Big Leather Couch

Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a nice weekend. Did you participate in the craziness that is the Friday after Thanksgiving? Wake at 4:00am and run out to the stores and buy all your holiday gifts?

That is koo-koo crazy in my mind, but I know enough people who do it.

We had a real nice dinner on Thursday with Nancy's family and then came home with some ham and turkey, so a nice turkey sandwich was available!

On Friday we were able to get all the left-overs from our garage sale to Goodwill. Took us two trips with the SUV and my car. This allowed my car to finally get into the garage. This is nice as the last week or so the windows have been all frosted over in the morning.

Then we headed off and did some grocery shopping in anticipation of filling the new freezer. We made a list of ingredients that we needed for 6 main courses to be prepared.

With Nancy beginning work again, we decided to do an all-day cook and freeze a bunch of meals to use over the next month.

On Saturday, we woke slowly and then Nancy decided she wanted to clean the house as I cooked, thus killing two birds with one stone.

I photographed throughout the day and will be presenting that over at MANGIA Y'ALL over the next couple of weeks...

You know... MANGIA Y'ALL, that web site I have been ignoring...

In the end, I prepared: Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce - 9 portions, Beefy Mac - 6 portions, Stuffed Flank Steak - 6 portions, Beef & Spinach Patties - 4 portions; Chicken in Sherry Cream Sauce - 4 portions and overnight in the crock pot, I prepared a Asian Pot Roast in Sesame Soy Sauce - 6 portions.

Ended up with about 35 portions worth of main courses. Took about 6.5 hours in total, including clean-up - well not counting the overnight cooking of the pot roast. And when I vacuum sealed them I left the option for Nancy and I to each have a different entree...and all we need to do is whip up some side dishes.

Today, we are serving dinner over at MANGIA Y'ALL for the first time in a while. this is not from this weekend, but from one of our most recent cooking journeys...

I always try and remember to photograph when we cook, but sometimes I forget to take pictures at the end - and then I can't use the whole thing! LOL

Today's meal is a Pot Roast made in a clay pot. I have had the clay pot for years but never reached for it when cooking. A few weeks back we made a Orange Chicken in the clay pot and it was fantastic.

The next week we tried the pot roast...

Today - a new post:
Clay Pot Pot Roast
Come take a seat at the table

My beautiful bride, Nancy, passed her test on Saturday earning her the license to sell insurance in Mississippi. She will also be taking the test in Tennessee, but at least she can now begin working again.

When she got out of the test, she was not sure she had passed. We waited until about 5:05pm when the scores were supposed to be posted online and there it was a PASSING GRADE!

I am very proud of her. The instructor who taught the course she took last week told the class that 80% of his students who take the test have a 20% SUCCESS RATE their first time out.

The test is administered by a company that has contracts with 48 of the 50 states and the word is, they work hard to ensure you have to pay them for a second testing opportunity.

Well, they will not be getting more money for Nancy!

Hope y'all had a fine weekend...back we go into another work-week, though this one is only three days.

What are you doing for Thanksgiving? We will be going to Nancy's brother's home...where I enjoyed my first Thanksgiving and met her family two years ago.

Charles does a most excellent job deep-frying that bad boy...and the sides are plentiful. I am putting together an antipasto as it was such a big hit last time.

My client is open on Friday. This year they added MLK Day to the holidays and removed the Friday after Thanksgiving. I have never had to work that day and will be taking the day as my company observes the day, all of my personal clients will be out that day.

Well Nancy and I went and spent some of the money we earned at the garage sale last weekend. We bought a 7.2 cubic foot chest freezer. Nothing huge, but big enough to allow us to start preparing meals, sealing them and freezing them.

The freezer in her refrig/freezer unit is so darn small it is hard to buy in larger quantities and save the money. With the vacuum sealer, we can now buy 10 pounds of ground beef - split it into portions of 1/2 and 1 pound and freeze.

