BEER BARN

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Look out, A1, you got competition.

I love JD in barbeque and steak sauce.

[GUB]

Good Morning Everyone, well almost afternoon though.... And speaking of JD - where do you guys keep yours? Someone once told me to keep it in the feezer and then just pour yourself a shot whenever you wanted one - straight up no ice. Ever since trying it that way it's now the only way in this house. Just wondering.

GUB

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Mine is stored and drank at room temperature.

Gotta go work on some computers in town. Be back later.

[colvinbackshop]

Good afternoon all...I'm finely getting to the Barn. Good to see oyu all...Set up the bar Joe! A TALL cold tap for me and what ever the gang needs.

It was a long day at the pool yesterday, a slow morning, a little stacking of firewood and a bit of cutting and now some "down" time before heading outside to do a few more chores.

Opppsss...Got to run answer the door. Be back latter 

[GUB]

Guys;

It's only a suggestion but try it out of the freezer. You might be surprised. But be forwarned that if you are in the habit of throwing it back it will freeze the gullet on contact. What I do is let it sit for a minute or two and then drink it.  However, if you sip it then you can do that immediately without any affect on the gullet. I have to admit it does make for a different JD experience.

A few years ago I was trying to perfect a recepi for Baked Beans that included JD. Unfortunately, the JD had an overpowering affect on the beans. Okay if you are doing outdoors, not so good if doing in the oven. There is an perponderance of JD aroma all through the house. All this talk of JD makes me think I should give the recipe another go.

GUB

[colvinbackshop]

Hey...I'm back. Set up another round Joe! One more cold one, then I've got to get busy with dinner...Steak and potatoes on the grill this evening! Stop on by, if you get the chance!

It's snowing like crazy this afternoon here! We now have a white ground cover and I think this time it will stay...but you just never know! At least I got the firewood taken care of earlier today!

I had mentioned a while back that I would give the swimming report...So, here we go. It's been busy with Jr. Championships and Region Championships for the past few weeks. Now, I only have one meet left for the season, the State Meet the week of Thanksgiving. THEN...It's off to the Trainroom, for sure!

The Jr. High girls took first place trophies in both of their "end of season" conference invites. That was pretty cool in itself, but the rush for me was that my daughter, Raeanne, had two totally outstanding meets swimming personal bests "back to back" and again "back to back", two weeks in a row! Wow!

In the Black & Blue she took 2nd. in the 200 I.M. and 4th. in the 100 Backstroke. Then a week later at the Little Giant she took 1st. in the 200 I.M., 4th. in the Backstroke and her 200 Medley Relay took a 4th. To say the least...She is a pretty happy camper with that performance and I am a very proud Dad and coach!

After 32 years of coaching, I can truly say the high light has to be coaching my own daughter and having her do so well.

A friend, the coach from Proctor, took these pictures at the Little Giant:

After the awarding of the Championship Trophy and the coaches having been thrown into the pool...Rae found me for a big hug.

Then it's a smile for Jon and the camera before swimming a victory lap.

What can I say...What a great way to end a season! I know I said just one...But, Joe, let's hve one more round for the house! Then I really do have to get outside, get the snow off the kettle and get the charcoal going!

Latter boys.

[MisterBeasley]

JB, I know the feeling, in more ways than one.  My Annie, now 15, has always been a backstroker.  (Don't you just hate waiting all the way through the meet to see how she'll do?)  When she was just out of kindergarten, we joined the swim club, and the coach actually came over to recruit her after seeing her backstroke.  (Yeah, like lots of 7-year-olds do backstroke, huh?)  Her Mom had taught her, and she's been swimming every summer at the club ever since.  (Winters are for ski team, so she can't do both.)  Anyway, great pictures, and a great attitude.

Back to the food.  We had charcoal-broiled salmon steaks tonight.  I rub a little Worcestershire sauce on them about the time I fire up the grill. Some rice pilaf, a nice green salad and some green beans, plus some garlic bread, and served with a Cabernet Sauvignon.  (WHAT!  Yeah, it's kind of a light Cabernet, the salmon on the grill has a lot of ooomph, and, well, we were out of white and it's Sunday night.)  By the way, I make my garlic bread with Cayenne pepper, so the taste buds are at Red Alert for the whole meal.

