Pastries and coffee were delicious.

2016/01/13 09:00 I took Robert to the emergency room yesterday. He is still in the hospital. He had a flare up of the gastro-intestinal problems that have plagued him. He was last in the hospital back in June. It has only been about six months since his previous stay in the hospital. I called an ambulance to take him to the hospital but he ended up driving with me. The EMTs helped me get him into the van. We made it to the hospital before the storm hit. Last night the first real serious storm of the 2015-2016 Winter season hit. I was at the hospital and Karen said she was coming up to the hospital after Adison picked up the little baby Elliott. Karen was going to stop at the gas station and get a vitamin water for Robert. It was snowing pretty hard by this time and I guess it was close to whiteout conditions. Karen drove over the median at the gas station. The front wheels of the Jeep came down on one side of the median with the back wheels trapped on the other side. Straddling the median she couldn’t move and had to call a tow truck. I was sitting in Robert’s hospital room and had finished talking to Karen about her getting a tow truck when Adison called. She had an accident on the interstate while taking Elliott home. The roads were so bad that she was only going thirty miles an hour or less and she hit the car in front of her. The airbag didn’t go off and so she was able to drive home. Robert heard me talking about the accident and he said, “Mom got into another accident after getting towed out?!” I told him no this one was your sister. I will go up to the hospital today to see how he is doing.

I took Elliott upstairs and put him in the crib. The boy looks like he is just going to pitch right out. I had to adjust the mattress height.

2016/03/26 23:00 My brother Paul and his family are visiting from New Mexico. We went to the zoo today and then had dinner later at Papa Gallo's.

The little baby Elliott tried to steal my new selfie stick.

2016/01/20 22:00 

Nap time for the little baby Elliott and Trooper the kitten.

2016/01/27 12:00 So, I am going to tell a mouse story. Last Summer my wife told me there was a mouse in the kitchen and she asked me to set a trap. My oldest son doesn’t believe you should kill anything that you don’t have to. He asked me not to use a spring trap. I went online, to Amazon, and I bought a humane Have-A-Heart trap for mice. Once the trap came in the mail I set it up and caught the mouse within a day. Robert took the trap with the mouse in it to my parent’s house and released the mouse in the woods there. It was all good. A few weeks ago Karen said we have another mouse can you please set the trap again. I got the trap out and within a day had trapped the new little critter. I decided to let the mouse go in the woods by the canal. I put the mouse, still in the trap, on the passenger seat in the Jeep and drove to the canal. It was about 5 degrees out and the wind chill was brutal. I thought to myself that the poor little mouse was going to freeze to death before he could build a little mouse nest. I decided to keep him in a box in the garage until it warmed up a little. Once it warmed up a little I would release him into the wild. I got a box and put some cheese and crackers in it and a soufflé cup with water. I put the trap with the mouse inside into the box and opened the trap. The mouse immediately leaped out of the box and ran back into the house. I felt kind of silly at this point and decided not to tell anyone any of this. A couple of days later my wife said there is another mouse. I didn’t say it but I knew it was probably the same mouse. I set the trap again and I was a little concerned that maybe the mouse wouldn’t fall for the same trap again. Not a problem and I had recaptured the mouse within a day. This morning I put the mouse in the trap on the passenger seat of the Jeep. We went to the canal. It was a balmy 40 degrees. There was a large pine tree where there was no snow underneath. The ground was loamy and covered with pine needles and looked the perfect place for a little mouse nest. I released the mouse and he ran to the shelter under the tree. It’s all good. Peace out.

You gotta have a few pipe bands.

Adison and I.

Special appearance by Spongebob Squarepants.

2016/02/09 18:00

Almost Spring. Almost Spring.

With Nancy and Kate.

2016/02/02 12:00 Today is Groundhog Day. Still haven't made it to Pennsylvania to celebrate Groundhog Day with Punxsutawney Phil. Still on my bucket list.

This latest iteration of my rants, rambles, and ravings will be much like past versions. The key components will still be unchanged. Too much information will be shared. I will still be very weird. I try not to be boring but…
Read on dear reader but proceed with the knowledge that you will most likely be disappointed. This journey that you have chosen, of your own free will, is fraught with danger and peril at every turn and I can make no guarantees as to your safety.

