A Lusty Tale Of That Scallywag Blackbeard The Pirate ... or not ...

 

 

It wasn't too long after coming down with Covid I decided to go free for all rogue.

With my beard, that is.  Yep ... shaving be damned.

Now here's the thing: Missy doesn't like me bearded.  As a man of a certain age, it comes in way more gray than salt and pepper.  She says it makes me look older. 

But I don't care if it made me look older.  I just wanted to have the beard again.  Because I could.

So ... razors?  Trimmers?  Begone.  I've no need for you for a few months while the growing commences.

Now, this time, as my beard got thicker and thicker, I saw a transformation in Missy.  She didn't complain about it as she had in the past.  "I hate that thing."  "When is that coming off?"  "You know it makes you look way older than you are."  All were commonalities I heard daily, little asides I think she'd hoped would bury in a crook of my mind and nurture there into some form of common sense. 

And yet she knows one of my superpowers is stubbornness, so I really didn't get the barely audible gripes and what purpose they were meant to serve. 

Realizing her complaints were going in one ear and out the other, she formulated a new tactic.  As things proceeded along, I was given an ultimatum.  One where the beard would come to its end of days.  I decided to prolong that date a bit longer and made a deal with Missy:

"Look ... even I get tired of it after a while.  Tell you what: Give me until the end of April, one more month, and I promised it will be gone."

Missy countered something like this:

"Well, since you put it that way, I'll make you a deal.  I'll give you the extra month ... but you have to Grecian Formula your beard at the end of the month so I can see what it looks like. Deal?"

We shook on it.  

And then?  The end of the month loomed.

As it happened, we were scheduled for an outing with The NorCal6 on the final weekend of April to the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival.  (You can revisit that tale here.)  So I told Missy I would Grecian up that Saturday morning before we left for the Fest.

Let's just say the results were, well ... interesting.  Here's the beard before coloring ...

 ... and afterward ...

Zoinks!

Just gotta say: I don't know whose idea it was to get BLACK Grecian Formula to wash into my beard ... but, well ... WowZah!

When Missy saw me I couldn't help but notice her mentally take a step backward.  Admittedly, it is a bit shocking.  "You know you weren't supposed to go so heavy on the stuff.  You should have just sprinkled it in here and there so there was more of a salt and pepper effect ..."

"But it wasn't doing anything that way" I offered.  "It just sat there like gunmetal grey goop, doing nothing.  Besides ... I've never done this shit before so how was I supposed to know ... ?!?"

And, if you look closely (actually you don't have to look that closely) you can see where the dye leached onto my skin, around my mouth and outside my beardline ... SO THAT IT DYED MY SKIN ... !!!

 

GAAAAAAHHHHHH ... !!!  

Was this stuff gonna come off??!?  Or had I inadvertently (possibly permanently) tattooed myself ... ?!???!!?

I immediately began scrubbing the areas.  After applying more than just a bit of elbow grease (and about 25 minutes later), the majority of my dyed skin was free of blackface and, luckily, only slightly irritated and red from sandpapering the stuff off.  *whew*

Missy convinced me to powder up my newly-colored facial hair with some grey-covering concoction to lighten up the garishness of it all and it seemed to do the trick.  But I found out in short order the cover-up wasn't all it was cracked up to be; it seemed to be reacting with the dye itself and appeared to be melting off my beard!  (It was simply the grey-covering goop sloughing off, not the dye itself.)

Well ... I was in for a penny, in for a pound at this point so, like it or not, it was onward to the Grilled Cheese Festival, newly colored facial monkey business in tow. 

See?  It doesn't look THAT bad ...

But I'm not of 100% certainty Laurie isn't laughing at me ...

And while friends Grant and Peter chuckled at my new and comical appearance, it didn't look all that bad in the outdoors ... despite the fact I kinda sorta looked like a G.I.Joe Land Adventurer with Life-Like Hair & Beard ...

 

 

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP growing and dyeing your damned beard already )

 

The NorCal6 Roll Into Placerville For May … Literally!

