HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Well, we made it through another year. And as custom dictates, resolutions and new goals for 2011. How many did you make, and how many are left over from last year? I still have some left over from when I was in high school. I just keep on moving them from year to year. But I will get to them one day.

One I have had for years is to drive a NASCAR. Friends in high school told me several different times that I drive like I'm at Indy or running moon shine or think that I'm doing time trials for NASCAR. I've done demolition derby at Lakeside Speedway before they shut it down. I used to take friends four wheeling before I had something with four wheel drive. I even did some jumping with a car. And who didn't like doing doughnuts in a parking lot full of snow?! Yep, I was made for speed. I'm just slower now than I used to be.

Another one is I always wanted to be a cowboy. Not the bang bang kind on the big screen or TV. But a cowboy that works with cattle on a ranch. All the other kids I knew back in the early 60s wanted to be bankers, doctors, firemen, policemen and such. Then I would tell them I wanted to be a cowboy. That led to a few rounds of getting the snot kicked out of you. 'Course, I never gave up on that dream and goal.

I got to spend time with my aunt and uncle on their ranch up in the Rockies. I got to ride horses, chase after cows, help feed the animals, help with mending fence, help with putting up hay, and taking care of sick little calves. I also just got to be a kid having fun every summer on the ranch. So, to some degree, I have been a cowboy. I learned much from the experience and would love to have a small ranch now if I could swing things the right way.

Also, I want to learn how to fly. I have had some time flying; I have 12 hours so far. I will finish up one day though. I started this adventure with my Dad. He has always wanted to fly and we had a chance for it several years ago. Things were going fine until one day he said that he was feeling dizzy. He didn't fly for a few days because of this, so he went to the doctor and found out that he has Meniere's Disease, which is a pain to have -- it makes you dizzy, sick to your stomach and what not. So he dropped out of our flying together. It's not his fault, and I feel really bad about him not being able to fly. And I WILL finish up and be a pilot one day.

A newer goal is to work on the Isle of Belly. Talk about a challenge! I still do not have a palm tree for it, so I will spare you a photo. (You will thank me for this.) There are so many diets out there, and picking the right one is going to be a royal pain in the keester. It is going to be real hard. I love to cook and eat what I make. (And what everyone else makes.)

I was told as a child, "Eat what's on your plate!" and we could not leave the table until our plates were clean. Used to be I could eat anything and everything and not gain an ounce. Now I just gain pounds instead. 'Course, I know I'm also to blame.

I mean, come on, fresh homemade bread with butter and homemade jelly? Who in their right mind can turn away from such lip-smacking good food. I can't. 'Course I know that I shouldn't eat it every day. Or every other day. All in moderation. (Now all of you, don't be running out to make homemade bread and jelly.) I joke about it and make fun of myself about being overweight. I was such a skinny guy when I was growing up. I had friends that were bigger than I was by weight and seemed to always be taller. I only weighed 130 pounds in high school. At 5' 9'' and at that weight, I even had a hard time getting on the football team. (That's another story. Ha!)

So, I will be starting a NEW diet to look better and for my health. (Drum roll.) And I think that I may blog about it. But not every day. I will still do FEED YOUR FACE. I just won't be eating it all, mistakes included. Also I will try not to post any pictures along the way. Unless I think it would show a big difference from start to finish. (Sorry, no bare skin for some of you.)

I hope that you all have a great new year and that you all make the goals that you set for yourselves. And for those who also diet this year -- let's do it!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 1/3/2011

"Each age has deemed the new-born year the fittest time for festal cheer. "
-- Sir Walter Scott
Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet

SURVIVAL STUFF: For home or camping

Sometimes it's good to have some things around in case of an emergency at home, camping, or on the road. We always hope that we will not have to use any of it, but it is good to have around.


You can use hand sanitizer to start a fire. Just about everybody has some, and it keeps well.

Cotton balls can make another good fire starter. You take cotton balls and put Vaseline on them, then put them in baby food jars with the lids on them. They keep for quite a while, too.

Either way -- if you have a power outage or need to get your fireplace going or need to light some wet wood. you're good to go.


Also, lots of us out there have those little tea light candles. If you put some in small jars (like baby food jar size), put in a book of matches, and put the lids on tight you have enough light to get from one room to another. I have two or three of these, that I take hunting and camping. I also have two of these in my truck just in case I ever need them.


You can do that with bigger candles and bigger jars. You could also take a piece of emery cloth and glue it to the inside of the lid for striking kitchen matches on. Keep all your candles in one spot so you do not have to run around the house looking for them.


Just a little planning ahead will save you some time if you ever come to needing them. How else will you find a snack in the dark?

HOLIDAY BELLY

It is four days past Christmas. I found out last night that I can no longer see my feet. I think there was a eruption on the Isle of Belly. Also, my pants do not fit right. They keep sliding down. Kathi told me that I have Hank Hill butt syndrome. (If you have ever seen the show, you know what she means.) 'Course, I think that small butts run in the family. My Dad's is so small that he now wears suspenders.


Anyway, The Isle of Belly seems to have expanded some and now has two little Isles on both sides now. (Known as love handles to some.) The funny thing is I have not gained any more weight. OK, maybe like two pounds since Christmas. I also noticed that the shower seems a little smaller also. I dropped my wash rag, and it took me three or four minutes to find it. I had to use my feet to locate it, then push it around some to where I could bend -- more like a squat -- to pick it up. I guess I was making some type of noise while doing this, cause Kathi came to the door and asked if I was all right.


I have also noticed that when we go bowling on Thursday nights I make my approach different than I used to. Also, it is harder to see those little dots on the floor. So I just kind of guess where to stand before making my approach. It must be working, 'cause I was able to bowl a 234 last week. I have also noticed that I seem to walk down hill a little faster. I tried to ride my bicycle and had to put more air in the tires. Plus, I found it harder to get to my water bottle. And it seems that the hills by our house have gotten steeper.


I do exercise. I do lots of push ups and push aways. And I walk. Like, at the sportsman shows. Or gun shows. And lots of walking when swinging our metal detector. There is also bending involved in metal detecting and lots of exercise when we go gold prospecting. So I am active to some degree. Course, I'm sure that age has something to do with my weight also.


Those who remember me from when we were in school together know that I could eat anything and everything and not gain an ounce. Now it has caught up to me and I didn't really see it coming. But, the new year is coming up and I have a diet plan ready to go. If it does not work, it is going.

So I am still looking for one of those little palm trees that came with the little turtles that we use to be able to buy as pets back in the '60s.


If you know where to get one of them little palm trees or if you have one, let me know. The Isle of Belly looks pretty bare when I am in the pool and floating on my back. I still can't believe that I scared myself in the pool.

AFTER CHRISTMAS

Well, I do not know about the rest of you, but am I bushed and overfed. And what about all that mess of wrapping paper, boxes, bows, empty battery cartons, ribbons, and such? Who is going to clean up all that stuff? How many toys are already broken or have dead batteries? And, who ate that last bit of fudge that you were saving for yourself?


How was the trip to see grandma or other family members? Did you remember to load up all the gifts before you left the house, or were you one of those who got snowed in and couldn't even get out of the driveway? (Could be lucky in some ways.) Or maybe were you lucky enough to have the whole gang over and this Christmas was the best yet!


Our Christmas was a little on the quite side this year. I didn't get the Christmas lights up on our house this year, which is okay. I did get up our new fake tree and our dog Nugget left it standing this year, though we did have a close call or two when someone would come to the door. I also put up my parents tree at their house in Loveland. Even though our Dad is still in the hospital, he is doing a lot better and may get to go home on Wednesday. They spent Christmas together, and some people who work at the hospital had Christmas dinner made for the folks on their floor. My Dad also has had quite a few doggie visits and they perk him right up.


The rest of the family did their own thing. We had good food more than once, and I fed my face way to much. I smoked a good-sized ham, and it went fast. I can take what's left and make a BIG pot of beans. Our pinto bean fudge is almost gone, with no side effects of gas (for those of you who asked), but my dentist might give me a hard time. And now we wait for New Year's and we will be doing this all over.


Thankfully, we do not have any parties to go to this year. So Kathi and I will stay at home, watch old movies, feed our faces, and avoid all the hassle of being out on the road with all the others. It is safer that way and it will give us some time to be alone and relax from Christmas. I just feel sorry for the trash guy that picks up our trash. I never knew that two people and one dog could make so much mess on Christmas morning. We had all of the pots and pans to get clean in the kitchen, not to mention cleaning up the smoker. But it is worth it and we do enjoy the holidays.

Now, I'm wondering how our dog poop guy is going to feel. Nugget has had all kinds of doggy cookies, tidbits of food, and treats out the wazoo. Not that we spoil him or anything.

