I knew it would happen eventually

I knew that if I stayed on the job long enough eventually I would arrest someone named "Darwin".

It happened this afternoon. Alcohol was involved.

I have to get some sleep now.

Give a child some sugar, and a camera...

The final head count for dinner Saturday was 24. Five of those were kids ages 10 and under. Here's what the evening looked like through the eyes of our nieces and nephews as they ran through our very tiny house screaming and taking pictures:

Here's a duck with a half-full can of Miller High Life stuck up his fundament, mid-roasting.

Fried turkey there.

MizBubs works the stove.

And, like these events always do, it ends with a brother-in-law sleeping on your couch:

What a weekend

What a weekend.

On Saturday MizBubs and I visited the Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair at McHenry College. She bought some wool, I bought some hiking socks made from alpaca, and we met some interesting people who run small goat farms. We've been stepping up the research into learning what it will take to get out of where we're at, and into that rural compound we've been dreaming of. It was great talking with some people who've actually done it and are making a living at small sustainable farming. The event was livened up by the presence of the Barehand Jug Band. You know I was happy when I turned a corner and heard the magic combination of tuba and spoons. I turned to an older gent who was enjoying the show, and we mentioned that the only thing missing was a washboard. 10 minutes later I walked by and sure enough, they had an adorable girl playing a washboard. Nice kids, good music.

After the fair we headed out to Grayslake and spent the next few hours catching up with some good friends who (I'm almost ashamed to say this) we haven't seen in a couple of years. It was like we'd just visited last week, and next thing it was 1 am and time to go home. We drove home through a beautiful thunderstorm and collapsed into bed happy.

On Sunday we got to meet Katy aka Dino and her man Grumpy, who stopped by while they were in town for a wedding. The visit was good, but too short. I realized too late that I was a horrible host--I thought it would be nice to sit out in the screen house, and it didn't occur to me until over an hour later that it was too hot and humid to comfortably sit outside. The swamp dweller in me was oblivious to the discomfort of our guests until it was almost time for them to go. Please come back Katy, I promise we can sit in the air conditioning next time.

Later that afternoon we were visited by jet-setting expatriate Lulu. Back on her winter vacation Lulu gifted us with a bottle of Thai whisky, so I invented a drink for the occasion:

The Muay Thai Fizz

-2 shots of unknown Thai whiskey



-2 shots of lime juice

Pour in a tall glass full of ice, top with tonic water and garnish with a sprig of mint. Fizzy and refreshing, and if you drink more than two you'll feel like you climbed in the ring and got kicked in the head. Invigorating.

Later we chowed down on pork and pie. Pork tenderloin wrapped in herbs and bacon, steamed new potatoes with fresh pesto, and a lemon chess pie, with black raspberry compote whipped up by MizBubs.



Mmmmm. Pie.

Tomorrow it's jury duty for my better half, and a physical exam and back to work for me. Happy trails!

Today's the day!

It's December 26, and you know what that means.


Happy Boxing Day!


It also means that tonight is the night for all of us in the Chicago area to get together at the fabulous Hala Kahiki Lounge in River Grove, Illinois. MizBubs and I will be there around 7pm, but the lavish awards ceremony for this year's Drysdale winners kicks off some time after 8.


I don't know about you, but I'm hoping I get to sit next to Charo.

You can find directions and more info in this post here.

December 26 post-holiday choir practice

Remember folks, December 26 is right around the corner, and that means:

• Deep discounts on Christmas decorations, gift wrap and greeting cards!
• Special day-after-Christmas sales at your favorite stores!
• Back to work, you.
• It's time for a lovely informal gathering of all your favorite bloggers!

Chris at Some Guy's Blog has featured this event, and this year Mr. Grant Miller of Grant Miller Media will be hosting a lavish award ceremony to recognize this year's Drysdale Award winners.

This year we'll be meeting at the fabulous Hala-Kahiki Lounge at 2834 River Road in River Grove. The Hala-Kahiki is the oldest tiki bar in the Chicago area, and features a wonderful assortment of reasonably-priced exotic drinks, as well as your standard beers and hard liquors for the less adventurous.

MizBubs and I plan on arriving around 7 pm, but it looks like most of the really cool kids won't get there until closer to 8pm. The lavish award ceremony is scheduled to kick off then.

For those of you taking public transportation, it looks like you could take the 331 PACE bus from the Cumberland Avenue El stop. You can see the CTA System Map here. Metra's Milwaukee District West line stops at River Grove, .8 mile away from the Hala Kahiki. You can see the station on this map:


View Larger Map

If anyone needs a lift to or from the Metra station, email me and let me know.

Hope everyone gets through the next couple of days healthy and happy. See you Wednesday night!

Food and drink

The other day a social worker asked me what I did for stress relief, and running was the first thing off my lips. Then I had to pause, and I came up with time with my family, and spending time outdoors, and then...cooking. I felt like crap the other day and called in sick, then ended up sleeping most of the morning and afternoon. I felt better when I got up, and without even really thinking about it started baking cookies, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and MizBubs ended up making a delicious pork stew and Irish brown bread. The house smelled great.

While drinking should not be tops on anyone's list of stress relief strategies, I have no doubt that the quiet, slow enjoyment of a tasty cocktail, glass of wine, fine whiskey or cold beer contributes greatly to a sense of well-being.

Sitting down and eating a dozen donuts or a pound of bacon at once might provide some satisfaction in the short run, it's probably not a good idea to lean on food as stress relief. That being said, the enjoyment of the right food at the right time goes a long way to restoring your spirit.

