Happy Birthday

I had another birthday. May 8th. I'm now sixty-six, or as I prefer to call it "fifty-sixteen." And as usual, my Sweetie made it one to remember.

We met up with Judy's sister, Joyce and hubby Allen, in Washington DC. Joyce and I have the same birthday.

The timing was perfect because we were able to go to the famous Waldorf After Party in Waldorf, Maryland. It's the party after the equally famous Waldorf Eggfest. Big Green Eggs were in abundance and all cooking something special. We met Eggheads that have been on-line friends for years and saw some we've met at other Eggfests. It was just like coming home.

Anyway, after the After Party we became tourists and hell-bent on seeing all we could before leaving for home on Thursday.

Except for Saturday night (5th) we stayed over in Arlington near the Arlington National Cemetery. And close to a Metro train entrance.

We started out good, arriving Washington National about 3:00 PM Saturday. Picked up our rental car and drove to Waldorf, MD where the Waldorf Eggfest was just winding down. It was very cold and raining, and I was in shorts so we didn't stay there very long. Checked into the hotel where the Waldorf After Party was being held in the parking lot.

The next day we drove up to DC and on over to our hotel. Nothing special, just took in the sights and sort of got a lay of the land. We did go through the Air and Space Museum and Indian Museum.

Monday things picked up. We took the Metro into town and started hitting all the places we could. Eventually, we saw most everything worth seeing in the time we had, but on Tuesday, mine and Joyce's (Judy's sister) birthday, we went to the Hart Senate Office Building where we were given an exclusive tour of the Capital. We rode over and back on the Senator's little underground shuttle train, toured the Capital's deep underground rooms, eventually ending up in the Rotunda (Beautiful). Then we went up to the spectator's gallery to watch the Senators in action. The one bill we witnessed being proposed was to allow Canadian Drugs to be purchased by Americans. It was eventually defeated after we left.

The Capital was great but best tour in my opinion was the Library of Congress. Beautiful.

But get this, Judy had made arrangements for flags to be flown over the Capital's Senate and House wings for our birthday on Tuesday. The flags will be sent to us in a few days. Here's Judy showing me my flag. Isn't that about the coolest gift in the world?



And here's Joyce showing her flag.

Monday evening an Egghead friend took us for a night time tour of the monuments. Unbelievable!!! He said it's the best way to see DC. He knew exactly where to go to get the best views amd the easiest ways to bypass the crowds. He was literally a walking, talking history book of details the average public doesn't ever hear. We even went to the Iwo Jima Memorial and saw it just as the city lights were coming on. Beautiful view of the city. Allen said the night tour was the highlight of the entire trip. I think I would agree.

We went to the White House but Queen Elizabeth was due there and we couldn't tour it. However, we got this close:

And, of course, we went to Arlington National Cemetery and saw the changing of the guard and other memorials, not to mention seeing the thousands and thousands of headstones that are visual reminders of the true cost of war. We even got to see a Wreath Exchange Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, complete with the playing of Taps. Very moving. I was very sad but at the same time so very proud to be an American.



We also drove down to Old Town Alexandria and had dinner at the Chart House overlooking the Potomac. We met Judy's cousin there and he went through a two-hour history of some very interesting details from when he served in the White House under President Ford. His wife is Assistant Director of Development at Mt. Vernon. She got us staff passes and we toured it from end to end, having lunch and cherry pie at Mt. Vernon Inn. Very nice tour.




All in all, we toured, walked by, drove by or saw:

The White House
The Washington Monument
The Lincoln Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial
The US Capital
The US Supreme Court
The Library of Congress
The Bureau of Printing and Engraving
Smithsonian's Natural History Museum
Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian's American Indian Museum
Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art
Smithsonian's Sculpture Garden
Hart Senate Office Building
Ford's Theater
Holocaust Museum
Iwo Jima Memorial
Viet Nam Memorial
World War II Memorial
Carlyle House
Arlington House
Tomb of the Unknowns
Kennedy's Grave
DuPont Circle
The Pentagon
The Air Force Memorial
The Maine Memorial
Watergate Complex
Historic Old Town Alexandria
Mt. Vernon
and others.

