Monthly Archives: July 2021
The One She Usually Forgets . . .
As I’ve mentioned in the past, today is an anniversary of sorts for Jan and I. Fifty Four years ago today Jan and I met for the very first time. And we’ve been together pretty much ever since.
As I’ve recounted a number of times before, we were both working at a slightly seedy amusement park in Titusville, FL called Florida Wonderland. It had carnival rides, animals, a marine aquarium, where I worked, and a Western town where Jan worked.
My very first day I walked into the saloon to get ice for the fish I fed the sea animals, and encountered a tall, long-legged strawberry blonde saloon girl. And I was smitten to say the least.
But her, not so much. In fact it took me about two weeks to get her to go out with me. But it all worked out in the end, you could say.
OK, relax, people!
No, we’re not in distress. And No, that’s not a ‘Pride’ umbrella either.
The flag pole doesn’t really have a top or bottom to it. You just assemble the 3 sections and then the flag itself has ring clamps on it that slide along the pole and then tighten down.
What I didn’t notice was that I as I was trying to keep my balance, standing on the top step of the stepladder, trying to get the flag pole fastened to the umbrella pole, I had gotten it upside down. And since the flag itself was kind of wrapped around the pole, neither of us noticed it later either.
A little before 3pm we were in the final countdown to our ribs with 1 minute to go.
Coming out of the vacuum bags, and patted dry, our ribs looked like this. And actually they were already very tasty and completely done.
And I was happy to see that water in the cooler was still clean and clear which meant that none of the bags had leaked.
Basted with sauce on the meaty side first, they were on the Weber grill getting a nice char on the outside.
For the next 20 minutes or so, it was back and forth, basting each time, building up that crunchy outside that Jan and I both like.
And a few minutes later, they were on our plates, along with loaded potato salad and Bacon & Bourbon Baked Beans.
And the ribs were just as described in the recipe. Tender, juicy, but not soggy. Almost fall-off-the-bone, but not quite. A crunchy sweet crust on the outside and moist on the inside.
In other words, they were DELICIOUS! Have-Again and Again delicious! And actually very easy to do, all things considered, since a lot of the time was spent double-checking things as I went along.
Next up, Ribeye’s and Sirloin Strips.
This Just In:
In a major announcement that has shaken the computer community to its core, Microsoft has revealed that in the upcoming Windows 11, the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), the screen that tells you that your computer has thrown up its hands and died, will now be BLACK!
Uhhh? Isn’t that racist, now?
Thought For The Day:
So This Is How It All Started?
Happy 4th of July, America!
While we were outside with our coffee this morning, we made what I hope is the final addition to our sticker collection.
When we were over in Gulf Shores we made our usual stop at the Ron Jon Surf Shop in Orange Beach and got one of their stickers for our Jeep.
Unlike a lot of places, Ron Jon’s give these away free, which is why you see them everywhere. And now on our Jeep.
Ron Jon’s also has kind of a personal connection for Jan and I. On one of first dates we drove over to Cocoa Beach to check out their store. I had used a couple of their boards for several years, so I wanted to see where they came from.
Now back then, Ron Jon’s was a small, narrow storefront, basically a double-wide aisle with surfboards propped up side by side down the way.
And I was told that if you said the magic word, you could buy pot in the back room. And I think the word was ‘pot’, though I never tried it.
Of course, now Ron Jon’s is big-time conglomerate with the Cocoa Beach store now covering a full block of prime beach real estate.
And of course, now they’ve got locations all around the world, and even several vacation resorts.
About 2pm I set up the cooler and, after stacking the rib packs inside, I filled it up to the immersion cooker water line using the 130° water from the rig.
According to the InkbirdSmart’s control panel, the water temp dropped down to about 110° due to the cold bags of ribs. But I was surprised at how quickly the water temp started to rise, and in less than 30 minutes, the temp had reach 150° and the 24 hour cycle countdown started.
So our meal should be done about 2:45pm tomorrow afternoon. Yum!
Right after I got things started, we headed over to our local Denny’s for our Ultimate Omelets. Then coming home we made an unplanned stop at Cowboy Coffee here in Santa Fe. I say ‘unplanned’ because normally they’re closed on Sunday, and especially on a Holiday Sunday. But not wanting to pass up a chance for Cowboy’s coffee, we pulled in. Turns out this was a one-time thing, opening from 12pm to 4pm, since it seems a lot of people were out and about, and stopped by just like us.
And when we left, we had our Cold, Blended Sugar-Free Hazelnut Lattes, a copy of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and a bunch of sparklers for our own celebration tonight.
A nice surprise.
Thought For The Day:
