Weebly got me again by losing part of this post so the latter part is hurried.+
On another hot day yesterday Roll'em If Ya Got'em and the MBC closed out the 2023 summer season with it's league tournament.  The club had their big fans running and several members also had them there.  Between the fans, a slight breeze and it being overcast most of the tournament it was manageable.
Instead of having Pat's or an individual bringing food the club is having a pot luck.  I really like it.  Lisa took her awesome chicken salad sliders and some salami type sliders.  Long time friend and charter MBC member BBJ let us borrow a couple of his Chillware prototypes to keep our food cold.  After trying them I have to say they are really nice and we'll be getting one soon.  My first product endorsement:  Chillware
We only had 13 teams show up so there were one pool with four and the other three with three.  Only the first place team advanced, yuck.
In the first game we hung with Big Muddy Monsters longer than we should have but with no one throwing very good we lost 9-4.  Shortly after our game ended Big Muddy played again and won so any chance of us advancing was gone.
In the anti climactic second game we played the new Deboccery, not to be confused with the old team with the same name.  They jumped out to a lead early, imagine that.  We had a couple good frames and got back in the game.  We ended up winning 9-6 not because of anything we did but because they knocked us into the last two points.
Even though our play was less than stellar it was a really fun day.
Later in the evening we got some much needed rain but the storm also caused some tree and probably house damage.

I deleted this because it was a duplicate of another post

I met my old golfing buddy Gary for lunch yesterday.  I don't see him as much as I used to and since we played a lot of golf at Jackson Country Club we decided to try out their new restaurant The Terrace. 
I've never been a big fan of the clubhouse there mainly because of how it came about but it's grown on me some.  We sat in the dining room next to the windows so we could see if any golfers were braving the heat, there weren't until we were getting ready to leave.
I ordered parmesan garlic wings with a side of brown sugar carrots, Gary ordered shrimp and mango tacos with side of zucchini fries.  I was leary of the wings because sometimes the parmesan overwhelms the wings but these were very good and I loved the parm garlic sauce.  My carrots were a little too soft for my liking but still decent.  I tried some of Gary's zucchini fries and they were really good to.  He said the tacos were really good too.
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Overall a really nice experience and they are open on Mondays, yay.

Last night Roll'em finished up it's Wednesday summer league by playing for the coveted towel.  It was hot and humid but at the courts there was a decent breeze helped by the clubs fans.  In a bit of an oddity we played all our games on the middle court.
In the first game we played Bocceliccous.  In typical Roll'em fashion we got behind early as they jumped out to a 5-0.  At this point it looked like a short night however we got a couple points and then a game changing four point frame to take a 6-5 lead.  We'd found our stroke and closed out a 9-6 victory.
In the next game we played Mission: Imbocceball.  Each team took turns making really good throws and I don't think any point was further than six to eight inches away from the pallino.  We'd found our grove though and pulled away to an 8-5 lead.  Danger lurked though when we put the pallino deep and our first three throws hit the back wall.  With the pressure on Mike put our last throw about a two feet away from the pallino.  At this point I was just hoping they didn't go out but somehow it stood up and we moved on,
We had to sit for a while waiting for a game to get over and when it was we found out we were playing Usual Suspects.  They'd found their grove too and it looked like a good game but sitting our apparently really hurt us and we lost our mojo.  They won in a game that wasn't very close and it was time for us to go home.

Yesterday we decided to pick up something for our one meal deal.  We hadn't been to New Kahala in a while so off we went.  We timed it pretty good and the food was waiting when we got there.
I ordered beef and broccoli with white rice, extra sauce and veggies and an egg roll.  Lisa ordered chicken rice noodle with hot and sour soup. She got hers spicier while I got my spice level as low as I could, just can't do it anymore.
As always there was a lot of food in the containers.  Maybe because we hadn't had it in a while but the beef and broccoli tasted better than normal.  I wish they put more veggies in and not as much beef, maybe I need to try all veggies and have them put brown sauce on it.  My biggest complaint is that I should have ordered hot and sour soup instead of the egg roll.  I didn't because of then heat outside but when I tasted Lisa's it was real good.
We have to watch going there too much since it's so handy.