 

(Editor's Note: I've passed the writing duties for this blog entry over to My Better Half, Missy. Please enjoy her take on May's monthly get-together ...)

Since one of us is a huge lover of party games (yes, it's definitely me), it was decided the event for this adventurous group (okay, some more than others), would be a Bunco night party hosted at our house.

Of course, we couldn't have just The NorCal6 of us for this event so our numbers expanded to 17 including family members, coworkers and other friends. The guests trickled in and when all were in attendance, I gathered everyone around for the obligatory reading of the rules and we went our separate ways to grab a spot at a lucky table.  Grant was definitely not happy we were not eating prior to the games and gave me some serious stinkeye! Admittedly, I can be a little OCD when it comes to planning events and keeping things on schedule in my mind. In years past, I have been referred to as "Julie The Cruise Director" because of it!

 

Missy played the role of Lauren Tewes this particular evening ...

 

Normally we start with a nice loud cowbell ("More cowbell!") to get us going but somebody (Kelly, Grant) forgot to bring the bell. Now I really can't give them that hard of a time because, as we all know, the typical decibel level of Michael's voice is definitely loud enough to get the dogs next door howling. So he was our own version of the cowbell.

 

And … off we went. With the game underway, some rude person had to get a Bunco on her second roll! Amy was very happy with her accomplishment but jeers were flying her way from all directions! (Good natured ones, of course.)

The rules of the game, at least at our house, is that winners wait (stay at the table) and losers leave (move to the next table). In other words, those losing that round had to get up and walk to another table. Kelly and Laurie were the unfortunate two who got to enjoy the pleasure of getting their steps in for the evening, if you catch my drift. 

After two rounds, it was time to line up at the Mexican-themed potluck taco bar. I'm not quite sure but I think Grant may have tackled someone to be first in line! Two kinds of meats were on order along with chile rellanos and all the fixins … but wait a minute … we had a mystery brewing! (We’ll get to the mystery in just a moment …)

Now, most of us in attendance are of a certain generation who remember a particular commercial with a catchy tagline for Wendy's restaurants, a cranky Clara Peller asking "Where's the beef … ?!?"  

 

 

"Where's the beef ... ?!?" 

So … our big mystery of the evening?  “Where's the beans … ?!?" It’s a taco bar with tacos and rice and beans and margaritas … so … where were the beans?

You know that wonderful situation we’ve all experienced as couples, that thing called “miscommunication"?  Well, it seems Pete - when given the choice to bring rice or beans to the potluck party - told Michael at their work he and Laurie would bring beans.  Now, to be fair, it is a very long commute from the workplace of Michael and Pete to Pete and Laurie's house (maybe 9 miles), so maybe jet lag or a time difference is to blame for the brain fart, but Pete informed Laurie they were to bring rice to the party, not beans. Michael, never one to let an opportunity to give someone crap pass by ("Hey ... where’s the beans?!? Did someone already eat all the beans?!?”) decided Laurie would hear the big question of the evening multiple times!

Now, as a good hostess, I naturally joined the back of the line when it came my turn for food. With the party at our house, Michael and I had been very busy getting the house, yard, tables, patio area, etc. ready for guests … and it felt fantastic to sit down and enjoy some great food. So much so I decided to go back for a second helping. About two bites into it though, there was Mr. Stinkeye (the one who was first in line for food, about 15 people ahead of me) wanting to get back to the game. Really, Grant did me a favor by curbing my overeating since I will be donning a wedding dress in the near future.

So we continued our second and final round of play. By the end, we had 5 people in the running for most Buncos: Laurie, Sandy, Josh, Dale and myself. I know everybody plays with slightly different rules but I love having that extra little jolt of competition so we had a roll-off with the 5 of us; first to score 30 points or a Bunco would be the big winner. My sister used to accuse me of cheating at Monopoly and always winning because I was the banker (which I never did!). Yes, I was the scorekeeper for the roll-off (yes, possible conflict of interest there) but, with everyone gathered around, there would be no way to cheat even if I wanted to (which I did not!). You may have guessed by now, yes, I was the big Bunco winner. (In all seriousness, I was the big winner anyway, having family and friends join us for a wonderful evening of games and food.)

