Saturday, June 27th, 2009
Yesterday, I was humming away, working outside and minding my own business when the sky started getting dark. I kept on working until the sky was a little too dark for my liking. I grabbed my tools and walked into the garage.
About five minutes later, the sky fell. It was crazy. The wind picked up and there was like a sheet of rain falling from above. Then, the hail started. I am so glad the cars were in the garage because I am almost sure they would have been all dented up from the hail. Some pieces were really big. They were actually bouncing off the grass and rolling down the front yard.
The storm lasted for about 15 minutes and then slowed down. I looked outside and there was a complete mess. Leaves everywhere. There are now holes in many of our plant leaves because of the hail.
Everything was cool for a while and then the power went out. It just came back on this morning. Ugh. That really stunk.
Here are some pictures. I didn’t get any of the big hail, but my brother’s verbal abuse will make me remember for next time.
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Hartford, CT hail storm – hail on ground
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Hail falling on back porch – some serious hailing
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Saturday, June 27th, 2009
I have some disappointing news for you. There will be no wood burning stove. Not now and probably not ever. Oh well.
I called the fireplace guy yesterday and told him that I wanted to go ahead with the install. We were at the point of having my debit card in hand for the deposit, when I started digging into the necessary clearances. I hadn’t looked all that hard at these because I thought it was very straight forward…pop a free standing wood burning stove into the fireplace. Done deal. Right?
Not so fast. Apparently, the manufacturers of these stoves want huge clearances from any combustibles. We have space, but not the space the stove people want. I decided throw my hands in the air and say that I just don’t care. haha.
My new project is to figure out a way to make the existing fireplace more efficient. My brother and father mentioned to me that there was something called a “Tube Fireplace Heater.” Click here to see what I’m talking about.
Also, I wouldn’t mind getting some ceramic, tighter fitting glass doors. That would be cool. An outside air vent would be the icing on the cake.
So, even though my little project of getting a wood burning stove fell through, I still have some things to think about. And, after all, that’s what keeps me going.
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Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
So my brother is in town again. He is here for a week and (at times) likes to see me. I guess he loves me. That’s nice, because I like to see him too.
Last night, we decided to go out to eat at Houlihan’s up in Glastonbury. I kind of like that place and the food is good. The only problem was that when I pulled into the Houlihan’s parking lot, the place was closed. I have no idea why. I sure hope they didn’t go out of business or something like that. My brother was in his car waiting for me. I drove around to meet him and told him that I had another place in mind right down the road.
We drove down Glastonbury Boulevard and made a right into the J. Gilbert’s parking lot. I have actually been wanting to go to this restaurant for some time because it looks pretty cool from outside. I always see a packed parking lot, so I usually avoid it. Last night I wanted to give it a shot.
We walked into the restaurant and found that even though there was a full parking lot, there were a whole bunch of tables open. I guess many of the cars belonged to people who liked to hang out in the bar area.
Okay, so here is my review of the restaurant:
- Good service, good atmosphere, good food, decent drinks
- Definitely not worth the money
Between the two of us, we spent over $100. That’s just crazy because all we had were two drinks, two salads, two entrees and two desserts. The entrees were “light,” if you know what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, everything was very tasty, but a little sliver of this and just a few of that doesn’t really explain the $25 plus price tag for the entree. That kind of ticks me off, because I was freakin’ starving last night. I wanted to be fed.
Listen, if you are an independent restaurant and have a really talented head chef who brought his or her own menu with them when they arrived, go for it and charge an arm and a leg for what you’re serving. The average diner doesn’t know how to put a price tag on that. I am thinking of our last dinner up at the Mayflower Inn. It was so unique it was incredible. I wish I took a picture of it.
But, if you are a chain restaurant, don’t charge so much. What’s going to happen is you are going to get a lot of one time customers who leave to never come back. Eh hem.
I gotta tell you again, really nice restaurant, great service, good food, okay drinks, but no way worth the money.
And, that’s my review.
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Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
That’s a pretty good question. I thought four tons was more than enough. I think that’s 200 bags. Here’s the kicker…it’s February 22 and we only have 30 bags left.
In the last house, I bought two tons per season and we had about a half of a ton left over towards the end of winter. This time, we get four tons and will run out in early March? What gives?
Well, first of all, the last house was smaller. Second of all, we didn’t run the stove all day while we weren’t there. I don’t think there is a third of all.
Since I am a man of many plans, I devised one to handle this situation. Next week some time, I am going to run out to Home Depot to get 10 bags or so of wood pellets. That should get us through most of March. Then, we’ll just burn wood in the fireplace as the temperature gets warmer outside. For next season, I am going to buy five tons of wood pellets (and not give any away to my brother).
How many tons of wood pellets do you usually use?
