Showing the love on St. Valentine's Day

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Tuesday, February 14. 2012

Showing the love on St. Valentine's Day

She wants one of these (the convertible, please) to show the love:

I want this pair:

However, back in reality, what I am going to do is to make dinner for She Who Must Be Obeyed: Cherrystone clams on the half-shell with lemon slices, then a steamed 3 lb. lobster with home-made horseradish mayo, cucumber slaw and potato salad, with champagne or maybe a nice Meursault. Valentine cupcakes for dessert.

Posted by The Barrister in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 13:12 | Comments (32) | Trackbacks (0)

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Win-win.....

(B..remember if your get an erection that last for more than four hours consult your doctor)

"Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days"

#1 Habu on 2008-02-14 14:37 (Reply)

consult your doctor, who probably needs an uproarious horse laff as soon as he hangs up the phone --
:-D

#1.1 buddy larsen on 2008-02-14 16:13 (Reply)

James Purdey & Sons

Side by side matched pair. Nothing finer.
Best Turkish walnut stock, gold and silver inlay.

That pair looks like they've been to the field and taken a bird or two.

Very nice....won't they fit in the Ferrari?

#1.2 Habu on 2008-02-14 16:50 (Reply)

Those were the days, alright, but i sure botched my first valentines day -- the guys said ''whisper in her ear'' and i thought they said ''whisper in her rear''

#1.3 buddy larsen on 2008-02-14 18:06 (Reply)

At least the matched pair should appreciate.

#2 Skookumchuk (Link) on 2008-02-14 15:03 (Reply)

When I get out of my dreary job, I will pick up kid, stop by grocery store, go home and make supper of lentil soup and brown bread, and try to make volatile and often violent special ed kid buckle down and research his history project [dad is the buddy, I am the heavy, the bad cop] whilst Mr. 12 out of 20 years unemployed layabout paterfamilias plays video games after a hard day wearing a hollow in the couch. Will spend the evening surfing the net configuring cheapest decent laptop I have to buy for picky eldest in college who does not see things in terms of hours of mother's labor.

Valentine's day sucks!
I have very vehement views on marriage, none favorable, will spare you. I teach my daughters that the most important thing in a mate is a work ethic. A working husband does more for a woman than Viagra, candy or even a red mid life crisis car! What we uppity new England overeducated wasp women want in a mate is not that he does dishes or even us, but that he work as hard as we do, that he go to church with us, be a good example to the kids, and learn new things every day to liven up dinner conversation. We don't need our men, but we enjoy the company of indiustrious, brave, intelligent ones. nuff said.

#3 retriever on 2008-02-14 15:37 (Reply)

...woo hoo, R, you can really smoke 'em when the mood hits -- hang in there, gal -- you're doing the good work --

#3.1 buddy larsen on 2008-02-14 16:10 (Reply)

R, like Buddy says..hang in you're doing the good work.
Anyway we care about your thoughts and feelings as much as can be for someone we've never met or know outside the net.

My father while a great provider did not know how to be a giver of love. He was a warrior, period. Consequently my mother never got the respect from him or the love she deserved.

Hang in there girl.

Best
Habu

#3.2 Habu on 2008-02-14 16:39 (Reply)

Habu, you and BL are so kind. One of the pleasures of the internet, getting to know so many strangers one will never see. As a friend of mine says, the blog is llke ham radio operators in a way. All of us saying hello to the void and growing to care for all those disembodied voices out there that, amazingly, answer us and brighten our lives....

#3.2.1 retriever on 2008-02-14 17:06 (Reply)

Thanks..I sent Bird Dog a picture of a young Habu .. maybe he'll send it to you or post it..then folks can see what an undercover spy-type looked like in the 1970's.

Now into days world you add 30 more years of gym time and thinning hair and there he is..old man Habu.

#3.2.1.1 Habu on 2008-02-14 17:27 (Reply)

And this is who was giving you a hard time about your decision whether to go to Guatemala? Screw 'im. Maybe he'll learn how to take care of himself while you're gone.

#3.3 Texan99 (Link) on 2012-02-15 09:23 (Reply)

Hi, Texan! Have been lazy blogging lately. You know my current boring mantra for marital happiness, remind myself "you're no great catch yourself, kiddo". Frequently. We ate all such imperfect critters, but love covers a multitude of sins. It better, or I'm toast!

#3.3.1 Retriever on 2012-02-15 09:34 (Reply)

I know, I know, I spoke rashly. But you can love him without doing what he says, when he's wrong.

