Thanksgiving

I don't have so many photos of the Thanksgiving holiday festivities. Several others had cameras going non-stop so perhaps if some of those photos end up in my possession I can post a few of them. I did get a photo of the birthday girls who celebrate over a 10 day period starting with Karmen on Nov 26, Becki on Dec 1, Kamela on Dec 2 and Catie on Dec 5.

A really good effort at blowing out imaginary candles. They got them all on the first try!

The massage train

Kyle dropped his cookie. But didn't have to pick it up off the floor because it stopped right here on the side of the table cloth. The cookies were good, by the way, even if they did taste a little like velcro.

Parker decides not to take a chance of it dropping and being contaminated. He's ready!
Some cookie bakers roll out their dough but apparently these are drop cookies.

Ah, Finished Revisited

Since I've been accused of not always finishing what I start, perhaps it would be a good idea to publish this photo showing that the project addressed in Ah, Finished but wasn't really completely finished despite the blog title indicating that it was actually finished, did indeed get finished unless we decide to add a planter by the window and do some landscaping which Brenda would like, in which case we still aren't actually finished but for now I think I'd like to just say it's finished and be done with it.

Wild Game Dinner 2010

Since last December when Don & I made a trip to S. Dakota pheasant hunting we've been planning to have a wild game dinner sometime. We finally made good on our plans and here are some photos from last Saturday.

Brenda and Leann setting the table for 13.

Leann had a very nice fall theme and things look mighty impressive. Hopefully the chefs will be up to the task at hand. Several recipes for tonight's meal have never been tried before and it would be a shame to have things looking so exquisite and then be let down.

First, some appetizers. Don diced pheasant breast for dipping in Teriyaki sauce or egg batter and cracker crumbs then stuck in the fondue pot. Or in the background you'll see some "Pheasant Poppers" which is pheasant with jalapeno peppers wrapped in bacon and grilled. Don thought these would be delectable and so did I but it was the ladies we had to convince!

So as Don (above) looks on wondering what will happen, Leann studies her first bite...
and thinks about what it might taste like! Since I don't have a photo AFTER she ate the first morsel, let's just say that was the first of several she ate and she traded this look (below) for something much more pleasant!
Our first dish was an oriental pheasant salad. Brenda fixed this and it was a hit. I have the recipe if anyone wants to give it a try :)

Next we had a serving of Barb's venison chili. First time I'd had it and hopefully not the last time.

In the spirit of the wild game theme, Barb also fixed some "Monkey" bread. Great idea! It too was delicious.

Don is preparing to dig into the main course which was pheasant a la creme over buttered noodles and stir fried rabbit & vegetables with rice. Yum!

Now for desert! What Don has going here in his cast iron dutch oven is a berry cobbler. Key ingredients? Berries and cake mix! Majorly key ingredient? Butter! (used unsparingly)
Anyway, the heat is on although you can't tell it so much with this flash photo.
With the flash off though, you can tell things are cooking!

Augmented with ice cream and ready to serve.

I understand this is camping fare when Don & family go camping. No doubt this is part of the reason his family enjoys camping so much...

Finally, although Marina and I don't have all the crumbs off our face yet, we thought you should know just how much we enjoyed the evening!

Ah, Finished!

Finished the construction part, that is. Still need to get some sealant to put on the wood, do some landscaping around the shed and the fun part... taking some of the bulk from the garage. Having some elbow room when exiting the car will be a good thing!

Barn update

The previous photos probably didn't make clear exactly where this yard barn is located so this photo probably clears that up. This is where we left off on Friday night.

With a very busy week upcoming, it may be a couple weeks before completion.

Thought I'd take a photo of the pear tree. A bumper crop is breaking branches this year.

Many years ago I made myself a promise I'd never let the garage get so that I couldn't get the cars inside and I've been able to keep that promise so far. But it has gotten pretty cozy from time to time.

As a matter of fact, it is a bit cozy right now so after several years of "talk", today we started the "walk" and a yard shed is in progress. Here are photos from today.

Kyle and our neighbor Kirk, start early this morning placing the 4 - 4x4x16 treated timbers on which we'll build.
A trailer load of rock quickly disappears as they set the timbers.
About 10 AM the floor joists are in place.
Kyle nailing the first 4x8 sheet of 3/4 inch treated plywood flooring as Kirk's son watches.

Right after lunch the first wall is in ready to lifted into position.

Mid-afternoon and two walls up.

The end of day 1. Ready to start with the roof tomorrow.

Illusion

Having seen dozens of illusions I find this one quite fascinating. It moves, then doesn't move, I even see it rotate yet the dark red doesn't move at all......

Believe it or not, this image is not animated. The effect persists only in your peripheral vision; if you focus on any one of the spirals, it will stop moving.