch and release, which is fine with me.

When fishing the Susky this time of the year you don't know what kind of fish you will catch. It is the major spawning grounds for many of the species found in the Chesapeake and surrounding rivers. The Striped Bass, known here as Rock Fish, use the Susky as a spawning ground and in the springtime the river is loaded with large fish. They are closed to fishing at this time until they spawn and return to the Bay. Every year when catching the Shad, it is not unusual to have a nice size Shad on the end of your line and while bringing it in, a very large Striper will grab it and get it off of your line. These Stripers are big, 30 to 40 lbs. If they get the hook in their mouth say goodbye to your line. Most of the time they just grab your 2 or 3 lb Shad and tear it off and go their merry way. While it is fun to see this happen I rather just to be catching the Shad.

I mentioned about other fish being in the Susky. You can catch just about any fish at any time while fishing for Shad. Large Mouth and Small Mouth Bass, very large Catfish ( ummm good eating), Perch, Crappie, Pike, Herring and Walleyes. You never know what you will bring in. Oh yeah, very large Carp if you like catching those bruisers.

It is less than an hour's drive for me to get to the Susky and fish. Getting there when the sun comes up is a great feeling. Seeing the Sun rise on the water just makes things feel right.

I also fish the Loch Raven Reservoir. I have a small reservoir boat with an electric motor to get me from one end of the lake to the other. Here again the fishing is good and it is only 10 minutes from my house. I get a permit for the season, so I just haul my boat to the lake and drop it in and start to fish. I like catching the Toothy Critters in Loch Raven. The Pickerel and Great Northern Pike. We have caught the Northerns up to 17 lbs. I have seen the State record Northern Pike swimming around in Loch Raven. One day I will pull the record Pike out of there.

The Bass fishing is very good, for both Large Mouth and Small Mouth Bass. My largest Bass coming out of Loch Raven is just over 6 lbs. Some days if the fishing is slow, just cruising around in my boat looking at the Deer, Beavers, Geese and yes Eagles is all one needs to have a great day. With an electric motor you don't go very fast so you get to see the wildlife up close.

Fishing is not always about catching, but just enjoying being on the water. Loch Raven is close by, but you feel like you are in a remote area.

The Cottage Updated

2006-02-25T08:22:00.000-05:00

It is still winter and we can't do much on the Cottage till spring. (March) Some progress has been made and we are now in the process of lining up people to do some electrical and plumbing work. Since it is a summer cottage there are certain times we will need some kind of heat. You know, like early spring and late fall when it is chilly. We found a great deal on a propane fireplace with fake logs. It has the remote control to turn in on or off, up or down. It looks like real logs burning yet it will give off a great amount of heat and take any chill off the Cottage. My wife found it at Lowe's and it was marked way down to $249 from $700. We met my brother and sister in law at Lowe's as they had to be consulted. They are our partners in the Cottage. They loved it and agreed to get it. I told them I would get the price down more as this was the last one in stock. Most large retail stores would rather get rid of any left over stock than have to pay inventory taxes and/or store it. It is cheaper to sell it for less in this situation. I talked to the clerk and asked very politely if it could be reduced more. He checked his inventory price list on the computer and told me we could have it for $200. Later my brother in law said to me, that he never would have thought to ask for more of a discount. He knows that my wife and I are great shoppers for just about anything we buy. When we find something we really want and there is no discount, then we pay the price for it. Many times if you ask for a better price it will be reduced. If you don't ask you won't know. That is from us being in the retail business for so many years. We also bought a very nice Loveseat and Chair for the Cottage at a great price.

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week my nephew and friend tore down the kitchen and back porch of the Cottage and hauled it to the dump. We will be building another bedroom where the kitchen was and a new screened in porch where the old one was. It has a great view of the open property, the large Oak and Maple trees, then the woods in the distance. The Deer are everywhere as is many birds and other animals.

We are building the kitchen in a more convenient place with new appliances etc. We are upgrading the electric to 240 so it will accommodate the Electric Jennaire Stove and Wall Oven. A new bathroom will be installed also. My brother in law and I can do a lot of the work and we are looking forward to doing it. Of course our main thrust is to get the kitchen and bath in this spring, and the rest can be done whenever and not be under any pressure to get it done in a hurry. All of the painting has been done inside and out except for the big sliding doors and windows. I still have to take them to work and strip the paint off. I have done so many doors for other people and now I will get a chance to do my own.

The sliding doors and windows I am talking about are original to the Cottage and is made of wood and glass. The doors still have the wavy old glass and are attached to a track above the doors. The top of the doors have the rollers which fit into the track and roll from side to side to open and close. All of the original Victorian like hardware is still there. I would like to get up there this coming week and remove the doors and windows so the work can begin.

There is going to be a lot of work to do and I am looking forward to get started. We are not under any kind of time frame and that makes it a pleasure. I have been taking photos of the Cottage as we work on it, and as soon as I learn how, I will post some.

The Big One

2006-02-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

As much of the year 2006 has been a mild one, last night and this morning we were slammed. We have about 15" of snow all around us and it is still snowing very lightly. The driveway have drifts that are much higher. The first thing I did this morning was to dig a area out on my patio and lawn so the double dogged Westies had a place to do their thing. As I was shoveling they were watching me with their legs crossed. It was funny to see them in the shoveled out area as all of the unshoveled snow was above their heads. With that done, I can relax and not worry about the driveway till later.

The wife and I are going over to our good friend and neighbor tonight for good food and wine. She is a great cook and the wine is always good. It is only a 5 minute walk to her place. We always get together when it snows to chill out, eat, and drink the grape of the vine.

In my back yard where our pool is, the diving board is how I judge how deep the snow is. It juts out over top of the pool and gives a good prospective of the depth of snow. I don't have to go to work today being Sunday or Monday or even Tuesday if I don't want to. By Tuesday I will be plenty tired of this snow and will be glad to get out. Till then I will kick back, chill, and have some fun doing what I like to do whatever that is.

Update: I am now completely shoveled out. I am free to go when I want to. It's a good feeling to have it over and done with. Time for a hot cup of Black Raven Tea.

Sometimes I don't Get Things On E Bay, Become An Informed Buyer

2006-02-11T08:19:00.000-05:00

I buy quite a few reference books. Books about Antiques, books about Geneology, books about Baltimore and Maryland. Many of the books I get are on E Bay as they are out of print and they are not available through other sources. When I find a book on E Bay that I want, I will check out some other sources to see if they are available and at what price the seller is asking. Many times I can buy a book that was on E Bay much cheaper through other book sites on the internet.