Take, for example, this lovely box:

See, at one time this box was full of 5.5 pounds of delicious handmade pastries. But, by the time I could find my camera, this was all that was left. Me and MizBubs came home at the end of a shitty day last week and found this box on our front stoop. Seems that the lovely Jin, of Uniquely Yours Pastry Shoppe, sensed my distress at the loss of my friend and did what she does best--she baked. Here's what we got:

• Lemon slices
• Cappuccino brownies
• Molasses cookies
• Apple crumble squares (these were like the top of my mom's apple crumb pie)
• Apricot scones
• Fruit muffins

Jin thoughtfully included storage instructions for items that had to be kept longer than 2 days. Trust me, we didn't need them. I can say I've never in my life ever had a better selection of baked goods.

_____________________

Sunday afternoon I marinated some chicken breasts in garlic, rosemary and olive oil. We ended up harvesting about 2 pounds of red chard from our garden, and we sauteed the chard in olive oil and garlic. When it was done we tossed the chard/oil/garlic mixture with roasted pecans, chopped crispy bacon and feta cheese, and mixed it all with some pasta. Then we cut the grilled chicken into strips and served it with the pasta. YOW. Good stuff.

So, what drink went with this Sunday feast? We returned to an old favorite, the Sazerac. While the best Sazerac around, in my opinion, is served up at the Napoleon House in New Orleans, the recipe we use is from the Gumbo Shop cook book. Bourbon (or rye whiskey), sugar syrup, Peychaud's Bitters, and absinthe with a twist of lemon peel.

_____________________

On Wednesday we continued with the New Orleans-themed drinks. MizBubs reached into her seemingly endless bag o' tricks and dug out a drink called a Brandy Crusta:

• 2 shots of cognac
• 1/2 shot of triple sec or Cointreau
• 1/2 shot of maraschino liqueur
  
• 1/2 shot of fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 shot of cold water
• 4 dashes of Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass rimmed with sugar, with a lemon peel twist. When you're done it looks like this:

We followed up the cocktails by picking some Thai basil from our garden, and then tossing it with some ground beef from the freezer, along with garlic, chili paste, sugar and fish sauce. We served the whole affair over basmati rice.


And this carries us into the end of the work week.

Eat, drink and be merry.

Stupid reptile tricks

I've done a lot of stupid things in my life. Some of them involved the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

But I've never, ever put a venomous snake in my mouth to show off for a girlfriend. Now that is bad-asssss. Snakes in a motherf*cking mouth.

23 year old Matt Wilkinson, after consuming a few beers, handed his girlfriend a beer, not realizing he was also holding a 20" rattlesnake he'd found a few weeks earlier. (Yeah, I know, chicks dig a guy who brings a pit viper to a backyard barbecue.) When girlfriend protested, Matt stuck the snake in his mouth to show girlfriend how cool the snake was.

And damn if the snake didn't bite him. You can read Matt's story here.

As Matt said, "You can assume alcohol was involved."

Sunday afternoon cocktails

Today's cocktail, courtesy of the clever and playful MizBubs, is:

The Frozen Watermelon Margarita

5 cups of watermelon, cubed and frozen
1 cup of tequila
1/2 cup of Cointreau or Triple Sec
1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
1/4 cup of sugar

• Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour into a margarita glass (we use wine glasses here at the Compound) and garnish with a chunk of watermelon.
• Enjoy!

_____________________

Honestly, there's just not enough time, and yet so many of us still find some to piss away instead of doing something useful with it.

My bride is the exception to this I think, at least this weekend. She set about re-organizing our dining room, which included cleaning out china cabinets and book cases.



And where did all that stuff go, at least for now? Our living room, of course:

For a while there our living room looked like the hotel room in Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, only without the water damage and adrenachrome.

By the time cocktail hour rolled around today, she had it all straightened out, more or less. We got a big-ass box o' books headed for the library tomorrow, to be donated, and we filled our recycling bin with old magazines and papers.

Breathe easy, Bubs, it will all be better soon. Grab your drink and take a look out the front window. Enjoy the Brown-Eyed Susans. Get some sleep.

Welcome to Eau Claire, Wisconsin!

Welcome to Eau Claire, Wisconsin--one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People!

And, according to this story, one of the 100 best communities to set your johnson on fire with lighter fluid when you're drunk!

Oh, and yes my friends--alcohol was involved.

Swing, baby!

News from Pennsylvania:

A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to swinging her four-week-old son like a bat to hit her boyfriend...

This may come as a surprise to some of you--alcohol was involved.

IT'S TIKI TIME

Snow...freezing cold...salt stained footwear...misery. It's TIKI TIME!

MizBubs and I can't take it any more. We need to get out and have couple a drinks. It's f*cking cold and awful, and we can't afford airfare to Las Vegas, New Orleans or Key West right now, so we gotta come up with a plan B. Nothing beats the winter blues and cabin fever like a few Mai Tai's, Zombies, Apu-Apu's or Suffering Bastards in the company of friends. Here's the deal:

MizBubs and I will be at the Tiki Terrace in Prospect Heights on Friday, February 23, from 6:30pm on. Here's the address:

1 S. Wolf Road, Prospect Heights

They have good drinks, and some live music starting around 7pm. And they got snacks! (awesome fresh taro chips) Come on, let's hang out for a while. We deserve it.

Hope we see a few of you there.