ANTS IN THE COFFEE POT

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Live on a sub tropical island like Key West and inevitably you will run into all kinds of bugs, insects and other creatures. Recall last week. It was a rock lizard who had taken up residence in my home.

This week it is ants. The tiny tiny small ones. Almost invisible to the naked eye. They are in my Keurig coffee maker. The one that uses small K-cups.

Five or six days ago, I noticed the ants swimming around in side water holder on the unit. Ugh! The thought immediately occurred that I might have drunk some in the previous 24 hours.

My problem. These little ants are impossible to get out of the Keurig machine. Everything has been done. Anna washed everything three times. No help. I finally placed the water unit in the dishwasher. That did it for the water unit! Ants gone.

The ants still are in the main unit. The part I cannot put in the dishwasher. There are fewer, but still there. I went to TERRO two days ago. The best ant killer in the keys! Not this time.

There are not nor have there been ants on the kitchen cupboard on which the coffee machine rests. Only on and in the machine itself.

I am at wit’s end. Guess I will be throwing out the coffee maker and buying a new one.

I have also been suffering withdrawals symptoms. No coffee, no caffeine.

My blog talk radio show Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou went well last night. I finalized the show during the day. Added a section on Steven Sotloff who had been beheaded earlier in the day.

Only six subjects covered. All heavy.

Post show comments indicate the topics were equally liked/enjoyed. First time. Another first time was no one disagreed with me. A big first time!

Dinner at Roostica before the show. Two pieces of Italian sausage. Delicious! Ran into Ray Sigsimondi. A good guy. He came to Key west about the time I bought my home here 16 years ago. He plays a mean electric guitar. I miss his playing with Larry Smith on occasion at the Wine Galley.

The Key West Citizen had a heart warming front page story this morning.. It concerned Julie Johnson who was in Key West for several hours. She was traveling through on a cruise ship. Julie is 46 and blind since birth. Her friends were going to take a bike tour around Key West. She wanted to go, also. She found bicycle provider Lloyd Mager. He provided a tandem bicycle as the solution. Lloyd drove and Julie had the back seat. She pedaled along and took in the sounds and smells of Key West.

Lloyd makes stops so the tourists can enjoy first hand many of the special delicacies Key West has to offer. Julie got to enjoy key limes, sea grapes, touching a turtle and animals. Everything everyone else on the tour was doing.

God bless Julie! God bless even more Lloyd Mager who was here in Key West and knew exactly what to do to make Julie’s experience the pleasure it was.

My back, my back, my back! What a pain! Spasm! It is causing my shoulder to hurt because of the strange movements I make. Especially in bed.

Enjoy your day!

BOOB WEEK

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I write today’s blog with all due respect to the ladies. Offensive I am not trying to be. However, this is the week of many bare breasts in Key West. It is Fantasy Fest!

There is regulation with regard to permitted nudity. You cannot run around bare ass. Though a few do.

There are two basic ordinances/laws to be followed. If not, a person is subject to arrest.

The first involves a woman’s breasts.  The nipple area must be covered. If body painted, it will be considered covered. Some ladies opt for pasties which are considered ok.

The ladies have their breasts painted. There are stands/tents all over Duval performing the service. Prices anywhere from $75 to $125. The paint job lasts a week. After the first 24 hours, a woman can shower and the paint will not come off.

Some ladies push the envelope. They wish to be as nude as possible. All nude if such can be legally accomplished. The breasts are normally painted with large palm trees, birds or fish. Shades of Key West. However, a certain number who want to cover as little as possible, have an inch or two surrounding the nipple area painted. No more.

The female genitals come into play. The area is spray painted. Not much. Just enough to cover what must be covered.

In recent years, a new gambit has come into play. The ladies have their entire bodies spray painted. Faces, also. All one color. I think mentally they believe this is closer to true nudity.

The second law/ordinance to be concerned with involves sex itself. Sex acts in public places are strictly prohibited. Makes sense. Although an adult party, people should only go so far.

I was up before the sun this morning. Dressed and out in my car. Just before 7. Still dark.

I was on my way to Publix. I have been dieting all week and had absolutely nothing I considered diet food in the house. Not wishing to screw up what thus far has been a successful five days, I decided to shop.

I was at Publix just as the doors opened. About 20 people shopping. A good time to shop. You basically have the store to yourself. I did not need much. But what I needed I had to have lest I blow my diet. I spent all of $17.

The ants have returned! In a new place in the kitchen.

There is a high dining counter at one end. I sit on a high stool. It is where I write this blog and all my writings. It is also where I eat. I suspect I may have dropped a crumb or two.

