I am thankful for my family, those here and those away. For my dear, kind, understanding wife who puts up with me, even when the stupid starts showing. For my children.
I am thankful for my volleyball club. I have had a lot of hobbies in my lifetime, but this is by far the most rewarding, most fun, way to spend my time I have ever found.
I am thankful for everything I have - freedom, house, job, property, and treasured personal possessions. I just hope that I can say that again next year after my government is going to do everything it can to take it all away from me.
Have a great Thanksgiving
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Turkey
Here is the before and after pictures of my contribution to this afternoon's Thanksgiving feast.
If you have never had fried turkey, shame on you. My dear wife told me about her Cajun relatives frying turkeys when she was a kid. We tried it about 10 years ago and have never gone back.
The time frame between the two sides of this picture is about 45 minutes.
If you have never had fried turkey, shame on you. My dear wife told me about her Cajun relatives frying turkeys when she was a kid. We tried it about 10 years ago and have never gone back.
The time frame between the two sides of this picture is about 45 minutes.
Happy Thanksgiving
What am I thankful for this year?
- I am thankful for my dear wife. It makes my brain hurt trying to find the words to explain how important she is in my life. So I have to cop out and use an old cliche, I just can't imagine life without her.
- I am thankful for my three kids - Chaos, Noise and Destruction. I may have to rename them someday. I have been calling them that for years. But they are growing up and they are changing. In some ways the names still fit. But in so many more they have all moved on. Maybe its time that I do also.
- I am thankful for my job. I probably should call it a career, but seeing as I don't enjoy what I am doing these days it feels more like a job than a career. But the work is important, it pays well, and it allows me the luxury of providing a good home for those I love.
- I am thankful for my extended family. I'm not just talking about blood relatives. But also all those close friends who are family by choice.
- I am thankful for all the families who have joined the Ridgecrest Starlings Volleyball club this year. It looks like we have a great group of young athletes this year.
- I am thankful that even though I believe that our country is in for some very dark scary times ahead as we are forced to change from a free capitalist society to an oppressive socialist society that I am sharing this small community with a lot of people who think that we will get through this OK. It may be tough going, but we will at least be going through it together.
- Finally I am thankful for all the men and women serving in our armed forces. I sleep very well at night knowing that while my family and I are safe and comfortable in our homes there are some very dangerous Americans out there in the darkness, doing dangerous work to keep us free. Thank you!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thanksgiving 2006
I intended to write a nice long description today of all the things in my life that I am thankful for. Technically it is still Thanksgiving. I still have about 15 minutes to finish this.
I am thankful for my dear wife. I spent several years as a bachelor after I got out of college, maybe too many years. I had developed habits and customs suitable for a bachelor and didn’t really want to change them. When I was fixed up with my dear wife on a blind date I agreed to go only to get my secretary at work off my back. She couldn’t stand the fact that I was young single and didn’t care if I was dating anyone or not.
I wasn’t looking to get married or even serious about anyone. I was here for a short three year stint and then I was getting out of the hell hole. That was 21 years, a wife, two houses and three kids ago. I still have all but one of the houses.
I thought long and hard before I proposed. Not because I was worried about marrying the wrong girl. I knew she was the right one. I just didn’t know if I wanted to be married at all. Looking back I made the right choice. Sometimes I have to wonder if she did when she said yes. There was a time when I wondered if I even wanted to be married. Now I can hardly imagine being single.
My dear wife is kind loving and beautiful and I’m a very luck guy.
I am thankful for my kids. We never thought of having more than two kids. After having the first we gave serious thought to not going through with our plans for a second. But after four years we decided to go ahead. Surprise! Surprise! Twins! Suddenly I was a father of three kids. I needed an extra room in the house, more space in the car, another college education, extra food, clothing everything.
So far it is working out just fine. My kids are smart, personable and a delight to be around. At least that is what their teachers tell us. We have to keep reminding them who we are because we are sure it’s not our kids they are talking about.