Meanwhile... back at the ranch daycare continues.

Tristan and Michael at Monster Jam.

Alice had bacon and strawberries for breakfast.

2016/02/14 08:00 The coldest spot in the continental US this morning is in upstate NY. Minus 37 in Watertown. Here in Syracuse we are only 18 below. Hate the polar vortex. The older I get the more I hate this weather.

2016/02/28 18:00 Michelle stopped by for some car repair today. She was trying to gas up before driving back to NYC and she couldn't get her gas cap door open. We got it open but I can't take much credit for it.

2016/03/04 15:00

Birthday celebration at Carrabba's. Celebrating my Mom's birthday and Michael's birthday. One of the best meals out I have had in a long time. The salad was outstanding and the sauce on my entree was really good.

2016/02/26 23:00 I took the kids grocery shopping at Wegman's tonight. They asked if we could eat there in the store. We got pizza and wings. Alice wasn't dressed for messy chicken wings. She was wearing a lot of white. Robert asked one of the workers for some garbage bags. He punched out a neck hole and arm holes and Alice went after the wings. Tristan said, "Dad, I think you are kind of making a scene".

The kitten is named Trooper and he arrived here today. Tristan told me that I was going to have to pay for the cat because he didn't have any money. He expressed some concern as to whether I would be able to afford the cat. He said, "Pop, you don't have a job and now Bamma doesn't either."

Brego is hiding under my desk. She is hiding from Trooper the kitten. Trooper the kitten is very annoying.

2016/01/03 21:00 Alice got a stuffed poop for Christmas. She didn’t actually get the poop on the day we celebrated Christmas. Karen had ordered the stuffed poop online and it was coming from China. It arrived a few days late. We went to the mall today to take the kids to Wonderworks. We pulled up in front of the mall and Tristan said, “Alice, please leave your poop in the car. Don’t bring your poop into the mall. You are going to embarrass me.” Alice brought the poop into the mall.

Alice’s stuffed poop.
We had a lot of fun at Wonderworks.

This is Alice's favorite spot at the zoo.

You can't have a St. Patrick's Day celebration without zambonis and a penguin. Can you?

2016/01/01 08:00 When I awoke this morning I was lying on my side with my back facing my wife. She was snuggled close, kind of ‘spooning’ me. Her face was close to the back of my neck and I could hear her slow rhythmic breathing and feel her warm breath. She shifted a little and put her leg on top of my thigh. I thought that’s a little interesting and I reached down to put my hand on her leg. I felt her leg and it was very hairy in the extreme and it was attached to a cold dog nose. It seems the dog was squished in between our ‘spoons’ and was nestled there quite comfortably. Happy New Years to one and all.
New Year’s Eve was pretty uneventful. The kids were going to stay up to see the ball drop. I had purchased some sparkling grape juice for the occasion. Karen went to bed early. She said she was tired and wasn’t feeling well. Alice didn’t last much longer. She said she was tired and asked to go to bed. Robert and Alice left for bed and left just Tristan and I on the couch. Tristan put himself to bed before the ball drop and so it was just me on the couch. I fell asleep. I woke up and there was 53 seconds on the clock until the ball dropped and it would be the New Year. I thought I had made it but fell back asleep and missed the final countdown and the ball drop. I woke up again just after 2:30. I took my meds and went to bed.
There is a light snow falling outside. This will probably be the first real snowfall of the 2015-2016 Winter season.  As always the New Year ahead seems full of promise. Truthfully nothing ever really changes. Some things get better and some things get worse. A lot of things stay the same and life just happens. Still, the convention of a New Year allows one to reflect on what was and to think of changes for what might come.

Alice taking Elliott's wheels for a spin.

All I got Karen for Valentine's Day was a post on Facebook. Pretty lame I know.

Alice goofing around on Superbowl Sunday.

Alice had taken her my little pony stuff to the zoo and randomly ran into another little girl who had also brought her my little pony stuff. They played for awhile.

Shuttle bus ride to the Carrier Dome and Monster Jam.

2016/03/01 22:00

2016/01/31 23:30 I went to see the new Star Wars movie for the second time tonight. I watched it in IMAX this time. I enjoyed the movie more the second time than I did the first but not because of the IMAX. I noticed more stuff the second time. There were things I missed the first time watching it.

