Our nest is empty so finally there is time to blog

New journey, new focus

2012-01-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Hey, I am back. After a six month hiatus, I am well rested, and eager to yap in text about our life journeys.

In addition to the regular posts about hikes, awesome vacations, great meals and ripping blues concerts, I will also use this forum for the next 18 months for blabbing about my training efforts, missteps and negligence as I prepare for transversing Alaska by canoeing the Yukon River from Eagle all the way to the Bering Sea, during the summer of 2013. The 1,265 mile journey is almost all docile water, so the only real challenges are getting lost in labyrinths of islands, long stretches between grocery stores and hungry bears.

Upon announcing my plans for this trip, my wife reminded me of my age and mediocre fitness level, and then doubled my life insurance policy. So against my better judgment, I have decided to train for this event. So here is my plan:

Start with a narrower state, closer to home. The trip will be shorter, grocery stores will be more frequent, and EMS response time will be faster. This summer, I will paddle the Missouri River from Kansas City to St. Charles, Missouri, straight-through. Well, I might stop to sleep some nights. At 340 miles, the trip is reasonably formidable, but the bears are smaller and more sparse.
Get in better shape. As of yesterday, I started the You Are Your Own Gym 10 week program for beginners. I will follow that with the intermediate level, but the master level is just frightening. I don't want to be in that good of shape. I will also spend two hours a week burning it up on my Concept 2 rowing machine, and canoe at least once a week. Note, the 44 minutes yesterday about killed me.
Do some shorter (100+ mile) canoeing runs this spring to ramp up for the race across Missouri. Well, maybe one.
Reread my stack of expedition books of other peoples' conquests of canoeing, kayaking, biking and hiking long distances. It might be motivating, if not, a justifiable diversion from exercising.
Log and monitor all "training" activity using iFitness app. This will be a helpful excuse for fiddling with my iPhone when the good wife thinks she is catching me playing games instead of listening to her.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

2011-07-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who dreamed, fought and sacrificed for our freedom.

Happy anniversary United States of America!

New noise

2011-07-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

iPad + 5000 songs + TDK monster digital boom box =
awesome music rattling the rafters. Can you hear me now?

Best BBQ in Boone County

2011-07-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Pat with left overs in front of Lonnie Ray's All-American
Grill and Cafe in the metropolis of Harrisburg, which is
my pick for the best durn BBQ in all of Boone County.
When you go there, make sure you bring a truck driver
size appetite.

More a vegetarian than not, Pat attempted to
tackle a half order of baby back ribs. Pat
fought the ribs, but the ribs won.

Dead Red

2011-06-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

I euthanized a big, old, ailing red cedar tree last weekend.
Our chickens liked to hide under this tree from my dog
Mr. Bojangles. Now, our ecosystem is now out of balance.

Redneck Woodstock

2011-06-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

Music week: Tab Benoit regaled the crowd with his guitar at the Blue Note last Thursday night, followed by Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown at The Midway Expo (a.k.a. Redneck Woodstock) on Friday night. We got there early, so we could get rained on, and then retreated to my pickup to listen to my favorite classic rock radio station for an hour and a half, while hail and 60 mph winds passed through. Apparently only the sane and sober sought shelter. The crowds inebriation level ratcheted up a few notches in our absence. But it was for Willie. He was awesome. Willie was joined by his son Lucas Nelson on stage. Lucas is a pretty good blues guitarist. I expect we will see move of Lucas.

Pat at our first stake out, where we listened to

Branley Gilbert and Lee Brice. New to us.

They play country music,

The clouds and the crowds began to gather. Both grew
thick and thunderous.

Sushi

2011-05-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Sushi for supper! We have had so much rain

that central MO has struggled with flooding

all spring. Apparently this gar ended up high

and dry after the water receded below the

deck of the Katy Trail bridge.

Claire's Mango Tree

2011-05-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

While at Earth University in Costa
Rica, we had a mango tree planted in
their Hope Forest to commemorate
Claire's two semesters there. We look
forward to returning there in a few years
to pick and eat its fruit.

STL Tornado

2011-04-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, maybe the St. Louis airport tornado on Friday night does not make your highlight reel. Maybe better, more fun things happened in your life. Well, good for you, but this is my blog. It's all about me ;-) What's new. What's old, what's fun, what's borrowed, what's blue (see music postings).