I just need to slip into my expando pants and take out the trash. And if I could find my slippers. . .oh, wait! I already have them on. I'm all set. I think I need a extra large zipper on my coat. So bring on the New year!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: 12/27/2010

"Happiness is not so much in having or sharing. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
Sir Norman Duckworth Kerr MacEwen
British Royal Air Force Officer

Merry Christmas!

Ho, ho. . . the more you eat the more you. . .no -- wait -- that's the wrong song.
Jingle bells, Santa smells. . . oh. Wrong song again.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year. Be safe and have a great Christmas.

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas. . . ah -- finally got it right!

CHRISTMAS: 3 days and counting

It's coming up fast. Do you have everything ready? Shopping all done? Packages all sent off in the mail? All packages wrapped? Do you have your Christmas meal all planned out? How about your Christmas tree? Have you kept it watered (if you have a real tree)? Have you checked all the lights for the tenth time to make sure that none are burned out? Are you sure that you have hidden the gifts from the little ones? (My Dad hid some one year, and the next year he found them from the year before!) Do you have all your travel plans in order? Is your auto all ready for that long road trip to Grandma's house?

If you have everything ready and in order --great! How about taking a little time for yourselves, if you can. Send the little ones off to bed a little early. Maybe have a little glass of wine or some hot cider. Maybe set in front of a nice fire, and kick back for a little bit. You have earned it.

Our parents use to say that they had some last minute shopping to do. It took us a year or two to figure that they went to a party. We finally figured that you do not put on your Sunday best to go elbow-to-elbow with all the last minute shoppers. They always came home much happier after those last minute shopping sprees.

'Course, while they were gone, the hunt was on for our gifts. We would listen to Christmas carols and each of us would take a part of the house and search like a mad man. If we found someone else's gift we would let out a holler. Maybe every once in a while we might check for some little corner of the wrapping paper that might not be taped down all that good and sneak a peek to see what it was.

The parents were on to that little trick. One year they bought me a Hot Wheels set and they put it all in a JC Penney sweater box. Boy, was I surprised on Christmas morning! Our folks did fun stuff like that over the years, and just not at Christmas time.

Dad would get up and play with all of us kids and our friends. One year we got a ping pong table for Christmas. Man! We had our friends over. Our Dad would teach everyone how to play. That Christmas, and through the new year, our house was the place to be. If parents were missing their kids, they called our house 'cause nine times out of ten they were at our place.

The ping pong table had other uses. My sisters used it to lay out patterns for dress making after Mom got a sewing machine for Christmas one year.

As Christmas comes on, take some time for yourself and maybe think back to some of the Christmases you have had over the years. Maybe be a little sneaky this year with the gifts. Put some gifts in different boxes. Or maybe wrap up a gift, put it in a bigger box, add some bricks to the bottom of the bigger box. Really makes them wonder. One of my best friends used almost a whole roll of duct tape on a gift for me one year. I thought I'd never get that puppy open! I was just glad that it was something that wouldn't spoil.

So, enjoy the holidays, hang some mistletoe, hug and smile at somebody. It makes them wonder what you're up to. Chug some hot chocolate. Keep warm and safe. Feed your face with good food and we will worry about our diets later. (I have my diet all picked out, just waiting for Santa to bring it to me.) It has beans on the menu. . .

SORRY: To all that follow my Blog.

Sorry about not having a post up this morning. I was in Loveland All day yesterday. My Dad has been in the hospital since the 10th. He has some health problems going on, that seem like they will never end. But as of today, he seems to be better. So thank you for being patient.

FEED YOUR FACE: Beans, Beans. . .

Everybody sing! Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat. . . well, you know.

Beans are fun and almost everybody likes beans in some form or another. There are so many types of beans! Green beans, black beans, kidney beans, chili beans, pinto beans, Navy beans, white beans, pork-n-beans, beanie wienies, jelly beans. Pick the ones you like.

There are lots of things you can make with beans. You can glue them down on cardboard and make a bean picture. Iwish I could remember the right name for that! You can pour different types of beans into jars, layered, to make a pretty calico bean soup mix. Then, there are even some desserts you can do with beans. Today, we're gonna make Pinto Bean Fudge. Yay! It takes just five ingredients. Or six if you add nuts. And you can, if you want to.

It's simple to do. Here's what you need:
1 cup of cooked pinto beans, mashed
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 T. vanilla
3/4 cup of baking cocoa
2 pounds of powdered sugar

• First, mash the beans. I used a potato masher, 'cause I like to still be able to tell there are beans in there. If you don't, then use a food processor so you can get them real smooth. Ummmm. . . looking at those mashed beans makes me hungry for burritos.

Then, combine the mashed beans with the melted butter, vanilla, and cocoa.

After that's all combined, add the powdered sugar. You can also add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or so. I don't 'cause I'm allergic to the good ones (pecans, walnuts, etc.). Nothing serious -- I just get little blisters on my tongue. But enough about me. Go ahead: I won't feel bad if you add 'em. Well, unless you share yours with me, that is. Well, and then only my tongue will feel bad.

Combine everything together really good until it is all blended. This is good exercise for your stirring arm.

Then, butter a 9"x13" pan. Spread the fudge mixture into the pan. Then put it in your refrigerator. That's where you'll have to store this fudge or it will get too soft.

We usually cut ours into about 60 pieces, 'cause it's kinda rich and you'll probably only want a little piece at a time. Unless you are a chocoholic, then feel free to make this just one big piece.

After it has chilled awhile, we usually cut it into pieces then move it into a food storage bag or little plastic container so it doesn't dry out. You can avoid the drying out part it you eat it fast.

Now, go ahead and make this tasty fudge recipe, and FEED YOUR FACE!

CHRISTMAS CARD: For all of you who read my bog

Well it is Monday, and just five more days 'til Christmas. I want to thank all of you who have been following my blog. I hope that you have found some helpful things and that maybe I have put a smile on your face every now and then. I hope to make some improvements and will add some new stuff along the way. I also want to put up more photos of places and people I know.

So, if you would please go to the link below I will do a little dance for you for Christmas.

Now I can say that I have finished up all my Christmas cards to family, friends, and to all my readers. Again, thank you one and all.

http://www.dancingsantacard.com/?santa=383528

SLEDDING

How many of you remember the sleds with runners? I saw one here the other day in a catalog. Man, did that bring back some memories! We got our first runner sled for Christmas way back in 1962. We were told to share, but my sister was more interested in some dumb old doll, so I pretty much had the sled to myself.

The street out in front of our house had one of them hills that you could run faster than the sled could slide. And I could only get the sled to slide maybe about 15 feet or so and then I would have to push it again to get it going, then again would go about 15 feet. This went on for several hours and the rest of the kids were passing me like I was setting still, which I was pretty much doing anyway. I could not figure how to make the sled go. I mean, the others would pass me and they were not going all that fast, but they were at least getting down to the bottom of the street.

Then I just happened to see the bully kid of our street put something on the runners of his sled. When he did he could push his sled about 10 feet, hop on his belly, and sled to the end of the street. It took me like two weeks trying to find out what everyone was using. Of all things, they rubbed soap on the runners! I had asked my Dad why my sled would not slide, and he asked me if I had put any soap on the runners. I guess I gave him my stupid look or something. He rolled his eyes and went and got this bar of soap from the bathroom. It was one of those bars that just kind of sets in that little dish thing by the tub. You know, it always slimy, and it kind of mushes in your hand when you hold it.

Now, how in the world am I supposed to carry this slime thing on me? You can't put it in your pocket. I found out that just makes your pocket yucky. And if you put it in a lunch bag, you cannot get that sucker out if your life depended on it. It is like using liquid soap. You try to rub it on the runners and it just kind of runs down your arm more than on the runners. When you get this soapy yuck on your hands do not (I repeat, do NOT) rub your face or get it near your eyes or try to rub your runny nose. Bad, bad idea.

If you get it in your eyes, they will never quit watering and you can't see. It burns like crazy and, if it is really cold, you end up with these little icicles hanging off your eye lashes, and the corners of your eyes. What's really bad is if you get this stuff anywhere near your runny nose, you get these little frozen snot bubbles. I'm not kidding now. I swear that I saw a kid with them. Man you get those and you can kiss your nose goodbye. A fellow could get his nose frost bitten real quick. And if you're one of those kids that kind of has his tongue sticking out whenever they do anything, you can freeze your tongue to your lips, and then the girls make fun of you.

So, there I stood, slimy soap in my hand, 'cause now it is frozen there. And I have these little icicles hanging off of my eye lashes, and the ones that are stuck to the corners of my eyes have kind of run back towards my ears. My tongue is stuck to my upper lip and I can't talk. Then, to top it all off, I have this little frozen snot bubble hanging out of my nose like some little shiny Christmas ornament. But you know what? I made it to the bottom of that hill. Man, what a thrill! I must have made a zillion runs on the street that day. Only one person gave me a hard time about it and that was my grandmother, when I came in to thaw out. She said that I had enough soap on my face that I would not have to wash my face for a week.

So, that pretty much sums up my first sledding adventure. After that I kept my nose hair trimmed way back and would only use a new bar of soap for my runner sled.

9 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS

So after today we have 9 days 'til Christmas. As of last night, we here in the Denver area still do not have any snow on the ground. I think that is due to the fact that I got my snow blower ready at least a month ago. But it is getting colder at night. It is nice to watch the Christmas tree in our living room. Every year it seems that we do it up perfect. 'Course, how can you go wrong with a fake tree that has all the lights already on it? Just unbox it, set it in a tree stand, fluff some branches, add decorations, plug that sucker in, and you have your tree done. You know, it is fast and you save some money every year. But, I still sometimes want to have a real tree. Yeah, they can be a pain. But to me, a real tree is more about Christmas.

When I was a little kid we knew it was Christmastime at home when we went out and got the Christmas tree. I can remember going out in the snow, in the car, with my great grandfather and my sister and maybe a few of my cousins. We would jump in Papa's 1960 Chevy Biscayne. (This was my first car -- the HOOPY as we called it.)

We would drive up in the hills around Fraser, Colorado. We would take some hot chocolate, sandwiches, and some fruit. When we arrived at the forest entrance, the ranger at the gate would check our permit. The snow was deep and the wind had a bite to it. When we found a place to pull off the road we had to be sure that we were not going to get stuck. Then we all would take off and look for that perfect tree. Sometimes it didn't take too long, other times it seemed to take hours.

Once the tree was found, Papa would let us take turns cutting the tree down. When it was cut, we then had to find our way back to the car. Once at the car, we kids would get in, Papa would start the car, and he would proceed to tie the tree to the top of the car. By the time he had done that the car was nice and warm. We would finish up the hot chocolate and sandwiches, then make our way back to Mama & Papa's house in Kremmling.

When we would get to their house, we kids would rush in and Mama would stop us at the back door. She would make us brush off all the snow, take off our wet socks, and she would hand us each a pair of warm socks that she had setting in the oven. I can remember how warm they felt on my feet and how warm their little house was. Papa would bring the tree in and Mama had everything ready. The stand was in front of the big window, and several boxes of decorations were open and waiting. We would decorate the tree, listen to Christmas carols, and drink so much hot chocolate that our grandparents thought we would burst. We never really spent Christmas with them, that I can remember. But they were always at our house on Christmas Eve.

I thought about it, and I think we only had a real tree for Christmas maybe 12 times or so in my lifetime. Maybe next year we will have a real tree. I'm sure once it is up and decorated all of those memories, sights, sounds, and smells of Christmases past will come flooding back. Thoughts of family and friends who have passed will bring a tear or two, as well as the joy that Christmas brings every year.

I hope that all of you will have a Christmas that brings you all together, and hope that loved ones who are overseas or away from home make it home for Christmas.

So, have a mug of hot chocolate or a big glass of eggnog and hug the people that are here with you now. Hang up some extra mistletoe. It never hurts to give out a few more kisses. Be kind to others, always.

Our family wishes all of you and yours a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

OOPS

Aw jeez, I blew it, I messed up. Sorry that I missed my blog for today. Things happen, Too many things going on at one time. Too many Christmas goodies to munch on, that make you want to take a nap. More Christmas shopping then one person can handle and that makes you to want to take a nap. And then putting up the tree, decorating the front yard, hanging them lights only to find out that some of them won't plug in. Running extention cords to run all the lights. Then there is replacing all of those little lights that are burned out and that makes you to want to take a nap. Did I mention all the goodies to munch on also make you want to take a nap?

Then we have the crowds of people at the stores. It makes you to want to pull out your hair at times. Walking the mall. Which makes you to want to take a nap. And all those little vendors who sell all the little samples of munchies that taste so good at the time because you have been running around the mall for over four hours and needed something to eat. Then you still have not finished your shopping! You still need to pick up things for the people you work with and that makes you to want to take a nap. And even taking a nap leaves you tired.

Then we have the parking lot. Makes me yawn just saying it. You drive around, and around, and around looking for any spot -- don't even worry about a close-in one -- even when it is three miles away at the far end of the lot. You have to walk all that way to the store. As you walk, all you see is a sea of shopping carts, and the people pushing them are guys who look like they could use a nap, but it seems that the women have smiles on their faces. Maybe because they have dragged the husbands with so they can't take a nap!

You see all of the empty carts outside the store, never thinking of taking one because they will have carts in the store. Then when you get in the store, you find that there are no carts. So, back out to the parking lot to get a cart. And, of course, all of the close ones have been taken so you end up almost walking back to where you parked to get a cart. How many of them carts end up putting new dings and dents on your car that you won't find until you wash off your car later in the week?

Then there are the Christmas parties. If you go to enough of them, you want to take a nap. The food they serve is filling and good and you forget all about your diet and trying to get rid of the isle of belly. When you finish, it is time for a nap. When the party is where you work you have to be on your best behavior. No letting your hair down. No dancing with the lady from accounting. Watch how much you drink and watch out who you talk to. You don't want anything bad said that might get you in trouble later on. You really can't have that much fun anyway, because you're thinking about what your kids are up to back at home. Have they been sneaking looks at gifts, or looking for where you have hidden the presents? It is all so tiring, you want to take a nap.

So, I messed up. I took a nap. And my wife Kathi was nice enough not to wake me. I only got up because the phone rang. It was Kathi, reminding me that we have a party to go to tomorrow. So now I'm doing my blog entry for today. Then I think that Nugget and I will take a little nap, so that we will be nice and refreshed for when Kathi gets home.

Now, where are those sugar cookies and eggnog?

FEED YOUR FACE: Christmas Cookies

Christmas is just around the corner, and lots of people like to make homemade cookies.

At our house, and through the years, the one major cookie we have always made is the sugar cookie. Plain dough, red dough, green dough. And then you have the sprinkles, colored sugar, them little round balls things in silver and gold. And let's not forget all the different cookie cutters: stars, bells, reindeer, Santa, Christmas trees, and all the others. And they come in different sizes.

When we were kids, we went to great lengths to make all the sugar cookies look really neat and cute. Sometimes it took about 5 minutes just to do one cookie. You really had to have a bit of artist in you. Like those little silver and gold balls? They had to be put on the green cookies that were Christmas trees to look like ornaments.

Then there is the icing to put on them for garland and stuff. And if you did a gingerbread man sugar cookie, you had to do the face and some type of clothes for it. No nude-y ginger man cookies in our house! And I always did the eyes on them. You know, you have to put just a little drop of white icing for each eye. Then you had to put a smaller drop on each eye to give them blue eyes or green eyes and even red eyes. And it never failed -- every eye I ever did came out looking crosseyed. It was really upsetting. How in the world can you give Santa a crosseyed sugar gingerbread man?

That's probably why I didn't get some of the presents I asked for from Santa. You try eating a crosseyed sugar gingerbread man cookie that is staring at you crosseyed! You'd end up with milk coming out your nose or you'd end up choking on one of those little silver or gold ball things. And the other cookies? You spend all of this time making them look really neat. Did Santa ever leave you a note saying how nice your cookies looked? I never got one. They were always just wolfed down, an empty glass with a little bit of milk left in the bottom and an empty plate with some cookie crumbs. And that was that.

One year my sister Lenora and I had a great idea. There used to be a feed store not too far from our house. That year when we went to the feed store with Pappy to get some rabbit feed, my sister and I snitched some hay. We stuffed hay in our coat pockets, we filled our pants pockets, and it seems that I even had hay stuffed down my pants. (Another reason for revenge on my sister, see my blog from last week titled, "Butt Sniper.") We figured that we would leave a bite of hay for each of Santa's reindeer. We even put ribbons on each handful, with each reindeer's name. Now, how many kids would think that far out of the box? We were ahead of our time. We just knew that with the hay and cookies we would get all the things we wanted that year.

Guess what? Christmas morning, we got up extra early. (All of the adults loved that year.) And, sure enough, the milk was gone, just a little left in the bottom of the glass. All the cookies were gone. The bites of hay were gone. And under the tree that year we got everything that we had asked for, except I still did not get my full-sized robot to do my biding or the space bike, like from the old TV show Fire Ball XL 5. (Anybody remember that one?)

Make some holiday cheer, make some sugar cookies, decorate them suckers, and see if you can make them without crossed eyes. Have some fun and think of some of the Christmases past. I know that it will put a smile on your face.

So feed your face! and go easy on the food coloring in the cookie dough. I had green teeth for about three days one year.

