Not invoking ancient gods today, the way our luck has been, they just might show up! While Cathy was driving to work, her horn started to blow, and wouldn't stop! She drove home and paged me while the screaming car sat in the garage, but it had stopped by the time I got home. It was very cold this morning, so it may have been a fluke. Since I was home I took the other car in for its final repairs. The window trim has been replaced, and the factory stereo re-installed. Nothing in there worth stealing now...

More Crime
I woke up early this morning, which is not unusual, and saw the police in the alley directly behind the house. Someone had split open our neighbor's garage door, certainly with intent to steal something. There were 3 other break-ins around the neighborhood as well. Adding this to the abuse we suffered the other day is making me disenchanted with this area.

Mmmm, bread...
Normally a carnivore, with the exception of some catnip or one of Mommy's houseplants, Abby thought this loaf of freshly baked bread smelled divine. 

Soneone evidently needed a car stereo more than I did, so they helped themself! It's sad, but it's part of life in the big city. There's no way that I'll put another unit in there, the original piece of crud will have to do. 

an expert job I was told... 

All three furry dorks, they were on the kitchen table, but I thought the rug looked better. From left to right, they are Abby, Herbie, and Peaches. That's right, Peaches and Herb. We got both of them from the vet, who usually has a line on kittens needing a home. Abby just hung around our back door until my soft hearted wife let her in. I didn't really want another cat in the house, but now she is my little lap peanut.

High again, naturally!
It was a nice day to get some stuff done that I'd been putting off. 

Herbie is a tiny bun...
Actually, he's a big dork, but a pretty boy kitty, who tolerates me and loves his mommy. 

Busy weekend! My Honey and I installed a microwave over the stove yesterday, which was a good 5 hours spent in heck. Half of that time was spent moving the fan switch out of the way and putting an outlet up inside the cabinet. The twenty year old Cyclotron Deluxe Radar Range and alien signalling device has been hauled out to the alley, so one of the junk men who cruise through every weekend will find a treasure. The new oven works great, bacon cooked in it was crisp, not stone hard on one end and limp as the flag of Porkovia on the other. Now today, since Cathy is going out of town to visit relatives, my reward for yesterday's work is to ditch that gig, and go to Penzey's with Andy and Cindy (the rock and roll neighbor show) and pick up a jar of basil. Then I can sniff samples of exotic herbs and spices 'till my sinuses bleed.

We did the Red Cedar trail this weekend! Starting early on Sunday, we drove to Eau Claire to check out the Chippewa River trail. It was very nice in town, but the trail markings were confusing to an out of towner, so we got lost a bunch of times and became frustrated. We'll go again, but with a better map, probably starting outside of the city itself. We then drove to Menomonee, checked into the hotel, and went in search of food. The local tourist rag didn't have many suggestions, the one place that appealed to us was 20 miles away in Durand at the Riverside Grill. We sat outside on the deck and had a tasty homecooked meal. I sassed the waitress some, and asked if the pies on the menu were as good as the rest of the meal. She was non-commital, but we ordered some anyway, which seemed fair since I'd put her on the spot about such a small thing. So while the broasted chicken with mashed potatoes and stuffing was homeade and great, the pie was store bought, and less than fabulous. The next morning we carbed up at the continental, and geared up for the trail. The weather was cool enough to be refreshing, with a bit of damp that promised to linger into the afternoon. We had an excellent ride, the trail was not crowded, and the road surface was in great condition. This is one of the more scenic trails in the state, as it follows the red cedar river, and we crossed it in a number of places by means of converted railway bridges. We both felt fairly strong, and covered the 28 or so miles in about 4 hours, which is average of about 10mph if you take out the breaks. It was during one of those breaks where we had a chat with a couple of nice local folks, they had moved back to the area, and were getting back into the bicycling thing. Actually, they were having ice cream cones, which looked much tastier than the power bar I was chewing (and chewing.) Anyway, it was a beautiful day, and we had a great ride. There were no Eagles flying about, as we've see before, but nothing is ever perfect. Sometimes you just have to settle for wonderful.

My Honey made a cake, isn't it pretty?

The last batch is in the canner, for a total of 49 jars, and 7 jars of salsa. The dark blotches in the jars are basil leaves, a little funny looking but very tasty! five hours of work for 3 people and about 35 bucks worth of produce, lids, etc. We won't reap a great financial savings, but the flavor of the product is much better than anything in the supermarket.

This is what we started with, we're about half done. That's 3 loads of 7 jars each, and one batch of salsa. Boy, is it hot in the kitchen! Thank goodness for cold beer.

We picked 2 bushels of tomatoes at a farm near Cedarburg tonight after work. The farm was closing in a little over and hour, so we didn't think there would be time to get enough, but there were so many big ripe beautiful ones that it was not a problem. On Saturday, after I get off of work, We'll fire up the big kettles, stuff those red pearls into jars and embalm them with fresh basil.

Went for a quick ride last night, so I could get a few miles on the new bike. The cold weather comes wo quickly in wisconsin, there's less than 2 months before it becomes uncomfortable. So I got in 14 miles in about an hour, not an olympic record, but not bad for someone rapidly approaching middle age.

hi

a

Helllooooo can you h

Helllooooo, can you hear me?
Just wanted to see if this durned thang works.

Dip!

This is Lynn's receipe for the Southwestern Corn Dip

1 can (15 oz) yellow corn kernels
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced black olives
1 can ( 4 Oz.) chopped green chiles
Approximately 2 tablespoons from - 1 can (4 oz.) hot jalapeno peppers chopped
2 jarred roasted red peppers
1 Cup shredded monterey jack or colby-jack cheese
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
1 C. Mayo
Tortilla chips

Bake 350 for 30 minutes

Drain corn, olives, green chiles and jalapeno peppers. Use as much jalapeno peppers as you prefer ( I have used approx. 2 tablespoons). Finely dice roasted peppers and add to bowl. Add both cheeses and mayo. Stir well. Spray 2-quart baking dish lightly with vegetable spray. Place dip into dish and smooth top. Bake until top is bubbly, about 30 minutes.

good way to start a weekend 

It finally warmed up again, enough for a zip up to wales and back...