I will try and buy through E Bay then check out these other booksellers. Abebooks, Alibris and Amazon. Bookfinder.com is a meta search engine for books and will search all book sites. These are all dot com sites. By checking out these other sellers, it will let you know if E Bay is cheaper or if the internet sellers are cheaper. I have found some great prices either way. At least it gives you a heads up on the market.

This also works for just about anything you would want to buy. Electronics, Cd's, Dvd's anything. You get the picture. This is a great way to compare prices on any product you want. You become an informed buyer and can buy with confidence and that you are in the ballpark price wise.

I just bought a Digital Camera and I saved $133 by doing my home work. Doing a comparision on Cnet and checking all other sources, including E Bay I was able to make an informed decision. The reviews by professionals on the internet for my camera gave me some insight and helped me make a decision. The company I bought the camera from was great. No shipping charges, no tax and it was at my door the next day. They had a high customer service rating and it was right on.

Knowing what things sell for is what helps you become an inform buyer no matter where you find it, whether on the internet or your local stores. Try it, it will only put more money in you pocket.

I Must Strip The Paint Soon

2006-02-08T07:58:00.000-05:00

I will be going up to the Cottage soon to remove the 2 large wood and glass sliding front doors and about 16 windows. I will take them over to my place of business and start stripping the lead paint from them. I will have to put plastic up where the windows and doors are just to keep the birds or any critters from coming in. The 2 front sliding doors have the original wavy glass and ornate hardware still on them. I will polish and lacquer the brass hardware at work then return everything back up to the cottage for caulking and then painting. It will be nice to have bare wood to work with instead of the paint that was chipping and in bad condition.

In the next few weeks the back porch and the room that was the kitchen will be torn down. Both were in horrible condition and couldn't be salvaged. We are going to have a new kitchen in a different area of the Cottage also a new Bathroom. We are going to replace the room where the kitchen was originally. Our main objective is to get the kitchen and bathroom up by summer. It will need a lot of work, but it has been fun working on it. We did get the Cottage painted on the exterior and interior before the cold weather set in last November.

My nephew and his crew will be tearing down the porch and kitchen. It is nice to have someone in the business that can do that. Yes, he will be paid and we are going to have to get a large dumpster for all of the debris. We all are actually looking forward to spring so we can work on the Cottage. Spring is just around the corner.

Food Fun And The Super Bowl

2006-02-05T08:17:00.000-05:00

Today with my buddies, I will be watching the Super Bowl at The Dock Of The Bay Restaurant on Millers Island in Baltimore County. This is a nice place to be watching the game with all those nice TV's everywhere. Today they will be serving raw Oysters 3 for a buck during the game. Drinks are reduced and they will have other food specials. In a sea of purple, I found this to be a pleasant place to watch The Ravens when they are playing out of town. This sounds like a commercial for this place, but I don't have any affiliation with The Dock Of The Bay of any kind.

I will predict that the Steelers will win the Super Bowl in the first time ever overtime. Wow, that's going out on a limb! Well, anyway I believe that the Steelers will win and make my favorite Steeler Fan, Jennetic, a happy camper.

I am a true dyed in Purple Ravens Fan without a doubt, and want to smash the Steelers every time we meet. Of course, during regular season, I want to see the Steelers lose everygame they play. Today, though, I just think the Steelers and jutted jaw Bill Cowher will win and the Seahawks and Mike Holmgren will lose. IMHO

Strange People Names That Are Real

2006-01-31T06:36:00.000-05:00

Over the years I have come across many real persons names that are comical or just whimsical. I will list a few and ask my fellow bloggers to add to the list of any strange names that they have come across. They don't have to mean anything. This could be very interesting. Here we go.

Nell Green Alred
Mugumi Kato Mumpower
Dick Wigger ( I knew this guy)
Jay Walker
Richard Head (figure this one out)
Bill Board

My son Frank (Left Of The Dial) reminded me of a funny name for a business in New Jersey on Rte. 40. It is no longer there, but it was always a hoot to see it. The name was:

Chicks, Licks and Flicks Of course it featured Fried Chicken, Ice Cream and Videos.

He Never Ever Found Out

2006-01-30T18:31:00.000-05:00

Some time back a couple of buddies and I were traveling through New England and Upper State New York. We were Antiquing the different Antique Shops looking for goodies. The three of us are dealers, but we all collect as well. These trips were always nice to get away to and we would hunt Antiques from the time the shops opened and until they closed. Just about every shop closed by 6 p.m. One of the things we enjoyed on these trips was eating dinner. If we were in a new area we would always ask the shop owners where was a good place to eat. We were never disappointed.

One of my two friends lives for food. Food means more to him then just about anything. If you were to give him a gift of fresh baked bread or pastry, he was your friend for life. All of the times we would travel together and would be having breakfast or dinner he would check your plate and make sure you didn't get served more food then he had. It happens, and he would be in a tizzy about it. When we are out with a bunch of friends for dinner he would eat what the others didn't. Everybody knew this and didn't mind giving him their leftovers.

On this trip to New York and New England he was cry babying about one of us getting more on our plate then him. We got fed (pun intended) up with him crying about the food. This one particular night we were staying in Saratoga Springs New York and was going to the best Steak House in town. We all love a good steak and tonight we wanted a good one. We had just ordered our steaks from the waitress, when Food Boy got up to go to the men's room. When he disappeared I got up and found our waitress and told her, to find me the largest steak they had, and make sure to give it to me and I would pay for the difference. I told her why and slipped her a few bucks for doing it. She was in on it, and of course, Food Boy was not to know about what we cooked up (pun intended).

When I came back to my seat I told my other buddy what went on and he couldn't wait to see the look on Food Boy's face. Food Boy came back and we had a few drinks and was waiting for the food. Out she came with our food. She served my other buddy first, then served Food Boy who's eyes were on the two plates eying the steaks up. She then sat down my plate with a steak that was hanging over the sides. Food Boy's eyes bulged as he looked at my steak and started his cry babying about the size of my steak. Well, the two of us just laid it on Food Boy who couldn't believe how much bigger my steak was than his. As I was eating I kept saying how tender and good it was. Yep, I ate the whole thing with nothing left over for Food Boy. For the rest of the trip we would tease Food Boy about that steak.

Till this very day, he never knew how that went down (pun) and we have had many more meals since then. We are still friends and every once in awhile this steak dinner comes up and we laugh about it. Shhhh, don't tell him.

