R&C - kicthen area w/ fam rm and screen porch in back

Ron and Carol's dream house takes shape

view from street

Something to be thankful for-baby Hannah!

Sometimes thanksgiving gets to be all about a big feast but my dear friends have something to really be thankful for - "A healthy grandbaby" born on thanksgiving day. Congratulations to Grandpa Tim, Grammie Colleen. Oh, congrats to Ryan and Joy as well, and welcome to Hannah.

Not so Easy Rider

Jordan took my bike for a spin while home for thanksgiving.

Jordan vs the Terrorist

Jordan and Lauren visited the shooting range over thanksgiving. Here Jordan reloads his Barreta 9mm. You can sleep tonight because Jordan shot him right between the eyes.

My little Annie Oakley

Here Lauren is admiring her shooting skills. She shot a 38 special revolver.

Budge and his special sandwitch

Here Budge is building his special "Budge's Special Thanksgiving Sandwich". It contains, turkey, ham, bacon, cheese, mayo, a little salt, lots of pepper and wonder bread. This is an annual event. And don't knock it till you try it.

Christmas Spirit

I got into the Christmas Spirit yesterday. Brendan , my mom and I had the opportunity to see the musical "Scrooge" in Farmville , NC. It was wonderful and it was at a quiant little theater that seats about 225 people. But best of all the play was directed by none other than Corina Rice. (see the play bill on the left) Yes, the same Corina Rice that drives a motorized cooler.

Corina did a great job on this play. I knew she majored in Drama at ECU and had been in a number of plays both in high school, college and in community theater but I had never had the opportunity to see them.

What I saw was a great play, but the more impressive thing that I saw was what the efforts of a confident young women can produce. I am extremely impressed that Corina was able to manage a play with such a varied group of actors (ages5 to 55), musicans, stage and set people, choreographer, Costume designers, etc.

It was a treat and all I can say is

BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO!!!!

A Fine Example of Viking Formal Cruise Ware

Here are Captain Mike, First mate Stephanie and Cruise Director Tim.

What's that Tim with coffee? What would Tom say?

Glitz Party Goers

We had a Viking Bath* for Mike and Stephanie. The theme for the party was the Love Boat and the dress for the party was "Viking Formal Cruise Ware."

I can not remenber ever seeing more sequines at one time! We had a lovely evening of food, drinks and friends.

I hosted the party but many thanks are required. Thanks go out to LK for invitations, viking ladies for the food and drink. BK and LS for bartending. TH for being the Cruise Director. The Viking ladies and especially CH and PS for cleaning my house after the party. This was the easiest party I ever had. The food and drink were brought in, the music obtained from the library, the guests cleaned up and I just enjoy all the guests. I would also like to thank the wait staff but they are on "Double Secret Probation" for showing up late after the appitizers has already been served.( but the intent was nice- JS, JN, JP and BK)

*A bath is a wedding shower that is given after the wedding has already taken place

My New CD

Best of Tony

Featuring the hit songs:

Big Rock City
&
Got a New Spark for an Old Flame

Lady Luck has returned- (Please stay a while this time!)

I am not a "BIG" gambler but I do enjoy going to casinos every now and again to drop $50. My luck playing slots and Texas hold'em has been terrible over the last 4 months. "Bad Beats" have become common place (for non poker players a bad beat is a hand you played correctly and the opposing player won based on pure luck) But that changed last night!

I made a short stop at the Delaware ParkRace Track on my way back from taking LK and TS to Philadelphia to catch a train to NY.
And low and behold your friendly neighborhood "Retired Guy" hit the jack pot not once but twice. The first for 2,000 quarters and then an hour later for 1,440 quarters. That's right the retired guy walked away with 8 benjamins nicely folded in his wallet.

Bob and Ted's Excellent Adventure

This is Bob and Ted, our personal guide to the battlefield. He was great and very dramatic describing the battles and tactics. This picture is looking from Seminary Ridge(Confederate position) toward Cemetery Ridge (Union position). 5000 solders were killed on this field in one hour on July 3, 1863.

Sunset on a wonderful weekend in NN

I just had a wonderful time this weekend. Golf and bar hopping with great friends: drinking, sunsets , star gazing, and a gormet dinner with beautiful ladies, what more is there !
Thank you J and E for having me in your home. Thank you G and G for the wonderful meal. Thank you T, C, D and B for your most enjoyable company.