Next up, a roll-off for Most Wins between my sister Sandy and Whisper, the wife of one of my co-workers. (Sandy won that decision.)

The final roll-off of the evening - Most Losses - came down to Kelly and Laurie.  It was a tight battle but Laurie (Miss “I Never Win”) was the winner … or loser as the case may be.

Next up, some fantastic cookies courtesy of Kenny and Whisper plus a tray of oh-so-yummy margarita cupcakes baked lovingly by Kelly (the master chef of our group). Gathered around the table, we all enjoyed the sweets and recounted the events of the evening while quaffing beers, horchata and margaritas. 

 

Left to right: 

Kenny, Mena Rose, Whisper, Sandy, Dale, Dave, Grant (Mr. Stinkeye), 

Amy, Alma, Karen, Laurie (Miss "I Never Win" above Karen), Jose,

Carla, Pete (above Carla), Baby Josh, Missy and Kelly

 
We did have some uninvited guests crash the party who seemed to be hell bent on trying to extract every last drop of blood from my body - yes, the dreaded mosquitos made an unwelcome appearance, grinding the party to a quick end.

Last to leave, Dale and Dave as we discussed the planning of our upcoming October and November nuptials.

It was a great night … great company and great food. Big bonus, the dog was so worn out he slept most of the next day.

Next month … The Melt at the Palladio in Folsom ...

 

To Date, I Still Haven't Seen Love And Rockets Live ...

 

Well, I can't say I'm exactly happy at this particular moment.

As I begin to compose this, it's 12:50 p.m. Sunday, May 21st 2023.

Instead of not being happy right now I should be jumping in the shower in preparation of leaving for Oakland California's Fox Theater to catch a concert this evening by a band I've never before seen live: Love And Rockets.

But there are some challenges.  I'll break it down for you ...

First, I purchased tickets from Ticketmaster back in the early part of March for this show. Decent seats, not cheap, not too expensive, because I jumped at grabbing them the morning they went on sale.  I got an e-mail confirmation saying "You Got The Tickets!" for L&R along with an order number and all the particulars on the show.  I also accessed my Ticketmaster account and verified the show was on upcoming concert schedule.  Things were looking good and proper.

A few days later tickets went on sale for Tears For Fears. Ended up getting tickets for that concert as well and, again, received confirmation I had tickets for same. An e-mail confirmation of that show was on my account.

A couple concerts within a few months of each other. Places to go, performers to see.  And I was especially pumped for the L&R show as I've never seen the band live previously.

And then somebody came along and slapped me upside the head and back into reality.  I tried accessing my tickets this morning online so I could print them out or at least have them available on my phone; they didn't show up in my account.  So I started doing some digging.

I have my verifications.  They say I've got tickets for the show.  I've got an order number.  I've got a date, a time, a location, even my seat numbers.  I've got confirmation of payment.  I've got a transaction number, got a payment ID number, a number for this, a number for that, a verification over here, a confirmation over there.  I got the whole shebang.  But I still can't access my tickets and the receipt I have showing the majority of this information states:

"This is not a ticket. This cannot be used for entry."

 

No QR code to access, no barcode to scan.  Nada, nil, zilch.  So what to do?

Well, after 45 minutes of fruitless research and another 10 minutes or so speaking with Ticketmaster who couldn't locate my information I discovered it wasn't Ticketmaster after all I was talking to.  It was some third party ticket service. 

Another venture online with Ticketmaster (verifying it was indeed Ticketmaster I was actually volleying with this time) resulted in a query asking about my account to try and resolve the issue.  As noted previously, the problem was the Love And Rockets show wasn't on my account.  So I had to shimmy around Ticketmaster's system of e-mail queries to explaining what was going on.  The response I got back was that it would be 24 to 48 hours (possibly less) before I got a response. Well, that really isn't going to cut the mustard when the concert starts in 8 hours.