I am thankful for my job. I have worked to better the defense of the United States my entire professional career. I don’t have the temperament to have succeeded in the military. I don’t mind following orders but I have a tendency to ask “Why?” a lot. As a civilian engineer that kind of behavior is expected. As a man in uniform it would have gotten me into a lot of trouble. I have had interesting things to work on most of my career. There have been some slow periods that were tough to get through. But for the most part I have enjoyed what I do. I don’t love getting up and going to work. There are so many other things in life that I would rather be doing. But they don’t pay the bills or allow me prepare for retirement. So I get up and go to work each day.
I am thankful for the dangerous men and women out there in the world doing dangerous things in the night so that my family and I can sleep in peace and comfort. I’m talking about the men and women of our volunteer military. I have met a lot of men and women (mostly Navy) serving in the armed forces. They have without exception been kind, compassionate dedicated, hard working and very intelligent people. When I see our elected officials, or Hollywood stars denigrating them by implying that they are stupid, or just poor folk with no other options it really gets my blood boiling. The men and women of our armed forces are my customers. They are the people who use the systems and weapons that are developed where I work to defend our nation. But most importantly they are the people doing what needs to be done to keep my family and my country safe. They deserve much more than a couple paragraphs in an occasional blog. That is the main reason why I have spent my entire career working in military weapons development. They are keeping me safe, so helping make sure they have the best training, weapons and equipment possible to do their jobs is the least I can do.
I’m thankful for my volleyball teams. I have mentioned several times in the past that I never really liked living in Ridgecrest and that I really hate living in California. But the time I get to spend with those girls makes me love living here more every day.
I am thankful for my friends. It is the people around us that make getting up in the morning to face the day worth while. I have been blessed through the years with a few really good close friends. But in addition to them I have had a lot of good decent casual friendships also. Sure there are always the jerks in our lives we have to deal with, but I am thankful for them also. Without the jerks how would we know how much we appreciate the good people in our lives.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for my dear wife. I spent several years as a bachelor after I got out of college, maybe too many years. I had developed habits and customs suitable for a bachelor and didn’t really want to change them. When I was fixed up with my dear wife on a blind date I agreed to go only to get my secretary at work off my back. She couldn’t stand the fact that I was young single and didn’t care if I was dating anyone or not.
I wasn’t looking to get married or even serious about anyone. I was here for a short three year stint and then I was getting out of the hell hole. That was 21 years, a wife, two houses and three kids ago. I still have all but one of the houses.
I thought long and hard before I proposed. Not because I was worried about marrying the wrong girl. I knew she was the right one. I just didn’t know if I wanted to be married at all. Looking back I made the right choice. Sometimes I have to wonder if she did when she said yes. There was a time when I wondered if I even wanted to be married. Now I can hardly imagine being single.
My dear wife is kind loving and beautiful and I’m a very luck guy.
I am thankful for my kids. We never thought of having more than two kids. After having the first we gave serious thought to not going through with our plans for a second. But after four years we decided to go ahead. Surprise! Surprise! Twins! Suddenly I was a father of three kids. I needed an extra room in the house, more space in the car, another college education, extra food, clothing everything.
So far it is working out just fine. My kids are smart, personable and a delight to be around. At least that is what their teachers tell us. We have to keep reminding them who we are because we are sure it’s not our kids they are talking about.
I am thankful for my job. I have worked to better the defense of the United States my entire professional career. I don’t have the temperament to have succeeded in the military. I don’t mind following orders but I have a tendency to ask “Why?” a lot. As a civilian engineer that kind of behavior is expected. As a man in uniform it would have gotten me into a lot of trouble. I have had interesting things to work on most of my career. There have been some slow periods that were tough to get through. But for the most part I have enjoyed what I do. I don’t love getting up and going to work. There are so many other things in life that I would rather be doing. But they don’t pay the bills or allow me prepare for retirement. So I get up and go to work each day.
I am thankful for the dangerous men and women out there in the world doing dangerous things in the night so that my family and I can sleep in peace and comfort. I’m talking about the men and women of our volunteer military. I have met a lot of men and women (mostly Navy) serving in the armed forces. They have without exception been kind, compassionate dedicated, hard working and very intelligent people. When I see our elected officials, or Hollywood stars denigrating them by implying that they are stupid, or just poor folk with no other options it really gets my blood boiling. The men and women of our armed forces are my customers. They are the people who use the systems and weapons that are developed where I work to defend our nation. But most importantly they are the people doing what needs to be done to keep my family and my country safe. They deserve much more than a couple paragraphs in an occasional blog. That is the main reason why I have spent my entire career working in military weapons development. They are keeping me safe, so helping make sure they have the best training, weapons and equipment possible to do their jobs is the least I can do.
