ness

We didn’t get stuck behind any flatbeds. Thanks!

Saw this dish somewhere and thought — we like everything in it. Pasta Puttanesca. Garlic, olive oil, anchovy paste, tomatoes, capers, olives (Kalamata), red pepper. Good stuff, but hard to get all the goodies on the fork. We’ll do again but might try a different pasta.

We've got it pretty good around here. We were out in CA last month -- not so good :

What a great event! You and Pat are amazing, and that was a helluva write up! Have you got contact info for Ernest and Jack? I’ve got too much stuff around here and would love to share/thin the herd.

Perfect!

I’d like to see a step-by-step sir.

The bank where I work is a supporter of Boys and Girls Clubs of Kansas City. They do a big fundraiser each year and we’re typically the entertainment sponsor. This year was some dude named Thomas Rhett. I wasn’t familiar with the name but knew some of the songs. It was a helluva show last weekend! We had a table right next to the stage, and when the show started all the youngins crowded up front, which was a tad distracting. 😀 After the show he took a bunch of time doing selfies, which I thought was pretty nice of him. He really comes across as a good dude. See the guy lower left? Thomas called him up on stage. The the guy didn’t really want to do it and said he couldn’t sing. But he reluctantly went up and they did Friends in Low Places together.

I think we should make that happen!

We saw the Eagles in KC a few years back, after Frey had passed. They had Vince Gill and Frey's son to fill things in. I had kinda forgotten what a great talent Gill is, vocal and guitar. It was a really good concert. A little funny: After the show and encores were over, everyone left the stage but Joe Walsh. He lingered and kinda walked around for a bit. Then he knocked over a stool, gave a big smile and walked off

I remember that. He had posted reports, with pictures, about the huge trout in Cottingham Creek. The holdovers from the old MacAlwee hatchery operation that closed in the 70's. The place got pretty crowded for a while, but now I always have it to myself. A real hidden gem!

Agree! These guys aren't going to be around forever. I passed on a chance to see McCartney several years back and that was a mistake. I about backed out when I saw what the total cost was going to be to see James Taylor, but I choked it down. Those $%^#& convenience fees really stink!

39 degrees last night

I'm partial to Roaring River too. It's only about a ½ hour longer drive than Bennett for us. Roaring River Resort, just outside the park, is a good place to stay. They have basic motel rooms, kitchenettes and cabins too. If you go, Tim's Fly Shop will have all the latest info and everything you could possibly need and more. Sunshine Family Restaurant in Cassville is very good for homestyle cooking.

Brassica?? Googling.... ...ahhh, Family, not Genus

I've got peas about a foot tall, planted early March along with beets. Swiss chard is in too, along with one half of lettuce, radishes and spinach. We had a little hail last night, but no damage that I can see. The forecast is looking good, so I'll transplant tomatoes and peppers this weekend.

Yup, all part of the big old Brassica family with cabbage, kale, collards, bok Choy and even turnips and rutabaga.

I've got a friend who does a large garden and donates all the produce to needy folks in the KC area through our church. He's got 750 tomato plants, a bunch of peppers (can't remember the number, but it's in the hundreds). I saw them a couple weeks ago and the tomatoes were already pretty tall and spindly in Solo cups. I didn't need to say anything -- he knows. He was planning to put them in this weekend, and the forecast looks fine, but his volunteers and him are gonna have to plant those tomatoes deep. I was in the same situation several years back, but with about 15 tomato plants. I learned my lesson.

My uncle and gardening mentor always waited until May 1. I typically do tomatoes and peppers earlier than that by a little, knowing I may have to cover them. Here are my spring temperature notes from the last few years (KC area) Recorded first/last frost/freeze dates: 4/30/2011, 31 degrees 4/22/2013, freeze 5/2/2013, 1 inch snow 5/18/2014, record lows of 34 and 35 this week 5/9/2020, 34 degrees and frost 4/19-4/21/2022, low 26 degrees on 4/22 4/26/2022, 31 degrees 4/23/2023, 28 degrees In 2014, I had transplanted stuff out on 4/27 and had just a little frost damage in the cold snap.

I had one last year, and as l was waking up I was exaggerating to my wife the size of the instrument they had inserted. As I regained further consciousness I realized it wasn’t my wife I was talking to, it was a nurse. I tried to explain and she laughed and said she’s heard a lot of stuff from folks coming out of anesthesia. So here’s my advice: 1. Get your colonoscopy when advised. 2. Don’t try to be too funny until you’re fully conscious.

We didn’t have it on either of the PBS channels I get. I’ll try on the AR PBS website because I’d like to see it. Thanks for sharing.

Coupla things done on the grill: future son-in-law and his dad made these Polish sausages. Just a light smoking on the grill. Delicious! Had a hankering for ribs. So, baby backs with my rub, done with apple chunks 3-2-1 method, semi-ho’made beans and tater salad. Beans are Bush’s original drained then molasses, ketchup, mustard and rub. Placed in a shallow pan and on the grill to get some smoke and a bit of a crust. Tater salad is store bought doctored up with hard boiled eggs, vinegar, yellow mustard, dill and Duke’s. Made a pitcher of sangria to wash it down with.

I've been thinking about all this and comparing it to one of my favorite things: bird hunting. I can't imagine I'd like it if it was just go to where I know the birds are, then shoot them when they get up. Or on the ground. Not a real solid comparison I know, but even when I hunt a preserve, which is what I do most recently, there's the dog work, the effort finding the birds, making the shot and the retrieve. It's still hunting, with all the great pieces of it. FFS feels like one of those European hunts, where you stroll along and the hired boys flush the birds in front of you. I feel a little sorry for kids that get into this tourney fishing and don't really learn the 'hunting' aspect of fishing. And to me, the have versus have-not aspect of this just seems shatty. Like @Champ188 said, there'll be plenty of time to face the hard realities of this later on, but at the high school level I think it should be more of an even playing field. I'll admit I'm a sentimental sap; I kinda like the low-tech approach. Whether hunting or fishing, I enjoy being outdoors and the experience much more than the tally. I'd rather fish a small stream, be immersed in it all and get skunked, than cruise around a huge reservoir looking at a screen and have a big bag of fish to talk about afterwards.

I remember years back you posted about this. I had heard of muffuletta but had never had one. I cobbled together some olive salad, got some good meats, cheese and bread and made one. It was excellent -- one of my faves!

Thankfully I've only seen it once.

There are some crazy ads though. Unless they know something I don’t know. 😀