I am a frequent flyer. It comes with the job. So I visit STL (Lambert International Airport) about 50 times a year. That means in the last nine years, I spent a couple weeks of my life in STL, waiting to board planes, waiting for luggage, bumming about flight delays and cancellations, rebooking flights, eating crappy food, answering email, talking business on my cell phone, filing lost luggage forms, wishing I was paddling a canoe in Quetico Provincial Park, and reading USA Today, Mens Journal and Harvard Business Review. So if you mess with STL, you are messing with me. Mother Nature messed with STL. Watch this dramatic video. Or this CNN video.

And where was I? Why wasn't I there to protect STL, standing on the tarmac with orange batons waving at the tornado to veer north? I should have been there. Sorry STL. I was on a plane in Detroit bound for STL. On queue and second for take-off, our plane was sent back to the gate, the flight was eventually cancelled, and I was rebooked for the 8:54 am flight Saturday morning. Before I left the DTW airport, that flight was cancelled, I was rebooked for a noon flight, that flight was cancelled, and I was rebooked for the 3 pm flight on Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning, the 3 pm flight was cancelled, I was rebooked for a 6 pm flight, then a 9:30 pm flight before being rebooked for Sunday morning. I am grateful for how efficiently Delta handled my rebookings. Had I known it was going to take 40 hours to get home from Detroit, I would have rented a car, but instead I spent the lion's share of Easter weekend in a run-down Clarion hotel next to DTW, answering email, eating crappy food, reading On-Demand Brand, checking flight updates with the Delta app on my phone, not eating chocolate bunnies and wondering if my new pickup was wounded or perhaps killed by the tornado.

Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. Unfortunately, hundreds of windows were blown out of the airport, concourse C is now an open air natatorium, lots of signs were blown over, zillions of trees snapped off, hundreds of houses and businesses damaged, some flattened, and thousands of vehicles tossed, piled-up or had windows blown out. But not my pickup. The brunt of the storm missed it by just a couple parking lot rows, which brings credence to three of the top ten business planning decisions: location, location, location. Next time, Mother Nature, locate, locate, locate your twister away, away, away from people, people, people, please, please, please. Human life is fragile. With every huff and puff, you toss about legions of lives. I have had enough! So I am calling you out Mother Nature. My brigade of Dyson vacuum cleaners and I are going to give you some serious cyclonic action payback.

Main concourse windows boarded up.

No one obeyed the traffic signals on Sunday.

Chaco time

2011-04-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's Chaco time, when the weather gets hot...
the most glorious time of the year.

Zarda's

2011-04-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

If you share my goal to dine at every famous, infamous,
quasi-famous and dubious barbeque shack, make sure
Zarda's is on your list. It's over there by KC someplace.

The pulled pork is awesome. I had a side of
cheesy corn. A first for me... and a last. Corn
compliments with most foods. Cheese
enhances almost anything, even bacon.
Cheesy corn, however, tastes like baby food,
and looks like baby ralph.

Noodle Lady Strikes Again

2011-03-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

Three creeks hike

2011-03-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Vernal Equinox everyone. It was sunny and 76
degrees here. Our equinox was vernalizing. How about
yours? We went for a long hike at Three Creeks
Conservation Area today. Judging by Pat's smile, she
might have overdosed on vitamin D from the sunlight.

Since she has not yet gotten her spring buzz cut, Little
Roser over heated quickly. Fortunately, there were plenty
of mud puddles for cooling down.

There's the difference between our two dogs. Big Bo takes
the high and dry route, and Little Roser splishes and
splashes.

That's me, demonstrating my world champion rock
skipping form. I never met a rock that didn't need skipping.

Flowers and art thing

2011-03-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

Pat coerced me into going to a flower and art event thing at the Mizzou art gallery this weekend. I negotiated a big country breakfast at D & D Cafe. After the bribe, I was glad to go. At least that's what I told Pat. Really, I blame Claire for this. It is just the type of thing that Pat and Claire would do together when Claire is in town. Here are some pictures of the flower arrangements inspired by art.

There were plenty more, but that's enough. You get the idea. Whoop de doo... Next time, I am holding out for a big steak and a German sweet chocolate cake.

Spring sprang sprung

2011-03-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Flick list

2011-03-07T05:46:00.000-08:00

Here is the complete, sequential list of the movies Pat and I watched at the 2011 True/False Film Fest: Trees/Forest. I want to get this off my desk now, and go to work. In the next couple days, I might come back and share my thoughts about each film, or not. If you want to read a description of each film, please go here.

Blood in the Mobile
Benda Bilili!
Zielinski
North From Calabria
Buck
Foreign Parts
Secret Screening White
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Hula & Natan
You Are All Captains
Birmingham Barber (short film)
The Burger and the King
Life in a Day

The Toughcats

2011-03-06T06:12:00.000-08:00

If you want to see a band pour it all into each note, I
recommend you catch The Toughcats. This is the third year
in a row we saw them perform at the True/False Film Fest,
and we look forward to seeing them perform next year. If you
didn't know it before, about two bars into their first song, you
will discover music is in your soul, not the instruments.