I’m thankful for my volleyball teams. I have mentioned several times in the past that I never really liked living in Ridgecrest and that I really hate living in California. But the time I get to spend with those girls makes me love living here more every day.
I am thankful for my friends. It is the people around us that make getting up in the morning to face the day worth while. I have been blessed through the years with a few really good close friends. But in addition to them I have had a lot of good decent casual friendships also. Sure there are always the jerks in our lives we have to deal with, but I am thankful for them also. Without the jerks how would we know how much we appreciate the good people in our lives.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 25, 2005
Thanksgiving Day
OK, so I'm about 24 hours late with a Thanksgiving post. But yesterday was busy. The day started out slow. We ate some breakfast, watched the Macy's parade, and started making sure that we were ready to cook dinner.
About 1 PM I marinaded the ham, and put it in the electric roaster out on the patio. Then around 2 PM I fired up the heat under the peanut oil. Then I headed inside to get the old gobbler ready. I trimmed a little fat, dry rubbed the bird and injected the marinade. About the time that was finished the oil was hot and it was time for the turkey to take a hot bath.
We had only two guests for dinner. Rodney a friend from San Diego, who used to live here in Ridgecrest, and Dave, another local friend who is my main oyster dressing supplier. Dave makes a great oyster dressing and he always brings enough to share. Unfortunately he also likes turkey hearts. So we decided several years ago to take turns. This year was his turn so he got the turkey heart and I had to settle for the livers.
We sat down for dinner around 3:45. It was a huge feast and we all ate way too much. Just like you are supposed to. After dinner we were settling down to watch a movie and let our dinner settle before dessert. Shortly after the movie started my Niece Cassie, her husband Josh and new daughter stopped by to visit. Traditionally her family spends Thanksgiving dinner with us. But since her family has over doubled in size this year they wanted to spend a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home this year, with just the 15 of them. We told them they were all welcome. We couldn't get everyone around the table but since the temperature at dinner time was about 70 degrees we could have let the kids all eat out on the patio. But they opted to stay home and then just come visit for dessert.
We got to fuss over Cassie's new daughter for a few minutes. She is adorable just like Cassie was at that age, and still is today. Then 7 more of the family showed up. They brought a couple of cheesecakes to add to the four different pies we had here.
We were in the middle of dessert when Pete, Regine and their son Drew showed up from Corona. So they warmed up some leftovers and ate while we had dessert. Then they got their dessert also.
It wasn't a normal Thanksgiving for us, but eventually we had a house full of family and friends and everyone got to sit around, chat, laugh, and just enjoy the evening together. That made it a perfect day!
After everyone else had left the house, I got the turkey fryer cleaned up, and the rest of the dishes into the washer. Then my oldest daughter and I moved all of the Christmas decorations from the attic into the garage. That way my dear wife and kids could spend all day friday exploding Christmas all over our house. I am very thankful for my daughter's help. Her ability to handle boxes that I passed down to her saved me about 30 trips up and down the ladder. Which was a wonderful gift for my poor old broken down knees.
For my Thanksgiving Day I am thankful for:
My dear, sweet, loving, beautiful wife,
my three adorable children,
all our good riends who spent the day with us,
getting to spend some time with Cassie, Kym, Josh, and the new baby,
getting to know some of Dave's new family better,
my new job (even if I don't know what I'm doing there yet),
all our other friends and family that were not able to spend the day with us.
I'm especially thankful for my Nephew Chris who is deployed with the United States Navy in Japan where he serves as a P3 flight engineer, and my Nephew Adam who is deployed with the Marines in Iraq. I am thankful for these two men and all the other Men and Women of the United States Military who are defending my family's freedom.
