Projects and "Pets"

 This time it was my turn to play!  I thought up a project for me to do.  Under the tutelage of my fabulous husband, and some of his assistance, we finished this pansy!  I am hoping to present this as a gift for my former employer, so don't tell!

We were graced this morning by a visit from one of our resident moose calves.  She is a little thing, and didn't seem overly concerned by Pat on the porch taking pictures!  

Pat's Projects

 Pat's latest piece: A beautiful Steel Salmon!  Pat's been having fun with these, and as usual, has a billion ideas on where he could take this.  The options are seemingly endless, though the costs will reign him in a little on super detailed ideas.

 In other project news, Pat got a contract to build welding test booths for a company in town.  It was a great project that provided Pat a project!  You know he always needs a project.  It's really nice when the project provides nice income as well!

 The finished product was perfect!  It is able to be disassembled and reassembled for transport.  It went over well with the company, and Pat continues to build his reputation for good, solid, and quick work.

February

So, it's been a while!  I'd like to say I'll do better, but I'm still in a blogging funk, so this is doing pretty good!  Plus, I have to admit, we haven't been doing anything all that interesting.  

Winter is winter, I still walk the dogs most mornings, and a while ago it was very chilly!  I often wrap my face in a scarf, and my exhalations freeze on any surface that will hold the frost: including my hair and eyelashes!

 A couple weeks ago, we had what we call Neighbor to Neighbor at our church.  It's a Sunday where we all break out into groups and basically do service projects instead of regular "church."  Pat lead a team who cut a couple cords of firewood and delivered them to Neighbors in Need.  It was a great day!

Speaking of service projects, this is Pat's Steel Salmon that he made for Love INC's fundraiser dinner.  I will have to take my camera to work and do a post on Love INC and what I do there.  It is a great Non-Profit that helps many people throughout the nation.  Check and see if your community has a chapter!  (I know that Wichita does!!)

Mushroom "Beef" Stew w/Cranberry Pilaf

Photo Courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine

I took this recipe from my Taste of Home Magazine, adapted it to a crock pot and Gluten Free, and it was tortuously fragrant as it cooked as well as delicious!

Because we use a large amount of hunted game in our recipes, this one was made with venison instead of beef.  The finished product was substantially less fatty, so keep in mind if you use beef you may need to skim fat before serving.

In a crock pot combine:

• 1-2 lbs "stew" meat (This is simply chunks of meat.  If you use a roast, thaw and cut into chunks before putting in the crock pot.  I used 2lbs, original called for 1lb.)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 lb sliced mushrooms (original recipe called for Portobello, but I just used what I could find and they were scrumptious!)
• 3/4 cup white wine (I found the cheapest one I could)
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.   

Pilaf

• 1/3 Cup chopped onion
• 1/3 Cup chopped celery
• 1Tbsp butter or olive oil
• 1 Cup uncooked long grain rice (I used regular cheap stuff and it was yummy, too)
• 1/3 Cup dried cranberries (do not neglect this: it's the best part!)
• 2 Cups beef broth

In large saucepan, saute onion and celery in butter/oil until crisp-tender.  Add rice and cranberries; cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until rice is lightly browned.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender.  Fluff with a fork.

Before serving, mix 2Tbsp. cornstarch with 2Tbsp. water and add to stew if desired.  Serve stew over Rice.  

KU's #68

Despite their recent lack of consistency, we were able to witness KU's 68th consecutive win in Allen Fieldhouse!  It is something that I have been dreaming of for years!  Thanks to my brother-in-law's connections (not mob-related, I don't think), he was able to get us tickets while we were in Kansas.  

 Even though Pat has less enthusiasm for KU than I, he was a great sport!  We really enjoyed the museum outside the arena and he even tried his hands at some of the interactive displays (pun intended!)!

 You know I was in awe the entire time, taking pictures sparingly and trying to act like I'd been there a million times.  Fortunately, Pat was less inclined to care what others perceived!  I had goosebumps through the entire beginning!

 Yeah, this was totally staged.  KU was so far ahead within minutes that the poor UMKC Kangaroos stood no chance and we had to change our excitement to hoping they'd make it to 100.  They made it to 99!