Happy Hour Thank You !!!!!

2006-01-25T20:13:00.000-05:00

Thank you Bonanza JellyBean for hosting last night's Happy Hour. I hope you remember most of it. Getting there early with my daughter and seeing you and Snay already there was a good start for a good evening. As the bloggers started to filter in we all got a good chance to get reacquainted. Your pick of Rick's was good and was the food and drinks. Now that being said, I didn't quite catch what you said about Brown, something about stats and exclamation something or the other. Another Jack and Diet Coke Please !!!!!

Snay was looking good from being on his diet. I bought ACW a glass of water. God, can that guy drink. He was still under the weather a little. We were just glad to see him show up.

Linda (Broadsheet) and I were talking when BJB flash her tattoo of a faerie, you know the kind with wings like TinkerBelle. I told Linda that I liked Fairies and left it at that.

Jessica, just got back from Scotland, and she didn't bring any Haggis with her. Russell was with her and it was good to see him again.

It was good to see Cara and Tracy and I am looking forward to the Charm City Roller Girls.

Fool and Eric made their appearance and chatted up. Good to see both of ya!

Mandiferous (Manda Toad) was looking good as always.

Zen Chick I enjoy seeing at the Happy Hours.

Wombat and Sally came in and I got a chance to meet them.

My favorite Steelers fan, Jennetic was her usual sweetheart self. Good to see ya Jenn.

Bryan (Timonium 21093) came for his first Happy Hour. It was good to meet and talk to you. Don't be a stranger.

BJB, was running across the street to some of the other bars, coming back and forth. As far as I know she still had shoes on and didn't lose them.

My daughter enjoy meeting BJB and hopes to see her and everyone else again at the next Happy Hour, and so do I.

The Adventures Of A Summer Cottage

2006-01-16T17:54:00.000-05:00

Early last summer my wife and I were invited to a cookout at a friends summer Cottage not far from where we live. It was the first time we were there and I must say it was enjoyable and different. The cookout was the normal good food and drinks, but the Cottage and its surroundings made a big impression on the both of us. It was like living back in the past around the 1940's or 50's. There are about 46 summer Cottages in this place, and all except my friends are one story. They are set about on pathways with roads going around in back of them. Wifey and I fell in love with the place. They are set on about 100 acres of ground with many tall Oak and Maple trees providing much shade. Plenty open spaces with all kinds of walking or biking paths, a natural spring and a stream. We told our friends how much we liked it there, and they showed us a few that were for sale. They were nice and cozy and we enjoyed seeing them. Going home that night, the wife and I kept saying to each other how it reminded us of a movie set from the 40's.

A couple of weeks later we were invited back again on the 4th of July for more fun. They had an open house tour for many of the Cottages and every one was different. The whole place was decorated out with flags and red white and blue everywhere. They had a small parade where everyone was invited to march. Even the dogs had flags, and even Uncle Sam was there in good form. Talk about being patriotic, this was a good ole fashion 4th of July celebration.

The Cottages were built around 1910 and have been lived in every summer since. They are true summer Cottages and for summer use only. They can be occupied from April thru October only. All kinds of people are there, retired to young families. Some live there all summer, while others come and stay for a few days or just for the day. Every person we talked to said that they loved it and especially all the friendly people. (this is starting to sound like a movie or something) It is not a very far drive from where we live and we had no clue about this place, until our first visit there. We took my sister in law and brother in law with us and they had the same feeling about the Cottages as we did. It is something about that place that makes you relax and enjoy being there.

We told them that we were very much considering buying a Cottage. There were only one or two for sale and needed some work. That wouldn't be a problem, as my wife loves to decorate and she knows how. You know what I mean , a wall taken out here, make the bathroom bigger, a little paint here and oh yeah new appliances for the kitchen. She is good at that, and we can do a lot of the work ourselves.

The summer was moving on and I was getting ready to go on my annual fishing trip to a remote area of Quebec Canada for 2 weeks. Off I went, the first and second weeks in August. I always have a good time fishing, but I kept thinking about the Cottages. After my fishing trip and I got settled in at home and my wife wanted us to go see the Cottages again. As we were driving to the Cottages, she said that she had something she wanted to tell me and didn't know how I would react. I said just come out and tell me. She then told me that while I was gone she and her sister had signed a letter of intent on buying one of the Cottages. She wanted to know how I felt about her doing that without me being there and second, that my sister in law and brother in law wanted in. I was quite surprised to say the least as I wasn't expecting that. I do have to say this, my brother in law is more like a brother than a brother in law, and my sister in law is like a sister. That being said, to make this long story a little shorter I liked the idea. It is not like my wife to just go out and sign letters of intent without me. Of course we all had to sign it. It was a good move. Now we had to be approved by the board of directors for the cottages. The land has been owned by some kind of community trust since about 1890. You own the Cottage and can do just about anything you want to it, with some restrictions on the outside. They don't want any odd looking paint jobs etc. You pay small yearly dues which take care of everything on the grounds including your water and maintenance etc. There is a year round caretaker who lives there and he is a good one. You just have to take care of your own Cottage. To Be Continued.

I will post some more on the Adventures Of A Summer Cottage in another blog coming soon to your computer.

What In The Hell Happened ?

2006-01-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

Early this morning I was writing up a new post for my blog and after about 1/2 hour it just turned off and I lost everything. I have no clue as to why it happened. It was just like the powers that be said he is taking too long so let us cut him off and they did. Is this something that always happens or what. I was so surprised and pissed off I just walked away from my computer to cool down. I will try again in a little while.

What Is It About E Bay Part 2

2006-01-04T18:09:00.000-05:00

In my other post I stated that E Bay was a sellers market. Today's E Bay is a buyers market in places like electronics, videos, cd's etc. In the selling of antiques and collectibles, unless it is a unusual or scarce item it will not bring the money that it once did. E Bay items still sells at a reasonable good price for just about anything other than the most common things. If it is a hot item then the price goes up and up. Bringing a good price is due to the world wide market that E Bay reaches. I don't sell everything I put up for auction, I don't think many sellers do.

When I first started to sell, I would only sell in the USA. I wanted to be paid by check or money order only. This worked well for a long time. I didn't want to sell world wide because the shipping and insurance costs are different then selling here in the good ole USA. Also, you had to fill out all kinds of customs forms. It could be intimidating. My sales were good selling here in the USA and I was happy with that. I started to get e mails from people all over the world asking if I would ship to them. At first I said no and thanks for inquiring.