It was a fun-filled, fantastic trip. Glad to be home.

L

Coop Update

The Coop is coming along nicely but I still have a bit to go. However, for all practical purposes the Coop is finished. It should be ready for a party pretty soon.

I'm kinda proud of my lighting. Take a look.

Here's what it looks like at night when nothing is going on.

Here's what it looks like all lit up.

Here's what it looks like with the lights dimmed.

Here's what the lights look like. Cool huh? Aren't those about the sexiest lights you've ever seen in a Chicken Coop?

I am just chomping at the bit to show it off and it won't be long.

Texas Eggfest 2007

Well, the 2007 Texas Eggfest in Austin has come and gone. Friday was the Meet and Greet until about 9:30 PM or so and we were at the site by 7:00 AM to light a couple of Big Green Eggs so we could be ready for anyone showing up wanting some breakfast. We also wanted to move a couple of Eggs over to the pavallion where we planned to cook. It was kind of deserted that early but things started picking up by 9:00 AM and remained busy until about sundown.

Empty now but things are just about to kick off...

New Big Green Eggs waiting to be fired up..

One of the early Eggfest University Classes in progress...

There are many other photos of course but it's easier to go directly to the Texas Eggfest web site to view them as they are posted over the next few days. Just click on the link: http://www.texas-eggfest.com/Eggfest2007/

We had a great time, met a lot of old and new friends and cooked up some very tasty dishes including a Mirliton Casserole, Peach Cobbler, Breakfast Quesadillas and Bourbon Chicken. Others cooked dishes that were very tasty and easy to make on the Egg.

Yes, we had a great time and look forward to next year.

Chicken Coop Milestone

Yesterday I finally finished the cabinet that will hold my large Big Green Egg. It has taken a long time due to my untimely adventures with back problems and near death experiences. But it looks exactly like I wanted and works great.

I was able to cut some pieces of Corian from the remaining large "Island" piece and make them fit up to the other Corian. I also decided to line the cavity where the Egg sits with corrugated tin like on the roof. Very good decision I think.

The cabinet to the left of the Egg holds large grills and assorted items for the Egg.

I celebrated the occasion by cooking two steaks on the Egg. Worked perfectly.

I hope to finish up the remaining cabinet for the Small Egg by this weekend so we can paint.

Leroy

Have A Heart Update

Interesting thing about having a heart attack... It puts things in order again. For example, I probably needed a wake-up call to get back in shape. I always considered myself strong and capable of doing anything I put my mind to. But for the last few years, mostly since I had the eye problem, I have found myself struggling with doing stuff, especially stuff that required both thought and effort. I just couldn't focus long enough to do some things. I didn't even realize it was happening until one day I was going to use my router to shape a piece of wood. For the life of me I couldn't figure out how to set up the router to do it. It actually became frustrating because the harder I tried the worse I got at it. No I wasn't soaked in rum'n cokes either...

Anyway, on another occasion I needed to move something fairly heavy. Five years ago I wouldn't have given it a second thought but this time I thought I would die before I got it moved. It was like I had no strength to go along with no energy and no imagination as to how to make it easier. When I finished I was short of breath and totally wasted as for the rest of the day.

The above, along with many other examples, turned out to be the blockage problem. Now that it's fixed and I'm in rehab doing exercises I can actually see and feel the results. I think more clearly and I'm motivated to do more stuff. I can build things and I know how to use my tools. I can even move heavy objects although it still isn't easy. I just try to move them "smarter."

My only problem now is what I lovingly refer to as my Mad Max Disease. It's actually a sciatica problem but I jokingly tell everyone I contracted it via the Internet from my Egghead friend Mad Max who had the problem just before me. He's over his but I'm still a victim. If you have never had it, you're lucky. If you have had it then you know exactly what I'm going through. It's not a pretty sight. To make matters worse, the relief I desperately seek is just a $20,000 needle away, but which is off limits to me as long as I am taking Plavix, one of the many heart drugs. However, I was told that I can schedule the needle anytime after April 18th, which is three months after the initial heart attack.

