Thunder and Lightnin

Rain Dance, Well Sort Of!

2012-01-27T21:14:00.005+08:00

We're experiencing a drought down here and the Suwanee is so low that the Manatee's don't have enough draft to get into Manatee Springs! So I thought short of a rain dance the next best thing is to wash the car. So I doubled the chances by washing and waxing both the car and the bike the other day and it looks like it worked because we finally got some rain again late last night.

Bonfires and Rain

2012-01-19T03:37:00.009+08:00

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, sunny and mid 70's(F), so after we got the morning's task completed I got out for a short ride. After that I decided to build a nice bonfire for us to enjoy as the sun started to settle off in the horizon. Well OK as the sun set behind the forest, since we can't really see the horizon from here! ;-)

So for those less talented at starting fires than I am, here is the easy 4-step method that I use:

1) Kindling - It's important to use small very dry twigs, branches, leaves, paper, cardboard, etc. as your base

2) Build a Tepee type structure with the medium to large sized branches, leaving plenty of room for air to flow in to keep feed the fire from the kindling.

3) Light the kindling using a long handled lighter, same as for lighting grills.

4) Kick back and enjoy!

Today we finally got some much needed rain. The temperature was still nice, in the mid 60's(F), and I thought I'd grab a couple of pictures. The Forrest takes on a little bit of a different look when it's raining, but it's beautiful just the same.

While I'm writing this the rain is easing up and clearing off, so we should have another star filled sky tomight. Tomorrow looks to be dry, sunny and mid 70's(F) again. We'll see what that brings!

He's a Lumberjack and He's OK....

2012-01-17T06:53:00.010+08:00

So we decided to smoke some ribs for dinner yesterday! No problem, except I don't have a smoker/grill, no charcoal either, hmmm. Let's see I've got a clump of dead trees right over there, dang, my chainsaw isn't running. OK what did they use before chainsaws? I don't have an ax either, just a splitter, ah ha I do have a cross-cut bow saw!

That's how the day started yesterday. I was able to get a couple of the dead trees dropped and had them cut up by 10:30AM. So I gathered up some kindling and got the fire started so it would be ready for cooking in time for dinner.

Making the drop angle cut

Conquered that one

Building the fire

Just add meat

The payoff, complete with spicy potato salad and a killer rough cut slaw provided by Lightnin

It's fun living back in the woods!

It Takes a Lot of Clams!

2012-01-14T19:28:00.007+08:00

We decided to locate one of the seafood markets around us to get something to cook for dinner the other day. We ended up going to the highly recommended Rick's, in Cross City; where we were able to purchase some huge shrimp and a 10lb bag of clams.

Ten pound may sound like a lot, but it's mainly the weight of the shell because the local clams are tiny, tender, and sweet! If you've ever had the little tins of smoked clams or oysters then you know what size these little clams are, but amazingly packed with flavor!

So what to do with them, well for an appetizer I steamed about half of them in a garlic, herb, and white wine sauce which held us over until the min event was completed. For the mian course I whipped up a Sicilian style red sauce which we served over spaghetti.

Both dishes came out fantastic! The steamers didn't make it through the night, but we stretched the pasta sauce out for several meals after!

10lb bag-o-clams

Steamers

Main event

What happened to the shrimp? Well that will just have to wait for another post now won't it! ;-)

Morning in the Woods

2012-01-10T22:59:00.007+08:00

It's been warm enough that we've been able to get into the routine of having the first cup of coffee out on the deck. Here's a glimpse of our wake-up view.

I never get tired of looking at our palms!

One of the trails I'll try to keep clear

If you look close in this one you can see the post that marks the southwest corner of the property

Unfortunately we do have some nosey neighbors. They're actually rather comical to watch. Mostly they try to stay hidden in camouflage, and behind objects, but when the sunlight finally comes out bright enough they can't help but expose themselves!

Our nosey neighbors, The Anole's!

They're probably the closest thing we'll have as far as pets down here, at least for now. We are really enjoying the freedom of getting out whenever we feel like it, at the drop of a hat, and if you have pets you have to make preparations for them to be properly cared for.

We'll also get around to some new picks of the house in the future. Right now it's still pretty much in disarray, as I mentioned we're only tackling one task on the list per day. Once we get it presentable we'll share! ;-)

Which Way Do We Go?

2012-01-09T23:49:00.008+08:00

So Saturday morning after breakfast we thought we might get the bike out and head over to Cedar Key. We've shown excellent restraint so far, being here for an entire week and not going over there, so we thought it was time.

We ran into a few new friends who had mentioned another possible destination for us: "Scooter Haven". So we thought about it and decided: "Hey we can go to Cedar Key anytime, why not give it a try", so we did.

It's a pretty nice campground/biker hangout, located just north of Inglis, and I mean just north!

First impression

Nice decorations

The temporary jail, if you get out of hand

The clubhouse

So then yesterday we thought we'd get the little car out and finally did head over to Cedar key. The weather was fantatic, mid 70's (F) and plenty of sun. We grabbed lunch of fried oysters, boiled shrimp, and steamed clams all good stuff! Then we walked around the shops for a awhile and then took a little sceneic drive around the island before heading back to the woods.

The tide was in, usually I just get to see the bare mud flats.

Lunch!

Sunning like a gator on the river bank to get my batteries recharged.

I could get used to this!

Yesterday's Task (updated)

2012-01-07T21:09:00.008+08:00

So here it is:

If you recall I mentioned that we're picking one task on our list and working on it in the morning and then basically goofing off the rest of the day. Well this was my task yesterday:

Can you guess what it is?

Maybe this will help:

Hectic Schedule

2012-01-06T22:30:00.002+08:00

Since we left Cincinnati in a whirlwind it was now necessary to unpack and put things away in the new home. So we decided logically that the place to start would be the place that the house is centered around, the kitchen of course! We adjusted the shelving in the cabinets and rearranged the stuff that we had previously brought down and now the kitchen is functional at maximum efficiency!

It's important to point out that we've adopted a strategy to this retirement thing, and that is that we have put together a list of work items that need to get done and we will work our way down that list one item at a time. We will work on each item until noon that day, and if we get it completed early we're done. If we don't get it done by noon then we finish it the next day.

So with our work behind us yesterday Lightnin decided to stay home and read from her Kindle and I leathered up and went for a nice long ride.

The sun was out and the temperature was up to 65F. I decided to take a loop from the OTT to CJ's, then to Bear's Den, and end up back at the OTT. It ended up being a 70mile run and I made it home by 5pm. That timing is critical for two reasons: 1) It gets dark here around 5:30pm and I mean dark! The last thing I want to do is try to ride the bike down our lime rock road in pitch black and 2) It does actually get cold at night here this time of year, and with the extra humidity in the air it carries some impact.

So what's on the agenda for today? I'm not sure I guess I'd better check the list to see!

We're Back Up And Broadcasting From The Cabin In The Woods

2012-01-05T10:26:00.006+08:00

So where do I start, let's see: Retired on Thursday, packed up and headed south on Friday (12hr 30min drive door-to-door), unloaded and here we are!

FC and Mrs. FC had us over for a fish fry the next day (New Year's Eve); where we got to see their lovely young ladies, and missed JR because he had to work (Hey we've been there!) We also got to meet some new friends and the food of course was fantastic (Mrs. FC that Chocolate torte was killer!). What a way to bring in the new year!

On New Years Day we went to a pot luck "hang-over party" at The Old Town Tavern (OTT). The menu was: the best black eyed peas I've ever eaten, greens, and several types of corn bread. If this is any indication then it's going to be a good year!

We worked around the house the next day, which means: we finally unpacked!

Then on the 3rd we headed to Gaterville to complete one of Lightnin's "Bucket List" items, to meet her cousin from Brazil who just happened to be on vacation in Florida. It was so nice to meet Sergio and his family! We talked and laughed and he and Lightnin were able to fill in gaps that had been opened years ago, what a great experience! We'll stay connected from here out.

Here we are (from left to right): Their daughter Fernanda, Yours truely, Ligntnin, Sergio, His Wife Anamaria, and their son Theodoro.

One final good-bye photo (I'm thinking: Hasta luego, Bis spater, or Zaijian rather than good-bye though):

That brings us to today. Probably boring to most of you, but we went through and rearranged the shelves and contents of the kitchen cabinets, making the set-up more efficient then it was when we first blew in and threw things in their places. Don't get in my way in our kitchen now 'cause everything is in it's place and I can move like a cat in there! ;-) The reward of course was a ride on the bike, a short ride I'll confess, but a ride none the less! Yes, we're having a record cold spell down here this week; and yes, everyone here is blaming me (somewhat joking), but hey the sun was up and the roads were dry so I leathered-up and rode!

So that's about it for now, we'll see what tomorrow brings!

YEEABBA, DABBA, DOOOO!

2011-12-29T20:37:00.003+08:00

I think Fred said it best when it came to quittin' time!
Here I am at the ultimate quitting time, retirement; well actually I have a year of paid vacation and then retirement! ;-)

Bye, Bye Ohio; Florida here we come!!!

It may be awhile before we get hooked back up to the Internet, but be patient I'll be back on-line soon!

1

2011-12-28T21:31:00.001+08:00

Merry Christmas to all!

2011-12-27T22:10:00.003+08:00

Just so you know the number is now 2!

I thought I'd take a look at my January schedule to see what things look like for the start of the upcoming year. It looks like its wide open! ;-)

2011-12-22T21:34:00.000+08:00

4

2011-12-21T20:53:00.000+08:00

Happy first day of winter!

