BACK AT THE RANGE

It's been quite some time since Ron, Steve, and I took to the range, but this past Saturday we again had the opportunity.

Ron, you know Ron, he's one of the Knights, recently bought himself a new carry.  A Kimber Ultra TLE II, that made Steve and I very jealous!  It's beautiful!

Ron seated...Steve getting ready!

Anyway, he needed occasion to shoot it, so Steve, having the best range, about 18 acres of East Tennessee rolling hills, with lots of trees decided to have the meet.  Steve, probably Terri, truth be known, invited Ron and Neena out to shoot and eat.  Well, Neena tells Judy, so Judy invites us over too!  That's the way the Dragons operate...if one gets something up, then they all have to be there!  
 
This arrangement sometimes makes me uneasy.  I like a firm invitation, and I have to bring something, or I feel like I'm imposing.  They never miss an opportunity to have their fun with me over this insecurity, by not telling me the full truth of the situation!

Ron...looking the part!

It was a great time for several reasons; one being the opportunity to shoot, but the best was seeing Ron out doing what he's always enjoyed doing.  He is battling some health issues right now, least of which is a mending hip and wrist he broke a few months ago.  But, there he was, walking carefully through the woods to the targets, steadying himself on a cane.

What can I say?

We fired his Kimber 1911, then my Springfield 1911, then Steve's Glock .45.  It was good to be back shooting with the other Knights again.  Unfortunately, for both of the other shooters, I had some of the best target patterns!  Oh, well, the shaky old man lucked out on some better trigger pulls...what can I say!


We all agreed that we aren't what we used to be, but the thing to remember, should you think about doing us wrong, is that all the shots hit the center mass...may not have been bulls, but they would do considerable damage in a draw down!


The Dragons later, after all their loud cackling, called us in to eat some fried chicken tenders, potatoes, peppers, and onions, pinto beans, and great cornbread!  It was delicious!

Part of the Knights...Steve, me, and Ron relaxing after eating.

Neena laughing at Steve struggling with cellphone.

Between bites we talked and laughed and mostly poked fun at Steve, as usual!  Yes, we're a happy bunch, and take every opportunity to get together, even when some of the others aren't there.  Gary and Charlotte are in Florida camping at different spots, and Noel and Linda had a previous date in Gatlinburg.  We'll have to have another gathering as soon as everyone gets back home!


It's good to be back on the range with Ron.  Love ya' man!

WITH AND WITHOUT RON

Greetings!  Long time no blog!

Yeah, I know, I haven't been very faithful about posting things on Mushy's, but my life seems to be crammed with other things...some things not quite as exciting as a blog post, and others a little more important.

"They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time," as Joe Walsh would put it.  And, it's true, I seemed to have slipped into a less active life style of late, but that don't mean I haven't been busy.  

Let's see: 

1. I had a bad head-cold for about two weeks. 

2. I had hip pain so bad I wasn't sleeping well, so the doctor gave me a steroid shot, and required an MRI, from which I bailed toward the end!  Hate those things!

3. Had a follow up kidney CT scan, which I have every 6 months following my cancer.

4. Had my blood sugar out of control, so now I'm experimenting with a new drug.

5. Had some bladder/prostate issues, which remain unknown, but I'm taking Avodart to see how that does.

6. Went to see John Hiatt (with Gary and Charlotte) and Joe Bonamassa (with Corey) in separate concerts...one of the few highlights!  However, they were both dampened by Ron's absence*.

7. Oh yeah, there was a Princess "open house" during Christmas, and I was one of the hosts.  That project is going well, although slow to close, but that blog keeps me busy too.

8. Judy, Terri, and I went to see Les Misérables at the Tennessee Theatre...wonderful evening with dinner at Chesapeake's in Knoxville!  Their seafood is like being in Florida! (Here's a LINK back to a post about their food!) Steve missed out!

9. Then there is the work I've been putting into my new Fine Art America page.  I've been going through old photo files, massaging them, and posting them for sale.  It takes a lot of time!

On top of all that, my brother-in-law *Ron fell and shattered his hip and wrist.  That resulted in them finding that his cancer had come back...maybe in multiple places, but that is not yet fully determined, at least in my mind.  However, he is mending quite well, and even getting out for family gatherings again.  He's slower than he used to be, but he's trying.

Judy and I plan to get back to Roane State to start our exercise program again.  We were just beginning to enjoy it, and about in shape enough to walk thirty minutes at a time, and do lots of reps on the machines, when all of the above started happening.  It's a new semester now, and we're paid up till spring, so hopefully nothing else will get in the way.