#3.3.1.1 Texan99 (Link) on 2012-02-16 09:24 (Reply)

What time can you expect me? ;-) E.

#4 Eclecticity on 2008-02-14 16:50 (Reply)

Aside from the occasional Christmas or Easter (for the sake of the wee ones), wedding, or funerals, I ain't goin' to no churches. It is too much to ask.

#5 Knucklehead (Link) on 2008-02-14 16:55 (Reply)

But Knucklehead, without our world religions were would our wars come from?

#5.1 Habu on 2008-02-14 16:58 (Reply)

aw, knucklehead, you just haven't been to the right church yet! Ours is full of dear, kind peope (dunno why they let me in....guess I am the charity project!), great sermons, and YUMMY food and lots of ways to be useful, whatever your talents. Even the agnostic relatives are amazed by how much everybody cares about each other, tho they are disconcerted by all the talk about the Big Guy...

#5.2 retriever on 2008-02-14 16:59 (Reply)

Retriever..you need this ..take a peek

http://tinyurl.com/2z7zas

#6 Habu on 2008-02-14 17:04 (Reply)

And I 'specially ain't gettin' involved in no extracurchial activities! I have enough work to do what with, well, work, fixin' supper, doin' dishes, bein' a semi-good example to the kids, and learnin' new things every month or so to liven up dinner conversation. And notfuhnuttin' but wearing a hollow in the sofa has its time and place. Layinabout for years on end is a different matter but, I suppose, a good job if you can get it.

Habu,

The commies and other forms of statists will keep bringing us wars enough.

#7 Knucklehead (Link) on 2008-02-14 17:28 (Reply)

With regard to gun stocks. One of the hunting/shotgun magazine out on the stand this month has a beautiful spread on wood stocks. You will enjoy this piece if you can find it. Talks about the different types of graining, swirls, cross cuts, etc.etc.

With regard to dinner, please forward the recipe for cucumber slaw?

Soon R. Soon. Never give up the search for a more peacful and lovely place to park your soul, if only for a day or two.

#8 apple pie on 2008-02-14 18:32 (Reply)

I've decided I'm going to make my own on any new non-collectible gun I buy from now on . I'm a lefty and few things fit right out of the box. I'm now on stock number two. They do take forever, though. File to the templates I've made for the stock, sand, rottenstone, tung or linseed oil. The tung oil is, so they say, to be applied once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year thereafter.

And my first decent stock was after three unsuccessful tries on some decent wood that I finally threw in the fireplace... so you could say I'm on stock number five now.

But I'm getting better. When I'm old and gray and useless for work, I may make stocks for other folks. You never know.

#8.1 Skookumchuk (Link) on 2008-02-14 19:10 (Reply)

yep -- when you get it all done, you'll have a powerful sense of accomplishment -- one to envy for those who've drawn an easier row to hoe --

#8.2 buddy larsen on 2008-02-14 19:13 (Reply)

oops -- that was directed at R -- tho not to slight your wood stocks, skook --

#8.2.1 buddy larsen on 2008-02-14 19:15 (Reply)

AP.... I second that advice Skook gave on body position. I've shot over a thousand rounds (25 shots fired in each round) of skeet in my life.
If you are shooting skeet you want your (say you're right handed) left foot forward of your right foot with your left foot toes pointed toward the zone where you will pull the trigger and make the kill. Rotate your body around your waistline swinging the barrel and leading the clay pigeon the required distance , which varies with each station. There are eight stations in all.
On four stations you will shoot doubles,(meaning both targets will launch simultaneously) high house and low house going in opposite directions so you have to split the difference in foot placement. But in all situations you want your weight over your left leg with a slight lean forward but always under control.
Skeet shooting is a great sport.

#8.3 Habu on 2008-02-14 21:22 (Reply)

Hi, AP. Re: dinner. Children led a people's rebellion for out for Chinese over my oppressive peasant lentils and brown bread (I had a cunning plan!)

Thinking about Barrister's feast, inspired me to try to do something tomorrow with the boring frozen salmon steaks in the freezer...broil with dijon mustard, garlic and spicy hot mango chutney and serve with baked fingerling potatoes in olive oil and garlic w fresh dill and a squirt of lemon juice on the fish. Plus a portabella mushroom apiece broiled in olive oil and garlic, and a mountain of plain arugala on the side....

