Tomorrow Another Birthday...Mine!

On Sept. 30th, many, many Moons ago-I was born. I weighed a whopping 3lbs 12oz. and was premature before it became socially acceptable. I was described by my father as "Looking like a scrawny chicken with big feet". I got to spend my first month alive in an incubator, which as has encouraged me to describe my entering the world as "hatched" rather than born.. I got to start school at age 4 (another month and I would have had to wait a year!). Small for my age, and left handed to boot it never occured to me I might be at some disadvantage, as I was fast both in body and mind. I was also told later in life I had been a "suprise" or in other words unplanned. Probably explains why my older brother is 13yrs older than me!
I look back over the years with some wonderment as to where all that time went so quickly. I've done alot in my life, probably could or should have done more, but I'm not done yet! I plan to enjoy tomorrow by remembering I'm alive and still have some time to enjoy people, places, and moments yet to come....

Loafin' At Home Making Meatloaf........

I got sprung from the hospital Sunday night, and have been recouperating at home since. I do have a Doctors' appt. today, so we'll see where that goes. I do believe the rest of the week will be at home (I hope!). I figured I might actually attempt something productive- so I made my Italian Herb Meatloaf in a Crock Pot! Ingredients are as follows 1-3/4lbs ground beef, 3/4lb Italian Sausage, 2 eggs, 1 cup fine breadcrumbs, 8oz tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, 30 or so seeds of fennel, Italian seasoning blend, 1/4 cup worchester, Lawrys season salt to taste. Mix with hands til blended completely. Put in loaf pan, pack tightly. Place in oblong crock pot and cook for 6-8 hrs on low, draining excess grease or liquid occasionally. Doing it this way gives you a meatloaf that no one would guess was done in a (shudder!) crock pot! Thanks again to all you well wishers while I was in the hospital. Test results aren't back yet either, darn it!
P.S. As you can tell from that beatup old crockpot, this is about the only way we use it anymore(I Have other Crock Pots!)

Buffalo Dick Update

Hello all. I am writing on behalf of Buffalo Dick. He wanted to let you know that he will respond to your comments very soon. He is in the hospital right now, we expect that he should be coming home soon - hopefully today.

Arrrhhh! Ye Talk Like A Pirate Day, Ye Bilge Rats!!!

Me Blog niece Snow Elf started a contest of sorts on who ye might think who might be cooler: Pirates or those panty wearin' sneaky land lubbers that call themselves Ninjas! Arrhh! Stabbin' honest folk in the the back, mind ye! Without no signin' of the Articles, and no spit and a handshake neither, I'm here to tell ye! Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day, and I expect every ye one of you to do just that, God help every Mothers' son and daughter of ye! I'm going to help all you that don't knowe the Scum of the High Seas have their own set-aside day to talk the Kings' English as well as it should be spoken- Pirate Style! Say : Arrhh! Say: Eehhh! Use the terms : foul, keel-haul, port, starboard, strike me, cut, flay, shiver me timbers, mercy, fine kettle of fish, etc. I hope I get response in Pirate Talk-Lest ye walk the plank with those dirt huggin' Ninjas!

Chili Cook-off Cottage Bar 2007...

Well, another Cookoff goes into the books- with about the same results as last time! We made out usual batch, sold out in 15 min. and didn't place-again. It was a beautiful Fall kind of day, starting overcast, but clearing later. The word was the attendance was the best ever, and Gildas' Club will get a nice check from this. I didn't feel that great, and it made for a long day. Am I getting to old for this stuff? Lots of old friends, good chili and good times. We do have an odd dilemma with this cook-off. The board of Health insists on a tent or an awning, and the fire department won't let us cook under the awning! The cute redhead is Buffalo Brother Mikes' eldest child- a good kid! The guy, girl and big guy is the Team Dragon Spit- which made a great batch and finished 2nd. The two guys in red aprons are 5th Street Hall Team- nice guys! We were disapointed in the results, but will be back next year!

The Cottage Bar 26th Chili Cook-off- The Big Kahuna!