We have a wedding to go to in Atlanta in a few weeks, but that is weekend fun with the family.  I'm looking forward to it too.  Our niece Becky (Steve's daughter) is marrying a great guy named Nick.  I think I've posted about them years back, but not sure.  They both are lots of fun, enjoy life, are very young and talented, and just starting to get their lives in order for a long run of it.  I'll probably take lots of photos and maybe post a few later.

We've all missed a couple for traditional gatherings due to Ron's accident, but hopefully we're about to get back to normal schedule.  We missed our normal Christmas Eve bash because Ron was not feeling his best, understandably, so we have just lately gotten back into eating out again.

Last weekend, however, Ron was again feeling low, due to a chemo round, but Neena came and met the rest of us at Carrabba's in Knoxville.  Even without Ron, it was fun being with family, but naturally it was a little more somber without him.  I posted once about "less feet under the table" and we're all praying this is just a temporary setback.  Besides, with the issues I've had over the last two years, mine, or anyone's feet could be missing first.  We're not guaranteed anything in this ol' life.

Note: Judy has her eyes closed...as usual!

So, here we are at Carrabba's.  They always set us in the back because they know how loud it can get with the Dragon's each clambering for the most attention!  Us Knights have long since become callused to the embarrassment, and we stopped sitting next to our wives; no boy/girl, boy/girl anymore either!  We sit next to each other, which makes it hard for the waitress to make up the correct checks, but it does allow us to communicate...some!

Then there was lunch this past Tuesday at Aubrey's in Lenoir City.  Ron came, which thrilled us all, but Terri and Steve were missing.  As they often remind us, "We still have to work!"

You'll note, there are no beers on the table above.  Ron and I have just about given up the foamy libation that seems to bloat us at times.  I can only eat about 2/3 of what I used to be able to eat anyway, so I certainly don't want to fill up on beer.  Instead, if I drink at all, I go for the "house scotch" on the rocks!

Ron still sticks to his chicken or salmon, while Gary went for the great looking Ruben, and Judy, and the rest of us went for Asian Chicken Salads!

For both of these outings, I used my "pocket camera", which was just returned from Nikon, after a lengthy stay.  They replaced the lens mechanism that jammed at the Hiatt concert, which is the reason I posted no photos of either concert.

So, for those of you that can't sleep without a Mushy's blog post, here's one to help you through what might be another dry spell.  I can't guarantee I'll be back frequently, and I certainly won't be back as often as I was in the first three years of this blog, but I will return.

Besides...I have to get out there and take more photos of the spring flowers that are already coming up in my yard!  I'm sure they will get killed one night soon, but it's enough to remind me that I've got to get back on the trail!

See ya soon my friends!  See you on FAA, Facebook, Flickr, Silverbacks, or on the Princess Theatre blog!

GETTING PAST THE "CABIN FEVER"!

My blog has become more of a documentary of family gatherings rather than a recollection of my thoughts and past events.  However, these will become "past events" that I'll look back on one day as just important as the older memories.  What is life but a collection of such things as these?

Part of the family met at the Gondolier Italian Restaurant* last evening...just to be with each other.  Of course, having been cooped up in the house for several weeks, either because of the snow and cold weather, or having been sick was the driving factor.  We just had to get out and over our "cabin fever"!

Had these family members not been willing, we would have probably picked up some homeless folks along the way.  Man, it felt good to be outside! 

*BTW, the food at the Gondolier is always good.  I just wish they had colder brew!

A TREE DECORATING PARTY

The Dragons decided to gather Saturday afternoon and decorate sister Neena's Christmas Tree.  It's her and Ron's house we use for our Christmas Eve party, so it was only fair all the sister's help her decorate.  Judy made a flower arrangement and everyone else help disperse the traditional ornaments around the house.

Meanwhile, us Knights floated off to Lowe's and Harrison's Sporting Goods to lust after all the guns and other manly tools!  It was good to see my old (actually only 42) deer hunting buddy Bo.  What great times we used to have!

We made our way back to Los Primos in Harriman for a tall frosty mug of Dos Equis!  We then made our way back to Ron and Neena's.

Ron had bought us all our favorite cut of meat earlier in the week and he soon had everything on his grill smoking!  The steaks were all great and cooked to perfection.

