Smarties Bar & Grill #76

I spent $3000 .... on a PU with A/C AND a heater. It'll be the first time in 10 to 15 years I've had that on my daily driver!

 

I want solar powered AC. The thought of the hot sun keeping me cool. I put on a reflective roof on the house. It cools it down considerable. We use no AC.

 

Well, on the road to recovery from back surgery on Dec 15.

Meanwhile, Hoover the Cat had been ailing for about 2 months, and passed on Sunday morning. I was at the work flop house (no stairs) and he was up at home. My heart hurts that I wasn't there for him....

 

According to some of my acquaintances, solar has improved to where it might run refrigeration equipment. I think we'll be dependent on the electric company for awhile...

it goes triple digit heat here starting in April and persist until September

 

You don’t see a cheese wheel in USA stores . I was in charge of the beer purchasing ,I chose a case of Dos Equis and a case of imported beer, Shiner Bock. I guess that that and shots from the tequila we keep on hand (for medicinal purposes) should insure a very merry Christmas.
Wishing y’all the best Christmas too, and a prosperous New Year. Or as we say ‘round here “Feliz Navidad y un Ano Nuevo prospero ”

 

I have been on a Jai Laia beer kick. Made by cigar City brewing company in ybor Florida.

Ybor is an old historic section in Tampa Florida where the Cubans used to roll cigars. Now it's just a bunch of nightclubs surrounded by ghetto and a great place to get robbed as you stumble out of the club drunkenly at 2:00 a.m.

It's a pretty stout IPA that tastes like grapefruit and has a 7 and 1/2% alcohol content.

I only drink it on my nights off because normally I drink bush which is only a humble 4.7%

I told my old lady that we were drinking fancy beer that's imported all the way from Tampa 100 mi north of here. Lol.

Speaking of my old lady.... She got a pet scan last week and we saw her surgeon in fort Myers yesterday and she is officially cancer free! Happy happy!!!

I was very worried because she has been having some soreness and swelling of the jaw and neck area lately and it was somewhat hard and I was very much afraid that it was a resurgence of the cancer.

And then we went to the shrimp shack and had dinner. If you're ever in fort Myers around the Daniels parkway be sure to look it up! I absolutely hate going there because it's a 53 Mile drive and it's not the drive that's so bad but it's the last 15 miles of fort Myers traffic.

 

A fun fact about the sport of Jai laia..... It hails from the Bosque region of Spain. The ball is made of woven metal strands covered with goat skin.... And yes, I did have to look that up on Wikipedia out of curiosity.

It's popular in Miami and it's a sport like greyhound racing or horse racing that people only give a damn about because they gamble on.

I think it's pretty cool because they use a straw basket known as a wicket to sling the ball in speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour. I'm sure it takes an incredible amount of skill to play it effectively

 

Glad to hear your Lady is cancer free! That is a tough one to deal with.

 

I have to give her credit because she's much tougher than I am. If I went through something like that I would probably pack my tent and a gun and go on a canoe trip up River somewhere and not come home.

We finally started seeing pain management last month and she's got some actual pain drugs so she can live life to some degree.

We had asked her surgeon on a previous follow-up appointment if he would refill her prescription and he was all like.... Oh no, no no we got to get you off of those we don't want you getting addicted to those.

If anyone had a legitimate need for opiates it would be someone like her. Jesus Christ it's like an act of Congress to get any pain drugs.

 

It seems like they are over reacting to the opioid issues. While there will always be people who abuse them, and unfortunately I know several, those who truly need them have to have an act of congress to get them.

I had back surgery last week, specifically told them no opiates. The anesthesiologist had to think about that, and came up with a solution. The hospital pharmacy still dispensed Tramadol, though a weak opiate, it's still an opiate. I won't take it. I've been taking a rotation of Aleve and Extra Strength Tylenol, and it's working pretty well. Your Lady is obviously a prime candidate for something way stronger, hopefully they can come up with a solution.

 

She's on 5 mg of liquid oxycodone 4x in 24 hours. Seems to be adequate. Hope your healing process is going well.

 

I hope you and yours has a Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.

Can you lessen some of the pain from inflation by shopping Mexico? Has any of the inflation we are experiencing traveled south?

 

Merry Christmas !!

 

Hit them every bit as hard..
still , prices remain lower on many things than in the USA. We noticed the corn tortillas aren't the same quality as before. But many of the food basics, frijoles and tortillas, are subsidized by the govenrment. WE Cut back, but it is hardly noticeable, I guess we eat a few more tortillas and frijoles..and we never did eat out much, but even that we've cut back on.

 

My wife just had a biopsy and the removal of a lymph node. I ask the doctor to give her some good pain killers and he did. She even has some left over.

 

Happy Solstice everyone.

 

I've been working short hours this week, and my Dr was not thrilled that I was working at all. I sit in a chair and type on a keyboard, get up every hour and do a lap around the office. I seem to be progressing well.

My biggest concern is the Christmas baking over the next few days - I'm off tomorrow, and I figure one maybe two items item per day - tomorrow, Rosette cookies, Saturday Apple Cake (gifts for neighbors) and cheesecake, Sunday morning the raspberry sauce for the cheesecake. I'll just need to take many breaks or find myself a tall stool to use at the stove.

If I don't get back here, Merry Christmas to you all, may you find peace and joy in the comfort of those you care about.

 

How could we possible forget Solstice? Winter is officially here. The next season will be spring and some warm weather.

 

Don't overdo just because you feel you can doesn't mean you should..

Hope you have a speedy recovery with no complications.

Most of all a very Merry Christmas, a Happy and healthy New Year.

 

I hope your wife is getting along great. Whatever reason they removed a lymph node I hope everything was fine and she is doing great.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.

 

I have turned into a bargain shopper for real, I always looked for bargains but now it is a must do.

 

Missed my 10 year anniversary here, back in March! Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and all the jazz in between to all of you!

 

HO HO to you ... ​

 

~ The dumbing-down of American society continues unabated ...