Husky Patrol

The weather is cool, perfect for huskies or at least as perfect as it gets in AZ. The past rain cleared the brown cloud hovering over Phoenix out of the air so everything is just sparkling. Very nice day to be out and about with the pack.

Happy Pearl Harbor Day

I sometimes think too many people have forgotten the lessons learned in the past world wars. It saddens me to see NAZIs marching down American streets today, when many of their grandfathers and fathers sacrificed life and limb to stop the very thing their kids and grand kids now seem to espouse. Few seem to realize the dangers of strong nationalism and a resurgence of facisim whether on the part of foreigners or at home.

This is also a day to remember those who were caught in the attack and those who went on to defeat the Japanese.

The Art of Tiny House

This first piece is one of Max's latest. Using a limited color pallet Max began the creation on the hallway wall. Unfortunately we'll never know what he was striving for as mom caught him in the act and cancelled the project.
This second and earlier fresco was completed during "nap time," where his muse overpowered the sandman, and a crayon and so much blank wall was just too big a temptation.

Grandpa doesn't mind that Max is turning Tiny House into a living gallery. I wouldn't take a sponge to the murals - that would be like using a pressure washer to get rid of all the graffiti on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Cooking with Max: The Kinder, Gentler Technique

It is never too early to get the kids into the kitchen. Besides great together time you'll be passing on life skills to make things easier when they are out on their own. Being able to cook and feed yourself is paramount in the fight for survival. The kids might even like cooking enough to wind up with their own high end restaurant, not bad work if you can get it...

Cookin' Turkey With Phos

Happy Thanksgiving

In Canada Thanksgiving is held as an actual end of harvest fest, here it is the beginning of the shopping season. Different countries, different motivations. Either way it is still fun to draw on Uncle Phil's face with permanent marker after he falls into a tryptophan induced sleep watching football.

In America the day did start out as an end to the harvest celebration. Squanto, much to his regret later, helped whitey figure out how to farm in the new world, so the pilgrims survived. Well some of them anyway. For the Native Americans it was kind of a last meal, as the pilgrims and subsequent generations of interlopers decided the land would be better off without the original owners. To be fair the diseases the Eurotrash brought with them did a lot of the work.

And now here we are, stuffing ourselves and preparing to trample our fellow countrymen in a Wal-Mart doorway trying to get to the $500 flat screen first. Personally I am looking forward to some turkey, some quality family time, and leave the shopping to the mall rats and the football to the jockstraps. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving: Don't Panic

Mother-in-law at the door, the one that thinks her child married beneath her, and as icing on the cake it looks as though Armageddon is about to come off in the kitchen? Here are a few steps to ease the holiday angst.

1. Drink lots of beer

2. Don’t drink? Start.

3. Never let the in-laws see any weakness; they’ll dive on it like vultures on a deer carcass.

4. If all else fails, see step 1.

In the Air Force pilots have an emergency check list, so should every cook.

Step1: Put out the fire. One can never have enough fire extinguishers in the kitchen

Step 2: Stop the bleeding; a chart with all the pressure points on it posted prominently in the kitchen can be a life saver

Step 3: What’s left of the food? Any salvageable? Tough luck.

Step4: Check the "Internets" for local restaurants that are open on the holiday. Send out for the food and then claim you cooked it all. Note: The firemen parading through the house with axes and hoses may make it tough for the kin to believe there has been no catastrophe; tell the relatives the firefighters just came for your gravy recipe.

Here’s hoping everyone has a great (fire free) Thanksgiving!!