Pay Pal which is now owned by E Bay became an easy way to pay for the things I bought and if the seller accepted Pay Pal that cut out the time consuming check writing and mailing etc. Paying by Pay Pal was a great way to pay for things you won in the auction. The seller also sent your item very quickly since they had been paid already. I liked Pay Pal. The e mails were stilling coming asking me to sell to people world wide. I was considering it and also considering using Pay Pal to get paid by my bidders. I did set up my Pay Pal account to accept credit cards. The cost was just under 4 per cent. With my Pay Pal account set up to be able to pay and receive money, I then started to accept bids from all over the world. It work so much better than I expected. I became a Power Seller on E Bay. E Bay invites you to become a Power Seller, you can't just ask to join. My sales were flying high and I was getting much higher bids than when I sold just in the USA. The combination of selling worldwide and especially having Pay Pal to receive money from credit cards was the key. Most sellers accept Pay Pal now. There are still a few who want their money by check or M.O. and that is just fine. I still get paid that way and if the buyer has good feedback I don't hold their item till their check clears. I just mail it when the check arrives and I have never had a bad check and my customer appreciate it.

One of the things I do is to mail the buyer their item within a day or so and I send just about everything by Priority Mail. It gets to the buyer in 2 or 3 days and the buyers love it. The nice thing about Priority Mail is that the Post Office supplies all of the boxes, labels and stickers for mailing and it is all free. You can order everything on line from the Post Office and get different sizes. I do buy larger boxes for when I need them, but the Post Office Priority Boxes and envelopes just about covers 98 Per Cent of my shipping needs.

Getting back to shipping world wide. I talked to the counter people at the P. O. about what I needed to do to ship world wide. They have booklets on just about whatever you needed to know. Also you can go on line and figure out how much it will cost to ship world wide and what insurance costs. You can fill out the customs form at home or at the P.O. they will help you out. Just remember that the buyer pays for all the shipping costs and insurance. You will need a scale to weigh your packages so you can tell your buyer what the costs are. All of the charts for different countries or zip codes that you will need, you can get at the P.O.

Good communication with your buyer or seller goes a long way to having good experiences on E Bay. My bad experiences on E Bay are minimal. My feedback is 100 % good. Misunderstandings do happen and if you communicate they can be cleared up.

Standing Cheese (SC) brings up a good point in his comment on my post E Bay part 1 above, about the seller at times being at the mercy of the buyer. I have to agree with his comment. E Bay also takes a stance to let the buyer and seller work it out and they stay out of it. E Bay doesn't always respond to your problem and if they do you don't get much in the way of relief or help. E Bay good or bad, it is a great experience. I love it.

What Is It About E Bay Part 1

2006-01-04T07:24:00.000-05:00

Back in the mid 1990's I started to buy on E Bay. I would buy and sometimes sell through a friends account until I got my own E Bay account. Back then it was a sellers market. You would bid and if you were the winning bidder you would exchange information. Back then you would e mail the seller to get their name and address while giving them your shipping information. Most sellers would only accept checks or money orders. If you sent a check they would hold the item you bought until the check cleared, which could be up to 2 weeks. If it was a Money Order they would ship soon after receiving same. You would have to put the E Bay item # on your check, on the envelope or any other paper you included. This took time and was a pain in the ass, as E Bay at that time didn't have the set up as they do now for tracking your transaction.

Feedback was the way bidders and sellers could tell if someone had a good or bad reputation. It was important to leave feedback for a seller or buyer. It was more important to the sellers as the buyers sent the money and if it cleared you would have good feedback. Sellers on the other hand had to have good feedback or buyers wouldn't buy from them. There are plenty horror stories about both sellers and buyers trying to cheat each other. Even today this goes on.

You have to remember this, if you bid on any item, you are entering into a contract to pay for whatever you bid on. No buyers remorse, no backing out for any reason, yet this still goes on. It costs the seller time and money when this happens.

E Bay today takes a good learning curve to be a good seller. You have to know what category to use, a good description of what you are selling, good photos and what day and time to have in appear on E Bay. It can be very time consuming selling on E Bay.

Sometimes I would have as many as 40 items up for auction and sometimes none. I am glad I don't have to do this 24/7. I enjoy putting things for sale on E Bay and I am also a buyer. I can spend a lot of time checking out what is selling and what is not.

E Bay has a lot to be desired in certain things, but it also can be a hell of a lot of fun. More later about E Bay in part 2 when I get some more time.

A Good Showing, But Not The Ravens

2006-01-02T19:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday at our brunch, we had a very good turnout. The crowd of friends and family ate, drank, and was merry for over 2 hours. The Bloody Marys were good and kept flowing through out the brunch. I made up the pitchers of Bloody Marys , but didn't make them too hot so some that can't stand the heat could drink them. That worked out well. I did have all the goodies for making them as hot as you wanted and some of us took advantage of the heat. I had all kinds of hot sauces, old bay, and some of the hottest horse radish that I have had in a long time. I love it when horse radish opens up all your sinuses with just a little whiff. The Mimosas were good, but the Bloody Marys won hands down.

The food was excellent and it was all home made except for the Bagels. The very large ham was not very large when we got done with it. It was enough left for some sandwiches and with eggs for breakfast.

The Ravens game started and by then the Brunch was winding down as most of the people were leaving. I watched as the Ravens gave away the game and decided there is always next year. The Ravens ended up tied with the Browns at 6 and 10 for last place. We got into 3rd place instead of last because we had won more games in our division then Cleveland. I am glad it ended this way, because of the standings in our division we get to play The Tennessee Titans next season in Tennessee. This means I get to see the Ravens play the Titans in Tennessee with my son who is a Titans fan. If the Ravens or the Titans don't shape up next season it won't matter who wins, just like this year.

Happy New Year They Will Be Coming Soon

2006-01-01T09:45:00.000-05:00

The they I am talking about are friends and family coming to my house for a New Years Day Brunch. They will be pouring in around 11 a.m. to imbibe on Bloody Mary's, Mimosa's and all other kinds of breakfast drinks. Some of the foods being served are several Quiche dishes, Casseroles, all sorts of Bagels, some meats, finger food, and God know what else. If they don't get enough to eat and drink, shame on them.

This brunch started last year on New Years Day and many of our friends asked us if we were going to have it this year. We were, and it grew. It is nice to have everyone over and to chill out. Besides the Ravens Game comes on at 1 p.m.