April 18th is perfect because I will feel good enough to walk the streets of Washington DC on my birthday in May. Meanwhile, I have been prescribed some pain medication to help deal with it while going through the increasingly difficult rehab exercises.

So now you know my physical and mental state as of today, April, 14th, 2007.

Maybe now I can get some stuff done around here.

Rehab - Diet, Therapy and Exercise

Well, I officially start my Diet, Therapy and Exercise program tomorrow. Three days a week for the next three months I will be going to a Rehab Center where I will check in, have my Blood Pressure and Pulse checked, strap on a heart monitor, warm up and climb aboard a treadmill to get my heart pumping at a desired rate. Half way through the treadmill they will check my BP again, and again when I finish about twenty minutes later.

Then after about a minute I will do the same thing on a reclining bike. I think at this point I will do a cool-down routine and then be directed to one of a number of "consultations" that address everything from stress to diet to attitude.

I pointed out to them that I'm currently in pain and being treated for a sciatica problem that may hinder my performance in rehab but they understand and will try to keep me from doing anything that might make the sciatica worse. Actually, the day they showed me around and let me on the treadmill and reclining bike I felt pretty good.

My Sweetie and I sat through a Diet Consultation last Friday. We understood everything the Dietition was saying but we also know that following a diet to the letter is virtually impossible with us. Cooking is my hobby and eating is a passion with both of us. But we'll make every "reasonable" effort to eat as if our lives depend on it.

The next update should include some positive remarks about my weight, my mood, my overall health and what I plan to do next.

Wish me luck.

Have A Heart

My lifestyle finally caught up to me and I had my first (and hopefully last) heart attack. Happened Wednesday night, 1/17/07, and within ten minutes after deciding to go to the emergency room I was being treated for what eventually turned out to be a 99% blockage in one artery and 80% blockage in another. A third artery has a 60% blockage but they decided to try diet, exercise and medication to reduce it.

By Friday afternoon I was back home, and although restricted from doing much for five days, I was feeling pretty good.

New Porch

Today we took down the "temporary" porch we put in about fifteen years ago. It was never meant to be a permanent solution to our "back porch" lifestyle but it served us well all those years in spite of quite a few leaks.

In its place we're having a real porch put in as part of a whole-house re-roofing project. When it's all finished (next week sometime) we will probably start tearing up the wood deck we put in about that same time and replacing it with landscaping items, including tables and chairs among bushes and walkways and lighting. Yes, it should be pretty when we finish.

Why are we doing all of this? Well, we've pretty much decided that this is home for the foreseeable future. We like it here and all the places we thought we might like are either too expensive, too cold, too hot or just not our cup of tea. So we're sticking around and we want to make sure our home is everything we would like it to be.

Even with the eager anticipation of what will be we're going to miss the old look we built with our own hands and became accustomed to over the years.

The nice thing about all of this is that we will be able to enjoy our back yard more, as well as our new outdoor kitchen (still under construction).

After all of this I think I'm going to stick to small projects in the future. But what am I ever going to do with all the cedar lumber that we took out of the porch? I'll think of something, for sure.

Chicken Coop's Progress

These photos were taken around Thanksgiving. I still have to build some cabinets for my two Big Green Eggs.

EggtoberFest - Atlanta 2006

We finally made it to EggtoberFest in Atlanta. What a nice way to enhance a great hobby. We saw lots of old friends from the Texas and Oklahoma Eggfests and met a lot of folks we only knew by their Big Green Egg Handle and their posts on the Big Green Egg Forum. But we also met some people who just got into "Egging" and haven't really spent much time on the Forum.

Then there's the food... WOW! So much and so wonderfully good. Judy and I didn't cook but there were over 200 Eggs set up for that purpose and at least 175 cooking on them (some were cooking on two or more Eggs).

We had a great time for sure and will likely be back. If you want to see some photos click here: http://wessb.com/Allfests/Eggtoberfest06/eggtoberfest_2006.htm

WessB combined a lot of his own photos with others to give you a taste of how great it was. Enjoy...

My "Chicken Coop" Outdoor Kitchen

I've been busy these past few months and neglected my Blog site. Shame on me.

