Sarge Says...

Happy New Year...Now, get this stupid hat off me.

A little from column A, a little from column B

Got a post last night, I can only gather it is from my Aunt Mary. (Dad’s only sister, the youngest of five.)

She commented on how much Josh and I look like my dad. I guess I always thought I looked more like mom. But, you can be the judge.

Here is me and Dad…

Here is me and mom…

I guess I look a lot like the both of them.
(No one in this family can blame the postman.)

Christmas Jello

In my family we have a tradition of having Nana’s Christmas Jello as the “salad” (life’s short eat dessert first) to celebrate our holiday. The jello takes 3 days to make. The first layer is lime jello with crushed pineapple. The second layer is whipped lemon jello with cream cheese and whipped cream. And the top layer (unless there is an unfortunate floating incident*) is strawberry jello with real strawberries in it. All together it is amazing!

Each of us have different ways of eating it. Mom likes to get a little from each layer, I like it for breakfast and crazy Aunt Susan doesn’t eat the green. Too always goes on about it, picking on the littlest things because he knows it goats mom. And my bet is Aunt J hasn’t made it in years. It is a family tradition. The holidays are full of them. Like Mom squinting at the tree saying it is the “best ever.” Like the cats waiting for the Washington Wirt’s gift of extra potent 'nip. And the sad goodbye each year as they drop me off at the airport. I am sure as we keep going there will be new traditions (I may take a while to adjust) but as long as we don’t get rid of the old ones I should be ok. No matter what: we won’t get rid of Nana’s Christmas Jello.

(*Note this photos was of the 2005 jello. 2006 jello experienced an unfortunate floating incident and will remain only a memory...as it doesn't photograph quite as nice, mind you it tastes just fine.)

News from the Clay Coyote

Not long ago I helped my Mom and Tom set up a blog - and it is really roaring now! It is called the Coyote Blog and it is all about the pottery, the gallery, and what goes on up there in Minnesota. I am pretty excited about it because it is just another way to stay connected to them. So visit them, please leave them a comment and tell them I sent you.

Having fun with Mom

Mom brought me along for her monthly volunteer shift at the Hutchinson Auxiliary Café in the hospital. We got to wear pink smocks, bring cheer to those visiting the hospital and we still had time to do a little monkeying around.

Sarge the super star!

The “Daily Puppy Blog” chose Sarge to be a part of their Christmas Card 2006 spread!

Twelve drummers drumming

Christmas Lights at the house...courtesy of Ian.

Sarge's first snow experience!

Morgan's handy work in Library Square. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Eleven Pipers Piping

Family photo from Christmas 2004. Josh is on the phone in mom's hand.

Ten Lords A-leaping

Squirt under the tree

Nine Ladies Dancing

From the vault: the best one ever

Eight Maids A-milking

Seven Swans A-swimming

R.I.P Will'e

Six Geese A-laying

For Bob, Feliz Navidad!

Five Gold Rings

Seriously, I am dying this one is so funny!

Four Calling Birds

Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

'Tis the season…for Cranberry-Apple Crisp

I love to cook, many of my friends love to cook, but not everyone has time to experiment in the kitchen. Two weekends ago, Ian and I we to have our first dinner part in our new apartment. That gave way to (1) a reason to clean, (2) a reason to get new holiday centerpiece, and (3) play in the kitchen. I know what you are thinking, who experiments for the first time when thy have to serve the “test dish” before guests? Me! But, friends can vouch, I have a pretty good track record. Unfortunately our friends had to cancel….but that just meant more of this dessert for Ian and I. So how can we complain?

Since I didn’t get to share it with friends yet, I thought I would put it up for anyone of you to try. It was super easy and super good.

Morgan's Cranberry-Apple Crisp

1. First, put 1 cup of fresh cranberries, one cup of water and ¼ cup of sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
2. While the cranberries are coming to a boil, peal and chop up 4-5 apples. I prefer Honeycrisp (they are Minnesotan) but any apple you like is fine.
3. The put the apples in a big baking bowl (preferably a Clay Coyote bowl – they are oven safe you know) and sprinkle with ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and a squirt of lime juice if you have it.
4. When the berries have boiled (they will look a bit like mush – that’s ok) drain off the juice and pour the berries in with the apple mixture. Fold the apples and the berries together.
5. Then in a separate bowl (I must confess on this one I used a Mel Jacobson bowl) combine together 1 ½ cup rolled oats, 2 table spoons flour, 1 table spoon cinnamon, ¼ cup sugar, and 3/4 stick of room temperature butter. Pour the mixture over the fruit and place in the oven at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

When you are all done, it should look like this:

Bon appetite!