Who Is That Team? Oh My, It's The Baltimore Ravens

2005-12-20T07:26:00.000-05:00

Last night I was at M&T Stadium to see our Baltimore Ravens. It was a cold wintry night and the moon was bright. Our team looked like the Ravens of yesteryear, everything just seemed to jell for a resounding win over Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. The Raven's in their Black uniforms did everything right. It was a feel good night for us ravens fans. Ravens 48 Packers 3.

Kyle Boller was the best I have ever seen him play. He was 19 for 27 for 253 yards with good execution, Boller didn't make the stupid mistakes like he has done in the past. Good for him. I had just about given up on him. Nobody told Boller that Green Bay had one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Todd Heap had a good game with 9 catches for 110 yards and 2 TD's. Jamal Lewis ran for 105 yards with 22 carries and scored 1 touchdown. Last night Heap broke the team record for yards gained at 2841 which surpassed Qadry Ismail.

Randy Hymes, made an incredible one handed catch in the end zone for a score. You just had to see it. Samari Rolle and Deion Sanders each had an interception. Rolle and Ed Reed were all over the ball through out the game. Derrick Mason was in his usual good form and was getting open and making good yardage. I am so glad to have Mason on our team. Thanks Tennessee Titans. LOL

Not only was the Ravens score against Green Bay 48 to 3 it was the most points the Ravens have ever scored in any one game, a team record. The game went down as a record for the most lopsided game ever on Monday Night Football.

I was glad to be able to see Brett Favre play even though it wasn't Favre at his best. It just felt good seeing the Ravens playing mistake free football and having such a great game. It would be nice if the momentum carried over into the next 2 games of this season. Right now, I am a happy camper.

I Do Like Aerosmith, BUT

2005-12-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

I love Liv Tyler, the daughter of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. I just watched her in the movie Jersey Girl with Ben Affleck. While Jersey Girl was enjoyable to watch, I liked her part in Lord Of The Rings. Tyler was is many more movies, some of which I have seen. She has a beauty that appeals to me for some reason. I don't go to movies just to see her, but when she is in the movie I see, I am glad she is in it. Ok, enough of this crap.

XM Satellite Radio

2005-12-14T19:24:00.000-05:00

I just got back from the Best Buy store and was checking out the XM Satellite Radios. They have several different kinds for different uses. I liked the one that can be used for car or boat, portable using with batteries, or with an adapter to plug in your electrical socket. The cost of service is $12.95 per month with installation at $14.99 via telephone or $9.99 via website. It has over 150 channels of music, sports, talk and entertainment. Most are 100 per cent commercial free.

I go to Canada fishing every year for about 2 weeks in the Northern Providence of Quebec. It is very remote and the only people you see are the ones at camp. I do bring a radio to camp and only get a few stations and those are mostly in French. Having the satellite radio would be very pleasant to listen to after being on the water all day. The cabin does have electricity thanks to a very large Diesel generator, so I could plug into the electric receptacle and save on batteries.

Does anyone have a satellite radio that you are using now? How do you like it? Any drawbacks? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Nicole Kidman And Keith Urban Getting Married

2005-12-13T07:12:00.000-05:00

This little bit of news hasn't hit the main stream news yet, but you can read it first here:

Left Of The Dial

Being a program director and DJ, Frank gets the news first. He is reasonably sure this is true according to his news source.

Here's A Tip That's Easy To Do

2005-12-12T08:02:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but my house has been getting quite dry from the heat being on all the time. I have been getting a slight headache from breathing too much dry air. Here is how I deal with it and it works well.

I take a large pot and fill it about 2/3's of the way full of water and put it on the stove to boil. When the water boils it adds moisture in the air and takes a lot of the dryness out of your house. This will make your sinus open up and you will feel much better. I add some whole cloves to the water and the house smells wonderful.

Just a little thing, but it works for me.

It was Left Of The Dial that got me started

2005-12-10T18:25:00.000-05:00

It was the blog Left Of The Dial that got me started looking at blogs. My son Frank has this blog and runs a radio station in Tennessee. He started sending me blogs about Antiques in or around the Baltimore area. He had a link to Epiphany In Baltimore on his Blog and that is how I found all the nice Baltimore people and their blogs. Who would have thought that after 3 Happy Hours and finally starting my own Blog that I would have the pleasure to meet so many Baltimore Bloggers.

Frank's Blog is mainly about country music and other news of the day. If you get a chance check it out. If it is anything you want to know about what is happening in Country Music he is the guy to ask.

Here is where to go: Left Of The Dial

Thanks Y'all

The Dogs Come Home And David's Bluehouse Coffee Shop

2005-12-10T18:05:00.000-05:00

I went to the Krakus Deli today and had to wait a little while to get waited on. I don't mind that, because it gives me a chance to look around at all the other things they sell. There were at least 10 of us there and all speaking Polish except me of course. At one time or another they broke in to English, but I like to hear the Polish being spoken. When my turn came I got my order of Hot Dogs and a small smoked ham and left.

I wanted to stop at the newly opened Bluehouse in the 1400 block of Fleet St. just off of Caroline. I got to meet David and John and had a very good Latte'. While drinking the Latte' I got a chance to look around at all the other things there. Not only do they have a first class Coffee Shop with lot's of places to sit down and enjoy your drink and eats, David has furniture, decorative accessories, and a myriad of glass and other goodies to look at. Mostly new but some old glass jars and things. Some nice handmade craft items can be found also. I will be sure to stop back anytime I am in the area and have a good coffee and to say hello. Stop in and have something to eat or drink and you will be supporting a fellow Baltimore Blogger.

HOT DOGS Food For Thought

2005-12-09T17:42:00.000-05:00

The following is a comment I made to a newer Blogtimore Blogger, Holding The Line. I just happened across the Blog and it was about how much Kevin likes Hot Dogs. The comment I made was a little long and I thought the information about Hot Dogs or about Ethnic Deli's in or around Baltimore would let others know that Baltimore has a few nice Ethnic food places tucked away that have great food and are fun to go to. Here is what I had to say:

Hey Kevin, I just happen to catch your blog about Hot Dogs. I love a good Hot Dog also. I have found a couple of ethnic Deli's that have some of the best Hot Dogs or Sausage I have every tasted. They are good meat markets, so you will have to buy them and cook them yourself. It is worth the trip. They sell all kinds of other meats and most of it is made on the premises. My favorite is the Krakus Deli an all Polish Deli at 1737 Fleet St. in Fells point. 410 732 7533. They have the best large natural casing Hot Dogs ever. They are without a doubt my favorite. This time of the year I put them in my oven broiler on a piece of aluminum Foil and let them crack open and get almost burnt. It only takes a few minutes to cook and they plump up very large. My favorite roll is Martin's Potato Rolls that you can get in any grocery store. They add to the taste and are not too big for the Hot Dog. Put on your favorite mustard with onions and you have a winner.One of my other favorite places is Binkert's Meats. They are all German and are located at 8805 Philadelphia Rd. Just north of Golden Ring Rd. I like to get their Weisswurst which is made of veal and has a very good taste. They have many other kinds of dogs and other meats. Phone 410 687 5959. If you are interested in going to these places I would call first for hours as both are closed on certain days of the weeks. If you are going to the Krakus Deli call to make sure they have the Hot Dogs. They come in on Friday or Saturday and they go fast. Krakus also makes fresh Sausage on Wednesday nights and are available on Thursday till they are all sold. Saturday is a busy day at Krakus and people come from other states to buy their meats there. If you decide to go and everybody is speaking Polish and you can't, don't worry they all speak English also. LOL This place is a true Baltimore find. I hope this wasn't too long of a comment, I just wanted you to know about these two places. There are others around Baltimore, but that is for another day. BTW: all of the above Hot Dogs can be frozen for later eating. End of comment.

I just added the following:

I just decided I am going to the Krakus Deli on Fleet St. and pick up some of those Hot Dogs now. While I am there I will buy one of the small smoked hams that Walter the owner smokes right there in the store. They are not very big, but have a good smoked taste that I love. That ham is just scrumptious tasting. I will slice it for sandwiches or better yet slice it thick and fry it up like Bacon to go with eggs or any breakfast. It is inexpensive and they average only a few pounds. You can have them slice it, but I like to slice my own. There are too many things to mention that they sell there besides meat

As stated before there are plenty more Ethnic food places through out the area that I have visited over the years and found them all to have that special something. That can be another blog later on.

Snow's Over

2005-12-09T11:19:00.000-05:00

Well that snow was very short. I believe that the news people on TV need something to get you stirred up about. I just finished shoveling my driveway and apron. The sun is out and everything is melting. I'm off to get my haircut and something to eat. Not that I am going to eat hair on anything like that. I meant after getting my hair cut, then I will go somewhere and get something to eat.

Snow And Sleet

2005-12-09T06:01:00.000-05:00

I was up and out this morning about 5:15 a.m. letting one of my Westie Dogs do her business. Yes, the snow was coming down pretty good. We have about 3 or 4 inches on the ground and possibly another inch or two before it ends. The storm is suppose to end about 9 a.m and rush hour will be a mad house. I just checked the outside again and the snow has turned to sleet or freezing rain. According to the news on TV the roads are slippery and the main roads are still covered. What a mess. I made up my mind, I am not going into work today and won't go out until the roads are much better. At least I have that luxury of whether I want to work or not. I need a haircut and will go for it later today when the roads clear up.

I don't mind driving in the snow, as long as the other crazy drivers are not out in it. That means rush hour time. I don't know what it is about snow and Baltimore or even here in Timonium. It's like nobody knows how to drive. This doesn't happen in other states like New England or upper state New York. I have been in big snow in these places and people just go on their normal way as usual. No major problems. I guess it's a frame of mind. Heavy snow there doesn't cause all the problems we have here. By this evening the roads should be good for the late rush hour. I like a good snow, but on my terms. In other words, over a weekend when others don't have to work or a hard long snow that keeps everyone home. After a day or two, I will have enough of it and will be itchy for it to become normal and all cleared up.

What would be nice, but probably not practical is to have a Baltimore Blogger snow party happy hour. After a few drinks and some good bar food, it won't matter if it is snowing or not.

For all of our blogger friends that don't have to work today, enjoy your day. For all of our blogger friends that have to be out in this stuff, be safe.

2005-12-07T06:52:00.000-05:00

CANDY RECIPE included. I finished making the Sweet Potato Candy recipe yesterday. I must say they are delicious. I made 3 kinds, the original cinnamon, chocolate, and peanut butter pin wheels. The problem is we couldn't stop tasting them as they were being made. There is no cooking involved, easy to make, and fun. If you decide to make the candy and you have any questions let me know. It's pretty simple. Here is what you will need.

1/2 lb. Butter
1/2 lb. Margarine
1 medium can of cinnamon
6 lbs of 10X sugar
1 cup of Pet Milk
2 tsp. Vanilla extract

If you like cocoanut you can mix in 2 cups of flaky cocoanut. (optional)

cream butter and margarine by hand into a large pat. ( fondant) This means squish it together with your hands.
Add vanilla
Add sugar and milk gradually as you work it into the butter and margarine. Mix by hand till fondant becomes smooth enough to roll into small balls. (hint: after washing hands from mixing I use a little cooking oil on my hands so the fondant doesn't stick to my fingers)

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, pinch off a small part of the fondant and roll between hands till cigar shaped. Cover with cinnamon (in a bowl) and line up on cookie sheet. Let dry over night in a cool place.
Store in plastic bags or tins.

Peanut Butter Pin Wheels :
Use the same fondant base. Take a handful of fondant and roll out flat with a rolling pin between 2 pieces of waxed paper. ( like a pie crust ) Remove top piece of waxed paper. Spread 1/4" thick coating of smooth peanut butter. Roll up like a jelly roll. Cover with waxed paper and put in the refrigerator for several hours. When firm enough, cut 1/4 to 1/2" slices and place on a cookie sheet. Dry out over night. Then eat and enjoy.

You can use Hershey's cocoa chocolate powder to roll in instead of cinnamon. I usually use the chocolate after rolling fondant in to little balls instead of cigar shape. You can roll with nuts etc. Just about anything you would like to use.

The main thing is to have fun and enjoy. They make a nice little present for friends and family.

2005-12-05T07:33:00.000-05:00

Ho Ho Ho Christmas in coming soon. For some reason I have the Christmas spirit early this year. My wife and I have the tree up and decorated. I feel like Christmas shopping now instead of 2 days before Xmas. What the hell is wrong with me, I like to procrastinate and do everything the last minute. Even at 5 a.m. this morning I got out the recipe for making Sweet potato Candies. I haven't made these candies in the last 4 or 5 years. Even then I would need to be asked to make them. The candies don't even have sweet potatoes in them. They are strictly sugar , butter and other great ingredients and do they ever taste good. Yummy. They are easy to make and I make more than the recipe calls for. We give them out as presents in little boxes or tins. Everyone loves them, but they are not for the diet minded. If you only eat one or two here and there it won't kill your diet.