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Saturday, February 7th, 2009
I’m not sure if I am using the correct terminology here. I am not talking about some sortable photo gallery plug-in with tons of features. What I am talking about it the “Gallery” feature that comes with the Wordpress package that allows you to place thumbnails into your post.
I just found this today. I know, I am probably the last person on earth to realize this was even available. I was going through an old post about Luray, VA. My brother took a bunch of photos a while back that I posted here. Basically, I wanted people to see what the area looked like. I noticed that I didn’t put any captions in the photos, so I clicked the “Add an image” button, just to see if those photos were stored somehow. They were and there were a few tabs that I hadn’t noticed before in the pop-up window. One of them said, “Gallery.” Mind you, this tab only appears if there are photos already uploaded.
I clicked the link and saw all the photos. Each photo had a link next to it that showed its properties. I still had the option of adding captions and all that. At the bottom of the list of photos, I noticed some neat little options that let you post all of the uploaded photos for that post as a gallery. How sweet. I chose the number of columns I wanted to see in my post, the order of the photos, how I wanted each photo to show when it was clicked and hit “Insert gallery.”
Take a look below for an example gallery. I found some random pet photos to post. Be sure to click each photo for a larger view.
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Simon sleeping on top of Jambalaya
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Simon lounging around
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Mickels on the grass
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Simon getting all nestled in
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Mr. Quack stopping by to say hello
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Flipperhumanbodyman laying on bed
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Simon licking Michaels ear
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Holly looking through door waiting to come inside
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Michael sleeping on the floor
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Holly and Simon sleeping on the floor
What is the benefit of putting your photos in gallery form? Well, for one, your page will load a heck of a lot faster. Also, you will give your readers more of a choice. They can click what they want and ignore the rest. You know, I am all about reader satisfaction.
(Well, this isn’t the greatest example. I had to adjust the “medium” picture size to fit the screen better. Now, you have to options. You can click the thumbnail, which will bring you to a medium sized photo. Then, you can click that photo for a full sized photo. In this post, the medium sized photos are too small. They will be correct in later posts.)
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Friday, January 16th, 2009
If you have gone outside over the past couple of days, you may have noticed that it’s fairly cold out there. It doesn’t really feel much colder than it normally does for this time of year, but the time-to-being-frozen is a heck of a lot shorter.
Being this cold really isn’t my cup of tea. The house is a little colder than it normally is, which makes my arms numb when I type on the computer. It’s not that cold in here…I’m just sensitive. Also, we can’t really go outside walking, which gets on my nerves. Anything under 20 degrees is usually our cutoff.
Since this is such a drop from our regular average temperature, I was wondering what the average temperature usually is around here for this time of year. I did a quick search for “hartford, ct average temperatures” and came across this website. Basically, this is what I was looking for.
The website tells me that January’s average temperature in Hartford, CT is usually 25.7F. That’s not too bad. I was telling my brother last night that when it hits 20 degrees again at night, it’s going to be like a heat wave.
If you want to check your town’s average temperature, just visit the website I linked to above and click the logo in the upper left corner. From there, you will be able to locate your state and city to see what you are up against.
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Sunday, December 28th, 2008
I just got off the phone with my brother. It’s like talking to myself. No, he doesn’t always copy me, he’s just a lot like me. Or, I’m a lot like him. He’s a few years older, but I’m taller, so I call him “little brother.”
Anyway, we were talking about how damn dark it is outside. I almost screamed. He gets an extra half hour of light at the end of the day, but that wasn’t what I was getting mad at. I was hating the dark – period. What is up with this? Why don’t the “people in charge” just give us daylight savings time all year round? I mean, seriously, who would care?
I was telling him that my ideal situation would be mowing the lawn at 9PM. Now, that’s what I’m talking about. I want it to get dark at around 10PM. I want to be drinking a beer, watching the sun go down when all the little kiddies in the town have been asleep for an hour already.
These days feel so short. I know they’re not, but what in the world am I supposed to do with all this darkness? My logical mind tells me to find something to do in the dark. Yeah, right. What does everyone else do? That’s what I’d like to know. What in the world does everyone in this world do during winter? Is it me, or is the vast majority of our population sitting on the couch from 6PM to 11PM watching TV to only fall asleep a few minutes later? Does it feel like ground hog day all winter for everyone?
Boy, I’m on a tear tonight. I think it’s because when I got off the phone, the clock read 9:56PM. I thought it was around 7PM. Almost 3 hours of my life just disappeared. I’m not going to get those hours back folks, and I blame this darkness for it.
Sunshine, I know I cursed you in the summer, but I’m sorry. I want you back. Please give me another chance.
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Thursday, November 20th, 2008
We got about 20 steps away from the car when I noticed the Christmas lights on the trees at Somerset Square. “Oh yeah, can we go back to get the camera?” I asked Laura. I thought I would ask nicely, even though I was already headed back.