Let me start by saying that a few months ago a Big Green Egger friend's house burned down because of a spark that came from his Big Green Egg (in the driveway, no less) and flew into his garage where it ignited something. Within minutes his house was on fire. Fortunately, no one was physically injured but I'm sure there will be emotional scars the rest of their lives.

So, with that incident fresh in my Sweetie's mind, I got instructions to move my Big Green Egg Cooking Center off the deck and away from the house. It took a while to figure out where and how but we finally decided that about ten feet from the house would be fine. That would permit a certain amount of convenience and a comfortable amount of security. And we would build it with the tools and skills I had rather than pay someone else to do it.

For the past four months I have been researching, planning, digging, cutting, nailing, gluing, and everything else necessary to build our version of an outdoor kitchen. We call it our "Chicken Coop." Here are a few of the construction photos up 'til 9-23-06.









As soon as I finish putting on the roof I will start on the cabinets and countertops. We already found a small refrigerator on sale and scooped it up. It sure comes in handy for cold drinks on hot days.

It's a slow process made slower by the fact that it was well into the upper 90° to 105° range much of the time. Plus, I've been somewhat lame due to a sciatica nerve problem in my hip and leg. And combine that with being 80 pounds overweight, blind in one eye and 65 years old and you get a very slow worker. But it is slowly coming along and everything seems to be working properly.

More pictures will follow as I complete the last remaining tasks. I hope you like it.

Leroy

Happy Birthday To Me..

I suppose when one reaches 65 years of age it is a milestone worth celebrating. And celebrating I did. My Sweetie and number one fan arranged for a few of us to meet at our favorite restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana on Saturday, May 6th. Actually, I share birthdays (May 8th) with my sister-in-law Joyce Schuyler (10 yrs younger) from Metairie, Louisiana, so Lafayette was a good half way point for us to get together. An added incentive is that the restaurant is operated by a friend of ours who wanted in on the action, Chef Wil Menard. He made sure that everything was perfect and that it would be a memorable experience. That it was.

Invitations were only sent to family members and two special friends I've known all my life: Emmilee Green and Carol Caprito. Emmilee and husband Joe live in Harrisonburg where we grew up. Carol and husband JT live just south of Lafayette in Franklin, Louisiana. Our friends and neighbors Pam & Tom Morris joined us and Tom did the driving when I tapped into the rum barrel. I'm pretty sure all had a good time.

Joyce and her husband Allen, asked their friends Liz and "Rat" to come help us celebrate. They came and from what I could tell, thoroughly enjoyed themselves too.

It was a good time, good food, good drink, good companions and good memories. Here are some favorite photos...


Allen and Joyce...

All smiles











Emmilee, Me and Carol

Just like old times












Tom, Pam, Rat and Liz

Thoughts of balloons...












Emmilee, Carol, Joe and JT

The start of a wave...











Leroy & Wil

We'll fatten you up some more Leroy...











Chef John Folse autograph

The Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine











Leroy holding official Chitlin Party Shirt

Chitlin eater next year...










My Sweetie and Me

Making life worthwhile every single day...

Turning 65

Where did all the time go? It seems that just yesterday I was in my 50's and only months ago I was in my 30's. All of a sudden I'm retired, on Social Security and Medicare, a member of AARP, and suffer from arthritis. Somewhere along the line I mellowed and realize I'm probably not going to change the world.

Time," it seems, is relative. To what extent I don't know, except that by human standards, there is a beginning and an end. We're born and we die. And until humans invented the clock and calendar, the length of the period in between didn't matter very much. You simply woke up and tried to survive the day. If you did survive, you did the same thing the next day, and the next. If you were lucky you could do this about 10,000 times before you died. I've now done it 23,725 times and I'm still going pretty strong. Or, if I measured my life in hours and minutes and seconds as many humans do, then I have lived 569,400 hours. Or 34,164,000 minutes. Or 2,049,840,000 seconds. A lot of them were wasted in so many ways.

