Happy Thanksgiving

.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. It's been a quiet day here on the North Coast of Ohio. Cathy has been in her sewing room most of the day. I did a little cleaning and a lot of cooking.

We munched our way through most of the day on lots of good things to eat. For Thanksgiving dinner we deviated from the norm and had a ham. We like a recipe by Serena Bass Ham with Mustard and Parsley Sauce. It uses a smoked ham (half a ham, actually) with a Marmalade Marinade and the above mentioned Mustard Sauce along side. Very yummy!

This is the ham after inserting whole cloves around the outside.

Here is the ham slathered with the Marmalade Marinade (orange marmalade, fresh ginger, garlic, Dijon mustard, brown sugar and fresh ground black pepper.) It caramelizes in the oven and makes particularly addictive little crusty bits.

The ham goes into the oven (with the now working repaired door latch) for a little over an hour. The ham is already cooked, we are just warming it up nicely.

The ham comes out of the oven and looks like this.

Wonderful smells going on here!

To complete our dinner we made Potatoes Dauphinois (a type of scalloped potato with Gruyere cheese) and fresh green beans tossed with basil, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and goat cheese.

Everything was wonderful. I hope your Thanksgiving was as much fun as ours!

.

Veterans Day 2008

Today is a very special day. It is a day to honor and remember and thank Veteran’s across our country and spread throughout the world. It is a day dedicated to all the men and women that have laid their lives on the line for this great country and the freedoms that we enjoy. This is the greatest country in the world, with more freedoms, opportunities and riches than anywhere else.

Both my older brothers, Charlie and Joe, as well as my younger brother Ray all served in the Navy. To each of them "Thank You".

After 22 years service in the Navy, Ray retired last year. He and his wife and sons visited while traveling from Japan to their new home in Florida and it was wonderful to see him after several years.

Here is a photo of my little brother.


























Thank You to all veterans, today and every day for your service.
.

Happy Halloween

.
Hope your Halloween has been Fun! We don't get any Trick-or-Treaters here unfortunately. It's probably a good thing because Ralph would think they were all burglars!

What does your Halloween pumpkin look like? A couple of triangle eyes? A mouth with a couple of teeth?

For your consideration gaze upon this...






















No it's not mine. It's from England where apparently they take this art form seriously! Here's another punkin'.






















You can see more and read about them here.

Thanks to Dave Barry for the tip.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
.

Shiver Me Timbers - It's Talk Like A Pirate Day

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day so brush up on yer Pirate speak and see if your friends or co-workers know what's going on or think you've gone daft.

In case you need a quick refresher course, this video will give you a start.




Take this quiz and see if you're ready to be Captain or Cabin Boy!

If you are still reading this and need some pick up lines tonight while drinking your grog...

Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?

3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?

And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is …

1. Prepare to be boarded.