Open Hand Theater marched in the parade.

2016/01/01 23:30 We went to dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse this evening. It is a holiday tradition that every year around this time we go to the Spaghetti Warehouse with the Redmond’s. We have been doing it for I think 14 years.

2016/03/12 20:00 Alice went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade with me. No one else would. We had a good time. After the parade we had pizza at Peppino's in Armory Square.

2016/03/05 14:00 It is very difficult for a man to live a life free of regrets. To be sure I have had some regrets in my life. The latest one involves the McDonald’s shamrock shake that I had four or five hours ago and its effect on my intestines. My wife has threatened to leave me; at least until the bathroom is once again safe for humans. TMI – I know, but if you can’t be an inspiration at least you can serve as a cautionary tale. Eat healthy my friends.

2016/03/20 10:00 During the week Trooper the kitten sleeps on top of me. On the weekends he sneaks into Alice's room and sleeps there.

2016/02/19 20:00

My bruise from hitting the fountain in WalMart.
And then last night I fell on the ice. I am thinking that I may need to reexamine my choices in footwear.  

I went to a concert at Funk N Waffles downtown in Armory Square. The show featured Olivia Quillio and Amanda Rodgers. I tried to get Karen to go with me but she didn't want to leave the house because it was only six degrees with a wind chill in the OMG range. After the show was over I went outside to go home and my van wouldn't start. I called Karen and she came and picked me up. She's a good woman.

Brego was helping with the babysitting today.

We went to Tully's for dinner. Getting ready for St. Patrick's Day. Getting in the spirit early.

Motley Crue medley playing at the roadhouse.

2016/01/13 21:45 Karen and I went to Panera for dinner tonight. There was a couple a few booths away from us and I was catching snippets of their conversation. Then she asked him, "Did you ever kill anybody?" And I was like, oh it's a first date (WTH).

My wife told me not to embarrass our daughter. Orange sweatpants were forbidden. No Otto the Orange hat. She said checkers were pushing it.

The Buffalo Bills beat the NY Jets 22-17. The Jets were on a five game winning streak but with the loss to the Bills they are out of the playoffs. The Bills won’t make the playoffs either but their win lets the Pittsburgh Steelers make the playoffs. The players for Buffalo are all going to get free sandwiches from Primanti Brothers in appreciation.

This morning Robert, the kids, and I had the breakfast buffet here at the hotel.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

2016/02/05 20:00 Karen has been wanting to get another cat for awhile. I have been resistant. I still miss Elsie and haven't completely gotten over her loss. Tristan and Alice found a stray kitten in the road and asked if they could keep it here. They sent the picture below of Alice with the kitten to persuade me to accept the kitten. I said yes and of course Karen had already bought the litter box, litter, kitten chow, and cat toys. She said she knew there was no way I could say no to Alice.

2016/02/07 23:30 I watched the Superbowl tonight. Just Karen and I. Not a great game. 

2016/03/08 13:00 

2016/01/09 22:15 Tonight I was hanging out poolside at the Doubletree hotel with my wife and all of our offspring; three kids and three grandkids. Earlier today I was reading about how unhappy Steve Jobs was on his deathbed. I guess he felt that he had concentrated on the wrong things; business and money. He wished he had spent more time on family and friends. I am a very lucky man because I never had to endure the trauma of making lots of money or being successful at anything in life. I know what is important. Peace out my peeps.

2016/02/06 18:00 I went to the CNY Brewfest today with Adison. I wore my new lederhosen that I ordered from Germany. I came downstairs to leave and Tristan saw me. He asked if Bamma had seen me yet. He said, "I don't think Bamma is going to let you leave the house like that."

