Tag: food

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Family life

Another end of the year is upon us

I can’t believe that 2024 will soon be over and 2025 will be upon us. I will soon be another year older. I will be 64. I am entering what I often refer to as my third act on this planet. Sadly, I am still working. But, I am pretty sure that this will be my last. As I no longer enjoy it, I am finding getting up every day a difficult task. The reasons that I worked so hard are gone. The enjoyment I once felt is just no longer there.

Wow! Thanksgiving came and went. And in typical fashion, I spent the day doing chemistry, creating yet another tasty meal. One thing that I have

learned over the years is that cooking might be easier if I have the proper tools. Must have been the wine that got me through the day. So for Christmas, I splurged and bought myself all new pots and pans for cooking. That certainly came in handy when I cooked the Christmas day meal. Over the years, I have found that I certainly let food dictate elements

of my life. Certainly a possibility for when I retire is to combine food with travel, besides other themes.

I also found myself more in the Christmas spirit this year. I do not know why! I decorated both inside and outside the house compared to other

years. Pretty sure that I was not dreaming of a White Christmas. After all, how many people celebrate Christmas with a display that includes an inflatable Grinch. Added a few new nutcrackers to the collection and the kids got me a new ornament for the tree.

I sit here this Sunday morning. I am enjoying my first cup of coffee. The mug was made by my daughter. I am also savoring a Nonna Randazzo’s King Cake from New Orleans. This delicious treat is a Christmas gift from my sister. Son got me a coffee roaster and beans that I will soon have to

try. And I have always wondered if one can grow coffee beans in New Mexico? An entrepreneurial twist to retirement? If anything, I certainly need to get to Mardi Gras sometime.

Having wrapped up a weeks vacation over Christmas. Getting ready for a second weeks vacation over New Years. Not much planned with the kids off from school and home. Roman stayed behind in Colorado for daughter’s Christmas break from college. The weather has been great. It is getting into the upper 40’s during the day. There is no sight of snow on the horizon. I have found myself sleeping in until 6am instead of my normal 3am start of the day. Soon the sun will be up, expected to reach the low 50’s today. Will take Jewel out for her morning walk shortly. As the year ends, trust all is well with everyone. Soon 2025 will be upon us. Let’s hope that it is a better year than the last.

Categories
the week in review

…and its the last Monday of 2021.

Happy Holidays everyone. I trust you all had a warm and Merry Christmas. And now your thoughts turn ahead to the new year. I certainly hope for COVID to be gone in the new year. I found myself up at my usual time today and practiced my same routine: shower, get dressed, make coffee, and take the dog for a walk.

Outside it is cold and windy. There is some snow on the mountains above Los Alamos and Santa Fe. And there is snow in the forecast for today. As I sit writing this post, I noticed that the sun is shining outside.

For me it was a very uneventful Christmas. I believe that this was the first time that I had the kids stay over on Christmas eve. It has been a short 9 years (give or take) since the divorce. My first Christmas in awhile that I did not awake alone in this quiet house.

And so we awoke Christmas day to open presents and then feed the horses. As I have in past years, son and I put the tree up about 14 days before Christmas. For the past 5 years we have always put the tree in the same place. Unfortunately, this causes us to displace the dogs bed, which causes confusion with Jewel. She thinks that she is somehow in trouble and it clearly upsets her visibly.

The tree…and the stockings. Christmas 2021.

I certainly go for the minimalist look at Christmas time in terms of lights and decorations. Especially outside where this year I think that it was bells, a wreath, some canes with lights and an inflatable Grinch (my personal favorite). Of course, nothing brings yuletide greetings better than a visit to the local Starbucks for some coffee…

A lazy Sunday before Christmas.

Christmas is always another time for me to practice Chemistry. This year was Herb-Garlic crusted prime rib, a roasted Honey-root vegetable medley, baked potatoes, fruit cocktail and ice cream. The kids enjoyed the food, as did I, in terms of the preparing as well as the consuming.

Prime Rib on Christmas Eve 2021.

