Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Worn out guitar, Boston Accent Trailer - Late Night with Seth Meyers, hanging around

Then there was the one legged ballerina named Eileen. (rim shot) 

So I finally decided to take out my guitar out, Apart from a couple of times while I was living sat my sister's house, I haven't played in about a year and it showed. Then I turned my amplifier on. I noodled around. I began to play on the upper register, or I should say high up on the neck, I noticed that the fret had been worn down and did not produce a sound. It was dead. Not long after the amplifier began cutting out. Now none of this stuff is anywhere near new. I've owned this stuff since the early 80's and like me it's beginning to wear out. Now this is not the end of the world but my toys are getting old just like I am. This whining is all part of readjusting to my new lifestyle. In truth it's not so bad and my toys can be repaired especially my beloved Les Paul guitar. I'm looking forward eventually fixing my toys and buying another recorder and putting down some of the musical ideas that I have floating around in my head.

Alright. As I write this, about 11:15 on Tuesday and I am watching the Patriots victory parade through Boston. It's snowing at the moment and it is supposed to change to rain. The Patriots' are the most hated team in football and in general Boston is the most hated sports city because of the success of all the pro sports teams championships since 2001. Ten in sixteen years. And the Patriots amazing win on Sunday night was such a stunner! This win streak won't last forever so I will enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

So today I plan to do not much of anything. I'm not going to shovel or clean off my car because tomorrow it will hit about 56 degrees. As I was messing about YouTube I found this clip from Late Night with Seth Myers. It's a spoof on the movies made in Boston and the Boston area. Seth Myers is from New Hampshire which is not too far from here. He is quite familiar with our unique and somewhat unfortunate accent. Not everybody around here speaks like this but if you're elsewhere in the country they do know where you're from. I found it quite amusing.   



So that's it for now. I'm going to retire to the couch and watch the rest of the parade.
I'm outta here.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Food, snow, retirement,

Ever since they built a hotel in this city to take advantage of the proximity to Boston for out of town travelers, restaurants, cafe's, hair facilities, fast food places etc. have popped up all over the relatively small central square. Three of the restaurants are really quite good in fact they rival some of the much more expensive places in downtown Boston. 

There's a local television restaurant show called The Phantom Gourmet and they visited my personal favorite, Raso's. It's located about a mile or so from here. The ambiance is a bit plain though it is comfortable with a great staff. We've been there many times and though there is an emphasis on Italian food it's also a bar and grill. The food? Top shelf! The location is a street that's not particular picturesque though there is a nice shot of part of the Boston skyline in the distance. It's full of auto repair places, auto dealerships, shipping companies and various other businesses. It is quite old though dating back to the founding of Boston (1630) as it was known as the highway to Boston. It's one of the four oldest roads in my city which also dates back to 1630.     



We had a bit of snow last night, about an inch. No big deal but still a nuisance. It's been a fairly mild winter so far. Nothing like two years ago. As bad as it was then (2014) it was small potatoes compared to the legendary blizzard of '78. The entire northeast including New York city and New Jersey was hit hard. Locally we had just had a storm about a week before, late January, that dropped 21 inches of snow on the area. Then early in February we got hit with 33 hours of snowfall, 70 mph winds. Rhode Island got hit worse with 40 inches. There were 99 deaths and 500 injuries. The coastline was hit hard with 17 foot waves. Highways became large parking lots. These are not my pictures.






It's almost been a month since my complete retirement and I have to admit it's been an adjustment. Apart from housework and laundry, I've had to find other things to do. Hanging around and falling asleep on the couch is only good for so long. Apart from going back to you know where, Arlene and I have talked about making more day trips like we used to do until 2010. We've talked about day trips to New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. I've never been to Vermont. We have no desire to go to Connecticut though I'm sure it's a lovely place. And then there are plenty of places to see right around here. Until about 10 years ago I never really appreciated where I live. To be sure this is an expensive place to live and I hope I can afford it in the future. If not, there's always New Hampshire about 25 miles away.

Well there is laundry in the dryer. The sun is out and there may be a trip to Raso's tonight. Perhaps some linguini Julia.
I'm outta here.