Enjoy!

Sour Cream Rollout Cookies (soft sugar cookies)

• 1 cup butter


• 2 cups sugar


• 1 cup sour cream


• 3 egg yolks


• 1 t. baking soda


• 1 t. vanilla


• 1/8 t. salt


• 4-3/4 cups flour

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg yolks. Combine the soda with the sour cream. (Don't freak out if it foams up a little.) Add to the butter mixture, then add the vanilla and salt. Add flour in two portions until combined. Chill dough overnight, or at least four hours. Roll out, cut, and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on size and thickness.

You could also add food coloring to the dough if you want some colors. Or add orange, lemon, almond, or peppermint extract if you want a little something extra.

Decorate with sprinkles of some type before baking, or ice these after they have cooled. Now, feed your face!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

Toni Morrison
Nobel Prize - Winning American Author

FEED YOUR FACE: Beer Bread

It is time for baking. I love to bake when I have the time. It has been a while since I have cranked on the oven.
Beer Bread is sooooooo good and it goes with so many different types of food. When it is winter time, it goes with every thing I can think of. Even spaghetti, throw on a little bit of garlic butter -- yum.

I got this recipe from my grandmother Helen.

She would buy a six pack of beer. She used to get the little cans of Coors, the kind that gives you only about 4 ounces or so. Once she bought the beer it would set in her fridge, ice cold, for about 4 weeks. Then she would announce that it was time to make some beer bread. But first, she would take one can, open it, pour about half into a small juice glass, drink it, and give the rest to my grandfather Pappy, who would down it in one gulp. (Stingy! He did not even offer me any!) Then she would proceed to use up the rest of the six pack for her beer bread.

So lets get ready, and do some beer bread. Here is what you need.

• 3 cups of self-rising flour
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 12 oz of beer (or you can use some kind of soda pop if you would rather and it will still be good)
• 1/2 stick of butter, melted

Combine the flour, sugar, and beer (or whatever liquid). Pour it into a greased loaf pan or dutch oven. Pour the butter over the top. Bake at 375 for about an hour.

Eat it with lots of butter and homemade jelly or honey and FEED YOUR FACE!

DID YOU KNOW: Chuck Wagon?

Did you know that Charles Goodnight, who was a Texas rancher, cattle king, and co-founder of the famous "Goodnight Loving Trail," introduced the first chuck wagon in 1866?

It was made of wood and drawn by oxen.

BUTT SNIPER

Do any of you remember the TV show: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ? Man I loved that show. Back in the '60s I had a lot of Man from U.N.C.L.E. toys. In fact, I still have one of the toy guns. It was the cigarette lighter/radio, gun. It was soooooooooo cool. One year, for Christmas, while we lived at our Grandmother's house, I got the THRUSH sniper rifle. Man, that thing had it all.


It had infrared scope, and you could turn a little wheel on it to change the target. Like, one was of a tank, another was of a soldier, and another one was of a PT boat. Then if you flipped it one more turn you had regular rifle sights and you could shoot off caps. It was the best present in the world. I don't remember what else I got that year. Probably the usual, socks, underwear, sweater -- you know, the not fun stuff.


So any way, I had this rifle and I shot more bad guys then John Wayne, Roy Rogers, The Cisco Kid, Gene Autry, and Vic Morrow (from Combat) ever had. It was my pride and joy. I spent all the change I could find, beg, borrow, and (yeah) snitch for caps. I shot so many caps that I really had to clean it so the caps would run through the rifle.


Then one night, my sister and I got into a fight about something. I don't even remember what it was about, but it must of been important at the time. She had my Thrush rifle and I had some dumb thing of hers and we were going back and forth. She hit me so I hit her back. This went on for several minutes. I told her if she hit me one more time I was going to break whatever it was that I had of hers. She said if I did, she would break that dumb gun of mine.


Well, that was that. I told her it was not some dumb old rifle. She knew how I felt about it! She got this mean-eyed stare, took the rifle by the barrel and by the back stock and SNAP -- she broke the rifle in two. I could not believe it! She really did it! I didn't know what to do. She then hauled off and hit me, took whatever it was I had of hers, dropped the two parts of my rifle and ran off.

I was in tears. I cried and cried. It was a good thing our Dad was not around because then the you know what would have hit the fan.


Our grandfather, Pappy, tried to fix my rifle by melting the barrel back on. It worked, but the damn barrel was bent and it just did not look as cool as it had. My sister was all smug and acting like it was not her fault. Well, I quit playing with that rifle. I put it away and brought it out just every now and then to play with.

But, it just wasn't right! So, it was then that I started to plan my revenge.


It took several months, and the weather got warmer. My plans were ready. I decided that I would get her back. She was in the backyard, setting on the ground, talking through the side fence to the girl next door. I went out the front door, and walked around the other side of the house. She couldn't see me. I got over next to our garage and lifted up the big garage door, just enough for me to squeeze through.

My dad had a little Daisy BB gun. He used it to shoot dogs in the butt to keep them from pooping in the yard and he was quite good at it.


So, I found the BB gun and gently crawled back out under the garage door. Then I crawled around to the other side of the garage, taking my time. I found a good spot in a lilac bush. I cocked the BB gun, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The BB went and hit the dirt about 20 feet behind her. She never heard it, nor did the girl she was talking to.

Now I was getting mad. What kind of BB gun was this!? I cocked it again, this time aimed it at my foot and pulled the trigger. Man! Did that hurt! Now I was trying to figure why it won't shoot so far.


I cocked it again, pulled the trigger, and the BB hit about the same spot. I cocked it again, took aim, raised the front of the barrel a little, and pulled the trigger. This time, the BB hit about a foot behind her. It then bounced and caught my sister in the left check of her butt. She screamed, the girl on the other side of the fence screamed, and I giggled. She jumped up and started to rub her butt very vigorously, still jumping up and down. I crawled out of the lilac bush over to the garage door, opened it just enough to get in, replaced the BB gun to its spot in the garage, crawled back out, and closed the big door all the way.


I then walked casually back towards the front of the house, then went up the street to my friend Marc's house. I stayed there for several hours playing. Of course I told Marc what I had done. We both laughed and laughed. Pretty soon, Grandmother called Marc's house and told me it was time to come home for dinner. So,I walked the 4 blocks back to our house.

When I got there, my sister was still sniffing and snotting all over the place. All of the grown-ups thought that she had been stung by a bee or bitten by an ant. I never said a word. And she did not have a mark on her.


For the rest of the summer, everytime she would set her butt at that same spot at the fence to talk to the girl next door, I would snipe her butt. I bet I shot her in the butt at least 20 times that summer and never did get caught. But once, my dad needed the BB gun to go after a big dog that kept pooping in the yard and digging up the flower garden. The dog would just jump the fence, do his thing, jump back over the fence, and go on his merry way. Well my dad grabbed the BB gun one day and found that there was not that many BB's left in the gun. He never asked, and I never told.


I didn't say anything for years. Then one day my sister and I got into another spat. I told her if she didn't hush up that I would shoot her in the butt. She turned red as a fire truck. I headed for the door. She figured it out. She broke a broom trying to get me.


Even now I don't turn my back on my sister, paybacks being what they are!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The measure of a man's character is not what he gets from his ancestors, but what he leaves to his descendants."

Author unknown

FEED YOUR FACE: Indian Breakfast

This should feed your hungry tribe.

• 15 ounces of hominy
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 to 3 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 5 beaten eggs
• 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
  

Get out your cast iron skillet or big pan.

Saute the hominy, chopped up onion, and crumbled bacon in your skillet. You can use cooking oil or, as I do, bacon grease.

Add the cayenne and bell pepper.

Nex,t add the beaten eggs. Stir gently and leave the mixture on the heat until the eggs are almost done, like scrambled eggs. You want them a little on the soft side.

Serve up in a bowl, with some some biscuits you made up to go with, and some salsa.


Yum. My great grandmother use to make this for me and my sister until my sister decided she didn't like eggs (her loss.) Also I made this and fed it to Kathi when we first got together.


Give it a try, enjoy, and FEED YOUR FACE!

DECEMBER

I think that I like December best out of all the months. People seem to be in better moods and smile much more. It's like all the kids need to be on Ritalin or something, just to calm them down for a while. I do not remember being so hyped up about Christmas.


Do you remember Christmas catalogs? Yeah, we made list upon list. We would circle just about everything on the toy page. I remember my dad, on lots of occasions, just smiling as he dropped his head to his chest and shook his head and he always had this funny look on his face when it came time to get the Christmas tree and stuff from the attic. He always had good cheer. Lots of eggnog and beer, and mom had her wine and hot toddy's. They seemed to really like going to lots of Christmas parties.