Buck

2011-03-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

Q & A after the screening of Buck at the
True/False Film Fest. I was pleasantly
surprised to find the real Buck Brannaman
wiser than the character created after him
in the book and movie The Horse Whisperer.
Teaching through respect, partnership and
trust is much more than a humane method
for training horses. It's a top ten life lesson.
Catch the film in a theater near you on
June 24.

Jubilee

2011-03-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

Last night, we whooped it up at the 2011
True/False Film Fest Jubilee with Rotary
Youth Exchange student Anne. Then we
watched Benda Bilili! The movie is a great
testament to hope and perseverance. I'd
watch it again right now if it was playing.

Hickies

2011-03-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, I ate lunch with Mike at Hickies
in New Boston. They boast the number 1
burger in the whole US of A. I could argue
with that claim, but why? The burgers were
mighty tasty. And quite small. I ate three.
Next time, I will order four or six.

Thanks, Mike!

The Scioto Ribber

2011-03-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

I ate dinner at The Scioto Ribber in Portsmouth, Ohio this
week. As you can see, I ordered Ribber fries, beans and
country ribs, based on the recommendation of my hotel
clerk. Everyone I talked to the next day said, "Man, you
shoulda had a steak. They have the best steaks." I saw the
steaks. Most of my canoes are smaller than those steaks. I
have slept on hotels mattresses thinner than those steaks.
The country ribs were each the size of a steak. I ate them
all, of course, and I still regret doing so. I cannot wait to
eat there again. I'll order a steak and the ribs.

Five 6-foot long smokers, and two log
splitters to to keep the wood coming. Now
that is my kinda restaurant.

Dang winter returned

2011-02-26T06:08:00.000-08:00

Swing on. Swing on. Swing on.

Swing until spring comes true.

Swing with me, swing for the year

Swing for the laughter, swing for the tear

Swing with me, its just for today

Maybe tomorrow,

the good Lord will take snow away

Brrrr 1

Brrrr 2

Brrrrr 3

Notice a trend? Mother nature gave us the

cold shoulder.

IBC 2011

2011-02-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

We just returned from a fantastic trip to the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. We went. We saw. We listened. We ate. We ate and listened. Listened and ate, and listened some more. The music was better than ever. Congratulations to The Lionel Young Band for winning first place in the band competition, to The Mary Bridget Davies Group of Kansas City for second place--yeah! Kansas City, and to Rob Blaine for being the outstanding guitarist. Other highlights of the trip include a romantic dinner at Itta Bena, and an afternoon combing through the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

Pat at the judges table, looking bluesishly
officious.

Raphael Tanquilino of the Randy Oxford Band showing off
his Mexico City-style blues guitar rips.

Kate Moss of Blue Bella Records and
sometimes guitarist of Nick Moss and the
Flip Flops firing up her Strat at a jam session.

Nick Schnebelen of Trampled Under Foot at
the "after semifinals jam" at the New Daisy.

Pat in front of the soon to be new office of
the International Blues Foundation in South
Main in Memphis. Ask her about the Michael
P. Maness painting. Pretty Awesome!

The Rum Boogie Cafe, recipient of Pat's life-
time achievement award for best blues club.

There. Is that enough linked information for you?

Big blizzard

2011-02-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

Not the biggest snow storm in the history of
COMO, but sometimes victory comes to
number 2, too. 18 inches of snow brought
a stark, quiet morning.

The usual, obligatory picture of our front
porch napping after the snow storm.

A chord and half of wood not too fired-up about winter.

Lucy and Suki got up early this morning to
build a straw patio, make a pitcher of pink
lemonade and finger sandwiches.

The table is set for a marshmallow picnic.

3.5 hours of old guy grunts, freezing sweat
and 140,000 scoops later, our driveway is
open for sojourners and gift couriers.

Three of my canoes hibernate in the sun, dreaming of
summer and gliding across lakes as great blue herons
squawk and swoop off to the next bays to stand knee deep
in water, patiently waiting for brave fish.

MIghty Frosty MO River

2011-01-27T16:48:00.000-08:00

Me, psyching up for swimming from
Rocheport to Jefferson City. All things
considered, it was really cold. This picture
was actually taken in color. That's how grey
it was that day.

Rockabilly night

2011-01-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

Big Smith, Hipnecks and the Ben Miller Band at the Blue Note. Awesome night. If you weren't there, you missed it.