So what to do?  Well I had the foresight to purchase insurance on the tickets.  But, reading over the rules and regulations of the insurance, my situation isn't exactly covered.  Speaking to a live person, however, gave me hope that that doesn't mean I can't file a claim in light of the circumstances.

 

 

So ... the question is do I take my chances drive 2 1/2 hours to Oakland and show up the at the theater with all my verifications in tow hoping I can get in?  Because with all the rigamarole I've gone through thus far it doesn't look like I'd have much luck on that front.  Throw in a 5+ hour round trip, parking and incidentals and that's gonna aggravate me exponentially if I can't step foot in the theater. Or do I just throw up my hands admit to myself I'm not attending the concert this evening and save myself the grief? 

Also, do I risk not going to the show and finally getting some kind of response from Ticketmaster to which they very well could reply "Well, you really didn't make an effort to try to get into the show, did you?"  And my answer would have to be to agree with that sentiment.  But that doesn't discount the information I have backing me up my decision.

When it comes right down to it? I'm going to take my chances, save myself the wear and tear and probably engage in a little contest about getting my money back.

Stay tuned ...   
 

The NorCal6: Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival, 4.29.23

 

You know ... it's a wonder The NorCal6 even made it to the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival at all last month.  (What with my accidental cancellation of the original tickets purchased and their re-acquisition.  What a cluster ...)

But we made it.  And, for the most part, a terrific time was had by all.

The Fest, an annual gathering of all things grilled cheese, was strung out over the course of a weekend.  Saturday featured UNLIMITED samples of specialty grilled cheese sandwiches, craft beers, regional wines, desserts and more for those 21 and older while Sunday was the family friendly day where the food samples and drink were available for individual charge, not the free-for-all of the day prior.

 

No ... I don't know why Grant feels the need to announce
he's #1 in many of these photos ...

Grant, Kelly, Missy and I got in an hour early courtesy of V.I.P. passes and Pete and Laurie joined us shortly thereafter.  Street parking was relatively easy when we got there.  I can only imagine how strained the parking situation got as the event got close to go time.

Held at Southside Park in downtown Sacramento, you couldn't have asked for a better location.  It was pleasant, sunny and never got too hot over the course of the thing.

And, oh ... the comestibles they had coming out the booths!  Let's highlight a few, shall we?

There was a BBBJ, a blackberry bacon brie & jalapeño grilled cheese concoction from Bella Art Works that was surprisingly tasty.  Additionally, this same joint featured the Mother Clucker, breaded chicken, provolone, cheddar and honey mayo.  Damned good stuff.  Two particular sandwiches from Rancho Rio Bravo Catering - the Cowboy Up (smokehouse brisket, smokey cheese, TexiCali blackberryy red wine & cracked pepper) and the Wranglers Roundup (smoked pulled pork and cheese with duck plum cranberry sauce) - were exceptional.  

I didn't get the chance to grab two specific sandwiches I was looking forward to from Sacramento Pop Up Truck: The Crustacean (a lobster and Gruyère grilled cheese) and The Surf And Turf (a brisket, lobster and Gruyère creation).  There was only so much you could get to as the day wore on and the crowds increased in size.

But one of my favorites was a French onion grilled cheese sandwich that came with a side of French onion soup.  There were two vendors featuring French onion grilled cheese so I'm not sure which one I got from who but, whichever one I got my hands on, was the right pick.  It was outstanding.  And I wish I would have gone back for seconds.

But, you have to understand, there wasn't just grilled cheese on the menu.  There was beer tasting as well, raising this little get together to an entirely different level of affair.  It was a grilled cheese festival and brewfest, too!

Yes, my beard is black. That's an entirely different post ...

At Ease Brewing Company, Great Notion Brewing, Morgan Territory Brewing, Track 7 Brewing Co., Boring Rose Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Chico were some of the breweries present along with a few more I don't recall.