#9 retriever on 2008-02-14 18:45 (Reply)

Your garden must resemble mine: we have more dill and arugula than we known what to do with. We've been trying mustard and dill sauce on everything. Turns out it's fine on chicken, pork, beef, and fish, just about anything.

We're just starting to harvest beautiful turnips.

#9.1 Texan99 (Link) on 2012-02-15 09:27 (Reply)

Aw Geez R: you keep feeding him like that he'll never get off of that couch and go to work!

However, your menu sounds divine. I would put the fingerlings in a pan with 1.5 T of olive oil, a sprig of rosemary. Heat till hot, put a lid on and remove from heat!
Let stand for 15 or so. They should be done.

Hey Skook: I am a small gal and need to know more about how to get a stock to fit into the crook of my shoulder. What effect does the roll on top have--what difference does it make? Also, I would like something short enough to handle well--but, not so short as to set me down on my but every time I fire! Any suggestions?

#10 apple pie on 2008-02-14 19:58 (Reply)

I'm certainly no expert, but here are my $0.02. If you are shooting trap, a rollover cheek-piece may be beneficial, otherwise it is no big deal. The biggest thing is to get fitted for a stock by a good smith. Drop, pitch, cast, all that good stuff. When you mount the gun, your dominant eye should be right in line with the rib looking down to the bead on the end. Pitch, or whether the recoil pad is canted from the vertical with respect to the rest of the gun, is also very critical for women. Place the shotgun (unloaded, naturally, blah, blah) muzzle down and observe whether the recoil pad is canted to one side or the other. Women require different pitch than do men. If the toe (the bottom of the pad) is canted too far in, this may contribute to painful recoil. You may need to get the toe rounded to decrease the pitch. And a simple way to tell if the stock is too long or short is to place the butt end of the stock in the crook of your elbow, elevate your forearm so that the shotgun sticks straight up, and see where your trigger finger is in relation to the trigger. If your finger touches the trigger in a natural way, then the length of pull, generally speaking, will be correct. By the way, do you lean backward as you shoot? I've observed women doing this, probably to better balance the gun in their hands, and it is absolutely the wrong thing to do - tends to knock you down, or at least to upset your balance. Lean forward a bit next time. You will feel the difference.

#10.1 Skookumchuk (Link) on 2008-02-14 20:31 (Reply)

skook knows his gunnery alright --

#10.1.1 buddy larsen on 2008-02-14 20:45 (Reply)

Mrs. RonF and I spent the first week of March out in the Boston area with some long-lost but re-discovered on Facebook friends. This included a couple of days out on Cape Cod in a B&B in Falmouth. After that we stopped by Woodman's in Essex for some fried clams. Everyone loved them, including my suburban-Chicago, Illinois bred wife.

So for Valentine's day I ordered the fried clam kit from Woodman's. It came early, so I surprised her when she came home from tennis a few days ago with them. Delicious, although the next time I may go with peanut oil rather than with the Woodman's-recommended lard. She found them delicious and I got credit for cooking Valentine's Day dinner (though I still had flowers delivered to her desk at work today).

#11 RonF on 2012-02-14 17:15 (Reply)

AP, you might want to consider a gun with an adjustable stock, depending on how much shooting you want to do.

adjustable stocks can have combs that can move up, down, left, right, in or out, and butt plates that have a similar movement range. the problem with a fitted gun is that finding the correct fit takes a lot of work on a trap or skeet or line, and even then, the correct "fit" can change over time (by weight change even). every competitive shooter I know periodically alters something about how the gun is dialed in. a gunsmith can do an initial set up for a minimal cost.

rollover cheek pieces (if these are the rubber pads that fit over the comb) are not recommended. the thickness will alter how the gun points.

agree, though, that leaning back is never a good idea. but leaning forward can interrupt a smooth swing and cause the barrel to swing in a shallow arc rather than directly on the clay. I think most professional instructors would tell you to keep your weight evenly distributed on each foot with no leaning at all.

to conclude the casual advice, most misses on a trap line are behind and low, and often caused by the shooter not keeping the gun swinging after pulling the trigger and/or lifting the head off the stock too soon.

#12 wirraway on 2012-02-14 17:39 (Reply)

My adorable husband got me a black lab. Top that. (We adopted a 10-month-old pup from a young friend who couldn't take proper care of her.)

She hopped in the bathtub with me twice this morning. Nothing like a pup in the house.

#13 Texan99 (Link) on 2012-02-15 09:31 (Reply)

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Tuesday, February 14. 2012

Showing the love on St. Valentine's Day