COMO Winter

2011-01-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Mo' Snow in MO

2011-01-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

La Bruvette

2011-01-19T17:17:00.001-08:00

Another whacky lunch at another fru-fru
restaurant picked by Pat. I expect lots of
points for that meal.

Pat n Strat

2011-01-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Add caption

Mr. Bojangles was a bit bummed Pat did not
play any Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Adios Claire

2011-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

At STL, we said our good-byes to Claire. She
is off to conquer the world again. This time,
she is studying tropical soils and tropical
food production, taught in Spanish at
Earth University in Costa Rica.

Civilization is a movement and not a
condition, a voyage and not a harbor.
(Arnold J. Toynbee)

Enjoy the wind in your sails, Claire.

Holiday hike

2011-01-02T08:32:00.000-08:00

Turkey Cuisine

2011-01-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas

2011-01-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

Wonderful time of year

2010-12-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

Kicking off Christmas season with the
traditional o tannanbaum meatloaf.

Mr. Bojangles had one too many hot
toddies for breakfast..

skinny one fat one

2010-12-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

It's that most wonderful time of the year. When sleigh bells are ringing and snow balls are slinging, we scout out, sneak up on and slaughter an unsuspecting tree, haul out the boxes and boxes of ornaments, and decorate until eggnog-induced IBS growls drown out the More By Four "Merry Christmas Baby" CD.

We put the fake tree up in the dining room
this year. It is decorated with a couple
decades of "precious" Campbell Soups
Collectables, if there really is such a thing.
I don't get it. Never did. I think the tree would
be more attractive if it were decorated with
Kings Fancy Mixed Nuts wrappers and crisp
strips of bacon.

Yes, this tree really is as fat as it looks.
Probably fatter. It swallowed Santa. Sorry
kids, there will be no presents this year. ;-(

Happy Hat Day!

2010-11-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

Treed

2010-11-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

Always hunting, today Mr. Bojangles treed
an omnivorous bipedal chef 'n' scholar.

Pre-Thanks spin

2010-11-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

Claire, Pat and Mr. Bojangles (L to R) catch
their wind after our annual Pre-Thanksgiving
Spinathon. This year, we rode on the Katy
Trail south of Rocheport. The ride was some-
what episodic, since it was Bojangle's maiden
voyage with his new recumbent bicycle.

Turkey Farm Lake

2010-11-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a warm and windy fall saunter
at Turkey Farm Lake Nature Conservancy
this morning. The dogs paused to fly kites,
and Pat sang that inimitable tune "Cattail
Marsh" while a hawk cawed the chorus.

Giving Thanks Dessert Auction

2010-11-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

Last night, a giving thanks dessert auction was held to benefit the local farmers market. Pat bought the ingredients for our contributions, and Claire pastry cheffed away the day, leaving the kitchen a disaster while producing some fantabulous edibles.

Claire's gorgeous chocolate, coffee and butter
cream javanaise was the talk of the auction.

Claire married a javanaise with two lemon
curd tarts topped with berries.

'twas lots to bid on, which is why we came
home with a pumpkin pie, a strawberry and
rhubarb pie, and a chocolate and almond
tort. We had pie for breakfast, lunch and
dinner today. Life is rough.

Bidders bidding. Thanks, everyone. We
raised more than a piddling.

La Perla Cafe

2010-11-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

I ate dinner last night at La Perla Cafe in Glendale, Arizona. I gotta tell you, I think it is the best durn authentic Mexican restaurant in the whole US of A. If you find yourself within a time zone or two of La Perla Cafe, it is worth your trouble to check it out.

Kid in print

2010-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Claire's Sustainahouse to offer environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

Living off a buffet, by Claire the food critic.

We're proud of our trilingual, tree-hugging, foodie, dirt scientist daughter.

Gimme a steak

2010-11-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

Pretty Pat prepares it with passion and care
and serves it with love, but where's the beef?

RCB

2010-11-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

After the Big Smith show, Pat and I high-footed it to Jesse
Auditorium to catch the Robert Cray Band and their
masterful display of modern blues fused with funk, soul,
reggae and a little doo wop. Fabulous fun!

Happy 25

2010-11-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Named Jed, it behooves me to celebrate my hillbilly inbreeding ever now and again, so Pat and I barefooted it a few ridges to the west to the Les Bourgeois Blufftop Bistro to help the Les Bourgerois Vineyards celebrate their 25th anniversary by chugging a few bottles of vino and stomping our feet to the strumming and singing of Big Smith. How's that for a run-on sentence?