5

2011-12-20T21:00:00.001+08:00

6

2011-12-19T20:47:00.000+08:00

7

2011-12-16T21:09:00.001+08:00

8

2011-12-15T21:20:00.001+08:00

9

2011-12-14T21:48:00.001+08:00

10

2011-12-13T20:58:00.001+08:00

The End is Near!

2011-12-02T00:22:00.003+08:00

No this isn't a forecast for doom, it's just announcing that the end of my current career is near. After 30 years of working in the consumer goods industry I'll be calling it quits in a mere 18 working days.

Looking back it's been interesting, sometimes exciting and amazing, but mostly fun. Yes that's right I said fun. I've "met and usually exceeded expectations" (inside joke), made some amazing discoveries, learned from mistakes, laughed at myself and taught others to laugh with me.

I've been fortunate enough to have moved around within my company and learn many different aspects of the business of research and development and production. I've also been lucky enough to have traveled around the world several times and learned how to be comfortable living out of a suitcase for months at a time (for me it was sort of like very comfortable camping). I've learned how to feel comfortable being a stranger in a strange land, and picked up several languages and many, many friends along the way.

I think I'm ready to get off the plane for awhile and just sort of remember what it's like to "be me"! Not me the scientist, not me the singer, not me the cultural historian, just ME. The me that I set aside 30 some years ago. The impulsive me, the silly me, the sit and stare at the woods for hours at a time me, just ME! The "Hey Lightnin, let's hop on the bike and head to the coast?" me, the do something subtle yet silly to get Lightnin to look up from her book and smile (OK I've been doing that this whole time, but there'll be more of that) me, the take all day to cook some extravagant meal me, the watch the sun rise and hang around to see it set in the same day me, just ME! Yes, I'm definitely ready to get off the plane for awhile, and actually unpack all my bags!

Lightnin and I are about to start a new chapter! I'm looking forward to seeing where this new part of the journey will take us. Of course I know where it will start, on a 6 acre slice of oak and palm tree heaven!

Come along for the ride and see what happens next!

Weekend Brewing

2011-11-07T22:43:00.007+08:00

Saturday was pretty nice out so I decided to hop on the bike and ride a bit which meant that I would be brewing on Sunday. So Sunday morning I got up to grind the grist and then get the mash started before breakfast. Since it takes at least 2 hours for the mash step this gave me time to fix a hearty breakfast to help carry me through the rest of the brewing process.

My choice was grits with chorizo, queso (pepper jack), and eggs.

The style of choice was Irish Stout.

You can almost smell the malty sweetness as the steam rises and you can see some of the hops floating to the surface in this picture. The amber liquid in the lower left corner was a Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest, which I highly recommend.

Having sampled the new brew after the boil as it was being chilled, this batch should be extremely smooth with a light, dry finish! It should go well with the Red Ale from a couple of weeks ago.

It was Cold this Weekend, and Other Randomness

2011-10-31T23:39:00.011+08:00

Both Friday and Saturday nights here it was down to below freezing and only warmed up into the mid 50's(F) for a high.

This is a planter on our deck. That's not plastic wrap on it, that's frozen rain water!

I did manage to leather-up and ride a bit on Sunday afternoon.

We were watching Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives (Food Network)a couple of weeks ago and decided to try our hand at one of the extravagant burgers that were featured on the show. It was a Blue Cheese/Bacon burger, and it is fantastic!

You need a biscuit or cookie cutter thing, parchment or waxed paper, crumbled blue cheese, chopped bacon (we used peppered bacon), and good ground beef (You could use lean, but why bother with the bacon and blue cheese on there already) We used ground Bison for a richer beef flavor.

So here's how you make the burger:

First you lay out the parchment and use the biscuit cutter as a form, and place some of the bacon as the first layer.
Then add a layer of blue cheese
Then add the Beef or Bison, and pack it down to form as tight of a patty as you can. Be careful when you remove the form and when placing the burger on a hot griddle or skillet. Grill the heck out of it on the first side to form a crust with the bacon, and then be careful when you flip it.

We served it with avacado, lettuce, mustard and ketchup; with spicy fires on the side. Delicious and not good for you at all, but hey live a little just don't eat one every day! Maybe once a year on a special occasion! ;-)

Crazy Drivers (I missed one!)

2011-10-28T21:14:00.004+08:00

I missed one in my last post:

Oh $#*! There's My Exit
This one is driving along in the left lane and instantly darts across 2 to 3 lanes of traffic to barely hit the exit ramp, and causing everyone else on the road to lock up the brakes!

That actually happened not once, but twice on the way into work this morning! One doing this from the left lane, followed by another doing it from the right lane a few miles down the road!

And of course it was far to bothersome for either one to use the turn signal to at least give some sort of warning.
Of course if they had, the driver in the lane next to them would have sped up to keep them from changing lanes! ;-)

Driving in Cincinnati

2011-10-21T19:52:00.003+08:00

OK I'm not sure how bad of drivers there are where you live, but honestly Cincinnati has the worst drivers I have ever seen, and I've been around a few places. Sorry if you are a native Cincinnatian and you take offense to this, but some of these folks need to be taken off the roads!

Here's a few of my pet peeves about Cincinnati Drivers:

Slow Racer in the Left Lane - This is the person that drives about 5-10mph under the speed limit, in the left lane. Oh the Racer part, that comes in when you move over to pass them they of course will speed up to keep you from going around them! I've found that the average increased speed that these tormentors will do is about 12mph over their original speed and then they will slow back down, but occasionally one of them will zoom up to about 20-25mph and then start changing lanes erratically (I have no idea what that is all about!).

The Totally Oblivious - This is the driver that has absolutely no idea that anyone else is out on the roads! They will slide from lane to lane, no turn signal, or usually hang just over the line between two lanes so you don't know if they are planning to change lanes or not. This is sometimes the cause of talking on the phone or texting while driving, but the scary thing is that most times they are just driving! Yikes!

The Deal Maker - This is the guy that thinks he is the ultimate "Mover and Shaker", his car is a rolling office! he is conducting important business deals or day trading on wall street, and can't afford the time to pull over to make these calls. I've even seen this guy with the phone in one hand, an pen in the other and his day-planner stretched out on the steering wheel!

The Texter - This is the guy or gal that has to stay connected at all costs! They will drive erratically speeding up and slowing down shifting from side to side, crossing lane lines, etc. They will sometimes sit through an entire cycle of a traffic light, with no clue it just happened. When honked at, so I don't miss another light, they of course will act as though they are totally innocent of any wrong doing throwing they're hands in the air forgetting that the phone is clearly in one of them! Definite cranial rectal insertion syndrome

Then my favorite of all:

Speed Racer - This is the guy or gal that is in a hurry, of course nobody else is. They will ride your bumper no matter how fast you are driving, or how many vehicles are in front of you. they will constantly change lanes speeding up to get on the bumper of every car that is in front of them, usually needing to slam on the brakes as soon as they change lanes because they didn't see the semi-truck in the next lane! They usually end up defeating their own purpose by getting themselves hopelessly trapped in the thickest part of the traffic, and yes that is sort of amusing!

Not sure if you have these same characters in your part of the world, but please chime in and let me know!
If you are from Cincinnati and either agree or disagree, please share your opinions too!

Reflections or is it Retrospection?

2011-10-20T20:58:00.003+08:00

I took some time to go back through some of my old blogs and really liked what I saw, back then. I used to actually tell stories, give such good details about the events happening that it would draw the reader into the pictures that were provided. Lately it seems that I'm merely sharing photos and putting a few captions with those and have set my story telling aside.

My theory on this is that it is the effect of several causes over the past couple of years(not necessarily in order): 1) Preoccupation of building a new home via long distance, 2) Re-acclimation to American life, 3) Being stuck in Cincinnati with no real prospect of travelling outside the US, and 4) Planning the next chapter in our lives

So here's my rationalisation:
1) The house is completed so I can check that one off! 2) The readjustment period is finally coming to a close, although #3 isn't helping that much after traveling all over the world for the past 15 years it would have been better to ween off a bit rather than going "cold turkey" in the "Natty"! (Too bad, it is what it is, so count your blessings and get over it!) 4) The decision is becoming more apparent and should not be a burden for much longer.

So in other words its time to get back on the horse and start writing again! My travel was always a sort of muse for me so now I will simply need to look for a new muse in what is happening around me in day to day life. So don't be too surprised to see some upcoming blogs about the quirkiness that comes with everyday "normal" life.

IIII'm Baack!

We'll see how this goes!

Angel's of Mercy Ride 2011

2011-10-18T00:28:00.009+08:00

This past Saturday was the 2nd annual Angel's of Mercy ride. The weather held out by being sunny and dry, but it was a bit chilly and there was a constant 25mph wind with gusts up to 35mph. I didn't get a final count of how many bikes showed up, but it was a good crowd and a great ride! Here's a few photos,and videos, courtesy of Lightnin's "Bike Cam":

For the best viewing click to bring the videos to full screen and turn up the volume!

It was a really well planned and organized ride for a great cause! The beautiful clear sky and cool crisp air helped provide for great photos and the wind kept things interesting.
I would encourage anyone interested to join next year!

Oktoberfest 2011

2011-10-03T21:05:00.008+08:00

The 2011 Cincinnati German festival season has come to an end with the Donauschwaben Oktoberfest this past weekend. The weather held out so that there was a good crowd. We went on Friday evening and it was a bit damp and cold, but the music, food, drink, and Gemutlichkeit were all good!

Ein Prosit der gemutlichkeit!