I'd wanted to go down and see the confluence of the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers for quite some time so we finally did it yesterday.  I went down route 127 until it turned into route 3 until it turned into route 51.  Seems odd to have two roads end on the same journey.  I don't remember ever being on the very southern part of route `128 so it was nice to seen it to the end. 
We passed through Cairo.  Wow, such a sad sight.  Several nice old buildings in poor condition or falling down.  Very few businesses open.  Very few people on the streets.  I think the town my come more "alive" at night but I wouldn't want to be there. 
We continued on and came to Fort Defiance and went to see the confluence of the two rivers.  I really enjoyed seeing them, maybe more than I thought I would.  The Mississippi looks a lot smaller there than it does in Grand Tower or Chester.  It also looks like the Mississippi dumps into the Ohio and maybe it should be called the Ohio as it goes down river.
We left there and proceeded back route 3, once again I don't remember being on the southern most portion of route 3 either.  We got to Horseshoe Lake and turned in to try the Horseshoe Lake Bar and Grill.  The place is smaller than I anticipated but overall a nice out of the way place.  I don't think our waitress had been there very long and she really struggled with our drink orders and then with our food orders.
I stayed with my plan and ordered and double cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese, pickles and mustard.  Lisa surprised me and ordered a burger too and we got some onion rings to share.  I almost got cajun fries but the onion rings sounded good.  Debbie and Mike got a chicken things.
The food took longer than I expected but there was a big table up front that was there before us.  When it got there Lisa's burger didn't have the mustard or onions she'd ordered.  My burger was excellent, in the top 2 or 3 I've had in the area.  It was too big for me to eat all of it.  I need to remember to stay away from double burgers.  Lisa really liked her burger and the onion rings were very good.  Neither Mike or Debbie were impressed with the chicken.
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We left there and headed home with quick stops at the Ware Produce Stand and the Duck Inn.
It was a great day Tator.

I finally am starting to feel recovered enough from my health issue that I could resume some easy walks.  No big inclines or places that I could slip on.  So yesterday me and Lisa headed over to Ferne Cliff to do the Rocky Hollow trail and the Rebman trail, I didn't think I was ready for the Hawks Cave trail.
We got there the place was crowded and you could hear a lot of kids playing around the park.  We went down Rocky Hollow first with the expectation of a nice waterfall with all the rain we've had lately.  There were several places on the trail that were either being repaired or upgraded, my money is on the former. 
It was a nice day and the walk there seemed shorter than normal.  When we got to the falls, disappointment.  The water wasn't coming over any harder than normal.  There were several kids playing in the water at the bottom and throwing rocks up the waterfall and watching them come back down.  Being a rock chunker from way back I kind of wanted to go down and toss one too but my old bones thought better of it.
We went back and then on the Rebman trail where there were kids playing in the stream that you cross going to it.  I chose to walk in water to cross instead of using the stone crossing.  I paid for it when one of the kids ran across and splashed me.  No biggie, I've been splashed before and will again.  We got to the falls and they seemed to be coming over more than the bigger one.
On the way home we stopped to rehydrate at 618 Taproom.  It was such a nice day we sat on the patio and enjoyed the day before heading home.
It was good to get back out but I was wore out by the time we got home.