The lively and fun afternoon culminated
with a splendid sunset and long shadows on
the Missouri River. (Pat, see! That was a
UFO. Not the hootch playing games.)

Stone HIll

2010-10-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Claire and I toured Stone Hill Winery, just up the hill from Hermann. Stone Hill is the oldest of the 82 wineries in Missouri, and before prohibition, it was the third largest winery in the world. This was our third trip to the winery, but this time was purely for educational purposes. Claire is taking a Food and Wine Writing course at Mizzou. I found drinking wine for the sake of journalistic research staggering ;-)'

Big barrel.

Claire taking copious notes.

Claire having barrels of fun.

Faux champagne, demonstrating just
waiting for five years.

Hermann looking much like a Rhine River wine bourgh.

Vineyards settling in for a long winter nap.

50 something again

2010-10-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, I said hello to my next year with friends and family.

The sunset as seen from the Les Bourgeois Blufftop Bistro.

R to L: me, Pat, Claire, Luke and Mark.
Mark and I share the same birthday. Always have.

Sporting an awesome, authentic Lansdowne
rugby shirt form Claire.

Memorial Service

2010-10-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday we celebrated the life of Pat's
boss and friend Sandi Abell.
Pictured above, Pat shared stories of
researching, publishing, traveling
and working with Sandi.

Leg of lamb

2010-10-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Claire is a wizard in the kitchen.
Check out this leg of lamb.
I ate all 7.5 pounds in one sitting.
Yumm.

New office furniture

2010-10-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

Turtle Walk

2010-10-12T12:28:00.001-07:00

Because of conflicts, my birthday was pre-scheduled for October 9. After wandering aimlessly through central MO for half the morning, Pat, Rosie, Mr. Bojangles and I chose to hike around Little Dixie Lake. The sky was blue. The wind calm. The temperature perfect. And the leaves were just beginning to rustle about our feet as we slumbered down the path. During the hike, we happened across quite a few box turtles hiking the same loop. At the risk of indicting the "tortoise and the hare" theory, at the end of the hike, there were no turtles celebrating victory in the parking lot.

Despite not seeing the turtle next to her,
Rosie found an interesting bug.

Pat makes a new friend.

Pet the puppy break.

Holy schmoly, another three-toed box turtle.

And a remarkably awe inspiring sighting --
a large flock of migratory box turtles
landed on the trail all around us.

PA hike

2010-10-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

Mike and Ryan from Boise, Idaho.

We ended the work week with a relaxing hike
on the mountain ridge above Pine Grove
Mills, PA. The oak trees were just beginning
to turn color.

Roots N Blues N BBQ

2010-10-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Shemekia Copeland sharing her big voice
and soulful love songs.

Pat is all smiles because Tab would soon
take the stage.

The McGee's balloon drifting over
the festival.

The shining prince of bayou blues, Tab Benoit,
wailing on his guitar .

Tab sharing the stage with his friend Anders Osborne.

Big crowd.

Mark your calendars today for the next
Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in Columbia.

Quetico voyageurs

2010-09-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

Quetico solitude

2010-09-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

Quetico gear

2010-09-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Summer remodel 4

2010-09-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

New fridge, old dog fascinated by his
reflection in the stainless steel.

Old stove, old dog, new cabinets where there
was a built in desk. New paint that no one
likes. It will be lucky to survive the leaf
harvest season.

New slate floor, old kitchen island and a
glimpse of the granite countertop. Both the
floor and countertop are as hard as rocks.

New dishwasher, microwave and professional
baker's convection oven. Now if Claire would
just come home and bake up a storm...

New door knobs. New door backplates. don't
worry. I am not crazy about the combo either.

Summer remodel 3

2010-09-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

New slate floor in master bathroom.
Old fabrics, new throne for the king.

New vanity, countertop and faucet. I can
brush my teeth so much better now that the
sink is four inches closer to my chin.
Perhaps the best investment anyone
has every made for anything.

New light fixture a full 12 inches higher
than the old one. This comes in handy for
watching my hair turn grey.
Old mirror replaced with a really old mirror.
Now I can see my youth.

Summer remodel 2

2010-09-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hall boom-boom room. New slate floor,
new seating and new paint.

Someone painted an expensive oak
mirror frame black...hmm.

Special prints from Pat's favorite artist in
Grand Marias, MN. If the four pics told a story,
it would say "under the northern lights a loon
sang a lonely song on a quiet pond." But they
don't. They just hang there, like pictures
on a wall.

Summer remodel 1

2010-09-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

Simply loverly "baby turtle" green paint in
dining room and hallway.

The famous whale wall was disassembled
and reassembled to mask the whaleness.