Dang, can't find the camera again.  One of the wimmen has it, and neither one will admit it.  (Nah, it's not True Confessions, just True Forgetfulness.  It'll turn up.)  Anyway, I got the walls and a couple of the flat roof pieces cut for Burns Coal and Oil.  Now, like Martha Stuart, I'm just agonizining over the color scheme.  I'm thinking dirty mustard yellow, with dark brown trim, and lots of dirty-gray weathering.  "Burns Oil," by the way, reminds me of a number of cars I've owned.  I also did a lot of final scenery surfacing, brushing on home-made scenic cement and then sprinkling on various turfs and flocks, plus a few pieces of talus here and there.  (The home-made cement is made by taking an old container of Elmer's about 1/4 full, adding water just past the half-way line, and shaking well.  Works great, and there are all these old 1/4 full containers lying around the basement just getting old.)

Had a few Harpoons this afternoon, but, seeing as how I'm at the top of the page, I guess there's time for another round.  Set 'em up, Joe.

Weekend Update:  One of them found where she put the camera.  So, I'll post a before-and-after for the day.  This is the slope below Burns Coal and Oil, with a timber retaining wall.

And again, after some scenic manipulation:

[91rioja]

Chris - a while ago you asked me how I liked Spanish wines and I beleive I told you that I really hadn't tried very many. Well, today I picked up two bottles of Spanish wine. The first is Hoya De Cadenas Reserva 2002 and the second is Castillo de Almansa Reserva 2002. Any comments? I'll be having at least one of them later tonight.

GUB, I have never had either one of them, so let me know how they were.  I'm always looking for new Spanish reds.  I believe that the Cadenas is a Tempranillo, and the Almansa is from the South Central region.  Not sure what the grapes are though.  Check the Denominacion de Origen on the bottles for the regional information.  My favs are from Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Toro.

Chris

[SilverSpike]

All this talk about JD, and I'm gonna have to dig up my old Jack Daniels Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe just in time for the holidays too!

In the meantime, how about a nice tall Abita Wheat

Mr. B, nice work this weekend, thanks for posting photos too!

[colvinbackshop]

SilverSpike...I really enjoyed Bita when I was down in New Orleans a few years ago!!! Good stuff...And, please send out that pie recipe, either here or on the dinning car group...Man, that sounds like it would really be a taste treat! I would love to give it a try for Thankgiving!

Mr. Beasley, how ironic...Swimmers! And on top of that, I too served cabernet sauvignon last evening with the grilled steak dinner. BTW, the potatoes were done in a foil packet, roasted on the grill: New potatoes (thick sliced) with sliced onion, minced garlic, minced Garden Salsa peppers and dried tomatoes with a touch of olive oil and some salt and fresh ground pepper. That, along with the steaks, I also served a fresh baked squash....Life is good!

Today, I'm working in the library grting a bit more paneling up...It's looking pretty good. I'll post a pic or two of the progress one of these days! But for now it's lunch time and I'll a tall tap, please Joe. Today it's leftovers this afternoon at "Dad's Kitchen" before heading into town. Out of the freezer comes some Shrimp étouffée and the fridge., some noodles...OK, I would rather have rice, but I'm the garbage can around here and the noodles have to go first! Rice tomorrow with the remaining étouffée. 

[Super Chief Rules]

So do you have to be twenty one to post here?

 

If so I just broke the rules!! 

[mikesmowers]

Age does not matter here at the barn, as long as you drink sodas or something with ne alchole.  And welcome to the barn, sit back and enjoy yourself.  Oh BTW...You will probley want to roll up your pant legs as it gets rather deep here sometimes.
   Joe, bring me a cold beer and bring  Super Chief a large soda of his liking.  I will be back later with a couple of pics of what I have got done today.   
       Jeffrey...Have you still got that house being built? Has anyone bought it yet?
      Later,     Mike

[GUB]

Chris - a while ago you asked me how I liked Spanish wines and I beleive I told you that I really hadn't tried very many. Well, today I picked up two bottles of Spanish wine. The first is Hoya De Cadenas Reserva 2002 and the second is Castillo de Almansa Reserva 2002. Any comments? I'll be having at least one of them later tonight.

