Birthday Lunch

For lunch on my birthday Jack took me to The Fish House Restaurant. It's at Seville Harbor Marina in downtown Pensacola. Always a good meal. And a pleasant view of Pensacola Bay and the port.

We started with their excellent gumbo then I had the Shrimp Po Boy sandwich and Jack had their huge burger. We shared some sides -- coleslaw. black eyed peas and great fries. It was my happy 70th, good food and no cooking.

DIRECTV In Distress

Recently we decided to fire Cox Cable TV. The price keeps going up and the quality has been iffy. Some channels ocassionally make the system lock up requiring a 5 to 10 minute reboot. Also we never knew when the recorder would or wouldn't work. The only way to find out was to check after the program was supposed to record. So we decided to switch to DirecTV.

The appointment for installation was for Thursday afternoon, last week, and that morning they called to tell us it would be around 3:45 and would take about an hour and 45 minutes. The installer arrived right on time. And spent the next four and a half hours trying to get the system to work. Nothing he did would help. He gradually replaced everything. Everything. And called his boss. Nothing helped.

Finally he told us the supervisor would come over tomorrow and fix it. We couldn't be around in the morning and told him to come after noon. Late in the afternoon somebody called and said he would come over in an hour or so. At that point we had company and didn't want to deal with the installers and the disruption so was made an appointment for Wednesday morning between 8 A.M. and noon. There were only afternoon appointments possible for Monday and Tuesday.

Late Wednesday morning when no one had shown up or called to say when he was coming I called them. The phone person said we were still scheduled for 8 to noon, but she would call the installer. Then we found out the installer had moved our appointment to late afternoon and hadn't even told his own people. Nor had he told us. We couldn't be around in the afternoon.

Earlier I had decided that if our installation wasn't up and running by 3:30 P.M. Wednesday, today, I would cancel. And I did. They came and got everything. Goodbye DirecTV.

Power Off

We lost our electricty at 3:45 P.M. I called Gulf Power and the robot lady said we would have power "restored" by 7: 45 -- and we got it back earlier than expected at 6:30. As for cooking supper, I decided if there wasn't power by 6:10 I would light the grill and we would cook with charcoal. We had burgers and great buttered corn on the cob in foil.

Quick Hot Pickles

I made some of these pickles today. I have been making them for years. There's no cooking or prep. Just buy some pickles, add some hot pepper and sugar, mix, refrigerate and eat. Click here for the recipe.

Scamp from the Gulf

Supper last night was Scamp, fresh from the Gulf of Mexico, caught by Billy, Bill and Ross. It's in the grouper family. We ate our filets lightly sauteed in butter and olive oil. On the side there was mango salsa, steamed rice and a tomato avocado salad. Delicious. Thanks guys.

Memorial Day, 2012

Pensacola is so patriotic even the liberals fly the American flag.

Cirque des Voix

Saturday afternoon we attended and loved the second annual edition of Cirque des Voix. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune calls it, "a uniquely Sarasota blockbuster." It combines the talents of Key Corale, Sarasota Young Voices, Circus Sarasota, and some guest performers from Sarasota's youth circus, the Sailor Circus.

Click here for a review of this year's show.

After the concert we had dinner at a favorite place, Primo Ristorante.

Later in the evening we went to the Showfolks Club of Sarasota and talked with lots of people. And we finally met Laray. Great evening.

Circus Party at Longboat Key

From Gainesville to Sarasota was an easy trip and we had lots of time to get cleaned up for the evening's event.

Bill Hall and his wife Carol host a party a day or two before the Circus Ring of Fame ceremony many years. This year it was at the Longboat Key Hilton, as it often is. Great food and drink and a glittering group of about 50 circus stars and legends. It was wonderful to be invited and, just like the last time we attended, two years ago, it was an evening to remember.

Off we go to Sarasota

Took the cats to the pet hotel and we were on our way east on Interstate 10 by 10:30 A.M. The weather was cool and sunny and the drive was uneventful.

Lunch in Chipley at Skins-N-Bubba's. We have eaten there before. The food is generally ok. This time it seemed saltier than usual. But hey, this is the South, and country, too. And salt is cheap.


Not much for scenery along I-10 but we always enjoy the musical highway sign.

Late afternoon we got to Gainesville and the Holiday Inn Express by the highway. Dinner at a nearby Chili's.

REBUILD Northwest Florida is finished with us

The final, final inspection is done. The inspector, Dale, took the construction permit and all the paperwork with him. He also removed the REBUILD lawn sign. He said to expect big savings on the insurance. Final paperwork will be mailed soon.