Green hall. All is calm. All is bright.
Round yon la-aundry ro-oo-oom.

Okay, everyone. Enough is enough.
That is all the remodeling pictures you are gonna get.

I am cutting you off.

20

2010-08-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Happy 20th birthday, Claire!

New pickup

2010-08-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of my new Toyota Tacoma 4X4 double cab TRD Off Road. Ain't she sweet?

It's Tab time!

2010-07-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

Tab Benoit was in town for the second time this year, and under no circumstances would we have missed a note. Tab was at his finest. Long, wailing guitar rifts. Mesmerizing drum solo. Thumpaliscious bass solo. And plenty of delta blues all night long. If you're looking for fun, Tab ain't no tart fresca; he always brings the party.

Cards

2010-07-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

Twenty of us Columbia Rotary-Metro folks hopped on luxury coaches with 40 Chamber of Commercers and motored to St. Louis to watch the Cards whoop up on the Phillies. And whoop up they did. Below is the view from the private outdoor seating adjacent to our deliciously catered, open-bar party room. Oh, life is good. Life is good.

hot hot hot

2010-07-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

92 degrees F.

94% humidity.

A long afternoon hike.
100% exhausted dogs.

The dogs got water.

We got ice cream.

Sometimes sapience pays dividends.

Soybean Festival

2010-07-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Pat and I participated in the always surprising and fantastical Jaycees Annual Soybean Festival in Mexico, Missouri. What could be better than eating a potato tornado while listening to the wailings of The Next Mexico Idol contestants? As far as the soybeans, we saw none. Not even someone in a soybean costume. One of the best parts of the day was listening to the Ozark Mountains band Big Smith. From their bluesy "Go Away Maggie" and "Ain't Got Nobody" to the raw country of "Ride That Train," Mark, Jody, Rick and all sing with gumption to entertain.

It is no surprise that Pat set up camp within arm's reach of funnel cakes.

Porch turtle

2010-07-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but we like to keep a porch turtle to give the porch light toad company. Amphibians get lonely. This lovely lady box turtle is an exchange student from the gulf, seeking a cleaner, quieter environment, and midwestern cultural exposure.

New tops

2010-07-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

New granite countertops were installed in our kitchen this week, which gave me the opportunity to do the most pleasurable of all chores--plumbing. There ain't nothin' else quite as special as popping my neck out of place crawling under the sink, skinning my knuckles and making three trips to the Home Depot. Plus it's a good excuse to cuss up a storm. That being said, the counter top rocks...err, is rock.

Fireworks

2010-07-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

We watched 4th of July fireworks from the University of Missouri's Memorial Stadium stands. Row 11, 50 yard line. Before the fireworks, we enjoyed the beautiful crooning of Hillary Scott and a couple great songs by the Hickman High School choir. The fireworks were set to music blasted over the football stadium's public address system. It's a fun way to celebrate USA's birthday. It was dark and I was wasn't sure of my iPhone camera settings. Below are either pictures of the fireworks or some galaxies far, far away.

Last tug

2010-07-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

Mr. Bojangles and Mizuho had their last tug of war contest on Sunday morning. Mr. Bojangles always wins. He's that competitive. As I am writing this, Mizuho's plane is somewhere over Canada en route to home in Osaka. Thanks for four great months, Mizuho!

Ana

2010-07-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

Ana Popovic rocked the Blue Note on Friday night. Oooooh! Oooo-ooh! Oo la la!

CO Capitol

2010-07-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

Since we were in Denver for a conference, Mark and I stopped at the Colorado state capitol building. My bucket list includes visiting all 50 state capitol buildings. 15 to go. Colorado wasn't a new addition to my list, but I needed practice.

3 robins

2010-06-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

Needing to re-stain the north side of our house this summer, I was happy to see a momma robin build a nest on the project site and lay three eggs. Too quickly, the eggs hatched and the young 'uns are growing up. Alas, the chore's starting date looms like a storm cloud on the horizon. Soon, Larry, Curly and Mo will fly away with my excuse to delay.

Jan n Mike

2010-06-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

Our great friends from New Jersey are in Kansas City this weekend for a family reunion. Pat and I joined Jan and Mike for a fantabulous dinner and great conversation at the Justus Drug Store--a restaurant on Thursday night. We pretty much ate everything on the menu. Sous chef and Claire's friend Doug made our hors d'oevres and salads. General manager and owner Camille Eklaf waited our table and we enjoyed gossiping about the Missouri foodie network with executive chef and owner Jonathan Justus. It is always awesome to see Jan and Mike, and the meal was much more than an amuse-bouche.