GUB, I have never had either one of them, so let me know how they were.  I'm always looking for new Spanish reds.  I believe that the Cadenas is a Tempranillo, and the Almansa is from the South Central region.  Not sure what the grapes are though.  Check the Denominacion de Origen on the bottles for the regional information.  My favs are from Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Toro.

Chris

I really liked the Hoya De Cadenas. We didn't get a chance to try the other. Unfortunately I cannot confirm any of the other information because the empty Cadenas and the full Almansa is still over at the neighbours. I'll pay a little more attention to the lables next time. I will also be exploring more of the Spanish wines.

GUB

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Mike: I still have the house, yes. However construction on it has stopped because it's tied up in letigation between three potential buyers who have all taken each other to court to duke it out.

[mikesmowers]

    Jeffrey...Thanks, that is just what I wanted to here. You might want to take a look at these........





    I do not know a lot of the facts, but I have heard from a bird that one of the buyers here are comming from your part of town.. One of the gentlemen has a nasty black eye.
    Jeffrey,  put your wallet away and let me buy a couple of Jack Daniels.    
      Joe, we're getting dry here.                                                   Mike

[91rioja]

Joe, hook me up with a Sammy Smith Imperial Stout please.

So, it finally got cool enough here yesterday to make a pot of chili.  Couldn't find any good buffalo meat at my Whole Foods, so just used good ole cow.  Had to make it mild for the wife; I like mine hot and spicy, but not to the point of having no flavor but "HOT".  Had leftovers tonight; it gets better after festering in the fridge overnite.

Well, I got my parents moved out of their house this weekend.  It was sad in a way because I'm going to miss Pinehurst, but I am going to be really happy once they get to Roanoke Virginia.  They are from there, I was born there, so I get to "go back home" to see them.  Also, Roanoke was one the home to my beloved Norfolk and Western; the J Class 611 is in the museum there.  Can't wait to see her again!

So, I was wondering what everyone's plans or traditions were for Thanksgiving?  I guess our friends north of the border do not celebrate it?  I have been married for just over two years now, so the wife and I are creating our own.  Last year, I volunteered to make the turkey (mental note, never do that again), and everyone loved it.  So gues what?  I am now in charge of the bird until I die.  All of the inlaws are coming to my house this year.  It should be about 12 people this year.  I can't get my parents to come though.  That really upsets me.

I can remember, in my family, before I met the wife, that we used to all get together for the day, and eat until we popped.  My uncle used to complain that there was not enough space on his plate, and claimed he needed sidecars.  I really miss that.

Good food, good wine, good friends, good family.

Ryan, send out your pie recipe to the dining car please.  It sounds really good.

Chris

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Mike: That looks pretty good.

[MisterBeasley]

Back shortly after I graduated from college, the tradition arose for all the "Thanksgiving Orphans" who were too far from home to get together and make their own Thanksgiving feast.  This has stuck around, until now it is our Thanksgiving.  This group of friends, in bits and pieces, has been getting together for well over 30 years now, in one home or another, with a few different guests here and there.  We've all settled in with our permanent partners, and our kids have grown up around the little card table.  We each have our traditional dishes to bring, too, as this is a "co-operative" dinner so no one household gets all the work.

By this time, a lot of us have lost our own parents, though none of us are grandparents yet.  There are sometimes some sisters who show up, but other than that this is not an "extended family" affair.

When I was a kid at my Grandmother's place for Thanksgiving, all the men were at one end of the apartment watching football, and all the women were at the other making the meal.  Now, nobody cares about the football games, the kids have the TV for Nintendo anyway, and we're all in the kitchen eating horse dovers while we each take a hand in preparation.  In this group, the serious cooking is generally done by the men, by the way.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

That sounds very good Mr B.

Every Thanksgiving for the past 10 years my older sister has been making the Thanksgiving meal for our family, her in-laws, friends and the Sundown fire dept. The guest list usually numbers 60+ and the house is packed. The men usually move a beer party out onto the front lawn and the women sit in the 28 x 40 living room and gossip. The kids all go off to do what kids do best, play. My sister meanwhile has 2 ovens going, a 20+ pound turkey in one, other delights in the other one and another 20+ pound turkey being deep fried on the back porch. She does all this herself and refuses any offers of assistance. At the end of the day, she's beat, but still refuses offers of assistance as she cleans up.