I'm thankful for President Bush I hope he and his administration continue to stay the line on all fronts of the Global War on Terror, and don't give in to the irrational and illadvised attacks being constantly launched by his political opponents.
Lastly I am thankful for my life as a whole. I have great family, good friends, a decent job and the freedom to enjoy them all.
About 1 PM I marinaded the ham, and put it in the electric roaster out on the patio. Then around 2 PM I fired up the heat under the peanut oil. Then I headed inside to get the old gobbler ready. I trimmed a little fat, dry rubbed the bird and injected the marinade. About the time that was finished the oil was hot and it was time for the turkey to take a hot bath.
We had only two guests for dinner. Rodney a friend from San Diego, who used to live here in Ridgecrest, and Dave, another local friend who is my main oyster dressing supplier. Dave makes a great oyster dressing and he always brings enough to share. Unfortunately he also likes turkey hearts. So we decided several years ago to take turns. This year was his turn so he got the turkey heart and I had to settle for the livers.
We sat down for dinner around 3:45. It was a huge feast and we all ate way too much. Just like you are supposed to. After dinner we were settling down to watch a movie and let our dinner settle before dessert. Shortly after the movie started my Niece Cassie, her husband Josh and new daughter stopped by to visit. Traditionally her family spends Thanksgiving dinner with us. But since her family has over doubled in size this year they wanted to spend a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home this year, with just the 15 of them. We told them they were all welcome. We couldn't get everyone around the table but since the temperature at dinner time was about 70 degrees we could have let the kids all eat out on the patio. But they opted to stay home and then just come visit for dessert.
We got to fuss over Cassie's new daughter for a few minutes. She is adorable just like Cassie was at that age, and still is today. Then 7 more of the family showed up. They brought a couple of cheesecakes to add to the four different pies we had here.
We were in the middle of dessert when Pete, Regine and their son Drew showed up from Corona. So they warmed up some leftovers and ate while we had dessert. Then they got their dessert also.
It wasn't a normal Thanksgiving for us, but eventually we had a house full of family and friends and everyone got to sit around, chat, laugh, and just enjoy the evening together. That made it a perfect day!
After everyone else had left the house, I got the turkey fryer cleaned up, and the rest of the dishes into the washer. Then my oldest daughter and I moved all of the Christmas decorations from the attic into the garage. That way my dear wife and kids could spend all day friday exploding Christmas all over our house. I am very thankful for my daughter's help. Her ability to handle boxes that I passed down to her saved me about 30 trips up and down the ladder. Which was a wonderful gift for my poor old broken down knees.
For my Thanksgiving Day I am thankful for:
My dear, sweet, loving, beautiful wife,
my three adorable children,
all our good riends who spent the day with us,
getting to spend some time with Cassie, Kym, Josh, and the new baby,
getting to know some of Dave's new family better,
my new job (even if I don't know what I'm doing there yet),
all our other friends and family that were not able to spend the day with us.
I'm especially thankful for my Nephew Chris who is deployed with the United States Navy in Japan where he serves as a P3 flight engineer, and my Nephew Adam who is deployed with the Marines in Iraq. I am thankful for these two men and all the other Men and Women of the United States Military who are defending my family's freedom.
I'm thankful for President Bush I hope he and his administration continue to stay the line on all fronts of the Global War on Terror, and don't give in to the irrational and illadvised attacks being constantly launched by his political opponents.
Lastly I am thankful for my life as a whole. I have great family, good friends, a decent job and the freedom to enjoy them all.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
T-day minus one
Checklist for tomorrow:
20 lb Turkey
secret marinade
Peanut oil
Propane and burner
big ole pot
gloves
thermometer
ham
other secret marinade
Charcoal
wood chips
smoker
and cook lubricant - beer.
Add in several side dishes and desserts that my dear wife will be preparing and some friends and family to share it all with and we're ready for thanksgiving.
20 lb Turkey
secret marinade
Peanut oil
Propane and burner
big ole pot
gloves
thermometer
ham
other secret marinade
Charcoal
wood chips
smoker
and cook lubricant - beer.
Add in several side dishes and desserts that my dear wife will be preparing and some friends and family to share it all with and we're ready for thanksgiving.
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