Since we were in Kansas City, we had to watch the Skills USA national baking and culinary finals and cheer for our local team. Claire competed in the national baking finals two years ago, and her friend Doug, yes the same Doug, competed in the national culinary finals. Both Claire and Doug are prodigies of the Columbia Area Career Center culinary and baking programs. This year, the Columbia Area Career Center produced the culinary state champion for the eighth year in a row, and the third straight baking champion. Chefs Brook Harlan, Carri Risner and Jeff Rayl run an outstanding program. This year, Rachel was the national champion in culinary and Meghan finished second in baking! Congratulations Rachel and Meghan! Congratulations Chefs!

New and old

2010-06-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

New slate floor. New appliances. New blisters. Old stove. Next: countertop and paint. Oh, summer. Please wait for me.

Timeless

2010-06-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last night, we celebrated Pat's birthday with dinner at Bleu and a walking tour of the scenic city center of Columbia. Pictured below, Pat gives her acceptance speech after being presented the keyhole to the city. Happy birthday, Pat! You're not getting older. What's up with that?

Balloon

2010-06-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

Below, Mizuho is pictured with her graduation party balloon. Mizuho will use her new balloon to fly home in July.

The speech

2010-06-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today, Mizuho gave a speech about her year in America to our Columbia Metro Rotary Club. Her speech was great. We laughed, we cried and everyone applauded loudly. Mizuho ended her speech with a four minute slide show set to music. Below, Mizuho is pictured with Eva, who is our chapter's out-bound youth exchange student for next school year. Eva will be living in Turkey.

35

2010-06-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, Mizuho ate 35 tater tots! That's a new indoor world record for eating tater tots! She also polished off a salad, tenderloin steak and big piece of cake. Congratulatons, Mizuho!

Skills USA dinner

2010-06-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Last night, Pat and I enjoyed the company of our friends Sarah and Johannes at the Columbia Area Career Center's Skills USA fundraiser dinner for their state champion bakery and culinary arts students. You may recall that Claire was Columbia Area Career Center's first state champion baker two years ago. Pictured below are Pat, Sarah and Johannes, just some of our dead soldiers, three of the eight courses and the menu. If you missed this event, don't worry. I consumed your share. Chef Risner and Chef Harlan, Rachel and Meghan, congratulations and good luck at nationals!

Graduation

2010-06-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday, we held Mizuho's graduation party at our house. We invited Mizuho's other host families, members of the Columbia Metro Youth Exchange Committee and about 15 of Mizuho's friends. Pat decorated the house in Hickman purple and gold, and bought a big graduation cake. (Claire is out of the country, so we are sans baker for the summer.) I smoked four racks of ribs, and grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. Others brought side dishes. It was a feast. The food was great, the weather was beautiful and the conversation lively. The evening was capped off with smores at our camp fire ring. Below are all of the pictures we took at the party. That's right. None. Ooops.

Kid's stuff

2010-06-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

Check out what Claire made during her first week at work in Belgium. Wow!

Strawberries

2010-06-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

Pat's green thumbs are yielding a bountiful strawberry harvest. There are two gallons of berries in this basket. One morning's produce. We are having strawberries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Strawberry cobbler, strawberry pie, strawberries and ice cream, strawberry smoothies, strawberries and angel food cake (and in my case, devil's food cake), and strawberry jam, and strawberry pancakes, chocolate covered strawberries, fried strawberries, blackened strawberries, and strawberry etouffee. It is a berry good time to be dining at our house.

Spaghetti

2010-06-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, Pat, Mizuho and I drove up to my parents' house to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary, Ma and Pa! On our way home, we made our usual stop at the Omaha Old Market for some shopping and to dine at the loverly Spaghetti Works. What do you think we ate there? Below, Mizuho and Pat sport spaghetti smiles.

Baccalaureate

2010-05-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

Last night, we honored Mizuho's academic successes at the David H. Hickman High School baccalaureate for the class of 2010.

As an alum of David H. Hickman High School, Claire shared pearls of wisdom with Mizuho.

Mizuho and her good friend Mariah (a.k.a. Max) are captured out standing by the outstanding high school sign.

Baby shower

2010-05-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to my first baby shower. Much to my surprise, there was no shower. Not a sprinkle. Certainly no rain. No bath, no locker room. Not even a garden hose or a kiddy pool. Just people sitting around saying, "Oooh, look at those booties." and "Pass that onsie around so we get a good look." Thankfully, Claire catered the event. There was tons of fabulous baked goods, and I ate half of it. If you ever wondered what a baby shower looks like, see the three pics below. It is like Christmas, except all the presents go to one couple. Seated on the right, Andrew and Sarah are the proud parents to be of Findlay. Andrew and Sarah are our outstanding dog sitters when both Pat and I are traveling, which is why Mr. Bojangles will be moving to their house to help care for the new baby girl when she arrives in July. Congratulations, Andrew and Sarah!

