Birthday Third Outing And Purchases

With the first half of the day over, we were on our way to filling the back end. This led us to 2nd and Charles, another used DVD and music store, which also sold new and used toys and books. Basically, another version of McKays...but not as cheap.

For as much as I like music, I try to avoid it here. This store is not known for its well organized CD section, which is odd, because the DVD's are not only broken down by genre, but alphabetized per section. I wish this section would make two changes. First, and foremost, if you hadn't guessed, better organization. Second, it would be helpful if they turned the CD's to that the spines were facing up, vs. having to flip through jam packed slots.

Their comic and toy section is pretty hit or miss, typically hitting more so the misses than hits. The pegs are full, but typically with all the fodder that people aren't buying.

I did dig this little Stan Lee figure, but ultimately decided I just didn't need it in my life.

My girl showed me this. Not because either of us wanted it, but rather because she didn't understand why Bugs Bunny would come packed with the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine. I've got to be honest, I have no clue. It makes no sense to me.

Speaking of Pops, you of course can't go into any shop these days without hitting them with a stick. 2nd and Charles has tons of them. We were among the few who got into these back in their infancy, and this allowed us to cash in big when we sold the majority of them off. Between the majority of them being retired, and labeled as "grails", we did just fine recouping our initial investment, and making a nice juicy profit on top of that. My girl kept a select few of them, and still picks one up here and there. As for me, they make me sick. I could be perfectly happy never seeing another one the rest of my life.

Rather than linger in the Pop isle, I turned my attention to the novelty shirts. For me, these are fun to look at, but I'd never buy them, nor wear one out in public. I'm not a big people person, so the last thing I want is some random person engaging with me on my, "Cool shirt, man!"

Heading to the register, I was honestly surprised to find such a vast collection of used vintage Kenner Star Wars in a display case. Granted, nothing was complete, but conditions were nice, overall, and like I said, it was just surprising to see.

At the register is the usual fair of snacks and such to do some last minute shopping while you wait for your turn to pay.

Leaving here wrapped up our outings for the day. It was mid afternoon, turning into rush hour, so it just made sense to wrap it up for the day.

At home, we went through our wares, which turned out to be more than enough. Like I said earlier in the day, the main focus was checking off as many DVD's lingering on Ye Ol' Want List, and while there are a handful which we couldn't find, these were certainly more than enough. A very nice treat to get so many in one day.

At McKays, we got this stack.

That's good stuff, and certainly would have been more than enough, but there's more. This next haul was from 2nd and Charles.

I also got an NES game I was looking to add to my collection.

As we drove home, my girl asked, "What would you like for dinner?" To which I responded, "I don't think I'm going to get hungry, and we still have a cake." She looked a bit disappointed in that response, so I said, "But pizza would be fine if we do." Disclaimer, we didn't.

At home, my girl whipped out a surprise by giving me some gifts to open. Yeah, gifts on top of everything above that I had just gotten. But, that will be one final post coming a bit later today. For now, check out the shelves!

Good thing there's only a handful of DVD's still on
our want list. There's only room for fifteen more discs.

Can you find Kid Niki on the shelf?

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President's Day Outing And Homemade Barbecue Ribs!

 

President's Day may be an average holiday that many people don't get off, but I did. So, the plan was to take full advantage of a rare three day weekend, and maximize it.

My day actually started the night before when I prepped my barbecue ribs that would become dinner for the holiday. This began by preparing my rub.

INGREDIENTS

6 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
3/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 1/2 Teaspoons Chili Powder
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
3 Teaspoons Onion Powder
3 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
3 Teaspoons Paprika
1 1/2 Teaspoon Oregano
1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

Throw all those spices into a bowl, and stir them up, ensuring you crush all the clumped bits of brown sugar. You want to get everything good and blended, and to ensure you do, you can even run it through a sifter, but that may be a bit overkill.

Once you have a nice mixture, take your ribs (or chicken, or really any kind of meat you want to turn into barbecue), and pat it dry.