Gary's Quilt

Just Kidding

Colleen's Quilt for Baby Hughes

Gormet Diners

More gormet diners

Quilters weekend - Here Colleen and Ginny begin

Retired Guy walking the grounds of golf Mecca

The old course at St Andrews -enough said!
*photo credit goes to TH for the set of Scotland pics, my pics are still locked in memory

A Personal Rainbow

This was the first time I had ever seen both ends of a rainbow. The entire arc was only about 200 yards long. We searched for the pot of gold but were unsuccessful.

Scottish Cattle -Aren't they handsome beasts!

Our Castle - at least for a week

What a good looking Group!

This is the Scotland group outside Broomhall Castle. We stayed hear the first night.

Trip to Scotland

This is the William Wallace monument. William is the biggest patriot in Scotish history. Thank god for Mel Gibson or none of us outside of Scotland would know wh0 he was.

Jordan's Horse

This was my final picture. I pulled off the road to answer a call from Jordan. After talking for a couple minutes this horse stuck his head out the window and gave me a look that said
"What the hell are you doing outside my barn --- City Boy!"

Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid's hideout

This is the hole in the wall that the gang was named after.

UFO leaving Roswell

Two Towers

This was above the two towers Restaurant run by a Navaho Indian. The food was excellent and I got to try Indian Frybread.

Switchback from valley of the gods up to high dessert

My attempt at Artsy photos- oh what lighting!

Awesome Structures

Eagle Rock

structure in monument valley

Redrock and Retired Guy

Red Sandstone formation - Four Sisters

If you viewed this from the front it looked like four indian women.

Camp - Yes I was sleeping in the trailer

Historical Fort on San Fe trail

Church front

Me on the bike

All of a sudden I can not post pictures again. Does anybody know why. leave me a message.

All I get is "Kerplunk" after I click on the picture icon. HELP! Problem solved

Thank you Sara or the help! And the pictue you hae been waiting for ----

First Pictures from my trip west

The first pictures I too were of the church my MOM and Dad got married in outside of Ft. Riley Kansas.

And I thought my motorcycle was cool

CR has topped me on the coolness meter. Here she is riding her "Cooler". Yes that's right - RIDING HER COOLER. If only I had known, I could have gotten one of those instead of the motorcycle. It would make for a very interesting and thirst quenching trip through the desert. Whenever you get thirsty just reach down and grab a beer.

What will they think of next a "Riding HDTV".

Opening Night for Lee

Last night I attended opening night (trial run) for the new Applebee's in Laurel. My nephew, Lee, is the store manager and has been working like crazy to get this place opened and operating. This was an invitation only affair and I was lucky enough to get to go with my mom, her friend Marge and Linda, Richard and their guests. Dinner was FREE. It included drinks, appetizer, dinner and dessert.

I had chicken casidias, apple sangria, steak and ribs, and a vanilla blondie for dessert. They were all wonderful. There were a few opening night glitches but all in all, the staff did a great job under Lee's direction and watchful eye.

They open for real on Monday and I plan to take a motorcycle trip over for dinner next week. But this time I will have to pay! Dam!!

Poker bad to Poker worst

Things are continuing down hill. I played poker with KH, JB and my Mom at the beach this week and my Mom beat us all and won $24.00.

The bad part was that she could barely see the cards and was able to beat us. All turned out well because she followed tradition and took us all out for breakfast.

Poker

I have been playing on line poker way too much the last couple of days. I really thought I was getting good at it.

But today I have been brought down to earth. I played in two tournaments. In the first I finished 1753 out of 1987. I improved on the second one I was 1123 out of 2112.

I have a long way to go. I am playing in a 50 person tournament for real money on Aug 18. I had better get a lot better by then or my $40 buy in will be down the drain!

Mom don't plan on going out to breakfast on August 19. I seem to have lost my luck.
(I always take my mom out to breakfast if I win.) Hey all you players that will be at Scott's do you want my poor mom to go hungry?

My new glasses

I recently visited Dr. Daughter to get a free eye exam and new glasses. She works at a shop in Chinatown. First I got introdued to all the wonderful employees that she works with. Then the usual "Which one is better - lens 1 or 2" over and over again. After we finally arrived at a perscription, I moved to the optician to be fitted for glasses.
Well he and Dr. Daughter picked out a pair of glasses for me. I tried them on and in unison the whole staff proceded to tell me how wonderful they looked and how young looking they made me appear. I asked if this was a set-up and if Dr Daughter had picked these glasses out before I even got there.
Well I refused to fall prey to the adulation and continued to look at other pairs. I then selected my new glasses, not because they made me look younger or how wonderful they made me look, but because they were sensible. It was just a coincidence that it was the same pair that they had picked out for me.
Then I picked out a second pair for sun glasses to use when riding my motorcycle. After the order was written, they told me I had selected Armani frames. I guess fashion just seeps in when your in Manhattan!


