Sunday Morning Coffee Thoughts...

Is there anything better than the smell of fresh brewed coffee? I just came back from dropping H at work and came back into the house just as the coffee I prepared a few minutes ago had just finished brewing. It was a welcoming aroma as I walked in the door and had to avoid Jynx/Jinx who parked herself next to the door leading to the garage. I think she thinks of herself as a guard cat. The thing is that the only way that she will scare people away is when she embarks on one her sneezing jags when she sneezes twenty or thirty times in a row. It's something to see.

Wow coffee number one is gone already. I needed it to warm me up I guess. It is colder out there than I expected especially when my skinny legs met up with cooler temps out there than I thought would be.

Last night I grilled some chicken and veggies using a real simple recipe. A little bit of sea salt, cracked black pepper and vegetable oil to season the chicken along with a couple of green peppers sliced up along with a red onion. I finally bought one of those grill things for veggies. Hmmmm. I know it isn't called a grill thing. It isn't called a basket though that would be a good descriptor for it. Nevertheless you chop veggies in strips, add a little oil drop in the grill thingee and the put on grill and presto fresh veggies. LOL.

I went to Walmart yesterday. Gawd I hate that store but I needed several things for the house and I didn't feel like going to different stores to get them. This is what basket looked like when I was at the register. I had the grill thingee, gas can for the lawn mower, a package of swai fillets, coffee and a mixed case of Mexican beer. The young lady at the register asked me for identication for the beer purchase. It's like oh goodness gracious nevermind. I've been down that road before. Suffice to say that I am 50 yrs. old and I don't look under 21. They have sign there reserving the right to question those up to 40 if they may look under 21. I'm sorry that policy is effing insane. Okay I guess vented. LOL. I can't help it.

Last thing on the grocery order. Those swai fillets. I have no idea what swai is but it was attractively priced so I figured I can try it and if I don't like I will toss the rest out. I just googled it. It is a form of catfish. Typically the cheaper variety comes from Southeast Asia. I guess that's what I bought. Going to look for a recipe for it this week and see what happens.

Okay that's it for now. Typing about food has made me hungry for breakfast. Time to eat a bit.

Middle Of The Week Day Off

So I had the day off today to make up for switching a day last week that really didn't go well with it being a month-end. I can't say that I was very productive at all today. Basically I read a bit. I watched some MLB.TV. I had a bunch of naps. I have had a sleep deficit going for the last year or so. I just can't get through full nights of sleep. Way too many stressful things. Self-inflicted I may add.

Anyways I am about to broil some bone-in chicken breasts with a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. My neighborhood Food Lion had a great dealing going on this type of chicken breast and it was too good to pass up. This recipe seems a little simple with only the ingredients to season the chicken being a little olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. I'll have to let you know how it turns out.

Next on the agenda is doing some laundry and hopefully if it stops raining I am heading outside to pull some weeds.

I know this is a short blog. Just getting back into the swing of things here.

Spring Cleaning Of Sorts

Since getting up early this morning to bring H to work, I figured that I should start cleaning up around the house. Kind of a spring cleaning of sorts. Now in Schlewing's World there tends to be some dilly-dallying as I go about cleaning. The number one rule is that I have to music on while I am doing this. So I got the 70s station on Music Choice going since about 8am or so. Brewed some fresh coffee and then quickly wrote some thoughts on that phenomenal Dire Straits song.

Since then I've sorted through the piles of newspapers in the dining room and did triage to get the crosswords out before scrapping the rest. I then emptied and refilled the dishwasher and will need to empty it out in a little bit. I did the pots and pans in the sink using some dollar store dishwashing liquid. I should really test out the quality of the cheap liquid vis-a-vis the national brands. It seems to me that the soap suds last 5 minutes at best with the cheap stuff and then I feel that I am washing in grease water. Ugh that is a disturbing vision. Not quite as bad of a vision as one of a naked Republican male though. Ha!

