A great party!

Jac & Sue throw a great party.  Delicious food, drinks and great company.  I’m already looking forward to next year.

Dogs and ribs and such . . . . . .

Abby, our new 1½ year old pooch is very hungry for kind human contact – as well as kind canine love.  Abby has taken to jumping up on Holly’s lap and snuggling.  She’s 50 pounds, so she’s not exactly a lightweight.  And Abby and Zoe have started bonding.  Abby tries to do everything that Zoes does.  ■  You can see them sleeping together – head-to-head on, apparently, their couch.  ■  Abby has also started to do some typical puppy things – such as destroying a travel coffee cup.  She’s stretching her boundaries – just to extend her world.  ■  Lots going on this weekend.  We’ve got Jac & Sue’s party on Saturday.  I’ve got to get ribs for that and maybe a little salmon.  We’ll see.  ■  And as always, it’s time for bed.  Night.  ■

Brakes fixed . . . air in Honda out . . . dog makes herself at home . . . . . .

Many, many thanks to Jac my across-the-street neighbor for replacing the brake pads on our Santa Fe.  I finally got to see what brakes, pads, etc looked like.  Thanks, Jac, so much.  ■  Jac also filled my Honda’s air conditioner with Freon in order to try and fix the thing.  Unfortunately the air conditioner has a leak in the system and the thing is not working.  Bummer.  I was hoping for a simple fix.  ■  As you can see – the newest member of the family, Abby, has ensconced herself not only on the couch, but also onto our bed.  I took Abby to our vet yesterday for a checkup.   The doc says she’s fine.  A little minor ear infection (he gave me instructions and drops for that) and that was about it.  She’s found her “forever home” now.  ■  Lots to get done today. 

New dog . . . and boy, the ribs were good!

We got a new dog today.  That’s her on the left.  Her name is Abby.  She’s lying on the floor next to me as I write this blog entry.  She’s sweet, but seems a little scared of me.  She’s 2 years old and I think at some point a man must have beat her.  I think it’ll take a couple of days for her to get used to us and this new home for her.  ■  Did ribs today.  They turned out pretty well.  That’s my next door neighbor, Steve, chowing-down on a couple.  I’m going to make ribs for our across the street neighbor’s party next Saturday.  ■  Saturday night Holly and I and our house guests, Ron & Eileen, went out to see my boss play guitar.  Had a great time.  ■  Tomorrow – fixing brakes on the car.  I hope I learn something.  ■

Busy weekend . . . . .

Off to work early – this morning at 8:00 am!  I’ve got to go and open up the store and wait for the AT&T technician to reconnect the store’s internet service.  For some reason Comcast, we’ve been told, pulled the line we use for that from AT&T to Comcast.  How can they do that?  ■  We have company coming this weekend along with a party to go to on Saturday afternoon, and we’re going to meet a possible new dog for us on Sunday.  Lots going on.  ■  

And on the light side . . . . .

I always liked this one – you just don’t see it coming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BrlCjmkRjI

And off we go . . . . . . .

Had a couple of beers with Jac, my across-the-street neighbor tonight.  His son Patrick has a gig tonight at a neighboring town’s venue.  Patrick does, I think, rap.  Patrick hired a limo to take them to the gig.  It’s a gangster rap gig so I’m not sure if the white limo is appropriate, but it-is-what-it-is, or so they say.  Oh, that’s my beer in the foreground.  ■  It’s been Zoe and I this weekend.  Holly went up to Green Bay to see her mother.  Zoe is so sweet.  She’s slept with me – cuddled up against me.  I think she really misses Mollie.  She needs another dog with her.  And to that end I emailed a shelter today about a dog.  I’m awaiting an answer, but I’ll keep you informed.  ■  Tomorrow I’ve got to mow the lawn and do some other stuff around the house.  More tomorrow.  ■

Smoked salmon . . . . mmmm . . . . . . . . .

That’s about $25 worth of smoked salmon.  Delicious.  I have a special brine that I use and it always turns out great as long as you brine it for more than 12 hours.  This salmon was in the brine for about 18 hours – delicious.  ■  In addition to the salmon – and actually before it – I grilled some brat burgers and some regular brats – and smoked some chicken breasts for my mother-in-law.  She’s going to be eating very well for the next few weeks!  ■  Planning a party for our daughter and son-in-law in August.  And then Chili Fest will be coming up in September.  This will be the 17th Chili Fest – that’s quite a few years.  ■  Hey, Alanna, are you coming up for this year’s Chili Fest?

I miss them . . . . . .

We’ve had dogs most of our married lives.  In this picture the 3 dogs are (from left to right) Zoe, Maizy, and Molly.  Maizy we lost about 3 years ago and Mollie about a month ago.  Zoe, originally our daughter’s dog, is still with us.  And she’s a joy, but she does miss her pal – Mollie.  I’m currently in pursuit of a companion for her.  ■  I know it’s been a ton of time since I’ve posted – I apologize for that – and I’ll try and do better in the future.  ■  My boss has never had smoked salmon, so today I bought some salmon and as we speak (ok, we’re not technically speaking . . . ) I’ve got it in a brine and  will smoke it tomorrow night.  Salmon is expensive – cost me about $25 for the filet I’m going to smoke.  ■  Got a party to plan for in August and then plan for the annual Chili Fest in September.  Keep your calendars open in September (the 18th) for that one!  ■  And again . . . it’s time for bed.  More tomorrow.  Promise.  ■ 

Every man . . . . . .

“Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.” - Martin Heidegger.  ■  What does he mean?  I think I know, but I’m not sure.  ■

Do you remember? . . . . . . .

I can’t remember that I remember these Bullfrog trading cards.  We would print them off, bundle them in packs of 4 or 5, and include a stick of gum – just like the old baseball trading cards of years ago.  These really bring back old memories.  ■  Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup tonight!  Go Blackhawks!  ■  Time, as usual, for bed.  ■ 

How to take a good picture . . .

My mother always says that she doesn’t look good in photos.  Generally she’s correct as it seems she always manages to close her eyes, look somewhere else, or makes a face just as a photo is snapped.  So when our good friend and photographer wanted to take our picture she mumbled something about not liking her picture taken, so I made a face – she laughed – and we got something of a good photo.  The photo sequence below shows the action.

The sketches have begun . . . . . .

I did a couple of sketches today with material from the wedding trip.  The drawing above is of “Rocket Billy’s” – a sort of fast food stand/trailer in White Stone, VA.  Good food – especially the seafood.  ■  The wedding was great.  A good party on Friday, a delicious brunch on Saturday, and then the wedding and reception on Saturday night.  And to be able to share it with good friends and relatives makes it very special.  ■  Back to work tomorrow.  I’ve missed it.  ■ 

Lots of trucks . . .

That's good. It means goods are being sold and moving . . .

The wedding was great

Had a super time at and before the wedding. We can't thank our
friends Bill & Cheryl and Terry & Ellyn enough for their help. We
couldn't have done it without you.
On our way home now. Maybe a couple of posts from the road.