The ladies played "Pass the baby", but I have to say that this little guy was a real trooper. He just took it all in and never once fussed about the noise, music, or all the people!

As usual a good time was had by all!

Just When You Think You've Seen It All!

2011-09-23T23:36:00.004+08:00

So Since returning from China a bout 2-1/2 years ago my job has held me captive in the Cincinnati area, well there was that one trip to Europe, and now my second trip to Iowa (which is what this post is about).

There were 4 of us taking the trip and we thought we'd save expenses by driving out instead of flying, thereby cutting the cost down to about 1/4 for the trip alone. What the company forgot was that according to the "Guide Book of Being Guys" (I may get censored by the greater community of "Guys" now) and I quote: "Whenever 2 or more guys go out of town for any length of time in a wheeled vehicle it is officially known as a ROAD TRIP"! Now just so I can still keep my membership card not a whole lot more details will be shared, but rest assured that even though we did work hard and accomplished allot we did manage to have fun!

Now to actually get to the real point of this now rambling post, I have been fortunate enough to have traveled most of this country during my lifetime, from coast-to-coast and border-to-border all along the interstates, and I'm still a firm believer that you miss allot if you don't do this! I've seen some of the most famous landmarks like: The Grand Canyon, Buffalo Bill's Home, Pillsbury Crossing (I threw that in there for Lightnin and Merlyn, one truly unforgettable Road Trip!), etc., all well worth viewing, but the real fun is in the obscure, and sometimes bizarre sightings, these are the real gems that you miss when you fly over.

Yes I can boast that I've seen: The World's Largest Prairie Dog, The World's Largest Ball of Twine, (Notice a pattern here?), The World's Smallest Tea Set, etc. (Oh I could go on and on), but on this trip I finally got to see (are you ready?) The World's Largest Truck Stop! And here's the picture to prove it:

Ain't she a beauty?

This beauty is right on I-80 in Southeastern IOWA, and I can now claim that I've seen it! We didn't go in it mind you, we just stopped, took a picture, got back into the car, and made tracks to get home, but by golly we saw it!

What Happened to Summer?

2011-09-15T20:24:00.002+08:00

******Weather Rant Warning!******

So this morning we wake up with 52F temperatures and a slight mistiness in the air, and its said that we'll make it up to a whopping 64F for the high! This wouldn't be too bad except that for the past few months we've had from mid to upper 80's (perfect in my book) to mid to upper 90's (a little warm, but I like it). So to all of a sudden sink to the mid 60's for the high, along with the dampness in the air, is a bit of a shock. For crying out loud it's mid September and I had to grab a jacket on the way out this morning!

If you've followed this blog for any time at all then you'll know that for starters I'm a fan of warm weather, and come pretty close to hating winter, but my biggest pet peeve is the inconsistent weather around here during the spring and fall. I'll spare you the full description of these sometimes violent swings in temps and precipitation conditions because I've detailed those in previous posts, but it's safe to say that this time of the year I am usually not a happy camper!

This state of unhappiness is brought on by several things: The obvious I've mentioned in rantings above and in previous posts, the not so obvious is the fact that this season reminds me that winter is fast approaching. This is also coupled with the usual loss of sunlight and the reduction of vitamin D production which actually does trigger a depression reaction.

This year I'm prepared and a long term solution to this issue is in the works!

More to come.......

Before and After

2011-09-12T21:55:00.011+08:00

Here's a few more before and after photos:

In the beginning

Cleared and ready to start

Got foundation?

The dream has become reality!

Finally Florida!

2011-08-17T20:06:00.017+08:00

Yes we're finally in Florida! We've actually been here over a week, but this is the first time I've been able to get on-line to post anything (thanks to FC for loaning me his connection!).

The journey started with loading up the truck and trailer with everything we could get on them, and heading down the road.

When we finally arrived it was amazing to see the difference from the last time we visited the house. The jungle had tried to take over again and I had to rent a Bush Hog type piece of equipment called a "Billy Goat" to beat the jungle back to the tree line. Here's the before and after shots:

Ok, ok I'll get to the house! The outside of the house hasn't changed much from the last visit so we'll move inside to the drastic improvements. Here are a few before and after shots of the kitchen:

The stairs were not completed yet last time either and we actually got to help finish them. I helped Mr. Trapp (The Builder) lug the cypress trees around to get them cut to fit, and then Lightnin and I applied the sealant to the steps, rails, and trees for the final touch.

It's been a working vacation so far, but while writing this post we were just informed by the builder that the final inspection just passed and we will have our C.O. in a couple of hours! That means we finally have reason to celebrate and will take the next couple of days to actually enjoy some of our time off!

More to come later!

Yes, It's Me Again!

2011-07-14T02:37:00.003+08:00

Sorry for the lag time of almost 3 months now!

There's been a lot going on: The house is nearing completion, but with new issues encountered that have once again pushed the completion date back; changes at work that are requiring extra effort; and physical therapy for me before and after work. All of which have added to the normal stress load that was already a bit high.

So selfishly when I finally get downtime lately, I've tended to take time for myself in a more low profile manner. I realized that this was needed at this time when I left the house the other day without my camera in my hand and it didn't even bother me! What the? That's not me! SO a little sabbatical has been in order in the name of personal sanity.

Don't worry though, the thought of blogging is constantly gnawing at me and I will get back into the swing of things again soon! I promise!

More Flood Scenes and Another Storm

2011-04-30T21:07:00.009+08:00

On Thursday afternoon it wasn't raining when we got home from work so we decided to get the bike out for the first time in a couple of weeks and try to get a few more pictures of the flooded areas.

Here's the over swollen White Water River

This is supposed to be a corn field

This is another view of the White Water River, if you see the two clumps of trees to the left the normal channel of the rive is between those!

There's a bridge under there

Looks like it's time to get back home!

Hail that came down with the storm

We barely got the bike put away and the sky let loose on us once again. We had three waves of rain and high winds with the third storm producing a bit of pea sized hail.

So This is What I came Home to!

2011-04-26T01:22:00.006+08:00

This spring has been a wet one for us here in the Ohio River Valley!. The ground is saturated and there's no place for the rain to go. We currently live near the White Water River and I ventured out today to take a few shots of the flooding.

These first few are at a boat ramp and park just around the corner from us. Those are trees floating down the river

This is usually a field which should already have corn planted in it, but right now it's a lake

The White Water River is usually a docile clear running body of water where you can tube, canoe, or kayak down to cool off during the summer.

Right now it's not raining, but there are more storms coming later this evening and we may not see the sun until Friday. that means that it will be a daily check as to see if we can get out to go to work in the morning or get back home at night. I guess we'd better pack a few things and take them with us just in case!

Our Cabin in the Woods, or is This Paradise?

2011-04-23T22:08:00.008+08:00

I left the rain soaked (understatement!) southern Ohio region a couple of days ago to come back down to the wilds of Florida to make some final adjustments and decisions to the design before the final stages of construction begin.

The weather could not have cooperated any better! The temps have been in the upper 60's to lower 70's in the mornings and reaching upper 80's to lower 90's in the heat of the day, but with amazingly low humidity so it's very comfortable (temperatures are reported in degrees F for my international followers). This combined with clear blue skies has made the short visit exactly what the doctor ordered!

So with the first 2 days here spent getting the business completed I was able to spend a fun and relaxing evening with my buddy FC enjoying some good music and a couple of cold malted beverages near the gulf, again just what the doctor ordered.

My other good friend Mrs. FC has been very busy preparing for a huge catering job that is taking place today and since I really didn't have any plans, and they could really use the help, I'll be spending my last day here helping with the affair. It should be a fun time, even if it proves to be hard work, and I get a chance to check out some of the indigenous species that I would not normally have a chance to observe.

OK enough of the idle chit-chat I know you're wanting to see what I came down here to do!

So are you ready kids?

I can't hear you!

Whoooooooooooo Lives in a.......... Just kidding! Here's the latest pictures, but take a deep breath because it will likely leave you breathless, it did me!

Definitely Paradise!

We have interior walls

Lightnin's Tree

The side view, Love that deck!

It's been a short and busy trip, but we're in the home stretch now (pun intended)!
I'll be home soon Lightnin!

Finally Some Warm Weather!

2011-04-09T19:45:00.009+08:00

Last time I mentioned that I got a new camera, well here's what the little thing looks like:

This is it next to my wallet (for scale). Don't get too excited the only thing in that wallet is cobwebs right now! ;-) This was taken with my old camera.

This is my old camera, taken with my new camera

Here they are in a side-by-side comparison

The old camera is a Cannon Power Shot A560 which takes great pics and I thought at the time that it was really compact. It's capabilities are 7.1 mega pixels with a 4x optical zoom. The new camera is a Samsung SL-50 with 10.2 mega pixels and 5x optical zoom. it's amazing how much difference a few mega pixels makes!

So the weather has finally changed here and in between the rain storms we're getting sunshine and 70-80F temps, YEA!!!!!!

We got the bike out and met up with a couple of our friends to blow some of the dust out.

Here's a shot of our two bikes. Check out the clarity in this picture, that's the power of the mega pixel!

Here's an action shot from Lightnin using the helmet cam technique.

It was beautiful weather and this weekend could be even better.
The bummer is that my bike is in the shop, but not for anything bad, it was time for the 15,000 mile check-up. If you recall, this bike is only 3 years old and the first year I wasn't even in town to ride it, so that means I've logged 15,000 miles on it in just 2 years!

So with the weather great and the bike in the shop it looks like I'll be spending my time getting the lawn implements up and running for the new season.

Ah Spring in Cincinnati!