When I made gravy recently, it took up way too much space in the freezer...no longer a problem...Both Nancy and I were real excited to get it home (It fit in the SUV) and get it set up.

Do you buy in bulk at stores like BJs, Sam's Club or Costco?

With the addition of the freezer and the fact that Nancy is going back to work, we are going to have 'cooking Sunday's" where we will prepare 2-3 dishes - each serving 2-3 nights - and freeze them for use over the following two weeks.

It will also mean new opportunities to get MANGIA Y'ALL the food blog that cries for attention.

Be on the look out for those mouth-watering announcements that the table has been set.

THE FINAL NIGHT OF DANCING IS THIS EVENING!

Man, can not believe I am saying this, but...Welcome to December!

Did you have a great Thanksgiving? I sure did. It was a fantastic four days that was only marred by Matt having to leave on Sunday.

When he arrived on Wednesday evening, we went to downtown Memphis and hit Beale Street, deciding on B.B. Kings for dinner. While eating a nice meal and having a few drinks, we got to hear a decent local band. They were not great, but the guitar player had some talent.

Thursday morning came early - 4:30 am to be exact - as I had to put "Fred" (our turkey) into the oven. He had already had sage butter inserted below the skin and in the cavity along with a cornbread-caramelized onion stuffing. He also was basted with a diluted honey sauce during his roasting.

I had let Matt sleep upstairs so as not to disturb him, so i fell back onto the couch and set the timer for 1 hour to baste again. Finally, at around 7:00am, I was up and began assembling the Manicotti (I had made the crepes on Wednesday).

Matt and I headed over to Nancy's at about 11.

Truth be told, the initial meeting of Nancy and the boys was a little cool (uncomfortable - take your choice) but pretty quickly things began to smooth out.

When Nancy's family showed up it got easier actually...and Matt was conversing with a niece and her husband who are a few years older and I think the boys began to see Matt as just a regular guy and it made it easier.

Dinner was great...everyone was stuffed and most took home some leftovers.

Matt, Peter and Ernie then went out for some front yard football with some other kids from the neighborhood.

Friday, Matt and I headed down to Tunica and hit Harrahs for a little father/son blackjack fun. We spent about 4 hours there and both walked away winners.

Then back to the apartment where we watched Dark Knight. I had never seen it, and it really was pretty good. Maybe a tad long, but not that bad.

Our planned day with Nancy and the Boys on Friday fell apart as their dad had planned a hunting trip for them at the last minute, so Matt and I hung out and talked and chilled until we picked Nancy up for dinner.

We again headed downtown and checked out the new (open 6 months) Morgan Freeman Restaurant/Club Ground Zero.

Food was fantastic - and filling - and the band Blues Highway were fantastic! The lead singer/harp player had it going on and the guitarist could make it smoke. The drummer was very basic and that hurt them some.

Sunday was a lazy day until I had to bring Matt to the airport. The moment I left him, my heart hurt and the tears flowed...he is a man and a pretty fine one at that. Watching him interact with strangers in a tough situation (meeting his dad's girlfriend for the first time...seeing me with someone other than his mom for the first time), he made me so proud.

We did get a few pictures on Thursday - there is one of Matt and I that I am not sharing now, as it is going to become our Christmas Card.

Matt & I
YES! That is an apron...sheesh
Why do I try and put my arm around his shoulder, I am too small!

My Sweet Nancy and I

A group shot with Peter and Ernie, Nancy, me and Matt.
Peter was not wanting his picture taken...
Can you tell?
hehe

A special shout-out to DRILLERAA from "Brain Freeze"...our fine friend hit a milestone birthday yesterday and has a great post to celebrate it!. You can find the post HERE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR!

Kroger gives you $0.10/gal when you spend $100.00 or more...BUT Schnucks is even better...You get $0.05/gal discount for every $25.00 you spend...so you could get up to $2.00/gal off if you spend $200.00 in qualifying groceries (no paper products, pharmacy of health and beauty I believe)...