Course, when they went to a party, we kids had full run of the house. Our parents trusted us to behave. And to some degree, I guess we did behave. As soon as the car was out of the driveway, we would crank up the stereo, turn the Christmas tree lights on, and turn out all the other lights in the house. We would then sneak a few beers from Dad's beer bar and pick out a present, then kind of peek under the wrapping paper to see what was there. Except, I think Mom and Dad had figured that one out and would put our gifts in different type of boxes with different labels.


One year I thought I was getting a radio 'cause the box said it was, and when I opened it on Christmas morning it was underwear. Now that's cheating on the parent's part.


One year, one of my sisters thought she was getting makeup 'cause when we peeked several days before the box said makeup and had pictures on it and everything. Know what she got? No, not underwear. She got a sweater.


Our Christmas tree was different also. Lots of people have different colored lights on them. Ours had all blue lights. 'Course I fell in love with it the following year. But one year, to be different, I changed one of the lights. We always had an angel on the top of the tree. That year I changed the light under her dress from blue to red. It stayed that way even after years of us kids not living at home.


And we had REAL tinsel, not that plastic crap that they sell now days. We had the real stuff. The leaded kind. Mom always wanted it put on the tree one strand at a time. We would stand on the back side of the tree and fling several strands at a time. It used to aggravate her to no end, then when she was hollering at us Dad would put on Christmas carols and hand her a glass of wine, and everything was fine.


Christmas Eve: oh, man -- the parents were really running around. I shared a bedroom in the basement with my brother. Mom and Dad had a bedroom downstairs also. My brother and I could hear our parents running and sneaking. Going up and down the stairs, and the sound of packages and boxes being carried upstairs to be placed under the tree, and every now and then the sound of a beer can being set down. They must have made over a million trips over the years, carrying all of those packages.


As I look back on it now, I guess all of us kids kind of drove our folks to drink. It seemed to calm them down. We thought that we were being good! Just a little bit on the wild side now and then. 'Course, they had their wild moments also. But that's another story for another time.

You know, I miss those Christmases and would give just about anything to be able to get us all together again for one more Christmas like that.

FEED YOUR FACE: Wintertime Drinks

Now that it's a little colder, it's time to break out the warm drinks. Here are just a couple favorites.

• Hot Dr. Pepper: We used to drink this at our high school football games; it was on the stadium menu. Just heat it up in a saucepan. You can add lemon slices if you want to.
• Hot Chocolate With Bailey's Irish Cream: Your favorite hot chocolate with just a splash (or two)
• Cinnamon Bear: Hot Chocolate with Cinnamon Schnaps
• Irish Coffee: Combine 1-1/2 oz. Irish whiskey, a teaspoon of brown sugar, and 6 oz. of hot coffee, in a mug and stir to dissolve the sugar. Float heavy cream on top (don't mix). Yum.
• Hot Apple Pie: Pour 2 oz. of Tuaca in a mug. Fill with apple cider. Top with whipped cream if you want to. You can garnish it with a cinnamon stick for a little extra cinnamon flavor.
• Hot Apple Cider: Just pour it from the bottle into a saucepan and heat it up! Add mulling spices for a little extra something.

So, drink up, warm up, and FEED YOUR FACE!

Christmas 1977: One to Remember

Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas comes to mind. I was just thinking of past Christmases and this came to mind.

In 1977, I was living with my grandparents in Edgewater, Colorado. It was a cold and wet winter. On Christmas Eve, I decided that I was going to go up in the mountains for the day. So I loaded up some stuff in my old Blazer -- a jug of water, some munchies, and some extra smokes. (I smoked back then.)

The roads out of town were not too bad, just wet and slushy. I headed out of town on 285 towards Conifer. As I drove, it started to snow; not too bad, just big fluffy flakes. The sun was shining, so I didn't worry.

As I got to the little town of Grant, I decided to go over Guanella Pass and come out above Georgetown, then head on back home.

The drive was nice and the snow kept falling. As I got closer to the summit, the deeper the snow got. No big deal, right? I had done this lots of times before. As I reached the top of the pass, I had to stop and put the Blazer in four wheel drive.

There was no one else there at the top, and the view of the snow was unbroken by anyone. No tracks, just bright clean snow. The big flakes of snow were still coming down and the sun was shining on all of it.

As I headed down towards Georgetown, I saw that I was making new tracks on the road. Nobody has driven up this way. It was neat to be the first to make tracks down the road. As I got down about a third of the way on the pass, it started to snow harder. It was getting hard to see the road, and my wiper blades were having a hard time of keeping the snow cleared off the windshield. I had to stop several times on the way down to clear the windows so I could see.

About 15 minutes later, my defroster stopped running and I had no heat in the blazer. The windows kept frosting over. So here I was driving down a mountain road in about two feet of snow, no heat, and trying to drive and scrape the windshield at the same time.

Now it takes a heck of a lot to scare me, but I was starting to get a little worried. I was driving at about 15 miles an hour. I was making good time, and I figured that I maybe had about 12 to 18 miles to go to get to Georgetown.

All of a sudden the weather got real nasty. The big fluffy flakes were gone and were replaced with hard wind-driven snow. Now I was starting to get scared. I was driving at 5 miles an hour or less. I couldn't see the road at all. I crept along, still scraping the window to see and trying to get the heater to work and keep the Blazer on the road. I got to close to the edge and the Blazer kinda tilted over, then I was off the road and going down the side of the mountain.

I managed to get the Blazer stopped and I took a deep breath. Now I was in real deep s##t. I couldn't get the Blazer back up on the road, and I was too far off the road for anyone to see me IF anyone drove by, and I knew the tracks of my going off the road would be covered by snow in a matter of minutes.

I could stay with the Blazer and make the best of it, or I could walk out on my own.

I was standing on the road and the wind quit blowing as hard for just a bit and I could see that I was not that far from town. I decided to hoof it out. I packed up my water jug, munchies, and an old sleeping bag out of the back of the Blazer and started walking down the road to Georgetown.

The wind picked up and the snow was biting right through my jacket and clothes. At some point as I was walking, I thought that I heard voices. I figured it had to be the wind. But as I kept going, the voices got louder.

I think that at this point I was hoping that there were voices and that somebody else was up there with me. I called out several times and could swear that I heard them say, "This way! " I listened, but could not hear the sound of running motors. I was thinking, "Great. Some other nimrod is stuck up here like me. "

As I pushed on, the voices sounded really close, but off the road. Did I really want to get off the road? Maybe someone had put up a new cabin since the last time I was up there. I figured that I had to be close, real close, to town. But the weather was getting worse, so I went towards the voices.

It turns out that the voices that I heard were a stream. The water was running real fast, and at one point it ran under ground. As it rushed through this hole, it sounded like a voice saying, "HERE."

It was from the air and water rushing in that made it sound the way it did.

Now I was wondering what the heck I was going to do. The wind let up for just a second or two and I could see an old mine off to one side of the mountain. Boy, howdy, I beat feet to it and looked in. I looked at the time and saw that it was about 5:30 p.m., and realized that there was no way I could make it to town before it was to get dark.

I decided to stay in the old mine over night. No problem, it was out of the wind, I had stuff to eat, water to drink, and an old ratty sleeping bag to wrap up in. Now all I needed was a fire for warmth. Behold, I found an old rat's nest with lots of sticks and other stuff to burn. Now, it wasn't the Brown Palace, but it would do.

Later, much later, at about midnight, the snow let up. I walked to the mouth of my little mine, and saw the sky was clear. And the stars! Yes, the stars! I swear that I have never seen the stars as bright as they were that night. The moon was just a sliver in the sky. There was no wind. All was calm. As I was taking all this in, I could hear the Christmas carol Silent Night in my head.

People, that was one of the best Christmases ever.

Later, when the morning sun came out, I packed up my stuff and headed out to the road. When I got to the road and looked down it, I could see smoke from Georgetown. I walked to the curve in the road and could see the town! I was just 1-1/2 miles to 2 miles from town. And as I walked, things seemed so new and clean in the snow, and everything was bright.

As I came off the last switch back and hit the outskirts of town, I ran into a police officer and, man, did he give me a funny look. He asked me where I came from. I told him that I came off the pass. He looked up the road, back at me, and informed me that they closed the pass yesterday. He wanted to know how I got to town, and I told him that I walked. I told him what had happened to my Blazer and how I spent the night in the old mine above town.

Well, he wasn't too happy with me. He kept giving me dirty looks and kept looking back up the mountain. He took me into town to the police station and let me make a phone call to Grandmother and Pappy. They had figured that I spent the night at a friends house after my day in the mountains.

It took them several hours to clear the road, and another hour or two to get me up the mountain to get my Blazer and have it pulled back up on the road so I could drive home.

