Of Oyster Jacuzzis, Music, Smokers, Dogs and Butter

When I began this blog, my intention was to write about whatever I was interested in at any given moment. In this crazy market that we are in, dealing with investing has been like baby sitting a spoiled child.
We are doing what we have to do to get through the temper tantrums that the markets have been throwing, waiting desperately for the parents to come home and take this brat off our hands.
So naturally most of my thoughts and energies have been directed toward navigating these tough financial markets
In so doing, it is easy to forget some of the fun things that make life such a wonderful journey and I thought I'd take a minute or two and jot down some of those things. So for those that only want to read about investing, you can skip to the bottom, I'll throw in some incoherent thoughts that I had the other day, toward the end of this post.

A week ago we had a little BBQ.
Assembled for our considerable enjoyment, were wonderful friends, 8 dozen oysters, three smoking BBQs, tri tip, pork ribs, tasty side dishes, ice chests full of beer, a classic car show parading by and a rain threatening sky which respected our fun and frivolity and waited until we were done with our day, to let loose with a beautiful early winter rain.
Oyster Jacuzzis, Here's how I did them;
Oysters
Butter
Lots of minced garlic (always fresh, never jarred)
Chicken stock
Chopped green onion
Red pepper flake
Cholula or Tapitio brand hot sauce
Combine all but the oysters and hot sauce over low heat and make a nice broth. Put oysters on the grill and let them cook. Eventually they will start to open, using one gloved hand take them off and with a knife separate the meat from the top shell, peel the shell back and remove it. It can be tricky on some shells to find the top, but whichever side gives you a deeper bowl, is the bottom. Loosen the meat from the bottom so it will be easy to eat. Return them to the grill and cover them with your broth. Very soon they will start to bubble in their little tub, all happy, covered in bubbly, buttery, garlicky, goodness.
Remove from heat, slap away eager hands to allow them to cool slightly, add hot sauce to taste and enjoy!
Once you try them you'll be forever addicted.
It made for a beautiful day. Indeed the only thing that was missing, due to technical difficulties beyond our control, was some good music. But that will be remedied before our next get together.
Thanks to all who showed up and thanks to Ray for finding those awesome oysters!
Speaking of music, that takes us to my next topic.
As soon as I can figure it out I am going to post a link to my favorite artist, Martin Sexton.
Martin is a bit of an acquired taste for some, for others like myself, it was instantly obvious that I had found something extraordinary. I will leave it to you to discover whether or not his music is your style. For a sample of his stuff, you can check out his "My space" website. It's got a great jukebox on it. Just Google, Martin Sexton and it'll pop up for you.
There is no smooth way to move into my next topic so I will just hit you with it.

Smokers.
I'm currently in deep discussion with my girlfriend Lynn, my buddy Ray(of the supplier of oyster fame) and many others, on the design and construction of a trailer mounted combination, Santa Maria style Grill and BBQ smoker. If anyone has any good tips or links email me at Torocreekinvest@aol.com. Thanks.

Dogs.
Still looking for a new dog. I'll know it when the right one comes along. When I get one they become part of the family, so I want to be sure it's a good fit for all concerned. I've been checking the shelters regularly, so we will see what happens.

And finally
Butter.
(believe it or not, this is the investment part)
I was checking the sales paper for our local supermarket, and like always, I found some stuff we needed that was on sale. I also found plenty of stuff we didn't need that was on sale. But while I was looking at the butter (2 for $5, lately it's been goin' for 4 bucks a pop) I started a chain of thought that I still haven't completely worked through.
It went something like this;
We don't need any butter I still have plenty left over from the oyster jacuzzi party.
But it's cheap.
Can you freeze butter?
Probably, but will it taste funny?
I don't know.
Naw I'll just pay the usual price next time we need more.
It's worth it for good tasting butter.
What else is on sale?
Beer.
Now that I can store without it going bad. My shop stays nice and cool especially this time of year.
What else is on sale?
Gasoline
I can't store enough of that to make it worth the hassle.
What else is cheap right now?
Hey stocks are on sale too, aren't they? and you don't have to store them, but they do go bad sometimes, not all of them go bad, but that's the hard part about stock picking, but that's what I do, so I better keep buying stocks, I just gotta keep buying good companies, and what about gold? naw, silvers better, yeah I know
and, , , one time, , , at band camp.....

Did someone say beer was on sale?


JT