2011-03-30T19:48:00.004+08:00

Here we are another spring in Cincinnati. This is the time of year that we bounce back and fourth between 70F with rain and 30F with sun.
The hops are peaking through the ground so I know it won't be long, but after this long winter the warm temps can't come fast enough!
Today's forecast calls for rain possibly mixed with sleet and snow.
Ah springtime in Cincinnati!

No news on the home at this point, but I'm betting I'll have an update soon!

I got a new camera for my 20 year anniversary gift at work and am still playing with it to figure out it's limitations, or mine! New pics are soon to come!
Can you believe we've been in one place for 20 years, well ok there was the move to Lima, Oh and then a year in China, but at least I've been with the same company for 20! ;-)

Grillapalooza 2

2011-02-13T23:21:00.005+08:00

We finally got a break from the cold yesterday and warmed up into the mid 40'sF. So we decided to fire up the grill and have our friends Rick and Julie over to hang out and enjoy the weather.

Prepping the meats for the grill. On the big platter Pictured left: Two types of chirizo; Top: Loin cut pork chops; Middle: Lamb chops; Right: Steak; On the separate plate: Ahi Tuna steaks

Smoke is a good thing!

The finished goods along with some cheesy 'tators that Lightnin whipped up

It was a great evening with plenty of good food, friends, and laughter!

Today it's supposed to get up into the mid 50'sF so I think I'm going to get the little car out and get her washed, then drop the top and ride around a little in the sun to recharge my batteries.

Trip to N.P.R. with Mrs. FC

2011-01-16T22:04:00.008+08:00

Having completed my mission of decision making on designs, upgrades, modifications, etc., I had a day off before I hopped on the early morning flight back up to the frozen north. So normally I would have headed directly for Cedar Key, but this time I was able to tag along with Mrs. FC for sort of a family reunion.

(It's important to mention that FC was being a good son and headed over to St. Augustine to help out with his parental units and wasn't able to join us for the trip!)

It was a bit further south so I was happy to find the weather much closer to 70F then the past few days. The get together was held at Hooters, darn the luck, so we feasted on wings and I washed them down with a cool adult beverage from Pennsylvania and the day was looking good! I had the pleasure of sitting with the FC's wonderful daughters for lunch (Jr wasn't able to make it either) and we had a pretty fun time.

After lunch one of Mrs. FC's brothers took us out on a boat ride to see some of the sites around the coast. This was a nice, yet chilly, bonus to the already fun day!

Here's a few pics from the boat ride:

A shrimp boat passing us up to try to make a living

A few of the not so modest dwellings in the area

Some of the local residents

A fish out of water?

Time to head back to shore

I'm looking forward to getting down there sometime when it's a little warmer to enjoy the beautiful clear water up close and personal!

See you next time FC and Mr's FC, thanks again for everything!

Check This Out!

2011-01-15T10:58:00.010+08:00

Well the pictures from over the holidays will have to wait for a few days. I'm a little further south at the moment checking on progress with the house and as you'll see in the next few pictures there's been quite a bit!

Views from the outside:

And some from the inside:

Lightnin's tree, which is also a main support for the rafters! There'll be 2 more of these for rail supports on the stairs

And just so you don't think I'm spending most of my time basking in the sun, it was 22F this morning, with frost on the windshield, although it did heat up to 60F in the afternoon. I spent the morning finalizing the design of the kitchen, picking out cabinets, drawers, flooring, sinks, faucets, etc. and the rest of the day looking at wood burning stoves and figuring out where the chimney would exit the roof and the orientation depending upon which stove we go with. It's a tough job, but someones got to do it!

With everything accomplished that was need for this trip, I'll be heading further south for a bit of R&R and hopefully some warmer weather! Then it's an early, early morning wake-up on Sunday to drive to the airport and catch the flight back north.

New Post Coming Soon!

2011-01-11T20:06:00.002+08:00

Well December came and went without a single post from me! I have to blame it on a few things:
1) Preparation for Spc Dude, RBP, and Trey coming home for Christmas
2)Bronchitis hit me hard in the middle of the month and I didn't feel like doing anything
3)No sooner than Dude, RBP, and Trey landed and we packed up the family truckster and headed back home to KC for a few days
4) After we got back to Cincy we simply had too much fun to stop and get on the computer to blog!

Still to come will be pictures of the silliness that went on over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Coming up after that will be some new pictures of the homestead.

Gan En jie Kuai Le! (Happy Thanksgiving!) Pictures Added

2010-11-24T21:21:00.004+08:00

I've added a few pictures from the wonderful meal up on the ridge.

Pie for everyone! Sweet potato, pecan, apple, cherry, and not pictured strawberry

Jalapeno chicken pastry pin wheels

Sweet potato and apple bake with toasted pecan/bourbon glaze

Yeah I know I'm early, but I wanted to make sure I got it out there!
We'll be spending the day with some very good friends of ours and cooking up some old and some new dishes (I'll share pictures after the fact!).

The main news is that we just reached 30,000 hits on this blog! Awesome!

Thanks readers!!!!!!

I checked the demographics of the numbers and it looks like you're split almost evenly with 51% return readers and 49% new/unique hits!!!!

So I guess that means that about half of what I write must be interesting enough to bring folks back for another look! ;-)

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you folks that have hung in there during the slow and irregular postings along with the sometimes ramblings, and I hope that I can continue to keep you entertained in the future! Thanks again for stopping by and as always your comments are not only welcome, but encouraged! ;-)

Another Cabin In The Woods Update (part 2)

2010-11-22T22:33:00.005+08:00

There's been a lot of improvement going on since last time. We should be under roof within the next couple of weeks!

Here's a few pictures courtesy of FC:

We're looking forward to seeing it live again, but that will likely have to wait until after the holidays.

Another Cabin In The Woods Update

2010-11-08T22:12:00.003+08:00

Four walls (well technically 5), sub-floor in the loft, and a well that produces good water! It's starting to sound like a house now!

Pictures to follow after the next trip down to check it out, probably not until after the holidays!

Latest Cabin in the Woods Update

2010-10-29T01:02:00.003+08:00

The first floor is complete, we have water, and the second floor starts next week!

Sorry no pictures yet, but I'm sure we'll get some at the end of the next phase!

Angel's of Mercy Ride Video

2010-10-27T19:26:00.002+08:00

Just a short video clip from the ride on Sunday:

The Angel's of Mercy Benefit Run

2010-10-25T23:13:00.013+08:00

I tried to post this yesterday, but Blogger wasn't cooperating with me. The video I want to post needs to be clipped a bit to fit too, so I'll try it again later

On Sunday we took part in a benefit ride to raise money for "The Angel's of Mercy".

It was a really good ride for a really good cause.
The route started out at Rohrer's Tavern, took the long way to Eggleston Ball Park, then the long way to Indian Creek, and then finishing up at The Dew Drop Inn. the weather was sunny, warm, and dry, but the 35mph gusting winds made parts of the ride a little interesting. All in all a good day and a great ride!

Stacey, the organizer of the benefit and ride, complete with the blue cast that matched the official color of the ride
The bikes starting to accumulate

A few pictures from the road that Lightnin took with the pseudo helmet cam:

Relaxing at Indian Creek before completing the last leg

Back out on the road

Ending up at the Dew Drop Inn

We Have Walls!

2010-10-18T20:00:00.014+08:00

On Friday morning we hopped a plane to Jacksonville, FL, picked up a rental car and drove from J-Ville to Old Town, FL, pulled in the drive and that's what came out of both of our mouths: "We Have Walls!!!"

The place is coming right along and its really starting to take shape!

Here's Lightnin standing in what will soon be the bathroom

After calming down we met up with our buddies FC and Mrs. FC and celebrated at Bubba-Ques

The next day we all piled into the rental (a brand new Dodge Charger with only 5 miles on it!) and headed out to Cedar Key to take part in the Cedar Key Seafood Festival. It was crowded, but fun. The weather was perfect, the food was great, and the music and atmosphere was well festive!

After the festival we were treated to an awesome dinner of jerk chicken chili at FC's. It was very tasty and went well with a cold brew.

Yesterday we started off with a great breakfast at BBQ Bill's and then headed out to explore the local area. We ended up just sitting at the edge of our deck and watching the sun go down and the moon rise over our huge oak forest. It was so quiet that when you popped the top on a frosty cold can that it echoed in the woods, absolutely awesome!

Well, it's back to the grind as we pack and get ready to drive back to J-Ville and catch a plane back to Cincy and we'll make one last pass by the property to say goodbye to the house, but we'll be back soon!

If this is Wednesday, it must Be Morocco!

2010-09-30T20:21:00.008+08:00

I give you French Moroccan tuna with cream sauce, roasted garlic couscous, and peas in less than 30mins.
(Take that Rachael Ray!)

Some of you may get the old movie reference, but I'm guessing most of you won't! ;-)

This wonderful (if I say so myself) meal came about last night in what has become common practice here at the T&L household. It went something like this:

T - "What do you want for dinner?"
L - "I set out some tuna steaks, and I want to fix that Moroccan couscous."
T - "OK let's see what I can do!"

Foraging through the cabinets and the fridge I was able to locate a blend of spices that I have used on salmon before (cumin, coriander, garlic powder, Cayenne, and brown sugar) "This should go well with the couscous!" (I thought, out loud). In the fridge I located a part bottle of Ice Wine, and some sour cream and thought (again out loud) "This will make a good sauce".

So you rinse the tuna, coat it with the dry spice mix, heat a small skillet with a couple of table spoons of olive oil, drop the tuna in to sear it on both sides, then remove and set aside.