On Christmas day, we awoke to a cold and windy day, with some kids sleeping in until 7 am. Presents were opened, and I find it interesting to note that the kids actually had a theme for this year in terms of the gifts that they got me…

They try to get me to tell them which one is my favorite!

Hopefully it will be a quiet week. Had thought long and hard about going somewhere but looking at the inability to get travel arrangements on airplanes and the spike in COVID made that an easy decision.

Thinking that maybe I’ll spend the week cleaning up around the house, and do some reading. Not feeling too inspired or wanting to get out.

Looked at the postings over the year. Yes my son has changed clothes and although he is wearing the same shirt at Christmas Ever dinner as he did at Thanksgiving dinner, I can say he was delighted that school was out for a couple of weeks. Daughter is finally able to ride Roman and they both are starting a conditioning regime. So that has her smiling of late.

As for me…another year is winding down. I am still reading Atlas Shrugged, but I might work on that this week. I survived another year at work, but I am pretty sure that this will be my last. Managed to purchase some additional Made in the USA blue jeans, and now I am looking to get some shoes and dress shirts.

Oh how I wish that I posted more this year. Alas, I did not. Clear that as I ponder the postings, I see that my life revolves around work, horses, kids and the dog. I certainly think about a great many thing, but few of those thoughts actually get posted here. Most of my political rants get posted on Facebook, often after reading about things on a variety of web sites.

It’s Monday and so I’ll spend some time looking for investment ideas for the new year. Themes to put my savings so that they may grow at a rate greater than the inflation that the year had brought upon us. It is now over $50 to fill the gas tank, which is up 20% since this time last year.

Until next time…

Categories
ramblings of a madman

…out on the town.

Last night, and again this morning, I managed to get away for a few hours from sitting around the house. No vegging out on TV. No reading. No cooking, cleaning, or eating. I met up with a coworker and we went out for some food and drink. Now if you are familiar with Los Alamos, you quickly understand that there isn’t much in the way of choices, especially on the weekends.

My coworker, who is wrapping up about 30 years at Los Alamos, is moving. His plan is to vacate his place of residence, move back east for the holidays and when the new year starts, spend some time on a change of station with the DOE (Department of Energy) in Washington DC.

The downside, from my perspective, is that I will be missing a coworker who was part of my coffee cabal. No more conversation about work, bad managers, great coffee, discussions about science, economics, or whatever.

My task to get a life will become more and more…however you want to describe it.

We had planned to both retire this year, and now he is off for a few more years in the land of make believe. And I will be here, soon starting on my 32 year in the Land of Enchantment.

So the afternoon’s festivities started by walking to a local drinking establishment. We chose Boese Brothers Brewpub, which was only a half mile walk from our perspective abodes. I have been to this establishment several times, especially in the summer months, as they set tables outside in the grass and on the sidewalk. Usually go there with another coworker, but I can save those stories for another day.

Screenshot 2021-12-12 at 12-16-28 Boese Bros Brewpub – Los Alamos

There were a couple of basketball games on the TV screen’s when we entered. Largely empty but there were about a half a dozen people there when we arrived. It was too cold to sit outside so we grabbed a table and ordered the Double Dead Red, an advertised red ale at about 8% alcohol. Not too hoppy but tasty. As we were conversing, and our waitress was wondering whether we would have food with our libations, she mention about a new establishment right next door, which served cocktails. Neither one of us was aware of it and thought we would check it out. As the dinner hour progressed, we each consumed two of those, along with a sandwich the had chicken, green chili and other fixings. My friend had the panini and I had the club. After about 2 hours of food and drink, it started to fill up and we were ready for more adventure.

With that, we moved on to the next establishment for cocktails. Upon entering the place, we spied several coworkers who had gathered for somebody’s birthday. We didn’t join them but certainly noticed that the place wasn’t very full. This place, right next door, opened about a month ago in Los Alamos. Called the Long Pour, it is a cocktail bar that serves drinks made from vodka, agave spirit, gin and bourbon that are being crafted at the Boese Brothers’ distillery in Albuquerque. I had mentioned to my friend that I thought that would be an excellent side-gig after retirement, one which I could put chemistry to practice.