And, if that wasn't enough of a good time, there were distilleries in attendance as well handing out tiny sample shots and signature cocktails as well!  Humboldt Distillery, J.J. Pfister Distilling Co, River City Brands, South Fork Vodka to name a few.  It was J.J. Pfister Distilling which had a very, very tasty rye whiskey sample I gravitated to a a time or several.  I even got Grant to give it a try.  And he didn't dislike it, a bit of a surprise there.  (Grant? Not a rye guy.) And once Pete and Laurie got there, Pete was drug here and there to give the various samples a try, too.  The girls were drinking some foo-foo sweet pink grapefruit vodka punch refresher from South Fork Vodka that wasn't too shabby.  Even Missy was digging on it ... and she doesn't like grapefruit. 

Needless to say, with all the food being munched on and all the liquids swigged, we had a pretty damned good time ... enough so we all concluded we'll be headed back next year. 

In conclusion, I may have had a little bit too good a time at the festival.  But what's a little frivolity among friends?  Even loud ones like me? 

As the saying goes (a recent one I've come to embrace):

Next up?  Our house ... were there's gonna be a Bunko Party with a Mexican food theme ...

I Was Wrong Wednesday: The Grilled Cheese Edition

 

Even though this was published on a Thursday, the events actually took place this past Wednesday.  Thus "I Was Wrong Wednesday."

A few days ago, scanning my bank account (the usual account check-up and verification) I came across a curiosity, a $412.76 debit of which I had no clue to its attachment.  The notification stated "EB BBQ Unlimited" which I immediately thought was suspect.  I scoured my brain for a few minutes and couldn't figure out anything I had purchased for $412.76 nor anything with "EB BBQ Unlimited" attached to it.  So, dutifully, I went on a little internet discovery mission to find what that label might be.

Quite a few BBQ companies came up in my search and I immediately suspected someone had gotten hold of my credit card number and committed some "Happy birthday to me!" present shopping at my expense.  So I jumped on my bank's website and went through all the necessary steps to have the charge disputed.  In so doing, it was suggested I cancel the card and get a new one.  Well this causes all kinds of problems, especially from the standpoint of various accounts having that card information attached to it.  That means I have to go to those various places and erase the old card and input the new one which is a pain in the ass ... but a necessity in light of the possibility fraud was involved.  So I went through the motions and did what I needed to do, grumbling along the way.

Fast forward to early this past Wednesday morning as I'm checking my e-mail.  A couple items caught my attention, one of which was from the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival and another from EventBrite, both noting the 4 tickets I purchased over a month ago were being cancelled because I had requested a refund of the $412.76 charge I used to pay for them. Oh, so THAT was what that debit was on my account!  And THAT'S what "EBB BBQ Unlimited" was.  There was no fraud!  I initiated the transaction all by my lonesome!  *yeesh*

I shot a return e-mail to the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival letting them know my bonehead move and asked what I needed to do for a re-acquisition, being they were VIP tickets.  

And then I figured I'd better visit their website in the event tickets were still available.  The festival is quite popular and sells out every year.  And - being well into the month and the fact it was being held at the end of April - I figured everything was sold out already and I may be SOL.  But, to my surprise, there were still tickets to be purchased ... and VIP tickets at that. So I jumped at the chance quickly, purchased them all over again and ended up saving face.

Thus, the "I Was Wrong Wednesday" moniker. What a motorhead I am ...

 

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Popped Top

 

When your significant other asks: "Why in the world do you need to collect empty bottles of Tapatío ... ?!?"

How else am I going to replace the broken top other than purchase another bottle?

 

 

Boom ...

 

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

The NorCal6: Soriano's Restaurant, 3.11.23

Left to right: Michael, Grant (and his wallet), Pete, Laurie, Kelly, Missyall of who participated in"The Case Of The Missing Wallet That Wasn't Really Missing"

For those of you paying attention to this blog, you may have noticed there was no NorCal6 blog entry for February.  That's because a couple members of the group (Missy and myself) ended up contracting COVID at the end of January.  So we took it easy, worked our rehabilitation grooves and applied our energy-less efforts into getting as well as possible.  (Update: A month plus later, there's still some lingering fatigue and I'm not certain my taste buds are quite up to snuff ... but we're back in the saddle again.)