Okay back to the topic at hand Schliv. I then started on a load of laundry. Whites needed to be done. I then headed outside to my deck to sweep it off good. In the last week my deck has been attacked by green fluffy polleny stuff. I am not even sure where it comes from. All I know is that there is lots floating around. This is the stuff that ends up on cars in the Upstate in the month of April. That's when pretty much any vehicle that is outside for part of the day gets this lovely green film of pollen all over it. So I finished that and then decide to start pulling more weeds that are on what passes for my lawn on the left side of the house. I have this patch of what used to be mostly grass about 6-8 feet wide to 20 feet long that has been taken over by weeds. I just filled about 3/4 of a 13 gallon garbage bag with this stuff. Yuck. This is the 3rd bag I have done since a couple weekends ago. I can actually see the end of this task. I just decided to take a break as my glasses were getting fogged up from the sweat dripping off the top of my head. I need to lose weight. It's getting critical. I decided to take a break and reward my hard work with a Samuel Adams "Mighty Oak Ale". Good tasting beer. Okay I think my break is up. I still have lots to do around the house. No more dilly dallying and typing. LOL. Well for now.

Dire Straits

At about 750 this morning I was bringing H to work and the song that was playing on the CD player in the car was Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms". Over 25 years after its' initial release in 1985, the simple beauty and power of this song makes me want stop everything that I am doing. I just want to sit in a dark room, with a good stereo or headphones on with my eyes closed and just allow the beauty of the song to envelop me. A truly amazing song among many that Mark Knopfler has written and played.

Small Guilty Pleasure

So I am awake in the middle of the night for a change. It's about 340am and 59f in Simpsonville. There's a time and weather check for you. LOL. I have CHOM playing in the background and Mr. Plant is singing that "I really oughta know". What a pretty song "Over The Hills And Faraway"!

Anyways I went for my monthly massage yesterday afternoon at Massage Envy and pretty much screwed up all the good that Becky did by falling asleep on the couch watching MLB. I need to stop doing that. LOL. That is a like a tiger changing his or her stripes. Not bloody likely.

As it was decent outside I decided to head to the westside of town and drop in at The Liberty Tap Room for one of my guilty pleasures. I sat down on the terrace ordered a Fat Tire draft and out came the daily crossword. It had been since last summer since I last had their "Roasted Chicken Nachos". This is yummy conconction of tortilla chips, roasted chicken, queso, pico de gallo, jalapenos, lettuce and sour cream. I love it and quickly devoured it along with a 2nd Fat Tire.

I would have put a picture of roasted chicken nachos but I couldn't find a good picture that would do justice to the dish I had this afternoon so I put up the Fat Tire pic. LOL.

All in all it was nice way to spend an afternoon. A massage, a couple drafts and a guilty pleasure.

New Blogger Design

Hmmm. I haven't typed in a while and I got back on the site only to discover that they have changed everything around. I kind of knew where everything was before to write and format these blogs. After writing 20 or so of these things I figured out how to add labels and photos to them. Now I am back to being confused once again. I'm probably going to have to write a few before I can start adding the stuff I added before.


So two weekends ago I turned 50 years old! It's incredible really when I think of how quickly time passes by. All in all I think it's been a pretty good ride. I've got some regrets. Who doesn't? I've made mistakes. I've squandered opportunities. I've caused myself to stress over things that I could have handled better and less stressfully. One thing I know is that I have the tools, knowledge, wherewithal, etc. etc. to change the things that I can.


In a roundabout way this brings me to one of the wisest things I have ever read. Something that I learned about in the late 80s when I attended a lot of meetings in church basements. Well lots of them were in basements. Sometimes they were in rooms that were in the upstairs part of the building though. LOL.

The prayer above even though many or most of us know it from a 12-step program is a tenet or words that have to be more important in my life than they have been for perhaps the better part of the last decade. I'm thinking at times that I completely forgot about the simple wisdom of these words.


Earlier today I took a break at lunch where I went to my neighborhood Starbucks and grabbed a table outside with today's Greenville News and a venti coffee and just vegged out for an hour or so. A little bit of serenity came upon me at that time. Month-ends are always hard for me and add the fact I made a major decision this week in my life as well; I definitely needed some calmness to descend upon me.


