Yesterday I was wanting to get away and go somewhere different.  After looking at places in Harrisburg, Chester, Sparta and a few others I remember a place in Coulterville that we've driven past and always said we need to go there, Pistol City.  We got there a little after noon and there was a decent crowd but the place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside.  The inside has a rustic feel to it not to mention a small bar area.
After looking at the menu we both decided to go with the buffet which is out of the norm for me and almost unheard of for the Glue.  We'd check it out before deciding and everything looked fresh.  We both got the fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy, both were very good and hot.  Good and hot isn't something you normally find on buffets.  I also some grilled sausage that was in kraut, a small bit of the ribs in cabbage and one of the loaded potato wedges.  The sausage had a good flavor but was a little dry.  The ribs were ok but I didn't expect much from them.  The potato wedge was ok too and the bbq that was on them was decent.  I also had some peach crisp for dessert.  I'm not a big peach guy but the crisp was excellent.  In addition to the buffet we each had two beers and the check was less than $25.  Good food and good value, we'll go back soon.
We also had a great waiter, George.  In talking to him we found out he's good friends with one of our neighbors and with another person who lived across the street from us when he was very young. 
After leaving there we stopped by Time Out Bar and Grill in Coulterville.  Nice place but ashtrays usually means we don't stay long.
I was then going to stop by Shiloh Hill Tavern but it wasn't open so we went on to Ava where the Glue wanted to do some shopping while I had a beer at Gabby's.  Of course once the Glue got done shopping she wanted to have a beer there too. 
After there we stopped in at Longbranch Shooting House and Saloon which is in the middle of nowhere.  We were the only people there but had a great time talking with female bartender.  They have Stag on draft which is always a nice surprise.  The bartender said normally there's a lot more people there but the weather must be keeping them away.  We'll have to go back check out the food there.
A very fun day but I wish Shiloh Hill Tavern would have been open, been wanting to go there for a while.

The Grumpy Shillelaghs will again be playing in the St. Patricks Day tournament.  New super subs Danny and Jean will be replacing Herbster and Clutch.  Hoping big time for some good weather, sunny and 60's or 70's would be great.  The spring season starts right after the tournament so bocce will be in full swing.  I'm ready.

This past Friday I had surgery to remove a ganglion cyst from my left middle finger.  Surgery seemed to go good and so does the recovery but I'm getting tired of having my body cut on so much.  Three surgeries in a year and a half is too many.  At least the  big padded bandage comes off today,
After going to Route 51 last weekend our daughter and son-in-law wanted to go there yesterday to eat.  The previous weekend I'd had the fish and chips and went there fully expecting to get it again since it was so good.  When I went up to place the order I saw they had a cuban sandwich as the special so I decided to go with that.  The Glue went with the fish, Bailey had the quesadilla which the Glue had the previous week, Shad had the bbq and the grandtwins shared some mashed potatoes.  The cuban was awesome and needs to be on their regular menu.  Everyone else said their food was good except the grandtwins, they didn't say anything but made a lot of noise especially the grandson who likes exercising his vocal cords.  Both weekends they didn't have the Irish red we liked so we went with the scottish mild which we both liked.  Route 51 will probably be one of our go to places for a while.
The Grumpy Shillelaghs got some bad news in that Clutch and Herbster aren't going to play in this years St. Patricks tournament so we'll have to start searching for a couple replacements. 

When we moved into the house we are currently in the people who were moving out told me that a person should have to move every 10 years so they are forced to get rid of stuff or take it with them.  Stellar advice.  After 28 years of living here with two pack rats and two kids who left stuff here we've decided to clean out a bunch of stuff.
This isn't as easy as it sounds.  A lot of items have sentimental value for one reason or another.  Some items you'll probably want at some time in the future.  Some items you're just not sure what to do.  Not to mention it takes a lot of time and effort, especially stuff that has resided in the attic for a decade or two.  A lot of the stuff has probably has value to other people but not to us anymore, anyone want a treadmill for free?
It's a frustrating job and I'm sure our trash guy isn't wild about us.

Murphysboro Bocce Club's website has moved to www.murphybocce.com.  This involves moving the website from Godaddy to Weebly which is why the .org has been replaced by the .com.  The primary reasons for doing this are (in no particular order):
1) upgrade the look of the website.
2) save the club some money
3) make it easier on the website developer (me).
Weebly is the product used for this product which means I only have to learn and use one 'website builder' instead of two and I'm more familiar with Weebly.  What I learn working on one website can be applied to the other which will be a big benefit to both sites.  I believe Weebly also allows more flexibility to increase the look and feel of the website.
I'm sure there will be some confusion as the transition is made but I hope that it's minimal.
Overall I'm excited about the change and I hope everyone in the bocce community likes it.
Please use the contact form on this site or on the MBC's site for any suggestions or criticisms.  thanks.

Until the final hail mary pass hit the ground and there were no flags on the field I thought the patriots were going to pull it out somehow. 
It was unbelievable the amount of offense in this game or maybe it was the lack of defense. 
I still can't believe that the eagles touchdown in the back of the end zone stood up.  Tough call which seem to always go the patriots way.
The other controversial eagles touchdown looked like the correct call.  The receiver had caught the ball and ran a few steps before contact making him a runner and different rules apply then.
Doug Peterson must have major cojones to call that trick play in that situation,  I thought he should kick the field goal but I also thought he should kick the second extra point after missing the first one.  Seems things like that end up biting a team in the butt.
The eagles D sure picked a great time to finally make a play.
I don't like the long half time show.  It's a football game not a concert.
I don't pay a lot of attention to the commercials but it seemed like a down year.
Two best things about the Super Bowl:  the patriots didn't win and The Glue's regionally famous Wings, they were outstanding.

On another note, me and the Glue went to Gabby's on Saturday and they redeemed themselves from last visits mediocre fried chicken.  The Glue again went with the fried chicken and it was much better.  I went with the chicken fried steak and it was great.