With the beef, we enjoyed a tossed garden salad, and a potato casserole.  Charlotte brought a cherry cobbler and soaked in vanilla ice cream it was "heaven", as Need is accustomed to describing food! 

Naturally, while the girls finished their Christmas chores and meat slowly cooked, we all enjoyed our favorite libations.  Steve, Gary, Noel, and I settled in on a bottle of Buffalo Trace, 90 proof, while Ron stuck with his pale ales.  The Buffalo Trace was a great drink, just chilled over ice, and went down smoothly.  I'll have to repay Steve Christmas Eve with a surprise bottle of something expensive and special!

With the tree trimmed and blinking, we all settled into "quiet mode" and filled our growling stomachs, enjoying the peace that family brings.

Within the next couple of weeks both Steve and Noel will be undergoing surgery.  I've added them both to my prayer list, so I'm sure everything will be fine. 

I too will be undergoing a simple outpatient procedure this week to have my esophagus dilated once more.  This should be the last time I ever have to have this particular procedure performed.  The spasms are back and the internal gas is almost unbearable at times!  Stand clear!

Today, the Dragons took Ron's granddaughter to see the Nutcracker, so the holiday has begun in earnest!  

Merry Christmas folks, you may not hear from me again until after Christmas

JUST LIKE OLD TIMES!

Ron and I were out again today for lunch and adventure.

The adventure part began at the new Frontier Arms store on Gallaher Road, between Kingston and Oak Ridge. It’s a huge place, and not yet jumping because the firing range isn’t quite ready. However, I expect the place to a hang out for many local residents once the firing begins!

Oh yeah, we also visited my 8-pointer that I donated to Brant Williams to help decorate the store. He looks pretty good hanging up there!

We then stopped off near K-25 and I again took photos of the beautiful green swamp that has emerged there between the Clinch River and the back roads of the old diffusion plant. All it really needs is a couple of gators and we’d be in the tourist business with swamp boats!We decided to go to Oak Ridge instead of Knoxville for lunch and check out the newly opened Lincoln’s Sports Grille. The Lincoln's Sports Grille is owned by three local businessmen and a professional baseball player -- Mike Lincoln -- for whom the establishment is named. The group also includes Marcus Caldwell, Scott Green (whom we met today), V.J. Murray, and Len Hart.

It was Hart's relationship with Lincoln in Minor League baseball that brought the current Cincinnati Reds' hurler into the group.

Lincoln also pitched for the University of Tennessee before going pro.

As I stepped from my truck, my eyes were drawn to an AC Cobra parked in front of Lincoln’s. It’s always been my desire to own one of those, even if it was a “kit car” like this one. However, it looked pretty hot to me.

Just then someone hollered at me, “Paul, is that you!?”

It was about eight folks from K-25 on their lunch break. My last boss, Don Scheve, along with Brad White, Leslie Palmer, Debra Freeney, and Jim Edwards, to mention a few. It was terrific to see them again, and even Ron (my brother-in-law) seemed to enjoy the group. He had met several of them at concerts we’ve attended at the Tennessee Theatre in years past.

Lincoln’s Sports Grille turned out to be a great place. It’s much larger inside that it appears, complete with private party rooms, a large pool room, a stage that is occupied with live music Thursday – Saturday evenings, a huge bar with multiple pulls (they had Fat Tire – that’s all I needed), a two levels of tables and booths to chose from! If you smoke, Lincoln’s is smoke free, so take it outside to their large patio area with tables and umbrellas! It’s huge folks!

Now, lets talk food! I tried the K-25 (medium heat) chicken wings...and they were tender and juicy! Jim elected to try the “Cesar chicken wrap”, and I think I’ll try that next time.

Don and a couple of other tried the “tuna melt”, but Leslie liked her food presentation best (use your imagination)!

Then there was my old buddy (he’s really like a son) Brad and his “home wrecker” hot dog! Man, that thing is huge and, yes, he ate it all!

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I even got to see old David Rose...it has been almost 5 years since he and I shared an office. He hasn’t changed, though he’s had some health issues like me.

Ron and left the bar and headed over to the old Alexander Inn. The Alexander Inn, called the “Guest House” in the early “secret city” war days, is closed and starting to deteriorate. It was built in 1943 to serve the top-secret Manhattan Project (WWII), and serve as a place for visitor’s like J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, and Secretary of War Henry Stimson to stay while visiting “the project”!