At this time open the package of roasted garlic couscous and follow the instructions, same with the Green Giant peas! ;-)

Deglaze the pan that was used to sear the tuna with about 1/2 cup of the Ice wine and reduce for about 5 minutes. Whisk in 2 table spoons of butter (real butter) 1/2 Tbsp at a time, then whisk in 2 Tbsp sour cream and remove from heat.

To serve: Place the tuna on the plate and drizzle a little of the sauce on the tuna in a fancy zigzag pattern, and be sure to have a small dipping bowl of the sauce on the side, add the peas and couscous to the plate.

It went really well with a glass of Syrah too!

Try it and you won't be disappointed, and it will surely impress anyone you serve it to!

Update on the Home!

2010-09-27T21:49:00.007+08:00

This just in from our on the spot reporter FC:

Now that the sub floor and decking supports are completed they should begin adding the logs this week. We'll be heading down in a couple of weeks to check on the progess and we should see the shell of the house taking shape!

FC thanks again for peaking in on the place and keeping us updated!
See you soon!

Happy Anniversary!

2010-09-23T19:34:00.006+08:00

Today marks 27 years of marriage for Lightnin and I! It's been an amazing ride, never boring, sometimes challenging, mostly fun, but definitely amazing!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

Weekend Update #5

2010-09-14T02:31:00.011+08:00

I should say "Weekends" since I've been a bit lacking on getting these out on a regular basis!

So let me go back to last weekend which also happened to be Labor Day weekend:

That Saturday Lightnin and I both woke up early, I state this because Lightnin usually sleeps in on the weekend and doesn't usually get up to greet the day until after breakfast(provided by yours truly) is ready, but on this particular day she arose a mere 30min after I did! That being the case we decided to forgo the usual home cooked meal and get showered and dressed to head out on the bike and grab something to eat on the road. We decided to head to one of our favorite spots, Rabbit Hash, KY, where the Old Timer's festival was taking place. The air was crisp and we dressed appropriately with the required leather riding apparel.

Here you see Lightnin with a couple of new friends

Not sure why the grumpy expression here, maybe because after eating lunch I knew I'd look like the stuffed sausage that I felt like

It was a fun ride that was followed up with a bonfire at our friend's Rick and Julie's house
Yes it included smores!

The next morning Rick and I took of on a ride in the morning and I snapped this picture of the 2 bikes with a nice Kentucky backdrop

This past weekend we were invited to ride a long distance run, out to Portsmouth, OH. We met up with some friends, and met some new friends, and put in a little over 300 miles on Sunday. The weather was great, and the ride was too!

Here's a few random shots from that:

Oh the other news is that we received a call from our builder on Thursday evening to let us know that he'll be starting the actual "Building of The House" this week. Awesome!

I guess that about wraps things up for this segment. Another busy work week ahead so I'll post when I can.

NEWS FLASH

2010-09-01T23:14:00.001+08:00

They started cutting the logs today!!!!
WOOOO HOOOOO!

Ground Broken!

2010-08-17T07:33:00.011+08:00

We took off at the end of last week to be at the property for the ground breaking, but traffic, rain, and road construction slowed us down enough the we missed the actual first breaking of the ground. This ended up not being a problem at all as we were glad to see the progress, finally!!!!!

This is what we walked up the lane to find on Thursday, the footers are poured!

Check out the size of the Live Oaks compared to the Port-O-Let

On Friday we returned to the property to see them completing the foundation, Awesome!

Perfect placement by Mother Nature on this palm

It was time to celebrate a little afterward with our good friend FC, after all he is partly responsible for this happening. We fell in love with this part of the world the first time we came down to visit!

One final visit out to Cedar Key for dinner and a sunset before we start heading north

Now the project is underway and I'll (and sometimes we'll) be making trips back down to check on the progress!

Weekend Update #4

2010-08-02T22:40:00.002+08:00

Not a lot to share this report.

Harley and Me - The weather was absolutely beautiful so we put a few miles on the bike again, just over 150 miles total. Rode the bike into work today because we're likely to get rain the next few days.

Hops, Hops, and More Hops - The hops are over loaded with cones and should be ready to harvest soon (I'll try to get some photos). The plants themselves don't look so good because the Japanese Beetles had a feast on the leaves, but the cones are a plenty!

That was about it. Hopefully we'll be heading to Florida soon to witness the official ground breaking and footers being dug and poured!

Weekend Update #3

2010-07-27T23:35:00.002+08:00

Let's start with Friday on this one!

Friday at work: This past Friday had to be one of the best days at work that I have had since before I moved to China! Sorry I can't be any more detailed than that here, but let's just leave it as one for the record books!
This only got better when I received a call from our builder, which leads to the next subject!

The Home: The builder called on Friday evening and let me know that he was able to be there when they did the geological survey of our property. The expert's recommendation is to start building!!!! The sink hole thingy, in their opinion, is an anomaly caused by heavy rains due to a small crack in the lime rock shelf that they couldn't even see on the Ground penetrating radar. the shelf itself runs across the entire property about 20ft down. They see no threat to the site that we chose to build on! The builder is going to line up the mason's to start working on the foundation and the clock has started, Hooray!!!

Harley and Me: The heat this past weekend was pretty stifling so we didn't put in too many miles. What we did do was meet up with our friends and rode to a place called Charlie's Throttle Stop for lunch. I had the opportunity to try the "Sweet Southern Burger" which is a cheese burger using a sliced "Crispy Creme" donut as the bun! It's totally wrong for you , but oh so tasty!

Chillin' with Lightnin': Sunday was spent inside with AC just chillin' and doing laundry to get ready for the week ahead.

Weekend Update #2

2010-07-20T01:11:00.010+08:00

This past weekend we had some hot and humid Florida style weather which led to some pretty vicious storms.

I met up with our friends Julie and Rick to try to go to the Schutzenfest at Kolping on Saturday. After this blew in we decided to wait and give it another try on Sunday!
We tucked the bikes in out of the hail zone just in case!

Much better
Obviously before I talked them into trying the limburger cheese!

Release the hounds! (sorry for the blur)

It was a fun time and would have only been better if Lightnin would have been here too. She'll be flying back into town tonight and I can't wait to get an update from her on the situation down in the G of M!

Gulf Oil Update, They Capped the Well!

2010-07-16T20:42:00.004+08:00

Hip, Hip, Hooray! They capped the well!

Yes this is still only a temporary fix and there is still much work to be done, but it's still the best news we've had in the past 88 days!

They'll have to vent it somehow to relieve pressure before they make the final tap into the vein with the relief wells or else the pressure on them would put us right back where we started.

I'll be watching intently until it's capped off permanently!

PS: From Lightnin

2010-07-13T02:50:00.002+08:00

All-

There will be many pictures and maybe even a video or two when I return! It's been an awesome experience to work and mingle with the locals to see first-hand the extent of the devastation here in the Gulf. I'll get back to ya'll after the 19th! Take care!

Weekend Update!

2010-07-13T01:54:00.004+08:00

Not much to report, but here goes:

Gulf Oil Crisis - If you watched the news then you probably know that they are trying to place a new cap on the gusher, let's hope this one works! Lightnin is still down there doing her part to keep the clean-up crews safe. If you get CMT then hopefully you caught the Jimmy Buffet benefit concert last night.

Lumber Dave (Who's this Jack guy?) - Saturday morning I had a chance to help out our friends Julie and Rick stocking up on some firewood! One of their neighbors had dropped a bunch of trees, pulled them out of the woods and dumped 'em in a stack. It was sort of a game of log climbing, twister, and "chess with a chainsaw", but we cleared out quite a little bit of the pile of logs. Next comes splitting and rumor has it that we'll pit man against machine!

Harley and Me - The weather was nice enough that I was able to put in a couple of hundred miles again this weekend. Unfortunately with Lightnin down at the G of M I'm temporarily without "Helmet Cam" capability so I didn't get any photos.

The House - Looks like we'll get the geological survey completed in the next couple of weeks, so depending on the outcome we might actually do ground breaking in about a month!

That's about it for this past weekend, I'll try to get some sort of photography to add to next weekend's update.

Update on the Gulf Oil

2010-07-09T01:05:00.006+08:00

Lightnin hasn't been able to get on line to send pictures from her camera, but she has been able to send a few from her cell phone/camera. the quality is not as good on some of these, but you should be able to get the idea.

Here's Lightnin sporting her stylish safety gear, but more importantly is to look over her left shoulder (to the right in the picture) and you'll see the "Floating City" where most of the clean-up personnel are living during this operation.

Schmoopy's restaurant in Dulac, LA; evidence of the flooding caused by the storms over the past few days

Here's a mural on the wall of a building near Grand Isle, LA displaying the sentiments of the area.

That's what I have for now! She's hoping to get some pictures of the "Sandboni's" that are being used to help clean up the beaches.

My Source(s) on The Gulf Oil Crisis

2010-07-07T02:19:00.007+08:00

Some of you may already be aware, but Lightnin has been deployed to the Gulf of Mexico to do what she can to help keep the workers performing the clean-up efforts safe from harmful exposure!

I'm proud of this for several reasons the most compelling is because she is able to at least do something to help!
I don't think I can remember a time when I have felt so frustrated at the fact that I do not have the ability or opportunity "Do" anything about a situation that will likely directly affect me in the long run. So it feels good to know that at least Lighnin has been given the opportunity to "Do" something!