Since then I have taken friends and family up on the pass and showed them the mine that I spent the night in and the stream that talks. As I stand and listen, to this day, that stream still talks to me. I will always remember my Christmas on the mountain.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: It is the time for home."

Edith Sitwell, British poet

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

FEED YOUR FACE: How is your turkey?

As you all know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Just about everybody will be having turkey. Some of you will roast, some will deep fry, and maybe some of you will smoke the turkey. We all seem to do it the same year after year.

How about a little change on the bird this year? How about a dry rub on old tom. Or you could do a brine of some type.

Last time we did a turkey at our house I did a dry rub of lemon pepper with a little bit of salt, then smoked the bird in hickory smoke. If you decide to smoke a turkey, figure one hour per pound. You do not even need a dry rub. Just smoke it. It comes out juicy and with a good flavor. Or you can smoke it for two hours and finish cooking him in the oven the way you are used to.

You can also brine the bird. Try apple juice, not the frozen kind, but real apple juice. Soak it over night and cook it like you normally would. It will give your bird a little apple taste and people will wonder how you did it. Kathi and I did some Cornish hens Tuesday night that I had soaked in apple juice overnight then put them in our smoker. Need I say that we had no leftovers?

Of course a turkey is much bigger than a Cornish hen. Depending on how big of a bird you get, you can get large Ziplock bags. Get enough apple juice to cover the whole bird. If the bird is too big for the Ziplock bag, then get out your summertime cooler. Clean it real good on the inside. Place the bird in the cooler and pour the apple juice over the bird until it is covered under the juice. Let it set overnight. Prepare it in the morning for cooking.

To keep the bird cold over night you can place a bag or two of ice in the cooler. It will not dilute the apple juice all that much by morning.

If you do not want to go that route, then maybe you can take the apple juice and do the injection method. When you inject your turkey you want to get it in the meat and under the skin. Don't be stingy with the juice. Make sure that you get the juice into the breast meat and drumsticks.

Use some imagination. I have even had turkey injected with Jack Daniels. The alcohol cooks off and leaves a nice mellow, smoky flavor.

I know that however you decide to cook your turkey this year that you will have people talking about it. And for those of you who deep fry, please be careful and don't get burnt or start a fire.

I hope that all of you have a great Thanksgiving. And please remember our military. If you have a military vet in your family at home this Thanksgiving give him or her a big hug and thank them. Then give them the wishbone off the turkey.

So, be safe, eat lots, enjoy, and FEED YOUR FACE!

Do Something Meaningful for the Holidays (Guest Post)

Jim isn't feeling very well, so he is letting me post something on his behalf. This is Kathi, his lovely wife. Okay, I added the lovely part myself without asking him.

You know that Jim is big on wearing red on Fridays in support of our troops. We wear red because they bleed red, is their motto. He is constant in showing his support simply by doing this. In fact, if he wore pajamas, he'd wear red ones on Friday, no matter what! (Lucky for me, he doesn't wear them. TMI? Sorry)

My passion for showing support is to have adopted a deployed soldier.

Adopting a deployed soldier is my suggestion if you are someone who looks for a service project for your family or your office or your church to do at this time of the year, as many do. Or, even if you normally wouldn't have considered it, please read this and think about becoming involved? Your small effort can mean so much. Read on. . .

Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer run organization, and their motto is "May No Soldier Go Unloved."
Jim and I adopted a deployed soldier shortly after the funeral for his nephew Grant, who was wounded in the war in Afghanistan last spring.

When we adopted our soldier, there were about 750 soldiers awaiting adoption. I see that there are 1,363 at this very moment. (There is a little graphic of heroes waiting to be adopted right on the top of the Web site.)

It is so easy to adopt a soldier, and it has been our experience that it means very much to the adoptee. Because their work is so intense and so isolating, it is hard for them to even think that what they are doing means anything to us at home in the United States. We need to let them know the depth of our gratitude, let them know we are thinking of them, and that we support them in spirit.

The first time we heard from our soldier, he sent us an email. Here are just a few things he said:
"I was lucky enough to celebrate my 21st birthday with 4 rocket attacks, 2 of which hit pretty close." Think back to what you were doing on YOUR 21st birthday. My 21st birthday was a long time ago, and I have no idea how I spent it. BUT I know mine was very different than experiencing rocket attacks.

He wrote that he is looking forward to getting back home, and said: "It will be nice to be a normal 21 year old who is not getting shot at."

He closed that first email by thanking us for the letters and packages, and said, "It's nice to know that some people still think of us."

To me, that said that the soldiers think we DON'T think of them and what they are doing, and I hope that he is not right about that. Please help me to not forget them and their service.

Adopting a soldier is not a forever commitment, though Jim and I hope to be in touch with our soldier throughout his life. The "official" term of adoption is as long as the soldier is deployed, which is usually about 6 months, maybe a little less or maybe a little more, depending on the deployment.

All you need to do is send one letter a week and one care package a month. Basically, this poor kid has had to "listen" to me tell stories about my family -- even the one where my sister Kristi and I got kicked out of Woolworths for trying on wigs and making jokes about smelling mothball -- bad jokes (see the bottom of this post), and all about our dog Nugget, including photos. Still, he doesn't seem to mind!

We have sent him a variety of things, mostly of the edible or readable variety. The soldiers don't have much access to food or snack foods, so he seems to like the things we have sent, such as canned Chef Boyardee raviolis, M&M's (his favorite), and we even sent him some cookies and milk (Horizon Organics shelf-stable individual servings, white and chocolate).

It has been such fun putting the boxes together, and it is great when we get one full and out the door. Even more fun to hear when it arrives!

It's not too late to adopt a soldier for the holidays!

These men and women will be spending the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve & Day in danger and far from home and their families. Show them that we at home do think of them, and that we do care, and that what they are doing is not unappreciated or unnoticed.

And if adopting a soldier is too much of a commitment for you right now, you can still help. You could email sacorporate@soldiersangels.org and request a name for a one-time package. Do it now and it will be there in time for Christmas!

Do you have a couple more minutes? View this video about how much your support can mean to someone. Please?

There. Did you watch it? I hope so! NOW you can see that even something little can mean a lot.

(If you didn't, go ahead and do it now -- we'll wait for you to get back.)

Okay, thanks for hanging in there with me. Now I will share with you one of my favorite jokes, one I shared in one of my letters to our soldier.

Q. How do you catch a polar bear?

A. You dig a big hole in the ice. Then you take some peas and line them up all around the edge. Then you wait. And when the polar bear comes up to take a pea, you kick him in the ice hole.

I know you can do way better for YOUR soldier. Please consider adopting one now? Just visit the Soldiers' Angels Web site at http://soldiersangels.org and learn more about the organization about the variety of ways you can help.

ISLE OF BELLY

I have had several people ask about this "Isle of Belly" thing I talk about.

Well, the Isle of Belly is still amongst us. And just like real islands, sometimes it is bigger, and some times a bit smaller. (I think it has something to do with the phases of the moon myself.)


This all started several years ago, when I got a membership to 24-Hour Fitness. The goal: to get fit and trim. Mostly, trim. Shouldn't be hard. (LOL!) I had a personal trainer and all. We would stretch, sweat, do two miles on the treadmill, sweat, hit the weights, and sweat. Cool down on the exercise bike, and sweat. I would lose a few pounds, and put on a little muscle. A little muscle. Then it was off to the locker room to change to a swim suit and hit the pool.


Now when I was much younger, I could get away with wearing a Speedo. And I was told that I looked pretty good in it. In high school, I weighed all of 145 and that was after a full summer of weight training for football. Back then, I could eat EVERYTHING. Did not matter, I could eat and I never gained a pound. It used to really tick off my friends and family.


Now, there is no way that I can wear a Speedo. They would put me under the jail. I have found out certain truths as I have gotten older. One is guys should never wear a Speedo after the age of 40, and that's pushing it even then. Let's just say that if I put one on, it disappears. It looks like less than a thong.

Sorry if that just burned itself into your brain. It's much more than what you call a muffin top. Think of the biggest mushroom you have ever seen, now see it with a toothpick-thick stem. That's as close as I can get to what I look like now in a Speedo. And a regular swim suit is not much better.


So, after changing to a swim suit, I headed for the pool. Certain truth #2: Guys even suck in their bellies while in the locker room. Go figure. As you near the pool you always take a quick look around to see who is in the pool or around it. That way, you know how much longer you have to keep sucking in your belly before you get in the pool.

Once you make it in to the pool, you can let it all out, and breathe.


So, I'm in the pool and doing some laps, glad that it is not an Olympic sized pool. And as I'm going back and forth and timing my self on my laps, I decide to roll over on my back and swim the backstroke for a lap or two -- okay, one lap.