Can you imagine me out and about, not attached to my camera? If the shoe were on the other foot, I would probably be pretty annoyed by this point. When you’re 10 years deep with someone, you tend to let things slide a little. With my personality, a lot slides.
We did a little shopping up at Pottery Barn this afternoon. I went up to finish purchasing the office furniture. I made a little list. It was on my Blackberry…another annoying trait, I’m sure…Blackberry-itis. Either way, it came in handy. My list was this: small table, floor lamp, garbage pail and mouse pad. I knew I could get everything but the mouse pad at Pottery Barn. Perhaps I would pick that up another day. Can you believe I have had my hands on like 50 mouse pads in my life and have none to speak of? I worry that I am going to put a dull “circle” in my new desk from rubbing the mouse around directly on the wood. Either I get a big piece of glass for the top of the entire desk or I get a mouse pad. I think the mouse pad with do.
We went in to Pottery Barn and looked around a little. It’s always the way…when you go in for something in particular, you seem to wander around aimlessly for a long time. If you go in with no money in your pocket, you want everything in the store after 10 minutes. After a while, I decided that I really didn’t need another table, since the desk and cabinet I already bought still sit empty. Also, the wicker garbage can was $57. Laura’s response said it all when I told her the price. “What?” Okay, forget that one, I’m no fool.
I settled on a nice Chelsea Floor Lamp Base with a medium shade. It’s funny, Pottery Barn sells the lamp bases and the lamp shades separately. Sorry, I’m used to Home Depot.
We thought an hour was long enough in that store, so we left. We wandered over to Williams-Sonoma for some kitchen items I had on another list. Out came the Blackberry again. By this point, I began hiding it. I hate people with Blackberrys. Seriously. I don’t want to turn into that guy, but folks, it’s getting very difficult for me. There honestly are good reasons for using it.
I mainly needed things to assist me in making my next pizza. I have a killer herb pizza recipe and it is a true winner. The only problems I have are rolling out the dough, grating the cheese and slicing the pizza. Oh, that’s all. So, with that in mind, I picked up a rolling pin, a cheese grater and a pizza cutter. I also got a nifty french fry cutter that I have been wanting for the longest time. I make a mean sweet potato fry.
There, the items on my lists were all crossed off.
We left.
Half way back the the highway, I said, “Ooof, I totally forget to take you to lunch.” That had been my plan all along, but unfortunately, that wasn’t in my Blackberry. Oh well.
A few thoughts very quickly flew through my head…”Maybe I can get away with it and we can just eat something at the house,” and “Maybe we can quickly pick up some takeout,” and “Maybe we can just eat tomorrow,” but finally I thought, “Jay, stop being such a dirtbag and take the girl out to lunch.” Ladies, we all think it, I’m just the only one who has the guts to write it.
I tried, I really tried to get to Glastonbury in one shot. Nope, couldn’t do it. I must say, the roads around here are a little tough if you have no idea where you are going. I do use the GPS, but if you have absolutely no idea of what direction you are driving in, it’s very hard to get places. I haven’t been able to “orientate” myself yet. It’s the whole “84″ and “384″ thing that throws me. It seems like there are a bunch of “off ramps” that turn immediately into “on ramps.” Do you know the kind? I don’t think anyone handles them well. I do, but when I am driving on the regular highway and someone is trying to get off one and I am trying to get on one, it seems like we just drive side by side staring at one another until I force them to slow down and I miss the on ramp. I have done this a million times. I did it again today. You think I would learn.
Anyway, I was coming back from Manchester, trying to go to Glastonbury and ended up on the other side of the river. Go ahead Liz, laugh. I know you already are. I am sure you can also imagine my face turning red while I was cursing out all the stupid drivers who caused me to end up in this mess.
We made it to Glastonbury Boulevard at about 4PM. I really wanted to take my lady to Houlihan’s for a late lunch. We turned down the road and I started getting my swagger back. “Oh yeah sweetheart, here we come. I hope your taste buds are turned on because this handsome old man is…what, Houlihan’s is closed? Oh MAAAAAN!!!” We drove past a few other restaurants and finally learned that these places are dinner restaurants, not lunch and dinner ones.
Since we were an hour early, I had a few thoughts run through my mind again, but I won’t put you through that again. We thought that a little food shopping at Whole Foods would help pass the time. I also secretly decided to take her to Max Fish, instead of Houlihan’s. That was my little bit of trickery and deceit. We spent about about a half hour at Whole Foods and the next half hour walking around Somerset Square in the cold. The cold felt really good against my face, strangely enough.