2016/01/02 18:00 We went to see “Peter Pan” at Syracuse Stage today. We were at the afternoon performance. I guess it was the politically correct version. Tiger Lily was a ‘warrior’. It was the Lost Boys and the ‘warriors’. I have seen maybe ten stagings of “Peter Pan” over the years and this one was the strangest. I swear they changed a lot of the dialogue. There were songs I don’t remember. And there was a lion, a kangaroo, and an ostrich? The maid at the Darling house flew to Neverland after the kids. The maid had a song and dance number with Peter Pan and she was rescued from the pirates by Peter Pan. Since I don’t ever remember the maid being that big a character I got to thinking that maybe the actress playing her had a father who was a big backer of the show. And he was all like, “I think my daughter needs a bigger part and maybe a number to sing”. And then I thought no, she must be a girlfriend of a producer. I settled on mistress because it was just a juicier story to imagine. I must confess that in previous “Peter Pan” shows I’ve seen that I thought Tiger Lily was pretty hot. I always figured that you’ve got a play where you want to keep the kids entertained but maybe you wanted to throw something in to keep the Dad’s attention and that was Tiger Lily. This Tiger Lily was cute and she did a good job but I like my Tiger Lily’s a little slinkier. Overall the show was a good performance and I enjoyed it. I think the kids did too.

Trooper hanging out in the little baby Elliott's bumbo.

2016/01/16 20:00 I took the grandkids to GameStop tonight. I let them talk me into buying them a lot of stuff including a new video game. We were checking out and the clerk asked if I wanted a protection package. I said, "Absolutely, how do you know how mad my wife is gonna be when she sees all this?" He said, "No sir, the protection package is for the game - not for you."

2016/02/27 20:00 At the zoo today the animals were given big paper mache eggs with stuff inside for Easter.

Fun at Syracuse Stage.

2016/01/05 22:00 I was at the game as a volunteer with PACE CNY (where my daughter works). I was a dedicated wheelchair pusher. One of the ladies that went to the game, Rose, is 100 years old. Adison had made a sign for her and she got to be on the Jumbotron. Otto the Orange came to pay Rose a special visit.

2016/01/05 12:00 Comfort Windows started the siding project at the house on December 3rd. They finished up today January 5th. They have been working here, in good weather and bad, for a month. Six days a week except for Christmas week and New Year’s week. They tore off the old clapboards and shingles. They removed the old brown board and the old insulation. Put new pink fiberglass insulation in the walls and put on new plywood. In the attics they removed the old insulation and put in new blown in insulation up to an R50 value. They wrapped and sealed the house. They installed the full-back siding and put gutters on the house. I am quite satisfied with the job done. It is like I had a new house dropped on top of the old homestead.

2016/01/30 20:00

2016/01/23 23:30 Went sledding on the hill behind Fremont Elementary today.

According to the rodent prognosticator we can expect an early spring.

Racing bikes in the parkway.

The peaceable kingdom - it does happen once in a while.

Lots of fun in the pool.

khan tiki mon's rants and rambles v.10.00

Fun at the zoo.

Much Winter fun was had by all.

2016/03/05 23:30 Having survived the McDonald’s shamrock shake earlier in the day we headed out to the Carrier Dome for Monster Jam. Alice had been sick. She had ear aches and was taking some antibiotics. She insisted she was well enough to attend Monster Jam and she really didn’t want to miss it. We had to park in the Skytop overflow parking lot and take the shuttle bus to the Dome. Alice rode on Robert’s shoulders on the walk to the bus and stayed on his shoulders for the bus ride. We settled into our seats once we were at the Dome and Monster Jam began. The whole experience was too much for Alice in her weakened condition and so Karen came and took Alice and Robert home. Tristan, Michael, and I stayed.

2016/03/09 15:00 I am going to have to break out of these Winter doldrums at some point. I decided to take the little baby Elliott for a walk down by the old Erie Canal. It was a nice enough day for it.

2016/02/17 14:00

Random pictures of the little baby Elliott.

I woke up this morning with the kitten on me.

2016/01/15 23:30 Robert was released from the hospital at about 4:30 today. He got out just in time to go with me to get the kids.

2016/02/05 13:00 Karen and I had coffee and pastries at Tous Les Jours today. A French bakery owned by the Korean restaurant next door. Everybody working there is Korean. 

2016/02/13 20:30 Dave and Buster's outing today at Destiny mall.

Spaghetti Warehouse fun. I brought my selfie stick that I got for Christmas.

2016/02/18 17:00 I had lunch at Cafe 407 today. I met Marguerite, Jan, and Amy there. My friends from my days working at the Beacon North facility.

2016/02/16 14:00 The little baby Elliott fell asleep in his high chair.

More adorable pictures of the little baby Elliott and Trooper the kitten.

