11 Feb: The Kids Visit The Tiny House

Another weekend comes to a close at the Tiny House. Sad that, and to make things even more dreary a rain storm has passed through. Not a gully washer or frog choker, just a long slow dripping from sullen gray clouds. Great napping weather, but not good for much else. I shouldn’t complain because I know we need the rain, but I begrudge the lack of sunshine. I swear I am solar powered and cloudy days just leave me in the dumps.

We’ve waved good bye to the kids, hate to see them go because they and their pup bring some real life to the Tiny House. With the extra pup in the house the pack dynamic winds up and everything is a maelstrom of fur and fang – tough to catch the action so I only have pictures of one or two of the varmints at a time. Even then they were only caught still because my son-in-law had some treats in his hand.

It was a nice visit. The girls got out and did some shopping without the grousing male component, and the boys watched Jet Li’s Fearless and lamented the fact it is his last film. Braised some ribs, my last chance for a dry run before the New Year’s celebration coming up next week. Unfortunately I found them wanting. They were good but not great, some critical element is still missing. Maybe the addition of plum wine and some smoked paprika, or maybe I need to grill them a bit and then braise them, just to get some sweetness from the caramelizing. Oh well, I suspect it is going to be a come as you are kind of party as far as the food goes.

I have included some pictures of the pack, the clouds that prohibit the sun from shining down on Tiny House, and the skull. The skull once belonged to a beef, or steer if you will, and testifies to the harshness of a plains winter. I found the trophy while hunting agates near Scenic, South Dakota and it has followed me around the world. The totem now rests in our front yard and keeps any malevolent desert spirits that may be lurking nearby from doing us harm. Unfortunately the clouds are not impressed and continue to cover the sky over Tiny House.