You want to get as much moisture off the surface of your meat as possible. This will ensure your mixture actually adheres to the meat versus running off the liquid.

Generously coat the top side of your meat with the mixture, and then get down and dirty, rubbing it into the meat. Get every nook and cranny.

Flip your meat over, and repeat the process, making sure you get the sides as well.

With your meat coated, you're going to want to seal it, and let it rest in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, you could also freeze your meat if you want to eat it on a different day. Tinfoil will work if you want to let it sit over night. However, for me, I'm going to vacuum seal that bad boy.

If you don't own a vacuum sealer, I highly recommend one. This is not only perfect for marinating food, but also allows you to buy large portions of meat, which is ultimately cheaper, and then freeze it in portions. My girl and I find this so convenient.

Yes, I know the debate that vacuum sealing may or may not aid in the marination process, I do it for one specific reason. No mess in the fridge. Bottom line, sealed bags don't leak.

With my ribs set up, they go to the fridge, and the night slowly comes to an end.

The next day was a day of outings with George of G.I. Jigsaw. Our first stop was McKay's. I've been many times, but for George, it was his first.

I spent most of my time there digging through the CD's, and while I didn't necessarily find anything from my want list, I did grab a few CD's which intrigued.

Soundtracks
The Jungle Book*Mary Poppins*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2001: A Space Odyssey*Cinderella*Fantasia

80's Soundtracks
Somewhere In Time*Sweet Dreams
Sea of Love*Children of a Lesser God*Bird

80's Albums
Run DMC's Tougher Than Leather*Split Enz' History
Never Repeats (The Best of Split Enz)*Paul Young's Between
Two Fires*Elvis Costell and the Attractions' Blood &
Chocolate*Randy Newman's Land of Dreams*Mike
Oldfield's Discovery

From the CD section, I made my way over to the cartoon DVD's. I found a complete series of the 90's Superman the Animated Series, and felt the price was right for it to come home with me.

Our next stop was Echo Base. I wasn't necessarily looking for anything here, but when I saw a few back issues of What The, and the crossover series Evolutionary War, I decided to grab them.

Feeling happy that I wasn't spending a ton of money for the day, I made my way to the exit, only to find George and I in a conversation with the employee there. It was at that moment that I glanced to my left. Big mistake.

Ugh! Mega Man 5 and 6 were the last two games in the series that I didn't own, and while the latter of the sequels has always been "reasonably" priced, 5 has always been rarer and far more expensive. Today was no exception. I paid double what I got all of the above comics and CD's for these two games. My budget for the day was blown, but I wasn't going to leave these two out in the wild.

Our last stop was 2nd and Charles, another store which George hadn't been to. While I glanced around to see if there were any diamonds in the rough, my shopping spree was more than over. As such, I didn't end up picking up anything.

What I did do was ask my girl at noon to open those barbecue ribs up, wrap them in tinfoil, and throw them in the oven on 250°. They'll sit in that low temp for the next five hours, getting all delicious and tender.

After the five hour mark, take those bad boys out of the oven, and carefully open them. There's going to be a bit of liquid in there, so be mindful of steam and spills.

Go ahead and dump that liquid down the drain, being careful to not send your ribs with it. Then give a bone a gentle tug. If it comes out clean, those ribs are right on the money.

Now give those ribs a kiss of sauce. A little, a lot, it doesn't matter. Whatever sauce you like, and as much as you like. Me, I just like a nice thin coat.

Then I use a cooking brush to spread it all over.

Now you have a few choices. These are done, so you can eat them as is. Alternatively, you can throw them back in the oven on a high broil, or even on a grill to get the charred up.

I personally prefer the high broil method for two reasons. One, I'm just looking to get that sauce gooey and sticky. Two, while there's definitely an appeal to charring them on a grill, with how tender they are, you risk losing meat down the slats.

Whatever your method, it's all good. The end result is to get you a good plate full. Eat them off the bone, put them on bread, heck, even dump them on a salad if you're into the healthy lifestyle.

Either way, you know what's up. Dig in and get you some!

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