(The picture is of my Armanti glasses )

A wonderful weekend

I had a wonderful weekend. My children and their significant others were in town for Matt and Meghan's wedding. It was so nice to have my family in the old homestead. We had sitdown meals where we talked, laughed and lingered. We all attended a beautiful wedding, reception and after party. And on Sunday we all watched that crazy World Cup game.

I was very impressed with how well everybody got along and seemed to really enjoy each others company.

It is too bad that it requires special occiassions to get families together but it also makes those moments special. My thanks to TS, AP, CR, LK, JK and BK for a wonderful weekend.

I also want to thank Matt and Meghan for a wonderful wedding and to MM & HM for hosting me and my family. It was truely a great weekend!

Happy 4th

Well I have been busy the last few weeks buying stuff and traveling.

What did I buy you may ask? First the motor cycle like the one below. Then I had to buy saddle bags to carry stuff on the bike. Then I bought a clock for the bike so I would know what time it was when riding. Then I bought trailer so that I could carry the bike.

Where did I travel to? I went to NC to work on our beach house and to start moving my son back to MD. I then went to a wedding party in Fergus Falls MN. But I also went to South Dakota and North Dakota. All three were very beautiful. Since I visited ND I now only have one more state to visit.

new toy image 3

My new toy

Sorry for the lack of Posts

As many of you know I have been preoccupied the last 6 weeks with the health of my son. I have moved to NC for a temporary assignment as a nurse, cook, notetaker, chauffeur and housekeeper for my son. He has had a number of medical problems that occured after what was supposed to be minor surgery.

I now define minor surgery as clipping your finger nails. Anything more than that is considered major surgery that is life threating.

Hopefully my life will return to normal in about 3 more weeks and I will post more often then.

Northern Neck

I spent the weekend at the Northern Neck of VA as a guest of MM and HM at their beautiful home. These guys have turned a beach house into a home you would see in some design magazine. Their views are spectacular and the hospitality wonderful.

I got to play golf twice and visit the new bar in Coles Point (AC's). I went there Friday with TH and between us had 6 beers and we shared a order of fries. The beer was real cold and the fries hot but the best thing was the price $7.50! When is the last time you had $1 beers. We were so impressed I had to go back on Saturday after golf with MM, RV, TH.

All in all, it was a great weekend; golf with friends, wonderful food supplied by HM and CV and lots of drinks. We also had lots of fun and games (poker and trival persuits) at a beautiful place with a "Murder of Crows" (Bet you didn't know that was what a group of crows are called). See we even learned something!

Had to Work Today

I had to work today. It was interesting but it puts major dents in my social calendar. I think that is why they call it work.

Work means:
1. You have to go to bed at a reasonable time.
2. You have to get up to an alarm clock.
3. You have to bathe daily instead of only when you will be around other people.
4. You have to plan your wardrobe instead of flannel pants and a sweatshirt every day.
5.You have to commute

I know I will get used to doing this stuff. That's what worries me. I might forget how to be retired.

" 3 Ways" are great but it gets better

I used to like "3 ways" but I found out Friday night that my tastes have changed and now I like "5 ways" with oysters on the side.

I had my closest 20 friends over for dinner and drinks on Friday night. I had trouble deciding what to serve and started going through some recipes. Then I remembered a recipe that a former co-worker from Cinncinatti had given me for Cinncinatti Chili. It was perfect for this type of gathering, it could be made ahead and served at any time.

For those of you that don't know - Cinn. Chili can be served 2way(pasta and chili), 3way(pasta, chili and cheese), 4way(pasta, chili, cheese and onions), 5 way( the above and kidney beans), 6 way(above and oyster crakers)

Now aren't you embarrassed because you thought the title meant something else. Remember I am the "Retired Guy" and chili is as spicey as it gets.

HDTV

I finally got the HD cable installed and got an opportunity to really see my new TV with HD. It really is awesome. Not all channels broadcast in HD so the number of channels is limited. The one channel that best displays HD is the Discovery Channel HD. The shows with outdoor scenes are spactatular. Sunsets to die for, ocean pictures that make you want to jump in.

I know the awe factor will go away in a couple of days but for right now it is WOW!

Dancing

I went to a dance on Saturday night with major apprehensions. I had not danced for about 4 years. And before that, I danced with the same partner for about 30 years. But to my surprise, I was able move around the floor without killing anyone and I don't believe my partner is in the hospital getting casts on her feet.