Every year, for 26 years, the Cottage Bar(oldest continuous bar with liquor license in Kent Co.) holds a fund raiser for Gildas' Club. It is simply the largest chili cook-off in West Michigan (45 teams max!) and is the one you want to win! So far this year, my pardner and I (Chili Dan and Buffalo Dick) The Buffalo Brothers have been in 3 contests, taking 3 first places and one 2nd place! This is our year to make a run a the big prize- The Cottage Bar Chili Cook-off! We are ready! In the past, we have only cracked the top 5 once- and it pisses us off! We have bags of trophies, but this contest has eluded us too long. The owner of the bar and I have discussed on numerous occasions why some of the best chili in this part of the State has not done better at his contest. His judges tend to be locally famous instead of good. I've asked him to get some new blood for judges, as the old ones wouldn't know good chili unless it had a sign in it! We are ready! It really is a fun day, with a local radio station, live music, mucho beer , and weird (eclectic) people swarming all over the place! 4 gallons of our chili(32lbs.) will be gone in 3oz. sample cups in about 10 minutes! Even if the judges don't know us, the public does! The logo on my blog is on over 400 tee-shirts- a scared Buffalo covering his groin, with the shirt saying "Buffalo Dick Makes Good Chili"! Victory WILL be ours!!!!

Claredale The Airedale, Our Dog Clara...

For those of you unfamilar with this breed, it is an Airedale Terrier. They were bred in England to help keep the chalk trout streams clear of otters. They had the size of a hound, and the heart of a terrier. They were brought to this country and trained as bear dogs, as they had no fear(or brains!)This one is Clara, our third Airedale in a row. They are great guard dogs, friendly to the people you are friends with, don't shed alot, loyal and generally thought of as very willful dogs. This one is a big female, about 80lbs. , and a bit taller than show quality. She is also much darker than most of her breed, generally as adults their faces are tan. We got her through Airedale Rescue, a non profit nationwide group dedicated to getting these abandoned or turned in dogs a good home. Alot of people get Airedales thinking they look cool, then find out what a load these screwballs can be! Our dog was in at least 5 homes before she was 2-1/2yrs old. All she needed was someone familiar with the breed(advertised as a pushy female Airedale). We had 2 before her and knew she just needed to know who was boss. It was love at first sight, and she went home with us-forever. At first we had a few issues(guarding food, aggressive towards other dogs, not a fan of our cats, etc.) It all got better once she figured out she was finally home for good. Now she's a big cookie, belly rubs, licks, and bitey mouth are all things she enjoys. She's 7 now, which is a good age for an Airedale. Unfortunately, they live shorter lives than the smaller dogs, usually around 12yrs is about it. Many breeds have rescue chapters, if you ever look for a dog, be sure to look with them first. Enjoy your week-ends, everyone!

A Pretty Quiet Labor Day...

Yesterday on impulse, we took an alternate route back up to the same casino we visited earlier last week. We saw quite a few Turkeys with chicks(saw that at the casino too! Different species!) and everything is green, green, green. Another month, and the colors will hit the leaves, and a month past that- no leaves!
We got to the casino quite early, but it filled up quick-being a holiday week end. Stopped for a quick burger on the way home- both of us remarking we were spoiled by cooking our own at home so much!
Today, the steaks are marinating, the dark chocolate brownies w/ white choco chips on top are cooling, the carrot muffins and fresh corn has arrived from the store via my wife, and I think that should suffice for todays dinner! I may add a picture later if I feel I can "plate it" properly before lunch! Like everyone, I dread going back to work Tuesday-it's getting harder all the time....

Meatmarket Dumpster Cat-Willow.....

Some of you have heard the story of how this cat became OUR cat(or we became her people!), but for the ones who haven't, here we go. It was around 1 week before Christmas, and I was at a West side meat market picking up kielbasa sausage for the shop party. My youngest son was with me, as I had promised him a "Justin Burger"(a friend of mine owns an old west side bar that serves a 1/2 lb. loaded burger!) after shopping. A small, crowded old butcher shop where everybody knows who's next, we waited our turn. There was a cardboard sign taped up that said" Kittens- Free To Good Home". I had not gotten a present for my wife yet, so the price seemed right! Where did you get the cats? The counter girl answered the dumpster in back where they pitched the meat when it was no longer sellable. I asked "Do you have any calicos? The girl said yes, and added it was the nicest cat in the bunch. Being impulsive, I asked if she had the kittens there. She answered they were in the car- ready for the Humane Society after work. That was all I had to hear- those cats would be dead in 48hrs! We took a look at them, and the calico was friendly and beautiful! The girl requested that we didn't change her name-Willow. We got a box, and headed for the Vets' office. I told them to give her the works, and be done before Christmas! Dewormed, defleaed, front declaw, and neutered my free cat now cost $270.00! Of our three calico cats, Willow is the nicest cat we've ever had....