January Snowboarding

We took a trip up to Hillman last weekend for some snowboarding and relaxation. The weather was warm (relatively speaking) and sunny, the lake was frozen (maybe the beer too), and the Jaque's breakfast was a gastronomic delight as per usual. There are no photos of said snowboarding, so you'll have to take my word for the fact that I shredded my face off and Emily got much better. Below are some non-snowboarding photos.

Carnivorous squirrel. Who knew?? A hawk nailed his noggin on our clean windows and dropped dead on the deck. In the mornings this black squirrel would be slurping the fleshy bits off the hawk's feathers. Again, who knew??
Foam dome. All the beer in the basement fridge would foam over like this when opened (much to my surprise the first couple times). I'm guessing the beer molecules got stir crazy from being cooped up too long and sprang forth at the first sign of daylight. I think this beer needs to drink a beer...
Sunday I took a walk around the lake, on the lake. This is one of my favorite places on the lake. It just has a really good vibe too it and was lit up beautifully that day. You can see that a lot of the snow has melted because of the warm temps, but the ice on the lake was still plenty thick.
My favorite subject adding a splash of color to an otherwise colorless landscape...something she truly excels at.

Christmas Vacation in SC

We took a 10 day holiday road trip down south to visit family, rock & roll all night, and party every day (part of every day??). Here are some highlights of the trip.

Nothing says Christmas vacation like a moose mug full of whiskey. One of my favorite gifts this year courtesy of brotha' Joe.

Moose mug full of whiskey leads to moose mug on head. Not the wave of the future, but good nonetheless.
My favorite subject with her fancy new hat. Ooooohhhh, look how dark and mysterious she looks...

We got to spend a lot of quality time with our darling niece, Riley...Awwww...isn't she soooo cute...
New year's eve party at a hotel in Greenville. Open bar and breakfast buffet at 1 A.M. I wore my tuxedo T-shirt because I wanted to be formal, but I was definitely there to party...so...you know.
FYI the beard is long gone.

Happy new year everybody.

Old Photos

A Couple old photos to warm you up on a cold late fall (yes, not winter quite yet) day.

Smokey (Mookie) : This guy loved Long Lake.

Me contemplating my future.

Christmas Cookies

We (Emily mostly) spent some time this afternoon baking and decorating sugar cookies. There were a few casualties (headless snowmen, one armed Santas, etc.) that ended up in my stomach...mmmm, delicious casualties...

Blinds Installed

If it weren't for blinds, it would be curtains for us all.
- Larry Duane Moran

It's Yellow

It's been almost a month from the last post to this one and I have been working on this room almost every day.
I made a huge dusty mess that blanketed most of the house in a fine white powder, vacuum, repeat, primer.
Next, I spent about 12 hours trimming by hand along the ceiling and doors and windows. It is excruciatingly tedious but the results are worth it. I'm really only trying to impress my mom and sister, who inspire me to such masochistic endeavors. I hope you guys like it.
3 coats of paint, new out lets, new light, new outlet covers, new blinds, new (and repainted trim), filling in nail holes, blah, blah, blah. Still not completely done...but almost.

This is me trying to figure out what to do with the blinds. One of three is too long so I have to take it back to get 1/8" trimmed off.

Mostly done. The yellow looks good, no??

Square light and improved view. It looks better in person so you'll all have to come and check it out sometime.

Turkey Time

We traveled to Marysville last weekend for good ol' Thanksgiving. A few days eating a lot with the family and remembering how lucky we all are. I ate a ton, played with my nephew, dominated on rock band and laughed incredibly hard at my uncles tales of Bub's Daddy gum and fumbled chicken wings.

The spread...maybe 25% of it...there isn't a lens wide enough to capture the entire tempting schmere. Classic American cooking. I made the mashed potatoes and Emily made the mac & chee. Mom made most of everything else...and a lot more...well played!!

My plate. I try to eat a bit of everything. It takes me about and hour and I am in pain afterwards. As I lay on my left side and digest I think about how lucky I am to be able to be so full.