You know that age-old question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Well, I'm now "grown up" and I still don't know what I want to be. I suppose I could answer by saying "rich" or "famous" or "handsome" or "smart" but I think the point of the question is more toward what profession I would have enjoyed as an adult. But all things interest me, none so much that I would want to do it day in and day out for thousands of hours or millions of minutes or billions of seconds. So the hidden answer to that ageless question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" turns out to be, for me at least, "happy." Looking back, I think I have achieved it without ever knowing that it was my ultimate goal.

St. Patricks Day

Top o' th' morn' to ya.

Today is St. Patricks Day, a day when everybody is Irish. (Just what we need is one more excuse to party and drink with abandon.)

At first I thought about smoking a brisket on the Big "Green" Egg but changed my mind. Instead, I think I will make some IBT's (Irish Buffalo Turds). Oh so what if they look and taste like ABT's (Atomic Buffalo Turds)!!! They will be cooked and consummed on St. Patricks Day. For the Irish, that's close enough.

A New Phase of Life

In previous posts I mentioned that I was "semi-retired." That was true then but not now. As of December 31st I notified my customers that I was closing the business and planned to enjoy my retirement. So, officially, I am RETIRED.

It's interesting how I pay no attention to clocks or calendars anymore, well perhaps to make sure I'm at my doctor's appointment on time. Other than that, I don't care if it's Friday or Tuesday or Saturday or 8:00 AM or 1:00 PM. If the weather is nice, and it has been all winter, I may do something outside. If it's raining I have a cup of tea and maybe read a book, or take a nap. If I feel like doing something productive, I do it but on my own terms and my own pace. No pressure.

I think I have easily transitioned myself into the role of "Retiree" and I like it.

The downside of all this is the lack of funds to do everything I would like to do. For example, I really would like to have a custom built paver stone patio and outdoor kitchen. Some of it I might be able to do myself but with a bum knee and some kind of painful foot problem, it won't be done anytime soon. But I've got lots of time.

So here I sit, casually planning my day. The only thing that "Must" be done is feed the fish. Then I think I will do my exercises and maybe have a second cup of coffee. Life is tough on days like this... And I love it.

Hot Air Ballooning

When I was looking up the Sailing photos I happened on some other fond memories. My sweetie gave me a hot air balloon ride one year for my birthday. So cool! Only she would think of something like that.

We lived in Jacksonville, Florida at the time and since we were not into boating anymore, or golfing or fishing there was not much else left to do.

We met up at dawn at Jacksonville University in the Arlington section of Jacksonville. There were three balloons being set up for us and two other couples. We were in the yellow one.

It was interesting to see how the burners blasted hot air into the balloons and gradually they became upright. That's when we boarded and the pilot shot the juice to it. Man, the heat it gave off and the noise was something else, but we started lifting up, up, up, more heat (schuuuuuuu) and up, above the trees and climbing. We were on our way and totally at the mercy of the wind.

We went up about four hundred feet before the pilot decided to change directions. Yep! Total surprise to me that he could control the direction of a balloon. He dropped down about a hundred feet and instead of heading south we were now moving east. Then he took it up a bit and we were headed south again.

It wasn't long before we realized that we would be going directly over our neighborhood. He took it down some and we saw our house only a couple of hundred feet below us. We could hear our dog, Punkin, barking at the sounds of the balloon and we called to her. It was so cool.



Then we went up again and moved once more toward the south. We could see the other balloons going up and down and east and west as they did their own thing. Finally we were near Baymeadows Country Club and the pilot said we would be landing there.

We landed on a fairway that was still wet from the morning dew. We helped deflate the balloon and load it into the chase vehicle then we had our customary glass of champaigne, an old French custom dating back a century or more.

We decided to mosey over to Judy's Mom's apartment a couple of blocks away and surprise her. It was funny seeing the look on her face so early in the morning, especially when she learned that we "floated" in to see her.

It was certainly one of the highlights of our lives and will never be forgotten. Here are a few of the photos we took. We also took some 8 mm movies but they didn't turn out so good.

Sailing

A friend of mine just got a sailboat. I'm really happy for him. He's been wanting one for as long as I've known him. He had this one built special and he can't wait to put it in the water. The only problem is that it's still Winter up where he lives. Cute huh?