Anywho, as threatened in the previous NorCal6 blog entry, Soriano's Restaurant in Diamond Springs was our next venture.  A Salvadoran / Mexican mix awaited us, something I was ready to explore.  Not the least reason of which was because I was rather hungry that day having only eaten breakfast.  

The staff was friendly enough and greeted us warmly on our arrival; they were genuinely happy to see us and thanked us for coming in as they seated us.  Chips and salsa were served and Missy and I chatted and looked over the menu while we awaited Grant, Kelly, Pete and Laurie.  Missy ordered a wine margarita and I kept things light with a Coke.

Shortly, Grant and Kelly walked in.  (Funny little aside here: As Grant sat next to me, he put his wallet down on the table and skewed his cell phone atop it, I assumed so he could access it if need be without picking it up.  More on this shortly.)  Pete and Laurie we're a few minutes behind them.  Then it got down to the business of ordering ...

With the orders taken and concluded, the conversation rolled out.  And at one point Grant shot back in his chair and called himself an idiot for forgetting his wallet at home.  I didn't say a thing, knowing his wallet was practically beside me and out of his purview blocked by his phone.  That exasperation lasted a bit before he realized he did, in fact, have his wallet as I picked up his phone and asked "You mean ... THIS wallet?"  I was accused of harboring knowledge of it without telling him and I freely admitted to being guilty.  The looks and laughs around the table were more than worth it.

Mine? The "Borrego y Mas": a lamb shank entrée (the "borrego") with your choice of an enchilada, tamale, or taco filled with the protein of your choice (the "mas"). It came additionally served with marinade sauce, pico de gallo and sliced avocado along with rice and beans.  Others in our party weren't as "experimental" as I was, leaning toward the more traditional Mexican fare ... and there's nothing wrong with that in the least.  I also request an appetizer, some "chiles" which were Soriano's version of stuffed jalapeños.

The outcome, from my perspective, was delicious.  The borrego was fall-off-the-bone tender and flavorful, definitely a different take on how I've had lamb previously.  It wasn't quite the same for everyone else, however.  Comments ranged from "okay" to "meh" on the tastiness scale so it appeared I got the better end of the dinner experience.

The caveat, however, was the staff forgot my chile appetizer.  I didn't squawk about it however because, as it turned out, it wasn't included on my bill.  And I wasn't upset in the least being I was pretty well stuffed from my dinner.

At the conclusion of the meal, a dessert flan was brought out for "the birthday boy" Pete whose birthday was nowwhere near the date of Saturday, March 11th.  I interjected rather loudly while looking at him with raised eyebrows "I had no idea it was your birthday, Pete!" but he didn't catch the clue and pooh-poohed the dessert away, stating matter of factly it was NOT his birthday.  The staff noted someone had called ahead to make certain the celebration was observed but no one at our table was the instigator.  It was surmised the waiter had gotten it wrong ... and the flan was hurried away.  I glared at Pete and told him he just lost a free dessert.  But ... a flan was saved that evening so no harm, no foul.

You need to understand: During these little dinner get-togethers there is lots of talk and storytelling and cajolery and laughter among other things.  At one point Kelly was practically in tears over something I said (I forget what), Missy was adamant about some hefty subject she was on about (something I had done, no doubt), Pete waxing poetic about some such and a straw was even thrown at Laurie because her memories about past events had come into question.  (She's kind of known for this which is half the fun.)  In other words, we usually have a pretty good time when we do our monthly "swingers meet up" as most of our kids like to call it.

As it turned out, we were the second to the last group to leave the joint that evening.  But, as we did so, there was the late Saturday night wave of people who began to shuffle in.  

Next Up: The end of April sees us attending the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival.  

 

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )