Visitors welcomed....

When I got home on Friday evening there was a car parked in my spot. We have reserved parking so this was a bit interesting. I parked in our neighbor's vacant spot and headed in to see if whom ever was parked in my spot was legitimate. And indeed it was! James' brother-in-law Colin.

The last weekend in March James received a call from Colin who is in South Carolina currently for work. Since he was on the East Coast (he lives in KS with James' sister) he figured he would come up for a night and visit. This past weekend was decided upon but then James didn't mention anything else for the remainder of the week. So it was a nice surprise to see him. We went out to dinner and then bundled up out back with a fire.

I made waffles for breakfast on Saturday and then he was off heading south. It was so nice to see him when we normally only see Colin in the may lay that is Bartlett family holidays in NY.

This just goes to show that the House of Bartlett-Kerr is always open for visitors. We have a comfortable bed, clean sheets, a dog that will lick you, and cats that will for the most part leave you alone!

A Prairie Home Companion

A Prairie Home Companion Cast Photo
FROM LEFT: Fred Newman, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Garrison Keillor

Photo credit: Dana Nye

A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor has been a constant in my life. I don't ever remember not knowing what APHC or Garrison Keillor was. If you don't know what APHC is, well it is hard to explain. The short answer is that it is a variety radio show. The long answer is that it is a variety radio show that has been on the air roughly 30 years with comedy sketches, music, and Garrison Keillor's signature monologue, "The News from Lake Wobegon." Its "sponsors" are the American Duct Tape Council, the Catchup Advisory Board, and Powdermilk Biscuits (Heaven's! They're Delicious!). If it is 6:00 PM, and I am near a radio I am usually listening to APHC. The show has taken on a new twist for me lately as I expand my musical horizons to include bluegrass and Americana. So when Old Crow Medicine Show or Sara Watkins is on the show I am just happy as a clam!

Well, I am even more excited because I just bought tickets to see APHC live at Wolf Trap next month!! APHC comes every year to Wolf Trap it seems, and last year Molly and Chris went for the Friday night show. They said it longer and more racier than the live Saturday night broadcast so I am really looking forward to this experience.

Nothing like a Friday night, under the stars, having a picnic with your husband and family, listening to Garrison Keillor's voice, Guy's All-Star Show Band, and the Royal Academy of Radio Actors.....

My dog is smart....

Lulu just passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test!!!! Yay Lulu!!!!

She has now completed all levels of training at Petsmart (beginner, immediate, and advanced) and we decided to go for the test to see if she could pass. And she did!

Items on the test included:

1. Accepting a freely stranger
2. Sitting politely for petting
3. Walking through a crowd (which we already knew she could do after attending all three VA Scottish games last year)
4. Sit and down on command and Staying in place (I was afraid on this one but she stayed!)
5. Reaction to another dog
6. Supervised separation (she's an attention whore so anyone giving her attention is #1 in her book)  

We are thinking of getting her involved in agility training (just for fun and not for competition). Seems funny for an Old English Bulldog but that dog can leap when she wants to and is fast with lots of energy. Our local Petsmart also might be starting Rally, which is a mix between agility and obedience but isn't as strict. But before any of that we are going to take a break from training, which has been going non stop since August. 

Lulu still can be hard headed and we have to be firm with her, but all-in-all she is such a good dog! Who knew?! 

Throw Me Something Mister!

MOT is here!!! This is Verna. And then there is Dean. And the mother of them all is Vernadean!

As many of you know, James and I head to Mobile, AL, to join in the Mardi Gras celebrations every other year. We are joined by our friends Stacey and Ms. Nolte where we proceed to sit at the corner of Church and Jackson, near our hotel, for a couple of days. In 2009 we left the morning of Fat Tuesday, so this year we stayed until Ash Wednesday so that James could see what it is like on Fat Tuesday.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon just after a series of thunderstorms and to news that the parades we had missed while traveling, and the parades that night, were canceled. Boo I thought! Mystics of Time (MOT) rolls on Saturday night! They are by far my favorite krewe. We learned though that the parades canceled were rescheduled for Sunday and Monday. Yay!

The next three days was spent watching parades, catching beads, moon pies, footballs, cups, and anything else we could, drinking beer, laughing, walking, and just enjoying the scenery. Oh the local flavor. We found some new restaurants that were amazing (Hopjacks and the OK Bicycle Shop) and some fabulous BBQ (The Shed).

Ms. Nolte, Stacey, Kate, and James (a.k.a. The Caped Wonder)

 

 

Beads from ONE parade!

Stacey and The Caped Wonder with additional throws

We ran into a member of MOT in the lobby of our hotel and he was awesome!

The Comic Cowboys are known for satire on all current events. Always worth seeing on Fat Tuesday!

Here is the state of throws as of Tuesday morning

We ended up donating the majority of our beads and leaving the ones we kept with Stacey to mail back to us since there is no way we could afford the overweight baggage fees!

Check out all the photos of our Mardi Gras celebration here. You can see the bands, the floats, the crowds, and more importantly...the Cooler Monkey! We are already looking forward to 2013!

It's time for Key Lime Pie!

Joe has taken an interest in cooking. Which I absolutely love! He has helped several times in making pizza and is usually disappointed if I start making the pizza without him. He loves to taste and touch all ingredients. So I have decided this year to pick a recipe for Joe and I to make each weekend we have the boys.

This week it was a favorite of Joe's: Key Lime Pie.

My new favorite cookbook is The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook: Every Recipe from the Hit TV Show With Product Ratings and a Look Behind the Scenes, 2001-2011. If you have never seen America's Test Kitchen you have to check it out! These guys rock! Their recipes never fail! Okay, there is my plug for ATK.

Joe separating the yolk from the whites. He liked the slimy feeling :)

Here is the pie after it came out of the oven

Jaime helped me make the topping

Here is the finished product!

This freshly, homemade pie (crust included) was a big hit. I should have taken a photo of the after! There was nothing left!

Stay tuned for future adventures in the Bartlett-Kerr kitchen....