I also make a peanut butter roll from the Fondant and I am going to try out something different, using Spearmint to give them a different flavor. They can be made so many different ways. The original way is to roll the Fondant like little cigars and dip them in cinnamon. You can use Chocolate as a coating or anything else you like. Sometimes I use shredded coconut in them. They are so easy to make, just takes a little time and is so rewarding.

I first made these when I was a teenager and still living at home. This recipe has been around for many years and I haven't found any other quite like mine. I am getting ready to go to the store to get the sugar, butter etc. These candies will be done this week, whether today or tomorrow when it snows.

2005-12-04T08:35:00.000-05:00

This cold weather with the ice on everything makes me think about buying a condo in Florida. I have been thinking of doing this for a few years now. I don't want to live in Florida year round, just during the colder months. With all of the Hurricanes hitting Florida, I have not been actively looking. I also like Charleston S.C. and this may be another choice. Though Florida is becoming more popular and the prices are rising, there are still some nice Condos to be had for a good price. I like fishing and want to be near the East Coast. I don't have to be on the water just near it. I sold my boat this summer that I used on the Chesapeake for fishing and am not in any hurry to replace it till I decide what to do about Florida.

Maryland is a great place and has plenty of Salt and Freshwater fishing close by. I still have my freshwater reservoir boat and motors. I want to get out and do more Crabbing next year. This year I didn't get out crabbing at all and that's a shame, the crabs were running good this year for recreational crabbers. I have all of the equipment to go and am looking forward to crab next season.

This cold weather always make me think of warmer climes. What the hell can I say, I am leaving now to go to the Ravens game and sit in the stands in this damn weather and loving every minute of it.

2005-12-03T07:04:00.000-05:00

The Ravens game is tomorrow and I will be there with others in a sea of Purple. Not only that, I will be at the Cross St. Market eating and drinking at Nick's Seafood and Bar. The Natty Boh's will flow and the Oysters will be cold and on the half shell. It doesn't take much to make me happy. I will be slurping and drinking at 10 a.m. with my brother and friend Mike and anyone else who wants to join us. The game starts at 1 o'clock and that is plenty of time to fill up on the good things in life. Any of y'all that know me and see me, stop by and say hello, the beer is on me. It does get crowded around ll o'clock, but we will be there somewhere. So get there earlier and get a seat.

Hey, I know what your are thinking, but screw the weather. I am there for the fun and I don't give a crap if the weather is bad or not. In fact a little wetness will add to the atmosphere, I'll dress for it. Besides, who wants to be a fair weather fan! Layers, that is what you use to keep warm and good insulated leather boots to keep your feet warm. Then you are all set. Oh yeah gloves to keep your hands warm and a parka so wind doesn't go down your neck. I usually only have one beer while at the game. All my drinking is done before game time and that is plenty enough for me.

The Houston Texans are in town and I expect to see a win for the Ravens. The Ravens have had their problems this year and there is always next year. I am a fan of the Ravens, I won't boo them when something happens to them on the field. That is just not right. They are having a losing year and that happens to all teams at one time or another. The Ravens, good or bad they are my team and I am just glad to have a NFL team back in Baltimore. See Ya!

2005-11-29T19:17:00.000-05:00

I am looking to buy a new digital camera. My old one still works very well, but it is time I upgrade. My Sony Mavica FD71 has been good for me, especially for E Bay for which it was originally intended. It uses a floppy disc which is very convenient to pop in my computer. The low pixels were fine for computer photos, now I want to take good clear sharp photos.

I have been looking at the Canon PowerShot SD550 with 7.1 Mega Pixels and the S-80 PowerShot at 8.1 Mega Pixels. The SD550 sells for $449 and the S-80 sells for $549 at the box stores in this area. They can be had on- line and/or E Bay for about $100 less. Paying for the shipping offsets the Sales Tax I would have to pay here.

Both cameras are very small and compact and have a lot of good features. Let me state here and now, I don't know much about camera's, but I am getting to know these 2 models just from reading about them and handling them. I was at first looking at the Nikon CoolPix, then I became aware of the Canon's. The difference between the SD550 and the S-80 is the wide angle lens on the S-80, it's 28--100 mm which is a 35 mm film equivalent and on the SD550 it is 37--111 mm which is a 35 mm film equivalent. The 7.1 pixels on the SD550 and the 8.1 pixels on the S-80 probably wouldn't make much difference on the quality of the photos. It is the 28mm lens that I like and I am leaning toward the S-80. The size and the weight is not much of a difference between the 2 camera's. Both of the camera's are the latest models for this year. They both have a 2 1/2" screen which is a 1/2" bigger than the older models.

Anyone have any feedback on these or any other small digitals or what I should be looking for in a camera, please leave a comment. What digital camera are you using and how do you like it?

2005-11-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

Here it is Thanksgiving morning and the temps are down into the low 30's. Last night while I was playing chef and making the traditional stuffing for today's meal, the snow was coming down fast and furious. It was only laying on the grass and cars. This morning there are remnants of the snow on the same places. What I enjoy about the turn of cold weather is that I keep my Corona's on the back porch and they get as cold as the beer at Molly's Publick House. I like that!

You know it's the little things in life that make me happy. For instance, limes at the Shopper's Food Warehouse were only 10 cents each. We need those limes for the Corona's, makes them go down better. I was also at the Wine Warehouse on Lock Raven Blvd yesterday. What a F+++ing madhouse that was. They had 5 people outside directing traffic for a parking place. My wife asked me to stop and pick up wine and beer for today and this weekend. Our favorite red wine is Cabernet and I choose 3 bottles and 1 bottle of a favorite white wine, Cavit Pinot Grigio. I have been on a kick lately for the Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet and that is one of the Reds I bought. This is a good red wine if you haven't tried it yet. There have been some good Australian Cab wines coming from down under so I bought 2 of them. One is Gumdale which has been around for awhile and the other Cab was a new one I haven't tried yet. It is Waltzing Vine Cab and is a new wine to our market here. Both Gumdale and Waltzing Vine come from the same area, South Eastern Australia. The prices on these newer wines are usually a good bargain. I will find out if it is a bargain after I taste them.

The Cavit Pinot Grigio being a white wine has a fresh and fruity taste and is good anytime of the year. The Mondavi Cab is a drier wine with a great flavor. Today most of my family and I will be having the traditional Turkey dinner with the trimmings including the Baltimore Sauerkraut.