To make a long story short, we ate at Max Fish. Here are a few pics of the event:
Somerset Square with Christmas lights
Christmas lights on tree
Max Fish in Glastonbury, CT
Inside Max Fish in Glastonbury, CT
Max Fish business card
I hope you don’t mind, but I am going to offer a short review of both Max Fish and Houlihan’s. Here we go…
When my brother and I left Houlihan’s over the Summer, I told him that I just ate one of the best meals of my life. It was really incredible. I went and told Laura about it and have been trying to get her to come back with me ever since. In the meantime, my brother and I went back to the restaurant and basically ate the same meals again. Since they were no surprise to us, the first time may have seemed a bit more satisfying.
This evening’s meal at Max Fish was delicious. There is no doubt about it. After we left and began driving in the car, I started thinking out loud. I thought, “You know, I just basically ate the same thing I ate over at Houlihan’s, but Houlihan’s was half the price. The Ceasar Salad over at Houlihan’s was actually better than Max Fish too. If I want to go out for a beer, I will go to either restaurant, but if I want to eat, I am going back to Houlihan’s. The tables at Houlihan’s were much bigger as well.”
There you have it folks, the strangest restaurant review ever given. And to think, it only took a half hour of reading to get to it.
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Thursday, November 6th, 2008
Now, I know this isn’t nearly as exciting as politics, but it’s important nonetheless.
I got a trailer hitch.
I went over to Home Depot the other day with another $100 gift card that I earned from my debit/credit card points. I wanted to pick up some stakes for the new baby pine trees that are due to arrive soon as well as some programmable thermostats.
On the way over, I said to myself, “Hey man, why don’t I pick up that trailer hitch I have been thinking about too?” Then, after I agreed to myself in the affirmative, I though, “Jay, you are wicked fine.” See folks, this is why I use this as my personal blog.
I did my thing and picked up the other products that I might write about later on. I then walked over to the hardware isle, where they keep the trailer hitches. I saw some pretty cool stuff over there. I found the hitch that I wanted and then took one look at the pin that goes through the assembly. The pin wasn’t bad, it was just that cheap little clip that held the pin in that made me pause from concern.
Reese Towpower Trailer Hitch
I decided that the cheap little clip wasn’t doing it for me, so I picked up one of the locking ones instead. At least this way I know it’s not going to fall out while pulling my cargo. You can see what I am talking about in the photo above. The keys are hanging out of the pin.
Reese Towpower Trailer Hitch on BMW X5
I am putting this photo up for my brother to see. He warned me that I didn’t get enough of a drop. I told him that the drop was sufficient because the hitch itself wasn’t that high. There is a two inch drop on this hitch. Basically, I just wanted to point out the height of the hitch from the ground.
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Monday, October 27th, 2008
I think that’s a myth. There’s no such thing. I’m sure people go out to do a big cleanup every Autumn…you know the kind, when the kids jump in the huge piles of leaves, but it’s unrealistic to think that you don’t have to keep cleaning all season long.
I have already done two big cleanups. Each time, I blew out all the gardens, I mowed the lawn and sucked up all the leaves. I also got up all the twigs off the grass. I am betting that I have to do this at least one more time, if I want to get things really clean.
You know, I guess I can just forget about the whole thing and wait until Spring. That would be a problem because, besides having the place look bad, trying to get wet leaves up the Spring time is a much more difficult task.
All I have to say is I love you Stihl and John Deere. If I didn’t have this blower and ride-on mower with the bagger, I would be up…well, in a very annoying position. I couldn’t imagine trying to rake this entire yard and then mow it with the push mower. I suppose I could do it, but I really wouldn’t be doing too much else in life because of the time it would take.
Can a guy get grass obsessed?
Grass
I believe so.
Hey, I’m not the only one out there who cares about the grass so much. Do you know how much money people spend on lawn care every year? A whole lot, that’s how much. Those nice even green lawns don’t come cheap. The trick is to get them even and green in the first place. Keeping them that way is the easy part. When you’re just a novice like I am, the learning curve can be kind of steep. My main problem was identifying the problem. Now that I know what’s going on, I can correct it. The bad part is that it’s probably going to take until next Autumn to get things looking good. That makes for a very long Spring and Summer for a guy who sits on the front steps looking at the grass.
You really should see it though. When I am done driving around like a crazy man sucking up those leaves, the whole place looks like I just vacuumed it. It’s so cool. I get such a kick out of these toys.
Even my brother got a nice back-pack blower. He couldn’t deal with his 10 year old Craftsman hand-held, so he went out and got a big one. He told me just last night that he got done in 5 minutes what would have taken an hour with the other one, if it did the job at all. Hey, when you have a lot of leaves…
Sky at dusk
I know why people say that Autumn is their favorite time of year. It is simply spectacular. Even when many of the leaves are already off the trees, nothing beats a nice warm Autumn day.
We have been doing a lot of hiking and walking. Sometimes, I just stop in the middle of the trail and smell the air. There are only certain times of the year we can do this and I like to enjoy it. There is nothing like it.
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