As I began this blog, I felt something crawling up my leg. It was an ant! The tiny ones. I looked on the floor and they were all over below me. TERRO houses have been laid out. I suspect the ants will be gone by tomorrow.

A pain in the ass!

The Key West Citizen reported this morning that the Florida keys are the most vulnerable to a sea rise. Caused by global warming, of course. The most vulnerable spot to be affected by rising waters in all of the United States. Perhaps, the world.

Syracuse my Syracuse! Got beat big time yesterday. 55-0 by Georgia Tech. We shall return. The trip back is painful, however.

I have to avoid the near occasions of sin when I diet. On the other hand, I have to get out. Last night I went downtown. One stop only. Irish Kevin’s for two drinks. I did not eat last night at all.

I like Irish Kevin’s, though I rarely go. It is a couple of doors down from Sloppy Joe’s on Duval. The attraction for me are the young lady customers who go up on stage and exhibit their breasts. I am a voyeur at heart.

My Friday TV/internet show, The Key West Lou Legal Hour, is You Tubed. I am having a problem. Perhaps some of you may be able to help.

The shows are not being You Tubed in order. The show consists of five segments. They do not show up on You Tube in sequential order nor are they all grouped together. Shows from three or six months ago pop up in between segments. How do I get them to show in order?

Please understand that the show cannot be You Tubed as one item. Television station personnel tell me it has to be in separate segments. I do not understand why, except that it may have to do with time at the TV station’s end.

My shows have been You Tubed for several months. I do the show Friday mornings. My show is rerun on television Saturday afternoons. It is supposed to be You Tubed at six Saturday evening. Sometimes nothing appears. Like here it is Sunday morning and Friday’s show is not yet up.

It is not easy.

The You Tubed shows in whatever order are available for viewing, never the less. Go to You Tube. Then enter Lou’s Legal Hour.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Great Goombay Night

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Show time yesterday morning. The Key West Lou Legal hour. My TV/internet show.

I was shocked at the response to what I believe will be the big issue in the next debt ceiling fight in three months. The response was huge. Instead of Obamacare being the issue, I suggested it might be the result of a marriage between the U.S. Conference of Bishops and the Republicans. The issue: Birth control.

The Bishops want available birth control coverage cut back even more. The far right believe this will bring the mass of Catholics on to their side. No way. Birth control was the issue that first drove Catholics from the Church back in the 10950s and 1960s. I know. I lived it. It was the early years of my marriage.

The ants are gone. I won another battle. My laptop works. I am surprised! I thought they might have feasted on the wires inside.

Spent my afternoon napping.

Last night, Goombay!

Goombay has become a tradition of sorts the past several years. It is a Don Manaher party for his friends. Twenty of us last night.

The evening started At Don’s Place. Then several cabs to 801. 801 is one of the gayest of gay bars in Key West. I suspect everyone in our group are only there the one night of the year that Goombay begins.

We continued the partying that had begun at Don’s Place. I drank Yager for the first time. A bunch of guys were doing Yager shots. I joined them. My eyes teared.

I did the usual walk down Petronia Street. Each year I am amazed at the street’s development. More and more stores and restaurants.

The music was at the far end of Petronia. Reggae. I sat and listened for a while. In the same area as the band stand, there were all kinds of kids’ rides. I have to tell Lisa about them. The grandkids will enjoy big time.

I stopped at the outside bar at Blue Heaven. Packed as usual for Goombay. Had a drink and took in the crowd.

Started my walk back to Don’s Place where I had left my car. A bit of a walk. I was on Duval and passing the Little Room Jazz Club. Only been open about six months. Krystal, my engineer at the TV studio, bartends at night. She is always telling me to stop in. I did last night.

What a beautiful place! Well done! I knew it before when it was an art gallery. Décor totally different. I was further impressed by the number of people. Inside and out. Packed. Mostly tourists. A bad sign from my perspective. I have seen it before. A business cannot survive in Key West without local support. Tourists come and go. Locals are here all the time.

Whatever, it was a fun place last night.

Krystal looked lovely! A beautiful young lady. I enjoyed a drink and some fruit and cheese at the bar. A singer entertaining. Kristen McNamara. Excellent. She and her guitar. Not Key West music, however. It was more of what I would expect to hear in a New York or Chicago hotel bar. Will it go over in Key West? I do not know.

Kristen has an interesting background. She appeared on American Idol in 2009. She was a top finalist on Star Search in 2003.

Met an interesting couple at the Jazz Club. Anne and Glenn Ford. From Lumberton, North Carolina. Celebrating their 23rd wedding anniversary! Congratulations Anne and Glenn!

