When I wrote my last post, Donna was away visiting her parents in Vermont. I was a bachelor for eight days. I kept myself occupied for most of the time assembling and setting up my new guitar. I mentioned that the Fender-type longer-scale length was an adjustment for me after playing nothing but Gibson guitars with the shorter scale length. A guy on a guitar forum advised me to play the new guitar exclusively for a month or so until it felt “normal,” then I could pick up a Gibson again and be comfortable with either one. If I switched back and forth from the start, the Fender-style neck would never feel right.

That’s what I’ve been doing – playing it daily. It sounds so good and plays really nice. I made a few tweaks to the set-up and it’s a really fine instrument. While Donna was away, I sold my Egnater amp and 112 cabinet. I ordered a new 112 from Avatar in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and got it last week. It’s loaded with a Celestion 60-watt Vintage 30 12″ speaker. It has greater power handling capability than the Egnater cabinet and sounds really good. Now I’m waiting for delivery of another amplifier kit – it’s coming from Canada and I’ve heard nothing good lately about shipments via Canada Post. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

While Donna was away, I didn’t exactly eat like a king. It’s hard to prepare a good meal for one person. She left a couple of leftover dishes for me and I filled in with pre-made dishes like pot pies or enchilada plates. With Donna back, that’s changed for the better. Last week, I made a batch of Japanese fried rice and Donna grilled wild Argentine shrimp – a great combination.

She followed that up with pollo in potachio – Italian braised chicken with tomatoes, rosemary and garlic – the next night.

A couple of days ago, Donna put a pork tenderloin in the slow cooker along with a sweet and savory sauce.

Yesterday was my birthday and Donna had a theme for my present. She had me unwrap three presents in a certain order. With a nod to George Thorogood, I opened one bourbon…

One Scotch…

And one beer.

She also gave a me a cookbook called The Japanese Grill.

We celebrated with a sushi dinner at Zushi on McDowell across from Red, White and Brew. Sixty-five trips around the sun – where has all the time gone?

We’ve had warmer weather – it hit 97 on Sunday. We went over to Mike and Jodi Hall’s place to watch the NFL Cardinals put a spanking on the LA Rams. Mike and I enjoyed a cigar on their back patio with a swamp cooler and outdoor TV. It was the first cigar I’ve had in over three weeks. It’s been so hot outside that a cigar wasn’t appealing to me.

It really cooled down on Tuesday as thundershowers roared in. The temperature only hit 83 degrees and the rain poured down. The moisture and change in the temperture is doing the golf course some good. They’ve overseeded the grass and it’s really responded. You might recall the photos I posted of the dormant grass a few weeks ago. The course will open for the winter season soon.

The forecast calls for upper 80s today and tomorrow, but 90 degrees doesn’t appear in the long-range forecast. If the weather guessers have it right, we’ll be in the upper 70s to low 80s for the foreseeable future.

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!