I think most of the credit goes to J for being able to follow my rusty lead. There was only one song where I had to ask J to leave the floor because I could not feel the beat of the song and knew I must have looked awkward as hell. (Kind of like an ostrich running on a frozen lake)

I will chalk the night up as a success. Thank you J for the invitation and in rehabilitating my hereto for retired dance moves.

New Bar in Town

I went to the MD-VA Bball game last night (MD-win). And afterward JC, RC and I wanted to have a drink so we went to Michael's Pub. Guess what on a Tuesday night at 10:00 they had a cover charge and an open mike.

Sorry Retired Guys don't pay cover charges. But where to go for a drink in quite columbia?

I had heard that the last chance (It has a new name Rock Something)had re opened so we headed over. What a nice surprise. The bar was open they have cleaned up the place and renovated. The bar area is about twice the size it used to be.

Waitress was very nice, plenty of TVs and no volume, soft music in the background and very cold beer and nice martinis. The price was not bad either about $10 a round for 2 pints and a martini. The menu also looked good. I will try it again soon.

Day After

Well I didn't do much blogging on the day after the super bowl but I did do some stuff.

First congrats to "The Bus". I did win a little money during the Super Bowl. All $18.50 will go to taking my mom out to breakfast.

I watched the game at Megan and Scott's house on Scott's Big Screen HDTV. I have been researching a big screen for two months now, but after watching Scott's; I got "Big Screen Envy".

So yesterday I went out and purchased a new HDTV. It is not the bohemoth one BK liked but it will look pretty big in our small family room.

I should get it hooked up by this time next week. So with that much invested, I will be watching more TV(at least till the novelty wares off) So Don't be surprised if there are no blog posting for a few days next week.

I can't wait! It's like being a kid waiting for Christmas!

Blogs for Seniors

Last night I went to a viking party and told the party goers about my new blog. (It is so cool to be a senior blogger!)

Several vikings asked how to get to blogs and where do you go to set one up. Today I sent an email to them giving them my address and where to go to set up a blog.

Theefore this is a test blog to see if anybody actually goes to the blog. So if you are a viking leave a comment. If you are not a viking - go away!

Just kidding, all are laways welcome at ramblings of a young retired guy.

Super Bowl

I can not remember a super bowl that I really cared about that did not feature the Redskins or Ravens. (They are the local teams.)

But this Sunday I really want the Steelers to win.Their team is so appealling.
1."The Bus"playing his final game in his hometown.
2. "Big Ben" at qb.
3. The Steele Curtain II on defense,
4. The longest serving head coach in the NFL.
5. Three road wins over #1,#2,#3 seeded teams.

An most important I have a "big bet" on them!

Another Day Retired

All you working folks, I just thought you would like to know what my day was like.
Get up at 8:30 (this is 3 hours later than when I was working.

Walk to the Bagel Bin for coffee and a wonderful onion bagel. (Yes there are good bagels outside of NYC!)

Drive to the mega liquor store and get beer and wine for q party. (I did never thought I would spend over $100 in that store.)

Drive to Mom's house to do some shopping for her. ( She is also retired but is 84.

Come home and do mail.

Eat a light dinner.

Get picked up by DK and taken to the MD vs Tar Heels game. That's right me and Dicky V at the same game. (I will be the one with hair.)

Go Terps! = except for LK -Go Heels!

It's a tuff life.

Golf

I started out the day by doing my taxes but noticed the sun was shinning bright so I went outside and found it to be 65. I thought taxes or golf, golf or taxes. I then remembered I am "the young retired guy" so golf it was!

I hit the ball to the right and I hit the ball to the left and finally on hole 14 I hit the ball straight and got a "hole in one"!

That is "a hole in one of my socks".

What is Young

One of my readers recently comment that the use of the term young was not approate for my blog's name. I however think 56 as young to be retired. The commentor on the other hand is looking at the age of 56 from the eyes of a twentysomething. So Iam going to take a poll from my readers. Is 56 young or old?

Now if I can only teach the members of my retirement home to blog!

Oh by the way readers under 45 are excluded, because we old farts just don't care about their opinions.

Slient Auction

I went to a slient charity aution last night and walked away with the following thoughts.

Why do people buy this stuff?

How much stuff do we need to own?

People have more money than they know what to do with it!

People will buy anything in a competative environment!


on the good side

People are generous to charities!

First Attempt at blogging

I am a 56 year old retired guy who has never blogged before and was sucked into this by trying to post a comment to my daughter's blog. Next thing I know I was setting up my own blog.

What a mistery these new technologies are to the recently retired?

I hope to post something funny some day in the near furture. In the mean time sorry to have bored you on your accidental visit!