Big Jack

December 05, 2003 - June 24, 2013

We will miss you.

Summer Socks

For the last few years it has increasingly bothered me to put bare feet into shoes.  Even sandals are not as much fun as they used to be.  A lot of it has to do with how rough and snaggy my heels get no matter how much pumicing and cream slathering I do.  So while I will still go barefoot in sandals, I have caved to comfort...once again.

These are my outside choring shoes.  It's a look I'm pretty sure will not go viral.

The Finished Tree

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The guys from Seven Trees did a fabulous job and as shocking as the change is, when the winds blow they just blow though the tree with barely any branch swirling about movement.  A relief.

If you look back at the before picture, you will see there was one very dead branch.  It was the branch that had the swing on it for 10 plus years.  Here is how that piece looked when they cut it off.  It makes me feel bad and I wonder why we didn't hear any whimpering from the tree.  Maybe we weren't listening.

The Excitement Never Ends Here

How it looked this morning.

The smallest guy is the actual tree trimmer.

Lots of grinding/chipping.

The guy without the hard hat is the boss.

They started at 1 and left at almost 5.  One of the green shirted guys said they will be back tomorrow and should finish in about another hour.  The west side of the tree still needs some thinning and I am hoping that the branch the trimmer is standing on will remain but it's growing to the right from the left side of the Y and that just seems wrong.  Do you see all those windows on the four-plex that are staring at me again?  Sigh.  But there was a broken branch that was mostly in the neighbor's yard directly behind me and aside from that we had terribly scarey winds last week and I was holding my breath with each gust, waiting for a loud cracking and crashing sound.  Whew.  Spared.  We should be good for two years and then when we call them back to trim, it shouldn't cost nearly so much.  At least that's what the boss told me.

Oh, and based on the height of the fence, I estimate the tree at more than 40 feet tall.

'Tis The Season

Very easy, very good!

Pineapple Dole Whip {Clone}

recipe adapted from Disney Diner by What's Cookin' Chicago?

1 carton Pineapple sherbet, softened

1 8oz container whipped topping, softened

1/4 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate

1 teaspoon yellow food coloring {optional}

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients until everything is thoroughly mixed into one uniform mixture.

Transfer mixture to a gallon sized freezer bag; seal and freeze overnight.

For soft serve, using your hands, massage the freezer bag to slightly warm up the pineapple whip for easy squeezing out of the bag. [Snip a corner of the bag and pipe out the pineapple whip into your serving bowl.

Or, scoop out the pineapple whip as you would ice cream and serve.

 

Another one from Bob

The majority of my junk mail is advertisements from hearing aid companies.  Lots of invitations for "free" check-ups, consultations and even dinners.  I guess it keeps the postal workers employed.

This Superior joke in yesterday's email made me laugh:

A man was bragging to his neighbor about his recent purchase.  “I just bought a new hearing aid.  It cost me two thousand dollars, but it's the newest and best!” “Really,” answered the neighbor, “what kind is it?” “Twelve thirty.

Sunday Brunch at Sundance

As you might imagine, it was superb!  Sherise's plan is to first do a little scouting and review all the selections on each table.  Then we put in our order for an omelet, got our plates and started getting serious.  I tried to taste everything that interested me, skipping over the fruit since I have been working on a huge bowl of watermelon here at home.  I especially loved the horseradish sauce with the prime rib, the marinated tomatoes, the Meyer lemon cheesecake and the chicken in mango chutney but most of all I loved the omelet and the bacon.

Our reservation was at 10 and we took our time eating and then waited for Mark, Sherise's husband, to bike his way down the mountain,.  Then we all rode up on the ski lift and Mark got off at the top to bike down again!

This was the turn around and really the only jerky part of the ride.   Mark's bike was tied to the chair behind us. 

 

 

 

 

Headed back down to the starting spot.

It was a great ride and a turkey vulture was gliding close enough for us to see the red on his face!

I was careful not to go past the point of no return with all that fabulous food to choose from.  Still, there is no need to eat until Wednesday.

Sherise calls it Brunch Belly.