Thanksgiving

Went to Waupaca, Wisconsin last Thursday for Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving also marks the final days of the deer hunting season. As such the fields and woods were full of guys (and some ladies) with their guns. Although I have no problem with this pastime I was annoyed that the great outdoors were off limits to me. The highway that took us to Wisconsin was adorned on either side by deer that had been hit by cars. Some of them looked like they were simply asleep while others had been cut in half by bigger vehicles. The thought of free venison was always on my mind.

Thanksgiving is probably as big a holiday as Christmas. And because of this we were treated to a banquet. Martha's family went all out. The turkey was cooked on the barbeque and was absolute perfection. I learned that meals that look and taste great are not necessarily hard to accomplish. A kitchen timer is an invaluable tool to the chef. Which reminds me, I cooked my first ever ham a few weeks ago. I'm in the big leagues now.

Rain was ever present over the weekend and when coupled with the danger of death by gunshot it made for a lot of time spent indoors. We played Scrabble on Saturday night. I enjoyed my finest hour. On one turn I managed to mop up 56 points by only using one letter. Triple word scores and double letter scores played to my advantage. I lost the game soon after.

Now that I think of it, the weekend was a very athletic one. I played pool, Scrabble, I bowled and on Thursday afternoon I played horseshoes in the garden. Oh, and I did some driving, which is also a sport. All that makes for quite the pentathlon.

A few scoops

Went for a few last night. Good laugh. The bar we went to was near a factory that makes fortune cookies. Someone said that there is a notice on the front door of the building that says "Don't ask about employment". Apparently people keep going in and asking can they work as the person that writes the fortunes.

Skinner (SS) & Chalmers (SC)

SC - "Well Seymour, I made it, despite your directions."
SS - "I hope you're ready for mouth watering hamburgers!"
SC - "I thought we were having steamed clams?"
SS - "Oh no no, I said steamed hams. That's what I call hamburgers."
SC - "You call hamburgers steamed hams?"
SS - "Yes. It's a regional dialogue."
SC - "Uh...what region?"
SS - "Uuuh. Upstate New York."
SC - "Really? Well I'm from Ithaca and I've never heard anyone use the phrase steamed hams."
SS - "Oh not in Utica, no, it's an Albany expression."
SC - "Uh I see. You know these hamburgers are quite similar to the ones they have at Krusty Burgers."
SS - "Hohohoho. No. Patented Skinner Burgers. Old family recipie."
SC - "For...steamed hams."
SS - "Yes."
SC - "Yes, and you call them steamed hams despite the fact they are obviously grilled."
SS - "You know I...One thing I sh...Excuse me for one second. Well, that was wonderful. A good time was had by all. I'm pooped."
SC - "Yes, I should be...Good lord, what is happening in there?"
SS - "Aurora Borealis?"
SC - "Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?"
SS - "Yes."
SC - "May I see it?"
SS - "No."
SC - "Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say you steam a good ham."

How do you like them apples?

Went to the supermarket tonight. Me and Martha saw the deal of the century, a bag of apples for $1.59. Too good to be true? Yes. Grabbed two bags, ended up paying $14 for the them. Turns out the deal was priced per weight and the apples just happened to be in bags. They better be the best dam apples in America.

Tea

Drinking an aul cup of tay here. Jaysus, the stuff is hard to beat. I am used to the milk here now so it is no longer a cup of skanky shite that I am forced to drink. My taste buds have assimilated completely to local dairy products.

Nowt to report really. Made a website for my company, not exactly ground breaking stuff but it's a start and will be built upon. Have a look (LINK).

It's supposed to snow this week. I'd better rake the last of the leaves in the garden or else they will rot under the snow, until it melts, in April 2005. Seriously.

Pints

I had big plans for today. They involved building a bench that will allow me to launch my woodwork career. Didn't materialize. Instead I went for a few afternoon drinks. The second bar we went to was a VFW bar. That stands for Veterans of Foreign Wars. Early afternoon and the place was full of guys in their 60's and their wives. Tough men who could probably tell a tale or two. Everyone was wearing white socks and trucker hats. What the hell is with that?