I had such a great time!  We took our time leaving, even hanging out around the campus before we cataloged this in our "Most Awesome Dates" file!

Christmas Catch up, pt.2

To continue, in no particular order, our trip to the "south" was filled with even more fun and memorable things!

In New Mexico, we were able to spend some precious moments with Aunt Bea and Great Aunt Mary.  Pat has some great memories of Aunt Mary.  We were further blessed to have them both lay hands on us and pray for us!

 It had been a while since we'd seen Granny, too!  We got to spend some time with her enjoy her famous beef and noodles!  I'll have to get that recipe and convert it to Gluten Free!

 Back in Kansas, Pat made his own "Wipe-out" Course for the kids, complete with a Clementine eating finish!  He also went with Mom to the shooting range and they worked over a mean-guy silhouette.

 We had some sweet moments!  Raegan made us some very special hats, and Pat helped Jackson build a new fort!

 Isaiah discovered his balancing abilities (again, thanks to Pat), and we got to see Sydney direct her cousin's and sister in a lovely musical production!

Because I am a goof ball, I will have to dedicate an entire post to one particular dream-fulfillment of mine! Yes, it has to do with a particular team sport...

Christmas Catch up, pt.1

Throughout our Christmas vacation, I rarely carried "real" camera and relied heavily on my cell phone camera!  I did, however manage to record some fun events on the "real" camera, so here they are:

 Out at Dad's, a big focus was bird hunting!  Orange has now become a Christmas color favorite!  Doves were the big fun hunt around the house, since the pheasant seemed to be pretty sparse this time.  Jackson was able to run around with the guys as they hunted, but seemed a little less enthused to actually handle the quarry!

 Yes, there is quite the horizon!  Wide open spaces with just a few homesteads with trees to break it up.  The wheat patches were just showing a slight haze of green; less than other years from lack of rain (isn't that always the story?!).

This was a very comical moment to me: 3 guys all on their cell phones, all pacing through the kitchen!

 You know Pat.  Debonair.

 It was fun to catch some sweet moments between brothers.

 Isaiah is still a star!  He absolutely loves the camera.  Reminds me of a certain sister of his...

 Even Pat couldn't resist a little play time with the little guy!  He also loves the outdoors!

I was so glad to get to see Jackson play ball.  Those kids could take me.  Seriously.

 Mom's house was full of Wii!  Unfortunately, Pat didn't let anyone else play.  Later (I'll have pictures and a video) we couldn't breathe for laughing at him so hard!

He did take a few moments away from the Wii to give Isaiah a ride on the vicious buckin' bronc!

At times I wish I had more pictures, and others I am glad I just took the time to enjoy the moment.  Mostly I just wish we had more opportunities to take pictures!  I am so thankful to have family that I love and miss dearly.  I apparently took pictures of Pat's family with my cell, so those and more, will be coming next!

MACK DADDY TOOL CADDY!

 In case you ever wondered what the ultimate welder's cabinet looks like, this is it.  Four feet tall, four feet wide and two feet deep, this lockable rolling tool caddy holds all the tools I need to do my job in whatever shop I happen to find myself. 

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 You really don't want to know how much this thing weighs. Suffice it to say it is "oil field strong"!
3 inch steel casters are bolted to a 1/4" plate base, 16 gauge walls are piano hinged to 10 gauge doors, and it is topped off with a 3/16 plate top.  As you can see my hood, grinders, leathers, tools and whatever else I need are at easy reach.

 I chose an old oil valve that "may or may not have come from a local refinery" (allegedly). 1/4 turn of the handle pulls two 1/2 round rods out of their catches.  An overlapping door designs holds both doors shut with one mechanism.

The double radius ends give this utility cabinet a clean intentional look.  I chose a brown bronze for the walls and interior and flat black for the top and handle wheel.  The flat black was used for it's ability to hold chalk (I like to take notes on tables etc.. ); this is after all a utility caddy.
If you want one let me know and I'll whip one out for you for about $1000.00

Air Mail!

Yep.  We just spent the last few minutes watching this helicopter sling-load this airplane around to our neighbor's house.  He has a runway, so the plane made sense.  This just isn't the usual way we see him fly around!