As I was nearing the far end of the pool, I just kind of looked out of the corner of my eye and could have sworn that I was about to run into someone -- or they were about to run into me. So I stopped and stood up. There was one other person in the pool, two lanes over.

So I went back to swimming on my back. And, by god, I could swear that someone was about to run into me again! This time I did not stand up, but raised my head up a bit more. And here is this belly of mine sticking out of the water, and me thinking it was someone else!


I scared myself. It looked just like an island bobbing in the water.

Do any of you remember being able to buy those real small turtles when you were a kid? The little clear plastic bowl with the little island for the turtle to climb up on? And they gave you a little green palm tree to place on the little island? Well If I had one of those little palm trees, and shaved a path across my belly, then placed the little palm tree in my navel, tt would look just like an island.

Thus, the Isle of Belly was born, I am sorry to say. But even after this, I still spook myself in the pool every once in a while.


If I just stand in the pool in water about up to my lower chest, I can look pretty good from the chest up. But when I swim now it is like I'm dragging bottom, as well as whenever I am swimming on my back.

I have my very own Island. The Isle of Belly is still with us. It has gotten just a wee bit smaller. But I don't really mind having it. It is like I have a swim buddy with me at all times.


So that is about the "ISLE OF BELLY." Thankfully not at a theater or pool near you.

FEED YOUR FACE: Beer Steak

I really like this one.
Get your favorite cut of steak, you need it about 1-1/2 inches thick.
You'll need (per steak):
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon lemon crystals (sour salt or citric acid)
3/4 teaspoon medium ground pepper
canola oil or vegetable oil
2 bottles of a high malt/low hops beer, like Coors Killian's Red

An hour before cooking, combine the salt, lemon crystals, and pepper.
Rub that on each steak (both sides). Then brush lightly with oil, and then with beer on both sides.
Preheat oven to broil, or heat up your grill on high.

Broiling: You want to place steaks about 6 to 9 inches from the heat. Brush steaks one more time with beer, then put them in the oven to broil.
While the steaks are cooking, baste them several times with the beer. You want to create a thin coating on the meat.
Turn the steaks and continue cooking and basting on the other side 'til the steaks are done to your liking.

Grilling: Turn down the grill to medium to medium high.
Brush the steaks again with beer before you put them on the grill.
Baste the steaks several times more with beer. Turn them over and continue basting with beer as you cook them 'til the steaks are done to your liking.

Throw in some baked taters or open up a can of your favorite veggies.
You now have a great meal. Oh yeah, the other can of beer is for the cook to have, while cooking.
Also, some beers are a natural tenderizer. (Could this be why I'm soft around the middle?)

So, there you have it. Enjoy, and FEED YOUR FACE!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten."
-- Calvin Coolidge, 30th U.S. President

VETERAN'S DAY

Sorry that I did not have a post up for Friday.

Veteran's day was a little tough for us, and needed some time to bounce back.

Sorry if I disappointed you all by not posting. Thank you all for being understanding and patient.

On Veteran's Day

I'm sorry that this is late today. I just needed some extra time to get my thoughts together. I don't want to be putting a lot of political stuff on this blog, and this is about as political as I get here.

We are the greatest nation in the world. We have had people from all over the world come to our shores seeking a better life for themselves and their families. And they have done this for hundreds of years. Those that came over learned to speak our language and adopted this country as their own. They have given this country a vast heritage along the way. Some of their traditions we have taken as our own. These same people have fought and died for this country also. Our families over the generations have mixed and thrived.

My family has Scotch, Irish, German, and Native American. And who knows what else! We have had fathers, sons, uncles, brothers, sisters, and moms that have laid their lives on the line for us all over the generations.

Did you know that we lose at least one of the Greatest Generation a day now? How many Vets do you know from World War II? Or Korea? How about Vietnam? And now we have family and friends in Afghanistan and other parts of the world fighting for us and our way of life, for what we hold dear as Americans.

Everyone of us knows someone who has been or is in combat. We honor them just one day a year. Ask yourself, "What can I do? How can I help?"

Well, there are several things you can to today and always.

Like, if you are out having a meal and you see people in uniform eating. Walk over and thank them. Or maybe you could even pay for their meal. I and my brother-in-law have done this several times.

How about donating money to your neighborhood VFW hall?

You could maybe go to a nuring home and visit with some of the Vets there and thank them for what they have done. Go to the VA hospital and talk to some of the patients or donate some time there to help out.

How about adopting a deployed soldier? My wife and I have adopted a young airman. We send him care packages and letters to thank him and remind him that his service is appreciated and he is not forgotten. We do this through an organization called Soldiers' Angels. When we first adopted him in July, there were about 750 soldiers waiting to be adopted. Today, there are just under 1,500 -- the number has doubled. Please consider adopting so that no soldier goes unloved.

Soldiers' Angels has several other programs you can work with if you would like to do something with your time and talents. A visit to their Web site will give you a nice overview of the teams and projects.

I'm sure that if you think about it, you can think of other ways to thank our people who are in the military or who have been in the military.

How about having a Vet or soldier to your home for Thanksgiving this year?

You can wear red every Friday as an outward symbol of your support for our troops. Click to see Red Shirt Friday's Web site for information on that AND for other ways you can help. In fact, I dare you to go just to listen to the song they play there 'cause I bet you will have to cry in gratitude: Red Shirt Fridays. Why red? "They bleed red, so we wear red."

There are so many things we can do, and not just for Veteran's Day -- do it EVERY day!

These are our family members who have put their lives on the line for all of us: now and in years past. Let's not take any of them for granted.

Hug a Vet. It will put a smile on your face, and maybe a tear or two also.

I think it's worth more than that. Don't you?

My Fallen Hero

Those of you who know me personally know that we lost my nephew Grant in the war in Afghanistan just last spring.

Those of you who have seen the movie Taking Chance know of Michael Strobel, the real-life Marine who volunteered to accompany Chance Phelps' body home from Iraq.

Michael has a brother, Mark, who gets together with others each year to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday and honor fallen soldiers. This year, they included Grant, and here is the email that he sent my brother-in-law Robert, Grant's dad.



Dear Mr. Wichmann,

This past weekend, a few Marines assembled to celebrate the 235th birthday of our Corps. Although our birthday is November 10th, we had to use the weekend as it provided us opportunity to gather. As I had relayed to you back in July, a part of our intimate ceremony would include a reading of the names of our fallen. It was my pleasure to deliver my small part with a remembrance of your son, Grant. The following is an excerpt from that script:


Adjutant: Captain Strobl, report.
Captain Strobl: Sergeant Grant Arthur Wichmann, United States Army
3-61 Cavalry, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, 1st Corps

Adjutant: Condition?
Capt Strobl: Deceased, sir. April 24, 2010. In the line of duty.

Adjutant: Gentlemen, to our Army brothers.

ALL: (Glasses raised) To Our Army Brothers!

Throughout our dinner, a small glass of whiskey was placed next to the cover bearing Grant’s name place. That shot glass remained full. . . it was for Grant.

Sir, please know that the burden of your son’s loss is shared by every single man and woman who ever donned the uniform of the American fighting man. It is with great reverence that I was able to continue to honor Grant –not only for the man he was but also for everything he represents. The grotesque nature of combat etches memories that, I pray, my children will never realize. But for today, the world is a better place for men like Grant who took up arms and stood between good and evil. To this, a simple ceremony is the very least we can to for our brothers-in-arms who will never have the opportunity to say “Good Night” to their family again.
May the road rise to meet you and the wind be always at your back! And on the 235th anniversary of our Corps, I wish you a very, very Happy Birthday (you’re kind of “one of us” now)!

Semper Fidelis & Carry On,
--Mark “Rawk” Strobl, Captain, USMC (’88-’97)

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomorrow, I will share thoughts on some of the ways you can honor our country's veterans today and every day.

FALL HAS GONE (AND NUGGET HAD FUN)

Fall is over, it is supposed to snow some here in Denver. But I do not want fall to be over just yet. I saw some kids today. They were having a blast, running and jumping in a big pile of leaves. It looked like so much fun! When I got home, I thought that I would try being a kid again and jump in some leaves.

So I raked up a huge pile of leaves in our backyard, making sure that there was no dog poo in them. (Did that when I was smaller -- it's no fun smelling like poo.) Checked around to make sure that I wasn't being watched. And Nugget and I ran like the wind and jumped into the big pile of leaves.

OK, Nugget ran like the wind, I just kind of loped along, but I did make it to the pile of leaves.

At first it seemed fun and Nugget was having fun, but then things changed. I had leaves all over me, in my pants, down my shirt, in my socks, and in my ears. I had leaves in places that I didn't think leaves could get to. And Nugget had fun.