BTW, her husband is the fire chief of Sundown fire dept, she is the office clerk and I am the safety officer. Among the guests who attend are the asst chief and his family, the treasurer and her family, all the members of the board which includes those listed above as well as many of their family members, the officer cadre and the drivers, operators and firefighters of the dept with their families. Sometimes guests drop in from other fire depts as well as a few police officers. They are all welcome and they know it. Needless to say, my brother-in-law is the most popular fire chief we've ever had.

[91rioja]

Mr. B, that reminds me of what we used to do.  On my mother's side, she is the last of the close siblings.  Her mom died in 1985, and her sisters and brother went before.  So, we had been going down to Myrtle Beach South Carolina since the early 90's.  There was a group of my parents older friends who also went to Myrtle as well.  We would scope out a place (it used to be the Rice Planters until they closed) and have the as you called it "orphan thanksgiving"; it would range in numbers from 12-15 of us up to one time it got to above 40 (we rented out an entire resturant).  The tradition before we went to eat was to gather around in a circle and to say what we were all thankful for.

Chris

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Chris, that sounds a lot like what a lot of the guys in the barracks would do when I was in the army stationed at Ft Polk, La. I never participated in it because my family (parents and sisters) lived here and I would be with them.

[colvinbackshop]

Good evening boys...Joe, set up a round for the house please, and I'll take a tall tap.

Thanksgiving for us here in Northern MN has become a family tradition at my Mom & Dad's place for the past twenty years. Before that I kind of had the same thing as some of you orphans. I was here in MN, my parents were in the desert S.W. and my brother and his family were all over the world, having spent 22 years in the Air Force. Once Dad and brother retired, they moved back to MN, as did my bro's children and as they say "the rest is history".

Even though Mom and Dad are both 84, they are going strong! Mom is always in charge of the turkey, dressing and rolls (Uncle Stanley's Brown Buns). Dad takes charge of serving the wine and the rest of us fill in the remaining gaps. Sometimes it's coordinated real well and sometimes it's more of a pot-luck. One thing that is always a "for sure" is that we eat, drink and visit real good...And do a lot of it, making for a day of it!

When the entire clan gets together we number fourteen, but that's the tip of the iceberg when we start throwing in boyfriends, girlfriends, in-laws and the occasional friend or so, making for twenty four or better.

Mike, I like the house under construction project and Mr. Beasley, the scenicing on your pike is looking good too! Wow, I'm envious....I need to get out to the Trainroom and do some playing!! Soon!! 

For now though, one more before closing time Joe.

[Ibeamlicker]

Give everyone what they want I will have a Hamden ale big six.Mike awesome work.  

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning and top 'o' the day to all of ye.

How about something with a European flavor?

 

[SilverSpike]

Ryan, send out your pie recipe to the dining car please.  It sounds really good.

Chris

I began a search for it last night and no luck, not where I thought it was. Going to dig in other locations for that recipe. If all else fails I have another one that is a Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie Recipe and is just as good, you can sub JD for any whiskey, bourbon, etc...

In the meantime, how about another beer....

[mikesmowers]

BUMP!!!
    Joe, I need a beer, thanks.
                                                          Mike

[Ibeamlicker]

Beers for everyone,check IDs! 

[colvinbackshop]

Joe, a tall tap with a shot of Mr.Tomato please...And set a round for the house too!

Evening boys! How you all doing? I'm pretty good, but I have been having a bit of trouble with feeling un- appreciated. Seems I'm busting butt 100% of the time and getting a pat on the back....NOT! Oh well, I keep thinking someone notices!

Worked on the library again today, and just about have all the paneling up! I may be able to finish that task up tomorrow and then I can start doing some trim work!

Seems I always have way to much to do and little time to do it!! Got to get out to play in the Trainroom one of these days...Soon! Might just be the medicine I need for my head.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Somebody get me a Bud!

Getting ready to go to work this morning, though I don't think I'll be there long. Not feeling good today. I've already fallen once and run into two walls. My equilibrium is definitely not on track today.

[91rioja]

JB, keep your chin up!  I have been at my current job for 10 years now, and it took 7 before I got, what I would consider, a pat on the back.  Just remember, do what you do well, keep smiling, and most of all, just keep on at it.  It will come, in some shape or form, eventually.

On the train side, I have been getting some good ideas for my layout design.  I've finally gotten out of the planning rut.

Chris