Glen is retired. He used to restore Volkswagens. Anne still works. She is in health care.

This was their first night and first time in Key West. I told them to get over to Goombay. Enjoy a Key West flavor! I mentioned some other places they might also enjoy while here. Hope I run into them again during their visit.

I left the Jazz Club and walked back to Don’s Place. A bit of a hike. I made it without tiring.

Don’s was packed. Most of our group had reconnoitered and were now partying at Don’s. I said my hellos, did not have a drink, and drove home to bed.

I have no idea what I will be doing tonight. May stay in. On the other hand, a little Chart Room and perhaps Irish Kevin’s would not hurt. Fantasy Fest visitors are streaming into town. Some of the ladies will be clad in less than usual clothing. Some topless. I am a voyeur at heart and enjoy looking.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

GOOMBAY

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Fantasy Fest returns! It starts today!

The opening event is Goombay.

Takes place in Bahama Village. On Petronia Street. Petronia runs off Duval.

A Caribbean festival. Food galore.  Music from gospel to reggae. Everyone friendly.

Goombay runs several blocks. Food, beer and trinket stands on both sides of the street. People crowded down the middle between them. The bodies, heat, and cooking make the street hot hot!

I will be going tonight. This is Don’s night. He entertains his friends. We will cab from Don’s Place to 801. 801 is at the entrance of Goombay on Duval. A gay bar. We will stop there for a drink or two first. Then the walk down Petronia. We eventually end up at the outside bar at Blue Heaven where the rest of the night is spent.

A fun time.

The ants returned. Yesterday. Not in the kitchen. Upstairs in my bedroom!

I woke and was watching television from my bed. I keep an extra laptop in my bedroom. It sits on an ottoman where it charges when not in use. I picked it up and returned to bed to read the news and check my messages. Opened the laptop. That was it! Little ants came out all over the place! Not only were they between the two main pieces, they were coming out of the keyboard and every hole on the laptop.

Worse yet, into my bed. Running all over the sheets.

I leaped up and ran and put the computer back on the ottoman. That is when I saw hundreds of little ants all over the ottoman top. Centered on an open pack of Newport menthol cigarettes. The box top was open. Two cigarettes inside. The ants were attracted to the menthol cigarettes.

First things first, I ran back to the bed. Ripped the sheets off the bed. Shook them right there. A mistake because I shook them onto the carpet. At least I got them out of my bed!

I had some extra TERRO ant traps. Placed them on the ottoman and on the ground nearby where the ants were scurrying. They were running in a line down the side of the ottoman over the carpet to a small opening between a glass sliding door and the wall.

The whole scenario disgusting!

The computer was a problem. I brushed the ants off the keyboard. Did not help much. They were coming out of every orifice. What to do? I ran into the bathroom and put the laptop in the middle of the jacuzzi. Placed some TERRO house traps in the jacuzzi. A mistake, however. TERRO makes the ants eat whatever is inside the houses. Then the ants return to their nest and contaminate the rest of the ants. These ants were stuck in the deep shiny Jacuzzi with nowhere to go. Then they started climbing the sides.

I got ’em! I turned on the hot water. It took several soakings and about a half hour. At the end hey were either dead or down the drain.

I took the laptop out of the Jacuzzi before hand, of course. There were still some ants coming out of the laptop. I placed it on the floor near the path the ants were taking with a TERRO house nearby.

I had bocce last night. When I returned home, there were no ants to be seen anywhere. I did not try to turn on the computer.

This morning still no ants. Good! Nothing coming out of the computer at this time. However, I still have not turned it on. Oh yes, I vacuumed the laptop’s keyboard and holes this morning. Just in case. I will let you know tomorrow if the laptop is working.

Bocce last night. We won only 1 game. Lost 2. Played the Donkeys. It was what  we refer to as a money game. The Donkeys hee haw their opponents if they do wrong. We received a lot of hee haws last night.

Lori is a physiotherapist. She plays for the Donkeys. Last night was her night! She was spectacular! One of the reasons we lost.

Between the ants and bocce yesterday, I fine tuned this mornings TV/internet show. I have already done the show this morning. I will discuss it with you in tomorrow’s blog.

To my friends outside Key West, come on down! Join us for Fantasy Fest. It lasts 10 days. The last three are the best. Includes the big parade. There will be 80,000 people in town for the parade. I often wonder how the island does not sink. I also wonder where they all sleep. There are not enough rooms in all of the Keys to handle such a crowd.

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

WHO IS WINNING…..ANTS OR ME?

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Living on a sub-tropical island is always a joy when it comes to bugs! They are a given. You become accustomed to them. On those occasions when they invade your home, you deal with them.