I also wanted to share some photos of oil that washed up on the shores of Fort Pickens Beach, near Pensacola Beach. (These photos were provided by another source who will remain anonymous at least for now)

The pen as a reference hlps to determine the size of the globs found, I'd estimate this one to be about the size of a human hand
This bottle demonstrates how the crude will coat and adhere to just about any surface

I'm afraid that these are merely small signs of what is to come for the Gulf Coast!

With my sources spread out: Lightnin in Louisiana, Anonymous on Pensacola Beach, and my good friend FC covering the waters around Cedar Key, I should be able to keep you all posted on what's happening where over the next few weeks.

Fourth of July Weekend 2010

2010-07-02T22:37:00.002+08:00

This 4th of July please remember to fly your flag proudly to display our Independence. Take time to remember those that have given the ultimate sacrifice tho preserve our freedom and the American way of life. Give thought to those who are currently out there performing their duties to protect it!

Have fun, celebrate, and be safe!

God Bless America!

Oil and Nails

2010-06-25T21:44:00.003+08:00

Well it looks like the oil has struck one of the most beautiful coasts on earth, Pensacola Beach, Florida. They now estimate the flow at 100,000 barrels (4 million gallons) a day, and since we're now at day 67 that means that 268,000,000 gallons of crude oil has spewed into the Gulf! Even if they get the flow of oil to stop the devastation is going to be irreparable. My heroic wife has volunteered for deployment to the area to try to help and I may just check with my company to see if I can work from long distance and join her in the effort.

In other wonderful news: I went to ride my bike into work this morning and lost the rear tire due to a nail! The good news is that it was just the tire; I wasn't to the interstate yet and very close to home, so now I'm waiting for the truck to come and take the bike in. It was due for the 10,000 mile check-up anyway and I was planning to get it into the shop next week, I just wasn't planning to have to pay for a new tire too! Happy Birthday to me!

Goodbye Aunt Mink!

2010-06-21T22:16:00.003+08:00

How do you measure the worth of a life?
I don't think you can in monetary terms because so much of a life's worth is less tangible and yet much more impactful.

My Aunt Mink was married to my favorite Uncle Walt (well he is my only Uncle Walt, but he is still my favorite) and they were preparing to celebrate 60 years of marriage this coming September. She was the Mother to three of my cousins, Grandmother to 5 Grandchildren, Great Grandmother to several Great Grandchildren, and an Aunt to the rest of us cousins and our offspring.
Is this how you measure the worth of a life?
I think this is part of it!

Aunt Mink was a fun person who truly cared about all of her children which includes the entire list above. She was quick with a witty comment, a loving hug, or a stern word depending upon what the particular situation called for!
So how do you measure the worth of a life?

I think the way to measure it is by how many lives that person touched and influenced in a positive way. It is also measured by how many laughs they generated in themselves and the others around them. It is also measured in the void that remains when they leave this world for the next!

If we take all of these measures into consideration then I think that her nickname "Mink" says it all about the worth of her life; it was Rich and she will be missed deeply!

The Rest of the Trip

2010-06-15T02:19:00.018+08:00

This was actually supposed to go out on Monday, but Blogger was not letting me uplaod photos for the past couple of days!

Saturday morning I met up with my buddy FC and had breakfast at Bill's BBQ. I know, "BBQ for Breakfast?", but they have a real breakfast with home made sausage, grits, and eggs; and it was good! After that we headed out to the property walked around a little, checked out the sink hole a ibt for depth, etc, then headed back into town so FC could get some stuff done before JR's graduation (Congratulations JR!).
We didn't see much except for this evidence that there's gonna be a pig roast comin' up soon!

With my work completed I now had some time to hang out with the locals that will soon be our neighbors. I had heard that there was going to be a benefit ride for Cystic Fibrosis that was going to end up at a place I've visited before the "Brick Grill". They have good sandwiches, wings, burgers, and fried green beans. Anyway, I headed up there and spent some time checkin' out the bikes and listenin' to the band. It was hot, hotter than normal for Florida even (100F actual temp), but it was fun!

Here's a few of the bikes I saw:
Those are gator skin seats!
A customized "Rocker"
Custom chopper

After that I headed out to Cedar Key to get some of Tony's now world famous clam chowder. It was awesome, as usual, and I ordered some of it to ship back home; it should be here Wednesday, yumm!
I had selfish reasons for ordering it to ship though because the disaster still swelling in the Gulf is headed that way! I heard that they are going to open scallop season early just so they can get one last harvest in before they get wiped out! After hearing this I found myself just sitting at the end of the pier of Coconuts staring out at the water and the islands and thinking how absolutely beautiful this area is and how tragic this loss is going to be!

Here's just a few things that will likely be missing the next time I come down:

Oyster beds

Mangroves

Oyster beds around the islands; the clam beds are submerged by the tide here, but they'll be gone too! The wading birds, herons etc. (not pictured here) will be gone and the list goes on and on! It makes my stomach turn every time I think about it!

From there I headed east to Jacksonville to meet up with my good friend Jesse, who I met while we were both living in China. He showed me around town and we stopped in as his favorite Irish pub, Lynch's Pub. Good food and good beer, plus some unexpected entertainment. I can't really describe the interesting thing that happened, but it was as if a tornado blew past us in the form of a tiny, phsyco-evil little blonde. Jesse summed it up best as a DBV (Drive By Verbal). Now she wasn't angry or evil at us, she just for some reason thought Jesse and I needed to hear what she had to say and it was strange, angry, intimidating, racist, and wrong on so many levels and yet strangely entertaining because it came out of nowhere!

Here's one of the bridges on the way to the beach

Believe it or not this is one oak tree

This is the Jesse Ball DuPont Treaty Oak, and it's huge and amazing! The branches bent down and went into the ground and sprouted new branches from there. JBD was one the first actual tree hugging environmentalist because she bought this land that is now a park just to preserve this tree when Jacksonville was becoming urbanized!

It was a little dark so I also tried a couple with the night vision, but they came out a little blurred

After that it was back to the hotel so I could at least get a couple of hours sleep before I caught the 5:45am "red-eye" back here this morning.

I'm not sure when I'll be headed back there next, but I'll be running down and back a few more times while the house is getting built!

Success at Last, but With a Twist of Course!

2010-06-12T08:28:00.015+08:00

I'm down at the new homestead this weekend and had a successful meeting with the builder and the title office to get things rolling, FINALLY!!!!!

Of course for some reason we still have to pay for the sins of our ancestors because there's just one last trial to surmount before we can actually get the build started, a sink hole on the property. Can you guess where it is? Yep, close enough to where we wanted to set the house that we now need to get a geological survey to see if we're OK there or if we need to move to another spot on the property!

Well just like every other trial we have come across in this life of ours, and there's been a few, we shall endeavor to persevere!

Here's a few shot of the property sans unwanted water oaks, poplar oaks, and assorted scrub brush(of course the jungle is trying to reclaim the land since last year):

This is looking back down the drive to the road from the clearing

As you enter the clearing this is a view to the left

That's our builder walking out in front of me (chasing the snakes my way to be funny) Check out the size of the live oak next to him! These babies are estimated to be over 300 years old!

The tall green stuff is Dog Fennel and it's over 6 ft tall! (Dad- You remember this stuff?)

One of our 14+ palms

As we were leaving we saw this juvenile barred owl testing out his wings

Momma owl was watching us like a hawk!

And the classic sunset shot from my hotel balcony (come on you knew I had to take this one!) ;-)

Well that's about it. Oh the sink hole, no I didn't forget.

Just for reference that is a size 14 boot there so you can figure out the circumference of the hole!

I bent down and yelled Nihao down into it and about 2 minutes later I heard a familiar Beijing voice yell back: "Hey Nihao, is that you Dave!" ;-)
Possible litigation, you bet! How about "Failure to Disclose"!!!!!

The heat, humidity, adrenaline rush and then decline have taken their toll so I'm about done for tonight. More to come tomorrow!

More Views From The Road

2010-06-04T08:10:00.010+08:00

I planned to post these last night, but we got hit with a vicious thunder storm! Don't get me wrong our nick names come with good reason, we love storms with both L&T, but this thing shook the house, washed the vehicles under the carport, and then left us without power from 7pm to 1am so basically Mother Nature said: "No blogging allowed!"

So here's where we left off:

The long road ahead

Field of dreams, well ok dreams of crops

Someone with horse power got bored

The cockpit

Hang on, it's a little curvy

That's about it for this segment of Lightnin's helmet-cam, but there's plenty of summer left!

Memorial Weekend Riding

2010-06-02T08:31:00.008+08:00

The weather here was hot but dry for the entire weekend, so we decided to put some miles on the bike and tour around the area a little bit. We ended up logging close to 300 miles!

Here's shot of a barge heading up the Ohio River as seen from the Sunset Grill on the way to Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. It's just past the 1/2 way mark and a good place to stop for lunch.

Here's a few shots courtesy of Lightnin's manual helmet-cam.

If you notice this one is actually facing behind us, pretty clever work!

The Mayor of Rabbit Hash was not available, but the Sheriff was, and yes both elected officials are actually dogs!

The sun is sinking down and my eyes are getting droopy so I'll try to post some more of Lightnin's helmet-cam shots in another post.

Really, 1 Comment That's It? Come On!

2010-05-20T00:18:00.004+08:00

OK this is to all of you readers and sometime commenter's to this blog:

I have heard from several of you that you enjoy my posts and that I need to write more often, keep you updated on what's going on. What you may not know is that with my current professional responsibilities, my additional job of building our dream home, my responsibilities around our current home, and my need for rest/relaxation/recreation, it takes effort to squeeze in time to post updates on any or all of those portions of my life listed above!