Bubble fun at Wonder Works.

2016/01/14 14:00 Robert works out regularly and is in pretty good shape. However he doesn’t have a lot of body fat. He weighed 155 pounds before getting sick this time and he lost 24 pounds in just two days. I could afford to lose that much weight, even that quickly, but Robert can’t. He is on IV fluids, antibiotics, pain killers, and anti-nausea medicines. He will be in the hospital for a few days.

Cousins playing with the iPad.

I ate at Primanti Bros. when I was in Pittsburgh visiting my friend Lucky at Maggie's Farm Rum in August. I took this picture of my sandwich being made.

2016/02/07

2016/02/23 22:00 Michael and I went to see Deadpool tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I carried the sweet little Alice on my shoulders for as long as I could. My little Alice is getting big.

Trooper the kitten and Alice.

Trooper the kitten likes using things that belong to the little baby Elliott. 

Fun at Papa Gallo's.

2016/02/12 18:00

2016/01/08 12:00 Tristan’s birthday was January 4th and we are celebrating it this weekend. We are staying at the Doubletree hotel.

2016/03/11 14:00

Rose and Otto the Orange.

It is a new year. The only way is forward. The rants will continue. The rambles will continue. The ravings will go on and on. Perhaps this will be the year I find some sense or reason (or not).

2016/01/09 12:00 We checked into the hotel last night. We had room service pizza which was actually pretty good. Adison and Elliott stopped by. Michael stopped by as well.

2016/02/14 23:30 Valentines Day. Have a happy one everyone. My Valentine is still my lovely wife of 32 years and counting. Love you Karen Tennant.

2016/01/06 18:00 I took a bad fall last night. I am pretty sore today. I am having an especially hard time with stairs. This is the third time in the last six months or so that I have taken a bad fall. In August on my way back from Hot Rod Hula Hop in Columbus I stopped at the rest area near Buffalo. It was raining hard and when I went into the building the floor was wet and I slipped and fell. I crashed into some poor old guy trying to get something out of the vending machines and we both went right to the ground. Neither of us was hurt and he was a good sport about it. I felt terrible. Back in September I was in WalMart and I went to use the restroom. There was a very wet floor by the water fountain. I slipped and went down like a ton of bricks. My arm caught on the drinking fountain and it was the only thing that stopped me from going right to the floor. I got a nice bruise on my arm where it hit the fountain. Of course I do bruise easier since I am taking Plavix daily.

2016/02/26 08:00 

Alice hitting stuff with a big mallet.

Alice and I goofing around.

One very determined competitor.

2016/01/09 19:00 We had Tristan’s birthday dinner at the Bull and Bear Roadhouse.

2016/02/07 11:00 I went to Wegman's this morning and couldn't believe how busy it was. I totally forgot that it was Superbowl Sunday. The store was busier than Christmas or Thanksgiving. I got the Sunday paper. I made page 3 of the Syracuse Post-Standard Sunday paper.

Karen bought the little baby Elliott a car on Craig's List.

2016/01/05 19:15 Stupid Polar Vortex. I slipped on the ice in the driveway. I went down hard. I twisted as I fell and landed on my back with a chunk of ice in my spine. I don’t think I did joint damage but rather pulled a muscle; my quad. The dog was on her leash outside and she immediately came to my aid. She was licking my face. My wife was headed out and she walked right by me. In my wife’s defense she did come back after she saw me in the corner of her eye and she helped me up. I managed to make it to the parking garage on the hill and limped my way up to the Carrier Dome.

Picture snapped by the reporter from the Syracuse newspaper.

2016/03/17 18:00 Today is St. Patrick's Day. I first published my website on St. Patrick's Day in 2007. My website is nine years old today. Karen, Elliott and I met some friends at the Brooklyn Pickle for lunch. We had a tradition of meeting on St. Patrick's Day at Danzer's German restaurant. The theory was that we could corned beef there without waiting in the long lines at the local Irish restaurants. Danzer's closed this year so we have moved the annual get together to the Brooklyn Pickle. I had my corned beef sandwich and it was delicious.

Alice is still adorable also.

Every year I have my picture taken next to the same antique in the lobby and wearing the same shirt. I only wear this shirt once a year.