Korean guests

2010-05-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Yu family were our dinner guests this evening. Mr. Yu is a visiting agricultural economics professor from Korea and a friend of Claire's from her volunteer work at the Mizzou Asian Affairs Center. The Yu family are very polite and equally funny. We had a great time.

Hickman Prom

2010-05-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

The David H. Hickman High School prom was last night. All gussied up and looking fabulous are (L to R) Mariah, Claire, Yukiho and Mizuho. Claire did not go to the prom. She was the chauffeur, and took advantage of the opportunity to wear her "backup prom dress" from two years ago. The Hickman prom was the first of two proms for Mizuho and Yukiho. The girls had a fabulous time, and they made it home before sunrise.

Sophomore

2010-05-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Claire finished her last final of her freshman year at Mizzou. Friday, she moved home for a couple weeks. Next, it is back to Belgium for the summer for another French pastry chef internship. Below, Claire is all smiles before diving into her last lunch at the campus cafeteria Plaza 900. It was my first meal there, and I have to say the food quality and choices came from a different stratosphere than the goop I ate in college.

Honors night

2010-05-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

At the David H. Hickman High School Annual Departmental Awards last night, Mizuho was honored for her outstanding work in Art class. Below, Mizuho is pictured with her Missouri family, a.k.a. the Metro Rotary host families and counselor. Front row, L to R: Yvan, Christiana, Fran, Mizuho and Liz. Back row, L to R: Jim, me, Pat, Steve and Lynda. Jim, Christiana, Yvan and Fran were Mizuho's host family from August through November. Steve and Lynda hosted Mizuho from December through February. Liz is Mizuho's Rotary counselor. Also note Yvan was honored for his outstanding score in the American Math Competition. Congratulations Mizuho and Yvan!

French trout

2010-05-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

For dinner tonight, Claire pulled out her French chef magic and fried flour-encrusted almond trout, and Pat baked a magnificent loaf of Swedish limpa bread. Oooh la la, them's fine eats.

Bananas Foster

2010-05-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

Mizuho and Claire whipped up some fabulous Bananas Foster for dessert last night.

I am all smiles as I anxiously await dessert, totally oblivious to the fact that between the riding lawn mower and Bananas Foster, we facilitated Mizuho violating two of Rotary's four forbidden Ds in just a couple hours. We're going to be sent to host parent credit recovery summer school. Arrgh!

Flower pot

2010-05-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

If you hang around our house in the spring time, Pat will get your hands dirty. Below, Mizuho plants flowers for the first time since second grade. Note she is all smiles. The combination of flowers, sunshine and Pat's teaching does that to people.

Garden time

2010-05-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

After being delayed by 10 inches of rain in 10 days, it is finally dry enough for Pat and Claire to play in the garden. Below, Claire demonstrates her planting repose, which is a maternal legacy. Check out those strawberry plants behind her.

First mow

2010-05-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

Mizuho discovered the excitement of mowing yesterday. A test drive turned into a two-hour thrill ride of mowing the entire yard. Thanks, Mizuho! For all you readers out there, follow Mizuho's footsteps. If you crave entertainment, come on over and mow our lawn. Contact me directly to purchase your tickets.

Earth Day

2010-05-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

After church, Pat, Mizuho and I went to the local Earth Day festivities. I know today wasn't the Earth Day, but our Earth Day was washed out. The surface of Earth is almost 70% water. Here, it was a 110% on Earth Day. Pat bought a collapsable clothes dryer thing and a dead trilobite stuck in a rock. I got a jar of barbeque sauce. I think Mizuho got a toe ring, and I though she was gonna buy a hula hoop.

Om Rice

2010-05-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Pat, Claire and Mizuho went to the Farmers Market. Afterwards, Mizuho was executive chef and Claire was sous-chef. They made a Japanese meal called Om Rice and Curry. There is a dome of fried rice underneath the fried egg and a vegetable curry sauce on top. It was an awesome meal!

DeLynn and Esther

2010-05-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

We had a fun evening catching up, reminiscing and gossiping about friends from our Waverly days on Thursday evening with DeLynn and Esther. DeLynn and Pat worked on a project together at the University of Nebraska many, many moons ago. I am glad DeLynn and Esther dropped in. We need to find time to get back to Waverly this summer.