I sort of enjoy doing this and seldom complain, but I mean come on with a title starting off with "Breast Fest...." I would have figured some witty comments would be generated; Certainly more than just 1 comment overall! (Thanks RBP you are of course excluded from the group that I am addressing!)

So here's what I would like: how about if a few more of you meet me half way? Here's how:
Comment a few more times, hell I don't even care if it is to critique the content, point out spelling errors, dispute any data that I include, make fun of my photography, anything, but at least give me a response so I know that you're actually interesting in reading this stuff and what I'm doing is actually worth the effort!

Rantingly yours,
Thunder

The Breast Fest and the Annual Bike Blessing

2010-05-17T19:17:00.002+08:00

Yesterday 2 major bike run/charity events took place and we decided to try to participate in both. The Breast Fest raises money for breast cancer research and the bike blessing raises money for underprivileged children. Lightnin and I rode the Harley and our friend, turned biker babe, Alice followed us in the little car. Alice is originally from Paris, France living in Brussels, Belgium, and now temporarily working in the US; Of course we met and were neighbors while living in China!
It really is a small world!

Several hundred motorcycles turned out for both events and we did our part through the donation of cash at each. There's nothing quite like the rumble of several hundred Harley's firing up and heading out on a run. Check it out for yourself, and as they say on NASCAR: "CRANK IT UP!"

Pat Metheny is a Musical Genius!

2010-05-13T20:14:00.002+08:00

Lightnin and I went to see Pat Metheny Orchestrion live last night and it was absolutely incredible. I've been a fan of his for years, being exposed to him by my brother-in-law who is a guitar legend on his own, but this goes way over the top!

For years Pat's music has been on the cutting edge of jazz and fusion blending in Latin style with synthesized guitar, but now he has actually created a virtual orchestra that he ques from his guitar.

If you've seen him in concert than you'll likely agree that he is a modern day combination of Beethoven and Mozart with a little bit of Sergio Mendez thrown in to spice things up!

Check him out on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PatMethenyMedia

Not bad for someone that grew up in the suburb of Kansas City known as Lee's Summit, Missouri!

2010 Hops Report #4

2010-04-27T20:53:00.003+08:00

We went out and grabbed a couple of pictures of the lovely plants last evening in between rain showers.

These plants are now about 6 weeks old and as you can see they are already taller than I am and will soon be taking over the back of the house, just in time to shade us from the heat of summer!

2010 Hops Report #3

2010-04-26T23:56:00.003+08:00

These photos (actually digital images) are from a week ago, it was raining this weekend so I didn't get the latest growth yet.

We're currently experiencing perfect weather for these plants with 1 or 2 days of rain followed by clear sun filled days in between, and cooler than average temperatures! They're peaking in growth rate at around 3" to 4" per day!

2010 Hops Report #2

2010-04-14T23:59:00.005+08:00

One week later and these lovely plants are going to town, or are they trying to reach the moon?

I tried to add some scale (not to the width, but to the height of the vines!) by letting Lightnin take this shot.

Soon we'll be reaping the benefits of hop flowers and shade!

2010 Hops Report #1

2010-04-08T00:01:00.006+08:00

Yes folks the hops report is back by popular demand!
Well OK that populous included myself and Lightnin, but at any rate it's back!

We had what has been reported as one of the worst winters in the past 60 years here in our part of the world, but you wouldn't know that by looking at these beauties. They sprouted out of the ground a couple of weeks ago and are now just over 2ft tall. That's a growth rate of about 2" per day! Believe it or not they aren't at their peak yet and will soon be speeding up to about 3-4" per day growth rate!

I haven't harvested them for the past 2 years(one I was in China 2 yrs ago and 2nd I was becoming reacquainted with America last year) but I'm thinking I might try to pay more attention to them this year.

By Request....the family!

2010-04-02T00:33:00.006+08:00

I was able to visit Mom, Pops, Brother Tracy, Sister-in-Law Pat, Niece Sarah and my little sister while on this trip also. We had a wonderful lunch at a little place called Abigail's in Rocheport, MO. If you're ever in the area, stop by!

We also enjoyed a visit with our middle son, Daughter-in-law and Grandson this past weekend. There wasn't much time for taking pictures since we had such a short visit.

Jiao Zi Just Like Mom Used to Make

2010-03-31T23:59:00.011+08:00

This past weekend we took a little trip back to Kansas City and I had an opportunity to do some cooking with my Mom. We decided to give Jiao Zi (Chinese Dumplings, pot stickers, etc.) a try. Having had some initial training while living in Beijing I was optimistic that we could come out victorious in this challenge! We decided to go with the traditional mixture of pork and leek filling. As it turned out they were not too bad for a first attempt and we now have a pretty good idea of what will be improved on for the next time!

Here's a couple of shots of camera shy Mom rolling out and filling one of the wrappers

One of the steps involved in the process

Showing off the stuffed jiao zi prior to cooking. Not the prettiest ever made, but edible!

One of the side dishes, Sichuan style cabbage and glass noodles. The other side (not pictured) was Sichuan style green beans! Yum!

The rest of the weekend was spent clowning around with our grandson and meeting up with some old friends.

Of course I couldn't resist trying this on!

One of my old track and cross-country team mates (John) who has been managing Ponak's (our favorite Mexican restaurant)for nearly 20 years now! If you're in the KC area stop by Ponak's and say hey to John for me!

One of the guy's (Darrell) that I used to run around with from our old neighborhood. It was fun remembering stories and people we grew up with while talking with both of these good friends!

It was a short trip, but it was good to get back to KC even for just a couple of days!

Why Do I Own a Camera?

2010-03-23T20:17:00.002+08:00

About a week ago we celebrated the anniversary of our first date, on St. Patrick's Day! This year we decided to celebrate by making our own corned beef from scratch and it turned out great, but did I take any pictures? No!

This past Friday evening Lightnin prepped 2 different types of ribs, Orange ribs and Root beer ribs (using a local KC brand root beer courtesy of my Christmas present from Bro J). Again they both came out fantastic, but did I take any pictures? No!

This last Saturday it was an absolutely beautiful day so we met up with two other couples with motorcycles and rode, pretty much all day. It was a very scenic route and we even took the camera with us, but did we take it out and grab photos from the road? Again the answer is NO!

So my question to myself at this point is: Why do I own a camera?

Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll try to answer that question!

Seen in Beijing...

2010-03-17T00:43:00.005+08:00

Lightnin here...just a few of the things we saw in Beijing. I"m pretty sure they are self explanatory! You may have to click on one of the bumper stickers to be able to read it. It's also my favorite!

And yes this was in China too!

The Hutongs of Hou Hai

2010-03-09T02:52:00.004+08:00

I snapped these few pictures of the hutongs as we walked through them on our way to the Black Sesame Kitchen. These are the most traditional style of housing in and around Beijing. They are not only shops and restaurants, but the owners typically live here too!

I think that's about it for this last trip to Beijing so I hope you enjoyed it!

It looks like the weather is finally turning for the better here so pretty soon you'll see some pictures from the road as we tour around on the bike!

Cooking School at Hou Hai

2010-03-05T22:47:00.010+08:00

I had the pleasure of attending a dinner at the Black Sesame Kitchen in Hou Hai, a suburb of Beijing, with a couple of our friends. Unfortunately Lightnin was ill and was not able to go with us on this adventure!

The Black Sesame Kitchen is not just a place to eat dinner, but they also teach cooking classes on Chinese cuisine. It's a tiny place located in the hutongs (back ally's) of Hou Hai and you sit sort of family style with friends and strangers depending upon how many people you have in your group.

This is a picture of Michelle and Sissy, in the forground, the managers of the restaurant and school. Although it's not exactly a flattering picture of Sissy

The menu for that night

Me posing with the head chef

The head chef showing the proper technique for cooking Jiao Zi (pot stickers) to Sissy and one of the assistant chefs

Pan full of Jiao Zi

Beer braised duck and sitr fried shitaki mushrooms and vegetables

The conversation was so lively at our table that nobody else even noticed this picture being taken

Possibly one of the strangest textured foods: Black Sesame sticky rice balls

The food was fantastic, as well as the atmosphere, but the most fun part was being able to watch and interact with the chef and staff while they were preparing the meal!

I should also mention that I have in my possession an autographed copy of the book "Serve The People" whose author, Jen Lin-Liu, is the founder of the restaurant. The book not only gives you recipes and instructions for cooking Chinese, but stories that provide an insight/understanding about life in China.

A Snowy Evening in Beijing

2010-03-03T21:25:00.004+08:00

Sorry to bounce around a little bit, but the Saturday evening after we first arrived it snowed about an inch. We had decided to meet our friend Aaron and head over to Tim's Texas BBQ to see some of our old friends there.

Here's a photo of Lightnin, although you can barely see her

A shot of Lightnin and our friend Aaron, you can see the flash reflecting off the snow flakes!

Both photos were taken in the plaza area of a shopping center called "The Place"

We had a fun time dining, drinking Tsing Tao and/or Tiger, and singing!

The Paulaner Brau Haus

2010-03-02T01:03:00.004+08:00

Still covering the trip back to Beijing we'll move on to the day before we left to return to the US.

After completing all of our souvenir shopping in the morning we decided to head back to the room, drop all of our purchases, and walk down the street to the Paulaner Brau Haus to get our fill of good German food and beer before returning to the room to pack.

They start you off with a basket of whole grain bread and pretzels, along with a variety of spreads: schmaltz, liverwurst, and butter

Then came the main course, which we split, a selection of sausage with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut

They also have a good selection of beers, but I stayed with my favorite the dunkle (pictured in the top photo).