Wednesday we took another trip to St Louis to take in a Cardinal game courtesy of Shad.  I had a queasy belly so i stopped at Faye in the morning to get a couple biscuits before we started our journey.  I got a sausage biscuit with no cheese and I got Lisa a bacon biscuit.
The biscuit really hit the spot especially after I took the egg off and had a plain sausage biscuit.  I think next time I'll just order a biscuit with a side of sausage and save a few dollars.
We got up to Busch and parked in the same lot we had a few weeks earlier.  We met Shad and Baily at the left field entrance then backtracked to our seats which happened to be in the Post Dispatch suite, awesome.  I had a couple beers but was still a little off so I got some water.  I grabbed a slice of pizza but it wasn't that great.  We sat outside but I probably should have watched more of it from inside the suite, got a little overheated.
We were going to have a beer afterwards but I forgot and we went straight to our car.  Once again we had to wait to get out of the parking lot and then neither of us saw the sign to the interstate and we ended up on riverfront.  After driving a ways down it the road was closed so we had to turn around and come back. 
We found the exit to the interstate this time but hit rush hour and after a few hectic minutes we got over and took route 3 since it was moving better.  We stopped in Waterloo and went to Papa Vitos pizza only to find it was closed.  We went down to another bar but they didn't have food.  One of the patrons told us about a place a little down the road that had decent food called Silo so off we went.
We got there and it had just reopened and was disorganized.  I really just wanted a burger but it wasn't on the menu.  When I mentioned the waitress said it was the weekend special but they could make me one.  Seemed very odd to me.  She came back and told me that burgers were available daily so I got one of those and some slaw.  Lisa got a Tuscan sub.
My burger was good but nothing special.  The slaw was special, very good.  Lisa wasn't wild about her sub but I tried it and thought it was okay.
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Not a place we'll go back anytime soon.

The summer league wrapped up the regular season last night without myself and Lisa.  We were off to St. Louis to watch the baseball game against the Marlins.
I got Danny and Ted to sub but the results weren't what I hoped for.  We lost both games losing to Mag 4 and Boccelism.  I'm pretty sure this will allow both teams to pass up in the standings.  I also think this will still be good enough to make the tournament.
Oh well.  7-5 is a big improvement from the spring league.

We eliminated various options until we finally decided on Kretzers yesterday.  Of course we stopped at the Blue Room for a drink on our way up.  Such a cool place but not nearly as cool as it was before the fire.
I went up thinking fried chicken but decided on the catfish nuggets even though I'd vowed not to get them this time.  I got slaw and baked beans as my sides.  Lisa went with the salad bar and so did Debbie.  Mike got the fried chicken with a salad and onion rings.  Lisa also ordered pork rinds for an appetizer.
The pork rinds were really good and had a little kick to them.  The catfish is just absolutely great, maybe the best around.  There was so much catfish that everyone had some and there was still some to bring home.  The slaw was good but nothing outstanding.  The baked beans were lacking, I just really wasn't impressed.  I had a taste of Mike's fried chicken but not enough to really judge how good it is, he liked it though.  Both of the "girls" liked the salads but Lisa got some bbq chili and didn't seem to care much for it.
🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺 (catfish carried the meal)
Note to self:  next time try something different but damn that catfish is good.

Last night I subbed for Can't Be Trusted, the first time I'd played on a Thursday in a long long time.  I've subbed quite a bit on Tuesday and played on Monday a few years ago so it was enjoyable to see Thursday teams in action.  The majority of the teams I knew but there were a few I hadn't seen before.
I always enjoy playing with Danny, Jean, Kenny and Ted when one of them is missing and last night was no exception.  Ted was out of town so Danny turned to me to sub.
The first game was against the Pomoniacs.  A fun group of people who I played against some on Tuesday when they are known as Pomona Winery.  In game that should have been close "we" came out hot and won going away 9-0.
The second was game against the Naturals, a team I'd never played but knew 3 out of the 4 players.  Same story as the first we came out hot and won going away 9-0.
It was hot but I'm glad I went down and played.