Way back in the 50’s my Grandfather Williams, who worked at the ORNL (X-10) site as a carpenter. He had a little room and I remember visiting one time and he showed me a secret he kept hidden from the Inn’s management – a hotplate he had attached to a table, and somehow the device folded down out of sight – hidden inside the table. The guest were not supposed to cook in their rooms, but he was not one to follow rules! So, the place has special importance to me because he lived there.

The good news is some money is coming in and the Alexander Inn may once again shine and welcome visitors. Many of us used to go to the bar there after work, so maybe that will happen again.

Anyway, the organizers are also making some income by recently allowing investigators with the Office of Paranormal Studies put all the ghost stories to the test.

"We're ghost hunters. We go around to places where paranormal activity is claimed. We'll check it out for ourselves and see what we can find," said Office of Paranormal Studies Co-Founder Clint Ferguson.

"There's a lot of rumors that it's haunted. We'd like to find out if it's haunted or it's not. If there's activity here, we'll find it," Investigator Pete Fransen said.

Requests to track paranormal activity at the old hotel aren't rare.

"I get a call probably every week to either take a tour to see the ghosts or somebody wants to come look for ghosts," Oak Ridge Revitalization Effort Executive Director Kate Groover said.

Heck, maybe they’ll start some ghost tours and make even more money for restoration. They may even find my granddad’s old hidden hotplate – if nothing else!

It was a great day, I even stopped on the way home and visited my buddy Gary Baker for a few minutes. He’s getting excited about restoration work on the Princess Complex that will begin soon, and the television station in downtown Harriman is coming right a long. I can hardly wait!

I stuffed a lot into one day and it felt good...just like old times!

NOTHING LIKE FOOD WITH FAMILY ADDED ON VALENTINE'S DAY

The Knights took the Dragons out for Valentine's Day on Saturday evening. They decided they wanted to try Carino's, which used to be Johnny Carino's, in Knoxville.

The place was already jumping when we arrived, but by the time we relinquished our 8-seat table, the lobby was standing room only.

When Judy and I arrived the others were gathered at the bar having wine, margaritas, and Fat Tire draft. I ordered a pull, and by the time I paid they had called our names.

We love to meet'n eat and exchange magazines (PC, Photography, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Playboys) and vampire and forensic mystery books in the parking lot. Naturally, all the dirty family secrets are cussed and discussed, and time is taken to make fun of each person in their own order.

The food seemed to please everyone, even the pickiest. Judy had the Jalapeno Garlic Tilapia - Pan sautéed in lemon butter cream sauce with spinach, tomatoes and angel hair pasta. I liked the looks of the Spicy Shrimp and Chicken - Penne pasta, cayenne pepper Romano cream sauce, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and green onions!

We split the wonderful Italian Wedge Salad - Applewood smoked bacon, candied pecans, Gorgonzola, Roma tomatoes and apple slices with roasted garlic ranch! So very satisfying and almost a meal in itself!

Judy and Terri decided to join Tracy and Katie at the Ice Bears game across town, while Steve and I elected to go on home and watch the Olympics!

Of course, being the romantic that I am, I stopped off at Kroger's and bought my traditional jar of macadamia nuts, Snicker bar, and a Valentine card for Judy. She was quite surprised when she got home, around midnight and found my offerings under her pillow! What a man!

Oh, did I mention the great shrimp meal Judy and I had at Calhoun's Thursday!?

Then there was the P. F. Chang meal Judy brought me the other day...wow, love that place!

The food has been great lately!

HINT: Double click on all the food photos and you can actually smell them!

THEY DIDN'T REMEMBER ME AT HOOTERS!

First let me get the food out of the way! I had some good stuff over the past week, including "Fried Pickles" at Hooters. However, their wings leave a little to be desired, and what I desired while eating them was some "Wild Wings"! Next time, if there is a next time, I'll order plain wings with the sauce on the side. I'm not sure how I got back to Hooters, but someone wanted to go and I obliged.

So years back I banned myself from Hooters over an incident that still rubs me raw. I mean, I may be old, but I got money too!

We sit down in Hooters, the Knights and I, any finally a young girl (notice there was no "lady" included in the description), with midriff bulges all around, comes over to a table of the 4 or 5 of us and takes a our drink order. We would probably have eaten there had this gal put just a little effort into fulfilling our needs. A smile would have gained her an extra five bucks!

See turns and walks to the bar and turns in our drink order and then returns to the table of young'uns we had previously broken her away from, and picked back up on the conversation she was having with them. I noticed that the beers are opened and placed on the bar, but she pays no attention. We sit and wait, thinking about how warm our beers are becoming and then watch her laughing and having a ball.

