Knoxville Tidbits

We arrived in Knoxville on Saturday afternoon.  The weather is HOT! 
First things first, find the convention center.  That done, we looked around - registered for the tourney; and ran into a few New York friends.
When I was here for the World's Fair, this building wasn't here.  It is very impressive.
Settled into the room and did little more than soak in the cool air.
We're never lost, just visiting places that are new and exciting.
This should be Bob's motto.  I must say we have explored new ground - far off our beaten path.  Google maps are great for getting us back on track, even if it is only 10 minutes away.
Electronic score keeping is wonderful.
I can't say how much I love the electronic score boards.  It makes it so easy. 
Bringing the Worlds to Buffalo in 2014
This is the reason we are here.  We are talking up Western New York at every opportunity.  The table will be set up on Wednesday and then pictures will be up showing Bob, Diane and Ellie in their buffalo costumes.  I can't wait to see it.
We ran into a couple from Michigan this evening at supper at Applebees.  Great conversation and they had good things to say about our WNY area.  Let's hope that translate into a vote for us.
The real world beckons
Tomorrow, I'll be on a conference call with the BHA.  It is back to reality for a few hours.
So far, no phone calls about the shop.  That is good.
Sadly, we had bad news just before we left about a good friend's cancer diagnosis.  We are praying that we don't get that phone call anytime in the near future.
Is this trip worth it?
It is on many levels.
I'm glad we decided to go. 
More later

Headed for Knoxville

True to form, we didn't leave when originally planned.  To disspell the rumor, we are not on a 'honeymoon' as one of Bob's friend's suggested.
It is almost 10pm, we are near Painesville, Ohio.  Not sure how much longer we'll go tonight.
More later.

Weather, Farm Hands and other things....

The Weather Channel's models for the 'historic' April storm were a tad off.  We did get the snow but not the wind that would have made the beginning of the week miserable.
That said, the week did bring great surprises.
At our last book discussion we decided to extend our season by one more month to read Tom Rivers' "Farm Hand".   Tom is a local author and his book has generated interest for quite some time.  We will host Tom at our May discussion group.  It is always fun to have the author discuss the book.

 If you have followed our book selections, I recommend "Farm Hans".  Feel free to add your comments on my Facebook page.  Always great to hear what you think.

Tom Rivers

Tuesday, I was a poll coordinator for the Republican Primary.  The ladies with whom I had the pleasure of spending the day were delightful.  That is a good thing since the Republicans really weren't all that interested in coming out to vote.  

Participation was dismal, to say the least.  We had exactly 30 people come in.  That was a good showing and the only reason it was that good were the children!

The polling place was at a school that had a second grade event in the afternoon (parents stopped by and voted as an after thought)/  That evening, the school's PTA met and we picked up a few more.

Howard Owens,stopped in during the afternoon.  One place he stopped just before that had no one come in.  Later that evening, I learned that the site I was originally assigned only had two all day.   

The weather did postpone our Hot Dog Tuesday.   There was no way I would send our grill man out into the snow to grill hot dogs.  So, it is scheduled for Friday.  Hopefully, the hot dogs will go as fast as they did last Tuesday.  We started serving at 11:30am and we were sold out at 12:24pm.  If we can do that again then everything will be cleaned and put away before I leave mid Friday afternoon for the weekend.

The weather promises to be sunny but cool for Alan, the grill man.  The only SUNNY day predicted for the next few days.

Which brings me to the weekend weather.  Friday is supposed to be clear and dry.  Perfect travel weather.

Saturday will be cloudy and cool.  Deciding what to wear for an all day outdoor event is an exercise I hate.

My pile of warm clothes keeps growing as I listen to the forecasts.  

The first order of outdoor business is a meeting where I will give a presentation on fundraising.  I'll look like Nanook from the North in that outdoor pavilion.  After the day's activities there is a steak dinner (also at the outdoor pavilion) and after that another meeting for the project committee.  I hope that one will find itself in a warm cozy restaurant or even back to the hotel.  