As I was watching traffic go by the words of the Serenity Prayer came to mind. It's been a long time since I thought of those words, and once again like it did thousands of times before when I attended meetings; a little bit of my own private serenity came upon me. A few minutes later I got behind the wheel of my car and all that inner peace went out the window. I'm a stark raving French speaking lunatic once I get behind the wheel of a car. I really, really have to work on that. LOL.

Ramble On Is What I Do...

So earlier today I had the best intentions to be super-productive. I was going to do some laundry. Do some home-cooking. Do some work-work. Get my tax documents together.

So the reality of the thing is that I Marc Schlewing aka TC aka the Schliv was not all that productive.

I brought H to work this morning at 8. I got back home and brewed some coffee and then got onto my bank website and checked out my activity over the last couple of days and wondered where the heck 2/3 of my pay cheque went. Verizon, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, TD Bank (car), etc. etc. eteffincetera and I am not talking about one of the former lead singers of Chicago.

Then I decided to dedicate the next two hours of my life to reading up, catching up and following up on the only sport that matters when Germany is not playing in the World Cup. Yes boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen pitchers and catchers for my Expos slash Nationals report tomorrow. Hell Yeah!

So instead of being productive I spent half the morning reading up on baseball! Alleffinright!

I then made myself some eggs with some sliced tomatoes on the side along with some whole-wheat toast and read my Greenville News. Surprisingly the editorial page wasn't filled with GOP nonsensical commentary like it normally is. It sometimes gets to the point that I want to cancel my subscription because of that editorial page. It does help me to understand how the eff Jesse Helms represented this state. Okay getting off the sanity soapbox now. Big grin. LOL.

After that I ended up turning on the TV having every intention to put it on an alternative or classic rock station to listen to while I demonstrated superproductivityexpealishous (possible spelling error there). LOL. H left the TV on Sundance and they were running the "John Lennon vs the US" documentary and there went my productivity at 10am. Fascinating documentary. You would have thought that Nixon had more important matters to attend to back then. Interesting what people in power think is important.

After that show I discovered that WGN was running back to back to back "Law and Order - Criminal Intent" episodes. Well three hours of my life were spent watching that show. I never watched it when it was originally aired now I am L & O junkie. They were running episodes out of order as they usually do. One had Chris Noth as the lead detective and the others had Vince D'Onofrio as the lead detective.

I finally got around to cooking. I started and still am in the process of making a homemade albondigas soup (Mexican meatball soup) for H to enjoy after his workshift. The recipe states that it is ready in and hour and half. This is the second time making it and I still am running around the two or two and hlf hour mark on it. The prepping of the celery, carrots, potatoes, meatballs, cilantro, onions, etc. take a little longer than what is called for I think. I know the last time I made this, it was a winner. I thought it was great as did H. J will need to try some tomorrow if she comes over after her workout. I will get her verdict then.

Darn I need to get H. I had more to talk about but I guess it will have to wait til tomorrow.

Coffee, Dirty Towels and Whitney Houston

I'm taking a break from housework and having a good cup of coffee. Have lots of stuff to do around the house after pretty much being away for the last two weeks. I'm pretty sure that my young man's eyesight does not include seeing things that are strewn about. If you ever come over to my house and you're looking for towels, there's usually a pile in his bathroom. LOL.

I'm listening to 97.1 The Drive out of the Windy City this morning. They have a Valentine's Day theme going. Every song being played has the word "love" in its' title. I haven't heard some of these in a while. Case in point toe-tapping along to Paul Simon's "Loves Me A Like A Rock" from way back in 1973 or singing along to the original studio version from 1975 of Peter Frampton's "Baby I Love Your Way". I will have to say that Peter does a much, much better job at singing that song than I do. LOL. I know that's surprising to many.

Sad news yesterday with the passing of Whitney Houston at 48 yrs. old. A troubled soul. What an amazing voice she had! Not my kind of music usually but when she wrapped her vocal chords around songs she made them hers. Her version of the "Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl was amazing. I don't think I have heard anyone else come even close to matching that performance. Her version of the Dolly Parton penned "I Will Always Love You" in my humble opinion is one of the most powerful female vocal performances ever. I guess it was her time.