Had we bothered to read the local on-line news paper, we would have learned that the establishment has been open for about a month…

https://ladailypost.com/long-pour-cocktail-bar-opens-downtown-tuesday/

The Boese Brothers now have opened several establishments in the state, as I was able to explore as I wrote this post. One can find more about their efforts here:

Boese Brothers takes advantage of slower times to add something new to its menu

Obviously the next time I venture off to Santa Fe, I will have to check out Desert Dogs.

So after another couple of hours and more libations, we vowed to return and managed to walk home after venturing out on the town. Parted company and agreed to meet up the next day for Sunday coffee.

While I mentioned that my friend was moving, I failed to mention that he provided me with some books from his vast collection that he is downsizing as he contemplates his move.

Some classic works of literature now added to my collection. Great reading for the throne.

I am pretty sure that the “dear Asshole” will be very worthwhile as I contemplate work over the next few months.

As Sunday morning came along, I found myself out and about, walking to the coffee establishment in town, as I have come to do on many weekends where I do not have the kids. Of course, it is getting cold, snow in the higher elevations, and the local celebrities were out and about…

The two geese who call the pond home…Homer and Edna.

I introduced TheMcKeeSpot Readers to Homer and Edna in a previous posting (August 8, 2021). Water was cold, some ice in spots, but there they were, just floating(?) in the water at Ashley Pond. I passed them on my way to Starbucks. There I had some coffee, Pikes Place I think, and my friend showed up for more conversation. As it was over coffee, the topic often focused on work.

Out of the house, exercise walking about town. Food and libations. All in the span of a single weekend. Some of my readers might think that I was getting a social life outside of kids and horses. Well let’s see what tomorrow brings. Until next time…

Categories
the week in review

Wow. I cannot believe it is autumn already.

I can feel it in the air. The morning air has a bit of a chill. The leaves already have a tinge of orange color in them. College football occupies the weekends. It isn’t getting into the mid 80’s in the afternoon like it did just a few weeks ago. And friends on Facebook have already posted photos of snow in the mountains of Colorado.

As for me, it has been 43 days since my last posting. Much has happened with myself and the clan since the last positing.

As a nation, we remembered the tragedy of September 11. My son turned another year older. My daughter got another horse. The horse went down with colic, had surgery and is on the slow road to recovery. Stall rest for at least 3 months.

Welcome Roman…aka License to Thrill.

For me, it was long hours at work. Work continues to just be bad. I no longer want to be there. I was going crazy and needed a break.

In some ways, we were still being locked out of normal because of COVID. That also was taking its toll on my mental and physical psyche.

The positive happening during these past 43 days was that I had enough and took a much needed vacation. I was obviously going crazy. The stress was just getting to me and I needed to get away. Thinking back, except for short excursions over a weekend, a few days here and there, I really had not had a true vacation in years.

It was long overdue.

So I left. I hoped on an airplane and went for a trip. Went back east to the garden state of New Jersey. I enjoyed some of the best food New Jersey has to offer…

Something that just is not available in New Mexico.

I got to see some old friends…

Yes it is a Friday night high school football game. My college roommates son was playing.

Odd that I flew to New Jersey, only to drive to Pennsylvania to watch a high school football game. Priceless!

And I got to listen to some great music…

Yes. I was able to catch Pearl Jam after three years (along with 35000 other people), and spend an evening with The Smashing Pumpkins. Outstanding performances by both. Not to mention other performances spanning several musical genre. It was great music…in a great location…

on the beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

It was a good substitute for the Telluride Brews and Blues Festival. Beer, music, food. What more could I ask for? I was able to get out, see the ocean, see the beach, and relax.

I also managed to visit some other interesting places in New Jersey as I drove along the ocean…

I have always had a thing about lighthouses.

Sun, good food, a good book and relaxation. Yes I am still trying to finish reading Atlas Shrugged after all these years. It was a memorable trip, one that I will have to make again. It was great to reconnect with some old friends, whom I thank for taking the time out of their busy schedules to enjoy food and conversation, even if it was a brief moment.

And if this trip served as a prelude for retirement, then I am there.