Now the deal with Schnucks is it is only for the first 25 gallons. Which is not bad if you don't own an SUV - and BTW, they raised that from the first 15 gallons when gas was going through the roof and have not brought it back down again.

Got home tonight to find a VERY SPECIAL package in my mailbox. I had mentioned it yesterday...well today it arrived!

TWENTY-TWO CDS!!!!! Allman Brothers - 1973 - Cow Palace with Garcia and Kruetzman sitting in for a spell (4 CDs); 1999 - Raleigh, NC; 2006 - Barstow, VA; 1971 - Boston Common; 1997 Beacon Theater; and then Widespread Panic - 1999 in Jacksonville; Ratdog (Bob Weir's band) - 2007 in Buffalo, NY; Marshall Tucker - compilation of shows from 1973 -1976; String Cheese Incident - 2001 San Francisco....WOW...that is some great music...THANKS JON!

Our friend TIGGERLANE from "The Neophyte Blogger" tagged me with the RANDOM MEME and it just makes a ton 'o sense to do something RANDOM while doing Minutia...

SO, here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you. (I did that above...see????)
2. Post the rules on your blog. (That is what you are reading right this very second)
3. Write six random things about yourself. (LOL...me??? Random??? Ya think?)
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. (Well y'all are tagged...I am not a tagger, and it has nothing to do with being phobic about touching people...well Heck! I just told you something random!)
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. (See Rule 4...by reading this, you are tagged!)
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up. (YOO HOOO Tigger!!!!!!! Random Minutia time!)

And awwwwwwwaaaaay we gooooooo...
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Wow...you know what? This is tougher than I thought...heck, I tell you guys everything ...right Doc? Actually, as I read Tigger's again, she mentioned two things in which we are alike...

1) The second toe on my right foot is longer than the big toe (Everyone wait for Matt-Man's comment on THAT one!)

2) I thoroughly enjoy public speaking. At the agency in Boston, I would give orientation seminars for 30 -40 people and wonder why we could not bring in more. As a DJ I emceed weddings up to 350 people and thrived.

3) I still bite my nails, but not as badly as I did as a younger man. I have gotten pretty skilled at giving myself a manicure with my own teeth...LOL

4) For those of you who have not been here a real long time, I always have music going on in my head...my own personal life soundtrack. The music reflects the events transpiring at the time.

5) Again, for newbies, I am a smoker! ARGGGGGGGGGGGG yeah I know, I know...and I am working my brain into it, I even found a hypnotist close by and I think my insurance just might cover it. I have cut back since meeting Nancy and working out more and more (maybe an insight into that soon - ah heck Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's...ah heck!)

6) I currently live by myself in a one bedroom apartment. There are two TV's and TWO TiVos! I loves me my TiVos!!!

Well, there you have it...six random things about me...

You're It!

They may have been more country then the Allman Brothers, but these guys could play the crap out of a song...The original band: Doug Gray (vocalist), George McCorkle (rhythm guitarist), Paul Riddle (drummer), Jerry Eubanks (flutist), and brothers Toy (lead guitar) and Tommy Caldwell (bassist and front man).

At some point, I believe it was STARR from "Here Comes A Storm in The Form Of A Girl" who said (paraphrasing here), "Rock Stars should not be allowed to ride motorcycles or fly in helicopters"...well, technology did take Bassist and front man Toy Caldwell who died from injuries in a jeep crash on April 28, 1980.

But, The Marshall Tucker Band was also decimated by losses from nature, not only technology...

Guitarist Toy Caldwell, like Doug Gray also a Vietnam veteran, died of heart disease on February 25, 1993.

Founding member guitarist George McCorkle died of cancer on June 29, 2007, in Lebanon, Tennessee.

They could make music and brought the flute to Southern/Country Rock...This is one of my favs...from the new collection I just got. This selection of songs comes with the title "Stompin' Room Only"...the song, "This Old Cowboy"...

ENJOY...