Anyways that's it for now. I need to get back to housework. Time to refill my coffee mug

This & That & Meat Loaf Too

Okay I know I haven't been too prolific so far this year with my blog writing. It seems that I have been spending lots of time driving here, driving there and then driving somewhere else. Once I finish writing this blog I will be off driving once again. Back to Mauldin. Then later off to Costco on Woodruff Rd., then back to Simpsonville and so it goes.

With this blog I believe I will match the Habs win total for 2012. I will have to up my blog writing to match their loss total so far this year. These guys should be working for Canada Post or the USPS because they are mailing it since the beginning of the year. It's gotten to the point that I don't even bother checking their scores any more until the next day. That's a reflection of their play. They are playing half-assed, I will follow them half-assed. LOL.

Came back home early this morning to drive H to work and then came back to clean the kitchen a bit. I've got some cooking to do this afternoon. I finally shaved my face this morning. I hadn't in over ten days. It gets really noticeable when I have more on my chin than on the top of my head. Plus the fact that it seems like every colour of the rainbow appears in my beard after about a week. LOL.

I have a mixed CD going right now as I type this. Meat Loaf inspired me to sit down a spell and write this blog. After my shower, the opening bit with the roar of a motorcycle and the piano intro of "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I won't Do That)" came on after a Lisa-Marie Presley track as well as a Mary K. Blige track. Pretty eclectic mix I might add.

The release of the Meat Loaf song back in 1993 was a return to form for the epic type rock songs written by his long-time collaborator Jim Steinman. This song would have fit in perfectly on 1977's "Bat Out Of Hell". Radio and music company people back in '93 wanted them to cut the song down from the original 12 minute version to something more palateable like 5 minutes. Even back then they thought music lovers had the attention span of an amoeba. I don't think I have heard the short versions. I'm pretty sure I have seen the 7 and 1/2 minute video version.

I really wish people would give us more credit. Not everything needs to diluted to the length of a sound bite. This includes songs, news stories, political debates and our thought processes. We're better than that. I hope! LOL.

Back to the song now. Smile. I never knew that the original female voice on the track was a complete unknown at the time. It is a lady from northeast England named Lorraine Crosby who shows up 9 and 1/2 minutes into the song. The lady in the video was Dana Patrick and she only lip-synched her lines. In many live versions of the track you see long-time Meat Loaf touring singer Patti Russo do the female bit. She sure has the voice for it.

Oh man I just noticed the time. I have to get going. I'll type more later.

I'm Back Typing Over And Out

I have been remiss in posting my blah-blah-blogs so far this year. It just seems that I have been super-busy and have not had much time to spring upon the world more semi-coherent thoughts from the TC perspective. Note that I typed TC not PC. TC is my nickname according to J. She wanted to give me a nickname that didn't contain any vowels because she knows of my intense dislike for AEIOU and sometimes Y. I'm kidding of course. TC stands for Tall Canadian. I kind of like that nick at least until I start shrinking in my old age where it will then become UTBTC as in "Used To Be TC". LOL. I amuse myself with my thought process sometimes. O:)

Anyways I just going to babble a bit online this morning. Been pretty darn productive so far. Went to bank and made my car payment and avoided a late charge. LOL. It would be so much easier if I would just enroll online to pay that loan off. Thing is, it is the only thing I do with the TD Bank so it would seem kind of odd to pay my loan online from another bank. Remember this is TC world we are talking a boot of Italy.

Saw B at Massage Envy for my monthly try to fix my rapidly expanding bod of mine. She asked me today if we are tall like me from Canada. LOL. This has something to do with my feet hanging off the massage table I think. Anyhow I feel much looser now though my right hammy still bugs me and it doesn't take long to "Tighten Up" as Archie Bells and the Drells once sang. Used to hear that song all the time on "The Electric Lunch Hour" back in the day when I had hair.

Went home after that. Emptied the dishwasher, lit some candles and chopped some veggies up for a spaghetti sauce I am making. Turns out I didn't have to drive the prodigal son to work as he has a ride. He's got a 9 and 1/2 hr. shift again at the store. He's a pretty good kid and I am quite proud of him!

So that's it for now. Time to check on the sauce and read up on euchre. J and I are invited to a card party tonite. I don't think I have ever played euchre before. I may be as bad at that game as the Habs are on most nights. LOL.