The Corona's with fresh lime early before dinner and the wines before and during dinner. I am looking forward to it.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

2005-11-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning my buddy Mike and I headed downtown to the Ravens Game. My brother who usually goes couldn't make it this time around. We always go early so we can drink lots of beer and eat some good food. This Sunday we were down at the Cross St. Market which just finished a nice overhaul on the building. Nick's Seafood and Bars are located on South Charles St. and Cross St. We arrived just before 10 a.m. and we were glad we did. It was getting crowded even then, but we found a couple of seats at the raw bar and sat there and quaffed $1.00 Natty Bohs. Then we ate plates of raw oysters which went down good with the Natty Bohs. They serve all kinds of beer some in 32 oz. cups. By 11 o'clock the place was a sea of purple with some yellow mixed in. Expectation were high for the Ravens to beat the Steelers and everyone got along just fine while drinking and eating.

Mike and I each ordered one of Nick's fish sandwiches. I couldn't believe how big they were. It couldn't have been too big as they disappeared in a hurry. The sandwiches were excellent. The fun part of all this is not just the food and beer (although it is a big part) was meeting and talking to all the other Ravens fans. Yes, even some Steelers fans. Leaving Nick's we left to go tailgating with some other friends for more beer and then off to M & T Stadium to watch the Ravens and Steelers.

It was a long game as most by now know and we won in overtime with a fieldgoal by Matt Stover. It wasn't the prettiest game but a win is a win. The Ravens finally scored a touchdown, we beat a quality team and a rival. The walk back to our car was a happy one.

2005-11-17T18:42:00.000-05:00

I had a great time at the Baltimore Bloggers Happy Hour last night. I want to thank Mike and Kisch for being great hosts. I liked the Wifey blouse. It was good to meet everyone again and some new faces. Molly Goatwax was a pleasure to meet and talk to. I liked the Public House and yes the beer is cold. I will be back.

Baltimore Bloggers know how to have a good time and I am fortunate to be a part of this group. Looking forward to the next get together and to see how much beer we can consume. Yeah!!

2005-11-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

The CMA (Country Music Awards) are on tonight. While I am not a big country fan, I do like to listen to country once in a while. I am rooting for Keith Urban to win the Entertainer of the Year Award. He has a very good chance of getting this Oscar like award of Country Music.

Several years ago a buddy and I were on a flight to Nashville Tennessee to see a Tennessee Titans football game. I am a dyed in the wool Ravens fan, but my son who lives in Tenn is a Titans fan. We fly to Nashville every year to get together. I have not missed a Ravens Vs Titans game played in Tenn yet. While on the flight I struck up a conversation with this guy and 2 of his friends. The flight isn't very long, about 2 hours, and we were there before you knew it. My son and his friend picked us up at the Airport and off to the hotel we went. Being a Saturday we had a bunch of time to kill, so one of the first places we went to was Tootsies Honky Tonk. Tootsies is world famous for having new young talent there before they became famous. We were drinking beers and watching the entertainment and just enjoying the music, all this at 10 a.m. We decided to hit a few more joints then go to the nearby Opry Mills Mall, which is humongus.

Getting to the Mall we decided to get something to eat and I wanted to hit the Bass Pro Shop there. Walking down the corridors of the Mall we came upon a small studio that records some of the Country Music acts and you can go in and watch the goings on. While there the host introduced a new and up and coming singer by the name of Keith Urban. I really never heard of him before, but I knew him. Keith Urban was the guy and his friends I talked to while on the flight to Nashville. Holy Shit, I couldn't believe it, here he was on the stage performing. What a strange co-incidence this was. First meeting him on the plane and then just happened to be where he was performing. He was good, and everyone gave him a big hand when he finished. Me included.

Keith Urban is now a super star and I wish him all the luck in the world to win the Entertainer Of The Year Award tonight. Go Keith Go.

2005-11-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

Today looks like a good day to take off from work early and do some Antiquing. I like to go around to the different Antique, and Consignment Shops and see what I can find for my collection or to sell. Baltimore and the surrounding area can be a fun place to find something you want. It is all in the hunt. That is the true fun of it, whether it be something for your collection or a decorative piece for you house. If you are looking for a piece of furniture for that special place in you home Baltimore will be a good place to find it.

If you know what you are looking for and know the value, unless it is rare, it can be had for a good price. When I go into some of the shops and see the prices they are asking, I just shake my head and move on. On the other hand, if you find that special piece and you have been looking a long time for it, and you know it is scarace, then pay the price. You just might not be able to find it again.

If you are a collector of anything it is fun to go and look for something you want and find it. You are considered a collector if you own more than two of anything. That is what I mean by the hunt. I travel the East Coast at times looking for what I want. Some of my favorite places are in New England. Taking a long weekend, let's say from Friday to Monday I hit quite a bit of territory. I leave at 3 a.m. and I am in New Hampshire at about 9 a.m. hitting the shops and Antiques Malls as they open. You must be an early riser to do this. After hitting New Hampshire all day, I head off to Maine where I spend the night and hit the shops there in the morning. From Maine it is off the Massachusetts, and then by Monday I am into Connecticut. I am usually home by early Monday evening.

You get to meet a lot of nice people, some I have known for awhile. You get to eat some of the best food and of course Lobsters. Oh, yeah don't forget the beer. You get to know where to go for the food and where it is not expensive. It is a fun time and you always find something you want. It also makes you feel good when you are back home.

Just some rambling and musings of the Double Dogged Guy.

2005-11-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

It has been 2 months in coming, but here it is, my own Blog. It had to be done. I couldn't put if off any longer. I wonder how many mistakes I will make? I know it's about time I did it. Just so I can relate better to my Blogging friends in Baltimore and surrounding areas. I hope in time to make friends from all over.

I can thank Jessica (Live In Love) for helping me to pick my name for this Blog. I mentioned to her a few of the names to use and she said Double Dogged was the one she liked the best. It was my 1st choice also. So, Thank You Jessica the beer is on me.

The name Double Dogged came about because of my 2 dogs. I am an early riser as is one of my dogs, sometimes she gets up too early. My other dog sleeps in and doesn't get up early. With the early riser, I will let her out, feed her, and let her out again to do her business. Then I can grab a fresh cup of coffee and let her back in, the rest of morning is mine. This can take anywhere from 25 minutes to 45 minutes except when I get Double Dogged. Just as I am getting ready to relax and get on the computer or read the paper, dog # 2 gets up and I have to do the whole routine over again. This is what I call Double Dogged.

I don't expect to post every day, but I will get my licks in. LOL