Week 5 took place on a hot and humid evening with me not feeling 100%.  Luckily we played the 6&7 o'clock games.
We played Boccelicious on the dreaded third court.  In an unusual start to the game Roll'em jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first frame.  We continued to build on the lead until it reached 8-1 and we hit a lull.  We let several chances to end the game get away and suddenly it was 8-4 and they had a wide open chance to tie the game but didn't, at least until the next frame when they made it 8-8 and we were in trouble.  The Glue once again rose to the occasion and got her first throw close and we escaped with a 9-8 win.
In the second game we played Usual Suspects on the middle court.  Once again we got going early and got a big lead.  Once again we let them mount a comeback but this time we made a throw that prevented them from getting a big throw before winning 8-4.
By the time the second game was over I was beat from the heat and not feeling great.
We all made some very big throws when we had to and got a much needed two win night.

We hadn't been on a good road trip for a while so yesterday we took off to Prairie Du Rocher to visit Lisa's Market Street Grille.  We went through Steeleville and cut over to Chester, takes a little longer but some different scenery.  We'd gone this way before but this was the first time I notice the covered bridge but we were already past it.  When we got there they were having some kind of reenactment of some sort at the park across the street but it wasn't until later.
I went up think fried chicken but was kind of backing off.  When Lisa decided on chicken wings I piggy backed on her and we got the 10 piece wings.  She got pasta salad and I got fries.  Debbie got a fried chicken salad while Mike got chicken strips and fries.
The wings were big and tasted great which didn't come as a surprise since their fried chicken is so good.  The fries were nicely done and really good also.  Both Mike and Debbie said they liked what they got too.
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We left there and went to Red Bud for a drink at Lieferbrau.  The weather was great and they have a really nice beer garden so we sat out there and had a really nice time.
We decided to stop at Salty Dawg in Chester on our way home.  They had a great crowd and one of the guys recognized me from chili cookoffs at 17th Street.  Come to find out he's cousin's with one of our friends and one of Lisa's classmates. 
Fun day

I don't remember Murphysboro having their fireworks scheduled for any date other than the 4th until this year.  No idea why.  It's been moved because of weather a few times.
Anyway, I'm not a big fireworks guy.  I saw a couple when I went outside for a brief moment.  The thing I really noticed is that there didn't seem to be as many "unauthorized" fireworks being shot off.  I wonder if the dry weather or the economy caused people to cut back or maybe my hearing is getting worse.  We'll see tomorrow if people were waiting for the actual 4th.
At our weekly Sunday "Packer" dinner yesterday I made ribs.  I'm usually a good rib cooker but these weren't my best.  I got behind when I couldn't get my smoker started in a timely manner then it was just a series of little things.  The ribs really needed another 30-45 minutes in the smoker to get them to the tenderness I want.  My flavor was spot on though and the ribs were edible just a little too tough.
We had another series of pop up storms so I had to move my griddle inside the garage.  Not that big a deal but a little more leg work not that the exercise was bad for me.  The cabbage I did on the griddle seemed to be really big hit. 
I've bored you enough.

We got a late start yesterday so we decided to go to T Street since we don't get there as much as we would like, mainly because they don't open until 4pm.  Since we've been there last they've really changed their draft beers, no more Shiner Bock or Amberbock.  It's now mainly big brewery things but they did have a Route 51 but we went with Blue Moon.
I thought the surf and turf sounded good but Lisa didn't want that since I'd fixed some really great ribeyes a few days ago (shameless self promotion but they were really good).  She got and Italian Beef and I ended up splitting the surf and turf with Debbie with a side salad and onion rings for sides.  Mike surprisingly got a burger and house made chips even against my recommendation. 
T Street has one of my favorite side salads, nice sides and just lettuce, cheese and carrots with three pepperoni slices on top.  Their house dressing is also really good.  Even though the place was more crowded than I'd ever seen the food got there in a timely manner.  We'd had the steak done Montreal style and it was one of the best ribeyes I've had lately.  The onion rings didn't appear to be hand breaded but they were cooked nicely and actually hit the spot.  The grilled shrimp were good but could have used some for seasoning for my taste.  Lisa Italian beef seemed dry unless it had the juice on it.  Mike commented that his chips needed seasoning was why I recommended against it.
The Montreal ribeye and the side salad really carried this meal
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