Then there is all that leaf dust. Up the nose, in your eyes, all over your face, in your shoes, in your pants, and it's now starting to itch. You sneeze and sneeze, and leaves are now in your mouth with all that dust. And Nugget had fun.

Now your eyes are watering and you have leaf dust streaks down your checks, and your nose is runny, and you have snorted up about 10 pounds of leaf dust. You can't seem to get your feet under you because you are sneezing so much. And now the dog is bouncing around you like he is insane. It seems that the more you sneeze, the crazier he gets. And your eyes are so watery you can't see whats in front of you. And Nugget had fun.

So you finally get your footing, stand up, and take your leaf-dusted hand and wipe your nose, and try to wipe your eyes, thinking that maybe you should have wiped your eyes first, before wiping your nose. And you are covered with leaves, and dust, and dog slobber, and your nose now seems to be like a waterfall. And you sneeze more and bite your tongun in the process. And Nugget had fun.

I staggered to the back door, and took the broom and brushed myself off the best I could, while sneezing my head off. So here I am, swollen tongue, snotty nose, watery eyes, covered in leaf dust, and I have bits of leaves stuck in my ears, and I now think that I may have swallowed a leaf or two also. Now the itch is worse, and it is in places that I can't reach. And Nugget had fun.

I now need to take a bath to get all of this dust, and snot, and leaves off of me. And it gets me to wondering: When I was a little kid, did all of this take place also? Am I just too old to remember? I don't know.

I took a bath, cleaned up, used some eye drops, blew my nose for the hundredth time, and took a look at my bitten tougne, which wasn't quite as bad as I thought. And that dog is still out there in the pile of leaves.

I have found out that I may be a little to old for this sport now, but it brought back some fond memories.

I remember jumping in lots of piles of leaves as a child, and it was lots of fun. My Dad would even cover us up with them. We could play for hours in those piles of leaves, until there was nothing left of the leaves except little pieces. How much harder those little pieces are to rake up and put in bags! But back when I was a kid, we used to burn the leaves, and I loved the smell.

We had a dog back then, named Tippy, and we all had fun.

DID YOU KNOW: Julesburg, Colorado?

Did you know that the town of Julesburg, in Colorado, moved four times before it decided to stay put?

The town started in 1859. It was attacked by indians in 1865 (Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne) and burned to the ground. The townspeople stayed in Fort Sedgwick for a time. (The fort was called Fort Rankin before they changed it to Sedgwick.) A second Julesburg was built about four miles east of the Fort.


A town plat was filed in 1866. In 1867, the Union Pacific Railroad came into Colorado. They set up a railhead just North of the South Platte River.

So, the residents of Julesburg number 2 packed up the whole town, and moved to the new railhead, forming Julesburg number 3. After the battle of Summit Springs in 1869, the indians quit causing problems in the area, so Fort Sedgwick was declared surplus and closed permanently.


In 1880, the Union Pacfic started a cut off to Denver. It follows the South Platte River diagonally towards the town of LaSalle, where it joins up with Union Pacific's main line out of Cheyenne. The new cut off to Denver was a few miles east of Julesburg number 3. The Union Pacific named the north end of this new cut off "Denver Junction."

When the new line was finished, the townspeople of Julesburg knew that Denver Junction was to be the main town in the region.


So they packed up once again, took over Denver Junction, and renamed it Julesburg. And that is where they are today. And so, as far as we know, they have not decided to move again


So there you have it. And now you know.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it"
-- Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning American author

TURKEY DAY: What to do?

Turkey day is coming up and I can't figure out what to make as far as meat to eat. (Hey, that rhymed.) Just about everyone does a gobbler. Some do ham. And some even do some type of game meat.

So, should I maybe put on my baking shoes and do a Dutch Oven Cobbler to go along with the gobbler? Or bake up some biscuits or a loaf of sourdough bread? (I need to see if my sour dough starter is alive or has turned into a science project.)

Maybe I could be in charge of refreshments. Or just bring the ice. Hmmm? How about homemade ice cream? Or buy some frozen strawberries and some of them little yellow cake thingies. Maybe a brick of cheese and some crackers to go with it. I could bring some chips and some dips. How about a party tray? Or one of them huge sub sandwiches.

Boy howdie, at least I have some time to come up with something. I know! Candy! Everyone likes candy. We have pounds of it left over from Halloween and it would be better for my waistline if I get it out of the house. Then again, let's not be too hasty.

I'll think about it for a while and have just a little bit of candy. It helps me think.

How many days left before Thanksgiving?

FEED YOUR FACE: Fried Bologna Sandwich, a little different

OK, everyone has had a fried bologna sandwich. (And if you have not, well try one anyway.)

First off, toast 4 -6 slices of bread.

Before you heat up the frying pan, you need to make the spread for the bread.

You need:
1/4 cup brown sugar.
1/2 cup mustard, your choice. (I like just plain yellow mustard)
Mix together, and spread it on the toasted bread.

NOW, you can fry up the bologna. Careful, don't burn it.

Make your sandwich like a stack or a decker sandwich.


One of these puppies, a handful of chips, and maybe a cold beer.

And you're in bologna heaven.


So feed your face, and enjoy.

WARNING

Don't you just hate it when people forward bogus warnings?

But I can tell you, this one is real.

And it's important, so please do not laugh. Be sure to send this to everyone you know.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on deer ticks and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up DO NOT DO IT!!! IT IS A SCAM! They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd of gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid now.

HALLOWEEN: What happened?!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Halloween at our house was pretty quiet; we only had 10 trick-o-treater's. Whats up with that? Where did they all go? Doesn't seem like the halloweens of years gone by.

When I was a kid, and that was a long time ago, we would hit as many houses as we could, go home, unload all they we got, save what we liked, then put the candy we didn't like in the candy bowl to be handed back out. (I wonder how much candy was recycled that way by all the kids.)

We did not have one of them plastic pumpkins for putting our candy in. We used a big paper grocery bag. That way we didn't have to go home all that often to unload. We would hit street after street, house after house, and compare notes with others to see who was giving out the best candy. Then we would hit that house more than once. We would go there about every 45 minutes or so. Seemed like they never caught on or asked questions, and we hardly ever had to do a trick.

Course there was always this one old guy and his wife. She was really sweet, and he always came across as a grouch. You know, holler if you set foot in his yard or cut the corner on your bike when you crossed his yard. She gave out the best stuff.

One year she gave out homemade cookies. (God help you if you do that now!) Another year she gave out candied apples. (Again, God help you if you did that now.) Then after the scare about razor blades in apples she gave out chocolate. LOTS of chocolate. She didn't just give you one piece, she gave it out by the handful. Course thinking about it now, she had pretty small hands.

If it snowed you would really have to watch your grocery bag. Drag it along as the snow piled up along the sidewalk, and you left a trail of candy behind you. Then the big kids would just walk behind you and pick up whatever fell from your bag. I always wanted to wrap up some ExLax and let it fall from my bag for the big kids.

But after I got a bit older, I was one of those big kids, following the littler ones to see what fell from thier wet grocery bags. I sure am glad that I didn't follow through with the ExLax thing. After a few years, you know how some ideas come back and bite you in the butt. (No pun intended.) That would of been one of them.

I heard the other night on the news that we have had snow on only 10 Halloweens over the years. I think they are wrong. It seemed like it always snowed just before, or on, Halloween night. I think their records are off or something.

And what happened to people decorating their houses? Seemed like everyone had some sort of stuff up for Halloween. There was an over abundance of Jack-o-lanterns all over the place. You knew because you would see about half of them in the street the next morning, and the other half were in the trash by the end of the week. Or you could ride your bike around the neighborhood a few days after Halloween and you could smell the pumpkin pies baking.

Yep, kids now days just don't know what they are missing. Running from house to house, running from the big kids who want your candy, playing pranks on friends and family, having the adults scare the crap out of you. (Ever have your Dad jump out of a bush in your front yard at you?!) Just being with your friends and going from house to house, and everyone really did look out for your well being.

How about some of them haunted houses we used to go to? I remember the Campus Life kids used to put on a real mean haunted house. I had the ripped t-shirt and scratches to prove it.

Yep, Halloween sure has changed. Too bad that things are the way they are now days. But I'm sure that the kids have just as much fun as we did. Things do seem to be much safer now also. They have malls and such to go to. And I have thought about this a great deal. . . they get a lot more candy now. How many stores are there at the mall -- like about 100 or so? Man, that's a lot of candy.

So I hope that maybe your Halloween was on the quiet side. Nothing wrong with that, I guess. But it would be nice to have a good scare once in a while, don't you think?

Now I have to figure out how to get through all of this candy, with out expanding the Isle of Belly. (That's a scary story in itself.)

Quote of the Week

" Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it. "
-- John Naisbitt, American author and puplic speaker