Enough for now, I just remembered to look for my Alaska socks that will keep my toes very warm.  The pile just keeps growing.  

Birkerød

I only know of one person living in Denmark and I would imagine that this visitor to my site is also a visitor to Denmark.  So, for those interested in where Birkerød might be, here is some information.
Birkerød (ˈbiɐ̯ɡəʀøːˀð) is a town and was a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Frederiksborg County on the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in eastern Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 34 km², and had a total population of 21,930 (2005).

Tuesday, April 10 is Hot Dog Tuesday

Hot dog Tuesday....will have it's opening event beginning at 11:30am.
First and foremost, the weather isn't going to cooperate.  The prediction is for rain and snow.  SNOW!!!!
Can this be a double edged sword?
If the weather is snowy and cold it may dampen the urge to get a hot dog.
However, if the weather is snowy and cold, people may not want to go out and will grab a dog for lunch.

I'm still awake because I can't stop worrying that I've forgot something.
The hot dogs are in the fridge, ready for Alan to take out to the grill.
Rolls, bought.
Condiments, including freshly chopped onion,  are in the chiller.
The hot dog trays and napkins are on the counter
BBQ Fork and tongs are ready.
Slow Cooker is in the storage bin, ready to be used to keep the hot dogs warm after grilling.
Guest checks on the counter.
Something is missing.   I can't figure out what it is.

Work order put in for two tables to be placed outside The Snack Shop.  My dear friend, Martha, will dish out the hot dogs from those tables.
Customers will pay for their order in the shop and take their guest check to Martha, who will fill the order.
Martha can't read, so we had to go through a system that was easy for her to decipher in order to fill those orders.  I know she has it down pat.

By tomorrow night, I'll know what I forgot.
In the meantime, I have a feeling it is going to be a long, long night.

Root Beer Floats, Ice Cream, and Hot Dogs

Summer is coming and the shop is gearing up for a fun and busy season.  Today we started our ice cream special.

All ice cream products are at a discounted price for the month of April.  This promotion is always a winner.  There is no reason not to think that it won't be again this year.
The root beer and orange float promotion starts in April and will continue through the summer.  This is a gamble on my part.  The floats went well, last summer, when we ran The Summer Diner.

The question will be if we can transfer the interest to The Snack Shop.  The weather certainly didn't cooperate today.  The temperature hovering around freezing was hardly an invitation to buy a float.
Root beer floats seem to be the most popular, but I'm hoping the orange floats will sell well too.

We already have Pizza by the Slice Wednesday and starting, soon, we'll be offering Hot Dog Tuesday.
Not just any hot dogs, but Zweigle Red and White hots fresh from the grill.

The object is to make The Snack Shop THE place to go for summer treats.  It can be ice cream, pizza, floats or hot dogs.  All of the things that make for a fun summer.

Blister Pack, Revisited

My discontent with blister packs has reached a new level.
A few days ago, I broke the nail on my right thumb.
"No big deal", you say.
The nail broke just below the nail line, leaving a nasty gash.
That thumb is now useless until the gash heals.
In the meantime, opening the blister pack is now a challenge of monumental proportions.
"Please open this for me.  I can't do it with this thumb", I handed the nasty blister pack to a friend.
"How many times do I have to show you how to do this?", he sighed.
"All you do is fold the corner in.  You don't need thumbs.",  he said as he struggled with it. . " Ah, usually that is all you have to do.  Darn, this one is hard to open."
I looked up to see he was using BOTH thumbs to get the pack open.  He finally did make a dent in it.  Enough for me to break the seal with another nail.
Then, there is the trick of getting that tiny pill out of the blister pack without it dashing away as if it were liberated.
This time I succeeded.  I think I'll bring my friend the entire packet of pills and ask him to open them all.  Then, I'll just put them all in a pill bottle for easy access.

It will get better, it will get better, it will get better.  It better get better fast!