Even though this was from the tail end of the trip I've still got a few more pictures and stories to share.

The Train to Tianjin (aka Harbin East)

2010-02-27T00:42:00.004+08:00

The Tuesday after we arrived we decided to take the high speed train to the city of Tianjin. It's on the east coast of China, and by this train it's only 30 minutes away. Why Tianjin? Because they have a Bavarian brewery there, that's why! They had an excellent Hei Pi (Dunkle, Dark beer) and the food was a rustic style Chinese, which was interesting and good!

Here's a picture of Lightnin with our friend Aaron and the brewery/restaurant staff in the background

Here are the two of us in the square near the river just outside the main train station

Just in case you were wondering, yes you can get a Bud in China

On the way back to Beijing the train hit a rocketing fast speed of 335km/hr (208mph) and it was a surprisingly smooth ride.

Welcome Back, from your friend Winter!

2010-02-25T22:53:00.009+08:00

Have I ever mentioned that I really don't like winter?

Here's what we returned home from our trip to find!

The worst part is that it had melted and re-froze a few times before we returned home to shovel it so it was a mixture of snow and ice. It took me several hours the first day back to clear off the drive!

It was a great trip and with the help of our friends Tracy and Chris we were able to find a couple of replacement SiChuan restaurants. One of our favorites had been torn down along with Tim's Texas Roadhouse, but that's a whole 'nother story that I'll get to later!

Anyway, here's a few pictures of some of the cuisine we sampled at a place called "Spice Spirit":

Spicy Chicken - This was crispy, tender, spicy hot, and delicious!

Numb Mouth Beef - Those little peppercorn things floating around are the infamous Hua Jiao that is the secret to authentic SiChuan cooking! This dish lived up to it's name too!

Lettuce Root - Awesome presentation, and a nice cool soothing side dish to go with the two above

Kung Pao Shrimp - A wonderful sweet, tart, and spicy dish

Stay tuned because there's more photos and stories from the trip to come!

Year of the Tiger

2010-02-23T19:36:00.005+08:00

Unfortunately we were not able to connect to Blogger while in Beijing over the past couple of weeks, so I'll have to play a little catch-up here to post some of the pictures from this trip.

I'm going to attempt to load a video and if it is successful you will get a chance to experience a little bit of the Chinese New Year celebration, but this still doesn't capture what it feels like to see this in real life!

You have to understand that this went on every day with firecrackers, larger than our M-80s, starting at 7am and fireworks from sun down until just after midnight. the largest night displays take place on the first night, the 5th night, and the last night of the New Year. The final night is the largest!

We're still trying to get our days and nights back on track and will be posting the rest of the stories and pictures over the next few days!

It's Back to the Jing!

2010-02-04T01:34:00.002+08:00

Just a quick note to let whomever it is that still reads this blog know that we'll be heading back to the Jing for a little vacation. So stay tuned, or not, and I'll see if I can't put out a few more entertaining posts while on the road!

That Was Refreshing!

2010-01-18T00:29:00.006+08:00

Yesterday after the fog lifted and the temperature rose to a balmy 49F we decided to get the bike out to join a friend of ours on a short run. J-bird had broken his leg back in late summer/early fall and when he said he felt like he was ready to give it a try of course I'm going to join him!

Lightnin provided this snapshot of us in front of "Best Damn Bar" where we stopped for something to wet our whistles. I'm not sure if we were actually thirsty or just needed to get inside for a couple of minutes to get feeling back in our fingers!

We probably rode for close to an hour total, which was good enough because 49F at 50mph is still a bit chilly even with leather on!

Mini-China Expat Reunion

2010-01-13T03:17:00.007+08:00

This past weekend we were finally able to get a group of friends together who had all met while living in China. We were obviously missing a few folks because some still live in China and others have returned to their homes in Europe. (You know who you are, and Lightnin and I were at least able to see some of you on our last trip to Europe!) Their presence was missed, but we still managed to have fun sharing good food, drink, memories of Beijing, and lots of laughter!

Although most of us that spent a majority of our free time together while in Beijing work for the same company, we come from very different backgrounds and probably would never have met nor formed the strong personal bond that we currently hold had it not been for this common experience. I know that the experience has a different affect on everyone so I can only speak for myself when I say that it was life changing!

I will never forget the friends that I came to know while living on the opposite side of the earth and hope that we can get the entire group together again someday!

Snowy River

2010-01-08T21:58:00.005+08:00

Yesterday it finally snowed enough that I was able to get a few shots of the White Water River with snow covered banks.
The White Water River is right across the street from where we live and it feeds into the Ohio river just a few miles away from us.
The bridge in the pictures is the I-275 loop that circles the city.

Pics added to Saturday's post!

2009-12-29T02:41:00.003+08:00

We ended up with a dusting of snow, and the rain from Christmas Day has muddied the White Water River so I'll wait until the water clears a bit before I snap some photos.

Christmas Turkey, DUCK!

2009-12-26T23:12:00.012+08:00

For 3 days now I have been trying to publish the following post, but Blogger has decided that my Christmas gift from them is not allowing me to upload pictures!
After much effort and frustration I was finally able to upload 2 of the pictures that I wanted and I'll update with the rest when I can get them uploaded!

On Christmas Eve Lightnin headed out to get the mail and spotted this field full of turkey.
Lightnin said there were more than 20 of them

Lucky for them our Christmas Eve menu was already set: shrimp and Lobster bisque, prime rib, potato balls, apple spice muffins, and red wine

The chowder and place settings

Prime rib and potato balls

On Christmas morning our breakfast was that of bacon, Cinnamon rolls and mimosa's. I then spent the better part of the day fighting the rain and blowing wind to smoke the duck that would be dinner, along with cranberry cornbread stuffing and date pudding for desert.

Donald D prepped and going into the smoke
Smokin' goodness!

Today is starting out cold and we're expecting snow later in the afternoon.

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Winter Wetland: A Weather Story (part er)

2009-12-23T22:51:00.002+08:00

Well the sleet finally stopped and the temperature rose so we were able to get the little car back home safe and sound yesterday.

This morning was met with a cold mist, but at least it was above freezing! Later tonight and early tomorrow morning we're supposed to get rain mixed with ice and snow, switching to rain for most of tomorrow/Friday and then switching over to snow on Saturday. It looks like Santa had better be wearing a rain coat and waders with pontoon attachments on his way through Ohio, 'cause that sleigh is likely to get stuck in the mud!

The Whitewater river has cleared up nicely and is a beautiful blueish green color now so if we do get a decent snow covering on the banks I'll try to get some photos to share.

From Lightnin and I:
Here's wishing everyone out there (even those of you who choose not to send in comments, and you know who you are!) a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

For our friends in Beijing: Sheng dan jie kuai le ye Chun jie kuai le!

Winter Wetland: A Weather Story (part yi)

2009-12-23T02:21:00.005+08:00

Today has turned out to be interesting!

Our oldest son has come from New York to visit us for Christmas, and so for him to go see his friends while we're at work we need to lend him one of our vehicles, but of the three (running) vehicles that we have only 1 of them is fully weather worthy. So we've been watching the weather to know when he could take the truck and we would take the "little car". This morning's forecast looked safe with only a slight chance of flurries in the morning with warming temperatures and precipitation ending in the afternoon! Wrong again!

Oh it was fine this morning when we left for work, but within an hour the snow started coming down, not just flurries, but actual snow. Luckily the temperature was still warm enough that it melted on impact, so I was able to go to lunch with Lightnin. However, when we left the restaurant of choice it was no longer snowing, oh no, it was now raining and sleeting.

Still no problem as it was still melting on impact. I drop Lightnin off at her place of employment and I head back to mine as the rain/sleet now turns to SLEET. As I turn into the parking lot I notice that the surface has cooled off enough that it is actually starting to stick. Not much else to do except park it, head back in to work, and hope that the temperature rises to at least the warm 38F that the incompetent weather analysts predict so we can drive it home!

To be continued....

First Snow of the Season

2009-12-07T22:59:00.007+08:00

This morning we arose to the first falling snow flakes of winter. It only snowed a little over an inch, but the traffic backed up severly! It took Lightnin 2 hours to get into work, about 23 miles away. I'm working from home because the little car just isn't made for this weather. I admit I did give it a try and drove, well slid around the block and headed back home. Luckily I was able to get it back up the driveway where it will stay until the snow goes away!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T03:32:00.002+08:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Thunder and Lightnin!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

2009-11-25T20:55:00.004+08:00

Twas the day before Thanksgiving and I don't have a rhyme at all!

Hey I just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving from the two of us!

We'll be celebrating in a traditional, yet non-traditional manner this year. The traditional portion will be the meal itself with turkey, cornbread/sausage/cranberry stuffing, cranberry sauce (yes the jelly in the can version), mashed potatoes, corn, and sweet potato pie with cool whip! The non-traditional part is that we are staying home and not traveling anywhere!

I've got plenty of firewood split and ready to go, which is a good thing because they are calling for the possibility of snow on Friday! If it does I'll try to post some pictures!

Random Shots From The Road

2009-11-22T22:47:00.011+08:00

We took the bike out yesterday and it was a little chilly, but if you're dressed properly its not bad! We thought it would be a good idea for Lightnin carry the camera and snap a few shots while we were on the road so we could try to share the experience. So here's our ride yesterday:

I hope you enjoyed the ride, we did!

It's supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer today, and the sun is out so who knows we may just hit the road again!