Ut oh, I am a Toy Fairy

Today I had to do something that I have never had to do before. I had to distract Sarge while Ian wrapped up his favorite ratty toy and throw it out. This was BIG. Not big like first gray hair big, but big. I imagine that this will not be my last covert “Code Moldy” operation on a toy in my future. In my childhood, we had the Toy Fairy, the Balloon Fairy and I am pretty sure there was the Cupcake & Candy Fairy.

Today, I also used the old phrase “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” And Jax, a good friend, said it was creepy, and that no one uses it any more. Then I got to thinking (and this could be my penicillin and Nyquil induced brain) that babies are scary – and more and more of my friends are having them. And today, in a very small way, I joined their ranks in as a Toy Fairy…what is next?

Here he is – the good old days – with his favorite rope toy.

Christmas in TX

Not that I am stuck up or anything, but really Christmas lights just don't look as good with out the snow. That may just be the Minnesotan in me. I will give TX one thing, when you walk the Trail of Lights in Zilker (hear that Minnesota - walking to see Christmas lights!) and it is only 50F out, there is something to that.

(This is actually a really good photo, to see it in full click on the picture so it opens up .)

Next week, me and Sarge head home to Hutch for the holiday. Ian is going to be "stuck" in Austin and I am a little worried that he might get used to this weather for Christmas and lord knows next year when I drag him back to the "Frozen Tundra" he might be a little wistful.

For your reading pleasure...

My good friend Angela recently asked me what my favorite books are.

These are the four I rattled off:

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg

Charlotte's Web by EB White

The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood

And I just finished Family Baggage by Monica McInerney.

Batista Baby

That’s me. I am one of many of thousands of “bastista babies.” Tonight my mom is in Dekalb, IL (where I was born) to see the Electric Batista play.

And tonight, fresh off the plane from San Francisco Ian and I headed over to see the Black Keys. They rock. The opening band, Dr. Dog, also rocked.

Dr. Dog just played on MN MPR. You can listen in for 16 minutes...

And, being that I AM a batista baby, I MUST have good taste in music…so check these guys out.

Salon Evolve

My brother and sister-in-law are opening an Aveda salon on Tuesday. It is called Salon Evolve. It will be outside of Portland in Gresham, OR. Please, if you live near by or are soon to visit: go to Salon Evolve, get your hair cut and say "hi" to my family!

Where I come from...

So by now, you all know that my Mom and her long time partner Tom (or Too as I call him, or Tú as Jax calls him) own a pottery studio and gallery in the middle of Minnesota. Last week, one of their customers decided to stop by – in their helicopter. They took mom up to see the neighborhood. She took some really awesome pictures….Mind you it IS the middle of winter so you are lucky you can see ground. The white building is the house. The big cluster of red buildings are the studio, gallery, kilm building, packing and shipping, the new garage (where Too keeps his Triumph) and the old garage. There is also the silo, the granary, and then the pump house (which used to be the self-service gallery back in the 90s before the new Gallery opened). There are many bodies of water in the pictures. The ponds near the house are the result of returning the 30 acres behind the Studio to their natural state about 10 years ago. A project they did with the Department of Natural Resources. The lake that is about a quarter mile behind the Studio is Todd. And the one on the other side that looks connected to Todd is Hook Lake. There is a swamp and a little gravel bridge between them. Hook is one of the larger lakes in the county and good for fishing. Todd is too small and doesn’t allow motors. But there are a few canoes available in the garage and you can take the truck or tractor down to the point and drop them in (although due to a moral opposition to Wal-Mart, I think we don’t currently have life preservers.)

West Coast Extravaganza: San Francisco

Photos of the beach in San Francisco and the view from Becky and Chuck’s house.

I head back to the Bay Area on Tuesday night for work. I am looking forward to the beautiful skies…

West Coast Extravaganza: Scary

My brother and me...I had a little wine and was having fun with him! Me with Sarge and Josh with Utah "Just Utah" Jindrich