The ants came in several nights ago. The very small ones. Tons on my kitchen counter and sink area. TERRO is the solution. Everyone’s hero in the Keys! Does the job with ants.

I went to Home Depot and bought TERRO. Little plastic houses with gook inside. You lay them out where the ants are. The ants go in and eat the stuff. They do not die there, however. The ants  return to their nest where they contaminate the rest of the flock and they all die happily together.

No more ants!

Did not work that simply this time. The ants were gone overnight from where they were. However, they moved to another area of the kitchen. The ants moved four times. I put TERRO out on four different days in four different places.

No ants this morning. I think I won.

This was my week for bugs. Saturday night around 6, I took a shower. Picked up a clean towel to dry myself. Felt a sting to the back of my left hand. Something had bitten me. What, I do not know.

My left hand is now almost the size of a softball. I see the doctor at 11:30. Itching was the initial problem. All saturday night and most of sunday. I went on the internet to see what to do. The oracle of our wisdom.

The most popular relief is to use a hair dryer. On the bite area. Has something to do with the proteins bugs leave under the skin. Aim the hot air on the bites. I have no hair so I had no blow dryer.

The backup remedy was hot water. As hot and as long as you could stand it. It worked. The relief lasted about four hours. Then the hand under the hot water faucet again.

Sunday dinner at Lisa’s. Salmon. Delicious.

I had a prearranged meeting with two ladies afterwards. Business. We had a drink and talked.

Happy Columbus Day!

There was no Columbus Day in my earlier years. Italo-Americans wanted a national holiday for one of their ancestry. Columbus got the nod. The Sons of Italy, of which I was a member, was very instrumental in the drive to have Columbus Day recognized.

Enjoy the holiday!

 

 

ANTS

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When you live on a semi-tropical island such as Key West, you become accustomed to an occasional bug invasion. Over time, one becomes knowledgeable as to cause and effect. It helps to diminish the number of invasions.

I screwed up last night. I was preparing something to eat and spilled some olive oil. Extra virgin. On the counter top next to the sink. I cleaned it up. Apparently not well.

When I came downstairs this morning, they were there! Ants! The tiny little ones. Appeared to be in the hundreds. On the counter, in the sink, on the cupboard doors and on the floor.

I looked for repellant. I had none, except for a mosquito one. With a West Nile repellant built in. Obviously to rub on the body. Not for ants in the kitchen. But, I made do. I sprayed the stuff all over. It worked! Terrifically! Though I did not use it as the manufacturer intended.

The ants died in their tracks. Now I have all this sticky stuff on the cupboards, in the sink, on the floor, etc. I am leaving it stand for a while to deter further ants from entering.

The last ant invasion I had was four years ago. Home Depot sells the right stuff to eliminate the problem. I cannot recall its name, but will recognize it when I see it. So when I am done with the blog, it will be off to Home Depot.

Cleaning up the mosquito repellant  later on will be a pain!

My blog talk radio show tonight. Nine o’clock. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

The topics I will hit on include the government shutdown, Supreme Court Justice Scailia, and what the banks started doing with ATM machines this week in anticipation of a disaster next week. An interesting show. Join me.

Yesterday was a simple one. A bank visit, lunch at Blossoms, and research and writing the rest of the day. I had intended to have dinner at Hogfish. Wish I had. If so, I would not be dealing with an ant problem this morning.

Yesterday was the second time I have been to Blossoms under the new management. I ordered my usual cheese toast with tomato and Cuban coffee.

They do not have it down yet!

I have spent 20 years eating the same combination. Under three different owners at Paradise Café and now into my third owner at Blossoms. All made the cheese toast the same till the new owners.  The last Paradise owner moved to Blossoms and carried the knowledge as to how to make the sandwich with him..

The bread has been changed. A big difference! Cuban bread is made with pig fat. I do not think the new bread is. Affects taste and texture. The bread being used is also smaller.

The sandwich is not being cooked correctly. It should be lathered in butter and pressed down to a quarter inch. The one now being served does not have sufficient butter and is served about one inch thick. The difference being comparable to a thick bread pizza and a regular one.

The coffee has been luke warm both times. Like dish water.

I was going to tell the new owners yesterday. Politely, of course. As I was getting ready, the door opened and about 15 young men came in to order sandwiches. Tourists. All appeared new to Blossoms.

The young men were making the new owners’ day. I did not want to affect it. The next time I will tell them, however. If I cannot get the sandwich I have enjoyed for 20 years, I will stop going. I will also rarely stop at any Cuban sandwich place. The former Paradise Café/Blossom’s sandwich was unique.

Enjoy your day! I am off to Home Depot.