Pull Tight

Remember reading somewhere, death row inmates most requested dessert with the last meal is pecan pie. "It's just the recipe on the Karo Syrup bottle,"  Mom told my wife when she asked for the recipe. Turns out the recipe has a few enhancements.  Wasn't the same at our house. Mom admitted to making a few changes.  The resulting pies are quite tasty. My uncle Lloyd tells of the fight he narrowly avoided with a restaurant owner in Georgia who claimed to have the world's best pecan pie.  My uncle assured the owner that while his pie was indeed quite good, it was still in second place because the best pecan pie in the world was baked by his sister in law, Cynthia McIntire in Paluxy, Texas. I don't want to spend my life not having good food going into my pie hole. That hole was made for pies. Paula Deen

Wife and daughter are off to a cookie decorating class this morning. My mission will be as the official taster (hopefully). There is a little bit of the cookie monster in most of us this time of year. All of the cookies and treats showing up at my workplace remind me of when I was the one bringing them.  We now have the recipe for the cookies below and make them a couple of times each year. written 12/15/05 , revised 12/20/15 On the way out of town tomorrow to see a large client in Abilene. Actually, they are the biggest in more than dollars spent with my company. Of approximately the dozen or so employees, anyone of them could easily knock off 50 pounds and still not be considered thin.   Needed to take them something for the holidays. Realized without much contemplation, cookies would be perfect.   In all probability, no one there ever passed up a good cookie. The best, biggest, tastiest and highest calorie cookies to be found are possibly the chocol...

Grandpa was a carpenter He built houses stores and banks Chain smoked Camel cigarettes And hammered nails in planks He was level on the level.... Grandpa Was a Carpenter by  John Prine While bicycling in a small town on the Jersey Shore, last summer, passed a house being remodeled.  The construction company name - "Can of Worms". If there was ever truth in advertising (entire history of the world), this was it. Look closely at dumpster over the fence. Been doing a little home maintenance myself.  Repaint the bedroom,no problem. Hall, ditto.  We had the house remodeled a few years ago sans laundry room and garage. "Can we paint the laundry room?" C.O.W.  remove 2 layers of wallpaper (70s and 90s) take out cabinets install new baseboards crown molding re tape and bed ceiling does the dryer vent and electrical outlet need relocating? So much for one weekend day and a bucket of paint. Back to John Prine, always think of Granddad when I h...

 "One God — Many Forms / One River — Many Streams / One People — Many Faces / One Mother — Many Children -Ma"----Sign in the former church of the    "Thanksgiving dinner that can't be beat"  in the song. This sign offers good advice for civilization in today's world. My favorite holiday song and maybe the only one only heard on Thanksgiving. Been listening to this song most Thanksgiving Days for almost 50 years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM

You might be a redneck.... Occasionally, I catch myself doing something that would probably cause Jeff Foxworthy to smile and shake his head. As with many garages, mine is mostly a final resting place for things we no longer use in the rest of the house.  Needed to do a little cleaning before the freeze to make room for several large potted plants. The plants survive just fine in the garage with a little light and water. You might be a redneck if you ever cleaned your garage with a leaf blower.

“….if you smoke yourself to death Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate That you hate to make him wait But you just gotta have another cigarette” Lyrics from Smoke Smoke Smoke that Cigarette by Merle Travis 1947 Most days I park a few blocks away from work and walk the rest of the way. Benefits include extra exercise, a chance to gather my thoughts and unwind a bit on my way out.  One of the routes takes me past a small Jewish cemetery. Have taken this route so many times, feel I know the people buried around the perimeter. Know their names and enjoy imagining their lives in whatever era they lived.  Observe some graves are frequently visited by the small stones placed on top of the tombstones (an interesting superstition).  There is a significantly greater number of burial dates clustered around 1918 serving as a daily reminder of the seriousness of the great flu epidemic. http://pulltight.blogspot.com/2006/02/flu.html The facility where I work became toba...

Did a fish fry for Dad on Father's Day. Received a call from a relative a couple of days before with bad news - Walmart was out of frozen hush puppies. This was probably a concern for many Walmart shoppers at this particular store.  I am thinking you might be a redneck if this causes angst. Made them from scratch using beer as liquid ingredient as beer is my tasty alternative to dairy. Turned out really good.

Grad Pics

Big weekend for at our house.  Both kids graduated. As of today we have an engineer and a registered nurse in the family. Both made very good career decisions. And, both have jobs they are excited about. It is a good time to be a parent.

Riding 160 miles, please help me in the fight against this terrible disease. Texas, Dallas - Bike MS 2015 - National MS Society