Well, his excitement got me to thinking back to when we lived in Miami back in 1976. We thought we would enjoy sailing in Biscayne Bay and perhaps on down the Keys, even to Key West. Never having owned a sailboat and not knowing the first thing about sailing, we took the Coast Guard Class on Sailing. bought a 23' Aquarius and became instant sailors.

It's funny how excited we were about this new adventure and every weekend we looked forward to getting the boat in the water and sailing off into the unknown (unknown because we didn't know much about our new found hobby). Meanwhile, we would clean and wax and practice setting up the mast and taking it down, stowing cargo and anything else we could think of.

We finally got it in the water and our practice paid off. We were sailing. And there were those proud moments when it all came together. Just the two of us or with our friends, sailing, sailing and loving every minute of it.

Even though my Sweetie and Number One Deck Hand probably wondered if we would survive, she seemed to have enjoyed it too.

It was fun but we soon came to realize that we were probably out of our league and we sold the boat. Looking back, I wish we had kept it. At least the adventure could have continued and we just might be real sailors by now.

Fredericksburg Bash

Fredericksburg... A night to remember.

One of the best things about owning a Big Green Egg is hanging out with others who own Big Green Eggs. It is a sight to see whenever there are two or more Eggheads and two or more Big Green Eggs. Such was the case last Tuesday, January 17th, in Fredericksburg Texas where a few friends of Mike "Lawn Ranger" Schweitzer from San Antonio got together to demo Big Green Eggs for the annual University Landscape Managers Conference.

When Mike asked if there were any Eggheads who wanted to volunteer to load their BGE's and drive to Fredericksburg to cook for 140 very hungry guys and gals, hands went up all over the Country. Eventually, a few had to back out for various reasons but we know they were there in spirit. Those who were able to come included Molly Shark, Sandbagger, One Shot One Kill, Mr. Popsicle and wife, GrillMeister, and Spring Chicken and Spring Hen, all from Texas, and SSN686 and wife all the way from Brandon, Florida. All experienced Eggers.

It also gave me an opportunity to show off my new small Big Green Egg and the transporter/cooking center I made special for the occasion.

Spring Chicken's Traveling Cooking Center

We lit our Eggs about 4:00 PM and cooked as hard as we could go until almost midnight for some obviously very hungry folks while a genuine German Ummpaaa Band played on. We also answered questions about the Big Green Egg and what makes it so special as a cooking tool. I think we created a lot of fans and possibly some future Big Green Egg owners.

Sandbagger and GrillMeister

Our assortment of food included ABT's, Beef Kabobs, Smoked Sausage on Pretzel Sticks, Chicken Teryaki on a Skewer, two or three kinds of shrimp, Wok Scallops, Pork Tenderloin, Rum Soaked Fruit Kabobs, Honey Maple Salmon and Pork Medallions.

Beef Kabobs

In addition, the night was just right for enjoying plenty of liquid refreshment. After abstaining for over two weeks a rum and coke tasted really good. So did six or seven others and I got a little "under the weather" so to speak. But I had fun.

Still Going After Six Hours

I can't wait until May when it's time for the 2006 Texas Eggfest in Austin. We've reserved a 26' camper trailer this time and will tow it from here.

New Big Green Egg

My Sweetie gave me a new Big Green Egg (small) for Christmas and it just came in today. By the afternoon I had it assembled and ready for cooking dinner. Here it is sitting on next to my large Big Green Egg.

I've been wanting a small BGE so we can take it with us sometimes. The large is much too heavy for easy transport although many Eggheads do it. The small is perfect because it only weighs 65 pounds.

Here it is sitting on the Spring Chicken Small Egg Transporter/Cooking Center. Notice the legs and feet.

Here it is serving as a transporter. Notice the cork padding under the Egg and felt band around the Egghole.

It came in just in time for us to take it to Fredericksburg, Texas next Tuesday for a demo for a group of landscapers. A fellow Egghead and friend is hosting the event and wanted the group to sample some of the food cooked on Big Green Eggs. There will be other Eggheads there to feed the 140+ crowd during their meet and greet party.

Now I will have to redesign my BGE Cooking Center to accommodate both of my Eggs.