Finally, after about 15 minutes, Ron gets up and goes to the bar and picks up the beers and brings them to the table. No one seemed to care or notice, so we drank them down. The cool beers do nothing to cool the fire burning inside us. The incident only proved that the waitress knew nothing about old men and their generous tips! Had she played us, she would have been rewarded generously, but the longer we sat there and waited for a return visit the more we fumed while staring holes in the back of her head.

It may not have been so bad had the routine not repeated itself a second time.

She finally returns, not even noticing or remembering that she hadn't brought the beers to the table. "Would you guys like to order?"

"No," I said, "just give us a check for the beers."

"You guys gonna leave me?"

"Yes, we're going somewhere with better service," I said calmly.

"Wha...you mean I haven't given you good service?"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Hell no, you've been over there stuck up those young dude's butts since we arrived!"

"I brought your beer..."

"Bullshit, we went and got them ourselves! Now give me a check," I said firmly without taking me eyes off her's.

A manager was sent to the table and he started to jump us for being rude when I broke in and explained how things went down. He backed off...I threw money on the table, minus a tip, and we left. Had she just given us some courtesy she would probably have made fifteen to twenty bucks from us.

This last week was the first time I had been back in 3 or 4 years, and little had changed except we did receive better service, and they had added Fat Tire and fried pickles to the menu! I still don't like the wings sauce!

THANKFUL FOR FAMILY, TURKEY, PIE, GUNS, AND MOONSHINE!

Well, it isn’t all that “cut and dried”, we actually were/are thankful for much more, but the title of this post does generally sum up our Thanksgiving Day together.

Thanksgiving dinner/supper is always at Charlotte and Gary’s. There is lots of room, a big screen, a screened porch for cigars, and a wide vista of East Tennessee fields, ponds, and hills! I think the primary reason for holding the annual event at their house is so the turkey doesn’t have travel! Charlotte rises early to prepare it and by the time we arrive Gary is busy carving it.

Each sister brings her assigned dish, and the guys bring their latest pale ale discovery, and me, well, this year I discovered Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon! I really enjoyed the 80 proof clear elixir and its sweet corn taste. You should try it! We enjoyed our spirits in moderation…this year!

Visiting this year was Terri’s son Joey, his wife Krissy, and his daughter “Juliana-Bug-Bug” from Minnesota. Joey also brought his new little friend, a beautiful little Colt AR-15 A3 Tactical Carbine! Although we never fired the weapon all day, we did each grope it lovingly! There was a “shoot fest” at Steve’s on Monday, but we were entertaining Lily and didn’t attend.

Steve’s daughter Becky, and boyfriend Nick, joined us as well. Becky is a recent graduate and his currently teaching art in the Atlanta school system. They are always such a joy and I look forward to seeing Becky’s big smile each year.

Of course there is always the 15 minutes devoted to the annual “sisters group photo” (Linda wasn’t there…she has Thanksgiving with her daughters), but some of us tend to sneak…no…force our way into the sister-only shots! I was determined to get in the family photos this year. I bought a wireless shutter release for my camera, and after strategically placing my camera and tripod, I could fire the camera remotely! However, I made the mistake of shooting from too far away, which reduced the flashes range in some shots. BUT, they were good enough for blog use, and a good lesson learned. Thank God for Photoshop!

The photo session always reminds me of the Beatles’ “Hard Days Night” (or was it “Help”?) movie scene where they get off the plane snapping photos of each other! One of the sister’s will shout out, “Okay, look at Steve…now look at Ron…look at Paul!” It’s a wonder we ever get any decent shots, but even if the faces are looking at different cameras, they usually turn out to be an accurate record of the sisters!

The food was as good as usual, and, as these shots show, the turkey was ravaged to the bone and pies were all consumed!

After eating, Gary took us for a ride down through the fields to where he trains his Labs and hunts ducks during the season. He has flooded the nearby cornfields, providing a great refuge and overnight stop for ducks flying through the area. There were a couple of groups (of 6 or 8) circling the area as we left the area just about dark.

I am so thankful for this extended family. They mean a lot to me and I hate it when I have to miss a gathering of the dragons! I have missed two this year, both with pneumonia from my leaf allergy, and it really saddened me. They all teased me Thursday by asking, “And who are you?”

I responded with, “Paul Mashburn, damned glad to meet you!”